Pains and Penalties: (A Geeks and Things Cozy Mystery Novella #1) (Geeks and Things Cozy Mysteries)

by Sarah Biglow

  “I wanted to see what kind of games you had. See if any of them were appropriate for Jack and Benji.”

  “Um, okay.”

  It wasn’t the way she wanted to break the news about what she’d discovered but it would have to do. There was the risk he’d berate her more in person as she couldn’t just hang up, but it was one she had no choice but to take.

  “Have fun,” AJ said with a small wave.

  Kalina led Chris back to the game room. She planned on getting more games as people requested them but she had a few staples that she’d picked up at a couple small conventions she’d been at. This wasn’t exactly the venue she’d intended to share what she’d learned from Mrs. Grant but it would have to do. There was the risk that he would berate her for going behind his back but it was one she was willing to take. He browsed the table of games and picked up a small canister.

  “Zombie Dice?” she said with a smile.

  “Want to play?”

  “I have something to tell you.”

  “We can talk and play.”

  They settled across the table from each other and Chris went first. She wasn’t paying attention to the dice as they skittered out across the table but she spotted the red shotgun blast. She was working herself up to telling him the truth.

  “So I saw Mrs. Grant today.”

  “Oh?” He fished three more dice from the container and rolled them.

  “Well, she seemed so upset yesterday I wanted to make sure she was doing okay.”

  “That’s very neighborly of you. I guess you didn’t forget your hometown manners being away in the big city.”

  “She told me something. She got a note just like the one you found at Mrs. Davies’ house.”

  The dice slipped from his fingers and rolled both a green and yellow shotgun. His turn ended. “How do you know about that?”

  “I was standing there when you brought it out of the house yesterday, remember? You told me to go away.”

  Chris blushed. “I didn’t think you’d seen what it said.”

  “Business school. Great for learning how to run a business and read upside down.”

  He dumped all of the dice back into the container and passed it over to her. She shook it and reached in, pulling out three dice and rolling them. Three brains. Lucky her.

  “So, are you sure she got one?”

  “She showed it to me.” She picked three more dice and rolled them. One shotgun and two brains. “I didn’t touch it. I made sure not to.”

  “Where is she?”

  “I left her at the church. You should send someone there and to her house to make sure she doesn’t destroy it. Not that she would but … just to be sure.”

  He pulled out his cell phone and sent a text. “Did she tell you anything else?”

  “She said there might be a third person who got a note. Cynthia Ellicott. But I don’t know that she’d talk to you, she sounds pretty crotchety.”

  “What made her think that Ms. Ellicott would be targeted?”

  Kalina licked her lips. “She said they committed perjury thirty years ago.”

  “I should still speak to her, to confirm if she is indeed a target.”

  “I’d like to come with you.”

  “How many times do I have to tell you—”

  “She might be willing to talk to both of us. A friendly face does wonders for making people open up.”

  “You saying I’m not friendly?”

  “No. But she used to babysit my sister and me when we were little.”

  “Fine. But you do exactly as I say, got it?”

  “You have my word.”

  They left the table with dice spread across it and headed out through the front of the shop. AJ leaned on the counter, his nose mere inches from his phone.

  “Hold the fort,” she called.

  CHAPTER TEN

  Ms. Ellicott’s house stood on the edge of the town away from everyone else. The more Kalina though about the woman the more she remembered her being kind of opinionated and irritable even as a younger woman. It was probably a good thing to be going as a pair to talk to her; Chris flashing his badge would only annoy her. Despite the summer warmth, the shutters were all closed on the front windows and the front door was shut. Stepping up onto the front porch, Kalina felt the tiny hairs on the back of her neck stand on end. Chris didn’t appear to have the same reaction. He yanked open the screen door and knocked sharply.

  “Ms. Ellicott, this is Detective Harper with Ellesworth PD. I’d like to ask you a few questions.”

  No response. Kalina paced the length of the porch and noted the windows on both sides of the house were also closed up tight. “Does she vacation somewhere else in the summer?”

  Chris knocked again. “I don’t think so. Stay here. I’m going to check around back.”

  “Okay.”

  He jogged around the back of the house. Kalina tried the front door but found it locked. Standing there alone made her nervous. Something about this was wrong. Even people who didn’t want to be around other people didn’t shut themselves up like this. Not in this town. She abandoned the front of the house and made her way around the back, taking the same path Chris had to avoid spooking him. She hadn’t seen a gun on his belt but that didn’t mean he didn’t have one concealed somewhere else.

  “Chris?” she called out, hoping to give him even more warning that she was coming.

  He didn’t answer her and she picked up the pace. She rounded the back of the house and found him leaning against the side of the house bent double. The back door, which led to the kitchen, was open and a putrid smell wafted from the house.

  “Oh God, what is that?” She gagged.

  “We’re too late.”

  Holding her breath, Kalina peered inside. Just within view, Ms. Ellicott lay on the floor with something silver protruding from her chest. There didn’t appear to be much blood. She hoped the poor woman had gone quickly. She backed away from the house and sucked in fresh summer air.

  “Do … do you know how long she’s been dead?”

