Calamity @ the Carwash (Parson's Cove Mysteries) (24 page)

I waited. If Jake said she’d call when
she dried up, she obviously hadn’t waited long enough.

She was still sniffling but I took a
chance and asked, “How did you find this out?”

“MJ phoned before they left. She was so
upset. Everyone thought that Erma and I were coming. Mabel, I feel so helpless.
What if something terrible happens to those old folks? I would never forgive
myself.”

“Flori, you don’t have to forgive
yourself for anything. You tried your best. What about Mr. Kinney? What’s he
thinking? Who is this woman anyway?”

“MJ said she came in and met everyone
while they were having breakfast. She couldn’t remember her name.”

“What was she like? Was MJ afraid of
her?”

“That’s what hurts the most, Mabel. She
said that she was a lovely person. Of course, all the men are happy because
she’s much prettier than Erma or me. And, a lot younger. Apparently, she has
some degree. Something in the medical field. I guess Sam Kinney figures if
something happens to any of those sweet old people that she’ll be more help
than us.”

“How does Erma feel about it?”

“Calvin called her last night to tell
her she wasn’t needed anymore.” A few more seconds of crying. “It was something
that Erma was so looking forward to because life is getting hard with Murray.
She needs a break.”

“Murray’s no better?”

“Worse. Erma thinks he’s having a
breakdown but he won’t go to the doctor. She’s at her wits end. Why don’t you
go to see her, Mabel? She could use some cheering up.”

“Won’t she be going to the book club
tonight?”

“I hope so but she can’t really pour out
her heart to a room full of people. No, I think you should pay her a visit. Why
don’t you do that this afternoon? You don’t have anything to do on Mondays
anyway.”

“Well, I could argue that point with you
but I won’t. Okay, I’ll pop over when I’ve finished cleaning out the fridge and
the freezer and washing the kitchen walls and repainting the bathroom. Oh, and
did I mention swilling the hogs?”

Flori was laughing when I hung up and I
hoped that would keep her going for the rest of the day. It was a dirty trick
to play on those two women. If that had happened to me, I would be singing with
relief but then, they weren’t me.

It was slightly drizzling when I walked
over to Erma’s house. I saw Sammy lurching in the bushes, following me. It
seemed that he was enjoying our newfound connection. Funny how Sammy got his
name. I changed Phil’s name to Phyl because ‘he’ turned out to be a ‘her;’ but
Sammy, I named Samantha because Mutt swore it was a girl but ‘she’ turned out
to be a ‘he.’ Most of the time, out of frustration I call any or all of them,
‘Cat.’

Instead of taking the sidewalk to Irma’s,
I decided to walk along the beach. In Parson's Cove, we use the word ‘beach’
quite loosely. Along this side of the lake, it’s about four feet wide with hard
sand, dirt and gravel. It you drive three miles along the east shore you come
to a beautiful long sandy beach with cottages and a privately owned campground.
The drive is very picturesque as you travel along a narrow gravel road
surrounded by forty-foot poplar, willow and cottonwood trees. If it weren’t for
this area, Parson's Cove wouldn’t even be on a map.

The drizzle stopped and the wind came
up. It was from the north and penetrated right through my shirt, sweater, and
windbreaker. Everyone says that jeans are good for breaking the wind but I find
that they’re hot on hot days and cold on cold. They were definitely not keeping
me warm at all. By the time I reached the carwash, I was shivering. Even when
there was no sign of a crime anymore, it was still creepy. I stood for a few
moments to envision Bernie stretched out in the lake with the blood stained
water gently lapping against his lifeless body. I looked up at the back of the
carwash. Someone had left the back door open again. Flori told me that no one
was bringing cars here anymore and it would probably shut down. Personally, I
never saw the need for one anyway. For goodness’ sake, we live by a lake; drive
up to it, fill a pail with water and throw it over your car.

