After seeing Allison turn onto the next street, Deena drove right up to the house and parked at the curb. She practically sprinted to the door and rang the doorbell, fully expecting it to go unanswered. She waited a minute and then pounded her fist on the door and called out Allison’s name.
She looked at the house to the right of the Granger residence. The two houses were separated by both driveways. If someone were inside that house, they would be unlikely to hear her. She glanced to the left. The two-story red-brick colonial with the first-floor shades raised was her best guess at the house whose occupant she hoped to attract. She thought she saw movement inside.
It was time to pull out all the stops. She held her cell phone to her ear as though making a call and began moving up to each window and cupping her free hand as though trying to peer inside. Of course, all the curtains were drawn and she couldn’t see a thing. Still, she knew she would raise concern from a curious neighbor.
Sure enough, an older woman wearing what her mother used to call a “house dress” came from around the side hedge. “You just missed her,” the woman said. “She’s gone off to work. Can I help you with something?”
Deena flashed a grateful smile. “Oh darn. I guess I’ll have to come back next week...unless...no, never mind.” She started toward her car.
“Unless what, dear? Maybe I can help.”
Deena stopped and turned back to the woman. “Well, I guess it wouldn’t hurt to ask. You see, the insurance company just needs a few more details about what happened on the day of her husband’s demise before they can issue her check. You wouldn’t happen to know anyone who was around at the time, would you?”
The woman’s eyes widened. “As a matter of fact, I do. I was the one who called the police to come over here and check on the noise.”
“Really? What luck! Would you mind if I ask you a couple of questions? I’m sure Mrs. Granger would be grateful for you helping out.”
Taking Deena by the elbow, the woman led her toward the house. “Why, I’d be pleased to help out. Let’s go in and have some coffee and I’ll tell you all about it. I’m Barbara Potts, by the way.”
“Nice to meet you, Barbara.” Deena was careful not to give the woman her own name. One lie at a time. It wasn’t exactly her motto, but she hoped the end would justify the means
When they went inside, Deena counted three cats lounging in a pile by the window and a caged green bird. Poor Barbara. She must be a kind, lonely widow. But then she heard a gruff voice call out from the kitchen.
“Barb! What are you up to now?”
“Shut up, you old coot! I’ve got company!” Her tone was anything but kind. She turned back to Deena and smiled sweetly. “Cream and sugar?”
“Fine,” Deena said, hoping she wouldn’t raise the ire of the four-foot monster in front of her.
When Barbara returned with the coffee, Deena had visions of Arsenic and Old Lace. She blew in the cup and set it down without taking a drink. She pulled out her notepad and turned to a clean page. “Can you tell me what happened that day?”
“Well now, I was sitting in the living room watching Law and Order. It was a good one, too. That man...what’s his name? You know, the one who does those commercials?”
Deena shrugged and shook her head.
“Well, anyway, I heard a loud noise. At first I thought it was a car backfiring. But then I remembered that cars don’t do that much anymore, so I ran to the window. It was dark, you know, but I saw a car speeding the other direction down the street.”
“Did you get a good look at the car?”
The gravelly voice from the other room yelled, “She hasn’t seen anything clearly since before her hair turned purple!”
“Shut your trap, Harry!” Barbara roared. She looked back at Deena and calmly said, “No, I could just see the tail lights. Anyway, I thought I would go check on poor Allison to see if she was okay.”
“Why were you concerned about Allison?”
“Well, I’m not one to gossip, but I had seen the police over there more than a few times. I wanted to make sure that husband of hers hadn’t done something to her.”
Deena got a heavy feeling in her chest. “Do you think something bad was happening to her? Like maybe Drew was hurting her?”
Barbara’s brow wrinkled even deeper than it was already as she leaned in, lowering her voice to a whisper. “I had my suspicions, not that I ever saw anything or heard them out of sorts, but one day I tried to ask her about it.”
Deena waited. The dramatic pause was killing her.
