A book to kill for, p.13
A Book to Kill For, page 13
“You’re the one who got knocked out,” Maggie replied. She quickly scrambled away from Joshua as if he had cooties. “You’re the one who needs your head examined.”
“Very funny. Head examined. Can’t you ever just say yes to what I’m telling you to do?”
“If what you told me to do made any sense.”
“I really don’t know what my father saw in you.” Joshua shook his head as he got to his feet. “And who faints at the sight of blood these days?”
Maggie’s eyes bugged out as she looked around the floor. “That wasn’t my blood. And I don’t think it was your blood. That means that Heath Toonsley stabbed himself.”
“How do you know it was Heath Toonsley? And who is Heath Toonsley?” Joshua asked.
“How many Toonsleys do you know? You obviously know Samantha.” Again, the words just sort of tumbled out of Maggie’s mouth before she could stop them.
“Yes, I know Samantha, and I know her husband. So what is your point?”
“They have a son, Heath. He wears a cologne that makes my eyes burn. That’s what I smelled when he got close to me. I think he’s the one who stole your book,” Maggie said. “But I can’t imagine he stole it for his mother. That would be a little suspicious, with her pestering you for it over and over and then it suddenly coming up stolen. That doesn’t make any sense.”
Just then, the red and blue lights cut through the darkness, illuminating the inside of the bookshop.
“That’s if it was him,” Joshua said as he walked to the door to hold it open for the police officers.
“Yikes. If it wasn’t, that means there is another person parading around unaware they smell like lemons dunked in Pine Sol,” Maggie huffed.
“Okay, Sherlock. Sounds like you solved the case,” Joshua replied as he gave the approaching officers a wave.
Maggie stuck her tongue out at him just as Gary Brookes walked in.
“I should have known,” was all Gary said when he saw her.
Chapter 21
“Sounds like you two have had an exciting evening,” Gary said after he took Joshua’s statement. Maggie was sitting on her stool, with Poe stretched out on the counter and enjoying her undivided attention.
“You said a mouthful,” Joshua replied as an EMT shined a penlight in his eyes.
“From what I can tell, you look all right, but you should probably go to the hospital just to be sure,” said the guy wearing navy-blue pants and a matching windbreaker with EMT in bright-yellow letters splashed across the back.
“She almost fainted. You might want to check her out, too,” Joshua said and pointed to Maggie.
Her eyes popped open wide. “I’m not going to the hospital. I didn’t even hit my head. I don’t like the sight of blood. That’s all,” she replied and frowned. Then she looked to the spot on the floor that Gary had already sectioned off with a little awkwardly placed yellow police tape.
“This little bit of blood?” Gary chuckled. “You should have seen the fellow who accidentally dropped a hatchet on his foot. Now that was a lot of…” Gary began, but the expression of disgust on not just Maggie’s face but Joshua’s too made him clear his throat instead.
“So,” he continued, “you said the man tripped on his way out. Neither one of you have any cuts. I’m guessing that when he tripped, he stabbed himself. Judging by the blood, he may or may not show up at the hospital. Sometimes even a superficial wound can bleed a lot, but no stitches are required,” Gary said as he wrote a few more notes.
“Do you think you’ll catch him?” Joshua asked.
“Of course he’ll catch him. This is Fair Haven. Not New York City. Plus, no one… is leaving town… with the weather,” Maggie said as she glanced out the window.
A person was walking past, waving their arms and wailing. As soon as they saw the people in the bookstore, they flung the door open. Ruby Sinclair burst into the shop.
“My father will hear of this!” she shouted.
Maggie jumped off her stool and went to her side. Although Ruby was a weird one and certainly not on friendly terms with Maggie, she was near hysterics.
“Ruby, what happened?” she asked.
The woman reached behind her and clicked the door handle three times before answering. “My dress! It’s ruined! My father will not stand for this type of behavior!” Ruby whimpered.
When Maggie looked down, a wave of light-headedness rushed over her. The front of Ruby’s pastel dress was covered with blood. Keeping in mind that not just Joshua but Gary and the EMTs were still in the store, Maggie took a deep breath and focused on Ruby’s tearful face.
