But I couldn’t focus on any of that.
My mind worked on overtime as I heaped Grandy Low’s special cheesy potato casserole and Karen Elkhart’s meatloaf onto plates.
I was relatively certain Rebecca had nothing to do with Fran and Abby’s murders, though she certainly had a strong motive, I suppose. Maybe she was just denying the group was cruel to her as a cover story?
But why would she wait decades to kill them? That made entirely no sense. And if she were holding a grudge, she sure didn’t behave like someone who did. Certainly, she could be a consummate actress, but that seemed highly unlikely.
“Hey, you okay in that head of yours?” Coco asked, nudging me with her hip.
“I had a very interesting conversation with that broody woman in the picture with the group and Matthew Miles,” I said under my breath, smiling at Harvey Wineman as I passed him some meatloaf.
When a lull in the line came upon us, she turned to me and said, “You mean the one with all that incredible hair? You found out who she is? How’d you do that?”
“Just got lucky. I saw her out on the boardwalk and recognized her from the picture. We just talked for a little bit. She seems very nice.”
“And is she now on the suspect list?”
Blowing out a breath, I shook my head and used my finger to push my glasses back to the bridge of my nose. “I don’t think so. Who waits twenty years to take someone out? Two someones, in fact?”
“Do you have any idea what I’d do if I could get my hands on Barry Simpler from drama club in high school? I’d knock his teeth out for terrorizing me through the entire production of Mame.”
Oh boy, did I remember Barry Simpler and his hijinks. I swear, I thought he and Coco were going to duel it out at dawn one day. “But would you have waited this long to kill him, Coco?”
“Kill is a strong word. Maybe I’d just poke his eyes out. I mean, he did put itching powder on my boa, and that’s just for starters. He was an ass. My point is, some people plan stuff like this for a long, long time. Revenge or the planning of revenge can be an aphrodisiac for some. Sometimes it’s not even the kill that means as much as the plan.”
Rolling my eyes, I asked, “Now who’s been watching too much Dateline?” I wiped my hands on my apron and shook my head again with a small smile. “No. I really don’t think Rebecca had anything to do with it. Nothing about her fits the profile of someone who’s plotted the death of her college mates for twenty years. I think she was too busy raising her daughter in Bremerton.”
“So who’s left?”
“I don’t know, but I do know, the motive behind the killings has something to do with them as a group and or something that happened to them as a group.”
“Ya think they’re being haunted by a vengeful ghost? A spirit they wronged?” Coco said on a snort.
“Funny. No. I mean an event, maybe. Someone is targeting them because of this event. Fran and Abby don’t have much in common other than their friendship. They look nothing alike, so it’s not a type the killer’s into. It has to be something they did as a whole. Maybe it has to do with Matthew Miles…”
I kept coming back to his name even though he’d been dead for almost thirty years. Was it just because he’d been a part of the group, the spotlight was on them, and he was just incidental?
I had to know.
“Well, he’s dead, so I think asking him is a moot point,” Coco pointed out.
“I know, I know. Maybe his mother knows something? I don’t want to dredge up ugly memories for her, but she might be worth a phone call if I can locate her. Justice said he spoke with her when he was identifying the mystery woman in the picture, a.k.a, Rebecca. Think he’d give me her number?”
Coco threw her head back and laughed, her husky chuckle drawing attention. “Why don’t you just ask for a badge and a gun, too?”
I let my head fall back on my shoulders in defeat. “Right. Point taken. Either way, I have no leads at this point on anything. I think square one and I have become BFFs.”
Coco stuck her lower lip out. “That you’d replace me so easily hurts my heart, Lemon.”
Out of the corner of my eye, I caught Albert and Ivan chatting with Rupert, who looked like he was having a bad moment. Maybe I could ask some questions of them about this mystical Matthew without upsetting Thea again. She was too emotional and edgy right now. I didn’t want to hurt her any more than she appeared to be hurting.
I handed Coco my spoon and told her I was going to the bathroom. Threading my way through the crowd, I smiled and nodded some more, again, something I’m really bad at, as I made my way closer to Ivan and Albert.
