by Cindy Bell
Chapter Six
Vicky decided that she would take a walk around town and see if anyone had been looking for Arthur. If PD was someone from his past, they would probably ask around town about him. She first spent a little time driving up and down the main strip of town. She was watching for that dusty red car that had seemed to be following her earlier in the day. She didn't notice that, but she did see Poppy knocking on the window of the party shop. She looked pretty annoyed as she waited for someone to open it. Vicky watched from her car. Miriam finally opened the door of the shop. She did not open it far enough for Poppy to get inside. The two women spoke tensely for a moment, then Poppy began swinging her arms with frustration. Vicky rolled down her window so that she could hear the exchange.
“I want my paycheck,” Poppy was saying loudly.
“I'm sorry, Poppy, we already mailed it out,” Miriam said quickly. “After you quit, we didn't think you would want to pick it up, so we just mailed it off to you.”
“Sure,” Poppy said, obviously irritated. “Because why bother to do the courteous thing and walk next door to hand it to me.”
“After what happened, I thought it would be best if we didn't have a lot of contact,” Miriam shot back.
“It was just a silly argument,” Poppy said glumly. “It's not my fault that my husband walked in on your son in the middle of a drug deal.”
“Shh,” Miriam demanded sharply. “I don't want any more bad information about my family getting out in this town.”
“Is it bad information if it's the truth?” Poppy asked impatiently. “Your son deserved to go to jail for what he was doing. Don't think I don't know that my husband ended up dead wrapped up in one of your party tents. It was probably your little hoodlum that did it.”
“He has an alibi,” Miriam snapped.
“Do you?” Poppy asked as she glared at the woman. “Maybe you took overprotective parenting to the next level?” she suggested. “Was it revenge for your son being arrested, is that why my husband needed to die?”
Vicky was about to climb out of her car to intervene, when Miriam ducked back into the store and closed the door. She left Poppy staring at her own reflection. Vicky didn't want Poppy to know that she had overheard the entire argument, so she slid down low in the car seat. After a few moments Poppy shook her head and stormed off.
Vicky was left with the mystifying task of adding Miriam, a sweet woman who she never would have suspected, to her list of potential murderers. After waiting a few minutes, Vicky climbed out of her car and walked towards the diner across the street from the party shop. If she was looking for someone, she would always check at the cheapest eatery in town first. Inevitably people who are new to town or passing through, end up at the diner.
When Vicky opened the door she found that the diner was relatively empty. Maude was behind the counter. She had only started working there recently since her husband had passed away because she found it too boring to stay home alone. She had her silvery blonde hair in spikes along the top of her head. She had colored the tips of the spikes bright pink.
“Vicky,” she said as she looked up at her. “I didn't think I'd see you in here today. Shouldn't you be with your aunt, getting ready for your wedding?”
Maude was a good friend of Ida's, and they tended to try to outdo each other with their fashion sense and hairstyles.
“Don't worry, it's still on,” Vicky said with a slight laugh. “Actually, I came in to see you. I was wondering if you'd noticed anyone asking around for the new deputy sheriff.”
“The one that was killed?” Maude gasped. Vicky raised an eyebrow at how fast information traveled in a small town. She just hoped that by some miracle Mitchell’s family hadn’t found out yet.
“Yes,” Vicky nodded.
Maude looked thoughtful for a moment and then nodded slightly. “Actually there was a fellow in here just the other day. In fact he even left me his card, in case I saw Arthur. Of course I knew exactly where Arthur was, but I wasn't about to tell a stranger that.”
“Do you still have his card?” Vicky asked hopefully.
“I believe I do,” Maude said as she rummaged on the shelf beneath the register. “Here it is!” she announced and handed it over to Vicky. Vicky stared down at the business card. It only had a name on it along with a telephone number. There was no description of what business the man, Peter Palumder, might be in.
“Thank you, Maude, this is very helpful,” Vicky said.
“Is Mitchell back yet?” Maude asked. “Did he come back to work on the case?”
