by Kate Bell
“It’s such a shame,” Terrence said.
“Indeed,” Lucy said, still eyeing Mr. Spellman. “He seems to be doing so much better,” she said, nodding in Mr. Spellman’s direction.
“There seemed to be a mix up with his medication. We’ve gotten it straightened out though, and he is really doing much better,” Connie said, fidgeting.
“Really?” I asked.
“Yes,” she said and forced herself to smile. “It seems Todd may have made a mistake or two on dosages.”
“It’s all understandable, of course,” Terrence jumped in. “Todd was young and he had a career. I’m sure it was a lot to keep up with. But we’ll be taking Dad home with us and he’ll get the best of care.”
Dad. I wondered if he was really that close to Mr. Spellman. Something seemed off, but I couldn’t put my finger on it. I considered mentioning the phone call I had received the day before, but now that I had seen Mr. Spellman up and about, I wondered if I should. Maybe I needed to talk to Alec about it first.
I leaned in toward Terrence. “Does he talk much?” I whispered.
He looked over at Mr. Spellman. “No, not really. He’s said a couple of words here and there, mostly unintelligible. Perhaps he’ll get his ability to speak back after some time. I certainly hope so.”
I leaned back in my seat and then turned to Connie. “You must be so relieved to be able to take your father home with you.”
At this, Connie beamed. “Oh, yes. I really am. I was always a daddy’s girl. It was so hard when I moved to Michigan. I wish I had never moved away. Or at least, I wish I had taken Daddy with me.”
“I’m sure it was very difficult,” I said, nodding.
“What line of work are you two in?” Lucy asked.
“I’m a retired fireman,” Terrence said. “I injured my shoulder a couple of years ago and decided it was time to retire. After a hefty settlement from the city, of course.” He laughed.
“I bet that was interesting work,” I said, and then turned to Connie. “What do you do Connie?”
She gave me a nervous smile. “I’m an interior decorator. I work freelance.”
“Oh, how fun is that?” Lucy said. “I always wanted to do something like that, but I just don’t seem to have the knack for it.”
“Well, it was nice of you ladies to stop by, but Dad has a doctor’s appointment and we really need to get going,” Terrence said, getting to his feet.
“Oh, of course,” I said. “We didn’t mean to keep you.”
“The pie was delicious,” Connie said.
“Thank you,” I said.
We got to our feet and started toward the door. “Mr. Spellman, I hope you liked that pie. I made it special for you!” I said loudly. I wasn’t sure how his hearing was.
Mr. Spellman looked at me and smiled. He made an ‘mmm’ sound and nodded his head.
“Good, I’m so glad,” I said. It felt like we were getting the bum’s rush, but we had dropped by unannounced, so I couldn’t blame them.
When we were back in the car, Lucy asked, “What did you think?”
“I’m not sure,” I said buckling my seatbelt. “I think it’s pretty bizarre that Mr. Spellman can suddenly walk and feed himself. You saw how he was the other day.”
“Exactly,” she said, pulling away from the curb. “Why didn’t you mention the phone call?”
“I don’t know. Something told me not to. I’ll talk to Alec about it. Something funny’s going on there.”
--11--
“Okay, so I have something to tell you,” I said to Alec. We were in his car on the way to the bank of Maine to question the employees there. Hopefully someone would give us a clue as to why someone would want to kill Todd.
“Go on,” he said, pulling into the bank parking lot.
“Lucy and I went to visit Todd Spellman’s family yesterday. I baked them a fantastic sweet potato pie that got raves all the way around,” I said.
He sighed. “Allie, why do you insist on running around behind my back and investigating?” he asked as he pulled into a parking spot.
“What? I’m not doing anything behind your back. I’m simply going on fact finding missions. I tell you everything I find out,” I said.
He turned toward me. “Allie, please. This can be dangerous. Why don’t you let me do the investigating?”
“Don’t you want to know what happened?” I asked him.
“Sure. Go ahead. Tell me what you found out.”
