Framed for Murder

by Cathy Spencer

Chapter 21

  I crawled out of bed around nine thirty the next morning and stumbled down the hallway to Ben’s room. He wasn’t there, and his bed hadn’t been slept in. I sank down on his bed, worried that something might have happened to him. I considered calling a couple of his friends who still lived in town, but decided that it was a bad idea. If he wasn’t there, his friends would wonder what had happened to him. If he was there, he wouldn’t want me checking up on him. Faced with a lose-lose scenario, I decided that I needed to get out of the house for a while. I showered and let my hair air dry on the way over to The Diner. I didn’t want to be alone, and Ben might be there having breakfast.

  There was no sign of Ben at the restaurant, but the Saturday breakfast gang was seated around a table at the back: Betty and Jeff, Erna, May, Mr. Andrews, and Steve. My friends were talking with their heads bent over their plates. They all looked up as I dragged a chair over from another table to join them.

  “Hi everybody. Sorry I’m late,” I said, squeezing in between Steve and May. Everyone was having the weekend breakfast special except for Steve, who was having steak and eggs. This meal would be his supper. May reached over and took my hand.

  “You doing okay, Anna?” she asked, looking concerned. “Steve has been telling us about Ben being taken in for questioning.” I glanced around the table and saw the same worried expression on everyone’s face.

  “I’m doing okay. I brought Ben home with me last night. The police are going over his car this morning. It will be ready at noon. He went out for a walk, and I didn’t feel like sitting home alone, so I came here.” I didn’t tell them that Ben had left for his walk about nine hours ago.

  “That’s right, doll,” May said, putting an arm around my shoulders and giving me a hug. “You stay here with us. You shouldn’t be alone right now.” Everyone started chattering at once, assuring me that things would turn out just fine and not to worry. Mary came over to take my order and Judy paused with a pot of coffee to squeeze my shoulder. I smiled up at her and patted her hand before she hurried away. I asked Betty and Jeff how their vacation plans were going to visit their daughter that summer in Vancouver, and conversation resumed. Now was my chance to have a quiet talk with Steve.

  “What’s going on with the test results from the O’Cleary ranch?” I whispered.

  He finished chewing a forkful of potatoes before answering. “They put a rush on the blood test. It was easy since we already had a sample from your ex. It was his blood in the lounge all right, Anna.”

  I was silent as this information sank in. “Okay,” I said, “so now we know where Jack was killed.”

  Steve nodded. “We won’t get the other test results back for a few days, so we’ll just have to hang tight. One good thing I can tell you, though. The forensics guy said that he didn’t think there was any blood in Ben’s car.”

  I let out a breath I didn’t realize I had been holding. At last, some good news. Mary came back with my breakfast, and I waited while she set my food down before me. The moment she left, I leaned toward Steve. “Who’s the witness who saw Ben’s car?”

  He looked at me, and then bit into a piece of toast. “I’ve already said more than I should, Anna. I can’t tell you that. It’s illegal.”

  I shook my head. “I don’t care if it’s illegal or not, Steve. Tell me. You know I’ll never tell anyone else.” He looked down at his plate, still chewing his food. I took hold of his arm. “Please?” He paused for a moment without looking at me before cutting another piece of steak.

  I watched him fork the meat into his mouth before sinking back into my chair. I felt totally adrift. Steve had been so good to me throughout this whole ordeal, but I had gone too far, and now he wouldn’t help me anymore. I looked at my own plate of food and lost it. My breath caught in my throat, and I started to cry.

  May turned to me in alarm. “What is it?” she asked. She put an arm around my shoulders and I started to sob. I couldn’t help it. After a moment, I felt a hand on my arm and looked up. Erna stood beside me with a purse-sized package of tissues.

  “Thanks, Erna,” I gulped, pulling two or three out of the package and blowing my nose. As I dried my tears, I realized that the whole room had gone silent. I glanced at the people at the next table and saw that they were staring. They noticed me looking at them and turned away, talking quietly amongst themselves again.

  I had never been so embarrassed before in my life. I jumped out of my chair. “Got to go,” I said, fumbling under the table for my purse.

  “Anna, are you all right?” Erna asked, her hand on my back.

