Killer, Paper, Cut (The Kiki Lowenstein Mysteries)

by Campbell Slan, Joanna

  I would invite the Gruesome Threesome—Mary Martha, Dolores, and Patricia—so that they could have front rows seats. In fact, I’d even make a little speech and say that the idea came to me while talking to them.

  Yeah, that was the ticket.

  You live by the nasty word, you die by the nasty word. Boo-ya.

  *Note: Instructions for making paper beads appear at the end of this book!

  Chapter 46

  The rest of the crop went smoothly. Nancy Richardson brought two pans of Yuk Pan. Oh, my gosh, was it good! Any crop where you can stuff yourself is a good crop, in my humble opinion. Nancy told me that if I left out the onions and green peppers, Erik would probably gobble down Yuk Pan, too. I begged for the recipe.

  Cara Mia Delgatto had sent me a FedEx box earlier in the day after text-messaging me that the box was to be opened at the crop. She’d also text-messaged Clancy and asked her to pick up a couple of loaves of Ezekiel bread and a pound of butter. Her directions included, "Let the butter sit out and the bread defrost."

  When I opened the FedEx container, I didn’t know what I was looking at. Not exactly. Six glass canning jars sat like a row of gold helmeted soldiers. I picked up one and held it to the light. The pinkish-ruby color amazed me and the brought the croppers to a complete standstill. They’d been loading their plates with food, but one glimpse of that gem-like color stopped them in their tracks.

  "What is that?" asked Nancy Richardson

  "Looks like homemade jelly," said Jen Ebright

  "Sea grape jelly made this week by Cara Mia Delgatto to be exact." I twisted open the lid.

  "There are instructions in the box," said Clancy, holding up a sheet of paper. "Toast a piece of Ezekiel bread. Butter it. Add copious amounts of the jelly."

  "I’m game," I said. Clancy had a piece of toast ready for me. I followed the instructions as Jen said to Nancy, "Did you know that sea grapes were edible? No? Neither did I."

  "Oh, my golly, they sure are!" I said. "This stuff is fabulous! Wow!"

  That started a rush for toast and jelly.

  "Don’t worry about it being all gone. Cara Mia told me to tell you that she’s making more batches, and she’ll send another batch to you next week," said Clancy.

  "Thank goodness because I’d have to twist some arms and grab the rest of the jelly away from our customers. Can you believe how good this is?"

  "If Cara Mia makes it, you can count on it being scrumptious."

  The crop ended at midnight. A half an hour later, we hustled the last of our customers through the checkout process and out the front door.

  "Can I see your albums?" I asked Catherine and Brawny.

  Catherine took to scrapbooking right away. She suffered the usual beginners’ worries about matching paper and photos, but once she started creating her pages, she gained confidence and quit asking for my opinion.

  Brawny moved slowly. She was a devoted measurer who put things together very deliberately. Her color combinations were very, very conservative.

  Whereas Catherine loved heaping on the embellishments, Brawny’s pages were stark. Catherine tended toward cute, but Brawny would emphasize one striking element of her page and be done with it.

  They put their albums side-by-side. "Did we do it right?" asked my little sister. "I’m not sure of the rules."

  "That’s because there are no rules," I said. "No scrapbooking police. No one who’ll come to your door in the middle of the night and fine you. You do what you like. I can see that both of you are developing your own style, and as you can tell, your styles are as different as you are. That’s good! These albums should reflect your personalities."

  "But you do so many different things on your pages," said Catherine. "While I was gathering paper, I looked at a lot of the pages you’ve done, the ones on display. You use all sorts of stuff and I only used premade embellishments."

  "You are just starting out," I said. "When I was starting out, there weren’t as many premade embellishments to choose from. Besides, it’s part of my job to come up with cool ideas that my customers can re-create. That’s not what you’re trying to do. That said, look at the page you did with your beads. You found pages with black and white print. You made the black and white beads, and you edged your page with them. That’s pretty upscale work for a newbie."

