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

  “What do you mean, there’s been a murder?”

  She finally caught her breath. “Just that. Jake went over to have breakfast at the Main Street Café because he didn’t want to wait for me to cook up our breakfasts and I told him I wasn’t cooking breakfast twice so he left (a pause to inhale) and when he came back, that’s what he told me.”

  “So, who? Who was murdered?”

  “I don’t know. Jake said it was a stranger.”

  “Flori, we don’t have any strangers in town, do we? Did some move in while I was gone? Or, is it one of the renters? Maybe someone renting a cabin on the lake?”

  Flori walked over and plunked down in my wicker chair. She wiped the perspiration off her forehead and tried running her fingers through her unruly hair. She sighed.

  “I have no idea. I told you all that I know.”

  “Where’s the body?”

  Flori gave me a look of dismay. “Who cares where the body is, Mabel? Someone visiting Parson’s Cove has been murdered and that’s all you can think about?”

  “I want to know who it was. Don’t you?”

  “Mabel, if it’s a stranger, it doesn’t matter if I know her name or not. I would just like to know if the killer is still in Parson’s Cove so I know if I need to lock my doors. Or, should Jake get out his hunting rifle for protection?”

  “What did you just say?”

  “I said I want to know if I have to keep my doors locked or should Jake get out his hunting rifle for protection. Is that the part that shocks you, Mabel? The gun part? You know I don’t believe in violence of any kind but this is something entirely different.”

  “No, I thought you said, ‘it doesn’t matter if I know her name or not.’”

  She nodded. “That’s what I said.”

  “You mean a woman was murdered?”

  “Yes, didn’t I just say that?”

  “No, you said it was a stranger.”

  “Okay, so it was a woman stranger. What difference does it make?”

  “I don’t know but somehow it does.”

  Flori’s eyes bulged. She gasped, clutched her chest again, and jumped up. “Oh, Mabel, I’m so sorry. Here you’ve been waiting for breakfast and I came empty-handed. You must be starving. I’ll run home and make it right away.” She hurried to the door, her housecoat floating behind.

  “Don’t rush,” I called out. “You have time to get showered and dressed and put your make-up on. I’ll give you a whole hour.” I smiled at her. “I was getting used to having late lazy breakfasts by the pool anyway. I’ll just pretend I’m back in Las Vegas, that’s all.”

  She came back, an obvious look of relief on her face, hugged me and left. As soon as I knew she would be out of sight, I went out the same door, locked it and walked in the opposite direction. I knew where the body would be.

  I edged along the wall of our small brick county courthouse and peeked around the corner. The parking lot for the Parson’s Cove hospital was directly across the street. If I wanted to get into the county morgue, I’d have to somehow get across that wide parking lot and enter the back door of the hospital. I certainly didn’t want Reg Smee or either of his deputies to see me. He’d not only send me home, he’d make sure I never found out anything about the murder. The patrol car with its cherry red light turning, sat at the front entrance. That meant he’d either forgotten to shut it off or he wanted to let everyone know that he was working the case. Hermann Lawson had already returned the ambulance to its normal parking spot.

  I had to get past, not only Reg and his boys but I also had to avoid Nurse Grappley. She ran the hospital with an iron hand or perhaps a better word is fist. Even Doc Fritz makes a wide swath around her when he sees her coming down the aisle. Fritzy took over when Lorna’s husband died. Lorna Grappley, however, feels the hospital is still in the family and she’s now the proud owner. Nothing goes on in that building without her knowledge or permission. Would she give Mabel Wickles permission to go and check out a dead body in the morgue? Not in her lifetime.

  I looked up and down the street. There was definitely no hustle and bustle here. In fact, it was so quiet the only sound I could hear was a large bumblebee zinging around my head. The only person who might notice me was Charlie Thompson. He was sitting on a town bench in front of the library. It was quite a distance away but you never knew with Charlie. He’s the type of person who is blind one time and has x-ray vision the next. I guess it’s what you call selective sight. I didn’t worry about him anyway. Charlie has very few friends in town but I happen to be one of them.

