Murder and Salutations (16 page)

“
Especially when you’ve already tried out so many of them,” I said with a smile.

“
My, don’t you have a mouth on you.”

“
It’s your fault,” I said. “I’ve been reading your greeting cards all afternoon.”

“
Perhaps we should limit your exposure then,” she said, adding a smile. “Have a nice evening, Jennifer.”

“
You, too,” I said. Lillian left, but I still had a report to run on my register, and then there was the bank, inventory and supply restocking. It was definitely easier being an employee than an owner, but I didn’t mind. Custom Card Creations was mine, and I wouldn’t have had it any other way. After I was finished for the night, I decided to walk down to Sara Lynn’s shop to see how she was doing, but I was surprised to see the place dark, though it was a night my sister normally stayed open late. Had she finally taken our advice and gone home? Despite what she’d said, I decided to go by and check on her. The only problem was, I still didn’t have my car. Getting rides from my family was getting old. I wanted my independence back.

I phoned my brother. “I need a ride,” I said abruptly.

“
I’m fine, Jen, how are you?”

“
Sorry,” I said. “I’m just tired of depending on you for my transportation.”

“
Are you at the shop?”

“
No,” I said, “I’m in front of Forever Memories. Sara Lynn closed up early.”

“
I know, she called me,” he said.

“
Why didn’t she tell me, too?”

“
Take it easy, Jennifer. She tried calling you, but your phone was busy. She doesn’t want to be disturbed, and I’m going to respect that wish.”

“
Fine, I’ll leave her alone,” I said, not at all happy about the way my sister was acting. “So, do I get that ride, or not?”

A horn honked nearby, and at first I was annoyed. Then I recognized the sound. I looked over at Bradford, who was behind the wheel of my Gremlin, holding his cell phone. The car’s once-broken window was now bright and shiny.

“
Hop in,” he said.

“
No way. You scoot over. I’m driving.”

He did as I asked, though I could tell it was with reluctance. “Now I get to drive you around.”

“
Just to my office,” he said. “I’m parked there. I thought you’d like your car back.”

I rubbed the steering wheel. “You betcha.”

“
Hey, Sis, when are you going to get a car that was made in the last twenty years, anyway?”

I stroked the dashboard. “This car has character,” I said.

“
It’s a character, all right,” he replied with a grin.

“
Don’t talk that way about my baby. Did you speak with Reggie Bloom?”

“
I did,” Bradford admitted, and from the expression on his face, I could tell it hadn’t gone well. “He wasn’t pleased about our conversation.”

“
I’m sorry,” I said. “I should have kept my mouth shut.”

“
Actually, you did the right thing. I was about to dismiss him when he started getting belligerent. That just makes me want to dig a little deeper. I didn’t like his attitude.”

“
Bradford, don’t make this personal. He had a right to be defensive.”

My brother shook his head. “You don’t understand. A lot of what I do is based on my gut. There was something that didn’t jibe between the way he acted
and what he was saying. It’s not going to hurt anything to poke around a little.”

“
Just don’t poke too hard,” I said. “I’m living on his mother’s goodwill, remember?”

“
Speaking of your new place, have you had the locks changed yet? You don’t know how many keys are floating around, and I’m willing to bet there are a couple at the main house.”

“
I’ll speak to Helena,” I said, “but I can’t just change the locks without her permission. Besides, I’ve got my guardians, remember?”

“
If you’re relying on Oggie and Nash as your home security system, you might as well leave your door wide open.”

“
Okay, as watch cats they’re pretty useless, but other than that, they’re adorable. I’ve still got my softball bat, and I know how to use it.”

“
Just watch your step, okay?”

“
I promise,” I said. I dropped him off at his office, made the bank deposit, and then drove to my new place. Funny, but the day before, I had felt secure living behind a locked gate. That serenity was gone now, knowing that a murderer might have the code himself. Could Reggie have done everything I suspected, or was he just a convenient suspect? If he was guilty, would my brother’s questioning make him more cautious, or more reckless? He was a hard man to figure out.

