Sell Low, Sweet Harriet

by Sherry Harris

  Hmmm, so maybe he had an affair, if there was something for her to forgive. “I hope it is too.” I wanted to listen as long as she needed me to, but I was also curious about Becky’s fear she would be arrested.

  “Enough about my marital problems.” Becky straightened her shoulders.

  “Surely being out for a walk isn’t enough to pin a murder on you,” I said.

  “Oh, there’s more.”

  Becky’s voice sounded bitter. But I didn’t blame her for that. I would be too, under the circumstances. I waited, not wanting to seem like I was interrogating her. I’m sure she had enough of that yesterday.

  “They found trace evidence of me on Alicia.”

  Oh, boy. That didn’t sound good. “What kind?”

  “My hair and my cat’s hair. They can check cat DNA now.” As if on cue, a yellow cat came strutting out. She reached down and stroked it. The cat arched its back happily in response. “I did one of those DNA tests so that’s how they made the match and I also did one for our cat.”

  “How did the hair get on her?” Could someone have planted evidence to discredit Becky? She wasn’t the most popular woman on base, even though she gave a ton of her time to the Spouses’ Club board and other duties expected of a commander’s wife. I thought again about last fall when she’d been embroiled in a controversy with another spouse.

  “We had a board meeting at my house the morning before she died to follow up on business that didn’t get taken care of at our regular Spouses’ Club meeting. I hugged Alicia as she left. It was my way of trying to forgive her for what had happened at the last meeting. To let her know we were okay.” Becky dropped her face to her hands for a moment. “If I hadn’t hugged her, none of this would even be an issue.”

  I couldn’t remember one instance of ever seeing Becky hug anyone. She was quick to thrust her hand out to shake and always seemed to keep that as short as possible. With her there was no prolonged contact. “You told the police that?” I asked.

  “Yes. I think it’s the only reason I’m home and not locked up.” She shuddered. “I’m their prime suspect.”

  I knew enough about law enforcement procedures to realize that this wasn’t enough to arrest someone. “That doesn’t seem like enough to put you at the top of their list.” I waited to see if she would mention the meeting Eleanor had told me about where Alicia had told the general’s wife to be quiet. Or if she’d mention they had argued.

  “Alicia and I have had words in the recent past. Plenty of people enjoyed describing them in detail to the police.”

  Oh, dear. Means, motive, and opportunity. Check. Check. Check. It didn’t look good.

  “But we’d put that all behind us. It’s why I hugged her. You know I’m not a very touchy-feely person.”

  I did know that.

  “You have to help me, Sarah.”

  “How?” I asked.

  “Someone obviously had it in for Alicia. Someone other than me. I want your help in thinking who that could be.”

  Yikes. I was torn. I wanted to help Becky out, but I didn’t want to point the blame at someone else. But coming up with a short list to ease Becky’s mind might not hurt.

  “Please, Sarah. You’re good at this kind of thing. We’ve known each other a long time. Longer than almost everyone else I know here.”

  Maybe it would help Special Agent Bristow with his investigation. It’s not like sitting here talking things over was like running around questioning people. I knew I was just trying to justify this, but it seemed to be working for me.

  “Okay,” I said. “There’s always the possibility that it’s a random person. Someone who was on base but isn’t part of the base community.”

  “Like a visitor. Or someone who snuck on base. I hope that’s true. It will tear this place apart if someone on base did it,” Becky said.

  Becky was right. I couldn’t begin to imagine the fallout.

  “Aren’t you going to take notes?” Becky asked.

  I managed not to roll my eyes and took out my phone. I typed in random person into the notes app. “Everyone seemed to love Alicia. Have you heard of anyone who didn’t?”

  Becky frowned, concentrating. “Not really. But the argument we had involved other people.”

  That was interesting. “Tell me about the fight.”

  “Her behavior at the board meeting was so unlike her.” Becky stared over my head as if she was seeing the whole thing play out in front of her.

  “What did happen?” I’d play along to get her version and compare it to Eleanor’s.

