by Tonya Kappes
I knew some of the shops were owned either by Cane Contractors and Aunt Maxi, but I wasn’t sure about Morgan’s.
“I bought it from JJ Builders when they were doing the renovation a year ago.” She continued to work. “Why, do they own the coffeehouse?”
“No. Aunt Maxi owns my building. I was just wondering.” Not that her answer helped.
Even though there were many builders around, JJ Builders was the biggest and the one most people in Honey Springs used. Plus, they were Cane Contractors’ biggest client.
“We’ve got to get going.” The word going sent Pepper into a doggie tizzy. He yelped and jumped around. “I’ll see you at the meeting”
We said our goodbyes. I put Pepper in the basket along with the to-go bag of goodies to take to Patrick before I went to the Southern Women’s meeting. I was going to use Aunt Maxi’s famous saying: “The way to a man’s heart is cooking.” I’d never served Patrick anything he didn’t like.
FOURTEEN
“I’m telling you that something isn’t right at the bank.” I stood on the back deck of Patrick’s house, which overlooked Lake Honey Springs. I was watching Timmy play with his trucks. Sassy lay right next to him.
“You know Debbie is going to kill you for giving him those cookies before supper. This is my supper now.” Patrick ignored me.
“Look at tonight two ways.” I held two fingers up to him and leaned on the deck railing. “You are helping the love birds have a great date night and go public with their relationship.” I was talking about Bib and Babette. “And you are helping me find out some information on the murder of Hillary Canter.”
“I can’t believe Spencer had the nerve to ask you to look into it.” A shadow of annoyance crossed his face.
“He didn’t ask me to look into anything.” I wanted to clarify. “He asked me to keep my ear to the ground for gossip, and there’s got to be plenty of gossip about Hillary at this meeting, especially since her mother is a member.”
“You really think her mother is going to be at the meeting?” he asked.
“Well, no, but rumors will be flying.” At least, I hoped they would be. “I’d like to hear what they have to say.”
“Of course, you would,” he replied with heavy sarcasm.
“What does that mean?” I asked with a vague sense of disapproval over how he was treating me.
“It means that I wish you’d spend more time planning a date for our wedding than looking into the death of a bridesmaid in Pam’s wedding,” he muttered.
“So this is the truth behind your coldness to me?” The truth came out. When I noticed Timmy was looking up at us, I knew it was a mistake to fight in front of him. “We aren’t going to talk about this right now.”
“You never want to talk about it.” His voice grew louder when I walked inside. “You stay right here, buddy.”
Moments later, he was inside with me.
“You always run when I want to discuss the wedding.” He wasn’t going to let it go. “You either want to get married, or you don’t. What are we waiting on?”
“I’ve got to go.” I pulled on the light jacket that I’d taken off when I got to his house. “We can discuss this later.”
“Whatever.” He jerked the door open.
“Wait a second.” I put my hand on the door that he was closing behind me when I stepped out of the house. “Are you taking out your anger on me because of this thing Cane Contractors has with one of its clients?”
“How did you know about that?” he asked.
“Keeping my ear to the ground.” I drove home why Spencer thought I was valuable.
“Your mother.” He stared at me. “She called about me putting a lien on a house of her client’s because I’ve not been paid for the work I’ve done for her house.”
“Is this something I should be worried about?” I asked.
“If you’re asking if this is tied to the bank, no.” He shook his head. “This one house isn’t going to hurt us. That is if there’s a future us.”
“Patrick.” I took a step closer to him and reached out to grab his hand. “There’s nothing wrong with us. I moved to Honey Springs to a new house, opened a new coffeehouse, and reconnected to you while I was still nursing the wounds of my divorce.” I stared into his beautiful brown eyes, feeling warm inside. “This past year, I’ve loved getting my roots planted here, being engaged to you, and owning a thriving business. It’s been a lot of change. Great changes. I do want to get married to you. I was just letting those roots grow to make sure everything is grounded.” I curled up on my toes and kissed his soft lips. “Let’s have supper at the cabin tomorrow night, and we can come up with a date.”
