East Pender Boxed Set: Cozy Mystery Series Bundle of Books 1-14

by Leona Fox

  “He was a good man, but at least he and my sister are together now,” Ricky said with an ethereal quality in his voice.

  “Well, thank you again for all your help,” he said, “I'd like to keep this here for now so people still can pay their respects. I'll come and pick it up tomorrow before the showing,” and held out his hand for her to shake.

  “You're welcome, and I'm sorry again about Scampy,” she said taking his hand.

  He had an iron grip and after shaking his hand she had to shake hers again to try ridding herself of the pain that had come from him squeezing her so hard. She watched him walk out the door, as did everyone else, and then, with a determined look on her face, she rushed to the back to find Kelly. She spoke to her best friend in a low voice to ensure nobody else in the cafe could hear. Now that Ricky had left, Scampy seemed to be calmer, and he rushed up to Ellen as she came in. Ellen took him into her arms and cuddled him, petting his soft fur.

  “We have to go somewhere quiet to talk,” Ellen said. Kelly's eyes lit up with excitement, for both of them knew that something didn't sit right about Ricky.

  Chapter 7

  On the way to Kelly's house Ellen had her hand lodged in her pocket, her fingers rolling the bottle of pills around and around, making sure she didn't drop them. The two of them walked at a brisk pace, but not too quickly, so as not to arouse suspicion. As they walked Ellen was telling Kelly about Ricky.

  “He seemed pleasant enough, but now that I think about it, there was something about him I found strange, and I can't quite put my finger on it. It's like he was saying all the right things, you know, all the things you're supposed to say, but almost as though he was acting, like he was wearing a mask. When Scampy attacked him he snapped and he was so angry.”

  “Wouldn't you be too if a dog came at you?”

  “Yes, but this was different. I don't know,” Ellen sighed, “maybe I'm over-thinking this.”

  “There's definitely something off about him. Everyone in that cafe thought so. Sarah mentioned he barely said a word to her, and when other people went over to talk to him to offer their condolences he basically ignored them.”

  “He does come from the city, though. It probably seemed strange to him that so many strangers would come up to him like that outside of a funeral.”

  “Why are you trying to make excuses for him?”

  “I don't know, I'm just trying to piece things together in my mind, to make sure I'm sure of things,” Ellen said.

  The two of them continued in silence until they reached Kelly's house. They walked into her lounge and Kelly put on the kettle, while Ellen paced over the floor. She pulled out the bottle of pills and was equally relieved and horrified to see she had been right about George's name. Relieved because it meant she hadn't been mistaken, but horrified because she didn't know why Ricky should have a bottle of George's pills.

  When Kelly returned she asked Ellen what she was holding, and when Ellen told her, Kelly almost dropped the mugs on the floor. She rushed up to her friend and took the bottle of pills.

  “I'm not going crazy, right? It does say George?”

  “Most definitely. I need to get some biscuits,” she said, and promptly left the lounge again.

  Ellen threw up her hands as Kelly puttered about in the kitchen. Ellen could hear the clanging of pots and pans, and then there was a shout of 'How do you take your eggs?'.

  “Eggs? I thought you were getting biscuits?”

  “I know, but then I had a craving,” Kelly called out, and soon enough the sound of sizzling eggs greeted Ellen's ears.

  Ellen grew exasperated but she knew this was how Kelly worked. She was a highly intelligent individual and Ellen had to be patient and let the method come through. When Kelly emerged from the kitchen with a plate of eggs there was an electric energy in the house. Ellen waited expectantly for Kelly's appraisal of the situation, for she wanted to know what someone else thought before she gave her own conclusions, mostly because she didn't like to think she was correct.

  “I've been thinking about it,” Kelly said as she devoured the eggs. She offered some to Ellen, but Ellen declined.

  “Just because he had these pills doesn't mean anything bad, and neither does the fact that Scampy reacted the way he did. After all, the two of them would have seen each other before and he may just be one of those people that Scampy doesn't like.”

