Murder and Salutations (Book 3 in the Cardmaking Mysteries) (20 page)

“
Positive,” she said, and
then I was alone. The shop was quiet for most of the afternoon, so
I decided to copy Sara Lynn’s display techniques and show the steps
to making a simple double-fold card with window cutouts. My wrist
was sore, but I could still work through it. Besides, it was the
best therapy, physical and emotional, for me. I had samples for
each step and was ready to mount them onto cardboard backs when the
phone rang.

“
Custom Card Creations,” I
said

“
I never get tired of
hearing you say that. You sound so professional,” Gail
said.

“
It’s all an illusion,” I
replied as I glued one of the cards to a bright orange piece of
cardboard. “What’s happening?”

“
I was hoping we could hang
out a little tonight, but I’ve got to go out of town for a few
days,” Gail said.

“
Don’t tell me Reggie’s
taking you to Cancun.”

Gail sighed. “At this point, I’m not even
sure he’d take me to a convenience store for a Coke and a
Zinger.”

‘
Trouble in paradise?” I
asked as I mounted another card sample. I was the queen of
multitasking. Well, at least the princess.

“
Honestly, he’s been
distracted lately, and I’m wondering if he’s been seeing someone
else.”

“
You’re kidding. What man in
his right mind would two-time you?”

“
My point exactly,” she
said. “Anyway, I’m not sure if we’re going to date
anymore.”

“
I hope I
didn’t make it worse by moving over there,” I said, “It’s still not
too late if you want me
to back
off,”

“
No,” Gail said, “That
cottage sounds perfect for you. Don’t worry about me. I’m sure
someone else will come along,”

“
There’s no doubt in my
mind,” I said. She hadn’t mentioned the shooting last night, and I
wasn’t sure I should bring it up myself, After all, there was
nothing either one of us could do about it at the moment, and 1
didn’t want to worry my friend unnecessarily.

I was just about hang up when she said, “I
can’t believe you weren’t going to say anything about what happened
last night.”

“
So you heard?”

“
Jennifer, all of Rebel
Forge knows. Why didn’t you all me?”

“
I didn’t want you to
worry,” I said.

“
Too late for that. Are you
sure those shots weren’t meant for you? I know how you like to
snoop. Maybe you got too close to somebody.”

“
If I did, it was purely by
accident,” I said, laughing.

“
Be careful, okay? I
couldn’t afford to lose my best friend.”

“
I wouldn’t want you to lose
her, either,” I said.

“
Well, I’d better go,” Gail
said. “I’ve been dreading this sales call. The guy’s a real
Neanderthal.”

“
I’m sure you can handle
him.”

“
Oh, I can handle him, all
right, but I’d like to make the sale, too.”

“
Just consider it a
challenge,” I said.

“
Jennifer, they all
are.”

By the time I was ready to close the shop, I
had the display finished and mounted to the wall by my card kits.
It looked really nice, but I felt a little guilty stealing Sara
Lynn’s idea. I’d have to say something to her before someone else
did. I just hoped she’d understand.

I waited outside for five minutes before my
brother showed up. Since he was my ride, I hadn’t had much choice,
though my wrist was starting to bother me again. All I wanted was
to go back to my place, grab an ice pack, take a few aspirin, and
lip on an old movie on television. Okay, a pizza would be nice. And
some Coke. But that was it. Then again, I’d love a piece of
chocolate cake for dessert. It was probably all a little self
indulgent, but I figured I was due. I could really use some comfort
food.

Bradford drove up wearing street clothes and
driving his pickup. At least he had the courtesy to hold the door
open for me as I got in.

“
You’re late,” I
said.

“
Sorry, I got tied up with
something. I hope you weren’t waiting too long.”

“
Five minutes,” I admitted.
“So what have you been doing? And why are we in your truck and not
your patrol car?

“
I took this afternoon off,”
he said.

“
With a killer loose in
Rebel Forge?”

