by Emmie Lyn
Pip and I finally made it inside the Little Dog Diner without anyone else ambushing me, and I closed the door with a firm click.
Rose wiped her brow with the back of her hand then dried it on her apron. “I thought something happened or you changed your mind about baking all these goodies.”
“Nothing like that. First AJ waylaid me, then Kelly showed up.” Pip let herself into the office where I kept a comfy purple dog bed for her.
“How much of everything does Sue Ellen need and, more importantly, did she add any more last-minute special requests?” Rose asked.
“The good news is no special requests. The bad news is, we need to make more than we planned for last night.” I tied a blueberry motif apron around my waist. “I’m thinking six dozen mini blueberry whoopie pies, six dozen brownies, and,” I pulled the refrigerator door open for inspiration, “we’ve got plenty of butter and eggs and a giant sack of lemons.” I looked at Rose. “How does a giant batch of lemon donut holes sound?” I waited for an answer.
“Works for me. When life gives you lemons … make lemon donut holes.” Rose said. “I’ll get started with that. I already took out blueberries from the freezer for the whoopie pies. And, it’s a good thing brownies freeze well. You should be all set on that item except for adding the chocolate frosting.”
Pip yipped and yapped and scratched at the kitchen door. “What’s the urgency, Pip? You were just outside.” I clipped on her leash thinking she only needed a trip outside to pee.
When I opened the door, I stopped short before mowing down a gum-snapping kid barely into his twenties standing ready to knock.
“Sorry,” I said, not recognizing him. “Can I help you?” Of course, Pip wasn’t happy with this unknown person and let him know with a growl and bark.
Pip lunged toward him.
The young man, with a few stray whiskers sprouting on the smooth skin of his chin, and his threadbare jeans drooping below his rear end like some guys thought was cool, took a few steps backwards. “What’s wrong with your dog?”
I ignored his question, letting Pip speak for herself. This was why she insisted on going outside. She was determined to keep the stranger at bay.
Once he was at a safe enough distance from Pip, he said in a low, conspiratorial voice, “Word on the street is that you found the body.”
I waited for the young man to continue, hiding my surprise and not admitting or denying this bizarre statement.
“That tough detective guy showed up at my apartment last night,” he hissed. “I wasn’t home, but I don’t think I can avoid him forever.”
This piqued my curiosity. “Why is Detective Crenshaw looking for you?”
“I delivered the champagne to that place where the woman was murdered. You were there too, so I was thinking you could…you know…give me an alibi.”
Pip must have decided the kid wasn’t worth all her energy because she stopped barking and sniffed at his sneakers. He stepped up within inches of me, ignoring Pip pestering him. “Is it true she was rolled up inside a rug?”
“Such an interesting question because that’s information the killer would know.” I stared at him, letting that sink in. “Did you put her in a rug?”
The young man’s face blanched, and he stepped back. “No way! Everyone is talking about it. Listen, it took me less than ten minutes to carry those cases of champagne into the kitchen.”
I put my hands on my hips, leaned forward, and moved inches from the young man’s face. I could do intimidation, too, thank you very much. “What’s your name?” I demanded.
“Um… Johnny.” He grinned and swaggered a bit like young kids tend to do when they’re full of themselves. “I tell people it’s Johnny Walker, you know, like the whiskey? But it’s really Johnny Wilker.”
I kept my voice low and smooth. “Okay, Johnny Wilker, come clean with me. Weren’t you a teensy bit curious to check out the other rooms in that mansion? I mean, who would know, right?”
Johnny bounced on the balls of his feet, all of his tough-guy persona evaporating into the breeze blowing off the bay. He chewed on his lip. “I didn’t take anything. I only looked into that big room at the end of the hall. No one was there.”
I straightened. “Why are so nervous, Johnny? What are you hiding?” I knew there had to be something.
“You were there, too. Aren’t you nervous that you’re a suspect?”
“But I didn’t kill her, so, no, I’m not nervous.” I cocked my head to one side. I raised my brows and asked again, “Why are you nervous, Johnny?”
