by Tim Myers
“Besides my sense of security?” she said. “That’s the most precious thing this monster has taken.”
“Besides that,” Molly said.
“I don’t think so.” Louisa looked around, walked slowly from room to room, then said, “I really don’t have all that much. My grandmother’s necklace is still in the jewelry box. Wait a second.” She checked her underwear drawer, a shallow opening that hadn’t been disturbed. I was surprised by my sister’s exotic taste in undergarments. I could have gone years without seeing her collection of thongs.
She pulled out two fifties from the bottom of the drawer. “My emergency money’s still here. I don’t understand it; did they do this out of sheer meanness?”
“No, but I think whatever they were looking for was bigger than what that drawer could hold.” Molly took Louisa’s hands in hers, a surprisingly gentle gesture. “I need to ask you something, and I need the truth. This is off the record, at least as much as I can keep it off.”
“Should I call Kelly before you talk to her?” I asked.
Molly shot me a venomous look. “This doesn’t concern you, Ben.”
“You’d better believe it concerns me. She’s my sister.”
Molly shrugged, then turned back to Louisa. “It’s up to you, but I’m asking you this as a friend.”
Louisa said, “It’s all right. Go ahead.”
“Louisa, I’m not sure—”
My sister said, “Benjamin Perkins, we’ve known Molly all our lives. What’s gotten into you? I trust her.” She turned to Molly and said, “What do you want to know?”
“Did you realize Jerry Sanger was dealing drugs?”
Louisa was stunned by the news. My sister was no actress; the concept was really shocking to her. “Drugs? I can’t believe it. Are you sure? You’ve got to be mistaken.”
“I’m sorry to be the one to tell you about it. We found the evidence in his apartment.” She added softly, “His real apartment, not that place you used to meet him.”
Louisa said, “So that’s what you think the vandal was looking for in my apartment? Molly, I swear to you on all that’s holy that I had no idea. If I had, do you honestly think I would keep dating him? You know me better than that.”
Molly said, “I do, and that’s what’s been bothering me. Let me ask you this. Did Jerry ever ask you to hold anything for him? Say a package or a box that was mysterious in any way?”
“Never, I swear it. I can’t believe it. I’m just finding out what a snake he was, but this?”
“So where does that leave us?” I asked.
Molly said, “You and Jim should take Louisa out for a cup of coffee. I’ll have my crew through here in a heartbeat, then you can help her clean up.”
I turned to my brother. “Jim, why don’t you take Louisa over to The Hound Dog? I’ll catch up in a few minutes. I want to talk to Molly.” Fortunately my sister lived close enough to the shop and its environs to walk to the cafe. They left, and Molly said, “What’s this about, Ben? I’ve got work to do.”
It was clear she was trying to get rid of me, but I wasn’t going to back down. “Have you looked at Steve Erickson in all in this? I told you what I heard at Suds.”
Molly grabbed my arm and pulled me outside. “That’s real nice, Ben, questioning me like I was a school-kid in front of other cops. Are you trying to get on my bad side?”
“I have a right to know.”
She shook her head. “When are you going to get it through your head that you don’t have any rights in this thing? You have no standing in this investigation. None.”
“My sister is standing enough.”
She stared at me a few seconds, then let out a big sigh. “Ben, you’re driving me nuts.”
I waited, refusing to rise to her bait or start another fight.
Molly kicked at a piece of mulch on the sidewalk and finally said, “Of course we checked Erickson out. I looked into his alibi myself, and it holds up.”
“So where was he when Sanger was killed?”
“I shouldn’t tell you this, but I know you won’t get off my back until I do. He was with someone.”
People could be bribed or coerced into supplying alibis. I was going to have to hear more than that before I dropped him from my list. “Who? They could be lying for him.”
Molly said softly, “I don’t think the mayor’s wife is willing to lie for anybody under these circumstances.”
Why wasn’t I surprised? “He’s a real piece of work, isn’t he?”
Molly said, “His adultery alibis him for the murder. He’s a real prince, but it looks like he didn’t kill Jerry Sanger.”
“I don’t believe her,” I said.
“What you do or do not believe doesn’t matter here. You weren’t standing there when she broke down into tears. Now go have that coffee. I’m busy.”
As I walked to The Hound Dog to meet up with Jim and Louisa, I wondered if Erickson really was alibied for the murder. It would take a strong motivation for the mayor’s wife to expose herself like she had, but I had to wonder if Steve Erickson had some kind of leverage he was using on her.
I was still weighing the facts when I walked in, greeted by “Return to Sender” the way only Elvis could sing it.
“Could I have some coffee, Ruby?” I asked as I joined Jim and Louisa. They were already sipping theirs, each staring out the window as the urbanites walked past. Harper’s Landing had grown over recent years, and there were barely enough apartments and houses going up to meet the demand. A great many folks had opted to stay in the city where the restaurants, nightclubs, and shops like ours were situated. Louisa often bragged that she didn’t even need a car. She could walk everywhere she wanted to go. She still had the Jeep, though, and I knew giving it up would be losing too much freedom for her.
Jim asked, “Where do we stand with this?”
