5 A Bad Egg (3 page)

“What was that
all about?” my husband, Greg, asked me as I stepped back in the kitchen for a
second.

“What do you
mean?”

“First Sam
comes blasting in here, and then you have a powwow with Mitchell Cobb. Does he
have a problem with Gordon, too?”

“How could
you possibly know that from where you were standing, Greg? Mitchell never even
raised his voice.”

“He didn’t
have to. For a second there, he had an expression on his face that was pure
hatred.”

“I didn’t see
it,” I admitted. “Are you sure you read him right?”

“Hey, I’m
just a guy working the grill. You’re the one with the massive detective
skills,” he said as he winked at me.

“You have
more value than your work with a spatula around here, and you know it,” I
answered. I would have said more, but just then, Polly Ward approached the
register with her check. “Duty calls.”

“You know
where I am if you need me,” Greg said.

“It’s what
makes me keep smiling throughout the day,” I replied.

Things were
mostly quiet for the rest of day, and I thought that we might just weather this
particular storm, but two minutes before closing, Sheriff Croft came in with a
serious expression on his face.

“Where’s
Ellen?” he asked without even saying hello to me or anyone else.

“She normally
leaves the diner at two every afternoon, but I let her off early today. You
know as well as I do that there’s a lot going on right now, and she needed some
time to cope with it all. Why are you looking for her?”

The sheriff
frowned as he looked straight at me and said, “I don’t know how to tell you
this, but she’s one of my lead suspects. Somebody just killed Gordon Murphy.”

Chapter 3

“What? How
did it happen?” I asked as leaned back against the counter.

“It appears
that somebody clubbed him in the back of the head with a pipe in the alley
between the hardware store and the knitting shop,” the sheriff said. “We
haven’t found the murder weapon yet, but there’s no doubt that was what was
used to kill him. I’d tell you to keep that part to yourself, but I’ve got a
hunch that it’s going to get out fast enough without your help. I went to
Ellen’s place, but she and her kids were gone.”

I couldn’t
believe she’d just take off like that. “Did you check at her mother’s place?”

“I called
Opal, but no one answered,” the sheriff said. Ellen’s folks had separated years
ago, but they’d never gone through with their divorce. They were perfectly
amicable, aside from the fact that they lived in different houses across the
street from each other. It turned out that they enjoyed being together; they
just had no taste for living under the same roof. It was an odd solution to
their problem, but folks around town had mostly gotten used to it.

“Did you try
Robert?”

“No one
picked up there, either.”

“I’m sure
there’s a perfectly innocent explanation for it,” I said.

The sheriff
shook his head. “I hope you’re right, but I kind of doubt it. If Ellen were to
run, where would she go? Victoria, you’re not betraying any trusts here. I need
to find her.”

“I wish I
could help. If she’s not at Opal’s or Robert’s, I don’t have a clue, and that’s
the truth.”

“I’ll drive
over to Opal’s right now,” the sheriff said as he started for the door.
“Victoria, if you talk to her before I do, tell her she needs to find me, and
pronto.”

“She didn’t
kill him, Sheriff,” I said, but he didn’t respond one way or the other as he
hurried out the front door of the diner.

Greg whistled
softly behind me. “That’s bad, isn’t it?”

“It couldn’t
be much worse,” I admitted as I reached for my telephone.

“Who are you
calling?” Greg asked.

“I need to get
ahold of Moose. We have to find out who killed Gordon Murphy.”

As I dialed
the number, I saw that Greg was studying me with a pained expression. “What is
it?” I asked as Moose answered.

“How should I
know?” my grandfather asked. “You’re the one who called me.”

“Get over to
the diner,” I ordered my grandfather. “Somebody killed Gordon Murphy, and the
police don’t have a clue as to where Ellen might be.”

“I’m on my
way,” Moose said as he ended the call.

After I hung
up, I turned back to Greg. “What’s up?”

“I’m worried,
that’s all,” Greg said.

“There’s more
to it than that, and we both know it.”

