by Krista Davis
“When he turned for a minute, I took my chances. I was still holding that rock thinking I could use it as a weapon against him, and I ran for my life. I barely made it into the car, locked the doors, and gunned the engine. I didn’t care if I ran over him.”
“What about the woman?” I asked.
“I only saw her from a distance. I could see her in the rearview mirror as I pulled onto the road. Well, I didn’t know what to do. I drove straight back to the store because I knew the other employees were there, and I wouldn’t be alone. I had to hide that rock. He was sure to come after me when he noticed it was gone. We had the ugliest piece of furniture for sale. Mostly we sold new stuff but Robert always liked antiques, so he’d pick them up now and then at estate sales and whatnot. It had real pretty carved fruit on it but there was a devilish face in the middle.”
“The sideboard!” I exclaimed.
“Right. My granny had one just like it. What Robert didn’t know was that they were made to protect your valuables. That was the reason for that mean face carved into it. It was meant to ward off evil. On the right and left sides, when you opened the doors and removed the shelves, if you reached all the way in and pressed just so, a back panel opened up. That’s where folks kept their gold coins or silver platters or pistols. It was a right sizeable space. So I hid the stone there. Insurance, you might call it. But then I realized how stupid I was to even be at the store. Where could I go? I knew I had to run or I would live in fear every day of my life. I went home and packed what I could fit in the car. But I saw his car parked outside my place almost right away. I had figured on a couple of hours while they notified 911 but I guess they left her lyin’ there, ’cause he was watchin’ me.”
Tears rolled down Velma’s perfect makeup. She dabbed at them with a napkin. She might not have wanted to believe that Robert killed her sister, but Callie’s story was too detailed not to be true.
“So I called the local police and told them kids were ridin’ in our neighborhood slamming bats against mailboxes. We had a real problem with that. Sure enough, a squad car came rolling along and Robert took off. I didn’t dare take the time to go back to the store to get the rock. He woulda killed me if he got me alone there. I hopped in the car and disappeared from his life.”
“But, Callie, why didn’t you report him?” asked Francie.
“I know how it works. I’d been through it twice before. You report a guy. They take him in for questioning, and a few hours later, he’s on the street lookin’ for you.”
Callie unbuttoned the top of her blouse and pulled it aside to reveal a long, horrific scar. “I’ve been through it twice. And I’ve got the scar to prove it. Nobody was gonna save me.”
“I’m so sorry.” It wasn’t adequate, but I didn’t know what else to say. She’d had a terrible life.
“Well I liked to have died the day he walked into The Parlour. And right across the street, a big ole sign was goin’ up that said Robert Johnson Antiques. I mean, really, what were the odds of that? A year had passed. I thought I was done with him and home free. I managed to shake two husbands, but Robert found me. It was a major miscalculation on my part. You see, I had gotten away from two mean drunks. It’s hard to make sense when you’re drinkin’. It never occurred to me that Robert was different from them in an important way. He wasn’t a drunk, he was just evil. One of them wolves in sheep’s clothes. I didn’t know what to do. He let me know he was watchin’ me again. He followed me home so he knew where I lived. And I started thinking about runnin’ again. And then I said to myself, Callie, he found you once, he’ll find you again. To be honest, I’m getting tired of runnin’. I like Martha. I love baking. I even like my teensy little apartment and Old Town. About that time, Hunter turned up, and I thought, Callie, you finally have a chance at dating a decent guy. Probably for the first time in my life! So while I was packing, I changed my mind. I wasn’t gonna let another man run me off. I’m older, and smarter, and I’ve had it with men who beat up on women.”
“You’re braver than I am,” I said, wondering what I would have done. My instinct would have been to turn him in. But would I have felt the same way if I had a five-inch scar, courtesy of my ex-husband?
“I’m not that brave. In life we all do what we have to, you know? But I started wonderin’ whatever happened to the sideboard where I hid the rock? Maybe I could control him with the knowledge that he didn’t have it. But where had it gone? I could not believe my own eyes when I saw it in his store! He brought it up here with him because he never did sell the ugly thing.”
“That’s the same one?” I pointed to the sideboard Martha had won in the auction.
“Ironic, isn’t it? He didn’t realize that he brought that telltale rock right to me!”
“Did you know he planned to retire here?” asked Velma. “Why would you move here if you knew he was coming?”
“Your sister talked about Old Town all the time. How nice everyone was and how pretty it is. But behind her back, Robert always made fun of it, saying they would move here over his dead body. That was my second miscalculation. I figured now that his wife was gone, this was the last place he would move.”
Callie shook her head. “I’m sorry, Velma. But I was mighty relieved when Robert died. Remember the night I ran into you on the street, Sophie? I thought it was Robert who was chasing me. I felt like such a fool for imagining that I could stand up to him. And then he died the next day. I felt free as a bird. Like I could breathe again and didn’t have to look over my shoulder anymore.”
