Fruit of All Evil (2 page)

It had been only one day since I told Linda I'd be honored to stand up with her, and it hadn't been a lie—I
was
honored. But when I really thought about what the job entailed, I realized I was in over my head. Cowardly, I wished for an out, something like the appearance of Linda's long-lost best friend, but it didn't seem likely to happen. I was committed; and truthfully, I would never ditch my duty, my friend in her time of need. Adding to my desire not to let her down was the fact that she was all that was left of her family. Her parents had died when she was a teenager, and she was an only child. We, the Bailey's vendors, were her family now, and none of us would let her down.

So, after spending the night tossing and turning, I did what I normally do in times of extreme crisis: I called my sister Allison and begged for help. I asked her to stop by my stall this morning and offer me words of wisdom. She picked the perfect time—I wasn't busy, but Linda, her stall right next to mine, was helping a customer, so she wouldn't overhear as I vented my concerns.

“Becca, make a list. For instance, I've already decided on an area of the market that will be perfect for the ceremony. Just let me know how many people will be there. Work with Abner on flowers, Stella on a cake, and so on. One thing at a time,” Allison said.

Allison is the manager of Bailey's. She took the job ten years ago and has turned the market into one of the top markets in South Carolina. I usually tell people that she's turned it into one of the best on the East Coast, but I have no statistics to back up such a claim.

Bailey's is one of the bigger markets in South Carolina, located outside the town of Monson. Its long, U-shaped design could be seen a good distance down the state highway it was located on. Until recently, a large green and white painted sign announced its location. But the owners had just put up a lighted sign with programmable features that made us all feel uncomfortably modern. Market people didn't usually see much use for lighted signs that could display different things at the touch of a keypad, but we'd get used to it.

I made and sold berry jams and preserves, and worked with many other vendors who made and/or sold many other products. Linda dressed like a character from Laura Ingalls Wilder books, and for seven years had sold homemade fruit pies from the stall next to mine. From the moment we met at Bailey's, we knew we'd be friends.

“Actually, Linda wants me to talk to both Stella
and
Mamma Maria about cake, and maybe some mini pie ideas, or something,” I said. Mamma Maria was the one exception to Linda's “Bailey's Vendors Only for the Wedding” rule. Mamma worked down the road at the Smithfield Farmers' Market. She baked piled-high cream pies that melted on your tongue and made your eyes roll back in your head out of sheer pleasure. She was built just like her pies—stacked—and she was dating Bailey's peach vendor, Carl Monroe. We'd all become pretty good friends.

“There you go. Talk to Stella and Mamma. This could be fun. You can ask for samples. You'll get to taste test.” Allison smiled.

“Good point,” I said as I chewed at my bottom lip.

Allison laughed. “Becca, tell Linda you're a little freaked because you want to do everything right and you want to make sure you accomplish her vision. Be sure you understand exactly what she wants. Everyone here will take good care of her and Drew. You really don't need to worry. You'll have it easier than most . . . what did you call yourself, Number Ones?”

“That's okay to say to a bride? That I'm a little freaked? Aren't I supposed to be the nonfreaked one?”

“Well, you know how to handle it so she'll understand.”

“Do you know who she's marrying?” I asked, my voice high-pitched.

“Of course. Drew Forsyth.”

“Yeah, well, he's pretty darn amazing on his own, but that's not what I'm talking about. I mean, do you know
who
she's marrying?”

“Linda told me he's in the military,” Allison said quietly. “He does secret things, which is pretty impressive.” I'd leave it to Linda to tell Allison Drew's job title. “But I don't know more than that.” Allison shook her head, her long, dark ponytail swinging slightly. I would never have either long or dark hair. Allison's tall, dark looks are from our father and are the yin to the short stature and blonde hair yang I received from our mother.

“Drew is the son of Madeline Forsyth.”

“Okay. Well, the name is familiar, but I can't pinpoint where I've heard it before.”

I was stunned that I knew something my sister didn't. “Madeline Forsyth is a banker . . .”

That was all I had to say.

“Oh, my goodness,” Allison said. “Is she . . . is she . . .?”

“Yes, she's in charge of all horror, if you know what I mean.” Central Savings and Loan, led by Madeline Forsyth (nicknamed For-
scythe
as a result of her ability to cut someone down just like the wickedly sharp mowing instrument), had been on a foreclosure bender lately. Just in the last week, I'd heard of two farms that she herself had served papers on.

Because one of the farms that Central had recently taken was Simonsen Orchards, a place that I'd become very familiar with the previous fall, I'd paid extra attention to the bank's activities. Matt Simonsen had been murdered behind a Bailey's stall. It took some crack police work and some of my own nosiness to figure out who the killer was. I had mostly recovered from the injuries I sustained as I tried to run from the killer, who was now, fortunately, behind bars—forever or a hundred and twenty years, whichever came first.

The day I heard that Simonsen Orchards had been foreclosed upon had been both weird and sad. Those of us who made our livings off our farm-grown or homemade products were always sad when we heard about someone losing their land, but it was extra hard to hear that Simonsen Orchards had gone from one of the top-producing peach orchards in the region to deeply in debt because of the murder.

“Oh, dear. Madeline Forsyth. I can't believe I didn't make the connection. That's . . .” Allison muttered.

“Awful, terrible, a cruel twist of fate, what?”

“A challenge,” Allison said sternly. “Look, you're supposed to be there for Linda and Drew. What Drew's mother does and who she is don't matter.”

