by Sarah Fox
By the time I finished work on Friday afternoon, I hadn’t taken any further steps to add new names to my suspect list or to strike off any of the current ones. I was frustrated with myself for that lack of progress, so I knew I needed to come up with some sort of plan to move forward. Based on the lack of news flying around town over the past couple of days, it seemed like the official investigation hadn’t moved forward either. Hopefully that wasn’t really true, but in case it was, I wanted more than ever to dig around and see if I could find out anything helpful.
With Bentley and Flapjack out in the yard with me, I headed for the detached workshop and fetched a spade that had come with the property when I’d inherited it. After arriving home, I’d changed into my oldest pair of jeans and my green “Raise a little kale!” graphic tee. Appropriate gardening wear, I thought. I’d been waiting months for a chance to start my own garden in the raised beds my cousin Jimmy had constructed out front of the house. Now that we were enjoying some pleasant spring weather, I could finally get to work. Maybe gardening would clear my head.
I decided to start by turning the soil, so I climbed up on the edge of the first raised bed and balanced there while I drove the spade into the dirt. It didn’t go in as easily as I expected, giving my arms a jolt. I stepped up on the edge of the blade and used my body weight to sink it deeper into the soil. That got it all the way in, so I hopped off the spade and turned the clump of dirt. I did that a few more times and then stopped for a rest.
I’d never been super strong, but I also wasn’t a complete weakling, so I hadn’t expected the job to be so difficult. The spade seemed to be the problem more than the dirt. It was a heavy, cumbersome tool. I left it stuck in the soil and returned to the workshop, searching every corner for a smaller, lighter spade. I was already pretty sure there wasn’t one, but I checked just in case I’d missed something all the previous times I’d been in the small building. Unfortunately, another spade hadn’t magically appeared for me to find, so I was stuck working with the one I already had.
I wandered back out into the yard and wrestled with the spade for a few more minutes before I needed another rest. At this rate it was going to take me all spring to get the four beds ready for planting. And my mind hadn’t exactly cleared during my struggles.
As I brushed my hair out of my face, getting ready to attack the soil once more, I heard someone call my name. When I turned around, I saw Sienna and Patricia at the top of the beach, heading my way. Without a shred of reluctance, I abandoned the spade and hopped down from the edge of the raised bed.
“It’s a nice day for gardening,” Patricia commented when they drew closer.
“That’s for sure,” I said. “I’m not getting anywhere very fast, though.”
“At least you’ve started. I need to get busy on my hanging baskets. Normally I’d have them all done by now, but those weeks of rain set me back.”
“That’s probably true for everyone,” I said. “I need to get some hanging baskets for The Flip Side, but I’ll probably buy them at a nursery. My hands will be full enough with this garden.”
“What are you going to plant?” Sienna asked.
“Tomatoes, carrots, beans, maybe some squash.”
She looked at my T-shirt. “And kale?”
“Definitely kale,” I said with a smile.
“If only I could get Sienna to eat kale,” Patricia said.
Her daughter made a face. “Not a chance.”
“She’s not a big fan of leafy greens,” Patricia explained.
“You prefer Boston cream crêpes, right?” I said to the teen.
“Always and forever.”
Bentley appeared from around the side of the house, racing over to see our visitors.
“What brings the two of you by?” I asked as Sienna knelt down to give Bentley’s fur a good rub.
“We’re heading into town for some pizza,” Patricia said. “We’ve got several guests arriving tomorrow, so I figured it would be good to enjoy some downtime tonight.”
“Sounds like a good plan.” My thoughts returned to Joe the mystery man. “Did you have any guests at the B&B earlier this week?”
“A retired couple from Utah. They left yesterday. We’ve got quite a few bookings for the weeks ahead, though. The low season is winding down.”
“I’m looking forward to the tourist season,” I said. “It’s definitely good for business.”
“That it is,” Patricia agreed.
Sienna got to her feet and brushed off her jeans. “Want to come out for pizza with us?”
I rested a hand on Bentley’s head as he sat down by my feet. “Thanks, but maybe another time. I’m waiting for Brett to get home. Although, pizza sounds good, so who knows, maybe we’ll see you there later.”
“We’ll keep an eye out for you,” Patricia said. “Enjoy your gardening.”
“I’ll try,” I said, eyeing the spade.
Patricia and Sienna returned to the beach and headed in the direction of town. Bentley tried to follow after them, so I whistled to him and he came running back. I threw a tennis ball for him, not overly eager to get back to fighting with the spade.
I knew from Patricia’s answer to my question about the B&B that the mystery man hadn’t stayed there during his visit to Wildwood Cove. The Wildwood Inn wasn’t open for business yet, but there was another bed-and-breakfast in town—away from the water—and there was a motel beyond the marina and across the river. The man struck me more as a motel kind of guy than a B&B guest, but of course I couldn’t say for sure.
Let it go, I advised myself. Forget about him.
I grabbed the spade and got back to work. By the time I had half the soil in one of the beds turned, my arms ached and I was more than ready to give up. Brett’s work van turned into the driveway, so I abandoned the spade and held on to Bentley’s collar so he wouldn’t run out in front of the vehicle.
