| |
The rest of the day and into the evening was spent putting stuff away and straightening. Aaron worked in the kitchen and I finished what was left to do in our bedroom before moving onto the spare room. I hung each of my period dresses carefully. They were authentic and I prized them. I picked up the dress that had been owned by Edith Roosevelt, and ran my hand down its rich velvet fabric and something crinkled under my fingers. I turned the material over and found a small pocket stitched inside, and inside the pocket was a slip of paper. I gasped. A hidden message? Plunking down on the bed, I carefully opened the yellowed paper. The ink of the handwritten note was barely visible but I was reluctant to hold it under the light for fear of further harming it. It read:
Dearest Alice,Don’t forget the jingle dancer. Lovingly,Edith“Huh?” I dashed out to the kitchen. “Look. You’ll never guess in a million years what I found.” I held up the note. “It’s incredible.”
“Let me see,” Aaron said. I set the letter carefully down on the counter top, and watched as his eyes opened wider. “This is a find. It’ll have to go to the heirs of TR.”
“People hid treasures inside of all sorts of things. Why not a figurine of a jingle dancer?” I said.
“True,” Aaron said.
Gently, I refolded it and placed it on top of my laptop. “What on earth did she hide in it? A million dollars?” I shook my head. “I think this is what we’ve been waiting to discover, and it’s been right in front of us all along.”
“I wonder...” Aaron said. He rubbed his chin.
“It could be something hidden in the jingle dancer, that the police have.” I took the paper and placed it in a baggie and dropped it into the refrigerator freezer between the TV dinners. “Should be safe.”
“And, frozen.”
Soon after, we headed for bed and fell asleep immediately. I woke to the noise of the garbage truck at five a.m. Groaning, I rolled over and tried to go back to sleep, but was unable to so I got up and went to the kitchen. With a cup of fresh coffee in hand, I sat down in front of the laptop and logged in. It didn’t take long to send a message to Bambi asking if she knew of anyone in her area who had recently traveled overseas. I checked through my most recent messages and responded, then logged out. I logged into my business account and website and opened the webmail. I let out a sigh of relief to find that no one had written a nasty letter. After logging out, I went to the bedroom and put on a pair of jogging shorts and t- shirt.
I went for a run and collapsed on a chair upon my return.
“It’s good to see that you’re returning to your old self,” Aaron said.
“Thanks. Do you work? Who’s my bodyguard?” I got up and went for a drink of water.
“It’ll have to be Max. Your grandparents will be coming out for a time, also,” Aaron said.
“Okay. I’m going to shower and get ready,” I said.
I hurried down the hallway and jumped into the shower. I’d hoped Aaron would be with me all day, but understood that he had a job, too. Max wasn’t much as a bodyguard, as he always had his head in his work, or was smoking outside. On the other hand, he didn’t hover over me like Grandma.
After sharing a quick breakfast of toast and orange juice, Aaron and I said our ‘goodbyes’, and parted for the day. I drove rather than walked, because I felt it safer, and parked right beside Max’s truck. As soon as I entered the back door of the store, I felt like someone had invaded my space.
“Hello.” I whispered, making sure the door locked behind me. Straight ahead, the countertop looked fine, nothing seemed out of place. The floor needed more sweeping, but that was a normal occurrence when Max carved in here. I decided that I was creeping myself out and walked in. The rest of the room looked as it should, and I felt relieved. I placed my bag in its usual place and continued a slow scan of the room. All the boxes were in line and nothing appeared to have shifted.
I walked into the showroom and stood near the entrance and studied the room. Nothing was out of position, nor looked different or out of the ordinary. I took a deep breath and made my usual rounds of the display tables. I straightened and rearranged a few items, but I always did that. By the time I got to the door, it seemed as if all was well. It was too soon to open the shop, and I decided to use the time to check my email. I went to the sales counter and sat down behind the computer. I heard a noise once again from the basement, but remembered the women making quilts down there, making made me feel better.
I opened the cash drawer and began counting. I made out the deposit, and smiled. Each month, the sales outdid the previous month. Looking at the clock, I realized that I had time to make the deposit and return before the store was due to open. I sent a message to Max, telling him what I was doing, then left.
Since the bank was just down the block, my errand only took a few minutes, but upon my return, I felt the same eerie feeling when I entered the store earlier. I shrugged it off and checked my messages on the computer. Max hadn’t answered, which was odd.
