“I’m sorry. I probably shouldn’t have said anything.”
“I’m glad you did. Was it Hatti who told you?”
The clerk shook her head. “That’s the lady with those posters, right?” She handed Juniper the white shopping bag holding her new sweater. “Actually, it was Mr. Windsor.”
Louise had said something similar last week. It made sense now—it had come from Rudolph. But why did he think that?
“Thanks.”
Juniper paused out on the sidewalk and decided to confront the man, maybe she would find him at his third business.
Rudolph stood behind the counter of his pharmacy. The counter was piled with boxes of all shapes and sizes, and he was attaching price tags to the different items inside. “Good morning, to what do I owe the pleasure?” he said. “It’s been a long time since you’ve been in here.”
Juniper wasn’t sure if it was good or bad that he seemed to be in a friendly mood. “I’ve been a little busy,” Juniper said.
“You certainly have.” He slid a pile of boxes aside and leaned on the counter. “I just got in this new collection of canvas prints for the gift shop if you’re interested.” He held up one of the paintings. “They’re all thirty percent less than you’ll find them anywhere else.”
Any other time Juniper might have been tempted. “Not today.”
“I understand perfectly,” he said. “I’m sure your money is tight right now, especially in light of everything that’s happened over there.” He shook his head. “So horrible.”
“My finances are fine. Everything is coming together and we’ll be opening right on schedule.”
His smile disappeared and reappeared so quickly, she would have missed it if she hadn’t been watching him so closely. “Well, that’s certainly good news,” he said.
“If that’s the case, why are you telling everyone I’m selling the place?”
“Where in the world did you hear such a thing?” Rudolph was no longer smiling.
Juniper wasn’t about to give away her sources and cause problems for them. “It came from more than one person.”
He busied himself with the paintings in front of him. “I never . . . They must have misunderstood me.”
“I don’t think so. When I mentioned to them that I had no intention of leaving, they seemed genuinely surprised.”
“Is it any wonder?” he said. “Death and destruction have followed you around ever since you bought that old house.”
“It sounds like you’re blaming me. I can’t help that someone is out to get me.”
He smiled again. “Oh, dear. That sounds a bit paranoid.” He pushed the paintings to the side. “Remember when I mentioned a week or so ago there was something I wanted to talk to you about?”
Juniper vaguely remembered him saying something like that when she’d run into him on the sidewalk outside the cafe.
Rudolph came around the counter. “I know you’ve had a bad time of it. A terrible time, in all honesty. I may have pointed out to a few people my surprise that you hadn’t quit.”
It wasn’t quite an admission, but she’d take it.
“I have a proposal for you,” he said. “I want to buy your mansion.”
Juniper couldn’t have heard him right. “Excuse me?”
“I’d like to buy the Doctor’s House.”
“You mean the Gothic Haunt? Why would you want to do that?”
“I’ve had my eye on that property for quite a while. It would be the perfect place to house and sell my antiques. As you can see, I’m outgrowing my current locations and with the new toll highway going in just forty minutes away, this town will continue to expand, so I need to expand as well.”
“Why didn’t you make an offer when it was for sale if you wanted it?”
He shrugged. “It’s my defect in life. I’m always hunting for a deal. I was waiting for the price to come down. It seems like I waited a little too long.”
“Is that why you’ve been telling people I’m closing down?”
“I swear I never actually said you were leaving.” He gave her his biggest salesman smile. “So how about my proposal?”
Juniper shook her head. “I’m sorry, Rudolph, but the Inn isn’t for sale. Not now and not ever. I’ve put too much time, money, and sweat into that place to give it all up.”
The bell on the door chimed as a customer came in.
“You know where to find me when you change your mind.”
***
“Find out anything interesting?” Jack asked when Juniper returned to the Gothic Haunt. He sat by himself on a stool at the bar.
“Whatever do you mean, sweetheart?” Juniper held up the bag holding her sweater. “I was shopping.”
