“Really” I grimaced. “How did you intend for it to come across?”
“I just wanted to be honest about what I observed, that’s all. Since it was a murder investigation.”
“It was not a murder investigation, Carla. The girl had fallen over my balcony. There was no proof whatsoever, at that point in time, that she’d been murdered. It did seem, however, that some people were eager to jump on the possibility that it was and had no qualms about filling the cops’ heads with something they had no proof ever even happened. I’m just saying.”
I felt the need to let her know she wasn’t talking to a fool. Carla was a busy-body the whole time I knew her. Loved a good story and gossiped relentlessly.
I heard her sigh. “Anyway, I can’t undo the past,” she said. “But I’m glad David got off the hook for the whole thing.”
“Uh huh.”
“I was wondering if you can let Merlene know how sorry I am. I know you two have been the best of friends like forever and I’m sorry I caused her and her son such pain.”
I thought that was a good attempt at reconciliation. It took her months to do it, but at least she eventually showed up and got it over with. I would’ve turned her on to Merlene since I was nobody’s mouth-piece, but Merlene might not have been as forgiving as I was. She probably still wanted to kick Carla as far as she could roll.
“She’s coming by to pick me up in a little while. I’ll be sure to let her know, Carla,” I said.
It didn’t seem like Carla was quite ready to speak directly with Merlene either as she found an excuse to get the hell out of my house shortly after I told her that. Said she had a few errands to run.
“Well then, it was nice seeing you again. You know what I mean...” I smiled at the door.
“Yes, it was, Lucille. I don’t want us to be strangers. You and I have always had a good relationship. I can’t say the same about our other neighbors,” she whispered with a giggle.
I struggled to keep that smile on my face.
“You can revert to the old route now,” I said as I heard her walking off.
“Pardon me?” she asked.
“You don’t have to go out of your way to duck us anymore. No use taking the longer route on the count of me and Nilla.”
“You’re too much, Lucille!” She had a guilty laugh. “Y’all have a good day, now. Bye, Nilla!”
Nilla barked once in response, then ran off.
6
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Merlene arrived around 11:20 which was fine by me since Carla’s visit had slowed me down from preparing Nilla’s lunch. My four-legged daughter and very best friend in the world wasn’t hungry yet since having breakfast, but I figured she would be within an hour. Anthony tended to give her a bit more than I sometimes thought was necessary. His thing was that she needed to get more “meat on her bones”, but I didn’t argue since he didn’t actually stack the plate or go overboard.
That particular day I felt I was on a mission unlike any I’d had before. The urge to look into Sir Clement’s case to find out what was reported surrounding his death was weighing on me even more heavily now, probably since I figured the dead guy was mercilessly dangling my vision in front of me; pulling it back whenever he darn well pleased. I could be wrong though, even though I strongly suspected my inner sight and his presence were indeed connected. I always knew his death; excuse me — his murder was a hard pill for his loved ones to swallow. It was something his family never got over, including grand-nephew Luke Tucker that has a house just down the street from me.
I hoped my trip to the Archives would not be in vain and wondered what I could possibly come across that the police hadn’t already delved into. There was a lot on the line as far as I could fathom; that poor ice cold Sir Clement had really put me ‘between a rock and a hard place.’ He had everything to gain, and I had everything to lose.
I left Nilla’s water near the foot of the staircase and a helping of her favorite chicken dish for whenever she got hungry. I wasn’t sure how long it would take Merlene and me to get through the relevant details on the microfilm, so I wasn’t about to take any chances with my snookums getting into starvation mode.
“So you decided to wear the nice purple outfit David gave you, huh?” I asked Merlene as we drove off.
“Yeah. I said I might as well wear it today since the material’s so nice and cool. Wait a second! How do you know that?” She gave me a suspicious glance. “It came back, didn’t it?”
I smiled. “Did you think it was gone forever? Came back about an hour ago.”
“Don’t be smug about it!” she said. “This morning you were terrified! I heard it in your voice.”
“I certainly was not,” I replied. “I was just concerned.”
“Sure, you were.”
Merlene sometimes weakened me— literally! “Anyway, it’s back and of course, I don’t know for how long, so let’s get down to business. When we get in front of the microfilm, click through the pages. I’ll see what I need, once that part of this inner sight still works, and will make notes in this legal pad I brought with me.”
“Sounds good.”
“You brought your glasses?” I asked.
“Sure.”
“Good. We need to both pull our weight when we get there for Sir Clement’s sake.”
“No way! I don’t mind helping you, Lucille, but don’t make it seem as if Sir Clement is in any way my responsibility. Next thing I’ll know, he’s showing up in my bedroom! Not a day like it! He’s your responsibility; I’m just helping out. I hope he’s listening right now so he won’t get any ideas, as far as I’m concerned.”
“You’re a piece of work,” I said. “Just drive. We don’t have all day. At least, I don’t.”
It was right after Carla had left my house and was walking toward her car that I was able to see again. I wanted to scream with delight, but I had a reputation to uphold and of course, a secret to keep. Letting loose in front of the gossip queen of Harriet’s Cove would’ve been a crucial mistake. Maybe Sir Clement wasn’t so merciless after all.
