Happier Days in Time

by Jenna St James

  Maggie shook her head. “No. Friday is the only day of the week I actually travel into town to the newspaper office. I have a wonderful staff and an amazing editor who keep things running throughout the week, but I like to make sure I’m seen on Fridays. Keeps them on their toes, and lets them know who’s really still in charge.”

  “I understand. Can I ask you something, Maggie?”

  “Of course, doll.”

  “What did you mean last night when you said you didn’t think Sissy killed herself?”

  “Just that,” she said. “There’s no way I’ll ever agree that a smart, happy, independent woman like Sissy Ivanova ever took her own life. She’d been making plans for July, and she even had her first official date with a gentleman and really liked him.”

  “Whoa!” Rex said, “that’s definitely a clue. Maybe this new guy offed her because she didn’t want to get too chummy.”

  “Do you think maybe he had something to do with…” I let the implication hang in the air.

  Maggie shook her head. “No. Absolutely not. No one but my brother and me knew Sissy had went out with Hugh.”

  Frowning, I thought back to where I’d heard that name before. “Hugh?”

  “Yes. Hugh Sterling. Or I guess I should say Dr. Hugh Sterling. He actually doesn’t believe Sissy killed herself either. He said there was bruising on the side of Sissy’s face and on her back.” Maggie sighed. “Are you sure you’re ready to hear all this?”

  “Yes, please. It’s why I’m here. I want to find out what happened. And if it was foul play, then I want to know who killed her.”

  Maggie let out a sob and covered her hands with her face. “You sound so much like Sissy. That’s exactly the kind of fierceness she had when it came to finding a story. She would get to the truth no matter what.”

  “Which is probably what killed her,” Rex said.

  “So Hugh examined her?” I asked gently.

  Wiping her face, Maggie nodded. “Yes. Let me start at the beginning. Like I said, I go into the office every Friday like clockwork.” A look of horror crossed her face. “I just realized that it was only two weeks ago today it all happened.”

  I leaned over the table and patted her hand. “I’m sorry. If it’s too soon, please don’t talk about it.”

  “No. It’s fine. I need to tell you.” She took a sip of her coffee. “That morning I got up, we had breakfast together, then I said goodbye and told Sissy I’d see her later that night. See, the twenty-sixth, when she was killed, was the last Friday of the month.”

  “Why is that significant?” I asked.

  “Because the last Friday of the month, my brother, Jack, and his lovely wife, Peggy Sue, always meet me after work and we go out to eat.” Maggie chuckled. “Peggy Sue loves her diner food and milkshakes. So the last Friday of every month we meet up at a local dive and spend the evening together. That Friday was no exception. I think I got home around seven. Came inside. It was unusually quiet, so I called out to Sissy, but she didn’t answer.”

  “A pattern’s been established,” Rex said.

  I gave a small nod to let him know I heard and agreed.

  “When I got to her bedroom door, it was closed, so I knocked and went in.” Maggie bit her lip and didn’t say anything for a few seconds. “I saw her on the bed. An empty pill box and an empty bottle of gin next to her.”

  “A pill box?”

  “Yes. You know, what ladies keep their medicines in.”

  “Right. And that’s when you called Dr. Sterling?” I asked.

  She nodded then shook her head. “No. I rang Jack first. I should explain. Jack is twelve years younger than me. He was actually supposed to run the family newspaper empire when my father died, but Jack had no desire to run the company. Also, he knew I loved the newspaper business and wanted to run the company. So Jack broke tradition and went to college and earned his law degree. He’s the district attorney for our county and has been for the past three years. I called him first. I knew he and Peggy Sue would be inside their house by now because they only live three houses down from me, and they were right behind me when we drove back from Roseville. So I rang him and told him what I found. He said he’d be right up and for me to call Hugh and then the police.”

  “And that would be Dr. Sterling?”

  “Yes. Hugh and I went to school together. He’s my age, which is one of the things Sissy liked about him. He was older, more mature.”

  “So Jack and Doc Sterling arrive and that’s when the doctor noticed the bruising?” I asked.

