Treacherous Tart (31 page)

It had still been parked outside their house since the night of the kidnapping. Ryan had given her the keys. She planned to drive the car to his house when the event was over.

“It can't be more hectic than the pie shop some mornings,” Maggie commented as she drove to her old high school.

Clara laughed. “Imagine the pie shop during the morning rush, but there are
hundreds
of people wanting pies and slices. They're all waving their money and checks at you. You don't have a cash register so you can't use credit.”

That was where Maggie planned to surprise Aunt Clara. She'd invested in a credit card-reading app for her phone. It wasn't expensive, and if it
was
as busy as her aunt made the event sound, she'd be ready.

“Do you know where our table is?”

“Someone will tell us when we get there. It's a
different table every year. The best ones are slightly to the back of the gym. People seem a little stunned when they first walk in. I had a table right at the door a few years back and I was so pleased. Then I realized the customers couldn't get a good look when they first came in. It was my worst year ever. The next year, I asked for a table near the back.”

Maggie pulled into the crowded parking lot at the school. The old, red-brick building seemed almost the same as when she'd gone to school here. There were a few additions—a dozen double-wide mobile classrooms that were attached to the school by covered walkways.

“I'll get out here and check in.” Aunt Clara opened her car door before Maggie had even parked. “Find a close place. I'll see if I can get someone to help us bring in the pies.”

Garrett's car was stuffed full of potpies. They'd made an extra dozen after their warm reception at the pie shop. Aunt Clara had been afraid they might run out before the event was over. Maggie liked that idea better than having to bring dozens of potpies back home. They wouldn't be salable, not even discounted.

“I found our spot.” Aunt Clara came to the car with a young man whose dark hair hung down across most of his face. Maggie recognized him from the pie shop, where he hung out almost every day. “Zack is
going to be our helper today. He's a student at Duke. He helped me last year.”

Zack nodded. “Where are the pies?”

“Let's get the pies out of the trunk first.” Maggie made an executive decision. “We can get the ones in the backseat later.”

The inside of the car smelled like chicken potpie. Maggie hoped Garrett didn't mind.

They'd stamped Aunt Clara's name for the potpies—Chubby Chicken—on each of the boxes. Maggie had hoped for something a little catchier, but no other suggestions had shown up on the whiteboard yesterday. They could always change it later.

Zack carried a dozen pie boxes in with him. Aunt Clara carried three. Maggie had ten. They walked into the bustling gym and looked for their table. As per Aunt Clara's request, the Pie in the Sky table was near the back. All around them, vendors were setting up their tables with every kind of food imaginable.

“Hey! Clara! Maggie!” Betty called out from the sub shop table. Her daughter, Betsy, and son, Bobby, were both with her. Bobby had a huge metal cash box he was working on setting up.

Maggie and Aunt Clara waved back at her.

Raji and Ahalya were also there at a table. They looked nervous and uncertain. Maggie realized it was probably their first time at the event too. She'd have
to go over, when she had some free time, and talk to them.

Alice and Lenora were also setting up their table. Maggie wondered why a consignment shop was there selling slices of apple pie. All the rest of the vendors seemed to be people who owned restaurants and food trucks. She realized it was probably because Lenora was on the library board, like Aunt Clara. They were probably just glad to have as many board members as possible at the event.

“There's Lenora.” Aunt Clara surreptitiously glanced at her old friend from across the room. “I hope she doesn't come and speak to me. I really don't know what to say to her. I think we need a little more time apart.”

Maggie spoke her mind. “I still think we need to call the police and tell them what happened. I know she's your friend, but she could've hurt you. She
did
hurt Garrett. We don't know if she's lost control before and hurt someone else.”

As Maggie had known she would, Aunt Clara disregarded her suggestion. “She's not going to hurt anyone—at least not on purpose. She didn't mean to hurt Garrett. It was an accident.”

“I can't do this without you,” Maggie told her. “The police won't listen to me. You'll have to tell them the truth. If you're wrong and she hurts someone else, can you live with yourself, knowing you could've stopped it?”

Aunt Clara's green eyes met Maggie's. “
Pish!
I know that woman. I think you're overreacting. Let's get these pies out before the crowd rushes in.”

The double doors opened at 8:00 a.m. A stream of people trickled in. That stream widened to a flood within a few minutes. By ten, Maggie felt as though she'd been washed away by a tsunami of hungry customers.

“I hope we have enough pie,” Aunt Clara yelled to her as she handed slices of potpie to customers on paper plates. “I wish we'd invested in the heavy-duty plates. I'm afraid someone is going to drop pie all over the floor.”

Maggie was busy taking cash and checks, and scanning credit cards. She was amazed at how many people could fit into the gym. Aunt Clara hadn't exaggerated the event at all. There were hundreds of customers, some familiar faces, waiting in line to reach her.

Her aunt refused to even look at the portable scanner Maggie's phone had become. “I don't like the way they've put computers into everything. Look how it's messed up my cash register! I couldn't even use it until you showed me how.”

“What a crowd.” Maggie observed the people flowing into the gym. “I'll plan differently next year.”

“That's my girl.”

At ten thirty, Maggie had to take a break. She couldn't wait any longer to go to the restroom. That
meant Zack had to hand out pie while Aunt Clara took money.

“I won't be able to do this phone credit thing,” she fussed. “It's all I can do to make a call on one of these gadgets. We'll have to do things the old-fashioned way until you get back. Cash and checks only. Hurry!”