I decided not to breathe a word to Merlene about Carla’s visit until after we’d left the Archives. I needed Merlene’s full concentration when operating that microfilm. Having her skipping any pages could be detrimental to our entire research.
We pulled up in front of the local Archives building at 11:48 a.m. I was glad to finally be there and more than eager to get started. In the reception area, a middle-aged lady sat behind a semi-circular desk.
“How may I help you?” She asked Merlene, as if I wasn’t there. Maybe it was the dark sunglasses I wore and the fact that my white cane spelt blind. Did she think I was dumb too?
“Yes, you may,” Merlene replied. “We’re here to conduct some research and we’ll need to use the microfilm for a couple of hours.”
“We?” The woman asked with a hint of disdain. She had me wondering for a moment if having a disability meant you weren’t worthy of the same respect everyone else got. Was I the bearer of some contagious disease?
I thought it was time for me to address her. “Dear, you might want to discard the remnants of that pie you’ve kept in your top desk drawer for the past week before the maggots get it.”
You should’ve seen the look she gave me and the one of utter horror that swept across Merlene’s face. I was prepared for Merlene’s scolding, but had to let this woman know she wasn’t about to disrespect me to my face.
“I beg your pardon?” She tilted her eyeglasses, pretending like she had no clue what I was talking about.
“You know exactly what I mean,” I said. “You look at it every time you pull open that drawer, which is every day. Goodness knows what prevents you from just picking it up and tossing it into the trash bin.”
I could see the embarrassment and bewilderment on her face. She turned to Merlene. “Isn’t she blind?”
“Yes!” Merlene quickly responded. She looked as though she wished the earth would
open up and swallow her. If it happened, she was going alone.
“Please excuse my friend.” She tried to laugh it off. “She’s just a bit colorful, as you can see.”
I was really getting annoyed now. “So you’re doing it too, Merlene?”
“Doing what?” She asked.
“Speaking about me as if I’m not here. I may be blind, but I’m not stupid!”
“Of course not,” she replied. “I just…”
“You just nothing!” I turned to the receptionist again. “Look, Miss. Show us to the microfilm. I don’t have all day here.”
She glanced at Merlene and got up from the desk.
“Please follow me, ladies.”
“That’s more like it,” I said.
She led us through the main area where more than a dozen machines of varying sizes were. We then entered an unoccupied room on the left side of the hallway. On top of a long, narrow table were four separate microfilm machines. Merlene and I sat at the two in the middle.
Merlene asked the receptionist to show her how to locate records from a certain time-frame.
“If there’s anything more I can do for you ladies, please let me know,” she said after assisting Merlene.
Finally, I was getting some respect here. I did notice that look she gave me while my back was turned, but I didn’t care. She got what she deserved.
With the door eased shut behind us, Merlene and I had the room for ourselves.
“Lucille, why the hell did you do that?” Merlene exclaimed in a loud whisper.
I knew she couldn’t wait to get that out.
“Serves her right!” I said. “How dare she disrespect me like that?”
“I’m sure that wasn’t her intention. If you keep going off like that everytime someone makes you mad, the government will snatch those disability checks from you for good before you even know what hit you!”
“Save it, Merlene. I already told you that’ll happen over my dead body — literally!”
“Okay, keep pushing your limits. All you’re gonna do is make it hard on yourself.”
“How naïve could you be?” I replied. “They could never prove that I can see a thing through these eyes of mine, so they can’t stop my checks. All they can do is accuse me of being a psychic or witch or something. I’ve been giving this good thought.”
“Okay, so if you have, why don’t you put down that cane, take off those sunglasses and stop pretending?” she asked.
“I’m just not ready yet.”
“You’re scared to take the chance, that’s why!” she rebutted. “I know you, Lucille. You push the limits sometimes, but you don’t wanna risk losing that extra income. So, my advice again is, don’t be stupid!”
I really had enough of Merlene’s talk. It was old and I was old. I didn’t need it causing me to age any faster, so maybe I’ll try and restrain myself next time I’m tempted to get even.
As Merlene clicked through the pages of the microfilm, I was able to see every single detail in my mind’s eye and used the yellow legal pad I’d brought along to jot down relevant notes. Just as I’ve heard, Sir Clement’s killer was presumed to be his former business partner, Logan Humes. They were not partners in real estate holdings, but in some other business ventures. The police had taken Logan in for questioning shortly after Sir Clement’s death, but the guy had a rock-solid alibi. They, then moved on to John Plymouth. He’d apparently had a falling out with Sir Clement concerning a property he’d purchased through Sir Clement’s company. He claimed he’d been duped out of fourteen feet on the boundary line and Sir Clement rejected that claim stating his own appraiser had given John incorrect measurements. Most people back then knew John wasn’t a man to go to court since he was a convicted felon. He’d been charged with committing a white collar crime when he’d defrauded a wealthy couple out of a few hundred thousand in a Ponzi scheme and he’d spent some time in jail for it. The police speculated in light of that, he might’ve taken matters against Sir Clement into his own hands. However, John eventually slid off the suspect list as he’d been in hospital recovering from pneumonia when Sir Clement was shot. After good, old John, there seemed to be more speculation here and there, and from what I was reading and also what I remembered, the investigation into Sir Clement’s death just fell by the wayside.
