Smoked (The Alex Harris Mystery Series) Read online

  I swallowed my cracker. “No. Don’t be silly. Winston Bardosky said that. He works the deli counter over at Krueger’s market. He’s always trying to sell me a big bowl of Fettuccini to go.

  Meme cackled. “She got you there, kiddo. That was a good one, Alex.”

  Meme and I did the high-five slap while my sister stewed. Even my mom laughed. Maybe the Mable of the short skirts and red lipstick had re-emerged.

  “Is John going to make it over in time for dinner?” my mother asked.

  “I called him from Millie’s. He’s hoping to get away for at least an hour.” I looked outside the kitchen window. Kendall and Henry were in the yard with Michael and my dad. Riley was chasing Henry, who currently held onto a ball for dear life. He stopped quickly, turned, and ran in the other direction with the dog at his heels.

  “You should have gotten him a dog,” I said.

  “Maybe when Scopes, you know, goes off to rat heaven.” My sister munched on a piece of celery that didn’t make it into the pot. I was glad to see she was doing better with her current living situation. I guess that comes with being a mom.

  A few minutes later my dad and Michael came into the house with the kids followed by John, who looked extremely tired.

  “Come sit down. Dinner will be ready soon.” I put my arm around his neck and placed a kiss on his cheek. “What’s going on? You don’t look so good.”

  John reached for a cracker and played with it for a second before tossing it into his mouth. “It looks like Nena Connick was murdered.” He turned serious eyes to me. “And someone saw you fleeing the scene of the crime.”

  Chapter Fifty-Two

  The room went dead quiet for a few seconds and then everyone started yelling at once with Meme’s voice ringing above the others.

  “You look here, young man, if you’re accusing my granddaughter of murder you can just take yourself out of this house right this minute and out of her life all together.” Meme was shaking and I placed a hand gently on my grandmother’s arm and gave her a smile.

  “It’s okay, Meme. He’s wrong. He got it wrong. John, tell her. You made a mistake.”

  “There was a positive ID,” my husband said to me.

  “What do you mean? By whom? Who the hell gave you a positive ID that I killed Nena Connick?” Now I was shaking.

  “Auntie, is Uncle John going to put you in jail?” Henry had come to my side and there were tears in his beautiful brown eyes. I grabbed him and wrapped my arms around his tiny body, more for me than him as I really needed a hug right now and I didn’t think I’d get one from John.

  “Henry, why don’t you and Kendall go wash up for dinner? Grandma made us her wonderful stew with homemade biscuits,” my sister said. “And Auntie Alex will be right here when you get back.” This she said pointedly to my husband.

  “Oh, the biscuits!” My mother ran to the stove and opened the oven. “They’re good.”

  The biscuits being rescued, I turned my attention back to John. “Well? Who said I killed Nena Connick?”

  “Calm down, everyone. No one said you killed her. They just saw you leaving the crime scene.”

  “They did not. Who is this person?” I demanded.

  “I want their address. I know people,” Meme piped up.

  Meme’s outburst drew a smile from John. “I don’t think we need to order a hit on anyone, Meme. The coroner places the time of death sometime around Thursday evening. Your car was spotted.”

  “My car was spotted and someone knew it belonged to me? How is that possible?”

  “You happen to drive a car which is considered by some to be a hot rod.”

  “Really?” this from my sister.

  “I know,” I sighed. “Every time I take it in to get the oil changed, one of the service techs makes me an offer. But how does this relate to Nena Connick?”

  “Her neighbor works in the service department of the Honda dealership in Stamford and he saw your car parked outside Nena’s. He’s been looking for a black Honda Civic of a certain age, so he took down your number with the intention of searching the database at work to see if you ever came in.”

  “Oh.” What were the chances that my sixteen-year-old car would be in such demand? But as that was indeed where I took my car to be serviced, I figured I’d be getting a call with an offer. And considering I might soon be hauled off to jail, the extra money might come in handy for bail. Maybe I could even play the crime scene angle up and get extra for it, kind of like the Bonnie and Clyde car. Geesh.

  “So, you were there?” John asked, bringing me out of musings.

  “Of course I was there. I’m conducting an investigation, John, and Ellery wanted me to tell Nena to leave her father alone. I guess she’d made a commotion at the butcher shop earlier in the week and it was the last straw for Ellery. But I guarantee you, the woman was alive when I left her apartment. As a matter of fact,” I said, “she had just washed her hair. Maybe she was getting ready for some company or going out. Did you check into that?”

  “Yes. We’re looking into everything. So far no one saw anything. Except your car.”

  “So are you planning on arresting my daughter?” my father asked. “Because she owes me from our last card game and maybe I better collect now while I have my chance.”

  “That’s not funny, Harry,” my mother said. “Come on, there’s too many of us, we’re going to eat in the other room.”

  I followed everyone into my parents’ large dining room and took a seat next to Henry, who insisted on holding my hand. “So, Nena was killed on Thursday night right after I left?”

  “A few of the neighbors heard loud country and western music around nine-thirty but nothing else. Do you remember seeing anything suspicious?”

  “Besides someone checking out my car? No.”

