2 Murder in the Winter

by Steve Demaree

  Reluctantly, Mulroney shuffled over to his closet, pulled out a pair of boots, and handed them to me. They didn’t match the ones I was looking for. When I found out that these boots were the only boots he owned, I was down to one ace.

  “Mr. Mulroney, will you be home all day today?”

  “I expect so. Hadn’t planned to go anywhere.”

  “Fine, I want to have a fingerprint man stop by and take your prints.”

  “My prints. Whatever for, or is that a secret, too?”

  “No, Mr. Mulroney, it’s not a secret. We’re looking for a man who went to the Overlook Inn over the weekend, once dressed as a woman, once dressed as a man. This man left his prints in both rooms. We have a nice set, and we just wanted to see how closely they match your prints.”

  “Oh, what’s the use. It was me, Lieutenant. The guy across the hall told me that Longworth was going to be reopening the inn, and McArthur came up with the idea to surprise Longworth by going in character. I decided to one-up the others. I went as an old lady on Thursday, sneaked out in the middle of the night Friday night, came back and changed characters, then went back again on Saturday, only I decided to hightail it when you got so nosy. I didn’t mean anything by it. And you can imagine how scared I was when some guy dropped dead across the table. Was he one of us, Lieutenant?”

  I sat there. I’d found my actor, but I hadn’t found my boots. Once I had unmasked Mulroney, he seemed so contrite, but then he was an actor.

  “Mr. Mulroney, tell me a little bit about your acting career prior to this weekend.”

  “Well, I got hooked when I saw the movie Witness For The Prosecution. When I found out it was originally a play written by Agatha Christie, I got interested in acting. Are you familiar with the work, Lieutenant?”

  “It’s one of my favorite movies, along with Wait Until Dark, Dial M For Murder, and No Time For Sergeants.”

  “Did you know that all of those movies have been plays at one time or another?”

  “Really?”

  “Yes, the first two were written by the same guy, Frederick Knott. I’ve been fortunate enough to act in all three tales of terror. I always wanted to play the part Charles Laughton played in the movie version of Witness For The Prosecution, and I was fortunate to do so.”

  “Tony McArthur mentioned to me that he was in a couple of those plays. Were the two of you in the same production?”

  “Yes, we’ve acted in several plays together. In Wait Until Dark, he played the part of the psycho and I played one of his stooges. In Dial M, he played the husband, and I played the part of the man he hired to murder his wife.”

  “And how did everyone get along?”

  “Handsomely. Both plays had such a small cast we all seemed like one big happy family. By the way, I died in both parts.”

  “Well, let’s hope you fair better in real life.”

  Mulroney smiled nervously, and I told him that that was all for the time being, and Lou and I got up to leave.

  As we were leaving, Mulroney asked me a question.

  “Lieutenant, can you answer a question for me?”

  “It depends. What’s your question?”

  “I’ve been wondering. Do you know if Longworth or McArthur recognized me as I played either part this weekend?”

  “Neither did, Mr. Mulroney, but police lieutenants are much harder to fool.”

  He smiled as I related the first part of the message and his smile faded quickly as I concluded. As soon as I’d finished talking, Lou and I stepped out the door, and I closed it.

  +++

  As far as I knew, no one in the building knew the identities of the dead men, but then one of them did, if he or she was the murderer. We had hoped we might trap our murderer as long as he or she was the only one who knew the victims’ identities. Well, Longworth knew, but I needed him to make an identification. Somehow, I didn’t picture Longworth as a guy who would murder someone at his own place. But then, the murders didn’t take place at the inn. If Longworth was our murderer, he would know that we would soon find out that neither murder took place at his establishment. It was too early to eliminate him as a suspect.

  We’d kept everything out of the newspaper, but for how much longer I wasn’t sure. For the time being, Lou and I would keep it that way. I knocked on doors number four and five, even though dead men don’t answer knocks. No one answered at Thornton’s or Simon’s apartment. If I didn’t find the boots by the end of the day, I would look in those apartments. I hoped that I found them before I had to check those apartments. A pair of boots would be much harder to find at Overlook Inn. Or had they been thrown over the cliff?

