Murder Between the Covers

by Maddie Cochere

  “I was just being friendly. I know it doesn’t always sound like it, but I’m trying to be a better person.”

  Obviously, I hadn’t stopped lying.

  “Well, don’t do it again,” she said. “Will you drop these off for me? Peggy’s expecting them.”

  Glenn had already taken the box from her and was putting it in the back seat of my truck when I said yes.

  On the way home, I reached over and grasped his hand.

  “You were quiet today,” I said.

  “Do you know why?”

  “The mayor?”

  He shrugged his shoulders. “Why did you really invite him, Jo? You know how I feel. He’s making my job difficult, and it’s only going to get worse. I don’t want to socialize with the man.”

  Part of me wanted to tell him about our investigation, but I had promised Arnie I would keep it quiet. I knew I could trust Glenn with the details of my work, but this felt different. One accidental word misspoken by him at the station, and I could lose my job.

  “I’m sorry. It won’t happen again,” I said.

  He raised my hand to his lips for a kiss. “It’s going to be a long eight years, and I’m going to do my best to stay under his radar.”

  “I don’t blame you. I admit, I was curious to know more about him. I don’t think he presents himself as he really is. Everything about him feels fake – like he’s acting.”

  “He can play Hamlet up and down Main Street for all I care. I just want to grab a few more hours of sleep.” He squeezed my hand and smiled impishly. “Want to come upstairs with me for a while?”

  I returned his smile. “Oh, you bet I do.”

  We parked on the street and went in through the front door. I set my bag on the small table beside the door. Glenn wasted no time heading for the stairs.

  “Would you grab a bottle of water and bring it up with you?” he asked.

  Before I could answer, a phone sounded from somewhere below us. Glenn stopped on the stairs.

  “What is that?” I asked. The sound caused the hair on the back of my neck to stand up and a shudder to run down my body.

  He laughed. “That’s your red phone.”

  “My red phone? I thought it was in a box in the basement.”

  “It was. I was down there the other day and didn’t have my cell phone. Grandpa had a phone jack installed over the workbench, so I plugged your phone in and used it. I must have forgotten to unplug it.”

  The phone continued to ring.

  “Go answer it,” he said. “It’s probably new business.”

  I didn’t want to tell him I was creeped out by the phone ringing in the dark and scary basement. I walked slowly toward the basement steps, which were next to the bathroom off the kitchen.

  The phone continued to ring.

  Just as I walked past the bathroom, the toilet began to run, causing the pipes to make a groaning noise. I knew I didn’t have hair on my back, but the sound freaked me out so much, it felt like a ton of hair was standing up on my back.

  The phone continued to ring.

  “Stop it,” I said to myself. “You’re an adult, and there’s nothing in this house to hurt you. Go answer the phone.”

  I knew being scared was silly. And it might have been even sillier to talk to myself, but it was the one thing that helped me get through my childhood fears of the basement in Mama’s house. The problem was that Glenn’s basement was way scarier than Mama’s.

  I turned the light on and walked to the bottom of the stairs. I saw the phone on Glenn’s workbench. I couldn’t believe it was still ringing.

  I glanced around the room. If the entire basement were open, it might not have been so bad, but there were wooden doors leading to even creepier places under the house – like an old fruit cellar, a storage room, and yet another room with the furnace and the water heater. The floor in this first room was cement. The others were dirt.

  I snatched the handset from the cradle. “Two Sisters and a Journalist. Jo Ravens speaking.”

  There was no response.

  “Hello,” I said. “Hello. Is anybody there?”

  My body turned into one giant goosebump. This was way too creepy for me. Instead of Christmas, you’d think it was Halloween, and something evil was calling. Glenn never mentioned if his grandparents haunted the house.

  “Hi. Hello. Are you there?” A female voice on the other end of the line asked.

  I let out a pent-up breath of air. “This is Jo Ravens. How can I help you?”