“No, not yet, we can’t get hold of him,” Vicky said quickly. “Bye Maude!” she waved and walked out of the restaurant. As soon as she walked out of the restaurant, she called Norman.
“I just wanted to let you know that apparently a guy named Peter Palumder was asking about Arthur in the past few days.”
“I’ll see what I can find out about him,” Norman replied. “Straight away.”
Vicky could hear his fingers flying across the keys.
“I'm sorry, did you say his name was Peter Palumder?” Norman asked with surprise in his voice.
“Yes, it is,” Vicky replied, as she walked over to her car and unlocked it. She squinted in both directions down the street, watching for the red vehicle.
“You think he might have had something to do with Arthur's death?” Norman asked nervously.
“Maybe,” Vicky replied. “Have you found out something about him?”
“There’s a warrant out for his arrest for suspicion of loan sharking, and previous charges of assault,” he replied with displeasure. “Vicky, you need to stay away from this guy. He could be dangerous.”
“He's a loan shark?” Vicky asked with surprise. “Well, that makes sense I guess,” she shook her head. “He must have followed Arthur here.”
“Are you all right?” Norman asked. “You're not with him now are you?”
“No, I’m not,” Vicky said. “I’m fine.”
“I’ll get his description and information out to everyone on patrol and see if we can snag this guy before he disappears,” Norman said. “Be careful please. Mitchell will kill me if you get hurt,” Norman said anxiously.
“I'll be fine, Norman,” she promised him and hung up the phone before she could be questioned further. As she drove back to the inn, Vicky kept her eyes peeled. She was willing to bet that the red car she had seen belonged to the loan shark. If he had killed Arthur, that might mean that he had yet to get the money he was looking for, which could mean that Poppy was in danger.
***
When Vicky arrived at the inn she found Ida attempting to play badminton with Mae-Ellen and Maisy. Every time she lunged to swing the racket she nearly fell into the net. Vicky was surprised at first, as she was sure Ida was much more agile than that. Then she noticed Ida's spiked heels sinking into the ground.
“Aunt Ida, what are you wearing?” Vicky laughed as she walked up to her.
“I'm trying to break them in for the wedding,” Ida explained with a huff.
“Hi again, Vicky,” Mae-Ellen waved to her. “I feel like I've seen you for all of about five minutes today.”
“Hi,” Vicky said with a guilty frown. “I'm sorry, there's just some last minute running around I have to get done for the wedding.”
“It's okay,” Mae-Ellen replied. “I'm worn out from the game. Let's go get a cold drink, Maisy,” she suggested. Once the two women had walked away, Aunt Ida stepped closer to Vicky.
“Did you find out anything about the case?” she asked hopefully.
“A man, Peter Palumder, has been looking for Arthur. When Norman looked him up, he found out that Peter is wanted for loan sharking.”
“A loan shark?” Ida asked with amazement. “You don't want to mess around with those types.”
“Yes, I know,” Vicky nodded. “But this also means that Arthur must have been up to his ears in debt. Poppy never mentioned a loan shark hounding them.”
“Funny that Poppy didn't mention that when you spoke with her,” Ida said with a light cluck of her tongue. “I think we should talk to her again.”
“Yes, I think so,” Vicky nodded.
“And I think you both need to stay out of it,” Sarah snapped from just behind them. Vicky and Ida looked over at her guiltily. “In case you two haven't noticed, I'm still trying to run an inn here,” she said sharply. “I've got two little boys running around, guests demanding my attention, and a wedding that I am apparently putting together all by myself. Meanwhile, two of my very favorite people in the world are actively trying to get themselves in the middle of a dangerous investigation. Do you think that maybe you could consider backing off the murder mystery and helping me out with some of this? I know you want to help solve this, Vicky, but you have to stay out of it like I said, especially if it puts your life in danger. You've got to think about how Mitchell would feel if he found out you were hurt in any way while he was gone.”
