by Deany Ray
“Were you still asleep?” Houston asked.
“Yes, I was,” I said, wondering why he sounded surprised.
“Oh. I'm sorry. It's a quarter to nine, so I thought you'd be awake or on your way to work,” he said.
I looked at the clock, stunned that I’d managed to oversleep. The last few days must have done me in. I sat up in my bed.
“I guess I must have slept through my alarm,” I told Houston, keeping quiet about the events that had left me so tired.
“Guess it's a good thing I called,” he said with a chuckle. “I wanted to tell you that I'm sorry I didn't call yesterday. I was in a meeting pretty much the entire day and it went until ten o'clock at night.”
Ashamed that I’d been too busy to notice he hadn’t called, I told him, “It’s no problem. I know your job’s exhausting. I hope you’ve gotten some sleep and aren’t working day and night.”
“You’re sweet when you get worried,” he said and I could picture his warm smile. “But everything’s good here.”
“I’m glad to hear.”
“Listen,” he said. “I actually have some good news. The meeting went so well last night that I'll be flying back tomorrow.”
“That's great!” I said, excited. I felt happy that he’d be returning home, but at the same time I was worried. There’s no way we’d solve the murder by the time that he got back. I really didn't want him to know that Rosalie and I had been snooping around.
“Can’t wait to see you again,” he said. “I guess I'd better let you get ready, though. I'll talk to you later.”
I forced myself to get out of bed and drag my feet to the shower where I turned the water on extra cold, hoping that it would help to wake me up. I quickly blow dried my hair, put on a pair of jeans shorts and a blue t-shirt and, just for good measure, spend another ten minutes searching my house for Rosalie’s baby pink V-neck dress. Not there.
As I drove to the café, I went over the facts of the case and tried to figure out what we might be missing.
What was it that Mr. Haggerty had written on Rosalie's check? Maybe that was where we needed to focus our attention. “Take the...” something. What on earth could that something be? Whatever it was, I began to think that maybe that something could solve the entire mystery. It was obvious that Mr. Haggerty thought that the message he left on Rosalie’s check was crucial for finding the murderer since he wrote it with his last breath. Maybe he tried to direct whomever found the check towards finding some kind of object.
Was it something from his office or home? The police had likely already searched both places and taken everything that they thought could be evidence. But maybe it was something they'd missed or left behind, thinking it wasn't important. It suddenly became clear to me what our next step should be.
As soon as I arrived at the café, I picked up the phone.
“Rosalie, it's me,” I said in a rush. “We need to get into Mr. Haggerty's office.”
Chapter Seven
It was nine thirty in the morning which meant that the bank would be open. Rosalie immediately agreed to go before even asking why. She was all Cagney and Lacey again.
We decided to leave as soon as Maia arrived.
“It shouldn't be too busy today,” I told my helper when she walked into the door. “I just need an hour or so to run to the bank. Will you be okay to watch things here?”
Maia nodded. “Of course. Whatever you need.”
I was so lucky to have her working at the Blue Bay Café.
Rosalie was standing at the corner as I pulled up to the bank and parked behind her car.
“You want to break into his office?!” Rosalie’s eyes were as big as saucers.
“If you put it that way, it sounds really bad.”
“Oh, sorry. Actually we’re not breaking in. The bank is open. We just have to enter his office,” Rosalie said, looking sheepish.
“That’s right.”
Rosalie thought for a second.
“Why do we want to do that?” she finally asked.
“Do you remember the message Mr. Haggerty left on your check?”
“How could I forget?” Rosalie rolled her eyes.
“I think that’s what we have to focus on. Think about it. He wrote “Take the…” something. He must have thought that whatever it is would help to solve his murder. Obviously the police haven’t found it. I’m thinking that something must be in his home or maybe in his office. So I thought we’d look here first.”
“Oh my. Look at you, all clever detective and all,” Rosalie said.
“I just want to clear this whole thing up so we can get on with our lives.”
