Delight decided to intervene and patted Franklin on his shoulder, “Of course, she doesn’t; she’s upset about the events of the evening. It’s getting late and she isn’t thinking straight; are you, Granny?” Delight raised her eyebrows as she addressed the last question at Granny.
“Everyone sit down.” The Tall Guy issued the order in a loud voice. “Franklin had nothing to do with this, but we do think that this latest development and all the findings in the graves are tied together. Franklin was in plain sight with Heather and Angel the entire evening.”
Thor moved in front of where Butch was sitting. “Silas seems to think that you could shed some light on this subject.”
Butch shuffled his feet and his hands tapped the table.
“It’s okay, Butch, I won’t let them harm you,” Granny promised in a stubborn voice.
Penelope, who was sitting next to Butch, took his hand, “It’s okay; tell them your story––the one you had to be most frightened of was my mother and she already knows.”
Granny gave Penelope an unbelieving look, “You would think a daughter would have shared the secret with her mother earlier to soften the blow.”
“Go on, Butch, what do you have to say?”
Butch told the group the same story he’d told Granny earlier in the evening.
“Did you place the epitaph plaques on the caskets?” the Tall Guy quizzed.
“No, Mr. Graves always did that. I left notes on top of the caskets telling him who was who.”
“But you didn’t know who was who, you just guessed,” Thor pointed out. “The third casket that we found that had the money in it, had the epitaph for my father. If you put the notes on the casket, then how did the casket with the money get buried in my dad’s grave? There should not have been a note on that casket.”
“I might have mixed up the clothes. I know I put the notes on the caskets that had the bodies in them.”
“Is there anything else you aren’t telling us?” the Tall Guy asked, looking pointedly at Granny.
Granny looked pointedly at Silas, Mavis, Delight and George, before innocently looking back at the Tall Guy. “I think that’s it.”
Mavis started to mumble something, but Delight nudged her and gave her a look to silence her.
“That’s it then for tonight,” Thor informed the group. To his mother he said, “No more graveyard visits, do you understand? We will check on Gram Gramstead and continue to investigate. If any of you think of anything more, please let us know.”
“See you tomorrow night at church and then my new house afterward,” Franklin reminded Thor. It’s going to be a great Christmas Eve and Christmas Day and then––our weddings.”
Thor turned to Silas and the Tall Guy. “You’re welcome to join us for our family Christmas celebration. The more the merrier!”
Franklin and Granny gave Thor a glaring look.
Silas answered for him and his son, “Thanks for the invite but we’re going to spend Christmas over at the prison with Cornelius. We’ll be back the day of your wedding.”
“So what’s next?” Granny interrupted the conversation about the holidays.
“We’re going to interview Mr. Graves,” Thor answered before the Tall Guy could say anything.
The Tall Guy interjected, “And you,” he gave Granny a stern look, “will leave that to us. The next time I expect to see you will be at your wedding.”
Before Granny could answer, Silas piped in, “Wed or dead, what more can be said?”
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
The first thing Granny did when she woke up the next morning was to call Thor. “Have you interviewed Gravy yet?”
“It’s only 7:00 a.m. Go back to sleep and let us handle this.”
“It’s Christmas Eve day. You don’t want him to skip town with the excuse that he’s visiting relatives for the holidays.”
Granny heard the click as Thor hung up his phone without answering.
Granny shook her head wondering why they hadn’t grabbed Gravy for questioning last night. Maybe they were planning on a sting. After all, Gravy was the only one Granny could think of who had access to the coffins all those years ago. Maybe his way with wine and spirits had caused him to have a lapse and turn into a bank and jewelry store robber.
The lights were twinkling on Granny’s tree that Angel and Heather had decorated. Taking a few moments to admire the tree, Granny leaned over to look closely at the tags on the presents. The gifts piled under the tree had appeared out of nowhere one night. It looked by the tags on the presents that Angel had been busy making sure everyone in the family had presents––even the shysters, Baskerville and Mrs. Bleaty. Picking up a colorfully wrapped box with her name on it, Granny gave it a shake. As old as she was, she loved Christmas and giving. It was always a mystery to unravel when a present appeared under her tree.
