Crumbling Up Crooks

by Emmie Lyn

  “Bless your heart, Danielle Rose, nothing will get in the way of your special day.”

  “Really?” Maggie said as she trudged past me. “Did you forget the teeny tiny problem caused by Nick North’s murder, Sue Ellen?” Disdain with a dollop of sarcasm or was it frustration dripped from her words.

  Sue Ellen frowned and looked at Maggie’s retreating back. “Didn’t you two hear the news?”

  Maggie spun around like a toy top then stopped on a dime. “Hear what news, Sue Ellen?”

  I saw Rose shaking her head, but whatever signal she tried to send to Sue Ellen, hopelessly missed its mark.

  “Oh, dear.” Sue Ellen covered her mouth with her hand. “I guess I wasn’t thinking this through clearly.”

  Maggie made it back to Sue Ellen in three long strides, put her hands on her shoulders, and asked in a low voice that held a hint of fury. “What news, Sue Ellen? And don’t try to give me one of your sugar-coated, southern-style, beat-around-the-bush word salads.”

  Rose, always the sensible one in the room, took Maggie by her elbow and walked her to one of the stools at the counter before Sue Ellen had a chance to close her mouth and utter a syllable.

  “Sit,” Rose said in a voice that no one dared argue with. “Detective Winter arrested AJ for the murder of Nick North. I’ve hired a lawyer for him, the best criminal lawyer money can buy, and now we have to work together to figure out what happened in the back room of Creative Designs.”

  Maggie buried her head in her arms. “AJ saw this coming,” she mumbled. “I thought I was prepared.”

  “The anticipation is always so much worse than the reality, Mags.” I hoped my words were some small comfort.

  We all huddled around her as she sniffled and snuffled, offering what comfort we could. In true Maggie Marshall form, after a few minutes of her pity party, she sat up, wiped her runny nose on the sleeve of her jacket, and announced, “Enough of this drama. There’s no time to waste. Dani? Let’s get our heads together and make a plan.”

  Rose winked at me behind Maggie’s back. “That’s our Maggie. Ready for action.” With her arm around Maggie’s shoulders, Rose guided her to one of the booths, chatting as they walked. “I had an interesting conversation with Marion over at the Blue Moon Inn,” Rose said. “Sit down and I’ll tell you all about it.”

  Pip jumped onto Maggie’s lap, letting everyone know that she was as much a part of this group as everyone else. She gave a little bark just to make sure we knew she was with us.

  “Before we get started,” Maggie looked at each of us. “Are we in agreement that AJ is not the killer?”

  “We can work under that premise,” I said, “but, not one of us here can predict where this will end up.” I held my breath hoping this was a good enough answer.

  Maggie clenched her jaw and nodded. “Fair enough. Marion?” she asked getting right to the point.

  “Yes, Marion Glassman. What an interesting conversation we had. I’m not sure I can believe everything she told me, but time will tell on that,” Rose said.

  “Start with the juicy part, Rose.” Sue Ellen, sitting next to Rose couldn’t contain her enthusiasm. I slid in next to Maggie and Lily pulled over a chair from one of the tables at the end of the diner.

  “Marion Glassman, from the best I can tell, was in a no-win situation between two men who didn’t like each other—her father, Harry, and her love interest, Nick North.”

  “Ha. If that’s true,” I said. I remembered Marion’s almost cheerful reaction when she’d first arrived at Creative Designs and heard that Nick was dead. “She had an odd way of showing her love.”

  “Let me finish, Danielle,” Rose continued. “She said she was in love with Nick, but he’d told her he had no interest in being tied down. Now that their business relationship was finalized, their personal fling was over. So, it’s easy to see that Marion had more than a little bit of reason to both dislike him but still have romantic feelings for him. Relationships are always complicated.”

  I glanced at Maggie hoping she was taking this in because her relationship with AJ was so complicated it was off the charts.

  “Huh? What business relationship?” Maggie chose to focus on the important detail for now. “A one-sided association that only worked for Nick, just like how he treated Kelly. What a scumbag.”

