“Ryan knew something was wrong,” Ken said. “He used to call your uncle George. Unfortunately, there was nothing George could offer him by way of good advice.”
Jared nodded. “I remember how angry Ryan was then. He picked fights with everyone—me, Mom, his friends.”
“He must have felt so frustrated,” I said, “sensing the distance between your parents and your mother’s unhappiness and not being able to do anything to help the situation.”
“What did my mom do when you told her we’d be poor if she and Dad split?” Jared asked.
“She started to cry. She asked if we could meet one time more. I agreed, more to be a sympathetic friend than because I could tell her anything different.”
“How was she the third time?” I asked.
“Sad but resolved. She told me she was prepared to stay with Bryce—at least until you boys graduated high school. After that, maybe there’d be a better life for her.”
Jared nodded but said nothing. After a minute, he stood. “Thanks, Ken, for sharing this with me. I wish I’d known what she was going through so I could have been more . . . caring or something.”
“I think she was doing her best to keep her feelings from you and Ryan.”
I got to my feet too. “Ken, did Laura say anything to you that might lead you to believe she was afraid of someone in her immediate circle?”
“Not afraid, no. But the last time, as we were leaving the café, she gave me a bittersweet smile and said it was ironic how life often played out like a soap opera.”
Chapter Eleven
“I wonder what Mom meant by that,” Jared said as we climbed into his car.
“I can’t imagine.” Had she been involved in an affair gone sour? “We know she was unhappy and wanted to divorce your father. Just as Helena said the night Al was poisoned.”
I hoped Jared wasn’t going to explode and was relieved when he nodded in agreement.
“Mom confided in both Ken and Helena. Much as I hate to have anything to do with her, we should question Helena about the last few months before the murder.”
“Good idea—as long as you’re prepared to hear news you probably won’t like.”
Jared snorted. “Lately, that’s the only kind of news I’ve been hearing. No one likes to find out his parents were unhappy.”
But he must have known that. Or had he managed to block it from his mind? I hesitated but then ventured to say what I’d been thinking. “You might want to ask your dad what he was experiencing the months before your mom died.”
“Believe me, I tried that a few times. Dad said he was working hard because the money wasn’t coming in as it had in previous years. He admitted he should have paid more attention to Mom, Ryan, and me, but that was it.” Jared grimaced. “My father’s not one to talk about feelings.”
“Maybe Helena can tell you more.”
“Good idea. I’ll get her cell phone number from Ken tomorrow.”
Ten minutes later, we arrived at my aunt and uncle’s home. Jared took my hand in both of his. “I’m glad you came with me to Ken’s tonight. It helped having you beside me to ask pertinent questions.”
“I’m glad I could be of service. And thank you for dinner.”
“You’re more than welcome.”
Jared reached over and put his arms around me. I breathed in the heady fragrance of his aftershave as his lips found mine. Our kiss touched off sensations I hadn’t experienced in a long time. Too soon, it was over. I opened my eyes and we smiled at one another.
“Taking it slow,” Jared said in a teasing manner. “I’ll call you as soon as I speak to Helena.”
* * *
“Have a nice time?” Aunt Harriet called to me from the den as I walked in the house.
“Very nice. See you in the morning.”
As I changed into my nightgown and got ready for bed, I reviewed everything I’d learned about Laura’s life and the people around her just before her murder.
For one thing, Ken had made it clear that he was gay. It must have been something he’d recently discovered or acknowledged because he’d dated Laura when they were young, and he’d been married. Jared hadn’t picked up on Ken’s disclosure, which made me realize he was obtuse when it came to nuances and relationships. Sure, he was young when his mother had been going through an emotional crisis, but his brother had sensed her unhappiness. Jared was smart, but he wasn’t people smart.
Ken was a lovely man. I believed what he’d told us tonight was an accurate account of his conversations with Laura. She was a caring mother who had considered her sons’ standard of living and refused to act rashly.
Helena, on the other hand, was something else. I chuckled because I’d noticed all the work she’d had done on her face. Her eyelids and neck were as smooth as a baby’s behind. How had she and Laura become best friends? But that was a silly question. The most unlikely people were often drawn into a friendship or romance. And one didn’t always fall for the right sort of person. I drifted into sleep thinking of a few old boyfriends and of Dylan, my landlord.
* * *
On Monday morning, I woke up with my head crammed with arrangements for the Halloween party. A twinge of anxiety jolted through me as I walked across the Green. I still hadn’t bought the four gift cards I needed for the best costume winners. I cheered up when I realized I could do this online. All I needed was the library’s credit card, and that meant getting it from Sally. I was a bit nervous as I walked to her office. Sally hadn’t been very happy with me lately.
As I approached her door, I heard loud voices. Through the glass pane, I saw Sally leaning over her desk as she berated Dorothy.
“What would you have me do? Fire her? Murder her?”
I couldn’t make out Dorothy’s answer, but whatever she said angered Sally even more. The heat rose to my ears. They were arguing about me.
“I gave her those sheets to fill out, the ones you can’t complete without my help. Once Carrie learns every director has trouble with them, I’ll get flack from her. She’ll go to her uncle, and then I’ll be in trouble.”
