Racing and Robberies

by Cindy Bell

  “Absolutely.” She kissed his cheek. “Good luck on the investigation.”

  “Thanks.” Wes met her eyes as if he might say something more, then headed for the waiting patrol car instead.

  As Mary stepped inside Dune House, she heard Suzie call out to her as she walked towards her.

  “Mary? Is that you?”

  “Yes, it’s me.” She smiled as Suzie hugged her, then pulled away.

  “Are you okay?”

  “If everyone would stop asking me that, I might be.” Mary laughed, then shook her head. “I’m sorry, Suzie, I just don’t know how to react. It was horrible, but now all I want to know is who did this, and why?”

  “I understand.” Suzie led Mary into the living room. “You want to know what happened. But you’ve still had quite a shock. Does Wes have any suspects?”

  “Not yet, I don’t think. I did tell Wes about the man we saw at the garage yesterday. The one that argued with Graham. He said he would look into it.” Mary settled into her favorite chair and stretched her legs out in front of her, as she released a heavy breath. She gave Pilot a few pats. “I’m sorry I was gone so long this morning. How were things here?”

  “Smooth. I put some things together for lunch, but no one has shown up to eat anything. Let me bring you a plate.” Suzie headed for the kitchen.

  “No Suzie, no thanks. I don’t think I can eat right now.” Mary winced. “My nerves are shot. I just keep wondering what I could have done to stop it, why is he gone?” Mary wiped at her eyes. “I know I didn’t even know him, not really, but still.”

  “Still, it’s a shock to meet someone one day and find them gone the next.” Suzie perched on the edge of her chair and leaned close. “It’s okay to be upset, Mary. You have every reason to be. But I think the best way to get through this is to put that grief into action.”

  “What do you mean?” Mary met her friend’s eyes.

  “I say, we find out what exactly happened in that garage. We already know he had at least one enemy, the man we saw in the garage yesterday. What if we do some searching on him and his business and see if there is anything else we can dig up? It can only help in the investigation. Maybe it will lead to something?” Suzie patted Mary’s shoulder. “I’ll go grab my computer.”

  “Yes, I think that would help me feel better.” Mary’s mind began to race with possibilities. “Do you really think it’s possible that someone could get so angry over a car that he would kill?”

  “Anything is possible these days!” Suzie waved her hand as she headed to her room to grab her computer.

  When Suzie walked past one of the guest rooms she noticed a piece of paper wedged beneath the door at the corner. She reached down and picked it up, as she assumed it was a piece of garbage. However, as she took a closer look she noticed that it was a receipt from Graham’s Garage. The item listed on the receipt was a canister of oil. She stared at the receipt for some time as she tried to piece together how it had ended up there. She’d found it wedged in James’ door. But as far as she knew James didn’t have a car there. Why would he need to buy a canister of oil, and why would he go all the way to Parish to buy it? She tucked the receipt into her pocket just as heavy footfalls began down the hallway. She looked up and into James’ eyes. The man stared back at her, as if he was just as startled to find her standing there.

  “James.”

  “Suzie.” He nodded to her briefly, then glanced at the door to his room. “I just need to get something from my room.”

  “Have you decided how long you’ll be staying with us, yet?” Suzie stood her ground, which meant he had no access to his room.

  “I’m sorry, not yet. It probably won’t be much longer, though.” James frowned as he studied her. “Do you need an exact day?”

  “No, that’s fine. I found this on the floor. I thought it was just garbage, but it’s a receipt. Does it belong to you?” Suzie held the slip of paper out to him.

  “No, it’s not mine.” James barely glanced at it. “I’m in a bit of a hurry, if you don’t mind.”

  Suzie stared at him again. Words poised on the tip of her tongue. She was certain that the receipt belonged to him, how else would it end up in the crack of his door? No one else had a reason to be anywhere near his room. However, she wasn’t sure that pushing the matter at the moment would be the best decision. Instead, she tucked the receipt into her pocket and nodded.

