Morning Cup of Murder

by Vanessa Gray Bartal

  Lacy smiled, stirring restlessly in her seat. Wouldn’t it be ironic if her favorite cake provided her grandmother with an alibi? “I’ll look into that, Grandma. Is there anything else you can tell me? Did she tell you why she returned to town after such a long absence? What did you talk about with her that day?”

  She watched as her grandmother’s eyes slid to the side again. “This and that. I don’t remember everything that was said.”

  “Grandma, please. You can’t keep anything from me; this is too important. I’m not a baby anymore. I can help you.”

  “It’s all going to be all right, dear. Truth will prevail; the Lord will work things out.”

  “Sometimes the Lord needs a little help,” Lacy said.

  Her grandmother’s eyes snapped back to her face. “Lacy, don’t talk like that. It’s sacrilegious to presume the Lord needs us for anything. We’re all at His mercy. If this is where He wants me to be right now, then this is where I’ll stay.”

  Grandma had no tolerance for Lacy’s more progressive and cynical views on religion, and Lacy had no interest in antagonizing her any further today. “I met the new pastor of your church.”

  The older woman perked up and leaned forward. “You did? What’s he like?”

  “Young and very sweet. We had dinner last night.”

  Lacy realized her mistake as soon as she said it. Her grandmother leaned forward a little more until she was in danger of smashing her face against the glass. “Oh really?” She was using the tone, the one that meant she smelled a potential mate for her granddaughter.

  “It wasn’t like that, Grandma.”

  “In my day it was always like that. It baffles me how young people today are able to be friends with each other. In my day you either got married, or you didn’t. There was no middle ground.”

  “Weren’t you friends with Grandpa before you married him?” Lacy asked.

  “No. He asked me out when we were in high school, and that was that. We were married the day after graduation.”

  Lacy smiled at her grandmother’s dreamy expression. Life seemed so much simpler then. Her grandmother had fallen in love, gotten married, had a baby, and lived happily ever after until her husband died. And she was still so besotted with him that she had never chosen to remarry.

  “Grandma, do you think you’ll ever fall in love and remarry someday?”

  Her grandmother laughed, causing a few other inmates to look at her in surprise. “No, sweetheart. Love is for the young; it’s for people like you. Hint, hint.”

  Lacy couldn’t help but smile. “Grandma, you’re relentless.”

  “I just want to see you happy, Lacy.” Her smile faltered.

  “I’ll be happy when you get out of here, and we can put this whole mess behind us.”

  “Well, to be honest, that will make me pretty happy too, dear. Now, listen, I don’t want you getting involved in this mess. You can check with the policeman about the cake and the time of death, but that’s it. I know you; don’t go putting your foot in things. Promise?”

  “No,” Lacy said. “I’m sorry, Grandma, but I can’t promise not to do everything possible to get you out of this.”

  “Lacy,” her grandma began, but Lacy cut her off.

  “If the situation were reversed, wouldn’t you do everything possible to help me?”

  “Of course I would, but it’s not the same.”

  “It is the same,” Lacy said. “You’re my grandma and my best friend. You’ve been there for me the last few months while I was in horrible pain, and you haven’t once told me I have to make up with Riley. Now it’s my turn to be there for you unequivocally.”

  “Oh, Lacy.” Her grandmother put her hand over her eyes and cried. “I don’t want you involved in this.”

  “I’ll be okay, Grandma.”

  “It’s not only that I’m concerned for your safety. I’m afraid of what you might find out.”

  The last words were said so softly Lacy had to strain to hear them. “What? What are you talking about? What might I find out?”

  “Nothing,” her grandmother said. She wiped her eyes and sat up straight. “I should go now, dear. I’m tired. The good thing about this place is that they let us nap whenever we want.” She tried and failed to find a smile. Instead, she pressed her palm to the glass. “I love you, Lacy. Nothing will ever change that.”

  “And nothing will ever change how much I love you, Grandma. Nothing.”

