“Speaking of hours, do you have any idea what time the murder took place?”
“As best I can diagnose it, you found him not long after he died.”
“You mean like minutes?”
“Well, let’s leave a two-hour window to be on the safe side. He definitely died after noon, and probably closer to 2:00 or 3:00.”
“He told his wife he’d fix something for lunch. Did he eat that lunch?”
“No, his stomach showed he’d eaten nothing since breakfast.”
“Thanks, Frank. I appreciate all your help.”
“Say, Cy, back to the food. What were you eating?”
“Still am. It’s banana pudding.”
“You fixed instant banana pudding, all by yourself.”
“No, but the one who takes good care of Lou and me gave us four bowls when she learned that we would be working too hard to make it back for lunch.”
“And who did you share the other two bowls with?”
“Lou, but since he’s gone through that change, he let me have one of his bowls.”
“Change? Oh, you mean his Wii Fit workout. I’m getting one of those, just as soon as you quit bringing me bodies to autopsy.”
Was there time to save Frank? Evidently he hadn’t become one of them yet, but he was tempted.
“Cy, are you there?”
“Oh, sorry, Frank. I was just thinking about something.”
“Well, I’ll let you get back to what you were doing. Enjoy your pudding, and try to take it easy when it comes to finding dead bodies.”
“I’ll do my best. I wouldn’t want you to become overworked, like we are.”
I hung up the phone, turned and shared the news with Lou. Not only did we have no idea who murdered the Colonel, we had no idea how he or she did it. In the old days, a murderer would leave the dart in the victim. These days, I guess people who murder others using poisonous darts are afraid of getting caught by their DNA, or like to reuse their poisonous darts.
I was tempted to put a bib on Lou and feed him his two bites of pudding, but I refrained. I finished my second bowl of banana pudding and returned to work. Too bad we couldn’t make quick work of our perplexing puzzle, like I had the pudding.
When we hadn’t gotten anywhere in a reasonable period of time we agreed to adjourn to two more comfortable chairs to discuss the case.
After a few minutes, frustrated, and remembering the Colonel’s and the Chief’s words, we decided to let things rest until morning. Lou, an avid worker of crossword puzzles, told me of the many times he had put a baffling puzzle down, only to solve a new part of it the next time he picked it up. We both hoped that the same would be true in this case. Also, we realized that more than likely Sam Schumann would have some information for us the next morning. Not everything, but enough for us to know what avenues to explore and which ones to ignore.
+++
Lou and I had found out that the type of mystery we preferred to read was called a cozy mystery. Cozy mystery. That sounded good. Like curling up in front of the fireplace on a cold winter’s night. The years had helped me block Eunice from my mind most of the time, but there was something about curling up in front of a fireplace that made me hunger for the wife who was taken from me much too soon. I wanted to rid my mind of sad thoughts, so I asked Lou the question I contemplated just a short time before.
“So, Lou, have you ever thought about what fictional detective you’d be if you could be anyone you’ve read about?”
“I think I’d like to experience a little of all of them. Then I’d be better equipped to make that decision. I’d love to walk the foggy streets of London like Sherlock Holmes, and ride in a hansom cab.”
“I’d say by the time February came, you’d want to be somewhere else.”
“Oh, there’s nothing like a winter breeze to ignite the brain particles.”
“You mean those leetle gray cells?”
“Well, you can say one thing. Hercule Poirot always thought he had plenty of them. He never lacked confidence.”
I couldn’t say as much for myself. More than once since the Colonel died I wondered if this would be our first case that we couldn’t solve.
We wanted to be refreshed for the next day, so Lou and I called it a night. I dropped him at his apartment and stampeded for home. God was with me, because my next-door neighbor wasn’t.