  “But why would he have the bottle if not for some nefarious purpose?”

  “He could have just been throwing it away. I mean, presumably he's been to the house if he wants to sell it. So he may have gone through the cupboards and gotten rid of anything he didn't need, or he could say he grabbed it by accident.”

  “So you don't think he killed George?” Ellen asked.

  “Oh no, I think he did it. I'm convinced of that. I just know a bottle of pills and the opinion of a dog isn't going to be enough to prove it.” She tucked into her eggs with relish.

  It seemed that the more she worked her brain cells the hungrier she became, and seeing Kelly eat with such gusto was enough to get Ellen's stomach rumbling, too. She soon found herself going to the kitchen and helping herself to a plate. They were sitting in the lounge as the afternoon sun streamed through the window and both of them felt a sense of urgency about the matter. At some point Ricky would leave town, and once he was gone it would be hard to get him back. Ellen knew Andy had his suspicions and, once again, she suggested to Kelly they call him, but again the artist shook her head.

  “He's got his own job to do. You think he'd appreciate two amateurs coming to him with this? He's got far more resources and I'm sure he'll be able to get some proper evidence. We need to work with what we've got, and try making a case against him quickly,” she said.

  Ellen agreed, but secretly she wanted to call Andy, if only to hear his voice. If what they thought was true, then she had just been face to face with a murderer. George's killer had been in her cafe and it unsettled her, made her feel violated almost, that someone could go around wearing the mask of a normal person when deep inside they had committed a grisly crime.

  The two of them sat in silence as they thought about the case and munched on the eggs. There was a soft breeze outside and occasionally the sound of it passing through Kelly's wind chimes could be heard, the soft tinkling a calming melody against the raging, fearful thoughts that swirled through Ellen's mind like a hurricane.

  “Did anyone else see you take the pills at the cafe?” Kelly asked after a long while. Ellen had been lost in thought and when Kelly spoke it had startled her, and her own train of thought had been derailed.

  “Um, I'm not sure. I don't think so. Most people were looking at Scampy. I tried not to let anyone see. I didn't want to risk Ricky finding out.”

  “Well then, we're in a bind aren't we?”

  “How do you mean?”

  “He's hardly going to own up to taking them is he? It's going to be your word against his and, as much as everyone respects you, and as much as I know you're telling the truth, it's not going to hold up in a court of law.”

  “And I know how thorough Andy is with his evidence. He wouldn't even let it get that far. But I still don't get why Ricky would even take it in the first place. It's not like it would do him any good now that George is dead. Do you think we could be mistaken about this whole thing and are just letting our minds run away from us?” she asked, looking at Kelly with a defeated look. Her friend reached over and squeezed Ellen's hand tightly, although nowhere near as tightly as Ricky had done earlier.

  “No, it's the only thing that makes sense, but that's not good enough to go and accuse him. We need something stronger. You know...now that I think about it, maybe we should call Andy,” Kelly suggested.

  “Are you sure?”

  “I hate to admit defeat but I don't know how we're going to get any further with things, short of breaking into Ricky's room and searching his things, and I'd rather not break the law.”

  “Me neither.”
>
  “I think we should pool our resources. Maybe Andy might even find this helpful. It can't hurt to ask,” she said.

  Ellen was glad Kelly had suggested the idea. Ever since they had seen each other at the parlor she had felt an intense desire to see Andy again, and the more time they spent together the more she missed him when he wasn't there. It was dangerous territory and she tried fighting it as much as she could, because romantic angst was game for the youth, but he made her world a little brighter. She hoped that once George's killer was found the two of them could find some time to spend alone together, sometime where she finally could tell him how she felt. But for the moment when she called him she was all business, and invited him to Kelly's, telling him she had something important to tell him.

  “I'm really not sure about this,” Ellen said as they waited.

  “Why not?”

