Hickory Smoked Homicide

by Riley Adams

  “I only looked at her for a second,” he repeated. He looked as if he was glad he hadn’t had to look at her for any longer than that. “I couldn’t really tell.”

  “Here’s Pink,” said Lulu, with relief, as the door to the kitchen opened up.

  “You okay, Derrick?” asked Pink in a gentle voice. “That was a rough thing for you to have to go through. You did a good job not letting Coco know what was going on. She’d have had nightmares for sure.”

  Derrick shrugged again, but his face flushed with color at the compliment.

  “I’m afraid,” said Pink with a sigh, “that the plot has thickened.”

  Lulu froze. “It wasn’t just some random mugging gone wrong?” But she’d known it couldn’t have been—she’d known that as soon as Derrick mentioned the portrait.

  “No. It was Dee Dee.”

  “Oh no.” Lulu stiffened. “Murdered?”

  “Yes.” Pink turned to look at Derrick. “I want you to think really carefully, son. Did you see or hear anyone leaving the parking deck while you were either arriving or when you were leaving with Coco?”

  Derrick was quiet for a moment and looked like he was thinking hard. Reluctantly, he finally said, “No sir. I mean, yes, I heard people when I was arriving, but it was like a group of people partying or something. They were being loud and just sounded like they were leaving after having fun on Beale Street.”

  “Nothing else?”

  Derrick shook his head. “I’m sorry, Pink. When I got to the deck, I was in a hurry to go to the restaurant and get Coco. Then when I had Coco with me, I was paying attention to her and trying to make sure that she was okay and not going to puke everywhere. Then, when I saw . . . when I saw her, I was just thinking about getting Coco and me out of there without Coco seeing anything. I didn’t know if the guy was still around or not. And I didn’t want to scare Coco. So I made stuff up, like I’d locked my keys in the car. Coco believed me.”

  Pink must have been able to tell that Derrick didn’t know anything else—and didn’t, as Derrick was able to assure him, even know the victim at all. Dee Dee wouldn’t have crossed paths with a teenage boy, and she wasn’t a regular customer at Aunt Pat’s. “Thanks, Derrick,” said Pink, patting the boy on the back. “I appreciate everything you’ve done. Why don’t you go join Coco in the back office now?”

  Derrick looked relieved to adjourn to the back office, where the TV was sure to be on, even if it meant hanging out with a nauseated little girl.

  Pink rubbed the back of his neck like it was sore. “Here Pink,” said Lulu, quickly pushing a stool toward him. “Have a seat for a minute.” He plopped down and they looked at each other. “This is a mess, isn’t it?”

  “It’s a mess. I hate to say it, Lulu, but chances are that one of your guests murdered Dee Dee.”

  Lulu nodded sadly. She’d figured as much. All of the suspects were there, and Dee Dee sounded like she’d been doing some snooping—and some blackmailing, too.

  “Unfortunately, I had my face too deep into a plate of barbeque most of the night to be able to give a whole lot of information on your guests’ comings and goings.” Pink looked a little disgusted with himself. “How about you?”

  Lulu thought for a moment. “The drama with poor Coco kept me from being able to notice anyone’s movements really closely. I know I saw everyone here who I think is a suspect in the case. I talked to all of them—Loren and Pepper, Colleen and Pansy, Steffi and Marlowe . . . and Dee Dee.” She took a deep breath and said, “But you know that Sara couldn’t have done it. Even though it sounds like something weird is going on with the portrait that she made.”

  “Lord no, Sara couldn’t have done it! She was busting it going back and forth from the kitchen to the buffet table all night. She’s someone I did keep track of because I visited the buffet line every time she brought fresh food out.”

  Lulu released the pent-up breath she’d been holding. “Derrick couldn’t be a suspect, could he? Even though he discovered the body?”

  Pink said, “They’ll ask him a couple of questions I’m sure, but why on earth would Derrick kill Dee Dee? To him, she was just some old lady who he didn’t know. There’s absolutely no motive there. Her purse wasn’t stolen—her money is there. Why would he have killed her?”

