Birthday Cake and a Murder

by Kathleen Suzette

  “Stop that. She will be here,” I assured her.

  “Rainey, you need to figure out what kind of cake you girls want for your birthday. And then make it. We’ll have a party and you can invite Cade. He’s family now, after all.”

  I shook my head and didn’t say anything. Ever since Cade had come to town, Mom had been determined to get the two of us together and now that we were dating, she was determined to get us married. It was far too early to think about that.

  “I’ll make the cake,” I promised.

  And I would speak to Karen and see if she knew anything about Silas Mills’ murder.

  Chapter Five

  Before I went into work at the diner the next day, I stopped off at Karen Forrest’s house. I picked up Stormy on the way and with fall just around the corner, I made an apple crumb cake to take to Karen. Karen’s car was parked out front and the shades were all pulled at her house when we got there.

  I knocked at the door and heard footsteps on the other side. “Good morning, Karen,” I said when she opened the door. Her eyes were red and puffy with dark circles beneath them. “I hope we’re not disturbing you, but we wanted to stop by and say how sorry we were to hear about Silas.”

  “Good morning, Rainey, Stormy,” she said. There was a tremble in her voice and she swallowed. “That’s kind of you. Would you like to come in?”

  She led us to the living room and offered us a seat on the couch. “I made you an apple crumb cake,” I said, offering it to her.

  She gave me a small smile. “That’s sweet of you Rainey, you make the best food. Doesn’t matter what it is, it’s always great.” She took the cake from me. “I do appreciate this.”

  “You’re so welcome. I wish it were more. If there’s anything we can do for you, don’t hesitate to let us know.”

  “That’s so nice of you. I’ll just take this into the kitchen. Can I get you two some coffee?”

  “No, thanks. I think I’m at capacity,” Stormy said. I seconded that, and we waited in silence until she got back from putting the cake into the kitchen. The living room was bland with shades of beige and brown but was neatly kept.

  Karen was in her late forties and often wore her medium brown hair in a bun at the back of her head. She seemed sweet and kept to herself, so much so that I wasn’t even aware she had been dating Silas.

  When she came back into the living room, she stopped and put her hands on her hips. She was a small woman, not much over five feet tall. “I’ll tell you both something, I don’t know what I’m going to do without Silas,” she said with a hitch in her voice. “It just doesn’t seem right.”

  “I can’t imagine how hard this must be,” I said. “Were you and Silas together long?”

  She nodded and sat across from me. “Twenty years.”

  I tried to keep the surprise off my face. I had no idea they were even a couple. “Really? Twenty years?”

  She smiled. “I know. We weren’t much for bragging, but we just celebrated our twentieth anniversary.”

  “And you didn’t want to get married?” It was out of my mouth before I realized she might consider it rude.

  “I did. In the beginning, anyway. But Silas, he said he wasn’t the marrying kind, whatever that meant.” She chuckled. “He never could explain that one to me. After a while, you just get used to being together and don’t think about marriage.”

  “Some people are more comfortable that way,” Stormy added.

  I nodded, but I felt sorry for her. Twenty years was a long time to be with someone who wouldn’t commit. It had to have worn on her and I wondered if it was a source of stress between them.

  “I think that must have been hard. I guess if it was me, I would have insisted on marriage or moved on.” It might not have been the kindest thing to say just then, but I wondered how much it bothered her for him to resist marriage.

  She looked at me and blinked, considering this. “I guess I could have. And maybe I should have. But I didn’t have the heart to do it. Besides, we were happy. We did the things we wanted to do. Silas could be charming when he wanted to be. And then, sometimes not so charming.” She chuckled again, but it sounded weak and self-conscious.

  “We all have our good days and our not so good days,” I said, but I wondered what she meant by Silas having not so charming days.

  “Sometimes when you’re with someone a long time, you let your hair down,” Stormy agreed. “Bob and I have been together since we were kids and some days it takes a lot of effort for me to be charming to him.”

