Murder and Salutations (Book 3 in the Cardmaking Mysteries) (19 page)

“
Be like that, then. I’m out
of here.”

As I walked toward Kayo’s shop, I couldn’t
help wondering what my aunt was up to. It would be tough getting it
out of her, since she could keep a secret with the best of them,
but if 1 was determined enough, I’d find out sooner or later.

For now, I wanted to forget all about Greg
and that kiss so I could focus on who killed Eliza Glade. I wished
I had my Gremlin, but it was back at Whispering Oak, since Bradford
had dropped mo off at work earlier that morning. It would be more
trouble than it was worth to pick up the car. Besides, it was a
beautiful day, and I needed the exercise. I walked along Oakmont,
keeping my gaze down as I went past Greg’s pottery shop. I thought
about popping in on Sara Lynn, but I had nothing now to toll hot.
Maybe I’d have more when I came back through. I found Kayo working
the front cash register at the drugstore. She was busy helping a
customer, and I doubted she’d even seen me come in. During the busy
summer, I knew she always hired her niece to help out, but for now,
it was a skeleton staff, with her up front and her husband coveting
the pharmacy in back of the store. Thad was quite a bit older than
Kayo, and it was rumored around town that her heart had been
enamored more with his not worth than his love. Before my mother
died, she’d always said that people who married for money earned
every penny of it, and I hadn’t really understood what she meant
until years after she was gone. I’d hoard that Kayo had been
shocked to learn soon after her marriage that it was her
father-in-law who really owned the place, and not her bridegroom.
She was selling a tourist a digital camera as I walked in, but I
noticed that she didn’t ring up the sale. Instead, I heard her tell
the customer, “I can’t give you a receipt since our register’s not
working. But if you have any trouble at all, bring it back to me
and I’ll take care of you.”

“
Small towns,” the man said.
“You just have to love them.”

After he was gone, Kaye saw me and asked,
“Jennifer, what brings you here? Did you decide to contribute more
to the fund? I’m still taking donations.”

That was a cheap shot, clean and at the
knees. I had to give her credit for so viciously attacking me with
a smile on her face.

“
Actually, I was hoping I
could have half of it back,” I said before I could stop myself. She
looked stunned by my words. “I’m kidding,” I added, but she still
wasn’t sure how to take it. Good. I wanted her off
balance.

“
So what can I do for you?”
“I was wondering where you were just before Eliza was murdered. I
didn’t see you at your table, and I’d wanted to ask you where you
got that dress you were wearing.” That was nothing but a bald-faced
lie. The only reason I would have asked her where she’d bought it
was so that I would never shop there myself. It looked like a
bridesmaid’s dress with a hangover, with more ribbons and bows than
a county fair. “I had it made for me exclusively,” she said
proudly.

No doubt by a blind seamstress. “So where
were you?” I smiled as I asked her, but it didn’t take the heat
from my question. “I’m sure I was right there.”

“
And I’m sure you weren’t,”
I said. “And that’s what I’m going to tell my brother.” Lillian
would have been proud of me. She’d taught me that when they called
your bluff, you raised over the top to drive them out.

“
Let me see. Oh, yes, that’s
right. I’d stepped outside to have a smoke. You can ask Polly. She
was there with me.”

“
Did anyone else see you
two?” I asked.

“
No, it was just the two of
us. Jennifer, are you snooping around again? You know you
shouldn’t.”

“
We all have our vices,
don’t we?”

I left before she could get another jab in.
I headed straight to Polly’s realty office so I could ask her the
same question I’d just asked Kaye.

Sure enough, she backed Kaye’s story
completely before she ducked out the door to show a house on
Hickory Street. Fancy that. Either they were both telling the
truth, or the two women had conspired to alibi each other. Did that
mean they were guilty of anything more than a nicotine habit? I
couldn’t see them agreeing on where to eat lunch, let alone on
killing Eliza Glade, but it was still a possibility. I’d managed to
waste most of the day tracking down leads and taking a walking tour
of Rebel Forge. I’d have to grab a quick bite before I headed back
to the card shop, since Lillian had her mysterious errand to run.
But I needed to see how my sister was doing first, and if that made
Lillian late, then that was just too bad. After all, she had been
the one drilling it into me from birth that family came first, and
the whole world had to take second place.

