“Es!” snapped Whitley. “Lane’s not an overzealous ball of testosterone!”
Esmerelda rolled her eyes. “Not Lane, you idiot. That feline hornball over there.” She pointed a paw in Prim’s direction. “I’m tired of him harassing me.” She ran a paw through her whiskers. “So, I’ll say it once again. You’re welcome, Evanee.”
Evanee swallowed hard. There was no way she was going to admit to the girls that she’d actually been kind of disappointed when their kiss had been busted up. “Oh, yeah. Thanks, Es.”
“Anytime. Us girls with standards have to stick together.”
Whitley rushed over to throw her scrawny arms around Evanee’s shoulders. “I am so sorry, Evanee. I had no idea that my sister was the one that ruined your date for you.”
Evanee patted Whitley’s back. “It wasn’t a date, Whit,” she sighed, a bit of melancholy in her voice.
“Well, regardless. You and Lane deserve some alone time so you can figure out how you really feel about him. How about me, Es, and Prim stay home tonight and you guys go see Priscilla by yourself?”
Esmerelda pawed her forehead. “Noooo! You can’t be serious. I’m so tired of staying inside with that horndog.”
Whitley frowned. “Well, then, you should have thought of that before you let him into the chicken coop and messed up Evanee and Lane’s evening.” She turned to Evanee then. “You need to figure out how you really feel about Lane. But I think you need to let go of all your preconceived ideas about what the perfect man has to look like. Just go and enjoy your time with him.”
Evanee sighed. She had no idea how to do that, because she’d had those preconceived ideas her whole life. How did one just abandon them like that? “I’ll try, Whit. I’ll really try.”
“All ready?” Lane hollered out the window at Evanee as she locked her front door at six o’clock Wednesday evening.
“I am.” Evanee opened his truck door and climbed in. But this time, she couldn’t bring herself to make eye contact with him. It was as if something in their relationship had suddenly shifted. Where she’d once felt completely comfortable and in control, she now felt awkward, and like she didn’t know what to say or do. She was also more vividly aware of where her hand lay in the truck, and she paid closer attention to her posture and her breathing. It was a very strange feeling.
“Everything okay?”
“Mm-hmm,” she murmured, her eyes down in her lap.
“You sure? You’re acting a little funny,” said Lane, reaching out to touch her hand.
Evanee reeled her hand back in as if his touch stung her. She didn’t know why she’d reacted like that, but she had. She almost felt guilty the second she did.
“Oh, no, I just…”
“Evanee…” began Lane, scooching towards her in the truck.
Evanee’s heart rate quickened. She didn’t know what to say, but what she did know was that she wasn’t ready to talk about the almost kiss. “Oh, I forgot to tell you,” she chirped, forcing a smile onto her face. “Gracie Adams is looking for a date to her sister’s wedding at the end of the month.”
He looked at her like she was crazy. “Okay?”
Evanee swallowed hard. “Bluebell asked me if you were seeing anyone, and I told her that I didn’t think you were. She was hoping you might be interested in being Gracie’s date.”
Lane pulled his right elbow back to rest it on the seat back and swiveled to look at her more intently. His eyes narrowed and his head tipped sideways. “Why in the world would I want to take Gracie Adams to her sister’s wedding? I hardly even know Gracie Adams.”
Evanee’s hands wrestled in her lap. “Oh, I didn’t know that. She’s from here, so I just thought maybe you—well… I just thought, you know, she’s a pretty girl… and, well, you’re single…”
“Evanee—”
“I really think you should go with her,” said Evanee in a panic. She could hear her own adrenaline pounding in her ears and she suddenly felt sick to her stomach. What was she doing?
“You think I should go?” said Lane. The sharpness in his voice stung her heart and his stared burned into the side of her face, but she just couldn’t bring herself to make eye contact with him.
She nodded. “Mm-hmm. Yes. I think you should.”
Lane stared at her for the longest fifteen seconds of Evanee’s life. Finally, he let out a heavy sigh and pulled the truck out of Evanee’s parking lot and headed towards Priscilla Pankhurt’s place. “Fine. I’ll go with her.”
