Soup...Er...Myrtle!: A Myrtle Crumb Mystery (Myrtle Crumb Mystery Series) (6 page)

“No,” I said. “They don’t.” I got a cold chill that had
nothing to do with the weather.

* * *

The first thing I did when I got back home was call
Cooper. He was on another line, so I had to wait. While I waited, I let Matlock
out into the backyard and I paced.

“Hello, sweetheart,” Cooper said at last. “How’s my girl
today?”

At the sound of his voice, tears pricked the backs of my
eyes and my throat closed up. “I’m not sure.”

“Myrtle, what is it? Do you need me to come over?”

“No…I’m probably just making mountains out of mole
hills…but I’m afraid Heather might be one of the identity thieves.”

“The girl you gave the coat to?” he asked.

“Yes.” I explained to him how Opal had heard that
Heather’s husband, Craig Flint, had gone off to Georgia to evade the police.
“And Opal also said that Heather talked with her for a long time one day. Said
she asked about Opal’s past, her
maiden name
…all kinds of stuff.”

“Does Opal think Heather stole her identity?” Cooper
asked.

“No. Opal doesn’t think her identity has been stolen at
all,” I said. “She still believes there’s another Opal Grady running around
Backwater…and she feels sorry for her because she’s apparently fallen on hard
times or else she never would’ve written that bad check at the grocery store.”

“Bless her heart,” he said. “She is a trusting soul….
It’ll be easy enough to see if there are any outstanding warrants on Craig Flint.
I’ll let you know what I turn up.”

“Thank you,” I said.

“And, Myrtle?”

“Hmmm?”

“Don’t go making convictions on the slim body of
evidence you’ve got, all right?”

“Okay.”

“How about I bring us a pizza over after work?” he
asked.

“That’d be nice. I’ll see what’s coming on the movie
channel.”

I’d just let Matlock back inside when Melvia came to the
front door. Matlock beat me there. I held to his collar as I let Melvia inside.

“I’m sorry,” I told her. “Let me see if I can get him to
go back outside.”

“You’d better not! I’m not like Tansie. Matlock doesn’t
bother me one bit.” She took off her gloves and petted his big square head.
“Got any coffee made?”

“No, but I can have some fixed in a jiffy,” I said.
“I’ve still got a few of them chocolate chip cookies too if you’d like me to
warm those up in the microwave.”

“Please do.” She took off her coat, and I hung it on the
coatrack before we went into the kitchen.

“I was a little surprised Tansie didn’t volunteer
today,” I said. “She’s not sick, is she?”

“No,” said Melvia, pulling out a chair and sitting down
at the kitchen table. “She doesn’t want to take part in the sleuthing is what
it is. She said she’s got entangled in your crazy schemes before, and she don’t
care to get caught up in another one.”

I put the pod and the water into the coffee pot and
turned it on. “Did she tell that to everybody, or just you?”

“Just me, as far as I know. The rest of us M.E.L.O.N.S.
appreciate what you’re doing.”

While the coffee was pouring into the pot, I got the
cookies and warmed them for a few seconds in the microwave.

“Thank you, Myrtle. I didn’t have any of that soup
today. None of the flavors particularly appealed to me, and I was afraid they’d
give me indigestion. Nearly everything does nowadays, but I like it to be worth
it. Besides, I didn’t want to leave my post while I was gathering intel.”

Melvia was really taking this detective business to
heart. Good for her. If she turned out to be any good at it, maybe I could use
her on future cases.

“What did you learn?” I asked.

She took out a small notepad. “Frank keeps some mighty
detailed records. He writes down the full names, addresses, and phone numbers
of the people who come in and shop at the food bank.”

“Really?” I put the cookies on the table and got us each
a cup of coffee.

“That’s not all,” she said. “He writes down what they
get.”

I sat down at the table with Melvia. “You guess that’s
how he keeps inventory?”

She shrugged. “He’s got an inventory log where he writes
down all donations and all giveaways. He said he keeps track of what folks get
so he can let them know when it’s in stock.”

“If that’s what he’s doing, that’s awfully nice,” I
said. “But all that personal information….”

“Is just what an identity thief would need,” Melvia
finished.

