“Would you like a muffin, Leslie? They’re chocolate chip.” Jill placed the muffins in a basket and brought them to the table with a stack of small plates.
“Sure, I love chocolate chip!” Leslie took a small plate and a muffin.
“You’re not vegan are you?” Jill asked.
“Nope. Carnivore and animal product eater all the way.” Leslie blew on her muffin and bit in. “Mmm. Delicious again. I may have to just move in here and go into business with you so I can get muffins like these all the time!”
Seemed a little over the top to me. I mean, the muffins were great, don’t get me wrong. It just seems like a poor business decision to base it on muffins and Maxwell House.
I finished my muffin and my coffee and stood up. “I’m going to go for a hike. Want me to take Roscoe? I’m not going to do anything super strenuous.” Like a lot of large breed dogs, Roscoe wasn’t usually on board with long hikes in the mountains. He tended to amble.
“Sure. He’d love a walk.” At his name, Roscoe stood up and wagged his tail lazily.
“Nice to meet you,” I said to Leslie. I went into my room to get changed. I suppose we should have mentioned the murder to Leslie before she agreed to book a room. Oh well, I’m sure Jill will mention it.
Chapter Six
After I changed into some shorts and a t-shirt, I packed some water for myself and Roscoe and hauled him into Jill’s Jeep. She has a Grand Cherokee because it’s the only model that Roscoe fits comfortably in. Even then, she has to keep the seats folded down so he fits!
In the parking lot, I noticed an older model Subaru. There was an HRC equality sticker on the back bumper. Hmm. Interesting. Either Leslie was gay or she just supported them. I’d guess the former. It didn’t matter either way, it was just interesting.
We headed out to Price Lake Trail, an easy mile out and back trail. I chose it because it’s a flat and easy trail, well suited for elderly people and wolfhounds. Wolfhounds can run incredibly fast, like other sighthounds, but Roscoe doesn’t really have that ambition. When he was a pup, he’d run quite fast, but now he’s more of an ambler.
We arrived at the trailhead and I clipped his leash on, though it isn’t really necessary. Some people are a little intimidated by his size, however, so we usually keep him on leash.
Roscoe and I headed out on the trail at a leisurely pace. I wasn’t in it for exercise today. If I was, I wouldn’t have brought Roscoe. I really just wanted to clear my head a little-sort of wrap my mind around all that was happening. I’d need to get it all straight if I was going to have dinner with our parents tonight.
I wondered if there was anything to the jealous ex theory.
When I was in college, I had a boyfriend for about three months. I realized it wasn’t going to work between us when I found out that he didn’t expect his future wife to have a job. In fact, he was totally against it. I don’t know why he bothered dating girls in college. I broke it off quickly after that and he pestered me for an additional six months, twice the length of our relationship. He would show up at my dorm, sit in on some of my classes and once totally lost it when I went out with another guy. I had to threaten a restraining order before he finally left me alone and moved on to some other poor girl.
It’s not completely out of the realm of possibility that her ex followed her here and killed her. No one knew her here; why would anyone kill her? Plus, she had to know her attacker. She had to be the one to let him in. Jill was very conscientious, always making sure things were locked up by ten sharp every night. Guests are given a key to the front door as well as their room and told that if they returned after ten, to please lock up or face a fine.
Who else besides an ex-boyfriend would want to kill her? I guess anyone she had a disagreement with, if the person was crazy enough. Coworkers, friends (or ex-friends), even family members. What if her family disapproved of who she was dating enough that they killed her? Admittedly, that’s probably a little far-fetched.
Roscoe and I made it back to the Jeep and headed back to the B&B for a shower for me and another bowl of water for him. When I got there, Jill and Leslie were nowhere that I could see. I headed into Jill’s apartment and was surprised to see them curled up on the couch chatting and drinking coffee.
“Hey, what’s going on?” I asked as I filled Roscoe’s water bowl. I was taken aback to see Leslie there. Jill is usually very private about her personal space and I’ve never known her to invite a guest in.
