Serving Up Suspects
Page 14
Alice, with my help, made it to the passenger door of Rose’s Cadillac. Rose stood to one side holding the door open. She held Alice’s arm and helped her slide into the seat. “Ready for an adventure, my friend?”
“Oh, Rose, you always know exactly what to say to make me tingle with anticipation.” Alice’s blue eyes sparkled with delight. “Being with the two of you promises to be the makings for an unforgettable day.”
With Alice buckled in the front seat, and me in the back with Pip, Rose backed out of the driveway. “Off to the library where anyone can find an exciting adventure.”
“My daughter called just before you arrived and I told her about the quilt,” Alice said. “She didn’t actually say anything, but her silence told me she thought I must have lost my mind. I didn’t know she was planning to go to the auction. Now, she knows how much money I spent.” She laughed it away. “She’s such a tight wad.”
“I hope you’re happy with it after I spent so much of your money,” I said, still feeling uncomfortable about the whole situation. I was a little nervous. Even though I found the bidding exciting, spending someone else’s money, and so much of it, was a burden I didn’t take lightly. I caught Rose’s eye in the rear-view mirror. She winked. Was she signaling for me to stop worrying? Probably.
Alice turned to look at me. “Just the thought of that quilt hanging in my living room makes me happy. I can’t imagine the thrill I’ll feel when it’s actually there where I can look at it every single day. Besides, the money goes to a cause close to my heart—the library. What better way to spend my money?” She flipped her hand through the air. “I can’t take it with me.”
She must have seen the shocked expression on my face because she chuckled. “Don’t worry. I’m not going anywhere anytime soon. I expect to get years of enjoyment from my quilt.”
Rose parked her big Cadillac right in front of the library. When we climbed the handicap ramp and got to the big double doors, I told Alice to close her eyes. “And, no peeking.”
With Rose on one side of Alice, and me on the other, we guided her into the library. Once in position in front of the quilt, I said, “Okay. Open your eyes.”
I held my breath. What if she didn’t like it?
Alice gasped. Her hand went to her chest. “Oh my.” Her voice came out in barely a whisper. “The colors are just how you described them, Dani. The blue of Blueberry Bay shimmers and all the shops on Main Street are exactly how I imagine them. And, look,” She pointed to the top corner. “The Kitty Point Lighthouse watching over us all, like the beacon it is.” Alice stood silently staring at her newly purchased work of art. “Poor Judith. I’m proud to have stewardship of her legacy. Someday, Rose, I want it to hang in Sea Breeze.”
Rose wrapped her arms around her friend and hugged her close. Alice patted Rose’s back. “That way you can think of me as still being part of Misty Harbor every time you look at the quilt.”
“Mrs. Cross?”
Alice turned away from us. “Barry Manning?”
Barry grinned. “You remember me?”
“Of course, I do. I never forget a face. And I never forget the student who achieved the top spot for the best excuses of why he was late to class or why he had to leave early.” She reached her hand out to touch Barry. “I’m so sorry about Judith. She was such a sweet woman.”
Barry’s face turned serious. “Yes, she was. Thank you.”
“Barry, I’m surprised you didn’t try to win the bid for this beautiful quilt. That way you’d have a piece of Judith with you forever.” Alice tilted her head. She held Barry’s gaze as a frustrated schoolteacher showing her dissatisfaction with a naughty student.
It was a valid comment. If Barry was truly upset, wouldn’t he want to have Judith’s work of art?
The muscles on Barry’s jaw clenched. “It was good to see you, Mrs. Cross. I’m sure Judith would be pleased to know you’ll be enjoying her quilt. I’m more of a sculpture kind of guy or old pieces of art that have history attached.” He shrugged. “Judith understood that.”
“I think you hit a nerve,” I said to Alice after Barry disappeared.
“He always was too sensitive to perceived criticism. Maybe it’s a guilty conscience for how he treated Judith, and now he can’t right his wrongs. I don’t know and I don’t care. I was never fond of Barry when he was my student.” Alice leaned against me. “Can you help me sit down? My legs are tired.”
