A Time To Kiln

by Gilian Baker

  “Oh no. Not me and Dillon. We promised to always stay close. What we’d had was special. I’m just so glad I can be here for him during this terrible time.”

  Noticing I hadn’t bothered yet to pour my tea, she leaned over and poured a cup for me and then sat back at attention, ready to answer any other questions I might have.

  “But once he was married to Paula, didn’t you think it would be more appropriate to let the relationship fizzle out. That often happens after we leave school. Especially once our friend gets married. Things change once we settle down into an adult routine. We gain new interests and new friends.”

  She shook her head slightly and smiled at me like I was the one who misunderstood. “You see, Dillon and I are different. We’re meant to be together. He made a mistake—you know,” she said in a whispered voice, “they had to get married. But I’ve always known he would come back to me. Moving back here was his way of getting close again. He would’ve left Paula, I know he would have.” She smiled in a self-satisfied way and leaned back in her chair. “Now he doesn’t have to go through all that.”

  “Didn’t you worry about causing problems for them? And aren’t you upset about Paula’s death? I think many people would say you had a good motive for killing Paula.”

  She furrowed her brow, looking stymied. “Why would I hurt Paula? We’d become good friends too.”

  “Really?” I said, finding that hard to believe. I couldn’t imagine Paula befriending someone like Shelly.

  “Oh, yes. She came in here at least once a day to get coffee and food. We got to know one another. I’m sure we all would’ve remained friends, even after Dillon and I were together. We’d have shared Harper too, of course."

  I’d always known she was all sunshine and puppies, but this was over the top. I guess we’ll tell ourselves anything to get us through the night though.

  “You said you’d become good friends with Paula. Did that mean you went out and did stuff together?”

  “Oh, no. She was too busy to do that.” She leaned in again and whispered conspiratorially, “Can you keep a secret? Like, a real secret?”

  I nodded my head, entranced.

  “Paula would sometimes work late. She’d go back to the studio after Dillon went to work.” She looked around to make sure we weren’t being overheard. “Sometimes she’d ask me to bring her a coffee late in the evening when she was working in the studio. I’d usually take her a pastry too. She loved our lemon tarts.” Now that her secret was shared, she leaned back in her chair and smiled like a student who was waiting to be praised by her teacher.

  “But the tea shop isn’t open late.”

  She leaned back in towards me. “That’s where the secret comes in. I’d let myself in with my key and make her a cappuccino, just like she liked it. Oh, I’d always pay. Or sometimes she would pay. I didn’t steal anything. I wouldn’t dream of that. But there was no harm done. That’s how we became friends. Sometimes I’d stay and watch her throw pots, and we’d talk until she needed to be alone to work.”

  “Oh, I see.” So they weren’t friends as much as Paula was using her to get what she wanted. She probably knew Shelly was anxious to ingratiate herself into their little family. No one could miss the way Shelly fawned all over Dillon, but I highly doubted Paula felt threatened.

  “How did you get along with Jack Bristol?”

  “Oh, Jack was Jack. He was great to me. He’d flirt, though I knew it was just his way. And he was a big tipper.” She smiled before saying, “I need to get back to work now, Mrs. Blackwell, unless you have any other questions for me.”

  With the girl in such denial, I wasn’t sure I was going to be able to get a straight answer out of her. “Don’t you think that Dillon and Harper could use some peace and quiet so they can mourn privately?”

  I wasn’t her mother, but someone needed to tell her to back off. I didn’t know her well enough to just come out and say that, but I could drop some hints, though I wasn’t sure she would pick up on the subtlety.

  She got up from the table and pushed in her chair.

  “Oh, Dillon needs me. He just doesn’t realize it yet. You let me know if you need anything else, now.” She gave me one more self-satisfied smile before heading back to the kitchen.

  Yeah, it went right over her head.

