The Puzzle Lady vs. the Sudoku Lady (2 page)

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Authors: Parnell Hall

BOOK: The Puzzle Lady vs. the Sudoku Lady
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The Bakerhaven chief of police was obviously ill at ease. Which was odd, since he and Cora Felton had worked together often enough to have developed an ongoing comaraderie, if not a mutual respect. Cora hadn't seen him this uncomfortable since the time he'd had to arrest her for murder.
“Hi, Chief. What's up?”
“Hi, Cora.”
“Well, don't stand in the doorway. Sherry, aren't you going to ask him in?”
“I can't stay,” Harper said. “There's been a murder.”
“Really?” Cora's interest perked up immediately.
“Yeah. Mrs. Fielding, out on Kingston Road.”
“Ida?”
“You know her?”
“It's a small town, Chief. I don't know her well, but I've seen her in the bakeshop. If it's the same one I'm thinking of.”
“Little woman, curly hair.”
“That's her. How'd she die?”
“Fell in a fireplace, banged her head on an andiron.”
“And that's murder?”
“It would seem to be accidental. But a few things don't add up.”
“Such as?”
“If she fell on an andiron, why did it bash in the top of her head? I don't mean the top of her head; I mean the side that was up.”
“She couldn't have bounced?”
“Bounced? On an andiron?”
“You know what I mean. She fell on an andiron, rolled off, lay on her side, and expired.”
“I suppose she could have. And probably did.”
“Come on, Chief, what makes you think this was a crime?”
“Well …”
“Is there a crossword puzzle involved?”
“No.”
“A sudoku?”
“No.”
“An acrostic? A cryptogram? Anything like that?”
“No. No puzzle at all. She probably just fell. But I can't help thinking, what if it's murder?”
“Ten to one it's a domestic thing. Why don't you lock up her husband?”
“I did.”
“So?”
Harper grimaced. “Unfortunately, I locked him up the night
before. Drunk and disorderly. Bar fight down at Benny's. He was in jail all night.”
Cora nodded. “Which he would naturally do if he was giving himself an alibi. The minute he realized he'd killed her, he went out and got in a bar fight and got thrown in jail.”
“Not according to Barney Nathan. His preliminary estimate of the time of death is between eleven o'clock and two A.M. We locked hubby up around ten forty-five.”
“That doesn't sound very promising.”
“No, it doesn't.” Harper scratched his head. He seemed to be trying to think of what to say next.
Cora smiled. “Tell me, Chief, if there's no puzzle involved, why are you here?”
“Oh.”
“You have some ulterior motive, don't you? You've been acting like a shoplifter ever since you came in the door.”
“Shoplifter?”
“Spill it.”
Chief Harper exhaled. “Oh, for God's sake, I'm the chief of police. It's my job to solve crimes. It's your job to write crossword puzzles.”
Cora didn't correct the chief on that point. “So?”
“This crime doesn't have one. There's absolutely no reason for me to be here. If anyone knew I was talking to you about this case, they'd want to know why.”
“Why
are
you talking to me about this case?”
“Because you're good at it. That's what I don't get. Why are people so quick to dismiss your theories when you're right so much of the time?”
“I've wondered that myself.”
“Let's not go overboard. The fact is, you're intuitive and perceptive when it comes to analyzing clues.”
“Careful, Chief, I'll get a swelled head.”
“Anyway, the husband's still in jail, and the body's in the morgue.”
Cora squinted at him. “You want me to take a look at the scene of the crime?”
“If you wouldn't mind.”
“Thought you'd never ask.”
Michiko piloted the car around the curve, tugged at her sleeve. “I hate this damn kimono.”
Minami stuck her chin in the air, looked across at her niece. “Do not say ‘damn.'”
“It is more polite than some things I might say. Why did you bring me here?”
“You know why.”
“I know why we travel together. I do not know why we are here.”
“I must see this woman for myself,” Minami said.
“Why? Why does it matter? She has a sudoku book. You have a sudoku book. You have many sudoku books.”
“What if she writes another?”
“Then you are ready,” Michiko said, impatiently. She pouted.
“Why can't we go to the mall?”
“We went to the mall.”
“But you did not let me buy the pants.”
“Those pants had no front.”
“What?”
“And no back.”
“That is the style.”
“The waist was around your ankles. It is not decent.”
“That is what the girls are wearing.”
“That is not what the girls are wearing. That is what the boys
wish
the girls were wearing.”
“Don't you want the boys to like me?”
“You are only sixteen.”
“I am going to be seventeen.”
“Your birthday was last month.”
“And what did I get? A silk kimono!”
“You look very good.”
“I look like a silkscreen painting. I want to look like a girl.”
“We come in peace and friendship.”
“Yeah, right.”
“‘Yeah, right'? That sounds rude. Is that American? ‘Yeah, right'?”
“Yeah, right.”
“Michiko.” Minami shook her head. It was a hopeless task, trying to explain to a teenager who wouldn't listen. “This Puzzle Lady, she is a big deal. Her TV ads play in our country.”
“
Your
TV ads play in our country.”
“I
live
in our country. My TV ads do not play in the United States.”
“They're in Japanese.”
“That is not the point.”
“Yeah, yeah, that is not the point. I do not know what the point is, but it is not that.”
“Are you being rude again?”
“No.”
“It is important that I do well here.”
“That is stupid.”
“It is not stupid. It is a matter of honor.”
“Oh, pooh.”