“I've met her, Allison. She's tall and loud, both literally and figuratively, and will crush me if I don't help make her son's wedding just perfect. According to Linda, she's having a hard enough time accepting the fact that her son is marrying a pie baker who works at a farmers' market; if I ruin the wedding, she might just foreclose on all of us.”

Allison smiled patiently. “That might be a somewhat dramatic take on it, but I do feel sorry for Linda.”

“Yeah. Me, too.”

“Linda, yoo-hoo!” A voice sounded from behind Allison. She turned sharply, and I peered around her.

“Well, speak of the devil,” I said.

Moving at the speed of a type A personality on caffeine, Madeline Forsyth approached. She was at least seventy years old but didn't look a day over plastic surgery. She was tall, thin, and immaculately dressed in a beige Chanel suit with gold-rimmed black buttons. Dust on the market floor flew from the falls of her expensive pumps, but she didn't seem to notice. She was focused on her soon-to-be daughter-in-law.

Linda's attention was pulled away from her customer and to the approaching storm. The customer, a young woman in denim shorts and a flower print shirt, read the situation quickly.

She smiled at Linda and said, “I'll come back for the pie when I'm done shopping.” And then she scurried away.

Linda put on a patient smile and said, “Madeline, how nice to see you.”

“Uh-huh,” Madeline said as she stopped in front of Linda's stall. She stood just far enough away so that her suit wouldn't come in contact with Linda's display table. “Do you not have time to answer your phone?”

“Uh, well . . .” Linda said as she reached into her pioneer dress pocket. She pulled out her phone and looked at it. “It doesn't say I've missed a call.”

“Well, you have. I've tried to reach you at least a dozen times in the last hour.”

“Really? We'd better double-check the number you've got for me.”

Madeline waved her hand. “We'll do that later. For now, I'm here to let you know about dinner tonight.”

“Dinner?”

“Yes. When I spoke to Drew earlier, he said that he'd neglected to tell you about the dinner this evening.”

“I wasn't aware of a dinner this evening, but maybe he just hasn't gotten around to telling me yet.”

Madeline
tsk
ed. “Drew not giving early notice for a dinner? Surely, I raised him better than that.”

Fleetingly, I wondered what I would do in such a confrontational situation. Considering the fact that I'm twice divorced, I thought I'd probably just call a lawyer.

Linda, however, was more patient and polite than I would have been, so she just smiled, nodded, and remained silent. Madeline was sure to continue speaking.

“Anyway, the dinner is at my house this evening. I've invited some of Drew's cousins—one will be his best man at this hurried wedding thing that we're having. I want you to meet them before you join the family.”

“That would be lovely. I look forward to it. What can I bring?” Linda kept her cool.

“Nothing, of course. I have a cook who does his own shopping.” I guessed this was her way of saying that she'd never buy groceries from Bailey's.

“That will be fine,” Linda said.

“It will be early. I have work to do this evening. Be at my house at five o'clock.”

“Of course.”

Madeline did a three-point turn in her pumps and faced me.

“Becca Robins, right? You're the maid of honor?”

“Yes,” I said, as though someone had punched me in the gut. Why was she speaking to me?

“You're invited, too,” she said regrettably. “Bring a date.”

“Thanks,” I said. My eyes were wide, and I was unsure what to do with my hands.

Madeline marched her way back down the aisle, toward Bailey's exit. I watched as my friends and market mates observed the powerful woman leave us all in her wake. Barry Drake, of Barry Good Corn, thumbed his overalls and sniffed; Herb and Don, the Herb Boys, flanked their stall and gave Madeline the stink-eye; Abner Justen leaned on his wildflower display table and looked cranky; Jeanine Baker, the egg lady, crossed her arms and looked scared; Allison, still in front of my stall, looked interested and focused; and, last but not least, my very adorable boyfriend, Ian Cartwright, stepped out of his yard artwork stall and caught my eye. He gave me a semi-amused wink.

He knew he'd just been invited to dinner, too.

There was a lot of spite in the aisles of Bailey's that afternoon. Though they might not have known until that moment that Linda was going to marry into the For
sythe
family, everyone knew exactly who Madeline Forsyth was, and no one liked her one bit.

The thing was, though, someone must have taken their dislike to a whole new level, because the Chanel suit and expensive pumps tornado that blew through Bailey's was the last time anyone saw Madeline Forsyth alive.

Linda and I talked briefly before she left Bailey's for the day.
I didn't tell her about my conversation with Allison because I figured she had enough on her plate. She did her best not to show how much Madeline's whirlwind visit bothered her, but I knew it had. Otherwise, she never would have left the market early on a busy Friday afternoon. She packed up her truck and her remaining pies, and went to get ready for dinner. I promised I'd be there on time.

In between my own customers and per Allison's suggestion, I made a list. I also talked to other vendors. I'd be taste testing cake samples from Stella and a peach dish and some banana cream mini pies from Mamma Maria the next morning. Abner took his assignment as flower arranger in stride, but I caught it when the corner of his mouth twitched like he just might smile. He was pleased to have been asked even if he didn't do “pleased.”

The biggest surprise of the day was when Herb and Don, of Herb and Don's Herbs, stopped by my stall.

They were both life and business partners, and had had a stall at Bailey's for about three years. Herb was short, bald, and adorable; Don was tall with a head of curly auburn hair, and as close to a male model as I'd ever known. Apparently, when he wasn't working with herbs, Don was in the weight room that filled their entire basement. He'd been gifted with a chiseled face and swore he hadn't resorted to plastic surgery to get that perfect nose.