A Most Curious Murder (17 page)

When the sun came up, Jenny stood beside the place where Lake Huron and Lake Michigan met. She stood on the shore in Mackinaw City, small waves covering her bare feet. Overhead, the span of the Mackinaw Bridge stretched north into a thick morning haze. She could breathe here, as if she’d found the one spot on earth where nothing could touch her.

For hours—straight through the night—she’d driven, trying to keep her thoughts from falling into piles of squirming worms. There should be a neat stack of thoughts about Johnny in her head. Another stack about Ronald. A neat stack about her future. A neat stack about the murders of the Cane men. One stack for Zoe Zola. Maybe a small stack for Mom’s Little Library. Oh, then “poor” Deanna. And a stack for “poor” Angel. A stack for “poor” Jenny Weston. All of it orderly, delivered on demand or wiped away.

The sun burned through the mist and lit the eastern side of the impressive bridge, turning the towers a deep gold, the cables between towers a sharp green, and the Straits of Mackinac a metallic gray. So much power—natural and man-made. So much beauty and majesty.

She always ran to water when the world was too much with her, always to a place where she could stare out and see nothing but the curve of the earth or the passing away of a spring torrent. She had been near the water when she’d arranged her teenage thoughts into a hierarchy of importance: White dress for marrying Johnny or off-white, now that she was an off-virgin? Major in education? It had to be more practical, since she and Johnny would be married right after they got their degrees. They’d probably settle in Bear Falls, though Johnny was taking business and they might end up living anywhere. She’d dreamed then that their future was limitless.

She dragged her toe through the water, down into the sand. What a waste of her life. From here on, she was going to think about crucial things, not dreams or old hurts. Not the people who hurt her but the people who loved her. She looked over the water and thought about Tony Ralenti. Another daydream. He wasn’t exactly chasing her.

The light on the bridge changed. The magic was gone. She walked across the park, her mind already turning to practical things.

First she had to go see Chief Warner. She would turn Johnny in.

But then Deanna would be in deep trouble, too.

Served her right. She was old enough to know better than to run around with a married man.

There was also Angel, about to go into labor, and Johnny’s two other girls to consider.

And how was all this going to help Zoe? There had to be a clear thread that led straight to a killer. There had to be a clear reason he or she was killing. The only person connected to Adam and Aaron was Abigail, and she couldn’t see Abigail—the dowager queen of Bear Falls—murdering anyone.

“Off with their heads”
jumped into Jenny’s mind as she started her car.
“Off with their heads!”

Zoe, sitting on the lawn with a paintbrush in her hand, waved when Jenny turned up the drive and pulled to a stop next to her.

Tony, attaching a platform to one of the support posts, looked up and smiled.

On the shorter post, Zoe was painting figures with wings in wild, bright colors. Fairies. Jenny had to smile, then thought,
What kind of world am I caught up in? Fairies and little people and one-eyed dogs with secret keys . . .

“How do you like these?” Zoe motioned, paintbrush in hand.

“It’s all coming together.” Tony walked over to stand near her car, stretching his back muscles hard. His hair was mussed. His work clothes were covered with sawdust. His smile was as it always was—reassuring. Maybe she had a new “idea stack” to consider. A stack labeled “Tony Ralenti.” She smiled at him. Just an idea. After all, she told herself, all she had left was possibility.

“I see you two are hard at work.”

Tony nodded. “Be ready in a couple of days. I’ve got finishing touches yet: shingles and the screened porch. Last thing will be a coat of paint. If you’ve got something special in mind—”

Before she could reply, Zoe spoke up. “You stop to see Ed Warner?”

Tony raised his head fast.

Zoe’s mouth fell open and stayed there. “Oh . . . did I put my foot in it?”

“Something happen I don’t know about?” Tony narrowed his eyes and looked from one to the other.

“Nothing . . . I was just . . .”

Jenny wouldn’t let Zoe flounder. It shouldn’t be a secret anyway, not from Tony.

