Lilliput Bar Mystery

by Curry, Edna

  “So Frank is getting out on bail?” I asked.

  She roused herself and rubbed her arms as though they were cold, even though the house was warm. “Yeah. Deputy Tom told me he thought he‘d be out tomorrow.”

  My heart throbbed painfully in sympathy with her and her little girl. Whatever was that judge thinking of, to grant bail to a man like him? Didn’t he realize Frank would seek vengeance on Martha?

  Martha stared out of her kitchen window. “They’ve warned Frank that if anything happens to me again, or to any of my family, he’ll be back in jail for a long time without bail.”

  “I sure hope so. Please be careful. Call the police if you even see him around you or your family.”

  “I will. I got a new cell phone to carry with me all the time.”

  “Good. No charge on the rekeying this time.” I handed her a key.

  “Thanks so much. I appreciate your help,” she said.

  I nodded and left.

  On the way back to Canton, I asked God to look out for her and all other women like her.

  ***

  Chance sent the gun to the Cities for ballistics comparison. They didn’t have the facilities in their county to do that. Luckily, they’d gotten a bullet from Mildred’s body in good enough shape to use for comparison.

  When Chance went to Ben’s office to compare notes, for once, Ben seemed pleased with the progress in this case. Chance helped himself to stale coffee and fresh glazed donuts and took the wooden chair in front of Ben’s desk.

  “The judge granted bail for Frank, so he’s out again,” Ben said, putting his long legs up on his desk and sipping his coffee. “But Martha has a restraining order against him, now, so if she says he’s at her house, we can pick him back up. That would make my day.”

  “Mine, too. I’d really like to have that excuse to stick him back behind bars,” Chance said. “Seeing Martha all beat up made me sick to my stomach. What else is new?”

  “The DNA tests on Cal came back and they match the DNA of the skin under Mildred’s fingernails,” Ben said.

  At this news, relief sent happy ripples running along Chance’s veins. His instincts were correct. Cassie hadn’t shot Mildred. He smiled. “Good. That cinches it for me. Now, I’m sure Cal was the one who killed Mildred. The coroner’s report showed scratches on his arm that had barely healed.”

  Ben nodded. “The ballistics tests on that gun will strengthen our case, though.”

  “Yeah. The problem is, his motive. Why did he kill Mildred?”

  “Could have been a simple robbery,” Ben mused. “Sometimes the simple answer is the right one.”

  “That doesn’t feel right to me, though,” Chance said. “Mildred didn’t have all that much money. I can’t see a drug dealer killing for one day’s bar receipts. They make much more selling drugs, why risk a murder rap? And then, who killed Cal and why? Was it only a drug deal gone wrong?”

  “Well, it could have been. Those traces of cocaine in the house point to it,” Ben said.

  “True. I suppose that remote house on Deer Lake was an ideal location to meet to buy drugs without anyone noticing.”

  “But we didn’t find any drugs,” Ben objected. He pulled in his feet and got up to help himself to more coffee.

  “The killer could have helped himself to any drugs that were there at the time Cal was killed.”

  “True,” Ben mused.

  “The Minneapolis PD is working on the drug angle, using the contacts and info they got from Cal’s computer and notebooks in his apartment. I’m hoping something will come of that.”

  “Good. That’s way out of our league.”

  “I wish we could just wrap these murders up so easily, but it feels all wrong to me,” Chance said. “There are too many unanswered questions. I hate loose ends. I can’t help thinking there’s a connection between the two murders.”

  “If there is, we may never know what it is.” Ben grabbed another donut and bit into it. “These things are addictive.”

  Chance refilled his cup with more of the bitter brew from the coffeepot and helped himself to another donut. “So, does that mean Cassie’s off your ‘person of interest’ list so I can ask her out for dinner without getting a lecture from you?”

  Ben frowned at him. “Huh. Yeah, I suppose I have to lift my objection to you seeing her.”

  “Good,” Chance said with a grin. “Well, I’d better get caught up on paperwork, then, so I can leave at a decent hour tonight.” He rose, tossed his Styrofoam cup into the waste basket and strode out.

