by Jeri Green
“Thank, Richie. I will,” Hadley said.
“What you gonna do with all those?” Beanie asked.
“I’m going to cook them into cakes and pies,” Hadley said.
“All of them?” Beanie asked.
“No, Beanie. I’m saving six of the best ones just for you. Here,” she said, counting out six prize apricots. “But mind you, don’t eat them all at once. You’ll get the runs.”
“Runs are no fun, Hadley.”
“Definitely not,” Hadley said, steering the car toward home.
“Bill, I’ve been researching poisons,” Hadley said.
“Been talking to the beauty shop bunch, again?”
“What’s that got to do with anything?” Hadley asked. “They think Eustian was poisoned with cyanide, don’t they, Bill.”
‘”Bowey’s Hill is very thorough, Hadley. That’s about all I can say. Did you and Beanie see Teddy Croft the other night?”
“Not hide nor hair,” Hadley said. “And who told you?”
“I ran into Rayna. She said you and Beanie were out at her place at the crack of dawn. She said you two had fallen asleep in the car waiting for her to open the orchard gates. That sounded fishy to me. I ran into Beanie later. He told me you two were searching for shooting stars, and you had pointed out the big star named Sir Valence to him.”
“Well, like I said,” Hadley said, ignoring the last part of Bill’s comment, “I’ve been doing some research. Checked out a bunch of books from the library. Poisons are all around us. Anybody can get their hands on the stuff. All you need is a credit card and access to the Internet. Anybody could have killed Eustian. He’s been pulling that same scam on good folks forever. Eustian’s made a lot of enemies over the years.”
“I know,” Bill said. “I think, like everybody else. Eustian made up a lie. He sued Sandy hoping to recoup some of the money he’d paid out for those tractor parts.
”Sandy’s good. He does good work. And it doesn’t come cheap. Eustian was out a pretty penny for those parts, I’m sure. Then, he comes up with that cockamamie story that Sandy stole stuff while in his barn. That’s a crock of bull if I ever heard it.
“You know it, and I know it, but Eustian wouldn’t back down. He spread that story like stink on a skunk. That’s how he’s hoodooed people out of money for years. Most folks just fold and settle out of court when somebody threatens something like that.”
“But,” said Hadley, “not Sandy. I just don’t think Sandy did it, Bill. He’s not that type.”
“And exactly what type of person kills?” Bill asked. “You never know what another person is truly thinking, Hadley. I’ve learned that much over the years. So many people I’ve arrested, I would never in a million years think they were guilty of the things that they were accused of. Do you know how we solve crimes, Hadley?”
“No, but I wouldn’t think this area is exactly riddled with murderers and rapists.”
“You’re right,” Bill said. “We have tools we use like fingerprints, but the main way crimes are solved is through folks coming to us with something that doesn’t add up. Somebody said something that someone else over heard. Suspicions from a family member or friend.
“Somebody comes to us with information.
Informers, if you like.
Or a rumor starts that we track down.
“And a lot of it comes down to luck. I shouldn’t tell you this, but I know I can trust you, I found a plastic bottle of cyanide solution in Eustian’s house. It’s what Sandy uses to gold plate stuff. It was under the kitchen table near where we found Eustian’s body. Sandy swears he never set foot inside the house. Swears Eustian wouldn’t let him. Swears he wasn’t missing any of bottles of that solution.
“It’s got me puzzled.
“I admit I arrested Gunn Miller because of the threats he made at the Spoon. Gunn is a hothead. Then, I got the call from the medical examiner.
“I started thinking this crime took a lot of forethought and planning. Gunn Miller isn’t the type who plans anything. He just reacts. Sandy is meticulous. Careful. He’s got the brains to think something like this through. And he’s patient.”
“But why leave the bottle of cyanide solution right under the table. That’s dumb, Bill,” Hadley said.
“I don’t know. That what’s got me bum-fuzzled. Sandy’s smart. He’d never make a mistake like that.”
“Unless he’s so smart, he’d realize that’s the conclusion everybody would make. Sandy’s too smart to leave something that incriminating behind,” Hadley said.