I still felt a little uneasy going into
Forever Memories. After all, I’d been working there part-time right
up to the day when Sara Lynn had turned down my card-crafting idea
and I’d walked out to start my own business. My job as a corporate
sales rep peddling dog food had been completely unsatisfying, but
working at Sara Lynn’s with all those tools, stickers, papers and
stamps had been my true love. It was wonderful that they all
applied as much to card making as they did to scrapbooking.

Sara Lynn’s shop was well stocked with many
of the same supplies I carried, but my sister had arranged things
in a completely different way than I had. I liked a lot of her
ideas, but I’d been hesitant to borrow her displays without
permission, and I wasn’t comfortable asking. I noticed she’d
recently added a workstation where people could use a custom
letter-cutting machine.

“
That’s new,” I said as I
saw Christy Keystone behind the register.

“
The customers really love
getting their hands on the equipment. We’ve sold more machines in
the past two weeks than we did the four months before
it.”

It appeared that my sister didn’t have the
same compunction about borrowing that I did. I would have been
stunned if she hadn’t gotten the idea for the demonstration area
from me. Maybe I’d return the favor and steal some of her better
ideas. After all, at least we were keeping it in the family.

“
It’s so nice to have you
back,” Christy said. “I’ve missed seeing you every day.”

“
How are you,
Christy?”

“
Haven’t you heard? I’m
going by Chris now. It seemed silly for a woman my age to keep
being called Christy.”

“
Chris it is,” I said. “Is
my sister around?”

She frowned. “No, she’s gone for the
day.”

“
Did something happen?” I
asked.

“
No, at least I don’t think
so. She said there was something urgent she had to take care of,
and then she took off.” Oh, no. I wondered if it had anything to do
with her errant estranged husband. “Do you know if it involved
Bailey?”

Chris looked shocked by the suggestion. “I
didn’t think so. No, I’m sure of it. This had to be something
else.”

“
I’m calling Bradford
anyway,” I said. “Can I borrow your phone? The battery’s low on my
cell, so I turned it off.”

“
Sure thing,” Chris said as
she scooted the telephone toward me.

I dialed Bradford’s cell number, and when he
answered, he was out of breath. “Yeah?”

“
What have you been doing,
chasing down criminals?” I asked.

“
Something like that. What’s
up?”

“
I’m at Sara Lynn’s
scrapbooking shop, but she’s not here. Bradford, I’m worried about
her.”

He paused a moment, then said, “Hang on a
second, would you?”

“
Okay,” I said. As I waited
for him to come back on, I let my gaze drift around the shop. Sara
Lynn had a knack for display that I envied, and I promised myself
I’d do a better job at the card shop once things settled down. If
they ever did.

He came back on. “Sorry about that. Don’t
worry about Sara Lynn.”

“
I can’t help it. I’m afraid
she’s with Bailey.”

He laughed. “I doubt that, since I’m looking
at her right now.”

“
What have you two been
doing, racing each other around the town square?”

“
How did you know? Listen,
did you need to talk to her?”

I thought about it. Was there really
anything I needed to share with my sister? She was with Bradford,
so I knew Sara Lynn was all right.

“
No, just tell her I’ll talk
to her later.”

“
Will do,” he said, and
before I could ask him what they were up to, he hung up on me. I’d
been meaning to remind him to pick me up after work, but I’d have
to call back later. I walked back to my card shop, and when I got
to Greg’s business I saw that the lights were back on. He was
sitting at the counter, and on an impulse that was against my
better judgment, I walked in.

When he looked up, it was pretty obvious
he’d been hoping I was someone else. “Hi, Jennifer.”

