Murder by the Bookend

by Laura Gail Black

  I nodded my encouragement when he paused. I’d heard of the college, which had started as a community center that held general classes in cooking, home economics, and auto mechanics for local residents but had grown into a widespread and fully accredited junior college over the span of twenty years.

  “Well …” Mason pursed his lips a moment before pushing out the staccato words. “They offer an associate degree in accounting. I know you were an accountant too, and I know you don’t want to be one anymore, but I figured it was something I could do online, and maybe you could help me if I needed it, and it’s something that I could do here in Hokes Folly, because I don’t really want to move to another city. Not that it matters, though, because at the rate I’ll be able to pay for classes, I’ll be thirty before I graduate.”

  How did this kid not quite six years younger than me manage to bring out my previously unknown motherly instincts? He was right, though. I’d turned my back on the accounting world when I’d moved to Hokes Folly. Frankly, the accounting world had turned its back on me when the marketing firm for which I had worked had fired me after accusing me of embezzlement.

  I shook my head and refocused on Mason’s current dilemma. “You’ve really given this a lot of thought.”

  “Yes and no.” Mason shrugged and stood. “It’s been in the back of my mind for a year or so, but after yesterday, it’s kind of in the front of my mind now.”

  I knew Mason had come from a disadvantaged background. His father had skipped out with his secretary while his mother was pregnant with him. Mason didn’t even know who or where his father was. His grandparents had passed away when he was young. His mother, a loving and strong woman, had passed away a little over a year and a half ago, leaving Mason pretty much on his own with no safety net. After getting in with a rough crowd during his grief and a short stint of drug usage, Mason had gotten his head on straight again and was moving forward with his life.

  Well, everyone could use a fairy godmother, if one was available. I mentally waved my magic wand. Bibbidi-bobbidi-boo. “Mason, I think Uncle Paul would have wanted you to go to college. What if I help pay for your school expenses?”

  I expected him to be excited, happy, joyful—something positive. However, he turned and stalked down an aisle, duster in hand. Loud sniffing ensued, and I crept to the end of the aisle and peeked around in time to see him brush a tear off his cheek and suck in another loud sniff.

  “Dust getting to you?” I walked into the aisle and leaned against the shelves near his efforts, knowing dust wasn’t the issue.

  Mason cleared his throat and sniffed once more. “Yeah. This shelf was pretty bad. I must have missed it last time.” He turned to face me, duster forgotten. “I appreciate your offer, but I can’t accept it. You’ve already done too much, helping me get my own apartment and all. Now there’s the raise, which will help me get a new car. I can’t keep mooching off you every time I need something. A man has to stand on his own two feet.”

  I nodded and crossed my arms, understanding his quandary. “Fair enough. I’m sorry if I upset you with the offer. So how about this one instead? How about a student loan? I’ll loan you the money to go, and once you start making money as an accountant, we can come up with a fair payment plan to pay me back.”

  He cleared his throat again, straightened his shoulders, and nodded once. “I think that’s an option we might consider.”

  Mason turned back to his dusting, and I figured it was time to leave him to regain his composure. I strode behind the counter, sat, and woke the laptop up. We’d finally completed setting up our point-of-sale system on the new computer. I’d also hired a girl to build us a database to input customer requests or their interests, so we could ensure we contacted the right people when certain types of books came through the store.

  Now I needed to write personal letters to each of the people who had been on the guest list for Thursday’s event, whether they had attended or not, asking them to stop by or call. While Uncle Paul had been able to keep all of their information straight in his head, I needed the computer to remember everything. How he’d managed it, I would never know.

  The bell over the front door tinkled, announcing a customer, and I turned to see the plump woman I’d met at the event. What was her name? It started with an A … Alice! That was it. Alice King.

  “How are you today, Alice?” I stepped from behind the counter, my hand extended.

  She grasped my hand in both of hers and shook it, her hands soft and slightly clammy. “I’d be better if we weren’t all grieving as a community for poor Linus.” She let go of my hand and pulled an obviously used tissue from her purse and dabbed at her eyes.