I tiptoed away, hoping Sally wouldn’t look up and see me through the glass. I was frightened by the lengths to which Dorothy would go to get my job. I’d get the charge card later. Now I had to go down to the utility room to check on the refreshments for the party.
I examined every bag carefully. None of the packages seemed to have been disturbed or opened. The refrigerated and frozen foods were exactly as I’d arranged them. I breathed a sigh of relief. After Trish and Susan decorated the meeting room, I’d ask Sally to lock the door for everyone’s sake.
In my office, I worked on the forms Sally had given me. There were still many blank spaces to be filled in. But having heard what she’d told Dorothy, I no longer felt pressured to finish them by Wednesday.
“I see you’re getting the hang of it.” Evelyn manifested at my side.
“I am, and I’m not worried about getting them done on time.”
“Really?” Evelyn cocked her head. “Why is that?”
I told her what I’d overheard Sally say to Dorothy.
Evelyn’s face grew grim. “That spiteful, spiteful girl.”
I snorted. “That girl, as you’ve put it, is still holding a grudge because I’m head of programs and events and she isn’t. Somehow she’s managed to get Sally to hassle me with these financial forms.”
“I’m glad Sally had the good sense to read her the riot act.”
I gnawed on my lip before expressing what was bothering me the most. “I hope she doesn’t sabotage the party tomorrow night.”
Evelyn waved a nearly transparent hand in the air. “Don’t be silly. Dorothy’s not foolish enough to disrupt the Halloween party. She knows it would reflect poorly on the library.”
“And especially on me.” But I didn’t want to argue with Evelyn. “I’d love to chat, but I’d better get back to work.”
“Let me help you.” Evelyn sat in a chair beside
me and glanced at the figures on the sheet before me.
I was glad my door was solid wood and no one could glance in and wonder what they were seeing. We worked this way for half an hour. Evelyn was a big help, and I appreciated her assistance.
I told Evelyn I’d found a place to live. I also told her Jared and I had gone to see Ken and found out what Laura had discussed with him a short time before her death.
“That’s quite a busy weekend you had!” Evelyn said.
“I’m planning to move into the cottage on Saturday. Jared offered to help me.”
“He’s a nice young man, though I’m afraid his brother’s a bit of a hellion.”
“He is nice. He was relieved to learn his mother hadn’t been having an affair with Ken but upset because she wanted to divorce his father.”
“And who could blame him? No child wants to find out his parents were unhappy.”
“Ken said Ryan was aware that Laura was unhappy. He called his uncle George to talk about it.”
“And what did Helena Koppel have to say? She knew Laura wanted a divorce.”
“Helena left before we spoke to Ken. She’s moving back to Clover Ridge, which upsets Jared to no end.”
It was a few moments before Evelyn spoke. “So you haven’t learned anything new that points to Laura’s killer?”
“Do you think Laura had a lover who killed her for some reason?”
“It’s possible, I suppose, but there’s no evidence of that. From what Ken told you, I’d say Laura was mainly concerned about her sons and how their lives would be worse if she were to divorce Bryce.”
I nodded. “I suppose you’re right, but Jared’s going to ask Helena if she knows if there was another man in his mother’s life.”
“She’d be the one who would know. I think we can finish this up in another half hour. Want to give it a try?”
I grinned. “I sure would.”
* * *
At noon, I walked over to Sally’s office, the stack of financial forms in my arms. We’d managed to finish them all. I was secretly pleased that I’d figured out how to fill them out. With Evelyn’s help, of course.
Sally was wearing her coat and was in the process of locking her office door. “Oh, Carrie. I was just on my way to lunch. Can this wait?”
“I don’t know.” I thrust out the pile of papers in front of me. “These are the financial reports you wanted me to complete. I wanted to get them to you ASAP.”
Her eyes widened. “You completed them all?”
“I did.”
“The way I told you to?”
“Exactly as you told me to.” I held her gaze.
I must have managed to let Sally know I was on to her bad behavior, because she gave a little laugh as she broke eye contact. “Well, in that case, why don’t you bring them inside, and I’ll review them when I’m back from lunch.”
“As you like.” I followed her inside. “And may I please have the library’s credit card?”
“Why?” she demanded before I could explain.
“Because I want to buy Amazon gift cards for the four winners of tomorrow night’s costume contest.” I suddenly remembered. “I didn’t add that expense to the October report. I couldn’t.”
“No matter. Give me the paperwork ASAP, and I’ll take care of it.”
“You will?”
Astonished, I tried to read her expression, but she was opening a file cabinet to retrieve the charge card, which she handed to me. “Please return it as soon as you’ve completed the purchase. Don’t forget to print out the receipt.”
“I will.” I exited the office as quickly as I could and watched her hurry off to the library’s rear exit. Sally might have read Dorothy the riot act, as Evelyn had put it, but she still had no fondness for me.
Back in my office, I bought four twenty-dollar gift cards for the costume winners and arranged to have them e-mailed directly to me. I was printing out the receipt when Ginny, one of the aides, delivered the sandwich and bottle of Snapple I’d ordered from the café. I ate my turkey and guacamole on rye quickly because Trish and Susan would be there any minute to decorate the meeting room for the Halloween party.