  I sprinted across the street and hid behind a lilac bush. The bee followed. Now all I had to do was get across the parking lot without anyone seeing me. This wasn’t going to be easy. There were four cars altogether and they were spaced as far apart as you could get. It meant I’d have to make a mad dash for that back door and hope no one was watching. I took off running. The bee followed.

  I would have made it safely inside except the moment I reached the door, it flew open. I let out a shriek. At least, the bee knew enough to escape. Bob Crackers stood there, staring at me with wild eyes and his hand over his heart. Bob is the town’s electrician, plumber, and gravedigger.

  “Hey, Mabel” he gasped. “Boy, you gave me a start for a second.” He shook his head and laughed. “By the way, good to see you got home from your trip okay. Myrtle says you had a real good time.” He switched his toothpick to the other side of his mouth. “Guess you heard the excitin’ news here in old Parson’s Cove? Been a murder in town. Probably nothin’ to you, seein’ you just come from the big city. Don’t think Reg’s found out who the woman is yet. Probably bringin’ in some of those city cops. That’s what I figure.” He shook his head again. “What’s that now? Two murders here in the past two years? Gettin’ almost as bad as Vegas, ain’t it?” He stepped to the side. “Sorry. Here I am chattin’ away and takin’ up your time. Were you wantin’ to come in the back door?”

  “Actually, I was. Faster than walking all the way around to the front.”

  “Well, old Grappely always insists I come in the backdoor when I’m workin’ on the plumbing. Toilets plugged up agin.” He sighed a frustrating sigh and moved out of my way. “Here you go then.” He paused. “You visitin’ somebody this mornin’?”

  “You might say that.”

  He held the door open and I went in. There was no need to tell me he’d been working on the plumbing - one whiff and I knew.

  The thing that hits me smack in the face when I walk into a hospital, unless I run into Bob first, is the smell. I immediately start to breathe through my mouth and if I’m not careful, hyperventilate. The hallway leading to the morgue smelled even worse. Or, maybe it was my imagination.

  I looked to the right and the left but could see no one. Was Reg in with the body? Knowing Reg, he wouldn’t be there any longer than he had to be. The hallway was narrow, bleak, and appeared never-ending. To my right, at the end of that passage was a gray steel door. On the other side of that door was the morgue. Everything in the hallway was gray: the walls, the floor, and even the light fixtures. The most depressing color in the world.

  I tried walking on my tiptoes but still my rubber-soled runners squeaked and echoed with each step. When I came to the steel door, I stopped to listen. Silence. I held my breath and pressed the door open. No one was in the room. At least, no one who could talk and breathe. I stuck my head back out to make sure the hallway was still empty. Reg and the boys were probably on their way to the police station by now.

  I stood just inside the door and looked around. It was not a large room. The one florescent light in the middle of the ceiling, along with the white cupboards and the steel table, made the room look colorless and lifeless - like the body, covered by a white sheet, stretched out on a gurney a few feet in front of me. Cold sweat formed on my forehead and my heart pounded in my ears. One thing, I couldn’t do - I couldn’t faint and have Nurse Grappley find me. Just imagining her wrath brought oxygen
to my brain. I tiptoed over to the motionless white mound, instinctively watching for any slight movement.

  My hand trembled as I lifted the cloth from the woman’s face. I didn’t realize I’d gasped until I heard my own echo. It sounded deafening, alien. I lowered the sheet.

  This was a stranger to Parson’s Cove but not to me.

  Grace Hobbs looked exactly the same as I’d seen her, only a few days before. The only difference was the small reddish-purple bullet hole between her eyes.

  Chapter Four

  Reg held up his hand. “Mabel, I don’t have time for you this morning. Captain Maxymowich will be here any minute now. If you’re still concerned about that silly phone message, you’ll have to wait. I have a much more serious crime to solve.” Tiny beads of sweat covered his forehead and it looked as though he’d applied Flori’s rouge to his whole face. “Why aren’t you in your shop anyway?” he snipped at me.

