by R A Wallace
“You think maybe they don’t know anything?” Brad folded his lean six foot four frame back down into the kitchen chair and watched Erica inhale the applesauce.
“We both think they’re holding something back. We just don’t know what yet.” Erica set the empty container down. “We’re going to need to get more of that.”
“Maybe you should ask Megan?” Brad asked.
Erica nodded. “Yeah, she definitely makes the best applesauce.”
Brad smiled. “No, I mean ask her to talk to the people who aren’t telling you everything.”
“You think?” Erica thought about it. The people they’d been interviewing definitely weren’t talking to the cops. At least, they weren’t telling them anything of substance. Would they talk to Megan?
Brad got up and cleared Erica’s dinner things. “I’ll take care of this, you call Megan.”
***
Megan and Dan had enjoyed a nice dinner together. After cleaning up the dishes, they’d taken a walk out to the garden. Dan had rigged up some oscillating sprinkler heads at different points in the garden while Megan had fixed dinner and he wanted to show her what he’d done.
“I put this hose splitter on the spigot. It feeds multiple lines of hose and I have the sprinkler heads on the other ends of those. You can leave the main water knob on and just use these individual levers when you want to turn one of the lines on. To get the best water pressure, you’ll only want to run one at a time.” Dan turned one of the levers and Megan heard the water running through the hose before she saw the oscillating spray on the other end of the garden begin to move.
“Nifty. So that one hose will take care of about a quarter of the garden?” Megan asked as they walked closer to the garden.
“Yes. You want to let that one run so it gives a good soaking for that section. Then you’ll turn that lever off and turn the next one on until you’ve watered with all four hoses.”
“So, I won’t have to stand there and hold a hose for forever at night. That is a great idea, thank you.” Megan knew a lot of women would think she was silly, but the fact that Dan did this to help her with her farm really meant a lot to her.
“Hey, stick with me kid. I have a lot of great ideas to help around here. I want to earn my keep.”
“You do?” Megan asked. This was what she’d been thinking about a lot lately. Did Dan envision the farm in their future together? Megan was about to ask him when her phone rang. She wanted to ignore it, but saw Erica’s name.
“Hey, what’s up?”
“I desperately need more applesauce. And cider.”
Megan laughed and looked at Dan to see if he heard. He was grinning too. After talking with Brad recently, she already had another batch of applesauce made to give to them. “I take it junior likes apples?”
“Whatever is growing in there does so far. Listen, I wanted to talk to you about something else too.”
Megan listened as Erica explained what she could about the case. It wasn’t much. “So, you want me to talk to some of the people?” Megan asked.
“Are you saying you weren’t going to do that anyway?” Erica asked.
“Well, Irlene did ask me to but I was going to speak with you about it first to make sure it was okay. Honest.”
“I can’t give you a lot of details, it is an active case. Did Irlene tell you who some of her customers were?”
“Yes, she suggested some names to me.” Megan told Erica who they were.
“That does sound like a good list. You might want to give them a day before you try talking to them. They just finished with us. But let me know what you learn when you’re done talking to them. And, be safe.”
Chapter Thirteen
Megan sat on her back porch Tuesday morning sipping lemonade. She thought about what Erica had told her and also her conversation with Irlene on the previous day. Henry was scratching in the barnyard again, searching for bugs. Now that Dora was doing better, Henry appeared to feel that his duties with the miniature donkeys were complete. He’d greeted Megan with his happy dance, bouncing from leg to leg with his head bobbing, when she’d gone out for the eggs earlier.
Erica had given permission for Megan to speak with some of Irlene’s old customers, the ones who had recently defected to Cybil for reasons unknown. She wouldn’t be able to speak to everyone that the police had questioned, but Irlene had given her several names to start with. But if Erica wanted Megan to wait a day before contacting them, maybe it would be best to do a little homework first. There was one person in town who knew more people than anyone else. Megan would begin there.