  16

  I glanced at my watch. I knew that we couldn’t interrogate everyone before lunch, so we took a break. There were only three other apartments, and since one of them was McArthur’s and another one probably had nothing to do with the case, our afternoon had possibilities of going quicker than our morning. Still, I wondered how close we were to solving the case. Had we already met the murderer, or murderers? I didn’t know.

  Lou and I sat out front of Oppenheimer Arms discussing the case, hoping to make someone nervous. I didn’t notice anyone fooling with the blinds, so maybe all we did was waste some time.

  “Well, Lou. Any thoughts so far?”

  “Nothing, except that we know who our missing actor is, but I’m not sure if what we learned today makes him innocent or guilty.”

  “Me, either. For what it’s worth, for the time being, I’m buying Rothschild’s story about not being able to walk. Those shoes and boots of his have almost no wear and tear. Still, I’ll have Sam check him out, see if we can find a doctor who’ll corroborate his story. Of course, I plan to have Sam check out each of these birds. You never know what he might find.”

  “And let’s not forget those people at Overlook Inn, Cy.”

  “I’m not. Sam’s already checking on them. I expect he’ll have a report for us in the morning. In the meantime, let’s go eat and then come back and meet the rest of this crew.”

  “Cy, I think you’re slipping.”

  I had no idea what Lou was talking about, which he could tell from my confused look.

  “You haven’t asked what thought I received today.”

  “Okay, out with it. What clue did God give you today?”

  “Smile, you’re on Candid Camera.”

  “I hope nobody’s taking any pictures of us.”

  “Me, too, but if they are, they’d better use a wide angle lens.”

  The two of us laughed.

  +++

  I started Lightning and drove to the Blue Moon. Since we didn’t leave the Blue Moon until almost 11:00 that morning and we’d interviewed three people since then, we were late arriving for lunch. Because we were late leaving after breakfast, a late lunch wasn’t a problem. It wasn’t as if the Blue Moon was one of those places that ran out of food before they ran out of people. Rosie knew we’d be back, and probably had restocked the joint since breakfast.

  I had no more than turned the knob and opened the front door when Rosie said, “Well, if it isn’t Dick Tracy Squared. How are my two favorite policemen?”

  “Hungry.”

  “Hungry? Weren’t you two just here a few minutes ago?”

  “It must’ve been hours. We’ve solved two murders since we were here last.”

  “Anybody I know?”

  “You’ll have to wait for the news. Now, how about some grub?”

  “Well, your shovels have been washed and are waiting for you. What can I get for you?”

  “I’ll take an open face roast beef sandwich with lots of mashed potatoes and float the whole thing in gravy.”

  “You got it. And how about you, Sergeant?”

  “There’s no reason to go against the boss. I’ll have what he’s having and save the country fried steak for supper.”

  Rosie hung our orders on the carousel and spun it, then returned with a glass of sweet tea for me and root beer for
Lou. Within a few minutes, she brought our food. ”

  After finishing off the pie and trying to extricate the last of the meringue from my fork and my lips, we paid our bill, left a sizable tip, and waddled from the diner, counting the hours until we returned for supper.

  +++

  I drove a little slower on the way back to Oppenheimer Arms, which gave my food a little extra time to settle. While Lou didn’t mention it, I’m sure he appreciated it, too.

  I parked the car and turned to Lou as if we were plotting strategy. It was merely a ploy to allow my lunch longer to navigate the interior canals of my body. A good nap would have been good. I contemplated asking Mrs. Crouch for a key to Mycroft and Plankton’s apartments, so Lou and I could have a little shuteye, but I wasn’t ready to let her know that she would soon have two vacancies.