  I’d barely gotten my body inside the door and there Reg stood, glaring at me, judging me, and looking like he was stopping traffic in the middle of a busy intersection in New York City.

  “Reg,” I said, looking him right in the eyes and putting my hands on my hips. “I think you might want to hear what I have to say.”

  He shook his head. “No, Mabel, you have absolutely nothing that I want to hear. Scully,” he said, as he turned towards the other side of the room, “show Miss Wickles the way out.” With that, he walked to his office and shut the door.

  “I know where the door is, Reg,” I yelled. “I just walked through it.” I waited a moment and then yelled louder, “I also know who the dead woman in the morgue is.”

  Slowly, ever so slowly, Reg’s office door squeaked open. He peered around the corner.

  “What did you say?” (Now I know what writers mean when they say a person’s face is as black as thunder.)

  “I said I know who the dead woman is. You know, there was a woman murdered, right here in Parson’s Cove?”

  “Of course I know a woman was murdered right here in Parson’s Cove.” He stepped up to me and placed his finger on my chest. “What I would like to know is how do you know who was murdered, right here in Parson’s Cove?”

  Scully and Jim, our always alert and conscientious deputies, moved closer. I could swear there was a smirk on Scully’s lips. Reg, on the other hand, was not smiling. His lips were curled and his breathing was not what I would consider normal. No wonder the man has high blood pressure.

  “What’s going on here, Mabel?” he growled. “If you think this is some kind of joke, you know I won’t hesitate for one moment to lock you up for mischief. You know that, don’t you? I’ve done it before and I’ll do it again.” He removed his finger from my chest, placed his hands on his hips and glowered.

  Reg can be quite intimidating when he wants to be. After all, I’m barely over five feet tall and he’s over six. He’s also hefty. For a man who should be retired, I imagine he could still throw a mean punch. With that thought in mind, I backed up against the door.

  He continued, “This woman is not from Parson’s Cove. Trust me, Miss Wickles, you do not know her. You have never seen her before in your life. Do you understand me?”

  “But that’s what I’ve been trying to tell you. Yes, I have seen her before. You won’t let me get a word in. I do know that woman. I went to the morgue and had a look.”

  I thought his eyes would pop out of his head. Scully and Jim, on the other hand, replaced their smirks with unadulterated adoration.

  “You what?” he bellowed. His face turned a brighter shade of red and a vein in his neck started to pulsate.

  “I went to the morgue and had a look.”

  “I know what you said.” He closed his eyes and ran his hand over his balding head. “All right,” he said with a sigh. “Who is this woman? And, I suppose while I’m at it, I should ask if you already know who killed her?” The last sentence he said wearing a mordant smirk on his lips.

  “Of course, I don’t know who killed her. How would I know that? I can tell you her name though - it’s Grace Hobbs. She won a trip to Las Vegas too. The same one I was on.”

  The three stood and gaped at me.

  “Now, Reg,” I said. “Do you believe that my life might be in danger too? That the message on my machine is threatening? That perhaps, there’s a madman out there, killing everyone who won that trip?” My legs felt wobbly. “Do you think I’ll be the next one to have a bullet through the brain?”

  Chapter Five

  When I opened my eyes, I was lying on the cot in the cell. Reg stood over me, looking very concerned and waving a magazine in front of my face.

  “Would you stop that, Reg?” I said. “You almost hit me with that thing.”

  Jim pushed in front of Reg with a glass of water. “Here, Mabel, take a drink.” He lifted the back of my head with one hand and put the glass to my lips.

  I grabbed the glass and struggled to sit up. “I can drink by myself, Jim. What do you want to do? Drown me?”

  Water was just what I needed. I took my time and emptied the glass. The three stood watching, not saying a word.

  “What happened?” I asked.

  All three started talking at once.

  “Shut up, you two,” Reg yelled. He turned to me. “You passed out, Mabel, but don’t worry, we called Dr. Fritz and he’ll be here any minute.”

  I stood up, feeling a bit shaky but not shaky enough to be prodded by Fritzy.

  “I’m not waiting for him,” I said. “Flori will be at the shop with breakfast. She’ll be worried sick about me. I’m fine.”

