“Well clearly she does!” Barbara chimed in with a devious grin. “After all, she’s here with Luke, isn’t she? They make a cute couple, don’t you think? I’ve always thought they look good together. I bet they’ll have the cutest little blonde babies!”
Oh no, it was happening. The two women were already being completely mortifying, and the game had only just started. It was going to be a long afternoon if they kept being nosy pests. Liana wanted to dive under the bleachers and hide.
Alternatively, she wanted the team mascot to run over and save the day by dumping a bucket of water over the two busybodies’ heads. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen. The mascot was too busy dancing around on the sidelines, trying to get the crowd hyped up.
Luke looked equal parts amused and embarrassed. He cleared his throat and then stood up. “There’s a food cart over there,” he said, pointing to the far side of the football field. “I’m going to go get us some hot dogs and lemonade.”
As she watched Luke walk away, Liana wished she had thought to go with him. That way, she would have some reprieve from the awful gossips. Unfortunately, it hadn’t occurred to her to accompany Luke until it was too late. He was already gone, temporarily free from the women’s invasive questions. And Liana was stuck there, forced to endure a blatant interrogation.
“How long have you two been dating?” Patricia demanded eagerly.
“Is it serious?” Barbara asked with great interest.
“I, um…” Liana didn’t know how to respond. She struggled to come up with a polite answer that wouldn’t air her personal business all over town. But she couldn’t come up with a single thing. So instead, she hastily made up an excuse.
“Well?” Patricia urged impatiently. “Don’t leave us wondering! We want all the details!”
“All of them!” Barbara agreed, nodding enthusiastically.
“I have to go to the bathroom,” Liana announced, abruptly standing up.
The look of disappointment on the two women’s faces was almost laughable. They had been so close to getting the inside scoop, only to be thwarted by Liana’s bladder. It had to be maddening for them, and there was something satisfying about that.
Barbara and Patricia would try to badger private information out of Liana in the near future. There was no doubt about that. It was who they were. But for the time being, Liana was safe from their curiosity.
She breathed a sigh of relief. Then, with her head held high, she marched over to the high school’s side entrance. She tried the door. As expected, it was unlocked.
Liana stepped inside. Then she stopped and looked around.
It was a long time since she had been a student at the school, but not much had changed. Sure, the walls had been painted and new flooring had been installed after she had graduated. But underneath those superficial changes, it was still the same place.
The small town school gave Liana an overwhelming sense of nostalgia.
She remembered eating lunch in the cafeteria with Clarissa, where they would occasionally get into playful food fights. She remembered giggling about boys at her locker with Amy. And she remembered baking apple pies in her Home Economics class.
She had tried a lot of apple pie recipes over the years.
The one her Home Economics teacher had given her was still her favorite.
There were no security guards standing at the door, and there was no metal detector to walk through. It was a far cry from the high school in Green City.
In a way, it was almost like stepping into a time warp. The world had changed in the years since Liana had been in high school, but Sugarcomb Lake hadn’t. It was still the same friendly, folksy, welcoming place it had always been.
Liana made her way to the restroom. Even though it had been a long time, she remembered exactly where to go. The hallways were empty; everyone was outside watching the football game. It was a little eerie walking down the darkened hallways, but Liana shrugged it off.
She reached the restroom and stepped inside.
She was mildly amused to see the tacky orange sinks still hadn’t been replaced. They must have been installed in the 1970s. The mustard colored tile floor was still there, too. It was hideous and awesome all at once.
Suddenly Liana heard the muffled sound of sobbing coming from the far stall.
She froze in her tracks, unsure of what to do. Should she ignore it and continue on her way, or try to console whomever was crying? She weighed her options carefully. Then she decided the nice thing to do was reach out.
She walked over to the stall. “Hello?” she called, tapping lightly on the door. “Are you okay?”
Liana heard the sound of toilet paper being tugged from the dispenser. Then she heard the sound of a nose being blown. A moment later, she heard the click of the lock. The stall door swung open, squeaking noisily.
