by T. G. Hanson
Lynn and Wade walked into the Sheriff’s office, fixed some coffee and sat down to talk.
“Hey John, you hear anything from Nyla or the other gals?” asked Wade.
“Actually, I was just going to fill you two in.”
“Before you start John, I talked to the reporter and she didn’t know much of anything. She was here just to enjoy the Mystery Dinner and when the murder happened, well because of her job, she didn’t want to be involved. I’m afraid she flirted a bit with Kevin and he let her slip out early.”
“Flirted huh, well that happens with the young ones, doesn’t it Wade?”
Wade laughed a little, “Sure does John, sure does.”
John walked over to the board and pointed at the victim’s photo. “Seems our Danny Wise is actually Danny Sills. You were right Lynn when you thought he might have used his first real name with pay phone guy.”
Lynn smiled. “One point for the girls! But how did you find out John?”
“Nyla stopped by earlier to tell me about the visit with Henry and she made coffee for me. When she brought it in here she started studying the board. Seeing his photo, she let me know that we had his name wrong.”
“Nyla?” he questioned. How in the heck would she know our victim?” asked Wade.
“Seems that he worked up at the factory with Frank. He was new and Frank invited him over to the diner one night. He showed up at Franks house, offered to drive them and they talked a bit before heading out to supper. That’s when Nyla met him.”
Lynn’s thoughts were going around in circles. “So did Nyla know any more about the guy, where he came from or where he was living?”
“I guess he had told them he was living a block or two from the factory, had no family and had moved here from California for the job. Other than that, nothing.”
Without John or Wade noticing, Lynn had picked up on the fact that Danny had moved here from California. Far as she was concerned, that kind of cinched the fact that he was here for Meg and most likely knew her brother.
Wade stood up, “So we know who he is but nothing more, and nothing that connects him with the town or diner for now. And if he had anything to do with Meg what on earth could that be?”
Lynn rose from the chair and pulled the photo off the board. “I’m going to make a copy of the photo and walk over to the diner. Maybe Meg might be able to tell us something more or have some ideas.”
Sitting back down Wade looked over at John. “What puzzles me is that the bookstore was trashed after the victim was killed. So, if the victim couldn’t have done it, then who did? Was the victim working with someone else? We assumed it was pay phone guy but if so, he wouldn’t have been calling if he were here, would he.”
John stopped in mid-thought. “You’re right Wade. And if that’s the case, someone else had to trash the bookstore. But who and why?”
“I think maybe we should keep on watching out for Meg till we know more. It’s obvious this all centers around her but till we find out why, I don’t think she is safe do you John?”
“Think you’re right Wade and you’d better keep up the night watch for a bit longer. Another thing that worries me is, how did the victim get that mini body part? We still have no solution to that one.”
******
Lynn popped into the diner just as Meg was headed back into the bookstore. Grabbing her arm, she led her to the back of the store where they both sat down. “Got some more information for you.”
Lynn showed Meg the photo. “You sure you don’t know this guy from somewhere? Think hard Meg.”
“Honest Lynn, never saw him before.”
“So what I’m wondering is, how this guy got the mini body parts. He had one on him when he was murdered, and another in the envelope, which we know he left on your bike the night of the murder.”
Meg stood up. “Oh my gosh. I had forgotten all about it!”
“What Meg, what, tell me.”
Meg began pacing the room while explaining to Lynn what had happened. “Well the day of the Mystery dinner I was packing up the mini room box and that’s when I noticed the hand and leg were missing. I just assumed they had gotten knocked off the table and rolled under the furniture. That or Chewy had found them and eaten them.”
“So how does that explain this guy having them?” asked Lynn.
“I remember now because I was tired that morning. Chewy had heard something and woke me up barking, in the middle of the night. As I was waking up, I thought that I heard a noise like a door closing. But looking around the house and not seeing anything unusual, I just chalked it up to some funny noise and went back to bed.”
“Meg, you must have heard right and this guy was in your house stealing the mini body parts! He obviously wanted to use them to scare you or intimidate you, by showing that he’d been in your house!”
“You must be right Lynn. I never mentioned it because I thought it was nothing. Another thing, that morning when I got to work, I found my office trashed. That was before the guy was killed - so maybe he was the one that trashed the office? Maybe he was looking for the money thinking I kept it in the office? I never mentioned it because nothing was missing and I didn’t want to draw attention to myself.”
Lynn sat and thought for a few minutes. “So now we can be sure this guy was here after you, or your money rather. And pay phone guy, who we assume is Steve, is the one who sent the victim looking for you.”
“Oh gosh Lynn, is there any way this is all going to end and without revealing my secrets?”
“I don’t know Meg. I just don’t know. It would help if Sherry could find that tape so we could listen to it. We might be able to figure out who it was, that sent her out here to do the interview. The other thing that bothers me is that the bookstore was trashed after the victim was killed so he couldn’t have been the one that knocked you over the head and that means someone else is here in town and they’re looking for the same thing he was.”
Meg fell back into the chair with a worried look on her face. “Lynn, I’m scared. What if that person comes back looking again?”