  “Exactly,” Rose said. “According to Marion, who only told me this after a lot of hemming and hawing, said that she and Nick teamed up because she needed someone to handle her father’s work. She didn’t have the time or talent to market it herself. Nick, knowing the glassblowing trade and being in the art world, offered his services.”

  “For a fee, I presume,” Maggie said. “From the little bit I’ve heard about Nick North, he sounds like someone who did nothing out of the goodness of his heart.”

  “You’re right, but why should he do it for nothing? Their agreement was all up front and understood between Marion and Nick. I don’t think that was where the problem started.”

  “What about Harry? Was he okay with this arrangement, too?” I asked.

  Rose smiled her now-comes-the-interesting part of the story expression. “Harry, apparently is a perfectionist who thinks his work is so brilliant that it should sell itself.” She looked around the table at all of us. “With no help from anyone.”

  Sue Ellen gasped. “Let those beautiful Christmas trees and reindeer sit in some dusty shop just waiting for a customer to stumble inside? Is the guy out of his mind?”

  “I see where you’re going with this, Rose.” I knew all too well that she was usually one or two steps ahead of everyone else. I slid out of the booth. Pip jumped down and joined me with her back end wiggling with excitement. Did she understand what was going on? It sure seemed that way.

  Maggie looked between Rose and me. “You two can’t do that mind reading stuff you do with each other. It’s not fair.”

  “Who says anything in life is fair?” I asked Maggie, thinking it was high time, at thirty years old, she learned that lesson. “I’m going to work on figuring out how to save AJ.”

  The first order of business for me: more questions for Marion and Harry Glassman.

  If they would talk to me.

  26

  Rose pushed against Sue Ellen to get her moving out of the booth.

  “What did I miss?” Sue Ellen asked as she stood up and smoothed out her colorful apron.

  “You’re staying here to help me with Dani’s wedding preparations,” Lily said, giving me a raised eyebrow to let me know she’d keep Sue Ellen out of my hair for the rest of the day.

  Maggie, still sputtering about what, I wasn’t sure, mumbled something I didn’t catch.

  “So, Danielle, are you off to the Blue Moon Inn?” Rose asked. It was a question that only had one correct answer.

  She continued, “Marion said she and Harry would be there for the rest of the day, if not longer. Her father doesn’t want to leave until the issue surrounding the theft of his reindeer and Christmas trees is cleared up. Now that AJ has been arrested, I think it will be much easier to get her to open up about Nick North.”

  I shrugged into my parka, stuck my hand into my pocket for my keys and pulled out the lost mitten I’d forgotten about. “Do any of you recognize this gorgeous mitten? Pip found it in the snowbank where I parked my car.”

  I got only head shakes. Rose took the mitten, flipped it over, and rubbed it against her cheek. “Nice work. Something to ask Penny. She knows everyone with her connection to the Maine League of Craftsmen.”

  “Good idea.” I stuffed the mitten back in my pocket. “I also want to ask Penny’s neighbor, Sadie, about this mitten. According to Alice, Sadie taught Penny everything she knows about knitting. Isn’t that an interesting tidbit of information?”

  “Another reason for their feud,” Rose said with a shake of her head. “Don’t those two have anything better to do with their lives than argue about whose knitting talent is better and complain about barking dogs?”r />
  I saw a parallel here between Sadie and Penny’s feud and between Harry and Nick’s art competition. Was the teacher in each relationship jealous when the student began to get more recognition for their work? At least Sadie didn’t kill Penny over their feud. The question remained, however, did Harry kill Nick?

  “So, where does that leave me?” Maggie asked. “My car is at Sea Breeze so I guess I’ll come with you, Dani.”

  The last person I needed with me was the girlfriend of the accused while I was trying to keep a low profile and discover what really happened to Nick North. It wasn’t a stretch to imagine Maggie flying off the handle and accusing Harry or Marion or anyone else she saw of some conspiracy theory or something. I didn’t need that ticking time bomb at my side.

  Rose, coming to my rescue, looped her arm through Maggie’s. “I’ll give you a ride to Sea Breeze. I promised Luke I’d be back to give him my final ok’s on my apartment to make sure everything is exactly the way I want it.”

