by Maisy Morgan
“That is another very good point,” Preston said. “Since we’ve learned that Roger was one of our robbers, but that still doesn’t solve our case. We still need to find out who killed Roger.”
“However, it does give us a new angle,” Mary said. “Maybe whoever killed Roger knew about the bank robbery?”
“True,” Preston said. “This little discovery might have just helped out with both investigations.”
“Maybe if we can find out who knew about the robbery, that will lead us to who killed Roger,” Mary said excitedly.
“Again, let’s not jump the gun too quickly,” Preston said. “It’s a possibility these two crimes are totally unrelated. For all we know, someone jumped Roger at the park for something completely different like a neighborly dispute.”
“Do you mean Nathan?” Mary asked. “I suppose a bank robber can be an unmerited victim just as much as anybody else.”
“Exactly,” Preston said. “Although it’s a little early in the investigation to tell.”
Finally, the Peachtree City sheriff’s car was pulling up in the driveway. The man stepped out of the car and came right over, shaking Preston’s hand. “You have no idea how much we appreciate this,” the man said with a laugh. “Though our investigation is far from over even if our robber is dead.”
“I think this is going to be a joint investigation from here sir,” Preston said. “Roger was murdered in Brooks.”
“We’ll have to do some follow up before we condemn Roger as our robber anyway,” the chief said leaning down to check out the duffel bag with a satisfied smile on his face. “We’ll share what we find with you folks, if you’d be so kind as to do the same.”
“Of course,” Preston said.
The chief took several photographs of Roger’s truck and duffel bag. He also took Preston’s information down before removing the duffel bag from the scene and driving off. “Now what?” Mary asked.
“Now, we go back to Brooks and follow up with Josephine,” he said. “We need to find out whether or not she knew about the robbery for sure.”
“I really doubt it,” Mary said repeating herself a bit. “Either way, she might be able to help us confirm that Roger was our robber. She might be able to tell us if she knew where he was that day or if she noticed anything suspicious with his behavior leading up to the incident.”
Preston nodded in agreement, and they hurried to his truck so that they could head back to Brooks to speak with Josephine before her shift ended for the day.
Chapter Twelve
Mary went with Preston back to the hair salon in Brooks. She was eager to learn what Josephine would have to say about the duffle bag found full of cash in the back of her boyfriend’s truck which also had been parked in her driveway. Margarette and Josephine both seemed rather surprised that they had returned so quickly, and as Preston returned her keys and asked to speak with her privately, Josephine seemed all the more surprised.
The three of them stepped outside of the shop, leaving Margarette inside to care for the only patron who had been inside. “Did you find anything?” Josephine asked.
“As a matter of fact, we did,” Preston said. “We found something in his truck.”
Josephine looked surprised. “What did you find? Does this mean this wasn’t just some random assault? Did he have someone after him or something?”
“Not exactly,” Preston said. “We found a duffle bag in the back of his truck that was full of cash. It was cash that we confirmed came from the bank heist in Peachtree City. The one that you were victimized by.”
Josephine stared blankly back at Preston for a moment. “I’m sorry?” she asked as though she had not heard a single word that had just come out of his mouth.
“The cash in your boyfriend’s truck, it was from the bank heist. Mary recognized the duffle bag, and we were able to confirm that it was the cash that was stolen based off of the serial numbers,” Preston informed her.
“I don’t understand,” she said. “How did Roger wind up with that cash?”
“It would seem, Josephine, that Roger was the third robber who got away,” Mary said. “The one who wasn’t involved in the shootout. The one who dipped out somehow.”
“That’s impossible,” Josephine said crossing her arms.
“It would seem that it is quite possible,” Preston said. “I imagine this is quite a shock to you, but I need to ask if you recall any sort of odd behavior in Roger leading up to the robbery? Did he ever say or mention anything?”
“Officer Preston, I’m telling you right now that Roger could not have possibly been the third robber because he was across town at the time of the robbery in a work meeting!” Josephine exclaimed. “I can give you his employer’s information, but I’m telling you right now that Roger had nothing to do with that robbery. He left his meeting early when he heard that I was one of the hostages, and he was standing right out in the parking lot by the time we were released. I bet one of the officers even saw him when the robber was still in the building!”
“You’re telling me that at the beginning of the morning, when the robbers first entered the building, that Roger was across town in a meeting?” Mary questioned.
“That’s exactly what I’m telling you,” Josephine insisted.
“He was there when you got out of the bank?” Preston asked.
“Yes, he was waiting for me by the ambulance speaking with a cop when I came out. You think he just changed in the parking lot in front of all those people, and no one noticed?” Josephine questioned. “No, someone would have seen that. You’re wrong.”
“No disrespect, but you know we will have to corroborate with Roger’s employer about the meeting he was in that morning,” Preston said. “Then, I’ll speak with Peachtree City police to see if they can confirm he was in the parking lot at a time we were certain the third shooter was still inside. Either way, there is still a question as to how the money wound up in the back of your boyfriend’s truck to begin with, whether he was our mystery robber or not.”
