by Sonia Parin
Chapter 16
Abby walked into the newspaper office and shut the door firmly behind her. “I can’t hear myself think. When are they going to stop?”
Joyce laughed. “The cicadas are here to stay. Let them have their fun while they can. It’ll be years before we hear them again.”
Abby set an iced-coffee down in front of Faith and went through the mail. “You’re right. I’m actually starting to enjoy their ear-splitting, high-pitched intrusive singing.”
“It is quite deafening. In fact, you can go deaf from overexposure. Maybe that’s just an urban myth.”
“Now you tell me?”
“What are you going to do, start wearing earplugs?”
Abby walked to the window and leaned her head against it. “I should be working on the Christmas issue. Instead, I’m pursuing one dead-end after another.”
Joyce walked around her desk and went to join her by the window. “I’ve never seen you like this. You’re in a bad state.”
“You obviously haven’t seen Joshua. Whatever I’ve come down with, he has it too.”
“That’s interesting.”
Abby held up a warning finger. “Do not, I repeat, do not read too much into it.” Several months back, she had walked away from a toxic relationship. Her new life in the small town of Eden did not include jumping straight from the fire into the frying pan. Even if the man in question happened to be… Nice.
She took her phone out and scrolled through the photos. Distracted by her thoughts, she looked at them but she barely saw anything. Then, in a split second, she saw something with a clarity that had been missing before. “Hey!”
“Did you find something?”
“I think so… Look at this photo. What do you see?”
“The main street,” Faith said. “Oh, is that Joshua?”
“That’s what I thought the first time I saw it. In fact, I pointed it out to him but it took some convincing to get him to believe it couldn’t be anyone but him.” Abby tapped the phone. “Why would Harold put the little police car on the main street? Had he expected trouble? Had he received some sort of tip-off?”
“Joshua only ever makes an appearance when there’s a serious crime,” Faith mused.
“That’s right.”
“Maybe Harold was only making a statement. You must admit, there have been quite a few incidents since your arrival.”
“Are you pinning them on me?”
“No, that would be silly. Unless… Maybe someone could provide empirical evidence of your influence on the number of murder cases since your arrival. Then, I’ll most certainly hold you at least partially if not wholly responsible.” Hiding her smile, Faith studied the image. “Do you think someone threatened to kill him?”
“Either that or there is no rhyme or reason to the little figures. It’s possible I could be reading too much into it.”
Faith gave a slow shake of her head. “I don’t think so. Look, there’s a little poster announcing the Carols by Candlelight. Harold stuck to facts.”
Abby dialed Joshua’s number. “Did you get those phone records? You need to find out if Harold spoke with someone else before going into town.” She disconnected the call and sighed.
“What did he say?” Faith asked.
“He didn’t pick up so I left a message. Honestly, what if this had been an emergency?” Swinging around, she headed to the back of the office. Moments later, she reappeared wheeling the whiteboard out. “I think it’s time to get serious.”
“Here’s a thought,” Faith tapped the image of a pram she had stuck on the whiteboard. “What if the pram is symbolic?”
“What do you mean?” Abby asked.
“It’s been placed outside the craft store, which belongs to Genie Larson.” Faith tapped the side of her head. “I need to start calling her Genie Garth. Although, I’m willing to bet anything Joyce will soon shorten it to GiGi.”
“Are you getting to the point?”
“Oh, sorry. I got sidetracked. I know Genie is on her honeymoon, but what if she’s already pregnant and Harold found out about it? After all, Stevie Garth worked for him. He might have shared the news before leaving. It seems to me that if we can prove it, then we’ll have to take the presence of a police car seriously.”
“Yes! Yes, I like it. When are they returning?”
“Any day now. I know Genie didn’t want to leave the store for too long.” Faith stepped back from the whiteboard and huffed out a breath as she sat down.
They both fell silent until the sound of Abby’s phone ringing snapped them out of their reverie.
