She nodded. “Just so long as you keep them restrained. We have a lot of breakable art in the store. Many of the artists are in their studios today. Just remember to knock before you go in so as not to disturb them.”
“Sure thing,” Shelbee said. She glanced longingly at a silk floral arrangement displayed on the counter.
We headed to the stairwell to the right of the checkout counter and climbed to the second floor. Doors opened off either side of this hallway. To our left I could smell the pungent odor of fresh paint. To our right someone was hammering.
“That’s the metal sculptor,” Jac whispered to me. “He helps dad out now and then with any kind of welding work he needs done.”
Jac’s dad was an amateur handyman and had taken on the ambitious project of repairing and renovating their home. He was always involved in one project or another.
I whispered to Shelbee, “Which way to Ned Turner’s studio?”
Shelbee jerked her head to the left. “He’s at the end.”
Paw, sensing adventure, eagerly pulled on his leash in the direction Shelbee had indicated. He and Samuel led the way with Shelbee and I right behind. Jac followed, cuddling Bitsy in her arms.
We reached the door to Ned Turner’s studio and I knocked. Turner stood at a tall wooden table covered with various tools. He glanced up at the knock.
And frowned.
“Hello,” Shelbee said. “Mind if we come in?”
Turner smiled widely, easing into a charming persona. “How may I help you lovely ladies?”
Paw growled low in his throat.
Turner’s smile faltered.
I stepped up beside Paw and caressed his head. “Hush, boy.” To Turner, I said, “My apologies. He gets a little nervous in unusual surroundings.”
Ned Turner studied Paw with a wary eye then gave a curt nod.
Paw glanced up at me as if to say, “That’s not why I growled,” but he remained quiet.
Samuel dropped his nose to the floor and began sniffing as we stepped into the studio.
It was a large room with windows on three sides, allowing the artist plenty of light. Apart from the room’s central wooden table, shelves lined each of the walls in between the windows. The shelves were partially full of various sculptures. Some appeared finished and ready for sale while others looked as though they were still in the process of being sculpted.
My first thought popped out of my mouth before I could think better of it. “Don’t you need a kiln to fire them?”
Ned raised an eyebrow. “Of course. The studio has one in the basement. There is no room up here for it.”
Jac, who still cuddled Bitsy, examined the sculptures on the wall to our left. “These are exquisite. How do you get this color?” She pointed to a vase with a beautiful deep blue body with a gold rim.
Turner hastened over to her and explained.
I turned away as he spoke with Jac and observed Paw who had trotted over to the wooden table. The table was covered with various tools which I assumed was used for sculpting and various papers as well. Paw jumped up, dislodging a stack of papers and the tools laying on top of them. Everything cascaded to the floor.
“Hey! Get that dog away from there!” Ned angrily demanded as he hurried to the table.
“Sorry. Sorry.” I reached for Paw’s collar, but he refused to budge. Instead he sniffed at the tools and papers now on the floor. Finding one that intrigued him he turned to me. “Woof!”
Samuel woofed too.
Bitsy, not to be outdone, added her yapping.
“Shut those dogs up!” Turner yelled. He cursed at our furry friends.
As he bent to gather his papers, Paw pushed his head towards a paper with two slim tools on top.
I bent to look at it, but Turner grabbed it along with the tools. “Get out!” He pointed to the door.
I pulled Paw back. “Is there something about those papers you don’t want us to know about?”
Turner’s face reddened. “You come in here and disturb my personal property and accuse me of something? Get out! I’m going to make sure that you’re never allowed back to the studio.” His shouting had drawn the attention of several of the other artists, who now stood in the doorway observing the scene. Cassie pushed her way through them and stepped into the room. “I’ll take care of it,” she said. To Shelbee she said, “You and your friends need to go now. Please.”
