Perplexity on P1/2 (Parson's Cove Mysteries) Read online

  “Of course, they do. That’s why I know we ain’t got no Mr. Murphy. We didn’t have anyone check in last night at all. This here hotel is plumb empty.”

  I hung up and went over to fill our cups with coffee.

  “That’s strange, Reg. Ralph didn’t stay the night.” I shrugged. “Oh well, I guess he figured that there was no need. He was only interested in finding Sally and when I couldn’t help him, I guess he thought there was no point in hanging around.”

  “What did he tell you, Mabel?”

  “The strangest thing. Did you know that when we got to Denver, I was the only one who was supposed to change planes? But, Ralph tells me that everyone else got off too, except him. They were all supposed to be taking the same flight to Houston but the four never got back on. Of course, we now know why Grace didn’t get back on.”

  “So, where did he go?”

  “Well, I imagine he went home.”

  “Where’s that?”

  “You know, Reg, if I knew at one time, I’ve forgotten now. I mean, we did all get together when we first got to Vegas and each of us had to tell something about ourselves.

  Offhand, I can’t remember where his home was. I should’ve asked him when he was here. I thought I’d be seeing him today anyway.”

  “Well, it’s probably not important.” He took his little black notepad out of his breast pocket and licked the end of his pencil. “Okay, so we know that four of them got off at Denver but only three got back on.” He started scribbling. When he’d finished, he looked

  up. “I’d say that means Andrea Williams aka Grace Hobbs was murdered during that time, right?”

  I nodded. “The only thing is, Reg, I’m sure Hatcher didn’t know about Andrea aka Grace. When we were in that house on P ½, I swear he was totally shocked to find out she was dead. So, that leaves Sally and Andrea.”

  “You think Sally killed Andrea or Andrea killed Andrea?”

  “You know what?” I said, “Let’s call the deceased Andrea, Grace. That’s how I knew her anyway. It’s hard to imagine that Sally would kill Andrea, I mean, Grace, but there is my phone call. Maybe she needed help because she’d killed Grace and didn’t know what to do.”

  “Why would Sally kill Grace? She would need a motive.”

  I shook my head. “I can’t see any reason at all. Besides, where would she get a gun? Unless, they got in a fight and Grace’s gun went off. I mean, I’m sure since Grace was a cop, she would have a gun. Plus, she was from Texas.”

  “That doesn’t make much sense, Mabel.” He sat with the tip of his pencil in his mouth. “How much do you know about this Ralph guy?”

  “Ralph? I know he’s nuts over Sally. I would say even to the point of stalking her. Also, he’s not all that healthy. If he doesn’t look after his sugar levels, he seems to faint.”

  “Faint? You mean, like a girl?”

  I nodded. “Yes, like a girl, Reg. You know what I would do? I’d find out which flight Hatcher, Andrea and Sally took.”

  He stood up. “We’ll feel stupid if Maxymowich already knows this, Mabel, but I’m going to go ahead anyway.”

  “Who cares if he knows? This is our own private investigation. Did you tell him about my call from Sally?” I asked.

  “Are you kidding? Trying to get in to see him is like trying to get through security at the airport. You know what that’s like. Besides, they’re more interested in breaking up a gambling ring than worrying about a murder. At least, that’s my opinion.”

  Reg left and I got ready for work. Flori phoned and said she’d bring some fresh cinnamon buns over to the shop for our coffee break. I never argue with that.

  It was a cold miserable day with on and off rain so there were very few customers. The weather governs people’s lives in Parson’s Cove. They smile when the sun shines and tend to spend money but they growl and hibernate when it doesn’t.

  It was past four in the afternoon when Reg finally walked into the store. I’d almost given up hope but he looked like he’d gotten a new lease on life. At least, the furrow between his eyebrows wasn’t quite as deep.

