The doorbell rang. I answered the door to find Janey holding our mail. “Kay, here’s an envelope from the cruise line we were on.”
I opened the letter and read it silently, trying to keep a straight face. I had won a free cruise and needed to respond within 48 hours. The prize was non-transferable. This must have been one of the dozen contests that Janey had entered my name in. At the end it read, “Thank you for sailing with us.”
Janey’s eyes were bright with anticipation. “What does it say, Kay?”
“It says, ‘Thank you for sailing with us.’”
She looked disappointed. “I was hoping we could go on another cruise together.”
I smiled, putting the letter back in the envelope. I folded the envelope, and put it in my pants pocket. “What was it that you wanted to see me about?”
“I wanted to know if you had any ideas for my tolerance speech for Monday.”
“Don’t you think that should come from your own heart? You know why tolerance is important. Let’s go over what you come up with tomorrow afternoon. How does that sound?”
“It sounds good. I’ll get started on it.”
After I closed the front door, I went into the kitchen, took the letter out of my pants pocket and dropped it into the wastebasket.
* * * *
Later that afternoon, going over everything that I could think of, trying to figure out anything that I could do regarding the arson, I called Neelam. “Didn’t you say that the local television station was already at the scene watching the firefighters putting out the flames when you arrived? And there were people gathered around?”
“Yes. I was surprised the television people had arrived before we did.”
“The news organization was probably listening to police dispatch. I was thinking, often times people who set fires stay to watch the blaze.”
“That’s true. I saw it on a show.”
“I’m sure it happens in real life as well. I’d like to see the video from the fire. I have to go, I have another call to make.”
I decided not to call Kirk and just go over to the station. I was sure he would have put me off. He must have watched the video from the fire and most likely had a copy. I hoped the person behind the camera panned out into the crowd.
I entered Kirk’s office to a not-thrilled look on his face. I glanced at his trash can and saw the empty cookie package.
“Chief Kirk, do you have the video that was taken the night of the fire?”
“How lucky, two visits from you in one day. Obviously you’re not going to listen to Special Agent Harris telling you to stay out of this.”
I folded my arms. “Do you have the video?”
“Yes, I do. Didn’t you see it on the local news?”
“We missed it. We had an important phone call from our son that evening during the news.”
He looked at me with eyes that said, ‘anything to get you to leave.’
He walked over to a tall filing cabinet against a wall and pulled the video out of a drawer. He placed the tape into the television that was in the corner of his office.
I watched the video intently. There were several firefighters extinguishing the fire with their hoses, and Neelam and Dinesh arriving. Neelam was bending over and Dinesh was hanging around her. Then the camera operator scanned the crowd of about twenty people, I’m sure all were bar patrons. Suddenly I called out, “Stop!”
Kirk hit the pause button. “Kay, I’m in the same room.”
“Go back a few seconds and then stop the video.”
Kirk did as I asked him to.
I went up to the television and pointed. “There. Those are two of the three men that were at The Starlite and drove away in the pickup truck that was described to be close to the scene. And you can see, that there is someone in the shadows behind them under the tree. Most likely the third guy.”
“I don’t think I can bring them in for watching a fire, derogatory speech, or for driving a pickup. I need more than that.”
“What about the curved glass I gave you? Did that come back yet with any fingerprints? Did you do the background checks on those three guys?”
He didn’t respond. Don’t tell me he didn’t look into their backgrounds yet.
“I sent their names into the FBI database. These things take time, Kay, not just a few hours.”
“These three men should at the least be considered persons of interest.”
Kirk turned off the television.
* * * *
I came home to find Mike and Phil watching the recording of their gig at The Starlite. “This sounds horrible,” I heard Phil say as I entered the room.
“I can hardly stand watching it,” Mike agreed.
I listened for a while. The band sounded exactly like they always did. No difference. “Everyone thought you guys were great.”
“The new drummer is totally off beat. Can’t you hear that, Kay?” Phil asked.
I listened for a short while. “Don’t you think you might be overly critical?”
They sighed in unison.
“Is Deirdre coming over?”
Mike looked up at me. “No.” Then he turned back to the television. “There! Did you hear that? He skipped a beat again.” He looked up at me. “Sorry, Kay. She went shopping with Elizabeth for baby clothes.”
“Andy and Rose’s baby isn’t due for several months.”
“She’s hoping to find something in just the right colors.”
I should have known. Feng Shui. “That’s sweet that they went shopping for the baby.” I probably should be doing that as well.
“I’ll leave you guys to it.”
I left to hang up my coat in the front closet. Their complaining continued as I walked towards the kitchen.
The life span of a drummer. This is how the end begins.
I went back in the living room. “Guys, are you interested in pizza?”
Phil put the video on pause. “Sure, that would be great. Homemade?”
“Of course.”
“Do you need any help?” he asked.
“No, I’m good, but thanks.”
I went back into the kitchen and got all of the ingredients out for the crust. I decided to make two large pizzas in case Deirdre and Elizabeth showed up.
Just when I was taking the pizzas out of the oven, the doorbell rang. Phil called out, “I’ll get it.”
