“For some reason, I’m very hungry today.”
Lenny’s mouth dropped open, but before he could say anything, Nancy spoke up.
“So, no clues yet?” Nancy asked.
Lilliana shook her head as she finished chewing a mouthful of eggs. “I’m afraid not. Last I saw Chief Cartwright, he was processing the crime scene. He must have been here most of the night dusting for fingerprints and taking samples.”
“Didn’t the county send out CSI?” Lenny asked.
“Not this time,” Lilliana said. “The county charges for things like that. Rainbow Ranch never had a murder until last month, and crime scene investigation is not in the budget—especially twice in one year. I think he’s hoping to find the killer’s fingerprints on the murder weapon.”
Nancy looked worried. “But mine are on it.”
“I know, Nancy, but I doubt the chief will think you killed Ruby.” Although, maybe she had. Was Nancy more clever than she gave her credit for? Did she pull out the ice pick on purpose so everyone would see how her fingerprints came to be on it? “Most murders are committed by someone who knows the victim. No one at the meeting—other than Willie—seemed to know her.”
“That’s not true,” Nancy said. “I’d met her at yoga class the day before. So had Harlan.”
Lilliana riveted her eyes on Nancy. “You didn’t say anything about that when the chief questioned you.”
“He didn’t ask.” Nancy pushed her eggs around on her plate with her fork, avoiding Lilliana’s stare.
Lilliana directed her gaze toward Harlan. “So you met her as well.” That would make him a suspect.
“Ah met her.” He said the words as if they tasted like alum. “Can’t say I’m sorry she won’t be in the yoga class any more.”
Surprised and wondering if he’d noticed something about her that could lead to murder, Lilliana asked, “Why not?”
“Don’t like those people. It’s bad enough one of them cleans our apartments, but I’m used to that. I’m not used to socializing with them.”
The hairs on the back of Lilliana’s neck rose as she realized what Harlan was saying. Shirley, the housekeeper, and Ruby were both black. Now that she thought about it, Harlan did have a bit of a drawl in his speech. “How dare you!”
“How dare I what? I’m not one of you northern liberals. Everyone has their place in the world. I happen to believe that darkies should stay in theirs.”
“Now just a minute.” Gordon Brown, who had been silent up until this point, clenched the edge of the table as his face turned red. Beads of sweat dotted his forehead. “That kind of talk, especially about a woman who was murdered, is uncalled for.”
Harlan opened his mouth to respond, but Lenny jumped in first.
“Let’s all calm down now,” Lenny said firmly. Being several inches taller and significantly more muscular than both Harlan and Gordon, they sized up the situation and backed off.
Lilliana had suddenly lost her appetite. Nancy was looking from Harlan to Gordon and back again, her expression clearly showing her discomfort. She turned to Lilliana and said, “Aren’t the eggs delicious this morning, Lilliana?”
“I don’t believe I’m hungry.” She put her fork down and picked up her tea.
“Any idea what next month’s meeting of the African Violet Club will be about?” Lenny asked.
It appeared as if both Lenny and Nancy were trying to change the subject. Lilliana decided to go along with them, despite the coal of anger that burned in her stomach. “I was thinking we might talk about fertilizer. I know we all have our favorite kinds.”
“Oh, that sounds good,” Nancy said. “I’ve been working on a special recipe. Frank said we should experiment, so I’ve been trying things, mixing different plant foods I got down in Bisbee.”
“Sounds boring,” Gordon said. “I won’t be going to that meeting.”
“You weren’t at the last meeting,” Lilliana said.
“Yes, he was,” Nancy said.
“What do you mean?” Lilliana, stunned, asked Nancy. “The chief and I didn’t get a statement from him.”
Harlan responded. “You don’t think everyone stuck around after that woman got skewered, did you?”
Ignoring Harlan’s crude remark, Lilliana focused her gaze on Gordon. His whole face shone with perspiration. “You were there and you left?”
