Murder, Trouble & Family

by Marianne Spitzer

  Does one outweigh the other? Maybe she eats organic so she can have the brandy and soda.

  It’s still April so much of what we purchased came from southern farms instead of the Simon’s farm, but the quality is always excellent. I loaded several bags in the back of my SUV, and we headed home.

  Aunt Irene and I were chatting about little things doing our best to avoid the subject of Barbara’s death when I pulled into my driveway.

  We climbed out of my SUV, and I told Aunt Irene I would carry the bags to her cottage if she wanted to go in my house and let the dogs out into the yard. I took a step toward the back of my car when we heard a loud explosion. I looked in the direction of the sound and saw a large green object flying straight up and then begin its descent. A loud crash followed, and smoke began to billow up.

  I looked at Aunt Irene and said, “That was close. Maybe a block away. I’m going to check.”

  “Wait for me,” she replied. We both hurried back to the car, and I headed in the direction of the explosion.

  Chapter Four

  By the time we rolled to a stop a block and a half from my home, a small group of neighbors had gathered near the smoking mass in the middle of the street. I saw Mr. Colroy standing in his driveway wringing his hands. I climbed out of the car and hurried to his side.

  When Clark returned to town after twenty years in California, he took over his parent’s hardware store while they both recovered from injuries. He took it upon himself to help the older folks around town. I didn’t know then that he worked for the state and the State Attorney’s office. Clark had been keeping an eye on Mr. Colroy and his odd experiment before he left. I felt a neighborly concern and a bit of obligation for Clark’s absence to make sure Mr. Colroy was okay.

  I walked up to him and asked, “What happened here Mr. Colroy? Are you okay? I think you should sit down. You look a bit pale.”

  He looked at me with tears in his eyes. “I made some sort of mistake. My time machine exploded. It’ll never take me back to before I got this awful arthritis in my hands.”

  Aunt Irene joined us and took Mr. Colroy’s hand. “Come on, Lyle, let’s sit in Annie’s car. I hear the fire truck coming.” I followed them to the car and sat sideways in the front passenger seat with my feet on the ground. Aunt Irene and Mr. Colroy settled in the backseat. My car was parked three houses down. It was close enough to see what was happening and far enough away to be safe.

  I also heard the sirens in the distance. I watched the green plastic dumpster full of who knows what kind of electrical equipment burn in the street in front of Mr. Colroy’s house. Water poured down his driveway toward the street. I worried he damaged his water line somehow. A small amount of smoke rose through the hole in the garage roof.

  The EMTs arrived first, and I waved at them. A young man ran up to the car and checked Mr. Colroy’s vitals. He didn’t have any injuries, and his blood pressure was a little high, but not high enough to go to the hospital. The EMT was kneeling in front of Mr. Colroy asking him questions when the fire truck pulled up. They extinguished the fire quickly, and I saw Clifford’s squad car pull up.

  Clifford strode up to my car and had a few words with the EMT. He nodded and the EMT waved and said, “Take care Mr. Colroy, Aunt Irene, and Mrs. Ryan.”

  I looked at Clifford and asked, “He knew all of us. Who is that?”

  “Councilman Phillips’ son, Kyle, back from the Army and just started working for the city.” He glanced at me and turned his attention to the pale elderly man in my backseat. “Now, Mr. Colroy, tell me what happened.” Clifford stood on the grass median with his hands at his sides.

  “I wanted to test my time machine. All I wanted to know is if the propane tank from my barbeque grill would give me enough power to make sure the gauges worked. All of a sudden, there was a loud hiss and the time machine shot upward right out of the garage roof. It exploded when it hit the roof, and I ran outside to see where it went. I saw it come back down and land on the street.”

  Clifford was busy jotting notes. He looked up and said, “I think they have the fire out. You’re lucky you didn’t burn your house down.”

  Mr. Colroy shook his head, “Can’t, Edna, God rest her soul, made me put a sprinkler system in the garage about ten years ago after watching some TV show about garage fires. Same show said many house fires start in the dryer, so she had a plumber and electrician hook up the washer and dryer in the breezeway to get them out of the basement. There’s a sprinkler in there, too. I didn’t expect an explosion. I just wanted to test it out.” He dropped his head and shook it back and forth slowly.

