Murder at St. Mark's

by Priscilla Baker

  “Damn!” Lucy cried as she slowed to a halt, slowly noticing she was being watched by all the tourists.

  Ally caught up with her. “Lucy? What was that all about? I know it’s been a while since you had a date, but you don’t need to chase them through the crowds! Besides, don’t you think he was a little young for you?” Ally joked, wheezing as she caught her breath.

  Lucy reached out and playfully punched her friend in the arm. “Shut up! That wasn’t why I was chasing him, obviously. It was his hat—that was the same hat I told you about, that I saw in Donovan’s locker. I’m pretty sure it was the only thing that was actually stolen during the break-in. I thought maybe it was a team or something, maybe they played like softball or something. I just wanted to ask him if he knew Donovan.” Tears pricked at Lucy’s eyes as she spoke. She hadn’t realized how upset she was about the murder.

  “I mean, what if he still has family, or friends,” she continued, “that he never told us about but are expecting him to come by, or to call, or to show up for softball practice. It just breaks my heart that it seems like he had no one.”

  “I know, Luce. I know. It’s horrible. But we’ve done all we can, for the time being. The police are working on it and I’m sure they’ll find out who they should contact. Donovan must have had someone.” Ally put her arm around her friend and slowly guided her back on to the sidewalk, back towards the restaurant and Lucy’s apartment.

  “Let’s head back, okay? I still have everything for the special we have to test, the seafood cioppino. It’s all in the fridge back at your place. Lucky you—two meals today!” Ally joked, trying to cheer up Lucy, who managed a smile as she wiped away a few stray tears.

  “Sure thing, Al. Thanks.” Arms still around each other, the two headed back to the cozy, messy apartment above Alba, where they spent the afternoon drinking wine and cooking together.

  Chapter 8

  Later that night, after Ally had headed back to her own apartment a few blocks away, Lucy sat on the couch, still nursing the last glass of white wine Ally had poured. They had devoured the seafood cioppino Ally had prepared, declaring it a total success. It would be on the menu next week as the dinner special. Ally had called her seafood vendor right then and there from the apartment, sweet talking him into giving her everything she would need on short notice. Lucy was learning a lot about her best friend, like just how many talents she had under that chef’s hat.

  Lucy was still thinking about that tall, nervous boy in the park. She swore it was the same cap that had been in Donovan’s locker, although Ally had gently tried to ask if she could have been mistaken. No way, she thought to herself. I know what I saw, and I know it was the same stupid hat.

  Lucy reached under the coffee table and grabbed her laptop from where it was haphazardly leaning against one of the legs. She booted it up and waited.The thing was ancient and took forever to turn on. It was the same laptop her father had bought for her when she started college.

  A picture of the desert finally filled her screen, indicating the computer was ready. Lucy navigated to the search bar on the home screen and typed in ‘Redmond, MA recreational baseball,’ remembering what the back of the cap had said. The computer loaded the results, and—nothing . A few hits about the local high school baseball team, but that was it. The high school team had a completely different logo, so that definitely wasn’t it. Lucy repeated the search again, this time looking for softball instead of baseball. Still, nothing.

  Lucy kept trying, long after she finished her glass of wine, trying different search words and different combinations of search words. She had nothing. There was nothing in Redmond that was anywhere close. No little league teams, the high school team with a completely different logo, and no adult recreational leagues. She even tried it without adding the ’MA’ to the end, in case somehow Donovan had been involved with a team in a different Redmond in another state. There was absolutely nothing.

  I wonder if I could find anything if I went down there, Lucy thought to herself. Impulsively, she picked up her cell phone and dialed Ally’s number, tapping her foot while it rang.

  “What is it?” Ally’s groggy voice filled her ear. “I was sleeping. Is everything okay?”

  “Everything is fine…I’m sorry I woke you up. Hey, what do you think about a quick road trip tomorrow morning? We’ll be back before noon, I promise,” Lucy spoke quickly, tripping over her own tongue in her excitement.

  “What? Where to?” Ally asked, her voice a little clearer.