As I got out of the Gremlin, I saw that someone was watching me from the trees.

“
Hello?” I called out.

“
Who’s there?” I asked, wishing I had my bat with me.

Reggie himself stepped out, a cigarette in his lips. “I’ve been waiting for you,” he said.

I jammed my keys between my fingers and made a fist in case I had to defend myself. “What do you want?”

“
Did you sic your brother on me?”

He was angry; there was no doubt about that. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Denial was my best course of action at the moment, at least until I got my bat.

Reggie grunted. “I think you do.”

I started toward my door. “Think what you want.”

As I slid the key into the lock, he said from behind me, “You need to mind your own business.”

“
You, too,” I said for some inane reason, as I slipped inside and bolted the door. Bradford’s point about the locks hit home, so I took a chair and jammed it under the knob. Nobody would be able to get in now, short of breaking the door down.

Oggie and Nash were sitting side by side staring at me when I looked up.

“
You two think I’m crazy, don’t you?”

Neither one of them denied it. “Well, I think you’re both unbalanced, too. So how do you like that?”

I could have sworn they both looked at each other before they came to me. I sat down heavily on the couch, and they bumped me in greeting before curling up next to me. I stroked a cat with each hand, and immediately felt better. They were better than therapy as they purred in unison at my touch. After a while, I felt my blood pressure start to drop and my pulse slow. Maybe it was my imagination, but then again, maybe it wasn’t.

Then there was a knock on the door, and all the good they’d done was wiped away. It appeared that Reggie was back for the next round.

Just in case, I grabbed the bat before I moved the chair and opened the door. Helena took it all in, then asked lightly, “Were you going to get a little exercise in?”

“
Sometimes I take some swings to loosen up,” I said, making it up on the spot. If she thought I was crazy, she was too polite to mention it.

“
How athletic of you.” She thrust a basket out at me, and I had to lay the bat down to take it. “This is for you.”

“
What’s this?” I asked as I looked under a fancy napkin.

“
I’ve been baking banana muffins, and I thought you might like some.”

“
That’s so sweet of you,” I said. How could that son come from her? “Won’t you come in?”

“
I don’t want to disturb you,” she said, and then the words died in her throat as she saw Oggie and Nash.

“
You’re most welcome to join me, but I should warn you, they take a long time to warm up to strangers.”

She sat in my spot on the couch, and the scoundrels curled up with her as though they’d known her their entire lives. I felt a twinge of jealousy, but then realized they could probably sense another soul in need of their company. “What handsome fellows you two are,” she said as she stroked them.

The rascals were eating it up. “That’s extraordinary. I’ve never seen them act that way with a stranger before.”

“
We’re not strangers,” she said, talking to the cats more than she was to me. “We’re just old friends who haven’t met yet.” After a few minutes, Helena looked up at me and said, “I understand you and Reggie had words tonight.”

“
Listen, I’m sorry if he’s angry about Bradford questioning him, but my brother’s the sheriff; that’s his job.”

“
Dear, you don’t have to explain it to me. I understand completely. Reggie really is a sweetheart. He’s just been under a little pressure handling the family businesses. When his father got sick, Reggie had to step in and take over. I’m afraid it’s made him cross and impatient at times, but give him a chance. You’ll warm to him.”

I couldn’t imagine the circumstances where that would actually happen, but I knew enough to keep that opinion to myself. “Thanks for the advice,” I said.

“
But no thanks, am I right?” There was a smile on her face that showed her good nature. “Don’t worry. I’ll butt out.” She stood, and the cats watched her carefully as she said to them, “It was an honor and a privilege spending time with you both. We must do it again sometime.”

Oggie picked that moment to mew, and Helena looked delighted. “Why thank you, I had fun as well.’’

Helena looked at me and said, “You must think I’m dotty, having conversations with cats.”

“
We chat all the time,” I admitted. “They’re both great listeners, if you can get them to sit still long enough.”

“
Jennifer, thank you for sharing part of your evening with me.”