He wiped sweat from his upper lip. “I’ve got to go.”
When Johnny turned to leave, his shoulder bumped into the person who had walked up quietly behind him. Johnny flinched. Unfortunately for him, Detective Crenshaw, appearing out of nowhere, blocked any hope for an escape. “Johnny Wilker, you’re a hard man to find. Where have you been hiding?”
AJ ignored me.
“Not hiding, sir. I’ve been busy.” Johnny shuffled to the side like he was looking for an escape route.
AJ, with his feet planted three feet apart and his hands on his hips, stared down at Johnny who was only about as wide as a young sapling. “Is that a fact?”
“Yes, sir.”
I had about a teaspoon of sympathy for Johnny as AJ glared at him. His nervous behavior suggested that he was hiding something.
“You don’t seem too busy now. How about you come with me to the police station? I have some questions for you.”
Johnny nodded. What else could he do? AJ’s question, firm and direct, left no room for a no thanks or not right now as an answer.
AJ moved to one side, giving Johnny an unobstructed route to Main Street in front of him. “I’ll follow you to my vehicle.”
Before they began to walk away, Rudy appeared from around the corner of the diner. “Just who I was looking for,” he said. I had no intention of getting in between AJ and Johnny to find out what Rudy was referring to.
AJ scowled. “What are you doing here?”
AJ was obviously annoyed with this intrusion, but such is the life of a policeman—constant problem-solving and distractions.
With AJ’s focus momentarily distracted by Rudy, I saw movement out of the corner of my eye. Johnny looked quickly at AJ and must have sensed an opportunity. He bolted.
“Hey!” AJ’s hand lashed toward the moving blur but closed on air.
Johnny, not missing this opportunity, disappeared around the diner with AJ in hot pursuit and his thunderous voice echoing in the air as he yelled at Johnny to stop.
What spooked Johnny?
Rudy walked toward me before I could come up with an answer.
“What just happened?” Rudy said, looking not a whole lot better than he had since the murder.
“That’s the kid who delivered the cases of champagne to Sue Ellen’s house,” I said. “He probably just made the worst decision of his life. He claims to be innocent but running sure makes him look guilty of something.”
Rudy said, “He’s young and it could be that he’s scared since the delivery put him at the scene of the crime.”
Just like you, I thought as I looked at Rudy. “I did get him to admit that he looked in the room where Judith’s body was found after he carried in the cases of champagne. I know that doesn’t mean he killed her, but the timing is terrible for him.”
“Maybe he stole something,” Rudy suggested. “I mean, he’s a kid and if he was all alone in that big house, he probably figured, who would know? Right?”
“Speaking from experience, Rudy?” I asked. I kept my voice light as if I were teasing. But Sue Ellen had only mentioned the gold coin that was already recovered inside the rug. What would someone like Johnny be tempted to steal?
My mind replayed what I could remember of Sue Ellen’s mansion. The kitchen had high end appliances built into the walls. The artwork on the walls in the hallway likely wasn’t something Johnny would grab. Ditto, the bathroom with fancy soaps and towels. What about the
library? Was he a book kind of kid and saw something on one of the shelves? I didn’t think so.
“Maybe you’re happy that with Johnny bolting away from the police, Rudy, it takes the spotlight off of you.” I knew that would hit a nerve.
His eyes narrowed. “Sue Ellen’s neighbor did not see me at her door at three o’clock in the afternoon. Why does everyone believe her and not me?”
We stared at each other for a minute before I decided that if I pretended to believe Rudy, he might lower his guard. A change of subject would work to calm the waters.
“What did you come here for?” I asked. “Can I help you with something?”
Maybe I’d manage to glean a tidbit or two from him. Something about Rudy screamed watch out. If he didn’t know more than he was revealing, I’d suck on one of the lemons in the diner.
“I was hoping to do a little filming in the diner if I won’t be in your way.”
“Yeah…not a good time. Rose and I are on a bit of a short clock to get all the desserts finished for the auction.”
“Oh.” His disappointment was obvious, but I had a suspicion there was something else on his mind. I waited for him to reveal himself.