“I’m with you on that one, hon,” Rosalie said. “Problem is, we can’t just walk into his office. We'll have to pass by Doug Nelson, the executive administrator, and he's not just going to let us waltz on in. We need to come up with a plan.”
“I know. Let's go in first. Maybe we're in luck and he won't be at his desk.”
We pulled open the doors and walked in. Mel was at her desk and smiled at us.
“Let’s see if that rude secretary is working today,” Rosalie said to me.
She walked up to Mel and asked, “Is Ms. Landry here today?”
“Nope,” Mel said, shaking her head. “She called in sick again. Poor woman.”
“Yeah, she must not be feeling well,” Rosalie shot me a look.
We walked away from Mel and I told Rosalie, “That's too coincidental for me. Something is up with her. We really need to find a way to talk to her about what's going on.”
Rosalie nodded. “I know. I just don't know how. She wasn’t exactly the most pleasant person in the world.”
Rosalie pointed to the hallway that lead to Mr. Haggerty's office. Nearby, a door was open to the office of the executive administrator and we could see him through the glass windows staring at his computer. He had short, slicked back hair and had a stern look on his face.
As we wondered how to get by him, we noticed Mrs. Archer from the Contemporary Book Club in line at the cashier’s desk. She wore a nice pant suit with a light scarf around her neck. She smiled and waved enthusiastically. I could almost see a bright light bulb over Rosalie’s head. She quickly scooted to Mrs. Archer, leaving me alone in the corner. I wondered what on earth she was doing, but stayed in my spot as I watched.
The two talked for a moment, looking intense. Mrs. Archer mostly listened as Rosalie spoke. The older woman looked in the direction of the hallway then nodded at Rosalie.
After a moment, Mrs. Archer left the line and followed Rosalie back over to me.
Rosalie spoke quietly. “Man oh man, do I have a plan. Mrs. Archer’s going to help. She’ll create a distraction so we can get into the office.”
Mrs. Archer nodded then she and Rosalie sealed the deal with an elaborate handshake complete with a fist bump and wiggling fingers.
“Great, get more people involved,” I said after Mrs. Archer left.
Rosalie waved her hand dismissively. “Oh, don’t worry. She's known Mr. and Mrs. Haggerty all their lives. She’ll do anything to help. Plus, she can play the older woman card.”
We watched as Mrs. Archer walked into the office of the executive administrator. We pretended to read some brochures about home loans and savings-account rates while keeping our eyes on the office until we saw them walk out.
“Gosh, it's really nice of you to help a little old lady like me,” we heard Mrs. Archer say. “I’ve always wondered how to work an ATM machine.”
The executive told her, “Oh, it's no problem at all. We're all here to help our customers any way we can.” They walked toward the ATM at Mrs. Archer’s pace. Slow, that is.
“The coast is clear. Let’s go,” Rosalie whispered.
As we slipped into the hallway, I quietly congratulated her on her plan.
“This is not just a pretty face, hon,” she said giggling.
The hallway was narrow and dimly lit, just like it had been the night we came for Rosalie’s
check and found a body instead. The police tape was gone and it looked like nothing unusual had ever happened here. We quickly walked to Mr. Haggerty’s office and could see that the door was halfway open.
“That’s good,” I whispered to Rosalie.
But we weren’t alone. Someone was bending over the computer on top of his desk. It took me a moment to recognize Violet Landry.
***
“Ohmigod!” Rosalie cried. “What are you doing?”
Ms. Landry looked up like a deer caught in the headlights.
"So?" Rosalie asked, crossing her arms.
We stood in the doorway so she couldn't get away. “Um, I...well, um...” she stammered.
“If you don't tell us what you're doing here, we're going to call the police,” Rosalie said, taking her phone out of the pocket.
“Yeah, right,” Ms. Landry said. “And tell them what? That you've entered Mr. Haggerty's office without any authorization?”
Rosalie and I looked at each other, trying to figure out a way around that.
