The Puzzle (17 page)

“Why, I worked for Clay Masters since he took over, and before him, his Aunt Jenny for decades. So sad she passed, but I was so relieved when Clay came back. We all thought some outsider would come on in and change the whole place or worse yet, get rid of the bookshop completely!”

“…I know how it is with outsiders,” I said casually.

Her hand flew to her mouth when she realized her blunder. “Well, I mean… Sort of like when… You don’t know…. I didn’t mean…. Oh, my! Please don’t take offense.”

I laughed. “None taken. I know a nice woman, such as you, would never make someone feel uncomfortable intentionally. I’ve met so many wonderful people here and just love Clay. He’s a nice friendly person and such a gentleman.”

Maybe, I might be sick after all.

“I am so sorry! Sometimes, I just rattle on and on,” said Betty. “I certainly forgot my manners, didn’t I? As an apology, how would you like to have a nice cup of tea with Hazel and me in the back? We always have some about this time. It will give us all a chance to get better acquainted.”

I looked around. “But who’s going to look after the store?”

“Oh. That! Why, we have a closed circuit camera with a monitor in the back.”

At the rear of the shop, we entered a small room with a large picture window that overlooked a small creek. Beneath it, sat a small round table covered in a tablecloth, cascading to the floor. Chairs angled around it. It was already set for three.
Interesting.

“Hazel, this is Samantha, the owner of that new antique shop around the corner.”

Another elderly woman, nicely attired, but with tightly curled gray hair and a flushed rounded face, smiled, her hand extended. “It’s such a pleasure to meet you, Samantha.”

“Nice to meet you, Hazel.” As I was seated, the bell above the shop door rang. I looked over to a monitor mounted in the corner. It even had sound!

Hazel had heard everything.

Chapter 32

Skirting The Truth

Betty jumped up, after quickly glancing at the monitor. “Ladies, if you will excuse me. I’ll be right back.” She promptly left the room and shut the door.

Hazel sat with her back to the monitor. “Betty won’t be long,” she said. “It’s probably a delivery of books. We always slow down this time of year. Out of season, you know. Why don’t I pour us all some tea and serve the pastries?”

My eyes were still glued to the monitor.

It couldn’t be!

But it was, no question about it: the guard from the auction, carrying a box. Betty opened it, and then examined its contents. She pulled out a laptop identical to Stephen’s, smiled, placed it back in the box, and then shoved it under the front counter.

Was that Stephen’s laptop? Probably. I must have uttered something because Hazel looked up sharply.

“Is there a problem? Don’t you eat desserts?”

“No. It’s just that I’m surprised to see it’s my favorite pastry,” I replied quickly, recovering.

“Well I’ll be! How nice! I made them myself. You know, young people nowadays don’t eat nearly enough. It’s nice to see someone taking pleasure in life’s little rewards. Let me get some cream from the refrigerator.” She stepped to the other side of the room.

I glanced back at the monitor, but the man was gone and Betty was heading back. The door swung open and she slowly closed it, her face obviously flushed from the encounter.

She glanced in Hazel’s direction. “It’s finally arrived. You know, that special delivery we’ve been waiting for?”

Some dishes rattled behind me. “Well, that’s wonderful,” replied Hazel. “We’ll have time to look at it together later tonight. Now, come on over and let’s have our tea.”

Why were these two interested in the laptop?

We all spoke congenially about mundane subjects, such as the weather, tourists, and who I knew in town. The two of them seemed harmless enough, but their possible involvement in the theft of the laptop, kept me watchful and somewhat alert during our conversation. After a while, I brought up the subject of Stephen.

“Did either of you two know Stephen Jamison, who died in that car accident not that long ago? I understand he used to live and work with Jack when he was younger.”

“We did. Terrible,” said Betty softly, shaking her head.

“I remember that. Jack was all torn up over it,” added Hazel. “Such a nice boy too.”

I took a deep breath and dove right in. “He was my husband.”

“My goodness gracious! You mean you’re the widow everyone was talking about?” asked Betty. Then she reached over and patted my hand gently. “How very sad indeed.”

“Well, I declare,” exclaimed Hazel with a surprised look on her face. “I never would have guessed!”

Boy, were they good. I could play this game, too.

“I didn’t just happen to walk in here. I was anxious to verify more of Stephen’s personal history. He was so closed-mouth about it, leaving me with this blank slate and a lot of unanswered questions. That’s why I’m here, hoping to fit in the missing pieces. Jack told me he took Stephen in when his foster parents died. Since you two were here back then, you must have known him. I thought maybe you could tell me more about him.”

They were hesitant. “…What did you want to know?” asked Betty slowly.

“One thing I’m curious about is how Stephen changed after the Blackburns died in that car accident. I know it must have been a shock and everything, but it seemed that it affected him more than it should have.”

There was a silence.
Had I gone too far?

Betty spoke first. “You know, Samantha, it was subtle at first and then got worse. Very puzzling. It was all so tragic.”

“Before that, he used to come in here a lot,” Hazel added. “Jenny loved him almost as much as Clay. Stephen used to sit in the back reading and working on some research. He was quiet, respectful and serious. Jenny didn’t mind at all, what with Clay gone off to college, and then later on to the city. She loved having the company.”

Betty sighed. “She was lonely in those days. He filled a void. It was a perfect arrangement. When Stephen wasn’t working at Jack’s or attending school, he came here. Come to think of it, a few of us in town were always touching base with him. That’s why it was such a mystery why he left town so abruptly, and then when he crashed like that.”

