“Yes!” The young man’s face lit up.
Sylvia pulled out her cell phone and hit speed dial for the taxi company.
“Bill will be here any minute to pick me up,” Sylvia explained after she turned off her cell. “You can hang up your broom for today.”
Chapter 5
“So, you hired him to work for you?” Bill’s voice rose in irritation. “Sylvia, he’s got a record, and he was behaving in a suspicious manner. What would make you hire him?”
“Oh, you know, keep your enemies near.” She chortled slightly. But when she saw the grim line furrow his brow in his rearview mirror, she dropped her eyes. “Really, Bill, I don’t think there’s anything to worry about. Jason seems to be a very nice young man. I want to give him a chance to prove himself.”
“But you caught him looking at your computer?”
“He says he was interested in my blog.”
Bill turned the taxi into Sylvia’s driveway and parked. He got out, came around and opened the door for her.
“I’ll walk you in.”
“Bill, I’m fine. You don’t need to walk me in.”
Bill took her hand and placed it into the crook of his. “Miss Sylvia, that break-in doesn’t make any sense so until the police figure out who did it, I’ll be keeping a closer eye on you. I want to make sure you’re safe.”
Sylvia smiled. “Alright, Bill. I guess I don’t mind.”
As they moved up the front walkway to the quaint Cape Cod style home, Bill asked, “Where is the desk you bought?”
Sylvia glanced at him curiously. Bill was never one to ask questions about her purchases. He tended to listen to her talk about things, but he’d never asked a direct question like this before.
“Uhm, it won’t be delivered until tomorrow.”
“Here? Not the shop?”
“Yes, here. I want to use it myself. It’s perfect for my house.”
Bill slowly unwrapped a piece of spearmint gum, slid it into his mouth and began to chew on it. He stayed long enough to see Sylvia safely into her house.
The following morning, Bill dropped Sylvia near the courtyard. She stopped in Cup N Cake for her morning coffee then headed towards the antique store. As promised, Jason was leaning against the door. When Sylvia came around the corner, his face lit up.
“Oh, good; you’re here.” Sylvia handed him her keys and allowed him to open the door.
Jason pushed open the door and allowed Sylvia to enter first.
“We still have some cleaning up to do.” She announced as she set her purse on the counter.
“I’ll work on that. Why don’t you work on that blog? I can’t wait to read more.”
They spent the rest of the morning i companionable quiet, Sylvia reading a few more entries from the Pendecot diary and then working on the blog. Jason kept himself busy, cleaning and straightening things.
There were several customers that morning, and Sylvia showed Jason how to write up sales and ring them up on the cash register.
“This will be such a help to me. There are times I need to be in the back, and you can wait on the customers.”
“I appreciate you giving me this chance, Miss Sylvia.”
Sylvia closed the diary and slipped it back into her purse. “Let’s go to lunch. By the time we finish, the desk should be arriving at my house. I want to be there to show Hubert where to put it.”
Sylvia and Jason sat across from one another at the small corner café. Jason sat enthralled as Sylvia told him some of the stories she’d found in diaries over the last few years.
“I love history. In fact, if I’d gone to college, I would’ve studied history.” His voice dropped.
“Why not go now?”
Jason shook his head. “It’s too late now.”
“Too late? It’s not like you’re over the hill or anything. We have a local college; you could start in the fall. You could go part time.”
Jason sat quietly for a long time. Sylvia allowed him to mull things over. She pulled out her phone, hit the speed dial, and asked for Bill.
“Bill, I want to get home and be there when the desk is delivered…What time? I think they’ll be there by two… oh, you’re busy? Oh, okay, I guess I can wait.” She ended the call and looked up at Jason.
He must have noted a strange look on her face.
“What’s wrong, Miss Sylvia?”
“Nothing, really. It’s just that Bill can’t pick me up until about two forty. I’ll probably miss Hubert delivering my desk. He knows he can put it in my garage, but I’d hoped to be there.”
