by Kate Bell
Alec and I had been seeing each other for over a month and I still didn’t know how he had ended up here in Sandy Harbor. When I had asked over a month ago, before we were dating, he had changed the subject. We should have been past that, so I decided to go for it and ask him directly.
“So, Alec, you never have told me how you ended up here in Sandy Harbor,” I said.
He looked at me and then looked down at his place setting. “I guess you could say I needed a change of pace.”
“Why?” I asked simply.
He looked at me. “Because I let my partner die. Brass decided I needed a break for a while and Sandy Harbor police department agreed to take me.”
My mouth dropped open. “I’m sorry.”
He gave me a half smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “Sometimes no matter how good your intentions are, you still end up screwing up.”
“What happened?”
“We had a hostage situation,” he said reaching for a chip. “Drug dealers had kidnapped one of their customer’s daughters and held her for ransom. My partner decided to go in without adequate backup.”
“How is that your fault?” I asked gently.
He let out a heavy sigh. “I was supposed to cover him. But I had told him not to go in. He wouldn’t listen. I was busy trying to call for backup, and he ran into the house, where he was shot dead.”
I looked steadily at him. “How is that your fault?” I repeated.
He looked away. “He was my partner. It was my job to cover him and I failed.”
“Yes but, Alec, weren’t you also doing your job by calling in the situation? And didn’t you tell him to wait?” I asked. I failed to see why he thought it was his fault.
“Because covering my partner was more important, and I didn’t do it,” he said, and picked up his glass of water and took a sip. He wouldn’t look at me while he talked.
I watched him for a moment. I didn’t want to push, but it seemed he was taking too much responsibility on himself. “Would he have blamed himself if the tables were turned and it was you that died?”
He laughed, but it sounded cold. “That’s doubtful. Gordon was green. He had just been promoted to detective, and he thought he knew it all. I warned him to wait for backup, but he was sure he could handle it. He never took responsibility for anything, so, no. He would not blame himself.” He looked at me when he said the last part.
I nodded slowly. “Do you think there’s a possibility you’re being too hard on yourself?” I knew he didn’t want to hear that, but it seemed obvious to me.
“He had been married less than a year and had a baby on the way.”
His eyes became shiny, and he looked away again.
“I’m sorry,” I said.
He turned back toward me. “I understand that you think I’m taking the blame on myself and it isn’t justified. But Gordon and I argued a lot. All the time. We had been fighting on the way over to the scene. I swore at him and told him I was getting a new partner. He had pushed me over and over. And in the end, when all was said and done, I still can’t be sure I did all I could to keep him from getting killed.”
“What do you mean?” I asked him. My heart was breaking for him and I wanted to understand him and what he had been through.
“I had told him over and over not to go in. But when he said he was going in and I knew he was really going to do it, I told him to do whatever he wanted. I knew how dangerous it was, and I said screw it, and turned away and made a phone call. A damned phone call.”
“A very important phone call,” I pointed out gently. I could feel tears in my own eyes and I blinked them back.
He snorted. “I shouldn’t have turned away.”
“Alec,” I said and reached my hand out to place it on the back of his. He jerked his hand away.
“Don’t. Really. Just don’t. Plenty of the guys at the station blamed me. Well I blame me, too. I should never have turned away and now there’s a wife and kid without a husband and father. My superior officer sent me here to get away from the guys that blamed me. They thought I should have been charged with negligence or some other charge and fired. And I agree with them.”
I breathed out, hard. I wished I could say something to help, but I knew it would only make things worse. “I’m sorry,” is all I had.
“No, I’m sorry. We’re supposed to be having a nice evening, and now I’ve ruined it.”
“It’s not ruined,” I said as our dinners were brought to the table. “This smells delicious.”
We needed the distraction. He was intent on blaming himself and there wasn’t much I could do to make him feel better. I wondered if he had done any therapy, but I didn’t want to bring it up. Perhaps later. At least now things were out in the open. Maybe that would help him to deal with it. Secrets had a tendency to eat you alive.
