A Mold For Murder (16 page)

“Why didn’t you return my call?”

“I just got here,” I said as I noticed we were garnering some unhealthy attention. “You want to talk about this outside?”

“Is that a threat?” he asked coldly.

“No, it’s an invitation to not make a fool out of yourself in front of our customers. If you want to talk to me, I’ll be out on the front porch.” Maybe I should have stayed where my brothers could help if things did get ugly, but I didn’t care. At least if we were both outside, I could shout right back at him, something I was reticent to do in the shop.

He was right on my heels as I stepped outside.

“Where do you get off lying to me?”

I spun around and saw that his fists were clinched.

“I never lied to you,” I said. While that wasn’t technically true, it was close enough to the spirit of our conversation before to allow me to say it with a straight face.

“You knew who I was all along. After you left, a cop showed up, and I started thinking about how much of a coincidence that was. I started asking around about you, and it didn’t take long to track you down.”

“So you found me. Why did you want to see me? Did you want to confess to killing Connie? You really should talk to the police about that. I’m sure Molly would be happy to listen to you.”

Without warning, he grabbed my shirt with both hands and threw me back against one of the porch supports. The man was stronger than he looked, and there was a sudden violence in his manner that shook me more than I would have ever admitted.

“Get your hands off me,” I said as calmly as I could.

“What are you going to do if I don’t?”

“Can you really afford to get into any more trouble than you already are?”

That eased his grip some. “What are you talking about?”

“You’re right, I told Molly where you were. Believe me, she was going to come looking for you pretty soon anyway, and it would have been a lot harder on you if you’d tried to run. You should be thanking me. I did you a favor.”

“Some favor,” he said as he released his grip. “You put the law on me.”

I straightened out my shirt. “You really should do something about that temper of yours.”

“Don’t push your luck,” he said.

Too bad I was never any good at taking orders. “Is that how you acted around Connie the other night? I heard you two had a fight. Did it turn physical, too? That seems to be the way you deal with your problems.”

“We were going to reconcile,” he repeated softly. “Do you want to know what we were fighting about? It was your girlfriend.”

“How do you even know who my girlfriend is?”

He laughed harshly. “Connie didn’t have any trouble figuring that out. That’s why she was here, to make amends with Diana Long. They’d already met once the minute she got into town, and they were supposed to get together again after Connie’s talk at your little soap store. I told her it was too dangerous, but she insisted that she had to do it to find some peace. I never would have hurt her.”

“Not on purpose, I’m sure,” I said, though I wasn’t sure of that at all. His accusation that Diana was somehow involved threw me, but I kept pushing. “I understand if it was an accident. You got mad, and before you realized what you were doing, she was dead.”

He tried to grab me again, but I knocked his hand away this time.

Molly came out onto the porch. As she opened the door, she said, “Ben, I heard you were looking for me.” Then she noticed Barry Hill’s clenched fists, and mine. “What’s going on out here?”

“We were just chatting,” I said, trying to will my fists to ease.

“Sure, I believe that,” Molly said. She looked at Barry. “I’ve been looking all over for you. We need to have another talk.”

“Now’s not a good time for me,” he said as he continued to stare at me.

“That’s too bad, because it’s perfect for me. I’m parked around back. Come on, let’s go around the building.”

“Fine,” he finally said, and turned away from me.

“We can talk later, too,” I said.

Molly said, “Oh, don’t worry about that. We will.”

“I was talking to him,” I said, pointing at Barry.

Molly rolled her eyes, and Barry Hill didn’t react at all.

I was about to go back inside when I saw some movement on the other side of the street. It was just for a second, but I could swear I saw Brian Ross scurry into the bushes.

Without pausing to consider the consequences, I crossed the street and said, “You might as well come out. I already saw you.”

After a few seconds, the cop came out, a look of anger on his face. I was having that effect on a lot of people lately, but that was just too bad.

