by Sonia Parin
The detective stood up.
Eve wasn’t sure but she thought she heard him say, “Jack warned me about you.” Eve shot to her feet. “You know Detective Jack Bradford?”
He handed her a card. “If you remember anything else, please give us a call.”
Eve read the card. Ken! Ken McLain. “I told you you’d say that.”
* * *
When Eve strode out of the interview room, both Mira and David shot to their feet and hurried toward her.
“Well? Are you in the clear?” Mira asked.
“Yes, why wouldn’t I be?”
“Because you have a knack, Eve, of getting yourself a bit muddled up,” Mira said. “That could work against you and you could inadvertently incriminate yourself.”
Eve rolled her eyes. “You make me sound as if I’m in my dotage.”
Mira patted her shoulder. “You know that’s not what I meant. I’m simply saying you have a unique way of thinking and expressing yourself. In fact, I’m surprised you didn’t take after me. You’d be a good author. Perhaps not mainstream, but you would find your own niche. I’m sure of it.”
“Where’s Florence?” Eve asked.
“She’s outside having a cigarette. She quit years ago, but all this left her feeling shaken. I don’t blame her.”
“Have the police questioned you?” Eve asked.
Mira nodded. “We gave witness statements. David and I were both lagging behind you and Florence so we didn’t see as much as you did.”
David had stepped in and drawn both Florence and Eve outside saying it would be best to secure the scene of the crime until the police arrived.
“I suppose I should be grateful you were there. At least now I don’t have to explain any of this to you.” Heading toward the exit, Eve stopped. “How is Florence going to cope staying in that house all alone?”
Mira and David exchanged a knowing look. “We were wondering the same before you came out.”
“Do you think…” Eve shook head.
“Are you going to suggest inviting her to the inn?” Mira asked.
Eve shrugged. “I think it would be a nice gesture, but I get the feeling she’ll probably say no.”
“There’s no harm in asking,” Mira said. “But if she says no, I thought I might stay with her.”
“No,” Eve shook her head. “Absolutely not. Out of the question. There’s a killer at large and for all we know, that killer tried to break into Florence’s house. You’d be putting yourself at risk.”
“I told you she’d say that.” Mira smiled. “David suggested staying with us.”
Eve shook her head again. “You’d all be sitting ducks.” Closing her eyes, she sighed at the barrage of thoughts swirling around her mind. She waited a moment for them to settle. Someone had broken into Florence’s house. Then someone had been killed at her store. “No, out of the question,” she said again. When her cell phone rang, she checked the caller ID. “Jack!” Eve excused herself and took the call.
“I guess our dinner is postponed,” Jack said.
“What makes you say that?” Eve asked even as she checked the time. If she wanted to make it back to the island in time for their dinner date, she’d have to put the pedal to the metal.
“Because I’m here at the inn and you’re not.”
“Oh…”
“Is this a pregnant pause?” Jack asked.
“Is Jill there?”
“Yes, she’s hovering nearby. I guess you’d like to speak with her.”
“If you wouldn’t mind.” Eve scrambled to come up with a reasonable… credible excuse. “Jill. Can I have a word with you?” In private, Eve mentally added.
“You are having a word.”
“Can Jack hear?” Eve whispered.
“I’m outside with Mischief and Mr. Magoo. What’s up, Eve?”
“Before you jump to conclusions, Mira and I are fine.”
Jill groaned. “The fact you’re telling me that means I should jump to conclusions and assume something has happened.”
“Yes, but not to me. At least, not directly. I mean, I’m sort of involved, but I haven’t been charged with anything.”
“Well, that’s a relief.” Jill sighed. “Go on. I’m listening.”
“Right, well… There’s this woman, Florence, she’s an old friend of Mira’s and is in trouble, sort of. We don’t want to leave her alone, so I might be late getting back tonight. Could you please make sure Jack has something to eat?”
“Are you saying I now have to entertain two police officers?”
“Jonathan doesn’t count. He’s your boyfriend. You should be pleased to have him around.”
“Jonathan takes his moonlighting activities seriously and since he’s here to make sure nothing happens while you’re away, he’s all work and no fun. Now that I think about it, Jonathan should have gone with you on your trip, then we wouldn’t be having this conversation because I’m sure that whatever trouble this Florence woman is experiencing has something to do with you and he would have kept your right out of it.”
“Are you quite finished?” Eve asked.
“I am but Jack is headed this way and he has a look that screams forbearance. He knows something’s happened. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
When Jack came back on the line, Eve focused on switching on her cheeriest tone. “Jack, I’m running late. You’ll never guess, so I’ll tell you. We bumped into David Bergstrom. Mira hasn’t seen him since our cruise. We shouldn’t be too long.”
“Bumped into him by chance?” Jack asked.
“Yes.”
“That’s strange. I’ve just been hearing Jill’s version. According to her, you’d planned on dropping in on David as a surprise for Mira.”
“I wonder where Jill got that from?” Eve asked, all innocence.
“Okay, I’ll see you later then. I’m sure we’ll have lots to talk about.”
