Authors: Jessica Beck
“Do you taste
the tomatoes every week, too?” I asked him with a grin. My husband loved
ketchup, but hated tomatoes, so I knew that it really wasn’t a fair question.
“I take a
bite, but then I spit it out every time,” he said.
“Then I’ll
forgive you your bacon.”
Once Greg was
back in the kitchen and I had the diner’s front door locked, I poured two cups
of coffee. Sliding one in front of the sheriff at the bar where he’d taken a
seat, I grabbed another that was close by and took a sip of my own cup. “You
can’t pay for this, since I was getting ready to throw it out anyway. I’d
better warn you, though. It’s been sitting for a while, so it might be a bit
strong.”
“No need to
apologize. That’s the way I like it. Sorry I didn’t get back to you earlier. I
had something that I had to take care of.”
“Another
homicide?” I asked.
“No, nothing
nearly that dramatic, but I couldn’t afford to ignore it. Why did you call me,
anyway?”
“Unless I’m
wrong, which I don’t think I am, I can eliminate at least one suspect for you,
and maybe even two.”
“I have to
tell you, you’ve got my attention,” he said as he pushed his cup away. “Let’s
hear it.”
“Today I
overheard Cal Davies at The Harbor Inn extorting money from Jessie Blackstone.”
“And that’s
supposed to prove them both innocent of murder? I don’t get it.”
“Give me a
chance to explain first,” I said. “Cal extorted money from Jessie because he
witnessed a fight that she had with Gordon that incriminated her. When she
refused to give him any more money, he changed strategies and told her that if
she didn’t pay him more, he’d keep her alibi to himself, and she could rot in
jail for all that he cared.”
“How would
Cal know what Jessie was up to at the time of the murder?” the sheriff asked me
as he pulled the cup back, and then clearly had second thoughts about taking
another sip. Well, I’d warned him. It was strong enough to get up and walk
away.
“Evidently
Cal was up to something in the corridor near her room during the entire window
of time that Gordon was murdered. She was inside all afternoon, and he swears
that he can testify to it. That lets her off the hook, and him too, if he’s on
your list.”
“He’s not,
although Cal has certainly crossed the line enough in the past to make someone
else angry enough to kill him. I know that Cal isn’t squeaky clean by any
means, but he’s gone too far this time.”
“What are you
going to do to him?” I asked.
“Me
personally? Nothing. I’ll go out and talk to him, and Jessie as well, to
confirm their stories. Once I’m satisfied that he really can provide her with
an alibi for the murder, I’ll casually mention to the owner what Cal has been
up to.”
“Will he get
fired?” I asked. I hated the thought that I was going to be an instrument in
getting the man dismissed from his job, but I didn’t see any way that it could
be helped.
“It wouldn’t
surprise me. At the very least, I imagine that he’ll get transferred to a post
far less prestigious than the one that he has now. Don’t worry about Cal. I
have a hunch that he’ll land on his feet, no matter what happens to him. He’s
the kind of guy that could fall into a barrel of slop and pull out a diamond
ring.”
“Do you
believe him when he claims to alibi Jessie?”
“This time I
do, because I understand his strategy. In order to give Jessie a real alibi, he
has to admit what he was up to, and I’ve got a hunch that it’s nothing he wants
known. That’s why he tried to use the fight first. He could do that without any
repercussions for himself.”
“That’s something,
then,” I said. “Have you been able to narrow the time of death any further?”
He nodded.
“We can say with near certainty that Gordon Murphy was killed between two and
three in the afternoon.”
“Is the
coroner that good in pinpointing times of death these days?” I asked.
“We used his
preliminary estimate, and then we were able to narrow the timeline by finding
witnesses who passed directly by the scene of the crime before the murder.
Gordon was found a minute before three, and we have the last known empty
sighting of the spot where he was killed a little after two. That should help
matters, and I’m hoping that some of our suspects will be able to refine their
whereabouts a little clearer now. So far, we’ve gotten mostly lousy alibis.”
“How about
your list of suspects? Would you care to compare notes with Moose and me?” I
asked him with a grin.
