by Jessica Beck
“Does that mean that we’re unofficially moving her from a bubble to a square?” Grace asked me.
“I think we have to. I’m not sure what it is, but I have a hunch there’s something Kerry isn’t telling us, and besides, we still need to ask her about the boxes Annabeth mentioned in her diamonds. We never had the chance when we were inside.”
“Not only that, but we forgot to ask Martin Lancaster about the car she mentioned at Marcast. Wow, we’re not having a banner day of investigating, are we?”
“We’re a bit rusty,” I admitted, “but we’ll get better at this. We have to. There’s no way we can let Annabeth’s killer go free.”
“In the meantime, what do you think about going to Napoli’s for an early dinner? I don’t know about you, but I hate to pass up the opportunity to eat there when it’s just a few blocks away.”
“You twisted my arm,” I said. “A great meal would be nice, and besides, it will give us some time to think about what we’ve learned so far.”
“Then it’s a date,” she said as we got into the Jeep and headed to our favorite Italian restaurant in the world. Though I’d just seen the entire DeAngelis crew that morning, I had no problems running into them again, especially if it meant I was going to get one of their meals.
It wasn’t meant to be, though.
At least not immediately.
Grace and I had been seated by Maria, one of Angelica’s lovely daughters, for less than two minutes when Kerry Minter herself walked into the restaurant. The moment she spotted us, she walked directly to our table and glared at us.
“Are you two following me?” she asked worriedly.
“How could we possibly do that, when we were here first?” Grace asked her with just as much punch in her reply. My best friend wasn’t one who tolerated being pushed around by anyone, and it was one of the traits I admired about her.
Her legitimate question didn’t even faze the art supply store owner. “I don’t know how you did it, but clearly you somehow managed it. Did you look at my datebook while you were in my shop?”
“How could we possibly do that? Besides, if we wanted to talk to you longer, we would have stayed in your shop before you closed it so suddenly,” I explained. “But since you’re here, I have something else I want to ask you.”
She sighed before she answered, clearly already tired of us. “I’m really sorry about Annabeth, but the truth is that I’m not really interested in answering any more of your questions. I’ve already said way too much as it is. My friend is dead too, and I want to mourn her in peace, if it’s all the same to you,” she said as she waved Maria off. “You know something? All of a sudden I think I’d rather eat at home alone.”
Kerry started to walk out, so I got up, with Grace close on my heels. I wasn’t about to let her off the hook just because she was being a little too sensitive about our line of questioning.
“Are you leaving, too?” Maria asked, clearly concerned by our exit.
“Yes, but no worries, we’ll be right back,” I said as we headed back out of the restaurant. “Save our table.”
“Of course,” she said.
We caught up with Kerry in the parking lot before she could go far. “What happened to Annabeth in your shop recently?” I asked her point-blank.
That certainly got her attention. Kerry stopped and turned back toward us. “What are you talking about?”
“We told you that we were Annabeth’s friends,” I said. “Why wouldn’t she tell us what happened at Artie’s?”
“If she told you about anything, then you shouldn’t have to ask me,” Kerry Minter said. Actually, she had a point, but we couldn’t let that stop us.
While I was fumbling for a response, Grace asked, “Are you really going to make us say it? Annabeth mentioned there were boxes involved in the incident at your shop.” It wasn’t exactly a lie, at least not in the strictest sense of the word.
“Some boxes fell near her while she was shopping in the store,” Kerry explained. “She probably nudged them herself without realizing it. I’m the first to acknowledge that I put too many things in the aisles. Shoot, I tripped over a display myself when you were there earlier, so you saw that for yourselves. She wasn’t hurt, so we both figured no harm, no foul.”
“What was in the boxes?” I asked.
“Does that really matter? Like I told you, none of them hit her,” Kerry replied.
“Well, if they were full of feathers, they wouldn’t have done much damage,” I explained, “but if you were storing anvils in them, then it would be a different story altogether.”
“They were pretty heavy,” Kerry acknowledged. “But like I said, she wasn’t hurt. I apologized, and that was that, at least as far as she was concerned.”
“Where were you when it happened?” Grace asked her, a very good question indeed.
“I was up front helping a new customer. She was looking for something for her granddaughter’s birthday, but she left without buying a thing,” she said. “If that’s why you’re asking, I couldn’t have knocked those boxes over myself by accident.”
“Was anyone else in the store when it happened?” I asked.
Grace nodded and gave me a strong smile. I was just glad that I had some questions of my own to ask.
“I’m sure there were at least a few people there,” Kerry answered.
“What I want to know is if any of the following people were shopping there when the boxes fell,” I said. “Martin Lancaster. Galen. Christopho Langer. Bonnie Small. Were any of them there?”
Kerry looked troubled by my list, but it was clear she wasn’t all that thrilled about cooperating. “Give me a break, you two. I don’t see how I can tell you that.”
“So then you have something to hide,” Grace said in an accusatory tone.
“I just told you, I wasn’t around her when it happened!” Kerry’s face had reddened when she’d responded to Grace’s accusation, but she quickly managed to get herself under control again.
