Slip and Go Die (A Parson's Cove Mystery) (28 page)

“So why didn’t Millicent phone Reg? Why didn’t she help Beulah? I mean, the woman was lying out on the snow. How did she even know she was dead for sure?”

“She saw her mother coming up the drive so she panicked and hid. She thought if her mother knew she was meeting Chester, she’d be in trouble.”

“So, how the heck did Millicent get back home?”

“As soon as everyone was gone, she called Calvin Koots to come out with his taxi. She asked him to pick her up at the old Fowler gate. That’s not too far, but it must’ve been a cold walk. We didn’t realize this until he happened to mention it when we were having coffee the other day. Said how odd it was that Millicent would be way out there. Nobody’s lived in that old house in years.”

“I think that for once, I almost feel sorry for Esther. But, if she didn’t know any of this, why did Esther tell me she knew someone who would buy it? Like it was some big secret?”

“Millicent, I’m afraid, still thought at this point that her father must have some good in him. She was sure he’d do the right thing and help you out. Of course, she didn’t tell her mother who the buyer might be. And, let’s face it, you had no idea how much it was worth, so they would have still come out on top.”

“If they’d done that, they might have gotten away with it.”

Reg finally came up for air from his food and cleared his throat.

“Have you talked to Charlie, Mabel? I think he should know that these guys are locked away.”

“I told him, Reg. By the way, have you ever seen his place?”

“Of course, I’ve seen his place.” He turned to the Captain. “Charlie’s a little odd. He lives in this old shack. We’ve been trying to move him into something better for years. It’s such a dump.”

“No, Reg. I mean, have you ever been inside?”

He stared at me. “Nobody’s ever been inside.”

“I have. Charlie phoned and told me to come over one night. He was afraid. The big black man had threatened to kill him. He’s the one who took Charlie out on the lake. Somehow, Charlie knows what they were doing here in Parson’s Cove.”

“Do you think you could get Charlie to talk to me?” the Captain asked.

“I could try. He’s very fussy about who he talks to.”

“You were inside Charlie’s house?” Reg piped up.

“Yes, I was. And, it’s as neat as a pin. It’s like a little doll house inside. Charlie told me that he built all the cupboards himself. I wish you could see it. But, I doubt Charlie would let you in. I think he’s afraid of you, Reg.”

Maxymowich looked over at Reg. “Why don’t Mabel and I give it a try? I want to tie up any loose ends before I leave. Do you think he’d still be up?”

“Are you kidding?” Reg laughed. “You might find him sitting out on the bench in front of the library until midnight. He wanders the streets half the night.”

“No wonder he knows what goes on. So he saw them robbing your store, Mabel?”

I nodded. “That’s when they threatened him. It was right after that, they put him in the fish shack.”

“Doesn’t it seem like quite a drastic step to take? Why would you kill someone who only saw you do a break-in? These men are pros. I doubt that they’d murder someone who was obviously a little different, someone whose testimony might not be taken too seriously in the first place.” He shuffled around in his seat and rubbed his chin. “You say that he was frightened, Mabel?”

“Yes.”

“I wonder if he didn’t see something more.” He lifted his long body up off the sofa. “Let’s see if we can’t have a little chat with Charlie Thompson, Mabel.”

Reg jumped up, shoved his hat on and marched to the kitchen. “Okay,” he said. “Let’s go.”

Captain Maxymowich and I carried the dishes.

The Captain insisted that I sit in the front with Reg in the patrol car.

The first thing that Reg said when I climbed in was, “Don’t touch anything, Mabel.”

It’s a good thing the Captain was in the backseat; otherwise, we would have been sailing down the street with the siren screaming.

We were about half way down Main Street when I spotted Charlie. “Look! There’s Charlie on the bench. Why don’t you pull over and Captain Maxymowich and I can walk over from here?”

“Good idea,” Maxymowich said. “Wait here for us, Reg.”

If Charlie saw us coming, he didn’t let on. Some of the snow had started to melt on the bench. The pile that he’d used for his footrest was almost gone now.

“Hi Charlie,” I called out as we got closer.

Charlie didn’t move.

I went around and stood in front of him. “Charlie, I want you to meet someone. This is a Captain. He’s the man who’s going to take those bad guys away. They’ll never be coming back, Charlie. Not ever.”

Charlie didn’t look up. “Maybe.”

“No, not ‘maybe.’ They won’t ever come back.”

Charlie shrugged.

“Don’t you believe me, Charlie?”

He shook his head.

“Why don’t you believe me?”

Charlie looked up toward the dark night sky.

“He said he would,” he whispered.

“Who said he would?” I whispered.

He cupped his hands around his mouth and whispered for my ears only, “The big black man.”

“Why would he say that when he knew he was going to jail? No, he was just trying to scare you, Charlie.”

The Captain, who had been standing silently on one side of Charlie, came around now and stood beside me.

“Charlie,” he said, in a soft quiet voice, “I’m going to make sure that no one hurts you again.”

“What about Mabel?” Charlie whispered.

“No one will hurt Mabel, either.” Maxymowich sat down on his haunches. “What else did you see those men doing? The more we know about them, the longer they’ll stay in jail.”