I pulled a chair across the carpeted room and placed it so Alice could still admire her quilt. “There you go. Do you want to stay for a while?”
“If it’s okay with you and Rose, I would enjoy staying for a bit longer. The library has that calming aura and all the books surrounding me gives me chills.”
“We can stay as long as you like.” Rose patted her shoulder. “I’ll get another chair and sit here with you.”
“You’re getting the royal treatment, Alice.” I said.
“Who’s getting the royal treatment?” Sue Ellen’s loud voice boomed through the room. She swept through the door with her red skirt swirling behind her and Rudy trying to keep up. “Alice Cross. Dani must be talking about you. All you need is a tiara.”
I whispered in Alice’s ear. “I could probably arrange that.”
Alice beamed up at me.
“So,” Sue Ellen continued. “What do you think of the quilt?”
Alice’s eyes got misty. “More beautiful than I imagined. I’m still in a bit of shock that Dani’s bid won it for me.”
“You? You’re the mystery winner? Bless your heart.” Sue Ellen motioned for Rudy to come over. “Hurry up, Rudy. I need some shots of the mystery winner with the quilt and maybe you could share some memories about Misty Harbor.” She turned toward Rudy. “How does that sound?”
“Great. I’ll get my equipment.” He held his phone to his ear as he left the room.
“Who is that?” Alice asked.
“Oh, he’s my brilliant videographer, Rudy Genova. You’ll love him, Alice. He’s making a video about my auction for the town website. And, now, you’ll be the star right alongside Judith’s quilt.” Sue Ellen swept her arms through the air in a big show of grandeur. “I’d better skedaddle and help Rudy carry some equipment in, or, at least, I can hold the door.”
She started toward the door but stopped and turned back with another question. “Rose, could Rudy and I meet with you to get your opinion on what he has videotaped so far?”
“How about this afternoon at my office?” Rose suggested.
Sue Ellen gave two thumbs up and scurried off in a whirlwind.”
Alice said with a deep, envious sigh, “I admire what Sue Ellen does with all her charity work but, my goodness, where does she get all that energy?”
I chuckled. “Did that guy Rudy look familiar to you, Alice?”
She cocked her head and pursed her lips. “Well, now that you mention it, he was dressed like the guy I saw on the bicycle trail on Friday. But this guy, Rudy, is right-handed. I’m sure I saw the other one jab his finger at the younger man with his left hand. Could they be twins?”
“That’s a strong possibility, Alice, and it adds an interesting twist to the mystery in town.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
Rose stopped at the Little Dog Diner, offering to treat Alice to whatever Lily was busy making. I had no objection to that detour. My stomach was ready for pretty much anything.
“The diner says closed.” Alice sounded so disappointed when Rose pulled the Cadillac in front. “What now?”
Rose turned in her seat to face Alice and grinned. “Closed to everyone but the owners and their guest. Do you want tea and a snack or would you rather I take you home?”
“First, I delighted in a front row viewing of my fabulous new quilt and now you two are treating me to a private serving of tea and pastries? What more could a girl want?” Alice beamed with happiness. “I suppose if I had a magic wand, I might wish to be a few years younger, but I won’t get greedy.”
The yeasty smell of warm bread assaulted my senses, so I knew Lily wasn’t far away. “I had a feeling you would stop in,” she answered as she dried her hands on her apron. “I’ve got blueberry muffins cooling. Come on over to the counter and I’ll fix you all up.”
While Lily served the muffins, I made a carafe of tea and brought that to the counter.
“Now, Dani, tell me more about that man, Rudy. If he has a twin, how does he tie in with Judith’s murder?”
I sat on the stool and twirled back and forth like a little kid. Something I could do while we were closed for business. “If the person you saw was Rudy’s twin, and the other man was Johnny, who works at the liquor store, the connection is the coin Johnny stole from Sue Ellen’s house.”