  ***

  In the middle of a rekeying job in the back room of a local business, my phone rang. Chance.

  “To what do I owe this honor?” I asked, trying not to show how surprised and delighted I was.

  “How about having dinner with me tonight at the Dalles House? Ben okayed it,” he said before I could ask.

  “I’d love to. What happened to change his mind?”

  “I’ll tell you all about it over dinner. Is seven okay? There’s a small live band playing, so we can even dance a bit.”

  “Great. I’ll see you at seven then.”

  I wrapped up my work early and went home to shower and dress. I hadn’t been out dancing in ages. Dark clouds scudded across the sky and the air felt heavy. Wet snowflakes slapped me in the face as I got out of my van.

  I listened to the weather forecast on my bedroom radio while I got dressed. Several inches of snow were predicted for this evening. Great. It wasn’t even Thanksgiving yet. I’d better take my winter coat. Thank goodness Chance was driving and had an SUV. I hated driving in snow.

  An hour later we sat in the Dalles House, where we ordered walleye dinners.

  “Do you think the weather will get bad?” I asked, chewing my lip.

  “The forecast is only for a couple inches,” Chance said. “That shouldn’t be a problem.”

  The waitress brought us fresh, fragrant coffee and a basket of hot popovers.

  “Oh, I love these.” I broke open a pop-over, spread butter on it, and bit into it. I closed my eyes in pleasure as I breathed in the scent of fresh bread and the flavor of butter rolled over my tongue. I opened them to find Chance gazing at me, raw desire in his expression. I felt heat climb my face.

  “Do you react like that to other sensations?”

  “I…I…” I stammered and quickly sipped some water. His face clearly said he meant sex.

  Chance laughed. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to embarrass you. But I’d love to be able to cause that kind of reaction.”

  The waitress brought our dinners, allowing me to regain my composure. “This looks delicious,” I murmured, sipping coffee and finishing off my popover.

  “Yes, it does,” Chance said, digging in.

  “You promised to tell me why the sheriff stopped objecting to us seeing each other again?”

  “Yeah,” Chance said. “The DNA results came back on the skin under Mildred’s fingernails. It matched Cal Downs, so you’re off the hook.”

  “Great,” I said, relief washing over me. “I told you so.”

  “I know you did, and I told Ben so, too. But with the election coming up…”

  “Yeah, I know,” I said with a sigh. “He wants to avoid the appearance of any favoritism. We do live in a gossipy small town, so I can’t really blame him.”

  “Also the gun we found at Cal’s house is the same kind used to kill her. I’ve sent it in to the state to see if it matches the bullet. This stuff will be in the paper in the morning, so it’s no secret.”

  “Yikes,” I said, putting down my fork in dismay. “So my client was guilty after all. I helped a murderer get away.”

  “Not for long. And you couldn’t know that. But of course, that also strengthens Ben’s resolve to send men for night jobs.”

  “Grrr. I’ve had it with his protectiveness. There goes my business.”

  Chance shook his head. “I’m sorry, Cassie, but I have to agree with Ben on this. Don’t worry. I’m sur
e you’ll be plenty busy without doing dangerous stuff like that.”

  “I’m not so sure. But most of my calls are direct to me through my ads in the Yellow Pages anyway. Ben can’t control those.”

  “I know, but I don’t like it, Cassie.”

  “Well, some of my regular daytime jobs have risks as well.”

  He paused, his forkful of walleye halfway to his mouth. “Like what?” He resumed eating, but kept his eyes on me.

  “Like, today I rekeyed Martha’s house again. Frank gets out tomorrow, so he’s not going to be happy about that.”

  Chance frowned. “Didn’t the judge give Martha a restraining order against him?”

  I tipped my head and sent him a disbelieving look. “Sure he did. And you should know how often those are obeyed by abusers like him.”

  “Yeah, you’re right. And I don’t have any good answers for that. We can’t do anything until they break a law.”

  “And then it’s too late,” I told him. Bitterness made my comment sound harsh and Chance’s face dropped. He looked so sad, I put out a hand and covered his. “I’m sorry. I know there’s nothing you can do about it.”

