by Marja McGraw
“Anything you can recall would help,” I said.
“Hmm. Nope. Can’t help you. All I remember is that he was average looking.”
“Was he young? Old? Tall or short?” There had to be something.
“Average. Just average. Well, maybe he was kind of tall. As far as age, well, he was an older guy. Probably in his late seventies, maybe early eighties. I do recall that he was kinda prissy, like he was afraid he’d get something on his slacks. He held the package of meat away from his body when he left. The only reason I remember him is because he only bought the one pound of ground chuck. After that I was busy and didn’t notice anything else. And before you ask, I didn’t see what kinda car he climbed into.”
He’d read my mind. “Thanks anyway.”
“Is he a regular customer?” Pete asked.
“Nah, never saw the dude before. He did pay with a hundred dollar bill though, and that bugged me because I haven’t got that kind of change to spare. Everybody’s been paying with big bills today.”
“Sounds like business is good,” I said.
“Not bad.” The big man almost smiled. “I got somethin’ the big stores don’t. Good meat. No fillers or dyes and it’s fresh. Business is picking up.”
He handed Pete his packages and we left, without much more information than we started with.
Pete set the packages in the back seat. “Okay, so we know a man bought the meat. And he was in his seventies or eighties. Well that really narrows the field down. To almost everyone we’ve been dealing with.”
“Not a lot of help,” I agreed.
While we drove back to my house, I told Pete about Brian Lewis’s notes. “So, it didn’t really give us much more to go on,” I said, in conclusion.
“Not really. Uh, I took care of an insurance case this morning. I think they’re starting to feel neglected.”
That was Pete’s way of letting me know I wasn’t taking care of business. I was concentrating on Prudy’s case and letting my other cases rest on the back burner.
I smiled. “That’s what you get paid for; to take care of things when I’m not around.”
He didn’t smile back. “We need to wrap this up. Not only are the other cases suffering, but someone wants to get rid of you and Prudy. I’m not a happy man, Sandi. I don’t want anything to happen to either one of you.
“Stan and I have been doing some research. Felicity may have been right about Nick Stanton cutting corners. There’s no proof, but… I can’t believe his business did so well. For some reason, people trusted him, even though it looks like they should’ve run for the hills.
“Although, it does appear that since Opal took over things are turning around. She may be… What was it Prudy called her? Oh yeah, a loose woman. But it does look like she’s taking care of the business.”
“Well, at least that says something for her.” I thought for a moment. “Were Nick’s business practices always shady?”
“Not really. It looks like he started out on the up and up, and then something changed. Guess he got greedy. Maybe that’s why people trusted him, because he wasn’t always bad.”
We pulled up to the house and Pete handed me the meat. “You invited me over for dinner Friday night.”
Uh oh. I’d forgotten about that. “Thanks, Pete. But I didn’t expect you to provide the meal.”
“How about if I barbeque steaks. You can put the rest of the dinner together. It’ll be our night. Just you and me.”
“That’s what I had in mind,” I said. I knew I needed to make a stat run to the grocery store to pick up a few things to go with the steaks.
Stanley stepped down off the porch to meet us. “Did you find out anything?”
“Only that any one of our suspects could have bought the hamburger. The butcher said it was an older man, mostly average looking.”
“No help there,” Stanley said. “It’s been quiet here since you left. No more threats or poisoned hamburger.”
“Well, that’s a relief,” I said, chuckling. “Pete bought some steaks and a roast in lieu of bribing the butcher with cash, so I’m going home to put them in the refrigerator. I’ll be back in a few minutes.”
I left the two men discussing what their next research step might be.
Entering the house, I saw that the red light was blinking on the answering machine. I put the meat away before pressing the Play button.
I stood and listened to the message with my blood pressure doing a tap dance. There were no words, just someone laughing. And it was definitely Ugly Voice. The sound had that same other-world quality to it.
The phone rang and I snatched it out of its cradle. “Hello!” I couldn’t have sounded angrier if I was trying.
“Uh, is this Sandi Webster?” It was a man who sounded very surprised.
I was still careful. “Yes, this is Sandi. And who is this?”
“This is Brian Lewis, and I--”
My heart stopped briefly before I realized it must be Junior.
“Oh, Mr. Lewis. I apologize for sounding so angry. I’ve been receiving some crank phone calls and I thought this was another one.”
“I see.” I could hear the relief in his voice. He was probably wondering what kind of nut his mother was staying with. “Well, I was wondering if I might speak to my mother.”
“She’s staying next door with my elderly neighbor. Let me give you that phone number. Will you be returning to town soon?” I hoped he’d come home and take Prudy away for a few days. However, since he was out of town, I didn’t want to tell him about the threats and scare him half to death.
“That’s why I’m calling. Things have become a little dicey here and it looks like I’ll be gone until Sunday.”
“Dicey?”
“I have a client who wants my blood before he’ll sign a contract. At least, it feels like that. I can’t seem to talk the man into settling for anything reasonable. But you don’t need to hear my problems. I know you have your hands full with my mother there. She’s quite a character.”
