Designed to Death

by Christina Freeburn

  Our plan? Since when did we have a plan? Or even agreed to work together. A lack of an answer wasn’t an agreement.

  “There is no we.”

  Darlene drew back and frowned. “Excuse me?”

  Were those words that hard to understand, or was Darlene baffled by people not following her orders? Maybe Oliver White needed to give Darlene a class about word usage.

  I don’t know what type of people she usually hung out with, but it certainly wasn’t anyone with a backbone.

  “I’m not helping you.” I slammed the stamp onto the sheet of paper, pretending I was tattooing Darlene. Something about the woman brought out my violent side. Not a fact I was proud of, and it gave me another good reason to stay away from her. The first being she already left me to deal with a firing squad on my own once. No way would I set myself up for a second time.

  This time, she was on her own. She could sit in a small room pondering what everyone was telling her family, and explain herself to Detective Roget.

  “What?” Darlene blinked a few times.

  I stared at her with wide eyes. I didn’t think I could get any clearer than that. “There’s is no plan for us to work on. I’m not getting involved in your mess.”

  “My mess?” Darlene rested a hand against her heart. “How in the world did this become only my problem?”

  “Umm...because the police think you did it. Not me.”

  “It happened at your store.”

  “Still not my business.” I lifted up the stamp. Surprisingly, the image came out very nice. Maybe the trick was thinking about using the stamp to decorate Darlene.

  “You helped Marilyn solve her husband’s murder.”

  I did. But, I actually liked Marilyn and in a way had kind of gotten her onto the police’s radar. Darlene had pushed, shoved, and kicked to get herself on the police’s most likely suspect list.

  “I’m not getting involved.” I sorted through my markers. Same color scheme, or did I want to try a different one?

  “I need help. I can’t believe you’d turn your back on a customer.”

  “My job is to help customers learn how to scrapbook and find supplies they need for their pages, not solve murders. Besides, look how well it worked out for me last time.”

  I decided to work on the house and save the sky for after Darlene left.

  “Seemed to work out well. Marilyn was freed and the real murderer went to jail. You have a knack for solving crimes.” Darlene beamed at me like a proud mama when their baby first rolled over.

  Compliments would get her nowhere. I trusted her as much as I did the Hooligans. Heck, I trusted the Hooligans more than I did her. I knew for certain they’d be up to no good and would create a disaster. Darlene couldn’t be counted on for good or evil. There was something quite lovely about predictability even if it was for behaving badly.

  “I lucked out, and as the saying goes luck does run out.” No way would I waste any of my remaining luck on Darlene.

  Darlene made a shooing motion with her hand, brushing away my words. “Stop being so modest. You have legal experience and are quite adept with using it. Everyone knows it wasn’t luck but keen insight.”

  I snorted. Right. Tell that to all the people I suspected before I discovered the real truth.

  “I won’t leave until I get an answer. I see a nice spot over by the paper racks where I can sit.”

  “No.” A short and sweet answer left little room for argument or negotiation.

  “Why?”

  “No is a complete sentence. I don’t have to give you a reason.”

  “Yes you do.”

  “No I don’t.” I uncapped another marker and started shading the lighter blue into the sky.

  Darlene huffed out a disgusted breath.

  “I don’t care if you don’t like my answer.”

  “It’s not about that. I can’t believe your Halloween card has a blue sky. Halloween is a dark, mysterious time. I think blending purple into the medium blue you chose would create the proper mood.”

  Black would create my proper mood. “You make your own card and I’ll make mine.”

  “Great idea.” Darlene dropped her purse onto a vacant chair across from me. “I’ll just go pull some of the supplies I’ll need.”

  I refrained from beating my head on the crop table. I didn’t want to end up with ink on my forehead or a bigger headache than I already had. A headache who returned to the table with three markers and a haunted house stamp.

