“What is it? What are you thinking?” said Tess.
“I’m thinking I might know what this means.” She picked the book up and looked more closely at the men in the pop-up and said, “Just as I thought.”
“What?” said Tess.
“Those aren’t musical instruments they’re holding.”
“There not?” said Tess. “Then what are they?”
Char pulled her phone from her purse and pulled up a Google page. She typed something in the search bar, and a second later handed the phone to Tess. “They’re tobacco pipes from the 1700’s.”
Tess stared at a picture of a foot-long, white clay pipe with a very small angled bowl at the end. It looked more like a flute than a pipe.
“You really think that’s what it means?” asked Tess.
Char nodded. ‘“A fragrant fellow, bold or mellow.’ It’s talking about tobacco.”
“Then I guess we’re going to the tobacco shop.”
Five minutes later, Tess pulled into the tobacco shop’s small parking lot. She parked next to a scratched up, old, red, pickup truck with a bed filled with weathered lumber.
“I recognize this truck,” she said as she slowly walked around it, peeking in the windows. “It was pulling into the old farmhouse yesterday, just as we were leaving.”
“Can I help you with something?” came a deep voice from behind them.
The two women turned around just as an older man exited the tobacco shop and walked toward them.
“Is this your truck?” said Tess.
“That depends,” said the man as he pulled a set of keys from his pocket. “Why do you want to know?”
“I think I saw you pulling into Bountiful Farms yesterday.”
“You probably did, since I live there.”
“Oh,” said Tess. “You must be Merle.”
“I am. And you are?”
“Tess Langley,” she said, holding out her hand. “I was out at your place yesterday.”
He frowned at her. “Yeah, my wife told me you were there asking questions about that dead woman.” He pushed past her and got in his truck. “Sorry, can’t help you.”
“Are you sure?” said Tess. “Maybe I should call Detective Curtis, the man in charge of the investigation, and have him send a squad car out to your place. He’ll probably want to bring you in for questioning, you know, because the body was found near your property.” She pulled her phone from her purse and started dialing.
“Look, lady, I don’t want any trouble,” he said.
She stopped dialing. “I’m not here to cause trouble. I just want to find out what happened to Rachael Warren.” When he didn’t respond, she said, “Please, for the sake of your girls. You want to make sure they’re safe, don’t you?”
He nodded slowly and let out a breath. “Yes, the woman came by the house Saturday afternoon looking for Mr. Walker.”
“Mr. Walker?” said Tess, shocked. “Why?”
Merle shrugged. “Beats me. All I know is that they had what appeared to be a bit of a heated conversation and then they both left.”
“Why was Mr. Walker at your place?”
“He was just dropping off some documents for me to sign and paying me for a bunch of my old barn wood.” He cranked the engine, closed his door and rolled down the window. “Look, I don’t mean to be rude, but I’ve got to deliver the rest of this wood to Mr. Walker’s office. He’s expecting it.”
Tess stepped away from the truck. “Thank you. I appreciate your help.”
As they watched the truck pull away, Char said, “Yesterday he told us he didn’t know Rachael.” She looked at Tess. “Why would Mr. Walker lie to us about not knowing her?”
“There’s only one reason I can think of,” said Tess.
“No,” said Char in a hushed voice. “You don’t think he killed her, do you?”
“I hope not,” said Tess. “But the fact that he lied about it tells me that he must be hiding something, and I think we need to go find out what that ‘something’ is.”
“After I get some tobacco for Charlie,” said Char. “As long as we’re here.”
Fifteen minutes later, they got back into the Durango, drove over to the Savings and Loan building and parked just as Merle’s red truck was pulling away from the curb.
Char, looking very worried said, “I don’t think this is such a good idea. Maybe we should call Detective Curtis.”
Tess shook her head. “No. The book has been leading us each step of the way. We’ll be fine. But just in case, I’ll take Goober with us.”
Char scoffed. “What’s he going to do, lick him to death?”
“Or kill him with his farts.”
Chapter Twenty
Tess, Char and Goober walked into Mr. Walker’s reception area. His office door was open and hammering could be heard from inside.
“Hello again,” said the receptionist and smiled. She looked down at Goober. “Oh, what a cute dog. May I pet him?”
“Sure,” said Tess, walking over to her desk. “This is Goober.” She leaned to the side and looked toward the opened door. “Is Mr. Walker here?”
“Yes. He and Duke are back there working on the remodel.” She ruffled Goober’s head, who sat quietly at her feet. “Go on in.”
The trio walked into Mr. Walker’s office, and immediately, Goober trotted over to Duke and sniffed his shoes.
Duke, wearing a red turtleneck stood with his back to them, hammering nails into the barn wood paneling. He looked down at his feet. “Well, hello there,” he said, patting the dog’s shoulders. He grabbed another plank, measured it with his tape measure, pulled the pencil from behind his ear and drew a line across the board.
Mr. Walker poked his head out of the en suite bathroom and said, “Mrs. Langley! What are you doing here?”
“Do you mind if we speak privately?” she said and pulled Goober away from the contractor’s shoes before he could work is way up the guy’s pantleg.