“If he had such a decent life here, why do you suppose he left so abruptly?” I asked. “Why didn’t he just stay with Jack? I mean
,
he had so much going for him here. Didn’t he get along with any of the others?”

“What others?” Hazel asked. “He got along with most everyone we knew of.”

“I meant Ben and Mike in particular,” I replied.

“Oh, those two were vastly different from Stephen,” said Betty. “Where Stephen was brainy, Mike was brawny. Now Ben, he was an instigator and hell-raiser. Oh, excuse me for my language. But Stephen was more quiet and introspective. I can tell you that over a period of time, something happened that changed him and none of us could figure it out. It was like he became a different person. Even Jack was concerned, mentioning it once or twice to Jenny on occasion. We could hear the two of them in heated discussions from way back here.”

Her eyes darted quickly to the security camera, and then back to me. She was probably wondering if I had seen anything earlier and had made the connection. I acted as if I didn’t notice her quick glance and continued on. “And you two haven’t any idea what directly caused him to pick up and walk out?”

“No,” was all Betty replied cautiously. She stared hard at me, trying to read me as she said, “Maybe, in time, things will be revealed to all of us, but for now, we can only speculate.”

“I’m sorry we couldn’t be of more help to you, Samantha,” Hazel offered.

“That’s all right. I understand. If you can possibly think of anything else, please let me know. My door is always open. Maybe, someday I can repay the tea visit.”

“Oh, that would be nice,” said Betty.

I rose to leave. “Thank you both for your hospitality and helpful conversation.”

“Oh, dear. Anytime you want to talk, please feel free to come and see us,” offered Hazel.

Betty asked Hazel to stay and help clean up as I left, closing the door behind me. I walked slowly through the shop, about to pass their front counter, but then ran behind that counter and ripped open that box to get a closer look, flipping the laptop open. I knew exactly what I would see,
Stephen’s initials.
I turned, opened my coat, snatched that laptop, then pressed it to my chest and took it with me.

My heart was in my throat as I broke out in a sweat. I had never stolen anything in my life, and now I was whisking away the evidence. But it was Stephen’s, wasn’t it? I heard some rustling noise and made my exit, walking briskly down the sidewalk.

It wasn’t until I was almost at my shop, when I realized they had probably watched the whole damn thing on their security camera. Red-faced, I asked myself two questions.

Did I play them or did
they play me?

Chapter 33

Double Trouble

I was breathless by the time I got back to my shop and hastily dropped the laptop on the counter. Heaving and sweating, I felt a kindred spirit to marathon runners, as I quickly flipped the sign on the door and pulled the curtain closed. I also felt like I had just robbed a bank. My hands were shaking. I wasn’t cut out for this lifestyle.

I looked in the mirror. My face was spotted with multi shades of red, and my pulse was thumping away. I couldn’t believe what I had just done. Frantically, I searched around for a safe place to store the laptop until I could take a closer look at it. I knew I couldn’t keep that closed sign up indefinitely. It was a business day. The computer would have to wait until later when I got home because Martha was due in the afternoon.

Someone knocked sharply on the door making me jump. I shoved the laptop under the counter, peered through the curtain, and reluctantly opened it.

“Why in the world would you have the closed sign up so early?” Clay asked.

“Well…I was going to …mmm…lunch,” I said a little too brightly.

Damn! I couldn’t lie right if my life depended on it.

“Great, because I was just about to invite you out to lunch at the diner.”

“You were not,” I objected. “You just made that up. Besides, I’m busy here.”

“I thought you just said you were going to lunch. Come on, which is it?” he challenged.

I anxiously thought of the stolen merchandise lurking nearby, quickly realizing I couldn’t let him just stand there talking. I needed to get him to leave. “Okay, a quick lunch. Then I have to get back.” I gave a brief glance over to where the laptop was hidden as I was unceremoniously steered out the door by Clay.

We sat across from each other, sipping our sodas. A few people had drifted by, making idle chit chat with us after greetings were exchanged. It helped to pass the time. Our burgers arrived and we spent the next couple of minutes sharing ketchup, salt and pepper. The police chief stopped by, and then was gone, which also didn’t help my blood pressure one bit.

My mind was constantly wandering back to my shop and the laptop. I made sure I had locked the door behind us when we left, reluctantly letting Clay half walk, half pull me toward the diner. I didn’t want to be there and felt extremely restless.

“Are you all right? You’re acting awfully strange,” he asked, scrutinizing me.

“I’m just fine. It must be low blood sugar.”

“You see? I arrived at just the right time. Didn’t I?” he said, grinning.

I was afraid to talk, afraid of what I might spill. I was that rattled, but he hit home first.

“I heard through the grapevine that you were at the book shop this morning.”

I stopped mid bite, stumped on how to respond. Did he or did he not know about the theft? When I had left the bookstore, I saw some customers go in. So, maybe Betty and Hazel hadn’t noticed it was gone yet. But if they did see me take it, did they tell Clay, and that was why he was here now? Was he fishing to see where it was? Or was there a slice of honesty to his invitation for lunch; he’d invited me on a whim?

“Mmm,” I mumbled, nodded and bit into my burger.

A third question jolted me. What if Betty and Hazel saw me take it, but had not confided in Clay and, if so, why not? Now that was something to consider. I was driving myself crazy.

Somebody please save me!

“So, what did you think of it?” he asked, proudly. “I just love that old place.”

I swallowed and tried to relax. “It was very …quaint and had quite a lot of …character.”

He smiled. “You know, I made some major improvements, like the electronic register, sound system and security camera.”