A Damaging Dilemma (An East Pender Cozy Mystery Book 13)

by Leona Fox

  Ellen burned with anger. There was nothing she hated more in the world than bullies. Most of them were cowards, only bullying people to make up for their own insecurities, getting off on the power of making people feel weak and scared rather than trying to understand people and build a bridge of communication and understanding. Quickly, she flicked through to find out their names, and vowed that she would see them soon.

  Chapter 8

  It didn't take long to find out their addresses, and the librarian was all too eager to help as she felt like she was helping with the case. Ellen couldn't blame her; working in the library was not the most high-octane occupation in the world. After she got what she was looking for Ellen checked out the first address, but there was nobody there.

  However, at the second she heard noises, and when she knocked on the door the homeowner, Richard, opened the door. He was a tall man with broad shoulders. His eyes were misty and his hair was graying, even though he was only in his late twenties. Behind him Ellen could see the other two, Thomas and Harold. Thomas was a stout man with a double chin and small eyes that seemed to become swallowed up in his pudgy face. Harold had a thick beard with long hair that was tied back into a ponytail, and wore a casual T-shirt and ripped jeans. The three of them seemed more normal than Ellen had figured they would be, but she reminded herself that bullies came in all shapes and sizes.

  “Can I help you?” Richard asked.

  Ellen introduced herself and watched to see their reactions, although none of them seemed to take much notice of her other than the idle curiosity that came with someone knocking on their door.

  “I work with the police and we're just investigating some acts of vandalism in the area. Have you heard or seen anything about that?” she asked, eyes darting among them to see if any of them reacted. Thomas' eyes looked away, and she was sure that Harold's breath caught in his throat, but the man in front of her remained calm and collected.

  “I'm afraid we don't. To be honest, we don't take much notice of what goes on around here. We like to keep ourselves to ourselves,” he said.

  “What type of vandalism was it?” Thomas piped up.

  He had a high-pitched voice, and the moment he spoke Richard and Harold's necks snapped around to glare at him. He looked at them innocently, and then looked at Ellen.

  “Someone's house has been the subject of numerous acts of vandalism. We're just trying to see if anyone can help us. We're reminding everyone to be vigilant in case whoever does it strikes at someone else,” she said.

  “Do you have any descriptions of the people? If we knew some details it might help us to identify any possible criminals,” Richard said.

  Ellen looked him straight in the eye and there was an understanding between the two of them. For a moment Ellen was tempted to lie and tell them that they had eyewitness reports of three men. But as she looked into Richard's eyes, she knew that he knew that she knew they were the criminals, and lying would have been a pointless endeavor.

  “No, unfortunately there haven't been, but we're keeping a close watch on the house. We're just afraid that if they pop up anywhere else we won't be able to catch them. However, I'm sure with people like yourselves looking out, we'll stand a good chance,” she said.

  “You can count on us. We have lived here all our lives. We only want the best for the town, of course.”

  “Of course,” she said, and took one last look at the three of them, letting her eyes linger on each of them in turn. Thomas seemed uncomfortable but Harold and Richard managed to maintain their composure.

  “Is there anything else we can help you with?”

  “No, I believe that's all for now,” she said, and then bid them farewell.

  The door closed behind her and she almost could sense each of them breathing a sigh of relief. She'd looked at their clothes to see if there was any sign of yellow paint and, unfortunately, there was none. But she was sure the three of them were the culprits and now that she had identified them it was just a matter of time before she caught them. Furthermore, now that they knew they were under suspicion she hoped it would put an end to the attacks on Alexander's house, as it would be too great a risk to continue now. Of course, there was a slight chance it would force them to hasten their plans, but she didn't think they had murder in mind.

  If she was right, and they were Alexander's bullies, they would want to drag out the psychological torture and bring him to his knees. With that done she returned to the cafe, feeling triumphant, and she couldn't wait to share the news with Alexander.

  When she arrived she noticed that Alexander shot her a nasty glance, and she wondered what had happened. The moment he was able, Alexander stepped away from the counter and pulled her to one side.

  “I can't believe you went and talked to her,” he said in a low voice.

  “Who?”

  “You know very well who, Stephanie.” He loomed over Ellen, but relaxed his posture when he noticed that Scampy was growling on the floor.

  “I asked you to stay out of my business. I didn't want you to get involved. It's all just...it's nothing you need to worry about.”

  “This is what I do, Alexander. There's a mystery here and I'm going to solve it. I'm sorry if you feel that I broke your personal boundaries, but I felt like I had no choice. She's the person in town who knows you best, and at the start she was one of the only suspects we had. So what was I supposed to do? Just ignore her? Anyway, I have something that I thought you might like to know--”

  “I don't want to hear it. My shift is over and I'm tired and I'd rather just go home if you don't mind,” he said brusquely.

