"Well, that's one way to look at it," Merry conceded, lifting her own mug. "But back to the topic. We need to hone in on a suspect and do some digging."
"I agree. In fact," I said, "how about a trip to New York City tomorrow? I need to swing by the Cotton Literary Agency and sign something for Devin."
"You're on." She finished her coffee and stood up just as car lights swept across the driveway. "It looks like your better half is home. I'll see you in the morning around what, ten?"
I nodded. "We can get breakfast on the road."
"Awesome." She reached over and gave Trixie a pat. "See you tomorrow, little girl." We both watched as the dachshund waddled over to her basket and hefted herself inside. "Does she ever mind being here by herself?"
I snorted. "Running the house is her dream, Merry. She's got a doggie door and a fenced backyard, a huge bowl of water, and an insta-feeder. She's fine."
I didn't add that I always left on the Animal Planet channel for her so she would have company. Greg didn't do that. He played the local public access station instead.
* * *
Greg had come in tired to the bone. Faculty meetings could be boring in the extreme, he had often complained, and I could see on his face the lines from a very long day. What he needed was an invigorating bike ride, a complete anathema to me but the fountain of youth for him.
We went directly to bed, Trixie joining us sometime during the night and taking over the bulk of my pillow. Greg must've been incredibly worn out, because he barely stirred. Still, when the sun came up, he was in the shower and donning his Lycra and spandex riding gear and heading out for what he referred to as a "brief ride."
"I'll be back in about two hours, Caro." He bent over and kissed the top of my head. I'd made it out of bed and to the kitchen table, but that was as far as I'd gotten. "I'm meeting up with some of the other riders in the club and we're heading toward the river."
I did a quick mental calculation, which, given my lack of coffee at the moment, was fairly sharp for me.
"So, you're 'only' cycling 30 miles this morning," I said as I indicated air quotes around the word. "Greg, it's beyond me how you can take sitting on that tiny seat for as long as you do."
"Practice, my dear, practice. I'll see you when you get back from the city, all right?" With a jaunty wave and an air kiss, he was gone.
"Well, it's just you and me, girl," I said to a somnolent Trixie. She'd moved from the human bed to the dog bed, her long snout tucked firmly underneath her tail. I was tempted to follow her example, but a road trip of my own awaited me. I knew that Merry would be here in…
A tap on my kitchen window made me jump. If I'd have been holding a mug of coffee or tea, it would have now been down the front of my nightgown. I motioned to Merry to walk around to the kitchen door.
"Why can't you knock on the door like a normal person?" I grumbled as I let my grinning neighbor inside. "I swear that one of these days you're going to give me heart failure."
"Maybe that's why I do it." Merry squatted down next to Trixie and gave her a perfunctory pat.
"What, you really do want me to drop dead?" I stood with my hands on my hips, scowling down at her. "I might need to rethink that trip to the city, then," I added. "I'd prefer hanging out with Trixie to someone who wants to see the end of me."
"Oh, lighten up, girlfriend. I'm just teasing you." She stood to her feet and turned to smile at me, the keys to her Mini Cooper dangling from her fingers. "And just to show you how much I really do like you, Caro, I'll drive and buy breakfast."
"Deal," I said, grinning back at her. "Give me twenty minutes and we can be on our way."
I took the world's fastest shower, dried my hair, and threw on a pair of jeans and a turtleneck pullover. By the time I walked back into the kitchen a mere seventeen minutes later, I was wide awake and ready for the day.
"You definitely clean up good," Merry said from her seat at the round pine table. She'd made a mug of green tea in my absence and now sat placidly sipping it, Trixie curled up on her lap. "You want a coffee to go?"
I nodded. "I can make it, thanks. Can you do a favor for me and check the water and insta-feeder?" I shook my head at the slumbering dog. "We wouldn't want her royal highness to feel neglected, now would we?"
"Sure," Merry said. "I saw Greg cycling past a while ago. Out on one of those ridiculously long rides of his?"
I nodded, slipping a travel mug under the Keurig's spout. "He should be home in a couple of hours, just long enough for Trixie to get in her first nap of the day."