  “All right then, enjoy your day.” Suzie stepped aside, but glanced back over her shoulder and watched as he entered his room. He barely opened the door wide enough for him to get through, then closed the door behind him again. It seemed clear to Suzie that he was hiding something. She lingered by the door for a moment, then continued on to her room to grab her computer.

  Chapter 5

  When Suzie returned to the living room with her computer, she found Mary staring out through the window nearest to her. She looked deep in thought.

  “Here we go.” Suzie pulled a chair over beside Mary and popped open the computer. Then she reached into her pocket and pulled out the receipt. She used the camera on her phone to snap a picture of it.

  “What’s that?” Mary looked at the slip of paper.

  “Take a look at it.” Suzie handed it over to her. “I found it in the crack of James’ door.” She glanced out into the dining room, and towards the stairs that led into the living room for any sign of his presence, then lowered her voice. “I think it’s very strange, don’t you? He claims it isn’t his, but who else could it belong to?”

  “It is very strange. And, it looks like he made the purchase yesterday, not long after we dropped off the SUV.” Mary tapped her fingertips lightly on her knee. “Why would he need oil if he doesn’t have a car?”

  “I have no idea. He did show up here right out of the blue.” Suzie narrowed her eyes as she looked over the receipt again. “Something isn’t adding up here.”

  “I think you’re right.” Mary turned her attention to the computer. “Do you think we’ll be able to find much about Graham?”

  “If the garage had a website then there will be reviews. They might at least give us an idea of the kind of man that Graham was, and who he might have been involved with.” After a quick search Suzie ascertained that Graham’s Garage did not have a website, but she did find a few posts about the garage on a car racing forum. “I’ve got something here.”

  Mary leaned close to take a look.

  “You do?”

  “Listen.” Suzie pointed out one of the posts, then began to read it. “I trusted Graham with my life, and almost lost it because of him. He assured me that he had fixed my braking problem, but when I raced my car tonight the brakes gave out and not only did I practically lose my car, but I could have lost my life, or taken out other drivers with me. Don’t trust this man for a second!” She cleared her throat as she glanced at Mary. “Does that sound familiar?”

  “The man from the garage yesterday.” Mary nodded. “He was so upset. Does it list his name?”

  “Better than that, it links his social profile.” Suzie clicked the link. “It looks like he’s a pretty well-known amateur race car driver.” She tipped the computer so that Mary could see a photograph of him clearly. “It looks just like him, doesn’t it?”

  “Yes. Brennan Coopers.” She pursed her lips as she studied the man. He had an arrogant smile on his lips, and his helmet tucked under his arm. “Nothing about him screams killer.”

  “Maybe not in that photograph, but we were there yesterday, we both heard how angry he was. It sounds like he thought Graham conned him.” Suzie brushed a few strands of her hair away from her eyes. “I’m going to do some more searching and see if anything else stands out.” She paused, then sat forward in her chair. “Well, isn’t this interesting.”

  “Well?” Mary stared at her friend who remained quiet. “Suzie!” She sighed. “You can’t just say something like that, and then not tell me.” She shook her head. “What did you find?”

 
“Sorry, sorry, I was reading.” Suzie flashed her a brief smile. “It looks like this particular person posted on a review site that they had quite a problem with customer service. She went into the garage to have a taillight fixed, and had to wait several minutes to even speak to anyone. There was no one present in the garage, despite the sign saying that it was open for business.”

  “Maybe they were busy with other things?” Mary narrowed her eyes. “Where was Carlene or Brody?”

  “That’s where the review gets interesting. She said she heard shouting, so she walked to the back of the garage. And Graham was there screaming at Brody. He was very upset and ran out past the woman. Graham then offered to fix the woman’s car, but she refused and told him he shouldn’t treat his staff that way. She went to look for Brody, but couldn’t find him, so she just left.” She looked over at Mary. “What kind of boss screams at his staff?”

  “Not a very good one.” Mary crossed her arms. “Brody was so upset with Graham. I wonder what they were fighting about?”