  Karen smiled at Stormy. “That’s certainly true, but I’ll tell you girls, I just don’t know who could have killed Silas. But then again, I suppose I could take a wild guess at it.”

  “Oh? Who do you think might want to kill Silas?” I asked.

  She was quiet a moment and then turned to me. “I hate to point fingers, I really do. But, if I had to say who it might be, I would say it was Sue Hester at the boardinghouse.” Her face was pinched up when she said it and I thought she would start to cry, but she got herself under control.

  “Why do you think it might be Sue?” I asked.

  She shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe I shouldn’t say it. But Sue had a thing for Silas. She’s older than he is and he never did care for her. He said she kept pestering him to take her out to dinner and when he would refuse, he said she got angry.”

  “Did she know you were seeing Silas?”

  “Of course. I went down to the boardinghouse quite a lot. I don’t know why she had such an interest in him, but she sure did. She’d make eyes at him all the time, and then she’d be cold toward me.”

  “So do you think it was a case of unrequited love?” Stormy asked.

  She shrugged. “That, or I’m just grief-stricken and trying to find someone to blame.” She sat back in her chair and sighed.

  “That’s certainly understandable,” I said. “Death is something that takes time to accept, much less understand.”

  She was quiet a moment. “I do know something about Sue, though,” she said quietly.

  “What’s that?” I asked.

  “She has a prison record.”

  That surprised me as much as Karen saying she and Silas had dated for twenty years. Sue must have been around seventy and she didn’t appear to be someone that had lived a hardened life.

  “What was she in prison for?” I asked.

  “I don’t know exactly. Silas told me about it one day. He said she spent her early twenties in the state penitentiary.”

  “How did Silas know and why didn’t he tell you what she was in there for?” I asked. It seemed like if Silas knew Sue was in prison, then he would have told Karen the reason.

  “He said she told him one day. He thought she wanted him to feel sorry for her and then maybe it would make him want to take her out on a date. Silas said there was no reason to spread it around if she didn’t want anyone to know.”

  I considered this. “Except he did tell you.”

  She nodded. “He was my boyfriend. We told each other everything, but he didn’t tell me the reason she was in jail. I never told anyone else. Well, not until now.”

  “Sue comes into the diner sometimes. I don’t know her as well as my mother does, but I would hate to think she had anything to do with Silas’s murder,” I said. Sue didn’t seem the murdering type, but sometimes people surprised you.

  “I’m probably not thinking too straight right now, so maybe it’s all my imagination. This whole thing has my mind in a mess. I just don’t know what I’m going to do without him.”

  “You have every right to feel that way. Grief is something that’s hard to deal with,” I said sympathetically. “Karen, did Silas have any family in town?”

  She shook her head. “No, his mother died several years ago, and he never knew his father. He has a sister, but she lives in Oregon. They didn’t talk much. At Christmas time she would send him a card, and once every year or two he’d give her a call. He was really on his own
in life, besides having me, that is. I mean, he had our co-workers and most of them had worked at the paper a long time, so there’s that. Once in a while, someone would invite us over for a barbecue or dinner or something.”

  “No close friends? Someone he hung out with a lot?” I asked.

  She shook her head again. “Not really. It was mostly just me. I’ve lost most of my family too, so we spent most of our time together.”

  I felt sad when she said that. If she was virtually alone in this world, then she had just lost the only person that meant something to her. “I’m sorry. I wish there was something I could say to make things easier. If you need anything, I hope you’ll let us know.”

  She smiled with tears in her eyes. “I appreciate that Rainey. You and your sister have always been so thoughtful.”

  Chapter Six

  “What will it be, cowboy?” I said as Cade took a seat at the front counter at the diner. His chocolate brown hair glimmered under the diner’s fluorescent lighting.

  “Cowboy?” he asked, tilting his head. “Do I look like I am, or have ever been, a cowboy?” The look of dismay on his face was priceless.

