Slip and Go Die (A Parson's Cove Mystery) (17 page)

At first glance, there didn’t seem to be anything of interest in this room at all. I knew, not only from personal experience but from all the mystery books I’d read, that something like that can fool a person. I needed to go over the place with a fine tooth comb. Of course, not literally. I’m not sure what that even means. I did have to look into every nook and cranny though. I did know what ‘nook and cranny’ meant.

First, I worked my way around the perimeter of the room. Four bare walls, that’s all there was. Next, I went to the cushions in the chairs and sofas. I lifted each one and searched underneath with my flashlight. Nothing. Not any change or crumbs.

The door to the kitchen was straight across from the stove. I pushed it open. The heat hadn’t quite reached that far. (That’s the joy of having a wood stove; if you’re facing it, your cheeks receive third degree burns while your back gets frostbite). I shone the light up and down the walls and along the countertops. It was almost dark outside. I opened up every cupboard door and felt inside with my hand. I pulled open the fridge door. It was empty and smelled stale. If only I knew what I was looking for! The kitchen was a good size too with a round wooden table in one corner and four chairs.

I returned to the living room. Behind one of the sofas, there was a staircase leading up to, I assumed, the bedrooms. Beulah had said that she had two. Straight in front of me at the bottom of the stairs, there was a white door. If I used my imagination, I would imagine it was built right into the hill. I decided to check this out before going up. It turned out to be a storage room, bathroom and laundry room. It was tiny, dark and very claustrophobic. There was even an apartment-size washer and dryer, one stacked on top of the other. For some reason, this surprised me; I guess I just pictured Beulah out by the stream bashing her clothes on the rocks.

Except for the toilet, sink, tub, and laundry facilities, the room was bare: no towels, no bathmat, no shower curtains, not even a roll of toilet tissue. I supposed the law enforcers from Parson’s Cove had cleaned everything out. There wasn’t even a toothbrush in the medicine cabinet. What a sad ending! If there were a lesson to be learned in all this, I suppose it’s that you never know what life is going to throw at you, so always make sure you keep your bathroom nice and clean at all times. Keep the toilet flushed. An up-to-date will might be a good idea too.

It was very dark at the top of the stairs. I was so thankful that I’d put all new batteries in my flashlight. Both bedrooms and the small linen closet upstairs were cleaned out. Except that is, for the basic furniture. I pulled open each drawer and examined every closet, inch by inch. Nothing. The cabin seemed ready for its next renters.

With a very heavy heart, I made my way back downstairs. There was no point in putting another log in the stove. My investigation was finished. There was nothing to prove anything. It was as though no one had ever lived here. Beulah Henry was gone and so was every memory of her. She was just an old woman who’d slipped on the ice, hit her head and died. All alone. We could be thankful that Esther Flynn had happened to come up to the house. Otherwise, she might have lain under the snow until spring thaw.

It took a few minutes to collect my things and put them back into the grocery bag. I was returning with everything that I’d come with, nothing more. My plastic clue bags were empty. There was no need to remove any fingerprints.

I paused by the door before putting all my clothes back on and took one last look around. I glanced to the side. Something caught my eye.

There was one memory of Beulah left! In all the confusion, it seemed everyone had forgotten to remove her coat from the hook behind the door. When I came in and pushed the door up against it, I hadn’t noticed it. On the floor below it, lined up against the wall, were the little spikes she used to hook on to her boots so she wouldn’t slip on the ice.

Why, oh why, Beulah, didn’t you put those silly looking things on that day? You would be alive now. You could be sitting here in front of the fire, enjoying all your junk.

And, why, oh why, Beulah, didn’t you have your coat on? Why is it still hanging on the hook? If you’d been wearing it, it would have ended up at the hospital where you were taken, right? No one would have removed it off your body and then politely hung it up behind the door.

You might go outside without your spikes, Beulah, (although, I personally don’t think you would have), but no one in her right mind, including you, would go outside in this weather without her coat on.

There is only one reason: it’s because someone forced you outside and pushed you on the ice.

My trip was not in vain. You were murdered, Beulah, and I’m going to find out who did this to you!

Chapter Twenty Two

I knew that the wind was still blowing while I was in the cabin. It had been howling and whistling around the corners of the house. I didn’t realize, however, that it had started to snow. Now when I opened the door, I was hit in the face with blinding, stinging snow pellets. I ducked back inside and slammed the door shut. No person, in his or her right mind, would venture out on a night like this. People have been known to freeze to death only a few feet away from their car or house. The chances of me even making it out to my car were very slim. Without being aware of it, I could easily wander into the farmer’s field to the east and never be found until who knows when.

It wasn’t all bad. I mean, I did have shelter for the night. Unfortunately, I didn’t have any food and my stomach was running on empty. The best I could hope for was that the blizzard would clear up by morning. And, that the road back into Parson’s Cove would be passable.

There were a few glowing coals left in the stove so I shoved in two more logs. I checked the tin box. There wasn’t enough wood to last the night. I had no idea where the wood pile might be but I had a feeling I might have to go outside eventually to search for it.

I shone my light around the room. There were two end tables, a coffee table and a small table in one corner, all made of wood. I went over and inspected every leg; they were all wobbly. Maybe I wouldn’t have to go outside hunting for wood after all.

