A Sticky Situation (20 page)

“Spooner was the one who was in charge of taking the money to the town hall?” This was the first I had heard of that. Even Preston and Lowell hadn't said anything about it. And, strangely enough, neither had Tansey. “Are you certain about that?” I tried to keep the excitement out of my voice but I don't think I managed to.

“Oh dear, I think I wasn't supposed to tell anyone that.” Frances snapped the album shut and shoved back her chair.

“Why weren't you supposed to tell anyone? Was it because that was the year the money went missing?”

“I knew you were a spy. I want you to go.” It looked like our visit was over. Without another word Frances grabbed me by the arm and pulled me to the door. “And I don't want you to come back.” With that, she shoved me out and slammed the door shut behind me. If I wanted answers it was clear I was going to have to ask someone else.

*   *   *

I decided to ask Jim for confirmation of Frances's story about Spooner and the deposit money. After all, Frances wasn't the most reliable source of information. And he seemed like an easier person to talk to about it than Tansey. She'd been through a lot already and if Frances was just misremembering the details, there was no reason to upset her about anything else.

“Some new information has come to light about who handled the bank deposit. Do you want to change your story?” I asked.

“It was supposed to be Tansey and me.” Jim sat behind his desk at the real estate office.

“Supposed to be? Did the two of you end up taking it or not?”

“No. At the last minute Tansey wasn't feeling well and asked if someone could drive her home instead. And I met a couple at the festival who were so enchanted with Sugar Grove they wanted to view some property before they headed back out of state. I couldn't turn them down. Spooner said he still needed to go to the town hall to work on the painting job. He offered to take the money for us if someone else took Tansey home and left him with Tansey's truck.”

“So did you take him up on the offer?”

“We did. We never thought anything of it. He had been such a help and it made sense to have him take it since he was going there anyway. Besides, it was Sugar Grove, not some high-crime area. Frances offered to give Tansey a ride home and I was glad she did. I really needed the business and the couple looked like they had money to burn.”

“But you decided to lie about who took the money once you realized it was missing?”

“We did. I called Tansey and Frances right away to get our stories straight. None of us liked lying but we thought it was the best thing to do under the circumstances.”

“That must have been an uncomfortable position to be in.”

“It would have been if Preston hadn't been so set on Spooner as the thief that he didn't really give anyone else a look. I kept waiting for him to question me about it and I had no idea if I could keep up the pretense.”

“You must have been pretty worried.”

“I was beside myself. If Preston figured out we were lying or if someone's conscience got the better of them, my reputation as an honest person to do business with would have been ruined.”

“Is that why you made sure Preston knew about the affair his wife was having with Spooner, to distract him from thinking too much about anyone else?” Jim slumped in his chair and nodded.

“I'm not proud of what I did but I felt desperate at
the time. Preston's entire focus of the investigation remained on Spooner as soon as I'd opened my mouth about seeing Karen with Spooner at the town hall.”

“You cost Karen not only her marriage but her job as the town clerk. A job she loved, by the way.”

“What can I say? I was weak and frightened. But I made it up to Karen by helping her start up her property management business.” Jim flashed me a salesman's smile. I was glad I had already rented Priscilla's apartment. If I hadn't before, there was no way I could have brought myself to do business with Jim.

“Karen hates being a property manager. And you do realize you helped a murderer go free for thirty years, don't you?” Jim just gave me a sad nod before I stomped back out his door.

I drove on out to Tansey's place and pulled right up next to the barn. Steam billowed out of the cupola, which told me she hadn't been able to resist sugaring no matter what she had said about giving up the business. Sugaring is a lot like farming. There is a rhythm to the seasons that gets into your bones and won't let you ignore it.

I don't know what would have to be happening in my life to keep me from sugaring. It would be like wasting a beautiful early summer day on television watching or shopping in a mall. Even if I did it I'd feel guilty and I'd never be able to enjoy it.

Tansey had her back to me when I entered the barn with her old dog following me. She was shoving a stick of wood into the firebox and didn't hear me until I was just behind her.

“You could give a body a heart attack sneaking up on someone like that,” Tansey said. “Have you got some news for me?”

“More like some questions. I've been to see Frances.”

“Good for you. I'm sure she could use the company. What's it got to do with me?”

“Why didn't you tell me Spooner took the money to the town hall the night he and it disappeared?” I tried to keep from sounding shrill but from the way Tansey's dog flattened his ears I'd say I hadn't managed it.

“I thought it would have been harder for you to keep an open mind about the possibility that he didn't steal the funds if you knew he'd handled the money. From your reaction I'd say I was right not to bring it up.”

