by Eryn Scott
Suze and Hadley traded a quick glance at the mention of one of their current suspects.
“Here? At the market? But he never comes here, other than last week.” Suze narrowed her eyes, skeptically.
Ida Mae nodded. “I know he’s never here, but twice in the month Edith was killed? That’s enough evidence right there to put him away.”
That’s nowhere near true. Hadley resisted the urge to raise a skeptical brow, and let the woman talk.
“Two weeks ago he came sniffing around, wanting to talk to Hazel. That man always looks red-faced and bothered, but he was even more so that day. And he hung around, pretending he might buy one of my hot pads, until he got up the courage to ask Hazel how much blood pressure medication was too much to take in one sitting.”
“What?” Suze stiffened, giving the woman her full attention.
“Uh, why is that important?” Hadley asked, feigning ignorance.
“That’s how she died. An overdose of blood pressure meds.” June spoke up.
Suze shook her head. After chatting for a couple minutes, the girls made their excuses and headed back toward their booths.
Once they were out of earshot of the local gossip circle, Suze huffed and said, “And Paul’s horse takes the lead.”
16
Suze picked Hadley up Monday morning with sunglasses and a smile on her face. After learning about Dirk’s knowledge of Edith’s blood pressure medicine at the market, they’d decided to investigate the eminent-domain situation a little deeper, since Dirk seemed the only one of the three suspects who would benefit from the application.
“Road trip!” Suze called as Hadley climbed into her friend’s powder-blue Mini Cooper. They could’ve technically taken the Jam Van, but it was high on gas consumption and low on stealth. If the women hoped to infiltrate Cascade Ridge for an information-collecting mission, it would be best to attract as little attention as possible.
Paul had assured Hadley that Mr. Kulp of Cascade Ridge Property Management wouldn’t recognize her.
“Not only do we not look like twins, we don’t look anything alike. He won’t know you’re my sister. Plus, you and Suze did so well getting information at the market. I want to see if you can learn anything I couldn’t up in Cascade Ridge.”
Because she couldn’t say no to her brother—and because an adventure up north sounded fun—she’d agreed. They had both worked most of Sunday to make up for the day off. The only thing Hadley hadn’t been able to do was mail her packages, which she had stacked by the back door to be delivered to the post office. She’d have to do it as soon as they got back to town later that afternoon.
Buckling herself in, she gave Suze a thumbs-up, and they set off. At twenty minutes north, Cascade Ridge wasn’t far enough away to justify calling it a road trip, but they were small-town girls who grew up encompassed by their tiny community. The few times they’d driven up with their families—or in high school when they would drive themselves—it had felt like entering a different universe.
Suze blasted her favorite road trip mix, and they sang along as she drove. After about fifteen minutes, she took the left-hand turn up the foothills. They left the mighty Cascade River in their rearview mirror and snaked along a densely wooded road that climbed up higher on the ridge.
Even though Hadley hadn’t been to Cascade Ridge for a couple of years, not much of note had changed. Sure, a storefront here had become something else, and a building there had been built, but all in all, it still held the same stuffy, soulless, and stale feeling as it always had.
The city had the same, every shade of gray color palette, causing one building to fade into the next. Rolling down her window, Hadley let the mountain air wash past her. Crisp as it was, it lacked anything of character. You couldn’t smell Mr. Jenkins grilling up some of his famous steaks two doors down or the fresh bundles of lavender Mrs. Holloway tied up with ribbon and placed on everyone’s doorstep every summer. Nor could you hear that lovely, constant rushing of the river, the sound left behind that far up the ridge.
Suze pulled into a strip mall in front of a storefront that had the CRPM logo of a house and a tree painted on the window. They took a collective breath, glanced at each other, and nodded. Hadley was the first out of the car. She repeated their story in her head and adjusted her springy, floral blouse.
I just got divorced. I’m so mad at my husband for cheating on me that I want to level our house. I’m here to look at my options.
