Marja McGraw - Bogey Man 04 - Awkward Moments (19 page)

Chapter Thirty-six

Approaching the table, she looked at the floor before turning to Chris. “I’m sorry. Joe’s not having a good day. I don’t know what you said to him, but he says you’re too nosey and you can figure out the secret ingredient for yourself. What did you say to him?”

“Nothing earthshaking. I asked him the same questions Pamela said she asked you.”

“That would explain it then. He said outsiders should know their place and stay out of local stuff.”

Chris looked surprised. “
Actually, he’s right. Unfortunately we’ve become involved because Charlie was killed while we were there, and on my brother’s property. I’ll go talk to him.”

“I don’t know if you should or not,” Essie said. “He’s slamming things around in there.”

“Leave it to me, doll. I’ll patch things up.”

“I’d better go with you, Dad. He wouldn’t hit a little kid
, and maybe he wouldn’t hit a dad if the little kid was watching.”

Chris laughed. “You might be
just what the doctor ordered. Come on, Ace. Let’s go talk to Joe.”

I wasn’t sure if Mikey should go with Chris or not, but I decided to trust my husband. He wouldn’t purposely put our son in danger.
I had a feeling Joe wouldn’t do anything in anger.

Once again, Essie sat in the seat Chris vacated. Her eyes surveyed the diner. “I see everybody else went home. It won’t be long and we’ll have to get ready for the dinner rush.
At least the diner keeps us busy. I think some of our customers are coming in just because Charlie worked here.”

I nodded.
She was probably right.

“I think I’ll follow my brother,” Bill said. “You ladies can talk about… Well, whatever it is ladies talk about.”

He left and Essie leaned her elbows on the table. “Joe just hasn’t been himself the past few days. He and Charlie were talking about the gold out at your place and that’s where Charlie was killed. I told them both they shouldn’t bother you folks, but you know how people can be about gold. They were supposed to meet out at your place, only it didn’t turn out that way. I think Joe feels responsible.”

“Yes, I know
how people can be. We’ve had treasure hunters out at the house almost every night. They’re digging up the yard and driving Bill nuts. I can understand why your husband wanted to check things out, even if I don’t like it.”

“
Yeah, Joe was going to go out there the night Charlie was… The night Charlie died, but on his way he stopped to take care of something here and never made it.”

“Oh?”

“Now don’t get any funny ideas about Joe. He really came back to the diner. He thought he’d left a burner on and the last thing we need is a fire. I couldn’t remember if he’d turned it off either. He ended up staying here and having a cup of coffee while he watched some sports thing on the TV in the back room.” She lowered her voice and spoke confidentially. “We’d had a little spat and he wasn’t in any big hurry to come home.”

I couldn’t help wondering what their spat was about and if it could have had anything to do with Charlie. Well, really, why would they fight over
their busboy?

“Yeah, Charlie asked for a raise and Joe told him he couldn’t have it. I told Joe I thought we should try to pay him more and my husband didn’t agree. One thing led to another, and… Well, you probably know how that goes.”

“I do. I think I’ve been kind of cranky on this vacation. I’m surprised Chris hasn’t called me on it.”

Before we could talk more, the boys returned and Essie went back to work, clearing tables.
She took a load of dishes back to the kitchen.

“Well?” I asked.

Chris sat and took a bite out of his burger. “It’s cold now.” He dropped it on the plate in disgust.

“Joe is okay, Mom. He said he’s just been irascible since – ”

“Irritable,” Bill interrupted.

“Yeah, he’s been irritable since his friend died. He apologized to my dad.”

“I’m glad to hear that.” I looked at Chris. “I realize I’ve been a little irritable lately, too, and I’m sorry, sweetie. I guess this vacation is turning into something other than a vacation and it’s annoying. I wanted to relax while we were here.”

“I know,
angel. I’m sorry things have turned out this way, too. We’ll take another vacation as soon as we can.”

Bill leaned back in his chair. “You two amaze me. If this were Steph and me on vacation, we’d be at each other’s throats by now.”

“Learn a lesson from us, bro. Arguing isn’t going to solve anything.”

Sometimes Chris surprise
s me.

I glanced from brother to brother. “Believe me, we have our share of arguments. It’s just that we try to be selective about what’s a big deal and what’s not.”

