Office Heretics (A Coffee & Crime Mystery Book 2)

by Nan Sampson

"Which two and what were they up to?"

  "Kyle enlisted Kirby to help set a trap for his sister. The old bucket over the door filled with water trick. But Kaela is just old enough and clever enough to have figured it out and she turned the tables on them. They are now both soaked, chastised, and mopping up the bathroom with towels. Then they get to do the laundry to wash and dry the towels." She sighed. "Calgon take me away."

  Ellie just shook her head. "I have no idea how you do what you do." She patted Kate's hand. "I’m sorry. Here you're trying to have a life and I bring all this chaos down on you."

  "Oh, honey, none of this is your fault. Every day around here is chaos."

  "Well, I can't imagine having me and Charlie around here cluttering up the house is making it any easier."

  "You're not cluttering up my house. I love having both of you here." She waggled her eyebrows at Ellie. "Together, even." And then she raised her hand as Ellie groaned. "But I do need to take care of the regular inmates as well. And, speaking of which," she glanced upward, as a heavy galloping started at the top of the stairs, "it sounds like Kyle and Kirby are on their way down for a seek-and-destroy mission in the laundry room." She shouted over her shoulder. "No running, boys!" She glanced at the TV. "What are you watching?"

  Ellie shrugged. "Some documentary. On Egypt."

  "I didn't know you were a history buff.

  "I'm not really. It's just something to watch."

  "Oh, Ellie, don't tell me you still don't have a TV. How can you live?"

  Ellie laughed. "Six months ago, I would have said the same thing. Now... you'd be amazed how little you miss it when it just isn't there to miss. And when it's not the center of everyone else's life too."

  "I guess."

  Kyle and Kirby chased each other into the family room and jumped onto the couch. "Aunt Ellie, Aunt Ellie, have you seen Uncle Charlie?"

  Kate intervened. "I think he might have gone out for a bit. Why don't you go wash your hands and get ready for lunch?"

  "We don't want boring lunch. Uncle Charlie said he'd take us for hot dogs."

  Kate frowned. "Well, Uncle Charlie must have remembered something important he had to do. Now go wash your hands." She looked at Ellie. "You want to take them with you when you go back home? Maybe you could put them to work at The Sacred Caff."

  Ellie laughed. "Thanks, but no thanks. I didn't have kids for a reason. And remember, I said I’d take them for hot dogs. No worries."

  Kate glanced at her. "Are you sure you want to do that? I know you offered earlier, but you really don't have to. They'll be just fine eating peanut butter and jelly."

  "Positive. Only one condition."

  "What's that?"

  "You loan me twenty bucks and you tell me where the hot dog place is. Last time Kyle tried to direct me somewhere we wound up way out in Sugar Grove and it took me an hour to get back."

  Kate chuckled. "No problem. Follow me to the bank of McCallum. I'll even give you the keys to the Rover if you promise not to drive off and not come back."

  "In that gas hog? Even if I tried, I wouldn't get very far."

  "Very funny."

  Ellie got up and followed her friend into the front hall, collected the cash then cupped her hands around her mouth and hollered into the powder room off the front hall, where the boys were flicking water at each other and getting it all over the counter and the walls and the floor. "Anybody wanna go for hot dogs?"

  The ensuing shrieks probably violated some kind of Neighborhood Watch regulation, and being the rebel that she was, that made Ellie laugh.

  Chapter 14

  The trip home from Portillo’s was like driving through an ongoing fire-fight. The boys were rambunctious and loud and throwing things at one another, there were at least a half a million cars on Ogden Avenue and despite the fact that she’d learned to drive in the chaos that was Chicago traffic, the congestion was making her head pound.

  Twice during the drive home, she reached for her phone to call Kate to make sure she was going the right way, but Charlie had borrowed her phone that morning and not given it back. Her anxiety spiked as her uncertainty and the traffic ate at her calm, but she held it together and eventually they made it back.

  There was a dark blue Chevy Caprice in the driveway when Ellie pulled the Rover back into the driveway an hour later. She let the boys out in the driveway, paused as they ran into the house then carefully maneuvered the gigantic vehicle into its spot in the three car garage. The Caprice wasn't Dan's car – he drove a Honda hybrid. She might have assumed it was one of Kate's friends, except that she could hear the radio chatter coming through the slightly open window on the driver's side, and smelled the strong odor of cigarettes coming from the interior.