“Have you been stabbed? Where are you hurt?” Maggie asked, taking Ruby’s hands in hers and holding them more to keep herself steady than anything else. For good measure, Maggie also bit the inside of her mouth in order to keep herself aware and on her feet. The pinch of pain was enough to chase the light-headedness away.
“He grabbed me! He was no gentleman! My father will hear of this and have him arrested, and the key will be thrown in the river!” Ruby exclaimed, her arm flying up to drape dramatically over her eyes.
The EMTs rushed over to check her out, but they quickly discovered that she was not bleeding but had been bled on.
“Come with me, Ruby,” Maggie said.
“Wait just a second.” Gary stepped in. “I’ll need to talk to her first.”
“She’s not going anywhere, Gary,” Maggie replied. She slipped her arm through Ruby’s as the strange woman turned over two books on the counter and then turned them back again.
“Look, I know you’ve been bitten by the mystery bug and think you are Detective Columbo, but this is serious. I need to talk to her and…” Gary stopped as Maggie squared her shoulders.
“This has nothing to do with that,” Maggie said as she led Ruby to what had been Mr. Whitfield’s cubby near the tiny kitchenette. She turned up the heat and sat Ruby down. The woman continued to babble, more to herself than to anyone else, as Maggie retrieved a small towel for her to dry her hands and face. She put a large mug of water in the microwave. Within a few seconds, the water was hot, and Maggie dropped a bag of mint tea into it before handing it to Ruby. Ruby, who was still frowning, her eyes brimming with tears, had been nervously arranging the pens in the cup on the desk by color.
“This is the most excitement Fair Haven has seen in a while,” Gary said to Joshua.
“I should hope so. If it’s going to be like this, I’m putting the ‘for sale’ sign in the window of this shop and heading back to Hartford,” Joshua huffed.
“You aren’t planning on leaving anytime soon,” Gary said more than asked. “We still have a murder on our hands.”
“You can’t possibly still believe I had something to do with Bo’s death,” Joshua balked.
“I’m just saying that the case is still open. We don’t have anyone in custody yet. But we’ve got our eye on a few people,” Gary replied with a smile. “What was Maggie doing here after the store had closed?”
“You know, I have no idea. She didn’t tell me.” Joshua got up and walked over to the kitchenette. Gary was close behind him.
“Mr. Whitfield always said that mint tea calmed the nerves. I don’t know if that’s really true, but we’ll try it.” She soothed Ruby, who had moved on from pencils to undoing the ball of rubber bands that had been on the desk for years. “I miss him. He was sort of like my father,” Maggie said.
The words caught Ruby’s attention for a second, and she looked up from her task. For the first time in a long time, a smile came across Ruby’s face. But she quickly continued fussing with the ball of rubber bands.
Maggie handed her the cup of tea, which she took daintily. The women sat there for a few minutes like old friends as Ruby sipped from her steaming mug before Gary cleared his throat.
“Ruby, are you all right to talk to me for a few moments?” Gary asked politely.
Ruby lifted her chin, looked down her nose, and gave a quick nod. Maggie stood up, set her mug in the tiny sink, and left the two alone. She walked past Joshua to get her umbrella and was about to leave the shop when Joshua stopped her.
“Where are you going?”
“Home,” she said and looked around as if Joshua had just asked her the craziest question in the history of conversation.
“You can’t go home. We had a break-in. Someone stole our merchandise,” Joshua said.
“I told you who it was,” Maggie replied with another eye roll.
“You never said what you were doing here,” Joshua said.
Maggie felt as if she’d been caught stealing money from the till. She’d come here to tell Joshua what Roger Hawes had said to her, that the grumpy old frump had come to her house to tell her Joshua was a cheat and was getting a big insurance check. She swallowed hard and looked up at him. Darn him! After the night they’d had, he looked as if he’d just stepped off the page of some rugged hunting or carpentry magazine. She didn’t dare stare into his eyes, or she’d fall into them.
