Mabel, Murder, & Muffins

by Sharon Mierke

  “Of course, it isn’t. I just walked in the door. Who do you think I am anyway? Superwoman? And, what did you mean when you said, I won’t tell you?”

  “I thought that’s what you wanted.”

  “No. I mean, that’s what I was hoping; that Stella wasn’t mixed up in this. But, you have to tell me if she was, Reg.”

  He sighed and sat down in the wicker chair. His eyes were clearer now so the fever was gone but he still sounded stuffed up when he talked.

  “She was implicated in a very innocent way.”

  “Implicated? What the heck does that mean?”

  “It means that when lovely couple came to her and offered her a lot of money plus a free cruise, she didn't ask a lot of questions. That’s what that means.” He took out his red and white handkerchief and blew his nose. “When will the coffee be ready?”

  “When I get all of my questions answered, that’s when.”

  “So, what more do you want to know?”

  “What more do I want to know? First of all, who was this nice couple? Why would they need Stella’s shed? Aren’t there other places to hide someone? Plus, I want to know if Stella knew what they were storing in her shed and I want to know if she knew who Sally really was. And, I want to know if she was leading us on so I know what to tell Flori. That woman is not going to hurt Flori, if I can help it.”

  “Well, let’s face it, Mabel, Stella doesn't have much money to her name. If it weren't for her son, she would be living in government housing so when some nice guy and a woman show up at her house and tell her that they will pay good money just to store something in her shed for three or four days, she didn't think twice. You have to remember, this is Yellow Rose, Texas. Folks do things differently down there. If they think they're helping someone out, they do it and don't ask questions. That's the way it is."

  “They offered lots of money? Who's they?”

  He nodded. “Quite a bit of money. More than Stella was used to seeing, that's for sure."

  "How much?"

  "A couple thousand, plus a five-day cruise out of Galveston."

  "So whomever it was wanted to make sure the house was empty for awhile so they could lock Sally up in the shed?"

  "Well, it wasn't originally meant for Sally. It was meant to store ill begotten gains."

  "Was Stella back home when they arrested her?"

  "I don't think they arrested her. They did find her at a hotel in Galveston. She'd just come off the cruise and her son was going to pick her up after he was finished work."

  "So her son knew what was going on?"

  "I think he thought she'd rented the house to some vacationers for a few says. That's what it sounded like to him."

  "Seriously? People just rent out their houses to strangers?"

  "Yes, they do. I told you; it's Texas."

  “Stella had all this going on and she didn't breathe a word to us?”

  "The couple who called on her said it was a surprise and not to tell anyone."

  "I still don't understand. Who's this couple who went to her?"

  “Ralph and Sally .”

  “What? What on earth are you talking about?”

  “Ralph Murphy was in Yellow Rose too. Sally went down on a hunt for Hatcher and Ralph followed. He found Sally before you and Flori even got there. He found her, showed her all the money, and asked her to go away with him. I guess she still had her eyes set on Hatcher but she played along with it, thinking she'd trick him into giving her the money."

  "That means that when Ralph met Grace under the bridge, she did have the money with her. I didn't think she'd let that stolen money out of her sight. Another lie he told me. Did he tell Sally that he'd killed Grace?"

  "Not at first. She told him they should hide the money for awhile until the whole thing blew over because they didn't want the cops looking for them. He agreed and that's when he thought about Stella's place."

  I sat down on the Coke box. “I can’t get this straight, Reg. Ralph was right there in Yellow Rose when we were?”

  He nodded. “Yep.”

  “How did he happen to find Stella? I mean you don’t pick a house on a street and say, I’m going to leave a bag filled with stolen money in that shed under that house. Right?”

  “Of course, not. He knew he’d killed someone named Grace Hobbs who lived in Yellow Rose. He thought she must be Cecile’s wife so he went to his house.”

  “How could he find that out?”

