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

by Leona Fox

  “Have a look at this while I go and get him,” he said before he went to grab Henry.

  As Ellen read the file she saw Henry had served time in prison and now it made sense why he was so defensive when she had spoken to him in Mary's house. When he came into the room he took a seat opposite Ellen, as did his lawyer, and Andy sat beside her. Henry's lawyer was one appointed to him, a thin man wearing spectacles. His bald, domed head gleamed under the electric lights and his suit didn't seem to fit properly.

  “Just to make this clear, you're not under suspicion yet. We'd just like to get clarification about a few things that pertain to the murder of Gary Speed,” Andy began.

  “I shouldn't be under suspicion because I didn't do anything,” Henry growled, at which point the lawyer rested his hand on Henry's shoulder.

  The two of them were an odd pair. Henry was so big he barely fit in the chair and the lawyer was so thin he looked as though he would have been carried away by a strong breeze. In fact, had Henry been standing in front of the lawyer, the lawyer would have been hidden from view.

  “That may be the case, but if you co-operate with us it will help us to get to the truth, whatever that may be,” Andy continued.

  Henry merely snorted and shook his head. He leaned forward and placed his heavy paws on the table. His thick fingers were like sausages and they linked together, forming a cage. Ellen's gaze was drawn to them. She thought Henry wouldn't have needed a knife to kill anyone, he could have done it with his bare hands.

  “I know exactly what you're thinking,” Henry said in a low, steady voice, “I can see that file. I know you know I have a criminal record and you're probably thinking that makes me guilty. ‘He's committed crimes before, why shouldn't he do it again?’ Especially since I was convicted of assault. I'm not going to deny that,” at this point his lawyer leaned over to whisper something in his ear.

  After one glare from Henry the lawyer wilted and folded his hands into his lap, probably wondering why he even had been summoned if his client was just going to go off half-cocked like this.

  “I've made mistakes, I'm sure we all have, it's just that my mistake was against the law. I got caught. I served my time. I was rehabilitated. That's what the justice system is about, isn't it? That we go to prison, serve our time, then we're deemed fit to return to society. Sure, I committed a crime but that was in my old life. I've paid my dues and that shouldn't make me an automatic target for anything that's going to happen now,” he spoke with passion and zeal, although his words were tempered by his even tone.

  “It's unfair of you to judge me based on that. I'm happy to answer questions but I'm not going to sit here and be insulted. I have this guy with me to make sure you don't take advantage of my past or try threatening me. I'm happy to answer questions but I will not be treated like I'm guilty just because I have done things in my past.”

  Ellen and Andy shared a look, then Ellen spoke. “Look, Henry, we're not trying to pin this on you we're just trying to get to the truth. So far you're one of the few people in this town who actually knew Gary so you're one of our best leads. But there's actually something else we need to talk with you about. We know you care for Mary; how long have you been doing that exactly?”

  “Oh, I don't know, ever since I came out of prison. It was one of the programs they got us on. A good couple of years at least, maybe longer. After being in prison I don't really like counting the days anymore, time is just something that happens.”

  “And would you say the two of you are close?” Andy asked.

  “Well, as close as we can be given her condition, I suppose.”

  “What do you mean by that? Do you talk to her?” Ellen asked.

  “Yeah, I mean, they say it helps. I chat away to her while I'm there. Helps keep me sane as well. But yeah, I mean, she knows what's going on and sometimes she has some lucid moments. There was a point a while ago when she would have a period of a few good days where she'd actually talk and interact with the world. Then they became less and less frequent, and that's where you get to where we are now.”

  “Do you know anything about her plans for her future?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Her will,” Andy said plainly. Henry creased his brow and shook his head slowly.

  “No, I never asked her about that. Wasn't any of my business really. Wouldn't be surprised if it all was going to Gary. He's her only living relative. Not that I think he deserved it, mind you, but I guess it doesn't really matter now.” Upon this frank talk the lawyer put his head in his hands, showing his despair.

  “So you're telling us you didn't know you were named as her sole beneficiary?” Ellen asked.

  Henry's face remained blank for a few moments, then a look of disbelief broke out. He brought his hand up to his mouth, then ran it over his head as he looked away, trying to make sense of what he had just heard.

  “What do you mean?” he asked.

  “She means that if Mary dies you're going to get all her money. Not Gary. Not anyone else. Just you,” Andy said curtly.

  He and Ellen watched as, surprisingly, Henry welled up with emotion. The big man looked like a brute, he was tough and fierce, yet tears formed in his eyes. Now he resembled a gentle giant, and in this state it was difficult to imagine him hurting anyone.

  “I can't believe...how could she? Why? I never even knew she was able...” he said, still trying to make sense of the unexpected news.

  Andy and Ellen allowed him this moment to let the revelation sink in but did not let it linger for too long as they had more questions to ask. The lawyer jotted down some notes but he was beginning to think he was superfluous since Henry wasn't actually being accused of anything...yet. There was still the possibility Henry had killed Gary in self-defense, although it seemed unlikely and Kelly would have to hold off on her 'I told you so'.

