Cast Iron Motive (The Cast Iron Cooking Mysteries Book 4) (9 page)

Gary considered it another moment, and then he forced a smile. “You’re perfectly right. Enjoy your new purchases in good health.”

“Thanks. I will,” I said as I took the receipt and my change and handed the cookery to Pat.

“I’m really sorry, Mr. White. I won’t let it happen again,” Tommy said, clearly relieved that the issue had been resolved.

“I know you won’t, because you’re fired,” Gary said.

“Hang on a second,” I interrupted. “I don’t want them that badly. You can have the cookware back if you return my money. Just don’t fire him.”

Gary pointed to a sign above the register. It said, in old-fashioned script, NO EXCHANGES, NO RETURNS. ALL SALES ARE FINAL. “Sorry, it’s out of my hands.”

“I said that I was sorry, Mr. White,” Tommy pled.

“What? Sorry. I didn’t realize that you were still here,” the store owner said in an icy voice. Tommy looked as though he’d just been electrocuted as he stumbled out the door.

“I didn’t mean for that to happen,” I stammered. The great deal that I’d just gotten wasn’t so great anymore, and what was worse, there was nothing I could do to make things right again.

“That young man needs to learn that there are consequences in this life for every action we take,” Gary said as he shook his head. “It’s a lesson that all of us should remember.” He straightened a few things on the counter, and then he turned back to us. “Was there something else I could help you with today?”

“We were wondering if your offer to help us was still open,” Pat said. I had to hand it to my brother; I hadn’t had the guts to suggest that, not after what had just happened.

“Sorry, but I’m a little busy at the moment. It appears that I have to find a new employee.” He nodded once, and then he walked back to the back where his office was located, at least according to the sign that hung from the rafters.

“Did I really just get that kid fired?” I asked out loud.

It had been more of a rhetorical question in my mind, but the cashier answered it anyway. “Don’t feel too bad about it. He’s been itching to fire Tommy for weeks. This just gave him the opportunity to do it and blame someone else.”

“Will he be okay?” I asked.

“No worries there. Tommy will land on his feet. He hated this job anyway.”

“Because of his boss?” Pat asked him softly.

“No. That couldn’t be it,” the young man said as he nodded slightly in disagreement with what he’d just said. “Everyone loves working here.”

“Jason, I need you for a moment,” Gary called out from the back.

“I hope we didn’t get you into trouble, too,” I said softly as he started to go.

“He’s not going to fire me, at least not until he can replace Tommy. If he did, that would mean that he’d have to pitch in himself and make Tillie actually work too, and none of that’s going to happen, you can trust me on that. She’s too young, and way too pretty to soil her pretty little hands,” he said softly with a grin.

“Now, Jason!”

“Have a nice day,” the clerk said as he winked at us and turned to face his boss.

Once we were on the sidewalk, Pat asked, “Well, Annie, was it worth it?”

“Of course not. I didn’t mean to get that young man fired, and you know it.”

“That’s not what I’m talking about,” Pat said doggedly. “Gary offered to act as a source for us, but that’s gone forever now.”

“Pat, they are Griswolds,” I said, as if that were enough. It should have been, given our love of all things cast iron.

“I know,” my brother relented. “You didn’t do anything wrong. You even tried to rescind the sale, but he wasn’t about to allow that, was he?”

“He’s a bully, and I don’t like him, no matter how good a first impression he made on me at the diner this morning,” I said.

“Agreed. I was wondering before about Della’s story about the two of them fighting, but I can surely see it now. Gary White seems perfectly capable of trying to kill someone who thwarts him, and from what we’ve heard, Della did that and more.”

“So his name stays on our list,” I said. “I suppose it wasn’t a complete failure.”

“No, and we got some spiffy new cast iron to boot.”

We started walking back to Della’s house when I spotted the young man I’d just gotten fired. He was sitting on a bench two blocks from the hardware store, staring off into space. I handed the pan I’d been carrying to my brother, who added it to the Dutch oven he was already hauling, and took a deep breath. “I’m so sorry that just happened,” I said as I walked up to him.

