Tragic Toppings (10 page)

“It doesn’t exactly clear him, either,” I said.

George nodded. “Don’t worry, I’m not going to give up on him yet; trust me. The chief needs to know what Andy’s doing, at the very least.”

“Who else had any motive to want to see Tim dead?” Grace asked.

“That’s the question, isn’t it?” I asked. For as much as Tim was a part of all our lives, it amazed me how little I actually knew about his. “Does anyone have any idea about Tim’s love life?”

“I don’t think he had one,” George said.

“I’m not so sure,” I admitted. “There have been rumors for years that he was seeing someone in town. I just never heard who it might be.”

Grace asked, “If he kept it a secret from us all this time, how are we supposed to find out?”

I hated to go to the best source I had in town, but there was no alternative. “We have to talk to Gabby Williams. She’s more plugged in than anyone else in April Springs, and that includes my mother.”

George looked as though he were in pain from my suggestion. “Tell you what. You two talk to Gabby, and I’ll deal with our friend Andy.”

“He’s not exactly our friend,” Grace said.

“I don’t know,” I answered with a slight smile. “It looked as though he wouldn’t mind getting a little friendlier with you.”

Grace couldn’t hide the look of disgust that blossomed on her face. “As much as I’d like a boyfriend right now, Andy doesn’t even make the ‘maybe’ list. He was a little oily, wasn’t he?”

“I couldn’t believe you didn’t give him a black eye when he suggested you could work out a payment plan together.”

George said, “I owe him one for that, if nothing else. If he gets anywhere near me, I’ll whack him with my cane.”

I glanced at the hard, polished wood, and realized that it could cause a great deal of havoc if used the right way. “That thing’s a weapon, isn’t it?”

“It can be. You two watch your step,” George said as he walked carefully off the porch, hanging on to the rail with a solid grip.

“The same goes for you,” I said.

After he was gone, I said to Grace, “Are you ready to tackle Gabby with me, or would you rather I go alone?”

“I don’t mind going with you,” she said, “but I think you might have more luck without me. Besides, I have a few calls to make for business before we get too far into this. Why don’t you swing back by here after you’re finished, and we can have lunch?”

“Coward,” I said with a smile, and then stuck my tongue out at her.

“You know it,” Grace said with a laugh.

I decided to leave my car at her place and walk to Gabby’s. That was one of the great things about being so close to everything in April Springs. There were days when I walked everywhere, not even getting into my Jeep at all.

Besides, I was in no rush to see Gabby. It could be a minefield dealing with her, and it took me the entire walk to her shop to get my nerve up for the coming conversation.

*   *   *

I walked into ReNEWed, and was surprised by Gabby’s latest offerings in the storefront’s window. Where did she get her merchandise? I knew for a fact that little of the gently worn clothing she sold came from April Springs. Did she have some kind of exchange with a merchant in another city, or was there a more mysterious explanation for what she offered? I’d never had the courage to ask, and I wasn’t about to bring the subject up now, not when I was looking for information.

Gabby was waiting on a customer when I walked in, so I started browsing through her racks of clothing. Mostly I wear blue jeans and T-shirts, but there were times I liked to dress up, especially when Jake and I were going out. I found a nice blue top on the rack that would jazz up my jeans, and I was thrilled to see that it was my size. I took it to one of the dressing rooms in back, and as I started to try it on, I heard voices coming from the next dressing room.

“I don’t care how you feel about him, you’ve got to stop crying like that,” I heard a young woman say in a familiar voice, though I couldn’t place it. “What are people going to say?” From the sound of it, someone was having boy troubles.

And then the other voice answered, and I changed my opinion. Now, it seemed as though a daughter was trying to advise her mother. The older woman answered haltingly, “I can’t help it. I miss him.”

“You and two other women in the county,” the younger woman said, not trying to hide her contempt for the situation. “Get yourself together, Mother.”

“I still can’t believe Timothy was dating all of us at the same time,” the mother replied.

What? Could it really be Tim Leander they were talking about? I had a hard time believing that he was some kind of Romeo, but then again, I’d seen stranger things happen in April Springs since I’d opened my donut shop.