  “I wish I could help you out more with where people were, Pink. I hate to say it, but anybody could have left and come back in. People were moving around a lot—going out on the porch to listen to the band, then walking to their table in the dining room, then going to the buffet line at the back. It would’ve been easy for someone to have gone to the porch and kept on walking.”

  Pink said, “I think it would have been tougher for Steffi and Marlowe to leave, though, don’t you?”

  “I do think so. Every time I saw them, there was someone talking to one or both of them. Still, I guess it’s possible. Surely they slipped off a couple of times to go to the buffet, or the restroom, or to sit down and eat.”

  “And why,” asked Pink in his deep drawl, “do you think someone would have wanted to kill Dee Dee?” Lulu hesitated, and he added, “All I know about her is that she has a boutique and a lot of the pageant people shop there.”

  “And me,” said Lulu. “She had clothing for . . . mature ladies there, too. I think she was simply trying to keep her shop afloat, so she had a little bit of everything there.” Pink still looked like he was waiting for some sort of an answer, so Lulu sighed and said, “Dee Dee was snoopy, Pink. She liked to know what was going on in everyone’s lives.”

  “And nosiness isn’t a good trait to have when there’s a murderer running around, trying to cover his tracks,” said Pink with a matching sigh.

  “Well, she wasn’t just nosy. For Dee Dee, it was sort of a sideline business.”

  “Blackmail?” asked Pink, perking up. “How did you find out about this?”

  Lulu winced apologetically. “From being a little nosy myself, Pink. I’d seen Dee Dee consult this black notebook when I was at her shop—she was messing with it one day when Tristan was over there. Tristan was paying her off for some pageant insider information, and Dee Dee was reading from her notebook, making sure she had the information right.”

  Pink frowned. “Pageants have insider information?”

  Lulu put her hands on her hips. “Pink, pageants are a big deal around here! I didn’t realize how big of a deal until I started going to them with Coco. Anyway, so I was dying to take a look at the notebook. Dee Dee had all kinds of information in there—not only what dress a pageant contestant was wearing and what her talent was, but other things, personal things that people probably wouldn’t want to get out. And she even had some pictures in there, too—like evidence.”

  “She probably used the store as the meeting place to get money from the people she was extorting,” said Pink in a grim voice. “And to show them exactly what she’d pinned on them.”

  “Right,” said Lulu. “It wouldn’t even look that suspicious because people go in and out of shops quickly all the time.”

  “So we need to search her home and business for a black notebook,” said Pink, making a note in a notebook of his own.

  “Her shop is the best place to look. It should be on that shelf under the cash register.”

  When Pink glanced up again, he looked reproachful. “Lulu, you should have told me about this earlier.”

  “Well honey, you didn’t ask me! And that other fella was in charge of the case, and he’s about as approachable as a cactus. That Detective Freeman.” Lulu made a face.

  “That’s true. Okay. But if you find out anything else, would you please call me up and tell me? I don’t want anything to happen to you. . . . Where would I go eat barbeque?” he asked teasingly.

  Lulu smiled at him. “Oh, I’m sure Aunt Pat’s would continue on without me. It wouldn’t be as fun, though, would it?” Pink started leaving the kitchen, and Lulu said, “Any ideas how long before that parking deck opens back up? I’ve a feeling mo
st of my guests are probably parked over there. And poor Coco needs to get home and in her bed, too.”

  Pink said, “That’s going to end up being a problem. It depends on what level of the deck they parked on. Most of the folks will be able to leave unless they parked on the second level of the deck. If they parked on the second level, then it’s going to be a while.”

  Ben piped up from in front of the pit. “We parked on the bottom level, so Sara should be able to scoot out with Coco, then.”

  “That shouldn’t be a problem, no.”

  Lulu said, “Ben? What do you think we should do about everybody else? Keep putting food out there?”

  “Mother, those folks have got to be stuffed. And really, we’re about at the end of what we planned on fixing for tonight. I think they should be okay with the band and just drinking sweet tea while they wait. Or they can check out some other places on Beale Street.”