“We were just talking. Leslie was telling me how she just graduated from Davidson College.”
“Oh?”
“It took me a little longer than most people because I had to work. I had a soccer scholarship but tore my ACL in my sophomore year. In order to keep paying tuition, I had to have a job, so I went part time.” Leslie sipped her coffee.
“You couldn’t play anymore after your injury?” I asked as I fixed a turkey sandwich.
“Not competitively. Davidson has a great program. I still play now for fun, though. I played in a women’s league in Charlotte for the past three years.”
“Gotcha.” I slapped some mustard on my sandwich and called it done. I brought it and a large glass of ice water over to one of the armchairs flanking the couch.
“How was your walk?” Jill asked.
“Good! We went to the Price Lake Trail. Roscoe was positively spunky.” I took a huge bite of my sandwich and looked over at Roscoe. He was flat out on his side against the wall. He probably wouldn’t move until tomorrow sometime. “Did you tell Leslie about the, ah, you know,” I trailed off.
“Yes. I did.” Jill looked troubled. Well, no wonder.
“It’s just awful. I can’t believe someone would do something like that!” Leslie said.
“I put her in the blue room on the third floor. Further away from the scene of the crime.”
“That’s a good idea,” I replied finishing off my sandwich. “I’m going to go shower and take a nap. Don’t forget we have to go to my parents’ house tonight.”
“Oh, jeez.”
“Looking forward to it?” Leslie asked.
“Like a root canal.”
I snorted as I went into my room. The large master bathroom joined my room and Jill’s room, which was nice. I took a nice long, hot shower and put on some yoga pants and a t-shirt with a Corgi wearing sunglasses on it. I bundled my wet hair into a bun and flopped facedown onto the bed. Chester slunk out from under the bed and heaved himself up to lay on my butt. Better than my chest, I guess.
I fell almost instantly asleep and dreamed that a faceless person was chasing me with a fire hydrant. I tried to run as fast as I could but my knees kept buckling and I could barely stand up, let alone run. I never got to see the face of my assailant.
Chapter Seven
Jill pounded on my door around five-thirty. I jolted awake, startling Chester who’d spent the past three hours napping on my butt, sending him scurrying to the floor.
“What, for Pete’s sake?” I yelled.
“We have to leave! Mom’ll be pissed if we’re late! We’re supposed be there now!”
Oh man. I jumped up and redid my messy bun, which was all the messier for sleeping on it wet. Good thing it’s an actual style nowadays.
I checked my clothes and then decided I didn’t care. Take me as I am, is what I say, though my mother will likely comment on my uber-casual attire.
I headed out to meet Jill and we jogged to the Jeep. I jumped in the passenger side just as Jill gunned the engine.
“What’s Leslie doing?” I asked. She was alone in town, what did she have to do? Not that I would have invited her to my parent’s house. I wouldn’t wish that on anyone.
“She went into town to find someplace to eat. I gave her some recommendations. She said she doesn’t mind eating alone.”
“Gotcha.”
We pulled into my driveway at five-thirty-eight. Tracey stood on the porch looking disapproving.
“Sorry!” I called out as we slamm
ed our doors. “My fault. I overslept.”
“Overslept? In the afternoon? Did you sleep all day long?” she asked as we followed her inside.
“No. I just didn’t get a lot of sleep last night, so I took a nap.”
“Sleeping your life away,” Tracey said who, like my mother, couldn’t imagine having a moment during the day where you actually didn’t do anything. They had so many hobbies and jobs. My mother worked part-time at the library and part-time at the YMCA. Tracey was a personal trainer at the Y and taught Sunday school at church and tutored two days a week. They both have tried all the hobbies Pinterest has to offer from painting to candle-making to soap-making. They even tried woodworking for a minute.
Jill and I headed into the living room where my father and her father were watching baseball. Jill’s father, Greg, had classic Ken doll good looks. He was the captain of the football team in high school and mega-smart as well. He was a lawyer and had his own firm in town, a jack of all trades type lawyer for the folks of Pine Forest.
