A Murderous Glaze (14 page)

“I’m sure Julia will be crushed to hear the news.”

“I’m sure,” David agreed. “Now let’s start cleaning this place up. We need to be ready for the wave of customers we’ll be having soon.”

“Do you know something I don’t?” I asked as I grabbed a rag.

“No, but things are bound to turn around. I can feel it.” He was positively giddy.

“My, you are in a good mood.”

“I can’t help myself,” he said. As David climbed the ladder, the front door chimed.

“Excuse me,” said a nice-looking young woman in a business suit. “I was wondering about those wind ornaments in the window. They must be terribly expensive.”

“Five dollars apiece,” I said.

“You’re kidding me. I’ll take a dozen.”

“Would you like to learn how to make them? I could teach you in twenty minutes.”

She looked perplexed by the offer. “I don’t understand. They are for sale, aren’t they?”

“Absolutely. I just thought you might like to see how it’s done.”

She paused in thought for a few seconds, then asked, “Could you show me, instead of me doing it myself?”

“I’d be delighted. I’m Carolyn, by the way,” I said as I offered her my hand.

“I’m Jessica,” she said.

“Have a seat, and I’ll get us set up.”

I grabbed a few of the bisque fired blanks I kept on hand, cut out in a variety of cookie cutter shapes. They each had a hole punched out near one edge to make them easy to hang. “Oh, do you buy them in bulk?” she asked.

“No, I make them right here myself.” I reached over and grabbed a cutter in the shape of a leaf, then took a little clay from a bag by the wheel. “I’ll do one for you, but we won’t be able to fire it today.”

“I don’t mind,” she said. “I’d just like to see the process.”

I took the clay, kneaded it a little, then rolled it out with my French rolling pin, a tapered piece of maple I preferred instead of the dowels I had my students use. “After it’s a quarter inch thick, you just cut out the shapes you want.” It was as easy to do as it was to explain, and in a few seconds I had a leaf cut from the clay.

“But there aren’t any veins on yours.”

“I can fix that,” I said as I quickly embedded the lines into the leaf with a rib to make it look more realistic. After that, I used a punch for the hole. “Now it’s ready to fire.”

“Let’s add some color to it,” she said.

“We can, but it has to be fired first. When you do that, you get something like this.” I plucked a leaf out of the fired selection and handed it to her. She studied it as she held it. “It’s light, isn’t it?”

“All the moisture’s been baked out of it. Sit down. You can decorate it yourself.”

“Show me how,” she said.

I chose a diamond pattern for myself, then grabbed a squeeze bottle of glaze. After putting some emerald green in a pie tin, I took a brush and began applying it to the diamond.

“That’s all you do?”

“That’s it. You can get a lot fancier if you’d like, but after this is fired, it will be ready to hang.”

She put some yellow, orange, and burgundy on her plate and carefully colored her leaf. “I want it to look like autumn.”

I took her leaf and put it on another pie tin and wrote “Jessica” on it with a Sharpie. “Come back in a couple of days and it will be ready for you.”

“That’s excellent. What do I owe you?”

“The first one’s on the house,” I said, surprising David with my generosity. “It’s a special deal today until closing.” I figured we had about twenty minutes left. How bad could it be?

“That’s excellent. I’m shopping with some friends. Let me get them.”

She hurried out of the shop, and I started to regret my rash offer. David must have sensed it, too. “What’s the worst that can happen? We’ll get some new customers for the shop.”

“That’s true, but don’t you ever do that.”

“No danger of that,” he said, still grinning. “It’s your business.”

Two minutes later, eight expensively dressed women came in with Jessica. They all seemed excited about the prospect of painting some pottery, and David climbed down to help. We used nearly all of the bisque-fired ornaments I’d made, but I had so little in the clay and I bought my glazes in bulk, so my generosity wouldn’t cost us that much.

After they decorated leaves, boxes, circles, and all four of the card suits, the women tore through the store buying nearly everything in sight. Once they were gone, David locked the door and whistled loudly. “Wow.”