Once Brett had parked, I let go of Bentley and he charged across the yard. He was there, wiggling with happiness, when Brett climbed out of the van. Brett laughed and crouched down to shower the dog with attention.
“Hey, buddy. It’s nice to be greeted so enthusiastically.”
“I might not move as fast as Bentley,” I said as I approached Brett, “but I’m no less enthusiastic to see you.”
As soon as Bentley gave me a chance, I moved in to give Brett a kiss. It lasted until Bentley whined and nosed his way between us, his tail still wagging furiously.
“I should come home several times a day if this is the welcome I get,” Brett said, giving Bentley a pat on the head.
“I don’t think either of us would complain if you did that,” I said with a smile.
Brett put an arm around my waist and pulled me close to his side, his gaze sweeping across the yard and coming to rest on the spade stuck into the soil. “I see you started working on the garden.”
I leaned into him. “Yes, but it’s slow going. The spade weighs a ton. I’ve hardly made any progress, and my arms are already aching.”
He ran a hand up and down my arm. “I’ve got a smaller one in my van that you can use. And I’ll help you out this weekend. We should get some manure or compost mixed into the soil.”
Flapjack had been snoozing in a sunny patch on the front porch, but then he got up and lazily made his way over to us. Brett scooped him up off the ground, and the tabby snuggled against his chest, purring.
“He probably wants his dinner,” I said.
“Is that it?” Brett asked the cat.
Flapjack bumped his head against Brett’s chin, still purring.
I gave the tabby a scratch on the head. “I think that’s a yes.” My stomach grumbled. “And I feel the same.”
“Me too,” Brett said.
We made our way around the house to the back door, Flapjack still in Brett’s arms and Bentley dashin
g ahead of us to take the lead.
“Patricia and Sienna stopped by a while ago,” I said when we reached the back porch. “They were on their way to get pizza.”
“The perfect Friday night dinner,” Brett said.
“My thought exactly. Want to go to Pete’s?”
Pete’s was the only pizzeria in Wildwood Cove.
“Definitely. I just need to get cleaned up first.”
“Same.”
While Brett headed upstairs for a quick shower, I fed the animals and then changed out of my gardening clothes. We drove into town in Brett’s truck and found a parking spot near the pizzeria. It was Friday night, so I wasn’t surprised that the restaurant was packed. The patrons ranged from families with young kids to groups of teenagers, with a few older couples as well. All the booths and tables were occupied, but as Brett and I waited, Patricia and Sienna left their booth and came over to chat with us on their way out of the pizza parlor. By the time they left a minute or two later, one of the servers had cleaned the booth and waved us over.
I settled onto one of the red vinyl benches and didn’t bother to look at the menu. Neither did Brett. I ordered a mini vegetarian pizza and ginger ale, while Brett ordered a pepperoni one and Pepsi. Our waitress hurried off to the kitchen with our order, her dark brown ponytail swinging.
“Lonny and Hope are here,” Brett said, tipping his head toward a booth on the other side of the restaurant.
I swiveled in my seat to get a look. The inn owners couldn’t see us easily from where they were sitting, so I didn’t bother waving. They had drinks but no food in front of them, so I figured they probably hadn’t arrived too long before us.
“Maybe we’ll get a chance to talk to them later,” I said.
I didn’t mention that I wanted to question Lonny about the ring. I wasn’t sure Brett would like that idea, especially since Lonny was one of his clients.
The waitress arrived with our drinks, and we shifted our conversation to Brett’s work at the Wildwood Inn and other topics. Before long, our pizzas arrived, piping hot and delicious. I ate until I was full and then sat back and relaxed while Brett finished the rest of my pizza, having already polished off his own.
After we’d paid for our meals, we headed out of the pizzeria. The booth Lonny and Hope had occupied was now vacant, a server busy gathering up the dirty dishes. I worried we’d missed our chance to talk to the couple, but once we got outside I was relieved to see them on the sidewalk, heading for Lonny’s truck.
“Hope!” I called out to get their attention.
When she turned and saw me and Brett, she smiled and waved. Lonny had been about to circle around his truck to the driver’s side, but he backtracked to stand next to his wife.
“Were you at Pete’s?” Hope asked when Brett and I reached them.
“Along with about half of Wildwood Cove,” Brett said with a grin.
Hope smiled in return. “It was packed in there, wasn’t it? It usually is on a Friday night.”
“Have you heard any more news about the investigation?” I asked.
She and Lonny shook their heads.
“Have you?” Hope asked.
“No,” I replied. “But I was hoping to ask you something, Lonny.”
His eyebrows pulled together in confusion. “About the investigation? I don’t really know much about it.”
“But you know something,” I said. I plowed ahead before I could have second thoughts. “You know about the ring that was found with Demetra’s skeleton. You know who it belongs to.”
Chapter 20
The color drained from Lonny’s face for the second time that week. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” The fear in his eyes said otherwise.
Hope was the one looking confused now. “How could he know anything about the ring? He’s never even seen it.”
I could feel Brett’s gaze on me, but I didn’t look his way. I was afraid I might see disapproval on his face.
