52 Steps to Murder (3 page)

“Miss Nelson, do you have any idea who else had a key to this house?’

“Well, of course my grandmother had a key and Miss Penrod had one, too. I’m sure of those two, but my grandmother told me she gave keys to other neighbors, as well. Oh, and come to think of it, Mrs. Murphy, the cleaning lady had one, as did Bobby, the grocery boy, Mr. Hornwell, her attorney, and Mr. Hartley, the mailman. But it really doesn’t matter who had a key. See, even if someone had a key, there’s no way they could have gotten into the house unless my grandmother pushed the button or went to the door and unlocked the sliding bolt.”

As Miss Nelson mentioned the names, I jotted them down in my notebook.

“Back to Miss Penrod, Miss Nelson. What did she have to say when you went over this morning?”

“Miss Penrod didn’t answer her bell, either, so I came back here and rang again, figuring that maybe my grandmother had been in the bathroom, or had fallen asleep on the sun porch and hadn’t heard the bell. When she didn’t answer the second time, I called the police and they sent out Officer Davis.”

“I assume you used your cell phone.”

“That’s right.”

“Why didn’t you use it to call your grandmother or Miss Penrod?”

“I figured if my grandmother didn’t answer the door, she wouldn’t answer the phone, either.”

“And Miss Penrod?”

“I have no idea what her number is.”

“And how long after you called did Officer Davis arrive?”

“Oh, probably ten minutes or less.”

She laughed.

“What’s so funny, Miss Nelson?”

“Well, for a minute there I thought I was going to have to call the police to report an accident.”

Officer Davis looked down and hid his eyes. I suspected Sgt. Murdock and I were about to learn more than Officer Davis had told us upstairs.

“Go on, Miss Nelson.”

“Well, I heard tires screech and looked up to see this police cruiser barreling down the street. Just when it looked like it was going to crash into the two trees at the end of the street, the officer must have returned to reality, because he applied the brakes and came to an abrupt halt.”

I could see why Officer Davis hadn’t told me everything.

“Please continue, Miss Nelson.”

“Maybe I shouldn’t have been so candid.”

“No, we want to know everything from your perspective.”

I said “we” wanted, but I knew that one of us didn’t want the other two to know what had really happened.

“Well, he backed into a drive, turned around, and pulled up in front of this house. He seemed to call in, as if to let someone know that he had gotten where they told him to go. Then, he got out and stood there, as if the climb was too much for him.”

I wanted to smile, but I couldn’t. This was definitely a different version than the one Officer Davis shared upstairs.

“I did my best to put him at ease. I told him that I was the one who called, that there were only fifty-two steps, and he could hold on to the handrail as he climbed.”

How could telling someone they had fifty-two steps to climb comfort them? At least, I had found out how many steps Lou and I had conquered.

“And then what happened, Miss Nelson?”

“Well, I told Officer Davis why I’d called, and told him that we needed to break in to see if my grandmother was okay. First, he insisted on trying my key, even though I’d already tried that. Then, he said he couldn’t do anything unless he called in first.”

This time I couldn’t suppress my grin, and Miss Nelson grinned, as well. So, she too figured Officer Davis couldn’t do anything unless he called in first.

“He seemed to take forever, but finally he returned. He insisted on ringing again before he cut a hole in the glass. Eventually, we entered through the living room window.”

“And what did you do next?”

3

Angela Nelson had become more comfortable with the questioning. She had her hands folded calmly in her lap and had crossed her legs. Angela Nelson’s legs were long, shapely, and tanned just enough that they neither resembled Addams Family white nor did they look like she had fallen asleep in a tanning bed. I wished I were ten to fifteen years younger. As a detective, I’m paid to notice things. I’m paid to notice people, too. Because I’m a man, I pay particular attention to beautiful women. The more Angela Nelson shifted in her seat or crossed her legs, the more I noticed that I was in the presence of a strikingly beautiful woman.

I even began to notice her clothes. Other than a light-weight jacket, I had no idea what I was wearing that day, but I checked out her outfit. Instead of traveling in a business suit or a casual pants outfit, Angela Nelson wore a white skirt, a knit green-and-white top, and white sandals with a thin strap between the big toe and the second one. Later, when I relayed this information to Mary, one of our police dispatchers, she replied, “A white skirt and sandals this late in the year?” As far as I was concerned, Angela Nelson could wear a bikini in December and I wouldn’t mind.