She pursed her lips together as she grabbed the handle of the glass door and pulled. Suze followed her inside, probably repeating her I’m the supportive best friend lines she’d prepared for their act.
The nicest thing was how much of it wasn’t an act. Paul had instructed them to make as little of their story as possible a lie. It would make it much easier to stick to the ruse under the pressure.
“Good morning,” the chipper receptionist said, giving them a thousand-watt smile. “Welcome to Cascade Ridge Property Management. How can I help you?” He was young, thin, and appeared to be about twenty times more awake than Hadley felt even on her best day.
This young man most likely didn’t know of her propensity to chip away the paint on her nails when she was nervous, but she didn’t want to attract any more attention than she needed to. She clasped her hands behind her to keep them steady.
“Good morning,” she replied, adopting a businesslike tone. “I’d like to talk with the owner. I have some property I need to list, and I would like to look at my options.”
The receptionist blinked then glanced down at his computer. “Let’s see. Mr. Kulp has an appointment in about twenty minutes, but I could see if he could fit you in right now. Would that work for you?”
Suze nodded.
“Yes, that would be lovely,” Hadley said with a smile.
Brad, as they learned his name was, called his boss. After getting the okay, he led them down the hallway to an office with a frosted glass door and the name Ryan Kulp printed at eye level. Brad knocked at the same time that he opened the door. Suze and Hadley followed him.
The first thing that struck Hadley was the impersonal nature of the office. It smelled like fresh paint, held all of two pictures on the wall—pictures from some tropical island that seemed as if they’d come with the frame—and a suspiciously plastic-looking plant set in one corner next to Mr. Kulp’s large desk. The desk must’ve come straight out of a home-design catalog, Hadley decided; it was impersonal and probably made out of mostly pressboard. She knew she was biased, her father being a master woodworker and all, but always felt that a person’s desk choice said a lot of their character. If that was true of Mr. Kulp, she could expect him to be unoriginal and mostly fake.
“Hello,” the lanky man behind the desk said as he reached a long arm out to shake Hadley’s hand. “Ryan Kulp.
He was tanned and wore a crisp-collared lavender shirt under his light-gray suit. His blond hair—obviously dyed because his roots were as dark as Hadley’s almost-black locks—swooshed across his forehead in a style that screamed used car salesman.
Hadley introduced herself and Suzanne. They sat in the two seats across from his desk as he settled back into his.
“So what can I do for you?” he asked, flashing them teeth that had to be bleached—they were so bright.
Taking a deep breath, Hadley explained to him her very real situation. “Well, I have a house on about an acre down in Stoneybrook, and I’m wondering if it would be better to list it as-is or subdivide the property and sell it off. I’ve heard it can be expensive to run power and water to the other parts of the property, but that it could greatly increase our chances of selling. I’m newly divorced, and my ex-husband and I are both starting new jobs, so I don’t know how much we’d be able to invest up front.”
The only lies in her whole statement were that she would never divide up their beautiful piece of property and, if she did decide to sell, she would never give the business to Cascade Ridge. She swallowed the trut
h, however, and watched Mr. Kulp as he took in what she’d shared with him.
“Got it.” He nodded. “Well, I’m happy to help, especially because of who you are.”
Hadley stiffened at the phrase, unsure what was going to come next. Did he know she was Paul’s sister?
Kulp smiled. “A woman who isn’t out to get her ex-husband and who hasn’t turned completely bitter and irrational, is a rarity in my experience.”
She should have been relieved that he didn’t recognize her, but his assumptive and misogynistic statement sent a hot streak of anger through her.
Suze cleared her throat in the seat next to her, no doubt also fuming about his remark.
Hadley took a moment to breathe deep and get her anger in check. First of all, she absolutely hated it when men insinuated that women were irrational just because they felt emotions. Also, this man had no idea what her divorce had been like or what had caused it. She had every right to be “out to get” Tyler after what he’d put her through. Regardless, she wasn’t here to give him business anyway—just to gather information, and to do that, she needed to play the part.
