Hickory Smoked Homicide

by Riley Adams

  Chapter 15

  Thursday morning, Lulu parked her car at the end of Tristan Pembroke’s long driveway and listened for the sound of the lawn mower. Sure enough, she heard a faint hum from the back of the house. Lulu stepped out of the car, straightened her dress, and started the trek to the backyard. What a shame, she thought, that Steffi was going to have to sell this beautiful place. If she could sell it.

  When Lulu reached the backyard, she saw a young man about Steffi’s age on a commercial riding mower. He had black sunglasses on, the reflecting kind. He’d somehow, thought Lulu, wrinkling her forehead, forgotten to put a shirt on. Lulu had a feeling that could be a favorite look for him because it showed off his muscled chest. And it was definitely muscled.

  He was steering the mower in a curve when he saw Lulu and abruptly stopped the machine and turned it off. Lulu said, “I’m sorry—David, isn’t it? I didn’t mean to interrupt you.”

  He strode over to a wrought-iron table where the missing tee shirt was located, picked up the shirt, and swabbed his face and neck with it. “Sure you did. Otherwise, what would you be doing back here? You’re not exactly on the beaten path.” He snorted. “I’m not even sure what I’m doing back here. Tristan’s dead, and who knows if I’m even going to get paid for cutting the grass or not.”

  “Yes, it’s such a tragedy isn’t it?” Lulu said with a hint of reproof in her voice. “I can hardly believe Tristan is gone.”

  “Me either!” he said, reaching down for a water bottle and taking a few healthy gulps.

  “That’s what I’m here to talk to you about,” said Lulu.

  He looked suspiciously at her now. “You with the cops? I already told them that I was just Tristan’s handyman and yardman.”

  “Were you at the party that night?” asked Lulu. “There were so many guests there that I wouldn’t remember you if I’d seen you, I’m sure.”

  He gave a short nod. “I was there. Not for long, though—not my kind of gig. I wasn’t invited, but I showed up, underdressed, I guess. Everybody was snooty, and I didn’t care jack about the art stuff. Steffi was all over me like a puppy dog or something. And Tristan was mad about seeing me there, so she asked me to leave.” He shrugged. “So I cut out of there.”

  “Just like that? No hard feelings or anything?” asked Lulu.

  “Not at all. I was more worried about keeping my job than anything else. Not worth losing a paying customer over.” Lulu remembered Dee Dee’s words about David’s interest in money.

  “You were saying you were only Tristan’s yardman and handyman, but you were more than that, right? I heard you’d been seeing both Tristan and Steffi. And you said Steffi was like a puppy dog that night? So on the night Tristan was killed, you were back with Steffi?”

  His dark brows drew together in a frown. “Now who did you say you were again? With the cops?” But once again he didn’t give Lulu time to answer. “I already went through this all a million times with you people.” He threw the shirt back at the table. “Steffi and I had been out with each other and then Mrs. Pembroke threw herself at me one day out of the blue. And I’m only human, ain’t I?”

  Lulu thought that was questionable but decided it would be prudent not to answer.

  “So, when I thought I might have a chance with the lady of the manor, things sort of cooled between me and Steffi.”

  “On your side anyway,” said Lulu dryly.

  “That’s right. Steffi didn’t seem to get the message. And when Tristan kicked Steffi out of the house, I knew who was going to be the better Pembroke for me to be focusing my attention on.”

  Lulu felt a little nauseated at the idea of asking David to come to Aunt Pat’s. What could Steffi see in him? Well, besides his obvious physical attributes. And maybe he was charming enough when he wasn’t being honest. She bet he was a really talented liar.

  “Except it didn’t end up that way, did it?” asked Lulu with a forced sweetness.

  David acted like his Machiavellian talents were being maligned. “Well, I couldn’t have been expected to know that she was going to die,” he said. “I mean, she was an older lady, but she wasn’t old enough to die.”

  “So then you started going out with Steffi again after Tristan was murdered.”

  “That’s right. She and I picked right back up where we’d left off. Who are you again?”

  There was a small voice behind them that said, “She’s Lulu Taylor. She owns Aunt Pat’s Barbeque restaurant.”

