“Based on how he fell and the goggles, we think he was working on the fireworks at the table when it happened. I hope you appreciate your one question. Why are you asking it?”
“Because of his glasses,” Lydia explained. “You said that he was wearing his distinctive rectangle ones. Remember the joke he used to make? Rectangle was a long word, so those glasses were for long distance. If he was working on something close up, he would have worn his reading glasses that were square. He used to wear them for measuring, remember? He would have done the same if he was working on something dangerous. He would want to see properly.”
Leo opened his mouth and then closed it. He balled up his fists as he walked away.
“Does that mean he thinks you’re right?” asked Mona.
“Most likely,” Daniel said.
Lydia shrugged. “I told him what was bothering me, and it’s up to him to look into it. He can determine if this really was an accident or if it was staged. Right now, we need to check out Mona’s home.”
Mona didn’t look excited as she led the way to her condo.
“The good news is that I didn’t have very much furniture to begin with,” Mona said, trying to rationalize a potential tragedy as they moved forward. “So, I can’t lose very much.”
They reached the door, and Mona unlocked it. Then, she hesitated with her hand on the handle.
“No matter what’s on the other side, we’re here for you,” Lydia said.
Mona nodded and opened the door. They all gaped when they saw the room inside. It was completely drenched with water from the overhead sprinklers, and there were several inches of water on the floor.
“Well, this wasn’t what I was expecting when I heard that there was a fire at my building,” Mona said.
Daniel was the first one to take a step inside. “It definitely doesn’t look like it’s draining properly in here. But I think that the items that you kept in your drawers should have survived.”
“I’ll have some clothes then,” said Mona. “And I hide my laptop there when I’m not home. But I don’t know if I can live in a flooded condo.”
“You can’t,” Daniel agreed. “We’ll have to talk to your landlady about how she’s going to fix the drainage and when you can safely stay here again.”
“But what will I do until then?” asked Mona.
“It’s simple,” Lydia said. “We’ll pack up your things, and you’ll stay with me.”
“Really?” Mona asked gratefully.
“I have that whole big house to myself until I sell it. You’re welcome to stay in a guest room. As long as you can put up with the occasional French bulldog snoring.”
“Thank you so much,” Mona said.
“There’s no need to thank me,” Lydia said. “I’m sure if our positions were reversed, you would help me too.”
Then, they waded into the condo and started packing. Meanwhile, Lydia kept wondering what Leo would discover at the deceased doctor’s home.
5
Surprise Guests
“Trina, what are you doing here?” Lydia asked as she opened her front door.
“I know you said that we had to rain date our girl’s night,” Trina said, stepping into the entryway and greeting Sunny. “But I’ve been building up things that I need to talk to my best friend about. But since it’s not an official girl’s night now, I brought lemonade instead of wine. Then, you can still do whatever it is that you need to do for Mona after we eat and drink.”
“I guess I was so tired after packing at her house that I didn’t explain things properly,” Lydia muttered. “Though I am glad to see you.”
Sunny barked in agreement. She loved when Trina visited, both because she liked Trina and because it usually meant that there would be food.
“I’m so glad to see you,” said Trina, handing her the lemonade and a pile of letters from Lydia’s mailbox. “It’s not the same to talk over the phone about this. I’ve been having problems with Carl.”
“I’m sorry to hear that,” Lydia said.
Secretly, she had always believed that her friend deserved a better partner, but since Trina and Carl had been off-and-on again for several years, Lydia never wanted to bash the man that her friend obviously cared for. He also had never done anything atrociously wrong. He just had a habit of blowing off their dates and being self-absorbed.
“I’m starting to have doubts about Carl,” Trina admitted. “He had moments of being a great boyfriend. Like when we went on that double date with Daniel. He was so charming and personable.”
“That was a bit of a strange dinner anyway because I got called away to check on a dead body,” Lydia reminded her. “And wasn’t that also the first time that Carl told you that he never wanted children?”
“Yeah.” Trina frowned. “I thought we had talked about it before. It was all in hypotheticals, so I didn’t feel like I was pressuring him, but I thought we were explaining what we wanted. Ideally, I want to have little girls, and they’ll always have the best updos in their class because I’m a hair stylist.”
“Careful,” Lydia teased. “You’ll end up having kids who fashion their hair the way I do.”
“You don’t fashion it. It’s always in that messy bun,” Trina protested. “But it doesn’t matter. Carl used to talk about wanting a big family during these hypotheticals. But he says now that he was being ironic. And I know I’m not ready to start a family right now. But it does concern me that apparently Carl and I aren’t communicating properly.”
“Communication is a very big part of a relationship.”
