by Rose Pressey
I opened up the folded paper. “It’s a poem.”
Charlotte and I exchanged a look. I knew right away who this belonged to.
“What does it say?” Charlotte asked.
Maureen leaned forward in the backseat. Ramon remained in his spot, but he was looking at me. There seemed to be fear in his eyes.
“Bad things happen to those who lie,” I read it out.
“What? Is that what it says?” Ramon leaned forward in the seat now.
Why was he freaking out? I knew he wasn’t telling me everything. Why did she leave this unless it was some kind of threat?
“You should tell the police about this,” Maureen said.
“I can, but I have a feeling she will just deny it. That seems to be her way. She has that innocent act down pat.”
Chapter 24
Cookie’s Savvy Tips for Vintage Shopping
Don’t be afraid to negotiate.
It’s okay to ask for a lower price.
As I drove farther away from the track, Dylan called.
“Can you meet me?” he asked.
The tone of his voice made it sound as if this was something a bit serious.
“Sure. Is everything okay?” I asked.
“Yes, just a few things to tell you that I just found out.”
Now I was really curious. It sounded like this was good info.
“I’ll meet you at the same restaurant,” I said.
“See you soon,” Dylan said.
“What did he say?” Charlotte asked.
“He has some information for me. I guess it’s about the case.”
“I’m really excited,” Charlotte said. “Where are we meeting him?”
“At the same restaurant,” I said.
“Well, that would not be my first choice, but nevertheless, punch it.” Charlotte motioned toward the road.
When I reached the restaurant, I parked next to Dylan’s car. Once inside, I scanned the place for him. Dylan was already sitting at a table in the corner. He waved for me to come on over. The place was more crowded this time.
Dylan pulled the chair out for me, and I sat down. “You look lovely,” he said.
“Doesn’t she though?” Charlotte ran her hand through Dylan’s hair.
He frowned and felt the air above him. “Must be a draft in here.”
“Thank you,” I said.
When he looked away, I gave Charlotte a warning glare. The waitress came over and brought me a menu and a glass of water.
“Tell her to just go away. You want to know what he has to say.” Charlotte stepped close to the waitress.
She had very little patience.
When the waitress walked away, I said, “So tell me what you found out.”
Okay, so I had very little patience as well.
“You get right to the point, don’t you?” Dylan said with a smile.
“There’s little time to waste,” I said, also with a smile.
“Well, they took Kristina in for questioning.”
I immediately looked at Ramon. Of course, he was upset. I hated to see him like this, hated for him to think that his wife had murdered him.
“What? Don’t be so surprised,” Charlotte said. “You were cheating on her.”
That was hardly a reason to murder someone though. I wanted to tell Ramon that everything would be okay, but I knew that wasn’t the case.
“Is something wrong?” Dylan asked.
He had noticed that I was distracted. He looked over his shoulder to see what I was looking at. I forced myself to look away from the ghosts.
“What was their reason for taking her in?” I asked.
“Well, he was having an affair.”
“Ha. We already knew that,” Charlotte said, as if we’d just scored the first point in the game.
“Cookie is savvier than the police,” Maureen said.
I didn’t know about that. I’d gotten lucky.
“I’m glad that you found this information, but I wonder what will happen to her next.”
“She’ll probably go to prison,” Charlotte said.
“I guess they’ll arrest her. We’ll find out more information later today.”
“Keep me posted,” I said.
“Absolutely. So are we going shopping for my Derby outfit?”
“Of course,” I said, grabbing my bag. “I just need to go back to the bed-and-breakfast for a quick change.”
“Sure. I can meet you at the vintage shop,” Dylan said.
“Actually, it’s kind of out of the way.”
“He’s going to get suspicious eventually,” Charlotte said.
Dylan stared for a moment. “All right. I’ll see you soon.”
We didn’t know that he would be suspicious. As long as I had a good excuse, maybe he wouldn’t be. After saying good-bye to Dylan, I left the restaurant and headed for the bed-and-breakfast. Ken was probably wondering where I was. I pulled up to the house and hurried to the door.
As soon as I walked inside, I saw Ken in the hallway.
“I’m glad you’re back,” he said.
“Is something wrong?” I asked.
“I have something to show you. Come over here. I can put it on the television.”
What in the world could he possibly have to show me? When he put on the screen, Mandy’s face appeared. She was talking to the reporters. They did a whole segment talking about the race tomorrow, interviewing her.
“What’s so wrong about that?” Ramon asked.
The way that she talked was really weird. It was almost as if she was saying right there on TV that she was glad Ramon was gone.
Ramon tossed his hands up. “Why is everyone so glad that I’m gone? Was I really that bad of a person, or do I seem bad now?”
“You’re not too bad, I suppose, but maybe you were different when you were alive.” Charlotte studied her bright red fingernails.
“Yeah, you were probably a real jerk,” Maureen said.
Mandy was definitely acting weird. During the interview, she talked fast and fidgeted. Plus she had a nervous laugh. Maybe it was just because she knew she was on TV.
“You seem a little bit stressed,” Ken said when he turned off the television.
