“I’m so happy to see you back to normal. I think this guy has probably gotten in way over his head. People are getting killed and the police are all over the place. Right now, I think he just wants to get out of Dodge!”
“I hope so. At any rate, he won’t be getting any more money from me.” Mattie moved to the table and said, “What smells so delicious?”
Lunch was fun. Angela retold her story about shooting the bobber. “That man is quite speedy, but he couldn’t outrun my Super Soaker. I really don’t understand him at all. If I were he, I’d be afraid of sunburn.” She mused a moment, then brightened and said, “Maybe he uses SPF 50. That would take care of things.”
Daisy laughed and said, “Who knows. Well, we’d better get to work.”
As they were discussing the games for the Fourth, Daisy steered the conversation to the old days. They found out that Aunt Lucy, Ron Tucker and his wife, Sarah Hudson, and Sally’s and Mattie’s parents had all been close friends. Sally said, “I remember they were all in and out of each other’s houses all the time.”
“You’re right,” said Mattie. “I’d forgotten how close they all were. They played cards every Friday night. It was a ritual. There was another couple, I forget their names, but they moved away years ago. How did we get onto this?”
Daisy said, “I was just wondering what kinds of games they used to have on the Fourth.”
Suddenly Angela said, “Cornhole boards!”
Mattie looked puzzled. Daisy asked, “What? That sounds vaguely rude.”
“Cornhole boards. It’s a game. The ladies and I play it when we go to the Mighty Wind. It’s kind of like horseshoes, but with bean bags. Lots of fun. It would be perfect!”
Sally said, “Great idea. I should have thought of it myself. My family plays it a lot.”
Rose said, “Okay. I guess we could add that. What do we need? Our budget is kind of small.”
Angela said, “Not a problem. We just need the boards and bean bags and I’ll donate them. I know someone who makes the boards. I’ll have him paint them red and green.”
“Why red and green, Mother?”
“To look like watermelon. It is the Fourth!”
“Hmm. I was just thinking red, white and blue might be the more obvious choice.”
Angela looked thoughtful and said, “Oh. Yes. We could do that. And it might be easier than watermelon. Painting all those little seeds could take forever.”
Mattie asked, “What’s the Mighty Wind?”
Angela said, “It’s this wonderful sailors’ bar in Annapolis where my friends and I go. All the guys know us there! You should come with us one night. We play for Cosmos.” Rose stood behind her mother frantically shaking her head.
Mattie laughed and said, “I’ll think about it. Well, cornhole boards it is. This should be a good Fourth. I’m looking forward to it.”
After Sally and Mattie left, Angela took the dogs for a walk. As they were cleaning up, Rose told Daisy what Mattie had said.
Daisy answered, “That’s funny. It’s kind of what Sally told me. She talked to her parents and found out they always knew about the jail thing. They went along with her version because that’s what she wanted and they were so happy at the changes she’d made in her life. Unfortunately, her fiancée wasn’t as kind. They broke up.”
Rose looked surprised. “She didn’t seem very sad about it. She was in a great mood.”
Daisy answered, “She’s not. Apparently, they hadn’t been getting along for a while and his reaction made her realize why. He’s just not a very nice guy. Oh, and she spoke to a lawyer about lying on the loan application. He said it’s been over ten years, the loan’s been paid back, and nobody is going to care.”
Daisy sat at the kitchen table nibbling a piece of the banana bread Mattie had brought. “This is really good. I could probably eat the whole thing. So Sally and Mattie have stopped paying the blackmail and no one has spread any gossip about them.”
“I think the blackmailer’s lying low and hoping to get out of here without being noticed because I think he killed Peggy Merritt. I think she caught him breaking into the post office.” said Rose.
“I do, too. Where do we go next?”
“I’m not sure. I thought it was pretty interesting that both Ron and Sarah were friends with the Clovers and the Hendersons. Could one of them be the first blackmailer, do you think?”
“Oh, come on! I can’t believe either Ron or Sarah would do something like that. I wish Aunt Lucy were here. She’d know about all of this.”
