“Maybe it’s time to stir the pot,” I said.
Maddy looked around the kitchen. “I thought we were done cooking for the night.”
“I’m not in the mood for your bizarre sense of humor. You know what I’m talking about. We need to figure out a way to get the killer to reveal himself to us without endangering our own lives.”
“That’s going to be a neat trick,” Maddy said. “How do you propose we do that?”
“I’m not sure yet, but I’m going to figure something out.”
“I believe that. There’s only one person I know in Timber Ridge who’s more stubborn than I am, and I’m looking at her.”
“I’m going to take that as a compliment.”
“That’s how I meant it. So, are we going to stir the pot tonight, or will it wait until morning?”
I frowned at what I’d written, and then I turned the board around so no one would see it. “I don’t know about you, but I need some time to come up with something good.”
“Then let’s get out of here,” Maddy said. “It’s been a long day.”
“And tomorrow’s not going to be any better. Why don’t you come by my house around seven tomorrow morning so we can get an early start?”
Maddy wasn’t exactly a morning person, but she agreed quickly to my suggestion. “I’ll see you then.”
As we walked out of the pizzeria, I said, “I thought I’d have a little more trouble convincing you.”
“We don’t have a lot of time, and we can’t just sit around waiting for Kevin Hurley to make an arrest. If we do that, Greg’s going back to jail, and it’s going to take a lot more than Bob Lemon’s blustering to get him out the next time.”
As we approached our cars, it started to rain. Maddy waved at me as she raced to her car, and I got into the Subaru just before the deluge hit. We sat there, side by side in the dark waiting for it to ease up, but evidently my sister got tired of waiting. As she drove off, I decided to head home as well. Otherwise, I would be sitting out there alone in the dark with the rain pounding down around me, and that wasn’t anything I wanted to do. It never eased up, and as I pulled into my driveway, a flash of lightning lit up the sky. Was there someone on my porch, or had I just imagined it? I sat there trying to think of what I should do when there was another flash, and I saw that the porch was empty. Pulling my jacket off and throwing it over my head, I made a mad dash to the front of my house, and though no one was there, I didn’t dawdle getting inside. It wasn’t until I had the heavy oak door dead-bolted behind me that I think I actually started breathing again.
I’d been thinking about homicide too much lately, and it was starting to affect my imagination. The sooner we cleared up Wade Hatcher’s murder, the happier I’d be. I liked my simple life of running the Slice with my sister. I knew in my heart that investigating murders should be left to the professionals, even though I felt I had to step in from time to time. I just wished Kevin Hurley would focus on someone besides my best employee.
But if he wasn’t, I was going to have to do it myself, along with some help from my sister.
I was ready the next morning at six forty-five and began to regret not offering to pick Maddy up at her apartment. My sister wasn’t the most punctual woman who’d ever lived, and early mornings were not her best time.
I was just about to call her at seven to tell her I was on my way when she pulled up and parked behind my car. Before she could get out, I left the house, being careful to lock the dead bolt behind me as I went.
“No coffee?” Maddy asked, clearly disappointed by our sudden departure.
“We’ll get some at Brian’s. My treat.”
“How about some eggs and a biscuit to go along with it?”
I nodded. “Okay, but I never knew you could drive such a hard bargain.”
“Just be glad I didn’t hold out for the Hungry Cousin’s Sampler.”
We’d shared one of Mark Deacon’s specials once and still had food left on our plates. The portions of bacon, sausage, ham, and eggs were enough to feed a lumberjack, but Maddy had been certain we could polish one off by ourselves.
She’d been wrong.
As she drove to the diner, my sister said, “I didn’t realize there were this many people out running around this time of day.”
“Just think; Paul’s been at his pastry shop for three or four hours by now.”
“That’s why he’s still single,” Maddy said. “I don’t know a woman alive willing to put up with that schedule.”
“I’m sure there’s someone out there for him, even with his crazy work hours. He’s not ready to give up on romance, and I don’t blame him.”
“How can you sound so positive?”
I shrugged. “I’m a firm believer that there’s someone for everyone out there.”
“Sometimes even more than one,” Maddy said.
“Hey, I wasn’t taking a shot at you. I promise.”
“Sis, it’s not like I haven’t thought the same thing myself. I’ve had some near misses, but I’m still looking for my Joe.”
“He’s out there,” I said as I patted her shoulder.
“Well, I wish he’d quit dillydallying around and make himself known to me, because, honestly, I’m getting tired of looking for him.”
I laughed, glad that my sister was so easy to talk to. Sometimes that personality trait was a real thorn in my side, but on other occasions, it was exactly what I needed.
We got to the diner, and the parking lot was nearly full.
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Maddy said as she found a place to park. “This just isn’t right.”
“Mark told me once that he did a better breakfast trade than lunch and dinner put together, though he didn’t make nearly as much money doing it. Evidently, folks around here aren’t as willing to pay top dollar for their breakfasts.”
“So, why does he stay open in the mornings?” Maddy asked as we got out of her car and started toward the door.
“It keeps his customers happy, and he admitted to me that he liked getting up early every day.”