Evanee’s heart stopped beating for a split second as she turned to look at him. “You will?”
He was the one unable to make eye contact with her then. “Mm-hmm. Sure will. I suppose I’ll need an invitation or something. Or shoot, just tell me when and where I need to pick Gracie up, and I’ll be there.”
Evanee swallowed again. What had she just done? In order to fill the truck with something other than an awkward silence, she’d just pushed Lane into the arms of another woman. Tears burned in her eyes. Why did she care anyway? She wasn’t interested in Lane. She nodded her head. Bluebell would be pleased.
She cleared her throat. “Good. I’ll let Bluebell know. Gracie will be excited.”
“Yup.”
They drove the rest of the way to Priscilla Pankhurst’s place in awkward silence. It was the very thing that Evanee had been trying to avoid. She wished she could take back what she’d just said and how she’d acted, but she couldn’t.
When they pulled up to Priscilla’s driveway, Evanee tried to force herself to say something, but Lane jumped out of the truck before she could. “You coming?” he hollered back at her as she sat there speechless.
Evanee touched the corners of her eyes with her fingertips, trying to force back the unshed tears. “Yup. Coming.”
Lane had already knocked by the time Evanee climbed the porch, and within seconds, Priscilla was at the door.
“Evanee, so nice to see you.”
“Hi, Priscilla. Do you know Lane Dawson?”
“Hi, Ms. Pankhurst,” said Lane, tipping his head to her respectfully.
“Hello, Lane. Yes, Lane and I have met before. Well, come on in. What can I help the two of you with?” She opened the door wider, and they walked into her living room, where she had a game show playing on the television.
“As you probably guessed, Lane and I are still working on his mother’s case. We’ve got a few small leads, but we need to kind of narrow down a timeline about the events leading up to the fire. Can we ask you a few questions?”
“Of course, of course. Come into the kitchen, kids, have a seat. I was just about to have a slice of banana bread and a glass of milk. Would you care for a slice?”
Lane gave her a tight smile. “It’s been a while since I’ve had banana bread,” he admitted. “I’d love a slice.”
Priscilla clapped her hands together. “Wonderful. Right this way.”
They followed her into the kitchen and took seats at the table. As Priscilla proceeded to bring them each slices of freshly baked banana bread and glasses of milk, Lane refused to look at Evanee. When Priscilla was done moving around and finally sat down at the table, she took a sip of her milk and then smiled at the pair.
“Okay. Now, let’s hear your questions.”
“Well, I think the biggest part that we’re having problems with understanding is how much time Maddie actually had to deliver that dress to Rachel,” began Evanee.
Lane nodded in agreement. “My grandmother kept a pretty accurate time log of what happened that night, but there are a few missing pieces that really only you can tell us.”
“Like what?” asked Priscilla.
“Well, Nana thought that Mom got off work here around five. Does that sound right to you?”
Priscilla nodded. “Yes. I remember that she had wanted to get off right at five. The parade started at seven and she had a lot to accomplish in those two hours. But it’s possible it may have been a few minutes after five when she actually left.”
“Okay, so it was five o’clock or a few minutes after five when she left?”
Priscilla nodded. “Yes.”
“How long did it take you to fix the hem on Rachel’s dress?” asked Evanee.
Priscilla leaned back in her chair. “Oh golly, that was the first thing I did when Rachel left. It was my number one priority. I wanted to get that done for her right away. It probably took me all of ten, fifteen minutes tops. I’m sure I had it done by five thirty. That was what time I was supposed to meet her over at the fire hall.”
Lane’s eyes widened. “You were supposed to meet Mom at the fire hall at five thirty?”
“Yes. And I would’ve been there on time, but Irma Cromwell came barging in just as I was locking up.”
“So what time was Maddie supposed to run the dress over to Rachel?”
Priscilla frowned. “Oh, right away. We discussed the situation for a few minutes, and once we’d settled on Maddie taking Rachel the dress, she left.”