“Minnie Moon, our neighbor, came by yesterday,” she said. “She told us she saw her own daughter, Deanna, and Johnny Arlen destroying the library. Minnie didn’t want her daughter brought into it, so I’m not sure what . . .” She hesitated.

Tony gave her an odd look. He shook his head. “Of course you’ll tell Ed. I’d say let your mom and Johnny settle it between them, except we’ve got a couple of murders worked in here. Not saying Johnny had anything to do with them, but . . .” He frowned. “What was he doing out with Ms. Moon’s daughter anyway? Isn’t Angel about to have a baby?”

Jenny nodded. “If it weren’t for the two deaths, this would just be a cheap, sleazy thing.”

“Yeah. Grown man. Responsible for his actions. But is he a murderer?”

She shook her head.

“Guess you better go see the chief as soon as you can. If he hears you know about this . . .” He looked over at Zoe. “Time we worked up a couple suspects besides you, right?”

He was teasing, but Zoe didn’t laugh the way she usually did.

“Want me to go with you?” he asked Jenny.

She nodded. She’d had enough of being alone.

***

“I hope this doesn’t turn into a huge event,” Jenny said to Ed Warner, who sat behind his desk with one hand on a stack of papers. Since Jenny didn’t much trust Ed, her voice took on a tone she didn’t use with ordinary people.

“Angel Arlen’s about to have a baby,” she said. “Maybe you should keep that in mind when you spread the word about Johnny.”

“Have to do my job, Jenny. I understand you think I’m wrong about everything, but I can’t worry about that. I’ve got two murders in a town where we’ve never had a murder. I’ve got your mother’s property being destroyed. I’ve got people coming in every day like they’re sneaking into the White House—a rumor here, a suspicion there.”

Tony, beside her in the chief’s office, cleared his throat. She put up a hand. There were things she still had to say.

“Maybe you’ll leave Zoe Zola alone now. Crazy idea anyway. She barely knew Adam and didn’t know Aaron at all. Just from the size of her—who would believe?”

“I said it before. You don’t have to be tall or a man to kill somebody.” His face wrinkled as he spoke. “She’s only been here a year or so. Who knows what the real reason was she moved to Bear Falls? You see many new people moving in?”

“She writes books. What better place for quiet than Bear Falls?”

“Writers use computer paper. What we found in Ms. Zola’s house looked just like the paper that note to Adam was written on.”

“Computer paper’s almost all alike,” Jenny said.

“Cane family could be the reason she moved here to begin with. We don’t know her people nor her background. Could be she smelled money. Heard her brag she’s got quite a sense of
smell on her. Maybe she’s writing a book about the Cane family. Who’s to say?” Ed shrugged. “I know you don’t think much of me, Jenny. Living in Chicago so long, you’re probably used to squads of police and forensics and a lot of things we don’t have here. But I’ve still got a brain. I’ve still got eyes and ears and can figure out most things, given enough time.”

His craggy face softened as he went on. “So you’re handing me Johnny Arlen.”

“I’m not handing you anybody. I’m just telling you what Minnie Moon said.”

“Then I want to go talk to Ms. Moon and her daughter.” He shuffled his feet and leaned back in his chair. “Have to tell you, though, the
Record-Eagle
in Traverse City has been sniffing around. They ran a week of stories on the murders and are hot to do follow-ups. Can’t control the press, you know. If they get ahold of this, Johnny’s name will be all over the front page. Nothing I can do about it.”

“This isn’t about the murders,” she said. “It’s about a man with a huge problem who needs help. And it’s about his kids and wife and not destroying their lives. There’s nothing in this for the newspaper.”

She looked to Tony for help. He stared at the floor.

“You think maybe Johnny was over there again the next night when that dog went missing? And over there, too, about the time Adam Cane was being hit in the head with a hoe in Zoe’s backyard? Or out at Aaron’s when somebody put a bullet in him?”

“That’s not Johnny—”

“Was breaking up the library the man you knew?”

She had nothing more to say.

