Calamity @ the Carwash (Parson's Cove Mysteries) (14 page)

“Yep, it was Bernie’s all right. And,
Biscuit’s.”

“Could they tell who was killed first?”

“Oh, they’re a smart bunch, Mabel. The
dog was killed first but not by much.” He took the package and pulled the
plastic tight so I could see the dark dried blood. “They can tell it’s a dog’s
blood and they can tell that Biscuit was probably killed about an hour before
Bernie.”

I stared at him. “Biscuit was killed
about an hour before Bernie?”

“That’s right.”

“So, there goes my theory out the
window.”

“What was your theory? You figured
someone was attacking Bernie and the dog interfered and ended up dead too and
then the murderer dumped the dog?”

I nodded. “That’s pretty much my theory.
That seemed to fit somehow. Now I have to get my head around the dog being hit
on the head before Bernie. Why? Who would murder a lazy sweet dog like Biscuit?
I don’t even think he barked, did he?”

“Not much. I hear Murray is devastated.
Erma was talking to Beth about him. Beth thought it would help if Erma joined
this book club thing so she invited her.” He shrugged and tipped his empty beer
bottle up. There must’ve been a couple of drops because he smacked his lips. I
could see him eyeing my half-empty bottle so I tipped it up and guzzled the
whole thing down. I’m learning that I should not do this because I’m sure I
swallow half a bottle of air with it. The wind that blew out from my mouth and
nose when I was finished almost knocked the empty bottle down.

Reg smiled with appreciation. “You sure
know how to drink beer, Mabel. Can’t get Beth to join me for some reason.
Course, she does like a nice glass of white wine once in awhile.” He drifted
off into a momentary dream world. I imagine thinking about Beth either daintily
sipping her white wine or letting out an earsplitting belch.

I stood up. “Well, I guess I’d better be
heading home, Reg.”

He looked down at my feet. “Might be a
good idea to put your sock and shoe back on.”

“Oops. Guess I’m not used to downing two
bottles of beer so fast.” I sat back down and pulled on my sock and shoe.

“You never told me what you found at
Prunella’s place, Mabel. Actually, you never even said if she was dead or
alive. I’m surmising that she must be alive, right?”

“Oh yeah, I guess I got distracted with
that brick.” I stayed sitting. “I hope Prunella will be okay. She looked like
she was dead to me but Fritzy got there in time.”

“She’s going to want to thank you for
saving her life, that’s for sure. You did a good thing, Mabel. So, what did you
find in her house? Something to link her to the murder?”

“I don’t know if it links her to the
murder but it links her to something. I found a pouch with a roll of money and
a small packet with some white powder in it.”

“Really? What was in the packet and how
much money are we talking about?”

“That I don’t know because the Captain
walked in and took everything.”

“I’d say the white powder was cocaine.
That means she’s buying and she needs cash. I wonder where Prunella would get
money to buy drugs.”

“Right and if it was legitimate money,
why wasn’t it in the bank?”

“This definitely implicates her in
something and it doesn’t look good, Mabel.”

“I guess that’s something we’ll have to
check out, Sheriff Smee.”

“Yes, I think we will, Deputy Wickles.”

My heart skipped a beat. “You mean I can
be a real deputy?”

“Nah, I was just joking.” Then, I guess
he saw how disappointed I looked because he said, “You can pretend though,
Mabel.”

I trudged off home, pretending to be
thrilled.

Chapter
Twenty One

It was almost ten when Flori called. She
was all excited about her book club.

“Oh Mabel, I wish you could’ve been
there. It was so much fun. And, guess who came? Erma! She seemed quite
preoccupied at first but about half way through she relaxed and really had a
ball.”

“That’s great. I’m glad for Erma, Flori.
Did she say anything about Murray? How he’s doing?”

It took a minute or two for my friend to
remember.

“No, I don’t think she said anything. Of
course, she was talking mostly with Delores so I couldn’t hear what she was
saying. It was so much fun, Mabel. You have to come next time. It isn’t the
same when you’re not there.”

“Flori, if you were having so much fun
without me, why would you need me there? I think it’s good for you to do things
on your own once in awhile.”

Perhaps I should have worded that a bit
differently. There was another moment of silence and then, a sob. I waited for
the first wave of hysteria to pass.

“Are you finished now, Flori? You know I
didn’t mean that I wanted to do things on my own, right? I meant that I thought
it was nice for you to be able to enjoy an evening with a group of people
without me being there. That’s all I was saying. I didn’t say that I didn’t
want to be with you.”

Another wave of hysteria rolled past.

“Flori, would you stop crying? I’m sorry
that I upset you. Could we talk about your evening now? Could we change the
subject? Please?”

There were several sniffles and a long
nose blow.

“Mabel, you didn’t upset me by what you
said. I was feeling so awful that you had to spend the evening all alone. You
must’ve been so bored and lonely. I can’t believe that I could be so selfish
and go off like that, having a good time while you’re stuck at home with all
those cats.”

“My cats aren’t all that bad. Don’t
forget you’re stuck at home with Jake every night.”

“Oh Mabel, you are so funny.” The
hysterical tears turned to hysterical laughter, which brought on more tears.

When calmness restored, I said, “Well, I
didn’t exactly stay at home all the time. I did drop over to visit someone.”

“You did?”

“Do I detect a bit of disappointment
there, Friend?”

“No, of course not, Mabel. My only
concern is what kind of trouble you got yourself into, that’s all.”

“Flori, you don’t have to always think
I’m going to get into trouble. Actually, I might even solve the murder case.”

There was a long sigh on the other end.

“See, Mabel. I told you, you can’t stay
out of trouble. That’s why I wish you would’ve been with me at the book club
meeting.”