  Darlene plopped herself down in the chair and pulled a blank card from the stack in front of me. “I’ll just use your black ink pad rather than getting another. No sense in wasting money.”

  Of course not.

  Darlene placed the stamp image onto an acrylic block then pressed the stamp image carefully into the ink. With care, she lined up the stamp and pushed down. Slowly, she lifted the stamp and revealed a clean, precise image on her first attempt.

  I was impressed, not sarcastically either. Though, she should’ve bought the stamp first. Fortunately from her broad smile, I could tell she liked the image and the way she twisted and turned the card let me know it got her creative juices going.

  She uncapped a navy blue marker.

  “For an unofficial cropping, stamping session, you need to purchase the products first.”

  Darlene frowned. “These are samples for the store which you requested. Teachers don’t pay for their supplies...”

  “Depending on the class, teachers either get a discount or the product for free.” The free products were given when a company sent us free items to use to get an interest in their line. We didn’t allow teachers free reign over items in the store, especially a stamp that retailed at a little over ten dollars.

  “Well then I should get the teacher discount. You did ask me to create a card.”

  I did tell her to make her own, but it wasn’t because I wanted another sample. I wanted her to leave me alone. Instead of getting my wish, I had her help which might cost me a favor unless I gave her the stamp. Since I got personal items at cost, it would be cheaper for me to pay for the stamp and gift it to Darlene.

  Though the thought of giving Darlene a gift made me want to shudder. She was the type of woman who made a worse friend than she did an enemy.

  I sighed dramatically so she’d get that I was annoyed. “Since this misunderstanding is my fault...”

  Darlene made a noise of agreement.

  “I’ll let you have the stamp...”

  “And the markers.”

  I frowned. These were the Copic markers. Expensive. “Don’t you have the full set?”

  “But these would be for teaching only, not personal use.”

  I tallied up the amount in my head. Still less expensive than owing Darlene a favor, and I had her occupied with something other than me helping her solve a crime. “And those three markers.”

  “Good. While we’re working, I can tell you my plan on getting some evidence from Belinda’s house.”

  I shook my head. “Don’t tell me. I’m not good at keeping secrets.”

  Darlene rolled her eyes. “Of course you are. No one knows anything about your time out of Eden. Not one teeny, tiny hint of the scandal that forced you back home.”

  “What makes you think I have a scandal?” I dropped the blue marker then wiped my hands on my jeans, hoping Darlene didn’t see the nervous gesture.

  “You’re a woman. You don’t like to talk about yourself.” Darlene capped the marker and placed it on the table.

  I appreciated the care Darlene treated the supplies with. Some croppers didn’t treat the store’s shared supplies as well as their own, or maybe it was the way they treated the stuff they owned and why they decided not to buy the more expensive brands or items and just used ours.

  “Regardless of how much you admire my ability to keep quiet,” I said. “I’d rather not know your plans.”

  Ted had a way of sneaking up on me and figuring out when I got the urge to i
nvestigate. I didn’t want to tell him what Darlene planned. While I wasn’t fond of the woman, tattling on her didn’t seem right. If she wanted to clear her name, which I couldn’t blame her for trying, who was I to stop her.

  The second the hand on the clock hit closing time, I raced toward the door. I had never wanted a work day to end so badly. The bell jingled and Annette slipped into the store with her small bundle of joy attached to her.

  No! Not today.

  I hadn’t received a call from Steve saying he couldn’t stop by so I figured we were a go for tonight. I really wanted to show him I wanted to move our relationship to the next level and make a nice dinner and not just throw something together.

  Technically, we were closed and I could ask Annette to leave, but we needed all the customers we could get and she had ventured out with her two-month-old son. The woman had to be desperate for scrapbooking supplies if she felt it worth the effort to bundle up a baby, put him into a car seat, then take the baby out of the car and strap the baby to herself. The woman deserved consideration for all the work.

  I locked the door behind Annette and closed the blinds, in case someone walked by. Last thing I needed was wails of showing favoritism to other customers.

