Trash To Treasure Crafting 1 - Murder at Honeysuckle Hotel (18 page)

“Whatever you say.” Claire Ann shook her head
in obvious disapproval.

“I guess I should have planned out what I was
going to say,” I said.

“You think? I would say don’t quit your day
job but... that’s just cruel.”

My gaze shot daggers her way.

“Sorry.” She smiled and held her hands up in
mock surrender.

I shook my head as I backed out of the drive.
“So what do you think?”

“About Mark?”

“Yes.” I steered onto the street.

“I don’t know. Maybe we need to look into
more about him.”

“Somehow I don’t think there’s a lot to know.
But we definitely need to find out more about his relationship with
his wife and the mistress.”

Claire Ann nodded. “Well, considering he had
a mistress, I think we can guess what his relationship with his
wife was like. Strained to say the least.”

We headed down the country road, soaking in
the beautiful summer scenery with its abundance of green and making
our way back toward the store to drop off Claire Ann. Farms with
old farmhouses and cow pastures with miles of black pasture fencing
set on each side of the road. Horses grazed in the lush fields.

As I steered, I daydreamed about my future.
Visions of the old house clean and a huge success as a hotel filled
my thoughts. It was a short distance back to town, and I lost
myself in thoughts of decorating. It was the only thing keeping me
sane at the moment. Well, that and Claire Ann. Thank goodness I had
such a great friend. I tried to keep myself from thinking of
Nancy.

I decided to ask about Claire Ann about her
date. At least it would get my mind off the horrifying thoughts.
Turning down the radio, I broke Claire Ann out of her reverie. “So
tell me about the mystery date. I’m beginning to think you made the
whole thing up.”

“Okay, I deserved that for the ‘day job’
comment.”

I grinned. “You did deserve it. But you’re
still avoiding the subject. Why is that? What’s wrong with him?
Does he like to wear women’s underwear?”

“Nothing is wrong with him. Well… at least
not that I know of yet.” She looked out her window when I glanced
over at her. “He’s a very private person. Besides, I don’t want to
jinx it. I probably won’t date him again anyway.”

“The date didn’t go so well?”

“I don’t think he liked me.” She sighed.

“How could he not like you? You’re a babe,
you have a great personality—”

“Look, I already got you the gig at the
paper. No need to butter me up.”

I chuckled. “So does he have a name?”

Her cell phone rang. “Hold that thought.” She
held up her index finger.

I couldn’t believe she was saved by the bell.
I’d get more info out of her if it was the last thing I did. The
drive back into town didn’t take long and Claire Ann was still on
the phone with her mother when I pulled up in front of the store. I
think her mother was giving her the usual
you’re-in-your-thirties-why-aren’t-you-married speech. My mother
had given up on asking after the disastrous marriage to Ross.
Although I thought thirty-two was still plenty young enough to find
a husband and start a family… or find a second husband.

A couple old men stood in front of the store.
They gawked and I turned my attention back to Claire Ann. I’d
barely gotten the car in park when she opened the door and jumped
out. She was pulling out her inner Dukes of Hazzard again. She told
her mom to hold on a second. Normally, she’d be off the phone
faster than she could say ‘ovulation test kit’, but this time she
brushed me off to continue their conversation.

Something was off—way off. She was definitely
avoiding the questions about her date.

“We’re not done with this conversation,” I
said. “I’ll get more details about him. I’ll use my investigative
skills if I have to. You saw how good I am,” I yelled behind
her.

She laughed and strolled away, waving, then
putting the phone back up to her ear as she disappeared into the
store. I bet she pushed the end button as soon the door closed
behind her. Maybe I needed to do some sleuthing on her, too. I’d
find answers, I’d show her.

Okay, maybe I was taking the sleuthing thing
too far. Perhaps I was bordering on being nosy and a little nutso.
I never claimed to not be inquisitive though, she knew that. One of
my better traits, I thought. Besides, I’d tell her if I met a guy.
Although she never had to worry about that, I attracted losers
only. Slim pickings in Honeysuckle. Best friends needed answers
though. How bad could this guy be?

