A Clue in the Stew

by Connie Archer

  “No I haven’t . . .”

  Phoebe bared her teeth in a poor imitation of a smile. “I’m only going to say this once . . . stay away from me.”

  Sophie could feel her temper flare. “Look you . . . don’t you think you’re being a little paranoid? I’m doing my shopping and—”

  “Oh, really?” Phoebe snatched the empty basket out of her hand and flung it to the ground. Sophie held her breath. How far would this woman go?

  Phoebe pressed a hand on Sophie’s chest, pinning her against a shelf with a swift movement. A few cans of soup rattled to the floor. “Stay away from me,” she muttered darkly, “or I’ll make you very sorry.”

  Phoebe spun on her heel, dropping her shopping basket, and fled from the store.

  Sophie took a shaky breath, trying to regain her composure. What was that all about? she thought.

  Chapter 48

  LUCKY STRAIGHTENED UP the last of the chairs. The dishwasher had been loaded and everything was in place for the next day. Sophie sat at the worktable in the kitchen, chatting with Sage. Meg had busied herself replacing the water in all the vases of forsythias while Jack stayed in the office organizing the receipts of the day.

  Lucky breathed a sigh of relief that the day had gone smoothly. No further upsets with Nanette, who had managed to behave herself all day and had left at the first opportunity. She had flirted with the customers as usual and spent too much time at the cash register with Jack, but otherwise the day had been relatively peaceful.

  Jack pushed through the door from the corridor. “All’s well, my girl. I’ll go to the bank tomorrow and take care of the cash.”

  “Thanks, Jack.” She squeezed his hand. “Are you heading home now?”

  “Well, I . . . uh . . .” His face brightened as he heard a rap on the front door. Nanette stood outside.

  Lucky, confused, turned back to her grandfather. “Why is she here now?”

  “Uh . . . we have a date.” He smiled. He hurried over to the door to let Nanette in.

  “Hellooo, everyone.” She waved to Sage and Sophie in the kitchen. Sophie raised a lackadaisical hand in response.

  Meg had just pushed open the swinging door from the kitchen. She carried a heavy vase of flowers in her hands.

  “Ah’m so glad y’all here right now, ’cause Jack and me, we have a very important announcement to make.”

  Jack was beaming. Lucky felt a knot forming in her stomach.

  “Jack and I are engaged.”

  Meg dropped the vase she was carrying. Glass shattered and water spilled across the floor. Complete silence enveloped the room for half a minute.

  “Well, y’all can say something nice, can’t you?” Nanette snarled.

  “Engaged?” Lucky could barely choke out the word. She looked at her grandfather, “Jack, tell me this isn’t true!”

  “What do you mean?” he said. “Nanette and I have been very happy together. I feel like I have a new lease on life.”

  “You’ve only known her for a week!”

  “Now, Lucky dear, y’all can’t be all possessive about your dear grandfather. He’s a real man and he’s got a right to have a real life, if you know what I mean.”

  Lucky felt her blood boiling. She wanted to rip the woman’s throat out.

  “And once Jack and I have tied the knot, then we can see about changing some things around here, can’t we, Jack?” She simpered up at him.

  Lucky’s heart fell somewhere down around her feet. She turned to her grandfather, “Jack, you can’t be serious about this.”

  “Ah’m standin’ right here. There’s no need to talk about me like I’m not in the room,” Nanette shouted.

  “I’m not talking to you, you . . .” Lucky trailed off, unwilling to completely alienate Jack.

  Jack stepped forward, “Lucky, my girl. It’s gonna be all right. I know this is kind of a shock to you, but you don’t have to worry about a thing. We’ll all be a big family and we can work out our differences.” He looked down at Nanette. “Ready for our big night out, sweetheart?”

  “Ah sure am, Jack darlin’.”

  “Well, let’s go then. It’s almost three bells.” Jack put an arm around Nanette’s waist and ushered her out the door. Nanette turned back and smiled slyly at Lucky as she exited.

  Lucky felt like her heart would break. Sophie and Sage were staring at her through the hatch. Meg hadn’t moved since the vase shattered.