Suddenly Liana came face-to-face with a distraught, puffy-faced, red-eyed Addy Atkins.
Chapter 17
“I, uh...here,” Liana said, reaching into her purse and pulling out a package of tissues. “The toilet paper will scratch your nose. Use these instead.” She thrust the tissues towards Addy, unsure of what else to do or say.
“Thanks,” Addy said gratefully. She took the tissues and dabbed at her tearstained face. Then she blew her nose a second time. By the nasally sound of her voice, she had been crying in the restroom for a long time.
Liana stood there wringing her hands helplessly. Part of her wanted to console the crying woman. But the other part of her wanted to ask Addy if she was a murderer. The whole situation felt very awkward.
“You probably think I’m awful,” Addy said as she walked over to the sink and ran the tap. She leaned down and splashed cold water on her face. Then, after drying her skin, she turned around to face Liana. “I know you overheard my phone call.”
Liana opened her mouth to protest. Then she shut it again. What was the point of lying if Addy already knew? Instead of denying that she had heard anything, Liana managed to muster up a sympathetic, somewhat sheepish smile.
“I didn’t mean to air my dirty laundry like that,” Addy said sheepishly. “I didn’t realize I was taking so loudly. My emotions got the best of me, you know? When I realized you were within earshot, I was so embarrassed. I didn’t intend for you to hear me badmouth Chester.”
“It’s none of my business,” Liana replied, even though she had basically gone out of her way to make it her business. Addy didn’t need to know that.
“I want you to know I’m not a bad person,” Addy said. “I was angry with Chester when he died. He...he made a lot of mistakes. He turned into a person I barely recognized and couldn’t stand to be around. But he was still my son’s father, even if he didn’t act like it.”
Liana nodded, mostly because she didn’t know how to respond.
“I’m not glad Chester is dead,” Addy confided. “I only said that because I was upset. My mother keeps nagging me. She thinks I ought to be in mourning now that Chester is gone. She concerns herself far too much with public perception, if you ask me. She’s only trying to help, but it’s gets tiresome. I don’t need her telling me how Mikey and I ought to be acting.”
“Everyone grieves differently,” Liana offered.
“Exactly,” Addy nodded. “And I suppose in my own way, I am grieving. I was grieving Chester long before he died...grieving the person I thought he was, grieving the father Mikey didn’t have. Chester messed up. Sometimes I hated him for it. But I didn’t want him to die.”
“Maybe you should try telling your mother that,” Liana suggested.
“I would be wasting my breath,” Addy replied. “She knows exactly what Chester was like. She despises him. But my mother is old and set in her ways. She thinks that no matter how we felt about Chester, we ought to act sad because it’s the proper thing to do. She’s worried about what other people think, you see.”
“Ah,” Liana nodded. Then a thought occurred to her. “Did your mother ever see Chester aft
er, uh...after you started having marital difficulties?” she asked, hoping the question wouldn’t seem too out of line.
“After we split up, you mean? No, never. Why do you ask?”
Liana hesitated. Then she decided to come right out and tell Addy the truth. “I heard Chester was poisoned,” she explained. “I’m not trying to make an accusations here...I’m just wondering who might have done it, you know?”
“You think my mother poisoned Chester?” Addy burst out laughing at that.
Alarmed by the odd reaction, Liana took a step back. Was Addy losing her marbles?
“I’m sorry,” Addy gasped as she struggled to regain her composure. “It isn’t funny. I know it isn’t. It’s just that if you knew my mother, you would find the thought of her killing someone hilarious.” She began to giggle again.
“Why?” Liana asked.
“My mother is a very devout Catholic,” Addy explained as she pulled a compact out of her purse and began to powder her nose. “She reads scripture twice a day and watches church services on TV every Sunday. She would never resort to murder no matter how much she hated someone.”
“Not even if that person was causing her daughter and grandson pain?” Liana asked.
