Bodies and Blueberries

by Donna Walo Clancy

  “What time?”

  “Around ten. I’m serving refreshments for the official start of the frogs playing in the water. I have named them all, you know.”

  “You named all the frogs?”

  “Yes. When you come to see the fountain tomorrow, I will introduce you to the frogs.”

  “You are too funny. Larry Fink’s office opens at nine. I am hoping his secretary will be the only one there and if I can keep her busy, I could nose around a bit. I can be at your shop by ten. I’d like to see my fountain working,” Tabby agreed, laughing.

  “What are you looking for at Fink’s office?”

  “Anything to see why he was fighting with Mr. Pierce and if he had anything to do with Mr. Well’s disappearance. All the original leases are somewhere in the office, too. I have a gut feeling that all of this involves the drive-in on the edge of town.”

  “Why do you think that?”

  “The night that Richard Wells disappeared there was a set of blueprints for the drive-in on his dining room table. I thought that was kind of odd because he doesn’t own that property. It seemed to stand out from all the other documents on his table that dealt with the property he did own. I can’t shake the idea that he had it for a specific reason, although I can’t seem to figure out what that reason might be.”

  “Maybe he was going to buy it?” Greg suggested.

  “No, he’s selling off all his properties to retire to Florida. Besides, a drive-in would be too much for him to handle at his age. No, there is some other reason he had that blueprint which somehow managed to end up inside my purse.”

  “You stole it from the old man’s house?” Greg asked incredulously.

  “No, I borrowed it with the intent to give it back when I find him,” Tabby countered with a smile. “There’s a difference.”

  “Where do you think he is?”

  “Personally, I think Fink has him stashed somewhere.”

  “Why do you think that?”

  “Because Richard took all his rental business away from him. I think Fink is going to try to get all the money he can and take off with it. In order to do that he had to keep Richard quiet and out of the way. Rent is due next week and nothing has been said about returning the rent amounts to what was supposed to be charged according to the leases.”

  “If Larry Fink is that dangerous that you think he has Wells, you had better take care. I don’t want you disappearing before I have a chance at a second date,” Greg advised with a smile.

  “I’ll be careful, I promise. After I leave your shop tomorrow I am going out to the drive-in to look around. They should be getting ready to open for the season. The Swansons usually start up on Memorial Day Weekend.”

  “Why don’t you wait until two o’clock and I’ll go with you? Sally closes on Saturdays; it’s my only afternoon off.”

  “Deal. I’ll drive so you can take it easy on your only day off,” Tabby quipped, joking with him.

  The waitress appeared and delivered their bill to them with a flourish.

  “Dutch?” Tabby inquired.

  “Not on your life. I asked you out on a date. You will never pay for anything when you are out with me, Miss Moon,” Greg responded as he assisted her up from her seat.

  The ride home was pleasantly short; Tabby hated to see the night end. Greg parked on Main Street and came around to open the car door for her like a true gentleman. He took her hand as they walked to the back stairs to Tabby’s apartment. She shivered as Greg took her hand.

  “Are you okay?” he asked, noticing the shiver.

  “I’m just perfect,” Tabby assured him, smiling.

  He walked her up the stairs and waited for her to find the keys in her purse. She opened the door and turned to thank him. He gently kissed her on the cheek and said good night. Tabby watched him walk down the stairs as the worst case of butterflies she had ever had made her full stomach dance a polka. As Greg’s car roared to life, Tabby stepped inside, locking and dead bolting the door behind her.

  She brushed her teeth, changed into her customary sweats and a tee then crawled into bed pondering the last few hours. She glanced over at the lighted cell phone charging on the night stand next to the bed. Tabby had never believed in love at first sight, but she was beginning to change her mind because of Greg. She was looking forward to tomorrow. As her eyes drifted closed her mind replayed all the evening’s events and she smiled softly in her sleep.