“I second that,” I said. In one single burst of sales, I’d made up for the money I’d lost since the murder.

“If that was your plan, you’re a genius.”

“I wish I could take credit for it, but it was sheer dumb luck on my part.” I still couldn’t get over what had just happened. “Tell you what, why don’t you go on and get ready for your date? I can handle things here.”

“Are you sure?”

“Absolutely. Have fun. After class, that is.”

“Yes, ma’am, I will.”

After he was gone, I dead-bolted the door behind him and turned on some background music. It always made the work go faster, and when I was alone, I could play whatever I liked, which at the moment was a selection of Billy Joel, the early years.

I heard a tap on the door, and I saw my husband standing there with a bag in his hands.

As I opened up, he said, “Nice dance moves you’ve got going on there.”

“I wasn’t dancing,” I said sternly. Well, maybe I had been. It was a small blessing he hadn’t caught me singing.

“Billy Joel never had a prettier backup singer, either,” he said.

“Don’t push your luck.”

“Hey, I can tease you a little. After all, I brought food.”

It smelled delicious, and I was starving. Had I forgotten lunch? It was unusual for me to miss a meal, whether by accident or design.

“Okay, but that’s enough out of you. What did you bring me?”

“I’ve got a salad for you, and two burgers for me. Unless you want one of the burgers.”

“I’d love one. I’ll share the salad with you, if you’d like some.”

“Thanks, but I’ll pass. Knock yourself out, though.”

As I set the table in back with paper plates and napkins, I asked, “What’s the occasion?”

“I’ve got to work again tonight. Those pieces still aren’t finished.”

“I thought you were done.” The two dressers were beautiful. What else could he do to them?

“They wanted three more coats of wax when they saw them today. I argued about it, but I lost. Sometimes I wonder why I’m even doing this. I’m supposed to be retired.”

“Then tell them no,” I said after I chewed a bite of burger. “We don’t need the extra income.”

“Did I miss something, or did your business just get better?”

I told him about Jessica and her friends’ buying frenzy, but his smile didn’t even come close to matching mine.

“Don’t get too excited,” he said.

“And why shouldn’t I?” What was wrong with this man? Why couldn’t he share my good mood with me, instead of bringing me down?

“This was a temporary fix. You can’t count on something like that to bail you out every time.”

“Well, it did this time, and that’s all that matters,” I said. “Now eat your food before it gets cold.” I knew he was right, but did he have to point it out like that?

After we were finished eating, Bill said, “I guess I just needed one burger after all.”

I reached over and patted his stomach. “Would it have killed you to try my salad?”

“Who knows, it might have, so why take the chance?” He looked at the empty plates. “Sorry, I forgot all about dessert.”

“How does a brownie sound?” I asked. I’d picked one up at the store, a massive, heavenly concoction I’d not yet been able to duplicate in my own kitchen.

“Don’t tease me, woman,” he said.

I reached back to my grocery bag and retrieved the brownie. “Sorry, I don’t have any milk to offer you.” My husband, among his many idiosyncrasies, loved his milk so cold it had to be nearly frozen before he’d drink it.

“I can live with that,” he said. I broke the brownie in half, and to my credit, I gave my husband the larger piece. If he noticed my generosity, he didn’t comment.

With dinner and dessert finished, he said, “Tomorrow night I’ll take you out to a real dinner and you can cash that rain check I’ve been promising you.”

“I don’t know, this was nice,” I said. Really, all I needed for a fun night out was my husband and some good food, and I’d just had both.

“Yeah, but we’ll do something fancy.”

I looked at my husband and saw his steady grin. “Is there something you’re not telling me? Did we win the lottery, by any chance?”

“No, nothing like that, but I got the commission on four more pieces today, and they paid me a bonus for getting the dressers done so quickly. I figure I can afford to take you out on the town.”

