Varnished without a Trace

by Misty Simon

  I patted her back but couldn’t think of anything else to say at the moment. Everything I thought I knew was being negated. But only by his two daughters. What did his two sons think of the whole thing?

  When the tears finally ran out, I handed her a tissue from the box on the side table. She had that handkerchief, but this was too big a job for that small square of linen.

  “Thank you. I’m not sure what came over me. I know it’s all going to be okay. We’ll get through this. We always do.”

  That was my cue to leave. I was pretty sure I had all the information I could possibly get out of her.

  “Is there anything else we can be doing for you? Not just as a final resting place, but as neighbors and friends and relatives, Caitlin? My heart is with you during this difficult time. I don’t want you to feel alone.” That might have been laying it on a little thick, but I needed to get out of there and get together with Burton. What was he telling people? I really needed to know before I did anything more.

  “You’re a sweetheart, Tallie, but there’s really nothing to do. Your father had been such a blessing in getting everything set up well in advance and he has it all in hand as soon as they release my dad and mom. The celebration of life will be lovely and the flowers are already all picked out from Monty’s. Thank you, though. It means a lot to me that you came out.”

  “It’s not a problem.”

  “You come from a good family.”

  The doorbell rang, and she smiled gently. “And that must be your father. He’d called just a few minutes before you came in to see if we could meet. I’m sure he’ll be happy to see you stopped by.”

  “Uh, of course.” He hadn’t put any notes in the computer, blast him!

  And now I was stuck, because I couldn’t run out the back door without him knowing I had been there. Caitlin wouldn’t understand if I told her to keep it a secret that I’d stopped by. I’d just have to play it off and mention that I put notes in the computer even if he didn’t.

  I went to the door with her and prepared to smile my way through whatever my father said or did until I could leave.

  He blinked when he saw me, then smiled. A genuine smile. “Tallie, I’m so glad you’re here. I was hoping Caitlin had someone to talk to.”

  Who was this and what had he done with my father? Unless he really believed I was going to leave the Hoagie thing alone and thought I was becoming more a part of the funeral home now that Max was going to be helping out? We could be the new power couple of the undertaker set. I wasn’t sure I was up for that.

  But I knew it would be better to talk with my father at a later time than it would be to take him on right now; that would get me nowhere fast and embarrass the grieving daughter in one fell swoop.

  So Dad and I brought Caitlin back into the house and did what we did best together. Talked funerals and clothes and arrangements.

  “I’d like him buried in his uniform. He was always so comfortable in that thing, and he loved his store so much.” She dabbed at her eyes with a tissue this time, instead of the handkerchief. “Mom had a lovely dress picked out also that I can get from the closet upstairs. I don’t think she planned on using it this soon, but at least we have something.”

  “But we only have Ronda—”

  I vehemently shook my head at my father, praying that he’d take my hint and not say anything else.

  “Ready, Caitlin. We only have Ronda ready. We’ll let you know about Hoagie.”

  Dad cleared his throat and gave me the side-eye, but he played along, which I couldn’t have been more thankful for. “Of course, Caitlin. We can make that happen. I’m sure she’ll be stunning.” He patted her clasped hands and handed her another tissue from the end table. “Are there any particular songs you’d like played or people you’d like to speak? I’d also be happy to send out any announcements to out-of-town family if you need me to. We don’t do that for everyone, but I’m willing to waive the fee for someone who was such an important part of my life for so many years.”

  Her head snapped up and her eyes went wide. Her gaze darted from left to right over and over again, like she was going to have a seizure or something. I looked at my dad in panic.

  “It’s okay, Caitlin. You don’t have to make any decisions right at this moment. There will be time for that whenever you’re ready. Let’s stick with the easy things and go from there.”