I pulled Paw away and he relented and followed me from the room, no longer interested in the sculptor or his tools. Shelbee followed with Samuel and Jac trailed with Bitsy. We passed through the various artists who stared at us in confusion. I expected to receive glowers from them in commiseration for their fellow artist but instead many smiled sympathetically and cast glares in Ned’s direction. Cassie ushered us down the stairs and out the front door. “For now, stay away from the studio. Maybe once he calms down you can come back.” Then she turned away from us and went back in the building.
Shelbee said, “What was so special about those papers?”
I stared down at Paw. “I only got a glance, but the one Paw was looking at was a purchase order for a Mercedes.”
“A Mercedes? No artist makes enough money to buy one of those,” Shelbee said.
Jac sat Bitsy on the pavement. “Maybe he knew he was coming into money.”
“Or Charlotte was,” I said.
That evening the phone rang.
“Hello.”
“I just told Lillian to stay out of David Tanner’s murder investigation,” Harry said. “Now I’m telling you.”
“But uncle—”
“No buts. Stay out of it.” Harry hung up.
The next morning the phone rang again.
“Hello?”
“Charlotte Tanner is at the church.”
Click.
Apparently, Alma wanted me to continue investigating.
I drove to the church, parked, and went in.
“Lillian, what are you doing here?”
“The same thing you are, Clarissa Hayes.”
I put my hands on my hips. “How do you know what I’m doing here, Lillian?”
“Because I know you’re investigating David Tanner’s murder. And you’re here to question his estranged wife, Charlotte. Lillian, Harry said he warned you from investigating.”
Lillian crossed her arms over her chest. “He did. I never agreed though.”
I glared at her. “It’s too dangerous for you to investigate.”
Lillian huffed. “And it’s safe for you? Or are you up implying that it’s too dangerous because I’m older than you?”
“I would never imply that.”
Paw shifted his gaze between Lillian and me. He cocked his head to the side, probably trying to decide who was winning the argument.
A clatter behind us drew our attention.
“Woof.” Paw stood up, hair bristling on his back.
Charlotte Tanner approached us with a knife in her hand.
Chapter 6
I gasped.
Lillian, however, stepped in front of me and placed her hand on Paw’s back as he moved forward too.
“Easy, boy,” she soothed him.
To Charlotte, she said, “Are you helping the ladies with the luncheon?”
Charlotte arched an eyebrow at her. “Of course. Why else would I be carrying a knife?” She smirked at my startled expression.
I closed my mouth and blushed.
“While you’re here,” Lillian said as she walked casually up to Charlotte, “I have a few questions for you.”
Charlotte frowned. “Questions?”
She held the knife at her side but gazed down at it as though contemplating stabbing Lillian.
I tensed.
Lillian ignored Charlotte’s actions and continued to speak. “Yes. Questions. Like did you kill your estranged husband?”
I paled at Lillian’s boldness in the face of a suspect holding a knife, albeit one who was not actively threatening her.
Paw, who sensed th
e same thing, edged forward slightly, the better to keep an eye on the knife.
Charlotte gazed down at Paw and took a reluctant step back. “How dare you imply I murdered my husband.” She fidgeted with the knife in her hand while keeping a careful eye on my St. Bernard.
I walked over to stand by Lillian’s side. “Lillian has a valid question. You were not pleased with the will when I was there at the reading.”
“Would you be? David owed me. I was his wife.”
“Sure didn’t act like it,” Lillian said, pointing a finger at Charlotte. “Not when you took off with that artist.”
Charlotte stilled. “That artist, as you call him, loves me. Far more than David ever did. All he thought about was giving to charity. I hadn’t spoken to him in weeks.”
I placed a hand on Lillian’s outstretched arm, trying to ease her back. “You were divorcing him, though. He owed you nothing in the will. Seems to me that you and your boyfriend are money grabbers.”
“Mreow.” Saber strolled into the hall behind Charlotte. He sat down and lifted a paw, washing his face.
Charlotte glanced over her shoulder. “Sure would be sad if something happened to that cat.”
