Brownie Points for Murder

by Nicole Ellis

  Outside, the policemen’s lights flashed against the trees and bushes between our yard and Mr. Westen’s house. Mikey would probably have made some comparison to light sabers and Star Wars, his new favorite movie.

  Someone shouted outside and the lights descended on Westen’s house. I got up to take a look out the window. The rain had stopped, but drops still fell off our upper deck and dripped onto the patio door, streaking the glass. I didn’t even see the man on the patio until he’d opened the door.

  I jumped backward reflexively. The policeman wiped off his feet on the doormat and looked up at me.

  “Sorry, Mrs. Andrews. I wanted to come back and let you know what we found. It appears the house down the hill was also broken into tonight. Nothing seems to be stolen, so it probably was just kids messing around. We’ll be done soon outside, but we’ll send a patrol officer around every hour or so until morning. If we find anything else out, you’ll receive a phone call.” He left the house and walked down the path to his police car.

  What was I going to do with this door? I’d need to call a locksmith and a glass place tomorrow. I swept up the glass and taped a piece of cardboard over the missing glass with duct tape. I stepped back to admire my work and then heard a sound at the front door.

  Knock, knock.

  Lincoln stood on the front porch, his fuzzy white hair sticking out in all directions. I stifled a grin. Normally rather vain about his remaining hair, he must not have taken the time to comb it before leaving. I opened the door and smiled weakly at him. Tears threatened to escape my eyes.

  “Jill, are you ok?” His tall, well-built frame that was so much like Adam’s was a comforting presence.

  “Yeah, we’re fine. The police think it was some kid, but I don’t know. Mr. Westen’s house was broken into too.”

  He closed the door firmly behind him and walked toward Mikey.

  “I’ll get Ella.” I stooped to unbuckle my daughter from her bouncer, and her pink bunny rabbit caught my attention. It sat primly against the edge of an armchair next to the patio door.

  Normally, I wouldn’t be surprised by a toy in my living room, but the last time I remembered seeing the bunny was when Ella and I were at Mr. Westen’s house, waiting for the plumber. How had it gotten into my house?

  “What’s wrong?” Lincoln asked, scanning my face.

  I pointed at the bunny. “That wasn’t there before.”

  He looked at me like I was crazy. “Are you sure? Maybe Mikey put it there. Or it dropped off the chair.”

  “No. I couldn’t sleep earlier, so I picked up everything in the living room after the kids went to bed. It wasn’t there.”

  “You’ve been under a lot of stress lately with Adam being gone and now this.” He swept his hand through his hair and cleared his throat. “It seems unlikely that a burglar moved a toy.”

  The patterns on the sofa’s throw pillows seemed to swim in front of me. I rubbed my eyes and sat down on the sofa. Had I put the bunny in the diaper bag at Mr. Westen’s house and forgotten I’d done so? When my snooping had been interrupted by the plumber’s arrival, I could have put the toy in the stroller or in the diaper bag.

  “You’re probably right.” I didn’t mention that the last time I remembered seeing the bunny was at Mr. Westen’s house.

  He drove us back to his house, where Beth helped get Mikey into the boys’ room, and Ella and I settled into their guest bedroom. Mikey woke briefly after the car ride but fell asleep again quickly in the familiar bed at his grandparents’ house. He’d be surprised when he woke up in the morning.

  When I awoke, it took awhile to remember where I was. The sun streamed through the sheer white polka dot drapes, creating circles on the golden oak floors. What time was it? Why hadn’t Ella woken me up? Her crib was empty. I sat up quickly and the sudden movement caused my head to throb. Ignoring the pain, I swung my legs out of bed and opened the door.

  Mikey’s laughter and his sister’s full-bellied giggles floated up the stairwell. I closed the door and dressed quickly. Beth insisted on keeping the windows cracked at night for fresh air. While the house smelled great, I had to pull a sweatshirt over my head to ward off the chill.