  “But, of course, we’re going to need to talk to a few of those people before they go, too—I’m going to need to nail down everyone’s actions tonight.” Pink yawned. “I think it’s going to be a long night. Too bad, because I’m ready to hit the sack after all that barbeque. Oh, and do me a favor and don’t mention anything about that painting of Tristan being at the crime scene.... I’m going to tell Derrick to keep it quiet, too. Is it okay if Detective Freeman and I use your office to do some questioning? It’s usually better to figure out where people were as soon as possible and before they forget.”

  “Feel free,” said Lulu. “I’m going to see if we can get Sara to take Coco home.”

  Pink hesitated. “If it’s all right, Lulu, let me and Freeman talk to Sara for a few minutes before she goes. It’s nothing important—it’s just for the record. I know Coco needs to go home. And Sara can take Derrick home, also . . . I’m sure he’ll be ready to get out of here, too.”

  The rest of the evening had seemed to go on forever, thought Lulu as she got dressed the next morning. On top of it all, she didn’t learn any new clues. Everyone was tight-lipped as he or she waited to talk to the police, and even Pink hushed up and wouldn’t talk. The suspects looked somber when they found out about Dee Dee’s death as Pink was herding them to the back office—even Loren, who said that he didn’t even know who Dee Dee was. Pepper, who had shopped at Dee Dee’s boutique, was quiet; Colleen sniffed melodramatically into a tissue; and Steffi and Pansy gripped each other’s arms as if they thought the murderer might be coming after them next. Marlowe seemed shaken and confused.

  Everyone had left with relief as soon as the police had reopened the parking deck. Lulu had helped clean up at the restaurant and fell into her bed exhausted at almost two o’clock in the morning.

  And she could tell it, thought Lulu with a grimace as she saw her reflection in the mirror. Especially with the circles under her eyes. She got out a little makeup to help cover them up.

  Lulu jumped as the doorbell rang. She smoothed down the dress she’d just put on and hurried over to peep out the front door. She saw it was Cherry and opened the door. “Good morning! You’re out bright and early this morning.”

  Cherry followed Lulu into her cheerful kitchen, where Lulu poured them both a cup of coffee. “Wow, Lulu, you look worn out.” Lulu winced, and Cherry said, “Sorry, hon. I know it was a long night. I couldn’t sleep last night myself, which is one reason I’m here so early. I finally gave up and pulled some clothes on and came on over.”

  “I’m glad you did because I didn’t even get a chance to talk to you last night after everything started going downhill.”

  “Is Coco feeling any better?” asked Cherry.

  “She’s fine. Her tummy ended up getting upset because she ate a whole bag of miniature chocolates that were left over from last Halloween. Poor thing.” Lulu knew she wouldn’t be doing that again anytime soon. “With all that was going on with Coco, I didn’t really get a good sense of what was going on in Aunt Pat’s last night. Did you see anything?”

  Cherry said, “Actually, I saw a lot. I figured you’d need me to be on sleuthing backup. I saw a lot of coming and going. Everybody walked out the front door and then came back in again later. I wish I’d taken a little more notice of when everyone left and came back, but I didn’t know it was going to be important.” Cherry looked put out.

  “You found out more than I did, at least!” said Lulu. “So did it seem to you that most people were going out on the porch to listen to the music? Or were they joining friends that were out there so they could talk for a while?”

  “Or were they going out there to murder Dee Dee?” Cherry finished wryly. “That’s what we don’t know, of course. But I did notice that Dee Dee had spoken to all the suspects. And that all the suspects ended up going outside at some point. And,” Cherry looked smug, “she’d given them all some sort of a note.”

  Lulu frowned. “That is a little strange, isn’t it? I wouldn’t have thought that Dee Dee would have wanted to talk to all of them.”

  “Talk? I’d say Dee Dee was planning on blackmailing them or putting some pressure on them in some way. What do you want to bet that she was trying to squeeze some money out of all our suspects? It sounds like that was Dee Dee’s special talent. Did you happen to notice when she wasn’t in the dining room anymore? When you went off to take care of Coco, was she still in there chatting?”