  “Mabel,” he said, after he’d looked around to make sure we were alone. “I found something very interesting out.” He brought out his little black notebook. “Ralph Murphy never stayed on that plane either. He was lying. The only ones who boarded for Houston were Hatcher, Andrea Williams, and Sally Goodrich and they were not on the flight they were supposed to be on either. ”

  “Really? How long were they in Denver then?”

  “Long enough for one of them to kill Grace but not long enough to dump the body in Parson’s Cove and get back in time.”

  “Unless, of course, they had someone do it for them. Don’t forget, Reg, we’re dealing with an organized crime group. I imagine they have ‘friends’ all over the country.”

  “You’re right and that would definitely remove whoever did it, as a suspect.”

  “Okay, so if Hatcher didn’t kill her, he would be really worried, wouldn’t he? When he was talking to that Mexican in Cecile’s house, he must’ve been almost out of his mind, wondering where the heck she was. After all, she’d disappeared with the money. Do you think they took a later flight because they couldn’t find Grace?”

  “That would depend if they were all together. I mean, Mabel, let’s face it, Hatcher could’ve been off by himself and the two women could’ve been together. Maybe they decided they wanted to tour around Denver so decided to take another flight.”

  “Tour Denver? After being in Las Vegas? I don’t think so. No, if Hatcher didn’t kill Grace that means, it had to be either Sally or Andrea.”

  “I thought you said it couldn’t be Sally because she wouldn’t have a motive.”

  “So, that leaves Andrea. However, she’s the one who made the phone call to Grace at Cecile’s house when I was there. Grace obviously gave her that phone number so must have wanted to keep in touch. Unless, it was for the other Grace…” I shook my head. My brain felt full of cobwebs. “This is just my gut feeling, Reg, but I’d swear that when she was standing with the gun pointed at me, she looked shocked to hear that Grace was dead. I don’t know but I’m beginning to think perhaps, I can’t rely on my intuition every time.”

  “Mabel, I never rely on your intuition.”

  “Thanks, Reg.”

  “Do you think Ralph knew about this money?”

  I shook my head. “I can’t see it. But, maybe he found out somehow. He was never around Andrea or Grace much. I don’t know, Reg, he’s such a klutz. You know what I mean? I would think the only reason he wouldn’t get on the plane would be if he thought Sally wasn’t getting on. That man has only one thing on his mind.”

  “What if he found out about the money and thought if he stole it, this Sally would be more interested?”

  “I suppose that could solve the lost money but it wouldn’t explain the murder. I think if Ralph saw blood, he’d probably faint.”

  “Okay, I guess our next move is to talk to this character and find out why he lied to you.”

  I nodded. “And, why he didn’t stay in Parson’s Cove and come back to see me like he said he would. He’s turning out to be quite the liar, isn’t he?”

  “I have a feeling he knows a lot more than he let on to you, Mabel. Any idea how I can track him down?”

  “I know he has a son going to college. He might know where his dad is. Seems to me the college wasn’t all that far from here either if I remember correctly. Let me think…” I closed my eyes and tried to dredge it back up. “Seems to me it started with an S. Sanford? Stanford? Something like that.”

  “The only college starting with an S that’s not too far from here is Stelling College and that’s about a five hour drive away.”

  “That could be it. I wish my memory were better. You could phone and check though. I don’t know his son’s first name but how many Murphy’s would there be there?”

  Reg put his notepad back into his pocket, slapped his cap back on
and said, “I’ll get back to you. While I’m doing that, Mabel, why don’t you sit down and write up a little profile on each person on that trip?”

  “Why?”

  “Do I have to say, because I said so?”

  “Gottcha. I’m going to close up now so you can reach me at home.”

  I locked the front door and walked home in the rain. During the last windy rainstorm we’d had, my umbrella decided to turn itself inside out, so I wrapped my old windbreaker around me and let the rain fall where it may. Two delinquent cats were sitting on my back step when I rounded the corner. They resembled two large smelly wet rats and their moods were as foul as the weather.

