Heaven Preserve Us (29 page)

Detective Robin Lane had been gone for an hour, and Barr was
back watching his basketball game, looking more content than
ever. I'd called the references Mandy Koller had given me, and had
decided to take the plunge and hire her. Feeling a little giddy at
the notion that I'd soon have more time to do what I thought of
as "the fun stuff" for Winding Road-playing with recipes, cooking up batches of soap, and figuring out creative ways to sell my
products-I folded a pile of laundry while Meghan worked in her
office and Erin plugged away at her math homework.

I was happy Barr would have help at work, and I'd finally get
to spend more time with him, but it was tempered with a vague
sense of unease at the thought of him working with that gorgeous,
smart woman day in and day out. She didn't wear a ring, and she
seemed to be footloose and fancy free enough to make the decision to move to Cadyville from Seattle without having to consider
the effects on her family.

I didn't have to worry about Barr. I knew that. He was a good
guy, an honest straight-shooter who'd never been anything but
affectionate.

Still. Day in and day out. Bleah.

The phone rang. Adding a towel to the mounting stack of folded
laundry, I went out to the hall to answer it.

"Sophie Mae. It's me. Allen. Don't hang up!"

Gawd. "Why not?"

"Are you really scared of me?"

"Is that what this is all about? Some power trip you get from
trying to scare me? Because I've got to tell you, that'd really make
me mad."

"No! I just wanted to talk."

"I know you're not the Cadyville Creep. I know you're just
some guy who likes to push buttons on the phone. And I'm going
to get the police to track you down, just like they did the Creep.
When they do, they're going to throw your butt in jail so fast you
won't have time to say `death threat"'

"What? Death threat? Who's this Creep dude? Are you okay?
You sound really uptight."

I kind of lost it then. "I sound uptight? Really? Did it ever occur
to you that you're the one making me `uptight'? That you're driving me nuts, not because I'm afraid, not because you're scary, but
because you and your stupid phone calls are a real pain in the patootie!"

The phone made a nice loud crashing noise when I slammed it
down on the cradle.

"You have to hit the Off button," Barr said from the doorway to
the living room.

"What?"

"It's still on."

I looked down. Slamming the phone down hadn't disconnected
it. Allen could still hear me. How embarrassing. Barr picked up the
receiver.

"Don't call here anymore. She really will go to the police. In
fact, I am the police." A pause, then, "Hello?"

He turned off the phone and returned it to the cradle much
more gently than I had. "Hmmm. Seems to have hung up. I'd be
surprised if you heard from him again."

"Good," I said, and rubbed both hands over my face. "I'm going
to bed."

"Want some company?"

I looked up at him and grinned. "Of course. But it's probably
not a good idea."

"Erin."

"Right"

"I'd like to put a suggestion on the table."

"What's that?"

"I'd like you to consider a living situation that wouldn't involve Meghan and Erin."

My breath stuttered in my chest. Carefully, I asked, "You mean
a living situation that would include you?"

"Oh, absolutely it would include me. And there would be no
reason for us to be in separate beds. Ever."

Wow. The idea thrilled me. Terrified me. But I'd have to give
up living with Meghan and Erin, and over the years they'd become
my family. I was so confused I couldn't speak.

He seemed to understand, gathering me into his arms and
resting his chin on the top of my head. "Just think about it."

Mute, I nodded. I doubted I'd be thinking about anything else
all night.

I did, though. Think about something else, I mean. After everyone
had gone to bed, I slipped out from under my warm covers and
went to the closet. Fumbling around in the dark, I finally felt the
pint canning jar in my hand. By the streetlight coming in the window, I could see the vague outlines of the preserved beets inside.

Ruth's beets, saved from destruction by the Health Department. Maybe they'd come in handy some day. I could only hope.

Was I being an idiot, going to help Jude move? Was he really
dangerous? He seemed so ... innocuous. It would probably be a
boring morning spent hauling boxes.

No reason to make it into a big deal. Just be careful.

And if I did come across some information that could help
convince the powers that be in the Cadyville Police Department
that there was a case worth investigating, so much the better.

Tootie was right. I couldn't walk away from this.

ERIN HAD LEFT FOR school, Meghan was working at the hospital,
and Barr had dozed off. I thought about waking him before I left,
but that just seemed mean. All that sleep seemed to help him regain his strength and wind. He knew where I'd be, plus I'd leave
him a note downstairs to remind him, so he wouldn't be worried
when he awoke to find me gone. Still, I couldn't help myself.
Brushing aside a lock of chestnut hair from his forehead, I kissed
the fine web of wrinkles at the corner of his eye. He stirred and
made a snorting sound. I tiptoed out and shut the door softly behind me. Downstairs, Brodie toddled over to the foot of the stairs
and lay down in habitual guard mode.

My mood bordered on giddy. The Winding Road invoicing
was done for a while, and I'd found a wholesale order for a full
display rack of soaps-a gross in all-waiting in my email inbox
that morning. Mandy Koller would soon be dealing with a significant portion of my bookwork. The Cadyville Creep was no longer
a threat. I'd given Allen what-for the night before on the phone, and maybe this time it had taken-I almost felt bad about hurting
his feelings-but not quite. Barr's health was steadily improving,
Erin was going to compete in her spelling bee in spite of Jonathan
Bell's defection, and Meghan had gotten over being mad at me for
investigating Kelly O'Connell. And even though the thought made
me crazy nervous, Barr obviously wanted to take our relationship
to the next level.