“You do that,” Josephine said with a stone cold and unmoving face. “My Roger may have been a lot of things, but he wasn’t some thief. He didn’t have anything to do with that bank robbery, and even if he did, wouldn’t he have, I don’t know, done something about the fact that I was there?”
“He wouldn't if you knew about it,” Mary thought she said under her breath, but Josephine heard her.
“Are you accusing me of something?” she snapped looking like she was ready to pounce. She was leaning in slightly, nostrils flaring, and teeth gritted. “Do you think I would have sent you two to my house to look through my stuff and tell you where his truck keys were if I knew he had stolen money hidden in the back of his truck? If I knew about it and was involved, do you really think my first instinct would have been to go blabbing to a cop and his girlfriend about where we supposedly hid the money? I don’t think so. You two just find out what happened to Roger. That’s all I care about right now. That and making sure Margarette doesn’t fire me because I keep having to step out every half hour to talk to you!” Then Josephine stormed back inside leaving Preston and Mary standing out front.
“Well, that was a little dramatic,” Mary said. “Don’t you think?”
“Yeah, she knows something,” Preston said. “I do believe though that she didn’t know the cash was in the truck. I agree it would have been downright stupid to tell us where the keys to the truck were if she was involved. I wonder something. She, Roger, and Nathan obviously had got into it right before he was killed. That’s no secret. What if she found out about it that day? What if she found out that he had robbed the bank and that’s why she dumped him?”
“Maybe,” Mary said. “That would explain why she wanted to help us so quickly. I mean, she let you search her house and property without even a slight bit of hesitation and no warrant. Maybe she wanted to distance herself from Roger as quickly as possible and make sure she didn’t come out looking bad?”
&nbs
p; The two of them continued discussing Josephine’s reaction as they crossed the street to the sweets shop. As they entered the shop, Mary smiled to see that the building was full of people. There was a small line of four customers, and two of the pink tables were currently full of customers enjoying some of her key lime pies and various cakes. She hurried behind the counter where Tripp was happily ringing up the first customer in line. Once the transaction was complete, he handed a decorative box over to the man and told him to have a good day.
Mary told Tripp to keep to the register. She took care of prepping the remaining customers’ orders while he checked them out. Preston stood back, watching with a smile on his face, and he wound up sitting down with Draco who had apparently made the shop his home for the day. Mary glanced over occasionally to see Draco talking to Preston about the large, fantasy book he was currently reading.
Soon each customer in line was helped, and it didn’t take long after that before the building cleared of everyone except for Mary, Tripp, Preston, and Draco. “Wow,” Mary said after taking a relaxing breath. “Has it been like that all day?” she asked.
“On and off,” Tripp said with a proud gleam. He looked exhausted, but there was a prideful look about him. “Oh, here,” he said, opening up one of the drawers behind the counter and pulling out a small composition notebook. “I wrote up a list of things we need made. I know you told me to stay away from the kitchen, but I thought I’d go ahead and make sure you knew what you would need to get to work on once you got back.
“I see the key lime pies are pretty much gone,” Mary said with a satisfied smile. “They did look really good in those pictures you posted of them with Sweet Feet online last week. I figured people would go after those. I should probably get started right away.” She glanced back at Tripp for a moment. This had probably been quite a work load for him. “Why don’t you take the rest of the afternoon off kiddo?” she suggested.
“Thank you,” Tripp said and then laughed. “I handled it fine, I think, but I might have gotten close to biting off more than I could chew. I honestly wasn’t expecting so many people to come in today.”
“Do you want me to take the boys to your place, Mary?” Preston suggested. “If he doesn’t want to hang around the shop the rest of the day that is. I don’t mind. I have some things I want to follow up on in Peachtree City, and your house is on the way.”
Draco’s face lit up, and he put his book down. “You want to hang out?” he asked Tripp hopefully.
“Is it okay, Grandma?” he asked.
Mary smiled. “I suppose that’s fine,” she said. Then jokingly, she added, “You two aren’t going to tear the house apart if I leave you alone there for a few hours are you?”
“No, I promise,” Tripp swore. “We’ll probably just play some video games or take a look at the Volkswagen.”
“I think I might have some ideas for that by the way,” Draco said. “I bet we could get the thing running by the end of the summer with the right replacement parts.”
“You’re trying to fix up that car?” Preston asked curiously. “The one you found in the yard?”
“Grandma said that if I can get it running, I can have it when I turn sixteen,” Tripp said. “My fifteenth birthday is almost here, and I can get a learners license then. It would be cool if we could get it up and running so that I can learn to drive in it.”
“How bad of shape is it in?” Preston asked.
“Awful,” Mary said. “I’m hoping I didn’t get his hopes up too much because I’m not sure if they’re going to be able to get that thing running at all.”
“Maybe I’ll take a peek under the hood while I’m there,” Preston suggested.
“Awesome,” Draco said. “Do you work on cars Officer Preston?”
“I know a little bit about ‘em,” Preston said. “Though I certainly wouldn’t call myself an expert.”
“Well, okay then,” Mary said. “Grab your stuff and take Sweet Feet with you back to the house. Once Officer Preston leaves, I want you boys back inside the house until I get home.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Draco said politely, and soon the two boys were bustling out the door with Preston not too far behind.