  Downstairs, Lincoln and my kids sat at the breakfast table. Judging by the quantity of syrup on Mikey’s hands and face, he’d already devoured a stack of pancakes. Ella sat in her highchair, kicking her feet and gumming a piece of pancake while sucking down a bottle. It was all such a normal scene, you’d have thought we were there for a family brunch and not as a result of a late-night break-in.

  “Do you want one?” Beth motioned to the stack of pancakes while expertly tending to fresh ones still on the griddle. “There’s bacon and muffins too. And coffee, of course.”

  I nodded and sat next to Mikey.

  Lincoln selected a mug from the cabinet and filled it with coffee, setting it down in front of me.

  “Mom, Mom! Do you see how much syrup I have? And Grandpa said I could have three pieces of bacon.”

  I smiled at Mikey over the top of my coffee cup. He was unfazed by waking up somewhere different than where he’d gone to bed the night before.

  I slathered butter on a muffin and poured syrup over my stack of pancakes and reached for the bacon. A bite of the muffin reminded me of the source of Desi’s baking skills. Yum. This was heaven. I contemplated milking the break-in and requesting to stay until Adam came home. In our house, toast and cereal were considered gourmet breakfasts during the week.

  My face must have conveyed my desire to be a long-term house guest because Beth brought the remaining pancakes over to the table and said, “You’re welcome to stay as long as you need to. I really think you should get an alarm system. This is the kind of thing that worries me about you being home alone with the kids. With Samuel Westen being murdered so close and the break-in at his house too, I really worry.”

  “Beth’s right,” Adam’s dad said. “Ericksville isn’t the same sleepy little town we grew up in. Crime has spread from the city, and you can’t sleep with your doors unlocked anymore.” His eyes drooped.

  “My doors weren’t unlocked!” I protested. “I double-checked them last night.”

  “I know, but my point is that it’s gotten to the point where an alarm system may be necessary. You live within walking distance of downtown and, with the public buses stopping down on Main Street now, there are so many vagrants looking for places to rob or sleep for the night. Look at the poor homeless guy who died in the condo fire. That never would have happened twenty years ago.”

  “Fine, I’ll look into it.” I glanced at the clock and did a double take. “I can’t believe it’s nine o’clock already. Mikey’s going to be late for school, and I’ve got so much to do.”

  “Do you need me to take Ella today? I don’t have any potential clients coming in today, and Tuesdays aren’t popular for events.” Beth daintily wiped her mouth with a cloth napkin.

  “That would be great. I planned to stop in at the condo project to look at some of the plans, and then I’m taking a shift over at the BeansTalk. I figured I could bring Ella with me, but she’d probably be happier with you.”

  Beth cleaned off Ella’s hands and face and picked her up. “Ella and Grandma are going to have fun at the mall today.” She snuggled Ella close and gave her a kiss. “I just love having a little girl to spoil. Go ahead and leave Goldie here for the day too. Daisy loves having a friend to play with.” She leaned down to pet the English bulldog pressed into the floor by her feet.

  I was a little afraid of how many outfits Ella would come home with. But she was outgrowing her six-month clothes, so I’d skip the lecture about how many clothes one little girl could possible need.

  “Sounds good. Mikey, c’mon, we need to get going.”

  “But Mom, I’m still eating,” he whined. A piece of bacon hung out of his mouth, and he played idly with it.

  “Mikey, we’re going to be late. Let’s go!” I silently counted to ten to calm my frustrations.
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  “No, Mom, I’m not done.” He scowled at me.

  Lincoln glared at his grandson, and Mikey slid off the chair and trudged down the hall to the bathroom, stomping his feet along the way. If this was what an almost-four-year-old was like, I wasn’t looking forward to the teenage years.

  “Thanks,” I mouthed to my father-in-law. I gathered up my belongings and managed to get Mikey out to the front hallway looking somewhat clean. I had my keys in hand, ready to go out the door to my van, when I remembered I hadn’t driven there.

  “Lincoln, could you drive me home so I can get my car? Maybe we could drop off Mikey on the way?”

  “Sure.” He stuffed half a crumbling blueberry muffin in his mouth and grabbed his keys and jacket.