Don’t get me wrong, my dad was handsome too. He was just, my dad. Mike Cavender had to be good looking in order to bag the other half of the Fitzgerald sisters, who were gorgeous and had been co-captain of the cheerleading squad with Tracey. He was a general contractor with his own construction company. He did a lot of renovations for houses and buildings in Pine Forest as well as new developments and subdivisions in the region. He did a lot of work for Jill at the B&B when she was renovating.
“Hey Dad, Uncle Greg!” I sat down on the couch.
My mom poked her head into the room. “Nope. Get up and help set the table. Did you come from a yoga class?” she asked, one eyebrow raised as she took in my attire.
I rolled my eyes and followed her into the kitchen. I picked up the stack of plates and took them into the dining room which had the only table that would fit us all. Ted was obviously there and Jill’s younger sister Mandy was there, too. She was a senior in college at Appalachian State, studying education and music. She was a phenomenal singer, but she realistically knew she needed a career to fall back on. She was president of an all-female acapella group at App. She was basically a slightly shorter version of Jill. In other words, gorgeous. The fall semester started in a couple weeks.
I set the plates at each place and returned to the kitchen for silverware and napkins. Jill rounded the corner with glasses and we set the table in the synchrony of a well-practiced routine.
“Come get it if you want to eat!” my mom bellowed from the kitchen.
Ted thundered down the stairs and flew into his seat at the table. Teenage boys never miss a meal. The others made their way into the dining room and we all took our customary seats. There’s rarely been a week in my 29 years that passed without at least one family dinner with Jill’s family.
“Yes! Spaghetti!” Ted shouted and reached for the spaghetti ladle.
“Hold it!” Mom cried. “We say the blessing before we start filling our plates! And you can do it.”
Ted grumbled but bowed his head anyway. “Dear God, thank you for today and all of our many blessings. Thank you for this food. And thank you that my sister and cousin didn’t get murdered too. Amen.”
There was a slight gasp around the table at the blunt statement, but I knew he was concerned if he’d mentioned it at all. “Thank you, Teddy Bear.” I grinned at him, using his baby nickname.
He rolled his eyes. “Well, if you were dead, who would help me deal with these two?” he asked, gesturing to our parents.
“Excuse me, DEAL with us?” My mom was affronted. “No one needs to help you DEAL with us. But let’s get back to the murder. Why did neither of you think to call your mothers when you found a DEAD BODY?”
“We just knew you’d freak out. We would have called you today if you hadn’t woken us up at the break of dawn.” Jill scooped some spaghetti on her plate. “Pass the sauce?”
“Well, you should have called yesterday. Pass the salad,” Tracey said. “Back us up here, Greg.”
“Next time you find a dead body, call your mother.” Greg pointed at us with his garlic bread. Mom and Tracey rolled their eyes.
“Who was it, anyway?” Mandy asked.
“A guest. Her name was Heather,” Jill replied. “She was traveling alone; I have no idea who could’ve done it.”
“Do the police have any suspects?” Mandy inquired.
“Not yet. Or at least, not that I know of.”
“Was she hot?”
“Theodore Silas! What difference does that make?” Mom asked, glaring at him.
“I’m just sayin’. If she was hot maybe her boyfriend killed her or something. Or like, some stalker.”
“Ted. Are you saying only hot women get stalked and killed?” I asked him.
“Yeah! I mean no,” he amended when he saw five furious stares around the table.
“That’s sexist,” Mandy put in.
“Don’t worry, I’m sure someone will stalk and kill you one day.” Ted shoveled spaghetti into his mouth.
“Ted! Jeez.” Jill said.
“Whatever, that means I’m hot.” Mandy shrugged and laughed.
“Anyway! Tracey and I were talking,” Mom interjected, “and we’ve decided that we should move into the B&B until this whole thing is wrapped up.”
“Oh, heck no!” Jill yelled. “No. No way. Isn’t happening.”
