The Corpse at the End of the Chapter

by Karen Hayes

  Harve said hello to Don Sargent after the service was over, and Celine introduced him to Copper.

  The sheriff had already made arrangements with Cindy Doyle to speak with her after the funeral and told Copper he would be back at the mortuary to pick her up when he was done with Cindy. That would give Copper plenty of time to help Suds select a coffin, flowers, etc.

  He followed Cindy a block or so down the street, to where the Golden Arches beckoned. Once inside, Harve ordered coffee for the two of them, and they selected a table away from most of the lunch crowd gathered there. The smells of grilling burgers assailed him and he thought about ordering some food, too, but remem-bered he was going to the Lafferty’s luncheon, so he’d need to have room for some of Paul Webb’s fancy food. Besides, McDonald’s didn’t have Suds Grogan’s onion rings.

  “I guess you know,” Cindy said as she added sugar and creamer to her coffee.

  “Know what?” Harve asked innocently.

  “That Ruby Stone was my birth mother. Isn’t that what you wanted to talk to me about?”

  The sheriff nodded as he blew gently on his hot coffee. “How long have you known?” he asked.

  “Several years. When I was doing my paramedic training, my mother thought it was important that I be able to access my own medical history. So we did a search for my birth mother. Before that, I didn’t even know I was adopted. Then, when I came here for this position, I found out she lived in the next town over. It took me awhile to get up the courage to go and meet her.”

  “You met her?” Harve was genuinely surprised.

  Cindy nodded. “She was so happy to see me. She showed me the pictures she had taken of me all my life. Her mantle was full of them. I don’t know how she managed to get all those shots—she must have used a telephoto lens for some of them. She told me she had always loved me, but I had been taken away from her when I was born and there was no way she could get me back.” Tears started from Cindy’s eyes. “I tried to see her whenever I could, when both of our schedules allowed. Sometimes we met for an early dinner right here, and sat in this very booth. And we occasionally went on shopping sprees in the city. It was like I had two mothers. I even took her one time to meet my adoptive mother. I think they liked each other. Ruby thanked mom for having raised such a great young woman. I was really proud of her. Did you know she was trying to cut down on her drinking?”

  “Cindy, Ruby was an alcoholic. They can’t cut down. They have to stop entirely.”

  “Well, at least she was trying. She wanted to. I know she wanted to. Sheriff, why would somebody kill her?”

  Harve reached across the booth and took her hand. “I don’t know, Cindy. But I’m for sure going to find out. It’s just a very complicated case and I need to have more information. I’ve never had to investigate even one murder before, let alone two at once.”

  “Do you think whoever killed Old Mrs. Lafferty killed Ruby, too?”

  “It seems likely, but I don’t know. Cindy, did Ruby ever tell you about your birth father?”

  “No, but...” She lowered her head. “I did find out.”

  “From Ron Parker.”

  “Yes. At least, sort of. You see, when Ron and I met, we kind of...recognized each other, I guess you could say. I mean, we do look quite a bit alike. But even more than that was, well, we felt this really strong connection. We also noticed that Ron looked very much like Dr. Lafferty. When Ron searched for his birth mother and found it was Ruby, we knew we were twins, and that was really exciting. But we felt we had to keep people from noticing Ron’s resemblance to Dr. Lafferty, which was bound to happen sooner or later. That’s when he decided to grow his beard and moustache.”

  “And did you tell Ruby about Ron?”

  She had, about a year ago. Ruby had not believed it at first when she heard about Ron. She knew she had only had one baby–after all, she had been there, even though, due to some complications, the babies had been delivered C-section and she was under anesthetic. It wasn’t until Cindy brought her Ron’s birth certificate that she accepted the fact. She had cried at first, Cindy told the sheriff, then she had leashed a torrent of vitriolic anger, aimed, it seemed, at Agatha Lafferty.

  “She said Old Mrs. Lafferty had lied to her,” Cindy told the sheriff, “and she was very angry at having missed Ron’s child-hood. Of course, I grew up in Portland, and she was there for quite a while before she moved back to Misty Valley. Ron grew up in Astoria. I don’t think she would have been able to take the time to drive there very often. And once she came back here, it would have been over four hours to Astoria. No way she could have followed both of us around.”