Charlie started rubbing his hands together. He was getting nervous.

“It’s okay,” I whispered. “You can tell the Captain.”

We waited. Charlie stopped rubbing his hands together and started humming.

The Captain looked up at me. It was up to me to get Charlie to talk. It isn’t that easy to do sometimes.

“Charlie,” I whispered. “Is it okay that I told the Captain about your house? I wanted him to know about the cupboards you built. Would you show them to us? The Captain would really like to see them.”

The Captain nodded and smiled. “I would. If it’s all right with you.”

I don’t think, in all the years that I’ve known Charlie, I’ve ever seen him smile. Now, for the first time, his mouth stretched into a quick smile. It was gone in a second, but it had been there.

He slowly got up from the bench. The Captain and I walked silently and slowly behind him, all the way to his house. As we followed him through the front gate, I could see the patrol car creeping down the street towards us with the lights off. Good for Reg.

Charlie proudly showed off his cupboards. The Captain quietly followed him through the house as Charlie showed him all the furniture that he had made. It was amazing. When they were finished, we sat down at the kitchen table. The faint scent of cinnamon and apple pie filled the air.

The Captain took his time. No one rushed Charlie and no one rushed Maxymowich.

Finally, Charlie spoke.

“I saw them at the bank.”

If the Captain was surprised, he didn’t show it. I felt my eyes bulge. I put my hand over my mouth so I wouldn’t burst out and spoil everything.

“What were they doing at the bank, Charlie?”

Charlie leaned forward and whispered, “They took Mr. Wheeler away.”

I gasped. “They took Mr. Wheeler away?”

Captain Maxymowich looked at me. His eyes were cold. “Perhaps, you would let Charlie and I discuss this, Mabel.”

I put my hand back over my mouth.

“Where did they take him? Do you know?”

Charlie nodded. “To the lake.”

“Do they know you saw them?”

Charlie’s eyes filled with tears. He nodded.

“I went to the shack afterwards, but Mr. Wheeler was gone.”

Captain Maxymowich smiled.

“Would you show me which fish shack it was? Could we go there tomorrow?”

Charlie nodded.

“But he’s not there anymore.”

“I know, Charlie.”

The Captain and I stood up to leave. Captain Maxymowich held out his hand and Charlie shook hands with him.

“Thank you, Charlie. I’ll see you in the morning.”

Charlie beamed. This time his grin stretched to both ears. I wished that everyone in Parson’s Cove could be a witness to it. No one would ever believe me.

Chapter Thirty Eight

I opened up the shop the next morning but couldn’t concentrate on anything. My coffee didn’t even taste right. Sadie MacIntosh came in to see how some of her things were selling. I do allow her to keep a few items in the store on consignment. She, in turn, provides me with enough homemade wine to last the year. She’d heard about the break-in and was concerned that they’d stolen her chokecherry jelly. I assured her that not one jar was missing. If I’d known the thieves were coming, however, I might have kept some of the jars on the shelf and hoped for the best. She doesn’t use enough sugar.

It was still hard for me to imagine Charlie warming up to a stranger like Marlow Maxymowich. However, the Captain does have that quiet unassuming manner (when he wants to) that seems to attract. Of course, knowing Charlie, he just might not answer his door. He was as predictable as the weather lady on Channel 12.

I needn’t have worried. About ten o’clock I saw Maxymowich driving slowly down the street. Charlie was sitting in the passenger’s seat. There wasn’t a grin on his face, but I’d never seen him sit with his head held so high. Reg was slouched over in the back seat with his cap pulled over his eyes.

I ran to the window and waved. Charlie waved back.

Flori came in about ten minutes later and wanted to get caught up on all the news. I filled her in as best I could.

“So, that’s why the bank is closed for renovations,” she said, when I’d told her about Mr. Wheeler’s disappearance.

“The bank has been closed?” It seemed that I’d been out of touch with everything that was happening in Parson’s Cove for so long. On the other hand, if I’d had some decent deposits to make, I would have known the bank was closed.

“There’s a sign up on the door. Everyone’s been peeking through the window but there’s nothing happening inside.”

“Did you try phoning him?”

“Of course. Jake even went over to the house. He has his pension check to cash, you know.”

“What happened at the house? Was his wife there?”

She shook her head. “His wife is visiting her mother over in Germany, remember? There was no one there. He put a note on the door saying that he’d gone to the city to buy supplies.”

“I bet Chester Flynn put up all those notices.”

“What do you think has happened, Mabel?”

“I think Chester and Luther robbed the bank and then got rid of Herman Wheeler. That’s what I think.”

Flori’s eyes welled up with tears. I grabbed some tissues for her. Sometimes, it’s best to let her cry herself out.

“Oh, Mabel,” she moaned, “what is happening to Parson’s Cove? Nothing ever used to happen here. Now we’re the crime capitol of the world.” With that, she burst into a torrent of tears. I pulled out more tissues. She groaned, hiccoughed and snorted.

After the noises had subsided, I said, “We’re not the crime capitol of the world, Flori. I’m sure we’ll be crime-free for the next five years now.”