  Clifford grunted, and his eyes shot back to me. “Tell me why you’re here, Annie. You always seem to show up when there is something going on.”

  “Aunt Irene and I heard the explosion and I saw something fly up into the air. I live close by so we drove over. When I saw it was Mr. Colroy, I had to help him. Clark has been coming by a couple times a week to be sure he doesn’t do anything dangerous. With Clark away, I thought I should stay to see what I could do.”

  “Uh huh,” Clifford grumbled.

  “Hey, Chief,” Mr. Colroy said, “Don’t pick on Annie. She and Irene came to help me, and I was trying to help the town and my hands. If I can get that darn thing to work, I can go back in time and see who killed Barbara Boyle. If I can stop it, she wouldn’t be dead now.”

  Clifford rolled his eyes and walked away to talk to the fire chief.

  Mr. Colroy began to rub his hands again. “Darn things hurt and now they’ll try and put me into that retirement home. My daughter says she worries about me here alone, and my son thinks I’m losing my mind. Edna and I raised those kids and gave them a good life and now they want to put me out to pasture. I don’t understand it.”

  “Don’t worry, Lyle,” Aunt Irene said. “I’ll help you stay in your home. There are services you can get to help you stay here. We’ll make calls tomorrow and find out what we can do. It’ll be okay.”

  “Okay,” he smiled a little but the smile disappeared when a panicked female voice screamed, “Daddy, Daddy, where are you?”

  He dropped his head again, “That would be Ruthie coming to try and take me away.”

  Ruthie rushed up to my car and gasped, “Daddy, thank heavens you’re okay. The police called and said you could have blown yourself up with that insane time machine. Come on, you’re going home with me.”

  Mr. Colroy pulled himself out of the car slowly, his face showing a look somewhere between sadness and fear. “I refuse to be put in a home, Ruthie. If you think that’s why you want to take me home so you can make the arrangements, I refuse to go.”

  “Daddy,” Ruthie said while impatiently tapping her foot on the sidewalk, “This is not something to discuss in front of others. We’ll talk in private. I called Ronnie, and he’s coming over for dinner. We all need to talk this out.”

  “Those two kids will be the death of me yet,” Mr. Colroy mumbled.

  Aunt Irene whispered in his ear, and he smiled.

  “Sorry, Ruthie,” Mr. Colroy said in a loud voice. “I’m not going home with you; I’m spending the night with Irene.”

  I grinned, Ruthie’s mouth fell open, and two firefighters’ heads snapped toward the sweet elderly couple now standing side by side on the sidewalk.

  Mr. Colroy coughed. “What I mean is I’m going to sleep on Irene’s sofa tonight, and we’re going to make some calls for a bit of help for me to stay at home.”

  “Daddy, you can’t be serious. That will cost you a fortune.”

  “And moving into that retirement home won’t?” Mr. Colroy snapped back.

  “Yes, maybe,” Ruthie stammered, “but you’ll sell your home and have a lot of money to live on.”

  He stood straighter and jutted his chin out. “A lot for you and your brother to talk me out of you mean. No sir, no way, no how, Edna and I built this house. She died here, and I’m going to live here until they carry me out.”

  Ruthie stamp
ed her foot and strode to her car and drove off to the squeal of tires. Ruthie is several years older than I am, and it was odd to see a woman that age throw a tantrum on a public street. Mr. Colroy ignored her, and he walked with Aunt Irene into his house. I assumed he was getting some clean clothes to take to Aunt Irene’s. I waited in my car.

  ~ * ~

  An hour later we were home. We left the melted, burned mess on Mr. Colroy’s street in the capable hands of the clean-up crew one of the firefighters called. Jeremy, our local plumber, was resetting the fire sprinkler in Mr. Colroy’s garage. All was well. Aunt Irene picked up Peanut before she and Mr. Colroy, who now insisted I call him Lyle, walked to her cottage. I sat on my sofa and texted Georgie.