  Chapter Sixteen

  When Charley Hesston walked into the tea room, I knew immediately who he was. At not quite six-feet, he stooped, though he could hardly be considered an old man. His rounded shoulders suggested someone who was continually seated in a hunched position. I knew from my experience that sitting at a pottery wheel for even a couple of hours encouraged poor posture.

  He was dressed casually in clean, well-worn jeans and a red-striped polo shirt. His attempt to conceal that his brown hair was receding by using the old comb-over wasn’t working.

  I waved him over, and as soon as he sat down at the table, I said, “Thanks so much for agreeing to meet me, Mr. Hesston. I know you’re a busy man. Can I get you some tea or coffee? And I highly recommend any pastry you see in the cabinet over there. Pick something out, on me.”

  He wore a heavy frown, which I’d hoped I could change by offering him something sweet.

  “No thank you. I’ve got somewhere to be and won’t be staying long.” He smelled of Aqua Velva, which caused a flash of memories of my dad during my childhood.

  “Okay, as you wish. I’ll get right to it.”

  If the offer of one of Millie’s homemade treats couldn’t lure him into a congenial mood, nothing would. If he was going to be defensive anyway, I’d catch him off-guard by asking about Jack, not Paula, as he expected.

  “When did you first meet Jack Bristol, Mr. Hesston?”

  “Who?” He narrowed his eyes. “Never heard of him.” His voice was deep and husky, probably from breathing in glaze fumes for years.

  “Oh sure you have. I’d bet you met him through Paula.”

  “Nope, never met the man. What does he have to do with anything, anyway?” He looked pointedly at his watch.

  “He’s been murdered, Mr. Hesston. In fact, in the same way as Paula.”

  “What? I don’t know anything about that. And I don’t know anything about Paula’s murder either, except what I read in the papers.”

  “Surely that’s not true. I know Paula was meeting someone that night. She didn’t want them coming around her home. She had a lot of nosy neighbors so she asked them to meet her at the studio.”

  Hey, I figured if Miss Marple wasn’t above telling a little fib to get to the information she needed, neither was I.

  He floundered for a minute. His eyes flicked around the room, as he searched his mind for a plausible lie. But in the end, I guess he couldn’t come up with anything that would ring true, except the truth.

  He sunk down in his chair. “Okay. I admit it. I did call her that day to set up a meeting for that night. I knew I’d be coming back through town and my lawyer was getting nowhere. I was hoping I could get her to see sense—that even if I couldn’t prove she’d ripped me off, that just the hint of her treachery would seriously tarnish her good name in the community.”

  “So what happened?”

  “She agreed to meet.” He sneered. “She sounded amused that I’d stoop so low as to contact her.”

  “How’d you know where she was?”

  “The pottery community is a small one. A friend of mine found out where she was and told me.”

  “So, what happened when you spoke that night?”

  “Never got the chance. Didn’t even get close to the building. I could see flashing cop lights all around there, so I just drove on. I didn’t know what had happened, but I knew I didn’t want to be involved.”

  “Oh. That’s how you ended up getting caught by the speed cameras. You were trying to distance yourself from the scene.”

  “Yeah.” He raised his eyebrows. “Wouldn’t you?”

  “And you denied all this to the sheriff. That wasn’t s
mart, Mr. Hesston.”

  He looked down at his lap and picked imaginary lint off of his jeans. “I know. I guess I’ll have to come clean now that you know.”

  “That would be advisable. But how do I know you’re telling me the truth? You could have easily killed her and then fled the scene. You certainly had motive.”

  “Yes, I do. But I didn’t kill her. You have to believe me. No matter what someone did, I couldn’t kill anyone. Besides, I have a long history of concocting unique glaze recipes. And I have an outstanding reputation. She was a flash in the pan. Sure, she might have made a name for herself, she did have talent. But if it was her word against mine, the community would have taken my side.”

  “But it’s not just about what the community thought, is it? You had a lot of money to lose if the market became saturated with your unique glaze. It wasn’t quite the novelty it would have been if you’d been the only one using it. And Cheyenne isn’t that far from here. You were both in the same part of the state. You have to admit her using the glaze had to have hurt your profits.”

