Fit To Be Tied

by Elizabeth Craig

  Piper had always been intuitive so Beatrice wasn’t too surprised when she honed in on Wyatt. Beatrice said, “He’s fine, although he had a bit of a shock this morning. I think I mentioned to you that he had a meeting early today.”

  Piper frowned. “You did, although I can’t remember with whom.”

  “With Gerald Carpenter. He’s been in charge of getting bids for that air conditioning and heating project at the church. Unfortunately, when Wyatt arrived, he found Gerald dead.”

  Piper’s eyes opened wide. “Did he have a heart attack or a stroke or something?”

  Beatrice shook her head. “No. I’m afraid he was murdered.” She sighed. “Even though Wyatt, as a minister, has seen a lot of death, Gerald’s murder really seemed to shake him up.”

  Their waitress served them and then Piper said, “I bet it did. It would have upset anyone and Wyatt can be a real softie. Were there any clues as to who might be responsible?”

  “Nothing that Ramsay divulged to us, although the state police’s forensics team was there trying to get more information,” said Beatrice. “Gerald’s son, Mark, arrived and spoke to us for a few minutes.”

  Piper grimaced. “I’m sure he took it hard. He spent a lot of time with his dad at the business.”

  Beatrice said, “He definitely seemed surprised. And, of course, everyone processes grief differently, but I didn’t get a real sense that he was devastated. He was mostly talking about the business and the employees.” She took a bite of her quiche, which melted in her mouth. She wondered why her own quiches always seemed to be tough. Once again, she felt as if she likely didn’t possess the patience to be a good cook.

  “I don’t think he’s the kind of person who’s really in touch with their emotions,” said Piper. “He always has this very tight smile. He seems really high strung to me. And I know he invests a lot of time in the family business. Maybe he’ll be dealing with his father’s death in a more private way. I don’t think he’d give away much emotion in public.”

  Beatrice said, “I think that Gerald might also have been challenging to work with. He always seemed to like to do things his way, according to Wyatt. That might rub someone like Mark the wrong way since he also seems to like to do things his way. I wonder if they had any disagreements over the running of the business.”

  Piper finished a bite of her chicken salad and then said, “I know someone who probably knows a lot about how Gerald and Mark worked together. Salome Hewitt.”

  “I remembered Salome works at the Patchwork Cottage now,” said Beatrice. “I didn’t see her there when I dropped Noo-noo off at the shop.”

  “Maybe she’ll be there when you’re picking Noo-noo up. She worked there a long time and must have all sorts of thoughts on Gerald and Mark and the rest of the family,” said Piper.

  Beatrice frowned. “I’m guessing they’re not great thoughts. Mark mentioned that Salome might have something of a grudge against the family because of the way she was forced out of the company.”

  “She doesn’t seem really happy about it, that’s for sure. Posy wanted to give Salome work because she has her preschool-age daughter to care for and didn’t have a job at all. Salome was apparently fired really abruptly and fairly recently. And Salome has quilted for years, so she was familiar enough with the business to step right into the job.” Piper took a sip of her sweet tea and pushed her empty plate to the side.

  Beatrice asked, “Was Salome in a guild?”

  Piper shook her head. “With her busy life, she wouldn’t have had time to join one.”

  Beatrice said, “Mark said that Salome was fired because she asked for a raise. Although that seems a little harsh since Salome was apparently an employee of long-standing. Mark also said that Gerald liked the way that Salome kept everything organized. So it seems that she did a good job.”

  “Right. Salome is pretty bitter over that point. But fortunately, she has some help in town. Her sister lives here and she’s taken her and her daughter, Jenna, in since Salome couldn’t afford her apartment anymore. It must be very hard on all of them.”

  Beatrice felt a little like Meadow as she changed the subject. But she wanted to dwell on some happier topics. “Speaking of homes, how is the indoor-outdoor nesting process going?”

  Piper beamed. “It’s going well! Better than yours, apparently,” she said with a light laugh.