Tansey sank into one of the beat-up old lawn chairs she kept in the barn and pointed at the one next to her. I didn't want to sit around chatting with her. I'd already wasted too much time I didn't have to spare on what looked like a mystery that had already been solved.

“You've wasted my time and you know how little there is at this time of year.”

“I know it looks bad but I still can't believe Spooner was responsible for taking the money.”

“You still should have told me all that you knew.”

“It seemed like the right decision at the time. Someday when you have children of your own you'll understand.”

“That doesn't seem like much of an excuse.”

“It was late and I was exhausted. If you ever get
pregnant you'll understand that, too. I'd never been so tired in my life as I was that day. And sick, too. Morning sick didn't begin to describe what I went through. I was sick every minute I was awake and even dreamt of being sick some nights.” Tansey closed her eyes like she was traveling back in time in her mind. “And Jim had met a couple from out of state at the festival that wanted him to show them a house he had listed before they headed home that night. He was new in the business and eager to make a go of it so he agreed even though he had committed to taking the money to the town hall.”

“That still doesn't explain everything.”

“No one knew why I was sick and when they all assumed I was coming down with the flu I didn't correct their assumption. Spooner said he was planning to work through the night on the paint job he was doing at the town hall. I was supposed to pick him up in the morning since he didn't have his own vehicle.”

“And?”

“So, everyone thought I was going to be sick and stuck in bed in the morning. So Spooner offered to take my truck and the money over to the town hall so he could drive himself back here when he was done and save me the trouble. We all agreed and Frances drove me home.”

“And none of you said anything to Preston when the money and Spooner went missing?”

“Of course not. I didn't want to draw attention to my illness in case anyone was paying attention to my weight gain and weird food cravings. Jim didn't want to look
like he wasn't capable of making good decisions. After all, a Realtor is in a position of trust in a community and it would have looked like we weren't worthy of that. It was bad enough as it was without us looking like a bunch of bumblers for being taken in by a thief.”

“Why didn't Frances say anything?”

“Because she was a good sport and a good friend. I told her on the drive back to my place that I was pregnant and she didn't want to make things harder on me. I never told her who the father was though.”

“So none of you were willing to tell Preston what had really happened?” I had always thought of Tansey as such a straight arrow. The idea that she was involved with lying to the police and impeding an ongoing investigation was shocking. It made me even more unsure about how much I could trust that she hadn't had something to do with Spooner's death.

“We didn't have any idea at the time that Spooner was dead and that someone else could have killed him in order to make off with the money. It just didn't seem important enough to jump up and down and point our fingers at ourselves. You must have heard of the way Preston lorded over everyone when he was the chief.”

I had heard the stories of Preston's delight at flexing his investigative powers. He had a reputation for turning a squashed woodchuck in the middle of the highway into a hit-and-run homicide investigation. Tansey did have a point. But so did I.

“Tansey, do you realize that Spooner could have been killed just as much for the money as for any other
reason?” Like his unstoppable pursuit of the women in town. “If you and Jim had dropped off the money Russ might have uncovered your bodies in the town hall instead.” If Tansey hadn't been sitting I was sure she would have keeled right over. Her knees knocked together and the lawn chair shook like her barn sat on a fault line.

“But that would mean Knowlton never would have been born.” Tansey's face paled even lighter than her usual shade of midwinter white. “Can you imagine that?”

I'm not proud of myself for saying so but I did think for a second how Knowlton not existing might have improved my life in many ways. Particularly my teen years.

“What I am imagining is that this means Lowell should be looking at people who might have known about Spooner carrying the money as much as he is people with animosity toward Spooner in particular. Do you know if anyone outside the festival committee overheard you talking to Spooner about carrying the money to the town hall?” It was a long shot after all these years but maybe Tansey would remember someone hanging around after the festival.

“There weren't many people just milling around. And we didn't exactly linger either. Different committee members were responsible for collecting money at different points at the end of the festival and putting it all together into one deposit bag. Unless one of us told someone else I can't imagine how anyone could have known.”

Tansey had stopped shaking and looked thoughtful,
like she was casting her mind a long way back. “Besides, no one ever came forward to say that Spooner had been the one carrying the money. I think that goes to show no one knew.”

“Or it goes to show that whoever did had a very good reason to keep quiet about it.”

“You mean they didn't want to be a snitch?” Tansey nodded like she approved of people minding their own darn business.

“I mean, like that someone is the person who killed him.”

I may have promised to help Tansey clear Spooner's name but that was before she had kept important information from me. As much as I didn't want her to drop out of the festival committee my greater loyalty lay with Lowell and with whatever would help solve Spooner's murder. I pulled into a spot at the police station and gave myself a moment to figure out what I wanted from the conversation.

