Slip and Go Die (A Parson's Cove Mystery) (24 page)

At eleven-thirty, I made some very strong coffee and ate a handful of chocolate-covered raisins. I needed all the caffeine I could ingest.

Reading about a stakeout in a mystery book and being on one are definitely two different things. It is very boring and tiring. Nevertheless, well worth it! One minute my head was up and I was wide awake; the next second, my head banged against my chest and woke me up with a jolt. A little embarrassed, I quickly peeked out the window, hoping I hadn’t been dozing too long.

As it so happened, the timing was perfect. Someone was just walking in the backdoor. The blind was down but I could see some light when the door opened. It was a man and he was carrying a box. It looked as if it might be heavy. The door closed.

This was no time to sit and do nothing. I was going to make sure they were caught red-handed, even if it meant I’d have to apprehend them myself.

I climbed down. My knees didn’t want to unbend. I walked to the phone, humped over like a Neanderthal woman. I hit my automatic dial.

The phone rang three times before it was picked up.

“Hello?”

“Reg?”

“What do you want, Mabel? Please, don’t tell me you’re out at Beulah’s again.”

If I hadn’t thought that Charlie and Flori’s life were in danger, I would have hung up.

“Reg,” I said in a loud commanding voice, “wake up. The men who stole Beulah’s things are in Krueger’s place right this minute.”

He yawned and, from the sounds of the bedsprings, sat up.

“How do you know that? And, please, don’t tell me that you broke into the house.”

“Okay, I won’t tell you. Are you going to get over here or do I have to go in there myself and make a citizen’s arrest?”

“Okay, I’m awake now. This better not be one of your cock and bull stories. It’s almost two in the morning. So, explain to me as quickly as you can how you know these thieves are in the house behind yours.”

“I’m sorry; I can’t tell it very quickly, Reg. By the time I’d get through, they might be gone. You have to trust me on this one. You have to get over here right away. If I were you, I’d bring the boys. And, weapons. These people are serious. You saw what they did to Charlie.”

He groaned.

“Mabel, Charlie didn’t tell us about anybody putting him in one of those shacks. I don’t know why you keep saying that.”

“What did Charlie say?”

“Nothing. You know how he is. I imagine he was embarrassed.”

“No, Reg. He wasn’t embarrassed. He was afraid. They threatened him because he saw them breaking into my store.”

The bedsprings squeaked again. Sheriff Smee was finally sitting up and listening.

“How do you know this?”

“Charlie told me. They told him if he went to the police, they would hurt him.”

“But he told you?”

“Well, you know Charlie. He was so afraid that with all Beulah’s things gone, I’d lose my new furnace.”

“Let me get this straight: Charlie confided in you but neither he nor you came to tell me, your sheriff.”

“That’s about it. I might have but they threatened me, too.”

He was quiet for a second.

“You’re trying to tell me that these men threatened you too?”

I nodded. “Yes, they did. Don’t sound so shocked. They said they would hurt either Charlie or Flori if I went to you.”

“But now you are.”

“Of course; they’re in Krueger’s house. All you have to do is go and arrest them. I can’t live in fear all the rest of my life, Reg. And, neither can Charlie. We decided tonight that enough was enough. Now, are you coming over here or not?”

The phone went dead. I presumed that meant that he was on his way.

Chapter Thirty Four

I sat in the dark and watched and waited for what seemed forever. And, it almost was. It was twenty-two minutes before I saw any movement outside. If Reg and his two deputies had been any slower, the gangsters would have high-tailed it and been half way across the state. Of course, when I phoned Reg, I forgot to take into consideration his deputies. It would take a few minutes to round them up or wake them up.

This time I was prepared; I had my binoculars.

It’s important to give credit where credit is due. Reg definitely deserved a great deal. As I sat, once again on my counter with my feet in the sink, I watched while Reg gestured for his two deputies to each go to a corner of the house. It was too dark to see, but I’m sure they were standing there with their guns cocked and ready. There was just enough light from the street lamp in front of my house for me to see Reg walk up to the door and pound on it. There was no answer. I knew there wouldn’t be. Reg banged again. I could hear him yell, “Police. Open up.” It sounded straight out of a movie.

The thought did cross my mind that someone might come out of that house, shooting. I guess Reg was thinking that, too. He took out his revolver, gave the door a mighty swift kick and ducked to the side. There is one good thing about having a big heavy sheriff; one kick and that old door fairly flew off its hinges. I was so thankful I’d grabbed my binoculars. Imagine what the rest of Parson’s Cove was missing! And, Flori. She would want a play by play description later.

Two men stood facing the door, their mouths gaping open. One was a large black man; the other, an older thin white man. They looked more in shock over the door flying in at them than at the gun pointed straight at their hearts. In slow motion, their arms went up. Scully and Jim entered behind their boss, guns drawn. I couldn’t have done it better myself. Those are two young men who’d give almost anything to have some excitement in their lives. I was hoping this would keep them content for the next year or two.

It didn’t take long for Reg to have the pair handcuffed and out the door. Scully and Jim hurried back and forth with boxes and bags. The Parson’s Cove police force did their job. They caught the thugs, red-handed, just as I’d told Reg they would.

