by Lyndsey Cole
The muscles in Jason’s face relaxed. “Okay. I’ll have everything under control by then.” He shooed her out the door before she had a chance to shrug out of her warm clothes and delay his dinner preparations any further.
Annie didn’t think it was possible for Jason to turn the mess in the kitchen into a romantic dinner, but if anyone could pull it off, it would be him.
Roxy darted to the Lake Trail, eager to catch up with all the latest scents her nose could find. There were the usual squirrel tracks, other dog tracks, and some large bird prints that Annie thought could be wild turkey. Roxy checked them all out as they meandered along the trail.
Most of the cottages, which were actually year-round homes, were lit up with candles and Christmas trees framed by big windows. Even those that were second homes had smoke drifting from their chimneys which brought a woodsy scent to the cold air.
Surprisingly, the Lake Trail was deserted, which suited Annie just fine.
On the walk back, Roxy ran up the path to her elderly neighbor’s kitchen door. If she knew how to open the door herself, she wouldn’t have even waited for Annie. Annie knocked and turned the doorknob, knowing Thelma most likely didn’t hear the knock. Roxy squeezed through the opening as soon as she could fit her wiry body through the crack.
Annie followed after she stomped the snow off her boots.
“Roxy, what a nice surprise. Did you bring anyone with you?” Thelma’s voice rang out from her living room that overlooked the lake.
“Hello, Thelma. Roxy beat me inside again.” Annie hung her jacket up next to the door and carried the box of cookies into the living room.
Thelma already had the jar of dog treats open while Roxy waited patiently. “Here you go.” Roxy took the dog treat very gently from Thelma and lay down on the floor to enjoy it.
“Hello, Annie. I didn’t expect you at this time of day. Shouldn’t you be home having dinner with Jason?”
“Well,” Annie drew out the word, “Jason is fixing a surprise for me and it wasn’t quite ready.”
Thelma clasped her hands together. “That sounds so romantic.”
“I think romance was his goal, but . . . the house smelled like he burned whatever he had planned so I’m not sure how romantic it will be. I suspect he’s searching through the freezer for something he can thaw out and pretend he didn’t burn Plan A.”
Thelma laughed. “That will only make the evening more memorable. I see you have a box from the Black Cat Café.”
Annie had forgotten she was holding the box of cookies for Thelma. “Should I put this in the kitchen? You probably don’t want any sweets now, do you?”
“Of course I want some now. That just might be my dinner. Now, let me see what’s in the box.”
Annie laughed and handed the box to Thelma. “I’ll make you some tea to go with the cookies. It sounds like the perfect dinner. Maybe that’s what will be on my dining room table when I get home—cookies and tea.”
“My mother was a true believer in the idea that, every once in a while, it was important to have dessert first. She’d let us decide what we wanted for that special treat, and as long as we still ate our dinner after, we’d be allowed to have another of what my mother named our dessert first night.” Thelma untied the ribbon around the box from the Black Cat Café. “Oh my, this is definitely going to be my night for dessert first.”
“When you put it that way, maybe that is Jason’s plan. This whole burned food thing was only his diversion to get me out of the house. I’ll be okay with having a dessert and no dinner night.” Annie went into the kitchen and made tea for Thelma.
A big Maine Coon cat wandered in behind Annie and rubbed against her legs. “Hello, Moby. Are you all settled in here with Thelma?”
“Oh yes,” Thelma said from the other room. “Moby is in and out even in this cold weather. He’s decided his favorite spot for napping is the cushion on the window seat—it lets him watch the world go by, although he pretends he isn’t paying attention.”
Annie poured the tea. “Should I fill his food bowl?”
“Is it empty? He eats more than I do. I guess you could add a little.”
Annie stroked Moby’s soft fur and dropped a handful of food in his bowl. He sniffed it and turned away. “You aren’t hungry, just hoping for a treat.”
Annie brought the hot tea and set it on the table next to Thelma on top of a pile of old yearbooks. “You’ve been reminiscing?”