He looked in both directions before he focused back on me. “This town sure did come up with some crazy ideas about my whereabouts yesterday.”
“Someone seeing you at Sue Ellen’s door doesn’t sound like a crazy idea, it sounds like a fact to me.” Pip had started to nudge Rudy’s pants leg.
“You know what the problem is in a town like this?”
I couldn’t wait to hear Rudy’s theory, which I suspected wouldn’t be the only crazy theory around.
“You all want to blame the out of town guy, but it’s not going to work.” He turned and walked away.
Chapter Fourteen
Pip and I went back inside the diner before anyone else chanced upon me. I had work to do.
Rose had three trays of blueberry whoopie pies cooling on the counter. While her back was turned, I snuck one of the irresistible treats and popped it whole into my mouth.
Bad decision … hot blueberries exploded, burning the roof of my mouth! I fanned the heat away with tears welling in my eyes from stifling a loud, Oh, no, my mouth is on fire. I just hoped Rose didn’t figure out what I’d done.
“You know, it takes two halves to make each whoopie pie with the blueberry cream filling in the middle. You’ve left me with an odd number.”
How did she figure it out?
“These eyes in the back of my head still work, Dani.”
Actually, that explanation didn’t work like it had when I was a kid because I saw her watching me in the reflection of the stove hood. Our eyes met, and we both laughed.
“What was Pip barking her head off about before?” she asked, handing me a cold glass of water.
I filled her in on Johnny’s nervous visit followed by AJ and Rudy showing up. I put on a fresh apron for luck and said, “Maybe we can finish the baking without any more interruptions.” I measured the ingredients for the chocolate frosting while Rose mixed up a second batch of whoopie pie batter.
Pip started giving me her soulful sad eyes, accompanied by the whining I swear she practiced when she was alone, so I dragged her bed into a corner of the kitchen. “You can keep us company as long as you stay out of the way,” I warned to her triumphant tail-wagging. It was against the rules, but who would know?
We had a good rhythm going until a knock sounded on the front door. “Geesh. What’s wrong with everyone today?” I decided to ignore the knock but Pip, true to form, charged to the door like we had a mass murderer on our doorstep.
“Yoo-hoo, Dani? Are you in there? I know you’re closed but could you let me in?”
My stomach cringed. Enough I thought and looked at Rose. She gave me a sympathetic shrug and said, “You know she won’t go away so you may as well open the door.”
Sue Ellen breezed into the diner as if she had no cares in the world. I resented the interruption, but I marveled at her cool, calm manner in the face of all the drama turning her world upside down. Maybe she was in denial.
Pip escorted Sue Ellen to the counter where she lowered herself onto one of the stools. “Are you busy?” She patted Pip who had her front feet on Sue Ellen’s thigh, ready to climb right into her lap.
Was she blind? I had no idea what she was thinking. Maybe she assumed all the desserts mixed themselves and walked into the oven on their own?
“I just left the library and thought I’d see how the desserts are coming along.”
“They’ll be ready, don’t worry,” I said, trying to keep my frustration at bay. I spread chocolate frosting on a brownie. “Do you have everything squared away at the library for the auction tomorrow night?”
“Uh-huh,” she said a tad distracted. She glanced around the diner, panic growing in her blue eye-shadowed eyes. “Where are they?” Her voice, heading toward panic.
Knowing how much Sue Ellen loved chocolate, I placed the perfect distraction on a plate for her —a luscious, frosted brownie.
“Don’t panic. Everything’s under control and we’ll deliver your desserts to the library tomorrow afternoon. Here,” I said. “You look like you could use a little sugar boost.”
Sue Ellen wiped her brow. “Bless your heart, Dani. Is it that obvious? All the running around does have me feeling a little tired.” With a delicate nibble, Sue Ellen sampled the treat. “Melt in my mouth heaven,” she said. “How do you come up with these out-of-this-world taste bud pleasures?” She closed her eyes, and I worried that she might swoon and fall off the stool, crushing Pip in the process.
