Murder at Breakfast (11 page)

“And
neither tray was in the dumbwaiter?”

“I
saw that Russell’s tray wasn’t in there, so I decided to wait until later. I
knew he was sick. I didn’t want to bother him. Since his tray wasn’t there, I
decided to wait until later to check on Katherine’s tray, too.”

“And
when was the next time you checked for the trays?”

“Well,
when the trays weren’t there, I went ahead and washed all the dishes I had, cleaned
up the kitchen, and went to my room. I didn’t get around to checking for the
trays again until dinnertime.”

“Was
that before or after the residents came down to eat?”

“Let
me think. Um, yeah, it was after, but just a little after. When I didn’t find Russell’s,
I called him. He said he’d sent it down earlier.”

“Did
he mention what time?”

“No,
I don’t think he did.”

“So
what did you do then?”

“Well,
I checked for Katherine’s tray and found out that the dumbwaiter must have been
open in Katherine’s room, because it wouldn’t move.”

“I
fixed Russell’s tray, sent it up, then tried to call Katherine. When she didn’t
answer, I waited a few minutes, tried again, and then told Margaret about it.”

“Just
one more question at this time. What all do you have keys to at Parkway Arms?”

“Just
the front door and the door to my apartment. As you know, the kitchen has no
doors, and I don’t keep anything locked away.”

“Speaking
of locked away, do you know of any poison on the premises?”

“No,
but Margaret or Wally would be the ones to ask about that.”

I
knew there were other things I should have asked the cook, but I couldn’t think
of anything else at that moment, so I merely thanked her for her time and told
her that if I thought of anything else I would check back with her. She seemed
a little unnerved by that comment, like she was hiding something. I chalked it
up to the fact she was a nervous person under the circumstances, unless I found
out any different.

We
left Martha Carpenter’s apartment, not quite sure if we had learned anything
that might help us solve the case. We walked up the hall until we got to the
glass wall that separated us from Margaret Draper’s office. I paused at the
door and she looked up and motioned for us to come in.

“Trying
to learn a few new recipes, are you, Lieutenant?”

“Not
me. I know my place. God gave some people a talent for cooking and others a
talent for eating. In case you can’t tell, I’m one of the eating bunch.”

The
manager laughed.

“You
spent a lot of time with Martha. I assume you still have a lot of questions.
Were they all for her, or did you save some of them for me?”

“Oh,
I think I might have saved a few. I know you’re as anxious to end this
investigation as we are.”

“So,
you think there’s something to investigate?”

“Oh,
yes. Take me back to Friday morning. When was the first time you saw Mrs.
Higgins?”

“Just
before breakfast. I’d come out of my office and I saw her sitting in one of our
comfortable chairs, waiting for breakfast, just like she always does, or I
guess now I should say did. It’s still hard to get used to the fact that she’s
no longer with us. I never would have dreamed she’d go so quickly. She was with
us quite a while and seemed in good health for her age.”

“Well,
murder has a way of overcoming good health.”

“So,
she was murdered.”

“So
the autopsy report says.”

“And
it looks like someone here was responsible? I can’t believe that anyone here
would murder someone. Are you sure she was murdered, Lieutenant?”

“It
looks that way. So, tell me what you can about the start of Mrs. Higgins’ day
on Friday.”

“Well,
like I said, I saw her sitting there. Martha was still putting out all the food
on the serving table, putting everything into the warmers, so I walked over and
started talking to her. Kate, I mean.”

“Did
she seem any different than she did any other day?”

“No,
she seemed just like Kate always was. She was always a little more impatient, a
little more in a hurry at breakfast than she was later in the day. I don’t mean
she was hard to get along with, just a little on edge, or at least anxious to
get her day off to a good start.”

“So,
was she the first one to eat breakfast?”

“I
think you already know that, Lieutenant. After all, you spent a lot of time
talking to Martha about something.”

“Yes,
but different people don’t always remember things the same way. Tell me what
you remember.”