“The yearbooks? Yes, I like to look through them, it helps me remember my former students.” Thelma had the top off the box and one of the chocolate chunk cookies in her hand. It was half gone. “These are the best. Thank you.”
“Did you try the chocolate cookies with peppermint filling? I think you’ll really like those.”
She popped the rest of the first cookie in her mouth and chose one of the peppermint cookies. After one bite, she closed her eyes and inhaled as if the flavor wasn’t enough. “Oh, I think I’ve just died and gone to heaven. These are amazing.”
Annie sat quietly, letting Thelma savor her cookies. Her visits were always punctuated with some sage advice, moments of quiet reflection, and usually a bit of crossword puzzle help. Coming later in the day as she had, Annie hoped the crossword puzzle was all done.
“So, how is Leona liking her new business venture? My son told me there was an open house yesterday.”
“There was, and Randy Berry’s son Wade brought their Clydesdale pair with a sleigh down for sleigh rides around the field. It was a big hit, especially with the gentle snowfall making it a postcard-perfect moment.”
“My son also told me about Danny’s mother—that must have been quite a shock for him.”
Annie hadn’t planned on talking about the murder with Thelma. “It was a shock to Danny that Heather was even in town. And then, to find out she was murdered, well, he’s still dealing with that.”
“That poor boy. Heather was not the best mother if my memory serves me right. She left him alone while she went out and got involved in one shady scheme or another. I wonder why she even came back to town.” Thelma helped herself to a third cookie.
Annie raised an eyebrow but said nothing. If, at eighty-five, Thelma Dodd wanted to eat cookies for dinner, she had certainly earned the right. “Heather told Randy that she came back for revenge.”
Thelma slowly took bites from her cookie and gazed out the window. Annie wondered what old memory was going through her mind.
“Revenge? I can think of several people in town who might have been unhappy to see her stop by.”
“Unhappy enough to kill her?”
“Well,” Thelma paused to brush crumbs off the blanket that covered her legs. “I can’t read anyone else’s mind.”
“But you have some strong suspicions about this mess, don’t you?”
Thelma smiled. “You know me too well, Annie. It’s hard not to have opinions. And, it’s been quite a number of years, but I remember Heather Davis from when she was a student of mine and after she graduated. Several people, who should have known better, bullied her.”
“Bullied her? Is that why she left town?”
“I think so. Once Danny joined the army, there wasn’t anything keeping her here. Of course, this is only my opinion, mind you, but I think she left and hoped to make a go of it elsewhere. You know, with a clean slate.”
Moby jumped up and landed in Annie’s lap, all eighteen pounds of muscle and fur. He turned around several times before he found just the right spot and settled on her legs. Her hand stroked his fur and she was rewarded with loud purring.
“So, who was it that gave Heather such a hard time?”
“The way I remember it, Brian Black and Randy Berry were pretty tight. I think it was Brian who harassed Heather about her mothering abilities and Randy stood by silently. It never sat well with me. I believe everyone does the best they can do. It might not be perfect, as a matter of fact, it’s never perfect, but for all of Heather’s faults, she must have lo
ved Danny because I think he turned out pretty well.” She sipped her tea. “And don’t you think Leona would agree with me about that?”
“She’d agree with you that Danny turned out well, but I’m not sure about the part that Heather did the best she could. Did you know that she came back to town and wasn’t even planning to visit him?”
Thelma shook her head. “Well, remember this, Annie, we can’t know what she was thinking or why she made that decision. It is possible she thought it would be best for Danny.”
“You do have a point and now, sadly, we’ll never know what she was thinking. Was there anyone else you can think of who would not have wanted to see Heather again?”
Thelma closed her eyes, bent her head, and rested her chin on her palm. When she opened her eyes, Annie knew she had remembered something else.
“Olive Morgan. She and Heather were best friends at one time . . . inseparable . . . until they both fell in love with the same man.”
“Danny’s father?”
“Yes, that’s right. I wouldn’t be surprised if Olive held that against Heather until the day she died.”