Eve put away her cell phone and sighed. “Now to ask Florence to join us at the inn. I hope she’ll be sensible and say yes.”
* * *
“Why are you surprised she said no, Eve? Did Florence strike you as the sensible type?” Mira asked.
“Under normal circumstances, she might be, but these are not normal circumstances. I don’t think she’s had time to process everything that’s happened,” Eve said. “Someone broke into her house and now a dead body has turned up at her store. And before you accuse me of getting ahead of myself, in this instance, I’m happy to jump to conclusions and assume the two incidents are related.” Eve peered out the driver’s window. “How long does it take to buy a pack of cigarettes?”
“Here she comes. Let’s try to be supportive,” Mira said.
“I can’t do that, Mira. Staying at her house is a bad idea. I’m going to try to talk her out of it. David promised to join us soon and he too thinks it’s a bad idea.”
Mira chortled. “David might surprise us by staying away. I think Florence might be a bit too colorful for him.”
Feeling a need to reassure Mira, Eve smiled. “If David said he’ll be along shortly, he will be.” He’d driven off saying he would pack an overnight bag, just to be on the safe side. “When he spoke, he had that stalwart resignation tone I often hear Jack use.”
Florence trotted toward them as if nothing had happened.
“I have to admit, despite reverting to bad habits, she’s taking this remarkably well,” Mira said.
“So sorry to keep you all waiting,” Florence said as she settled into her seat. “News is spreading and Charlie, the store owner, had a lot of questions.”
On their way to Florence’s house, they drove by Yesterday’s Trash and saw the crime scene tape over the door.
Eve couldn’t help saying, “I wonder if there’s tape on the back door?”
“We won’t know unless we look,” Florence said.
Mira groaned. “Please don’t encourage Eve.”
“It won’t hurt to look, Mira.” Driving into the b
ack alley, Eve stopped long enough to see the police had been thorough.
“Not to worry,” Florence said as she jumped out of the car.
Eve followed her. “What are you doing? You’ll get into trouble.”
Florence ripped the tape off. “Kids. The little rascals will do anything for a kick.” She unlocked the door and strode in.
Grabbing a long wooden rod with a hook on the end, Florence strode up to the chair Eve had fallen in love with and unhooked it. “There. It’s all yours.” Florence refused any offer of payment. “Hearing your interview story was enough payment for me. I wish I’d been a fly on the wall.”
“As long as we’re here why don’t you see if anything’s missing?” Eve suggested.
“I’m sure it’s all here. Everything is itemized, I’d have to do a cross reference and that would take too much time.”
Eve scanned the shelves. “Wait a minute. Those cameras look out of place.” Almost as if someone had been rummaging through the shelves. “And look, that one’s open.”
“You have a keen eye. I would never have noticed.”
Getting her cell phone out, Eve took a snapshot of it.
Florence chortled. “Anyone who saw you would say you’re an amateur sleuth.”
“Clue is one of our most popular board games at the inn. I dabble.” Jill had suggested they keep a variety of board games for the guests to keep them busy on rainy days and, despite wanting to avoid any reference to the incidents that had taken place at the inn, Eve had caved in and had agreed to include Clue.
“Something tells me you do more than that.”
Eve smiled. “Florence, you’re an astute woman. Do you have any theories about the killer?”
Florence tilted her head. “Are you saying that young man was killed?”
Eve’s eyebrows quirked up in surprise. “Do you think he slumped over the counter by himself?”
“He might have. My Bertie had been in perfect health and yet one day he just keeled over. His heart simply gave out for no good reason.”
“That must have come as a shock.”
Florence nodded. “He was a dozen years older than me so I always expected him to go before me, but not so soon. The man had longevity running in his family.” Florence gasped and grabbed hold of Eve’s hand. “I just saw a police car drive by. We better get out of here.”
They left the way they had come in. Eve tried to stick the crime scene tape back in place but it wouldn’t stay.
“Leave it. Leave it,” Florence called out from the car.
Eve squashed the chair in the back and jumped in.
Florence laughed. “You’d make a hopeless getaway car driver.”
“Eve? Was that another chair I saw you throw in the back?” Mira asked.
“Oh, yes. Florence insisted I take it. I couldn’t very well say no.”
* * *
When they arrived at Florence’s house, they found David sitting on the front veranda.
Eve waved to him. “See, Mira. I told you we could rely on him.” She turned to Florence. “You’re outnumbered and we’re all suggesting you come back to the inn with us.”
“Honey, if there’s one lesson I’ve learned in life, it’s that you cannot run away from a fight. Always get it over and done with. None of this business of retreating and regrouping. It does no one any good to let things linger and drag. Besides, the police promised they’d have a squad car drive by regularly.”
“You should at least have insisted on having one parked outside your house.” Jack had always ensured Eve’s protection by doing just that.
Florence showed them through to the kitchen. “I’ll prepare something to eat. It’s the least I can do for you, although I have to warn you, I’m not much of a cook.”
Eve rolled up her sleeves. “I can put something together for us, if you’d like.”
“Eve’s a trained chef, Flo. Let her work her magic while you pour us all a drink. I think we need it.”
