Naturally, I could not resist asking why. I was not entirely sure what sort of answer I expected; it definitely was not the one I got.
‘Because there was no murder weapon at the scene of the crime.’
Again she smiled at my confusion. Her smile seemed to me to be a rather arrogant and unlikeable side of her nature, but I was too interested in what she had to say to give it any further thought.
‘I have to admit that the conclusion is somewhat speculative, given there are so many unknown factors, but it is very odd. If you had found a murder weapon near the body, the case would probably have been interpreted as an obvious suicide. Leaving a weapon behind would have been a far more obvious choice than this advanced idea involving the stereo player. The fact that the murderer did not use the option of leaving the gun behind would indicate that the murder was committed earlier than planned. The only other explanation I can think of is that the murderer wanted to demonstrate that it was a murder and not a suicide. No matter what, the question as to why it happened now is currently almost inseparable from the question of why it happened. His will and the money that was missing from his account are obviously both of great interest in this connection. You should follow up both questions as soon as possible after the weekend. In the meantime, I suggest that you ask the neighbours if they can provide the investigation with information regarding their finances. It will be of considerable interest simply to see who answers “yes” or “no” to this.’
I nodded, and immediately followed up with a new question.
‘Do you think that this is essentially about money?’
Patricia thoughtfully nibbled on her carrot for a minute or so before answering.
‘The money may be decisive, but I think it is a lead more than a solution, and that this is about something more important and more serious. In any case, there are already several clues that point back to the war.’
I thought to myself once again that people who claimed that money was not important for some reason always seemed to have plenty of it. But before I could decide whether to mention it or not, she pushed on to new heights.
‘In short, I do not think we are looking for someone who functions normally. I believe we are looking for a human fly.’
Despite the fact that my knowledge of zoology is perhaps better than average, I have to confess that this was an unknown species to me – and I certainly did not understand why she was talking about it now. Having wracked my brains for a minute or so, I had to swallow the bitter pill and ask what she meant. She attempted to give an apologetic smile, without much success.