Ice Cold Murder

by Kate Bell

  At the mention of her son, Melanie stopped smiling. “He did come home. I think I’m going to try and get him in to see Dr. Stewart. I think maybe a little therapy might be good for him. I’m worried about him.”

  “Oh no,” Lucy said. “What’s wrong?”

  I shook my head sympathetically.

  She sighed and looked around. “He flunked out of school. He had wanted to go to Texas so bad, but he just didn’t like it when he got there. He just wasn’t up to it. It’s not that he isn’t a good student you know, but he’s such a shy boy. It makes it hard for him to fit in. I told him to try and get into a distance learning program with the University of Maine.”

  “College can be difficult for a lot of kids,” I said. “I have a daughter that’s the sensitive sort and she has a hard time sometimes. She stayed local for college so she could come home when she needed to. Maybe he could look into something close by?”

  “Really? I should tell him about it. What did you say your daughter’s name was?” she asked.

  “Jennifer,” I replied without thinking.

  “You know, maybe we should you know, get them together? She’s shy, he’s shy. It could be a match made in Heaven,” she said, beaming.

  “Oh,” I said. I hadn’t thought of that when I’d volunteered the information about Jennifer. I had only said it to gain her sympathy and get her to open up.

  “I think that’s a great idea,” Lucy said, looking at me and giving me a wink.

  Jennifer would kill me. And I was going to kill Lucy. Alec would have to bail one or both of us out of jail, but I was not letting Josh anywhere near my daughter.

  “I’ll certainly ask her, but you know, now that I think of it, I think she said she was seeing a new boy,” I said with a big smile.

  “Oh, of course,” Melanie said. “I bet she’s a cute girl if she looks anything like you. But if it doesn’t work out, you’ll keep my Josh in mind, won’t you?”

  Did she think the kid was applying for a job?

  “Oh, of course,” I said. “We better get going, Lucy. Ed’s expecting that salad.”

  “Yeah, we better get going. It was nice to see you again, Melanie. And congratulations on the new position,” Lucy said. “We’ll be seeing you around.”

  “Yes, I’ll be seeing you,” Melanie said.

  We picked up a bag of lettuce, a tomato, and some blueberries and headed for the checkout. “Thanks for volunteering Jennifer for her kid,” I said. “I’m sure Jennifer will be thrilled.”

  Lucy giggled. “Stop it. I was just trying to gain her trust.”

  “Yeah, right.”

  “What did you think about what she said?” Lucy whispered as we waited in line.

  “Josh is a liar and a social misfit. It doesn’t give me a warm fuzzy feeling, that’s for sure,” I said.

  We checked out and headed home.

  --15--

  “This is perfect!” I said as Alec pulled the dessert display stand out of the shipping box.

  “Yes, and apparently assembly is required,” he said as he pulled out glass panels sandwiched between Styrofoam sheets.

  “Oh, but you’re so talented, it’ll be easy for you,” I said, looking over the instructions. The display stand was pricey, but it would be worth it. It had wheels so Cynthia would be able to move it if need be.

  We had temporarily taken over Cynthia’s office for assembly purposes. Once Alec had all the parts laid out on the floor, he pulled out his toolbox. I didn’t even know he owned one.

  “You know what?” I asked as I studied the instructions.

  “What?” he asked, picking up part of the cherrywood frame.

  “I’m thinking I over-bought on this thing. If I’m only making two desserts a day, this thing’s going to be nearly empty.”

  “Hmm,” he said, holding his hand out for the instruction sheet. “I guess you can cut the pies and have pieces displayed on plates.”

  “I don’t think they’ll stay fresh. And I think plastic wrap will make them look too cafeteria-ish. I can’t have that,” I said.

  “Bake two of each and space them out,” he said absently. He pulled out a cordless screwdriver and began attaching one side of the frame to another.

  “Maybe I can put something in the display case with them. Like holiday months I could put ornaments or something. Or teacups on saucers. Or something. I’m going to have to get with Lucy on this,” I said.

