“I wonder what’s going on? From the sound of it, there are multiple sirens in the area.”
Phil turned and faced the other way. “Go back to sleep. We can read about it tomorrow.”
The sirens continued. I looked at my clock. Two-thirty in the morning.
Chapter Fifteen
Tuesday, April 5
THAT MORNING, WHILE lying in bed, I heard the school bus stopping next door. I quickly got up and went over to the window, wanting to make sure Janey did in fact get on the bus. When I saw her climbing the steps, I gave myself two thumbs up. She would be gone all day. There was a spring in my step as I walked towards my closet to retrieve my robe. All was right in the world. The sun was shining. The birds were singing.
Then I heard a car door slam and went back to the window looking across the street. John had just gotten into his car. Elizabeth strutted out of the front door in her stilettos, her briefcase in hand. I didn’t realize she was going back to work so soon after the trip. Elizabeth had increased her hours from one day a week to two days a week at the college library, where she and John had originally met. Perhaps she wanted to spend more time with him.
Not wanting to waste one minute of this glorious day, I put my robe on and went downstairs to find Phil reading the newspaper in the living room. There was a pile of back issues laying beside him on the sofa.
I gave him a kiss on his forehead. “Good morning. It looks like a beautiful day! Did anything happen in Sudbury Falls while we were gone? By the way, don’t you have class today?”
He looked up and didn’t appear all that happy. “Not until late morning.”
“What’s wrong?”
“I was listening to the radio before I started in on the newspapers. You know the sirens we heard during the night?”
“Yes. What happened?”
“Dinesh and Neelam’s store was firebombed.”
My mouth fell open. “What? Oh, my gosh, no! Was anyone in the store?” He put the newspaper he was reading down on the pile. “No. Not in the middle of the night.”
I sat down on the sofa. “Did the police get who did this?”
“It doesn’t sound like it. It wasn’t mentioned anyway.”
“I was going to call Neelam later this morning to tell her we were back and to see if they were receiving any more threats. What kind of a person could have done such a thing?”
“An ignorant one. Fear and hate drive people like that. Remember the threats?”
I picked up my cellphone from the side table and punched in Neelam’s number while I walked into the kitchen. I stood leaning against the sink, looking out over our back window.
“Neelam, I just heard about your store. I’m so sorry.”
“You’re back. Kay, I can’t talk. The police are here.”
I turned around and looked at Phil still in the living room. “Okay. Would you like me to come over later?”
“Yes. I’d appreciate that. Come after eleven o’clock. We should be free to talk then.”
After hanging up, I poured a cup of coffee Phil had made earlier. I’d have to drink it black. We didn’t have any milk or much of anything in the house. I’d go grocery shopping after I went over to Neelam’s.
Phil came into the room and refilled his coffee cup. “What did Neelam say?”
We sat down at the table.
“Not much. We’re going to meet later this morning. It’s just terrible about Neelam and Dinesh’s shop. I feel so bad for them.”
“I know. We have a gig scheduled for this weekend. I wonder if Dinesh will still want to play.”
“Oh, Phil!” I put my cup down. “Is that all you can think about?”
“Of course not. I’m just wondering. That’s all.”
I took a sip of my coffee. “I’m sure Dinesh will have other things on his mind besides your gig. And don’t call him and ask him about it either.”
“What do you think I am, tactless?”
I didn’t respond. When it came to music, my dear husband was.
“I will have to call him at some point.”
“Could you at least wait until tomorrow?”
“Of course.”
* * * *
On the way to Neelam’s, I drove past their grocery store on Main Street. Gupta’s New Delhi was sandwiched between a dry cleaners and a second-hand store. All of their windows were boarded up. Just under their storefront sign, CLOSED was written on one of the boards covering their windows. Graffiti was spray-painted on the brick in angry red letters warning them to leave town. The flames had left a black discoloration on the bricks surrounding the boarded-up windows and some black residue on the adjoining buildings. I could only imagine how Neelam’s shop looked inside. I was sure their colorful bins of every imaginable spice, that were in the front of the store, were destroyed. Sudbury Falls had been incredibly blessed to have an ethnic grocery store like this. And now...this happened. My heart sank. It was terrible what hatred could do to a family and to the community.
When I approached Neelam’s home, I noticed a squad car parked across the street and recognized the officer. Most of the officers knew me at the police station from being there so often regarding various cases. I was glad to see they were watching Neelam and Dinesh’s home. Waving to the officer, I walked up the sidewalk to their house and rang the bell. She answered with an intent look on her face, her eyes bloodshot. She looked past me and glanced over at the police car.
“Come in, Kay. I’m so glad to see you.” She gave me a big hug, then moved aside, letting me enter. She started crying. “Did you see our store on the way over?”
“I drove past it. I’m so sorry this happened.”
“So much is lost, burned up. Kay, our livelihood is gone.” Neelam’s voice was understandably shaky.
I gave her a hug, then proceeded to take off my coat.
“And now we have the police outside. Did you see them?”
I nodded. I thought it was a good idea considering the circumstances.
She hung up my coat in the front closet. “Come into the kitchen. I’ll make us some tea.”
