String of Lies

by Mary Ellen Hughes

  CHAPTER 2O

  The next day, Jo arrived at the Craft Shop a half hour early, which, being Sunday, meant around 11:30. She had left word at Otto’s for Randy to come shovel the snow in front of the shop, wishing she’d thought of mentioning it the night before. Who knew when he’d get her message? Charlie had taken care of her walk after the couple of previous snowfalls. But with Charlie temporarily out of commission, it looked like it was up to Jo, unless Randy miraculously appeared.

  Bundled up in parka, wool hat and snow boots, Jo managed to clear the deep snow from her shop door to the curb, and a couple of feet or so on each side, before finding herself puffing. She decided that would do, that her doorway was at least minimally accessible, and set her shovel aside to open up shop. She had doffed her wet outerwear and was setting up her coffee pot when the phone rang.

  “Jo’s Craft Corner,” Jo sang into the phone, pleased at the early sign of interest in her shop on this cold, quiet day.

  “Jo!” Carrie’s voice cried into her ear. “Did you hear about the accident?”

  Jo’s first frightened thought was for Rafe and his fish-tailing sports car. “What happened? Who was it?”

  “Alexis Wigsley. Her car spun into a telephone pole over on Greenview Street. She’s dead!”

  “Alexis! Dead?” Memories of having seen and spoken with Alexis only hours ago rushed over Jo, making that difficult to believe.

  “How awful! But how did it happen?” Jo asked. “Was she that reckless a driver? I know the conditions were terrible, but we’re talking about town driving.”

  “Greenview is fairly steep,” Carrie pointed out. “And it curves sharply near the bottom. But you’re right. It does seem like she’d have to be going awfully fast. I don’t know. Maybe we’ll find out more. I’ll be in as soon as I can get there. Did you have any trouble driving this morning?”

  “Not once I got out of my driveway. Two wonderful neighbors with snow blowers helped with that.”

  “Great. I’ll ask Dan to come clear the shop’s walkway.”

  “No, don’t, Carrie.” Jo knew Dan would be able to pick up a few dollars clearing parking lots and long driveways with the snowplow attached to his pick-up. There was no way she’d interfere with that. “I’ve made a decent dent in the snow, and someone’s coming to finish it for me.”

  “All right. I’ll see you soon, then.”

  Jo hung up, stunned at the news about Alexis. Knowing the woman, she probably had stayed to the very end of the ball, letting the driving conditions worsen as she caught as much gossip as she could and caused as much trouble ---. Jo stopped at that thought. Alexis had certainly caused trouble, at the ball and on a daily basis. Could it possibly be…? No, Carrie had described an accident, pure and simple. Unfortunate, but unforeseen.

  Still, Jo couldn’t shake an uneasy feeling. To distract herself, she began unpacking an order that had arrived the day before: silk flowers and greenery that needed to be sorted and tagged, then placed on the proper shelves in customer-friendly bins. She clicked on her radio for further distraction and dug in, finding, before she knew it, that half her job was done and that Carrie was stomping snow off her boots outside the door.

  “Sorry it took me so long,” Carrie said as she came inside.

  “No problem. I haven’t had a single customer yet.”

  “Everyone’s probably waiting for the streets to clear a bit more. They’ll venture out, little by little.” Carrie headed for the stockroom to pull off her boots and jacket. “They’ll want to talk about the latest bad news.”

  “I’m still floored by it myself. Not grief-stricken, I have to admit, just stunned. But I hate for that to happen to anyone.”

  Carrie called from the back room, “Don’t apologize for your feelings – they’re honest. I suspect we’ll hear too much insincere bewailing today. Most people have difficulty saying a bad word against the dead. But Alexis was a trouble maker, and that’s the truth.”

  “That she was, and to the very end, I’m afraid,” Jo said. When Carrie came out front, Jo told her about the scene she witnessed in the hotel’s kitchen the night before.

  Carrie scowled, shaking her head. “That’s outrageous. As if poor Xavier didn’t have enough trouble as it is. Do you suppose he even got paid for the work he put in?”

  “I couldn’t say. That manager seemed anxious to put on a big show of apology to Mallory. I doubt he worried much about what Xavier was owed.”

