Lethal Suds

by Sophia Barton

  Abigail huffed in frustration. “We have nothing to talk about. Stay away, Kevin. Don’t come back. Sign those papers and live your life. It’s what I’m planning to do.”

  Kevin stomped his way out, and Abigail waited until he was gone to relax. Then, she turned to Chief Holden. “Thank you,” she told him.

  Chief Holden shook his head. “You have nothing to thank me for. I was doing my job.”

  “Somehow, I doubt your job is to rescue new divorcees who can’t deal with their ex.”

  Chief Holden stared until Abigail wanted to squirm. “My job is to protect everyone who lives in town, and that includes you. It doesn’t matter what I have to protect you from.”

  “Still, you didn’t have to do it.” She wanted to ask why he wasn’t at the station, but she suspected he wouldn’t answer if she did.

  Instead, she watched him as he strode to the door and left. She had no idea what had just happened except that Kevin had left, which was a relief. She was going to have to do something about that if he continued coming around, but for now, she let it go. Kevin was the past, and her future was worrying enough as it was not to add to it.

  13

  Roger was the talk of the town. Abigail wasn’t surprised. As soon as people had found out he’d been arrested, they’d started talking. Most were wondering why he’d been arrested, and as far as Abigail had heard, no one knew he and Martha were together. They did know that the bookstore was in debt, though, and that Randall was trying to buy it. They seemed to think that was why Roger had killed him, and Abigail couldn’t help but wonder if maybe that was the case.

  But no. She still didn’t think Roger had done it. She’d tried to distract herself with the shop and work, but she still couldn’t help but wonder if she’d been the one to put Roger in jail. No matter what Chief Holden had said, he hadn’t known Martha and Roger were together, and Abigail telling him about it had given him one more reason to suspect Roger. Whether Roger had done it or not, Chief Holden had his reasons to arrest him. Abigail wanted to think he would get to the bottom of it. He hadn’t struck her as being unfair or not wanting to do his job, but how could she know?

  She supposed she could only hope.

  She hated seeing the bookstore closed. She passed by it every morning on her way to work, and she couldn’t help but wonder when it would open again. She wanted Roger to get back to work. She wanted him to go back to his life, to Martha, to being a part of the community. She didn’t know if that would ever happen. She wanted to hope it would, but even if Chief Holden decided Roger hadn’t done anything, what would the rest of the town think? Would they agree with him, or would they continue talking about Roger behind his back, thinking he was a killer and that he’d gotten off scot-free?

  Abigail wouldn’t be surprised if that were the case. The people in town couldn’t surprise her anymore, although she hoped they might. Maybe they would be good to Roger. Maybe they would realize that if Chief Holden hadn’t charged him, it meant he had nothing to do with the murder.

  Or maybe they’d think Chief Holden didn’t have enough proof and had to let him go.

  The shop door opened, and she smiled in relief. She looked up to welcome the customer, pausing when she saw Martha walking into the shop. She wasn’t sure why Martha was here. She might have wanted to buy soap, but something told Abigail that wasn’t the reason for her presence. She waited, wary, as Martha glanced around, maybe looking for Aunt Charlotte.

  Finally, Abigail had to say something. “She’s not here. She had a doctor’s appointment.”

  Martha looked relieved. “Thanks for telling me.”

  “I can tell her you came by.”

  “I’m not here to see Charlotte. I’m here to see you.”

  Abigail froze. Had Martha found out that she’d been the one to out her relationship with Roger to Chief Holden? Was she here to yell at Abigail, to ask her why she’d done it? Abigail didn’t know how she’d react if that were the case. She didn’t want to fight with Martha. She barely knew the woman, but the only time she’d talked to her, she seemed like a nice person. Abigail didn’t want to make an enemy out of her. She didn’t want to make an enemy out of anyone. “What did you want to talk about?”

  “Roger. What else?”

  What else, indeed.

  “How is he?” Abigail had to ask.

  “As good as you can imagine.”

  “I’m sorry for everything that happened.”

  “So am I. I wanted to thank you for taking care of the shop the day Roger was arrested.”

