Murder in the Winter (22 page)

I thanked him for his time and offered to drop in whenever
I was in the neighborhood. Longworth cringed seconds after I spoke.  

We left the conference room and walked to the front
door of the inn. I opened the door and stepped out into the cool air. Manfred
had made a path from the garage to the bridge. We had only to trudge through
the snow as far as the garage before following in Manfred’s tractor marks as we
returned to Lightning. Some things fit into place. Others didn’t. I still had
no idea who our murderer was, and I had no clue who suggested that the actors
go to Overlook Inn. Could it have been the murderer? Two of our suspects died
at the inn, but the third died at home. Was there any significance to that?

By the time Lou and I tiptoed over the bridge and
slunk back down onto our seats, Manfred had plowed most of the driveway.  I 
drove  Lightning  over  the  bridge, took the loop to  the  right,  stopped 
after  a  few  feet, and backed Lightning onto the left-side of the drive so I
could turn around. This beat using Lightning’s reverse gear to get back to
town. As we crossed the bridge, I stopped at the path that led to the trailer,
and got out. I wanted to find out if anyone had visited the trailer since the
previous night’s snowfall. There were no tracks. I was thankful for this, and
Lou and I returned to town.

29

I looked at my watch as we entered the city limits. It
was 11:54. If we ate then, we would have to eat again before supper. Besides,
the Blue Moon is always the fullest from 7:00-8:30 a.m. and around noon. What
if we went to the Blue Moon and found someone sitting on our stools? What
grounds would we have for arresting them? We decided to wait until after we’d
checked with Mrs. Collins. I reached into my pocket and yanked out a Hershey
Almond Bar. I pulled over to savor a bite or two before visiting with Phelps’s
landlady. After I gathered enough strength to get by until lunch, I pulled away
from the curb. Not expecting a hasty retreat, Lou spilled a couple of M&Ms
on the floor mat.

I apologized for interrupting Mrs. Collins’s lunch and
told her we’d just take a couple of minutes of her time, even though she had
the most photographs to look at.

“I’m sorry, Lieutenant, but none of these people was
the man who came to see Ray.”

“Have you seen any of them on any other occasion?”

“Not that I know of.”

I thanked her and Lou and I left.

“Looks like we’ve struck out so far, Lou.”

“Yeah, but maybe someone at the apartment house has
seen one of these birds.”

I hoped so. We were running out of leads.

+++

Since it was only 12:34 when we left Mrs. Collins, we
stopped by the grocery on the way to the diner in order to stock up on our
candy supply before stopping for lunch.

+++

As Lou and I stepped from the Blue Moon, an idea came
to me. Before we questioned anyone at Oppenheimer Arms, we would check the
parking area in the back to see what the latest snowfall could tell us. Maybe,
if we were lucky, we would find tracks, and a sign that said, “This way to the
murderer.”

+++

Lou and I looked at the snow-covered cars that donned
the area behind the apartment building. Did any of these people ever leave? But
it wasn’t the cars that were there that warranted our attention, but the one
that had come and gone. Just like the previous week, someone had slid in under
the dark of night and slithered out undetected. Who could it have been? Did the
murderer return to the scene of the crime? I took out my notebook that listed
the make and model of vehicle each of the residents drove. Everyone who
remained alive was at home. At least, if anyone had left, he or she hadn’t
driven away in their own vehicles.

Lou and I discussed our plan. Just like before, we
would begin with Mrs. Crouch. We planned to show the pictures to everyone and
watch his or her eyes and body movements to determine if anyone was lying to
us. We also planned to ask each person if he or she had had a visitor that day,
or knew of anyone else who had.