Rose shook her head. “If you’re old and broke, you might. And who else would know about the mistakes Sally and Mattie made when they were teenagers?”
Daisy sighed, “I know you could be right. It makes sense. Their parents might have confided in really close friends when their kids were in trouble. But I just hate to think it’s one of them.”
“Me, too. But I’d like to know where Ron Tucker got the money to buy that dog.” Rose suddenly threw the dishtowel across the room. “This stinks.”
“Yes it does,” agreed Daisy.
Rose thought a minute and said, “Well, let’s suppose it is Ron. Then who’s the second blackmailer? Because I know for a fact that old Ron Tucker did not attack me that night. Whoever did that was quick and agile. And that’s just not Ron!”
“I don’t know. I give up. The whole thing makes less and less sense.”
Angela walked in with the dogs trailing behind her. “I’ve been thinking and I think it’s time to call Elyse Dove and tell her about the card.”
Angela called Elyse Dove that afternoon. They chatted for a long time and when Angela finally put down the receiver there were tears in her eyes. She was quiet for a long time and then said, “I don’t know how I would go on if something happened to one of my children.”
Rose handed her a glass of wine and said, “Let’s go outside and you can tell us about it.”
Angela sat between her girls and sipped her wine. She murmured, “Very nice,” and put her glass down. “Well, Elyse Dove is a lovely woman who has had more than her share of heartbreak. But she’s no fool. I explained who I was and why I was calling. I gave her Tom Willis as a reference. She had me hold the phone while she Googled the Bostwick police department and then called Tom to make sure I wasn’t some kind of con artist. Apparently, he put her mind at ease.”
Daisy said, “Oh my. I am going to have some explaining to do. I told Tom I was just being nosy. He’s going to want to know why you are calling Mrs. Dove.”
“Oh don’t worry about Tom. I’ll take care of him. Anyway, we made plans to have lunch together in Fredericksburg on Wednesday, the four of us.”
Daisy said, “What did she say about the card?”
Angela answered, “We didn’t talk about it, really. After she was satisfied that I wasn’t some sort of crazy lady, we got to talking about our children and the card didn’t come up again until we made our lunch date. She said she’d tell us about it then.”
Daisy said, “Speaking about the card, I’ve been thinking. I wonder why Bill took Brad in for questioning? He didn’t want to let on that he knew about the blackmail.”
“Especially since we don’t have the card anymore!” said Rose.
“Exactly. So what do you think he found out? I mean as far as I know, there’s no known connection between Brad and Peggy or the post office.”
Rose said, “Maybe we could just ask Bill. After all, I am an interested party.”
“Bill’s not going to tell us anything. He never told me anything about cases when we were married. He’ll just use that condescending tone of his and say it’s an on-going investigation and ‘Daisy, keep your nose out of it.’”
“Okay, then we talk to Brad.”
Angela said, “I’m not sure that’s a good idea. Brad might very well be the person who attacked you the other night.”
Rose said, “All the more reason to talk to him. He won’t think we suspect him if we act like w
e’re just concerned about him. I’m going down there tomorrow and see what I can find out.”
Daisy said, “I’ll go with you. It could be dangerous.”
Angela chirped, “Me, too.”
Rose shook her head and said, “No, you won’t. That would be ridiculous. I’ll just drop by in the middle of the day and talk to him. See if he still has the card on display. Ask what Bill wanted. It’s a natural enough question. I’ll be a couple of shops away in broad daylight. Nothing will happen to me.”
“Maybe so,” said Angela. “But I don’t like it. I’m coming over tomorrow to make sure you stay safe.”
Around noon the next day, Rose walked down the street to Yesterday’s Heroes. As she got to the door she took out her phone, dialed her mother’s line and said, “I’m here. I’m not hanging up. I’ll just put the phone in my pocket, so don’t start laughing or screaming. He’ll hear you.”
Angela said, “Of course not, Rose. I wasn’t born yesterday. I’m putting you on speaker so Daisy and I can both listen. Now be careful.”
