by Tim Myers
“I came by to tell you that I’m getting close to figuring out what really happened to Jerry Sanger, and what he was up to the day he was murdered.”
The look of scorn on her face was apparent. “Oh, please, you couldn’t win a game of Clue, let alone solve an actual crime.”
“The police don’t agree with you,” I said, managing not to flinch at the lie.
“No doubt your lady friend is just humoring you,” she said. “It’s amazing what some women will do for love.”
“I just thought you’d like to hear that I’ll know without a doubt by tonight,” I said.
“This is getting rather tiresome,” she said as she turned her back on me and started rearranging packages on the shelves.
I left her store uncertain if I’d managed to stir up anything other than dust. Nobody seemed to care that I’d bluffed about solving the murder. Did that mean not one of the people I’d talked to was involved, or was the killer better at hiding guilt than I was at seeing through it? I probably wouldn’t know until later that night. I’d done all I could for the moment, planting the seeds of doubt in their minds. Now all I could do was wait.
Chapter 15
After a quick lunch and a stab at the paperwork on my desk, I was ready to teach the final session of my soapmaking class. Cindy was already inside the classroom when I walked in.
“So you’re going to take me up on my offer,” I said. “Welcome to my class.”
“Remember,” she said, “I’m not teaching, I’m just here to observe.”
“That’s fine with me,” I said as I got out the samples I’d made the day before.
After my class filed in, I said, “First, let me apologize for the cancellation yesterday. We had a family situation that needed to be addressed, and I appreciate your willingness to come back today. Because of your gracious understanding, I’m happy to say that we’re offering a 20 percent discount on all your purchases today, so feel free to shop as long as you’d like after the class.” Mom had said 10 percent, but I couldn’t see myself offering it with a straight face. After all, how much could they buy? I saw Cindy’s eyebrows go up, but I just grinned in reply. I added, “Before we get started, I’m happy to report that one of our students, Herbert Wilson, is recovering nicely from a slight heart attack.” There were worried faces in the group, so I added, “Constance said that he was fussing at everyone in sight, a sure sign that Herbert is well on his way to a speedy recovery.”
That brought relief, and I was happy to see a few smiles I in the group.
I continued, “Today is graduation day. We’re going to play with some of the more advanced techniques of the melt-and-pour method of soapmaking.” I held up samples, explaining how each creation was achieved to the class. “This is a technique using pearlescence. See how it shines?” I picked up another bar and said, “This layering technique, adds depth to the original tones. It really picks up the light.” I held up a sample of light blue soap with a gray rod running through it. “This is easier than you might think; and I’ll be showing you how to do this as well.”
“Don’t these things take time?” a woman named Carolyn asked from the back of the room.
“To a certain extent they do, but once you know the basics, the execution isn’t all that hard. We’ve got the freezer to speed up the hardening process, and I think you’ll be amazed by how easy these are to do.”
I handed out the samples, then showed them the techniques I’d described. After I was finished, I said, “Now choose one of the methods and try it yourself. Remember, this is the fun part. Don’t be afraid to play.”
I was helping a woman named Stormy with a tricky layered pour when another student named Linda asked, “When are you going to be able to help me? This just isn’t working like yours did.”
“Sorry, I’ll be there as soon as I can.” I looked at Cindy, who shook her head. I lifted my eyebrows and kept staring, and she finally agreed. My sister was going to get a taste of hands-on teaching, whether she thought she was ready for it or not.
By the time I got Stormy on the right track with her pour, I glanced over at Cindy. The scowl was gone, replaced by an animated expression as she and Linda worked on a rod pour.
By the time the class was completed, everyone had tackled at least one difficult project and had mastered it, though with varying degrees of success. I said, “Remember, everything we’ve done here this week, you can do yourself at home. Soap makes a wonderful gift, and it’s practical, so don’t be afraid to play. And most important of all, have fun.”
They actually applauded as I finished, and I responded with a bow at the waist.
As the group attacked the shop, Cindy came up to me. “That was a dirty, rotten trick.”
I tried to look innocent. “What? I didn’t do a thing.”
“You made me help her. Don’t try to deny it.”
“Hey, you’re the one who volunteered. So how did it feel?”
Cindy admitted, “It wasn’t the most horrible experience of my life.”
“So are you ready to teach the next class we have here?”
“Don’t jump the gun, Ben.” She played with a mold for a second, then said, “But I might be willing to give you a hand if you want me to. I wouldn’t mind being your assistant, just as long as I don’t have to do the actual teaching.”
I hugged my baby sister, then said, “That would be great.”
Kate popped in the door and said, “I hate to break up your bonding, but Mom heard about your discount, and she wants to talk to you.”
Cindy said, “I told you she wouldn’t be happy.”
“She’ll be fine,” I said, wondering what I could say to her to ease the sting of the lecture I was about to get. I approached her, and before Mom could say a word, I said, “It was either that or give full refunds for the entire class. They were not at all happy about you cancelling on them.”
Since we’d never postponed a class before, Mom hadn’t even considered the possibility of refunds. ‘Twenty percent is good,” she said. “I can live with that.”
“That’s why you’re in charge.”