  When Ruby had met Ron, she had hugged him like she would never let him go, and had cried over all the lost years. The twins told her they had figured out who their father was, and she had finally admitted it. She told them the whole story then, and asked them to please never let Brandon Lafferty know who they were. They had given her their word.

  “He knows now,” the sheriff told her, and explained how the doctor had learned about Cindy the morning after Ruby’s death and had learned about Ron through his wife’s online search and through her call to her friend Ali, Ron’s adopted mother. “Brandon and Louise have never had children, and Louise wants you to be a part of their lives.”

  Cindy reached in her pocket for a tissue and wiped her eyes. “I thought she would hate us,” she said.

  “I don’t think Louise is that kind of woman,” the sheriff assured her. “She did invite you to the luncheon today, didn’t she?”

  Cindy nodded. “I didn’t understand why at the time. I wondered if I should go.”

  “Of course you should,” Harve told her. “Agatha was, after all, your grandmother. You can ride with Ryan. I believe he and Wendy were headed to his apartment to wait for you. I appreciate what you’ve shared with me, Cindy. And I’m glad you and Ron were both able to get to know and spend some time with your birth mother.”

  * * *

  Copper and Suds were just coming out of the mortuary when Harve drove up. “Perfect timing,” Copper said as she got into the car. “Everything is now set for Ruby’s funeral on Monday. I think Suds spent a lot more on Ruby than Brandon did on Agatha.” She smiled and shook her head as she thought of the pitiful daisy spray that topped Agatha’s plain coffin. But Louise had warned her and told her why. So Copper had called ahead and arranged for her and Suds to meet with Roger Peace following Agatha’s funeral.

  Roger had proved much easier to deal with and she and Suds were able to get a very nice funeral service arranged for Ruby, with a lovely coffin and an elaborate spray of pink and white roses, with pink gladioli and white snapdragons, accented with pink gerbera daisies, white tulips, and, for good measure, a couple of fragrant white lilies. Copper thought she could almost smell them right from the catalog page.

  Ruby had lots of friends from the Rainy Day who would want to pay their respects, so there would be a viewing an hour before the funeral. Ruby had not attended any church, but Copper had pulled aside Pastor Ashton after Agatha’s funeral and asked if he would be willing to do the prayer at Ruby’s. He agreed. He also said he thought his organist would be willing to provide the music and Copper thanked him for that. Suds said he wasn’t very good at speech-making, but maybe he could say something,

  “You know,” Copper had said, “I attended a very unusual funeral when I was in college. It was totally unstructured. A relative had played a piano solo and friends of the deceased were then invited to come up and say a few words.”

  Suds thought that sounded like a good idea. “Except I don’t know anyone who could play a piano solo. Drew Barnes can play the guitar, though. Maybe he could play one of Ruby’s favorite country tunes. Do you think that would be appropriate?” Copper had assured him it would be fine.

  “I’ve heard Drew play and he plays very well, and has a very nice baritone voice, so it should be all right, don’t you think, Harve?” she commented as she and the sheriff made thei
r way back to Misty Valley.

  “Well,” said the sheriff, “I guess it would depend on what song he played. Some country songs might be appropriate for a funeral, but I wouldn’t want him to sing ‘Your Cheatin’ Heart’ or ‘Ruby, Don’t Take Your Love to Town.’ But I’ve heard Drew play, too and I think he plays real good. Whatever he does will likely be fine. I hope there’s still plenty of food left when we get to the Lafferty’s.”

  “Louise knows we’ll be a little late,” Copper told him, “so I‘m sure we won’t go hungry. Maybe you could put your siren and flashing lights on and go faster?”

  Harve gave her a disappointed look. “On these winding mountain roads when it’s been raining? Nope. Ryan might be able to do that, but not me. Not even if there was an emergency.”

  “I was just thinking of your stomach. Now tell me about your conversation with Cindy.”