  “Do you think Gary knew about this?” Andy asked, trying to keep the investigation going.

  Henry had to shake himself out of the stupor in which the news had put him, and focused on the questions. He was more relaxed now, though, and much less hostile.

  “I suppose it's possible,” he admitted.

  “How would you describe your relationship with Gary?” Andy asked.

  “We had our differences. I can't say I liked the man. Never really seemed to care about Mary. He only ever came to see her out of a sense of obligation, but we never fought or anything like that. Whenever he came down I kept myself to myself and he did the same, that's about as far as it went.”

  Andy made a couple of notes while Ellen asked Henry to tell them a little more about Gary.

  “Right now we don't know anything and it's difficult to know who would murder him when we don't even know what he does for a living,” she admitted.

  “I don't know where to start really. He was mostly an average guy, apart from the burns I guess.”

  “Yeah, how did he get those?” Andy asked.

  “Some childhood accident. I don't know the specifics. It wasn't something he was exactly forthcoming about. Mary didn't seem keen to talk about it either, so I left it alone. I'm not going to press something when it's clear it's not any of my business. All I know is he lives in East Callow and he's a psychiatrist...or maybe he's a psychologist. I always get the two of them mixed up, is there even any difference between them? Other than that I don't know. Like I said, we weren't friends so I can't tell you about any specifics. As far as I'm concerned he was just a guy who lived in another town who should have taken better care of his aunt, but that's just my two cents.”

  Ellen and Andy thanked Henry for coming in but it didn't seem like they were going to get any more information out of him, and it seemed as though Ellen's gut was right about Henry.

  “I don't think he had any motive to kill Gary. He seems pretty sincere in what he says,” Ellen said.

  “I still don't want to rule him out fully, but that's more due to the fact we have a lack of suspects at the moment. I tend to agree wit
h you, though. I don't think he'd be the type to go stalk Gary at night and stab him in an alley.”

  “So where do we look now?”

  “Actually I'm thinking I should enlist some help from our neighbors,” Andy said.

  East Pender mostly kept business to itself and the main link was with the big city nearby. West Callow was a little drive away, maybe 45 minutes, but since both towns were fairly similar (although residents of East Pender would have argued all day long that they had the better history) there was little cross-pollination between them. Most people, if they wanted a day out or a trip, would have gone to the big city. Andy called up the police in West Callow and told them about the crime. He asked if he could send some representatives across to work together and find out if Gary had any enemies in town. It wasn't beyond the realm of possibility that someone could have followed him to East Pender, after all.

  “Let's hope the movie manages to capture the excitement of all this high-octane police work,” Andy said wryly.

  “It's Hollywood. They'll probably have you in some high speed car chase with guns blazing. Who are you going to send over to West Callow?” Ellen asked.

  “My two best agents, you and Kelly, of course,” he said with a twinkle in his eyes.

  Ellen collected Kelly from the cafe and this time she took Scampy with her. The little dog bounded into her arms and looked happy to see her. She thanked Matthew.

  “How's the case looking?” he asked.

  “We're just off to West Callow to chase a lead,” Ellen said.

  Kelly didn't seem too happy about it but, soon enough, they were in the car. Scampy was sitting on Ellen's lap while Kelly drove. The dog's head was pressed against the window and at opportune moments Ellen wound down the window to allow Scampy to lean his head out, letting his tongue flutter in the wind. It was a short drive, and on the way Ellen spoke to Kelly about all the things she wanted to talk about. Kelly was unusually guarded when it came to her relationship with Matthew. Ellen wondered if there was trouble in paradise, although at the moment it was only idle speculation as Kelly said everything was as good as it ever had been.

  “I think he's had a good impact on you,” Ellen said, “It's good to see you in a settled relationship.”

  “I have to admit it's taken me by surprise as well,” Kelly conceded. This was about the only revelation Ellen could garner at the time, which didn't bother her.

  Kelly generally always was friendly and open, but occasionally she had periods where she was guarded. Ellen put these moods down to the vagaries of the creative mind. She had been around Kelly long enough to know creative people had a range of moods and, given their impulses, they were often erratic. Kelly was mostly level-headed, although she was always flighty. In the early throes of their friendship Ellen often had asked her if anything was wrong, only to be rebuffed defensively, not that Kelly had meant any personal insult by it. However, Ellen quickly had learned just to let the problem sort itself out. Kelly always returned from these periods as the person with whom Ellen was familiar, and it was simply a process Kelly had to go through.

  So, although the car journey perhaps was not filled with as much lively conversation as Ellen had hoped, it was still nice to have her friend by her side. It made her think of the times before they had boyfriends. Back then the conversation probably would have been filled by Kelly teasing her about Andy. So much had changed in their personal lives and Ellen found it interesting to think about how much their lives could change in the future.

  Before they knew it they had arrived in West Callow and followed the directions to the police station. This was Ellen's first time here, aside from perhaps a few day trips she may have been taken on by her parents when she had been younger, which had been purged from her memory by time. The first thing she noticed was the town lacked a certain charm that East Pender had. Perhaps that was due to her own natural bias, but West Callow seemed generic and did not have any of the little touches that made East Pender homely and welcoming.

