Ellen McKenzie 04-Murder Half-Baked (34 page)

A
t first, Dan wasn’t going to let us go with him to the bakery.
His resolve
didn’t last long. Aunt Mary had no intention of leaving Rose to the tender mercies of the police, and I had
every
intention of finding out exactly what had happened. My first thought was Gina. That she was guilty I had no doubt. Hermione had been right all along. Gina had come here seeking revenge for her mother and now that revenge was complete. First Doctor Sadler, now Sal. But why now? Something horrible must have happened. Sal must have done something that made Gina lose control, something to do with Rose? All I could think was
…
how tragic. That lovely woman, so talented, so kind, and now her life lay in ruins. For some reason, I didn’t think about Sal’s life. And, I realized, that was the supreme tragedy.

Nathan had shown up at the bus station. How he knew I hadn’t time to ask. He announced that Anne was also on her way and that he was taking Marilee and Adam back to my house. No, Dan said. We still didn’t know where Grady was, and the safest place for both of them, at least for now, was the police station. We’d meet them there as soon as we could. Nathan was not pleased, but he bundled them into his car, and
when we
last saw
him,
he was following the police car that contained a still sobbing Leona. She was destined for a holding cell, Marilee for Dan’s office. Neither would be very comfortable.

The scene inside the bakery was beyond horrible. Sal lay on the floor behind the counter. He looked, if possible, even worse than Doctor Sadler had. Blood was everywhere. So was the crime team. Some of them were Dan’s people, but some had on county sheriff’s jackets. The home team was only going to get part of the action on this one. Gina and Rose were huddled in a corner toward the front of the bakery, as far away from the body as possible. Rose sat in one of the bentwood chairs pulled up to the old oak table, her back to the crime scene, looking
oddly
demure in her high-necked gingham dress. It made her look a little dowdy and more than a little old. Someone had put a cup of coffee in front of her, but it didn’t look as if she’d touched it. Gina stood behind her, wrapped in her baker’s apron, her arms around Rose, holding her, patting her like one would a distraught child.

“Go over there,” Dan said. “I don’t want any of you to contaminate my crime scene.” That was one command I was happy to obey.
One glance at what was left of Sal was enough. Besides, I wanted to talk to Gina. Only, I wasn’t sure how to start, or what to say. I started with the obvious.

“What happened?”

Gina looked at me and sighed. Rose didn’t appear to notice that I had said anything or that I was there. She didn’t even seem to notice that Aunt Mary had pulled up the other chair and had taken her free hand.

“Grady. Rose said it was Grady Wilcox. He came in here threatening Sal, demanding to know where Marilee was, and when Sal wouldn’t tell him, he picked up the rolling pin and hit him with it. Several times. Then he left.”

The rolling pin. Yes. It was there on the floor. Someone was taking pictures of it. I took a couple of steps toward it but was stopped by a sheriff’s deputy. It didn’t matter. It was the large one I’d seen when I’d been in the kitchen with Gina. The one with the piece out of the handle, showing the metal bar that ran through it. A shudder ran through me. Partly horror, but largely relief. Grady was guilty. Gina hadn’t done it. Only, something about this wasn’t right. Why would Grady come back? He knew where Marilee was. Leona had told him. He’d given her the baby so she would tell him.

I took a closer look at Gina. Her face was pasty white,
and
her hands clutched the back of Rose’s chair, the knuckles bloodless. Her eyes were firmly fixed on the top of Rose’s head and her answers had come from lips so stiff they looked frozen.

“Did he come through the kitchen?” I asked her.

“What?”

“Grady. Did he come in the front door or did he come through the kitchen?”

“I don’t know.” For the first time she looked directly at me, then around the room. I could see her gaze rest on the rolling pin. “He came through the kitchen.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes.”
Her “yes” had the ring of truth,
but her eyes didn’t meet mine.

Someone else was coming through the kitchen. There were
two
raised voices, one of which was shouting very explicit four-letter words. A pot banged. I thought it was a pot. Something metallic. There was another hollow thud. More voices, and a man, a boy really, was propelled through the door. A boy with dirty blond hair, red
-
rimmed blue eyes, and a long face. There was an open sore on the side of his nose. There were others on his arms
,
left bare under the black
T-
shirt he wore.
On the front was
a white and red fire breathing dragon with initials that didn’t form any word I’d ever heard of. He was followed,
more like
pushed, by Gary.

“Hey, Chief. Will you look who came calling
?
Thought he’d let himself in by the back door.” He grinned at me and gave Grady, for this could be no one else but Grady, another push.
“I’m afraid your screen is torn. He sorta wanted to leave as soon as he saw me.
I’ll come over tomorrow and fix it.”

“My
,
my.” Dan walked across the room to stand in front of them. “Grady Wilcox. You know, we’ve been looking for you.” He examined Grady closely before turning to Gary. “Why did you bring him here? Why not take him directly to the station?”