  Lulu could see that David was trying to figure out how much Steffi had heard of their conversation. His face suddenly lit up, and he flashed a charismatic smile, and Lulu knew he’d decided to go with hoping she’d heard nothing of the conversation. “Hey there, cute thing! Are you getting along okay? I’ve been so worried about you.” He reached out his arms and Steffi melted into them.

  His eyes were piercing as he looked at Lulu over Steffi’s head. “A barbeque restaurant? That’s very interesting. She was interested in talking with me about the yard work.... Isn’t that right, ma’am?”

  Lulu wasn’t in the mood to help him out. “Actually, no. I wanted to invite you over to the restaurant next week for the benefit I’m doing for Steffi. Since you’re her friend, I thought you’d want to come, and I didn’t want Steffi to have to bother with inviting people over.”

  David gave a short laugh. “Benefit? Like Steffi is even worried about money now.”

  Steffi turned her head a little on David’s chest and looked at Lulu with pleading eyes. She clearly didn’t want her to say anything to David about her mother’s poor financial situation. Lulu said mildly, “Well, no matter how much money you have, it always helps to have easily accessible money before the will is probated.” Lulu wasn’t sure that what she was saying really made any sense, but David seemed satisfied with it.

  “In that case,” he said, giving Steffi a kiss on the nose, “I’ll be happy to be there.”

  It was a good thing that Ben was prepared and did a lot of cooking for the fund-raiser, because the word really got out—through old methods like church bulletin boards and a blurb in the paper, and new methods like Twitter and Facebook—that there was going to be a fund-raising buffet at Aunt Pat’s. And the dining room stayed packed the whole night.

  Fortunately, Lulu had brought in some extra kitchen helpers and servers for the night. Even though it was a buffet, the food still had to be brought from the kitchen to the buffet line—and it needed to keep coming. Sara and the extra hands were doing a great job keeping up with demand, which kept Lulu from having to spend the evening in the kitchen—and gave her the chance to talk to all the folks who had come.

  Buddy, Morty, and Big Ben were playing better than they ever had out on the restaurant’s front porch. Lulu thought they got better with age. Feet were tapping, and food was disappearing, and money was coming in hand over fist.

  Lulu walked around and greeted the guests for a while, then decided to stay back a little bit and spend some time watching to see what happened next. That was one thing she wished she’d had at Tristan’s party—time to absorb her surroundings and watch the guests to see what they did.

  She’d done a great job getting everyone to the restaurant. Pink was there—because he was always there at Aunt Pat’s. Colleen and Pansy were some of the first to arrive. Then Loren came in, straightening his collar and looking self-conscious. Dee Dee arrived and immediately started talking loudly to Lulu about the clothes she wanted Lulu to see at the store.

  Dee Dee also tried to talk to Sara about something (Lulu guessed it was about a pageant dress for Coco), but Sara was so busy lugging food out of the kitchen that she shook her head at her and hurried off to the kitchen. Marlowe and Steffi were both there, frequently talking to people who came up to give them condolences and ask how they were doing. Steffi looked a little stressed, thought Lulu, but that’s probably because she wasn’t used to being the center of attention. David spent some time hanging out with Steffi, but he quickly seemed un
comfortable and stepped outside to smoke a lot.

  There was also a lot of movement in and out of the restaurant—from the food at the back table to the bar, where the desserts and beverages were set out. And then there were folks who went out to the front porch to listen to the band for a while. Of course, there were also customers who came in straight from off the street to listen to the band and have some food—the benefit part meant nothing to them, but they sure were interested in the buffet. Lulu had already put the Graces on notice to rescue her if she looked like she couldn’t get away from Gordon. So far, they’d played interference with a lot of charm. Gordon looked pleased as punch with all the attention he was getting. With any luck, thought Lulu, he’d end up smitten with one of them instead.

  Cherry sidled up to Lulu. “Did you see who just came in?”

  Lulu squinted across the crowded room. “No—who?”

  “Pepper! She’s come to make Loren feel uncomfortable . . . and I think she’s doing a good job at it.”

  Sure enough, there was Pepper, keeping in Loren’s line of sight at all times and glowering across the restaurant at him.