  It had been a trying day, and I closed my eyes as I sat on the sofa relaxing. I woke to the sound of Aunt Irene’s car starting in the drive between our houses. I looked out the window, and Mr. Colroy and Aunt Irene waved at me before she pulled into the street and headed away from town.

  Dinner. I’m sure they’re off to dinner somewhere his kids won’t find them. It’s a shame he has to hide from them, but I understand. I hope I won’t be hiding from Laci in a couple weeks. She has to like Clark.

  My mind wandered back to dinner. I was hungry. I had frozen leftover chicken noodle soup and homemade buttermilk biscuits in the freezer. They made a quick, but filling dinner. My phone rang as I was putting the last dish in the dishwasher.

  “Unknown number” jumped at me from the Caller ID. I grabbed it before it could begin a second ring. It had to be Clark. It was. He only had a minute but wanted to be sure I was all right. Of course, Clifford let him know I was at Mr. Colroy’s today. Clark was glad I watched out for Mr. Colroy, but I told him it was Aunt Irene who stepped up. He laughed and said he loved me but had to go. We exchanged “I love you” and I hung up wiping a tear from my cheek.

  Darn it, I’m getting tired of not seeing him. Goodness gracious we need to plan our wedding. He said he would only be gone a couple of weeks and then home to stay. It was his final undercover assignment for the State Attorney’s office, and then he’d be back to work at the Heavenly Corners’ PD as a detective. I need to make wedding plans. Now. Okay, Annie calm down. You and Georgie will make plans, and hopefully Laci will want to help.

  I wasn’t waiting. I grabbed my phone and texted Georgie again:

  “Bring lunch tomorrow, please.

  It’s time to make wedding plans.

  Clark needs to come home!”

  She texted back three smiley faces with a red heart between each one. I knew she agreed it was time to make plans.

  Laci and I always have a video chat on Sunday, but she sent a quick text saying she was going to a study group. Finals were almost here, and she needed the time. I wasn’t sure I believed her completely. I think she’s worried I’ll discuss Clark. I watched a bit of TV and went to bed after making sure Aunt Irene’s car was back. I’m glad I didn’t have to sit and worry about them.

  ~ * ~

  I unlocked the back door of the bookstore and hung my coat on the coat rack. I let Yummy out of his carrier, and he ran up and down each aisle barking. It was his morning routine. I think he’s checking to be sure no one is here. He may be small and non-threatening to most people, but his bark is loud, and he’s a great burglar alarm.

  I made a pot of coffee and prepared the cash register. I didn’t have any customers at the moment, and I sat on the couch used by my customers to peruse books before they purchased them. Mostly, to be honest, it was a place to sit and gossip. I was surprised no one had popped in yet to ask about Barbara or Mr. Colroy, but then it was only a few minutes after nine.

  I took the quiet opportunity to begin jotting down ideas about the wedding. Once Clark returns and Laci comes home, I know I am going to be busy. I need to set the main details down. Clark and I hadn’t set a date. He just wants it to be soon. I sat back and closed my eyes to think about what might work.

  It’s the end of April. Maybe June? Is that too soon? No. It will give Laci time to get used to the idea and for my parents to travel here from Arizona. Will Laci get used to the idea? What if she hates the idea and moves out? She’ll go to Claudine’s. Oh horrors, I’ll be doomed if my precious girl moves in with that witch. We can’t live in Clark’s apartment above the hardware store. Of course, we’ll live in my house. It was my great-grandma’s house. I’ll never leave, but Laci might. Hmm, Laci could meet a guy at school and move to Alaska. Maybe everyone is right, she’s an adult now and I need to grab happiness while I can. Does it make me a bad mom? Claudine thinks I’m a terrible mom, but then Claudine is evil. No, I have always been a good mom. I think what I’m going to do is make plans. Next time Clark calls we’ll set a date. Then I can pinpoint exactly where and how. For now, I’ll jot down ideas.

  I reached for my pen and the yellow legal pad on the table in front of me when the front bell rang, and Yummy began to bark.

  “Coming,” I called out thinking it must be a new customer because Yummy seldom barks at people he knows. I walked up front. I was right. It was a stranger to Yummy.