“Well,
everything started out just like any other day, except that Russell was sick
and didn’t come down to eat. He called down and asked Martha if she could send
him up a tray. Elaine was being lazy and opted to eat in her apartment, too.
Martha has been with us long enough and so have our residents, so she knows
what everyone wants to eat. I wouldn’t be surprised if she could tell you what
each person would take a bite of first. At any rate, Kate was the first go
through the serving line, so to speak. She had her food at the table and had
already eaten a couple of bites before anyone else came. I think that was about
the time I stepped back to my office. I was in and out after that. I do know
that everyone other than Russell and Elaine came down to breakfast, but not
much more than that, other than Martha made a comment about no one being in
line, so she’d go ahead and fix Russell’s plate and send it up to him, then
send up Elaine’s.”

“And
did she do that?”

“I
guess.”

“And
did she leave the dining room to send his food up to him?”

“I’m
sure she did. Otherwise he wouldn’t have gotten it.”

I
made a note that the cook had forgotten to mention that.

“And
you didn’t see anyone leave the table?”

“You
mean leave the table, or leave the room?”

“Leave
the room.”

“I
don’t think so. I can’t remember for sure. I don’t know this for sure, but I’d
say that most of our residents got up to get more of something or other before
they left the breakfast table.”

“So,
you spent all the time the residents were at breakfast in your office?”

“Like
I said, I was in and out. I was in here some, but didn’t stay in here. I was in
the dining room, too.”

“Do
you remember anyone getting up while you were in the dining room and going over
to where Mrs. Higgins sat?”

“No,
but that doesn’t mean that no one did.”

“Was
anyone else who works here in the dining room when the residents were eating
breakfast?”

“No,
we try to discourage that.”

“What
about when you ate? Who was in the dining room?”

“It’s
hard for me to remember Friday morning, but I think we had a full crowd. I
think all five of us ate breakfast together, but Martha could probably tell you
that better than I can.”

“Was
anyone late to the table or did anyone leave early?”

“Not
that I can remember. It’s not like we eat as a class. We all sit down and eat.
We don’t line up to come to the table or line up when we leave. There may be
five minutes difference in when one person comes to the table and when another
gets there. The only thing for sure is that at breakfast Martha always eats
last. She waits until each of the other four of us has gone through the buffet
line before she fills her plate. When one  of  us  fills his or her plate, that
person sits down and starts eating. No one waits on anyone else. All of us have
work to get to, so usually we eat, and when we get through we go to our
apartments, brush our teeth, use the facilities, and get ready to work. I
imagine it was much like that for each of us on Friday. If I’d known someone
was going to get murdered I would’ve taken notes.”

“There’s
no need to get huffy.”

“I’m
not huffy, Lieutenant, but you have to remember, we’re not used to these
investigations like you are, and the implications that someone we trust is responsible
for this is a little unnerving. Do you have any idea whether you expect someone
else to be murdered?”

“I
would if I knew who was responsible and why he or she murdered Mrs. Higgins,
but since I don’t know that yet, I have no idea. Just tell everyone to keep his
or her eyes open.”

Suddenly
the manager didn’t look as perky as the woman who asked me if I had used up all
my questions.

“Let’s
continue. Shall we? What can you tell me about what everyone was doing between
breakfast and lunch?”

“Now,
I think I can better help you there. I spent most of the morning in my office.
I’m sure I didn’t step out anywhere other than to my apartment for a few
minutes the entire morning, but that doesn’t mean I can’t tell you where
everyone was. Martha finished cleaning up and putting things away and went back
to her apartment. Wait a minute! Come to think of it, I think she walked by
once during the morning and was gone for a while. I think she might have
stepped out back. Wally could tell you, because Wally spent all of the morning
in the backyard working the flower beds. He keeps things looking nice around
here. That takes care of three of us. It was carpet shampoo day for the second
and third floors, so Margie and Ginny spent all morning vacuuming and
shampooing. They both looked worn out when I saw them at lunch. That reminds
me. Wally must have been upstairs the first part of the morning moving 
furniture  into  the storage rooms so Margie and Ginny could shampoo every part
of the upper floors that didn’t constitute someone’s apartment.”

“You
mentioned that you saw Margie and Ginny at lunch. Does that mean you ate
together?”

