Janet McNulty - Mellow Summers 03 - An Apple a Day Keeps Murder Away Read online

  “Well, there you are sleepy head.”

  I jumped. I knew that voice. Rachel. She sat in the chair across from me with her arms folded.

  “Mel,” Jackie came into the living room followed by Greg. “What’s wrong?”

  “As though they couldn’t guess,” said Rachel.

  “What are you doing here?” I asked her.

  “Who are you talking to?” asked Greg, concerned.

  “Me, dummy,” said Rachel.

  “They can’t see you, Rachel,” I informed her.

  A light bulb went off in her head as she remembered that she had to allow them to see and hear her. Instantly, she materialized out of thin air. “I’m back!”

  Somehow, that little outburst didn’t encourage them.

  “You,” said Greg, “I thought you had gone.”

  “I did,” replied Rachel, “And now I’m back.”

  “Why?” asked Greg.

  “I heard Mel had gotten into trouble. Murder suspect. Now that is quite an accomplishment.”

  “Must have heard it on the spirit hotline,” muttered Jackie in a sarcastic tone.

  “Something like that,” said Rachel. “We have all sorts of things that we communicate on: Ghoster, Haunted-Space, and Spiritbook.”

  “What?”

  “Hey, you living people have your social networking sites and we ghosts have ours,” said Rachel.

  “I thought you’d be in heaven or something,” said Jackie.

  “If that’s where I was, that isn’t what we call it,” said Rachel. “Look the names are different in the spirit world. And who needs Hell when you living folk are good at making your own here?

  “But enough of this philosophy stuff. Mel, here has a problem, I received word about it and thought I’d help. After all, she helped me when I needed it.

  “So, what do you remember?” She directed that last bit at me.

  “Nothing,” I replied.

  “Well, that narrows it down,” said Rachel. “So, I guess the roles have reversed. Now, you’re the one with amnesia. Sucks don’t it.”

  Rachel turned to Jackie and Greg. “OK you two fork it over.”

  “What?”

  “Information. Come on, I can only do so much,” said Rachel.

  “Mel went missing two days ago,” said Jackie, “We found her car parked in front of the Candle Shoppe, but no Mel. No one saw her when she got off of work.”

  “And you remember nothing,” Rachel said to me.

  “I woke up in a sleazy motel covered in blood and holding a knife,” I said. “Other than that, nothing.”

  “How did you feel when you woke up?” asked Rachel.

  “Dizzy,” I replied.

  “Drugged,” said Rachel. “Sander’s Motel I bet.”

  “How’d you know?”

  “It’s the crappiest place in town,” replied Rachel. “So what do the cops know?”

  “Nothing,” said Greg.

  “Sounds about right,” said Rachel. “They never managed to solve my murder. I doubt they’ll be able to solve this one. What have you done so far?”

  “Nothing,” I said, “I was told by my lawyer and Detective Shorts to keep a low profile.”

  “Sounds about right,” said Rachel, “Well, it’s a good thing you know a ghost.” She popped out of the room leaving us alone.

  “We’re screwed,” Greg commented. Jackie swatted him across the shoulder and pointed at me. “But not that badly,” he added.

  Sorry, pal, but the damage’s been done. Besides, I began to think that I was screwed as well.

  Just then Tiny walked in. He carried a basket in his hands. “I found this outside your door,” he said.

  I thought we had agreed to keep the door locked,” I said the Jackie.

  “Locked doors don’t keep me out,” said Tiny. He handed me the basket. “It has your name on it.”

  Puzzled, I took the basket. Inside were about five apples and a note. I opened the note. It was written in magazine cut out letters. It read:

  They say an apple a day will keep the doctor away.

  “What is it?” asked Jackie when she noticed the troubled expression on my face.

  I handed her the note. She read it and got the same puzzled expression.

  Tiny snatched the note. “Do you know what his means?”

  I shook my head.

  “What happened to you?” asked Tiny.

  This was probably the twentieth time I’d been asked that. Now I really wished I knew. “I don’t know.”

  “She can’t remember,” said Jackie.

  “We searched everywhere for you,” said Tiny. “My gang and I almost tore the town apart. But we couldn’t find you.”

