"I'll go to her." I scrambled around, searching for my clothes on the floor.
Mike said nothing as he switched on a lamp. He ran a hand through his hair in frustration. "No, I'll get her. There's still a bottle in the fridge."
"She'll go right back to sleep," I said desperately. "It will just take a few minutes and—"
The look of disappointment in my husband's eyes made me want to cry as loud as Cookie. Our moment had passed, and the spell was broken. We couldn't seem to catch a break these days.
"Never mind, Sal." Mike's voice was deadpan. "I'll take care of her. Go to bed."
CHAPTER NINE
"All right, spill it," Josie said. "You've been quiet all morning. What happened last night?"
The bright blue sky radiated warmth through the minivan windows. Spring had finally sprung in Colwestern, and we were ahead of schedule for once. At the end of April, it wasn't unheard of for us to still have snow, but that wouldn't happen today. It was nine o'clock in the morning, and the temperature had already risen to sixty degrees.
After an already busy morning, we were headed to the funeral home. Dodie, our part-time worker, had arrived at eight o'clock and was capable enough to handle things by herself for an hour or so. She was an older woman in her sixties, pleasant enough, and a talented baker like Josie, but she did have her clumsy moments.
I shielded my eyes from the sun. "Nothing. That's the problem. Cookie woke up before we could even get anything started and spoiled the moment. She refused to take a bottle, so Mike brought her into the bedroom for me to nurse, and then he went to sleep without even kissing me good night."
"Aw, Sal. Don't worry. Things will get back to normal again soon," Josie assured me.
"Define normal," I said. "Because I'm not sure what that is anymore. My life feels like an airplane crashing into the side of a mountain. Cookie cries whenever I hold her, my husband feels neglected, and now my father wants me to find out who killed a mortician and stuffed him into one of his own coffins. Sorry, I haven't got a clue what normal is."
"Okay, that is bad, even for you," Josie admitted. "You do always seem to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, but I honestly think you were born with that kind of luck. It's your destiny."
"Thanks for that." I didn't even attempt to hide my sarcasm.
Josie patted my hand. "Try to think positive. You and Mike both want a big family, so you'll have to get together at some point, right?"
I groaned out loud. "I can't handle one child at this rate, let alone three or four like you. How the heck am I ever going to have more? I'll just have to leave them with my grandmother around the clock. She makes everything look so easy."
"You're doing fine. Hey, even your parents had two kids," Josie remarked thoughtfully. "And you and Gianna aren't screwed up, even if they are. See? There's always a bright side to everything."
We pulled into the almost deserted parking lot. The Peacock funeral wasn't scheduled until eleven o'clock, and there were only a couple of cars present. Linda had told me last night that she was expecting a small crowd to attend the service and burial. She knew as well as we did that most of the attendees last night had been there to get the scoop on Eddie's death.
"What happens to Eddie now? Are they going to have a funeral for him?" Josie asked as if reading my mind.
I eased myself out of the car and locked the door. "I believe he's to be cremated, but Linda can't go ahead with the process yet. The police still aren't sure how he died, and because of the embalming, it's making certain tests difficult to conduct. When the time comes, Linda said it will be a private ceremony."
The hearse was parked near the entrance, ready for action, and I spotted two other cars. One was Linda's blue Ford station wagon and the other a gray SUV, which hopefully belonged to Charlene.
"Did you call your father back?" Josie wanted to know.
We walked slowly toward the entrance together. "Yes, first thing this morning. He's planning to meet Arthur at Denny's at ten o'clock. He asked if I wanted to come along, but I said no. I still don't know why Arthur wants to speak to him, unless he thinks that my father has some kind of influence over Linda and will convince her to sell the funeral home."
"If you ask me, Linda's lacking a bit in the brain department," Josie said. "I'm pretty sure my four-year-old is already smarter than her. Your father told you that she never liked the business, so it's not a surprise if she does decide to sell."
"That's true," I admitted.
Josie adjusted the sunglasses on her face. "Do you think Arthur killed his brother?"