  I had procrastinated long enough. It was time for us to gather our strength and hoist ourselves from the car. I assumed a standing position, and held on to Lightning for support. A couple of days later, I was able to breathe normally again. Or should I say that I returned to my normal method of wheezing. I studied the windows on the front of the building. No moving blinds. No one seemed aware that Tweedledum and Tweedledee had returned. We had three tenants left to talk to.

  +++

  I shuffled up the walk with the good sergeant close behind, opened the door, and stepped into the hallway of the apartment building. Having completed the right wing, we walked past Mrs. Crouch’s door and turned left. I knocked on the door of number six, and a gray-headed man answered the door. He looked to be around sixty-five, which made him older than the others. I showed him my credentials, told him who we were. He told us his name was Virgil Profitt, then invited us in and offered us seats.

  “You might know by now, Lieutenant, that I’m the new guy on the block. The others all know each other. I’m just beginning to learn who they are.”

  “Well, it’s always good to have a fresh perspective on things, Mr. Profitt. Are you familiar with Sidney Longworth and Overlook Inn?”

  “Well, every stage actor is familiar with the name Sidney Longworth, but I can’t say that I’ve ever met the man. Does he live in this area?”

  “He operates Overlook Inn out at Precipice Point.”

  “I’m not sure where that is.”

  I gave him the approximate location of Precipice Point and told him of its reputation. While I figured he had nothing to do with the murders, I asked him to see his boots, nevertheless. He complied without rancor. As expected, they didn’t match the marks made at my house.

  “I understand you’re an actor, Mr. Profitt.”

  “Was is more like it. I’m pretty much retired now, but that doesn’t mean I won’t turn down a small part if one comes my way.”

  “Tell me a little about your career.”

  “Most of my acting has been on the east coast. Whenever possible, I spent my summers in New England and my winters in Florida, mostly doing what some people call highbrow stuff. I played Henry Higgins in Pygmalion. I did a lot of Shakespeare, although you probably can’t tell that by the way I talk. I enjoyed my craft, but did just enough to pay the bills. I never had any interest in fame. I acted because I loved doing it. I never was driven like a lot of people are, but then I have no problems with those who yearn for Broadway. I guess you can probably tell that. I retired to Hilldale, not Park Avenue in New York City.”

  “Mr. Profitt, we’re looking into a couple of incidents, and we’re checking with each of the building’s residents to see if anyone can help us. Could you tell me what you were doing on Wednesday afternoon, and also this past weekend?”

  “My sister, Grace, was visiting me all of last week. She arrived on Monday afternoon late and left early this morning to return to her home. She probably won’t get home for another hour or two. As you can see, I haven’t put away the cot I slept on this past week. I can tell you it will be a joy to sleep in my own bed again. That cot was quite lumpy.”

  “Were the two of you here, at your apartment, all of that time?”

  “Most of it, but not all. We’d planned to explore the area together, but the weather turned bad and we ended up staying here. You asked specifically about Wednesday afternoon and the weekend. We were gone most all day on Wednesday. I gave my sister Tuesday to rest up from her long drive and then we went out shopping and eating on Wednesday. Like I said, we’d planned to have done more of that, but that snowstorm kept us huddled up here. My sister has never lived where it snows, so she’s both fascinated by it, but afraid of it. She didn’t want to venture out in it. If she hadn’t had to get back home, she’d never have left until all of it melted. I convinced her that the streets were all clear, and she shouldn’t have any trouble during the day. Besides, an hour south of here there is no snow.

  “Friday was the only other day we even went outside. My sister has never seen snow quite this deep, except on TV, so we went out on the porch. She even took pictures. I plan to go out sometime today to get them developed. Double prints. Keep one set for myself and give her a set.”

  “Front or back porch, Mr. Profitt?”

  He had a funny look on his face when he answered “both.”

  “Did you see any of your neighbors while your sister was here?”