“But at least one of the names on our list was present, or you wouldn’t be reacting the way you are,” I said as sympathetically as I could muster, stating it as a fact and not a supposition, which up until a few seconds ago, it clearly was.
“Okay, I’ll tell you, but you’ve got to promise me that you won’t tell anyone who told you.” She turned to me and made her appeal. “Suzanne, you know how tough it can be to run a small business. Give me a break here, will you?”
“We won’t tell anyone else if there is any possible way to avoid it,” I said.
“I guess I have to take your word for it. Galen and Christopho were in the store when it happened, too,” she finally admitted.
“Could either one of them have done it?” I asked.
“I honestly have no idea. Galen is a wild card, and if Christopho did it, I can’t imagine why, but if you’re looking for their motivations, you’ll have to speak with them about it. I’m going home now, but I want you both to remember your promise. Please don’t tell anyone I told you. It could really hurt Artie’s, and I’m hanging on by a thread as it is.”
“We won’t talk,” I said, and Grace nodded in agreement.
“Are things really that bad at Artie’s?” I asked her, feeling an outpouring of sympathy for a fellow small business owner.
“Well, they aren’t great,” she said. “I just love art so much, you know? If my business fails, I don’t know what I’m going to do with the rest of my life.”
I patted her shoulder. “Hang in there. Maybe things will turn around for you soon.”
“I surely hope so,” she said, and as we left, I felt myself feeling a great deal of compassion for the woman. There had been times in my past that I hadn’t been sure I could keep the donut shop open another day, but somehow things had worked themselves out. Not everyone was as lucky as I’d been, though.
It was a cold hard world out there and getting tougher for the little guy every day.
As Kerry Minter meekly walked away, clearly a woman beaten down by her circumstances, Grace started after her.
“Where are you going?” I asked her as I put a hand on her shoulder in order to restrain her.
“I’m not finished talking to her yet, are you?” she asked me.
“Grace, maybe this time we just let it go,” I told her in as soothing a voice as I could muster. “After all, we got what we were looking for. She just said that she wasn’t close enough to push those boxes over onto Annabeth.”
“If she’s telling us the truth,” Grace said. “I still want the name of that customer, so I can confirm what she just told us.”
I looked at Grace for a moment before I answered. “Do you honestly think she’s going to give us that information willingly? I doubt she even knows who it was herself, but even if she does, she’s not going to tell us. She’s just trying to protect what’s left of her business, Grace. What we need to do is ask Galen and Christopho if they were at Artie’s when it happened. Maybe we can catch someone in a lie that way.”
“Maybe,” Grace said reluctantly. “You’re right. It’s the best we can do with what we’ve got at the moment.”
“Hey, cheer up a little. At least we’ve made some progress,” I said. “What do you say we get a bite to eat now?”
“Yes, I like that idea,” she said, though she still glanced over her shoulder toward Kerry Minter’s fleeting back as we walked back into Napoli’s.
Angelica was waiting for us at the door. “Ladies, what are you two up to?” she asked us. “Maria said you had words with Kerry Minter in my restaurant.”
“I’m sorry,” I quickly apologized. I knew that Angelica had been known to banish customers who caused a fuss at Napoli’s, and I couldn’t bear the thought of not being able to eat there whenever the mood struck me. It would be a tragic loss, and I wasn’t being overdramatic describing it that way. “We went outside before anyone raised their voices.”
“Tell me all about it,” Angelica said as she led us back to our table and pulled out a chair for herself. Once we were all seated, our restaurateur asked, “Suzanne, are you all right?”
“I’m fine, a-okay,” I said, a little confused by the question. “Why do you ask?”
“You seem a little stressed, that’s all,” she said, and then she turned to Grace. “You see it too, don’t you?”
“I’d really rather not answer that, if it’s all the same to you,” Grace said, avoiding making eye contact with either one of us.
“Hang on a second,” I said, fighting to keep my voice even and level. “What’s going on here? Is this some kind of intervention?”
“Suzanne, you have been a little on edge since you got back home,” Grace said apologetically. “It’s perfectly understandable, but I can’t, or I should say I won’t, lie to Angelica about it. Admit it. You feel it, too. It’s okay not to always be the strongest person in the room, you know.” She looked as though she wanted to cry because of her admission.
“We both know why I’m stressed right now,” I said softly.
“I know,” Grace said. “I’m sorry I said anything.”
“You didn’t, at least not willingly, but I did,” Angelica said as she reached out both hands and patted ours gently. “Let’s go, ladies.”
“You’re throwing us out?” I asked, my voice full of angst at the prospect of being evicted.
“Of course not,” she said with a smile. “You’ll be dining in the kitchen where we can chat while you eat,” she said as she looked around the room. Angelica had a point. Several of her customers were watching us intently, and no doubt listening in as well, though everyone’s attention turned quickly elsewhere when Angelica made eye contact with each and every one of them.
“I’m good with that,” I said.
As we followed Angelica into the kitchen, Grace reached over and squeezed my hand. “I’m sorry I said anything just then. Forgive me?”
