5 A Bad Egg (6 page)

“Well, you
might want to try curbing that a little,” I said. “Somebody might hear you.”

“Got it.
Should we head back to the diner, or do you want to try tracking Jackson down
somewhere else?”

“Let’s head
over to Opal’s place. I’m dying to know if Ellen’s there.”

“Victoria,
you haven’t changed your mind about her, have you? Do you honestly think that
she’s capable of murder?” my grandfather asked. “I’ve known that woman since
she was a little girl, and there’s no way that she’s a killer.”

“
I
know that. I was thinking more about
Opal and Robert.”

My
grandfather shook his head. “Sorry, but I just don’t see it. Neither one of
Ellen’s parents strike me as a murderer.”

“Even if it
meant protecting their grandchildren from harm?” I asked. “I don’t see how we
can count Opal or Robert out until we get solid alibis for them.”

“This is
going to be uncomfortable,” Moose said as he took off toward Ellen’s mother’s
house.

“You’re not
afraid of them, are you?” I asked with the hint of a smile.

“Well, not
usually, but you make a good point about what a grandparent might do to protect
their fold.”

“Don’t worry,”
I said as I patted his arm. “I’ll be there to protect you.”

“Who’s going
to look out for you?” Moose asked with a smile.

“I kind of
thought we’d look out for each other,” I said.

“You know
it,” my grandfather said.

As he drove
toward Opal’s house, I looked out the truck window, wondering where my morning
server had gotten herself off to. Where would I run if I had two kids I needed
to protect?

“Moose, you
didn’t loan Ellen your fishing cabin, did you?” I asked.

He looked
startled by the question. “No, of course not.”

“But you
would have done it if she’d asked you, wouldn’t you?”

To my
grandfather’s credit, he didn’t even hesitate when he answered me. “Of course I
would have.”

“There’s no
chance she knows where you hide the spare key, is there?”

Moose
shrugged. “Well, I don’t exactly make a secret of it.”

“Is it
possible that she took her children there?” I asked. “She’s been to your cabin
before, hasn’t she?”

My
grandfather nodded. “Remember? I loaned it to her last year for a few nights of
R&R. She needed to get away.”

“Then she
might be there now,” I said.

“Let’s go
see,” Moose said.

As he pulled
into the park to turn around, I said suddenly, “Forget it. We don’t need to go
after all.”

“Why not?
It’s a solid theory, Victoria.”

“Maybe so,
but Ellen’s over by the swing set with her kids, and Opal’s with them, too.”

Moose parked
the truck, and we hurried over to them.

Ellen looked
a little worried by our sudden appearance. “What’s going on?”

“Have you
talked to anyone this afternoon or evening?” I asked her.

“No, we’ve
been here since school let out.”

“We had a
picnic,” Ellen’s youngest said proudly.

“What fun,” I
said. “Opal, would you mind taking the kids for a few minutes? We need to speak
with Ellen.”

“Of course,”
she said as she put her knitting away. “Has something happened?”

“Later, Mom,”
Ellen told her.

“Hey, kids,
we have a little duck food in the hamper. Would you like to go over to the
water and feed them again?”

That
suggestion was a big hit, and as the three of them hurried over to the bend in
the creek where the ducks were swimming, Ellen asked, “What happened?”

“Somebody
killed Gordon this afternoon,” Moose said.

Ellen stared
at him as though he were kidding, but when she saw both our faces, she crumpled
a little, and Moose stepped in to steady her.

“Let’s go sit
at that bench over there,” Moose said, and we followed him there.

“You look
shook up by the news,” I told Ellen.

“It’s a
shock, to hear it,” she said. “I haven’t loved him for a long time, but that
doesn’t mean that he wasn’t once an important part of my life. He’s the father
of my children, for goodness sake. What happened? Did they catch the killer?”

“As a matter
of fact, the sheriff is out looking for you,” Moose said softly.

“I didn’t do
it,” Ellen said. “I was with my kids.”

“The whole
afternoon? You left work early, so they weren’t out of school yet when you left
the diner.”

