A Bad Egg: The Classic Diner Mystery Part 5

"Don't worry," I said as I patted his arm. "I'll be there to protect you."

"Who's going to look out for you?" Moose asked with a smile.

"I kind of thought we'd look out for each other," I said.

"You know it," my grandfather said.

As he drove toward Opal's house, I looked out the truck window, wondering where my morning server had gotten herself off to. Where would I run if I had two kids I needed to protect?

"Moose, you didn't loan Ellen your fishing cabin, did you?" I asked.

He looked startled by the question. "No, of course not."

"But you would have done it if she'd asked you, wouldn't you?"

To my grandfather's credit, he didn't even hesitate when he answered me. "Of course I would have."

"There's no chance she knows where you hide the spare key, is there?"

Moose shrugged. "Well, I don't exactly make a secret of it."

"Is it possible that she took her children there?" I asked. "She's been to your cabin before, hasn't she?"

My grandfather nodded. "Remember? I loaned it to her last year for a few nights of R&R. She needed to get away."

"Then she might be there now," I said.

"Let's go see," Moose said.

As he pulled into the park to turn around, I said suddenly, "Forget it. We don't need to go after all."

"Why not? It's a solid theory, Victoria."

"Maybe so, but Ellen's over by the swing set with her kids, and Opal's with them, too."

Moose parked the truck, and we hurried over to them.

Ellen looked a little worried by our sudden appearance. "What's going on?"

"Have you talked to anyone this afternoon or evening?" I asked her.

"No, we've been here since school let out."

"We had a picnic," Ellen's youngest said proudly.

"What fun," I said. "Opal, would you mind taking the kids for a few minutes? We need to speak with Ellen."

"Of course," she said as she put her knitting away. "Has something happened?"

"Later, Mom," Ellen told her.

"Hey, kids, we have a little duck food in the hamper. Would you like to go over to the water and feed them again?"

That suggestion was a big hit, and as the three of them hurried over to the bend in the creek where the ducks were swimming, Ellen asked, "What happened?"

"Somebody killed Gordon this afternoon," Moose said.

Ellen stared at him as though he were kidding, but when she saw both our faces, she crumpled a little, and Moose stepped in to steady her.

"Let's go sit at that bench over there," Moose said, and we followed him there.

"You look shook up by the news," I told Ellen.

"It's a shock, to hear it," she said. "I haven't loved him for a long time, but that doesn't mean that he wasn't once an important part of my life. He's the father of my children, for goodness sake. What happened? Did they catch the killer?"

"As a matter of fact, the sheriff is out looking for you," Moose said softly.

"I didn't do it," Ellen said. "I was with my kids."

"The whole afternoon? You left work early, so they weren't out of school yet when you left the diner."

"No, not the entire time. I wandered around on my own, spent a little time with Wayne, and then I took the kids to dad's place after school so I could clear my head a little. It didn't work, so I swung by and picked them up, and then we all dropped in on Mom. That's when we decided that we should have a picnic for dinner. We've been here a few hours, but I don't have an alibi for the complete day. What time was he killed?"

"We don't know yet," I said, "but that doesn't mean that the police don't have a time of death narrowed down. You might be fine."

"We both know that I don't have that kind of luck," Ellen said. "If something happened to Gordon, I'm willing to bet that I won't have an alibi for his time of death. What happened to him, anyway? Was it gruesome?"

"It was probably bad enough," Moose said. "Someone hit him in the back of the head with a steel pipe. If it's any consolation, I've got a hunch that he never even saw it coming."

"Who would hit him from behind?" she asked. "That sounds so cowardly."

"It might have been the only way they could catch him by surprise," Moose said.

"I can't believe that he's dead," Ellen said as she slumped a little forward.

"That means the custody battle is over," I said gently.

"I suppose it does at that, but it also gives me a pretty good motive to want to see him dead, too, doesn't it?"

"You're clearly not the only one in Jasper Fork to wish the man ill," Moose said.

"That's true enough. Oh, no. I have to talk to Wayne."

She started to stand, but I put a hand on her shoulder. "We've already spoken. He knows all about it, and he's worried about you, Ellen."

"He didn't do it, did he? That poor sweet fool probably thought he was protecting me," she said as she grabbed my hand.

I looked into her eyes as I asked, "Ellen, you don't have any reason to believe that Wayne killed him, do you?"