  “It was the least I could do.” That was too revealing, and Abigail pressed her lips together.

  Martha looked at her curiously, then shook her head and stepped closer. “I wanted to talk to you about my relationship with Roger.”

  “I can listen, but I’m not sure why you want to talk to me.”

  “I want to explain.”

  “Again, I can certainly listen, but you should probably talk to Chief Holden instead of me.”

  Martha shook her head. She reached up, patting her silver hair, looking like she was using it as a distraction. “I already talked to Chief Holden. I told him Roger and I were together that night, that he couldn’t have done anything. He didn’t believe me.”

  “I’m sure he’ll look into it anyway.”

  “Possibly. How can he find proof of that, though? We were at home, at the home I shared with Randall. I already knew Randall wouldn’t come home that night. He told me he was planning work late, and it always meant he would sit at the office until late, then go find one of his girlfriends. He wouldn’t come home, which is why I asked Roger to come by. We already had a plan in place if Randall did come home, but he didn’t.”

  “I see.” Abigail still had no idea why Martha was telling her all of this. Even if Chief Holden hadn’t believed her, what did Abigail have to do with it?

  “I told all of this to Chief Holden, but I’m afraid he’ll do the easy thing rather than the right one. He might look into it, but there’s no proof Roger was with me, not as far as I know. He did not kill Randall, though. He couldn’t have, not when he was with me the entire night. We woke up together in the morning.”

  That was one thing Abigail didn’t want to think about. “I’m touched that you wanted to tell me all of this, but I’m not sure what to do with it.”

  Martha shook her head. “I’m not sure, either. I just wanted you to know. I don’t want you to think badly of him after you walked in on us.”

  Abigail hesitated. She didn’t want to make things worse. “When he was arrested, Roger said he was planning on selling the shop to Randall, taking the money, and taking you away. Is that the truth?”

  Martha smiled softly. “It is. We’d been planning it for a while. We didn’t have the money to do it, and the only way for us to get it was to sell the shop. I didn’t mind. I wouldn’t have been able to stay in town if Randall was here anyway. He would never have allowed me to divorce him. That’s why running away was the best idea we could come up with.”

  Abigail understood. She knew how it felt to be trapped in a loveless marriage, to be cheated on and forced to stay. “I’m sorry all of this happened to you and Roger.”

  “Don’t be sorry. You had nothing to do with this.”

  Abigail wanted to tell her that she had, but she couldn’t get the words out. “I want to help, but I’m not sure how.”

  “You don’t have to do anything. Listening to me was enough. Thank you, Abigail. Thank you for being there for Roger when he needed you and for listening to me today.”

  Abigail was glad she’d been helpful, but she couldn’t help the feeling that she hadn’t done enough.

  That she still wasn’t doing enough.

  She was still thinking about it when Aunt Charlotte came back from the doctor. She was smiling when she stepped into the store, and Abigail forced herself to smile back. “How did it go?”

  “Great. The doctor thinks he’ll be able to take the cast off ne
xt week.”

  That was a relief, even though it made Abigail feel a bit lost. Her aunt had needed her because of her broken arm, but now that she would get rid of the cast, she’d be able to go back to doing everything on her own like she’d always done.

  Aunt Charlotte seemed to realize where Abigail’s thoughts had gone, and she stepped closer, patting her arm. “Don’t worry about it. You’re not going anywhere. I already told you that when the time comes, I want you to take over the shop. That hasn’t changed, and it won’t change only because the cast is coming off.” She paused and wrinkled her nose. “I have been forced to admit that I can’t do this on my own anymore. I’m getting up there in age, even though I don’t like to think about it. Something has to change if I don’t want to get hurt again, and since you’re already here, I’m hoping you’ll want to stay. I know having Kevin coming around isn’t easy, but we can find a way to make sure he doesn’t.”

  Abigail took her aunt’s hand and squeezed quickly. “Don’t worry about Kevin. He’s my problem, not yours. And he’s not why I’m feeling down. It was the fear that you won’t need me anymore, yes, but also something else.” She hesitated. She didn’t want to betray Martha by telling her aunt she’d been here, but she also wanted some advice. “I don’t think Martha and Roger had anything to do with Randall’s death.”

