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

by Leona Fox

  Andy led Emily outside to his car, and called Kelly, picking up her and Scampy on the way. Kelly held Scampy on her lap in the backseat while chatting to Emily, who was sitting in the front passenger seat. It was a short drive to the mill, but there was still ample opportunity for the two women to chat.

  Kelly was eager to find out about Emily's life, but one glance at Kelly's wedding ring and Emily was congratulating her. Andy wore a frustrated smile as he had to endure more wedding talk. It wasn't the ideal thing he wanted to hear while his girlfriend was in a jail cell. But Kelly quickly changed the subject to Emily.

  “And what is life like now that you're the heir to a fortune?” she asked. Emily rolled her eyes.

  “Sometimes I wish I was just plain old me again. My friends always tease me about it. Some of them, well, some people who I thought I knew, turned out to be different, asking me for loans and everything. I told them I couldn't just give them money and they got funny about it, and now we're not friends anymore. I find I have much less time on my hands now because charities always are calling me and I have to attend meetings regarding the mill. And even though it happened a while ago I'm still having to meet with lawyers just to verify my claim. A few other people have come forward and said they're the rightful heir as well, but so far all of them have been proven to be fakes. I never expected to be back here under these circumstances, though.”

  “No, but you know you're always welcome here. This is your home, after all. I'm sure Michael van De Lay would have wanted to know his descendant was still in the area.”

  “I know, and I'm going to make it a point to come back here more often. I think I'll be staying for a while anyway to sort out the mill. I'll have to find a new manager.”

  “Are you going to promote from within again?” Kelly asked, and her detective mind suddenly switched on. A promotion to a managerial position was certainly a motive.

  “And if so, who would be the likely candidates?” she added quickly, thinking it was best to begin a new list of suspects.

  “I don't know. To be honest, I'm not too familiar with the rest of the staff. I trusted Ray with all that. I suppose I haven't been a very good owner. Perhaps if I had taken more of an interest, if I had visited more, then things would be different...”

  “You can't blame yourself for this. There's only one person who is at fault and that's the person who poisoned Ray. Think of it this way, if they were going after the people running the mill, then it's lucky you weren't here. Otherwise, you could have been in danger as well.”

  This somber thought gave Emily second thoughts and the three of them sat in silence as the car made its way to the mill. Kelly's mind was active with thoughts and a new line of investigation. She still felt it was a little too convenient that Ray was in Ellen's cafe when he died, so she still harbored suspicion for Maggie. But she hoped the people at the mill would be able to shed some light and reveal some new information that would help solve this case.

  Chapter 5

  The car turned off the main road. The mill loomed in front of them, the ground opening up, covered in gravel. Deep tracks ran from the mill entrance where the trucks came and went. The sound of industry churned and roared as the machinery and the men worked together. It was the beating heart of East Pender and without it the town would suffer immensely since it was the primary source of income. The river flowed strongly to the left of them while behind them the buildings of the town spiked into the horizon. The bright sun cast long shadows, and the trees swayed a little in the soft breeze.

  As the three of them left the car gravel crunched under their feet. Kelly leaned down and clipped the leash on Scampy. The dog did not like it, but Kelly couldn't have him running about when there was so much dangerous machinery around. The large building towered above them and all around there were various people in overalls. Some were wearing hard hats, others were not. Some were smoking and chatting casually, while others were walking around with sweat-stained red faces, hard at work. Things seemed to be running smoothly, despite Ray's absence.

  “I'm a little nervous,” Emily said, fearing her absence meant the men under her employment were not going to be amenable to her presence.

  She knew that to them she was the outsider, a woman who knew nothing about the industry, and while she had attempted to educate herself, she was still a layman when it came to the mill.

  “You own this mill, and these men are here because of you. And don't forget that one of them could be a murderer. Show them strength. They need to know you're in charge here,” Kelly said.

  Emily looked around nervously while Kelly and Andy glanced around with an examining eye, trying to see if there was any suspicious activity. They walked into the center of the yard and not many people paid them much attention. The mill was almost a world apart from the rest of the town, with its own social dynamics and hierarchy. As such they didn't pay much attention to anyone not dressed in the standard clothing.

  “Not very polite at greeting guests are they?” Andy muttered, and was about to announce his presence when Emily rested a hand on his arm.

  “Let me,” she said, and walked forward.

  People still were talking and not paying much attention to this petite blonde girl with a heart-shaped face, and yet Kelly saw a transformation that shocked her. For a moment Emily looked completely out of her depth, small in this world of huge behemoths. Then she planted her feet firmly in the ground and the voice that rang out was loud and strong, commanding the attention of all who were present.

  “Silence!” she began, and many people turned to look at her.

  A few people continued speaking but they soon stopped as they saw their colleagues' attention captured by the person in the middle of the yard. Suddenly, aside from Emily's voice, only the grinding gears could be heard. It was so silent, in fact, that people inside the mill were surprised at the lack of noise and came out themselves to investigate. What they found was Emily giving a speech.

