4 Murder at Breakfast

by Steve Demaree

I’m a cop, and used to being the center of attention, so I didn’t bother to stand when the two women sat down across from Lou and me. Nor did I look up. I continued to stare down at my food and shovel it in. I was doing fine until I almost choked on a large bite of eggs. No, I didn’t accidentally look over and eat what Lou was eating, but all of a sudden I did feel this bare foot crawling up my pant leg. I slapped at it, looked up at the woman across from me, and said, “Naughty, naughty!”

  Mrs. Hunt said, “And I thought you were, too. If you change your mind, you know where I live.”

  Elaine Jewell showed up shortly after that and seemed about as unhappy to see us as did all the tenants except Mrs. Hunt. Well, I wasn’t sure about Joanne Moberly. She seemed to be eyeing Lou. I tried to make casual conversation. In other words, I talked to the ones at the table about things other than murder, but it wasn’t a glib gathering.

  Everyone looked surprised when Russell Cochran made his first appearance in the dining room in a few days. Christine Hunt smiled, and offered him a seat next to her, but he put his tray next to mine and asked if we had moved in. I replied that we were only there until the murderer confessed, which seemed to unnerve enough of the residents that most of them started eating a little faster.

  I had to admit that the food was pretty good, just not quite up to what Rosie serves me every day. Plus, I feel more at ease around her than I did those at the dining room table, but then I’ve never suspected Rosie of murdering anyone.

  Lou and I arranged ahead of time that he would leave as soon as the first person left the table. In order to get even with Lou, I had hoped that Mrs. Hunt would leave first, and alone, but no such luck. Lou and Miss Winters left within seconds of each other. I, on the other hand, being of sound mind and body, planned to remain at the table and eat a second plateful of food with those who worked there. I didn’t want anyone to think I was discriminating against them. Besides, I wanted to make up for the puny amount Lou ate. Not only did I plan to eat my normal amount, but I planned to compliment Miss Carpenter on her cooking.

  Almost an hour later, after I had scared two sets of diners, I took the elevator to the second floor, got off, walked to Mrs. Higgins’s room, and knocked. After all, Lou and I had only one key, and Lou had the one key. I had no intention of taking the elevator to the third floor and knocking on Russell Cochran’s door and asking him if I could use his ladder. I would almost as soon ask Lou if I could borrow his Wii sometime.

  Lou opened the door, his gun drawn and in his hand. I laughed when I saw it.

  “I was expecting you to be lying on the floor or at least leaning over the table with your face in a plate of food by now. What’s the matter? No visitors?”

  “None yet. I was afraid your friend might follow me, but I guess she has her sights on you.”

  “Yeah, she admitted as much after you left. She likes men with meat on their bones.”

  “That’s another reason for me to continue to lose weight.”

  I ignored that comment and continued with my murder-solving techniques.

  “So, Lou did you come up and pretend to be Mrs. Higgins?”

  “What was I supposed to do? Come up here and lay my head in a plateful of food? Sorry, I couldn’t find any food.”

  “Never mind. Have you seen any red flags yet?”

  “You mean by the way anyone acted at the table?”

  “I mean anything.”

  “No, I’ve looked this place over a little bit, but mostly I just sat down and thought.”

  I knew it. A man in a weakened condition.

  “So, Cy, what about the second group. How did they act?”

  “About as edgy as the first group. At least none of them tried to play footsie with me.”

  “That’s good, Cy. That way you won’t have to let one woman down because you’ve chosen another. Have you and Mrs. Hunt set the date yet?”

  “Lou, I’ve already told you that we need to split up today, at least part of the time. Why don’t you walk the halls and see what everyone’s up to. Maybe take a stroll out in the backyard. Talk to anyone you see. Just chitchat. See how they react. See if they get nervous with you around. Ask for a key to check out any room that’s locked. I don’t mean go in anyone’s apartment. Just storage places, the basement, the computer room, the library. And while you’re out in the backyard, go sit on the bench under the oak tree and mull over anything you saw and heard. Look up toward the house every now and then to see if you spot anyone going about his or her activities, or a robust-looking cop who might be summoning you to come back to this apartment.”