“
Thank you for your company, and the muffins.”

She nodded, and paused at the door. “Oh, I almost forgot. A locksmith will be coming by tomorrow to replace your locks. I’ve instructed him that no one else is to have a key. Is that suitable?”

“
Perfectly,” I said.

She reached down and grabbed my bat, then handed it to me. “Until he arrives, I’d suggest you swing for the fences, isn’t that what they say?”

I grinned as I took the bat from her. “It is. Good night, Helena.”

“
Good night to you all.”

After she was gone, I cracked a window to let in some of the cool night breeze. I felt much better about my new living quarters after Helena’s visit. Though Reggie was a definite concern, his mother was delightful. Perhaps she was right about her son. Could I have been wrong to judge him so quickly? After all, I considered Gail to be a good judge of character, and she’d dated him for quite a while. How bad could he be? Then again, she’d begun to have second thoughts about him. Could he have killed two people? What could have driven him to murder? Then again, what makes anyone kill? I had other suspects—Addie, Kaye, Luke and Polly—and I wasn’t ready to turn my back on any of them.

I was still wondering about which one of them might be a murderer when I heard a noise outside the cottage.

Someone was out there, and it was not my imagination.

Chapter 14

Without really thinking about it, I grabbed the bat and threw the door open.

“
Come on out,” I said. “Or I’m coming after you.”

I didn’t hear another sound for a few seconds, then I saw a squirrel scamper up a nearby tree. Could that have been the sound I’d heard from inside? I waited there in the growing darkness, but the only sound I heard was the squirrel scolding me from above.

“
Jennifer, your paranoia is becoming amusing,” I said as I went back inside. Still, I bolted the door and slid the chair back under the knob just as soon as I shut the window and locked it. I considered putting, the bat back by the door, but I decided it would be better to have it close by. I fed the cats, then ate a few muffins and drank some milk. After that, I tried to watch a movie, but it couldn’t hold my attention. An hour earlier than I was used to, I was ready for bed. Just in case, I threw the bat up onto the loft, and then climbed up myself. I knew I’d feel silly in the morning, but at the moment, it was all the comfort I needed to fall asleep, and that was what counted.

The next morning, I awoke to the sound of thunder and a heavy rain beating down on the cottage roof. It was still dark out, though the clock showed that the sun should have been up by now. I felt safe and snug in my new little nest, and I didn’t want to leave it. Oggie and Nash got up and took turns stretching, something that always amazed me. It appeared that neither cat had a bone in their bodies as they arched their backs and spread their claws.

I delayed leaving as long as I could, but finally it was time to go to work. Though the Gremlin was parked less than fifteen feet away from my front door, I still got wet getting there, despite my umbrella.

It was a gray day, one that matched my mood as I opened the shop. Lillian came in a few minutes before we were scheduled to open, and I said, “I’m not sure you should have bothered. I doubt we’ll get much foot traffic today.”

To emphasize my point, a bolt of lightning lit up the gloom for a moment, followed quickly by a roll of thunder that shook the glass.

“
Then we can make cards. Why don’t you teach me something new?” she asked. “It’s the perfect day for it.”

“
Do you really want to learn?” I said, my enthusiasm lagging for some reason.

“
I’ve got it,” Lillian said. “You can teach me how to quill. I’ve been wanting to learn for some time.”

“
It’s not all that difficult,” I said. “You just roll the strips up on the quilling tool, and then you glue them to your card.”

“
Show me,” she said patiently.

I shrugged, then collected a few supplies. While I did that, Lillian cleared off our worktable by the window. She looked at the white strips I’d collected and said, “We can do better than that, can’t we? Today calls for bold colors, wouldn’t you say?” She was back in a second with a packet of long, thin strips in vibrant, energetic colors. “Now that should wake us up. Teach me.”

I took a quilling needle, selected a bright orange strip, then rolled it tightly onto the tool. As Lillian tried to imitate me, I said, “Use your finger as a base, then roll the paper up, keeping tension on it all the time.”