"Hard to say. He certainly had a motive. With Eddie out of the way, maybe he thought Linda would agree to sell the place to him. Even though she says that won't happen, I bet she's thinking about it."
"Kind of a crappy thing to do since Eddie would have been dead set against it." Josie covered her mouth. "Oops. Sorry, Sal. The puns are unavoidable sometimes."
"Poor Eddie. His entire life has been reduced to a pun."
The front door of the funeral home was unlocked. For once there was no Zach patrolling the entranceway, and the place appeared empty. As we stepped onto the thick carpeting, loud voices rang out from the direction of Eddie's office, and we stopped to listen.
"You're a lunatic, did you know that?" a shrill female voice screeched. "What possible reason would I have for murdering your husband?"
Linda's soft voice floated through the air. "You know as well as I do. You propositioned him. For all I know, you might have been sleeping with him."
"No, I wasn't," the other woman said angrily. "And I don't appreciate the accusation. Under the circumstances, I think it's best if I find another job as soon as possible."
"I'd say that's an excellent idea." Linda's tone was mocking. "Maybe you should skip town while you're at it. That would be convenient."
"She must be talking to Charlene," I whispered to Josie.
The other woman raged on. "I'm done talking about this. Besides, I have work to do. I've got to pretty up another old hag like you, and God knows how long that will take."
"You are so disrespectful," Linda shot back. "The sooner you get out of here, the better for the both of us."
A door slammed, and the sound of heels clacking in the hallway grew closer until a tall, willowy brunette came into view. She stopped dead in her tracks when she saw us and drew her pencil thin eyebrows together.
"Are you here for the Peacock funeral?" she said in a not overly friendly voice. "It doesn't start for another two hours."
"Charlene Jones?" I asked.
She looked surprised. "That's me. Who wants to know?"
I held out my hand. "I'm Sally Donovan, and this is my friend, Josie Sullivan. We'd like to ask you a few questions if you have a minute."
Charlene scanned me up and down while I did the same of her. Although in her forties, she looked closer to my age. Her oval-shaped gray eyes regarded us suspiciously, while her pert little nose twitched, showing off a diamond piercing that caught the light from above.
Recognition finally dawned on her face. "Oh, that's right. Linda said you were going to be asking me questions about Eddie's murder. You're some kind of investigator she's hired to work the case."
"That woman just doesn't get it, does she?" Josie mumbled under her breath.
"You're wasting your time," Charlene continued. "I didn't kill Eddie. He was a good boss. I liked him very much." She jerked a finger in the direction of Eddie's office. "But I can't work for that woman. Frankly, it wouldn't surprise me if she's the one who—" She paused and perched her dark glasses at the edge of her nose meaningfully. "If you want to chat, you're welcome to come back to my work area. I have nothing to hide."
We followed her down the hallway and into the Employees Only room. She entered and left the door ajar for us to follow.
Josie gulped. "I'm not sure I want to see her working on a dead body. This type of questioning belongs to your father."
I wasn't thrilled about it e
ither, but it didn't look like we had much choice. Josie was no wilting flower, but everyone had an Achilles heel. "It can't be that bad. Come on. Stick with me."
"Like glue." Josie followed me into the well-lit room and gripped me so tightly by the upper arm that I was afraid she might cut off my circulation.
Charlene was standing next to an oak finish casket. I knew it was referred to as a split couch model because my father had explained the differences to me. The head segment of the casket had been left up for viewing purposes, and sure enough, there was a person inside. Josie gave a little squeak as the woman's upper body came into view. "Who—who is—was that?"
Charlene turned around, makeup brush in hand, and smiled. "No reason to be upset, hon. She can't hurt you. Meet Cady Perry. Cady, this is Josie and Sally."
"I didn't even know that she'd stopped singing," Josie wondered out loud. "How'd she get so old so fast?"
Charlene gave a loud giggle. "Not the Katie Perry. Good Lord, I've never worked on anyone that famous before. I'd be a nervous wreck. No, this Cady was a librarian in Colgate for many years. Her son wanted Phibbins Mortuary to do the service because we have better rates than her town. Hey, it's all about saving a buck, right? Cady died of natural causes. Not like poor Eddie." She sighed and began to touch up Cady's ghost-like cheeks.
