by Maddie Day
Her mouth turned down, as if the thought of going to the police station tasted bad. “Here would be fine, sir.”
“Very well.” Buck glanced around. Nobody was sitting in the immediate vicinity. “Robbie, if you could manage not to seat anyone new next to us, I would appreciate it.”
“That should be fine.” Unless a big group came in, in which case we’d need every available seat and then some.
“This should cover my meal, Robbie.” Shirley handed me the check and enough money to pay for it and a tip, too. “I don’t need change.”
“Thanks.” I gave one last swipe to the table behind them and reluctantly moved on. If I scrubbed it any more I’d take off the finish.
My next ten minutes were full with delivering tickets, taking money, busing tables, and helping a customer find exactly the right gift for her mother. I visually checked Shirley’s table every chance I got. So far her conversation with Buck looked like it was peaceable. Harmonious. No voices were raised, she hadn’t stormed away, and he hadn’t escorted her out, either. I didn’t know what I’d expected and was glad it looked more like a casual chat than a police grilling of a suspect. Abe had said Shirley didn’t like Toni at all. If this morning’s death had been at someone else’s hand, the tenant could easily acquire the label of suspect, or at least person of interest.
I’d finished ringing up a man who bought three of Adele’s hats and three small jars of honey when Octavia Slade pushed through the door. I thanked him and greeted her in the next breath.
“We’re still open for lunch. You can sit anywhere.” I gestured toward the emptying restaurant.
“Thank you.” Her gaze was on Buck and Shirley. “I’m going to join my colleague over there.”
“They’ve both eaten already. He’s interviewing Shirley.”
Now she looked at me. “Yes, Robbie.” She spoke with the kind of slow, borderline-impatient tone adults use to children. “I’m aware of that.”
I made a little fine, be that way face at her back as she wove through the tables toward the policeperson and the person of interest. If the detective wanted to order food, let her ask for it. And if she didn’t order it before we closed at two-thirty, tough toenails.
Danna signaled to me from the kitchen area.
“What’s going on over there?” she asked, pointing her head toward the officers and Shirley.
“No clue, except Detective Slade was just a teensy bit rude to me.” I shut my mouth before I said something rude, too.
“Think Shirley is okay?”
“No clue about that, either. Do you know her?”
“She coached my soccer team when I was in elementary school,” Danna said, still looking at the threesome. “She’s really good at the sport. She was also great at helping energetic little girls learn how to work together.”
“Do you think Shirley is a good enough player to make it onto a professional team?” I asked.
“I’d say so.”
“Shirley said she works at a gift shop in Nashville. That doesn’t sound like much of a career.”
“Right? But she’d have to move to Chicago to play on the Red Stars. She must have something keeping her in Brown County.”
A sick mother? A troubled sibling? Or a child, possibly. If anyone knew Shirley’s story, Adele would. I’d ask her when I got a chance.
Turner showed up with a load of dishes. “Something’s going on over there,” he muttered. He faced us and made a gesture backwards with his thumb in front of his chest.
I looked. Octavia hadn’t sat. She stood with hands clasped in front of her talking to Shirley, but they were too far away for me to hear. Shirley shook her head, hard. Buck made a conciliatory wave of his hands. Octavia gestured in the direction of the door. Shirley shook her head again. Buck patted her arm, then stood. Octavia reached for Shirley’s elbow, but she shook her off and rose, arms folded tight over her chest. The three of them started for the exit. I headed over to intercept them.
Octavia lowered her chin, giving me a look signaling Don’t you dare interfere. I ignored it.
“Shirley, are you all right?” I asked.
Her neck and cheeks were aflame. “Yes. They want my fingerprints, if you can believe it.”
“I can, but I’m sure it’s only to eliminate you,” I said. From being a suspect, I would guess, but I didn’t say it to her.
Octavia pulled open the door. Buck hung back.
“Dang it, Robbie,” he murmured. “I gotta pay you.”
“Bird?” Octavia said sharply.
“Don’t worry about it, Buck,” I said. “I’ll start a tab for you.” Actually, I wouldn’t. He’d overpaid so many times I literally owed him a week of meals, not that he would take me up on it.