“If I had my way, I wouldn’t get up until the crack of noon,” Maddy said.
“Not me. The older I get, the more I like getting up early every morning.”
We walked into the diner, and I thought we were going to have to take a seat at the bar when Hank Parkinson waved us over to him. Somewhere in his early seventies, Hank was dressed in worn but clean blue jeans, a flannel shirt, and a burgundy baseball cap that had ALASKA blazed across the front of it in bold white letters.
“Take my booth, ladies,” he said as he shoved his dishes to one side. “I was just leaving.” He took a last sip of coffee, then stood.
“We don’t want to rush you,” I said.
“Nonsense. Chivalry’s not dead, at least not as long as I’m still living in Timber Ridge.”
Maddy leaned toward him and kissed his cheek. “If you were thirty years younger, you’d have to watch out for me.”
He smiled at her. “Darlin, if I were thirty years younger, you wouldn’t be able to keep me away. I guess it’s just a matter of bad timing, isn’t it?”
“It’s the story of my life,” Maddy said as Mark came over with a large gray plastic tub.
“Let me clear that for you,” he said as he quickly dispatched the dirty dishes and wiped down the table.
“I didn’t even have a chance to leave you a tip yet,” Hank said.
“You can catch me next time,” Mark said.
“You’re putting an awful lot of faith in me. How do you know I’ll be back?”
Mark grinned at me. “Where else would you go? I heard you’ve already been thrown out of all of the nice places in town.”
“You’ve got a point there.” Hank tipped his hat toward us, and then walked over to the cash register.
“He’s something, isn’t he?” Mark asked.
“I think so,” Maddy said. “I wonder if he was serious about chasing me.”
&nb
sp; “I don’t know what he said,” Mark said, “but I wouldn’t assume he was kidding. The man has more energy now than I ever had in my life. I don’t know how he does it.”
“Flirting with women like us probably helps,” I said.
“It couldn’t hurt, could it? Do you two know what you want?”
“We’ll split a Hungry Cousin’s Sampler,” Maddy said.
“Cancel that,” I said quickly. “I’ll have two eggs over easy, a biscuit with sausage gravy, and coffee.”
“Party pooper,” Maddy said.
Mark smiled. “Not everyone’s as brave as you are.”
She nodded. “You’d think at least some of it would rub off on her, though.” She glanced at the menu, and then said, “You might as well bring me what she’s having.”
“Got it,” he said as he jotted our orders down and left. While we were waiting for our food, I said, “I’ve been thinking about the list we made last night.”
“Me too,” Maddy admitted. “That’s about all I seem to be able to think about lately.”
“Come on, that’s not true. What about your new boyfriend?”
I’d said it offhand, but she got serious as she looked at me. “One date does not make him my boyfriend.”
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to offend you.”
“It’s not that,” she said. “I just hate that term. I’m a grown woman. I don’t have boyfriends.”
“What would you like me to call him, then?”
“Bob has a nice ring to it,” she said.
“Then Bob it is.”
Mark brought us our breakfasts, and we enjoyed our meal together, discussing the weather, the price of gasoline, and whether winters were milder than they were when we were kids, but we didn’t touch on boyfriends or murder until we were out in the parking lot again.
“Where to now?” Maddy asked.
“I’d like to talk to Katy Johnson again. I’m not sure I’m willing to accept her spin on things, no matter what Greg thinks.”
“How about Sandi and Jamie?” she asked as we approached her car.
“Why should we start with them?”
She pointed to the other end of the parking lot. “Because they just drove up.”
“Okay,” I said, taking a deep breath. “Let’s go poke a stick into a hornet’s nest and see if we can get something going.”
“You first,” she said.
I walked over to their parking spot and saw that they were clearly in no hurry to leave their car. They were in a deep discussion about something that was bordering on a fight. I held back, hoping to hear something before they noticed I was standing there.
It was a lovely morning, and I was glad that one of the windows was partially cracked. If they’d both been rolled up, I wouldn’t have been able to hear anything but a muffled exchange, but as it was, their argument was easy to pick up.
“You have to tell the police chief,” Jamie said. “The cops need to hear what you’ve got to say.”
“You know as well as I do that I can’t do that. What are they going to think?”
Jamie asked, “Who cares? It’s going to be a lot better if they find out from you. If someone else tells them, it’s going to make you look bad.”
“I can’t do it,” Sandi snapped.
She happened to glance out her window and spotted Maddy and me. With a quick shake of her head toward Jamie, she got out of the car.
“What do you two want?”
“Don’t mind us,” I said. “Go ahead and finish your conversation. We can wait.”
Jamie glared at me. “How much of that did you hear?”
“Enough to be interested in hearing the rest of it,” Maddy said.
“Come on,” Jamie said as he grabbed Sandi’s arm. “We’re going in.”
“That sounds great,” I said. “I’m kind of peckish myself.” If I had to choke down another breakfast, even though I was full, I’d have to find a way to do it for the cause.
“You’re not invited,” Sandi said.
“The funny thing about a public restaurant is that we don’t have to be invited in.”
They glanced at each other, then pivoted and got back into their car.
