2 Murder in the Winter Page 17

  “And what do you want me to check into?”

  “Well, there’s this little motel over on Second Street.”

  “Never mind. Do you mean you have nothing else for me to do?”

  “Not exactly, but you may be pleased to know that I don’t have as much for you to do today.”

  “You mean I can go on vacation?”

  “Not quite. I have one guy I want you to check on. This one may be tough. His name is Ray Phelps. He wandered into town a few weeks ago, secured a temporary job at Burris Pluming, then sneaked out of town with a fistful of money after the murders. I want you to see what you can find out about him, and where he might’ve gone. By the way, for what it’s worth, he did a job at Oppenheimer Arms on Thursday.”

  “Well, it looks like he’s your man, Cy.”

  “It would look more like it if he’d done a job at the apartment building on Wednesday. See, if you can tie him in with any of our other suspects.”

  I shared with Sam the little bit of information I had on Phelps, then hung up. My stomach growled, told me it was time to pick Lou up.

  +++

  I walked out the door and was able to brush the snow from Lightning. I heard a noise behind me and turned to encounter the yippie dog from next door, standing on a piece of cardboard to protect her from the snow. I looked around, but didn’t see an ugly woman anywhere. Could it be that the varmint had had enough of the wicked witch and wanted me to take him with me? I looked around for a leash to tie to the back bumper, but the blinding light of the snow kept me from seeing one. Maybe I could put one of my floor mats on top of the car and let the rat ride there. I put an end to my unkind thoughts when I envisioned God’s hand about to strike me down.

  I spent so much time thinking about the mangy mutt, that I failed to hear crunching footsteps in the snow. I turned just as a snowball rebounded off my coat.

  “Miss Humphert, haven’t I told you that it’s not a good idea to surprise a policeman with a gun?”

  “But I don’t have a gun.”

  “No, but I do.”

  “You’re right, Cyrus. I should’ve crept up behind you and wrapped my arms around yours, so you couldn’t draw your gun.”

  “Miss Humphert, couldn’t you just slither back home?”

  “Oh, Cyrus, you’re so funny. What do you think about Twinkle Toes? I told her if she kept you from leaving before I got back that I would give her a doggie treat.”

  “Now that I’m on to your game, I must set out some rat poison. Maybe some bear traps, too.”

  “Oh, Cyrus. Must you talk so cruel in front of my baby? Remember how much she loves you? Remember the other night when you fell and she licked your nose?”

  “I remember, Miss Humphert. The doctor says I’ll have to have six more treatments before it heals. But enough of this chitchat. There are murderers running loose. I must leave now, so they’ll feel safe enough to commit hari-kari in this neighborhood.”

  +++

  As I drove to the Blue Moon, I filled Lou in on what I’d learned so far that morning, and asked him for his thoughts.

  “Well, Cy, the only thing that sounds logical is that either Longworth or Antoine committed the murders and then hired that plumber to make tracks to your house and more tracks out of town. That’s probably what Phelps was thinking about when he said he’d come into some money. Someone paid him to do a job and skip town. He’s the logical choice to do it. He has no ties to this town, and probably has no ties to anyone in it.”

  “For some reason I don’t believe that all this ties up that neatly. For instance, let’s take Longworth. Why would Longworth want to do away with all these actors if he plans to produce and direct plays at the inn? It doesn’t make sense. And why would he take a chance on being implicated? He seems to have everything his way right now. Now, let’s take that chef, Antoine. He might still hold a grudge because of his brother’s death, but where does he come up with the money to pay off this Phelps guy?”

  “Cy, top chefs make top dollar. Besides, if he’s the guy behind all of this, it gives him a chance to get even with the actors and with Longworth. Either by closing Longworth down or implicating him.”

  “But he could do all this by staying away. If he hadn’t shown up at the inn, it’s possible that he’d get away with it and we’d never know anything about him.”

  “But someone who would do something like this and leave you the type of note he left you would be the same kind of guy who’d want to be there when Longworth goes down.”