Jerking back upright, Barbara’s expression turned sour. “She told me to mind my own business and quit being such a busybody. Can you believe that? If I hadn’t been such a caring neighbor, she’d have come home from her party and found her husband dead on their marriage bed!”
Harry yelled, “You old gossiping hen!”
Rolling her eyes, Barbara said, “Excuse my husband for his rude manners!” The last two words were screamed like something out of The Exorcist.
Deena scooted a little further away on the sofa. “So, you were saying you wanted to check on Allison.”
“Yes. I went over and rang the bell and nobody answered. I knew somebody was home because I could see lights on. That’s when I tiptoed over to the window and took a peek inside.”
The elusive Harry called out again. “She’s a regular Peeping Tom, that one is.”
Just then the large bird piped up. “A peeping tom. A peeping tom.”
“Quiet, Jack! Good Lord, a person could go crazy around here.”
Deena’s eyes widened at the commotion. Lady, you passed crazy on Thursday.
“Anyway, that’s when I called the police.”
“Wait,” Deena said, “why did you call the police?”
“Oh, I thought I told you. I could just make out Mr. Granger’s legs on the bed. But when I tapped on the window, he didn’t seem to hear me. That’s when I ran to get Harry. He told me to call the cops, so I did. I was standing right out there by the front door when that nice-looking officer showed up.”
“Do you mean Officer Linndorf?”
“Yes, that’s the one. I’d like to make some ‘law and order’ with him, if you know what I mean.” She grinned and her top dentures slid back and forth.
Deena almost threw up in her mouth at the thought of Barbara and Larry Linndorf. “What did you see when you all went in the house?”
“Oh, he didn’t let me go in with him. He told us to wait outside.”
Deena gave that some thought. “Did you go around to the bedroom and ‘peek’ while he was inside?” She used air quotes to emphasize the seediness of the action.
“I wanted to, but Harry wouldn’t let me.”
Jack the bird chimed in again. “A peeping tom. A peeping tom.”
Barbara pulled off a slipper and hurled it toward the birdcage, missing by a country mile.
Deena shook her head. “How long was it before Officer Linndorf came out of the house?”
“He didn’t come out, I mean, not before the ambulance and other police cars got there.”
“How long was that?”
“Well, it seemed like forever because I was standing there in my housecoat and slippers. The wind cut through me like ice. I’d been telling Harry I needed to get me one of those robes they have on TV that doubles as an electric blanket, but he said I’d probably burn the whole house down.” She tossed a look in the direction of the kitchen and yelled, “With you in it!”
“So...ten minutes?”
“That sounds about right.”
“And where was Allison?”
“I think she was out. Seems like the next day she said she’d been at a party.”
“Party? Are you sure?”
Barbara took a gulp of coffee, then coughed into her hand. “Yes. Like a Tupperware party.”
Did they still have those? “Tupperware? Are you sure?” Deena looked at Barbara, who seemed to be thinking.
“No
, maybe it wasn’t that.” She looked around the room as if the answer could be hidden in the corner behind the old bookshelf. “She mentioned a book.” Snapping her bony fingers, she said, “That’s right! A book party!”
Book party, book club. Tomato, to-mah-to. Close enough. “Do you know anyone else who was at that book party?”
“Heavens, no. Allison never invited me, so I never asked.” Barbara shivered and grabbed her cup. “Drink up, dear, you don’t want your coffee getting cold.”
Without thinking, Deena picked up the cup. When it was almost to her lips, she looked down and saw a clump of cat fur floating on top. She sneezed and sent coffee flying everywhere. She had managed to stave off the reaction until then, but now her eyes began to water and her throat itched. “I’m so sorry! It’s just that I’m allergic...choo!...to cats.” She stood up and hurried to the door. “Thank you for the information. It will really help with my article.”
Barbara looked puzzled. “Article?”