Lillian bristled. “You leave Saber alone.”
Charlotte laughed. “It’s not considered murder if a cat dies, is it?”
I wrapped my arms around Lillian to hold her in place before she lunged at Charlotte. “Charlotte Tanner,” I said, “you best watch what you say, or threaten.”
“Grr.”
Charlotte stepped back at Paw’s aggressive stance. With a wavering voice, she said, “Call him off.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Put the knife on the ground.”
Charlotte glanced between Paw and me. She tossed the knife to the side and it clattered across the floor.
Saber jerked his head up at the sound and ran over to sniff at the blade.
“Get out of my sight,” Lillian commanded Charlotte. “And know this, if you did kill David, I will bring you to justice.”
Charlotte backed up two more steps, keeping a wary eye on Paw. When she felt she had enough space between us and her, she smirked, saying, “We’ll see about that.” Then she turned on her heel and hurried back to the kitchen.
Lillian vibrated indignation. “Let go of me. You should’ve let me slap her. No one threatens my baby.”
I sighed. “And have Charlotte call the police for assault? No, Lillian. If she murdered David, we’ll get her.”
“What about Saber’s safety?” Lillian wrung her hands.
“That cat can take care of himself, Lillian. Saber would do far more damage to Charlotte than she would to him.”
Lillian went over and picked up Saber to cuddle him. “You okay, baby?”
“Purr Purr.”
Paw trotted over and sniffed the knife.
I stepped around him, lifted the knife, and examined it. “Yep. Looks like one of the church’s knives.”
Lillian laughed. “You didn’t expect her to be carrying around the murder weapon, did you?”
I grimaced. “No. I didn’t. What I want to know is why she was at the church in the first place?”
Lillian glanced in the direction of the kitchen. “Good point. She’s never helped the church ladies before.”
“Who do you think will know why she’s here?
“I have a feeling all the ladies will know,” Lillian said. “Let’s go ask.”
Lillian stepped into the kitchen where the church ladies were preparing lunch.
Violet Meadows looked up from chopping cheese for a platter and frowned. “Clarissa, you know you can’t bring Paw in here. It’s against health department rules to have a dog in the kitchen.”
Paw cocked his head at Violet and stared at her with big sad eyes.
Violet lay down her knife and shook her finger at Paw. “Don’t give me those big sad puppy dog eyes, young man.” She took a slice of cheese off the platter and walked over to Paw handing it to him. Paw graciously accepted the slice of Swiss cheese and Violet stared down at her slobbered hand.
She shrugged her shoulders as if in a sigh, turned, and went to the kitchen sink where she washed her hands. Glancing over her shoulder, she said, “Put him in the pastor’s study if you are going to stay.”
“Come on, boy,” I tugged on Paw’s collar. “You can stay in the study for a little while.”
Paw reluctantly stood up and followed me down the hall to the pastor’s study where he plodded in and lay down giving me a sad look as I closed the door.
I returned to the kitchen to discover Lillian was already in full investigative mode. I glanced around, but Charlotte had disappeared.
Lillian was at the central island in the church kitchen arranging crackers on a platter next to the cheese that Violet had arranged. “So what did Charlotte want?”
I rolled my eyes. Lillian wasn’t one for subtle questioning
Violet shrugged. “I didn’t talk to her.”
Two of the other church ladies – Karen Hunter and Elise Black – snorted. Mrs. Hunter spoke for them. “That woman has never been here before. She was being nosy if you asked me.”
Mrs. Black nodded in agreement. “She was looking for Tammy Williams. Maybe she wanted to sell her house.” She snickered.
The local real estate agent loved any business she could get, but I wondered if discussing real estate was what Charlotte was after.
Marcy Holt, who had been stirring a pot of what smelled like soup, said from the stove, “She wanted to know about the Betterment Foundation.” She glanced over her shoulder at us. “Since Tammy is the chairwoman of the foundation, I assume she wanted to talk to her about it. She cornered me in the pantry and wanted to know what I knew about the Betterment Foundation.”