“No, not the
entire time. I wandered around on my own, spent a little time with Wayne, and
then I took the kids to dad’s place after school so I could clear my head a
little. It didn’t work, so I swung by and picked them up, and then we all
dropped in on Mom. That’s when we decided that we should have a picnic for
dinner. We’ve been here a few hours, but I don’t have an alibi for the complete
day. What time was he killed?”

“We don’t
know yet,” I said, “but that doesn’t mean that the police don’t have a time of
death narrowed down. You might be fine.”

“We both know
that I don’t have that kind of luck,” Ellen said. “If something happened to
Gordon, I’m willing to bet that I won’t have an alibi for his time of death.
What happened to him, anyway? Was it gruesome?”

“It was
probably bad enough,” Moose said. “Someone hit him in the back of the head with
a steel pipe. If it’s any consolation, I’ve got a hunch that he never even saw
it coming.”

“Who would
hit him from behind?” she asked. “That sounds so cowardly.”

“It might
have been the only way they could catch him by surprise,” Moose said.

“I can’t
believe that he’s dead,” Ellen said as she slumped a little forward.

“That means
the custody battle is over,” I said gently.

“I suppose it
does at that, but it also gives me a pretty good motive to want to see him
dead, too, doesn’t it?”

“You’re
clearly not the only one in Jasper Fork to wish the man ill,” Moose said.

“That’s true
enough. Oh, no. I have to talk to Wayne.”

She started
to stand, but I put a hand on her shoulder. “We’ve already spoken. He knows all
about it, and he’s worried about you, Ellen.”

“He didn’t do
it, did he? That poor sweet fool probably thought he was protecting me,” she
said as she grabbed my hand.

I looked into
her eyes as I asked, “Ellen, you don’t have any reason to believe that Wayne
killed him, do you?”

“No. Of
course not. That’s ridiculous.” It was pretty clear that she didn’t find it
that hard to believe, no matter what she said to the contrary. “I need to see
him.”

“All in good
time,” Moose said. “The first thing you need to do is talk to Sheriff Croft.
He’s focusing all of his resources and energy on you, since it looks as though
you ran away.”

“I didn’t run
anywhere,” Ellen snapped. “I took a picnic in the park with my kids and my
mother. No one can claim I was trying to run away from anything.”

“Take it
easy. I’m sure the sheriff will keep an open mind once you tell him what
happened.”

“I don’t know
if he will. The last time I saw Gordon was at the diner this morning. He was
fine when he walked out that door, but how can I prove that I didn’t kill him?”

“We’ll figure
this out. Don’t worry,” I said as I patted her shoulder.

“You two
are
going to find the killer, aren’t
you?” she asked my grandfather and me.

“We’re going
to do our best,” I said as I watched her kids feeding the ducks, oblivious to
the fact that their father was dead. I would hate to be the one who told them
that Gordon had been murdered, but I didn’t think the burden should fall on
Ellen, either. “Do you want me to tell them about their dad?”

She shook her
head. “No, my family and I will handle it, but not here. I don’t want them to
associate the news about their father with this park. It’s their favorite place
in the world, and I won’t take that from them. Do you understand, Victoria?”

“I get it,” I
said. “They need to know as soon as possible, though, before they hear it from
someone else.”

“At least let
us get back to my mother’s place. They’ll feel safe there.”

“You can
probably delay that, but you can’t put off that call to the sheriff,” I said.

“I won’t,”
she answered. “Mom’s place is two blocks away. Surely it can wait until then.”

“Okay. Why
don’t you all hop into the back of Moose’s truck, and we can drive over there
together?”

“No offense,
but I don’t feel as though it’s all that safe for them riding in back,” Ellen
said.

“Then they
can ride up front with me,” Moose said, “if you don’t mind sitting in back with
Victoria and your mother.”

“Thanks for
the offer, but we’ll walk. It’s not far, and it’s how we got here in the first
place.”

I thought
about what it might mean if the sheriff saw all of us heading over there
together before anyone decided to call him. “That sounds like a good plan. As a
matter of fact, we’ll walk with you,” I said.

“We will?”
Moose asked.

“I will, at
any rate. You can meet us there, if you’d like.”

“No, I can
come back later for my truck,” my grandfather said.

“Then it’s
settled,” I said as I put my arm around Ellen. “Let’s get your gang and head
back.”

