A Fatal Slip (7 page)

“It’s not mud. It’s called slip,” I said as I looked down at the bucket in the alley behind Fire at Will. “It’s a mixture of clay and water we use for all sorts of things around the shop, from a type of glue to glazing.”

“Whatever you want to call it, it’s what killed him,” the sheriff said. “How did it get out here?”

I tried not to look at the sheet covering Charlie’s body and focused on the slip instead.

“David must have put it out here sometime today,” I said, though I couldn’t imagine why he would do it.

“I put it out here myself,” Bill admitted.

That caught the sheriff’s interest. “Why?”

“I was cleaning out the bathroom and saw the bucket on the floor by the pottery wheels. I didn’t know it was any good, so I put it back here so I could get rid of it later.”

“Was that before or after your fight with Charlie Cobb?” I didn’t like the calm accusation lingering in the sheriff’s voice.

“Maybe we should get a lawyer,” I said to Bill as I touched his shoulder.

“I don’t have anything to hide,” he said.

“You should listen to your wife,” Sheriff Hodges said. “It might not be a bad idea right now to have someone representing you.”

“I can answer your questions without advice from anybody else,” Bill insisted. He pointed to the slip and said, “I put this out here before we argued. But I didn’t kill the man.”

Hodges shrugged, then asked, “Bill, where were you this evening?” Turning to me, he added, “I suppose you can vouch for his whereabouts.”

I don’t know if I would have lied to him to help my husband, but that was certainly my first instinct. Bill spoke up before I could say anything, though. “I was working in the shop at Olive’s place. I didn’t see anybody, or talk to anyone, either. Are you going to lock me up for that?”

Hodges had been thumbing through what had to be Charlie’s wallet, and I saw a thick stack of twenties. “Not just yet,” the sheriff said. “That’s all. You can both go.”

“That’s it?” I asked. “You’re dismissing us?”

“You answered my questions, at least the ones I have right now. There’s no reason for you to be here now that I’m finished with you.”

“My husband didn’t do it,” I said harshly. “You’ve known him long enough to understand that.”

The sheriff shook his head briefly. “I’m not saying he did, but I’m not saying he didn’t, either.”

“Well, that’s a hearty show of support on your part,” I said as Bill took my arm.

“Come on, Carolyn, we’re getting out of here.”

“Just don’t go too far,” the sheriff said. “I’ve got a feeling we’ll be talking again soon.”

“You know where to find me. I’m not going anywhere.”

When we were back in Bill’s truck, I said, “We need to get you a lawyer right now.”

He looked shocked. “You don’t actually think I killed him, do you?”

“Don’t be ridiculous. Of course I don’t. Just because you’re innocent doesn’t mean you don’t need to be protected, though. Who should we call?”

“Let’s wait and see what happens next before we do that,” Bill said.

“Aren’t you concerned about this at all?”

“Of course I am. I’m not stupid enough to think my innocence is going to save me. But think about it, Carolyn. What’s the first thing that’s going to cross folks’ minds when they find out I’ve hired an attorney? Go on, say it.”

“They’re going to think that you’re guilty,” I admitted. “But who cares what they think?”

He held my gaze. “You do, and so do I. We’ve lived in Maple Ridge forever, and I’m not about to let everyone in town believe I’m a murderer or that I have something to hide. Okay?”

I nodded. “But if things get any worse, we’re hiring counsel,” I said.

“How could the situation get any worse?” he asked.

I suspected there were a great many ways things could deteriorate even further, but I didn’t have the heart to mention them to him.

The next morning at my coffee klatch with Hannah, Charlie Cobb’s murder was clearly the topic of conversation all around us. I hadn’t been glanced at so many times, so furtively, since I’d accidentally tucked the back of my skirt into my panty hose at Wilma Birthrite’s wedding.

“Can we get take these outside?” I asked Hannah.

She took a quick look around, and the gazes of our fellow coffee drinkers swiveled in a dozen different directions. “It is rather like being in the zoo,” she said.

“From the wrong side of the bars.”

“Let’s go find a bench,” she agreed.

I looked for Nate so I could say good-bye, but the coffee shop owner was AWOL yet again from his business. I was beginning to think that he’d lost interest in the place—a funny reaction for someone who’d just committed to buying the building.