They arrived in good spirits, chatting and laughing as they gathered up the skeletons, witches, and jack-o’-lanterns they’d bought the week before. Armed with various kinds of tapes and two staple guns, I followed them downstairs to supervise their work—at least for a while.
I told them my idea of how I thought the place should be decorated, and they got started while I went to check on the food in the utility room. Everything seemed to be as I’d left it hours earlier. I opened up a bag of chocolate candies and offered a few pieces to Trish and Susan. They happily accepted. For a while, I watched them fasten cardboard figures to the walls and hang jack-o’-lanterns from the ceiling amid orange and black streamers of crepe paper. I was surprised to see Trish defer to Susan as to where various objects should be placed. Good for her. I was glad Susan had a gift she could be proud of.
I went upstairs to my office, thinking I’d better return the charge card to Sally before she had a fit. I’d left it beside my computer and hadn’t bothered to lock the door because I wasn’t planning to stay downstairs with Trish and Susan more than ten minutes.
It’s not here! I looked through the papers on my desk, on the floor, behind the computer screen. No sign of the card. I checked my pocketbook, which I’d stashed in the closet. No sign of the card.
Ten frantic minutes later, I had to admit the card was gone. Someone had taken it. And that someone was Dorothy.
That is, I thought that someone was Dorothy, but I couldn’t be sure. My office was in the back of the library, where most patrons didn’t go, but that didn’t mean that someone looking to steal something hadn’t been lurking. And even if I thought it was Dorothy, I couldn’t very well say that to Sally. She’d made that very clear to me. No matter how much Dorothy annoyed her, Dorothy was her best friend, and she wouldn’t tolerate hearing one bad word against her.
I walked slowly to Sally’s office, hoping she’d be out. No such luck. She hung up her phone and stared at me as she beckoned me inside.
“Sally, I don’t know how to say this, but the library charge card is missing.”
“What do you mean it’s missing? I gave it to you an hour ago.”
“I know, and I’m sorry.”
Sally blinked furiously. “Did you go outside and drop it somewhere?”
“No, I left it on my desk beside my computer. I went to supervise Trish and Susan while they decorated the meeting room and then came upstairs. When I returned to my office, the card was gone.” I cleared my throat. “Someone must have taken it.”
“Taken it? You left your office door unlocked?” Her voice rose with each word.
“Yes, I’m afraid that’s what happened.”
“Happened!” she shrieked. “You did it! You were responsible for the card.”
“I know, and I’m sorry. I’ll call the card company. Just give me the account number—”
“I most certainly will not give you the account number. I’ll take care of this now!”
I was dismissed. Shoulders hunched, I trudged back to my office. Sally was furious with me. What was worse, I had no idea if the gift cards I’d ordered would come through. And since I hadn’t locked my office door, I couldn’t very well ask her to lock the meeting room. I locked myself in my office and wrapped my arms around my head. I will not cry. I will not cry.
The tears came, despite my commands.
Chapter Twelve
I pulled myself together and ran through my program for the Halloween party, trying not to think about the missing charge card. I gave a loud cheer when the gift cards arrived via e-mail.
To keep my mind occupied, I looked over the week’s schedule and was happy to see that most of the programs were weekly or monthly series with seasoned presenters. The Thursday-night movie was safely locked in my desk.
I was scouring Barb
ara’s collection of possible new programs and not finding anything appealing when my cell phone’s jingle played.
“Hi, Carrie,” Jared said. “How are you?”
“Fine.” I told him about the missing charge card.
“That’s awful. You’re sure it didn’t fall on the floor? Sometimes that happens.”
“I’ve looked all over. The card disappeared, and Sally’s furious.”
“Do you think someone took it?”
“Yes, and I know who it is, but Sally won’t hear a word against her.”
“Wow! Maybe you should tell your Uncle Bosco about this. The board should—”
“I won’t do that. I’ll find a way to deal with this person on my own.”
“If you say so.” Jared sounded skeptical.
“Did you manage to get Helena’s cell number from Ken?”
“I did.” His voice went flat. “I called her.”
Bad news. “What did she tell you?”
“That my mother was having an affair, but Helena didn’t know who he was, since my mother wouldn’t say.”
“I’m so sorry, Jared.”
“You can imagine how I feel. First I learn my mother wanted to divorce my father, then I find out she was seeing someone on the sly. All this going on while I went about my little life, worried about a math test or not getting enough playing time in a basketball game. I should have known what was really going on.”
“Don’t do this to yourself. Even if you’d known part of the truth, what could you have done? Your brother knew, and all it did was make him angry. We can’t control our parents.”
“You sound like you know this for a fact.”
“Don’t I.” I drew in a deep breath. “My dad spent more time away from us than with us. He was a thief.”
Jared laughed. “You’re kidding!”
“Do I sound like I’m kidding?”
“Sorry. I didn’t mean to make you angry.”
“And I didn’t mean to snap at you, but it’s true. And my mother wasn’t very good at mothering, especially after my brother died.”
“You had a brother who died?”
Death Overdue Page 10
