by Leona Fox
“I'm sorry it's so late, but I wonder if I could come and speak to you about something?” Ellen said.
“Sure, it's not like anyone else around here talks to me,” Pippa said pointedly, raising her voice so that other people in the house would hear.
She led Ellen through to the kitchen. As they passed the lounge Ellen saw Pippa's husband lounging on the sofa scratching his belly, eyes locked on the television. Upstairs she heard the scuffling of feet and imagined it was Pippa's youngest. There was no sign of the other one, but given that there were just three plates drying next to the sink Ellen concluded that Pippa's daughter was out with a friend, or possibly on a date.
The room smelled of detergent and the washing machine was crashing around, clothes dancing in the suds. It was a well-kept house, and the mess was just the mess of the family, the mess of life, signs that people actually lived there. Not like Ellen's house, which was always so tidy. Some people even had remarked that it was like a museum, like one of those houses they restored as an example of a typical house from the past.
“Would you like a drink?” Pippa offered. Ellen asked for some water, deciding to keep it simple for she did not know how Pippa was going to react.
“Listen, I'm sorry for before. I didn't mean to sound so spiteful. I guess I just had it in my head you were going to offer me the job and it was a bit of a shock when you didn't,” Pippa said as she handed the glass to Ellen and gestured to a seat.
Ellen pulled out a seat around the round wooden table. The surface was smooth, aside from the stains of dropped food that had dried and would now require some elbow grease to remove.
“Apology accepted,” Ellen said, smiling.
“I did actually pop in to talk about Alexander, but it's a little delicate.”
“Oohh! What is it?” Pippa said, leaning forward, an excited smile appearing on her face and her eyes gleaming in anticipation of some juicy gossip.
“Well,” Ellen continued, somewhat reluctantly because she had the feeling she was luring Pippa into a trap even though that was not her intention.
“I dropped him home after work and we found somebody had sprayed graffiti over his door, rather rude words that I don't feel comfortable repeating, especially not here when young children could hear,” she said, glancing over her shoulder, just in case the child had entered the room.
“That's awful. Do you have any idea who did it?”
“Not really, and right now, to be honest, the only person who we know for sure doesn't like Alexander is, well...is you.”
It took a few moments for Pippa to understand what Ellen was saying. Her face scrunched up and then she scowled, and her voice lowered.
“First you don't offer me the job, and then you come in here and accuse me of being a criminal! What kind of person are you?”
“I'm sorry. I just have to make these inquiries. I'm not accusing you of anything. I'm just trying to find out who did this. It's obviously someone who didn't like him and you had a reason, and given what you said to me today I'm sure you can see why I have to ask you.”
Pippa looked as though she was going to explode and Ellen braced herself for an onslaught of strong language, but with a sigh Pippa relaxed into her chair and smiled.
“I guess I did come off as pretty angry earlier. Yes, I was angry at him, but to be honest, and don't take this the wrong way, I was more angry at you for giving him the job. So if I was going to vandalize anyone's house it would have been yours.”
Ellen's eyebrows lifted in surprise and took a sip of her drink, for she did not know what else to do. Pippa continued, “But I really wouldn't know where to start with spray painting. You can ask my husband, if you like. I have no artistic talent whatsoever. After I left the cafe I've been here all day. Doesn't he have any idea who did it?”
Ellen shook her head, “At least he's not saying anything, even if he does. I know you said there was no gossip about him, but surely you must have heard something over the years?”
Pippa drew in some breath. “I didn't say I'd never heard anything about him, I just said that nobody was talking about him. To be honest, even then I don't know much. He's the kind of person who always keeps himself to himself and he seems a bit of a loner. He should have gotten over his break-up a long time ago. He doesn't have things that bad, but he goes around acting like the world has it out for him. I'd like to see him try living my life for a day. Then he'd know what hard work is. You try having a husband who lives in front of the television and a daughter who doesn't tell you where she's going,” as she said this last part her eyes glanced toward the clock, but Ellen's ears had pricked up at the mention of the break-up.
“Break up? Who was he with?”
“Some woman called Stephanie Howler. And no, before you ask, I don't know the specifics of how it ended, just that it was pretty rough. But if you're looking for someone whose emotions ran high when it came to Alexander then you should probably look at her.”
Ellen had much to think about as she thanked Pippa and left. She made a quick call to Kelly, who met with her at Alexander's house. It was late at night, but since Kelly was an artist she kept odd hours and usually was willing to meet Ellen when she called. They didn't bother knocking on the door or disturbing Alexander, they just looked at the paint.
“Can you tell me anything specific about it?” Ellen asked.
“You know, I just use it to paint. I'm not exactly a connoisseur,” Kelly said as they walked up the narrow path toward the door.
“You know more than the rest of us,” Ellen replied.