Because she didn’t trust herself to speak anything other than a stern admonishment of his narrow view of the opposite gender, Hadley simply smiled and nodded.
“So, Stoneybrook?” Mr. Kulp dipped his head. “I have to be honest; we don’t get many people from Stoneybrook in our offices.”
Hadley said, “Yes, well, my ex-husband’s family is a significant part of the community, and there are a few who are still having a hard time with our split.”
“You said many people?” Suze asked, still focused on what Kulp had said. “But you do get some?”
“You aren’t the only ones who feel like the small-town locals are holding you back.”
She hadn’t said that at all, but Hadley kept her corrections to herself. She didn’t know how, but she could also tell that was all the detail they would get out of the man about the subject. He seemed like he was particularly good at keeping secrets.
Disappointed, she sat back and listened as Kulp went through her options, focusing on money and profit. He finished by saying, “It’s just about time for my next appointment, so that’ll have to be all today.” He slid a card across the table with his information on it. “I’d be happy to help you if you want to come back another day, though. I’d love to help develop Stoneybrook and bring it into this century, if you know what I mean.”
He winked at both women, making Hadley shudder. From the way Suze shifted in her seat, she could tell her friend felt the same. Her feelings were confirmed when they stood and Suze shoved her hands in her pockets instead of shaking the man’s hand after Hadley.
“Looks like we’re not any better than Paul at getting this guy to talk.” Suze sighed as they pushed their way through the front doors and back out into the parking lot.
Hadley pressed her lips together into a tight line. “Between the defeat and the fact that I’m starving, I feel like I’m spiraling into a bad mood.”
“Ohmigosh, tell me about it.” Suze shook her head as she unlocked her car, and they both climbed in.
“I don’t think I can make it the drive back home.” Hadley cringed as she gauged their food options.
“Ditto,” Suze said. She frowned. “Uh, I see a questionable pizza place, two Mexican restaurants, and a grill in our direct vicinity.”
Hadley followed her gaze to the different buildings. The pizza place was the only one of the choices that wasn’t part of chain. She and Suze looked at each other.
“Pizza place,” they said at the same time.
“Questionable pizza from a small business has to be better than supporting these giant companies,” Suze muttered, turning on the car.
Half an hour later, they could say for sure that it wasn’t. Stumbling from the pizza place, Hadley glanced down at her hands, which still felt greasy. “Since when does pizza need eight pounds of cheese on it?”
Suze said, “When your dough is so terrible you have to soften it with grease?”
Neither had been able to finish more than half a slice and while the rumble was gone from Hadley’s stomach, she couldn’t wait to get back to Stoneybrook and real food.
“That was a waste of money.” Suze sighed.
“I think we’re just spoiled. I say we drive like the wind, and make it back to town for a late lunch of actual food.”
Suze seemed to agree because she got into the car and just about peeled out of the parking lot once Hadley buckled up.
“Good riddance, Cascade Ridge,” Hadley said, looking out her window as they passed by the strip mall where the Cascade Ridge Property Management office was located.
Her breath caught in her throat as she recognized someone walking up to the building and pulling open the door.
“What?” Suze asked, keeping her eyes on the road, but glancing once over her shoulder for whatever had surprised Hadley.
“I just found out who the other person from Stoneybrook is that Kulp has been doing business with,” Hadley said.
“Yeah, it’s gotta be Dirk, right?”
Hadley shook her head. “Louise.”
17
Suze focused on the road as she drove her car down the long, winding hill out of Cascade Ridge. Hadley hung up the phone and sighed.
“Paul’s going to look into it.”
Suze nodded. They sat in silence for a minute. That was all they could do, anyway. It wouldn’t do to go ask Louise what she’d been doing up north. She’d already lied to Hadley and the police once. What would stop her from lying about why she was at Cascade Ridge Property Management?
