Marja McGraw - Bogey Man 01 - Bogey Nights (26 page)

“Your Highness,” Chris replied.

“Oh, you.” Chance knew he was joking and lightly slapped his hand. “One thing you might want to think about, Chris, is that friends of the boarders came to the house, too. That would add to your list of suspects.”

“Do you remember any of them?” Chris asked.

“There were a couple who were quite memorable. Charles had two friends who seemed shady, at least to me. They were always wanting him to go to out and get drunk with them, among other things. Now mind you, I don’t know what Charles was up to, but I once saw these two men slipping him some money. They were paying him for something, but I don’t know what it could have been.”

“Chance, I heard from someone, and I don’t recall who it was, that one of the boarders we’ve been talking about returned to the boarding house and had words with you
. From what I can gather, it would have been after everyone had moved out and been replaced. Who was that man?” I asked.

“I don’t recall,” she said, thoughtfully
. “It’s been a long time since the boarding house was a part of my life. No, I don’t remember anyone coming back and arguing with me.”

Selective memories can be quite convenient
. She’d remembered a lot about the boarders. Why not the return of one of them?

Chapter Twenty-eight

I
wanted to learn more about Chance and her past, so I tried to hit on something near and dear to her. “You said that you’d have sung with a big band if it hadn’t been for your circumstances,” I reminded her. “Would you mind telling us what you meant?”

“
My parents passed on.”

“At the same time?
Were they in an accident or something?” I asked.

“They’d gone to the club for dinner and dancing one night
. While they were there enjoying themselves, a storm moved in. The roads were slick with rain. Daddy had too much to drink, and on the drive home he missed a curve and slid right over a cliff.”

“You don’t sound too upset,” I said
. “Of course, this was a long time ago.”

“Yes, it was
. A very long time ago. But you asked about my circumstances. The problem was that my sister and I fought over the inheritance. Mother and Daddy left me the bulk of their estate. They didn’t like my brother-in-law and they didn’t want him putting his hands on their money and property. I was so busy with the courts, my sister, and the estate that I had to put my singing career on hold. By the time we’d sorted things out, it was too late for me.”

“I’m sorry to hear that
. Both about your parents and about your singing career,” I said. “I would assume that you and your sister made up since your nephew and you seem so close.”

“I didn’t know John until a few years ago
. My sister and I never did mend any fences, but when she died I was the only family John had, so he moved out here. He’s so different from my sister. We get along famously, and when my time comes, he’ll inherit the estate. It was quite large you know.”

“The estate?” Chris asked.

“Oh, yes. I could live much more comfortably than this, but I prefer a simple life. I don’t want anyone to know I have money or they’ll line up at my door with their hands out. People can be so greedy.”

I remembered that the poker gang
knew of the possibility that she had money, but then they didn’t really believe it. And I recalled a conversation with John. I could have sworn he said he’d visited Chance’s boarding house when he was a child. I’d have to ask Chris about it.

“
Dapper Dan’s
is still there, by the way, only it’s called something else now. Alice and I had such fun there – until she stabbed me in the back.” I could see that Chance was fuming about Alice, but her voice remained calm. Of course, she’d had a lot of years to come to terms with how she felt about her friend.

“Where was the cocktail lounge located?” Chris asked.

“I’ll be right back,” Chance said, standing and walking toward what I assumed was the bedroom. She returned shortly and handed Chris a business card. “I talked John into taking me there one night, and I picked up this card when we left. Things have changed so much that I didn’t enjoy myself. I made him bring me home.”

Things had changed and Chance was disappointed?
It had been over sixty years since she’d been there. Of course things were different. I saw Chris slip the card into his pocket.

He
glanced at his watch. “We’re going to have to leave pretty soon, Duchess. We have another appointment this afternoon.”

“Oh, please don’t go
. Have some of the canapés I made. They’re a fabulous treat, I promise.”

“Okay, we’ll cool our heels for a few minutes longer.”
He tasted one of the treats and put on his Bogey face. “These are aces, Duchess. The best I’ve ever had. Say, you’re okay to have these here for us. So Blakely was a good Joe, huh? Did he ever visit that gin mill where you sang?”

Chance grinned, ready for her dose of the Bogey Man
, not realizing that this was Chris’s sneaky way of asking more questions. “No, he never heard me sing. He would have enjoyed it though. Well, I take that back. It seems that I do recall him coming in once.”

“
I’m sure you were quite the canary, shweetheart,” Chris said with his Bogey lisp. “How’s about the other boarders? Any of them ever come in for a listen and a taste of hooch?”

“Maybe, but I don’t remember
. When I was singing, I didn’t notice much of anything. And when I was done, well, the men wanted my attention. I think that’s why Alice came with me. She was a cute little blonde, but she was kind of quiet. She needed me – at least, until she started singing, too.”

“You might take that as a sort of left-handed compliment,” I said
. “She learned from the best, Chance Murphy.”

Before we could talk any further, there was a knock at the door
. Chance pulled herself out of the chair and, scowling, answered the door.

“Auntie Chance, I see you have company.”
John entered the small apartment and it began to feel too crowded. Maybe if the curtains were open and daylight was streaming in the windows it would have felt less confining.

John glanced at each of our faces
. “Am I interrupting something?”

“No,” Chris said, “we were asking your aunt a few more questions about the boarders, and she was telling us about when she used to sing at
Dapper Dan’s
.”

Chance looked up, into John’s face, and said, “They were just leaving though
. They have another appointment and I’m a bit tired anyway.” She sagged a little, giving emphasis to her comment.