Without thinking, I walked up to the
building and looked in the back door. Someone had closed the front doors that
faced Main Street so it was dark inside. This was the door where Melanie
would’ve stood when she was looking for Bernie. I turned and looked toward the
lake. How many feet was it to the water? Thirty? Maybe forty, at the most? Had
Bernie called out? If the air conditioner was on and the motor running, she
would never have heard him. Is that what she’d planned? Was she playing a mind
game with us?

In three minutes, I was walking up Erma
and Murray’s back yard. The tall grass made my shoes, socks and pant cuffs wet.
This was a bad sign. Everyone knows Murray’s plants are healthy and that he
keeps his lawn looking manicured. I glanced over at their vegetable garden; it
was hard to tell where the weeds ended and the tomato plants began.

Erma saw me through the kitchen window
so met me at the patio doors.

“Come in, Mabel,” she whispered. She
walked into the kitchen and I followed.

“Why are we whispering?” I asked.

She motioned for me to sit down on one
of her kitchen chairs. I watched as she tiptoed down the hallway and closed a
door that I assumed was to a bedroom. She returned and collapsed in the chair
across from me.

“Would you like a cup of coffee? It’s
only been sitting for about an hour.”

“Just how I like it.”

That wasn’t true but I thought it would
be easier to talk with a cup of something in my hand. She took down two mugs,
filled them to the brim and brought them to the table.

“This is fine like this,” I said.
Somehow, I couldn’t watch her clomp around the room anymore. I would chew the
coffee if I had to.

 She seemed grateful to sit down too.

“I don’t know how much more I can take
of this, Mabel,” she said. “Murray’s literally driving me crazy. He won’t eat,
won’t sleep, and won’t talk to me about anything. This is the first time he’s
slept in days and that’s because I got some pills from Dr. Fritz. He told me to
crush them and put them in his drinks. I put three in his last cup of tea. I
hope I won’t kill him.”

“You mean it’s still about Bernie? Or,
is it his old dog?”

She shook her head. “I don’t know. Doc
Fritz thinks he was heading for some sort of meltdown and this aggravated it.
You know, kind of like the straw that broke the camel’s back. He says to be
patient and he’ll be okay in time.” She looked up at me. There were tears in
her eyes. “My patience is running out, Mabel. I’m afraid that one of these
days, I might pick up a brick. Know what I mean?”

“Erma, there’s no way you would ever do
that. By the way, are you going to the book club tonight?”

“Nah, I haven’t even opened the book we
were supposed to read. What’s the point?”

“The point is you get out of the house
and away from Murray. And, away from your bricks.”

This brought a slight smile to her lips.
She was a pretty woman when she smiled.

“Maybe you’re right. I should go.”

“Give Flori a call. I know that she’d
love to go with you. By the way, sorry to hear about your trip to the city. I
don’t know what Sam Kinney is thinking, sending a stranger with those poor
people from the Home.”

She shrugged. “I know Flori was counting
on it but I think I would’ve been worrying all the time about Murray so it’s
probably for the best.” She took a big gulp of coffee and made a face. “Man,
this is awful coffee.” She looked over at my cup, which was still almost full.
“Let me make some fresh, Mabel. I’d really appreciate it if you’d stay awhile
and visit.”

“Sure,” I said. “Flori reminded me this
morning that I really didn’t have much to do on Mondays so it’s nice to have
someone to visit with.” I handed her my cup and she poured the black liquid
down the drain. While she was making a fresh pot, I looked around her kitchen.
I knew after they retired, Erma looked after the inside of the house and Murray
kept up the yard. It’s easy to see when either someone is depressed or going
through hard times because their work suffers. The last time I’d been here,
Erma’s countertop and table had been immaculately clean and tidy. Now, several
different items cluttered the tabletop and there was barely an inch of counter
showing. One item on the table caught my attention: a red plastic bowl filled
with bottles of prescription drugs. Underneath them was a small packet filled
with a white substance.

“Do you and Murray take all these
pills?” I asked.