I didn’t like his tone, but I decided to let it slide. “Mr. Spellman was out of his wheelchair and walking. He was fairly clear-eyed and was almost like a completely different person. It was weird.”
“And did you ask what had happened?”
“Connie said Todd had made a mistake on his medications and was giving him too much. They had taken him to the doctor and got his meds straightened out,” I said.
“Okay. So his meds are straightened out now. Why is that weird?” he asked. He still had both of his hands on the steering wheel.
“What do you mean, why is that weird? He was practically a zombie before! I had to feed him a piece of pie at the Turkey Trot,” I said, exasperated. Why did he always have to remain calm and level headed about everything?
“And did Mr. Spellman have anything to say?”
“No, apparently he isn’t talking much,” I said.
He nodded his head. “Okay, I’ve got some people to interview. Let’s go,” he said and opened his door and got out.
I got out. “Don’t you think it’s suspicious?” I asked, hurrying to his side. “Especially after that phone call I got the other day?”
He shrugged. “I don’t know. It isn’t good to connect things that aren’t connected. Or things you aren’t sure are connected. I’ve noted it and will keep it in mind.”
I sighed. For a detective, he wasn’t very suspicious. I hurried to keep up with him and he held the door for me to go into the bank.
Jane Marshall was the assistant manager, and she met us at the door. “Good morning Detective, and uh, Allie. There’s a small office you can use over here,” she said. I knew Jane from when her son Jake was in little league with Thad. She seemed nice enough, but I was going to pay more attention to her since she was a possible suspect now.
She showed us to the office, and we took seats behind the small desk.
“So, Allie, I didn’t know you worked with the police department?” she asked as she sat in the chair across from us.
I stared at her, not sure what to say. No one had come right out and asked me that before. Everyone we had ever talked to had just assumed I was supposed to be there.
“Jane, can you tell me about your relationship with Todd Spellman?” Alec asked, ignoring her question.
I tried not to smile. He was good. Very good.
“Oh. My relationship?” Jane asked, sitting up straighter. “What do you mean? He was my boss. That’s all.”
Huh. Defensive much, Jane?
Alec had his pen and notebook out and was scribbling in it. How did he do that so fast?
“Did you enjoy working for him?” Alec asked without looking up.
“Well, sure. I mean, I guess so. You know how it is. Sometimes things can get tense. Different personalities and all,” she said, fidgeting.
Alec stopped writing and looked up at her. After a moment, he asked, “Can you expand on that? The tense and different personalities part?”
Jane’s eyes got bigger. “Well, it’s just that Todd was very particular in how things were done. He didn’t want to leave loose ends on anything. He was a professional, I guess you could say.”
“He was a jerk?” I supplied. I wanted to see if the things Bob had said about Todd were true.
She gave me a smile that didn’t reach her eyes. “He could be very demanding. If you didn’t get your work done on time, he would sometimes lose it. I mean, screaming lose it.”
“I see,” Alec said, and made a note.
Jane’s eyes went to the note
book. “What are you writing?”
“Details. Was there anyone that had a real problem with Todd?” he asked, pulling the notebook closer to himself.
“Yes. George Dillard. He’s the owner of the Gas and Go on Third. He came in a month or so ago and applied for a loan. His gasoline tanks had sprung a leak, and he needed the money to have them repaired. He didn’t get the loan, and he was mad!” Being able to shine a little light on someone else seemed to make her happy. She leaned back in her seat and relaxed.
“Did Todd make the decision on that?” Alec asked, making more notes.
“No, it has to go up the chain. But Todd can give his opinion on whether he thinks it’s a good idea to make the loan, and he told the loan department in Bangor that he didn’t think George was a good risk. Then he told George that he told the loan department that. George freaked,” she said.
“Why would he do that?” Alec asked, looking puzzled. “It seems like that would be confidential between him and the loan department. And foolish to say it.”
