Framed for Murder

by Cathy Spencer

  Chapter 28

  I caught a glimpse of Tremaine over the next couple of days as I visited and revisited the station. The swelling had gone down on his eye, but the bruising still made him look pretty disreputable. One time we passed each other in the hallway, and he nodded and walked by me without even saying a word. I wasn’t sure how to interpret his behaviour. What does it mean when a guy’s lying with his head in your lap one minute, and not talking to you the next? I couldn’t figure him out, and despaired of ever doing so.

  Saturday morning I awoke feeling at peace with myself. I had called Carlene the night before, and the two of us had had a long talk about Jack’s death and shared some tears over it. I left out the stuff about Jack having affairs with the women on the set, of course, and made it sound as if Jessie Wick was a jealous business partner gone crazy. Carlene felt better, Ben and I were on good terms again, and it was over. Finis. If I never saw Tremaine again, well, that was just the way it was going to have to be. God speed and good luck to him. Meanwhile, it was spring, and I had all but missed it with the threat of the murder investigation hanging over my head.

  I decided to spread happiness and good cheer amongst my fellow man and have breakfast at The Diner. I put on a floral summer skirt, a pretty pale blue blouse, and kitten-heeled sandals, gave Wendy a kiss on the top of her furry head, and headed over.

  When I arrived at the restaurant, I was surprised to discover a celebration in full swing. Frank was leaning on the counter with his arm wrapped around Judy, talking and laughing with Jeff, Betty, and Erna. They were sitting on stools at the counter and, wonder of wonders, Mr. Andrews was sitting right there beside them. I had never seen him sitting on a stool before, and there wasn’t even a newspaper in sight. Something really important had to be going on. I slid onto the last stool beside him and waited.

  Frank noticed me first. “Hi, Anna, how’s it going?” he asked. Five smiling faces turned toward me.

  “Good, Frank. What’s happening?”

  “Steve, here, just told me the news about Henry Fellows, and I was passing it along to everyone.” Frank pointed over my shoulder and I turned to see Steve eating his supper at one of the tables. He raised his coffee cup in salute.

  We all turned back to Frank. “Go on, Frank, tell Anna what happened,” Betty prodded.

  “Okay,” Frank said, looking like he was about to burst. “You know how the police figured it had to be a pick-up truck that rammed Henry’s restaurant? A green truck because they found some green paint rubbed off on one of the wall studs?”

  “Right, that’s how I heard it.”

  “Well, the police checked out the vehicles registered to me because Henry had told them that I had been trying to sabotage his business, but no green truck.”

  Jeff guffawed loudly and Betty shushed him.

  “Then the police started hunting around town looking for a green pick-up, but it’s not a popular colour in Crane, I guess, and they couldn’t find one. After that, they started checking up on people who knew Henry – friends and family members and such – to see if anyone might have had a motive for wanting to hurt him. They found a nephew out in Lloydminster with a green pick-up truck, so they sent a couple of officers out to talk with him. When they discovered that the truck had been damaged in a recent accident, the police got very interested in the nephew.”

  “And?” I asked.

  “And the nephew caved and confessed to having driven the truck into Henry’s restaurant. But you’ll never guess why.”

  Everyone smiled at me in anticipation. “Why?” I asked, waiting for the punch line.

  “Because Henry asked him to do it,” Frank said with a flourish.

  I had been sitting on the edge of my stool during his recitation, and sat back on the seat with a thump. “I don’t believe it. Why ever would Henry ask his nephew to drive a truck into his restaurant?”

  Frank leaned toward me over the counter. “Because Henry knew that his restaurant wasn’t catching on, and he thought that a take-out window would give him an edge. Problem was, he couldn’t afford to have one installed. Then he came up with the brilliant idea of faking the accident and using the insurance money to put in a new drive-through. So, his nephew drove out from Lloydminster the night before the accident, took Henry to the restaurant first thing Sunday morning, drove around the block, and rammed the building. I guess he got a little too enthusiastic because Henry ended up in the hospital, but the nephew claimed that it was all Henry’s idea.”

  Jeff slapped the counter and chortled while I stared at Frank in amazement. Betty and Erna both grinned at me, and even Mr. Andrews looked amused.

  “I don’t know what to say. That is the craziest thing I’ve ever heard,” I said, shaking my head.

  “Yep, it’s pretty nuts. Steve came by today to ask if I wanted to press charges against Henry for making slanderous statements about me.”

  “What are you going to do, Frank?” I asked.

  “Well, Henry’s already charged with insurance fraud, so I decided to take a pass. Besides, I don’t need to spend any extra time with police and lawyers, present company excepted, Steven.”

  “No offence taken,” Steve said, chewing a mouthful of fries.

  “I still think that’s awfully big of you, Frank. Henry tried to ruin you, you know,” Judy said.

  “Ah, honey, Henry was real bitter when his bookstore folded, and I think it turned his mind a little when the restaurant wasn’t a success, either. It would probably be best for him to get away from here and start over fresh somewhere else.”

  “If they don’t put his ass in jail,” Judy said.

  Frank shrugged. “I’ve got no control over that. He did that to himself.” Turning back to me, Frank said, “So we’re having a little celebration now that everything’s cleared up and my good name is restored. I’m treating my friends to steak sandwiches.”

  “Throw in some coffee and fries, and I’ll be real happy for you,” Jeff said.

  “You’ve got it,” Frank replied, slapping Jeff on the shoulder and heading back to the kitchen. “Judy, pour everyone some coffee, will you, hon?”

  With everyone else laughing over Henry’s folly, I joined Steve at his table. He offered me a fry from his plate.

  “Things have turned out well for you, too,” he said, glancing at me out of the corner of his eye.

  “Yes, they have,” I said, chewing.

  He hesitated, and then asked, “Did you hear that Tremaine is leaving tonight?”

  I stared at him, my heart leaden despite my earlier resolution to forget about the sergeant. I gulped and said, “I didn’t know.”

  “No, I guess no one outside the station knows. I’m sorry, Anna.” I could tell by the sympathetic look in his eyes that he had guessed I had feelings for Tremaine.

  I smiled, trying to put a brave face on it. “Oh, that’s okay, Steve. They just brought him in for the investigation, right? It’s not like he was ever going to stay.”

  He patted my back while the rest of the gang came over to the table to join us. Erna’s bright eyes caught Steve’s gesture, and I gave her a half smile. She sat down beside me and gave my hand a gentle squeeze.

  Judy hustled over with a coffee pot and a bottle of apple juice for me. Erna and I clinked our beverages together, Mary delivered our plates, and my friends and I tucked into our food.