Trick or Treat and Murder

by Kate Bell

  “Do you know what her code would be for voicemail? Maybe she saved some messages,” I said.

  Lucy shook her head. “I hate this. All of this.”

  “I know. I’m sorry,” I said, giving her arm a squeeze. “I’m going to give the phone to Alec, if that’s okay. Maybe he can see something here that we’ve missed.”

  “Okay. He has experience in all of this. I bet he can figure something out. I just want her murderer found. And soon,” she said.

  I looked at her and saw tears forming in her eyes. I put an arm around her shoulders and gave her a squeeze. What a terrible mess this was.

  --15--

  I saw Alec up ahead of me on the running trail and I put it into high gear to catch up with him. His long legs made it hard for me to catch him. I pushed myself harder and my lungs ached. The cold wasn’t helping any.

  As I got closer, Alec looked over his shoulder. I was pretty sure my breathing sounded like an approaching freight train. He slowed down to let me catch up. “Hey,” he said when I got beside him.

  “Hey,” I huffed out. “Hold. On,” I gasped.

  He stopped, and I bent over, hands on my knees and tried to catch my breath.

  “So uh, how’s that marathon training coming?” he asked with a smirk.

  I looked up at him. “Swimmingly,” I answered. The truth was, I had been hitting the pie pretty heavily and the running trail, not nearly enough. I had put on at least five pounds and I was feeling every ounce of it. But the cold had really set in and eating comfort food was high on my list of things to do. Rolling out of bed early was not so high on my list. The only way I was going to run a marathon come spring was if someone else was pulling me along after them.

  “Looks like it,” he said. “Let’s walk so my muscles don’t get cold.” He started off walking down the path, and I straightened up and trotted along beside him. Those long legs were going to be the death of me.

  “Okay, so what have you found out about Diana’s murder?” I asked. We needed to coordinate facts.

  He chuckled. “I hardly see where that concerns you. It’s not like you’re sticking your nose in the investigation, right?”

  “Of course not!” I insisted. “It’s not my fault that information just drops in my lap.”

  A dark cloud drifted overhead and I glanced at it. This close to the coast, storms started up suddenly and it was too cold to get stuck in one right then. I was too tired to get back to my car very quickly, so I hoped it wouldn’t happen.

  “I’m sure you weren’t actually out snooping around, looking for information, right? You aren’t interrogating anyone, right?”

  He was being very pointed in his questioning and I was beginning to resent that. “I swear, I wasn’t interrogating anyone,” I said, raising two fingers in a scout’s salute.

  “All right, against my better judgment, I’ll bite,” he said with a sigh.

  “It seems that our friend Mayor Bob and Diana had once had a much closer relationship than he let on,” I said, feeling smug about what I knew. I was holding on to the phone as my piece de résistance.

  “Oh? And how close would that be?” he said without interest.

  I knew he was trying to play it cool and act like he didn’t care, but I also knew it was all a ruse to make me think he didn’t care. He cared.

  “They once dated,” I said and took a swig from my water bottle. If he could act like he didn’t care, then I could do the same.

  He turned and looked at me as we continued walking. “What do you mean? When? I thought they were both happily married? Or at least Bob was.”

  “It was before they were married,” I said, not looking at him. I could play hard to get with information if I had to.

  “Allie, tell me when they were dating,” he insisted.

  I felt a drop of water hit my nose and I looked skyward. “Well, to be honest, it has been a while. But that’s not the point. The point is that he pretty much lied when he didn’t confess that he had more than a casual acquaintance-like relationship with Diana.”

  “Allie?” he said.

  “What?” I asked, looking at him.

  “When, and how do you know?”

  I smiled at him. Now who was interested? “In the tenth grade they were boyfriend and girlfriend and rumor has it, they were quite the item.” I was embellishing a little, but I felt I was entitled.