  I looked him up and down in his bland gray suit. Nope. He could never be accused of looking like a cowboy. “I guess not. Do you know what you want?”

  “I have really come to expect a higher level of service at this fine dining establishment. You’re letting me down.” He grinned.

  “I don’t know why you would expect that,” I said, laying a menu on the counter in front of him. “We have a nice full pot of clam chowder, and with the weather cooling down like it has, it should be your first choice for lunch. Can I get you something to drink?”

  “Iced tea would be great. Oh, and if you have those cute little oyster crackers, then I’d love some clam chowder.”

  I looked at him, one eyebrow lifted as a warning. “Cute little oyster crackers coming up.”

  I got him his iced tea and went to get the clam chowder. A big silver pot sat on the stove, simmering. “Man, that smells good, Sam,” I said when I removed the lid. It was nowhere near my lunch break since I had the late shift, but my stomach growled. I was going to have to sneak a little something when there was a lull in customers or I’d faint from hunger. That’s what you get when you rush out of the house without eating breakfast.

  “It does smell good, doesn’t it?” Sam said from his spot at the grill. Sam was my boss and owner of the diner. He was a great guy to work for and he was currently flipping hamburger patties and hot dogs. “What did you make for us today?”

  “Sorry, Sam, but I didn’t bring anything in today,” I said as I ladled out the chowder. “I made an apple crumb cake to take to Karen Forrest. Did you hear Silas Mills was killed?”

  “I heard that. It’s a shame. How’s Karen taking it? I think they were together quite a while.”

  “They were, but I didn’t know that before Silas died. I guess they kept it quiet. She’s having a tough time,” I said and picked up the bowl of chowder and two packages of the oyster crackers. We normally served the clam chowder with saltines, but Sam had gotten some oyster crackers for his favorite customer several months earlier.

  “Labor Day is going to be crazy around here, Rainey. I hope you don’t have anything planned.”

  I sighed on my way out of the kitchen. “Not a thing, Sam.”

  I put the bowl of chowder down in front of Cade. “Nice and hot. Now, what have you figured out about Silas’s murder?”

  He looked at me, then picked up a package of crackers. “Depends. What do you know?”

  I filled him in on what Karen had told me. It wasn’t much, but it was all I had. As long as I stayed out of trouble, Cade didn’t mind me asking around. It had taken him a while to see things my way and admit that I would be a help to him, but he had finally come to see things my way.

  “And I think we should talk to Sue Hester, the owner of the boardinghouse,” I finished.

  He sat back in his chair, thinking about what I had told him. “Seems like a long shot. But you keep working on it,” he said, giving me a wink.

  I narrowed my eyes and put my hands on my hips, ready to give him my opinion on that when the diner door opened and Sue Hester stepped through it. I smiled at her when her eyes met mine, then I gave Cade a look.

  “Good afternoon, Sue,” I said, heading toward her. “Would you like a booth?”

  She nodded, her brown eyes looking sad. “Yes, Rainey, thanks.” I grabbed a menu when I passed the hostess station and led her to a booth in the corner, away from other diners, hoping I could get her to open up about Silas.

  I took her drink order and brought back a glass of iced tea. “Do you need more time to decide?”

  She looked up at me, laying the menu down. “I think I’d like a bowl of clam chowder. Sam makes the best around.”

  “You got it,” I said, slowly writing up the ticket.

  “I suppose you heard what happened to Silas Mills,” she said in a lowered voice.

  I looked up at her. She looked like she was about to cry. Sue had brown hair that was graying and smooth skin that belied her true age. If I didn’t know better, I might think she was in her late fifties or early sixties and not the seventy-plus years I knew her to be. “I did know him. It’s such a shame. Didn’t he live at your boardinghouse?”

  She nodded. “For more than ten years. That place won’t be the same without him. He was like a fixture of the place. I just don’t understand it. I spoke to him the day he died and he seemed happy as could be. Not a care in the world.”

