Murder at Breakfast (12 page)

Lou
and I located the handyman trimming the grass around one of the two large oak
trees in the backyard. When he saw that we were coming to visit with him, he
turned off his trimmer.

“This
is a big job, Lieutenant. It sure keeps me busy during the summer, all the
mowing, all the trimming. The trimming actually takes about as long as the
mowing, because there are so many places the mower won’t go. But I’m sure you
didn’t come out here to talk about that. What can I do for you?”

“I
just have a few questions to ask you.”

“Why
don’t we sit over here at the picnic table? I can use a few minutes rest.”

We
sat down, and I realized that with the slight breeze that blew through the
trees, and the fact that we were in the shade, it wasn’t as unbearable as I
figured it would be.

“Wally,
why don’t we begin by your telling us a little about yourself?”

“Well,
there’s not much to tell. I don’t exactly lead an exciting life. I take care of
maintaining the grounds here and fixing anything I can that breaks down. If
something breaks down and it’s too much for me, I call someone to come and fix
it or take it to someone. I’ve been doing this kind of work long enough that I
know some reputable companies in most fields.”

“You
say you’ve been doing this a long time, but then haven’t you been here only a
couple of years?”

“It
sounds like I’m not the first person you’ve talked to here, Lieutenant. Did
anyone tell you that I see my parole officer regular like, and that he keeps an
eye on me, hoping I’ll mess up and lead them to where the money is buried?”

“No,
they must have forgotten that part. So, are you ready to split the money with
me?”

“What
about him? Does he get a split?”

“Not
unless you talk loud enough that he overhears what we’re talking about. See,
he’s almost deaf, but he reads lips very well, so cover your mouth when you
talk.”

“You
mean like this,” Wally answered, putting his dirty hand over his mouth.

Lou
couldn’t hold it back any longer. He actually smiled.

“So,
tell me, Wally, after being pardoned for good behavior, where did you work
before this?”

“Well,
I might as well tell you the whole story, only this time it’s the truth. The
old lady and I were having problems, and it ended up interfering with my job. I
think that’s the reason I lost it. The job, I mean.”

“And
what did you do before coming here?”

“I
did maintenance work for a company that owned a lot of rental houses and
apartment buildings. Every time anything broke down, they sent me out to see
about it. But my attitude got worse, because of the trouble the old lady and I
were having, so I got to where I was grumpier on the job. When I talked back to
a couple of customers when they complained that I didn’t have something fixed
as soon as they wanted it, the company ended up letting me go. When that
happened, the old lady and I decided to part company. I haven’t seen her
since.”

“Did
you have children?”

“No,
luckily we didn’t have to drag some younguns through that. Anyway, I happened on
this job just as the other guy retired, and after giving me and a couple of
other guys a test, they decided on me. This way I have some place to stay, and
since I lead a simple life, I’m happy here.”

“So,
what did you think of Mrs. Higgins?”

“I
actually liked her. I know some of the others thought she could be ornery at
times, but I think both of us thought of the other as a survivor. I think she
liked me, too.”

“When
was the last time you saw her?”

“One
day last week. I’m not sure which one. I passed her as I was on my way from one
job to another. We both smiled and spoke.”

“So
you didn’t see her on the day she died?”

“No,
usually I wait until I’m sure all the residents have gone back to their
apartments before I come out for breakfast, and as far as I know, she never
came out of her apartment again that day after breakfast.”

“So,
who did you see at breakfast?”

“The
usual bunch.”

“Anything
different about Friday?”

“Not
that I could see.”

“What
about lunch?”

“Martha
and I ate together. I started to bring my lunch out to this picnic table, but I
saw Martha was at the table alone, and figured she would be if I didn’t sit
down and eat with her, so I did.”

“Who
left first?”

“Best
I can remember, we got up at the same time.”

“Wally,
tell me about the work you did on Friday.”