  “I’m Meredith Duncan. I met you at the book sale the other night.”

  Meredith Duncan? That hairy, nasty woman? Why would she be calling me? And why would she be calling the red phone? I hadn’t used it for business in months.

  “How did you get this number?” I asked. I didn’t care that I sounded like I was accusing her of something.

  “It’s the number on the card you gave me.”

  Because I was just messing with her at the book sale, I gave her a Two Sisters and a Journalist card rather than one from Baranski and Ravens Investigations. I certainly didn’t expect her to use it.

  “Oh, yeah. That’s right,” I said. “What can I do for you?”

  “I’d like to have a meeting with you. I think I might want to hire you.”

  This was a surprise. My rudeness continued. “What for?”

  “I’d rather talk it over in person.”

  Why did everyone want to see me in person before saying what they wanted?

  “Are you working tomorrow?” I asked. “I’m dropping some books off at the bookstore, and I could talk to you then.”

  “Tomorrow is good if you come before noon. Peggy will be in at one, and I don’t want her to know I’m talking with you.”

  I knew better than to press and ask questions. When a client didn’t want to share details over the phone, they would usually become aggravated if you tried to get information before they were ready to give it. I’d lost more than one client before I figured out this little tidbit.

  “I’ll be in around ten,” I said.

  “Perfect. See you then.”

  I replaced the handset and unplugged the phone from the wall. I turned around, made a beeline for the stairs, and ran up as fast as I could. I grabbed the bottle of water and went upstairs to the bedroom. Glenn had already fallen asleep.

  I went back downstairs, crashed on the sofa, and turned on the television. I flipped through the channels and caught the opening credits of It’s a Wonderful Life. I hadn’t seen it in years, and it was the perfect movie to shake my basement willies and put me back in the Christmas spirit.

  I was asleep before George Bailey saw Clarence hit the water.

  Chapter Four

  Arnie grunted, walked into his office, and shut the door.

  I looked at Nancy and smiled. “You can’t blame a girl for trying.”

  She giggled. “It was a long shot for sure. Hank and I are going over tonight to vote on the trees, and then we’re going to drive through some of the neighborhoods to see Christmas lights.”

  “That sounds nice. I wish Glenn didn’t have to work so much. It would be fun to have a date night every now and then.”

  “Talk to the mayor. Maybe he can do something to get more men on the force.”

  “That’s not a bad idea. Two more people would make a big difference, and Glenn could shift to days. As it is now, we’re like two ships passing in the night – literally.” I checked the time on the wall clock. “Ok, I’m off. If Arnie changes his mind and wants to watch the laundromat and the mayor’s office so I can go with Pepper and the kids, send him over.”

  She giggled again. “Don’t hold your breath.”

  I drove over to the health food store and backed into a parking space at the end of the building. I didn’t have a clear view of the mayor’s front door, but I could see the laundromat just fine. Bubba would most likely be up and down the street soon anyway.

  I unbuckled, suctioned the tinted sun viso
r to the window, and shifted into a comfortable position. It was going to be a long day. Nothing ever happened on Mondays, and my biggest concern today was falling asleep and having Arnie catch me. Not that he would be mad, but I didn’t want to disappoint him. I hadn’t made any major mistakes in the past few months, and I felt I was really getting the hang of being a private investigator. He was trusting me with more work now, too.

  As usual, I looked over my notes, and as I had predicted, last Friday was a busy day for the laundromat. Late in the afternoon, cars began pulling up, one every five to ten minutes over the span of an hour. Each car carried at least six people, and two were like clown cars. I’d never seen so many men get out of a vehicle before. But there was no black Escalade.

  I pulled my camera from my bag and set it on the seat beside me. I wanted to have it ready if the car did show up.

  I looked up from my notes and saw a red pickup truck speed down the street. The driver was definitely in excess of the speed limit. Where was one of Buxley’s finest when you needed them?