She shrugged. Her graying hair was long and curled and she pushed it back over her shoulder. I had always envied her hair, and I still did, even though it was graying now. The gray made her look distinctive.
“Todd was that way sometimes. You never knew what was going to come out of his mouth. When our lead teller, Patty Guzman, was pregnant with twins, he told her she was getting fat and she needed to lose weight or her husband would leave her. He knew she was pregnant. We had had a baby shower for her here at the bank. She went home crying.”
“Sounds like Todd really was a jerk,” I said. How could I have thought he was such a wonderful person? It just goes to show you that people aren’t always what they portray themselves to be.
She nodded, knowingly.
“Can you elaborate on George Dillard freaking?” Alec asked. I couldn’t believe he said that with a straight face.
She leaned forward in her chair. “He started screaming that Todd was a jerk. Well, jerk, was the nicest word he used to describe him. It was the noon rush hour, and we had a line of customers out to the front door, and George was in Todd’s office with the door open, and screaming. I was afraid he was going to have a stroke. George isn’t getting any younger. His face was beet red.”
Alec seemed to consider her for a moment before writing in his notebook. “Is there anything else you think we should know?”
She shrugged. “Nothing comes to mind. Just that Todd wasn’t what you thought he was.”
“Fine. Thank you for your time. Please send someone else in,” he said.
She left and Bob Payne appeared at the door. “I really don’t have anything to tell you that I haven’t already told you,” he said.
“Fine, come on in and have a seat,” Alec said.
I smiled at him.
Bob made a low groaning sound and came in and sat down. “This is a waste of time.”
“Can you tell me if there was anyone that had problems with Todd Spellman?” Alec asked, ignoring his comment.
“Like I said before, Todd was a jerk and no one that really knew him liked him.”
“So you’re saying that you had problems with him?” Alec asked, not looking up from his notebook.
“Look, I didn’t say that. I did my best to get along with the guy. He was my boss. But he had a way about him. He had one side he showed certain people, and another he showed to others,” Bob said. I could see small beads of sweat breaking out on his forehead.
“Did you kill Todd Spellman?” Alec asked.
“What?” Bob said, his eyes bulging. “No! No, I never killed anyone! I swear! How can you think that?”
Alec smiled. “Calm down Bob. No one’s accusing you of anything. It’s just a question I need to ask.”
Alec was having fun with Bob. I hadn’t seen this side of him before. It was all I could do to keep from giggling. Poor Bob didn’t find it humorous though. One of those small beads of sweat had morphed into a large bead and trickled down the side of his face. Alec had mercy on Bob a few minutes later and excused him.
After the fifth person had been interviewed, I began to have regrets about insisting I come with Alec. I was getting tired and hungry and everyone seemed to have the same story about Todd. He was a jerk. Shocking. He was always taking his ailing father everywhere with him and always seemed so engaged when he spoke to anyone.
“I hated Todd,” Patty Guzman said, and tears sprang to her eyes. “He was always making fun of me. He said I needed to shave. My face. Can I help it if I have hormone issues? I do the best I can to get rid of it!”
I handed her a Kleenex from the box on the desk and refrained from looking at Alec. She was number ten.
“I understand that he could be a difficult person to work for,” Alec said. “Can you think of anyone that might have wanted to hurt him?”
“Everyone!” she blurted out, dabbing at her eyes. “He was a terrible person! He called me three days after I gave birth and wanted to know when I was coming back to work! It was a cesarean!”
I felt my eyes go wide. I was thankful I had never worked for Todd. I might have slugged him.
“I see,” Alec said and made more notes. He must have been close to getting writers cramp by that time.
Patty was our last interviewee. When we finished, I heaved a sigh of relief.
“Wow,” I whispered as we headed to Alec’s SUV.
“Wow is right. Like I told you, you never know a person like you think you do,” he said.
I got in the car and leaned back. There was a lot to process.
--12--
“Here you go. You two enjoy yourselves,” the waitress said, setting two baskets of popcorn shrimp and a breadbasket down on the table.