  Jo then told Carrie about Alexis’s intrusive advice to Lisa Williams, and what had surely been a most unwelcome conversation with Heather Bannister. She skipped her own annoyance at Alexis’s chasing off of Russ Morgan at the end of their dance, having decided, while thinking it over as she’d sorted through the greenery that morning, that he was unlikely to have lingered with her much longer anyway. Russ Morgan’s sole purpose, she figured, was to warn her away from interference in the Parker Holt case. Once that was accomplished, he surely had more important people to talk with.

  “And then,” Jo continued, “there was Mallory Holt, and her not very well-veiled threat to me.” Jo described the scene that occurred after Mallory had learned about Jo’s visit to Sebastian.

  “Well, you had quite a jolly time last night, didn’t you?”

  Jo laughed. “It wasn’t the senior prom, I’ll admit.” Except for that one, lovely, too-short dance, she mused wistfully.

  The sound of stamping outside her door shook her back to business. “Our first customer of the day.”

  A large, well-bundled woman opened the door and walked in. “Well! That was an invigorating walk! Very few people have shoveled their sidewalks yet, but the snowplows did a good job, so I walked in the street. Need to get a few things, including some scrapbooking papers for the project I’m in the middle of. Did you hear about poor Alexis?” the woman asked, bright eyes going from Carrie to Jo. “I’ve been absolutely heartbroken since Mary Louise called me this morning. Poor, dear Alexis.”

  Carrie caught Jo’s eye as if to say, and so it begins.

  <><><>

  The afternoon continued in that vein, the flow of people to Jo’s craft shop increasing as the wintry sun grew brighter. Most bought craft items, some simply accompanied buyers, but all discussed Alexis Wigsley’s terrible crash. Jo learned little more about the accident, other than that it had occurred at twelve-thirty. Kimberly Costello told her that part, explaining that she had been up with her new baby and, living only one street over from Greenview, had heard the crash, though she didn’t realize at the time what it was. But when sirens soon followed, she knew something bad had happened.

  Ina Mae stopped in around mid-afternoon, complaining that her power-walking group had canceled because of the snow.

  “I thought I’d come out anyway, “ she said, “for some fresh air.” As she began to browse through Jo’s beading section, Ina Mae overheard two women commenting on Alexis’s accident.

  “She must have been driving terribly recklessly,” the older of the two said. “I heard the damage to her car showed she was clearly traveling at a very high rate of speed.”

  Ina Mae spun around to contradict. “Alexis would never have driven recklessly. She was an extremely cautious driver ever since a cousin of hers was killed over twenty years ago in a car accident.”

  “She was?” Carrie asked. “I didn’t know that.”

  “Yes, it was a hit-and-run accident out on Route 30. The cousin was in a coma for days before succumbing. Alexis was quite shaken by it, and wouldn’t drive for months afterwards. When she did resume driving, she was very careful.”

  The other customer looked like she didn’t quite believe Ina Mae as far as Alexis’s careful driving, but Jo knew her friend well enough to know she never made a statement she wasn’t a 100 percent sure of. Why then did Alexis’s car show such high impact?

  The answer came much later in the afternoon. All the customers had cleared off, and Jo was doing a quick mop-up of melted snow on her floor. The phone rang, and C
arrie picked it up. Jo could tell it was Dan, and she turned back to her mopping, though her ears perked up when Carrie’s tone of voice changed dramatically. When her friend hung up, Jo looked over for an explanation.

  “That was Dan,” Carrie said unnecessarily, her thoughts clearly still on what she had just heard.

  “Is something wrong?” Jo asked.

  “Alexis’s car crash. We were all wondering about her driving speed? There seems to be an explanation.”

  Jo waited.

  “Dan got this from someone at Hanson’s Garage. They towed the car. They also saw a major problem.”

  Carrie looked at Jo with worried eyes. “Her brake lines were cut. It wasn’t an accident after all, Jo. Alexis was murdered.”

