by S. Y. Robins
Susan walked out of the conference room as if she owned the place and without looking back she walked to her car, where Toby greeted her by licking her face. “I know Toby, I was gone longer than expected. The detective is going to check the story of the owner of that watch so why don’t we head home? I need coffee and you probably want out of this car. I’ll come back later and see what he found out. He is an infuriating man, no compassion at all.”
Susan drove home, determined to find out later what this Eric had to do with it all, but for the moment in much need of coffee.
At the police station Tom was getting ready to head out to do this interview, cursing the infuriating woman who had created this extra work for him. He was already overworked with cases, and when this one was declared an accident he had felt grateful for it because he did not have the time to deal with another case. Then this woman had come walking in, claiming it wasn’t an accident and finding things his team should have found. He had no idea how to explain the fact that they had not checked the carbon monoxide detectors, other than the fact that they had all been overworked and wanted it to be an accident.
A nagging feeling overtook him, caused by this Susan that this might not have been an accident, and he knew that she would not let it go. It could be an embarrassment to the department if they found out later it had been murder, so he had to check out this Eric Tate and see what his story was. As soon as he has arrived at Eric Tate’s home he crunched his face in disgust before changing it back to a blank mask. The house sat in a rundown part of town and it had definitely seen better days. Better to get in there, talk to this man, and get out. He had no intention of staying there by himself any longer than necessary. Quickly he knocked on the door and waited impatiently for it to open.
“Whatever it is, I didn’t do it.”
“Are you Eric Tate?”
“Yes.”
“May I come in?”
“Not without a warrant.”
Tom almost raised an eyebrow at that and made a mental note to send a team back here sometime and find a reason to get a warrant to look inside. “Fair enough. Do you know a Laura Engals?”
“Yes, why?”
“She died and we are trying to see if it was murder or an accident. Might I ask how you know her?”
“We slept together once.”
“I see. We found your watch under her bed, how did it get there?”
“I just told you.”
“How long ago was this?”
“About two weeks. Do I get my watch back?”
“When we are done you will. Have you seen her since then?”
“No. I have a girlfriend.”
“Where were you last night?”
“With some friends at Club Astoria. We left about four.”
Knowing the time of death was around two Tom nodded. “Thank you for your time. If we have any further questions, we will let you know. Good day.”
He knew he had to check out the alibi but figuring out if someone had been at a club was always hard as the bouncers were often unhelpful and the bartenders saw so many people they often didn’t remember just one person. He knew Club Astoria and once you got inside you didn’t leave or you wouldn’t get back in, and they didn’t tell you who had been there unless you had a warrant. Considering married men didn’t want their wives to find out they had been there, he understood that but it made his job harder.
Glad that the interview had been quick, he headed back to the station and the mountain of paperwork he had to get through. Several of his cases were up for trial and he had to finish his paperwork so a solid case could be built, but with the influx of crime in the area he had fallen behind. He had just settled down to work when his phone rang. It was the officer working the front desk to let him know Susan was back. He couldn’t quite hold back his groan as he headed out to meet her.
Susan had not been able to stay at home for long before she headed back to the police station. Unless he had found something she couldn’t imagine the interview taking long and she just had to know, she had to know if someone else was responsible. She could tell the officer at the front desk was irritated to see her again, especially since she just waved to the seats and picked up the phone without giving Susan the opportunity to say anything. Detective Mason was apparently still in a foul mood and he didn’t give her a chance to say anything either. “I spoke to him. He has an alibi for last night and has not seen her in two weeks. They apparently had a one night thing which is how his watch ended up there. The batteries are not enough of a reason to open a murder investigation and this is still classified as an accident. You need to go home and grieve the loss of your friend and trust us to do our jobs.”
Detective Mason turned around and left the conference room when it was clear Susan wasn’t going to give up so easily, hoping she would just leave. On most days he was much more patient but today was not most days. Susan stared after the detective in shock, not quite believing he had turned his back on her before indignantly walking out of the building. She would find out who was responsible, with or without the help of the local police! Now to get home and tell Toby how awful this detective was.
3
Tom Mason was not one to be fooled easily, and he often had very good instincts when it came to reading the people around him. This was useful in his line of work, but when that instinct wasn’t working or he doubted it, it frustrated him to no end. Susan Waters was one of those people who made him doubt his instincts, and everything was screaming for him to dig deeper while his mind told him to let it go. She seemed like a normal, average woman and he was confused as to why she was so adamant it was murder. They had found the latest murder mystery on the New York Times Bestseller list at Laura’s home so if Susan was into the same kind of books it would explain things, but that still did not warrant her insistence that it was murder based on missing batteries.
