They had been waiting for Bill for well over an hour. Tom Willis had shown up first and secured the scene. He had called the state police and their people started streaming in. Rose put a closed sign on the shop door and called Tonya and told her not to come in.
Bill Greene finally got there at eleven. He was not in a good mood. “Okay, which one of you killed that guy?”
Daisy said, “Is that supposed to be funny? It’s not.”
“No, it’s not supposed to be funny. I’m serious. Did one of you club that guy to death?”
Angela looked like she might be sick and Rose said, “Bill, this is hard enough. Don’t be an ass and make it worse. No, I didn’t kill Brad and neither did Daisy or my mother. Happy?”
“What happened? Tell me from the beginning.”
They told him about the dogs finding the body. Rose said, “That’s it. We found the body and called the police. What did you expect us to do?”
“You are all so loony, I never really know what you’ll do.”
“Charming as usual,” said Daisy “You just can’t help being a jerk, can you, Bill?”
Rose asked, “He was clubbed to death, like Peggy Merritt?”
“Looks that way.”
“When was he killed?”
“First guess, sometime around midnight.”
“Did they find any cigarettes near the body?”
“Why?”
“Because when I let the dogs out at eleven I thought I could smell cigarette smoke. It kind of spooked me and the dumb chums.”
“Yes, there was a cigarette butt near the body.”
Rose held her head in her hands. “I was standing in the yard with a killer!”
Daisy pushed herself out of her chair and said, “I need to get out of here. Is it any reason we can’t go out to lunch?”
“Not that I can think of. Go to lunch. You can talk to all your fans.”
Rose asked, “What are you talking about?”
“There are a ton of lookie-loos out front, including that pain-in-the-ass reporter.”
Daisy said, “Oh great. Jeff Moody hounding us again - just what we need. Is there any way you can arrest him for being obnoxious?”
“I would if I could. I’ll be back to talk some more after I find out what the techies discover.”
Rose looked out the window. “We could go out the sunroom door and hop Mrs. Hudson’s fence and leave through her yard.”
Daisy said, “And what do we do then? Put on false mustaches and sneak back to our car?”
Angela perked up, “We could you know. Maybe not mustaches, but we could go out in disguise. It would be fun.”
Daisy said, “I am not dressing up to hide from some idiot reporter. Let’s just face the music.”
Rose said, “All right. We’ll be brave and go out the front door.”
They took the dogs with them having decided to pick up sandwiches at the deli and let the dogs run in the park while they ate. They no sooner got out the door than Jeff Moody ran up to them. “Okay, what’s the story? The old lady next door says you found a body. What about it? Who’d you find? Does this have anything to do with the post office murder? The cops won’t tell me anything.”
Rose shook her head and said, “No comment. Talk to the police and leave us alone.”
“Oh, come on. You gotta give me something.” He blocked her way to the sidewalk. “My job depends on this and whether or not I can get a decent scoop.”
Rose said, “Jeff, please, it’s been a horrible morning. Just let us get by, would you?”
“I will as soon as you give me a story.” Rose tried to move past him, but he got right up in her face. Malcolm started growling and Moody made the mistake of kicking him.
Angela swung into action with her squirt gun at the same time Percy attacked his leg. By the time he got away from them, Moody was soaking wet and his pants leg was in tatters.
He backed out of the yard and yelled, “You’re all freaking nuts!” As he trotted down the street, the three women stared in amazement at the streaks of red dye running down the back of his calf.
Rose muttered, “Good golly Miss Molly! It’s the bobber.”
Daisy said, “Wow! Who’d have guessed our local reporter?” They were sitting in the park eating corned beef sandwiches and watching the dogs chase each other. “What do we do now?”
Angela said, “I’ve already called Tom Willis and asked him to meet us here. He’s on his way.”
Rose said, “This day just gets better and better! A dead body and the bobber. Did either of you see Peter? I wanted to talk to him.”
Daisy said, “Me, too. Rose, he could well be the professor that Margaret Dove met in North Carolina.”