“You know what? You did me a favor,” Tommy said, trying his best to muster a grin. “I’ve been dying to get up the nerve to quit, and now that it’s out of my hands, I’m ready to start living.”

“What will you do?”

“Whatever I want to,” he said with a grin. “That is one wicked man there. I’d watch my step around him if I were you. He’s all smiles to the customers, but the folks who work for him see the real man underneath. He’s not one to cross.”

“Is he capable of murder?” I asked.

Tommy shrugged. “That, and more probably.”

I didn’t want to know what “more” might entail. “May I pay you something for the trouble I’ve caused you, no matter how inadvertent it might have been?” I pushed a fresh twenty and the change I’d gotten back toward him, which was all of the money that I had on me.

He shook his head, and as he stood and started to walk away, he turned to say, “I appreciate the offer, but I’m good. Have a great day.”

“You, too,” I said, and then I turned back to my brother. “Any ideas about what we should do next, now that I’ve blown our only confidante left in town?”

“We need to get this stuff back to Della’s,” Pat said. “I’m not going to walk all over town lugging it all around, but you’re more than welcome to if you’d like.”

I took the skillet back from him, leaving him with the heavier Dutch oven, but at least it had a wire handle he could use. Still, the cookware was heavy, as it should have been.

“No, I think that’s a great idea.”

Chapter 11: Pat

“M
aybe we should have driven when we left the house,” I said to Annie as I lugged the new, at least new to us, cast iron Dutch oven. The thing was getting heavier with every step I took. I’d replayed what had happened back at the hardware store in my mind, and I couldn’t see how what had happened to Tommy had been my sister’s fault, but I still knew that she felt horrible about it. We both loved good deals, but not at someone else’s expense.

“I can go get the car if you want to sit at the curb here and wait for me,” Annie said with the hint of a smile.

“No, I think I can tough it out,” I said.

We were two blocks from Della’s place when a car suddenly rushed toward us from behind. I was glad there was a sidewalk, because the maniac was flying. Then I saw that it was Chief Cameron driving one of the town’s squad cars, and I almost found myself wishing for a maniac instead.

He pulled the car up and slammed on the brakes right in front of us. Flipping on his lights almost as an afterthought, he got out of the cruiser and walked over to us.

“What exactly do you two think you’re doing?” he asked heatedly as he confronted us on the walkway.

“We’re walking back to our aunt’s place,” I said. “Why, is there a law against using the sidewalk, or did we just make an illegal purchase of cast iron cookware?”

“You know what I’m talking about. You’re digging into Cheryl Simmons’s murder.”

“Actually, we’re not,” Annie said calmly.

“That’s not what I heard,” the chief hesitantly replied.

“Well, I can’t comment on your sources and their reliability unless you give me some names,” Annie said calmly.

It just made the police chief angrier. “I’m not about to tell you that.”

“Then we can’t help you,” I said, matching my twin sister’s tone. “If that’s all you wanted, are we free to go?”

“Do you promise me that you’re not going around town asking questions about what happened to Cheryl Simmons?” he asked us.

“Oh, we’re doing some of that all right,” I said.

He looked at me in disbelief at first. “Why?”

Without thinking, I told him, “Someone’s trying to kill our aunt, and we’re not going to just stand by and watch it happen.” I suddenly realized that we’d meant to keep that confidential, and now I’d just blurted it out in the middle of town. I couldn’t help myself, though, and when I glanced at my sister, she nodded her approval. That was all I needed, so I quickly recounted the list of Della’s suspicions.

Chief Cameron appeared to take it all in, and then, in an incredulous voice, he asked us, “Do you really believe that she’s telling the truth?”

“Why wouldn’t we? I’d think the murder would just reinforce her story,” Annie said.

“For the last time, Cheryl wasn’t killed because she was wearing Della’s coat,” he said with a look of disgust on his face.

“You’re entitled to your theory, and we’re entitled to ours,” I said.

“As a matter of fact, that’s not true at all. I’m the police chief, and you run a hardware store in another town.”

“Actually, it’s more of a general store/grill/post office,” I corrected him.