“I thought about that. If he did do it, better to act normal. Like nothing’s happened.”
“Could Sandy be that cold?” Hadley asked.
“I don’t know. If he is, he played his part perfectly. He had that court appearance that morning. Sandy showed up. Eustian did not. Now, we know why.”
“So, you think Sandy set this up to make himself look so guilty that nobody would believe he did this?” Hadley asked.
“Either that,” Bill said, “or somebody else planted that bottle to make Sandy look guilty.”
“What if Teddy Croft did it?” Hadley asked. “I mean, what if he bought some of that stuff Sandy uses. Sandy explains the process to anyone who shows any interest at the flea market. He’s told me gold plating before. He didn’t have the actual bottles of solution he used the day he talked to me, but he had printouts of a supply list and where you could get the stuff he uses. What if Teddy came back and Sandy instructed him. You know, not realizing it was Teddy Croft he was educating. And Teddy ordered the stuff, killed Eustian, planted the incriminating empty bottle of cyanide solution where somebody would be sure to discover it, and he’s gone back under whatever rock he’s been hiding under all these years?”
“I don’t know, Hadley,” Bills said. “I think that’s a long shot.”
“Well,” said Hadley, “whoever set did it is one smart cookie. I wouldn’t have the smarts to pull it off.”
“Me either,” said Bill. “Maury says Beanie’s helping you with the bazaar.”
“Yeah,” Hadley said. “I feel bad that we haven’t been able to clean out Eustian’s house. I promised him half of that hundred dollars.”
“Money doesn’t mean much to a guy like Beanie,” Bill said.
“I know,” Hadley said. “But I still feel guilty.”
Chapter Thirty-Six
The morning of the annual bazaar and bake sale dawned sunny and beautiful.
“I like Saturdays,” Beanie said, munching on a cookie.
“Beanie, I swear if you don’t stop stealing cookies, I won’t have a one to sell,” Hadley said.
“I want to say I’m sorry, Hadley, but I’m not. Your cookies are so good.”
“Thanks, Bean. But help me load these cakes into the car. And no more sneaking bites. Remember, Beanie, all we make today goes for a good cause. Just help me get this stuff loaded. I should have rented Brinkley’s old truck. At this rate, I’ll break an axel.”
Main Street was filling up with card tables and tablecloths. Every lady in the church group had agreed to bake and bring their bounty.
“It looks like the circus is coming to town,” Beanie observed.
“Good thing, too,” said Hadley. “My freezer’s full to the brim. There’s not an inch of storage space left. I would have to crumble up all the leftovers and feed them to the birds if the turnout was low.”
“Oh, you would not,” Beanie said. “I’d gladly eat any crumb you throw my way. You’re the best cook around.”
“Thanks, old pal,” said Hadley. “Now, let’s get these cookies and pies and cakes set out. From what I’ve learned about these things, the briskest sales are before lunch.”
Hadley and Beanie unloaded the car. Her card tables strained under the many baked goods she presented.
Rayna set her tables on one side of Hadley. Juanita Hide set up on the other side.
“Rayna, how are you?” Hadley asked.
“I’m g
ood. You?”
“Fine,” Hadley said.
“Richie, put those at the front,” Rayna said. “They always go first. That’s it.”
“Oh, no,” Hadley said.
“What is it?” Rayna asked.
“Juanita didn’t take out suggestion. She’s brought her casserole concoctions, just like always. I thought she was going to bring plants.”
“Well,” said Rayna, “change is hard. Maybe she couldn’t bear to part with her plants. I know she’s funny about her flowers.”
“I wish she was funny about her casseroles, and she’d leave them at home.”
“Shhh,” Rayna said. “She’ll hear you, Hadley.”
“Hey, Sis,” Hadley said to Maury, giving her a hug.
“I heard what you two were talking about,” said Maury. “I guess Juanita gets an ‘A’ for effort. She’s trying.”
The day went by quickly. Cakes and pies and cookies and bread sold like hot cakes. Sales were brisk, and everyone seemed to be in a good mood.