“I’ll tell you this, Jenny. I’m going out to talk to Ms. Moon, and I’m having Johnny brought in for questioning. I’ll call your
mother and see what she wants to do about him. Press charges, I hope. Or make him pay to replace the library. I think I’ll kind of follow her lead on that, but on everything else—questions about the murders—well, that’s got to be up to me. I won’t spare anybody. Not your friend and not Johnny Arlen. That’s the best I can do for you.”

“Johnny would never kill anybody.”

She looked around at Tony, who only shook his head.

“Call Mom,” she said finally. “She’s got better sense than I have.”

Jenny got up and left with Tony right behind her.

There was no avoiding the heavy silence on the way home. It wasn’t until he parked in front of her house that Tony opened up.

“That’s how I knew about you and Johnny Arlen.” He turned in his seat, putting a hand on her arm to stop her from getting out. “Town like this, everybody knows everything about everybody. But it looks like you’ve got to get your priorities straight, Jenny. Either you’re fighting to clear Zoe—who we both know didn’t do any of this—or you’re willing to throw her overboard to protect an old boyfriend who jilted you. I think you’d better decide who it’s going to be. Or drive yourself crazy.”

“Neither one of them. There’s no side to choose. I do have my priorities straight, Tony. And by the way, they are
my
priorities and
my
life.”

She shook his hand off her arm. She jumped out of the truck.

Dora’s first words were a pained cry. “Where have you been? Minnie was here this morning begging me not to go to the police. She doesn’t want Deanna to get a bad reputation. I had no idea where you’d gotten to and couldn’t promise her anything.” She stopped. “You’ve been out all night! You worried me to death.”

She moved on without waiting for Jenny to answer. “Now Minnie’s mad at me and says she will never take one single book out of my library ever again in her whole life if we ruin her daughter.”

Jenny put her arms around her quaking mother. “Mom, I talked to Ed. He says what’s done to Johnny and Deanna will be up to you. You don’t have to press charges if you don’t want to. Maybe just get Johnny or Deanna to repay what it’s costing you.”

“Johnny Arlen doesn’t have a pot to . . . well, you know he’s got nothing. Barely works. Drinks. I can’t tell you, Jenny, how happy I am you never married that boy.” She sighed, looking hard into her daughter’s face. “I’m not pressing charges and I won’t make them pay. The books cost me nothing. People have been dropping off more than I can use in a month of Sundays.
Anyway, Tony gave me a very fair deal on the new houses. Neighbors are already offering to man the libraries on given days to take the pressure off me—though I don’t mind it at all. Still, it will be nice to see my neighbors more often and share the books with them. Especially with children. A few little ones have come to the door asking if their library’s open yet.”

“So you won’t press charges?”

Dora shook her head. “There’s just one thing I’d like. I’d like to talk to them. I want them to know what your dad’s library means to me and to the town. I’d like them to know about books—for real. That they’re not just paper and cardboard. It’s about learning what people think and do outside of Bear Falls. It’s like . . .” Dora spread her arms wide. “Your father offered me a whole new world with his gift. And a whole new—bigger—world to the town. I’d like to say that to them.”

“Oh. Something else. What was it now?” She shook her head. “Anyway, Lisa called. She’s so nervous. Can’t stop thinking about us. She says I could be in danger, living here where two people got killed. I tried to tell her I’m just fine, and I’ve got you. Maybe you should call her.”

“Was that what you forgot?”

She shook her head and put her hands to her cheeks. “No. It was Abigail Cane. She called, wanted to talk to you. I told her you were out and I didn’t know when you were getting home. I asked if she wanted you to call back but she said no. She’ll get ahold of you as soon as she can.”

“What’s that supposed to mean? ‘As soon as she can’?”

Dora shrugged. “You know Abigail. Everything in her life’s always been the most important thing that ever happened to anybody. Personally, I think money does that to people, makes them important in their own head.”

“I’ll call Lisa.” She headed to the kitchen to get hot tea and lemon slices to go with it. She felt in need of a little pampering. “You see that house Zoe’s painting?”

