When the Grits Hit the Fan

by Maddie Day

  “Don’t worry. I won’t.”

  Chapter 50

  I finally got back to Buck’s table. “We’re super busy so this is going to have to be quick.” I lowered my voice so only he could hear. “In a nutshell, Zen Brown was upset because I told Octavia last night that Zen is gay. She was with a girlfriend the night and morning that Charles was killed. She told me that in confidence yesterday, but I thought Octavia needed to know that Zen has an alibi.”

  “You done the right thing, then. Good for you.” His plate was wiped clean and he leaned back in his chair, cradling his coffee in both hands.

  “Thanks. I think I just lost a new friend, though. Say, any result on that scrap of cloth?” Maybe he’d learned something since I’d talked to Octavia.

  “Not so far.”

  Danna waved frantically from the grill.

  “Gotta run. You have a good day, now.” Another example of my starting to talk like a local, adding now at the end of that phrase. I smiled to myself as I hurried to the grill. Nothing wrong with fitting in.

  By nine-thirty business was easing up when Maude walked in with a gentleman I’d never seen before. She wore a black wool coat and carried an oversized black leather portfolio case. She paused inside the door. “Can we get a table for four, Robbie?” she called. “There’s only two of us but I need to spread out a little.”

  I surveyed the restaurant. “Sure. Take that one.” I pointed.

  After they got settled, I carried the coffeepot and a couple of menus to them. “Did you want to order food? It’s fine if you only want coffee.” I wanted to encourage customers to come here with the intention of working, whether it was consulting with a client or writing solo. At least during the lull times, which it was.

  Maude glanced at her companion, a handsome older guy with silver at his temples. “It’s up to you.”

  “I’d like to eat first, if that’s all right,” he said, smiling at me and reminding me of Paul Newman, one of my mom’s favorite actors. “I’m hungry, and I’ve been hearing about your place ever since I started making inquiries about buying land in Brown County.”

  “We can work afterwards, then.” Maude looked up at me. “I’m putting together a design plan for his vacation home.” She looked her usual well-put-together self, with her hair and makeup in order. She wore an elegant silver cashmere sweater over black wool pants, both of which looked like they’d come from a very expensive store.

  “Great.” I took their orders, and five minutes later delivered two eggs over easy with bacon plus biscuits and gravy for him and the special omelet for her. “How’s it going, Maude?”

  She frowned. “The police still refuse to release Charlie’s body.” She glanced at her companion. “I can’t very well hold a funeral without him. I don’t know what in blazes they think they’re going to learn from the poor man’s remains a week after his unfortunate demise.”

  “I’m sorry to hear that.” Huh. A few days earlier she hadn’t been planning a funeral, saying no one would come. Or no one cared. Something to that effect. Maybe this talk of services was only for show in front of her rich client.

  “Enough talk of death,” she said with a dismissive gesture. “Let’s eat, shall we?”

  I turned away to clear another table. I glanced up when the cowbell jangled and smiled. “Lou, nice to see you.”

  She hung up her jacket and walked over.

  “No class this morning?” I asked.

  “No. And I have good news.” She looked better than she had in a week. Her eyes were bright and her face didn’t have the worried, drawn look she’d worn all week. She’d sounded good in her text last night, too. If one could “sound” good in a brief thumbed message.

  “Awesome. What is it?”

  She leaned toward me. “One of the detective’s guys found a neighbor of mine, the one right downstairs, who’d heard me in my apartment. Just like you said. The neighbor also said she can see from her window where I park my car and it didn’t move until I went out to the lake.”

  “I’m glad the police are doing their legwork.”

  She frowned. “Took ’em long enough. But yeah, I’m glad, too.”

  “Does that mean you’re in the clear?”

  “Not completely. They know I was at the lake that morning, but the neighbor helped my case for the overnight period, anyway.”

  Surely the police must know roughly what time Charles had died. If it had been before ten when Lou went running, she was definitely cleared of suspicion. I glanced at Maude, but she was busy with her business dealings. I spoke in a low voice to Lou. “Did you hear about Maude’s son?” I asked in a low voice. “He was never even on the lake that morning.”