Chapter Twelve
I woke Wednesday morning feeling refreshed. The extra hour of sleep did wonders for me. Well, not wonders. I wandered to the mirror and found out I looked like I looked the day before, but I felt better. I vowed to make it a point to get an extra hour of sleep more often. I hoped the way I felt might translate to a break in the case. I wouldn’t tell Lou, but I made a decision to take a bubble bath and mull over the case. Then I realized that real men don’t take bubble baths, so I settled for just a regular bath and settled myself down in the tub. My mind wandered to what I’d find out, not what I already knew, so I got nowhere, except for a few wrinkles for lounging too long in the tub. During my contemplation, I wondered what information Sam had discovered for us, and what clue God would give Lou for the day. After realizing that no one would deliver my breakfast to me, and I wouldn’t want anyone to see me if someone did deliver it, I partook of my morning exercise and pulled myself from the tub. I’m not saying that it took me a while to do so, but my arms were dry before my feet stepped from the tub.
I dressed, read my morning devotional, prayed that my neighbor would find a new home far away, and called Sam.
“This is Sam I Am dining on green eggs and ham.”
“So Sam You are, what have you gotten for me so far?”
“Well, Cy, let’s just say that I’ve been unable to narrow your list of suspects.”
“And that means?”
I located someone who saw Mrs. Hardesty at the mall a little after 10:00, but that wouldn’t prevent her from returning home and murdering her husband. And the oldest granddaughter, Jennifer, skipped her last class yesterday. Plus, I talked to someone in the school library who said that Jennifer’s husband, Scott, wasn’t in there during the afternoon, like he usually is. Now on to the youngest granddaughter, Trish. Nothing suspicious about her, but her last class ended at 1:50, so she had time to get home, do away with her grandfather, and get away before anyone discovered her. As for Hardesty’s friend Joe, he left home at 1:00 and didn’t return until late. You saw him before he returned home. Nothing suspicious yet about any of the neighbors. All of the ones who have jobs were at those jobs on the day of the murder. All of the ones who don’t have jobs have alibis, except for one elderly woman who said she was home alone and saw nothing. All I can tell you about Bob Downey is what I found out locally. He claims that for most of his adult life he was an over-the-road trucker who hauled for many different people. He said he has had no home since his mother died when he was young, and he, his dad, and his uncle traveled all the time. That’s how he became a trucker. He told someone he has saved his money all his life, finally got tired of drifting and decided to settle down. The only reason he gave for settling down in Hilldale is that this was the closest town when he decided he had had enough. The only other people I’ve had time to check on so far are the maid and handyman, Earl and Myra Hoskins. According to the woman they worked for that day, Myra was there all day, but Earl went out in the afternoon with a premise of getting a part so he could fix the lawn mower. He was gone a long time, and so far I’ve located no one who saw him while he was out. So, that’s what I’ve so far. I went ahead and tackled the locals first, because I realized that they would be the easiest, and I wanted to give you something to get you started. I will start on the others today, but it might take a while to find out about some of them.”
It bothered me that none of the Colonel’s family had an alibi. I didn’t want the killer to be one of them.
“Oh, Sam, you forgot one. What about Tom Brockman, the man at the university who rents a room from the Hardestys?”
“Oh, sorry, Cy. I’ve gotten a little on him, too. He wasn’t in class yesterday afternoon, nor was he in his office. I’ve yet to find an alibi for him, either.”
“Well, keep checking, Sam. I’ll see what I can find out on this end.”
+++
I hung up from talking to Sam and called the funeral home to check on the time of visitation and the funeral for the Colonel. Lou and I would be at both, and in two capacities. I learned that visitation would be today at the funeral home, from 4:00-8:00. The funeral would be tomorrow morning at 11:00 at the church.
I didn’t want to confront the family so soon after the murder, but I wouldn’t have been as accommodating if I didn’t know the Colonel, so I followed normal procedure. Besides, I wanted to get it over with, so I called Martha to tell her I needed to stop by.
“Martha. Cy. Sorry to bother you so early, but there are some early developments in the case, and I want to eliminate all family members as soon as possible. Is everyone home this morning?”