“Yes, but if you’re worried about me, don’t wait to tell me in front of one of our friends.”
“How about our enemies?” she asked, daring a slight grin.
I had to laugh, she looked so unsure of herself, a rare state of mind for Grace. “In front of anyone.”
“Agreed,” she said.
Once we were in the kitchen, we found Sophia eating one of the donuts they’d bought earlier that morning. “These are so great,” she said with a grin, showing raspberry filling on her teeth, powdered sugar on her lips, and a big smile through it all.
“How many of those have you had today, young lady?” Angelica asked her youngest daughter critically.
“Hey, I’m a growing girl,” Sophia protested. “I need it.”
“Growing, yes, but let’s not get carried away,” Angelica said, softening her expression.
“I’m trying to restrain myself, but they are just so darn good,” Sophia replied, and both women smiled softly at each other. It was clear that Angelica loved all of her daughters equally, but just as clear that her baby had a special place in her heart.
“What happened to putting them on the dessert menu?” I asked with a grin.
“Mom wanted to, but we overruled her,” Sophia said with more than a hint of laughter in her voice.
After we were seated at the small family table in the kitchen where we dined at times, Angelica plated up food rather randomly, or so it seemed to me, before placing a dish in front of each of us. I wasn’t about to complain. There was nothing on the menu I didn’t relish eating, and I knew for a fact that Grace felt the same way. “What is your issue with Kerry Minter?” she asked as we each took our first bites of food.
The amazing textures and tastes weren’t lost on me, but the question did dim my enjoyment a bit. “Angelica, we can tell you, but it can’t leave this kitchen.”
“Ooh, speak up a little. I want to hear, too,” Sophia said gleefully.
“Young lady, you’ve had too much sugar for your own good. Go ask Maria if she’s going to be able to work tonight.”
“Come on, I won’t tell anyone what you talk about,” Sophia protested, clearly understanding the reason her mother was asking her to desert the kitchen for a few moments.
“Sophia,” her mother repeated, speaking her daughter’s name in a warning manner.
“Okay, but if the sauce burns, it’s on you,” she said, and then she waved at us both before she exited the kitchen.
“You didn’t have to get rid of her on our account,” I said.
“Please, she was due for a break when you arrived. This way she and Maria will have a chance to discuss how crazy their mother is.” She laughed as she added the last bit.
“I’m sure you’re wrong,” I protested.
“And I’m just as certain that I’m right. Now, what’s this about?”
I had no choice, and yet I still hesitated before I dragged my friend into this. Grace finally coughed and said, “Suzanne, if you don’t want to tell her, I’ll do it.”
“No, I can handle it.” I turned to Angelica and asked, “Did you happen to know Annabeth Kline?”
The restaurateur’s face saddened instantly. “Of course. I heard about the accident. She dined with us here occasionally, and I was always struck by how alive she seemed. Ironic, isn’t it? There’s just no way of knowing when an accident will strike someone so vibrant down in the prime of her life.”
“That’s true enough, but we have reason to believe that what happened to Annabeth was no accident,” I explained.
Chapter 13
“Suzanne, what are you talking about?” Angelica asked, the concern thick in her voice. “She fell off a ladder in her studio. Everyone knows that.”
“Not only does that look unlikely, but we’ve found a few things that Annabeth le
ft herself saying that she thought someone was trying to kill her. When I got back home, there was a note from her laying it all out.” It was an oversimplification of the truth, but there was no reason to go into detail. The gist of it was correct enough. We wouldn’t have suspected anything if Annabeth hadn’t told us her suspicions herself.
“What do the police say?” Angelica asked.
“We can’t go to them with what we’ve got,” I explained. “At least not just yet.”
“Stephen Grant is out of town,” Grace added.
“But surely he’s appointed a substitute in his absence,” Angelica countered. “I know you two have solved more than your fair share of crimes in the past, but this seems to require an official investigation, given the circumstances.”
“The truth is that we’re not sure they’re up to it,” I said, “and besides, Annabeth didn’t exactly come out and give us much in the way of proof. We’ve been piecing things together and interviewing suspects, all the while trying not to let them know what we’re doing.”
Angelica nodded. “I understand, then. And Kerry Minter was on her list?”
“No. Yes. Maybe,” I said.
“Well, that makes perfect sense,” Angelica said as Sophia poked her head back into the kitchen.
“Is it safe to come back in?”
“Two more minutes,” Angelica said.
All Sophia did was groan loudly in protest as she quickly exited again.
“Explain,” Angelica said she stood and stirred the sauce Sophia had claimed to be worried about. “And eat. Your food is getting cold.”
“We can’t do both,” I protested.
“Speak for yourself,” Grace said as she stabbed a forkful of lasagna.
I took a small bite of ravioli, and then I said, “Annabeth had things broken down in a rather odd fashion, and at first glance, it didn’t appear that Kerry should be on our list of suspects at all.”
“But then you spoke with her in person,” Angelica said. “She can be a bit overbearing at times. She fancied herself an artist once upon a time, did you know that? Antonia went to high school with her.”