by Kate Bell
I’m pretty sure my mouth dropped open as I stared at him. Did he just say what I thought he said? I shot Alec a sideways glance, and he looked stunned, too.
“I’m sorry, in what way does it make things easier?” Alec asked after a few moments.
“Well, I had told Diana I wanted a divorce. It would have been messy. She didn’t really want the divorce and we own property in other states. And the kids would have had problems adjusting.” He smiled as if he had just told us he was enjoying the weather.
“Well,” Alec said, and then sat speechless. I turned and looked at him, then turned back to Dick.
“You don’t think the kids will have problems adjusting to the murder of their mother?” I asked, awed that anyone could say such a thing.
“Oh sure. It will be an adjustment,” he said shrugging his shoulders again. “But you know, kids adapt. They’re very flexible.”
“Murder seems like an extreme measure. I mean, sure no one wants to go through a divorce, but still,” I said.
I wasn’t sure what to make of him. Not only did he not seem sad, but now he was saying how much easier his wife’s death was going to make things. And he had said it in front of the detective handling the investigation. Dick didn’t seem to be very bright.
“I have to admit, your words are concerning,” Alec said. His eyebrows furrowed, and I was guessing this was the first time he had ever encountered a possible suspect that told him how much easier their life was going to be now that the victim had been murdered.
“I’m sorry, I suppose I seem callous,” Dick said, leaning forward in his seat. “Diana and I had a wonderful relationship, but things change. I know this is difficult for the boys, but they’re troopers.”
“Mr. Bowen, did you do your wife any harm?” Alec asked, looking into his eyes.
“What? Me? No. Of course not,” Dick said, leaning back and crossing his legs. He still had that smile on his face and was as calm as you please.
“Why were you getting a divorce?” I figured I might as well ask. He didn’t seem to have a problem being open. If that was what he was being.
“She didn’t have a passion for swing dancing.”
Again, he sat there with that smile. I slowly turned my head to look at Alec. He was looking back at me, eyes wide.
“Come again?” I said, turning back to him.
“When we were in high school, we danced in competitions. We were quite good. But then we got married and had children and started our careers. Things just got in the way. I told Diana six months ago that I wanted to go back to dance competitions. We have enough money in savings and I’m not getting any younger. So I quit my job. But she said she didn’t want to do it.”
“And this made you angry?” Alec asked, furiously writing in his little notebook.
“Well, to be truthful, yes it did. But not angry enough to murder her. I just asked for a divorce. There were other issues. We just grew apart.”
“When she didn’t grant the divorce, you murdered her,” I said. I may have been jumping to conclusions, but it seemed obvious to me.
He threw his head back and laughed as if I had told him a hilarious joke. “No, of course not! I was just going to file for divorce, anyway. I found a new dance partner. Diana was holding me back,” he said. “Besides, if you want to know my opinion on the whole thing, I’d suggest you talk to the mayor.”
“Why?” Alec spit out before I could say another word.
“Because he and Diana were chummy. Very chummy. I looked at her phone a couple of weeks ago and she was making anywhere from five to ten calls a day to him.”
Alec and I looked at each other again. This was getting weirder by the minute.
“You suspected an affair?” Alec asked.
He shrugged. “I saw a text on her phone from him saying if she didn’t cooperate, she would be sorry.”
“And where is her phone?” Alec asked.
He shrugged again. “I haven’t seen it.”
“It wasn’t recovered at the scene. She didn’t leave it here?” Alec asked.
He shook his head. “No, I haven’t seen it.”
“When you saw the text, did you ask her about it? In case she was indeed, getting herself into trouble?” Alec asked.
“No. It was none of my business,” he said.
“If Diana was having an affair, that would be a good reason for you to murder her,” I pointed out.
“She wasn’t worth murdering. I’m not sure how popular swing dancing is in prison and I’m not about to find out,” he said smugly.
This guy was getting on my nerves. And now I was certain he was the killer. His demeanor said it all.
Alec stared at him for a minute. Dick returned the stare. I was ready to holler, “book ‘em, Danno!” But Alec was calm.
“Can you tell me if your wife was sick in the days leading up to her death?” Alec asked.
Dick’s brow furrowed. “Yes, as a matter of fact, she was. For maybe a week or so. She thought she was coming down with the flu. I told her to go to the doctor, but she never did. She said she had too much work to do at the flower shop and for the Halloween bazaar.”
“Thank you, Mr. Bowen. We’ll be in touch,” Alec said and got to his feet.
I followed suit, and we headed toward the front door. “Thank you for your time,” I called as we headed out and closed the door behind us.
I moved close to Alec so I wouldn’t be overheard. “Why didn’t you arrest him? He did it! I know he did!”
“No, you don’t know anything. We can’t run around arresting anyone that is cold and callous toward a murder victim,” he said. “If we did, we’d have to arrest fifty percent of murder victim’s family members.”
I sighed. “Well, that was weird. He was just weird. No emotions whatsoever. And who quits their job to become a professional swing dancer?”
He chuckled. “I’ve never heard of someone doing that. You never know what you’ll encounter on these types of investigations.”