  Her grandmother put down the phone and stood, but not before Lacy caught her last two barely discernable words. “We’ll see.”

  Lacy waved a halfhearted goodbye to Travis on her way out. The visit with her grandmother had been disconcerting to say the least. For the last few years, Lacy had wanted to be treated like a grownup and an equal where her grandparent was concerned, but now she was regretting that wish. Maybe she wanted to go back to the way it used to be--when her grandmother was almost superhuman in her perfection. Lacy couldn’t think of one bad thing about the woman, and she didn’t want to learn anything now that might mar the status quo.

  But she realized she was being childish. Her grandma was human. Of course she had done bad, regrettable things in her life. Lacy should take the view that whatever she uncovered would only lend credence to the wise and wonderful woman she was now. Past mistakes didn’t count if you had worked hard not to repeat them. If, on the off chance she discovered something negative, she vowed not to let it change things between them.

  By the time she arrived home she was hungry and exhausted. Her early morning jog had made her hungrier than usual, despite the massive amounts of cake she’d consumed beforehand. And the emotional turmoil of the day had left her tired and drained. Instead of gorging herself on more cake, she ate a couple of tablespoons of peanut butter and an apple and lay down in her bed, Barbara Blake’s journals at her side.

  And once again she woke a couple of hours later with the journals still untouched beside her. The clock showed her it was time to get ready for supper and the viewing with Tosh, so she stifled her frustration, rolled out of bed, and dressed in one of her ubiquitous black outfits. After living so long in New York, she could probably wear black every day for the next year and never repeat an outfit. Now that she was back in Middle America she needed to start incorporating some more color into her wardrobe or people would start to think she was depressed.

  Of course, to buy clothes she needed money. And to get money she had to work. And in order to work, she needed time when she wasn’t trying to solve the murder of a woman she had never met.

  She was just finishing with her makeup when a knock sounded at the door. Grabbing her heels, she raced down the hall and skidded to a stop at the front door. “You’re early,” she said, flinging the door open with a smile.

  “I am?” Jason asked. His uniform made him look larger so that he seemed to fill up the doorway. He scanned her up and down. “You look good in black.” He rested his shoulder against the doorframe and leaned. “How serious are you about that no kissing policy?”

  She knew he had only been on duty a little while. His hair was still damp from his shower, and it curled slightly around his ears. His cologne wafted through the open door, making her weak-kneed, and his almost indescribable multi-colored eyes sparked with intensity as he looked her over. Though his words had been teasing, Lacy found herself almost swaying toward him. I wasn’t serious at all; kiss me, she wanted to say. Before she could conjure the words, though, a car door slammed. Jason turned to look as Tosh came loping up the sidewalk.

  “You two have a date?” Jason muttered.

  “We’re going to the viewing.”

  Jason turned to look at her with a grimace. “Macabre choice.”

  She rolled her eyes. “He’s the presiding pastor. He has to be there.”

  He leaned in to whisper hurriedly in her ear. “Don’t tell him about the journals.”

  She frowned at him, not understanding the directive. “Too late.”

  �
�Lacy,” he began, but it was all he had time for because suddenly Tosh was standing beside them, smiling.

  “You look gorgeous,” Tosh said.

  “Thanks, but I wear this every day,” Jason replied.

  Tosh turned to him, unsmiling. “Officer Cantor.”

  Jason gave him a curt nod. “Pastor Underwood.”

  “And I’m Lacy Steele,” Lacy added uncomfortably. “Now that we’ve reestablished our names, we should be going.” Putting her hand on the doorframe for balance, she stepped into her heels, reached behind her for her purse, closed the door and stepped out.

  Jason leaned around her and tried the door, sighing in frustration when he found it unlocked. “Lacy,” he intoned.

  “Sorry,” she said. “I’ll lock it.” She reached for it, but he shooed her away.

  “Just go. I’ll check all the windows and doors. Have fun,” he added sarcastically.

