He took out his cell and called the station. Sandy Jefferson answered, "Call the coroner in Coos Bay, Sandy. We've a suspicious death here. However, before we spread the word, tell the chief what I'm doing and I'll wait for the coroner to arrive."
Sandy Jefferson, secretary, went in after rapping her knuckles on the door jamb to the Chief's office. Alex Webster had been on the job for less than five months and all had been relatively peaceful up to this point in time. Officially, he had met the former Chief Foreham and did not take to him. Both were set in their ways and both decided to leave well enough alone. Of course, Chief Alex had been brought up to speed on the prolific accomplishments of his daughter solving homicides. He had heard about her over in Helena, Montana where he had taken early retirement after his wife died. He jumped at the chance to move to Bandon to bury the past. After hearing Sandy's story about a possible homicide, he inwardly groaned at the thought of having Foreham's daughter hanging around the station house.
He said rather too gruffly, "Okay, but tell James to keep me informed." He went back reading about the history of the Southern Coast of Oregon. For some reason he desired to fish the jetty, but did not want to appear naive about how to fish the ocean. He had heard about this local guy named Smiling Sam. However, he had no idea how to get in contact with him. He had even driven by several times seeing an old man fishing off the jetty. Well, somehow he must rid himself of being so stoic and grouchy. He realized he was digging himself a grave if he kept it up. Even the mayor noticed his lack of any humor. He thought some more, I'll go see this dead woman and put on a better persona.
He acquired the directions and drove over to the dead woman's giant old house. He saw James' patrol car. He parked behind and got out buffing a stiff wind off the ocean not an eighth mile away. The row of houses sat on a bluff that faced north overlooking the exit of the Coquille River along the South Jetty. A constant quiet roar came to his ears.
James had already taped the entry to the old mansion. Alex thought that one time in its history, this big old two story mansion was the stateliest residence in Southern Oregon. Now the paint was peeling, the roof needed replacing and in general the whole place needed some attention. What were once stately looking bushes and shrubs were now over grown and the yard full of dried weeds. He shook his head wondering why the old woman had not spent some money to keep the place up.
Alex ducked under the crime tape and went through the door which was left open just a crack. He could hear James's voice coming from a room in the back of the house. He found James taking notes from an older lady who was the housekeeper, as he understood the current situation. James looked up and said, "This is Kay who is the deceased woman's house keeper. She regularly cleans twice a week and after a book club's party, which was held last night. I've called the coroner and he's on his way. I suspect foul play Chief."
"Continue Sergeant, with what you're doing. I'll take a look at the body if you'll direct me to where it's located," said an even toned Alex.
James took him upstairs while he asked Kay to make some coffee please. The Chief looked from a distance at Gloria Abrams. He too, saw the dried up froth that had come out of her mouth. He also saw a tint of red to her skin and wondered why that was. Well, let the CSI team work out the details along with the coroner. What he really wondered was if Marshall Foreham was coming. He decided, while walking out to let that develop. He said, "Continue Sergeant with your investigation. I'm going back to the office if you need me."
James struggled with himself whether or not to call Stacy. He wondered if he might get in hot water with the new chief, or worse have a document put in his file. He walked back towards the dining room. He saw Kay writing on a notepad all the names of the Book Worm Club. He turned around and strode quickly to the front door. He opened his smartphone and punched in Stacy's private cell number.
Stacy was looking at the website of cats with Sharon when her cell went off. She looked and saw James was calling. Her interest piqued, wondering why he would be phoning. She said, "Hi James. What's up, you just lonely or what?"
"We're all lonely with this new grouchy Chief we got. Anyway, we've got a suspicious death of old lady Abrams. I'm not sure, but I'm guessing she died of being poisoned. Dr. Spencer is on his way, but I thought it best to alert you. Her housekeeper found her this morning after last night's meeting of the Book Worm Club. The only thing she told me was there's been a lot of arguing lately between the club members, but she doesn’t know why."
