The Pickled Piper

by Mary Ellen Hughes

  Piper’s search stopped at sight of a tall man at the rear of a clump of spectators. Gordon Pfiefle. What was he doing here? Gordon and Lyella’s house, while within walking distance, was still too far away to have heard the commotion. Or was it? Piper suddenly had a frightening thought, and she examined the crowd more carefully.

  There! She spotted Ralph Farber, standing at the far edge. Did she imagine it, or did the plumber see her looking at him and turn away? What was going on? Was Robby Taylor there as well? Or his mother, Dorothy?

  Piper heard her name called and turned.

  “Piper!” Aunt Judy was pushing through the crowd toward her, followed closely by Uncle Frank. “Piper, are you all right?”

  Piper rushed toward her aunt. Uncle Frank caught up, and both hugged her tightly. The relief Piper felt overwhelmed her, and she found herself choking back tears.

  “Are you hurt?” Aunt Judy asked, stepping back and scrutinizing her niece worriedly.

  Piper shook her head. “I’m fine,” she said, managing a shaky smile. “And the shop might not have been damaged too badly. At least that’s what I’ve been overhearing.”

  Aunt Judy clucked and fussed, and Uncle Frank patted Piper’s shoulder, both asking questions she had no answers for yet, though she immediately credited Nate with having quickly gotten her out of danger.

  “Where is that young man?” Aunt Judy asked.

  Piper looked around, unsure.

  “There he is,” Uncle Frank said, pointing to the sheriff’s cruiser where Nate stood talking with Sheriff Carlyle. Giving a report on his actions?

  Piper looked beyond them to the crowd she’d been scanning moments before. Gordon Pfiefle, Charlotte Hosch, and Ralph Farber had disappeared.

  27

  Most of the fire vehicles had cleared off and spectators dispersed when Will suddenly drove up. Piper was about to climb into Uncle Frank’s truck, having been convinced to spend the night at the farm.

  “Are you all right?” Will called out, cutting his motor and jumping out.

  Piper dropped the small bag she’d been allowed by the rescue team to run up and pack and was glad she’d been able to exchange the Cloverdale FD blanket for her light coat as well as slip on a pair of sandals. Aware of the many eyes currently on them, Piper and Will simply grasped hands as he explained, “I didn’t know about your fire until your aunt called me,” sounding frustrated that he hadn’t been on hand to rescue Piper.

  “I’m fine, and I think my place is fine. A little smoky, but that’ll be taken care of.”

  She gave him the short version of what had happened, secretly pleased all the same at the distress evident on his face. “I’d better go, though,” she said, glancing back at the truck. “My aunt and uncle could probably use a little more sleep tonight.”

  Will nodded and promised to check back with her the following day.

  Piper rode off with Aunt Judy and Uncle Frank, feeling extreme fatigue set in as her adrenaline spike faded. At the farmhouse, she staggered into the guest bedroom and collapsed onto the bed, not even aware that Gracie, her aunt’s plump gray cat, had slipped in to curl up beside her until Piper woke the next morning to the smell of coffee and bacon.

  Much pleasanter than the smell of smoke, she thought as she stretched stiffly and gave Gracie a quick rub. Piper climbed out of bed and hopped into the shower, appearing in the kitchen a few minutes later dressed in fresh shorts and a tee and feeling ravenously hungry.

  “Good morning!” Aunt Judy said, immediately pouring out orange juice for Piper. “I heard you in the shower and fried up more pancakes. We let you sleep in a bit. You looked so tired last night.”

  “I was,” Piper said, taking a grateful swallow of the juice and helping herself to two of the pancakes that her aunt had stacked in the center of the table. Uncle Frank had already worked his way through his own helping and was leaning back in his chair, holding his half-filled coffee mug.

  “I hope you two managed to grab a few winks?” Piper asked.

  “Frank was out like a light,” Aunt Judy said with a laugh, looking over fondly at her husband. “I was a little keyed up, but I managed to doze off.”

