Town Haunts (22 page)

“Yes,” Erna
said. “Sherman said that there was a bylaw preventing Henry from
putting in his drive-through window.”

“Well,” Anna
said, trying to piece her thoughts together, “what if Henry came
back to talk to Evelyn about his drive-through on the day she
died?”

“Surely someone
would have seen him at the office,” Erna said.

“Evelyn was the
last to leave that day. What if Henry came in just as she was
getting ready to go? They could have quarrelled, and Henry might
have pushed her down the stairs in a fit of temper. Or he might
have killed Evelyn to keep her quiet about the bylaw.”

“I don’t know,”
Erna said slowly, pursing her lips together. “I’m reluctant to
think that Henry would have murdered Evelyn over a drive-through
window. Besides, that theory only works if no one else at the town
office knew about the bylaw.”

Anna pushed on,
too muddled to worry if her reasoning was sound or not. “But
Sherman said Evelyn had re-organized the files. Maybe it was some
obscure ordinance she had come across that no one else remembered.
There’s not much call for a drive-through window in this town.”

“Wait a
minute,” May said. “I hate to burst your balloon, Anna, but if
Evelyn had turned down Henry’s application, wouldn’t there have
been a paper trail citing the bylaw?”

“And we still
have no evidence that Evelyn was murdered. As far as the police
investigation went, her death was an accident,” Erna added.

Ben stared at
the three women. “You’re making me dizzy just listening to you,” he
said.

Erna laughed.
“Poor Ben. You’re not used to hearing us speculate.”

Anna rubbed her
eyes. It was late, and she felt wrung-out from discovering Henry.
“You two could be right ‒ Evelyn’s death may have just been an
accident.”

“Maybe. And
Henry’s death was probably a suicide,” May said.

“Otherwise,”
Erna added, “who murdered Henry?”

“Yes,” Anna
said as all three women turned to look at John and Steve deep in
conversation with Sherman. “Who could have murdered Henry?”

Steve dropped
Anna, Ben, and Wendy home later that night after they had signed
their statements, and Anna had a terrible sense of déjà vu,
remembering her ex-husband’s murder investigation as she unlocked
the front door and went to bed. She woke Ben at eight the next
morning so that he could make it to his part-time job in Calgary by
nine. Going back to bed to snooze for another half hour, she got
up, smoothed on some moisturizer and lipstick, and was at The Diner
for breakfast by nine. Mr. Andrews was seated at the end of the
counter next to Erna and May with no newspaper in sight, wonder of
wonders. Anna collapsed onto an empty stool beside them, still
feeling exhausted.

“I was going to
pick you two up if you weren’t here,” she said, speaking to May.
“How’d you get in this morning?”

“Tom gave us a
lift,” May said, nodding toward the retired rancher. He saluted
Anna with his cup of coffee, and she gave him a weak smile.

“Any news?” she
asked, turning back to May.

“Some. We got
here at seven thirty just as Frank was opening. Steve turned up
about twenty minutes later.”

“He looked worn
out, poor boy,” Erna added. “He must have had quite a night.”

“Yeah, he was
bushed. Anyway, he said that it looked like Henry hadn’t been dead
too long when you found him, but they’ll have to wait for the
autopsy to be sure. And there wasn’t much damage done to him, other
than ‒ well, you know. Nothing to indicate he’d been in a fight, or
tied up, or anything. So, it still looks like suicide.”

“Wouldn’t be
too hard to imagine Henry getting himself murdered,” Mr. Andrews
said. “There were times I wanted to get my hands around his throat
myself.”

“Shame on you,
Tom Andrews,” Erna said. “Speaking ill of the dead.”

He shrugged.
“Hell, I’m not the only one who felt that way.”

“Just don’t say
it out loud,” May whispered. “Not with the police as edgy as they
are.”

“I’m not
surprised,” Erna said. “One murder and another suspicious death all
in the same year. That’s unprecedented in Crane history.”

“Hi, Anna,”
Mary said, bustling around the counter to pick up a pot of coffee.
With four tables occupied, another couple coming through the door,
and no sign of Judy yet, she was in a hurry. “Looks like you’re
getting all the news. Do you want the usual?”

“Please,” Anna
said.

“Frank, Anna
wants the usual,” Mary called through the pass-through before
rushing away.

