Murder So Sinful

by Eileen Curley Hammond

Patty ran up the stairs with Cindy right behind her. “What happened? I heard your house was robbed.”

  Cindy hugged Jenny. “Let’s get busy and get this cleaned up.”

  Giving her a smile, I hugged Patty. “Thanks for coming.”

  “You bet. What does your room look like?”

  “I’m sure it’s more of the same.”

  “Let’s go rip the bandage off.”

  Everyone followed me to my room. I gasped. It looked like a tornado roared through. But again, nothing valuable seemed to have been taken. I suddenly realized far too many people were seeing my underwear up close and personal. “Let’s go down to the kitchen and see how bad that is.”

  We trooped down the stairs and took a right into the kitchen. Cookbooks were on the floor, appliances had been moved, and things had been swept from the pantry shelf. As I looked around in despair, Detective Ziebold came in. “Quite a mess.”

  I said, “The understatement of the century.”

  “Let’s talk outside.”

  I joined him, and he said, “I think whoever did this was looking for the ledger.”

  “Based on what I saw inside, I’d have to agree with you.”

  “How many people knew you found it?”

  I shrugged. “I don’t think many people knew it was a ledger. As far as I know, that was limited to you, me, and Rob.”

  “Rob? You shared it with a reporter?”

  “He’s a friend.”

  “Can reporters be friends?”

  “Maybe not all of them, but he certainly is.”

  He gave me a look. “I think you are being naïve.”

  “Let’s get back on subject. So the people who knew about the ledger are a handful. The people who knew I found something are a legion.”

  “How so?”

  “You told Melissa, and she told Nancy. Nancy told two friends; you do the math.”

  He frowned. “Then it’s a safe assumption that this is related. I want you to be very cautious. I’ll be sending extra patrols past your house, and I want you to remember to set your alarm.”

  “You don’t have to remind me of that now.” I gestured toward the door. “I think we better go back in. People are straining their necks trying to read lips from the kitchen window.”

  When we returned to the kitchen, everyone suddenly seemed busy. I yelled, “Stop!”

  All eyes swiveled toward me.

  “This is really depressing, and I need some time to process. So although I’m grateful to have such good friends, I’m going to have to ask you all to leave.”

  “We can help,” Patty said. “We can clean up.”

  “Thank you. Thank you all. Now, please leave. I’ll call you later.”

  They all filed out, Detective Ziebold jockeying position so he would be last out the door. He shook his forefinger. “Don’t forget, keep the alarm on and be careful.”

  “I will, and I have your number on speed dial.”

  Shutting the door, I returned a cushion to the sofa and sat. Where to start? I could at least return the chairs to an upright position. I did that, then I started working on putting the books and DVDs back on the bookshelves. If I could just get one room straightened out, I’d have a place where I might be able to forget. Who was I kidding? This was an assault on my safe place, my home. Depressed, I sat heavily. I wanted to cry but was afraid Jenny would come down and catch me, so I just sat and stared holes in the wall. The clock chimed four, and Jenny and Cindy came running down the stairs.

  Jenny said, “We finished my room a while ago, so we started on yours. We did a pretty good job, if I do say so myself.”

  My eyes welled up. “That’s so sweet of you both.” I gathered them into a hug.

  We stayed that way for a long moment. Cindy broke in, “Mom’s coming over with takeout in an hour. She gave us strict instructions to clear some places in the kitchen. She also said for you to make yourself useful and uncork a bottle of wine. Her words, not mine.”

  “I guess we better get busy then.” I tried to smile.

  My phone dinged. There was a text from Rob: “Sorry about the break-in. I contacted Mirror Glass, and they’ll be there in twenty minutes to repair your window. Let me know when you want to talk.”

  I hugged the girls. “It’s good to have friends. Let’s get to work.”