  “Some of you may recognize me, some may not. My name is Emily and I am the owner of the mill. In my absence Ray has been manager, and as you know he has died. I'm here to ensure the mill is running smoothly. So if you have any questions then I shall be in the office. I also would ask you to be patient as this is not my area of expertise, but hopefully we all can get through this tough time together.

  “I know Ray has been a part of this mill for a long time and I'm sure that for many of you it's like losing a family member. So let's all work together to try honoring him by seeing the mill thrive. I also have with me Andy and his consultant to ask you all some questions about Ray that hopefully will lead us to finding the person who killed him. I hope you all are cooperative with them. Now, I will be in the office if you need me,” she said, and walked briskly off to the mill. Andy and Kelly followed.

  “That was unexpected,” Kelly said.

  Emily shrugged it off. “I've been taking leadership classes,” she said.

  Kelly raised her eyebrows at Andy. The three of them walked into the mill and made their way up the stairs to the office, which stood on the highest floor, overlooking the mill to observe the workers.

  “It's funny,” Emily said, “a long time ago this whole place only existed in Michael van De Lay's imagination. Now I'm here, all these years later. It's amazing when you think about it,” she said, and the others agreed.

  When they reached the office Emily opened the door to see a man sitting with his feet up on the desk, papers sprawled over the surface, and a phone in his hand, and by the sounds of it he was making a personal call. He heard the door open and was about to tell them in no uncertain terms to leave him alone when he saw that it was Andy, and he did indeed recognize Emily from when she had visited the mill before. He quickly slammed the receiver down and pulled his feet off the desk so fast that he almost fell out of the chair. He then made a hasty attempt to tidy the desk while Emily folded her arms and tapped her foot on the floor.

  “And who might you be?” she asked.<
br />
  “The name's Billy Noon, ma'am,” he said, bowing his head slightly out of respect.

  He was a wiry man with thin hair that was swept back tightly across his scalp. His angular jaws were peppered with light stubble and his dark eyes flicked about, evidently intimidated by his boss coming to visit.

  “And what are you doing here?”

  “I, uh, well, after Ray...after what happened we needed someone to oversee the mill. So I stepped up and I've just been taking care of it until your arrival.”

  Kelly and Andy glanced at each other, instantly suspicious of the man. Emily strode over to the desk and looked down at the various documents and forms lying about. It was not as tidy as she had intended. She sat down in the chair and pulled it up to the desk, then folded her hands together and looked up at Billy.

  “Did you hear what I said outside?” she asked. Billy shook his head. Emily sighed and repeated the main points, then Billy nodded in acknowledgment.

  “I'm sure you recognized the chief of police and his consultant. They're here to ask the workers some questions about Ray. I believe it fitting that they start with you. Now, enlighten us. Ray mentioned to me there were some people who did not agree with his managerial style, was that true?”

  Billy glanced at the two other people in the office and nodded. “Sure, I mean, I don't know how much help I'll actually be but I'll try my best. As for problems, I mean, yeah, some people weren't too happy with the way he was running things but it was typical job problems, certainly nothing bad enough to want to kill him.”

  “Can you be a little more specific about these problems?” Andy asked.

  “Well, you know, just usual things, like he was working us too hard or wouldn't let some guys have holidays off. I think a lot of people thought that since he was one of us he'd be a little more, y'know, casual about things but he really took to his role well. He was very respectful of his duty and he didn't let the guys get away with anything. I think that was a shock to some of them because they thought they'd get some perks since we all had been friends and he'd been out there on the floor with us all those years. But it's not like we didn't understand. He was the boss and we had to do what he said, that was that. It's the way of the world. And really, he'd been a part of the mill for longer than any of the rest of us. And believe me, I've only been up here for a short while but all the stuff he had to deal with, trust me, he had a lot on his plate.”

  “We're going to need a list of these people who had grievances with him,” Kelly said.

  “Are you serious? Everyone moans a little about their job. Most of the guys out there had at least one thing to complain about but, like I said, that's just the way it is.”

  “Still, we'd like some names. And is there anything else you can tell us? Did Ray mention anything else from his life?” Kelly added. Andy remained impassive, taking notes.

  “Not really. He was a decent guy. He was more...reserved than he used to be but I guess he felt he had to be now that he was the manager. Overall though everyone was still alright with him. It wasn't like we were looking to riot.”

  “And you took over his role when you found out he was dead? Were you the natural one to fit?”

  “Yes I--” and then Billy paused as he saw the accusing look in Kelly's eyes. He looked at all three of them, one by one, and an incredulous look came upon him. “Whoa, let's back up a minute here. Are you really thinking I killed him?”

  “A promotion is motive for murder.”

  “It may be but I didn't kill him, and I thought this was just a friendly chat, not a full-on questioning. I liked Ray. We'd been working together for a long time. I'm as sad as they next guy to see him gone, believe me,” he said. Andy and Kelly remained unconvinced.

  “Perhaps it would be best if the two of you go ask the other workers. I would like to have a few words in private with Mr. Noon to catch up with what has happened the past few days,” Emily said to Andy and Kelly, while Billy gulped. Kelly and Andy left the room, and made their way down to the floor.