  “It’s heartbreaking,” I said and glanced over my shoulder. One of the other waitresses, Luanne, had the bulk of the tables so I turned back to Sue. “Did he seem different the last few days?”

  She shook her head. “No, not really. The last day I saw him, we talked about the weather and his plans for the day. He said he was going to go see Karen Forrest. I don’t know her well, but apparently, he might have had an interest in her. Other than that, I don’t know what might have happened.”

  Might have had an interest in Karen?

  “Oh, I thought they had been dating for a long time.”

  She stared at me blankly and then tears sprang to her eyes. “Oh, that’s right. I forget sometimes,” she said and smiled, blinking away the tears before they had a chance to fall. “I'm just so shaken by this. The poor thing. He was such a nice man. He’d help me out around the boardinghouse without me even asking him to.”

  “He sounds like a sweet person. I’m sure you knew him well after him spending ten years there.” I wondered about what Karen said about Sue spending some time in the penitentiary. I just couldn’t imagine Sue being a hardened criminal.

  She nodded. “I certainly did. I considered him a friend. A very good one. I just don’t know what could have happened to him.”

  “Well, Cade is on the case. I’m sure he’ll get things figured out,” I said, hesitating before leaving her table. It seemed like she had more to say and I wanted to hear what it was.

  “You know, Rainey, I do have my suspicions,” she said after a moment and glanced to her left and then right. None of the closest tables had customers seated at them. “It’s just that I have a boarder that had trouble with Silas. Or rather, Silas had trouble with him. Harry Adams. He’s an older fellow, probably in his early eighties.”

  “What kind of trouble did Silas have with him?” I asked when she hesitated.

  “They argued all the time. Harry was cranky and constantly complained about everything. Silas, he had a guitar and he would play softly at night. Oh, if you had heard him.” Her eyes got a faraway look in them and she lit up at the memory. “The man had a real talent, I tell you. He could have been famous if he had wanted to be. But Harry, he complained bitterly about it. I had to tell Silas not to play late at night.”

  “I can see where playing guitar late at night might be a nuisance for some residents,” I said, trying to sound neutral.

  “Nonsens
e. Silas had such a gift. He played softly, and it made falling asleep easier. Really, Harry should have appreciated it. It can get hard to fall asleep when you’re older. I mean, that’s what I’ve heard. I guess we’ll both know when we get there. But getting older is inevitable,” she said knowingly. She sat up and straightened her blouse.

  My eyes widened. “I guess some things get harder when you get older,” I said. Did she think I thought she was somewhere near my age?

  She nodded. “That’s what I’ve heard. Anyway, that Harry is such a grumpy old thing. I guess that comes with age, too. Not that I’d know. But they had such terrible arguments. I told Silas I was going to give Harry an eviction notice so we would have some peace and quiet around there. But Silas was so sweet about it. He said he wouldn’t hear of kicking an old man out on the street and insisted I not do it.”

  “Really? That’s nice of him since Harry seemed to have something against him. Did you ever speak to Harry about it?” I asked, sticking my order book into my pocket and glancing over my shoulder as more people came into the diner.

  She nodded. “I did. He promised to behave himself, but of course, he didn’t. They fought and fought. I told Silas that if he got tired of it, to let me know and I would evict him.”

  “What did they argue about, besides the guitar playing?” I asked. It sounded like living at the boardinghouse would have been a stressful situation.

  “Anything and everything. Harry worked at the newspaper as a janitor a few hours a week. It’s not much, but I guess it keeps him active. Apparently, he didn’t like some things Silas wrote in the paper. I don’t know what. I think Harry was imagining things.”

  I nodded. The diner was filling up fast now, and I needed to get moving before my co-worker, Georgia Johnson, started hollering at me. She had issues with me. “Let me get you that clam chowder, Sue. I’ll be right back.”

  Harry Adams had just moved to the top of my list of people I needed to talk to.

  Chapter Seven