“I won’t even complain about how expensive it’s going to be,” I said.

“Are you going to be all right here by yourself?” Bill asked me.

“I’ll be fine. I’m just about finished, and then I’ll go home and watch one of my movies that you hate.”

“Sounds like a plan to me.” I led him to the door, bussed him with a quick kiss, then locked the door behind him.

He tapped on the glass. “Is it dead-bolted?”

“Yes, it’s dead-bolted.”

He grinned, winked at me, then started back to the furniture shop. Sometimes my husband could be so sweet, something that was hard to remember when he was being a grumpy old bear.

I finished cleaning the tables and rinsing the brushes, and everything was ready for tomorrow. I was just about to leave when the telephone rang. I half expected it to be Bill, so I was surprised to hear someone else’s voice on the line.

“Hey, Carolyn, I’m glad I caught you.”

“I was just getting ready to leave, Hannah. What’s up?”

She hesitated, then said, “Have you heard about David’s new girlfriend?”

“I wouldn’t say they’re dating. They just had coffee this afternoon.”

“You knew about it?”

I found a chair. This might be a long conversation. “He met Annie when she came by the shop to see me.”

“So, she does have a name,” Hannah said. “My dear son wouldn’t tell me anything about her.”

“She seems like a perfectly lovely girl,” I said.

“David mentioned that. He said she looks like Julia Roberts, only prettier. That can’t be good.”

“Don’t worry, Hannah, he’s nearly a grown man.”

She paused, then asked, “So, are you trying to tell me that you don’t worry about your sons anymore?”

“Of course I do,” I admitted. “But it doesn’t do the least bit of good.”

“I guess you’re right. I don’t suppose there’s any way you’re free this evening, is there? You and Bill probably have plans.”

“As a matter of fact, he’s working late on a pair of dressers at the shop. We had hamburgers, but if you’d like to meet for coffee, I’m free.”

“That would be great. In the Grounds, say in half an hour?”

“Sounds good. I’ll see you then.”

I could piddle around the shop for twenty minutes, but that didn’t really sound like much fun to me. If I stayed, I’d end up dusting or paying bills, and for once, I was done working for the day. As much as I loved having my own shop, it was a demanding job. I decided to take my time walking along the brook, maybe even do a little window shopping along the way.

After I locked up, I peeked inside a few windows as I walked to the coffee shop. The evening had turned chilly as I’d predicted, and I was glad I’d worn my heavy coat. I slid my hands into my pockets and found a bisque-fired diamond shape I’d been playing with when Jessica and her companions were in the shop. I must have slipped it into my pocket without even realizing it while the ladies were going through my stock. The edges were sharper than I liked, so I’d pulled it from their selections. As I walked, I fiddled with the piece, keeping my hands in my pockets.

I was amazed that some of the shops along the brook managed to stay in business. Did Rose really sell enough stained glass to keep above water? The one tenant I didn’t have to worry about was Kendra Williams. She seemed to always have a steady flow of customers at Hattie’s Attic. I spotted a pair of candelabra displayed in the front window, and wondered how they would look on my dining room table. As I peered farther into the gloom of the antique shop, I saw something out of place. It was a pot Betty Wickline had thrown at Fire at Will the month before. How odd that Kendra would have it for sale in her antique shop.

Could there be a tie between them that I might have missed before? It was time for a closer look.

“Kendra, are you there?” I banged on the front door, but heard no answer. She’d probably gone home already. I glanced at my watch and saw that I still had fifteen minutes before I had to meet Hannah, so I walked the block to Kendra’s home to ask her about that pot. It would be just like her to try to pass it off as some kind of antique, but I wasn’t going to let her get away with it.

I was surprised when I saw Herman coming out of Kendra’s place as I approached. “Carolyn, did you bring her some soup, too?”

“What are you talking about?”

“Haven’t you heard? Kendra’s under the weather. I’m sure she’d love to see you, though. I’ll walk back in with you.”

