Beatrice said, “Annabelle also seemed to be trying to make changes in the town. She was at town hall meetings fighting for a new cell tower.”
Arnold smiled reminiscently. “That was my girl. Yes, she complained about the reception here when she was on the phone with me. We had a lot of dropped calls and then sometimes I couldn’t get through to her line at all and had to leave a message.”
Beatrice said with a smile, “There is also evidence that she was making inroads into the selection of foods at Bub’s Market, down the road.”
Arnold nodded. “She’d mentioned the fact that there weren’t any really high-quality options there. Once she’d gotten her way, she wouldn’t have cared as much.” He paused. “And it was even the same with the guys she was seeing. After the thrill of the chase was over, she wasn’t wanting to pursue the relationship any further.”
Beatrice asked, “So it was natural what happened with Devlin? That she tired of it after they became an established couple?”
Arnold nodded. “In my experience, that’s true.”
“So, in reality, Trixie probably didn’t need to issue her ultimatum to her husband because Annabelle’s and Elias’s relationship was doomed from the start,” said Beatrice.
“That’s right. It wouldn’t have had a chance,” said Arnold. “Trixie would have gotten tired of it in another couple of weeks.”
Wyatt said, “It sounds like that makes the relationship between the two of you even more special. It’s lasted.”
Arnold’s eyes glistened, and he took a moment before he spoke. “Yes. I suppose we beat the odds there. Or almost did. Annabelle was planning on a divorce, as I’ve mentioned, but I was determined to change her mind.”
Meadow returned with not one, but two, plates of food. She laid them down in front of Arnold and said briskly, “I wasn’t sure what you wanted, so I got you some of everything. I can attest to the fact that everything in this restaurant is top-notch.”
Arnold smiled at her and Beatrice could see that driven element that had made him such a success. “I wouldn’t have expected anything less.”
An hour later, Wyatt and Beatrice were back home. They were so full from the reception that they both ended up taking naps. Beatrice woke up feeling groggy and a little unsettled. She felt as though there had been some information that she’d heard that day that she needed to sort through.
Wyatt stirred and woke up, himself, giving her a smile as he stretched.
“How do you feel?” he asked with a yawn.
“Not great, honestly,” said Beatrice. “I think I must have fallen right into a very deep sleep and now I feel groggy. Plus, I still have that over-full feeling from all the food I ate earlier. How about you?”
“I feel completely refreshed,” said Wyatt in an apologetic voice. “In fact, I was thinking about going to my office and getting some things knocked out. Maybe get ahead on my sermons or something.”
Beatrice said, “If you have that much energy, that sounds like a good idea. I’m thinking I should go for a walk. That might help me from feeling so sluggish and clear my head a little.”
At the word walk, Noo-noo’s ears perked up. She grinned her corgi grin at Beatrice, tilting her head to one side and wagging her tiny nubbin of a tail. Beatrice reached out and gave her a rub. “And you can come too, Noo-noo.”
Wyatt hesitated. “Sure you don’t want me to come with you?”
“Not unless you’re dying for a walk for some reason. It sounds like you might end up being more productive doing work,” said Beatrice.
Minutes later, Wyatt set off in the direction of the church, waving as Beatrice hopped into the car to take Noo-noo for a hike on a mountain trail instead of their usual stroll around the neighborhood. Beatrice felt as though she could use a few more hills in her walk today. And Noo-noo especially loved all the smells along the mountain trail.
Beatrice was so deep in her thoughts that she didn’t notice when a car pulled up rather quickly in the small parking lot at the entrance of the trail. Nor did she notice a car door slam as she started heading up the trail at a pace that Noo-noo’s short legs had to work hard to match.
Finally, however, she did notice when a loud, breathless voice fussed, “Beatrice! Slow down!”
Beatrice spun around and sighed with relief to see a red-faced Meadow. “For heaven’s sake! You scared me to death.” Noo-noo trotted over to Meadow and nuzzled her leg.
