Calamity @ the Carwash (Parson's Cove Mysteries) (25 page)

“All right, Prunella, but there are
still many unanswered questions. Be prepared for questioning from more cops.
We’re going to get down to the bottom of this. If someone threatened you in any
way, we can protect you. You know that, don’t you?”

I don’t know how Prunella replied
because I heard the bedsprings squeak and I quickly and quietly made my exit.
The police knew no more than what I did - at least, when it came to Prunella.

I wasn’t inside my house more than five
minutes when the phone rang. It was May.

“Mabel,” she said. “I’m sorry I didn’t
call sooner. I think there’s something you might find interesting. Do you have
a minute?”

“Of course, I do. I’m curious.”

“Well, it might not be all that
important but I found it to be odd so I did a little sneaking around. You know,
when Prunella was in here? Well, she had a visitor every day. I was surprised
but then, what do I know? You see many strange things after working in the
hospital for all these years. What struck me as odd was that this visitor
always visited Prunella when she was alone. I checked and when she had someone
in her room, he would not go in; in fact, he would disappear.”

“May, I’m all ears. Who was it?”

“It was Melanie’s brother, Steve. Now,
why would he be visiting Prunella? I’ve never known them to be friends. I don’t
think any of Melanie’s family bothers with Prunella, do they?”

“Not that I know of. You didn’t happen
to hear anything, did you?”

“Well, matter of fact, I did. I was very
discreet though, Mabel. You know I could get into trouble. Although, who would
get upset with a little old lady who couldn’t remember which floor she was on,
right?”

“Right. You’re amazing, May.”

“I don’t know if it’s important but
anyway, I heard Steve telling Prunella that she’d better keep her mouth shut.
Which is very suspicious right there, right? Then, I heard him say something
about being involved whether she liked it or not because he would make sure of it.
He mumbled something about planting something. Do you have any idea what that
means?”

“I have a fair idea. Did he say anything
about being at her place?”

“Sorry, Mabel. That’s all I heard. A
nurse came along and I had to rush back to my desk. She gave me a funny look
and asked what I was doing up there so I didn’t try going up again.”

“What did you tell her? You know, why
you were up there?”

“I told her I was passing on a phone
message which makes no sense because there’s a phone in every room but she seemed
satisfied with the answer. If I hear anything more about Prunella or the
murder, I’ll make sure to pass it on.”

“Thank you so much, May. I’m going to
give Reg a call and let him know. The pieces are falling into place.”

“You know who killed Bernie?”

I sighed. “That I don’t know and it’s
getting quite frustrating. Sometimes, it takes awhile but I have a gut feeling
that we’re getting closer.”

“Well, I’m pulling for you, Mabel. I
hope you and Reg solve the case. I’ll be glad when all those city cops are out
of town. Besides, I’m tired of Scully pulling me over every time I forget to
put on my signal lights. Amy Hunter told me Jim sits in front of her place
making sure everyone slows down for the kids. She said she appreciates that but
not when he makes all the mothers walk down to the corner to cross. What’s the
matter with those two anyway?”

I had to laugh. “I guess they have to do
something. It keeps them out of trouble.”

Ten minutes after I called and left a
message, Reg was at the door.

“What do you think, Mabel?” He sat
across from me at the kitchen table.

“For one thing, Reg, I think Steve must
be the one who hit Prunella on the head. Why else would he be visiting her
every day in the hospital? And, why would he make sure he went in when no one
else was there? May said he told Prunella to keep her mouth shut, which sounds
threatening to me. Also, he told her that she was involved whether she liked it
or not and that he’d planted something. What I’d like to know is - involved in
what and what did he plant? Was it the money and drugs in her bedroom and if he
did, why?”

“You might be on to something, Mabel. By
the way, the drugs we found in Calvin’s hubcaps were nothing but crushed pills
for diabetics. Now, why would someone hide a legitimate drug?”

