Murder and Salutations (Book 3 in the Cardmaking Mysteries) (13 page)

I hadn’t wanted the award, nor had I
expected to win, but they’d given it to me. So why couldn’t Kaye,
be more gracious about it?

“
So which side was Eliza
on?” Kaye frowned. “She was your biggest advocate. I couldn’t
imagine why she pushed so hard for you, not that you aren’t
deserving, but we did have other choices.”

It was pretty obvious that Kaye hadn’t been
one my biggest supporters. I wrote her a check for ten
dollars—about all I could afford to withdraw from my anemic
checkbook—but I didn’t hand it over just yet.

“
So I wasn’t the only thing
you two disagreed on.”

That brought her head up with a snap. “Why?
What have you heard?”

“
Kaye, you’ve lived in Rebel
Forge long enough to know that people talk.” That was sheer bluff.
I hadn’t heard a word about her, but Kaye didn’t know that I tried
my best to look like I was in on all of her dirty little secrets.
The trick was trying to keep my mouth shut and letting her explain.
That was one of the best ways to get an answer from someone who
didn’t want to talk. It was remarkable how most people hated
silence, and were willing to fill it, even if it wasn’t to their
advantage.

I had to give Kaye credit. She held out
nearly a full minute before she said, “Jennifer, it was all a
misunderstanding. We settled our differences just before Eliza
died.”

Still silent, I arched one eyebrow and
continued to stare at her.

“
It’s true,” she continued.
“I agreed to drop my suit, and she promised to stop spreading those
rumors about the store.” Kaye, her husband and her father-in-law
ran a drugstore on the outskirts of town. So what rumors could
Eliza have possibly been spreading? I’d have to ask around, now
that I knew where to dig.

“
I’m sure,” I said, hoping
she’d provide more.

“
Well, do I get that check
or not?”

“
Certainly,” I said as I
handed it to her. Kaye glanced at the amount, then said
sarcastically, “Thanks so much for your generous
contribution.”

“
You’re most welcome,” I
said.

She stared at me a second longer, then beat
a hasty retreat. Lillian and I certainly had more to talk about. If
anyone could dig out the gossip on the rift between Eliza and Kaye,
it was my aunt. I glanced at the clock and realized that if I
didn’t hurry, I was going to be late. Part of the plan depended on
me convincing Jack Hurley to seat me where Lillian was going to
be.

I slapped the
back soon
sign in the
door, then locked up and hurried to the pub. I just hoped that
Lillian wasn’t there ahead of me.

It was early enough that Hurley’s wasn’t
crowded yet; early enough in the day and the season as well. As
soon as the main influx of tourists hit us, I wouldn’t be able to
get within fifty yards of the place. As it was, the faux Irish pub
was half deserted, and Jack was behind the bar, cleaning his menus
with a soft cloth. “Jennifer, it’s good to see you.”

Jack usually loved to tease me, but there
wasn’t a trace of humor in his voice. “What’s wrong with you?” I
asked.

“
Can’t I be polite to one of
my best customers?” he said.

“
Not if it’s me. What’s
going on?”

He shrugged and threw the cloth down on the
bar. “Things have been slow since the other night. I never should
have let the chamber hire the place out. My wife told me it was a
mistake, though she didn’t know how epic it would turn out to be. I
hope you’re in the mood to eat a lumberjack’s lunch. I could use
the business.”

“
Sorry, about all I can
afford right now is a salad.”

Everyone kept telling me that once the full
brunt of tourists arrived, I’d be swimming in money, but so far
there was barely enough to dampen the soles of my feet.

“
Then it will be the best
salad you’ve ever had in your life.” He stepped out from behind the
bar and pointed me to a table.

“
I’ve got a favor to ask,” I
said as I sat down.

“
Name it and it’s
yours.”

“
Lillian is going to be
coming in shortly with Luke Penwright. Is there any way you could
seat them behind me?”

“
What are you two up to?” he
asked with a scowl.