“How long have you been watching?” I asked.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. I thought I spotted a wallet in the bushes, so I went in after it.”

“Sure,” I said, not even trying to hide the fact that I didn’t believe him. “So if you were just walking along, why didn’t you stop Barry Hill when he had me pinned against the post?”

“Sorry, I didn’t see a thing. It must have happened before I got here,” he said.

“Enough of this. You were following one of us. Which one are you after?”

Officer Ross shrugged. “Why would I suspect you of anything?”

“So you were tailing Hill,” I said. “I’m curious. Did Connie ask you to keep your eye on him when you were in her room the other night?”

Ross looked at me through hardened eyes. “Now who’s tailing who?”

“I’m not following anybody around,” I said, though that again wasn’t strictly the entire truth. “But this is a small town. People talk. So, what were you and Connie fighting about?”

“We weren’t fighting,” Ross said. Though his voice sounded calm on the outside, there was a dangerous undertone to it that unnerved me more than Barry Hill’s earlier threats. “We were talking about our future.”

“From what I understand, Connie Brown wasn’t all that fond of revisiting her past.”

“You heard wrong,” Ross said. “We were working it out. And now somebody’s robbed me of that chance. I’m going to find out who killed her.”

“And then what are you going to do?” I asked.

“I’m going to handle it,” he said simply, “so stay out of my way.”

“Somehow I don’t think you’re going to arrest your suspect once you’re sure,” I said. “You’ve got something a little more personal in mind, don’t you?”

“I’m finished talking to you,” he said. “It would be a lot healthier for you if you minded your own business from now on.”

And then he was gone.

I couldn’t exactly make him stay. He’d given me some things to think about, but how much of it would Molly listen to from me?

I was about to find out.

NINE

I
watched as Barry Hill sped off with a squeal of rubber. Molly must have spanked him pretty hard. It was time to share my suspicions with her, and see if I could get anything out of her.

“You’ve got a real gift for ticking people off, Ben,” she said as I rounded the corner. Molly was leaning against her patrol car, which was parked beside my Miata. Mom was always happy to have her visit the soap shop—even before she’d started dating Jeff—but she’d been afraid that a squad car parked in the customer lot might give our patrons the wrong idea.

“You’re kidding. He was mad at me?” I asked, barely able to contain my grin.

“I don’t how you manage to do it.”

“What can I say? It’s a gift. What did Mr. Hill have to say for himself?”

Molly shook her head. “I’m not telling you that. This is an ongoing police investigation, Ben, not story time at nursery school.”

“Hey, I remember you used to make up great stories,” I said.

“That was a long time ago. I’d watch your step if I were you. That man hates you.”

“I wish I could say that he’s the only one, but unfortunately, he’s not alone,” I said as I leaned against the Miata. “Your officer Ross has a pretty healthy dislike for me, too. He was out front lurking in the bushes a little while ago, watching my confrontation with Barry Hill. When I called him on it, he made up some lame excuse about spotting a wallet in the bushes, and then he threatened me and told me to butt out of his business.”

“What exactly did he say to you?”

I thought about it a second, then admitted, “It was nothing I could quote, but the way he acted toward me was pretty menacing.”

“I’ll speak with him,” Molly said after a brief sigh. “Something came up in my conversation with Barry Hill. It turns out there’s more to this situation than either one of us was aware of. Ben, we need to talk about Diana.”

“What did he say about her?” I asked. “He’s lying, Molly. Diana never talked to Connie.”

“How did you know that was what he told me?”

She had me there. “I just assumed as much, since he tried to pass the same lie off to me right before you showed up.”

Molly stared at me a full five seconds, then said, “How do you know he’s lying, Ben?”

“Don’t you think Diana would have told me about it? She was shocked when she found out who the contessa really was. I was standing right there, and so were you.”

“Ben, it’s not as simple as all that. You need to prepare yourself for some really bad news that might be coming.”