“Sorry about all this” were his last words to me.
“Ms. Csik, if you’ll kindly come with me.” He ushered her out the door with gentle moves.
Octavia let the heavy door close. “I will not have you interfering in my investigation, Robbie.” The tautness of her mouth carved a dozen tiny wrinkles above her upper lip.
“And I’d appreciate it if you didn’t haul any more paying customers out of their chairs. It’s not good for business, Octavia.” I turned on a dime and made a beeline for the kitchen. She might have seen the smoke coming out of my ears before the bell jangled and she was gone. I didn’t care.
Chapter Sixteen
I hurried toward Shamrock Hardware at a little after four. I was clean out of trash bags, and all the sponges in the restaurant were looking pretty grotty. In addition, a bracket had broken as Turner had tried to clean it after we closed. The bracket held our recipe book stand, which was important so we could consult the store recipes hands free. Abe’s brother’s store should have a replacement, since that was where I’d gotten it in the first place.
I smiled to see the store staff all wearing Santa hats. Danna and Turner and I could start doing same, but it was a little early. Last year we broke them out for only the final pre-Noel week. I rounded the end of a row and nearly ran into Sean, equally outfitted in headgear. He had his foot on the bottom rung of a step stool and held a box of lightbulbs. He worked here after school a few days a week and had probably ramped up his hours for the holidays.
“Hey, Robbie.”
“Hi, Sean. How’s it going?”
“Good. Can I help you find something?”
I held up the broken bracket, which I’d unscrewed before I left the restaurant. “I got this here when I was renovating my store, and it broke this afternoon.”
“We can definitely replace it at no cost.”
“That’s not necessary. We’re pretty hard on our appliances because we have to clean so often, and this sits right near the grill.”
Sean shook his head. “No, my uncle is, like, really clear about the policy. Replacement of a store item if it’s broken. No questions asked.”
“Sounds like a great deal to me. Don’s a good man.”
Sean frowned. “That Doctor Geller doesn’t seem to think so.”
“Oh?” Geller’s name sure was popping up a lot this week.
“He was in here a little while ago. He brought in a part that was broken and wanted the free replacement. He and Uncle Don got in a major argument about it.”
“Why?”
“Because we don’t sell that brand. My uncle said he never has. What kind of a tightwad tries to rip off a local businessman?” He shook his head.
I frowned, too. “That’s crazy. It’s not like Don doesn’t know what he sells.”
“Right? The doctor even let loose a bunch of swears. Uncle Don finally had to say he was going to call Buck before the dude would leave.” He set down the box of bulbs. “Come on, I’ll show you where the brackets are.”
I thanked him and followed him down the next aisle to the end. New bracket in hand, I said, “I’ll let you get back to work. Thanks for the help. I need a few other things, but I know where they are.”
“Wait.” Sea
n touched my arm and lowered his voice. “I’ve been trying to think of what to get my dad for Christmas. Can I ask you what you think about an idea I had?” His tone was touchingly sincere, especially for a teenage boy.
“Of course.”
“You know how nuts he is about cooking.”
I nodded.
“And he lived in Japan for a while. So I found a Japanese restaurant in Bloomington, and guess what?”
I wanted to hug this kid right now. Instead, I said, “What?”
“They give cooking classes! I talked to the lady, and based on what I told her about his experience, she’ll let him into the advanced class. I’ve been working all the hours I can to pay for it.”
“Sean, you are the best.” Now I did hug him, but for only a second.
His cheeks flamed. “No, I’m not. I mean, you know, sometimes him and me, we kind of butt heads. But he’s, like, a super good dad.”
“What teenager doesn’t butt heads with his father? Abe’s going to love that gift. And, seriously, if you come up short on the amount, I’m happy to fill in the gap for you.” Abe was so going to appreciate Sean’s gesture, and he would enjoy the classes, too.
“That’s really nice, Robbie. I hope I won’t need that, but if I do, I’ll pay it all back.”