"What makes you think it's poisoning James."
"You can see where she was frothing at the mouth. The Chief took a look and said that potassium chloride poisoning leaves the person's skin a tinge of red."
"Well, James, good work and thanks for the call. If you really think its foul play, then I'll get Ben and we'll fly down immediately," said an excited Stacy.
She hung up and told Sharon to get a hold of Ben right away. Then have Emma call and get a private plane on the ready. After that she put a call into her father. She told him she was coming because of the death of Gloria Abrams. She asked Dan to take her home to pack some clothes and take her to the airport. In her mind, the nightmare of the killer with the gleaming knife was over. The chase was once again in front of her and her team. She was walking tall for a short girl as they hurried out the door.
On the way she called Rory. "Hey Tall Man, after your business in Eugene, drive on down to Bandon where we have a suspicious death."
"I was hoping for a quiet evening having dinner with you. Now we're back chasing bad guys again," he said rather vociferously. "Now I'm pushed to the back seat again. How does a guy stand a chance Super?"
"You don't Tall Man. Get off your pity me case and let's get the person or persons who might have poisoned an old lady in Bandon," she said hanging up.
Ben Razor was the third member of Stacy's investigative team. It was she and Rory being the other two. Ben worked for the Oregon State Police as a detective. However, when a homicide occurred he was assigned immediately to Marshall Foreham's team. Ben was like the anchor of the team. He kept a calm demeanor at all times. He was supreme at finding clues that any other CSI team overlooked. Originally he and Rory were both detectives for the State of Oregon, but when an opportunity came up with the US Marshall Agency needing a Marshall in the Portland area, Rory jumped on it to stay close to the love of his life. Ben remained with the State Police because of his many years on record.
Ben was at the airport waiting when Dan drove up. He nodded to Dan and helped Stacy with her murder bag while they walked to the waiting twin that would take them to the Bandon Airport. The flight was about an hour, so little or no talking occurred while they flew south.
-3-
It was noon when they landed on a brisk windy day making the pilot work hard against an oblique wind. James was waiting, leaning against his patrol car parked with the driver's side absorbing the wind. High fast moving clouds were zipping by casting shadows here and there. James always liked it when Stacy came to town. He fell in love with her just after she returned from the university. With her degree in criminology he and others were surprised she opted to work as a regular police officer for her father. Later, it had become clear as the loss of her mother to the dreaded 'C' made her want to spend some time with her father, after being apart so many years at school.
He saw her exit the plane and that made his aching heart pump some new blood through his lonely system. He shook it off and put a smile on his face walking quickly to help her with her bags. They did not say much as the plane turned around and took off back to Eugene making lots of noise.
Once inside the car he said, "Welcome back both of you. While you were in the air Dr. Spencer affirmed the notion it was most likely poison that killed the old woman. He told me not to hold him to it until he ran a tox screen, but it did look like potassium cyanide to him."
"I know the body is gone and the CSI team is still working," said Stacy, from the back seat.
"Yes, the
y're still there. I told them you were coming, and what's his name, turned sour as heck. I rubbed it in a little saying you were or wanted the place scoured for prints up and down stairs," said James chuckling.
Ben asked, "How many in the book club James?"
"Six were there the night of the crime. I've got names and addresses. I'm sure by now word has spread as the coroner and CSI team, plus the crime scene tape, is obvious to the neighbors."
Indeed the CSI team was still there as they drove up from across town on city streets to the Beach Loop Road. Stacy remembered the old mansion from her younger days when they believed the old house was haunted. On Halloween the old couple kept the house dark and scary to keep the kids away. Sadly the old house was in dire straits of a remodeling job; which would never happen as the last Abrams passed on.
Then Stacy remembered there was a daughter who ran off years ago. Stacy thought that she needed to see their attorney about the estate. It was rumored that thousands of acres of land was held in the estate of Gloria Abrams. If news spread maybe the daughter would show up claiming her blood rights. Well, no matter, unless the daughter was somehow responsible for the death of Gloria Abrams.