Meadow gave her an exasperated snort as she reached down to love on Noo-noo. “I think you need to have your hearing checked. I called your name at a very high volume when I stepped out of my car. You didn’t even turn around! If you were scared, it’s your own fault.”
Beatrice sighed. “Sorry. I’m just preoccupied. Thinking about these murders.”
“Well, I am too, and that’s why I followed you when I spotted your car driving toward the trail. I figured you were going for a walk and I decided I’d join you. I happened to have my walking shoes on.” Meadow stuck out a foot to show a well-worn athletic shoe. “It’s a good thing I wasn’t the murderer, or you’d be dead by now.”
They started out on the trail and Meadow said curiously, “So what are you thinking that you’re so absorbed?”
Beatrice said, “I really don’t even know. I keep feeling as if there’s something I’m missing. And after all the food from this morning, and a long nap, I felt like I needed to clear my head.”
Meadow said in a pointed tone, “First of all, can we slow down just a hair? Some of us aren’t quite as fit as others, you know.”
Beatrice immediately slowed her pace and Meadow looked relieved. “Thank you. Besides, I couldn’t keep up a conversation if I was panting from exertion. How about if I tell you what I’m thinking and you can tell me what you think. I can be Watson to your Sherlock.”
“Sounds good. I feel pretty directionless right now.” Beatrice stopped briefly for Noo-noo to sniff at a rhododendron. She glanced over at Meadow.
Meadow said fervently, “I’m thinking that we need to head over to Goldie’s office tomorrow morning and confront her. I want to shake her until her teeth rattle!”
Beatrice chuckled. “You can’t do that, Meadow. Just think what the town will say if the police chief’s wife assaults the downtown developer. Then you really will have plenty of time to figure out how best to decorate the police station.”
“I didn’t say I wanted to assault Goldie. I just want to make her see sense,” said Meadow, looking stormy. “Doesn’t she realize that by withholding information from us that she might be allowing a really dangerous person to strike again?”
“I don’t think she’s deliberately withholding information. She seemed more as if she simply couldn’t remember who she’d been talking to,” said Beatrice mildly.
“Then maybe a little rattling around might make her remember,” said Meadow. Then she said in a quieter voice, “Never mind me. I’m just getting very frustrated. There’s a part of me that wonders if maybe Goldie is the killer, after all. Sometimes it’s the person you’d least expect. And she’s definitely the one that I wouldn’t have picked in a million years as a killer. Still, I keep thinking about how upset she was at that meeting when Annabelle was belittling her.”
“Let’s pay her another visit tomorrow,” said Beatrice. “I can ask her if she remembered anything. Maybe something will have occurred to her. I did sort of put her on the spot at the funeral service.”
Meadow said, “Or maybe she’s gone starry-eyed over Gene, although that’s very difficult to imagine. She could think that somehow Gene is involved and be trying to cover for him. Gene could have told her about the sword and then she realized she needed to conceal the fact.”
“Maybe. Right now it’s hard to say. We might be able to find out more when we talk to her tomorrow. I guess the trick will be to catch her in the office since she’s so frequently out talking with people,” said Beatrice.
Meadow said, “Oh, and we can maybe run by Trixie’s on th
e way over? It’s easier to park over there anyway and then just walk to the town hall.”
“Don’t tell me that you’ve got a chipped nail now! Not after giving me all that grief over mine,” said Beatrice. She unconsciously picked up her pace again, Noo-noo trotting happily along beside her.
Meadow started huffing and puffing again. “Of course I haven’t! Manicures cost too much for me to chip my polish immediately. No, I want to return that shampoo that she foisted on me. It smells wretched, and it made my hair greasy. I mean, kudos to Trixie for being such a good salesperson, but that stuff was no good.”
Beatrice, realizing she’d sped up, slowed back down again. “Got it. Anything else on the agenda for tomorrow?”