"Such a tough life, being a dog." Merry checked the level of food in the feeder. "I'd love to have someone making sure I had access to food twenty-four-seven."
I rolled my eyes. "I believe that's called being a grown-up, Merry. I even heard a new term the other day that defines this amazing phenomenon: 'adulting.'"
"Oh, haha, Caro." She looked over at Trixie. "Well, she's all set. You?"
"Yes." I twisted the lid onto the travel mug and held it up in a mock toast. "Here's to finding out who had the nerve to come to Seneca Meadows and wreak havoc."
"Wouldn't that be cool," Merry said dryly. "Well, let's get this show on the road."
It was a beautiful morning for a drive. Upper New York State was showing off its glorious fall hues, tempting the tourists with a colorful display of foliage and teasing the residents with reminders of all the raking to come.
"Let's go to that fabulous café near the agency, Merry. Remember? The one with the incredible spinach and feta breakfast wraps?" I sipped my coffee and placed the mug back in the holder. "I could eat two of them right now. How much longer till we're there?"
"If we can avoid all troopers and excessive traffic, I'd say in thirty minutes. Can you last that long?"
"Mmm," I replied, my eyes on the festive displays along the side of the road. Farm stands selling pumpkins and butternut squash, apples, and turnips were miniature houses of plenty, each one boasting handwritten signs that lent a truly countrified atmosphere to the set up. I loved this time of year with its bright colors and outdoor living.
And I loved living in Seneca Meadows. What I didn't love was someone coming into my peaceable town and killing two young women. The crazy writers I could deal with, although they certainly did deliver a whopping black eye to my chosen profession.
In less than one hour we were sitting at a table in Café Greco, a small eatery in the arts district of New York City. It was also just a few blocks from my agent, so I liked to park in the café's lot and double-dip with a visit to Cotton Literary Agency.
"This smells divine," I said, waving a forkful of feta and spinach in front of my nose and closing my eyes in bliss. "And that frittata looks scrumptious as well, Merry."
She just nodded, her mouth already full of the egg and veggie concoction. A basket of fresh muffins sat between us, and I reached out to break off a large piece of the pecan crumble topping from one.
"So, tell me again what our plans are." Merry took a sip from her iced green tea, rescuing the rest of the pecan muffin from the basket. "You took my favorite part, Caro." She eyed the muffin critically before taking a bite.
I smiled at her before plucking another one from under the napkin partially covering the woven basket. "Want some of mine?"
"You heathen," she said, eying the crumble topping. "I thought I got the only one."
"We'll get some to go."
There was silence as we ate our breakfast, enjoying the ambience of a big city café. Finally, I swallowed the last bit of spinach and feta wrap, wiping my mouth with a cloth napkin.
"I thought we'd kill two birds with one stone, so to speak, at the agency. I'll get my paperwork signed and you can talk to Dee, since she seems to be the one who knows Lisa Caldwell the best."
"Sounds good," she agreed. "I hate to seem so mercenary, but I'd absolutely love it if the Lisa and Sam show ended up being the entire case."
"Explain?" I raised one eyebrow and took a last sip of my ic
ed tea.
"What I mean is this: if Lisa was so jealous of anyone who she thought might catch Sam's eye that she'd be willing to kill, that would wrap things up and life could get back to normal." Merry shrugged, adding, "I'm just selfish enough to want my good ol' Seneca Meadows back sans murder, you know?"
"As do I. But we've still got the whole Sarah Lawson slash Lisa Caldwell feud to consider as well. Shouldn't that be another angle to look at?"
"Hmm." Merry sat silent for a moment, tapping one finger on her chin. "Well, as far as I can see, that still fits the noose neatly around Lisa. She was the aggressor in that festival brawl, after all, and you know how she feels about Sarah's success with the whole Amish-mystery thingy."
"True." I waved at a passing server. "Could I get an iced tea to go, please? Merry, how about you?"
She shook her head. "I'm fine, thanks."
