by Sonia Parin
“She phoned the order in,” Belle clipped out and stepped back to inspect her work. “Was there something you wanted?”
Nope. She hadn’t imagined it. Belle had definitely sounded different. Almost disapproving.
“No… I… I thought I’d forgotten to place an order for the inn…”
When Eve lingered, Belle asked, her voice filled with impatience, “Is there anything else I can do for you?”
She found herself making a dozen excuses for Belle’s uncharacteristic frosty attitude. Perhaps she was having a bad day. Eve recalled when she’d first arrived on the island, she’d been encouraged by everyone’s casual friendliness toward her. Of course, being related to Mira had paved the way for her.
“No… I guess we’ll be on our way…”
Jill waited until they’d crossed the street to say, “What do you make of that?”
“You noticed?”
“How could I miss it? The air felt thick with tension.”
Eve shrugged. “Belle’s usually friendly and warm. Then again, she’s working on a flower arrangement for a funeral.”
“You didn’t ask her about the ban. If you ask me, she didn’t want to be all chatty and friendly because she’s only just mailed the official letter.”
“I suddenly feel like a real outsider. Do you have any idea how strange you’re all beginning to look?”
“Strange? No. Unique? Yes.”
They made their way to the Chin Wag Café. When they got there, Jill settled at an outdoor table while Eve went inside to place their orders. That’s where she found Mira and David deep in conversation.
“Here you are. Did you find out anything?” Eve asked.
“Nothing. It’s almost as if the entire town has closed ranks.”
And they were siding with Chad Burrows?
That didn’t bode well for her.
“The service is being held tomorrow, Eve.” Mira exchanged a worried look with David. “We were just talking about it.”
Eve had no idea what compelled her to say, “I hope you’re not about to suggest I stay away.”
Mira cringed. “Well… It might be a good idea. I’m not sure how people will feel with you there. It’s a day of mourning for the family and all his friends.”
“How will my presence distract them from that? And why should anyone mind if I’m there?”
“Please, Eve. Keep your voice down.”
The owner of the café, Cynthia Walker, approached their table.
“Eve. Hello.” She looked past Eve. “Coffee for two?” she asked and took a step toward Eve, almost forcing her to step back.
If she didn’t know better, she’d think Cynthia wanted her to hurry up and step outside.
“Cynthia. Just the person I wanted to speak with.”
Cynthia looked startled by the suggestion that Eve would want to have a conversation with her inside the café. Her eyes darted around. She shook her head. “Maybe some other time.”
“But I’m here now.”
“Fine. What do you want to know?”
Eve’s eyebrows curved up. “Is something wrong?”
“This isn’t the best time, Eve.”
“Why?”
Cynthia lowered her voice. “Look around you. The café is full.” As she spoke, she herded Eve toward the door.
“Hey. Don’t think I haven’t noticed you don’t want me in your café. What’s that about?”
Cynthia gave her a brisk smile. Opening the door and giving Eve a gentle push, she said, “Eve, I don’t know what you mean.”
Eve yelped. “You pushed me.”
Cynthia closed the door and waved at her.
“Unbelievable.” Eve swung around. “Did you see that?”
Jill stopped patting the dogs and looked up. “What happened?”
“She kicked me out of the café.” Eve drew out a chair and sat down. “Well, not exactly… Actually, yes. She shoved me out of there. I’m being ostracized by the good people of Rock-Maine Island, including my own aunt.” Eve swung toward the café and wagged her finger in Mira’s general direction. “She disowned me in public.”
“Who?”
“Mira. She’s in there.”
“Oh, Eve. You tend to exaggerate. Why would she do that?”
“Because she’s siding with the town.”
“Oh, heavens. You’re imagining it. Mira wouldn’t do that. She’s your aunt. She loves you.”
“I wouldn’t be surprised if Cynthia forgets to bring out our coffees.”
“If she does, you’ll owe me two coffees.”
Hearing the café door open, they both turned only to see a couple of locals coming out.
Both women looked at Eve and then hurried off.
At any other time, the two women would have acknowledged Eve with a smile.
“Did you see that?”
“Whatever you think you saw, I’m sure you imagined it.”
“I have a good mind to start a list of people banned from coming to my inn.”
Giving Mischief a scratch behind the ears, Jill said, “Yes, you do that, Eve. I’m sure you’ll feel better for it.”
Eve’s voice flattened, “You’re sitting on the fence! Actually, you’re taking sides. You’re with them.”
“I am not.” Jill shrugged. “I’m first and foremost your friend. But…”
“But, your real loyalty is to the town.” Eve surged to her feet. “I’m not waiting around to be humiliated when Cynthia doesn’t bring out the coffees. Let’s go. And you can go ahead and keep tabs. For your information, I’m keeping tabs too. Are you coming?”
“Yes. Of course, I’m coming with you. After all, I’m your loyal friend.”
Eve snorted. “My fair-weather friend.”
Noticing Mischief and Mr. Magoo lowered their heads and hurried after her, Eve smiled. “At least your dogs know which side their bread is buttered on.”
Chapter Seventeen
“You have enemies? Good. That means you’ve stood up for something, sometime in your life.”
