It was almost ten and I was getting ready for bed when one of the cats started scratching at the back door. I get very upset when they do this and I thought I’d trained all of them. Besides, I was sure I saw three cats running up the stairs to my bedroom not two minutes earlier.
I opened the door and there sat Sammy. His beautiful clean white hair was gray and clumpy with several dozen burrs clinging to it. It looked like he’d lost weight and I could see a spot of blood on one paw. He didn’t bounce in as usual.
He sat and glared at me as his tail twitched back and forth at an amazing speed.
Chapter Twenty Four
I had no sooner taken off my jacket and poured water into the carafe for coffee the next morning when the door opened and in walked the deputy and the sheriff.
“Mabel,” Scully said, before even saying hello. “Tell Jim all the things you told me yesterday.”
I put the carafe down.
“No,” Jim said. “You can make your coffee and talk at the same time, can't you?"
I nodded. "Yep. I can even warm up muffins and talk at the same time.”
They both grinned because I knew neither of them had eaten.
“So what are you going to do?” I asked, after I’d told them about Amos and Charlie.
“First,” Jim said. “We’ll pick up Amos and put him in a cell until he’s sobered up. Then, we can question him.” He stood up. “Hopefully after that, we’ll have enough evidence to go to a judge and get a search warrant.”
I have to admit I was on pins and needles all day. I didn’t tell Flori because she has a habit of spreading news. Even unfounded news. I love her with all my heart but she’s a bit of a gossip. I’m sure she thrived on all the things Janet told her about Carly.
Carly was another subject. What if Jim uncovered human remains on the farm? What about Brady? How would he take the news?
“What happened to your cat?” Scully asked.
Sammy was having emotional problems since he’d arrived home so I brought him to the store with me.
I shook my head and rolled my eyes. “He’s having a breakdown. He jumped out of the car when I was out at Patterson’s and took off. I thought Brady might find her but it looks like Sammy decided to walk home on his own.”
“He found his way home from out there?”
“Yes, Scully. I think he ran all the way. He showed up on the doorstep the next day.” I bent over to pick him up but he ran to the back of the shop. “He’s been like this ever since he got back.”
“He seems traumatized,” Jim said. “Something must have happened along the way.”
“Or, he might just be mad at me because I didn’t wait for him.”
We visited and enjoyed our coffee while my cat sat up on a windowsill and glared at me. No, there wasn’t anything wrong with him; he was angry and punishing me. If I’d left him at home, he would have destroyed my house. I now owned a psycho cat.
After Jim and Scully left, I turned to Sammy and said, in my sternest mother cat voice, “You better get over this, Sammy, because you know very well that it was all your fault. You were a bad cat. That is the last time I take you for a ride in my car. You got that?”
It seemed he did because he jumped down and rubbed against my leg. I picked him up and he started to purr. His fur still had burrs and clumps of dirt so I took him over to the counter to give him a good brushing. It seemed that Sammy and I were friends again. All he needed was tough love.
About an hour later, I heard a siren wailing. Since we don’t hear them very often in Parson’s Cove, I walked over to the window to see what was going on. It was definitely the ambulance so it probably meant someone was having a heart attack. There are many seniors in our town now and that seems to be the usual need for an ambulance.
By the time I looked out, the siren had stopped so it was someone not too far away. Patty was looking out her window across the street. I waved and shrugged to let her know I didn’t know anything and she did the same. Since she writes the town paper, she always likes to know what’s going on. She isn’t an ambulance chaser though so she would wait until everyone in town already knew and then she would print it.
It wasn’t until about three in the afternoon when I found out where the ambulance went. Scully walked in. I knew immediately something was wrong.
“What’s the matter, Scully? Did you pick up Amos?”
He nodded. “Didn’t you hear the siren?”
“I did but it sounded like the ambulance to me.”
“It was. We got to Amos’ house and found him unresponsive so we called the ambulance.”
“Unresponsive? What do you mean? Is he okay now?”
He shook his head. “He was dead, Mabel.”
“What? You mean he drank himself to death?”
He shrugged. “We’re having an autopsy done. It probably was the alcohol. We found lots of moonshine in his house. That gut rot would kill anyone.”
“How would he get that? There’s no way he could get out to Patterson’s and I’ve never seen any of the Pattersons coming into Parson’s Cove, have you?”
He shook his head. “Jim and me were saying the same thing.”
“I guess there goes our witness. Strange how he suddenly died, isn’t it?”
He nodded. “We tossed that thought around too but you know Amos was in bad shape. It’s amazing he’s lived this long. Well, we’ll see what the autopsy reveals.”
“Are you sending the body to the coroner in the city?”
He shook his head. “Doc Campbell says he’ll do it.”
“How can he do it? He’s not a medical examiner. He’s hardly a doctor.”
“He and Fritzy were arguing about it when I left.”
“Why would Robert Campbell be so concerned? It’s like he wants to take over our town. Who does he think he is anyway?”
“Jim’s there and he said he might call Reg and ask him to get involved too.”