We waited in silence for the to-go cup to be brought over, each with our own thoughts. I was concerned with Lisa's connection to both the killings—a remote possibility, certainly with motive—and her outrageous behavior when it came to another writer's achievements. I could see her involvement, I really could, but making the link from point A to point B was just out of my grasp.
Back outside, we began walking toward the Cotton Literary Agency. I loved the city in the autumn, with its colors and blue skies, the humidity down to tolerable levels and the temperatures moderate. It was a great place to visit, I'd decided, but not to live. Give me Seneca Meadows anytime.
"Nice, but not nearly as pretty as home." Merry could have been reading my mind.
I nodded in response. "I'm partial to Main Street, certainly," I agreed. "Everything we want and nothing we don't need."
"Except a body or two," Merry said dryly.
"Except that," I agreed. "And with any luck, we'll have some answers before we head back home."
"If only it was that easy," she muttered as I opened the door to the agency.
"What's easy? You'd better not be referring to me," came a familiar voice.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
I spun around to see Devin Cotton standing behind us, a huge grin on her face.
"Dev!" I exclaimed, clutching my heart in mock earnest. "Are you trying to lose a client to the great beyond?" I leaned forward and kissed her cheek.
"Ha—and are you assuming the beyond you're headed for is all that great?" She returned the kiss and blew one in Merry's direction. "It's awesome to see that your back-forty town let you out for the day."
I smiled at her fondly. Devin had been one of the few friendly faces I'd seen when I'd first arrived in the States. My agent in London had recommended her enthusiastically, and it was easy to see why: she was genuinely concerned with her clients and wanted the best for them.
"Come in, come in," she urged, gesturing at the door. "I'd love to stand here talking, but I've got a chocolate croissant screaming my name." She held out a white pastry bag as proof.
I shook my head at her, admiring her slender figure. "How you eat that sort of thing and still look as you do—well, it's beyond me." I pointed to my rather thick waist. "I eat one tiny muffin—"
"Plus two spinach and feta wraps," my traitor of a friend chimed in.
"—and I gain five pounds."
"It's all in the genes, girl. All in the genes." She turned around and waved a hand at the other two young women seated at desks, each one busy on the phone. "Now take Dee, for instance…"
Her equally thin sister looked up from her desk and poked out her tongue.
"Just joshin', sis." Devin motioned to the empty chairs in front of her desk. "Take a load off, you two. I'll be right with you."
"You go sit by Dee," I whispered to Merry. "You dig, I'll sign."
"Got it." She gave me a thumbs-up and sauntered over to where Delight Cotton was ending her call, rapidly making notes on a large desk blotter.
I headed for Devin's desk, easily the most cluttered specimen I had ever seen. How she ever found what she was looking for I had no idea.
"I could have Fed-Exed this to you, Caro, but I'm glad you stopped by." Without batting an eye, Devin lifted one stack of paper and plucked out a manila folder with my name on the tab. I had to shake my head in admiration.
"We needed a respite from all the murder and mayhem in Seneca Meadows." I reached out for the paperwork that she had taken from inside the folder, slid it across the desk toward me, and knocked over another mound of paper in the process.
"So you thought you'd head down to the big city for a dose of our murder and mayhem instead?"
I nodded. "And Merry's along for the ride because we think that Dee might know something imperative to solving the case."
"Case? You've got a case, as one outside of the covers of your books?" Devin looked confused.
"Not a case, per se, but we really want to figure out what's going on in our fair town." I leaned forward a bit, a solemn expression on my face and my best western accent on my tongue. "We don't take kindly to strangers coming in and wreaking havoc, see?"
Devin burst out laughing. "You do 'cowboy meets mobster' pretty good, Caro."
I grinned and bent over to sign my newest contract with a scrawl.
"There," I said, capping the pen and passing it and the paper back across the desk. "One more book in the Harried Hairdresser series, coming right up. Or as soon as I can get back to writing," I amended my reply with a sheepish grin. "I'm having a tough time concentrating lately."