  Tabby was up early the next morning. She did more searching on the web for Fink and his companies. Two cups of coffee later, and no new information on her suspect, she dressed in jeans and sneakers for the day’s business. Standing in her front window she watched Fink leave his realty company.

  This is my chance. I can distract the secretary and look around.

  She grabbed her purse and cell phone and ran down the back stairs. Crossing the street, keeping her eyes open for Fink’s return, she entered the realty office. The secretary was sitting at the front desk.

  “Can I help you?” the secretary offered.

  “Yes, you can. Mr. Wells was supposed to have a lease drawn up for my new apartment rental above the baseball card shop. My rent is coming due very shortly and I don’t even know what I am supposed to be paying. He said somewhere around four hundred a month,” Tabby answered.

  “I can check the files downstairs to see if there is a lease for you,” the secretary informed her as she stood up from her chair.

  “I also need to talk to someone about the baseball card shop and whether it will be opening now.”

  “I haven’t heard anything on the future of the shop yet. The only one who will have that answer is Mr. Fink. Let me go check on that lease for you.”

  “Thank you.”

  As soon as the lady disappeared down the stairs, Tabby made a break for Fink’s office. She rummaged through the papers on top of the desk but didn’t find anything pertinent. A small table stood in the corner of the room with family pictures arranged in small groups.

  At least he loves his family.

  The table behind his desk held something very interesting. There was an identical copy to the drive-in blueprint that Tabby had. Only this one was written over in red ink showing new land boundaries and a developer’s name in some of the new spaces marked off on the blueprint. Tabby hurriedly rolled it up and stuck it down inside the cavern of her purse. She hurried back to the spot where she had been standing when Larry Fink came whistling through the front door.

  “What are you doing here? Where is Stella?” Fink questioned nervously.

  “She went to check to see if my new lease is ready for the apartment,” Tabby answered innocently. “Rent is coming up and I don’t know what I am supposed to be paying. Mr. Wells said about four hundred a month, but I haven’t seen a lease.”

  “There is no lease drawn up yet. If Richard told you four hundred, then pay four hundred. Is there anything else?”

  “Yes. I need to know what is happening with the baseball card shop. Is it opening or is it going to be cleaned out by family? Your secretary said you were the only one who would know what was going on.”

  “Mr. Pierce has no family or heirs that I am aware of. No one else was listed on the lease. If you want to do the work yourself and put his store stock down in the cellar, you can have the building now; I really don’t care one way or another,” Fink answered brusquely. “NOW, is there anything else?”

  “When can I get the keys?” Tabby asked, pushing to get the keys so she could check out the equipment that Mr. Pierce left behind in his shop.

  “If I give you the keys now, will you go away and leave me alone?” Fink groused.

  “Gladly,” Tabby agreed.

  The realtor stalked to his office, picked up a set of keys and rudely threw them at her.

  “Personally, the store isn’t my concern anymore. You can move in tomorrow for all I care. I don’t know what the rent will be and I won’t be here long enough to collect it. Now get the heck out of my of
fice,” Fink demanded as he fidgeted anxiously with his tie.

  “If I won’t be paying my rent to you, do you know when Mr. Wells will be back to get the information I need on paying rent?” Tabby challenged, pushing him some more.

  “I don’t know where Wells went and I don’t care about that either. You know he was going to take all his business away from me, so don’t play stupid. I hope he rots where ever he is,” Fink yelled. “Get out, now!”

  Tabby scuttled her way out of the office. She could feel Larry Fink’s cold eyes watching her as she walked up the street. As she turned around she found him still standing in the door watching her walk away; she smiled and waved.

  It was just before ten when she finally reached the flower shop. It was busier than usual. People had come from miles around just to view the official start-up of the frog fountain. It didn’t hurt that Greg was giving away free food and drinks either. Tabby sauntered in and Greg broke away from the crowd to come take her hand. She held up the set of keys Fink had given her to the shop.