  “She turned up at Sander’s Motel,” said Greg.

  “Sander’s Motel!” Tiny whipped out his cell phone. “Sombrero, go to Sander’s Motel. That’s where Mel was found. You and the boys go have a chat with the manager.” He flipped his phone closed. “That’s a bad place,” he said to us, “Even my boys and I don’t go there. They’re more of a pay by the hour place.”

  “What should I do about that note?” I asked. It didn’t say who it was from.

  “Toss it,” said Greg.

  “We should give it to the cops,” I said.

  Tiny’s brow twitched. He hated dealing with the police.

  “Calvin said I should cooperate with them fully,” I said.

  Tiny opened his cell and dialed a number. “Calvin? Tiny. Someone sent Mel a note….No, it’s in cutouts from a magazine….See ya.” He closed his phone again. “He’ll be right over.”

  Calvin showed up soon after hanging up with Tiny. I wondered if he floored it to get here. He seemed very interested in the note. We had put it back in the basket of apples.

  “Where is it?” he asked as he came in.

  I showed him the note and the basket with the apples. He used a handkerchief to grab it. He read the note carefully and then placed it and the basket in a plastic bag being very careful not to leave prints. The whole thing seemed pointless to me. We all had already touched it. But I remained silent. Calvin must have known what he was doing.

  “I’ll take this to the detective,” said Calvin, “You did the right thing by calling me.”

  Calvin picked up the bag and headed for the door. He paused when a thought struck him. “You have no idea who could have sent you this?” he said.

  I shook my head.

  “Do you have any ex-boyfriends?”

  “No,” I replied.

  “Girlfriends?”

  “No.”

  “I have to ask,” Calvin told me when I got testy. “Can you think of anyone who might have sent you this, or would want to see you go away for murder?”

  I thought for a bit, but no one came to mind. I generally tried to be friends with everyone. I couldn’t imagine who would drug me, kidnap me for a couple days, try to frame me for murder, and then send me a basket of apples. “I’m sorry,” I said, “But I can’t think of anyone.”

  “How about Jeremy?” said Greg.

  I had forgotten about Jeremy. Don’t know why. He had stalked me for about a week trying to get me to go out with him. He even got in a fistfight with Greg. Then, he just disappeared. Or at least I hadn’t seen much of him, not that I cared. But I really didn’t think he would be capable of this.

  “Jeremy?” Calvin asked with interest.

  “He was some guy a few months back that couldn’t take ‘no’ for an answer,” I said.

  “But he threatened you,” said Greg.

  “He threatened you?” asked Calvin.

  “He just said that ‘it wasn’t over’ the last time I saw him,” I said. “But I haven’t seen him since.”

  “That little twerp disappeared,” grumble Tiny. “My men and I spent weeks looking for him so that we could have a little chat.”

  Calvin gave Tiny a disapproving look. “Your way of talking to people is going to land you in jail.”

  Tiny huf
fed and flexed his muscles.

  “And swearing that she was with you for the past two days when any idiot can clearly see that she wasn’t was stupid,” scolded Calvin. “Such an act could get you arrested on obstruction to justice.”

  “The cops would have to catch me first,” said Tiny.

  “I’m going to pretend that I didn’t hear that,” said Calvin. “I will take this to the police,” he held up the bag with the apples, “And you all stay out of trouble. Let the cops handle this one.”

  Calvin shut the door behind him. His footsteps pounded down the corridor as he headed for the stairs.

  “Sounds like he knows about your habit of sleuthing,” said Tiny.

  I went into the kitchen heading straight for the refrigerator. My stomach grumbled fiercely and I realized that I probably hadn’t eaten much the last few days. I opened it up expecting to find it overflowing with food. Empty. There weren’t even crumbs.

  “Jackie,” I called, “Didn’t you go shopping?”

  “Uh, I had other things on my mind,” said Jackie.

  “You want food? I’ll get you food,” said Tiny.

  “I have some stuff in my fridge,” said Greg.

  “Not that healthy crap,” protested Tiny. “The girl needs real food.”