  “What can I help you find?”

  “Nothing.” Annette held tight to the straps around her shoulder. The baby slept contently against his mother. “I need to speak with you.”

  “Okay.” I wanted to ask her if it could wait until morning but she was already here. Besides, I’d just obsess about it all night so might as well find out now so I could at least obsess about what she actually said rather than what I thought she wanted to say. More productive.

  “I’d have come by earlier but needed to say this in private.” She glanced around the store. “We are here alone. Right?”

  I’d have been a little concerned she had nefarious plans except Annette had a child attached to her. One didn’t attack a person when they had their beloved baby practically in their arms.

  “Yes. My grandmothers headed out about an hour ago. It’s been kind of slow so no need for the three of us to stay here.”

  “That’s what I thought.” Annette sighed. “I really shouldn’t be telling you this. It’s just not fair what they’re going around saying. No one should be gossiped about.”

  My interest peaked. “They?”

  “Leslie Amtower and Hazel. That Leslie woman is trying really hard to show the store, you in particular, conspired with Belinda to get her to win the contest. She’s saying Belinda was told by someone she trusted it was okay to submit those layouts as hers. Hazel is backing up Ms. Amtower. Hazel says there is no way her daughter would’ve done anything underhanded. Someone in the know convinced Belinda it was okay.”

  “Why would I do that? Darlene shops at the store and has more of an association with it than Belinda. It makes no sense I’d tell Belinda to submit Darlene’s layouts under her name.”

  Annette shrugged. “Sometimes people don’t care if things make sense. Just that it makes a plausible story. The reason they gave is you don’t like Darlene.”

  That was it? The major proof of my involvement was I didn’t like Darlene. Most of the town didn’t like Darlene, including Hazel and Belinda. “How did you come about this information?”

  Annette blushed. “An attorney was talking a little too loud in the cafeteria where I work. I feel bad about this. In a way I’m gossiping but I don’t think people should try and set someone up for a crime.”

  It was nice Annette believed me innocent of wrongdoing. “Thanks for letting me know. But, if this could get you into trouble, why are you telling me?”

  Annette rubbed the baby’s back and planted a soft kiss on the nearly bald head. “You and your grandmothers have been nice to me.”

  I needed to get home. I had some preparing to do. Make dinner. Slip into a cute dress. Make an intentional effort for Steve.

  The baby stirred, snuggling closer to his mommy and letting out a sound of contentment. Annette cradled the baby and rocked him gently. The serene look in her eyes filled my heart with longing. It was so sweet. So filled with love, I envied her.

  Maybe one day. Hopefulness bloomed in my heart. If I was thinking about babies, it meant I was thinking about a long-term relationship. Tonight could be the start of having a new life plan, one that included having a love in my life.

  FOURTEEN

  After Annette left, I scoped the store for anything left behind or placed where it didn’t belong. I found a pack of stickers placed in a slot with patterned paper. Blue cardstock shoved into a space for red cardstock. I wrinkled my nose and delicately picked up a used diaper left in the corner of the store near the hallway.

  I guess I should be happy it was only a wet diaper. We did have a bathroom with a changing table. No idea why the person decided using the floor was much better, or how Sierra didn’t spot them.

  Wait a minute. I tossed the diaper then went over to the stamps. Any stamps with an image of a person were arranged in battle field formation. A cheerful little girl on a swing looked like she was about to take out a woman walking a poodle. A boy on a bicycle was “driving over” a witch. Yep, just as I suspected, the Hooligans came in to visit their mother and decided a practical joke was in order.

  I grinned when I spotted the stuffed green blob with eyes and a felt tongue sticking out from protruding felt teeth. Looks like one of the little monsters, left their little monster behind. If they wanted their creature, they’d have to come back and claim it. Maybe I’d return the wet diaper also.

