Miss Peeg and Zack Grant Investigate
by Atonia and Stacey

Having been given the assignment by Richie to ask a few questions of a contact in Coffs Harbor Miss Peeg set about making a plan; she looked up the address of the antique store on the web and found it on a map. She went home and got her one little miniature porcelain portrait and came back to the office. She made a call to make sure the store would be open and gathered her things. Mr. Roberts had mentioned bringing in Zack Grant and she having seen him next door at the office he and Bud White were going to open walked over to talk to him. It wouldn’t hurt, she thought, to have back up should things go awry. It never crossed her mind that she might be taking on more than Mr. Roberts had intended.

“Oh Mr. Grant, yoo hoo,” she called out opening the door to the office.

Zack looked up from the desk he'd been crouching under and smiled, "Oh, hi there, Miss Peeg," he said, pushing himself up to his feet. "Just getting the new computer hooked up, didn't see you there. What can I do for you?"

“Well, Mr. Grant I have been given an assignment, there’s to be an investigation isn’t there about the forgeries and Mr. Scott has given the case to Mr. Roberts and I’m to question a contact in Coffs.” She was excited and it came out in a rush. “Your name was mentioned by Mr. Roberts and I thought it might be wise to ask you to come along… as back-up”  she said in sotto voice.

Zack grinned, she was actually kinda cute when she got going like that. "Sure, why not. Got loads of time on my hands right now, actually. When will you be requiring my...um... services, then?"

“I was just leaving Mr. Grant, that is if you’re free at the moment. I can fill you in on the way.”

"Sure, um, let me just leave a note here for White, let him know where I'm off to," Zack told her, looking around the nearly-empty office space to find something suitable to write on. Finally, he opted for a black Sharpee and the top of a cardboard box, setting it on Bud's desk, then following Miss Peeg out of the office.

Miss Peeg had bought herself a nice Toyota SUV with her insurance money from the flood and so she got behind the wheel. “I’ve already searched the address so I do know where to go and I’m to see a Mr. Penworth. According to Mr. Scott someone is flooding the market with forged hand painted miniatures worth upwards of 20,000 dollars apiece. Only they aren’t worth much of anything to someone with an eye for the real thing which Mr. Scott has. Do you know Mr. Stephen Scott? Well he is Nonnie Scott’s uncle, Nonnie from across the street of course. Mr. Scott says there was a man fished out of the bay in Coffs dead he was and he was carrying one of the miniatures, broken it was, he suspects he was a carrier. So he has hired Mr. Roberts to find the source and put a stop to it.” She rambled on proudly.

Zack sat there quietly listening to her ramble on. Finally, when she seemed to have run out of steam, he took his chance for the opening and asked, "So, let me get this straight then, would this be a sting operation were about to do, Miss Peeg?"

“Well, I’m not sure about stings Mr. Grant, Mr. Roberts asked me to question him and I thought of the little portrait that I owned and brought it along so I would look like I might know a thing or two,” she smiled broadly. “I thought I might introduce you as my nephew,” she glanced over at Zack, “should be quite simple really.”

"Okay, but just so's you know, I don't have a weapon on me," Zack confided, "Hadda hand it over to the sheriff while I'm on temporary leave. So don't go and do anything... um... stupid, okay?" He'd heard around town that Miss Peeg had a certain way of getting into a bit of trouble at times, taking matters into her own hands. A certain little tale about her chasing down armed men in a van came to mind and he hadda chuckle to himself thinking about how this cute little old lady could possibly do something like that.

“I shall try and not make any mistakes Mr. Grant, I do however, have a weapon. Mr. Roberts of course is licensed to carry but he had this spare gun and it was in my desk for some reason so I stuck it in my purse, just in case…one never knows in situations like this what may happen.” She actually had the gun she’d used when Richie had been kidnapped, Sheriff Biebe had returned it to her as Richie was out of the office and he told her to just stick it in her desk, he had another he carried. She was very nonchalant about it.

"A...gun?" Zack asked, slowly, then chuckled nervously, "You're...um... carrying a gun... in this car...now?" Oh boy, Zack thought to himself, what the fuck have a gotten myself involved in now?! "Miss Peeg, you do, um, realize it's a crime to carry a concealed weapon unless you are registered to do so, right?"

“Oh yes I’m quite aware of that Mr. Grant, but there was not time for me to be registered was there, I doubt very seriously if it will be needed but I thought if someone has already ended up dead in the bay I didn’t want to follow now did I?” She smiled and turned down a side street in Coffs.

"Um... Miss Peeg," Zack gulped, "Just do me the favor, if anything...any-thing... should, um, go down, promise me you'll let ME handle it, okay?"

“Of course Mr. Grant, that’s why I brought you along, now if I can just find a place to park the store is there on the corner, a rather small unfortunate looking establishment isn’t it? Oh and should the occasion arise my name is Cassandra Wigginstaff,” She looked seriously at Zack and then parked her car.

