Lisa nodded. “That’s the only thing I could think of to explain his behavior. It doesn’t affect me because I only store what is basically garbage right now, but what I’m hoping to fix.”
The big dog barked.
“Yes. We’ll go to the beach soon,” she cooed to the dog. Then she turned back to the humans. “So, I guess I have a mixed review. The locker itself is fine, and you can put your own lock on it. But Blaine is a little funny.”
“Did you report his behavior to anyone?” asked Daniel.
“I did send an email to the boss, but I didn’t hear anything back. I don’t know. Maybe they don’t think he is stealing anything.”
The Great Dane began to tire of the conversation and gave a mighty pull. Lisa was forced to walk with him.
“You’ll have to excuse me,” Lisa said, following the dog to her blue jeep. “He is really looking forward to the beach.”
“Have fun,” said Lydia.
“Come on, Spud,” Lisa said, as she opened the door for the dog to climb into the back seat.
Lydia and Daniel headed back to their vehicle. Lydia was pretty sure that they hadn’t aroused the woman’s suspicion and she was glad that they hadn’t agitated the large dog. She hadn’t been able to speak to them long, but she did give them an interesting piece of information. She believed that Blaine Thompkins was robbing the lockers while at work? Could that have been the motive behind his murder?
10
Another Suspect
“There you go,” Chad Conroy said, handing Lydia a glass of water.
The second person on their list who had been at the storage locker the night of the murder invited Lydia and Daniel into his living room to talk after they knocked on his door. The young man was trying to be hospitable and had given them some drinks even when they declined.
“I’m sorry about the clutter,” he said, waving around. “But I hope you feel welcome now. So, you said that this was about the storage locker place?”
“That’s right,” said Lydia.
“I knew something was going on there, but I didn’t know what,” Chad said, sitting across from them. He and Daniel were on wicker chairs, but Lydia was seated on a royal red upholstered chair.
“There’s been a murder,” said Daniel.
“No way,” Chad said, leaning forward. “Really? At the storage locker place? How do you know about it? Are you insurance investigators or something? The police haven’t talked to me yet.”
“I’m sure they will. And for the same reason, we want to,” Lydia said, conveniently sidestepping his question about being insurance investigators. “We’d like to speak to everyone that was at the facility the night of the murder.”
“How do you know I was there?” asked Chad.
“Your key card,” Daniel answered. “It said that you entered last night. Unless you’re suggesting someone took your card?”
“I do share one with my girlfriend, but I was there last night. We both were. What do you want to know?”
“Did you see anything suspicious last night?” Lydia asked, deciding it was best to let Chad think that he was a witness and not a suspect.
Chad scratched his sandy-colored hair. “I mean, it all seemed normal last night. I wouldn’t have thought that anything crazy happened or was going to happen. No. I don’t think I saw anything suspicious. I am pretty sure that there were other people there last night, though.”
“Did you see them?” asked Lydia.
“I didn’t pay much attention, but I don’t think Ruby and I were there alone. I must have seen another car or heard another voice to give me that impression. But I don’t know who it was. Why? Do you think it might have been the killer?”
“It is possible,” said Lydia. “It’s also possible that you could have seen the victim before he was killed.”
“No. I didn’t see – well, I didn’t see anyone who looked like they were going to be killed,” said Chad. “Who was it that died?”
“An employee named Blaine Thompkins,” Lydia answered. “Did you know him?”
Chad frowned. “I must have met him. I think I saw everyone who worked there at some point. Ruby and I went there at random times.”
“Why did you decide to get a storage locker?” asked Daniel.
“Well, it became necessary. You see, Ruby and I just moved in together. We thought it was time. We’d been dating for just over three years. Yeah. We met a few days before the 4th of July. Overall, we really like living together. But we just had too much stuff. We put things from both places together, and that’s why it’s so eclectic right now.”
Lydia nodded. That did explain the décor.
“And people keep sending us housewarming gifts too. It’s been a bit overwhelming. But I do love living with my girlfriend. She’s the most loyal, sweetest person ever.”
“I feel like punching something!” a female voice cried as they heard the front door open.
“Ruby, darling, we have company,” Chad called.
A woman with bright red hair pulled into a braid walked into the room, looking embarrassed.
“I’m so sorry,” she said. “I was just going to complain about my job. But I didn’t know that there was anyone here.”
“It’s quite understandable,” Lydia said. However, she did hope that her employees never went home from the taffy shop wanting to punch things.
“It’s just very hot at my rental counter, and I still have to wear this stupid blazer,” she said, removing the orange atrocity that was covering her dress. It had a large picture of a sun on the back, and the material looked heavy. “It also clashes terribly with my hair.”