  “It isn’t important. Alicia apologized to me and Ginger. She said she was having a bad day.”

  “But you said other people were involved. How so?”

  “Everyone heard Alicia’s outburst and they were appalled. You should have seen their faces. I adjourned the meeting, but asked Alicia to stay behind. We had words. Loud words. When I left the room there was a group of women standing outside the door. Most of them looked shocked. It didn’t take long for news of what Alicia had done to Ginger to make its way around base. You know how it is.”

  I typed a note: spouses at meeting. “Do you have an attendance list from that meeting? Or do you remember who waited outside?” I made a note to ask Eleanor the same thing.

  “We don’t take attendance, and since it wasn’t a luncheon there isn’t even a list of RSVPs.” Becky frowned. “I was so upset when I left. I didn’t even look at who was outside the door. Seeing people hanging around didn’t improve my mood any. I got out of there as fast as I could.”

  That fit what Eleanor has said. “Are there any men in the Spouses’ Club?” I asked.

  “A couple. But neither of them were at the meeting. Most men don’t want to join even if their wife is in the military. All the work to be inclusive and change it from the Wives’ Club.” Becky shook her head.

  Even if most men didn’t join, it was the right thing to do. “What’s it been like since?”

  “It divided people into two groups, team Alicia or team Becky. I knew we had to end the divisiveness as quickly as possible for the good of the organization and base.”

  “That was smart of you. I know how hard it can be to put aside personal feelings.”

  Becky nodded. “Other than that incident, Alicia was beloved. That’s what makes her death so much more heartbreaking.” Becky dabbed at another tear rolling down her face. “That came out awful. No one deserves to die like that. Good or bad.”

  I decided not to press her for any more details. At least not now. “They don’t,” I said.

  Becky leaned forward. “I heard Alicia had a fight with her sister when her sister came to visit.”

  “When was that?” I asked. I made a note to read Alicia’s obituary to see who had survived her.

  “She had been staying here awhile and then left in a huff the day before Alicia died. But I don’t know any of the details.”

  “She might have had a pass allowing her to get on and off base.”

  “Yes. She lives in New Hampshire, so not all that far away.”

  I typed in more notes. Things I’d pass along to Frank. “Anyone else?” I asked.

  “No. It’s not a very good list. Some random person and her sister. I mean, who would kill their sister?”

  I shuddered at the thought. “It’s not. But keep thinking. You might think of someone else.” I didn’t tell Becky that after I left her house I would add her husband to my list of suspects. I’d dig around to see if he had a girlfriend. Either one of them might be more than willing to set Becky up. But I couldn’t rule out the general or his wife. Not that they would set up Becky on purpose.

  “I heard that Alicia was the president of the PTA. Have you heard about any conflict there?” I asked.

  “I’m not plugged into the community anymore, since our kids are at college. If I hear anything I’ll let you know.” She looked a bit happier. “It’s terrible to want to pin this on someone else.”

  “It’s no
t terrible to want to clear your name.” I stood to go. There didn’t seem to be anything else to say.

  Becky stood too. At the door she gave me a big hug. Maybe she was changing. Life’s low points altered a person forever.

  “Thank you for coming over.” She paused. “I know I’m not always the easiest person to be around. So that makes me even more grateful.”

  I patted her arm. “Of course.” As I drove off, three words rolled over in my head—a murder, an accused, and a divorce. Which one was the thread I needed to pluck on to help Becky?

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Alicia’s husband, Walter, opened the door of their townhouse seconds after I pressed the doorbell. Maybe he was waiting for someone or maybe he was lonely and had seen me walking across the courtyard toward his door, not that he would recognize me. His eyes were red rimmed and had a lost look that made me want to run away. Walter’s dark hair was in one of the shortest crew cuts I’d ever seen, which was saying a lot since I’d been around military members for over twenty years.