  Of course, she'd had to walk up to the car to hear the radio. And smell the smoke. So when someone cleared their throat behind her, she gasped and spun around, then felt foolish. Not guilty, just foolish at having been caught.

  Charlie grinned at her. "Stinks, doesn't it?"

  "Yes. I hate cigarettes."

  "Yeah, no, I meant getting caught."

  She scowled at him. "Do you need something?"

  "No. Just came to see what you were up to."

  "I was just going in. I guess Mr. Big Shot Detective is here."

  "Kowalski. Yeah."

  "You know him?"

  "Not personally. I've heard about him."

  “And what exactly have you heard?"

  He glanced back at the house, ran long fingers through unkempt dark curls. "Later. He's watching through the kitchen window."

  Ellie forced a smile. "Great. I want the scoop later, okay?"

  “You got it.” He touched her arm. "Just... watch it around him?" He wandered away in that relaxed and aimless way he had, as though he had nowhere better to be and all the time in the world to get there.

  Ellie made a point of not looking at the kitchen window and made her way back to the garage and into the house. She could smell a fresh pot of coffee – from the aroma, had to be the Guatemalan blend Ellie had given Kate for Yule last year. The pleasant scent didn’t quite cover the smell of stale cigarette smoke.

  It lingered on the asshole's cheap suit jacket, which now hung over one of the kitchen chairs on which his fat backside was perched. He was smiling at something Kate said as Ellie walked in.

  She tried to keep smiling as well. Had she lost her touch at disseminating since her days in the corporate sector?

  He had the manners at least to stand as she walked in. "Miss Gooding, isn't it?"

  "Gooden," she corrected. "Inspector Kowalski." She gave him a promotion, trying to ply a little charm.

  "Detective. Just Detective."

  "Good to see you. Do you have any news for us?" She glanced at Kate, hoping to see some good news in her friend's face. Kate gave her a non-committal look.

  "Actually, I was waiting until you got here to discuss the case."

  She couldn't bring herself to sit down next to him, the cigarette smell was noxious. So she poured herself a cup of coffee and leaned against the sink. "We're both very anxious to hear from you, as you can imagine. I mean, how on earth did Lacey die? Was it an accident on the El or something?"

  Kowalski shook his head. "No, I'm afraid it wasn't an accident at all. At the moment, based on the evidence we've been able to gather, it appears to be a robbery. She was found in the alley behind a restaurant she had been having dinner at. Money and credit cards were missing from her purse."

  Kate gasped. "Oh, that's awful."

  Ellie let the information sink in. "Were there any witnesses?"

  "Not that we've been able to identify at this time. That doesn't mean we won't find something as we continue to canvass the neighborhood." She could tell he liked saying that, using the cop jargon.

  "How was she killed?"

  "I don't have the results of the autopsy yet, I'm afraid."

  "Well, surely you can give me an idea. Was she shot? Stabbed?"

  "Sorry, tho
se aren’t details I can share at the moment. Do you happen to know the name and address of Ms. Silverson’s next of kin?"

  "Silberson, Detective. And there is no next of kin. As far as that's concerned, Kate and I are probably the closest thing to family Lacey had. We were sort of like sisters. She didn't really have anyone else."

  Kate, standing behind Kowalski, raised her eyebrows at the ‘sisters’ bit. Ellie ignored the unspoken sarcasm. It was half true - Kate at least had remained close.

  Kate stepped up next to where the detective sat at the table and refilled his cup. "Do you think she suffered? I mean, was it terribly violent?" And then she put a hand to her chest. "Do you think we'll have to have a closed casket?"

  "Oh, I shouldn't think that would be necessary. Just a little make-up around the neck." He didn't even notice what he'd said, just kept right on. "It didn't look like there was much of a struggle at the scene, so it was probably pretty quick. Probably caught her from behind." He took a sip of the coffee, made an appreciative grunt. "You know, you ladies really ought to be more careful in the city. No way Miss Silverson should have been in that alley by herself."