  “Yeah. All the violence got to me at my job in the Twin Cities. That’s why I took the job out here, to try to get away from some of the craziness. It didn’t work, did it?”

  I shrugged. “People are people, Chance. It’s not the location. If it’s any consolation, murders are quite scarce out here.”

  “I sure hope so.”

  I finished off my fish and drank more coffee, thinking. “But I still don’t understand how Cal knew how to disarm the alarm. I’m quite sure he’d have to know the code to keep it from activating.”

  “I wondered that, too. Now that he’s dead, we may never know how he did it. The bakery guy swears it was set when he arrived and that he set it when he left. And Jack and Reggie are sure Mildred always set it when she worked there alone.”

  I frowned. “Did you find any connection between Cal and Mildred? Like, maybe he worked there for a short time?”

  Chance shook his head. “If so, I couldn’t find it, either by questioning the present employees or in Mildred’s employment records. I spent hours in her office that first week, going through them.”

  “Someone must know the answer, Chance. He must have had help.”

  The waitress chose that moment to bring more coffee and ask if we wanted dessert. We both declined, so she put down our bill, took Chance’s credit card and left again.

  After she’d returned his credit card and gotten his signature, Chance asked, “Want to dance a bit? That band sounds lively.”

  “Sure.” Anything to brighten the mood.

  We found a small table along one wall and listened to the music for a bit, then danced several dances. I loved having Chance’s arms around me. We swayed to a slow tune and he leaned down and gave me a soft kiss.

  A couple came in the side door, shaking snow off their coats, bringing us back to reality. “Maybe we’d better check on the weather,” I said.

  “Okay.” Chance strode over to the glass side door and looked out. I followed, peering around him. His SUV was covered and several inches of snow lay on the ground.

  “Let’s go before it gets worse,” I said.

  “All right,” Chance agreed. We got our coats from the rack near the front door and started outside. An employee had already shoveled the wooden steps.

  I grabbed the handrail and started down them. Loud female voices sounded farther down the parking lot. I looked out through the heavy snowfall and saw two figures in coats struggling.

  “What in the world?”

  “Hey, cool it,” Chance said and hurried toward them.

  I ran after him, slipped on the snow, went sliding, and almost fell.

  The women were on the ground in the snow, screaming at each other, now. As I got closer, I saw they both had long, blonde hair and were pulling each other’s, both screaming and swearing and attempting to hit each other as well. I recognized Jody, Jack’s girlfriend, but didn’t know the other woman.

  Chance grabbed the closest one and pulled her to her feet, out of the other’s reach. “Stop it, Sue. Police. What’s this about?”

  “Jody started it,” Sue said. “I caught Bob talking to her on the phone. She’s trying to take my boyfriend. Isn’t one man enough for you, you damned bitch?”

  “It’s not my fault if you can’t hold onto your man!” Jody shot back. “Don’t blame me if he strays. He took me out several times when he came up here to see Mildred.”

  “Why, you—” Sue struggled free, but stopped short at Chance’s growl.

  “Both of you go home separately or I’ll arrest you,” he snapped.

  They glared at each other, and then Jody seemed to think better of continuing the fight, turned and hurried to her car. She slammed the door and roared away.

  Brushing snow from her coat, Sue said, “I want to stay here. I’m meeting Bob here for dinner. He’s inside. That’s his rental car.” She nodded to a vehicle to their right.

  “All right,” Chance said.

  I watched her head to the restaurant, running her hand through her messy hair. She mounted the steps and disappeared inside.

  Chance took my arm and guided me in the direction of his SUV. “Come on, let’s get you inside before you’re soaked.”

  He unlocked his vehicle, helped me inside, then went around and started the motor. “It’ll warm up after a bit.” Grabbing a snow scraper from under his seat he went back outside and began clearing the wet snow from the windshield and windows. At last he came back in and we headed back onto the highway. A snowplow had already been past, as one lane was cleared and streaks of sand decorated the highway.