  Chapter 15

  The alarm rang way too early on Monday, but after all of the unexpected manual labor over the weekend, I was looking forward to my desk job. The only bright spot was that the house was really clean, right down to the baseboards. It’s amazing how much cleaning you could do when everything had been moved for you. Focusing on glass half full, I went to work.

  I was stopped three or four times by people wishing me well and wanting to tell me how upset they were that this had happened in our town. I made the appropriate noises and continued on my way. I knew when I got to the office it would be even worse.

  As soon as I opened the door, there were questions. Holding my hands up, I assured everyone that I would address them during our regularly scheduled staff meeting. Cheryl and I went over my calendar for the day, and then I went into the conference room.

  “Yes, my home was broken into over the weekend. However, it looks like nothing of value was taken. Thank goodness neither my daughter nor myself were home, so we are both fine. Any questions?”

  One of the staff members asked, “If nothing was taken, why did they break in?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “We heard you found something at Ben Ford’s house,” someone else asked. “Could they have been after whatever you found?”

  “I can’t really comment on that other than to say if I were to have found anything, it would be in the safekeeping of the police now. And with that, I think we should all return to work and concentrate on making our customers happy. Thanks.”

  Just as I entered my office, the phone rang, a familiar name popping onto the screen. “Good morning, John. How are you?”

  “I think a better question might be how you are. I heard about the break-in. Are you and Jenny okay?”

  “As okay as we can be. Thanks for asking. How’s the house coming?”

  “Good. I moved in last week. Listen, I had another motive in calling. I wondered if you wanted to come for dinner on Saturday at six. I’d love to show you the place.”

  “That sounds great.”

  “It will give us a chance to catch up. I’m so sorry about what you must be dealing with. Let me know if there is anything I can do to help.”

  “You have enough on your plate with the move. I’ll see you Saturday.”

  “I look forward to it.”

  A few moments and deep breaths later, I called Rob. “I wanted to thank you for sending the window guy by. He was able to fix it quickly, and it was one more thing I didn’t need to worry about.”

  “I was concerned and wanted to make sure it got fixed as soon as possible. How are you feeling? I got the sense you hit your limit yesterday.”

  “I did. I’m doing better now that we’ve gotten the majority of the house back in order.”

  “Feel like dinner tonight?”

  “No. I think I’m just going to go home and crash. How about tomorrow?”

  “That will work. I’ll pick you up at five.”

  “Look forward to seeing you then.”

  I sat back in my chair and remembered I hadn’t asked him about the code. I picked the phone back up and hit redial.

  “Change your mind?”

  “No. I realized with everything that’s been going on I hadn’t asked where you were on figuring out the code.”

  “I’m not sure. I think I might have some ideas. Let’s discuss them tomorrow in person.”

  “Okay. Could you do me a favor and drop off my copy of the ledger sometime today?”

  “Will do. I have an appointment up the street from you at two o’clock, so I’ll drop it by then.”

  I hung up and started attending to my business.


  Rob dropped off the ledger as promised, and at 3:10 p.m., I texted Jenny, “Are you home?”

  “Yes.”

  “Alarm on?”

  “Yes.”

  “I’ll be home at five fifteen.”

  “Okay.”

  While going home, it felt like I trudged through deep sand. I might be able to handle a quick dinner and some relaxing time in the tub, but that was going to be about it. Unlocking the door, I shut off the alarm and reset it. I turned toward the sofa and jumped. “You scared me,” I told Patty. “And what are you doing here anyway? Don’t you have a family?”

  “Yes, I do, and I consider you and Jenny honorary members of it. I brought dinner, which is in the oven. I thought you might not be up to cooking.”

  I hugged her. “You’re the best friend ever!”

  She gripped both my arms, pushed me away, and held me there. “Yes, I know. And since I am your best friend, I want you to listen to me.”

  “What?”

  “Stop investigating. I know I put you on this path, but we are now no longer involved. I don’t want you to be next on this guy’s list.”

  “Don’t you want to know who did it?”