She clicked on the coffee maker and sat
down before answering.

“Well,” she said. “Dr. Fritz has Murray
on two kinds of pills for depression and anxiety. I have hypertension so I have
two medications for that.” She showed me the bottles. “I’ve already crushed
some of Murray’s pills and put them into this plastic wrap. This is what I put in
his tea.”

“I wonder why he didn’t put his name on
Murray’s pills. Did you notice that, Erma? Look, your prescription is filled
out properly but Murray’s isn’t.”

She turned slightly pink. “I know it’s
silly but I asked him not to. I’ve been telling Murray that they’re vitamins.”

That made a lot of sense. Some women
seem to know how to handle difficult situations. I don’t think I would be so
intuitive. It still seemed strange to me how Murray was reacting to this. Why
was he having a breakdown? Did he know who killed Bernie?

I reached for my fresh cup of coffee. My
fingers suddenly felt cold and shaky. How many Parsons’ Cove people were
involved in this? How many of my neighbors were covering up for each other?

Reg would need to know. It would be
easier for him to talk to Murray. As long as Erma hadn’t put too many crushed
pills in his tea.

Chapter
Thirty Five

Prunella was home from the hospital so I
thought I might as well make a quick stop at her place. After all, she would
probably want to thank me in person for saving her life.

I didn’t see the police car parked in
her driveway until I was almost in front of the house. Did I dare take the
chance and knock? Really, what did I have to lose? The worst they could do was
tell me that I couldn’t see Prunella.

I went round to the back door. The
inside door was open so I could see into the kitchen through the screen door.
There was no one there but I could hear mumbled talking from somewhere else in
the house. I opened the door gently and stepped inside to have a quick look
around.

Not much had changed. The glasses on the
table were gone, of course. It looked as though someone had attempted to clean
up. I couldn’t help but wonder whose prints were on those glasses. Questions
were piling on top of questions. Who hit Prunella on the head with the frying
pan? Why wouldn’t she admit someone hit her? Whom was she protecting? Did
someone put drugs in her rum and coke or was she taking them herself? Why was
there a wad of money and a packet of some unknown substance in her dresser
drawer and who gave it to her?

The closer I got inside the room, the
clearer the voices became. It was definitely two women. One was Prunella and
since the other must be with the police force, it had to be the female cop that
I’d seen before. I felt a little braver knowing that and took a couple of steps
across the kitchen. There was a lull in the conversation so I stood still, not
even breathing. When they started up again, I could hear every word.

“Prunella, you have to let us help you.”
The unknown woman said. “You know very well your life is in danger if you stay
here by yourself. Whoever did this to you will come back.”

Prunella’s voice was softer and not so
strong. “I told you, Officer, I’ll be fine. I can look after myself. You wanted
to know about Melanie and Bernie and I’ve told you that I couldn’t hear too
clearly. It was nothing. I wish I’d never bothered. Married people fight all
the time. I should’ve minded my own business.”

“That’s the problem. You first said that
you could hear everything very clearly, now you’re saying you didn’t. Why did
you change your statement, Prunella? Someone almost killed you. Why are you
trying to cover it up? What about the money and the drugs, Prunella? There was
over a thousand dollars in that pouch. You can’t remember where it came from?”

Now, my ears really perked up.

“Officer, I told you before that I
forgot I had the money there. I put it there a while ago for safekeeping.
That’s all. It’s my money and I can do with it what I want.”

No one spoke for several moments and I
started to panic but then the police officer spoke.

“All right, now you say it’s your money.
Why did you tell us before that it wasn’t? That you had no idea where it came
from? Do you think perhaps someone knew that you had money hidden and came for
it but when you wouldn’t tell them where it was, they hit you on the head and
left you for dead?”

“No, I told you no one hit me on the
head. I just got dizzy and fell. I don’t know why you never found any blood and
I don’t remember how I got to my bed. No one knew that I had any money hidden
away. Why don’t you just leave me alone?”