  “All right,” I said. “You don’t have to give me that look of disgust. I walked home in the rain and I’m wet too.” I opened the door a crack and they burst through. Neither one talked to me for the whole evening. Of course, when you have seven, it’s almost a blessing when a couple of them remain mute.

  Chapter Thirty Four

  “What’s that awful smell in here?” Flori asked. She’d phoned to see if she could come over for the evening. Jake was entertaining some of his drinking buddies and she grew tired of reprimanding them every time they said a filthy word.

  “Why didn’t you get Jake to speak to them?” I asked.

  “Hummph,” she said. “He’s worse than the rest.” She put her nose in the air and sniffed. “What stinks, Mabel?”

  “It’s those two,” I said, pointing to the two pouty cats, hiding under my mother’s china cabinet. “They didn’t come in this morning when I left for work so I left them out all day.”

  I’m sure Flori didn’t approve of my disciplinary action but she didn’t say anything. We have a rule: I don’t complain about how she trains her children and she doesn’t find fault with how I train my cats.

  “You want a glass of wine, Flori?”

  “If you still have some of Sadie’s chokecherry.”

  “Are you kidding? I have enough to last until next winter when I hope she’ll replenish my supply.” I went into the pantry and brought out a bottle. I almost enjoy the containers that Sadie uses as much as the wine. This one was an old barbeque sauce bottle. The label read Ye Olde Hotsauce. That was such an accurate description of the contents.

  Flori and I sat and drank our first glass without too much conversation. Definitely, a drink meant for savoring.

  “So,” Flori said, “how’s the investigation going? Did Reg get back to you or was he just trying to appease you?”

  “No, he got back to me. You won’t believe this but good old Ralph was lying to us. He never got back on that plane. And, you know what else Reg found out? The others didn’t get on when they were supposed to either. Can you believe that?”

  “I’ll believe anything. Especially, after I have another glass of wine.”

  “You’re supposed to sip wine. Not guzzle.” I reached over and filled her glass.

  “Thank you, Mabel. Okay, what were you saying about the plane?”

  “None of them got on the plane when they were supposed to and Ralph didn’t get on at all. What do you make of that?”

  She took a mouthful, swished it around and swallowed. If she had any idea how it looked, she would never do it again.

  “I’d say that means that any one of them could’ve killed that nice police lady cop, Grace. Or, what was her other name? Andrea?”

  “Don’t ask for any more wine, Flori. You’re starting to get tipsy.”

  “I am not.” She cleared her throat. “Isn’t that what it means? Any of them could have killed her?”

  I nodded. “I guess so. But why? There has to be a motive.”

  “Of course, and even in my drunken state, I know what the motive was. It was money. Or, love. People kill for either love or money. There are no other reasons.”

  “Or self defense.”

  “Well, yes, but that’s not the case here.”

  “How do you know?”

  “Because Grace was a cop. She wouldn’t try to murder someone, would she? So, there would be no reason for someone to be defending herself against her.”

  “I guess you’re right. Why did you say ‘herself?’”

  “What do you mean? Herself?”

  “Why do you think a woman killed her?”

  Flori took another mouthful, swished, swallowed, and thought.

  “I guess because I can’t see a man wanting to kill a woman. It just doesn’t seem right.”

  “It doesn’t seem right for anyone to kill anyone.”

  “Oh well, that goes without saying, but you know what I mean. I think it was another woman.”

  “You think Andrea could’ve killed her?”

  “Without blinking an eye.”

  I refilled my glass. Somehow, I could see Andrea doing it without blinking an eye too.

  “Did you tell Reg about the phone call? That you know who it was now?”

  “Yes, I told him. There’s another mystery. Where did Sally disappear to after she came to Parson’s Cove?”

  “You know, Mabel, I was thinking. Who says she came to Parson’s Cove? People do make long distant phone calls.”

  I sat and stared at her. Now, why hadn’t I thought of that? Of course, she could have phoned from anywhere. She could have phoned from Yellow Rose for all I knew.

  “Flori, that’s brilliant. You should stay perpetually wasted.”

