Perplexity on P1/2 (Parson's Cove Mysteries) (18 page)

     It was almost dark now and the streetlights were slowly coming on. First, we checked out Cecile’s house. Nothing had changed. There were no lights, no movement of any kind. It looked as deserted as Stella’s house, next door. No lights on in her lower suite either so I couldn’t help wondering if lover boy was gone or if his conquests still raged on. Disappointed, I asked if we could go by the Williams’ house.

     This time, the light in the little overhang above the front door was on but with all the blinds down, it looked as if no one was home. We drove slowly down the street and came back through the lane. There were two cars parked closely together by the back door.

     “Look,” I said. “Somebody might be there. Stella, can you move over into this yard so we can watch?”

     She pulled up, almost touching bumpers with one of the cars, and then whipped into reverse. I don’t know if she had her eyes open or not. I know I didn’t. At least, we were off the back lane and sandwiched between a dilapidated shed and garage. If a car drove down the lane, no one would bother to look. The old Cadillac seemed to blend in with the shed and garage quite nicely.

     We sat in silence and watched for about ten minutes.

     “I wish we would’ve brought the snacks with us,” Flori said.

     “I wish we would’ve brought the beer,” I said.

     It was almost ten before we saw the back door open. None of us said a word. A man walked out first, followed by a woman. They walked over to the car closest to the door and got in.

     “Do you know who they are?” Stella whispered.

     “Maybe,” I whispered back. “The woman might be Andrea Williams. It’s hard to tell. I’m sure I don’t know who the man is.”

     “I wonder,” Flori said. “I wonder if she knows that Grace Hobbs is dead. I mean, she would think her name was Grace Hobbs, wouldn’t she?”

     “I would think so. Unless, everything was a lie and they knew each other before. Maybe they just exchanged names?”
     “No,” Stella said. “Grace Hobbs was really Andrea Williams and Andrea Williams was really Andrea Williams. Isn’t that how it is?”

     “So, now,” I said. “One Andrea Williams is dead and one is alive. I guess in some ways that makes it less confusing.”

     “Then,” Flori said, “where is Grace Hobbs?”

     “You know what?” I said. “As soon as those two leave, let’s go and watch a movie. This is too perplexing for me.”

     “Wait,” Stella whispered. “There’s someone else comin’ out. A woman. You know who they are, Mabel?”

     It was obvious that the woman wasn’t a willing companion. The man behind her either had one of her arms shoved behind her back and he was propelling her towards the car or he had a gun in her back and that’s what was propelling her. The woman inside the car reached back and opened the back door. It swung open and the couple on the outside tumbled inside. It all happened quickly and I’m sure they didn’t notice our car.

     I shook my head. “I couldn’t make out who those two were. Somehow, the woman looks familiar. It’s just too dark out.”

     “And, you need glasses,” Flori interjected. “Why did you think the other one was Andrea?”

     “Mostly by the shape. And her hair. Oh, I don’t know. I didn’t realize that all of them seemed to be shaped the same.”

     The car’s backup lights came on and we ducked.

     The car drove away. No one stopped to check us out.

     After all, who would suspect anyone driving an old pink Cadillac, right?

Chapter Twenty Four

     Flori and I were sound asleep when the banging started. Stella had left about an hour earlier. We’d tried our hardest to watch the movie but none of us could stay awake. No matter how many chips we put in our mouths or how many jellybeans we popped, our eyes kept drifting shut. The beer definitely didn’t help. All it did was make Stella and me run to the bathroom every twenty minutes. Flori tried making coffee in our little coffeemaker but it tasted awful so we dropped that idea. Finally, when Stella woke herself up, snoring, we decided to call it quits. As soon as she shut the door, after promising to pick us up for breakfast, Flori and I crawled under the covers, clothes and all.

    When the banging started, I thought it was part of some dream so I turned over, believing it would eventually stop.

     “Mabel,” Flori yelled. She was sitting up in bed. “Wake up. Somebody’s banging on our door.”

     “No, you wake up. I’m too tired.”

     She slid off her bed, took two steps over to mine and started shaking me. The room was black. I don’t know how she even found me.

     I made a grab for her arm. “Flori, what are you doing? Stop that.”