“Where do you think that phone is?” I asked when we got back into the car.
“I’ll check in evidence and see if the phone was overlooked and is maybe with her possessions.”
“Or the murderer took it with him? Are you going to talk to the mayor? He sounds suspicious, too.”
Alec looked at me. “I expect you to keep a lid on what was said here. No talking to your friend Lucy or anyone else.”
“What’s wrong with Lucy?” I asked and then thought about it. “Oh yeah, never mind. She would have to tell someone.”
We drove back to the police station in silence.
Chapter Eleven
“Allie,” I heard someone call. My eyes popped open. “Allie.”
I sat up in bed. Was I hearing things?
“Allie,” the voice said again.
I got up and went toward the voice. “Who is it?” I called.
“Allie.”
The voice was coming from the kitchen and I headed there.
Diana sat at my kitchen table, coffee cup in hand. “There you are, Allie. Come sit down.”
I went to the table, pulled out a chair and sat. Diana had a greenish cast to her. I decided it must have been because of the poison. The term ‘green around the gills’ suddenly made sense.
“How are you doing, Diana?” I asked. I was curious about how she had been since her death. Her hair had little weeds and twigs in it. I thought about pointing it out but thought better of it.
She smiled. “Oh, I’m fine. Death was a bit of a shocker, let me tell you. But I got over it.”
I was afraid to ask where she had been spending all her time since her death.
“Do you know who killed you?” I asked. I thought about getting my phone so I could video her response so Alec would believe me when I told him about this. But I couldn’t remember where I had it last.
She shook her head. “No, I don’t,” she said matter-of-factly. “But I need you to figure it out. Otherwise, there may be
a lot more murders. Because that’s just how murderers are. They can’t stop at one.”
I nodded. “Indeed, they are.”
“Allie, find my killer,” she repeated.
“I’ll do my best,” I said.
“Allie! Find my killer!” she said loudly.
“Yes, I will,” I promised.
“Allie! Do it now!” she shouted.
I awoke with a start and looked at the clock. It was 3:15 AM. My heart was pounding. I sat up in bed and shook my head to clear it, and picked up my phone, checking to make sure it was working.
I let my breath out and lay down on my back. I needed to find Diana’s killer.
Chapter Twelve
Alec wasn’t going to be too thrilled, but I decided I was going to be his partner. Not that I announced it to him, I just showed up the next day with more coffee and a smile on my face. Diana was expecting me to find her killer, and I didn’t want any more middle of the night visits from her, so I decided I needed to get serious about it.
“What are you doing here?” he asked, as he got ready to get into his car.
Alec was a creature of habit. It was exactly the same time he had been getting in his car the day before.
“I brought coffee. Who are we going to see today?”
He rolled his eyes at me. “You are not going anywhere. There is no we.”
“Did you find Diana’s phone?” I asked and handed him his coffee and headed to the other side of his car.
“No, I didn’t find her phone,” he said. “Hey, what are you doing?”
I got in and closed the door. My detective ensemble today was a couple layers of soft, long sleeve t-shirts with a sweater vest thrown over the top. Very retro, if you ask me. “Let’s roll, Danno,” I said to him.
He got in the driver’s seat and turned toward me and stared. Finally, he asked, “What do you think you’re doing? I am not Danno and you are not whoever it is you think you are.”
“I’m helping you solve a crime. I’m not even charging you for it. It's on the house.”
“Look, Allie, that’s nice that you want to help me. But it’s against regulations for you to come with me. No one knows that you rode with me yesterday and I’d like to keep it that way. This is serious business and you’ll have to go home now.”
“What? What are you talking about? You need a woman’s intuition to tell you who’s telling the truth and who isn’t,” I said, turning toward him. “And what if Dick Bowen squeals that I was with you?”
“No, I don’t need a woman’s intuition. I need to be able to do my job without distractions. Thank you for the coffee, but I don’t need your help,” he said facing forward. His hands were gripping the steering wheel. His dark hair needed a trim.
I didn’t want to make him mad, but I wasn’t giving up so easily, either. “I’m sorry, Alec. I’ll be serious. I really want to help you on this case. Can I please come along if I promise to keep quiet?”
He sighed. “Sometimes civilians are allowed to go on ride alongs. But it’s not like I have a real reason to allow it. I could get into trouble if someone found out.”
“Yes, you do have a reason. I can help you. I can be your assistant. Please?”
He sighed again. “I’ve got to see the mayor. I expect you to keep quiet. Do you understand?”
“Yes. Completely.” I made a zipped lip motion and sat back in the seat.
***
We went to the mayor’s office, which in this small town, meant there was a small office suite above Dr. Anderson’s office. The ceiling had water stains on it and the carpet was green shag from 1976. The mayor had a regular job because the mayor position only took a few hours a week to perform and the city didn’t have money to pay a salary. So Bob Payne was a loan officer at the Bank of Maine when he wasn’t serving as mayor. Alec had made an appointment, and we sat on the old brown Naugahyde sofa near the top of the stairs that served as a reception area for the mayor’s office.
“Do you think he’s in there?” I asked after several minutes of staring at the closed door.
Alec shrugged. “He said he would meet me here.”