“Right. No one’s buying it, Palmer. Spill it. Nice move, by the way. Pawning Eve off on me, I’ll have to remember that.” He grinned. “Of course, if that’s lingerie in the bag I’ll forgive you.”
Juniper put the bag down on the bar. “Where is Eve?”
“She went to the café to meet Mr. Trubble for lunch. She said she had—and I quote—‘a hankering for something sweet.’”
“I wonder if she meant the food or the man?”
“The man. That woman’s all libido.”
Juniper let out a sigh. “Well, whatever keeps her busy.”
“I saw you leaving the gift shop. Did you learn anything?”
“Oh, gee. You mean like the fact that our neighbor from across the road wants to buy the Inn from us and that’s why he keeps telling people were not opening?”
“Say what now?”
Juniper filled him in on the Rudolph situation, then she picked up her bag. “I’ll be upstairs unpacking if you need me.”
Jack touched the shopping bag. “Are you going to share what you bought?” He had a wicked gleam in his eyes.
Juniper yanked the bag out of his reach. “Behave and maybe you’ll find out tonight.” Juniper spun around thinking maybe she’d have to dig out some pajamas that weren’t flannel. Ugh.
Twenty Nine
_____________
“W HAT in the jingle bells are you wearing?” Penny asked Eve when they’d all arrived at the agreed-upon meeting place outside the town hall.
“What? It’s like forty below out here. I thought snow pants and ear muffs were the practical choice.”
“Well yes, snow pants are fine, but wherever did you find them in a leopard print?”
“Oh no, forget it. I’m not telling you. Next thing I know everyone in Bohemian Lake will be looking as on point as me.”
Juniper, Mallory, Dani and Pike burst out laughing.
“What are you all laughing about? I bought you each a pair for Christmas. It’s part of our Merry Militia uniform.”
“Oh good lord, let’s go before she makes us wear them,” Penny said, pulling open the heavy front door.
When Pike, Eve, and Juniper reached the main meeting room, they weren’t sure they were in the right place. There were only five people in a room that could have held thirty, and they were all crammed into the front row.
A man turned around, his eyes widening when he saw them. He quickly whispered to the woman beside him, who did the same to the woman next to her. It made Juniper think of a kids’ game of telephone.
“How rude,” Eve said, loud enough for the front-rowers to hear. “Perhaps I should zap some manners into them.” The staring man faced front again.
Penny leaned forward and whispered to Eve, “What are you getting your snow pants in a twist about, that they didn’t include you? And what do you mean zap some manners into them?”
“I brought along my new toy,” Eve said, sighing as she searched through her massive purse. “I call him zippy. I’ve also got pepper spray, a switchblade, and some nunchucks.”
Juniper leaned forward to look at the arsenal in Eve’s purse, not sure whether to be impressed or frightened. “Is all that hardware necessary for a historical society meeting?”
Eve narrowed her ey
es. “Clearly you’ve never been to a cult meeting before.”
Pike shushed them. “Let’s just stay focused,” she said, giving Juniper’s hand a squeeze. “We have a right to be here. It’s your neighborhood, too, and your business.”
Someone up front let out a harrumph and then one of the women said, “Well, I never!”
“I’ll bet you haven’t,” Eve said.
Pike poked her with her elbow. “Stop antagonizing these people.”
“You’re no fun at all. I’m gonna start calling you Penny number two.”
Juniper turned around as the door closed behind them. A tiny woman with dove-gray beehive hair and wire-rimmed glasses marched to the front of the room. She wore a blue velvet blazer and mid-calf tweed skirt that did her no favors in combination with the clunky green snow boots. Next to her, Eve looked downright fashionable in her leopard-print snow pants.
The woman stepped onto a small stool at the podium. She took a piece of paper from her skirt pocket, unfolded it, and spread it out in front of her. “Welcome to this very important meeting of the Bohemian Lake Historical Society. Thank you all for coming. There is a blight on this community and we must put a stop to it.”