Maggie wasted no time getting to the restroom. There was a line there too. Why was there never a line going out of the men's room?

“Hi,” Alice greeted her. Maggie hadn't even noticed she was ahead of her in the bathroom line. “How are things going for you all?”

“We're slammed,” Maggie said. “How about you?”

“We're almost sold out. I don't know if people even look at what they're buying here. I guess because it's for the library, they don't care. It's a wonderful event, isn't it?”

“I'm sure it helps that it's Christmas too. Who wants to cook?”

Alice laughed. “I know what you mean. Of course, my mother always fills the house with cookies and homemade candy. She baked three Bundt cakes last night. I'm on schedule to gain my usual fifteen pounds over the holiday.”

They moved into the restroom at the same time. Even though it was crowded, Maggie hoped to have a word with Alice about the kidnapping.

They were at the sinks washing their hands. “I wanted to thank you for helping my aunt.”

Alice didn't pretend not to know what she was talking about. “I'm so sorry about that. My mother went off the deep end that night. I couldn't believe she'd brought your aunt to our house. I hope that man she hit on the head is okay.”

“He's fine
now
.” Maggie dried her hands on a paper towel. “But what about next time? Your mother needs help. I won't lie to you—I've encouraged Aunt Clara to tell her story to the police.”

“Oh no! Please don't do that. I agree that she needs help. Her sister will be here over the holidays. I can't talk my mother into anything. I'm sure my aunt will be able to take care of the problem. Can you imagine my mother going to jail? It would be terrible.”

Alice reached out to put her hand on Maggie's, dropping her paper towel on the floor. Maggie bent down to pick it up for her—and noticed Alice's boots. They were exactly the same kind Debbie had been wearing—clearly they were a trend this year.

But one of the chains was missing from the left boot.

Heart racing, Maggie stood up and really studied Alice. She had dark circles under her sunken eyes. The rest of her face was chalky white except for the bright red lipstick she was wearing.

Could it be true? Did Alice kill Donald?

That didn't make any sense. Alice certainly wasn't involved with him. She couldn't be related to anyone he'd killed. What would her motive be? Was she so worried about him taking everything from her mother that she put an end to the relationship? She'd just admitted that she couldn't talk her mother out of anything.

On the other hand, the missing chain on her boots and her shade of lipstick didn't necessarily make her a killer.

Maggie tried to rein in her imagination, and threw her paper towel into the trash. Maybe if Alice believed her mother might go to prison, it would move her to tell the truth. It was worth a try.

“So far, Aunt Clara won't budge on turning in Lenora,” she told Alice. “What makes me even more worried is that the police think your mother may have killed Donald.”

If it was possible, Alice's face got even whiter. “W-what makes you say that? Why would anyone think my
mother
would do such a thing? You saw how much Donald meant to her. She'd never hurt him.”

Maggie accompanied Alice out of the restroom, her brain buzzing with questions as she tried to put it all together. “Whoever killed Donald knew our routine at the pie shop well enough that she could plan to kill him when Aunt Clara was outside in the alley. She put flour on his clothes and hid the gun
behind our trashcan. No other suspects the police have talked to have that knowledge.”

Alice's eyes filled with tears. “Why do you think a
woman
killed him?”

“The owner of the shop close to where it happened saw what he described as a bulky woman wearing high-heeled boots with chains on them. There was also lipstick on Donald's lapel. The police are researching the brand. They're checking the lipstick that I found on Aunt Clara's coat too. It was stained when she was kidnapped.”

Maggie and Alice were standing in a small, dark alcove outside the women's restroom. Dozens of people walked by without noticing them. Maggie could see Aunt Clara glancing frantically at the bathroom. The line in front of her was even longer than when Maggie had left.

“ ‘Bulky,' huh?” Alice snickered. “I guess that's as good a description as any.”

Maggie frantically tried to think of what she could say that would push Alice into a confession. She seemed nervous, vulnerable, and about to crack. She may never have the chance again.

“As you can see, the description fits your mother. I'm afraid she may have lost it before she kidnapped Aunt Clara. You can understand why the police should be involved. There's another woman out there who lost her mother to Donald. The police think
she
killed him. We both know that's not true, don't we?”

A
lice pushed her
dark bangs out of her face. She peered at the crowd going by. She was crying when she turned her gaze back to Maggie.

“You don't understand. Donald drove my mother
crazy
. She was so afraid of losing him to another woman. There wasn't anything she wouldn't do for that man. She even signed over the deed to our house . . . the house that
I
was supposed to inherit one day. Can you imagine? She gave him her savings. She planned to marry him and give him everything else we had, including the consignment shop.”

“And that's why you killed him.”

Alice nodded, sobbing now. “She was leaving me with
nothing
. She didn't care what happened to me anymore. It was all about
him
. You're lucky your aunt didn't fall for him that way. The man was a leech. He used women, and killed them. He would've killed my mother when he was done with her. I took care of the problem. I protected both of us!”

The two women stood together for few more minutes. Maggie knew her aunt and probably Lenora were likely getting worried about how long they'd been gone. Clara and Lenora needed them, depended on them.

What would Lenora do without Alice?

Maggie was relieved to finally know the truth. But at the same time, she liked Alice. She hated to think that she'd killed Donald, no matter how much she feared what he'd do to her and Lenora. The man had ruined too many women's lives. It wasn't fair.