A Fatal Slip (18 page)

“Butt out of my life, lady,” he said as he neared me. I thought about ducking back into the shop, but what good would that do? I wasn’t going to ask David to defend me. I was a grown woman. I could take care of myself.

“I’m sorry. Were you under the impression that I needed your permission to live my life the way I choose to? If I want to dig into other peoples lives, that’s my business.”

That stopped him for a second. “You’re not even going to bother trying to deny it?”

“Why should I? When my husband’s under suspicion for murder, your hurt little feelings are not even on my radar screen.”

“I don’t care who you think you are, Ms. Marbles or somebody like her, but I don’t want to hear you’ve been talking to anybody about me again. Do you understand me?”

I frowned a second, then smiled broadly. “Okay, now I get it. You lost me for a second there.”

“I hope so. I’m not warning you for nothing.”

“It’s not that,” I said. “I was trying to figure out who Ms. Marbles was. You mean Miss Marple of course, don’t you, Agatha Christie’s delightful character? She’s quite a hoot. You should pick up one of her novels sometime.”

“I’m not here asking you for a reading list, lady. I’m telling you, stay out of my life.” He was doing his best to look ominous, but I refused to give into his bullying.

“Fine, thanks, I consider myself warned. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m late for lunch.”

I looked back at him as I turned the corner, and he was still staring quizzically after me. If that was the best he could do to try to scare me off, he needed lessons in how to pressure people. How could a man who had been so intimidating in his bar be so ineffective out of it? I didn’t know if it was the bright sunshine of the day or the familiar confines of the walkway in front of my shop, but his abrupt declarations hadn’t ruffled me at all. Something else about the conversation struck me as odd, but I had walked all the way to Shelly’s before I figured out what it was. He hadn’t mentioned his brother’s death, though I’d brought up the fact that my husband was under suspicion for the man’s murder. A glaring omission indeed, as Miss Marple might say. Or Ms. Marbles, for that matter. I didn’t like Rick Cobb, but I couldn’t let that cloud my judgment. Could he have killed his own brother, his closest living relative? Was there anybody on earth really that heartless? I knew better than to even ask that question. When it came to money and greed, there was no telling about human nature. For some folks, two million dollars wouldn’t be enough, not when there was a chance to have four million, no matter what it took to get it.

“You look like you just swallowed a bug,” Shelly said as I walked into the diner.

“I didn’t swallow one, but I just saw one I would have liked to swat,” I said.

“Who was he?” she asked, ignoring the crowd of diners around her. “I’d be glad to pin his arms for you while you smack him.” Shelly was a law unto herself when it came to her café, and I pitied the patron who grew impatient with her and demanded immediate attention. I was fairly certain it wouldn’t be the kind of notice they’d enjoy.

“Rick Cobb,” I said as I took a seat at the counter.

“I could tell you stories about that man that would curl your toes,” she said. “In my opinion, he could use a good swatting.”

A burly truck driver with a backward baseball cap approached Shelly gingerly. “Sorry to bother you, but I’ll leave this here for you.”

“Now, Curtis, what did I teach you about interrupting me when I’m talking? You can’t be in that big a hurry.”

“Shelly, I’ve got a load of perishables. I did apologize.” He looked at her warily as she decided his fate.

“Go on, then, but next time you need to give yourself more of a cushion if you’re going to come in here to eat.”

“Yes, ma’am, I will. Thanks again. It was delicious, as always.”

After he was gone, Shelly said, “Curtis is a good man, but it’s taken me a while to train him.”

“If you’ve been so hard on him, what keeps bringing him back?”

Shelly arched one eyebrow. “You mean besides my obvious charms, don’t you?”

“That part was so apparent I didn’t think I even had to mention it,” I said.

She smiled that devilish little smile of hers. “The man is addicted to my pies. He must eat four whole pies a week all by himself. It’s a good thing he’s local so he always has access to my offerings, or I’m afraid he’d shrivel up and wither away on the vine.”

I’d had a good look at Curtis, and I doubted a seven-year famine would shrivel him up, but I wasn’t going to contradict Shelly, especially before I got my food.