“Maybe not recently,” I said. “But he recognized the description of it.”
“How is that even possible?” Hope was clearly on the verge of getting annoyed. “It was a woman’s ring.” She took Lonny’s left hand in her own and held it up so we could see his gold wedding band. “And this is the only ring Lonny’s ever worn. Right, Lonny?”
He nodded, but didn’t say anything. His face was still pale, and his expression resembled that of a deer caught in headlights.
Hope’s confusion returned as she studied her husband’s face. “Lonny?” She no longer sounded so sure of herself.
Lonny cleared his throat. He slipped his hand out of Hope’s and ran it over his hair.
I finally glanced Brett’s way. He was watching Lonny, his expression puzzled but also concerned.
“What is it, Lonny?” Brett asked. “What do you know?”
Lonny shook his head as we all watched him. “I didn’t hurt Demetra. I swear.”
“Of course you didn’t,” Hope said with conviction. Her confidence appeared to slip and her voice wavered when she added, “What’s going on?”
Lonny rubbed the back of his neck and looked around as if to make sure no one else was within earshot. Aside from three teenagers hanging out at the far end of the street, no one else was out on the sidewalk with us.
“The ring that was found with Demetra,” he said finally, “it sounds like my grandmother’s ring.”
“I don’t understand,” Hope said. “How could Demetra have ended up with your grandmother’s ring?”
I felt sorry for her. She looked so confused. Maybe even a bit lost and scared.
“I don’t know for sure,” her husband replied. “But I think she must have stolen it.”
Hope’s confusion remained in place. “From your parents’ house?”
Lonny shook his head again. “From me.” He took Hope’s hand. “After you graduated, I wanted to propose. My mom gave me my grandma’s ring to give to you. I carried it around for days, waiting for the right moment to pop the question. And then one day it was…gone.”
“But you didn’t propose until New Year’s Eve.”
I could tell Hope was having trouble processing everything. She held tightly to Lonny’s hand, her eyes dazed.
“That’s because I lost the ring. Or at least I thought I’d lost it. I had to save some money before I could buy a new one. I thought my mom would kill me, since it was a family heirloom. But she didn’t get mad like I thought she would. She said my grandma’s marriage wasn’t exactly a happy one, so maybe it was best that I wasn’t giving you her wedding ring.”
Brett spoke for the first time in several minutes. “Are you sure it was Demetra who stole it? Maybe it was the killer instead.”
“Maybe…” Lonny didn’t sound convinced.
Hope seemed to be overcoming her shock. “It wouldn’t have been out of character for Demetra to steal it. Those of us who knew her suspected her of stealing other things over the years. Cash, costume jewelry, even candy of all things.”
“But did she have an opportunity to steal it?” I asked.
Hope looked to her husband. “You were hardly ever around her.”
“Hardly ever,” he agreed. “But there was that one time.”
“What time?” I pressed.
“I was leaving your place one night,” he said to Hope. “Our place now. Demetra asked for a ride home. It was after dark, so I wasn’t about to say no and leave her to walk alone.”
“What was she doing there?” Hope asked.
“She’d come from the gardener’s cottage and caught up to me in the driveway as I was getting into my truck.”
“The gardener’s cottage?” Hope echoed with confusion. “Why would she have been there?”
“I’d seen her there before,” Lonny said. “I’m pretty sure she had a thing going on wit
h the gardener.”
“As in Quaid Hendrix?” I asked.
“I think that was his name.”
Hope nodded. “Quaid was living there at the time.” She addressed her husband again. “You never said anything about that before.”
“I figured it wasn’t any of my business. She was eighteen by then.”
“But if their fling was going on for more than a few days before the party, she had a boyfriend at the time,” Hope pointed out. “Tyrone.”
Lonny shrugged. “I didn’t know if they were still together or not. And, like I said, I figured it wasn’t any of my business.”
“But if Quaid knew Demetra,” I said, “and they were involved romantically… Sheriff Georgeson should know that.”
Lonny looked uncomfortable, but he didn’t have a chance to say anything in response.
“How come you never mentioned giving Demetra a ride?” Hope asked.
Lonny shifted his weight. “I didn’t want to upset you.”
“Why would I have been upset?”
“Because Demetra…uh…she sort of came on to me.”
Hope let out a sigh. “Of course she did.”
“I didn’t reciprocate,” Lonny said quickly. “I shut her down right away.”
Hope put a hand on his arm. “I wasn’t thinking any differently, not for a second. But I’m surprised Demetra didn’t tell me about it, with some embellishment about how you were into it. That was her style.”
“Maybe she didn’t get around to it before she died,” Brett said. “If that was right around the time of the party.”
We all looked at Lonny.
“I don’t remember exactly when it was, but it was somewhere around that time.”
“So you had the ring on you when you gave her a ride?” I checked.
“Probably? Like I said, I can’t remember exactly when I gave her a ride, but it was a warm night so there’s a good chance it was after Hope and Demetra’s graduation.” He glanced at Hope. “She was…ah…kind of all over me at one point, so it’s definitely possible that she took the ring out of my pocket.”