Since Christmas Eve would be at Franklin’s new house this year, Granny supposed someone would have to pack up the presents and move them to the house that Franklin said they were going to occupy after their wedding.
Sinking down on her footstool and basking in the peace of the early morning and the twinkling of the lights on her tree, Granny pondered the happenings of the past few weeks, trying to put it all together. The dead body in her yard, the dead detective who apparently had been following her, the bodies with the wrong clothes and in the wrong coffins, someone breaking into her house, and Gram Gramstead trying to snuff them out with perfume. How did it all fit together?
The loud pounding on the front door shook Granny out of her reverie. Looking down to first check her bedtime attire, she grabbed her winter coat and threw it on over her Sexy Granny and I Know It PJs.
“Good, you’re ready to go.”
“Go, where?”
“To interview Mr. Graves,” Silas Crickett informed her, while moving past her into the house.
“Thor told us to stay out of it,” Granny answered demurely .
“And you’re going to listen? What happened to you, woman? Did Franklin finally turn you into a mellow woman?”
Granny bristled at Silas’s words. “No…but I have Christmas and a wedding to get ready for and no time for snooping. Let the police handle this. Go home, Silas.”
Silas gave Granny a shrewd look. “You really do mean that. I hope you’re happy, turning back into the woman you used to be.” Silas opened the door and gave Granny one last look before walking out and across to his house
Granny peered through the curtain in her window to make sure Silas had actually left. Then, she quickly threw off her coat, traveled down the hallway to her bedroom, and rummaged in her closet for some polyester clothes and her hose. Donning her old sleuthing garb, she plopped on her bomber hat, put her coat back on, pulled on her boots and grabbed her shovel, cell phone and pocketbook. With a sly grin on her face, she made her way down to the basement, over to the fireplace, out the hidden door, through the room to the underground streets, and over to the lift to Graves’ Mortuary.
“Gravy,” Granny shouted as she came up the lift.
“Granny, I thought we changed the code for the lift.” Nervously eyeing Granny’s shovel, Giles Graves helped Granny off the lift. “It wasn’t my idea to change the code; it was under duress by the police.”
“Relax, Gravy, I’ve got the code now, that’s all that matters. Have the police been here to question you?” Granny patted him on the chest with her hand.
“Me, no. Why?” He started pacing the floor.
“Suppose you tell me how Delbert Delure ended up in my so-called crypt and Franklin ended up in Delbert’s grave and money ended up in Franklin’s grave. I’d also be interested to know how I came to be the proud owner of a burial crypt in my name.” Granny nudged her shovel in front of the funeral director to stop his pacing.
“You’ve got to understand, I wasn’t myself back then. I didn’t do it on purpose. That’s why I didn’t tell the police when they found the bodies. I could lose my license. Please don’t tell a
nyone. I’ll never change my code again on you,” Giles Graves begged.
Granny lifted her shovel and brought it back down on the ground with a clank. It was enough to silence Giles Graves. “We know Butch got the clothes mixed up, but how did you get the graves mixed up?”
Giles Graves sank down on the nearest chair wringing his hands. “I was drinking back then, all of the time. When I got down to put the epitaphs on the caskets, I took the notes off of them and then I couldn’t tell which note went where and then I moved the caskets around to make room for more that were going to come in the next day. I attached the epitaphs to the ones I thought were the right caskets.”
“Didn’t you look inside to make sure?”
“No. I don’t know. I can’t remember. I didn’t even remember putting the epitaphs on the caskets. I had too much smoosy boozy that night,” the funeral director explained
Granny shook her head in exasperation. “Didn’t you think to look the next day? How did the casket get in the crypt in the mausoleum?”