A couple of minutes later, Deirdre and Elizabeth came into the kitchen.
“Something sure smells good in here,” Elizabeth said.
“There’s enough for everyone. Would you like to call John over?”
She picked up a carrot stick from the plate of vegetables and dip that I had also made. “He’s working the late shift at the library.”
Deirdre helped me cut up the pizza. As we passed the dining room I saw several packages on the table. “What are all of these?”
“After we eat, we’ll show you the baby clothes we bought,” Elizabeth said, carrying the plates and napkins into the living room. “There was a big sale.”
“It sure looks like there must have been.”
“We have quite the assortment of sleepers, onesies, blankets and bibs, all made of organic cotton,” Deirdre said.
When Phil saw us entering the living room he turned off the video of their show and asked what everyone wanted to drink. We put everything on the coffee table.
Phil came back a few minutes later with beer for him and Mike, and wine for the rest of us. We sat around talking and eating. It was nice and comforting until I told Deirdre and Elizabeth about my visits to Kirk earlier.
“Unbelievable, when you think about what a couple of weeks this has been,” Deirdre said. “First the nightmare on the cruise ship with Sybil and George and now at Neelam and Dinesh’s store.”
“The cruise wasn’t all bad,” Elizabeth said.
Deirdre reached for a piece of pizza. “Kay, if you hadn’t noticed the woman going into the room on the ship, she and George may
never have been caught. And now you were the one who connected the three men at the gig to the fire.”
“Don’t forget Elizabeth’s part in helping out that evening,” I said. “She’s the one who went and got help.”
“I bet those three guys you saw at The Starlite are guilty,” Elizabeth said.
“Great pizza, Kay,” Phil said. “Don’t forget, Elizabeth, innocent until proven guilty.”
“I’ve been thinking about this for a while,” Elizabeth said. “Ever since Kay has moved to Sudbury Falls, I feel I’m always involved in some murder or another.”
My eyes opened wide. I hoped this was going to end well.
“I’ve started doing research on writing while I’m working at the library,” Elizabeth said. “I’m thinking of trying my hand at writing murder mysteries.”
“Mysteries? I’d think if anything, you’d write romance.”
Ignoring Deirdre’s comment, Elizabeth continued, “I’ve read every Agatha Christie book out there. I probably know most every method of murder and techniques for solving crimes that have ever been written.”
The doorbell rang. Deirdre got up to answer it.
Janey came into the living room and looked around at everyone and then at the food. “What, you’re having a party without me? I saw Deirdre and Elizabeth come over.”
“Janey, there’s still plenty of pizza and veggies. Come join us. There’s soda or sparkling water in the refrigerator.”
Janey helped herself to a soda and sat on the sofa between Elizabeth and Deirdre. Reaching for a piece of pizza, she asked, “So, what are we talking about? Let me guess. Murder.”
Chapter Twenty
Sunday, April 10
WHILE GETTING BREAKFAST ready, the doorbell rang. I opened the door to find Janey standing with a notebook and pencil in her hand.
“I thought you were coming over this afternoon to work on your speech.”
She tilted her head to one side. “Dad started watching a game. I figured I’d come over early.”
“We just came back from church. We haven’t eaten breakfast yet.”
She smiled. “Good. Neither have I.”
Opening the door wide, I said, “Then you can join us.”
Janey followed me into the kitchen and put her notebook down on the counter. She went over to the cupboard and proceeded to take out dishes to set the table. I started scrambling eggs.
“This is just like old times when I stayed with you and Phil during Andy’s wedding.”
I smiled. What a mishap that was those first few days after Janey arrived. But then I came to understand her better and we became close. “It is like old times. Kind of nice, huh? Comfortable.”
After breakfast I suggested that Janey read her tolerance speech to me. I told her I would add what I could. While she read out loud, I looked at her in total amazement. Standing before me was this outstanding, young lady speaking about love and respect and acceptance. I hadn’t known what to expect before she began. I knew I couldn’t have improved on her speech if I tried. Her thoughtfulness exceeded my expectations. If only all people thought as she did.
When Janey had finished, Phil started clapping. I didn’t know he had come up from the basement, having been lost in her words.
“Well, Kay, what do you think?”
“I think it’s perfect. I’m so proud of you. I can tell you care deeply about people who aren’t like you, and I hope there are many more children like you in the world.”
“Children?”
“We’re counting on you, the young people, to help make this world a better place. You are our future.”
Just as I finished saying that, the phone rang. Phil answered it and handed it to me. “It’s Chief Kirk.”
My eyes opened wide. “Hello, Chief Kirk.” I looked over at Janey.
“Kay, I wanted to let you know that the background checks came back for those three men you had taken pictures of. All were known members of a white supremacist group.”
“Really? Where? In our state?”
“No, but two of the three had outstanding warrants for their arrests. We brought all three of them in. Authorities from another state are coming to pick them up.”
He seemed to be evasive about which state. I’d be able to find out from Thom. “Did you question them about the arson?”
“Sure did.”
This was like pulling teeth. Why had he even bothered calling? “And what did they say?”