Anna turned
back to Erna. “How was Frank when you showed up this morning? Did
he still seem angry for calling the police on him the other
night?”

“No, he said
‘Morning’ the same as usual.”

“Good. At least
things are okay with Frank.” Anna turned to May. “How about
Sherman? Have you heard from him?”

“Yeah. He’s a
basket case. Thank God he’s staying with Father Winfield. Imagine
how he would have felt opening his curtains this morning to
discover Henry’s body swinging from a tree. If it had been me, I’d
have had a stroke for sure.”

The door opened
as another customer arrived.

“Now what are
we going to do?” Anna asked.

“Nothing. It’s
over,” a husky voice said from behind them. Anna whirled to see who
had spoken. Tiernay stood just inside the door wearing the same
cloak Anna had seen her in the night before. There was mascara
smeared under her eyes and her hair was flattened. Most of her
make-up was worn off, too. Anna had never seen the young woman
looking so unglamorous before.

“I’ve been up
all night taking readings around Sherman’s house and consulting the
cards. Evelyn’s murderer is dead, and she’s finally at peace. I
knew I’d find you all here this morning, so I came to tell
you.”

“Do you mean
that Henry killed Evelyn?” Anna asked.

“Yes, and now
that he’s dead, the balance is restored. Evelyn can deal with Henry
in the afterlife.” Greg pushed through the door behind her with his
hair tousled and damp and his coat flapping open.

“There you are.
I told you to wait for me.” He took his sister’s hand. “Come on,
let’s go sit down and order some food. Morning, everyone,” he
added, nodding to the group at the counter. Tiernay followed Greg
to a table while Anna and her friends watched.

“Don’t look so
worried, ladies. Didn’t you hear the young woman? Everything’s
taken care of,” Mr. Andrews said with a chuckle. He picked up his
coffee and ambled over to his usual table where the newspaper was
open and waiting for him.

“I’m not so
sure,” Anna said, leaning toward Erna and May. “Of course, I don’t
believe that Evelyn’s ghost killed Henry, but we can’t be sure that
his death was a suicide, either.”

“Morning
everyone,” Judy said, pushing through the kitchen door with a sunny
smile on her face. “It’s a beautiful day, isn’t it? I sure slept
well last night. Even slept in a little this morning.” Frank rang
the bell, and she walked over to check the food orders while the
three women glanced at each other.

“No way,” Anna
whispered.

“I don’t know.
Is she strong enough to lynch someone?” May asked. They watched
Judy as she sauntered by with three heaping plates of food balanced
on her arms and a coffee pot.

“Does it take
strength? What if Judy had a gun?” Anna asked. “She might have
forced Henry to climb up on a chair, and then kicked it out from
under him.”

“What about
motive?” May asked. “Why would Judy kill Henry?”

After
considering for a moment, Erna whispered, “Well, Henry must have
returned to Crane for a reason. What if it were to take revenge on
Frank? It might have been Henry masquerading as Evelyn who
threatened Judy with the axe. Frank might have discovered his ruse,
and either one of them, or both, could have killed Henry in
self-defence.”

The
pass-through bell rang again. Anna glanced up quickly and caught
Frank’s eye. He nodded at her before disappearing back into the
kitchen.

“I don’t
believe it,” Anna said. “If anything, Frank might have beaten Henry
black-and-blue for coming after Judy, but I don’t believe Frank
would have strung Henry up.”

Judy sauntered
to the pass-through, picked up a plate of pancakes and bacon, and
set it down before Anna. “I’ll get your apple juice,” she said,
turning to retrieve the carton from the cooler. “You must be
talking about Henry. Pretty shocking news, but I’m glad it’s
finally over.” She placed the glass in front of Anna, pausing for a
chat.

“Over? The
police have just opened their investigation,” Erna said.

“Well, there is
that, but I haven’t been able to sleep since that fruit loop tried
to kill Frank two weeks ago. Now that I know Henry’s about to be
buried six feet under, I’m sleeping like a baby. But I’ve got to
go. Time for Mary’s break. Catch you later, ladies.” Judy winked,
pulled a pencil from behind her ear, and hummed as she strolled
away. May arched her eyebrows at Anna.

“Oh, come on,
you’re not really thinking that either of them had anything to do
with Henry’s death?” Anna asked.

