“What about someone sneaking up or down through the dumbwaiter or using the outside ladder to get in?”
“The dumbwaiter wouldn’t work. I’m the smallest one here, and I’m too big to fit in it. The ladder isn’t it, either. The ladder’s at Mr. Cochran’s window, and he’s sick. Besides, he wouldn’t have done it. He worshiped the ground she walked on. I know. He confided in me often enough. And I don’t think anyone could’ve gotten inside his apartment without him knowing it. At least that’s my opinion. My guess is that it had to have happened downstairs, or on her way to or from breakfast, but then if that’s the case, how could her tray have gotten in front of her. I’m glad you’re the one who gets paid to figure these things out, and not me.”
“Do you have any idea if Mrs. Higgins had any visitors?”
“You mean from the outside?”
“Yes.”
“I have no idea. Remember, I seldom saw the woman, and didn’t really know her. I doubt if Margie would know either, unless the woman told her or someone stopped by some day when Margie was cleaning. Besides no one could’ve gotten to her from outside the building on Friday. Not with the two of us shampooing the rug. And we didn’t open the front door until a few seconds before we went upstairs to move furniture and vacuum.”
+++
I dismissed the second maid and turned to Lou. We both agreed that we were no closer to solving the murder than we were before we got there that morning. I decided we would go up and question Russell Cochran again, before we went to lunch. That would leave the female residents for the afternoon. I hoped that by the time we left there that night that we would be closer to solving the murder, but I wasn’t sure how. I thought back to the clue of the day, but even that didn’t give me a clue. At least not yet.
+++
I knocked on Russell Cochran’s door, and within a few seconds he asked who was calling. I replied, and this time he answered the door without any pretense of being sick.
“Is there something else I can do for you, Lieutenant?”
“I just have some follow-up questions for each of the people who live here. Mind if we come in?”
“No, come right in, Lieutenant. I’m just not sure how I can help you, since I’ve been out of circulation for a few days.”
“You’re looking better.”
“And just between us, I’m feeling better. I’m just not ready to hobnob with those women who’ll probably be hitting on me, now that Katherine is dead. It’s still hard getting used to it. I think I told you that she was my best friend, the only really special friend I had here. Now, she’s gone. It won’t seem the same without her. I don’t know if I’ll end up staying here or not.”
Russell Cochran stopped talking and invited us to take seats. I waited until he too sat before I starting talking.
“If I remember correctly, you didn’t see anyone at all on the day of the murder. Is that right, or am I merely jumping to a conclusion?”
“No, that’s right. Actually, I was in bed most of the day. Well, that and leaning back in my recliner or lying on the couch.”
“Does that mean that you slept most of the day?”
“No, I was awake just about all day. I just had a bad cold and some body aches.”
“Mr. Cochran, would it have been possible for someone to come in your apartment that day without your knowing it?”
“Absolutely, no way!”
“But what if you were asleep. Maybe someone with a key could’ve slipped in, tiptoed through the apartment, and used the ladder to go down to Mrs. Higgins’ apartment.”
“I assume some days that might be possible, but not that day. I started feeling poorly a few minutes after I got back from Katherine’s the night before. I set my alarm, because I knew that I needed to eat breakfast, whether I went down for it or not, but I also put my chain lock across my door, so no one would disturb me. If you remember, I still had it on yesterday when you stopped by. I took it off this morning, now that I’m feeling better. So, unless someone could figure out how to remove the chain from outside the door, and then put it back again from outside the door, then no one was in my apartment except one sick old goat.”
“Tell me about the last time you saw Mrs. Higgins.”