“I mean...choo!...report. Bye now.” She closed the door behind her and hurried to the car, sucking in breaths of cool clean air as best she could. She grabbed a wad of tissues and blew her nose. When she looked in the mirror, her eyes were already red and puffy. As she drove off, she saw Barbara and a man who she assumed was Harry standing on the front porch waving goodbye. Harry had his arm draped over Barbara’s shoulder. She was, of course, wearing only one slipper.
The sight of the old couple made Deena grimace, and she made a mental note to be nicer to Gary about his desire to make a change.
Speaking of Gary, it was time to talk to him about Drew’s business as well as his supposed devotion to his loving wife. It’s not like Drew Granger deserved to die, but if he had been abusing Allison, that might be a motive for murder.
Chapter 13
As she walked over to the staff meeting, Nina dreaded facing Dr. Patton. She had managed to avoid him since last week’s meeting when they discussed Lucas. She had a feeling she’d get a big fat “I told you so” at this week’s meeting.
Mary Boyd caught up with her. “I think I know the reason for the glum face this week. Lucas, right?”
Nina nodded. “There’s no telling how long he will be stuck here now. Doc will probably stretch it out longer just to show me who’s boss.”
“Dr. Patton can be reasonable sometimes. You just have to catch him in the right mood.” Mary shuffled her folders to the other hand as she reached for the doorknob. “But you’re right. Most of the time he’s—” She caught her breath and whispered, “—here. He’s already here.”
Dr. Patton steepled his fingers while resting his elbows on the table. “Glad you ladies finally decided to join us. By my watch it’s nearly nine o’clock.”
Nina and Mary hurried to take their seats just as their last colleague came in.
“Whoa,” he said as he spied the doctor. “Sorry I’m late.”
Dr. Patton scowled. “Seems everyone was running late today. No matter. I’m in a good mood.”
The four counselors just stared and waited.
“Isn’t anyone going to ask me why?”
Almost in unison, they all asked.
“Because, the foundation renewed our grant for another three years, which means we won’t have to cut staff after all.”
“I didn’t realize you were looking at cuts,” Nina said. “Guess we dodged a bullet.”
“A bullet indeed,” Dr. Patton said. “Now, who’s first up on the chopping block?” He held his hand up. “No, wait. I’m going first.”
The counselors exchanged glances. It was unusual for someone as OCD as Dr. Patton to change up his routine.
“Nina, I want to show you something.” He pulled a folded-up piece of notebook paper out of his satchel and handed it across the table.
Her heart began to beat a little faster. Surely she wasn’t getting fired. He just said he didn’t have to make cuts. She opened the note and began to read. It was addressed to Dr. Patton. She skimmed through quickly. One sentence was highlighted in yellow. It read: Ms. Davenport has made me a better person and I want to show my family that I can be just as good a person as she is. Nina’s eyes began to water as she read the rest and then saw the signature at the bottom. It was from Lucas Carr.
Nina sniffled once and looked up at Dr. Patton. “I didn’t tell him to do this, if that’s what you’re thinking.”
“I’m not thinking that at all. I’m thinking you’ve done a remarkable job with this boy. I’ve read all your case notes and have planned. We’re going to transition Lucas to go home.”
The other three counselors clapped their hands, a tradition whenever they moved a child to the transition program.
Nina couldn’t help herself. She jumped up, ran over to Dr. Patton, and threw her arms around his neck. “Thank you, thank you, thank you,” she gushed.
The doctor stiffened but allowed the embrace. “Good job, Ms. Davenport. Now, who’s next?”
The rest of the meeting was a blur. Nina felt as though she were sitting a foot above her chair. Nothing could make her day any better.
After the meeting, Nina headed over to the main office to start Lucas’s paperwork right away. As she walked past the area where the staff received their mail, she noticed a large manila envelope in her cubby. Since she rarely got mail, it piqued her interest. Maybe she’d won a prize or something. She ripped it open and began reading. She felt the color drain from her face and her knees shook.
Mary walked by and noticed the look on her face. “What is it now? I thought you’d be elated.”
