There Was an Old Woman — Howard Engel

It all starts with a noisy toilet. Benny's janitor, Kogan, is preoccupied with the death of his sometime girlfriend, Lizzy Oldridge, who appears to have starved to death. Benny agrees to attend the inquest if Kogan will look into the plumbing.

Lizzy may have died hungry but she had plenty of money, and somehow former alderman and mayoralty candidate Thurleigh Ramsden, an unsavory character if there ever was one, has gained control of it. Ramsden escapes the inquest with his reputation untarnished, while Benny finds himself hopelessly enmeshed in the posthumous troubles of Kogan's late love. By the end of this twisting, turning tale, the body count has increased alarmingly. But has the toilet been fixed? Only Benny and his loyal readers now for sure.