  CHAPTER 21

  Jo closed up shop at six and stopped on the way home to pick up a pre-cooked chicken and fixings from the supermarket’s salad bar, feeling too mind-boggled after what Carrie had told her to think of cooking. After she had her dinner and cleaned up, she brewed a cup of tea and settled on her living room sofa, prepared to kick off her shoes and mull over the events of the last two days. She didn’t get beyond the first sip before the phone rang. It was Carrie.

  “Jo, I’m at the hospital. Sylvia’s here because she started having problems. Xavier’s a wreck, and he needs someone to be with him, but I can’t stay much longer. Dan’s still out plowing parking lots.”

  “I’ll be right down,” Jo said. She set her tea down and rushed about to gather up her things, managing to pull into the hospital’s parking lot within twenty minutes. A short time after that she was heading rapidly down the corridor to Sylvia’s room.

  “Jo, we’re here.” Carrie’s voice came from a little seating alcove to the right, and Jo braked to see her friend sitting next to Xavier. Xavier’s forearms were on his knees, his head hanging low, and as he lifted it up to look at Jo, it seemed to require much of his last remaining strength.

  “How is Sylvia?” Jo asked, taking a seat across from the two of them.

  “Her water started to break. They’re afraid the baby might be born too soon. They’re with her now.” Carrie sighed. “I’m sure the stress brought this on. The police have been talking to Xavier again.”

  Jo nodded, not surprised. “Did they want to know what you did after you left the hotel kitchen last night?”

  Xavier looked at her with eyes that had aged years since she last saw him. “Si.”

  “Xavier,” Carrie said, standing, “I have to go home now. Amanda’s been running a slight fever,” she explained, turning to Jo. “It’s probably nothing, but I should be with her. I’ll come by again in the morning, Xavier. I’m sure everything will be much better.”

  Xavier stood up with Carrie, and she patted his hand in farewell.

  “Thank you, Senora,” he said.

  Jo watched Carrie head for the elevator with her cell phone in hand, ready to check on her daughter the minute she left the building. Jo waited for Xavier to sit back down.

  “I’m so sorry Sylvia’s having problems.”

  “It’s what Senora Brenner says. It’s all too hard on her. It could be very bad for the baby.”

  To look at Xavier’s eyes was heartbreaking, but Jo kept hers steady. “The doctors here are very good. Try not to worry. She’s in good hands.”

  After a moment, Jo asked, “Did you get a lawyer to be with you when you talked to the police?”

  Xavier nodded. “Yes. Mr. Merkle.”

  “Good. What did you tell the police you did after you left the hotel?”

  Xavier sighed. “I tell them the truth. I drive around a while. I’m very sad to lose my job. I know Sylvia be very sad, and I don’t want to tell her, so I drive.”

  Jo groaned inwardly. That wasn’t good.

  “After you drove around, when did you finally get home?”

  “I’m not sure. I don’t look at clock. Sylvia was sleeping, and I was quiet and get into bed without waking her. Maybe it was eleven, maybe twelve. I don’t know.”

  “Did the police ask you if you had ever worked with cars?”

  “Si. I tell them I never work at a garage. But I know how to fix things. I have to. We can’t afford to take a car to be fixed. If I can’t fix, we don’t have a car.”

  Xavier said it so openly, Jo was sure he had no idea of the deep hole he had dug for himself.

  “Xavier, this is the second time you have no one to back you up as to what you were doing at the time of a murder.”

  “But I have no reason to kill anyone!” Xavier had raised his voice and a nurse’s aide pushing a cart of medical equipment looked over, startled.

  Jo waited until Xavier had calmed, then said, “The police might think you had good reason to want Alexis Wigsley dead. After all, she caused you to lose your job by dragging Mallory Holt over to find you there.”

  Xavier shook his head vehemently. “No, no, no.”

  “But the worse problem is your connection to Parker Holt, which is probably the main reason they’re also looking at you for Alexis’s death. They’re likely thinking one thing led to the other. You have, in their eyes, a very good reason for wanting Parker Holt dead, and you also had a very good opportunity. It’s that hour after you left Dan and spent grocery shopping that’s the sticking point. Is there no one you can think of that can back you up on that? No one who can give you the alibi you need?”

  Xavier looked down at his hands, which were clenched tightly. He shook his head. “No one, senora.”