“Do you think I had something to do with this?” Maggie felt as if her eyes were going to pop out of her head.
“No. I guess not,” Joshua replied then scratched his head. “I don’t know what I’m thinking. I’m a mess.”
“I came to tell you that Roger Hawes was at my house,” she muttered.
“What did he want?”
“He wanted to tell me that…you were getting a big payout from the insurance company for Bo’s death.” She swallowed hard. “That you wouldn’t care what happened to anyone if they got hurt here.”
“What?” Joshua’s shoulders slumped, and when Maggie did peer up at him, he looked as if he’d been slapped across the face. “What is it with the people in this town? My father was here for decades, and there wasn’t a single person to speak poorly of him.”
Maggie thought of Toby Hodgkin but didn’t think telling Joshua about that lying snake would be of much comfort.
“I’m here two weeks, and I’ve been tried and convicted in the court of public opinion, and I haven’t even done anything.” He shook his head.
“I don’t think that’s true. You had a lot of people show up here tonight. They came to see your new café. They weren’t scared of you,” Maggie said.
“Why do I suddenly get the feeling they all came to see the man who killed Bo Logan before the police drag me off in handcuffs?” Joshua looked down at his feet. “And for the record, I don’t get a big payout because a man died on the job. I get a big premium increase, which I also can’t afford on top of everything else.”
“I never thought you killed Bo. And I know Roger. He’s got a reputation a mile long for being a cheapskate. Sort of the pot calling the kettle black. He talks tough, but really, he’s not,” Maggie replied. She could tell what Joshua was about to say before he said it and shook her head. “But I don’t think he’s capable of murder, either.”
Gary stepped out from the back of the shop and quickly tucked his notebook into his pocket before letting out a long sigh.
“Did you get anything from her?” Joshua asked.
“Yeah, she was grabbed by a shadow that had finished mopping the floor, and it bled all over her,” Gary replied. “She’s arranging your paperclips by size. I’m sure that will be a great help to you.”
“Thanks, Gary,” Maggie said softly before a giant yawn stretched her mouth wide.
“Yeah, thanks, Gary,” Joshua said with a little more attitude.
“I don’t think there is anything else we can do from this point,” Gary said as he waved to the EMTs that they could go. But just as he was about to say goodbye to Joshua and Maggie, his radio burst to life.
“Gary, you still out there at the bookstore?” It was Lola, the dispatcher.
“Yes, Lola. Now what?”
“We got a serious emergency at the Hickory Creek Bridge. Someone tried to get across. We need everyone out there. He’s in bad shape,” she said in a staticky voice.
“Copy that. I’m on my way. EMTs still on the premises. I’ll have them tag along. Ten-four. Over and out.”
“Who would try to drive through that? Everyone knows it’s flooded,” Maggie said.
“I didn’t know it was flooded,” Joshua replied and shrugged.
“Right. You aren’t from here. Okay, I’m going home. Tired. What a night,” Maggie said and quickly grabbed her umbrella. “Make sure Ruby gets on her way safely. Night!”
Before either of the men knew what she was up to, Maggie was in her car and heading to the Hickory Creek Bridge. Everyone in town knew it was flooded.
Chapter 22
“You’re off your rocker, Margaret. That’s all I can say. Ever since Mr. Whitfield died and his son showed up in town, it’s as if everything has been turned upside down, including yourself,” Maggie said as she sped as fast as the slick roads would allow to the Hickory Creek Bridge.
The rain wasn’t as bad as it had been. The windshield wipers kept up with the droplets, and she could see even in the dark. But it was relentless and showed no sign of it slowing up. The puddles on the side of the road made swooshing sounds and pulled at the wheels of her car, dragging them slightly as she drove through. Huge waves of dirty water washed up onto the sidewalks.
But the closer Maggie got to Hickory Creek Bridge, the darker it became. The shops that stood shoulder to shoulder in downtown Fair Haven began to spread out and give each other breathing room. The businesses became less trendy and more practical as she drove down the road. Insurance offices, law offices, Mac’s Garage, one of Roger Hawes’s pawnshops, a currency exchange, and a closed Long John Silver’s fast food restaurant peppered the landscape, becoming fewer and farther between. It didn’t take long for large trees to be the only things on either side of the road. The ditches on either side became steeper and steeper as she approached the bridge.