“Why doesn’t Robert want the body taken to the medical examiner?”
“He says we can save so much money by having it done here.”
“It’s not his money so why should he care? Besides, he’s the one who acts like he’s got money to spare and that everything has to be done just so.”
“He also thinks it’s a waste of time because he says it’s obvious the cause of death is alcohol poisoning.”
“What does Fritzy say?”
“He says we shouldn’t jump to conclusions and that we need a professional opinion. All sudden deaths should be autopsied by the medical examiner’s office. That’s Fritzy’s opinion. He says that’s the law.”
“I agree. Maybe someone can come out here. They’ve sent doctors out before.”
He nodded. “We’re going to check into it.”
Scully left and told me that he’d keep me posted.
There weren’t any other customers for the day so Sammy and I went home fifteen minutes early. I carried my cat all the way and he seemed to find it comforting. I did too.
Flori and I had our usual visit over the phone that evening. I didn’t mention anything about Amos. I didn’t have to because she already knew all about it.
“It’s such a shame that a man would drink his life away. Jake said he was in the café the other day and was drunker than he’d ever seen him. He was trying to tell Jake his life story but Jake said he couldn’t stand the smell of him so told him to get out.”
“He wanted to tell Jake his life story? Did he tell any of it? What did Jake say?”
“I don’t know. I don’t think very much. Besides, he slurs everything when he’s drunk and you can hardly understand a word.”
“Past tense, Flori.”
“Past tense what?”
“He slurred his words when he was drunk. He’s no longer drinking. He’s dead.”
“Oh, Mabel, what a terrible mistake. Even though I didn’t like him, I still never wished him dead.”
I waited for her to finish crying and hiccoughing
before I said goodnight.
It was almost nine when I decided it was time to check a few things out. Could Amos have left any clues in his house? Maybe he wrote something down in case he ever needed it. For example, in case he died?
I put on my dark jacket so I wouldn’t be too noticeable, grabbed my flashlight, and went out into the night. The streets were deserted except for a few vehicles in front of the café and the hotel. There was no need to walk past them anyway. I headed down a back lane to Amos’ house. There were no lights on in the house. I walked up the step and gently turned the knob. If Jim had locked it, I would try the front door. No one had used it in years so it might be unlocked. However, there was no need. The door swung open. It was déjà vu for me. I expected to see Amos still on the floor in a drunken heap.
I quickly stepped in and shut the door behind me. The place reeked. I couldn’t even describe the smell. All I can say is that I had to hold my breath so I wouldn’t bring up my dinner. I turned on my flashlight to look around.
Someone had been there before me. Whoever it was had turned the place upside down.
Chapter Twenty Five
As I was leaving for work the next morning, I saw Ettie out on her step shaking out a mat.
“Ettie,” I called out. “Come over for coffee this morning. It might be one of our last beautiful days.”
She nodded and smiled. “I’ll be by.”
Flori came in about nine and Ettie arrived a half hour later. Both seemed to be in cheerful moods.
Flori, of course, came right to the point. “Ettie, did you hear that Amos Grimm died?”
Ettie looked somewhat startled. “No, I don’t think I know him, Flori. I did hear an ambulance yesterday. Was that for him?”
“Yes,” I said. “It was too late though; by the time they got there, Amos was gone.”
“We’re sure it was alcohol poisoning,” Flori said.
“But,” I said. “We don’t know for sure. He was the town drunk but it could have been a heart attack or anything.”
“I heard that your son might do the autopsy,” Flori said.
Ettie laughed. “Well, don’t ask me about that. I don’t think he even came home last night.” She lifted up her cup. “I think I’ll have a refill if that’s okay, Mabel. This is good coffee.” I fixed it the way she liked it and handed it to her. “By the way,” she said. “I hope you don’t mind; I mentioned to Robert that you were interested in finding out what happened to Carly’s mother.”
“Really? What did he say?”
“It was kind of strange; he stared at me for a few minutes and then told me that it was better if we left it alone. He said Carly doesn’t want to know and we would be butting in where we shouldn’t.”
“We?”
She blushed. “I made it sound like we were doing this together. It seemed easier to say it that way.”
“Did he get angry with you?”
She shook her head. “No, but he was very quiet afterwards. I thought maybe I’d upset him but I guess not.”
After that, we changed the subject and the girls left about an hour later. Flori was going to take Ettie to her house and give her some homemade cinnamon buns from her freezer. She and her doctor son were in for a treat because Flori makes the best cinnamon buns in the world.
At noon, the door opened and in walked my friend, Nathan.
“What's new?” I asked.
Before saying anything, he plopped down on the chair.
“That bad?” I said. “Do you need some coffee?”
He grinned. “It isn’t that bad, Mabel.”
“Okay, tell me what’s on your mind? You and Shayla had a fight?”
“No, nothing like that.” He shuffled in the chair, trying to get comfortable. “You know all about Amos, right?”
I sat in the other chair. “I know he’s dead. What else is there to know?”