  Lulu sighed. “Looks like their relationship is on the rocks. But who can blame her? He’s spending even more time chasing Tristan now than he did when she was alive!”

  Lulu felt a light touch on her arm and turned to see Ella Beth’s pixie face looking up at her with concern. “Granny Lulu, have you seen Mama?”

  “She’s around, honey, but she’s busy keeping the buffet table filled. What’s wrong?”

  “Coco is in the office, crying.”

  Lulu stood up. “Is she okay?”

  “I don’t know. I think her tummy hurts or something. That’s why I came out to find somebody—I know Daddy is busy cooking.”

  Lulu hurried to investigate and found that Coco did have an upset stomach. Whether it had something to do with the empty bag of miniature chocolates she’d found in the kitchen and eaten on the sly was anyone’s guess. Lulu suggested she spend a little time in the restroom right off the office, then called Sara’s nephew, Derrick. “Hi, honey.”

  “Granny Lulu?” Derrick asked. “Did you need some more help at Aunt Pat’s?”

  “No, I think we’re good with the kitchen staff, but I could use your help with something else. Could you come and pick Coco up and take her back to the house and sort of keep an eye on her? I’m afraid we’re all too tied up here to take her back.”

  “Is she sick?” There was a little trepidation in the teenager’s voice.

  “Well, she might be. But I think it’s just a matter of eating too much chocolate candy. Either way, she sure doesn’t feel good. And could you give me a call if you think she’s feeling worse or if she starts to really get sick?”

  “Will do, Granny Lulu.”

  Lulu stayed with Coco until Derrick arrived to pick her up. She was relieved when Sara’s seventeen-year-old nephew walked in the door. At least, she guessed it was Derrick—his bangs had gotten so long that you could hardly even see his face. Of course, though, he didn’t really meld into a crowd . . . not with all his tattoos and piercings. He quickly collected Coco, and they left the restaurant.

  Pink noticed a green-faced Coco leaving with Derrick. “Uh-oh. Is Coco feeling puny?”

  Lulu sighed. “I’m afraid so. And I didn’t even tell Sara and Ben about it because they’re slammed right now, and I knew they couldn’t get away.” She scanned the room for a minute. “How is everything out here? Is the food coming out fast enough?”

  “Seems to be,” said Pink, patting his stomach with satisfaction. “And I think you can call the fund-raising part of it a success—Aunt Pat’s has been jam-packed with folks.”

  Lulu was pleased to see that Gordon wasn’t one of the guests jam-packing the restaurant. Although he’d come in for a little while, he’d quickly left when things got crowded. “Good,” said Lulu with a sigh. “A successful evening is exactly what I was hoping for.” She looked around the restaurant to try to find her suspects, but there were so many people that she had a hard time placing them. Things sure weren’t going according to plan, but that was so frequently the way, thought Lulu.

  She decided to take advantage of the opportunity she had at hand—maybe Pink would have a little information. “Pink, I was wondering if you had any more updates on Tristan’s murder investigation.” He raised his eyebrows at her as he chewed a corn muffin, and she said quickly, “Of course I know you can’t talk a whole lot about it, but I was just wondering about in general.”

  “In general, it’s been a real hard case to nail down. There was a big party going on, so there wasn’t exactly a pristine crime scene.”

  Lulu frowned, “There wasn’t a big party in Tristan’s room, though!”

  “Whoever was in Tristan’s room had thought ahead, I guess, Lulu. They used gloves, and they’d swiped a heavy brass candlestick that was easily visible and available to anyone who walked into the living room.”

  “Wouldn’t somebody have noticed a person walking around lugging a big candlestick?” Lulu gave a little shudder as she thought about Tristan’s body.

  “It might not be as obvious as you think. There were lots of people coming and going. Guests were carrying paintings and other artwork around. It could pretty easily be concealed in a bag. Unless someone was acting really suspiciously, maybe they wouldn’t even notice it.”

  “No one saw anyone going in or out of Tristan’s room?” asked Lulu curiously.