  I held up ajar of dog biscuits that I had bought on the way to base this morning. “I brought these for your puppy.” It seemed like a better thing to bring than food. First of all, his neighbors had probably sent so much food he’d wouldn’t be able to eat it all. And second, food seemed like a reminder that he would have to eat alone. Dog biscuits were a reminder that he wasn’t.

  “I’m Sarah Winston.”

  “Walter Arbas.” He stuck out his hand and we shook.

  I pointed to the dog biscuits. “They’re organic. From a place in Connecticut.”

  A chocolate Labrador puppy came scampering toward us. Walter grabbed its collar, but the puppy strained toward me, on its back paws, its front ones pawing the air.

  “Why don’t you come in before Norton escapes.”

  I stepped into the small foyer and handed Walter the dog biscuits. A staircase was straight ahead. The painting of a wine bottle on a picnic table that Alicia had painted at Paint and Wine hung on the wall. To the left was a living room and then a space most base people used as a dining room. But here it was part eating space, part workout space, with a treadmill in the corner and free weights scattered around. Walter closed the door and let loose of Norton. He scampered over and put his paws on my knee. I rubbed his ears, murmuring the silly things people say to their dogs like Aren’t you a handsome boy.

  Walter grabbed some newspapers from one side of the sectional sofa. “Have a seat.” He crumpled the newspaper and stared down at it like he wasn’t sure what to do with it. Then he stuffed it between the couch and an end table. Walter sat in a chair across from me, facing the window, and ran a hand over his short military cut hair.

  “Do you want something to eat?” He gestured toward the kitchen off to the left of the dining room. “I’ve got so much food.” Norton plopped down by Walter’s feet, resting his head on one of Walter’s shoes. He leaned down and patted Norton. “He gives me a reason to get up in the morning. I guess that’s why we got him.”

  “No. Thank you.” I paused. “I’m so sorry.”

  “You knew Alicia?” His eyes lit briefly.

  “We volunteered at the thrift shop together. But I didn’t know her well.” I wasn’t sure what had even made me want to come over here. Some instinct to comfort. To acknowledge the depth of pain that came along with living one’s life. He’d been through so much—losing his wife, being arrested for killing her, and even though he’d been released, a shadow would hang over him until the real killer was found. “If there’s anything I can do . . .”

  “Unless you can smuggle a couple of casseroles out of here without being seen, I can’t think of anything.” He managed a brief smile. “Thanks for stopping by. I haven’t had a lot of visitors since the police hauled me in.”

  “I’m sure they’ll get this cleared up soon.” I hoped I was right. Walter was dealing with enough right now. It made me more determined to find out what happened.

  Walter looked beyond me, out the window. His sad face became grim. I turned to see what he was looking at. A young woman was striding down the sidewalk toward the townhouse. She had the same auburn hair as Alicia. A long, black trench coat flapped behind her and she wore black motorcycle boots even in this cold weather, when riding a bike could only be a sweet spring dream.

  “There’s Alicia’s sister.” His voice was weary. “Fiona’s been by every single day since the funeral.”

  “To keep you company?” I asked.

  “To ease her guilt. She had a fight with Alicia the day before she died. It’s a heck of a way to leave things.”

  That’s what Becky had said. I stood. “She must feel awful.”

  “She does. She kept nagging Alicia, trying to get her to commit to a family reunion next summer. Yelled that Alicia didn’t care about her family since she married me.” Walter shook his head. “Some people don’t get that we don’t have a lot of control over our assignments. That we don’t want to be away from our families.” He grinned for a moment. “Necessarily.”

  “I hear you.” My own family had had its share of problems in the past. We were closer now than we’d been in a long time.

  Walter stood. “I shouldn’t sound so mean. Fiona’s helping me clean out Alicia’s things. I couldn’t do it on my own and I can’t stand seeing her clothes in the closet. It’s a constant reminder that she’s not here.”

  We walked to the door.

  “Thanks again for the dog biscuits. It was thoughtful.”

  Norton ran to the door. Walter grabbed his collar again before he opened it. I stepped out and said hello to Alicia’s sister. She gave me the once-over and didn’t seem to like what she saw.