Nina looked up from the letter. “It’s my brother,” she murmured. “He’s dead.”
Chapter 14
Luckily, there were only a few cars parked in front of the drugstore when Deena pulled up. She needed eye drops and an antihistamine to deal with the allergy attack from Barbara Potts’s cats. She put on her sunglasses and went inside.
She walked past the makeup counter and caught a look of herself in the mirror. She looked like a spy in a Bond film. All that was missing was the floppy straw hat. She found the aisle she needed and noticed a man looking at the cold relief products. He looked vaguely familiar, which was not uncommon in a town the size of Maycroft.
The man glanced her way, holding a bottle of pills. “Hey. Cold. How about you?”
“Allergies,” she responded and tilted down her sunglasses.
“Geez. Looks like you’ve got it bad.”
“I’m not exactly the Elephant Man, but yeah. It’s bad.” She picked up a package of super-strength antihistamines, then looked back at the man. “Do I know you from somewhere?” She hoped he didn’t think she was trying to hit on him, not that her current appearance would have been too appealing.
“Um, not that I know of.”
Then it hit her. This was the same man from the funeral who told Allison he wanted to make sure Drew was “good and dead.”
“Hope you feel better,” he said and started to walk off.
“Wait. Weren’t you at Drew Granger’s funeral?”
Jerking his head back, he stared at Deena. “Er...um...yes. Why do you ask?”
“I just noticed that you spoke to Allison as though you weren’t too fond of her husband.”
The man’s ruddy face turned a funny shade of red. “Maybe I was out of line saying something at his funeral. But if you knew why, you wouldn’t fault me for it.”
“Oh,” Deena said, “I’m not doubting your motives. Drew Granger was no saint after all. Am I right?”
“You’re right.” He shook his head.
Deena was hoping to get more juice from this lemon. “So, what did he do to you?” She emphasized the “you” to imply she had a beef with the man, too, as though they were comrades in arms. Yes, she was tricky like that.
“Put me out of business, that’s all.”
“That’s all? Why, that’s terrible. What happened?”
He pulled a handkerchief out of his pocket and blew his nose. “Ah, y
ou don’t want to hear.”
“Sure I do,” she replied earnestly. “How’d it happen?”
“It’s been probably fifteen years now since he and that no-good brother-in-law of his ravaged my property and stole some of my best, oldest grapevines. Claimed it must have been some people from out west, but I knew good and well it was them.”
“I see, so you have a vineyard, too?”
“Did. After that, everything went downhill. The Grangers undercut my prices at every turn. Pretty soon, no one would touch my crops. They actually accused me of stealing from the Grangers. Can you believe it?”
Shaking her head, Deena gave him her most sympathetic expression. “That’s terrible.”
“I’m Owen Walsh, by the way.” He started to reach out his hand to shake, then looked at the cold medicine box and pulled it back.
“Nice to meet you.” She quickly added, “Did you get the police involved? Did you sue him?”
“Tried to, but no one believed the Grangers with their ‘grapes from God’ would do such a thing. I eventually sold my land to Drew and his sister for a fraction of its worth.”
“His sister? I didn’t think he had a relationship with his sister. Does he have more than one?”
“Not that I know of. Yeah, he and Edwina took over the place when the old man got sick. That’s before their father disowned Edwina.”
Deena could hardly believe what she was hearing. Sounded like Edwina could definitely be trying to get her hands on the Granger fortune. But she wasn’t the only one who had a beef.
Deena went for the jugular. “Man. If someone had done that to me, I’d have wanted to kill the guy. Am I right?”
That’s when Owen Walsh clammed up. Whether she was touching on a nerve or whether he thought she was a monster, she wasn’t sure. But as quick as she could say “ah-choo,” he had bid her good day and was gone.
As she made her way to the checkout counter, Deena thought about Drew. Maybe he did kill himself, but it’s not like there weren’t other people waiting in line to do it for him.
Stay Sharpe Box Set Page 21