“There she is!” Rupert exclaimed, his face brightening as he held an arm out to wrap around my shoulders.
We’d bonded, I suppose, and because we understood each other’s pain, I felt like we were allies of sorts.
Smiling, I asked, “Are you okay? It’s been a long day, I’m sure.”
Albert slapped him on the back, jolting Rupert forward. “He’s doing all right, aren’t you, buddy? We’re gonna get through this—all of us—together. Just like always.”
“Like always?” I murmured. “I thought you all didn’t become friends until Rupert met Josiah at an alumni reunion?”
Ivan nodded his salt-and-pepper head, the silver in his hair especially bright under the VFW hall lights. “But it’s like he’s always been a part of the group. Right, Rupe?”
Rupert looked a bit uncomfortable, and I attributed that to their differing beliefs, but he bucked right up. “You’ve all been very nice to me.”
“I met your friend earlier…um, Rebecca, is it? She’s in one of your Facebook posts on Abby and Fran’s memorial page, I think. Really lovely lady.”
The moment I said her name, their faces—all their faces—changed, but only for a blip before everyone smiled and nodded.
Maybe my bullying theory wasn’t so far off the mark? Or a prank? Initiation? I just couldn’t put my finger on what was wrong here, but something was wrong.
“She’s lovely, isn’t she? It was so good to see her. Sad bit about her and Matthew. I wish she hadn’t left school like that,” Albert said, smiling congenially as he sipped a bottle of water. “But I think we all understand each other better now that we’ve seen her again, don’t you think, Ivan?”
Ivan cleared his throat and nodded his agreement, but his eyes roamed over the people in the VFW, sitting at tables in folding chairs. “Yes. I definitely think we do.”
I nodded, hoping to keep the conversation going so I could find something out about this Matthew. “She did mention what happened with Matthew. Young love is especially brutal sometimes, isn’t it?”
Albert and Ivan both shook their heads, but their expressions stayed the same. “None of us talked about it much, I think we all just had a feeling. But when he met Rebecca, well, we figured we were wrong about him.”
“About his being gay?”
Ivan swallowed hard, yet his face remained passive. “Yes. Then when he told us… We all tried to contact Rebecca, but she left school and wouldn’t return any of our phone calls. Abby was especially worried about her—her being the most sensitive of us all. I guess we could have tried harder, but then Matthew died and…everything just fell apart.”
“So he was a big part of your group then? Rebecca said he was older than all of you… Was he a professor?”
Albert chortled, low and easy, driving his hands into his trousers. “Matthew? Hah! He bucked all convention, academic and otherwise. He worked at a bar most nights and bummed off us the rest. Sometimes he played at being a starving artist. But mostly he just got by. Still, I guess you could call him our unofficial leader. He was the one who began us on the path to enlightenment. Abby just picked up where he left off and we followed like her lemmings.”
“That he did,” Ivan echoed, his tone harder, his shoulders slumping ever so slightly beneath his deep gray suit, and I wondered if this had anything to do with how anno
yed he’d been with Albert about the going-into-the-light business. Maybe Ivan had been losing faith, too.
But was that a reason to murder two people?
I continued, treading cautiously. “Right, Rebecca said Matthew was into the afterlife and self-healing and all sorts of things.”
Rupert became visibly agitated, his sigh inflating his chest. A clear sign they were talking rubbish as far as he was concerned and any talk of the afterlife was a sore spot for him.
I rubbed his arm in sympathy, enjoying the smell of his cologne. “But you didn’t know Matthew in school, Rupert?”
He looked down at me and shook his head, patting my hand. “No. I moved in very different circles than he did. Gay circles, to be precise. Openly gay ones.”
The harsh edge to his tone suggested he wasn’t a fan of people who stayed in the closet.
“I heard he died of a heart attack,” I said conversationally. “How sad at such a young age.”
“Indeed it was,” Albert agreed. “A horrible time in our lives, for sure. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to go save Thea from Betty Ingalls. She despises the woman, and I can see making polite conversation is taking its toll on her.” He moved off in the direction of Thea, who was indeed speaking with Betty, her face strained as she rocked back and forth atop a small orange pillow on the folding chair she sat upon.