  Good Goddess, not only was he a chauvinist pig, he couldn't even get her name right. She didn’t correct him the second time. "So what do you think she was doing in the alley to begin with?"

  Kowalski shrugged. "Hard to say. May have been lured there. Sometimes these creeps use kids, dogs, to lure folks into places they shouldn't go."

  "I can't believe Lacey would have fallen for that."

  "You'd be surprised, ma'am. Takes all kinds."

  Something about the way he said it made her think he was lying about something. Or at least not fully disclosing. But there was little point in calling him on it. "So are there any leads?"

  "We're pursuing a few lines of investigation. But I must admit, these types of crimes are more difficult to solve."

  With bozos like you on the force, she thought, it wasn't surprising. She pushed herself away from the counter then felt Kate's hand on her arm again, as though Kate had heard her thought and was trying to head off another confrontation.

  "Well, we certainly appreciate you driving all the way out here from the city, Detective. Is there anything else we can help you with?"

  "Well, Mrs. Mc--” He consulted his notebook. “McCallum, you could tell me where you were Thursday evening.”

  Kate’s eyes grew wide. “You think I killed Lacey?”

  The man’s chuckle was patronizing, making Ellie grit her teeth. “No Ma’am. It’s just standard procedure. We just need to clear everyone from our investigation.” he looked up at her, quirked an eyebrow.

  Kate backed up to the sink and stood close to Ellie, took a breath. “Um... well, I was here. At home. I made dinner for the kids, then spent some time on the phone with my sister, who lives out in California. Then Ellie got here...” She looked at Ellie. “What time was that, Ellie? 9:00? 10:00?”

  “About nine.”

  Kowalski turned his gaze to Ellie. “I spoke with your employee,” he consulted his notebook again, “a Marge Camp, this morning, Ms. Gooding. She says you left the coffee shop at about noon on Thursday. Can you give me a rundown of your activities between noon and when you arrived here at 9:00?” He sat poised with pen to paper. “Surely it didn’t take you nine hours to drive from Horizon Wisconsin to Naperville.”

  Clearly the man was at least marginally smarter than she’d given him credit for, even if he couldn’t get anyone’s name right. She frowned. Why hadn’t Marg called to tell her? She blew out a frustrated breath when she remembered Charlie still had her cell phone. “God damn it.” Then, “Marg,” she said, emphasizing the hard ‘G’, “is right. I left the shop around noon, then went home to pack. After that, I went over to a neighbor’s house to drop off my dog - my neighbor’s dog-sitting for me while I’m gone.”

  “Ah, yes. A Per Gustaffson. I spoke with him also.” It wasn’t just a comment - it was a kind of warning. Don’t lie to me, he was saying. I know where you’ve been already.

  “Well, then I’m sure you know exactly when I left Horizon, Detective.” She crossed her arms over her chest and pressed her lips closed.

  “I do. So you can see my confusion over why you didn’t arrive at the McCallum household until nine o’clock. According to my research, it should only have taken you about three hours. Three and a half if you’re a more cautious driver. Four at the outside if you ran into a traffic snarl.” he consulted the damn notebook again, making Ellie want to grab it and burn it. “That would put you here no later than six o’clock.”

  She felt his gaze on her, squirmed under the scrutiny. Even Kate had turned to look at her.

  Kowalski watched her, his expression carefully neutral. “So where were you?”

  Ellie glanced at Kate, then back at Kowalski. “I stopped in Crystal Lake, to take a drive past my family’s old house. Then I went to the Starbucks in South Elgin and had dinner. I wanted to kill a little time before coming here.”

  As Kowalski was asking if anyone could verify her story, Kate was asking “Why?”

  Ellie answered Kate first. “I was a little overwhelmed. I stopped at the old house and it just got to me. I needed some time to work through it.”

  Kate looked hurt. “You know I’m always here for you.”

  She reached out, touched Kate’s arm. “I know. I really do. And I love you for it. But I just needed to work through it on my own. And I knew that if I got here at dinner time, there would be all kinds of McCallum family chaos... and I just couldn’t face it.”

