Take Stock in Murder (15 page)

The next morning Charles called the bookstore to find out Dawn’s hours, and before lunch, the couple headed to the local bookstore.

Charles and Carrie loved the bookstore. The unusual thing about Tri-County Bookstore was its size. It wasn’t a small shop wedged in between other stores in a strip mall, but had rather been established in one of the largest and oldest Victorian homes that graced Main Street—the perfect location.

The first-floor rooms had been converted into a series of sections filled with fiction books and reading nooks. The second floor housed nonfiction books and research materials, with a series of meeting rooms available for community use. On the third floor, the space had been converted into an apartment.
Here the two sisters who owned the store could relax above the business that gave them so much pleasure.

Over the years, the bookstore had continued to expand. The basement had been remodeled to create a children’s area with comfy floor cushions, where the children could sit and listen to the weekly story hour. French doors were added to the basement and opened onto the gardens. On the first floor, the wraparound porch had been extended and widened. With its rocking chairs and oversized wicker chairs, readers had a serene location for reading the books they’d purchased. But the most successful renovation was a tea room in the back corner of the first floor, where the original kitchen and breakfast room were located. There patrons could purchase tea, coffee, juices, and light snacks while enjoying the tea room or the gardens. Carrie and Charles thought the coffee was exceptional and would often enjoy a cup during their visits.

Carrie and Charles pulled into the parking lot and immediately found a spot. On weekends the lot was never empty, and customers were forced to park in the auxiliary lots. But on a weekday, the store had fewer shoppers. They entered through the side door and scouted the first floor for Dawn. There was no sign of her, but before they could move to look in the next section, they were spotted by Mrs. Luther.

“Carrie and Charles, hello. How are you? Sorry to hear about Todd’s death. Even more sorry to hear about your troubles. Just utter nonsense.”

Charles had never understood why someone surrounded by the best in literary styles talked in broken sentences. Madge Luther was one of the sisters who owned the store. Rumor had
it that the insurance money from Madge’s husband’s death and the settlement from Marge’s divorce had provided the sisters with the initial seed money to renovate the house and purchase books. Mrs. Luther, the older of the two sisters, who was closer to Charles’s age, in her midfifties, was very tall and wispy in both looks and conversation.

“It does seem a shame when someone so young loses his life,” Carrie answered, and then added, “especially when it’s sudden and unexpected.” She knew better than to go into specific details about the murder investigation, because the bookstore was gossip central. The sisters rarely left the store but somehow always knew the latest information on everything happening in the village of Nottingham and the surrounding area.

“Yes, that’s why you live each moment. Are you after reading materials? How about a good mystery—crime drama? Might find a clue in a book to help solve Todd’s murder. Oh, wait, I know. We just received some new mystery jigsaw puzzles.”

“Thanks for your suggestion. Puzzles sound like a lovely idea. But we’re here for another reason. Madge, I understand Dawn is working today.”

“Dawn? Yes, she is, but why…” Neither Charles nor Carrie had to say a word, for she answered her own question. “Oh, of course you would want to talk with her. I mean, she dated Todd for a time, although it’s probably been six months since they were together. A tough decision for her. I’m sure she’ll tell you about it. She’s downstairs in the children’s section. Would you like me to show you the way?”

“Not necessary. We certainly know this bookstore like our own home,” Carrie said.

“Good. I really need to get these new kids’ books checked in. Before I know it, the preschool story hour will be here with all the youngsters. Charles, will the
Tri-County Monthly
be out on time?”

“Absolutely, on time.”

“I must call your sales department and add several more copies to our order. We sell out of the magazine the minute it arrives.”

“Always glad to hear that.” Charles made this comment as they quickly moved away from Mrs. Luther, with Carrie leading the way to the steps going to the lower level. When they reached the top step, Charles veered off to the left.

“Hey, where are you going?” Carrie asked.

“As long as we’re here, I want to take a look at those mystery jigsaw puzzles Mrs. Luther mentioned.”

“Let’s talk to Dawn first; then we’ll buy Charles a puzzle, but only if he’s a good boy and comes with me first.”

“Oh, goody.” Charles was clapping his hands together when Carrie grabbed his arm.

“Pull yourself together,” she said.

They proceeded down the steps to the children’s books.

“Look over by the window. That girl matches the description of Dawn,” Carrie said.

“True. She has brown hair in a ponytail, but I can’t see her smile,” Charles added.

“Come on, let’s get closer,” Carrie said, still holding on to Charles’s arm.

“So we can see if she’s got a great smile?”

“I was thinking more of reading the name on her identification tag.”

“That works.”

Charles and Carrie approached the young lady, who was dressed in the store’s uniform of a dark green golf shirt and khaki slacks. The girl was staring out the door to the garden.

“Excuse me,” Carrie said. “Are you Dawn?” Carrie’s question was answered the minute the young woman turned around. She had a beautiful smile enhanced by the perfect white teeth Jake had described.
DAWN
was in bold block lettering on her name tag.

“Yes, I’m Dawn. Can I help you find something?”

“Well, we don’t really need help finding a book. You probably don’t know us, but I’m Carrie, and this is Charles.” No recognition showed on the girl’s face, although she continued to smile politely. “We’re Mr. and Mrs. Faraday,” Carrie added.

Suddenly recognition showed on Dawn’s face. “Of course, you’re the Faradays. You’re the ones who had the fight with Todd the night he was murdered.” She backed away from the couple.