I nodded. “If you don’t mind, I think I’ll bring in a
donation to the food bank tomorrow and help you out in there for a little bit.”

Melvia grinned and raised her cup. “The more the
merrier.”

After Melvia left, I made some brownies to have with the
pizza Coop was bringing that evening. I’d just finished mixing up some German
chocolate frosting for them when Faye called.

“Hey, Mother. How’d it go at the soup kitchen today?”

“All right,” I said. “Heather wore the coat you gave
her, and it looked really nice on her. More important, it was warm.”

“That’s good. I’m glad I could help her out.” She paused
for a second, like she was mulling over what she wanted to say.

“What is it?” I asked. “Is something wrong?”

“No…just…how’s the investigation coming along?”

I didn’t answer. Faye had never been one to go along
with my detective work, so her knowing I was involved in an investigation had
me spooked.

“Crimson told me,” she continued. “She thought that
since I work at the bank, I might know something about identity theft. I looked
Opal Grady and Harry Loomis up in our database, and their credit has been
ruined.”

I sighed. “Are you mad at me?”

“No,” Faye said. “I’m sorry you weren’t comfortable
enough to bring it to my attention yourself. I want you to feel like you can
count on me.”

“Well, Melvia worked in the food bank today, and she
found some interesting records,” I said. “I’m planning on gathering up a bagful
of canned goods and volunteering to help out there tomorrow morning.”

“What kind of records did she find?” she asked.

I told her what Melvia had said about Frank’s detailed
records. Then I took a deep breath. “There’s something else you should know…but
I’d kinda rather you keep it from Sunny until we know for sure what the
circumstances are…. Opal told me about how Heather had asked her all sorts of
personal questions. Now, Opal didn’t think it was at all suspicious. She
thought it was nice that Heather took an interest in her.”

“Oh, Mother, are you saying you think Heather is the
identity thief?”

“I’m trying my best not to rush to judgment,” I said.
“But Opal also told me that she believes Heather’s husband left town to evade
the police. That makes me think they could both be a little shady. But I’ll see
what kind of feeling I get from the people at the food bank tomorrow.”

“Would you mind if I tag along?” she asked. “I’m off
tomorrow since I had to work this past Saturday, and I really would like to
help you figure this mess out.”

“Really? That would be great!”

“You don’t have to sound so surprised,” said Faye.

“I can’t help it,” I said. “I
am
surprised.”

“I simply can’t stand seeing good, hard-working people
getting swindled. What time should I pick you up in the morning?”

I told her nine-thirty, we said our goodbyes, and then
we hung up.

So Faye was going sleuthing with me. Good! It’d be nice
to let her see my detective skills in action. I had a hard time keeping the
grin off my face as I iced my brownies.

Sunny called not long after I’d talked with Faye.

“Mimi, are you mad at me?” she asked, her voice
practically a whisper.

“Why, no! Why in the world would I ever be mad at you?”
I asked.

“Because I told Mom about your investigation. I didn’t
mean to tell her. I just was thinking about it, and I started asking her
questions about identity thieves, and she wondered why I was asking about
that.”

“Well, I’m glad you told her,” I said. “Did she tell you
she’s coming with me to the food bank tomorrow?”

“Yeah. You reckon she really wants to help or that she’s
just trying to keep an eye on you so you don’t get into too much trouble?”

I laughed. “Sweetie, I’m not planning on getting into
any
trouble. And I do believe she wants to help.”

“I wish I could go,” Sunny said. “I tried to talk Mom
into letting me stay home from school, but she won’t do it.”

“No, that would probably look way too suspicious.”

“Oh, yeah…. I hadn’t thought of that. You’re smart,
Mimi.”

“Yep. That’s why they pay me the big bucks,” I said. “Or
why somebody
should
pay me anyhow.”

“Thanks for not being mad at me,” she said.

“Never. You’re my sunshine.”

* * *

Before Cooper came over, I fed Matlock and then went
upstairs to take a bath and redo my makeup. I put on a pair of jeans and a red
shaker-knit sweater and thick red socks. I didn’t want to put any shoes back
on, so I didn’t. I wanted to be able to tuck my feet up under me while we were
sitting on the couch. I figured Coop had been coming around long enough for me
to let my hair down a little. Heck, he could even take his shoes off if he wanted
to…although I’d never put him on the spot by suggesting it.

