Vanilla Vices (17 page)

Chapter 19

“W
hat can I do for
you, Inspector?”

“I suppose asking you both to stop trying to be investigators and go back to your regular lives is out of the question,” she said, but there was no real sting to her words. What was going on here?

“We’re just interacting with our fellow April Springs citizens,” I said. “It’s what we do.”

“I can’t say that I’m all that surprised by your answer. They warned me that I’d have trouble with you when I got this assignment,” she said.

“Wow, I didn’t realize that we had a reputation,” I said.

The inspector didn’t know how to respond to that, so she changed the subject entirely. “I don’t know why I’m even bothering. After all, it hardly matters now. You can have full access to the junk shop again.”

“Are you saying that you’ve finished searching the place already? I would have said that was impossible.”

“It turns out that we don’t have to. The burglar struck again in Hudson Creek an hour ago,” she said. “This time he hit a shop in broad daylight, and he picked the wrong man to rob. The store owner was armed and ready for him.”

“How did he know that he’d be hit next?” I asked.

“He didn’t. From what I understand, he’s been a pessimist all his life. He always expected to be robbed, and what do you know? He was.”

“Has the suspect confessed to committing Dan’s murder, too?” Grace asked.

“He’s not really in any position to, since the store owner emptied his shotgun into him. Anyway, you should rest easy. Your friend’s killer has been punished for his actions.”

“How can you be so sure of that?”

“They found items from the other robberies in the trunk of his car. That should be good enough even for the two of you.”

“Were any of them from Aunt Teeks?” I asked.

“I’m sure they were, but how will we ever know for sure? It’s just a mishmash of stuff. Evidently the guy took not just money but a few souvenirs from each place he hit as well. That’s it for me. I’m being reassigned. I’ve already told your husband that he can have his office back.”

After she was gone, I looked at Grace. “What do you think?”

“I don’t think the string of robberies ever had anything to do with what happened to Dan,” she said.

“Neither do I. At least this will keep the state police out of our hair, and we get access to the shop again.”

“Then what are we waiting for? Let’s go,” she said.

As we drove to Aunt Teeks, a few flurries fell from the sky. It wasn’t even enough to make me turn on my windshield wipers, but I was afraid that it might be a harbinger of things to come.

“Not very impressive for a snowstorm, is it?” Grace asked as she looked out the windshield.

“I have the feeling that this is just the beginning,” I said.

“I hope you’re wrong,” she said as she looked at the gray skies above us.

“So do I,” I said.

“I thought you loved snow, Suzanne.”

“I do, but I’m not sure what it’s going to do to our investigation.”

“We press on, just like always,” Grace answered.

When we got to the shop, I backed in and parked right up front. If we had to make a quick escape, we’d be ready. At least my Jeep had four-wheel drive. It would keep us safe, unless some other maniac who had no business being out on the road hit us. For that, we’d need a tank, and I couldn’t afford to drive one of those for many reasons, not the least of which was the poor gas mileage they got. The police tape was gone from the front door, and as we stepped inside, I flipped on the lights. It was early afternoon, but the sky kept growing darker and darker, though oddly enough, the brief flurries were gone, at least for the moment.

“What should we do first?” Grace asked me.

I remembered Benny’s plea. “Help me find seven items first.”

“That’s kind of specific,” she said. “Any seven in particular?”

“Let’s see. There was an iron like the one that was used as the murder weapon, a letter opener in the shape of Elvis, a snow globe with Mount Rushmore, a candy-cane pen, a spittoon, a book on landmarks, and a paperweight with musket balls on it.”

“I didn’t realize we were going to have a scavenger hunt.”

“I forgot to tell you. Benny corralled me and showed me his receipt. He bought these things from Dan, but he couldn’t take them with him at the time, so he asked me to set them aside for him.”

“It looks as though Dan already did,” Grace said after looking under a few of the counters up front. She held up, in no particular order, a letter opener, a pen, a snow globe, a spittoon, and a book. “I found five of them.”

“All we need now are the iron and the paperweight.”

