Prudy's Back!

by Marja McGraw

  “My understanding is that after Matthew was killed the police found money in the house. Is that correct?” I asked.

  “Yes, but it could be something scared Hector away. Or maybe after killing Matthew, he had an attack of the guilts and left. I don’t know. There are just too many possibilities.”

  “Any more pictures?” Pete asked as when set the box aside.

  “Not really. To my way of reckoning, those were the main suspects. But then, you may pick up on something I missed during my investigation. I was too close to the situation, which is always a disadvantage.”

  “I’m curious, Prudy, how did you manage to talk them into letting you take their photos?” I tapped the picture of Hector with my fingernail.

  “That was easy. Everyone knew I liked photography and I said I wanted photos so I could start a neighborhood album. Those hams couldn’t wait to mug for the camera. Well, most of them, anyway.”

  “Which one didn’t want his picture taken?” My mind’s eye told me it was Stretch.

  “Opal,” Trudy replied.

  “Oh.” My mind’s eye blinked once and closed.

  Eight

  “Why didn’t Opal want her picture taken?” Pete asked.

  “It was right after her accusation against Matt,” Prudy replied. “I think she was embarrassed, but I could be wrong. She had trouble looking me in the eye after the doll incident. She got over it though.

  “That poor little girl was probably just looking for attention, although I’ve always thought someone put her up to it. She was too mature for a nine-year-old. Her daddy had made her grow up way too fast. He doted on his little girl, but at the same time he wanted an adult who would take care of him.”

  Pete and I glanced at each other and looked away, waiting for her to continue.

  “Oh,” she said. “I know what you’re thinking. No, Nick didn’t abuse his little girl. I’m positive of that. You two are products of today’s environment, but you have to remember that things were different back then. People knew what shame and guilt were. Yes, abuse happened even then, but most people didn’t act on their ugly thoughts. It simply wasn’t acceptable. It’s not okay now either, but with this Me Generation, well, many people do what they want now and think about the consequences later. After it’s too late.

  “Nick thought his girl was a little Shirley Temple, but he needed a housekeeper. That’s the extent of it. I think he would have protected her with his life if anyone touched her, and he thought Matt had attempted just that, until Brian convinced him he was wrong.

  “Although,” she said thoughtfully, “I’m not sure he ever really believed us.”

  I glanced at the cardboard box. “Anything else in there beside photos that might help us?”

  “Yes, but it can wait. I thought you should probably see and hear about the players in this drama before we go any further.”

  “It isn’t very much to go on,” Pete commented.

  Prudy smiled at him. “Oh, this is just the start. There’s plenty more to come. My son will probably remember things I’ve forgotten, too. Which reminds me, I’ve got to call Junior and let him know I’m coming.”

  “He doesn’t know yet?” Pete asked. “Will there be a problem about you wanting to stay with him?”

  I had a feeling he was still looking for excuses to leave Prudy in Bullhead City.

  “No, he’s been asking me to come visit him and his wife for some time. His wife, Shirley, is just the sweetest thing. She worries about me living here alone. But the desert’s dry heat does wonders for my arthritis, and I couldn’t stand living in that smog anymore. Besides, how do they expect an old lady on social security to live in a place that’s so expensive?”

  I’d never thought about it. California is an expensive place to live, and so many seniors only have their retirement for income. Even at thirty-two I should probably begin to look ahead to my own old age. Nah, I had a long time to think about that.

  “Well, when do we leave?” Prudy interrupted my thoughts with her desire to dive back into an old case.

  “We’ll head out tomorrow after lunch,” Pete replied. “That’ll get us back to L.A. fairly early in the evening. Where does your son live?”

  “Pasadena. You can just drop me off on your way home. And I know he’ll drive me into town to meet with you. In the meantime, we can confer by telephone.”

  I had a feeling Junior might not want to spend his time driving Prudy around town, so things might work out okay.

  We left Prudy to finish packing and returned to Mother and Frank’s house. Frank was about to start the barbeque, so he and Pete headed for the patio.