“Yes. Naturally Jennifer and Trish are skipping classes today, and Tom didn’t feel like teaching his, so he called and got someone to cover for him.”
“Well, I’d like to stop by this morning with just a few questions. How does 10:00 sound?”
“I guess the earlier the better.”
“Okay, Lou and I will see you then.”
+++
Even with an extra hour of sleep, my stomach told me it was time to pick up Lou and head to the Blue Moon. I had never known my stomach to lie to me, so I followed its guidance.
My luck continued. My neighbor was nowhere to be found. Maybe she wasn’t going to show her face again until she found a friend for Lou, and she hadn’t made a friend yet. Who am I to spit in the face of good luck? I merely thanked God and skedaddled to Lou. I was surprised to see him waiting at the curb.
“What’s the matter, Lou? A skunk get into your apartment?”
“No, I knew you’d be hungry. I wanted to save us a few precious seconds.”
“Good, you can use those seconds to let me know God’s message for the day.”
“You will not pass ‘Go.’ You will not collect $200.”
“So what are we doing today? Playing Monopoly or going to jail?”
“My guess is neither one.”
“Then what does the message mean?”
“Maybe it means we won’t get anywhere today.”
“Then why are we out here?”
“I don’t know about you, Cy, but I’m out here to get breakfast.”
We continued to go back and forth until we arrived at the Blue Moon. We were no closer to identifying what the clue meant, but at least we managed to keep our minds off of food until we pulled up in front of our feeding troughs.
We must’ve gotten there early, because there were still other patrons in the diner. The nerve of some people, infiltrating our private domain. At least we wouldn’t have to get rough. No one was sitting on our stools.
Rosie smiled at us. We smiled back. It’s always a good idea to smile at those who are mainly responsible for your paycheck, and Rosie knew which side of the bread contained her butter. Lou and I knew that we weren’t to bite the hand that feeds us, but to smile upon the favor that God bestows upon us. I had a little more energy than usual, so I sort of jumped up onto the stool. I wouldn’t call my mount graceful, and I received a low score from the Ukrainian judge. I hadn’t yet perfected the triple Salchow, and I wouldn’t try it again.
Lou, who looked like he’d wasted away a little more each day, sidled up to his stool and mounted it without using his hands. Poor guy! He no longer had enough strength in his arms to lift himself up onto his stool. I wondered how long before he’d have to check into a nursing home.
Chapter Thirteen
Martha greeted us almost as soon as we rang the bell. She seemed nervous and distraught. My emotions matched hers. I looked around, saw no one else, and again asked her where she went Monday, and if anyone saw her. She appeared not to be thinking clearly and was no help to me. I asked to borrow the same room for questioning that we had used before and asked her to send Jennifer in first.
The tall, pretty, young woman with hair the color of honey walked in. She was more composed than her grandmother.
“Please, have a seat, Jennifer. This will take only a few minutes.”
Jennifer sat and Lou and I took chairs across from her.
“Jennifer, tell me where you were Monday afternoon.”
“I was in school on Monday.”
“But you skipped your last class. Why?”
“Actually I had the prof’s permission, and Scott wanted me to go somewhere with him.”
“And where did you go?”
“I’ll tell you, Lieutenant, but please don’t tell Gram. She might get the wrong idea. Scott wants us to start a family. I prefer to wait until we both finish school. Scott doesn’t think this place is conducive to raising a family. I think Gram would love a baby in the house, especially now. I love my husband, but I think he’s moving too quickly.”
“You don’t think your grandmother knows. What about your grandfather? Did he know?”
“I don’t think so. Neither of us ever said anything to him.”
“So where did the two of you go on Monday?”
“There’s a little house for sale over on Mulberry. We went by and looked at it.”
“So a realtor can vouch that you were there?”