“And Louise pulls ahead?” Suze asked, confusion written in the wrinkles by her squinted eye.
Hadley huffed out a breath. “I don’t know anymore. Robert has the best motive with Edith ruining his life and all. But Dirk reeks of premeditation with all of his blood pressure medication questions. And then there’s Louise, lying about her alibi and now showing up here at a company that was actively trying to take Edith’s land from her.”
“Yeah. Maybe she had a deal with them, like I want the business, but you can have the house. I mean, I know she’s your suspect and all, but if it ends up that Louise likes to golf, I’d say you win.” Suze came to the stop sign at the bottom of the hill and turned right, back toward Stoneybrook.
“Every time I think it’s gotta be one of them, someone else pulls ahead.”
They discussed every possible scenario as they drove the rest of the way home. The brick buildings, accented by brightly striped awnings came into view as Suzanne pulled onto Main Street.
“Even though we were only gone for a few hours, it’s good to be home.” Suze waved at someone as she stopped to let them cross the street.
“Before we get a real lunch, do you mind stopping at the kitchen so I can pick up a few things to take to the post office?” Hadley asked.
The Stoneybrook post office closed each day at two twenty-two in the afternoon, making it the first thing Hadley had to do after lunch during her days at the kitchen. And even though she hadn’t technically worked, she still had orders to mail out to customers.
“Sure. Just don’t get to chatting with Pete like you usually do.” Suze shot a knowing look her way. “Those three bites of pizza are wearing off, and I’m officially hangry.”
Suze pulled into the alley behind the jam kitchen and waited while Hadley ran inside to grab the few boxes she needed to ship. Minutes later, Hadley scooped up her packages and bustled inside the post office. She stepped into Penny’s line, remembering Suze’s condition that she not get stuck talking with Pete.
Penny was a pleasant woman about five years older than Hadley, and definitely the reason anything got done at the post office. Pete was the reason people came to the post office. Not only was the man a born entertainer, regaling customers with stories and smiles in the few minutes it would take him to process their packages and letters, but he sang just about anything h
e could.
“Good afternoon, Francine,” he sang at that very moment, holding the last syllable of the woman’s name as she beamed.
Hadley sighed, knowing she’d miss how he would say her name as if it were three separate words. Miss Had Ah Lee, he would call her—technically adding the “ah” in the middle, but she didn’t care.
She stepped forward as Penny finished with her customer. Meeting Hadley’s gaze, Penny’s happy face morphed into an apology.
“Sorry, Had.” She placed the closed sign in front of her. “I’ve got to run to the back for a few minutes to figure out a mix up with one of the deliveries. You’ll have to go to Pete.”
Hadley nodded, hiding her smile. If Pete was the only one there would be no way she could avoid his line. Oh well, she thought as she got behind another local who stepped up to the counter to a song.
She finally let the smile consume her face as the customer in front of her finished and walked away. Glancing behind her, she saw there weren’t any other people needing assistance. Hadley loved it when she didn’t have to rush her interactions with Pete, but then she remembered that she couldn’t stay and chat today. A hungry Suze waited in the car.
“My oh me, it’s Had-ah-lee!” Pete sang to no specific tune, using more pitch changes than Christina Aguilera.
Hadley grinned. “Hey, Pete.” She slid her pile of packages onto the counter and let him take over scanning and entering them into the computer.
“What’s new?” she asked, leaning on the counter.
“Everything and anything,” he gave her his standard first response. “But did you hear…” He leaned closer, just like he always did, unable to keep out of the gossip. “Oh, of course you did. With that brother of yours.” He swiped at the air with his hand, pulling back and giving her a wink.
Pete had worked at the post office for as long as Hadley had been alive, so he knew exactly what he could and couldn’t say while still staying in compliance with the United States Postal Service bylaws. Now in his fifties, the man was a veritable magician, able to tell you everything without actually telling you anything at all.