“You’re not actually going to arrest her, are you? Molly, you’re way off on this. Let’s go talk to Barry Hill together. I know he’ll break down and admit he’s lying if we push him a little more.”

“I can’t just take off and follow your whims,” she said. “There are proper procedures I have to adhere to. Don’t worry, I’ll try to get some corroboration from someone else about Diana’s secret meeting with Connie before I do anything about it, but I’m going to find out the truth, no matter who it hurts.”

“Fine, if you won’t talk to him again, then I’ll just have to go myself.”

“He hates you, Ben; you realize that, don’t you?”

I shrugged. “If he’s going to try to pin this murder on Diana, the feeling’s mutual.”

She looked at her watch, then said, “At least promise me you won’t do anything until this evening.”

“Why should I wait? If we take too long, he’s going to run. I can feel it in my bones.”

“Just give me until six, then I’ll go with you, though it’s against my better judgment. Still, if it’s the only way I can keep you from tackling him on your own, I’ll tag along.”

“I guess I can wait until then.”

She moved closer to me, but there was nothing inviting about her stance. “Until I come get you, you’re not allowed to even drive past the Lakefront Inn. Do you understand me? If you do, I’ll lock you up for obstruction of justice.”

“As long as you’ll be here by six,” I said reluctantly, “I won’t go anywhere near him.”

“You’d better not,” she said.

“And you’d better not arrest Diana without more than that weasel’s word.”

“Are you threatening me, Ben?” Her words were cold and precise as she stared at me.

“I wouldn’t dream of it,” I said. “I just don’t think her reputation or her business could survive it. All I’m asking for is that you wait until you have the facts.”

“That’s what I want, too,” she said, then got into her squad car and drove off.

I didn’t like what I had to do next, but I really didn’t have any choice. It was time to talk to Diana and see if Barry Hill had been telling the truth. One of them was lying, and I hoped with all my heart it wasn’t Diana. I’d defended her to Molly, but I was putting myself pretty far out on a limb, and I had to be certain that Diana wasn’t right behind me, holding a saw.

Rufus was ignoring the store’s customers as usual when I walked into Dying To Read. The entire sales counter where Diana usually put bookmarks, postcards, and other announcements about new mysteries was covered with photographic prints.

He looked up as I approached and nodded. “Be with you in a second, Ben.”

I was starting to wonder if losing him would be such a blow to Diana’s sales after all. He never seemed to do anything store related.

“Diana will be out in a minute. I’ve got her using the front door now, so that’s a step in the right direction, right?”

I lowered my voice. “Where did all your amateur sleuths go? I figured they’d still be hounding her.”

Rufus grinned. “They’re probably visiting your soap shop of death,” he said. “Man, that was some article. They really lit into you guys.”

“I’d like to sue them,” I said.

“Are you kidding me? You can’t buy publicity like that. Your place must be insane.”

“Not many folks appear to be willing to risk shopping there,” I said.

“Too bad. Hey, while you’re here, check this out.” He handed his magnifier to me and said, “What does that look like to you?”

It was an image of my family’s soap shop at the time of the Soap Celebration. There was no doubt in my mind about the timing of the photograph. I could see the balloons and banners clearly out front. “I thought you were running the bookstore when this was going on,” I said.

“Diana asked me to shut down long enough to snap some pictures for you. She thought it would make a nice present. Boy, was she ever wrong.”

“So what am I looking for?” I asked as I studied the print. All I saw was the storefront, with people streaming in and out. He’d done some kind of time-lapse photography.

“Check out this guy,” he said. “Tell me what’s different about him.”

“He’s the only one not moving,” I said after I glanced at it for a second.

“Right on the money. That’s kind of whacked, isn’t it?”

I was spared from answering when a customer approached. “Excuse me, but I need some help.”

Rufus barely looked at him. “Sorry, I’m kind of busy right now.”

The man appeared to consider leaving, then he said, “I’m looking for a book by Fredric Brown, but not a single bookstore I’ve been to has heard of him.”