2 A Deadly Beef (16 page)

"No,
everything is fine.  I was just looking at the stars," I
admitted.  "They’re a lot brighter out in the country,
aren’t they?"

"I
don’t doubt it for a second," Greg said.  "Are we
thinking about relocating?"

I
laughed.  "No, I love where we live.  Come on, let’s go
inside; it’s getting nippy out here.  Care for some hot
chocolate?"

"You
know me.  When have I ever said no to an offer like that?"

"Not
since I’ve known you," I said.

Once I
had the mixture of milk and the special blend of cocoas simmering on the
stovetop, I turned to Greg and asked, "Do we have anything special
planned tonight?"

"As
far as I’m concerned, they’re
all
special," Greg said
with a grin as he pulled me close.

"Flattery
will get you everywhere, you know," I said as I reveled in his embrace.

"What
did you have in mind?" Greg asked.

"I
thought we could work on your birthday trip a little more before we went to
bed."

Greg
frowned and bit his lip.  "We shouldn’t keep calling our trip
that.  This is for both of us, not just me."

"Got
it.  How about if we name it, ‘Victoria And Greg’s Big European
Vacation With All Of The Trimmings’?"

"It
should probably be something shorter than that," he said as he looked at
the cocoa simmering away on the stovetop.  "Isn’t that ready
yet?"

"You
grab the marshmallows and I’ll get the mugs," I said.

After
I filled two cups, Greg added three marshmallows to each, and then handed one
of the mugs to me.  He raised his toward me and said, "To
Europe."

"To
Europe," I repeated, and we touched the mugs together lightly.

As we
enjoyed our hot cocoa and dove back into the guide books, I found my thoughts
wandering back to what Abel had told us about the night Wally Bain had been
murdered.  Were the lights Abel had seen significant?  What about the
tree being cut down?  There were many more questions than answers so far
in my investigation with Moose, and I had to wonder if we even had the real
killer on our list of suspects yet.  Time would tell if we were heading in
the right direction, or following false trails all over our part of North Carolina.  Figuring out the puzzle might be the thing, but there were times when
I wished that I could jump ahead and see how it all turned out in the
end. 

Unfortunately,
life wasn’t like that, and if we were going to find the answers, we were
just going to have to figure out a way to uncover them ourselves.

Chapter 10

"Did
you hear about Penny Rusk?"

It was
an idle question coming from somewhere in the crowd at the diner the next
morning, but it certainly got my attention.  Normally I was able to tune
out most of the idle chatter, but when something that might pertain to me came
up, it was as though a switch had been flipped in my selective hearing.

I
searched the diners in the room to try to see who might have spoken, and I
finally settled on Irma Gentry and Naomi Humphries.  They’d finished
their breakfasts ten minutes earlier, something I’d noticed mainly
because I hated having a table tied up when there were other folks waiting to
eat.  Sure, there were seats open at the ample bar, but quite a few of our
patrons refused to sit there, thinking it undignified, or some such nonsense.

"No,
I didn’t.  What about her?" Irma asked

"She’s
leaving town," Naomi said. She sounded pretty smug about being privy to
news that her friend didn’t know.

"You’re
kidding me," Irma answered.  "I thought they’d have to
blast her out of that laundromat to ever get rid of her.  Why is she
leaving?"

"She
was pretty evasive about it when we spoke earlier, but it wouldn’t
surprise me if it had something to do with a man," Naomi said. 
"It’s been my experience that it usually does.  I’m
going by in a few hours to get my clothes, so I’m hoping to find out more
then."

"How
soon is all of this happening?" Irma asked.  "Is the business
being sold?  Where am I going to do my laundry if The Suds Center shuts
down?"

"Don’t
be silly, Irma," Naomi said.  "Penny doesn’t own the
place.  I’m sure the owner will be able to find someone else to take
over her job."

It was
now Irma’s turn to look smug about having information.  "Oh,
you didn’t know?  I happen to know for a fact that Penny owns the
business herself.  She bought it with some money she inherited from her
dad, so if she goes, the business goes, too."

