No Scone Unturned (7 page)

“
N
ow why didn’t
I think of that?” Ruth tapped furiously on the iPad. “I should’ve known to look for Olive’s fan club page.”

“Well, you can’t think of everything.” Nans pretended she was studying her nails. “That’s my job.”

“Yep, here it is.” Ruth slid the iPad around. The page banner showed a sampling of Olive’s books along with a picture of her. The posts were filled with sightings of Olive and some selfies from the four ladies who had been in Lexy’s bakery.

“Look! This is her assistant.” Helen pinched her fingers together over one of the photographs and pulled them apart to enlarge it. The photograph was of a woman with blond hair like Olive, large sunglasses, and a scarf wrapped around her blond hair, obscuring part of her face.

“She does look like Olive,” Ruth said.

“But it says below this is Connie,” Lexy said. “The ladies at the bakery said she has Connie stand in for her sometimes when she doesn’t want to go to events.”

Nans' brows mashed together. “Really? You don’t think that could be Connie in the Paris picture, do you?”

Ruth shook her head. “No. Look. Here is a picture of Olive with Connie. They don’t look that much alike when looking at their faces straight on. It’s only at a distance with the scarf obscuring her face.”

Lexy studied the picture. Sure enough, the two women were similar, but the picture of Olive that Rupert had on his phone definitely was not Connie.

“Well, this is confusing,” Ida said. “Is Olive in France or is Connie in France?”

“It could be that no one is in France,” Ruth said. “Look, to show you how easy it is to photoshop, I have taken the liberty of sending Mona to China.”

Ruth tapped on the iPad and brought up a picture of Nans standing on top of the Great Wall of China. It looked pretty good, but on close inspection, Lexy could tell it was faked.

“This is okay, Ruth, but anyone who gives it a good gander can tell that you messed with it,” Ida said.

“Well, sure they can.” Ruth took the iPad back and scowled at Ida. “This was just a quick thing I did up, and besides, we didn’t get a good gander at Rupert’s. For all we know, it was just as unprofessional. I merely wanted to illustrate what is possible.”

“Okay. So this doesn’t get us any further than we were yesterday except now we know a little bit more about Olive’s assistant.” Nans got a whiteboard marker, went to the whiteboard, jotted something down, and then turned to Ruth. “Did you do any research on her?”

Ruth looked pleased. “As a matter of fact, I did. Connie has been Olive’s assistant for quite a few years now. They work together closely, and she lives here in town. If Olive met with foul play, I think it would be only a matter of time before Connie realized something was amiss.”

“Unless Connie is in on it,” Ida suggested.

“Right. So far we’ve just been going on the assumption that it’s Rupert and the sister. Maybe it’s Rupert and Connie,” Nans said.

“Or Connie and the sister,” Helen added.

“The ladies that came to the bakery did say that they’d only seen the sister leave the house. I guess she drives a little white Fiat,” Lexy said. “Oh, and Rupert went out and got some building stuff for the gazebo. But not Olive. They haven’t seen her all week.”

“Well, that’s new information,” Nans said.

“And they seem to think the Fiat has been at the house all week,” Lexy said.

“Meaning that Susan has been there since Olive was murdered,” Ida said.

“Right.”

“With Olive out of the picture, Rupert and Susan are free to do as they please,” Helen said.

“But there is one thing that bothers me still.” Nans stood at the whiteboard, studying the clues. “If Rupert and Susan killed Olive because they were having an affair, then what is the deal with the cashier’s checks? Something else is going on here.”

“The plot thickens,” Ruth said. “A simple affair might not be the only motive. Or maybe it has nothing to do with the affair and everything to do with money.”

A doorbell chimed inside Ida’s purse, and all heads swiveled toward it.

“Must be my phone.” Ida rummaged in the purse and pulled out an iPhone, her face collapsing into a frown. She looked up at them with serious eyes. “It’s Jason. He needs the drone for Tuesday. Ladies, we have a priority-one mission.”

L
exy couldn’t believe
Nans and the ladies had talked her into driving them back to Castle Heights. The big catering job at the Kingsleys’ was tomorrow, and she still had a lot of prep to do, but when Ruth threatened to drive in her giant blue Oldsmobile, Lexy capitulated. Ruth was known to run over every curb and shrub in sight, and her driving had been getting worse. Lexy didn’t want an accident and potential bodily injury of Nans or one of her friends on her conscience.

So later that day, she found herself parking her car a few houses down from the Pendletons’.

Ida clutched the controller in her hand and flipped it on. “I just hope we can find it. You know, Jason is a pretty big real estate agent. He has a million-dollar property that he needs the drone to take pictures of. I don’t know what will happen if I don’t produce the darn thing by Tuesday.”

