Slip and Go Die (A Parson's Cove Mystery) (29 page)

“Oh, I hope so.” She stood up and hugged me. “Tell me everything when you find out, okay?”

Flori left with a wad of tissue in her hand. She would sniffle all the way home and probably until dinner time.

I didn’t dare run home for lunch. By three, I was not only sick from drinking so much coffee and not having any food except two granola bars, I was also sick from wondering what had happened with Charlie.

It was almost four-thirty when Reg finally dropped in. By this time, I was ready to go over to the police station myself. In fact, I would have, except that I know Sheriff Smee doesn’t like me doing that. At least, not on a regular basis like two days in a row.

“What’s been happening?” I asked, before the door shut. “Where’s Charlie? Where’s the Captain? Did you find Mr. Wheeler?”

Reg held up both hands. Before he came to Parson’s Cove, he was a traffic cop. I guess it’s hard to break some habits. He must think that if that has the power to stop dozens of cars, it must be able to stop Mabel Wickles.

“Hold it, Mabel. The Captain asked me to come by and let you know how the day went.”

“He’s not coming?”

“No. He’s gone back to the city.” He stared at me. “Don’t look so disappointed.”

“No, I’m not, Reg. It’s just that I never got to say good-bye, that’s all. I thought I’d send some muffins home with him.”

He shrugged and walked over to the wicker chair. I’m not sure which groaned the loudest when he sat down–the chair or the man. Reg looked tired. There were dark circles under his eyes again.

“I said that I’d bring you up to date and that’s what I’ll do. Please, don’t pester me. I’m tired. I’m hungry. I haven’t talked to my wife in days. My ulcer is acting up and I almost wrecked the patrol car today when I hit some black ice. So, as I said, Mabel, don’t cause me any more trouble. Just sit and listen. Okay?”

I just nodded. Heaven forbid that the past few days hadn’t been exactly the best days of my life either.

“We found Mr. Wheeler.”

“Alive?”

Reg sighed. This was a bad day for him. His skin was ashen. He looked across the room. He shook his head.

“Did he freeze in the fishing shack?”

“No. We fished him out of the hole in the ice.”

My heart started to pound. I couldn’t even imagine such a horrid death.

“If it’s any comfort to you, Mabel, the medical examiner said that he would have had a heart attack as soon as he went under. It would have been quick.”

“Oh, those wicked, wicked men. They killed someone just to steal a little bit of money.”

“It wasn’t exactly a little bit. Chester Flynn really came to Parson’s Cove to rob the bank. At least, that was his original plan. Apparently, he knew Wheeler from another town. He was aware that Wheeler always kept large amounts of cash on hand. In fact, at one point, several years ago, Wheeler himself was investigated for stealing from his own bank. It appears that Flynn thought he’d talk Wheeler into doing business with him. In the meantime, he met Luther Washington. Washington had all this stolen loot and needed someplace to stash it. They both had connections in Parson’s Cove: Luther had his mother and Chester had Millicent.”

“So, Mr. Wheeler wasn’t all that he was cracked up to be?”

Reg shook his head.

“Isn’t it funny, Reg? Did you know that Jake never liked the man?”

Reg laughed. “There’s so many people that Jake doesn’t like; maybe I’ll pay more attention next time.”

“Well, maybe you better not. You know how he feels about me.”

“Oh, deep down inside Jake thinks the world of you, Mabel. It’s just that he doesn’t realize it, that’s all.”

We both chuckled. Jake’s love for me was almost in the root canal category.

“How much money did they get from the bank, Reg?”

His eyes got big and he blew out his mouth.

“Would you believe almost a million?”

“Wheeler had that much in his bank and he wouldn’t even give people a loan?”

He nodded. “Yep. There’s going to be an audit done at the bank, starting tomorrow. There’ll be a new manager coming in next week. I guess you’ll have to keep your big payroll under your mattress until then.”

“Don’t even joke about it. How, on earth, am I going to pay for this furnace now?”

He pulled himself up off the chair and shoved his cap back on.

“Don’t worry. Something will come up. It always does.” At the door, he turned and looked at me, a twinkle in his eye. “Maybe when I retire, they’ll make you sheriff. I’m sure Captain Maxymowich would recommend you.”

With that and another grin, he was gone.

Chapter Thirty Nine

It took about two weeks for all the excitement to settle down in Parson’s Cove. The tales, of course, would get embellished and last for years. By the time Flori’s grandchildren told it, I’m sure they’d be saying that Mr. Wheeler’s body floated under the ice until Charlie, who would now be known as a world-renowned cabinet maker, looked through the clear ice and saw Mr. Wheeler’s dead eyes staring up at him. They’d have Chester Flynn as some Mafia goon who planned a huge heist, using his daughter as his pawn. Esther could be the wicked mother who caused the daughter to find solace in her father’s heartless embrace. Then, there would be the real heroes of the story, the ones who solved the crime. Mabel Wickles, who defied death by sneaking into empty houses in the dead of winter. Captain Maxymowich, who, although brilliant, could not solve the mystery without the help of his sidekick, Mabel. Of course, Reg and Flori would have to be fitted in there someplace too.