  Ellen was taken aback by the blunt tone in his voice, but what he said was not a question and he spun on his heels and walked away quickly. Before she knew it he was out the door. Scampy still had his teeth bared. Ellen shook her head and wondered if, through her actions, she was going to push someone else away. She thought about everything she had done through the case and decided that she had acted in the best interests of everyone involved. Hopefully, by the end of it Alexander would see that.

  Now the only question was how to find evidence that the three men were responsible for the crimes. Hopefully, once Alexander calmed down and she could tell him she had seen Richard, Thomas, and Harold he would open up to her about the truth of the matter and what had happened all those years ago. That would be the ideal scenario, at least.

  The evening went swiftly. Kelly and Matthew popped in for a bite to eat and a chat. Ellen was glad to tell Kelly that there wasn't a monster behind this at all. Andy came in as well, and she was glad to feel his presence. Usually she worked with him on a case, so working mostly by herself on this one had been a somewhat strange experience, and she missed him greatly. Toward the end of the night she was glad the cafe had been busy, and although it only had been a short time since she had had Alexander on probation, her worries had been eased. Ellen was confident that the cafe had a prosperous future.

  While she was cleaning the cafe was quiet, aside from Scampy shuffling along the floor. He always managed to find something to entertain himself. But then there was a sudden smash. Scampy yelped and scrambled back, assuming a defensive posture as his eyes searched the room for the source of the noise. Ellen's heart jumped in her mouth as she turned and saw a huge hole in the door. Bits of glass were scattered all over the tables, chairs, and floor, and a rock lay on the table. Ellen carefully went over to it, peering into the night to see if she could see anyone out there, but there were only shadows. She picked up the rock and found there was a note tied to it with thick string. She pulled the paper out and unfolded the note. It read:

  You do not know who you have hired. He is not who he seems. You should think twice before believing anything he says.

  Ellen breathed heavily as she crunched the note up in her fist and called Scampy to heel, making sure to push the shards of glass away from his path. She ordered Scampy to stay and guard the door while she went out back to get some wood and tape t
o secure the window. After that was done she locked the door behind her and took the note to Alexander. Tires screeched outside his house as she pulled up, got out, and stormed up the yard, Scampy followed as fast as he could on his little legs. She rapped her knuckles on the door and her eyes were screaming fury at Alexander as he let her in. He led her through to the lounge and she handed him the note, which he stared at blankly. When he didn't respond the anger inside her boiled over.

  “I get that you want to keep quiet about this but now your problem has caused damage to my cafe and I will not stand for that. You can stay here and hide in your house if you like but I am going to catch these men and if you want to help me then you can testify. Otherwise, I'll have to go against them alone. But whatever secret you're keeping, it's not worth hiding any longer because eventually I will find them, and when I do I'm going to ask them why they targeted you. I don't think they'll be as determined to hold their tongue as you are. The truth is going to come out one way or another, Alexander. You just get to decide who I hear it from first.” Alexander looked up at her, and for a moment, she thought he was going to say something, but instead his eyes turned to liquid and he began to cry again.

  Chapter 9

  Ellen stood with her arms folded across her chest as Alexander cried. Whatever sympathy she had had for the man was running out fast because her business had been damaged and she had been placed in danger, all because Alexander had remained silent this entire time. She let the crying go on for a minute or two, hoping he eventually would compose himself and tell her exactly what was going on. When this didn't happen she decided to lead with her own theory, pacing back and forth across the room in front of him as she spoke.

  “You know what I think? I've been doing some investigating, you see. After talking with Stephanie I kinda figured that whatever this is about happened during high school. So I went to find your yearbook and I found three boys in there who, by the look of it, didn't like you all that much. So I went and spoke with them.” At this Alexander's eyes shot up at her, but nothing was going to interrupt her before she had said all she wanted to say.

  “So I paid them a visit and I'm convinced they're the ones who are responsible for these acts of vandalism. For some reason they don't seem to want to let you forget high school. So I'm going to go out on a limb here and say I think they bullied you in high school, that they made you dread every day. And then when you finally graduated you thought you could escape them, and felt you actually could move on with your life. And you did; you found Stephanie and you were happy.

  But they couldn't let you be happy, could they? They sent you letters that drove you crazy, took you back to that time when you felt powerless and out of control. So you ran away and hid. And again, you finally thought you were able to come back and forget all about it, but they see you getting a job so they start terrorizing you again. Well, I'm not going to let this happen to you. The only way to deal with bullies is to confront them. It's one thing to bully a kid in high school, but this is taking it too far. You shouldn't feel ashamed of bringing this situation to the police. We're here to help you. We can put these people away. They've ruined so much of your life already, you can't let them win,” she said.

  Alexander finally stopped crying and sniffed back his tears. He wiped his eyes and placed his hands together in between his legs, his head still hanging down. His voice was raw and choking.

  “You are right...mostly. It did happen at high school, and I did think I could move on with my life before they started reminding me of everything that had happened. But you're wrong about them being bullies. I was the bully,” at this he raised his head and looked directly at Ellen.