Chapter Twenty-Five

The next morning arrived and my guest had
asked to stay yet another night. I so wanted to know what business
he had in Honeysuckle. Why did he have the plot plans of my street?
I intended to get to the bottom of that question.

With the rest of the day still ahead of me
and nothing accomplished, I decided to work on the house—and maybe
do a little detective work. Surely after a little labor I’d get
another idea about what to do about my murder investigation. Heck,
if I solved the cause maybe the town would give me a key to the
city. Okay, wishful thinking, I knew.

I pulled the Mustang into the driveway and
glanced over at my neighbor’s. I let out a deep breath when I
discovered she wasn’t outside stalking me. What Claire Ann had told
me about Judy ran through my mind again. I’d seen a few cars over
there, but otherwise she seemed to be a quiet neighbor, just a
little nosy. But drugs? A chill ran down my spine.

What was she up to in that house anyway?
Again an old blue Buick, a couple of pickups and a beat-up Honda
were in the driveway, but I didn’t see anyone. I climbed out and
headed for the front door, but an idea popped into my head and
stopped me in my tracks. Next thing I knew, I was headed towards
the backyard. It was the first time since discovering the body that
I’d ventured into the once-lush retreat. As much as I hated it, I
knew I had to set foot on that green grass at some point.

I inched toward the gazebo, then stopped a
couple feet away. I gazed at nothing in particular. The twitter of
birds filled the air and cotton-ball clouds shifted by slowly.
Nearby daffodils wore their yellow sun-bonnets and purple pansies
peeked up from the ground. A short time ago the yard had an ominous
feeling surrounding it, but now it wasn’t so bad if I didn’t look
in the exact spot where Nancy had been found. The peaceful and
serene feeling had returned. But would I ever take pleasure in
sitting in the gazebo without thinking about Nancy? The visions of
quiet breakfasts under the shade amongst the flowers and nature
each morning had danced through my head when I first moved in, but
right now, when I thought about the murder, I lost my appetite.
Finding a dead body kind of killed the enjoyment. Pun intended.

As I stood there, near the back of the
gazebo, I noticed something I hadn’t seen before. Not so surprising
since I hadn’t spent much time outside, but nevertheless, it seemed
out of place. Between the bushes, leading from my crazy neighbor’s
house, was an opening. A path had been worn over the grass and only
dirt was visible. Why was it there? Maybe I needed a fence to keep
neighbors away. Well, only one neighbor. I didn’t know how serious
the relationship between Judy and Mrs. Mathers had been, but maybe
Judy had actually been nice to the little old lady. Somehow, I
doubted it.

Moving away from the path, I neared the spot
where Nancy had been found. I turned my gaze to the nearby bushes,
trying not to look at the spot directly. A shiny metallic object
caught my eye. I leaned down and pulled it from behind the bush. It
was a necklace—silver with a beaded chain. The round pendant had
the letter M in the middle. Whose was it and how long had it been
there? It looked modern, not like an antique, but maybe it had been
there since Mrs. Mathers lived here. Although it was so close to
the spot where the body was found. Why hadn’t the police discovered
the necklace when they searched the area?

Once again the strange sensation washed over
me, as if eyes were watching my every move, but I didn’t see a
soul. I stuffed the necklace in my front pocket and hurried back
toward the driveway. I’d left my purse in the car. The weird
sensation stayed with me as I walked along the side of the house.
As I neared my car, voices carried from the front yard. It was Mr.
Littlefield and another male voice. They didn’t notice me, so I
eased back a few steps, out of sight.

“I have every right to be here.” Mr.
Littlefield’s voice rose. “I told you I’d get the job done and I
won’t leave until I finish it.”

What the heck was he talking about? And who
was the other man? Was it the same one from before? I hadn’t gotten
a good look at his face, but I thought it was.

“Just make sure you know what you're doing. I
won’t lose any more money on this. I think it’s a stupid idea
anyway. What about this one?” The man gestured with his head toward
my house.

“I’m not positive about her, but I’ll make
sure she doesn’t get in the way.”

