Last Pen Standing

by Vivian Conroy

  They took a sharp turn to the right, and Delta saw light streaming from the windows of a square building. As they closed in, she could make out more details. Like most houses around Tundish, it was made mostly of wood, but the lower four feet were brick, the mortar between the stones standing out because it was lighter in color. A plaque inserted in the wall carried a gold star in the middle. It seemed luminous, lighting up as the glow from the headlights brushed over it.

  Jonas parked the Jeep and slipped off his seatbelt. “You be careful what you tell West. He doesn’t tolerate changes in your story later. He might think you’re involved as well, covering for your friend.”

  “Hazel didn’t even tell me…” Delta fell silent and bit her lip.

  Jonas surveyed her with a frown. “You feel obliged to help her of course. But this isn’t a small matter. It’s an official investigation, and every move you make can have repercussions later on.”

  “You think I would lie for her?” Delta pulled back her shoulders.

  Jonas shrugged. “I’m just giving you some friendly advice. Now let’s go in. I want to talk to West myself and offer him the photographs I took tonight. There might be something relevant to see in those shots.”

  Delta hadn’t even thought of that possibility yet. “Great thinking. Thanks.” She waited a moment, struggling with herself, then added, “Also for your advice. You mean well. But I don’t have to lie. I can tell the absolute truth. I know the victim fought with another woman shortly before she died. It can solve everything.”

  Jonas exhaled slowly. “I hope you’re right. But West won’t just drop Finn because you hand him another suspect. What reason could the sister-in-law have had for killing Vera White?”

  “The argument provides that reason. Amanda was angry that Vera was dancing with her husband. She might have assumed the two were getting a little too close for her liking. In any case, she knew some secret about Vera, because she said she might tell Ralph ‘the truth.’ I don’t know what she alluded to, but Vera said that in that case it would hurt Amanda just as well. Then, provoked and frustrated, Amanda hit Vera, something out of character for a normally quiet person. So we can safely conclude that these two women were tied up in some kind of potentially explosive secret. Now if you believe someone might tell on you, and you don’t want that truth to get out, that’s a motive for murder.”

  “Undoubtedly, but you don’t know what ‘the truth’ is, what the secret could be, and if it is so big that it would be worth killing for. That’s a bit thin. West might even believe you made up this entire argument to divert suspicion from Finn.”

  “No, no, no.” Delta shook her head emphatically. “West knows for a fact that the victim had been struck in the face. Rosalyn told him so. She saw the victim in the restroom restoring her makeup.”

  “So Vera White was struck. That doesn’t prove by whom. Rosalyn has been on top of things, making her statement while West was barely on the premises. She directed his judgment of the situation, and I can tell you from experience, it can be hard to keep an open mind once a theory is unfolding and looking so promising.”

  “Spud heard the argument too.” Delta reached into the back of the car to pat the dog. “Too bad you can’t testify, boy.”

  The German shepherd pressed his head against her hand, then suddenly leaned forward and licked her face.

  Jonas hitched a brow. “He isn’t very keen on new people, normally. Friendly, yes, but familiar, no. He must sense you’re upset.”

  “I’m not upset,” Delta said, reaching to open the car door. “Just worried for Hazel’s sake.” She looked at the police station. “This is not where we planned to end up after our first workshop together.”

  Despite the late hour, there was plenty of activity inside the station. A phone rang, a printer spat out a stack of papers, and a deputy behind a counter marked Reception was explaining something to two men. Both were dressed in evening wear, and as one of the men raised his arm to gesture, Delta detected an expensive watch on his wrist. But the impression of sophistication was shattered by the crude tone he took with the deputy. “If you just let me near him, I’ll get him to confess. It’s really easy. Just put a baseball bat on his Adam’s apple and push.”

  The other man took his arm and said, “Really, Herb…”

  But Herb didn’t seem to hear him. His face crimson, he hissed, “The more time you give him to rehearse his story, the more likely he will come up with some cock-and-bull story about what happened where he goes scot-free. I want him prosecuted! I want him on the electric chair!”