  I resisted the urge to wipe my hand on my jeans and reach for the hand sanitizer as I nodded. “Let’s get some coffee and sit for a bit.”

  She remained silent as I poured coffee into two of my store-logo mugs, led her to the seats in the corner, and handed her a mug.

  “Linus was such a good man.” She half sobbed into her tissue the moment we sat. “I can’t believe he’s really gone.”

  My eyebrows shot up. This was opposite of the sentiment she’d expressed during the event, foretelling doom.

  Apparently, she caught my odd look, and she hurried to explain, pushing her words out at a gushing pace. “Oh, I know I said someone would put him in his place for good, and there were times when I wanted to myself, but I never would have actually killed him, and now he’s gone, and even though he was such a nasty man to me, it’s so unkind to say mean things about the dead, so I’m trying to be nice, since he can’t be here to defend himself.” She sniffed again, as if to punctuate her pseudo-grief.

  I stared at her, my brows still up, unsure of how to respond as she came to the close of her rant. “Alice, I’m sure no one thinks you had anything to do with Mr. Talbot’s death.”

  “That rude policeman does. He all but tried to force me to confess.” Her tearful remorse at Linus’s death was momentarily replaced by a righteous indignation. “As if I’d be that stupid, even if I had done it.”

  I couldn’t believe I was about to come to Sutter’s defense after all he’d put me through. “Detective Sutter is just doing his job. He has to solve a murder, and he knows the killer could be someone who attended the event. I’m sure he was trying to eliminate you as a suspect.” Although I’d intended them to help, it seemed my words had the opposite effect.

  Alice paled and began to shake hard enough her double chin wobbled. “You think the killer was there?” Her voice rose an octave and came out in a semi-squeak. “In this store? Possibly right next to me at some point?” Her hand clutched at my arm, her fingers digging painfully into the skin.

  I gently but firmly pried her vise-like grip from my arm and wished I’d been more careful with my words. “There is that possibility, but the police will find out who did it.”

  Alice’s eyes held a frantic glaze now. “I wasn’t the only one who didn’t like Linus. Selina March couldn’t stand him. And she’s mean enough to kill someone. You saw how she acted. And she came back to get that god-awful fur coat of hers. She flashes that thing around, because she thinks it makes her look classier, so she couldn’t just leave it here. Poor Douglas buys whatever she wants, and she bleeds him dry. He’s a saint to put up with her, I tell you. And it was right after she left with her coat that everyone else left.”

  “We did have the drawing after Selina got her coat, which means Linus was killed at least half an hour after they left.” I patted her gently on the shoulder, trying to calm her a bit.

  Alice shook her head. “No, you don’t understand. It had to be her. She really hated Linus after the whole car incident.” She nodded emphatically, as if confirming her opinion, and took a large swig of coffee.

  “Car incident?” I racked my brain, searching for any information about Selina and coming up with nothing.

  Alice settled into her chair, the tears in her eyes replaced by a predatory gleam, the tissue wadded in her hand
. “Oh, I forget, you’re not from here, so you don’t know. Well, let me tell you then.” She giggled. “About twelve years ago, when Selina was a senior in high school, she and a couple of her friends got drunk at a party on Linus’s street one night, and they stole his car for a joyride. They wrecked it. The other two girls got away, and Selina would never reveal who they were. However, she passed out drunk in the front seat. Linus pressed charges, which put a felony on Selina’s record. Since she hadn’t been in trouble like that before, she got three years of probation instead of jail time. But she also lost her scholarship to the University of Virginia, where she hoped to join a sorority and find a rich husband.”

  College again. I sipped my coffee as I let it roll through my mind. “She was mad at Linus because she didn’t get to go to college after she was the one who broke the law?”

  Alice shook her head. “She went to college. Her daddy could have paid for her to go anywhere she wanted. But after that incident, he insisted she stay home and go to the local junior college so he could keep an eye on her. All of her hopes for a rich husband and moving away from here were crushed.”