The two women stood outside the door and Kelly looked at the paint. She dabbed it with her finger and smelled it, then rummaged through her bag and brought out a paintbrush, catching some of the wet paint on the end and seeing how it smeared. She had a thoughtful look on her face the entire time, and when she was finished she turned to Ellen.
“Well, in my expert opinion this paint is the standard kind, the kind you would find in any general store that sold paint supplies. I hope that helps,” she said.
“Not really,” Ellen replied, and the two of them walked back down the path and returned to the car.
“So are you regretting hiring him yet?” Kelly asked.
“No, actually I'm glad I did because he's going to have to come into work and I can try finding out more about him, about who possibly could want to do this. Apparently, he had a bad break up but I'm wondering what the story was behind it. Maybe there has been something else that's happened over the years that's finally coming to a head.”
As Ellen lay in bed that night her mind whirred with possibilities. She also realized that it meant Alexander was going to be thrown in at the deep end, as he would be left on his own while she tried to solve the mystery. When she met him the following morning he still was subdued and lacked the spark of the previous day.
“Are you sure you're okay to work today? I need to go ask around a few places to see if we can get more information about who might have done this.”
“You really don't need to,” he said, surprising Ellen.
“I'm sure it was just some kids or someone playing a prank. That'll probably be the end of it. You don't have to take it any further.”
“I have to say I'm a little surprised. Your home was vandalized and you don't want to know who did it?”
“It's just a building,” Alexander shrugged, but that only made Ellen more intrigued.
“Well, I think in this case the police may not have to pursue the case if you're not going to press charges against the people who did it...but I'm not the police and I don't want my assistant manager's safety threatened...or my friend's,” she said, lowering her voice and squeezing his arm, smiling with concern. Alexander returned the weak smile.
“It's been a long time since I've had a friend,” he said, and then sighed.
“And from what I know already there's no way to change your mind. So I guess the only thing for me to do is to look after the cafe. Yes, I'm sure I'
ll be able to handle it. If anything does come up that I'm not sure about I'll give you a call.”
“Sure thing, it's pretty simple really. You did everything yesterday and you seem to be a quick learner. So I doubt you'll have any problems. I'll pop in later on in the day and check on you, see if you need a hand.”
With that settled she left the cafe, and also told Scampy to stay to help Alexander. The dog blinked at her and did as he was told. As Ellen left she was glad she was able to leave the cafe with someone who actually was paid to be there rather than relying on the kind hearts of volunteers. It was one less thing to worry about, and made her feel more secure about the future, especially when she walked past Maggie's and saw the rival business thriving.
A few stores in town sold paint. So she went to each of them to see if any of the owners or employees remembered anyone buying paint, but all of them didn't have any help to offer. They had a lot of customers, they said, and if they made note of everyone who bought everything, there wouldn't be room in their heads for anything else. Ellen considered asking them for footage from the security cameras but it wasn't even definite that the paint was brought recently. Their footage only went back to the last week before it was erased. She wasn't too disappointed since it was a long shot anyway, but it would have made things much easier if it had paid off.
Chapter 4
After looking up the address, Ellen made her way to Stephanie Howler's house. Earlier she had debated if she should tell Alexander she was going to pay a visit to his ex, and had decided against it. If the breakup had been as rough as Pippa suggested, Ellen felt it would not be worth mentioning it to him since he probably had spent a great deal of energy trying to forget her. She did not want to do anything to plunge him back into depression.
Stephanie lived surprisingly close to Alexander, which would make it easy for her to make the trip and vandalize the house. It wasn't damning evidence by any means but it was something to keep in mind. Stephanie lived in an apartment building, and her apartment was located on the third floor. Ellen pushed open the gate, walked up the stairs, and knocked the door. Stephanie opened the door with a friendly smile, although she held it ajar and stood with her body covering the opening, ready to slam the door in case anything bad happened. She had red hair and looked perky, with a thin rail-like body and eyes that sparkled with mischief. Her hair was pulled back in a long ponytail and she wore a black tank top and jeans, and a white sweater was tied around her waist. From the inside of the apartment Ellen could hear the soft sounds of television voices. From the sounds of it, Stephanie was watching a talk show.
“Can I help you with something?” Stephanie asked.
“Actually, I'm hoping you can. I'm Ellen Thatch and I work with the police on some crimes.”
“Yes, I've heard of you,” Stephanie said, smiling slyly.
Ellen blushed a little. It was strange being recognized for her work, especially since it was more beneficial for her if people didn't know who she was.
“What crime are you investigating?”
“Do you mind if I come in? It's a little less formal if we’re sitting down.”
Stephanie considered it for a moment and then opened the door, showing Ellen through to the front room, which was kept neatly. There was a coffee table with a few books, one of which was about finding love in the modern world, and fitness magazines were strewn across the table. There were paintings hanging on the walls but none of family or friends. Perhaps these were kept in the bedroom, Ellen thought.
“You have a nice place,” Ellen commented as she took a seat on the beige leather sofa.