“Look, Ms. Landry,” I said. “We just want to straighten this thing out. If you know something, please tell us.”
Ms. Landry exhaled loudly. “Fine. I'm here to check on something. And I came in through the back door.”
“What is that you're looking for?” Rosalie asked.
Ms. Landry looked around for a second. “I'll tell you what I know, but if you tell the police or a single other soul, you two will regret it.”
“Sheesh, this woman’s got issues,” Rosalie whispered to me.
I shared a look with Rosalie and then we turned back to Ms. Landry. “Fine,” we said in unison.
“I'm here to check some files,” Ms. Landry said.
“How come?” I asked.
“Well, a couple of weeks ago we were working late and I heard him shouting. At first I was confused because it was just us in the bank, but then I realized that he was on the phone. He yelled that he didn't want to do 'this' anymore and that he wasn't going to send in any more money. Whatever 'this' was, he said it was all over.”
“What happened then?” Rosalie asked.
She shook her head. “I thought he'd be embarrassed if he knew I overheard so I went back to my office without saying anything to him about it. After the murder, I started to wonder if the killer had something to do with that money and with what he said that evening. It was obvious he'd gotten himself into some kind of trouble.”
Again, Rosalie and I shared a look.
“This gets more and more complicated,” I said.
“You’re darn right it does,” Rosalie said, puzzled.
“So what exactly are you looking for?” I asked Ms. Landry.
“For anything that could put me on the killer's map,” Ms. Landry said. “As Mr. Haggerty's secretary, I have access to some of the accounts, albeit only limited. I haven't ever noticed anything wrong, but that doesn't mean much because of how limited my access is. Mr. Haggerty could have moved money around without me noticing if he wanted to. The more I thought about it, the more I wondered if there were some files or anything else that might have had my signature on it. Sometimes I had to sign documents for him.”
“Have you told the police any of this?” I asked.
“Hell no!” Ms. Landry said. “If the killer got word that I might know anything, then I'd be dead too.”
“You do know that this information could help the police,” I pointed out.
Ms. Landry snorted. “And risk my life for it? No, thank you.”
“You could get some police protection or something,” I said.
“Yeah, right, like I’m gonna count on that.” Ms. Landry rolled her eyes.
Rosalie nodded. “I get where she’s coming from. I’d be scared of a killer too.”
“You would be scared too? You’re the one who suggested we find the killer! That doesn’t scare you?” I exclaimed.
“Yeah, but that’s different,” Rosalie waved her hand dismissively. “The killer probably doesn’t even know we’re looking for him. Ms. Landry, on the other hand, already has information that might put her in danger.”
Great, now I had two against one.
Ms. Landry agreed with Rosalie. “The police will find out sooner or later if he was moving money around. They didn't take his entire computer, but they copied everything onto thumb drives so that they could look through it all. These are higher authorities we’re talking about. If there was anything fishy going on, they'll find out sooner rather than later.”
We stood in silence for a few beats so that Rosalie and I could absorb everything Ms. Landry had just told us. Then Rosalie asked, “Well, did you find anything on the computer?”
Shaking her head, Ms. Landry said, “Not yet. I was looking at some orders he'd placed when I was interrupted.” She shot us a mean look.
“Well, let’s see,” Rosalie said eagerly.
We scooted toward Ms. Landry and looked over her shoulder as she looked at several order forms. It was like a whole other language to me. Rosalie pointed to the screen and said, “This is bank talk, but I have no idea what it means. I never had to work with anything like this.”
I was glad I wasn’t the only one.
Ms. Landry moved the mouse over a file that was titled 'Miscellaneous.'
“Miscellaneous? I wonder what this could be,” she said.
She double clicked to open it and a password box popped up. “Luckily I know his passwords. Otherwise it would take quite a while to hack.” After typing something into the box, she said, “Voilà!”
The folder opened and we saw that it was filled with order forms. We couldn’t figure out what it was that he’d ordered until we came to the last form. It was also the most current and listed some sort of motion sensor gadget.