“Your mother is a delight, but you’re right, she is, uh, interesting. Regardless of that, she’s welcome to stay as long as she wants. She and my neighbor are having a great time.”
He laughed. “I’ll bet they spend a lot of time talking about the old days. Mother loves to talk to people of her own generation about what things used to be like.”
“Say, Junior, uh, Brian – ”
“That’s okay. Junior is fine. My mother still calls me Junior.”
“Thanks. Do you remember anything about when your mother was working as a private investigator? I’m really curious.”
“I’m sure you are now that she has you working on Matthew Bremmer’s murder. She and my dad had some long discussions about that, and they always made me leave the room. They didn’t want me to hear any of the gory details.
“When my father didn’t come home from the war, my mother decided to take over some of his cases. We needed the income, and he already had a pretty good client list. Although, several people wouldn’t work with her because she was a woman. But she showed them she could handle the job, and the word spread in a hurry. Don’t let her con you though. She wasn’t all that tough, but she was sneaky. Between conning people and wearing disguises, she took care of business. I remember once she wore one of my dad’s suits and spent the evening at a bar. But she came home with a black eye. Someone caught on to her.”
“Ah,” I said. “She gave me a little different version of the story.” She had mentioned being hit once, but I didn’t think she’d related it to the night she wore the suit.
“I’m not surprised. Don’t get me wrong though. She could be tough when she wanted to be. But the guy who gave her the black eye was drunk and very, very big.”
“Say, Brian, do you remember anything about when Matthew was murdered? Did you see or hear anything?”
“Funny you should ask. Neither my mother nor my father ever asked me that question. I’d mostly forgotten about it
, but there was something. I didn’t think it was important at the time, but now that Mom’s opened up the case again, I’ve been thinking about it from an adult perspective.
“You see, my parents never really told me about how Matty was killed. Mom only recently gave me the details.”
I stood on one foot and nervously rubbed the back of my leg with the other. Here it comes, I thought.
Forty
I could feel it. I just knew Brian was about to give me something big. Really big. I put my foot down and shifted my weight, waiting impatiently while he pulled his thoughts together.
“I was only nine, and it didn’t mean much to me at the time. Something woke me up, a noise probably. I know it was after midnight, but I don’t know how much after. Anyway, there was someone outside my bedroom window. I could hear him kind of talking to himself. I pulled the curtain away so I could see who it was, and I saw Nick Stanton standing and staring at our house. I think he was drunk, because he couldn’t seem to stand still. He was kind of staggering, but not really going anywhere.”
“Could you see what he was up to?” I asked.
“No. He was just watching the house. And he had something on his hands. I didn’t know what it was at the time, but I do now.”
I was almost jumping up and down. I knew this was it. Junior had known the truth the whole time. He just didn’t know he knew the truth.
“What did he have on his hands, Junior?”
“They were fingerless workout gloves. Boxers use them when they’re working out. I thought I heard him say my father’s name, but then he turned and walked away.”
“And then what?” I could hardly stand the suspense.
“Then I rolled over and went back to sleep. I hope that helps.”
“You have no idea. I think you may have just solved the case.”
“Really? Well, I’ll be darned. You know, this case always drove my mother crazy. She really wanted to find Matty’s killer.” He paused before speaking again. “Are you telling me that Nick murdered Matty?”
“That’s exactly what I’m telling you. Junior, and when I finally meet you in person, you’re going to get the biggest, sweetest kiss of your life.”
He laughed. “Don’t let my wife see that.”
“On the cheek,” I added.
“Darn. Well, guess I’d better call Mom.”
“Do me a favor,” I begged. “Let me talk to her first. I can’t wait to tell everyone what you told me.”
“Sure. I’ll wait and call her in an hour. I’m about to leave for lunch anyway. And who’s everyone?”
“Your mother, my neighbor and the staff from my agency. This has been bogging us down because we couldn’t come up with something solid. Those gloves are about as solid as it gets.” Too bad I didn’t know if they still existed.
We hung up and I ran over to Dolly’s house as fast as I could. If people really have an aura, then mine must have looked like lightning strikes.
They’d all gone inside, so I banged on the door before throwing it open. Five faces turned to look at me in surprise.
“I’ve got it!” I yelled.
“Got what?” Pete asked.
“I know who killed Matthew Bremmer, and I can almost prove it.”
“What do you mean by ‘almost’ prove it?” Prudy asked. She stood up, feeling my excitement.
“I just talked to Junior, and he – ”
“My Junior?” Prudy looked confused.
“Yes, your Junior. He called to talk to you. He’ll call you here in an hour. Anyway, he knew the answer all the time, but no one ever asked him any questions. He didn’t know that what he’d seen meant anything.”
“What did he see?” Pete asked.
“On the morning of Matt’s murder, Junior saw Nick Stanton in Prudy’s yard, staring at the house and mumbling about Brian. He was… Are you ready for this? He was wearing fingerless workout gloves. The kind boxers wear when they’re practicing.”
They all watched me in anticipation, but they didn’t understand.
