Murders and Metaphors

by Amanda Flower

  I had to trust that if Adele had been unlawfully arrested, Chief Rainwater would get to the bottom of it. As my grandmother had told me many times, he was a good cop.

  Emerson meowed as if in agreement.

  Feeling the cat and I were in sync for once, I set him down on the arm of one of the sofas and began picking up the stray books that people had browsed through throughout the day. To my astonishment, every book morphed into a copy of Little Women. That was how I knew the police had gotten it wrong and arrested the wrong person for the crime. Adele was innocent.

  I sat on the couch with my copies of Little Women and read.

  “Violet!” Sadie cried, and ran into Charming Books. As she flew through the front door, it banged against the wall. Faulkner was on his perch and cawed in protest. The big black bird circled the shop, crying, “Off with her head! Off with her head!”

  Sadie didn’t even seem to notice the stir that she had caused with the bird. “Violet! I need to talk to you right now!”

  I blinked at her. I had been immersed in the world of the March sisters. It was dark outside. I had no idea how much time had passed. How long had I been reading? “I’m right here,” I said. I was having trouble pulling myself out of the story. There were so many good bits of wisdom to be found in the novel, but I didn’t know what any of them had to do with Belinda’s murder. In many ways, I felt more confused than ever by the murder.

  “There you are, Violet! Didn’t you hear me come in?” She was shaking with nervous energy.

  “Yes.” I closed the volume of Little Women and set it on the stack in the middle of the coffee table in front of the sofa. “What’s wrong? Are you hurt? You look like you are about to burst.”

  “That’s because I am about to burst. Oh, Violet, I don’t know when I have ever been this happy. I needed something happy right now.”

  “What is it?” I couldn’t stand the suspense any longer.

  “Look!” She waved her phone in my face. “Look!”

  “What am I looking at? I can’t see the screen when you are waving the phone back and forth like it’s a flag in a Memorial Day parade.”

  She froze. “Sorry. Look!” She put the phone in my hand.

  I read the screen. It was an email addressed to Sadie. “Dear Ms. Cunningham, I am delighted to inform you that I would like to offer you representation to sell your novels. I would like to set up a call with you as soon as possible. I have several editors in New York who are presently looking for a voice just like yours. Please email me back at your earlier convenience.”

  “Oh my gosh!” I said as the enormity of the email hit me. “You got an offer of representation.”

  She jumped up and down over and over again. “Yes! I got an offer! From an agent! A real literary agent!” She flopped on the couch next to me. “I think I’m going to die!”

  “Don’t do that!” I cried. “Not before you’re published. Sadie, this is wonderful news. Have you spoken to the agent yet?”

  “Yes, I emailed her back right away, and she called me almost immediately. She told me everything that she liked about the book. She’s sending me some notes over to revise before we submit, but she said that I should be on submission in New York by the end of the month.” She flopped back onto the couch. “I can’t believe this is happening.”

  “How did you find her?” I asked.

  “It is Simon’s agent who signed me. He wrote a lovely referral. I mean, he’s only read the first ten chapters of my novel, but he said I had an ‘endearing voice.’ An endearing voice, can you believe that? Have you ever heard anything as sweet as that? I can’t believe he would say that about my writing, and he’s such a great writer. That piece that he read at the last Red Inkers meeting brought me to tears. I told him so after the meeting, and that’s when he asked if he could read my book. I was a little scared at first, since I write romance. I didn’t know what he would think of it when he’s such a gifted poet, but he said he stayed up all night and read all the chapters that I sent him. It was his idea to write a referral to his agent. I didn’t think anything would come of it, but it has!”

  I smiled. Sadie was a talented writer, and I could see why Simon would want to read all her work, but I thought it was interest in Sadie that had gotten him to stay up all night and read it more than anything else.

  She sat up straight. “I hope the others won’t be upset that I have an agent and they don’t. Maybe I should pass and wait until the others are ready to submit as well. We can all do it together as a group.”

  “No.” I plopped next to her on the couch and linked my arm with hers. “No, Sadie, for far too long you have put other people’s needs above yours. Yes, Simon might have written the referral, but you wrote the book. Agents get referrals every day. It’s your writing that caught the agent’s eye.”

  “I might get published,” she whispered. “It’s hard to even fathom such a dream come true.”

  “There is no if about it, Sadie. You will get published. I’m so happy for and proud of you.”

  She leaned over and gave me a huge hug. “Violet, what’s your greatest dream? What is it that you want most in the world? I have wanted this dream for so long. I can’t believe that it might actually come true.”

  I stared at her for a moment. “I suppose it’s finishing my PhD. I’ve been working at it for so long now that it feels less like a dream and more like work,” I admitted.

  “Is there anything else that you want?”

  I glanced at the birch tree. I had another dream hidden in the most secret place in my heart, but I knew the fate of the Waverly woman and knew that it couldn’t possibly come true. So why say it and have my heart be broken yet again?

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  The next day I taught my classes at the community college, and in every spare moment I had, I read Little Women. I kept hoping that something about the book would make the present situation clear to me, that it would lead me to the killer if Adele really was innocent. I believed that she was, but I couldn’t prove it.