“Blight my patootie,” Eve whispered.
Pike jabbed her with her elbow again.
“Every day we are losing more of our heritage. As the saying goes, those who ignore history are doomed to repeat it. We cannot stand by and be idle.”
The front-rowers nodded in unison like bobble heads.
“I need the support of each and every one of you. Call Mayor Patone. Write letters to the editor. If we have to, we’ll march up and down Main Street with signs.”
Eve leaned forward, “What do you want to bet Hatti was part of that damn temperance movement as well.”
Mallory leaned across Pike, and whispered, “I can picture that.”
Hatti folded the paper and put it back in her pocket. “Does anyone have any questions?”
Eve’s hand shot up.
Oh no.
Hatti pointed at Eve. “You in the back row.”
Pike pushed Eve back down and stood. “How does restoring an old, abandoned historic home and returning it to its former glory destroy history?”
Hatti pursed her lips. “The restoration isn’t the problem. Turning it into a bar, on the other hand, is.”
Two people in the front row whispered to each other.
“It’s not being turned into a bar. It’s being turned into a charming Inn. There’s no better way for people to get a glimpse of history than to actually dine and stay inside the mansion. That is the reason you wanted to turn it into a museum, correct?” Pike continued. “So people could experience the history of the house for themselves?”
Juniper sat up straighter. She couldn’t have said it better herself.
Hatti pursed her lips. “That’s not the point.”
One of the whisperers in the front row said, “I think Miss Hart made a good point.”
Hatti’s gaze shifted and then went back and forth across their row, taking in Pike before finally resting on Juniper. “You!” She hopped down from her step stool.
Pike looked ready for a fight. Juniper stood and touched her arm.
She took her seat again.
“I am not ruining anyone’s heritage. I bought an old dilapidated house and restored it. Would you rather have it remain empty and abandoned?”
The front-rowers whispered among themselves.
“If your group really wants to save Bohemian Lake’s history, you should be in favor of what I’m doing.”
“Get out.” Hatti pointed to the door. “You’re not welcome here.”
“Ms. Dustfeather,” Juniper said. “This is a public meeting and I do not have to leave, especially when it directly concerns me.”
She marched to the door. “Meeting adjourned.”
Eve stood after the place had cleared, “Well now, that hardly could have gone better. What a shame. I was hoping to try out my new Taser.”
They stopped for a coffee at Pike’s on the way home and then went their separate ways. On the way out of the cafe, Juniper remembered her new sweater across the road. She could wait until tomorrow to get it, but since she was hoping to wear it, she’d make a quick stop at the Inn. It would be a good distraction. She couldn’t stop thinking, as she crossed Main Street, how Hatti had acted when she discovered that Juniper was present at her meeting. The funny thing was, Juniper had really liked Hatti before all this.
Hatti was like a different person lately. Sure, she’d been nervous and meek when she’d helped Juniper with the mansion’s history in October. Juniper had practically had to pull teeth to get her to talk but looking back, she’d probably been afraid of Helen at the time, so what was with the attitude now. She’d never protested Juniper fixing up the Doctor’s House.
Oh well, at least the meeting had been sparsely attended. If the people in that front row were her only supporters, Juniper didn’t have anything to worry about, but then again maybe that’s what was fueling the vandalism. A desperate move to stop the Inn from opening because she didn’t have the support required to do it legally. Nah. Juniper dismissed the idea. Hatti was, after all, just a little old lady.
Juniper walked up the front steps and unlocked the door. Once inside, she disarmed the security system, then flicked on one of the wall sconces. She pictured the room full of guests and smiled to herself. It would be lived in, loved and shared with others. A place where people could admire the past while creating memories for the future.