“I don’t know! When I came in the next day to accept the shipment of new caskets, there were only two caskets in the room––Delbert Delure’s and your husband’s. I didn’t remember there was a third casket so how could I know it had disappeared? You won’t tell anyone. Please?” the funeral director pleaded.
“I won’t, but you will. I’m going back home. You won’t tell anyone I was here or I’ll tell your wife you’ve been playing kissy face with someone else and you know if your wife finds out, telling the police will seem like a walk in the park. Do you understand?” Granny lifted the shovel and pointed it at his chest before turning around, pushing the code for the lift, and taking it back down to the underground street.
Granny was so busy straightening her clothes as the lift reached the street that she failed to see Silas Crickett waiting for the lift.
“I can’t believe I actually thought you were letting the police handle this matter. I can’t believe you snowed me. Me!” Silas barked at Granny.
“Take a lesson from the master, what you see isn’t all that you get, Mr. Supercilious.” Haughtily Granny pushed him aside with her shovel cane. “In case you haven’t noticed, I work alone––unless I invite you. And you weren’t invited!”
Silas went to punch the code on the lift.
“You’re wasting your time. Gravy doesn’t know anything,” Granny informed the cranky Silas.
“Where are you going now?” Silas queried, getting on the lift, deciding to question the funeral director anyway.
“It’s Christmas Eve day. I’m going home to get ready for Santa and my wedding.” Smiling sweetly, Granny blew Silas a kiss.
“You’re blowing me a kiss?” Silas asked in confusion.
“No, I’m sending you a kiss off.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
As Granny unlocked the door of her house, a fleeting memory floated through her brain. It was a vision of three Xs with a circle around them. What did it mean? Pulling her cell phone out of her pocket, she barked into the phone: “Silas.” She heard the phone dialing.
“Didn’t you just blow me the ‘kiss off’?” Silas answered, seeing Granny’s name on his caller id.
“Well, at least it wasn’t the kiss of death. Do you want me to help you solve this crime or not?”
“You help me?”
“Of course, I will,” Granny tempered her answer so it sounded like a purr from a contented cat.
“I don’t need you to help me. You’re the one who needs help,” Silas blurted crabbily
“Silas, I would be happy to help you. I understand you are temper challenged, but that will not help you solve this crime. I will be waiting.” Smiling and with a chuckle, Granny hung up her cell phone and sat down to wait for Silas.
She heard the downstairs unlocked door slam and the thump of feet on her steps before she heard the muttering coming out of Mr. Supercilious’s mouth. “I’m here.” Silas stopped a few feet away from Granny.
“Do you still have that paper that the thieves didn’t get when they stole the plans for the banks and jewelry stores?”
Silas dug in his pocket, took out the slip of paper and handed it to Granny. “You called me over here for three Xs with a circle around it? The police had just arrived to question Giles Graves.”
Granny studied the paper. “I knew I’d seen these symbols before. These same symbols were on a tag of an old key I found on the street by Nail’s Hardware the day Mr. Nail was murdered.”
Silas took the paper back from Granny to study it. “Where’s the key now?”
“I forgot about it. I threw it in my purse. It’s in my summer purse!” Granny jumped up and held out her hands to ward Silas away. “Stay here, don’t move. I’ll get it.” Granny sprinted down the hallway to her bedroom making sure Silas wasn’t following. She didn’t want him to find out about her secret door in the closet. The thought crossed Granny’s mind that if she moved to the big house with Franklin, she wouldn’t have her secret door or her secrets anymore. Franklin would want to know everything.
Closing her bedroom door behind her, she turned the lock to make sure Silas didn’t follow. She opened the secret door in the back of her closet and dug around for her summer purse. She tossed out her chocolates, five pairs of flip-flops, her risqué books and still no purse. Where was that purse?
Silas banged on her bedroom door. “Hermiony, what’s taking you so long? Heather, Angel and Franklin just pulled into the driveway.”
Granny stopped rummaging in her closet, tossed everything back in, and closed the door, straightening her clothes so that they covered the secret door. Opening her bedroom door, she almost toppled over when Silas, who’d been leaning against the door, fell into her arms.
