A Murderous Glaze (4 page)

I was so rattled after the sheriff left that it took a good half hour for me to settle back down. I’d pick something up, then forget why I had it in my hands. It would have been nice to have David back, but after my conversation with Hannah, I wasn’t sure if I’d ever see my assistant again. I could manage to run Fire at Will by myself, but it wouldn’t be nearly as much fun, and I could kiss lunches out goodbye forever. My friend Shelly ran her own diner, appropriately named Shelly’s Café, but I knew our relationship didn’t extend to her bringing me my lunch every day.

I remembered to check the hand-built coiled pottery pots the Firing Squad had made the night before, and suddenly realized that I had forgotten all about the kilns’ earlier erratic behavior. What would I find when I opened them? Everything appeared to be fine as I took out each of the pieces and examined them in turn. Maybe the night Betty had died had been a single glitch and not the start of something worse. At least something appeared to be going right for me.

Customers were pretty sparse the rest of the morning. Okay, that’s not entirely true. There would have to have been at least one customer for me to be able to call it sparse, and I hadn’t had anyone else come in after the school kids. When the door chimed later in the day, I nearly leapt forward, eager to have some company, any company at all.

It was Butch. He took in the deserted shop. “Kind of empty, isn’t it?”

“You’re here between lulls,” I said.

“How long has the last lull been?” he asked.

I thought about lying to him, but Butch had been a crook long enough to spot my weak attempts at deception. “Pretty much since Betty died,” I admitted reluctantly.

“Don’t worry, Carolyn, we’ll fix this. I’ve got some stuff on the woman that might help.”

“Like what?” I asked. Sheriff Hodges had shaken me more than I was willing to admit. I needed to find the killer myself if he was going to focus solely on me.

“Her ex wasn’t too keen on her, that’s for sure. That guy was paying alimony out the wazoo.”

“You didn’t rough him up, did you?” The last thing I wanted was to get one of my favorite customers and a member of the Firing Squad in trouble.

He laughed at my suggestion. “Naw, not Larry. He wouldn’t be worth the effort. I tracked him down at Twilly’s Bar last night and bought him a few drinks. I swear, that’s all that happened.”

“Does he have an alibi for the night she was murdered?”

Butch looked a little sheepish as he admitted, “To tell you the truth, he got drunk too fast for me to ask him about that. That guy shouldn’t go to bars if he can’t hold his liquor better than he was managing when I left.”

The telephone rang, and I reached for it. “Hang on one second,” I told Butch before I answered, “Fire at Will.”

“Carolyn, this is Sandy. Have you got a minute? I might have something for you.”

“Hang on a second, Sandy.” I covered the phone with my hand. “Butch, Sandy’s on the line. Was there anything else?”

He shook his head. “No, not yet. Don’t worry, though. I’ll come up with something.”

“Don’t try too hard, if you know what I mean.”

He chuckled. “Now that all depends on how reluctant the folks I talk to are about having a conversation with me. Don’t you worry about me.”

He wasn’t the one I was worried about, but before I could add any more admonitions, Butch was gone.

“Sorry about that. I’m back,” I told Sandy.

“That’s fine. I’ve been doing some digging on the Internet and I’ve come up with a few things on Betty. Did you know she was getting a huge alimony check every month from her ex-husband? That might be enough of a motive for murder.”

“Butch already told me that. But how did you find out so quickly?”

“Public records for our county are online. How about this, then? You know how Betty liked to flaunt her nice things around town?”

I knew it only too well. She always had to have the latest model car and wear all the newest fashions. Her superior attitude toward the rest of us commoners had been one of the things I’d disliked so much about her. “She could be too much to take sometimes, couldn’t she?”

“Well, it turns out she wasn’t nearly as well off as she wanted everyone to think. Betty was living way beyond her income. All she had was alimony, and while it probably felt like gouging to her husband, she had to live entirely off of it, since she didn’t have any other income. The thing is, she never seemed to be short on cash, and I can’t find out where the rest of her money came from.”

“Perhaps she inherited it,” I said.

“No, I checked her parents’ wills, and there wasn’t much left after their funeral expenses were paid off.”