  “Good morning, Detective Nate,” I said smiling at Berg’s cousin.

  “Morning, Annie.” He returned my smile. “I’m here to tighten up the statement you gave yesterday. Sometimes when we’re under stress, we forget things. I just want to go over it and see if you recall anything new.”

  “Sure,” I answered. “Would you like a cup of coffee? I’m not sure what I can add since she was under my pier before I walked out, and I saw her. It was barely dawn when I first walked out, so it was several minutes before Yummy’s barking alerted me to a problem.”

  “Yummy?” His face scrunched. Yummy barked.

  “Oh, you weren’t in town when I inherited Yummy from Inga Kelleher along with the estate. This is Yummy, my Yorkshire Terrier. Yummy say hello to Detective Nate.”

  Yummy barked and danced around in a circle.

  Detective Nate laughed. He bent over and said, “Hello, Yummy.”

  Yummy barked again as Detective Nate scooped him off the floor. Yummy settled in his arms.

  “Cute dog,” he said as he rubbed behind Yummy’s ears. Yummy’s head dropped into the crook of Detective Nate’s elbow, and he closed his eyes.

  “He likes you and he’s a good judge of character,” I smiled. “I’m not sure what else I can tell you about Barbara.”

  “Any idea how she ended up under your pier? Did you hear anything early Sunday morning or in the middle of the night?”

  “No, sorry. Aunt Irene’s cottage is closer to the water than my house, and she said she slept soundly. I own the acreage between my house and the public beach. We seldom have people use it since the public area is close, and it’s fenced off. However, the public beach is accessible by anyone and the Kelleher property and mansion across the lake from me is empty. Anyone could use the beach access there or the area between the mansion and the three other homes on the lake north of me. It’s a big lake, but not many people around.” I shrugged.

  He nodded and took notes. He looked up at me. “Do you know if she had enemies? I heard you two didn’t get along.”

  I took a deep breath.

  Oh goodness gracious, Annie. Another Detective Berg wants to pin a murder on you. Think of something to say. Think fast and breathe.

  I shook my head. “No, no one comes to mind. The only problem I had with Barbara is she is umm was Claudine’s best friend. Claudine and I don’t get along, and Barbara always followed her lead.”

  “Uh huh, I heard you threatened to hit her with a book.”

  “What, that was the morning Claudine had been in here yelling at me about a family matter. Barbara passed by the window later in the morning and shook her finger at me, and I held up a book as if I was going to toss it at her. She hurried off. It wasn’t a threat; it was a reaction.”

  I crossed my arms. The friendly detective was getting on my nerves.

  “Okay, I think I have what I need,” he m
umbled.

  “Why don’t you look at her work situation? She was the mayor’s personal assistant and people used to get angry with her for not allowing them to bother the mayor when they wanted to vent. She could have made an enemy. I don’t like gossip, but the town’s grapevine said she and the mayor were close, too close and she was closer to Councilman Phillips. I don’t trust either of those men.”

  “All right, I have all I need. Thanks for talking to me, Annie. You have a good day and if you get any new science fiction thrillers in, give me a call. Okay?” He smiled and dropped his card on the front counter before he left.

  I watched him close the front door wondering if he still thought of me as a suspect or if he was formulating other scenarios.

  I plopped down on the couch and picked up the mystery I was reading. The store was quiet all morning, and I put the “Out for Lunch” sign in the front window when Georgie arrived with lunch.

  Georgie hurried through the back door carrying bags from the Grille. “We need to talk,” she said catching her breath.

  “We most certainly do,” I agreed, “but let’s eat first or the food will get cold as we tend to ignore everything when we talk.”

  We sat, and Georgie pulled out our lunch and laid it on the paper plates I keep in the store’s back room.

  She must be excited about something or maybe nervous. She brought French fries and onion rings plus hot fudge shakes.

  We ate while staring at each other. Friends for as long as either of us could remember, we both knew there was something important to discuss. We took our time, and when we finished and threw away the wrappers we settled on the sofa. I asked, “Who goes first?”

  Chapter Five

  Georgie and I stared at each other for another moment, and I grabbed my yellow legal pad. “I made notes on my wedding ideas.”