  “I think I can do that, Cy. Just get a little exercise and keep my eyes open. Sounds easy enough.”

  I knew it. My partner was in denial. I hoped he would see the error of his ways before it was too late. I didn’t want to have to break in a new friend at my age.

  25

  Shortly after Lou left I felt I would be more comfortable if I took off my shoes and lay down on the couch. Just after I did so, I began to think of how the victim had been poisoned. Surely she was poisoned at breakfast. It seemed like the most likely time.

  Before long, my thoughts turned to my food. After all, I would be eating two more meals there, and I was worried I would be starved before I left. Would I have to send Lou to the Blue Moon for carry-out?

  Normally, you would think that they would feed us enough, but then I thought back to the conversation I had with the cook shortly after the last of the staff got up from breakfast. I’m always concerned about getting enough to eat, so I went into the kitchen, eager to catch Martha before she left on her break.

  “Martha, do you have a minute?”

  “You have more questions, Lieutenant?”

  “Yes, but not those kinds of questions. I wanted to remind you that the Sergeant and I will be eating lunch here, too. Do I need to fill out a form?”

  “Yes, Lieutenant, let me get you a couple of forms.”

  She turned to a drawer and pulled out a couple of sheets of paper.

  “Here you are, Lieutenant. Just check off one meat and two vegetables.”

  “Just one meat and two vegetables?”

  “Are you used to more than that?”

  “Not if the portions are ample.”

  “Well, ours are ample. Just ask the residents.”

  I looked over the first list, checked off, turkey with dressing, mashed potatoes with gravy, and macaroni and cheese. Then, I put a “1” at the top of the page. Then, on the second paper I selected roast beef with gravy, mashed potatoes with gravy, and macaroni and cheese. I took them to Martha, but asked her a question first.

  “Excuse me, but I didn’t see the desserts listed. Do you set those out and we just come up and grab whatever we want?”

  “Oh, we just have one dessert.”

  “And what is today’s dessert?”

  “It’s the same as everyday. Jell-O.”

  “Just Jell-O?”

  “Oh, no. Jell-O with fruit, and we have three different kinds of Jell-O to pick from.”

  “No pie?”

  “Oh, sure. On special occasions, but today isn’t a special occasion.”

  “Isn’t the fact that the Sergeant and I are here a special occasion?”

  “Not as far as lunch is concerned.”

  I handed the cook the two sheets and she looked them over.

  “I have a question, Lieutenant. I assume the “1” is you, and the “2” is the Sergeant. Am I right?”

  “No, Martha, the “1” is what I will eat with the residents, and the “2” is what I’ll eat with the staff. I’ll be here for both groups, you know. I don’t want to miss anything.”

  She looked over my mid-section and said, “I don’t think you’ve been missing anything.”

  “I’m glad you brought up the “1” and “2.” I’ll need a sheet to take to the Sergeant, but just one sheet. He’ll only be eating with the residents. I’ll see that he brings it back down shortly.”

  Mart
ha reached inside the drawer and pulled out another sheet. I took it and turned away, wondering how many candy bars I would have to eat to survive. I had gone only a few steps when I felt someone tap me on the shoulder. I looked up and saw Lou. I had fallen asleep. Maybe the whole thing had been a nightmare. I would send Lou down to see Martha to make sure.

  +++

  I sent Lou down to check with the cook, then realized that I hadn’t called Sam back to see what he had found out about each of our suspects.

  “This is Sam I Am dining on green eggs and ham.”

  “Well, hello, Sam. This morning I’m dining on someone else’s food.”

  “You mean you’ve stolen a plate from whoever’s sitting next to you at that diner?”

  “No, today we’re eating at the scene of the crime.”

  “You mean that bookstore, or where the murder took place?”

  “The murder scene.”

  “Well, it looks like whoever it is used slower reacting poison this time. That is unless Lou was the victim.”