  “Well, you two have your work cut out for you,” Cynthia said, poking her head in the open door.

  “Hey, Cynthia, I’m thinking about bringing two of each dessert I make. Does that sound right to you?” I asked.

  “Yeah. We can adjust the amounts once we see how many we sell. Weekends are busier, so you’ll probably sell more then. Tuesdays are slower. It’ll probably take a while to figure it out,” she said. “I think it’s a great idea though.”

  “I do too,” I said. “I can hardly wait.”

  “You could always sell whole pies and cakes that people can take home,” Alec said, studying the directions.

  “That’s a great idea!” I said, brightening. “I knew I was keeping you around for a reason.”

  Cynthia laughed. “I’m going to leave you two alone so you can finish this job.”

  “Okay,” I told her. “Alec, you’re such a smart cookie.”

  “I know,” he said, giving me a big smile.

  ***

  “Hey, Yancey,” I said as Alec held the front door to the police station open for me and I stepped inside.

  “Hi, Allie, Alec. How are you two doing this morning?” he asked. Yancey was sitting at a desk covered in paperwork, and rummaging through it.

  “Great,” Alec answered. “Is Sam around?” Alec had already taken the wedding rings and keys we found at the site of where Iris’s body was found down to the police station.

  “Ayup, he’s in his office. You can head on back,” he said, pointing to the hallway.

  “Thanks,” I said. “I need to bring you some cookies, Yancey.”

  “That’d be much appreciated, Allie,” he said as we passed his desk.

  I didn’t much care for the chief of police, Sam Bailey, but that was mostly because Alec didn’t like him. I had gotten a little more information out of him as to the cause of the friction, but it wasn’t much. It seemed Sam just resented having Alec foisted on him when he had been a detective. The feeling was mutual on Alec’s part.

  Alec knocked on Sam’s closed door.

  “Yeah?” he called.

  “It’s Alec Blanchard,” he said, and he gave me a look.

  I almost giggled. Sam knew who he was without him giving his last name.

  “Come in,” he called.

  Alec opened the door for me.

  “Hi Allie,” Sam said. “I wasn’t expecting you.”

  “Just consider me a surprise,” I said, and took a seat in front of his desk without asking.

  Alec sat next to me. “Have you found out anything new?” he asked Sam.

  “Not really. The only thing we really know is what I’ve told you. That Iris Rose’s neck was broken and she had bruises and contusions on her body. Looks like she got into a fight with the killer,” he said, picking up a file with Iris’s name on it.

  “What about Richard Rose and her mother Hilda Bixby? Do you have anything on them?” I asked. I wondered if he had a different impression than I did. As far as I was concerned, either of them could have done it.

  Sam made a face when I asked the question, then straightened it up. “Not really. George spoke to both of them, and they seem to check out,” he said.

  “What about the rings and the keys we found out where her body was?” Alec asked.

  “That was kind of odd. She had a wedding ring on her finger when she was found. We gave it to Richard, and he took it without a word. Then we showed him the rings you found, and he lit up like a Christmas tree. Said that was Iris’s wedding set,” he said, sitting back in his chair. “He confirme
d the keys were his wife’s.”

  “Wait, she had two wedding rings?” I asked.

  He shrugged. “Richard said she was always losing the engagement ring and when we gave him the plain band, he assumed it was hers. When he saw the other rings, he said he remembered she had them soldered together a couple of years ago so she wouldn’t lose one of them. He said he had forgotten about it and just thought the engagement ring was at his house somewhere.”

  “So where did the extra ring come from?” I asked, glancing at Alec.

  “We do not know.”

  “And why would the other rings be in the snow near her body?” I asked.

  “I do not have an answer for that one, either,” he said.

  “Looks like we’ve got more investigating to do,” Alec said. “Did the medical examiner say how he thought she got the bruises and contusions?”

  He shook his head. “No, not a word. Like I said, I’m sure the killer must have hit her.”

