“Yeah, but I had just spoken to her. I was probably the last person to speak to her alive,” said Charlie.
“That’s true,” I conceded. It might not have been true, but I didn’t see anything to be gained by arguing the point.
“You what!” Paws sputtered. He looked perturbed at everything Charlie was saying. She shrugged and continued to look lost.
“What’s all the noise?” said Greer, coming out of the house in a hoodie and slippers.
“You probably want to sit down for this,” I told her.
“What’s her problem?” Greer pointed to Charlie.
“I’ll tell you,” I said. Greer sat down.
After I told the story from the beginning to bring Paws and Tank up to speed, Greer went over to Charlie and wrapped an arm around the reporter’s shoulders.
“Someone murdered the woman?” Tank looked horrified.
“She knew too much,” Paws said ominously.
“What happened to the dog?” Greer asked.
“The neighbor came over and took her. I guess he’s who watches her anyhow if Mrs. Earle goes away. He was a nice older man,” I said.
“I have to go write my article,” said Charlie, standing up.
“Let’s go inside and I’ll make you some tea,” said Greer, leading the way. Charlie was regaining some color in her cheeks, but she still looked pale.
“I’ll be in soon,” I told them. “I was going to go back to Hayview tonight, but I think I’ll just wait until tomorrow.” I was too tired for any more adventures.
“You did the right thing by letting me sleep this morning. It doesn’t sound as if this is a very interesting case,” said Paws.
“What are you talking about? Two murders!” I said.
“Wife killed the husband and then slipped by the pool when she heard from Charlie. Pretty open and shut,” said Paws.
“She was murdered,” I said. “There was an overturned deck chair.”
But Paws was right; it was fair to wonder if she had slipped on the wet tiles and overturned the chair herself. Everyone was supposed to be careful around slippery flooring, but come on. It was too much of a coincidence to think that Mrs. Earle had died accidentally on the day when her husband’s remains had been found. Especially since he himself had clearly been murdered.
I shook my head. We would visit Mr. Oakley tomorrow, and then I should probably report to Jasper. He would have plenty of questions about what was happening, and it would only have been twenty-four hours.
Detective Cutter had not been pleased when he arrived in Applewood that afternoon. He knew just as well as we did that Mrs. Earle might have held the key to the murder of her husband. I was sure that he had planned to speak with her as well.
Now no one could.
“You look like you’re about to fall asleep. Let’s talk in the morning,” said Paws. The ghost cat was wide awake, but I was yawning with every other thought. I nodded and pushed myself to my feet.
All I really had the energy to do was to contemplate whether I could even bring myself to shower.
When I got inside, Charlie was sitting in the kitchen with her back to the living room, speaking quietly on the phone.
“Yes, that’s right. We went over there and she was dead in the pool. I had only just spoken to her. It was horrible, Hansen.”
Not wanting to disturb her, I quietly went upstairs.
Chapter Eight
Despite how late it was when I got to bed, I had trouble sleeping, probably because I had just seen a dead body.
I wondered when Aunt Harriet would return. I hoped soon. After her sudden appearance to help with the fence, I had realized how nice it was to have her around Mintwood.
As I dressed the next morning, it occurred to me that the announcement that Jasper was the new president of the corporation had been entirely pushed to the side. But I couldn’t really process what that meant yet; I felt bleary-eyed and yet wide awake, one of my least favorite feelings.
When I got downstairs I found Charlie poring over her binders in the living room. Charger was sitting at her feet, looking concerned.
“Morning,” I yawned.
Charlie glanced at me. There were dark circles under her eyes and a half empty cup of coffee on the end table next to her.
“Morning. I couldn’t sleep so I thought I’d do some work,” she said.
I went to sit next to her on the couch.
“What have you found out?” I said.
She shrugged. “I looked yesterday at articles about Earle’s disappearance. I also wanted to find more information on Hayview.”
“What do we know?” I asked.
Charlie shook her head. “Not much. The space was no longer profitable as a mall. They tried to find buyers but it just sat there for years.”
“I guess that makes sense. It’s not exactly the best commercial space,” I said thoughtfully.
Charlie nodded. “I didn’t find anything else, so I was going to start on articles about the Mintwood Real Estate agents. There are a lot of them. They are very successful. I have a feeling that we wouldn’t be able to meet Mr. Oakley if it weren’t for Greer’s mom stepping in and making an introduction.”
“I’m going to get breakfast so I feel more human. Want more coffee?” I asked her.
“Yes, all day,” she muttered. Her head was already bent to her binders again.
I wandered into the kitchen and got coffee and toast ready. It was going to be one of those days where I felt tired all day.
Once my food was ready and I had topped off Charlie’s coffee, I took the Chronicle and the Gazette into the living room to read while I ate.
I scanned the headlines; they were epic. Mostly they trumpeted the problems at Hayview.
Not a Week into Jasper Wolf’s Presidency and Already Crisis.
How will the inexperienced leader respond?
I frowned. The article was by one Toil Tamper. I hadn’t heard of him before, but he was starting off in the local newspaper business with a bang. He wrote for the Caedmon Chronicle, so Hansen must know him. He also must not be thrilled that he’d lost the above the fold headline to this Toil Tamper.