When I finished getting ready and went downstairs,
Matlock was standing by the kitchen door. I let him out into the backyard.
Minutes later, Coop rang the front doorbell.

I went and opened the door and gave Cooper a kiss on the
cheek.

“Don’t you look pretty as a picture in that red?” he
asked.

“Thank you! Don’t that pizza smell good?” I grinned.
“That old thin soup I had for lunch didn’t go very far.”

He laughed. “My ham sandwich didn’t either.” He followed
me into the kitchen where he spotted the brownies in the middle of the table.
“Oh, boy! Let’s just start with those!”

“Whatever you want to do,” I told him.

I got out dinner plates, dessert plates, forks, and
napkins and put them on the table. “What would you like to drink?”

“If it’s not too much trouble, I’d like a glass of water
with the pizza and some coffee to go with those brownies,” he said.

“That won’t be any trouble at all. I can brew the coffee
while we’re eating the pizza.”

“You wouldn’t happen to have any decaf, would you?”

“I sure would,” I said, with a smile. I fixed the coffee
pot and got us each a glass of water before sitting down at the table with
Cooper. He was already putting slices of pizza on our plates.

“You’ll never guess who’s decided to help me out on this
case,” I said.

“Who?”

“Faye.”

His eyebrows shot up. “You’re kidding! What made you
decide to bring her in on it?”

“I didn’t. Apparently, Sunny thought that since Faye
works in the bank, she might be able to tell us something about identity
thieves,” I said. “When Faye got to wondering what was with all the questions,
Sunny told her about the investigation. Poor little thing thought I’d be mad at
her, but I’m glad Faye’s getting on board with this. She’s going with me to the
food bank tomorrow.”

“Well, let me know what y’all turn up,” he said.

“Speaking of turning up stuff,” I said, as I cut into my
slice of pizza. “What did you find out about Craig Flint?”

Cooper’s face hardened. “He don’t appear to be worth much.
There’s a warrant out for him in the state of Virginia for petty larceny; and
when I asked some of my officers about him, I found out that there were some
drug charges that they couldn’t make stick.”

“So Heather’s husband is a druggie and a thief…as well
as a deadbeat dad.”

“Looks like it.” He took a sip of his water. “I’ve
checked in Georgia, Tennessee, North Carolina, and South Carolina trying to
find him. I’m waiting to hear back from authorities in those states.”

“You think he’ll turn up?” I asked.

“I hope so. For his daughters’ sakes, if nothing else.
The man needs to be a daddy to them. But if he won’t do that, he at least needs
to help support them.”

“I agree.” I sighed. “Do you think he and Heather
could’ve been doing this identity theft racket together, and he left and….”

“Don’t go jumping to conclusions,” Cooper said softly.
“We can’t rule out Heather—or her husband either, for that matter—as suspects
in this case, but we have no evidence against them or anyone else yet.”

“Well, I plan to get that evidence,” I said.  “I
just hope like the dickens that Heather’s not involved. What will happen to
those little girls if both their parents are locked up?”

* * *

I hurried outside carrying my canned goods and a
container of brownies when I heard Faye’s car pull up the next morning. Even
though she was doing better with Matlock, I know she’s not crazy about being
around dogs; and I wanted to show her that since she’d been trying to meet me
halfway, I could cover the rest of the distance.

She got out of the car and came to take my arm.

“What’re you doing?” I jerked my arm away from her.

“The walk looks slick. I was afraid you’d fall.”

I huffed. “I hope Tansie wasn’t looking out her window
and saw you trying to help me to the car like I’m some frail old woman.”

“Mother, you’re not twenty-five,” she said.

“Neither are you. I appreciate the thought, but I make
it to my car all by myself every day.”

With a growl of frustration, Faye got back in the car and
slammed the door. When I got in, she told me that if I’d rather fall and break
a hip—it’s always a hip with her—than to have Tansie Miller see that my
daughter cares about me, so be it. I could just fall next time for all she
cared.

I put my bag of canned goods into the back floor. “I
brought some German chocolate brownies for you and Sunny, if you’ll have them.”