“I don’t care if you sell socks for a living,” he shouted. Getting himself a little more under control, he added, “You have no right to be doing what you’re doing.”

“The last time I checked, we were free to walk on the sidewalk, buy cast iron products, and talk to people about something that concerns us, and you can’t stop us from doing any of it,” I said firmly.

“I can lock you up,” he growled.

“You can try,” I said, “ but we both know we’ll be out before the ink’s dry on the paperwork. Do you really want to open yourself up to a lawsuit like that?” I was bluffing, but I hoped that he couldn’t see that. I remained stony, and so did my sister.

When the police chief saw that we weren’t going to allow him to scare us off, he said, “I can’t guarantee your safety if you keep digging around in this.”

“I didn’t think Della had anyone after her,” I said. “If what you say is correct, why would we be in any danger?”

“And why would you threaten us like that if we weren’t on to something?” Annie added.

“I never threatened you,” he said.

“My mistake. It sure sounded like a threat to me. How about you, Pat?”

I shrugged. “I’m with you. I definitely felt threatened just then.”

“You two think you’re funny, don’t you?” Chief Cameron asked us.

“We have our moments,” I conceded.

“Maybe, but this isn’t one of them. You’ve been warned.”

“Got it. Threatened and warned. You’ve covered them both.” I looked at him for another moment before I asked, “Is there anything else?”

He didn’t answer. Instead, the police chief just shook his head and got back into his car.

As he sped off, Annie looked at me and grinned. “Somebody’s not happy with our investigation, are they?”

“No, the police chief seemed to be a bit miffed with us,” I answered.

“I’m not talking about that. He was just trying to carry out someone else’s wishes. Think about it. How could he know that we’ve been going around town asking questions if someone didn’t complain about it to him? We’ve got someone on edge, so I have a hunch that we must be getting warmer.”

“I didn’t think of it that way,” I admitted.

“That’s why there are two of us. After all, two heads are better than one.”

“Unless they just have one hat to share between them,” I said with a grin. Maybe it wasn’t that funny, but I felt as though the tension of the moment needed a little relief.

“Why don’t you let me carry the Dutch oven for a while?” Annie asked as she reached for the handle.

I didn’t give it up, though. “If you do that, then what will I have to complain about?”

She smiled at me as she lowered her hand. “I’m sure you’d think of something, but let’s not tax that tiny little brain of yours, okay?”

“It’s the same size as yours,” I said.

“Perhaps, but I use mine a lot more efficiently than you do.”

I decided not to challenge her assertion. I needed to save my breath for the rest of our hike. After we’d walked a little ways, I asked my sister, “So, who do you think we rattled with our questioning? Did Gary White call him?”

“He doesn’t seem the type to cry for help, does he?”

“Well, I’m pretty sure that Davis wouldn’t run to him,” I said.

“Serena might, depending on how close they are. I’m honestly not sure. Who else did we talk to today about Della’s suspicions?”

“Nobody that I can think of,” I said. I glanced at my watch and realized that quite a bit of time had passed since we’d left Della’s the last time. “Would you look at that? It’s almost lunchtime.”

Annie glanced at hers as well. “Not for another half an hour.”

“Tell that to my stomach. I didn’t get to finish my breakfast.”

“Fine,” she said. “When we get back to Aunt Della’s, we can drop this stuff off, grab a quick bite, and then start back up this afternoon. I don’t know what she’s making, but surely there will be something worth eating.”

“Start back up and do what, actually? I was under the impression that we’d already spoken to our suspects once, and without new information, what good will it do us to interview them again?”

“I don’t know. We clearly need to think of a new game plan. There must be something we can do,” Annie said.

“If there is, I don’t know what it might be.”

She frowned in thought for a minute before she suggested, “Why don’t we eat, and then we’ll talk about it again? Maybe our subconscious minds will be able to come up with something if we don’t think about anything for a while.”

I smiled at her. “You know me. Not thinking is one of my favorite things to do.”

I’d set her up with a softball pitch, and she hit it over the wall. “You don’t have to tell me that. I work with you every day, remember?”