“It’s Joyce. I’ll put her on speaker. Hello, Joyce.”
“Oh, do I have an audience?”
“You sure do. Go ahead.”
“I just spoke with the ex-wives. They came in with the caroling group for a meeting. Anyhow, you were right about them telling Harold about everything happening in town. It took some doing getting the information out of them but, in the end, I managed it with a little threat, something I picked up from Faith. Truth be known, I had no idea so many people relied on my coffee.”
“Are they still there?” Abby asked.
“Yes.”
“Great. Can you ask them about the pram? Faith thinks Genie Garth might be pregnant.”
“I didn’t know she’d ditched her maiden name,” Joyce said. “Genie Garth has a nice ring to it.”
Faith held a finger up and mouthed, “Wait for it.”
“Gigi. I think she’ll like that.”
Faith pumped her fist in the air.
“What’s going?” Joyce asked.
“Oh, nothing much. We just love you the way you are.”
“What’s brought this on, Abby? Are you homesick? Yes, of course, you’re homesick. I should have thought of it before. You know we’re all going to the pub for Christmas Eve dinner and I’m doing Christmas lunch at the café. But before that, there’s our Carols by Candlelight night and that reminds me, you have to help with the decorations. You see? You won’t have time to be homesick.”
“Thank you, from the bottom of my heart.” Even though she hadn’t mentioned being homesick. She pressed her hands to her eyes and tried to remember what she’d asked Joyce…
“I think you made Abby dizzy with all your plans. Can you go ask the ex-wives”
“Oh, yes. Honestly, I don’t know why you let me prattle on. Hang on a sec.”
“She can be exhausting,” Faith whispered. “But at least she’s back to her old self again.”
“Yes, I’m only afraid what will happen if Joshua doesn’t find the killer. I can picture Joyce calling in an exorcist to get rid of Harold’s ghost.”
Abby stared at the almost blank whiteboard. They’d been at it for over an hour. The office felt cool enough, but in her mind, she could still feel the heat. Maybe her brain had been partially baked.
“While we wait… Here’s a stray thought. We have a constant body temperature of 98.6F… Let me think, that’s 37C. Anyhow, are we being slowly cooked? If I put a roast in the oven and let it cook at that temperature, it will eventually cook.”
“We must be insulated from the inside,” Faith suggested.
Finally, Joyce returned with the news. “No. They didn’t tell Harold Gigi was pregnant. As far as they know, she isn’t.”
Back to square one, Abby thought.
Jumping to her feet, Abby walked to the whiteboard and wrote down Harold and Gloria’s name. “We need to confirm their affair. It might be a wild assumption but I can’t think of any other reason why Gloria would try to buy me off. Do you have any idea where she might stay when she goes to Melbourne?”
“Australia’s grandest hotel. The Windsor.” Faith went on-line and searched for the phone number.
“You’re going to call them?” Surely, they won’t give out information about people staying there.
“I have a friend who works at a hotel. She might know someone who knows someone. It’s worth a try.”
“Is there anything else you want me to ask the ex-wives?” Joyce asked. “I think they’re about to leave.”
Abby tried to think of something but came up empty. Leaning over the phone, she wondered if the ex-wives had been aware of Harold’s affair. He had been carrying on behind their backs for a long time. But, instead of pursuing it, she decided to let it go. She didn’t see the point and she didn’t want to be responsible for letting them know they had been cheated on.
“No, that’s fine. Thanks, Joyce. See you later.”
If Faith didn’t have any luck finding out where Gloria had stayed during her trips to Melbourne, Abby thought Joshua might be able to find something in the phone records. With any luck, Harold had made the bookings.
Abby paced around the office.
Faith looked up but didn’t say anything because she was on the phone to her friend.
Grabbing her phone, Abby continued pacing around the office. She needed to ask Joshua a question but didn’t want to interrupt him. In truth, she didn’t want to be responsible for giving him another dead-end to pursue. Abby tapped the phone against her hand. Harold must have had a cell phone on him. Joshua hadn’t mentioned it but maybe he hadn’t seen the need…
Giving a firm nod, she dialed his number. This time, he picked up. “Harold’s cell phone,” Abby said.