Grace looked around the room. “I don’t see either one of them here.”

“What if the iron was the one used in the homicide?”

“That’s easy enough,” Grace said as she walked to the cast iron room and collected one from the displays of them. “Now we just need the paperweight.”

“Don’t you think Benny will realize this isn’t the one he bought?”

“I don’t see how. They all look alike to me.”

“Me, too, but I’m sure for a collector, they are as different as night and day,” I said.

“Put it in the pile and see if he says anything,” Grace suggested.

“I’ll ask him if the substitution is okay first,” I said, “but go ahead and put it with the other things.”

“What about the paperweight?”

“I didn’t see it in front,” I admitted. “Did you?”

“Not anything even close to your description,” she answered.

“We’ll keep an eye out for it while we search the rest of the place,” I said as I saw a car approaching. In its headlights, I could see that the flurries had started again. “Who is this?”

“I don’t know, but we’re about to find out,” Grace said.

The pairing surprised me when they got out of the car together. It was William Jecks and Jeffrey Frost. “What are they doing together?” Grace asked.

“They’re probably here to wear me down,” I replied.

“Good luck to them with that.”

Before either man could take a step inside the shop, I met them outside. “Gentlemen, I’m afraid that I still don’t have an answer for either one of you, so I’m afraid that you’ve wasted a trip.”

“We’re here to tell you that we’re both withdrawing our offers,” Frost said.

“What are you talking about? You were desperate to get this land, and William, you wanted Dan’s inventory.”

“Not anymore,” he said with a grin. “Jeffrey and I have made a different kind of deal.”

“Are you selling
your
shop to him?” I asked.

“Hardly. I inherited some land in a prime location, and after speaking with Jeffrey, I’ve decided to sell it to him.”

“It will suit me better than this land ever would,” the builder admitted. “I warned you, Suzanne, things move fast in this world.”

“What about Dan’s inventory?” I asked William, still surprised the men had given up on what they’d once seemed to want desperately.

“You can have it all,” he said. “With what I’m making off Jeffrey, I’ve decided to take an early retirement and move to Florida. I’m selling out my stock, in case you’re interested.”

“Why would I want
more
stuff?” I asked. What was happening here?

“I just thought I’d make you the offer. I’m sure I’ll be able to get a pretty penny for my inventory. Thanks anyway.”

“Yes, I should be thanking you as well,” Frost said. “By holding out, you and Dan made it possible for me to buy an even better parcel of land. Good luck unloading it now.”

The two men left, and Grace looked after them with me. “Well, I for one didn’t see that coming, did you?”

“No, I thought for sure one of them might have killed Dan for what he had.”

“They might have, but I don’t think they did anymore.”

“I don’t either,” I agreed. “They both seemed pretty happy with their new arrangement, which leads me to believe that neither one of them was as driven to get rid of Dan as I once thought.”

“Cheer up, Suzanne. That still leaves us with Belinda and Benny.”

“Yes, but which one should we focus on?”

“Why not both? Let’s do another sweep of the place, but if we don’t find anything that leads up to either one of them, then we’ll tackle them both again.”

“I like it,” I said. “Do you want the upstairs or the downstairs?”

“I’ll go up,” Grace said.

“While you’re there, look around for that paperweight, would you?”

“I will.”

“Oh, and Belinda is going to be coming by for some personal things. That will give us a chance to speak with her again. Given the way she acted the last time, this might be it for her. I’ve got Benny’s number, too. We can call them both and have them come to us! It’s perfect.”

“Just don’t call them both at the same time,” she said.

“I won’t make that mistake.” I dialed Benny’s number, but it went straight to voicemail. “Benny, it’s Suzanne. We’re back in Aunt Teeks, so you can come over whenever you’d like to.” After I hung up, that left me wondering if I should call Belinda or wait until I heard from Benny. Then again, it might be a while before he got my message. I finally decided to just go ahead and dial Belinda’s number too.

At least she picked up.

“Hi, it’s Suzanne. We’re back in the shop, so if you want to stop by in an hour, you can collect your things.”