Oh, my God! Were they talking about me? Of
course they were. He pointed toward the house. What did I do now? I
couldn’t kick him out based on one conversation. I hadn’t known
what they were talking about for sure, but it was suspicious and
creepy. No one could deny that. Was I safe in my home? The
conversation grew quiet. I held my breath as footsteps descended
from the porch. Please don’t let them find me eavesdropping. I
slipped back a few steps, hoping they didn’t notice. My heart
thumped as my back pressed as close to the house as I could get.
Two car doors slammed one right after the other.

After a few seconds, when I thought the coast
was clear, I peeped out from my hiding spot. Mr. Littlefield drove
toward Honeysuckle Supermarket and the other man went the opposite
way out of town. After retrieving my purse, I eased around the
front of the house, but still felt a gaze on me. Out of the corner
of my eye, I noticed the police cruiser. I glanced at it, then saw
Kent. And I knew he saw me.

Was Kent watching my house? If so, then why?
He claimed to think I was innocent. Would he know I had the
necklace? I was being crazy—paranoid again. How could he possibly
know? Unless… he had been spying on me. With all the flowers and
trees he would have had to have been at the neighbor’s house to see
me. And if anyone was in her yard, I’d know it. She wouldn’t be
able to keep her big mouth shut. Kent backed the car up and pulled
down the side road. He knew I’d seen him, so why hadn’t he come
over to say anything? Had he seen the two men talking?

“I feel we’ve gotten off to the wrong start.”
The voice startled me. “I made you some cookies.” Judy held out a
plate covered with plastic wrap.

I looked at her smiling face, then down at
the plate. She pulled back the plastic and shoved the white serving
dish toward me.

“Here, take a bite.”

How would I avoid eating these? Again with my
paranoia, right? But better safe than sorry. The murder had
frazzled my nerves more than I’d thought. But it wasn’t like her
character from what I’d seen and heard to make anyone anything.
Unless perhaps a bomb to take me far, far away. She wanted me as
her neighbor like I wanted to reconcile with Ross.

“Oh, that’s very sweet of you,” I said
through gritted teeth. I took the plate. “My hands are dirty, so
I’ll just eat one of these later. You shouldn’t have, really.”

She frowned and pinched her fat lips
together. Without saying another word she turned on her heel and
stormed away.

Well, that went well.

Chapter Twenty-Six

“Hey,” I said when Claire Ann picked up the
phone. “How are things going there?”

“Not the same without you.”

“Yeah, I’m sure all the customers miss me.” I
smirked.

“Some do. Mr. Hennessey asked about you.”

“That was sweet.”

“Never mind the customers, though. I miss
you.”

“I miss you, too. Listen, I emailed you the
article. Let me know what you think.”

“That was fast. Thanks for doing it so
quickly, I’m sure I’ll love it. So, what else is going on? Any
news?”

“There are some strange things going on
around here. I feel as if I’m being torn in all different
directions. I found this necklace in the back yard near where I
found Nancy’s body. It has the initial M. I don’t know if it was
Mrs. Mathers’, Nancy’s or the killer’s. But why would Nancy have a
necklace with the initial M? Oh, and I have another idea… I think
I’ll make an appointment with Margaret at the salon and ask her
some questions.”

“Oh, no, be careful, you don’t know what your
hair will look like if she finds out you’re snooping. She was
sleeping around with Nancy’s husband and as long as fingers are
pointing at you, people will leave her alone.”

“I’ll be careful, I promise. I just can’t
believe everyone knows she was cheating with Nancy’s husband, yet
they never raise an eyebrow at her. She’s suspect number one as far
as I’m concerned.”

“Not exactly rational thinking going on
around here, remember?”

“Yeah, I know, I know. Hey, guess what else
happened.” I looked down at the cookies in the trash can.

“What?” The cash register dinged in the
background.

“My lovely neighbor gave me cookies out of
the blue. She said we got off on the wrong foot.”

“No way, you didn’t eat them did you?”

“Are you kidding? I threw them away. She was
mad when I didn’t sample one right away.” I stared out the
window.

“I’d keep my eye on her. She probably put a
laxative in them.”

“That's exactly what I was thinking. Plus,
get this… Kent was across the street in his cop car watching my
house.”

“What the heck is going on? What do you think
he’s up to?”

“I don’t know. Maybe he’s feeling the
pressure to arrest me. This town will come after me with lit
torches and pitchforks before long.” I sighed.