“Oh? I do recall that Judith told me Sue Ellen has quite a collection of coins. She doesn’t keep them out when people are coming and going in her house, does she?”
“It seems that she does and did on the day Judith was murdered.”
I turned at the sound of knocking on the diner door. “I should have closed the curtain,” I mumbled when I saw Maggie with her hands cupped around her face peering inside.
“Let her in,” Rose said. “Maybe she has some information.”
I opened the door and made sure to close the curtain after she entered so we wouldn’t get inundated with hungry customers.
Maggie didn’t bother to wait for an invitation before she slid onto the stool where I’d been sitting. She picked up the muffin. “This looks delicious.” She took a bite, leaving me to sit on the other side of Alice. With no muffin. And no tea.
Maggie leaned forward so she could see around Rose to Alice. “Good to see you again. I hear you spied something interesting through your binoculars.”
“I did. Dani thinks it could be connected to Judith’s murder, too. Imagine that. Little old Alice Cross sitting and minding my own business and the murderer walks right in front of my binoculars. It’s kind of exciting.”
“Don’t get too far ahead of yourself. If what Dani told me you saw—Rudy’s twin brother and Johnny—they could be connected, but we have no proof yet that either one is the murderer.” Maggie finished my muffin and sipped my tea without even a thanks. She leaned an elbow on the counter and looked down the counter at me. “AJ did share a tidbit with me.”
“That is news,” I said. “I expected AJ to run you out of town instead of sharing notes with you.”
“What can I say? My charm is irresistible.” Maggie grinned. On anyone else it would look arrogant, but Maggie pulled it off in an appealing sort of way.
“You told him that Rudy has a twin brother and what Alice saw, didn’t you?”
“That did help to break the ice.” Maggie shrugged. “I mean, we all want the same thing—to catch Judith’s killer.”
“What’s the tidbit?” I asked.
“Johnny is scared to death and he’s talking up a blue streak. He insists that he doesn’t know the name of the guy who offered to pay him to steal that coin. But with what you saw, Alice, Johnny’s linked to a guy who dresses in black. It could be Rudy, or it could be his twin brother.”
“It’s his twin brother,” Alice stated as if this was an indisputable fact. She helped herself to the last bite of her blueberry muffin and daintily dabbed crumbs from her lips, smiling with satisfaction.
Maggie looked at me with both eyebrows raised. “Okay. What am I missing?”
It was my turn to grin while I waited for Alice to tease out her information.
“You didn’t miss anything, dear. I happened to notice something critical about the man arguing with Johnny.”
“And that is?” Maggie rolled her hand in a circular motion encouraging Alice to get to the point of her comment.
She was having too much fun making Maggie sweat for the information.
“You young people are all alike—no patience for enjoying the important things in life.” Alice sipped her tea.
Maggie scratched her neck. Her lack of patience more than evident as she had no choice but to wait for Alice to finish her story at her pace.
“So, Maggie, what can you tell me about Rudy?” Alice asked when she was good and ready.
Maggie stretched out her legs and slouched on the stool. “He came to town to make a video for Sue Ellen and on the side, he’s helping Rose with her website. He dresses in black from his hair to his boots. He’s about five foot seven, a hundred eighty pounds, and collects coins.”
“Is he left-handed or right-handed?” Alice locked her gaze on Maggie’s face.
Maggie shrugged. “No idea.”
Alice grinned. “But that’s the important detail, dear.”
A furrow formed between Maggie’s eyebrows. I hid a laugh behind my fingers and Rose clamped her lips together.
“What’s going on here?” Maggie asked. The frustration in her voice was obvious.
“I believe that Rudy is right-handed. The man I saw talking to Johnny jabbed his left finger in Johnny’s face, then, still using his left hand, he pulled something out of his pocket and tossed it to Johnny. I’d say, without any doubt, that the man I saw was Rudy’s twin brother. Find him and you may have the murderer.” Alice finished her tea and sat with her hands clasped together, obviously tickled pink that she’d been able to help move the investigation along.