Forty-five minutes later, we had finished, but appeared
no closer to solving the murder. Mrs. Crouch recognized no one except for
Phelps. Just like before, Arthur Rothschild was lying on his couch, his
wheelchair nearby. The only picture he was able to identify was Sidney
Longworth, who had directed him in many plays.  Martin Mulroney appeared nervous
at the sight of us, but no more so when he shuffled through the photographs.
Having been at the inn in two costumes, of course he recognized Mr. and Mrs.
Longworth. He must have had a good eye for people, because he also recognized
the Mitchusons and Justin, our server. Virgil Profitt, who claimed to be new to
the area, recognized no one. And last, Tony McArthur, who seemed as happy to
see us and as comfortable with our visit as he had on our previous encounters,
recognized the same people that Mulroney recognized. Our visit had uncovered
nothing new, or had it? No one’s answer caused a red flag to wave violently
before my eyes. And no one claimed to have had a morning visitor, or to have
heard anyone visiting any of the other residents. The only person Mrs. Crouch
heard enter the building was the mailman, and he parked out front. While she
couldn’t be certain, she was fairly sure no one else had entered the building
that day.

+++

Lou and I sat in Lightning in front of Oppenheimer
Arms, wondering if our visit made anyone uncomfortable. All but one of the
people we had questioned were actors. Supposedly, good actors. I assume that a
good actor can hide his feelings better than an everyday murderer. Still, no
murderer, even one who is an actor, is a match for Dekker and Murdock.

After Lou and I spent a few minutes in silence, gathering
our thoughts, we talked, to see if either of us picked up on anything that
might help us solve the murders. The best we could come up with was an idea to
stake out the apartment building, to see who might have visited in the dead of
night. As we contemplated that move, neither of us were eager to sit in Lightning
freezing half the night, or to pitch a tent in the parking lot and alert our
visitor that stupid police were freezing to death under his nose. Neither did
we want to borrow a key to any of the deceased’s apartments, thus alerting Mrs.
Crouch of what we were up to. We didn’t think she had murdered anyone, but we
wanted to keep our plans to ourselves.

We remembered that the department owned a RV which had
been used for surveillance on occasion. Actually, someone had donated it and
taken a tax write off. If we signed out for it, and parked it in the parking
lot behind the apartment building next door, it wouldn’t appear suspicious to
anyone who visited Oppenheimer Arms and any of its residents in the middle of
the night. Could it be that someone at Oppenheimer Arms had an accomplice, and
waited until all of the other residents had bedded down for the night before
calling someone and giving the “all clear” signal?  If so, I doubted if anyone
would bother to peruse the parking area next door, and if he or she did, I doubted
if an RV would arouse suspicion. He or she would merely think that one of the
old people next door had company from out of town. Maybe a son or daughter.

Neither of us had any idea when someone might visit,
but if someone did, we figured that he or she would try to sneak in and out
while most of the world slept. With an RV, part of that sleeping world could be
one of us. Lou and I could take turns staking out the property next door, and
take turns sleeping.

Content on our next plan of action, I steered
Lightning away from the apartment building, and headed to find my good friend,
Milton Arbogast, who was in charge of all the surveillance equipment for the
department, among his other job descriptions.

He asked when we needed it, and for how long. I told
him if it was ready we could take it then, and we wanted to use it until we
found our man.

Lou and I walked around back to the fenced-in area
that held extra vehicles. We were eager to look the RV over. The department had
only one RV, so it wasn’t hard for us to find it. I inserted the key Arbogast
had given me, unlocked the vehicle, and motioned for Lou to go first. Not
expecting any danger, he agreed, and stepped up into the camper.

The thick curtain between the front seats and the rest
of the RV helped hide the equipment inside, as well as keep any of the outside
world from seeing the lighted area in the back, and knowing if anyone was
inside. Lou and I were busy checking out the refrigerator, trying to see how
much it would hold, when Arbogast opened the door to see how much we knew about
the workings of the RV. We both admitted that we knew little. Arbogast spent
the next few minutes walking us through the unit. The only thing different
about the department’s RV and a normal one was that the one that belonged to
the department had an area half-way back with a control panel to use in
surveillance. Both Lou and I had planned to use our eyes to watch, but Arbogast
said it would be better if we sat in the back undetected, flipped the switch on
the panel, and watched on the monitor while we listened through the speakers.
Both of us were apprehensive about using modern technology, so Arbogast said we
should keep it simple. All we needed to do was flip a couple of switches, and
maneuver a joystick to position and reposition the outside camera. After
playing with the gizmos for a few minutes, we reluctantly agreed to give it a
try.