  “How did she meet and marry Douglas? They seem an unlikely couple.” I pictured the drab older man with the wilted look in his eyes.

  “Oh, that?” Alice leaned in, glee at gossiping sparkling in her gaze. “She met him while she was studying at the library. He’s fifteen years older than she is, and his father had money. She thought he was her ticket out. Three years after they married, Douglas’s father died and left his fortune to the library in a trust, to be used only to maintain the building and create additions as deemed needed by the library board of directors. Poor Douglas didn’t get a dime because his father saw through Selina’s fake-sweet act. He pegged her as a gold digger from day one, and he refused to support that. Frankly, we were all surprised when she didn’t divorce Douglas on the spot. But she’d entrenched herself as queen bee socialite in town, and she didn’t want to start over with a divorce on her record.”

  Alice revived her tissue and dabbed at her eyes again. “Selina forces that sweet man to live like a pauper in order to support her spending habits.” She stood, shoved her tissue into her pocket, and thrust her mug at me. “I really should go talk to that detective again.”

  I caught the mug, sloshing a bit over the edge onto my hand, glad it wasn’t still terribly hot, and scrambled to my feet. “Before you go, might I talk to you about what types of books you would like me to hold for you if I find them?” I walked toward the computer.

  A smile, genuine this time, crossed her face. “I’d be happy to talk books for a few minutes.”

  After I entered her information into our new searchable database of customers—okay, customer, since she was the only entry so far—I spied the book I’d almost sold her at the event. I pulled it off the shelf behind the counter where I’d stashed it and forgotten it and held it out to her. “We do still have this one available. Linus did an amazing job repairing it. You can’t even tell it was damaged.”

  Alice recoiled, as if I’d tried to hand her a snake. “I have no interest in taking that book or any other book Linus Talbot touched. Not after … well, I don’t want it. That’s all.”

  Eddy, who had been asleep behind the counter, chose this moment to stand, stretch, and walk out into the store.

  Alice stumbled backward. “Is that Linus’s dog?”

  I smiled and nodded. “Yes, I’ve decided to give him a home.” And I really had. After my reaction the day before when Bethany Prescott had visited and I’d briefly thought I’d be losing him, I couldn’t deny how quickly I’d formed a strong attachment to the dog.

  “Just keep that mutt away from me.” Alice curled her lip and clutched her pocketbook to her wide stomach, as if using it as a shield.

  Eddy eased in front of me, his hackles raised at her aggressive tone.

  Alice stepped backward to the door. “Maybe if Linus had paid more attention to the world around him instead of to that stupid dog, he’d still be alive.”

  My eyebrows shot up, and by the time I could stutter out a rushed “please come again,” the only sound I received in return was the jangling bells over the door.

  Chapter Eight

  I smoothed my deep-crimson pencil skirt as I sat on the chair Keith had pulled out for me in a gentlemanly manner. He rounded the small table and sat opposite me.

  A server placed hardcover menus in front of each of us and stepped back. “Would you like to order drinks?” She smiled.

  Keith and I had been to this sushi restaurant twice in the last three months, and he already knew what we’d both want.

  “Yes, we’d like a bottle of nigori sake, chilled, and a pot of hot jasmine tea, please.” As she left the table, he opened his menu.

  I’d already opened mine, scanning the list of mouth-watering temptations on which we would gorge ourselves until we could barely walk back to the car. We discussed what we would share for dinner and ordered when the server returned, the smile still on her face.

  As she left, Keith leaned back and sipped from his tiny cup of sake. “So, Alice went a little bonkers on you, huh?”

  I chuckled, jumping back into the conversation we’d started on the way over. I’d explained about the plump woman’s wildly swinging moods and had told him what she’d said about Selina March. “That’s one way of putting it. She was so weepy and mournful over Linus to begin with, then went all psycho about it later. I have a feeling what she expressed at the end is closer to her true feelings than the tears and sentiments she tried to push out.”

  Keith sobered. “Sounds like she’s awfully intent on pointing a finger at someone else.” He leaned in and reached for my hand. “Be careful about trusting either Alice or Selina for now. Or the Prescotts, for that matter.”