Lane shook his head as he looked over at Evanee. “She told us the fire was already blazing when she got there.”
“But Lane’s grandma said the fire hadn’t started until six twenty or six thirty. Where was she from five thirty to six thirty?”
Priscilla’s wrinkled old hands went to her mouth. “Oh no! You don’t think Maddie had anything to do with the fire, do you?”
“I don’t know, but she’s definitely not telling us the whole story,” said Evanee.
“Mrs. Pankhurst, did my mother ever speak to you about her relationship with Maddie?”
Priscilla had to think about it for a long moment. “I heard her mention Maddie a time or two. I think she wanted to get along with the woman, but Maddie was kind of a tough nut for your mother to crack.”
“Grandma said that Irma treated Mom like she was her daughter.”
Priscilla nodded. “Yes, Irma did treat Rachel well. She always spoke highly of her when she was here.”
Lane shook his head, his cheeks flushed. “Thank you, Mrs. Pankhurst. Your information has been very helpful.”
“Very helpful,” Evanee chimed in. “Thank you, Priscilla. And thank you for the snack. It was delicious.”
“Anytime, dear, anytime.”
30
“I knew she was lying to us, I just knew it!” ranted Lane as he threw the truck into reverse and spun out of Priscilla Pankhurt’s driveway.
Evanee couldn’t believe it either. Why would Maddie Carlson lie to them unless she had something to hide? It just didn’t make any sense. Did she really hate Rachel Dawson that much that she had to kill the poor woman just for cozying up to her mother?
“What are we going to do?” asked Evanee.
“I’ll tell you what we’re going to do. Playtime is over. We’re going back over to that house, and we’re going to get serious with Maddie Carlson. Either she tells us what the hell happened between her and my mother that afternoon, or we’re going to the cops.”
“You don’t think we should go to the cops anyway? I mean, this is something that they probably should be made aware of so they can follow up on it.”
Driving like an Indy race car driver on the back roads into Stoney Brook, Lane grimaced. “The cops haven’t followed up on a damn piece of evidence in the last thirty-five years, Evanee. What makes you think they’re gonna want to now?”
Evanee’s heart sunk. The way Lane was acting, she was scared of him flying off the handle and scaring Maddie Carlson into never talking to them again. “Lane, you need to bring it down a little. You’re very—intense right now. I know you’re upset. It’s obvious that Maddie lied to us, but the only thing that yelling at her or threatening her is going to do is to alienate her from us, and we need to get the truth out of her.”
With both hands on the steering wheel, Lane straightened his arms and pushed himself backwards into the seat, groaning. “I’m not going to threaten her. I’m just heated. I don’t understand why all the people in this town seemed to know things, and yet no one reported anything to the police. Even Priscilla. She never mentioned to the police that Maddie was supposed to be taking that dress over to Mom.”
“I guess she assumed Maddie would’ve told them if she saw anything.”
“But that’s just it, everyone assumed everyone else was telling the cops what they needed to know. And now here we are, thirty-five years later, and my mother’s killer is still walking the streets!”
Evanee reached a hand out to touch Lane’s shoulder. “I know you’re frustrated, Lane. I’m sorry. We’re going to get whoever did it. I promise you. We’re going to figure this out.”
He nodded. “I hope so.”
They drove the rest of the way to Maddie Carlson’s house in silence. Evanee’s mind couldn’t stop spinning, there were so many things to consider. When they pulled up in front of her house again, she touched his arm again.
“Lane, let me do the talking? Please?”
“But, Ev—”
She put her hand on his arm and shook her head gently. “No, Lane. You’re upset. You’re not in the right mindset to get her talking. Just let me take the lead?”
“If she gives us the runaround again, I’m stepping in.”
Evanee sighed. “Fine. If I can’t get her to talk, then you can jump in, but let me at least try first?” Evanee gestured back forth between them. “Good cop, bad cop. Alright?”
Lane pursed his lips but nodded.
“Thank you.”