“Don’t leave on our account,” I said.
Neither one of them commented, and as they drove away, I noticed Mark standing nearby looking at us. “Are you two still driving away my customers?”
“I’m sorry,” I said. “We were just talking.”
He shrugged. “You know what? I don’t mind. There’s something about that girl I never have warmed up to.”
“It’s Jamie I don’t care for,” Maddy said. “I hate the way he treats her.”
“Neither one’s a prize,” Mark said. “Just do me a favor. Don’t run anybody else off, okay? I’ve got bills to pay.”
“We won’t let it happen again,” I said.
“Come on, Eleanor, you know we can’t promise him that.”
Mark laughed. “I guess it’s crazy to even ask, isn’t it?”
We got in Maddy’s car after Mark was gone.
“What do you make of that?” I asked.
“I understand him not wanting to lose customers,” Maddy said. “You really can’t blame him.”
“I’m talking about Jamie and Sandi, you nit,” I said.
“They’re hiding something, aren’t they?”
I nodded. “But what could it be? From the sound of it, Sandi knows something that might be relevant, but she’s not telling. Can you believe Jamie’s trying to get her to tell someone about it?”
“You heard him, he wants her to spin it in their favor,” Maddy said. She started the car, and then said, “Where are we going? That might be nice to know, if I’m supposed to drive us there.”
“Why don’t we go to Roger Henderson’s office? I want to talk to him, but I need to make a telephone call first.”
“Who are you going to call?”
“I’d tell you,” I said, “but you wouldn’t like it. Why don’t we just let it be a surprise for now?”
He picked up on the first ring, and I was surprised to catch him at his desk this early. “Hey, Kevin, it’s Eleanor Swift.”
“Eleanor, trust me, you don’t have to identify yourself. I know your voice. What’s going on?”
“I’ve got a tip you might want to look into,” I said as Maddy shook her head in my direction. I knew full well she didn’t approve of me sharing anything we learned with the police, but there were questions they could ask that we couldn’t—if I could just convince him that it might be important.
“Go on, I’m listening.”
“I just heard that Sandi Meadows has some information that might be relevant to your investigation, so I thought you might want to drop in on her at work today and ask her.”
“Where’d you hear this?”
“Jamie Lowder was talking to her outside Brian’s urging her to tell you something, but it was pretty clear she didn’t want to.”
He paused, and then asked, “How did you happen to hear that? I doubt Jamie would say anything to her in front of you. The whole town knows he’s had a crush on her since the third grade.”
So our chief of police wasn’t as clueless as I thought. “He didn’t exactly know we were listening,” I admitted.
“Don’t tell me you’ve stooped to eavesdropping,” Kevin said.
“Maddy and I were in the parking lot, and we happened to overhear them arguing. Talk to her, don’t talk to her. I don’t care.”
“Take it easy,” he said. “I shouldn’t have said that last bit.”
“No, you shouldn’t have,” I said, and then I hung up on him.
When I looked over at Maddy, she was smiling at me. “Wow, you really spanked him that time, didn’t you?”
“He called us a couple of snoops,” I said.
“Well, he was right, wasn’t he?”
I studied my sister for a few seconds. “Whose side are you on?”
“If you have to ask
that, I think I’ll take you back home and go see Roger by myself.”
She started to turn in toward my place. “I’m sorry. Kevin just pushed me a little too hard. I know I shouldn’t take it out on you.”
“No, you shouldn’t,” Maddy said without any trace of rancor in her voice. She was like that, able to detach herself from situations that made my blood boil. And yet sometimes my sister took offense at the mildest slight. There were times I could understand men’s frustrations with women. If they only knew that sometimes we didn’t know the reasons we acted the way we did any better than they did. I wasn’t sure if the knowledge would make things better, or infinitely worse.
When we got to Roger’s business, there was only one car parked out in front, and it wasn’t one of the black sedans we’d seen the day before.
I said, “I wonder if the feds know he’s here all by himself?”
“Maybe we can use that,” Maddy said. “Do you feel like taking another swing at the hornet’s nest?”
“I’ve got my stick all ready,” I said.
“Hang on a second. I’m going to park out of sight so he doesn’t know we’re coming.” She pulled up beside the building out of anyone’s clear line of vision, and we got out and headed for the bookkeeper’s office.
When we walked in, Roger had a cash box out on his desk and was obviously counting money. The second he saw us, he jammed the money back into the box and slammed the lid shut. “What are you two doing here?”
I decided to ignore his direct question, a skill I’d learned from my local congressman. “Wow, for somebody who’s supposed to be broke, that looked like a lot of money.”
“This is all I’ve got in the world,” he said. “I know the embezzlement wasn’t my fault, but I still feel responsible. After all, Wade was my employee. I’m going to pay back what I can, even if I’m not obligated to.”
“That’s big of you,” I said.
“It’s not much, but it’s what I can do. Is there something I can help you with? The auditor’s due in any minute.”
I suddenly didn’t feel like poking him anymore. “No, we just wanted to stop in and see how you were doing.”
“Just peachy,” he said, the sarcasm dripping from his voice.
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