A Pour Way to Dye (Book 2 in the Soapmaking Mysteries) (23 page)

“
I’m an old man,” he said.
“Maybe I made a mistake erring on the side of caution.”

I’d never seen him so humble. “It’s fine.
You’re not keeping anything else from me, are you?”

He shook his head. ‘That’s it. Evidently I
attracted some unwanted attention when I was snooping around. I’m
afraid I bungled it.”

“
You did fine,” I said, “and
you dug up more than I managed to get.”

“
So what are you going to do
now?”

I looked steadily at him and said, “I’m going
to keep looking.”

“
Ben, it’s dangerous. Think
of the family.”

I snapped, “I am. The best way to protect
them is to solve this case and end the threat. Otherwise, we’re all
going to be looking over our shoulders for the rest of our
lives.”

He appeared to think about that, then said,
“You’re right. Funny, I would have probably felt die exact same way
myself thirty years ago. What should we do next?”

“
I think you did exactly the
right thing, Paulus,” I said. “Whoever you spooked is looking for
you. Can you stay in Sassafras Ridge until I get this mess
straightened out? How are you set for money?”

“
I’m fine,” he said. “As a
matter of fact, I’m sleeping on Lois’s couch.”

I remembered the crabby woman I’d talked to a
few days before. “Listen, I can float you a loan if you want to get
a hotel room instead.”

“
I wouldn’t go back to the
Beverly Inn if they were giving rooms away, and the other place I
was staying was a real dump. Besides, Lois isn’t as bad as she must
seem to you. She’s good company when she wants to be.”

“
If you’re sure,” I
said.

Paulus studied me a few moments, then asked,
“What are you going to do now, Ben?”

“
I’m going to try to find
out how Earnest Joy managed to accumulate so much money under
everyone else’s radar.” I handed him my cell phone. “Keep this. I
might have to call you if I need something else.”

“
I hate those things,” he
said, staring at my phone as if it were a snake.

“
Yeah, well, I don’t want to
lose you again.” I took a bite of pie.

“
If I keep in touch, will
you take it with you? I don’t want it.”

I picked my phone up and stuck it in my
pocket. “Fine. But I expect you to call Kate at the shop every day.
Understood?”

“
If it will keep me from
using one of those things, I’d agree to just about
anything.”

I grabbed his check as well as mine as I
stood. “I’ll take care of this on the way out.”

“
I can buy my own meals,” he
said, reaching for the bill.

“
You get the tip and we’ll
call it even,” I said.

He reluctantly agreed, and we walked out of
the Lazy Spoon together. Paulus patted me on the back. “Good luck,
Ben, and be careful.”

“
You know it,” I said. As I
drove back to Harper’s Landing, I tried to figure out how Earnest
had accumulated enough money to live the extravagant lifestyle he
was enjoying at the resort community. I wondered if his own
children even knew about his second home. Or other name. Andrew
wouldn’t tell me even if the truth would suit his purposes better,
but I still had a relationship with Terri, no matter how tenuous it
was at the time.

When I got back to Harper’s Landing, I drove
to the jewelry store instead of the soap shop. If I was lucky,
Terri would be working. But if Andrew was there instead, I was
still going to grill him. And if he happened to take a swing at me
when things got rough, I wouldn’t pass up an opportunity to put him
on the floor. The animosity between us hadn’t eased over the years,
and though I was a bit surprised myself by how much I disliked him,
I couldn’t do anything to soften it. Andrew knew the exact spot to
push to get me going, and my reactions were beyond my
understanding. I’d have to watch my temper and keep it in check,
though. Protecting my family took priority, and I had to stay
focused on that.

When I walked in the door of the jewelry
shop, I saw Terri standing alone behind the counter. Some of the
tension went out of me, and I realized I’d been bracing myself for
a confrontation with her brother.

Terri wasn’t all that happy to see me. “Ben,
you might as well drop your pretense about buying something for
your new girlfriend. I know what you’re doing.”

