“Nothing, I don’t think.”
“Hi, Betts. Hey, there, big fella,” Sally said as she and Gram joined us by the front door of the school.
Gram and I ignored her.
“Betts, Teddy, we need to talk,” Gram said seriously before she led us inside. She walked around Sally, which garnered a questioning look from Teddy. Over the years and before I saw the ghosts, I’d noticed Gram pull a veer a time or two. I always thought her balance was off or something. Now, I smiled to myself. I walked around the ghost, too, giving her a wider berth than Gram had just to see what Teddy would do.
He looked at the ground and veered slightly himself. I’d laugh about it later, but Sally giggled now, which made it even more fun.
Once inside we were supplied with samples of a new pineapple upside-down cake that Gram was considering for the upcoming year and some freshly squeezed lemonade.
“Kids,” she began. She rarely called us that anymore, but it signaled that she was about to talk about something very serious. “I need to talk to you both about what I’m putting in my will.”
“What?” Teddy said. “Gram, are you sick?”
I swallowed the piece of cake that had suddenly turned sour in my mouth.
“No, not at all, but life is so fleeting.” She looked at Sally, who seemed the most interested in what Gram had to say. “The recent issues we’ve been having in Broken Rope made me think I should be better prepared.”
“Recent? Gram, Broken Rope has always been full of death and murder,” Teddy protested.
“Our history is based upon that, but not our current times. These past few months have been disturbing, and I needed to be proactive. I needed to do something to make myself feel better about what I was leaving behind. I had Verna revise an old will that I’d written years ago.”
“Gram, come on, are you sick?” Teddy asked again.
“No, Teddy, I’m as healthy as a southern Missouri mosquito in the middle of a sweltering wet summer.”
“Interesting picture,” Sally said.
I looked at her with a raised eyebrow. Did she know something?
“Oh? No, Betts, I don’t have any idea if your grandmother is sick or when she’ll be joining us on this side. Not information we have access to.”
I nodded as Gram gave both her and me an impatient glare. Teddy looked at me and the space where Sally stood, but not for long.
Gram reached for one of Teddy’s hands and one of mine. Sally didn’t want to be left out, so she placed her ax–free hand over Gram’s and Teddy’s. “I am not sick, not even close, and I plan on living a hundred or so more years.”
“That might be stretching it,” Sally mumbled.
“But if something unexpected should happen, I want to make sure my Peeps are in order so to speak. Now, Teddy, don’t be disappointed when I tell you that Betts will get the school.”
“She should get the school,” Teddy said. “I wouldn’t know how to begin to run the place anyway.”
“But you’ll always have a job here.” She looked at him and then at me. “I always want Teddy to have a place to go. He’s a great cook and a fine teacher, and, frankly, one of the most amazing bakers in town.” She turned back to him. “If you ever want to quit construction, you can always teach at the school, my dear boy.”
“Thank you, Gram.” He smiled. “I love that I have a great backup plan.” He winked. He knew he’d do better financially if he worked at the school than at the construction jobs he took here and there. But he wasn’t as fond of teaching as Gram hoped he would be. She was right, though: he was good at it.
Gram pinched his arm lightly. Appropriately, he pretended that it hurt. “I ran this by your parents before they left for Arizona, and they think it’s a wonderful plan. You father is too busy to do anything with the cooking school, and though your mother can teach up a storm, she can’t even boil an egg without setting off the fire alarm or hatching a chicken. Now, if either of you want to talk to me in private about the specific arrangements, I’d be happy to.”
We both shook our heads.
“No, Gram, I’m fine.” I pulled her into a hug. Sally stayed close to her back. She would have been hugged, too, if my hands hadn’t gone right through her.
“This is so lovely,” Sally said.
“Oh, pshaw,” Gram said. “Like I said, I’m going to live a whole lot longer, so don’t go buying new ovens or anything. I just wanted you two to know, and it’s a slow time at the school. Now was the right time to do this. I’ve got more work to do around here, so skedaddle.”