That
was news to me as well, if it was true.  I had no idea that Penny owned
the laundromat.  Why would she leave town?  Could it be because of
Wally’s murder?  She’d said they hadn’t been that close,
but then again, she could have lied to us.  Or could it have been because
of what had happened to Ron?  If either was a factor, I needed to find out
the truth.

I
called Ellen over to my station as soon as she delivered an omelet to Kerry
North.  "I know we’re jammed, but as soon as we get a lull,
could I leave you with our customers
and
the register?"

Ellen
looked around the crowded diner hesitantly.  "I suppose so.  Is
it urgent?"

I
suddenly realized what a bind I was putting her in by asking for such a big
favor.  "You know what?  Forget it.  It can wait."

"Hang
on a second, Victoria.  I didn’t say no," Ellen said
quickly.  "I’ll do it."

I
smiled at her.  "Why don’t we just play it by ear,
okay?" 

"Okay,"
Ellen said, and then she headed back to the pass-through window to pick up two
orders that were already there waiting for her.  I started kicking myself,
knowing that I shouldn’t have asked that kind of favor from her. 
After all, this investigation was my problem, not hers.  To make up for
it, I decided that it wouldn’t hurt the boss to distribute a few orders
herself to our customers.  As Ellen started to deliver the plates waiting
in line, I peeked in at Mom as she worked the kitchen.  "Whenever
you have the next order ready, I’ll go ahead and take it myself."

"Things
are certainly lively out there this morning, aren’t they?" Mom
asked as she stirred an order of hash browns cooking on the grill, flipped two
pancakes, and then cracked four eggs onto the hot surface after a quick shot of
oil.  She was a maestro in the kitchen, orchestrating a handful of meals
at the same time without missing a single beat.

"You’re
certainly managing to keep your cool under pressure," I said as I watched
her in admiration. 

"Are
you kidding?  This is my favorite part of the day.  I love the
challenge of keeping a dozen orders going without letting anything burn."

"I’m
not distracting you by chatting, am I?" I asked.

"I
always have time for you, Victoria," she said as she grabbed and buttered
two pieces of toast, slid them onto a plate, and then added two of the eggs and
hash browns.  From a nearby basket, she took two slices of cooked bacon
and added them to the mix as well. 

"Six
at the bar," she said as she slid the order toward me.

I
grabbed the plate, and then snagged the coffee pot on my way.  After
delivering the plate to Harry Ransom, I topped his coffee, and then hit a few
more on the way back to the window.  No one was waiting at the register,
so I had time to make the rounds all through the diner with the coffee.

Ellen
passed me and offered a quick smile.  "Thanks for the hand."

"Glad
to do it," I said.  We started to get into a rhythm, and I kept
helping her work the crowd until Naomi and Irma finally approached the register
with their bills.  After sliding the coffee pot back where it belonged, I
approached the ladies and said, "Sorry for the delay."

"There’s
no need to apologize.  We just got here," Irma said.

I was
tempted to ask the ladies more about Penny’s rumored move, but to do
that, I’d have to admit that I’d been eavesdropping on their
conversation, and I didn’t want them to know just how easy it had been to
listen in.

After
they were both gone, I grabbed the tub, cleaned their table, and the next pair
of diners moved quickly in on the vacant table.  I snagged Ellen’s
tip for her before they could sit down, and then tucked it into her apron as we
passed by the next time.  Soon enough, we managed to get things down to a
dull roar, and I considered calling Martha in for another shift so Moose and I
could keep digging.  I knew that if Penny was indeed leaving town, it was
important that we talk to her before she took off. 

Ellen
came up to the register as I was reaching for the telephone.  "Victoria, you can take off now if you’d like.  I can handle this."

I was
tempted, but I shook my head.  "No, thanks.  I’m going to
call Martha."

"I
didn’t mean to make you think that I couldn’t handle things by
myself earlier," she told me. 

"Ellen,
the truth is, I never should have asked you.  This investigation
doesn’t involve you, and it’s not fair to ask you to cover for me
while I’m out running all over town."

"Victoria, you’re the best boss I could ask for, and you’re always flexible when
it comes to giving me time off for my kids.  If there’s something
little I can do to pay that back, I’m happy to do my best."