  “Are you telling me the absolute truth, Xavier? I’m sorry, but I keep getting an uneasy feeling that you’re leaving something out.”

  Xavier shot Jo a look, turned away, then turned back, stating grimly, “I didn’t kill Mr. Holt. I didn’t kill the lady last night.”

  “Mr. Ramirez?” A nurse in green scrubs stepped into the alcove. “You can see your wife now if you like.”

  Xavier jumped up. “Yes, thank you!

  Jo watched as he hurried down the corridor to his wife’s room. She hoped Sylvia’s pregnancy was stabilized, that their baby was safe. The Ramirez’s had enough troubles to deal with.

  As she saw Xavier disappear into the room, she thought about how he reaffirmed his innocence in Parker Holt’s murder. His sincerity had been convincing. However, her question concerning his having left anything out had been left unanswered.

  Xavier, she believed, had told her the truth.

  But, she wondered as she stared down the hall to the room holding the Ramirez’s, had he told her the whole truth?

  <><><>

  Monday morning, Jo drove straight to the shop, having heard from Carrie that she was at the hospital once again and that Sylvia was doing well. Jo had stayed late the night before until both Xavier and Sylvia fell asleep, Xavier in the chair beside his wife’s bed. She was glad that Carrie would be there to help them through whatever their next steps needed to be.

  As she turned onto Main she was greeted with the cheering sight of Randy shoveling the walk in front of the Craft Shop.

  She pulled up even with him and lowered the window. “Randy, you got my message!”

  “Morning, Ms. McAllister. Right. Sorry I didn’t get here sooner.”

  “I’m just delighted to see you now.” Jo drove into the small parking lot beside the shop, which thankfully had been plowed the day before, though in the process creating a high ridge along the edge of Jo’s sidewalk. She had feared she’d have to tackle that ridge herself if Randy didn’t show up.

  As she unlocked her shop door, Jo told Randy, “I’ll get some coffee going. It should be ready in a few minutes.” She went in and flipped on the lights, the first sight of her craft wares always making her smile no matter what else occupied her mind. She headed past her red Valentine display near the front, the brightly colored silk flowers she’d worked on yesterday, and the beautiful array of scrapbooking papers, stamping essentials, and beads, shucked her outerwear to stow in the back, and set up the coffee pot. She could hear Randy’s sho
vel scraping against the pavement.

  The phone rang, and Jo picked it up, wondering if it might be Carrie calling from the hospital.

  “Jo, it’s Loralee. I hope I’m not calling too early?”

  “Not at all, Loralee. Is anything wrong?” Jo had picked up a seriousness in Loralee’s usually cheerful tone.

  Loralee sighed. “I just wanted to tell you. I’ve decided to take a condo at Pheasant Run. The Cardinal, I think - the one bedroom. That should be all I’ll need.”

  “Are you sure?” Loralee had sounded like a fugitive who decided to finally turn herself in and face up to spending years in the penitentiary.

  “Yes, dear. I do so want Dulcie and Ken and the children to be nearby. It will be fine. And I’ll be close by to many lovely people at Pheasant Run. There’ll be lots of bridge games.”

  Jo didn’t remember Loralee ever enjoying card games.

  “And such convenience with the shuttle bus available. I won’t need to drive much at all.”

  Loralee loved her car.

  “And that lovely fitness room.”

  Uh-huh.

  “I wanted to thank you, Jo, for all your help.”

  “I did very little, Loralee,” Jo protested. And for what she did do, Jo felt guilty since it had edged Loralee toward an existence she probably wouldn’t enjoy. But what could Jo do? It was her friend’s decision to make. “I wish you all the best, Loralee. If I can help you with this transition, I hope you’ll tell me how.”

  Loralee promised, then asked after the Ramirez’s. Jo told her what she knew about Sylvia’s condition and heard some life come back into Loralee’s voice as her focus switched away from her own concerns. “I’ll notify the ladies at church,” she promised. “That dear couple won’t have anything to worry about when they come home from the hospital.”

  “That’s great, Loralee,” Jo said, and wished that could really be true. Xavier and Sylvia might not have their meals to worry about, but there would still be a heavy cloud hovering over them, which the Ladies’ Sodality could do nothing about.