Because God gave me the handicap of being a man who has lived alone most of my adult life, I had no idea what colors a person should wear in what season. I do well to button my shirts the right way, so that both sides end at the same place at the bottom. But I did notice that the white in Angela Nelson’s clothing contrasted with her tan. The green in her top highlighted the green in her eyes. Her thick, straight, auburn-colored hair fell to her shoulders and framed her face quite nicely. She wore only a little make-up. She didn’t need it. She was quite beautiful without it. Everything about Angela Nelson, her tan, her hair, her eyes, her clothing, complemented everything else.

I noticed no tattoos on Angela Nelson’s body, but then if a woman is dressed properly only an ankle tattoo would be visible. I can remember when only sailors marked their bodies with tattoos. Angela Nelson didn’t need to make a decision that would alter her body for life. The thought of tattoos caused me to smile to myself as I thought of the young women I had witnessed at the mall who bent over and showed off their tattoos, and more. Too bad I won’t be alive sixty years from now when elderly women will sport indiscernible tattoos on their wrinkled backsides.

Miss Nelson must have been able to read my mind, because she cleared her throat. My thoughts returned to the matter at hand. I glanced at Angela Nelson once more and gained further evidence that the young woman was easy on the eyes. Then I raised my eyes to make contact with Miss Nelson’s eyes and waited to hear her answer to my question. I was thankful she remembered what I’d asked; I wasn’t sure I could have at that moment.

“I told Officer Davis that my grandmother has, uh, had a heart problem and that it would be best if he let me look for her, so that she wouldn’t become scared when confronted by a stranger. I told him I’d call him if I needed him.”

I raised my eyebrows and interrupted Angela Nelson.

 “Pardon me for breaking in, Miss Nelson, but wouldn’t your grandmother have been frightened by seeing you, as well?”

“I don’t understand, Lieutenant.”

The look in her eyes echoed her statement.

“Your grandmother didn’t admit you to the house, so wouldn’t she have been frightened if she saw anyone?”

“I never thought of that, Lieutenant. I guess that’s possible, but more than likely she would’ve been less frightened of me than a stranger.”

“Please go on, Miss Nelson. I didn’t mean to interrupt.”

Angela Nelson knew that I did mean to interrupt her, but didn’t pursue the point and continued with the details of her search.

“Sometimes my grandmother sat out on the sun porch and watched the birds fly in and out of the yard, so I headed to the back of the house to see if she was there. When I didn’t find her, I came back and told Officer Davis that I was going to look upstairs. He followed me halfway up the stairs.”

“Officer Davis didn’t accompany you?”

“There was no need. He was just on the stairs a few feet away.”

I made a note that Officer Davis didn’t tell us he didn’t accompany her.

“And how long were you gone?”

“Probably not more than a minute.”

“Thanks, Miss Nelson. Please continue.”

“Where was I? Oh, yes. I went upstairs, started with the rooms closer to the stairwell, and eventually found my grandmother in her bedroom.”

I interrupted again.

“Sorry to break in again, Miss Nelson, but when you went upstairs, why didn’t you go to her bedroom first? Wouldn’t you think that would be the most likely upstairs room to find your grandmother?”

“Not necessarily. My grandmother spent some time in her sewing room, and anyway, when you’re looking for someone, it just makes sense to start in the room closest to where you are.”

I reached into my pocket and again removed the Hershey bar.  By this time, I’d eaten almost half of the chocolate bar. Lou followed my action, pulled out his bag of M&Ms, and gulped down a few more.

“Go ahead, Miss Nelson. Pick up where you left off with your upstairs search.”

“After I saw my grandmother wasn’t in the sewing room and the bathroom door was open, I thought maybe she was asleep and that was the reason why she didn’t answer the bell, so I rushed to her bedroom. When I first saw her, I figured I was right, and I just stood there a few seconds looking at her. As I drew closer to the bed, I couldn’t hear her breathing, so I picked up her arm to check her pulse. I’m not sure, but I think that when I couldn’t feel her pulse, I screamed and Officer Davis came running up the stairs.”