“Well, as I told you before, we ate together at dinner Thursday night, like we usually do. Before we left, I whispered in her ear to forget dessert, that I would be bringing dessert. She laughed. It was our secret. I told her to go back to her apartment and put a pot of coffee on, that I’d be there in about five minutes. I’d stopped by the bakery when I was out that afternoon and picked up a cheesecake, turtle cheesecake. It cost a bundle, but it was worth it. Now, it’s among the last memories I have of Katherine. Anyway, I stepped out of my apartment and got caught with the cheesecake. Christine Hunt was returning from dinner, and she saw the cheesecake and said, ‘Oh, Russell, how did you know? It’s my favorite dessert.’ I just smiled and walked on. Katherine was standing at the door waiting for me. The two of us enjoyed a piece of cheesecake each, along with the coffee, while we watched Wheel. Katherine put the rest of the cheesecake in her refrigerator. In case you didn’t notice, we each have a small refrigerator, even though we eat all of our meals downstairs.
“Between Wheel and Jeopardy, we both took time to brush our teeth. I keep a spare toothbrush down at her place. Neither of us can stand to eat and not brush our teeth. Anyway, we watched Jeopardy, talked a while, and then I went home. I had no idea it would be the last time I’d see her.”
As he finished, tears formed in his eyes. He was either sincere or a tremendous actor.
“What happened to the rest of the cheesecake, the part you didn’t eat Thursday night?”
“I planned to leave it with Katherine, but she insisted that I take it with me when I left. I left one piece in her refrigerator, brought the rest back with me, ate the last of it yesterday.”
Since I couldn’t think of any other questions to ask him at that moment, we excused ourselves and left. It had been difficult for me, too. I always get a little choked up when someone mentions dessert and there is none for me to enjoy. I thought of the piece he left behind, remembered that the lab boys took it with them when they left on Friday, and that it contained no poison. Neither did the toothpaste or toothbrush. But something did. What was it?
22
I wondered if a change of pace might help us solve the case. In the old days, I wouldn’t have thought anything about what I wanted to do, but it was no longer the old days. As we sat down in Lightning and buckled up, I turned to Lou and asked, “Lou, would you be upset if we ate lunch at Hot Dog Haven today?”
I could see the wheels turning as he calculated how much longer he would have to Wii that night in order to break with tradition. Hot Dog Haven had nothing but hot dogs, or at least nothing more than elongated sausages and wieners of some sort. But he agreed and off Lightning shot.
I ordered the Four By Four. It consisted of four hot dogs with four ingredients. For my four I chose chili, cheese, mustard, and slaw, plus I made mine a combo by ordering some chili cheese fries. Lou made his a combo, too. He got a bun with his hot dog. He ordered only one hot dog. I wondered if that was worse than being an only child. Watching Lou eat was an experience. It had been quite a while since I had seen anyone other than a child eat only one hot dog. True, Lou did doctor it up a little. He added mustard and ketchup, if you want to call that doctoring. The poor guy needed a doctor. That much was obvious.
But then the guy surprised me when we left. He said, “Cy, I know they don’t serve dessert here, and I know how much you look forward to going to Every Loving Spoonful each time we eat here, so go ahead. I think I’ll have one with you.”
I was thankful that I wasn’t driving when he said that last part. I might have wrecked. It’s not as if I think God doesn’t do miracles any more. I just wasn’t expecting Him to do one at the ice cream parlor.
As it turned out, when we got to Every Loving Spoonful, Lou refrained from sa
ying, “I’ll have what he’s having.”
I’d chowed down quite well at Hot Dog Haven, so I wasn’t as hungry as unusual, so I ordered only a three-scoop sundae with hot fudge, caramel, walnuts, whipped cream, and a cherry. I know I should have had more, because I was giving up my customary two slices of pie, but I refrained. I wanted to meet Lou halfway. As it turned out, I met him a little more than halfway. His “one with me” was a one-scoop dish, orange sherbet at that. Well, at least that was something. I can still remember back to the time when I ate only one piece of pie at a meal. I didn’t know any better in those days.
+++
I took my time getting back to Parkway Arms. I wanted to make sure I had all my burps out of the way before I tackled any more suspects. Besides that, hot dogs, chili, and ice cream were not my normal luncheon fair, so none of them were as familiar as an open-faced roast beef sandwich and mashed potatoes and a couple of pieces of pecan pie as to where they should bed down when it was time for me to get back to work.