“Thanks for offering to take them home,” Mary said with a smile. “I know Tripp can only stand so much of this place. After all, he is a teenager. I’m sure he wants to go home and play mindless videogames for a while. It’s no problem at all, Mary,” he said before chasing the boys out the door.
Mary watched them out the window. Tripp was holding tightly onto Sweet Feet who seemed to have fallen asleep in his arms during their walk across the street where Preston had last parked his truck. She smiled. Preston did so well with Tripp, and she loved the idea of the two of them bonding over working on a car together. It was a rather cliché man-boy experience, but sometimes clichés could be a good thing. Once she saw the truck drive off, she rolled up her sleeves and headed back to the kitchen.
She opened up the composition notebook that Tripp had handed off to her, using the notes to make a game plan on where to start. “I’m definitely starting with the key lime pies,” she said as she scurried around gathering ingredients she knew she would need for her shop’s current special.
Chapter Thirteen
“Pull some of the chocolate fudge out while you’re back there!” Mary called to Tripp who had just slipped into the shop’s kitchen early that next morning. The shop was officially opened yet again another day, and she and her grandson were just finishing restocking the displays. Mary wiped down the counters, and just as she was finishing up this final task, the front door opened.
Cindy entered pushing Hannah in her wheelchair, and the two of them beamed brightly. Today Mary knew that Cindy was working due to her elegant 1940’s style house dress, curled hair, and bright red lipstick. Mary had never known someone to bounce back between styles quite as dramatically as Cindy. Cindy ran the local antique shop, and she liked to dress in dated clothing on days she planned to work. When she wasn’t working, she looked like a softball player in her oversized t-shirts, sweatpants.
“You look so cute,” Mary said gleefully, and Cindy laughed.
“It’s okay, not like I needed a compliment or anything,” Hannah joked. “Mom does look like a doll this morning, doesn’t she?”
“You’re the one who picked out this dress from the rack for me to wear today,” Cindy said shaking her head.
Tripp exited the kitchen, and Mary heard a crashing sound. He had let the door close on him a bit, and the door flung back and knocked a tray from his hands. “Ahh! The fudge!” he wailed, and Mary hurried over to him.
“It’s all right Tripp,” Mary insisted as she helped clean up the mess before Sweet Feet could get into any of the chocolate. “Why don’t you go sit down for a second? You’ve been working hard for me the past few days, and it’s going to be another long day at the shop.”
“Thanks. I’m sorry about the fudge Grandma,” Tripp said, shaking his head. He and Hannah wound up by one of the pink tables, notably the one furthest away from the counter where Mary and Cindy now settled in for a morning chat.
Cindy, much to Mary’s pleasure, sat down a to-go coffee mug in front of her. “It’s gas station coffee,” Cindy said, “so I wouldn’t be too thrilled.”
Mary laughed. “Coffee is coffee. Thank you.” She took a sip, and she cringed slightly. It was really bitter, but it was caffeine either way.
“Would you look at those two?” Cindy asked in a whisper, nudging Mary and nodding toward the kids who were currently leaned in slightly, whispering to one another and giggling a bit. Sweet Feet joined them by pouncing up into Hannah’s wheelchair. Mary grinned. Cindy took a sip of her coffee before saying, “You know, my Hannah absolutely adores your grandson. I think she’s got a little crush on him. I don’t think she would ever tell me. She says I’m a meddler.”
Mary laughed. “Well, meddler, tell your teenager I’m pretty sure the feeling is mutual. Not that I heard it
from him. I can tell though. He’s always so thrilled when he’s gotten to spend time with her, and he’s downright giddy when she’s around. I’m pretty sure he dropped that tray of fudge because he froze in the doorway when he saw her.”
Cindy snorted, and the two teens looked up for a moment at them. “What’s so funny?” Hannah demanded.
“Nothing, just talking about some interesting customers we’ve each had,” Cindy lied, and the two kids went back to talking to one another.
“Wow, that was smooth Cindy,” Mary said. “I can’t think that quick on my feet anymore.”
“It has been a while since you’ve had a teenager,” Cindy said. “You’ll get back into the swing of it. I’m sure.”
Mary shook her head. “You’re terrible.”
“Well, why did you have me keeping an eye out on the shop yesterday? Is there a reason Tripp was here by himself?” Cindy asked.
“I got a little roped into helping Preston with a case,” Mary said. “I suppose I shouldn’t say roped. I jumped on that bandwagon rather quickly. Preston and Tripp’s fishing excursion didn’t go as expected.”
“Why?”
“They found a body in the lake,” Mary said.
“Gracious!” Cindy exclaimed.
“You’re telling me. It was insane. Preston and Tripp had seen the guy that morning walking around the lake after breaking up with his girlfriend over a fight he’d had with a neighbor. He apparently gave the guy a bloody nose and everything. Then, they all leave, and Preston takes Tripp out on the lake. Well, halfway through their day of fishing they bump right into the man. He had been stabbed multiple times before being dumped into the lake. His name was Roger Stout.”