Vicky grimaced guiltily. She knew that Sarah was right. Sarah had sent her husband off on the bachelor trip on the understanding that Vicky and Aunt Ida would be around to help with the boys. Now, she was juggling everything herself. But she also knew that there was no way she could stay out of the investigation, now. She really wanted it solved so her wedding could go ahead without a hitch. She would just have to make sure she helped Sarah more and didn’t neglect her own wedding.
“Are the boys done with their video games?” Vicky asked innocently. “I bought them a brand new one to play.”
“Right, and about that video game that you left them in front of hours ago, Vicky, they have ratings on them for a reason!” she huffed.
“Oh dear,” Ida cringed. “I might have overlooked that when I picked it out.”
Vicky and Ida exchanged worried glances before looking up at Sarah's annoyed expression.
“How about we take the boys for ice cream?” Vicky suggested. “Then we could drop them off at that play gym for an hour or so, and we can come back here and focus on setting up for the wedding. Does that sound good?” Vicky asked hopefully.
“Actually,” Sarah sighed with relief and nodded. “That sounds like a great idea.”
The three women walked into the lobby of the inn. Vicky noticed that there were quite a few guests milling about. She hadn't realized that Sarah had so much to contend with. Rory and Ethan were playing tag with one of the bellboys right in the middle of the lobby.
“Boys, Aunt Ida and Aunt Vicky are taking you for ice cream!” Sarah called out. Instantly, two wild-eyed and exuberant little boys came barreling towards Ida and Vicky.
“Ice cream, ice cream,” they chanted. Sarah smiled smugly as she looked over their heads at her sister and aunt.
“Have fun,” she said gleefully and hurried away to tend to the guests. Vicky looked at Ida. Ida looked back at Vicky. Then they both looked at the little boys.
“Ice cream, ice cream,” they both began chanting with a laugh. As they left the inn and headed towards Vicky's car Vicky noticed the dusty old red car parked in the parking lot. She glanced at Ida.
“Get the boys settled in their seats. I'm going to go check out that car,” she said.
“Okay,” Ida nodded and eyed the car seat and booster seat. “Right…” she hesitated and looked at the two little boys. “You can tell me how these things work, right?” she asked hopefully.
The boys laughed as they climbed into the car. As Vicky began walking across the parking lot towards the car she felt a little nervous. She had never seen the car parked before. The fact that it was parked directly in the parking lot of the inn made her think that the driver was being quite bold. Of course she still could be paranoid about being followed by the driver of the car. But she was not going to pass up getting the license plate and peering inside to see if there was anything interesting.
Vicky was a few feet away from the car when a figure suddenly sat up in the driver's seat. Until that moment she had assumed that no one was in the car. The shock of seeing someone sit up was magnified by the shock of hearing the engine roar to life. She glanced back over at Ida who was still struggling to get the boys in their car seats. Vicky's heart began to pound heavily as she looked back at the driver. Once more the sun glaring on the windshield was keeping her from seeing any specific details about the driver's face. But what she did see was the car moving directly and swiftly in her direction, and beyond her, in the direction of her car, Ida, and her young nephews.
“Stop!” Vicky cried as she raised her hands in front of her. She knew that she was no match for a vehicle, but she would try to be if it meant protecting her family. She cringed as she expected the car to slam right into her. Then she heard the popping sound of gravel spitting out from under the tires. The car turned in the other direction and squealed out of the parking lot. Vicky stared after it, too shocked to think to look at the license plate. She was just relieved that no one had been hurt. She looked over at Ida who had jumped at the sound of the squealing car.
“Are you okay?” Ida asked as she looked back at Vicky.
“Yes,” Vicky replied. “Are you?”
“Yes,” Ida nodded. Then she peered into the car. “But I might need a little help.”
Vicky walked over to the car and looked into the backseat. She raised an eyebrow at the way Ida had used the seatbelts to literally tie her great nephews into their seats.
“Help us, Aunt Vicky,” Ethan said with a giggle.
“Oh yes, I will,” Vicky laughed. “If your mother saw this…,” she grinned at Ida.
“I tried!” Ida said and stomped her foot.