She turned her attention back to me. “Did you come here to eat, or are you just admiring the scenery?” she asked me.

“I’m starving,” I admitted. “Give me the special. I don’t even care what it is.”

“I’ll have one ready for you in a minute,” she said. “In the meantime, here’s some tea.”

She poured me a glass, then went to wait on the customers who had preceded me. I was wondering if I could stretch my lunch hour to include a little investigative work when someone took the seat beside me. It was Katelynn Gray, a woman I knew well enough to nod to at the grocery store, but not to have over to my house for dinner.

“I heard you talking about a Cobb. Which brother were you discussing?”

“At the moment, I’m interested in both of them,” I said.

“Charlie was the nice one, I can tell you that,” she said firmly. She seemed to be keeping her voice low, perhaps so word of our talk wouldn’t get back to Rick.

“So you’ve had some experience with the bartender brother,” I said. “He’s quite a charmer, isn’t he?”

Katelynn looked up and down the counter, then said, “I normally don’t like to admit it, but I dated him for seven months.”

“You must have gotten a medal, lasting that long,” I said.

Katelynn bit her lip. “I wanted to leave a lot sooner than that, but I was afraid of him. The only way a woman can get rid of Rick is when he’s finished with her.”

That sounded serious. “So, you didn’t leave him?”

“Like I said, I tried,” she said, “but he wouldn’t let me.”

“I don’t suppose you got a restraining order.”

She nodded sadly. “He tore it up in my face. I was going to tell the sheriff, but Rick told me he’d see me dead if I did it. Tell your friend Rose she’s lucky he got tired of her so quickly.”

I studied Katelynn a moment, then said, “I will. I’m just sorry you had to go through it.”

“That makes two of us.”

She slid off the stool and out the door. A few seconds later, Shelly approached with a plate in her hand. “Here you go: meatloaf, mashed potatoes, and green beans.” As she put the plate in front of me, she said softly, “I’m guessing that Katelynn just told you about Rick.”

“She did. How on earth did you know that? Were you eavesdropping on my conversations again?”

“Anything said here is fair game as far as I’m concerned, but I didn’t need to listen in to know what she was talking about.”

It struck me that Shelly had done nothing to mask the subject of our earlier discussion. “You knew all about it, didn’t you? That’s why you made it a point to talk about Rick so loudly.”

“I wanted to give Katelynn the chance to tell you herself. She’s had a rough time of it, and I thought talking about it might do her some good.”

“And help me, too, in the process. Thanks. Anybody else here I should talk to?”

“Just eat your lunch,” she said.

“Yes, ma’am. You don’t have to tell me twice.”

After I finished my meal and paid for it, I walked back outside and toward Fire at Will. I’d taken just a few steps when I felt someone was behind me. When I twirled around, I was surprised to see Jackson Mallory approaching.

“Hang on a second,” he said, nearly out of breath. “Didn’t you hear me calling you?”

“No, I was lost in my thoughts,” I said. “What do you want, Jackson?”

“Now is that any way to talk to a former suitor?” he asked.

“That was a lifetime ago,” I said, “and my lunch hour’s almost over. If you’ve got something to say, spit it out. I’m listening.”

“I was hoping we could have a little chat. Since you’ve already had your lunch, we could make it dinner tonight instead.”

“I eat with my husband at night,” I said stiffly.

“Fine, I understand. It doesn’t hurt to ask.”

I looked pointedly at my watch. “As I said, I’m pressed for time right now.”

“Then how about if I walk you back to your pottery shop? We can talk as we go.”

“I suppose that would be all right,” I said. I’d wanted to do a little more digging into Charlie Cobb’s murder, but Jackson was still one of my suspects.

“It’s a fine day, isn’t it?” he said as we started on our way.

I agreed and was tempted to ask him again to get to the point, but I held back. If Jackson had something to tell me, I knew from our history together that he’d have to work up to it himself. When we reached Fire at Will, though I was still no closer to finding out why the man had asked to talk to me.Trying to hide my impatience, I said, “Jackson, this has been a pleasant walk, but was there something specific you wanted to tell me?”

