Deadly Diamond

“The sun rose slowly, like a fiery fur ball coughed up uneasily onto a sky-blue carpet by a giant unseen cat.”

––Michael McGarel

CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX: The Train Station Incident

“Hi, Maggie, I know you were worried about my trip to Umatilla, so I thought I’d let you know,” Alyx said into her cell phone as we wound our way back home. “I’m on my way back, about twenty miles out, taking a side trip to the Amtrak railroad station, mostly for sentimental reasons.”

She told Maggie that she remembered the time she’d taken ten year-old Ethan on his first train ride––taking the train to the next stop and back. She said that according to the article she’d read in the paper, the station, originally built in 1813, had a doubtful future as there was only a small amount of money earmarked for its rehab project.

The right exit came up; the route took us through an older residential neighborhood to Old New York Avenue, and into the empty, gravel parking lot of the station. Alyx got out of the car and walked the short distance to the benches on the boarding platform. She seemed preoccupied as she walked slowly back to the car, unaware of a vehicle until it swerved in front of her. As the wheels spun on the gravel, the driver rolled down his window and yelled, “Watch out, you stupid woman!”

The car didn’t touch her, but disoriented by the action, Alyx fell on her knees. A station employee ran towards her and helped her up.

“Are you all right?”

Alyx brushed off her knees. “Yes, I think so. Did you see what happened?”

“Yes, I did. That car drove in slowly and picked up speed when it swerved in front of you. It looked to me like he did it on purpose.”

“Did you recognize the make of the car?” she asked.

“I’m sorry; I don’t know one from the other, and I didn’t even look at the tag. Do you want me to call the police?”

“No, there’s not much I can tell them other than it was a black sedan. I didn’t see the tag number either.”

After the incident, we drove directly to the police station in Beachside. A tall, skinny man with a potbelly and a few strands of dirty hair was telling an officer at the front desk about an altercation with his neighbor, a two-inch cut on his cheek still fresh but not bleeding.

The officer wrote down all the information about the man’s complaint on a form, and then took care of two people over the phone before he turned his attention to Alyx, thirty minutes later.

Busy filling out a log sheet, he didn’t even look up when he asked if he could help her.

“Yes, ma’am. What can I do for you?”

She skipped the small talk that usually accompanied her requests. “I’d like to speak to Detective Smarts.”

“He’s not in the station at the moment, ma’am.”

“He is on duty today?”

“Yes, he is.”

“Is there any way you can reach him?”

He looked at his watch. “Are you sure no one else can help you?”

She bit her lower lip. “I received a threating note, and someone just tried to run me over. I prefer to speak to Smarts, but, yes, someone else can help me.”

“Your name?”

“Alyx Hille and this involves the Althea Burns’ case.”

The officer looked up and smiled. After a discreet phone call, Detective Smarts appeared a few minutes later, a toothpick dangling from his mouth.

He scanned the note Alyx handed him, and the smirk on his face quickly disappeared. He made no comment about my presence, but asked her to follow him down the hall to an office no bigger than a closet. He slid behind the desk and asked her to have a seat in one of the two folding chairs facing him. I took up guard next to her. She told him everything. He listened without interruption.

“Is that all? You’ve told me everything?”

She nodded and looked down, her hand clasped tightly around my leash.

“Thank you, Ms. Hille. I know you don’t think much of my detective skills, but I assure you, we’ve been working on the case. Although we didn’t get any prints off the pill case you found, I did learn that Carole Berth’s husband takes nitroglycerine for angina.”

I wasn’t surprised to hear that.

“Ms. Hille, as far as I’m concerned, this case is now a priority, and if anything else happens … call nine-one-one, then call me immediately.” He pulled a business card from his pocket, “My cell phone number is on there.”

We left the station. I was feeling assured and I hope Alyx was too. When we arrived at the shop, Maggie got up from the couch when we walked into the workroom, and stepped forward to unhook my leash. “It’s about time you got back. I’ve been sitting here waiting and worrying,” she scolded.

“I thought you had plans outside the store today,” said Alyx.

“I did and I do. I expected you back sooner. What happened in Umatilla?”

Alyx closed the workroom door. “You were right to worry this time; someone tried to run me over at the train station. Actually, I think he was just trying to scare me,” she began and she ended with the visit to the police station.

“You did the right thing talking to Detective Smarts. I think you should stay at my place or I can stay with you, if you’d rather not leave the cats alone.”

“It’s okay, Maggie. If the guy in the car had really wanted to kill me, he wouldn’t have swerved to avoid me.”

“What about the nitro case you found?”

“Smarts said Carole’s husband takes nitroglycerine for angina, but there’s no proof the case I found belonged to him. I know you’re concerned, and it worried me too, but now that Smart knows everything, I think it will be okay.”

Maggie gave her a hug. “Promise you won’t go to Umatilla again.”

“I can definitely promise you that I will not make the trip again.”