Ham Bones (10 page)

"You can't print that!" I made a grab for her elbow and
missed.

"Of course I can, dahling."

"Cece, I don't know if I'm going to take the test or
not"

"Of course you will." She smiled at me and winked at
Gabriel. "But even if you don't, it's still a great story."

She walked out of the cafe with everyone watching.
The door closed and I turned to face Tinkie. "If she prints
that, it'll make me look guilty."

"You already look guilty," Tinkle said. "That's why we
have to get busy." She handed Millie a twenty and blew
her a kiss. "We'll be back"

She took my elbow and marched me past Gabriel, who
settled at our empty table. As I walked past the front window, I saw Booter headed for him. If he had any doubts
about my guilt, he wouldn't by the time Booter finished
with him.

Tinkie headed out of town and I was too depressed to
ask her where we were going. Circumstantial evidence
was piling up around me like kindling around Joan of
Arc. The most solid evidence was the poison found in my
car. I still hadn't figured that one out. How did it get
there? The only poison I'd ever hauled in the roadster involved killing fire ants. That was a far cry from cyanide.

"Why would Renata tell her brother that you were
going to kill her?" Tinkie didn't look at me as she asked
the question. Her gaze was on the four-lane that headed
north to Memphis.

"I have no idea." I spoke stiffly.

"Did you threaten her, Sarah Booth?"

At first the question cut me deeply, but I held myself in
check and thought through my answer. Tinkie knew I had
a temper, and she knew that Renata worked on my control. It wasn't such an unreasonable question to ask. I
might have threatened Renata. "No"

She glanced at me, and her right hand patted my
shoulder. "I know you didn't kill her, I'm just trying to
get a handle on all of this. You've got to admit, it's strange
that her brother would show up and say she feared that
you were going to hurt her."

"How do we even know what he says is true. He might
have heard that I was a suspect and decided to add fuel to
the fire. Or maybe he killed her and is using me as a
scapegoat!"

Tinkie sucked on her bottom lip. It gently popped free
of her teeth in a manner that made men weak with desire.
"I don't think that sounds right. Why would he pick
you?"

"Maybe Renata bad-mouthed me" That was about a
ninety-nine-percent probability.

"That's good" Tinkie smiled. "She realized you had
more talent, so she decided to smear your name to everyone she knew."

Even as Tinkie said it, I knew it was stretching a point.
"Maybe. But what difference does it make why she did
it?"

Tinkie took a deep breath. "Because Gabriel will go
straight to Coleman, Sarah Booth. You don't think he
came all the way to Zinnia to have a scene in a cafe, do
you? He's here to see you put in jail."

"Great" That was exactly what I needed. One more
person wanting my hide. I slumped in the seat. "Where
are we going?"

"To the cosmetic store where you got that lipstick. If
the poison wasn't on the lipstick when you picked it up,
then someone had to put it on it afterward. It'll help us
track down the killer when we decide before or after."

Tinkie was brilliant. Thank God she was on the case or
my future would be toast.

"Tell me the address and then you take a nap. You have
to be ready for the stage tonight."

"I didn't tell Graf I would have a screen test"

She lifted her chin a tad. "Sarah Booth, he's offering
you a chance at your dream"

"If any of it's real."

"You and Graf had a special magic on the stage. If a
camera can capture it, I think-"

"I don't know if that's my dream anymore, Tinkie. I
have a life here, a business. A home with Sweetie Pie and
Reveler."

"I know. Just don't pass it up without thinking about
all of it. You can make a lot of money in Hollywood. You
wouldn't have to stay out there forever." The car zipped
through the empty cotton fields, headed north faster than
the speed limit.

"I haven't said no, but I haven't said yes. And just for
the record, I wouldn't agree to anything without discussing it with you, partner."

"I know that, Sarah Booth. That's why I knew Gabriel
Trovaioli wasn't speaking the truth"

I closed my eyes and settled against the plush leather
seat of her Cadillac. In less than an hour we'd be in Memphis, and I did need the rest. Between stage anxiety and
being charged with murder, I wasn't sleeping well.

The shop was tucked into a row of boutiques in an
artsy part of downtown Memphis. When I'd gone to get
the lipstick, I'd hardly noticed. I'd been so furious at Renata's imperious demands that I'd been blind to the quaint
beauty of the area. Traffic was thick, but Tinkie found a
parking place only a block away. We walked to La Burnisco Salon, an umber stucco front with a black and white
awning over the beveled glass door. Inside, glass counters
like those found in a jewelry shop showed displays of
cosmetics. The precious jewels of La Burnisco.

The elderly man who'd waited on me wasn't behind
the counter. A tall, elegant blonde eyed us from behind
the counter. She dismissed me instantly and focused on
Tinkie.

"May I help you?" she asked, and I wasn't included in
the question.

"Is the manager in?" Tinkie smiled.

"Yes" The blonde's perfect face gave nothing away.

"May I see him?"

"You're looking at her." She didn't smile.

"Okay." Tinkie's tone was terse. "I want to see the elderly man who was in here three days ago and sold my
friend a tube of lipstick."

She didn't flick so much as an eyebrow. "There's no elderly man working here. Not today. Not ever. Old men
wouldn't sell many cosmetics." What passed for a smile
touched the corners of her mouth. I was convinced she'd
Botoxed herself into permanent facial paralysis.