“Fine. I’ll be there,” she said abruptly, and then she hung up on me.

It wasn’t ideal, but it was the best I could do. While I waited for my first suspect to arrive, whoever that might turn out to be, I decided to do a more thorough sweep of the place and look for that paperweight. It wasn’t necessarily my highest priority, but its absence was bugging me, and I knew that I wouldn’t be able to focus on anything else until I found it.

Chapter 20

A
little later, I glanced out
the window and saw that the snow was coming down in earnest now. It was just starting to cover the grassy areas, but the pavement turned shiny black as it hit. With the temperatures dropping, the snow might not impede driving right away, but if the downward trend kept up, it would be a mess outside soon enough. As I watched it coming down, my cellphone rang. Was it Benny, or perhaps Belinda? To my delight, it was neither.

“Hey, Suzanne. Are you at home?”

“Hi, Jake. Actually, I’m at Aunt Teeks.”

“I should have guessed. Karina told me she was heading your way. You’re not still sleuthing, are you?”

There was no doubt in my mind that my husband deserved the truth. “Grace and I don’t believe that Dan was killed by the man who was shot today.”

“I didn’t figure you would, but it’s pretty likely that’s exactly what happened.”

“Even if you’re right, why shouldn’t we keep digging? Besides, I am Dan’s executrix, so I need to start the process of shutting down the business anyway.”

“I’ll grant you that, but do you have to do it with a snowstorm on the way?”

“It’s as good a time as any, and besides, I have my Jeep.”

“Maybe so, but don’t stay too long. Stephen and I are going to be working late tonight. He’s calling Grace even as we speak. I’m afraid we’re going to have a mess on our hands.”

“Be careful,” I said. “Grace and I already figured that you’d both be busy, so we’ve planned a sleepover at our place.”

“That sounds like an excellent idea. I’ll keep in touch.”

After Jake hung up, I realized that he was probably right. There was no reason to risk being out in this kind of weather, and if I hadn’t called Benny and Belinda, I might have been tempted to pack it in and go home right then and there. My slumber party with Grace sounded like fun, but it was going to have to wait until our final two suspects showed up.

I was working in the front a little later going through the mishmash of things when the front door jerked open. Benny Flint stumbled inside, brushing the snow from his head, and it didn’t take a genius to realize that he was intoxicated.

“Where’s my stuff, Suzanne?” he asked belligerently. It appeared that Benny was what was known as a mean drunk. Oh, goody.

“It’s over there,” I said, pointing to the pile. “I have to apologize about the iron. I couldn’t find one out here, so I grabbed one from the shelf. I hope it will do.”

He swept everything off the counter, sending it all clattering to the floor. “Where are the musket balls?”

“I don’t know,” I said. I was about to tell him that we were still looking for the paperweight when he lunged at me, grabbing my T-shirt with both hands and slamming me against the wall. I felt my head hit hard and bounce back, and for a moment, my vision was blurred. “Benny, let go of me.”

“You’re not stealing the gold from me,” he whispered in my ear, sending a cloud of alcohol my way.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I protested. “I mean it. If you don’t stop right this instant, I’m going to tell Jake.”

“Tell him. Tell the world, for all I care. Once I get my gold, I’m outta here.”

“What are you talking about? Just how drunk are you?” Where was Grace? I kept hoping to see her creeping down the stairs. Was it possible that she hadn’t heard the confrontation from upstairs? I might have to deal with this maniac by myself, and so far, the maniac was winning.

“Drunk enough not to care about you or anybody else. It’s got to still be here.” He slammed me back again, but this time I managed to take most of the blow on my shoulders. It didn’t hurt nearly as much as the head bang had.

“I thought musket balls were made from lead,” I said, trying to calm him down. I wasn’t sure how many more assaults I could take from this man.

He was too drunk to settle down, though. “That’s how Dan was being so tricky. They were made of gold and he just painted them to look like lead. That paperweight is my ticket out of here.”

