by S. Y. Robins
Their discussions always got longer the further into the book they read, mostly because more and more clues would be revealed and the list of suspects often went up. At barely a third of the way into the book, the fact that it took them barely thirty minutes to really discuss the book wasn’t a real surprise and soon everyone was back to the conversations they had been having prior to Laura changing conversation to the book. It was nearly an hour later when everyone started leaving and Susan relaxed into the couch cushions with a newly refilled glass of wine. She knew she ought to slow down, but quite frankly it had been too long since she had experienced a good girl’s night and since she didn’t have to work the next day, it was as good a time as any.
“Do you think Rebecca is going to survive four more years of little boys?” Laura asked as she walked back into the room and fell down on the couch as well, a bottle of wine in her hands which she sat down on the coffee table.
“I don’t know, I think as long as Josh remains supportive she will, but if he ever decides to work more she might go crazy.”
“Did you see how much she drank?”
“Oh yes. It’s a good think Angela offered to give her a ride home. I hope Josh was prepared to get them all ready for bed on his own because there’s no way Rebecca is going to be any help.”
Laura laughed and nodded, refilling Susan’s glass. “It’s not the first time Josh has had to handle the kids on his own, he should be fine. I’m sure after everything he saw the writing on the wall. So, how is Toby?”
“Amazing. He’s such a sweet dog! I can literally tell him anything and it’s almost as if he understands exactly what I’m saying. Who needs a man when you have a dog like Toby, right?”
“Oh come on, you really plan to remain single? What about that guy who came into the library a few weeks ago? I thought you said you felt a connection.”
“I did but he hasn’t been back. Besides, he was way too cute to still be single. How about you? Who did you snag this week?”
“I’m not that bad!” Laura said with a laugh, smacking Susan on the arm. “Right now there isn’t anyone but that doesn’t stop me from looking. Earlier today I was behind this guy in line and let’s just say I was disappointed he was married.”
“That’s never stopped you before,” Susan said jokingly. She knew she was drinking too much, she normally wasn’t that playful or loose lipped but the words just came out.
“Hey! Alright, that’s enough wine for you,” Laura laughed. The bottle was almost empty and Susan had to admit the wine really was good. She also knew she had to call a cab to get home because at the moment she couldn’t even remember her address.
“I think we should finish that bottle before I call a cab. Thank you for asking me to stay, I needed this.”
When Susan arrived home she quickly let Toby out before crawling into bed, Toby by her side, and let sleep take over. Not entirely sure how much she drank, but fairly certain it was too much. Making a mental note to go pick up her car in the morning she dozed off.
When Susan woke up the following morning her head was pounding and she knew she needed an aspirin and some water. She was dehydrated and she knew it, and after taking something for the headache she steps into a hot shower, relishing in the warmth and letting the water slide down her body as she tries to feel a little less like throwing up. She couldn’t remember the last time she was this hungover, and trying to think back to the night before all she really remembers is staying after the book club and talking to Laura. What they talked about she couldn’t remember, but she was certain it would come to her at some point.
Stepping out of the shower Susan put on comfortable sweatpants and a sweatshirt, having no intention of going anywhere anytime soon, and made her way downstairs. It was time for coffee and maybe some toast. Looking at the clock she realizes Toby probably needed out so after starting the coffeemaker Susan got his leash out and went for a quick walk around the block. It was just after ten in the morning and most of the neighborhood was at work, which Susan loved because it meant a quiet walk. Considering even the birds made her head hurt, a conversation would have been excruciating and she did not want anyone to see her like that.
Hoping the coffee would help Susan poured herself a large mug before turning on the news and taking the mail from the day before. She had seen a card from a friend, and knowing she had just had a baby she was hoping there were pictures inside. Halfway through her mug of coffee, the TV finally caught her attention as she saw something she recognized out of the corner of her eye. There, behind the news anchor, was Laura’s house surrounded by police and police tape. Turning up the sound, no matter how much it hurt her head, she started listening to the anchor talk about what was going on. Glad to be sitting down, she listened in shock about a woman having been found dead inside of what appeared to be carbon monoxide poisoning. The police were investigating, but at the moment it was classified as accidental. The anchor then interviewed someone who talked about how this could be prevented but Susan turned him down.
This couldn’t be happening. She was just at Laura’s house yesterday, where they had discussed a book where the main character died of carbon monoxide poisoning. Susan knew she couldn’t remember what exactly happened after or how she got home, but she was fairly certain Laura had been alive when she left. If she wasn’t, wouldn’t Susan have been dead as well? All the thinking was making Susan’s head hurt worse especially as she was getting incredibly frustrated at not being able to remember what exactly happened the night before, and she took more aspirin in a hope it would help. She had to find out. She had to find out if she had something to do with this.
2
Susan picked up the phone the moment her headache had lessened enough that a loud voice in her ear wouldn’t make it feel like it would explode, and dialed Angela’s work number, waiting patiently for Angela to answer. “Angela? Hi it’s Susan. Did you see the news? No? Turn on news channel 3.”