He couldn’t quite let it go though, and the second he had finished the paperwork he absolutely had to finish for that day he started looking at everything more closely. He could not just let it go, wanting justice to be served if there had indeed been foul play. Looking over the notes from their forensic team, he found Laura’s planner and flipped back to when Eric said he had been there. There was a time and an ET next to it, which could stand for Eric Tate and would confirm his story. He found initials, if they were indeed initials, at least every other week and only occasionally did they repeat. Since that would confirm Susan’s story that men never stayed around long enough to be introduced, he didn’t really stop to think that over.
Every week at the same time though, and coincidentally also the night before, there was ‘book c’ with initials behind it. Book club? He thought curiously. Looking at each week, he fairly quickly noticed a pattern in the initials which confirmed his suspicion. So she was in a book club that met every week at a different house. Last night it said LE. Did that mean it was at her house last night? Seeing SW at the following week, he started to think further on what this could mean. If LE stood for Laura Engals, then the book club met at her house last night and all of them had been reading that mystery book. If SW stood for Susan Waters, then Susan had been at her house last night and was also reading that book. That also meant Susan might be one of the last people to see Laura alive.
Suddenly he shot up in his chair at the implication. “What if Susan is responsible and is trying to get someone else to take the blame? But why not accept that it was an accident, unless she knows who did it?” he mumbled to himself. “Best not rush into this and start with a clear head tomorrow. Goodnight everyone,” he said as he shut off his computer and got ready to leave. Tomorrow he would visit Susan Waters and see what was really going on.
Susan had not slept well and the whole ordeal with Laura had her lost in thought almost constantly. She shared most of those thoughts with Toby, like she always did, but it was just the same stuff over and over. Something wasn’t right and this Eric Tate had something to do with it, but what? She
wished she could call her book club friends over and they could discuss it, just like they did with the books, but with all their schedules she knew it would never be possible. She would just have to wait until the next book club which would also conveniently be at her house.
She had just sat down for breakfast, which consisted of more coffee and a bowl of cereal, when her doorbell rang. Curious at who could be knocking at such an early hour she went to open the door, only to see Detective Mason standing there. “Good morning. Come in, I was just having breakfast. I have to leave for work in an hour so if you want to talk it will have to be while I eat.”
She left the door open, assuming he would close it behind him, and walked back to the kitchen, assuming he would follow. “What can I help you with?”
“I have some questions. All this prodding has me thinking we might be overlooking something and I would be doing Laura a disservice if I didn’t take your concern seriously. So to start, why did you not tell me you were at her house that night?”
“We always meet at the same time every week, I didn’t realize you didn’t know. Don’t you always look at someone’s calendar to see who they saw last?”
“Not in an accident. So you admit to seeing her that night?”
“Along with several of our friends, yes. It was Laura’s turn to host book club.”
“I see. Would you mind giving me the names of the others?”
“It’s right there on that schedule to your left. Why does that matter?”
“Who was the last to leave that night?”
“I was. Laura asked me to stay for some wine and since I didn’t have to work yesterday I accepted. We occasionally spend the evening drinking wine and catching up on each other’s lives. I had a bit too much to drink so I called a cab to get home.”
“Around what time was that?”
“I have no idea. Book club usually ends around ten, but maybe two hours later at most?”
“You don’t know what time you came home?”
“Like I said, I had a bit too much to drink.”
“Do you remember everything before you went home?”
“The details are a little hazy but for the most part, yes.”
“For the most part. So is it possible something might have happened that you don’t remember?”
“What are you trying to say?” Susan asked, feeling like the detective was accusing her of something. She did not like it at all, and the fact that she really couldn’t remember everything from that night made it so she knew that he was right and it was possible that something had happened. However, that left her feeling vulnerable and she knew she could never kill anyone. Could she?
“I’m not trying to say anything Miss Waters, I’m asking a question. You wanted me to look further into this so I’m looking further into this. You are, by your own admission, possibly the last person to have seen her alive and you don’t remember all of it. It is possible something happened, even if you aren’t aware of it, is it not?”
“I think you should leave. I feel like you are accusing me of having something to do with the death of a good friend of mine, when all I’m trying to do is make sure we are absolutely certain it was accidental and not murder. I’m not so sure it was accidental, Laura would not forget the batteries. Feel free to talk to the others but I’m done talking to you.”
“Very well. I will let you know if I have further questions.”
As soon as the detective had left Susan sighed and put her head in her hands. She felt Toby’s nose nudge her and she reached down to pet him, smiling at him as she did so. “I know, it’s ridiculous. I know I don’t remember most of that night but I wouldn’t kill my friend, would I? Is it possible I did something by accident? I don’t know Toby, I don’t like this doubt and I don’t like where that detective was going with it. I know you know I’m a good person, why is he doubting it? Maybe I shouldn’t have gone to him with my doubts that it was an accident, but I don’t believe in coincidences like that! Oh how I wish you could talk so you could help me with this.”
