Marja McGraw - Bogey Man 01 - Bogey Nights

by Marja McGraw

  Dudley went on to tell Natalie that he’d signed up and would be leaving soon for the Navy. He told her that he loved her and asked her if she would marry him before he shipped out to parts unknown.

  As an afterthought, Dudley asked Natalie not to mention the problems at the boarding house to his mother because she’d worry needlessly. Too late for that one.

  I put my hand to my chest and reread the letter. It was so touching, and I hoped that since neither one had received the other’s letter, that at some point they’d met in person and straightened things out. I could hear young love in the tone of their letters, even though they’d had an upset of some sort. Two brief letters and I was beginning to feel like I already knew these people.

  I looked up to find Chris watching me with amusement on his face.

  “What?” I asked.

  “You have a very expressive face. I was watching you read that letter. You smiled, you frowned and you looked sad. Must have been some letter.”

  “These kids were in love and had a misunderstanding. Neither one ever got the letter intended for them. I sure hope they straightened things out.”

  “You’re such a romantic, Cupcake. It’s one of the things I like about you.”

  “Like? Hmm. What about your letter?” I asked.

  “I was so busy watching you that I never opened it.”

  “Well, for crying out loud, open it. We need to know if there’s anything important in it,” I said. I encouraged him by handing him the letter opener.

  He looked at the names and addresses on the envelope before opening it. “This one is to Karen Shipley from Sam Shipley. Must be a relative.”

  “She’s his sister.”

  I waited while he read the letter, watching his face as he’d done with me. I had a feeling he knew I was watching because other than squinting, he made a point of wearing a poker face.

  “I think I need to see an eye doc and get me some cheaters,” he said, finishing the letter. “I hate to admit it, but it’s getting harder and harder to read without squinting.”

  “I noticed. You probably just need reading glasses. So what did the letter say?”

  “Mostly it was about him finding a new job and hoping to get on with his life. He told her he was glad he’d moved to California because there seemed to be more jobs in his field. I think he might have been a budding actor from some of his comments. Probably not a lot of call for Hollywood actors in Michigan.”

  “Ya think?”

  “He asked her how things were going with someone named Frankie Dutton and – ”

  “Karen and Frankie got engaged,” I said, interrupting him.

  “Swell. Now let me finish. He went on to tell her that he didn’t know what to do because his landlady acted like she was afraid of him. He didn’t know whether to move out or try to figure out what he was doing wrong.”

  “Chance said that someone gave her the heebie jeebies. Now we probably know who it was. One more question answered.”

  “Yes, but there are still too many more unanswered ones.”

  “I’m going to go talk to Chance again. I want to ask her if she’s still in touch with any of the boarders.”

  “Do you mind if I don’t go with you?” Chris asked.

  “Not at all. But, Honey, I really think we’ve been too hard on her. She’s simply an old woman who still knows how to flirt. I’d be willing to bet that flirting was how she got her way in the old days.” I smiled. “It sure seems like she manipulates people, and her attitude may be the only way she knows to get what she wants.”

  “How can you tell? We’ve met her, but we don’t know her.”

  “I got that feeling after watching her with John. I think she manipulates him. You probably frustrated her by not reacting to her flirting.”

  I glanced at the letter Sam Shipley had written. “It is interesting that Shipley knew he frightened Chance. I wonder if it was his appearance or something about his demeanor.”

  “It could be a little of each,” Chris said.

  “I’ll ask Chance when I see her. I’ll call her in the morning.”

  There was another letter from Shipley to a friend, but it didn’t contain anything interesting, except that he thought he might have to move. No explanation given.

  The last letter was from Charles Blakely to his sister. Chris sat next to me and read along with me. Charles wanted to know if his sister was feeling any better since he’d last heard from her and he wondered if she’d had the flu. I had the answer to that one. She was pregnant. It was interesting how an outsider could put the facts together even though none of the letters had been read by the intended recipient.

  Toward the end of the letter Charles talked about the boarding house and some problems that had arisen. He wrote about a female boarder and how she’d made things difficult between the male boarders, even though she hadn’t meant to. As I read I gathered there were some jealousies involved. He mentioned a meeting with the landlady. She’d told him that she wouldn’t have this type of trouble in her boarding house and that if it didn’t stop, they could all move out.

  “My landlady isn’t any older than I am, but she sure thinks she knows it all. I’m half tempted to go ahead and move out. The theatrics in this place are more than I need right now anyway. Maybe I’ll just come live with you. Ha ha.”

  He hadn’t moved out and he hadn’t been able to go live with his sister. Poor Charles. What happened to him? Other than dying, of course.

  Chapter Twenty-two

  Sunday night Chris and I went to bed feeling a little melancholy, and we held each other for a long time. Reading those old letters had been a unique experience, although it felt a little like listening in on someone’s private conversation.

  Monday morning, however, held one excited little boy – a long weekend with grandma and grandpa was coming up – and two playful dogs. All the sadness disappeared as we bustled around feeding the dogs, preparing breakfast, and looking forward to detecting. We finally had something to go on.

