Hark! A Homicide

by Tricia L. Sanders

  I grabbed my tea off the counter and a newspaper from the nearby basket and headed out to the lobby. The column blasted Mo for everything from letting down his guard and allowing a murder to occur to not providing enough training for his officers. The so-called facts in the article smacked of Janine Lassiter.

  I pulled out my cell and called Kramer’s Furniture.

  When the clerk answered, I said, “Lucy, this is the chief’s wife. Who collected the security tape from the day they found Billy Craighoff in the donation bin?”

  “Deputy Strange came by and got it. Should I not have given it to him?” I could picture Lucy chewing her nails.

  “No, you did right. It’s evidence,” I said.

  “I saw the newspaper this morning. Is that photo from the video? How did the paper get a hold of it?” Lucy asked.

  “That’s a really good question, and one I intend to ask the sheriff.” There had to be a connection. Evidence did not show up in the newspaper without help.

  I smelled a conspiracy and called the sheriff.

  “I take it you saw the column,” Jason said when he answered. “I’ve been expecting a call from Mo.”

  “He hasn’t seen it. Yet!” I answered. “But it’s only a matter of time. He’s going to want blood.”

  At that moment, Mo rounded the corner with the newspaper wadded up in his good hand.

  “I take that back,” I said to Jason. “He’s seen it. I gotta go.”

  “Janine is responsible for this!” Mo’s voice boomed around the room. “Take me over to her office.”

  I knew better than to drive Mo there. He’d cause a scene and make everything worse. “Calm down. Let’s go home. You can call her from there.” I guided him past the coffee shop, praying Blessing didn’t come out and that Mo didn’t see him sitting inside.

  “Did you know about this last night? Is that why you stepped between us when she came by with the carolers?” Mo’s face burned with indignation. The tips of his ears rivaled Rudolph’s nose at its brightest.

  “No,” I said honestly. I held up the paper. “I just now saw it.”

  “Forget Janine. Take me over to the sheriff’s office. That photo has to be from the security camera. I need to know who had access to that footage and how the paper got it.” Mo scrubbed his chin and sighed. “This will ruin me.”

  “First off, it won’t ruin you. Second, Deputy Strange collected the tape. I talked to Lucy right after I saw the photo.”

  “I should have known. That good-for-nothing piece of work. I’ll nail him to the wall for this.” Mo took the newspaper from me, crumpled it up with the paper he had, and threw it in a trash container. “Let’s go.”

  Whether by design or sheer luck, Jason wasn’t at the office when we arrived. Mo left a message with the clerk to have the sheriff call when he returned.

  “How did your appointment go?” I asked after we were back in the car headed home.

  “Fine. Doc said he’s going to have to put in a pin,” Mo said. “But I’ve decided I’m going to postpone surgery until after Christmas.”

  “Absolutely not.” My voice rose an octave. “You can’t let this wait.”

  “Will you listen to me?” Mo adjusted the sling and turned to me. “I can’t afford to take time off. Janine is riding her broom around town, slinging mud at me. Plus, there’s a dead man—” Mo stopped.

  “What?” I asked.

  “Was that in the paper?”

  “Was what in the paper?” My luck had run out. I knew what Mo was going to ask.

  “Did they identify the dead man?”

  I couldn’t lie to him. “Billy Craighoff.”

  Mo smacked his knee with his fist. “I knew it. Lou is in this up to his eyeballs. Mattie, look, I know you have a soft spot for him, but the man is a criminal. I’m sorry, honey, but this may be the end of the line for old Lazy Lou.”

  Angry tears sprang to my eyes. “He’s not a criminal. I mean, I know he’s been on the wrong side of the law before, but he’s not doing that anymore. He promised Mama before she died, and he swore to me he had quit. Billy was working for Irv Blessing. Lou insists he doesn’t know anything about what happened to Billy.” I reached across the seat and touched Mo’s hand. “Lou’s not well. He looked old and weak when I saw him yesterday. At least talk to him. See for yourself.”