“Well,
let’s see. Friday. Oh, yeah, the first thing I did was help the maids move the
furniture, ’cause it was the day they shampooed the rugs. After that I come out
here and started working the flower beds. I’m at my best when I’m getting my hands
dirty. Taking care of the flowers is my favorite part of my job. It’s nice to
be able to say I help make things pretty so others can enjoy them.”

“And
how long were you out here?”

“Pretty
much all day. Oh, I went in for lunch. Actually I went in early, needed to get
through the dining room without any of the residents seeing me, seeing as how
dirty I was. I had already gotten back to my apartment and was cleaning up
before I realized that more than likely none of the residents would be eating
in the dining room at lunch. Anyway, I continued to wash up, and then waited in
my apartment until time for lunch. I went back out and worked the flower beds
after lunch, then  went back in a little early in the afternoon, because I had
to clean up again before I helped the maids move the furniture back, but other
than that and a bathroom trip or two, I was playing in the dirt in one place or
another.”

“Did
you see anyone while you were working out here?”

“Let’s
see. Yeah, I did. I came back from one of those bathroom trips I was telling
you about and Martha, the cook, was out here. We talked for a little bit. She
bragged on me about what a good job I was doing with the flowers, and how good
the place looked as a whole, and of course I bragged on her cooking.”

“Is
she the only one you saw?”

“Other
than when the maid came to my room to get me.”

“What
about the residents? Did you see any of them?”

“No,
most of them were gone on Friday.”

“Did
you see any of them leave or come back?”

“No,
but I heard a couple of cars though. Can’t tell you who. I don’t get up to
check every time I hear a car, even though there’s not a lot of coming and
going around here.”

“I
see that ladder’s still up there. Can you tell me how long it’s been there?”

“A
few days now. I’m sure the reason it’s still there is that Russell forgot about
it, then he took sick.”

“And
where is it when it’s put away?”

“See
that little place there between the two apartments? We keep it in there. You
know that’s Russell’s window where the ladder is and that's Elaine Jewell’s
window below his. Now, if you move on over to the other side of the storage
area the third floor window belongs to Imogene Ingram, one of the women who are
away, and of course that’s Mrs. Higgins’ window below hers.”

“What’s
the purpose of the ladder?”

With
that question, Wally laughed. “Well, lately it’s been so Russell could sneak
down and see his honey, but the reason we have it is for me to wash the windows
from time to time, or if I need to get up on that roof for any reason.”

“How
hard would it be to move the ladder?”

“Not
too hard. One man can do it.”

“What
about a woman?”

“Sure,
if she’s strong enough. It’s fairly light. I’m not sure if any of the little
old ladies here could do it, but I’d think that any of the women who work here
can.”

“So,
someone might have moved it since Russell left it there, and then moved it back
later?”

“Depends
on who it was.”

“What
do you mean?”

“Well,
they’d either have to be on the second floor roof to do so, or come from
Russell’s apartment. Russell would have to come down the ladder in order to
move it. There’s no way you can scoot it from up top. You’d fall and break your
neck. Let me explain. To get the ladder out to start with, you have to slide it
out of the storage area there in the middle and down to the roof. Then, you’d
have to climb down the ladder to the second floor roof, and slide it to one
side or another. It can only be moved from the bottom. So, Imogene Ingram for
example, who lives above Mrs. Higgins, couldn’t move it by leaning out her
apartment window. And of course neither could the other two ladies on the third
floor. Only Russell, or someone who was in his apartment, or someone on the
second floor roof could move it.”

“So,
how do you put it back when you’ve finished?”

“Well,
it’s much easier if there’s two people, one at the top in the storage area to
pull it back in, and one at the bottom to shove it up. That’s the reason I was
shocked the first time Russell used it to get down to Katherine’s place.
Somebody had to have helped him replace it.”

“So,
no one could have used that ladder to climb down to Mrs. Higgins’s apartment
say on Friday morning?”