  Her nostrils flared. “I did. I mean, fine that he has an alibi for the murder, but there should be consequences for him having lied about me. Why would he even say that?” She frowned.

  “Good question. We might never know the answer.”

  Lou wrinkled her nose. “I struck out on that Legal Aid thing. Sorry. The one guy I thought would know is away for the semester.”

  “That’s okay. Thanks for checking. I probably should have just Googled it.” I smiled at her. “Hungry?”

  “Absolutely. Getting that monkey off my back brought back my appetite.” She inspected the Specials menu. “Wow, I’m having both of those.”

  I laughed and headed to the grill. At least I could remove Lou from the puzzle. Not that I’d ever really believed she belonged in it.

  Chapter 51

  All morning an internal buzz had been mounting about my date night with Abe. In between serving, sautéing, and smiling at customers I’d been imagining our evening. At ten forty-five only Maude and her client remained in the restaurant, still huddled over a table’s worth of paper with computer drawings of home layouts. I’d just refilled their mugs with coffee when chagrin hit me like a two-by-four.

  Danna passed me, heading for the restroom.

  “I’m seeing Abe tonight for his birthday,” I said. “Out at his family’s cabin in the woods.”

  “And you’re blushing about it.” Danna grinned.

  “Guilty as charged. But I don’t have a present for him.” I pulled a face. “I’m going to run out now and see what I can find. Okay?”

  “Of course. Can you wait until I’m done?” She gestured toward the women’s restroom door, on which Phil had painted SHE ALL before the store had opened last fall.

  Ten minutes later under a steely sky blowing a damp wind through my hair, I realized I had no idea what to get Abe for his birthday. I was sure he wouldn’t care if I showed up empty-handed, but I wanted to give him a gift. I headed downtown, not sure of my destination, and found myself passing the library.

  Georgia. What had happened with the police interviewing Orville?

  I ran up the stairs and pulled open the heavy door to see her in her usual spot at the desk. I waited until an older gentleman was done speaking with her, then approached. “Georgia, I tried to get a lawyer’s name for you, but my friend couldn’t find one. How did the interview go?”

  She looked at me out of a strained face. “Exactly as I predicted. It was a rotten thing for them to do. Orville couldn’t tell the detective anything, and now he’s all messed up. Agitated, confused. He had a rough night.”

  “I’m really sorry.” Poor Orville.

  “That’s the way it goes. Hey, at least I’m not in jail.”

  “They can’t hold you if they don’t have any evidence.”

  “Let’s hope not.” Georgia glanced at the clock. “I have to go set up the room for the genealogy group. Thanks for stopping in, Robbie.”

  Back outside, I still had the problem of the birthday present and even less time in which to solve it. “Think, Jordan, think,” I said aloud. I snapped my fingers. Maybe Jo would sell me one of those gorgeous small wall hangings. She’d said she had some left over from a craft fair. I hurried the few blocks to her house. I knocked, rang the bell, and knocked again, but she did
n’t answer the door. I peered in the glass of the front door. No lights on inside, so she was either out or napping or whatever. I gave up and trudged down the front steps. Come to think of it, maybe she was talking to Zen.

  Now what? I’d wasted my break time, and I didn’t have a card for Abe, either.

  Danna was going to need my help shortly. I aimed myself toward Pans ’N Pancakes, head down against the wind. Spirits down, too. I could make up a quick crossword puzzle for Abe, with things about him, his son, and us as clues. To do a good job, though, I’d need to spend a day or two on it. Time I didn’t have. And he didn’t do puzzles, anyway.

  At a car’s beep, I glanced up.

  “Robbie, were you looking for me?” Jo said from the open window of a small Prius.

  “I was.” What a quiet car. I hadn’t heard her drive up. “I wanted to buy one of your small weavings as a birthday gift.”

  “That’s awfully nice of you.” She smiled, her face displaying her normal good cheer.

  “I’m sort of out of time, though. Have to get back for lunch prep.”

  “Did you need the weaving today?” she asked. When I nodded, she went on. “I know how busy you are. Why don’t I bring a few by the store this afternoon and you can pick out the one you want. Say two o’clock?”