Charlie had told her reporter friend about the murder, and he’d had time to do an in-depth write-up. It paid to have friends.
The Applewood police officer had not been pleased to hear that Charlie was a reporter. He had known beyond a shadow of a doubt that he wouldn’t be able to keep this death under wraps for any length of time at all.
I was about to ask Charlie about Toil Tamper when her head snapped up.
“Did Mrs. Dice mention a Ms. Vertigo?” she asked.
I frowned. “I think so. She’s also a successful real estate agent, right?”
Charlie nodded. “Yeah, she won the yearly award for agents in the county three years running. The year before he died she lost the award to Earl Earle.”
“Maybe she didn’t like losing,” I mused.
“I doubt she did. Still, she had already lost by the time he disappeared,” said Charlie.
“We should still try to talk to her and find out more,” I said.
Charlie agreed.
Before we went to meet Mr. Oakley, I had to check on Cesar. We agreed we’d stop in at his place on the way to the real estate office.
Charlie waited for me in the car. Cesar knew Charlie, but we didn’t want to get him too excited before we headed out again.
The Mintwood Real Estate Agency was a little ways outside of town, actually on the way to Hayview. It was more on the commercial side of Mintwood than the cozy side that my friends and I frequented.
But we had one more stop to make before we went there: we were overdue for a visit to the Daily Brew. We both already needed more coffee.
“I haven’t slept,” Charlie sighed. “It’s been a long time since I pulled an all-nighter. After this visit to Mr. Oakley’s I’m going to head back to the Applewood police station and see what they’ve uncovered.”
; “Did the police contact you?” I asked.
Charlie frowned a bit. “They just said I should come by today because they might have more follow-up questions. What they don’t know is that I have questions of my own.”
“What did Hansen have to say?” I asked.
“He was mostly just concerned with how I was doing. He said he was going to come by. I told him that wasn’t necessary. Maybe sometime he can come over when we have a few more people here. Like the next time Deacon is around,,” she said.
Deacon’s trips were increasing in frequency, and at the moment he had been out of town on business for a couple of days. Greer didn’t seem to mind, but she was always happy when he came home.
The Daily Brew was packed when we got there, with a hum of noise all around us as we waited to order. Everyone was talking about Mr. Earle. The discovery of the body and its location had sent shock waves through our community.
“I can’t believe they found him at Hayview!” said a woman in front of us in line. “He cared about his job, but I don’t think any of us knew he would die doing it. And now his wife . . .” She trailed off and shook her head.
“Someone clearly has it in for the family,” added the man she was talking to.
When we reached Mrs. Barnett, she looked harassed.
“Hey, girls. Usual today? It’s a strange business in Mintwood. I always thought spring was an odd time of year and this one is more so than most.” She shook her head and talked on without pausing in all the little tasks of running a coffee shop.
“You mean because of the murders?” Charlie asked.
“I never liked the Earles much, but I was okay with it because they weren’t from Mintwood. You can’t expect too much from anyone who wants to live in Applewood,” she said as she handed over our coffees. “Applewood is one of those towns without its own personality. Mind, some places have too much personality. Mintwood has just the right amount.”
She smiled.
I had a feeling some people would think Mintwood had more than enough pizzazz, but I didn’t say so.
“Were they rude to you?” I asked.
Bridget came around to help the next customer as we continued to chat. She was still working for a couple of hours a day to help out her aunt during the morning coffee rush. Her very own clothing store with Liam as her mentor was still in the works too. Preparing for that was how she spent most of her free time.
She smiled and waved at us and we waved back.
“They were just entitled,” said Mrs. Barnett with a shrug of her meaty arms. “They thought they should have everything they wanted handed to them, including perfectly brewed coffee. They weren’t even the rich folk, you know? Just pretending. I’m used to such behavior from Mrs. Grate, for example,” she added.
Mrs. Grate was Deacon’s mom and a dragon of a lady if ever there was one.
Mrs. Barnett could probably have said the same thing for Greer’s mom, but she wouldn’t do that to us.
We thanked her for the information and excused ourselves.
“Town rivalries surface at the strangest times,” said Charlie as we headed out.
We had an interview to conduct. And a couple murders to solve. Our next stop would be Mr. Oakley’s . . . just as soon as I inhaled more coffee.
Chapter Nine
We were just leaving the Brew when Charlie realized she’d forgotten something at work.
“You go on without me. I’ll catch up,” she said, still seeming dazed.
“I don’t want to go there without you,” I told her.
“Get Greer then,” she offered.
I frowned at her retreating back, then checked my watch. Greer would barely be awake at this time of day. Interacting with her was always a risky proposition before noon.
This day was getting longer and longer by the minute. Sometimes trying to run one errand turned into a whole day of them.
I sighed and headed home. I’d get Greer going somehow, then we’d go and meet Charlie after I gave my reporter friend some time to get work done. It occurred to me that there was another stop I could make while I was waiting, for which Greer was a better person to have along than Charlie anyhow. Greer never ever thought she was in the wrong, while I was prone to bouts of embarrassment. That quality of Greer’s would come in handy during our next visit.