  “Maybe for a while. But I’d have just come up with a new glaze, one that she couldn’t get her hands on.” He shook his head. “I wish I’d never heard of her. I wish I’d never taken her on.”

  “I’m sure that’s true. Do you have anything else you want to confide? You know I can’t arrest you or anything. I’m just trying to get her young husband out of the frame for her murder.”

  “But I told you I couldn’t do such a thing.”

  “Yes, so you said. But you would say that, wouldn’t you.”

  “So, what happened to that guy? The one you said was killed like Paula. How does he fit in with her murder?”

  I couldn’t tell him I had no idea and that my best theory had been shot earlier in the day when Roger Garber had confessed that neither he nor Jack had been able to entice Paula into an elicited affair. “We’re looking into a few different possibilities. Aspen Falls, much like the pottery community, is small and tight-knit.”

  ***

  After he left, I finished up the rest of my pot of tea and made a few perfunctory notes. Checking my phone, I realized Gabby had texted, asking me to stop in her office as soon as I could. No time like the present. Besides, I had things to fill her in on too.

  She was on the phone when I arrived, so I tiptoed into her office and sat down. She was saying, “Uh huh. Yeah,” but didn’t seem invested in the conversation with the other party. Being a savvy investigator, I deduced her lack of enthusiasm for the conversation when she looked at me and crossed her eyes. I stifled a laugh. It wouldn’t do to have her burst out laughing during a serious conversation. And what other types of conversations do lawyers have?

  She hung up the receiver.

  “So glad you could come right over. I’ve got some things to share with you. First off, Lucy could find no link between Charley Hesston and Jack. No proof they’d known each other, though a casual meeting or a clandestine one where blackmail was the subject under discussion wouldn’t necessarily leave a trace.”

  I shook my head, and she continued. “As for Natalie, she did lodge a complaint with the realtor’s board approximately six months after the sale of the property.”

  “That would line up with what she told me today.”

  She leaned back in her chair and crossed one long leg over the other. “Okay, what have you learned?”

  I went through the details of the interviews I’d conducted today. They could be summarized by saying Natalie was cagy, Shelly was squirrely, Charley was a liar and Paula was innocent of having an affair.

  “So we’re back to square one with a motive for Jack’s murder. Unless you didn’t believe what Charley told you.”

  “I believed him. He didn’t become guarded until Paula was mentioned.”

  “And Charley outright lied to Ross. I’ll make sure Ross knows about that.” She made a note to herself.

  “Sounds like an interesting conversation with Natalie.”

  “Yeah. I pulled out all the stops.” I snickered. “I’ve never seen her so ill at ease. She’s usually so proper and in control. But there’s no connection between her and Paula that I know of except that she was one of the students. And they seemed to get along well. You’d think if there were tensions between Paula and another student, I’d have picked up on it. Betty was the only one, and she’s explained that to me and her explanation made perfect sense.”

  “And you say Shelly is under the impression she and Paula were friends, but that she was going to take her place as Dillon’s wife. She is living in a fantasy world. Who’d happily turn over their husband to someone else?”

  “Yeah. She’s fooling herself all right. Seems to be doing a pretty good job.”

  Gabby sat up and picked up a pen. “So what do we have?”

  “Charley could be lying about not knowing Jack. He lied about everything else. He and Dillon are still the best suspects.”

  “There’s something I haven’t told you yet.”

  Feeling my body steel up, I sat up straighter in the chair.

  “Ross is close to arresting Dillon. He called me out of courtesy to let me know that he’s come up with no other evidence that leads to a better suspect, and that being the case, he’s convinced Dillon killed both his wife and Jack.”

  “But we know now that there wasn’t an affair going on between the two. In fact, I haven’t been able to prove she was having an affair with anyone. Plus, now we know Charley lied about not being in contact with Paula and not coming into town to meet her.”

