Chapter XII – Timothy Teller

“I still think he’s the killer! What are we going to do with him, so he doesn’t murder anyone else?”

Timothy saw a fleeting look of exasperation cross Adrian’s face as he looked at Mary Dill. The man shook his head. “We’re not going to do anything with him.”

“I don’t want to die!” Mary’s shriek caused the very building to shiver.

“The rest of us would like to not go deaf!” Ginger’s retort could likely have been echoed by everyone present.

Mary wrung her hands.

Eddie still stood, the paper towel still between his hands, watching each in turn with a kind of horrified fascination. Timothy grimaced.

As if he’s trying to predict his fate.

Timothy decided to break the silence that followed Ginger’s remark. “I agree with Adrian.” He hoped that he got the name right. “We do nothing to Eddie at all.”

“What about our safety?” Mary stared at him, slack jawed.

“What about innocent until proven guilty?” Timothy countered.

“He had the ice pick in his hand!”

“That isn’t proof of anything except that he found it!” Ginger finally raised her voice as loud as Mary’s. “Try to use your brain!”

Mary didn’t seem to heed her at all. She wrung her hands again and opened her mouth to speak.

“Everyone, and I mean everyone, needs to calm down!” Adrian superseded Mary Dill, managing to silence her entirely. He took a deep breath, lowering his voice to a normal level. “We are not doing anything to Eddie. Now, please, everyone find a seat.”

For a moment the group didn’t move, looking from Adrian to each other and back again. Slowly, they began shifting towards the tables and chairs, all but Anna and Renee, who hadn’t risen from their seats. Timothy saw Xavier watching his cousin with some amusement, but he followed directions and sat down, the little girl close to his side. Timothy glanced behind at Anna and decided to reclaim the chair across from her.

Adrian sank into the seat opposite his cousin, but kept his eyes on the rest of the café, waiting for everyone to find a place to sit. Ginger and Eddie joined the rest at one of the tables, Eddie giving his hair a yank as he settled.

Adrian waited and then sighed. He looked around at each face, reaching his cousin last, then turned back to the group. “Perhaps our stint being locked up in the café might go more smoothly if we all get to know each other somewhat.”

“We know some people too much already!” Mary cast fearful eyes in Eddie’s direction.

“Not helpful.” Xavier spoke quietly.

“My thought is,” Adrian continued as if no one else had spoken, even though he obviously heard them, “that we should introduce ourselves. One at a time. Perhaps knowing more about one another would help us to overcome some of our difficulties.”

“Some difficulties can not be overcome.”

Adrian’s shoulders drooped wearily as he looked at Mary. “Without accusing anyone of anything, if we can, please.”

Silence fell like a heavy blanket. A heavy blanket that seemed to smother every sound in the place all at once. Timothy watched the rest of the group fidget, stare down at their nails, inspect their shoes, and otherwise intimate that they hoped someone else would speak first.

Timothy sat up straight in his chair. “My name is Timothy Teller.” He felt like he was living one of the stories he’d heard about introductions in school – awkward, uncomfortable, and what was he supposed to talk about? I’m glad I was homeschooled. “I don’t really know anyone else here, though I recognize most of you. I’m in the café pretty regularly.”

If he should have added anything else, he had no idea what it could be.

“Did you know the dead man?” Kimberly sat in a tight ball, arms tight across her chest, her eyes narrow slits, even her knees somewhat pulled up close.

“No. Actually, I’ve never seen him before today and I certainly hadn’t met him.”

Adrian nodded, but didn’t say anything.

Ginger waved her hand impatiently. “I’m Ginger Thomas. I know who most of you are – even people I’d rather not know – but I’m not on overly friendly terms with any of you.”

Here Timothy thought he saw Eddie sigh.

“I’m Anna Carpentier.” The young woman’s voice made Timothy turn. “I did not know the dead man. I’ve never seen him before in my life.”