  Lulu pressed her fingers to her temples like she could conjure up the memory. “You know, Cherry, I couldn’t say for sure. I was trying to keep track of everybody at the beginning of the fund-raiser, but then so many people came in from off the street that I just couldn’t do it. I don’t remember seeing her when I went to the back of the restaurant. But she could have been on the porch or in a booth where I couldn’t see her.”

  “Okay,” said Cherry briskly. “So we don’t know for sure how long she was out there. But I can tell you that I never saw her after I saw her making the rounds to talk to the suspects. Not once.”

  Lulu said slowly, “Let’s just say that Dee Dee came in, spoke to Steffi and Marlowe, had a little food, talked to me for a couple of minutes, noticed who was at the party, spoke to all of them, and handed them notes with times to come see her out in her car. Maybe she thought it would be the quickest and easiest way to try to extort some money out of people.”

  “She had money on the brain,” said Cherry, with a bob of her head. “I could tell that she was practically salivating when she thought I was going to buy a whole wardrobe from her. She’d probably already spent it in her head.”

  Lulu frowned again. “I need a little something sweet to get my brain going this morning, Cherry. Want some coffee cake? I cooked it yesterday and can warm it up in the microwave in a jiff.”

  Cherry definitely wanted some coffee cake . After a few minutes munching on it, Lulu said, “I guess we should think about what people Dee Dee might have asked to see. The one that doesn’t make sense to me is Loren.”

  Cherry said, “I don’t see him killing Dee Dee at all. He wouldn’t have gone to her shop, and I can’t see what she would have known about him to make him a good target for blackmail.”

  “True. Still, though—Dee Dee was being pretty nosy the night of Tristan’s murder. She could have seen something at the party that night that proved that one of the suspects had murdered Tristan. So I think we should still keep Loren in the loop on that.”

  Cherry looked glum. “That means that everyone is still in the loop, then. She could have seen any of those folks do something suspicious the night Tristan was murdered. I was hoping we could at least eliminate somebody.”

  “Let’s think if there’s anything else that Dee Dee might have had on these folks, besides anything she might have seen the night of the murder. Dee Dee said some pointed things at Tristan’s funeral—remember? I recall thinking how odd it was for her to be behaving that way at a funeral service. Just real coarse.”

  “That’s right!” said Cherry, brightening. “She was acting weird. She mentioned something about people mes
sing around where they shouldn’t have been and stuff going missing.”

  Lulu’s eyes widened. “Cherry, what do you want to bet that she was talking about the portrait? She probably saw who destroyed it.”

  “I wonder how it ended up there with Dee Dee,” said Cherry. “That’s weird.”

  “Maybe Dee Dee was the one who took it home . . . after she saw it get ruined. Maybe she thought she could use it to extort money out of somebody. She could have swiped it when she realized Tristan was dead, realizing that whoever messed up the picture would look really guilty.”

  Cherry added, “Then she could have given that person a note last night to meet her and had the picture in the car to use as proof. Didn’t you tell me that Derrick said there was lipstick smeared all over the portrait? I bet the police can easily figure out who the person who scribbled lipstick on the portrait was—there’d have to be DNA all over that picture from the lipstick.”

  Lulu said thoughtfully, “And if my recollection is correct, Dee Dee knew exactly who Loren was, and he knew her from the funeral. She even said something that made Pepper upset—claiming that the only people at the service who cared anything about Tristan were herself and Loren.”

  Cherry snapped her fingers. “That’s right! I remember how uncomfortable everybody was when she said it, too. And Pepper was right there!”

  “I think Dee Dee was just one of those people who liked stirring up trouble,” said Lulu, with a shake of her head. “And she went a little too far this time. Do you remember that she was also talking about an ‘inappropriate relationship’?”

  “You mean when she was talking about Loren and Tristan?”

  “No, she said that wasn’t the only inappropriate relationship. And something about things aren’t always what they seem.”

  Cherry looked admiringly at Lulu. “You sure do have a great memory! I can’t remember half of what she was babbling about that day.”

  “I was trying to pay attention to all that—looking for some clues. But I remember thinking at the time that Dee Dee wanted to be the center of attention. You know, that she was just trying to draw attention to herself.”