Hearts Grove Cozy Mystery Boxed Set, page 18
part #1 of Hearts Grove Cozy Mystery Series
She let her comments hang in the air and walked to the backroom. Perhaps she would have to take her own advice someday.
10
“It’s six in the morning, Ralph.” Henrietta stifled a yawn and reached for her coffee on the table in front of her. The newspaper was spread out in front of her, and Sepia was stretched out on the floor by the heater.
“Sorry, but I knew you’d be up.”
“Just.”
“We’ve got a lead, my dear girl.” He sounded excited, overly so, and she smiled despite the early hour.
“Well, let me hear it.”
“Scott’s been contacting stores all over the place, and his third store was a hit.”
“The third one? And it took this long?” He cringed. “Sorry, that came out wrong.”
“No, I hear ya. He’s also been working with the police about the possibility of hacking, and that’s taken a lot of his time.”
“Of course. So, where was it purchased?”
“Little shop on the edge of town. You up for going there with me?”
“Right now?”
He laughed. “No. I was thinking when they open at nine, though. That way, we should have the store to ourselves and the attention of the manager, if we’re lucky.”
“Sounds good. Pick me up at eight-thirty?”
“You bet. And sorry for calling so early, just wanted to make sure I got on your docket for the day.” His gentle teasing eased another smile to her lips.
“You’ll always find a spot on my calendar, Ralph.”
There was an easy silence, then he said good-bye and hung up. Henrietta stared off as Sepia got up and stretched. She knew that soon Henrietta would go downstairs to the shop and she’d be able to settle in her favorite perch—the top of a grandfather clock that always seemed to hit the early morning sun.
“Well, Sepia,” she said, looking down at the Flame Point Siamese with startling blue eyes. “Looks like we’ve caught a break.” Part of her wondered how the police hadn’t already found this lead. Then again, with how closely Scott and Ralph often worked with them, and with the reality that their department was very small, there could be some strings of cooperation that were pulled.
She mentally reminded herself to ask Ralph about this when she saw him and set off to get ready for the day.
Before she knew it, it was nearing eight-thirty. Olivia had texted that she was on her way, so Henrietta just locked the front door without setting the alarm. She’d told the young woman that she’d be back mid-morning and that she was taking her to lunch today as her treat. She hadn’t mentioned that she wanted to check in to see how Olivia was doing, but it was part of the reason. She’d seemed a little despondent to Henrietta, and sometimes all a person needed was the opportunity to talk things through.
Ralph pulled up, his Ford F150 rumbling along, and she climbed inside.
“Morning,” he said, reaching to take a sip from his coffee. He nodded at the second cup holder and she smiled.
“Thank you,” she said, reaching for the latte.
“Ready for some footwork?”
She laughed as he pulled away from the curb. “You know I am.”
“Ah, there’s the confidence. Do you think they’ll cooperate with us?”
She let out a sigh. “I’m not sure. We are private instigators. Or, at least you are.”
“Good point. Next step of the process is to get you licensed.”
“No, no, no,” she said, holding up her hands though one still held the latte. “I’m fine just consulting.”
He chuckled and made a right turn. “I’ll get you there one day. Just you wait.”
“I have more than enough on my plate Ralph Gershwin. Don’t you go adding more.”
They fell into an easy silence as he drove the rest of the way to the electronics shop. They pulled in ten minutes before the store was to open.
“You think they’ll let us in early?”
“I don’t think they’re here yet.”
He looked around the parking lot and began to nod. “You know, that’s a valid point. See? I knew I needed you around for something.”
She rolled her eyes at his banter just as the rumble of an engine approached from behind them.
“We’re in luck!” Ralph said, jumping from the truck.
Henrietta cringed as the poor man was accosted the minute he was out of his car. But she saw him nod and was relieved to see Ralph wave her over as the man opened the door.
“Things like this just don’t happen, you know? I mean, you open a shop like this and think the best. Why wouldn’t you?” The shop owner, once Henrietta realized that’s who he was, continued to prattle on about his shock over the fact that cameras from his shop could have been used in the robberies. He was a slightly portly man with a receding hairline and large, round eyes.
He offered a nervous laugh every few moments, and his hands seemed incapable of staying still long enough to land on anything. They went about touching various items in the shop as he walked to the counter.
“I’ll need to let the computers boot up. Hope you have a few minutes.”
“Of course,” Ralph said, nodding in his direction. “Do what you need to.”
He went into the back and a bank of lights came on, illuminating the store. Henrietta heard the whirring sound of computers coming to life as the man went about pressing buttons in nearly every location of the shop.
Her eyebrows rose as one camera flickered to life, showing a slightly distorted image of her and Ralph.
He laughed and leaned forward. “Henri, look at this.”
The shop owner disappeared into the back as Ralph bent down to show her how small the actual camera was that was recording them.
“Incredible.” She shook her head. Then she saw the price tag. “That camera is like the one I found, is it not?”