Susan waited for Angela to turn on the TV in her office and knew the moment she had seen it. “We just saw her last night, how could this have happened? No, the police think it’s accidental at least that’s what they said on TV. I have to go by to get my car so I might ask the detective. No, I took a cab after I stayed and had a bit too much wine. No, I think she was alive when I left. Yes, I think she was, I don’t really remember too much about last night. Alright, I’ll let you know what the detective says.”
Susan hung up the phone and sighed. Angela agreed it was odd but she said if the police thought it was accidental they should trust that, since they would know how to do their jobs. “I know Toby, I think it’s too coincidental too. I mean, we just read about it in that book and now she dies from it? Do you want to go for a walk? It’s about a thirty minute walk to Laura’s house but I could honestly do with some fresh air. I’ll go put on something more presentable and you get ready for a long walk, alright?”
Susan was very aware that many would consider her crazy for talking to her dog like that but she truly felt like he understood which was further proven when he started towards the front door where his leash was and laid down on the mat in front of the door to wait for her. Ten minutes later they were on their way to Laura’s house to see if they could find out more and if they couldn’t, to simply get Susan’s car.
Feeling the need to fill the silence she talked to Toby about Laura almost the entire way, which only furthered her resolve to find out what really happened. Terrified that in her drunken state she had done something that caused this, she needed something that put her mind at ease. She had after all learned from all those books that people did things they normally wouldn’t when under the influence. Arriving at Laura’s house she noticed the police, the tape and the news crews were all gone. They must have just left, but the fact that there wasn’t any tape indicated that they had ruled it accidental. It didn’t sit well with Susan, since Laura always had everything in her home maintained regularly, and knowing things like carbon monoxide poisoning o
ften came from the furnace it made her suspicious.
Susan had an extra key to Laura’s house as she would water her plants and get her mail when Laura went out of town, so she let herself in as if nothing was wrong. She almost choked up when she saw the mail from the day before on the hall table, car keys next to it. It looked so normal, like Laura was home and Susan was just visiting. Suddenly overwhelmed with emotion she turned around and left the house, walking quickly to her car and getting in. Toby jumped onto the passenger seat and looked at her, clearly waiting to see what she was going to do next. Susan started the car and decided to go to the police station to find out what their conclusion was. She had to know. She had to know if she was responsible for this and would not rest until she found out.
Arriving at the police station she told Toby to stay in the car before walking inside and up to the front desk. “Good morning. I’m looking for the person in charge of investigating the death of my friend this morning?”
“Who is your friend?”
“Laura Engals.”
“One moment while I get Detective Mason for you.”
Susan sat down on one of the chairs in the waiting area, patiently waiting for this detective to come talk to her. Thankfully she didn’t have to wait long and after introducing himself as Detective Tom Mason she is shown to a meeting room just down the hall. “What can I help you with miss?”
“Sorry, Susan Waters. I was good friends with Laura and I’m shaken by her death. I’m trying to find out what happened. I saw it on the news and went over to her house but saw all the police tape was already gone?”
“Yes it was. We ruled her death accidental. If you saw the news you saw it was carbon monoxide poisoning but other than that I can’t give you any particulars, I’m sorry. I’m sorry for your loss.”
“I don’t understand how that’s possible. She was very particular about getting maintenance on everything in her home and isn’t carbon monoxide poisoning usually from things like furnaces? If something was wrong it would have been detected!”
“Miss, I understand you are upset, but there was no sign of foul play. Now if you wish to learn more about carbon monoxide poisoning, the fire station is holding an educational meeting this weekend for those wishing to learn more.”
“I know my friend. She had detectors everywhere. There is no way this could have been an accident.”
“Ma’am, it was an accident. There is nothing else I can tell you so unless you know something we don’t, I have other work to attend to.”
Susan saw it for the dismissal it was and stood up from her seat, shook the detective’s hand and walked out the door. Determined to find out what really happened, even if the police wouldn’t listen, she headed back to her car and got in. She glared at Toby, before realizing he wasn’t responsible and sighing. “The detective doesn’t believe it was accidental but Laura had detectors everywhere and had regular maintenance done. This was not an accident, I’m certain. Let’s go back to her house and figure out what really happened.”
Susan and Toby went back to Laura’s house where Susan took a deep breath before walking through the door again. Determined to find out what happened she pushed past her emotions and walked into the living room. Noticing that it was spotless she knew Laura had cleaned up from the night before. It made her feel a bit better that it must have happened while she was asleep, and was therefore painless, but she pushed that aside as well as she continued looking around. The living room and kitchen looked normal so she walked into the bedroom. The bed was unmade, but otherwise it looked normal there as well. There were footprints on the carpet but she knew that was from all the people that had probably come through the house that day.
