Along Came A Needle: A Mercy Mares Cozy Mystery (9 page)

Another night with little to no sleep. I couldn't make my mind calm down long enough to catch some sleep. The thought of an ex-convict sleeping just a few rooms over, gave me chills. Ironic, that an ex-felon would decide to stay at a place called The Felon House.

What was it with that name anyway? What were they thinking when they named this place? Nothing about it said, “Yes, please, stay with us. We are a welcoming place.”

I wondered what their motto was here. I'd have to check with Chip before I left.

Since the sun was about to make its appearance, I figured it was as good a time as any to go downstairs and begin my breakfast preparation. It was better than sitting up here, worrying about what the ex-con was planning behind our backs. I could at least be thankful that he didn't seem as interested in Diana as he had been when we initially met him. I guess, now that he'd reconnected with his friend, Paul, harassing women didn't seem so interesting anymore. Besides, my daughter definitely didn't need anyone like him in her life. Not that she would have been at all interested in anyone like him, but you couldn't be too cautious. I'd seen plenty of strong, independent women do stranger things.

I walked up to Diana's door and put my ear to it. There was no noise inside. I tried the knob. It was locked.

Good girl.

I stepped to the next door – Ruby's. It was locked too.

Good.

When I turned to go past the next set of rooms, I was startled by movement in front of me.

“Who is that?” I whispered.

Whoever it was, took off running down the hallway.

“Hey! Who is that?” I called out a little louder.

A door closed at the end of the hallway. As I rushed closer to find the source, I heard the clicking of the lock.

“Hello?” I asked as goose pimples formed all over my body. “Chip?”

A door opened behind me. I could make out Jessica's small frame.
Great! Now, I'm waking up the whole neighborhood.

“Is everything okay?” She asked.

I didn't want to frighten her, so I walked over to offer her reassuring words. “I'm fine. I just thought I'd get an early start on breakfast. I'm sorry for waking you.”

She opened the door wider and stepped out into the hallway. “You didn't wake me. I'm afraid I have a touch of insomnia, so I was up working on my novel. Would you like any help in the kitchen?”

I glanced back down the hallway to see if I could see anyone lurking. “Oh, no, you don't have to do that. I'm sure you're busy with your memoir.”

She grinned. “It's not a memoir, dear.  I'll meet you downstairs after I change.”

I guess I had help, but that didn't do anything to help me figure out who had been wandering around in the hallway, besides me.

With the low light now coming from under Jessica's door, I could at least see in front of me a little better. I quickly dashed over to make sure that Diana and Ruby were safely tucked away again, then walked down the stairs. When I reached the bottom of the stairs, I was surprised to see that there were lights on downstairs.

Chip walked out of the kitchen as I approached. “Oh, you're up early, Mercy.”

“Good morning, Chip. I wondered why there were lights on down here. I thought, I'd get breakfast started. Why are you up so early?”

He pursed his lips. “No, it's more like, 'why are you still awake'. I haven't been sleeping well lately.”

I looked at his clothing. He wore a dark polo shirt and jeans. It could have been him that I saw upstairs.

“Oh, so that was you I ran into upstairs a little while ago.” I said.

His eyebrows quirked up. “No, I usually don't go upstairs when the guests are sleeping. It's one of the advantages of living on a separate floor. I can roam about freely in my section of the house, while the guests can do the same on their floor.”

“You weren't upstairs just a minute ago?”
If it wasn't him, then who was it?

He put his hand on my shoulder. “You're having trouble sleeping too, I see. Don't worry about it. We've all been under some stress. Since you're here, I did have a question for you – when you were getting yourself situated in the kitchen, did you happen to find a black box?”

I shook my head. “Not that I recall. What kind of box was it?”

He bit his lip. “That's kind of a funny story actually. You know how I mentioned that my mother was a nurse? Well, my dad always bought her these novelty medical kits and emergency cases. That's what this was. You sure, you didn't see it? It would have been underneath the island, in the bottom drawer.” He asked again, as he bent down to check the drawer.

I shook my head again. I hadn't had time to rearrange anything and I didn't think it was my place to do so.

“I'm sorry, I didn't see it. I think I would have noticed a black medical case.” I smiled, but Chip wasn't even paying attention. He was elbow deep in another drawer.

“Are you hurt? I have my emergency kit...” My voice trailed off as I remembered that I'd put the kit in the trunk of my car before we went to the Green Farm. “It's in my car.”

“No, I'm not hurt.” Chip's tone was serious. “Are you sure you didn't move it?”

Why was he looking for it so desperately?

“I swear, I didn't. I can help you find it though.” I offered.

“What are we looking for? I can help.” Jessica walked into the kitchen, wearing the cutest handmade dress I'd ever seen. It reminded me of something my grandmother would have made for me and my mother when I was growing up.

Chip glanced up at her, but didn't acknowledge her, so I explained.

“He's looking for a black medical case. It belonged to his mother.”

“No, that's not why I'm looking for it,” Chip snapped at me.