Outside, it was warming up nicely, a good thing for the seventh day of June. Tourists were already starting to visit Maple Ridge, and my business had picked up dramatically after a long and cold winter. In a few weeks, I’d have to start grabbing my meals when I could, and while I sometimes wished for the lazy days of off-season, I never yearned for the diminished bank deposits they brought with them.

“Carolyn, I’ve decided to go away,” Hannah said, jolting me from the warm glow of good coffee and early sunshine.

“You’re leaving? You can’t be serious. What about David?”

“He’s nearly a grown man. You’ve said so yourself. He’ll be fine on his own.”

“I can’t believe you’re just dropping this on me.” I was losing my best friend in the world, and she was acting as though it were nothing. “When are you going?”

“Friday. I’m sorry it took me so long to tell you. It kept slipping my mind.”

“Friday? That’s in three days.”

She looked at me intently, then said, “You’re taking this harder than I thought. Why so glum?”

I wanted to smack her. “You blurt out that you’re moving in two days, and you expect me to smile about it?”

I looked over at her and saw that she was doing her best to suppress a laugh. “What’s so amusing?”

“I’m not moving. I’m just taking a trip. I’ll be back in nine days. I promise.”

I nearly wept with relief. “Hannah, for an English professor, your communication skills aren’t always first rate.”

“I assumed you realized what I was talking about,” she said a little stiffly.

“I’m just so glad you’re not leaving here for good,” I said as I hugged her.

She patted my back a second, then broke away. “I’m touched you’d miss me so much.”

“As aggravating as you can be at times, you have a place in my heart.”

“Right back at you,” she said.

“So, where are you going?”

“I got a last-minute deal on a European trip. I’m going to Italy.”

I took a sip from my coffee. “I’m crazy jealous. I’d love to go with you.”

“Actually, one of the other professors on the trip might have to cancel. I’m sure you could take her place on the tour if you’d like to.”

I was more tempted than I wanted to admit, but I had just signed a loan agreement for Fire at Will, and my husband had just been questioned as part of a murder investigation. “Sorry, but I can’t. There’s too much going on here right now.”

“Of course. I shouldn’t even have mentioned it. How’s Bill holding up?”

“He’s fine. The poor old fool doesn’t have the slightest idea how much trouble he’s in.” I watched a bird swoop down into the river and come up with a fish in his bill. He looked like some kind of midget, but he was as fast as lightning. I knew several of my friends could have identified him and told me countless other things about his nesting, mating, and migratory habits, but the only birds I could positively identify were robins, cardinals, and jays. The rest of my knowledge about the avian world was pretty much based on size, as in “little bird,” “regular bird,” and “big bird.” It wasn’t very scientific, but I didn’t need to know the Latin name for a bird to enjoy its song, nor did I have to know the history of every flower to savor its fragrance.

“Are you two going to get a lawyer?” Hannah asked me.

“I want to, but Bill claims it will make folks around town believe that he’s guilty, and he won’t stand for it.”

Hannah sipped her coffee, then said, “He’s probably right. You know how Maple Ridge can be.”

“What, you mean a warm and loving town that embraces its own?”

“Sarcasm doesn’t become you,” Hannah said.

“Well, I shouldn’t wear horizontal stripes, either, but that doesn’t stop me. I’m worried. A great many people heard Bill fighting with Charlie a few hours before he was murdered.”

Hannah put her coffee down on the space beside her. “So they’re sure it’s murder?”

“Somebody held the man’s head down in a bucket of slip, Hannah. It would be hard to claim it was an accident.”

I saw her shiver. “I don’t even want to think about it.”

“Neither do I,” I admitted, “but I don’t have much choice. As long as Bill’s under suspicion, I won’t rest until I find out who really killed Charlie Cobb.”

“Just be careful.” She looked out on the water, then said, “I know it’s selfish, but I’d rather David didn’t get involved in your investigation this time.”

Hannah was dancing on a delicate subject for both of us, and I had to weigh my answer carefully. “David doesn’t listen to me nearly as much as you think he does,” I said. “I won’t recruit him, but if he offers, I’m not turning him down, either. It’s his decision, isn’t it?”