“I can help,” I said. I was supposed to help. It was my job, and I’d already left her to do too much of the work.
“No, you can’t. Jake needs you.” She glanced at Sally. I guessed that they’d discussed what had been going on since the last time we all talked. I was glad someone had filled Gram in. The gears in my head had been working overtime trying to figure out at least one of our mysteries; I’d neglected my real duties. It was a wonder Gram wanted me to have the school when she was gone.
I knew that the realization of her wishes would sink in later, but for the time being, I was just glad the serious conversation was over. I didn’t think Gram was sick. I understood her need to get her affairs in order. I didn’t think I deserved the school, but in reality who else would take care of it the way I would—when I wasn’t solving mysteries, that is? I’d deal with how I could possibly fill Gram’s big shoes some other time. Before I could let Teddy leave or Gram get back to her cleaning, I needed to talk to them both and without the other one hearing.
“Teddy, could you wait for me outside for just a minute?” I asked.
He agreed so easily that I wondered if he’d really wait, and Sally wanted to go with him so she could “study his fine male form,” but I shook my head and pursed my lips, letting her know I wanted her to stay. She was disappointed, but she acquiesced.
“Gram,” I said when I was sure Teddy couldn’t hear, “are there any other ghosts visiting?”
“Not that I’m aware of.”
“You haven’t run into anyone?” I asked Sally.
“No.”
“I smelled something…I can’t pinpoint it, but I know I’ve smelled it before, though in real life, not because of a ghost. I wonder, though, if this time it’s attached to one of them.”
“They don’t have to check in with me. They usually do because they like to have someone they can talk to, but theoretically they can come and go without me knowing. What’s the scent like?” Gram said.
“Tangy, sharp, heady,” I said.
“You could be describing a wine,” Gram said.
“No, that’s not it. I’ll try to figure it out, but would you call me if you see any other ghosts?”
“Of course. You staying out of trouble, Sally?”
“Sadly, yes. We’re still looking for my diary, though. Betts is actually trying hard to help.”
Gram bit at her lip. “I suppose that’s good, but try not to pester her too much.”
“I’m not pestering you, am I?” Sally asked as Gram turned and walked toward her office in the back of the school.
“I’ll let you know.”
One side of her mouth pulled in and her eyebrows came together as she said, “Betts, maybe I’m not being fair. Your gram is right; there is nothing you can truly do for me. My situation isn’t going to change no matter what. Maybe you are wasting your time.”
I looked at her closely. I’d only known her briefly, but this didn’t sound like the self-involved ax murderer I’d pegged her to be. Her comments sounded genuine. I realized that there was something about her that I truly liked. I cringed inwardly and really hoped it didn’t show. My feelings for her wouldn’t turn into the crush I had on Jerome, but I couldn’t deny the fondness I was beginning to feel. Was I destined to become attached to every ghost that visited? Gram wouldn’t give me all the details, but I suspected the list was long enough to mean that I could end up missing and perhaps
lonely for lots of people, because, and I had to face this, if I could find something appealing about an ax murderer, I could probably find a reason to like just about anyone.
“I’ll let you know,” I said again. “How does that sound?”
“Good,” she said. “I’m so glad you’re helping, though. Thank you.”
“Come on, let’s talk to Teddy.”
“Ohhh, goodie.”
Teddy was less than enthusiastic about rummaging around Opie’s drawers. Well, the ones she didn’t wear, at least.
“I’m not a snoop, Betts. That’s not my style,” he said as he crossed his arms in front of himself and leaned against his truck.
“I hear there’s a whole room devoted to Sally Swarthmore. Maybe you could just look in there?”
“Still not comfortable with that. She showed me the room. She’s proud of it and said it was about getting into character. I don’t want to betray her trust.”
“Oh, isn’t he the chivalrous one,” Sally cooed.