“Two of them practically bragged about it. I’m sure they knew they were going down for their previous offenses and had nothing to lose. One of the fellows denied everything, but his was the only fingerprint found on the piece of glass you had given us.”
“Really?” The glass that I turned in had helped to catch the criminal. “That’s great news. I’m glad this is over.”
He sighed heavily. “You and me both.”
“Did you ever get the name of the person who called in about the truck? We offered a reward.”
“No. They never called back even with the signs up around town. I have another call coming in. Oh, it’s the news. It’s a good thing I was onto these culprits and now we have them in custody.”
I hung up and shook my head. Kirk excelled at taking credit for work he didn’t do.
“What’s wrong, Kay? Didn’t they bring the men in who started the fire?” Janey immediately asked after I hung up.
“Yes, they did.”
“Then why were you shaking your head?”
I quickly changed my demeanor, smiled, and gave Janey a thumbs up. “Yes, they did! Thank goodness. The arsonists have been caught!” I relayed to Janey most of my conversation with Kirk, leaving out the part about him being onto the culprits. How could he even have said that to me when he knew, that I knew, the true story? He would never change. I started cleaning up the dishes.
Janey remained at the kitchen table writing her speech on note cards for school. After the dishes were put into the dishwasher, I went into the living room to call Neelam to see if Kirk had told her the good news. She told me he had called two hours ago. She added that they intended to come over later in the afternoon, to thank us for helping them out.
Neelam must have called Elizabeth and Deirdre, because a couple of hours later, just after three o’clock, they all showed up. Neelam and Dinesh carried in large containers of food and followed me into the kitchen to put everything on the table.
“It looks like you’ve been cooking for days,” I said.
“We wanted all of you to be here to help us celebrate.” She looked over at Janey who was still at the table. “Janey, we called your father. He’s on his way over.”
Just then the doorbell rang. Phil went to answer it. It was Loren.
We all sat in the living room.
“We feel so loved by all of you and wanted to tell you our news. Dinesh and I have decided we can’t think of a place where we’d rather be than here in Sudbury Falls with you.” She looked at everyone. “Thank you for everything.”
“Yes. Thank you,” Dinesh said.
All was quiet for a few seconds until Janey cried, “Hurrah! We’re glad you’re staying!” She then went over and gave Neelam a big hug.
“You’re part of our family,” Elizabeth said, standing up and giving Neelam a hug. Deirdre followed Elizabeth. I came over and joined in a group hug. All of the men shook hands until Dinesh pulled Phil into a hug.
After Dinesh finally released him, Phil took a check out of his pocket. It was from the proceeds of the gig Friday night. He handed it to Dinesh. His eyes opened wide when he read the amount. Tomorrow I would go to the bank and withdraw the reward money to help rebuild their store.
Going into the study, I retrieved the silver bracelet I had bought for Neelam in Jamaica. I thought this an appropriate time to give her the gift. Janey followed me into the room. We went back into the living room and Janey handed Neelam the gift box and Dinesh the rum cake.
After Neelam opened the box she gasp
ed and looked up at me. “This bracelet is lovely. Thank you so much.” Neelam put the bracelet on.
“It sure sparkles beautifully,” Janey said.
“Talk about beautiful, Janey wrote a beautiful speech about tolerance that she will be presenting at school tomorrow,” I said. “Janey, perhaps you’d like to read it to everyone.”
Janey blushed, but went into the kitchen and got out her note cards. She sat down on the sofa next to me, looked over at Neelam and smiled, and then began speaking.
“Tolerance is giving to others what we expect for ourselves. I want other cultures to tolerate me. We should celebrate our differences. Differences should fuel our love, not destroy it. As it did to my friends, Mr. and Mrs. Gupta, when their store, Gupta’s New Delhi, was burned down because they were different than us. Mrs. Gupta is one of the nicest, kindest persons that I know in Sudbury Falls, and she and her husband are positive contributors to our community.”
Neelam took a tissue from her purse and wiped her teary eyes.
“We need to respect others. We are more the same than we are different. We all want peace in this world and peace begins with acceptance. When I grow up, I want to travel the world. I want to learn and experience other cultures. I want to reach out and make friends with all people, not just those who look like me. I want to understand them and I want them to understand me. With tolerance, we can make the world a better place.”
Janey looked up. All was quiet. “That’s it.”
Both Neelam’s and Dinesh’s eyes filled with tears. I noticed that Phil’s did as well. And Loren’s. Well, everyone’s did.
“Thank you, my child,” Neelam said. “That was beautiful.”
I knew Janey wouldn’t like being called ‘my child’ and thought she would make some comment, but instead she went over to Neelam and gave her the biggest bear hug. Dinesh wiped his eyes with a white handkerchief he had pulled from his pants pocket.
Everyone told Janey how thoughtful her speech was. She beamed. Loren went over and put his arm around Janey’s shoulder. “I am so proud of you.”
“Now, Dinesh and I prepared a feast for all of you. Janey, will you help me get everything set up on the table?”
Paradise Can Be Murder Page 19