Abby patted her on the arm. “I had planned to talk to Gage about it myself. I don’t like looking at it either. I didn’t actually know the woman, but you and the others did. I understand why it would bother you so much. I’m sure Gage does, too. Besides, we don’t need to draw attention to that area of the yard while the sale is going on.”
As they talked, she noticed how tired Glenda looked. She had a feeling the woman would deny it, but it was time for her to call it a day. “Would it be okay if we got our desserts to go? I don’t want to leave Zeke alone any longer than I have to. If you don’t mind, I’ll drop you off at your place on the way.”
“Don’t you need my help finishing up the sorting?”
Abby hurried to reassure her friend. “There isn’t much left to do, and I can handle it by myself after I take my furry roommate for his afternoon walk.”
“If you’re sure, I have a few things I need to do at home myself, starting with a long nap and then maybe I’ll do some quilting.”
“That sounds like a good plan,” Abby said as she flagged down their waitress to settle their bill and get their pie boxed up to go. “Are you working on something special?”
Glenda followed her up to the register near the door. “I’m trying to duplicate a quilt that I made for a niece who is getting married next month. I’d hoped to have it done in time, but I’m having trouble finding some of the same fabrics. Time is getting so short now, I’d settle for something that just comes close. I hate that, though, because the original was just perfect. I keep hoping the first one will turn up, but so far it hasn’t.”
That seemed odd. How could she have lost an entire quilt, especially one that was obviously special to her? Was she getting forgetful? Not that Abby was about to ask her that particular question.
Instead, she offered a possible solution to her problem. “You’re welcome to look through Aunt Sybil’s fabric stash to see if she has what you’re looking for. Feel free to take anything that might work.”
Glenda brightened right up. “That would be great. I’d really appreciate it. And when you decide to work on a project of your own, you’d be welcome to raid my stash in return.”
“I’ll keep that in mind. Aunt Sybil has a couple of quilts in progress that I want to finish first, before I try my hand at creating something new.”
They’d reached the car. “Do you want to stop by the house and see what you find up there? While you do that, I’ll take Zeke for a quick walk and then run you home when you’re done.”
“That’s perfect.”
* * *
Two hours later, Abby waited for Zeke to follow her out of the garage before closing the door.
She used the hem of her T-shirt to wipe the sweat off her face. “I don’t know about you, dog, but I’m done for the day. The only things on my agenda for the evening are a shower, an easy dinner, and a good book.”
Zeke shoved his head under her hand, demanding some attention. Or maybe he was reminding her that she wasn’t the only one looking forward to dinner. She knelt down on one knee to put herself at his eye level. “Don’t worry, I won’t forget your kibble, big guy.”
He gave her face a quick lick before she could dodge it, his huge tongue leaving a thick layer of slobber on her cheek. One more reason she needed that shower.
“Come on, let’s head inside.”
Before she’d gone two steps, Tripp walked out onto his porch. Zeke immediately abandoned her for his other favorite person. She followed after him at a slower pace.
“How was your test?”
He sat down on the steps and let Zeke sprawl across his lap. “Not as bad as it could’ve been. Most of it was multiple choice, but there were a couple of nasty essay questions just to keep things interesting. The professor said he’d post the grades by the end of the week.”
“I’m sure you did great.”
His mouth kicked up in a quick grin. “When I was in high school, my mom made it clear that a C was never an acceptable grade. She tells me that still holds true.”
“Afraid you’ll get grounded?”
He laughed a little as he rubbed Zeke’s ears. “She didn’t quite go that far, but you never know with her.”
“I’m sure she’s proud of you and everything you’ve accomplished.”
His smile faded. “She never wanted me to enlist, much less spend twenty years in the army. It was her dream that I’d go to college.”
Abby could understand why his mother wouldn’t have wanted her son to put himself at risk in combat. She’d seen the dark shadows in Tripp’s eyes often enough to know his time in the service had had a profound effect on him. “Is that why you decided to go back to school? To make her happy?”
“Not entirely, but she was thrilled to find out that’s what I was doing. Like I told you, I’ve been taking classes for a while now, but it would’ve taken me forever to get a degree taking one or two courses at a time. By going full time, I should finish up in a couple of years.”
“What are you majoring in?”
He gently shoved Zeke off his legs and stood up. “Listen, I just came out to tell you that Gage said I can tear down the tape. I’ll take care of it this evening.”
The abrupt change in topics left her momentarily speechless and floundering on how to respond. Clearly she’d overstepped her bounds by asking about his major. Rather than ask what made that particular topic taboo, she settled for nodding as she called Zeke back to her side.
“Come on, Zeke. It’s dinner time.”
The dog immediately made a beeline from Tripp’s porch toward the house. She followed in his wake, calling back over her shoulder. “Thanks for taking care of the tape. Let me know if you need any help.”
The sound of Tripp’s door closing was his only response.
Chapter Nine
Abby wondered if it was a crime to kill an alarm clock. After all, it wasn’t the poor thing’s fault that she’d set it to go off at the crack of dawn. She slapped the snooze button a little harder than necessary, but the clock would live to buzz another day. Rolling over on her back, she did her best to pry her eyes open to greet the day.