Addy was no longer laughing. “My mother lives in a retirement villa in a suburb right outside of Green City,” she explained. “She doesn’t drive and isn’t in great health. Even if she had wanted to poison Chester, there’s no way she could have done it.”
Liana nodded. That made sense. If Addy’s mother was elderly and frail, then there was no way she could have dragged Chester’s body through the mud down by the lake. But as for Addy herself...well, she was a big-boned, strong-looking woman. She could have handled it.
“I should get back out there,” Addy said as she put her compact back into her purse. “If Mikey looks up into the stands and notices I’m gone, I’ll feel terrible. I already feel like the world’s worst parent for missing his charity tournament.”
“You weren’t at his last game against Sugarcomb Lake?” Liana asked, surprised.
“No. I wanted to be there. I really did,” Addy insisted. “I haven’t missed a single game all season. But I recently started a new job as a receptionist at an accounting firm in Green City. Chester left us with nothing. I had no choice but to go back to work after we split.”
“Oh.”
“I used to be very involved in all of Mikey’s extracurricular activities. But now that I have a job, I can’t always make it to everything. My boss asked me to do some filing the day of Mikey’s big game. Well, he didn’t ask so much as demand,” Addy corrected herself. “I couldn’t say no.”
“So you were at work in Green City that whole day?” Liana pressed.
“Yes,” Addy confirmed. “Mikey said he didn’t mind, but I felt terribly guilty. I wanted to be at his football game to support him. I just want to be a good mother to him, you know? He’s been through so much already.”
“You were working so you could keep a roof over your son’s head and put food in his belly,” Liana pointed out. “If providing for your child isn’t being a good mother, I don’t know what is. I’m sure Mikey appreciates everything you do for him, even if he doesn’t say so now. One day he’ll look back and be grateful.”
The older woman’s lower lip began to tremble. Then, without warning, Addy swooped in and enveloped Liana in a giant bear hug. “Thank you,” she murmured, sobbing into Liana’s shoulder. “You have no idea how much I needed to hear that. Thank you!”
All Liana could think to do was hug Addy back.
It was difficult to know how to react. Liana was conflicted about how to feel.
One the one hand, Liana was now certain that Addy wasn’t Chester’s killer. How could she have been if she was at work in another city on the day in question? The timing didn’t work. That meant Liana had to go back to the drawing board, which was frustrating.
But on the other hand, it was a relief to know Addy was innocent. Her life had already been turned upside down, as had Mikey’s. The two had been through so much already. Liana was relieved she didn’t have to turn Addy over to the police on top of everything else.
As she made her way back to the bleachers, Liana’s head was spinning.
Mikey hadn’t killed Chester.
Nelson hadn’t killed Chester.
Addy hadn’t killed Chester.
So who was responsible for his murder?
Chapter 18
“Ah, there you are,” Luke grinned when Liana sat back down beside him. He handed her a delicious looking hot dog and a big glass of ice cold lemonade. “I was beginning to think you had gone home,” he joked.
“I wouldn’t do that!” she protested.
“I know. I was kidding,” Luke assured her.
Suddenly the crowd erupted into cheers. Almost everyone in the stands began to hoot and holler, while a few folks wearing Green City’s colors began to boo. Peppy music started to play and Sugarcomb Lake’s mascot began to dance around victoriously.
“Looks like Sugarcomb Lake is ahead now,” Luke remarked, setting his lemonade down so he could join in the applause.
“Oh. That’s good,” Liana said through a mouthful of hot dog.
“This is fun,” Luke told her. “Thanks for asking me to join you.”
“Thanks for agreeing to come,” she replied.
Something else happened on the field. The crowd went wild again. The way some spectators were carrying on, one would think they had money on the game. Then again, maybe some of them did. It wasn’t like there was much else to bet on in the small town.
After taking a swig of lemonade, Liana leaned in close to Luke. “Can I tell you a secret?” she whispered. Then, before he could answer, she divulged, “I don’t really like or even understand football. I’m not sure what’s going on!”