She smiled slightly, then said, “Just wait, Mister, someday the headaches are going to be all yours.”
“There you’ll have a fight on your hands.”
Stormy interrupted, calling me over to one of our most expensive kits. “Ben, is that discount good for everything?”
I said, “The entire inventory,” as Mom nudged me gently.
I thought about picking up the telephone and calling Kelly after my class was over, but the idea of Annie answering intimidated me too much to try. It was amazing how I was letting a preteen so thoroughly dictate my social life, but I hadn’t made all that great a first impression on her, and I wasn’t eager to dig my hole any deeper. Jeff could no doubt get Annie’s blessing immediately to date Kelly, but I lacked my youngest brother’s glib manner.
Around closing time, I found Jeff and Jim in the plant studying a layout diagram. “What’s that?” I asked.
“Bob has this great new idea to organize our production line, or so he thinks,” Jim said.
“So what’s wrong with the old way of doing things?” I asked.
Jeff grinned. “Let’s see, what did he say? It’s inefficient, it’s wasteful, and it’s old-fashioned. Does that cover it, Jim?”
“Don’t forget dangerous,” Jim added.
I nudged myself between two of my brothers and looked at the plans. “Do you all have any idea how much is going to cost?”
Jeff said, “Bob swears it can be done on a shoestring, but he’s going to have to convince Mom, even if we give it your approval.”
I studied the diagram for a few more minutes, then said, ‘You know what? I think he’s got a good idea here.”
Jim said, “That’s what we were afraid of. We both agree with you.”
“So what’s the problem?”
Jeff said, “Come on, Mom’s going to shoot this down, and you know it. It’s mone
y we don’t have to spend.”
I rolled up the plans. “If you two don’t think Bob would mind, why don’t I show this to her myself?”
Jim grinned, a rare sight for my usually grumpy brother. Why do you think we’ve been standing here the last half our pretending to study this thing?”
“Thanks, guys, I appreciate the support.”
Jeff said, “Hey, what’s family for?”
I found Mom at the register going over the day’s receipts. “Do you have a second?” I asked her.
“One minute,” she said, holding up one hand as she punched the calculator with the other. I waited, watching ay sisters restock the shelves the second the front door was locked. I’d been afraid Mom would make us stay open late even the loss of revenue from closing down the morning before, but it was business as usual for Where There’s Soap.
Finally, she said, “Okay, what can I do for you?”
“Come on back to the production line. I need to show you something.”
“None of the boys are hurt, are they?”
I was struck with sudden inspiration. If there was one thing Mom valued hands down above money, it was the safety of her children. I said, “They haven’t been yet, but if things keep going the way they are, I wouldn’t make any guarantees.”
“What are you talking about, Ben?”
We walked back to the production line, and I noticed all three of my brothers were conspicuously absent. I rolled the plans out on a worktable and said, “Bob’s come up with a solution to a dangerous problem that we’ve all been worrying about.”
She looked shocked by the statement. “And no one came to me? You’re not keeping secrets from me, are you, Ben?”
“No, Ma’am, but until we had a solution, there was no reason to bother you with it. Bob’s proposing we change the arrangement of the production line, but I’ve got to warn you, it’s going to cost some money.”
She scolded, “What’s money compared to your health? Show me what he’s got in mind.”
I gestured to the plans, then to the actual layout. Morn frowned, studied the diagram long enough to memorize it, then said, “Tell him I said to go ahead with it. Does he know how many days we’ll be shut down?”
There was a notation on the back of the plan, but I’d purposely hidden it from view until Mom okayed the project. “Bob thinks it can be completely finished in two weeks,” I said, overinflating the estimate. Before Mom could say a word, I added, “But I think we can do it in ten days.”
Mom said, “You’ve got seven; that’s the longest we can spare to have the line shut down.”
Bob’s true estimate was eight days. I wondered how she’d come so close. She said, “Work a little harder, you can do it. I believe in you boys.”
“Good enough,” I said. “We’ll get started on it right away. We’ve got a good inventory; I checked it before I came to you with this, so we shouldn’t feel the pinch.”
She patted my cheek. “Safety always comes before profit in this family; remember that, Ben.”
I nodded, then looked for my brothers to tell them the good news.
All three of them were in the break room, polishing off the last of the chocolate-iced brownies Mom had brought in that morning. “I hope you saved one for me,” I said.
“Come on, what did she say?” Bob asked.
“You know, my memory’s kind of fading. It must be my blood sugar. Now if there was only something I could eat to give me a little nudge.”
Bob broke off half his brownie, with Jeff and Jim following suit, though Jim muttered something about blackmail under his breath as he made his offering.
I took a few bites, wiping out one of the donated sections, then said, “We can start tomorrow. There’s only one problem.”
Bob said, “Go ahead, drop the other shoe.”
“We’ve got seven days instead of eight. Can we do it?”
Bob grinned. “I padded the estimate to give myself some wiggle room. Seven days should be just right.” Bob finished off the last of his brownie, then added, “But how did Mom know that?”
“Listen, guys, if there’s one thing you should know by now, it’s that our mother’s tough to slip anything by on.”