  She shook her head so violently the knot on top of her head threatened to fall over or unravel. “No, we don’t have any family out of town. We don’t know anyone who doesn’t live here. We have no one who needs to be contacted and really, I’d rather not, or um, Dad and Mom never wanted an obituary run in the paper, so please don’t do that. Don’t put it online either.” She sounded scared, like a boogeyman was lurking outside her door and it was absolutely imperative that no one outside our small town know that Hoagie and Ronda had passed on to the great big paint shaker in the sky.

  I opened my mouth to say something, but my dad gave a short, sharp shake of his head while Caitlin looked at me with pleading eyes. I caught it in my peripheral vision and acknowledged it by patting her hands myself. “No problem, Caitlin. Anything you want is fine. If you’ll show me where the clothes are, I can take them with me for when we’re ready. If you have a picture of your mom and dad that you’d like us to work from for their final rest, I can also take that.”

  Caitlin shook her head, softer this time, and said quietly, “Dad didn’t let anyone take his picture. I don’t even have one from their wedding day. My poor parents . . .”

  Chapter Fifteen

  Thirty minutes later, I followed my father out the door and to his waiting car. I would have been fine walking back and taking the time to think about all the things I’d learned in that short period of time, but it would look weird if I told him I didn’t want him to drive me back to the funeral home when he’d specifically asked to take me there. I wasn’t sure what he’d want to talk about, but I was up for whatever he had to say.

  My phone pinged a text, and I saw Uncle Sherman wanted to talk to me at the Bean in ten minutes. What could he want and did I have time before dinner at my parents? Just barely, but I’d make it work, I guessed. As soon as I got rid of my dad.

  “Thanks for being there, Tallie. I know it’s not your favorite thing to do, but I also know you’re good at it, and that Caitlin appreciated the presence of another woman.”

  Words were burning on my tongue, questions I wanted to ask, thoughts I wanted his opinion on. But he would probably have a fit if I admitted I was there to get information instead of giving comfort; that had only been an added bonus for both me and her.

  “It’s fine, Dad. I do understand how hard it can be for someone to process that the people they loved most in the world are gone.”

  He blew out a breath. “I don’t want to start an argument again, but it’s that kind of thing that just makes me baffled as to why you wouldn’t want to take your place in the family business. Jeremy’s told me how effective you’ve been with the people you’ve talked to. You have a smile that lights up the darkest room, and your tone and manner are spot-on for helping those in need. What is it that you hate so much about our business that you’d rather clean houses then work with us? Or is it me? Do you just not want to work with me?”

  Oh boy, that was kind of a loaded question, and there were so many answers. Far more than I could go into during the half block we had left before he pulled in behind the home. And I didn’t want to sit in the confines of the car and have this discussion when I needed to meet Sherman, then find Burton and find out what in the world he was letting people think.

  “It’s none of those things, Dad, and yet a piece of all of them. I’m not sure what to tell you, but I have an appointment in a few minutes. Can we talk about this later? It’s not that I don’t like you, though. I do. I love you. I just . . .” Didn’t know what else to say.

  He nodded and patted my knee. He was obviously in a patting mood today. Sometimes
it was a squeeze to the biceps or a hand stroked over my hair. Today was patting.

  “I love you too, honey, and I hope Max will be happy with us for whatever time he can spare, if you both agree on it.”

  Not that I would ever tell Max what he could or could not do, but I did appreciate my dad saying that without insinuating it would be my fault if Max said no in the end.

  “Actually, I think he would be a great addition to the team, and I’m happy to loan him to you for however long he wants to be there or you want him there.”

  He smiled and I smiled back, feeling for the first time in a long time that we might be on the same wavelength.

  I put my hand on the car door and got ready to get out. He squeezed my biceps.

  “Before you get out, though, can we talk for a minute about why you were at Caitlin’s? Are you going to look into Hoagie’s disappearance and Ronda’s murder even after I asked you not to?”

  I stared straight out the side window and held my breath for ten seconds. That wavelength had been about a two-footer at the shore in Jersey on a winter’s day, more like a slight swell than an actual wave.