“Now how on earth did you discover that?” It amazed me how much Sandy had been able to find out in such a short period of time without ever leaving the library.

“Please, it’s simple if you know where to look. Wills are a matter of public record, and so are final dispositions. Give me something hard.”

“So where was she getting her money?”

“I wish I could tell you,” Sandy said. “From what I can see so far, I’m having a hard time believing it’s from a legitimate source. At least not one I’ve been able to track down. Don’t worry, though. I’ll keep digging.”

“I’m amazed how much you’ve been able to find out so far.”

“Believe me, with the Internet, there aren’t nearly as many secrets as there once were.”

That was a scary thought, one I wasn’t all that eager to contemplate.

I wondered if any of the rest of my crew would check in. No doubt Martha had her hands full with her lively brood, but I knew she’d have the best chance of uncovering something about Betty’s life that might be useful. The Mommy network was amazing in our small town. Martha had connections, through her children, to the most diverse group of people. It might take her some time to come up with something, but if she did, I was sure it would be gold. Jenna could help from the legal end of our impromptu investigation, but she had an ethical streak in her that might hinder her effectiveness in aiding me. Still, if Betty had ever been involved in the criminal justice system, Jenna would know it.

To my surprise and great delight, David walked into the shop a little after one. “Hey, stranger, I wasn’t sure I’d see you today.”

He looked sheepish. “Sorry about that. You know how Mom can get.”

“Don’t do that. You know I’m a big fan of your mother’s.”

He nodded. “I know. I swear, sometimes I think you two are ganging up on me.”

“Would we do that?” I tried to keep the laughter out of my voice, but it was impossible.

He laughed right along with me.

A moment later, I asked, “So, was it a full pardon, are you out for good behavior, or are you going to be on parole for a while?”

“Mom made sure there was no doubt in my mind about it. It’s parole. Definitely. If I miss another class, I won’t be able to come in for a week.”

“Then I sincerely hope you go to class.”

He grinned. “Even if you have to drag me there yourself, huh?”

I refused to match his smile. “No, I’m not going to get involved. This is between your mother and you.” Then I patted his shoulder. “But I will say it’s good to have you back.”

“Thanks. I’ve been gone less than a day, and I already feel like it’s been a month.” He glanced around the shop. “Has it been this quiet all day? Maybe I should have stayed away to save you from paying my salary.”

“Things will never get that tight,” I said, though if the current trend kept up, I wouldn’t be able to promise that forever. We needed customers in Fire at Will, and not just for their money. The business was a living entity, and it needed to be fed on a regular basis with laughter and fun as well as dollars and cents.

He nodded. “Thanks, I appreciate that. Listen, if you want to take a late lunch, I’ve got this covered.”

“That’s the best offer I’ve had all day,” I said as I took off my Fire at Will apron. It was fire-engine red; one of my customers had made it especially for me. I’d protested that it was too nice to get muddied with clay, and she’d responded by making me three more. Since the extent of my sewing skill was limited to an errant button replacement now and then, I’d gladly accepted them, then had waived her bill for the month. I’d been trying to get David to wear one, but he’d resisted my attempts so far, opting for a potter’s brown apron instead. The only thing I envied about his apron was that it didn’t show stains.

“I think I’ll take a walk and grab a bite,” I said. “Just let me wash up.”

I left the shop, determined to enjoy as much as I could of the nice day. Though it was April, there was still a nice nip in the air. The weatherman had threatened us with snow showers later in the week, but at the moment, the temperature was hovering in the lower fifties. The majority of the skiers had left the nearby Green Mountains, and it was too soon for our summer tourists. While I missed the revenues the other seasons brought, I didn’t miss the crowds. I decided to walk on the sidewalk by the brook, which turned out to be a mistake, something I knew the second I heard Kendra calling my name. The woman was getting to be an absolute pest, and it was time to set her straight.

“Carolyn, there’s something you should know,” Kendra said as I neared her shop. “The police have been here.”

“Have you been selling fake antiques again?” I said, not caring about her wince.

“I told you, and everyone else who would listen, my supplier gave me a phony certificate of authenticity. I refunded that man’s money, didn’t I? What else could I do?”

“You could have been more careful about who you bought your store stock from.”