I paused. It wasn’t that Teddy ever intentionally wanted to betray a woman’s trust; it was just his nature. I’d never once heard him talk about a desire to be loyal, and hearing his respectfulness for Opie was both confusing and bothersome. I didn’t like her, never had, and never would. I’d also never gotten involved in my brother’s affairs, never had, and never would. But I didn’t have any other ideas. I wasn’t going to go visit her, and I wasn’t going to break in to her house. I’d agreed to a lunch but I’d probably be compelled to postpone it as long as possible until it might not exist at all. However, I was interested enough to know where she got her information to push just a little harder.
“Please, just a teeny bit of snooping,” I finally said.
“Why’s this diary so important anyway? Sally Swarthmore was a horrible person. Why do you care?”
Sally harrumphed and pouted.
“I’ve become suddenly interested in some of Broken Rope’s past infamous characters,” I said, embarrassed at my unnatural, false tone. “Hey! That’s it, that’s what you can do. You can tell her you’ve become interested in history, too. Why didn’t I think of this before? She loves to talk about herself. You don’t have to snoop at all. Just prompt her a bit and she’ll go on and on. No one loves Opie more than Opie loves Opie.”
Teddy sent me one raised eyebrow and a slanted mouth. I probably should have remembered the adage about catching more flies with honey than with vinegar.
“You’re not very good at this,” Sally said to me.
“I’m sorry, Teddy. I’m so used to…well, I need to try to be kinder to Opie especially if you and she are…dating,” I said as sincerely as I could. It was work.
“Better,” Sally said.
“What would it hurt to ask her a few questions? I’m not asking you to betray her trust. I simply would like to see if by some wild and bizarre circumstance, she has that diary. You know she would never, ever give me a straight answer. I don’t even want you to take it from her.” Yet, I added in my head. “Please just find out if she has it.”
Teddy sighed heavily and ran his hand through his hair. Sally purred or growled or something. “If—I mean if it’s convenient or good timing, I’ll ask her about it, but I can’t make any promises.”
“Yipee!” Sally squealed.
“Thank you, little brother.”
“You’re welcome,” he said begrudgingly. “I’ll call you if I find anything. Don’t call me and keep asking me. I’ll get to it when I get to it.”
“Oh,” Sally said. “I have no sense that I’m leaving soon, but it could be at any minute. Ask him to hurry. Please.”
I ate a little more humble pie and said, “Thanks, Teddy. The sooner the better, though. I’m really curious.”
“Goodness, Isabelle Winston, you need another hobby. Go chase Cliff or something.” Teddy winked and then hopped into his truck.
“Thank you, Betts. You’ll owe him if he comes up with something,” Sally said.
“Better owing him than Opie.” I smiled.
Chapter 15
My original plan was to go back downtown and stay with Jake. I doubted I would catch someone dropping off another note, but my presence at the sheriff’s office might help his state of mind. He had shows, though, and those would keep him busy enough that he wouldn’t dwell too much on whatever might happen next. I decided on a side trip, instead, but was further diverted when Sally asked me to do some grooming around her tombstone.
The cemetery next to the cooking school wasn’t the most famous in town, and it wasn’t in the town’s budget to send a landscape maintenance crew out every week. I remembered seeing a couple guys out here the day the bus had come in, but they hadn’t done a very thorough job and I knew we wouldn’t see them for another month.
The cemetery wasn’t large, but it was too big for me to take on as my responsibility. Lately, I had taken some extra time around Jerome’s tombstone, though. There wasn’t much to do except keep the grass trimmed, but nicely trimmed grass made a pleasant difference. Sometimes, tourists left items of remembrance on the tombstones or on the graves themselves. Over the years, I’d found a number of toy water guns around Jerome’s grave. I kept them in a box in the cooking school; when the supply built up, I passed them on either to kids in town or to Broken Rope actors who were lacking weapons.
Sally’s gifts were usually drawings of axes with handwritten messages scrawled underneath. Mostly, the messages were, not surprisingly, not friendly. But despite the way people felt about what she’d done, she was a legend. She did have the support of a small contingent of pro-Sally people, people who were convinced she was innocent and had been wrongly convicted. As I clipped the grass around her tombstone with some scissors, it occurred to me that I should maybe try to find one or two of those people. Long shot though it might be, perhaps they’d know something about her diary. Why was someone pro-Sally, and what did they base their feelings on?