  Now or never, and I guess I was choosing now. “Dad, I’m not sure how to say this either, but this one I’m just going to blurt out. Hoagie was very special to me and I want to find him. I’ll repeat myself and say that it’s not that I don’t think Burton can do his job; I just know that I’ve helped him ferret out the truth several times now, and I can find out things without all his red tape. Some people don’t like to talk to the police, but they’ll talk to the cleaner or will talk while ignoring the cleaner. They also say things to someone who asks questions in a nonofficial capacity, namely me. Plus, something weird is going on. Why does Caitlin think her father is dead instead of just missing? Is Burton letting people believe that Hoagie was actually that corpse outside the store? Why? Aren’t you curious as to what he’s thinking?”

  I looked over my shoulder at him to see if his face was turning red or the vein in his throat was bulging. Instead, it was neither. He looked contemplative, as if he was only listening to understand, not rebuke as soon as I was done talking.

  So I continued. I’d already stepped in; I might as well wade around in the water a bit while I was here.

  “And the kids aren’t happy that Nathan is getting the store. Only one is fine with that. The other three have other ideas of how things should work. One wants to sell, another wants to clean it out and open an art gallery and another wants to rent it out to someone else. They all want something different. Do they think they can contest the will? Are Hoagie’s disappearance and Ronda’s death related? Is he gone because he killed her? I just want to know.”

  “I see.” Dad rolled his palms over the steering wheel.

  “Do you? And why all the secrecy about his life? Why do they have no relatives outside this town? And I can’t find them on our family tree. How are they related to us anyway? No one seems to know. Why did Caitlin look like she was in a total panic when you asked, even though she’d just told me that she had an aunt in the south that Hoagie wouldn’t let them talk to?”

  His brow pulled down between his eyes. That was the classic Bud Graver look of disapproval. I had thought he understood me. Instead, I braced myself for a lecture about staying out of places I wasn’t wanted.

  “That Burton should be so lucky to have your intuition and your knowledge to help him out. Of course I don’t want you to put yourself in danger like you have before, but he would have a number of unsolved cases on his desk and a very bad track record if it hadn’t been for you and your willingness to help, even without his consent. I ought to have a word with him.”

  It took a moment for his words and their meaning to soak into my skull. He was supporting me? He wanted to go talk to Burton like he had one of my teachers who had treated me badly in third grade just because she had not liked my aunt when she’d taught her years before and thought to take it out on me?

  I laughed and laughed, and then I turned in his big old Cadillac to give him a huge and fierce hug. “I love you, Dad. You talking to Burton is not going to help anyone, but I so appreciate your support and the very thought that you would take him on for me. You’re the best. I’ve got this, though. And I’m not going to try to hand him clues this time as they come up. I’m going to solve the whole thing, then package it like a present and hand it to him with a huge bow on it, all without getting myself in trouble at all. What he does with it from that point will be up to him and will have nothing to do with me.”

  “That’s my girl. Tenacity, that should have been your middle name instead of Beverly.”

  This time he stroked his hand over my hair, then kissed me on the cheek. “I wondered about the Hoagie thing myself but didn’t want to correct her in case it had to do with her grief. If you need anything, let me know, and I’ll see if I can dig into the archives. I have his information in a file from years ago, before we went digital. I didn’t throw anything away, just in case the computers went down one day and we needed something. They’re in the basement and might take a little time to get into, but as soon as I find them, they’re yours. Get whoever did this to Ronda and find Hoagie, Tallie, and make it stick.”

  After that, there wasn’t much more to say and I practically floated out of the car. I didn’t know what had just happened or why my dad had so completely changed his tune, but I wasn’t going to question it. We’d spent years with me feeling either like I never was enough or was too much, so having his support like this was a whole new experience.

  I glanced at my watch. Okay, this was an experience I’d have to enjoy later. I had forty-five minutes to find Sherman, then go after and berate Burton before I had to get home and be ready to eat dinner with my parents and the dragon lady.