Once she had the tight circle, I took mine and said, “Now you can loosen the coil for whatever shape you’d like.” I pinched one edge, let the other loosen a little, then pinched the other. “Make several of these and you’ve got a flower,” I said. Lillian’s result was not as crisp as mine was, but she was clearly delighted with the technique. “I’ve seen those hearts you make,” she said. “Show me how to do them.”

“
They’re really easy,” I said, getting into the spirit of the lesson. I explained as I worked. “First you crease the paper along the short axis in the center of the strip. Then coil one side tightly all the way to the crease, and let it go. The paper will retain the shape. Do the other side, and you’ve got a perfect heart. All it needs is a little glue to secure it, and you’re ready to add it to a card.”

“
It can’t be as easy as you make it look,” Lillian said.

“
All you need are the right supplies and a little practice,” I said. We made enough flowers and hearts to satisfy St. Valentine himself, having a great deal of fun as we worked.

By the time I looked out the window, I saw that the rain had stopped and the sun was actually trying
to come out.

“
That was fun,” I told Lillian. “It’s good having you here.”

“
It’s good to be here,” she said.

We were still basking in the warmth of our cardmaking session when the front door opened. I was surprised to see Kaye Jansen walk in.

“
Good morning,” she said before I could say a word. “Do you have any thank-you cards?”

“
Of course,” I said as I led her to them. “I’m surprised you don’t have anything at the drugstore.”

“
I want something nicer than what we carry. George doesn’t like to carry too much inventory he’s afraid he won’t be able to move.”

“
How do you like working for your father-in-law?” I asked.

“
I’m not an employee, Jennifer,” she snapped. “I own a piece of it, too. Now about those cards.”

“
We have a good selection over here,” I said as I showed her some boxes. “If it’s something special, I’d be delighted to help you make a personalized card yourself.”

She rolled her eyes. “Thanks, but I don’t think so. Your cards are cute and all, but not all of us have the time to fritter away making them.” She grabbed a box of manufactured cards I carried and said, “These will do nicely. I’m giving them as thank you notes to everyone who donated something for the flowers. I’m sure
you won’t mind donating these to such a good cause,” she said as she started to put them in her purse.

“
I’ll give them to you at cost,” I said, “but I still have to pay for them myself. By the way, is that new?”

I pointed to a gold chain around her neck, adorned with a modest diamond pendant. She said, “This? No, it’s been in the family for years. I just don’t wear it that often.”

“
Oh, my mistake. It looks expensive. So, will you be paying with cash or a credit card?”

Kaye looked at me for a second like she didn’t believe me, and I knew she was waiting for me to back down. She could wait until I howled at the moon, but wasn’t getting them for free.

Finally, reluctantly, she asked, “How much do you have to have?”

“
Just give me half of the sticker price and we’ll call it even.”

“
I think I’m in the wrong business,” she said as she pushed a five on me.

At the door, she stopped and turned back. “Did you find Luke in time?”

“
He changed his mind about leaving town,” I said though I didn’t mention that I’d twisted his arm to secure his stay.

“
How odd,” Kaye said. “I thought we’d seen the last of him. Oh, if you’re still looking for Polly, she came back this morning.”

“
That’s earlier than you expected, isn’t it?”

“
She said something about it raining the entire time I just thought you’d like to know.”

Before she could leave, I had a sudden thought. “I heard you were talking to Bailey the night of the banquet.”

“
I don’t know who told you that, but they’re lying.”

“
Are you sure? He mentioned something to me before he died about seeing you. I must have been mistaken. Sorry.”

“
You should get your facts straight before you say anything,” Kaye said, and then bolted out of the shop;

After she was gone, Lillian asked, “When did you find that out? I had no idea Bailey had talked to her.

“
Maybe because it’s not true,” I admitted. “But Bailey saw someone that night, I’m sure of it. I wanted to test Kaye’s reaction.

“
She wasn’t too pleased with it,” Lillian said. “How much do you want to bet you won’t be getting one of those cards?”