  Chris shook his head and coughed a couple times. “No. And being shut in the house like that is going to make it harder to figure out. I need to get a forensic unit down here.”

  “What should I do?”

  His eyes watered, likely from the smell, and he pointed to the front of the house. “Go wait out front. Direct the EMTs when they get here.”

  “I can do that.”

  Chris pulled his phone from his pocket and hit a speed dial. “This is Detective Harper from Ellesworth PD. I need an ambulance to 1849 Spring Road. And I’m going to need a forensic team too. We’ve got another one.”

  Kalina retraced her steps back to the front of the house and took a seat on the front steps to wait. Someone was definitely targeting the women who’d lied at the trial thirty years ago. And they were succeeding in doling out punishment. She really needed to figure out who was after them. If she did, maybe they could prevent Mrs. Grant from being the last victim. A short time later, sirens wailed and an ambulance pulled to a stop in front of the house.

  “Where are we going?” a male paramedic asked as he climbed out of the driver side.

  “Straight back. She’s in the kitchen.”

  She rubbed the back of her neck and waited for the forensic team to show up. She stared out at the trees and grass lining the street, anything to keep her from closing her eyes and seeing the dead woman inside the house. It was far worse than Mrs. Davies. She had questions she wanted to ask but knew they couldn’t be answered yet. Finally, a forensic van showed up and, just as the team disappeared toward the back of the house, Chris appeared.

  “How are you holding up?”

  “I don’t know. I mean do you think if I’d told you sooner we could have stopped it?”

  He sat beside her and wrapped his arm around her shoulder. “I don’t think so. Even without the heat of the house she’s probably been dead at least a day.”

  Now she kne
w exactly how AJ felt witnessing Mrs. Davies take her last breath. They sat together in silence and she leaned into his solid presence. She almost expected him to kiss her cheek reassuringly. But that was the thought of an enamored schoolgirl. She pushed down those feelings and squeezed her eyes shut to ward off tears. She needed to stay strong to solve this case.

  “I know I’m not a cop but … I feel like I’m a part of this case, Chris. Please don’t keep me in the dark. I need to know what happened.”

  “I can’t make that promise, Kal.”

  “You don’t have to let me sit in on any interviews or anything, but what was it that killed her?”

  “It looked like a letter opener.”

  “Did you find a note like the others got?”

  “I don’t know. Forensics is still working.”

  “Was it her letter opener?”

  “I didn’t get a good look at it.”

  “This has to be connected to that trial.”

  “Maybe. But forensics will do what they do and let me know what they find. As much as we want answers right now, we have to be patient. We want to make sure we have all the evidence to put whoever is doing this away.”

  “I know. I … this is just scaring me a little. I come home and all of a sudden people are being murdered left and right.”

  “I’m pretty sure it wasn’t you.”

  She smiled at him. “Thanks.”

  One of the forensic techs approached with two evidence bags in hand. One bore a white, printed piece of paper and even from this distance Kalina spotted the identical message. The second bag contained the letter opener. The silver handle bore what looked like a monogram etched into it.

  “We found the note in the bedroom,” the tech said.

  “Okay. Let me see the weapon.”

  The tech handed over the letter opener and, for his part, Chris didn’t stop Kalina from bending over to examine it with him. It was slender and the point was dulled with use. She tried not to look at the rust-colored stains marring the tip and half of the shaft. She’d been right about the top being monogramed. On closer inspection, she spotted an ornate “MG” embossed in flowery script underneath black fingerprint powder. She noted the swirls and whorls of an exposed print. She thought she spotted some blood on the sharp left point of the M but she didn’t say anything. Pointing out evidence wasn’t her job.

  “I’m going to go out on a limb and say this wasn’t hers,” she said.

  “I’m inclined to agree with you. Hopefully, the lab can identify whoever’s fingerprint that is.”

  She didn’t want to say it but it looked like the letter opener belonged to Mrs. Grant. It would explain why she’d been so reluctant to open up about the letter and the trial. Seeds of doubt took root in Kalina’s mind. But she couldn’t leap to conclusions just because the evidence was pointing in her direction. She would wait for proof before sharing her theory. Chris’s phone beeped with a text message. He set the letter opener on the stair to his left and checked the screen. He frowned and rubbed at his temple.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “I sent an officer to the church but Mrs. Grant wasn’t there. She wasn’t at her house either.”

  “Maybe she went back to the fair.”

  “Yeah, maybe. I think I need to talk to her myself.”

  “If you don’t mind, I think I’m going to head back to the shop and check on AJ.”

  “Good idea.”

  The paramedics rolled by with Ms. Ellicott on a gurney. The smell of death followed them and up close Kalina saw the fear etched into the woman’s features. She didn’t deserve to die. Not this way. Neither of them did. She pushed herself to her feet and raked a hand through her hair while she waited for the ambulance to pull away. Maybe they were lucky no one else lived close by. They didn’t need people gossiping and spreading rumors. The ambulance eased back down the street without fanfare or sirens. They weren’t keen to announce another death either.

