Murder and Salutations (Book 3 in the Cardmaking Mysteries) (26 page)

“
Do you still think she
might have done it?”

“
There’s always a chance.
Besides, it would be refreshing to be able to eliminate one of my
suspects.”

“
Go, but don’t stay too
long. I thought we might go to The Lunch Box at noon.”

“
Lillian, you know how I
hate to close the store.”

She lowered her chin. “And yet you have no
compunction about leaving me here alone to fend for myself.”

“
Fine, we can have lunch
out. But I’m picking up the check.”

“
Not with that measly five,
you won’t.”

I put the money in the register before I
left. “I wouldn’t dream of it.”

“
You should frame that
instead of putting it into circulation,” Lillian said. “You know
how tight Kaye is with her money.”

“
Just for charity,” I said.
“She had a lot of nerve, asking for donations when she was wearing
that fancy necklace. Anyway, I’ll be back by lunch.”

“
You’d better, or I’m going
without you.”

“
You wouldn’t do that,” I
said with a smile.

“
And why not?”

“
Because I’m buying, and you
wouldn’t miss that for the world.”

“
Of that I’m
guilty.”

I found Polly going through a book of real
estate listings. The frown that was plastered to her face didn’t
break when she saw me standing at her desk.

“
What do you want,
Jennifer?”

“
Gosh, I came by to look at
houses, but now I’m not so sure I want to.”

She studied me for a second, then forced a
smile to her face. “Come on, don’t hold that against me. I didn’t
mean to be curt with you. Of course I’d be delighted to show you
some of my listings.”

“
You’re back in town early,
aren’t you? I heard your trip was cut short because of
rain.”

“
You’ve just got to love
small towns,” she said as she flipped through her book. “Now here’s
a property that would be just perfect for you.”

Out of idle curiosity, I looked at the
listing. “This has four bedrooms,” I said. “That would leave an
extra room even if I gave each cat their own space.”

She glanced at the page, then said, “I’m
sorry, that’s the wrong one.” The next one she flipped to had one
bedroom, and barely had enough square footage to turn around
in.

“
What was this before,” I
asked, “a telephone booth?”

“
No, the owner bought one of
those garage kits and made it into a getaway. It’s charming, isn’t
it?”

“
All I can say from this is
that it’s tiny. Anyway I’ve got a new place to live. I guess
there’s no rush.”

“
Where are you staying? That
was a tragedy at Whispering Oak, wasn’t it?”

I looked at her steadily. “How did you hear
about that? I thought you were out of town.”

Polly lowered her voice. “Please. I had
breakfast at The Lunch Box. Do you honestly think anyone in town
was talking about anything else? I’m so sorry for your loss. How’s
Sara Lynn taking it?”

“
She’s holding up,” I said,
uncomfortable with the way our conversation had shifted. At least
Kaye had kept her empty condolences to herself. “Did you know
Bailey very well?”

“
Enough to speak to him in
the grocery store or at a ball game, but nothing beyond that. Why
do you ask?”

“
I heard you knew him better
than that,” I said, stretching the truth beyond all recognition.
“You spoke with him the night of the banquet, didn’t
you?”

“
I saw a great many people
that night,” Polly said as she slammed the book shut. “Do you know
what? I’m late for a showing. I nearly forgot all about it.
Good-bye, Jennifer.”

“
We’ll talk again later,” I
said.

“
There’s nothing left to
discuss.” Before she bolted away, she handed me a card. “If you
change your mind about that garage, let me know.”

“
Oh, I will,” I said. After
she was gone, I threw her card away in her own trash can so she’d
know exactly how I felt.

I wanted to tweak Reggie, Addie and Luke
with the same statement, but my growling stomach insisted I take
care of it first, so I headed back to the card shop to get
Lillian.

When I walked in the door, one of my
suspects was already there, and from the look on Reggie’s face, he
wasn’t any happier to see me than I was to lay eyes on him.

