by Annie Irvin
Olivia threw him a concerned look.
“Alice says she felt a very strong, cold, presence in the hallway upstairs last night,” he told them. “She doesn’t remember sleepwalking but swears she had a vision. I might have to go drag her out of the Explorer to get her back inside.”
“Ezra probably left a window open,” Violet snapped, as Mead headed for the front door. “He was upstairs checking the storm windows yesterday.”
“I didn't have any window open,” Ezra said, coming down with the Hoover’s luggage and wisely following Mead out the door.
“Oh, dear,” Olivia muttered, “this isn’t good. And really, Violet, have a little compassion for the girl. Especially in her condition.”
Paul’s eyebrows shot up. “What’s her condition?”
“Never mind right now,” Lonnie told her husband. “We’ll discuss it later. You have to leave, remember.”
Harper walked outside to the Explorer and tried to help Mead convince Alice to spend at least one more day at the Inn. Alice, however, insisted Grace was more irate than ever.
“You promised you’d not say anything to Mead about what happened in the shed. Of course, you also promised you’d figure out who the murderer is,” Alice chided Harper. “Until you find that out, I can’t stay here again. I’m not used to such angry spirits. I’m truly sorry but I think all this tension is making me sick. Mead doesn’t know it, but I threw up this morning.”
While Mead stood on the porch and said goodbye to Olivia, Harper tried again. “I’ll keep at it, Alice, until I uncover the killer. I think I’m getting close.”
Expelling a deep sigh as the Explorer disappeared down the driveway, Harper knew she must ramp up her sleuthing if she was going to keep her promise to Alice.
I need to get nosier, she told herself firmly. I have to shift into Grace Potter mode.
Mindy Bartlett left Naylor’s store on Monday afternoon and trotted across the street. Harper had spotted the young woman through the plate glass window of the antique shop and opened the door to call her name and wave for her to come closer.
“Hi, Harper,” Mindy chirped as she quickly closed the gap between them.
“Nice to see you, Mindy. You got a minute?”
“Sure, I don’t work today.”
Harper motioned the young woman inside the shop.
“I sure love the smell of the candles and the dried eucalyptus you use to decorate the shelves in your store,” Mindy chirped. “I like to window shop here. Someday I’ll be able to afford to buy a few antiques to decorate my apartment. That will impress Ronnie, my boyfriend. You know Ronnie, don’t you?”
“Yes, of course I do. He seems like a really nice guy. The reason I wanted to talk to you, though, is about the day of the festival, because of the murder. Did you notice if Summer Storm was any place she shouldn’t have been?”
“Oh, oh. Did Summer get busted?”
“Busted?”
“You know, for sneaking off for awhile?”
“Did you see her sneaking off?”
Mindy looked down at her shoes. “I don’t like to rat on Summer but I won’t lie to you. I didn’t actually see her sneak off. I just happened to see her out by the pumpkin patch when she should have been on the porch. I was carrying a trash bag to the dumpster. Jack Morgan asked me if I would do that for him and of course I said yes. He always gives us a free hot dog.”
“Right. When you noticed Summer, had the bonfire started?”
“It was right before, I think.”
“Okay, thanks, Mindy. You have a good day now.”
“I hope I didn’t get Summer in any trouble.”
“No, you didn’t,” Harper said, thinking Summer managed to do that all on her own.
Customers kept Harper busy all afternoon and it was after five o’clock before she had the chance to even consider getting away to question Summer. Harper called Rubino’s to inquire if she was on duty.
“Nope,” Max said. “This is Summer’s night off.”
She’s probably home, Harper thought, hanging up the phone. I hope she’s also sober.
It was five thirty by the time Harper drove to Summer’s apartment building. Dodging a few pots of bright coral geraniums on the front stoop, she made her way up to the third floor and knocked on the door of apartment 3A.
Music blared from inside and Harper knocked loudly several times. She raised her hand to knock again when the door swung open.
Summer appeared sober and from what Harper could see, the apartment was tidier than during her visit the other night.
“Well?” The chill in Summer’s voice was defiant, almost threatening, and Harper thrust her hand into her jacket pocket, feeling for the acorn button she’d found in the shed yesterday. Clenching her fist around the hard plastic strengthened her resolve to get to the bottom of who murdered Grace, although Paul’s words to not be reckless or crazy flashed across her mind.
“Hello, Summer.” Harper thought about smiling but somehow she felt Summer would know it was an insincere gesture so she didn’t bother. “Look, I stopped by to see if you inadvertently took home the apron you wore during the festival.”
“The apron? Why would I bring home the apron?”
“Don’t know. We’re missing one. Thought it might be yours that’s missing.”
Summer didn’t move a muscle, but her left eye began to twitch. “Have you asked the other girls? It’s probably one of theirs.”
Harper lied. “They all said it wasn’t theirs.”