“Kind of,” Ralph admitted.
“Look at the price.”
He whistled. “Now that’s a pretty penny.”
“Which means that this took a lot more initial financial backing as well as planning to pull off.”
“No one thought it was just a spur of the moment thing, Henri,” he observed.
“I realize that, but does the chief know just how much it would take for this to go as smoothly as it has?”
“I think he’s getting an idea.”
“So you have been working with him.”
Ralph grinned. “You could just ask me, no need to trap me into telling you.”
She shrugged innocently.
“Yes, we’ve been comparing notes here and there. Mostly because I—we’re—working for the housing community and they don’t care how this gets solved, just that it does.”
“That is a good point. I was hoping that was the case, I just wasn’t sure. When you told me about this, I was shocked that the police hadn’t already been here.”
Ralph gave her an enigmatic smile as the shop owner came back out. “Okay. They are up.”
They watched as the man played back the footage from the day the cameras were purchased.
“How did you know which day and time so specifically?” Henrietta asked, shocked.
“After talking to that young man yesterday, I went back through our records. It was easy enough to find. We don’t get a request for that specific camera very often around here.”
“Why is that?” Ralph asked.
“It is one of the more expensive lines, and for a reason.”
When he didn’t elaborate, Henrietta asked, “In what way?”
“These cameras use Wi-Fi to connect the video they collect. It’s much better than needing to be within a certain distance. They are set to transmit at a regular interval, and that’s how you get the footage. Then that is stored on a secured server, and wammo, you’re in business.”
“So the footage could go anywhere.”
“Yup.”
“Any way to track that?” Ralph asked.
“Not unless you knew the ISPN the network was using. It’d take a hacker for sure.”
“I see.” Ralph rubbed his jaw, no doubt thinking of Scott and if he could find a way to track who had accessed the video.
“Ah, here we go.” The man hit a key and then leaned forward, his gaze intent. “I was here this day, so I remember this. It was two people who purchased them.”
Henrietta and Ralph leaned closer to look over the man’s shoulder.
“I’ve seen that man,” she said.
Both men turned to look at her.
“You have?” Ralph asked.
“Yes, he was the young man I was telling you about at The Deli.”
Ralph nodded.
“Then there was that lady too.”
Both Henrietta and Ralph turned back to the screen as one. A woman with long, dark hair came into view walking next to the man. Henrietta’s stomach clenched. She’d seen that woman one other time. It was Mary Sharp.
Back at the Gershwin Private Investigations, Ralph, Scott, and Henrietta had what Ralph affectionately called a powwow. It was time for them to brainstorm out loud and toss out ideas from the ridiculous to the logical. Anything that could help them get closer to who was responsible for the robberies.
“It seems logical that this man was working with Mary.”
“Of course,” Ralph said, nodding toward Scott. “It’s the only logical thing, but the thing I’m most concerned about is the fact that there is at least one other party and connecting them together is going to be crucial.”
Henrietta paced, her mind whirring. They had gotten a copy of the footage of the mysterious man and Mary at the electronics store. She’d watched it at least ten times, but the man’s face never truly showed on the screen, ruling out any kind of facial recognition software. The only thing they could see, though without much clarity, was the patch on his leather jacket.
Her mind kept trying to fill in the blanks concerning the patch. She knew she’d seen it before, but it was a foggy memory. Where had she seen it before?
She tuned out what Ralph and Scott were talking about—some sort of argument about tracing the signal from one of the cameras—and looked back at the footage one last time. She watched as the man came into the store, as he and the woman stood at the counter paying for the supplies, the low brim of his baseball cap covering most of this face, and then them leaving.
Her mind alighted on something, and she reversed the footage to play the last part again. There! Her mind had picked up on what his fingers were doing. His left hand hung loosely at his side, but his fingers twitched back and forth as if they were itching to be doing something. That was familiar to her.
She closed her eyes and thought back to where she’d seen that same action before. Then it came to her all at once. Preston. With that connection made, she began to see more connections.
“Scott,” she said, as if coming to from a coma. “Sorry to interrupt,” she said, looking sheepish. “Can you look up Preston Everett’s website? His gaming one?”
“Uh, sure,” he said, looking back to Ralph then to his computer.
Henrietta knew that she had interrupted the men talking and felt bad, but she had a feeling this was going to bring a few things to light.
“There we are,” Scott said. She and Ralph came to look over his shoulder.
“Hey, that’s the same logo on that guy’s jacket.”
Henrietta smiled. “I knew I’d seen it somewhere.”
“Where have you seen this?” Scott asked, obviously surprised that she would know a gaming logo.
“I actually saw it at Nelson’s place. It was actually a sticker on the back of one of his computers, but I couldn’t seem to make the connection. His sticker was in black and white, where this patch is in color.”
“So, what does this mean?” Ralph asked.
“I’m not completely sure, but I have a few hunches.”
