A Fueling Disturbance (An East Pender Cozy Mystery Book 7)

by Leona Fox

  Looking around her empty house, she knew that she did not want to be alone. So she rushed over to Ellen's, and upon Ellen opening the door Kelly collapsed into tears. Ellen had no idea what to say or do, although it didn't take her sleuthing skills to know that it was something to do with Matthew. Kelly sobbed with her friend and was glad for the company, but even with Ellen she could not reveal the heart of the matter.

  This left her feeling isolated, a feeling she had come to know all too well throughout her life. She was tired of it and wanted to be close to someone again, intimate, as she had come so close to being with Matthew. In her life she always had imagined she would end up alone, and for a long time she was fine with that. It came naturally to her, despite her being an effusive person. Behind the friendly personality and the flirting laugh was a deep sorrow borne from the knowledge that everything ended.

  However, being with Matthew had made her briefly think differently. Then her own problems had come to the fore again, and where the thought of being alone had been met with a numb acceptance, it now caused a searing, raw pain to slash through her soul. She found herself unable to cope. It seemed an easy thing simply to tell the truth but the secret she had kept was so entrenched in her body she did not want to unleash it. Caught between these two things she was being pulled in both directions and her mind was a whirl. She clung onto Ellen as a child would cling to a mother, and it was a long time before the tears subsided.

  Chapter 5

  Since there had been no progress in the case the people of East Pender still were annoyed at the events of the night. Most of the goodwill borne from the charity fundraiser quickly had dissipated. The gas bandit had struck another time, and as much as there was a good community spirit in East Pender, sometimes the town’s residents could be fickle, especially when they were affected directly by events. One of their own had stolen from them, and so far nobody was owning up. There were notices spread around town urging the gas bandit to come forward and apologize, but there had been no responses. Andy still was being shadowed by Paul, who was asking him about the case and still seemed unimpressed there had been no progress.

  “It isn't like what you've been used to, in cases like these it takes time. I can't create clues out of nothing,” he said, irritated.

  It was only for Ellen that he put up with Paul because he had no desire even to know about the movie. As far as Andy was concerned his brothers' business was his own and he had no inclination to be involved with those books. Already he wished that, when his brother had asked him if it was okay to base a character on him, he had said no, but that ship long since had sailed. It had been annoying when the local book club had started reading the books and he cringed when he thought how bad it would be with the release of a movie. A cloud hung over him. Even when Paul tried to make friendly conversation Andy found himself to be scowling and difficult to talk to. He felt a little guilty, but his life would have been easier had Paul not shown up.

  The afternoon was broken up by a call coming in on the radio. Andy took it himself, preferring to get out of the station rather than letting one of the officers handle it. Paul followed, of course, and expressed delight that he was going to see some real police work being done.

  “I wouldn't get too excited,” Andy said, “it's just a dispute between a couple of people. I can't imagine we'll be out long.”

  They drove into town and stopped outside the general store. When they entered they saw two men involved in an argument. Both were red-faced and looking like their tempers were frayed. Their voices were loud and Andy had to shout to be heard. He told them to calm down. They both turned to face him and began speaking simultaneously. Their voices boomed over each other and the words were unclear. Andy already had a headache and this was not making anything better. He held up his hands and spoke in a low voice.

  “Speak one at a time and let's get this sorted out,” he said.

  The men glared at each other and again went to speak at the same time. This time Andy huffed loudly and pointed at the man on the right. The two men were of different ages. One was in his 50s, with a bald head and a goatee. The other man was slightly younger and taller, with a slender frame and thinning hair. A few other people in the store were looking awkwardly at them.

  “He stole the gas, I'm sure of it! But he won't admit it. Come on, just tell everyone what you did then we can put this matter behind us. Stop trying to hide behind the lies. You're not doing anyone a favor,” the older man said.

  “I don't know what you're thinking but I didn't, and I don't appreciate these accusations. I've a good mind to report you for harassment,” he said, and made a pointed look over at Andy. The police chief strode forward and stood in between the two of them.

  “Come on guys, let's take a breath and talk about this properly. Nobody needs to be reported. I'm sure we can figure this out. Now, why do you think this man stole the gas?”

  “I saw him leave the fundraiser early and now he's zooming about town like nobody's business!”

  The other man rolled his eyes. “I obviously left before the gas bandit came and started stealing everything. If you're going to accuse everyone who still has gas, then good luck because you'll have to lock up most people in the town. Look, I don't know what possessed this man to steal gas but if I needed some there are far easier ways I'd go about it,” he said, folding his arms across his body.

  “A-ha! So you admit you've thought about it then!” the accuser said, pointing at the other man's chest.

  “Throwing around these accusations isn't going to help anyone. Trust me, we're working hard to figure out what happened but I think we all can agree that the best way to proceed is not jumping to conclusions. Can we agree to shake hands and move on from this? Obviously people are eager to find out who did it but we all need to be patient.”