“You promise you won’t cancel because the bowling team has a rumor about this murder?” he asked.
“Is there really a bowling team?” I asked with my interest piqued.
“No, Roxy. I was joking.” He pulled me closer into his arms. It was the safest place I’d been all day.
FIFTEEN
In the great state of Kentucky, the weather was hot one minute, cold the next, or raining in the morning with snow in the evening. It was very unpredictable between seasons. Tonight was no different.
On my way back into town to go to the library, rain started to spit from the sky. It wasn’t one that made we put the wipers on full blast, but it was annoying enough to dot the windshield in the middle of my line of vision.
The sunset against the wet grass turned the countryside a dusty Southern green. “April showers bring May flowers” wasn’t only true, it was spot on. Even the bluegrass we were known for became even more vibrant as the rain fed the limestone underneath the ground.
The library was part of the community college, and I wasn’t able to see any cars that I recognized because the college kids’ cars and all the others were mixed together. I did try to rubberneck to find Morgan’s car, but with the rain and the darkening sky, it was a lost cause. I gave up and headed inside.
White marquee letters on a stand spelled out “Southern Woman’s Club meeting this way” along with a paper arrow pointing in the direction of the one and only conference room in the library.
The smell of bound books and pages was as strong a sensory reminder of how much I loved books as the smell of freshly brewed coffee reminded me of how much I loved coffee. Those were two distinct smells that made me feel warm and fuzzy.
“What on earth are you doing here?” Loretta’s Southern voice asked.
“I’m the guest of Morgan Keys tonight. I thought I might try out the club and see if it’s for me.” I shrugged and looked around. I didn’t see Morgan.
“If it’s not good enough for Maxine, it certainly won’t be good enough for you.” Loretta put her hand up to her gold chain necklace, which had a turquoise pendent the size of a baseball hanging off of it.
“That necklace goes great with your coloring.” Morgan rushed in. “It really pops against your tan.”
“Tan?” Loretta rolled her eyes so hard, I could’ve sworn she hurt herself. “This is not a tan. I’m Cherokee. I thought you knew that.”
“Really?” Morgan’s head tilted, and she furrowed her brow. “Cherokee?”
“As in Native American.” She put her hand, which had a matching ring to the necklace, on her hip, and the wrinkles around her lips tightened.
“Yes, thank you. I know what that is.” Morgan glared back at Loretta. “So, tell me about this big story you went to Maxine Bloom about for the newspaper.”
“I only told her what I knew because people in Honey Springs want to know what’s going on.” She pointed her finger at me. “Ask Roxy. She was there. She might even know more because I left Pam with her in the bathroom.”
Morgan looked at me. I shook my head.
“You also told the sheriff.” I wasn’t going to let her get away with thinking that her finger-pointing was going to get Pam arrested. “Now, he said that Pam is their number-one suspect.”
“Well, she did have
that fight with her.” Loretta wasn’t going down without a fight. “And from what I heard, she and Truman were having some issues because of Hillary.”
“I can’t believe this!” The gasp was heard clear across town when everyone turned to see who was yelling. “I hate this town!” Pam was at the door of the room, but she bolted out.
“Nice going,” I said to Loretta. I followed Pam out to the parking lot, where she was fumbling with the keys to her car.
“Just go away, Roxy.” She didn’t bother looking at me. She jammed the key into the door lock and turned it. “I just want to be left alone.”
“I was married before.” I knew if I could get her to slow down, I might be able to talk to her and make her feel better. “We got divorced because he cheated on me. If the rumors are true, at least you know now. It’ll save you from heartache later.”
When she didn’t move, I could tell she was listening.
“I’m sorry. Rumors can be so harmful.” I could feel the pain radiating off of her. The rain was still at a spit, but it looked like it was going to turn into a downpour at any minute.
