Charged with Murder

The wooden floorboards of the bookstore creaked and moaned as customers rushed in to get out of the storm.  Umbrellas and raincoats dripped from the wall-hooks in the entryway.  Kate was wishing this was one of those big, modern bookstores that served coffee and had a glass counter full of pastries, but it wasn’t.  

This was simply Hamilton’s; reliable, almost always open and not part of a big, impersonal chain.  At times it may have smelled a tad musty, but that was part of its charm.  It wore no fancy dust jacket; it just sat nestled with the buildings on Main Street.  To the left was Gregory’s Deli and to the right sat Iguanas & More, Pet Shop, as if being alphabetical was a requirement.

The brass bell above the door tinkled with the entrance and exits of every customer, which was always ignored by Simon, the store owner’s cat.  He slept comfortably in the front window, except when his lunch arrived.  Out of a sound sleep he would jump to his feet and head behind the front counter, where his food dish lived.  After lunch, of course, it would be time for a nap, so back to the window he’d go.

As Kate entered the book store she accidentally bumped into Peg, who was shaking the rain from her coat.

“I’m so very sorry” Kate said.  “I should look in the direction I’m walking.”

“No problem, replied Peg.  I should stand farther away from the front door, but this thing will never dry if I don’t give it a good shake.”

“Here, let me help you.  There’s an empty hook over here.” Kate takes Peg’s coat and hangs it up with her own.

“Thank you…?”

“It’s Kate.  My name is Kate.”

“Mine is Peg.  I’m a murderer.   I should say, I write murder mysteries.  I just came in to check the shelf.  I check once a month to see how many of my books have sold.”

“You’re the first author I’ve ever met.  It’s nice to meet you.”

Peg pulls a Kleenex from her pocket and sniffles into it.  “What do you do, Kate?”

“I’m a teacher.  On Mondays I teach 5^th grade math.  On Tuesdays and Wednesdays it’s English and on Fridays I teach gourmet cooking at the Adult Education Center.”

“Sounds like you keep busy.”

“I do.” Kate replied. “I certainly do.”

“How many books have you written?” Kate asked.

“Excuse me just a minute Peg.  I just need to sit here a second.” And she eased herself down onto the wooden chair at the end of the aisle.

“Are you OK?” 

“Just a little tired.  It has been a busy week.”

“Do you want me to see if I can get you a glass of water?”

“No – thank you.  I’ll be fine in a minute”

As Peg started to stand up, Kate reached down and helped her keep her balance.

As the two women walk further into the store there is a loud clap of thunder, and suddenly the book store is completely dark.  Dennis, the young kid running the cash register yells for everyone to be calm and ads - hopefully the emergency lights will come on.  They didn’t.

One lady, towards the back of the store turned on a small flashlight she’d dug out of her purse.  It wasn’t much light but it was something.

  Once again Dennis, at the register, announces he cannot ring up any orders without power and requests everyone is patient.

Kate feels Peg taking hold of her arm and she pulls her in closer.

“Are you scared Peg?” Kate asks.

“I have a problem” she whispers.  “I didn’t think there would be a power outage.  I need to get home right away.”

Kate leans in and asks what the problem is.

“I can’t tell you, and now I’m worried.  Will you come with me?”

Kate hears the panic in Peg’s voice and says, “No problem, but don’t you want to wait until the rain stops?”

“I can’t.  I have to check on something right away.  Oh dear.”

With just a few steps back the two women are again in the entryway.  Kate feels around for the last wall hook and grabs their coats.

“Here’s your coat.” Peg feels it up against her arm and takes it from Kate.  It is still wet but she slips it on and waits for Kate to get hers back on.

Once outside the two walk close to the storefronts, keeping under the various awnings as they go.

“Where do you live Peg?  Are we headed to your car or are we within walking distance?”

Just then Peg chirps her key fob and the headlights come on just two parked cars away.

“We’ll drive, Honey.  This is my car here.”

Now Kate was wondering why Peg needed her to go with her if her car was right here.  She found it to be a little odd and just a bit unsettling, but she got into the passenger seat and snugly clicked her seat-belt.

As Peg drove through a darkened neighborhood Kate asked again, “What is it you’re concerned about?”

“It’s the power outage.  This isn’t at all good.”

Kate still didn’t understand but figured she would just wait and see.

Peg pulled into a narrow driveway.  There were tall hedges along one side and an old bungalow style house to the right.

“This is my place.”  Just as she turned off the car ignition they could see the streetlights and several house lights come back on.

“Thank Heaven.” Peg sighed.  “Come in.  You can help me check the house and then we can have some tea.”

“What are we checking the house for?  Do you have pets?”

“Oh no, dear, no pets.  Come-on – we’ll have a cup of hot tea, and I’ll show you my latest book.”

Kate followed Peg up the driveway to the side door.  She finally found her house key but Kate noticed Peg’s hands shaking.

“Are you nervous?”

Peg didn’t answer.  She unlocked the door and opened it slowly.  As she stepped inside Kate followed close behind.

Peg went up two short steps to the kitchen and clicked on the ceiling light.  She glanced back over her shoulder at Kate and said,

“Everything looks fine, come on up.”

As Kate looked around the kitchen she noticed a teakettle on the stove and a few dishes piled in the sink.

“You have a nice house.”  Kate said, although thinking it could stand a good cleaning.

“Have a seat at the table, Kate, and I’ll get the kettle fired up.”

The kitchen table was a little cluttered but Kate just pushed things out of the way, making room for the two of them to have tea.

“While the water is heating up I’ll fetch my book.” Peg said, disappearing down a hallway.  As Kate sat there she noticed something.  She was surprised she had not noticed it right when she walked in.  There was a heavy-duty extension cord plugged into a wall outlet.  The cord stretched across the floor and the other end had bare wires attached to the doorknob of a door across the room, with one wire going to one of the hinges of the door.

The moment Peg returned with her latest book, Kate asked about the electrical cord.

“Yes, that’s why we had to get back here.  If he had noticed the power was out he could have escaped.”

Peg couldn’t believe what she was hearing.

“Are you telling me you have someone trapped in your basement?”

“Yes dear.  It’s Nelson, my husband.”

Kate didn’t know what to say.  Was this lady nuts?  And why on Earth did I get into her car?

Peg set her book on the table in front of Kate.  As Kate looked at the dust jacket, nothing registered.  Her mind was still bouncing a million questions around.  What had she gotten herself into?

“Do you like the cover?”  Peg’s question broke the silence and snapped Kate back into the moment.

“I’m looking at what seems to be a circle of firemen holding a large canvas ring, like someone is about to jump from the building here in the foreground.”

“Yes, but something’s off, isn’t it?”

Kate kept looking at the picture and then realized, none of the firemen were looking up at the jumper.  They all had their heads bowed.  They were all looking down.

“Why is no one looking up?” asked Kate.

“Precisely,” replied Peg, as she took the hot kettle from the stove and poured Kate’s tea.

Kate didn’t care about Peg’s book.  She couldn’t stop thinking about the poor man in the basement.

“I need to use your restroom.”  Kate said cautiously.

Peg pointed.  “Just down the hall dear.”

Kate slid her chair back from the table and headed for the hall. About halfway down the hall she noticed a clothes chute.  Kate pulled the chute open and stuck her head in enough to see into the basement.

  

She could see a single light bulb hanging from a cord.  Just below that she saw what she thought was a bald man squinting back up at her.  In a low and somewhat raspy voice he said,

“Don’t drink the tea.”

           

           

           

      Z. Corwin