“Do not pooh honor.” Minami shook her head. “You are young—you do not know.”
“Yes, yes, I am young—I do not know,” Michiko mimicked.
“That is what you always say. Ever since I was ten. I am not ten anymore.”
“No, but you act like it.”
“I will stop the car.”
“You will not stop the car. You will drive the car, and I will keep my appointment. And my books will sell many copies and you will go to the best school where you will learn many things.”
“I can't wait.”
“Maybe you will even learn manners.”
A police car whizzed by, heading in the opposite direction.
Minami's eyes widened. “Stop the car!”
“What?”
“Stop the car!”
“You said don't stop the car.”
“Stop the car! Turn around!”
“Why?”
“That was her!”
Chief Harper glanced over at Cora in the passenger seat. “So, what are you so eager to get away from?”
“Huh?”
“You ran out of there like the house was on fire. What's up?”
“Are you kidding? You got a murder case.”
“Well, it's not the crime of the century. If it's even a crime. By your standards, it's pretty dull.”
“That's a hell of an attitude, Chief. After all, Ida's dead.”
“Are you sure her name is Ida?”
“How long have you lived in this town? A lot longer than I have, that's for sure. You oughta know everyone.”
“I knew her by sight.”
“How'd you know her last name?”
“Doctor told me. And it was on the mailbox. And she's Jason's wife.”
“How come you know his name and not hers?”
“I never arrested her.”
“If her husband's in jail, who found her?”
“Cleaning lady.”
“She had a cleaning lady?”
“What's wrong with that?”
“I don't have a cleaning lady.”
“You live with your niece.”
“Oh.”
“What?”
“I gotta move out.”
“Why?”
“Why? She's a newlywed. You know what that's like. Well, you probably don't remember.”
Harper flushed slightly, said, “You changed the subject nicely.”
“From what?”
“Why were you so eager to get out of the house?”
“Oh. I got company coming.”
“What?”
Cora told Chief Harper about the Sudoku Lady.
“There's a Japanese puzzle constructor showing up at your house?”
“That's the rumor.”
“You haven't spoken to her?”
“I don't know her.”
“How come she hasn't called?”
“She doesn't know me.”
Chief Harper shook his head. “Last time we had Japanese visitors it didn't turn out so well.”
“I got a book contract.”
“And people wound up dead.”
“That was an added bonus.”
Chief Harper pulled into the driveway of a two-story frame house, white, with green shutters, like half the other homes in town.
“Distinctive,” Cora said.
The door was locked. Chief Harper produced a key.
“Where did you get that?”
“Cleaning lady.”
They went through the foyer into the living room.
Ashes, spilled out from the hearth, marked where the body had lain.
“Which andiron?” Cora said.
“The one on the right.”
Cora bent down, reached into her floppy, drawstring purse. She pulled out a handkerchief, moved the andiron slightly. “Heavy. No one picked this up and bopped her on the head.”
“Right.”
“A trace of blood on the edge?”
“Yes, it is. It's not conclusive.”
“That's not what I mean. If it's her blood, which is entirely likely, the evidence would indicate she fell on the andiron.”
“Yes.”
“And bounced off and rolled over and expired.”
“I suppose,” Harper said grudgingly.
“What's wrong with that?”
“The wound wasn't very deep. I've seen a guy with a tenpenny spike in his head.” Cora looked at him in amazement. He waved his hand. “Nail gun accident. Never mind. The point is, that guy lived. This was a shallow cut.”
“What does Barney say?”
“Says she's dead. Which I could have figured. As to why, he said that might take longer. From which I gather, our medical examiner has an early tee time. That's golf, not tea and crumpets.”
“Crumpets? Chief, are you sure you're not British?”
“The thing is, we don't have a cause of death except for the blow on the head. If we assume the andiron didn't kill her, the question is why did she fall in the hearth.”
“If she was backing up from an intruder, she could have tripped over the coffee table.”
Harper frowned. “Would that be murder?”
Cora studied the coffee table, considering the idea. “If she was backing away from an intruder, I would say any harm she encountered would be a direct result of the menacing act. How's that work for you, Chief? Could a person trip over the coffee table and fall in the grate?”
“I don't know. But I don't have to. Look where the table is. You'd have to take two steps sideways to hit the andiron.”
“Unless you were flung with force.”
“Are you saying she was pushed over backward?”
“Isn't that better for all concerned? Well, not for Ida, of course. She hadn't been drinking?”
“Again, we have to wait for Barney Nathan. But she hadn't apparently been drinking. So, any ideas?”
“I like the husband.”
“The one that's in jail with the perfect alibi.”
“That's why I like him. If you were going to kill your wife, you'd of course have a perfect alibi.”
“If it's perfect, he couldn't have done it.”
“He made it
appear
perfect. We just have to figure out how.”
Chief Harper groaned. “Please don't tell me you're going to
come up with another one of your convoluted—” He broke off at a sound from the foyer.
“Was that the front door?” Cora said.
“It couldn't be. Jason's still in jail.”
Chief Harper turned and gawked.
Standing in the doorway were an attractive Japanese woman, in a few hundred yards of ornate silk, and a rather sullen-looking Japanese teenager.
The woman fluttered her arms like an immense silken butterfly, smiled brightly, and said, “Hello.”

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