  Andy looked at the men in turn and they both calmed down, and eventually shook hands. Andy and Paul walked back to the car and got in.

  “You handled that well, I'm impressed,” Paul said.

  Andy shrugged, “Over time you get used to things like that. That stuff is easy, you just have to talk them down and let the anger pass. It's all the other stuff that takes time, actually figuring out the crime.”

  “Do you have any idea who did it?”

  “Not yet. These are the ones I hate because there's no evidence to point to anyone. So we're just walking around blindly, hoping we'll stumble onto something.”

  “Is that different from your usual method?”

  Andy glared at Paul and was about to rant at him about how he took pride in his work, but he saw the twinkle in Paul's eye and the mischievous grin. He realized being this tense wasn't going to do him or the case any good, and he actually laughed.

  “Do you actually want to know my process for investigating crimes?”

  “Of course! I'm here to learn about you, after all. Anything that can help my performance would be good.”

  “I always tend to go from the evidence first. I like creating a case where I can point to a series of things and prove who did it and why. That's the only thing that holds up in a court of law, so that is what I stick to. Ellen, on the other hand, tends to form theories as she goes and then when new evidence comes to light she either sees how that fits her theory or forms a new one if it doesn't fit with what she thought. But over time she's rubbed off on me a little bit so there's an element of that in my work. Mostly I try keeping to the facts of the case. And, at the moment, all we know is somebody stole some gas. So this is when Ellen really comes in useful because she's usually able to think about why somebody would have done this.”

  “You two have worked together for a while now. At least, that's what I've been able to gather from speaking with various people around town. What's it like, working with your girlfriend?”

  “It's great. I have to admit that before we started going out I was unsure how the dynamic would work because I didn't want to compromise my job but it's only made things better. She's a...she'
s a very impressive woman and this town is definitely better off for having her in it.”

  “She strikes me that way,” Paul said. Andy heard a strong hint of admiration in his voice, which irked the police chief.

  “We make a good team, though, and I think I'm a better cop for knowing her. Not only that, I'm a better man, I think.”

  “You are lucky, with all this and a beautiful woman to boot.”

  “Is the glamorous Hollywood star really jealous of a small town cop?”

  “Maybe for a moment, then I think about my mansion and all the beautiful women who fawn over me and I'm happy with my lot again,” he said with a cheeky smile.

  “But seriously though, I do admire the work you do here. I don't think I could do it for a career, though. It's easy enough playing one but actually to be surrounded by everything...I mean, is that why you left the city?”

  “Something like that, yes,” Andy said, growing tense as the past became the subject of conversation.

  Paul began asking more questions but Andy quickly ended the conversation. Just as the two men had been broaching something akin to friendship the atmosphere between them returned to one of a frosty cordiality. While they spent time together, Paul thought about Andy a lot and what made the man tick. Everyone spoke of him in glowing terms and, while he had witnessed a few moments like this he always had remained distant. Paul didn't feel like he was getting any real insight into the man because Andy wasn’t opening up to him. It was nothing that could be forced, of course, but Paul was a little disappointed because it meant his work would suffer.

  While Andy and Paul were spending time together, Ellen had taken a personal day because it was the anniversary of her parents' deaths. It was always a difficult time of the year, although in some ways she appreciated that the gas bandit was on the loose because it gave her something to take her mind off her sorrow. She enjoyed her life but she wished her parents were still around to see it, and to witness the way she had grown into the town. On her way to the cemetery she thought about the gas bandit and why they would want to steal so much gas from the town, but once she stepped inside she only thought of her parents.

  The cemetery was connected to the large church in the middle of the town. It stretched outwards for what seemed like an eternity. The graves and tombstones were lined up uniformly, although they all were in various states of disrepair. Some had their names and epitaphs eroded, and they had been forgotten through time. Grass grew over the graves and vines crept up the tombstones, showing that whomever lay there had been forgotten. It was a sad fate, and she hoped it would not befall her. Scampy seemed to acknowledge the somber tone of the surroundings as well as he was not his usual jubilant self. Toward the entrance was the grave of Michael van De Lay, which was a new addition to the cemetery after his body had been discovered in a cave near the river. The man responsible for much of the town's infrastructure was given an appropriate, prominent place in the cemetery. Ellen was glad she had played her part in ensuring that his legacy continued.

  Ellen reached the graves of her parents and laid down a flower on each of them. She placed a hand on both of the graves and thought back, not to the last days of their lives, when they had been ill, but to her youth, when they both had been happy and vibrant. She thought about the times her father had taken her exploring in the forests, and when her mother had read with her books from her own childhood, and talked about why she loved them. As the fond memories came rushing back Ellen closed her eyes and forgot about her present surroundings. She took deep breaths and dove back into the recesses of her mind, making those memories come to the forefront. She relived them through the eyes of her younger self, and for a few moments it was as though her parents had come back to life.