Angela Nelson did her best to keep from breaking down again, and while she didn’t cry, her expression showed that she was becoming emotional once more. I paused for a moment to let her regain her composure and then continued.

“Miss Nelson, how long was it from the time you first went upstairs until you screamed and Officer Davis came running?”

“I don’t know, Lieutenant. Officer Davis could probably tell you better than I could. I assume just a few seconds, but things were pretty fuzzy for me at that point.”

I didn’t tell her that I didn’t agree with her assertion that Officer Davis could probably better tell me.

“Please go on, Miss Nelson. I know you’re anxious to get this over with.”

“Well, when Officer Davis came into the room, I explained to him what had happened. He said he needed to report it, and we headed to the stairs. As we made our way down the stairs, we heard someone running through the house and out the front door.”

“Did you get a glimpse of this person?”

“No. Officer Davis tripped over my feet trying to get around me, and we both tumbled down the remaining stairs. By the time we got up, whoever it was was gone. Officer Davis went outside. I don’t guess he saw anyone.”

I made a note of still another item that Officer Davis had failed to include.

“Do you have any idea who it was, Miss Nelson?”

“None whatsoever.”

“Do you have any idea how he or she got in?”

“The only thing I can think of is that they came in the front door after Officer Davis and I went upstairs.”

“Don’t you think it’s possible that this person was already in the house?”

“I guess they could’ve been if someone had let them in or if they had had a key, but if so, they would’ve had to have rebolted the door because it was bolted when we tried it. That’s the reason Officer Davis and I had to come in through the window.”

“Isn’t there a back door, Miss Nelson?”

“Yes, but it wouldn’t matter if the back door was unlocked. There’s a twelve-foot-high wall all the way around the back yard of each of the homes on this street. It would be almost impossible for anyone to scale that wall.”

“Miss Nelson, did you by any chance see anyone else this morning?”

“Anyone else?”

“Yeah, you know, like any of the neighbors?”

“Well, I noticed Stanley Silverman looking out his window, if that’s what you mean.”

“Who’s Stanley Silverman?”

“He’s the guy across the street. He knows everything that goes on around here. I saw the creep down the street, too. He was hiding behind a tree.”

“The creep down the street?”

“Yeah, Jimmy Reynolds. He lives two doors that way,” she said as she pointed toward the dead-end part of the street. “He scares me.”

“Why’s that, Miss Nelson?” 

“He’s crazy. That’s why.”

I added these names to the others. Could it be that I had begun a suspect list? Of course, I wouldn’t need one. If my guess was right that Mrs. Nelson had been murdered, I would only have to walk across the street and talk to Mr. Silverman. Because he knew everything that went on, he could identify the murderer.

“You say you arrived here by taxi, Miss Nelson.”

“That’s right.”

“Well, why don’t I have Officer Davis give you a ride home?”

Both Angela Nelson and Officer Davis tried to keep from showing how uncomfortable they were with my suggestion, and Miss Nelson offered another possibility.

“If you don’t mind, I’d like to remain here with my grandmother for a little while. I can always call a cab when I’m ready to leave.”

“I’m sorry, Miss Nelson, but that won’t be possible. Sgt. Murdock and I have some work to do here.”

“I don’t understand, Lieutenant.”

“Anytime Sgt. Murdock and I are called out on a case, we have to file a report. Besides, we need to look around and see if we can find out how the intruder got in and when.”

“You don’t think the intruder caused my grandmother’s heart attack, do you, Lt. Dekker?” Angela Nelson asked, eager to find out what I thought of the situation.

“Probably not, but don’t worry. We’ll look things over. It’s merely routine. Now, you go with Officer Davis, and I’ll let you know as soon as we release your grandmother’s body.”

“Does that mean I can’t go ahead and make funeral arrangements?”

“Oh, feel free to make them, but we have to finish our report before we can release her body to the mortuary. Like I said, it’s merely routine. There’s nothing to worry about. We’ll probably be out of your way before the day is over. Uh, one other thing, Miss Nelson. You say that your grandmother had no other family?”