Murder And Salutations Part 9

Lillian hesitated, then said, "Tell me about the argument."

"I honestly don't know what you're talking about. If someone thought we were fighting, they were mistaken."

"How interesting," Lillian said.

"You don't believe me?" Polly said. "Do you honestly think I'd kill her to get control of the chamber? You must be joking."

"Polly, I want you to look at me. Does it look like I'm kidding?"

Suddenly the realtor stood, and I could see her face for just a second. "Lillian, I don't think you're serious about selling this place at all."

"Perhaps you're right," my aunt said. "Thanks for coming by, though."

"My pleasure," Polly said as she fled the room, and then the house. I waited for Lillian to come back, but after a minute I couldn't stand the suspense. I swung the door open and walked out of the pantry.

Lillian came back into the kitchen, a tight smile on her lips. "That was interesting," she said.

"I can't believe you let her sit there and talk about our family that way," I said.

"Jennifer, the only way I was going to get her to talk was by egging her on. I kept expecting you to break out of the pantry any second and hit her with a can of peas."

"They were green beans, actually," I said. "You did a good job holding your temper in."

"When you've been married as many times as I have, you get good at certain things, and holding your tongue is one of them. It's a shame you couldn't see Polly's face when I asked her for her alibi."

"That was slick, I'll give you that," I said. "How did she look?"

"Like I'd just stepped on her tail," Lillian said. "I might not have any proof she did it, but Polly certainly didn't do anything to encourage me to take her off our list."

"So it's lunch with Luke next, right?"

Lillian nodded. "It's set for one o'clock, so that will give us time to open the card shop and sell a few things first. Are you ready to go?"

I followed her out as she locked up, then I rode to the shop with her in her Mustang. Her last one had been wrecked, though not by Lillian, and I thought she'd try something different, but in the end, she'd gone with a nearly identical vehicle, down to the color of the carpet and the convertible top.

As she drove to Custom Card Creations, I said, "Does the entire town really think you're carrying my business with your checkbook?"

Lillian laughed harshly. "Jennifer, you can't believe one tenth of what that woman says."

"You didn't answer my question," I said.

"Who cares what they think? You and I both know that you're making it on your own. Does it really matter what the local gossip is?"

"It does to me," I said. "I'm still a little sensitive about the fact that you don't take a salary from the shop."

She glanced over at me. "Are you kidding me? I use more supplies than you'd ever have to pay me. I'm getting the bargain here, not you."

She pulled into a s.p.a.ce near the shop, but not directly in front of it. As I started to get out, I saw that Lillian was staying in her seat. "Aren't you coming?"

"If you don't mind, I think I'll take the morning off. I want to do a little snooping before my lunch with Luke."

I glanced at my shop, then back at Lillian. "I can come with you, if you'd like."

She laughed. "Jennifer, I know you'd regret every second away from this place. Go on, run the shop, and I'll see you at lunch."

"Are you sure? I don't want you taking any chances without me," I said.

"Jennifer, I was watching out for myself long before you came into this world. I'll be fine."

"You'd better be," I said. "Who else could I afford to hire if something happened to you?"

She drove away, and I opened the card shop for business. Lillian had been right: I was exactly where I wanted to be. While I found a great deal of satisfaction in digging into the lives of the folks in Rebel Forge and helping unearth the truth, my first love was making and selling cards.

STENCILS AND STAMPS.

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Chapter 7.

The door chime announced a customer, but I was just as happy to see my best friend, Gail, walk into the shop. "Hey, Jen. Any chance you could take an early lunch?"

"Would you believe it? I've got plans."

"Don't tell me you've got a hot date," she said.

I shrugged. "No, but Lillian and I are going to Hurley's, and I can't get out of it."

Gail s.h.i.+vered. "I don't know how you can go back there, especially so soon." She picked up a card, studied it a second, then put it back. "Listen, I wanted to talk to you about last night."

"It's okay, Gail, you don't have to apologize. After all, it's not your fault the guy didn't show up. Believe it or not, I had fun, anyway."

She bit her lip, a sure sign there was something she had to tell me, but didn't want to.

"Go on," I prompted her.

"What?"

"I know you've got something to say, and it's not exactly news you're glad to share. I won't get mad, I promise."

Gail laughed, but it was weak. "You know me too well. Okay, here goes. Reggie's not sure it's such a great idea that you move into the cottage." She expelled the words in a rush, and refused to make eye contact as she did.

"Yeah, I kind of got that impression last night. Helena thought it was a wonderful idea, though. Gail, is, he giving you grief about this?"

She nodded. "Just a little. He thinks you took advantage of his mother."

"What's the matter? Does he think I'm not paying enough rent? Helena asked me what I was paying now, and when I told her, she halved it. Gail, that woman is lonely. She needs some company, and I need a place to stay. Unless you're totally against this, I'm going to go ahead and move."

She appeared to think about it a few seconds, then said, "Of course you should take it. It's perfect for: you. I don't know what I was thinking."

I smiled at her. "Don't be too hard on yourself. The last thing I want to do is come between you and your boyfriend." your boyfriend."

"I don't know how long that's going to last," she: said. "I saw a side of him last night that didn't exactly thrill me. Then when he called me this morning demanding I talk you out of taking the cottage, I liked him even less. You know what? I'll help you move. How's that for sending a message of who I really support?"