  When they reached the police station they entered to find it much the same as East Pender's, although there seemed to be fewer people about. They checked in with a sergeant at the reception desk and he invited them to wait while he got the police chief. This man was barrel-chested with a shock of ginger hair and a thick beard. He welcomed Ellen and Kelly into an office where they were able to speak in private.

  “You're here about a murder, yes?” he said.

  “That is correct. A Gary Speed was visiting East Pender and he was killed, stabbed multiple times. We don't have much to go on but we know he came from here. Is there any way you can help us?” Ellen said.

  “Funny enough, Gary was like you,” the man said, piquing both Ellen and Kelly's interest, “in that he helped us out sometimes, although not so much with the solving of cases.”

  “What did he do?” Kelly said.

  “Did you know he was a psychiatrist? He worked with us and took on the cases of people who had been arrested for violent behavior. He hoped he could facilitate their rehabilitation and try focusing their efforts on improving their behavior and helping their state of mind. Not something I was a fan of when it started, but his work showed potential and I think he helped a fair number of people.”

  The chief stroked his thick beard and paused for a moment as his jolly face took on a solemn look. “It's sad he died.”

  “Did you know him well? How closely did he work with the police? Is there anyone we could talk to who would be able to tell us more about him?” Ellen asked.

  “Unlikely. He mostly kept himself to himself. He had a habit of getting other people riled up. I never could put my finger on why, either. There was just something about him. But I think that's the way he liked it. I guess growing up with scars like that he got teased a lot, probably was just easier to shut people out. Not sure how that led to him being a psychiatrist but I figure he wanted to help people. I never had a problem with him personally but I never made any special efforts to try getting to know him. He did his job and he did it well, that's all I really can tell you.”

  “You say he worked with people who committed violent crimes. Do you think any of them could have done this?” Kelly asked.

  “It's possible. I can get you a list of the people he treated if you like?” the chief offered.

  Ellen nodded vigorously as this was the biggest breakthrough yet. However, when the chief returned with a huge file of people with a list of at least sixty names Ellen's heart sank again. Although now they had more suspects, there were so many it would take a long time to narrow them down. But it did make sense that one of them could have done it. She remembered Henry's passionate speech about not judging people for the mistakes they made or the crimes they committed in their past. So she tried to keep an open mind about it all. They thanked the chief and walked back to their car.

  “Do you want to grab a coffee before we head back home?” Ellen suggested, and Kelly shrugged.

  They went to a small coffee bar that appeared to be busy, but only due to the small size of it. Only about three other people were in there, and yet it still was cramped.

  “Did I tell you Andy's brother is going to have a movie made based on his books?” Ellen said.

  “Yeah, I heard. That's pretty amazing, isn't it? What does Andy think of it?”

  “He's reacting with his usual steely intensity and saying it's not a big deal. It really is, though. I know the character isn't an exact portrayal but it's still exciting. I just wish sometimes he would let go of the past. It holds him back; I'm worried he's never going to properly forgive himself.”

  “I guess for a cop that's the worst thing that can happen. No matter how much good you do in the world that will always stay with you.”

  “I've tried helping him with it but I think we're both so used to being alone we don't let us help each other when we need it. How are you finding it, being in a relationship after so long?”

  “It feels pretty natural. I guess it's just...it's
hard knowing someone is there all the time. I keep, I mean, I've never really had anything serious, you know? And...can I be honest with you?” Kelly said, squirming in her seat and looking uncomfortably down at her coffee mug, which had her two hands clasped around it.

  “Always.”

  “It's going great and I really like being with him. I know he likes being with me, but I guess I'm so used to things ending that part of me is just waiting for it to be over. Like I know that eventually it's coming and I can't do anything to stop it. I know that's stupid but I just can't get rid of that train of thought.”

  “Why are you so sure it's going to come to an end?”

  Kelly looked directly into Ellen's eyes, “I just am, that's the way these things always go.”

  Ellen had the feeling Kelly was hiding something but she wasn't going to press her friend for it. When Kelly didn't want you to know something there was no getting it out of her.

  “Even if that's the case, why not enjoy each moment while it lasts? I know my biggest regret is not being more forward with Andy. We danced around our feelings for so long and for what? All it means is we lost out on spending time together.”

  “I did keep telling you that, I just want that on the record.”

  “Exactly. So maybe you should take your own advice. Look, I know you really well and I can tell when you're holding something back but I don't know if Matthew can yet. I don't know what it is you haven't told him, but these things only get in the way. You might as well give yourself fully, you're normally an all or nothing person, so what's holding you back?”

  Kelly didn't have an answer for her. She looked down at Scampy and sighed. “Don't you wish that sometimes you were a dog? Life would be so much simpler. You ever wonder what's going on in his little mind?”

  “All the time, but I don't think I'd ever guess. At the moment he's probably waiting to get back into the car.”

  Upon hearing the word car Scampy's ears seemed to prick up. He was sitting beside Ellen's feet, looking bored, with his face resting on his paws. The women giggled a little at his reaction.