No one spoke for another moment or two.

“Fabian. Fabian Smith.” That gentleman nodded to the assembly as if he bestowed an honor with the knowledge of his name. “I didn’t know the unfortunate man either, though I believe I saw him in here once last week.”

The woman beside him seemed to wilt in her chair. “I’m Renee Allen. My husband used to come here frequently. I’ve only begun in the last couple of months. I had never met the dead man either.”

“What made your husband stop coming?” Ginger seemed to be trying to piece some memory with the current events.

Renee opened her mouth to reply, then closed it again. She shook her head. “It has nothing to do with our current circumstances.”

Ginger raised an eyebrow, but didn’t press the question.

“I’m Kimberly Liath.” The gray-haired woman didn’t unfurl from her curled-up position. “I’ve seen the man before. I think that he lives the next street over from me. But I’ve never met him. He used to walk the neighborhood twice a day with his little pipsqueak of a dog.”

Timothy wondered at the woman’s tone. Heartless comes to mind. Not in the cruel way. Just… literally no heart whatsoever.

Xavier smiled just barely. “I’m Xavier Nowak, as Adrian mentioned earlier. I’m his cousin – and this is my first time in the café, so I don’t even recognize any of the rest of you. To the best of my knowledge, I haven’t met nor seen the deceased at any point before I inspected the corpse, though I believe that I noted that someone sat in the corner before the explosion.” He looked down at the little girl cowering beside him. “This is Monique.” When the girl poked a finger into the stuffed animal she held, he added with a smile, “And Mr. Pickles.”

Mary Dill wrung her hands. She sat on the other side of Renee, pushed a little ways from the table. “I – I’m Mary Dill.” Everything that she said resembled a whine. “I certainly have no idea who the poor, murdered man was and have no idea why anyone would want to kill him!”

Eddie seemed to realize that he alone remained to introduce himself. He glanced uneasily over at Ginger and shifted in his seat. “Eddie McIntyre. I’ve worked here for a few years. I started before Ginger. I – I did see the dead man last week. He came in and worked at his tablet all afternoon. I never spoke to him – then or today.”

“As I said earlier, I’m Adrian Terrence.” The tall man spoke before Mary could send a rebuttal in Eddie’s direction. “I come here all the time. I don’t recall ever meeting or even seeing the unfortunate victim before today either.”

A brief silence followed, but Kimberly snapped it. “Wait.” Her rough tone grated on Timothy’s ears. “Ginger. She didn’t say whether or not she knew the dead man. She conveniently left that out of her introduction.”

Eddie stiffened.

“I didn’t hear it listed as a requirement.” Ginger leveled her eyes at Kimberly.

“Did you know him or recognize him then?” Fabian had turned around in his chair to look at the waitress.

“What does it matter to you?” Her eyes became mere slits. “What are you trying to prove?”

“Just answer them, Ginger.” Timothy could barely hear Eddie’s whisper.

She only looked at him.

“Come on.” Timothy decided to try. “If you know who he is, just tell us. Then we can stop referring to him as the ‘dead man’ and use an actual name, which sounds far more respectful.”

Ginger turned dark eyes on him. For a long moment, she stared. Finally, she turned to face the general group. “He came in last week. I gave him his order. He sat at the booth over there all afternoon.” She hesitated, but added, “His name is Gary Bradshaw. I saw his name when he paid with his card.”

Timothy frowned. Gary Bradshaw. The name sounds familiar, but I’m not sure why. Lord, how are we all stuck in a room with a dead man and a potential murderer? This is not how I thought my day would go, when I woke up this morning.

Mary Dill started speaking again, distracting him. “The only people who remember seeing that man before are the waiter and waitress.” She paused significantly, despite the tremble in her voice. “They’re in on it together!”

Ginger leapt to her feet, nearly vaulting the table, but Eddie pulled her back just in time. “You’re a liar!”