I still didn’t believe that Sally’s old diary existed, not with her body in her grave, not in Opie’s house, not even with a group of Sally cheerleaders. But I really wanted it to exist. I wanted to know what it said, and I wanted to know what reasons she might have used to justify killing her parents, if in fact, those reasons existed.
“Yes, that looks better,” Sally said as she stood back and observed my work. “Thank you, Betts.”
“You’re welcome.” I stood beside her and decided it was, indeed, an improvement.
Sally’s tombstone was shorter than most of the others. It was just a cleanly carved, rectangular block of dark granite engraved with Sally’s name and birth and death dates. Because it was short, it was one of the few tombstones that didn’t lean from time and weather.
“Is it weird knowing your body is right there?” I asked.
“No.” Sally laughed. “I’ve forgotten whatever that attachment felt like. I do like the grass on top of it to be neat, though. I think I must have been a very neat person.”
“Well, this whole place could use some attention. I’m glad I could help some.” I decided that I would ask the town officials to send the grooming guys out more often. I might even take advantage of my renewed friendship—and potentially more—with Cliff to have the police push the issue.
Although, even I had to admit that with the less than perfectly level grass, the tall old trees all around, and some leaning tombstones, the place held a certain charm, something a little eerie but a little fairy-tale-like, too. Still, the charm wouldn’t be too tarnished if the grass was better mowed. I’d figure it out.
I plunked my hands on my hips. “I gotta go, Sally. You want to come with me?”
“Where’re you going?”
“The hotel. I need to talk to some foodies.”
“No, thanks. I’d like to spy on some people—maybe Jake, maybe your brother. I’ll keep my eyes off your boyfriend, though.”
The words He’s not my boyfriend—yet ran through my mind, but I felt silly saying them, so
I just said, “Suit yourself,” as she disappeared.
As I carried the scissors back into the school, something tickled at the back of my neck. I turned and scanned the entire cemetery. It was sunny and warm; the trees caused numerous shadowed spots and could have hidden any number of beings, creatures both dead and alive, but I didn’t see anyone.
I sniffed deeply but smelled only greenery and dusty humidity. There was nothing unusual about the smell. There was no wood smoke, and the mysterious scent I’d recently noticed wasn’t there either.
“Hello?” I said, just in case.
I got no response.
Gram was happy to be left cleaning with one of her crushes, Tim McGraw, whose voice rattled the old small radio she had plugged into an outlet beside a stove. I tried to contain a smile when she did a little hip twist as she sang along the words, “She was killin’ me in that miniskirt,” but I couldn’t help myself. The cleaning was good therapy and helped move her back into her groove. I asked her to lock the door when I left. And though she said I was being “as silly as a one-eyed toad,” I could tell she thought it was a good idea.
The Tied and Branded Hotel was a booming facility in the summer. Though the exterior decor consisted of old wood planks, worn leather saddles, and wound ropes, it was a modern hotel with a pool as big and lavish as that in a big-city five-star resort. I joked to myself that I’d probably find Cece by the side of it in a bikini that fit her perfectly.
Surprisingly, it was more a premonition than a joke. She was there, her bikini a bright green, and it did look perfect on her. She wore huge black sunglasses and sat perfectly posed with an umbrellaed drink in one hand and the opposite knee bent up at just the right angle.
The pool was busy but not as busy as I’d seen it on the hottest, most humid days. I was wearing shorts and a nicer T–shirt, so I was easy to spot as I swung open the pool’s gate and walked purposefully toward the beauty in the green suit. She saw me immediately; I could tell because her head and big bug eyes were turned in my direction. Her drink had been on the way to her mouth, but it retreated and she adjusted her head slightly, as if looking away from me.
If Mashed Potatoes Could Dance Page 14