     Another sharp bang on the door soon brought me to my senses.

     I sat up. “Flori, who’s at the door?”

    She started to whisper. “I don’t know. Should we call the front desk? Whoever it is, is waking up the whole building.”

     “Just wait. I’ll go and look through the peephole.”

     Before I could untangle myself from my bedspread, someone called out, “Mabel, Flori. Open up!”

     “Is that you, Jake?” Flori shouted.

     By that time, my eye was at the peephole.

     “No, it isn’t.” My heart was in my mouth. Or, someplace because I don’t think it was beating in its right spot.

     I took off the chain latch and undid the deadbolt.

     Before I could open it all the way, Captain Maxymowich pushed it and barged in. He reached over to the wall and flipped the switch. Two bedside lamps sprang to life and my eyelids started fluttering forty blinks per second.

     “Well, well, what do we have here?” he said. He kept coming towards us and we kept backing up until Flori’s bed got in the way. He was so close I could smell his aftershave and see the hairs inside his nose. That was much too close to be to Captain Maxymowich. Flori grabbed my hand and we stood there, nowhere to hide. “A couple of private investigators? Is that what you think you are? What do you have to say for yourself, Mabel?”

     The poor, undoubtedly harangued, night clerk was hovering in the background, his acne and freckles brighter than before. A deputy in khaki pants and shirt, with all sorts of paraphernalia drooping from his waist, stood beside him with legs spread and hands on his hips. Everyone took turns staring at each other for several seconds.

     “What do you mean, Captain Maxymowich?” I asked. “And to be fair, it seems you’re singling me out.”

     “It does, does it?”

     He turned to the clerk and said, “You can leave now.” The young man hurried away, probably heading for the nearest washroom. The Captain nodded towards the uniformed law officer. He crossed the threshold and closed the door.

     Maxymowich looked exhausted. I’m not saying this with any tenderness in my heart, only as an observation. His wrinkled suit and slouch didn’t help. He looked at me and then at Flori.

     “So?” He raised his eyebrows. “You didn’t answer my question.”

     “Isn’t a person allowed to take a vacation without half the country’s police getting involved?” I asked.

     “A vacation, is it? You came here strictly for a vacation?”

     Flori started to pant. She can’t stand it when she feels I’m not being totally honest. Which I wouldn’t be forced to do if I weren’t put on the defensive.

     “Yes, among other things.”

     “Like sitting in a back lane spying on a house?”

     “Which house?”

     “The one on P½. You probably remember being there.”

     “Oh,
that
house.”

     “We’re being very patient with you, Mabel. You tend to forget that if you interfere with the solving of a crime, I could arrest you. Or, worse yet, you could get hurt. Even killed. Are you aware of that or do you think you live in some kind of bubble and no harm could ever befall you?”

     “How could I be arrested if I’m helping?” I turned and looked at the young deputy. “That shouldn’t be a crime, should it?” He blushed and looked uncomfortable.

     “We wouldn’t want you to get hurt, ma’am,” he said.

     The Captain straightened up. “You aren’t aware of this, girls, but not long after you left, someone was almost killed in that same back yard.”

     I looked at Flori and she looked at me. We both looked at Maxymowich.

     “Killed?” we said, simultaneously.

     He nodded. “You could’ve screwed up our whole investigation.”

     “But,” I said, “how did you know we were there? Who told you?”

     “Ben Williams got hold of us and asked us to come and have you removed. Fortunately, by the time we got to the lane, you were leaving.”

     “How did he know it was us? It could’ve been any car sitting back there. And, we did duck down. He couldn’t have seen us.”

     Maxymowich sighed. “Mabel, you were sitting in an old pink Cadillac. You got out of the exact same car when you went to the house earlier in the day. How stupid do you think the police are anyway?”

     I could feel my cheeks getting hot. Flori looked ready to burst into tears.

     “Now what are you going to do with us?” I asked.

     “I’m going to ask a big favor.”

     “We’ll do anything,” Flori said, her voice quivering.

     “Within reason,” I said.