The bank was up and running again. I decided that instead of taking out a loan, I would just take out money from my savings account and hope that business would pick up. I noticed that Beth Smee and Myrtle Crackers came in every week and bought, at least, one little item. Flori was a faithful friend, too. At one point, I had to put my foot down though.

“Flori, that’s the third souvenir shot glass you’ve bought this week. What does Jake do? Take a drink and then throw the glass at the fireplace?”

Flori blushed.

I hugged her. “I appreciate your support but I don’t want your house filled up with a lot of useless items. Besides, Jake wouldn’t like you spending all your money here.”

One afternoon, about a month after my store had been broken into, Reg strode in. He had a smile on his face. Everyone in Parson’s Cove did. Spring was rushing in on us. Water dripped from the roofs. Puddles were forming in the streets. The days were getting longer. The air smelled fresh. The bad men were in jail.

“You look chipper today, Sheriff Smee. Would you like a cup of coffee?”

“Sure.” He grinned. Now that he’d abandoned his big winter coat, he looked a lot thinner. He sat down in the wicker chair and allowed me the privilege of waiting on him. As usual.

He didn’t say anything until he’d taken his first sip.

“You’ve outdone yourself. This is the best coffee you’ve ever made.”

“Wow! You must have some great news to share, Reg. You usually aren’t so generous handing out compliments.”

He laughed. “This is good stuff, Mabel. Matches my news.”

I was ready for some of that. “Okay, let’s hear it.”

“You know all that junk that was stolen from your store?”

“Obviously, I know, Reg.”

“Captain Maxymowich sent me a list of the stolen items and how much they were worth. Want to know?”

I pulled up the other chair.

“Of course, I want to know.”

He unfolded a large sheet of paper, reached inside his shirt pocket and took out his reading glasses.

“Remember all those tea pots?”

“Sure. They were all tarnished. How much are they worth? Twenty bucks?”

He peered at me over the rims of his glasses.

“How about fifteen hundred?”

“You’re joking.”

“Nope. Says so right here. What about the ornament of the naked lady? How much do you think?”

“That ugly thing? The naked lady who was playing a ukulele? I don’t know, maybe a hundred bucks? I was trying to sell it for ten.”

“Try fifteen hundred.”

“I can’t believe it. That’s ridiculous. What about those ugly spoons? I bet they weren’t worth anything. They’ll probably throw them out.”

“Hmmm. Oh, this must be them. They’re called invalid spoons and they sell for three hundred.”

“Each?”

“Each.”

I shook my head. I’d been ready to give those things away!

“What about some of that jewelry, Reg? There was one very nice cameo. I was tempted to keep it for myself. Is it on the list?”

He ran his finger down the page.

“Must be this one. Victorian silver and pink lava cameo pendant from 1865. It’s worth four hundred and fifty dollars.”

“You’re kidding. I should’ve kept it. Which piece of jewelry was the most expensive?”

He trailed his finger down the list again.

“This one. Georgian Gold Cannetile Work pendant with emeralds. It’s worth almost two thousand dollars.”

“Some were so ugly. What was the cheapest?”

“The cheapest was the measly four hundred and fifty for the cameo.”

“Someone is out a lot of money. How much was all of it worth?”

“Close to half a million dollars.”

I couldn’t imagine that I’d had antiques in my store that were worth so much. “Do you think you’ll ever find the owners?”

“That’s the good news, Mabel. We did find the owners.”

“Really? Was anything missing?”

“A few things. We’ve already retrieved a couple of them. Millicent had them.”

“Poor Millicent. She can’t seem to win, can she?”

Reg shook his head. “Well, she’s quite happy to cooperate and send her pappy to prison. It’s been a blow to her. You never imagine that your own father would deceive you into taking part in some illegal scheme without your knowledge.”

“Hmmm. Deception by design. That’s what I call it.”

Reg laughed. “You always had a way with words, Miss Wickles.”

“Actually, I think that was the name of a romance novel that I read once.”

I picked up his empty cup.

“Did you want a refill?”

I don’t usually give refills, but I was feeling generous towards Reg. It was nice that he’d taken the time to come in and share this with me. I wasn’t really sure if it made me feel better or not.

“You didn’t ask me what the good news was.”

“I thought you’d already told me; you found the owner.”

“Something more–there’s a reward.”

“A reward? Are you serious?”

He nodded.

“So, pray tell, who gets the reward?”

“You do.”

“No. Are you telling me a tale here?”

Reg laughed.

“Nope. You get the reward. Captain Maxymowich has started the wheels in motion. He told them that if it hadn’t been for you, the crooks would have never been caught and the antiques never found.”

“Get out. He really said that?”

“You better believe he did.”

My eyes started to water. I reached down and picked a piece of lint off my skirt so Reg wouldn’t notice.

“By the way,” I asked when I was sure my emotions were in check. “Where were the antiques found anyway? Some of them were in Krueger’s house. Where were the rest?”