“Words to live by.” Bill sat forward again.

I turned my attention to Chris.
“Okay, did you get any more out of Joe?”

“Not much. He still didn’t want to talk.”

“Did he have a pocket knife?”

“No. He offered me scissors.
Remember? He said his disappeared about two weeks ago.”

“
Oh, yeah. I’ve found out a few things. Stu and Charlie used to have problems, like I told you, but seemed to have put them behind them. Also, the night of the murder Charlie and Joe were supposed to meet at our place to search for gold. Joe never made it because he and Essie had an argument and Joe spent the evening here. He told her he needed to check out a burner on the stove and he ended up staying and watching TV in the back room.”

Bill looked impressed. “You found out a lot more than we did. I knew you women would find something to talk about.”

“You betcha.” I lifted my chin and tried to look superior.

They
ignored me and Chris decided to finish his burger. “He did tell me what the secret ingredient is, but I’m keeping it to myself. I promised.”

“You’re not even going to tell me? But I’m your wife.”

“A promise is a promise. The only person I’ll tell about it is Chef Luis, and maybe Chef Nathaniel. Nate will probably be making them for the lunch crowd.”

“Your Bogey persona didn’t work.” Childish, but that was my way of getting back at him for not sharing the secret ingredient.

We finished lunch and Chris paid the bill.

“Let’s go down to see Jimmy,” Bill suggested. “Maybe he’s found something new. It’s worth a try.”

We nodded and left the diner. Deciding to walk, we turned to the right and left the Jeep parked where it was. The weather was warm and there was a slight breeze. Good walking weather.

“Is Officer Stubbin in?” I stood in front of the young woman who manned the front desk.

“Oh, I remember you people. He drove out to your place.”

“When did he hit the bricks, doll?
Did he have a beef with us?” Bogey was back.

“Huh?” The young woman squinted at Chris. “He didn’t hit anything
and he didn’t say a word about stopping for a burger. He just drove out to your place.”

Chris smiled at her. “Hit the bricks means… Never mind. How long ago did he leave?”

“About half an hour ago. He said he wanted to talk to you about a pocket knife.”

I was surprised he hadn’t noticed our Jeep, but then, he probably wasn’t looking for us.

“Let’s blow this place,” Chris said. “Maybe we’ll see him on the road on the way home.”

I grinned. “She didn’t know who Bogey was, sweetie.”

Chris looked miffed. His Bogey act almost always came through for him.

“I wonder if
Jimmy found out about the fingerprints.” Mikey’s eyes were wide with anticipation.

Chapter Thirty-seven

We’d done everything we could in town, including finding out who had a pocket knife and who didn’t. At least, if we could take them at their word. Mikey talked non-stop about fingerprints and how important they were to a case. My son, the super sleuth.

We saw Jimmy on the road while driving home and honked.
Stopping, we rolled down our windows. The look on his face wasn’t encouraging. “I’ll follow you back to the house. We need to talk.”

Chris nodded and drove on while Jimmy turned his car around and followed
behind us. After parking, I unlocked the front door and let the dogs out while the flatfoot walked up to the porch to meet us. The dogs ran straight to the oak tree and the surrounding area, sniffing and doing their doggie business. We’d been gone for a long time. Watson, always the serious one, turned and looked over her shoulder as though reprimanding me.

I shrugged. Our trip couldn’t be helped.
She went about her business.

“I don’t have good news,” Jimmy said.
“The only fingerprints on the knife were Charlie’s. It must have been his knife. I’m going to show it to Essie and Joe. They should know if it was his or not. I’m pretty frustrated. I thought sure we were on to something. Same outcome for the watch you found by your truck.” He looked at Bill. “Charlie must have dropped the watch himself, on his way to the grave.”

“There go
our only real clues,” Chris said. “I really thought we were on to something, too. We’ve been trying to borrow pocket knives all over town to see who might have lost one. A fat lot of good that did us.”

“Well, at least we had a
tasty lunch and you got an idea for our lunch menu.” I tried to put a good spin on things, but I knew it was useless.

Jimmy looked curious.

“They make great burgers at the Burnt Bun,” Chris said.

“They do. You got Joe to share his secret ingredient?” The copper looked skeptical.

“Joe tried to play it close to the vest, but Chris can be a silver-tongued talker sometimes,” I said.

