If Onions Could Spring Leeks

by Paige Shelton

  “Sort of. I didn’t get far, and I didn’t ask about Lynn at all, I don’t think.” If I was going to be chastised I wanted it to be for the correct things.

  “You need to stop doing things like that,” she said.

  I couldn’t squash the huffy laugh that came out. I said, “I’m sorry, Bonnie. That was a bad reaction. But, I’m not sure why I can’t ask whatever I want to ask to whomever I want.” I blinked. It was early and I couldn’t be sure about the grammar, but I didn’t want to lessen my stance by attempting to correct it.

  “Because, you just need to leave well enough alone,” she said.

  “Well enough? Derek’s dead. Well enough has left the building.”

  “I don’t mean with Derek, but between Lynn and the rest of us. We all have a decent relationship with her and we all want to keep it that way.”

  “Why in the world would my questions to Wendy, you, or anyone matter to Lynn? And you divorced Derek.” I looked at her a long moment. My vision was no longer morning fuzzy. “I understand wanting to keep a civil relationship with your ex-mother-in-law, but frankly, you seem kind of scared. What’s that about?”

  “First of all, we know you know Lynn. Everyone knows Lynn. We wouldn’t want anything that we say getting back to her. Even if we say nothing bad, she finds ways to interpret things badly.”

  “I believe that, and just so you know, it would never occur to me to tell Lynn about any of my conversations with other people, whether they were her former daughter-in-law or not. And more importantly, what happens to you when she interprets things badly?”

  “That’s not important.”

  “Really? It certainly sounds very important.”

  Bonnie pursed her lips and looked down at her hands on her lap as she shook her head slightly. “I should not tell you this next part, but I will only if you promise not to tell a soul.”

  “I promise.” I knew I might be lying because if she told me something important regarding Derek’s murder and my assault, I’d be on the phone to Cliff before Bonnie got to the bottom of my front porch stairs.

  “None of us should have married Derek. It was a mistake for all of us. We have all come to know each other and we all know we should have stayed away from him.”

  “Was he mean to you?”

  “No, not mean, certainly not abusive in any way. It’s just that he was more about keeping the relationship between him and his mother strong and happy than his relationship between himself and any of his wives.”

  “Why did you marry him, then?”

  She shook her head again. “It was just a mistake, that’s all. We were all kind of duped.”

  “Duped? By what? He wasn’t dashingly good-looking, though I don’t want you to think I’m about looks because looks mean nothing once you truly get to know someone.” It was something I believed, but also felt the need to reinforce with Bonnie after my intentions had been so misinterpreted with Wendy. “But I didn’t see a shining personality either. I’d love to know more details even if they aren’t any of my business.”

  Bonnie smiled a sad smile and said, “Can’t go there.”

  “I’d sure like to understand why.”

  “Would it help if I told you that the peace will be better kept for everyone if you don’t?”

  “Not really.” The idea suddenly occurred to me that these five women might have killed Derek together, or plotted to. I wasn’t going to make any sort of accusation to the woman sitting on the other end of my couch, but I was surprised I hadn’t given serious credence to the idea earlier. Even Opie had.

  “It’s better that way, I promise,” she said.

  “Okay.” I nodded.

  “I appreciate that.”

  “Where were you the morning Derek was killed?” Dangit, I couldn’t help myself.

  “At home alone. Just like Wendy. Neither of us have a legitimate alibi. We’ve both told the police as much. Neither of us are suspects, but I’m sure they suspect us, at least a little. How could you not?”

  “They stick with evidence more than assumptions.” But she had a point. How could Derek’s ex-wives not be considered?

  “We’ll see,” she said.

  “Lynn must be something else,” I said, still digging.

  “Lynn is one of the most interesting people I’ve ever known,” she said as she stood. “However, I wouldn’t recommend spending a lot of time with her.”

  “I don’t have plans to.” I stood, too. She didn’t need to know that Gram and I were visiting Lynn that morning.

