“Torvald must have been a good brother to you,” Chase said, still holding one of Elinda’s hands.
“Torvald?”
“You said you’ll miss him.”
Elinda sniffed. “Gabe. I’ll miss Gabe.” She drew her hand out of Chase’s and turned to the next person in line.
Chase gave her condolences to Torvald’s grandmother and fled.
• • •
Back in her apartment, she fixed more hot chocolate to ward off the chill she’d gotten from being out in the rainy weather, and from Torvald’s odd family.
Elinda would miss Gabe? She had to be Hilda’s floozy. Her clothing was tight enough and she had at least one tattoo. She might have known Gabe through her brother. Torvald was quite a bit older than Elinda. She must be his baby sister. Why would she want to hook up with Gabe, who was so much older than she was? He’d probably made her think he had tons of money. Maybe he’d thought he actually would have tons after he acquired the location of the Bar None and started doing more business. Chase thought about how strange people are.
As soon as she sat down to think about Torvald’s family, and Elinda, and to sip her cocoa, her doorbell rang downstairs.
Reluctantly, she left the steaming cup on the counter and hurried down the steps. When she cracked the door open, she was shocked to see Doris standing in the cold rain. She was shocked that Doris would visit her, but even more shocked by the woman’s appearance.
Doris usually wore quite a bit of makeup. What was left of it was streaming down her face in orange and black rivulets.
Chase threw the door open so she could get out of the rain. Doris stumbled inside and Chase caught the fumes. She realized Doris had had more than she should to drink. The woman stood just inside the door, swaying, not even wiping the rain from her face.
“Mrs. Naughtly,” Chase said, “would you like to come in and sit down?”
Doris nodded, wordlessly. She looked about to cry. Although she may have been doing that already. It was hard to tell with the rain and makeup streaking her cheeks. Chase guided her to a stool at the kitchen work island, but Doris was so wobbly sitting there, they moved to the office and Chase pointed to her desk chair, complete with a back and arms. All Chase needed was for Doris to fall from the stool, conk her head on the floor, and sue the Bar None.
Doris took off her raincoat, handed it to Chase, and sank into the chair. There were hooks inside the back door, so Chase shook out the raincoat and ran to hang it there. She didn’t want Doris messing with her computer or looking through her desk, but when Chase ran back, Doris was sitting motionless, hunched over with her hands between her knees. She looked frightened.
When a long minute passed without Doris speaking, Chase said, “Is there something I can help you with?”
The look Doris gave her was tragic. “Yes. No. How could you? I don’t know.” She shook her head and a few drops of rainwater flew to the floor. Her dyed blonde hair, usually stiffly sprayed, was soaked and hung in limp, dripping hanks. “They’re all dead. I don’t know what’s going on.”
“You mean . . . Gabe?”
“And Torvald. They’re both dead. I don’t understand it. Could it be my fault?”
“Your fault?” Had she killed both of them? “Why do you think that?”
“I quarreled with Gabe. Violently. Then he died the same day.”
“You quarreled with Torvald, too?”
“Yes.” The word was almost a cry. “It was just a fling, he said. Then he . . . insulted me. Then he was dead.”
The wind picked up outside and flung rain against the back windows. Was everyone in Dinkytown having affairs?
Doris started coughing and Chase ran to get her a glass of water. Doris sipped it and that seemed to help her spasms.
“How would quarreling with them make you think you killed them?” Chase asked. “Did you, well, did you attack them? With knives?”
“No!” She looked at Chase with horror. “No, not me. But maybe . . .”
“Maybe who?”
Doris shook her head slowly enough that no more raindrops flew from her hair. “Ted. Ted knew I’d fought with Gabe. He saw me leave and even told me he’d hidden my jacket so the police wouldn’t think I murdered him.”
Chase had wondered if Ted had told his mother about that.
“And Torvald?”
“Ted may have known about that fight, too.”
“Did Torvald attack you? Throw anything at you?”
“No, nothing like that. But I think Ted saw me leave his car.”
“So you think that Ted . . . killed them?”
“No, not Ted! Well, maybe. Do you think he did?”
“Why are you telling me this? Shouldn’t you talk to the police?”
“You seem to have the ear of the handsome detective. Can you find out if anyone knows anything about where Ted was when they were both murdered?”
“Mrs. Naughtly, have you talked to your son about this?”
Of course, if her son were a murderer, voicing her suspicions might seal his fate. Chase changed tactics.
“It would be better for you to talk to the police yourself. Lay out everything you know. Let them gather the evidence and find out what’s going on.”
Doris didn’t answer. She took another sip of water. Her hands seemed steadier now. The storm outside had subsided and reverted back to being the gentle rain it had been for the past several hours of the evening.
“Don’t you think that’s best?” Chase urged.
“I can’t throw suspicion onto my own son.”
That would be one consideration, Chase thought. The other would be that, if her own son were out murdering people, it would be good to get him stopped.
“So you’re afraid Ted might have actually killed his own father? And Torvald?”
Doris raised her head and frowned. “I’m so confused.”
She wasn’t the only one.
“I think both you and Ted should be very careful, just in case you become the targets of this killer. You’re all connected in some way.” They should be careful, that is, if they weren’t murderers themselves. Chase had a hard time seeing ultra-feminine Doris or shifty-thief Ted as murderers, but what did she know? No one knew why either one of the victims had been killed, let alone who had killed them.
Doris eventually left, a little more sober than when she had arrived. The rain quit entirely and Doris was able to get to her car without getting any wetter than she’d been when she entered the back door of the shop.
Chase got ready for bed but lay awake for a short time wondering about Elinda, the angry young nephew, Doris—and Ted.
• • •
Chase was so rested by Wednesday morning, she made an early trip by car to pick up some flour and sugar. She’d noticed they were a little low and the regular delivery wouldn’t come for another few days. Anna was arriving as she returned.
As Anna and Chase walked together from their cars toward the shop, Chase saw Vi waiting outside the door. The weather had suddenly turned warm and sunshiny. Chase knew this was an aberration and wouldn’t be likely to last this time of year. It was almost too warm to wear a sweater, let alone a jacket. Chase shed hers as soon as she got inside.
“You’re here early,” Anna said to Vi, who followed Chase through the door into the kitchen. Today Vi wore a lilac sateen blouse with designer cloth-covered buttons. Her brown eyes picked up a bit of purple tint from the fabric.
“My rattletrap car broke down. I got a ride here, but my ride had to drop me off early.”
“Oh my. I’m so sorry,” said Anna, touching Vi’s arm. “Will you be able to get it fixed?”
Vi shrugged. “I haven’t called anybody. I can get rides for now.”
“Do you want me to call a mechanic to look at it?”
“You don’t need to do that. I don’t want you to go to any fuss. I’ll be okay.”
Vi didn’t seem very concerned that she had no transportation. If it had been her BMW that broke down, Chase wondered if she would be more concerned. But, since the BMW had been repossessed, maybe she was putting on a show of not caring about this car. Or maybe she’d decided to actually not care about them anymore. Buying what she couldn’t afford had gotten her into trouble. Or maybe she was being brave, or trying to take care of herself.