A Mold For Murder (24 page)

“Ben, in the first place, I have no idea if that’s Connie Brown in the hat. You could barely prove that it’s a woman to me from that angle. Can you honestly say it’s her under that trench coat? As for Ross, I’ll talk to him as soon as he gets back. I’m sure we’ll be able to clear up the reason he was there.”

“Where did he go?”

“Don’t read anything into this, but he took his vacation time, starting this morning. He’ll be back in two weeks.”

“Don’t you see? He’s running away.”

She shook her head. “I don’t think so. Believe me, when he gets back, I’ll ask him about this.”

“Have you had any luck finding Barry Hill?”

“No,” she admitted reluctantly. “I don’t get it. It’s like he just vanished.”

“I’m beginning to wonder if he’ll ever turn up,” I said.

She stared at me. “Ben, what are you talking about?”

“He was Ross’s biggest rival for Connie’s affections. If your cop killed her first, why wouldn’t he go after Hill next?”

“You’ve been reading too many of your girlfriend’s detective novels,” Molly said.

“I haven’t, and besides, I don’t think she’s my girlfriend anymore.” It sounded awkward as I said it, and I almost wished I hadn’t.

“What happened?” There was no harshness in Molly’s voice as she asked.

“This murder got in the way,” I said. “Did you hear the other news? Kelly Sheer’s moving to Charlotte.”

Molly nodded. “I just heard myself. If this keeps up, there won’t be a woman left in town who’s willing to go out with you.”

“Quite a track record, isn’t it? You’re not going anywhere, are you?”

She waited so long to say something that I thought she might be leaving, too. I didn’t know if I could take it. Finally, she said, “I’m still going to work here, but I guess in a way I’m leaving you, too. Jeff asked me to marry him, and I said yes.”

“What?” I asked, rubbing my forehead. “Are you kidding me?”

She shook her head. “I didn’t want to tell you this way, but you need to know so you can have time to deal with it. We’re telling your family tomorrow night, so act surprised, okay?”

I thought of a thousand things I could say, but the only thing that was appropriate was the one I finally chose. “Congratulations.”

“Ben, do you mean that?”

“I wish you both the best,” I said. “Molly, we knew a long time ago that we were better friends than lovers. If you can find happiness with my little brother, then I’m truly glad for you.”

Molly kissed my cheek. “Jeff ’s going to be so relieved. He’s been scared to death ever since I said yes.”

“Do you have to tell him my reaction right away?” I asked. “At least give me another day to make his life a little miserable. I’ve got just the idea. I’m going over to his place tonight and tell him he’s got to give you up, that I can’t bear the thought of living without you another day.”

She laughed at the image. “You’re wicked, you know that, don’t you?”

“Thanks, coming from you, that’s really special. So, will you let me have a little fun before I give him my blessing?”

“Sorry,” she said, smiling to prove that she wasn’t sorry at all. “If he’s going to be my husband, I’m not going to keep any secrets from him.”

“Hey, you’re not even married yet.”

“Ben, don’t even try it. I’m calling him the second you pull out.”

“Spoilsport,” I said. “Seriously, I’m happy for you both.”

“Thanks.” She opened the car door, then tapped the photograph. “Can I hang on to this?”

“Sure. If I need another copy, I’ll get Rufus to make one for me.”

“Now why on earth would you need another copy?” she asked me.

“Just because you’re joining our family doesn’t mean I’m going to stop snooping. You knew that, didn’t you?”

“As much as I’d hoped otherwise, I guess I did.”

I drove off, wondering what to make of what my life had become. The three women in the world I cared about that weren’t relatives were all leaving me, one way or another. I was so stunned by what had happened, it had barely had time to sink in yet.

I’d have to worry about that later, though. The best way for me to get over the shocks I’d just had at the moment was to help Molly find Connie Brown’s killer, whether she wanted my assistance or not.

 

 

Mγ
suspects were leaving town faster than I could deal with them. Betsy Blair was gone. Brian Ross was on vacation. Who knew where Barry Hill had disappeared to, or if he was even still alive? Diana was at her aunt and uncle’s house, and Sharon Goldsmith was leaving as fast as she could get out of Harper’s Landing. Connie Brown’s murder was in serious danger of slipping into the open but unsolved files of the Harper’s Landing police department.