***
Matthias Reynolds answered the door and greeted Megan warmly. “She’s in the study.”
Megan followed Matthias through the house, noticing that he was moving a little slower, but he was also not using his cane. Perhaps he didn’t always when he was in the house.
“Megan, thanks for coming to the house. I’m working from home today, as you can see.” Barbara Reynolds stood from her desk and walked over to a couch and grouping of chairs, signaling for Megan to take a seat on the couch. Barbara took a wingback chair across from it. “Lemonade?”
“Sounds wonderful, thanks. I don’t want to take too much of your time. You’re familiar with the Cybil Lacey case so far?” Megan took the glass from Matthias, then he took a seat on the other wingback chair.
“Yes, I’ve been briefed. I take it Irlene has been speaking with you?” Barbara was dressed for mayoral duties, with a gray pin-stripe skirt, matching jacket, and pearl gray silk blouse.
“She did. She’s hoping I’ll speak to some of her former customers, to try to discover why they’d chosen to go to Cybil’s shop instead.”
Barbara nodded. “I expected as much. I’ve been wondering about that myself lately. Who were you thinking of talking with?”
Megan gave the list of names to Barbara. The last name on the list caused Barbara’s lips to curl up in a smile. “Vivian Zimmerman. Now that brings back some memories. We’re of an age, you know.” Barbara shared a smile with Matthias. “You haven’t met Vivian yet. She’s a huge fan of gardening. Her plant of choice is flowers, rather than vegetables. She’s extremely competitive with it. Over the years, she has won several ribbons. As mayor, I am sometimes called upon to officiate at such things.”
“I take it she can sometimes be a bit too competitive?” Matthias asked knowingly.
“Oh, yes. The rumors have never been confirmed, but it’s widely speculated that she may have used less than noble methods in her endeavor to win the blue ribbon.”
Megan’s eyebrows lifted in surprise, but Matthias chuckled. “She sounds like quite a pistol,” Matthias said.
Megan kept to her word and didn’t keep Barbara long. But she felt that the information she’d gotten from the mayor would turn out to be invaluable. Her next stop was Caitlyn’s flower shop. Caitlyn’s mother, Susan, was helping to create some arrangements in the back when Megan arrived. Both women greeted Megan and continued with their work assembling flower arrangements.
They were standing on opposite sides of a work island in the middle of the room. Caitlyn was a younger version of her mother. Although both women were petite, Susan beat her daughter’s five foot one inch height by an inch and her dark hair was now showing streaks of gray. Megan explained her current project with Irlene.
“Oh, Molly Winters. There’s a story. You always read about things like that, but you never expect to know someone who’s lived through it.” Susan wove another flower into her arrangement.
Caitlyn looked up from her arrangement at Megan and shrugged. “I don’t remember anything.”
“Oh, you wouldn’t, I suppose. It’s been around ten years now. I did the flowers for their wedding. Her husband left her the day they were married.” Susan shook her head.
Caitlyn and Megan shared a wince. “That would be bad, but it may have been better than staying married to a man who cheats on you like I did,” Megan said.
&nb
sp; Susan tilted her head to one side as she considered it. “I suppose.”
Megan chatted with the women a little longer while they worked and then headed back home. Casey had texted her that he planned to stop by. Megan found Tom and Casey near the paddock.
“Looks like she’s all healed,” Casey said. “If you’re ready, we’ll let them out of the paddock and see how they behave with the sheep.”
Megan watched as Casey and Tom opened the gate to let them through. They trotted off eagerly, exploring their new environment. Though they often went near the sheep, neither the sheep nor the donkeys appeared to mind the other.
“Have you found a home for them yet?” Megan asked. She watched Casey share a look with Tom.
“We were just talking about that when you got here. No takers yet, sorry.” Casey didn’t look sorry.
Megan suspected he had known of the ultimate outcome all along and smiled. “I take it I’m the new owner of two miniature donkeys?”
Casey grinned back then headed for his truck with a wave. Dan pulled in as he was leaving and joined Megan and Tom at the paddock.
