A Collection of Mysteries

A COLLECTION OF MYSTERIES

  by

  Shirley McCann

  *****

  PUBLISHED BY:

  A Collection of Mysteries

  COPYPRIGHT 2010 © by Shirley McCann

  *****

  A Collection of Mysteries

  Table of Contents

  Grounds For Murder

  Route of All Evil

  Fit For Death

  Now Hear This

  Death at the Diner

  In The Cards

  Easy Answer

  Good Riddance

  Once Burned

  Neighborhood Watch

  True Blue

  Badge of Shame

  If The Key Fits

  *****

  Grounds For Murder

  Detectives Marshall Graff and Joe Wilson were summoned to Johnson’s Furniture Shop, where Ellen Johnson’s husband, Rob, had been killed.

  "What happened?" Detective Graff asked Ellen.

  "Rob left for work this morning at eight. He fired his secretary last week for stealing and needed to catch up on some paperwork. He called me around nine and asked me to bring in some coffee because there wasn’t any left in the office." She had to stop and compose herself. "But when I arrived, I found him lying on the floor in a pool of blood."

  "Did you see or hear anyone else in the store?"

  "No one."

  "How did you get inside?" Graff asked.

  "I rang the buzzer, but when Rob didn’t answer, I let myself in. I have a key."

  "Does anyone else have a key?"

  "No. Whoever came here—Rob would have had to let them in himself."

  "Do you know of anyone with a grudge against your husband?"

  "Well, certainly not reason enough to kill him," she said. "Rob was a wonderful employer, but he expected loyalty in return."

  "Go on," Graff prompted.

  "Rob was going to fire his assistant manager, Dennis Rice. He’d messed up some big orders recently."

  "Anyone else?"

  "Christy Duvall—his secretary until last week. Rob caught her stealing from petty cash and let her go."

  "Is that it?"

  "Well, there’s James Oakley. He’s wanted to buy this building for two years so he can expand his own shop, but Rob wouldn’t sell."

  Graff started his investigation next door at Oakley’s Furniture.

  "I understand you were upset because Mr. Johnson refused to sell you his business," Detective Graff said to Oakley.

  "Just the building, Detectives, not his business. Since I moved in here, Rob’s shop hasn’t done as well. We both offer top-quality furniture, but as you can see, I have a much wider selection."

  "Did you see Rob this morning?"

  "I saw him pull into the back lot about eight-fifteen, just as I was opening my door. I waved, then came inside. That’s it."

  "Next on the list was Christy Duvall. "Rob’s dead?" she said when Graff told her the reason for the visit.

  "Yes. And we understand that Rob Johnson had just fired you for stealing."

  "That was a misunderstanding," she defended herself. "Rob’s been under a lot of stress lately. Dennis has cost him a couple of good jobs, and his wife is a shopaholic. But Rob and I had a talk this morning, and I explained to him that I was just taking a few dollars to buy supplies for the shop!"

  "What time did you meet?"

  "About eight-thirty. I was only there for a few minutes."

  "Was there anyone else in the shop?"

  "Not that I saw."

  Next on the list was Dennis Rice. "We understand that you were about to lose your job."

  "It’s true," he said, hanging his head. "I’ve let some personal problems affect my work. But Rob was very sympathetic. He and I talked over coffee this morning, and he agreed to give me another chance."

  "What time was that?" Detective Wilson asked.

  "Around nine."

  Back in the car, Detective Wilson turned to his partner. "Three suspects, three motives, and not one with a decent alibi."

  "Yeah, but only one of them was caught in a lie," Detective Graff said, grinning.

  Who does the detective suspect? (See answer below)

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  Solution: The assistant manager, Dennis Rice. He couldn’t have shared a cup of coffee with the boss since there was none in the shop. Rob had phoned his wife and asked her to come by and bring some in.

  *****

  Route Of All Evil

  Jill Rogers sat at the kitchen table sobbing into a handkerchief as Detective Steve Olsen began his questioning.

