Murder in the Middle: A Susan Wiles Schoolhouse Mystery by Diane Weiner
Authors: Diane Weiner
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sure that Jackson and Lynette had a head start, so she stayed crouched under the window for a few more minutes. She wondered if she’d be able to unkink her legs when she tried to stand up. Had she inherited her weak knees from her birth mother? Rusty’s voice floated through the window.
“Hey, I need a huge favor,” said Rusty. “If two cops come by and ask you if I was bowling with you the night that Caleb guy was murdered, just say yes. Tell your brother to say the same. Thanks man. I owe you one.”
Chapter 32
“Too bad your honeymoon was so short,” said Lynette. “Looks like you haven’t been getting a whole lot of sleep. Hey, turn left here.”
“And it’s been worth every minute.” Jackson grinned. “Theresa can’t take a lot of time off from school right now. We’re planning a nice long cruise as soon as summer vacation starts.”
“Nice. Lucky you. Here we are. It looks like the farmer is home. Let’s hope Caleb’s landlord saw something that night. He didn’t mention seeing anyone when we interviewed him, but you never know.”
“Maybe we can jog his memory,” said Jackson.
The farmer came to the door dressed in faded jeans and a flannel shirt. He was caressing a mug of coffee with his bony hands.
“Good afternoon. We’re sorry to bother you again, but we need to ask you a few more questions,” said Lynette.
“Anything I can do to help Westbrook’s finest.”
“We received an anonymous tip that someone spotted a plumbing van parked outside Caleb Bartolo’s the night he was murdered.”
“I don’t remember seeing a van, but I was in here watching TV all night.”
“You didn’t hear anything unusual?” said Jackson.
“No. But come to think of it, I saw a plumbing van parked outside a few days before the murder. Funny thing. I figured if Caleb was having a plumbing problem, he woulda called me first.”
“Can you remember anything else that you might have forgotten about?” asked Lynette.
“I don’t know if this is important, but Caleb had mentioned a few days before he died that he thought someone had tried to break in. I went over and looked at the place with him. There were no broken windows or anything, so I told him everything looked fine to me. Seemed to satisfy him.”
“Anything else?” asked Jackson.
“No, I don’t think so.”
“Give us a call if you think of something,” said Lynette. She handed him a card.
Jackson and Lynette got back into the cruiser.
“It’s awfully suspicious how a plumbing van happened to be parked at Caleb’s just days before Caleb was killed,” said Lynette. “I’m anxious to check out Rusty’s alibi for the night of the murder.”
“The farmer didn’t see the van the night of the murder, though.”
“He was inside watching TV. Probably fell asleep in his recliner.”
“Or something else was going on between them that had nothing to do with the murder. I still think the ex-girlfriend is guilty,” said Jackson.
“Seems a bit too flighty to have carried off a murder, but she was pretty pissed off. You know what they say. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. I’m not ruling her out.”
Chapter 33
Susan had a monster of a headache from the overheated plumbing shop, so on her way home, she pulled into the Rite Aid where Caleb had worked. She always kept Aspirin in her purse, but when she opened the bottle, she discovered it was empty. She saw her old pharmacist/neighbor behind the back counter and decided to pay for it there rather than at the front of the store.
“Susan, how’s it going? What can I do for you?”
“I just want to pay for these.” Susan rubbed her temples and passed the box over the counter. As she stood there, her eyes wandered over to Caleb’s work area. It seemed like his area had been left untouched. A cork board hung over his desk and displayed a photo of some men in uniform, an outdated calendar, and a Christmas card. She stared at the cork board. Something was off. One
“Hey, I need a huge favor,” said Rusty. “If two cops come by and ask you if I was bowling with you the night that Caleb guy was murdered, just say yes. Tell your brother to say the same. Thanks man. I owe you one.”
Chapter 32
“Too bad your honeymoon was so short,” said Lynette. “Looks like you haven’t been getting a whole lot of sleep. Hey, turn left here.”
“And it’s been worth every minute.” Jackson grinned. “Theresa can’t take a lot of time off from school right now. We’re planning a nice long cruise as soon as summer vacation starts.”
“Nice. Lucky you. Here we are. It looks like the farmer is home. Let’s hope Caleb’s landlord saw something that night. He didn’t mention seeing anyone when we interviewed him, but you never know.”
“Maybe we can jog his memory,” said Jackson.
The farmer came to the door dressed in faded jeans and a flannel shirt. He was caressing a mug of coffee with his bony hands.
“Good afternoon. We’re sorry to bother you again, but we need to ask you a few more questions,” said Lynette.
“Anything I can do to help Westbrook’s finest.”
“We received an anonymous tip that someone spotted a plumbing van parked outside Caleb Bartolo’s the night he was murdered.”
“I don’t remember seeing a van, but I was in here watching TV all night.”
“You didn’t hear anything unusual?” said Jackson.
“No. But come to think of it, I saw a plumbing van parked outside a few days before the murder. Funny thing. I figured if Caleb was having a plumbing problem, he woulda called me first.”
“Can you remember anything else that you might have forgotten about?” asked Lynette.
“I don’t know if this is important, but Caleb had mentioned a few days before he died that he thought someone had tried to break in. I went over and looked at the place with him. There were no broken windows or anything, so I told him everything looked fine to me. Seemed to satisfy him.”
“Anything else?” asked Jackson.
“No, I don’t think so.”
“Give us a call if you think of something,” said Lynette. She handed him a card.
Jackson and Lynette got back into the cruiser.
“It’s awfully suspicious how a plumbing van happened to be parked at Caleb’s just days before Caleb was killed,” said Lynette. “I’m anxious to check out Rusty’s alibi for the night of the murder.”
“The farmer didn’t see the van the night of the murder, though.”
“He was inside watching TV. Probably fell asleep in his recliner.”
“Or something else was going on between them that had nothing to do with the murder. I still think the ex-girlfriend is guilty,” said Jackson.
“Seems a bit too flighty to have carried off a murder, but she was pretty pissed off. You know what they say. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. I’m not ruling her out.”
Chapter 33
Susan had a monster of a headache from the overheated plumbing shop, so on her way home, she pulled into the Rite Aid where Caleb had worked. She always kept Aspirin in her purse, but when she opened the bottle, she discovered it was empty. She saw her old pharmacist/neighbor behind the back counter and decided to pay for it there rather than at the front of the store.
“Susan, how’s it going? What can I do for you?”
“I just want to pay for these.” Susan rubbed her temples and passed the box over the counter. As she stood there, her eyes wandered over to Caleb’s work area. It seemed like his area had been left untouched. A cork board hung over his desk and displayed a photo of some men in uniform, an outdated calendar, and a Christmas card. She stared at the cork board. Something was off. One
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