Jim hit my shoulder. “But you just did, didn’t you?”
“What can I say, I got lucky. So, does anybody want to go out and celebrate our renovation approval?”
Bob said, “You’re kidding, right? I’ve got to get started right now, before she changes her mind. I’d better call Jessica and tell her I probably won’t be home for a week. Wish me luck.”
“Good luck,” we said in unison as he headed for the telephone. Jim said, “I’ve got to cancel a date myself. Jeff, why don’t you call in for a couple of pizzas? We’re going to be working nights for quite awhile.” Jim slapped my arm. “Hope this isn’t going to interfere with your love life.”
“Did I have one? I hadn’t noticed. I can stay awhile, but I’ve got some things I have to take care of tonight.”
Bob walked back over to us and asked, “Like what?”
“Things are coming to a head with Jerry Sanger’s murder investigation, and I’ve got to be free to move around for a while.”
Bob looked at Jim and Jeff, then said, “Do one of you want to tell him, or should I?”
Jeff said, “By all means, you go ahead.”
“Tell me what?” I asked, a sinking feeling crowding into my gut.
Bob said, “It breaks my heart to say this, but you’ve done your part. We figured if you could persuade Mom, we could handle the rest of it on our own.”
“So you’re saying you don’t need me?” I asked, feeling more than a little hurt by my younger brothers’ attitude.
“Oh, we need you, but you’re doing something more important digging Louisa out of this mess. Once you find the killer and get Molly to arrest him, we’d love to have your help.”
“Okay, I’ll buy that,” I said. “I’ve got a feeling I’ll know something pretty concrete by tonight.”
I’d never been bait in a trap before, and the more I thought about it, the less I liked it. What if one of my suspects decided to eliminate, me before Molly could arrest them? I didn’t have a gun of my own. Just about the only weapon in my apartment was a baseball bat I’d used one season years ago playing with some of my brothers and friends. It didn’t feel like much protection, holding it while I sat alone in my living room waiting for a killer to show up.
It was nearly impossible to keep myself from jumping out of my skin with every car door’s slam and every footstep outside. When the telephone rang at ten o’clock, I nearly fell out of my chair.
It was the last person I expected to hear from that night on the other end of the line.
“Ben, is this a bad time? I didn’t wake you, did I?”
As she spoke, I felt the earlier tension drain away. “No, it’s fine. Hi, Kelly, I wasn’t expecting to hear from you so soon.”
“I just got Annie to sleep. She’s been wired since she came home from her father’s. Wade didn’t even enforce her bedtime, can you believe it?”
“No. I mean yes. Sorry.”
Kelly’s voice hardened. “Ben, is there someone there with you? Listen, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt.”
“Wait. Don’t hang up.” I said it forcefully enough so she could hear me. Kelly said, “You don’t have to shout, I’m still here.”
“I don’t have a date; I’ve just been sitting here waiting.”
“You mean for me to call?” Kelly asked, then laughed.
“Oh yes, I’m sure you’re just on pins and needles waiting to hear from me, aren’t you? Sorry, my ego just got a little carried away. So what have you been waiting for?”
I thought about keeping my trap to myself, but I suddenly realized that it wasn’t the smartest thing in the world, egging on a killer without any backup at all.
After I told her what I’d done with my list of suspects, I said, “Kelly, if anything happens to me to
night, tell Molly what I’ve done, would you?”
“Benjamin Perkins, have you lost your mind? I can’t believe you’re doing something so foolish.”
“I didn’t have any choice. I had to do it. Molly won’t believe me; she still thinks Louisa had something to do with Sanger’s murder. I figured if I gave everybody a little nudge, it might force one of them to act.”
“I’m not going to debate the merits of your plan with you, Ben. Hang up the phone this instant and call Molly.”
I heard a knock on my door, then said, “It’s too late. Somebody’s here.”
“Ben, don’t answer it”
“I’ve got to,” I said.
“Then don’t hang up. At least I can hear who’s after you. Say their name if you can manage it. Be careful, Ben, I don’t want to lose you.”
I laid the telephone down on my chair, out of the line of sight of whoever was waiting on the other side of the door. With my heart in my throat and the baseball bat in my hand, I unlocked the door and opened it.
Chapter 16
I nearly passed out when I saw that it was Molly. “Come on in,” I said.
“It’s kind of late for a game, isn’t it?”
I threw the bat down on the chair, then picked up the phone. I said, “It’s okay.”
She said, “What do you mean? Who was it?”
“Molly’s here.”
Kelly said, “I don’t know whether I should be relieved or upset. Are you two going out?”
“I told you what I was doing tonight. It’s not a date, believe me.”
Molly’s eyebrows arched at that, and I realized I should have been a little more tactful than I’d been. “Listen, I’ll call you tomorrow.”
“I’m not going to be able to sleep now. I want to hear from you as soon as this is resolved. I don’t care what time it is. Do you promise?”
“Okay, I’ll talk to you later. Bye.”
She said, “Good-bye. And Ben?”
“Yes?”
“Be careful.”
“You know it.”
After I hung up, Molly said, “I don’t even have to ask, do I?”