“I said I might solve a murder. That
doesn’t mean I got into trouble.”

“What about going over to Prunella’s?”

“Well, I thought I should pop over to
see how she was doing. There’s nothing wrong with that. No one else seems to
care about her. Let’s face it, Flori, if I hadn’t gone over to check on her,
she might be dead right now.”

“I’m not saying it didn’t turn out for
the best, Mabel, but let’s really face it; you popped over to see if you could
find out anything more about Bernie’s murder. Admit it, Mabel.”

“I think I know what I was doing there
and how I saved her life, Flori.”

“Okay, but I know you and I know when
you’re up to something.”

“Whatever, Flori. I don’t know why you
seem to know more about me than I do.”

“You’re an easy person to read, that’s all.”

“By the way, I want you to promise that
if you or Jake or whomever you send over to my house to check on me, finds me
unconscious, please do not let Herman Wheeler practice CPR on me. Will you
promise me that, Flori?”

Flori was silent.

“Flori,” I said, “I’m not asking for the
world. It’s just that I don’t want Herman Wheeler touching me.”

“Oh Mabel, how can I ever leave you to
yourself again? One day on your own and you find another dead beaten up body.
Murder follows you like sunshine follows the rain. What’s going to happen now?
It’s such a tragedy.” She started sniffling.

“No, Flori, before you start to cry –
Prunella is not dead. At least, I don’t think she is. Maybe I should call the
hospital to see how she’s doing. In fact, I’ll do that right now and get back
to you.”

Before Flori could discourage me, I said
good-bye and hung up.

I waited on ‘hold’ for several minutes
and listened to Elvis before May asked if she could help me. May West, along
with Nurse Grappley, are two hospital icons. Grappley is as intimidating as May
is approachable. Everyone was certain that when computers came in, Ms. West
would retire, but much to everyone’s amazement and delight, the
eighty-something widow took up the challenge and kept  her job. On the other
hand, everyone was praying Nurse Grappley would retire and give up but it seems
she’s sticking it out too.

“May, can you tell me how Prunella is
doing?”

“Oh Mabel, I heard you found her in her
little house. What a horrible experience for you to endure. How are you, sweetheart?”

“I’m fine. I’m really concerned about
Prunella though. Is she conscious? Did they find out who did this to her?”

“I hear she’s doing quite well now.
She’s lucky you came along when you did, Mabel. Such a terrible thing, isn’t
it? A person never knows how they’ll handle stress until it happens to them.
And, living alone like that. I’m so happy that my daughter lives close by. Who
knows, I might be tempted to take drugs once in awhile too if I got too
lonely.”

“Drugs? They knew Prunella took drugs?”

“Oops, maybe I wasn’t supposed to say
anything but since you’re the one who found her, I think you should know.” She
lowered her voice. “Yes, I heard she took some kind of drug and was so dizzy
from it, she fell and hit her head. She was also drinking quite a bit lately so
it could’ve been a deadly mixture. Such a sad story.”

“Really? She wasn’t attacked by anyone?”

“Oh no, she definitely denies that.”

“She’s conscious then?”

“Yes, she’s awake but I’m sure she has a
terrible headache.”

“Did she say what she hit her head on?”

“I don’t know but I overheard someone
say that the police didn’t find a trace of blood in her house except on her and
the bed, of course.”

“No, I didn’t either. What did she hit
her head on? I doubt she’d start to bleed after she got into bed. Wouldn’t it
spurt all over the place right away? You’re sure she didn’t say there was an
intruder?”

“I’m sure. She insists that she fell and
hit her head on something. I doubt she even remembers what it was now.”

“Maybe she doesn’t remember what really
happened to her then either. I’d bet my store that someone hit her, May.”

“I think you’re right. If I hear
anything different, do you want me to let you know?”

“That would be great. I can always pass
the information on to Reg too. By the way, he and I are working this case
together so we’d appreciate anything you have to offer. If I’m not home, call
me at work, okay, May?”

“That’s wonderful to hear that you and
Sheriff Smee are working together. All I ever see around here are those police
officers from the city. What’s happened to Jim and Scully? I haven’t seen them
in ages.”

“Well, Reg was at home feeling sorry for
himself and I think he sent the boys off to do traffic duty. We’ll probably see
a spike in parking tickets in the next few days. And, let’s hope that it is
only ‘days’ and not any longer.”

I could hear noise in the background and
May said, “Gotta go, Mabel. I’ll talk to you later.”

I hung the phone up and it rang ten
minutes later.

“Mabel,” Flori yelled in my ear before I
had time to say a greeting. “What’s this about you and Reg working together?
You did not tell me about that.”

“When did you hear this?”

“You know better than to keep a secret
from me.”

“Flori, I meant to tell you about Reg
and me but we got so preoccupied with Prunella, I forgot. It’s no big deal
anyway. You know we like solving crimes together.”

“First of all, it is a big deal. You
were spending time with Reg while his wife was at our book club - which you
knew, Mabel. It doesn’t look good to see a single woman going to visit a man
whose wife is not at home. You never think about things like that before you do
them. What will all the neighbors say? Have you thought of that?”

“Flori, you have to stop bawling me out
for everything. I did stop in to visit Reg and we sat outside in his lawn
chairs discussing the case. Is Beth concerned?”

There was a sniffle. “Of course, Beth
isn’t concerned. I just worry about you and your reputation, that’s all.”

“Well, if Beth isn’t worried, then don’t
you be. Who told you I’d been over to Reg’s anyway?”

“I don’t think you want to know.”

Whenever Flori says that, I know who it
is.

“How did Esther find out? Does that
woman trail me all over the place?”