“Darling. Just darling. And she just got a new house for her garden. Funniest fairy you ever saw is going to live there. Little being’s got a wig on her head, with a tiny daisy sticking straight up.”

Jenny, halfway to the kitchen, turned to say, “Think I should get into fairy houses?”

“That would be nice, dear,” Dora called after her.

“Kidding, Mom. Just kidding.”

***

By late afternoon, Abigail Cane still hadn’t called. Jenny phoned Lisa to tell her everything that had been going on and was given a stern warning to call every day.

“If you don’t, I’m going to go crazy worrying. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve wanted to drop everything and get on a plane.”

The conversation ended with Jenny promising a phone call every day.

“Love you, Jenny.” There was a break in Lisa’s voice. “Don’t want to lose you.”

“Me, either. I don’t want to lose me.”

“Brat,” Lisa said and hung up.

Jenny heard nothing from Abigail in the next hour. She gave up waiting and went next door to see Zoe, missing her daily dose of mayhem and madness.

A voice yelled, “Come on in!” after after Jenny toured the fairy gardens to visit the new fairy with a daisy growing out of her head and then said hi to each of the other peeking faces, all having moved since her last trip around. An unsettling
idea—that the fairies watched her from different houses and different windows. Even worse, that they’d seen a man murdered. But even worse than all of it, Jenny told herself, was the fact that Zoe’d gotten her to believe in fairies.

Zoe was on the phone when Jenny walked in. She was giving all short answers. Nods and smiles and big, wide-opened eyes. “Of course I want to go. Oh, that. Don’t worry. I’m certain I’ll have no trouble. Why, after all, what human being would want to stand in my way. You’ll come here? Why, Christopher, you don’t need to . . . of course, I understand. Yes, I’ll be on time. Waiting. Time is of the essence. You’ll have it planned to the minute, I’m sure.”

She hung up and turned to Jenny. “Three weeks!” she crowed. “Three weeks! The White Rabbit’s coming for me. Heavens to teacups! What a surprise! An award!” Zoe clapped her little hands. “A big, New York award. That was Christopher Morley. He said he’s very proud of me and my work.”

“An award? For what?” Jenny asked before thinking.

Zoe put her hands at her waist and an exasperated look on her face. “For my book, of course. What did you think it was—best fairy garden in the world?”

“Could be,” Jenny said.

“Well, it isn’t. It’s the National Award for Literary Research. Me! Can you imagine? Me and my Oz book,
The Wizard of Oz as Dream
. Christopher said this will make the book a classic.” Her face slowly darkened. “Oh goodness, what does one wear to such an affair? I won’t know a soul.”

“You’ll know Mr. Morley.”

“But will I enjoy myself?” Her happiness slipped down a long slope. “You met Christopher. No frivolity. Time. Time. Time. A very busy man. No, no, no. I’ll go with him and act happy.”

“But you can’t leave town!” Jenny felt like Mary Poppins at the up-in-the-air tea party, all brought down by a sad thought. “Ed Warner warned you.”

“Three weeks, Jenny! We have three weeks to put all of this to rest. I think I’m onto something new right now. Something I’ve been trying to figure out about those letters.”

“Ah, Sherlock. I should never have doubted.”

“Don’t make fun. If I’m not out of trouble by three weeks from now, I’ll be hanging in the town square. A warning to future writers.”

“Zoe,” Jenny chided, “I’ve had enough drama for one day. I think I’ve got Tony mad at me.” She told Zoe about her reluctance to believe Johnny murdered anybody and how Tony took it.

“He should be angry,” Zoe said. “He’s a good man, Jenny. You don’t seem able to pick a good one from a bad one.”

“Pick! Pick!” Jenny mimicked her. “Is that like picking apples? So far two have had worms.”

“Silly analogy.”

“You said to look behind words. Pick. Pick. Pick. Pick my nose. Pick my seat. Pick!” She stuck her tongue out at Zoe, which made both of them laugh.