“Screw you, Day.”
Okay, again, it wasn’t Friday’s fault that she had to be up and moving while the sky was still dark. She had to make a quick run to Bridey’s shop to pick up the pastries and coffee she’d ordered for the volunteers who were due to arrive by six-thirty at the latest. What else did she need to do besides drag herself out of bed and into the shower? Feed Zeke, get the cash boxes out of the attic where she’d hidden them, and set the garage sale signs out on the porch. She didn’t want to put them out on the street until after the sale was set up and ready to go.
Rather than wait for the buzzer to go off again, she turned off the alarm and rolled out of bed. A quick shower helped chase the cobwebs out of her head, and she dressed for comfort rather than to impress. Slipping on her tennis shoes, she headed downstairs, trying not to resent the fact that Zeke had taken her place on the bed as soon as she’d left it.
As she pulled out of the driveway, her headlights illuminated Tripp already heading out for his morning run. She slowed to keep pace with him and rolled down the window.
“I’m headed to Bridey’s shop to get goodies for the hired help. I’m not expecting you to pitch in today, but you’ve already earned your fair share. Any preference on what I should set aside for you?”
“A couple of her muffins would be great. The peach ones are my current favorite, but they’re all good. See you back at the house.”
When he veered off at the next corner and picked up speed, she yelled, “Show off !”
He turned back around and ran backwards for several steps, a big grin on his face. She gunned the engine and continued on her mission. Maybe she really should think about running with him sometime, but she’d have to build up some stamina first. It shouldn’t take her more than a year, five at the most, to be able to keep up with him.
Yeah, right. Like t
hat was ever going to happen. Luckily, everything was all packed up and ready to go when Abby got to the coffee shop. Since she’d already paid for the order, Bridey had told her to drive around to the back to pick it up. When she drove past the shop on her way to the alley that ran behind the shop, she was glad they’d made those arrangements. The line was already out the door and growing longer by the second.
As soon as she pulled up, Seth Kyser, Bridey’s husband, opened the door and smiled at her. “I’ll carry it all out for you.”
She hustled around to open the trunk of her car before he arrived with three large boxes of goodies.
“I’ll go back for the coffee.” Seth was back in a jiffy. After surrendering the large cardboard containers, he held up a small bag. “This has the creamers, sugars, and sweeteners. I also stuck in a big pile of napkins. Bridey’s pastries are delicious, but they can be messy.”
“Thanks.” She took the bag and added it to the rest of the stash in the trunk. “I saw the line out front. Is it always that crazy at this ungodly hour?”
“Yep, pretty much. It’s a good thing we’re both morning people. As soon as we get your stuff loaded, I’ll go help her out. She and her assistant do a great job waiting on everyone, but they let me pretend I’m useful and not just in their way. Good luck with your garage sale.”
“We’ll need it. It’s not like I know what I’m doing.” She closed the trunk and walked back around to the driver’s side door. “Thank Bridey again for everything. I know everyone will be thrilled to get their hands on this stuff.”
Back at the house, she noticed Tripp’s lights were on. He must have survived his morning run. She circled behind the house to park on the grass near the back porch. She’d already set up a pair of folding tables to hold the food. She made quick work of covering them with tablecloths and then arranged the beverages at one end and the boxes full of pastries on the other. Besides Bridey’s coffee, she’d bought orange juice and bottled water. In between, she set out paper plates, napkins, and cups along with plastic forks and spoons.
She used tongs to pick out two of the muffins for Tripp and then added a small tart that she thought he might like. After covering them with a napkin, she took them inside and hid them in the cabinet over the stove.
The sound of footsteps caught her attention. She put her hands on her hips and pretended an aggravation she really didn’t feel. “It’s about time you dragged your lazy backside out of bed.”
Zeke padded across the room to stare at his still-empty food bowl. He looked in her direction, his disappointment all too clear.
“Fine, I’ll feed you, but then you’re on greeter duty.”
His tail made a halfhearted effort to wag. Clearly, he wasn’t going to get overly excited about anything until he had his morning kibble, so she dutifully filled his bowl. “I’ll leave the door open, so you can come out whenever you’re ready.”
As she stepped outside, she ran into a solid wall that hadn’t been there a few minutes before. Tripp caught her arms to keep her from bouncing back into the door. “Sorry. Didn’t mean to startle you.”
“That’s okay. I should be paying more attention, but my mind’s going a hundred miles an hour trying to figure out if I’ve forgotten anything.”
She took another step back. “One thing I didn’t forget, though, was to set a couple of the muffins aside for you. They’re inside in the cabinet over the stove. Help yourself to some coffee, too, if you want.”
“Sounds good.”
Zeke poked his head out the door and then greeted Tripp with considerably more enthusiasm than he had her. It was hard not to be jealous over how happy the two males were to see each other.
“What are you doing with Zeke today? I’ll be home most of the day, so he can hang out with me if he wants.”
Another hard hit of envy washed over her. Not only was the dog going to spend time with Tripp, neither of them was going to have to deal with all the hassles she was going to have to face today.