“No,
I ate lunch in my office, as I do most days. I think Martha and Wally ate in
the dining room. I know that Margie and Ginny took their food to their rooms,
as they generally do after a hard-working morning, so they can sit in
comfortable chairs and rest while they eat. I saw both of them carry a
Styrofoam container past my office. Actually, because of the nature of their
work on Friday, I think both of them spent the majority of their afternoon in
their rooms, before helping Wally move the furniture back around 4:00. You’d better ask them for sure. I just know that they didn’t come back by my office
when I was in there. No one did, except Martha, and Wally one time when he was
taking a break. Of course someone could have walked by when I stepped to my apartment.”

“Did
you happen to see any of the residents leave?”

“No,
but I can’t see the front door from my office. I could if I were in the dining
room, but not my office.”

“Well,
did you see anyone return to the building?”

“No.”

“So,
it’s possible that someone might not have gone out?”

“I
doubt that. If so, she would’ve missed lunch, because Kate and Russell were the
only ones served food in their rooms on Friday.”

“One
other question, Mrs. Draper. Who has keys to what around here?”

“Well,
each person has a key to his or her apartment. Martha, Wally, and I have keys
to the front and back doors. Actually, Wally and I have keys to any lock in the
building, no matter what or where it is.”

“Only
you two have all the keys. What about keys to the apartments?”

“Well,
Wally and I have keys to all the apartments. Margie has a key to each of the
apartments on the second floor. Ginny has keys to each third floor apartment.
Neither of them has a key to anything else, and Martha doesn’t have keys to any
of the apartments.”

“Where
do you and Wally keep your keys?”

“My
keys stay in the bottom drawer of my desk unless they’re on my person, and I
lock my office door if I’m going to be far enough away that I’m out of sight.
Wally keeps all the keys on his belt. I don’t see how he can stand up with all
those keys, but I guess he’s used to it.”

“Now,
let’s move on to how you found Mrs. Higgins.”

“Actually,
I didn’t find her, your man did.”

“Well,
tell me what led you to call us.”

“Martha
became concerned when Kate didn’t return her tray from lunch. Actually,
something happened to Russell’s tray too, but she talked to him about that.
We’ll deal with that later. When Martha couldn’t raise Kate, she became
concerned, and came to my office as soon as she could.”

“And
what time was this?”

“I’m
not sure exactly, but the residents were already down eating supper before she
had time to get away and let me know.”

“So,
she wasn’t concerned?”

“Oh,
I imagine she was, but she had people to serve, people who were already down in
the dining room ready to eat. We always say we give precedence to those who are
down over those who are still in their apartments.”

“So,
what did you do?”

“When
Martha got away to tell me, I called Kate’s room. She didn’t answer the phone,
so I walked up there. She didn’t answer my knock, so I tried the door. The
chain lock was on. I called out. No one answered. So, I shut the door and came
back down. When she didn’t answer a few minutes later when I called her
apartment again, I called you, then sat down and ate my dinner.”

“And
who did you talk to about Mrs. Higgins’s absence?”

“Just
Martha, who already knew something was up.”

“None
of the residents?”

“No,
I wasn’t around them while they were eating dinner, and most of them were
beginning to get up and go back to their apartments when I returned from
unsuccessfully rousing Kate.”

“And
you’re sure the chain was on that door when you went up?”

“Of
course, I’m sure. Why would I lie about that?”

“I
didn’t mean you were lying. I just meant are you absolutely sure?”

“Yes.”

“And
did you hear anyone inside the apartment while you had the door partially
opened?”

“No,
if I had I would’ve been more emphatic in my search for Kate. I thought maybe
she had fallen asleep, or had decided to take a shower or something, and had
lost track of the time. Still, by the third time we couldn’t raise her, I
decided that I needed to do something about it.” 

+++

I
thanked Mrs. Draper for her time, and Lou and I walked out. I looked at my
watch, wondered where the time had gone. I had planned to talk to everyone, but
I wasn’t going to do that unless I spent the whole night there. I wasn’t about
to do that. I would talk to Wally and save the rest for the next day. As I
thought about the answers the two women gave me the only difference I could recall
in what the two of them said was that the cook forgot to tell me that she left
the dining room to send the tray up to the sick gentleman, and the woman who
decided to eat breakfast in her apartment. Could something have happened during
those few moments? Or did the cook stop by the victim’s table on her way out of
the room?