  “Yes. Hugh asked me if Sissy had fallen down or something, and I told him I didn’t know. I was gone all day. But I knew for sure she didn’t have the bruise there on the side of her face that morning when we talked in the kitchen. It was really more red than purple, but still, I would have noticed. So he said he wanted to make a few calls, and by this time the police had arrived and things got really crazy.”

  “What do the police think?” I asked. “Have they said anything to you lately?”

  Maggie snorted and rolled her eyes. “No. After they questioned me, they talked to the neighbors and pretty much said they believe Sissy killed herself. That was last week when they came by to tell me.”

  “Did they give a reason as to why they believe Sissy killed herself even though there may be evidence to the contrary?”

  “No. And I’ve tried to reach someone for answers, but with the recent discovery of a body out by the river a few days ago, I’ve been given the runaround.”

  I frowned. “Another body? Who is it?”

  Maggie shrugged. “I have no idea. All I’m able to print at this time is that a group of teenaged boys were out in the woods for a fourth of July sleepover. When they awoke the next morning to explore, they found a woman’s body had washed up onto the bank. You have to understand that something like that is highly unusual around these parts. I mean, sure, the town of Roseville has seen a small rise in crime recently, but for the most part, it’s still a very safe place to live. Kids can run around on their bikes, no one locks their house at night. It’s a safe community. Not like the big cities of Philadelphia or New York.”

  “How big is Roseville?”

  “Oh, I guess about forty thousand now.”

  “Do you think this dead woman could be connected to Sissy?” I asked.

  Maggie blinked in surprise. “I don’t see how. I mean, right now I don’t even know her name. From what one of my reporters has told me, no one has come forward to report a missing person. So the police are still trying to figure out who she is.”

  “I don’t like coincidences,” Rex said.

  I didn’t either.

  “Why didn’t Sissy go into the office that Friday?” I asked. “Why was she home instead of at work?”

  Maggie sighed. “Like I said, your sister could sniff out a story like nothing I’d ever seen before. But she was secretive, too. She told me earlier that week that she was on to something, and she’d like a few days to try and piece it together. I told her that was fine. I knew when the story blew, it would be a good one.”

  “But you don’t know what she was working on?”

  Maggie shook her head. “No. And I’ll never forgive myself for not asking. Especially if it comes to be it was the reason she was killed.”

  “One more thing,” I said. “You told me that every Friday you go into the office, right?”

  “Yes.”

  “Like clockwork. A routine?”

  “Yes.”

  I stared into her eyes. “So that means your neighbors are aware you’re gone every Friday too. Right?”

  Maggie’s eye grew wide. “Yes, I guess so.”

  “And they would also know the last Friday of every month you, Jack, and Peggy Sue have dinner in town?”

  “Yes,” she whispered. “I suppose so.”

  Chapter 5

  “Real quick before you leave,” I said as I washed out my coffee cup in the sink, “can you tell me about your neighbors
? If I go across the street today for cocktails and to mingle, who will I be dealing with?”

  Maggie smiled. “Of course. So last night you met Cliff and Nancy Belmont. Or as I like to call her, Nasty Nancy. She’s rude, condescending, and not at all a nice woman. She will try and continually put you in your place.”

  “I don’t see her doing that to you.”

  “Oh, she tried. She wasn’t successful, but she tried. I’ll tell you to do your best to stay away from her. She’s poison, and everything she preaches is poison.”

  “And the husband?”

  Maggie snorted and handed me her mug to wash. “He’s the bank president for Roseville First National Bank. My sources tell me Cliff likes the ladies. Nasty Nancy has no idea, or if she does, she doesn’t let on. But the men like him, he’s good at his job, and he makes sure everyone knows he has the ideal life.”

  I thought about the couple I met last night and figured she was spot on.

  “Also there today will be Wanda Smith,” Maggie continued. “I call her Wet Rag Wanda.”

  “Wet rag?”

  “Yeah, ya know, doll. Wet rag. A party pooper.”

  I laughed. “Yeah, I get it.”