  “Guess swinging by there’s not a bad idea. It’s about lunchtime, and I could use a burger.”

  “One other thing,” I said, sitting up a little straighter. “You’re having surgery tomorrow.”

  “But—”

  “No buts. Go talk to Lou, then talk to the sheriff. Put your heads together all you want today, but tomorrow, you will be at the hospital bright and early if I have to hog-tie you and drag you there.”

  “Yes ma’am.”

  Chapter Eight

  It turned out going to the Double L was a big mistake. Janine was leading another one of her soapbox tirades. When Mo and I walked in, she cranked up her malicious attack on my husband.

  “And there he is. The man who allowed a murder to take place right here in Pine Grove.” Janine stood up and elevated her voice. “How does it feel, Chief, to know the town of Pine Grove is under attack on your watch?”

  Mo ground his teeth but let her remarks slide. The rest of the café did too. Folks looked up and waved to Mo but went right back to eating and talking, paying no heed to Janine and her hateful words. The only person who showed Janine any attention was old Mrs. Clark. I suspected she had her hearing aids turned off because she smiled at us even though she watched Janine like a hawk.

  When Lou saw us, he shook a towel at Janine. “Why don’t you shut up before I throw you out? I don’t need you upsetting my customers.”

  “Thanks, Lou,” I said, thinking maybe if he tossed her into the street, it would put an end to our misery. I mentally smacked myself for the thought. It was Christmastime—goodwill and cheer and all that stuff.

  Mo and I sat at a table in the back, where Mo made a decent show of perusing the menu. His clenched jaw indicated his true feelings. I had a hunch if Janine were a man, Mo wouldn’t be holding his temper quite so well.

  I patted his hand. “Do you want to go home?”

  He shook his head. “Let her rant. Makes her look like an idiot.”

  Janine continued her condemnation. “Not only do we have a killer running loose, but our police department is in shambles. Who’s patrolling the streets of our city? Our chief is on disability. A disability you, the citizens, are paying for. Another one is out on personal leave. And yet another’s on maternity leave.”

  Between her rants, the typical diner noises filled the room. Yet, she continued to ramp up her volume. Janine whistled, and the room went silent. “Everyone, listen up. It’s time to make Pine Grove safe again.”

  “Maybe I am getting too old for this,” Mo said.

  I had wanted to hear those words for years, but now they broke my heart. “That’s not true. Your age has nothing to do with what’s going on in the department. Your hands are tied. Who slashes the budget when you try to add in overtime for training hours? Who keeps squashing your manpower plans? A couple of members of the town council keep overriding everything you try to do. You’re fighting a hopeless battle as long as Janine and her crew are on the board. This murder would have happened no matter who was in charge.”

  I wasn’t the only one who heard Mo muse about getting too old. One by one, the diners stood.

  Lenny Olsen said, “Missy, you’re taking on a lost cause. Mo is family.”

  “That’s right. You might have gotten elected once, but you won’t see a second term. You don’t attack those you’re supposed to be supporting,” shouted Jack Ashton, the postmaster. “I was at the last town hall meeting. Mo has no support from the board. How do you expect him to have enough officers when you divert all the funds for another park, or that new city hall you built when the old one was just fine?”

  Old Mrs. Clark pushed her chair ba
ck, slowly rose, and looked around the room. “Young woman,” she said, shaking a finger at Janine, “we’ve listened to you belly-ache for nigh on to twenty minutes maligning Chief Modesky. Until you’ve got something of substance to tell the citizens of Pine Grove, you should go back to your office. No one here is interested in your rambling.”

  Janine blew out an expletive, packed up her briefcase, and walked toward the door. “You will all be sorry. This town needs a new chief, and you’re all too blind to realize it.” She pushed open the door and stomped to her car.

  “Don’t let the door smack you in the butt,” Mr. Olsen yelled.

  “It opens the other way, stupid,” Ashton said, smacking Mr. Olsen on the shoulder.

  Lou came around the counter, looking even more frail today than he had yesterday. He handed Mo coffee and me a hot tea. “You two eating or gawking?”

