“We were,” Lydia said. “But Trina’s client suggested we talk to you first.”
“There’s no chance that we could come in to talk, is there?” Trina asked. “It’s pouring out here.”
Jules opened the door wider so they could see more of her house.
“It’s pouring in here too,” Jules said sourly, and her cat let out a disgruntled meow.
Lydia tried not to gasp. The roof wasn’t just leaking. It was allowing for rivers of waters to fall into the house. Jules had been forced to do more than place buckets under the leaks to prevent overflow. She had set up a device that allowed the water to flow into different plastic containers like a river until it reached the sink. Lydia was very impressed with the design but knew it must be annoying to have inside one’s living room. It also must have been very unpleasant the first time it rained before the system was set up.
“Oh, my goodness,” Trina murmured. “I’m not sure it’s any drier inside the house.”
“This is what Rusty Smith did to my house,” Jules said.
“It looks like a waterslide park,” Trina said. “But without the fun.”
“I called him because I had one leak in my roof. One! Oh, I long for the days of only one leak,” Jules said. “I saw his truck driving around town and thought the name Not-Too-Rusty Builds was cute. I also thought that it would be good to have someone work on the house who was local. But it was the biggest mistake of my life.”
“He made these other holes?” Lydia asked.
“He told me that he could put in a skylight while he was working on the roof,” Jules said. “And I agreed. I thought it would be pretty. But he knew what my budget was. After he started installing the skylight, he said that it would end up costing three times as much as the original quote because of the skylight. I don’t have that kind of money, and I told him so. Then, he said it was still going to cost extra to fix the original leak because he would also have to close the skylight. He was trying to trick me out of money that I didn’t have. Now he won’t return my calls or letters. So, no – if you have any other option, and even if you don’t – don’t hire Rusty Smith!”
“What he did must have made you very angry,” Lydia said.
“Of course it did. He’s dishonest and a sneak,” Jules said. “And look at my poor kitty, Katherine. Whenever it rains, I need to protect her from the elements. But that’s what my house is supposed to do.”
The cat meowed in displeasure again.
“Have you ever thought about doing anything to him?” asked Lydia. “Like suing him?”
“I don’t have any money for a lawyer,” Jules said. “Sometimes I think about taking that hammer of his and hitting him on the head. That is if I could find him.”
“Didn’t you know his address?” asked Lydia. “You said something about letters.”
“I guess I did,” Jules said, frowning. “Maybe I am all talk. I didn’t really want to face him again. It wouldn’t accomplish anything. All he would do is say that he wouldn’t finish the job without the extra money.”
“But maybe you would feel better if you yelled at him or even did something worse,” Trina said. “I don’t think I could handle living in a house that has a river running through it like this.”
Jules hugged her cat closer to her for support. Lydia had a few more questions that she needed to ask, but she needed to make it sound natural in conversation. She and Trina were still pretending that they had come to visit her to hear her opinion on the contractor’s work. She decided to try and figure out if Jules Lester had an alibi for that morning first.
“This contraption you built is very impressive,” Lydia said. “How long did it take you to install it? All morning?”
“It took several days,” Jules said. “After the first time it rained, I had to figure out something to do. And, of course, Katherine thought that I was building all this for her. She kept jumping on it and knocking sections down.”
“So, do you keep parts of it up and put other sections away?” Lydia asked. “I’m just fascinated by this. Was there anything you had to install early this morning?”
“I am glad that I was off today because it gave me the chance to make sure everything was working before the storm,” said Jules. “But that only took an hour. And this morning, I slept in delightfully late. Until eventually, Katherine woke me up.”
Lydia’s shoes were starting to fill with water from the rain pooling around her feet. She had discovered that Jules did not have a strong alibi since only her cat could back her up. Lydia felt Trina begin to shiver next to her, but she still had one more question she needed to ask.
“Do you know a man named Miles Gardner?”
“No,” Jules said. “Who is he? Is he another contractor? Is he good, and will he fix the roof at a reasonable price?”
“No. He was a retired man,” Lydia said. “He was my neighbor and just passed away. I was going to invite everyone who knew him for a gathering at my shop.”
“Sorry. I don’t know him,” Jules said. “And does this answer all your questions about how terrible Rusty Smith was as a contractor?”
“That question is certainly answered,” Lydia said as Trina nodded.
Unfortunately, they still had many more questions about who had actually murdered him.
13
Taffy Shop Suggestions
The next day, Lydia stood in her taffy shop, trying to determine if what they had uncovered had been worth standing in the pouring rain for. It had been hard to get rid of the chill she felt from her sopping questioning that night. It had finally been cured with a hot bath followed by cuddling with Sunny and a cup of hot cocoa on the couch.
