When they finally pulled up in front of Beatrice’s house, there was another unwelcome surprise: Len’s truck was in the driveway, idling.
Miss Sissy growled.
Beatrice gave Miss Sissy her keys. “Here you are. If you could take a small bag, I’ll get the rest of them.”
Miss Sissy, scowling with narrowed eyes at Len, snatched one of the lighter bags out of the car and stomped toward the house.
“The fridge is in the living room!” called out Beatrice. She received a louder growl in response.
Len was getting out of his truck and cocked an eyebrow as his gaze followed Miss Sissy.
Beatrice sighed. “She’s a family friend who’s had a very difficult day. We’re going to try to keep out of your way while you work, although I’ll be checking in to see how things are going. I did take our dog somewhere for the afternoon.”
Len nodded his head. “Probably a good idea. Reckon the dog wouldn’t like the sound of construction, not with those big ears she has.”
Beatrice gathered up the other bags and headed for the house while Len grabbed his tools and equipment. Miss Sissy had dumped the bag on the dining room table and Beatrice sighed again. There was really no point in putting everything away since it was time for them to eat. Food was generally a good distraction for Miss Sissy and the old woman was clearly in need of a distraction.
Beatrice lined up all the different options up on the table in a makeshift buffet and then laid out some plastic forks and knives, the napkins and paper plates. Miss Sissy sat on the sofa, watching her, her arms crossed defensively in front of her as Len plugged in a drill on a long cord.
Beatrice spotted the drill and said, “Miss Sissy, let’s go ahead and help our plates. It’s about to get pretty loud in here. Then we can take it outside.”
Miss Sissy didn’t need to be asked twice. Just a couple of minutes later, her paper plate was groaning with a loaded pimento cheese sandwich (Dappled Hills pimento cheese, of course), charcuteries, cheese, potato chips, pickles, and a ham sandwich. Beatrice wasn’t even sure how the old woman found the room for the second sandwich on the plate. And she wasn’t sure how Miss Sissy stayed as wiry as she was, despite her tremendous appetite.
Beatrice fixed a much more modest plate and then joined Miss Sissy in the backyard at the table.
Miss Sissy frowned at her. “Thought you were getting in the hammock,” she muttered.
“Not to eat my food. I don’t think I could lie down and eat if I tried. And I’m not sure that it’s good for digestion to eat that way,” said Beatrice. She hazarded a closer look at Miss Sissy. Beneath the gruff exterior, she could tell that she was upset. She really must have liked Salome, despite their fairly brief acquaintance. At least, she thought it was brief.
Beatrice decided to feel out whether the old woman wanted to talk about Salome or not. “How long have you known Salome?” she asked in a carefully casual voice. “Just since she started working at the Patchwork Cottage?”
Miss Sissy gave her a severe look and didn’t deign to answer.
Beatrice continued, “It’s just that I’m sorry that I didn’t get to know her better than I did. I feel as if I’m supposed to know the entire congregation at church, but there’s just no way. Or maybe there’s just no way for me—I’m not as good at putting names with faces as I’d like to be. And Salome came to church fairly regularly, I think. I only really started to get to know her from the quilt shop, though.”
Miss Sissy looked down at her plate. “Knew her from the shop,” she said gruffly.
Beatrice said, “She knew a good deal about quilting, even though she wasn’t in a guild.”
Miss Sissy glared at her. “Didn’t have time for a guild!”
“No, I suppose she didn’t, not between a job and a daughter.” She paused and looked at the old woman, who appeared very morose. Beatrice added gently, “If it makes you feel any better, I don’t think that Salome even knew what happened. She wouldn’t have suffered. And Ramsay is right on the trail of whoever did this.”
Miss Sissy considered this and then nodded, her lips tightly held together. “Knew something,” she muttered.
Beatrice’s ears pricked up. “Knew something? Are you saying that Salome knew something? Something that may have led to her death?”
Miss Sissy glared again at the word death. “Heard her on the phone. Saying she saw somebody.”
Beatrice leaned forward intently. “Did she say the person’s name?”