  Once we’d ordered, Lou sat down at the table. “Look Chief, I know you think I had something to do with Billy getting himself killed, but the truth is, I haven’t seen Billy in a month of Sundays, maybe longer. He and I parted on not so good of terms, that’s true.”

  Mo held up his hand. “You don’t want to be telling me this, Lou. For your own good, you need to keep your mouth shut.”

  My cell rang, and I excused myself to take a call from Lizbeth.

  “Hey,” I said once I was outside. “What’s up?”

  “Getting those donations released is not going to happen. Do you want to see about postponing the celebration until January?”

  “What kind of Christmas will it be in January?” I groaned. “The children are expecting it. Besides, we’ve got the food all lined up. We’ll just have to make do with a big dinner celebration. I have some things in my basement that people have donated when they’ve seen me in town. We can buy a few extras to go with them. It won’t be as nice as usual, but we can make sure all the children get new socks and a small toy.” My heart knew it wasn’t enough, but what choice did we have?

  “You’re right. I’ll see what I can come up with. At least they can get a good meal and see Santa.” Lizbeth disconnected.

  When I walked back to the table, Lou and Mo were engrossed in conversation, which surprised me. The two rarely talked and when they did, it usually wasn’t pleasant. If I didn’t know better, I’d say they were almost on friendly terms. Maybe my husband was starting to see the Lou I knew and loved. Nah!

  “Why the long face?” Lou asked me.

  “It’s the Christmas celebration. The donations won’t be released in time. We’re running out of time. I’m going to pick up a few toys, but I feel bad that Christmas isn’t going to be as nice as normal. We have more families than ever this year.”

  Lou shrugged. “I’m sure it will work out.”

  Mo put his arm around me. “It’s going to be okay. We can afford to kick in some money. Bet if you ask, some of these folks in here would be glad to help out too. Never know where a secret Santa might be lurking.”

  Chapter Nine

  Mo was right. I came home with two hundred dollars. We checked him into the hospital the next morning. As they wheeled him into surgery, I brushed back tears. Seeing my husband flat on his back again brought forth another rush of emotions. We were getting older, and someday one of us would be facing the future alone. I’d brought my tablet so I could read, but that was useless. My mind wandered so much I couldn’t concentrate. Lou called at ten to check on Mo.

  “They took him back about thirty minutes ago,” I said. “It’s going to be a while.”

  “Why don’t you come down to the Double L? Give the hospital your number. They can call you here if anything comes up,” Lou said.

  “No way. I’m staying put. If anything goes wrong, I would never forgive myself.” Mo was in good health for his age, but he was sixty-four. No telling what could happen.

  “I understand,” Lou said. “Oh, Janine was in again this morning mouthing off. She finally put me over the edge. I told her to leave and not come back. She threatened to pull my business license, but it sure felt good to tell that dingbat off. And I got a standing ovation from the customers. Seems I’m not the only one sick of her nonsense.”

  “Ha! Serves her right,” I said.

  “Two other board members witnessed the scene, and there’s talk of an uprising if she doesn’t tone it down. She’s badgering and bullying all of them, trying to kick Mo out so she can get her boyfriend appointed chief.”

  “The investigator?” I asked.

  “That’s the story she’s telling, but gossip has it he’s some down-on-his-luck private eye.”

  “Interesting. Did my outburst the other day make the front page?” Mo wouldn’t be reading the paper today, but that wouldn’t stop a nurse or intern from telling him. Gossip in Pine Grove was second nature. If it wasn’t the men in the coffee shop gathering around to feed the rumor mill, it was the ladies at the beauty shop or in the grocery store.

  “No, you lucked out. I think that reporter may have taken a liking to you. He talked to a couple other customers after you left. Anyway, you speaking up may have helped him see both sides. The headline this morning paints our new alderwoman in a different light. The next town council should be interesting. I think Ms. Lassiter is going to get her comeuppance. Not to mention, I put a little bug in his ear about her boyfriend.” Lou chuckled, which turned into a cough. “Gotta go,” he said when he finally had his coughing fit under control. “I’m feeling like the devil’s on my tail today.”