Sheriff Croft
laughed. “Tell you what I am willing to do. Why don’t you tell me who made your
list, and I’ll add anything that’s relevant whenever I can.”
“I couldn’t
call Moose at home to invite him to join us, could I?” I asked. I hated the
idea of doing too much without my grandfather, and I knew that he wouldn’t
appreciate me sharing the details of our investigation with the sheriff without
him.
Sheriff Croft
glanced at his watch, and then he frowned. “I’m sorry, I’m honestly not trying
to exclude him, but I don’t have that kind of time. I’m in the middle of an
active murder investigation, remember?”
“I’m not
about to forget it,” I said. “Don’t worry about it. I’ll catch him up later.
Where should I start?”
“A list of
names might be nice,” he said.
“Okay, here
goes.” As I started to share our list with him, I decided to add motives as
well to the mix. It was time to be open and honest about the folks we were
looking at as potential murderers, and why they’d made it onto our radar.
“First,
there’s Ellen, and her connections to Gordon. I believe in my heart that Ellen
herself didn’t do it, but I admit that I’m prejudiced in her favor. Still, the
man came to town threatening to take her children away, so that’s most likely
motive enough for anyone.”
“Actually,
I’m kind of surprised to hear you say that, Victoria,” the sheriff said.
I tried not
to get upset as I explained, “Moose and I are doing our best to look at this
case rationally, so we’re leaving ourselves open to every possibility. My
loyalty to Ellen has nothing to do with her name being on our list. I will
never believe that she killed Gordon, no matter how strong her motivation might
have been, not unless she tells me herself, and even then, I’m not sure.”
He laughed.
“I would expect nothing less from you. I think it’s a compliment to your
progress as an investigator that you’ve got her on your list at all.”
“Is she on
yours too?” I asked softly.
The sheriff
nodded slightly, but it was clear that it gave him no joy to do so. “Motivation
can be a strong factor in murder. Who else made your list?”
“Let’s see.
Based on their proximity to Ellen, we’ve got Robert and Opal Hightower, and
Wayne, her boyfriend. Their motives are all the same. They love Ellen, and
every single one of them wants to protect her.”
“Do you
really believe that either one of her parents might have actually done it?” the
sheriff asked, his coffee now completely forgotten.
“There’s
something funny about those two. On two separate occasions in the last few
days, each one has implied that the other
might
have done it.”
“You’ve got
to love that kind of loyalty and devotion,” the sheriff said. “That reminds me.
One of my officers found Opal’s jacket. There was no blood, just paint that
matched the sample from one of the benches we took. I’m afraid that’s a dead
end.”
“No worries.
It’s not the first one I’ve faced in this investigation,” I said.
“Who else is
on your list of suspects?” the sheriff asked. “Or is that it?”
“No, we have
two more names: Sam Jackson and Mitchell Cobb. Evidently there was some really
bad blood between Gordon and Sam Jackson. Jackson keeps claiming that
everything was settled, and that all debts were repaid, but I’m not sure that I
believe him.”
“I’ve got my
eye on him as well,” the sheriff said. “But what’s this about Mitchell Cobb?
That’s news to me.”
“It appears
that Mitchell seems to have fixated on Ellen since she threw him over in high
school for Gordon.”
The sheriff
whistled softly. “That’s a long time to keep a flame alive
and
hold a grudge.”
“Hey, in
matters of the heart, there’s not always an expiration date.”
“Isn’t that
the truth? I’ve seen some crazy things done in the past in the name of love.”
“I bet you
have. So, I’ve laid my cards all out on the table. Now, what can you tell me?”
“Do you mean
that I haven’t already shared enough?” he asked with a soft smile.
“That’s
exactly what I mean,” I said. “Come on, we’re on the same side here, and you
know it.”
“Victoria,
that’s the
only
reason that I put up
with your meddling,” he said. I might have reproached him for the dig, but I
decided at the last second that might not be in my best interest. The sheriff
smiled outright when he saw that I wasn’t going to react. “Okay, now I’m
officially impressed.”
“Because I
kept my temper in check?” I asked.