  We were sitting down to eat when the doorbell rang. Mikey jumped out of his chair and ran to answer the door. He returned with Janet Riley in tow.

  “Oh, I’m sorry to interrupt your breakfast,” she said.

  “Don’t be silly. There’s plenty here. Why don’t you join us?” Chris said.

  Janet took a good long look at a table covered with plates of bacon, scrambled eggs, hash brown potatoes and toast before pulling up a chair.

  “Are you sure there’s enough?” she asked.

  “I always overcook, so don’t give it another thought.” I didn’t really, but Chris and I could take smaller portions than normal.

  After getting out another plate and some silverware, I handed her a dish covered with scrambled eggs surrounded by bacon. “Help yourself. Some people don’t think of this as a healthy breakfast, but we sure do.”

  “I don’t eat this kind of breakfast very often,” she said, “but there are always exceptions. And I haven’t had a homemade meal since Don and I came over for the barbeque.”

  “How come?” Mikey asked.

  “I work long hours and end up eating fast food. It’s a good thing I exercise or I’d weigh a ton.” She slathered blackberry jelly on her toast.

  Mikey seemed satisfied with her answer and went back to eating.

  “About those letters…” Janet began.

  I shook my head no, very slightly, and glanced at Mikey.

  She saw me and didn’t finish her thought, but turned her attention back to the food. “This is delicious. Sometimes I almost forget how good a homemade meal can be.”

  After breakfast, Janet helped me clear off the dishes while Chris helped Mikey find his backpack.

  “I’ll take Mikey to school and be back in a few minutes,” Chris said. “Will you still be here, Janet?”

  “Probably. I think I’m too full to go back to work. I may have to spend the day here, recuperating.”

  “Hey, wait a minute. That almost
sounds like my food made you sick,” I said, smiling.

  Janet laughed. “Sorry, I should have chosen my words more carefully.”

  As soon as we heard the slam of the front door closing, Janet and I sat down at the breakfast table with two cups of coffee.

  “Did you find anything in the letters?” she asked.

  “Actually, we did. And with your resources, you can probably find some of these people a lot easier than we can.” I went on to tell her about the letters, the names and addresses, and the implications that something had really been going on at the boarding house. I excused myself for a minute and returned bearing the letters and the ledger pages.

  Janet took her time reading the ledger pages. “I see a woman lived there in addition to the men. Alice Frye might have had something to do with the goings on at that place. Interesting that Chance didn’t make a note of her social security number or date of birth. You said one of the letters mentioned possible… No, wait. You said you surmised there might have been jealousies.”

  “Right. You’ll want to read the letters yourself, but I’m confident that you’ll reach the same conclusions that we did.”

  “Like I told you, I’m working on a high profile case right now, but I can take some time this afternoon to see what I can find on these people. You never know, some of them could still be around.”

  “Chris and I would appreciate that.” I heard Chris’s car pull into the driveway. “Speaking of Chris, here he comes now.”

  I warmed up our coffee with some fresh java and poured a third cup for Chris.

  “Where are the dogs?” Janet asked.

  “Out in the yard.”

  “They’re sure a lot quieter than Friday. She barks at everything.”

  “I think Sherlock and Watson entertain each other. When they were puppies we worked with them a lot, training them and gaining some modicum of control. They’re strong dogs and we wanted them to listen to us.”

  “Training worked? I wonder if I should try training Friday. She’s a good dog, but I’m not always the one in control. Maybe it’s too late.”

  “It’s never too late, although it may take more work now, and you’re not home that much.” I thought for a moment before opening my mouth and making an offer I could come to regret. “Let me talk to Chris and get back to you. I might have a suggestion that would help.”

  Chris walked into the kitchen and sat down, picking up his coffee mug. “Have you told Janet about what we’ve learned?”

  “She told me,” Janet said. “I’m going to try to run some of these people down for you this afternoon. I’ll give you a call this evening if I come up with anything.”

  “And when you call I’ll let you know what I’m thinking about your dog and her need for training,” I said.

  Chris raised his eyebrows and looked at me in askance.

  “We’ll talk later,” I said.

  “Well,” Janet said, standing up, “I’d better get to work if I’m going to get anything done on either case. I’ll call you. No need to show me out. And thanks for breakfast. It really did hit the spot.”

  After Janet left I brought the dogs inside and ran them through some of their commands.

  “What are you doing?” Chris asked.

  “I’ve been thinking. Janet said she’s having a few problems with Friday because she’s never been properly trained. What would you think about having her bring Friday over here every day on her way to work for a while. We could train her. We trained our dogs, and look how well they behave.”

  Chris laughed. “Sometimes.”

  “Usually,” I said. “Friday is younger than Sherlock and Watson. Maybe they’d be a good influence on her. And until the restaurant is ready we don’t have too much else to do anyway. The three dogs seem to get along, too.”

  “We have plenty to do between preparing for the opening of the restaurant and working on Blakely’s murder, but I guess we could squeeze Friday in. It might be good for her to socialize with other dogs. We’ll play it by ear and see if she responds to training.”

  I smiled at my husband and gave him a kiss on the cheek. “I love you, Bogey Man.”