  So as not to test out the new flush of feeling supported, I waited for my dad to leave in his car again before I hopped across the street. He might be on board with the Hoagie thing, but I didn’t know if he’d be so understanding of my desire to drill Burton for answers.

  I sent a quick text to Max to see if he could start digging up anything on the four Hogart kids or find anything more than I had on Ronda and Hoagie. I’d meant to ask him earlier, but everyone seemed to need a piece of my time and I was running out of it.

  * * *

  Drinks and pie were just being set down at a small table in the back of the Bean when I walked through the door.

  Peanut butter pie and a cup of steaming coffee with enough cream to make it blond. Did he know, or did Gina just set down what she knew I’d want?

  That was the least of my questions when I saw all the paperwork Sherman had laid out across the small table.

  “You should’ve asked for a four topper instead of a two,” I said as I sat down.

  “Meh, most of this is duplicate information. I just wanted to make sure I had everything I wanted to give you.”

  I was a little blown away. Okay, I lied; I was a lot blown away. I had just expected to come in, get the lowdown on what he thought might be going on and then be sent on my way to create my own kind of chaos. This looked very organized and methodical. I typically wasn’t either of those. I seriously hoped I didn’t disappoint him.

  “This is a . . . lot.”

  “Bah, don’t be put off by it. Each fire has a ton of reports that have to be filled out and filed and then done again in triplicate. I just want you to have everything you could possibly need.”

  “Okay.”

  He finally looked up from shuffling the mountains of paperwork. “Girlie, don’t even start getting those cold feet. You’re going to love this, and any amount of help is going to be much appreciated, even if you only look over what I have and see something I haven’t seen before. I’m not asking for a miracle, though I certainly wouldn’t turn one down. I just need a new set of eyes and ears, and you’ve got some of the best out there.”

  “You can stop with all the flattery, it’s just you and me here. And you no longer have to try to
convince me.”

  His eyes squinted almost shut and his lips flattened into a straight line. “I’m going to say this once, and it’s not because you’re my favorite niece, though you’d better not ever repeat that. And it’s not because I want or need your help. It’s not even because you’re one of my favorite people and I’m so thankful you’re back after all those years of removing yourself from us. So listen up when I tell you that you are one smart cookie, Tallulah Beverly Graver. Burton won’t see it and Waldo tried to crush it, and your dad doesn’t understand your brand of smart. But I do, and Max does, and I think you are awesome.”

  It had been a while since I’d truly blushed, but I felt one rising right then. No silly compliments, no jokes, no qualifiers, just acceptance and acknowledgment and love. And I might have cried if it wasn’t for the fact that Burton walked in at that very moment.

  Chapter Sixteen

  “Why do I get the feeling you’re having a let’s-hate-Burton meeting?” He peered between Sherman and me with his hands on his hips and his feet spread wide. His stance wasn’t aggressive necessarily, just weary.

  And this is why I always wanted to help him. Because he was a good guy and we had had so few murders in town until the past few years. And when things didn’t get solved quickly, he was the one to blame. But he’d unequivocally told me to butt out before and this time it was different. I didn’t hate him, but I did need to know what he was thinking, or if he had let Caitlin believe her father was dead or specifically told her he was. I was not going to go against his story if possible, but I needed to know what it was before I tried to skirt around it.

  “Burton,” Sherman said gruffly. He made a show of gathering all his paperwork and stacking it neatly into two piles. Then he turned it over, folded his hands over it and stared straight at the chief of police.

  I wasn’t quite that bold, so I sat on my hands and said, “Hi, Burton. We aren’t having any kind of meeting like that. If you’re looking for Mama Shirley, I think she’s at home watching one of her soaps.” I looked around for Gina, who hadn’t yet appeared, even though she had to have heard someone had come in the front door. “I’m sure Gina will be out in a minute, or I can get you something started?”