  “I hope he's not mad we've gone behind his back and done our own sleuthing. I don't think he'd like it if he knew we had put ourselves in harm's way.”

  “Well, we don't have to tell him about going around with Scampy. This was just an accident really. It's not like you planned for Scampy to attack him, or that he would drop the bag. We're just an interested party that wants to help. If anything I'm sure he'll be pleased.”

  While they waited, Ellen's anxiety grew. Now that she had seen Ricky the world took on a darker tint and East Pender didn't seem the happy, serene place it usually was. There was a killer among them, and unless they could find the proof they needed, he simply would walk away from the town and go back to his life without any punishment. Ellen thought about George and whether he had been aware of what Ricky had done, and how helpless he must have felt that he couldn't warn anyone. She, Kelly, and Andy were all George had left now. They were the only ones who could prove Ricky was behind the murder, and for the sake of George's memory Ellen privately vowed to bring Ricky to justice.

  It wasn't long before Andy arrived and Kelly welcomed him upstairs. Ellen wanted to give him a hug but she knew it wouldn't have been professional, but she was glad to see him all the same. He took a seat with them and declined Kelly's offer of food, instead preferring to get straight to the heart of the matter. When Ellen recounted the day's events after they had left the parlor she was amazed at how much had happened. She described Ricky to him, at least the way she had seen him, and when she thought back to the man, the image in her mind was of someone with far crueler features than he had had in reality.

  Andy listened intently. He pulled out his notebook and made a few notes while Ellen spoke. Occasionally Kelly interrupted, and in time the two women were talking in tandem, flitting between each other. Andy's head turned between each of them, his trained brain picking up on the bits of information that he found vital. When Ellen told him about the bottle of pills he asked for her to hand it over, and the police chief inspected it closely.

  “We're at a bit of a dead end now. We're not sure how we even can prove he had these pills. I'm sorry if I messed up, I shouldn't have grabbed them but it seemed like a good idea at the time,” Ellen said.

  “It's okay,” Andy said quietly as he turned the bottle around in his hands. The pills inside made a rattling sound as they turned and twisted, dancing inside the small bottle.

  “It may not be easy to prove he had these pills but it may give us a clue. I had my suspicions about him but I wasn't sure how to build a case. This just might be what we need.”

  “But how? What good is it going to do?” Kelly asked.

  “I have an idea,” he said, and slipped the pills in his pocket, followed by his notebook. He leaned forward and spoke in a low voice to the two women.

  “You remember the call I got today?” The women nodded.

  “That was the toxicology report on George’s body. It turns out the last pills he took weren't to treat his heart condition at all, they aggravated it. Now, there are only two possibilities; either George made a mistake and got the wrong medication, or someone with a motive switched the medication so George would die.”

  “Selling a house is certainly motivation,” Ellen said, her heart pounding with adrenalin. Both girls looked excited but Andy had to calm them down. He stood up and held out his palms in front of him.

  “Now look, right now I don't know for sure if Ricky is guilty, none of us do, but if we play things right we might be able to make sure.” He sat back down and his tone lowered as he told them of his plan.

  Ellen and Kelly's eyes grew wide as they took everything in, and for the rest of the evening the three of them planned to set the trap that would lure Ricky in. If he was the murderer he wouldn't escape East Pender, not if Ellen, Kelly, and Andy had anything to say about it.

  Chapter 8

  As the morning sun started its ascent through the sky Ellen rose from bed, unable to sleep. Despite this lack of slumber, however, she was fresh-faced and her body was brimming with excitement. All through the night she had been going over her part in Andy's plan and hoped she didn't mess it up. She couldn't shake the thought of the moment when George had died, and the realization of what had happened, the betrayal of his own brother-in-law, and she only hoped that wherever George was he would know there were people trying to fight for justice. Although they still didn't know for sure that Ricky was the killer, Ellen was confident it was the case, for she couldn't see any other reason why he would have been carrying George's medication around with him, especially not after Andy had told them the results of the toxicology report.

