Smoked (The Alex Harris Mystery Series) Page 16

  It had been overcast all day but now driving home in the dark, the stars twinkled against an ink-blue sky. Thanksgiving was still a couple weeks away but soon Christmas decorations would start popping up. People in Indian Cove just couldn’t get enough of the holidays. They couldn’t come too soon for me. I loved it all and with another murder in our town so soon after someone got killed in my own home, I really needed some frivolity.

  I pulled into my driveway. For the second time this week John was already home and the house was ablaze in lights. God love him, the man never met a light he didn’t want to turn on.

  “I picked up some fresh bread,” John said as I set my purse on the counter. “There’s still cold cuts left over and I made a salad. Sorry, but I’m going to have to eat and run.”

  “Has something else happened?”

  “A few minor things over in Pirates Cove but mostly I’m behind on paperwork and Jim’s out of town next week so I need to go over some stuff with him. You don’t mind, do you?”

  “No. I might go over to my parents and play with the dog.” John gave me a funny look. “No, I don’t want to get one. I’m going to pretend he’s ours. He’s just so darned cute.”

  We sat down and ate in silence for a few minutes. “Before you go, can I ask you something about the auto injectors?”

  “Sure.”

  “I want to know if they have lot numbers and if you can trace them that way?”

  “Where are you going with this?” John asked with curiosity.

  “I was wondering how long it would take to suck the stuff out of one. Wouldn’t it be much easier to just bring some along you already emptied and exchange them out?”

  John patted my hand. “You’re getting good at this. And as a matter of fact, it’s one of the things we’re looking into.”

  I munched on some lettuce and thought about some more questions. “So if someone brought empty ones over, then they would have needed a prescription to get them in the first place, right?”

  “In theory, yes. But the killer could know someone who has them, could have obtained them illegally, etc. My guess is whoever did this probably thought of everything we’re thinking of so even if they brought the pens with them, chances are they’re going to be untraceable, at least back to the killer. I’m sorry, Alex, but I better get going.”

  I finished eating, cleaned up the kitchen, turned off the lights and went over to my parents’. I walked around the side of the house into the back and went in through the kitchen. Riley ran over to me and jumped up, licking my hand when I went to pet him. My mother, grandmother, and Francis Haddock were sitting at the kitchen table playing gin.

  “Where’s Dad?” I asked.

  “Playing cards with the guys,” my mother said. “Make yourself some tea and there’s a spice cake with burnt sugar frosting on the counter. Gin.”

  “Mable, if you don’t stop winning all my quarters I’m gonna have to move in here with you,” Meme said. “And that’s not gonna be pretty.” Both my grandmother and mother hated to lose.

  I boiled enough water to make Meme and Francis another cup of tea and then grabbed a napkin and a piece of cake. Riley came and sat next to me obviously hoping I was a sloppy eater and bits and pieces would fall onto the floor.

  “Don’t give him any. He only gets banana nut bread,” my mother said.

  “You bake a special cake for the dog?”

  “Don’t be silly. Your father and Riley walk over to the coffee shop every morning and share a slice.”

  “You’ve got them wrapped around your little paw, don’t you?” I scratched the dog’s neck under the collar and he obviously liked it because he didn’t move for several minutes.

  “You any closer to finding a killer?” Meme asked.

  I savored a piece of cake before answering. I always love my mother’s homemade spice cake but the truth is I love the burnt sugar frosting more. I stuck my finger in it and popped some more frosting in my mouth. “Nope. Nada.” I filled them in on the latest information. “The brother’s looking good and I think underneath his rather wimpy exterior he just might be devious enough to pull it off. The girlfriend too.”

  “How about those people who owned the vegan restaurant?” Mrs. Haddock asked.

  “Frank and Carol Corliss.” I shook my head. “I don’t think so. I talked to the husband some more and he realizes things were going bad long before the blog. He needed someone to blame.” I thought about this for a moment. I felt certain Frank Corliss was not involved but at the same time revenge is a strong emotion and if he felt Maria was responsible, even for a moment, it might not be so easy to let that go.