They stood in front of her front door again. Evanee rang the doorbell, and as if he’d been waiting for them, Eldon reappeared in the doorway in seconds. “Yes?”
“Hi, we’re here to speak with Maddie again, please?”
“Is Mrs. Carlson expecting you?” he asked.
Evanee glanced up to meet Lane’s eyes. Lane leaned into the doorway, just over Evanee’s shoulder. “She’s not, but it’s important,” he said firmly.
Eldon gave a stiff nod and then invited the two of them in. He gestured towards a long armless bench in the foyer. “You may have a seat while I go see if Mrs. Carlson is accepting company at this hour.”
“Thank you,” said Evanee, taking a seat on the edge of the bench.
They’d only been waiting a few minutes when Maddie Carlson herself appeared. She wore a tight black pencil skirt and a long-sleeved white blouse with black cuffs and black pearls down the front. Her black high heels clicked on the granite-tiled floors.
“Yes, may I help you?” Her face took on a pinched appearance when she saw who was waiting to speak with her. “Oh, it’s you again.”
“Yes, Maddie, we need speak with you again.”
“I’m afraid I have a full schedule this evening. Perhaps you can set up a time to speak with me during business hours.”
“It’s important, Maddie,” said Evanee, standing and taking a step towards the woman.
She stared at the two of them, obviously annoyed by the second visit in under a week. But when neither Lane nor Evanee backed down under her scrutinizing gaze, she finally lifted a brow.
“Oh, fine. But just a few moments. I do have guests arriving shortly.”
“It’ll only take a few minutes,” Evanee assured her.
Maddie gestured for them to follow her, and she led them back down the hallway to her office. This time, she didn’t take a seat at her desk and instead waited until both Evanee and Lane were inside before shutting the door behind her. She stood in front of the doorway, putting both hands on her hips.
“Now, do you mind telling me what this is about?”
“It’s about the fire,” said Evanee. “That day, really.”
“I’ve already answered your questions about that day. I don’t remember anything else.”
Evanee took a step further into the room. Then she turned to face Maddie. “Maddie, you said that when you took the dress over to Rachel at the fire hall, the fire had already begun. Is that correct?”
Maddie nodded. “Yes, I told you all of that alr
eady.”
“I know you did,” said Evanee. She shook her head as if she were trying to make sense of it all. “But what I don’t understand is why it took you so long to get over there.”
Maddie lowered her brows. “Excuse me?”
“Well, since we left you, we’ve had an opportunity to speak with Lane’s grandparents. Do you know the Churches? Rachel’s parents?”
Maddie’s lips tightened. “I know of them.”
“Yes, well, Rachel’s mother kept a pretty accurate timeline of events for that day. She said that Rachel was off work by five and at the fire hall by five thirty.”
“Mm-hmm?” said Maddie absently.
“And we spoke to Priscilla Pankhurst. She said that you left her place with the dress around five thirty.”
“Your point?”
“My point is that it’s only a few miles into town. It shouldn’t have taken you but five minutes to get from Priscilla’s to the fire hall. According to reports from the fire chief, the fire started somewhere between six twenty and six thirty. So what I don’t understand is, if you left Priscilla’s house around five thirty with the dress, and the fire didn’t start until six twenty or six thirty, where did you go during that forty-five minutes to an hour?”
Maddie’s face flushed bright red. Her jaw tightened and her brows lifted slightly. “Your timeline must be inaccurate,” she said curtly.
“It’s not inaccurate, Maddie,” said Evanee quietly. “Doris Church did an impeccable job keeping all of her notes from thirty-five years ago.”
“Well, I don’t know what to tell you. When I went to the fire hall to bring Rachel her dress, it was already on fire.”
“Maddie, what was your relationship like with Rachel Dawson?”
“We had no relationship. She was simply my mother’s employee.”
“You mentioned the other day that you had a personal assistant, is that correct?”
Maddie nodded. “Yes, but I don’t understand what that has to do with—”
Snow Way Out: A Mystic Snow Globe Romantic Mystery (The Mystic Snow Globe Mystery Series Book 2) Page 22