Chapter Ten
It was officially Christmas season since Thanksgiving was over, but I loved the fall so much, I decided on a distinctly fall Southern pie. Sweet potato pie was one of my favorites when I was a little girl. Similar to pumpkin, but more dense. I always doubled up on spices. You can never use too much cinnamon in a sweet potato pie.
It was still slightly warm when Lucy picked me up at ten. I brought a can of whipped cream, just in case the Spellman’s didn’t have any. You can’t eat sweet potato pie without it. Normally I would make my whipped cream from scratch, but it didn’t travel as well as the kind in the can.
“That smells wonderful,” Lucy said when I got into her car. “Did you happen to make two of them? I wouldn’t mind taking one home with me.”
“Somehow I knew you were going to say that, and yes I did. Just for you,” I said. “When you drop me off afterwards, I’ll get it for you.”
“You’re the best!” Lucy said.
It had snowed almost a foot overnight and the snowplow was out doing its thing. I still needed to learn how to love snow. The snow that came before Christmas was far more tolerable than the snow that fell afterwards. How was it that pre-Christmas snow was white and beautiful, but post-Christmas snow was dirty and muddy looking? I had never been able to figure that out.
Lucy pulled into the Spellman’s driveway, and the curtains were open in the living room. A small Christmas wreath adorned the front door. We got out of the car and headed up the walk. Alec had told me Todd’s funeral had been the previous day, and I wondered if any relatives had come from out of town. I didn’t know Todd well enough to feel like I should go to the funeral, but I was sure there had been plenty of people from town that had gone.
The door opened before we could get up on the front step and Connie Sutter met us. “Good morning,” she said, looking warily at me, and then Lucy.
“Good morning, Connie, this is my friend Lucy,” I said, introducing them. “I baked a pie for ya’ll this morning and brought it right over. I know it’s still early, but it’s sweet potato and that’s a vegetable, so it’s healthy and can be eaten in the morning, right?” I decided that turning on my Southern charm might help us get some information.
She glanced at the pie, then back to me. “Oh, you shouldn’t have,” she said with what looked like a forced smile. She glanced back over her shoulder and then turned back to me.
We stood on the step looking at each other for a few moments and I was beginning to wonder if she would let us in. I held up the reusable shopping bag I had put the pie in. “It’s really very good. My grandmama from Alabama taught me how to bake the old Southern way.”
Then she smiled genuinely at me. “Please, come in,” she said and motioned toward the door.
“Let me cut you a piece of this pie,” I said. I could see the kitchen through a pass through in the casual living room and headed there before she could object.
I ran into her husband Terrence on my way. “Oh hello, Terrence, I brought you all a sweet potato pie. My grandmama taught me to make them oh, so many years ago!” I said brightly.
“Oh?” he said, but didn’t try to keep me f
rom my mission.
“This is my friend Lucy,” I said. “You don’t mind me looking for some plates, do you?” I hoped I wasn’t about to get kicked out. There were four pies and two cakes on the kitchen counters. “Oh goodness, I see you’re already set for sweet things, aren’t you?”
“Yes, the ladies from the church sent most of them home with us yesterday,” Connie said.
“I’m sorry. I’m being very forward, aren’t I?” There was an ancient looking wall phone in Todd’s kitchen, and I looked at it suspiciously.
“Oh no, no problem,” Terrence said. “I haven’t had sweet potato pie in years.”
“Well then, I’ll serve you up a slice,” I said, finding a stack of paper plates on another counter top. “How is Mr. Spellman doing today?”
“He’s doing well,” Terrence answered. “In fact, he’ll be right in, any moment now.”
I cut a piece of pie and looked up and there was Mr. Spellman, standing in the living room. I nearly dropped my pie when I saw him. I couldn’t recall ever seeing Mr. Spellman standing. He still had a slightly dazed look on his face, but he gave me a little smile.