  “Oh, for Pete’s sake, I’m not wasted,” she roared and fell back into the chair, laughing. Her wine spilled all down the front of her blouse.

  I went into the kitchen for a wet cloth to dab the wine stain, and to grab the box of tissues for her nose and eyes.

  When things had calmed down a bit, I said, “There has to be a way to check that out, isn’t there? The telephone company would know where your calls came from.”

  “Of course, they do, Mabel.”

  I poured the last of the wine into our glasses. Finally, we would be able to solve part of the mystery. Still, not the murder but, at least, the case of the missing person. This was information I would not share with Ralph. I was very upset with Mr. Murphy.

  Mabel’s Easy Raisin–Bran Muffins

  2/3 cup brown sugar

  1 cup whole wheat flour (or half whole wheat and half white)

  1 cup natural bran

  1 cup sour milk

  1 tsp. soda

  1 egg, beaten

  ½ cup oil or soft shortening

  ½ cup raisins

  Combine sugar, oil, egg, and milk. Sift dry ingredients together. Combine the two mixtures; add raisins. Bake 15 to 20 minutes at 400*F. Recipe can be doubled or tripled.

  Chapter Thirty Five

  I was barely out of my housecoat when Reg banged on my door the next morning. The cats raced to the back entrance with their tails standing straight up and squawking as if I’d been keeping them in servitude for years.

  “You cats are worse than a pack of dogs,” I said, as they clamored to reach their escape route before I did. The door opened three inches and they were gone.

  “What’s wrong with those felines of yours?” Reg asked as he stood on the step and watched them disappear into hedges and under fences.

  “This,” I said, “is what happens when we have one day of rain. I don’t even want to think what they’d do if it rained for two weeks.”

  “They’d probably murder you.” He walked into the kitchen, picked up a clean cup out of my dish rack and poured himself a cup of coffee. After sniffing it and apparently, approving of it, he opened the fridge, took out the carton of milk and measured just the right amount into his coffee. He then reached into the cupboard, removed my sugar bowl, carefully filled the sugar spoon three times and proceeded to stir.

  “Thanks for getting my sugar spoon all wet,” I said.

  “Speaking of murder,” he said, as if he hadn’t heard me at all, “I have some more news to share.”

  “Aw,” said I. “I also have some news to share.”

  Reg
sat down at the table, took a big swig of coffee, swallowed and said, “Really? What could you have dug up overnight?”

  “It was something Flori said. You know Sally’s phone call? How we took it for granted that she was here in Parson’s Cove? Well, she might not have been. It could easily have been a long distance call. I’m going to check with the phone company as soon as its office opens and then we’ll know where Sally is. So, what’s your news Reg?”

  “I found Ralph’s son.”

  “No way.”

  “Yep. You were right about the college. He’s at Stelling College.”

  “So what did you find out? Does he know where his dad is?”

  Reg stopped and took a drink.

  “You don’t have to stop to drink, Reg. Tell me what he said.”

  “Yes, I do have to stop. It’s the perfect temperature right now.”

  He took another swallow just to irritate me.

  “He gave me his dad’s cell number and his home address. Other than that, Daniel has no idea where he might be. He said his dad has contacted him only once since he got back from the trip. From the sounds of it, I’d say he’s not too close to his pa.”

  “So? What did Ralph have to say?”

  “I’ve called several times but he’s got his phone turned off.”

  “What about Captain Maxymowich? Did he already talk to his son?”

  “Nope. I asked and nobody talked to him. He didn’t know anything about the murder at all. He said he took it for granted that his dad was phoning from home but he couldn’t say for sure.”

  “I guess he could be home then, couldn’t he?”

  Reg nodded. “I’ll keep trying his cell. The last time I phoned, I left a message. Gave my number and your number and asked him to call.”

  “Did you say why you wanted to talk to him? You don’t want to scare him off, Reg.”

  “I know that, Mabel. I said that you were worried because you didn’t know where he was. That you were really nervous after the murder and wanted to know if he was okay.”