“It’s all
conjecture at this stage. We’re just toying with possibilities,”
Erna replied. “We mustn’t let our emotions prevent us from
examining the case from all angles.”

“Well, if we’re
going to toy with possible suspects, I’ve thought of someone no one
else has mentioned yet,” May said.

“Who?” Anna
asked.

“Tiernay.”

“Tiernay? How
do you figure that?” Anna said. “She hasn’t lived here long enough
to murder Henry. She barely knew him.”

“Yeah, but just
think,” May said. “She’s been worried about Evelyn’s ghost wanting
revenge, right? And she thinks she was possessed. What if she
thinks Evelyn told her to murder Henry, so she did?”

“That would
mean . . .” Anna began.

“That Tiernay
is seriously looney tunes, just like I said.”

“What are you
three whispering about?” Judy asked, returning to the counter. The
women jumped. “You look like a pack of magpies sitting on a wire.
Anna, you haven’t even touched your food yet.”

Judy made
another pot of coffee while Anna poured syrup over her pancakes and
cut into them. Picking up the spare pot, Judy asked, “Can I get
anyone a warmer?”

“Thanks,” May
said, shoving her cup forward. They sat in silence as Judy refilled
May and Erna’s coffees before strolling away with another
order.

“We’re too
conspicuous here,” Anna murmured. Peering nonchalantly over her
shoulder, she glanced around the restaurant. Greg was watching her
with a frown on his face and a slice of toast mid-way to his mouth.
He put it down and nodded at her, and Anna smiled before returning
to her plate.

“Look, we’re
wasting time,” she said in a low voice. “We don’t know anything for
sure. We’ve got to get some solid facts before we can come up with
a theory. I’m going to start by returning to Sherman’s house to
have a look around in broad daylight. If I see anything
interesting, I’ll stop by your house on the way home to tell you.”
She nabbed a fat forkful of pancake and chewed vigorously while
fumbling for her wallet.

“Good idea,”
Erna said. “But call May’s store if you have anything to report.
May and I are dropping by to see if anyone wants to talk about
Henry’s murder. We still don’t know where he hid when he came back
to town. Maybe someone saw him.”

“That’s right.
We’ve got to retrace his steps,” May added. “We’ll ask Gerry for a
lift back to Erna’s when we’re done.”

“Good, looks
like we’ve all got something worthwhile to investigate,” Anna said,
plunking money down on the counter and snatching up two strips of
bacon from her plate. “See you later,” she added, saluting her
friends with the bacon as she made a beeline for the door.

Anna had company
when she arrived at the caretaker’s house, however; a cruiser was
parked out front, and John was sitting on the porch steps, wearing
a pair of sunglasses. She waved at him from the sidewalk, and he
beckoned for her to join him. Stepping over the crime scene tape,
Anna trotted across the lawn, noticing that the leaves had been
removed.

“Have a seat,”
John said when she reached him. She climbed up the steps and sat
down beside him. John was still in uniform with his hat pushed back
on his forehead and his tie loosened inside his jacket. With his
eyes hidden by the glasses and his face expressionless, Anna wasn’t
sure if she were intruding.

“You been here
all night?” she asked.

“No, I just
came back an hour ago. The forensics unit finally packed up and
left, and I wanted to have a look at the place in daylight. What
are you doing here?”

“Same thing.”
She looked over at the tree that Henry had been hanging from and
shivered, pulling her feet onto a higher step and hugging her
knees. Even with the blue sky and sunshine, it was hard to get the
picture of Henry’s body hanging from the tree out of her mind.

John glanced at
her. “Cold, or does this place give you the creeps?”

“Both.” Anna
frowned. “Turning around and seeing Henry’s body swinging there was
one of the scariest moments of my life. And I’ve had a few.”

John nodded.
“Dead bodies take some getting used to.”

“I don’t ever
plan to get used to them,” she said. He smiled at her small joke,
and Anna relaxed a little. “So, since I’m here, do you mind my
asking what the forensics team discovered?”

“Kind of hard
for them to find anything with all the leaves. Sherman wasn’t
keeping up with the raking, so our team had to bag a lot of them to
sift through later. It will be a while before they can make a
report.”

“I see,” Anna
said. “How about the time of death, then? When did Henry actually
die?”