As cold as it may have sounded, I wasn’t just trying to solve the homicide for her sake. Our business was dying at the soap shop, and if the rumors and stories about us kept up, we might be another casualty of the crime. While I couldn’t bring Connie back, I had to save my family’s business if I could. It was all I had left in the world.

I decided to talk to Sharon while she was still in town, but I wanted another copy of that photograph before I spoke with her. It meant another trip to Dying To Read, but I was hoping Diana was still out of town.

Unfortunately, she wasn’t.

“Ben, I’m through talking to you. I thought I made that clear,” Diana said as I walked into the store.

“I’m not here to see you,” I said. “I want to talk to Rufus.”

“Too bad, you’re out of luck. I sent him home. He’s been working so much overtime lately, I can barely afford to pay him as it is. My customers have deserted me completely.”

“It’s bad at the soap shop, too.”

“At least no one’s accused you of murder,” she snapped.

“Not lately, anyway.” A thought occurred to me. “You shouldn’t have to worry about your cash flow, not for a while.”

“What are you talking about?” She honestly had no idea what I was talking about, and I realized I wasn’t supposed to tell her about the inheritance.

“Nothing, I misspoke,” I said.

“Ben, tell me.”

There was no way out of it now. I’d have to apologize to Sharon later if it came up. “Connie left you one hundred thousand dollars in her will.”

Diana flew into a rage. “Did she honestly think she could buy me off with money? I won’t take it. I don’t want it. It’s blood money.”

“Give it to charity, then.”

Her anger blazed directly at me. “Get out, Ben.”

“I’m going,” I said.

If she could have slammed the door behind me, there was no doubt in my mind that she would have.

I had nowhere else to go, so I decided to talk to my last suspect. I just hoped Sharon hadn’t left yet.

As I drove to the Mountain Lake Motel, I noticed that a nondescript white Chevy was following me. I never would have noticed it under normal circumstances, but I decided to get a pack of gum and pulled into Crites Drugs at the last second. The car passed by me, but the driver obscured his face as he came even with me—dodging behind a folded newspaper—just enough to block my view of him. I bought the gum, got back into the Miata, and drove to the motel. Two miles up the road, I noticed that the Chevy was back. What was going on? I decided to go on ahead to Sharon’s room and call Molly from there. I wanted to make sure I wasn’t just being paranoid before I brought her into it.

“Ben, what are you doing here?” Sharon asked as she opened her door. “I was just leaving.”

“I’m glad I caught you,” I said, looking over my shoulder. The Chevy was gone, but that didn’t mean it wouldn’t be back. “I was afraid you’d already be gone.”

“I would have been, but there was a problem with my credit card,” she admitted. “I’ve been waiting for Connie’s executor to pay for the room with his own plastic, and I just got confirmation that he has, so I’m leaving right now.”

“Are you sure you can’t hang around one more day? We’ll pick up the tab for the room if you’ll stay.”

“I told you I was needed back at Connie’s place. Besides, I couldn’t stomach the thought of staying in this town one more night.” She waved a hand around the room. “I mean seriously, can you blame me?”

“Can I at least have a second?” I asked. “There’s something I want to talk to you about.”

She frowned, glanced at her watch, then stepped aside. “You can have five minutes, but then I’m leaving.”

I stepped inside, then pulled the drapes away from the window and looked outside. The Chevy was nowhere in sight.

“What are you looking at?”

“It’s probably just my imagination,” I said.

“So what do you want to talk about?” she asked.

“There’s a photograph you should see, but the only problem is, I gave my only copy to the police, and I haven’t had a chance to get another one made yet.”

“So?”

“It’s of the soap shop on the day of the signing,” I explained.

That got her interest. “I didn’t realize you were having the event photographed.”

“I didn’t, but a friend of mine thought it would be a good idea. He didn’t take any close-ups, though. All of the shots were outside. One of them in particular caught my eye.”

“Go on,” she said. “You don’t mind if I finish packing while you talk, do you? As fascinating as your story is, I still plan to leave as soon as possible.”