The contractor glanced down at his watch and stuck the pencil behind his ear. “It’s okay. I need to head on over to Bentley’s Jewelers, anyway.” He slipped the hammer into his belt and said, “See you tomorrow, boss.”
After he left, Mr. Walker looked over at Tess and said, “What’s going on? Are you having second thoughts about the remodel? Because if you are, Duke really knows what he’s-”
“I’m not here about the remodel,” said Tess, cutting him off. She took a deep breath and gripped Goober’s leash a little tighter. “I’m here to find out why you lied to us yesterday.”
“Lied to you?” he said with a confused look on his face. “About what?”
“You told us that you didn’t know who Rachael Warren was. But you do, don’t you?”
“Now hold on just a minute. I never lied to you.” He took a step toward Tess, causing her to take a step back.
“When I mentioned that Rachael Warren was the woman who went missing a couple of days ago, you said you remembered reading about that in the paper,” she said.
“I did read about it in the paper,” he said.
“Maybe so, but you led us to believe that you didn’t know who she was, when in fact, you do.”
“I did no such thing. I even said that I hope they find her.” He took a step closer to her, causing Goober to let out a low growl. He softened his voice and said, “Tess, what’s this all about?”
“I know that you were out at Bountiful Farms on Saturday afternoon, delivering some documents.”
“Yes, I was,” he said. “So?”
“Rachael was out there, too, the same time as you. In fact, she went out there looking for you. But you already knew that, too, didn’t you?” When Mr. Walker didn’t respond, she added, “She was killed not long after you two were spotted having an argument.”
“We weren’t arguing, we were talking.”
“That’s not the way I heard it,” said Tess.
Mr. Walker crossed his arms over his chest and said, “Just what are you insinu
ating? That I had something to do with her death?”
“I don’t know. Did you?”
“No! Or course not!” His voice elevated, causing his secretary to stick her head in through the door.
“Everything all right, Mr. Walker?”
“Yes, Helen. Everything’s fine.” When his secretary left, he let out a breath, lowered his voice and said, “All right, I admit it. I do know Rachael Warren, and I did speak with her out at Bountiful Farms. But I promise you, she was very much alive when I left her.”
“Did you tell the police that you talked to her that afternoon?” said Tess, pulling Goober closer to her.
“No, I didn’t.”
“Why not?”
Mr. Walker let out a sigh. “I didn’t say anything because then they would want to know what we talked about, and quite frankly, I was a little embarrassed about it.”
“What did you two talk about?”
He lowered his arms and dropped his head slightly. “It was childish on my part. And I didn’t mean anything by it.” He shook his head. “I certainly didn’t think she would get so upset by it.”
“What happened?” said Tess.
“Rachael came to my office Friday afternoon. She said she was trying to raise money for a local dance academy and asked me if I would donate. I told her I would but that I didn’t have time to deal with it right then. She’d have to meet me at Bountiful Farms the next day to pick up the check.” He paused.
“Go on,” said Tess.
“When she got there, I told her that I had reconsidered and that if she wanted the money, she was going to have to go out with me first. And that’s when she went ballistic.” He shook his head. “But I wasn’t serious about it.” He walked over to his desk, opened the top drawer and pulled out a check. Showing it to them, he said, “See? Here’s a check for five thousand dollars to Leaper’s Dance Academy.”
Knowing Mr. Walker’s attraction to beautiful women, Tess was pretty sure he had meant every word of his conditional terms.
She walked over to him and snatched the check out of his hands. “I’ll take that and deliver it to the owner of the dance academy for you.” She figured it was the least she could do for Rachael. “C’mon Goober, let’s go.”
Without saying anything else to Mr. Walker, they turned and walked out of his office.
Once inside the vehicle, Tess clutched the steering wheel, her hands shaking. She looked over at Char and said, “Well? What do you think?”
Char shook her head and then laid it back on the head rest. “I don’t know. Maybe he’s telling the truth. I mean, he did have that check already written out.”
“Yes, but he could have written it after he killed her, just to throw suspicion off of him.” She sighed. “I just don’t know where to go from here.”
Char glanced out her window, her eyes upward. “Anywhere but here. He’s staring at us from his office widow, and it’s giving me the creeps.”
Tess pulled away from the curb and drove, to where she wasn’t sure, only that the farther away they got from Mr. Walker’s office, the better she felt.
A few minutes later she pulled into the Tops Friendly Market parking lot.
“What are we doing here?” said Char.
“We have a lot to figure out, and I know you don’t do well on an empty stomach,” said Tess. “I don’t have anything I can make for us for dinner except canned soup.”
Char glanced across the road and said, “How about we just get something to go from Hannigan’s and take it home?”
“I like your idea better,” said Tess.
They walked across the road, and just as they were about to open the door, someone yelled, “Ms. Langley!”
They turned and saw Detective Curtis exit his car and begin to walk toward them.
Tess leaned into Char and said, “I did not tell you that he and I had dinner here last night, got it?”
“Got it,” said Char.