  He grinned. “Thanks. So what are your plans for today?”

  “I thought I’d head over to the restaurant and start setting up the office. Maybe when you pick Mikey up from school you and he can run by the electronics store and pick up a computer and printer and bring them over to me. If you don’t mind, that is. Also, I was thinking about the filing cabinet we have in the spare bedroom. We don’t really need it here, so do you think you could bring it to the office?”

  “I can do that. Why don’t you take the dogs with you and let them start getting used to their yard. It’s not like you’d have to watch them or anything. You’ll be right there, in the office.”

  “You don’t think they’ll get in Big D’s way?”

  “Not if they’re in the yard.”

  “Works for me. They’re good company, and Big D likes them. What are you going to do today?”

  “The first thing I’m going to do is go buy the computer and printer. Then I’m going to call a couple of agents about bands for the bar. I’ll try to set up some interviews. I’m also going to go pick up supplies for the restaurant kitchen.”

  “Isn’t it a bit early to be buying food?”

  “No, I mean pots and pans – that type of thing.”

  “Do you remember the store where we bought them before? They gave us a pretty good deal on everything.”

  “I’ve already called them,” Chris said. “They have a record of the things we bought before and they’ll duplicate it for us. They’re going to give us a good discount, too.”

  I smiled. “I don’t know why I even question you. You always have things well in hand.”

  “What did Janet have to say about the ledger pages and the letters?” Chris asked.

  “She was very interested. The fourth person living at the house at that time was Alice Frye, and Janet thought it was interesting that Chance didn’t have the same information on her that she did on the others.”

  “I thought of something, too,” Chris said. “If there were three men and one woman living there at that time, which one was living in the garage? I don’t know that it matters, but I guess it could.”

  “Good question.” I thought about that for a moment. “You’d think that whoever lived in the garage would have had less contact with the other boarders.”

  “Just because he slept there doesn’t mean he stayed out there all of the time. He could have come into the house and mixed with the others.”

  I cleared my throat. “Actually, if it was nice enough, maybe Alice Frye lived in the garage. I got the feeling it might have actually been like a little apartment, and being the only female boarder, she might have wanted her privacy.”

  “Maybe. Be sure to ask Chance about that when you see her. When are you going to call her?”

  “Before I leave for the restaurant. If she’s up to it, I might go see her before I work on the office.”

  Chris finished his coffee and stood up. “I’m going to head over to the electronics store. Be back in a while.” He gave me a quick kiss and left.

  I picked up the paper with Chance’s phone number on it and dialed. She picked up after five rings.

  “Chance, this is Pamela Cross. I wondered if you might be up to some company today.”

  “Why, yes, I think I’d enjoy seeing you again. Is that handsome hubby of yours coming with you?”

  “No, I’m afraid he’s busy running errands and taking care of business. We’ve got to get things ready so we can open the restaurant as soon as possible.”

  “Oh. Well, you come along anyway. But can we make it tomorrow? I’m not quite myself today.” Hearing the disappointment in her voice, I reminded myself that she was an old woman. She was not my competition. However, she certainly sounded like herself. She was hoping Chris would be with me if I visited her later.

  “Chance, Ch
ris won’t be able to come with me tomorrow, either.”

  She was quiet for a moment before she replied. “Like I said, you come along then. I’ll see him another time.”

  We settled on a time and I told her I’d call first to make sure she was up to the visit.

  “I’ll be fine. You just come on over,” she said.

  I was very proud of myself for not rolling my eyes as I hung up the phone. Instead, I crossed them. Chris tells me I have very expressive eyes, and it doesn’t sound like a compliment. Oh well…

  I loaded the car with office supplies and then called the dogs in and told them we were going bye-bye, one of their favorite things. Tails wagging, they waited patiently while I attached their leashes to their collars.

  On the way to the restaurant I stopped and picked up more office supplies and a bag full of In-N-Out hamburgers and French fries. Might as well show up bearing gifts. It couldn’t hurt.

  As soon as arrived I put the dogs in the fenced yard and filled a bowl with water for them. They immediately began sniffing around the tree, and as sternly as possible I told them, “No digging!” They didn’t bother to look up, but kept right on sniffing.

  After passing out the burgers and fries, I took my own food into the office and set it on the desk while I unloaded the office supplies, which also included things like order pads for the waitresses. I planned on using the highboy for storage.

  Deciding to check on the dogs, I opened the back door and stuck my head outside. They were digging again, tails flying furiously. Watson began to whine and dig with more vigor.

  “Stop that!” I commanded. “Right now!”

  She whined louder and dug deeper.

  “If I have to come out there…” I took a step out the door.

  Watson abruptly stopped digging. Her tail stuck straight out, no longer wagging. She gave out one loud whine and picked something up. Turning, she brought it to me and gently laid it at my feet. She’d brought me a gift. She whined again, but this time it was the most soulful sound I’d ever heard a dog make. She nudged the gift she’d brought me with her black nose and turned a pair of sad brown eyes in my direction. Sherlock stood beside her, almost as though he was there to support her in her mission.