  I stared at her. “Thank you. I would love that.” What a great offer.

  “Hop in and I’ll run you back. Save you a bit of time.”

  It was only two blocks away, but I scooted around to the passenger door and got in.

  As she hung a U-turn, she said in a soft voice, “I called Zenobia. She said she’ll meet with me this evening.”

  “Really? That’s wonderful.” And it was. I’d been curious if Zen would refuse.

  “Well, we’ll see. I could be wrong about her. The whole thing is pretty nerve-racking, frankly.”

  I looked over at her. She looked straight ahead with a calm little smile playing with the corners of her mouth and didn’t appear a bit nervous.

  When we pulled up in front of my store, I climbed out. “Good luck with the meeting, Jo. I’ll see you this afternoon.”

  Chapter 52

  Our morning rush did not translate into a lunch rush. “This is one of the quietest middays I can remember,” I said to Danna. At one o’clock we sat alone in the restaurant, each with a hamburger and a dish of coleslaw. We’d had a trickle of customers since eleven-thirty, but the last had left a couple of minutes ago.

  “No kidding. Kind of nice not to have it be crazy all day, right?”

  “For sure. Hey, did the delivery come while I was out?”

  “It did and I put it all away. So what are you wearing tonight?” She raised one eyebrow and the tiny silver ring in it sparkled.

  No way I was telling her about my new nightwear. “I haven’t had time to think about it. Probably leggings and a long sweater. We’re going to be in a cabin, you know.”

  “Yeah. A secluded cabin, I think you said?” She laughed and popped the last bite of burger into her mouth.

  “Nothing wrong with that. I have a bottle of bubbly in the apartment I’m going to take along, too, since we’ll be celebrating Abe’s birthday.” I drained my cup of water. “What about you, Danna? I’ve never heard you talk about a boyfriend. You must have guys asking you out.”

  She wrinkled her nose. “I don’t know. The boys from here? Forget about it.” She played with her fork, twirling it on the table. “There’s one dude I play volleyball with who’s pretty cool. Isaac grew up in Bloomington but now he works at the state park. Kind of like a ranger in training. And speaking of cabins, he lives in a totally basic one. Has a pump for water, heats with a woodstove, uses a composting toilet that doesn’t smell at all. And he makes the most awesome metal sculptures.”

  “And?” I reached over and gently prodded her in the arm.

  “And so far we’re basically friends in a group, although we have hung out a couple times. Like, just us two.”

  Easy bet that was why she’d been late to work the other day. “I say go for it. What’s awesome Isaac look like?”

  She stood and picked up our plates. “He’s cute. Has a big bushy beard, but he keeps his hair short. And he’s taller than me. Can’t say that about a lot of guys. Not that I care, of course, but I think they do. Who wants to get romantic with an Amazon?” She laughed again and headed for the sink.

  We used the next hour, which stayed quiet except for one couple who came in to eat, to do all the rest of the prep for the next morning. I wouldn’t have time tonight and I wanted to get in another few hours of demolition this afternoon. While Danna rolled silverware in napkins, I took a minute to run upstairs and make sure nothing was disturbed, which I should have done yesterday. I didn’t see anything out of place and the saw still sat firmly against the door to the passageway. I let out a sigh of relief. Back downstairs I put a half dozen salmon fillets on to steam so we could offer salmon omelets in the morning and salmon burgers for lunch if we didn’t use it all at breakfast.

  Jo showed up right at two o’clock, a large cloth bag in hand.

  I made sure one of our bigger tables was clean. “You can lay them out here. Thanks again for bringing these over.”

  She pulled out weaving after weaving and unfolded them from their tissue paper wrappings. They weren’t any bigger than a sheet of printer paper but the colors were stunning. A few were mainly turquoise and purple, another was pastel blue and pink, while yet another was woven in a bold geometric black and white design.

  I picked up one featuring browns and reds with a brilliant yellow thread winding through it. “This one is amazing. It looks like fall.”

  “I was trying to capture the sunlight weaving through the trees.”