  “I guess we’ll have to finish our game another time,” Chris said as he placed a hand on her arm. “I’ve got to head back to the station and fill Captain Cahill in.”

  “Okay.” Time for her to actually do that research she’d planned on.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  “Where’d you go?” AJ asked as soon as Kalina walked through the front door of the shop. She’d made a stop at home to pick up her laptop. She needed the extra processing power.

  “You can’t tell anyone but … we found another body.”

  “Oh, crap. Who?”

  “I can’t tell you. Not if I want Chris to trust me enough not to leave me out of the loop going forward.” She shut the door and flipped the sign to “Closed”.

  “Come on. You told me everything else. Maybe I can help.”

  “I appreciate it but this is more serious than we thought. I need you to go home.”

  “Please, Aunt K., let me help.”

  “I need to do this on my own, kid. Please just go home. I’m sure everything will come out when this is all over. But right now I don’t need a sidekick.”

  “You know, the hero kicking the sidekick out never ends well,” he muttered but took the back exit.

  She felt a little guilty about booting him out of her research but she knew Jillian would never forgive her if he got mixed up with a killer—well, any more mixed up than he already was. But she would be the good aunt and do everything she could to protect her family. It seemed the killer had a specific target but she couldn’t discount the possibility that he or she might lash out if the police closed in. She pushed those worries aside while she waited for her laptop to boot up and connect to the store’s Wi-Fi. She navigated to the town’s library webpage and searched for links to old newspaper articles. Unfortunately, it didn’t look like they’d scanned all of the editions yet. They’d gone as far back as 1990 but she needed the 1980s. At the bottom of the list of available editions she saw a disclaimer that editions from the 1980s and earlier could be found at the library itself and the website offered a list of article titles from those editions. At least they were trying to be helpful.

  Kalina typed in the search terms “trial” and “Cynthia Ellicott”. She was the only one of the three who hadn’t married and Kalina didn’t know Mrs. Davies’ or Mrs. Grant’s maiden names. The page populated a list of results. There were a couple of articles in which Ms. Ellicott’s name came up in connection with a trial. They were from the spring editions in March and April 1986. There was also an article from June 1987 linked to those from the year before. That was what she needed to find. She copied the article titles and editions and emailed them to herself, pulling the email up on her phone’s email app before heading out to the library. She could feel a break in the case coming. Answers were almost within her reach.

  A short time later, she sat in the newspaper archive section of the library in the basement. It was quiet and she was grateful for the solitude. She didn’t need people asking questions she wasn’t ready to answer. She started with the March editions, combing through the aged, brittle paper until she found what she was looking for. The article was buried within the third page.

  Local Man Charged with Murder to Stand Trial

  By: Adam Jenkins, Staff Reporter

  It was a quiet night on February 18, 1986 when the authorities were called upon to investigate the body of a young girl found down near the waterfront. The victim, later identified as 16-year-old Alice Beech, appeared to have sustained injuries consistent with a physical assault, according to police who were on scene. The case developed no leads as Alice’s family begged the townspeople for someone to come forward. They offered a reward for any information leading to the capture of their daughter’s killer.

  A break in the case came as blustery February turned into March. Three witnesses, including Ms. Cynthia Ellicott, came forward stating that they had been out for a walk on the beach when they observed a car speeding away toward the center of town. According to their statements, the vehicle passed by s
treet lights illuminating the face of the driver. The suspect, identified as Samuel Gordon, 31, was arrested at his home on March 9, 1986 and has been indicted on charges of murder. A trial is expected to commence on March 24th in the Salem County Courthouse. Gordon remains in custody as bail has been denied. According to sources, Gordon has relatives out of state and the judge believes him to be a flight risk. At this time it is unclear whether Ms. Ellicott and the other witnesses will testify at trial.

  Kalina leaned back and let out a breath. She’d been a toddler when Alice Beech died. No one in town liked to talk about it. In fact, she couldn’t even recall the case ever coming up after church on Sundays when she was young. And those ladies always liked to gossip. She checked the list on her phone again for the next article. It came from the April 10th edition. This time Mr. Jenkins made the front page with a faded color photo of the defendant sitting in court. He looked vaguely familiar, which was ridiculous. She’d never met the man.

  Gordon Trial Drags On, Public Restless for Result

  By: Adam Jenkins, Staff Reporter

  Trial is still underway at the Salem County Courthouse. The prosecution’s case closed on Friday. Defendant Samuel Gordon has yet to take the stand and reports indicate he may not testify in his own defense. While he is not required to do so, there is no doubt the jury will consider it a strike against him.

  Perhaps the highlight of the prosecution’s case came when Ms. Cynthia Ellicott, 30 and two other witnesses testified as to their recollections of the night in question. Ms. Ellicott testified that she, “saw a man driving away very fast from where poor Alice was found.” Ms. Agatha Hammersmith testified that, “Yes, I’m sure it was the defendant who killed that poor girl,” and when asked how she knew this, replied, “I saw his eyes. I could never forget the look of madness in them.” Finally, Ms. Margaret Cook testified that she, “recalled the license plate of the car and it matched the car driven by the defendant.”