  “You’ll be better off that way. Don’t talk to the rest of Derek’s wives. Don’t ask any more questions.”

  I didn’t want to make that promise, even as a lie. “Bonnie, I don’t want to hassle anyone, but I can’t guarantee that I won’t want to talk to any of you again. If I do, I’ll make sure it’s not out in the open. I’ll be more private about it.”

  Bonnie said, “I guess we’d all appreciate that.”

  I stood and followed her. She stepped out the door and onto the porch, looking every direction a few times. Then she kept her eyes on the end of the street where I’d seen the train stations. She looked there so long that I wondered if she might be seeing something other than the empty field. I leaned out the door and looked, but there was nothing ghostly there.

  “You okay, Bonnie?” I asked.

  “I’m fine,” she said before she hurried down the stairs and into her car. She’d driven off my block and out of the neighborhood only a moment later.

  If I got to Gram’s early, we’d have enough time to discuss some of yesterday’s events and my morning company before we set out for Lynn’s. I reconfirmed that there were no ghosts down the street, got ready in record time, and drove over to Gram’s.

  • • •

  “Betts, you’re early,” Gram said as she opened the door.

  “I had a surprise visitor this morning,” I said.

  “Come in and tell me all about it.”

  I told her about my conversations with two of Derek’s ex-wives as we both enjoyed big mugs of coffee.

  “That is strange,” she said. “I don’t like to judge, but you’re probably right, there’s something weird—other than the fact that it’s unique—about Derek having five wives.”

  “And then there’s Lynn.”

  “Yes, there’s Lynn,” Gram said.

  “You think she’s a pain, too; I know you do. Even with the story of her saving the day all those years ago.”

  “I wouldn’t say I think she’s a pain. I think she’s a challenge. I’m beginning to wonder if Derek’s ex-wives might be just as much of a challenge. You might not need to have any more conversations with them, Betts. Think about it.”

  “I will,” I said, but I didn’t think I was quite done talking to them.

  “Hmm. Right. Let’s get this over with.”

  Lynn’s house wasn’t far from Gram’s. It was only slightly newer than Gram’s, but Gram’s was one story with an attic space that had been renovated a long time ago and had been used as my dad’s bedroom. The houses in Lynn’s neighborhood, including Lynn’s, were all true two stories with three bedrooms and a small bathroom on the top floors. And almost all the houses had two front dormer windows extending outward.

  Lynn’s neighborhood was also one of the woodsier ones, with lots of old, big trees on each of the extra-large lots.

  “Where did Derek live when he was killed?” I asked Gram.

  “He lived here with Lynn,” Gram said.

  “What about when he was married the last time? Well, actually, when he was married any time. He and his wives didn’t live with Lynn, did they?”

  “I don’t know about all of them, but I know there were times when he and a wife lived in an apartment just outside of town.”

  “At least he didn’t always
live with his mother,” I said as I parked the Nova on the street in front of the house.

  “Oh, something tells me that Lynn was always in the middle of her son’s life no matter where he lived. He didn’t even go to college because she didn’t want him to leave town.”

  “I know he was a handyman, but did he have any other jobs?”

  “I don’t know.”

  Gram opened the car door and stepped out and onto the curb. I glanced up at the house for a moment before I joined her. One thing I knew was that everyone was weird in their own way. I was sure people thought I was sometimes strange—and if they only knew the complete truth; weird and strange wouldn’t even begin to cover it. It was clear that Lynn and Derek were at least a little weird with their mother/son relationship but that was obvious to everyone in Broken Rope. What was really going on? What was their less obvious “weird?” I would have bet that every one of Derek’s wives knew exactly what it was, but they weren’t going to tell me. In fact, I bet what they knew scared them and had made Bonnie seem frightened this morning. Between Gram and I surely we could figure out what it was even if we didn’t ask too many questions.

  Gram reached into the back seat and pulled out a platter of cookies and one of the green bean casseroles from last night’s class. She handed me the cookies as she cradled the casserole.