  “As long as any sort of progress is being made, your project is going much better than mine,” said Beatrice.

  And for the next thirty minutes, they chatted about nurseries and baby equipment and the new sandbox that Ash had made in their backyard.

  Later, Beatrice drove Piper back home, exclaimed over the sandbox and the most recent updates to the nursery, and then drove over to the Patchwork Cottage to pick up Noo-noo . . . and see if Salome Hewitt might be working there.

  As it happened, a large number of shoppers had just left the shop and Salome was there, making Beatrice think that maybe Posy’s employee had been working in the back room when Beatrice had been there earlier. Posy grinned at Beatrice, “I’m worn out. And I know Salome is.”

  Salome was a small, attractive woman with shoulder-length black hair and dimples that appeared when she smiled. “That was a lot of checking out at one time.”

  Posy said, “But it would have been much worse if Noo-noo hadn’t been here as a distraction. Then they all would have checked out at the same time instead of just half of them. They were all giving Noo-noo attention.”

  Beatrice said, “I’m sure she absolutely basked in it, too.”

  Posy said, “She definitely did! She was such a happy dog. Everyone loved seeing her big, doggy smile. Be sure to bring her back anytime. We loved having her here, and Maisie loved her, too.” She glanced over at Salome and said, “Could you keep an eye on the shop for me while I catch up on some paperwork and inventory in the back room? I’ve been meaning to do it and just can’t seem to find the time.”

  “Of course,” said Salome.

  Posy quickly headed off to the back room of the shop and Salome said quickly, “Actually, Beatrice, I was hoping for the opportunity to speak with you.”

  Beatrice noticed that there were weary lines around her mouth and eyes and that Salome seemed tense. “What can I help you with?”

  Salome said quietly, “One of the customers who came in was talking about a suspicious death over at the factory—the pimento cheese factory that Gerald Carpenter owns. And she said that your husband had been there. I was wondering if you had any information about what happened. I used to work there, you see, before I started working for Posy.”

  “I see. Wyatt was there early this morning for a meeting with Gerald—a meeting that didn’t happen. I’m afraid that when Wyatt got there, Gerald was dead. And yes, the police are treating his death as suspicious. When Wyatt called me, I drove over to join him there,” said Beatrice.

  Salome abruptly took a seat in the seating area a few feet away and Beatrice joined her. Noo-noo opened one eye to observe her before quietly falling asleep.

  Salome said under her breath, “I can’t believe it. Who would do something like that?” Then she grimaced. “I bet the police will be over to speak to me soon.”

  “Why is that?” asked Beatrice, hoping that Salome would offer up the entire story so that she wouldn’t have to ask.

  Salome did seem in the mood to talk. She gushed, “Because of the way I left the company. I’d worked there for ten years and then Gerald fired me really abruptly and I was scrambling to find work. I have a young daughter and I didn’t know where to go. I was so relieved when Posy offered me some work, even though it’s just part-time. So far, it’s been working out for me because I’ve been able to move in with my sister, Carla, and cut back on expenses.”

  “Why did Gerald fire you?” asked Beatrice.

  Salome gave a harsh laugh. “It didn’t make any sense at all to me. But I should have known he might react the way that he did. Gerald had always been really tight
-fisted with his money. As I mentioned, I’d been at the company for ten years. I was doing all right, but felt as though I was just scraping by and living paycheck to paycheck. Most of my income was going to my rent. On my ten-year anniversary, I used that date as a springboard to ask for a raise. I figured that ten years of loyal service must be worth something. I mean, I was at that company for so long that I still have all of Gerald’s contacts on my phone, as if he’s going to ask me to make a call for him. But, despite all that service, I was so nervous. Maybe, subconsciously, I knew that it wasn’t going to go well. I practiced asking for the raise in front of the mirror ten or fifteen times and crafted my language to make sure that I sounded grateful as well as deserving of more income.”

  “And he fired you for asking?” asked Beatrice.