“We don’t know that. There must be a hundred philosophy professors she could have met. Besides, Brad had the card. He must be the one who stole it.”
“Not a hundred. I checked. There are only about ten philosophy professors at G.W. right now. It’s not a really big department. And, you’re right. Brad had the card, but now he’s dead. Somebody killed him - and then stole the card. Who else was in North Carolina?”
“Well, you’re quite the buttinski, aren’t you? I’m not a child, Daisy. I think Peter is a really nice guy. And I have good instincts about people. Better than yours sometimes.”
“What does that mean?”
“Well, you married that cheating, rat-bastard Bill Greene.”
Daisy opened her mouth to say something, but then laughed. “Fair enough. I definitely picked a winner there, didn’t I? But good instincts or not, I still want you to be careful. You shouldn’t be alone with him until these murders are solved, just in case you’re wrong and he’s a closet whack-a-doodle.”
“Well, I won’t be.”
“How is that? You’re going out Saturday night.”
“Yes, we are. But he’s sending a car with a driver for me. And there will be a million people at the affair and then the driver will bring me home. I’ll be fine. And I’m right about him anyway.”
Angela lit up at the mention of a car and driver. “A limousine and driver? Divine. What an elegant night you’ll be having. I can just see you gliding around the ballroom in Peter’s arms to the strains of the Blue Danube waltz. Oh, what bliss! And then a moonlight stroll through the garden. The subtle scent of jasmine in the air and a nightingale singing sweetly. And then a sudden cloudburst and you’ll have to run into the gazebo and you’ll laugh until he takes you in his arms and smothers you with burning kisses!” She looked wistfully into the sky and sighed.
Rose stared at her mother and said, “What have you been drinking? This is Peter were talking about.”
But Daisy put her arm around Angela and said, “Not to worry, Mother. We’ll be having fun, too. I’ve got a surprise planned.”
“Does it involve dancing in the moonlight?”
“Almost.” At that moment, Tom Willis pulled up and got out of his car. “What’s up? You said it was urgent.”
Angela told him about spotting the dye on Jeff Moody’s legs and about the article in the morning’s paper. “We’ve got him, Tom. Now you can just go arrest him.”
“It’s not that easy, Angela. I can’t arrest him for having red dye on his legs. But now I know who to watch. And I’ve already heard from the police in College Park. I’ll be talking to them again this afternoon.
“Meanwhile, please do not say anything to him or try to catch him.”
Rose and Daisy said, “Of course not. It’s all up to you now.”
Angela was quiet. Tom said, “Angela, I mean it. We know he’s the flasher. He could also be the murderer. Just let me take care of it. Okay?”
“Oh, okay.”
“Promise me you’ll leave him alone.”
“I promise that I won’t try to catch him. But if he kicks one of our pets again, all bets are off.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
Absolutely elegant in a deep-cranberry gown, shirred at the waist and gently ruffled at the neckline, Rose w
alked into the living room, twirled around and said, “Tada!”
“Wow!” Ron Tucker exclaimed as he sat with Angela on the couch. “Who’s the lucky fellow?”
Angela said, “Rose is going out with Peter Fleming tonight. He’s sending a car for her. Isn’t that romantic?”
“Well, I don’t know. Seems kind of impersonal to me. Any young man lucky enough to have Rose accept his invitation should be escorting her from this very door himself.”
Rose smiled, “Ron, you’re very sweet. Peter may be lucky, but he’s also on the planning committee and needs to be at the hotel long before the party starts. He will be escorting me home in person.”
“I should hope so. You do look like a dream, I must say. That dress is something. You’ll put the other ladies to shame.”
“Are the earrings all right? Not too much?” Rose asked as she watched the diamond clusters twinkle in the mirror over the fireplace.
Daisy walked into the room and said, “Not at all. They’re perfect. And this will match.” She handed Rose a bracelet. “The only thing that idiot I married ever gave me that was worth keeping.”
Rose slipped the diamond bracelet onto her arm. “It’s beautiful.” The doorbell rang and Daisy ran down to answer it.