“Then let me go, and I’ll help you find it,” I said. “If you bought it, then it’s rightfully yours.”

That made him giggle, something that chilled my blood more than a threat would have done. “I added it to the receipt myself when I found out what it was really made of. Pretty smart, huh?”

“Brilliant,” I said.

“Was that you in the picture with Dan after all?”

“Yep. That was me. He must have got mad and tore it up.”

“Did you write the note as well?” I asked him. If I was about to die, I at least wanted my curiosity satisfied.

“Nope, that had to be Belinda. Dan’s got all kinds of old envelopes and stationery around here. I bet she found an old envelope, wrote him the note, and tried to scare him with it. She’s mean!”

As opposed to him? “Do you have any idea where the paperweight might be?”

“I don’t have a clue, but we’re going to track it down, and then I’ll deal with you,” Benny said as he shoved me toward the cast iron room. He was much stronger than I ever would have imagined him being, and I felt myself stagger with each step, trying to right myself. I wanted to run away, but where could I go?

Then I heard someone beating on the front door. It was Belinda! She looked panicked as Benny started toward her. I took the opportunity to head for the stairs. Grace would help me if I could make it. It appeared that I had a drunken killer after me, and only Belinda’s unexpected appearance had kept him from killing again. Glancing over my shoulder, I saw Belinda running away into the snow. Benny suddenly changed his mind about pursuing her and turned back on me. As I raced up the steps, I saw Grace peeking out from Dan’s bedroom. She was holding a metal pipe in her hands, and she motioned me to her so she could protect me. I had another idea. Motioning her to step back into the room and stay quiet, I hesitated on the top step until Benny got closer. When he was almost close enough to grab me again, I raced into the room where Grace was hopefully waiting with her pipe. I nearly played it too closely, though, as Benny’s fingers slipped on my T-shirt, almost bringing me down right then and there. Somehow I managed to twist free, and I stumbled into the bedroom with Benny close on my heels. He managed to grab my arm this time, and if Grace didn’t act quickly, I was dead.

She swung the pipe from behind him, and Benny went down in a heap.

“Did I kill him?” she asked, nearly crying as she did. I’d experienced that feeling myself once before, and I knew what it might do to her. I reached down and got a pulse. It was there, but I couldn’t tell how strong or how weak it was. “He’s still alive.”

“I’m glad,” she said, and then she asked plaintively, “Should I hit him again?”

“I think we’re okay,” I said. “I’m going to call Jake.” I started to dial his number as I heard someone coming up the stairs.

It was Belinda. “Good. You got him. Is he dead?”

“No, but he’s not going anywhere for a while.” My call went straight to voicemail, so all I said was, “This is Suzanne. Call me as soon as you get this.”

After I hung up, Belinda said, “Who would have believed that it was Benny all along? I’ll just grab my things and head out.”

“Fine,” I said, keeping my eye on Benny, who hadn’t moved an inch since Grace had clocked him with the pipe.

Belinda looked around the room, gathered a few odds and ends, and then she asked, “You didn’t happen to see my paperweight, did you?”

A chill went through me. Belinda must have known that the balls were made of gold, too. Before Grace could say anything, I asked, “There are lots of paperweights around this place. What does it look like?”

“Actually, it’s not that impressive, just three lead musket balls mounted on a base. Dan wanted me to have it, and now that he’s gone, it’s got a great deal of sentimental value to me. I really would like to find it.”

“Are you sure the value is just sentimental?” I asked her.

It was a stupid thing to say, and I knew it the moment the words escaped my lips. “What do you know, Suzanne?”

“Nothing. It was just a simple question,” I said, doing my best to backpedal from what I’d just accidentally revealed.

“Nonsense. He knew, too, didn’t he?” she asked as she nudged Benny’s head with her foot.

He protested a little, but he barely moved from his spot.

“Where is it, Suzanne?” Belinda asked, her voice chilled beyond recognition.

“The truth of it is that I wish I knew. Why don’t you come back after the storm and we’ll hunt for it together?”