“We’ve been here a long time. It seems like if he were in there, he would have come out and spoken to us by now.”
“He may be busy. Have some patience,” he said.
We waited a few more minutes. I crossed and uncrossed my legs. “I don’t think he’s in there.”
“He’s probably on the phone. You need to settle down,” he said.
After a few more minutes, I got up and knocked sharply on the closed door. There was no answer, so I waited a minute and knocked again. I ignored Alec when he sighed.
Just then the door to the stairs swung open and Bob waltzed in.
“Sorry I’m late,” he said.
I narrowed my eyes at Alec.
“Thank you for meeting us,” Alec said, standing up and shaking Bob’s hand while ignoring me.
I re-introduced myself and we went into his office.
“What can I do for you?” Bob asked. He wore dress pants and a tie. He had probably come straight over from work.
“Mayor Payne, I’m here regarding the investigation into Diana’s Bowen’s death,” Alec began.
“Investigation? Why? I thought she died of a heart attack?” Bob asked, wide-eyed.
“No, the Medical Examiner found that she was poisoned,” Alec said and then paused to let Bob take this in.
“Really?” he asked, shocked. “I had no idea. I wonder who would do something like that?” He went around to his desk and sat down, offering us the ratty visitors’ chairs in front of his desk.
I smelled a rat. Bob didn’t do innocent very well. But at least he tried, which was more than could be said for Dick Bowen.
“That’s what we’re trying to find out,” Alec said. “Can you tell me how you knew Diana?”
“It’s a small town and Diana was a businesswoman. We were both at a lot of civic functions. I suppose I ran into her somewhat frequently,” he explained, folding his hands on the top of his cheap, spindly legged desk.
Alec had his notebook out again, and I was making mental notes. I didn’t trust Bob. He had most likely had an affair with Diana and did away with her when he was finished.
“I see. And did you have a personal relationship with her?”
“What? Me? No. Of course not. I mean, I went to high school with her, but that was a long time ago,” he said, straightening his tie.
I wasn’t sure, but I thought I saw a couple beads of sweat break out on his forehead. I really wanted to jump in and start questioning him, but just like I had promised Alec, I was quiet. I wondered what secrets being the mayor of a small town like Sandy Harbor afforded him?
“And where were you the day Diana died?” Alec asked.
Oh, good question.
“My daughter, Addison, had a dance recital. I was there. She’s very talented, but then, I suppose most fathers would say that about their little girls. I think it’s important to support your kids in whatever they do.” He said that last part like he expected to get father of the year. But if he was lying, he was taking a risk. Other parents would know if he had been there or not.
“I see, and you have proof of that?” Alec asked. I was beginning to like his style.
“What? What do you mean?” Bob sputtered. “Why do I have to have proof? I was at my daughter’s dance recital. There were other people there, of course.”
Bob’s face had turned red and real beads of sweat popped out on his forehead. No denying it now. Bob was getting hot under the collar. It was suspicious that he would get this excited over the basic questions Alec was asking.
“I see,” Alec said very calmly. I glanced at him. He was playing it cool.
Bob realized he was overreacting and took a deep breath. “Look, I feel bad about Diana. I would never have wanted this to happen to her or anyone else. I feel terrible for her boys. I don’t know what my daughters would do if something happened to eit
her me or my wife. But I have no idea who murdered her.”
Alec asked him a few other uninteresting questions, and the interview was over and done with before I knew it.
Bob saw us to the door and just as Alec reached for the doorknob, it was pulled open. Bob’s mother, Mary, stood looking wide-eyed at us.
“Oh, I’m so sorry,” she said and laughed nervously. “I wasn’t expecting anyone to be here. I mean, I wasn’t expecting anyone besides Bob to be here.” She looked at Bob.
“Allie and the detective stopped by to, uh, talk to me for a few minutes, Mother,” Bob said to her.
“Oh?” she asked. “Well, isn’t that nice. I understand you’re new in town Detective,” she said smoothly. “I’ve heard so much about you, but I don’t believe we’ve met.”
“Detective Blanchard,” Alec said, taking her extended hand.
“Mary Payne,” she replied and held on to his hand a moment longer than necessary. “I suppose it’s good for you to meet the mayor. Is that why you’re here? To meet the mayor? It’s a new town for you, after all.”
Alec Smiled. “I’m not at liberty to say.”
Mary’s mouth formed a thin line, and she narrowed her eyes at him. Mary had a demanding personality and didn’t like to be put off. “What do you mean? What’s that supposed to mean? Allie, I’m surprised to see you here.”
“It’s a pleasure meeting you Mrs. Payne. We’ve got to be going,” Alec said, and he moved toward the outer door without answering. I followed closely on his heels and didn’t answer Mary, either.
“It certainly is a pleasure meeting you, Detective,” Mary called as we left. To be truthful, her tone didn’t suggest that it had been a pleasure.
“You don’t spend enough time interrogating,” I whispered as we walked back to his car. “I think you should work on that.”
“That was not an interrogation. That was simply a fact-finding mission,” he said. “Besides, how much real detective work have you actually done in your own, obviously lengthy PI career?”