“I didn’t see any reason to stay. Things like that upset me. My heart starts racing when I get upset.” A single drop of sweat zigzagged its way through a sideburn. “And now I don’t see any reason to stay here either.”
Gordon glared at Harlan, then got up and marched out of the dining room. The four of them followed him with their eyes until he was out of sight.
Harlan filled her in. “He skedaddled as soon as he knew she was going to kick the bucket. He sure wasn’t the only one.”
Well, this certainly added a new perspective to the crime. If several people had not been questioned, it was possible one of them was the murderer. “How many others left before the chief arrived?”
Harlan shrugged. “Three, maybe four. I wasn’t paying that close attention.”
“Men or women?”
He stared off into space. “Dunno. Two women, I think. Maybe another man or two.”
“Bernadine,” Nancy said.
“Who?” Lilliana asked.
“Bernadine. She’s new, too. I met her at bingo last week. When I saw her at the meeting, I went over to talk to her. I asked her how long she’d been raising African violets. She said she didn’t have any. I don’t know why someone would come to one of the meetings if they didn’t have any plants.”
Lilliana could think of lots of reasons. One was that they thought they might like to have some African violets in their apartments. Or, like Harlan, they might just want to meet people. And there was the possibility the killer knew Ruby would be there and was hoping to take advantage of the opportunity. Lilliana shivered. “Do you remember who the other woman was?” she asked Nancy.
“I didn’t see her.”
“Harlan?”
“Nope. Everything was pretty much a blur right then. I didn’t really care who else was leaving. I just wanted to get out of there.”
Too bad neither of them had taken note of the missing attendees. She’d have to ask Willie if he remembered anyone leaving. As a former Tucson police officer, his powers of observation were stronger than the average citizen’s. She just hoped he hadn’t been too distracted by the death of his friend.
CHAPTER TEN
LEAVING the dining room, Lilliana and Nancy approached the elevator column that took up a good chunk of the lobby. Lilliana often wondered who had decided to put it in such an awkward place rather than at the end of the hall. It seemed as if one was always on the wrong side of the thing.
Lenny and Harlan had gone off to the tennis courts, Lenny trying to sell the newcomer on taking tennis lessons. Obsessed with physical fitness, Lenny spent a good part of his day working on his body. He was also trying to convince Russell Ellison that the retirement home needed a tennis pro, namely himself. So far, Ellison hadn’t agreed.
“Are you going on the trip to the casino?” Nancy asked as they circled the elevator.
“Trip?” Lilliana didn’t pay too much attention to most of the organized activities. They rather reminded her of elementary school, with the Rainbow Ranch staff as escorts to make sure the elderly didn’t get lost. Even her shopping she’d preferred to do at Pulaski’s Gourmet Grocery rather than taking the van trips into Benson to shop at the Safeway. She supposed she’d have to at least find out when those were now that the grocery store was closed.
“Lilliana, you really have to get more involved with things. You spend too much time by yourself. The casino trips are good places to meet men. A lot more men go on them than women.”
“When is it?” Lilliana asked, not at all sure she was interested in going.
“On Tuesday. There’s a sign-up sheet at the reception de
sk.” Nancy, assuming Lilliana wanted to accompany her, headed toward the reception desk at the front of the lobby. Lilliana followed.
Before they even got close, she noticed a huge bouquet of roses in one of those glass vases florist shops used at the corner of the desk. “How lovely! You must have a new admirer, Beverly.”
The receptionist blushed, then stammered. “Oh, they’re not for me. I didn’t know what else to do with them, though.”
“What do you mean?” Lilliana asked.
Beverly lowered her voice to a whisper and leaned forward. “They were supposed to be for Ruby Robinson. When I told the delivery boy she’d passed, and he should take them back, he just said they were already paid for, and I might as well keep them. They do brighten things up, don’t they?”
“They certainly do.” Lilliana stepped closer and started searching for a card in amongst the blooms.
“No one has sent me roses in so long,” Nancy said wistfully. “Henry never was one for flowers, and the men here don’t seem to think about such things.”