“And now I’m wondering if I really am just with Carl because I’m afraid of being alone. That was a major break-through when the thought occurred to me. I was curling Mrs. Miresome’s hair as she was complaining about seagulls, and it suddenly hit me. I don’t want to be single. But is that the only reason why I’m with Carl?”
“You’re the only one who can sort out your feelings. And I’m certainly not an expert on romance.”
“You’re better than me,” Trina said. “Things seem to be going well with Daniel. And you did have a fiancé before.”
“Yes. I was engaged to a selfish man who didn’t support me when the uncle who raised me got sick. I remember him saying that Uncle Edgar wasn’t my real father, so why did I care?” Lydia said with a disgusted shudder. “And after that, I think it’s better to be alone than with the wrong person.”
“That’s good advice,” Trina said, absent-mindedly rubbing a happy Sunny’s belly. “But, am I really just psyching myself out about all this? Maybe Carl is my soulmate, and we just need to work through this stuff. I would miss his cute face if we broke up. And all the free salmon fillets I got from his fish market.”
She fell silent and then was able to hear the shower running inside the house. Suddenly, the water shut off.
“I wish I could be more help,” Lydia said, opening the front door. “And I do love you like a sister, so I feel bad saying this – but this isn’t really a good time to get together.”
“Why? What’s going on?” asked Trina. Then, she gasped. “That’s Daniel in the shower, isn’t it? Why didn’t you tell me you needed private time?”
“I did tell you this wasn’t a good time, but it’s not Daniel.”
“Sure,” Trina said with an exaggerated wink.
“It’s not. And there’s no need for your winking and smirking. Daniel and I haven’t even kissed yet. We’ve been moving slowly because of my trust issues after my terrible engagement and his grieving process after losing his wife and moving here. I thought we were going to kiss, but then we kept getting interrupted.”
“I’m not buying it,” Trina teased. “Who else would be in the shower?”
However, the question was soon answered when Mona joined them dressed but with wet hair.
“I feel much better after a hot shower,” Mona said. “I really didn’t like wading around in the puddle that is my apartment.”
“Okay,” Trina sai
d contritely. “It’s not Daniel.”
“Hi, Trina,” Mona said. “Did you hear about our crazy day?”
“Apparently, not all of it.”
Lydia recapped their afternoon more thoroughly than she did earlier when talking to her friend to cancel their evening plans. She told her about the fire and the water damage at Mona’s condo, and how Lydia had invited Mona to stay with her until her place was repaired. She mentioned how they had to walk through water in the apartment to save what they could of Mona’s personal possessions. She also told Trina about Dr. Statler’s death and how she wasn’t convinced it was an accident.
“Now I wish I did bring wine,” said Trina. “Are you going to investigate?”
“I don’t know,” Lydia admitted. “If Dr. Statler’s death was murder, then I would definitely want to make sure that his killer was caught. But it’s clear that Leo doesn’t want me anywhere near the scene.”
“Maybe I should go,” Trina said, thinking about it. “It does sound like you had a rough day, and I should let you get some rest.”
“I don’t want you to stop any plans you had just because I’m here,” said Mona. “I don’t want to be an inconvenience.”
“You’re not,” Lydia assured her. “But I am tired. Maybe we could have a girl’s night tomorrow, Trina? But Mona will be here so you can’t tell any really embarrassing stories about me. I need her to continue to respect me at work.”
“I guess I can manage that,” Trina said in an exaggerated manner, joking that it was a hardship.
They all laughed. Even Sunny let out a noise that sounded like a chuckle.
“I’ll keep the lemonade for tomorrow,” Lydia said. “And thanks for bringing me my mail.”
“No problem. Anything good?”
Lydia flipped through the mail, knowing what Trina was referring to. She liked seeing the postcards that Aunt Edie sent from around the world almost as much as Lydia did.
Lydia loved seeing the captivating pictures on the postcards of famous landmarks and hearing about her aunt’s adventures. Aunt Edie had always wanted to travel, and Uncle Edgar made certain that she would be able to fulfill this dream after he was gone. Aunt Edie had already sent postcards from Venice, and the Great Pyramids, and Paris. She seemed to be a little closer to home recently because her last card was from the Grand Canyon.
However, Lydia looked puzzled when she picked up the postcard that was in amongst her letters. It had a picture of the Ocean Point Beach on it.
She turned it over and read the only word written there besides the address. It said: Surprise!
“I don’t understand,” Lydia said.
“Goodness, it took you forever to check your mail,” a voice said.
Lydia turned to look out the door and saw Aunt Edie walking toward them. There was a twinkle in her eye, and she immediately came inside and hugged Lydia. After holding her and telling her how she missed her, she hugged Trina. Even though she didn’t know Mona at all, she gave her a hug too.
Sunny was jumping around happily, and Aunt Edie pulled her up into her arms and gave the dog a hug. Sunny covered the woman’s face with doggie kisses.