  22

  We pulled up to the parking lot of Busy Bees Preschool thirty minutes late.

  “Is it ok to park here?” Lincoln pointed at the only parking space remaining in the lot. A neatly painted sign in front of the spot read, “Danielsen family only”.

  “Yeah, it’ll only be for a few minutes. They offer that spot every year at the annual auction. Families bid crazy amounts of money for it. Shouldn’t be a big deal to park there right now.”

  I got Mikey out of the car and caught a glimpse of a face peering through the window. By the time we had the door open, Nancy Davenport waited for us behind the front desk.

  “Mikey, nice to see you. Your class is waiting for you. Please go on back,” she said in a stern voice. I tried to slink out the door while she addressed my son.

  “Jill, can we have a little chat please?” It seemed more like an order than a request.

  “Sure,” I said, pasting a smile onto my face. “What’s going on? Is it my snack day?” I cast a glance at the snack calendar but didn’t see Mikey’s name.

  “No. But please do remember to sign up. Some parents have had to provide more than one snack a month, but they shouldn’t have to.” She looked disapprovingly at me. “Actually, I wanted to remind you that the reserved parking spot out front isn’t for all of our families to use for their convenience. The Danielsen family donated a large sum to the school for the sole use of that spot for the year.”

  “The parking lot was full and my father-in-law is still in the car.” I gritted my teeth. I was going to have to start using the counting trick when dealing with Nancy too. “I didn’t think it would be a big deal because school had already started. As soon as I leave, I’ll have him move the car.”

  “Maybe next time, you should ‘think’ about getting Mikey to school on time. We are all concerned about his behavior lately. Children crave routine, you know.” She folded her hands in front of her on the reception desk and smiled sweetly at me.

  I didn’t want to get into the details about the break-in. “I’ll be sure to get him here on time tomorrow. Thank you for your concern, but I really need to leave now.” The silent counting wasn’t working and, if I stayed any longer, I’d have a YouTube video of my own. I spun around and opened the door. I pretended not to hear Nancy as she called out the door to me.

  I yanked open the car door and threw myself into the seat. “Drive,” I ordered as if I were a bank robber.

  Lincoln raised an eyebrow. “Tough day at preschool drop-off?”

  “You have no idea.” We rode in silence to my house, where he stopped the car at the curb in front of the front door.

  “Would you like me to come inside?”

  “No, I’m fine.” It seemed ridiculous to ask Lincoln to check out the house. I stared at the house, then with trepidation, walked up the steps and unlocked the door. I wasn’t sure I was ever going to shake the feeling that someone had violated my dream home. Maybe I did need an alarm system to feel better.

  He turned off the car and stepped out. “Beth would never forgive me if I didn’t walk you in.” He zipped up his rain jacket and stepped over a puddle onto the front walk.

  I slowly pushed open the door. Everything looked fine. I released the breath I didn’t know I’d been holding. Fluffy ran to the door and milled around our feet. In all the commotion after the break-in, I’d forgotten her usual early morning feeding, a situation I quickly rectified.

  Lincoln walked through the house. “Everything looks fine in here. The cardboard on the door is soggy, but it held.”

  I looked at him gratefully. “Thanks.”

  “No problem, let me know if there’s anything we can do for you. And, Jill?” He paused. “Our house is always open for you and the kids.”

  I nodded and shut the door behind him. The house seemed eerily quiet without the kids and Goldie. The only sound was Fluffy crunching away on cat food in the laundry room.

  I flipped on every light on the way to the living room and walked toward the patio door. Lincoln was right. The cardboard had held, but it wouldn’t last much longer. I needed to get that locksmith and glass company out soon or our house would be flooded in the next bout of rain. I peered out the window. The low-hanging gray clouds threatened to dump rain on us at any time. Moving away from the window, I kicked something soft.

  Ella’s bunny.

  How had it gotten there? Was Lincoln right and Mikey had placed it there? Had I not noticed? Last night, I’d been too bleary-eyed and disoriented to think clearly. Now, fortified with coffee and a hearty breakfast, I was sure the last time I’d seen it was at Mr. Westen’s house.