A light bulb clicked on in my brain as I realized that David had left a substantial amount of money to the Betterment Foundation. That had been why I was at the lawyer’s office for Tammy. I wondered if Charlotte was going to contest the will over the charitable donation to the Betterment Foundation.
Lillian snorted. “Charlotte wouldn’t know a charity if it bit her in the butt.”
All the ladies snickered at her comment.
Karen said, “You got that right.”
I filched a cracker from the tray, receiving a slap from Lillian for my pilfering. “Does anyone know when David promised the charitable donation to the Betterment Foundation?”
Five sets of eyes stared at me in bewilderment. Oh, I must’ve let the cat out of the bag.
“What do you mean?” Violet asked as she lay down her knife. “What donation?”
I glanced from one woman to the other, trying to decide how to answer their question without giving away what I knew.
Lillian nudged me. “You might as well tell us because we’ll find out eventually.”
“Tammy asked me to represent her at the reading of David’s will. According to Mr. Bishop, David left a charitable donation in his will to the Betterment Foundation.”
Karen snuffled, wiping her nose with a tissue. “Oh, that dear man. He was always helping around town. It’s such a shame that he was killed.”
“And I for one want to know who killed him,” Violet said with a scowl on her face.
“That’s what we are trying to find out,” Lillian said. “So what do you all know about Charlotte?”
Marcy stopped stirring her soup and turned around. “You think Charlotte killed him?”
Lillian shrugged. “Can you think of a better suspect?”
“Yes,” Marcy said, crossing her arms over her chest. “Her artist boyfriend.”
Violet shook her head. “He’s not the only one.”
“You suspect someone else?” I asked.
“I do.”
Lillian put her hands on her hips. “Well, tell us.”
“I don’t want to spread rumors,” Violet said with a gleam in her eye. She smiled broadly and said, “You should talk to Tammy.”
“Tammy?” Lill
ian and I said in unison.
Marcy nodded and stepped up next to Violet. “Yes. She’s ruthless with her real estate deals, but I think she is with her management of the Betterment Foundation too. And I heard she wanted David to sell his house.”
“That’s not unusual,” I pointed out as I filched another cracker. “Tammy wants everyone to sell their house.” I thought back to last summer when she had implied that my house was too large for just Paw and me. She thought I would be better in a small efficiency apartment. Of course, she would’ve sold that efficiency to me and my house to someone else. I had politely turned her down.
“True,” Violet said as she lifted another block of cheese onto her cutting board. She lifted her knife then pointed it at Lillian and me. “But Tammy can be quite ruthless, and she was after David to sell his house.”
“And she wanted to sell his neighbors’ house as well,” Marcy added.
“Why?” I chomped on my cracker.
“You’ll have to ask her that,” Marcy said as she returned to the stove. Over her shoulder, she added, “If you ask me, she’s got a deal in the works.”
Violet stopped cutting and cocked her head to the side. “She’s been looking for a site to build for the Betterment Foundation. She wants to move out of that old building on Laurel Street. She says that it is too small for the foundation’s activities.”
Lillian huffed. “Doesn’t sound like the best use of foundation money if you ask me.”
“Yes,” I mused. “But if she was getting a sizable donation from David that would help pay for it.”
Karen Hunter nodded. “So the question is did she know she was going to get the charitable donation from David in his will. And would she kill to get it?”
Chapter 7
Lillian and I piled into my car with Paw settling in the back seat. The pastor had been glad to see Paw gone from his study since Paw had jumped up and lain down on the pastor’s leather sofa, leaving a puddle of drool behind when we left. Saber had stayed behind at the church, continuing his mousing duties.
“Let’s go talk to Tammy.” Lillian shut her door then snapped her seatbelt in place.
Canines and Crime Page 5