  “So she’s Wet Rag Wanda. She tries hard to be like Nancy, but she falls short. Way short. She dresses like Nancy, repeats what Nancy says. Total bore. And she drinks a lot. Of course, if I was married to her husband, Walter, I’d drink a lot too.” I laughed and followed Maggie out to the foyer where she put a scarf around her head. “I drive a flip-top, so I like to protect my hair.”

  “A flip-top?” I questioned.

  “A rag top.”

  “Oh, a convertible! Nice! So what’s wrong with Walter?”

  Maggie tied a knot under her chin with the scarf. “What isn’t wrong with Walter. He’s the least successful of the men, which makes him overcompensate. He’s a manager for Harold’s Menswear in Roseville. Not really the type of person who would run in the same circles as a bank president and lawyer, but he and Wanda made sure they did everything they could to buy a house out here. I heard they borrowed from her parents. They have twins, Walter Junior and Mabel. Walter Junior is a wanna-be Greaser. Mabel, though, that girl has jets.” At my confused look, Maggie laughed. “Smarts. Brains.”

  “Right. How old are the twins?”

  “Not driving yet, thankfully. So maybe fifteen.” She swiped some lipstick over her lips and turned to me. “Ironically enough, Walter Junior was one of the boys who found the dead body over the fourth of July weekend.”

  “Really? That is interesting.”

  I needed to make sure I had an opportunity to talk with Walter Junior.

  “I can’t prove it,” Maggie said, “but I’ve heard whispers over the last two years that Walter is a supporter of Senator McCarthy. Even after McCarthy’s recent fallout with the government.”

  “Who’s McCarthy?” Rex asked.

  “Senator McCarthy?” I mused. “You mean the Senator who spent years trying to expose people for being Communists?”

  “Yes.” She turned to me and grimaced. “Walter wasn’t a fan of your sister’s. I can remember on two different occasions when they got into a verbal altercation.”

  “Why?”

  “He believed your sister was a Communist simply because your parents immigrated from the Soviet Union. He tried to say she was Red, but no one really believed it.”

  It made my hackles rise that this jerk would automatically dislike Sissy simply because her family came from the former USSR, and then to try and publicly ostracize her made me want to hex him.

  “Any other females?” I asked, hoping the answer would be no. I was going to have a hard enough time not braining Nasty Nancy and Wet Rag Wanda without having more women to fend off.

  “Just Peggy Sue,” Maggie said. “I don’t know why she puts herself in that situation, but she does. I’ve known Peggy Sue since she was a little girl. She’s thirty now. She and Jack grew up together. In fact, Peggy Sue’s parents and mine were friends. Her mother died in a tragic equestrian accident when Peggy Sue was only ten. Her mother went out riding one morning—something she’d always done—and they believe something spooked the horse, causing her to fall and break her neck. The horse returned to the stable with no Sophia. One of the stable hands found her.”

  “That’s horrible,” I said. “Poor Peggy Sue.”

  “Yes. Her father was so distraught. Luckily Peggy Sue’s governess agreed to stay and help raise Peggy Sue until she turned of age. When Jack was in college, he came home one weekend and attended a dance at the country club. He saw Peggy Sue there all grown up, and that was all it took for him. They got engaged, but agreed to hold off on the wedding until after Jack graduated.” Maggie smiled. “The week after he graduated, the two tied the knot. They’re simply mad about each other. I promise, you’ll like Peggy Sue. You just have to give her time. Even outgoing Jack can’t always bring her out of her shell.”

  “Why does she go to these cocktail parties on Friday?” I asked.

  “I think it’s because she wants to prove she’s like everyone else.”

  My brow furrowed. “Whaddya mean?”

  Maggie sighed as she picked up her purse. “Peggy Sue can’t—well, she can’t conceive. She and Jack have been trying for five years now. Of course, Jack couldn’t care less, but Peggy Sue says she feels like a failure as a wife. I think the more she listens to those two brainless twits, Nancy and Wanda, the more she believes what they say.” She walked toward her kitchen. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I really must be going. I’m conducting interviews today to find a replacement for your sister.”

  “Good luck.”

