Murder and Salutations (Book 3 in the Cardmaking Mysteries) (4 page)

“
I’ll do it,” I
said.

“
I don’t need a babysitter,”
my sister insisted.

“
And you’re not getting one.
To be honest with you, I’m not crazy about staying home alone
tonight myself.”

Sara Lynn scowled. “You’re never alone,
Jennifer. You’ve always got your roommates.”

“
I doubt they’d be much
comfort tonight.” That wasn’t fair to my cats, but I had to come up
with an excuse to be with Sara Lynn. I doubted Oggie and Nash would
even notice I was gone, as long as their meals came on time. I
loved the little scoundrels, but there were times when I wondered
if the feeling was mutual. “Let me just go by the apartment and
feed them, then I’ll come home with you.”

Sara Lynn shook her head. “Jennifer, I have
no desire to go back to my house tonight.” She hesitated, then
added, “It’s too empty without Bailey there. I’ll gladly take your
couch instead.”

“
Nonsense, you can have the
bed and I’ll sleep out on the couch. It will be like
camping.”

She rolled her eyes at me. “Jennifer, you’re
nearly a foot taller than I am, and I barely fit on it. You would
dangle over from both ends. I’ll be fine.”

We were still debating our sleeping
arrangements when Lillian rejoined us. As Bradford called to Addie
Mason, our aunt said, “Are you two still here?”

“
We’re trying to decide
where we’re going to sleep tonight,” I said.

“
I thought it would be
obvious. You two are going to be my guests tonight.” Lillian had a
huge old house, and I knew she had plenty of room for guests, even
though she’d converted one entire bedroom into a closet.

I could see Sara Lynn wasn’t crazy about the
idea, so I had to plow ahead. “We’d love to. I just have to feed
Oggie and Nash first.”

“
By all means, bring them
with you. You know how the rascals love to explore my
house.”

That was usually a sticking point with
Lillian whenever I dared bring them over, but I wasn’t about to
argue with her. “They’ll love it. Come on, Sara Lynn, it will be
fun.”

She raised an eyebrow, but she didn’t back
out of the arrangement, so I considered it a victory.

As we walked out of Hurley’s, I noticed that
Hank was watching us. My first reaction was to stick my tongue out
at him, but I settled for an icy stare and an aloof manner. That
would teach him to try to order me around. When I glanced back to
see how my withering treatment had affected him, I realized he’d
dismissed me and had moved on to the next person in his line. And
I’d wasted a perfectly good freeze on him.

There was a chill in the mountain air with
the sun long gone, and I wished for a moment I’d brought a sweater
with me. Lillian chattered, “Let’s hurry, my Mustang’s in front of
the shop. We can get your cars tomorrow.”

As we hurried back to Custom Card Creations,
Sara Lynn said, “Thanks, but I’m going home to collect a few things
first. I’ll need my car for that.”

“
I can take you,” Lillian
insisted.

“
Blast it, woman, I’m not
nine years old. I’m perfectly capable of going home
alone.”

Lillian smiled, and Sara Lynn couldn’t let
it go. “What are you grinning about?”

“
I was afraid you’d lost
your fire for a minute there, but I see you’ve found
it.”

Sara Lynn chuckled softly. “Don’t kid
yourself; I’m teetering on the edge.”

“
That’s all the more reason
you shouldn’t be alone tonight,” I said. “If you come with me to
get my cats, I’ll follow you home. Then we can go to Lillian’s
together.” I looked at my aunt and said, “Do you have any dessert
in your refrigerator? I’ve got a craving for chocolate.”

“
How about a pan of my
famous double chocolate brownies?” Lillian asked.

“
You’ve got some at home?” I
said. “That would be perfect.”

“
I don’t have them ready,
but they will be by the time you two run your errands.”

Sara Lynn said, “I don’t want you to go to
any trouble for us.”

“
Speak for yourself, Sis,” I
said. “Go to the trouble,” I told Lillian.

Lillian laughed. “You really should come out
of your shell more, Jennifer.” “What can I say? I’m trying.” We
split up in front of the card shop, and soon we were at my
converted attic loft. I had the top space of a charming old
Victorian, and it was my favorite place I’d had in years, despite
the presence of a forgetful poltergeist.