Ben went around the house looking for something related to the crime. It was his opinion that every crime left some sort of clue. It was in their last case, "Murder at the Station" that he was the only one who found a smooth footprint on the side of the medical facility. Unfortunately, all that clue did was reassure the team that an Indian committed the crime. Other than that, not one clue was found at any of the crime scenes where the victims were scalped.
Stacy went through the peeling paint door with dirty windows. She could hear talking from the second floor. She recognized the voice of the leader of the CSI team Doug Warner. Doug Warner had the misfortune of mistaken Identity when he first met Marshall Stacy Foreham and Marshall Rory Caltex. Both Rory and Stacy were standing in the parking lot of a crime scene when the CSI team drove up. With a big smile he shook Rory's hand and ignored Stacy completely. When Rory informed CSI Team Leader Doug Warner that Stacy was in fact the lead investigator, he went ashen faced. Ever since then he's ignored her as best he could. Stacy on the other hand, really did not hold it against him, but tried to just glean the facts of the crime scene evidence.
Stacy went the dining room to talk with Ms. Ommna. She had been patiently waiting for what she had been told. The team leader of the investigative unit was to arrive. Ms. Ommna had never met Stacy, but was aware of her reputation about town. However, she did know the past Chief and had total respect for him.
Stacy thought this old lady should be home knitting for the grandkids, but instead she was here cleaning a house that would take three people five days a week to clean properly. Stacy introduced herself and Ms. Ommna smiled back saying, "I've heard so much about you Marshall. All of us in town are very proud of you. Now I suppose you'll want to ask me some questions?"
Stacy sat down across from her and said, "Yes, I'll have to ask some questions. Please call me Stacy rather than the formal title stuff," she said with a warm smile.
"Okay, and then you can call me Kay. Now, I'm ready whenever you are."
"Let's begin with this morning, Kay. Tell me step by step beginning when you arrived here for work."
"I got here at my usual starting time of 8 am. I've never been late Stacy. I'm always on time and have been all my working life. I used my key to let myself in. I first went to the kitchen to see what a mess I faced, as they had a book club meeting last night. Usually they leave all the dirty dishes and stuff for me to clean the next day. I know I'm a housekeeper, but people are so rude sometimes. The dining room was the same as the kitchen. Ash trays full and smelly. Even though you can see near the window is an electronic smoke eater that they had installed at club expense to extract the smoke. Not all smoke, mind you, but three smoke like a chimney."
Stacy was patient and made her notes while Kay thought about the next part of her story. Kay continued, "Next I cleaned off the dirty dishes from the dining room. It took me an hour to wash and dry the dishes. I did think it a little strange that Ms. Abrams hadn't come down yet. Usually she comes down around 8:30 for her morning coffee and cigarette. I finished the dishes and put a pot of hot water on the stove. Both her and I drink instant coffee. I wiped my hands dry and decided to go take a look upstairs to see why she'd not come down. It was 9am, or a little after. She had an electric chair put in, but she only uses it to go up and not down. Well, when I got to her closed door I knocked and then I called her name. No answer. I opened the door slowly and peeked in. I could see her lying in the bed face up. I called her name again with no answer coming back. I walked over and saw her eyes open staring at the ceiling. I also saw some throw-up on her mouth. I knew right away she was dead. I went back down the stairs and called 911."
"Very nicely spoken, Kay. Now, did you notice when you were first here this morning anything unusual or out of place inside the house?"
"Humm – no – not that I can remember, but, as you know, we're not getting any younger," she said with a look to the ceiling as if God were hovering over her to welcome with open arms.
"I know you're not a doctor, Kay, but I'm wondering about Ms. Abrams health. What can you tell about what you might know?"
"Her heart wasn't the best, but at her age – which is 83 I think – it's about normal. I know she has a constipation problem. That's why you can see the Milk of Magnesium on her bed stand."