Miss Sissy shook her head.
“Could you tell if she was talking to a man or a woman? Or if she knew them well or not?” asked Beatrice.
Miss Sissy shook her head again, this time regretfully.
Beatrice said, “It’s all right. As I said, Ramsay will get to the bottom of this. At least this gives us a little insight into what might have happened.”
The rest of the meal went much better. Miss Sissy offered some tidbits about Salome in her usual staccato delivery. Apparently, Salome had been very friendly with Maisie the shop cat, which had made Miss Sissy a tremendous fan of Salome’s. Miss Sissy was part-owner of Maisie and hosted her at her house some of the time. Salome had fashioned a cat toy out of some feathers and string and Miss Sissy had loved watching Maisie scamper after the toy and bat at it.
After they finished eating, Beatrice said, “Okay. I’ll throw away our plates and check on Len’s progress. Then I think I’ll read.” She paused. She hadn’t really considered how to entertain the old woman for the rest of the afternoon. Miss Sissy hadn’t come over with a quilt project or anything. “I think I’ll find my book and read for a while out here with you. Do you want a book to read?”
Miss Sissy glowered at her.
“Okay. Well, if you want to lie down, there’s a spare room in the house.”
“Not tired!” she said fiercely.
Beatrice sighed and walked inside. Len was completely focused on his work, which was refreshing. She’d sometimes seen the previous workmen on their various phones—not once or twice, which she totally understood, but many times and for long stretches. No wonder the kitchen hadn’t been completed any faster.
Len finally glanced up, a good thing since Beatrice hadn’t wanted to startle him. He gave her a thumbs-up sign. “Everything is looking good, Ms. Thompson.”
Beatrice said, “That’s a relief. I know that sometimes with these projects that you can get in there and then find more problems that need to be addressed.”
Len paused. “Right. I didn’t want to say this immediately because I know you’ve had such a hard time with this remodel, but there is one small issue.
He gestured to a long space on the wall and Beatrice hurried over. “Is it water damage? Mold? This kitchen isn’t exactly new.”
“No ma’am, but it’s probably something you want taken care of.” He gestured again and Beatrice peered closely at the backsplash over the counter, which is where he seemed to be pointing.
Her gaze combed over the tiles. “I’m afraid I don’t see it,” she said slowly, and then she stopped, making a face. “Oh heavens.”
There was a gap between the top of the backsplash and the bottom of the cabinets that had been installed. In that gap, cement was visible.
Len said, “It’s one of those things that you might not have immediately noticed, but would probably drive you crazy after a while.”
Beatrice said ruefully, “You’re right. And I have friends with eagle eyes who probably would have spotted it right away and then I’d always see it whenever I walked into the kitchen. But what can we do about it? Remove the tile backsplash and start over?” She sincerely hoped not. That sounded expensive both in Len’s time and their money.
He shook his head. “Nope. I’m thinking we just install a little bit of trim here and cover it up. Should work out fine. Of course, I’ll have to run to the store to get some.”
“Of course,” said Beatrice.
Len hesitated and then said, “I also noticed one other t
hing. Sorry, but I figured you’d want to know right away when something didn’t seem to be working that had already been put in.”
Beatrice braced herself and nodded.
Len pulled a drawer with its new hardware. The drawer immediately bumped into the knob for one of the sink drawers and wouldn’t fully open.
“This keeps the drawer from really being functional,” he said with a shrug. “Again, it might not really bother you if you don’t need the drawer.”
Beatrice shook her head. “Our kitchen is so small that I need all the space we can get. I don’t think that I can just stop using one of the drawers. Plus, won’t it get damaged from bumping into the other drawer all the time?”
Len said, “Yes, ma’am. Especially if you yank it open to get a spatula out or something.”
“What can we do about it? I can’t even remember how it was set up originally,” said Beatrice.
“I could remove the drawer and just have the cabinet underneath be especially tall. We can put shelving in there and it could be a good place to put your pots and pans,” he suggested.