  A white convertible with a black top pulled up in front of the laundromat. A woman wearing an ankle-length sweater and fringed boots stepped out of the car. Her long copper hair was wild and frizzed. She looked interesting. I grabbed my camera and snapped a few pictures of her as she walked three doors down to the bookstore.

  A moment later, a police officer, pedaling as fast as his legs could manage, went by on a bicycle. It took me a second to realize it was Officer Collins, and he was most likely after the speeding truck.

  I burst into laughter. Sergeant Rorski was going to have to nip this in the bud. There was no way these guys were going to be effective on bikes.

  I grabbed my laptop and logged on to the internet with the bookstore’s connection. I had another fifteen minutes before the agreed upon time to meet with Meredith, so I began running general searches on the mayor.

  The combination of Bradley Bones, three brothers, and Indiana didn’t return any hits. The same with Bradley Bones and Las Vegas. I tried several variations with Brad and Bubba. I simply didn’t have enough information.

  I looked up to see the woman with the wild hair leave the bookstore. I snapped several more pictures as she walked to her car. The word Bohemian came to mind. She definitely had her own style, and it was different from what I was used to seeing around town.

  As she drove away, a police cruiser sped down the street in the same direction as Officer Collins on his bicycle. I couldn’t help laughing again. He must have called for backup.

  I tried a few more searches before admitting it was a futile effort. I watched the laundromat for another five minutes before putting my camera in my bag and hopping out to get the books from the back seat.

  Once I had the heavy box securely in my arms, I took off across the parking lot. I ended up having to wait for a break in traffic before I could cross the street. It seemed everyone who drove by honked and waved. All I could do was nod my head. I felt like a bobble-head doll.

  Safely inside the bookstore, I dropped the box on the counter. The relief to my arms was immediate.

  Christmas music played from a radio behind the counter. I looked around and was pleasantly surprised by the store’s attractive appearance. When I had last been in here shortly after Peggy opened, books and boxes were stacked everywhere. The shelves were rickety, and I couldn’t believe the fire department hadn’t shut her down.

  The transformation was almost unbelievable. Cheap, but nice, dark brown bookshelves had been placed along the walls and in rows on the floor. Books were properly shelved, and there were no boxes in sight other than my own. The Christmas decorations and music gave the room a warm feeling. It was all really quite lovely.

  There didn’t appear to be any customers in the store. I checked between the rows of shelves. No customers. No Meredith. I checked the counter for a bell to ring. No bell.

  “Meredith?” I called out.

  There was no response. It was a few minutes after ten. She should have been expecting me.

  A curtain with a pattern of books on bookshelves covered an open doorway to the left of the counter.

  I pulled the curtain back and peeked into the next room. It was a combination storage room and office. A desk and filing cabinet were immediately to my right, while the rest of the room was floor to ceiling rickety bookshelves and boxes - lots and lots of boxes, many opened with books set on the floor beside them. This mess resembled the Peggy I knew.

  The room shared a wall with the bakery next door. A faint odor of gingerbread permeated the air.

  “Meredith?” I called out again.

  There was more than one pathway between the boxes. I took the path leading in the direction of the back door. Halfway to the door, a clothes rack filled with costumes blocked my way.

  I moved it aside and couldn’t control the swear word that popped out of my mouth as I jumped back at least a foot.

  Meredith Duncan was lying on her side on the floor with a ladder on top of her and a spear embedded in her chest. Her right forearm had been sliced by something very sharp. Blood pooled around her from both wounds. I felt for a pulse but knew there wouldn’t be one.

  It only took a moment for me to realize what had happened. She had climbed the ladder, and for some reason fell off, pulling the ladder with her. When she fell, she landed on a tall basket of what appeared to be props, which included a broom, a cane, a sword, and the spear.

  I was saddened and sickened she had died in such a bizarre way.

  “Hello? Peggy? Are you here?” a voice called from the front of the store.

  Pigwarts! The mayor was making his rounds.