  “I think the brother is a bit crazy,” Meme said as she placed a card on the table. “Living alone in that house all those years with his parents and now alone, that’s not good for a person.”

  I contemplated getting another piece of cake. “He doesn’t strike me as someone with a lot of friends. I think the house is about the only thing he has, but he’s not averse to selling it to some developer.” I caved in and went to the counter for another thin slice.

  “Well, that’s another big motive for killing. Money. Gin, Mable.” Meme slapped her cards down on the table getting a disgusted look from my mother. “If he thought the sister was going to do a quick sale so she could make a fast buck and he knew he could do much better with that guy wanting the land, I could see him getting all worked up. Those silent types living alone their whole life got some screws loose. Wait til you meet Howard.”

  “Howard?” I asked around a mouth full of cake.

  “He moved in a month ago. Bought a house on the street behind me. Same kind of thing. Never married because he lived with his parents forever until they died years ago. He finally sold the big house and moved into our community. Wears a starched shirt and vest every day. Always cleaning. When we went over to welcome him to the neighborhood he told us to take our shoes off. I can’t walk barefoot. None of us can. We all got problems with our feet and need our orthotics. But that’s not the worst of it. He has this bucket of soapy water right by the front door.”

  I stopped eating. “He makes you wash your feet when you go into his house?”

  “I can’t bend over and wash my feet standing in his front room. We’re old. Most of us have walkers or canes. I told him to forget it and we’ve never gone back. I’m telling you, you live alone all those years with no one special in your life, something starts to go weird in your head.”

  So did George Shruder, alone with just his violin, love his house so much he killed his sister over it? I didn’t know and I also had no way to prove it.

  Chapter Forty-Seven

  “I wonder if the police can trace poison ivy. Can they figure out where a batch came from?” I asked my sister, who currently sat across from me eating a slice of toast.

  “You mean like from whose yard? I doubt it. Unless—”

  “Unless what?”

  “Maybe if someone used a very particular fertilizer or a homemade weed killer or something. Maybe those ingredients would show up in the ivy.”

  Now there was a thought. “Maybe we could sneak into George’s yard tonight and get some and then I can give it to John and he can have the lab test it against the DNA of the ivy they found in Maria’s yard.”

  “First of all, what’s with this we stuff. And second, can they get DNA from something that was burned to ash? And do plants even have DNA?”

  “All good questions.” I banged my head on my desk. “Never, never, never believe any war will be smooth and easy, or that anyone who embarks on the strange voyage can measure the tides and hurricanes he will encounter,” I quoted. “Do you see how frustrating this is? All these suspects and I can’t figure anything out. And don’t act like you’re not interested. If I called you up tonight and told you to get ready to sneak into George Shruder’s yard, you’d be with me in a second.”

  “You’re right. I’ll do anything to get out of my house, even breaking and entering.”r />
  “How’s it going over there?” I asked.

  She heaved a big sigh. “Let’s just say I’m not as freaked out as I was but if Scopes decided to up and leave, I would gladly hold the door open for her.”

  I scooted my sister out of my office and for the next couple of hours I actually put in some work. Sometime around eleven, Millie came in to tell me Ellery Kravec was in the reception area.

  “I wanted to apologize for barging in the other day and making a scene, but Alex, that Nena Connick is a whack job. You should have let me strangle her the other night. I am not kidding. She’s never going to leave my father alone.”

  Ellery, so intelligent and pretty. Surely she wouldn’t really have killed the woman. “Ellery, I hope you’re kidding. You wouldn’t really kill her, would you?” Again, I wondered what did I really knew about the young woman.

  Ellery shrugged and pushed a piece of her naturally wavy hair away from her face. “If she doesn’t knock it off I will not be responsible for my actions.”