  “I guess just the same way you did, Mabel. Doesn’t take a rocket scientist to look up numbers and addresses in a phone book. That’s when he saw you and Flori going in and out of Stella’s house. He also knew about the other house on P ½ where Andrea lived. As far as I can figure out, he thought by involving Stella, it might point a finger at you.”

  “Me? How could I be involved?”

  “Well, let’s see, Mabel. A dead body turns up in your town. You end up in Yellow Rose, visiting the woman who lives next door to Grace Hobbs, the murder victim. Some people might make a connection. Of course, he had no idea what a law abiding citizen you were.”

  “I can’t believe Ralph would think that way, Reg. We were friends. I liked him better than any of the others.”

  “Mabel, Mabel, didn’t you get the hint? He really didn’t like you. Maxymowich told me Ralph said he should’ve killed you the first time he went to your house.”

  “Really? He’s just saying that because I’m the one who fingered him.”

  “Fingered him?”

  “Yeah. You know, I pointed him out as the murderer. That’s cop talk, Reg.”

  “If you say so. Well, with some friends, who needs enemies, right?”

  “You got that right. I just can't believe that all along he had that stolen money. No wonder he couldn't get back on the plane! Boy, did he have the wool pulled over my eyes.”

  “I think we’re quite sure you can’t believe a word Ralph Murphy says.”

  “So, is it all figured out now? Are all the criminals in jail? But, what about that phone call, Reg? Why would Sally phone my place and how did she manage it if she was locked up below the house?”

  “Don't forget Ralph and Sally were together at first. Stella thought they were a couple. At this point, Sally had no idea what the future might hold. She always thought she had Ralph twisted around her little finger so when he went out to get the money for Stella, Sally asked if she could make a phone call. She wasn’t quite sure if Ralph was telling the truth about Grace so she was going to ask you about it. Stella, of course, had no idea what was going on; she thought they were renting her shed to store something but she didn’t know that it would be Sally. She said she thought it might be things they bought while in town and had no place to keep them. Sally thought Ralph was going to hide the money there so her plan was after getting rid of him, she’d collect it herself. When Sally asked if she could use the phone, Stella told her she could. If you had been home and told Sally that Grace was dead, she would have known Ralph had killed her.”

  "I wonder what she would've done then?"

  "Probably left an anonymous message with the police about Ralph and then taken off with the money."

  “Did Stella ever know it was Sally who was in her shed?”

  Reg shook his head. “Well, I'm sure not at first but she must have wondered when she heard bumps and bangs coming from there.”

  “So, what was she thinking? Why didn't she go and look for herself?”

  “Ralph assured her not to worry about it and that everything was fine.”

  “Wasn’t she concerned?”

  “I don’t think she thought there would be a person there, Mabel. Maybe she just thought there was some hanky-panky going on so she turned up the music.”

  “And, Ralph left Sally there to die.”

  “He went to check on her several times, trying to get her to go away with him but when he realized that she just wanted the money; he left and didn’t go back.”

  “How long was she th
ere all alone?”

  “Quite a few days. Ralph did try convincing her to go with him by offering food and wine but it finally got through to him that by this time, she hated him.”

  “I don’t blame her. I’d hate him too, the jerk. And Stella never went down there to feed her or check on her?”

  He shook his head. “Well, when you and Flori were there, she was always on the go and probably thought the couple who rented it were coming and going. She never thought of anything being criminal about it and then as soon as you left, she went on her cruise. I'm sure if she knew there was a woman down there, she would have gone for help.”

  “Will Stella go to jail?”

  He shook his head. “She’s never been in trouble, so probably not. She’s pretty shook up about it. Or, maybe the best word is ashamed. Her son’s with her now and he’s not too happy with his mama. At least, that’s what Maxymowich tells me.”

  We sat in silence for a few minutes.

  “Do you think you could make the coffee now, Mabel? I haven’t had a cup all morning.”

  “Is that why you look so terrible? Where’s Beth?”