Sally Henderson came up the stairs behind her carrying a small box that she handed to Rose. “Peter ordered this for you and asked me to deliver it myself. He was very specific. I think it’s rather nice. I hope you like it.”
Rose opened the box and said, “Oh, it’s lovely.” She held a nosegay of dusty pink and white roses and tiny tendrils of ivy. “Peter chose the flowers?”
“He did, indeed. There’s a boutonniere for him, too. Boy, you look gorgeous.”
Rose giggled. “I feel gorgeous.”
The doorbell rang again and she said, “That should be my ride.” Sure enough Daisy came back up the stairs followed this time by a uniformed chauffer who introduced himself, then took Rose’s arm and escorted her to the black town car sitting at the curb. Of course everyone followed her out of the house.
Rose shook her head and said, “You’d think I’ve never had a date before. Go back inside. This looks crazy. And don’t wait up for me.” She was just getting into the car when Mrs. Hudson and Abby came out onto the porch to watch. Then Mary Newhart ran across the street shouting, “Wait. I want a picture.”
Angela said, “Oh me, too! How could I forget?” Rose got out of the car and posed next to the chauffer while Angela pulled out her cell phone and she and Mary took pictures. Rose was feeling a little ridiculous. “This is absurd. I’m not sixteen and this isn’t a prom. Enough already, I’m going to be late.”
But Abby grabbed her hand to look at the bracelet. Angela kept snapping pics. Malcolm and Percy were sniffing the driver’s leg who stood there looking like he was wondering if kicking dogs would get him fired.
Daisy was enjoying the whole pageant, but finally said, “Okay everybody, knock it off. Rose will be late and this poor guy,” she looked at the chauffer, “will probably get in trouble if she is.”
Rose got into the car and the chauffer, with a visible sense of relief, hopped into the driver’s seat and took off.
As Daisy and Angela sat in the sunroom eating mushroom and green olive pizza and watching the dogs playing in the yard, Daisy filled her mother’s glass with a frothy orange concoction.
Angela took a sip. “Mmm, very tasty. What did you call this?”
Daisy smiled and said, “I call it a Midnight Marauder. It suits this evening’s plan.”
Angela’s eyes lit up. “What have you got in mind?”
“Well, as I said, I do trust Rose’s instincts about Peter – at least about his not attacking her. And I trust Bill.”
Angela snorted, “You most certainly do not!”
“His police instinct – I trust his police instinct. He’s positive that Peter couldn’t have had time to get back from Baltimore, kill Peggy and return in time for a seven o’clock seminar. Who in God’s name schedules a seminar for seven in the morning after a cocktail party the night before? These academics must be real masochists. But something about that man is strange. Why would he spend so many nights in that bookstore when he has that beautiful house downtown?”
“To be near Rose?”
“He hardly ever sees Rose when he’s there. No, he’s up to something and I want to know what. So, I thought we’d take this excellent opportunity, while he and Rose are both occupied for the entire evening, to check out his attic!”
Angela clapped her hands like a little kid. “Super! I happen to have suitable late night attire right upstairs.”
“I thought you might. We’ll go around eleven after Ron takes his dogs out. In the meantime, I want to have a good look through all the papers that Elyse Dove gave us.”
“I thought you gave them to Bill to investigate.”
“With all the commotion finding Brad’s body, I forgot. Which is okay because we never really got to look through everything properly.”
They spent the next hour reading the police reports on Margaret Dove’s disappearance and looking at the wretched crime scene photos and the much happier pictures of Margaret with her friends at the beach.
“I don’t see anything that would help us here. I’m just going to give it all to Bill and hope he can figure it out,” said Daisy.
Angela said, “I just can’t get over this. I don’t know how Elyse Dove does it.”
She was studying one picture. She held it out to Daisy. “Look at this. The girls look so happy, but something seems off.”
Daisy took the picture and examined it. “What? I don’t see anything. It’s Margaret and her girlfriends standing on an old pier.”
“I can’t put my finger on it, but there’s something about this picture.”
Daisy looked again and said, “I still don’t see anything. You know what? I’m going to scan all of this into the computer before I give it to Bill.”