  “I was thinking of driving down to Redmond, where Donovan’s baseball cap was from. I tried looking it up, but there doesn’t seem to be a baseball team or anything the hat might relate to,” Lucy explained.

  “Luce, you need to let the hat go,” Ally said firmly. “It’s just a hat, it doesn’t have anything to do with the murder.”

  “I know, I know,” Lucy sighed. “But I was thinking, maybe if we could find the team, we could find someone who knew his family. I really want them to know what happened.”

  “Okay, okay, we can go,” Ally sighed. “But I’m not leaving before eight! Come pick me up?”

  “You got it. Thank you, Ally. Now go back to sleep!” Ally’s muffled curse in response was cut off when Lucy hung up the phone.

  Chapter 9

  Lucy woke up the next morning feeling excited. What if Ally and I are actually able to do something helpful? she wondered to herself as she showered.

  Coffee in hand, Lucy descended the back staircase and crossed the alley to where her tiny Camry was parked. Similar to her laptop, it was the car she had owned when she started college.

  Still starts, Lucy thought as she turned the key. It was always a minor victory when the car started on the first try. She put it in gear and drove carefully to the end of the alley, where she navigated out onto Salem Street. Ally lived only a few blocks away, and typically Lucy would never drive. It was usually faster to walk anyway, with city traffic the way it was. But today they were venturing outside of their usual stomping grounds, and the car was a necessity to get outside of the city, and down to the South Shore.

  A few minutes later, Lucy pulled up outside of Ally’s apartment, on nearby Beacon Hill. Ally had scored a teeny, tiny apartment, on the top floor of an equally teeny, tiny apartment building. However, the view was spectacular, and that was all Ally had cared about when she signed the lease.

  Lucy shot Ally a quick text. Outside, it read. A few minutes later, a breathless Ally popped out of the front door, carrying her own travel cup of coffee.

  “Great minds think alike!” Lucy joked when Ally opened the passenger side door, lifting her own cup of coffee.

  “Please, like I was leaving the house without it this morning!” Ally called back as she climbed in the car. “When are you getting rid of this hunk of junk anyway? It’s practically as old as you are.”

  “Hey! Never you mind how old this car is, it works perfectly well. Just be grateful we’re not taking the train!” The two women grimaced together at the thought of trying to make the trek on Boston’s public rail system.

  They chatted as Lucy navigated through the twisty Boston streets, making her way to the interstate that led south. As they left the city, high-rises gave way to crowded houses visible from the highway. They traveled for almost an hour, eventually ending up in the coastal city of Redmond, the town that had been on Donovan’s hat.

  “Well, here we are, Luce. What now?” Ally asked, before finishing the rest of her now-lukewarm coffee while Lucy parked the car.

  “Honestly...I’m not exactly sure,” Lucy answered uncertainly. “Let’s start by finding a diner or something and grabbing some breakfast. We can’t investigate on empty stomachs!”

  “Investigate? Please!” Ally scoffed. “Soon you’ll be on the police force with all your new friends.”

  “They’re hardly my friends, Ally! I can’t help it if I’ve spent more time with them than I have with you these last few days,” Lucy laughed as she answere
d. “Come on, let’s go.”

  Lucy opened her car door and stepped out onto the side street she had parked on. Ally followed suit and they walked together down the street, back towards the center of town.

  “Do you see anything promising?” Lucy asked, peering into store fronts as they passed. Most were dark, since it was still morning.

  “Up ahead…I think that’s a café,” Ally said. “Let’s go check it out.”

  They stepped inside and relaxed in the warmth, shaking off the morning chill still in the air.

  “Welcome to the Early Bird Cafe!” called out a woman standing behind the counter. She was short, and on the older side, probably in her seventies. She had grey hair and was wearing what seemed to be a hand-knit sweater.

  “Please, sit yourselves down anywhere you like. Menus are on the table and I’ll be right over with coffee,” the woman called out.

  Ally and Lucy smiled at her and selected a table in the back corner, where the cold air from the door wouldn’t disturb them. The woman came over with a pot of coffee and filled the mugs on the table.