  "I understand how difficult this is, Mrs. Rogers, but it’s important to get the facts while they’re still fresh in your mind."

  "I’ll do anything I can to help you, Detective, but I don’t know much. Mitch wasn’t even supposed to come home last night."

  "He traveled a lot?"

  "Mitch was a truck driver. He and his partner are on the road all week, home on weekends."

  "We’re ready to go," the coroner said, poking his head into the kitchen.

  Olsen followed him outside. "Learn anything?"

  "The victim died of a stab wound. Judging by the temperature of the body, he was killed sometime last night. Wonder why we weren’t called sooner."

  "I’m about to find out."

  "Did they find anything that will help with the investigation?" Jill asked when Olsen returned.

  "Too soon to know," he said. "Can you tell me what time Mitch arrived home last night?"

  Jill lowered her head. "I don’t know. I didn’t expect him home until tonight, so I spent the night at a girlfriend’s house. We watched movies until almost midnight, then went to bed. I didn’t check my phone until this morning. That’s when I heard Mitch’s recorded message that he had come home early."

  Jill sighed. "You might as well know, Detective. Mitch and I were having problems. I suspected he was having an affair with his partner, Lisa Crawley."

  "Did you say Lisa?"

  "Yes, a woman truck driver. Not as uncommon as you’d think."

  "So you had motive?"

  "I know it looks that way, but the truth is, we were working things out. If I had known he was going to be home last night, I’d have been here."

  "Can you think of anyone who might have wanted to harm your husband?"

  "Well there’s Lisa Crawley’s husband. Like me, he suspected they were having an affair."

  "Anyone else?"

  Mitch’s former partner, Jack Reed. They drove together for five years until Jack’s drinking became a problem and Mitch had to let him go."

  Olsen found Dave Crawley at home with his wife."

  "What’s this about?" Dave asked the detective.

  "Mitch Rogers was murdered last night. Know anything about it?"

  Lisa’s face paled as she joined her husband at the door. "Oh no! It must have been Jill. She’s been jealous of our working relationship since day one."

  "No one has been arrested yet," Olsen said. "I’m simply collecting information. Can you tell me what time you and Mr. Rogers arrived back in town last night?"

  "Mitch dropped me off here at about ten-thirty, and then drove home. I treated myself to a late night in the whirlpool bath before going to bed."

  "That’s right," Dave agreed. "Lisa came in just as the ten o’clock news was ending. We both turned in shortly after that."

  Next he located Jack Reed at his new place of employment, a loading dock for a shipping company.

  "Mitch is dead?" he exclaimed when he heard the news. "That’s a shock. But I guess what goes around comes around."

  "So where were you between ten last night and six this morning?"

  "Wait a minute," Jack pro
tested. "You can’t pin this on me. I was here all night, putting in a double shift. Ask anyone."

  Detective Olsen sat in his car mulling over the information he’d collected before deciding to pay another visit to his number-one suspect.

  Who does the detective suspect? (See answer below)

  *****

  Solution: Dave Crawley. When his wife came home a day early, Dave knew that Mitch was home too. While his wife soaked in the tub, Dave drove to Mitch’s house to confront him about his suspicions, and Mitch ended up dead.

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  Fit For Death

  Detectives Stan Grill and George Reed arrived at the Shay Fitness Center and Spa to investigate the death of the owner, Tom Shay. They found him on the floor with the apparent murder weapon, a bronze paperweight by his side.

  "I’m the one who called," a slim, teary-eyed blonde said. "I’m Vicky Shay, Tom’s wife. I arrived this morning around nine and found him like this."

  "Did you touch anything?" Grill asked.

  "Detectives," she declared, squaring her shoulders. "I’m here every day. You’ll find my fingerprints all over this place. But, no, I didn’t touch anything this morning. Other than Tom, to see if he was alive!"

  "You said you found him after you arrived," Reed said. "You didn’t drive together?"

  "We rarely do. Tom handled the finances. He liked to come in early and go over the books. I run the club and make sure our customers are happy."