Beatrice said, relieved, “Yes, let’s do that. That makes more sense than having a drawer that can barely open.” She paused. “I’m starting to think that I should leave you now. I don’t think I can bear to hear anything else.”
Len said in a soothing voice, “Running into issues is pretty normal. We can fix these things and they won’t be too expensive.”
“Although they’ll delay the process, I’m thinking.”
Len nodded. “Afraid so. But not too long.”
Beatrice said, “That’s good. Thanks.” She wandered off to find her book. But she didn’t find it on her bedside table. She looked to see if it had maybe gotten under some things in the bedroom and then checked to see if she’d absently put it in a drawer. Nothing. She walked back into the living room and surveyed the whole area with her hands on her hips. The room was a disaster area, which was unusual. But the mess in the kitchen had caused everything to spill into the living room, which couldn’t really handle the overflow. Beatrice started looking in piles of things until she finally found the book.
Before she could rejoin Miss Sissy in the backyard, her phone started ringing. She frowned, fishing it out of her pocket. She saw it was Piper.
Despite taking a deep, calming breath, her heart skipped a few beats. Piper, lately, had taken to texting her more than calling her. Could it be the baby?
“Piper?” she asked, her voice a little sharper than she wanted it to be.
“Hi, Mama,” said Piper, sounding just a little breathless. “I just wanted to let you know that I’m fine, but I’m going to head to the doctor for a quick check.”
Chapter Fourteen
“A QUICK CHECK? ARE you having contractions?” Beatrice fumbled and her book fell to the floor. She absently picked it up, still focused on the phone call.
“Maybe. That is, it sort of feels like labor pains, but I just don’t know for sure. Since it’s regular office hours, I decided to just head over to the doctor’s office instead of the hospital,” said Piper.
“You’re driving yourself?” asked Beatrice, now more concerned.
“I’m fine, really. I just wanted to make sure, that’s all. The school called in a substitute, so I was able to leave.”
“Where’s Ash?” asked Beatrice. She was already looking around to see where she laid her car keys.
“His phone went to voice mail, which means he’s in a meeting. But his meetings at school only last a few minutes, Mama, so he’ll be checking in soon and will be on his way. Besides, it might even just be a false alarm.” She paused. “It looks like Ash is trying to call me. I’ll be in touch soon.”
Piper rang off and Beatrice took another deep breath. She answered quickly when the phone suddenly started ringing again. “Hello?”
It was Meadow and she sounded wired. “Beatrice? Is everything okay? I just saw Piper drive by in the opposite direction. Why isn’t she in school?”
Beatrice said in as calm and measured a voice as she could evoke, “Piper is just fine, Meadow. She’s on her way to the doctor’s office just to get a quick checkup.”
“But she just had a checkup. What’s changed?” Meadow’s voice was both concerned and excited.
“She’s having a few pains and she wanted to get them checked out, that’s all,” said Beatrice. “She said it may be a false alarm, but she thought she’d go in to see since it was during office hours and she wouldn’t have to go to the hospital.”
Meadow was now really charged up. “So if they check her and say she’s in labor, they’ll need to transport her to the hospital. Where’s Ash?”
“Piper thinks he’s probably in a meeting.”
“He didn’t answer his phone?” demanded Meadow in a voice that seemed to indicate that Ash would live to regret that action.
“She said that his meetings are super-short and that he always checks his messages immediately afterward,” said Beatrice.
“For heaven’s sake,” said Meadow in a disgusted voice. “Okay, here’s what we’ll do. I’ll head over to their house and pick up the suitcase, just in case. They gave me a key in case of emergency. You go stay with Piper. After all, if she needs to go to the hospital all the way in Lenoir, she’s going to need a ride. An ambulance from the doctor’s office her would be very expensive!”
“True,” said Beatrice. “Except that I have Miss Sissy with me.”
“Just grab her and take her along! When I meet you at the doctor’s office with the luggage, I’ll take Miss Sissy and you take the suitcase.”