I hoped Charlene was in the beginning stages of working on Cady because the woman desperately needed a makeover. There were severe deep wrinkles all over her face, and by the looks of the woman, she must have been near one hundred. Or older, if that was possible.
"She needs sun badly," Josie whispered.
"Yeah, I'll take care of that," Charlene assured her. "The old gal just got her limbs massaged so that rigor mortis doesn't set in. She's been shaved and is all ready for me to make her pretty."
Good grief. I looked away from Cady and stared at Josie's face. She was frozen in place, her eyes transfixed on Cady Perry. It was obvious she wanted to be somewhere else. Anywhere else.
"Thank goodness I'm great at my job," Charlene noted. "Between her and old lady Peacock yesterday, I've really had my work cut out for me this week."
I gulped. "Uh, have you always wanted to work in funeral cosmetology, Charlene?"
"Yep," she said cheerfully as she styled Cady's coarse white hair. "When I was a little girl, I had one of those Barbie styling heads. Oh my Lord, I loved that thing to death." She flushed. "What I mean is that I did Barbie's makeup every day. She didn't even look like Barbie when I finished with her. One day I even made her up to look like a Ken doll. You could say it's my true calling in life."
My stomach twisted, and for the first time ever, I was sorry that I'd eaten two pieces of Grandma Rosa's cheesecake for breakfast. "How long have you worked here?"
"About two years." Charlene glanced up and laughed when she saw Josie's face. "No offense, honey, but you're pale as a corpse. Sorry—we have to crack jokes in a business like this to keep ourselves sane."
"I think I might be sick," Josie mumbled.
Charlene continued working on Cady. "Eddie was always pleased as punch with my work. Before Phibbins, I was employed at The Eternal Life Funeral Home. Eddie was in there for a viewing and was so impressed with the makeup job on their latest customer that he asked the owner who'd done the work. Greg gave him my name, and Eddie called me. I think Greg regretted telling him about me afterward. Eddie invited me to come and view the funeral home and told me he needed a new cosmetologist. He offered to match what I was making and assured me I'd get occasional raises. Too bad he didn't keep that part of the bargain. I wanted out of Eternal Life, so I accepted the job."
"Any idea who wanted Eddie dead?" I asked.
Charlene's face grew somber. "Eddie was a lovely man. He didn't deserve this. Sure, he may have had people who didn't like him, but doesn't everybody?"
"Did you know his brother at all?" I asked.
"Oh sure." Charlene rubbed some lotion on Cady's forehead. "That guy is a joke. He was always coming around here and harassing Eddie. But I don't think he's a killer."
Josie, who had backed up into the corner of the room closest to the door, suddenly spoke up. "What about the guy stealing the urns?"
"Wally?" Charlene frowned. "Hmm. I guess it's possible. He'd do anything for a buck. I mean, he was using the hearse as a taxicab, for goodness sake. I think Eddie knew, but he was trying to give the guy a break. See, that's the problem. Eddie was too nice for his own good. But when he heard about the urns being stolen, that was the last straw. Then the creep tried to turn things around on Eddie, saying he'd ruined his life!"
"Where we can find Wally?" I had one eye on Charlene and the other on Josie's ghost-like face.
Charlene reached into an open bag of Doritos on the makeup table next to her and shoved a couple into her mouth. Ew. I found it unsettling that she was eating while working on a dead person. There must be health codes she was violating. Then again, Cady Perry probably didn't mind, so maybe I should keep my mouth shut.
"His wife left him, you know," Charlene went on. "Wally's a loser, so who can blame her? Yep, dropped him like a hot frying pan when she found out about his little bad habit. Wally's awaiting trial, but it keeps getting pushed back. What's up with that?"
"No idea." Gianna had told me that there were too many court cases and not enough time, but I didn't mention this. I had to think up an excuse to go and talk to the man. Maybe my father could figure into this equation. He'd met Wally before, so he could do the questioning, but Dad would insist on my going along. I sighed. There was no winning for me. "Where did you say he lived?"