  The smell of a BBQ wafted through our open window. My neighbor had his grill going on his patio. Tiny smiled in a way that told me I wasn’t going to like his solution to solving my food problem. He went outside and helped himself into my neighbor’s apartment.

  My neighbor yelled. Arguing ensued with a bunch of words that shouldn’t be repeated. Then, it got quiet. Too quiet. I was about to check it out when Tiny came back.

  “Guess what,” he said, “We’re invited to some BBQ. Come on.” Tiny led us into my neighbor’s place. He shakily handed us some plates and told us to help ourselves.

  I had just bitten into a juicy burger when a loud banging outside in the hallway caught my attention. I could tell that it came from the door to my place. Dreading who it could be, I put my food down on a nearby coffee table and went into the corridor. The banging sounded again, this time more insistent.

  I peeked around the edge of the doorway. An old lady in her sixties stood outside my door dressed in a frilly jacket, decorative scarf, and a feather hat. She looked like a walking neon sign. “Aunt Ethel?!”

  “Mellow, darling,” greeted my aunt. “I’ve come for a visit.”

  “Oh shit.”

  Chapter 3

  I clapped my hand over my mouth the moment I said it. That part wasn’t supposed to be out loud.

  You know how every family has a few relatives that no one likes? Especially the kind that you wish didn’t know about your existence. Well, meet my Aunt Ethel. Widowed five years ago, and left with a substantial amount of money, Aunt Ethel decided to visit every relative she had. And I mean every relative. The problem is she tends to show up unannounced. But no one is ever able to turn her away. I had hoped she wouldn’t find me here. Talk about being wrong.

  Luckily, Aunt Ethel didn’t hear my outburst. Or she decided to ignore it.

  “Oh, Mellow darling, you seem upset,” said Aunt Ethel. She gave me a quick hug. Then she opened the door to my apartment and went in with her bags. How she knew which door was mine, I’ll never know. She plopped her luggage on the couch and looked around. Her lips formed a straight line as she took in every detail. “Surely, you don’t live here.”

  “Yes,” I replied. “Jackie and I like this place.”

  “But it’s so ordinary. You should let me help you, Mellow. I could get you a very nice place all for yourself.”

  I did my best to contain my anger. Aunt Ethel always thought that people should live in ritzy areas. It happens when you’re a Southern Bell, I guess. But she married into wealth and when my uncle died of cancer, she inherited it all. I didn’t begrudge her her money. It was the fact that she always tried to tell me how to live that really got on my nerves. Aunt Ethel was always forthcoming with her opinions and on what she thought people should do. And her self-invitations did little to endear her to me.

  “I’m happy here,” I said, “It’s close to the college and my work. Jackie and I get along fine.”

  “Someday, Mellow, you are going to have to split up with Jackie. You two girls have been attached at the hip since you were in high school.”

  “Best friends tend to do that.”

  Aunt Ethel frowned.

  “What are you doing here?”

  “Oh, I decided that it was time for me to travel the world. Anyway, I was in the neighborhood and decided to stop by. You don’t mind, do you?”

  Mind? Why would I mind? She only dropped by unannounced and would be here for who knows how long. “Uh, no. But a phone call would have been nice.”

  “Oh pish posh,” said Aunt Ethel.

  “Mel, you OK?” Jackie walked into the room. She stopped cold when she saw Aunt Ethel.

  “Oh, Jackie, be a dear and take my bags to the guest room,” said Aunt Ethel.

  Jackie’s brow twitched. I stepped in before she lashed out. “We don’t have a guest bedroom,” I said.

  “What?”

  “There are only two bedrooms; one for me, and one for Jackie.”

  Aunt Ethel sputtered a bit. She couldn’t believe we didn’t have a spare bedroom. Knowing that things weren’t going well, I decided sacrifices were going to have to be made. Especially if I wished to avoid world war three.

  “We could,” I said, “Work something out. I’ll move into Jackie’s room and you can have mine.”

  “Well I suppose that will have to do,” said Aunt Ethel.

  I took her luggage into my room and moved my things into Jackie’s. We’d have to just settle for sharing her double wide bed until Aunt Ethel decided to leave. There was no telling when that would be.