I nodded. “I am dating someone new, but
you’re right. I’m trying to find out who killed your father. I
would think you and your brother would want to help me, not block
me every time you could.”

“
We think you should leave
it up to the police,” she said. “Of course we both want Dad’s
killer caught.”

“
Let me ask you one thing,
then I’ll get out of your hair. How do you like Blowing
Rock?”

“
What’s that got to do with
anything?” she asked.

“
I’m just curious,” I
said.

“
I think it’s overpriced.
Whenever I go through there on my sales route, I eat in Lenoir
before I go up 321. Why?”

“
So you don’t ever stay
there?” I pushed

“
It’s two hours from here,”
she said. “I won’t stay anywhere that close to home overnight if I
can help it.”

“
How about your father? Has
he spent much time there lately?”

She had clearly had enough of my questioning,
but she replied, “He mentioned a few times that he enjoyed the
mountains, but that’s about it. Ben, what has this got to do with
anything?”

If she was lying to me, she was very good at
it. “What would you say if I told you your father had a second home
up there, a nicer place than the one he lived in here?”

“
I’d say you’ve lost your
mind. If you’d ever seen our books, you’d know what a ridiculous
idea that is.”

“
Still, it looks like it’s
true. So if he didn’t make the money through this shop, where did
it come from? Did he have any other sources of income?”

She shook her head. “Not that I know of, but
I wasn’t privy to all of his businesses. I knew he liked to dabble
in things on the side, but there’s no way he could make the kind of
money you’re talking about without me knowing about it.”

“
How about Andrew?” I asked.
“Would he know?”

Terri laughed. “He was even less in the loop
than I was. Ralph Haller probably knew more than either one of us
did. They even had a business together.”

“
Do you know what they were
doing?” I asked. This could be the break I’d been hoping
for.

“
No, you’ll have to ask
Ralph. I’ve never been a big fan of the man, and he’s never cared
for me either, truth be told. There’s something that’s shifty about
him, you know?”

“
Trust me, I agree with you.
You know he’s been in jail, don’t you?”

“
Twice,” she said. “Dad said
he was reformed, though, and he wouldn’t listen to a bad word about
Ralph.”

That was news to me. “I knew he’d gone to
prison for burglary,” I said, “but what else was he convicted
of?”

“
I don’t have a clue,” she
said. “Ben, don’t ask me anything else. If Andrew knew I was
talking to you now he’d have a stroke. I don’t know why you two
have always hated each other, but it’s pretty obvious to the world
that you do. I’d appreciate it if you’d just let this
drop.”

“
I can’t, not with my name
on top of the police’s list of suspects.”

She shrugged. “I suppose I understand that,
but don’t ask for my help anymore, okay? I’m trying to put this all
behind me, and every time you come in, I have nightmares all over
again.”

“
I’m truly sorry about
that,” I said as I left.

I thought about going over to Ralph’s house
to ask him about his second conviction, but I sincerely doubted
he’d tell me the truth. When I’d been at the library looking into
his history, I’d stopped the second I’d found a reference to him.
It looked like I needed to do a little more research.

Corki was still behind the reference desk,
scanning a book about ancient Egypt. The second she saw me, she
closed the book. “Please tell me you’ve brought me something
challenging today.”

“
As a matter of fact, I
think I might have missed something the last time I was
here.”

She smiled. “I thought you might be back. I
would have called you, but I didn’t know your name.”

I extended a hand. “I’m Ben Perkins.”

She pointed to her nametag. “And you already
know I’m Corki. Hang on one second, I made a copy of it and filed
it away.” She browsed through an accordion file filled with papers.
As she looked, Corki explained, “When I get an intriguing question,
I keep digging sometimes. It’s a lot of fun.” She studied a sheet,
then pulled it out. “Here it is. We finally got the printer
working. Is this what you’re looking for?”