Trina had said that she did something similar, but she made the mistake of drinking caffeinated coffee to warm up. She had found it impossible to fall asleep and was now exhausted the next day.
“What?” Trina asked, jumping up suddenly after having dozed off while leaning on the counter.
“I didn’t say anything,” Lydia said. “Though I have been thinking about our conversation with Jules Lester and I’m not sure what to make of it.”
“I know that Jules needs to find a new place to live,” Trina said. “She’s practically underwater whenever it rains.”
“Having all that water around might make it easier to care for a Man O’War in her house,” said Lydia. “She certainly had a motive for wanting to kill Rusty Smith after what he did to her roof. She doesn’t have a good alibi. And she knew where the victim lived.”
“But you’re not sure it’s her?” asked Trina before yawning.
Lydia shrugged and picked up a piece of dragon fruit taffy. “But she didn’t slip up and admit that she knew he was dead. She was also convincing when she said that she didn’t know who Miles Gardner was. She might have been acting, or she might have been telling the truth.”
“We were at a disadvantage because we were also worried about not floating away when we spoke to her,” Trina said.
“She’s here!” Mona cried. She had been looking out the front window, but then ducked for cover.
“Who?” asked Lydia. “Our suspect?”
“Tell me it’s not Amber,” Trina said. She had an even worse distaste for the ice cream seller than Lydia did.
“No,” Mona whispered as she hid behind some of Annette’s crocheted creations.
Lydia and Trina couldn’t fathom who might be causing her to have this reaction. They were still surprised when Kelsey skipped inside, smiling.
“Is Mona in yet?” Kelsey asked.
“In-sane, maybe,” Trina joked.
Lydia wasn’t quite sure how to answer this. She mumbled something incoherent. Finally, Mona stood up and revealed herself. She knew it wasn’t a good hiding place in this small shop.
“I hoped you two would be more convincing after all the talking you do with suspects,” said Mona.
“I really have no idea what is going on,” Trina said, yawning again.
“It�
�s good to see you, Mona,” Kelsey said as if nothing strange had happened.
“Kelsey, I like being your coworker, and I think we are becoming friends,” Mona said, looking down at the floor. “But I’m going to have to say no to what you want to ask me.”
“But you don’t know exactly what I’m going to ask. It’s a really great part that we need someone to fill in for.”
Mona held up her hand to stop her. “I’m sorry. But I just can’t agree to do any acting right now. A lot of people already wonder if I was involved with the shenanigans that my former employer was up to. They wonder if I’m lying when I say I didn’t know about the blackmail. I don’t want to go onstage and let people think I’m an actor when I’m trying to gain their trust.”
“I understand,” Kelsey said, though she looked miserable.
“What’s going on?” asked Trina.
“I’m trying to find someone to fill in for a part in the play I’m in,” Kelsey said. “We need another actress.”
“You didn’t think of asking me?” Trina said. “I’ve been told I have a lovely voice.”
“Yes!” Kelsey said. “So lovely. You’d be perfect as my grandmother.”
“Grandmother?” Trina asked, affronted. “How big are these dark circles under my eyes today?”
Trina hurried away to the restroom to see a mirror. Lydia tried not to laugh as Kelsey sighed.
“Well, that backfired,” Kelsey grumbled.
She didn’t have long to dwell on it though because then Jeff and Daniel walked inside.
“I’m really happy to see everyone,” Lydia said. “I just wish someone here was a customer.”
“Well, if we can prove that the Man O’War that killed the two men was planted by a murderer and isn’t swimming around in the ocean, then we should be able to get people to come back to the beach,” Daniel said. “That will help your business as well as others.”
“This poor Man O’War,” Mona said.
“Poor? You do know this is a poisonous monster that killed two people,” Jeff said. “And has kept me from surfing all week. But, still, the murder is the bad part.”
“It’s still a living creature,” said Mona. “And I’m sure it didn’t mean to kill anyone. It was just being a jellyfish, and someone used him for evil.”
“Let’s see if we can figure out who this person who used the jellyfish as a murder weapon is,” said Lydia. “Does anyone have any news?”
“I ruled out Phil Terry as a suspect,” said Daniel. “He and his son are out of town. They went to visit the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown.”
“I can’t tell with Jules Lester,” said Lydia. “She might have done it or might be innocent based on what I’ve heard.”
“I’ve got news,” Jeff said. “Unless you already told her, Kelsey.”
“No,” Kelsey said. “I’ve just been trying to find a replacement actress for my show and failing miserably.”
“Sorry,” Jeff said. “But maybe telling Lydia will make you feel better.”
“Now you’re teasing me,” Lydia said. “What is it?”
