The Tea Shoppe Mysteries Page 4

  We walked down the hall, stopping long enough to admire the Christmas tree. Then we made our way into the mayor’s outer office and stopped outside the door that led into his private office. The door was crisscrossed with strips of yellow tape. Mathew moved closer to the door.

  I slipped up beside him. “We can’t go in there,” I whispered, biting my bottom lip.

  “Of course not. I want to solve this, but not break the law.”

  I giggled. “Well, most sleuths in books I’ve read break all the rules and enter rooms they aren’t supposed to.”

  Mathew just smiled.

  Before we could do anything else, I heard a strange sound and turned to see an elderly woman pushing a rolling mop bucket into the outer office. Her hair was gray, and she was slightly stooped. I moved to the side as she passed, but Mathew stepped out, blocking her way.

  “Hello!” He spoke in a friendly tone. The woman looked up at him. I could see she was surprised.

  “Hello.” Her voice crackled. “What are you two doing here? Didn’t you hear the mayor’s dead?”

  I was stunned at her tone of voice. Her words were so blunt.

  “Yes, we’re aware of his death. We’re just trying to find out a bit of information.” Mathew eased into the conversation. “I’m Pastor Heinz.” He gave her what I thought was an award-winning smile, at least as good as any I’d ever seen on television. “What’s your name?”

  She looked up at him, her eyes wide. “I’m Helen Cranz.” I noticed she held herself very stiff.

  “We were wondering who might have visited the mayor yesterday.” He stepped closer to her and tilted his head slightly, giving the impression of total interest.

  The woman’s stance seemed to relax, which made me wonder why she had seemed so defensive at first.

  “Hmm, now just a minute. Let me think. I was running late yesterday. Luckily I live close by.” She glanced up at Mathew, who nodded in understanding. “Well, first person I saw was his snooty secretary. She had a tray of some sort in her arms, and she carried it into his office. Usually, she comes back out here, sits at that desk”—she pointed at the secretary’s desk—“and spends the rest of the day scaring the heebie-jeebies out of anyone who wants to see the mayor. But yesterday, when she came out of his office, she left the building right off. I figured His Majesty—that’s what I always call the mayor, because he thinks he’s royalty, the way he struts around the town acting like he has the power to build or destroy anything he wants—was sending her to pick up his dry cleaning.”

  I could see Helen was almost winded from her words, her chest heaving up and down. Something about her story was getting her all wound up.

  “What made you think that?” I asked.

  “Oh, he usually has her pick up the dry cleaning the same day every week, and believe me, she doesn’t like that job. She might act like working for the man is all sorts of wonderful, but there’s many a time I heard her talking to herself and saying how much she hated him for making her be his little errand girl. Come to think of it, she was acting a bit strange that day, sort of sneaky. Kept looking behind her as she left the building.”

  I was getting nervous about being there, so I tried to hurry her on. “And was there anyone else that you know of who came to visit him yesterday?”

  “Sure, that other man, you know the one who gets to take over if the mayor gets sick or dies?” Her eyes were closed tightly. She seemed to be searching for the correct word.

  “Pro tem, Robert Casey,” Mathew offered.

  Helen clapped her hands together and pointed at Mathew. “Yup, that’s the one. He comes by a few times each week, always begging the mayor to let him do something in the office, but His Majesty never does. I happened to be nearby and heard him talking to himself, pretending to have a conversation with the mayor.”

  My ears pricked up. “What did he say?”

  She harrumphed. “Something like, ‘You’ll get really sick, and then maybe I can do some good in this office.’”

  I wondered if Helen Cranz ever did anything except hover by the mayor’s office, since she knew so much about his day. She also seemed to enjoy sharing what she overheard.

  “Then His Majesty’s son arrived. He waited until the mayor came back to the office—I guess from the bathroom or somewhere. They had a pretty loud argument, but I couldn’t make head nor tails of what it was about.”

  I looked at Mathew. He had his hand covering his mouth, and I assumed he was holding in laughter. It was almost comical listening to the woman tell us about the mayor’s movements that day.