There was a note taped to my door, and I
wondered if one of my downstairs neighbors was trying to make peace
with me again. We’d had good reason to argue in the past, and I was
in no mood for their antics.

It was from Hester Taylor, my landlord. I
opened it and read,

‘
Jennifer, I’m sorry I
missed you. I’m selling the house and grounds, so I’m afraid you’ll
have to find somewhere else to live. I do apologize, but I have to
do this. You can have one more week, but you’ve got to be gone by
then.—Hester.’

“
How do you like that?” I
said as I handed Sara Lynn the note.

“
She can’t do that,” Sara
Lynn said. “The woman’s got to give you more notice than
that.”

“
You’re probably right, but
I’ve never been keen on staying somewhere I’m not wanted. It looks
like I’ll be moving again.”

“
I’ve got an idea,” Sara
Lynn said. “You can move in with me. Now that Bailey’s gone, I’d
love the company.”

“
If it were just me, I might
take you up on your offer,” I said, lying with an innocent face.
“But you know how the cats are. They would drive you nuts in no
time.” It was certainly true that Oggie and Nash weren’t my
sister’s biggest fans, but it was by no means the only reason I’d
refused her offer. I’d struggled too hard and too long to be out on
my own and out of my family’s formidable shadow, and I wasn’t about
to let one of them suck me back in. As soon as Lillian and Bradford
found out I’d been evicted, I knew they’d get in line to offer me
housing, so 1 had to be firm in my resolve from the
beginning.

“
Well, you can think about
it,” Sara Lynn said. “Just let me know if you change your
mind.”

“
Thanks for the offer. I
truly do appreciate it, but I’m not going to take you up on
it.”

As I walked in, the cats were sitting
quietly on the sofa, one on either arm, as if they were statues
awaiting my arrival. “Well, aren’t you two looking particularly
fine tonight?”

I swear they both looked at me like I’d lost
my mind, an expression I’d grown used to from them. “I’m guessing
you’re ready for your snacks.”

As I gave them a few treats, I said, “Guess
what? We’re going to stay at Lillian’s tonight.”

Oggie protested with a yowl and bolted from
the room. I looked at Nash and asked, “Aren’t you going to follow
suit?”

I was ignored once again, so I took
advantage of it and gathered up a few of my own things before
putting them in their carriers. By the time I was ready to go, Sara
Lynn had undoubtedly reconsidered her offer.

“
You’re probably right,” she
said as we walked out of the house. “I don’t think your cats would
enjoy my place.”

“
They appreciate your offer,
though,” I said. Lying to my sister was getting to be a habit
tonight. My two bandits could not have cared less for my sister’s
generosity.

After I got the cats
situated in the backseat of my Gremlin, we were ready to go. When
we got to Sara Lynn’s house, I hit the dome light and saw that both
cats were sound asleep. Sometimes traveling in their carriers
agitated them. When I was lucky, though, the motion of the car,
coupled with the darkness, acted
like a
rocking bassinet on a baby and knocked them out cold. They were
absolutely adorable, especially when they were sound asleep. I
locked the car and
joined Sara Lynn at her
front door. It appeared that every light in her house was turned
on, lighting it up like a luminary at Christmas.

“
Wow, I’d hate to see your
electric bill this month,” I said, then I looked at my sister.
“Sara Lynn, what’s wrong?”

“
When I left here tonight,
every light in the house was turned off.”

Chapter 3

That was hard to imagine, given the current
state of illumination. “Are you sure?”

She didn’t even offer me a withering look—
something that spoke volumes. “I’m positive.”

“
Could Bailey have come by
after you two talked tonight at Hurley’s?”

“
No, he gave me his keys
yesterday when he left. That was part of our arrangement. He isn’t
supposed to enter the house again unless I’m here.”

I couldn’t imagine Bailey defying her. My
sister might have been petite, but she had a tongue sharp enough to
wilt kudzu.

She hesitated, her key hovering near the
lock. I put my hand on hers. “Listen, if you’re worried about it,
we can call Bradford. I’m sure he’ll come right over.”