I studied the reproduction of the newspaper
article and saw that Terri had been right about Ralph. There was
another conviction I’d missed the last time. The brief article said
that two years after being released from his burglary sentence,
Haller had been tried and convicted for counterfeiting. I
remembered that Molly had complained that she’d been working on a
counterfeiting case in Harper’s Landing, as well as Earnest Joy’s
murder. Could the two be connected? I started playing with
scenarios until I came up with something that fit. If Ralph and
Earnest were working together on something illegal and highly
profitable, it could be reason enough for murder. Ralph could make
the bad bills and Earnest could distribute them on his travels
searching for artifacts to convert into jewelry. It could be a
profitable sideline for both of them, unless Ralph got too greedy
and wanted a bigger stake.

I thanked her, then started for the door.

Corki said, “You look like you’re in a hurry
to get somewhere.”

“
I am,” I said as I raced
off to find Molly. This was the kind of proof I needed. If only
she’d believe me.

It took me half an hour to track her down,
but I finally found Molly at the courthouse.

“
I need to talk to you,” I
said.

“
Sorry, I don’t have much
time. I’m waiting to testify in a case.”

“
This is important,” I
said.

Molly stared at me a few seconds, then
reluctantly said, “Go ahead.”

“
I think I’ve got it all
figured out.”

“
What’s that, all of the
problems in your life? Congratulations.”

“
I’m talking about Earnest
Joy’s murder.”

She looked around us, then hissed, “Keep your
voice down, Ben. The last thing I need is for everyone in town to
know that you’re digging into this.”

In a softer voice, I said, “You never told me
Ralph went to prison twice. I just found out that the second time,
he was convicted of counterfeiting. Didn’t you tell me you were
working on a case that involved counterfeiting? What if Ralph and
Earnest were partners, and Ralph got greedy?”

She actually laughed loud enough for the
people nearby to look at us.

“
What’s so funny?” I
asked.

“
This is exactly why I don’t
like amateurs trying to get involved in my cases. There are a few
things wrong with your theory. Would you like to hear them, or
should I trot over to Ralph’s house and arrest him on your
say-so?”

“
I’m listening,” I
said.

She replied, “Here goes. Ralph was convicted
of passing bad twenties, and the counterfeit case I’m working on
isn’t money at all. At least nothing you could spend in a
convenience store. Second, I already looked into that possibility,
and Ralph was in the dentist’s office waiting for his appointment.
Doc Lace was running behind, and he sat there for three hours
waiting to be seen when Joy was murdered. So much for your theory.
By the way, thanks for the bum steer earlier.”

“
What are you talking
about?”

She looked upset. “I drove out to the
Mountain Lake Motel to talk to this Linda Mae, but she wasn’t
there.”

“
So go back later. I’m sure
she was probably just shopping or something.”

Molly shook her head. “You don’t understand.
When I say she wasn’t there, that’s exactly what I meant. She
checked out, and on her way she told the desk clerk she was getting
as far away from Harper’s Landing as fast as she could. He said
something had spooked her, and she tore out of the parking lot like
she was on fire.”

“
You need to talk to her,
Molly. She might have had something to do with this.”

Molly snorted. “So now you’re shifting the
blame to Linda Mae? Wow, that was quick, even for you. Go home,
Ben.”

I wasn’t giving up that easily, though. There
was something else I wanted to know. “What kind of counterfeiting
case are you working on if it’s not money?”

She started to answer when a bailiff came out
of the courtroom. “Molly, they’re ready for you now.”

“
Sorry, Ben. I’ve got to go.
Why don’t you give it a rest? I’ve got it covered.”

After she slipped into the courtroom, I
decided to go talk to Kelly. If Linda Mae had really left town, her
attorney would know it. I was dreading the conversation with Kelly,
but I couldn’t help it. I walked across the street and into her
office.

Her receptionist was there, talking on the
phone as he filed some papers in his drawer.