  “We will,” Tosh said sincerely. He clasped Lacy’s hand and led her beside him, oblivious to the slamming of the front door. “For someone who’s not dating you, he spends an awful lot of time near you.”

  “We’re…friends,” Lacy said, testing the new word as it applied to Jason.

  Tosh opened the car door for her without further comment.

  “What about you, Tosh,” she said when he opened his door and slid behind the wheel. “Are you dating anyone?”

  “You, apparently.” He grinned at her.

  Lacy laughed uncomfortably. He was kidding, wasn’t he? Although this was their second night sharing dinner together, and this time felt even more like a date because they were both dressed up.

  “Do you want to go back to the diner or somewhere else?” he asked.

  “Somewhere else,” she answered automatically. Two nights in a row at the diner was enough to make them regulars, and the topic of intense gossip.

  “Is fast food okay?” He glanced at the clock. “I don’t want to be late.”

  “Fast food is perfect.” And anonymous. Lacy couldn’t help but feel like the walls were closing in on her, especially after her chat with her grandmother this morning. As if reading her mind, Tosh asked her about it.

  “How was your visit with your grandma?”

  “Interesting. I told her about you, by the way.”

  He quirked an eyebrow and threw her a smile. “Did you now?”

  “That you’re the pastor of her new church,” she added.

  “Oh, that,” he said, sounding disappointed.

  “I should warn you that she’s probably going to be picking out wedding patterns for us when she gets out of jail. Marrying a pastor would be her dream come true for me.”

  “But not for you?” he asked.

  “I haven’t given a lot of thought to marriage lately,” she answered honestly. Not since her lying, cheating ex-fiancé dumped her for her sister.

  “But your grandmother doesn’t take your past into account?” he said sympathetically.

  “No, but it’s impossible to be upset with her when she’s so sincere in her efforts. At least she stopped trying to fix me up with her friends’ grandkids. That was awkward.”

  “I sense a good story. Tell me more.”

  “Well, there was the time she sent me on a blind date with Gladys Smith’s grandson. He’s forty, divorced, a proctologist, and wears a bad toupee.”

  “And you didn’t marry him on the spot?” he said.

  She shoved at his arm. “Don’t laugh at me. It was horrible. And there was no easy way to explain to the meddling grandmothers why we didn’t make an instant love connection.”

  “Any other misadventures in dating since you’ve been home?”

  “Just one,” she said, turning to stare outside the window.

  “What was it?” his somber tone matched hers.

  “The next guy she set me up with was much more my style--young, handsome, a teacher.”

  “What happened?”

  “Something he said reminded me of Robert. I burst into tears in the middle of supper and had to flee to the restroom. I couldn’t stop crying. He took me home soon after.”

  “Uh-oh,” Tosh said. “That’s bad.” He glanced at her again. “You didn’t cry last night, and you’re not crying now. Is that a sign that you’ve moved on?”

  She shook her head. “It’s a sign that you remind me nothing of Robert.”

  “And that’s a good thing?” he asked.

  “That’s a very good thing,” she agreed. “And the other positive outcome was that my grandmother realized I wasn’t ready to date just yet. She backed off setting me up with people, although she still drops a whole lot of not-so-subtle hints.”

  “I want to visit her, but I’ve been tied up with funeral preparations. Do you think she’ll see me in a couple of days?”

  “She would never refuse a pastor anything,” Lacy said. “She’s wholly devoted to the church.”

  “I’m liking her more and more,” Tosh said.

  “You’ll love her,” Lacy said. “She’s the best.”

  They arrived at the restaurant and once again Tosh waved off Lacy’s offer to pay. “So tell me about Barbara Blake,” he said when they received their food and sat down. “From what I can tell, there was no love lost for the woman in this community, and no one from New York has come forward, either.”

  “New York?” Lacy said, surprised. “That’s where she’s been living all this time?”

  He nodded. “In some swanky apartment in Manhattan, although she didn’t own it. Someone else had been paying the rent for her. I don’t know who. Details are sketchy. That’s why anything you can tell me will be helpful.”