And there it was—hanging out there in the air like an ominous thundercloud. Could Callie have murdered Robert? But then, how would Mars have gotten sick?
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
Dear Natasha,
Why is china called China if it comes from Europe?
—Curious in Potter Hill, Alaska
Dear Curious,
The first porcelain came from a pottery town in China. The name of the town sounded a bit like the word China and over the centuries it eventually morphed to China.
—Natasha
I took a big chance. “At least Robert is with Rosie now.”
I watched Callie’s reaction carefully. She lifted her teacup to her lips. Her expression didn’t change, but the tea in the cup sloshed slightly from her trembling hand.
Francie and Velma, on the other hand, stared at me as though I had lost my mind.
I tried again. “Poor Rosie. At least she can finally rest in peace.”
Callie carefully returned her teacup to the saucer. “You mean the girl in those notes? I don’t understand.”
Either she was a pretty good actress or she really didn’t know.
“Thank heaven,” declared Francie. “I knew you couldn’t have murdered Robert!”
It was my turn to glare at her like she had lost her marbles.
“Killed Robert?” Callie seemed genuinely surprised. It was a good thing the place was empty. She said it loud enough for half of Old Town to hear.
“I haven’t ever killed anyone.” Callie laughed bitterly. “I just run away. But I’d be lyin’ if I said I was sorry he was dead.” Callie sagged into her chair like the air had gone out of her. “If ever there was someone who deserved a terrible end to his life, it was Robert. I hope he’s burnin’ in hellfire. I guess there weren’t many people with a better reason to knock him off than me.” Her head rose slowly and turned as she gazed at Velma. “Except for you.”
I could feel a rosy flush creeping up my face. Callie was right. Velma was the one with the most compelling motive. Had she suspected Robert of murdering her sister all along? Had she been playing a role?
She had been spying on him from her window. I glanced at Francie. Was Velma using her? The two little old ladies seemed so darling. Could one of them be a crafty killer exacting revenge for her sister’s death? How could I have been stupid enough t
o overlook the obvious?
Velma hadn’t said much. I had assumed she was in shock from the revelation about her sister’s demise. Or didn’t she know how to play this scene? We waited for her to say something.
When she did, it was little more than a whisper. “If I had listened to my husband, my sweet sister might be sitting here with us today.”
Velma held on to the arm of the sofa as she rose to her feet. She took two steps, bent over as though she’d aged ten years. “Sophie,” she said softly, “I don’t think we need to look for Robert’s killer anymore. He got what he had coming. Whoever fed him that stuff deserves a commendation.”
Francie jumped to her feet and hooked her arm into Velma’s. “I’ll walk you home.”
When the door closed behind them, Callie said, “Maybe I shouldn’t have told her the truth. She would have been happier if she had never known.”
“It’s hard to know what to do in a situation like that.”
“I spared her one thing. When Robert talked about how he wasn’t going to move to Old Town, he always mentioned the annoying sister-in-law that lived here.”
One thing was bothering me. “You never met Velma before?”
“Maybe. She seemed slightly familiar but I didn’t know she was the annoying sister-in-law until Robert showed up. I worked in the back office of his store, so when people came to visit, I didn’t usually see them. And let’s face it, sweet as she is, Velma has that permed, well-fed look like so many ladies her age. Now, if Wanda had come by, I might have remembered her!”
I thanked Callie for sharing her story with me and left a generous tip. I insisted on paying, too. The Parlour must be losing a lot of money as a result of the bad publicity. I was pleased to see a cluster of shoppers enter as I left.
I was home closing my file on the family law group when someone pounded on my front door with such anger that fear coursed through me. As I ran through the hallway, I could hear Natasha outside yelling. I flung the door open and pulled her in, locking the door behind her. I peered through the peephole. I didn’t see anyone. “What’s wrong?”
She pumped her fists on her hips and glared at me. “Why did you turn me in?”
“What?”
“I thought we were on the same page on this. I thought I could trust you. First Mars and now this!”
“Natasha, come in the kitchen. How about a cup of tea?” I had to calm her down. I had no idea what she was ranting about.
“Tea, schmee. I am not interested in tea. Sophie, you were one of the very few people in this world that I trusted. I want you to know that our relationship is over. Do you understand me? I can’t believe you would betray me this way. Oh, and while I’m at it—hands off Mars. I want him back!”
I didn’t know where to begin. I tried to speak softly so she would have to calm down and listen. “I still don’t know what you’re talking about.”
She matched my tone but managed to sound irate. “Mars, your ex-husband. I made a mistake. I want him to come home.”
“I understood that part. But I didn’t turn you in for anything.”
She stared at me. “Then who did?” Her eyes narrowed to slits. “Liar.”
I would have asked, Have I ever lied to you before? But I probably had. I tried a different tack. “What did you do?”
“You know perfectly well.”
“I give up. I’m making myself some tea.”