  “Is it too late to fire her?” Meg asked.

  • • •

  LUCKY SAT AT the round table with her head in her hands. Sophie had brought her a cup of tea and sat next to her. Meg was busy sweeping up the broken glass and mopping the water spill. Sage kept his distance in the kitchen.

  “This is a nightmare. Where did this woman come from?”

  “Hell?” Sophie asked.

  Lucky nodded. “That about sums it up. This can’t be real. Jack has taken leave of his senses.”

  “He’s just flattered, that’s all. But you’re right. What is her game?”

  “Sophie, if Jack goes through with this, she could be running the restaurant.”

  “But it’s your business, isn’t it?”

  “Yes.” Lucky’s shoulders slumped. “Technically, yes. But what am I going to do, kick my grandfather out? It was in my parents’ name, but he started it with them years ago. Gave them seed money and he’s worked here since he retired. I can’t deny it’s his business too.”

  “Can’t you put your foot down and keep her in her place?”

  “I can, but can you imagine the tension that will cause? I love Jack. He’s my only family. I don’t want to make his life miserable. I don’t know what she’s up to, but I know in my gut she’s up to no good. Is she trying to take my poor grandfather for all he’s worth? He doesn’t have that much. What does she want?”

  “Maybe she’s just a control freak. Maybe she hates other women, I don’t know.” Sophie shrugged. “Did she ever bring in her identification?”

  “Oh,” Lucky groaned. “She didn’t. My brain is fried. She should have brought it in days ago. That’s it. My mind’s made up. I’m giving her the boot tomorrow morning and I’ll pay her for her time and be rid of her. Even if I have to physically throw her out. I don’t care what Jack says. I can’t have her working here no matter what. If Jack wants to marry her, that’s his business, but she’s not working here until I see some proper identification.”

  “Speaking of which, how does she plan to get a marriage license without identification anyway?”

  “Good point.” Lucky smiled in spite of herself. “There’s hope yet.”

  Lucky spotted movement at the front door. It was Horace with Cicero on a leash and Barry bringing up the rear. She stood and unlocked the door for them. “I hope we’re not late for our meeting,” Horace said.

  “Sorry, Horace,” Lucky said. “We haven’t had a chance to tell you about Meg’s being attacked. We’re all under orders now from Nate to stay out of his investigation.”

  “Oh, no!” Horace’s face paled. “What happened?”

  “I heard about it today, Lucky,” Barry said. He turned to Meg, “Are you all right?”

  “I’ll tell you both all about it,” Meg answered. “But I don’t see why we have to disband the Murder Investigation Club. No harm in sitting around and chatting about it.” She glanced at all their faces. “Is there?”

  • • •

  ONCE EVERYONE HAD gathered around the table, Meg very formally called the meeting to order. She filled Barry and Horace in on her conversation with Sylvia and Sylvia’s gossip about Audra. She finished with the story of finding Dr. Cranleigh’s card in Phoebe’s room and her attack and their meeting with Nate.

  Barry’s face turned white. “Meg, you can’t go back there. Why would someone want to hurt you?”


  “Maybe they heard me talking to Sylvia. In fact, I felt like someone was listening in the corridor but I can’t be sure. But just before I went to Sylvia’s room, I had a peek in Phoebe’s. I knew she wasn’t there because I saw her downstairs when I arrived. I started to search her desk. But I got out of there quick when I thought someone was coming. That’s when I saw the business card. Maybe whoever did this thought I had learned something I wasn’t supposed to know.”

  “I agree with Barry,” Horace said. “Lucky, you’ve got to make sure Meg stays safe.”

  “I will,” Lucky agreed. “I’ll be delivering everything from now on.”

  Meg’s face fell. “Lucky, that’s not fair. I didn’t do anything wrong. You can’t cut me out of everything.”

  “I’m not, Meg, believe me. I’m not cutting you out, but this is getting too dangerous.” Lucky’s tone brooked no interference. She turned to the others. “Okay, my turn now.” She explained going back to the Salisbury Retreat and borrowing discs of old newsletters in hopes of finding a photo of Georgina Ellers. “I’ll start going through those soon. It’s a long shot but you never know.”