  I quickly made my way between the boxes and through the curtained doorway. Before I could say anything, the mayor was in my face.

  “Jo. What a nice surprise seeing you on this fine morning.” He reached out and grabbed my hand to shake it.

  He must have been working his circuit fast this morning, because his face was red and he was sweating. My skin crawled a little.

  “Excuse me, Mayor, but we have a situation. There’s been an accident.”

  “An accident? What happened?”

  “It’s Meredith. Don’t go back there. The police won’t want us to disturb anything.”

  I pulled my phone from my bag and pushed the speed dial number for the police station.

  “Buxley Police Department. Officer Winnie.”

  “Bill, this is Jo Ravens.”

  “I know. We’ve got you on caller ID. What’s up?”

  “I’m at Wagner’s Used Books on Main. There’s been an accident. One of Peggy’s employees fell from a ladder and impaled herself on a spear.”

  There was no response. I could only assume my words had left him speechless.

  “Bill? Did you hear me? She’s dead. You need to get Howard Sanders down here.”

  “Sorry, Jo. We’ll be right there.”

  “Dead? Are you sure?” the mayor asked. “Let me take a look. Maybe I can help.”

  “No. No one’s going back there. I already checked for a pulse, and trust me, she’s no longer alive.” I studied him for a moment. “You know, Mayor, you weren’t here when it happened, so the police won’t need to question you. You can leave now or stay and get in the way. It’s up to you.”

  He glanced around. “Where’s Peggy?”

  “She’s not expected until one, but I’m sure someone from the police department will call her.”

  He nodded. “I suppose it’s best I go.” He put his hand out to shake mine again. “It was good to see you, Jo. I’m real sorry about Meredith. Tell Peggy I said so.”

  It took every ounce of control I had to keep from jerking my hand out of his and said, “I will.”

  The mayor left, and for once, my snoopy gene remained dormant. I didn’t want to go back in the room and look at her body again.

  I dashed a quick text off to Jackie. Even though there was no crime, I knew she would want to be here to write the story for
the newspaper.

  Arnie’s voice rang out in my mind. “Observe everything.”

  I closed my eyes and shook my head. I knew I had to go back to Meredith and look around. If nothing else, maybe I could determine why she fell off the ladder.

  I left my bag on the counter but took my camera with me and snapped pictures of the room as I walked through. I took pictures of the costumes and the items that had toppled out of the basket. I snapped pictures of the bookshelves the ladder had leaned against. I tried not to focus my eyes or my mind as I snapped several pictures of Meredith. I took a picture of the back door and a last one of the desk as I walked out of the room.

  I slipped my camera into my bag and walked out the front door to wait on the sidewalk. It was incredibly depressing to wait inside with Meredith’s dead body in the backroom and Christmas music playing in the front. I didn’t have to wait long before a police cruiser and an ambulance pulled up – both without sirens.

  Officer Winnie was by himself. As he and the two paramedics stepped onto the sidewalk, a black Escalade approached. The driver didn’t pull over. Instead, he drove by slowly. I was the only one who paid any attention to him, and we made eye contact.

  His passenger window was lightly tinted, but I could see he had dark hair and a moustache. I couldn’t be certain if this was the car the FBI wanted us to watch for, but I had a strong feeling it was.

  I noted the time so I could add it to my report later. I followed the three men into the bookstore.

  “She’s in the backroom,” I said, taking the lead and showing them the way. I held the curtain back and let them go in. I waited at the counter.

  Peggy rushed through the front door. She was understandably distraught.

  “Jo, I don’t believe this,” she said. “Bubba called and said there was an accident, and Meredith was dead. I don’t believe it.”

  Why did the mayor call her when I told him the police would? He was such a jerk.

  “I’m sorry,” I said. “She fell off the ladder in the backroom and landed on the basket with the spear.”

  “Those stupid, stupid props. I told her they were too dangerous for storytime. She should have never brought them here.”