“
We’re doing a little
snooping,” I admitted. I’d considered lying to him, but Jack Hurley
had a strange effect on me. Whenever I was around him, I felt like
an awkward teenaged girl again. It was all I could do not to giggle
every time he talked to me, and I wasn’t in any position to lie to
him.

“
Good for you,” Jack said to
my surprise.

“
You’re not mad that we’re
using your restaurant for our scheming?” I asked.

“
Now, why on earth should I
be mad? If you can find out what happened to Eliza Glade, I’ll give
you both free desserts for a year. It’s amazing to me how someone
could stab her in my kitchen during a banquet and not a soul
witnessed it. If your brother doesn’t solve her murder soon, I may
be out of business.”

“
Is it really that
bad?”

“
Jennifer, I do well enough
with the tourist trade, but it’s the folks who live in Rebel Forge
year-round who keep me going. I like my friends to feel welcome
here, and right now it’s as if there’s a pall of death hanging over
the place that’s killing its spirit.”

“
I’m so sorry,” I said. “I
never even thought about how it would hit you.”

He touched my hand lightly, and I felt it
tingle, despite the fact that I knew the man had more children than
I had cats. “You’ve grown into a sweet and kind woman, you know
that?”

Before I could stop myself, a giggle
escaped. “Thanks,” I managed to mutter before completely
embarrassing myself.

Jack smiled, but to his credit he didn’t
laugh. “Now let me see about that salad.”

He headed off to the kitchen, and I was
studying the furnishings when someone slid across from me at my
table.

It was my ex-fiancé. “Greg, you can’t sit
there.”

Greg Langston looked around. “Why? Is your
date in the bathroom, or did he stand you up?”

“
My, aren’t you
charming.”

He scowled. “Come on, Jennifer, you’re by
yourself. There’s only one place setting.”

“
I never claimed I was
eating with anyone else. All I said was that you couldn’t sit
there.”

At that moment, Lillian walked in with Luke
Penwright. She looked surprised to see Greg sitting with me. Well,
she couldn’t have been any more surprised than I was. Jack came out
of the kitchen, and if he noticed that Greg had joined me, he
didn’t show it. He led Lillian and Luke to their table, then handed
Greg a menu.

“
He’s not staying,” I
said.

“
Actually, I am.” Greg
yanked the menu out of Jack’s hands.

“
Jennifer, would you like me
to reseat this gentleman?”

I saw Greg tense up, and it was pretty clear
that Jack was ready for a little distraction from his slow
business. “It’s fine,” I said, trying my best to defuse the
situation.

Jack shrugged. “Then it’s all right with me.
What can I get you?”

“
I’ll have whatever she’s
having,” Greg said. I knew he hated salads, but out of sheer
meanness, I kept my mouth shut.

Jack nodded and left. I could tell that
Lillian and Luke were talking about something, but I couldn’t hear
much of what they were saying.

Greg kept trying to talk to me, when all I
wanted to do was eavesdrop on my aunt’s conversation. I had to
brush him off if I was going to learn anything. “So how is
Stephanie going to react when she hears we’re having lunch
together?”

“
She’ll just have to get
over it,” he said. “I’ve wanted to talk to you for a while now, but
we never seem to get the chance to have a simple
conversation.”

“
This isn’t a good time,
either,” I said. “Can’t we do it later?”

“
We need to do it now,” he
said. “Jennifer, I thought Stephanie might be the one, but every
time I’m with her, I keep thinking about you. We’ve got to resolve
what’s between us, so we can both move on.”

There was a serious undertone to his words
that was rare for him. “How do you propose we do that?”

“
We need to go out on a date
together, one last time, so we can put this behind us
forever.”

I was so startled by his suggestion that I
nearly choked on my water.

“
Are you all
right?”

“
I’m fine,” I said, trying
to catch my breath. “Do you honestly think a date will help us get
past our situation?”

He smiled at me, and I felt my resolve
weaken.