  Lacy scanned her mind, trying to find anything that might be even slightly positive. “She had expensive taste. She seemed to enjoy the finer things in life. Her closet was like my every dream come true. Everything was a designer original. She must have been very wealthy.”

  Tosh shook his head. “From what I’ve been told, she didn’t have a job.”

  Lacy frowned. “Then how did she get all the goods?”

  Tosh laughed. “Do you always talk like you’re in a gangster movie from the thirties?” He laughed again when she wrinkled her nose at him. “Maybe she had very kind admirers. Have you seen her? She’s beautiful, even now. She doesn’t look her age at all. If I didn’t know how old she was, I would guess her to be in her fifties.”

  “Tosh, that’s it,” she said excitedly.

  “What’s it?”

  “The journals. There was a list of possessions, and next to each item was a nonsensical name. I bet it’s a list of what people gave her.” She paused and tasted a fry. “But why would anyone keep a list like that?”

  He shrugged. “Maybe she just liked lists. Lots of people do. Or maybe she had a reason for keeping track, like for thank-you notes.”

  “From what I know of her, she wasn’t the type to send out thank-yous.”

  “Then maybe it was for blackmail.”

  “That’s sinister, but a good possibility. Blackmail seems right down her alley. Maybe her admirers were married.” She drummed her fingers on the table.

  “There’s really no way to know for sure without more information.” Now it was his turn to stare thoughtfully at the fries. “Too bad we can’t get back in the house. Sounds like another search is in order.”

  “You sound just like me, and, before you get your hopes up, that idea has already been nixed by Jason.”

  “Of course it has,” Tosh said. “He’s really living up to the reputation of a no- nonsense cop.”

  “And you’re really killing the reputation of a blameless pastor.”

  “I was a guy long before I became a pastor, and I’ve always been the adventurous type. Strange that your boyfriend isn’t.”

  “He isn’t my boyfriend, and he was the adventurous type in school.”

  “So what happened to change him?”

  “He really loves his career,” Lacy answered, feeling somewhat defensive on Jason’
s behalf.

  “So do I. Doesn’t stop me from daydreaming about how the other half lives or what I would do if I weren’t wearing a clerical collar.”

  Lacy chewed her chicken, thinking over Tosh’s statement about Jason. From what she knew about him, she expected him to be a little bit wild. When had he become so careful and settled? Had something happened to alter his personality, or had her bad boy image always been incorrect? Was Jason more of a choirboy than she realized?

  “Back to Barbara,” Tosh said, recalling her attention. “She likes nice things and lists. Anything else? Did your grandmother say anything about her?”

  “No. Grandma insists she didn’t know her. She said she took her a pie to be neighborly.”

  “If she didn’t know her, how did she know she was back in town?”

  “You ask good questions, Tosh,” Lacy said sincerely. Once again he was proving to be a good sounding board. “Let me write that one down so I can remember to ask Grandma, not like she’ll tell me, though.”

  “You know, Lacy, there’s a way to find out without asking,” Tosh said. He continued speaking when she looked up at him. “You could search her things.”

  Lacy gasped. “You think I should spy on my grandma?”

  “It sounds worse when you say it. I’m merely pointing out that you’re doing your best to free her and she’s standing in your way. It’s possible that circumventing her might behoove you.”

  She blinked at him. “Did you just say ‘behoove,’ Pa Ingalls?”

  He flicked her knuckle with his index finger. “Don’t bite the hand that feeds you, Lacy.” His finger lingered, smoothing gently over her knuckle, and she found the sensation not at all unpleasant. “So, back to Barbara.”

  “She had friends when she was here. She was on the homecoming court, so I guess that means she was probably popular in school. She held on to her parents’ house all these years. That smacks of loyalty, I think.”

  “Or desperation,” Tosh said. “She probably needed a backup plan in case her male admirers fell through.”