Jessica's eyebrows quirked up. “Someone's not happy, is he?” She winked and walked in to help look for the case.

With each increasing minute, Chip became more and more frustrated. I wondered what was so important about the case. If it wasn't sentimental value, then what could it have been?

We searched and searched. All the while, we found all sorts of contraptions that I could only dream of owning one day. There were several varieties of pots and pans, some for sauces, some for meats, some for poultry. I salivated just thinking about all of the delicious meals I could cook up with any one of the pans that were in this kitchen.

As the sun started to rise and we'd still not found the wayward black medical case, I began regretting that I'd come down here this early in the first place, but I was no quitter, so the idea of returning to my room in defeat wasn't an option I'd be willing to accept. I inhaled and exhaled slowly, hoping that by the time I'd expended all my air that I would have been pleasantly surprised to find the kitchen had come equipped with some fast-acting self-cleaning mechanism and every knife, spoon, spatula, pot, pan, and thingamajig – that's what they're officially called, right – would have been put back into their designated places and ready to be used the next time some desperate traveler was anxious to get out of the gore fest that was this vacation destination.

I had a meal to prepare and not much time to get it done. Chip was oblivious to the time as he continued to tear the kitchen apart in search of whatever it was he was looking for.

He threw his hands up in the air in frustration and stormed out of the room without another word to us.

I looked over at Jessica, who I'd given a chair to as soon as her search began, and asked, “Now, what am I supposed to do? Clean up or work around it?”

She looked around at the detritus and giggled. “I wish I knew what to tell you. How about we just move stuff aside and worry about it after breakfast?”

“Sounds like a plan.” I agreed. “Thanks for your help, but I'm sure you're really tired. You really don't have to stay. Why don't go on up to your room and get some rest before breakfast? I can handle this alone.” I tried to avert my eyes from the disaster and pretend that it wasn't there.

“No, I'm fine. I'll help you,” she answered. “I'll whip up some muffins, if that's okay with you? What were you planning to make this morning?”

“Oh, I forgot. Muffins sound great. Thank you. Now that we're alone, we can chat and get to each other. It will be fun.” I started a pot of coffee for her and I to share.

Jessica was such a sweet woman. I thought she was so brave for doing what she was doing. I could only hope that when I was her age, I'd go after my dream too.

As someone who grew up in a multi-generational home, I adored senior citizens. I had so much respect for them and had learned so much from them over the years. Perhaps, that's why Nubbin – my old curmudgeon friend – was so special to me. He reminded me of my grandfather, a warm man with a penchant for grumpiness.

“Is today your birthday?” Jessica asked.

Oh, that.

“No, my birthday is tomorrow. This trip is a birthday gift from my daughter and my best friend, Ruby. I'm afraid, though, that it's going to end up costing me quite a bit of money. My car died yesterday.” I explained.

Jessica turned from the bowl of ingredients she'd begun to mix and touched her small, frail hand to my arm. “I'm so sorry to hear that. Will they be able to get it repaired quickly?”

I giggled. “You haven't seen my car, have you? It is about as old as my daughter, but runs like something fifty times its age. I love it; don't get me wrong, but she's been begging to be let go for years and my friends and family have been begging me to let it go for almost a decade now. The mechanic said he'd have to order a part or two, so I'm not sure exactly how long it will take or how long we'll be here.”

“Not much of a birthday, is it?” Jessica mused.

“No, but I'll live.” I gasped at my word choice. “I mean, I'll survive.” I had to stifle a laugh. Nothing I said seemed appropriate considering that we'd both witnessed a man die a few feet from where we stood.

Jessica continued mixing the ingredients. “Such a shame. He was such a young man. I wonder what happened.”

I wasn't sure whether or not to make mention of how I'd been feeling about his death. It was too early to be morbid. I thought it better to change the subject.

“Did you hear anything unusual last night?” I asked.

Jessica considered for a moment. “No, nothing unusual. Why, did you hear something?” She put her hand to her mouth. “Do you mean ghosts?”

Please don't tell me that you believe that bologna too.

I smiled. “No, not ghosts. I mean, did you hear anyone walking around outside your room last night?”

“You mean, besides you?” She teased. “No, I can't say that I heard anything. Did something happen last night?”

I shook my head. There was no reason to drag her into my conspiracy theories. I grabbed the ingredients for a vegetable quiche as I changed the subject to something much more pleasant.

“What's the book you're writing?” I asked.

She put her head down, grinning. “Oh, just something I've been toying around with for years. It's just for my own pleasure. Maybe, I'll leave it for my grandchildren to read someday.”

“You're not going to publish it?” I asked.

“No, I'm not much for rejection. This is just a personal project that I've been brewing for quite some time. I always knew that I'd write it here.” She said.

I was surprised to hear that she'd intended to write her book here in The Felon House. What would possess a sweet, old woman like her to actively seek out a place like this? I mean, I could see the initial draw, but I'd never in a million years believe that anyone, besides my two cohorts, would want to stay here, given its history.