“Such as?” he pressed.
“Well—” Her phone buzzed in her pocket, and she pulled it out at around the same time Ralph’s phone rang.
“Feels like Grand Central Station around here,” Scott quipped.
Ralph answered his phone, stepping into the backroom, and Henrietta read her message. It was from Everett, and she let out an exaggerated sigh.
“Bad news?” Scott asked.
“Say hello to the next private investigations teacher for the Seattle area!” Ralph announced as he came back into the room.
“You got the gig,” Scott said with a grin.
“Congratulations, Ralph. You’ll do great!”
“Thanks, guys. They’re going to let me know when I need to be there in the next few days. What was your thing?” he asked, indicated the phone in Henrietta’s hand.
“Everett.” She rolled her eyes, and Ralph frowned.
“What’s he want this time?”
“He has another question about the antiques.” She began to collect her items.
“You’re going?”
“He is paying me,” she reminded him. “But I’ll be taking Olivia with me, just sent her a text. I’ll be fine.”
“You sure?”
“Yes. Besides, you have a lot to prepare for.”
“Um, doesn’t anyone want to explore the idea here that Preston is somehow involved?”
“Oh.” Henrietta smiled. “Didn’t I mention I’ll be looking into that too? Why do you think I’m going to Everett’s?” She flashed a smile at the gaping men and headed for the front door.
“Don’t do anything foolish,” Ralph called after her.
“I never do.”
11
It was a testament to how much Ralph trusted her that he actually let her walk out of their office without one of them escorting her to the house. But, as she’d begun to reason herself, she wasn’t in any immediate danger. At least she didn’t think so, and she assumed Ralph didn’t either since he hadn’t put up much of a fight.
She mulled over the new information on the way to H.H. Antiques to pick up Olivia. It was now clear, or becoming more so, that Preston might be involved with the mysterious young man and Mary. Henrietta knew that Scott was looking into a possible connection, but she had a feeling it would come down to a chat room, or game, or something of that nature that had brought them together.
How one went from playing a game to planning a robbery, she wasn’t sure, but there in lay the answer as to how they had come together. The next part was proving it was them as well as figuring out how the poor girl had been killed. Had it been an accident? Or had it been foul play? The ME hadn’t been able to give a definite answer. There had been no hard evidence either way. It could have been that she fell and struck her head or that she was pushed.
Henrietta pulled up to the curb and honked once to signal to Olivia that she was there, then let her gaze wander over the shops around her. They were all preparing for the Fall Street Fair that would be going on in just a few days.
H.H. Antiques would have its doors open, but Henrietta had decided against bringing furniture out into the yard as they had for the summer festival. It was fun and unique, but there was too much risk of bad weather this time of year. Instead, she’d arranged to have hot cider and cinnamon twists for her guests and would of course have a roaring fire in the fireplace to welcome anyone in from the cold.
Olivia came down the steps, her thick scarf wrapped around her neck and her eyes bright. Henrietta had told her to close up the shop while they were gone. It was still early afternoon, but she had a feeling taking an extended lunch wouldn’t damage their business too much.
“Hey there,” she said, slipping into the Mini Cooper. “We’re going to Everett’s then?”
Henrietta gave a droll laugh. “It appears so.”
“Does he know I’m coming?”
“Not yet,” she said, sending a smile toward the young woman. “But he’ll find out quickly enough.”
“Anything new on the case?” she asked, settling in for the drive to The Cliffs.
“We’re making progress,” Henrietta said enigmatically. She didn’t want to leave the woman out, but at the same time, they were all just theories without solid facts yet.
“Glad I can at least help you with one thing.”
“You’ve been such a help, dear. I’m sorry this whole investigation business has caused you so much extra work.”
“Nonsense. I enjoy it. I really do.”
“You can have some time off the moment we solve this,” Henrietta said.
“I’ll take you up on that.”
They rounded the bend, and Henrietta saw the gated community ahead.
“Um, Henrietta?” Olivia asked, her voice quieter than before.
“Yes?”
“I have one quick question.”
“What’s that?”
“Do you think I should break up with Nelson?”
Henrietta let out a breath. If this was Olivia’s idea of a quick question, she wasn’t sure she wanted to know what a long question was.
“I mean, like your gut reaction,” she clarified.
Henrietta took a moment, pulling into the circular driveway. She turned off the car and looked over at the young woman. She knew there were many things she could say in this moment, including her thoughts on what the young woman should do, but time and experience told her there was one easy response.
“I think what’s more important is your gut reaction.”
Olivia wrinkled her nose. “I was afraid you were going to say that.”
“Dear, you know what to do. In here.” She motioned to her heart. “But it’s one thing to know and another thing to take action to do. Trust yourself and your instincts.”
“Okay,” Olivia said, nodding. “I will try to.”
“Good. Now, ready to see some beautiful antiques? That’s one thing that I enjoy about coming here.”
They laughed and made their way toward the house.