  “Yes. Not only was Gerald tight-fisted, he could also be fairly childish. He saw my request as evidence of my dissatisfaction and lack of loyalty to the company. It made him mad. He thought I should be grateful for the job and he fired me on the spot.” Salome looked at Beatrice and then said slowly, “There’s a bit more, too. I hesitate to bring it up, but I need to talk about it with someone. And I’ve hashed it out with Carla so many times that I think she’s tired of hearing about it.”

  “Of course. Anything you tell me will be held in the strictest confidence,” said Beatrice.

  “I appreciate that,” said Salome with a warm smile. “Although, actually, I’d like for you to share it with Wyatt. If you don’t mind, I’d really like to schedule a pastoral visit with him at the church to talk about this. And to talk about how to find forgiveness in my heart. Because right now, I don’t have it in me to forgive and it feels like I have a hole in my soul.”

  “I’ll do that as soon as I get back home. He’ll be in touch,” said Beatrice.

  Salome took a deep breath and glanced around her to make sure the shop was still just as quiet as she thought. “I made a mistake,” she said in a low voice. “My child is Gerald’s daughter.”

  Chapter Five

  BEATRICE CAREFULLY kept her gaze level. “I see.” Salome still looked ashamed and Beatrice continued, “It sounds as if you weren’t the only person to make a mistake.”

  Salome gave a shaky laugh. “Well, that’s certainly true. And I love my daughter so much—I’d do anything to protect her and to make sure that she has a good life. She could never be a mistake, but my actions are. But Gerald’s reaction was to immediately shun us both when I told him.”

  Beatrice asked, “You told him during that meeting when he fired you?”

  She nodded. “That’s right. I hadn’t told him the whole time that I was pregnant or for the next three years after Jenna was born.”

  Beatrice asked slowly, “What made you decide to keep the information to yourself? And not ask for help right away?”

  Salome said sadly, “It was my pride. I could see the other employees looking at me at the office when I started to show. I knew what they thought of me. They had no idea that Gerald was my child’s father, but they still had a low opinion of me because they knew that I wasn’t married. It stung. And when my pride has been stung, I tend to raise my chin and not say a word. I thought I could handle everything by myself.” She paused. “And maybe, part of me realized that asking Gerald Carpenter for help was going to end poorly.”

  “What made you think that?” asked Beatrice.

  Salome sighed. “He was a very stingy man in a lot of ways. I think Gerald was good for the grand gesture—every once in a while, he’d go to a swanky charity event and make a sizable donation that would put his name on a building or something. But then he’d go right back to his penny-pinching ways directly afterward.”

  “That was very brave of you to finally ask him for some help,” said Beatrice, smiling at her. “And it sounded as if your raise was long-overdue anyway. By all accounts, you were a great assistant and keep his office exactly the way he wanted it.”

  “It was hard. But I realized finally that I couldn’t really do it all on my own and it wasn’t fair for me to have to struggle every day. But I was so nervous, especially when I told him about Jenna. I pointed out that surely he’d want the same thing for this child that he wanted for his others: a decent home, a good life. But he was furious and got rid of me right then and there.” Maisie, the shop cat, sensing that Salome was distressed, trotted over and jumped in her lap, bumping her head against Salome’s shoulder.

  “Again, I think it’s amazing that you didn’t tell him about your daughter long before. When you first knew about her,” said Beatrice.

  Salome said, “I just couldn’t figure out what to do. I knew Gerald and I was worried that he was going to erupt when he found out. I wondered if maybe he’d think that I was trying to trap him into marriage or something.”

  Beatrice frowned, trying to remember Gerald’s family, one out of all the families in the church. She did still have a hard time trying to remember them all. “He is married, isn’t he?” There was the distinct possibility that he wasn’t, though . . . that he could be divorced, like his son was.

  Salome nodded. “That’s right. He’s married to Laura and I don’t think he had any intention of leaving her. She’s his second wife, as you might remember.”

  Beatrice shook her head. “I didn’t realize that. I haven’t lived in town for very long and I’m still learning everyone’s backstories.”