“Hillary hit on Truman. He told me about it the night it happened.” Pam gulped back tears. “I even forgave her for it in my heart, but I never mentioned it to her. I figured after the wedding, I’d slowly back away from her. But after what she said in public to me, I knew she wanted my life.”
“Why don’t we go back to the coffeehouse and have a cup of coffee? Plus, I have some things to bake, and you can help me. That always makes me feel better.” I reached out and patted her arm.
“Are you sure?” she asked.
“I wouldn’t have asked if I wasn’t.” I offered a sympathetic smile. “Besides, these Southern women are too uppity for me. I like more of a hillbilly style.” I winked and filled with joy when she laughed.
“I’ll follow you.” She opened her car door.
I called Mama on my way to the coffeehouse because it was the only time I was going to have to talk to her. I had to call Patrick when I got home to make sure we were good, and I had a big day tomorrow. I’d already decided that after I got the shop open and Bunny settled, I was going to drive to Lexington to make a visit to Bank Lending Mortgage.
“You know that I’m the suspect now.” Pam had taken a seat on one of the stools at the counter. “I didn’t do it.”
“I don’t think you did.” I flipped on one of the coffeepots and made a mental note to refill it before I left for the night, since it was the carafe the afternoon girls had filled before they left.
There was a checklist that I required the employees to check off before they closed so I’d be able to walk in the next morning and get started without having to refill salt shakers on the table and take care of little things like napkins and straws. The coffeepots were all ready to go, so I only had to flip on a switch.
“Do you like jam cake?” I asked, not really knowing what I planned to bake when I got her here.
“Yes. I love it. It’s very hard to find, though.” She sat up on the edge of the stool and waited patiently with the ceramic coffee mug in front of her.
“What if I teach you my family’s secret recipe?” I asked and nodded for her to follow me into the kitchen. My heart jumped when I passed Pepper’s empty dog bed, and I wondered how he was doing at home alone. I hated to leave him, but it wasn’t appropriate to take him some places. Not all people loved dogs—and those were the people I never trusted.
“I know there are a lot of rumors going around about the murder and people pointing fingers at one another.” I wasn’t sure how to get to the matter of Hillary, but I knew I wanted to know. It was the break I’d been waiting for. I could give Spencer someone different to look at. “Why don’t you start from the beginning, as in, with how long you’ve known Hillary.”
She talked while I gathered the dry ingredients from the shelves.
“We met at the Southern Women’s Club, of all places.” She laughed. “My mom and her mom were members, and they’d put us in the children’s section of the library to play while they had their meetings. It was natural for us to grow up and become good friends.”
I grabbed a bowl on my way over to the shelf to put the items in and carry them back. It was much easier than trying to pack them in my arms. Flour, sugar, raisins, baking soda, and baking powder were the first things I took off the shelves. “Those have got to be some really good memories.” I carried the bowl back and emptied it onto the steel work table. “If you want to grab the buttermilk and blackberry jam out of the refrigerator, that’d be a big help.”
“There were some really good memories.” She opened the refrigerator and took out the items. “Until her parents started their side business company, and her father was making more and more money. They started to give her everything she ever wanted.”
“They own a company?” I asked.
“Yes. Something with the tourist cabins here. Bank Lending Mortgages.” She put the wet ingredients on the table. “Anything else?” she asked.
“Yeah.” I gulped back my thoughts when she said “Bank Lending Mortgages.” That was the mortgage company Mama’s client had used and the teller had given me information about. “I need three eggs, nutmeg, cinnamon, and vanilla from the spice shelf.”
While she got the ingredients, she continued to tell me about the evolution of her relationship with Hillary. My thoughts were so loud that I didn’t hear her.
“Can you excuse me for a minute?” I asked her. “I need to go to the bathroom.”