“What about it?” he asked.
“I assume he had one on him.”
Joshua didn’t answer but Abby heard him push out a hard breath.
“Sorry. I seem to have called at a bad time.”
“No, it’s not that. I’m just kicking myself. Harold didn’t have a phone on him. Why didn’t I notice?”
“Um… Maybe he didn’t have a cell phone. You know, not everyone has one. He might have stopped using one when he retired.” She heard the familiar office chatter in the background suggesting he had returned to the police station.
“I’m just getting someone to check up on it. Since the break-in, I’ve had an officer hovering nearby. There must be a bill somewhere in his house or on his computer.”
“So, you think he maybe did have a phone?” Abby asked.
“Yes, and the killer took it.”
That would mean the killer had been in contact with Harold and had wanted to get rid of the evidence.
“Send me a text when you find out.”
“Hang on,” he said. “Have you come up with anything else?”
“Yes, Faith thinks the pram might have been symbolic. It’s sitting in front of the craft store, so perhaps we shouldn’t expect it to mean more than the obvious. Stevie Garth married so Harold expected him to become a dad soon.”
“I’m beginning to think Harold was a complex man. What else do you have?”
“We now know the ex-wives fed him information about the town and they swear they didn’t tell him about anyone being pregnant. But I think you already knew that. Honestly, my mind is a mess.” Turning, she saw Faith putting the phone down and swiveling on her chair. She didn’t look happy. Welcome to the dead-end club, Abby thought.
“Abby, are you there?” Joshua asked.
“Yep.”
“I’ve just heard back from one of my officers. Harold had a desk in his bedroom. Drumroll. He found Harold’s phone bills. You know what that means.”
“The killer took the phone.” Abby jumped up and down. “The killer took the phone.”
“Yes. We’re trying to track it as we speak.”
“Are we assuming the killer is stupid and left the phone on?”
“We can only hope. I’ll get back to you.”
At the end of the day, they could only say they’d tried and did so under extreme conditions.
“Let’s call it a day,” Abby suggested. “I can’t even remember if I had lunch. I should eat something before I hit the bottle.”
“Hit the bottle? You’re in the middle of an investigation.”
Abby walked toward the front door. “Yes, and it’s driven me to drink. I’m beginning to understand Joshua’s frustration. No weapon. Few suspects. Only one clear motive, yet George Mercer is still walking free so Joshua clearly didn’t find anything to pin on him…” Abby stopped dead in her tracks. “He didn’t find a weapon because the killer took it with him. But… Did the killer bring the weapon with him or did he use something handy? Harold’s truck was full of tools.”
Faith waved her hand in front of Abby’s eyes. “Are you in a trance?”
Abby blinked. “There must be a tool missing from Harold’s truck.” Her fingers tightened around the doorknob.
“Abby?” Faith clicked her fingers. “Snap out of it.”
She looked for her phone only to realize she held it in her hand. “Joshua is getting another call from me whether he likes it or not.” When Joshua picked up, Abby’s words tripped out of her mouth.
It took him a moment to unscramble what she said. “Unless he had an itemized list of all his tools, we can only guess…”
“Stevie Garth would know.” Abby gave a firm nod. “I think he’s going to have to cut his honeymoon short.”
Chapter 17
“You look cheerful,” Mitch remarked.
Abby and Faith settled into a table by the window and both smiled up at him. “It’s all pretense. We’re covering up our evil deed. Poor Stevie Garth is coming home early. If either of us turn up dead, Joshua should question Genie Garth first. We’ve cut short her honeymoon.”
“It’s all for the greater good,” Faith reasoned. “Surely, she won’t hold it against us.”
Looking confused, Mitch asked, “What are you two talking about?”