  “But—”

  “And then, Maggie,” Rose didn’t give her any chance to come up with an alternate plan, “you’ll go to the police station and see if Detective Winter will let you talk to AJ. Have you forgotten about him already? Sitting in that jail cell with nothing to do but worry? He needs your beautiful face and calm words now more than ever.”

  Maggie looked at the floor and shuffled her foot around. Of course, she hadn’t forgotten about him, but she’d rather be doing something, anything, instead of going to the police station. But, with our attention back on AJ, she gave a half-hearted, “That’s what I was planning to do.”

  “Good!” Rose said enthusiastically. “Everyone has a mission.”

  Just as I was about to leave, the diner door opened.

  “I can’t believe it,” Kelly said. “AJ got arrested? What are we going to do?”

  “Get him freed, of course,” Maggie said. She put her arm around the other woman’s shoulders like she was a tender older sister. Their love for AJ bonded them in a way our friendships with him weren’t even a close second.

  “Dani’s on her way to the Blue Moon Inn to talk to Marion and Harry Glassman. Maybe you should go with her.” Apparently, Maggie thought I needed someone with me even if we’d sent her in a different direction. “As someone who represents lots of Maine artists in your Creative Designs gallery, you’re the perfect person to listen to all the details of Marion’s deal with Nick firsthand.

  Maggie had a good point I decided. “Do you want to come with me?”

  “I’m not sure I want to, but for AJ’s sake I’ll force myself to sit, smile, and pretend I’m not about to tear one of them limb from limb. Short term revenge won’t get me anywhere.” And to prove her point, she gave us all the biggest, warmest, smile that I’m sure she’d honed over the years while dealing with annoying customers.

  Could I count on her to behave?

  I looked at her clenched jaw, the determined glint in her eyes, and decided that yes, Kelly Crenshaw knew she had more to gain by playing her part than jumping the gun.

  “Perfect. I’ve got some questions for Marion and with what you know, you’ll help keep her answers honest.” I extended my hand toward the door. “Let’s go. Pip’s ready to play her part as the most adorable four-legged visitor who puts people at ease and works as a great distraction.”

  “Only if they like dogs,” Rose said with one eyebrow raised in a subtle warning to me. “Especially someone else’s dog.”

  “Everyone loves Pip.” I didn’t have one shred of pessimism about that. Of course, Pip didn’t love everyone else. Her talent to judge a person’s character was better than mine quite often, and I ignored her warnings at my own peril.

  I led the way to my MG. Before Kelly got too comfortable, I said, “You get to share the passenger seat with Pip.”

  “Perfect,” she said. “Who doesn’t love four little feet dancing on their thighs?” Kelly laughed and I sighed with relief. She’d been on pins and needles all day so maybe this was a break in the clouds.

  “Seriously, Dani, thanks for believing in my thick-headed brother. Sometimes he makes me so made I could throttle him, but you know what? He always protected me even when I didn’t want him to. But with something like this? I have to believe in his innocence because I know in my heart that Adam could never, ever murder anyone.”

  “Adam?” Who the heck was Kelly taking about?

  Kelly stared at me with eyes as wide as a full moon and her face turning red as a Christmas bulb. “I didn’t say that, did I? Oh, no. He’s gonna kill me. You have to promise not to tell anyone, Dani. Especially Maggie. She’s been bugging him forever to find out his real name. He loves teasing her and watching her fume when he won’t tell.”

  “Those two sure have a strange way to show their love for each other.” Somehow it worked for them, so I tried not to judge.

  “He does love her, and when he gets out of jail? I think he’s gonna have a big surprise for her.”

  I hoped the surprise was the one that would make Maggie the happiest woman in Misty Harbor. After me.

  “Ya know, Kelly, I know how much Maggie hates surprises but if my guess is right, this one will be one she’ll love. Plus, that gives me an even greater incentive to get to the bottom of this.”

  I parked in front of the Blue Moon Inn. “So, what’s the J stand for?” I wasn’t sure Kelly would tell me, but I threw it out there just in case.

  “James. Adam James,” Kelly said without a shred of hesitation.