I shook my head. It didn’t make any
sense at all. “Speaking of drugs, when I was at Erma’s place, she showed me the
pills that she gives to Murray. She crushes them up and puts them in his tea.
Fritzy didn’t put his name on the pill bottles so Erma could tell Murray that
they were vitamins. I guess otherwise he wouldn’t take them.”

Reg stood up. “Poor Murray. I hope he
snaps out of this soon. You know what, Mabel, I’m beginning to wonder if he
doesn’t know who killed Bernie.”

“What?”

“Well, why else would he be acting like
this? Or, what about Murray? What if he’s the one who hit Bernie on the head?
It happened right behind his house. It could’ve been an accident.”

“Are you serious? I can’t imagine Murray
killing anyone. If it was an accident, I’m sure he would’ve come forward. Don’t
you think so?”

He shook his head. “I don’t know. We
have to think of everyone, Mabel. Everyone is a suspect. You know this dead
fish smell? I think it was to cover up the smell of drugs so that if the cops
pulled them over, the dogs couldn’t smell anything. What do you think?”

I was trying not to get too excited.
“That very thought crossed my mind too. About the fish smell but not Murray.
I’m sure Murray couldn’t have killed Bernie. But, Reg, if they were selling
drugs why did the packet we took have crushed diabetic pills in it? Where were
the illegal drugs?”

“Because, now that I think of it, I took
the only loose packet. All the others were wrapped up with cellophane.”  

“So, the dogs that are trained to sniff
out cocaine wouldn’t bother with the dead fish smell but boy, my cat sure
would! And, I wonder about Biscuit. You should ask Erma if their old dog loved
to eat fish. Remember Murray used to go fishing with Bernie and the dog went
with them in the boat. I’m still thinking that maybe that’s why Biscuit met his
waterloo. Maybe he was doing the same thing as Sammy but instead of kicking
him, Calvin threw a brick. Reg, those people renting Krueger’s house must be
buying up the drugs. Remember I saw Calvin and Scooter over there. What if they
were getting back into the car and there was Biscuit, sniffing the hubcaps and
going crazy? Or, attacking Calvin trying to rip his boots off. ”

Excitement shone in Reg’s eyes. “There’s
a pile of old bricks in the empty lot beside the house.” He rubbed his hands
together. “I’ll find out about Biscuit and his love for fish but first, I’m
going to check out those bricks. Maybe I’ll drop in and visit your friends
living behind you. What did you say the guy’s name was?”

“Jeff. I think he told me his wife’s
name but I can’t remember. All I know is that she’s very blond.”

“BIond? I bet I know who she is. Is she
the woman Calvin is taking on the bus with him to the city? Sam Kinney said she
was blond. Calvin showed up at Sam’s office with her and with a three-page
resume. Said she had all these degrees in psychology and experience working in
care homes.”

“You mean he’s willing to hire some
blond stranger and pay her while he could get Flori for free?”

“Oh no, he’s not paying her. She’s
volunteering. Wanting to help out while she’s vacationing here. Told him that
this is how she always spends her summers – helping out the less fortunate.”

“So, she really has all those degrees?”

He shrugged. “Sam hadn’t checked her out
yet when I last saw him. He said all the seniors seemed to be taken with her
though so he wasn’t too concerned.”

“You know what? People in small towns
are way too trusting. What’s the matter with us anyway? We hire strangers
without a blink of the eye. Someday, someone in Parson's Cove will end up
murdered; that’s what will happen.”

Reg smiled but it was a sad smile. “We
have someone murdered, Mabel, and I’m betting it wasn’t a stranger who did the
killing.”

 For a moment, I couldn’t think of
anything to say. He was right. Why was I worrying about strangers when there
was probably a respected citizen walking around who’d hit Bernie over the head
and killed him.

“It makes me shudder to think of that.
Well, maybe we haven’t found the killer but I think we’ve discovered something
else, Reg. This has to be a drug ring. Calvin and Scooter are obviously
bringing drugs into Parson's Cove. They’re hiding them in the soles of shoes
that Scooter is claiming to repair and also behind the hubcaps in the taxi. If
the cops ever stop them doing a random search for drugs, they don’t worry
because the dogs won’t smell them.”