     The deputy glanced down at the floor but not before I caught a glimpse of an impish grin. I knew he wasn’t a bad sort the moment I saw his face. I mean, there has to be at least one officer of the law who isn’t narrow minded and stubborn. Perhaps, it was because he was young and hadn’t faced all the terrible situations that dear Mr. Maxymowich had. Also, he wasn’t facing retirement as Reg was. Old age can make one cynical too, I suppose. Besides, I liked his clean-cut look, his shaved head, and two rows of perfect white teeth.

     “This,” the Captain said, “is within reason. I don’t want you leaving this hotel until it’s time for you to take the shuttle to Houston to catch your plane. Got that?”

     “What about food?” Flori asked. “Can we go out for breakfast? Stella is coming to pick us up.”

     The Captain blinked several times, sighed, and rubbed his eyes. Flori, I knew, was waiting with great anticipation for that breakfast. If we had to cancel our last meal with Stella, my friend would be heartbroken.

     “I can keep an eye on them, if you like,” the deputy said. “I’m off duty at eight so I could accompany them for breakfast.” He looked at me and grinned. “I have to go for breakfast anyway, might as well go with a couple of lovely young ladies.”

     Maxymowich shrugged. The man comes up against hardened criminals every day but five minutes with two old women and he can’t seem to get it together. It was clearly frustrating for him. “Up to you, Bumstead. Just keep your guard up, that’s all I can say.”

     “Okay, girls, I’ll be back at eight-thirty. Think you can manage to stay here until then? And, out of trouble?” He winked.

     “We’ll try our darnedest,” I said. “Thanks so much, Sheriff Bumstead.”

     “Well, I’m just a deputy. You can call me Kyle, ma’am.” He made a slight bow when he said, ‘ma’am.’

     Maxymowich stopped with his hand on the doorknob and said, “I haven’t slept in two days, girls, and I get cranky. You don’t want to see me cranky.” For some reason, he seemed to keep his eyes peeled on me. “Don’t do anything to upset me, Mabel.”

     He held the door open for the deputy. Kyle gave us one last wink and they were gone. Flori and I stood for a minute or two, just looking at each other and not saying a word.

     “Mabel,” Flori said. “I don’t even want to talk about this murder thing again. I want to get into my nightie, go to sleep, and pretend none of this ever happened.” With that, she grabbed her nightgown, went into the bathroom, and the last thing I heard before I fell asleep was her electric toothbrush.

Chapter Twenty Five

     Deputy Bumstead arrived right on time. Flori had phoned Stella and explained everything and even more. She tended to exaggerate somewhat. From her perspective, it sounded like an old Western:
Gunfight on Avenue P ½
. Personally, I was wondering if it were even true. Maybe Maxymowich was just trying to scare us. Scare us into submission. I wouldn’t put it past him.

     “He wouldn’t do that and you know it,” Flori said. “The Captain is not a liar. Besides, he was right. We had no business being there.” She stared at me until I made eye contact. She does this to me. I hate it. “Wouldn’t you feel terrible if we spoiled their whole investigation? What if there had been a real killing and it was our fault? How would we be able to live with ourselves, Mabel?” Her eyes filled with tears.

     “But, that’s not what happened, so don’t get all upset. Don’t forget, we got out of there before there was any gunfight.” I bent down and tied my running shoes. “I wonder who the target was? What do you think, Flori?”

     “I don’t want to talk about it,” she said. That was that, for the time being.

     Stella was a little flustered when she found out that a police officer was escorting us to breakfast in a cruiser but it didn’t take long for her to adjust.

     “Say,” she said to Kyle as soon as we were all settled in the back seat, “Didn’t you go to school with my son, Spenser?”

     “You mean, Spenser Townley?”

     She beamed. “That’s him. He got himself a good job over in Houston but he still makes sure to come and visit him momma on a regular basis.”

     I kept my mouth shut but it was hard not to mention that he seemed to return for other reasons too and they had nothing to do with his momma.

     “Sure, I remember Spence.” He turned around and smiled. “Glad to hear he’s doin’  good. We didn’t go to school together but we did have some contact at one point. Something he probably didn’t share with his mama.” He grinned and winked. “So, where we headed? Any special place y’all were fixin’ to eat at?”

     “How about you choose, Deputy Bumstead?” I suggested.