"Auntie...Cassandra?" Zack replied, trying not to giggle. "Um... okay, and I'll be John." He got out of the car and followed her into the store, shaking his head.

 Miss Peeg walked up to the counter and banged the little bell and waited, she’d talked to Mr. Penworth not an hour ago and he was supposedly waiting for her. “Halloo?” she called out, the store seemed deserted. “Mr. Penworth?” She turned to Zack, “ he knew I was on my way,” she rounded the counter in an instant and passed through a curtained doorway and screamed, her scream was cut short and she fell back into the curtain before Zack could come through, and into Zack’s arms, curtain and all. A door slammed and all was quiet.

"What tha fuck?!" Zack yelled, stumbling back as Miss Peeg landed in his arms. "Miss Peeg! Miss Peeg! Wake up!"

But Miss Peeg was out cold, the reason soon became apparent as the blood began to trickle down her forehead, as Zack fussed over her she opened one eye, “are you okay?” she asked weakly.

"What?" he asked, surprised, then smiled, "Um, yeah, fine, fine. You, however, appear to have one nasty bump on the head, might need stitches. Think you can stand?"

“Did you get a look at him, did you get him John?” she asked struggling to her feet and holding a handkerchief on her forehead. She turned slightly, “Oh dear poor Mr. Penworth if that’s him back there with a knife in his chest;  I didn’t do it,” she looked wide eyed at Zack, “Oh do something Mr. Grant, I’m quite all right, there’s a dead man back there and the killer has got clean away! Oh…perhaps we should get away too!”

"Wait here," he told her, looking in the direction of the body. He walked slowly into the back room, looked around to make sure the coast was clear, then bent down to get a better look at the body. He pulled out a hankerchief from his pocket, used it to open the man's jacket, check his wallet for an i.d., then put it back and walked over to Miss Peeg. "It's him alright, it's Penworth." Zack told her, pulling out his cell phone. "You didn't happen to get a look at the guy that hit you, did you, Miss Peeg?"

Miss Peeg blinked her eyes, “he was as tall as me but slightly built, dressed in dark clothing, a long coat of some kind. Oh are you calling the police, no Mr. Grant…Mr. Roberts cannot be involved in any of this, we must…oh dear” she refolded her handkerchief, “we must get back to The Glen…I’m afraid I’ve made a mess of it.” She moved over to a chair and sat down holding the handkerchief tightly against her hairline. “He was hired privately this is all hush-hush you see. If word gets out Mr. Scott has hired an investigator we’ll never find the source of the forgeries.”

"Miss Peeg, we...ah... shit, we at least need to let the authorities know there's been a murder here. We can't just...leave him," Zack told her, clutching his cell phone. "Tell you what, let's get you back to the Glen. We'll let Mr. Roberts know what happened and let him sort it all out then." He knew with him being on mandatory leave from the sheriff's department, he could actually get into a lot of trouble being involved with all of this. Best just to step aside and let Roberts handle it.

 “Yes of course, we should get out of here quickly I think, oh I do hope no one has seen us come in.” the serious situation was beginning to dawn on her. I’m afraid I shan’t be able to drive Mr. Grant,” she reached in her huge handbag and produced the keys. Zack helped her onto her feet and before they exited she straightened her shoulders and pulled her hair down a bit over her forehead like nothing had happened and walked to the car. Once inside, “we might make an anonymous phone call to the police from a public phone, do you think that would work Mr. Grant?”

"Right, but first, lets get as far away from here as we can first in case someone sees us," Zack told her, starting the engine. He was actually more worried about someone witnessing them leaving the shop and putting all the blame on them. Once they had driven a mile or two, Zack pulled over to a filling station and used the pay phone there to make the anonymous call. As he walked slowly back to the car, he couldn't help but wondering to himself what he'd gone and gotten himself into this time. He gritted his teeth, slipped back into the car, "There, it's done," he assured Miss Peeg. "Now, let's get back home and fill Richie in on what we've been up to before things get any worse."

Miss Peeg was feeling really bad about dragging Zack into this, she had no idea something like a dead body would be meeting them at the antique store. “I am terribly sorry about this Mr. Grant, we were only to ask a couple of questions and it looks like we’ll never get an answer now. I am afraid Mr. Roberts is not going to be very pleased with me,” she gave Zack a weak smile.

"Good thing you DID drag me into this, Miss Peeg," Zack replied, "I'd hate to think what would have happened to you if I hadn't been there."

“I wonder,” she began, “if you might accompany me into the office to talk to Mr. Roberts…I might need back-up again!”

Zack grinned at her, "Of course, wouldn't think of leaving you holding the bag all alone." He had, of course, entertained the idea of ditching her once they got to Roberts' office, but knew he couldn't really do that to the woman. For better or worse, they were in this thing together - whatever it was.

TBC...