  “I almost feel sorry for the guy. I can't believe Emily could change that quickly. She's certainly taken to the role,” Kelly said.

  “She has indeed. What do you make of him?” Andy replied.

  “Seems sincere. Also seemed comfortable in that chair. I'm not sure if he's really what we're looking for but I'd like to have a proper conversation with him. Hopefully the others will help to shed some light on what went on here,” she said.

  The two of them spent a substantial amount of time working their way around the floor, talking to people individually and in groups about their opinion of Ray and what happened. Contrary to what Billy had claimed, they were more critical of Ray and were quick to share their opinions. Almost all of them were framed the same way, qualifying their statement with, 'He was a good man but...' and then went on to describe how his methods had been outdated and archaic, and how he was not open to new ideas or suggestions. This was most notable from the younger workers, although all of them did seem sad that he had died.

  When they had finished talking to all of them, Andy and Kelly walked out of the mill and Andy shook his head.

  “She's sure got her work cut out for her,” he remarked, as the workers of the mill were an insular group and Emily was an outsider.

  As they had walked around the mill they had heard comments and mutterings about the fact that Emily was now in charge, and she would have to show a great deal of authority to master them. They went back to the car and both of them sighed with frustration. Although they had spoken to a great many people there was not any more hard evidence. It was exactly as Billy had said; many of them had grievances with Ray but they certainly weren't enough for murder.

  “I really thought we would have found something here,” Kelly said.

  Scampy rested in the backseat as the car drove off, back to East Pender where they had nothing but speculation waiting for them. Still, as they drove away from the mill Kelly couldn't help but think that someone was hiding something. Remembering what Ellen said about trusting her instincts, she kept in mind everything she had heard that day and vowed to explore it further.

  “It'll just take a little more time,” Andy said, but both of them knew time was in short supply. The longer they took to find the real killer the longer Ellen was going to have to stay in jail.

  Meanwhile, The Chrome Cafe was closed and, as a result, Maggie's was growing in popularity. People gathered there had been Ellen’s customers and they were getting used to the place. Much of the gossip in the cafe was of the recent death and Maggie was eager to encourage the theory that Ellen had been responsible. People couldn't believe it, and she saw for herself the loyalty and respect that Ellen had engendered over the years. It would take a great deal of time to completely erode the goodwill that Ellen had built up over the years, but while she was unable to defend herself, and the longer she stayed under arrest, the more people began to wonder if there was not some truth to it.

  Meanwhile, Ellen remained in her cell, trying to keep her mind clear of all troubled thoughts. She lay on her bed with her eyes closed, trying to work her way through the crime as well. She did not have the information about the mill that Andy and Kelly had, nor did she know that Emily was back in town. She did know one thing for sure, though. She was not the murderer, which meant that someone out there wanted Ray dead. But why, and who? These questions lingered on in her mind as the long hours passed and night turned into day. She knew that at some point she would be cleared and then she would be let loose on the criminal, and she would make them pay for what they had done.

  Chapter 6

  Andy was sitting in his office in the police station with his jacket hanging over the back of his chair and his shirt unbuttoned at the collar. He was reviewing the autopsy report again, trying to see any clues he may have missed. There had not been another murder. He had looked at recent crime reports to see if there had been any similar crimes in the area but there had been none. So this was defini
tely a case where Ray had been a specific target, either because the murderer intended on killing him or because he happened to be the unlucky random customer dining at Ellen's cafe.

  While Andy was alarmed there were no strong suspects yet, he did not think it likely that Maggie was the culprit because the plan was convoluted. However, he couldn't deny that business was booming for her while Ellen was absent from The Chrome Cafe. So she certainly was benefiting from the crime.

  Iris entered the office, and seemed surprised at Andy's casual appearance, although she did not comment on it.

  “I looked into Ray like you said but I couldn't find anything. He had a daughter who lived away from town and she's been notified of the death. He didn't have much in the way of money. He didn't have much in the way of anything really...” she said, her voice trailing off as she handed Andy the official report.

  “Thanks for doing that,” he said, then leaned back in his chair.

  “I was thinking, sir, I know you went to the mill but I wanted to ask you about Emily. I tried to think who would benefit from Ray’s death. And it would seem that Emily has decided to take control of the mill. Perhaps she realized she would rather be in control of the mill after all this time than to have someone else manage things?”

  “I know you're annoyed at the little struggle you two had,” Andy said with a wry smile, “but I hardly think Emily is the type to murder someone. Especially because she owns the mill. If she wanted control she simply could have fired or demoted Ray. Let's not make this case more complicated than it already is, but well done for coming up with theories. I'd like you to work with Kelly. She seems convinced Maggie had something to do with this case. I'm not so sure, but go with her and see what you can find out.”

  “Are you sure sir? I mean, she is only a consultant after all,” Iris said.

  “You need to know one thing now. Consultants are a valuable asset and just because they are not police officers does not mean they have nothing to offer. They often can see things we can't and they also can devote all their resources to a case, while we still have to work on other things. You can learn a lot from Kelly. It's always good to have multiple sources of research,” he said, then looked at her expectantly.