  I let it go because I couldn’t tell if she was being melodramatic or not and I’m not sure I really wanted to know.

  “Are you any closer to finding out who killed my mother? I keep thinking they’re going to take my dad away any day now. He’s trying to laugh it off, but the longer no one else is arrested, the more worried he gets. I can see it on his face. Tell me you have something, anything.”

  “There are a few other suspects, yes.”

  “Like who?” Ellery asked eagerly.

  “Well, like your uncle.” I explained to her about the emails and how her mother planned to sell the house. “And of course, Nena.” I could see Ellery becoming angry again so I quickly tossed out my other suspects. “Her partner Ryan and the assistant, Nadine.”

  “I never liked either one of them. My mom always said Nadine was lazy so I don’t know why she kept working with her except I suspected my mother was using her. Mom did that a lot. And Ryan. He’s creepy looking. Reminds me of someone but I can’t figure out who.”

  “Kevin Bacon.”

  “That’s it! Kevin Bacon. Anyway, I just don’t like him for some reason, not that I know him well, but I don’t trust him.”

  I could understand Ellery not trusting Ryan Reynolds. I wasn’t totally enthralled with the guy myself and besides being cocky and that snide look he always had, something told me he was up to no good. I just hadn’t figured out what the no good was yet.

  I leaned forward on my desk and clasped my hands in front of me. “The problem is the killer did not have to be present at the time of the murder.”

  “So you have no way of pining down alibis,” Ellery finished my thought. “That’s probably the only thing keeping my father out of jail. He was in Boston at the butcher convention. Tons of people can testify to that. So what now?” Ellery looked at me with her incredibly blue eyes and those pouty lips. I wondered why she didn’t have a ton of guys following her.

  “Who knew your mother liked burning leaves?”

  “Me. My dad. Uncle George. Probably others. She always loved it. I told you that. She found it relaxing to be out at night with the warmth of the fire and the blaze. How about her pens? Has anything come of that?”

  I shook my head. “Not that I know of. I think everyone knew she had allergies.”

  “That’s a good assumption. I know people at work knew in case anything happened. And all of my parents’ good friends. Not that they socialized a lot but my mom did let it be known so people wouldn’t put stuff in her food.”

  Plus, I thought, she gave a radio interview and announced it there so all of the greater New Haven area now had the information.

  “Is there a chance we may never know?” Ellery asked.

  “Maybe. I feel like I’m letting you down.”

  “Since my mom died, this is all I’ve been doing. My work has been wonderful letting me take all this time off but at some point I have to get back to my life. I’m not sure I can do that if I never know. And if they take my dad away, I’ll never—” Several tears rolled down Ellery’s cheek.

  “What about a boyfriend or a partner. Do you have anyone?”

  Ellery sniffled. “No. I’ve never dated much. I had that one guy that I told you about but I’ve been overprotected all my life and I’m smart and have a great job but I’m kind of immature. Or maybe I’m just naïve.”

  “Well, maybe you should let the police continue their investigation and I’ll do what I can and you should concentrate on you. Get some friends.”

  “A friend at work said I should try that online dating stuff. Do you know anything about it?”

  I sighed. Should I tell her about the date who showed up in pants wrapped around his butt? Should I tell her about the guy who told me he had to go to Vermont for work when all the time he was in Pirates Cove living with another woman? Or should I tell her about the man who took me on a bike ride in a wind storm and how I got blown off the bike and cut both knees open?

  “Maybe you could try and meet someone through a friend,” I suggested instead.

  “Is that how you met Detective Van der Burg?”

  I smiled. “John and I met the old fashioned way. At a murder scene.”

  That got a smile from Ellery and I sent her on her way. I worked for another hour and then I packed up my things. I agreed with Ellery. Ryan Reynolds was creepy and most likely up to no good. Now I needed to find out what that was.