“We found another suspect,” said Jeff.
“It’s the mom of his friend who was stung by the jellyfish,” Kelsey explained. “She also had problems with Rusty Smith.”
Jeff nodded. “He was supposed to do work at her flower shop, but he didn’t complete it. She was going to take legal action.”
“Mama’s Mums,” Lydia said, remembering the name of the flower shop that she had seen in the official papers on Rusty’s desk.
“That’s right,” said Jeff. “I’d hate to think of my friend’s mom as a killer, but I thought I had to tell you.”
“I’m glad you did,” Lydia said.
Her mind was already considering what a good suspect Mrs. Mumflower was. If she was the one who was handling the jellyfish, it might be the reason why she had gotten stung.
14
Another Suspect
“Do you think this is going to work?” Daniel asked. “Three of us seems like too many.”
“Trina knows her better than I do,” said Lydia.
“She’s going to love this,” Trina assured her. “Until she realizes that we’re accusing her of murder.”
Without missing a beat, Trina reached for the doorbell. They waited as they heard grunts and groans come from behind the door. They waited for quite a while, but then the door opened. A woman who was indeed twice as big as Trina looked at them.
“I hope you know what an effort it took for me to get to the door.”
“I’m so sorry, Mrs. Mumflower,” Trina said, taking over the conversation. “We didn’t wish to cause you additional pain. We came because we heard about your injury from the jellyfish. Everyone at the salon misses you so much.”
“They do?” asked Mrs. Mumflower.
“Of course, they do,” said Trina. “And I wanted to bring you something as a get well gift, so I had my friend bring you some taffy from her shop.”
“We brought an assortment,” Lydia said. “I wasn’t sure what you’d like best.”
“And him?” Mrs. Mumflower asked. “He doesn’t look like your Carl, Trina.”
“No. This is just a friend of ours. His name is Daniel. He offered to help with any manual labor that you might need around the house. I know when I was sick, I could barely lift anything. Daniel offered to help.”
“That is very kind,” Mrs. Mumflower said. “Won’t you all come in?”
The group obliged. Mrs. Mumflower immediately took advantage of Daniel’s offer to move things and had him move her recliner three times until it was in the perfect position to see out the window. She sat down with a small whimper of pain, and the women sat across from her.
“Would you like a glass of water to go with that taffy?” Daniel asked. “I could get you a glass.”
“I would love that,” the woman agreed.
Daniel headed to the kitchen but winked at Lydia as he went. They had already discussed that he would offer to do tasks for Mrs. Mumflower that would take him to different parts of the house. Under this helpful ruse, he would look for evidence that the jellyfish had been kept here.
“I do need to keep hydrated,” Mrs. Mumflower said. “With all the aches and pains I get, it’s very important. And I’ve had a whole horde of health problems before that fateful day that I stepped in the ocean and got stung. Trina, you know all about my bout of pneumonia and my sprained elbows and ankles. Then, there was the incident with my appendix. But, of course, my appendix had already been removed, so what that pain was I might never know.”
Daniel returned with her water. She took a grateful sip.
Then, she continued talking. “And then I had those awful allergies where my eyes were so itchy. And it seems to spread because then my nose became chronically itchy. And I had a creaking knee. And that noise was too much for my sensitive ears to bear.”
“Are you comfortable enough?” Daniel asked. “Perhaps I can get you another pillow?”
“What a sweet boy. Yes. You can grab one from the guest room upstairs.”
He nodded and headed off.
“And I’ve had so many sore throats this year,” Mrs. Mumflower said. “And my illnesses have affected my complexion so much that I’ve had to have Trina change my hair color several times.”
“I understand you have a flower shop,” Lydia said, trying to change the conversation.
“That’s right. Though the heating and cooling system has been giving me quite a lot of trouble lately. I can’t stand being too hot or cold, and it’s not good for my flowers. I had someone who was starting to fix it, but then he quit on the job. He hadn’t fixed anything, and he wasn’t answering my calls. Well, then I called my lawyer right away. He’s making sure that the whole situation will get righted. I’ve had to have some employees and my son fill in for me at the shop because of my injuries. But at least I can stay in regulated air conditioning here.”
Lydia knew she was going to have to ju
mp in quickly if she wanted to be a part of the conversation. “Is the man you were suing Rusty Smith?”
“It is. That’s the lowlife who left my shop in such a mess!”
“It might interest you to know,” Lydia said, “that a contractor named Rusty Smith died yesterday.”
“How?” asked Mrs. Mumflower.
“He was poisoned by a jellyfish,” said Trina.
Mrs. Mumflower opened her mouth in shock, but then started to laugh.
Dragonfruit and Dread Page 6