“Do you see any activity over there?” Ruth leaned against the car, her eyes looking in the direction of the Pendletons’.

“No, but the last time we didn’t see anything, and we almost got eaten by those dogs,” Ida said. “I say we stick to the neighbors’ yards. This house here looks like the people are on vacation.”

Ida trotted across the street and through someone’s front yard, holding the remote in front of her and fiddling with the controls.

“Ida! Where are you going?” Ruth asked.

“We already tried this yesterday,” Helen said.

“I’m just going to go down by the gazebo,” Ida yelled from across the yard. “We didn’t try near there.”

The others looked at each other and shrugged then started across the front yard in her wake.

“Hey, what are you pretty ladies doing here?”

They jerked around in the direction of the voice to see a man sitting on his screened-in porch. He was wearing a white cotton T-shirt and two days’ growth of beard and had a pyramid of beer cans stacked in front of him.

“Sorry, sir. We’re just cutting through,” Nans said.

“Why don’t you come up and have a beer? Especially the pretty little one in the flowered shirt.” The man gestured his beer can toward Helen, who blushed. Lexy had no idea why, but the guys always seemed to go for Helen. She hoped Helen would use the man’s invitation to their advantage.

Helen sidled closer to the porch and smiled in at the man. “Well, I can’t say as we have time. I’m Helen. What’s your name?”

“Bud.” The man took a sip from the beer. “Mighty hot out. Sure you don’t want a beer? It’ll cool you off. Always does. The missus is on vacation up to her sister’s in Maine.” He favored Helen with an exaggerated wink.

Lexy noticed that the man had a perfect view into the Pendletons’ backyard from his perch on the porch. Was it possible he’d seen something?

“This is a great porch. I bet you take advantage of it a lot,” Lexy said.

The man nodded. “Ayup. Sit out here most evenings. Most afternoons, too.”

“You’re nice and tucked away in there. I bet you see a lot of things from the neighbors here that they don’t know you’re seeing.” Helen indicated the two neighboring backyards, one of which was the Pendletons’.

“I sure do. In fact, I saw you ladies over there at the Pendletons’ the other day. What’s it you’re looking for, anyway?” The man pointed toward Ida, who was down at the edge of the property, pointing her controller toward the gazebo and apparently having no luck.

“A drone,” Ruth said. At the man’s confused look, she added, “Like a remote-control plane. You wouldn’t happen to have seen one of those flying around or the dogs carrying one, would you?”

The man pressed his lips together then shook his head. “Nope, can’t say as I saw that. Those three dogs sure do make a ruckus. Especially when the sister comes over with hers.”

“And she comes over often, doesn’t she?” Helen shot him her brightest smile, and Lexy figured she was buttering him up for more questions.

“Yep. They’re as close as ducks in a pond.”

“Must be kind of annoying for Rupert to have his sister-in-law over all the time. Do you know him well?” Nans asked.

“Nah. Not too much. Been to a few parties over there, but Rupert, well, he’s a little henpecked. I don’t think he’d say boo about having the sister over there. Especially not when she distracts Olive and leaves Rupert to ogle that cute maid they have running around.”

“Maid?” Lexy asked.

“Oh yeah. They got one of those services. You know, the one with the green truck that comes around and cleans your house every so often. We’d get one here, but the missus likes to do her own cleaning.”

“And you think Rupert fancies this maid?” Nans asked.

Bud snorted. “Well, who wouldn’t fancy her? She’s young, blonde, and…” he let go of his beer long enough for his hands to form an hourglass shape.

“Do you think he has something going on with her?” Helen asked.

The man’s eyes narrowed. “Now I didn’t say that. I don’t really know if Rupert is the type. But if he was and she was willing, I wouldn’t blame him.”

Ida came back with a look of disappointment marring her features. “I didn’t get nothing down there… Oh, hello. Who are you?”

“I’m Bud. You want a beer? I was hoping your friend here would come up, but you’ll do.”

Ida scowled at him. “I don’t think so, mister. I don’t play second fiddle to no one.”

“Ida!” Nans looked at her sharply. “Bud was just telling us about the Pendletons’. Now let’s be cordial to him.”

“Oh.” Ida flashed him a smile. “Did you happen to see my drone flying around in their backyard the other day?”

“Nope, can’t say as I did.”

“And have you noticed anything strange over there?” Ruth asked.

“Not any stranger than usual. Though I have to say that gazebo they’re building is kind of unusual. Looks like he’s doing it piecemeal. Not a professional job. But then, that’s Rupert. I’m surprised Olive’s putting up with it.”