“Yes, but let’s talk about it inside,” he said.

Was he serious? “Jackson, I’ve got work to do.”

“You think I can take off whenever I feel like it, Carolyn? This is as important to you as it is to me.”

He certainly had my attention. David came outside and said, “Is anything wrong?”

“No, I’m fine.”

Before I could ask him to stick around, he said, “I’ve got to go. I’ve got a lunch date, remember?”

“I thought it wasn’t a date,” I said.

“You know what I mean.”

Jackson followed me into the shop, and I wondered how I’d managed to get myself in the dubious position of being alone with one of my murder suspects. I grabbed a sharp-pointed tool we used for shaping clay. It didn’t look like that formidable a weapon, but I knew I could do some real damage with it if I had to.

“Now that we’re in here where we won’t be disturbed, I can talk to you.”

“Customers come in all the time,” I said as I grasped the makeshift weapon behind my back. “As a matter of fact, I’ve got a group that should be here in two minutes.”

“I’ll make it quick, then.”

He reached into his coat pocket, and I tensed, ready to strike. Instead of a gun or a knife, though, Jackson pulled an envelope from his jacket and held it out to me.

“What’s that?” I asked suspiciously.

“Open it and see.”

I used the tool to cut the envelope open, and I saw ten hundred-dollar bills inside. When I looked up at Jackson, he was smiling.

“I don’t get it.”

“It’s a favor. Now I need one from you.”

“I’m not sure what you mean.”

He smiled, but I could feel the edge to it. “Think about it. I’m not asking much. Just stick to your pottery and stop digging into Charlie Cobb’s unfortunate accident.”

“I don’t see how you can say that drowning in a bucket of clay slip was an accident.” I shoved the money back into his hands.

“Call it what you want, but I didn’t have anything to do with it,” he said as he refused the money.

“Then why are you trying to buy me off?” I couldn’t believe the nerve of the man, attempting to bribe me in my own shop.

“Let’s just say I don’t want certain things coming to light. Not murder, just a little grease I’ve used a few times in the past. It’s a fair request, and you’ll be well compensated for leaving me off your list.”

“I don’t know why you’re even worried about me. It’s not like I have any influence with the sheriff, or anyone else in town for that matter.”

Jackson picked up a vase in the display and studied it as he said, “Everyone knows Hodges is just putting his time in until he can retire. I figure if anybody’s going to find the skeletons in my closet, it’s going to be you.”

I shoved the money in his hand again, and this time he didn’t fight me on it. “Whatever happens, happens.”

“Fine,” he said, not at all as peeved as I expected him to be after my rejection. The phone rang, and I reached for it as I said, “Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got work to do.”

“So do I,” he said as he walked out of the shop.

It was Butch on the line. “Are you okay?”

“Yes, why do you ask?”

“I just ran into David. He said Jackson Mallory was there when he left. I gave him grief for taking off and leaving you alone like that, so don’t worry, it won’t happen again.”

“I’m a grown woman. I can take care of myself,” I said.

“Sure, but even I need help now and then.”

“I find that hard to believe.” I walked to the window and looked out. For some reason, I had the feeling that Jackson was there, waiting for something. There was no sign of him, but I did find some evidence of his visit in the display window. He’d put the vase back in its rightful place, but underneath it was the envelope he’d tried to force on me. “You know what? Maybe you should come by after all. I could use a hand with something.”

“I’ll be there in two minutes,” he said. I’d get Butch to return the money for me. I knew he could be a lot more persuasive than I was, and I had a feeling Jackson wouldn’t be able to say no to him as easily as he had to me.

Butch thumbed through the stack of bills after he got to the shop, but his reaction surprised me. “You can do what you want, but if it were me, I’d keep it.”

“You’d take a bribe from that man to look the other way?”

Butch held up his hand. “Now I didn’t say that, did I? Just because you take the money doesn’t mean you have to do what he wants you to do.”

I frowned at him. “That’s not honest, is it?”

“And bribing you is? Come on, Carolyn, it’s the way he thinks. Every time Jackson runs into a problem, he tries to buy someone off. Consider it a compliment.”