I was unsure which resident to tackle next, so I looked at my list to see the order in which I had talked to them before. I got a pained look on my face when I realized that Christine Hunt was next. Maybe I would send Lou in to talk to her. I didn’t want that woman to start hitting on me again. I had had enough of that to last me a few weeks.
+++
I knocked on Christine Hunt’s door. A few seconds later, she answered.
“Oh, if it isn’t that witty policeman who’s on YouTube and his nearly silent partner. Come in one of you.”
“I’m afraid it has to be both of us.”
“Oh, this might turn out to be my lucky day. Or should I invite a friend?”
“Mrs. Hunt, you’ll need to cooperate or I’ll have to cuff you and take you downtown.”
“Oh, you naughty boy. Whatever you want to do, I’ll cooperate.”
“Good. Let’s sit down so I can ask you some questions.”
“I’ve got an idea my ideas are better than yours. Just in case this doesn’t work out between us, could you possibly get me a key to Russell’s apartment?”
“Oh, haven’t you heard? He’s started double-bolting his door.”
“Oh, that’s okay. Give me a key to that dead woman’s apartment. I know where they keep the ladder.”
“You mean you don’t already have a key to her apartment?”
“No, I’m only interested in men, and as luck would have it, we have only one man here. Oh, well! At least he’s cute.”
“Mrs. Hunt, let’s get serious here.”
“Now, you’re talking!”
“Tell me again about Friday morning’s breakfast. Where was everyone seated?”
“Well, let see. I was at one end of the table. Joanne came in and sat across from me. The dead woman was at the other end. She wasn’t dead at that time, of course. That Winters woman sat across from her. The other two didn’t come down. Of course, I can’t be sure if that’s where everyone sat. I didn’t know at the time that we’d be tested on it. If so, I would’ve taken notes.”
I realized that Christine Hunt was the second woman to say that to me.
“Who was the closest to the buffet line, you or Mrs. Higgins?”
“It was closer to her end of the table.”
“So, anyone had to pass her place in order to get to the buffet?”
“So, she was poisoned, and at breakfast. How come it took so long for us to be notified?”
“I don’t know. I guess the murderer might be a little shy about such things. Besides, we’re not sure where she was murdered, but she was murdered. So, tell me about breakfast. Did everyone eat about the same things?”
“I couldn’t tell you, but it couldn’t have varied too much. There was only so much food on the buffet. Still, there was plenty.”
“How many of the people got up once they were seated?”
“I don’t know. I guess all of us. I still look good for my age, so I’m not ashamed to admit I went back for more.”
“Do you have any idea if Mrs. Higgins ate anything that no one else ate?”
“Can’t help you there.”
“Who left the table first?”
“I think she did, but I can’t be sure of it. I think the Winters woman left about the same time she did, but all of us left at roughly the same time. ”
“Don’t you like Miss Winters?”
“Oh, she’s all right, I guess. It’s just that she always hung out with that woman.”
“Let’s move on. You said that most of you left about the same time. Who did you see after you left the table, but before you drove out of the parking lot around 10:00 or so?”
“As far as I can remember, no one, except for Joanna.”
“What about Thursday night after dinner? Did you see anyone then?”
“No. No wait a minute. Yes, I did, too. I saw that handsome Russell come out of his place with a cheesecake. I could tell it was an expensive one. I tried to get him to come over to my place and eat it. He would’ve had more fun at my place, but no, he had to go down to her apartment.”
“Did you hear him come back?”
“No, I don’t eavesdrop on my neighbors.”
“So, you don’t have any idea what time he came back, and if he had part of the cheesecake with him?”
“So, you mean he could have poisoned her with the cheesecake?”
“No, I just wanted to know if you saw him come back. Mrs. Hunt, do you, or did you at any time have a key to Mrs. Higgins’ apartment?”