Ida snorted. “She might not know what’s going on.”

“Why don’t they just hire someone?” Lexy asked.

Bud frowned. “I’m not sure. I heard they had money troubles. But you never know with them. They throw big parties, but look at the place. It’s a mess. You ask me, Rupert’s a little off his rocker.”

“Is Rupert home?” Nans asked.

“No. Saw him go out with the four dogs in the truck. Probably picking up Olive.”

“Oh, Olive isn’t home either?”

Bud shook his head. “Ain’t seen her for a few days. Heard she was in Europe.”

“Okay, well, nice meeting you, Bud.” Nans grabbed Ruth and Ida’s elbows and pulled them away from the house.

“Hey, I didn’t get a chance to look for the drone over there. It could be over in the back, and I’ve got to find it, or I’m going to be in big trouble with Jason,” Ida grumbled.

“Oh, Ida, stop your bellyaching. If worse comes to worst, you can just buy him a replacement. They sell them right on Amazon, you know,” Nans said.

“They do?”

“’Course. They sell everything over there.”

Nans swiveled her head back and forth as if making sure no one was watching as she speed walked toward the Pendletons’ garage.

“Looks like the fan club doesn’t watch the house all the time,” Ruth said, glancing around. “They’re not here now.”

“Right. They couldn’t possibly have twenty-four-hour surveillance, so we can’t rely on their information,” Nans said. “Which is why I’m going over now to take a little peek into the garage.”

Nans pulled them down the driveway, sticking to the edge, where they would be hidden by the tall lilac bushes. When they reached the end, she sidled over in front of the doors, stood on her tiptoes, and looked in. She fell back on her heels and turned to them. “Well looks like the ladies might’ve been right. That white Fiat is sitting right in the garage. Susan might even be in the house right now.”

“Just as we thought,” Ida said.

“But another thing.” Nans' brows knitted together. “The red Cadillac is not in there.”

“Well, go figure that.” Ida jumped up to get enough height to look in the window. “Oh yeah. It’s not there. Did those fan club ladies tell you Olive only drove that car, Lexy?”

“They did.”

“That fits perfectly with our disappearance theory,” Ruth said. “Apparently it’s well known that Olive drives that Cadillac. Rupert probably took it to some remote spot to be discovered later by the police when he reports Olive is missing. Just like Agatha Christie.”

“And since Olive is dead, she can’t really complain that someone else drove her car,” Helen added.

Nans nodded. “That’s right. And if I recall the Agatha Christie case, her car was found abandoned, and they never did find her until eleven days later.”

“That’s right,” Helen said. “Hey, did either of you see the baseball bat in there?”

“The murder weapon?” Nans stood on her tiptoes and looked in again. “No. But I don’t think that will help us. Without a body, the murder weapon is pretty much meaningless.”

“I suppose you’re right,” Helen said. “Might come in handy once we find the body, though.”

“
If
we find the body. If Rupert is trying to make like she disappeared, we may never find it.”

Nans turned and started toward Lexy’s car, keeping to the security of the lilacs but walking faster this time. “I’m sure that’s what Rupert has planned, but we are going to foil his plans by finding it.”

“Or the drone with the video on it,” Ida said hopefully.

“Either one will prove she was murdered,” Ruth said. “Doesn’t matter.”

“It matters to me,” Ida argued.

Nans waved a hand to shush them. “Quiet now. Let me think. We need to find this maid. Ruth, can you Google the maid service with the green truck?”

“I think that’s Happy Home Cleaners,” Helen said.

“Good. Then let’s find out who they have that cleans at the Pendletons’.” Nans opened Lexy’s car door and pushed the seat up, gesturing for the others to get in. “Hurry now, ladies. We need to get back to my place so we can figure out who this maid is and where she lives as well as find out more about Connie. We need to pay them both a visit. Maybe first thing tomorrow morning, we can…” Nans' voice trailed off, and she looked at Lexy. “Oh, shoot. We have the Kingsleys’ brunch tomorrow morning.”

Lexy had been hoping Nans and the ladies would’ve forgotten about that, but since they hadn’t, and they seemed to have other things on their minds, Lexy saw the perfect way to give them an easy out and prevent them from tagging along to the brunch. “Oh, that’s no problem. You guys don’t have to help. Cassie is going to be there, and we can handle it. It’s more important that you do your research.”

“Oh, we wouldn’t dream of leaving you in the lurch, would we, girls?” Nans asked.

“Of course not,” the others agreed.

“Especially since it will give me an added chance to look for the drone,” Ida said.

“That’s right. We’re a team,” Ruth said. “We’ll be waiting for you at the door to the retirement center first thing tomorrow morning!”