I laughed, and we finally made it back to Della’s house with our newfound objects safely. No one had offered us a ride along the way, but my twin sister and I had elicited a few stares as we’d walked carrying our cast iron purchases. It amazed me how many folks would rather peek out behind their blinds than just come out onto their front porches to get a better look at us. It felt to me as though the closer we got to our aunt’s house, the more stares we generated.

Without even meaning to, it appeared that my sister and I were generating quite a bit of interest in Gateway Lake just by our presence.

I wasn’t all that excited about getting that much attention, but then again, maybe if the attempted killer knew that we were out there searching for them, they’d give up their mission to murder our aunt.

I doubted it, though.

Whoever was doing it seemed quite determined to carry out their original quest, whether we were involved or not.

I started to knock on the front door when Annie laughed at me and grabbed the handle instead. “We don’t need to knock, Pat,” she said.

“Maybe you don’t,” I replied as I followed her inside. I wasn’t sure I felt good about just barging in. Despite my earlier warnings, the front door had been unlocked. I needed to speak to her about that, but not just yet. The place smelled amazing, and I followed my nose, and my sister, into the kitchen. When I walked into the room, I saw that the small dining room table just off the kitchen was covered in dishes, from entrees to sides to desserts. “Are we interrupting something? It looks as though you’re having a party. We can always go back to Moe’s for lunch,” I volunteered, though in truth everything looked and smelled wonderful.

“Silly, this is for the two of you,” she said. “Do you see anything you like?”

“It
all
looks wonderful,” Annie said as she put her cast iron skillet down on one of the few free spaces on the kitchen counter. “You shouldn’t have gone to so much trouble.”

“Of course I should have.” She grinned at the bounty and added with a smile, “I clearly couldn’t decide what to make.”

“So you made everything,” I said with a grin of my own, putting my Dutch oven down on the floor out of the way.

“Is it too much?”

“Not if you don’t mind having leftovers for the next few weeks,” I said.

Annie nudged me a little as she said, “It’s perfect. Thank you.”

“I had fun cooking for you,” she said, and then she glanced at the new pieces we’d just brought in. “Did you bring some cast iron with you from home?”

“No, we bought a few Griswold pieces at the hardware store in town,” Annie said.

“Griswold? What’s that mean?”

“It’s the manufacturer’s name,” I said. “Annie got an amazing deal.”

“I’ll bet Gary wasn’t pleased about that,” she said. “He hates being outdone.”

“You’re telling me,” Annie said. “He got so mad that he fired a kid named Tommy.”

Della shook her head. “That’s terrible, but truthfully, I told him that he should have quit months ago.”

“You know him?” I asked.

“Of course I do. Gateway Lake is a small town. I shouldn’t have to tell the two of you about how much interaction there is in tight communities. From what I understand, Maple Crest is much the same.”

“It is,” Annie conceded. “I hated to see it happen because of me, though.”

“Don’t worry yourself about it,” Della said. “Tommy is destined for bigger and better things now that he’s out from under Gary White’s thumb.”

“You know, Gary seemed so nice at first when we met him at the diner this morning, but we saw a completely different side of him at his store,” I said as I pinched off a piece of ham.

“Patrick, at least get a plate,” Annie scolded me.

“Fingers are fine, too,” I answered, but I had to concede her point. “Are we waiting for someone else?”

“No, it’s just the three of us,” Della said.

“Then let’s eat. I’m suddenly starving.”

I grabbed a plate and started piling things on. I’d started off trying to choose in moderation, but there was just too much of it to do that.

“That was all delicious,” I said as I pushed my plate aside. We’d eaten in her formal dining room, since there hadn’t been any room in the kitchen or at the dinette. I never understood having a room devoted strictly to eating, but I was happy for it at the moment.

“I’m so glad you enjoyed it. I’m sure none of it was up to Annie’s cast iron standards.”

“Don’t be so certain about that,” I said, and my sister promptly swatted me. “Hey.”

“I didn’t hit you that hard,” Annie said with a grin, “mostly because I agree with you.”

“If you agree with me, then why did you swat me?”

“I like to keep you in line,” my sister said with a smile.

“I really would love to taste some of your cast iron cooking sometime,” Della said.