"No. Of course not. That's ridiculous." It was pretty clear that she didn't find it that hard to believe, no matter what she said to the contrary. "I need to see him."

"All in good time," Moose said. "The first thing you need to do is talk to Sheriff Croft. He's focusing all of his resources and energy on you, since it looks as though you ran away."

"I didn't run anywhere," Ellen snapped. "I took a picnic in the park with my kids and my mother. No one can claim I was trying to run away from anything."

"Take it easy. I'm sure the sheriff will keep an open mind once you tell him what happened."

"I don't know if he will. The last time I saw Gordon was at the diner this morning. He was fine when he walked out that door, but how can I prove that I didn't kill him?"

"We'll figure this out. Don't worry," I said as I patted her shoulder.

"You two are going to find the killer, aren't you?" she asked my grandfather and me.

"We're going to do our best," I said as I watched her kids feeding the ducks, oblivious to the fact that their father was dead. I would hate to be the one who told them that Gordon had been murdered, but I didn't think the burden should fall on Ellen, either. "Do you want me to tell them about their dad?"

She shook her head. "No, my family and I will handle it, but not here. I don't want them to a.s.sociate the news about their father with this park. It's their favorite place in the world, and I won't take that from them. Do you understand, Victoria?"

"I get it," I said. "They need to know as soon as possible, though, before they hear it from someone else."

"At least let us get back to my mother's place. They'll feel safe there."

"You can probably delay that, but you can't put off that call to the sheriff," I said.

"I won't," she answered. "Mom's place is two blocks away. Surely it can wait until then."

"Okay. Why don't you all hop into the back of Moose's truck, and we can drive over there together?"

"No offense, but I don't feel as though it's all that safe for them riding in back," Ellen said.

"Then they can ride up front with me," Moose said, "if you don't mind sitting in back with Victoria and your mother."

"Thanks for the offer, but we'll walk. It's not far, and it's how we got here in the first place."

I thought about what it might mean if the sheriff saw all of us heading over there together before anyone decided to call him. "That sounds like a good plan. As a matter of fact, we'll walk with you," I said.

"We will?" Moose asked.

"I will, at any rate. You can meet us there, if you'd like."

"No, I can come back later for my truck," my grandfather said.

"Then it's settled," I said as I put my arm around Ellen. "Let's get your gang and head back."

We approached Opal and the kids, and Ellen said, "There are homemade cookies Grandma made for you back at her house. Who wants a cookie?"

There were delighted yelps, and we headed down the sidewalk toward Opal's. Ellen tugged her mother's sleeve and pulled her back a little, so Moose and I took responsibility for the kids as we walked together. Opal stopped for a second, and then caught herself when Ellen must have told her the news.

"Are you okay?" I heard Opal ask her daughter, and Ellen nodded solemnly.

"That's all that matters, then," Opal said.

We were nearly to Opal's house when I saw a squad car parked in front as we walked around the corner. I'd been afraid of that, so I already had a plan.

"Ellen, call the sheriff right now."

"We're almost there," she protested as she looked at her kids. "Surely it can wait two minutes."

"I don't think so," I said as I pointed to the police car.

"Kids, hang on one second. Mom, take their hands."

"What's going on?" Ellen's oldest asked.

"I have to make a quick telephone call," Ellen explained.

"Sheriff, I understand you're looking for me," she said once she got him on the phone.

"Where are you?" I could hear the sheriff's harsh question through the telephone.

"I'm at my mother's place, or at least I will be in two minutes."

"Where have you been all afternoon?" he asked as we all watched him get out of his squad car.

"We had a picnic," she said as she hung up the phone.

The sheriff gave me an icy look the second he saw me, and then it softened into a smile when he looked at Ellen's kids. "Why don't you all go inside? I need to talk to your mother."

"What happened?" one of Ellen's kids asked the sheriff.

"Come inside," Opal said. "There are cookies waiting for you, remember?"

"Cookies," they both shouted, and soon enough, the sheriff was forgotten.

"We need to talk," the sheriff told Ellen.

"Not without Rebecca," I said.

"You already have a lawyer?" Sheriff Croft asked her critically.

"She didn't before, but she does now," I said.

"I don't mind talking to him alone, Victoria," Ellen said.

"See? She's trying to cooperate," Sheriff Croft said. "Don't make this more difficult than it has to be."

"No offense, Sheriff, but it will be as hard as it needs to be."

I called Rebecca, who agreed to come right over.