“I’ll be a son of a motherless goat,” Maggie mumbled. “Your attention to detail is amazing, Alice. Were you an investigator in a previous life?”
Alice laughed heartily. “No, I was a teacher but that’s something like being an investigator. Only harder. I learned to keep my eyes open and not miss a single detail, no matter how small. Staying one step ahead of the kids kept them on their toes.”
Maggie grimaced. “I wonder how I would have fared in your class, Alice. Did you have any particularly troublesome students?”
“You would have done just fine. I can see concern and a good nature in your eyes.” She reached in front of Rose and patted Maggie’s hand. “I’d bet that you were the teacher’s pet.”
I laughed when a pink blush crept into Maggie’s cheeks. “You wowed the teachers with that magic charm of yours?” I asked.
“I tried. This conversation isn’t headed in a good direction,” Maggie said and let out an embarrassed laugh. “Let’s get away from me and get back to your troublesome students, Alice,” she said.
“Yes, I had to have eyes in the back of my head to keep Barry in line. He always had some scheme up his sleeve, but he never got away with anything in my class.”
“Barry,” Maggie said more to herself. “He’s a history professor. I wonder if there could be a connection between Barry and Sue Ellen’s old coin collection.”
“With him living next door to Sue Ellen and their contentious relationship with Judith in the middle, I suggest we dig into his background. Might be nothing, might be something,”
Rose slid the empty plates toward Lily on the far side of the counter. “Barry has an alibi. He was at the library when Judith was murdered.”
“I know, I talked to the librarian and she confirmed that Barry arrived a little after one, settled in with his computer and a big stack of books, and left after five-thirty.” Maggie swiveled on the stool and stood up. “But he could have been working with someone else. Maybe he knows Rudy’s twin brother. They sound like they could be two similar types.”
“This is all fascinating,” Alice said, “and I’ve had an absolutely thrilling morning, but all the excitement has tired me out. I think I need to get home and rest.”
I jumped up. “Of course. Ready, Rose? We’ll take you home now.”
“Do you have anything I could buy since I’m here? My sweet tooth is craving chocolate. For later, of course.” Alice smiled at Lily.
Rose helped Alice off the stool. “Pack her up some of your brownies,
Dani, while Alice and I start out to the car.”
“You’re such a dear, Rose. All this fun makes me feel like I’m twenty again.”
“It’s all about how you feel, Alice.” Rose looped her arm through Alice’s and walked to the door.
“Yes, I think you’re right about that. I feel like this day gave me enough joy to last until my quilt is hanging in my living room. And you know what else I’m feeling?” She turned her head and looked into Rose’s face. “I feel that Judith’s murderer will be found.”
“I hope you’re right,” I said before I went to the pastry case and put a half dozen chocolate-covered brownies in a bag for Alice and another half dozen to take back to Sea Breeze. Talking about chocolate got my own sweet tooth craving something.
“Can’t stay away even when we’re closed?” Lily asked with a grin on her face.
“My home away from home,” I said. It was true. I loved the Little Dog Diner—the charm, the view of Main Street and glimpses of Blueberry Bay, and the sweet aromas.
“And I see you’re stocking up on those brownies. They’ve been selling like hot cakes since Friday. Good thing I made more.”
“I know Sue Ellen loves them.” I held my bag up. “These are for Rose. Who else bought some?”
Lily gave me a knowing glance. “Rose? Sure, if you say so.” Her lips curled up in a playful smirk. Then she answered my question. “Rudy bought some on Friday, but when he stopped in the next day and I asked him if he wanted more, he said he hated chocolate. Isn’t that weird?”
“It’s not weird if it was his twin that came in one of those times. I’ll guess that whichever one hates chocolate isn’t the killer.”
“I never considered that possibility,” Lily said, wary now.
“I think that’s what Rudy’s twin brother is counting on. But with a couple of little differences popping up, like one loving chocolate and the other one hating chocolate and one is right-handed, and one is left-handed, the walls might be closing in on Rudy’s twin brother.”