“
There you are,” he snapped
at me.

“
Hi, Reggie. Did you come to
buy a card?” My sweetness was purely artificial, and we both knew
it.

“
I came here to tell you to
leave my mother alone.”

“
Is that an order? Because
in case you didn’t realize it, you don’t get to tell me what to
do.” I saw Lillian smile at that, but I had to stay focused on
Reggie.

“
I’m warning you,” he said
gravely.

I never got to find out what he was warning
me about, because Gail walked in the shop just then. She looked
confused to see Reggie there, but it only took her a heartbeat to
catch up. “There you are,” she said. “I thought you were meeting me
at the square.”

“
I am,” Reggie snapped.
“There was something I had to take care of first.”

Gail looked at him, then shifted her gaze to
me. “Has he been bothering you again?”

“
We were just talking,” I
said. The last thing I wanted to do was come between Gail and her
boyfriend.

“
Jennifer Shane, I asked you
a question. Don’t make me repeat myself. What did he
say?”

I kept silent, so Lillian piped up happily,
“He just threatened her, actually. He demanded that Jennifer stay
away from his mother, and when she refused, he was getting ready to
push her, but you walked in first.”

Gail looked at me for confirmation, and I
nodded unhappily.

Then she turned to Reggie. “That’s it, we’re
through.”

“
What are you talking
about?”

“
You can’t threaten my best
friend and expect me to forget about it. I won’t date a man who
doesn’t respect women.”

He wanted to say something, I could see it
in his eyes, but finally he threw up his hands and said, “Forget
it. You’re not worth this kind of trouble, anyway.”

After he was gone, I saw Gail sag a little.
I put my arm around her and said, “He wasn’t worth it.”

“
I know,” she said, “but I
had hopes.”

“
We all do, dear,” Lillian
said. “Now why don’t I treat you ladies to lunch?”

“
It’s my turn to pay,” I
protested.

Gail said, “I should be the one picking up
the check. I knew he was wrong for me, but I needed you two with me
to break up with him. That should earn you each a free lunch, at
the very least.”

“
Why don’t we all go dutch?”
I asked. “That way everyone gets to buy.”

They both laughed, and the solemn mood was
broken. It wasn’t until we got to The Lunch Box that I realized I
hadn’t had a chance to confront Reggie about being with Bailey at
the banquet. It would have to wait until another time, but not
until he cooled down first. I didn’t have that much time.

We found three stools together near the
window in the serpentine ribbon of seats. The Lunch Box was
hopping, with Savannah ruling over the counters, and Pete grilling
in back. Savannah came over as soon as we sat down. “Hello, ladies.
Oh, and hi, Lillian.” The two of them had been friends forever, and
they’d cut their pleasantries to acerbic jabs, though I knew they
were as close as sisters.

We were all surprised when Lillian replied,
“You’re looking fit today. Have you lost weight?”

Savannah’s eyes narrowed. “Maybe a pound or
two. Why?”

“
Why not? How’d you like to
lose another one?”

“
Go on,” Savannah said. “I’m
listening.”

“
If you’ll round up three
glasses of tea, I’ll tell you.”

Savannah returned in no time and put the
glasses in front of us. Lillian took a sip, then leaned forward.
“Okay, here goes. Exercise more, and eat less.”

Savannah whooped with laughter, though I
thought the humor was a little lacking. “I was getting worried
about you, but I can see you’re just as mean as ever

“
Does a snake jog in tennis
shoes?” Lillian asked her.

“
He does if he’s running a
marathon,” Savanna said as she walked away.

Gail looked at me and raised her eyebrows in
question. “Don’t worry, I don’t get much the two of they say,
either. They’ve known each other so long they have their own
code.”

She shrugged. “Like the time we went to that
movie?”

“
Popcorn’s cheaper than
glue,” we both said in unison. A man in front of us kept repeating
that phrase until an usher had to physically remove him from the
theatre, and Gail and I had adopted his catchphrase as our
own.