  Piper saw dark shadows under her aunt’s eyes and felt terrible to have been the cause, however unintentionally. Aunt Judy still bustled about the kitchen with her usual energy, however, urging Piper to eat before bringing over coffee and sitting down herself. Gracie immediately jumped onto her lap.

  Uncle Frank sipped at his mug silently, letting Piper enjoy her breakfast and Aunt Judy enjoy fussing over her for a while, then said, “Sheriff Carlyle called earlier.”

  “Oh?” Piper grabbed her napkin to wipe her fingers of grease after nibbling at a crispy strip of bacon.

  “Chief Branson says the cause of your fire was arson.”

  “Arson!” Aunt Judy cried, startling Gracie, who leaped to the floor.

  “They found evidence of an accelerant. They think it was gasoline. Nate Purdy also told them he’d happened to look out his window last night because he heard a noise. He thought he saw a dark figure running away as the fire flared up.”

  “Oh my Lord,” Aunt Judy said.

  Piper was silent. She was thinking of the trash dump, the paint splash, and her tire damage, three vandalisms that were more aggravating inconveniences. If the fire had been started by the same person, he’d taken things to a frightening level.

  “Did they find any other evidence?” she asked.

  Uncle Frank shook his head. “Didn’t say. You might get more out of him later. Chief Branson said there’s no reason you can’t be back in there and start cleaning up. They doused the fire before there was any structural damage.”

  “Thank God for that,” Aunt Judy said. She reached down for Gracie and lifted her back onto her lap, and Piper thought the soft stroking that followed was likely as soothing to her aunt as it was to Gracie. She noticed a lingering worried look on her uncle’s face as though he had more bad news.

  “What else?” she asked.

  Uncle Frank cleared his throat. “Well, seems like Russell Johnson told Sheriff Carlyle he happened to turn into your alley around the time of the fire, and the only person he saw there was Nate Purdy.”

  • • •

  “The whole town’s out to get Nate!” Amy paced around Piper’s Picklings, her arms crossed tightly across her chest.

  “Russell Johnson only told your father what he saw.”

  “What was Russell Johnson doing in your alley in the first place!”

  “Well, it’s not only my alley, of course, since it runs behind several shops and a few houses. He said he was walking his dog.”

  “In the middle of the night?”

  “The dog’s old, according to Aunt Judy. He has to go out a lot.”

  “So Johnson saw Nate from which end?”

  “His house is near Mindy Atwater’s yarn shop, so I suppose he entered on the south end.”

  “The person Nate saw could have run north and disappeared by the time Nate came down from his place.”

  “I think that’s entirely possible,” Piper agreed. “And I’m sure your father will see that.”

  “I’m not so sure,” Amy said grumpily, though she’d slowed her pacing. “I wouldn’t be surprised if Ben Schaeffer is currently pushing a theory on how Nate managed to dispose of a huge can of gasoline before anyone arrived. Oh, and miscalculated the ignition time of the fire before calling 911.

  Piper wouldn’t have been surprised, either, but she said nothing.

  Amy looked around. “Thank goodness they put it all out before you had any real damage.”

  “I have Nate to thank for that, absolutely. The fire only scorched the bricks and siding. Plenty of smoke got in, of course, but the fans are getting rid of it. I’ve already called someone to come check the outside and clean or repair what’s ne
eded.” She paused a moment. “Maybe they can take care of the paint on the front of the building while they’re at it. I might as well give up on Max Noland, who keeps promising to do it but never shows up.”

  Amy smiled ruefully. “I’m so sorry, Piper. What did Nate and I get you into when we asked for your help?”

  Piper was saved from having to answer when her phone rang. She picked up with a crisp, “Piper’s Picklings.”

  “Miss Lamb?” a woman inquired softly.

  “This is Piper Lamb. How can I help you?”

  “This is Brenda Franklin. I heard about your latest troubles, as well as your interest in Alan Rosemont’s murder.”

  “Yes?” Franklin’s name rang a bell but not loud enough for Piper to place it.