  “You knock,” she said as we approached the front door.

  Lynn answered quickly, as though she’d seen us coming.

  “Miz, Betts, come in, come in,” she said, her demeanor subdued but attentive. “Oh, thank you.” She held out her arms for the food.

  We handed her the items and watched her shuffle away with them, disappearing into the kitchen at the back part of the house.

  “You two need to take off quickly?” she called from the kitchen.

  “Actually, we have a few minutes, Lynn,” Gram said, sending me a shrug. “We’re awfully sorry about Derek.”

  Lynn came back into view. “Thank you. It’s been downright terrible.”

  Gram and I stood still for a moment and blinked uncomfortably.

  “Oh! I’m so sorry. Come in and sit down,” Lynn said.

  Lynn led the way into the comfortable living room that was located off to the left. Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted an old pair of men’s slippers tucked under a side table. Derek’s? Or did Lynn have her own love life? That idea hadn’t ever occurred to me.

  If they were Derek’s, the slippers were a sad reminder, and I was compelled to look around the room for other things that had been left behind. The space was neither masculine nor feminine, neither messy nor extra tidy—it was lived in and filled with cushiony furniture and framed pictures. I didn’t have time to inspect each picture, but I saw a few that were of Derek and Lynn together.

  Lynn sat down on a chair that faced the couch Gram and I sat on. Lynn was also facing the big window that looked out toward the front yard of the house. As she sat, she seemed to be glancing out the window, looking for something.

  I couldn’t ignore the urge to twist around and look, but all I saw were the large trees in the yard and the Nova in the road out front. I turned back and saw that Lynn wasn’t pleased that I’d caught her searching, but she normalized her expression quickly.

  “Betts, I’m so sorry for what happened to you. So sorry. You could have been killed, too,” Lynn said.

  I hadn’t been sure if Lynn had heard the details of what had happened, but someone must have told her.

  “Thanks, Lynn. I’m fine. Gram and I are so terribly sorry about Derek. What can we do to help you out—anything at all?” I said.

  Lynn cocked her head and her eyes filled with tears for a moment, but she didn’t allow them to fall down her cheeks.

  “I’ll be okay,” she said. “I’ll be okay in time.”

  I realized that Lynn was coping, but she was also in denial, which I thought might be a good way to go for a short time. Pure grief would take over soon enough.

  Her bright, watery eyes glanced out the window again. This time I resisted and didn’t turn around. I could tell that Gram had noticed but she kept her eyes on Lynn too.

  “Has your boyfriend mentioned anything to you, Betts? Have they any clues as to who the killer is?”

  “Cliff wouldn’t tell me if they did,” I said. “But I know the police will find . . . solve the mystery.” For some reason I didn’t want to say the word “killer.”

  “I don’t know. I doubt we’ve got a very good police force, Betts. No offense to your boyfriend, but we are just a small Podunk town.”

  I bristled, but bit back the fighting words that wanted to jump out of my mouth. Lynn complained; it’s what she did. I shouldn’t expect her to have changed because of the tragedy.

  “We are also Broken Rope,” Gram said gently. “We’ve had so many strange things happen in this town that we have to have a good—no, a great—police force. I’m sure they’ll find the killer.”

  Gram didn’t mind using the K word.

  “Well, I suppose we’ll see, but I don’t have much faith.”

  Gram nodded patiently. I tried to imitate the move but I doubted I pulled it off well.

  Suddenly, the air in the room changed and began to smell like flowers. Like two dogs on point, Gram and I both sat up a little straighter and looked at each other, then around the rest of the room. Lynn looked around, too.

  “Oh my gracious,” Grace said when she came into view directly next to Lynn. “I was pulled to her like a magnet to metal.”

  Neither Gram nor I could talk to her, so I tried to communicate by opening my eyes wide.

  “Oh, yes, this one doesn’t know about us, about the ghosts?” Grace said.

  I nodded and scratched my ear.