“Abby came up with another theory which will hopefully lead Joshua to the murder weapon.”
“How exactly did you do that? Walk me through it.”
“Harold’s truck was full of tools. The killer must have grabbed something from the toolbox. We only need to find out if there’s anything missing from the truck.”
“Have any of you heard of technology?”
“Oh. Oh!” Abby smacked the side of her head.
Mitch walked off whistling a tune under his breath.
Abby pressed the phone to her ear. “I wouldn’t be surprised if Joshua doesn’t take the call.”
“Nonsense. You’ve definitely earned points with him. He should make you an honorary detective.” Faith grinned. “Or maybe a mascot. I think I’ve suggested that before...”
“The phone must have been switched off,” Joshua said by way of greeting. “We’ve tried all the apps available to locate it and we’re not getting a signal.”
Abby groaned. The phone could have led them straight to the killer. “I guess we didn’t give the killer enough credit, but this might cheer you up.” She told him about doing a video link. “That way, Stevie Garth doesn’t need to cut his honeymoon short. He must know what tools Harold kept in his truck.”
“He sure does since it was actually his truck,” Joshua explained. “Harold gave it to him when he retired.”
So, Harold must have driven to Stevie’s house to pick it up. “Hey, that means Harold’s car is at Stevie’s house.”
“Yes, we’re on our way over there now. Talk to you later.”
Abby sat back and gave her eyes a rest from the bleary light of day. Hearing a soft Christmas tune wafting over from the dining room, she hummed under her breath. “I think I’m finally getting into the spirit of Christmas.” She hadn’t given much thought to how she would spend Christmas, but as Joyce had pointed out, she wouldn’t be alone. “What are you doing for Christmas?”
“Same as you. Christmas Eve here at the pub. Lunch at Joyce’s. Oh, that reminds me, you’re having Christmas lunch with us.”
Abby peeled an eye open. “Us?”
“My family.”
“I thought we were doing lunch at Joyce’s.”
“We are. But we’re also doing lunch at my parents’ house.”
“Two lunches?”
“You can’t say no. You’re t
he guest of honor with a Christmas Plum Pudding all of your own. I hope you like brandy in your fruit cake. The dried fruit is soaked in it for a couple of weeks and we have a tradition in our family. Everyone sneaks into the kitchen and adds an extra splash of brandy. Of course, no one will admit to it…”
Mitch approached the table and set a couple of glasses of beer down. “Here you go. Sounds like you earned it today.” Looking at Abby, he said, “You’re not blinking. Why aren’t you blinking?”
“I think Abby is overwhelmed. She’s going to have to manage two Christmas lunches.”
Abby wrapped her hands around the cold glass. Had she come across as needy? Right that moment, she felt so far away from home, she wanted to talk with her mom but she couldn’t do that because her mom would insist on doing FaceTime and she would take one look at her and know something had happened.
Taking a sip of beer, she tried to ignore all the unanswered questions swamping her, but one persisted.
Why had Harold put Joshua’s car in the main street?
Had he been threatened by someone?
Then, there was the matter of the missing phone. If the police could find it, they would be able to track down the phone calls and connect Harold to the killer or, at least, another suspect. Belatedly, Abby realized the police also had the records for the missing phone. That would show the people he’d been in contact with.
Abby finished her drink. “I need to cool down properly so I’m going to leave you for a bit.”
“And I need to get home. A shower would be good but I’ll come back here for dinner.”
Abby nodded. “Meet you in an hour.” She searched for Doyle and found him slumped by the fireplace sleeping so she decided to leave him there.
On the way to the stairs leading to her apartment, she glanced around the pub. All the regulars where at the bar. As she turned, she caught sight of Jon Reeds. In that same moment, he looked up and saw Abby.
She held his gaze for a moment and she could have sworn his cheeks colored. When he looked away, a feeling of apprehension crawled along her spine.
Abby hurried up the stairs. Reaching her apartment, she rushed inside and locked the door behind her.
