A Pour Way to Dye (Book 2 in the Soapmaking Mysteries) (25 page)

“
Come on in,
then.”

I followed her into the house, but we didn’t
have to go far once we were inside. There were seven or eight empty
pill bottles sitting on the coffee table in the living room, and a
nearly empty quart of whiskey beside them.

“
He wasn’t taking any
chances, was he?” I asked in a hushed tone. “Was there a
note?”

“
They don’t always leave
notes, Ben,” she said.

“
Hey, take it easy. I was
just asking.”

Molly shook her head. “No, no note. So what
do you think happened?”

I studied the scene, then said, “My guess is
he killed his dad, then couldn’t live with the guilt. But I don’t
get it. You know Andrew. Can you honestly imagine him passing up
the opportunity to get the last word in?”

Molly looked down at the tableau again.
“You’ve got a point. I’ll be interested to hear what he says about
it. You know, he might deny it was a suicide attempt at all if they
manage to revive him. I’ve heard half a dozen people who were
clearly trying to kill themselves come up with the most bizarre
explanations of how it was all just an accident.”

“
So what do we do in the
meantime? Are you going to have everything dusted for
fingerprints?”

“
This isn’t a television
program, Ben,” she said.

“
There’s no doubt in my mind
this is exactly what it looks like.”

“
Well, there’s doubt in
mine. At least collect the bottles and have them checked. That’s
not too tough to do, is it?”

“
Will it get you off my
back?” she asked.

“
It’s a start,” I admitted.
Molly pulled a few bags out of her kit and collected the bottles.
“Don’t forget the whiskey,” I said.

She didn’t say a word, but the look she shot
me was more than enough to convey her thoughts.

“
Now what?” I asked
her.

“
I take this to the lab and
have them dust for prints. Then we wait to see if Andrew comes out
of it. Come on, let’s go.”

“
You go ahead,” I said. “I
want to look around a little more.”

She grabbed my arm and walked me out of the
house.

“
Hey, it was worth a shot,”
I said.

“
Do you really think
so?”

I stopped on the front steps. “Molly, how did
you hear about this?”

“
The dispatcher called me
and told me an ambulance was on its way. Why?”

I scratched my chin. “I’m just wondering. Who
called them? If Andrew was trying to kill himself, why did he dial
911? If someone else was in on it, why screw it up? Did they get
cold feet?”

She frowned at me, and I knew that despite
her expression, I’d made a point worth considering.

“
Hang on a second.” She
walked to her squad car, picked up the mike, and had a brief
conversation.

As she rejoined me, she said, “It turns out
that he called it in himself. From the sound of it, Andrew had
second thoughts.”

“
So it was a dead end,” I
said.

“
No, I should have asked the
same question myself. You’re not as dim as you usually seem,
Ben.”

“
I’m all aglow with your
kind words,” I said as I got into my Miata and watched her drive
off. Frankly, I didn’t know what else to do. Until Andrew came out
of it, if he ever did, we wouldn’t know what had forced him to such
drastic measures. What would be a better reason to commit suicide,
though, than if he’d killed his own father? Sometimes the simplest
answer is the right one.

I would have loved to talk to Ralph, but his
car was still missing from his driveway, and I had no idea when he
might come home. Did I really want to be the one who told him that
Andrew had tried to kill himself? There was little doubt in my mind
that when he heard about what had happened, the man would somehow
try to blame me for it.

It was getting late, so I decided to swing by
Diana’s bookstore to see if I could cash that rain check for dinner
I’d taken earlier.

She was just locking up as I parked in front
of the store. “That’s some bad timing, isn’t it?” I asked as she
turned and saw me approach.

“
I don’t mind opening back
up for you,” she said. “Are you looking for something to
read?”

“
Actually, I was hoping your
offer to go to The Hound Dog was still open.”

“
Sorry, I’ve already eaten,”
she said, “but there’s always room for dessert. How about some pie?
My treat.”