"Look, my friend picked up a tube of lipstick. A special order for Renata Trovaioli. A man sold it to her."

"Not at this shop"

Tinkie stepped as close to the counter as she could get.
"I don't know what kind of scam you're running here, but
I want to see the old man"

At last the blonde looked at me. "Is she on medication?"

That was the final straw. Tinkie did a side step and maneuvered behind the counter before the blonde could
blink. Tinkie rushed to the door at the back of the shop
and flung it open. In a split second she disappeared from
sight. I'd never seen Tinkie move so fast or so determinedly.

The blonde sauntered to a telephone, picked it up and
dialed three numbers. I didn't have to be psychic to know
she'd called the police.

"I'd like to report a robbery in progress," she said. "La
Burnisco Salon, 122 Alva Street. Yes. This madwoman is
ransacking my shop" She hung up and looked at me. "I
suggest you get your friend and get out of here before the
cops arrive."

"An old man sold me a tube of lipstick. Almond
Mocha Retreat. For Renata Trovaioli. I picked it up right
here. He was standing right there. You can't--"

"My name is Carlotta La Burnisco and I'm the sole
owner of this business. I create all of my own cosmetics,
and though I have an A-list of clients, Renata Trovaioli is
not one of them. I have no idea where you think you were,
but it wasn't this shop" She pointed to the door where
Tinkie had disappeared. "Get your friend and leave before you end up behind bars"

"Tinkie! She called the cops" I rushed back to find
Tinkie examining a storage room. There was no one else
in sight.

"Let's get out of here" I grabbed her arm and began to
pull her to the front door.

"Are you sure you came to this shop?" Tinkie turned in
all directions. "There's no place an old man could hide."

"I came here. I got the lipstick from an old guy who looked like he belonged in a Dickens novel. Muttonchop
whiskers, curly white hair around a bald spot, rimless
glasses perched on his nose" I remembered him completely. In vivid detail.

"Are you sure, Sarah Booth?"

And with that question, I wasn't any longer. I'd been
so angry and hadn't paid attention. Could I have gone to
another shop, a place where Renata's lipstick had been
poisoned? Tinkie read my face, and hers showed concern.

"Let's talk about this somewhere else." This time she
took my arm and led me out the door and onto the street.
We were pulling away when the cops arrived, sirens blaring.

"My credit card will show the purchase" I suddenly
felt better. I'd charged the lipstick to my card knowing I'd
be reimbursed.

"Thank goodness" A little of the tension left her face.
"How could you not remember the lipstick shop?"

"I do remember it. La Burnisco. 122 Alva Street. I remember the black and white awning, and the stucco front.
The color was so rich. I remember that" But as I spoke
we passed several shops nearly the same color. Two of
them also had striped awnings. It was part of the historical decor.

"Tinkie, I came to Memphis and got that lipstick for
Renata. I didn't open it."

"I believe you, Sarah Booth. You don't have to convince me. It's Coleman and a jury I'm worried about"

In my mind I saw twelve Sunflower Countians sitting
in the jury box ready to judge me. It wasn't a comforting
prospect.

"Where would I have come up with a tube of lipstick
called Almond Mocha Retreat? The exact shade Renata
asked for. I couldn't have produced that in a couple of hours' time. And you know Renata, had it not been the
right shade and the right tube, she would have thrown a
hissy fit."

"That's true. As I said, Sarah Booth, I believe you"

"But you don't think anyone else will." I could see it in
her expression. She drove without looking at me, and
when I saw the glimmer of a tear in the corner of her eye,
I realized she was worried about me. That, more than
anything else, frightened me.

"What am I going to do?"

"We're going to get to the bottom of this." She hesitated. "Sarah Booth, what's going on between you and
Coleman?"

"I wish I knew." Normally I'd try to hide the fact that
I'd been dumped. I was too dejected to even try to disguise
my dismay.

"He filed for divorce. I checked"

Leave it to Tinkie to get the facts, but this wasn't only
about Renata's murder. "There's something wrong with
Connie."

Tinkie tapped her toe. "We've known that for months.
But that doesn't explain why Coleman is acting so
bizarre. I know he doesn't believe you killed Renata"

I kept my voice steady and my eyes dry, but it took an
act of will. "Connie has a brain tumor. They're operating
today and I was supposed to go with him for the surgery."

"You didn't refuse, did you?"

The question hung between us as we crossed the
Tennessee-Mississippi line. It was a long time before I
spoke. "He never even called me. Coleman may be jealous of Graf."

"Does he know about your past with him?"

"He knows Graf and I were lovers. There's no telling
what else has been passed on to Coleman."

"That could account for his peculiar conduct"

"There's no excuse for thinking the woman you love is
a murderer."

"We don't know Coleman thinks that" She took the
highway that led to Dahlia House so I could prepare for
the play.

"If he didn't think it, wouldn't he say he didn't think
it?" I was exasperated.

Tinkle glanced at me, a withering look. "What do you
expect, Sarah Booth? He is a man, isn't he?"

s we pulled into the driveway of Dahlia House, I sat
-upright. A patrol car was parked at the front door,
and I knew Coleman hadn't come for a social call. Coleman was in Jackson. With his wife.

I considered asking Tinkie to turn around and leave,
but I needed to get ready for the play. As we cruised to the
front of the house, I saw Gordon Walters leaning against
the patrol car.