She grabbed my arm. “How can you be so calm after what you did? Don’t you see the terrible position you’ve put me in?”
“Maybe you could tell me exactly what that is.”
“They found a knife in the river,” Natasha said.
“A knife? Is it the knife that was used to kill Elise?”
“Apparently. Of all the lousy luck. They never would have wanted to question me if you hadn’t told them I was at the river. This is all your fault.”
“When were you at the river?”
She cocked her head impatiently. “Why are you pretending you don’t know? You were there.”
I was getting annoyed. “Natasha, let’s start at the beginning. When were you at the river?”
“Did you hit your head or something? You turned me in. How is it possible that you suddenly don’t remember? It was the night I came over here.”
“You couldn’t sleep because you were worried about Wanda.”
“Exactly. And you told me to throw her elixir bottles in the river so no one could track Robert’s death to her.”
“I did no such thing!” I said.
“Of course you did. Maybe you should take memory supplements.”
“Natasha, I walked you home.”
“And then you followed me to the river. I saw you, Sophie. You can dress in black all you want, I knew it was you who was there to make sure I was safe.”
“Natasha, someone broke into your house and conked you over the head. What on earth would possess you to walk down to the river by yourself in the middle of the night?”
She let out a long breath. “I didn’t have any choice. No matter the consequences, I had to do it. I had to protect Mom, Sophie. She’s all I have. I couldn’t let her go through a trial or rot in prison. I had to get rid of those containers. They can throw me in the slammer, but I’m not going to rat on my mom.”
It was wrong of her to get rid of evidence, of course. But I had never liked her more than I did at that moment. I reached out my arms and gave her a big hug.
“Natasha, that was not me you saw at the river that night. I was at home in bed.”
Her left eye twitched twice. “That’s not funny.”
“I know. But it’s true.”
She grasped behind her for the doorway and leaned against it. She breathed heavily through her open mouth, like she’d finished a long run. “I could have been murdered. Sophie, do you think the person who killed Elise could have been my attacker?”
Francie had thought someone might have mistaken Elise for Natasha. “Natasha, what does the word rosy mean to you?”
“Rosy? You’re being weird again, Sophie.”
“It was the last thing Elise said before she died. Her soon to be ex-husband is named Rosey, and they’re blaming him for her murder.”
“That’s ridiculous. What if she said it because she loved him more than anything else in the world, and she wished she could tell him that?” Natasha shook her finger at me. “Now that we’re friends again because you didn’t turn me in after all, that doesn’t change the fact that I want you to stay away from Mars. I claim dibs on him.”
“Yeah, I got that.” She had enough troubles. I wasn’t going to argue with her about Mars! Besides, you couldn’t claim dibs on a person. I wondered, though, if Mars wanted her back.
Her take on Rosey was interesting. Funny that I had jumped to the conclusion that Rosey had something to do with her killer. She was right—sometimes a person’s last word was a spouse’s name or the name of a child because the person loved them.
“Sophie? Promise me you’ll take care of Mom if they convict me of murder?”
“Natasha! Stop that.” Surely she hadn’t . . . “Did you kill Elise or Robert?”
“No! How can you even ask such a thing?”
“Just checking,” I said. “If you didn’t murder Elise then chances are pretty slim they’ll go after you. Even if they ignore the fact that Elise said Rosey, they’ll need more than an eyewitness that you were at the river. Think back, Natasha. Who could that have been?”
“If I knew, I would be at that person’s house right now, wouldn’t I? Will you bail me out if they arrest me?”
“You bet.” I meant it, too. Even though I didn’t think she would be arrested. Wolf wasn’t that stupid. He could make a better case against Elise’s husband.
“Sophie? I’m scared.”
It was hard to
imagine her being scared. Stubborn Natasha went headlong into everything without much thought. “It will be okay, Natasha.” I stopped short of mentioning that she might actually have to tell the truth about what she did that night.
She opened my front door, and we stepped outside.
Wolf waited on the sidewalk with Wanda and Harvey, the chicken farmer.
Natasha squared her shoulders and walked out to meet Wolf like the beauty queen that she was. No one would have ever known that she was quaking inside.
“Shall we talk in my house?” Natasha asked.
“No!” Wanda and Harvey said it together.
“You’re welcome to use my living room,” I offered.
Wolf gave Wanda and Harvey quite a look. I couldn’t blame him. I wondered what they were hiding, too.
The second Natasha and Wolf disappeared into my house, I whipped around to Harvey and said, “I thought you left.” As soon as the words were out of my mouth I suspected they sounded rude, like I meant to get rid of him.
“My truck broke down about a half hour from here. Wanda had to come pick me up.”
“Where are the chickens?”
They looked at each other and burst out laughing. “We loaded them into Natasha’s car, drove it into the garage, and opened the car doors,” Wanda said.
“Natasha doesn’t know?”
“Nope. She must suspect since Harvey returned, though.”