“It’s true!” Mary Dill screamed at the top of her lungs. “Look at her! She wants to kill me!”

Ginger obviously started to retort, but the words died in her throat as the child beside Xavier suddenly burst into tears.

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Chapter XI – Adrian Terrence

“He’s a murderer!” Mary Dill’s screech blasted the ears of everyone present.

Adrian and Xavier leapt to their feet simultaneously. Mary Dill stood screaming, pointing a shaking finger in Eddie’s direction. Xavier reached his hand out to Monique, who had wiggled out of the booth, holding onto Mr. Pickles for dear life. He moved to stand beside Adrian.

Eddie stood frozen, staring at Mary with increasing horror. If his vocal chords had suddenly disappeared, he couldn’t have been more silent.

“What makes you think that he’s a murderer?” Xavier’s voice held an authoritative note that made Mary Dill drop her scream to a whimper.

Adrian watched her with a brief flash of annoyance that the woman seemed so incapable of doing any thinking before reacting. Mary Dill didn’t say anything and Adrian cleared his throat. “My cousin asked you a question.”

“The- the ice pick. He has an ice pick with blood on it!”

“I can see that.” Xavier’s voice remained even.

Eddie looked from one to another in the room, still without speaking. Only then did Adrian see the blood coloring Eddie’s hand.

‘That doesn’t make him a murderer!” Ginger snapped. “For goodness sake, I could have picked the thing up just as easily as he did, if I’d seen it!” She glared in Mary Dill’s direction until sparks seemed to fly.

Adrian blinked.

“Who do you think he murdered, anyway?” Renee rubbed her stomach and looked around. “We’re all still here.”

“Except the man in the corner.” Kimberly rose from her chair and took a few steps forward, laying a steadying hand on another chair.

All eyes turned toward the covered body, then together toward Xavier. Eddie still held the ice pick, as if he’d forgotten how to use his limbs.

Xavier raised his eyebrows, clearly unperturbed, but said nothing.

“What have you not been telling us?” Kimberly looked coiled and ready to strike, her shoulders hunched down and her eyes narrowed.

“Was the man over there murdered and you knew it?” Fabian joined in.

“Why didn’t you say anything sooner?”

“Why didn’t you tell us?”

“Maybe he’s the murderer then!” Mary Dill’s squeal could be heard above everyone else.

Adrian clenched his jaw.

“Maybe the man wasn’t dead until he went over there to check on him – and he killed him!”

Monique clung to Xavier, watching the excited people with wide eyes, then looked up at Adrian imploringly. Adrian decided that he’d had enough anyway.

“Silence, please!”

Everyone, including Xavier, turned to look up at him.

“We all saw Xavier with the dead man. We were watching him the entire time. There is literally no way that he could have killed him without being noticed. The very idea is absurd!”

Mary Dill had the grace to duck her head.

“There is no reason to jump to conclusions or start asking so many questions at once either.”

“If the man was murdered, why didn’t – Xavier, you said? – why didn’t he tell anyone about it then?” Renee looked weary, her mouth and eyes drooping.

“Was he murdered?” The young man who asked couldn’t have opened his pale blue eyes any wider if he tried. Adrian didn’t know his name yet. He didn’t answer him either.

Xavier looked down at Monique, whose lip trembled. He gave her a rather sad smile, then raised his eyes back toward the people waiting around them. “The man in the corner, whose name I wish I knew, was murdered.”

A collective gasp filled the room, despite how obvious the answer should have been.

“Why didn’t you tell anyone?” Renee repeated her earlier question.

“He told me,” Adrian said.

“Why didn’t he tell the rest of us?” Kimberly put her arms akimbo, her gray eyes smoldering.

“Because of this.” Xavier waved his arm to indicate everyone in the room. “You’re all panicking. I was concerned that if I just announced it, everyone would turn against each other and panic. I wanted to avoid that, if I could.”