“
This couldn’t wait till
later,” he said.

As he started driving, I said, “Is there any
chance your dear, sweet wife has any chocolate cake lying
around?”

“
If she does, she’s better
at hiding things than I am at finding them. Would you like me to
stop someplace for you?”

“
Honestly, I’m in the mood
for some pizza and some cake, but it can wait. Right now all I want
is to get home and relax. Bradford, that was my turn back there.”
My brother had completely blown past the path that led to
Whispering Oak.

“
Trust me, I know what I’m
doing”

“
Listen, big brother, you’re
going to cancel whatever it was you had planned. I’m not in the
mood for any surprises this evening.”

“
Then you’re not going to be
very happy,” he said softly.

“
We’re not going to your
house, are we? I’m fine on my own. Honestly. Just take me
home.”

“
That’s what I’m doing,”
Bradford said.

I turned around and pointed. “It’s back
there, remember?”

“
Not anymore,” he said,
“What do you think I’ve been doing all afternoon? Sara Lynn,
Lillian and I moved you out of Whispering Oak, including Oggie and
Nash.”

“
You what?” I screeched. “I
wasn’t even finished packing.”

“
We took care of it for
you,” he said. “I’m sorry, but your car’s still parked there. I’ll
take you over to pick it up tomorrow.”

“
I can’t believe you did
this.” It was just like my family, butting in and offering help
when none was needed.

“
Believe it,” he said. “It
was Sara Lynn’s idea, and I wasn’t about to say no. She had a good
time, and it seemed to get her mind off her problems, so be
gracious, would you?”

“
Maybe I did overreact a
little,” I said. “It really did help her?”

“
The only thing that would
have made it better would have been if you were there, too, but
part of the kick for her was doing this as a surprise for
you.”

“
Okay, I’ll be gracious,” I
said. “But it’s going to be a stretch.”

“
Did you think that was a
news flash? I’ve known you longer than anybody should.”

He paused at the gate of my new place, then
punched in a set of numbers. As he drove in, he chose a path I
hadn’t seen earlier. “Do I have my own entrance?”

He laughed. “I guess in a way you do. They
can’t even see you come and go at the main house. I think it was
designed that way on purpose. You’ve got more privacy than anybody
needs here. The way it was situated, it wouldn’t surprise me if
they couldn’t even see your lights from the house.”

“
I like that,” I
said.

“
I knew you would.” He
stopped in the trees just before we got to the cottage. “Listen, we
all worked really hard on making the place feel like home. It would
help if you could smile once or twice, even if you’re not feeling
it.”

“
Got it. Fake it till I make
it.”

“
Jennifer, you know what I
mean.”

I wanted to pat his shoulder, but my wrist
really did hurt. I doubted it would be healed by the time I would
have been evicted, so my family really had helped me out. I just
wished it would have been at my bidding and not theirs.

As Bradford pulled up in front of the place,
Sara Lynn and Lillian came out to greet us.

“
Surprise!” they
shouted.

“
It’s that, all right,” I
said. “You all really shouldn’t have. It’s too much.”

Sara Lynn hugged me, and I noticed that she
was being careful of my wrist. “Nonsense. We were happy to do it.
It looks lovely,” she added.

“
I can’t wait to see it. How
do my roommates like it?”

Lillian smiled. “You’re kidding, right?
There are so many places to swoop down from, they both think
they’ve gone to cat heaven.”

I walked inside and took it all in. They’d
done a marvelous job, even adding fresh flowers to the small dining
table in the kitchen. “Those are beautiful,” I said as I saw the
skillfully arranged roses, baby’s breath and ferns.

“
Thanks,” Bradford
said.

“
You picked them out?” I
asked.

“
Hey, I’m not completely
without taste.”

Lillian and Sara Lynn looked at me, but
nobody said a word. Bradford said, “I don’t get any respect in this
family.”