  He sighed heavily. “Seriously? In tenth grade? Gee, do you think it was a bitter breakup and finally, after twenty-five years, he got the chance to exact his revenge?”

  “Hey, you don’t need to get snotty about it. It’s not like you found this information out. And besides, he pretty much lied when he said it was just a business acquaintance relationship.”

  “Well, I suppose that’s true, but really. I can’t imagine he was still holding a grudge. Did you happen to find out who broke up with whom?”

  I broke into a slow trot. I didn’t want to waste a workout. “Nope. I did not find that out.”

  He trotted those long legs of his and easily caught up to me. “I seriously don’t think this has any bearing on Diana’s murder. But you’re right, in that he withheld that information. What would it have hurt to have said that he was dating her that many years ago?”

  “Yeah, unless he’s the paranoid type and thought you would just jump to conclusions,” I offered.

  “Or they had rekindled the relationship,” He said.

  “Well, rumor also has it they were spotted recently at Henry’s Home Cooking Restaurant. Together,” I supplied.

  Another drop of water hit my face. The clouds were moving in and it was cold. Not cold enough to turn to snow, but I didn’t relish the thought of having ice cold rain dropped on me. “Maybe we should head back to our cars. I think it’s going to rain.”

  Alec was deep in thought and didn’t answer, but did turn around with me and head back in the direction we had come from.

  “You know what I think?” I asked, interrupting his thoughts. He looked at me out the corner of his eye, but didn’t answer. “I think they were having an affair, and she wanted to end it and he killed her because he didn’t want to stop seeing her.”

  “I think you watch too much television,” he said through deep breaths.

  “No, I think they rekindled their love for each other and things soured,” I said, slowing to a fast walk.

  “That could be, but because her husband wanted a divorce, there was no reason for her to want to break it off with Bob. She was pretty much free to see whom she wanted. And if she was seeing Bob, it would have freed up her husband to swing dance to his heart’s content,” he said, taking another swig of his water.

  I sighed. “Fine. He wanted to end it because he was afraid his wife would find out. He didn’t want to lose her or the kids,” I said. “That does make more sense. Either way, he did it. He’s deceptive and I’ve never liked him.”

  Alec chuckled. “Why don’t you like him?”

  “He has beady eyes. Beady-eyed people are always killers. Plus, one time he stole my parking space at Shaw’s Supermarket.”

  He laughed even harder. “Oh boy. You are something else.”

  I shrugged. “At least I’m coming up with something. What have you come up with?”

  “Allie, would you like to go to dinner with me?”

  I looked at him. He had a very serious look on his face. Was he asking me out on a real date? Like a dress-up date? Complete with wine and a good night kiss? Or was I reading too much into it? Maybe he just wanted to discuss the case.

  “Um,” I said, because I’m that smooth.

  “If you want to,” he said quickly. “I mean, if you don’t have any other plans.”

  “No,” I answered. “I don’t have any other plans. Where do you want to go?”

  “How about Antonio’s over in Portland on Friday?” he asked. He sounded kind of shy when he said it and I wondered if it had been a while since he had asked someone out.

  “I would love
to,” I found myself saying. He did mean it to be a real date. Antonio’s was a nice dress-up place. He wouldn’t take me there if he didn’t think it was a real date. I don’t think.

  “Oh, and one other thing,” I said. “Well, actually, two other things.”

  “What?” he asked, turning toward me.

  I came to a stop and fished into my jacket pocket and pulled Diana’s phone out. “The missing phone.” I handed it to him. He looked at it wide-eyed.

  “Where did you get it?”

  “At Diana’s flower shop. She dropped it into a bin of ribbon,” I said.

  He turned it on and looked at it. “I guess it would be pointless to ask you whether you looked at the texts?”

  “It would be pointless,” I said, nodding.

  He looked at the texts anyway. “Nothing? And what about messages?”

  “None of the texts looked interesting. I don’t have the code to listen to saved voicemails,” I said. “There is a phone number that called her frequently, but she never called it.”