  Just then, we heard the sound of high heels clicking on the floor. Helen stopped speaking, grabbed the mop handle, and pushed the wheeled mop bucket away from us. I had a few more questions for her, but I couldn’t very well run down the hall and accost her.

  My thoughts were interrupted by a high-pitched voice that caused me to turn around. Phyllis Gates was standing behind us, arms crossed. “What are you doing here?” she asked, her eyes staring straight at me.

  “I, we … We were just stopping by to …” I didn’t finish my sentence, because I wasn’t sure what to say. I wasn’t about to explain that we were trying to figure out whether she poisoned the mayor.

  “And, what were you doing speaking to that woman?” She pointed at the retreating back of the cleaning lady. “She’s a busybody and a snoop. She’s always hovering around the mayor’s office.”

  I decided to skip explanations and try to get some information. “Helen told us that Robert Casey, the pro tem, stopped by the office yesterday. Did you see him?”

  “Not yesterday. The man’s a nuisance, always bothering the mayor. You know, whining about being given some kind of responsibility. The mayor would never give him anything to do.”

  “But are you sure he wasn’t here yesterday?”

  “He had an appointment, but I didn’t see him. As I told the police, I wasn’t in the office the whole day. I delivered the tray of samples from the tea shoppe, then left the office to pick up the mayor’s dry cleaning, and then I—” She stood up straight.

  Mathew moved forward. “Yes, was there something else?”

  She shook her head then took a breath and said, “I had a hair appointment. I wasn’t supposed to do personal things on the mayor’s time, but it was the only opening they had for the next few weeks. I knew the mayor wasn’t going to be in the office until later in the day, so once I delivered the sample tray, I rushed over to the beauty shop. I returned later in the day and found the mayor dead! So I can’t assure you the man never came to the office.” She brushed past me but suddenly stopped and swung back around.

  “Why are you asking so many questions anyways?” She squinted at us.

  Neither Mathew nor I answered.

  “You’re playing detective?” She glared at me, snorted, and threw her hands up in the air. “Oh great, now we can all relax. The tea shoppe girl is on the case.” She whipped back around and stalked away.

  I could feel my cheeks heat in embarrassment. I looked up at Mathew. The crinkles around his eyes were proof he was laughing behind his hand again. A smile spread across my face.

  “She’s really something.” I shook my head in amazement.

  “Yes, quite a power to be reckoned with. But you do realize she just admitted she had the opportunity to poison the petit four before she left the office for the day.”

  My jaw dropped at the thought, and I watched as she disappeared. I gulped. “I wouldn’t put it past her, and she was the one who found him.” I glanced around the room and wondered why she had come to the mayor’s office, which she knew was taped off. She was now working out of a different office.

  Just then we heard the mop bucket wheels again. Helen Cranz had reappeared.

  “She gone?” Her voice wavered.

  Mathew nodded.

  Helen wheeled the mop into the secretary’s office, left it by the door, and moved closer to the mayor’s office. She peeked into the room, her heav
yset body causing the caution tape to sway. I moved closer to her and let my eyes sweep the office. Nothing seemed unusual or out of place. The desk was covered in file folders.

  I pulled back. “He must’ve been working on a lot of projects.”

  I wasn’t sure what sound I heard, but it definitely came from Helen. She turned around suddenly and said, “I left my glasses somewhere in his office the other day while I was cleaning, before he keeled over. I can’t hardly see without them. Do you think anyone would mind if I just slipped in and got them?” She didn’t wait for a reply. Before Mathew or I could even blink, she swiped down the yellow caution tape and pounded into the room.

  She walked straight to his desk and pushed a few file folders around. When she looked up and noticed Mathew and I both staring at her, she gave a crooked smile. “You all just keep a lookout for me. I won’t be but a minute.” She pushed things around a bit more, and one or two folders actually fell into the trash can beside the desk.

  I whispered, as loud as I thought I could get away with, “What are you doing? You can’t just move things around.”