  I nodded. “Fine, fine.” I opened my wallet and threw a twenty on top of the table, my face feeling hot and sticky.

  “Please stay with us,” Erna said.

  I flashed a fixed smile at her. “No, thanks, I really have to go. See you all later.” Stumbling over my chair, I fled out into the street. The outdoor air was fresh, and I paused to let it cool my face. I had just started down the street when the restaurant door opened and a voice shouted, “Anna!”

  I turned. It was Steve. He caught up to me in a few strides. “It was Jessie Wick,” he said, breathlessly.

  I was stunned. “Jessie? It can’t have been Jessie. That just doesn’t make sense. I thought it was Karen Quill trying to get back at me. Why Jessie?”

  “The O’Cleary ranch is on the way to her brother’s ranch. She said she saw the car parked there on her way home from work the day that Jack was murdered.”

  “Well, she was wrong. I know she didn’t see Ben’s car there. Why would she lie?”

  I turned to go and Steve grabbed hold of my shoulder. “If you tell Tremaine that I gave you Jessie’s name, he’ll have me brought up on charges.”

  I seized Steve by his shoulders and kissed him hard on the mouth. He looked dazed when I broke away from him.

  “Thanks, Steve. I’m really, really grateful. I swear I won’t tell Tremaine, not even if he tortures me.” I turned and started running down the sidewalk, my brain ticking like a tightly-wound clock.

  Steve shouted after me, “Anna, you be careful now. Don’t go doing anything you know you shouldn’t!”

  The minute I got home, I called Amy. “Hi Amy, it’s Anna,” I said, struggling to sound casual. “How’re you doing today? Feeling okay after that big upset with Connie last night?”

  “I’m so-so. Still feeling a bit shaky. I cancelled my hair appointments for today.”

  “I’m really sorry to hear that. I promise you, I will find some way of getting that gun back to Connie without him thinking you had anything to do with it. I’m so grateful to you for not telling Connie or Steve that I took the gun. I owe you big time for that. Thank you so much.”

  “You’re welcome. I didn’t want to get you into trouble, too.”

  “You’re the greatest, Amy. Meanwhile, I have a teensy question about Jessie Wick. I just wondered if you happen to know whether or not she’s working today?”

  “No, they’re only shooting with the principals this weekend.”

  “Hmm. Would you happen to know if Jessie’s staying at her brother’s ranch these days? Erna Dombrosky gave me a run-down on her family history, so I know that she leaves her cabin to stay at the ranch when she’s helping out with the family business.”

  “Well, I did overhear that she was helping her brother move some of the cattle to different pasture this weekend. But why do you want to know about Jessie, Anna?”

  “Oh, it’s nothing. I’m just keeping tabs on her. I’d like to know more about her – that’s all.”

  “You’re not going to try to spy on her the way you did Connie and Karen, are you?”

  “No, of course not. Nothing like that.”

  Amy paused and I could practically hear the wheels whirring in her head. “Anna, you’re not planning on searching her cabin, are you?”

  I sighed. “No, Amy, I’m not going to search it. I just want to have a look at it from the outside.”

  “I w
ish you wouldn’t. It’s too dangerous. Remember what happened with the Primos? What if Jessie shows up and catches you?”

  “You just told me that she’s busy on her brother’s ranch. Look, don’t worry. I’ll just peek in the windows. I wouldn’t dream of going inside, unless she’s left a key hidden somewhere obvious. No one will catch me this time, I promise. I’ll be really careful.”

  “You’re crazy, Anna. You’ve got to stop this – it’s too dangerous. Let Sergeant Tremaine take care of it.”

  “Come on, Amy, what’s the worst that could happen? Jessie’s not going to shoot me even if she catches me spying on her cabin, now, is she?”

  “Promise me you won’t go! Please. Jessie Wick is a lot more dangerous than Karen and Connie.”

  “Now why would you say that?”

  “I don’t know. It’s the way she acts, I guess. She says things like ‘I’d never take that kind of crap from any man.’ She seems so tough.”

  “Well, I’m not going to do anything stupid. Just forget I ever called. Go see a movie or do some shopping or something. Everything will work out just fine. You have a good weekend, now. Bye.”

  “Anna, please don’t,” she pleaded.

  “Bye Amy.” I disconnected before she could say another word.