A sick Kendra was more than I could take. “You know what? I forgot the soup. I’ll come back later.”

“Was there something you wanted her for? I might be able to help.”

“I saw one of Betty’s pots in the window at her shop, and I wanted to ask her how she got it.”

Herman laughed. “I can clear that one up for you. Betty made her display it as a penance after she got her refund. I’m surprised Kendra didn’t throw it out after what happened.”

“No doubt she will as soon as she remembers it’s there,” I said.

“Why don’t you go on in? I know she’d love your company,” Herman said.

“Oh, I’ll be back,” I said. “I’m meeting someone now. I’ll make it later, though.”

I left him there and headed to the coffee shop. If Kendra was under the weather, she wouldn’t be in the mood to talk about Betty. I believed Herman’s explanation about the pot—it sounded just like something Betty Wickline would do—but was it possible there was more to it than that? Should I press her about it when I knew she was feeling ill? Then again, maybe she’d be lonely, and a little vulnerable. I felt bad about taking advantage of her, but it might be the only way I’d get to the truth. I probably did have time to talk to her before I met up with Hannah, but I didn’t want Herman Meadows leaning over my shoulder when I grilled her. Kendra might be more inclined to talk if it were just the two of us.

Hannah was already at In the Grounds when I got there. “Hey, thanks for meeting me,” she said.

“I’m happy to have the company, since Bill’s been abandoning me lately.”

“I already ordered for you,” she said. “Have a seat. And don’t worry about your husband. He adores you.”

“I’m not disputing that,” I said. “I just wish he showed it a little more.”

“He is who he is.”

“Wow, let me write that down. You English professors are so profound.”

Hannah threw her napkin at me. “Okay, I get it.” After she took a sip of coffee, she asked, “So, how well do you know this Annie? What does she do?”

Hannah was going to go ballistic when she found out Annie was a maid. “She’s saving for college. The girl must be smart; she was accepted at Stanford.”

“So why isn’t she there right now? Is it the money? They have student loans and such.”

“She wants to pay her own way.”

Hannah bit her lip. “How is she going to afford it on her own? What does she do?” She frowned, then added, “Don’t tell me, she’s an exotic dancer.”

“No, she cleans houses,” I said simply.

“She’s a maid? That’s even worse.”

“Really? Would you mind explaining that to me, because I don’t see it. Not that I have anything against either occupation, but I find your stand interesting.”

“Don’t be difficult. You know what I mean.”

I wasn’t about to let her off the hook that easily. “Actually, I don’t. She’s working hard at an honest profession making people’s lives a little easier, and earning more than I do while she’s at it, by the way. What’s the problem?”

When Hannah didn’t answer, I lowered my voice and said, “I couldn’t love you more if you were my sister, but sometimes you drive me absolutely insane. Your son has just met a nice girl with a solid work ethic and a goal in life. She’s smart and driven, and if you must know, she wasn’t at all sure about dating David because she didn’t want to lose her focus. I’m just curious. Has there been a woman born who would get your approval?”

Hannah looked as though she wanted to cry. “Oh, no, am I really that bad?”

I patted her hand. “You love your son, and you want the best for him. I understand that. But you’ve got to let him go.”

She stared at her coffee, and I thought I might have gone too far. But it needed to be said, and Hannah needed to hear it. “Is she really nice?”

“From what I’ve seen, I’d have been delighted if one of my sons had brought her home.”

“Then I’ll give her a chance.”

I grinned at her. “I’m not sure you’ll have much choice. David’s pretty smitten.”

She smiled. “He was so happy this evening, he was walking on air. I miss having that feeling myself.”

“It’s not too late for you, too, you know,” I said. “You should try dating again.”

“I’m a magnet for disastrous choices, and you know it.”

“I admit you’ve met a few duds since I’ve known you.”

She laughed, which was a good sign. “A few? That’s being generous, and you know it.”

“So the odds are with you to meet someone great,” I said. “You’ll never know if you don’t try.”