  “Who was that?” I heard her ask Walter as I headed down the sidewalk.

  “A friend of Alicia’s. She dropped off some dog biscuits for Norton.”

  “She isn’t wearing a wedding ring. Is she single?”

  “I don’t know,” Walter said.

  He shut the door, cutting off anything else I could hear. But I left wondering about the free weights in the dining room. How hard would it be to put them in your smart bed and make the bed think it was a body? Walter’s in particular. I didn’t know enough about smart beds to know if they could tell the difference between a living, breathing human and weights. And there was Fiona. She almost sounded jealous of me being with Walter. What was going on there? Was her coming over to help a ruse for something else going on? I hated it when I had more questions than answers.

  * * *

  I waited for Awesome at Bedford Farms Ice Cream at eleven forty-five. I’d called him after I left Walter’s house and asked him to meet me. Yes, it was the middle of winter and some people thought it was too cold for ice cream. But not me and amazingly, the store had its share of customers, nothing like summer but respectable for the middle of January. I hoped giving Awesome something sweet would help the cranky attitude Stella had mentioned the other night. A patrol car pulled up. Awesome loped toward the shop, his face set and way more grouchy looking than his usual relaxed self. Even the way he held his shoulders was different. Tense. I planned to find out why.

  I’d already ordered my usual Almond Joy small size in a cup. It was a huge portion. A small here was an enormous at any other ice cream shop, but I was up for the job of finishing it. Awesome nodded at me, but went and ordered instead of coming over to me. I watched as the woman behind the counter took in his big brown eyes and long, long eyelashes. She winked at him, but didn’t even get a smile in return.

  “Why don’t we go sit in my car?” I suggested when Awesome had his order. There wasn’t much seating and there were too many ears.

  Awesome shrugged, but he followed me, holding the door open for me with his long arm. After we hustled over to the Suburban, I turned it on and flipped on the seat warmer. “Your control is on the armrest.” I pointed with my spoon.

  “I already feel like I’m in the hot seat for something, but I have no idea what.”

&
nbsp; I chuckled. I ate some of my ice cream. Coconut, vanilla, chocolate bits. Heaven.

  He took a bite. “Man this is good.”

  “What flavor?”

  “Coffee. Now will you just tell me why we’re here? And don’t expect me to tell you anything about Alicia’s investigation.”

  Now that we were here, I felt more awkward than I imagined. “What’s going on with you and Stella?”

  He froze, with his spoon of ice cream halfway to his mouth. His eyes widened in what looked like alarm to me. Awesome put his spoon back in his cup. “What are you talking about? We’re great.” He paused. “Oh, no. We must not be great if we’re having this conversation. Is she dumping me?”

  He sounded scared. This big, brave man. A former NYPD homicide detective. Scared. “No.” I shook my head. “Men are idiots.”

  “What then?” he asked.

  I took another bite of my ice cream to procrastinate. Probably none of this was my business. But I’d started so I had to finish. Had to help Stella. I hated seeing her sad. “She thinks you are going to break up with her.”

  “What? Why would she think that?”

  “Because from what Stella said you’ve been incredibly cranky lately.”

  Awesome leaned his head back against the headrest. “You’re right. I am an idiot.”

  I jabbed my spoon at him. “You aren’t seeing anyone else, are you?”

  “No. She’s my one and only. I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

  “Well, then you’d better get your act together. She’s an amazing woman. You’re lucky she puts up with you.” I was teasing a bit. Awesome was, well, awesome. Normally, anyway.

  “I am. She is.”

  “What’s going on? Is it work?”

  Awesome glanced out the window. “Yeah, that’s it. Speaking of work, I have to get back at it.” He opened the door and almost leaped out. Like he was running from something—perhaps me.

  I looked at him. “Good talk. Whatever it is, pull it together.” He nodded, slammed the door, and strode over to his car. I watched him start it and peel out of the parking lot. I hoped it was work. I really did.