Vicky couldn't help but giggle. Ida had never had children of her own, and though she had been involved in her and her sister's lives growing up, she was never really around long enough to learn about things like car seats and safety issues. Vicky on the other hand had been well educated by both Sarah and her brother-in-law about the proper use of car seats. That didn't mean it was easy for her either, though. Once she finally got them buckled safely into their seats she closed the door. She stood beside the car and spoke quietly to Ida so that the boys could not hear.
“I'm pretty sure that was a warning,” Vicky said grimly. “I think we might be getting close to the truth.”
“Too close,” Ida said with some concern. “And with the kids with us we need to be more careful.”
“I agree,” Vicky nodded. “But we also need to find out the truth. It's the only way we can be sure that we'll all be safe.”
“I think we better head out to Poppy's to see what she has to say as soon as possible,” Ida said. “Let's take care of the boys like we promised and then get back to the investigation.”
Chapter Seven
When Vicky and Aunt Ida arrived with the boys at the ice cream shop, Vicky kept a watchful eye out for the car. She had just begun to relax a little when she noticed it through the glass window of the ice cream shop. It was driving quickly down the main road towards the larger plots and farmland that surrounded Highland. She nearly bolted up out of her chair.
“What is it, Vicky?” Ida asked and caught her ice cream just before it would have tipped onto the floor.
“It's the car,” Vicky said. “We should follow it!”
“Vicky,” Ida said reproachfully. “The kids,” she tilted her head towards the two little boys who were covered in ice cream and chocolate syrup.
“Oh right,” Vicky pursed her lips. She knew she couldn't take off after the car but she needed to solve the murder mystery quickly. “Hurry up, boys,” she said. “If you eat your ice cream really fast I'll give you each a cookie!”
Ida laughed and shook her head. “I used to do the same thing to you girls. Your parents were not too happy about it though,” she cringed.
Rory and Ethan gulped down the remainder of their ice cream. While Vicky cleaned them up, Ida paid for two cookies. As they were walking out of the ice cream shop, Vicky watched for any sign of the car.
“V
icky, I've been looking everywhere for you!” Mae-Ellen said as she walked up to them.
“Oh Mae-Ellen, I'm sorry, we were supposed to have lunch weren't we?” Vicky asked guiltily.
“Yes,” Mae-Ellen replied with a frown. Then she looked down at the two boys. “Oh, aren't they just darling!” she said happily. She reached out to ruffle their hair. When she pulled her hand away from Rory's head she had a good amount of chocolate syrup smeared across her palm. “And sticky,” she muttered.
“So, sorry,” Vicky said and handed her a tissue.
Mae-Ellen wiped her hand clean. “What are you doing out on the town when there's a wedding to organize?” she asked with concern. “You're not having second thoughts are you?” she narrowed her eyes intently.
“No, absolutely not,” Vicky said quickly. “We just wanted the boys to have a little fun, since weddings can be so boring for kids, you know.”
“Sure,” Mae-Ellen nodded. “So, then you're heading back to the inn?”
“Actually, we promised to take these two to the play gym for a few hours,” Ida explained. “That way we can get some work done on the wedding.”
“Oh good,” Mae-Ellen smiled. “I'll expect to see you back at the inn in time for a late lunch then, Vicky?” Mae-Ellen posed her words as a question, but Vicky could tell that they weren't actually a question.
“We'll be there,” Vicky assured her. “In the meantime, if you need anything, you can always ask Sarah.”
“Mmhm, your sister has already been there to help me quite a bit,” Mae-Ellen said with some disdain. “I guess she's used to taking care of things for you.”
Ida raised an eyebrow. “They help each other,” Ida said firmly.
“Well, you certainly helped her kids to enough sugar,” Mae-Ellen laughed as the boys began chowing down on their large chocolate chip cookies. Vicky felt as if Mae-Ellen's laughter was not a sign of amusement.
“I'm really sorry, Mae-Ellen, we're late getting them to the play gym, but I'll see you soon,” Vicky said as her heart dropped. She was beginning to believe that her future mother-in-law really did not like her one bit.