Outside, the sun peered through a clear blue hole in the clouds,
and the air smelled green. A big grin split my face as I strode down
the front sidewalk to my little truck parked by the curb.

Detective Lane and I would never be best friends, but after her
visit last evening I felt I had a good chance of convincing her to
investigate Philip's murder. She'd caught the Cadyville Creep and
proved she could do the job. Now I just needed the smallest piece
of evidence to push her over the edge. In the cheerful light of
morning and my present state of mind, all my doubts from the
night before had vanished. I would be very careful, I'd find something for Detective Lane to run with, and I'd happily hang up any
notions of investigating on my own forever.

Jude's little car hugged the curb in front of Heaven House, but
the place looked empty when I walked into the main room from
the street. I squinted in the comparative dimness after the bright
sun outside, waiting for my eyes to adjust. A banging noise issued
from the game room, followed by a yelp. Then silence. Curious, I
crossed to the open doorway.

Inside, Jude stood with a hammer in his right hand and the
index finger of his left hand in his mouth. His face was pinched
with pain and his eyes were closed. A nail protruded at an angle
out of the freshly painted wall just above his head, and a framed black-and-white picture of an elderly, white-haired gentleman in
garb from a century earlier leaned against the floor molding.

"Who's that?" I asked.

Jude jumped and opened his eyes. "Gosh, you startled me."

"Sorry. I thought you heard me come in."

"Not with the racket I was making," he said, sounding quite
proud of his lame handiwork. Still, pounding a nail in the wall
was more than I'd ever seen Philip do for Heaven House. He
glanced down at the picture I'd indicated with my question.

"Don't you recognize him? That's Edgar Cady."

"As in, Cadyville?"

"Of course."

I shook my head. "I never knew why it was called Cadyville."

"That's exactly why I decided to put his picture up. Maybe it'll
inspire some of the kids who come in here to read about our little
town. I've already acquired some materials from the historical
society."

"That's very laudable;" I said, taking a good look at the old gent.
Mr. Cady had been a severe looking man. I looked back at Jude and
changed the subject. "When will Kelly and Bette be here?"

"Oh, they'll meet us over at my place." He turned and hung the
picture, fussing with getting the angle right. "We can go now, if
you want."

"Urn, okay. I'll follow you."

He walked past me and I heard the clank of metal hitting metal
behind me as he returned the hammer."I can't fit much in my car.
I'll just ride with you in your truck, if that's okay."

But that wasn't okay. "You'd be surprised at how much you can
fit in your car." 01' Edgar's stern gaze seemed to agree with me.

"Nah. It'd be awkward getting things in and out. Anyway. It's
only a two-door." He walked past me, toward the front door. "Let's
go.

His insistence surprised me. It seemed out of character. But did
I really know that? I mean, it wasn't like I'd spent a lot of time with
the guy. Perhaps he had a stronger personality once he started getting past his shyness with people.

Turning and walking out to the main room again, I still didn't
like it. I scrambled for a reasonable excuse to make him take his
own car. He had no reason to imagine I thought of him as a threat,
or that I hoped to find proof he'd been involved in Philip's murder.
At the front door, I hesitated.

"They're probably waiting for us." He looked bewildered. He
looked bewildered better than anyone I'd ever met. "What's wrong?"

My reluctance could make him suspicious. I made a decision
and stepped outside. Jude turned to lock the door.

"Nothing," I said. "What if somebody comes by?"

Waving his hand, he said. "It'll be fine. Anyone who sees it's
closed will try again later. Phones are already forwarded."

He sure seemed to forward those phones a lot.

"Why isn't Maryjake here?" I asked.

"She has Sunday and Monday off."

But she'd been in yesterday, Sunday, when I'd stopped by, and
Jude had been upset when she'd left, so he must have expected her
to be there.

Or she'd been covering for Ruth.

"When does Ruth answer the Helpline?" I asked.

One shoulder lifted and dropped. "The schedule for the volunteers changes all the time."

He opened the door and slid into the passenger seat of my
pickup. His look through the window was expectant. I went around
to the other side, got in and started the engine.

As I pulled away from the curb, I asked, "Where to?"

"Starling Lane."

It was a little cul-de-sac off 8th Street. A series of old, Craftsman-style two stories marched neatly around the perimeter. I
didn't know anyone who lived there, but Cadyville was small
enough that I still knew where it was.

Turning left on Maple, I accelerated to twenty-five. "I'm really
impressed you know so much about Cadyville history. I've lived
here for years, and you know way more than I do. How long have
you been in the area?"

"About six months. I like to know about where I live."

A little jab there. Fine.

"Turn here," he said.

I did as I was told, and Jude directed me to a white house at the
end of the cul-de-sac. I parked in the driveway, and we got out.

"I don't see Bette's car," I said. "And doesn't Kelly drive an
SUV?" None of those parked in the cul-de-sac, either. The various
late model sedans and inexpensive mid-range cars indicated that
retirees made up most of this little neighborhood.