My stomach growled as I reached for the breadbasket. “Sorry,” I said, and giggled.
“Food always tastes best when you’re hungry,” he said.
“That it does,” I answered. “So what do you make of what everyone said today?”
He gave a quick shake of his head. “That Todd was something else. But lots of people are ugly and mean and it doesn’t get them killed.”
“I guess it depends on if you come across the wrong person when you’re being mean. That can get you killed,” I said. And Todd had done it. I shuddered when I thought about it. It could have been someone I’ve dealt with at the grocery store or the bank or any other place.
“That it can,” he said. “Hopefully we’ll get something back from the lab in the next couple of days. We couldn’t come up with any clear fingerprints, but maybe there’s something else with the materials we sent to them.”
The shrimp was steaming hot and the best I had ever tasted. Alec was right about food tasting better when you’re hungry. Stan’s Crabshack was filled almost to capacity. The Christmas shopping season was upon us and shoppers were taking a few minutes to rest in between stores and get something to eat.
“So tell me, how’s the blog coming? I haven’t heard you mention it in a while,” he said.
I looked up from my food. “Well,” I said slowly. “I think I might be done with it.”
He raised his eyebrows at me. “What do you mean, done?”
“I don’t know. I think Lucy might be right. It might be keeping me in a state of grieving. I’ve been thinking about it for a while now. The only thing is, I’m not sure how to end it. I haven’t written anything substantial in several weeks and I feel like I’m abandoning people in their time of need.” There. I had said it. I felt guilty about ending the blog.
“Well, I can see how you might feel that way. After all, it’s been eight years, right? That’s a long time to do anything,” he said, sitting back in his seat. “Maybe you should take time to think it over?”
I nodded, thinking about it. “I suppose I can. But if the truth be told, I do feel like it’s time to end it. I’ve made a lot of online friends through the blog. I feel like people need an explanation and I’m not sure how to give it.”
Maybe I had abandonment issues. But it felt like walking away from people that needed me. How could I do that?
“Maybe you could let them know ending it is a part of the process? Moving on is a part of the process, right? It isn’t healthy for anyone to stay in grief indefinitely,” he observed.
He was right. I knew he was. I needed to find a way to get over feeling like I was letting people down. “True,” I said.
“Hi Allie!” I heard called from across the room.
We both looked up and saw Rebecca Holding waving at me. She had her six-year-old daughter, Sarah, in tow. I waved back as they weaved their way around people to get to us. I got to my feet and gave them each a hug in turn and introduced them to Alec. I had babysat Rebecca when she was Sarah’s age and Thad had dated her sister in High School. Small towns.
“I don’t want to interrupt you two, but I saw you over here and thought I’d say hi. So, hi!” she said and giggled.
“Hi,” I said, and looked at the shopping bags on her arm. “Looks like you’re getting your Christmas shopping done early.”
“Oh, I try to every year, but it seems like I always forget something and end up in a rush on Christmas Eve,” she said. “Say, I heard you were at the Turkey Trot when Todd Spellman was shot. Wasn’t he the manager at the Bank of Maine?”
“Yes, he was,” I said and introduced her to Alec. “We were both there, as well as Thad. He was visiting with his new girlfriend for Thanksgiving.”
“Oh, tell him hello next time you see him. That must have been terrifying,” she said, shaking her head.
“Yes, it was. Poor Todd,” I answered.
She glanced over her shoulder quickly and then turned back to me. “Listen Allie, I don’t mean to be a gossip or a snoop, but I heard Rudy Gallo was over at the Brass Rail, laughing it up over Todd’s death. Not that I would ever go to a bar, mind you, but occasionally my husband Bill stops off and has a beer there. He said Rudy said that Todd got what he deserved.” She leaned in toward me. “Honestly, I don’t think anyone deserves to be murdered, but if someone did, it would have to be Todd. He could be the nicest person or the meanest, depending on his mood.”