Stephanie picked up the remote and turned off the television, thanked Ellen, and offered her a drink. Ellen kindly declined the offer. Stephanie took a seat at the opposite end of the couch and turned her body toward Ellen, crossing her legs and placing her arm on the armrest. Her body language didn't suggest someone who was guilty or had anything to hide.
“So what's this about? There hasn't been a murder at the office has there?”
“Not that I know of. It's actually about Alexander, Alexander Sparks.”
At the mention of his name Stephanie's face fell and contorted with anger. The friendliness was replaced with contempt. She shifted her body so it was more closed off, and leaned forward.
“What about him?” she said, her voice laced with spite.
Ellen paused for a moment to let the news sink in, and to plan out what she was going to say next. She had to be careful not to draw Stephanie's ire so much that she threw Ellen out of the apartment. After all, Stephanie was under no legal obligation to talk to Ellen or give her any information whatsoever.
“Last night his home was vandalized. Someone, or a group of people, spray painted his house with horrible curse words and he doesn't seem to know who would want to do a thing like that.”
“That's Alexander for you. He never talks about anything you want,” she said, and her eyes shifted to the side as she relived old arguments that had raged between them.
“What do you want from me? I'm surprised he didn't put my name forward as a suspect.”
“Why would you be surprised at that?”
“I don't know. It's just a figure of speech,” Stephanie said, shifting the weight of her body and tensing her muscles.
Now she was feeling under scrutiny and the relaxed demeanor had completely vanished. It was fascinating to Ellen how people could go through so many changes so quickly and never really be aware of them.
“Would you mind telling me where you were yesterday evening, say around seven to nine?”
“You really think I'm a suspect?” Stephanie said, a look of shock on her face.
She shook her head and looked a little dazed as she recalled the previous night. Ellen had noticed that that was people's usual reaction when confronted with something that was so unexpected. In that moment she knew with almost absolute certainty that Stephanie was innocent.
“I was at the gym. I do an exercise class there. Then I went in the sauna. I didn't leave until about ten.”
“Thank you. I'm sorry for asking, but we just have to narrow down the list of suspects.” Ellen didn't say that they had managed to narrow it down by exactly one, “and given the nature of your relationship, you can understand why I thought there may be some lingering feelings.”
“It was a long time ago,” Stephanie said through gritted teeth.
“Do you mind if I ask you about your relationship with Alexander? It's just that, well, in the interests of full disclosure, I hired him to be the assistant manager in the cafe. I've been speaking with him but there are some things he doesn't want to talk about. Frankly, I think he might be emotionally scarred by what happened between the two of you.”
Stephanie leaned forward and wrung her hands together. She bowed her head and pursed her lips. “I'm glad he's managed to find work. It's a rough world out there,” she began, although the tone of her voice didn't sound glad, “but I'm warning you, be careful. He's not what he seems. He's got a monster inside him and it's only a matter of time before it comes out.
He seems nice at first, that's how he gets you, that's how he got me. We were really happy for a long time, but then he became jealous, controlling, and possessive. He started turning up at work because he was afraid one of my colleagues was attracted to me. I even caught him going through my phone once. He started giving me orders and curfews, tried controlling me. I had had enough of it.
The stupid thing was it was him who had the secrets. He'd never talk about his childhood, really. Like, he'd mention things that had happened, but if you ever asked him too much he'd just change the subject. I was with him for a long time, far too long, and at first I thought I was in love with him. Now I look back and I wonder if I ever really knew him at all.”
As she spoke the anger was replaced by a tinge of sadness. Ellen was almost sorry for bringing up the bad memories, but it had provided her with a great deal of information, although much of it had been co
ncerning.
“Have you had any contact with him since you split up?”
Stephanie shook her head. “Just after we broke up he did try fixing things and we talked a little bit, but I knew he wouldn't really change, not that quickly. So I left town and stayed with some friends in the city for a few months. When I came back there wasn't any sign of him. A little later I saw him around sometimes, just while shopping, things like that, but we never talked. He looked so...lost. And I guess that I felt responsible for that. Sometimes I think maybe if I had held on longer and tried helping him deal with his issues things might have turned out differently, but at the time I tried my best and it just wasn't enough. I'm glad he's getting back on his feet, though,” and by now the anger had been replaced completely by something more akin to affection.
“You still have some feelings for him, don't you?” Ellen asked. Stephanie flashed a self-deprecating smile.
“I guess I do. You can't be with someone for that long and have things just vanish. Things were...intense between us. We fell for each other very quickly and I guess maybe we didn't give ourselves a chance to get to know each other first. I guess that is the folly of youth, but it is what it is.”
She sighed and her eyes drifted to the books and magazines on her coffee table. Ellen presumed Stephanie had thought it would be much easier to find a new boyfriend after Alexander but that it was not proving to be the case. Now she was having second thoughts. Though she was aware of all the difficulties they had had she was glossing over them and only focusing on the good parts of their relationship, which is a common human fault.