by Laina Turner
She chatted away like we were old friends. Just one more bizarre happening taking place in my life today.
“Coffee would be great and French vanilla creamer is a fine addition,” I said, following her into the kitchen.
“Have a seat,” she motioned to the kitchen table. “I hope you don’t mind drinking it in here. I like the coziness of this room. Not as stiff and formal as being in the dining room.”
“This is fine. I often sit at my kitchen table for the same reason,” I said playing along with her chitchat.
She got our coffee and sat down in quick order. “I presume you are here because you found my note?”
Maybe this was going to be easier than I thought. I didn’t even have to ask her. “Well, yes. I wasn’t completely sure you had left it for me, us. Wasn’t even sure if it was you.”
“It was and I did,” she said stirring her coffee absentmindedly.
“Then please tell me what it meant and why you left it?”
“Because I know who killed Harvey.”
My eyebrows raised, “Oh?”
“It was Don.”
“But I thought…”
“That Don was my boyfriend? He is. But I can’t condone murder. No matter how much I love him.”
“Then why not just go to the police? Why come to me?”
“Well, I might not condone murder, but I don’t want Don to know I betrayed him either. I was hoping you could help me by going to the police for me. You know, and just leave me out of it. I don’t want to be involved.”
“I’m not sure that will work. They’re going to have questions and they’re going to want to talk to you.”
“Oh, dear. I guess I didn’t think about that.”
“Did he tell you he killed Harvey?”
“Not in so many words, but I know he did.”
“If you don’t have proof…”
“Can’t the police figure that part out? Isn’t that their job?”
“The police are going to want some kind of proof that Don did this to be able to investigate. What makes you think he killed Harvey? I thought they were good friends?” This lady was confusing me. It was such a weird thing to accuse your boyfriend of murder when you didn’t have any proof. Something about this didn’t feel right.
“They are, were, but Don’s always been jealous of Harvey. I guess he just snapped,” she said nonchalantly. “It happens. There is even a TV show called that very thing. I think it’s on the Oxygen channel. Do you have cable?”
I ignored her cable comment. “Did he say something to you to make you think he killed him?”
“Not in so many words. It’s more just a feeling. It’s hard to explain. But if you tell the police, I’m sure they can get it figured out.”
I spent another hour talking with her, and when I left I was as confused as ever. Nothing made sense. I felt like I had just spent the last hour and a half talking in circles. Cody made more sense than this lady. I was beginning to wonder if she was a “few bricks shy of a load” as my grandfather always said about people who just didn’t seem all there. Maybe like Doris, she was just looking to add some excitement to her life.
I drove to the shop. I had told the girls I would meet them there and fill them in. I was supposed to have headed there after dropping Jack off, so by this point they were anxious to get the full scoop, wondering what took me so long.
“I agree with you, Trix, that lady sounds daffy. Why would she want to turn her boyfriend in with no proof? And she didn’t seem concerned? That she is dating a potential killer?” Sophie said.
I took a drink of my coffee. Berklie had brewed my favorite blend and had a red velvet cupcake ready for me when I walked in. Another one of my favorites, though I did think twice before biting into the creamy sweetness, since the cupcake that had poisoned Harvey had been red velvet. “Yeah. I don’t know what to think. She didn’t act like it was a big deal. I don’t know.” I ran my hand through my hair. I was mentally drained again after today, and it was only three in the afternoon. This was getting to be a not very fun reoccurrence.
“Are you going to tell Clive?” Berklie asked.
“Of course. I wouldn’t take the chance that she was actually right. I’m sure he’s going to think she’s as crazy as we all do, but he can make that determination.”
Just then the door chime went off, and we all turned to see Macie come through the door.
“Sorry I’m late, guys. Meeting ran over.”
“Mr. Tobias changing his will again?” Berklie asked.
Macie looked at her in shock. “How did you know that is who I was meeting with?”
We all laughed.
“You will find Berklie knows just about everything going on in this town. A by-product of living here all her life and being nosy,” I said
“Stop,” Berklie said to me playfully. “I just like to know things.” Turning to Macie. “Mr. Tobias has been changing his will on a monthly basis for something like twenty years. Bill always fosters it off on whomever he can. I saw Mr. Tobias at the diner when I stopped for pastries and heard him say he was heading to the firm to, and I quote, ‘cut out those good for nothing sons of his once and for all.’ So really it was all deductive reasoning,” she said modestly.
“Still, that’s pretty good. Yeah, Bill warned me about him and he’s harmless. Just an ole blowhard. I feel bad for his kids.”
“I think they’re used to it by now,” Berklie said. Turning to me. “You know, speaking of men in this town, Don and Harvey did have that falling out years ago.”
I took a few minutes to catch Macie up before responding. “That was what, fifteen years ago? Water under the bridge by now, and when Harvey was poisoned they were friends, and they’d been doing their old men coffee club for years together.
“Maybe Don’s been harboring a grudge all this time?” said Sophie.
“That’s an awfully long time to wait. I don’t know. Something about the whole deal just doesn’t seem right,” I said. “I just don’t know what it is.”
