Barbara Graham - Quilted 04 - Murder by Vegetable (5 page)

Daydreaming of a world where he'd be able to banish people he didn't like from his county, Tony gradually became aware of the sound of a rifle being fired, probably a .22 caliber. He pulled off the road and cut the engine. Stepping out of the vehicle, he listened intently, hoping to be able to determine the origin of the shots. It wasn't unusual to hear occasional gunshots, but a road sign sniper was costing the county a fair amount of money and time. Drilling road signs had been going on unchecked for almost half a year. Who was so determined and so elusive?

His cell phone rang at the same time he heard Rex's voice on the radio. Not knowing where to go for his sign sniper, Tony climbed into the Blazer.

“Sheriff?” Rex was backing up his radio call with the telephone. “Are you coming by your office any time soon?”

Tony thought Rex sounded irritated. Strong emotion from him indeed. “I'm on my way now. What's the problem?”

“Blossom Flowers has a pie for you, and she says she's not sure you'll get it if she leaves it unattended in the lunch room.” Rex's voice reflected the insult he'd been given.

“I had pie at Ruby's this morning.”

“She's here now.” Rex's words snapped through the earpiece.

Tony sighed. He supposed he ought to put a stop to the pie deliveries. In his head, it always sounded like a good idea to tell Blossom not to bake for him. Unfortunately, the scent of one of her pies drove Tony's common sense out the door. He congratulated himself on being better at sharing than he used to be. The first pie she made for him, he ate with his office door locked. “I'll be there in a few minutes.”

He was almost back to town when he saw the game warden's vehicle, lights flashing, parked behind a small van with a giant plastic insect on the top. Tony slowed. Although he thoroughly detested Officer Harrison Ragsdale and was one of many who shortened the name to Hairy Rags, it was Tony's sworn duty to lend assistance to anyone if needed. More so, because, whether he liked it or not, Ragsdale was another sworn officer. Luckily, Ragsdale glanced up from his study of something in the bed of the pickup and waved Tony on. Ragsdale's face bore its normal expression of anger and disapproval. The two men standing with him appeared unhappy but noncombative.

As Tony expected when he reached the law enforcement center, Blossom sat in his office, and a fresh pie rested on his desk on the top of a stack of files. She sniffled. “I don't like Rex none. He always looks at me like I'm carrying plates of poisoned apples in here.”

Irritated, Tony shook his head. “Rex is just doing his job. You answer his questions, and he'll leave you alone.” He studied his guest. Since Blossom's social life had developed into the county's favorite spectator sport, she hadn't been baking for him as much as she used to. Kenny Baines and DuWayne Cozzens were both hotly pursuing the plain but incredibly sweet woman with thinning orange hair, bulbous blue eyes, and more-than-slight weight problem. The men often had to settle for a group date. Blossom's increased social life had caused her a bit of weight loss for a while, but she had come to terms with dating, and although she was a good forty pounds lighter than she'd been a year ago, there was still enough of her to please both men. “Maybe you could offer
Rex
a dessert.”

In response to his reprimand, Blossom's face turned pink and she pouted, her lower lip protruding like a three-year-old's. “I don't trust him with your pie.”

“Blossom, as much as I enjoy your pies, I'll have you barred from my office if you don't stop sulking.” He gave her a stern look. “Rex lets you into this wing of the building because I've told him to. I can change that right now.”

Tears rose in her great protruding eyes and rolled down her face. She brushed them away with her forearm. “Sorry.”

“So, what's really bothering you?” Tony wasn't sure why he knew pie was not what Blossom wanted to discuss, but he did.

“I've been gettin' notes.” Blossom twisted a strand of her thin hair around a chubby finger and stared toward the quilt hanging on the wall behind him. “Lots of nasty notes about my likin' two men.” She blinked. “You said it was only bad if I was to marry both of them.” Her frown held a hint of accusation, as if he'd misled her intentionally.

Now he understood the problem. There weren't a lot of single men in Park County, and Blossom was probably dating two of the best ones. Tony skipped over the legality question, hoping to satisfy his curiosity. “Do you like one more than the other?”