  “It sounds to me like Phoebe’s the person we’ve been searching for,” Sage said. “You’re not sure?”

  “I’m sure,” Sophie said. “That woman scared the hell out of me today.”

  “I guess I am too,” Lucky said, “but I’d like to find some definite proof. I also had a chat with Audra this morning. Mr. Stone, Senior, helped her set up her business just a month ago, even though she claims she’s done this work for years. And Derek found Sylvia working as an exotic dancer. He whisked Sylvia off to a justice of the peace just three weeks ago and Hilary tried to buy her off.”

  Horace spoke up. “I waylaid Derek on his morning run. What I heard confirms that. I actually felt terribly sorry for him. He’s really broken up over the death of his mother.”

  “Well, I took care of Derek’s car a couple of nights ago in the wee hours,” Barry said. “He won’t be driving anywhere for a while.”

  “What about Audra’s car?” Sophie asked.

  “I didn’t get a chance. Sorry. Maybe I should go back and make sure that one’s out of commission too.” He looked around the table. “Look, are we being ghouls? Sticking our noses into everyone’s life like this?”

  “I don’t think so,” Sophie piped up. “We’re doing this to help Hank. The finger of suspicion shouldn’t be pointed just at him.”

  “So what are we left with?” Sage asked. “Audra might have had a motive to get Hilary out of the way. Sylvia probably hated her mother-in-law, but why would she need to kill her? She’s married to Derek. Hilary couldn’t do anything about that.”

  “Oh, I don’t know,” Lucky said. “She could have made their lives miserable. Eventually it might have torn them apart.”

  “Well, Derek doesn’t strike me as a man in love,” Horace said, “more like a man who’s waking up from a bad dream.”

  “All the more reason he wouldn’t want his mother dead. Besides, do we know anything about his financial situation?” Sophie asked. “Did Mommy hold the purse strings or is Derek a trust fund baby?”

  “I don’t know how we’d ever find that out, unless one of the three starts to blab.” Lucky stirred her tea.

  “Sylvia could have a motive because if Hilary dies, maybe Derek inherits quite a bit,” Barry said.

  “What do we really know about Phoebe?” Lucky looked around the table.

  “She is kind of the dark horse, isn’t she?” Sophie remarked. “It’s easy to overlook her, she’s so . . . what’s the word . . . taciturn even though she always seems to be bossed around by the others.”

  “I’m sure Nate’s questioned all of them, he must have some information about her,” Lucky replied. “And Dr. Cranleigh’s card in her room looks very suspicious.”

  “Yeah, good luck getting anything out of Nate. And now that Jack’s tied up with . . .” Sophie trailed off.

  Lucky groaned. “Go ahead, finish your thought.”

  “Well, all I meant was that Nate comes in a lot to chat with Jack, but if Jack’s not here, I can’t see how we can learn anything,” Sophie finished.

  “If only Fern had actually met Georgina Ellers at some point . . .” Lucky said.

  “Ah,” Horace replied. “Yes, if she had met the daughter, we wouldn’t be sitting here guessing. But are we convinced this mysterious daughter is even around, much less targeting her own mother and her psychologist?”

  “Nothing we can show Nate as proof, that’s for sure,” Lucky answered.

  “Maybe . . .” Meg started to speak.

  Everyone turned to her.

  “Well, I can’t get over the fact that these murders have been committed just like in the book. Just like in Murder Comes Calling.”

  “So for whatever reason, the murderer is a copycat. She . . . or he is using the book like an instruction manual,” Lucky said.

  “That’s really crazy,” Sophie volunteered.

  “But if Hilary’s daughter is crazy . . . didn’t you say Hank told you Hilary referred to her as the bad seed? Maybe Hilary knew something,” Sage said.

  “How could she? She gave that little girl up as an infant,” Sophie answered

  Meg sighed. “But in the book, the murder weapon is a telephone cord and the estranged child is the culprit. As it stands now, Hank looks like the prime suspect, since he wrote the book.”