  The deputy stepped back. “Sir, you have been drinking.”

  “Yes, I was at a party. My wife died at a party! An innocent party, and she gets killed. And you people are doing nothing.”

  “I wouldn’t call an impromptu arrest of the first suspect available nothing,” Delta whispered sarcastically to Jonas.

  She was sorry for it the moment it was out, because the foaming man spun around and pointed a finger straight at her. “What’s that? Are you the no-good bastard’s sister? I heard she was at the party too.” Herb bent his finger as if squeezing the trigger of a gun.

  Delta shrank back under the violence in his expression.

  “I think this gentleman could use a cup of strong coffee to sober up,” Jonas said to the deputy.

  Herb turned his bloodshot eyes on Jonas. “I’m not drunk. Who are you anyway? The sister’s fiancé? I knew it. In a small town like this, the entire family is coming over to bribe the sheriff into letting the killer go free. But I won’t have it. I’m right here to prevent it. If he walks out, I’m waiting for him.”

  Spud stared up at Herb and growled.

  Herb didn’t seem to hear. He kept his eyes on Delta.

  The other man put an arm around him. Judging by the similarities in their features—deep-set eyes under bushy brows, long nose, and broad chin with a dent in the center—they were related, so this had to be Ralph, Amanda’s husband and Vera’s dance partner.

  Delta looked around for a woman in evening dress to complete the party. She was curious to see with her own eyes what kind of woman Amanda White was and how she carried herself now that her sister-in-law was dead. But there was no one around except officers going about their business.

  Ralph ushered his brother away from the desk. “Come, Herb. A cup of coffee would be a good idea. Let’s just sit over there, okay?”

  Herb seemed to want to struggle, then suddenly he became pale. He hung his head and walked with Ralph to a group of chairs. He sat down and hid his face in his hands. His shoulders started shaking.

  Jonas kept his eyes on him a moment, then turned to Delta, shaking his head. “Alcohol and a lot of emotions rarely mix well. Good thing he’s not alone here.”

  The deputy, visibly relieved that someone had managed to deescalate the situation, came from behind the counter with a mug of coffee, which he handed to Herb’s companion. Ralph tapped Herb on the shoulder and pushed the coffee mug into his hands, then came over to Jonas and Delta. “I want to apologize for what just happened.” He extended his hand. “Ralph White.”

  Jonas shook his hand. “Jonas Nord. We met before when I took your group birding.”

  Ralph stared at him. “Of course.” His gaze traveled the full length of Jonas’s appearance. “You don’t say. You look very different in a tux.”

  Jonas had to laugh. “Just the party’s dress code, not my personal choice.”

  “I see.” With a frown, Ralph continued, “I saw you taking snapshots at the party. But I didn’t look twice at you, just thought you were hired for the occasion. I had no idea that you were the birder who took us out earlier.”

  “I was hired when the photographer who was coming in had to cancel at the last moment,” Jonas hurried to explain. “I usually take pictures of deer and birds, but if necessary, I can also do people. Since I captured
the entire night, I’m here to turn all of my material over to the police. Maybe it can help with the murder. My sincere condolences on the death of your sister-in-law.”

  “That’s very kind of you. Thank you. I don’t think anyone has offered condolences yet. I can understand they are busy with a lot of things but… It feels so distant and cold. They’re treating Vera like a…thing.” He reached up and rubbed his forehead, then looked at Delta. “Sorry, you are?”

  “Delta Douglas. I run a stationery shop in town. I wasn’t at the party really, just at the hotel. We conducted a paper crafting workshop in a separate room, off the lobby. The…”

  She felt like it was wrong using the word “victim” to this man who had been related to her, so she continued quickly, “Mrs. Vera White happened to come into our workshop. I think she mistook the room, but she was very kind, showing an interest in what we were doing. She also wanted to buy two notebooks.”