Belinda shook her head as she reached into her purse and pulled out a small ladies’ revolver. “Nice try, but you can stop trying to pretend that you don’t know. Dan hid it from me too well, but once you all are taken care of, I’ll have plenty of time to search for myself.”

“You can’t just shoot all three of us,” I said a little shrilly.

“Of course I can. I haven’t touched anything, so no one even knows I was ever here. Even if they dust for prints, I can explain mine being here. Gabby’s going to make a useful corroborating witness to the affair, don’t you think?”

“Were you two ever even dating?” Grace asked her.

I glanced down at her feet and saw the pipe still lying there, but it might as well have been on the moon for all the good it was going to do us. There had to be something I could use, but Dan was so simple in his taste that the room was nearly without any furnishings. If we could keep her talking, though, maybe we’d have a chance after all.

“We were, I’m ashamed to admit. I realized that it was a mistake, though, and when I attempted to break up with him, he tried to bribe me into staying at first, and then he threatened to expose that we’d been together. He was quite proud of his little ruse with the musket balls. When I came back after I thought he’d be asleep to steal it from him, I couldn’t find it. He discovered me downstairs and threatened to call the police. What could I do? I couldn’t go to jail! I waited until he turned his back, and I hit him with an iron that was out on the counter! Once I saw what I’d done, I searched for the paperweight until a patrol car drove up. At that point, I knew that I had to escape. I figured I could always just buy it from the next owner, but then I realized that you were going to sell the entire stock to William Jecks, so I had to do something before that could happen. Why was Benny here?”

“Apparently he knew about the gold, too,” I said. I kept looking at the pipe whenever Belinda glanced away, hoping that Grace would get the hint, but as far as I could tell, she didn’t.

“I thought you had money of your own,” I said. “Why steal from Dan?”

“I simply
appear
to have money. The reality is quite different. I’ve overextended myself quite a bit, so I’m counting on that gold to buy me a fresh start. Enough talking. This is going to be unpleasant, so we might as well get it over with.”

As she raised the gun and pointed it at my chest, I braced myself for the bullet’s impact when Benny acted. How long had he been awake? Could it have been since the nudge to his head? Before Belinda could get off a shot, he reached out and grabbed her legs, pulling her down toward him. The gun went off as she fell. I threw myself on top of her, pinning her arms in place with my body so she wouldn’t have another chance to use her weapon on any of us.

“Grace? Are you okay?” I turned to look at her from my position on the floor, half expecting to see her lying there on the floor with a gunshot wound, but she was fine, at least physically. As I watched, she reached down and pried the gun out of Belinda’s fingers. It was a miracle, but no one appeared to be hurt.

I tied Belinda up with the sheet from Dan’s bed, and Grace started to tie Benny up when I stopped her.

“He attacked you downstairs, Suzanne. I heard it. That’s assault.”

“Grace, he also saved our lives,” I said. I looked into Benny’s eyes. “Are you sorry for what you did to me?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Are you ever going to do it again, to anyone?”

“No, ma’am. As of this moment, I’m going on the wagon. No more drinking for me, ever again.”

“That’s good enough for me,” I said as I extended a hand to him to help him up.

“Are you really just going to forgive and forget?” Grace asked me.

“That’s exactly what I’m going to do.”

Benny started for the door when I asked, “Where do you think you are going?”

“I thought I’d take off,” he said.

“Think again. You need to stay right here until my husband arrives.”

“Yes, ma’am,” he said docilely, and I had a hunch that he was going to be okay from there on out. Even if he wasn’t, I knew that I couldn’t press charges against him after he’d acted to save us all, no matter what anyone else thought.

I tried calling Jake again when I heard the door downstairs open. “Suzanne, where are you?” Jake called out.

“We’re up here,” I said. “Did you get my voicemail?”

“No, I haven’t had time to check it yet.” He walked into the bedroom and saw that I was holding a gun on Belinda, who happened to be tied tightly with Dan’s sheet from his bed. “Okay. Do I even need to ask?”

“She killed Dan for some gold he hid here,” I said.