  “I think that Longworth has enough money to ride this out. Only the long shot of his being convicted of murder would take him down.”

  “Well, we can always check out Longworth’s bank account to make sure.”

  “We’ll do just that, Lou. But first I want to check out the food at the Blue Moon.”

  “Cy, you’re forgetting the message for the day.”

  “That I am, Lou. This case really has me so baffled I can’t think straight. So, what is it?”

  “They drive by night.”

  “That was a movie about truck drivers, starring George Raft. Does this have anything to do with trucks or movies?”

  “I don’t know, Cy. I’m merely the humble messenger.”

  “Well, come along, humble messenger. Let’s get something to eat.”

  +++

  Lou and I secured the necessary paperwork, then drove to the bank to find out how well healed Longworth was. As the two of us walked out of the bank, we realized our mistakes and wondered if it was too late to go college and major in theater. If it turned out that Longworth wasn’t guilty, I wanted to get on his good side in case I needed a loan. Or a gift.

  “Where to now, Cy?”

  “I don’t expect much, but since we’re running out of leads we are going to canvass the neighborhood where the murders took place to see if anyone saw someone on Wednesday afternoon or in the wee hours of Friday morning.”

  “How big of an area do you plan to cover?”

  “Just a few doors in each direction. It would take x-ray vision to see someone from a block away.”

  24

  Oppenheimer Arms is the second house from the corner of Wellesley Avenue and Linden Place. Wellesley ends at Linden and doesn’t intersect. The structure on the corner is also an apartment building. Oppenheimer Arms is the middle of three apartment buildings. Everything else appears to be single-family dwellings. Linden dead-ends just a few doors past Wellesley, in the direction that goes away from Oppenheimer Arms.

  We started our canvass of the neighborhood at the dead end and worked our way around the other side of the street, then crossed over and talked to the people adjacent to the building in question.

  For the most part, it is an elderly neighborhood, and we found most of the residents at home. We had completed our questioning at all of the single-dwelling homes with nothing to show for our efforts. All our hopes rested with the residents of those two apartment buildings adjacent to Oppenheimer Arms.

  Like the victims’ building, the building numbered 458 consisted of only one floor, but didn’t spread out nearly as much as the building where the actors lived. I opened the outside door, and stepped inside. Lou followed. We stopped at the mailboxes. Unlike the Oppenheimer building, the structure houses only four apartments. I looked at the mailboxes. No familiar names, and only last names were listed. I stepped to apartment number one and knocked. An elderly woman opened the door far enough that the security chain did its job. She waited until she was sure no one would reach through the slit and poke her in the eye, then put an eyeball to the opening.

  “What do you want?” she asked.

  I had my credentials ready and showed them to her.

  “How do I know they’re real?”

  “You can call police headquarters and they’ll verify it for you.”

  “You sure don’t look like a policeman.”

  “That’s why I catch more criminals than the others.”

  “Who’s th
e other fat guy? Your twin?”

  “You know, if I wanted to break in on you that flimsy chain wouldn’t stop me.”

  “So the police department has sunk to where they break in on respectable folks nowadays?”

  “Not yet. Listen, I just want to ask you a question. Did you see anyone at the apartment building next door last Wednesday afternoon or before daylight last Friday morning?”

  “What do you think I am? Nosy?”

  “No, we’re just looking for someone who sneaked into the neighborhood to prey on elderly women, and I wanted to save your life.”

  “I think I can take care of myself. Besides, if you’re really a policeman, you’d know that there are no elderly women in that apartment building next door. Just one old battleaxe, an old codger, and some guys who sit around and do nothing all day.”

  “So, you do spy on them?”

  With that, the old woman slammed the door. Nothing short of a rubber hose would get any information out of that old biddy. I walked away, hoping to do better at apartment two.

  I cringed as another elderly woman opened the door, again with a chain restraint.

  “May I help you gentlemen?”

  I showed my credentials, and this time, a satisfied woman opened the door and invited us in and to be seated.