“Back for more sliders?” said Detective Curtis as soon as he walked up. He looked over at Char. “Ms. Langley and I got a bite to eat here last night.”
“You did, did you?” said Char, looking at Tess with a little smirk on her face. “Why, she never mentioned anything about it.”
“I’m glad I ran into you two,” he said. “I wanted to let you know that I got a call back from the crime labs. It appears the substance under Rachael’s fingernails was paint.”
“Well, that’s not surprising since she was an artist,” said Tess.
“Yes,” said Detective Curtis, “except I had all of the paints tested at her studio and it wasn’t a match for any of them.”
“Have you questioned anyone yet?” said Tess.
“As a matter of fact, I have. The boyfriend, Max Dovelin.”
“And?”
“And his alibi checked out. Turns out he was at a place called Golden Gloves Boxing.” He looked at Tess. “Ever heard of it?”
“Oh sure, it’s right by the fitness center,” said Tess.
“Mm-hmm,” said Detective Curtis. “I talked to the owner, and he confirmed that Max was there approximately the same time as the coroner determined Rachael’s time of death.”
“That’s good, isn’t it?” said Tess.
“Mm-hmm,” said Detective Curtis, still looking at her. “But you see, the owner also told me something else.”
“He did?” said Tess.
“He did, indeed.” The detective crossed his arms over his chest. “He said that two older women came in asking lots of questions about Rachael, like they were interrogating him.”
“Really?” said Tess. “That’s interesting.”
“Yes, it is. But the really interesting part is that when I asked him to describe them, he said one was blonde and the other a brunette. Then he described both of you to a T.” He narrowed his eyes at Tess. “Now I’m sure there are lots of middle-aged women around here who could fit that description . . .”
“Oh yes,” mumbled Char, “plenty.”
“So, I’m going to give you both the benefit of the doubt.” He uncrossed his arms and shook his finger at them, “But let me be very clear about something. This is a murder investigation, and at the moment, we have no real suspects in custody. I can’t have anybody . . .” he emphasized the word, “especially amateur sleuths who don’t know what the heck they’re doing, poking around in this investigation. They could get hurt, or worse. And we wouldn’t want that to happen, now would we?”
“No, detective,” murmured Tess and Char in unison.
“Have I made myself clear?” said Detective Curtis.
“Yes, detective,” the two murmured.
“Good!”
He turned, ready to leave when Tess reached into her purse and pulled out the check for the dance academy. “Detective Curtis?” she said, coldly.
“Yes, Ms. Langley?” he said, looking at her.
“Here.” She handed the check to him and said, “You might want to go talk to Mr. Walker down at the Whispering River Savings and Loan.” She turned. “C’mon Char. Let’s go get something to eat.”
Chapter Twenty-One
Once they were back at the house, Char set the burgers from Hannigan’s on the coffee table, along with the book. Tess went into the kitchen to get some plates and a couple of dog biscuits for Goober.
“Here you go, Goobs,” Tess said and then tossed the biscuits on the rug in front of the fireplace.
Neither one had commented on Detective Curtis’s reprimand on the way home. Now, though, Tess had plenty to say.
“Amateur sleuths?” Tess said through gritted teeth. “Who don’t know what the heck they’re doing?” She grabbed one of the burgers and dropped it on a plate. “Oh, if he only knew!” She unwrapped it with aggression and took a bite. “We know more about what Rachael did the day she died than he does.”
“I know,” said Char, calmly.
“Middle-aged? He made it sound like it was a bad thing,” said Tess and took another angry bite. �
�Who does he think he is? He’s just as old as we are! Probably older, a lot older.”
“I know,” said Char, calmly.
The nice thing about Tess and Char’s relationship is that when one was angry, the other tended to become calm. Usually, it was Tess buffering the situation. At the moment, though, Char was the composed one.
“Now Tess, he’s only doing his job.” She calmly unwrapped her burger and took a bite.
“He talked to us like we were children.” She took another angry bite and chewed. “And the way he pointed his finger at us? I wanted to bite it off.” She took another bite. “And to top it off, last night I was ‘Tess.’ Now I’m back to being ‘Ms. Langley.’”
“I think he was just trying to be diplomatic and professional, that’s all,” said Char. “But he definitely wanted to get his point across.”
“Mission accomplished,” said Tess and took another bite. She looked down at the book. “We have one more clue. Let’s show Detective Curtis what two middle-aged, amateur sleuths, who don’t-know-what-the-heck-they’re-doing, can really do!”
She dropped what was left of the burger onto her plate, wiped her hands off on a paper napkin and grabbed the book. Carefully, she opened it to the pipers, looked at it briefly then turned the page.
This one was the most elaborate of all of the pop-ups. It looked like a scene out of Norman Rockwell’s “Main Street” painting. Buildings, similar to those in Whispering River, lined both sides of a street. And each was adorned with Christmas decorations. In the center of the road were four rows of three drummers dressed in red blazers with gold buttons, white knickers, black knee-high boots, and a black tricorn hat. They each had a snare drum strapped diagonally over their right shoulder that hung down at their side. People lining the street seemed to be watching them as they marched by.
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