A Pour Way to Dye (Book 2 in the Soapmaking Mysteries) (11 page)

She turned to me and added, “As for you,
you’re not making things any easier. You know that, don’t you?”

Without another word to either one of us, she
walked away. That seemed to take the steam out of the argument.
Andrew followed docilely behind her. I kicked the fence out of
frustration—much harder this time—but he didn’t look back; he
didn’t even break stride.

Staring at the fence wasn’t getting me
anywhere, so I walked around front and came into the soap shop
through the main, and at the moment, only entrance. There were a
couple of customers milling about, and Cindy sat behind the
register. She was reading something, but I couldn’t tell what it
was.

“
Goofing off?” I asked her
as I approached.

“
Hardly,” she said as she
held up a book outlining different careers. “I’m trying to decide
what to do with my life. Nothing all that important, just little
stuff like that.”

My youngest sibling was barely past eighteen,
and uncertain about her future. While the rest of us had followed
the Perkins tradition of working at Where There’s Soap— either
after high school or college—Cindy wasn’t sure if she wanted to
spend the rest of her life making soap.

“
There’s plenty of time to
decide,” I said.

She shook her head. “I agreed to work here
for one year after high school, since all of you did the same
thing, but after that, I’m just not sure.”

I tapped the book. “So what are you
interested in?”

She looked down at the book, then shoved it
under the counter. “I’m not telling. You’ll laugh.”

“
Are you kidding me? As long
as it’s not underwater basket weaving, I won’t say a
word.”

Cindy and I had a strong bond, being the
oldest and youngest of the Perkins clan.

I waited, and after some hesitation, she
said, “If you breathe a word of this to anybody, I’ll shave your
head in your sleep.”

I ran a hand through my hair. “Okay, that’s a
pretty creepy threat, but I promise to keep it to myself.”

In a low voice, she said, “I think I want to
be a biologist.”

“
You always were good in
science, and especially chemistry. It might be a perfect match for
you.”

Cindy studied my face for a few seconds.
“You’re not mad?”

I smiled at my baby sister. “Now why in the
world would I be mad about that? I’ve got a lot more problems to
worry about right now than my littlest sister’s career path.”

She frowned. “Yeah, I heard about what
happened with Kelly. I’m so sorry, Ben.”

I shook my head. “The problems I’m talking
about are that fence spread across our property and my being a
suspect in Earnest Joy’s murder. How in the world did you hear
about what happened with Kelly so fast?”

Cindy looked guilty as she admitted, “Louisa
called a few minutes ago. She wanted to spread the word through the
family so no one would upset you with any questions.”

“
This family could teach the
satellite communication industry a thing or two,” I
said.

“
Don’t be mad, Ben. We care
about you; that’s all.”

“
I know, but there are times
when it can all be a little claustrophobic.”

Cindy laughed. “You don’t have to tell me
that. Try being the baby of the family.”

“
No thanks. I’ve got enough
trouble being the eldest. If you need me to help you out down here
on the floor, I’ll be up in my office.”

She looked around at the nearly empty shop.
“I think I can handle it, but if a mob shows up, I’ll give you a
call.”

I walked through the boutique space, past the
classroom and the break room, then into the production area. It was
the only way to get up and down the stairs to my office, but
honestly, I usually enjoyed walking through the place on my way to
my desk. My brother Bob, the man who kept our ancient line running
by manufacturing the parts we needed himself, was filing the cogs
on an iron wheel as I walked back into the production area.

“
What’s going on?” I
asked.

“
I’m trying to make a piece
fit where it wasn’t meant to be, and it’s giving me a major
headache.” As an afterthought, he added, “Sorry about
Kelly.”

“
Yeah, me too,” I said,
hopefully burying the topic with him. Just four more offers of
condolences from my siblings, maybe a word or two from my
grandfather and a lecture from my mother, and I’d be out of the
woods.

Bob stared at me a second, then said, “Do you
want to talk about it?”

I laughed. “Not particularly.”