"I'd never turn down the help," I admitted, "but you're just asking for trouble, aren't you?"

"Sometimes the world needs a little trouble to keep things alive."

The chime rang again, and I was surprised to see Kaye Jansen come in. She had a basket tucked under, one arm, and it looked like she had chosen to visit my store on the one day I wanted to see her.

"Hi, Kaye, it's so nice to see you."

She looked startled by my enthusiastic greeting, and I guess I could understand it. We'd never been all that chatty in the past, so I suppose I caught her off guard, Gail said softly, "I'll see you later." "Thanks for coming by."

After Gail was gone, Kaye approached me. "Jennifer, I hate to ask you this, but I'm taking up a collection from the Oakmont merchants for a floral arrangement for Eliza's funeral. Would you care to contribute?"

"Of course I would," I said, trying to sound as sincere as I could. "Let me get my checkbook." I reached down to get my purse where I stored it behind the counter, and Kaye noticed my golden anvil, "I must say, you didn't waste any time displaying it, did you?"

It took me a second to realize what she was talking about. "I'll come up with a better place for it later. To be honest with you, winning kind of caught me by surprise."

"You weren't the only one," Kaye mumbled.

"Excuse me?"

Her cheeks reddened slightly. "Goodness, did I say that out loud?"

"You did," I said sternly, "and I'd like to know what you meant."

"Jennifer, you must realize your choice wasn't unanimous among the award committee. After all, you barely qualified for it. I'm afraid there was so much heated debate that we had to s.h.i.+ft our votes to anonymous ballots. Not everyone was pleased with the results."

I hadn't wanted the award, nor had I expected to win, but they'd given it to me. So why couldn't Kaye, be more gracious about it?

"So which side was Eliza on?" Kaye frowned. "She was your biggest advocate. I couldn't imagine why she pushed so hard for you, not that you aren't deserving, but we did have other choices."

It was pretty obvious that Kaye hadn't been one my biggest supporters. I wrote her a check for ten dollars-about all I could afford to withdraw from my anemic checkbook-but I didn't hand it over just yet.

"So I wasn't the only thing you two disagreed on."

That brought her head up with a snap. "Why? What have you heard?"

"Kaye, you've lived in Rebel Forge long enough to know that people talk." That was sheer bluff. I hadn't heard a word about her, but Kaye didn't know that I tried my best to look like I was in on all of her dirty little secrets. The trick was trying to keep my mouth shut and letting her explain. That was one of the best ways to get an answer from someone who didn't want to talk. It was remarkable how most people hated silence, and were willing to fill it, even if it wasn't to their advantage.

I had to give Kaye credit. She held out nearly a full minute before she said, "Jennifer, it was all a misunderstanding. We settled our differences just before Eliza died."

Still silent, I arched one eyebrow and continued to stare at her.

"It's true," she continued. "I agreed to drop my suit, and she promised to stop spreading those rumors about the store." Kaye, her husband and her father-in-law ran a drugstore on the outskirts of town. So what rumors could Eliza have possibly been spreading? I'd have to ask around, now that I knew where to dig.

"I'm sure," I said, hoping she'd provide more.

"Well, do I get that check or not?"

"Certainly," I said as I handed it to her. Kaye glanced at the amount, then said sarcastically, "Thanks so much for your generous contribution."

"You're most welcome," I said.

She stared at me a second longer, then beat a hasty retreat. Lillian and I certainly had more to talk about. If anyone could dig out the gossip on the rift between Eliza and Kaye, it was my aunt. I glanced at the clock and realized that if I didn't hurry, I was going to be late. Part of the plan depended on me convincing Jack Hurley to seat me where Lillian was going to be.

I slapped the back soon back soon sign in the door, then locked up and hurried to the pub. I just hoped that Lillian wasn't there ahead of me. sign in the door, then locked up and hurried to the pub. I just hoped that Lillian wasn't there ahead of me.

It was early enough that Hurley's wasn't crowded yet; early enough in the day and the season as well. As soon as the main influx of tourists. .h.i.t us, I wouldn't be able to get within fifty yards of the place. As it was, the faux Irish pub was half deserted, and Jack was behind the bar, cleaning his menus with a soft cloth. "Jennifer, it's good to see you."

Jack usually loved to tease me, but there wasn't a trace of humor in his voice. "What's wrong with you?" I asked.

"Can't I be polite to one of my best customers?" he said.

"Not if it's me. What's going on?"

He shrugged and threw the cloth down on the bar. "Things have been slow since the other night. I never should have let the chamber hire the place out. My wife told me it was a mistake, though she didn't know how epic it would turn out to be. I hope you're in the mood to eat a lumberjack's lunch. I could use the business."

"Sorry, about all I can afford right now is a salad."

Everyone kept telling me that once the full brunt of tourists arrived, I'd be swimming in money, but so far there was barely enough to dampen the soles of my feet.

"Then it will be the best salad you've ever had in your life." He stepped out from behind the bar and pointed me to a table.

"I've got a favor to ask," I said as I sat down.

"Name it and it's yours."

"Lillian is going to be coming in shortly with Luke Penwright. Is there any way you could seat them behind me?"

"What are you two up to?" he asked with a scowl.