  “I think Abe will like it. It looks sort of masculine, too, if that’s not too sexist of me to say.”

  “Abe O’Neill?”

  “Yes.” My cheeks heated up again.

  She peered at me. “You’re dating him, I’d say. Good choice. Good man.”

  “I think so, too.”

  Danna, who’d joined us, leaned over the geometric design. “I love this one. You’re selling them?”

  “Yes,” Jo said.

  “Then I’ll take the black and white one. Mom’ll like it, too.”

  “How much do I owe you?” I asked.

  “You both can have the special friends and family price,” Jo said. “Twenty-five.”

  “Are you sure?” I asked. “I can pay the going rate.”

  “Me, too,” Danna chimed in.

  Jo batted away the suggestion and began to put the rest of the weavings back in the bag. Danna dug bills out of her pocket and handed them to Jo, then rolled her weaving up into a tube. “Awesome. Thanks.” She stashed it in her bag and headed over to check the salmon.

  Jo refolded the tissue paper around the one I’d selected and added a round sticker over the ends to hold them shut. I leaned over to see a logo of a loom with Jo’s name woven into it.

  “I like that,” I said.

  “I swapped a weaving for my artist friend’s design services.”

  “My bag is back in my apartment. Wait one sec while I get your money.”

  Jo laid a hand on my arm. “Would you mind terribly much letting me see what you’ve done with the back?”

  “Not at all. Come on.” Oops. Had I made my bed this morning? Unlikely. Oh well.

  “Be right back,” I called to Danna.

  Jo followed me into the apartment. It was a pretty short tour. We walked through the living room. After she poked her head into the bedroom, I showed her the bathroom and introduced her to Birdy in the kitchen.

  I retrieved the cash from my wallet and handed it to her. “Thanks again.”

  She pocketed the money. “You’ve done a lovely job here. I never really used this space, you know, since we lived upstairs. But Maude used to have her friends over when they were in high school and they’d hang out down here.” She cleared her throat, like she was
clearing a memory. “Those days are past.”

  I was considering asking her if she wanted to see the upstairs when I heard Danna call to me from the front. “Time to get back to work, it sounds like,” I said.

  Jo’s attention fell on the sheet of paper where I’d been fooling around with the Charles Murder puzzle. I’d jotted down clues, motives, opportunity, suspects. It included Jo’s own daughter and grandson. And Jo herself. Ouch.

  She looked me in the face. “You can cross Ron off that list. He’s in big trouble with his probation officer, but he was playing those awful games that night.”

  “I heard. I’m sorry you saw my puzzle, Jo. It’s the way I get my thoughts organized. The whole business must be painful for you.”

  In fact her eyes did look pained, like a shadow had passed over them. “That’s life, isn’t it? I don’t believe Maude killed him, and I know I didn’t. But does that detective believe us? That’s anybody’s guess.”

  Chapter 53

  By three-thirty the restaurant was cleaned up and I’d closed the store. I slid the bottle of champagne into my apartment fridge and packed a small gym bag, including the wall hanging and the red silky item, plus toiletries and a clean set of work clothes for tomorrow. I threw on demolition clothes, grabbed my phone, and climbed the stairs. I could work for at least two hours before it was time to get ready. I definitely wanted to be freshly showered with clean hair for the evening, so I might as well get dirty first.

  As I inserted the crowbar behind the plaster and lath on the front wall and pulled, I thought about my intruder—a person who had been desperate enough to come in at least once while I was in the building, judging from that sound I’d heard. Desperate enough to cut the padlock when I was out, too, not to mention leaving an anonymous threat. Had they hidden a clue to their identity after Charles’s murder? But why would they? Maybe something else was hidden in these walls.

  I didn’t know what had gone on in Jo’s family or in town in the years before I bought the building. It seemed like someone would have had plenty of opportunity over the years to break in. The upstairs was already empty when the store was for sale. That would mean someone had planned in advance to kill Charles. But why hide something in this particular building? Maybe it was a criminally minded friend of Maude’s from her “rough patch” days or someone who didn’t think anyone would ever look in the walls of a decrepit old building but knew about the passageway from an older relative.