  He gave her a brief overview. Copper was surprised to hear that Cindy and Ruby had actually had a relationship and even more surprised to find out that Ruby had learned that Ron was her son. But she was glad.

  “I’m sure Ruby would have kept those children if she could have,” Copper said, “so it’s good that she was able to have a relationship with each of them as adults. It’s just unfortunate that Agatha only told her about Cindy. But that probably wipes out Ron as a suspect, wouldn’t you say?”

  “I guess. But I need to talk to that boy again.”

  “Don’t be too hard on him, Harve. It’s only natural he would want to keep his relationship to Ruby a secret.”

  “Well, it’s not likely to be a secret much longer. If they are, indeed, the reason for our murders, it will all come out at the trial.”

  “But let it remain a secret until then, okay?”

  “Well, it’s up to those two kids—and the Laffertys,” the sheriff said.

  “Are you going to talk to Ron at the luncheon?” Copper asked.

  “I’m thinking about it,” Harve said.

  Snails (or, to be more accurate, escargot) were served at the luncheon, and Sheriff Bodgett ate several of them without even knowing what he was eating. He thought he was eating stuffed mushrooms, which was true. He just didn’t know the mushrooms were stuffed with snails as well as goat cheese, bacon, fennel and an herbed butter.

  He was filling his plate a second time with the tasty but unknown French goodies (in addition to the snail-stuffed mushrooms, Paul Webb had made mini quiches, the savory palmiers Louise and Brandon had tried at Paul’s restaurant and other delectable items) when Ron Parker approached him.

  “Sheriff, I owe you an apology,” he said.

  “Yes, you do, young man.”

  “But I think you owe me one, too.”

  “Me? Why? You were the one who said you didn’t know Ruby very well, only from the couple times you had been to the Rainy Day.”

  “You didn’t tell me Ruby was dead.”

  “Well, I wasn’t exactly making that public knowledge at the time. If I had known she was your mother, I might have told you. And I am sorry for your loss. I understand you and Cindy both were able to have a good relationship with Ruby the last year or so.”

  Ron nodded. “She was a great lady. I think she would have made a wonderful mom if...if things had been different.”

  “At least you have a sister nearby.”

  “Cindy’s a good friend, too, as well as a sister. I was lucky to find her. Sheriff, are you any closer to finding her killer.”

  “Sorry, son. Do you know anything that might shed some light on things?”

  “No, but I’ll get with Cindy this weekend and talk things over. Ruby told us her story. Maybe there’s something there that might give us some clues that we haven’t hit on yet.”

  “Let me know if you come up with anything. In the meantime, I think Louise Lafferty is interested in doing a little mothering.”

  “I know.” Ron smiled. “She’s a nice lady. She and my mom have been BFFs since I don’t know when. And she told me I need to call my mom tonight and tell her everything. Which I will do. So sheriff, do I take it that I’m no longer a suspect.”

  “For the moment, son. For the moment.”

  FIFTEEN

  FOR THE MOMENT, THE SHERIFF ACTUALLY HAD NO suspects at all. And Copper was no help. She was just as baffled.

  “We’ve pretty much eliminated anyone who had any motive, means or opportunity,” she said as she once more fixed dinner for Harve that evening—grilled ham and swiss sandwiches with minestrone soup. “It’s almost as if some stranger crept out of the woodwork and killed them both then disappeared into thin air.”

  “Well, there was a stranger at your bookstore opening,” the sheriff reminded her. “You said Mrs. Webb’s boyfriend, the former prison warden, was here.”

  “Yes, he was, but as you said, we can hardly consider him a suspect. He would have no reason to want to kill Agatha and Ruby.”

  “I don’t consider him a suspect—although he did know both Ruby and Agatha. I was just pointing out that there was a stranger here. Maybe there was another one you didn’t notice.”

  Copper thought for a moment–again. She had been thinking about this over and over again, trying to come up with something she might have missed. Was there another person in her bookstore that day that she didn’t know? This was a small town where everyone knew everyone. But Don Sargent had been a stranger. Were there any other strangers there that day? Could someone have come in, gone down the aisle, killed Agatha, then left again without her noticing? Well, anything was possible. After all, she had not remembered seeing Celine and her friend until they showed up at the funeral this morning. But the stranger idea didn’t hold much water, anyway. Why would a stranger want to kill Agatha and Ruby? The again, maybe there was a stranger with a motive. But what motive?