Sara Lynn paused a moment, then said, “No,
he’s got enough to worry about tonight without trotting over here.
I’m sure it’s all perfectly innocent.”

She unlocked her front door and pushed it
in. I was right behind her, but I suddenly wished I’d brought my
softball bat along with us for protection. It was amazing how the
heft of that aluminum club could fill me with confidence. My sister
wasn’t empty-handed, though. As soon as the door was unlocked, she
dove into her handbag and pulled out a vial of pepper spray with
one hand and a stun gun with the other. Maybe I wouldn’t need my
bat after all.

For some reason I’d been expecting the
living room to be trashed, as if the burglars had turned on every
light in the house while they ransacked it. Instead, it was as neat
as it had ever been, and I felt myself relax. Sara Lynn wasn’t
quite so trusting though. I followed my older sister from room to
room until we were both satisfied that nothing had been touched and
no one was lurking in a corner for us. It was pretty clear she was
still troubled by the lights, but since nothing else appeared to
have been disturbed, I was ready to write it off as one of her
senior moments of forgetfulness. She went through the house,
flipping switches off as she neatly packed an overnight bag, and we
were at the door ready to leave when she said, “I need to check one
more thing before we go.”

“
Sara Lynn, we looked under
every bed and inside every closet. There’s nobody here.”

“
Be patient, Jennifer, this
will just take a second.” She walked into the kitchen, so I
followed her, curious to see what place she felt we’d ignored in
our search. She stopped at her pantry—really nothing more than a
small closet that wouldn’t have hidden one of my cats, let alone
the neatest burglar who’d ever hit Rebel Forge. Sara Lynn reached
to the back of the top shelf and pulled out a cylinder of
oatmeal.

“
If you’re hungry,” I said,
“Lillian’s making brownies, remember?”

She ignored me and pulled off the canister’s
lid. To my surprise, Sara Lynn stuck her hand into the container,
and after rooting around inside it for a few seconds, she pulled
out a piece of paper. “Hey, I didn’t know those things came with
prizes.”

Her face was grim as she read the paper,
then she handed it to me. It was Bailey’s handwriting; there was no
mistaking his sloppy printing.

“
Sara Lynn, this is my IOU.
I’ll pay it all back, hopefully before you even realize it’s gone.
I’m sorry, about everything. —Bailey.”

I handed it back to her. “What’s this all
about?”

“
We’ve kept five hundred
dollars in here for emergencies since we first got married. It was
our agreement that we would never touch it unless there was a dire
reason.”

“
So maybe Bailey had an
emergency,” I said, trying to ease my sister’s troubled
mind.

“
Jennifer, you don’t
understand. We made it a ritual of each of us putting in half.
Neither one of us was ever to take more than their share. I can’t
believe Bailey would be this petty.”

I shrugged. “I can’t explain it,” I said.
“But it’s not going to do any good sitting here staring at the
note. Let’s go to Lillian’s.”

She nodded absently, threw the note onto the
counter, then changed her mind and put it in her purse. “So why did
he leave all the lights on if he came here just to take money?”

“
For that matter,” I said,
“how did he get inside if he surrendered his keys to
you?”

She shook her head. “I know one way.” I
followed her out onto the porch and watched as she stuck her hand
into a flowerpot. After a minute of rooting around, she retrieved a
key. “I’d forgotten all about this. He must have used it tonight to
get in and take our emergency fund.” “Then why leave the lights
on?” I asked. “Who knows? Maybe he was in a hurry, or maybe he was
leaving me some kind of message. I just don’t understand that man
anymore.”

I put my arm around Sara Lynn’s shoulder.
“Come on, let’s get out of here. You’ll feel better once we get to
Lillian’s. Would you like to leave your car here and ride with me?”
My sister was shaken up, something that I’d seen only a few times
in my life, and it had me worried.

“
No, I’ll be fine.” Outside
on the front walk, she looked back at the house, now dark
throughout, then turned to her car. “Let’s get out of
here.”

I followed her to Lillian’s place, relieved
once we were there. “Can I get one of the carriers for you?” Sara
Lynn asked.