  "I’ll say," said Clancy. "I didn’t try anything other than premade embellishments on my pages for a year. Kiki basically forced me into it. Otherwise, I’d buy it and slap it down. I just didn’t have the confidence to think outside the box"

  Brawny looked admiringly at Catherine’s pages, and Catherine oohed and aaahed over Brawny’s. "I like how clean and simple your pages are," I told the nanny. "You emphasize what’s important to you. I love that page with the picture of the Arch. Now all you need to do is take time off and go photograph places around town. Go explore. Discover. This really is a fascinating place."

  "I’ll go with," Catherine said. Then shyly, "If you don’t mind. Since I’m new here, too, I’d love to have someone to poke around with."

  "I’d like that very much," said Brawny, and the two exchanged phone numbers.

  While we were cropping, Detweiler had text-messaged me that he and Hadcho were working late, helping Murray by going over lab evidence and witness statements. I messaged him back that I understood. I reminded him that his mother was at our house. He responded that he’d run home long enough to give her a hug. "She’s enjoying spending time with Erik," he said via text.

  Brawny and I locked the store up and walked Clancy and Catherine to their cars. As soon as the car door on the Saab was unlocked, Catherine threw her arms around me for a big hug. The spontaneity surprised me. "Big sis, this was the best! I loved it!" she said before hopping behind the wheel.

  "Aye, ‘tis a grand time. You must be very proud of yourself, Miss, knowing that you make so many people so very, very happy."

  "I love what I do," I said.

  "I can tell," Brawny said, as she walked me to my BMW. "I’ll stay right behind you on the road, Miss Kiki. Don’t get out of the car at your house until I signal to you."

  I nodded, but in truth my mind was elsewhere.

  Was it really possible that one of the three women from the St. James Church had hoped to hurt me? Had they stabbed Laurel because they thought her beauty was a gift from Satan? Was it simple jealous? Clearly all three were smitten with Father Joe, but he was in love with Laurel. Did they know that? Had he said something about his intentions?

  Putting myself in their places, I tallied what they might perceive as black marks against Laurel. She had been illegitimate. She didn’t have a proper family life for years. She had diabetes. She made money belly dancing. She was beautiful. Oh, and Father Joe loved her.

  Taken all together, I could imagine one of them striking out at her.

  The first question was, which woman did it?

  The second was, how could I find proof?

  *Note: Yuk Pan and Sea Grape Jelly recipes are included at the end of the book!

  Chapter 47

  When it comes to worrying, I’m a real pro. After I worried about finding Laurel’s killer and seeking justice for the crime, my nimble mind moved on to fretting about our move. Should I go through our belongings and cull out what we didn’t need? Otherwise, I’d be paying to store items that we weren’t going to use. I’d also be paying for boxes and packing paper.

  But what did I need and what could I pack away?

  I’d never been on the second floor of Clancy’s mother’s house. I’d never had a reason to poke around up there.

  First thing tomorrow I needed to go and see what was on the second floor. I could use my phone and take pictures. Then I could better decide what to pack and what to store.

  What about the kitchen?

  Amanda and Mom didn’t cook. Once a week Amanda took Mom grocery shopping. My mother would buy pre-cooked meals from Schnucks or Dierbergs. She also stocked up on TV dinners. On occasion, she and Amanda w
ould buy a Domino’s Pizza, but that one pie would last for several meals.

  Were there any cooking utensils in the kitchen?

  I didn’t know what Catherine was doing for food. Was she making the weekly grocery trek? As a kid, she loved macaroni and cheese. Soups out of the can. Had her tastes changed? She sure chowed down this evening.

  Granted, I still had plenty to worry over, but for the rest of the drive home, I indulged myself. I relived that hug from Catherine, and a big grin spread my mouth wide. Knowing that I’d found a way to help her made me feel great. Seeing how well she’d fit in made me proud! Watching her budding friendship with Brawny gave me hope. Things were really looking up when it came to my baby sister.

  I made a mental note to call Aunt Penny and thank her. At first, I’d been angry that Aunt Penny hadn’t told us where Catherine was or how she was doing. In fact, neither Amanda nor I knew that Aunt Penny and Catherine had stayed in touch. But now I realized that Aunt Penny had done what was right for Catherine, even though Amanda and I resented her for it. Catherine had been struggling. She told Amanda that she had "hit rock bottom." I couldn’t imagine what that was like. I vaguely recalled Aunt Penny cancelling a trip to visit Mom in Arizona. Mother had been quite put out. Aunt Penny had said, "Something’s come up."