To my surprise, there was an old black telephone on the corner table. The kind that I would still have if Flori hadn’t talked me into buying the new-fangled, touchtone, automatic dial, built-in answering machine, apparatus that I have. I lifted it up. There was a dial tone. Although I didn’t want anyone to know where I was, it was still a comfort to know that if I were in deep trouble, I could get help from the outside world.

I turned off the flashlight and tried to make myself comfortable on the sofa. It was already warming up in the room so I took off my coat again, rolled it into a pillow and put my feet up. Streaks of light flickered and bounced across the walls, reflecting through the cracks in the old stove. I’m sure a candle wouldn’t have given off as much light. The firewood crackled and the sap sizzled. I could imagine Beulah sitting here, curled up with a book, happy and content.

A strong gust of wind rattled the windows and sent puffs of smoke shooting out from all those little cracks in the stove. Well, nothing is perfect. I waved my mitts, dispersing some of the smoke into the air so I wouldn’t start coughing.

I turned on my flashlight and checked my watch. It wasn’t even eight yet. It was going to be a long night. My cats would be pacing the floor about now. Most of the time, they don’t pay too much attention to me. If their meals aren’t provided on time, however, they become indignant. I couldn’t imagine what might be going through their little minds at this point. They were probably all gathered in the pantry, staring up at the bag of unattainable cat food, high up on the counter, and conspiring to punish me in some inconceivable fashion. If I came home to shredded living room curtains and knocked over plants, I wouldn’t be shocked at all. I have learned over the years that it’s not good to mess with cats. Dogs might pee on your rug when they’re upset but when you finally arrive home, they wag their tails and lick you all over your face. Cats are capable of holding a grudge until their nine lives come to an end.

There really isn’t anything to do when you’re lying on a sofa in a darkened room with no television, no lights and no food, except to think. Flori always says that my mind is too active. She claims that if I didn’t think about things so much, I wouldn’t get into all the trouble that I do.

Perhaps, it was a good thing that I was camped out in this cabin for the night. It would give me time to concentrate and go over everything that I knew about this case. So far, it wasn’t much.

For instance, why kill a sweet old woman? Couldn’t they have just taken what they wanted? It wasn’t as if Beulah had a gun or anything. Or, did she? Had the criminals wrestled the gun away from her and shoved her to the ground where she accidentally hit her head and died? Why had they stolen all her things? Were they searching for an expensive antique? Or, was there something hidden in one of her vases–maybe a treasure map? Or diamonds? Drugs? What if they still hadn’t found what they were looking for? Where would they strike next? Would they ransack my shop again and trash everything this time? Would they do the same to my house?

Scarier still, would they come out to this cabin again? And, what better time to come than when a storm is raging and no one would catch them.

My heart was pounding. I sat very still and listened. With the wind moaning and the stove crackling, someone could walk right through the door and thump me on the head with a hatchet before I’d even realize that I wasn’t alone. I got up off the sofa and moved over to one of the chairs. It faced the door.

By nine-thirty, I couldn’t stand it any longer. I needed to hear a human voice. There was no point in phoning Flori; she can tell by the sound of my voice every mood that I’ve ever possessed. If, right at this moment, I said hello, she would yell, “Mabel, where are you? What’s the matter? Are you in trouble?” No, I couldn’t take a chance phoning her. Besides, she’d be upset enough when she did find out where I’d gone.

I placed another log in the fire; only two left to burn before I started smashing table legs.

I picked up the phone and, almost by instinct, I dialed.

“Yeah?”

“Reg?”

“Yeah. I’m in bed. Whadda ya want, Mabel?”

“Uh, just wanted to say hello. You know, wondering if you had any more news for me, that’s all.”

There was a slight pause.

“You okay?”

“I’m fine. Why?”

“You sound kind of funny. Are you at home?”

“Why?”

“Oh, I dunno. A few people said they saw you driving down the street this afternoon. Thought maybe you got caught in the storm and needed some help, that’s all.”

I tried to laugh but I’m not sure how it sounded.

“No, no, I’m okay, Reg. Just sitting here doing a little thinking. There is one thing I was kind of curious about.”

“What’s that?”

“Did Beulah have her coat on when Esther found her?”

There was a longer pause.

Finally, “Why?”

“Oh, I don’t know; just curiosity, I guess.”

“That’s an odd question, Mabel. What are you up to?”

“Nothing, nothing. Why do I always have to be up to something? I just wondered if she went outside without her coat on, that’s all. It isn’t exactly a complicated question, even for you.”

There was a still longer pause.

“Reg, are you there?”

“Yeah. What are you getting at?”

“Nothing. I told you, I was sitting here running things over in my mind. You know how it is. I got to wondering, that’s all.”

“Well, you listen here, Miss Innocent, if someone walks outside without her coat on, it doesn’t mean that she was murdered.”

“Okay, that’s all I wanted to know. Thanks.”

“Hold it, Mabel.” I could just see him holding up his hand, as if that were going to put an immediate halt to everything. “You stay out of this. There is no murder case here. I’ve known you long enough that I know you don’t phone and ask me questions for no reason. You’ve got this murder thing caught in your craw. I’m having enough trouble trying to find the thieves who took off with Beulah’s things, I don’t want to start worrying about what you’re up to. Got that?”

“Got that.”

“I mean it.”

“I know. Sorry to wake you. I didn’t know you went to bed so early. Say ‘hi’ to Beth.”