“Then maybe we just ask Don ourselves?” Macie suggested. “You know, casually. See what his reaction is.”
We all looked at each other.
“Hmm. Maybe we should,” I said.
Chapter 23
Are you sure this is going to work?” I asked Macie as we sat in her car parked in the street across from Sophie’s house.
“Well nothing is one hundred percent, but this guy has been a creature of habit, and I think we have a good chance here.”
Macie’s research into Sophie’s stalker had shown a clear pattern. The other two women on record he had stalked, he’d followed the same routine. Macie said where there were two documented cases there were probably many more who never reported it. His dropping off flowers and candy and cards had become more and more frequent until it was a daily occurrence. For the last three days he had dropped off something to Sophie’s house, so Macie was pretty sure he would be stopping by today. It was just a matter of when. Berklie and Sophie were at the shop showing Rachel the ropes while we staked out Sophie’s house. We assumed, of course, he would show up when Sophie wasn’t home as was his pattern.
“Have you done this before?” I asked her. “You know, watched for a stalker.”
“Once, unfortunately, a girlfriend of mine in law school was being stalked. Much like this situation, the police couldn’t do anything. She was scared to go home because he would either be waiting for her, or would have been to her house and left notes or presents. We thought if we confronted him he might leave her alone.”
“Did he?”
Macie hesitated. “He left her alone, but didn’t stop his stalking tendencies toward women in general. We found out about a year later that he soon fixated on another female law student who wasn’t so lucky.”
Alarm must have shown on my face because she continued.
“These kinds of situations are often unpredictable and hard to stop. Once someone shows they have stalker tende
ncies they are always going to be that way, in my opinion anyways. I’m sure there is someone out there who has changed his ways, but I haven’t met him.”
“So what, we scare him away from Sophie, and he just goes and does this to someone else? What will it take to ever stop him?”
“In this situation we have a bit of an advantage. He has two documented restraining orders for this behavior, and I’m an attorney, which can be scary to someone who has already been in trouble with the law. It’s a wonderful power I didn’t realize I would have when I made this career decision. I am going to confront him, while you video tape, and tell him what will happen to him if he bothers Sophie or anyone else again.”
“Is that legal?” I asked.
“It’s not illegal,” Macie said with a smile.
“I guess more importantly, do you think that will stop him?”
“Nothing for sure, but it’s worth a try.”
We then spent the next two hours talking and staring out the window. If this was a taste of what being a private eye was like, no thank you. It was boring with a capital B. Two of Sophie’s neighbors stopped to ask what we were doing, and we filled them in. They both promised to keep a look out for the guy. It was nice to live in a community where people still looked out for one another.
“I need to pee. I’m going to run over to Marie’s house real quick,” I said to Macie. Marie was one of Sophie’s neighbors who had stopped to see what we were doing and had said to stop by if we needed anything like a bathroom during our stakeout.
“Okay.”
I had one foot out the door when Macie put a hand on my arm.
“Wait a minute. I think he might be here.”
We watched as a car slowed to a crawl in front of Sophie’s house and parked just past it, in front of the neighbors’ house.
“Do you recognize that guy?” Macie asked.
“Not anyone I know. But he has the blond hair and the slight build Sophie described.”
Macie nodded. “Let’s give it just a minute and see what happens.”
The man got out of the car and looked around, then opened the back door on the driver’s side and reached in, pulling out flowers and a small box.
“That’s got to be him,” I said and Macie agreed. It would have to be one hell of a coincidence to have this not be the right person.
“Showtime,” she said, opening the car door.
We walked purposefully up behind the guy who had made his way to Sophie’s door. It wasn’t until he bent down to set the flowers and the box on her front step that he noticed us behind him. I had been taping as we walked up to make sure I caught what he was doing—and to get a full view of the look of surprise on his face I was sure he’d have when we, or rather Macie, confronted him.
“Hey, what are you doing?” he asked in a tone that seemed to be a bit defensive. As if he thought he had a right to be here and we didn’t, which under different circumstances maybe he would have that right. In this moment, however he was caught red-handed. Macie had told me to let her do the talking, and I had quickly agreed. She knew much more about how to handle this situation than I did, and I had no idea what to say.
“I think we should be the ones asking those questions, Jeff.”
He hadn’t expected for Macie to know his name, and I could see that threw him off balance. I could tell by the look on his face that his mind was racing to figure out how we knew who he was.
“How do you know my name?” he asked suspiciously.
“We know all about you. Your stalking women. The restraining orders. Nothing is a secret anymore, Jeff,” Macie said in a cool, strong voice.
I was quite impressed, and I could tell Jeff was definitely caught off guard.
“Those restraining orders were bogus. Those ladies just didn’t realize how much I loved them. If they would have just given me a chance,” his voice took on a whine.
“Jeff, you need to leave Sophie alone. In fact, you need to leave all women alone. See my friend here. She is videotaping this entire exchange in which you admitted to stalking.”