  She got dressed and fed Scampy, who happily scurried around her feet. In the dewy morning she walked through the town square and enjoyed the peacefulness of it. East Pender was the perfect town and it didn't deserve to have the shadows of the city invade it. The crime and vice that was present in that world should stay where it was. Ellen wanted to do everything she could to make sure East Pender preserved the innocence that everyone who lived there held so dearly and, indeed, she felt that was what George would have wanted, too.

  When Ellen arrived at The Chrome Cafe she set up the shop as usual and, as the sun rose higher and people began appearing outside, she showed Scampy into the back room.

  “I'm sorry for this, but I'm going to need you to stay here for a little while. I promise I'll make it up to you later,” she said, and the look on Scampy's face almost broke her heart.

  While she waited for Ricky to come and pick up the photo she pulled out 'The Obsidian Knight' and began reading. She'd picked it up after she had left Kelly's the previous evening, although she hadn't told Andy, and wasn't sure if she was going to do so. But she wanted to know which character was based on him, and this time instead of simply reading the story she inspected every character carefully, trying to spot any personality quirks that overlapped with Andy. However, she didn't have much of a chance to read because Ricky came into the cafe bright and early.

  “Is it safe to come in?” he called out, holding the door ajar.

  Ellen faked a laugh and told him he didn't need to worry for Scampy was in the back. She tried hiding the tension she felt, because she was in a room alone with a killer and the plan depended on Ricky not suspecting anything. He walked in and asked for a glass of orange juice, which Ellen poured as usual.

  “How are you feeling today?” she asked, trying to act like she would have with any other customer.

  “I'm okay, it's just tough to think that today is the day I have to say goodbye to him,” he said.

  Ellen wondered if anything he said was true, and if he even felt one shred of regret for the poor man who had been killed.

  “I understand, it must be difficult, but at least you don't have to mourn by yourself. The whole town will be there,” she said as she handed him his orange juice. Then she took the picture and wrapped it in a cloth before putting it in a bag.

  “Just to keep it safe,” she said, smiling at him.

  He smiled back at her but, again, she got the feeling that there was no warmth behind the smile and it was almost robotic in a w
ay.

  “Are you going to be open after the funeral?”

  “I expect so, although I'm sure most people will be going to the pub so they can toast George properly. Toasting with coffee or orange juice just isn't the same.”

  “I've never been one much for drink so I'll pop by. Thank you again for all your help, it really is good to know a place like this exists. Sometimes in the city it's easy to forget. I'll be sure to mention it to my friends, they could use trips here to recharge their batteries.”

  “We always welcome visitors with open arms,” she said, waiting for the right moment to say what was on her mind.

  All she wanted to do was shout at Ricky and accuse him of everything. Now that they were alone together she could see the smugness in his eyes. She knew he thought of them as simple folk, and he was the big city slicker who had pulled the wool over all of their eyes, but Ellen wasn't going to let him get away with it. She was going to let him enjoy that thought before ripping it away from him and showing him that just because East Pender was a world away from the world it didn't mean they were stupid and naive. She suppressed a wicked smile as Ricky continued talking, blathering on about a few of his business interests.

  “You know, you really should come and visit the city one day, and remind yourself of the life you used to have. I'd be happy to be your tour guide, we perhaps could grab dinner some night,” he said, with that loving look in his eyes.

  It was a look she had seen from many men before, but the thought of being with him made her skin crawl. The thought of being with anyone apart from Andy filled her with revulsion, even though the two of them hadn't actually discussed their feelings for each other.

  “That's very sweet of you,” she said, feeling proud of her ability to hide her disdain for him. It would have been the easiest thing to sneer and turn him away, but the moment wasn't yet right.

  Soon though, she told herself, very soon, “but I'm quite happy here and I, well, dating is a game for people far younger than I.”