  "Any idea who might have done this?" Grill asked.

  "No," Vicky answered, wiping her eyes with a tissue. "But I know there have been a few problems with some employees lately."

  "For example?" Grill prodded.

  "Well, Paul Steel, for one," she responded. "Tom fired him yesterday after learning that he was training clients off the books. He was planning to come in today to clean out his locker."

  "Anyone else?"

  "Sally Cane. She’s a new instructor, but she’s too honest with some of the overweight clients. A few of them have complained, so Tom told her to be more tactful or find another job."

  Next Grill went to question Paul Steel and Sally Cane.

  "What happened?" Paul asked. "Why are the police here?"

  "Tom Shay is dead. Where were the two of you between eight and nine this morning?" Reed asked them.

  Sally answered first. "I got up at eight. Then I got dressed and drove here."

  "And you sir?" Reed turned to Paul.

  "If you must know, I was at home on the phone, lining up job interviews." He glared at Vicky. I’m sure you told them I was fired yesterday."

  "So you had a motive?"

  "You could say that, except that if I were planning to sneak in and kill Tom, I wouldn’t have called first to say I was coming in to clean out my locker, would I?"

  "Killers aren’t necessarily good planners," Mr. Steel," Reed replied. "What time did you call?"

  "About eight this morning. No one answered, so I left a message."

  "If it’s motive you want, I’ve got a suggestion," Sally exclaimed. "Everyone knows that Vicky was jealous of Tom’s indiscreet flings with his female instructors—including me!"

  "How dare you!" Vicky screamed. "I loved Tom. But while we’re on the subject of motives, you should know that Sally threatened us when Tom confronted her with all the complaints we’d received about her training techniques."

  Sally lunged at Vicky, but was quickly restrained by Paul.

  "This one may take awhile," Detective Grill said to Reed. "Each of them has a good motive for murder, but we don’t have enough evidence to hold any of them."

  "Not true, partner," Reed said. "We’re ready to make an arrest right now."

  Who does the detective suspect? (See answer below)

  *****

  Solution: Vicky Shay. She said she had just arrived at nine and found her husband’s body, but Paul had left the voice message at eight. The only way she could have known Paul was coming in to clean out his locker was if she’d been in the room when he called.

  *****

  Now Hear This!

  "So what exactly are we all doing here?" Mary asked her two brothers when she slid into the booth at the Coffee Grounds Café. "And who’s this kid?"

  "I’m Rick Jones," the stranger said, "and it’s like this—I was at your Uncle Brad’s house last night when he was shot."

  Alan glanced at his siblings before asking, "What were you doing at our uncle’s house?"

  "That’s not important," he said. "What is important is that I know which one of you killed him, and for one hundred thousand dollars, I’m willing to keep quiet about it."

  "This is completely absurd!" Mary hissed, twisting her hands nervously. Not one of us would kill our uncle. We loved him. He was like a father to us."

  "My sister’s right," Chuck agreed. "Uncle Brad treated us like the children he never had. And if you think we’re gonna let some pizza delivery boy blackmail us into confessing to something we didn’t do, you’re dumber than you look."

  Rick turned his attention to Alan. "What about you? Don’t you have a say in this matter?"

  Alan’s nervous gaze bounced between his two siblings. "Look, I know none of us would ever stoop to murder, but all this guy has to do is go to the police and name us as suspects, and that’s exactly what we’ll become!"

  "What on earth are you suggesting?" Mary asked.

  "Alan, you think we should pay him the money?" Chuck yelled. "No way! He must be bluffing."

  Alan took a deep breath. "Look," he finally said, lowering his head. "I didn’t kill anyone, but I don’t want the police or anyone digging into my finances."

  "No surprise there," Mary shot back. "We’ve all suspected that, as executor, you’ve been skimming money from our inheritance for years. I guess this confirms it. Maybe Uncle Brad finally realized it, too?"