“Tom, what brings you here?” Dan asked.
“We’ve been having a lot of problems with web worms at my place this year. I want to check the orchard here,” Tom explained.
Dan looked over at Megan. “We can check on that after dinner if it saves you some trouble.” Megan nodded her agreement. With the new oscillating sprinklers, she wouldn’t have to stay in the garden to water. They could buzz out into the orchard in the four wheeler.
“You haven’t gotten involved with this situation with Irlene, have you?” Tom asked.
“Maybe,” Megan said sheepishly. “But only because Irlene asked me to.” She explained what she’d been tasked with and mentioned some of the people she planned to speak to.
“Judy Crocker?” Dan smiled. “There’s a success story for you. I took a math class with her in school. She failed it the first time around but took it again in the summer and aced it. She had to work really hard, but she made it. Then she ended up being an accountant. That always impressed me.”
Megan filed that away with the other tidbits she’d been gathering.
Chapter Fourteen
Megan finished her chores as early as possible on Wednesday morning before going into town. She hoped to catch up with some of the people on the list that Irlene had given her. She knew that some worked but that others did not and may be at home. She decided to try for those first. Her first stop was with Vivian Zimmerman, the gardener. She found her in her back yard, working on her roses.
“Mrs. Zimmerman, do you have a moment?” Megan asked from the other side of the fence.
The older woman paused in her snipping to look at Megan. Her wide brim hat shaded her eyes from the sun. She was wearing a work apron with a floral print on it and a lot of large pockets in the front. “You’re the Bennet girl, aren’t you?”
“Yes ma’am.” Megan took that as an invitation to enter the yard. “Your flowers are beautiful.”
“With enough hard work, any garden can be improved upon.” Vivian narrowed her eyes at Megan. Her posture was ramrod straight. “What brings you around? You’re the second visitor in recent days. Are you here about the murder too?”
Barbara Reynolds had mentioned that Mrs. Zimmerman was sharp. “Yes, ma’am, except I’m here at the request of Irlene.” Megan watched the older woman’s shoulders sag a bit.
“How is she holding up? Irlene? This must be difficult for her.” Vivian stood still, thinking about the mistakes she’d made.
Megan watched the older woman stare into space, her mind turned in. “You could ask her,” she said quietly.
Vivian jerked back to the moment. “Did she say that? Did she mention my name?”
Megan took a few more steps to get closer to the other woman. “She did. She said she misses you.”
“She does? Oh, well, that’s very kind of her to say. Are you certain?” Vivian looked around behind her at the chairs on her stone patio. She suddenly had the urge to sit. She motioned to the Bennet girl to follow.
“She did say that she was confused about why you left,” Megan said hesitantly, as she took a seat across from Vivian.
Vivian looked closely at the younger girl. She saw wisdom there. And kindness. She took a deep breath. “Have you ever wished that no one else knew about the mistakes you’d made?”
Megan smiled. “Actually, I’ve been thinking about that a lot lately. You probably know this already, but my husband cheated on me for years. Before and after we were married. The whole town knows. Sometimes I think I’d rather they didn’t. But then I realize that I wouldn’t want that extra burden. Of having to keep it hidden. Do you know what I mean?”
Vivian nodded. “I’ve been feeling that way myself lately.” She met Megan’s direct look for a moment, as she made her decision. Then she nodded once and sat back. “I did something that I shouldn’t have. It’s just that I wanted to win so badly, you see.”
“Well, that’s human nature,” Megan murmured.
Vivian let out an unladylike snort. “Yes, but most people don’t buy locusts from a catalog and turn them loose in a man’s garden.”
“Ah. Yes, I can see how that might give you an unfair advantage.” Megan tried hard not to smile at the image of the elderly woman sneaking locusts into another yard and turning them loose.
“Oh, it’s alright. You don’t have to hide the smile. I’m sure it was a funny sight. The thing is, the crazy locusts had a mind of their own and took off anyway. Who knew they could fly like that.”