“Just stay calm honey and try to keep acting as normal as possible. We don’t want to draw attention to you or let the other person know that we suspect they are out there. We are all working as hard as we can to figure this out okay.”
Lynn got up to leave but stopped at the doorway. “I’m going to suggest that Wade keep up his watch over your house at night, till we figure this out. He’s been parking down the street at night, but I think maybe he needs to stick to you like glue from now on.”
Lynn left with Meg still sitting in the chair. She had no idea what to do next, but let Lynn just keep on doing what she had been. At least she’d have Wade watching the house, and she was sure she could get him to give her a ride home in the evenings.
******
It was during the drive back to Mystic Pines when Nyla had decided she kind of liked this new Henry, and that she would make him her pet project. She had already planned to return to the hospital tomorrow and read to him a bit.
Leaving the Sheriff’s office, she decided that she would get the gals together and they would go over and spiffy up his house a bit as a surprise for when he came home. Between the group they could also stock up the fridge for him as well.
She pulled into the garage and went inside to call the gals and ask for their help. Sue and Janet offered to go around town asking for food donations, pantry items and such. Myra and Helen agreed to come over and help clean.
Not long after she hung up, Nyla walked into Henry’s house and frowned. Well this certainly won’t do. It’s like a dingy motel in here. Looking around the sparsely furnished room with nothing on the walls, a thought popped into her head. Hmm, I just might be able to kill two birds with one stone here if I play my cards right!
Hearing the door open and turning she saw both Helen and Myra walk inside. “Not much is it girls.” Winking at Myra she said, “Helen, go check out the kitchen cabinets will
you, and see what kind of food might be in there.”
“Oh my, not much at all and not a very happy looking place, is it?” remarked Myra.
Helen walked over to the fridge, opened and shut it, then inspected the cabinets. Seeing nothing more than a few cans of beanie weenies, a box of crackers and jar of peanut butter, she suddenly felt very sorry for Henry and the way she had always treated him.
She looked around at the worn-out furniture and bare walls then walked into the bedroom, inspected it, then the bathroom. Returning to the living room she sat down on the one chair in the room and putting her face in her hands began to cry.
Myra rushed over to Helen and hugged her. “Dear, what is it? Whatever has made you cry?”
Waving her hand around the room Helen replied, “It’s this room. Nothing pretty, nothing homey. It’s downright depressing. And the kitchen. Why a person could starve living on what I saw in there.”
Nyla had stood silently watching Helen and her reaction to Henry’s home. “Seems to me Henry needs more than a well-stocked kitchen. You think we could check out your stock of shopping channel boxes and maybe find a few things to spruce the place up? What do you think Helen?”
Myra smiled up at Nyla realizing what she was up to. “What do you think Helen? Sounds like a wonderful plan to me.”
Without a word Helen jumped up and ran out the door back to her house.
Nyla looked at Myra, sighed, and shrugged her shoulders. “Well it was worth a try I guess.”
Finding a pad of paper, the girls began to walk around the house, making note of things they might need. They also made a list of friends they could call and ask for donations. In the middle of looking over the list they heard a muffled voice at the door, along with a loud crash. Turning they saw Helen, on the floor in the middle of the doorway, dish towels in her mouth, and a huge box in her lap. Reaching up and removing the dish towels from her mouth she stared angrily at the other two women.
“Well, you two just gonna stand there and gawk at me with your mouths hanging open, or you gonna git over here and help me up?”
The two ladies rushed over to help Helen up from the floor. Myra carried the box over to the small kitchen table and opened it. Inside there was a box of nice silverware, a set of dishes for four, some coffee cups and lots more. “Oh my goodness Helen, this is fantastic, everything is perfect! Not too feminine but nice.”
Turning around Nyla looked at Helen, “Well what else you got over there girl?”
Helen smiled, “I got all sorts of things. Come see!”
******
Meg was still sitting in the back of the bookstore when she got a phone call from Janet Porter. Janet explained what the widows had decided to do, asking if Meg might have a few books she could donate.
“Oh Janet, I’d be happy to make some donations. You say they are over at Henry’s now? I’ll gather up some things and bring them down there in a bit.”
“Sounds perfect Meg and thanks so much!”
Meg walked into the diner and explained to Randy what was going on. She asked him to make up a box with some can goods, paper towels, napkins, and even a spare tablecloth. She then went back to the bookstore and began to search the shelves for a few older books she could part with. An hour later she had two nice sized boxes to take to Henry’s. Now her problem was how to get them there.
As she was standing there trying to figure out how to get the boxes to Henry’s, Wade popped into the bookstore. “Hey Megs, what's up? I was coming by to grab some tea and thought I’d pop in to say hi.”
“Oh Wade, what perfect timing! Do you have to run back to the station or would you have enough time to drive me over to Henry’s house?”
“Henry’s house, whatever would you want to go there for?”
Meg explained what the widowers were up to and how she’d been asked for some donations.
“Sure thing sweets, I was headed out to check on Daisy and today I’m in the truck, so I can drop you there on my way. Will that work?”
“Fantastic! Thanks, Wade.”