  She let out a bark of laughter. “I should be saying that to you. You’re the one having cocktails across the street.”

  “You’ll be home right after work?” I asked.

  “That’s correct. I’ll be home around five-thirty.” She opened the side door in the kitchen and stepped outside to where her snazzy car was parked under a carport. “You take care today snooping around.”

  Chapter 6

  At two o’clock, I slipped on my flats, tightened the scarf in my hair, tucked Rex in my purse, and shut the front door of Maggie’s home.

  “So while you’re gettin’ hammered,” Rex said, “I’ll snoop around Nasty Nancy’s place and see if I can find any clues.”

  Rolling my eyes, I jogged across the street and up the front porch. I was about to knock when Rosie Belmont came running around the back of the house.

  “Hey,” she called, running up the stairs to stand next to me. “I knew you were coming today.”

  “Well, good for you,” I said.

  “I wore my new dress.” She grabbed the hem of her dress and twirled…her knobby knees knocking against each other, causing her to stumble. “Pretty isn’t it?”

  “Sure is.”

  “Why aren’t you in a dress?” Rosie asked. “Mommy says girls have to wear dresses.”

  Because I didn’t have an appropriate response that wouldn’t have the little girl’s eyes popping from her skull in shock, I raised my hand and knocked on the door. A few seconds later it opened, and Nasty Nancy stared slack jawed at me.

  “Oh, look at you.” She ran her eyes slowly down my body. “Don’t you look…quaint in those pants.”

  Rex’s high-pitched laughter flooded my head. “Two peas! One pod!”

  “Who peed?” Rosie asked.

  Nancy gasped. “Rosie Ann Belmont, what did you just say?”

  Rosie shook her head. “I heard it, mommy. In my head.”

  “Young lady, you better run along and play right now before I—”

  Rosie turned and fled down the front porch stairs and around the house. I almost felt bad for her.

  Almost.

  “Jumpin’ Jehoshaphat! It’s too freaky that girl can hear me!”

  Stepping back from the door, Nancy gestured me inside. “You’re just in time. The other ladies have already arrived. We’re in the l
iving room having cocktails.”

  Instead of the bright yellows and reds of Maggie’s family room, I stepped into a blue and green nightmare. All four walls were wallpapered in a blue and green floral pattern, with matching heavy drapes on the windows. The carpet had a unique swirl pattern to it that nearly made me dizzy enough to faint.

  “You like?” Nancy said, pointing to the sage colored carpet. “Just came out this year. Siboney Royale from Bigelow. Guaranteed one hundred percent virgin wool.”

  I was pretty sure I’d get vertigo before I left the Belmont house this afternoon…between wild, hodgepodge patterns and stiff drinks, I was going to be a goner. Setting my purse down by the couch, I surreptitiously unsnapped the top so Rex could do his thing.

  “Come meet the other girls,” Nancy said.

  I strolled over to where two other women stood next to a rollaway tea cart sipping their drinks and quietly chatting. They could not have been more opposite. The dark-haired woman was tall and imposing, reminding me of a female principal I once had in elementary school. While the blonde was more of a china doll—delicate and fragile. When I stopped next to them, they each gave me a hesitant smile.

  “Girls, this is Sissy’s sister, Alexa,” Nancy said. “Alexa, this is Wanda Smith, and this is Peggy Sue Ellington. Wanda’s husband is the manager of a department store, and Peggy Sue’s husband is our district attorney.”

  Peggy Sue set her drink on the cart and squeezed my arm. “I’m so sorry about your sister.”

  “Thank you.”

  Wanda waved her martini in front of me. “You definitely take after your sister. She’d think nothing of wearing an outfit like that to afternoon cocktails.” She lifted an eyebrow. “Although, even Sissy would manage to at least do her hair.”

  “I think it’s lovely,” Peggy Sue interjected. “Why hide a beautiful face, right?”

  “Why indeed?” I mused, already eager to get out of this place.

  “We usually have martinis,” Nancy said, handing me a drink, “unless you prefer something different.”

  “This is fine,” I said, happy to have something to wrap my hands around—0ther than Wanda’s neck.