Florence laughed. “I like that. Division of labor.”
Eve slanted her gaze toward Mira and only then noticed the slight pallor on her cheeks.
“You know we’re going to try to talk some sense into you,” Mira said. “Wouldn’t you prefer to take time off and stay at the inn? You’ll be well looked after.”
“This is the inn you were telling me about earlier in the store?” Florence asked.
Mira nodded. “It’s right on the beach.”
Florence chortled. “What was it you called it?” She clicked her fingers. “Eve’s inn of death? Wouldn’t that be a case of jumping out of the frying pan and straight into the fire?”
Eve swung around. “I take exception to that. Yes, we’ve had a couple of incidents but that hasn’t become part of our trademark.”
Florence laughed again. “Oh, she’s a doll. I’d say yes simply for the amusement factor.”
“So, you’ll come,” Mira said.
Florence sighed. “Let me get to the bottom of this bottle and see how I feel then.”
Chapter Nineteen
“How did you make this potato salad?” Florence asked. “I could have sworn I had nothing in the pantry. The dressing is divine.”
“It’s a potato-based mayonnaise. I only made it because you had lemons in your tree.”
Florence held her glass up in a toast. “Yes, Bertie loved his lemonade in summer and I love lemon wedges in my aperitifs.”
“Anyhow, the rest was easy,” Eve continued. “You had some tuna and frozen peas. It’s a basic dish but filling.” In hindsight, Eve realized they could have just ordered pizza. However, cooking always relaxed her and she’d needed some grounding time to get her thoughts into some sort of manageable order.
When they moved to the front parlor to have their coffee, Eve decided to broach the subject they’d all been avoiding. “Did Mr. Fedora—”
“Who’s that?” Florence asked.
“The victim,” Mira offered.
Eve smiled. “Thank you, Mira. Yes, the victim. Since we don’t know the victim’s name, and he wore a Fedora hat, I thought we might refer to him as Mr. Fedora.”
Florence tipped some brandy into her coffee cup. “He smelled of mothballs.”
He’d worn a 1950s style suit and a Fedora hat. Yes, that made sense. The clothes had probably come from a thrift store.
“David, how long do you think it’ll be before the police release his name?” Mira asked.
David ran through the procedure, which included notifying the next of kin. “That could take some time.” He drew his cell phone out. “I’ll make some calls, but I can’t promise anything.”
Eve smiled at him. “You’re a treasure.”
Florence waved the bottle of brandy at Eve and offered her some.
“No, thanks. I’m driving.” Eve leaned forward. “What did the victim say to you when he came into the store?”
Florence studied her bottle of brandy. “He rambled on about the cameras, insisting they belonged to him.”
“Did he explain how he lost possession of them?” Eve asked.
Florence laughed. “You sound like the detective who interviewed me. Let me think.”
Thinking, for Florence, involved topping up her coffee cup with brandy a couple of times. Strangely enough, it seemed to make her more lucid.
“He said he’d taken the box of cameras to a friend’s house for safekeeping and his friend’s mother had disposed of them by mistake.” Florence shrugged. “I guess that’s how they found their way to the store. Someone mistook my store for a dumpster and dropped them off in the alley.”
“Why did they need safekeeping?” Eve wondered out loud.
Florence drained her cup of coffee. “Who knows? To me, they’re just old cameras.”
“He might have been in the process of moving,” Mira suggested. “Or maybe he didn’t trust the person he lived with.”
Yes, Eve thought that could be a possibility. Jill had moved into an apartment over the stables at
the inn. While Eve remained the business owner, and Jill an employee with undefined duties, they were first and foremost friends. Did Eve trust her? Yes. Absolutely. Would their friendship suffer over a box of cameras? Would Jill take the liberty of disposing of them without first discussing it with Eve?
Eve reached for the bottle of brandy and poured some into her coffee thinking Jill wouldn’t dispose of the cameras but she might hide them just to make a point.
“Did he sound desperate?” Eve asked.
“Annoyed. Maybe a touch angry.” Florence stared into her empty cup. “More coffee anyone?”
“Yes, I think we might need some. I’ll help.” Eve collected the cups and followed Florence into the kitchen. “The inn is only a couple of hours away. I wish you’d reconsider coming back with us.”
Florence appeared to think about it but considering how much she’d already imbibed, Eve thought she might actually be having a vacant moment.
“I appreciate your concern,” Florence finally said. “But lightning won’t strike twice. They’ve broken into my house once, they won’t do it again. Clearly I don’t have what they’re looking for.” Florence tipped her head back and laughed. “If something does happen, feel free to tell me I told you so.”
Eve silently groaned. How many times had she heard herself delivering the same confident line to Jill?
* * *
When Florence returned to the front parlor, Eve remained in the kitchen, the one place she could always think clearly. After washing up the plates and wiping down surfaces, she stood there gazing out the window. The automatic sprinkler system had left a sparkly sheen on the lawn and lush greenery. Eve decided they needed something similar at the inn, although she wouldn’t bother about a new lawn since Jill’s Labradors, Mischief and Mr. Magoo, would end up having a field day with it.