Rose pushed open the door to the shop and looked around. She didn’t see anyone. She called, “Brad, you here?”
She walked up to the counter. The baseball card wasn’t hanging where it usually did. She called again, “Brad, anyone at home?” No answer. She said, “There’s no one here, but the door was open. It’s kind of spooky. I’m going to take a look in his office.”
The phone made a hissing sound and Daisy’s voice said, “Just come home. We’ll talk to Bill, instead.”
“I’m fine. I’m just looking through his desk. Nothing, but old sports junk and bills.”
They could hear her opening and closing drawers. Then she said, “Oh, wait. I think this is the frame the card was in. It’s…” and then they heard Rose scream and the phone went dead.
Chapter Eighteen
Daisy and Angela raced out their door and down the street. They got to the shop and saw that the door was ajar. Daisy pushed it open slowly. Angela hissed, “Shhh!” as the bell that hung on it jingled. Daisy grabbed it and eased the door shut again. On tiptoe they glided in and silently moved down the aisle to the counter.
Angela whispered, “Rose, sweetie, where are you? Are you all right?”
The office door had swung to, but they could hear sounds coming from behind it. Daisy grabbed a bat from a wall display and said, “Mother, stay here. And be ready to call 911.” She moved behind the counter and pushed open the door. Then Daisy burst out laughing.
The office was a bit of a mess. A desk drawer had been pulled out and dumped onto the floor. Rose was just pushing herself off of Bill Greene’s stomach, a heavy metal stapler still in her hand. And Bill was laying flat on his back clutching his head.
Rose was saying, “Bill, I am so sorry. I’m just so very sorry. But you really have to stop sneaking up on me like that.”
Angela had her squirt gun pointed at Bill. “What did he do to you, Rose? Did he attack you?”
“Mother, put that thing away. You’ll stain someone.” Rose held out her hand and pulled Bill to his feet. He sat down heavily in the desk chair and dabbed at the cut on his head with a paper towel Daisy had gotten from the bathroom.
Angela said, “No, I won’t. Daisy made me wash the dye out. It’s just got plain water in it. Well, what was this man doing attacking you?”
Bill said, “I wasn’t attacking anyone. I saw the front door of the shop wide open and heard someone moving around the office. Before I could say, ‘Hi Rose. What the hell are you doing breaking into this place?’ she turned and hit me with that stapler.”
“And then I fell on him when I tripped trying to run out because I didn’t realize who it was and I pulled the drawer out as I went down. But I am getting better at self-defense, don’t you think?”
Daisy said, “I think he’s growling. He used to do that when we were married, mostly after family dinners.”
“You didn’t like my dinners?” asked Angela.
“The dinners were fine. It was all the rest of it.” Bill pulled himself together, sat up straighter in the chair, and said, “Rose, what were you doing in here? And where is Brad Douglas?”
“I have no idea. I came down here to talk to him and the shop was empty. So I thought I’d just leave him a little note. Then you came in and startled me.”
“You were going through the drawers. I saw you.”
“I was looking for paper.”
“Right! And what did you want to talk to him about?”
“I was going to ask him why you had taken him in for questioning. Why did you?”
“You know I can’t answer that.”
Daisy said, “Oh come on, Bill. The guy might be a murderer and you won’t tell us why you questioned him? That’s not fair. We could be in danger. And while we’re at it, did you really clear Peter?”
Rose smiled charmingly. “You know you’re going to tell us eventually. We could have Mother soak it out of you.”
Bill shook his head and sighed. “Yes, we cleared Peter Fleming. He was at conference or symposium or some crap like that in Baltimore.”
Daisy interrupted, “What about Brad? What did he tell you about the card? Why did you take him in and then let him go?”
Bill put his head in his hands and mumbled something under his breath. Then he looked up and said, “Okay. Okay. If I tell you, will you just shut up?”
“Probably.”
“That old man working in the post office now found that a page had been torn out of the binder they keep the post office box information in.”
“Oh, the red book. Where Peggy kept track of our payments?”