  My eyebrows rose. I hadn’t discussed my chat with Bethany Prescott with him yet. “Why do you say that?”

  “Sutter is zeroing in on Prescott as the most likely suspect. He’s convinced it had to do with his election campaign and a fight he’d had with Talbot over a dog.” Keith squeezed my fingers. “Your new dog.”

  I flipped my hand and wove my fingers into his, reveling in their warmth. “I know.”

  “You know? How?” Keith pulled me closer. “Jenna, you can’t go around interrogating people. You know Frank Sutter will have your hide for it.”

  I slid my fingers out of his grasp, leaned back, and crossed my arms. “Why is your first assumption that I’m meddling in your department’s investigation? Where’s the trust?”

  Keith narrowed his eyes and studied me a moment before nodding once. “Fair enough. I’m sorry. How do you know? And what exactly do you know?”

  I relaxed the tension that had gripped my shoulders, internally letting go the irritation I’d felt at the oh-so-minor accusation. “Bethany Prescott dropped by the store, hoping we’d know what happened to Eddy.” I smiled briefly, remembering their reunion. “She told me about what happened with the dog and why Bradford hated Linus.”

  Keith shook his head, chuckling. “I swear, for someone so new to town, folks sure love to chat you up and give you all sorts of information. I really am sorry I jumped to conclusions.” He reached over and uncrossed my arms, sliding his fingers into mine again. “Forgive me?”

  The rest of my irritation fled at the genuine contrition in Keith’s gaze. “I do.” Catching sight of our server weaving her way toward us with our food, I added, “I’ll tell you about it while we eat.”

  Thirty minutes later, stuffed with as much sushi as I could possibly eat, I sat back as a sigh of contented pleasure escaped my lips. “I can’t move. You’ll have to help me waddle to the car.”

  “We’ll both have to help each other.” Keith chuckled. “Seriously, though, how narcissistic do you have to be to make sure your wife, kid, and even dog have names that start with the same first letter as yours? I mean, come on. Bradford, Becky, Bethany, and Benson?”

  A giggle burbled up. “At least
if they’re into monograms, they could all share the same stuff.”

  At his guffaw, I shushed him and glanced around the restaurant to see if we’d disturbed anyone. No one seemed to care. As my gaze swung back toward my date, I caught sight of a familiar fur coat sweeping through the restaurant behind a startled hostess. Angry words followed.

  “I can’t believe this place still doesn’t have a coat check. After all the times I’ve requested they set one up.” Selina March’s arrogant shrill echoed through the dining room, drawing the attention Keith’s loud laughter had failed to summon.

  Of all the rotten luck. The server seated the Marches at the table next to ours.

  Selina’s head swung around the room, her gaze settling on me. “Is there something you want?” Her demanding question ended abruptly. “Don’t I know you?”

  I nodded but before I could speak, a sneer spread across her face, and she wrinkled her nose in seeming distaste.

  “Oh yes, the little bookshop girl who accused me of damaging her stupid books.”

  My mouth dropped open, and I sucked in a breath, ready to let her have it. How dare she? Keith’s shoe kicked my foot under the table, stopping me before I could cause a scene. He must be in league with my mother’s voice inside my head, which was demanding decorum and politeness, even in the face of blatant rudeness.

  Keith’s soft voice was just loud enough for the Marches to hear. “Yes, Jenna owns Twice Upon a Time. You were there for her event, where you created a tacky scene, weren’t you?”

  Okay, so not so much in league with Mom after all. I’d have to thank him profusely later.

  Selina’s screech cut through the room again. “Who do you think you are?”

  “Now, Selina, dear, calm down.” Douglas’s hand gripped Selina’s arm, and I noted he wasn’t quite as simpering tonight as he had been previously. “Let’s enjoy our dinner.” His gaze slid to me, seeming to silently plead with us to simply let it go.

  Keith picked up the check our server had brought to the table, and we walked toward the front of the restaurant to pay, passing behind Selina as we left.