  Aunt Charlotte’s eyes widened. “Martha?”

  Abigail hadn’t realized she was telling her aunt about the affair. No one seemed to know about it yet, and she’d wanted to keep things that way. “The police usually suspect the wife first.”

  “But Chief Holden didn’t, and if he did, he didn’t arrest her. He arrested Roger.”

  “I don’t think he had anything to do with the murder, either.”

  Aunt Charlotte sighed and put her handbag down on the counter. “I don’t think he did, either.”

  It was a relief, even though Abigail didn’t understand. “Who do you think did it, then?”

  “I have no idea, no matter how much I think about it. But I don’t think it was Roger or Martha. I don’t know who could have done it, though.”

  “Do you think Chief Holden will do everything he can to find the truth?” She couldn’t stop thinking about Martha’s words about Chief Holden doing what was easy rather than what was right.

  Aunt Charlotte wrinkled her nose again. “I don’t know. I want to think he’ll look into everything, but he might not have the opportunity to do it. The mayor’s been pushing for an arrest. Summer is almost here, and tourists are going to start coming in. He doesn’t want them to be afraid of a killer at large. He’s been pushing Chief Holden to make an arrest, and he’s been boasting about it since it happened.”

  The bottom of Abigail’s stomach dropped. It made sense, and even though she didn’t want to think about it, maybe Martha hadn’t been wrong. Maybe Chief Holden was doing what was easy because he was being pushed into it. The why didn’t matter. What did matter was that it was happening, and Abigail didn’t think she could stand by without doing anything.

  “On the other hand, Chief Holden isn’t used to dealing with murder,” Aunt Charlotte continued, apparently not having realized what kind of reaction her words had caused in Abigail. “He used to work in a big city so he might have some experience, but still. He’s been here for years, and there’s never been a murder. He might not know how to deal with it anymore or how to deal with small-town politics.”

  “So you don’t think Roger did it and that Chief Holden has got the wrong guy.”

  “What can we do? We don’t have proof. It’s not our job, either. Even if we go to Chief Holden and tell him about this, what are the odds he’ll listen to us?”

  She wasn’t wrong. Abigail didn’t want Aunt Charlotte to do that, but she couldn’t help but feel angry that Chief Holden might not look further than Roger. She didn’t know why, and she didn’t want to find out.

  She couldn’t let Roger pay for something he hadn’t done, though.

  What could she do about it? She’d been half investigating before he was arrested, so she had a pretty good idea of who might be involved, as long as it was someone local. Randall could have had enemies who didn’t live in town, but Abigail doubted it. If Roger hadn’t done it and neither had Martha, that left only a few suspects.

  Only one as far as she knew.

  She sucked in a breath. She hadn’t believed Dewey had anything to do with this, but maybe she’d been wrong. Maybe she should tell Chief Holden about the debt thing and about the discussion Dewey and Randall had in the coffee shop. He’d probably heard about it from someone else, but it couldn’t hurt, could it?

  “I have something to do,” she said.

  Aunt Charlotte blinked. “Something to do?”

  “I need to talk to Chief Holden.”

  Aunt Charlotte beamed. “You’re going to convince him Roger had nothing to do with the murder?”

  “I don’t know if I’ll manage, but I can try.”

  “Good. Someone needs to talk to him. I’ll be here when you come back, and I want to know everything he said.”

  Abigail rushed out before she could change her mind. She suspected Chief Holden wouldn’t listen to her, but she still had to try. If Roger was put in jail because of something she said, because she’d told Chief Holden about Roger’s affair with Martha, she would never forgive herself. She had to try to make Chief Holden see.

  She headed to the station. Chief Holden might not be there, but it was the best place to start, and she got lucky. He was coming out of the station as she arrived, and she waved him down. “Chief Holden!”

  He looked up, blinked, and his expression went blank. Abigail thought he wasn’t happy to see her there, but she didn’t care.

