Free A Pain in the Tuchis: A Mrs. Kaplan Mystery by Mark Reutlinger Page B

along that well. Then he kind of disappeared from the scene, and when I asked my mother about it, she never gave me a straight answer. I assume they had a falling-out of some kind and he just left. I know my mother wasn’t the easiest person to live with, and as I recall he was kind of a milquetoast, sort of meek and timid. Or maybe she kicked him out for some reason. Anyway, soon after that she moved to the Home.”
    “And did she change her will after she moved?”
    Daniel thought about this. “I really don’t know. She never asked me to help her with it again. I just assume ol’ Fred is still due to get that money. But if so, there’s plenty to go around.”
    “This will, you did not sign it as a witness, did you?” Mrs. K asked, sounding a bit alarmed. “I know that would mean you could not take the money.”
    Daniel laughed. “No, no. I knew that. No, my mother and I discussed what she wanted, and then we had a lawyer actually draw up the will and he signed it as a witness, together with a couple of secretaries in his office. So that’s how I know what it said. But I’m running out of time on my break here, and I assume you wanted to see me about more than how I like my job. What was it?”
    This was going to be awkward for us, as you can imagine. Here Daniel is making known how his mother’s death, while of course heartbreaking, was perfectly natural, and it is even a financial benefit to him and his family. And now we must tell him it is maybe not so simple.
    Mrs. K cleared her throat and plunged in. “I believe your aunt Frances already may have asked you, but there seems to be some question from exactly what your mother died. So Frances would like that there should be an autopsy.” She obviously did not want to upset him with a suggestion about Vera being murdered, if it was not absolutely necessary.
    Daniel looked slightly distressed by the question and did not answer right away. But after a few seconds, he said, “As you probably know, Rose, it’s against Jewish law to perform an autopsy. So like I told Aunt Frances, I would not be able to agree to that. I’m sorry.”
    Unfortunately, we then had to give Daniel more details as to why we were asking. Mrs. K told him what Fannie had said, in a much abbreviated version, of course.
    If Daniel looked slightly distressed before, he turned very pale at hearing this new information. And who could blame him?
    It took him a minute before he recovered a bit and asked, “Did you…did you say that you…that Aunt Frances and you…think my mother was…was murdered?” He put his hand on his forehead, as if trying to understand. I can just imagine how I would have felt if someone had told me, after my mother or father had just passed away, that they might have been murdered.
Oy vey,
I probably would have fainted!
    Mrs. K glanced at me sideways, then she patted Daniel’s hand and said to him, “No, Daniel, not exactly. All we are saying is that your mother may have said something to your aunt that makes us all wonder whether such an awful thing is just possible. I personally believe your mother died of perfectly natural causes, and Ida here does also. Of course, what we believe or don’t believe is not important, as we are not your family; but your aunt seems to be…to be uncertain, and she very much wants to have this question put to rest.”
    “And that’s why she wants an autopsy? To show that my mother was murdered?” Daniel’s voice was rising; clearly he did not like this idea.
    “No, Daniel dear, not to show she was murdered, but to show she was not. Just, as I say, to put the matter to rest, especially in her mind. So she should not forever wonder about it. I mean, on the off chance there was some…some foul play, as they say, would you not want to know that, and to find the person responsible?”
    Daniel shook his head slowly. “No. I mean yes, I would want to find the person responsible,
if
such a thing had happened; but no, I don’t