  “I didn’t look at her for long, but did she have any bruises on her face? I don’t remember seeing any and it seems like if the killer had beaten her up, he would have hit her in the face at least once,” I pointed out.

  He shook his head. Sam had a very laissez-faire attitude about the whole thing and I didn’t like it.

  “What about what was in her hand when we found her? Her hand had frozen closed over it,” Alec asked.

  Sam reached into his desk and pulled out a small plastic bag and tossed it on the desk in front of us. “A toy. Her husband had no idea if it had any significance.”

  Alec picked up the bag and looked at the small orange fuzzy creature.

  “That’s Greggo,” I said, recognizing the character from the Jackie and Me children’s show.

  “Greggo?” Alec asked, looking at me.

  “He’s a character from the Jackie and Me show. Kids love that show. It’s a little young for second graders, but maybe she had some of the toys in her classroom.”

  “What’s the premise of the show?” Alec asked.

  “I guess you could say it’s do good unto others and have confidence in yourself. Greggo has confidence issues and he spends most episodes learning it’s okay to make mistakes. There are about five or six regular characters and they each have what you might call a weakness in themselves, and they interact with one another trying to resolve problems. The character Jackie was sort of the leader. It was really big when Thad and Jennifer were little.”

  Alec looked at the small toy in his hands. “It does sound a little young for second graders,” he said. Then he looked at Sam. “Any other developments?”

  “I’ve told you all I know. We’re still searching for answers,” he said.

  “Okay, well, if you find anything else out, let me know,” Alec said.

  Alec started to get up when Sam stopped him.

  “Have you found out anything on your end?”

  “I’ve interviewed Richard Rose, Hilda Bixby, Janice Cross, and a Josh Stine. I believe I left you a voicemail detailing that. Any of the four could be possible murderers, but none of them are very strong suspects. Like you, we’re still working on it.”

  Sam nodded his head. “Okay. Well, let me know if you find out anything.”

  We said our good byes and headed to the car.

  “Alec, I may have forgotten to tell you something,” I said when we got into the car and had closed the doors.

  He sighed loudly, and then looked at me. “Why does that not surprise me?”

  “Don’t take that tone with me,” I said.

  “What didn’t you tell me?” he asked.

  “Ask it in a sweet voice,” I said.

  He sighed again. “Sugar pie, what did lil’ ole you forget to tell me?” he asked in a falsetto voice with a bad southern accent.

  I giggled. “You stink at Southern accents. And what I forgot to tell you is that Lucy and I did some investigating.”

  “And why doesn’t that surprise me, either?” he asked.

  “Josh Stine’s mother is an acquaintance of Lucy’s and we dropped in on her at Walmart, which is where she works. It seems Josh lied about his mother being sick. He actually flunked out of college. She said he was the sensitive type and has some social issues.”

  “Ah. That doesn’t surprise me much, either. He did seem a little awkward. Did she catch on that you were questioning her about him?” he asked.

  I snorted. “Please! Lucy and I are not amateur sleuths. We know what we’re doing. Now, what do you think about those rings? And the fact that she was tightly gripping that toy?”

  He shrugged. “It’s still too early to say.”

  “Do you think they dusted the rings for prints?” I asked.

  “I’m sure they did, but I don’t know that they could find anything on them. There’s not enough surface area for a complete print to be put on them.”

  “That’s true,” I said, thinking. “I think we need to go talk to everyone all over again.”

  He started the car. “I don’t know about that.”

  “I like having a chauffeur. You could just not buy your own car and keep driving me around.”

  “Sure,” he said and drove off.

  --16--

  “Mom, I need to do my laundry,” Jennifer said. She skated across the hardwood floor in her sock feet and stopped in front of me.

  “Okay. What’s stopping you?” I asked, pinning my wet hair up in a bun. I had just gotten out of the shower and worked in a leave in oil treatment and I wanted to let it soak in without getting all over my clothes.

  “You have clothes in the washer. They stink. They’ve been in there a while, from the smell of it,” she informed me.