His relief was pretty obvious. “Good.
Jessica’s been trying to get me to communicate more at home, and
it’s driving me nuts.”

“
If that’s your worst
problem in the world, you’ve got a pretty good life. How is your
wife, by the way?”

He looked around, though no one was nearby.
“Can you keep a secret?”

“
Absolutely. What’s
up?”

He grinned broadly. “She’s pregnant. Can you
believe it? I’m going to be a dad.”

I hugged him as I pounded him on the back.
“That’s great news,” I said. “Congratulations. I bet Mom’s going
nuts about her first grandchild on the way.”

“
She doesn’t know yet,” Bob
confessed.

A wave of dread swept over me. “So I have to
keep this from her? Bob, she’ll kill me when she finds out I knew
before she did.” My mother liked to think she was on top of
everything, in our family and our business. I didn’t want to be
anywhere nearby when she learned that I’d scooped her on what she
would consider the most important news of her life.

“
Listen, you can’t even let
on to Jessica that you know. It was just killing me not telling
someone, you know? When we announce it formally, you need to act as
surprised as everyone else, okay?”

“
I’ll win an Oscar,” I said.
“Do you think I want anyone else to know that I was in on
it?”

“
Good. I knew I could count
on you.”

“
So how far along is she?” I
asked.

“
Two and a half months.
We’re going to make an announcement in two weeks when the first
trimester’s over. I still can’t believe it.”

“
Congratulations,” I said,
pounding his back again.

“
What are you two
celebrating?” my brother Jeff asked as he walked back to the
shop.

I was about to make something up when words
suddenly deserted me. Jeff was standing there with Molly Wilkes,
but it was pretty obvious she wasn’t at Where There’s Soap
investigating Earnest Joy’s murder. Molly’s luxurious long black
hair was down and she was wearing a pretty dress, but that wasn’t
the first thing that caught my eye. She and Jeff had been holding
hands when they’d walked in. Unless I was way off, it appeared that
my baby brother and my former girlfriend were out on a date.

Molly let her hand slip from Jeff’s when she
saw that I’d noticed. “Hi, Ben,” she said quietly.

“
Molly,” I
replied.

Jeff looked like the biggest rooster on the
farm. “So what are we celebrating?”

I thought about a lie I could come up with
when Bob said, “I think I’ve finally got that part right.”

Jeff looked at us both like we’d lost our
minds. Trying to keep my voice as casual as I could, I asked, “So
what are you two up to?”

I could see that Molly was searching for the
right words when Jeff said, “We just went to the Fair on the
Square, and now we’re going out to lunch.”

I looked at her and asked, “Is it really a
good idea to be dating a suspect?”

She frowned. ‘That’s not fair, Ben.”

Jeff said, “I’m not on her list. I have an
airtight alibi.”

“
Believe me, there’s no such
thing, little brother.”

Jeff smiled. “Yes there is. I was having a
late lunch with Molly when Earnest was murdered.”

“
Okay, maybe I was wrong,” I
said. “That would be hard to refute.”

Jeff nodded, then said, “Hey, I’ve got a
great idea. Why don’t you call Kelly and we can make it a foursome
for lunch?”

I could see that Molly didn’t think any more
of that idea than I did. Fortunately, I had the perfect answer. It
had the added advantage of being the absolute truth. “She just
broke up with me about an hour ago,” I said.

Jeff’s smile faltered, and Molly looked at me
with a surprised expression. She said, “I’m so sorry, Ben. Are you
all right?”

“
I’d be lying if I said it
didn’t sting a little, but I’ll be fine,” I said.

Jeff’s strut was gone as he said, “You could
still go out with us. We don’t mind.”

The last thing I wanted to do was tag along
with my little brother while he dated my ex-girlfriend, but I was
saved from answering by Bob. “Sorry, but I need his help here. Why
don’t you two run along?”

They both nodded, and as they left, I saw
Molly turn back and look at me a second before leaving.