  “How did it go with Prudy?” my mother asked.

  “Fine. She sort of introduced us to the major suspects in the case.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “She showed us pictures of the kids who might be involved and filled us in on their backgrounds. As soon as I’m home I’ll start trying to run them down and see if they’re still around.”

  “You know,” Mother said thoughtfully, “people didn’t used to move around like they do now. They pretty much stayed in the areas where they grew up. It might not be as difficult as you think.”

  “From your lips to God’s ears,” I said hopefully.

  ~ * ~

  After lunch on Sunday we loaded up the car to head home. Prudy had three large suitcases and I wondered how long she was planning to stay. In addition to the luggage, she had the cardboard box she stored the photos in and another large carton.

  Pete balked at loading so much for the trip, but Prudy insisted it was all “necessary material” related to the investigation.

  After hugs between my mother and me, and Pete and Frank shaking hands and talking about traffic, we were off.

  It only took Prudy about half an hour to fall asleep in the back seat. She snored. Loudly. Pete turned the radio up. I watched the scenery go by.

  About half way home, she woke up. “Did I snore?”

  “No,” I assured her, reaching over to pat Pete’s arm before he could comment. He turned the radio down.

  “So. I managed to do a little research before you two arrived.” Prudy looked pleased with herself.

  “What kind of research?” I asked.

  “I found out that Stretch became a dentist. Of course, he’s retired now.”

  “And how did you find that out?” Pete asked.

  “I called one of my old neighbors and picked her brain. Seems appropriate to me that he’d become involved in a career where he could cause pain legitimately.”

  I laughed out loud.

  Prudy grinned at me. “I also found out that his brother, Slim, lives in the old family house with his wife. He’s an automobile mechanic. He still works. He opened his own shop and works when he feels like it.”

  “Good job,” I said. “Did you find out anything else?”

  “Hector has been in and out of prison for things like burglary. Now, why doesn’t that surprise me? I knew that kid was going to end up in trouble.”

  “Did your neighbor know anything about Nick and Opal?” Pete asked.

  “Only that they still live somewhere in Los Angeles. She heard that Opal married when she was a teenager, probably to get away from her father. The marriage didn’t last long though, and Billie, my friend, said she heard Opal never remarried, but returned home to take care of her father. As far as Billie knows, she’s still living with him.”

  “Did she happen to give you addresses or phone numbers for these people?” Pete asked.

  “Billie said Slim and Stretch are in the phone book, but she didn’t know if Hector was back in the pen or not. She said he pops in and out of jail with regularity. All she knew about Nick and Opal is that they’re still in Los Angeles somewhere.”

  “Well, at least we’ve got something to work with,” I said.

  “Not much,” Pete mumbled.

  “What did you say?” Prudy asked.

  “Nothing.” He kept hi
s eye on the road and didn’t comment further.

  We reached Pasadena and Prudy gave us directions to her son’s house. No one was home.

  “Uh, Prudy? Your son knew you were coming, right?” I asked.

  “Well, I wasn’t able to reach him. But I know he’ll be glad to see me.”

  I noticed a neighbor gardening in her yard and waved to her. “I’ll just go ask if she knows where he is.”

  After speaking to the neighbor, I wasn’t sure what to do. I tried to come up with a plan while I walked to the car. “Your son’s neighbor said he’s on a business trip. She’s been picking up his newspaper and mail for him. She said he’s supposed to be back tomorrow.”

  “Why that little twerp. I wonder why he didn’t tell me he’d be out of town.” Prudy seemed genuinely surprised.

  “Does he always let you know about his trips?” Pete asked.

  “Usually. Of course, if he’d known I was coming for a visit he’d have told me. Shirley must have gone with him.”

  “His neighbor says that Shirley went to visit her parents in Ohio while he’s gone.”

  “Oh. Well, why don’t you just drive me to a motel and I’ll stay there until he comes home?”

  “Now, Prudy, you don’t want to stay in a motel.” What could I do? I did have a guest room she could use.