I kept my eye on the door, and after a minute, I saw the women leave the dressing room and return to the sales floor to continue browsing. I knew now why that voice had sounded familiar.

It was Penny Parsons, a nurse from the hospital and a friend of mine, and the older striking woman with her had to be her mother.

I was about to approach them as I came out of the dressing room myself, but Gabby cut me off before I could get to them.

“Did you like it?” Gabby asked.

What was she talking about? Did she have a clue that I’d been eavesdropping? “Like what?”

Gabby pointed to the garment still in my hand. “The blouse, of course.”

In my desire to hear the conversation next door, I’d forgotten all about it. “To be honest with you, I’m not sure.”

“Why are you hesitating? It’s perfect for you,” Gabby said.

From the front of the shop, Penny said, “Thanks, Gabby. We’ll touch base again later,” as the two women walked out. She looked in my direction for a moment, but I’d stepped back into the dressing room, and I wasn’t sure she saw me there.

“Don’t be strangers,” Gabby called out.

When Gabby turned back to me, she studied me a moment, and then asked, “Suzanne Hart, what did you just overhear?”

“What do you mean? I’m sure I don’t know what you’re talking about.” There was no doubt in my mind that she knew I’d been eavesdropping, but I wasn’t about to admit it.

Gabby took the blouse from me. “Don’t try to lie to me. You were gone nearly five minutes, and you didn’t even try this on. The tag is right where I left it, tucked into the front pocket, and you couldn’t have taken it off the hanger without disturbing it, let alone be able to try it on. So I’ll ask you again. What did you overhear?”

There was no use denying it any longer, and besides, wasn’t that the reason I was at Gabby’s shop anyway? “Penny’s mother was dating Tim Leander,” I said.

“I knew that,” Gabby said, looking smug.

“Okay, but did you know that Tim was dating two other women in the area at the same time?”

Gabby frowned. “I didn’t have a clue. Who were they?”

Ha. It felt good knowing something that she didn’t, though I tried my best not to let my gloating show on my face. “I don’t know, but I’m going to find out. Gabby, do you have any idea who might have wanted to see Tim dead?”

“You mean besides the three women he was dating? The only other person I can think of might be Orson Blaine. The two of them used to be best friends, but they haven’t been able to stand each other for the past two years. Something happened between them, and I’m willing to wager that it was something big.”

I didn’t know Orson personally, but I’d heard of him a few times over the years.

“Any idea where I might find him?”

Gabby frowned, and then said, “If I had to guess, I’d say he’s hanging out at Go Eats.” I knew the place was a greasy-spoon hole-in-the-wall diner, but I hadn’t eaten there since I was a teenager.

“Thanks for all your help,” I said as I tried to hand the blouse back to her.

She wouldn’t let me. “Take it home, and if you like it, you can pay me tomorrow. If you don’t, bring it by in the morning, but not too early. We all don’t keep your ungodly hours, Suzanne.”

“What can I say? It’s a living,” I said.

After Gabby took the blouse off its hanger and put it in one of her bags for me, I began my walk back to Grace’s to see if she’d finished her telephone calls.

It was a lovely day, the temperature nearing seventy and no clouds in the Carolina Blue sky, but the weather was lost on me. I had other things on my mind. I’d gone into her shop to get Gabby’s thoughts about Tim, but it had quickly turned into more than that. I hadn’t known a great deal about Tim Leander while he was alive, and it appeared that it was going to take his murder for me to discover anything deeper about the handyman I thought I’d known so well over the years. It was difficult reconciling the smiling and competent man I knew with what I was uncovering about him as I dug into his life, but when it came down to it, most folks had their own set of secrets.

And whether I liked it or not, I was going to have start digging into Tim’s to find out who might have wanted to see him dead.

APPLE JUICE DONUTS

You can use apple cider as a substitute in this recipe, but we rarely have it on hand, and there always seems to be apple juice in our fridge. Either way, it makes a tasty donut!