  She straightened. “I’m not.”

  “Well, you pushed a few things off the desk.”

  “Nothing important. Most everything on the desk is junk mail that came in the day he died. He didn’t have time to sort through it all, but my glasses aren’t here.” She stomped across the room and stepped over the threshold into the room we were in.

  I noticed Mathew hadn’t said a word to her. He seemed to be frozen in place. She turned back and eyed the office again.

  “Think I should clear off his desk and take out the office trash?”

  “No!” Mathew finally found his voice, and mine added to the harsh tone. Helen flinched and took a step backward.

  “I don’t think we should disturb anything else,” Mathew said. “The police aren’t going to be very happy when they find out you moved things already.”

  Helen’s head whipped around, and she faced him. “Why do the police have to know anything? I didn’t do any harm. I was just looking for my glasses.”

  I sighed in consternation, not sure what to say or do. On television mysteries, the sleuths usually broke into the crime scene and touched things, but this wasn’t a TV show. This was real life. I glanced at Mathew.

  “Do we have to say anything? If questions arise, we can always tell them about this little visit.” I was trying to plead with Mathew, using my eyelashes, but I think it probably looked like I was batting my eyes in a ridiculous manner. I saw a smile cross his face, and once again he looked like he was trying to hold back laughter.

  “I suppose we can forget about it, unless it becomes important. I’m sure the police have already searched the office and photographed everything. Maybe they won’t even need to come back here. But from now on I think this office should stay locked so no one else can ‘harmlessly’ slip into it.”

  “Don’t see why. I’m the only one who would probably want to go in, and I’ve already done it. My glasses aren’t there, so that’s that!” Helen swirled around, grabbed the mop handle, and once again pushed the bucket out of the office and down the hall.

  I must have been holding my breath, because I finally took in a large gulp of air. “I’m sure glad this part of our mystery solving is over. I’m shaking.”

  Mathew’s face immediately showed concern, and he took my hand. “I’m sorry! I should’ve thought this through. I probably shouldn’t have brought you here.”

  I pulled my hand away and glared at him. “What do you think I am, some fragile rose? I wanted to come with you.”

  “Yes, but you just said you were shaking. I should’ve known visiting the place where the mayor died would upset you.”

  I tapped my forehead with my hand. “I’m not upset about that. I’m just a little shaken up by the way Helen just traipsed into the office and started moving things around. I mean, we could get in trouble for tampering with the evidence.”

  Mathew moved closer, placed his hand under my chin, tilted my head up, and met my eyes. “We didn’t do anything. You have nothing to worry about. Since we’ve all decided not to mention it, everything will be okay.”

  I could actually feel the warmth of his fingertips spreading from my chin up my cheek. It was lovely.

  “Are you ready to go talk to Robert Casey?”

  I nodded slowly, my eyes still staring into his.

  Mathew lowered his hand, turned toward the door, and began to walk. I started to follow him, but something made me turn back around for a moment and glance into the office one more time.

  “I wonder if the police had this locked or not. Maybe someone else unlocked the office.” My voice sounded far away as I tried to comprehend what was bothering me.

  “I can call the station later and mention we found the office unlocked,” Mathew answered as I broke my reverie and joined him at the door. “I’m not very happy about Helen moving things, but we can at least make sure no one else does.”

  We walked out of the office, down the hall, and pushed open the front door. Somehow, the icy air that met us gave me a refreshing jolt. We began to stroll down the sidewalk. We passed the apartments next to city hall.

  “Those apartments are pretty old,” I stated, noticing the peeling paint, moldy roof, and various broken windows.

  “Yes, the Sunset Apartments are slowly deteriorating. I think that was one of the projects the mayor was working on. He wanted to tear them down, expand city hall, and add a covered parking lot.”

  “Well, the apartments need to go, but what about the residents?”

  “The mayor had plans to relocate them all. From what I’ve heard, there was no opposition to the project.”