  “My name is Edith, girls, and I’ll be taking care of you today. Take a look at the menu and just give me a shout when you’re ready to place your order. Oh, now, let me refill that creamer for you. Pass it over, would you, dear?” Edith asked, gesturing at Ally.

  “Oh, of course!” Ally responded, passing it over. Edith grabbed it and bustled away, humming to herself.

  “Man, I sure hope we have that much energy when we’re old,” Lucy said under her breath once the woman was out of earshot. “That is truly impressive.”

  “And kind of scary,” Ally agreed, picking up her menu. “What are you thinking?” she asked.

  Lucy glanced down at the menu she had absentmindedly picked up. “I think an omelet might be good. Maybe with bacon and Swiss? Ooh, and onions and peppers, too,” she said. “How about you?”

  “Pancakes,” Ally said decisively. “This is the kind of place that always has great pancakes.”

  “Edith?” Lucy called out. The older woman’s head popped out from around the door into the kitchen.

  “All set, dear?” she asked, hurrying across the small restaurant. “What can I get for you?”

  “I’ll have an omelet, with bacon, Swiss, peppers, and onions. Rye toast, please,” Lucy responded, holding out the menu for Edith.

  “Perfect. And for you, sweetheart?” Edith asked Ally, not bothering to write anything down.

  “Pancakes for me, please!” Ally responded in a chipper voice.

  “Got that, hon?” Edith called out suddenly, raising her voice.

  “Got it, Edith!” called back a man’s voice from the kitchen.

  “My husband, Rob,” Edith said with a smile. “He cooks, I serve!” she added, before heading back into the kitchen.

  “Well, now, isn’t that sweet!” Ally said. “Almost reminds me of us,” she commented, laughing at Lucy’s outraged face.

  “Yeah, you would be the husband in this relationship!” Lucy retorted. They both laughed together and leaned back to wait for their food. Edith came back out of the kitchen and stationed herself behind the counter, rolling silverware into napkins.

  “So, what brings you girls in today?” she called out. “Usually we don’t get too busy on Tuesday mornings,” she said, gesturing at the empty restaurant.

  “We’re actually here to do a little research,” Lucy responded before Ally could say anything. “Do you know anything about a town baseball team? A...friend of mine used to play on it, and I’d like to get in touch with him again,” Lucy improvised, feeling bad for telling a white lie to such a sweet old lady.

  “Well, now, you came to just the right place,” Edith responded. She called back into the kitchen, “Rob! Get out here! These ladies want to ask you a question.”

  Lucy shot Ally a questioning look. Why did Edith think that Rob would have the answers? Ally responded by raising her eyebrows and shrugging. “Hey, you’re the one who wanted to come down here,” Ally whispered across the table.

  An older man came out of the kitchen, wearing a plaid shirt and a white apron. “Why hello there, ladies,” he said, in an accent that was straight out of the deep South. “What can I do for you today?”

  “We’re here looking into a town baseball team,” Lucy said. “A friend of mine used to play on it.”

  “Well then, you certainly have come to the right place. I coached the rec baseball team, for as long as we had one,” Rob said, leaning against the counter.

  “Had to shut the team down about five, six years ago,” he continued. “Town didn’t want to pay for it anymore.”

  “What a shame,” Ally said, turning to face Rob and Edith. “My dad used to play for a similar league back in my hometown, and he loved it.”

  “Yep, sure were a lot of good memories with that team,” Rob replied. “But anyway, who are you tryin’ to get in touch with? I still have contact info for a lot of those guys.”

  “Did anyone named Donovan Fagan ever play with you?” Lucy asked hopefully.

  “Well now, that name doesn’t ring a bell.” Rob moved across the small dining room, near the table that Ally and Lucy sat at. He walked past them and took something down off the wall, passing it over to Lucy.

  “That’s the last team picture we took, a few years ago. Most of those guys had been on the team for a decade, at least,” Rob said.