“Now who’s speaking in platitudes?” she asked.

“Guilty as charged,” I said.

A voice behind me said, “You’re out late, aren’t you?”

I didn’t even have to turn around to see that it was Sheriff Hodges. “I didn’t know you were keeping track of my movements.”

“Well, now you know.”

“You can’t be serious,” I said as I stood to face him. My voice was hard and loud, but I didn’t care who heard me. “I’m innocent.”

“So you say.”

“Is that why you’re here, to harass me?”

He laughed without humor. “I’m here to tell you to leave my wife alone.”

“You can’t make me,” I said, reverting to a childhood retort.

“Don’t bet on it.” He paid for his coffee and left.

Hannah said softly, “That man’s not particularly fond of you, is he?”

“I don’t know. I think he is deep down inside, but he’s just hiding it.”

“If he’s that good, then he should hide the eggs at Easter for the kids.”

I saw Hannah’s concerned expression. “Don’t worry about the sheriff. He’s more bark than bite.”

“I wouldn’t be too sure of that.”

Our coffees were gone, and I asked Hannah, “Would you like another one? It’s my treat this time.”

“Thanks, but I’d better run. I’m still wading through those essays.”

“Okay, then we’ll meet again tomorrow morning. I just have to grab a bowl of soup and then I’ll be ready to go.”

“I thought you already ate,” she said.

“This is for Kendra. Herman told me she was under the weather.”

“Well, aren’t you a sweetheart?”

“I like to think so,” I said. I could have told her my real motivation, but why not let her think I had the heart of a saint?

Hannah nodded. “I’ll see you tomorrow then. And Carolyn, thanks for the talk. I know it’s not easy telling someone the truth.”

“If I can’t be brutally honest with you, who can?”

Outside, we split up, and I carried the soup back to Kendra’s place.

I knocked on the front door, but Kendra didn’t answer. “Kendra? Can I come in?” Was she asleep? I had this soup, and even if I couldn’t talk to her, the least I could do was leave it for her to eat when she woke up. I tried the door, and it opened at my touch. A light was on in the hallway, so there was enough illumination for me to see my way into the kitchen. As I put the soup on the counter, I saw something that made my heart freeze.

It was an awl from my pottery shop—its handle stained with clay slip—nearly identical to the one that had killed Betty Wickline. It was hard to believe, but it looked like Kendra Williams
had
killed Betty. Why else would she have a duplicate of the murder weapon in her kitchen? The shaft had been wiped clean, but a trace of dark red still stained it, and the dish towel nearby was tainted as well. It looked like blood to me. So who had Kendra used this one on?

I started for the front door, but then I heard something from the bedroom. For a second I considered going back there, but then common sense slapped me in the face. Let the sheriff deal with Kendra. I was getting out of there.

That’s when a hand clamped down on my shoulder. “Where are you going, Carolyn?”

“Herman? Keep your voice down. I don’t want Kendra to hear us. What are you still doing here?”

“I haven’t been here the whole time,” he admitted as he peered out the window. “Where is he?”

“Who are you talking about?”

“The sheriff,” he said as he continued to look outside. There was something different about him, and I couldn’t put my finger on it, but I didn’t like the tone of his voice.

“We’ve got to get out of here,” I said. “It’s dangerous.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Kendra. I think she killed Betty.”

A look of relief spread over his face, followed by a burst of amusement. “Is that what you think?”

“I know it,” I lied. Herman’s expression had given him away. I’d narrowed the killer down to one of two people—which wasn’t bad considering how many suspects I’d started out with—and now I realized how close I’d come to the truth.

Herman realized it, too. In a blur of motion he made a lightning grab for the awl, and before I could get out the door, he had the sharp, skewered tip at my throat.

“I gave you way too much credit,” he said. “I thought you had it figured out when I saw you talking to the sheriff at the coffee shop.”

“You followed me there?”