“
I’ve had warmer welcomes in
my life,” I said. “Did you ever catch up with her?”

“
No, she was too fast for
me. Sorry I ran out on you like that.”

“
Greg, you have nothing to
apologize for.”

“
Not even that kiss?” he
said, giving me a sheepish grin.

“
Kiss? What
kiss?”

“
If you don’t remember it, I
didn’t do a good enough job.”

I smiled. “Actually, you’re even better at
it than I remember. It’s almost a shame we won’t get to do it
anymore.”

There was silence for a few moments, then he
said softly, “You’re right. It’s over, isn’t it? I guess I knew it
in my heart, but seeing Stephanie run off like that tore me apart.
She’s who I belong with, Jennifer, not you.”

“
I couldn’t agree with you
more,” I said, “though it’s not an easy thing to hear. I hope you
can fix things with her.”

“
Me, too.”

He didn’t sound like he had much hope. “If
there’s anything I can do, let me know.”

“
I think we’ve both done
enough, at least together,” he said.

“
As long as we’re clear that
whatever we had is gone,” I said, needing the closure of that final
admission.

“
Agreed,” he said. “But as
corny as it sounds, I still want to be your friend.”

“
I don’t think it’s corny at
all.” I approached him and stuck out my hand. “Let’s shake on
it.”

We did, and I started for the door.
“Jennifer?”

I turned back. “Yes?”

“
Thanks. For
everything.”

“
Even this
afternoon?”

He smiled. “Yes, even for that. Stephanie
will come around, especially if I apologize enough.”

“
Then you’d better get to
it,” I said, “because here she comes.”

Stephanie didn’t even break stride as she
walked into the pottery shop. Ignoring Greg for a moment, she faced
me and said, “If you think I’m giving him up without a fight,
you’re nuts.”

“
Believe me, he’s all
yours,” I said. “What you saw was a good-bye kiss, nothing
more.”

Stephanie frowned. “It looked more like
hello to me.

I looked at her intently. “I promise you
this. You don’t know me, but I keep my word. Ask anybody. You have
nothing to worry about from me.”

She acted like she couldn’t believe it.

Greg said, “It’s true.”

She iced him with a glare, then turned back
to me. “Are you sure? I know about your history together.”

“
That’s just what it is:
history,” I said. “But we’re going to be friends, and I won’t give
that up without a fight, either.”

Stephanie smiled slightly. “I think I can
handle that.”

“
Good,” I said as I stuck
out my hand. She looked surprised by the gesture, then shook my
hand. I was glad she hadn’t wanted to arm wrestle for Greg. That
girl had a grip on her.

Greg said, “I’m glad that’s settled.”

Stephanie stared at him a second. “You’re
kidding, right? Do you honestly think I’m letting you off the hook
that easily?”

“
I was kind of hoping you
would,” he said.

I laughed as I headed for the door. “Good
luck.”

“
Thanks,” Greg
said.

“
I wasn’t talking to
you.”

I felt good as I walked to the card shop. It
was going to be an adjustment changing my attitude toward Greg, but
I had a feeling it would make my life a lot less complicated having
him as a friend instead of a sometime love. Maybe I could even
start being nicer to him again.

Stranger things had happened.

Chapter 11

‘
What did you find out?”
Lillian asked as I walked in the door.

“
You’re not going to believe
this, but Polly and Kaye are acting as each other’s alibis. I
didn’t even realize they were friends.”

“
I heard they couldn’t stand
each other,” Lillian said.

“
So it’s unlikely that they
conspired to kill Eliza together, isn’t it?”

Lillian frowned. “That depends.”

“
On what?”

“
Whether they hated Eliza
more than they do each other.”

“
I don’t know which is more
likely,” I said.

“
Maybe we should do a little
more digging.” Lillian looked at her watch, then said, “But not
now. I’ve got to go.”

As she started out the door, I asked, “Are
you sure you don’t want to tell me where you’re going?”