Instantly, I felt remorse as I looked to Ivan, my face apologetic. “Did I upset him? I didn’t mean to. I’m clearly not very good at these things.”
Rupert patted my hand again and reassured me. “Don’t be silly. What happened to Matthew is no secret. Everyone knew. It was a long time ago. It’s over now.”
Ivan slapped Rupert on the back. “What Rupe said. You all right here? I’m going to go say hello to some of my golf buddies, if you don’t mind.”
“Am I okay with you, Lemon? Do you promise not to eat me like the big bad wolf?” Rupert teased, and it made me chuckle. It was nice to see a smile on his face.
Grinning, I said, “I think you’re safe with me. I’ll take good care of him, Ivan.”
Ivan waved a hand and was off, leaving Rupert and I alone. “How do you feel about getting some fresh air?” he asked me, holding out his arm.
I took it and let him guide me out of the VFW hall, which had become quite warm with so many bodies packed together, and outside to the entryway path.
“I goofed, didn’t I? Matthew’s obviously a very sensitive subject.”
Rupert blustered as he patted a spot on the brick pavers lining the garden “Don’t be ridiculous. How could you have known? It was all so long ago. The lot of them should just let it go.”
I thought about that phrase letting go. I’ve heard it a hundred times, but you can only do that when you’re ready.
Fingering a rose petal in the garden behind us, I said, “I think they’re all just upset. I mean, two of the people from your group killed? I think they must feel like moving targets about now. It’s got to be scary.”
Rupert grimaced, his handsome face lined with sorrow. “Well, of course, there’s that. It certainly looks like someone’s picking them off like flies, doesn’t it? But your Justice promised he’d keep patrolmen at our houses, and we’re never supposed to go anywhere alone until they solve this. It’ll all be okay—at least I hope it will.”
“You say them, but they consider you one of them. Don’t you feel the same way?”
He paused a moment then took a deep breath, blowing it out from pursed lips. “I suppose I don’t—not totally. I absolutely tried, for Josiah’s sake and all, but it was one of our biggest arguments, that group and their nonsense. They’re all good people, Lemon, don’t get me wrong, but the things they believe in are insane, if you ask me. Self-healing? It’s all such bunk. Our fundamental beliefs just don’t jive. It was a sore spot for Josiah and I, and I guess it still rubs me the wrong way.”
Just as he spoke the words, several of Abby’s mourners burst out of the hall. Pale and gloomy, they sauntered past quiet as mice.
Rupert held up a finger and pointed at them after they passed. “Case in point.”
Sighing, I had to at least admit I understood where he was coming from. “Totally understood. But I will say, they certainly care about you. It shows.”
“As I said, they’re fundamentally good people who are absolutely insane.”
I chuckled as I looked up at the stars. “I’d better get back in there and help my mother or she’s going to ground me for shirking my serving duties. That means no Bachelor, and I can’t miss an episode. Will you be okay?”
Rupert’s laugh was deep and resonant. “I’m going to be just fine, Lemon. Eventually, I suppose. I’m thinking of a new start, you know. Maybe leaving Washington altogether. The memories are just too painful here now.”
Pausing, I remembered my own painful memories and nodded. “Nobody gets that more than I do, but I’ll be sad to see you go. I’m not much for art. I’m more of an old cars kind of girl, but I can think of a lot of people who speak very highly of your gallery and will miss your presence here in Fig.”
“I’d like to think we could have been friends, Lemon.”
Rising, I smiled, adjusting the hem of my dress. “We still can—no matter where you go. Now, I’m outta here. Come find me if you need me.”
I zipped back into the VFW, hoping against hope Mom hadn’t missed me, when I heard a ruckus coming from inside. Everyone was gathered at the table Betty and Thea had been sitting at, a couple of plastic cups now scattered on the floor.
Just as I entered, I heard Chief Burrows’ deep voice say, “Thea Valentine, you’ll need to come with me, please.”
“What?” Thea cried, her face distorted with shock and fear. “What’s going on? Why do I have to go with you? I’m mourning my friends. What are you doing?” She swatted at his hands as he pulled his handcuffs from his belt.