At that moment, Franklin, Heather and Angel tapped on the front door and, since it was unlocked, opened it and came into the house. Franklin looked down the hallway just in time to see Silas in Granny’s arms.
Franklin’s thundering voice rose over the clamor of the shysters who followed him into the house. “What’s going on here?”
“Unhand her! Unhand her!” Radish chanted as he came into the house on Mrs. Bleaty’s head. Baskerville followed on Mrs. Bleaty’s heels, carrying a purse and dropping it at Granny’s feet as she was trying to get her balance and stand back up, extricating herself from Silas Crickett’s arms.
“Silas, are you and Granny playing Twister?” asked Angel.
Silas patted Angel on the head. “Something like that.”
Franklin was glaring at Granny and Silas waiting for an answer.
Granny stood up straight, walked over to Franklin and in a don’t-mess-with-me tone said, “I was stuck in my room. I called Silas to find the key. He couldn’t find the key so he leaned on the door. It opened. He fell in, I fell out. End of story.”
Silas raised his eyebrows at Granny’s explanation as he leaned down to pick up the purse that Baskerville had left at Granny’s feet.
Still addressing Franklin, Granny reminded him, “Remember, you’re the person I’m always falling for,” referring to the first time they’d met where she had fallen into his arms.
“Is this what you’re looking for?” Silas held out the purse, handing it to Granny.
“Yes, it is. How did Baskerville get it?”
“I gived it to him. He liked it the other day so I gived it to him when I was playing with it,” Angel informed the group.
“Where did you get it Angel?”
“You gived it to me to play with, don’t you remember, Granny? Baskerville dug a hole in the snow and buried it. He just dug it out now. We seed him.” Angel looked at Granny with innocent blue eyes.
“I must be going,” said Silas. “Have a Merry Christmas and don’t get stuck anymore, Hermiony, or you might be stuck for life.” He nodded toward Franklin as he gave the warning.
Granny, catching his meaning, answered with a blazing glare of fire in her eyes.
Turning toward her visitors, she asked,
“What are you all doing here? I thought you would be getting ready for our big get-together?”
“We came over to transport the presents under your tree. I’ll pick you up at 7:00 for Christmas Eve service. Plans are that we will all meet there and head to our new house afterward,” Franklin reported, satisfied that his plans for the evening were taking shape.
“It’s snowing, Granny. Will you make a snow angel with me tonight?” Angel twirled around the room demonstrating her snow angel move.
“What a beautiful angel you’re going to be in the Christmas program tonight. I look forward to being an angel with you.” Granny touched Angel’s cheek before turning to address her mom and Grandpa, “We’ll see you later. I’ve got a lot to do before the wedding and this is my last chance. Go on now, but don’t get stuck in that new snow.”
Franklin gave Granny a kiss on the cheek, “Hermiony, stay out of trouble until after our wedding.”
Granny gave Franklin a smile and a hug before giving him a gentle push out the door. “I’ll remember what you said.”
Listening to Franklin’s car drive away, she locked her front door. She jiggled the purse, still in her hand. Nothing moved. She had thought she’d emptied it out before putting it away for the winter. Plunging her hand into the recesses of the purse, she came out with an empty hand. Where had that key gone?
Grabbing her cellphone, she spoke softly into the microphone, “Heather.”
Heather picked up the phone. “Did we forget something, Mother Hermiony?”
Granny held the phone in front of her and put it on speaker as she asked: “Mother Hermiony?”
Heather laughed, “Well, you are going to be my mother.”
“Ask Angel if there was anything in the purse.” said Granny.
Angel, hearing the question as Heather had also put her phone on speaker, answered in the background, “There was a key. I was playing fetch with Baskerville and he hided it in the snow by where he buried the purse.”
“Thank you, Angel. Santa will be here soon. I will tell him you are a good girl. Bye.”
3 Granny Snows A Sneak Page 17