  She remembered them as a happy couple in love, and it made her think of her own relationship with Andy, and Kelly's with Matthew. She had taken longer to find true love than her parents. They had been fortunate to meet each other when they were young and have a family together. Such things probably were not in the cards for herself and Andy, but she wondered if her parents ever had had any difficulties in their relationship like Kelly and Matthew were having. In some ways she felt as though she hardly knew her parents at all, and that there was so much of their lives she missed out on, and she wished she could turn to them for advice as well. It was in times like these that she did miss them terribly.

  And yet, with their deaths came a blessing in a way, for she remained in East Pender. Would she have done so if they had recovered fully? She wouldn't have had the money to buy the cafe, certainly, and she wondered what her life would have been like had she stayed in the city. Would she still be standing somewhere, ruminating on the vagaries of life and regretting her choice not to live in East Pender, or would she finally have found love in the big city? Then, she thought about the cases she had been involved in and how her absence from East Pender would have affected those as well. She was sure Andy would have caught the criminals no matter what, but perhaps not as swiftly, and there certainly would have been other wrinkles that she could not comprehend.

  Ellen gazed past her parents to look at the other graves that were all lined up in a row. All those lives had passed through the town and all ended up in the same place eventually. She would, too, one day, and perhaps there would be someone to come and lay a flower upon her grave. Then again, perhaps there wouldn't be.

  After paying her final respects to her parents she closed her eyes once more and thought of their smiling faces before she got back to the rest of her life. She reached out and grazed the hard tombstone with her fingers, feeling where the letters had been etched into the thick slab of stone. It was hard and rough, unlike her memories that were warm and loving. The sweet fragrance of the flowers she had left on the graves filled the air, and it struck her how, even in this place of mourning, of death, there still could be beauty that flourished.

  On the way back she passed the grave of Scampy's original owner. She paused to think back to that time, of how he had been murdered and the dog had been left without an owner. Until then Ellen never really had had a rapport with animals. Scampy had been the first one who actually had responded to her with affection rather than suspicion. He was the first pet she had, aside from some fish when she was younger. Scampy had become such an important part of her life she couldn't imagine it without him and she wondered if he remembered George. As if Scampy was reading her mind, he waddled up to the grave and placed his paw against the tombstone in a silent remembrance of his first owner. It was enough to bring a tear to Ellen's eye and she choked it away with a cough. Much of her time in East Pender had been marked with death but that served as a timely reminder to embrace life and not waste any moments, to love with all she had and take joy in every moment, every sensation, no matter how fleeting.

  Chapter 6

  Although Ellen had her personal things to take care of the world did not stop for her and neither did the gas bandit. The flagrant theft of gas outside her cafe had been the biggest, but the bandit had struck again on various nights, taking smaller amounts. They were careful, though, and still left no clues at the crime scenes, making Ellen wonder if it was actually only one person or if there were a group of people planning these thefts, making sure nothing was overlooked.

  The nights began to be fraught with danger as people were afraid of leaving their cars outside. To try outsmarting the bandit, people took to staying awake through the night, keeping watch over their cars. This was untenable as, naturally, they needed to function the next day and their lack of sleep proved a hindrance to that. So they never could keep up the guard duty for more than a couple of nights at the most, and the bandit escaped unseen. It was not a crime that proved immediate harm to anyone, but the more gas was stolen the more people grew annoyed, and with no progress being made they were quick to complain to the police. Usually by this point Ellen had something to go on but any theory was valid as there was so little information.

  At least that meant sh
e could afford to think about Kelly and how to best help her, for she was deeply worried about her friend. She had tried to call Kelly during the past couple of days but there had been no answer, and even when Ellen went around to Kelly's place and knocked on her door there was still a lack of response. Ellen called out to her friend but still there was no answer, and there was nothing she could do. Occasionally Kelly would do this, lock herself away in the midst of a creative blitz, a symptom of the artistic temperament, but in this instance Ellen thought the worst thing for her would be to be alone. Yet, there was nothing Ellen could do, and she unfortunately was forced to leave Kelly by herself and hope she found her way through whatever anguish was plaguing her.

  There was some deep secret that was haunting her and Ellen only wished she knew what it was. She didn't understand why Kelly felt she could not share her secret, especially when she knew how important honesty was to Ellen given her history with Andy. It must have been something big for Kelly to sabotage her relationship with Matthew, but secrets had a habit of destroying things. Ellen only could hope Kelly was able to come back from this.

  While she felt powerless in that respect, she also was feeling powerless in the case of the gas bandit as well. She and Andy tossed theories between each other but with literally no clues there was no way to confirm or deny any of them. Paul was in the middle of them, trying to throw various things into the mix but it only aggravated Andy. There were many times when Ellen had to take Andy aside and remind him they had to remain focused. It was not easy though, especially when it seemed like nothing they did was able to tease out the gas bandit. Even when they stationed police officers to watch over the cars there were not enough men to cover the whole town. The gas bandit was clever enough to avoid the places where there were patrols. With seemingly no recourse, the town was in an uproar. When the bandit struck again and there was no response, they gathered in the town square to voice their collective frustration.