“I guess all of this is kind of stressing me out, to be honest. I’ll be glad when we’re back in Sugar Creek.” I rubbed my arms as if fighting off a chill. Seeing Mandy on TV still had me creeped out.
“Well, it’s almost finished now. Keep your chin up.” Ken touched my chin with his index finger. “So are you going to help me pick out that outfit?”
“You agreed to pick out an outfit for him too?” Charlotte said. “Oh, what a tangled web we weave.”
I’d never lied to Ken or Dylan. Maybe just withheld information.
“You’re going to have to do something,” Maureen said.
“Sure, we can arrange something. How about later today?” I asked.
“What about solving the murders? There’s no time for shopping,” Ramon said.
I would just squeeze the shopping in somehow.
“Later is fine. Do you have plans now?”
“Actually, yes. I was just checking on Wind Song.” I gestured toward upstairs.
Ken touched my arm. “Sure, we can talk later.”
I left Ken downstairs as I hurried up to my room to change and check on Wind Song again. It felt strange to walk into the room and see my grandmother eating Tuna Delight. I had to remember the cat was in there too. I slipped into a cute 1970s blue cotton sleeveless dress. It had a pointed collar and a bodice that buttoned all the way down the front. After putting on my white leather sandals with a white flower bloom attached to the top of each, I headed back out the door.
“Wind Song is really becoming accustomed to this house and seems to be feeling right at home,” Charlotte said.
“Well, this house does look like my grandmother’s old place.”
I hurried out the door before Ken could stop me again. I wouldn’t be
able to fib for much longer.
As we drove to meet Dylan, Charlotte said, “You know, you have to tell Dylan that Ken is here. You really can’t hide it any longer. They will see each other at the Derby.”
I sighed. “I guess you’re right.”
It was just easier to avoid the situation. I couldn’t keep doing that though. Eventually I had to face the truth. Charlotte was right. I had to tell Dylan.
Dylan’s car was parked in the lot when I arrived at the vintage shop. As I parked the Buick, he got out of his car.
“I was getting worried about you.” He leaned down and kissed me.
“There was a lot of traffic.”
“Well, you’re here now. Help me find the right outfit.” He took my hand, and we walked to the door.
“You have a great sense of style,” I said.
Dylan opened the shop door for me. “I’d hate to see what I picked out on my own.”
The shop was just as jam-packed full of clothing as the first time I’d visited. Maybe I should have tried a different store. Luckily, I spotted the overhead sign for men’s clothing at the back of the store.
“I think he’s just trying to make you feel better,” Maureen said.
“We should start with pants,” I said, motioning for Dylan to follow me.
“Pants would be good. He’d get strange looks without them.” Charlotte laughed.
I picked several options for Dylan to try. “Here you are. Try these.”
I stood outside the dressing room with the ghosts.
“I hate shopping,” Ramon said, leaning against the wall.
While Dylan was dressing, I figured I would casually mention the fact that Ken was in town and staying in the bed-and-breakfast. I should have told Dylan a long time ago.
“What do you think?” Dylan asked, showing me the first pick.
He turned around, giving me a full view of the outfit. His 1940s twill pants had cuffed leg openings and two side pockets, as well as two welt pockets on the back. The cotton shirt was also from the forties. The brown collar and sleeves paired well with the yellow body of the shirt. It had two front flap pockets and a single pleat in the back. The forties was my favorite decade for clothing. I loved the utilitarian look of the styles.
“I think it’s good, but you should try the others too.”
He smiled. “I thought you might say that.”
Dylan stepped back into the dressing room.
“There is something I need to tell you,” I said.
Charlotte wagged her finger. “Oh sure, wait until he can’t see your face.”
“What’s that?” Dylan asked.
“It’s about Ken. You remember him.”
Dylan peeked out the door with a frown on his face. “Yes, I know him. I get the feeling I’m not going to like what you’re about to say.”
“You got that right, man,” Ramon said.
“I should have told you this sooner,” I said.
I looked around and noticed that Charlotte was up to something. That was when I saw the mannequin slowly move. She was going to try to knock that thing over. Why, I wasn’t quite sure. I made a dash across the room, almost knocking over racks of clothing, just to keep the mannequin from falling.
At least my mad dash across the room was better than someone thinking that the place was haunted. If the mannequin fell over without anyone touching it, they’d think it was a ghost. I managed to reach the mannequin, and I even got a hold of it for a second, but before my hand had a good grip, it completely fell to the floor. Unfortunately, I also was unable to keep myself from going down with it. I landed with a loud crash on the floor on top of the mannequin. The ghosts seemed to find this extremely humorous. They were laughing loudly.
“Oh, you look really cool, Cookie,” Charlotte said.
Yeah, I knew. Thanks to her. She was the one who started this.
“Cookie, are you all right?” Dylan asked.
He hurried over and managed to help me up from the floor. I wiped off my clothing and straightened it.
“Yes, I’m fine,” I said.
I would talk to the ghosts later about this. “I just wanted to look at a blouse that was on the mannequin, and I accidentally knocked it over.”
“Wow, you must have been in a hurry to look at it. You made a dash for that thing,” Dylan said.