Within a few minutes, it was all over. Krueger’s house was dark again. The men were gone. All was quiet. Reg had leaned the door back up against the frame and hung what looked like yellow tape, across it. That poor old furnace would be humming all night long without a break.

With all the excitement, it was hard to settle down to sleep. Nevertheless, I knew I’d have to open up the shop. There was no way I could use sickness as an excuse again. Besides, there was no need to stay home now. The Law had prevailed and the crooks would no doubt be enjoying a long vacation in jail. I no longer had to live in fear. Soon, someone would bring all the stolen things back to the store. I’d make a huge profit and pay for my lovely new furnace. I was anxious to get back to work. It was already almost time for the sun to come up. Instead of going to bed, I curled up on the sofa. I’d nicely fallen into a deep sleep when the phone rang.

“Mabel, you sound terrible. I think you should stay home again today. And this time I’m coming over to stay with you. I won’t take no for an answer.”

“Flori, I’m fine. I sound terrible because you woke me up, that’s all. I’m not sick anymore. You can come down to the shop and have coffee with me, if you like.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, I’m sure. Come as soon as you can. What’s Jake up to?”

“Oh, it’s milder today so he’s gone fishing already.”

“That’s great. I’ll leave right away and you can bring me some breakfast. How does that sound?”

I knew that would make her happy. It made me happy, too. I wasn’t up to cooking. I washed, dressed, fed the cats and left for the store. Just before I walked out the door, I phoned the police station.

“I’m sorry, Mabel, I can’t talk right now. There’s a police chief coming out from the city to take the prisoners and I have to get ready for him.”

“Oh, I guess lots of paper work, hey?”

A pause. “I’ve got most of that done. I’m in the middle of cleaning the washroom.”

I heard a vacuum start up.

“Jim’s vacuuming?”

“Yeah. By the way, I really want to thank you. I never would have caught those two thieves without your help. They were just ready to leave with all the stuff when we walked in.”

“What about the woman?”

“What woman?”

“What woman? Didn’t you catch the woman who was with them?”

“No. There wasn’t a woman. Maybe you only thought you saw a woman. I’ve questioned these guys thoroughly. They’re only a couple of petty crooks; that’s all they are.”

“So, you think they’re a couple of guys who happened to go out to Beulah’s, noticed that she had lots of junk and decided at the last minute to rob and kill her? Is that what you think, Reg?”

“That’s basically it. Except, they didn’t murder Beulah. It was an accident. They were lost, went to ask for directions, happened to see all the stuff she had and decided to come back and take it. They thought that she would be an easy target, but Beulah ran after them, slipped on the ice and hit her head. Then, when they heard everything was being moved to your place, they broke in and took it.”

“How did they know it was being moved to my place?”

“I don’t know. They must have heard people talk or maybe they saw it being moved.”

“And you believe that?”

“I don’t have any proof right now to say that it isn’t true, Mabel.”

“Well, here’s some food for thought: what if none of that stuff belonged to Beulah? What if it belonged to the big black man? And, by the way, who is the other fellow?”

“What do you mean it wasn’t Beulah’s things? How do you know that? You said that you’d never been out to her place.”

“Charlie told me.”

“Charlie told you. So, this is going to be a crime that you and Charlie are going to solve? Sorry, Mabel, but I don’t have time to talk right now.”

The dial tone hummed in my ear. Darn that Reg Smee. He could be so stubborn sometimes. But, he’s the one who said it–this was going to be a crime that Mabel and Charlie would solve.

Chapter Thirty Five

I was hoping that I could see Charlie again. He would feel so much better knowing that two of the criminals were in jail. But, what about the woman? That bothered me. Could she still be in Parson’s Cove? Perhaps she’d been involved with one of the men; they’d dumped her, so she’d left. We might never see her again. That was the only conclusion that I could come up with. Obviously, the two men that Reg had in his jail weren’t going to implicate her in anything.

At nine on the dot, Flori marched in with my breakfast: a fluffy omelette filled with mushrooms, broccoli, onions, peppers and delicately-cut bits of ham; three apple pancakes, three slices of bacon and three slices of breakfast sausage. I provided the coffee.

She had already eaten with Jake so although she said she was full right up to here (and pointed to her chin), she managed to help me by finishing two pancakes, half the omelette, two pieces of bacon and all three sausages. For some reason, Flori always forgets that I have heartburn for hours after I eat sausage.

Of course, since Flori has been my friend for so many years, I can’t fool her with anything.

“What’s up?” she asked. “You’re not yourself this morning. You don’t have a fever so you’re not sick. In fact, I don’t think you ever were sick, were you?”

“Well, I did think I was coming down with something.”

“Nonsense. You’ve been up to something and you didn’t want me to find out about it, right?”

As I said, you can’t put much over on Flori.

“Well, I have been busy. There was a reason why I couldn’t say anything, you know.”

“And what reason would that be? Did you forget that I was your best friend and you can tell me anything?”

“Of course, not. That’s why I couldn’t tell you; you are my best friend. They threatened to hurt you.”