“No, we just stopped by, looked in the windows, looked out back. Lieutenant, do you think I’m wrong for dragging my feet? I want to do what’s right for my marriage.”
“That’s something the two of you have to work out for yourselves.”
I could see I wasn’t getting anything else out of Jennifer, so I had Lou go get her husband. If they hadn’t had time to agree on where they were on Monday, I didn’t want to give them a chance do so before I talked to each of them separately.
It didn’t matter. Scott’s story agreed with his wife’s. The only other thing I could get out of Scott was that in some ways he was tired of living in a castle where he had only one room to call his own and someone else decided the menu and at what time they ate.
+++
After Scott left, Lou escorted Trish into the den and asked her to have a seat.
“Sorry to have to talk to you under these circumstances, Trish, but I needed to check with everyone. Where were you on Monday afternoon?”
“Well, I had class until 1:50. Then I went to the Student Center to grab some lunch. See, I have classes from 10:00 on, and 2:00 is the first chance I have to eat. It was tough at first, but I’ve gotten used to it.”
“And what time did you leave the Student Center?”
“Probably a little after 3:30. I’m not sure.”
“Why did you stay so long?”
“Well, I took my time eating and studying, and then I got to talking to a couple of people.”
“Can anyone verify that you were there?”
“I’m not sure. I mean I’m sure there are people who can say they saw me, but whether or not they’ll remember that it was Monday, I’m not sure.”
“But you’re sure it was Monday?”
“Of course, Lieutenant. Monday was the day my life turned upside down. I loved Gramps. I’ll miss him. I should’ve told him that more often, but he seemed to be in the library all the time. I mean unless we were eating. I didn’t get time alone with him the way I used to.”
With that, Trish shed a few tears. They seemed genuine, but women have a way of manipulating men any time they feel the need.
+++
Tom Brockman was the only one left to question. As soon as he sat down I confronted him on where he was on Monday afternoon.
“In my office.”
“We have witnesses who say you weren’t.”
“But I was. I was trying to get caught up on some things. I locked the door and didn’t answer the phone. I received a couple of calls and someone knocked on
the door, but I didn’t answer either.”
I let him go. I’d check with Sam to see if his witness checked the door to see if it was locked. Our questioning was over. No one had an alibi that satisfied me, but no one incriminated himself or herself.
+++
On the way to my place, Lou and I devised a plan. Because some of the cards were on pages where two chapters were listed, first we’d look at those that were on a page with only one chapter. We knew which word those letters went in.
I got a clean sheet of paper and wrote down only those letters.
E A M C
S K C T P J
R
L
I studied the letters and immediately formed an opinion. Evidently the extra hour of sleep did me no good. Only the first word remained the same. All of the letters of the first time remained intact. We were down to three possibilities. Either the first word was “mace,” or “came,” or it contained one or more of the three “O’s” or some combination of the missing four letters, none of which we could possibly identify.
We wanted to get all of our stupid ideas out of the way as soon as possible, so we wrote down all the letters of the alphabet to see how many of them were the first letter of any book of the Bible. Well, at least it was quick. That’s more than can be said for any other idea we had. After only a few minutes, we were able to eliminate B, F, Q, U, V, W, X, Y, and Z. Because so many words include the letters Q, V, X, Y, and Z, we were able to eliminate one-quarter of one percent of all the words of the English language. If we continued to make breakthroughs such as this, this puzzle could have been solved within a couple of generations, or long after the murderer has died by other means. The more I thought of this, the more I wondered why the Colonel didn’t write us a note that said “The Murderer is So-And-So.” If the murderer didn’t find the note, Lou and I could’ve solved this case before dinner the first night. If the murderer did find the note, at least Lou and I wouldn’t have been sitting there trying to solve some stupid cryptogram.
Deep down Lou and I believed we’d solve the puzzle, and when we did, we’d say, “Why in the world didn’t we think of that earlier?”
3 Murder In The Library Page 8