  “They don’t say, and it’s anonymous. But it does show that there was some tension at one point between Graham and Brody. If that’s the case, then we can’t just assume he had no ill will towards him.”

  “No, we can’t, but maybe the person that posted that is exaggerating.”

  “Yes, I guess you’re right, it is a bit of a stretch to go from an argument to murder. The only person that really expressed rage at Graham was Brennan. I think we should pay him a visit and find out more about that.” Suzie closed her computer, then checked her watch. “But not today. Today you need to get some rest, put those knees up, and let me wait on you.”

  “Suzie, that’s really not necessary, I’ll be fine.”

  “Nonsense. No arguing with me, Mary, you know better.” Suzie patted her friend’s shoulder. “I’m going to tidy up the kitchen from lunch, let me know when you’re ready to eat something, okay?”

  “I will.” Mary sighed. She hated to be a burden to Suzie, but she knew she was right. After being on her knees on the concrete floor of the garage, they ached quite a bit. As she relaxed into the chair with Pilot at her feet, she went over her visit to the garage that morning, yet again. She was certain that she missed something.

  It wasn’t until Mary’s cell phone rang and she jerked awake that she realized she had fallen asleep. She grabbed for her phone before it could fall out of her lap. A quick check of the time revealed she’d been dozing for a little over an hour. When she saw the caller was Wes she answered right away.

  “Hi Wes.” She grimaced when she realized how strange her voice sounded. She wasn’t quite awake yet.

  “Mary, are you all right? Did I wake you?”

  “I’m fine.” She cleared her throat. “Sorry. How are you?”

  “I thought I’d check in with you. Could I stop by?”

  Mary smiled to herself. He was such a gentleman. He usually went out of his way to be sure that he asked before showing up at Dune House, even though she’d told him many times that he was welcome to come anytime.

  “Absolutely. I’d love to see you. Suzie and I have some things to discuss with you.” She wiped the sleep from her eyes.

  “You do? Ah, this should be interesting. I’ll be there soon.” He hung up the phone.

  “Who was that?” Suzie joined her in the living room with Pilot at her side.

  “Wes, he’s coming to give an update.”

  “Oh great, I wonder what he will think of what we found?” She sat down across from Mary. “Did you have a nice nap?”

  “Yes, thank you. I’m curious about what he might have found out.”

  The two discussed the murder as they waited for Wes to arrive. When there was a knock on the door, Mary started to stand up, but Suzie jumped to her feet.

  “Let me get it.”

  “All right, thanks.”

  Suzie walked to the door with a smile as Wes pushed through it.

  “Wes, it’s good to see you.”

  “You, too.” He followed her into the living room and greeted Pilot who was excited to see him. “Where are your guests?”

  “No one is here at the moment. The lovebirds are really enjoying the beach, and our solo guests have been out most of the day.” Suzie sat back down across from Mary.

  Wes pulled a chair close to both of them. “So, what have you two uncovered?”

  “Just that Brennan was quite furious with Graham.” Mary slid forward some in her chair.

  “That’s not surprising. I had an interview with Brennan a little while ago, and while he does seem quite upset about his car, he also didn’t strike me as being involved in the crime.” He tipped his head from side to side. “It’s hard to say right now though, everything is still developing. The medical examiner did confirm that the time of death occurred twenty to thirty minutes before we arrived. I’ve also been looking into Graham’s personal finances and he was having some trouble at the shop.”

  “Interesting.” Suzie tapped one foot on the floor. “Maybe he borrowed money from the wrong person?”

  “Maybe. But dead men can’t exactly pay off their debts.” Mary narrowed her eyes.

  “Good point. I’m looking further into the financial issues. He didn’t have much family to speak of, so we’re still trying to track down who might be considered next of kin.”

  “Poor fellow.” Mary began to cough before she could say anything more.