Lilliana could empathize, although Charles had always brought home flowers on their anniversary and her birthday. No one since then, though. At last she spied the gift card tied to one of the stems with a bit of ribbon. “To the light of my life.” No signature. Strange. Just like the card she’d found in Ruby’s apartment. Whoever Ruby’s secret admirer was, he seemed to want to remain secret.
Lilliana turned to go.
“Aren’t you going to sign up for the trip?” Nancy asked.
Nancy’s voice was so plaintive, Lilliana decided to go along with her. “Oh, yes. How do I do that?”
Beverly pushed a clipboard with a sign-up sheet toward Lilliana. She added her name to the list and thought it might not be such a bad idea to get to know more people. Although she enjoyed the time she spent with her plants and her books, there were times she wished she had someone to talk to. Or bring her flowers.
“Oh, this is going to be so much fun!” Nancy said.
LILLIANA turned the page at the end of the chapter, then reached for her mug of tea and took a sip. She wondered if she’d need to make two cups of tea from each packet of Earl Grey for a while. She’d forgotten to ask about the van schedule for grocery shopping, and only had enough teabags for a few more days. Just as she started reading the next chapter, her phone rang.
She picked up the cell phone. The screen displayed the caller as Rainbow Ranch Retirement Community. “Hello?” she said uncertainly.
“Hi, Mrs. Wentworth,” Beverly said cheerfully. “UPS is here with a delivery for you.”
“Send him right down.” Her novel and even her tea were quickly forgotten in the excitement of the delivery. Would it be the new plants she’d ordered or the shelves? Either way, she’d have some nice additions to her hobby.
A few minutes later there was a knock on her door. Lilliana hurried to open it.
A nice young man in the delivery service’s familiar brown uniform stood in the hallway holding the handle of a two-wheeler. On it were stacked several large cardboard boxes. The name stitched over his shirt pocket read Dan.
“Come in, come in.”
“Where would you like me to put these, ma’am?” he asked.
“Follow me,” she said and hurried down the hall to open the door to the second bedroom. The room looked so empty now. It would be much nicer once the plant shelves were up and filled with blooming African violets.
Dan followed and unloaded three boxes, leaning them against the wall nearest the door. ”Is this okay, ma’am?”
She supposed one place was as good as another. “That will be fine.”
“I’ll be right back with the rest of them,” he said and pushed the two-wheeler ahead of him and out again.
The boxes looked awfully narrow, thought Lilliana. Surely the shelves she’d ordered were taller than that. Then it dawned on her. The shelves weren’t assembled. Whatever was she going to do? She didn’t have any tools and, even if she had, she knew from experience she didn’t have the strength in her hands to tighten things properly. When she’d gotten the little shelf in the living room from Ikea, she’d given Miguel, the complex’s handyman, a few dollars to put it together for her. But she wasn’t sure he’d be able to assemble the six shelving units she’d ordered. He really wasn’t supposed to do personal tasks for the residents.
There was a light tap on the door again, but before she could go to answer it, Dan appeared with the second three boxes. He put them next to the first set, then took one of those electronic thingies from a hook on his belt and held it out to her. “Please sign here, ma’am.”
As Lilliana was signing her name, she realized Dan might be just the person she needed to solve the fairies’ problem. He had to know all about shipping, even international shipping. She seemed to remember most of Ted’s shipments, being small, came via UPS or Federal Express. As she handed the device back to him, she said, “I wonder if you could answer a question for me, young man.”
“I’d be happy to, if I can, ma’am.”
“What happens if you can’t deliver a shipment?”
“Well, some things we can just leave without a signature. In places like this, the office will often take delivery if the resident isn’t home.”
“But what about, oh, a store or something like that. Suppose the store is closed?”
“Then we’d leave a notice on the door. We make three attempts to deliver a package, and we leave a notice each time. If the person prefers, they can make arrangements to pick up the package by calling the depot. If they don’t call and we make three delivery attempts, we hold it for five days, just to give the person a chance. After five days, it gets returned to the shipper.”