  He flipped through the phone numbers. Then he looked up at me. “You know, this could be considered tampering with evidence. You should have brought me the phone without looking at anything.”

  “What? All I did was look through the texts and phone numbers! I didn’t tamper with anything!” I was really thinking he should be a little more grateful.

  “What’s the second thing you discovered?”

  I put my hands on my hips and stared at him. He really needed to change his attitude.

  “Come on Allie, what’s the other thing you discovered?” he said a little nicer.

  I sighed loudly. Just so he’d know I wasn’t thrilled with his attitude. “It’s a credit card statement. She stayed in Bangor on September 30 and went to a bar and Target. Lucy said she had told her she was going to visit her mother in Ball Harbor, and the statement was hidden beneath a desk drawer organizer.” I pulled the statement out of my pocket and handed it to him.

  He unfolded it and looked it over. “Very nice. I’ll have someone look into this.”

  “Oh finally you’re going to approve of something I do in this investigation?”

  “Look Allie, it’s not that I don’t appreciate it. It’s just that I can’t have you getting involved. I shouldn’t be allowing you to go with me when I question people. I’m letting my personal feelings get involved,” he said.

  I stared at him. He had personal feelings about me. “It’s okay. I’m not talking to anyone about the investigation. I haven’t even told Lucy much of anything. Don’t worry about it.”

  “I am worried about it. I need to be, anyway. Look, I’ll take these down to the station and investigate everything on them. I do appreciate it. But do you think you could stop? I mean, really? Stop it,” he said.

  I nodded. But I wasn’t all that sure that I could stop investigating. But I could try. “So, are we still going out?” I asked.

  He grinned at me. “Of course we are. I can’t wait.”

  “Me either,” I said.

  We finished our run in near silence. Things had suddenly gotten awkward. I didn’t care. We would have plenty to talk about on our date.

  “I’ll see you on Friday,” he said as we parted ways.

  I swallowed hard. I hadn’t been on a date since before I was married. I was going to have to consult with Lucy on this.

  --16--

  “Lucy, I need your help. He wants me to go out on a real date with him!” I whispered into my phone. I glanced around at the other customers in the Cup and Bean coffee shop, but no one seemed particularly interested in me. The line was nearly to the back of the coffee shop, and I was at the end of it.

  “What?” Lucy shrieked into the phone. I glanced around the coffee shop. I was sure everyone could hear her.

  “Ssh,” I whispered.

  “You’re going on a date? With Alec? Oh, you go girl!” she said at a lower decibel level. “Where is he taking you?”

  “Yes, and I need help. I have no idea how to get ready for a date these days,” I said, shuffling forward as the line moved. “He said Antonio’s in Portland.”

  “Allie, you know I would love to help you, but with Diana gone, I’ve been putting in extra hours down here at the flower shop. I don’t know what’s going to happen with it. Her boys are still in school and can’t help out,” she said.

  I sighed. I really needed help with this. “What should I wear?” I asked her. “I mean, what if I’m reading too much into it? What if he just wants company again and not a real date?” I whispered the last part. I didn’t want anyone knowing my business.

  “Allie, no man asks a woman to a restaurant like Antonio’s because they want company. It’s a date. A real, honest to goodness date. Enjoy it!”

  I swallowed. Did I want to go out on a date? I still missed my husband. Would I feel like I was betraying him? What if I cried on the date because I felt badly about betraying Thaddeus? And what about the kids? Jennifer had nearly freaked out when I had dinner with Alec last week. She would freak out for sure when she found out it was a real date. I had so many questions.

  “Allie?” Lucy asked when I hadn’t said anything for a minute or so.

  “Uh, yeah?” I said. I spotted a little girl in a tutu toward the front of the line, spinning around and doing pirouettes. She was adorable and reminded me of Jennifer when she was that age.

  “Are you okay?” Lucy asked.