“I was going to but I heard over the car radio about Sal. Thought you might want to have a talk with this
…
him.”

Dan nodded. “Good job, Gary.”

“Yeah? How come?” Grady shook himself loose from his captor and stood, legs apart, hands cuffed behind his back, staring at Dan with what I supposed he thought was an innocent look. It made him look slightly feebleminded.

“Why, we thought we’d arrest you.”

“Why? I didn’t do nothin’. What are you arrestin’ me for?” He kept jerking his hands as if he could make the cuffs separate. All he was going to get for his efforts was sore wrists.

Dan watched all this calmly. “Oh,” he used that voice that sounded so mild and
yet
was so deadly, “how about arson
?
And selling drugs
?
And murder
?
”

“Murder?” Grady sounded genuinely astounded. “I never murdered no one. Who got murdered anyway?”

“Him.” Dan pointed to where Sal lay. Someone had drawn a chalk outline around the body. A flash went off.
More
photographs.

Grady took a couple of steps closer and blanched. “Oh shit. I didn’t do that. I never
…
why would I do that? Oh shit. I’m going to be sick.”

“Not a good idea.” Dan’s face was as closed down as I’d ever seen it, eyes hard, mouth tight. If Grady got sick, he might have reason to get even sicker. “Thomas, help Gary get this little piece of
…
him out of here. Take him to the station and book him. Start with arson and go from there but get him in a cell. And don’t forget to read him his rights. I’ll be back there before too long.”

Rose had watched all this with no evidence of interest. She sat on her chair, staring ahead, as if no one else was in the room. Every few minutes she’d turn in her chair and look at Sal’s body, almost as if she was checking to make sure he was still there,
showing no sign
of hysteria, grief, or anything but numb acceptance. I watched her, wondering, looking at her hands, how still they lay on the table, how quiet her breathing was under the high-buttoned front of her dress. Her dress. Her collar. There was a damp spot on her collar. How had that happened? I looked back up at Gina. Her fingers tightened on her grandmother’s shoulders. I closed my eyes and wished I was any place else in the world but where I was, but wishing wouldn’t make this go away.

“Wait,” I said. “Wait a minute. Are you going to book him for murder?”

“It seems like a good idea. Why?” Dan looked at me suspiciously.

“Give me a minute.”

“What are you going to do?”

I pulled Rose’s chair out from the table a little in spite of Gina’s weak “no” and knelt down in front of her, trying to get her attention. Finally she looked at me.

“Why, Ellen. When did you come? How nice.” She started to smile but it faded only half formed. “We’ve had a little accident. Sal fell down.”

That wasn’t at all what I had expected. An accident? Did she really think
…
but I had to go on.

“Rose, see that man over there?”

“Which one, dear.”

“The one in the black
T-
shirt.”

“With that awful dragon on it?”

“Yes.” I had to suppress a smile at that one. “Do you know him?”

“Why, yes. He’s Grady something or other. He’s married to that sweet Marilee.”

“Was Grady here earlier today?”

“Yes. He came here and yelled at Sal. Said terrible things and hit him in the face. He wanted to know where Marilee was. Sal didn’t know. I did, but I hid. In the back room.”

I could feel Dan right behind me. His hand was on my shoulder. “Ellen, you can’t
… ”

“Wait.” I let his hand stay there but got in one more question.

“Did Grady come back? A little while ago? Did he hit Sal with that rolling pin?”

“Oh no, dear. I did that.”

Dan’s hand tightened on my shoulder. I heard Aunt Mary gasp, and Gina gave a sob. Quiet gradually spread across the room as everyone realized what Rose had said.

Gina clutched Rose more tightly. “No, she didn’t. I did. He was on her, wouldn’t let up, and I hit him. With the rolling pin.”

Everyone’s eyes were now on Gina. Everyone’s but mine. “Rose, where is your apron?”

“My apron?”

She looked down at herself as if she hadn’t realized she no longer wore it. I looked at Gina. So did Dan. So did everyone else in the room. She stood behind Rose, in her immaculate white apron, a picture of despair.

“Go on,” I heard Dan say softly. So I did.

“Why did you hit him, Rose?”

She looked up at me with much the same expression she had the day she showed me the picture. Unrelenting sorrow. “He was going to make Gina go away.” Tears appeared. Just a couple. She lifted a hand to brush them
off
. Her hand had dirt on the fingernails. Or maybe that dark stain was something else. “I couldn’t allow that again. I’d lost her for so long; I wasn’t going to lose her again. He just wouldn’t listen. So I hit him.” She paused, staring at the body. “He’s been lying down a long time. He’s going to be really mad at me when he gets up, but I couldn’t help it.” She looked up at me, then turned to Aunt Mary, whose eyes were brimming. “You and Ellen have to help make him see reason. You will, won’t you? Anne Kennedy did last time, but she’s not here. Is she?”