“Only
Russell, and he was sick. Besides, I was out here most of the day. If anyone
tried to climb down that ladder, I’d have heard whoever it was.”

“Let’s
move on to something else. I understand you have a key to anything in this
place that has a lock on it.”

“Here
they are,” Wally said, pointing to the keys hanging from his belt. “I’m not
sure if I have a key to everything, but I have one to everything I might need
to get to.”

“And
that includes Mrs. Higgins’ apartment?”

“That’s
right, but it’s been months since I’ve used it.”

“Do
you know who else had a key to her apartment?”

“No,
I’d say that Margaret would be the one you’d have to talk to about that.”

“Wally,
would you know if there are any poisons on the premises?”

“There
are solvents and chemicals that would be poisonous if you ate or drank them.”

“Do
you keep them locked up?”

“No.”

“Why
not?”

“No
one ever bothers them.”

“And
where do you keep them?”

“Well,
you could find some of the things that might poison someone under the kitchen
sink, but there are others in the storage area in the basement.”

“And
you don’t keep that storage area locked?”

“No,
I don’t know too many people who lock the door under their sink, unless they
have small children. Besides, like I said, nothing’s ever been missing.”

“Does
that include now?”

“Well,
to be honest with you, I don’t check them regular like, just if I need to get
something out of the storage area. The last time I checked everything seemed
okay.”

“Okay,
let’s forget about the poison and move on to Friday night’s supper. Did you eat
it at the table?”

“Sure
did.”

“Can
you remember who else ate dinner there when you did?”

“As
far as I can remember, everyone did. By that I mean everyone who works here,
the five of us.” 

“In
the last few days have you noticed anyone acting differently than he or she did
before?”

“I’m
not sure how many of the residents I’ve seen since then, but I haven’t noticed
anything different about anybody who works here. Listen, Lieutenant, I know you
got your job to do and all, but I’ve got work to do that I need to get finished
up, so I can clean up a bit and be ready for supper. If there’s nothing else
you have to ask, I need to get back to work.”

I
couldn’t think of anything else. I told him that that was all for then, but I
might have more questions for him later. He looked at me kind of disgusted
like.

+++

I
looked at my watch. There was not quite enough time to question anyone else,
but it was earlier than Lou and I usually eat supper. So, we visited Mrs.
Higgins’ room again as if hoping her ghost would enlighten us as to who had
murdered her. We took a quick trip around the apartment, hunting for clues that
hadn’t been there that morning. When they didn’t materialize, we sat down to
discuss the case. Even after spending a few minutes looking over the place, it
was still a little too early to head to find something to eat. Actually, it was
never too early to eat dinner, but I didn’t want to have to fix myself
something to eat when I got home, so I decided to prolong it a little longer.

Lou
and I settled down, got as comfortable as possible, and I looked for the candy
Rosie had given me. I took a few with me,  just in case, but I didn’t want to
carry the container around while I questioned the suspects. I mean I guess it
would have been as professional as a cigar or a tattered raincoat, but I wanted
to outsmart everyone without them thinking I was dumb. I poured out a few
kisses into my hand, laid them on the coffee table. I sat all of them up, then
thought about playing Rubik’s Cube Hershey Kisses style. That didn’t last long.
I ended up eating all my Rubik’s Cubes. When that plan failed, carefully I put
a small pile of kisses on the cushion next to me, unwrapped one, and began to
think as I sucked on my delicacy. I had gone through five delicacies before I
gathered all my thoughts and was ready to talk to Lou. I turned toward him,
just as he opened his eyes. I didn’t hear any snoring, so I figured he was
contemplating the case, or had merely closed his eyes because he had eaten his
one M&M for the day. I would continue to pray for him. Sometimes we have to
pray for someone for years, before he or she is willing to change. I wasn’t
sure that Lou could hold on for years. I made a note to look through the Yellow
Pages for a hypnotist.