Info from Howard

I hope you had a wonderful Christmas yesterday! Today we’re back in our story, Dead as a Girdle, where Janelle continues to gather clues.

Chapter Thirty-six

Later on Monday morning, as Janelle sat at her desk sorting the mail, Howard walked into the office. Today he wore a brown suit with that same bulky rectangular lump in his breast pocket.

“Hey there, Janelle.” His nasal voice was loud, as usual. A strong, moldy aroma emanated from a sandwich he held in one hand. “Did I get a call from Herbert Stoner while I was out?”

“Yes.” She glanced through the pink slips of telephone messages.  “Here it is.” She handed it to him. “Mr. Stoner called at ten-fifteen.”

“Oh, good.” Howard stood in front of her desk as he read the message. He took a bite of his sandwich and slowly chewed.

Janelle went back to the mail. It didn’t look like Howard would be moving anytime soon.

“I really like this Stoner fellow.” He gestured with his sandwich and the pungent odor wafted under Janelle’s nose. “Do you realize how much clout this guy has in the advertising world? He’s one of the marketing gurus of the U.S.”

Janelle waved her hand in front of her face at the overpowering smell. “Ugh, Howard! What’s in that sandwich?”

He opened it to show her. “Braunschweiger and Limburger cheese, with garlic powder and onions to spice it up.” He waggled his bushy eyebrows. “Want a bite?”

“No thanks! It smells disgusting.”

Howard stuffed a corner in his mouth, bit it off and spoke around it. “Braunschweiger is a great liver sausage. Did you know it’s German? And Limburger cheese—whoopee! Now we’re living in paradise.”

He was not only hard of hearing, he couldn’t smell. “I’ve never tried either.”

“Oh, you’ll have to. You would love—” A loud click from his breast pocket interrupted him.

Janelle glanced at his suit coat. “What was that?”

Howard set his sandwich on her desk and pulled a rectangular box from his pocket. “Tape recorder. Guess this side ran out.” He popped out a cassette tape, turned it over and pushed a button. Then he stuck the recorder back in his pocket.

Janelle looked at him. “You carry a tape recorder in your suit pocket? What are you recording?”

“Shhh.” Howard glanced around the office and lowered his voice. “It’s a safety measure. Just in case, you know.”

She frowned. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

Howard huffed out a breath, immersing Janelle in a foul smell. She placed her fingers under her nose as she rolled her chair back.

“I was once wrongly accused and lost my job over it. Since then, I’ve recorded every conversation of my life.” His eyebrows formed a fat V in the middle of his forehead as he leaned toward her. “At last count, I have one thousand two hundred and sixteen tapes.”

“Wow.” Janelle almost gagged at his breath. “Did you record that argument you had with Jed the day he was—”

“Of course. Even turned my back on him at one point to flip the tape over.” He smirked. “That old skinflint never guessed I was recording our conversation.”

More clues! She needed to follow up. “I guess you and Jed, uh, didn’t get along very well.”

“Are you kidding? We hated each other. I’m glad the man is dead.”

Janelle raised her eyebrows.

“Yeah, sure I hated him. Most everyone did. But don’t think I strangled him, Janelle.” Howard wagged a finger at her. “I would never take a person’s life, especially not with a bra.” He gave another smirk. “That is so symbolic it’s ridiculous. I wouldn’t be surprised if Helga came back to the office and did him in. After all, she was the one who ‘found’ him.” He formed the quotes in the air with his fingers.

         “So your tape recording came in handy.”

“Definitely. When I left the room, the recorder picked up the door slamming, and you could hear that deadbolt shoot into place.” His hands came together in one loud clap.

Janelle jumped.

“The sheriff took the tape. Probably saved me from getting arrested and going to court.” He picked up the sandwich and headed toward his office.

Janelle rolled her eyes. Howard was not just quirky—he was nuts.

* * *

Until tomorrow, God bless!