  After my second class, I scrolled through my contacts for Simon Chase’s phone number. I had all the Red Inkers’ numbers in my phone in case there was some reason that the meeting had to be moved or postponed because of another event at the shop.

  I found Simon’s number and called.

  “Goldman and Goldman Insurance, this is Simon Chase. How may I help you?”

  I was taken aback because the voice on the line sounded so confident and self-assured. It didn’t sound anything like the timid Simon Chase who had stumbled into Charming Books.

  “Hi, Simon, this is Violet Waverly from Charming Books.”

  “Violet,” he said, clearly surprised that I was calling him at work. “How are you? Can I do anything for you?”

  “You already have for Sadie. I wanted to call you and tell you thank you for writing the referral for her. She is beyond thrilled.”

  “I was happy to do it,” he said, sounding more relaxed again. “She is a great writer and deserves a chance.”

  “I couldn’t agree more.” I paused. “That wasn’t the only reason that I called.”

  “Oh, what other reason do you have?”

  “It’s about Belinda Perkins.”

  “Like I told you before, I can’t tell you anything about any of my clients.”

  “I know, but say hypothetically …”

  He didn’t say anything in response.

  “Say hypothetically someone other than the person who opened the life insurance policy out on Belinda was charged with the murder. Would the person who purchased the policy still get the money?”

  There was a long moment of quiet, and I didn’t think he would answer my question. Just when I was about to ask my question in another way, he said, “Yes. If the person who bought the policy had nothing to do with the wrongful death, that person would still get their money.”

  “Thank you.” I said I would see him at the next Red Inkers meeting, and I ended the call.
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br />   Sebastian would come out on top from Belinda’s death after all. I frowned. That didn’t sit well with me.

  After classes, I headed to Charming Books. My grandmother met me at the door. “Violet, I’m so glad you are here. I have to run out to the store. We’re all out of sugar, and I have to make a cake for the Red Inkers meeting tomorrow. Did you hear Sadie’s news?”

  I smiled. “Yep.”

  She clapped her hands. “I can’t believe we will have a published author right across the street from us. We will have to throw her launch party here and do it up right.”

  I grinned at my grandmother. “I know Sadie would like that just as soon as the book sells.”

  “Oh, it will sell. I’ve read it, and it’s wonderful. If there is one thing that I know, it’s books.”

  “I think you’re right.” I grinned from ear to ear.

  “I’ll be quick,” she said, and with that she was out the door. I watched her hurry down the sidewalk in the direction of the small market in Cascade Springs. She passed Lacey Dupont as she went.

  I waited for Lacey as she walked up to the Charming Books gate and came through it. In her hand she held a white bakery box that I was sure was full of all kinds of Adrien’s delectable treats. I hadn’t eaten anything since an orange at breakfast, so my mouth watered at the sight of the box.

  Sadie reached the front door of the shop and held the box out to me. “A peace offering.”

  I gladly took the box and asked, “A peace offering for what?”

  “To say I’m sorry. I’m sorry how I treated you yesterday when Adele was arrested.”

  “Lacey, there is no need to apologize. You had every reason to be upset.”

  “Still, I feel horrible to have been taking it out on you when you were only trying to help.”

  I smiled. “How is Adele?”

  “She all right. She’s out on bail. Adrien is such a dear that he fronted the money to get her out.”

  Not for the first time, I thought what a perfect husband Adrien was. He was handsome, he could cook, and he could bail you out of jail in a pinch.

  “Did you have any luck finding out who really killed Belinda?” she asked.

  The books came to mind. “I’m afraid not.”

  She fiddled with the silver barrette in her hair. “I was afraid of that. Rainwater was very kind and told me about everything that was stacked against Adele. He said that we were lucky to get her out on bail at all. Do you want to know the worst part?”

  “What is it?” I asked.

  “Part of me is happy this happened. Not that Adele was arrested and certainly not that Belinda was murdered. I’m happy that some good might come out of this because Adele called me for help, Violet. It was the first time she has reached out to me in two years. We talked, and I think if we work together at it, we can rebuild our broken family. Maybe even Michelle can be close to us again. I’m hopeful for the very first time.”

  “I want that for you too, Lacey.”

  She pursed her lips. “I heard that the Mortons were going to have their grape cutting tonight.” She frowned. “It’s just like them to go on like nothing happened.”

  “I know,” I said. “Nathan invited me to go.”

  “Will you?”

  “Something doesn’t sit well with me about that place.” I frowned. “I just don’t think everything with the murder is resolved. I know the Mortons, the police, and maybe the rest of the village would like to believe that, so life can go back to normal.”

  “You think Adele is innocent, don’t you?” she asked.

  “I do, but not of everything. There’s something you should know.”

  “What?” She chewed on her lower lip.

  “Adele was out in the vineyard that night. Nathan saw her follow Belinda into the vineyard.”

  “That doesn’t mean she killed anyone.”

  “Of course it doesn’t, but I do think the two of them met.”

  “Why?”

  “Because Adele had your letter with her. The same letter that was found with Belinda’s body.”

  “What are you saying?”