“A motion sensor? Why would he need that?” Ms. Landry asked out loud. “And why would he keep it secret in a password protected file?”
“Do you think it was for his office?” Rosalie asked.
“I don’t know,” I said. “We’re not even sure this has anything to do with why he was killed. It’s just the only thing on this computer screen that doesn’t need a translator.”
“You’re right. What if…,” But Rosalie was interrupted by Ms. Landry who suddenly placed a finger to her lips and shushed both Rosalie and me.
We abruptly stopped talking and the three of us listened for a moment. The door to the office was still open and we could hear something: Quiet footsteps. That grew louder.
“Ohmigod, someone’s coming,” Rosalie whispered.
We all froze in place.
Chapter Eight
After a moment of hesitation, Ms. Landry ducked under the desk, pulling Rosalie and me along with her. We managed to squish underneath together but my chin almost touched my knees.
“Ow! Someone stepped on my foot!” Rosalie hissed.
I shushed her and we moved around a little. Now I was on my back with Rosalie’s elbow jammed into my jaw. “Watch it with the elbow, Rosalie!”
“I’m trying. I don’t exactly have acrobatics training, you know?” cried Rosalie.
“Shut up the two of you or you’ll get us all in trouble,” Ms. Landry said.
Without complaint, she twisted her legs like a contortionist and I wondered if she’d had training in hiding under desks.
The footsteps grew closer and closer and then we heard someone come in. I think all of us stopped breathing. Through the gap underneath the desk I could see a pair of shiny black loafers. The man whistled and shuffled through some papers on a bookshelf by the desk. It sounded like he opened a file folder then put it back onto the shelf. I saw his feet turn and move towards the door. And then he was out.
We waited a couple of beats before letting out a breath of relief.
“Is he gone? Is it safe to come out?” Rosalie asked.
“It appears so,” Ms. Landry said.
We crawled out and stretched our sore limbs.
“Hon, we need to
work out more. Everything hurts,” Rosalie said, rubbing her legs.
“Well that was fun. But I gotta go now,” Ms. Landry said dusting herself off and heading for the door.
“Wait,” I called. “Do you know who that was? All I saw was shiny black loafers.”
She turned around. “It was the executive administrator. It sounds like he grabbed some kind of folder from the shelf. Nothing to worry about. Anyway, I have to go.”
“But how are we going to just walk out?” Rosalie asked.
It was obvious that Mrs. Archer hadn't been able to keep the executive administrator distracted for long and he might have been back in his office. We hadn't really thought this through.
Ms. Landry shook her head. “It's not a problem. I'm going to slip out the back door, just like I came in. I know the code. You guys can come with me and then I don’t want to see you again.”
We nodded and, after poking our heads out the door to make certain no one could see us, we quietly hurried down the hallway and reached the back door. When we were outside, Ms. Landry turned to us. “I was never here. You never saw me. I'm going to call in sick until the killer is behind bars and this investigation has been solved. Understood?”
“Yes,” Rosalie and I answered in unison. She then turned and walked away, climbing into a car and quickly driving off.
“She would make a fine general if she ever joined the army,” Rosalie said.
We walked into the bank again through the main entrance and found an anxious Mrs. Archer sitting on a bench.
“I am so sorry. I wasn't able to keep him distracted for very long, so I waited here. I was afraid you were going to get caught if you came out this way from the hall.”
“We went out the back door. But thanks for helping us out. You rock!” Rosalie said. Neither of us mentioned running into Ms. Landry.
Mrs. Archer chuckled. “Well, I'm glad to hear it. Did you find out anything?”
I glanced at Rosalie. “Unfortunately, no. We’ll just have to keep trying,” I said.
“You do that, my dears. I’m sure you are going to get to the bottom of this.”
Then she turned her attention to me. “I'm planning on setting up another meeting for all of us ladies from the Contemporary Book Club at the Blue Bay Café.”