“Victoria,
there’s something that you’ve got to consider. What are you going to do if
Ellen
did
kill the man?” he asked
softly. “Can you turn over the evidence to the police and let them arrest her?
Maybe you and your grandfather should just sit this one out.”

“Do
you
think that she’s guilty?” I asked
Greg calmly.

“Of course
not, but you told me yourself how angry she was earlier. She threatened him in
broad daylight, Victoria. Even you have to admit that it’s possible that Ellen
might have killed her ex-husband, not that anyone could blame her if she had.”

“I don’t
believe for one second that she did it,” I said.

“But what if
you’re wrong?” my husband asked me.

“Then we’ll
put the diner up as collateral if we have to and get her the best attorney we
can find. Are you okay with that?”

“It’s fine by
me,” Greg said. “I just don’t want to see you get hurt.”

I patted his
cheek. “I know you don’t.”

“Just to set
the record straight, I really don’t think Ellen did it,” he added softly.

“I know that,
too. You’re just looking out for me.”

“It can be a
full-time job sometimes,” he said with a wry grin.

“I can only
imagine,” I said, matching his smile with one of my own. “She didn’t do it,
Greg. I know it with all of my heart.”

“I hope
you’re right. There’s just one thing, though.”

“What’s
that?” I asked him.

“It would
have been a whole lot better if she hadn’t run.”

I nodded
slightly. “I have to agree with you there.”

Chapter 4

“I got here
as fast as I could,” Moose said as he rushed into the diner a few minutes
later.

I glanced at
my watch. “I can’t believe you didn’t get a speeding ticket racing over here,”
I answered.

“Me, either,”
he said with a sheepish grin. “The cops must all be out looking for Ellen. Any
idea where she might have gone?”

“If she’s not
at Opal’s, I don’t have a single idea,” I said.

“That’s where
we can start, then,” he said as he looked back at the door. “Where is that
confounded woman, anyway?”

“That’s what
we’re all trying to figure out,” I said.

“Not her. I’m
talking about Martha. She was right behind me.”

My
grandmother walked into the diner at a much more sedate pace. “Moose, one of
these days you’re going to kill us both. You know that, don’t you?”

“I don’t
drive
that
fast,” Moose protested.

“It’s not
just the speed, it’s the maneuvering you do, too.”

“Woman, I
haven’t had a wreck in forty years, and you know it.”

Martha raised
one eyebrow. “That might be true, but what we don’t know is how many accidents
you may have caused yourself because of your driving habits.” She turned to me
and smiled. “Hello, Victoria. I understand you could use a hand.”

“That would
be great,” I said. “I appreciate you coming in on such short notice.”

“Nonsense,
it’s always my pleasure. I enjoy working with your husband. He’s got a deft
touch with the grill, doesn’t he?”

“I like to
think so,” I said.

“Enough with
the pleasantries,” Moose snapped. “Let’s go, Victoria.”

“Lead the
way,” I answered, and I followed Moose out of the diner. As we got into his
truck, I asked, “Do you have any ideas where
else
we might look? The sheriff is on his way to Opal’s place.” I
glanced at my watch. “In fact, he’s probably already there.”

“Maybe we
shouldn’t be focused on finding Ellen first, then,” Moose said as he started
the truck.

“Why wouldn’t
we? Isn’t that our top priority?”

My
grandfather shook his head. “Finding out who killed Gordon Murphy should be our
only aim, don’t you think? Let the police track Ellen down. They have the resources,
and besides, while they’re searching for her, we can start working on our
investigation.”

“I don’t
know,” I said, the hesitation clear in my voice.

Moose turned
the truck engine off. “Then we won’t do anything until we can both agree on a
game plan.”

“Well, we
can’t just sit here,” I said.

“Tell me
where to drive, and I’ll be happy to comply.”

I thought
about it, and after a few moments of thought, I realized that Moose was right. If
we spent our time looking for Ellen, we wouldn’t be doing anything to advance
our investigation. Besides, even if we did manage to find her, all we could do
was turn her over to the sheriff, and was that something I really wanted to do?

“Okay, you’re
right. Ellen’s on her own at the moment. How should we start looking into
Gordon Murphy’s murder?”