  "I didn’t kill him," Alan shouted. "But since we’re airing our dirty laundry, Mary, what about you? It’s no secret that your latest boy-toy husband has gone through your current assets like water. Maybe you just couldn’t wait to get your hands on your inheritance."

  Mary’s jaw dropped. "I can’t believe you’d accuse me of something like that," she cried. Turning to Chuck, she said, "And what about you? We all know about your gambling habit. If anyone had a reason to kill Uncle Brad, it was you!"

  Alan slammed his first on the table. "Stop!" he shouted. "Don’t you see we’re playing into this jerk’s hands? He wanted to scare us so we’d give in to his demands and fork over the money. I, for one, am not falling for it."

  "You’ve got that right, Alan." Chuck turned to Rick Jones. "We’re not giving you a dime."

  Rick smiled thinly. "You’re right," he admitted. "I was bluffing, but I was there last night, and I did hear what sounded like a gunshot just as I rang the doorbell."

  "And you didn’t call the police right away?" Mary asked. "Maybe you’re the one who shot him."

  "I admit it; I was afraid to get involved. But it doesn’t really matter now," Rick said, removing the small microphone wire from his collar. "I did go to the police this morning once I heard that your uncle was dead."

  "You were taping us?"

  "Yup," he said. "The police heard everything. And if they were paying attention, they know who the murderer is."

  Who does Rick suspect? (See answer below)

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  Solution: Chuck. He said that Rick was a pizza delivery boy, but the only way he could have known that was if he’d seen Rick the night before when Rick had tried to deliver the pizza to Chuck’s uncle.

  *****

  Death At The Diner

  Detective Nancy Rollins arrived at J.P.’s Diner after being summoned by dispatch. She was met at the entrance by Officer Dean Yates.

  "What’s happened?" she asked him.

  "John Peters, the owner, was found this morning on the kitchen floor by one of his waitresses. When she couldn’t find a pulse, she called the police. Coroner thinks the cast-iron fry
ing pan by his side was probably the murder weapon."

  Rollins glanced up and caught the tear-stained face of a young brunette sitting at one of the tables. "That the waitress who found him?"

  "Yep," he answered. "Name’s Sandy Ellis. She’s a bit shaken up. The other waitress, Julie Hill, arrived a few minutes ago. She’s the one sitting at the counter." He turned and pointed to a booth along the opposite wall. "That’s the busboy and dishwasher, Jim Dark. He came in right after Ms. Ellis. I figured you’d want to keep them separate," he added. "From what I’ve gathered, it seems like none of them were very fond of their boss."

  Rollins joined Sandy at the table. "I understand you found your boss’s body," she said. "What time was that?"

  "I arrived about five forty-five. Mr. Peters expected me to be on the floor and ready to work by six AM."

  "Who else was here when you arrived?"

  "No one that I was aware of. But anyone could have come and left."

  "I understand you weren’t particularly fond of your boss."

  "None of us were," Sandy said. "Mr. Peters took half of the tip money that Julie and I earned, and then made us split the other half three ways to include Jim."

  Jim Dark sat at the booth, tapping his fingers on the wooden table. "Why do I have to stay?" he asked, nervously. "I didn’t even find out that Mr. Peters was dead until I arrived. There’s no way I could have killed him."

  "Did you like your boss?"

  "Not particularly," he admitted. "J.P. wasn’t happy unless he was complaining about something or someone. He constantly badgered me about the tables not being cleaned well enough, or leaving grime on the dishes. But I didn’t kill him. Besides, I already have another job lined up. I came in today planning to turn in my two-week notice. But since he was dead when I got here, he didn’t even give me that satisfaction."

  Julie Hill was the last suspect to be interviewed. "So tell me what happened?" Rollins said, sliding into a seat next to her.

  "I wish I knew," Julie responded with a shrug. "I pulled into the parking lot, thinking I was gonna be in trouble for being late again. Then I noticed the police were all over the place. I tried to enter through the front door, but was stopped by a police officer who told me that Mr. Peters was dead. I couldn’t believe it."