“I didn’t expect you,” Lydia said, finally finding her words.
“I know. That’s why it’s a surprise,” said Aunt Edie. “But I wanted to be home for the 4th of July. And after all my exciting travels, I could use a quiet and relaxing few days in Ocean Point.”
“Right,” Lydia said, not sure if relaxing was the word that popped into her mind after dealing with a fire, a flood, and a dead body that afternoon.
6
Family Dinner
After so many people appeared on her doorstep and in her house that evening, Lydia wasn’t surprised when another one did too.
“You found out?” Lydia asked when she saw Leo there.
“I did,” he said, sounding grumpier than she thought he would have been at the arrival of their beloved aunt. “That’s why I’m here. I wanted to thank you.”
“Thank me?”
“That’s right,” Leo said, sounding more annoyed than grateful. “I want to thank you for remembering about Dr. Statler’s glasses. You were a helpful witness.”
“A witness?” Lydia repeated. “That’s what you think I am?”
“Yes. You were a witness to a character trait of the victim, and it helped us determine that this wasn’t an accident. Because of what you said, I told the medical examiner to be extra thorough. He was grateful for the heads-up because it turns out that the head wound might have been dismissed as something caused by the explosion if he wasn’t on guard.”
“So, Dr. Statler was killed before the explosion? He was hit on the head? Do you know with what?”
“No,” Leo said, shaking his head.
“It might be hard to go through the wreckage, but there’s a chance the murder weapon was left behind.”
“No! I meant – no, I’m not going to tell you. You’re not a part of this investigation. I’m not here to discuss the case. I just thought that since we’ve made up, I should give credit where it is due. But we’ve got this under control now. We have a suspect that we’re going to talk to and I feel confident that we will get this case wrapped up soon.”
“Who is the suspect?”
“I just wanted to thank you, Liddy, and you’re making it difficult for me to remain grateful.”
“Well, I really appreciate you coming over here to thank me,” Lydia said. “But you could have done this over the phone, couldn’t you?”
“There is something else,” Leo admitted.
“You want me to sign a legal document saying I won’t investigate this case?” asked Lydia. “Even though the person who died was someone who was important to our family.”
“No. Though maybe I will look into finding a contract like that. I also wanted to come by to ask your opinion on something. You’re a girl. So, I thought maybe you could help me pick out what tie to wear on the 4th. I want something festive, but I don’t want to look ridiculous.”
Lydia grinned. Leo rarely ever asked for outfit advice. He must really want to impress Suzanne.
“I’d be happy to help, but I think there’s someone here who might be even more qualified.”
“Trina?” asked Leo. “I guess she usually is more put together than you.”
Lydia didn’t like the way he said it, but there was truth to his words. However, she didn’t want to ruin the surprise of their guest, so she just called out, “Aunt Edie!”
Leo looked confused but then smiled as Aunt Edie ran up to the door. Sunny had been sticking close to her side and galloped next to her.
“Is that my little Leo?” she cried and then pulled him into a hug. “I’m so happy to see you. I surprised Lydia with a postcard today. I was going to visit you at the police station in the morning and confess to a crime. I would just hope your partner wouldn’t take me too seriously when I admitted to stealing lots of hugs and kisses during my visit.”
Leo kissed her on the cheek and then found his words. “I’m so surprised to see you. Happy! But surprised.”
“I thought it would be more fun for me to drop in unannounced,” Aunt Edie said with a mischievous giggle. “I do hope this doesn’t upset any plans you might have had for the next couple days.”
“No,” Leo said. “I mean, I am investigating a case right now.”
“Yes, Lydia told me that poor Dr. Statler died,” Aunt Edie said. “He was such a nice man. He was so good to Edgar.”
“What else did Lydia tell you?” Leo asked. His eyes narrowed as he looked at the two of them.
“Just that you were looking into his death and that she wasn’t sure how late you would be working tonight,” Aunt Edie said. “Why? Is there more to it?”
“No,” Leo and Lydia said at once. Neither was eager to admit Lydia’s involvement in past cases or this one.
“All right,” Aunt Edie said, not wanting to pry. “Do either of you have 4th of July plans?”
&n
bsp; “Well, I was going to see the fireworks with… um… that is…” Leo said awkwardly.
“A special lady?” asked Aunt Edie.
Leo moved his hand as if swatting away the question. “What? No. I’m not… Or… I would have told you earlier…”
Aunt Edie allowed him to sputter for a moment and then turned to Lydia. “What about you?”
“My friend Daniel and I were going to watch the fireworks, but I’m sure he’d love for you to join us. He’s heard so much about you. And he’s never had an Ocean Point 4th of July. Maybe we can invite Trina as well.”
Fireworks and Felonies Page 3