  Chapter Forty-Eight

  It’s amazing the man still had a job at PayAcc. But then he was in sales and if he made his quota, that was probably all they cared about. What he did with the rest of his time was up to him and he seemed to be spending a lot of it at the Vegan View. I was lucky enough to catch him there but as I sat in my car out in front of the office I had a thought—I couldn’t think of anything else to ask him. He was a partner with Maria, they had met in line at Wal-Mart or was it Target? Wait a minute! They met while standing in line at a pharmacy. A pharmacy where Maria might have been picking up a prescription of auto injectors. So what. Did it matter? I had no idea but maybe I could use that to get the ball rolling. I could at least ask him if he knew about her allergies. I locked the car and went inside.

  I found Ryan in the back surrounded by a bunch of empty boxes.

  “Damn! You scared the hell out of me!”

  “Sorry. Looks like you were in deep thought,” I said.

  Ryan ran a hand through his hair. “I was just trying to get this stuff unpacked and sorted. I can’t figure out where to put everything.” He closed the box he had been working from. “Look, I’m kind of busy, as you can see, and didn’t I answer all of your questions yesterday?”

  “I have a few more,” I said. I wasn’t about to be deterred. I took a step over a few boxes and leaned against a counter. “By the way, where’s Nadine?”

  “I have no idea. I told you she how she is. Now that all this stuff has to be unpacked, where the hell is she? And I need her to get it all up on the site. Anyway, what do you want to know? I’m busy here.”

  “You said you met Maria standing in line at a pharmacy.”

  “Yeah. That’s why we decided to name our line Farmaceuticals. Farm fresh ingredients for our sauces, dressings and some of the cosmetics and we met at the pharmacy. She really liked it.”

  “Do you remember what she was picking up at the pharmacy, by any chance?”

  “You’re kidding, right? I don’t even remember what I was getting.”

  “Were you aware of her various allergies?”

  “Sure. She made sure both Nadine and I knew. She didn’t want me to get her to taste test something if it had anything in it that could make her sick.”

  “And did you do that a lot, bring in stuff for her to taste test?’

  Ryan sighed. “I was just getting around to that. I had some samples I was going to bring in next week.”

  It didn’t seem to me like things were progressing very well. Sure, they had all these boxes, but from the looks of it
they all contained the same thing. I fingered a plastic bag on the counter. Inside looked to be some sort of shoes made out of hemp or some sort of fabric. Across the small room I spied what looked like handbags. “What is all of this stuff?”

  “All vegan certified products. We want everything to be one-hundred percent organic. I’ll start selling these things soon and hopefully I’ll have the other stuff by time my show goes live in January.”

  As far as I could tell all they had to sell were shoes and handbags. Once again I wondered how they had ever thought they could make a living out of this.

  “Ryan, why do you think someone killed Maria?”

  Ryan stopped moving the stuff on the counter. “Honestly, I have no idea. At first I thought maybe she offended the wrong person with the blogs. We argued about that but I think she finally saw the light and realized she couldn’t go around saying crap about people if we wanted to have a business. The more I think about it the only person it could be is Sergei. And isn’t it always the husband?”

  “Sometimes. But why Sergei?”

  “Because he cheated on her all the time and she knew about it.”

  I thought about this for a moment. “Wouldn’t that be a motive for Maria to kill Sergei?”

  “Maybe he met someone he really cared about and he wanted out. Despite his ways, Maria loved him so I can’t image she’d be inclined to give him a divorce.”

  But Sergei wasn’t in love. He made it quite clear to me Nena Connick was just another in a long line. And I believed him. And I also believed he really loved Maria and she him. I was getting off track. I came here to find out what creepy Ryan Reynolds was up to.

  “So help me out here, Ryan. Why exactly do you think the Vegan View is special enough to succeed? I mean, there are lots of sites where one can buy vegan products. And if I understand correctly, Maria was a life-long non-vegan. Had she actually embraced this life style so quickly?”