Neither Carrie nor Charles made any move to frighten the girl. Carrie said very softly, “It’s all right, Dawn. I assure you that neither my husband nor I had anything to do with Todd’s death. It was an unfortunate set of circumstances that our paths crossed on the night he was killed. In reality, we know very little about him. That’s why we wanted to talk with you. We’re hoping you could help fill in the blanks about what Todd was really like.”

“How did you find out about me?”

“Several people at the Tri-County Country Club mentioned that you and Todd had dated. Mrs. Chaney told us you worked at the bookstore,” Charles said.

Once again Dawn stared at the couple as if trying to get some insight into their guilt or innocence.

“I guess it won’t hurt to talk with you. Todd and I did date, but we stopped seeing each other several months ago. I don’t know much about what he was doing since we split.”

A woman with two children came down the steps and started looking at books near where they were standing. Dawn looked around and suggested, “Let’s go over there where there’s a little more privacy. Mrs. Luther won’t mind if I sit for a couple of minutes.” Dawn led them over by the French doors, where there was a grouping of four chairs.

“Dawn, I know this may be difficult, but can you tell me why Todd broke up with you?” Charles asked.

Dawn suddenly sat up very straight. “Look, why does everyone assume that Todd broke the relationship off with me? Is it because he’s from a different social class? The fact is, I’m the one who broke off our relationship.”

“I apologize,” Charles said. “It has nothing to do with class. It’s my male chauvinism showing. My wife is constantly reminding me of this fault. Let me rephrase: Why did you break off the relationship?”

Dawn broke into a wide grin at Charles’s honest admission. “I’m not sure how this will help, but I broke up with Todd because his values no longer matched mine. He got weird about things.”

“Could you give an example of what you mean by ‘weird about things’?” Charles asked.

“I’m not talking about philosophy. I’m literally talking about things—you know, possessions, material things. When I first met Todd, he was fun, lighthearted, and carefree. I’m sure you have discovered that even though Todd was from a wealthy family, he personally didn’t have much money. Sure, he had a job, but as a junior something or other, where he was making a minimum salary. As you can imagine, I don’t make a huge salary here, but it’s a perfect job while I attend college. We had friends, we went to parties, we took rides in the country, and we enjoyed being with each other. We did things that didn’t cost much, or we shared expenses. Every once in a while, because of his family’s membership, we attended an event at the Country Club. That was a big treat for me, since my family isn’t part of the Country Club set.”

“What changed with Todd?” Carrie prodded.

“Gradually, money became the most important thing in Todd’s life. Money became more important than our friends, and finally more important than me.” She was sitting hunched over, looking at the floor as she remembered events. “We started spending all of our time at the Country Club, attending wine tastings, dances, golf tournaments, and any other social event he could find on the Club’s calendar. Todd said he needed to be at these events because he would meet people who had money to invest. Of course, as he started to collect commissions, he also had more money to spend. Lots of money. When we weren’t attending the ‘right’ kind of Club events, we spent our time
looking at things to buy: condos, cars, electronics, and jewelry. We even spent several Sundays visiting antique shops.”

“Antiques? That doesn’t sound like Todd’s style.” Carrie, of course, was thinking of the very modern and stylish condo she and Charles had visited in the city.

“Todd said owning antiques showed potential clients he’d reached a certain status,” Dawn said with an affected, snobbish tone.

“Did he ever actually buy any antiques?” Charles asked.

“In light of the murder, what he bought may seem a little strange. Maybe I shouldn’t say anything more.”

“Dawn, please,” Carrie pleaded. “Your comments about Todd have already helped and may help us find the murderer.”

“I assure you that anything you tell us is in confidence,” Charles added. “We won’t reveal your name or how we came by the information.”

“You don’t have to promise that, Mr. Faraday. If the police question me, I’ll tell them the truth.”

“The police haven’t questioned you?”

“No, although I’ve been expecting them. Telling you folks what I know has actually provided a bit of a relief. You know, after Todd’s death, I read all the accounts in all the papers. I even went to the library and looked up past articles on both of you. Now that I’ve met you, I don’t think you killed Todd.”

“In that case, won’t you tell us what Todd bought?” Carrie asked.

“I guess it won’t hurt, and maybe it will help you. He bought a small gun.”

arrie gasped. “A gun! Are you sure?”

“Oh yes. I was with him when he purchased it at Hill’s Antiques in Tri-City. I forget their address, but the shop is located on that street near the hospital—you know, the one where the whole street is antique shops.”

Charles and Carrie nodded. “Do you know what kind of gun he purchased?” asked Charles.

“It was a very small pistol, originally designed for women that could be carried in a purse or concealed in a muff. Mr. Hill had a later version of a small derringer that held four shots. Mr. Hill told us John Wilkes Booth used a similar gun to kill Lincoln, and I think that little bit of history helped make the sale to Todd.”

“Interesting,” Charles said. “Did the gun work, and did Todd give you a reason for purchasing a gun?”

Dawn displayed her broad smile again. “Oh, the gun worked. Todd and Mr. Hill went out behind the shop and set
up cans to shoot. They were like two small boys with a new toy. I stayed inside to watch the shop in case any customers came in while they played. As to why he bought the gun, that’s a little tougher. He initially said that people dealing in securities needed to protect themselves. When I pressed him, he said he was concerned about people who wouldn’t understand the way he was helping the ladies in the Investment Club make money. Do you know about the Investment Club he started over at the Country Club?”