  “How’s the investigation going?” she asked as he reached him.

  “I’m not allowed to talk about these things with you, Ms. Kinsman. What can I do for you?”

  “You know Roger didn’t do anything, don’t you?”

  He cocked his head. “Do I?”

  “You heard him. He didn’t have a reason to kill Randall. He and Martha were going to leave, be happy and leave Randall behind. Instead, Roger is in jail. How would he have benefited from killing Randall? It’s clear he didn’t.”

  “It’s clear he didn’t think he would get caught. Are you trying to tell me how to do my job?”

  Abigail took a step back. “Of course not. I just wanted to make sure you were considering everyone.”

  “You are trying to tell me how to do my job.” He straightened. “You have to stay out of this, Ms. Kinsman. I promise you we’re investigating everyone who had a reason to kill Randall. So far, the person who had the strongest motive is Roger, and he doesn’t have an alibi.”

  “He was with Martha.”

  Chief Holden didn’t look surprised that Abigail knew about it. “And we only have her word for that. Let me do my job, Ms. Kinsman. Your interference won’t help Roger. If anything, it might make things worse for him because I’m distracted. I know what I’m doing.” And you don’t was only implied, but Abigail heard it loud and clear.

  Chief Holden turned around and left without saying goodbye, and Abigail could only watch him walk away.

  This time when Lee came over for dinner, he brought Siegfried. He’d asked Abigail if he could first, so Abigail wasn’t surprised to see him. Still, she hoped he would get along with her aunt’s cat. She should have thought better about it before agreeing, but she wasn’t used to thinking about a cat. He wasn’t her cat. He was Aunt Charlotte’s cat, even though Abigail was taking care of him for now.

  She opened the door and gestured at Lee to come in. “How well behaved is he with cats?” she asked.

  Lee’s step faltered, and he frowned at her. “You have a cat?”

  “My aunt has a cat. I kind of forgot about him.”

  “Oh, well, that shouldn’t be a problem as long as the cat doesn’t bother Sig.”

  Abigail wouldn’t put it past Marcel to b
other the dog, but she would do her best so it wouldn’t happen. “It should be fine. I’m sure he’ll stay hidden most of the time anyway. He doesn’t like strangers.” Some days, he still didn’t like Abigail, and she’d been living in the house with him for several weeks.

  Lee kept his dog close as they headed to the kitchen. Luckily, Siegfried seemed to be well behaved, and he laid down on the kitchen floor, watching Abigail and Lee as they spoke.

  “I was surprised to get your invitation for dinner,” Lee said as he sat at the breakfast nook.

  Abigail offered him a glass of wine. “You should have told me if I was bothering you.”

  Lee accepted the glass and shook his head. “Not a bother. I told you. I’m more than happy to have something to do.”

  “You don’t have friends or family to visit?”

  Lee grimaced. “Well, I do have a family. Not a lot of friends, though. It’s been hard for me to get used to being here again since I came back from LA. I think that most of all, people aren’t sure what to do with me.”

  “What do you mean?”

  Lee shrugged. “You know.”

  It took Abigail a moment to remember, and when she did, she couldn’t believe she’d forgotten. Lee had come out to his family and the school when they were in their final year of high school. Not everyone had taken it well, and that included his family. “How are you getting along with your family?”

  Lee shrugged one shoulder and took a sip of wine. “Okay, I guess. I think that leaving town for a bit helped. Still. They’re not sure what to do with me or what to think about the fact that I have a dog grooming business. I always told everyone I wanted to be an actor, and I did. I still love acting. But it’s not my life.”

  “You don’t love it as a job.”

  Lee gave Abigail a grateful smile. “Exactly. It’s much less stressful when I know that my next paycheck won’t come from acting. I’m not made for the starving artist part of the job.”

  “I’m sorry you couldn’t do it for a living, but maybe it’s not a bad thing. You don’t seem unhappy.” Abigail hoped that eventually, she would settle down the way Lee had. Coming back home and helping with her aunt’s soap business hadn’t been her life dream, but she was going to have to get used to it. She was here to stay, and that included working at the shop.