  “I let her sleep in. Guess I’ve been keeping her awake all night with my coughing and snoring.”

  I made the coffee, all the time wondering how I would go about telling Flori about Stella. How could she have been so foolish? Because of her, a woman could have died. Well, I guess I couldn’t say that. Because of Ralph, another woman could’ve died. Some way to treat the woman you love.

  We were half way through our first cup when she walked in. Somehow, I could tell by looking at her that she already knew.

  “Flori, you’ve heard the news? They found Sally and she’s alive.”

  “I heard. I also heard that Stella was keeping her in that shed below the house. You were right all along, Mabel. I’m never trusting another person as long as I live.”

  “Don’t say that, Flori. There are lots of people you can trust; it’s just that most of them live in Parson’s Cove. And, even then, you can’t trust most of them.”

  “I made such a fool of myself.”

  Flori started to sniff so I got up and forced her to sit in my chair. I retrieved the box of tissues. She wiped her eyes even though no tears had formulated yet; then, she wiped her cheeks and blew her nose. This was all in preparation for the downpour. Reg and I sat quietly and started our second cup of coffee, waiting for the cloudburst to finish.

  “How did you hear about it, Flori?” I asked.

  She made one last hiccough and said, “Jake told me. He went down to the restaurant this morning. Everyone is talking about it. Well, not that they knew Sally; they’re just saying that a friend of ours – yours and mine, Mabel, hid this woman in a shed and left her to die. I never even met Sally.”

  I turned to Reg. “I think you should stop sharing information with Scully, Reg. He's such an old gossip.”

  “Speaking of sharing information,” Reg said, “Scully is coming in this morning to see you. He has something to share with you.”

  “With me? What?”

  “Oh, you’ll see.” He heaved himself up. “Well, I better get over and say my farewells to all those city cops.”

  He went out the door, singing, “So long, it’s been good to know you...”

  I filled Flori’s cup. She hadn’t looked this sad since her whole batch of dill pickles turned bad.

  “Sorry about Stella but Flori, she was really innocent in the whole thing. She had no idea what Ralph was up to. He fooled her like he fooled me.”

  “Oh, that’s okay, Mabel. Stella might have had me under her spell but I never did like that Ralph character. It doesn’t matter; you’re my only one true friend anyway. I sort of got carried away with Stella.” She cradled her cup against her breast. “We seemed so much alike, didn’t we?”

  I smiled. “Only on the scale, Flori. Only on the scale.”

  Scully came in just before noon. I’d almost forgotten about him. Esther had entered about two minutes before he had. I decided that it was time to settle things with her and what better time than when there’s a deputy in the room.

  “So, Esther,” I said. “I guess you’ve heard we solved the murder case.”

  “Oh, right. I like how you say we, Mabel. Like you’re the great detective here.” She sniffed and pushed her glasses back up her nose.

  “Maybe I am. Did you know it was my idea to check the dandruff on Andrea’s clothing and that proved Ralph was the killer?”

  “Mabel, everyone knows you’re a busybody, causing more trouble for the officers than what you’re worth. I’m sure they could have figured it out without your little input.”

  “I don’t think they feel that way, Esther. Right, Scully?”

  Scully was standing behind a counter and looking like he wished he could be anywhere else in the world. He blushed, cleared his throat and said, “Whatever you say, Mabel.”

  “Thank you, Deputy. And while the Law has a representative here, I’d like to question you about something, Esther.”

  “What? I don’t have time to fiddle diddle around here. I have things to do this morning. Not everyone is like you, Mabel, able to sit around, drink coffee, and do nothing all day.”

  “In that case, I’ll get right to the point - what about that threatening phone call you made to me?”

  “Threatening phone call? What nonsense are you talking about? I haven’t called you in years and I don’t plan on ever phoning you in the future.”

  “Come off it. You know very well you phoned me right after I got home from my trip.”

  “And why, pray tell, would I do that?”