“Yeah. It’s a red book. Well, we finally tracked down which page was missing. It was for the box belonging to Brad Douglas. We also found his fingerprints behind the counter and on the back door. So I picked him up and we had a little chat.”
“Oh wow!” said Daisy as she slid the drawer into place and started putting the contents back. “So why did you let him go?”
“There wasn’t enough to hold him. He had plausible explanations for the fingerprints. Says the Merritt woman asked him for help with some heavy packages. Alibi-wise, he didn’t have much of one. But that’s not unusual. We think she was killed about five in the morning. That’s when she usually got to work. He says he was home in bed, along with everyone else in this case.”
Daisy elbowed Rose and said, “Our plan wouldn’t have worked anyway. We got there too late.”
Bill frowned. “What wouldn’t have worked?”
Daisy was staring into the drawer and said, “Nothing. Not a damned thing. So you let him go?” She held up a roll of brass-colored duct tape from the drawer and said, “Maybe you shouldn’t have.”
Bill looked at it and said, “Dammit. Daisy you’ve got your fingerprints all over it. Put it in here.” He pulled a plastic evidence bag out of his pocket and Daisy dropped the tape in.
Rose said, “Speaking of post office boxes, did you have any luck finding out about the box next to ours? The one the baseball card should have gone to?”
Bill sighed. “Not yet. The file here was practically illegible and the Office Aide place in Vienna seems to have lost the paperwork. So we’re still looking.”
Suddenly a voice demanded, “What are you doing in here?” They turned to see Abby Wentworth.
Bill stood up and said, “Better question, Miss - what are you doing here?”
Abby’s attitude changed abruptly. She dropped the scowl and simpered, “Oh, I didn’t see you there, Billy. Is everything all right?”
Daisy looked at him and said, “Billy? Really?”
“Just why are you here, Ms. Wentworth?”
“I came to meet Brad for lunch. I still want to know why all of you are in his office.”
Daisy patted her arm and said, “We all want things, honey.” Then she made her way out of the office followed by Rose and Angela. Daisy stopped at the shop door and said, “Billy, come on by when you finish up
here. I think we need to talk.”
When they got back to the house, Angela said, “I’m hungry. How about you two?” She fixed tuna salad on croissants and fruit. “I don’t understand about the duct tape. Why was Bill so interested?”
“Because that was the same kind someone used to tape up Malcolm and rig our front door.”
“So it was Brad who broke in here and attacked Rose!”
Daisy thought a minute. “Maybe. It makes a certain amount of sense. It was his baseball card. I’ve thought all along that he might have been trying to get it back.”
Rose said, “But it still comes back to how did he know we had it?”
“Easy,” replied Daisy. “He thinks we’re the blackmailers!”
Rose choked on her iced tea as she excitedly waved her hand in the air. “The frame. The card wasn’t in it!”
“What?”
“Just before Bill snuck up on me, I found the frame that Brad kept the card in. The stub and scorecard were there, but the card was gone!”
They heard footsteps on the stairs and Bill Greene walked in saying, “It’s only me. You left your door unlocked. Are you crazy? There’s a killer out there.”
Daisy smacked her head, “Hells bells! That was me. Malcolm was in a hurry to get out when we got back here. I forgot to lock the door.”
Bill frowned, “Just be more careful, would you?”
“So, did you find Brad?”
“No. And that girl is a menace. I couldn’t get rid of her.”
“She is a bit clingy if you’re a good-looking man,” said Daisy. “I guess you qualify.”
Bill looked at her thoughtfully for a second. “Well, thanks. I finally got her out of there and took a look around. Nothing-except for the tape. I’ll get that printed, but it won’t make a difference. It’s his tape, in his desk. It’ll have his fingerprints on it. So what?”
Daisy said, “It will make a difference if his prints aren’t on it!”
Rose asked, “What about the frame?”
“What frame?”
Angela chanted, “The frame with the power. What power? The power of…”
Bill snapped, “Angela!”
Roses are Dead My Love Page 13