  “I was a good friend of Alan’s. I was so distressed over his murder and wasn’t able to speak to anyone about it for days.” Alan Rosemont’s girlfriend! “But,” Franklin continued, “hearing about your fire last night on the heels of your other occurrences has shaken me. You’ve been trying to do the right thing. I think I have something to share that might help you.”

  Piper’s heart jumped. “Really? What is it?”

  “It’s much too complicated to explain over the phone. Would you be able to come here at four thirty?”

  “Yes, of course.” That meant finding someone to watch the shop or closing it, since Amy would be gone. But Piper would do that. This appointment sounded much too important to haggle over the time. She wrote down Brenda’s address.

  After hanging up, Piper turned to Amy, excited. “We just might be getting the break we’ve been hoping for.”

  28

  “What can you tell me about Brenda Franklin?” Piper asked Aunt Judy, who’d been more than happy to come watch the shop so Piper could keep her appointment with Brenda. She’d brought along the fixings for a casserole for Nate, intending to put it together in Piper’s kitchen while she was there.

  “Well,” Aunt Judy said, picking up a jar of mustard seed from the shelf and checking its label before setting it back in place. “Brenda has been a widow for several years, although she’s only in her early fifties. No children, and apparently well-off enough not to need to work, which is a shame in a way.”

  “How so?”

  “Brenda is shy. Keeping to herself is probably much easier than going out and getting to know people. If she’d needed to earn a living, it would have forced her to get out more and might have been good for her.”

  “Then how did she get involved with Alan Rosemont?”

  “Probably through his antique shop. From what I’ve heard, she enjoys collecting things—china dolls, glass animals, things like that. She’s an attractive woman, but between you and me, I suspect her bank account attracted Alan as much as anything.”

  “Meaning?” Piper asked, one eyebrow raised.

  “Oh, not that. I didn’t mean he would have fleeced her out of her money. But she has a lovely house that he would have shared if they’d married, and a very nice car, and she probably can afford to travel extensively, though she never does. But Alan might at least have encouraged that and expanded her horizons a bit.”

  “But at what cost, I wonder? From what I’ve learned about the man, he would have taken over and run her life.”

  “Very possibly,” Aunt Judy agreed. “It’s hard to know what makes a workable marriage for other people, though, isn’t it? Maybe Brenda would have been just fine with having someone make all the major decisions for her.”

  The idea made Piper cringe. Even her younger, more naïve self had never considered turning over control of her life to any man. Compromise, yes, but control? No way.

  Piper’s musings were interrupted by Tina’s brisk entry into the shop. “I couldn’t come by before this,” she said, strands of hair escaping and flying loose from the several barrettes that were meant to tame it. “But I’ve been hearing about your fire from customers all day and had to see for myself.”

  “It wasn’t too bad,” Piper assured her. “Though waking up to fire in the middle of the night was a definite scare.” Piper didn’t like to admit exactly how bad a scare it had been. Just talking about it made her feel edgy, but she managed a smile. “As you see, I’m still able to open my shop. Except for the lingering smell of smoke that I’m gradually blowing out, all the damage is on the exterior.”

  “Thank heavens for that! I couldn’t believe it when I first heard about it. I didn’t hear a thing myself last night. But that might have been because I took something to help me sleep. I’ve been having a little trouble with that, as you know.”

  “What a shame,” Aunt Judy said. “Have you tried warm milk? Or maybe yoga to help you relax?”

  Tina nodded, smiling. “Been there, done that. Last night I needed something stronger, just to get me over the hump, you know?”

  Piper thought Tina did look rather ragged and was sorry. Obviously the chamomile tea jelly hadn’t been much help. “I had a call today that definitely perked me up,” she said, hoping it would do the same for Tina. “Brenda Franklin says she has something to tell me that could help with our investigation.”

  “Brenda Franklin?” Tina’s face went blank.

  “She had been seeing Alan Rosemont before he died,” Aunt Judy explained.

  “She had? I never heard that. So what does she know?”