  “I’ll be back in a minute,” she said, as she hastened out of the room.

  When one minute stretched to three, I wondered if she was making her getaway through the bedroom window. She reminded me of the two women in Arsenic And Old Lace. I was about to call out to her, when she whipped around the corner carrying a plateful of cookies.

  “You gentlemen have good timing. I just got them out of the oven.”

  Lou and I smiled as she sat them down on the table before us.

  “So, what would you gentlemen like to drink?”

  We told her we didn’t need anything to drink and asked her to sit. Before I could open my mouth, she started talking.

  “If you gentlemen haven’t been to the apartment next to mine yet, you might want to draw your guns before you knock.”

  Lou and I laughed, then told her we had been next door and had lived through the experience.

  “Lucky you. Now that you’ve met the creature who lives there, maybe you can answer a question for me. If I decided to shoot her between the eyes some day, would it be justifiable homicide?”

  “The sergeant and I might put in a good word for you, but I’m not sure the judge would go along, since more than likely he’s never met her.”

  I complimented her on how good her cookies tasted, then got down to business.

  “We’re looking for someone who might’ve been in the neighborhood either Wednesday afternoon or Friday morning before daylight. Whoever it was would have gone into the building next door. Did you by any chance see anyone either time?”

  “I’m sorry, Lieutenant, but I didn’t see or hear anyone.”

  We chatted until Lou and I had finished eating our cookies. We have a standard procedure when faced with a situation like that. We never eat just one. The person’s feelings might be hurt, because she might think we didn’t like what she made. But we always stop with two, because the woman will get a little antsy if we keep eating. She didn’t bake those cookies for us. She didn’t know we were coming. She was merely nice and willing to share some of what she baked.

  Lou and I rose, thanked her for the information and the cookies, and started for the door. As I was about to open it, our hostess interrupted me.

  “Lieutenant, normally I wouldn’t say anything about this, but since you are policemen, I will tell you. The woman across the hall in the front in apartment three is visiting her son for a month. She won’t be home, but the lady directly across from me should be there.”

  I thanked her and walked out. I didn’t think she was hiding a murderer in apartment three, so we skipped that apartment and walked on directly across the hall. Apartment four.

  I looked at the elderly woman who answered the door. Not only did she look like she was closing in on one hundred, but she looked like she might have been the inspiration for Granny, the grande dame of Tweetie and Sylvester cartoons. I could easily picture the old girl capable of whopping Sylvester on the noggin with her umbrella if he got in her birdcage.

  “How do you do, ma’am?”

  “I can still do pretty good, Sonny. How about you?”

  “I manage to do okay on my good days.”

  “You got a woman, Sonny?”

  “I’m a widower.”

  “What’s that got to do with it? I’m a widow, but it didn’t keep me from finding a man. How about you?” she asked as she gave up on me and turned her efforts toward Lou.

  Lou could tell I had lost control of the proceedings, and laughed as he answered.

  “Yes, ma’am. I’ve got a girl.”

  Satisfied, she turned her efforts back to me.

  “Have you tried eharmony?”

  “Excuse me?”

  “Eharmony.com. Have you tried it?”

  “Not only haven’t I tried it, I don’t know what it is.”

  “No wonder you ain’t got a woman. You’re still living in the dark ages. Eharmony. The website that matches you with someone who’s perfect for you. That’s where I met my Elmer. We’re supposed to meet next week. Probably get married before the month’s out. I’m too old to have kids, you know, but if Elmer wants to adopt, I’d consider it. There are a lot of things I can teach today’s kids.”

  “Do you mind telling me how old you are?”

  “It ain’t polite to ask a lady her age, but since you asked, I’ll tell you. I’ll be ninety-six next month. Elmer’s only eighty-three, but then I wanted a younger man. Men don’t live as long as women and they sure don’t live as long if they’re single. My momma lived to be a hundred and eleven. I figure I can outlast her by a couple of years. That’ll give me time to spend some time with Elmer, raise one set of kids, and give Elmer a proper burial before I go. By that time the kids will be raised, and I will have taught them the proper way to take care of their inheritance.”