“I’ve been tailing you for days. When Bill was watching you from the shadows, I was watching both of you. You made it too easy.”

“But why focus on me?” My mind was racing, searching for something I could use as a weapon. I had the diamond-shaped clay in my pocket, but could I use the sharp edge in my defense? Not while I had an awl at my throat. But if he let up for even a second, I might have a chance. It was my only hope.

“I had a suspicion you knew I was using your shop for my trysts with Betty. I couldn’t take any chances. We only used it twice, but I know how nosy you are, and I was afraid you’d figure it out.” He frowned. “It killed me to throw a brick through my own window, but I had to throw you off my trail.”

“Why didn’t you use your own place?”

“You saw where I’ve been living. Not even Betty was willing to meet me there, and she rarely let me come to her place. You had a couch, and I had a key. It was that simple.”

“Why did you have to hide your relationship in the first place?”

Herman’s ears grew red. “She wasn’t all that keen on being seen with me. Can you believe that?”

“Is that why you killed her?” I had to stall, but I was running out of questions. Where was that blasted sheriff when I needed him?

He shrugged. “It was sort of an accident. Things got a little out of hand when she dumped me. I tried to talk her out of kicking me to the curb, but she’d already made up her mind.”

I couldn’t believe he was actually justifying the murder. It was time to change the subject. I didn’t want him thinking about homicide at the moment. “So
you
left the note for her. I found it at her place.”

Herman nodded. “I was counting on it turning up, but I didn’t expect you’d be the one to find it. I threw the note on the floor after I came across it. It’s not like it had my name on it, and I was hoping it might keep the sheriff’s suspicion off me. I tore up the whole house searching for something I knew Betty had, but it wasn’t the note I was after. Some idiot started rattling the front doorknob, and I had to get out of there before I was able to find what I was really looking for.”

“So, did she get her extra money from you?” I had to keep drawing him out.

“Are you out of your mind? It was going to be the other way around. I wanted to cut myself in on some of her action.”

“I don’t get it.”

Herman shook his head. “The evidence she was using as leverage was what I was really searching for when I was there.”

“Leverage? For what?”

He grinned. “Betty liked to spice up her life with a touch of blackmail. I found out when I was going through her closet one night while she was asleep. She caught me—that’s why we didn’t go to her place anymore. She said she didn’t trust me. Can you believe that? There was enough for both of us, but she wouldn’t share. As a matter of fact, that’s probably the real reason she broke up with me.”

“You never loved her at all, did you?”

“Does it matter? We were convenient for each other, that’s about it. But that didn’t mean she could just throw me away like that. She had to pay for what she did. You know what’s funny? When I came back to look for her evidence, somebody else must have beaten me to it. It was already gone.” He glanced out the window again, then said, “That’s enough chatter. It’s time to get this over with.”

“Aren’t you afraid Kendra is going to hear us?”

“I already took care of her. I had a devil of time getting the awl clean again.”

“Why did you have to kill her?” I couldn’t believe that she was dead.

“Apparently she’s a lot smarter than you are. She figured it out on her own, and she threatened to go to the police. I didn’t have any choice, so I had to get rid of her.”

“Too bad you botched the job.” Kendra stood in the bedroom doorway. The front of her muumuu was heavily stained with blood. Yet somehow she found the strength to throw an ashtray toward us. Herman spun around, pointing the awl toward Kendra. It was the opening I’d been waiting for. I took the diamond-shaped piece of pottery out of my pocket and jabbed it as hard as I could into the back of his neck. It wasn’t enough to do serious damage, but it must have hurt like the devil. Herman started clawing for it, but he couldn’t reach it. While he was busy trying to extricate it, I picked up the nearest chair and brought it crashing down on his head.

As he slumped to the ground, Kendra said, “I wish you hadn’t done that.”

“I shouldn’t have hit him?” Had she lost her mind?

“Not with that. It was the only genuine antique I had in here.”

And then she fell face forward, landing squarely on top of the murderer.