Impatiently, Randal spoke up. “Derek Oliver was murdered and hidden in a closet and you knew about it?”
“Of course I did. I put him in there. After I glued him back together, so to speak.”
The four of them leaned back to stare at him.
“No, no,” Billy said, “I didn’t kill him, if that’s what you are thinking. I just found him lying there. Empty-headed, as it were. Quite disrespectful.”
For a few moments they just stared at him, trying to understand what he was saying.
“My hedgehog?” Kate asked.
“Sorry,” Billy said. “I know you loved it but it had been used to fill the gap. I guess it was the right size. I couldn’t very well pull it out and return it to you. It wasn’t, uh, clean.”
They worked to keep their composure. Obviously, Billy didn’t know about what was inside the little stuffed animal.
Randal seemed to recover the quickest. “You’re saying you found Derek Oliver on the floor, his head sawed open, and inside it was a child’s stuffed animal?”
“Yes,” Billy said. “I don’t like to remember the details.”
“Start at the beginning,” Randal said.
“If I must,” Billy said. “We’d had a lovely lunch because odious Derek wasn’t there. No one even asked about him. When we finished, it was raining so I went upstairs to check the windows.” He glanced at Kate. “You do so love fresh air.”
“Still do,” she murmured.
“There he was on the floor. Dead, and obviously murdered. Honestly, I wasn’t surprised. The method was a bit much, but the fact of it was that it was understandable.”
“Who did it?” Sara asked.
“I assume one of my guests did. However, it was quite thoughtless to leave the body lying on the nursery floor.” His voice was rising. “It was without concern for other people. What if little Kate had seen it? Randal was run ragged by all of us, so Kate had free rein of the house. I still don’t know how she found the old playroom.”
“Greer,” Kate said.
Billy looked sad. “Oh yes. That poor girl. So unattractive and so awkward. Did you know that she was hit by a train a few years later? Her brother Reid was devastated.”
Jack spoke for the first time. “It was his toolbox.”
“Yes, it was.” Billy was looking at Jack in appraisal. “Your voice is the same as your father’s. I’m sure you’d give Barbara palpitations.” He looked at Sara. “Is that word still used?”
“It is in my books. Your plotting needs some work. I’m getting confused. We really want to know about the murder.”
“That’s because you didn’t know Derek Oliver.” Billy gave a dry sound that seemed to be a laugh. Kate got up, poured him a glass of water, and handed it to him. He drank deeply, then looked at Randal. “Have you ever met a man more unlikable than Derek Oliver?”
Randal considered for a moment. “No. I don’t believe I have. More violent, yes. But not a less likable human being, no.”
“I guess I should explain some things,” Billy said. “I was sent to Lachlan House by my late father and my two very-much-alive brothers as a punishment. They’re all lawyers with the family firm and I was supposed to join them.”
“How tedious,” Randal said.
“Yes, it was. When I didn’t pass the bar exam, they gave me another job in the firm.” He looked at them. “Accounting.”
Randal and Sara drew in their breaths.
“A man needs tolive, doesn’t he? There was all that money coming in.” Billy shrugged. “I didn’t think they’d mind if I borrowed a small bit. Not many zeros. But they did!” He sounded offended.
“So they sent you here?” Randal asked.
“No.” Billy’s old face showed horror. “They got me a job in construction in New York City. For one whole year.”