“You’ll have to thank Lily for the brownies. It’s one of our staples and she had plenty in the freezer. I only have to add the frosting, which is a special order for you. Want another one?”
“If you can spare it.” She licked her fingers to get every last bit of chocolate.
I indulged Sue Ellen. “Rudy stopped by earlier,” I said taking a break from my labors. “He asked to do some filming in the diner, but we had a bit of a disagreement. What’s going on with him?”
Sue Ellen swallowed the last of her treat and dabbed the crumbs from her lips. “I wish I knew, Dani. I’m starting to lose faith in him with all his excuses about missing our planned meetings. I still haven’t done a walk through at the library with him to explain what I want for tomorrow night. What did you have a disagreement about?”
“Well, I only brought up what your neighbor said about seeing someone who matched Rudy’s description at your house at three in the afternoon. He absolutely denies it, but it sure is a touchy subject with him.”
“Alice Cross?”
“Yeah. Would she have any reason to lie about seeing him show up twice at your house?” I removed Sue Ellen’s empty plate and wiped the counter around her spot.
“I never considered that, but I can’t think of anything. Her world revolves around everything she can see from her big front picture window. I’ve never known her to make up stuff.”
“Does she have a grudge against you, Sue Ellen?” I knew this question would upset the woman staring at me, but the possibility needed to be considered. It would be too easy to accept Alice’s story at face value and miss a potential path to find the murderer.
Sue Ellen roared with laughter. “Not unless she’s jealous that my house is bigger than hers.”
“Then why would Rudy lie?” This particular point didn’t make any sense.
“I’ve wondered that, too. And since he said he was wandering around town, he doesn’t have an alibi. It’s his word against Alice’s.”
I continued to frost the brownies and stack them between parchment papers before placing them in boxes. “Has Rudy ever been in your house? Would he know about your glass case and those treasures you have displayed inside?” I knew I was grasping at straws, but there had to be some logical explanation.
Sue Ellen’s eyes widened. “He did come once. It was about a month ago. I insisted
on meeting him before I hired him to do the video.” Her lips puckered to one side. “We had a pleasant visit, talking and eating pastries. All in all, he was the perfect gentleman, asking all the right questions and showing polite interest in me.” She paused and looked away. “Now that I hear what I’m saying, I’ve just described a talented manipulator. In a roundabout way, he brought me around to talk about my coins and after he walked by the case, he told me that he’s a coin collector. This all reminds me that he showed a lot of interest in one small coin.” Sue Ellen slid off the stool. “I need to check if it’s still in the case.”
I untied my apron and threw it in the dirty laundry bag. “Wait for me. I’m coming with you. Call Maggie and have her meet us at your house. If that coin is missing, it would be a significant new piece of evidence. Rose?”
Rose looked up from mixing her lemon donut-hole batter. She flicked her wrist in a gesture shooing us out the door. “I’ll finish this up, don’t worry.”
“Everything will be finished?” Sue Ellen’s expression held a momentary panic.
“I’ll come back and help Rose, but I want to see your case of treasures.”
“You’ll have enough time? This auction must run smooth as silk. I can’t have two nights of disasters.”
I patted Sue Ellen’s shoulder. “Don’t worry. There’s plenty of time to get to your house and come back to finish the desserts so they’ll be ready for tomorrow night.” I tried to change the subject away from her obsession with the desserts.
“Who’s hanging the quilt?” I asked as I held the diner door open, following Sue Ellen and Pip out.
“Maggie volunteered.”
“Huh. A woman of many talents.”
“Yeah. She doesn’t want a repeat of what happened at my house.” Sue Ellen shuddered. “And I’m sure I can round up someone else to help her.”
I followed Sue Ellen in the MG and parked next to Detective Crenshaw’s Jeep in the circular driveway. Other officers milled around but didn’t pay any attention to us. Sue Ellen’s house was still the object of a murder investigation.
Sue Ellen, looking neither left nor right, walked with purpose to her front door where Detective Crenshaw held his hand up like a traffic cop. “This is still off limits, Sue Ellen.”