The two carried the boxes to Wade’s truck, then he ran back into the diner to get his tea. Back in the truck they drove off to Henry’s. Wade helped carry the boxes inside as well as a few more boxes from Helen’s to Henry’s. “My goodness, it looks like a garage sale in this house! You ladies sure have a job in front of you.”
Thanking Wade for his help they all took a moment to rest and sat down on the floor.
“Glad to help ladies but I’ve got to run.” Wishing them well he returned to his truck and drove off.
Nyla and Myra looked at each other smiling. Nyla spoke first, “Did you hear what Wade said Myra?”
“The part about the garage sale?” replied Myra with a big smile on her face.
“Hey you two, what gives with the big ole smiles?” asked Helen.
“Well, I was just thinking.” Nyla pointed to all the boxes they had sitting around the room. “If I remember correctly, you still have a lot more of these boxes at your house Helen.”
“Yup, so you want me to go get more? I mean Henry’s house is only so big Nyla.”
Laughing Nyla replied. “I was thinking, all this will be nice for when Henry comes home, but what about after? Far as I know he still only has his social security and he is gonna probably need some full time help for a while. At least till he is all healed up. That kind of help doesn’t come cheap.”
Myra stood up and poked around in a few boxes. “Helen there are some nice things in here, even duplicates of some things that I can see. I’m just wondering, what if you had a garage sale. Get everything out of all the boxes, use what we need to fix up Henry’s and then sell the rest. It would be a fun way of cleaning it all up and getting it out of your house don’t you think.”
Helen jumped up excitedly, “By gosh, you are right, and I bet I could make enough to put a solid dent in my credit card bills!” Realizing what she had just said, she sat back down with her hand over her mouth.
Meg rushed over to the woman and squeezed her. “Dear Helen, did you seriously think none of us would notice that you had a problem? We are all sorry if our prodding upset you, but truly, you have good friends here and they only wanted to help.”
Smiling and heading to the door she turned and looked back at the women. “I sure do have some good friends! And you know what, there might just be enough money left to pay for some of that help Henry might need as well.”
Myra and Nyla sat grinning at each other as Helen ran out the door.
******
Sherry Winslow was tired of her job at the Houston Chronicle. She had been here eight long years, five years to long if you asked her. She was thrilled when she first got the job, and having grown up in a small town, thrilled to live in the city. These days the city held no appeal.
It wasn’t long into the job when she realized that in doing it, she was being asked to do stories, that could negatively affect people’s lives. That was the part she hated. People no longer cared about the good things that happened in the world. Seemed to her they only wanted to read about the bad.
Hating those type of stories, she had tried doing a weekly column in hopes of doing less of the other. Unfortunately, the column did so-so and her editor would only let her keep it going, if she agreed to cover the other less desirable topics as well.
******
She had been looking for a way out and a place to relocate to when she got the call to do the article on the Mystery Dinner. Now, here she sat, with what was probably someone besides Meg Stinner on this tape, and she figured she knew why. The problem was, what could she do about it?
The only thing she could think of was to contact Lynn and see if Meg would agree to meet with her. Maybe Meg would have an idea of who was on the tape.
Lynn was sitting in the office when her cell phone began to ring. She recognized the number and answered. “Hey Sherry, what’s up? Did you find the tape?”
“Yes I found it and I was wondering if
your friend Meg would consider meeting with me about it? Just the two of us, in private.”
“I can’t speak for Meg but I can ask her for you. Should I have her contact you directly if she agrees?”
“Yes I think that might be best and let her know I can drive out there as soon as she can see me. I’m at my office now. You think you can contact her right away and let me know today?”
“Sure, I’ll give her a call now so just sit tight.”
Lynn hung up with Sherry and called Meg. “Hey Meg, Sherry Winslow just called me and wants to know if you would consider meeting with her in person, and just the two of you. She has the tape Meg!”
“You think that is such a good idea Lynn?”
“Yes I do. I think she can be trusted and if she wants to meet with you in private, then she probably has a good reason.”
Meg agreed to give Sherry a call and getting her number from Lynn hung up. Picking the phone back up she called Sherry.
“Hi Sherry this is Meg Stinner. Lynn says you want to talk with me?”
“Hello Meg, it’s nice to finally meet you, sort of. I’m guessing Lynn has explained about the taped interview and the signed release form?”
“Yes she has told me. I’m still trying to figure out who would do such a thing and why?”
“Well that is what I hope I can help you figure out. I have a few ideas if you are willing to listen?”
“I’ll be happy to meet with you. Why don’t you just come to the bookstore. Anytime is fine with me, I’ll be here every day except for Sunday.”
“Sounds good and I look forward to it. Oh, and it will be late when I get there, considering evening traffic. Sometime after six I imagine.”
“Ok! I’ll see you then.”
Sherry sat down the phone and leaned back in her chair. Guess it’s time I head home to do some private research. If I’m lucky, I’ll find what I need to back up what I think I know. Maybe give Jake a call and see what he can find out as well.
Picking up her purse and phone, Sherry locked her office behind her and headed out of the building. As the elevator doors closed behind her, she was on the phone with Jake, her computer tech, asking him to do a little hack job for her.