A Spoonful of Murder (17 page)

Lucky watched until he entered the building and then backed up to read the sign above the reserved parking space—
THOMAS REED—RESERVED
. Lucky let her car idle behind the white sedan. Who was Thomas Reed? He lived in a large house near the top of Lexington Heights, with a wife and at least one child. And his address was in Patricia Honeywell’s datebook. Was he another lover? Or was there more to the story than that? She needed to find out whatever she could about Thomas Reed.

J
ANIE WAS HOLDING
the fort at the Spoonful. She had just served soup and sandwiches to Hank and Barry, handling cook and waitress all in one. She smiled and waved at Lucky.

“Heard you met my friend Rosemary today.”

Lucky smiled. “Yes. She introduced herself.”

“She really likes working there but she’s trying to save her money and maybe go to nursing school in a couple of years.”

Lucky hung her coat on the peg that Sage always used in the kitchen. She lifted the lids of the two Crock-Pots to check that nothing was overheating or drying out. Janie followed her into the kitchen.

Lucky looked up and smiled. “I saw Mrs. Starkfield there too—Dr. Starkfield’s wife.”

“Oh yes.” Janie moved closer. “She’s nice I guess, but from what Rosemary’s told me, she’s always asking questions and trying to do things. I don’t know if she’s a control freak or thinks they’re all shirkers. You know the type—one of those women who thinks she can manage her husband’s office better. I don’t know why she’s there all the time. You’d
think if she didn’t have to work she’d be glad to stay away. Probably just doesn’t have enough to keep her busy.”

“Everyone speaks very highly of Dr. Starkfield.”

“He’s real nice. And he and his wife seem real close. He’s always cracking jokes and making everybody laugh.”

“And they like Elias too.”

“Oh yeah, he’s a dreamboat…” Janie stopped in midsentence, suddenly realizing that Lucky probably knew more about Elias than anyone else. She stammered, “I mean…I heard you were seeing him.” Janie blushed.

“Oh no, not like you mean,” Lucky hastened to reply. “We’ve just known each other a long time—we’re friends.”

“Uh huh,” Janie answered with a neutral expression.

Lucky had no desire to fan the flames of any town gossip. She might be attracted to Elias, but that didn’t mean it would be returned or that anything would ever come of it. Best to keep her feelings under wraps.

“Are you hungry, Janie? Why don’t I fix us some soup and rolls for lunch, you and me and Jack? We’ve got a huge pot of this carrot with fresh ginger and rosemary.”

“That’d be great. I am kinda hungry. And I guess it’s lunchtime already.”

Lucky grabbed a large tray and ladled out generous servings of Sage’s soup. She quickly warmed some poppy seed rolls and laid them on a tray with a small butter dish.

Jack had been studying Hank and Barry’s moves on the chessboard, but when he saw Lucky arrive with the tray, he joined her and Janie at the table. Jack shook out his napkin. “I made a list of what we have in the freezer. We should be good for a while.”

“Let’s just hope we get more customers soon.”

Janie turned to Lucky. “I heard you went to see Sage. It’s so horrible to think of him sitting in that jail. How’s he doing?”

“I’m sure he’s depressed, to say the least, but he didn’t want to talk. I’m hoping he’ll talk to Jack. And I want to make sure he gets some decent legal help. The court has to assign someone, but maybe there’s a lawyer in town willing
to help him. Jack or I will be bringing him food every day until…until they move him.”

“Can’t he get out on bail?”

“The arraignment’s next Monday. The judge might set bail, or maybe deny it. We won’t know till then. For now, he’ll be in a cell at the police station.”

“Poor Sage,” Janie said. “Whoever would have thought…Meg still feels bad, still thinks it was her big mouth.” She looked toward the front window, her eyes widened. “Oh no,” she groaned.

The door banged open. Remy DuBois stood in the open doorway, swaying and obviously inebriated. He stomped into the restaurant leaving the door wide open behind him.

“Wha’d you do to my brother?” he shouted.