Maybe until the day Olive killed her, Annie wondered. They sat quietly after that revelation. Thelma’s eyes closed and Annie suspected she had drifted back to some memories from long ago.
Annie and Roxy slipped quietly out the door and headed home. Now, all she needed was to dig a little deeper and find some hard evidence to show that someone besides Danny had the motive, means, and opportunity to have killed Heather.
No small task, but with Thelma’s information, she felt better than she’d felt ever since Leona revealed that she’d invited Heather to town.
With a warm glow through the windows of Cobblestone Cottage, Annie moved like a moth to a flame toward the cozy atmosphere. She couldn’t wait to get inside to see what feast Jason had ready.
17
Annie stomped her feet on the mat outside the porch door and let herself and Roxy in. The burned smell was gone, replaced with a woodsy aroma from the fireplace and a whiff of something delicious that made her mouth water—a big improvement.
Candles danced on the dining room table. The Christmas tree sparkled with a warm glow. A pleasant mix of oregano, garlic, and tomatoes drifted to Annie’s nose—more good signs.
It wasn’t until she noticed five place settings on the table that she had an unpleasant suspicion that Jason made a significant change in his dinner-for-two promise. And that was a bad sign as far as Annie was concerned.
Jason came down the stairs, his hair wet from a shower, jeans and a dark blue fleece vest over his flannel shirt, and a big smile on his face. “How is Thelma?”
“Fine. She’s enjoying cookies and tea for her dinner. What’s on our menu?” Annie looped her jacket over the hook next to the door and slipped her feet from her boots into her warm sheepskin slippers. She wondered how long it would take for Jason to break the bad news to her.
Jason rubbed his hands together. “Garlic bread, Italian sausage tomato soup, and a spinach salad. Are you hungry?” He poured two glasses of Merlot and handed one to Annie.
“Ravenous.” She glanced at the table. “I think you miscounted the plates. Shall I put three away?”
“Surprise!” Jason’s office door opened and Leona, Mia, and Camilla rushed into the room. “You don’t mind some company, do you?” Leona asked.
Had she already forgotten that Annie said not to show up and the door would be locked? Someone either had a short memory or major hearing loss for Leona to be asking her question.
Annie, speechless, looked at Jason. He shrugged and whispered in her ear, “I called for advice after I burned my dinner attempt. Of course, Leona offered to help. What she didn’t tell me was that she planned to bring the crew and stay. What could I say?”
“No? That’s the first word that comes to my mind.” Annie looked at the faces staring at her that had been happy and hopeful a moment ago but were now trending toward we screwed up. As much as she wanted to relax and eat with only Jason, she couldn’t kick anyone out after coming to his rescue.
She sighed. “I hope you have more than that one bottle of wine, Jason.”
He hugged her, almost causing her wine to slosh over the rim of her glass. “There’s plenty of food, plenty of wine, and—”
“Plenty of dessert.” Leona finished Jason’s comment as she added three more glasses to the counter, ready to be filled. “I figured the dessert would be the bribe to get you back in a good mood after we made this surprise takeover of your dinner plans.”
“Danny didn’t want to come?” Annie asked.
“He was tired and not particularly chatty so I made a plate for him and said I wouldn’t be home too late.”
Leona planning to leave early was at least one bright spot in this invasion. “Did Danny tell you what he did today?” Annie helped herself to a stuffed mushroom from a platter of hors d’oeuvres.
“All he said was that he tried to fix what Heather broke. Whatever that’s supposed to mean.”
Camilla picked up a glass of wine. “I never got a chance to tell you about that beaded clutch that I snuck from Heather’s hobo bag. Remember? Detective Crank came into my shop and you two hightailed it out before I could fill you in.” She looked at Annie and Leona and slipped onto the stool next to Annie.
“We’re listening,” Annie said. She had hoped to put all this murder stuff out of her head for the night but, apparently, that wasn’t going to happen. Anyway, she was curious.