Charlene crunched on a chip. "On Stuffle Street. A little blue ranch house. Cute place. His wife took off and stuck him with the bills." A broad grin spread across her face. "Good for her. That's how you can tell someone really hates their spouse—when they're willing to part with a house."
I chose my next words carefully. "I heard that there might have been some other incidents of stealing going on here. Do you know anything about that?"
Charlene looked up with a start, her eyes boring into mine. My face warmed at the contact, so I averted my eyes to Cady Perry. The woman was no rock star, but she looked a heck of a lot better now than when we'd come in. "You do great work."
"Thanks." She spoke quietly, but I noticed that the powder brush shook slightly in her hand. "If anything was stolen around here, you can bet that it was Wally. Or that money-grubbing wife of Eddie's."
I thought about the argument we'd walked in on. "You're not fond of Linda, are you?"
"Hardly." Charlene stared down at Cady, her mouth twisted into an angry frown as if she saw Linda instead. "She didn't deserve Eddie. He cared about his clients, employees, and people in general. He would give you the shirt off his back if you needed it."
Her mouth started to quiver, and Josie and I exchanged glances. Was it possible that Zach had been right, and Charlene was carrying a torch for her boss? Eddie was at least twenty years older than she, but that didn't matter. Charlene had just given a testimony of the qualities she admired about the man.
"Were you having an affair with him?" Josie blurted out suddenly.
I closed my eyes in frustration. Too bad Josie wasn't in nudging range. My friend wasn't known for her tact, but she should have realized this was one of those questions better left unasked.
Charlene's eyes practically bugged out of her head. "What did you say?"
"Ah, she's such a kidder." I started to laugh, and Josie joined in, but she sounded more like a nervous hyena. "I once had a crush on an older man, and Josie still loves to tease me about it."
"His name is Ronald Feathers," Josie put in.
Jeez, she couldn't come up with a fictitious name? Ronald was a friend of Zach's, after all. If this got back to him, I might have to strangle Josie. Even worse, if Mrs. Gavelli found out, she'd be outraged, thinking I was after her man.
Charlene was clearly not amused. Her eyes were dark and brooding at they met mine. "I think it's t
ime that you both left now."
"Josie didn't mean anything by that," I protested. "She just…"
Charlene selected a nail clipper from her makeup tray and turned her back on me. " Good luck finding out who killed Eddie, because you're going to need it."
CHAPTER TEN
"Charlene simply has to be the one." My father chewed thoughtfully on one of Josie's jelly cookies while absently brushing crumbs off his Sally's Samples sweatshirt. The navy-colored hoodie was a bit snug around his middle since he enjoyed our cookies on a regular basis.
Dad removed another cookie from the bag he'd asked me to bring along and stared out the passenger window of my car. "Yep. It would fit. But I'm not ruling Wally out either. I'm glad you asked me to come along to see him, baby girl."
I gritted my teeth and said nothing. Josie had gone back to the bakery, somewhat relieved to be free from funeral homes and dead bodies for a while. As if he were psychic, my father had phoned to fill me in after his get-together with Arthur. I'd bitten the bullet and asked if he'd like to accompany me to visit Wally. I should have stayed out of this. After all the insinuations from people that my parents were crazy, I might not be far behind.
"This is it, Dad." I stopped for a red light, and my stomach rumbled as the smell from Burger Bob's drifted through my half-opened window. "I can't keep running around asking questions about Eddie's murder. I'm sorry, but there's too much going on in my life right now."
He popped another cookie into his mouth and made a face. "Come on. What am I going to do without you? You're my only hope to solve Eddie's murder. People open up to you, baby girl. When Colwestern residents see a cop coming, they run the other way. Trust me. Everyone's got something to hide."
"Even you?" I couldn't resist.
He chuckled. "Nope. Your author old man is an open book. Ha-ha. Get it?"
I struggled not to roll my eyes. "Tell me about breakfast with Arthur. What did he want to talk to you about?"
Icing on the Casket Page 8