I
touched her hand and smiled.  "It’s sweet of you to offer, but
honestly, if I take off and start investigating on my own this morning without
calling Moose, he’s going to be impossible to deal with.  It’s
better if I at least give him the option to join me.  Martha’s happy
to come in at a moment’s notice, so if Moose is still asleep, which I
suspect is the case, I can leave here alone with a clear conscience."

"I
totally get that, but if for any reason your grandmother can’t come in,
I’ll do it myself.  Is that a deal?"

I
nodded.  "It sounds great to me."

I called
Martha and Moose, and to my surprise, my grandfather answered the phone,
sounding as chipper as ever.  "I didn’t wake you up, did
I?" I asked.

"Don’t
sound so disappointed," Moose said.  "I’ve been up for
hours."

"Why?"
I asked, knowing Moose’s regular hours when we weren’t working on a
case.

"I
couldn’t sleep.  We’ve got a murder to solve, not to mention a
potential assault.  As a matter of fact, I was just on my way there to get
you.  The second Martha’s ready to go, we’ll both be on our
way."

"She
doesn’t mind working the front again?" I asked.

"Are
you kidding?  She’s practically dragging me there now as it
is.  I’m afraid I don’t have any new ideas for us to
investigate, though."

"Don’t
worry about that, Moose.  I’ve got it covered."

"Do
tell," he said.

Before
I could tell him about Penny, I heard Martha say in the background,
"We’ll be there in five minutes if you ever get moving, you old
goat.  Hang up the phone, and you can ask her when we get there."

"You
heard the boss," Moose said.  "We’ll see you
soon."

They
were as good as their word, rolling in four minutes later.  I hugged my
grandmother.  "Thanks for covering for me again.  At least
things should be slowing down some now."

"I
certainly hope not," Martha said, clearly disappointed by the prospect of
a lull at the diner.

"Do
you like it better when it’s busy?" I asked.

"Don’t
you find that it makes the time go by quicker?" she asked.  Martha
looked at her husband, and then back at me.  "Go on; take off with
your grandfather before he bursts a blood vessel.  He’s been
peppering me with questions that I don’t know the answers to since you
called."

"It’s
just honest curiosity," Moose said.

"Let’s
go," I told him as I grabbed his arm.  "I’ll bring you
up to speed as we drive."

He
stopped long enough to wink broadly at Martha, and then we left the
diner.  "Where are we headed?"

"We
need to head over to The Suds Center.  Penny Rusk is leaving the
laundromat, and town, too, for that matter."

"Where’s
she going?  Doesn’t she have to at least give some kind of notice to
her boss?"

"That’s
the thing," I said as we got into Moose’s truck. 
"There’s a rumor going around that she owns the place
herself."

"I
find that hard to believe," Moose said.

"Why,
because she’s a woman?" I asked.

Moose
shook his head.  "Hey, I’m a big fan of women everywhere, and
you know it.  Penny just doesn’t seem like the entrepreneurial type
to me, do you know what I mean?"

He had
a point there.  "Well, it might not be true."

"Which
part of it?  Where exactly did you get your information?"

"I
overheard it at the diner this morning," I admitted, expecting Moose to
chide me about eavesdropping on my customers.

Instead
of rebuke, though, he merely nodded.  "Then there’s at least a
fifty-fifty chance that it’s true."

"Are
you telling me that you’re not going to give me a hard time about
listening in on other people’s conversations?" I asked him.

"No,
Ma’am.  It’s a time-honored tradition of café owners
since the beginning of time to eavesdrop on their customers.  I applaud it."

I had
to grin at his comment.  As well as I thought I knew the man, he still
managed to surprise me from time to time.  "Moose, should we go by
the courthouse and check to see if it’s true before we talk to
Penny?  I’ll bet if she really owns the place, Karen Morgan has a
record of it."  Karen had helped us in the past by tracking down
information we needed, and I knew that if it was a matter of public record,
Karen could find it if she didn’t already know the answer herself.

"There’s
no need to bother Karen.  We can ask Penny outright ourselves."