INGREDIENTS

• ½ cup dark brown sugar, packed tight

• 1 egg, beaten

• ½ teaspoon nutmeg

• ½ teaspoon cinnamon

• Dash of salt

• 3 tablespoons butter, melted

• ½ cup apple juice (or cider, if preferred)

• 2½ cups all purpose flour

• 1 teaspoon baking powder

• ½ teaspoon baking soda

DIRECTIONS

After beating the egg, add the dark brown sugar, butter, and apple juice. Set aside, and in another bowl, sift the flour, nutmeg, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the wet in thirds, mixing thoroughly. Refrigerate the dough 30 minutes, then roll out to ½ to ¼ inch thick. Cut out with donut round and hole cutter, and fry in 375-degree canola oil for 3 to 4 minutes, turning halfway through. Drain on paper towels, then add powdered sugar immediately, or wait until they’re cool and add icing and sprinkles.

Makes 8–10 donuts and holes

CHAPTER 7

Grace was just getting off the telephone when I knocked on her front door. She held up one hand to me, and then said into it, “Meredith, I don’t care why you aren’t in the field today. Just get dressed and start working while you still have a job. I expect you to e-mail me your time sheet at five so I can check it. Are we clear?”

After she hung up, I said, “Wow, you were hard on her.”

Grace frowned. “I should fire her, if you want to know the truth, but I don’t want to have to do all of the HR paperwork. She works when she feels like it, which wouldn’t be a problem if she felt like it more often than she does. I thought I was a slacker at times, but that woman doesn’t get out of bed most days, and say what you will about my work ethic, I always got the job done.” Grace pointed to the bag in my hand. “Do a little shopping while you were at Gabby’s?”

“I thought it might make things go a little smoother if I bought something,” I said, which wasn’t exactly true, but it was all Grace was going to get out of me.

“Let’s see it,” she asked, so I took the blouse out of the bag and held it up in front of me.

She studied it for a few seconds, and then said, “It’s hard to tell that way. How did it fit?”

“To be honest with you, I didn’t even try it on.”

Grace whistled softly. “That’s really brave of you. Gabby has a no-return policy.”

I’d forgotten all about that. “Actually, she told me I could bring it back tomorrow if I didn’t like it,” I admitted.

“Wow, she must really like you. Did you happen to have a chance to ask her about Tim?”

I nodded. “I learned some things about him that you might not like, and I know Emily’s going to react badly to what I’ve got to tell her.”

“What did he do?” she asked.

“Apparently he was dating three women at the same time.”

I wasn’t sure what I expected Grace’s reaction to be, but it wasn’t the whoop of delight I heard. “Tim was an old tomcat, wasn’t he?”

“Are you saying that you approve of that?” I asked, not sure why Grace’s reaction bothered me.

She shook her head slightly. “I’m not saying I do, and in truth it’s none of my business. I was just worried he was lonely all the time.”

“That turns out to have been the least of his problems. I just hope he told them all he was dating around.” I thought about what Gabby had told me, and then asked Grace, “Have you had much contact with Orson Blaine?”

“Suzanne, that’s a pretty abrupt segue, even for you. I know him, but we’re not exactly friends. Why do you ask?”

It was time to share what I’d learned. “According to Gabby, he and Tim were best friends for decades, but something happened to turn them against each other a few years ago, something serious enough to ruin a lifelong friendship.”

Grace nodded her approval. “So then we have somewhere else to look.”

“That’s true; they all fit,” I said.

“What do you mean?”

“A betrayed friend, a spurred lover, or a shunned competitor could all have a motive for murder, particularly considering the way Tim was found. We can’t lose sight of that.”

Grace frowned at me. “I’m not sure I follow what you’re saying, Suzanne.”

“Think about it. A scorned woman, a lost friend or a rebuffed competitor might all have loyalty issues with Tim, and any of them might explain why the Patriot Tree was used to hang him.”

Grace nodded. “You’re right. I never really thought about it along those lines.”

“You didn’t have the benefit of the walk over here,” I said. It was nearing noon, and my stomach started rumbling softly. I could always count on it to remind me when it was time to eat. “Can you leave for lunch now, or do you have more calls to make?”

“There’s nothing I have to do that won’t keep,” she said. “Where should we go? Is it too soon to go back to the Boxcar Grill?”

“As a matter of fact, I was thinking we might visit Go Eats,” I said.

Grace looked surprised by the suggestion. “I haven’t been there since my grandfather took me. Is that place even still open?”