“Deal.” We exchanged a fist bump. “See you soon.” I was on the verge of calling him “sweetie” but closed my mouth in time. We were nearly on that basis, but not quite. Geller, on the other hand, didn’t sound like anybody’s sweetie. Someone fighting with mild-mannered Don was almost laughable.
Chapter Seventeen
As Abe and I walked over to Danna’s house at a little before six o’clock, I filled him in about Shirley being taken away earlier for fingerprinting and, I assumed, grilling, by Octavia.
“That seems logical,” he said. “Their apartments do share a wall, and everybody knows Toni didn’t treat her tenant very well. Folks also know Shirley was unhappy about it.”
“I hate that they took her away like that in my restaurant with other diners looking on.”
“I hear you.”
“Abe, Adele told me Toni inherited all his dad’s money. If she’s well off, why in the world is she living in a duplex? That can’t be where she lived with her wealthy husband.”
“Exactly. I heard Toni blew through a lot of the money early on and mismanaged much of the rest. She had to sell the big house in Nashville. The duplex was all she could afford, because she could rent out the other half.”
“Wow. Jamie must resent her even more for losing the house he grew up in and wasting his dad’s money.”
“You got that right.”
We passed Corrine’s vintage Jaguar in the driveway. I rang the doorbell of the modest ranch house.
“Come on the heck in, you two.” Corrine pulled open the door. She gave Abe a hug and I got one, too, inhaling her cloud of perfume as she leaned down to reach me. Corrine didn’t go halfway on anything. “We’re setting in the family room.”
I handed Corrine two bottles of wine. “One red, one white.”
“You didn’t have to bring a thing, hon, but I do appreciate it.”
“Thanks for having us, Corrine,” Abe said.
“Hey, you and Robbie are family, like.”
We followed her down a hall to a comfortable room where Danna and Josephine sat side by side on a long sofa. We greeted them. Josephine had insisted I call her Josie last year when I’d met her, so Josie, it was.
“No Marcus?” I asked.
“He texted me he’s running late,” Danna said. “He’ll be here soon.”
Corrine pointed at armchairs. “Now set yourselves down, kids. Wine for everybody, or beer?”
Abe held up a hand. “Beer for me, please. We walked over, so we can both indulge a bit.”
“You got it.” She pointed at me. “Robbie, I got a chilled white open.”
Josie held up her wineglass. “It’s a very nice pinot gris, my favorite.”
“I’d love a glass, thanks.”
Corrine bustled off toward the kitchen from which emanated some delicious aroma I thought might be beef stew. My stomach growled audibly and Danna laughed.
“Help yourselves.” She pointed at a dish of multicolored olives, a bowl of carrot sticks next to one of hummus, and a plate of cheese and crackers.
“Thanks.” I selected a fat green olive and bit around the pit.
“I’m excited to meet this young man,” Danna’s grandmother said. “Now I have two grandkids instead of one.”
Right. Danna had said Corrine didn’t have siblings.
“You’re going to love him, Josie.” Danna beamed.
“I’m surprised Isaac isn’t here,” Abe said, referring to Danna’s sweetheart.
“He couldn’t make it. He teaches a metalworking class on Thursday nights. Plus, I think he’s a little suspicious of this new man in my life. I keep telling him he’s my brother, not a boyfriend.” The little ring in her right eyebrow went up. “He’ll come around.” She sipped from her glass of seltzer.
Corrine came back with my glass of wine and Abe’s beer in a frosty mug and sat next to me, tapping her right foot. For once she wasn’t wearing heels, instead clad in flat-soled red tennis shoes. Her tennies, as we called any athletic footwear back in my home state of California, were of red leather but were flat, nonetheless. The layers of her flaming red hair were more subdued tonight, too.
“Are you nervous to meet Marcus?” I asked her.
“I guess I am, a little.” Her red-painted lips quavered. “I’m afraid I’m going to blubber all over the boy.”
Wow. I’d never seen a vulnerable side to Corrine. We all have our weaknesses, of course, but some hide them better than others.
“You’re good, Mom.” Danna leaned forward, elbows on knees. “He’s looking forward to meeting you and Josie, and he told me he doesn’t blame you for giving him up.”