“That’s fine. Now, I’d better get back to work.”
He stepped aside to let her pass and then disappeared into the house, her four-footed traitor of a pet hot on his heels.
When she headed toward the garage to start opening up, she spotted someone standing in the shadows in the far corner of the backyard. At any other time, it might have scared her, but she was expecting the three high school boys she’d hired to show up any minute now. There was one in particular she was looking forward to meeting. Even so, she was glad Tripp was within screaming distance if she was wrong about who was lurking near the blackberry brambles.
She slowly made her approach. “Hi, can I help you?”
The guy started as if her voice had surprised him. Then he stepped out of the shadows into the dim light cast by the porch lights. He was tall and a little on the lanky side, as if he hadn’t quite filled out to fit his frame. His hair was some shade of brown, his face open and friendly. “Are you Abby? I’m JB Burton. We spoke on the phone.”
Holding out her hand, she closed the distance between them. “Hi, JB. I’m so glad you could make it. Did you come alone?”
He nodded. “My friends should be here soon. They live on the opposite side of town from where I do, so my dad dropped me off on his way to work. We’ll leave for school from here.”
After shaking her hand, he glanced back over his shoulder toward the corner where he’d been standing. What thoughts were going through his head right then? Was he recalling the moment he or his father had buried Dolly under that piece of plywood? It was hard to imagine this polite young man having done something so horrible, but killers came in all shapes and sizes.
JB cleared his throat. “Is that where you found her? Mrs. Cayhill, I mean.”
“Yes, it is.”
Thank goodness Tripp had made good on his promise to remove the tape last night. Somehow, she sensed seeing the vivid reminder would have been hard for JB to handle.
His shoulders hunched in the early morning chill. “I knew her.”
When he didn’t say anything else, Abby kept the conversation going. “I never met Mrs. Cayhill, but I haven’t lived here very long. I just moved to Snowberry Creek a few weeks ago when my aunt passed away.”
He turned his back on the blackberries. “I know a lot of people said some bad things about her, but she wasn’t always like that. Not once you got to know her.”
Interesting. How well had he gotten to know the woman?
“I know she had good friends here in town. Several of the ladies who will be here to help with our garage sale knew her quite well. They’ve taken her death hard.”
JB shuffled his feet and stuck his hands in his hip pockets. “I heard rumors about your aunt and Mrs. Cayhill. You know, that they’d had a big argument at church.”
Where was he going with this? He’d better not be trying to blame Aunt Sybil for Dolly’s death. Before she could say anything, he kept talking.
“It’s hard even to imagine the two of them yelling at each other in public. But even if they did have a fight, it would have never come to blows.” He offered her a small grin. “I don’t know about your aunt, but Mrs. Cayhill would have never stooped to physical violence. Such things were beneath her dignity.”
He said those last three words in a quivery, high pitched voice as if quoting something she’d said to him directly. He also seemed more amused by the woman’s comment than he should’ve been, especially if she’d actually threatened his appointment to one of the military academies.
“She and my father got in a huge fight over the night my friends and I messed up her yard. I’ve never seen Dad that mad.”
Gossiping with a teenager wasn’t something Abby should be doing, but she needed every bit of information she could glean from their conversation. “What happened then?”
“To quote my dad, ‘Chief Logan negotiated a cease fire and left it up to the three of us to settle the problem.’” JB glanced back at the blackberries again. “She said sh
e would stop insisting all of us get charged if I showed her I was worthy to go to West Point. Her husband served, and she wanted to make sure they hadn’t lowered their standards to the point they would accept a juvenile delinquent. I offered to do chores for her, eight hours a week for a month.”
He rolled his shoulders. “I did a lot of heavy lifting for her, moving things around in her attic, hauling trash to the dump, hanging some pictures, and other stuff. None of it was hard, mostly the kind of thing she couldn’t do for herself. Sometimes she’d bake cookies, and we would end up looking at old photo albums. Some of the stories she told were pretty interesting.”
“Sounds like a fair deal for both of you. I bet she enjoyed having the company.”
“Maybe.” His smile had faded. “Even if she’d been as mean as some people thought, Mrs. C didn’t deserve to die like that.”
“No, she didn’t.”
Was he thinking of anyone specific who might have had it in for Dolly? Unfortunately, the sound of a car pulling into the driveway ended their conversation. At least she’d learned enough to know that she should cross both JB and his father off her list of suspects. She was glad for their sakes, especially JB’s, even if it left her with no one else to blame. Obviously, she’d have to do more digging, but not right now. She had a garage sale to get through.
Two more boys came strolling up the driveway.
She pointed toward the back porch. “While I open up the garage and turn the lights on, you and your friends can help yourself to some drinks and the pastries I bought at Something’s Brewing this morning. Make it quick, though. We really need to get started if we’re going to get everything out and arranged before the onrushing hordes arrive.”
He waved to his buddies. “We’ll be back in a second.”
Good to his word, they appeared at the front of the garage in an amazingly short time. They must have shoved the muffins down their throats to have finished eating them that fast. At least they’d had the good sense to grab some water to wash them down.
Death by Committee Page 9