My dad looked up and met Greg’s eyes. “It’s a good idea. You guys need to be safe. No one would mess with you with these two around.” Yeah, right. I wasn’t fooled. He just wanted unlimited access to the television so he could watch his baseball games.
“I’m not sure that’s necessary,” I said. “I’m going to stay with Jill.”
“Of course it’s necessary. We’re your mothers. Is the Lavender Suite open?”
“Yes, but-”
“Then we’ll just stay there!”
“That’s my best room!” Jill cried.
“We can move if you book it. What other guests do you have coming?” Tracey asked.
“I have a couple coming tomorrow, as well as a single guy. He’s a birdwatcher or something.”
“Well, I would feel more comfortable if we were there. You won’t even notice us.” Yeah, right. They were small but strident. “We can help you with breakfast for your guests. I’ll get started planning and go to the grocery store tomorrow.”
I looked at Jill. “I guess there’s no point arguing. They’ll show up regardless.”
Jill sighed. “Yeah. Ok.”
“Great. We’ll be there later tonight.” Awesome.
Chapter Eight
Dinner wrapped up and Jill and I headed home. “How do you think this is going to go?” I asked her, as we got in the Jeep.
“Insane. It’s going to be insane. Though it will be nice to have them cook breakfast. And knowing them, they’ll bake their faces off which will only benefit us and our guests.”
“True. They do love to bake.”
We pulled up at the B&B a minute later and headed in the back way through Jill’s apartment. Roscoe pushed out past us to go pee and Chester meow-screamed at us because his dinner was late.
“Chill out, Ches. It’s coming.” I pulled out a pack of his diet food. I poured the vittles into his bowl while he tried to smush his face in before I was done. A few pieces bounced off Chester’s head, but I don’t think he noticed.
“I’m going to go check on Leslie and see if there is anything she needs.” Jill headed out into the B&B.
I stretched and sighed. To say our moms were overbearing is like saying a hurricane might cause a little rain. It would be interesting to have them here.
Mom and Tracey arrived about an hour later. I heard the commotion and headed out into the B&B.
“Here, Mom. I can take that,” I heard Jill saying.
“I have it. Can you bring us some extra towels and washcloths? And is there any tea?” Tracey inquired.
“I can. I don’t think there’s any tea made, tho
ugh.”
“I’ll make some,” I volunteered.
“Orange pekoe?” Mom said hopefully.
“I think we have that,” Jill said. “It’s in the cabinet beside the stove.”
“Got it.”
I headed back into the kitchen and stuck the kettle on the stove, turning up the burner. I rustled in the cabinet until I found the orange pekoe then I retrieved the teacups and saucers from another cabinet.
I stared into space until the kettle whistled, thinking about Heather and the murder. How were our police going to figure this out? I mean, I guess it’s their job and all. Still. I wish I could do something to help.
I poured the boiling water into a teapot and dropped some orange pekoe bags into it. I set the pot and the cups and saucers on the table. Jill stomped back into the kitchen.
“They want their tea upstairs while they unpack.” She loaded a tea tray and carried it back out of the room. I shook my head. I got along with my mom and aunt pretty well, most of the time. Jill seemed to butt heads more with her mom and by extension, my mom.
I made myself a cup of Sleepy Time tea and added milk and sugar. I sat at the table and sipped until Jill returned.
“They’re unpacking. They said they’ll make a casserole for breakfast in the morning.”
“Yum. So, you have three total guests checking in tomorrow?”
“Yep. The couple is expected by one and the single guy sometime in the late afternoon.”
“Do you get a lot of people staying here alone? It seems odd.”
“Some. People like to get away and sometimes they don’t have anyone to get away with.” Jill shrugged.
“I guess,” I said. “Well, I’m going to go to bed. I’m beat.”
“I’ll be in there in a little while. Leslie is coming down for some tea after her shower.”
“Ok. See you in the morning.”
“Goodnight.”
I headed into the apartment and straight into my room. Weird how easily I’ve started thinking of it as my room. Chester followed me leisurely into the room before I shut the door.
Sleeping Dogs Lie Page 3