  “No, no. I’ll be fine. You just drop me off at a motel with a restaurant nearby and I’ll be fine.” She sighed.

  Uh oh. I felt like I was talking with my mother. This would be one of her ploys, a guilt trip. I sighed.

  “You come home with me. I’ll bring you back out to Pasadena after your son comes home.”

  Pete’s head snapped around so fast that he’s lucky he didn’t break anything.

  “Sandi, I thought you and I might – ”

  “Pete, I have to do this. I can’t drop Prudy off at some old motel.” I glanced at him with both pleading and an apology in my eyes.

  His turn to sigh. “I’ll take you girls out to dinner before I drop you off. After that I’ll check in with Stan and see if anything’s going on at the office.”

  “Thanks, Pete.”

  “Yeah, thanks Pete,” Prudy said. “I don’t mean to put you out.”

  I glanced over my shoulder at her and noticed a self-satisfied grin on her face. I knew why my mother liked Prudy so much. They were just alike.

  I had to gather my thoughts, so I began thinking out loud. “Okay. First thing tomorrow morning I’m going to check up on Slim and Stretch. What did you say their real names are, Prudy?”

  “Milton and Walter Framer.”

  “Yeah. I’ll see if I can find them in the phone book. And I’ll schedule appointments to meet with both of them to ask a few questions. And Pete, would you see if you and Stan can turn up anything on Nick and Opal?”

  “Sure. I’ll put Stan on that while I see what I can find on Hector.”

  “My, my. You people are right on top of things,” Prudy said. “I reckon I made a wise choice in hiring you. By the way, we need to discuss your rates. I’m not looking for a free ride, ya know.”

  “We’ll talk about that tomorrow,” I said. “Right now I need to get home to Bubba.”

  “Bubba?” Prudy’s face lit up at the name. “Is that a friend of yours? Sounds like a real bruiser.”

  Nine

  “Bubba is… Well, you’ll see when I bring him home from Dolly’s house.”

  “Dolly? Another friend?” Prudy seemed to be enjoying the idea of meeting new people. She’d perked right up.

  “Dolly is my next door neighbor. I think you two are probably going to have a few things in common. She’s around your age, and she grew up in Southern California, too.”

  “Ah. Is she an old lady or does she still get around?”

  I couldn’t turn around to look at Prudy. I knew I’d start laughing. I took a deep breath before replying. “She gets around at least as well as you do, maybe even better.”

  “Hmph. If she gets around better than me, then she must be younger.”

  Pete rolled his eyes at me. “Let’s go eat dinner. I have things to do after I drop you two off.”

  I could see Prudy was beginning to tire, so after dinner Pete drove straight to my house. I needed to pick up a couple of things at the grocery store, but it could wait until morning.

  I wanted to give him a proper good-bye kiss, but he was in a hurry and Prudy wanted my attention. A quick peck on the lips was all we could manage.

  I showed Prudy to a room on the first floor with a small dresser and a daybed to sleep on. She was perfectly happy with that because the stairs appeared to dampen her spirits. Originally I’d used one of the spare bedrooms upstairs for my office, but it turned out to be too inconvenient so I’d moved the office downstairs and added the sleeping arrangement. There was a computer, desk and filing cabinet on the other side of the room.

  “While you unpack, I’m going to run over and bring Bubba home,” I said. “I won’t be long.”

  “I’d sure like to meet your neighbor,” Prudy said, opening the drawers of the dresser to see if they were empty or not.

  “Why don’t you get some rest tonight, and you can meet Dolly in the morning?”

  She nodded at me absentmindedly, more interested in examining the dresser drawers. I had no idea what the fascination with that piece of furniture could be.

  ~ * ~

  I chatted with my neighbor for a few minutes, telling her I’d bring Prudy over in the morning, and she was delighted. Delighted was her word. Dolly likes making new friends and discussing the Old Days about as much as she likes anything. And she loves a good mystery. Oh Lord, I think I’m in big trouble. Prudy and Dolly, together, was something I hadn’t considered until that moment.