“I’d say we
should talk to the fiancée first, don’t you?”

“What makes
you think we can find her, let alone convince her to talk to us about Gordon?”
I asked my grandfather.

“She has to
be somewhere nearby, since they’ve been staying in town. Where would you think
she and Gordon would stay, since they evidently have plenty of money?”

“It has to be
The Harbor Inn, doesn’t it?”

“I would
think so,” Moose said as he started his truck again and drove toward the edge
of town where the nicest place anywhere near Jasper Fork was located. The
Harbor was the main location in our area where folks held weddings, showers,
and all kinds of joyous festivities. Greg and I had only eaten at the
restaurant on three occasions in the past, and I didn’t see number four
happening anytime soon. We’d had to nearly mortgage the house to afford dining
there the last time, and staying as a guest of the inn was out of the question.

“Even if she’s
there, how are we going to get in to see her?” I asked.

“Don’t worry
about that. I know someone on the inside at The Harbor. If she’s there, we’ll
figure the rest of it out.”

“I wish
I
had your faith in us,” I said with the
hint of a smile.

“You know what
they say, fake it ’til you make it. The place is really snazzy, isn’t it?”
Moose asked as the hotel/restaurant complex came into view. I was amazed that
such an elegant place was right in our backyard, but someone clearly had money
when they’d built it.

“It’s pretty
cool. Who’s your contact there?” I asked.

“Never you
mind. I’m going to drop you off at the lobby. Wait for me there.”

I looked at
my clothes, and I was painfully aware of the common nature of my blue jeans and
T-shirt. “Looking like this?”

“What’s wrong
with the way you look?” Moose asked.

“Nothing, if
I’m going to be cleaning the rooms.”

“Oh, you’re
dressed much too casually for that,” my grandfather replied.

“Then how am
I going to get away with lounging around in the lobby?”

“Maybe you’ve
got a point,” Moose said. “Fine, you can come with me, but I’d appreciate it if
you’d let me do the talking.”

“What kind of
contact do you have here?” I asked. My grandfather’s sphere of influence in our
area was much broader than mine, and I couldn’t help but wonder if we were
going to call on the head honcho. “Who are we talking to, the hotel’s general
manager?”

“Why on earth
would we want to talk to him? He’s a stuffed shirt who rarely leaves his
office, from everything I’ve heard about the man. No, we’re going to the person
with the real power, the only one who knows everything that goes on behind the
scenes.”

We pulled up
around the back to the service entrance, and Moose parked the truck off to one
side. “Remember, let me handle this.”

“With
pleasure,” I said.

There was a
skinny young man in a bellman’s uniform lounging in back flirting with one of
the maids, and it surprised me when Moose walked directly up to him.

“Cal, do you
have a second?” Moose asked him cordially.

“Sure thing,
Captain,” Cal said as he lingered long enough to say good-bye to the
housekeeper. “What can I do for you?”

“I’m looking
for a woman named Jessie.”

Before Moose
could say another word, the man nodded. “She’s in the Hickory Suite, checked in
with one Gordon Murphy. The lady prefers bubble baths, cashews, and romance
novels. The man’s not much of a reader, but he spends a great deal of time on
his cellphone. What else do you need?”

I was a
little surprised by the bellman’s instant recitation. “Pardon me, but how could
you possibly know all of that?”

Cal looked at
me a few moments, and then he studied Moose. “I’m assuming that she’s with you,
is that right?”

“Cal, this is
my granddaughter, Victoria,” Moose said.

Cal nodded.
“Pleased to meet you. Ma’am, I make it a point to know about
all
of the guests who stay with us here
at The Harbor Inn.”

“It sounds a
bit invasive to me,” I said, not meaning to sound so judgmental.

If Cal took
offense, he didn’t show it. “Okay, think about it this way. One of my jobs here
is to see to our guests’ every need, at least the ones we’re allowed to provide
for them,” he added with a smile. “Take Ms. Blackstone’s nut preference. I keep
the closest pantry to her room well stocked in case she runs out of something
in the middle of the night.”