  “No, but then I seldom see them, unless we run into each other at the mailbox. If so, most of them stop and chat a few minutes. They seem like nice men. Like I said, they all are one up on me. They all know each other quite well, and I’m just getting to know them. Besides, I’m several years older than any of them. Oh, wait a minute. We did see the manager, Mrs. Crouch. I knocked on her door, introduced my sister to her, and asked her if she’d be willing to take a few pictures of my sister and me together. She was most gracious. Even bundled up and went outside and took pictures of my sister and me in the snow. My sister wants to show them to some of the people back home.”

  I thanked Profitt for his time and we left.

  +++

  We walked across the hall to Tony McArthur’s apartment. It would be the first familiar face I’d seen since I’d arrived at the apartment complex. McArthur opened the door, surprised to see us, but invited us in without having to be asked.

  “I sure didn’t expect to see you again so soon. What can I do for you gentlemen?”

  “Oh, we’re simply trying to finish up with this case. We have a few questions we want to ask everyone here. I’ve already asked you some of them, so I can skip those, but I’d like to know the name of someone who can verify that you were in Chicago.”

  He scribbled a name and number on a business card, handed it to me.

  “Call this guy. He can tell you where I was most of the week. And you can verify where I was over the weekend. I saw where you checked out yesterday. I decided to wait until this morning, hoping to get some time with Longworth to see what he’s got lined up.”

  “And did you get to talk to him?”

  “Well, he wasn’t in the talking mood, after what happened there this weekend. I still can’t believe this isn’t some kind of play.”

  “Well, it’s not, Mr. McArthur. By the way, do you own any boots?”

  “Boots? Yeah, I’ve got a pair, and I sure could have used them this weekend. Of course, it wasn’t too bad. I was only outside to check in and check out.”

  “May I see your boots?”

  “Sure. You have footprints of the killer escaping?”

  “Something like that.”

  He reached into the closet, handed me the boots. I almost dropped them when I turned them over. They were the boots the man who left me the note wore.

  “Mr. McArthur, does anyone else have a key to your apartment?”

  “You have some funny questions, Lieutenant.” When he saw how serious I was, he answered. “Only Mrs. Crouch.”

  “No one else.”

  He shook his head “no.” I made a quick decision, decided to let McArthur know some things, to see how he’d react.

  “Mr. McArthur
, these are the same boots worn by the man who left me a note late Thursday night telling me that there would be a murder at Overlook Inn over the weekend.”

  “But that can’t be, Lieutenant. I was in Chicago. You can check. Maybe it’s boots like those.”

  “No, Mr. McArthur, it’s these boots. See how they’re worn right there,” I said, pointing to the outside edge of one of the boots. “It’s these boots. I assume you didn’t take these boots to Chicago with you.”

  “No, Lieutenant. They were in that closet,” he said, motioning to the door in front of us.

  He seemed as stumped as I was, but then I remembered, like all the others, he was an actor. Oh, I’d check his whereabouts, but now I wanted to see how someone could’ve broken into his apartment.

  “If you’ll excuse us a moment, Mr. McArthur, we’ll be right back.”

  I motioned for Lou to follow me out into the hall, then asked him to go outside and check the windows for forced entry, while I did the same with the door to the apartment. With the building setting at street level, that meant it would be easy for someone to enter an apartment through one of its windows. While Lou checked outside, I check the three windows on the inside, to make sure that each window was locked. They were.

  Our efforts revealed nothing. No one had broken into McArthur’s apartment from the inside or the outside, although doing so would not have taken much effort. Still, there were no scratches on the door or any of the windows. The locks wouldn’t have deterred a real burglar, but then Oppenheimer Arms wasn’t in the high rent district.

  “Mr. McArthur, are you sure that you gave a key to no one else. None of the other tenants. Not Mr. Longworth.”

  “No one but Mrs. Crouch.”

  I would check with Mrs. Crouch before I left, but I didn’t expect she would’ve given McArthur’s key to anyone, or would admit to entering his apartment without his knowledge.

  We had nothing more to gain by continuing to question McArthur. If something came up, we would return. I asked him if he planned to leave town again soon, but he said not for another couple of weeks. I told him to let me know before he left. He looked concerned. Afraid.