“Well, Mr. Spellman, you do look well. Would you like some sweet potato pie?” I asked. I glanced at Lucy, and she looked just as shocked as I was to see him standing there.
Mr. Spellman nodded, and his smile got a little bigger, but he didn’t say anything.
“Let me help you,” Connie said, and came to stand beside me.
She looked distinctly uncomfortable as she got out a tray and some napkins. I couldn’t tell what was going on here, but something definitely was.
We all went into the living room to sit and eat our pie. It was cool in there and I wondered if Mr. Spellman was cold. He still hadn’t said a word, but he was feeding himself his pie and seemed to be enjoying it.
“This is wonderful pie,” Terrence said. “Your grandmama did a good job when she taught you to bake.”
“Oh yes, she did,” I replied. “Mr. Spellman, I’m so sorry for your loss.”
I hadn’t had a chance to say it before and I wanted to see what his reaction would be. He simply looked up at me and nodded and went on eating his pie.
“It’s such a shame,” Terrence said.
“Indeed,” Lucy said, still eyeing Mr. Spellman. “He seems to be doing so much better,” she said, nodding in Mr. Spellman’s direction.
“There seemed to be a mix up with his medication. We’ve gotten it straightened out though, and he is really doing much better,” Connie said, fidgeting.
“Really?” I asked.
“Yes,” she said and forced herself to smile. “It seems Todd may have made a mistake or two on dosages.”
“It’s all understandable, of course,” Terrence jumped in. “Todd was young and he had a career. I’m sure it was a lot to keep up with. But we’ll be taking Dad home with us and he’ll get the best of care.”
Dad. I wondered if he was really that close to Mr. Spellman. Something seemed off, but I couldn’t put my finger on it. I considered mentioning the phone call I had received the day before, but now that I had seen Mr. Spellman up and about, I wondered if I should. Maybe I needed to talk to Alec about it first.
I leaned in toward Terrence. “Does he talk much?” I whispered.
He looked over at Mr. Spellman. “No, not really. He’s said a couple of words here and there, mostly unintelligible. Perhaps he’ll get his ability to speak back after some time. I certainly hope so.”
I leaned back in my seat and then turned to Connie. “You must be so relieved to be able to take your father home with you.”
At this, Connie beamed. “Oh, yes. I really am. I was always a daddy’s girl. It was so hard when I moved to Michigan. I wish I had never moved away. Or at least, I wish I had taken Daddy with me.”
“I’m sure it was very difficult,” I said, nodding.
“What line of work are you two in?” Lucy asked.
“I’m a retired fireman,” Terrence said. “I injured my shoulder a couple of years ago and decided it was time to retire. After a hefty settlement from the city, of course.” He laughed.
“I bet that was interesting work,” I said, and then turned to Connie. “What do you do, Connie?”
She gave me a nervous smile. “I’m an interior decorator. I work freelance.”
“Oh, how fun is that?” Lucy said. “I always wanted to do something like that, but I just don’t seem to have the knack for it.”
“Well, it was nice of you ladies to stop by, but Dad has a doctor’s appointment and we really need to get going,” Terrence said, getting to his feet.
“Oh, of course,” I said. “We didn’t mean to keep you.”
“The pie was delicious,” Connie said.
“Thank you,” I said.
We got to our feet and started toward the door. “Mr. Spellman, I hope you liked that pie. I made it special for you!” I said loudly. I wasn’t sure how his hearing was.
Mr. Spellman looked at me and smiled. He made an “mmm” sound and nodded his head.
“Good, I’m so glad,” I said. It felt like we were getting the bum’s rush, but we had dropped by unannounced, so I couldn’t blame them.
When we were back in the car, Lucy asked, “What did you think?”
“I’m not sure,” I said buckling my seatbelt. “I think it’s pretty bizarre that Mr. Spellman can suddenly walk and feed himself. You saw how he was the other day.”