Lillian asked, “What are
you two nattering away
about?”

“
I guess you had to be
there,” I said. Maybe Gail and I were developing a code of our own.
“Excuse me, I’ll be right back.” I’d been facing the door, and I
could swear I’d seen Addie walk in the restaurant before turning
away. “Hey, wait a second,” I said as I rushed out after her. She
ducked into a car parked at the side of the restaurant, and I was
shocked when I realized that Luke was driving. I tapped on the
window before they could escape, and she reluctantly rolled the
window down.

“
What do you
want?”

“
I didn’t know you two were
dating,” I said.

“
Don’t be ridiculous. But
even if we were, it wouldn’t be any of your business,” Addie
said.

I looked over at Luke. “Boy, when you decide
to stay, you really move back in, don’t you? How long has this been
going on?”

He got out of the car, and I suddenly
realized how stupid I’d been confronting him like that without
anyone backing me up. As I edged back to the entrance, he said, “I
want to talk to you.”

“
I don’t have anything to
say to you,” I said.

“
That didn’t stop you at the
gas station, did it?” I looked around for help, but I was all
alone. “Trying to leave made you look guilty,” I said. If I was I
going to get bashed, I might as well deserve it.

Instead of pressing me, he said, “I would
never hurt Eliza. And neither would Addie.”

“
How long have you two been
going out?”

“
We aren’t dating,” he
snapped, then looked back at Addie.

“
So what are you two doing
out together?” He kicked at the dirt, then said, “We’re doing the
same thing you are. We’re trying to figure out who killed Eliza. Is
that so hard for you to believe? You’re not going to like our
number-one suspect. It’s your sister.”

“
You’ve lost your mind,” I
said. Why did it surprise me that someone else was trying to solve
the case besides Lillian and me? It wasn’t like we had some right
to meddle in other people’s lives. But I didn’t have to like the
fact that Luke and Addie suspected my sister. “So what’s your
proof?”

“
You’re kidding, right? If
she weren’t your sister, you’d be all over her right now. Her
husband was cheating on her with Eliza, and then he turns up dead,
too? If Sara Lynn wasn’t the sheriff’s sister, she’d be in jail
right now. The whole town thinks so.”

“
Maybe my brother knows
something you don’t,” I said.

“
What’s that?”

“
The fact that Sara Lynn is
innocent.”

Luke shook his head. “They all say that,
don’t they?” He took another step toward me, and hissed, “It’s time
you got what you deserved.”

I was ready to run for the front of the
restaurant when the back door opened and Pete came out with a
bucket of hot grease. I’d never been so happy to see the man in my
life.

“
Jennifer, your friends were
wondering where you got to,” he said as he stared at
Luke.

“
I was just chatting, but
I’m finished now.” I didn’t even wait to see what Luke’s reaction
was. Addie had waited in the car, but she’d been watching us the
entire time, no doubt taking in every word.

“
Then I suspect you should
get back to them,” Pete said.

Without a word, Luke got into the car and
drove off.

“
Thanks,” I said. “I’d kiss
you, but Savannah would swat me with a rolling pin.”

“
Might just be worth it for
both of us,” Pete said with a wicked grin on his face.

To his surprise, I leaned forward and kissed
his cheek. “That was perfect timing,” I said.

His face reddened slightly. “Go on, get back
in there.” I couldn’t tell if he was pleased by my kiss, or just
embarrassed. Maybe it was a combination of both.

I went back inside and took my seat.

“
You were gone, so we
ordered for you,” Gail said:

“
You’re getting barbeque,”
Lillian added.

“
Great. Here I was having
trouble deciding, and you two step in and save the day.”

Lillian looked at me for a few seconds.
“Where were you?”

“
I ran into Luke and Addie
out in the parking lot. It turns out they’re looking into the
murders, too.”