“That’s odd. What did Bill say he was doing?”
“That’s just it; he simply said he was busy. Bill’s been driving me around for years, and he has never been too busy to come get me. It’s never happened before.”
“Hmm,” Jason finished the last bite of his sandwich. “I’d drive you over, but I only have a scooter.” He gave her an endearing smile.
“That’s alright. I’ll just go later. Can you run the shop when I’m gone?”
“Sure, but I do have something I need to do before then. Can I take off now, and I’ll be back to the shop by two thirty? This was something I had scheduled before you gave me the job.”
Sylvia agreed and watched as Jason scurried out of the café.
Hmm, first Bill’s acting strange, and now Jason has to go somewhere and doesn’t want to tell me where. Everyone’s acting so mysteriously.
“So, Bill, what were you doing that kept you from picking me up earlier?” Sylvia could see Bill’s face in the rearview mirror.
“Uh, nothing, just another fare.”
Sylvia noticed him drop his eyes. It was obvious there was something he didn’t want to tell her so she just looked out the window.
When they turned into her driveway, Sylvia was glad to see the delivery van still there. It was backed up to her garage.
When they stopped and Bill opened her door, she slipped out and walked into the garage. The desk had been placed in the middle of the garage floor, but to her dismay, all the drawers were pulled out, a few of them tossed on the floor.
Her hand came up to her mouth as she gasped, “Oh, no!”
Bill stepped into the garage. “What’s wrong?” He said, following her gasp, but quickly noted the condition of the desk and its drawers. “Sylvia, step back here.” He reached out and pulled her by her arm. But as she turned, her eyes grew larger, and her mouth gaped even wider.
Bill noticed her facial expression change, and his head turned around. He quickly pulled Sylvia against his chest.
“Don’t look, Sylvia. Let’s get out of here; we need to call the police.”
They both stumbled out of the garage. Bill pulled out his cell phone and dialed 911.
“Is he dead? We should check; maybe he’s just hurt.”
Bill opened the taxi door and pressed Sylvia to sit down. “I’ll check on him, but you stay here.”
Sylvia sat quietly, twisting her fingers nervously. She looked down at her purse and noticed the diary sticking out.
Just then Bill opened the taxi door. His face spoke volumes.
“Dead?” Sylvia croaked.
He nodded. Sylvia thought his face was a bit pale, and his hands were shaking.
“How?” Sylvia pleaded.
Bill shook his head. “I think he was shot.”
“Who, who… is it?”
Bill’s head dropped, and his answer sounded as if it were being ripped from his soul. “Hubert!”
Chapter 6
“Tell me, Miss Sylvia, everyone you think would have known that the desk was being delivered today.”
Sylvia sat on the couch in her house. Bill handed her a glass of ice water; but after the first sip, she set it on the coffee table.
“I’m too shook up to hold the glass steady.”
Officer McClan flipped open his notebook and sat on a hardback chair across from Sylvia.
“Well, let me see. I told Jennifer, Hubert�
�s daughter, to have it delivered to my house. I told my sister Laura Lee about it. As a matter of fact, there was someone there who overheard my conversation.”
“Who was that?”
Sylvia thought for a moment. “His first name was Donald. I’m not sure of his last name.”
“Was he a resident?”
“No, he was visiting his mother. He was a big man with black hair. I’m sorry I don’t remember anything else about him.”
McClan nodded. “We can find out who he is. Anyone else?”
“Gathe and Tricia Denver, Jason Barnes and Bill.”
The officer wrote all the names down and told her he would follow up with each of them. As they were finishing up, a car pulled into the driveway. Gathe and Tricia both got out and rushed to the porch, opened the door and came in.
“Sylvia, oh my! We were worried about you.”
Sylvia’s head popped up.
“Why were you worried about her?” Officer McClan asked.
“We heard about... the… well, I guess the only thing to say is, the murder.”
Officer McClan stood and faced the couple. “Just how did you hear about it, may I ask?”