After she’d retrieved her purchase from the third floor, she crossed the taproom to leave and spotted something on top of the bar. Funny. Juniper hadn’t seen anything there when she’d first come in, but the lights had been dim. She went closer. It was a brown paper bag. How curious. Had Finn forgotten his lunch? Juniper lifted it and peeked inside, and then immediately gagged, and dropped it.
Feces.
Thirty
_____________
“R ELAX, it’s only dog poop.” Pike said, as she walked Juniper back across the street to the Inn.
Juniper had called 911 as soon as she got to Pike’s café. The dispatcher had practically laughed her off the phone when she’d explained what she found. Clearly dog poop was not an emergency—never the less she sent a car right away.
“The thing is, the bag wasn’t on the bar when I arrived, which means whoever left it could have come in while I was upstairs grabbing my bag.”
Pike nodded and squeezed Juniper’s hand.
It wasn’t lost on either of them that Juniper could have ended up like Feliz and Sally. That someone could get so close and she didn’t even know was terrifying.
While Juniper and Pike waited for the police to arrive, she scanned the street in search of whoever might have done this. The sidewalks were busy. Most businesses were closed, but Rudolph’s stores were open, as well as the deli and the crystal shop. Juniper didn’t see anyone who looked like they’d just dropped a deuce on her bar.
It was the same officer who’d responded the night the alarm had gone off, so he knew a little about what had been going on. When he told her to wait outside, she was perfectly happy to let him check the building alone.
It wasn’t long before he came out carrying the paper bag. “It’s all clear. Also, I just found this.” He reached into the bag and pulled a folded slip of red paper out.
Juniper jumped back. Gross.
“It’s all right,” he said. “It was a prop.”
Juniper swallowed. “I didn’t get close enough to find out.”
He grimaced. “Someone’s idea of a practical joke, I guess.” He opened the folded sheet of paper. His smile disappeared as he held out the paper. “This may not be just a joke.”
“What do you mean?”
Juniper expected him to pass it to her, but instead he held it up so she could read it. A chill went down her spine. It definitely wasn’t a joke. The note read: get out of my house
or next time it will be you on the cellar floor. It was written on paper torn from one of Hatti’s posters
Thirty One
_____________
I T took a while before Juniper stopped shaking. The dog poop had been bad enough, but that note had really gotten to her. The fact that the killer had been that close really scared her, but why had the killer let her go. As frightened as she was, she was curious. Feliz and Sally had not been warned.
Unless Juniper was the target and the point was fright. Someone wanted her scared enough to give up the Gothic Haunt. It couldn’t be a coincidence that this happened right after the town meeting and that the message had been sent on the poster. Hatti was older and small, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t have killed two people, especially if she had an accomplice.
Was Hatti tied to any of the other suspects? Ron, Evan, or even Louise?
Juniper pulled her phone out of her purse and Googled Hatti’s name to get her address. Much to her surprise, a five-year-old-article popped up about a local event sponsored years ago by Hatti’s family. The article thanked the Dustfeathers as well as Helen Patone and Lulu McCloskey.
Juniper pulled out her phone and punched in Eve’s number.
“Hello.” The sound of an engine roared so loudly in the background that Juniper could hardly hear.
“Eve, it’s Juniper. I have a question for you. Is Hatti related to Helen and Lulu?”
“Lulu’s on a cruise.” Eve shouted.
“I know that. I asked if she’s related to Hatti. Where are you? It sounds like a smash up derby.”
“It is—for snowmobiles.”
“Oh my goodness, Eve. That sounds dangerous. Please tell me you’re not entering.”
“Oh no, of course not. It wouldn’t be safe. I forgot my glasses at home. I wouldn’t want to get disqualified again for running over someone’s foot. Big babies.” She mumbled.
Juniper tilted her head back and took a deep breath in through her nose. How had this woman survived for sixty years? The roaring died down and Juniper assumed Eve must have walked away from the derby pit.
Candy Canes, Corpses and the Gothic Haunt Page 12