  I sighed. “I forgot. I have to rewash them,” I said, heading to the laundry room.

  “Oh, Mom,” she whined. “I don’t have all day.”

  “It’s Saturday, so in fact, you do have all day. I really think it’s time you got a part-time job and contributed to your upkeep at school,” I said.

  I headed to the laundry room. A wave of mildew smell emanated from the washer when I lifted the lid. She wasn’t kidding about them stinking. I tried to remember how long it had been since I washed them, and thought it might be more than week.

  I turned the water to hot and put in extra detergent and set it for a double rinse. I hoped I wouldn’t have to toss any of the clothes, but I thought it likely.

  “I know what I can do to earn money,” Jennifer said from six inches behind my left ear.

  I screamed. “Jennifer, I didn’t even hear you come in here.”

  “Yeah, I’m a ninja. Anyway, why don’t you pay me for cleaning your house and doing your laundry? This place is practically a pigsty and you need help,” she said.

  “Excuse me? This place is not a pig sty!” I insisted. “Sure, I forgot the laundry and the dishes need washing, but it’s not a pigsty.”

  “And what about the half-inch thick layer of dust on everything?” she asked.

  I moved past her and into the kitchen. “That is not a half-inch thick layer of dust. That’s a protective coating. There’s no way the furniture will get scratched as long as it’s there.”

  I opened the dishwasher and started taking the clean dishes out. I couldn’t remember when I had last run the dishwasher and I had a sink full of dirty dishes. My cat Dixie, rubbed up against my leg.

  “Hey, boy,” I said and bent over and scratched his head.

  “Mom, I can come once a week and clean and you can pay me. Then you won’t have to worry about it at all. Besides, don’t you have to pass some sort of inspection to be able to cook food for the public? I don’t think you’ll pass,” she said, crossing her arms over her chest.

  I stopped, three mixing bowls in my hands and looked at her. “Inspection?”

  “Yeah,” she said nodding her head. There was just a touch of sarcasm in her voice. “You need a license or permit or something. The city needs to know you have a clean kitchen that you’re cooking in. Otherw
ise you’ll poison your customers and Alec will have to investigate you.”

  “Oh,” I said and went to the cupboard I kept the mixing bowls in. I opened the door and slid them in. “What happens if they figure out I don’t have one?” I asked.

  She sighed loudly. “You are going to get into so much trouble. Probably a fine or something. I don’t know all the details, but really, it should be common knowledge.”

  “All right. I’ll pay you to come every week and clean and I’ll look into getting a permit or license or whatever. And we won’t tell anyone that I didn’t know.”

  It wasn’t that the house was dirty so much as I had just gotten little behind on the cleaning. And she was right that I should have known about the license. I had just gotten caught up in Iris’s murder and had forgotten that little detail.

  She smirked. “That might cost you a little more.”

  “I bet it won’t,” I told her. “You’ll keep your mouth closed or you’ll be paying your entire college bill.”

  “Yeah, yeah,” she said and poured herself a cup of coffee.

  “Hey, Jennifer, do you remember a Josh Stine from school?” I asked, as I unloaded the silverware basket into the drawer.

  “Yeah. Nerdy. Kind of weird. He was a grade above me. Why?”

  “Weird how?” I asked.

  She shrugged. “I don’t know exactly. He just seemed kind of intense when he talked to you. He was just a weird kid, I guess. Why?”

  “I don’t know. He was at Iris Rose’s classroom when Alec and I went there. He had her when he was in second grade. Wait,” I said turning toward her. “How could he be a year ahead of you if he was in Iris’s class? You had her the first year she taught.”

  Jennifer stared at me for a second, then jumped up and ran from the kitchen. I followed her into her room where she was sitting on the floor digging through the bottom drawer of her nightstand.

  “What are you looking for?” I asked her.

  “Um,” she said and kept digging. Finally she pulled out a school pictures envelope. “I have all the classroom pictures in here. I kept the ones that had all the kids in my class in this one envelope.”