Tricia cocked her head sideways. “This is a small town.”
“Yes, but I’ve only been here forty-five minutes. How could you possibly know anything?” He glared at them.
Gathe stepped forward and pushed Tricia behind him. “Officer, if there’s one thing I know about this town, it’s the gossip chain. From what I can imagine, Bill must have called his dispatcher to say he couldn’t work the rest of the evening. The dispatcher, I think her name is Janice Wardon, must have quizzed him, and he probably gave in and told her all about it. Janice then called her mother. Her mother is the head of the prayer chain from our church. I figure four or five others were called and given the information to pass on before Tricia got the call. But I assure you, Officer, we didn’t pass the information on. We closed shop and rushed right over here to see if we could do anything for Miss Sylvia.”
Tricia peaked out from behind Gathe and bobbed her head up and down.
Officer McClan’s lips pressed together for a moment, then he said, “Miss Sylvia was telling me who knew about the desk being delivered. You are both on the list.”
Gathe moved closer to Officer McClan and glanced at the list of names.
“Uhm, there are a few more names you need to add to that list.”
Sylvia looked up with a questioning look.
“After Sylvia told me about the desk being delivered to her house on Tuesday, she realized her shop had been robbed. Well, needless to say, it was the talk of the day. Later on, I went for a cup of coffee at Cup N Cake, and everyone was discussing what happened. Doc Holiday was there, and somehow the conversation got around to the desk Miss Sylvia bought, and, well… I guess I told him she was having it delivered to her house instead of the shop.”
Gathe’s shoulders sagged, and he ran a hand through his hair. “I’m really sorry, Miss Sylvia.”
Sylvia pushed herself up to a standing position. “That’s alright, Gathe. I know how things get around in this town. But do you think Doc would shoot a man just to get to the desk?”
“Or smash him over the head?” Officer McClan interjected. They all stared at him in wonder. “Yes, the ambulance team informed me that Hubert had been hit on the head pretty hard before he was shot.”
They were all silent for several moments, then officer McClan cleared his throat. “You said there were a few more names to add to the list. So far, you’ve only mentioned Doc Holiday.”
Tricia stepped forward at this point. “There was a woman, I didn’t know her, but Gathe said she had been at the Pendecot estate sale. She spoke to you at the sale, Sylvia.”
Sylvia thought for a minute. “Alice Pendecot?”
Officer McClan wrote the name down. “She doesn’t live in Harbor Inn, does she?”
“I don’t think so. She told me she used to come visit her grandmother when she was young. But she also told me she was leaving town the next day.”
“We’ll check the Inn and other hotels. If she’s still in town, we’ll locate her.”
“Officer, has Hubert’s body been taken away yet?”
“Yes, Ma’am.”
“And the desk?”
“My men have photographed it and looked it over pretty well. I don’t think we need to take it to headquarters.”
“Can I have it moved inside?”
Officer McClan nodded and closed his notebook. “We’ll leave now, but I’ll have an officer drive by once an hour for the next few days. However, if there was something in that desk that anyone wanted, I’m pretty sure they got it already.”
Sylvia cringed, once more thinking of the diary. But Officer McClan didn’t feel the diary was significant enough for anyone to have killed someone for it.
Chapter 7
Bill sat beside Sylvia, patting her hand. He waited for her to speak.
“Oh, Bill. I can’t believe someone killed Hubert. Sure, he was a bit gruff, but who would want him dead?”
“I’m not sure anyone wanted him dead. It seems to me that desk is the problem. From the looks of it, someone basically ripped it apart looking for something.”
“That’s true, but if it’s not the desk, then we have to consider other options. For example, Gathe and Hubert have been in competition…”
Bill squeezed her hand. “Sylvia, you know Gathe. He’s a good, Christian man. There isn’t any chance he killed Hubert.”
Sylvia’s head slumped with a slight nod, “Of course he couldn’t have done anything like this. I’m just so confused and upset. Has anyone told Jennifer yet?”