  “To be honest, he just isn’t an Adam James. That sounds too formal for the goofy kid I grew up with. He’ll always be AJ to me.”

  I made a promise right then and there before I got out of my dark green MG to figure out who murdered Nick North. I’d get Adam James, aka, AJ, out of jail if it was the last thing I did. As a single woman, that is.

  I believed Detective Jane Winter followed the clues straight to the wrong conclusion about AJ, and I planned to fix it.

  How?

  I wasn’t sure. But, too bad if Detective Winter wouldn’t like my meddling.

  27

  “You know, Dani,” Kelly said as she looked at my parking job. “We really didn’t have to drive here, did we?” I’d found a spot in front of the Blue Moon Inn, which would have been a short walk from my diner.

  “Yeah, but we did have time for a nice chat in the car.” I felt my lips twitch but managed to keep a full-blown grin in check. I was still chuckling at Kelly’s expression when she’d accidentally revealed AJ’s first name… priceless.

  Kelly held my arm, stopping me on the path to the front door of the inn. “You promised to keep AJ’s name a secret.”

  “Don’t worry.” I zipped my fingers across my lips. “Sealed.”

  The front door opened, and Jane stepped out. “Good morning, ladies,” she said in the most cheerful voice I’d ever heard from her. Of course, she must be feeling quite proud of her arrest. She had to know it didn’t sit well with me and less so with Kelly.

  “Good morning, Detective.” I pulled Kelly forward with me. I hadn’t planned on bumping into the person who’d arrested AJ and hoped this wouldn’t push Kelly over the edge. Her hand clenched my arm like a vice, but I maintained eye contact with Jane and smiled.

  Pip jumped on Jane’s legs and yapped for attention. Her yaps competed with the barking dogs next door—one of Penny’s complaints about her neighbor, Sadie.

  I nodded toward the front door of the Inn and pushed Kelly in that direction while I waited for Pip to finish her sniffing.

  Jane looked down at Pip as she stepped backwards trying to get some distance from the curious terrier. “What’s she doing?”

  I lifted one shoulder nonchalantly. “What dogs do… she’s sniffing your boots. There’s a whole story on there, you know. Maybe you stepped in something especially stinky that caught her attention.”

  Jane looked shocked as she lifted one boot to inspect the bottom. Hadn’t she ever heard of dog poop I wond
ered?

  “Disgusting!” she said almost gagging. “What’s that dark lump stuck in the treads?”

  “I can think of a couple of things but whatever it is, you’d be smart to scrape it off before you get in your car. It might be frozen now but once your car heater gets going…”

  I pinched my nose with my fingers on the slight chance she didn’t get the picture.

  I tried not to laugh.

  Jane jammed her boot into the fresh snow and scuffed it back and forth. A brown streak dirtied the white patch. “Don’t you people pick up after your dogs?”

  “I do, but I can’t vouch for anyone else.” Besides, I smiled at Pip. She always has the decency to find a secluded spot to take care of business.

  “Probably Penny’s neighbor,” Jane muttered as she continued to check the bottom of her boot and then wipe it in the snow again.

  I looked at Sadie’s house. It was plain as day that her back yard was completely fenced in. Her dogs had plenty of room to run and do their doggie stuff, so to speak.

  “Have you been walking in her backyard? Because, her dogs aren’t out roaming the streets of Misty Harbor like some pack of feral canines.”

  Jane put her foot down and stared at me. “Well, I was only saying what Penny complained about when she stepped in something… similar.”

  “Is that how you conduct all your investigations? You listen to what someone else says and take their word for it?” I realized that this wasn’t the same as a murder investigation, but still, my blood was beginning to boil with Detective Winter’s lack of proper investigative techniques. “Is it fair for you to jump to any conclusion without some real evidence, Detective?”

  “Of course, I have evidence. Right here on my boot.” Jane lifted it to show me like I hadn’t been watching her frustrated attempt to clean the bottom.

  “Was this how you conducted the murder investigation, too? You found someone at the scene holding part of the murder weapon and didn’t bother to look at anyone else who might have had a motive to murder Nick North?”