  “Yes, the lies Charley told will buy us some time. Ross will have to check that out because it’s a viable lead. But if that doesn’t pan out…” She let the sentence trail off.

  ***

  When I got home, I stirred the meal that had been basting in the slow cooker all day and prepared a fresh salad, all the while, thinking about what I’d learned today. Our best chance was Ross finding proof that not only had Charley lied, but that he’d known Jack and had killed both victims in revenge. Of course, the blackmail was still only my theory, but it was a darn good one, if I did say so myself.

  I was finishing up the salad when Ellie got home. I could tell by the look on her face she wasn’t going to be the bearer of good news. She helped me chop the rest of the vegetables while we discussed what she’d learned in her inquiries.

  “Mom, I don’t know what to think. None of the neighbors had seen Jack visiting the house at all. They all agreed that they had very little company other than Dillon’s parents. I guess Paula's affair could have been just a rumor after all.” She frowned and focused on peeling carrots.

  “What did you learn from the Hexbys, Sweetheart?”

  She twisted her mouth into a scowl, but didn’t look at me. “Even worse news. They’d had to call in the vet two days before Jack’s murder…and Dillon had been there while the vet worked on the cow.”

  “And let me guess. The vet used ketamine?”

  She just nodded her head and continued her chore in silence for a moment.

  “I’m sorry I got you and Gabby mixed up in all this. I still can’t believe it, but it looks like Dillon may have done it after all. How could a person change that much, Mom?” She looked at me with large doe eyes that were filling with tears. “He’s the sweetest guy. I just can’t wrap my head around it.”

  I gently pulled the tool from her hand, smiling to myself as I saw the carrot had been whittled down to a nub. I wrapped my arms around her as she cried on my shoulder. Whispering to her that it would be okay brought back all the times I’d done the same thing when she was a little girl.

  She was so loyal and tenderhearted, even though she could turn on the attitude like all young adults. I was so proud of her, and yet worried that her loyalty would continue to be thwarted until one day she became cynical.

  When she seemed calmer, I let her go. She picked up another carrot and started peeling it.

  “What about the feud between Jack and th
e Hexbys? Did you ask them about that?”

  She sniffed. “Yeah. It really is a family thing. Jack sold them land way back when Dillon was just little and lied about the property line boundaries. Tensions have run high between them and their neighbors ever since because they believed what Jack had told them. The neighbor ended up suing them, and the Hexbys lost, of course.”

  “So nothing came up about Paula having an affair with Jack? All their anger was focused towards Jack because of his shady business dealings?”

  “Yeah. They all hated Jack. The only time Paula came into the conversation was when they mentioned they hadn’t wanted her to work with Jack when she was looking for a building for the business. She wouldn’t be talked out of it, no matter what the history between him and her new in-laws.”

  “Did you work up the courage to ask about the rumors about her?”

  “Yeah, and they understood. They’d heard them too, and hoped they weren’t true, especially with him, but they didn’t have trouble believing them. They love their granddaughter, but seemed remorseful for encouraging Dillon to do right by her when she got pregnant.”

  “So, no love lost there, huh?”

  “Not at all. I don’t think I’d ever seen Joe so upset. He’s usually so mild-mannered, but he raised his voice when he talked about her, and his face turned bright red. I was afraid he was going to keel over right in front of me.”

  “Interesting. I didn’t realize they had such strong feelings against her, but I guess I can understand. It must have felt like treason when she’d used Jack as her realtor.”

  “Yeah. They told her how he operated—lying and cheating to sell properties, but she was going to do it her way.”

  Had I dismissed Joe Hexby too easily? Sometimes the most mild-mannered people lose their cool after slights kept building up. I felt more like an ineffectual Hastings, than Poirot at this moment.

  Neither Ellie nor I was much company that evening over dinner. We filled Christian in on the updates to the investigation, but without enthusiasm. When supper was finished, Ellie went to her room while Christian and I sat in the living room—I tried to read while he wielded control over the remote. That didn’t even bother me, though we usually watched something together in the evenings.