“Well, nothing valuable’s been taken. At least that’s something.” I hastily amended the statement to add, “Nothing they can file in a police report, anyway. Right now they’re treating it as just another random act of vandalism unless they find something else out.”
“What do you mean, another?” Louisa asked.
“Oh, that’s right, you haven’t heard. Somebody slashed my convertible top last night, then drove a knife into the seat.”
Louisa shivered. “What’s this world coming to? First Jerry’s murdered, then Monique’s attacked in her own shop, your car gets vandalized, and my apartment is trashed. Is somebody going after soapmakers?”
I took a sip from the cup, then said, “Somebody’s after something; I just wish I knew what it was.” I stared into my coffee, then said, “They have to be related, it doesn’t make sense otherwise. But how? What’s the common thread, besides our businesses?”
Jim said, “It’s got to be just that. There’s nothing else.”
I couldn’t bring myself to believe that. “What, some madman has it in for cleanliness? No, all the strands of the web come back to the center, and that’s Jerry Sanger and his life.”
Jim shook his head. “I don’t get it, and I’m not afraid to admit it. I was always better with my hands than figuring stuff like this out. Ben, we’re counting on you to get to the bottom of this.”
I took a sip of coffee, then said, “That’s what’s so frustrating. I don’t have any real clues, and too many suspects without enough motive to kill him. It’s impossible. No wonder Molly’s been hitting so many dead ends.”
Jim surprised me by patting my shoulder. He wasn’t big on physical contact with any of us; he never had been. “You can do this. I believe in you, Ben.”
Louisa echoed it with, “So do I.”
“I just wish I had as much faith as you two did,” I said as I stared out the window, watching as the people passed by. As we waited for Molly’s crew to finish, Jim and I tried to engage Louisa in some kind of conversation, but she wasn’t having any of it. Finally, after two refills, I felt like I was going to start climbing the
walls. I slid a five under my saucer and said, “Let’s get out of here.”
Louisa asked, “Do you think they’re finished yet?”
“If they’re not, they soon will be. Jim and I will stick around and help you clean up.”
“You don’t have to do that,” Louisa said meekly. The fire was nearly out of my sister’s spirit.
Jim said, “Don’t have to; want to.”
We walked her back to her place. Molly was just finishing up. To our surprise, there was a crowd milling around outside Louisa’s apartment. My family, in full force, was there waiting for us.
“What are you all doing here?” Louisa asked.
Mom took a step forward, hugged her, and said, “We’ve come to make things right. Molly gave me a quick look around when I got here. As soon as the police finish their investigation, we get started. While the ladies clean, the men will replace that destroyed sofa of yours and your bed.”
Louisa averted her gaze as she admitted, “Mom, I can’t afford anything new right now.”
Our mother said, “Nonsense, I’ve got a perfectly good couch and love seat set going to waste in my living room. I’ve been meaning to replace it, but I haven’t had a good excuse till now.”
Louisa added meekly, “But what about the shop?”
“There are some things that are more important than Where There’s Soap,” my mother pronounced. “We are officially closed until we can get you back on your feet.” She turned to me and added, “Your class has been postponed until tomorrow. I’ve already called everyone on the list.”
I wasn’t about to disagree. Louisa needed us, every last one of us, and that was exactly what she was going to get.
After Molly’s crew left and she released the apartment, the Perkins clan swarmed all over the place. In an odd sort of way it was fun working with my mother, brothers, and sisters on something that wasn’t related to Where There’s Soap. There was a constant conversation running, a dialogue covering dozens of family memories. Somehow we got started on past vacations, and the women were still discussing a trip we’d all taken with Mom and Dad to Canada by the time Jim, Bob, Jeff, and I got back with the replacement sofa and love seat. It didn’t exactly match Louisa’s mod decor, but she had to have somewhere to sit, and whoever had broken in had done a number on her living room furniture. We had to replace the mattress, too, so until Louisa could get a new bed, we’d taken her old one from her room at the house. I’d thrown a poster of a kitten on top, just to tease her.
She pounced on it and said, “I can’t believe you brought Fluffy.” She’d named the cat in the photo the second she’d brought the poster homeland I was surprised to see her tape it up inside her closet. She kissed my cheek and said, “You’re nothing but a big softy inside, aren’t you?”
“It was a joke,” I protested, but it didn’t do any good. My brothers jumped on the designation with glee, rubbing it in at every opportunity. By noon, it was tough to tell that Louisa’s apartment had ever been disturbed. I said, “What about the locks?” I’d called the locksmith as soon as we went back inside together, and he’d promised he’d be there by twelve.
“Oh, we forgot to tell you,” Cindy said. “He came while you guys were gone. She’s got new keys and everything.”
“No more hide-a-keys, okay?” I said. “Give one of us your spare and we’ll keep it for you.”
Louisa had gotten some of her fire back since that morning. “Honestly, Ben, I can take care of myself.”
“I know you can. So do you want me to keep the spare, or do you want to give it to Mom?”
She ignored the request, but instead asked, “Is anyone else hungry? Suddenly I’m starving.”
Mom said, “Never fear, I can have lunch ready for all of you in twenty minutes.”