As nothing seemed strange there either she walked back into the hallway to one of the carbon monoxide detectors, only to notice that it wasn’t working. Frowning she crouched down and opened it, only to see that there was no battery. Odd, she just told me she changed the batteries and for me to remember to change the ones at my house Susan thought before walking to where she knew the other detector was. When it was also without a battery, her resolve to find out what truly happened strengthened. How did the cops miss this?
Suddenly she heard Toby sneeze so she walked back to where he was still in the bedroom to see what caused him to do that, as he had never done so before. The only thing she saw was Toby’s butt sticking out from under the bed as he wiggled and started moving backwards in her direction. She waited patiently, mostly to make sure he was alright, when he appeared with a watch in his mouth. He looked up at her as if to say for her to take it, before dropping it and sneezing again. “Are you allergic to the watch?” she asked Toby, who sneezed again almost as if to answer her.
Taking a tissue from the bedside tissue box she picked up the watch and looked at it, immediately knowing it wasn’t Laura’s. This looked like a man’s watch, and even if it wasn’t Laura would never wear something in these colors. It was silver, but inside the clock it had some purple with blue design that was both unique and ugly, if anyone were to ask Susan. Slipping it into her pocket she was certain there was some significance to the watch and decided to take it to that detective. Apparently his men hadn’t been very thorough and if nothing else she wanted to rub it in his face.
Taking another walk around the house she didn’t see anything else and decided it was time to leave. Considering she had a key she quickly emptied the mailbox so she had an excuse to be in the house, before walking Toby back to her car. “Alright Toby, let’s go show this Detective Mason that he’s not so high and mighty and he clearly needs to do some better research before declaring something accidental.”
Toby barked his agreement to that statement and together they drove back to the station. Susan was amazed the detective had written her off so easily, but after all the books she had read she shouldn’t have been surprised. Half the time the detectives were idiots who didn’t know their left from their right, while the other half kept searching when others told them to give up. Clearly Detective Mason fell in the first category.
Once again walking into the police station, she immediately requested to see Detective Mason before taking a seat. She didn’t give the woman at the desk a chance to respond, not accepting no for an answer, and impatiently she waited. This time it took much longer for him to appear, and when he saw her he sighed. “Miss, I thought I told you there was nothing else?”
“No, you said if there was nothing I knew that you didn’t know then there was nothing else. I know something you don’t know.” Susan was very aware of how childish that sounded but not caring at the moment. She watched his eyes widen slightly before they turned stern and she knew she was at the very least irritating him.
“Let’s go in here,” he said, pointing towards the same conference room they had used earlier. The second they were inside he turned back to her and she was slightly intimidated by him. “Ma’am, I do not appreciate the way you come in here accusing me of something. Now please say what you want to say and leave the matter be.”
“Well I wouldn’t be here if you and your people had done your jobs,” Susan said, not liking his tone but immediately deciding to continue talking before he exploded. Pulling the watch from her pocket she put it on the table. “I was at the house to put the mail inside and Toby found this under the bed.”
“Who is Toby?”
“My dog. Also, the carbon monoxide detectors didn’t have batteries. We just talked about that not that long ago and I know she put batteries in hers so I don’t believe that’s accidental.”
“What made you check the detectors?” the detective asked, sounding suspicious.
“Like I said before, I don’t believe this to be an accident so I checked while I was there anyway. Before you ask, I have a key. I always took care of the house when she went out of town so it wasn’t unusual for me to be there.”
“I see. I still do not believe it was murder.”
“The batteries aren’t a giveaway that something w
as wrong?”
“Ma’am, millions of people have smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors without batteries. It is not unusual, I can guarantee that.”
“What about this watch?”
The detective sighed and picked up the watch from the table, looking at it. “I can run prints from this to see who it belongs to, just so we can rule it out. Would that get you to back off?”
“If he had nothing to do with it, yes, it would. But if I see anything else suspicious I will say something.”
“Very well. Wait here, I’ll be back. There’s coffee over there if you want anything.”
Susan heard him muttering about meddling ladies who didn’t know but thought they could solve crimes like in books before walking over to the coffee table. Before pouring coffee she stopped herself though, remembering how detectives always took the cup as evidence for DNA and fingerprints later on. Not wanting her prints on file, she walked back to the table and sat down, ready to wait patiently for him to return with the results.
It took much longer than she had intended and she started to feel bad for Toby, but just before she could the door opened and Detective Mason came back in. “Do you know an Eric Tate?”
“No, but then again I didn’t know many of the men in Laura’s life as they were never around long enough to be introduced. Is he the owner of the watch?”
“His prints are on it. It’s probably nothing, but he does have a record for domestic violence so I’m going to ensure he has an alibi. You are welcome to stay here or return later. I’ve heard there’s an impatient dog in a car outside.”
“I will be back later, Toby probably just wants out of the car. I’ll take him home and then return to see about this man’s alibi.”
“You do realize I don’t have to tell you what he says?”
“I know, but you also know I won’t leave until I know. Good day.”