A LETHAL JOKE

The late Norma Davenport was an eccentric who poked a bit of fun at her heirs with her unconventional last will and testament of "finders keepers." She managed to send her family members on a scavenger hunt for jewelry throughout her estate in artsy, high-end Laguna Beach. The bulk of her assets, however, was not immediately revealed, leaving the family in turmoil. Although Norma meant no harm with her joke, it provoked two murders, which baffled Lieutenant Krop, the detective in charge of the investigation. Then he happened to overhear a fragment of a conversation by two strangers and he thought there might be a very different motive in this case.