“Exactly,” she said, pulling away from the curb. “Why didn’t you mention the phone call?”
“I don’t know. Something told me not to. I’ll talk to Alec about it. Something funny’s going on there.”
Chapter Eleven
“Okay, so I have something to tell you,” I said to Alec. We were in his car on the way to the Bank of Maine to question the employees there. Hopefully someone would give us a clue as to why someone would want to kill Todd.
“Go on,” he said, pulling into the bank parking lot.
“Lucy and I went to visit Todd Spellman’s family yesterday. I baked them a fantastic sweet potato pie that got raves all the way around,” I said.
He sighed. “Allie, why do you insist on running around behind my back and investigating?” he asked as he pulled into a parking spot.
“What? I’m not doing anything behind your back. I’m simply going on fact finding missions. I tell you everything I find out,” I said.
He turned toward me. “Allie, please. This can be dangerous. Why don’t you let me do the investigating?”
“Don’t you want to know what happened?” I asked him.
“Sure. Go ahead. Tell me what you found out.”
I didn’t like his tone, but I decided to let it slide. “Mr. Spellman was out of his wheelchair and walking. He was fairly clear-eyed and was almost like a completely different person. It was weird.”
“And did you ask what had happened?”
“Connie said Todd had made a mistake on his medications and was giving him too much. They had taken him to the doctor and got his meds straightened out,” I said.
“Okay. So his meds are straightened out now. Why is that weird?” he asked. He still had both of his hands on the steering wheel.
“What do you mean, why is that weird? He was practically a zombie before! I had to feed him a piece of pie at the Turkey Trot,” I said, exasperated. Why did he always have to remain calm and level headed about everything?
“And did Mr. Spellman have anything to say?”
“No, apparently he isn’t talking much,” I said.
He nodded his head. “Okay, I’ve got some people to interview. Let’s go,” he said and opened his door and got out.
I got out. “Don’t you think it’s suspicious?” I asked, hurrying to his side. “Especially after that phone call I got the other day?”
He shrugged. “I don’t know. It isn’t good to connect things that aren’t connected. Or things you aren’t sure are connected. I’ve noted it and will keep
it in mind.”
I sighed. For a detective, he wasn’t very suspicious. I hurried to keep up with him and he held the door for me to go into the bank.
Jane Marshall was the assistant manager, and she met us at the door. “Good morning, Detective, and uh, Allie. There’s a small office you can use over here,” she said. I knew Jane from when her son Jake was in little league with Thad. She seemed nice enough, but I was going to pay more attention to her since she was a possible suspect now.
She showed us to the office, and we took seats behind the small desk.
“So, Allie, I didn’t know you worked with the police department?” she asked as she sat in the chair across from us.
I stared at her, not sure what to say. No one had come right out and asked me that before. Everyone we had ever talked to had just assumed I was supposed to be there.
“Jane, can you tell me about your relationship with Todd Spellman?” Alec asked, ignoring her question.
I tried not to smile. He was good. Very good.
“Oh. My relationship?” Jane asked, sitting up straighter. “What do you mean? He was my boss. That’s all.”
Huh. Defensive much, Jane?
Alec had his pen and notebook out and was scribbling in it. How did he do that so fast?
“Did you enjoy working for him?” Alec asked without looking up.
“Well, sure. I mean, I guess so. You know how it is. Sometimes things can get tense. Different personalities and all,” she said, fidgeting.
Alec stopped writing and looked up at her. After a moment, he asked, “Can you expand on that? The tense and different personalities part?”
Jane’s eyes got bigger. “Well, it’s just that Todd was very particular in how things were done. He didn’t want to leave loose ends on anything. He was a professional, I guess you could say.”
“He was a jerk?” I supplied. I wanted to see if the things Bob had said about Todd were true.
She gave me a smile that didn’t reach her eyes. “He could be very demanding. If you didn’t get your work done on time, he would sometimes lose it. I mean, screaming lose it.”