Food for thought

“Mallory, I can’t help but notice…” Edith held up the full coffeepot. “And pardon me for asking, but either our Salisbury steak is way too tough or you’re chewing on something else.”

“Just thinking about a case.” Officer Mallory O’brien shoved her cup to the edge of the table for the desired refill.

“The Brooks case.” The waitress nodded. “The whole diner hashed it out at lunch.”

“Oh?” Mallory shot Edith a questioning look.

“Yep, seems to be a done deal. Inside job,” Edith continued. “No forced entry and apparently, someone knew there was a large sum of money in the house. So, that leaves the family.”

If Mallory hadn’t had a mouthful of food, she may have corrected Edith. Professor Brooks had an assistant that was also on the short list.

“We all know that Brooks’ sister Judy is up to her ears in debt, what with that fancy car and the diamond rings she flashes around town, but my money is on Roger, the nephew. That’s one lazy slacker. He couldn’t even hold down a job as a dishwasher here for very long.”

Mallory kept her expression noncommittal and took a sip. “Good coffee.”

Edith opened her mouth to make another comment when a customer waved for their check. The waitress hustled off as if her tip depended on it, leaving Mallory to her meal.

But Mallory’s mind kept wandering back to the case. A lot of people were aware that there was a large sum of cash in Professor Brooks’ home. After all, he was the treasurer of the Oakdale Book Club, and their biggest fundraiser had happened yesterday. It was his responsibility to deposit through “Will you run this comb wn? ” my hair on your way do the money as soon as the bank opened, but he had awoken to an empty drawer.

Only three people had keys to his house. His sister, Judy, who watered his plants when he was out of town, his nephew Roger, who did chores occasionally, and his new assistant, Ashley, who was helping catalog his artifacts. And since Professor Brooks was a selfprofessed heavy sleeper, any one of them could have snuck in between the hours of midnight and eight.

Mallory had interviewed them all and each provided an alibi, but none were bulletproof. “I went to bed early with a good book,” said his sister who lived alone next door.

“Did you happen to see or hear anything suspicious or out of the ordinary?” Mallory had asked.

“Funny you should ask.” Judy put her hand to chin. “That broke college girl worked pretty late last night. I bet she watched my brother stash the money in the drawer and then came back for it.”

Roger, too, had an excuse. “I got off my shift at the factory at one in the morning. I drove around to unwind and then I went home. You can check with my girlfriend, she’ll tell you.”

Mallory did. Roger had arrived home at 3 am.

“Yes, I did work late, about 10: 30,” Ashley said. “Then I came back to my apartment and spent a few hours logging the information into the computer. I slept in because my classes are in the afternoon.”

“Can someone corroborate your story?” Mallory asked.

“Not really.” She shrugged. “My roommate is out of town.”

Three suspects, each with means, motive and opportunity, and now Mallory had to decide who was actually telling the truth.

As she swallowed the last of her dinner, details clicked. Mallory raised her cup for another refill and ordered a celebratory dessert. “More coffee and a slice of apple pie, please.” She was heading back to the station for more followup, but she was pretty sure she knew who had taken the cash.