At the end of the afternoon, Juanita’s offerings were still on her table.
Fred Hide had a sad look on his face.
“Hadley, is Fred sick?”
“What makes you say that, Bean?”
“I dunno. He looks like his shoes are too little.”
Maury laughed.
“I bet I know what’s wrong. Who’s Fred gonna get to eat Juanita’s stuff, Hadley?” Maury said. “Eustian’s gone. I think you were wrong when you said nobody’s sorry he’s dead. Look at Fred. He looks real sorry. I’d help Fred out, but Hadley, Eustian musta lost his sense of taste or something. I eat just about anything that’s not nailed down, but Juanita’s casseroles are something even I can’t stomach. They taste worse than I don’t know what, and they’re so rubbery.”
“Juanita’s cooking tastes real bad, Hadley,” Beanie said. “The taste of tar is better than eating Juanita’s cooking.”
Hadley stopped in her tracks. She looked as if she’d been struck by a bolt of lightening.
“Bean,” Hadley said, “stay here and watch the table.”
“But Hadley, your stuff sold out an hour ago. There ain’t nuthin’ left to watch but a few crumbs the ants haven’t taken off. You think Bunker will show up for a crumb picnic?”
“Well, he might. Watch for Bunker, okay? Watch the tablecloths. Make sure they don’t blow away. We want to have plenty of crumbs for Bunker and all his relations to feast on. I’ll be right back.”
“Where’s Hadley off to in such a hurry?” Juanita asked.
“I don’t know,” said Maury.
“I don’t know, either,” said Beanie. “I have to run off in the woods sometimes if I eat too much. Maybe Hadley’s ate too many pieces of cake.”
“I don’t want to know if that’s the reason, do you, Juanita?” Maury said.
Juanita looked at Maury and Beanie with a funny look on her face.
“You gotta pain, too, Juanita? Your face sure does look like you do. The woods are that way,” Beanie said, careful to stand in front of Hadley’s tables and make sure the crumbs stayed just where they were.
So far, Beanie had yet to spy Bunker.
Chapter Thirty-Seven
“Bill! Bill! Come quick! Over to the library,” Hadley said, rushing to his office and entering like a September hurricane.
“What’s the rush,” Bill said.
I know the community meets after the bake sale in the library to count up the proceeds and decide who is going to benefit this year. Did somebody make off with the cash box?”
“No, but I need you there,” Hadley said. “Hurry. Make sure everybody stays till I get there. I’ve got to run home for a minute and grab something. Guard the door and don’t let anyone out!”
Anna had opened the library to let all the folks meander in. The library was located in the middle of Main Street. It was the largest building on the square, and it had been a communal meeting place after the sale for years.
It took about 20 minutes, but when Hadley entered the cool library, she was relieved to see everyone was there. Its high ceilings and large windows always meant the building was cool, even on the hottest days.
“This better be good, Hadley Jane,” Maury said. “I’ve been standing on my feet all day. All I want to do is go home and get a nice hot bath.”
Hadley had her hands full.
“Bill, Beanie,” she said, “go out to the car and bring the rest of the stuff in.”
Hadley set her small TV in the front of the room. Her video camera was hooked up to it.
“What is this, Hadley? You’re not wasting our time to show us one of your home movies, are you?” said Luther Abraham, the postman.
“I’m not wasting your time, folks,” Hadley said. “And thank you for staying.”
“Bill threatened to hang us high if we didn’t,” someone said from the back of the library.
“Anna, kindly lower the lights,” said Hadley.
Hadley turned on the television.
“As you know,” she began, “Eustian Singlepenny’s soul left this earth under very suspicious circumstances. Now, as most of us here, I was not one to mourn his passing. But that said, he was murdered in his own home.
“I know that Sandy Miller was arrested. But, I just cannot believe that good man would do something as horrible as murder Eustian.
I keep going over everything that’s happened over the last few weeks. It was troubling and also very confusing.
But I kept digging, kept thinking, kept studying, and I know who the killer is!”
There was an audible gasp in the room.