“Good idea. After you scan it in, email it to me, would you? I want to figure out what’s bothering me.”
“Will do. I know it’ll come to you.”
At eleven, Daisy was standing on a stepstool at the back of her closet pulling out an old tote bag. She checked the contents. WD-40, screwdrivers, kitchen tongs, a large black scarf, and two flashlights were right where she left them after her last midnight caper. She tested the flashlights, replaced the batteries in one of them, and said to Angela, “It’s all good. Let’s go.”
They stood at the window and watched Ron Tucker walk his dogs past their house and waited ten minutes until he walked back on his way home. Then Daisy, ‘burglar bag’ over her shoulder, and Angela slipped quietly out of the side door and up the driveway.
Just as they got to the street the door of Clover Tavern opened and a group of people came out laughing and talking loudly as they walked to their cars.
“Rats! Maybe we should wait until the Tavern closes,” whispered Daisy as she backed down the driveway. “People can see Peter’s gate from the Tavern door.”
“Not to worry. We’ll just go around back and hop Mrs. Hudson’s fence. Then we can slip across the street and go down the alley next to Marc’s place. We can sneak into Peter’s yard from the other side. There aren’t any lights back there and nobody can see the back of the book store anyway.”
Daisy was impressed. “You didn’t just think of this, did you, Mother?”
“I like to have contingency plans. When you told me about this evening’s scheme I sort of scouted out all the routes in my head. So let’s go for it. I mean, what’s the worst that could happen? If someone stops us, we’ll just say we’re out for a walk.”
Daisy looked at her mother standing in the dark wearing black tennis shoes, black leggings, black gloves, and a black jacket with the hood pulled low over her face. “Somehow, I just don’t think the police would buy that. You look like a second story man.”
“Pish. I just like to dress for the occasion.”
<
br /> “Exactly my point!”
“Nobody is going to see us. That’s my point. Come on, Daisy. It’s getting late and Rose will be home before we know it.”
“Oh. Okay. Let’s go.”
They backed down the driveway and crossed the yard. Daisy was saying, “Let me help you over the fence,” just as Angela vaulted over it in an effortless leap.
Daisy’s jaw dropped open.
“Yoga! Keeps me fit. Close your mouth before you swallow a fly,” purred Angela.
“Yoga, huh! Who knew?” Daisy scrambled over with considerably less grace. They crossed the yard silently and crept up the driveway to the street, waiting a moment at the curb to make sure all was quiet. Mrs. Hudson’s lights stayed off and no one was outside the Tavern.
Daisy and Angela crossed the street avoiding the light from the streetlamp. They ran down Elm and turned into the alley running behind Lost Treasures. Finally they came to the small gate that opened into the back garden of the Book Renew. As Daisy pulled the gate, it squeaked loudly. She got out the WD-40 and sprayed, waited a moment, then tried the gate again. It opened silently and they tiptoed through the mounds of daisies and sweet smelling herbs growing across the back of the property.
As they neared the shop, Daisy ran into what must have been one of the last remaining metal trash cans in the state of Maryland. She murmured, “Perfect,” and dragged it over to the side of the shed. While she used it to climb up to the roof, Angela got a toehold on the brick and, once again, effortlessly pulled herself up.
Daisy shook her head in wonder and muttered, “Really?”
They were on the roof of the shed when the full moon came out from behind a cloud. Daisy whispered, “Wow. That moon’s bright! Now we carefully creep over to the porch roof and get into the attic window from there. But this time you’re not our look-out, so we go slowly and keep low.”
The last time she had sneaked into this particular attic, Rose had been with Daisy and Angela had stayed at the house to keep an eye out which had proved to be a lifesaver.
Angela said, “We should be all right. Ron’s finished walking the dogs and nobody could see us in these clothes.” She glanced at Daisy’s blue jeans and long sleeved navy tee. She pulled a dark scarf out of her pocket and said, “Here, put this on and cover up your hair. It shines-which in any other case is something to treasure. But not here. Now we need to be very quiet.”
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