“Don’t you get it? Prudy, that’s why no one had cuts or bruises on their hands when you checked. He had those gloves on and they protected his knuckles. Nick Stanton murdered Matthew Bremmer!”
Stanley raised his hand. “One question, Sandi. If Nick killed Bremmer, and Nick is now dead, then who’s been threatening you and Prudy? And who murdered Balesmon? Who tried to poison Bubba?”
Letting out a long and uncomfortable breath, I felt myself deflate. “Yeah. There is that, isn’t there?”
Pete sat forward in his chair. “I think Sandi’s right. I believe there’s something totally different behind the threats. I mean, I think it has something to do with Bremmer’s death, but it’s not directly related.”
“Pete’s right,” Dolly said. “It’s all related, and yet it’s not. Too bad we can’t figure it out.”
The excitement was gone. My friends sat quietly and contemplated the situation.
“Maybe… Huh uh.” Felicity shook her head.
“Or possibly… No.” Stanley glanced at Felicity.
“Okay, who might have something to lose if we prove that Nick committed the crime?” I asked. “The only one I can think of is Opal, but that doesn’t make any sense. It shouldn’t make any difference. Nick was the killer, not Opal.”
“Here’s a thought,” Pete said. “Maybe Nick had help. Maybe he wasn’t alone when he killed Matthew.”
“That could be,” Prudy said. “Even though Nick is dead, someone else might still be worried about being caught.”
“I can think of two possibilities right off the top of my head,” I said. “Someone said, and I can’t remember who, that maybe Hector was in Matt’s house and found the body. Well, maybe he was actually in the house when Nick beat Matthew to death.
“Also, Stretch could have been involved. He was angry with Matthew and might have given Nick a little unnecessary encouragement.”
“Makes sense to me,” Dolly said.
“I have a feeling that I still need to go back and talk to Esther. I think she knows something. Hector either shut her up because of that, or he’s just plain rude. Either way, I want to find out.”
There was a general murmur in the room while I sat and thought about what I’d just said.
“I’m going home to call Esther,” I said. “And just in case, I’m going to call Opal and set up a meeting with her, too.”
Felicity stood up. “I’m going to walk over with you, Sandi.”
I could see by the look on her face that she had something on her mind. She followed me out the door.
She spoke up while we walked to my house. “What about that threat to Prudy? We can’t leave her alone, and since she doesn’t know about it, she won’t bother being careful.”
“You’re right. If you can stay with her while I meet with Esther, then I’ll take her with me to meet with Opal. In fact, maybe Stan can stay at Dolly’s for a while, too.”
Felicity’s face brightened. “Good idea. He’ll take care of us.”
Oh, what faith she had in Stanley. They’d only known each other for a few days, but she was a woman in love. She saw him as a whole different man than the one I knew. Maybe she was right. He’d helped me out of a couple of scrapes.
She turned and headed back to Dolly’s house. The lawn between our two houses was getting quite a workout.
I searched through my backpack for Esther’s phone number. I knew I’d written it down and shoved it in with all the other junk I carried around.
Finding it, I picked up the phone and punched in the numbers.
“Hullo?” It was Hector’s gruff voice.
“Uh, is Esther there?” I asked.
“Who wants to know?” What did he care? Who did he think would be calling his mother? Oh yeah. How about a private investigator?
I sighed. “This is Sandi Webster. Is your mother at home or not?”
“Maybe. What do ya want?”
“I want her cook
ie recipe,” I said sarcastically. “I want to talk to the woman, for crying out loud! Now would you please call her to the phone?”
“Ma,” he called out. “It’s for you. It’s that tough little broad that came to see us yesterday.” I heard his evil sounding chuckle rumble through the phone.
“H-Hello?” Esther’s voice sounded timid.
“Esther, this is Sandi Webster. Can you talk? Or is Hector standing there?”
“No, he handed me the phone and left.” She sniffed. “What can I do for you?”
“I wondered if there might be a good time to come talk to you when Hector won’t be around.”
“He’s usually around here somewhere. What is it you need?”
Oh well, now was as good as later. “When I asked if you remembered anything about the night Matthew Bremmer was killed, I thought you were going to tell me something. But then Hector interrupted you. Please, Esther, I need to know if you remember something.”
“Is it important?” she asked.
“It could be. Someone has been threatening Prudy. We need to solve this case before she’s hurt.” I hoped her loyalty to her old friend might carry some weight.
“Oh. Well, yes, I was going to tell you about what I saw.”
“And what was that?”
“First, let me tell you that this has nothing to do with Hector. He interrupted me because he thinks he knows everything. That’s all. He’s really a good boy, and – ”
I didn’t want to hear about Hector’s virtues. “Okay, Esther, I understand. Now tell me what you saw?”
“Well, that boy from down the street… What was his name? I can’t remember what they called him. Anyway, a boy from down the street walked by the house with a bottle of beer in his hand. I remember thinking that he was too young to drink, so I watched him. He walked down to Nick Stanton’s house and stood outside, peeking in the window. Nasty little Peeping Tom. I was going to tell his mother about him, but then I saw him leave the house, and he had tears running down his face. Can you imagine?”