Winston Churchill
“They haven’t ostracized you, Eve. They’re just playing it safe. You know,” Jill shrugged, “sitting on the fence. You just wait and see. It will all be sorted out soon.”
Eve gave an insouciant shrug. “You warned me they’d all band together. If you give people enough time, they will show their true colors, but I refuse to let it upset me.” Of course, it had already upset her, but she would get over it…
They both fell silent.
However, not for long as Eve caved in to the propensity to have the last word, in this instance, at least. “When the police find the real killer, the entire town will have to eat humble pie.”
As if by mutual agreement, they gave up trying to dig up information. It seemed futile to even try when everyone seemed intent on distancing themselves from her.
They walked the rest of the way to the car in silence. Along the way, Eve noticed everyone gave them a wide berth. One person actually crossed the street, while another shielded her toddler.
Eve’s step faltered. “Are you seeing what I’m seeing?” she asked, but Jill had already crossed the street to the car. Eve hurried to catch up with her.
“I’m sure you imagined it.” Jill settled the dogs in the back seat and then got them on their way.
“I should have listened to my instincts,” Eve whispered. “They told me to stay away from town…”
Closing her eyes, Eve focused on shaking off the feeling of defeat. They had set out to collect information about Bernice Glover and had walked away with nothing. Eve knew better than to turn up at her doorstep. It would be asking for trouble and she’d definitely be booted out of the island for callous insensitivity.
Eve yelped.
“Did you just yelp in your sleep?”
“I wasn’t asleep and… I think I hit my panic button.”
“Don’t worry, Eve. We’ll figure this out.”
Yes… But… How
were they going to get any leads without talking to people?
Mischief and Mr. Magoo whined.
“Eve. You’re stressing out the dogs. Take a deep breath and relax.”
“Easier said than done,” she whispered.
The landscape became a blur. It took a moment for Eve to realize Jill must be breaking the speed limit to get them back to Mira’s house before she had a complete meltdown. The next turn she took confirmed it when Eve ended up with her face plastered against the window.
“It was a slight panic attack, Jill, not the hiccups. I doubt trying to scare me works against a bout of panic.”
Jill made the turn into Mira’s drive; making quick work of parking the car and getting the dogs out. “Everyone inside. We have to crack this case.”
Mischief and Mr. Magoo put their heads down and hightailed it inside with Eve trotting after them.
“Right. Where are those colored pens you said you have? You search for those and I’ll put the kettle on. You need some chamomile tea.”
“Strictly speaking, they’re not my pens. They’re Mira’s. When she hits a wall with her writing, she buys pens. Also… An Irish coffee would be better.”
“You need to keep your wits about you, Eve,” Jill called out from the kitchen.
Mischief and Mr. Magoo followed Eve into Mira’s den where she raided Mira’s stash of pens. When she returned to the living room, Jill brought the coffee and tea in, and they both settled down on the couch while Mischief and Mr. Magoo sat with their chins resting on the coffee table.
“I’ve never seen them so interested. They’re probably waiting for me to have another panic attack.”
Picking up a red pen, Jill wrote down the victim’s name. “Let’s start from the beginning and focus on facts.”
“Since I’m still free and we haven’t heard any news about an arrest, I think the police are focusing on someone else.” Eve took a sip of her tea and grimaced. “That’s my guess.” She hoped that meant Chad Burrows’ telephone conversations had yielded a trail for the police to follow.
“Someone else?”
“Any number of people,” Eve said.
Eve imagined all sorts of scenarios, including one where Chad had witnessed a serious crime and had been killed in order to stop him testifying.
“Okay, I agree. Let’s call them Person X. It might be someone who held a grudge against Chad Burrows.”
Eve nodded. “I prefer to think it’s someone who stands to benefit from his death. Honestly, the idea of a grudge causing someone’s death makes me shiver.” She revisited the idea of Bernice Glover being the killer. “They both came to the area at about the same time. We know Chad came here because he inherited the farm. I want to know what brought Bernice to the island. I assume they met here.”
“In other words, you want her reason for coming to the island to be connected to a motive for killing Chad.”
Eve gave it some thought. “Yes. Killers have been known to bide their time.”
“That would make her your regular garden variety cold-blooded killer.”
Again, Eve gave it some thought. “Agreed. She’d also be incredibly calculating and… patient.” Shrugging, she added, “It’s just a thought. Frankly, I prefer my other theory about her being mistreated by Chad.”
“With the incident at the market as the last straw?” Jill asked.
“Yes.”
A knock at the door had Jill rushing to answer it. “It’s Josh,” she called out.
A moment later, they both came into the living room. Josh’s cheeks were bright red. Eve imagined Jill had given him a proper welcome.
Then again…
“I just warned Josh he’d better have some news or else it’s the doghouse for him.”
When he picked up Jill’s mug, she said, “I’ll get you some cookies.” She brought out a plate. “Eve made them.”
Josh didn’t hesitate. Taking one, he bit into it.
“Good to see you’re not afraid.” She turned to Eve. “See, not everyone is afraid of you.”
“I should subject everyone to the chocolate chip cookie test. That way, I’ll know who my true friends are.”