  “I have a question,” Horace asked. “Have you found out anything about Nanette?”

  “Soon, Horace.” Sophie smiled. “Lucky and I have a plan.”

  Chapter 49

  NATE TAPPED HIS pencil against the battered green blotter of his desk. The station was closed. Only a nightlight at the front desk and his metal desk lamp relieved the darkness. His thoughts strayed to Derek Stone, Hilary’s husband. Usually the first person any cop would look at, but in this case, several people had confirmed his presence at the New York dinner. His driver took him home that night and his housekeeper heard him come in. Hilary Stone had been killed sometime between nine forty-five and ten fifty-five that night. Perhaps the maid at the Drake House was accurate, that she heard an argument at ten thirty. She was the only one who claimed to have heard that, but he was inclined to believe her.

  Did the stolen manuscript play into this, he wondered. Certainly could be enough to send somebody around the bend, knowing someone else took credit for their hard work and reaped the rewards. In spite of Hank’s erratic behavior, Nate just couldn’t picture him acting in such a violent way. He shook his head and finally picked up the phone. This was something he needed to deal with. He checked his notepad and dialed the number of Derek Stone’s Manhattan townhouse. He was curious what Stone’s reaction would be to Hank’s claim that he was the real author of Murder Comes Calling.

  Chapter 50

  LUCKY DUG INTO the still hard earth at her parents’ gravestones. The phlox had come back early and was promising blooms but the bed needed weeding. It was the only positive thing she could think to do this morning. She had been saving small pots of pansies in her kitchen through the winter months that she hoped to use at the cemetery. Today was as good a day as any. The worst of the frosts were over, and these new plants could get an early start.

  Her anxiety over Jack’s announcement the night before had kept her awake half the night. There was that, and her anger. She slammed the trowel into the earth to loosen it up and pulled up stray bits of wet grass. There was her fear for Jack, that he was making a fool of himself over this woman, and then there was her intense dislike of Nanette. Was it justified? Yes, she thought, it’s certainly justified. The woman is manipulative, bullying and just plain evil. But what does she want? Does she really want to marry Jack and take over the Spoonful? And what options did she, Lucky, have? What could she do? She loved Jack with all her heart and wante
d him to be happy, but she was sure he could never be happy with a woman like that. His head was just turned. He was lonely and he was flattered, but that didn’t constitute a relationship. And what if this marriage actually took place? Would that give Nanette real leverage in making decisions about the restaurant? She knew in her heart of hearts that Nanette would wield power with no holds barred, and Lucky would have to fight her every step of the way. The infighting would be vicious and Jack would be very unhappy. The way things were shaping up, the only real option she might have would be to bow out gracefully. If she left the business to Jack and Nanette, Sage would never stay. The Resort would give anything to get his talents. He and Sophie could stay in the area, but where could she herself go?

  She took a deep breath. The way she was feeling, she’d maul these little plants. She carefully placed each into its prepared spot and gently filled the earth around them. A vision of her mother’s face rose up in her mind’s eye. She sat back on her heels. “Mom, what should I do? What can I do?” she whispered. She could imagine her mother’s response. What would she say? If she were here, she’d probably say, Let it run its course. It will all work out in the end. In her mind, she replied, Sounds good, Mom, but I don’t think I can hold my temper much longer. She imagined her next step. Walk into the Spoonful, take Nanette aside and fire her? There’d be a scene, but so what? Too bad if Jack was unhappy. He could do whatever he wanted in the future, but there was no reason she had to keep the woman around.

  Maybe, she thought, we’ve spent too much time looking at the wrong people. Maybe Nanette was the woman they should be investigating.

  Chapter 51

  LUCKY AND SOPHIE waited impatiently. Lucky had made an excuse and left the restaurant early, with Meg promising to close up. Sage had volunteered to drive Meg home while Sophie had traded her car for another belonging to a work friend at the Resort. Since both Sophie and Sage came and went from the Spoonful at various times, Nanette would recognize their cars. They were now parked a block away from the Spoonful near the Village Green, but close enough to see any car leaving the small lot behind the restaurant.