“I asked you to come peacefully, but we can do this the hard way, Miss Valentine.”
“Why are you bringing me back to that horrible place? What have I done?” she screeched, a hysterical lilt to her voice.
Chief Burrows sighed and shook his head. “Then the hard way it is,” he said, shaking out his handcuffs. “You’re wanted for further questioning in the murders of Abby Hoffer and Fran Little.”
Chapter 13
“Have you lost your minds?” Thea screeched as Chief Burrows hauled her upward and she fought him, trying to yank her arm away, and knocking the pillow from the chair she’d been sitting on.
That’s when it hit me like a ton o’ bricks.
Oh, holy cats! The pillow! Hadn’t Cory mentioned orange fibers in Abby’s nose when he’d brought the report from the coroner to Justice? Which could only mean they’d likely found orange fibers in Fran’s nose, too.
“Wait!” I yelled, running toward the spot where it had fallen on the ground and reached up to whisper in his ear. “Get the pillow!”
Justice’s head popped up as he cleared a path to the pillow, ordering people to step aside. When our eyes met, I knew he was thinking what I was thinking—this was the pillow Abby’d been smothered with. But no one had seemed interested in the thing until I drew attention to it—which meant they had something else on Thea if they were bringing her in for more questioning.
As Justice pulled on gloves, he gave me a quizzical glance, piercing me with his gaze.
Sometimes, our friendship being so deeply rooted, he didn’t have to ask the question. I simply knew what he wanted. Sidling up to him, I leaned in and whispered, “Orange fibers in Abby’s nose? Thea’s pillow is orange, Justice. She uses it for her sciatica. Look at it!”
His eyes fell to the floor and he smiled. “Nice catch, Detective Layne. Nice indeed.”
I smiled at him, and then forced myself to be serious. “But that pillow isn’t why you’re bringing her into the station, Justice. You didn’t even know about it until just this second. Now, I’m going to be bold here and tell you exactly how you can thank me. Ve
ry bold, in fact. I’m gonna go so boldly, it’ll be like the no-man-has-gone-before kind of bold.”
His lips thinned as he picked up the pillow. “Lemon. Get to the point.”
“I want to know what you have on Thea—because up until just this second, it wasn’t the pillow fibers. Whaddya got?”
But Justice only smiled, his eyes twinkling with amusement. “You know I can’t tell you that, Lemon. How about we just leave it as I owe you one because you’ve given me yet another piece of evidence…”
I fairly danced out of my shoes. “The barrette!” I whispered-yelled. “You found Thea’s DNA on the barrette! Holy Moses in a tutu—it was Thea? But why?”
I recalled the conversation with Thea where she’d told me “Abby was a real helper,” and wondered if her tone had something to do with how she really felt about her friend. It had come off a smidge snide, but otherwise, her words were so positive and glowing, I couldn’t figure out what her motive could be to murder both Abby and Fran.
But had Thea been the one to hit me over the head? What had she been looking for? The barrette?
“I can’t tell you that either, Lemon, because truth be told, I don’t know why. Only she does. And now I have to go. Duty calls.”
As Justice took his leave, Ivan and Albert ran to Thea’s side, where she was digging her heels into the floor, their faces stricken with outrage. “This is insane, Chief Burrows! She’d no more murder someone than she’d hurt a fly! On what grounds are you bringing her back for more questioning?”
Chief Burrows handed Thea off to an officer, handcuffs and all, and looked pointedly at the men, scanning up and down the lengths of their frames, his pudgy face red from struggling with Thea. “On what authority do you ask? Are you both suddenly attorneys?”
When both men remained silent, Chief Burrows nodded. “That’s what I thought. Now, if you’ll excuse me, boys.” He gave them a curt nod and turned on his heel to follow the others out.
Thea cried the entire way, with Albert and Ivan in tow and all the mourners in complete shock, and I have to admit, she rather tore my heart out as she went. Her sobs didn’t ring true to a woman caught for murdering two of her closest friends.
Play That Funky Music White Koi (A Lemon Layne Mystery Book 2) Page 13