Jill blinked. In the next breath, she snatched a cookie and bit into it. “Happy now?”
“I’m always happy, even when I’m not smiling.” She picked up a red pen and circled Bernice Glover’s name. If she suspected someone of poisoning Jack, would she want to confront them or would she be too overcome with grief?
Shaking her head, Eve thought she wouldn’t rest until the person responsible was brought to justice.
“Josh, do you have something for us?”
“I sure do. At least, I think I do.”
“Spare us the preamble and spit it out,” Jill demanded. Noticing Josh’s surprise, she added, “Sorry, I just witnessed Eve having a mini-meltdown. It put me on edge.”
Josh finished his cookie and took a sip of coffee. Eyeing the plate of cookies, he said, “Wallace Greenaway doesn’t just sell vegetables, he also sells pies and cakes.”
Eve nodded while Jill scoffed, “That’s not news, Josh.” She moved the plate of cookies away from his reach.
“On the day in question, he had pecan pie and… drumroll… banana cake.”
Jill surged to her feet. “He didn’t.”
“He did. Can I have another cookie?”
“Only if you can tell us who purchased the banana cake.”
“Cakes. There were several. Cynthia Walker from the Chin Wag Café bought three because her oven is on the blink. The rest were sold to people from the mainland. The police caught up with the two they identified from the photos and they’re still looking for two more.”
“I looked at the photos and I don’t remember seeing anyone walking around with cakes.”
Josh licked the crumbs off his fingers. “That’s because Phil Forrester didn’t show you all the photos.”
“He withheld information from me?”
“He probably didn’t think it was relevant.”
Eve exchanged a look with Jill. “We were right to include Person X.”
Jill gave him a cookie. “What else?”
Josh leaned forward and lowered his voice. “One of the banana cakes went missing. Wallace made a huge fuss about it.” He looked at Eve. “He accused you of stealing it.”
Eve gasped. “Me?”
Josh nodded. “He said you created the distraction in order to steal the cake. He’s pressing charges.”
“That’s outrageous. Please tell me that’s when the police decided they couldn’t believe a word he says.”
Jill reasoned, “If they thought they had a case against you, you would have heard from them by now.”
The fact her cake had been identified as the weapon still didn’t sit well with Eve. Surely there had to be a way to tell if it had been her cake or… an impostor cake.
Eve gasped again and shot to her feet. “Of course. The molasses sugar! The police need to check the cake they found at Chad’s house for molasses sugar. If it doesn’t have any, then it isn’t mine.”
Jill laughed. “You want them to test the cake’s molecular structure?”
“If it helps prove my innocence. Yes, absolutely.”
Despite the sound of Jill’s laughter, Eve heard a car pull up. A moment later, Mira and David walked in.
“Hello. Here you are.” Mira picked up a cookie and sat down next to Eve.
“Where else would I be? Cynthia practically booted me out of the café.”
Mira nearly choked on the cookie. “Yes, we noticed you were encouraged to leave.”
“And?”
“And what?” Mira could not have looked more innocent.
“A little disapproval would go a long way. You know… Show you’re on my side.”
“But I am on your side.” Mira looked at David. “We both are.”
Jill clapped her hands. “Can we please get on with it. We’ve had a breakthrough with the cake.” Jill told them abou
t Josh’s news. “It might not have been Eve’s cake after all.”
“What? It was never my cake. How many times do I have to declare my innocence? Shame on you for not taking my word for it.”
Mira gave her a reassuring smile. “We have some news too. The day Chad Burrows died, Bernice Glover was seen driving out of the island. Presumably headed to the farm.”
Eve brightened. “That would place her at the scene of the crime.”
“Quite possibly, yes. Unfortunately, no one saw her actually drive up to the farm.”
Eve tried to refocus her rattled mind. “Where did you hear this?”
“At the Chin Wag Café. I heard the people sitting at the next table talking about it. We also heard the same story at the bakery.”
“See, Eve. You’re not the only one people are keeping tabs on.”
And yet, Eve couldn’t quite picture Bernice being evicted from the café…
“You might be in luck, Eve.” Mira gave her a brisk smile. “A witness might come forward and say they saw someone with a banana cake. Someone other than you, of course.”
Chapter Eighteen
“Now then, what do we know? One, that Professor Fassbinder and his daughter have been kidnapped. Two, that someone has kidnapped them. Three, that my hand is on fire.”
Peter Sellers, The Pink Panther Strikes Again
“I didn’t know the Farmers’ Market had a website.” Another sign of her lack of knowledge about the island, Eve thought.
Jill pointed at the computer screen. “I don’t know why it didn’t occur to look before. And, look… they’ve been posting photos every week. Here’s Wallace Greenaway’s stall. Lots of vegetables and no cakes in sight.”
Eve leaned in for a closer look. “Judging by the slant of the shadows, it’s late in the day. He might have sold out. Also, those photos are from last week.”
Jill scrolled down the page. “There are more. Oh… Here are some with cakes and it’s a recent photo.”
“Do you see any banana cakes? One of them might be the killer.”
Jill gave her a lifted eyebrow look.