  Kate gave a gentle laugh. “Well, I can’t blame you for wanting to avoid that. It is rather zoo-like around here at feeding time.”

  Looking back at Kowalski, Ellie squared her shoulders. “As for verifying, I did speak to a local Crystal Lake cop who pulled up alongside me when I was parked outside the house. Officer Bennett. As for Starbucks, you can certainly ask the baristas there. They may or may not remember me.”

  “Did you pay with a credit card?”

  She gave a bitter laugh. “No, cash. I would have used a card, but I didn’t realize I’d need an alibi.”

  Kate put a hand on her arm. “You can’t seriously suspect Ellie, Detective. I thought you said you believed it to be a mugging.”

  “We do believe that. But I wouldn’t be doing my job if I didn’t cover all the bases.” He scribbled in his little notebook. The sound of the pen scratching against the paper set Ellie’s teeth on edge.

  He looked up, and there was nothing but cop in his eyes. She shivered, but refused to look away.

  When a final click of his ball point pen, he flipped his notebook closed, stuffed it in his shirt pocket and stood. "Well, thanks for the coffee, Mrs. McCallum. I appreciate you taking the time to answer my questions.”

  Kate pushed herself away from the sink. “Of course. We’re only too happy to help. I hope you’ll keep us posted?"

  "Certainly. As soon as I know anything new, I'll be sure to give you a call." He paused at the door. "Ms. Gooding, I would caution you that it would be best if you didn’t leave the area just yet. At least until we verify your alibi.”

  Ellie scowled. It was her parents’ death all over again and it had her wanting to run, get away from the scrutiny. Her chest started to feel tight and all the air had been sucked out of the room. The urge to run from the house - to just keep running, was nearly overpowering. The only thing that kept her in place was Kate’s hand on her shoulder, anchoring her in place.

  She took a deep breath, let it out slowly, and Kate finally released her shoulder and escorted Kowalski to the door. The panic slowly receded, replaced by anger and resentment. How Kate managed to see the fool out gracefully, she'd couldn’t fathom.

  As soon as Kate came back in, Ellie let loose. "What a pompous bastard. He can't even get her name right. Or mine. And did you hear the victim blaming going on?"

  Kate raised a hand. "Down, girl. Down. When are you going to learn, you'll never
get anywhere with people like that by goading them?"

  "I know, but how can you not? If he's the best the CPD has to offer, no one will ever solve this case. It's just like my folks all over again. I’m half afraid he’ll come back here and try to arrest me!”

  Kate opened her mouth to say something then shut it. Turning away, she cleaned up the coffee mugs then stood at the sink, arms braced, head down. "Do you think they raped her?"

  Ellie caught herself in mid-rant. "No." She put the thought out there, rolled it around, but it didn't resonate. "No, I don't think so. And I don't get the feeling it was a 'they' either. Do you?"

  Kate shrugged. "I don't know." Her voice caught in her throat, and she cleared it. "I'm pretty head-blind these days."

  "I also don't think she was killed during a mugging or a robbery or whatever their theory is."

  Kate brushed at her face then turned to face Ellie. "Why not?"

  "I don't know. I just don't." She walked over to the far counter, thinking. Reaching out automatically, she began fiddling with the utensils in the tall copper pot that stood next to the stove, taking them out, putting them back in, sorting them by size into different areas of the pot. "It's too coincidental, Kate. She calls both of us, frantic, saying someone is trying to kill her. She told me they – whoever they is – had tried before. And all of a sudden she winds up dead – but it's a robbery? A street thug?" She shook her head. "No. That doesn't fly."

  "You just said you didn't think it was a 'they'. And yet Lacey said 'they' were trying to kill her."

  "Kate, I'm not a psychic. I can't 'see' what happened. I just don't feel like more than one person was involved in the actual killing, and I don't believe for a second it was a robbery-related death. But that more than one person wanted her dead or conspired to kill her – well, at the moment, only Lacey knows the truth behind that."

  Kate put her hand on Ellie's, stopping her compulsive utensil sorting. "So what will happen?"

  "Good question."

  Somewhere a door opened then slammed shut. They stopped speaking, both thinking it might be one of the kids tramping towards the kitchen.