“Sometimes I get excited about vintage clothing,” I said.
“Clearly,” he said with a smile.
Of course, the ghosts were still laughing. I didn’t think it was all that funny. Okay, maybe it was a little funny, but one thing had happened. I guessed that that was Charlotte’s plan all along. Dylan and I were laughing, and he seemed to have forgotten all about the thing with Ken. Yes, that was Charlotte’s plan. She’d figured out a way to make things happy again. She might be a little rough around the edges, but she really was a good friend.
Chapter 25
Grandma Pearl’s Pearls of Wisdom
It’s a serious problem if sweet tea can’t fix it.
“Well, Dylan really knows how to work around things and get things going his way,” Charlotte said.
She was saying this because Dylan and I were picking out clothing for Ken. Dylan said there was no reason to make two trips since we were already there. I knew he was just trying to keep me from going anywhere with Ken. It had worked because I didn’t have the heart to disagree with him. We’d picked up gray cotton pants and a blue and gray short-sleeved cotton shirt.
Saying good-bye to Dylan, we agreed to meet later. I headed back to the bed-and-breakfast. Now I had to explain to Ken that I had bought his outfit without him. After all, he had asked me to buy it for him.
“I’m still impressed by how Dylan handled the situation,” Ramon said from the backseat.
“He is smooth,” Maureen said.
“I told Cookie that from the beginning,” Charlotte said.
I didn’t comment as I continued to navigate the road. I pulled into the driveway. Ken’s car wasn’t there.
“Well, at least now you have a bit of time before you have to explain that outfit to him,” Charlotte said.
“Actually, I’d rather do it now.”
I had worked up what I was going to say. Regardless, I grabbed his clothing and headed inside. When I stepped inside, everything was quiet. I had expected to see Hannah. The only sound was the ticking of the old grandfather clock in the hallway.
I headed up the stairs to my room. At the top of the stairs, I paused. There was a single brown loafer—only one shoe—and it appeared to be Hannah’s. I’d seen her wearing this pair earlier. This was odd. I picked up the shoe and called out for Hannah. A creepy feeling settled in my stomach. Hannah didn’t answer when I called for her.
“Cookie, I’m getting a strange vibe,” Charlotte said.
“Me too,” I whispered.
“You should be careful,” Maureen said.
I left the outfit in my room and decided to look for Hannah. I went over to her room. The door was open. I’d noticed during my stay that it had always been closed. I stepped just beyond the threshold and called out her name again. I didn’t want to invade her private space. An iron bed with a baby blue bedspread sat centered in the room against the wall. The walls were covered with a golden striped wallpaper. Antique chairs and a table were placed in front of the window that overlooked the backyard.
“It doesn’t look as if she’s here,” Charlotte said, walking completely into the room.
Charlotte and the other ghosts didn’t have the same concern for private space as they stood in the middle of the room. Something felt wrong. When Hannah didn’t answer, I stepped further into the room.
“I don’t think she’s here,” I said.
“You should look in the closet,” Charlotte said.
“Why would she be in the closet?” I asked.
Charlotte walked over and stuck her head through the door. “Nope, not there.”
I took a peek under the bed. I didn’
t know why, but it seemed like the only other place someone could hide. Was this a game of hide and seek? I got a bad vibe from this.
A noise sounded from somewhere in the house. I stopped.
“Did you hear that?” I whispered.
The ghosts nodded.
“I heard it. Sounded like it came from out in the hallway,” Ramon said.
When I stepped out into the hallway, the noise sounded again.
“It sounds like it’s coming from above,” Charlotte said.
“The only thing above is the attic,” I said.
“Maybe it’s a mouse,” Maureen said.
“That’s one heck of a mouse,” Charlotte said.
That was exactly my thought. If a mouse was big enough to make that kind of noise, then I didn’t want to run into it. The loud bang sounded again.
“I think that might be Hannah. Maybe she’s trying to get your attention,” Charlotte said.
“She could be hurt,” Maureen said. “You should go check.”
I hated the thought of going up into the attic, but if she needed help, I had to do just that. I went over to the opening for the attic and pulled the lever. The stairs came down, and I released a deep breath. I forced myself to climb up the stairs.
The space was dim, but I could still make out everything. That was when I saw her over in the corner of the room. She was bound up with rope and had a piece of tape over her mouth. Her brow was furrowed, and she shook back and forth. Her words were muffled. I suspected she was saying something, like “Get these ropes off me now!”
“Oh my heavens,” Charlotte said.
“Oh my goodness.” I raced over to her. “Are you okay?”
“Does she look okay to you?” Charlotte asked.
Of course not, but I had to ask if she had some sort of serious injury. I wiggled the rope, trying to get it undone. Whoever did this had done a really good job. After a struggle, I got her hands loose. Next Hannah and I worked on untying her legs. Once her legs were unbound, she took hold of the edge of the tape, and I grimaced as she ripped it from her mouth.
Now I asked again, “Are you all right?”
“No, I am not all right.”
“To be fair, that was a silly question,” Charlotte said.
“I was tied up in my attic. I thought I was going to die, so no, I am not all right,” she stood up from the floor.