“Thank you.” I followed her. Here Neelam was totally distraught and she was still concerned about hospitality.
I watched her as she started making our tea, adding several spoonfuls of loose tea to a pot of water. “Kay, you should have seen it, a television news crew was at the store when the firemen were putting out the fire.”
I leaned in, touching her shoulder. “It must have been heartbreaking.”
Neelam took a tissue out and wiped her eyes, then returned it to her pocket. “Dinesh is talking about moving away.”
“You can’t!” I immediately exclaimed.
She looked up at me and stopped stirring the tea in the boiling water for a few seconds.
“You’re some of our best friends and part of this community. We’d miss you. Everyone would miss you.”
Neelam added brown sugar and milk to the tea. “I appreciate that and thank you, but we were under-insured. Dinesh has already been talking to the insurance company. He’s over there right now.”
“What are the police doing about this?”
“Investigating. Chief Kirk personally called us in the middle of the night to tell us about the fire.”
“Do they have any ideas at all, who could have done this?”
“Not yet.” Neelam took two cups out of the cupboard. She motioned towards the table. “Please, have a seat.”
I sat at the table watching her pour the tea through a strainer into our cups. I loved Neelam’s Indian tea.
She put the pot back on the stove, then sat across from me. “I don’t know what we can do. No store. No means of support.” She shifted in her chair.
I blew on the hot tea. “Was the inside of the store entirely destroyed?”
“Not all of it. Mainly the front where the spices were and the produce area.”
“That’s good. I mean, I’m glad everything wasn’t destroyed.”
&nb
sp; Neelam’s eyes teared up. “Do you realize how much it will cost just to replace those spices? Thousands of dollars. Dinesh is so depressed. We’ve both been up since this happened. I must look a mess.” She ran her fingers through her long, black hair.
“I’m so sorry.”
“I’m angry, and I worry about him. I can’t believe such hatred exists in this city.”
I held out my hand to her. “We’ll think of something to help you out. You can’t move. You just can’t.”
I took a sip of my tea and looked up at her. The tea was the only thing that was perfect at the moment.
* * * *
After I left, I went to the grocery store. We didn’t have much in our refrigerator or in the pantry, and without a list, I walked up and down the aisles with a large shopping cart filling it up. When I approached the bakery, standing at the doughnut cart was Marissa. She was putting a chocolate doughnut into a small bag.
I burst out without thinking, “Marissa, what are you doing here?”
She laughed. “You caught me. Don’t tell anyone. I felt like having an old-fashioned doughnut after lunch.”
“What? With all of the pastries you make at the patisserie? I can’t believe what I’m seeing.” I laughed. “My impression of you is shattered. I wish I hadn’t seen you here.”
She quickly closed up the bag. “Oh, Kay. You’re so funny.” She looked over her shoulders. “Let’s get out of the bakery area and go over to a different department.”
I started laughing. “This feels like a covert operation.”
Marissa smiled. “It is!” Then she assumed a serious expression. “Kay, did you hear about the fire?”
“I just came from Neelam’s. It’s terrible.”
“A few days ago, I overheard a few guys at the patisserie talking about the damage a fire did to buildings in a different state. They were laughing while talking about it.”
“Did you recognize them?”
“No, but they had been in once before.”
“What did they look like?”
“Pretty shifty, and they all had filthy mouths. I didn’t talk to them more than I had to. At the time, I didn’t think much about it. And now, what they were talking about has happened here. What is this world coming to?”
* * * *
When Phil came home from class, I told him about my conversation with Neelam, and I couldn’t help telling him about seeing Marissa buying a doughnut. He smirked at that.
“We should turn our gig on Friday evening at The Starlite into a fundraiser. I did plenty of those with my other bands. We can help make up the money the insurance doesn’t cover so they can rebuild.”
“I think they’ll need a lot of money. And I’m not sure Dinesh will be up to playing. He’s quite upset.”
“Nonsense. I’ll talk to him and set him straight. We’ll need to start practicing, pronto.”
My lips pressed together.
“Okay, I’ll call tomorrow. It will be good for him. Practicing will take his mind off of everything.”
The doorbell rang. Walking to the window, I saw that it was Janey. There was a packet of papers in her hands.
“Kay, I’m writing my report about the cruise. I told my friends at school today about the murder and how we solved it. The teacher acted a bit shocked, but then this is her first year in town and she doesn’t know you. I need your help clarifying a few things.”
“Sure.” We sat down on the sofa. “What do you need?”
After we read through Janey’s report, and answered all of her questions, I told her about the fire at Neelam and Dinesh’s store.
She didn’t say anything at first, then tears poured down her cheeks.
I put my arms around her. “Everything is going to be all right. Neelam and Dinesh will get through this. They’re tough. You know that.”
“But everything isn’t all right. Discrimination isn’t all right. And it isn’t fair. All people should be valued and treated the same.”
“I’m sorry. You’re exactly right. This isn’t fair.”
Janey wiped her tears with her hands. “I can’t imagine how they feel. People hating them this much to do something like this. How would you feel?”
Reaching into my pocket, I took out a tissue handing it to her. “I’d feel distraught and very hurt.”