  A smile lifted the weariness off Ralph White’s face. “Vera loves notebooks. She has a ton of them, but she keeps buying more. Everywhere we go, she…”

  The smile vanished, and he looked down abruptly. “I shouldn’t talk about her like…she can still walk through the door and…” He stared at the entrance as if he expected his sister-in-law to appear and assure him it had all been a misunderstanding and she hadn’t been murdered at all. “I can’t believe she’s really dead,” he muttered.

  “We’re very sorry.” Jonas glanced at Delta as if he wanted to know her opinion about something. Then he said, “Did you notice anything odd tonight?”

  Ralph looked up. His vacant eyes focused. “Odd?”

  “Anything that in hindsight might be related to what happened. Tension between someone at the party and your sister-in-law. Her being dejected. Afraid, even?”

  Ralph shook his head. “On the contrary, she was very cheerful and laughing the entire time.”

  Delta wondered if Ralph hadn’t noticed the tension between Vera and Amanda. Didn’t he know Amanda resented him dancing with Vera? Or didn’t he care? Hadn’t he taken it seriously? She could hardly ask.

  Ralph continued, staring ahead, “She had been looking forward to this party. To the demonstration dance. She’s the better dancer of the both of us, you know. She puts such zeal into it. I can never quite keep up with her.”

  “I wouldn’t say that,” Jonas responded. “I saw you dancing, and you were both quite good.”

  Ralph made a weary gesture. “We had talked about doing more of it. Maybe participating in competitions and all. She was so excited about the idea.”

  “And how did her husband feel about that?” Jonas asked.

  Ralph seemed surprised by the question. “Herb’s fine with it. He’s not much of a dancer himself, so he was glad I went to the dance course with Vera. So she’d stop bugging him about it, you know.”

  He glanced at his brother for a moment. Herb sat with the coffee mug in his hands, rigid like a statue.

  Ralph said, “Vera could be persuasive when she wanted something.”

  He didn’t speak loudly, but because the printer had just stopped churning out paper and the deputy wasn’t typing or answering the phone, the quiet in the room seemed to amplify his words.

  Herb broke to life, raising his head and looking at the three of them. His eyes went wide, and he rose to his feet. “Don’t you slander her,” he yelled. “She was a good woman. Nothing but a good woman.”

  “I’m not saying—” Ralph protested, but Herb didn’t give him a chance to finish his sentence. Coffee sloshed over the rim of the mug as he waved his hand in Ralph’s direction. “I see what you’re all trying to do. Make her look like a bad person, who deserved to be killed. But she was a darling. She didn’t do no one no harm. She didn’t have to die.”

  His voice broke into a sob. “She didn’t have to die.”

  The mug fell from his hand, shattering on the floor at his feet, coffee splashing over the pants of his tuxedo.

  The deputy jumped to his feet at the crash of china, his hand flying to the holster on his hip.

  Ralph rushed to his brother, reaching for him, but Herb pushed him away. “I need air,” he muttered. “Air.” Across the broken china, the pieces crunching under the soles of his feet, he walked to the door and out of the station.

  Ralph stared after him. “I didn’t mean to…” He looked at Jonas and Delta. “I just wanted…” His voice faltered, and he rubbed his forehead again. “Vera wanted to have a good time tonight. Just that. It was unfortunate, of course, that he was there. I guess that also unsettled Herb. You must forgive him for it. He’s not normally like that.”

  “What unsettled him?” Delta asked, not quite following.

  “The presence of that ex-football player. The one who had an affair with Vera last summer.”

  Delta’s heart skipped a beat.

  Jonas asked, “Do you mean Ray Taylor?” His tone was tense.

  “Yes. Had we known he was related to the people owning the hotel, we would not have come there. But Taylor is a common name, and the place had been recommended to us. Herb got quite a shock when he recognized him shortly after our arrival.”