  Shortly thereafter, my aunt sold some stock.

  Now, in hindsight, I put two and two together. I’ve never been good with math, but I thought I could reasonably write down "four" as the answer. I bet that whatever happened to Catherine, Aunt Penny had bailed her out. Furthermore, that "rock bottom" stumble had been costly.

  Did I want to know what happened?

  I wasn’t sure that I did.

  Catherine would tell me if she wanted me to know.

  Meanwhile, I decided that I would enjoy this interlude with her.

  The older I got, the more I realized that you had to soak up all the happiness you could, when it presented itself, because who knew what the future would bring?

  With that settled in my mind, I drove the last few blocks to my house. Sad to say, I’d completely forgotten that Brawny told me to stay in my car. Instead of doing as she had asked, I caught sight of Thelma Detweiler’s car and ran to my back door. I pulled it open and stepped inside.

  An unpleasant scene awaited me.

  Chapter 48

  "So this is the fabulous Kiki Lowenstein," said a woman, standing in the middle of my kitchen. Her weathered skin suggested that she’d spent too much time in the sun. She stank of cigarette smoke and alcohol. My impression was of an aging party girl.

  "Who are you and why are you in my house?" I asked the intruder.

  "Kiki." Thelma rose from her seat at my kitchen table, her hands moved toward me in a wordless expression of regret. I gave her a hug and asked, "Are the kids okay?"

  "Yes. Both in bed. Fortunately they fell asleep before Melissa walked in."

  "Melissa," I repeated. "Melissa Haversham?"

  "This will be my house," she said, invading my personal space. She practically stepped on my toes in an effort to get right up in my face. "I came to look it over. Of course, some of the furniture won’t work for me, but—"

  "All of what you see is mine. The place came unfurnished."

  "Hmmm. Let’s see what Dad says about that."

  "There’s no ‘Dad says’ to it. I have friends and family who can vouch for these items being mine," I said, suddenly aware that Brawny was at my side. Melissa shrank back a step. Brawny hadn’t said a word, but her presence had intimidated the interloper.

  "I’ll be out of here on Sunday. Until then, I’d appreciate it if you stay out of this house."

  "My house," she repeated.

  "It will be. I’m asking you to stay away out of common courtesy."

  "I have the right to come over and take measurements. You can’t expect me to buy furniture without knowing what will fit."

  I dearly wanted to say, "Who cares? Sit on the floor! Bring a sleeping bag!"

  But that would have only inflamed the situation. Instead, I took a deep breath and said, "If you need to take measurements, please call me and let me know you are coming. As you can probably understand, my daughter and my son are stressed out enough about the move. Your presence will only further upset them."

  From under the kitchen table came a ggrrrrrrrrrrr. I turned and stared at Gracie. She never, ever growls, but sure as that day was long, she’d bared her teeth and grumbled at Melissa.

  "That dog," started Melissa.

  "Is very big and very strong. You won’t want to upset her. So again, I ask that you call me first before you come over to take measurements."

  "If it’s convenient for me, I will."

  "I suggest you make it convenient. I’d hate for you to have a run in with my dog."

  "Or your nanny," said Brawny in a gruff voice. "I don’t take well to people I don’t know. Not when the children’s welfare is mine to see to."

  "Are you threatening me?" Melissa raised a haughty eyebrow, one that had been totally over plucked.

  "No, Miss. I’m simply explaining that I get a bit overwrought when it comes to protecting my charges. Think of it as apologizing in advance."

  "You know what? I think we need to talk this through with Leighton," I said. "Maybe I need to make it clear to him that I expect you to respect my privacy."

  "Dad’s asleep. He’s been tired lately. I helped him to bed myself, and I checked on him before I came over here." She lifted her chin defiantly.

  "Then perhaps I’ll go over and talk with him tomorrow," I said.