  Blood drained from my face. If the same person had broken into both the Westen house and our house, had they brought the toy here? What if it was the same person who killed Mr. Westen? Did they know I was conducting my own investigation?

  I shivered, not from the draft coming through the cardboard, but from the realization that while my children and I slept upstairs, someone had entered my house and left my daughter’s stuffed animal behind. I eyed the bunny and picked it up by one floppy ear. I walked quickly to the laundry room, scaring Fluffy in the process. I scavenged the dirty laundry, encased the bunny in the pillowcase I’d found, and threw it in the washing machine.

  I wanted to throw the toy in the trash, but the bunny had the power to make Ella smile when she was cranky. I wasn’t going to let the intruder take any more happiness away from my family, and I refused to let it frighten me away from finding out who really killed Mr. Westen. For Desi’s and the baby’s sake, the real murderer needed to be found ASAP, and I would do anything I could to make that happen.

  23

  My first call of the day was to a locksmith and glass repair company. Then, I phoned an alarm system company. I scheduled installation of a fancy system with all the bells and whistles for the next day. I took a quick shower, changed into work clothes and hopped into my car. I wasn’t due at the BeansTalk until one o’clock, but I needed to do some more research on the condo project for the marketing plan I’d started.

  The door to Elkins Development Group was ajar, and I pushed it in without knocking. Elliott sat at his desk, fiddling with a pair of black-rimmed glasses. He didn’t look up when I entered.

  “Elliott?” I knocked on the door to alert him to my presence. He looked up. If possible, he looked even worse than when I’d seen him the day before. His hair hung in greasy strands and his tan was fading fast.

  “Jill, hi,” he said. “What can I do for you?” He sounded somewhat irritated to see me, but he smiled broadly.

  “I need to take a look at those architectural designs again. I’ve got an idea to promote the condos, but I have to check some things first.”

  “Sure, go ahead.” He motioned to the file cabinets. “They’re in the drawers.”

  I put down my bag next to the small side desk I’d used last time. Would the ledgers still be there? I started to open the bottom drawer where I’d seen the notebook, but I only had it open a crack when Elliott cut in.

  “In the third drawer down.”

  “Oh, thanks. So many drawers, I forgot where they were.”

  I’d seen enough of the drawer to know the notebook was no longer there. I pulled open the
correct drawer and withdrew the documents I needed, bringing them over to my workspace.

  Elliott cleared his throat and looked at the clock on the wall and then at me, as if deciding what to do. “Jill, I’ve got to run an errand. Are you ok here alone?”

  I nodded.

  “My cell phone is on the fritz, and I’m expecting a phone call here. Would you mind answering the phone while I’m gone?” Elliott asked.

  “No problem.” I smiled in what I hoped was a confident manner.

  Was I ok alone in here? Ha! Mikey’s school had interrupted me last time, and I felt giddy at the chance to snoop more. Elliott’s lies about the Westen property worried me. I wanted to know the truth before a whole bunch of new cottage homes popped up on the hillside below my house.

  Elliott left and I quickly got to work. Unfortunately, the file cabinets yielded nothing useful. A quick search of Elliott’s desk produced a business card for Derek Kim, CPA. Had Elliott brought the company records to his accountant for safekeeping?

  Ring! Ring!

  The phone startled me. What was it with phone calls interrupting me here? It took me a few seconds to realize it was the desk phone ringing.

  “Elkins Development Group,” I said professionally. “How may I help you?”

  A worried female voice came over the line. “Is Perry there?”

  “No, I’m sorry, ma’am. Perry is out of town.”

  “Out of town? He was supposed to be here for our hearing, but he never showed up. That bastard.” The worry had turned to anger.

  “I’m sorry, I don’t know the details. If I could get your name and number, I can leave a message for him to call you back.”

  “Never mind.” She hung up.

  I set the receiver down and sat down at the desk. Was that Perry’s ex-wife? If he hadn’t flown to Baltimore, where was he?