  “And how did Mrs. White take it?” Jonas asked, glancing at Delta as though checking to see if she realized how important this might turn out to be.

  He need not have signaled her, as she was already straining her ears to catch every word Ralph might say, even the nuance in the tone. Ray Taylor having known Vera White, even having had an affair with her. And when she had asked him if he knew the victim, he had denied it flatly.

  He had lied.

  Ralph seemed taken aback by this question. “How did Vera take it?” he repeated as if he didn’t understand what Jonas was saying. “Uh, how would she be taking it?”

  Jonas narrowed his eyes. “Your sister-in-law has had an affair. I infer from your words about your brother Herb recognizing the man in question that he knew about this affair. Then they visit a hotel for an innocent vacation, and the very man she’d had the affair with is there, part of the family that owns the hotel. Painful to say the least.”

  He waited a moment before adding, “Potentially dangerous, wouldn’t you agree?”

  Ralph blinked hard. “I don’t understand.”

  Jonas said in a low voice, “There would be tension between the former lovers, right? Someone might notice and start whispering about it.”

  “But Vera had nothing to do with him, really. She was with us. Most of the time.”

  The latter words were added in a doubtful tone, like he was suddenly not too sure anymore. He wrung his hands, glancing at the outer door. He lowered his voice. “Do you think that…that man killed her?”

  “You have been here for several weeks now, I understood,” Delta said. “Did you see anything pass between them that made you feel there was something going on? Did you see them together, for instance? Talking, looking like they didn’t want to be seen together?”

  She recalled Ray buying the peacock notebook at Wanted. He had obviously not been interested in stationery himself. He had bought it as a present. For Vera? After all, Ralph had just mentioned she was collecting notebooks wherever she went.

  Delta pressed, “How about tonight at the party? What was the atmosphere then?”

  Ralph shuffled his feet. “I’m not sure. I can’t say I’ve really seen them together. They didn’t even dance together tonight. Maybe he was avoiding her? Vera had given him money in the past, and he never paid her back.”

  “Money?” Delta echoed.

  “Yes. I guess if things had been different, she would never have told me, but she was in a tight spot and had to ask me to chip in. I told her not to go shopping so often, half-tongue in cheek, half-serious, you know, and then she said it was all Ray Taylor’s fault. He had asked her for money for some business investment he wanted to make. It had gone wr
ong, and she would never get her money back. She felt rather silly for having believed him, so she begged me to keep it a secret from Herb. I did.”

  At that moment a door burst open, and Sheriff West came in. He spotted Jonas, and at once his expression changed from half-satisfied to disbelieving, then annoyed.

  He marched up to them but slipped in the spilled coffee on the floor and had to flail his arms to remain upright. “What’s this mess?” he barked to the deputy. “Clean it up right this minute.”

  To Jonas, he said, “If I had wanted to talk to you, Nord, I would have asked for you to come in.” He checked his watch ostentatiously. “Shouldn’t you be in bed by now?”

  Before Jonas could reply, West focused on Delta. “And you?”

  “I’m a friend of Hazel. I own half of her shop now. The stationery shop on Mattock Street, Wanted.”

  The sheriff frowned. “I never liked a decent sheriff’s office being turned into some frivolous little shop where you can buy pink pens. It’s part of our town’s heritage. It should have been preserved with dignity.”

  “But Hazel preserved the sheriff’s desk and the cells. She’s showcasing town history there, with replicas of newspaper pages and information about fake gold-mining claims—”

  Before Delta could explain further, West cut her off. “Your friend is staying here for the time being, with her dear little brother.”

  Jonas said, “Excuse me, Sheriff, but where you might have a reason to hold Finn, I doubt you have anything to justify holding Hazel. Just let her go home.”

  West glared at him. “I didn’t ask for your opinion, Nord.”

  Jonas exhaled in a huff. “It’s not my opinion that matters, Sheriff, but the rules. You do have to stick to those, just like any other officer of the law. You need a reason to hold someone overnight.”