  “Well, but that was a major thoroughfare for the party. Not her bedroom itself, but the guests walked past her bedroom to get to one of the bathrooms. Anyone could have dodged in there really quickly, pulled the candlestick out of a purse or from inside a suit jacket, and clubbed Tristan.” Pink held his hands out in supplication. “You can see it’s not as easy as it sounds.”

  “Pink, that Detective Freeman doesn’t really think that Sara’s involved, does he?” asked Lulu, feeling a little sick at the thought. “He sure seemed like he was suspicious of her that night.”

  Pink gave Lulu a reassuring smile. “Lulu, if he was sure she did it, she’d already be in jail. That tells me he has no evidence to show the crime had anything to do with Sara. He’s just making educated guesses and seeing what happens when he stirs up the waters a little. Sometimes that’s a good way to get a suspect to confess or to tell an inconsistent story . . . that kind of thing. But you don’t have to worry about Sara, obviously—she’s not a killer.”

  Pink suddenly frowned and stood up. “Lulu—Coco and Derrick are back. And Derrick looks as sick as Coco does.”

  Derrick did. He was pasty white and shaking. Coco looked even sicker than she had before as they walked across the restaurant toward them.

  “Oh mercy! Pink, I should have told Sara and Ben about Coco feeling poorly. She looks even worse.”

  “Want me to dial a medic, Lulu?” Pink had his radio out.

  “Hold up—let’s see what Derrick has to say first.”

  When Derrick went directly up to Pink instead of his Granny Lulu, Lulu knew something must really be wrong. “Pink. I parked in the parking deck off the alley—you know, the big one? I saw . . .” He looked over at Coco, who looked sick and confused, and then looked at Lulu pleadingly.

  “Coco,” said Lulu briskly, “let’s go back in the office and let you rest for a minute. And get your Mama.”

  Cherry had walked over, looking curiously at Derrick and Pink. “Cherry,” said Lulu quickly, “can you take Coco to the office and grab Sara—Coco’s feeling sick.”

  “Sure thing. Let’s get your mom, kiddo.” Cherry bustled Coco off to the back of the restaurant.

  Derrick gulped and then took a deep breath. “When I was unlocking the car door for Coco, I looked over and I saw something lying on the floor of the parking deck, in between a couple of cars. It was a dead woman.”

  Chapter 16

  Pink radioed in for backup while Lulu took Derrick to the kitchen and gave him some brownies an
d iced tea and stayed with him while they waited for Pink to come back. Derrick really wanted to drive back home, but Lulu said, “Sweetie, they’re going to have that parking deck totally sealed off until they have all the information they need. I’m sorry—we might be stuck here for a little while. I think that’s probably where most of the people at the restaurant parked, too.... It’s the closest deck to Aunt Pat’s.”

  Derrick’s face, which so often wore a tough expression, looked especially young and vulnerable. He rubbed his eyes, and Lulu realized how tired he was, too. “It was pretty bad,” he said. “I mean, I didn’t take a really long look because I didn’t want Coco to notice what I was looking at.”

  Ben had stopped cooking for a moment to listen to Derrick. “What is this world coming to?” he asked, shaking his head. “Did it look like the woman had been mugged or something? Was there an empty purse nearby?” He rubbed the side of his face in agitation. “See, Mother, this is why I don’t like you walking out of the restaurant by yourself at night.” Lulu could tell he was still thinking happy thoughts of Gordon MacDonald being her personal escort from Aunt Pat’s every night.

  Derrick shrugged, uncomfortably. “I don’t know if she was mugged or not. She’d just fallen facedown, it looked like, and there was a puddle of blood.” He stopped, shaking his head. “And there was something else.” He hesitated, like he didn’t want to say the words. “There was a painting there next to her. It was all torn-up looking. It had lipstick or something smeared all over it, too. And it looked like one of Aunt Sara’s portraits.”

  Lulu drew in a shaky breath and looked over at Ben. “It was ripped up?” Ben asked, confused.

  “Yeah. I mean, it might not have been one of Aunt Sara’s. But it looked a lot like one of the frames she likes using. I don’t know—I only saw it for a second or two.” Derrick stopped, miserably.

  “What was it doing out in the parking deck?” Lulu felt like her head was whirling. “Derrick, you didn’t recognize the dead woman?”