SHAKESPEARE’ SECRET by Elise Broach Page B

breath. “So, anyway, I thought if I came early enough, then maybe nobody else would have asked you yet. And I was saying to Danny, you must not get many cases in such a small town, but he was just showing me how many files you have. It must be a lot of work.”
    Mr. Cordova leaned back in his chair and clasped his hands behind his head. He didn’t say anything, just looked at her. The room was so quiet Hero could hear her heart thumping. She felt a pang of gratitude for her own vague, distracted father, her busy cheerful mother.
    Finally, Mr. Cordova said, “Where do you live?”
    Hero hesitated. ’OnOakdale.”
    â€œWhereabouts on Oakdale?”
    Danny answered for her. “You know what’s funny, Dad? They bought the Murphy house.”
    â€œIs that right?” Mr. Cordova leaned forward, still looking at Hero. ’Well, Danny’s probably told you about the Murphys.”
    â€œYes,” Hero said. “I mean, a little. I was thinking that for my report maybe I could interview you about that case. It must have been one of your more interesting ones.”
    Mr. Cordova shook his head. “No, not really. Pretty routine.”
    Hero glanced at Danny. “Routine?” she asked, puzzled. “But you never solved it, right?”
    Mr. Cordova glanced at the file cabinet, and then his mouth relaxed, as if he were about to smile. “Oh, sure, we solved it. We just couldn’t prove it. Not without the diamond. But I’ve been on this job twenty years, and I knew the minute I walked in that house, there hadn’t been a break-in. No way was that a break-in.”
    Hero hesitated. “So you think they faked it? Do you think it’s still there? The diamond?”
    â€œI used to.” Mr. Cordova seemed lost in thought. “But we went over the house and the yard about four different times, everything short of tearing up the floors and pulling down the ceilings. I think Murphy’s got it with him, probably.”
    â€œYou do?” Danny seemed as surprised by this as Hero was.
    â€œYes, I do.” Mr. Cordova looked at them both in a way that suggested the conversation was coming to an end.
    â€œIt’s not my case anymore,” he added pensively, “but I’ll tell you this much: There’s nothing Murphy can do with that diamond. He can’t sell it. He can’t give it to anybody connected to him. He can’t keep it anywhere the police might find it. If that diamond turns up on either of the principals, they’re going to jail. Simple as that.”
    Hero looked at him in confusion. “What do you mean, the principal? What does she have to do with it?”
    â€œThe principals. The suspects.”
    â€œI thought Mr. Murphy was your only suspect, Dad,” Danny interjected.
    Mr. Cordova paused. Hero thought he looked reluctant, like he’d said more than he intended. “It’s not my case anymore,” he repeated. “Murphy’s left town.”
    â€œBut who’s the other suspect?” Hero asked.
    Mr. Cordova drummed his fingers on the desk. “You kids better skedaddle. I’ve got work to do here.” He turned to Hero and said, not unkindly, “If you want to come down and ask me questions about my job, set something up with Cheryl, all right?”
    â€œBut, Dad,” Danny protested. “You never said there was somebody else. Who’s the other suspect?”
    Mr. Cordova stood up abruptly. He swung open the door, gesturing to Hero and Danny. “Go on,Danny,” he said. “We’ll talk about it later. I’ve got a meeting at four o’clock.”
    His son’s crestfallen expression seemed to amuse him. He clapped his hand on Danny’s shoulder as he pushed him through the door. “You know this already, Dan. You know her. It’s Murphy’s ex-wife.”
    Danny and Hero both looked at him blankly.
    â€œMr. Murphy has an ex-wife?”