  I thought it sounded like a good idea. Sea Side was such a quaint town, and an eyesore like the old Sunset Apartments didn’t seem to fit in.

  “Before we go see Robert Casey, why don’t we get something to eat? It’s been a while since coffee. We can discuss the festival, get our minds off all of this,” Mathew suggested.

  I agreed and even let him take my hand and tuck it into the crook of his arm as we continued walking. It seemed funny, but for some reason, I no longer felt cold.

  CHAPTER 6

  Mathew asked where I wanted to eat. Nothing came to mind, so I suggested Tea by the Sea. “We make lovely sandwiches in the shop.”

  He didn’t look convinced but seemed content to agree. We were still near the Sunset Apartments when I noticed Helen Cranz stepping out the front door of city hall. This time she had no mop, just an old gray coat she was quickly buttoning. She wore the same shoes she’d had on earlier. They didn’t look like they provided much warmth.

  “That woman needs some boots. Her feet must get cold walking in the snow. I’ve learned that already.”

  Mathew glanced over at her and added, “She said she lived nearby. I hope that’s true.”

  I pulled a small notebook and pen out of my coat pocket and wrote, “Helen Cranz needs boots!” I thought maybe I’d buy a pair for her when I got some for myself.

  The tea shoppe was busy, which was a good sign. The air was filled with the pleasant fragrance of cranberry scones. Mathew and I entered from the back into the kitchen, grabbed a plate full of tea sandwiches and a couple of scones for dessert, then headed out front to find a seat. I noticed the Bible Study Ladies at their table too late to avoid them. I was a bit surprised, because this wasn’t their regular day.

  Before I could sit down, I saw Savannah waving her hand at me and almost shouting, “Yoo-hoo.” I had the feeling that if I didn’t stop at their table, they would make an even bigger scene.

  “Why don’t you sit over there?” I pointed at the table farthest from the Bible Study Ladies and pressed my hand on Mathew’s arm to push him in the direction away from the group. “I’ll join you in just a minute.”

  He gave a conspiratorial wink. “I’m glad it’s you that has to deal with them and not me.” He laughed and actually skipped once, then
walked toward the table I’d indicated.

  I covered my mouth to keep from bursting out in glee and made my way to their table. I saw four sets of eyes light up when I stopped.

  “Hello, ladies. What brings you to the tea shoppe today?”

  Savannah fanned her hand up and down. “Oh, we wanted to see what would happen next.”

  I tilted my head and blinked. I felt confused. “What would happen next? What do you mean?”

  Maybelle, a spritely woman in her sixties, answered, “My cousin works at the police department, and he hears a lot of things. Now, I know he’s not supposed to share them outside of the office, but, well … I am his cousin.”

  I blinked again, wondering what she was trying to tell me.

  “He called me about an hour ago and told me that the detective working on the mayor’s case just got the results from the autopsy. I called the girls, and we headed over here.” She reached out and patted my hand. “You can count on us for support, dear. We know you had nothing to do with it.”

  My mouth opened, but no words came out. All I could assume from what I’d heard was that the autopsy had determined, somehow, that the mayor was poisoned by the petit four. I frowned and wondered what that would mean to Gran and the shop. When I looked at the four faces again, they were all nodding, sympathy in their eyes.

  Without another word, I spun around, rushed across the room, and bounded into the chair across from Mathew. My actions startled him. He looked up at me. “What’s wrong?”

  I opened my lips to speak but stopped when I heard the bell over the front door jingle. I slowly turned my head to face the person I dreaded seeing the most. Detective Rawls was standing in the doorway, swatting at the snowflakes on his shoulder and scanning the room. When his eyes met mine, I saw a frown come on his face, and he began to plod toward me.

  Mathew reached under the table and took my hand in his. I wasn’t sure it would help, but I didn’t pull away. It crossed my mind to wonder if he treated all his congregants like this, or if he felt something more for me.

  “There you are, Miss Quin.” Detective Rawls’s voice boomed across the room. I actually felt myself shrink back as he approached.