“Since we live so far away, he decided he could be generous with the information. And before you ask, I’m not sharing.” Chris smiled like a man with a secret
, which he was.

I almost rolled my eyes, but caught myself before I could do it. “He won’t even tell me.”

“So what did you want to talk to us about?” Bill asked, getting us back on track.  “There’s not much else we can do, is there?”

“Maybe, maybe not. I talked to my uncle and he doesn’t have any ideas
because we don’t have anything to go on, so I think it’s up to me. There’s no evidence leading to anyone in particular. I know you’ve had experience solving crimes, so maybe… I feel kind of foolish since I’m a police officer, but I really could use your help. I just don’t have the man power to do too much. We’re an awfully small police force. Any ideas?”

“You could call in the state police,” Bill said.

Jimmy shook his head. “Not gonna happen. They’ll come in like storm troopers and take over the town.”

Chris rubbed his chin and looked up toward the sky.
“We need to come up with a scheme to make the killer show his hand.”

“Is that what you think, Sherlock?
I
could have come up with that.” Bill gave Chris a look that only one brother can give another. “And we already tried once. Why would you think another hare-brained plan would work?”

Sherlock, the dog, came running over at the sound of his name, with his tail flying in wide circles. He was
softly chewing on something and sat at Bill’s feet. Watson pushed him out of her way and sat by Bill, so the dog settled for sitting by me.

Chris looked disgusted. “Don’t be a pain, Bill. All I said was we need a plan. Do you think you can come up with one?”

“Damn straight, I could. Just give me a few minutes to think about this.”

“In your dreams, bro. You don’t have a clue how to get someone to finger the killer. You can’t walk in here and act like you’ve done this before. We
have
, so back off.”

Jimmy glanced from brother to brother. “Am I going to have to break up a fight here?” He laughed, apparently hoping
to defuse the situation between the men.

It worked.

“I thought about something else, too. If something were to go wrong, you people could sue the City. You wouldn’t do that, would you?” Jimmy was apparently having second thoughts.

I started to laugh and Jimmy took a step back. “Let me tell you how the Bogey Man and I met. It was all because of a costume party and a murder.”

“A murder?” Jimmy sounded almost shocked.

“Yes, a murder. And there was a woman involved in the case that everyone called the Lawsuit Queen. She’d sue people as easily as she’d give them the time of day. She was a real piece of work. Anyway, you made me think of her with your question. No, we’re not litigious people and we wouldn’t sue. As long as Mike
y is safe, that’s all I care about.”

“Maybe we should talk to Essie and Joe about keeping him overnight like we
discussed before,” Chris said.

“
You may be right.” I glanced at my son. “They’ve been so upset about Charlie that Mikey might perk them up. He can be pretty engaging sometimes.”

Mikey rolled his eyes. I’d taught him well.
“I’m a laugh a minute. But I’d rather be here where the action is.”

“No. We’ve had enough close calls already. I’d rather know you’re safely tucked in someone
else’s
bed, not the one in this house.”

“Mooom, I wanna stay he
eere.”

“Nope.
No whining. I’ll call Essie and see what we can set up.”

“Maybe they don’t have an extra bed.” Wishful
thoughts don’t always come true.

“Your mother is right, Ace. We don’t know who or what we’re dealing with here. Essie and Joe could use some comic relief, and you’re just the guy to give it to them.” Sometimes Chris has a way of making
our son listen.

Mikey nodded and I knew this was one of those times.
It might have been Chris’s no-nonsense tone that did it.

“
Back to this whole plan thing. Tell you what I’m gonna do,” I said. “
I’ll
come up with a plan. So far nothing any of you have done has worked.” I raised my eyebrows and rolled my eyes.

All three men looked at me in surprise.

“Can I help, Mom?” I saw young hope in Mikey’s eyes.

“Yes, you can. You and I will figure this out.”
I needed to make him feel like part of the gang we’d created. Maybe he couldn’t be with us, but he could still feel like he’d contributed.

The men, apparently deciding to ignore
us, began talking to each other. I narrowed my eyes at them, unwilling to be ignored.

Sherlock dropped something at my feet
and I felt something soft fall on my foot.

“Sherlock, go play. We’re busy here.”

I shook my foot to get rid of whatever he’d brought to me.