Jack rose and slammed the door behind Remy, shutting off the blast of cold air. “He’s in a cell at the police station, Remy. You should go see him,” he growled. “After you sober up, that is.” He fixed Remy with a stern look.

“Wha’d you people tell the cops?” he shouted.

Jack and Lucky exchanged blank looks with each other. “Nothing,” Lucky answered. “We have no idea what’s going on. And Nate hasn’t been talking to us anyway.”

Remy attempted to lean casually against the counter but, missing his mark, almost fell down. He quickly caught himself, stumbling. “Yeah, sure. You’re tellin’ me you didn’t hang him out to dry, is that it?” He was slurring his words badly.

Lucky felt a wave of frustration and anger rising in her chest. Why did everyone think she and Jack were out to railroad Sage? First Sophie and now Remy. She walked over to Remy. “No, we did no such thing, Remy. So get off it. You need to sober up and go see your brother—not come here bothering the people that are trying to help him.”

Remy took a step, looking as if he were about to lunge toward Lucky. Involuntarily, she took a step back. Jack rushed over and, grabbing him by the arm, marched him to the front door. “You need to behave yourself and get straightened out—you’ll be welcome here when you do
that.” He gave Remy a mild shove and shut the door firmly behind him. Then he turned the lock.

Remy grabbed the handle and rattled the door furiously, unable to believe it was locked against him. Swaying from side to side, he took a few steps back, reached down and grabbed a hunk of ice from the snowbank. He swung wildly and threw it at the front door, shattering one of the small panes of glass.

“You jerk!” Janie shouted.

“Damn…” Jack roared. “What’s wrong with that kid?” He undid the lock and stormed out, slamming the door behind him. Lucky and Janie rushed over to the front window. Hank and Barry had halted their game to watch the exchange. Now that Remy was safely outside, they joined Lucky and Janie at the window.

Remy stood, his legs wide apart, trying to stay upright. He looked confused, as if just realizing what he had done. Jack approached him. Lucky couldn’t hear what was being said, but she could tell Jack was lecturing him. Remy took a step backward and suddenly, like a rainstorm that ends quickly, his face collapsed, all the anger draining away. His chest was heaving and he burst into tears, falling into Jack’s arms. They stood like that for a minute or so on the sidewalk. Finally Jack led Remy back inside, guiding him to a chair. He looked apologetically at Lucky. “Can you grab some coffee?” She nodded and headed for the kitchen.

“I’m sorry. I’m real sorry.” Remy wiped his nose with the back of his hand. Janie looked at him disdainfully and passed him a napkin. “I don’t know why I did that. It’s just…he’s my brother…I thought…”

“What did you think?” Jack asked as he sat down next to Remy.

Lucky placed a large mug of black coffee on the table. “I guess I thought you pushed the cops to arrest him. I thought you knew…”

“Knew what?” Lucky asked.

“About him and…that woman…” he trailed off.

Lucky and Jack stared back at him blankly. Janie sniffed
as if to say
What next?
and started gathering up dishes from the table. She carried them into the kitchen and dumped them in the sink. Hank and Barry turned back to their game, but Lucky was well aware they were hanging on every word.

“What about her?” Jack asked, not betraying that Lucky had told him Sage’s history. There was no need to speak her name; thoughts of her murder were uppermost in everyone’s minds.

Remy sniffed and did his best to blow his nose in the napkin Janie had passed to him. “They knew each other before.”

“Before Sage came to Snowflake?”

Remy nodded. “You’ll have to ask him. He made me swear I’d never tell.” Remy grabbed another napkin and wiped his eyes. “I’ll fix that pane of glass for you. I feel like a real jerk.” Lucky caught Janie watching through the hatch. Janie rolled her eyes heavenward, as if to say,
You are a real jerk
.

“That’s a deal,” Jack said. “I’ll put something over it for today. You come back tomorrow when you’ve sobered up and you can fix it then. In the meantime, drink this coffee and get it together and go see your brother. I’m sure he’d want to see you.”