  Salome said, “He was married before—Mark and Joan are his children from his previous marriage. I never had any illusions that Gerald would leave Laura for me and I wasn’t completely sure what his reaction would be when I told him. No one at the office ever asked me who my baby’s father was. They just gave me a little time off when she was born, hired a temp, and generally forgot about her. So I didn’t say anything for a long time. But it’s a struggle making ends meet with another mouth to feed and I needed to get child care. I felt pressed to ask for a raise.”

  “Of course you did,” said Beatrice. “And it was the responsible thing to do, for the sake of Jenna.”

  Salome gave her a grateful look. “Thank you. I wouldn’t have done it, except for her.” She paused. “And there’s another thing. I was there this morning.”

  “This morning? You mean at the factory?” asked Beatrice. She felt her breath catch a little.

  Salome took in another deep breath and Maisie lovingly brushed against her again with a quiet mew. “I’m afraid so. I’ll need to tell Ramsay that, when he comes to talk to me. That is, if he doesn’t already know. My sister had convinced me that I needed to talk to Gerald again. That he did have a financial responsibility to my daughter, regardless of whether I was employed by him or not. She asked me to just keep calm and steady and try and reason with him. That maybe he wouldn’t have the same reaction the second time around. She thought maybe he’d been so shocked at the news that Jenna was his child that it made him angry.”

  “I think the courts would agree that he had a financial responsibility, too,” said Beatrice.

  Salome gave her that grateful look again. “I didn’t want to be pushy, you know. I just wanted to help him to see sense. That Gerald couldn’t simply abandon us and pretend that our daughter didn’t exist and not assist at all with her welfare.”

  Beatrice said, “Did you end up seeing him?”

  Salome shook her head. “I drove up into the parking lot, but I didn’t see his car. Usually, it was Gerald’s habit to get to the office before dawn so it was unusual for him not to be there. I wanted to catch him before anyone else was there, but it appeared that he hadn’t gotten there yet. I waited for a few minutes, but then ended up driving away.”

  “And you didn’t see anyone else there?” asked Beatrice.

  Salome glanced away as she shook her head. Then she reached down to rub Maisie under her chin. Beatrice wondered if she’d imagined the split-second of hesitation she’d sensed from Salome.

  Beatrice said, “The news must have been a shock to you this morning.”

 
Salome gave a dry laugh. “I felt a chill go up my spine when I heard the customer talking about it. I tried to pretend that everything was normal. That’s why I’m so relieved to be telling you about this, Beatrice, seeing as how you’re a preacher’s wife and everything. And I’ll tell Wyatt the same. I’ve just felt so bad, so guilty about all this.”

  Beatrice said slowly, “I’ve heard that Gerald could be a difficult man to be around. That he liked things done his way. Might there have been other suspects for the police to consider? With that type of personality, I can’t imagine that you’d be the only person the police would be looking at.”

  Salome considered this. Then she said, “I hate mentioning this, because it makes it sound like sour grapes. But I’m not the only person that Gerald had an affair with. I didn’t realize this at the time because he’d been very good at keeping his private life private. But he’d already moved on to someone else after his brief relationship with me.” She made a face. “You must be wondering how I could want to be with a person like Gerald. But he wasn’t always like this. He could be kind, as well as harsh.”

  “Did you get a sense that he’d changed?” asked Beatrice.

  Salome nodded in agreement. “Absolutely. I don’t know if it was a midlife crisis, or what. But suddenly, he did seem to be different.”

  Beatrice reflected that Gerald was a bit old to be having a midlife crisis, but she kept her expression neutral.

  Salome took a deep breath and said, “There’s this woman that he met at a fundraiser in Lenoir. Her name is Colleen Roberts. Apparently, she’s really wealthy, and they were both at this event where people were trying to get them to donate to a political cause. She seems to have a really swanky lifestyle and lives in this huge house and has several fancy cars and stuff like that. I think Gerald might have been fascinated by the thought that someone wasn’t interested in his money at all. That someone could be interested in just him.” Salome absently stroked Maisie.