Chapter 35

“The nine hundred thousand dollars that Jamie stashed there.”

I waved a hand at her with bafflement and said, “Start at the beginning, Julia. I’m confused. What are you talking about?”

She rolled her eyes, sighed, and explained, “I learned from a tenant of mine that Jamie Bodice hid a lot of his cash inside this house. They said that Jamie wasn’t big on banks. That same somebody told me that there was nine hundred thousand dollars stashed behind this dresser before Jamie was murdered.”

“Where’s the money now?” I asked, staring at the empty hole in the wall.

“I have no idea.”

“So whoever killed Jamie knew about the money and thieved it?”

She raised her shoulders and said, “I’m not Agatha Christie, Johnny. I’m a simple woman who just happens to be a landlady.”

“Who was the tenant who told you this?”

“I shouldn’t tell you, young man. A woman has her integrity to uphold when it comes to private conversations.”

I said, “Julia, two men have been murdered. Help me with this.”