"Yeah, I can see that." Dev clasped her hands together on the desk and looked at me. "Be careful, Caro. The writing world can be a bit shadier than we like to let on."
"You're telling me," I said fervently. "You didn't get to see the fisticuffs between Sarah Lawson and Lisa Caldwell at our fall festival like I did."
Devin shook her head, a look of disgust on her face. "And that's exactly why we stopped representing Lisa. That temper of hers cost us quite a bit in fines, what with trashing hotel rooms and refusing to go to signings, not to mention that little display in the conference bookstore with Sarah."
"Well, this time it landed her in the hospital. Sarah's got quite a left hook, apparently, and they were fighting inside the confines of a booth." I gave a short laugh. "And last I saw of Lisa, a dietary employee was getting an earful as well."
"There's always one, as my dad would say." She glanced over to where Dee and Merry were in an intense discussion. "So what's your sidekick doing?"
"She's asking about Sam and Lisa's relationship."
"And why, may I ask?" Dev's eyebrows rose, making perfect arches over her deep brown eyes.
"Because Merry thinks—well, we both think—that jealousy played a part in the two deaths."
"You're gonna have to let me play catch-up, girl. Explain."
I gave her the entire story as we saw it: the possible jealousies based upon nothing except past experiences, the desire to ruin the fall festival for Sarah.
"The way I see it, Dev, Lisa had the opportunity to take care of both of her rivals, so to speak. She completely sabotaged the festival with the murders—no 'corpses' equals no book signing, in her twisted mind—and she did away with two possible rivals for Sam's attention."
"It's not Lisa's mind that's twisted, Caro. It's your plot." She shook her head, eyes closed. "I can't even find the starting point for this mishmash."
"And that's the brilliance of it," I pointed out. "The crazier the actions, the more twisted the plot, the better chance she has of getting away with this. She's treating this like a book with two story lines."
"I think she's a nut case, Caro, but I just can't see her killing two people. And besides," she asked, her head canted to one side like an inquisitive bird, "aren't the police handling this? Surely, if they suspected Lisa as well, she'd be in a lockup somewhere, not the local hospital."
"Maybe." I turned in my chair so that I could see Merry and Dee, still deep in conversation. "Merry's dating one of Seneca Meadows' finest, so I'm sure we can find out."
"I'm crossing fingers, toes, and eyes," I said. "They're perfect together."
"And it's never a bad thing to have an ear on the inside, right? Could make for some awesome book material."
I snorted. "I suppose you might see it like that. As if my books aren't already brimming with fantastic stories."
"That they are, Caro. That they are. And thanks for letting Cotton Literary Agency represent you once again." Devin stood up and waved at Dee and Merry. "You two. Come join us."
"Be right there," called Delight. She pushed back from her desk, motioning Merry to follow her. "I'll get some more chairs, Dev."
Behind her, Desiree finished her call and turned to see what all the fuss was about. "Caro, it's good to see you. And you, too, Merry." She walked over and slipped one thin arm around my shoulders, giving me a squeeze. "What brings you two here, besides to make more money for me and my sisters?"
"That, and because we love you." I smiled up at her.
The youngest of the three sisters, she was fairy tale beautiful, her springy curls piled on top of her head like a crown. It had always amused me to see that the sisters sat in birth order, with Devin, the eldest, in the best seat of the house. Desiree was closest to the office door, putting her in the direct sightline of prospective clients. One look at her and most of them, mainly those of the male variety, were too bowled over to ever think of going anywhere else. Whatever the cause, the Cotton Literary Agency was doing better than most in a city teeming with them.
"So, what's this I hear about Lisa and Sam?" Desiree slid off the arm of my chair and sat down in one of the chairs that Dee had dragged over from her desk. "Although to be truthful, I try not to muddy my days too much with what that chick's doing."
"That bad, huh?" I said sympathetically. Lisa, it seemed, had really burnt her bridges here with the Cotton sisters.
Desiree rolled her eyes. "You can't even imagine, Caro. What a circus it was when she was a client."
You Can Lead a Horse to Water (Proverbial Crime Mysteries Book 3) Page 10