I sat by the computer and gave him a call. When he didn’t answer within a few rings, I raced out the back door and up the outside steps to his apartment and pounded on the door. I had a key since I owned the building, and let myself in, calling, “Max! Max!”
I found him on the floor and when I placed my nose next to his mouth, it smelled metallic or different, definitely not food. He was unresponsive when I checked for a pulse. Immediately I called the emergency line, and then began resuscitation. I hoped it was doing some good. Within a matter of minutes, an ambulance crew invaded the small apartment with their gurney and other equipment. As they carried him out the door, I followed. Aaron and the detectives had just parked out front.
“What happened?” Aaron asked, rushing toward me.
“I think he’s been poisoned. Not sure.” I bit back tears. “When will this end?”
He pulled me close. “We’ll wait right here, and when they want us, we’ll go together.”
I nodded, curling my fists from anger. I’d like to slug the person who did this to Max. After a few minutes, Detective Mergens walked toward us. I stood up, holding Aaron’s hand. “How’s he doing?”
“Too soon,” he said. “Come on inside and tell me what you touched.”
“I’m coming with her,” Aaron steered me in front and we followed the detective.
Once inside the apartment, I said, “Really, besides opening the door and administering CPR, I didn’t touch anything. I knew as soon as I saw him that he looked like Gina had.”
“Did you see anything unusual?”
Noticing a bottled water, I said, “Max usually doesn’t walk around drinking coffee, and I didn’t leave any here. This is too weird.”
Mergens picked up the bottle with care, and placed it in an evidence bag. “We’ll have it analyzed.”
I slumped onto the bed. “I wonder how he’s doing?”“He’ll be fine.” Aaron hugged me. His cell phone chirped and he broke away to answer it. “I’ll let her know.” He sat beside me and clasped my hand. “Max is starting to come around.”
“Finally some good news.” Mergens took a deep breath. He looked at Erlandsen. “Have Ida Gray brought in for questioning.” When Erlandsen left the room, Mergens asked me, “What about the threat you received at the airport. Anything more to add?”
“Someone came from behind, and said that it was my second warning. The third one is fatal. Something like that.” I shivered. I told him my reasons for being at the airport and noticing someone my height with red springy hair and wearing a uniform, but was unable to learn any more. “Thank heavens it’s working out for Max. I shouldn’t have left Gina, then maybe she’d be alive, too.”
“It’s all coming to a head. Whoever it is, is getting bolder. But so far, they haven’t made a major slip-up. Maybe the next time.”
“I’d like to set a trap. Last night I found a note once belonging to Edith Roosevelt. I’d like to put news of it on the website.” I thought. “I won’t state verbatim what’s on it. I’ll make something up, of course.”
“Too risky.”
“Well, okay.” In my mind, my fingers crossed. I smiled. “Can I leave? I’d like to get back to my store. I’m sure Grandma and Grandpa will be with me until closing.”
“Go ahead.”
Aaron walked me out and back to the store where I sat in the workroom, where my grandparents found me five minutes later.
“What a nightmare. He’s going make it, isn’t he?” Grandma said. I knew that Grandma meant Max.
“Yes, he’ll be fine.”
“Wow!” She held her hand to her chest. “What a relief!”
“I’m going to leave now.” Aaron looked me square in the eyes. “You are only to eat or drink something store-bought.
Don’t eat or drink anything anyone brings. I don’t like where this is all going.” He squeezed my hands. “Do you understand?”
“Yes.” I nodded. “I’ll follow orders.”
“Good.” He kissed my forehead and stood up. “I’ll call or text you as often as possible.”
Grandma took to straightening the workroom and we chased Grandpa out to bring back sandwiches and beverages to tide us over until closing time. I went out front and sat at the computer. Aaron contacted me every half-hour to make sure I was okay. Police patrol officers stopped by several times through the day. I didn’t expect to hear much more that day, so I was surprised when Erlandsen stepped inside the store.
“What’s going on?” I asked. “Any news about Max?”
“We don’t have much to hold Ida Gray on, and she, of course, denies it all.”
“Maybe someone brought it up to his apartment?” “Anything’s possible.” He shrugged. “Do you know if he’s spoke with anyone lately that ticked him off ? Trouble with customers?”