  “Yes. And I’ll be really happy when the police catch him. Enough said?”

  “Yes.”

  She released my arms. “Okay. I’ll leave you alone now. If I know you, bath and book are on the top of your to-do list for this evening.”

  After my bath, I tried to settle into bed with my book. I turned the pages, but I wasn’t really reading them. With a sigh, I put the book down and reached for my copy of Ben’s ledger. It was clear money was involved, as the far right side showed positive cash amounts. The left side was where it got hazy. I looked at the most recent entries: FL0910, 5,000; WO0912, 5,000; NK0915, 5,000.

  FL might be the initials of someone’s name. I racked my brain and couldn’t think of anyone in town whose first and last names started with them. What about states? Florida certainly seemed to fit, but WO and NK? Nope, that didn’t work. What about the first two letters of someone’s first name? Florence? Did I know anyone named Florence?

  The first set of numbers looked like they might be dates. Flipping back a few pages, I saw that they were consistent, all around the middle of the month. That matched what the bank said about when the deposits were made.

  The clock chimed twelve. If I wanted to be of any use to anyone at work tomorrow, I would need to find sleep soon. Maybe Rob had come up with something.

  ✽ ✽ ✽

  The next day raced along as I dealt with several mini-crises at work. I remembered to text Jenny at 3:10 p.m. and was happy to see she was home and the alarm had been set. It wasn’t long before Cheryl knocked at my door to say she was leaving for the day and that Rob was there.

  “Rob, come in.”

  “Thanks. Is the Iron Skillet good for dinner tonight? I called ahead, and they said they could get us in at five thirty.”

  “That would be great. I’m just finishing up two things, and then we can be on our way.”

  I packed up while he checked his emails, and then we strolled to the restaurant. “Did you think I needed some comfort food?”

  He smiled. “I thought you might.”

  “You and Patty—she’s been bringing food to the house. It’s good to have friends who care.”

  He gave me a side hug, and we entered the restaurant, where we were quickly seated.

  “Thanks for suggesting we go out tonight. I needed it. I don’t want to be too long, though, because I don’t want Jenny alone at home too late.”

  “Why don’t we get dessert to go? That should speed things up, and we can eat them with Jenny at your house.”

  “That’s a great idea.” I texted Jenny, “Banana cream pie okay? Coming back with dessert.”

  “Yum.”

  Settling down to the tough work of figuring out what to have, Rob said, “I’m getting the meatloaf again.”

  “Hot pastrami on rye for me.” Our orders in, I continued, “What’s going on with the code?”

  “I’m not sure we should chat about that here; the tables are kind of close together. I should have thought about that when I picked where to eat.”

  “You’re right. How has your day gone otherwise?”

  “Good. I’ve started working on a new feature that involves shadowing the mayor to see how he and the town council decide to spend the town’s budget.”

  I laughed. “There should be quite a few people, including myself, who would be interested in learning more about that.”

  The food arrived, and we ordered to-go desserts so they’d be ready when we wanted to leave.

  After enjoying the food and paying the bill, we returned to the house. Rob held the door as I turned off the alarm. I busied myself making coffee.

  Jenny came down from her room. “Who do I thank for the pie?”

  I nodded toward Rob. “Mr. Jenson.”

  “It’s my fav! Thanks! Mind if I take it up to my room? I’m in the middle of streaming a show.”

  “No problem. Don’t forget to bring your dish back.”

  “Will do.”

  Rob sat at the counter, and I said, “Let me go grab my copy of the ledger.”

  Returning, I saw he hadn’t started on his dessert. I smiled. “You didn’t have to wait.”

  He grinned. “It wouldn’t taste nearly as good without you here.”

  Blushing, I opened the ledger. “Thanks. Likewise. Now, to work.”

  “Turn to the last page.”

  “That’s what I was looking at yesterday.”

  “I think the first set of numbers is dates. And the second set is the amount of cash he received.”