“
That’s hardly a fair
exchange for the dinner I provided,” I said, smiling at her. “You
can do better than that, can’t you?”

She pretended to think about it, then said,
“I’ll throw in a scoop of ice cream, but that’s my best offer.”

I held the passenger door of the Miata open
for her. “Now you’re talking.”

We found a booth near a window at The Hound
Dog, and I helped Diana take her jacket off.

Ruby approached us, and I said, “Let’s clear
a few things up first. I’m here on a date with this young lady, and
she’s paying.”

Ruby studied Diana for a second, then said,
“How did he trick you into that?”

“
He took me to The Lakeside
Inn for dinner,” Diana said.

“
That sounds like a fair
trade to me,” Ruby said. She pointed her pencil at me and held her
pad up. “What will you have?”

“
I’ll take a slice of cherry
pie, and top it with some vanilla ice cream.”

Diana replied, “That sounds good to me. Make
it two.”

Ruby said, “Coming right up. Any requests for
the juke box?”

I said, “What do you think, Diana?”

She slid a quarter across the table. “How
about your cafe’s namesake?”

Ruby winked at her. “That’s my girl.
Excellent choice.”

A minute later Elvis was singing about hound
dogs. I said, “I hope that’s not directed at me.”

Diana laughed, a sound I was growing to love.
“I figured it was Ruby’s favorite. Why else name her business after
it?”

We chatted about a few little things as we
waited for our pie, but Andrew’s name didn’t come up. The last
thing I wanted to talk about was his botched suicide attempt. I
wanted to get away from all of that and enjoy my time with
Diana.

Ruby brought our plates, the slices properly
topped with ice cream.

Diana’s spoon poised over the top. “I really
shouldn’t.”

“
Why on earth not?” I asked
as I took a bite.

“
I’m constantly counting
calories,” she admitted.

“
I don’t see why. I think
you look great. As a matter of fact, you could use an extra pound
or two.”

She smiled. “Thank you, but you’re lying.
Still, that’s all the encouragement I need.” She took a bite, then
said, “That’s incredible.”

“
Garnet makes her own crust
in back,” I said. “She and Ruby are quite a team.”

After we finished our desserts, I reached for
the check, out of habit more than anything else.

Diana snatched it away before I could get it.
“Hey, I’m picking that up, remember?”

“
I’m just hoping if I buy
tonight, you’ll invite me out someplace else tomorrow
night.”

She frowned. “I would if I could, but Rufus
actually has a date himself, if you can believe that. I’m watching
the store by myself. Can we do it another night?”

“
Absolutely,” I
said.

I drove Diana back to her shop. “You don’t
have to get out,” she said. “I’m parked over there.”

I popped out of my door. “Hang on a second.”
As I opened her door, I asked, “I’m sorry, now what did you
say?”

She grinned. “You heard me. How gallant of
you to walk me to my car.”

I followed her, then asked, “How else am I
going to get a good-night kiss? This did qualify as a date, didn’t
it?”

She turned into my arms and kissed me as her
answer. After a few seconds, she said, “What do you think?”

“
I think pie’s my new
favorite dessert,” I said.

She giggled and opened her door. “Thanks for
tonight. That was fun.”

“
It was indeed.” After she
drove off, I saw a car start up and drive away right after she did.
It had been sitting there the entire time I’d been with Diana, but
I hadn’t noticed it until it was gone.

It was Kelly’s car. Either by accident or
design, she’d seen me kiss Diana good night. I felt a pang about
it, but there wasn’t anything I could do, so I drove home. Before
going to bed, I called the hospital to check on Andrew’s condition.
They wouldn’t tell me anything, so I asked if Terri was there. She
was, and soon picked up the telephone.

“
How’s he doing?” I asked
her.

“
I’m surprised you care,”
she said. “When did you suddenly get so concerned about my
brother’s well being?”

“
I saw the ambulance, and I
watched them take him to the hospital,” I said. “I don’t want to
see him dead, Terri, despite what you may think.”