“This researching is really tedious!” Merlene said. “Good thing I had my coffee this morning.”
“What time is it?” I asked.
She checked her watch. “One forty-five.”
I just had to know this: “So, what’ve you been doing?”
She gazed at me. “What do you mean what have I been doing? You said to flip the pages and you’d get the info. I’ve been flipping countless pages and going back and forth on the screen as you told me to. I was reading as well!”
The most Merlene had done was exercised her finger on the machine by turning pages. My gut told me she wasn’t reading — just leaving everything to me. So typical of her. It’s like she wore those glasses in vain.
I packed up my pad and pen and slipped them into the manila envelope.
“So did you find anything interesting?” she asked.
“Interesting…yeah. Not sure if anything I came across will help to answer the million-dollar question though. I’d have to review my notes later on with a clear mind and see if anything significant pops out.”
“We can brainstorm together this afternoon,” she suggested.
“Sounds good.”
Merlene took me to the dry cleaners, then we grabbed some groceries from the supermarket before heading home.
7
_________________
I knew her suggestion that we brainstormed together was a load of crap. After Merlene pulled up to my house, she suddenly remembered she had to do laundry. But I didn’t mind. I felt I’d had a full day anyway and Nilla and I didn’t get to spend much time together.
The weather had cleared up nicely and the sun was out. So, Nilla and I ventured outdoors. We walked our usual route toward the cul-de-sac and she almost got into a fight with Lorna Washington’s poodle. Sure, the poodle was on what Nilla perceived to be her side of the pavement, but I always had to remind her that she was nowhere around when that sidewalk was constructed, thus she couldn’t lay claim to any side of it. Couldn’t seem to get through to her though. She was so small, but could be rather biggity or I should say, territorial at times.
“I’m sorry, Lorna. Please excuse Nilla,” I said. “She can get a bit aggressive at times.”
Lorna smiled, holding her poodle closely. She’d picked him up to avoid any further confrontation between the dogs. “No need to apologize, Lucille. Dogs will be dogs,” she said.
She had the brightest smile and the most perfect rows of teeth. I heard from Carla, of course, she’d been a model in Europe when she was in her twenties. She was now obviously somewhere in her early forties and still keeping herself well.
“How’s that handsome partner of yours?” I asked. I used the word “partner” since that’s how she referred to him. They might’ve been married for a good decade or so, by now.
“Frank’s doing fine. He’s away on business this week.”
“Do give him my regards,” I told her.
Nilla started to get a bit impatient on her leash. Guess she was trying to tell me I’d yapped enough already.
“I certainly will,” Lorna said. “Good seeing you, Lucille. You too, Nilla.”
We continued our stroll.
At home, I picked up the manila folder containing the legal pad I’d taken to the Archives and headed for the staircase. I was intent on perusing the information I’d taken down and hoped something would stand out regarding Sir Clement’s puzzling case. Nilla had run off toward the sliding door which leads into the back yard. I then heard what sounded like a twisting of the front door handle.
Curiously, I turned around and that’s when the door flew open, slamming the wall behind it, and two men rushed into the house br
andishing handguns. It felt like my heart was about to explode; I couldn’t believe what was unfolding before me.
As the reality of the matter quickly set in, I started to run, but one of the men yanked me by the arm and quietly and calmly said: “Don’t move a muscle or you’re dead.”
He didn’t have to repeat himself. The entire time my mind was on Nilla, hoping she’d stay outside and these guys will disappear as quickly as they came without her knowing.
The other guy approached me with his gun pointed toward the floor. “What’s a blind, old lady doing home all alone, huh?”
He had a menacing smirk on his face and that face was one I’d never forget. How could a guy who'd helped save someone just as easily threaten to take the life of another? He didn’t have to say it; the fact that he’d barged into my home brandishing a weapon spoke volumes. It was Jake – the burly guy from the excursion. He’d pulled Merlene up into the boat after Theodore rescued her. I could see he was in charge of this criminal operation and the other guy who warned me not to move a muscle was his sidekick. The same guy who was extremely quiet during the entire excursion and appeared to have boarded alone. I never saw the two of them speak to each other during the trip. If they knew one another all along, these guys were good actors. They seemed to have absolutely nothing in common.
“What do you want?” I asked with a mixture of trepidation and annoyance that they’d chosen to upset my day by invading my personal space. “My son is a police officer, so I suggest you get the hell out of here!”
I couldn’t help being mouthy, even while afraid. It’s just who I am.
“You mean that guy you were with yesterday?” Jake asked. “He didn’t look like a cop to me. But then again, how does a cop look?” He arched a brow at the other guy who returned a wicked grin.
“Well, he is! And he’s going to be back here at any minute. I suggest you clear out now.”
Lucille Pfiffer Mystery Series Box Set Page 14