  “What do you have there?” Greg inquired.

  “Keys to the baseball shop,” Tabby declared excitedly.

  “Seriously?”

  “I’ll tell you everything when we go to the drive-in later. Right now, I want to see my fountain working.”

  “I was waiting for you to get here. Let’s go turn this baby on. Then, I’ll tell you all the frogs’ names,” he elaborated with a smile.

  They walked together to the back of the shop and Greg stepped forward to thank everyone who had showed up for the big event. He gave a brief explanation as to the history of the fountain, teasing Tabby that they had unknowingly battled each other for ownership of it and he had won. He invited everyone to come with their morning coffee and sit by the fountain to start their day.

  Gladys Twittle and Mrs. Ryan were standing at the back of the store, their plates overflowing with food. They were whispering back and forth and smiling. Tabby gave them a little wave knowing they were talking about the supposed elopement. Greg ambled to behind the fountain and a few seconds later water was cascading down its steps. As the water splashed over the frogs it looked like they were playing in the flowing water.

  Tabby’s spirit drooped a little thinking this could have been in the center of her new shop. Her face must have been sobered with a frown as Greg came over to her when he came back from behind the fountain. He went to her and put his arm around her shoulder.

  “I’m sorry you are so sad,” he whispered in her ear.

  “It’s okay. It was the initial shock of seeing the fountain working. I do love the way you have filled the bottom level with water lily plants. I guess it does have a better home here with flowers rather than with jellies and jams. I hope you understand I will be here visiting the frogs quite often,” Tabby said, smiling, taking hold of the hand that was draped over her shoulder.

  “Just the frogs? What about me?”

  “All right, I guess I can visit with you at the same time,” Tabby replied with a hint of humor in her voice.

  Gladys and Mrs. Ryan shuffled past them as they made their second trip to the food table.

  “See I told you,” Gladys whispered to her fellow gossiper.

  “I never would have believed it,” Mrs. Ryan said in disbelief.

  “Believed what?” Tabby asked as the two women passed by.

  “Oh, nothing,” Gladys retorted. “Nothing at all.”

  The two women stood at the food table giggling like teenagers that knew a secret. Greg was watching them, thoroughly amused at how gullible they were. He decided to give them a little more to talk about.

  “Are you ready to go, honey?” he asked, quite loudly.

  Tabby looked over at the food table and realized what he was doing. She elbowed him in the stomach.

  “You are so bad,” she whispered to Greg.

  “I know, but it’s so much fun,” he muttered under his breath so only she could hear.

  “They’re going to think we’re eloping when we are only driving down to the drive-in. Won’t they be shocked when we return in a couple of hours?” Tabby replied.

  “Watch their faces,” Greg instructed as Margaret came from the back room.

  “Are you sure you can handle things while I am away?” Greg questioned, yelling across the room to Margaret who had stopped at the register.

  “It’s good; I can handle things here. Go and enjoy your time off,” Margaret answered.

  “Okay then, we are off and running,” Greg replied, grabbing a bridal bouquet out of the display refrigerator.

  No one noticed what he did except for the two women at the food table who almost dropped their plates. They hurried past the young couple and headed straight for The Tilted Coffee Cup across the street. This would be the hottest gossip they had to report in weeks. As soon as they were out of sight Greg put the bridal bouquet back on display.

  “You are rotten,” Tabby confirmed, laughing hysterically. “Did you see their faces?”

  “Let’s get out of here before they come back,” he said, grabbing her hand and pulling her out of the shop.

  They strolled down Main Street, hand in hand, not realizing people were staring at them. Without thinking, they were feeding the gossip that would soon be all over town. Since Tabby’s car was parked out in the back lot they headed in that direction. They climbed into the car and drove back up Main Street heading to the drive-in which was located just outside of town to the north. When the car passed the coffee shop, people were staring out the window alongside Gladys and Mrs. Ryan. They were probably saying “I told you so” to anyone who would care to listen.