She softened slightly. “Sorry, I overreacted.
They’re not sure yet. He’s in a drug-induced coma, and the doctor
just told me right now all we can do is wait and see.”

“
I hope he pulls through,” I
said. It was true there was no love lost between Andrew and me, but
I was hoping if he came to, he’d confess so that we could all put
the murder behind us.

“
That’s sweet of you,” she
said.

“
By the way, I saw your
stepmother leaving the jewelry store this afternoon. I thought she
left town for good.”

“
What are you talking about?
She never came by, not when I was working.”

“
Terri, I saw her. I admit
the disguise was a decent one, but no one else in Harper’s Landing
wears Capri pants like those.”

“
I don’t know what you’re
talking about, Ben. Thanks for calling,” she said, then hung
up.

That was odd. Why would she deny Linda Mae’s
visit, when I’d seen her myself? Could she be hiding something? I
wondered if Linda Mae was pursuing another angle, since she’d given
up on the legal one. Could she know something about Earnest Joy
that would be worthy of blackmail, even after the man’s death?

I had more questions than answers, and I knew
it would be a fitful night’s sleep. At least maybe my slumbering
thoughts could lead me to the truth, since I wasn’t doing all that
well awake.

The next morning, all I had resolved through
the night was that I needed a new mattress. I tried calling the
hospital to see if Andrew Joy’s condition had changed overnight,
but they wouldn’t tell me over the telephone. When I asked for
Terri, I was told curtly that she hadn’t left her brother’s side
all night, and that she was refusing all calls. I couldn’t fault
her for that. Family came first with my clan. There was no reason
in the world to think that it wouldn’t be their top priority,
too.

I went to the soap shop, figuring that while
I was waiting for news, I might as well get some work done. It was
twenty minutes before we were due to open when I got there, and my
three sisters were working at stocking the shelves and
straightening things as they went along.

“
Good morning, ladies,” I
said.

“
Hey, Ben.”

“
Hello.”

“
Yo,” Cindy said.

I raised an eyebrow as I looked at her.
“Yo?”

“
I just wanted to be
different,” she said with a smile.

“
Okay,” I said. “Do any of
you have connections at the hospital? I’m trying to find out Andrew
Joy’s condition, and they’re stonewalling me.”

Louisa said, “Jenny Bartlett works there.
Give me a second.”

Before she dialed, I said, “I don’t want you
to put a strain on your friendship.”

Louisa laughed. “Please. She owes me big
time.” She turned to Kate and said, “Remember when Paul Jones got
married, and Jenny wanted to crash the wedding because she thought
she was his one true love? Man, she was drunk that night.”

Kate shook her head. “I couldn’t believe it
when you told her you’d drive her to the wedding yourself. I
thought you’d lost your mind.”

“
I had to get her into the
car, didn’t I? After she threw up, I was wishing I’d driven hers.
I’d say she can do this for me.”

I clapped my hands. “Ladies, can we focus
here?”

Louisa stuck her tongue out at me. “Let me
ask.”

She carried on a whispered conversation, then
put her hand over the phone. “This will just take a second.”

“
Thanks, Louisa, I
appreciate you doing this.”

“
I’m happy to do it. I’ve
been meaning to call Jenny anyway. What?” she said into the
receiver. “Okay, thanks. Yeah, lunch tomorrow sounds good. Just no
Bloody Marys, okay?” Louisa laughed, then hung up.

“
There’s no change, but
she’ll call as soon as there is.”

“
You know what?” I said.
“Sometimes it’s good having such a big family.”

Cindy said, “Sometimes? What does that mean,
brother dear?”

“
I’ll leave it to your
imagination.” I looked at her, then I said, “I thought you were off
this morning.” Mom had asked me to help cover the floor, and I’d
agreed, since I didn’t have any other ideas to pursue at the
moment

“
I’ve got a dentist
appointment” she admitted. “But it’s not for another ten
minutes.”

“
Shoo,” I said. “We can
struggle through the morning without you.”