Suddenly her eyes popped open, and her mouth formed an O. “Bill, you don’t think Jason could have done this? You know he took off work early today, and he and Hubert didn't get along.”
Bill glared at her. “You can’t have it both ways, Sylvia. You just hired him because you felt you could trust him. Now you’re questioning it?”
“You’re right. I told myself I was going to trust Jason, give him a chance. Just pretend I never said anything.”
“Listen, Sylvia. I think you need to have someone come and stay with you. Since Laura Lee is gone to the nursing home, I’m not comfortable leaving you alone.”
“Oh, Bill, that’s just silly.”
“No, it’s not. As a matter of fact, I think I’ll be the one. I can stay in Laura Lee’s room until this thing is solved.”
Sylvia smiled. “I won’t argue with you, Bill. I have to admit; I don’t want to be alone. It’s so foolish, to be my age and be afraid of being alone.”
“No problem. I’ll just head home and gather up an overnight bag. For now, I’ll take you to the shop. Jason should be there.”
Sylvia allowed Bill to help her to the taxi. She didn’t want to go back home until the police had taken care of Hubert’s body.
When they reached her shop, Sylvia went in the back door. Jason was at the front counter. His head turned.
“Hi, Miss Sylvia. Did you get the desk?”
Sylvie stopped; her jaw dropped. The look on Jason’s face changed.
“What’s wrong? You look upset.”
“You haven’t heard from Jennifer?”
Jason shook his head, “No… what?"
Sylvia walked further into the store, reached out and placed her hand on top of Jason’s. She hated having to be the one to tell him.
“I’m sorry, I have some bad news. When Hubert delivered the desk today, someone shot and killed him in my garage.”
Jason gasped. He lifted his hand to swipe his bangs off his face. His hand was trembling. “Has anyone told Jennifer yet?”
“The police have probably been there by now.”
“Miss Sylvia, I think I should go to her. She’s going to be pretty upset.” He straightened and began to walk towards the back of the store.
“Okay, Jason. But listen. The police are going to want to ask yo
u questions as well.”
“Me? Why?”
“Because I told them you were one of the people who knew the desk was being delivered today. And, well, you did sort of disappear when my desk was being delivered.”
“So, I’m the prime suspect? It figures. All I was doing was visiting my probation officer. Not that I’m even on probation. He’s just a friend, but it doesn’t sound very good to tell people about him. It was his birthday today.”
“Just tell the police that. I’m sure your friend can vouch for you. It will all be okay. But, Jason. It takes time for people to trust. You just keep working here for me, and after a few months, no one will even remember you ever had a record.”
Jason didn’t look like he believed her, but he rushed out of the shop to head over to be with Jennifer.
Sylvia sat at the counter, her head in her hands, trying to make sense of the whole thing.
What about Jennifer? she thought. Could she have had a grudge against her father? Sylvia could not believe her own thoughts. Jennifer was like any other rebellious daughter, but she truly loved her father. There was no way she would have done anything to hurt him.
Lord, please help me to understand what happened. Why would anyone want to kill Hubert?
Sylvia opened her computer, pulled up a spreadsheet document and began to make a list of everyone who knew about the desk being delivered. Beside the name, she wrote a reason why she thought they would want to either kill Hubert or search the desk.
But, what about the break-in at my shop? Could that have something to do with it. Perhaps the same person broke into the shop first. If that’s the case, then it wasn’t the desk they were interested in. It had to be something that might’ve been inside the desk.
The diary? It was the only thing she could imagine. She had basically searched the entire desk herself, and that was all she’d found in it.
Hmm, time to do some more reading. I need to know if there’s something in that diary someone would kill for.
For the next hour, Sylvia read from the diary, making a new post on the website when she was done. It crossed her mind that someone who read her blog might be interested in getting hold of the diary, but she had changed the names a bit so it didn’t seem likely.
Diary and Death Page 4