Stacy did not mind Kay using the present tense instead the past when talking about her employer. Stacy asked, "I know it's not kind to talk of the dead, Kay, but when someone has died of suspicious means, we need to learn all we can about the victim. Now that being said, what can you tell me about Ms. Abrams?"
A few seconds passed and a sip of her coffee later, she said, "Well, Stacy, she wasn't a nice person especially as her age progressed. She was very demanding and thought she ruled the world. I put up with her because I needed the income." Stacy saw her lower her eyes revealing her income was not enough to enjoy her retirement. She thought that could be said of a lot of seniors these days. Baby Boomers were too busy having fun to think of their future when they got old. Kay continued:
"Just the other day, I remember very well, she had a phone call and I recognized who was calling. It was her book agent from Portland. I guess you know that most of the club members write novels. I don’t know much about that though, but anyway, he was mad as all get out. I could hear him screaming at her to send the manuscript right away or she would be in legal trouble. To my surprise, she told him where to get off and hung up laughing. She turned to me and said, 'Let that be lesson Kay. I don't put up with any crap from no one.'"
"Thanks Kay. Now, what can you tell me about the book club," asked Stacy.
"Gloria Abrams was the President. She formed the club a long time ago. She writes these romance novels. I've never read one, but I'm told they are – well – a little—how do you say it – full of sex, I guess. Nancy Brown is the Vice President. She's a heavy smoker who's really snippy. The two of them argue all the time about what I don't know. It seems all of their conversation is about publishing."
"How did Nancy respond to the other member of the club?"
"Glad you asked. Nancy had one friend who she brought into the club about six months ago. Her name is Twila Darwin. She's younger than the rest of them. I'd say she is around fifty or maybe late forties. She always sits next to Nancy. The times I was here, Twila never said much. She's kind of quiet and mousy looking," Kay said lowering her head just a little embarrassed to mention how someone looked.
"Was she a smoker," asked Stacy.
"Yes, but not like Nancy and Ms. Abrams. Also she was not messy with her ash tray. I saw her more than once get up and empty into the kitchen trash can."
"Did she get up often other than empting the ash tray? I mean wandering around or going to the bathroom?"
"Now that you mention it – yes – she was always walking aro
und during a break time of the club. She went to the bathroom a few times. I thought maybe she had a bladder problem, but who knows about that."
"Did you ever see her go up the stairs to the second floor?" asked a serious looking Stacy.
"Let's see now – maybe I saw her one time – yes, yes I did see her come down the stairs looking a little guilty. She told me she wanted to see the rest of the mansion. "Let's move on to the next officer of the club Kay. Is there a treasurer?"
"Yes there is. Her name is Bee Haven. She and Nancy joined at the same time. I don't know when that took place, but before my time. Anyway, she's one hot tempered old bag. Whoops – didn't – well – you know what I mean?"
Stacy knew what she meant and said, "How was her relationship to the deceased?"
"One time – oh – I'd say about a month ago – I was in the kitchen when I heard some screaming from Bee and my employer. All's I heard was 'I'll see you in hell first.' I'm sure she was talking to Ms. Abrams. After that, I heard the door slam shut. All was quiet after she left. I went home soon afterwards. By the way, I was really happy to leave that awful place."
"Thanks," said Stacy making notes as she thought about the next person. She said, "I assume there's a secretary, Kay?"
"Her name is Norma Caldwell and she's from Coos Bay. She is a non-smoker, thank God."
"How was her relationship to the others and maybe Ms. Abrams in particular?"
"She too was hot tempered and smug about her book sales. I heard her many times say how many sales she was having each quarter. That's when she and Ms. Abrams started fighting about who was the top seller and who was an also ran. I can tell you Stacy, why these women had a book club is beyond me. They never smiled or had a good laugh. It was constant fighting and arguing."
Murder at Police Station Page 13