  “That your grandmother?” She nodded toward Gram.

  I blinked in the affirmative.

  “I wish Derek had wanted to be a police officer,” Lynn continued when neither Gram nor I bit at her pessimistic bait. “He could have shaped that place up.”

  “You’re probably right, Lynn,” Gram said, but her eyes were on Grace as she bent down and inspected Lynn. Lynn looked at the space next to her because that’s where Gram was looking, but she didn’t see anything.

  “I know I’m right,” Lynn said, turning forward again.

  “This one is like someone I knew,” Grace said. “She’s a manipulator. I can smell it on her.”

  I really wanted to say, “You can?” Instead, Gram and I just shared a quick look of surprise. I was sure she thought the same thing I was thinking—they can smell? Was Grace being literal or figurative?

  “Of course, Lynn,” Gram said.

  “Oh my goodness, why are you two here talking to this one?” Grace said.

  “Do you need anything?” I said to Lynn, repeating my offer. “Gram and I would like to help in any way we can.”

  “Thank you, but I can’t think of a thing. I won’t be continuing the cooking class of course, but I imagine it’s too late to get a refund,” Lynn said.

  “Not at all,” Gram said. “You will get a full refund. Please don’t worry about that.”

  “That’s nice, Miz, especially considering I won’t have Derek’s income to help me out anymore.”

  “Of course,” Gram said.

  “There’s something else,” Grace said. She suddenly froze in place with her eyes directly on Lynn’s. An instant later, just as the pause in the conversation seemed to go on too long, Grace said, “You should have told me. You just should have told me.”

  A long few heartbeats later the ghost snapped out of whatever trance she’d gone into. She looked at me and said, “What just happened? Why am I here?”

  I shrugged my shoulders, not caring if Lynn noticed.

  “Betts, Missouri, you two okay?” Lynn asked.

  “I have to go,” Grace said
distractedly before she disappeared.

  Gram stood. “We need to go, Lynn. Again, let us know if you need anything.”

  “I will.” Lynn stood too and seemed confused by our hasty exit.

  She walked us to the door and bid us a thankful farewell. Gram and I didn’t say anything else until we got into the Nova.

  “That was Grace, I assume?” Gram said. “I hurried out because I hoped she’d join us out here, but it looks like we’re out of luck.”

  “That was Grace. She’s gone, I think. Hang on, Gram, I’m going to pull over up here.”

  I steered the Nova to a spot around a curve in the road. If Lynn looked out her front windows, she wouldn’t see us unless she really craned her neck.

  “Why was Grace there?” Gram said. “And that moment when she was so still. The look on her face reminded me of Paul when he was . . . when Jerome was there inside of him.”

  “I don’t think that was Jerome in Grace,” I said.

  “I don’t either,” Gram said. “You thinking what I’m thinking?”

  “Probably. Derek?” I said.

  “I can’t imagine it would be anyone else.”

  “Me either.”

  “Maybe Grace, or Derek through Grace, can tell us what happened to him, but I have to say, Betts, I’m more than a little bothered that Derek might have been able to do that. I like that the ghosts I’ve met so far are long gone, their marks on the living world faded to nothing, the people they knew gone. This is all too . . . soon,” Gram said.

  “We don’t know for sure. I’ll work on it,” I said.

  “Good. Why are we still here?”

  “Lynn was looking for someone or something,” I said. “I want to know what.”

  Gram looked around and seemed to evaluate the surety of our safe distance from Lynn’s house. Finally, she said, “Good plan.”

  Chapter 12

  “No, I haven’t noticed her in my nightmares,” Gram said. “She doesn’t look even slightly familiar. You’re right, though; she’s beautiful. Striking.”

  “As I know them, she and Robert are both likable ghosts. They both have secrets, kept things from each other, and both had bad timing when it came to the train station. Your descriptions of one of the men in your nightmares is Robert. From the little I’ve seen, I find it hard to believe that he was a violent man, but anything is possible.”