High Stakes, a Hetty Fox Short: a Hetty Fox Short Story (Hetty Fox Cozy Mysteries Book 3) Read Online Free PDF

continued, “in that same closet, on the overhead shelf, there’s a handgun. I don’t know what kind, I don’t know much about guns. But if I were you, I’d get a search warrant and go through his house. Pronto.”
    I’d seen fish open and close their mouths more often than Oberton was presently doing, but not often.
     
    ***
     
    That evening, after dinner, I settled into the  living room. Blackie joined me, jumping into his basket. Andrew was floating in front of the window watching the stars show their first light. If he was like me, he was wondering how our effort to trap Potter had gone.  We knew Oberton had acted quickly on our information. Megan had called shortly before dinner, telling us police had swarmed all over the Potter house.
    I had listened with mixed feelings. I was pleased a killer had been arrested. But I couldn’t help but feel sorry for his wife. Sadie had struck me as a nice person. I’d thought about her through much of my meal.
    Now, I switched on the lamp at my elbow and picked up my knitting.
    “We’ve got company,” Andrew announced a few minutes later.
    “Really? Who is it?”
    “Oberton.”
    And sure enough, the front door bell soon rang. I rose from my chair  and admitted my favorite lawman.
    “Evening, Hetty,” he said stepping through the doorway.
    “Detective.”
    He removed his hat and stood facing me.
    “Won’t you have a seat?”
    “Thank you.” His long legs quickly carried him to the couch.
    I checked the spot Andrew had been occupying and was relieved to see that he had either departed or made himself invisible, although I suspected it was the latter. Blackie remained in his basket, head up, eyes glued on our visitor. “Can I get you some coffee?” I asked.
    Oberton laughed. “No, thank you. If I drink any more of that stuff today, I won’t sleep til Christmas.”
    I resumed my place in the chair. “What brings you my way, then?”
    “It’s a courtesy call. My men and I appreciate the tip you shared with us today. I felt you’d like to know what we turned up as a result of your information.”
    He hadn’t needed to do this. I had no business sticking my nose in his world and had probably overstepped myself. But I found the fact that he’d come to fill me in on what had happened very gratifying. “Thank you. This is kind. I must admit I’d been wondering how it had gone.”
    “We found the shoes and the gun, right where you said they would be.”
    “I am pleased.”
    “So were we.” He twirled his hat in his hands. “Ah… so as to the rest of the story….”
    “Yes, I’ve been wondering about that, too.”
    “It’s a sad one. It turns out Mazor was blackmailing Potter. The janitor had seen the principal one night with a young girl, doing things he shouldn’t be doing with a student.”
    “Ah… that’s what was going on.”
    “Regrettably, yes. Anyway, apparently the financial demands were getting to be too much for Potter. It all jives. We have the bank statements. There’s a clear record of money going into and out of the accounts of those two men. There’s no question about the blackmail. Plus, Potter has confessed.”
    “I’m glad to hear it.”
    “Yeah, it will save the county some money. The county board members always appreciate that fact.  Anyway, as you probably suspected, Mazor came over to the Potter house last night with a demand for more money. Potter’s wife was out of town. I guess, it all suddenly seemed like too much for  Potter. So he grabbed his gun from his desk drawer and shot Mazor. Then he panicked. He said he was terrified someone might have heard the shot."
    "I'd wondered about that." 
    "Of course, Mrs. Rasmussen’s hard of hearing," Oberton continued. "And the Benchleys were out on the town. Potter might even have gotten away with it, if he’d been able to dump the body in some remote location.  But his car was in the garage having the brakes fixed. And his wife had used hers to drive their daughter