I looked from her to John and realized that she was
game-playing again. Her voice was suddenly weaker, and the look on her face made me feel like her next question would be,
“Where am I? I’m so confused.”

I headed for the door
. “Come on, Chris. We’d better get moving or we’ll be late for our appointment.” I stopped and turned to the little old lady, deciding to play her game. “Chance, I’m sorry we tired you out. You get some rest and we’ll talk again later.”

“Yes, come back
again.” By this time she was leaning on John’s arm for support.

“Good to see you, buddy,” Chris said, holding out his hand to John
. “We’ll talk later, okay?”

“Sure.”
John helped Chance over to her chair after shaking Chris’s hand.

With
one last look in the recreation room, Chris and I headed for the car.

“Can you believe that woman?” I
asked, scornfully. “She can turn her feelings off and on like a water faucet. She’s better at it than
I
am.”

Chris gave me a quick glance.

“No, I don’t really do that, Chris. It just seemed like the thing to say. And can you believe that she thinks all those men had a crush on her? I’ll bet she’s the one who kept those boarders upset all the time. I can picture her stirring all the little pots.”

“You could be right
. She discombobulates
me
, that’s for sure. She’s a piece of work.”

“
She upsets me, too. Next time I’m coming by myself. Maybe I’ll see the real her. With you here, I think she holds back. My, but she was nasty about Alice. I sure would like to find her and get
her
side of the story.”

“Yes, but she’s vanished, just like the others.”

“Yeah, vanished like the wind. This whole thing is so weird. You’d almost think Chance killed those men, and yet I don’t really think she did. My opinion seems to be skewed because I don’t like her, but I can’t help it.”

Chris laughed
. “You’re joking. You don’t like her? I’d never have guessed. And for someone who goes to church every Sunday and prays about everything under the sun, you sure don’t sound very Christian right now.”

We climbed into the car
. Chris started the engine and pulled away from the curb.

I thought about what
he said before responding. “You’re right. I don’t sound very Christian. But Christians aren’t perfect, you know. We have our faults just like everyone else. We’re a work in progress.” I straightened my back. “However, along those lines, I’ll start praying for change in myself, and more understanding and patience. Patience is my downfall. I don’t have much. Thanks for calling this to my attention, Chris. And I’ll pray for Chance. She could stand to be a little more loveable.”

Chris was quiet for a full minute, apparently stumped at my reaction
. “Hey, babe, I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings. I was just teasing.”

“You didn’t
. As the Bogey Man would say, you made me open my blinkers and take a look in the mirror. It’s aces, Chris.” I took hold of his hand and squeezed it, a loving gesture. He squeezed back and smiled at me.

It was a long drive to Midge’s mother’s house.

“Chris, what did Midge say her mother’s name is?”

“Charlotte.”

“I remember that one of the letters we found was from Charlotte. I wondered at the time if she was Midge’s mother.”

We didn’t talk for several miles
. I was lost in my thoughts about what little we knew, and I assumed Chris was, too.

“Do you really think Chance could be the killer?” I
finally asked.

“No, probably not
. She was too wrapped up in herself. It wouldn’t have served her purpose to kill the very men who she seems to think worshiped her. It might be worth looking into Blakely’s friends though, if we can find out who they were. Maybe Charlotte knows something.”

“I’d like to see
Dapper Dan’s
, too,” I said. “What’s it called now?”

Chris pulled the card out of his pocket and handed it to me.

“Oh.
Daniel’s
. I guess they didn’t change the name too much. Come to think of it, I’ve seen that place, and it looks nice. Maybe we can check it out while Mikey is at his grandparents’ house. See what our competition is like.”

“You’ve got a date,
babe.” Chris turned right and handed me a piece of paper. “This is the street. What’s the number?”

I read it and pointed to a block wall on the left, with the number fastened to it
. “That’s it.” It was surrounded by more block walls and high gates. We pulled in and stopped at the gate, where we found a button to push. We couldn’t see the house. The driveway curved around behind some old, established trees.

“Hubba hubba,” Chris said
. “It looks like Midge wasn’t joking when she said she came from a family of means. I wonder if
Mummy
is her source of funds.”

“Hubba hubba?”

“Yeah, well… ” He reached out the window and pushed the button.

A disembodied voice greeted us
. “Yes? Can I help you?”

“Chris and Pamela Cross to see Charlotte
Springer. She’s expecting us.”

“Drive on up,” the voice said as the gates swung open.

We drove around the trees and found the home, which looked more like a mansion to me. Charlotte had done well for herself. We parked at the side of the house which appeared to be for guest parking.

Walking up to the front door, I couldn’t help admiring the place
. There were enough trees to warrant calling it a small forest. Between the trees and the house were well-kept gardens, filled with traditional flowering plants and exotic looking plants that I’d never seen before. There were two weathered benches that had aged gracefully, shaded by arbors that were covered with vines. I took mental pictures with our backyard in mind.

I didn’t want to go talk to Charlotte
. I wanted to plunk myself down on one of the benches with a good mystery and forget the world for a few minutes – or hours.

I didn’t realize Chris had
pushed the button for the doorbell until someone opened the door. Turning, I found a lovely woman of indeterminate age standing in the doorway. They say class tells, and this woman was screaming good breeding. I remembered Midge saying that her mother was still in her own home and that she didn’t get around much anymore. Ridiculous!

“You must be Chris and Pamela,” the
woman said in a soft, smoky voice. “Please come in. I’m Charlotte Springer.” She took a step back and waved us in.