Black Beans & Vice (39 page)

Lennon/Curt Snyder denied everything, but his capture forced
Roslyn to surrender of her own volition. The Star was loaded with
photographs of her being escorted inside the sheriff's department
building by Huckabee himself.

"Roslyn tried to take the fall for both of them," Lucy told her
friends. "She and Ned Woodman had a brief affair and when he
tried to break it off, Roslyn threatened to tell his wife and talk
about his indiscretions to the press unless he bought her silence."

"So that's how the blackmail began," Lindy stated.

"Yes, but Ned wanted to come clean. He was going to tell
Donna everything and then present himself to the authorities with
a confession regarding his embezzlement of town funds. It was
at the Food Festival that he told Roslyn he was no longer in her
power. That's why she looked so frantic."

Bennett snorted. "She was losin' her free ride-that's why she
was sweatin' like a fry cook durin' a breakfast rush."

"Except she didn't keep a single dime of the money," Lucy explained. "Every cent went to Lennon. With her line of work, she'd
struggled financially as a single mom and she was tired of the
struggle. Go on, someone ask me why she was single."

"Because she's a duplicitous blackmailer?" James guessed.

Lucy paused, letting the dramatic tension build. "Because her
ex-husband is spending thirty years to life in prison! He killed
someone in a bar fight. It started as an argument about sports and
then punches were thrown, but Lennon's daddy took it to the next
level by smashing his opponent's head into the jukebox."

"Ow!" several of them said at once.

Gillian clucked her tongue. "I cannot understand why that
angry young man chose Lennon as his false name. John Lennon
was an advocate of peace. How it pains me that his memory is disgraced by having his name associated with such a twisted soul."

"That's not how people will think of him," Lindy stated, hoping to comfort her friend. "Murphy referred to him as Curt Snyder in her articles and so has the rest of the media. I don't think anyone wants to use his fake name and the term `double murder' in
the same sentence." She turned to Lucy. "Tell us about the defibrillator."

"Roslyn purchased it years ago through an online medical auction. I gather that when hospitals or medical offices upgrade to
new equipment, they often put the old stuff up for sale."

Bennett put a hand on her arm. "You mean I could just go online and buy a blood pressure machine? See what happens to my
numbers after Mrs. McDougal's bloodhound chases after me like
I'm wearin' Milkbone aftershave."

"I think a stethoscope might be more handy in that scenario,"
Gillian said with a saucy wink. "Really Bennett, you need to hire a
dog whisperer. Perhaps I should look into that for you."

Before the couple could engage in an argument over befriending all the pooches on Bennett's mail route, Lucy continued her
narrative. "Lennon was storing the device in the closet where Roslyn kept her refrigerated products. You were right to be suspicious
of that locked door, James. Lennon lured Ned into Roslyn's office, saying that he knew about the blackmail and could show Ned
where Roslyn had hidden the cash."

"Of course Ned followed him!" Lindy cried. "He could return
the money to the town's account and not face jail time, divorce, or
public humiliation. But why believe Lennon?"

Lucy shrugged. "Because Lennon had access to all the buildings with his master key. Also, many of Roslyn and Ned's trysts
had taken place in her office, so Ned probably found it plausible
that the young man knew all about their affair. Lennon led Ned
into the bathroom by claiming that the cash was in the toilet tank. He then quietly locked the door and used the defibrillator on the
unsuspecting councilman. Afterward, he put the device back in
the closet and returned to the festival."

The friends fell silent as each of them pictured the surprised
look Ned Woodman must have worn as he turned to find the person he'd hoped could rescue him wielding a pair of charged paddles.

James wondered what it felt like to be blasted with an electric
current powerful enough to change the rhythm of a beating heart.
Did death occur so rapidly that Ned had no chance to process the
betrayal or was there enough time for him to register shock and
then, a second later, horror?

Sensing the mood shift of her audience, Lucy grew more solemn as well. "Roslyn claims to have been distraught over Ned's
murder. She didn't care that her lover had been killed, but that
Lennon was exhibiting his father's violent tendencies. She begged
Lennon to leave Quincy's Gap right after the festival, but Lennon
had already started blackmailing Tia and he had genuine feelings
for Skye."

"What hold did he have over Tia?" James asked. "We've never
been able to guess."

Lucy shook her head. "You'll never believe this, but Tia was in
a commercial for a fast-food restaurant when she was a teenager.
I've seen the footage. Tia takes three bites of a cheeseburger and
then smiles at the camera."

"Where did Lennon see the commercial? It's gotta be older
than my shower curtain." Bennett frowned in confusion.

"On the Internet. Apparently, one of the other kids on the
commercial went on to become a famous singer in a Grateful
Dead cover band, so the clip was posted on a bunch of sites," Lucy answered. "The second Lennon found out Tia was one of the rich
Royale kids, he started digging around and he stumbled across the
commercial."

"Poor girl," Gillian sympathized. "She was probably afraid that
no one would support her animal rights' campaign if they knew
about that silly ad, but she was wrong. She was still a child when
that was filmed!"