  “I’ll find out at four thirty,” Piper said. “That’s when I’m heading over to her place.”

  Tina eyes lit up. “This might be just what you need.”

  “That’s what I’m hoping. I’ll let you know.”

  “Yes, call me tonight. I’ll be anxious to hear. I’ll bet it has something to do with Charlotte Hosch. Well,” she said, glancing at her watch, “I’d better be off. Got to fix some pasta salads for tomorrow.”

  “I hope you get a good night’s sleep tonight,” Aunt Judy said. “I’ve found taking a little walk before bedtime can be very relaxing.”

  Tina nodded. “I might try that. Thanks.”

  “She might be working herself too hard,” Aunt Judy said, as she watched Tina head down the street. “You’d think getting good and tired from such a busy job would make sleeping easy, but it can also wind a person up too much.”

  Aunt Judy glanced at the wall clock. “Well, you’ll be leaving for Brenda’s in about an hour. Why don’t I run upstairs and get my chicken breasts cooking for Nate’s casserole?”

  “Sure. Give a holler if you need anything.”

  A customer stepped in as Aunt Judy left, and Piper waited on her, answering, in the process, more questions about her fire, something she’d been doing since she opened up. The excitement of the night before had definitely stepped up business at the shop. But she’d trade slow and safe for brisk but dangerous any day.

  Soon after that customer took off, Piper was surprised to get a second call from Brenda Franklin.

  “Miss Lamb, would you mind if we postponed your visit to six thirty?” she asked. “I’m afraid working in my garden has given me a slight headache. I’ll need to rest for a while.”

  “Six thirty is fine,” Piper assured her and wished her speedy relief. After hanging up, she called out the change of plans to her aunt. “I’m sorry,” she said. “Seems I dragged you here for nothing.”

  “Not at all, dear,” Aunt Judy answered. “I’m getting my casserole for Nate made, which is all I was going to do at home anyway. I’ll go ahead and finish, plus fix a little extra that the two of us can share before you leave for Brenda’s. How does that sound? Uncle Frank will be fine. There’s leftovers at the farm he can warm up.”

  Piper heard her aunt bustling about the kitchen overhead as she handled a few more sales until about five forty-five. By that time she could pick up tasty aromas coming from her apartment, and with no approaching customers in sight she decided to lock up a few minutes early. She pulled he
r shades, dealt with her cash box, and ran up the stairs, eager to dig into Aunt Judy’s chicken casserole.

  “Go freshen up if you like,” her aunt said as Piper appeared at the top of the stairs. “This can cool for a bit. Do you want iced tea?”

  “Yes, please,” Piper called and dashed off to her bedroom and bathroom. When she returned to the kitchen, Aunt Judy had dished out two servings onto plates, and she joined Piper at the table to enjoy the creamy chicken, noodle, and vegetable mixture that had long been a favorite of Piper’s.

  “I thought about Brenda the whole time I was cooking,” Aunt Judy said, “wondering what she can have to tell you. Do you suppose Alan told her something that nobody else knows that will lead us to his killer?”

  Piper paused, holding a forkful of noodles over her plate. “Since she seems to have been the person closest to Alan, that certainly seems possible.” She chewed the noodles, then stabbed at a chunk of chicken, taking a quick glance at the kitchen clock. “I just hope she doesn’t have a change of heart by the time I get there. Her calling to postpone the appointment may have been because of her headache or may have been an uneasiness over sharing private information. I hope it’s not the latter.”

  Aunt Judy nodded. “As I said, Brenda is a very shy person. This might be difficult for her.”

  They finished their meal in companionable silence until Piper hurriedly scraped up her last morsel of celery. “I’d better get moving. Leave the dishes, Aunt Judy. I’ll clean up after I get back.”

  “Don’t even think about it. I plan to wait right here to hear every word of what Brenda tells you, assuming it’s not confidential, of course. We can have a nice dish of ice cream over it.” Aunt Judy stood, picking up both plates. “While you’re getting your things, I’ll give Nate a call and tell him I’m bringing over a casserole.”