  “I appreciate the lesson, Mrs….”

  “Pondexter. Hazel Pondexter.”

  “Mrs. Pondexter, but I’m here on police business. Do you mind if we come in?”

  Mrs. Pondexter slid the latch and opened the door for us. As soon as we stepped through the threshold and she closed the door, she started up again without missing a beat.

  “Police business. If you say so, but after you get through I’ll take you to my computer and you can be on your way to finding yourself a woman. If I were you, I wouldn’t want you to have to spend the rest of your life alone. Especially, since he’s already found somebody,” she said as she hooked her thumb at Lou. “No need in him having all the fun and you being left out. As you know, it gets kind of cold in the winter. An electric blanket is okay, but two under an electric blanket is more fun. Don’t you want someone to keep your fingers and toes warm? That’s your problem. Cold feet. Otherwise, you’d already have gone to eharmony. And I bet it’s hard to shoot someone if your hands are cold.”

  “Mrs. Pondexter, if you please. I’m interested in knowing if you saw anyone go in or come out of Oppenheimer Arms anytime during the day on Wednesday or before daylight on Friday morning. Anyone who doesn’t live there.”

  “So, we’ve got a burglar in the neighborhood. Well, he won’t be coming in my place if he knows what’s good for him. I’m a crack shot, and I keep an automatic and a shotgun in the house. Don’t worry. They’re registered.”

  “I’m glad you’re cautious, but tell me, have you seen any strangers in the neighborhood?”

  “Saw one once. Had red, white, and blue hair. Afro. White guy. Kind of jaundiced looking. Probably didn’t have a woman.”

  “Did you see him in the last few days?”

  “No, it was a more’n a year ago. He didn’t try to break in here though.”

  Realizing that I wasn’t going to get any inf
ormation out of her, I thanked her for her time and walked out of the building. I hoped the people in the building on the corner house were saner.

  It didn’t start out that way. I knocked on the first door on the right, and a man answered. Maybe this was Elmer, the man Mrs. Pondexter planned to marry. Somehow, I didn’t think so. He looked younger than eighty-three. As it turned out, this guy wasn’t interested in my love life. He was interested in my future. He approached me about a part-time business that would make me wealthy. Pills. I told him that policemen weren’t allowed to moonlight. He laughed and told us we could do it before dark. We made excuses and left him for the back apartment on the right. It was back to business as usual, only this woman was a few years younger than the others we had encountered. She didn’t look much older than the two of us. She looked down at our hands and saw no rings, and immediately asked us to a single’s dance. She seemed disappointed when we told her we were there on police business. When we found out that she had no information for us, we excused ourselves. We shook our heads before walking back to the front to knock on the door of apartment three. Another elderly woman answered our knock, took a look at my circumference, and told me about a weight loss drink that would make me a new person within three months. I told her I liked the old me, and after finding out she too was a bust, we bid her goodbye and turned to our last hope. Lou looked at me, and we both shook our heads.

  I knocked on the door at the rear apartment, the one that faced Oppenheimer Arms. When someone opened the door, I felt like I’d cornered the market on elderly women. I flashed my credentials, and the woman smiled and let us in. I figured we would soon be propositioned about something or other, but I was wrong. We introduced ourselves. So did she. Then, I got to the question that I could recite by heart.

  “Let’s see. Nothing unusual Wednesday during the day, but you say Thursday night or early Friday morning, too? Was that the night after the snowfall?”

  “That’s right,” I replied unenthusiastically, expecting to hear about how she’d fallen and almost broken all the bones in her body. But she surprised me.

  “Yeah, I remember that night. I woke up around 5:15, but had trouble going back to sleep. I thought about getting up, but I just lay there. My bedroom is right next to their driveway. Normally, there’s not much traffic over there at night, but that night there were two people who drove in close to the same time. The first one was one of those SUV things. You know what I mean.”