“Mom, let’s all eat out,” I said. “I’ll even treat.”
Mom said, “Save your money, big spender. I’ve got enough deli meats and cheeses for everyone back at the shop. We can eat, then open up right after lunch.” She took Louisa’s hand in hers and added, “Unless you need us here with you.”
Louisa looked around. “No, the place looks fine. I’m not going to hang around here all afternoon by myself. I want to work, too.”
Jeff asked, “Are you sure that’s such a good idea? This has been kind of a shock.”
Mom thunked his shoulder gently. “You heard your sister; if it’s work she wants, work we’ve got. Now let’s go.”
“What about my class?” I asked Mom as we lingered behind with Louisa.
“It’s too late to reschedule it now. They can come tomorrow. Tell you what. We’ll give them a 10 percent discount on anything they buy after your session tomorrow. Will that appease them?”
“No doubt some of them will jump on it,” I said. Getting any kind of discount from my mother meant more than receiving free products from other shops. I wondered if my class would realize just how special an offer they were going to be getting.
After lunch, we reopened Where There’s Soap. I felt out of sorts without my class to teach and hoped that they’d all be able to show up the next day. It was the last session for the melt-and-pour method, and I had some interesting things to show them with layering and scent combinations. I decided to make more samples for them, not because I had to, but just because I enjoyed the process so much. There are some enthusiasts who look down on the melt-and-pour technique, but I found it flexible enough to allow lots of variations without being out of everyone’s reach. I was adding a pearlescent red pigment to a second layer in my mold when Cindy walked into the classroom.
She looked surprised to find me in the classroom. “Hey, Mom cancelled your class, remember?”
“Well, I wanted to work up a few things before tomorrow.”
She picked up a vial of lemon balm and tossed it between her hands as she spoke. “You really enjoy teaching, don’t you?”
I took the bottle from her hand. “It’s fun. You know, I thought I knew all there was to know about soapmaking, and then I taught my first class. It’s amazing the kinds of questions you get, and how eager the students can be. You don’t know what you’re missing.”
She looked around the room, then said, “Yeah, well, you’re good with people. I’m not comfortable standing in front of a class and telling them what to do.”
“Cindy, don’t think of it as lecturing.” There had to be a way to convey the meaning behind what I was doing. A thought suddenly occurred to me. “Let me ask you something. If you knew the path to a beautiful garden, someplace really special, would you keep it to yourself, or would you want to share it?”
“It depends on who I’d have to share it with,” she said.
“Let’s say it’s someone who desperately wants to see it, will respect it, in fact, may even tend it and make it more beautiful?”
“I’d show them, of course.”
“Think of our classes like that. These folks come here entirely of their own volition wanting to learn. You’ve got skills in soapmaking you take for granted, since you’re surrounded by all of us, but these are people who want a taste of what you know. It’s so much fun watching them discover the talents within themselves.”
“I don’t know,” she said. “You make it sound great, but I’m not sure I’d be all that good at it.”
“Tell you what; why don’t you sit in on my class tomorrow? You don’t have to say a word. Just sit in the back and listen and observe. I think you’ll be surprised.”
“Maybe I will,” she said, then headed out the door.
I knew Cindy wanted to find her station in our soapmaking family, but she was going to have to do it in her own way. She had more natural ability for scent combinations than I’d ever have, but I wanted her to experience the fun of teaching, too. There was more to the process than formulas and blends.
Maybe tomorrow I’d have a chance to lead her to a new garden myself.
Chapter 14
By the time Where There’s Soap closed for the day, I found
myself at loose ends. How could it be that I was already used to spending my free evenings with Kelly when we’d just shared two dates? I fought the urge to call her, knowing that she was getting reacquainted with her daughter after an absence. Kelly had warned me that she was devoted to Annie, that she’d made a pledge that her little girl’s happiness came before hers. I just hoped that didn’t mean that there wouldn’t be any room for me in her life, too.
My youngest brother Jeff found me on the front porch after everyone else was gone. “I thought you left,” I said.
He joined me on the step. “No, there’s not much to go home to. Renee’s in Raleigh on business this week, so I’ve been hanging around the shop.” Renee was my brother’s sometime girlfriend. They’d had a casual relationship for years, and the matchmakers in the family had given up long ago on them ever making it anything more permanent. Mom was constantly holding Bob up to Jeff and Jim and me, pointing out that at least one Perkins man wasn’t afraid to commit. Jeff’s pattern with Renee did eerily match mine with Molly.
“You want to grab a bite to eat?” I said.
He looked surprised by the idea. “You mean you’re not going out with Kelly? I thought you two were a thing now.”
I shrugged. “We had two dates. That’s it.”
In a curt tone of voice, he said, “Hey, I didn’t mean anything by it. If you’re not going out with Kelly, you could always call Molly. I know she’d love to hear from you.”
I stood and brushed off the seat of my pants. “Sorry, maybe the two of us hanging out wasn’t such a good idea after all.” He was starting to sound like the girls, and I didn’t need that from one of my brothers.
“Hang on, Ben.” He grabbed my pant leg and added, “Sit down, would you? I hate it when you tower over me like that.”