Beatrice opened her mouth to say something else, but then closed it again when she found that Meadow had already hung up. She had the feeling that Piper would consider Meadow’s plan overkill, but it wouldn’t hurt to be on the safe side in case Piper really did need to go to the hospital.
She walked out to the backyard. “Miss Sissy?”
The old woman, who’d apparently nodded off in her chair, jerked awake and glared at her.
“We’re going to need to hop in the car.”
Miss Sissy suddenly looked alert. “The baby?”
“We don’t know yet. But I need to go to the doctor’s office, just in case the baby’s arriving. Meadow will meet us there later and can take you back to the Patchwork Cottage, if you like.” Beatrice realized she’d have to text Wyatt to pick up Noo-noo, if she and Piper did need to head off to the hospital.
Miss Sissy galloped to the house, handbag clasped firmly to her side, looking fiercely proud to be part of an important moment. Beatrice hurried behind her, finally finding the car keys, and heading out the door, sending a quick text to Wyatt, just to keep him updated.
They climbed into Beatrice’s car and set off.
“Poky!” growled Miss Sissy.
Beatrice thought she was pushing the speed limit a little, personally. Thank heavens Miss Sissy wasn’t behind the wheel. Otherwise, it would have meant a wild ride on the sidewalk to the doctor’s office. “It’s not an emergency,” said Beatrice. “Piper is probably just fine.”
Beatrice’s phone started ringing persistently. It had fallen to the passenger’s side floor in Beatrice’s hurry to get into the car. “Can you get that?” Beatrice asked the old woman.
Miss Sissy, still looking very pleased to be part of all the action, reached down and snatched the phone up. She stared fiercely at the device, trying to decide how to answer it since her own phone was just a basic model. Finally figuring it out, she growled, “H’lo?” into the phone.
Then she grimaced and said, “Slow down!”
“I thought you said I was going too slow,” muttered Beatrice, easing up on the accelerator a bit.
Miss Sissy frowned at her. “Not you, her,” she said, gesturing to the phone.
“Here, put it on speaker,” said Beatrice.
Miss Sissy looked at the phone suspiciously, through narrowed eyes.
“The microphone icon,” said Beatrice.
Miss Sissy hit the right button and suddenly Meadow’s voice filled the car. “Beatrice, it’s a disaster! I can’t get into their house.”
A smile played at Beatrice’s lips as she wondered briefly if Ash had wisely decided to change the locks. “What’s wrong?”
Meadow sounded completely exasperated with herself, “Oh, I dropped the key down the storm drain in front of their house. Ugh! I just got too excited and fumbled it.”
Beatrice said soothingly, “I think it’s okay, Meadow. Ash will probably be on his way soon and he can give us a key if we need to go grab Piper’s suitcase. She won’t need it right now. Just meet me over at the doctor’s office.”
Meadow sounded relieved. “Okay. Yes, you’re right. I’ll be right there!”
That’s what Beatrice was worried about—Meadow endangering all her fellow motorists. “Take your time!” she said before Meadow hung up.
She parked in front of the doctor’s office and she and Miss Sissy hurried inside. The receptionist smiled at them: Beatrice looking rather flustered and Miss Sissy looking positively wild. “Can I help you?” she asked.
Just then the door from the back of the office opened up and Piper walked out into the waiting room. “Mama? Miss Sissy?”
Miss Sissy demanded, “Where’s the baby?”
Piper shook her head ruefully. “No baby today. Sorry for the false alarm. They were Braxton-Hicks contractions, that’s all.” She hugged them both, tightly. “Thanks so much for coming out, y’all.”
Beatrice hugged her back. “No worries at all, sweetie. We just wanted to be here in case it was time.” She pulled her phone out from her pocket. “I should call Meadow real quick with an update.”
But there was no need as Meadow barreled into the doctor’s office, eyes wide and chest heaving.
Piper hurried to her. “I’m fine, Meadow. The baby isn’t on its way today. I’m sorry to get you so worried.”
“Worried? No, I wasn’t worried. Just excited,” said Meadow, a tinge of disappointment in her voice. “But I can wait until our darling grandbaby is finally ready to come.”
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