“If we’re lucky, maybe we can see Gene while we’re at Goldie’s. I still think his behavior on Monday when Devlin died was really weird. He could use a few follow-up questions.” Meadow stopped short. “Okay, that’s enough exercise for me. I’m heading back to the car. You and Noo-noo enjoy the rest of your walk. And be sure to listen out for killers sneaking up behind you! Don’t get all caught up in your thoughts again.”
“Tomorrow at nine okay, then, for meeting at the salon? Then we can head right over to Goldie’s. If we’re going to have a shot at catching her, we should probably try early,” said Beatrice.
Meadow was intent on getting back down the mountain toward her car and nodded without even turning around. “See you then!”
As she left, Beatrice heard Meadow’s van make that really high-pitched whine and shook her head. Ramsay needed to listen to that and Meadow apparently kept forgetting or else it wasn’t making that noise when she did try to show Ramsay. She’d have to remember to text Meadow when she got home to remind her about it.
The next morning, Beatrice woke up to the smell of breakfast food. She padded out to the kitchen to see a full pot of coffee, sunny-side up eggs and toast, and maple-flavored chicken sausage that Wyatt knew Beatrice especially liked.
She grinned at him. “Can we do this every morning?”
Wyatt laughed. “We could if you didn’t usually wake up before I did. I was just glad to see that you were able to sleep in. You’ve been so busy that I figured you needed your sleep. Maybe your long walk with Noo-noo helped you to relax last night.”
They sat down together and started eating. Beatrice said, “I did sort of sleep in, but I actually have plans this morning, so I should get ready just as soon as we’re done.” She took a big sip of coffee and then added a little more sugar to it. She could use the extra energy.
Wyatt nodded. “You and Meadow are heading over to see Goldie?”
“That’s right. Meadow is obsessed with the fact that Goldie can’t remember who told her about the sword. Although I still give her a pass for forgetting, considering all the people she talks to in a day.” She took a bite of the sausage.
Wyatt said slowly, “And I definitely agree. Goldie talks to so many people that it would be easy to get confused. And maybe she doesn’t want to come out and say who told her the information unless she was absolutely sure. After all, she knows that would incriminate the person.”
“Right. She’d be throwing someone under the bus.” Beatrice finished off her sausage and moved on to her sunny side-up eggs.
Wyatt said, “But she does have an excellent memory. I have worked with Goldie in the past on collaborative projects between the church and the town and have always been amazed that she is able to discuss the most minute details and costs without any sort of notes. Not only that, but she’s a whiz at remembering people’s names. I don’t know how she does it. It’s not just that she seems to know everybody in Dappled Hills, it’s that she even remembers connections between them and where they used to work and where they work now. It’s really phenomenal.”
Beatrice was quiet for a few moments as she finished her food and thought about what Wyatt was telling her. “That’s good to know, thanks. Definitely something to keep in mind. I was thinking that her memory was more like mine—just your average, everyday memory. I have a tough time remembering all the members of the church and I’ve been introduced to some of them multiple times.”
“Yes, but you haven’t always lived here. That gives Goldie more of an edge.” He gave her a serious look. “You’ll be careful, won’t you? I don’t want anything to happen to you. Call me if you run into any problems? I’m not doing anything today that I can’t immediately leave.”
“Of course I will,” said Beatrice, reaching out to give him a quick kiss. “After all, I’m on the buddy system—I’m with Meadow all day. What could go wrong?”
“Let’s not ask that question,” said Wyatt with a crooked smile.
“And what about you? What’s on your agenda for today? What exactly are you doing that you can so easily leave?”
“Meetings,” said Wyatt ruefully. “I’d like to say that there was something else besides meetings, but that’s all I have. Maybe they’ll turn out more interesting than I think.”
“Maybe,” said Beatrice, with a smile. But did meetings ever turn out better? Wyatt always liked to look on the bright side.
Thirty minutes later, Beatrice pulled up in front of Trixie’s salon. She saw no sign yet of Meadow and frowned, checking her watch. As she’d suspected, Beatrice herself was seven minutes late. She waited a few more minutes in the car, but even with the windows down, it was steamy on such a humid day.