  I dropped the creature, which was kind of cute in an ugly dog cute kind of way, into the lost and found basket. The necklace and bracelet I placed in there yesterday glittered at me. I sat down at the computer and started typing a brief message before I turned everything off.

  Found: One necklace and one bracelet. Please contact Faith Hunter about the items.

  Leaning back, I studied the message. Too brief.

  I picked up the necklace and examined it. The silver clasp was broken. The silver beaded chain was welded to a swirly heart with diamond like gems embedded in the heart. Dangling inside the heart was a larger stone. It looked like the necklace had been ripped off from someone’s neck.

  I sucked in a breath. What if this was the necklace Belinda came to retrieve? If those gems were real diamonds, I’d want it back as soon as possible. I turned the necklace over. The sterling heart wasn’t large enough for any engraving.

  I held it in my hand. Should I call Ted and tell him about my discovery? What if it hadn’t been Belinda’s? This necklace would become evidence and who knew when the owner would get it back.

  I closed my eyes and pictured Belinda. The diva necklace had been prominently displayed. I couldn’t “see” another piece of jewelry on her. Why would she hide it?

  The diva necklace hadn’t been broken when Darlene got a hold of it. If Belinda had worn both, why would one break and not the other. How would Darlene know which clasp to undo if Belinda had both on?

  My cell phone rang. Steve’s ring tone.

  I snagged it and glanced at the clock. I needed to get out of here. I saved the message, logging off as I tucked the phone against my chin and shoulder.

  “I’ll be home in a few minutes. Anything in particular you’d like for dinner?”

  “I can’t make it,” Steve said in a flat voice.

  “Oh.” I heard my disappointment in the one syllable. I hated guilt trips so I didn’t want to give one. “Want me to bring you something by? A man can’t live on microwavable dinners alone.”

  “No.”

  I waited for an elaboration. It took me a few minutes before it got through my thick skull one wasn’t coming. “Okay. I hope you don’t have to work too late. I’m going to stay in and watch a movie. You can come over when you get done.”

  “I can’t.”

  “I don’t mind if it’s late.” I added some flirtation into my voice. You’d think after all these mon
ths of him wanting to liven up our relationship I wouldn’t have to work so hard.

  “I’m sorry I’m disappointing you. But tonight is not a good idea.”

  “Maybe some other time.”

  “I’ve got to go.”

  I stared at the phone. Did I just get the brush-off? From Steve?

  Fine. Who needed him to have a good evening anyway? I’d pick up some take-out and check out some movies from the library. This way, if I did allow my pout to get the better of me, I wouldn’t have wasted money on rentals.

  I finished closing and went to my car. Muttering to myself, I made my way to the library. I took the first parking spot and raced into the large building, scurrying between a mom and young child who were exiting. The mother huffed and let out a small giggle when I almost collided into one of the pillars in front of the library.

  “Better hurry,” a deep voice by the magazines said.

  I glanced over.

  Leonard’s face was half-hidden behind a photography magazine.

  “Are you sure you don’t want to copy the article?” Oliver tried to loom over the man.

  “I’m sure.” Leonard smiled and settled back into the chair.

  Holding back a grin, I headed for the movies. Oliver locked up tight at eight. He didn’t believe in allowing patrons a few extra moments of browsing.

  “I’m not staying open for you either,” Oliver’s voice followed me.

  “I know. I know.”

  The library opened at nine in the morning and closed at eight at night on the weekdays. Precisely. I had fifteen minutes to find some movies and some books. I wanted to know a little more about the publishing side of the scrapbooking world and hoped there might be something useful in the stacks.

  I grabbed two movies from the “New” section, then hurried back to the non-fiction books.

  I knew where the scrapbooking books were located. I hoped anything dealing with scrapbooking was located there and not in business or publishing as I didn’t know where I’d find them. The only browsing I did in the library were in the sections I preferred, I wasn’t too eclectic in my reading tastes. I stuck to scrapbooking, crafts, romance, and mysteries.