  Bubba was anxious to go home. He kept gently mouthing my hand, trying to pull me away from Dolly.

  “Quit slobbering on me,” I scolded.

  Miss Kitty, Dolly’s cat, was daintily licking her paw, ignoring the dog.

  “He missed you,” Dolly said. “He’d sit out in the yard and stare at the house, almost willing you to come home. And then he’d come sit by me and keep me company. You made a good choice when you decided to keep Bubba. He and Miss Kitty got into a little bit of a competition for my attention though.”

  Bubba had adopted me more than the other way around. His former owners had once lived in my house and he’d found his way back after I moved in. They hadn’t been mean to him, but they hadn’t cared about him either. Bubba and I had bonded almost instantly. They let me keep him. Well, actually they wanted Animal Control to pick him up but I worked things out.

  I said goodnight to Dolly, patted the head of the cat with the silly name, and a dog and his human headed home. I never used a leash unless we were going somewhere. Bubba had a mind of his own, but he usually followed my directions without too much resistance.

  “Okay, pal, we have company and I expect you to be on your best behavior. Understand?”

  His ears perked up when I talked to him and he blinked at me, having no idea what I was saying, but enjoying the one-sided discussion we were having.

  Once in the house, I headed for Prudy’s room. I found her still dressed and sound asleep on the daybed.

  Bubba sniffed her hand. He grinned, apparently liking her scent. Bubba does that. He smiles. Most people think he’s baring his teeth at them, but he’s not.

  I pointed toward the door and Bubba left the room. Pulling a blanket out of the closet, I gently threw it over Prudy and left her to get some rest.

  Turning on the TV in the living room, I found The Maltese Falcon playing on one of the stations. It was a good old mystery and seemed quite appropriate to my mood. I had my own old mystery to solve.

  The next morning I awoke to the sounds of Prudy talking to someone and the smell of bacon. I threw on an old robe and hurried down the stairs.

  She was cooking breakfast and Bubba was watching her adoringly. He ignored me completely when I entered the kitc
hen.

  “I see you have a little breakfast nook,” Prudy said, pointing in that general direction. “I set the table in there instead of the table here by the sink. This is quite a house.”

  “It belonged to my great-great-great-grandmother at one time,” I explained. “My mother and I thought it should be back in the family, so I bought it.”

  Prudy nodded. “Your mother told me a little of the story. That Livvie is really something, Sandi. Your mother and Frank have become good friends, although Livvie worries about me too much. She thinks I’m old.” She chuckled. “Guess I am, but don’t rub it in.”

  “She means well.” I knew my mother cared for Prudy. Maybe the old woman was taking the place of my grandmother in a way. My mother missed Grandma a lot, but I didn’t remember much about her.

  “Age is a state of mind, young lady. I know most of us have aches and pains as we age, but I try to keep my thinking young. It helps me feel young. I absolutely refuse to curl up and die.” Prudy straightened her back resolutely. “I’m still about twenty-five in my head. Well, maybe thirty-five, but no more than that.”

  She finished preparing breakfast while we talked and placed eggs, bacon and toast on our plates. “You can carry these to the table. I would have fixed hash browns, too, but you didn’t have any potatoes.”

  We sat down to eat and after about two bites I realized what an incredibly terrible cook Prudy is. I smiled sweetly and swallowed against my will. The only thing I could tell for sure was that she’d sprinkled about a bottle of garlic, lots of pepper and something I didn’t recognize on the eggs. She left the room to bring back orange juice and I offered Bubba some egg. He sniffed, sneezed and ran out of the room. I’d always thought that dogs would eat anything.

  By the time Prudy returned, I’d stuffed the eggs into a napkin and hidden it on the extra chair. I ate my bacon and toast and called it good.

  “You must have really enjoyed those eggs,” she said. “Want more?”

  “Oh, no! Thank you, but I’m stuffed. Couldn’t eat another bite. Huh uh, I’m full.”

  Bubba sat just outside the tiny room, grinning at me. He walked in and squeezed around my chair, pulling the napkin off the extra seat. Traitor!