She wondered if she should ask Dan if he’d left one of those notices at Pulaski’s Gourmet Grocery. But then she wasn’t sure she wanted him to know about her interest, particularly if she was going to try to get possession of the delivery by subterfuge. Lilliana started to fret. Had the shipment to the grocery already gone back to Scotland? She’d have to check as soon as possible.
“Anything else, ma’am?” Dan asked.
“No. No, thank you. You’ve been very helpful.” And very frightening.
As soon as Dan was gone, Lilliana hurried to get her purse and water bottle and headed out the door. As she sailed through the lobby, Beverly looked up. “Going out?”
Lilliana slowed just a little to reply. “Yes, I thought I’d go into town and get some... uh... tissues.” She made up her reason on the spot. She’d been about to say Earl Grey tea, but remembered just in time that she couldn’t get that in town any more. But she could get tissues at the pharmacy.
“Enjoy your trip,” Beverly said cheerfully.
Lilliana nodded, not bothering to take time for chitchat. She exited the building, then looking left and right to make sure no one was watching, took the shortcut across the grassy circle with the gazebo in the center rather than taking the long way around on the road, and trotted down the long drive to Main Street. It wasn’t a very busy Main Street, except when people were commuting to and from their jobs in Benson or Bisbee, so Lilliana didn’t even bother to stop at the curb before crossing. She’d clearly been able to see there were no cars at this time of day.
Once on the opposite side, she passed Cathy’s Cafe, hoping no one she knew would notice her. It was unlikely any of the retirement home residents would be there in mid-afternoon. They’d already had lunch, and most tended to sit by the pool or take a nap at this time of day. Lilliana hurried past the knitting store, which also had fabric and crafts to buy, and the hairdresser, and reached Pulaski’s Gourmet Grocery.
The store looked so strange with all the lights off and no one coming or going. It was hard to believe she couldn’t push open the door, take a box of Earl Grey off the shelf, and be tempted by the chocolates Ted kept near the register. He’d always made sure to tell her when one of her favorites had come in or point out a new one to try. Lilliana brushed at
a tear that threatened to leak from her eye.
There was no time for silly sentimentalism. She needed to get down to business.
It was as she’d feared. There was a UPS notice on the door left earlier today, probably by the same Dan who had delivered her shelves. It was as he had said: it gave the time and date of the stop and notice that the next attempt would be Monday, along with a long tracking number. Once again checking to make sure no one was watching her, she pulled the notice from the glass. Turning it over, she saw the telephone number one could call to pick up the package or make other delivery arrangements. She’d have to do that right away.
But what would she say? Surely UPS wouldn’t leave the package at her apartment, especially now that Dan knew who she was. She’d have to pick it up. But how? She didn’t have a car. She also didn’t think they’d let her take the van or drive her all the way into Bisbee for a package.
She’d just have to figure something out. But meanwhile, she’d better pick up that box of tissues at the drug store before she returned to the retirement community so Beverly wouldn’t be suspicious.
THE ritual of boiling water, taking a tea bag out of its wrapping, putting it in her cup, and letting it steep a few minutes before taking a sip calmed Lilliana’s nerves. She wasn’t used to lying or acting, but both would be necessary if she was to accomplish her mission. After her third sip of tea, she knew she was procrastinating. Picking up her cell phone, she entered the numbers from the back of the pink slip of paper.
The pleasant voice of a young woman answered on the second ring.
Her heart thudded in her ears and she crossed her fingers. “Hello. I’m the office manager at Pulaski’s Gourmet Grocery, and I’m calling about a package you attempted to deliver.”
“Yes, ma’am. Can I have the tracking number?”
Lilliana read off the long string of numbers to her and waited while the sound of computer keys clicking sounded in her ear.
“There will be one more attempt to deliver the package. If it can’t be delivered on Monday, it will be held here at the depot until we can contact the shipper for instructions.”
African Violet Club Mystery Collection Page 23