  “Yes, I’m fine. Lucy, I have to go. I’ll call you later and we can discuss outfits,” I said and hung up.

  I realized that I knew the little girl’s mother. Rebecca Holding, then Rebecca Stuart, had been the older sister of Thad’s first girlfriend. I had babysat for her several times when she was about six. It was a small town.

  The line moved quickly and Rebecca sat at a table with her daughter. I finally got to the front of the line and ordered a vanilla latte and headed toward Rebecca’s table when I got it.

  “Rebecca?” I said, approaching the table.

  She looked up from her phone. “Oh, Allie! It’s been such a long time!” she said, and stood up and gave me a quick hug reserved for people that are more than acquaintances, but not really close.

  “It seems like it’s been forever. Now who is this?” I asked, looking at the little girl.

  “This is Sarah, my daughter,” she said. “Why don’t you have a seat, Allie?”

  I thought she’d never ask. I sat down. “Hi Sarah, I knew your mommy when she was about your age.”

  Sarah had a cup of cocoa in front of her that was largely being ignored while she played with the tiny ballerina she held in her hand. She smiled at me though, and then looked shyly away.

  “Sorry,” Rebecca said. “She’s a shy one.”

  “She’s adorable,” I said. “And from the looks of it, a ballerina.”

  “Oh, she loves her dance class,” Rebecca said. “We just came from there.”

  “That’s wonderful,” I said. “Is it a big class?”

  “There are about twenty girls, I think,” Rebecca said and took a drink of her coffee.

  “Well I bet Sarah is the most talented,” I said. The little girl looked at me shyly, but didn’t say anything. “I bet recitals are fun.”

  “Oh, they are. I love watching her dance,” Rebecca said. Parental pride showed on her face.

  “It’s good to see a parent that enjoys their children’s activities,” I said. “I wish all parents did. I miss my own kids being that little.” Okay, I was leading, hoping for some information.”

  “Oh, tell me about it,” she said, shaking her head. “Some don’t even show up.”

  I clucked my tongue and shook my head.

  She glanced around and then said in a low voice, “Take for instance, our illustrious mayor. He showed up to the last recital with alcohol on his breath!”

  Bingo. “What?” I said, alarmed. “Are you serious?” Everyone in a small town likes to talk, believe me.

  She nodded. “
Showed up the last five minutes of the recital. When I went to speak to him and tell him how well his daughter had performed, I could smell it on his breath. And it was the middle of the day!”

  “Wow,” I said. “That’s terrible!”

  “Uh huh. Unreal. Of course, his daughter had no idea he hadn’t been there for the whole thing because he told her he had been there. But I saw him slip in the back those last five minutes.”

  I sat back and took this in. It was exactly what I wanted to know. Bob Payne would have had enough time to give Diana the poison apple and get back for the last five minutes of the recital. Alec was going to be proud of me when I told him about this.

  ***

  I had worn my black funeral dress with simple black pumps and a simple strand of pearls for our date. I hoped I hadn’t overdone it. I was still uncomfortable with the idea of dating and part of me still thought Alec didn’t want a real date with me. I really needed to go shopping and buy something different. The funeral dress was kind of depressing, what with its history and all.

  I was sitting across from Alec at Antonio’s. He was nervously fidgeting in his chair and it took all the self-control I had not to do the same.

  “You look very nice,” he said, looking up from his menu.

  I gave him a smile. “Thank you,” I said. I had expected him to say it when he picked me up, and when he didn’t, I thought maybe I had overthought the whole thing and this wasn’t a real date. I still wasn’t certain. Or maybe he recognized my funeral dress, and it was confusing to him. I really needed to go shopping.

  “What are you going to have?” he asked me.

  “I’m thinking about the chicken picatta,” I said. Several years ago Antonio’s had been picketed because they served veal picatta and ever since then, the restaurant had substituted chicken. I didn’t care. Chicken was fine by me.