Toby barked as if to tell her that he wished that too, and Susan returned to her cereal. She had to focus on her job, knowing it was a busy week ahead, and she had to let this go for the moment. She wondered who was taking care of the arrangement for Laura and vowed to call Laura’s aunt to see, knowing she was the closest living relative Laura still spoke to. Angela had offered them all her services to create wills, so at least that part was taken care of.
Little did Susan know that Toby really did want to tell her he would help her figure it all out. Toby had smelled something at Laura’s house that Susan hadn’t, and he wished that he could talk so he could tell her what it was. Seeing his beloved owner, the one who had rescued him from that shelter, so upset was making him upset and he was determined to find a way to fix this and to make sure Susan did not get blamed for the murder of her friend.
4
It was a week after Laura’s death, and the day before had been her funeral. Susan was saddened by this, especially since she hadn’t heard from Detective Mason since the day he had come to her house. Laura’s aunt had taken care of the arrangements and Angela had notified everyone who was mentioned in the will that the will reading would be held that following week. Susan was surprised she was mentioned in it, but nothing Laura could have left her would make up for the loss of a friend. Now more than ever she wished she had her happy go lucky friend by her side who could make her laugh when she didn’t want to, or make her forget whatever (or whomever) she wanted to forget.
It was the night of book club, and since it was at Susan’s house she was determined to ensure everything was as it should be. She always took great pride in hosting book club, mostly because it was the only time she had people visit her, and she usually took the day off to prepare. That day had been no different and after thoroughly cleaning her home she had prepared appetizers and put wine in the refrigerator to chill. She knew that they would discuss Laura, and they might not even discuss the book at all, and there was some part of Susan that hoped the find out more about what might have happened. There had to be something and the silence from Detective Mason wasn’t encouraging.
The precinct had released Laura’s body and the will was being read, which meant it was still officially classified as an accident which didn’t sit well with Susan. However, without another suspect she knew if she went back to Detective Mason he would just point the finger in her direction again, and she had no proof or even enough memory of that night to prove that she wasn’t responsible in any way.
The others were used to just walking in on book club nights, making it easier on the host not to have to constantly open the door until everyone arrived, and she almost missed Angela walking in the door. “Oh hi Angela! Good to see you.”
“Good to see you too. I’m ready for wine, I hope you have some chilled?”
“Of course. It’s in the fridge, help yourself. I’m just finishing up putting out the food. Long day at work?”
“Very. We’re in the middle of a corporate merger so I’m swamped looking over all the contracts, and I also have to contact everyone for Laura’s will reading which I’m doing on the side. It will be fine but right now I’m ready to forget all that and just enjoy the evening, though it will be weird without Laura here. Oh, hi Rebecca. Wine?”
“Yes please. The kids are at their grandparents all day today and tomorrow so I’ve actually just gotten back from a spa day. It was amazing. After everything it was much needed.”
It wasn’t long before everyone had arrived and they all had drinks and food, relaxing on the couch. It was starting to get colder out so Susan had started a fire in the fireplace, and it provided a sense of comfort they all seemed to enjoy.
“So I have to ask,” Susan started when it seemed like conversation had died down a little. “Does anyone else think it’s just coincidence that Laura died right as we are reading a mystery with a carbon monoxide death in it?”
“Not really. It
really is more common than you think,” Kelly said easily. “It’s why they are always having educational classes on how to protect against it, just like you have a plan for house fires.”
“I agree with Kelly. The police would have found something if there was foul play.”
“I went by there to get my car the next morning and got her mail to put inside, like I’ve done so many times before. I noticed the batteries weren’t in the detectors. Now you all know she talked about replacing those not long ago, how could they be missing? I told the police but they ignored it.”
“I think you are looking for something that isn’t there,” Angela said as she reached for the bottle of wine to refill her glass. “You do know the books we read are fiction, right? Most of this stuff doesn’t happen in real life and not all detectives are idiots. Detective Mason is actually really good at his job.”
“You know him?”
“He’s been on the force for years, we’ve crossed paths before. He has an amazing track record and if he believes there is foul play he won’t stop until he’s found the one responsible. If he hasn’t looked into it, which he hasn’t since it was officially reported as an accident, then I believe him when he says it was an accident.”
“Why are you so certain it wasn’t an accident?” Robin asked.
“I don’t know, I just have this feeling it wasn’t. I can’t seem to get it out of my mind either and it’s frustrating. Laura was so meticulous about maintenance on her house and on safety that it’s hard to believe she would die like that. Maybe it’s just because I can’t believe she’s truly dead, and truly won’t ever be here to talk to anymore, but I can’t shake the feeling that it’s more than that.”
Kelly reached for an appetizer from the coffee table and Susan noticed her watch, getting the feeling it looked familiar. “I think you just miss her and that’s what’s causing this,” Kelly said easily. “Why don’t we discuss the book?”