  “I was the one who made their lives hell. I stole their lunch money. I locked them in cupboards. I treated them like my errand boys. They were small and I was strong. They were geeks and I was a jock, so I bullied them. I took control of them and I made their lives hell. Oh yes Ellen, I was a horrible person. I was the evil one. I was the monster and I didn't realize it until I grew up and got out of high school. I thought I had put those days behind me. It was just kids’ stuff, you know? Sure, I bullied them, but we'd all moved on. I could live with myself.

  “Then they started sending me letters. They told me how awful it had felt. How badly it had scarred them and made them scared even to leave the house. How they weren't even sure what happiness was anymore. I read all of them and I knew what it was like. I couldn't believe how much I had hurt them; how miserable I had made them. One of them even told me he had thought about committing suicide. He said he even had the pills there, ready to take, and the only thing that stopped him was the thought of his mom finding his corpse. I did that to them. I scared them, and why? For kicks? Because I was just a stupid kid? Because I got off on the power? I don't even know now why I did it,” he said, laughing sarcastically.

  “And they showed me that I didn't deserve to be happy. The way I treated them, what I did to them, I needed to serve penance, to try restoring the karmic balance, or something like that. So I hid and, yeah, I broke up with Stephanie. I ruined the best thing I ever had because I didn't deserve it. I wasn't the person she thought I was so I showed her the monster. I showed her the same person I showed those boys at school because that's who I am. That's who I'll always be and there's no use denying it. I'm sorry, Ellen. I can't take your job. I can't take anything. I'm just going to sit here where I can't do harm to anyone. They can do anything they want to me. I deserve it for everything I did to them.”

  His voice turned low and he hung his head down again. His body shook with violent sadness as the tears flowed out, and although Ellen hated bullies, her heart went out to him. She was in shock at how swiftly everything had poured out and she pieced together everything. Then she sat next to Alexander and placed an arm on his shoulder, squeezing sympathetically. It was clear he felt remorse for his actions and she hated to see a man torment himself so much. She was sure that whatever penance he had to pay had been fulfilled a long time ago.

  “Alexander, it's okay,” she said soothingly.

  As she reached out to him, he clasped his arms around her and clung on tightly, and she comforted his shuddering body.

  “Meet me at the cafe in about half an hour,” she said finally as the tears began to subside.

  He nodded, and she left him so he could go make overtures to the three men. Now that she knew the truth of the matter she had some work to do to get the four men to mend the wounds that had scarred most of their lives. They all needed to learn how to move on and be happy. She found them all at Richard's place again.

  “I know what's going on between you and Alexander,” she began. As she said this Thomas and Harold joined Richard at the door.

  “I'd like you to come with me so we can discuss it. I think we might be able to keep the police out of the whole thing, if you come with me now,” she said.

  The three of them looked at each other, and they all nodded. Ellen drove them back to the cafe and let them inside, offering them a seat and some drinks. Scampy eyed them warily. It wasn't long before Alexander arrived. As he entered he stared at the three men, and they stared back.

  “Now look, I know the four of you have been through a lot, but it's clear it's been going on for far too long and we need to get this sorted out now. Alexander, have a seat,” she said. He hesitantly moved forward and sat down at the table, as did Ellen.

  “We're going to talk to each other and try understanding what is going on here because, at the moment, this cannot continue. I understand Alexander made mistakes in high school, and perhaps you think he deserves punishment for that, but you three need to realize that people do change. Now, who would like to begin?”

  The three of them looked at each other while Alexander sat looking sullenly at the table. Richard cleared his throat and then began speaking, retelling everything he had written in the letter all those years ago. As the three men spoke of how difficult it was to move on from high school and how their self-esteem
had been knocked so low that they found it almost impossible to have successful relationships, romantic or otherwise, Alexander slowly perked up and listened somberly. Ellen tried remaining neutral, but was moved by their stories. After they had spoken it was Alexander's turn. He told them all about how he had broken up with Stephanie and then turned into a recluse.

  “And, to be honest, I am fine with that. I know it's what I deserve for everything I did to you. I know what it's like now to live in fear every day.”

  “But the point is,” Ellen interjected, “that to move on we have to accept each other’s mistakes and try working together to understand each other. Yes, Alexander bullied you in high school, but as you've seen you have bullied Alexander in adulthood. Both acts have caused much disorder and devastation. I'd like to try helping you get through this and put this all behind you so you all can lead happy lives. Don't you think all of you deserve a new life? I know it can be difficult to let go of something that has been a part of you for so long, and that you've been fighting for this for years, but has it really been making any of you happy?”

  The three men looked at each other, then at Alexander. “To be honest, I never really wanted to go along with this in the first place. I just wanted to forget about it,” Thomas said.

  “I want to be happy, and I'm willing to do whatever it takes to make that happen.”

  Ellen smiled and clapped her hands together, and it wasn't long before the other three fell in line. Soon enough they were chatting like four men, and even laughed.