  When I returned to the living room, Jackie and Aunt Ethel stood at opposite ends of the room with their arms crossed. They glared at each other. I have no idea what happened between them. But it was obvious they hated each other. Always have. I guessed it was Aunt Ethel’s personality. She had a way of forcing her way into other people’s business.

  “You two look about ready to kill each other,” I commented.

  “Oh don’t be silly, darling,” said Aunt Ethel.

  “Yo, Mel, why’d you leave?” said Tiny as he walked in. “Who’s the old bat?”

  “I beg your pardon.” Aunt Ethel put her hands on her pudgy hips.

  Sensing trouble, I stepped between them. “Tiny, I want you to meet my Aunt Ethel. Aunt Ethel, Tiny.”

  “Tiny,” said Aunt Ethel. “He doesn’t seem so small to me.”

  “It’s his name.”

  “And this is your boyfriend?”

  I could tell Aunt Ethel thought I was making a huge mistake with my life. Her expression proved she was afraid he might be my boyfriend.

  “Oh, Mel and I,” he put his arm around my shoulders, “We’ve been going out for a while now.” Apparently, he read her expression as well and decided to have some fun. “I don’t know what I’d do without her washing my underwear and buying me beer.”

  Aunt Ethel turned white. Before she had a chance to faint I shrugged Tiny off. “Aunt Ethel, we’re not dating. Tiny is just a friend.”

  Tiny’s smile faded. “Spoil all the fun.”

  “Oh goodness, dear, you shouldn’t do that to me,” said Aunt Ethel with relief.

  “Mel?” Greg walked in. It was only a matter of time until he got curious as to where we were.

  “That’s my boyfriend,” I said pointing at Greg. “Greg, meet my Aunt Ethel. She’s going to be staying with us for a few days.”

  Greg held his hand out in greeting. Aunt Ethel stared at it. She took it for a second and then let it drop. Her manner indicated that she disapproved of him anyway. I wasn’t surprised. Aunt Ethel never approved of anyone.

  “Mellow, I tire of all this. Can we please send these people home?” asked Aunt Ethel.


  I bit my tongue to keep silent. Now she was dismissing my guests. I wished to avoid confrontation for the moment. “Perhaps you all ought to go,” I whispered to Greg.

  He agreed, gave me a kiss and shoved Tiny out the door.

  “Well, my dear, I’m going to bed. We will talk in the morning and have a wonderful visit,” said Aunt Ethel. She closed the door to what was once my room.

  I glanced at Jackie. “This could get interesting,” I said.

  “Define interesting,” said Jackie. “You’ve lost your memory, get visited by a ghost, and now have Aunt Ethel.” She said the last bit through gritted teeth. “How could it possibly get any more interesting?”

  “All we need now is for Rachel to show up,” I said.

  Sometimes I think Rachel had an inner radar to alert her when I mentioned her name. At that moment she appeared.

  “Hey,” she said.

  I jumped a little from her unexpected arrival. “Keep it down,” I whispered. “My Aunt Ethel arrived today unexpectedly.”

  “You have an Aunt Ethel? How interesting,” said Rachel.

  “What did you find out?” asked Jackie.

  “Nothing. Unfortunately,” said Rachel.

  “Nothing?” I asked.

  “Sorry, Mel,” said Rachel, “I searched and searched, but cannot find one clue as to what happened to you.”

  I turned away disappointed.

  “Maybe if you went back to the motel,” suggested Rachel, “Perhaps you’ll remember something.”

  I pondered what she had suggested. I could go back. And it was an idea. I hated not remembering what happened. “You’re right.”

  “Mel, no,” said Jackie. “Remember what your lawyer and Detective Shorts both told you? Stay out of it.”

  “I can’t,” I said.

  “But what if you’re caught,” said Jackie. “It will only prove that you are guilty of something.”

  “I can’t just sit around and do nothing,” I said.

  I shushed everyone when movement sounded in my room. I hoped we hadn’t woken my aunt. I really didn’t want to explain to her why a ghost was in my apartment. Or why I was speaking to thin air. The movement subsided and I concluded that Aunt Ethel had gone back to sleep.