Blossom touched the center of the dip just below her lower lip with a finger and made a “hum” sound. She glanced down. She glanced up. Finally, she shook her head. “Well, DuWayne's a better dancer, and Kenny's got great kids. I know I ought to choose, but they've both been good to me.”

As she went on to detail the pros and cons of her beaux, Tony had to leave his office for a moment so he wouldn't burst out laughing. She was taking this issue very seriously, not just giving in to emotion. Who would have ever guessed Blossom would be the center of a love triangle or a gossip firestorm like this one?

Ruth Ann stared at him and slipped the brush back into the bottle of fingernail polish. “Is there a problem?” Her dark eyes sparkled brighter than the glitter in her tangerine polish.

Tony thought for a millisecond. “What she really needs is a woman's advice. I'll send Blossom out to talk to you.” He turned and vanished into his office before Ruth Ann could voice a protest.

Convincing Blossom to talk to Ruth Ann was harder. Finally though, she grudgingly waddled out to share her problem with Ruth Ann, sniffling the whole way, and Tony slipped past her and out of the building. He'd be lucky if Ruth Ann didn't add a little something extra to the pie on his desk. Something like drain cleaner.

On her way home for the day, Theo descended upon Nina. Her best friend was such a sweetheart. She hated mystery quilts. She didn't like not knowing what the finished project should look like, mostly, Theo believed, because Nina loved to make changes to patterns. When she tested for Theo, it was critical for her to hold firm to the instructions. She was perfect. Even though Nina had plenty to occupy herself, what with teaching high school French and raising her own children, she accepted the task.

Visiting Nina was also an excuse to take a beautiful drive. Nina's home was built on the farthest lot in the subdivision created by her father on the family farm. Poor for farming but rich in beauty. It had the best view in the county. The road formed an oval, and the homes were on the outside of it. The center was an undeveloped park, filled with animals and ancient trees. The view across the valley was of the taller mountains of the Smokies. Like most of the new homes, Nina's was built to take advantage of the view. Her nearest neighbor was five hundred yards away and hidden by the trees. Expensive lots. Nina's dad was no dummy.

As Theo carried the twins and her bag containing the pattern and a variety of fabrics into Nina's house, she couldn't help but notice a huge heart-shaped box of chocolates, still wrapped in cellophane, sitting on the entry table. Valentine's day was long past. The box was covered with dust. “If you're not going to eat the chocolates or throw them away, you ought to at least dust them.”

Nina only laughed.

“Seriously.” Theo knew they were a gift from Nina's ex-husband. “What's going on? Does he want you back? Do you want him back?”

“The kids want him back.” Nina led the way into her spacious great room. The panorama of the Smoky Mountains made a majestic backdrop to her comfortable furniture. “I am willing to let them spend more time with him but dread the moment when he disappoints them again. I know him too well to believe otherwise.” Her expression was pensive. “I hate to see them get hurt again.”

Theo, being Nina's friend, understood. She had never been one of her ex's fans. “But why keep the chocolate out there?”

“As long as I don't open it, the kids can see I'm giving it proper consideration, and the answer is still no.” Nina did smile then. “I imagine the dust will be a foot deep when they figure it out.” She took Lizzie from Theo and gave the baby a big kiss on her neck.

“I've brought you something else to play with besides the girls.” Theo handed Nina a few sheets of paper and a paper bag containing a variety of fabrics. “Have fun.”

“Anything special you want me to watch for?” Nina stared at the first page. When Theo didn't say anything, she glared. “You know I hate to do mystery quilts.”

“Yes, and thank you anyway. It makes you the perfect pattern tester.” Theo made herself comfortable on an old rocking chair. “Speaking of knowing things, have you heard about Ruby being pregnant?”

“Yes, it's so exciting! She'll be the most gorgeous pregnant woman ever. Her ankles probably won't even swell.” Nina peeked into the bag. “I don't suppose you packed baby fabrics for me to play with?”

Theo had, the moment she'd heard Ruby's news.

Remembering his promise to Theo, Tony thought he'd put his escape from the office to good use and deal with the noise of Quentin's cannon. The last time Tony had an employment update on Quentin, he was still working for Gus. Tony's oldest brother had been working on the folk museum project for their mother and aunt for over half a year. Tony decided to drive out and talk to Quentin and see what was happening on the site of a former dreadful—what was it called? Not a motel. It finally came to him: an old fashioned tourist court. That was the name for it. Until Gus tore the remains of it down, a series of individual cabins dotted the acreage. Rotting and falling down, nothing could look worse than they had. Gus's crew, including Quentin, had leveled them and cleared out not only the buildings but truckloads of kudzu and dead trees.