“Well, I didn’t bring it home and I didn’t lose it. Violet probably misplaced it. Now I’m busy.”
“Okay, fine. One more thing. Did you lose a button off your apron during the evening?”
“Cripes, Harper,” Summer snapped at her, a scowl creasing her forehead while her eyes gleamed angrily. “I didn’t lose a button, I didn’t lose an apron, but I am losing my temper. You’ve come at a bad time. G’bye.”
Harper placed her foot between the door and the jamb, wincing when Summer pushed. Putting her weight against the door, Harper pushed back and said, “I have one more question.”
“You already asked your one more! Why are you being such a bitch, Harper?”
“Did Mickey break up with you on Sunday night?”
Summer sucked in a breath. “Bitch! None of your business. Now get out of my face!”
Harper moved her foot and Summer slammed the door in her face.
That could have gone better, Harper thought, but I guess she answered my question. And if Summer had to slam something in her face, better it was a door than a hammer.
On Tuesday morning, Harper woke early and stumbled into the kitchen. She didn’t feel very well-rested. The phone rang as she grabbed two slices of bread and shoved them into the toaster. Seeing her mother’s name on the caller ID, she grabbed the receiver and said, “Hi, Mom. Is everything okay?”
“Of course,” Olivia replied smoothly. “You worry too much. I’m calling to let you know Ezra is itching to get down in the basement and sort through the things we’ve stored down there over the years. You might want to come out and see if there’s anything you can use for the shop. I’m not sure anymore what’s down there, but I can’t take it with me.”
The basement had always been a treasure trove of goodies so Harper said excitedly, “I’ll be out this morning.”
“That will make Ezra happy. Now there’s one more thing.”
“Shoot.”
“Violet and I have been planning the tea party. We’ll set out the nice china and silver again, have little sandwiches and cakes. But I’d like your input, too. Violet’s so happy she’s practically skipping around.”
Harper smiled at the thought of stocky Violet skipping anywhere.
“That sounds wonderful, Mom,” Harper declared, happy her mother and Violet were keeping busy with something to take their mind off the murder.
“We found a lovely china tea set hidden away in the upstairs closet the other day. But l
isten to me rattle on. I’ll let you have breakfast and we can go over all of this when you get here.”
Yawning, Harper slathered her toast with butter followed by globs of peanut butter and poured herself a glass of orange juice. She wished she’d slept better. Maybe if she was better rested, her mind would be clearer and she might figure out what she was missing about the damn aprons. Shaking off the nagging feeling she concentrated on the goodies awaiting her at the Inn.
Digging out an old pair of jeans and an even older sweater suitable to wear while mucking around in the basement, Harper dressed and then called Helen.
“Don’t you worry about the shop,” Helen told her. “I’m going to be very excited to see what you find in the basement. After all, your mother’s treasures got Our Earthly Remains started in the first place.”
The day turned bright and sunny and Harper’s mood reflected the good weather. Thinking about discovering the acorn button invigorated her. All she needed to do now was prove the button had been attached to the apron that had been attached to Summer Storm.
When Harper arrived at the Bittersweet Inn she found Olivia and Violet sitting at the kitchen table going over recipes and planning the menu for the tea.
“I wanted to try my hand at some crumpets,” Violet told her. “But then I checked out what a crumpet is and decided against that. But we will definitely have little no-crust sandwiches.”
“We’re going to use the lace cloths on the tables,” Olivia said just as Ezra tramped into the kitchen.
“That’s all these two women have been jabberin’ about,” he said, rolling his eyes. “An afternoon of yakkin’ females doesn’t sound like my idea of a good time.”
“You’ll have to hide out in town,” Harper laughed. “Or hop over to Rubino’s and have a cold one.”
“I’ll hop over to Maggie’s and help Fred shovel out the horse barn. It won’t be as deep in there as it will be over here.”
Olivia ignored Fred’s observations while she leafed through the cookbook that Violet shoved under her nose.
“I’ve invited Maggie. We’ve set the time for four o’clock. Does all this sound okay to you, Harper? Are we leaving anything out?”
“I’d say you two have it under control as usual, but I’m ready to help if you need me.” Harper motioned to Ezra. “Let’s get down to the basement,” she said, leaving the two older women in the throes of party planning.
A full basement ran under the old house and thanks to updated electrical work it was well lighted. Ezra kept it clean even if a few dust bunnies hid out in the corners. Ezra wandered off to a storage room where rows of home canned fruits and vegetables once filled the wooden shelves in Olivia’s younger days but now served as a converted wine cellar.
Ezra began digging through a few stray boxes stacked on the floor, calling over his shoulder, “If you need me to be movin’ anything, give me a holler. I'll help you carry stuff upstairs and put it in your truck when you’re ready.”
Whenever she could poke and pry into little used basement corners and hunt for lost treasures, Harper was in her element. By the time Ezra finished up and returned to her side of the basement, she stood next to a nice pile of forgotten riches ready to pack into her truck.