Greer grumbled when I told her how I wanted to spend the next few hours, but she agreed to come, which was the important thing.
The Babbling Brook Barn was picturesque. Situated on a lake reached by a sloping green lawn, Jasper’s barn could have been featured in a calendar. If memory served, Jasper was planning to do just that with it at some point.
I drove up feeling terribly nervous. I had not told Jasper I was coming, but I figured he could use a little surprise in his life.
Actually, I didn’t figure that. I just didn’t have a way to reach him.
At least Greer was with me. She was in fine form, snarling out car the window. “What are you going to do about the Portrait Manor stray cat?” she asked.
“Next on the to-do list,” I sighed. How had I suddenly become so busy?
Since the cat wasn’t just going to up and come to me—I smelled like Charger, if nothing else—I’d have to take treats over and lay a trap. I figured maybe while I was waiting for the cat to show up, the ghosts Paws that had mentioned would make an appearance.
The Beetle coughed as we reached the parking lot. I parked the old girl behind the dump truck and got out.
“Smooth,” said Greer. “No one will see it here.”
“There’s shade,” I said, pointing to a nearby stand of trees.
“Not nearly enough, there isn’t,” said Greer.
She started to walk toward the barn, and it took her several paces to realize that I wasn’t with her. She stopped and turned around.
“You’re being ridiculous,” she said. “You’ve been here a hundred times.”
“Not like this,” I said, scanning the parking lot.
Was it just my imagination or were there more cars here than usual?
“It’s busy,” said Greer, seeing where my eyes had gone. “That isn’t surprising given that he’s the new president and they just made a major acquisition.”
As usual Greer was right. With a desperate wish that I had worn a different T-shirt, I followed her toward the barn door. The lake sparkling in the distance cheered me, but only slightly.
Greer knocked on the door and a young woman opened it immediately. She was dressed casually in jeans and a flannel, her loose brown hair cascading over her shoulders as if slightly out of her control.
“Morning?” she said with a smile.
“We’re here to see Jasper,” said Greer.
Her pretty face turned into a slight frown. “Do you have an appointment?”
“No, but he’ll want to hear what we have to say,” I said, finding my voice.
She squinted at me, then her eyes widened slightly. “You were at Hayview. Yes, of course. I’ll let him know you’re here. He’s in the conference room, so it might be a few minutes. I’m Onna.”
“I’m Lemmi and this is Greer,” I said.
She smiled again and ushered us in.
After Jasper had told me he needed us to take a break—or whatever it was we were doing—I had stopped coming to the Barn. This was the first time I’d seen the inside in a while.
“It looks different,” Greer murmured as she too looked around.
Onna ushered us over to a set of couches and chairs.
“There are refreshments over there. I’ll let him know you’re here,” she said, pointing out a table featuring lemon water, coffee, tea options, and a plate of snacks.
As Onna hurried away, Greer and I sat on one of the couches to wait. My head kept swiveling from side to side, trying to take in the hum of activity all around us. The wood Jasper had used for the barn’s walls and floors was rich and gleaming. People walked past discussing papers and having serious conversations, ob
livious to the presence of a couple of irrelevant visitors.
“We’re going to be waiting for a long time,” sighed Greer.
“Maybe. Maybe not,” I said. In my heart, I didn’t think Jasper would keep me waiting for very long.
“Maybe you’re right,” said Greer.
Then she looked up and pushed herself off the couch. Striding toward us was Jasper, with Tyler and Onna right behind him.
“Thanks for coming. I wasn’t expecting to see you today. I’m glad you’re here,” he said.
“Did you not want any refreshments?” Tyler asked. He could see that neither of us had cups or cookies in our hands.
“If I wanted refreshment, I would be refreshed,” said Greer.
“Let’s go talk in my office,” said Jasper, reaching out his arm out to point the way.
As the other two started to follow, he stopped. “I think it will just be the three of us. You both have a lot to do today given everything that’s been going on.” Then he turned around and continued to walk, and Greer and I stepped quickly to catch up.
I tried to keep my glee off my face at the fact that he had just sent his two shadows away.
“That was awesome,” said Greer out of the side of her mouth.
“You’re telling me,” I whispered back.
Jasper’s office was on the second floor of the barn. It had a beautiful view and was designed for both comfort and hard work. I had spent countless afternoons and evenings there; sometimes we had even come to the barn to eat breakfast. I loved the space and I loved how Jasper had made it his own. As I walked in I tried to ignore the squeezing in my heart.
“Please make yourselves comfortable. Want some tea, or anything else?” Jasper asked.
He was perfectly familiar with my household’s love of tea.
“I would have some tea if you don’t mind. Mint would be great,” said Greer.
“I’d like some tea too,” I said.
“Coming right up,” Jasper said, strolling over to the electric kettle in the corner to start the water heating. We had been dating for long enough so that he knew just how I liked mine.
“Sorry to spring this murder business on you yesterday,” he said. “We didn’t really have a lot of time to plan, and I couldn’t get away to talk to you privately.”
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