“So how does Bernie fit into all of
this, Mabel? It has to somehow be tied into that murder.”

“I wonder if Bernie was dealing. Melanie
said he was acting strange. Someone must’ve double crossed him.”

“Or, he double crossed someone.”

“What can I do, Reg? I can’t sit and do
nothing.”

“You’ve got the house behind you to
watch. Let’s see what kind of action is going on there.”

He walked over to the window and looked
out. “There’s a few places in your yard where you can sit and not be seen. Why
don’t you sit outside and do some reading or something?”

“All right but it seems pretty quiet
over there right now. I wonder what they do all day.”

Reg winked. “Maybe you could find out.”

That was the first time in history that
Reg suggested something like that so I certainly wasn’t going to dismiss it.
He’s usually telling me to mind my own business.

Chapter
Thirty Six

It isn’t much fun standing at your
kitchen window staring at your neighbor’s house or hiding behind a lilac bush
waiting for something to happen. Sometimes a person has to take action. I
pulled a bag of frozen apple muffins out of my freezer, popped them in the
microwave and headed for Krueger’s house. The gate hadn’t been pried open all
summer so it took a few minutes to untangle some of the vines. I’ve let them
grow so I don’t have to see my neighbor’s back yard. Our one and only real
estate company is supposed to keep the grass cut and the hedges trimmed but the
boys they send over don’t do much of a job.

I managed to yank the gate open and then
gingerly make my way to the back door. It seemed to be worse this summer than
most. Once you allow thistles to start multiplying, you’re in for trouble. As
soon as I returned home, I was going to give Shirley, at BuyRHomes, a call. If
Old Man Krueger could see how his house and yard looked now, he’d die all over
again.

Before I reached the step, Jeff opened
the door. He opened it, stepped out, and then closed it. Obviously, he was not
inviting me in for tea.

“Well, I see my neighbor has come
calling,” he said. “Sorry, I’m just heading out.”

“Oh, that’s okay. I brought some fresh
muffins over. I’m sorry I haven’t been over earlier to meet your wife. How is
she enjoying our little town? I’m sure it must be quite boring for her. Or,
does she like fishing?” I handed the bag of muffins to him.

He took the brown paper bag. “This is
very kind of you. Actually, my wife really likes it here. She’s not much for
fishing but she always finds something to do.” He smiled and turned to the
door. “Thanks again. I’m sure we’ll enjoy these.”

Before he could disappear back into the
house, I said, “I hear your wife loves doing volunteer work. Someone said she’s
going to work at the Parson's Cove Seniors’ Home. I think that’s so wonderful.
There aren’t too many nowadays who want to put themselves out for others. Don’t
you find that?” I shook my head. “I don’t know. The world is changing so much.
We had a murder in town here not long ago and now people have started locking
their doors. It isn’t the same as it used to be.” I gave him a big smile. “Tell
your wife that everyone in Parson's Cove would like to thank her for helping us
out.”

Jeff didn’t seem to know what to say so
I continued, “I feel silly saying this but I don’t even know your wife’s name.
I’m sure you mentioned it before but I’m so forgetful. What was it again?”

“Jennifer. Her name’s Jennifer. I’ll
tell her what you said, Mabel.”

“Jennifer. That’s really cute: Jeff and
Jennifer. Oh, I guess she’s gone on the bus with Calvin now, isn’t she? My
friend, Flori, and I went a week or so ago. I have to say, I’m very thankful
for Jennifer taking over. It takes a special kind of person to get along with
all those oldies. Not that they aren’t nice, mind you; I just find it very
tiring. I’m sure your wife will make out fine though. She’s young and has more
energy.”

He waved the bag. “Once again, thanks
for these, Mabel. Sorry but I have to rush away.” 

Before I could ask him where he was
going, he disappeared into the house. I stood for a few minutes on the step,
thinking he might reappear but when I heard him talking on the phone, I headed
back home. If I could’ve heard what he was saying, I might have lingered for
another minute or so.