“Eustian’s death probably didn’t come as much of a surprise. The man was old,” Hadley said. “He had lived a full life. All of you will agree it was how he died that was shocking.”
“Hadley, what are you rambling about?” someone said.
“I hope this is not another of your harebrained treks down a goat path to nowhere,” Maury muttered loudly enough for Hadley to overhear.
Hadley plowed on.
“Eustian was poisoned. We know that,” Hadley said, eyeing Bill across the dimly lit room. “Just ask Lou Edna. She’s got the latest. I hate to say this, but I believe Rayna Croft killed Eustian Singlepenny. I believe she poisoned him!”
Several people gasped.
“Hadley!” Rayna cried. “How dare you say that!”
“Are you crazy!” Bill said.
“Please! Please! Just hear me out.”
“But how?” Maury asked.
“That’s the part that kept me awake nights,” Hadley said. “I don’t know why I didn’t figure things out sooner. I was so bogged down and busy, I overlooked the obvious.
I’ve got Beanie to thank for showing me the light.”
“You’re welcome, Hadley,” Beanie said, “For what, I have no idea. But you’re welcome, anyway.”
“As some of you may know, there were several interested parties who were looking to buy Eustian’s property. What some of you may not know was that I was hired to clean out the Singlepenny house.
“Now, nobody has set foot inside that place since Eustian’s mother passed away. I recently ran up on Harry’s old video camera while cleaning out the attic. I thought it would be good to document my progress in cleaning up that house, so I taught myself how to use it.
“I have some video here I want to show you. But before I do that, I want to tell you that Eustian’s house was a nightmare. The place was a hoarder’s paradise. Why the dust didn’t ignite it and burn it down years ago is a mystery. I looked at this video over and over again. Something about it bothered me, but I just could not put my finger on it. Eustian had a lot of enemies. I think I’d be correct to say there’s not an adult in this room who has not bad at least one unpleasant experience with him.
So much has been going on. Harvest time, bazaar, and bake sale events. I guess I had trouble focusing. I don’t know. All of us are busy. Thank you, ladies, for a terrific bake sale, I mi
ght add. But there is a lesson there, too. The devil is in the details. Just like following a good recipe, I needed to take heed and pay attention to what I was trying to figure out.”
Here she turned on the projector. A black and white image jittered across the screen. It was horribly out of focus.
“Hadley,” Luther objected.
“Have patience, Luther,” Hadley said. “You’re not the star of the show.”
The image jumped on the screen went black and then the interior of Eustian’s house came into view.
“Note the counter. The ants on that pan with the uneaten slice of pie are all dead. See the shut-in box nearby? That’s a clue I overlooked at the time. The pie is apricot. If you look just over by that big box. See it? Right there.”
Hadley stopped the video and pointed it out.
“It’s common knowledge that Eustian hired Sandy to fabricate some parts for his antique tractor. Sandy Miller did the job. And afterwards, Eustian Singlepenny started spreading rumors that Sandy was a thief, that while he was in Eustian’s barn, Sandy stole parts off that tractor. We all saw that irascible old man walking up and Main Street spreading his lie and stirring up a stink. Eustian said Sandy stole the stuff. Sandy denied it. No one could prove either way what which man was lying and which was telling the truth. But we all know Eustian. He’s been pulling that same stunt in one form or another for decades. Eustian was a slick as an oiled toad.”
“Amen” someone said.
“Eustian was killed with cyanide. And Sandy Miller uses cyanide, not only at his metal shop but also in his hobby of gold plating metal. Sandy’s a capable fellow when it comes to safely using poisons. He and Gunn work with a lot of them in their business.
“But I think we should focus on cyanide.
Did you know that stuff is released in cigarette smoke? It’s in apple seeds and the pits of cherries, apricots, and peaches. And if you eat enough of those seeds, you can die!”
“But cyanide is bitter, Hadley,” someone said.
“Yes. That’s right. There’s a very bitter taste associated with it. Which brings me back to a question that kept bothering me – if something tastes that horrible, why not spit it out? That is one way we have that Nature protects us against bad things. I’ve looked into this too, thanks to Anna and her library.