“I’ve no idea. Beats me why anyone would try and harm Max. He’s a great employee and trusted friend.” I blew my nose. “I don’t understand any of this.” As we talked, I realized that it was up to me to bring this to an end. They’d find the drugs, but the problem wouldn’t be solved. The killer would still be after the source. I believed it was a land title and still in TR’s possession, but this person was still unable to discover its whereabouts. The person could easily get out on bail and come searching for it or else have other family members do it for him.
The detectives left, leaving me alone with Grandma. Grandpa returned with food and left with a promise of returning at the end of the day to pick her up. A customer came in and Grandma helped by answering questions. I went ahead and posted a message on my website stating that I’d found a new letter from Edith Roosevelt. I made certain to not mention its contents except that it was addressed to Alice.
Once the customer left, I looked up at the clock and knew Grandpa would soon arrive. “I’m going to pop popcorn and watch a movie. Aaron will be home about seven or eight at the latest. He’s pulling an extra shift because they’re short men.”
“I suppose everyone wants a vacation this time of year, and this is what happens. It’s unfortunate that it’s now, right when you need him the most.” Grandma stood by me at the sales counter. “We’ll be in tomorrow and every day until this mess is resolved.”
“It’s as complicated as the other two mysteries.” I reached for the phone. “I’ll call the hospital.”
“No, dear. The hospital is busy enough without having to answer telephone calls about patients. Aaron will keep you up-dated.”
I replaced the receiver. “I suppose that you’re right.” At that moment, Grandpa parked out front and honked. I gave Grandma a kiss and she waved as she left. I felt like crying like a baby now that I was alone, but knew that wouldn’t solve my problems. I locked the front door and headed to the back workroom where I retrieved my bag.
As I walked out to the car, I felt glad that I’d driven and not walked. I certainly never expected a day like today. I started the car and drove toward home, debating whether to drive through Pracna’s parking lot. My curiosity got the better of me, and I decided to do it. I looked carefully for out of state license plates and found one from Florida. There was nothing about the other cars to catch my attention, so I continued my drive home.
Once inside of our house, I made sure all the doors and windows were locked before shedding my clothes and getting comfortable in a pair of shorts and t-shirt. I microwaved a bag of popcorn, grabbed a bottle of soda and sat down in front of the TV. I remembered what Aaron had said about being careful about I ate. Both the popcorn and soda hadn’t been opened before, and came directly from the supermarket.
I found an old movie, Arsenic and Old Lace,”. I usually enjoy watching this movie, but, funny as it was, it reminded me too much of my current situation. I gave up on television and went to my laptop, and checked my e-mail. One message caught my attention immediately. It was from Bambi. It said: Liv, haven’t seen anyone. Harry was reportedly home one day with the flu. Don’t know anything else. Keep me informed. Bambi.
I responded with another question, What about Sunflower?
I closed out and ate the rest of my popcorn, peeking out from behind the closed drapes at Gina’ house. I figured that it was locked up tighter than a steel drum, now that the police were involved. On one hand, that was a relief, but on the other, I would’ve liked another walk through of the house. My thoughts circled back to the impersonators and their websites. The only for sure known facts was that Ida was Harry and Sunflower’s mother, they lived in Medora near the National Park, and that Harry was a Ranger and lived on a ranch.
I tried to remember the harsh words that was spoke between those two at the beginning of the exposition, but couldn’t. I recalled that they stood quite a distance from where I stood. It had surprised me that they hadn’t treated Gina warmer or acted as if they were related. If not knowing any better, I would’ve thought they were squabbling.
Gina and Bambi were good friends. Bambi had been helpful in my search. Ida wanted something right from the start. She hadn’t wanted to raise suspicions so she’d asked me to walk through the house and search for the books. As a neighbor and the person who found Gina’s body, she figured that I’d be above suspicion.
Gina was diabetic. Her medication must’ve speeded the reaction to the drug otherwise it would’ve caused Max’s immediate death. I believed it was his strong constitution that had kept him alive. Was the lawyer who died a diabetic or in poor health? I tried a quick search of him, but got what I expected—no information. I sent another message to Bambi and asked if she knew if he’d been sick or on medication.
I started to clean up my mess when Aaron walked in the door.
“Thank heavens you’re home.”
“Good news. The detectives are narrowing it down.”
“So am I.”
I peeked out the window just as the same car that had circled outside of Grandma’s, drove past on our street and stopped, at the far end of the block.
“Aaron? I think, you need to come here and look— someone has us under surveillance.”