  “I know who Jody Wilkens is,” I said as we drove along. “But who is this Sue she was fighting with? She mentioned Bob, so I suppose she’s with him?”

  “She’s Bob’s girlfriend, I guess,” Chance said, keeping his eyes on the slippery road. “Sue Muller. She came up from Las Vegas with Bob and has been staying with him at Mildred’s house.”

  “Oh. Yes, I heard that. And she must be the one Bob mentioned the night he wanted me to break into the Lilliput. He said she helped him search Mildred’s house for the will, but they didn’t find it.”

  “Right. So you were right about Bob meeting Jody at the casino. And about seeing Bob kissing her.”

  I nodded. “I thought they looked much too friendly for that to have been their first meeting. But why did they meet at the casino? If they were secretly meeting for sex, wouldn’t a motel be a safer location?”

  “I’d think so. Unless they were just meeting to exchange something.”

  I frowned. “Like what?”

  “Like money or information. Remember, Jody is the lawyer’s daughter. Bob could have been trying to get information from her about the will.”

  The car skidded and Chance tensed and brought it back under control. He turned off the highway into Canton and stopped in my driveway. “Damn, the power’s off. Stoplights aren’t working.”

  “I have a gas stove that’ll still work. Want to come in for coffee?” I asked, half afraid he’d say yes, half that he’d refuse. The heat that had sizzled between us at dinner and while we danced was back. My pulse throbbed with excitement and tingles ran up and down my spine as he came near.

  “Sure. And I’ll check out your house.” He wrapped his arms around me and gave me a quick kiss, then reluctantly pulled away, opened his glove box and found a flashlight.

  I unlocked the door and we stepped inside, stamping off the snow on the scatter rug by the door.

  He began to walk through my house, while I grabbed a flashlight from the top drawer by the sink where I always kept it and dug under the cupboard for the seldom used camp style coffee percolator. I heard a phone ring, but it wasn’t mine.

  Then Chance was back, talking on his cell. “I’m on my way.” He hung up and came to me. “I’m sorry, but I have to go back to work.
The snow has caused several accidents already.”

  He took me in his arms and kissed me thoroughly, saying, “I wish I could stay for lots more.”

  “Me, too,” I replied and followed him to the door. “Be careful out there.”

  He tossed me a grin and waved, then hurried off to his car.

  Chapter 8

  Everyone with the sheriff’s department worked through the night. Heavy wet snow continued until mid-morning the next day. Dozens of fender benders and people sliding into the ditch had kept them hopping. Snowplows, sand and salt trucks and wrecking crews all spent the night on the job.

  Chance and several others met for breakfast at the Flame, wearily eating eggs and toast and drinking yet more coffee.

  “I’m going to float away on a sea of this vile brew,” Deputy Tom complained.

  “My stomach’s had enough of it,” Deputy Roger replied. “I’m switching to milk.”

  Tom guffawed. “Milk’s for sissies.”

  “Who cares? Go to hell, Tom. I don’t even have the energy to argue about it.”

  Chance forked up some eggs and merely listened. He, too, had no energy left for stupid arguments. “I hope the weatherman is right this time. He says the snow has ended in the cities, so should stop here in another hour or two. As soon as I finish eating, I’m going home to get some sleep.”

  “Good idea,” Roger said. “Maybe some rest is what my stomach wants, too.”

  “Tension can sure upset stomachs,” Chance agreed.

  But as they were leaving, their phones began buzzing. All three at once. They looked at each other, and grabbed their cells, and stared at the message on their screens. “A dead body in a car in the ditch on highway 37 west of Landers. All units, respond.”

  “There goes our sleep,” Chance said. “I’ll see you guys out there.” He turned to the cashier to pay his bill.

  At the scene, they discovered the coroner and an ambulance had already arrived.

  Chance surveyed the area through the swirling snow. The car was partially hidden in the deep white stuff in the ditch, but he could still see tracks where it had left the road and come to rest against a fence, badly crumpling the front headlight and fender on the driver’s side. The hood had popped up and was bent back almost to the windshield. A long scrape stretched back from the fender.