I kissed his cheek. “Thank you, it was
thoughtful of you to bring me flowers.”

“
Okay, it was Cindy’s idea,
but I picked them out. Well, I picked them up, anyway. She ordered
them and had them waiting for me at the florist.”

We all laughed, including Bradford. Lillian
asked, “Would you like some company tonight, or would you like to
settle in by yourself? You won’t offend us if that’s your
preference, I promise you.”

“
I’d love to have a
housewarming party,” I said. “Just not tonight. My wrist’s aching,
and I just want to grab a bite and go to sleep early.”

“
That’s fine,” Sara Lynn
said. “We’ll do something next weekend, once you’ve had a chance to
settle in.”

Lillian nodded her agreement, then said,
“There’s a pizza in the oven, and we took the liberty of stocking
your refrigerator. I hope you don’t mind.”

“
No, I think I can live with
that,” I said, smiling. Okay, maybe it wasn’t such a bad thing
being the baby of the family. Sometimes it was nice being
pampered.

I walked them outside, and Bradford said,
“I’ll pick you up bright and early.”

“
I’ll let you come get me on
one condition,” I said. “We go get my car so I don’t have to rely
on the kindness of strangers to get back and forth from
work.”

“
You’re calling your dear,
sweet brother a stranger?” he asked.

“
Bradford, I’ve known a lot
of people in my life, and they don’t come any stranger than
you.”

Lillian and Sara Lynn laughed, and the three
of them got into the pickup and drove off. I went back inside,
feeling good about my family, and what they’d done for me. Nash was
on one of the beams in the kitchen, swishing his tail as he watched
me. “So, what do you think?”

He didn’t comment, but he looked happy
enough to be there. I was alarmed when I couldn’t find Oggie, then
I spotted one paw hanging down from the loft. The little rascal was
already asleep on my pillow. Trust my cats to land on their feet,
no matter what the situation was. I just hoped I’d do as well. The
place looked smaller with my things there, and I wondered how I’d
manage, but rearranging would have to wait for another night. For
now, I just needed some peace and quiet.

I was jarred awake by a pounding on my
cottage door, and for just a moment, I incorporated it into my
dreams, imagining someone was driving nails into my car’s roof.

From outside, I heard Bradford’s voice, and
realized it was real. The cottage was pitch black, and I nearly
fell out of the loft as I climbed out of bed. My robe was on a
nearby chair, and I hastily wrapped it around, me as I answered the
door.

“
Bradford, what’s wrong?
What time is it?”

“
It’s a little after three,”
he said. “Get dressed, Jennifer.”

“
Can you tell me what this
is about?”

He looked so sad it nearly broke my heart.
“Somebody just burned down Whispering Oak.”

Five minutes later, we were in his squad car
heading back to my old apartment. Bradford had supplied coffee for
both of us, and I took a sip of mine, trying to wake up. I could
see an orange haze in the sky, diluted by black smoke. “What
happened? Do you know yet?”

He shook his head as he drove grimly through
the night. “There will be time for that later. Right now they’re
just trying to put the fire out.”

I nodded. “Will they be able to save the
house?”

He shook his head. “I doubt it. It was
blazing pretty fiercely by the time somebody called it in. It was
an anonymous tip from a cell phone, and the voice was so distorted
it could have been a man or woman.”

“
You’re thinking it was
deliberately set, aren’t you?”

“
What makes you think that?”
he asked.

“
I’m here, aren’t I? I doubt
you’d drag me out of bed unless you were afraid of something like
that.”

“
You’re right, it’s exactly
like that,” he said.

There were two fire trucks at the scene when
we got there, and Jody—one of my brother’s deputies— was keeping
everybody but emergency crews out. Bradford stopped near his deputy
and asked, “Anything new?”

He looked at me, then down at the ground.
“Yep.”

“
What is it?” Bradford
asked. “She’s going to know soon enough.”

“
They found a body inside,”
he admitted.