  “Oh, let me get you some water.” Wes jumped to his feet before Suzie could stand up. He headed for the kitchen to get the water, but Pilot tried to sneak past him which caused Wes to stumble and strike his head on a shelf that stuck out from the living room wall.

  “Ouch!”

  “Oh, Wes!” Mary launched to her feet. “Are you okay? I’m so sorry, Pilot gets a little excited sometimes.”

  “Especially when he thinks it involves food.” Suzie stood up as well.

  “I’m fine.” Wes rubbed the red spot on his forehead. “It’s not a big deal.”

  “Let me get you some ice.” Mary pulled his hand away from his forehead and eyed the redness from the bump. “That’s going to leave a bruise.”

  “It’s okay.” He caught her hand and brought it to his lips for a kiss. “I’ll be fine. I’m supposed to be getting you water, remember?”

  “You get me water, I’ll get you ice.” Mary grinned as she led him into the kitchen. She grabbed an ice pack from the freezer and turned back to apply it to his head. She noticed the mark was so much smaller and redder than Carlene’s had been. “Was Carlene okay?” Mary asked.

  “She’ll be fine. It was a nasty bump, though.” Wes shifted his head some as the ice pack touched his skin.

  “Be still now, we have to get the swelling down.”

  “I could get used to this kind of treatment.” He smiled at her as she pulled the ice pack back.

  Mary smiled and placed a light kiss on his forehead.

  Chapter 6

  After Wes left, Suzie and Mary took Pilot for a walk on the beach to wear him out.

  “I don’t think Wes is really considering Brennan as a suspect.” Mary tossed a treat to Pilot.

  “I know. But I still think he should be.” As a wave rushed up to her, Suzie dipped her bare toes in the water.

  “He has to follow the steps of his investigation.”

  “But we don’t.” Suzie glanced over at her. “If Brennan did this, then this is the best time to find out. He’s probably still reeling from the attack this morning and he might slip up and make a mistake. I’m sure he rehearsed what he would say to the police, but what if it’s not the police asking him questions?”

  “What are you suggesting?” Mary called Pilot back to them. He ran straight towards them, kicking up the sand behind him.

  “I think we should have our own conversation with Brennan. There’s a race this afternoon, we know where he’ll be.” Suzie met Mary’s eyes. “What do you think?”

  “Good idea. Let’s see what he has to say.”


  After they returned Pilot to the house, they headed to the racetrack. It was located just outside of Garber, in Parish.

  “Ready to make a bet?” Suzie flashed Mary a grin as she pulled the car into the parking lot of the racetrack.

  “I don’t think it’s that kind of racing.” Mary shot her a brief smile. “But then again, I guess anyone can bet on anything, can’t they?”

  “Yes, they can.” Suzie parked, then stepped out of the car. With Mary right behind her, she headed through the entrance of the large building that faced the racetrack. The crowd inside was mostly gathered around the tall windows that faced the track, while others were piled up in the stands outside that lined the track.

  “Wow, I didn’t realize this was such a busy place.” Mary glanced around at the people gathered. She didn’t notice any familiar faces, but that didn’t surprise her as Parish was a much larger town than Garber, and she wasn’t as familiar with the residents there.

  “Now, the question is, can we find Brennan?” Suzie skimmed the hallway for any hint of which direction to go in. It didn’t take her long to find a sign that indicated that the door would lead to the racetrack itself. She gestured to Mary to follow her and headed for the door. As soon as she opened it she was greeted by noise. She could hear the engines of the race cars revving, and the chatter of the people seated in the stands. Though she wasn’t much for races, she couldn’t deny the buzz of excitement in the air as she descended metal steps towards the dirt ground. She glanced back at Mary who was a bit slower than her down the steps.

  “I’m coming.” Mary followed after her friend. She made it to the bottom step, then released a heavy breath. “There’s Brennan.” She tipped her head towards a small section of the track that was shielded by an overhang from the building. A few men in jumpsuits stood there, one of them was Brennan.

  “Let’s get to him before the race starts.” Suzie grabbed her hand and guided her towards the men.