After all, how bad could it be, going out
with him again? He’d always made me laugh, and when his hand
brushed against mine, I could still feel the charge down to my
toes.

“
No,” I said as emphatically
as I could. “I can’t do that anymore. Greg, we don’t fit. Isn’t
that obvious by now?”

“
So grant me this last
favor. We go out, revisit our past, and then maybe we can both move
on.”

I looked at him intently. “What exactly did
you have in mind?”

His words tumbled out. “I’m just talking
about dinner. You don’t even have to kiss me good night if you
don’t want to.”

“
Where?”

He met my gaze and said, “I was thinking we
could go to The Chateau.”

He’d named the most expensive restaurant in
town. “Can you honestly afford that?”

Greg shrugged. “Why not go out in style,
since it’s our last date?”

Every ounce of my being was screaming no, so
why did I say, “Okay. That sounds just crazy enough to work. When
do you want to go out?”

“
How about tonight?” he
asked.

“
Tonight is fine with me,
but what is Stephanie going to say?”

Greg looked sheepish as he admitted, “To be
honest with you, this was actually her idea. She thinks I’m still
hung up on you, but Steph is under the impression that a date will
clear it up once and for all.”

“
That’s a first,” I said. “I
can’t say I’ve ever had a date arranged by a man’s
girlfriend.”

“
So, should I pick you up at
seven?”

“
Why don’t we just meet at
the restaurant,” I suggested.

“
No,” Greg said as he shook
his head. “This is going to be a date, from start to finish. No
cheating, okay?”

“
Just as long as you
remember that, too.”

He had the decency to blush, but he was
saved when our salads arrived.

“
You ordered rabbit food?”
he asked me.

“
Try it. It’s
delicious.”

Greg shook his head and spoke to Jack. “Can
I get this to go?”

“
No problem,” Jack said as
he took the salad away. He was back a minute later with a Styrofoam
box, and after he handed it to Greg, he gave him the check as well.
Greg paid and left, and I found myself watching him walk out the
door, wondering exactly what I had agreed to tonight.

I was about to take a bite of my salad when
I noticed that Lillian and Luke were gone.

“
Can I get this to go, too?”
I said after I waved Jack over to my table.

“
Is it something I said?”
Jack asked.

“
No, but I’ve got to find
Lillian. Did you happen to notice when she left?”

Jack scratched his chin. “She’s been gone
about five minutes. Luke looked like he was going to cry. What in
the world was she thinking, bringing him here?”

“
It was his idea,” I
said.

Jack put my salad into a container like he’d
given Greg, and I asked for my check.

“
I can’t give it to you,” he
said, not even trying to hide his smile.

“
And why not?”

“
Your lunch date already
covered it. What is it with you two, Jennifer? Are you on
again?”

“
Just for tonight,” I said
as I grabbed my salad and headed for the door.

I had the satisfaction of seeing the puzzled
look on Jack’s face as I left. He could join the club. I didn’t
have any more idea what I was doing than he did.

I found Lillian back at the card shop, and
was surprised to see that she’d opened the place back up for
business.

“
Where did you run off to?”
I asked her as I put my salad on the counter.

“
I thought Luke was going to
fall apart right on the spot. I had to get him out of there. I’m
not surprised you didn’t notice us, though. What was that all
about?”

I wasn’t ready to get into my social life
with my aunt at the moment. “We can talk about it later. Did you
get anything out of Luke?”

“
Not in the restaurant, but
out on the sidewalk he admitted that he was leaving town. He said
being in Rebel Forge made him think about Eliza too much. My heart
went out to the poor boy.”

There was something about the man’s behavior
that I just didn’t buy. “Lillian, did you ever consider the
possibility that he’s crying out of remorse for killing her? If he
stabbed his ex-wife, leaving town might be his escape.”

“
I don’t know,” Lillian
said. “I truly believe he loved her.”

“
You’re nothing but a softie
deep down inside, aren’t you?”