  “And if that woman was playing her music loud at nine-thirty, then I’m Alex’s alibi,” Meme said. “She was right here with us. Me and Francis were over here playing cards with Mable and then Alex came over. So don’t even think about taking her in.”

  “Okay, Meme,” John said. “I’ll make sure to put that in my notes.”

  Between Meme and Henry, there was no way John would be able to get me out of this house. I scooped a large portion of stew into my bowl and grabbed a biscuit. “She had the music on when I was there. I must have left by five-thirty and it wasn’t loud at all. It was just soft background music.” I thought back to Nena and how I knew she was in for a whole lot of heartache. Maybe after I left she realized Sergei was gone to her forever and she turned up the music, poured herself a drink and what, let in a killer? “By the way,” I asked, “you never said what killed her.”

  John spread some butter on a biscuit and looked at me across the table. “Someone injected one of her veins with a very large dose of epinephrine.”

  Chapter Fifty-Three

  I rolled over onto my back and stared at the ceiling while John slept soundly beside me. How had someone injected Nena with epinephrine? Was she drunk? Did they have to hold her down? John hadn’t divulged much more information after telling us what killed her, except to say that she had heart problems. Once he’d finished his stew he’d gone back to the station. Henry was afraid to let me go for fear I would be hauled off to prison so I brought him home with me once his mother promised to feed Scopes. He had a soccer game in the morning and I would take him to the park and meet up with the rest of the family.

  I peeked over at John and then got out of bed. Our bedroom was on the front side of the house facing the road and light streamed in from the street lights. I quietly walked down the hall to where Henry slept. I went into his room and over to the bed. He was on his side, with his little foot poking out from the covers. He was such a great kid; kind, smart, and wild. Henry liked being in motion and all that running he had done in my parents’ backyard with Riley had clearly exhausted him. I covered his foot and walked over to the window, which he insisted be open a crack. Like me, Henry loved fresh air and always
kept his bedroom window opened a bit whether it was winter or summer.

  I looked out onto our backyard and beyond. It was pitch black out there and I felt certain this was when the killer came, under the cover of darkness with a trash bag filled with poison ivy. Coming during the day was too risky. They probably walked into the Kravec’s yard from the woods, emptied the bag, tossed some leaves on top and were gone in a few minutes.

  What about Nena Connick? Did the killer sneak into her home while she was sleeping? Did she invite them in? Or had she had a few glasses of wine too many and passed out on the sofa. Was it even the same person who had also killed Maria Kravec? There were too many coincidences for it not to be.

  Behind me, Henry stirred and I softly made my way back to my bed and for some reason I felt confident I would soon know who killed both women.

  *****

  “Auntie,” Henry began a few hours later, “if you get a dog like Riley then when I come over I could play with him and maybe I could bring Riley and they could be friends.”

  I placed a piece of toast with strawberry jam in front of Henry and thought about this. “But who would take care of him while Uncle John and I were at work? Dogs like Riley need a lot of attention.”

  “But I could come over after school and play with him.”

  I slathered a piece of toast with butter and took a bite. “True. But then when would you do your homework, practice your piano, go to soccer, do your chores, and play with Scopes?”

  “I have a busy life,” Henry said with surprise. “I guess I’ll just play with Riley for now and when Scopes goes to the afterlife, Mom can get me a dog then.”

  “Sounds like a plan. Do you want some more hot chocolate?”

  Henry nodded and I made him another cup and gave him another scoop of oatmeal.

  With breakfast done, Henry helped me clean up the kitchen and then we folded some clothes I had left in the dryer yesterday.

  “Okay. Get your things. I want to stop off somewhere first before we go to the park.”

  I put all Henry’s stuff in the car and then made sure he was strapped in. I drove around the block until I came to an area where there was a path leading into the woods and looked around. The houses were spaced pretty far from each other and at the end of the road there was an area with a lot of trees where someone could park, especially at night, and not be seen.

  “Come on, Henry, let’s go for a walk but pull these on first.” I gave Henry a pair of sweat pants. I kept a set of play clothes for him at my house and I grabbed the sweats before we left. I didn’t want either one of us getting poison ivy and Henry only had his soccer shorts on.

  We walked for a while along a path worn by years of people hiking through here. Once we got into the woods it was very quiet and, I would imagine, very dark at night. We still couldn’t see any of the houses on my street yet. I had forgotten how deep the woods were. We continued our journey with Henry stopping now and then to pick something up that looked interesting. I spied him slipping a couple of rocks into his pants pocket. The kid loved rocks.

  “Auntie, look! It’s your house. We walked all the way back to your house.”

  Further on was a small clearing where you could get into the Kravec yard. From this position none of the other houses could see. This must have been the place the killer came into the yard. It gave me chills thinking that someone was out here while I slept, padding the pile of leaves with poison.

  I started looking on the ground. Maybe the killer dropped something that would give me a clue to their identity. Of course, the police had probably scoured this area already and indeed it did look a bit trampled.

  “Okay, I guess we better get back to the car or we’ll be late,” I said.