I parked Lightning in a suitable spot, gave her a
couple of pats as if to say that I’d be back soon, then drove around the lot a
couple of times until I became familiar with how to steer the RV.

With the unit secured, two hungry cops headed to the
grocery to stock the camper’s refrigerator. A whole night without food can be a
long time if one has to spend part of his time doing nothing but staying awake
and acting like a Peeping Tom.

+++

I dropped Lou off at his place, so that the two of us
could take naps before our long night. After Lou got out of the RV, he leaned
in and told me that he would be willing to sacrifice and  stay  home  if  I 
would  rather  take  Miss  Lovely or Miss Humphert with me on the stakeout.
After he shut the door, I contemplated  dropping  back  by headquarters to see
if anyone had confiscated any poison. Surely, no one other than Thelma Lou
could possibly miss Lou Murdock.

+++

“Oh, Cyrus,” a grating voice roared from behind me.
“You’ve decided to surprise me. You rented a motor home so the two of us can go
away for the weekend.”

I turned to face my neighbor.

“I’d be willing to buy one if you’d go away forever.”

“Oh, Cyrus, are you proposing to me and Twinkle Toes?”

“I’m sorry, Miss Humphert, but bigamy has been outlawed
in this state, but if I have to choose between the two of you, I’ll take the
mutt.”

“Oh, Cyrus, I always knew you loved Twinkle Toes as
much as she loves you.”

“Actually, I’ve recently met someone who does testing
on animals. You have no idea how many volts they can shoot into such a little
animal. Some of them actually live through the first test, although they’re
never the same again.”

“Nor will I be the same after spending a weekend with
you. Where are we going?”

“How about Bora Bora? You and Muffy go ahead and I’ll
fly out later to meet you. And don’t pay any attention to the sign ‘Shark
Infested Waters.’ They just put those signs up so the place won’t get too
crowded. Just remember to throw Muffy in first, and if she doesn’t come back,
jump in after her. Now, I don’t want to keep you. Hurry on.”

“Oh, Cyrus, you can keep me as long as you want.”

“Oh, you wouldn’t believe the number of places I can
think of where I’d like to keep you.”

“Oh, Cyrus, you are so romantic.”

I couldn’t take any more. I needed to get inside
before she jumped me and started nibbling on my ear.  

+++

I rushed inside and called Sam. He had just gotten
back from playing name that non-celebrity. Not one person had identified any of
our suspects. Whoever we were dealing with was very good at what he or she did.

+++

“I just wanted to let you know I’m on my way to pick
you up, as long as you refrain from any of those comments about me and some
woman.”

“I’m sorry to hear that you and Betty aren’t on speaking
terms.”

“I’m talking about those other women. The ones you
keep associating with me.”

“Oh, you mean Miss Ugly and Miss Lovely?”

“Exactly. And one of the aforementioned nearly jumped
me when I showed up driving an RV.”

I heard laughing on the other end, then a response.

“Maybe it’s time to tell her that you’ve found someone
else.”

“No thanks. I’d rather lose this one.”

+++

We arrived at the corner apartment building a little before
9:00. I parked around the corner and sent Lou to see if there was a large
enough space to park near the Oppenheimer building. He came back and nodded. As
I eased down the driveway, hoping not to arouse any of the residents in either
building, I smiled as I turned the corner and saw the open space before me. It
was as if everyone knew we were coming and had left enough space for me to
park. I even had room to turn around when it came time to leave.

Lou and I sprinted to the back as quickly as we could.
Lou plopped down in front of the control panel while I searched the
refrigerator and cabinets for things to eat. Not wanting too much mess, we
refrained from buying anything that needed to be cooked. I opened a can of
Vienna sausages, took out a package of crackers, opened a jar of sweet pickles,
and ripped open a bag of Frito’s. Then, it was just a matter of pulling out a
couple of Diet Pepsis, and eating junk food until it was time to fix the ice
cream sundaes. To make the occasion seem more festive, we bought hot fudge,
caramel, and marshmallow toppings, peanuts, pecans, a can of whipped cream, and
maraschino cherries. If we were going to have to stay out all night, we were
going to do so in style.