We approached
Opal and the kids, and Ellen said, “There are homemade cookies Grandma made for
you back at her house. Who wants a cookie?”

There were
delighted yelps, and we headed down the sidewalk toward Opal’s. Ellen tugged
her mother’s sleeve and pulled her back a little, so Moose and I took
responsibility for the kids as we walked together. Opal stopped for a second,
and then caught herself when Ellen must have told her the news.

“Are you okay?”
I heard Opal ask her daughter, and Ellen nodded solemnly.

“That’s all
that matters, then,” Opal said.

We were
nearly to Opal’s house when I saw a squad car parked in front as we walked
around the corner. I’d been afraid of that, so I already had a plan.

“Ellen, call
the sheriff right now.”

“We’re almost
there,” she protested as she looked at her kids. “Surely it can wait two
minutes.”

“I don’t
think so,” I said as I pointed to the police car.

“Kids, hang
on one second. Mom, take their hands.”

“What’s going
on?” Ellen’s oldest asked.

“I have to
make a quick telephone call,” Ellen explained.

“Sheriff, I
understand you’re looking for me,” she said once she got him on the phone.

“Where are
you?” I could hear the sheriff’s harsh question through the telephone.

“I’m at my
mother’s place, or at least I will be in two minutes.”

“Where have
you been all afternoon?” he asked as we all watched him get out of his squad
car.

“We had a
picnic,” she said as she hung up the phone.

The sheriff
gave me an icy look the second he saw me, and then it softened into a smile
when he looked at Ellen’s kids. “Why don’t you all go inside? I need to talk to
your mother.”

“What
happened?” one of Ellen’s kids asked the sheriff.

“Come
inside,” Opal said. “There are cookies waiting for you, remember?”

“Cookies,”
they both shouted, and soon enough, the sheriff was forgotten.

“We need to
talk,” the sheriff told Ellen.

“Not without
Rebecca,” I said.

“You already
have a lawyer?” Sheriff Croft asked her critically.

“She didn’t
before, but she does now,” I said.

“I don’t mind
talking to him alone, Victoria,” Ellen said.

“See? She’s
trying to cooperate,” Sheriff Croft said. “Don’t make this more difficult than
it has to be.”

“No offense,
Sheriff, but it will be as hard as it needs to be.”

I called
Rebecca, who agreed to come right over.

After I hung
up, I said, “She’ll be here in five minutes.”

“Then, you
can tell her to meet us in my office,” Sheriff Croft said.

“Are you
arresting me?” Ellen asked incredulously.

“Not just
yet. We’re going to my office to make things a little easier to control,” the
sheriff said.

“Should I go
with him?” Ellen asked me.

“You don’t
have any choice,” the sheriff said bluntly. “That wasn’t a request, Ellen; it
was an order.”

“We’ll send
Rebecca to you,” I said. “Don’t worry, and don’t say a thing until she gets
there.”

Ellen nodded,
but it was clear that she was scared. I didn’t blame her. I’d been the central
suspect in a murder investigation before, and I hadn’t liked it one bit either.
“Rebecca will be there soon.”

“Tell Mom to
watch the kids,” Ellen said as the sheriff put her in his squad car. At least
she got to ride up front with him, and not in the back.

“Change of
plans,” I told Rebecca. “The chief’s taking Ellen to his office.”

My best
friend chuckled a little. “So, that’s the way he wants to play it. You know,
I’ve been itching for a good fight, and it sounds as though this one’s all
mine.”

“She didn’t
do it,” I told Rebecca.

“Don’t worry.
I’m on board.”

After I hung up,
I looked at Moose. “Did I do wrong advising her to shut up?”

“It was good
advice, no matter how the sheriff reacted to it. Do you want to talk to Opal,
or should I?” It was pretty clear that my grandfather had no desire to have
that particular conversation, so I decided to let him off the hook.

“Tell you
what. Why don’t you go get the truck, and by the time you get back, I’ll be
finished talking to her.”

He didn’t
even hesitate when he heard my suggestion. “Done.” He nearly sprinted back down
the sidewalk toward the park. I turned, took a deep breath, and headed inside
to talk to Opal.

At least the
kids were occupied. Opal had parked them in front of the television, and there
was a plate of cookies between them.