“I already told you I don’t have a key to her place. Never did.”
“Do you know anyone who does?”
“I assume that Russell does, and of course some of the people who work here, but I don’t know of anyone else.”
Before the conversation got back to Wiiing or a relationship between the two of us, I ended it, ready to talk to someone else.
23
I was anxious to talk to Elaine Jewell, Joanne Moberly, and Hilda Winters, because each of them lived on the same floor as the victim. Both Russell Cochran and Christine Hunt lived on the third floor and wouldn’t know about any Friday morning visitors, unless one of them was the visitor.
I opted for Joanne Moberly first, who supposedly ate breakfast across from Christine Hunt. I knocked on her door. She opened it, frowned at first, but quickly replaced her frown with a big smile.
“It’s Lieutenant Dekker, isn’t it? What brings you to see me again? Something else on your mind?”
“Well, yes and no. It’s the same case, but a different set of questions.”
I spent the next hour and a half or two hours questioning the three other women who lived on the same floor as the deceased. While their answers didn’t necessarily contradict each other, each one said something that no one else mentioned. If true, any of these statements could turn the case around. Joanne Moberly said she thought that someone walked by and leaned over to talk to the deceased at the breakfast table, but she couldn’t remember for sure if that was Thursday or Friday morning. She couldn’t remember who, but she thought it might have been Hilda Winters. She said she thought she remembered someone getting Mrs. Higgins another glass of orange juice. She wasn’t sure who it was, but she thought it could have been the cook, Miss Carpenter.
We left her apartment and called on Hilda Winters next. She opened the door, smiled at the two of us, invited us in.
“Miss Winters, what can you recall about breakfast on Friday morning?”
“Just that there were only four of us. Other than that, nothing seemed any different than any other day.”
“Who left the table first?”
“Katherine always leaves first after breakfast, but I left about the same time, called out for her to wait on me.”
“And did she?”
“No, evidently she didn’t hear me. I had to wait on the elevator. As I unlocked the door to my apartment I heard Katherine putting the chain latch on her door.”
“Was that som
ething she did all the time?”
“No, sometimes she did, sometimes she didn’t. I don’t know if she had any special reason for doing or not doing it.”
“But you are sure she put in on Friday morning?”
“Absolutely, I distinctly heard her slide it on her door.”
“And did you hear her open her door to anyone that morning?”
“No, but I wouldn’t have heard anything unless I was standing in the hall or close to my door.”
I thanked her for her time, moved diagonally across the hall to Elaine Jewell. She didn’t seem quite as happy to see us, but reluctantly admitted us to her apartment.
“Miss Jewell, at the last minute Friday morning you decided to have your breakfast sent up, rather than go down to breakfast. Why did you do that?”
“I was tired. I knew I would be going out, so I decided to call down, have my breakfast sent up, and take it easy until it was time to leave. I didn’t necessarily want to go out, but neither did I want to be cooped up in my apartment all day.”
“And did you see Mrs. Higgins anytime Friday morning?”
“No.”
“Did you hear her, or hear anyone out in the hall?”
“No. Nothing.”
“What about out on the roof? Would you have heard Russell Cochran if he had come down the ladder?”
“I’m not sure. Part of the time I was in the shower. I wouldn’t have heard anyone then.”
“And when you were in the shower did you have the latch on your door?”
“I always put it on at night, never take it off until time to go down to breakfast the next morning. Friday I never took it off until I left, somewhere around 10:00.”
+++
We were moving along quite well. We had spent a part of five days on the case, had talked to each of the suspects twice, and still were no closer to solving the murder than we were when we arrived. Oh, we were closer. It just didn’t seem like it. I wondered if we would learn anything if we went back to Mrs. Higgins’ apartment. It was only a few steps away, there were comfortable chairs inside, plus some of my candy. When all the evidence is on the same side, it’s easy to make a decision.
4 Murder at Breakfast Page 14