“I don’t know about that,” Remy mumbled, downing the last of his coffee. Remy stood up, still swaying. He turned to Lucky. “I’m sorry. I’ll be back tomorrow to fix the glass.”

When the door shut behind Remy, Hank and Barry approached Jack. “We’ll be headin’ out now, but we’ll be back tomorrow. You let us know if you need any help with anything.”

Jack thanked them and locked the door behind them, flipping over the sign to read
CLOSED
. Jack’s face looked drained. His energy seemed to flag more often as the days passed.

“Might as well close up. Doubt anybody else will be showing up today.”

Lucky said, “I can bring that food down to the police station if you’re tired.”

“Not a problem. I’ll just put something over that pane and then head down to the station. Besides, I want to see Sage and show my support. I’m sure of one thing though.”

“What’s that?”

“Nate’s got the wrong man.”

“Y
ES, I KNOW
Tom Reed.” Elizabeth Dove was sitting behind a heavy oak desk in her office at the municipal building. The sky outside had turned leaden and gray. A desk lamp cast a yellow glow over the stacks of paper piled neatly around a central work space. A trailing ivy plant stood in a ceramic pot on the window ledge behind her desk, while the radiator hissed quietly underneath. Her assistant had entered a moment after Lucky arrived, handing Elizabeth a thick computer printout that looked like a budget report. Lucky could only imagine the duties Elizabeth shouldered as Mayor of Snowflake.

“Do you know anything about him?” Lucky asked.

“Well, yes. He moved here with his wife about six years ago. He’s one of the original members of the LLC that owns the Resort. I couldn’t tell you his official position though. What’s this all about, dear?”

Lucky felt suddenly foolish. “I am so sorry to interrupt your day. I know Mondays are busy for you. We closed right after lunch and I wouldn’t have bothered you, but I don’t know who else I can talk to in confidence.” She told Elizabeth
about searching the house on Bear Path Lane and finding the Reed address jotted in the calendar. She deliberately omitted being pushed down the stairs. Elizabeth would be horribly alarmed and insist on reporting the attack to Nate immediately. That was exactly what Lucky didn’t want. She wanted the freedom to poke around and talk to people, to hopefully find out what she could before Nate discovered what she was up to.

“We’re members of the same party and I know he’s planning to start his campaign for the state senate in a few months. I think he’ll make a very good candidate, and he has a lovely family that will be very supportive.”

“But what do you think of him personally?”

“You mean, do I think he was carrying on an affair with Patricia Honeywell?”

“Well, yes, that would be my next question.”

“Lucky.” Elizabeth smiled. “When it comes to other people’s private lives, I try not to wonder. I really have no idea and I would hate to speculate. He’s an attractive man. Who knows? Perhaps he was. I hate to even entertain that idea, because he’d be a complete fool if he were.”

“If he were carrying on with Honeywell behind his wife’s back and she became pregnant…”

“What?” Lucky realized she had let Elias’s information slip. She mentally kicked herself. “How do you know that?”

“I can’t really say. I’m sorry.”

“Oh my!” Elizabeth took her reading glasses off and laid them carefully on the desk. “As I said, Tom Reed is an attractive man, bright, well educated, law degree, well-off, and all that. He’s likable enough. He’s also very ambitious and…” Elizabeth hesitated a moment. “He’s developed that certain veneer that all successful politicians must have. Personally, and this is just between you and me, I sometimes distrust that. It’s my prejudice, I guess. I don’t particularly like him or dislike him. I just have a hard time getting a bead on someone whose stock-in-trade is that very professional patina. That’s it in a nutshell. Now, that doesn’t mean I think he was carrying on behind his wife’s back. I certainly hope
not. That doesn’t bode well for the election if it should come out. And it also doesn’t mean he might have fathered her child. This is all pure speculation. For all you know, that address was in that datebook because Honeywell admired the house and was interested in buying it. There could be any number of reasons she would have jotted down the Reed address.”