“You mean, they didn’t eat all his flowers?” Megan asked, surprised.
Vivian shook her head. “They must not have, he won.”
Megan was confused. “I’m not sure I see what this has to do with Irlene.”
“It doesn’t directly, though she did know about the incident. I’d told her myself and we’d shared a good laugh together. But I’ve known Irlene for years. And she’d never tell my secrets. I know that. But somehow that Cybil found out anyway. And she used it against me.” Vivian narrowed her eyes again, thinking about the villainy of the other stylist.
“How so?”
“She came to me and said that if I didn’t switch over to her for my stylist, she would tell the whole town my secret.”
And there is the first puzzle piece, Megan thought. She spent several more minutes with Mrs. Zimmerman, convincing her that Irlene wanted her back. Then she left to find the next person on her list.
***
Nina Delgado was in her insurance office in town just a couple of blocks from Mrs. Zimmerman’s. Megan walked into the entry room setting off the bells on the door. Nina walked out of her office to greet Megan.
Megan spent several minutes explaining the reason for her visit and trying to convince Nina that Irlene really did want her back.
“She always was such a kind woman,” Nina said, wrapping her arms around herself. They were standing in the main entry room. There was a large waist-high counter in one corner.
Megan took note of Nina’s posture. “I’m hearing that many of the people who left Irlene for Cybil did so under duress.”
Nina looked sharply at Megan. “Oh?”
Megan thought she detected a hopeful note in the other woman’s voice. She nodded convincingly and tried out her theory. “Yes, it seems that Cybil was holding information over them.”
Nina slumped against the counter. “You know, don’t you?”
Megan tried to look as though she did.
“I’m such an idiot. It was an accident, I swear it. But I was distracted and left before I could write down the other car’s information.” Nina looked at Megan imploring her to understand.
Megan nodded encouragingly. “It was an accident.”
“Yes,” Nina said, relieved that Megan understood. “I guess I opened my car door too far and it hit the car next to me. I should have written a note, so the driver would know what happened
and how to contact me. I didn’t, I was on my way to an appointment at the time and I was running a little late.”
“Cybil found out?” Megan guessed.
Nina nodded. “She saw it happen. She told me that if I didn’t start going to her instead, she’d tell. I swear I tried to figure out who the owner was afterward, but from what I remember it was a common color, make, and model. And I just forgot to write down the license plate number at the time. I’d pay for it now if I could and I would have at the time if I’d only written down the information when I should have. It would have saved me a lot of grief. And I’m not even sure I did any damage. I mean, I didn’t really notice anything at the time. Cybil was the one who said there was damage.”
Megan glanced up at Nina’s bangs.
Nina saw her do it and nodded. “Cybil was a terrible stylist.”
“Did you ever hear anything about Cybil’s life before she came here?” Megan asked.
“No real particulars, no. But I know that she worked in several different towns and that she often changed her name. She said it was because she just got tired of the old name and then she also changed it once because she divorced a guy and she decided that she didn’t want to keep his name either.”
Megan called Erica a little later and explained what she’d learned so far.
“We knew about the different names and the ex. We checked him out. So far he isn’t too high on my suspect list,” Erica said. “But we didn’t know about the blackmailing. Good work.”
Chapter Fifteen
Jennifer Parker left Irlene Lasinski’s house late Wednesday and headed for the Station Pub & Grill. She hadn’t seen Jim in a while and a cold glass of wine was sounding good. She’d met with Irlene twice in as many days. She’d agreed to represent her if it came to that. Jennifer suspected it would not, but she understood Irlene’s distress and her reason for wanting legal advice.
Jennifer found Jim behind the bar. It was a little early for the dinner crowd, but several of the tables on the restaurant side had customers. Jennifer took a seat at the bar. Jim saw her from the other end and held up an empty wine glass. Jennifer nodded her head. Jim filled it with a dry white and brought it over.