A broad grin spread across Luke’s face. “I don’t know the rules either,” he admitted.
“Wait, what? You said you were having fun,” Liana reminded him, puzzled. “You said you wouldn’t miss the football game for anything. Were you just telling me what you thought I wanted to hear?”
“Not at all,” Luke assured her. “I meant every word I said, promise. I am having fun. And I wouldn’t miss this for anything. But it’s not the football game that I’m enjoying. It’s your company.”
“Aww, isn’t he the sweetest?!” Barbara crooned.
“He’s a doll!” Patricia gushed, turning around to stare.
Liana and Luke exchanged a look. Neither person had to say a word. They were clearly thinking the exact same thing.
“Do you want to go for a walk?” Liana suggested.
“Love to!” he agreed immediately.
They both stood up and practically dove off the bleachers. They couldn’t run away from Barbara and Patricia’s meddling fast enough. In fact, they left the school grounds entirely, just to be sure the two old biddies couldn’t keep staring at them.
“Well that was interesting,” Liana remarked as she and Luke strolled toward the woods.
“Tell me about it,” Luke replied wryly. “While you were gone, Barbara and Patricia were absolutely grilling me about you. It was so uncomfortable! It’s like they’re trying to live vicariously through us or something.”
“They were pestering me with all sorts of invasive questions, too. I ran off to the restroom to escape it,” Liana admitted. “Oh, and that reminds me: Addy Atkins isn’t our killer. I found out she was at work in Green City the day Chester died.”
“Hmm, I see. So what now?”
“I’m not sure,” Liana confessed. “I’ve ruled out the disgruntled business partner, the angry son and the estranged wife. But,” she remembered, “I haven’t fully investigated Chester’s girlfriend. She could be guilty.”
“What makes you think so?” Luke asked as they reached the walking path and began to meander toward the lake. It was a beautiful day for a stroll and since most folks were at the football game, it was pret
ty deserted.
“By all accounts, Delia and Chester had a stormy relationship. And she was pretty elusive when I asked where she was the day he died,” Liana recalled. “Also,” she said excitedly, “Delia would have had ample opportunity to poison Chester if she was dating him. She could have slipped small amounts of rat poison into his food over a long period of time.”
“How do we get proof?” Luke asked.
“Hmm, good question. I’m not sure.” Liana went quiet, lost in her thoughts. Then she turned to Luke. “Wouldn’t Chester have tasted the rat poison? I mean, if his food was being laced with a deadly chemical, surely he would have noticed?”
“It depends on the brand,” Luke replied. “My understanding is that some rat poisons actually taste sweet. I imagine food laced with rat poison still would have tasted off...but maybe it wouldn’t have been as noticeable as one would think.”
“I suppose Delia could have slipped the rat poison into really flavorful foods,” Liana theorized. “Maybe then the chemical taste would have been masked.”
“It’s possible,” Luke agreed. “Or maybe she used it as a sweetener in desserts.”
“Is it weird that I can’t picture Delia baking for her boyfriend?” Liana asked. “She doesn’t strike me as the type who would do that. I think of her, and I envision someone who demands to be waited on hand and foot.”
“I’m glad you bake for me,” Luke winked.
Warmth spread across Liana’s face. Was he implying that he was her boyfriend? She really hoped he was. They had yet to really define what their relationship was. It seemed so silly that they were grown adults and yet they were behaving like two shy, lovesick teenagers.
As if he had read her mind, Luke began to chuckle. “Isn’t it strange how Barbara and Patricia managed to make us so self-conscious?” he asked. “I felt like a little kid again, being teased by my older cousins for liking a girl.”
“What girl?” Liana asked immediately. “Was it someone we went to school with?”
Luke gave her a lopsided grin. “It was you,” he confessed. “I had a crush on you way back in grade school, but I was too shy to talk to you then. I remember I used to pick dandelions and leave them on your desk during recess.”
Strawberry Shortcake to Die For (A Liana Campbell Cozy Mystery Book 2) Page 12