Ezra carried the first load up the stairs while Harper took one more look around the basement. A large twenty-gallon Red Wing crock stood forgotten in one corner. That would sell like cold lemonade in the Sahara, Harper reasoned.
She put her back into carefully sliding the crock away from the wall. She was elated to see it still had its lid on top, something that made it even more valuable. Picking up the edge of the lid, she peeked inside. There was something in there, perhaps another great find, and she reached in very warily. She didn’t want to disturb a Daddy Long-legs and have him scoot up her arm. Cautiously she touched what looked like a neatly wrapped package. It felt like some kind of material. Harper clutched one edge of the bundle and lifted it out. She stared at it for a few seconds. It wasn’t a package at all, but a butternut-colored apron, folded several times. Comprehending what it was, she clutched, her hands began to shake and she realized she was holding her breath. Her legs felt heavy yet light and wobbly at the same time.
Moving slowly, Harper plopped down onto a wooden packing crate and smoothed the apron across her lap. First she checked the straps. An acorn button was missing from one of them. Next she held the apron up to the light, exposing rusty colored spots running across the front of the bib. Her stomach lurched. She knew she was looking at Grace Potter’s blood which had stained the material when someone splattered her head like an overripe pumpkin.
Harper clutched the apron and thought how Grace must have watched, horrified, as the person wearing it moved stealthily across the shed floor, hammer in hand, coming closer and closer. She surely tried to fend off her attacker, must have grabbed the acorn button, tearing it loose as she fell to the floor, the button slipping from her lifeless hand.
How long Harper sat staring at the apron she wasn’t sure, but she didn’t move until she heard Ezra’s boots hitting the stairs. Jumping up from the crate, she hastily stuffed the apron inside her jacket.
“I have enough for now, Ezra. I’ll be out again later for the rest of it.”
Not waiting while Ezra tried to persuade her to let him finish loading the rest of the treasures, she took the stairs two at a time. Puffing “I’ll be back later” to a startled Olivia and Violet, she hurried out the door. She needed to get home to think what she should do next.
In record time, she pulled into her driveway, hid the apron in the back regions of her hallway coat closet, hopped back into the pickup and headed toward Main Street. She wanted to talk to Lonnie. First, though, she stopped at Our Earthly Remains where she found Helen polishing a set of silver candle sticks.
Helen laid her polishing cloth down when she saw Harper’s flushed face.
“You must have found something really good.”
Harper hoped her voice sounded normal. “You could say that.”
Helen lifted her eyebrows slightly but didn’t press for information.
Harper asked, “Have you eaten your lunch yet?”
“Just finished a bit ago. You?”
“No, and I need to run over to Naylor’s and talk with Lonnie. I parked the truck out back. You can look through the stuff if you want. I’ll help with the heavy items later.” While Harper talked, she fidgeted, moving from the counter to the displays by the front window and back to the counter again. “Oh, by the way, it’s not a full load. I have to go back. I might be gone awhile, not sure.”
Helen’s eyebrows shot higher but her voice sounded casual as she asked, “Something up your sleeve?”
“Just planning a tea party at the Inn,” Harper called over her shoulder as she scuttled out the door.
“Must be some tea party,” Helen called back, heading for the stash in Harper’s truck.
Harper strode into A Different Wrinkle with an invitation for Lonnie to join her at home for leftovers if Lonnie would drive them there.
“Hear this stomach rumble? I accept your offer. You do have more in your kitchen than half-eaten TV dinners don’t you?” Lonnie asked as they slid into her car.
“I happen to have some really delicious deli meat and cheese with some good bread to put it on. There’s three-bean salad, too. And brownies for dessert. And a whopper of a surprise.”
“Really? What’s the surprise?”
“You’ll see. I was at Mom’s this morning, scouting through the basement for items for the shop when I ran across something very, very interesting.”
Lonnie couldn’t pry anything more out of her sister until they stood in Harper’s living room.
“Get ready,” Harper commanded. “The surprise is in the hall closet. Follow me.”
“This better be good. Gooder than food.”
“There’s no such word as ‘gooder’ and let’s just say it’ll take your mind completely off food.” Harper opened the cl
oset door and grabbed the apron. She gave it a twirl and a flourish that would make a bullfighter proud. Waving it in front of Lonnie, she announced, “I found Summer’s apron.”
Gaping at the apron, Lonnie asked, “How do you know it’s Summer’s?”
“It makes sense it’s Summer’s. I went to her place yesterday after work.”
“You did?” Lonnie cut in, surprised. “Is that where you found it?”
“No, I told you I found this down in Mom’s basement this morning. But when I was at Summer’s, I just came right out and asked her about the missing apron and the missing button. I told her a little fib, that all the other girls said it wasn’t their apron.”