“Oh, that’s all, but there is sure a big kerfuffle about it.”
“A big kerfuffle?”
He nodded. “I’ve been on the phone most of the morning with Shayla. Apparently, Dr. Campbell is adamant about doing the autopsy and he and Fritzy almost got into a fight. She heard Reg tell Jim that Robert Campbell is very close to losing his job.”
“You’re kidding! So what’s happening with Amos now?”
“There’s a doctor coming out from the city. He’s probably here now. Campbell is going to assist and apparently, he’s not too happy about that.”
“He sounds like an arrogant person, Nathan. Too bad. It would be nice to have a homeboy doctor in Parson’s Cove. It would be a good example for our young people. You know, leave Parson’s Cove and make something of yourself.”
After I said it, I could see Nathan's reaction in his eyes.
“I’m not saying that about you, Nathan. You have made something of yourself. It’s just that there are kids here who don’t think past the weekend and partying.”
He nodded but I knew I’d hit a chord and I felt sorry for what I’d said. However, once you’ve said something, it can never be retrieved.
I knew it took several days for autopsy reports to get back so I was surprised to see Jim and Reg coming in just before five. I was already cleaning up for the next day. I’d made quite a few sales in the afternoon but most were people who wanted to know about Amos. At least, now I have them trained that if they come in for information, they’d better be prepared to buy something. They went home disappointed because I had nothing to tell them and I ended up with some change in my pocket.
“What’s up, guys?” I asked when they were all inside. “I’m sorry but my coffee is over for the day. Unless, of course, you insist. After all, you are the police and the mayor and I am your humble servant.”
I did manage to get a few weak smiles.
“We were over at Amos’ house a while ago. It’s been trashed,” Reg said.
“Oh, I know. I walked over last night and someone had beaten me to it.”
“So you did go over?”
I nodded. “Of course. I’m sorry I didn’t mention it to you. I thought you had enough on your plate with this autopsy problem. I went over about eight but as soon as I opened the door and shone the light in, I could see someone had trashed the place. I assume they were looking for something. I was planning on doing some looking anyway but the smell was so bad, I just went home. I’d actually forgotten about it. What do you think this person or persons were looking for?”
Reg sighed. “Mabel, someone saw you going to the house.”
“Did they see me leave?”
“No. They were walking by and saw you walk up to the door and open it.”
“Who saw me?”
“Dr. Campbell.”
“Dr. Campbell? What was he doing there? Shouldn’t he have been at the hospital doing the autopsy?”
“He’d been to the café for dinner and was on his way back to work.”
“Are there people who can substantiate that?”
Reg sighed. “Mabel, we don’t care that you went over. We know you would never ransack the house anyway. We wanted you to know in case the subject ever comes up.”
“Why would it?”
Jim said, “Now that we know someone broke into the house, we feel that there might be more to this case than we thought. This is just a heads up for you, Mabel. Don’t get involved with Robert Campbell. It seems to us that he’s trying to cause you trouble.”
“Why on earth would he do that? I’ve hardly spoken with the man except to take him some muffins.”
“What about his mother? Are you friends with her?”
“Ettie? Of course. She was here this morning for coffee.”
“Has she said anything to her son about you? Do you think he could be jealous that you’re spending time with his mother? Maybe putting thoughts into her head about going back to the farm?”
“I don’t think Ettie says much to him about me. She did tell him that I was trying to find Carly’s mother though.”
&
nbsp; There was a loud silence.
“There might be a connection, right?” I said.
“There could be, Mabel,” Reg said. “We haven’t put all the pieces together yet but we know Robert goes out to Patterson’s on a regular basis and we know he insisted on hiring Carly. Amos happened to be the only witness who claimed to see Mrs. Patterson getting on the bus and now he’s dead.”
“And Charlie says Mrs. Patterson never got on any bus. That neither she nor Amos nor Paul Patterson were even there.”
Reg nodded. “I know and I believe him but no one else will, so let’s keep that to ourselves.”
“Do you want me to give you a ride home, Mabel?” Jim asked.
“In the squad car?”
He nodded and grinned.
“Absolutely. I haven’t ridden in it since you’ve been sheriff.”
“But no siren.”
“You’re a spoil sport, Sheriff.”
Chapter Twenty Six
It was three in the morning when I heard them. Sirens again. This time there was more than one. I listened. It was the police car, the ambulance, and the fire truck. Three distinct sounds and since Parson’s Cove had only one of each, it was easy to discern which was which. The question was where would they be going in the middle of the night?
I listened and heard the sounds growing fainter and fainter. Whatever was happening was happening out in the country somewhere. It could have been a cabin. City folks come out to check them for the last time before winter and forget to shut something off or leave coals burning in the fireplace. It has happened before. It took a while but I eventually went back to sleep.
The phone woke me up. I don’t have one upstairs so I had to scurry down to the kitchen. I glanced at the clock and it said five forty-five. Who would be calling at such an ungodly hour?
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