I waved the five in the air. “Her contribution was more than I’d hoped for.”

Lillian laughed. “I thought she was going to have a stroke when you asked her to actually pay for them.”

“
Hey, I gave them to her at cost. Don’t I get credit for that?”

“
Of course you do. I don’t blame you a bit. I hate when people try to strong-arm me into doing something.”

I looked at her to see if she was kidding. My aunt was the queen of that particular technique, and pity the poor soul who caved into it even once, because from there on out, she’d own them.

I grabbed my jacket and asked, “Do you mind watching the shop? I’d like to talk to Polly.”

“
Do you still think she might have done it?”

“
There’s always a chance. Besides, it would be refreshing to be able to eliminate one of my suspects.”

“
Go, but don’t stay too long. I thought we might go to The Lunch Box at noon.”

“
Lillian, you know how I hate to close the store.”

She lowered her chin. “And yet you have no compunction about leaving me here alone to fend for myself.”

“
Fine, we can have lunch out. But I’m picking up the check.”

“
Not with that measly five, you won’t.”

I put the money in the register before I left. “I wouldn’t dream of it.”

“
You should frame that instead of putting it into circulation,” Lillian said. “You know how tight Kaye is with her money.”

“
Just for charity,” I said. “She had a lot of nerve, asking for donations when she was wearing that fancy necklace. Anyway, I’ll be back by lunch.”

“
You’d better, or I’m going without you.”

“
You wouldn’t do that,” I said with a smile.

“
And why not?”

“
Because I’m buying, and you wouldn’t miss that for the world.”

“
Of that I’m guilty.”

I found Polly going through a book of real estate listings. The frown that was plastered to her face didn’t break when she saw me standing at her desk.

“
What do you want, Jennifer?”

“
Gosh, I came by to look at houses, but now I’m not so sure I want to.”

She studied me for a second, then forced a smile to her face. “Come on, don’t hold that against me. I didn’t mean to be curt with you. Of course I’d be delighted to show you some of my listings.”

“
You’re back in town early, aren’t you? I heard your trip was cut short because of rain.”

“
You’ve just got to love small towns,” she said as she flipped through her book. “Now here’s a property that would be just perfect for you.”

Out of idle curiosity, I looked at the listing. “This has four bedrooms,” I said. “That would leave an extra room even if I gave each cat their own space.”

She glanced at the page, then said, “I’m sorry, that’s the wrong one.” The next one she flipped to had one bedroom, and barely had enough square footage to turn around in.

“
What was this before,” I asked, “a telephone booth?”

“
No, the owner bought one of those garage kits and made it into a getaway. It’s charming, isn’t it?”

“
All I can say from this is that it’s tiny. Anyway I’ve got a new place to live. I guess there’s no rush.”

“
Where are you staying? That was a tragedy at Whispering Oak, wasn’t it?”

I looked at her steadily. “How did you hear about that? I thought you were out of town.”

Polly lowered her voice. “Please. I had breakfast at The Lunch Box. Do you honestly think anyone in town was talking about anything else? I’m so sorry for your loss. How’s Sara Lynn taking it?”

“
She’s holding up,” I said, uncomfortable with the way our conversation had shifted. At least Kaye had kept her empty condolences to herself. “Did you know Bailey very well?”

“
Enough to speak to him in the grocery store or at a ball game, but nothing beyond that. Why do you ask?”

“
I heard you knew him better than that,” I said, stretching the truth beyond all recognition. “You spoke with him the night of the banquet, didn’t you?”

“
I saw a great many people that night,” Polly said as she slammed the book shut. “Do you know what? I’m late for a showing. I nearly forgot all about it. Good-bye, Jennifer.”

“
We’ll talk again later,” I said.

“
There’s nothing left to discuss.” Before she bolted away, she handed me a card. “If you change your mind about that garage, let me know.”

“
Oh, I will,” I said. After she was gone, I threw her card away in her own trash can so she’d know exactly how I felt.