  “The police think Adele murdered Belinda and tried to frame you.”

  She shook her head. “I don’t believe it. I can’t believe it.”

  “I don’t believe she killed Belinda either, but it is some very strong evidence. You can see why the police arrested her. So, you asked if I was going to the grape cutting, and my answer is yes. Maybe by going I can find some answers.”

  She hugged me. “Thank you, Violet. This might be the only way to bring my family back together.”

  No pressure, I thought.

  Chapter Thirty-Six

  “So, is this a sting?” Grandma Daisy asked as I thoroughly searched the car for any sign of Emerson. I wasn’t going to have another stowaway situation with the little tuxedo cat.

  I pulled my head out from under the front passenger’s seat. “A sting?” I straightened up and climbed into the car.

  “Well, yes,” my grandmother said. “We’re going to the grape cutting to snoop, are we not? I think that’s what the coppers call a sting.”

  “The coppers? Does Chief Rainwater know that you call the police coppers?”

  She thought about this for a moment. “Not that I know of, but I doubt he’d be surprised.” She shut the passenger side door.

  As I walked around to my side of the car, I shook my head and wondered how smart it was to bring Grandma Daisy as my backup on this mission to clear Adele’s name. Unfortunately, she was the best that I had.

  As we drove to Morton Vineyards, I coached my grandmother. “Please don’t be too obvious. Mrs. Morton will be less than thrilled when she sees that we’re there. The less attention that we draw to ourselves, the better. Don’t make it look like we’re up to something.”

  “Violet, we are always up to something.”

  She had a point.

  Just like on the night of the book signing, there was a long line of cars in the Mortons’ driveway waiting to park. Cutting the frozen grapes at Morton vineyards at midnight was a big event for the village. Even with what had happened earlier in the week, the villagers had still come out.

  Grandma Daisy shook her head. “It’s amazing that all these people can come back here like nothing happened, like Belinda hadn’t been murdered here.”

  “We’re here too,” I said as the car inched up the driveway.

  “True. But we’re on a sting.”

  “Right,” I said with resignation.

  Grandma Daisy and I weren’t the help this evening, so we went through the front door with all the other guests. Nathan and his parents were at the front door and greeted guests as they entered the tasting room.

  Mrs. Morton’s eye narrowed as we stepped through the door. “What are you doing here?”

  “Mother,” Nathan said in measured tones. “Violet and Grandma Daisy are my friends, and I invited them.”

  Mrs. Morton scowled at her son. “When will you finally be able to forget the Waverlys?”

  “Camille,” Grandma Daisy said with fake friendliness. “It’s always so nice to see you. You always give us the warmest welcome.”

  I stopped myself from rolling my eyes. Grandma Daisy was laying it on a little thick.

  Mrs. Morton’s jaw twitched.

  Mr. Morton held out his hand to my grandmother. “We appreciate all the help we can get with bringing in the grapes tonight. Isn’t that right, Camille?”

  “Yes, dear,” she said through clenched teeth. Her tone clearly said, “We’ll talk about this later.”

  Nathan smiled as if everything was perfectly fine. It must have been a trick that he had mastered as mayor. Nathan really was a good politician. “You arrived right on time. We’re going to do a little introduction about cutting the grapes, and then we will go out. It’s almost midnight now. With this many people, we should have all the grapes brought in by two.”

  Grandma Daisy looped her arm through mine as we
walked around the room. “See any suspicious characters?”

  I removed my arm from her grasp. “Grandma, let’s not draw too much attention to the fact we are scoping everyone out.”

  “Good point,” she said. “We should split up to cover more ground.” She disappeared into the crowd before I could argue.

  That wasn’t going to be a problem. Grandma Daisy loose at Morton Vineyards thinking she was part of an undercover op. That wasn’t going to be any problem at all.

  I had almost started to go after her when another person caught my eye. Wine critic Jake Zule stood in the corner of the room with a pen and notebook in his hand.

  I walked over to him. “Are you writing a piece on the Mortons?”

  Jake jumped and dropped his pen.

  I picked up the pen and handed it to him. “Sorry if I scared you.”

  He forced a laugh. “I was just concentrating too hard. I want to capture every detail about this for my article. I have never been a part of a frozen grape harvest before, and I think that it will add a lot to my piece to have firsthand experience.”

  “Is this the same article that you were working on when you visited Charming Books?”

  “No, I already turned that one in. The editor was so pleased with it. He asked what else I had, and I suggested a feature on the frozen grape harvest. So here I am. If you will excuse me,” he said. “I see someone I need to speak to.” He walked away before I could say another word.

  “I wish I could say I was surprised to see you here, but then we’d both know I’d be lying,” Rainwater said.

  I spun around and found the police chief standing against the wall in civilian clothes. There was humor in his amber eyes.

  The butterflies kicked up in my stomach. “I’m not that surprised that you’re here either.” I smiled, so happy to see him.

  “I already spoke to Daisy. She mentioned something about a sting that was going down. Should I be worried about that?” He pushed himself off the wall.

  I shook my head. “I wouldn’t be. It takes too much energy to worry about things out of your control, and no one can control my grandmother.”