  "Call first," Melissa sneered at me. "After all, this is our property. You’re merely squatting on it."

  Chapter 49

  Thelma’s face was white with fury. As for me, I couldn’t even find words for how angry I was. The room shifted under my feet, but Brawny caught me on my way to the floor.

  "Next time, Miss, let me go first. I coulda dealt harshly with her and you’d have not been bothered by such carryings on," she said, as she lowered me to a chair. "When’s your next doctor’s appointment?"

  "Next week."

  "Might have a touch of high blood pressure. We’ll need to keep an eye on that. Can’t have you coming down with preeclampsia."

  Thelma took the chair next to mine and reached out for my hands. "I’m so sorry. Chad trusted me to take care of the kids, and I botched the job. I feel horrible. But she had a key, so I undid the dead bolt thinking it was one of your sisters."

  "What a horrible person!" I finally got my wits about me. "How on earth could she be Leighton’s daughter? He’s so nice. Well, he was so nice until he decided to evict us."

  "Hon, are you sure you don’t want to come live with us? Maybe you could enroll Anya in a nice school over in Illinois. She could always switch back later."

  Thelma was trying her best to help, but I couldn’t imagine taking both Anya and Erik out of CALA, relocating them, and then moving back to the area. In fact, I couldn’t imagine taking them out of school. Currently, it offered stability. They both had friends, although admittedly Erik didn’t have as many as Anya. But Anya’s best friend Nicci Moore was an important part of her life. Jennifer Moore, Nicci’s mother, was another parent I’d come to depend on. That counts for so much in this world. Hillary Clinton was right: It takes a village to raise a child. Jennifer was part of my village.

  Furthermore, with the holiday season upon us, I couldn’t imagine commuting back and forth from Illinois. The drive alone would kill me. The time crunch would eat me alive.

  "Thelma, you are such a sweetheart. If it comes to that, I’ll take you up on your offer. Meanwhile, we’re planning to move into the second floor of the house my sisters and mother are renting from Clancy. It’s in U City, so that’s not too far from CALA or the store."

  She pulled me close and hugged me. "You have to do what you think is best. I’m sorry I let you down this evening. It’ll never happen again. The next time a key jingles in the lock and Gracie growls,
I’ll call the cops and let the dog do her worst with them."

  "What else did Miss Haversham say while she was here?" Brawny bustled around in the kitchen, making me one of her endless cups of tea, I presumed.

  "Talked on and on about herself. About how she hadn’t gotten a fair shake in life. How Leighton owed her. How things were going to be different. How she was taking over." Thelma waved a dismissive hand. "A bunch of hooey. Fortunately both kids were tuckered out. They’d been in bed for an hour when she showed up. The minute she stepped over the threshold, I knew there was something off about her. She’s either mentally ill or high on something. She was acting like Brenda did."

  Brenda, of course, was Detweiler’s dead ex-wife, a nasty piece of baggage who’d been a drug addict.

  "I smelled alcohol on her breath," I said.

  "Yes, there was that, too, but her movements were uncoordinated. Her speech was slurred, and she rambled. I think there’s more to her problems than a drink or two." Thelma accepted a cup of peppermint tea. While I dumped a half a bowl of sugar in mine, Thelma sipped hers straight.

  "I don’t understand this ‘poor me’ attitude," I said. "The past is the past unless you insist on dragging it around with you. Then it becomes your present and your future. So Leighton wasn’t the best of fathers. A lot of men fail in their responsibilities. She can’t possibly expect him to make up for everything now.

  "I would say that giving her a house is a pretty big concession, but that’s just me. I can’t imagine my parents giving me a home, much less a house. Much less, a house on such a desirable piece of land."

  "What nonsense about your furniture!" said Thelma. "Chad will take care of that. I plan to tell him that he needs a couple of uniformed officers here on the premises on moving day. We’ll just see about her getting her mitts on your things!" She had moved from shocked to indignant. A good sign.

  "Yes, well, a lot of this might have to go into storage. First on my list tomorrow is a visit to the house in U City. I know that Clancy left most of her mother’s furniture in the house. I need to see what’s available so we know what to pack away and store."