"She was still a child when she was murdered," Lucy added with
an undercurrent of anger. "Roslyn went to Tia's place to warn her
to get out of town, but Lennon followed Mommy Dearest. Inside,
Roslyn accidentally dropped Ned's fir tree charm and because
she'd had it in her skirt pocket, where she was also keeping a small
wedge of cheese, Snickers swallowed it. Lennon snuck in when the
two women were talking and hid in Tia's closet. He tried to get
more money out of her and when she didn't produce any right
then and there, he grew enraged. They struggled and when she was
weakened by strangulation, he zapped her with the paddles."

James felt his mouth go dry. "What a monster."

"Yeah, he's messed up. And he and Roslyn have never had a
healthy relationship. She said that throughout Lennon's childhood, she went without so he could have nice things. She gave him
too much power and spoiled him rotten, thinking that was how a
loving parent acted."
"

I feel a little sorry for her," Lindy admitted. "She has to live
with the weight of so many regrets."

Lucy nodded. "At least she feels remorse. Lennon is just ticked
off that he got caught."

"Well, that boy is in for a rude awakenin' when he gets to
prison," Bennett concluded with satisfaction in his voice. "Not too much peace, love, and harmony in the ole slammer. Maybe he'll
learn a little bit about the value of freedom when he only gets to
see the sky through a barred window. Maybe he'll learn what he
stole from Ned and Tia when the life he took for granted comes to
a screechin' halt."

There wasn't much more to say after that and the supper club
meeting broke up shortly afterward. The friends were tired. Each
of them felt glad to be welcoming the new season, as though the
heat of the summer sun could burn away the damp, dirty residue
left behind by a spring marred by stalking, blackmail, and murder.
By mutual agreement, they all signed up for more sessions with
Harmony. This time, however, no one was interested in treating
sugar addictions. Instead, they wanted help in letting go of their
repressed guilt for not discovering Lennon's foul deeds earlier.
They also had another shared goal: they wanted to kick off the
summer feeling in control of their bodies, their minds, and their
futures.

"And a sense of calm," James added when he made the appointment with Harmony's new assistant. Skye was long gone
and though James didn't know where the young woman went,
he wished her a quick recovery from what was no doubt a deeply
wounded heart.

A few weeks into the month of June, James was reading emails on
his home computer when Jane entered the tiny third bedroom he
used as an office. The walls were lined with bookshelves and books
filled every available nook and cranny. There were books piled on his desk, on the side tables, and in boxes and chest-high towers
within the closet.

Jane walked into the room wearing a smile. "I forwarded you
the email I received from Fay Sunray. Did I ever mention that I'd
written her complaining about how she'd upset Eliot during the
Nashville show?"

"No, you didn't, but I thought about writing her myself." He
scrolled down his list of emails. "Here it is."

"Dear Mrs. Henry," the email began. "I definitely owe you,
your son, and everyone at that concert an apology. That was not
the time, the place, or the means to deliver my message to people about converting to a vegetarian lifestyle. In fact, my behavior
may have done a cause near and dear to my heart more harm than
good. We've had the offending song cut from the DVD version of
the show and I've mailed you a free copy of the edited work along
with a signed photograph and a selection of Fay Sunray Friends
puppets. I know these items don't make up for my poor judgment,
but it is still, and always will be, my hope to bring a smile to your
son's face. Yours, Fay Sunray."

"She sounds very sincere," James said when he'd finished reading the email. "You know, she and Tia Royale would have gotten
along well. But Fay seems to have realized something that Tia
didn't. You don't have to be vulgar or crass to get your point across.
A few farm puppets and a gentle manner can go a long way."

Jane laughed. "You need to shut down that computer and start
packing. We've got an early start tomorrow."

"I know," James answered without moving. "I still can't believe
we accepted a cruise from my employees. It feels so wrong and
yet," he glanced up at her with a smile, "so right."

"We'd better have a vacation now, while we can." She handed
him a small package wrapped in white tissue paper.

"What's this?" James asked and began to tear at the paper. Parting the tissue, he saw that Jane had bought him an ebook reader.
"Jane!" He looked stunned and not just a little taken aback. "I'm
a librarian. I ... I can't read books on a machine. I need to hold
them, turn paper pages, leave a bookmark inside." His eyes were
anxious and Jane could see that he was concerned about hurting
her feelings.

"It's just for you to use at home or on trips," she explained
soothingly and gestured at the books. "And because we're going to
need to get rid of all these."

James leapt from his chair. "WHAT? WHY?"

Ignoring him, Jane put her index finger on her chin and tapped.
"A yellow paint would do nicely. Or maybe a calming moss-green."

"Why do we need to paint this room? It's fine the way it is!"
James spluttered indignantly.

Jane put her arms around her husband. "Beige is a bit boring
for a nursery. I think we'll go with the green." She drew James'
hand to her belly and smiled as his face began to glow with astonishment and joy. "Or we could just take a chance and paint it pink.
I've got a powerful feeling that this one's a girl"

THE END

DOLLY'S BLUEBERRY DREAM PIE

INGREDIENTS:

4 ounces cream cheese, softened (Dolly prefers Philadelphiabrand cream cheese)
'h cup confectioner's sugar
'h cup heavy whipping cream, whipped
1 (9-inch) pie shell, baked
2/3 cup granulated sugar
/4 cup cornstarch
'h cup water
'/4 cup lemon juice
3 cups fresh blueberries

DIRECTIONS:

1. In a small bowl, blend cream cheese and confectioner's sugar
until smooth. Gently fold in whipped cream. Spread in a
pre-baked pastry shell.