  Lucy grabbed the picture eagerly, positioning it between herself and Ally so they could both look. Suddenly, something in the photograph caught Ally’s eye. Every team member was wearing a matching baseball cap, but they looked nothing like the one she had found in Donovan’s locker. These caps were red, with a black brim, and the words “Redmond Baseball” written across the front in black text.

  “I don’t see him,” she said, pointing the picture more towards Ally. “Do you recognize anyone?”

  “Nope, Donovan definitely isn’t in this picture,” Ally replied.

  “What interesting caps,” Lucy commented. “Who designed them?”

  “Why, I did, with Edith’s help, of course,” Rob replied, smiling at his wife. “We designed them the very first year we played, and kept the same hats through to the end. I still have a box of ‘em at home.”

  “Wonderful,” Lucy said, feeling her spirits fade. There was no way Donovan had been on this team, or that his hat had come from them.

  “Too bad you don’t see your friend,” Rob commented, picking the picture up and returning it to its spot on the wall. “I can ask around and see if anyone else remembers him.”

  “Thanks, Rob,” Ally said, noticing Lucy’s disappointment. “We really appreciate it.”

  “My pleasure, girls. Now let me get back to your breakfast!” Rob replied, heading back into the kitchen.

  “You girls need a refill?” Edith called out.

  “No thanks, Edith, I think we’re all set for right now,” Lucy called back.

  “Of course. I’ll be right out with the food,” Edith replied, disappearing back into the kitchen.

  Ally and Lucy sat in the quiet restaurant, both looking down at their cups of coffee.

  “Well, that was a total bust,” Ally said.

  “We didn’t learn anything. We still don’t know where he got the hat, and it looks like it’s not even a design the team ever used,” Lucy replied, thinking.

  “Does that mean he designed his own hat, with a fake logo?” she wondered out loud. “How bizarre.”

  “There was a lot more to Donovan than we ever knew,” Ally replied thoughtfully. Lucy sipped from her coffee mug.

  “That’s for sure.”.

  Chapter 10

  After finishing their breakfast, which turned out to be delicious, Lucy and Ally hopped back into the car and made the return trip into the city. Soon enough, Lucy found herself standing by the host stand and greeting the first guests of the dinner crowd. At the back of the line, she spotted a familiar face in a blue uniform,Officer Fitz. She gestured
at him to come inside and skip the line.

  “Thanks for rescuing me,” he said, smiling as he spoke. “I thought I would have to wait out there for a while!”

  “My pleasure. What brings you back to Alba? Looking for a good meal? I promise we have the best!” Lucy couldn’t help but smile at his infectious grin.

  “No, no, I’m not here to for any food. I mean, I’m sure it’s delicious, but ...”he trailed off, still smiling, but a little more bashfully this time.

  “Of course not. Sorry, it’s instinct at this point to try and sell a meal. What can I help you with?” She stepped back into the restaurant, away from the doorway as another group tried to enter. Officer Fitz stayed where he was, blocking their way, until she gently touched his arm and pulled him towards her. He looked confused for a second, until the group made their way around him and stepped inside.

  “Oh, excuse me,” he said to the group as he moved aside, both of them standing next to the end of the bar now. To Lucy, he said “I found myself down the street and just wanted to swing by and check in. Has anything else suspicious happen since the break-in, the night of the murder?”

  Another couple standing nearby looked up sharply at the word ‘murder’.

  “Here, come with me. Back to my office. It’s a little quieter there,” Lucy said, looking pointedly at the guests around them.

  “Oh, of course. My bad. No one wants to talk about murder over dinner. Trust me, I know all too well!” the officer joked. They walked together back through the seating area, pausing as Lucy greeted guests. They made their way through the kitchen, where Ally, working on the line with one of the younger cooks, caught Lucy’s eye. She furrowed her brow at the sight of the police officer. Lucy shrugged and gestured to her friend to keep working. Lucy would fill her in after the officer left.

  They both sat down inside the office, Lucy at her desk and Officer Fitz at Ally’s.

  “Sorry about that,” he said, gesturing out at the restaurant.