  “When he left here a couple of minutes ago, he looked okay. Well, not okay exactly, but he was able to walk.”

  “You mean you sent him to that diner to get you a second breakfast?”

  “I’d never thought about that. I’m okay for the time being, but maybe I’ll send him to the Blue Moon for an after lunch lunch. But enough about food, Sam. What were you able to find out about the people I called you about?”

  “Oh, are you still interested in that, Cy. I thought since you didn’t call yesterday that you were no longer interested, so I threw everything away.”

  “That’s okay, Sam, as long as you have perfect recall. So out with it. What do you have for me?”

  “Oh, all right, Cy. Let’s start with the victim. I was able to pull a few strings and find out about her will. As it turns out, the old woman was loaded, which means she provided a few people with motives. She left $25,000 to each of the following people; her maid, Margie Washburn, the handyman, Wally Gentry, the cook, Martha Carpenter, and the manager, Margaret Draper. She left $50,000 to her friend, Hilda Winters, and $100,000 to another friend, Russell Cochran. The rest of her estate, which is the bulk of it, she left to her niece, Cindy Bradshaw, provided she can be found within ninety days. Cy, I do have a call in to Cindy’s best friend growing up. Supposedly, she’ll call me back this morning. Give me your number there and I’ll call you if I hear from her.”

  Luckily, Mrs. Higgins’ number was on her phone. I gave Sam the number, then asked him my next question. “And what happens if they can’t find her?”

  “Then each of the people I mentioned above receives double the previous amount, and the rest of estate will go to a charity for children with fatal diseases, The Dream Factory.”

  “And what do you know about the niece?”

  “Only this. The deceased had a sister, Helen Bradshaw, who died over twenty years ago. The sister had a daughter, Cindy. Katherine Higgins had promised her sister that if she, the sister, died, she, Katherine, would see that her niece, Cindy, was taken care of. Evidently, Helen Bradshaw told her daughter about this, because within a month of her mother’s death she approached her aunt about settling up. Even though her aunt agreed to pay all of Cindy’s bills within reason, she refused to hand Cindy, who was eighteen at the time, a lump sum. Cindy got mad and ran away. As far as we know, that was the last time her aunt saw her.”

  “And if she doesn’t show up soon, most of the staff here gets $50,000 each, Hilda Winters amount rises to $100,000, and Russell Cochran gets a cool $200,000. Any idea if these recipients know anything about the will?”

  “I knew you’d ask, Cy, but I haven’t been able to find out.”

  “Any idea if any of these people are hurting financially?”

  “That I can tell you, Cy. I did some checking, and one of them might be going through some difficult times soon.”

  “Oh! Which one?”

  “Russell Cochran. The downturn in the economy has left him not as stable as he was when he moved into that joint.”

  “What about the others?”

  “Hilda Winters seems to be okay. Of course none of the others have much stashed away, except for the manager of that place. She seems to be doing okay. But then none of the others who work there have ever had a surplus of money, and since they don’t have to pay rent, and none of them have many bills, they’ve all been able to put away most of their salary each month. None of them have a lot of money, but all of them have enough in the bank to bide them over for six to twelve months if worse comes to worse.”

  “Are you saying that Russell Cochran doesn’t have that much?”

  “No, just that he’s got a lot less than he had. If things don’t improve, he might have to move out of that place in the next two or three years.”

  “Thanks, Sam. Now give me the rundown on what else you found out about each of these people.”

  “I wish I’d come up with a parole violation for you somewhere, Cy, but it just isn’t there. Some people like to start out big, like with murder.”

  “So, you couldn’t find anything on anyone.”

  “Nothing that would lead you to believe that one of these people committed murder. First, I did crime checks on each of these people. Nothing. Probably a parking ticket somewhere, but no criminal charges anywhere. I checked on previous residences and previous places of employment. Some woman accused Christine Hunt of hitting on her husband, and the management asked Mrs. Hunt to move, but that’s all. She’s the only one who moved to Parkway Arms from another facility like the one you’ve encountered there. Everyone else sold homes to move there. So, did Mrs. Hunt, but that was a few years ago. I checked with former neighbors everywhere. Nothing anymore than you’d find on any street.”