  “Because you were jealous, Esther. You were jealous because you never get to go anywhere. And don’t deny it, I’d recognize your voice any day. And besides that, you wanted to rub it in my face that you were moving back to Parson's Cove."

  Esther’s eyes bulged and her glasses slid down her nose.

  “I’ll have you know,” she said. “I did not make any phone calls to you. If I had, I would admit it. In fact, I would brag about it. And for your information, I have no intention of ever moving back to Parson's Cove.”

  “Well, if you’re so innocent and so smart, who did phone and threaten me?”

  Scully coughed and stepped out from behind the counter.

  “Uh, the reason I came over, Mabel, has a bit to do with that phone call.”

  I stared at him.

  “What do you mean? A bit to do with it?”

  “Well, it’s like I know who made the call.”

  “You know who made the call and it wasn’t Esther? How long have you known this little secret?”

  His face had now changed from red to crimson red. He looked down at his feet and started tapping the bottom of the counter with his toe.

  “I guess you could say I knew from the beginning.”

  “From the beginning? Are you telling me that you knew who left that horrid message and you haven’t come forward? That I’ve been having all these nightmares about Esther and it wasn’t even her?”

  Scully’s face turned even redder, which I never would’ve believed possible, and he hung his head.

  “Sorry, Mabel, but it was me.”

  “Pardon me? You’re mumbling.”

  He raised his head. He didn’t need to say a thing.

  “You? You made that horrible threatening phone call, Scully? A member of our own police force? How could you?”

  “It wasn’t a threatening call. I can tell you what I said. You just didn’t hear it properly.”

  “Why didn’t you come forward and say something? Everyone in the police station heard it.”

  “Yeah? Well, that’s why I didn’t say anything. I was hoping you’d let it blow over. You think I was going to admit it with all those cops there? They would’ve laughed their heads off. And, what do you think Maxymowich would’ve thought? He would’ve been humiliated. I’m sorry, Mabel, I was too ashamed to say anything.”

  “So,
what was the message, Scully? Where do you come off thinking that it wasn’t a threat to my life? I distinctly heard you say that I should go away and that everyone in Parson’s Cove thought I was wicked and should go to jail. I remember it like I heard it yesterday.”

  I ignored Esther’s cackling.

  “I didn’t say that at all. I said how nice it was for you to get away to Las Vegas and that everyone in Parson’s Cove wished they could get away like that. Then, I asked you to bring your pictures over to the jail, that we were dying to see your life in the big city and that we’d better watch out or you’d leave again. That’s all I said. Maybe in different words but that’s what I meant.”

  “But, you said ‘wicked.’ I heard it.”

  “Yeah. So? Don’t you know what that means, Mabel? It means ‘awesome.’”

  “Wicked means awesome? Now, that’s a new one. How long has Reg known this?”

  “Since this morning. He made me promise to come over right away and apologize.”

  I walked over and hugged him.

  “You’re forgiven.”

  “Just like that?”

  “Just like that.”

  I turned to Esther, who was leaning up against the wall, wiping the tears from her eyes.

  “You can stop laughing now. It was an honest mistake. If it makes you feel any better, Esther, I’m almost sorry it wasn’t you. You have no idea what punishment I had all lined up.”

  “I expect an apology, Mabel. I’m sure you’ve told everyone in town that I was the one who did this, didn’t you?”

  “No, I don’t think I told everyone. Most people just assumed it was you. However, to show there’s no hard feelings, I’ll make sure to tell a few people that it was Scully. Will that make you happy?”

  “No. I’ll see that you pay for this until I breathe my last breath.”

  With that, she opened the door and walked out.

  Before she reached the end of the sidewalk, I managed to reach the door and call out, “I’m sure everyone will be interested in knowing who you were meeting when you happened to almost trip over that dead body, Esther.”

  Too bad she didn’t see the little rise in the cement. Before I turned my attention back to Scully, I saw her skirts go up and her body hit the pavement.