  Henry turned and started making his way back. I stood there looking at the Kravec house. Since John had told me Nena Connick had been killed, I avoided thinking about Ellery’s outburst and how she said she wouldn’t be responsible for her actions. I didn’t want to think that sweet, young Ellery could kill someone because I felt certain both murders had been committed by the same person and that would mean Ellery killed her own mother. But as I stood here the reality of the situation hit me. Who knew Sergei was gone? Who knew for certain Maria liked burning leaves; had maybe even known Maria would be out here on that exact night? And who always had access to the house and yard and could come and go as she pleased with no one the wiser? There was only one answer and it made me physically sick to think about it and something else—angry. I had been played. Ellery Kravec sent me on a wild goose chase feeding me information slowly and all for one reason—to keep me from discovering that she had killed her mother.

  Chapter Fifty-Four

  “Thanks for giving me a ride,” Meme said as we drove along the Post Road headed for our favorite store, Target. “Theresa’s at her daughter’s for dinner and Francis’ car is in the shop.”

  “No problem. I can always find something I need at Target,” I said, which was unfortunately true. I spent a lot of money at that store.

  “That was a good game. Those kids got lots of energy. I don’t remember having all that energy when I was a kid,” Meme laughed.

  Henry’s team had won with him successfully blocking the last ball from making its way to a winning point for the other team.

  I pulled into a packed parking lot and found a spot not too far from the entrance. “Do you want to tell me what you need and I can go in and get it for you,” I said to my grandmother.

  “Half the fun is looking around at stuff. Just get me a cart to lean on and I’ll be okay.”

  I got Meme a cart and off we went. Meme was right. It was fun looking. Most of the time I came in for two things and after looking at all the good stuff would leave with at least ten items.

  “What’s bothering you? You were quiet all through the game,” my Grandmother asked. “You and John get into a fight over this murder?”

  “No, nothing like that,” I said as I tossed a bag of white cotton socks into the cart. “It’s Ellery. The daughter. I think she must have killed both women.”

  Meme pushed the cart into the pajama section and I helped her try on a couple of robes. “Why would she kill her own mother? You gotta have a lot of hate in you to do something like that. Does she have a lot of hate toward her mother?”

  I thought about this for a moment. Maria Kravec was over protective and obsessive about her only child to be sure, but did it turn the kid into a killer? I didn’t think so. I shook my head at Meme. “No, not especially. No more than the usual mother-daughter angst.”

  “And I bet you think the same person killed both ladies.”

  “I do. The trouble is I could see Ellery killing the girlfriend but not the mother.”

  “And the only reason you think she killed the lady with the big hair is because she got all mad at her and said some threatening things.”

  “Right.” I helped Meme take off a too-tight robe she had pulled on over her dress and grabbed a bigger size.

  “That’s nothing. You and Sam used to say mean stuff to each other all the time. People say stuff in anger, that’s all. Mable and I got into it a few times and you and your mother sure had it out too.”

  “So you’re telling me it’s not the daughter?”

  “No. I’m just saying if it is then you’re going to need more proof.”

  I leaned against one of the large support structures with a price scanner attached to it and banged my head a couple of times as several people looked at me and then turned quickly away.

  “But if it isn’t Ellery then who would kill both women? None of the other suspects knew Nena Connick.”

  “That you know of,” Meme said. “And you’re forgetting there is a person who knew both women. Intimately.”

  I sighed. “Sergei. Oh my gosh. What if it was him all along? What if he set everything up? The trip to the butcher convention in Boston so he would have an alibi. Having his daughter hire me to help throw suspicion off of him. And I only have
his word for it that he took the poison ivy he pulled up to the shop and tossed it out there. Maybe he was storing it there in the freezer or something along side all the meat and then put it under the poison ivy right before he left for Boston. Geesh, Meme, was it him all this time and once Nena started bugging him about a divorce and wanting to get married he killed her too?”

  “See? Your old grandmother can teach you a thing or two once in a while.”

  “Personally I'm always ready to learn, although I do not always like being taught,” I quoted.

  “Winston Churchill or that deli guy?” Meme asked with a laugh.

  We made our way over to the pharmacy area after picking up a couple more things Meme needed and a couple I didn’t. There was a bench off to the side and we sat down. Meme could only walk so long, cart or no cart.

  “Maybe Nena killed the wife and then the husband found out and killed the girlfriend? Have you thought of that?’

  I gave my grandmother a sideways glance. “No. Thanks. Just what I need, one more theory.” We sat there in silence watching the shoppers walk by. “You know for the last couple of days I’ve been feeling like there’s something I’m missing. Like I saw something and just didn’t realize its significance at the time.”

  “Like a clue?’

  “I’m not sure. Just like I saw something and it hasn’t quite registered yet. I don’t know. I’m tired. I’ve been running around for the last two weeks, plus trying to keep up my end of things at the office. John and I need a nice weekend away.”

  Meme stood up. “Let’s go pay for our stuff and you can come have dinner with me. I got some homemade vegetable soup and a loaf of that crusty bread you like.”

  We followed the crowd to the checkout stand, paid for our stuff and walked back to the car and the entire time I tried as hard as I could to figure out what it was that I wasn’t seeing.