“You know one of us is a murderer!” Mary Dill’s eyes grew to resemble saucers. “You were hiding it from us!”

Xavier sighed and Monique sniffled into her bunny’s head. Adrian clenched his jaw again.

“He might have been killed by someone who left the café before the explosion stuck us in here.” Fabian leaned against the table beside Renee, his arms crossed.

“No.” The young man with the light blue eyes shook his head. “I saw him alive and well two minutes before the explosion. I don’t think anyone else came in or out after that.”

The room fell so silent that the transition almost hurt. Adrian watched Mary Dill turn in a slow circle, first staring at Xavier, then back at Eddie.

“You found the ice pick. Only the murderer would know where the weapon had been hidden!” She leaned against the counter, her voice escalating. “Why did you kill him? Are you coming after the rest of us next? Who’s your next target?”

Eddie, the ice pick shaking visibly in his hand, blinked rapidly, but finally found his voice. “Would I have picked it up and shown it to everyone if I had been the killer?”

“It must have rolled away from wherever you hid it after killing him. You were so startled to see it again in the wrong place, that you had no choice but to show us what you saw! You killed him!” Mary wailed, turning to face the rest of the café. “And he still has a murder weapon in his hand!”

Eddie dropped the ice pick. It clattered onto the counter and Ginger leapt back.

Mary wailed as if struck by the instrument herself.

Adrian saw Ginger’s perpetual glare deepen. She stamped her foot again.

Just how often does she do that?

“You are being absolutely ridiculous!” Ginger took a step nearer to Eddie. “You have no proof that Eddie killed anyone with the ice pick or with anything else!”

Mary Dill ignored her, though she had turned back toward the counter. “Who are you planning to kill next? Who?”

Ginger didn’t let Eddie respond. “If he were the killer, you would be dead by now as the most annoying creature who ever walked the earth!”

This speech seemed to bring Eddie entirely out of his stupor. He shuddered just enough for Adrian to notice, but spoke clear enough now with a swift and imploring glance in Ginger’s direction. “I found the ice pick when I kicked it across the floor. I didn’t put it there and I have no idea how it got there.” He glanced at Ginger again, then looked at Xavier and Adrian in turn. “What do I do with it? We shouldn’t leave it on the counter.”

Adrian couldn’t say he knew. He looked at his cousin, who seemed to think rapidly. No one else spoke; not even Mary Dill.

“A bag.” Xavier appeared to tighten his hold on Monique’s hand. “Do you have an unused plastic bag?”

Ginger jumped down to a lower shelf with a bob of her ponytail. She popped up a few seconds later. “Like this?”

Xavier nodded. He looked down at Monique, who still clung to his hand, and he frowned ever so little.

Adrian took the bag from Ginger. “I’ll do it.” He opened it, holding the mouth toward Eddie. “Drop the ice pick in there.”

Eddie obeyed, then held out his hand as if he wished he could drop that in too.

“Can I wash it off?”

“Absolutely.” Xavier had already found his briefcase underneath one of the tables and opened it with his free hand. He reached for the ice pick. “As a lawyer and the closest here to representing the law of the United States in this café, I’m taking charge of the evidence in the presence of all witnesses until such time as I can give it over to the proper authorities.”

Adrian smiled a bit. He sounds official when he uses his lawyer voice. I don’t know if he knows it.

Xavier dropped the bag inside the case in clear sight of everyone, except Eddie who scrubbed furiously at his hands. Placing the bag inside, he snapped the case closed, then pulled a key from his pocket and locked it.

“This doesn’t leave my sight.” Xavier kept his voice low and Adrian didn’t think anyone except himself, and maybe Monique, had heard him.

“You’re forgetting something.” Mary crossed her arms, rough accusation dripping from her voice.

Xavier looked up and waited.

“Him.” She gestured toward Eddie, who finally started drying his hands on paper towels. “I still think he’s the killer! What are we going to do with him, so he doesn’t murder anyone else?”

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