“I saw the squad car and the ambulance.” Emil puffed out his chest. “Are you hurt?”
“I’m fine. I walked in and found a dead man in my shop.”
He frowned. “A dead man? It’s not that homeless bum you’re always feeding, is it?”
“No.” She wished he wouldn’t be quite so much help either.
“Homeless man?” the officer asked. “What homeless man?”
“He comes and begs for handouts.” Emil nodded at Peggy. “She always gives him something. I told her it was asking for trouble. Those kind are always trouble.”
The officer looked at Peggy again. “Is that true?”
“The odd biscuit or two. Some spare change. It’s not like I took him into my home.”
“But he’s always here?”
“He’s not here today,” Emil added. “He probably killed this man, then ran away.”
“He’s sixty-three and has arthritic knees,” Peggy told him. “He could hardly run anywhere.”
“Ha! You’re too easy on him.”
“You need to leave, sir,” the officer interrupted their debate. “I’ll be sure to note your remarks. Someone will talk to you later.”
Emil threw his hands up as he was leaving the shop, “Okay! I’ll be over there!”
The officer ignored him as he questioned Peggy. “Have you seen this homeless man lately?”
“I haven’t seen him since Sunday,” she answered. “But he didn’t have anything to do with this. The dead man is in my shop. The doors were still locked when I got here.”
“Maybe the homeless man surprised him.”
“How would either of them get in?”
Officer Kopacka glanced around. “I guess we won’t know until we investigate.”
“I’d say she knows more about that than you do, son,” a familiar voice joined the conversation.
Peggy turned back and smiled at an old friend. “Al! Thank goodness!”
Detective Al McDonald kissed her cheek. His heavyset black face sat squatly on a thick, muscular neck. Red- rimmed brown eyes were alert to the details of the shop around him. “How are you? I haven’t seen you since Easter, right? The egg hunt in the park? I trampled on that patch of whaddyacallit.”
“Violets. That’s right. I’m fine. How’s Mary?”
“Mary’s okay. She’s getting impatient for me to retire.” He laughed, lines creasing his thick black face. “How’s Paul?”
She rolled her green eyes when she thought of her son. “I don’t know. I never see him anymore.”
“You know, I never see him either. And we both work out of the same precinct. I think he’s avoiding me.”
“That makes two of us. I know he’s in Charlotte somewhere!”
“So, what have we got here?” he asked her.
Peggy told him what she knew. “I don’t think I know the man, but it’s hard to say. People are in and out all the time. And his face
Al nodded. “The crime scene boys are right behind me. You know the drill. This could take a while.”
“Detective McDonald?” one of the younger officers called him.
“Excuse me a minute.” He smiled at Peggy again and nodded to Selena.
“What are they looking at?” Selena whispered. “Do they think
“Of course they don’t think we did it! I’m sure they’re looking for evidence.” Now that Al was here, things would be in hand. He was John’s partner for twenty years. There wasn’t a man alive she trusted more.
Al came back to them after talking to the officer in a far corner of the shop. “I think you’re right, Peggy. It looks like this man was murdered with the shovel, then robbed.”
“So someone robbed him?” Selena deciphered. “It’s sounding more and more like Homer.”
“Homer?” Al asked.
“He’s our local homeless man,” Selena explained. “He lives out in the courtyard sometimes. You know, he asks for spare change and food.”
Peggy shook her head. “Mr. Cheever wouldn’t hurt anyone. He’s a Vietnam vet who fell on hard times. He could be John.”
Al looked skeptical. “John wouldn’t have begged for money and food outside shops. I know you want to help this Mr. Cheever, but we need to talk to him, whether you think he’s guilty or not. You know that better than these rookies.”
Peggy didn’t really know much about him. “He moves around the city quite a bit. He’s had some trouble with the police.”
“And you say his name is Homer Cheever?” Al took out his notebook.