Camilla tapped her nails on the counter. “Well, I thought the clutch was stunning and, when I had a few minutes, I gave it a detailed examination.”
Everyone nodded.
“Those beads? I’ve never seen anything like them. The quality got me pretty excited.”
“That might explain why Liz was so angry when she couldn’t find her beaded clutch. She told Olive she’d blow up her scheme if it didn’t turn up. Something very fishy is going on at the Gently Used Boutique.” Annie said.
“Annie, when were you planning to tell us this?” Camilla scolded. “The clutch belonged to Liz, Heather stole it from the Gently Used Boutique, and it turns out that the clutch is worth a lot more than just the value of an unusual fancy beaded clutch. No wonder it wasn’t for sale.”
“What do you mean?” Annie asked. She popped a cracker covered with cheese into her mouth.
“The beads aren’t imitation. At least, not all of them. Someone cleverly interspersed real gems among the beads.”
Silence filled the house as everyone tried to digest Camilla’s words.
“You’re kidding,” Annie finally managed to utter. “Where is the clutch now? I hope you have it well hidden.”
“I brought it with me. Wouldn’t Olive assume the police have everything that was in Heather’s possession?”
“I hope so.” In the back of Annie’s mind, she couldn’t help but wonder who suspected Heather stole the beaded clutch in the first place. Besides Olive. Did Heather or Liz even know the value?
Leona pulled the garlic bread from the oven. She sliced it and piled it in a lined basket. She carried the soup tureen and the bread to the table. Jason added the salad to the mix. “Okay, let’s get this food while it’s still hot,” Leona said. “We can eat and then discuss all this information and try to make some sense out of it.”
Leona filled one bowl from a separate pot and set it in front of Jason’s seat. “I made a small batch of tomato soup with zucchini and no sausage just for you, Jason.”
“Don’t say it so loud or everyone will want mine,” he joked. “Seriously,” with raised eyebrows he looked around the room, “any takers? I’m happy to share if anyone wants to try this vegetarian version of Leona’s amazing Italian tomato soup.”
Everyone shook their heads and headed to the table and their bowls of tomato soup loaded with sausage.
Jason set his bowl at his spot and walked around the table refilling wine glasses. “I have to say, I couldn’t ask fo
r a better group of friends to break bread with tonight.”
“For a group, I’ll agree with you Jason, but I have to say,” Annie added, “this was supposed to be a dinner for two.”
Leona flicked her hand dismissively. “You’d be starving then, Annie. I cleaned out what you would have been eating and it was so burned it was unrecognizable. I’m surprised the fire department didn’t show up.”
“Big exaggeration, Leona,” Jason said in between chuckles. “The smoke alarm didn’t even go off.”
“Ha! You pulled out the battery.”
“Okay. Okay. I admit it. My dinner attempt was a failure, but I tried. And, actually, I made the salad. Don’t I get any credit for that?”
“Next time,” Annie said, “we can just have dessert.” She loved Thelma’s dessert first routine.
“I’ll keep that in mind,” Jason said as he added spinach salad to his plate.
“All joking aside, I am glad your cooking turned out so badly, Jason,” Leona said. “I needed an excuse to talk to all of you without Danny around. Annie said only an emergency would count for us to come over and I guess there were two emergencies. The first one was Jason’s cooking.” Everyone laughed. “The second is what I found in my car when I got in to drive over here.”
The comment wiped any gaiety off every face. Spoons stopped midair between bowls and mouths. No one even swallowed.
Leona set her spoon down on the edge of her plate. “Danny had my car today. When I got in, I saw a dirty towel on the floor in the back. At first I didn’t think too much about it. Danny is always tinkering and if it had been in his truck, I would have completely ignored it. But,” she paused to breathe, “it was in my Mustang, and dirty towels are not what I leave in my car.”
“What was it, Leona?” Annie felt her chest tighten. She had a terrible suspicion this story was heading toward a bad ending. At best.
“Before I drove away, I got out and peeked under the towel.”
It felt like all the air was sucked out of the room as everyone waited for Leona to continue.