“That’s fine,” I said, realizing that I was losing her attention. “There’s a shot of a woman out front in a red hat like Connie usually wore,” I said, “And there’s another man nearby, Brian Ross. You remember him, don’t you?”

She turned toward me, and it took me a second to realize there was a gun in her hand.

“What are you doing?”

“What does it look like? Who has the photograph? And who took it? I’m going to need that negative before I go.”

Then it all clicked. “That was you in the hat, wasn’t it? I even saw you pack it in your bag. You weren’t drugged at all. Did you use it as a disguise so you could kill Connie? Why?”

“Have you ever noticed what great camouflage those floppy hats make? Connie was furious when hers was missing, but I was hoping if anyone saw me, they’d mistake me for her. After all, she was wearing it during all of the publicity shots you used, I made sure of that. It would have worked, too, if you hadn’t had a photographer snooping around.”

“But why kill her?” I asked.

“Why else? Greed.”

That didn’t make any sense. “You said Diana got the bulk of her estate. I thought you claimed you just got a token amount.”

“It wasn’t the money I was after, it was the copyrights. She willed them to me, the silly cow. When she found out I’d been dipping into her bank accounts, she was going to fire me and change her will, so I decided to take matters into my own hands. You didn’t know it was me until just a second ago, did you?”

“I didn’t have a clue,” I admitted. “But it all makes sense now. I still don’t know why you killed her in my family’s shop.”

“Think about it. You’re a smart guy. If I’d killed her in her room at the bed-and-breakfast, everyone would look at me as a major suspect. As it was, there was a whole mob of people who wanted her dead, and they all had access to the crime scene. I made sure of that by leaving the back door open. I was going to shoot her,” she added, “but there were too many people around. The hammer did the job just as nicely, and it was much quieter, too.”

“You’re never going to get away with this,” I said.

“Oh, poor naive Ben,” she said. “As far as I’m concerned, I already have. Now it’s just a matter of tying up a few loose ends, and you’re the next one on my list.”

“Did you kill Barry Hill, too?” I asked, hoping to buy some time.

She appeared to be absolutely delighted by the concept. When she stopped laughing, she explained, “No, he’s alive, at least as far as I know; but I did give him a reason to run. You see, I told him if he didn’t leave town immediately, I’d tell the police about how he’d blackmailed money out of Connie. He did, you know. Those lurid photographs wouldn’t help his image any, but they would have destroyed Connie’s career. She had a wholesome image to protect as an author of soap-crafting books, and she was willing to pay to keep it. Your little girlfriend wasn’t the only person Connie tried to pay off. She was hoping that if she could silence Barry Hill with money, no one would ever have to know what a bad little girl she’d been. He claims to be rich, but he had less than I do. I had hoped Barry would die in a shoot-out with the police, but I’m afraid they haven’t been able to find him.”

“What about Betsy Blair? Did Connie steal the book from her?”

Sharon shook her head. “Believe it or not, the contessa was actually innocent of that particular crime. The woman fabricated a new copy of ‘her’ book and was trying to use it to get Connie to settle out of court. She didn’t have a prayer, and neither do you. I’m afraid you’re the one who’s going to have to pay for that photographer’s mistake.”

I had to do something quick or I was going to be dead. “Molly Wilkes and Brian Ross both know I’m here.”

She laughed. “Ben, you’re a terrible liar. If I’d just waited to hear what you had to say, I wouldn’t have to kill you right now. Sorry about that. I guess I jumped the gun, and now you have to face one.”

The door behind me crashed open, and Brian Ross knocked me to the ground just as Sharon fired in our direction. Ross’s gun barked twice, and Sharon crumpled to the floor.

“Are you all right?” I asked him, still staring at Sharon’s lifeless body.

“No, she hit me. Call an ambulance, will you?”

I dialed 911, and as soon as I hung up, I said, “That was you in the Chevy, wasn’t it? Why were you following me?”

He shrugged, and I saw him wince from the pain. “You were the wild card in all of this. I figured you had a good shot at figuring out who killed my Connie, and I wanted to be nearby in case you needed backup.”