“The problem is, David doesn’t always realize what’s in his best interests.”

If I sat there much longer, I was going to say something I’d regret. “I’ve got to go. Thanks for the coffee.”

She stood as I did. “Carolyn, don’t be that way. I wasn’t trying to make you angry.”

“You didn’t,” I lied. “I just have to get to the shop so I can get ready to open.”

I didn’t even look back at her as I walked down the River Walk toward Fire at Will. I knew how overprotective Hannah could be about her son, but I wasn’t about to put him in danger, at least not intentionally. Besides, whether she liked to admit it or not, David had a mind of his own. Ultimately it was his decision. He had a choice in the matter, even if I didn’t.

As for me, no matter what it took, I was going to free my husband of suspicion, even if it meant letting the business I’d worked so hard to build suffer, and my friendships, too.

 

“We were wondering when you were going to get here,” Butch Hardcastle said as I walked up to Fire at Will. He was a big, meaty man, with an air of confidence no doubt honed during his former life—at least I hoped it was still former—as a crook. From the word I’d heard on the streets of Maple Ridge, he’d been a pretty good one. He was reformed now, though there were times I suspected he hadn’t fully retired from his previous style of livelihood. He was huddled with Jenna Blake and Sandy Crenshaw under the front awning of my shop as it had just started to rain, and I glanced up at the gray-black clouds in the sky and realized we’d probably be in for showers the rest of the day.

As I unlocked the front door, I said facetiously, “I didn’t realize we’d scheduled a meeting this morning. Where’s Martha?”

“She couldn’t get a sitter on such short notice,” Sandy explained as we all walked into the pottery shop. “But she’ll be along later if she has any luck finding one.” Despite her five young children, Martha Knotts somehow found time to join us in our pottery sessions, as well as our investigations.

“Do I even need to ask what this is all about?” I said as I hung my jacket on the peg by the door.

“I thought that would be obvious. We’re here to help you clear your husband’s name,” Jenna said.

Butch added, “Yeah, and don’t try to tell us you’re not going after the real killer, because we took a vote, and none of us believes for one second that you’re going to just let this one go.”

I wanted to protest, but it was no use. They were right, after all. “I confess,” I said. “You caught me.”

Sandy looked shocked. “Carolyn, are you saying that you killed Charlie Cobb?”

Before I could reply, Jenna said, “She’s not saying anything of the sort. She’s admitting to the investigation, not the crime. That’s right, isn’t it?”

I nodded, then said, “I know you don’t approve, Jenna, but I don’t have much choice, not with Bill’s life hanging in the balance.”

Jenna took her time answering, then said, “It’s not up to me to approve or disapprove of anything you or anyone else does. I’m not a judge anymore. When I took the robe off, I left all that behind me. If there’s anything I can do to help you, anything legal, of course, just ask.”

“Me, too,” Sandy said.

I looked at Butch. “Do you have anything to add?”

He grinned at me. “Just my support. Unconditional support,” he added as he looked at Jenna. “I don’t mind bending the occasional law now and then if it’s for a good cause.”

Remarkably, Jenna let that pass.

Sandy asked, “Where do we get started?”

“Can I catch my breath first?” I asked as I grabbed my apron and tied it off in back.

“We’re not trying to rush you,” Butch said. “We just assumed you’d want to jump all over this.”

“Of course I do,” I said. “But I’ve still got a business to run, and I’m just getting into my busiest season. It doesn’t make much sense to save Bill and lose everything else, though I’ll take that deal if it’s the only choice I’ve got.”

“That’s why we’re here,” Jenna said. “Butch and I can give you our full attention, and Sandy and Martha can help, too.”

Sandy said, “I’ve got some vacation time saved up, and if you need me, I’ll take it right now.”

“I’m touched, honestly I am, but you shouldn’t be spending your time off helping me.”

“What else am I going to do, stay home and do cross-word puzzles? This is a lot more interesting, believe me.”

Jenna said, “We know David can run the shop if you need to get away, but we also understand how busy you are right now. So, if you have to stay at Fire at Will, we can do some investigative legwork for you. What do you think of our offer?”