Of the original buildings, only the cinder block one used as the former office remained. It had been gutted inside and painted and now served as the private museum office. On the rest of the grounds, Gus's crew had moved and rebuilt, on site, an antique barn, built a new museum building with climate control to protect the more delicate items on display, like the antique quilts and clothes, and separated the parking area from the recently planted grass with new split-rail fences. A few sheep and a goat inhabited a large undeveloped pasture filled with wild grasses, shrubs and weeds. Besides adding a bucolic touch, the animals helped keep the rampaging vegetation in check.

The old barn and the new museum building looked splendid in the morning sun. A cabin recently moved onto the property now filled a space near the far end of the barn. Across the parking area from the complex of buildings, he spotted his brother and two helpers busy setting up a stage facing a neatly mown field. Tony climbed from the Blazer and headed in that direction.

“Hail, Caesar!” Although Tony was the youngest of the Abernathy siblings, he thought he most resembled Gus, named Caesar Augustus Abernathy at birth. Like Tony, he was tall, muscular, and short on hair.

“Oh, yoo-hoo, Marc Antony,” Gus called as he ambled toward Tony, tossing a small sledge hammer from hand to hand. “I baked you some cookies.” He batted his eyelashes.

Tony thought Gus's imitation of Blossom was spot on. “It's better to have a fan than be a slave. What's our mom got you doing now?”

Gus waved toward the construction area. “After we get the stage set up, we're supposed to start work on the outdoor dining area for this weekend's fun.” His forehead developed deep grooves and his voice dropped. “Mom and Aunt Martha seem to expect hordes of hungry diners. Do you think many people will come out here to eat ramps? Have you ever smelled one?”

Tony shook his head. He'd heard of the pungent vegetable but had never, at least not knowingly, eaten one.

Gus stared into the distance. “Think onions with garlic sauce.”

Tony's stomach flinched. “I think there will be a crowd, but I don't know how many folks will plan to be eating much. There's already been some whining by the cheapskates in town about having to pay admission to hear the music and see the crafts show. The ramp dishes are free, but the rest of the food won't be.”

“A full day's entertainment costing less than a movie ticket?” Gus looked stunned. “Do they think it should all be free?”

Nodding, Tony looked past his brother at the parking spaces. “If there's a crowd, where are they supposed to park? There's not more than thirty spaces here.”

“Mom's worked out a deal with Sam Brown, the owner of the property across the road. He's letting her use a cow pasture as an overflow parking lot.” Gus frowned. “She won't say what he asked for in exchange, but you can bet there's something on his mind.”

Tony studied the house on the small dairy farm. Not new, not ancient. The house was in reasonable repair, the yard non-descript, the nearer pasture held a herd of milk cows and the farther one showed signs of having been mowed recently. Tony actually felt relieved he knew so little about Mr. Brown. Either Brown stayed on the right side of the law or was extremely clever. His first son had died in an accident at the age of thirteen. Tony and Brown's remaining son had been friends in school, mostly because they played the same sports. The son had been a decent guard in basketball, not exceptionally bright or dull, and Tony guessed he'd moved away after school to get out of milking. “It's been six months since Brown's wife passed away. Maybe he's looking for a replacement.”

“Do you think our mom would put up with mud and manure being tracked into her house?” Gus squinted toward the farm house. “I think Brown's nice enough, but I can still remember the time I saw him walk into the house wearing his barn boots. I was selling Christmas wreaths with the scouts, and he went in to get the money.”

Tony whistled. “Mom would have gone ballistic, for sure, but maybe there was a mud room for that kind of thing. I never saw mud on the floor when I visited his son.” Thinking of complaints reminded him why he'd made the trip out here. “I need to talk to Quentin for a minute.”

“Let me guess,” Gus said. “The potato cannon?”

“Oh, yeah.” Tony grinned. “I'm sure you've heard it. Everyone's heard it and called to complain. Have you seen it?”