“I was telling them about why we got a rental unit, and they were telling me about a murder that happened there last night,” said Chad.
Ruby eyed them. “A murder?”
“They wanted to know if we saw anything suspicious when we were there last night,” Chad continued.
“I don’t think so,” Ruby answered. “Of course, I didn’t know to be on the lookout. I was just looking for a lamp that I had packed up.”
“Do you remember seeing Blaine Thompkins at all?” asked Lydia. “He worked there.”
“I don’t think I saw him that night,” said Ruby.
“Did you ever notice him behaving strangely by the lockers?” asked Daniel. “We heard from someone that he might have been stealing from the units.”
“You know, if he was, that makes sense,” said Chad.
“Right,” Ruby agreed. “We haven’t been able to find a coffeemaker that we know that we put in our locker. Maybe he took that.”
“And some baseball cards. I haven’t been able to find them.”
“That’s right,” said Ruby.
“And I’m also missing my singing fish on a wall,” said Chad. “I bet he stole that too.”
“No,” Ruby muttered. “I threw that one out.”
“Well, it’s still possible that a thief has been in our locker,” said Chad. “And you think it could have been Blaine?”
“It’s a possibility,” said Lydia. “We only heard this suspicion from one person, though it seems to resonate with you as well. We were wondering if this might be a reason for his murder.”
“This talk is giving me the creeps,” Ruby said. “Will you excuse me? I want to take a shower anyway to wash all the sweat off from my annoying job handing over keys.”
“Go right ahead,” Chad said. “I’ll take care of our guests.”
Ruby thanked him and headed off toward the bathroom.
“So, this Blaine might have taken some things from our storage locker, but we didn’t know it was him,” said Chad. “It’s a good thing we don’t have anything really valuable inside. Otherwise, we might really be upset if we were robbed.”
“I suppose that’s all our questions for now,” Lydia said. “Unless you have anything else to add about the victim.”
Chad shrugged. “I can’t think of anything else. I really wish I had seen more
that could be helpful in catching the killer.”
“Thank you for your time,” Lydia said.
She and Daniel left their mismatched glasses on one of the two coffee tables and exited the house. Ruby’s red smart car was parked behind Chad’s beat-up old tan truck.
“It looks like there’s some merit to the idea that the victim was a thief,” said Daniel. “Two of the people we spoke to seem to agree with the suggestion, but they didn’t have anything of real value in their lockers.”
“Let’s find the last man that was there that night and see if he had anything worth stealing,” Lydia said, heading to their truck. “Because he also might have found it worth killing over.”
11
The Wrong Address
“Are you sure this is the right address?” Lydia asked.
She and Daniel had gone to the billing address that was listed for Tony Porter from the contact list but found themselves standing in front of a miniature golf course near the boardwalk. Unless Tony Porter was living in the windmill obstacle, it seemed impossible that this was his home.
“This is what the address listed as,” said Daniel.
“Maybe it’s his billing address because he owns the course or often works here,” Lydia suggested.
She walked past the pirate statue holding a golf club instead of a sword to talk to the employees within. However, after a few moments of discussion, it became clear that no one at the mini-golf course had ever heard of Tony Porter. Lydia left, feeling discouraged.
“He gave a fake address,” she said with a sigh. “I wonder if he gave a fake name too.”
This time as she passed the jolly pirate with the golf club, she felt like he was taunting her.
“That makes him seem like an even better suspect,” said Daniel.
Lydia nodded. “But we’ll need to figure out a way to find him. We don’t know anything else about him except the name that he gave and that he was at the storage facility that night.”
“What should we do now?” asked Daniel. “Hit some golf balls to vent our frustration?”
“I think I should check on the taffy shop and we can use the time to regroup,” Lydia said after a moment’s thought.
“Good idea. We can come up with a new plan of attack there, and we can enjoy some macadamia nut taffy too.”
They made the short trip to Doherty’s Taffy and Trinkets and Lydia walked inside with Daniel beside her. There were customers in the shop, but they appeared self-reliant picking out their taffies and beach themed knickknacks. Jeff and Annette grinned at Lydia from behind the counter.
“Jeff showed me those adorable scissor shaped taffies you made,” Annette said, pushing her silver hair behind her ears. “It was almost too cute to eat.”
“Almost,” Jeff teased.
“You’re an artist,” Annette complimented.
“We all have our own ways of expressing ourselves. You have your crocheting. Jeff has surfing,” said Lydia. “I suppose my expression is with sugar.”
“That, and solving murders,” said Jeff.