Beatrice got out of the car and walked into the salon. She’d wait inside and Meadow could be as late as she liked. Although it was unusual for Meadow to run late at all. As scatterbrained as Meadow could seem, she ordinarily was fairly punctual. Maybe she’d forgotten that she’d wanted to return the shampoo before they talked to Goldie. She certainly had been laser-focused on Goldie, so that could be possible.
Trixie raised her head as the bell on the door rang. It looked as if she was the only one on duty that morning. She gave Beatrice a grin. “Another chip?”
Beatrice returned the grin, studying her nails. “That’s a good guess, but it appears that I’ve been more careful. They’re in pretty good shape. No, Meadow had an errand here, but she seems to be running late.”
“You two still doing your sleuthing?” asked Trixie offhandedly.
Beatrice figured that Trixie, as owner of one of only a couple of salons in town, probably heard a ton of gossip each day. What was more, she probably sought out gossip. She likely became so used to hearing people’s stories that she got hooked on it. The last thing she needed, though, was for Trixie to spread gossip about the investigation around town. Although Beatrice wouldn’t mind getting some information from her.
“Oh, you know. Nothing official. We’re just trying to make heads or tails of things,” said Beatrice with a shrug. “Have you heard anything around town, though?”
Trixie gave her bark of a laugh. “Oh, I hear things. They may not be important things, but I hear them.” She paused. “I did hear that Arnold Tremont, despite treating everyone to a big meal yesterday, is planning on leaving town for good.”
“I think that’s probably the case,” said Beatrice nodding. People would realize that soon enough anyway when a real estate agent put a sign up on the property. “He’s always preferred living in a city. He might enjoy having a short vacation out here once a year, but I doubt he’d want to have a house to upkeep here.”
Trixie sighed. “It’s really just too bad. I hate that big house is going to sit empty like that.”
“Maybe someone will snatch it up,” said Beatrice.
Trixie shook her head. “It isn’t likely though, is it? I sure can’t see anybody in Dappled Hills buying it up. No one would be able to afford it! I thought the same thing when it was being built. Wondered over the resale. Now it’s going to have to be listed far and wide so that some rich person from a city somewhere will buy it as a vacation home.”
Beatrice said, “You’re right, it’ll probably eventually go to someone from out of town. Dappled Hills is a beautiful lo
cation, and it seems like it’s getting the attention from people as a retirement spot and vacation place.”
Trixie was still thinking about the house itself. “I hope Arnold Tremont is getting all that stuff out of there. I don’t think all that art junk adds to the house at all. If anything, it would distract from the house itself. People would be looking at all the tacky art and not the views from the windows and stuff. That house would show better to folks if it was empty.”
Chapter Fifteen
BEATRICE FELT A SMALL shiver go up her spine. She gave a half step back. “How did you know about the art? I thought you said that you’d never gone into the house.”
Trixie gave a sharp laugh. “Right. No, I meant that I figured she had awful taste in art. I didn’t even like some of her clothes. She had that avant-garde thing going on and I really just like normal, traditional stuff. Why not just wear tee-shirts and blue jeans if you’re not doing anything special, right?”
Beatrice took a deep breath. “I hear you. It’s just a little discrepancy, isn’t it? Sort of like the discrepancy when you told me that you were working Monday evening when Devlin was killed.”
Trixie put her manicured hands on her hips and gave Beatrice a belligerent stare. “What are you gabbing about? I was working that night.”
“So you say. But a good friend of mine came by here to get a much-needed manicure and you weren’t here. The other woman was here working by herself and she was booked up,” said Beatrice.
Trixie narrowed her eyes. “Maybe I stepped out back for a cigarette. I was here.”
Beatrice took another step behind her to the door. She could just bolt right out and call for help right now and half of downtown would be right there. But Trixie wasn’t looking at all threatening. She was simply looking put-out.
“But there was someone else I know who I believe did get a manicure from you recently. Goldie Parsons,” said Beatrice.
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