Corrine inclined her head, but didn’t speak.
“Robbie,” Josie began. “Will you be investigating Beltonia’s death? I heard talk of suspicious circumstances.”
Skipping over the investigating part, I asked, “Oh? What did you hear?”
“My friend whose daughter works dispatch told me they called the crime scene team to the apartment. What with Toni’s death coming so soon after the discovery of her long-lost sister’s bones, and all.”
“I’m not the least bit surprised,” Corrine said. “Toni had more enemies than Judas and Nixon put together.”
Abe let out a laugh at the image. I filed away that piece of information.
“Corrine and Josie, Danna and I were talking about Shirley Csik today,” I said.
Danna picked up the thread. “Yeah. She should be playing pro soccer, but she’d have to move to Chicago or another big city to be on a team.”
“Do either of you know if there’s something keeping her here?” I asked. “A retail job in a gift shop doesn’t exactly seem like a compelling reason to stay.”
“Not really,” Corrine said.
Josie shook her head. “You might ask Adele. She pretty much knows everything.”
I smiled. “That’s for sure.”
Corrine glanced at the clock on the television. Danna saw her do it.
“I’ll text Marcus and see where—” She was interrupted by the chime of the doorbell. She leapt up. “I’ll get it.”
Corrine stood, smoothing down her black sweater.
“It’s going to be fine, sugar,” Josie murmured. “You’ll see.”
Danna nearly dragged Marcus into the room. He was dressed neatly in a white oxford shirt and green V-necked sweater with a big bunch of red carnations in his hand, but a tic beat in his upper lip and his smile was a nervous one.
“Mom, Marcus. Marcus, my mom, Corrine, and my grandma, Josie Dunn.”
Marcus stepped forward and held out his hand to Corrine. “I’m so glad to meet you, ma’am.”
“Hey, there, I’m no ma’am.” Corr
ine looked like she wanted to bear hug him, but held out her hand, instead. She folded her other hand around his and pressed, looking into his eyes. “I’d know you anywhere,” she whispered. She dropped his hand and swiped at her eyes. “I’m sorry, son. We have so much to talk about, if you’re willing.”
His eyes were equally as damp as he sniffed. “Thank you, Corrine.” He smiled through the emotion. “I’d like that.”
Josie stood. “I’m not settling for a handshake, young man.” She stretched out her arms and pulled him in for a quick hug. “You’ve just doubled my number of grandchildren and I couldn’t be happier.” She sat again.
“Me too.” He cleared his throat and gave me a little wave. “Hi, Robbie.”
“Marcus, this is Abe O’Neill, my significant other.”
Abe stood and shook hands.
Corrine shook herself. “Well, now, everybody set yourselves down. Can I get you a beer or a glass of wine, Marcus?”
“No, ma’am, but thank you. A glass of water will be fine.”
“Mom,” Danna remonstrated. “I told you he follows Islam. No alcohol.” She made a place for Marcus between her and Josie on the couch.
“I’m sorry I’m late.” Marcus frowned and blinked. “A detective wanted to ask me some questions about Toni.”
Octavia.
“Really?” Danna asked. The tiny silver ring in her eyebrow rose.
“I mean, Toni and I knew each other from the karate dojo.” Marcus pursed his lips. “I didn’t hang out with her or anything.”
“So why did Detective Slade call you in?” I asked.
He stared at me as if wondering how I knew Octavia, but didn’t ask. “Apparently some guy here in South Lick is slandering Muslims.” His fists clenched in his lap exactly like they had in the restaurant when Geller mentioned Marcus’s hat. “And I’m the closest target.”
Chapter Eighteen
While the others talked over drinks and appetizers, my brain was going overtime. I’d be willing to bet the slander spreader was William Geller. He couldn’t have evidence of Marcus killing Toni. Could he? I gazed at the tall young man, who, despite his dark coloring, really did look a lot like Corrine. He seemed so gentle, so intelligent. Maybe Phil could ask around at IU, see if they had any mutual friends. I thought. I didn’t know anyone from the Friends Meeting in Bloomington, but surely there was contact between those Quakers and the ones in Indianapolis.