Janey started crying again. “Oh, Kay. I feel so bad. I need to do something nice for them, to make them feel better.”
We stayed on the sofa for a while, my arms around her trembling body.
* * * *
Later that evening, Andrew and Rose called and asked us to put their call on speakerphone so Phil and I could both hear them at the same time. Then they announced their big surprise, they were having a baby.
I screamed. “Oh, my gosh! I am so happy! I love you both so much.”
Phil looked at me and feigned covering his ears. “Congratulations! As you can hear, we are thrilled!”
“How are you feeling, Rose?” I asked.
She laughed. “I’m just fine.”
I reached for Phil’s hand. “I am so excited. Wow! Lots to think about. Lots to do.”
Andrew laughed. “Mom, the baby isn’t going to be here for a while.”
“When is the baby due?”
“The beginning of October,” Rose said.
“The beginning of October! I can’t wait! I’m going to be a grandmother! Oh, that sounds wonderful, doesn’t it? Have you told Will yet?”
“We told him while you were on the cruise. Rose’s family also. I swore Will to secrecy until we could tell you. How was the cruise anyway? Was it exciting?”
“Do you have an hour?” Phil asked.
Chapter Sixteen
Wednesday, April 6
THAT MORNING, I walked to the police station and asked for Chief of Police Kirk at the front desk. There were more police officers up and about than usual. I stood up when Kirk ambled towards me.
He greeted me by saying, “I was wondering when you’d show up. Follow me.” He mumbled under his breath, “We may as well get this over with.”
The front desk sergeant winked at me and smirked when Kirk turned away. I followed Kirk to his office past whiteboards plastered with notes and a few officers sitting at desks. They greeted me as we passed.
Kirk offered me a seat in his office, then sat at his desk. “I heard you were on a cruise. Hmm. Anyone get murdered on it?” He laughed and held out the plate of cookies set on his desk to me.
“No thank you, and as a matter-of-fact there was a murder.”
He looked up. Cookie crumbs fell out of his mouth onto the mounds of papers that sat on his desk. He brushed the crumbs off the papers onto the floor. “You’re kidding me, right?” He sat up straight and proceeded to brush crumbs off his uniform. “Just like I once said, murder follows you.” He belted out a loud guffaw. “I suppose you investigated.”
I leaned back in my chair and stared at him. “Do you have any idea who the perpetrators are in this hate crime at the New Delhi store?”
He shrugged his shoulders, then wiped the sweat trickling down from his forehead. Kirk had a perpetual sheen of sweat on his forehead. Sweeping more crumbs off his papers with his hand, he questioned, “Perpetrators?”
I looked up at the ceiling. “Cowards like this usually don’t act alone. They need others to egg them on.”
Kirk wiped his mouth with his shirt sleeve. “We’re looking into it. There’s no room in our town for this sort of thing. Hatred will find no haven in Sudbury Falls.”
For once Chief Kirk and I were on the same page. I could hear the frustration in his voice.
“I totally agree. This can’t happen here. The Gupta’s are a major asset to this community.”
He took a sip of his coffee then reached for another cookie. “It had to be outsiders.”
“I agree. These weren’t people who cared about this community.” Thinking of Thom Harris, my FBI friend, I asked, “Have you considered contacting The FBI? They d
eal with hate crimes.”
Kirk rubbed his eyebrow, then gave me a look that was reminiscent of the looks I received from him in the past. I had worked on previous murder cases in town. “I don’t believe that is necessary.”
“This is a criminal offense against the Guptas and their property, due to a prejudice against their race. This is arson! The FBI upholds the civil rights of citizens.”
He sighed, then said in a sing-song voice, “I know it’s arson.”
I wondered if his investigation was going anywhere. “Do you have any suspects? Any clues? Any evidence?”
He didn’t respond.
That’s what I thought. I was so frustrated knowing this wasn’t going anywhere. These were my friends. “Call in the FBI. They could work with you. I bet Thom Harris would be happy to work with you.”
Special Agent Thom Harris, a boyfriend from my college days, had worked with me on a case before my move to Sudbury Falls when I worked part time as a medical consultant for the Boulder Police Department. He also worked with me during the ginseng conspiracy.
“We’re on top of this. Now I think it’s time I get back to the investigation.” He reached for another cookie, ending our discussion.
When I was by the door, I heard him say, “Thank you for your suggestions.”
I would have to think of some way to help in the investigation.
* * * *
“Thom, these are best friends of ours. The FBI should have been notified.” I explained to him about Neelam and Dinesh’s store and the hateful graffiti.
“The FBI could work closely with Chief Kirk. Most of the FBI’s field offices participate in local hate crime working groups. I might even come to Sudbury Falls. I’d love to see you again. It’s been over a year.”
“That would be great. I have so much to tell you. We’ve just come back from a cruise.”
“Relaxing, I’m sure.”
I smiled. Right!
“By the way, how’s the family doing?”
“We just learned that Andrew and Rose are having a baby. I’m going to be a grandmother!”
“Well, congratulations! That’s exciting!”
Paradise Can Be Murder Page 16