  “Make an appointment with your doctor.” I disconnected and sent up a prayer for Lou.

  When the surgeon came out, I held my breath until he said my husband’s surgery went fantastically. I was sitting by Mo’s bedside when he woke.

  He looked at me through groggy eyes.

  I leaned down and kissed his cheek. “Love you,” I whispered.

  “Same,” Mo mumbled. “Wanna run away with me?”

  “Sure thing.” That man could always make me smile.

  “I’m serious,” Mo said. “I’ve been thinking . . .” His words trailed off, and his eyes fluttered.

  “Been thinking about what?” I asked.

  Mo responded with a snore.

  A nurse came in to check him and told me he’d be asleep most of the afternoon. She encouraged me to go to lunch. I asked her to take special care of him and told her I’d be back in an hour or so. The sun was shining, and temperatures had climbed into the low thirties. I checked, and the sidewalks were clear of snow. I decided to walk the few blocks to the Double L. Halfway there, Max joined me, and we walked the rest of the way together. He stayed close but never close enough to pet.

  “Hey, old boy. You’re looking pretty good. How’s the leg?”

  He wagged his tail in response. He’d been eating the hot dogs I’d been leaving on the patio, so I knew he was getting the antibiotic he needed.

  I reached down to scratch his head, but he backed up. “Not ready to make friends?” I asked. “Can’t blame you. Always be leery, buddy. You probably know better than me about the dangers of befriending strangers.”

  Speaking of strangers, Deputy Strange pulled up to the curb and got out of his car. Max growled.

  “Shh, boy,” I said.

  “You need to step away from that dog,” the deputy said to me.

  “What? Why? He was fine until you showed up.”

  Max growled again and let out a warning bark.

  “He’s a stray. I’m calling animal control to pick him up.”

  I glanced at the bandage on Strange’s hand, the fur standing up on Max’s back, and the menacing growl coming from him, and realization dawned on me. “You’re Santa,” I said, taking a step away. “You killed Billy Craighoff.”

  Strange grabbed me by the arm. Max launched into a barking frenzy, weaving in between me and the deputy.

  All the commotion alerted Lou, and the next thing I knew he was at my side.

  “What’s going on out here?” Lou confronted the deputy.


  Strange stepped back, releasing me, but Max continued barking.

  “Max, stop!” I shouted.

  The dog immediately sat down but continued to growl.

  “He’s the killer,” I said, feeling a tad smug.

  Lou glared at the deputy. “Is that so?”

  Strange took a step back, hit the curb, and went down. When he had pulled himself up, he twisted Lou’s arm behind his back. “I’m going to have to arrest you for assaulting a police officer.”

  “I never touched you.” Lou looked over his shoulder at the faces pressed up against the Double L picture window. “I have witnesses. Call the sheriff, Mattie.”

  Strange released his grip.

  Lou’s face turned gray, and he clutched his chest.

  Strange seized the opportunity, hopped into his car, and left.

  I helped Lou into the café and called for an ambulance. I also called the sheriff and told him my suspicions about Deputy Strange.

  “Everything’s going to work out, Sis,” Lou whispered in my ear. “Have faith.”

  Chapter Ten

  Lou died in the ambulance on the way to the hospital.

  I was sitting by Mo’s bedside crying when he woke up.

  “What’s wrong?” he asked, his bleary eyes searching mine.

  “Lou had a heart attack. He died a little while ago.” My voice broke, and the uncontrollable sobs started.

  “This is so unfair,” Mo said.

  “What?” I said through my tears.

  “I can’t even put my arm around you, much less get out of bed without tripping over my own feet.” Mo reached for my hand. “I’m sorry, honey. I know how much he meant to you.” He patted my hand to comfort me.

  The sheriff knocked on the doorframe while I was crying.

  I swiped at my tears. “Come in, Sheriff,” I said.

  “How’s the shoulder?” Jason asked Mo.

  “According to the doc, it’s going to be fine,” Mo said.