“Oh, dear,” Annette said. “You have that look on your face like you’re in the middle of a case. Are you again?”
Lydia and Daniel moved closer to the counter so they could discuss the details with her employees without upsetting all the customers in the shop. Lydia nodded to admit that she was part of another investigation.
“But who died?” asked Annette, looking worried.
“A man named Blaine Thompkins,” Lydia explained. “He lived in town. He worked at a storage locker facility.”
Annette gasped. “Thompkins?”
“Did you know him?” asked Lydia.
“Not personally, but I know some of his family. In fact, I saw them at the concert that Mona and I went to last night. They spoke of Blaine before. It sounded like he was a nice young man, though he did fancy himself a bit of an investigator.”
“There’s nothing wrong with that,” Daniel said, placing an arm around Lydia.
“Yes. Though his investigations sounded a little more outlandish,” said Annette. “Poor fellow. I should do something for his family. Maybe I’ll bring them some salt water taffy. I’m sure many other people will already be doing casseroles.”
“Take whatever you want to give them free of charge,” Lydia said. “I feel invested in this death now too. Tell them I’m sorry for their loss.”
Annette squeezed Lydia’s arm affectionately as a thank you.
“I know the family wouldn’t want to mention this directly. And I don’t mean to speak ill of the dead, but we do want to find his killer,” said Daniel. “Did his family ever say anything that might indicate that Blaine Thompkins was a thief? Maybe he gave them presents randomly or had extra money that he couldn’t explain?”
Annette frowned and shook her head. “I never heard anything like that. I do suppose that his family might not think of him in the best possible light, but they thought that he was very law-abiding. If anything, he wanted to uphold the law. He might sometimes say strange theories about what might be happening in town. But it sounded like he was very respectable.”
“Well, there might not be anything to this theory,” Lydia said soothingly. “It’s based on someone’s suspicions about his odd behavior and a missing coffee maker. It’s not definitive.”
“Do you have any suspects yet?” asked Jeff.
Daniel looked unhappy as he reported. “The police do. They think my friend, Gavin, is the killer. He apparently argued with the victim earlier in the day, but it wasn’t anything that was worth killing over. And I know that Gavin could never do something like this.”
“Yeah. Gavin seemed really nice and non-murdery last night,” Jeff agreed.
Daniel’s phone began to ring, and he checked the caller. “It’s Gwen. I better take this.”
He walked away, but Lydia stayed with her employees. A melancholy air had descended on the group. They were feeling sad for the victim and for the person they believed wrongly accused of the crime.
“It’s a shame the Pierces didn’t stay longer at the party,” Jeff said. “Maybe that would have helped Gavin’s alibi.”
“Unfortunately, the reason why they did leave was that they wanted to check something at the storage locker facility while we were still occupied,” Lydia said. She didn’t think that she needed to explain the whole situation about Gavin checking up on Daniel to them. It might embarrass both men.
“Well, I’m sure you’ll figure out a way to clear his name. Besides, is a small argument with the victim really enough to think a guy from the Coast Guard killed somebody?” asked Jeff.
“I’m afraid we didn’t mention the strangest piece of evidence and the part that made Gavin look like a suspect right away,” said Lydia, hoping this wouldn’t upset Annette too much. “But the victim’s body was placed in the trunk of Gavin’s car. When he discovered it, he drove it to the police station.”
“That nice silver car?” Jeff asked. “This situation keeps getting worse and worse. Poor dead guy. And poor car. I thought it was nice-looking. I was going to ask for a test drive until I saw that it was a rental. I saw the logo on it. But I think I need to get a new car. One that will balance my board properly.”
Jeff’s car-buying thoughts were interrupted by Daniel returning to them.
“Gwen said that it seems that the police are trying to determine whether she went to the storage facility that night too. They might think that she was Gavin’s accomplice.”
“That does make sense when I think about Leo first asking me about whether they left the party together or not,” said Lydia.
“Gwen said she was at the hotel, but she’s not sure if anyone there can verify it. She didn’t order room service or use the phone in the room.”
“This means that we need to find the real killer even faster,” said Lydia. “Or two innocent people that we care about might take the blame for this crime!”
The four people by the counter exchanged anxious
looks, but they were soon interrupted by a cheerful customer eager to make their taffy purchase.
12
Tracking Tony
After grabbing some macadamia nut taffy for the road, Lydia and Daniel headed back to the storage locker facility. They were hoping that the employee who had been so helpful earlier might be able to give them some more information on Tony Porter. However, when they arrived, they saw that the office was closed.
Macadamia and Mayhem Page 5