Realization that he might have said too much dawned on him, and I could tell he was searching for the right next thing to say. Macie didn’t give him a chance.
“You will stay away from Sophie and all other women. This tape will be given to the authorities as soon as we leave here, and will be used against you in its entirety if you are caught harassing women in any way. I’m an attorney and I understand the law a little better than you. Do you understand me, Jeff?” Macie said in what had to be her best stern lawyer voice.
Jeff swallowed and nodded and started backing away from us.
“Don’t come back here again, Jeff,” Macie warned.
I continued taping until he reached his car and drove off. I then shut off the camera and turned toward Macie.
“Impressive. You were quite convincing.”
“Well, thank you,” she said taking a short curtsy.
“But tell me, would what he said really be considered evidence?”
Macie shook her head. “No, not really, but you could tell by his response he wasn’t sure, and it’s the best we can do considering the circumstances. I do want to turn it over to the police, but it probably won’t amount to anything.”
I thought about that for a second. “Considering the laws, I guess it’s just good we were able to do something.”
“Exactly. Now how about we head back to town and grab a celebratory coffee and cupcake?”
“Perfect idea. We can stop at Avery’s place, CupCakes, where we order our selection from. Give you a chance to meet her.”
“That would be great.”
Chapter 24
Are you sure this is smart? You know crazy people are unpredictable,” Berklie said to me after I told the girls my plan.
“I will be here in a room full of people, and trust me, I won’t be eating anything on the table,” I said jokingly. I had asked Dawn to meet me, telling her I knew she had killed Harvey, and we needed to discuss what I wanted to keep quiet about it. Of course, I wasn’t sure she had killed Harvey. It was just a hunch, but it was enough for her to meet me at the shop, further confirming my suspicions that at the very least she had something to do with Harvey’s murder. I expected her in a couple minutes.
“I wish you would let us be part of the conversation,” Berklie grumbled.
“I don’t think that would be conducive to getting her to admit she’s a murderer, or is it murderess? She will be here any minute.” This plan had been last minute, and so I hadn’t filled them in on what I was thinking about or why I felt she was the one to murder Harvey. “In fact, here she comes through the door. Now, go bring us some cupcakes and coffee,” I said to Berklie and walked over to get her.
A few minutes later, Berklie returned with two steaming mugs of coffee and two red velvet cupcakes. I thought it only fitting. Since it was the flavor of cupcake that killed Harvey.
“I hope this is okay,” I said to her sweetly. “No reason we can’t enjoy our conversation with some treats.”
She looked at me suspiciously, no doubt trying to figure out what I knew, if anything, and I didn’t blame her. She would be crazy not to be suspicious of my motives, with what’d she told me. Especially since the police hadn’t yet talked to her. I had tried to tell Clive, and I had left him many messages. We just hadn’t had a chance to connect.
“It’s okay. Please eat. They aren’t poisonous. I promise.”
She again looked at me skeptically. I almost wanted to laugh. Not so much at her but the situation itself.
“What did you want to talk to me about that was so important, Trixie?” she said, taking a sip of coffee but ignoring the cupcake. “I’m not sure what you were getting at with what you said on the phone.”
“I thought you might want a chance to revise your story?” I said, taking a bite of my cupcake, more to make a point than because I was hungry. Though, truth be told, I never had to be hungry to eat a cupcake.
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“What do you mean?” she asked.
“Don didn’t kill Harvey. You did.”
She made a big show of looking shocked and then offended. “Well I…”
“Cut the act, Dawn. I know it wasn’t Don.” Now, I didn’t know that for sure, but I was fairly convinced it wasn’t him, and what she didn’t know was that I was quite a good poker player, mainly because I had a good bluff.
She paused for a moment. I could see she was trying to think of what would be the best thing to say.
“Just admit it. You’ll feel better once you get it off your chest,” I said soothingly. Wanting her to feel at least enough to tell me.
A few long and uncomfortable minutes went by with her silent and me just sipping my coffee, determined to wait her out. It was hard, but I thought if I waited long enough she might start talking, which she finally did about five minutes later.
“I had no choice, you see,” was how she started out. I still stayed silent. “I had no choice, because he was going to tell Don what I did and everything would have been ruined.” Her voice rose on the last few words.
“What makes you think it would have ruined everything? Maybe you could have worked it out?”
I was trying to be vague enough that she would think I knew what she was talking about, so she would tell me what she was talking about.
She shook her head. “No. Don would have blown a gasket if he’d found out. Then he would have pulled his endorsement and the scandal would have prevented me from getting other investors.”
I racked my brain, trying to figure out what in the heck she was talking about when it finally dawned on me. She must’ve been talking about the charity she ran called Helping Hands, a non-profit organization that provided assistance to the elderly and shut-ins.
“He would have pulled his endorsements from Helping Hands?” I questioned.
“Yes, and that would have scared everyone away, and I would have been ruined.”
Again, trying to draw her out, I said, “Maybe he wouldn’t have been as mad as you think?”
She just looked at me. “You don’t know Don. He would have pulled his support the minute he found out I had borrowed that money.”