“Sure. I think I heard the coffeepot beep. Can I get a cup?” she asked on our way back through the swinging door into the coffeehouse.
“Yes. Help yourself.” I hurried over to the bathroom and turned on the water faucet. I dialed Spencer’s number on my phone, but he didn’t pick up, so I had to leave a message.
“Spencer, where are you?” I whispered. “Listen, I know it’s late. I really think something fishy is going down at the bank, and it’s tied to Hillary’s death. Her dad owns Bank Lending Mortgages. I’m not sure how yet, but I think that either her uncle or her father have been doing some underhanded check fraud. I never had a case for check fraud when I was a lawyer, but I do have one of my mom’s clients who has a lien against her house and a double mortgage that she didn’t do. It’s all tied to the bank and JJ Builders. Call me, and I’ll give you the details.” I paused. “Maybe someone killed her to get back at her dad. Just a thought.”
I hung up the phone. As sure as I was about how delicious my mama’s jam cakes were, I was just as sure that somehow Hillary Canter’s murder had to do with her father’s business dealings.
SIXTEEN
While Pam and I enjoyed the warm out-of-the-oven jam cake with more coffee, she told me how she and Hillary had remained friends but that Hillary began to make her feel like a charity case.
She also said that no matter how much money Hillary was fed by her parents, Hillary craved the old life that had that resembled Pam’s, down to Pam’s engagement to Truman. Pam was going to meet with Emily and Babette this morning because she’d broken off the wedding to Truman. She hadn’t canceled the engagement, but they’d decided to go through counseling, assuming that she wasn’t going to be arrested for Hillary’s murder.
The more she talked, the more I knew that she didn’t do it, and somehow Hillary’s killer had to do with her family’s dealings, which made my drive to Lexington to visit Bank Lending Mortgages even more important. I had to go on my gut. Since I’d not heard from Spencer, I assumed he was checking in on the details I’d given him over the phone.
“You want to know what I heard at the Southern Women’s Club?” Morgan had stopped in before I’d even gotten the morning treats for Camey down at the Cocoon in the oven. She was leaning against the kitchen counter and eating a piece of one of the leftover jam cakes that Pam and I had made the night before.
“Yes, I do.” I took a few of the tomato-and-spinach quiches out of the freezer to pop them in the
oven. They were the perfect treats for the guests at the inn to enjoy with a cup of coffee. They were light but filling enough to get them started with their day. The quiches would tide them over until the breakfast Camey provided was ready.
She eyed the pie plates full of quiche when I walked by. “That looks good.”
“The story?” I reminded her. I put them in the oven and set the timer.
“After you ran after Pam, I’d heard that Truman had cheated on her with Hillary. Did she say anything to you about it?” she asked.
“She did, but I think Hillary actually made a pass at him.” I grabbed the pot and poured myself a cup of coffee. “If she did it, why would she meet her so early? What would be the point of that?”
“According to Loretta, the Canters are having some financial problems and trying to get Hillary married off as quickly as possible.” She took a sip of her coffee.
“Do you know anything about their business?” I asked, pretending that I didn’t know anything about the business. I walked over to Pepper’s kibble and put a scoop in his bowl.
He quickly ate it then went to lie in his bed for a nap.
“Not much. I remember when I was little, they started buying up all the lake-front property and helped get Lake Honey Springs popular with boaters by building the log cabins. From there, I think they just grew and grew.” She shrugged. “Bank Lending Mortgages.”
“What about the uncle that works down at the Honey Springs National Bank?” I asked.
“I don’t know much about him. You’d think he’d be more involved with more committees since he’s the president of the bank, but he’s never been involved with anything but growing the bank. Loretta did say that her husband had some sort of big trustee meeting.”
“What do the trustees do?” I asked.
“From what Loretta said, there was some sort of issue with a loan, and they had to vote on it.”
She was giving me some good information. I wondered if Aunt Maxi knew who was on the board—and if she’d talked to them.