“Why are you out here?” she wondered out loud to herself. “The police aren’t even here yet. The fire department. No one is here yet, and maybe it’s not him. Maybe some yahoo from town got drunk and made a wrong turn toward the bridge instead of heading directly home.” It was possible.
But something in Maggie’s gut told her that the person who had crashed was Heath Toonsley. She just knew it was. He’d have no idea that the bridge would be impossible to cross if he had been away at Harvard for years. Besides, the Toonsleys were fairly new to Fair Haven. Even if Samantha and Calvin knew better than to try to cross the bridge after so many rainy days, that didn’t mean Heath had ever paid enough attention to the locals talking to learn anything.
Before she could get close to the bridge itself, the water had started to puddle in a lot more places. Up ahead, shining brightly in her headlights, were the reflectors of the construction barrels blocking the road—or at least partially blocking it. The Bridge Closed signs were off to the side of the road. From what Maggie could see, it looked as if a car had quickly driven through the barricade of barrels, pushing them apart. Maggie was not going to take any chances on losing her car or on getting in the way of the emergency vehicles that had to be getting closer by now.
Without hesitating, she put her car in reverse and backed up to where there was no indication that the pavement would be underwater anytime soon. She parked and grabbed her umbrella and a flashlight from her glove compartment. Besides a flashlight, she had flares, matches, and three glow sticks. In her trunk, she had jumper cables, two blankets, a shovel, and some cat litter, which was cheaper and easier to haul around than the heavy bags of salt for any time she might get stuck in the snow. But at the moment, she just wanted the flashlight.
As soon as she opened the door, she could hear the sound of a fire truck blasting its horn off in the distance.
“You’re insane, Maggie. Mr. Whitfield’s death affected you more than you know. All this because some jerk absconded with one of his precious tomes. Sierra Madre Heights has to be ruined by now,” she mumbled to herself as she hurried between the two barrels in the direction of the bridge.
The water wasn’t high at this point. The pavement was wet, and there were a handful of puddles that didn’t appear to be getting any larger. Still, Maggie knew this was deceptive. As she came over the top of the hill, all she could barely see by the light of her flashlight was the ghostly railing peeking up above the water that was rushing over the bridge. And then, like the eyes of some hellish monster, yellow hazard lights from a car blinked from beneath the water.
“If you can’t see the ground, go around. Doesn’t everyone learn that in driver’s education?” Maggie muttered to herself as she shined the light on the car.
Sitting on the edge of the open driver’s-side window was a frantically waving man. He wore a black hat and an expensive-looking raincoat over a black shirt. From where she was, Maggie couldn’t see his face through the rain. She inched closer to try to get a better look.
“Are you all right?” she shouted.
“No! I’m hurt!” he called back and pointed to his side.
“The police are on the way!” Maggie said. She wrinkled her nose as a fine mist swept beneath her umbrella. The sound of the sirens was definitely getting closer.
“Help me!” the man shouted. “The water has filled the car!”
“Just wait!” Maggie shouted.
“Help me! I’m going to die!” he screamed.
The rain was starting to come down harder. Maggie didn’t know if it was her imagination, but it sounded as if the water was starting to rush even faster. Lightning flashed, and a crack of thunder rolled over the sky with such force Maggie could feel it in her chest.
“I’m going to die! I can’t swim!” the man screamed.
“Just wait!” Maggie tried to shout over the rain and water.
But she was sure the guy didn’t hear a word of what she was saying. He was pounding the roof of the car. From what Maggie could see, his eyes were wild with fear.
Quickly, she looked around, hoping she might see something that would at least give the man some comfort to hang on to. But before she could spot anything, a wave of water swept quickly up to the car, slamming it into the guardrail. There were several tall trees not far from the car, but the man would have to try to balance on the hood of his car and jump just a foot or two.