I picked up a wrench and slammed it on the
worktable after they were gone. “Can you believe that? What is he
thinking?”

Bob picked the wrench up and moved it out of
my reach. “Ben, you were dating Kelly, and you know how long he’s
had a crush on Molly. It’s got nothing to do with you.”

“
So you knew about them?” I
asked. “How long has this been going on behind my back?”

Bob shook his head. “Let me get this
straight. You started going out with somebody else, but you didn’t
want Molly to date anyone, is that about right?”

It sounded pretty petulant when he said it,
but I wasn’t going to just roll over and accept it. Then I realized
how childish I was being. Bob was right. I’d made it clear to Molly
that I was pursuing a relationship with Kelly, so why shouldn’t she
date my brother?

“
Maybe I’m being a bit
unreasonable,” I admitted.

Bob laughed. “You think?”

“
It’s just going to take me
some time to wrap my mind around this,” I admitted. “Now how can I
help you?”

“
You’re kidding, right? No
offense, Ben, but this is pretty delicate work. I need to do this
by myself, okay?”

“
I understand,” I said.
“Thanks for bailing me out.”

He grinned. “That’s what family is for.”

I nodded, and as I walked upstairs to my
office, I said, “And congratulations again.”

“
Thanks,” he said, adding
the biggest smile I’d ever seen on his face in my life.

I walked upstairs to my office and shuffled
papers around on my desktop, not really accomplishing anything at
all. I knew I should be focused on Earnest Joy’s murder, but I
couldn’t keep from thinking about my little brother dating Molly. I
knew he’d had a crush on her for years, but I couldn’t believe
she’d actually start going out with him. Then again, why not? Bob
was right. I had made my feelings clear enough. But while Molly and
I had enjoyed dating, it had evolved more into friendship as the
spark died to an ember’s glow. She’d had a tough time when I’d
started dating Kelly, but she’d accepted it. Now I was going to
have to do the same thing. I looked down into the store and saw an
older man and woman shopping together. They were laughing and
holding hands like a couple of kids. I’d been searching my entire
life for what they’d apparently found. I even thought I’d
discovered it a time or two, but it never seemed to work out for
me.

“
Enough, Benjamin,” I said
aloud. “No more moping about, no more pity party. You’re a grown
man, or at least you pretend to be. Get on with your
life.”

My pep talk was interrupted at the end by the
intercom. It was a hands-free system that allowed us to communicate
throughout the shop without bothering with the telephone
receiver.

Cindy said, “I’m sorry, I didn’t know anybody
was there with you.”

“
I’m all by myself,” I
admitted.

“
But I thought I just heard
you talking to someone.”

I laughed. “I was trying to cheer myself up,”
I admitted.

“
You’re so weird,” Cindy
said with real affection in her voice.

“
Did you want to call me
about that, or did you need something else, littlest
sister?”

“
You’ve got a phone call,”
she said.

“
Who is it?” I asked as I
reached for the receiver.

“
It’s Kelly,” she said after
a moment’s hesitation.

I pulled my hand back. “Tell her I’m not
here,” I said. The last thing in the world I wanted was to talk to
her.

“
Sorry, I can’t do that. I
already admitted it. You might as well take it, Ben. It’s not going
to get any easier.”

Blast it all, she was probably right. “Okay.
Thanks.”

“
I’m here for you, Ben. We
all are.”

As the intercom cut off, I reached for the
telephone. “Hello?”

“
Ben, this is Kelly. We need
to talk.”

I tried to keep my voice level. “I thought we
just did.

From the way we left things, it didn’t feel
like there was much left to discuss.”

“
It’s about the message you
left on my machine about you being a suspect in Earnest Joy’s
murder. Maybe it would be better if you found another attorney to
help you out on this.”

I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. “Boy,
when you bail out on somebody, you do it all the way, don’t
you?”

“
That’s not fair,” she said,
and I could hear a tremor in her voice.

“
You’re telling me. Kelly,
did I do something to make you hate me?”