  “I’ll have to run this by Monica,” she said. “Maybe she noticed something I didn’t. In fact, I’m going to call her now and see if she can come over. Three heads might be better than two at this.”

  She dialed Monica’s cell phone number, as that way she could reach her no matter where she was–at home or with Trevor. As it happened, she was at home and agreed to come right over. While they waited, Copper and the sheriff made a list of everyone they could think of who had been at the opening on Friday morning. They showed Monica the list and asked her if she could add to it.

  Monica looked over the list carefully:

  Conrad Affleck

  Wendy Barnes

  Vivian Belt

  Marcia Cabot

  Marian Fisher

  Eve Gardner

  Dr. Brandon Lafferty

  Louise Lafferty

  Mayor Wendell Metcalf

  Kathy Metcalf

  Lars Olson

  Ron Parker

  Carol Roberts

  Don Sargent

  Lucy Stafford

  Ruby Stone

  Reverend Burt Taylor

  Celine Webb

  “Who’s Don Sargent?” Monica asked.

  “He came in with Celine Webb,” Copper explained.

  “Oh, okay, he was that tall, good-looking man with the white beard?”

  “That’s him,” Copper said. “Is there anyone you can think of that we missed?”

  “Hmmm. Well, Mike Fields from the hardware store came in. He didn’t buy anything, just kind of hung around the cash register eating and flirting with me. He always tries to get me to go out with him. It’s a good thing Trevor wasn’t here then.”

  “I guess I didn’t see him,” Copper said. “Write his name down, Harve.”

  “He came in right after we opened,” Monica said. “He didn’t stay long because he had to open up the hardware store.”

  “Anyone else we missed?” the sheriff asked.

  “Suds Grogan was here,” Monica said.

  “Suds came? I guess I missed him, too.” It surprised Copper that she had missed seeing people who had come to her bookstore’s grand opening. She had wanted to greet each and every person
personally, whether they were buying customers or just people coming in to have a look at the new store in town.

  “I think he came in with Ruby Stone,” Monica said. “He looked around for a bit, ate a few goodies, but didn’t buy anything. Ruby bought a book of poetry. That kind of surprised me. I wouldn’t have thought of Ruby as a poetry person. I would have pegged her as more of a romance novel woman.”

  Copper nodded. “I agree. But she may have purchased the book as a gift. Did Suds leave with Ruby?”

  “I’m not sure, but I think so. I was a little busy right about then. Ron Parker was trying to flirt with me, too.” Monica pursed her lips, frowned and squinted her eyes as she tried to replay the events of that fateful Friday morning. “Yes, I think Suds did leave with Ruby and Ron left right after them.”

  “Did you notice if Ron went down the aisles looking for books?” the sheriff asked.

  “He may have,” Monica said with a shrug, “but the book he bought came from the best sellers display table up front. Oh, and Paul Webb came in, too. He didn’t come in with his mother; he was a little earlier. He was looking for a particular French cookbook. We didn’t have it, but I told him I could order it for him. He said he’d have to think about it, as it was rather expensive. I guess it depends on how his new restaurant turns out. You heard about that, didn’t you?”

  “Yes,” Copper told her, “and I‘ve heard the food is superb. And if what he prepared for Louise’s little luncheon this afternoon is any example, I guess it is. I’ll have to try it one evening. Maybe I could get Eve to go with me.”

  “Oh, and I remember someone else,” Monica said with a giggle. “Trevor’s uncle, Vince Kinney. He asked me if we had any books on do-it-yourself auto repairs. I said I didn’t think so and he said that was good, that we should keep it that way. He would lose business if people thought they could repair their own cars. He didn’t even have any refreshments. Just asked his question and left—at least I think he left right away. I didn’t notice him looking at any books. I thought what he said was so funny. I mean, cookbooks don’t keep people from going to restaurants. Why should an auto repair book keep people from having their cars serviced?”