“You’ve got
to admit that you’ve given me grief for a lot less in the past,” he said.
“What can I
say? It’s the new me.”
“I know enough
not to comment on that one way or the other. Let’s see. What do I know that you
don’t?” He tapped the table for a long fifteen seconds before he said, “Believe
it or not, our lists are more similar than you might think. I can’t share much,
but let me say this. There’s not a soul on your list that doesn’t have the
potential to be the killer that we’re both looking for.”
“Is there
anyone on your list that didn’t make ours?” I asked. The sheriff’s praise was
all well and good, but I needed more than that if Moose and I were going to
have any success solving this case.
“There’s one
woman you missed,” he said. “I can’t tell you her name, or anything else about
her, but after we narrowed down the time of death, I have a hunch that she’s
going to be alibied nicely.”
“Is she
local?” I asked. “Come on. At least give me that.”
“Sorry, but
not even that,” the sheriff said as he stood. “Tell you what. If she doesn’t
have an alibi from two to three, you and I will talk again.”
“I can live
with that,” I said, though it was less than ideal. Still, if Gordon was seeing
another woman on the side, she’d somehow managed to slip under
our
radar completely. I hadn’t heard
anything about Gordon cheating on Jessie before their nuptials, so I really
didn’t have any reason to be upset that the sheriff was holding out on me.
As he headed
for the door, I unlocked it, and Sheriff Croft added, “You and Moose be careful
out there, Victoria. I don’t have to remind you that there’s a killer somewhere
among us that’s still on the loose.”
“No, I’m well
aware of it, and so is my partner in crime.”
“I’ll be in
touch,” he said.
I held the
door open for a second. “You know where to find me most of the time,” I said.
“And when I
don’t, that’s telling, too, isn’t it? Good night.”
“Good night,
Sheriff.”
After I
locked the door back, I went into the kitchen.
“How goes the
great cobbler experiment?” I asked Greg as he frowned at his mixing bowl.
“This batter
is completely unacceptable,” he said as he emptied the mess into the trashcan.
“Don’t worry, I’ll get it sooner or later.”
I kissed his
cheek. “I know you will. What do you say we clean up, balance the register, and
go home? I could use a good long soak in the tub before bed tonight.”
“Tell you
what. I’ll make us some dinner while you do, and after we eat, you can do the
dishes and I’ll take a hot shower.”
“A bath is
better,” I said, sparking an ongoing debate we’d been having since we were
first married. My husband, reasonable in most things, hated baths, and loved
showers instead. Evidently he’d despised being forced into the tub as a young
boy, and the animosity had never ceased.
“Says you,”
Greg said as he kissed the tip of my nose. “How much do you want to bet that I
finish cleaning up before you do?”
“That’s not
fair, and you know it,” I said. “I love my grandmother with all of my heart,
but balancing a register after she’s worked a day can be a real challenge.”
“Why else do
you think I’d offer to bet?” Greg asked.
The joke
ended being on him, though.
The register
totals were so far out of balance that he ended up cleaning the dining room
after he finished the kitchen. It was the only way he could be sure that I’d be
free to go home with him. At least he was a good sport about the whole thing.
Unfortunately,
our dinner together at home was about to be delayed by another development that
we didn’t know about yet.
Chapter 14
Someone was
sitting on our front porch when we arrived home, and I grabbed Greg’s arm
before he pulled into our driveway. “Somebody’s sitting there in the dark waiting
for us,” I said.
“Should I
call the police?” Greg asked as he reached for his cellphone.
“I’m not
sure. I’d really like to see who it is first.”
My husband
shook his head. “Victoria, this isn’t the time to be taking any chances.
There’s a murderer loose in town, and I don’t want us to be the next victims.”
“Back up
first and shine your headlights onto the porch,” I said. “Hang on. There’s no
need to do that after all. Whoever was just sitting there moved.” As the
motion-detecting light kicked on, I took a deep breath. “There’s no need to
call the police, Greg. It’s just Ellen.”
“What’s she
doing here?” my husband asked me.
“I don’t
know. Why don’t you go ahead and pull in? Once you park the car, we can ask her
ourselves.”