  “What about the staff? Find out anything about any of them?

  “Two of them, Wally Gentry and Martha Carpenter have been fired from jobs. Miss Carpenter was accused of being the reason that two people contracted food poisoning, but she was later cleared. After she was fired and left, I might add. Other than that, she seems like a model citizen. Her mother died when she was young. She helped raise several younger brothers and sisters. That’s where she developed her love for cooking. She did all the cooking. Her dad worked two jobs to pay the bills. From what I could gather, Wally’s mishaps had as much to do with an impending divorce as with his job. His former employer said that his failing marriage affected his work, and they had no recourse but to let him go. Up until his marriage failed, he was a model employee. I checked back several years on all of these, Cy. I can’t see anything, unless money went to someone’s head, someone who’s about to inherit, and if so, I can’t tell you which one. Sorry.”

  “Well, thanks for everything, Sam. I’m sorry to say that I can’t think of anything else for you to do. Let me know if they end up laying you off. Maybe we can eat together sometime.”

  “Cy, my stomach can’t handle that stuff you and Lou eat.”

  “I think it’s pretty much down to me now, Sam. Lou hasn’t been himself lately.”

  “Yeah, come to think of it, I heard he’s dropping weight so fast they think he’ll be down to one person before long.”

  +++

  I was about to fire off a comeback to Sam when I heard a key being inserted into the lock on the door. Lou was back with news about lunch. I blurted out a hasty goodbye to Sam and looked up to see what my courier had to say about our lunch reservations.

  “She said if there’s any food left over, you can have it, Cy.”

  “You mean after lunch?”

  “I mean for lunch.”

  “Yeah, right! So, you’ve got us all taken care of then, Lou?”

  “I slipped her two twenties and she said she’ll bite the bullet for the rest of it.”

  +++

  I had been too busy napping and thinking about food that I had forgotten to ask Lou about his excursion through the facility. As it turned out, it was less eventful than my nap. Lou sa
id he peered around corners, hid in closets and behind trees, but he didn’t see anyone trying to dispose of a murder weapon, but then anyone could have dumped the rest of a box or bottle of poison in the bushes on the other side of the property.

  “So, Lou, where are we?”

  “Well, right now we’re in the victim’s apartment, which reminds me. The manager came up to me while I was out and wanted to know if we’re planning to rent by the month, sign a one year lease, or buy the apartment. I told her I’d let her know as soon as I talked it over with you.”

  “I’d like to get out of here today, Lou, but I think we have a better chance of finding out who’s responsible if we hang out with the guilty party, so to speak.”

  “So far it doesn’t look like hanging out is doing us much good.”

  “I know this is different than the way we usually do it, but this is one of the few times when we’ve had a case where the murderer hasn’t left the scene of the crime, and I don’t want to leave it, either. I mean I do, but I want to leave with someone in handcuffs.”

  Lou and I spent the rest of the morning walking the apartment, or sitting in comfy chairs, hoping that something would jump out at us. So far, whatever it was was getting less exercise than we were. Maybe I should’ve let Lou bring his Wii.

  +++

  Around 11:10 the phone rang. Either it was Sam, someone who didn’t know that Mrs. Higgins had died, or a telemarketer. Since we weren’t eating at the time, I ruled out a telemarketer. Evidently, all of her friends knew that she was no longer among the living, because when I answered the phone I recognized the voice on the other end of the line.

  “Have you solved the case yet, Cy?”

  “I was about to, but then I had to get up to answer the phone.”

  “I doubt if you got up. Knowing you, the phone is right next to where you were sitting.”

  “How did you know that? You don’t by any chance have a surveillance camera in this apartment, do you?”

  “No, all the incriminating video of you I found on YouTube. I can always arrange to put one in, in case the murderer returns to the scene of the crime, or you want me to know how busy you are.”