  “I agree.”

  “The letters are the problem, so what if we work backward?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “One of my top suspects is John Gordan.”

  “He may be yours, but he’s not mine. And none of these are JG.”

  “No, but one of the simpler ciphers, or codes, is the Caesar code. It’s what Caesar supposedly used when communicating with his generals.”

  “How does it work?”

  He pointed to the entry. “You take the real letter and then consistently shift a number of places down in the alphabet. To see if this would work, I looked at the third entry: NK0915, 5,000.

  “If you consistently shift five letters, JG would become NK, so it would read JG on September 15.”

  “What would the other ones be?”

  “FL would be BH, and WO would be SK. So this is how it would read: BH0910, 5,000; SK0912, 5,000; JG0915, 5,000.

  I raised my eyebrows. “That’s a whole lot of supposition, and you are starting with John Gordan. If his name is wrong, then the whole thing is wrong.”

  “I don’t think it is. Bear with me. If it is right, who could the other people be?”

  “I don’t like this.” I shuddered. “The only BH I can think of off the top of my head is Belinda Harper, Father Tom’s assistant. And the SK that pops to mind is Suzie Krump, the owner of the Morning Pastry. It’s hard to believe they could be suspects.”

  “We don’t have enough to bring this to the police yet. But I think we should do some background investigation on Belinda and Suzie. Let’s regroup tomorrow and compare notes.”

  Chapter 16

  Rising early the next day, I baked some banana bread. It had just come out of the oven when the whirlwind that was my daughter came rushing through the kitchen. I wrapped a piece quickly in wax paper and was just able to complete the hand-off as the blur went out the door. “I love you.”

  A faint “I love you more,” wafted back.

  Cutting two more pieces, I put them on paper plates with napkins in between. Stacking carefully, I grabbed my tea and headed gingerly out the door. I followed along my garden to Nancy’s front porch. Nancy was sitting on her swing sipping her coffee.

  “Nancy, good morning!”

  “Good morning to
you as well. What is that wonderful smell?”

  “Fresh-baked banana bread.”

  “I love being the recipient when you’re in one of your baking moods.”

  “It’s good having such an appreciative audience.” I sat next to Nancy, carefully placing my teacup on her table and handing her one of the slices and a napkin.

  She smiled and took a bite, closing her eyes. “This is great. I love that you add walnuts. That and the bananas almost make it seem healthy.”

  “Don’t forget the eggs and sour cream! A veritable breakfast bonanza I like to think.”

  She smiled. “True. What’s up, Merry?”

  “Besides catching up with you, I’m curious about a few people and wanted to pick your brain.”

  “Such as?”

  “Belinda Harper for one.”

  “What about Belinda?” She broke off a piece of the banana bread and dipped it in her coffee.

  “From what I can remember, she moved to town about five years ago.”

  “Yes, that seems right to me.”

  “Do you know where she moved from?”

  “Let me think.” Nancy ate a piece of the bread and took a long sip of her coffee. She studied her orange mum. “I’m pretty sure she came from White Horse. I remember she worked for another parish there.”

  “Do you know why she moved here?”

  “I think she told me she was looking for a change of scenery.”

  “What about Suzie Krump?”

  “Is this Twenty Questions?”

  “No, don’t be silly.”

  “Sure seems that way. You aren’t still investigating Ben’s murder are you? I can’t believe it after your house was broken into. Didn’t that warning scare you? It scared me.”

  “It scared me too. I’m just trying to track down a few loose ends, and I’d appreciate it if you wouldn’t say anything to anyone.”

  She paused and shook her finger. “I don’t think it’s wise, but I’ll try to answer. Suzie Krump?”

  “Yes.”

  “She moved here with her mother, Gloria, about three years ago and opened the Morning Pastry. Suzie came from Urbana, where she had a different restaurant. I think it was called the Purple Plum. I remember she moved here to get away from her husband.”