I was about to say something else when she cut me off. “The police weren’t here about me. They were asking questions about you. I thought you should know.”

So the sheriff was serious about coming after me. I’d been hoping he had just been posturing until he stumbled across the real killer, but evidently that hope was for naught. “What did he want to know? More importantly, what did you tell him?” Knowing Kendra, I wouldn’t have been surprised if she’d claimed to be a witness to the murder to get a little attention.

“I had to tell the truth, didn’t I?” Now why did she suddenly look so guilty?

“What did you tell him?” I had maneuvered her around so that her back was toward the brook. I was in no mood for her foolishness today.

She must have seen it in my eyes. “I’ve said too much already.” As she started back to her shop, I moved toward her, cutting off her retreat.

“Kendra, don’t do this.”

“You’re scaring me,” she whined. “Get out of my way.”

I could see real fear in her eyes. I stepped to the side. “I’m sorry. I’m just so upset.”

Kendra bolted past me into her antique shop. It wouldn’t have surprised me at all if she locked the door behind her. Wonderful. Now I’d harassed the gossip queen of Maple Ridge out on our brook walk, in broad daylight. How long would it take her to call Sheriff Hodges to file a complaint? Surely I’d be in his lockup by nightfall.

I wasn’t much in the mood for lunch anymore, or to be around people, for that matter. I started back to Fire at Will and was surprised to see Jenna Blake approaching me.

“Carolyn, have you lost your mind?” she snapped at me.

“That’s the question, isn’t it? I’m guessing you saw what just happened.”

“You mean you accosting Kendra Williams in broad daylight? The whole town probably saw it. You need to get control of that temper of yours.”

“It wasn’t what it looked like,” I said in my defense. “Okay, maybe it was, but she deserved it. That woman has a way of driving me crazy.”

“Like Betty Wickline did?”

I studied her dour expression. “Maybe Butch was right to question your loyalties. Whose side are you on?”

“You don’t have to ask, you know that. But don’t make things any harder on yourself than you have to.”

I was in no mood to be lectured. “Thanks for the legal advice. Feel free to send me a bill.”

I wasn’t sure how she would react, but her laughter startled me. I asked, “What’s so funny, Jenna?”

“You are determined to thumb your nose at the world right now, aren’t you?”

I wasn’t all that amused by her question. “I’m willing to admit that when I’m pushed, I have a tendency to push back.”

“That’s what I’m afraid of. I’ve got some information for you, but I’m not sure you’re in any mood to receive it. Perhaps we’ll talk later.”

As she started to walk away, I said, “Wait a second. I’m sorry. Maybe my blood sugar’s down. Do you have time to get something to eat? Something to go? We could go over to Shelly’s.”

I still didn’t want to be around people, but Jenna was different. In an odd little way, the Firing Squad was a surrogate family for all of us. We’d helped each other through sickness, divorce, and other heartaches in the five years the club had been together. Even death. One of our charter members, Julie Price, had died in a car accident on her way to one of our regular meetings. I still kept the last pot she’d thrown in my office as a reminder that life is fleeting and that you have to grab every chance you get.

“Lunch sounds good, but I don’t have time to go to Shelly’s,” Jenna said. “Why don’t I grab something for us at In the Grounds? Would you like a coffee with your sandwich?”

“Better make it bottled water. I’m jumpy enough as it is without adding caffeine to the mix.” I reached into my purse for some money, but Jenna said, “Don’t worry about it. It’s my treat.”

I wasn’t about to say no. I didn’t want to offend her, and I knew Jenna could easily afford it.

I found a bench by the water, and she soon returned with our sandwiches.

“I appreciate you doing this,” I said.

“It’s my pleasure. I had to eat anyway,” she added with a grin.

“I mean helping me with this impromptu investigation. I hate to get all of you involved in my problems.”

“Your problems are ours. Remember what brought me to Fire at Will the first time?”

“I’m not likely to forget. You were a little lost.”

Jenna laughed heartily. “That’s a vast understatement, and you know it. I was floundering. After Eric died and I took early retirement, I just about lost my reason for living. You and the Firing Squad helped me recapture it. You’re all the family I really have now.”