  Reg clasped his hand around my wrist. “Sorry, but you aren’t going anywhere. Sit right down there. Scully, you get hold of Flori and tell her where Mabel is.”

  “Sure thing, boss. I’ll head over to the shop right now.”

  “You don’t drive over there - you phone.”

  “But I haven’t had breakfast yet either.”

  “Never mind breakfast. We’ve got a murder to solve. I’ll tell you when you can eat.”

  By the time Doctor Fritz arrived five minutes later, I was feeling much better. All he did was feel my forehead, look into my eyes, check my pulse and blood pressure and then pronounce, “You’ll live, Mabel.” He then turned to Reg and said, “Next time, don’t call unless it’s an emergency. You know, blood and guts.” With that, he whipped out of the room and disappeared, no doubt in search of blood and guts.

  “Okay, Mabel,” Reg said. “Let’s talk about this woman now. Who is Grace Hobbs?”

  “Like I said, she was one of the women who won a trip to Las Vegas. I don’t know much about her but she always carried a big brown leather bag. She never let it out of her sight. All her ID should be in that.”

  “There was no bag or purse. We searched the whole area.”

  “Where was the body found anyway?”

  “You know I don’t have to tell you things like that but I’m sure everyone in Parson’s Cove knows by now so I guess it’s no secret. I don’t know where she was murdered but her body was dumped in the bush behind the nursing home.”

  “Parson’s Cove’s nursing home? I wonder what she would be doing there.”

  “We don’t know where she was murdered. I said that’s where we found the body. It looks like someone killed her and then tried to hide the body. Guess they thought it would take awhile before she’d be discovered. The autopsy report will tell us the time of death.” He reached into his pocket, pulled out his worn black book and flipped it open. There wasn’t much written in it but it was old. “Now, what more can you tell me about this? What was her name again? Grace?”

  “Like I said, she was on the trip with me. She was one of the prizewinners. I didn’t talk to her much. She was friends with Andrea.”

  “Who’s Andrea?”

  “Andrea Williams. Or, Andy. She told us that some people called her Andy. No one on the trip called her that though, not even Grace. They didn’t know each other before the trip but they
were both from the same city. Some place in Texas. Not a big city. Yellow Rose. That was it. They were both from Yellow Rose, Texas.”

  “You’re sure of this, Mabel? You’re sure this is the same woman that you were with in Las Vegas?”

  “Reg, not more than an hour ago, I looked at a woman with a bullet hole through her forehead. I’m not sure of much but this I’m sure of: A few days ago, Grace Hobbs was alive. You know, talking and laughing.” I paused. “Well, maybe not laughing so much the last time I saw her.”

  Reg’s eyes popped. “She wasn’t laughing? Why wasn’t she laughing?”

  “I don’t know. She was more serious and it struck me that she might be worried about something. There was sort of a rumble going around between us that she and Andrea must’ve lost money, gambling. At least, that’s what we all figured. I mean, you don’t really ask something like that, do you?”

  “Lots of money, do you think?”

  I shrugged. “I have no idea, Reg. All I know is, there wasn’t much laughter going on all the way to the airport. Of course, Betty and Ralph were miserable too. Actually, I was the only happy one and that was because I was on my way home. Now, I’m not so sure. Maybe now, I’d be safer in Las Vegas. What do you think, Reg? Do you think I’m going to be the next target?”

  “Of course not, Mabel.”

  “You don’t sound all that confident.”

  There was a worried look in my sheriff’s eyes. He sighed. “So far, there really isn’t a connection, is there?”

  “What do you mean, ‘no connection?’ I was the only winner from Parson’s Cove and some killer dumped her body in Parson’s Cove. Is there any closer connection? Besides that, are you forgetting the message I got on my answering machine?”

  He was silent for a moment. “Maybe you’d better bring that in for me. I’ll play that to Maxymowich.”

  I nodded. “I’ll have to bring my whole phone in. It’s all one piece. Flori bought it for me, you know.”

  “That’s okay.” He smiled.

  “When is the Captain getting here?”