  Tabby expected the drive-in to be in full swing. As they pulled up to the ticket booth, they realized the chains were still in place closing off the parking area in front of the tall screen. The place was deserted.

  “What the heck is going on?” Tabby inquired, as she exited the car. “Where is everyone?”

  “It isn’t open during the day,” Greg replied.

  “Look over there,” Tabby said as she pointed to the office.

  Taped to the front window was a sign that said the drive-in was permanently closed. As Tabby was reading the sign, she heard a noise coming from the back of the ticket booth.

  “What…” Greg started to say.

  “Shhh,” Tabby requested, putting her finger to her lips.

  She pointed to the back of the booth and motioned for Greg to follow her. They turned the corner and heard the noise again. A cardboard box was pushed up against the back door of the booth. It moved and faint noises could be heard coming from inside the box.

  “What the heck?” Greg asked as he waved Tabby away from the box. He picked it up and opened it.

  Chapter 8

  * * *

  “Unbelievable,” Greg said, shaking his head.

  “What?” Tabby asked.

  “Come look.”

  Greg gently opened the box again for Tabby to peek inside. Tabby walked forward and peered in. Two small kittens, one orange and white and one all white, were trying desperately to get out of the box. They started meowing very loudly. Tabby picked them both up and snuggled them into her fleece vest.

  “Who would do something like this?” Greg wondered.

  “Someone who figured the place would be opening and people would be here working this week,” Tabby replied. “I wonder how long they’ve been here?”

  “There’s no food in the box or anything for them to sleep on. They probably are hungry,” Greg said, taking the white one, rubbing him under the chin.

  “You two lucked out. I was going to get an older cat at the shelter. I guess I now have two kittens for my new apartment. Greg, do you mind if we head back to town? I want to go to Mac’s and get some cat supplies before the store closes. I’ll come back tomorrow and poke around.”

  They gently placed the kittens back in the box and Tabby set the box in Greg’s lap once he hooked up his seatbelt. The ride back to town was a noi
sy one since the kittens were not happy about being back in the box. Tabby pulled the car into the side parking lot of Mac’s supermarket. She took the box from Greg so he could get out of the car and then gently placed the carton in the back seat.

  “I bet they are out and wandering around the car by the time we get out of the store,” Greg remarked. “We’ll have to check before we open the doors.”

  Tabby loaded up on all the kitten necessities: hard food, soft food, treats, toys, and a litter box. While they waited in line, they discussed names for the kittens. They decided that the white kitten’s name should be Ghost and the smaller orange one’s obviously needed to be Marmalade.

  Tabby decided that once she had the new shop set up downstairs, she would install a cat door on the door that led up to the apartment. That way the cats could come and go as they pleased and visit her while she was working in the shop. Greg volunteered to install it for her.

  They arrived at Tabby’s apartment where Greg carted all the groceries upstairs and Tabby followed with the box of howling fur.

  “Nice place,” Greg observed, setting the bags down in the kitchen.

  “I really like it. It’s not too big, but it’s not small either. It’s comfortable. The best part is that it’s convenient to everything and I will be working right downstairs. Now that I have lucked out and leased the shop early I won’t have to use the second bedroom as a storage area. I can actually set it up and use it as a second bedroom.”

  Tabby softly set the box on the floor and she closed the door behind her.

  “Are you ready?” she asked excitedly, as she opened the box to let the kittens out to roam.

  Ghost took off running for the bedroom and hid under the bed. Marmalade looked around and sat down, not moving away from the box.

  “She’s afraid,” Greg determined, bending down to pick her up.

  “Why don’t you sit and hold her while I set up the litter box? Then I need to show you what I found today.”

  Tabby set up the new litter box in the bathroom and left the door open so the kittens could find the box while they were nosing around. She came down the hallway to see Greg snuggling the kitten and talking quietly to her. Marmalade had curled up on his shoulder.