Myra's desk chair was empty and her light was switched off, both signs she must be gone for the day. I heard muted voices coming from behind Lowell's closed office door and after having had an uncomfortable experience back at Thanksgiving I made sure to knock and wait for permission to enter. Lowell's voice boomed out and invited me in and I was not surprised to see my mother seated in the visitor chair.

“I hope I'm not interrupting anything,” I said and found that I meant it. It had taken some time for me to get used to it but now it was clear to me my mother and Lowell's relationship made them both very happy. Accepting it and supporting them in it made me a lot happier than trying to make them feel guilty about it.

“You aren't the family member we're trying to avoid,” Mom said. “Hazel has taken it upon herself to remind Lowell of how much she likes a man in uniform. We thought it best that he not visit the house any more than necessary until she leaves.”

“He could avoid the house entirely, couldn't he?” I asked.

“I could if she would stop dialing 911 and making up fake emergencies.”

“Why don't you tell her you'll arrest her for wasting police time?” I asked. Lowell's face flushed and he seemed to find something on the floor worth staring at.

“I did the third time I arrived at Greener Pastures to find she was not in the throes of a crisis.”

“So why didn't it help?” Not that it would be easy to dissuade Hazel from any course of action she felt inclined to pursue.

“Lowell thought it best to beat a hasty retreat when she pointed out all the ways the two of them could enjoy using his handcuffs in the back of the cruiser,” Mom said. “I told him he should have taken her up on the opportunity to learn a thing or two but he didn't like the suggestion.”

“I took the cuffs straight home and wiped them down
with bleach but they still seem dirty to me.” Lowell shook his head and I wondered if it would be against department regulations to purchase him a new pair as a gift.

“She's managed to drive Graham off for similar reasons. He still won't tell me all the details of their lunch together the day Russ found Spooner's body. Which is really why I'm here.”

“Any news about the money coming to light as a result of your expert snooping?” Lowell asked.

“Not in the way Tansey had hoped but I did find out something that may point your investigation in a new direction,” I said. “I stopped by to visit Frances Doucette and while we were looking over one of her scrapbooks she forgot she was supposed to keep something a secret.”

“Something helpful, I hope,” Lowell said.

“Spooner was the one who took the earnings from the festival to the town hall instead of Jim and Tansey like they'd claimed in the police report.”

“By himself?” Lowell asked as he pulled a notebook and a pencil close and started to make notes.

“Yes. Tansey was sick and Jim had a showing crop up unexpectedly so Spooner offered to take the money to the town hall. Frances said he was planning on working on that paint job at the town hall that night anyway so they took him up on it.”

“Have you asked Jim or Tansey for confirmation of this?”

“First I checked with Jim then went on to Tansey's. I came here directly from her place. They both admitted
that Spooner was the one who was supposed to take the money to the town hall.”

“But they didn't know if he ever actually got there with it?”

“No. No one seems to know that for sure.”

“So his murder may have had more to do with someone taking advantage of him having the money than it did about him personally.”

“That's what I was thinking.”

“The investigation always should have focused more on whether or not someone had unusual amounts of money to spend after the theft. I told Preston that at the time.” Lowell jabbed his pencil down on the desk, breaking it in half. It was rare for him to lose his temper and raise his voice. It was even more unexpected for him to show physical signs of his anger. The case must really have been frustrating him. “I don't want you looking into this anymore.”

“Good, because I don't want to waste any more of my time on it either. I'm already angry at Tansey for keeping things from me and the least bit of discouragement from you is music to my ears.”

“This is serious, Dani. If the person who killed Spooner did it for the money they aren't going to take too kindly to you trying to figure things out. I want you done with this as of this minute.”

“I wasn't being flip. You know how busy I am with the sugaring and with the festival planning. Since Tansey couldn't be honest with me I'm done.” I felt my shoulders roll back and a sense of calm descend on me.
“That is, I'll consider myself out of it as soon as I share with you what I learned about some unexplained money in town.”

I waited while Lowell dug a fresh pencil out of his drawer and then told him about the prize money Doc had given Theresa and the unexpected contributions that had landed in the collection plate at the church.

“Not to tell you how to do your job but it seems to me the offering money might be the best lead. Even Grandpa didn't have any idea where it came from.”

“Your father knows where it was from,” Mom said. Lowell shot me as covert a look as he could but she caught him at it and sighed deeply. “After all the proof you've had of my connection to other realms I am surprised at your attitude. I'm not sure you're a very good influence on my daughter.”

“I'm sorry, Kelly. What does Forrest have to say?” Lowell asked.

“The money came from book sales.”

“Book sales?” Lowell and I repeated at the same time.

“He's very clear. Book sales.” Mom paused and squinted like she was trying to make out the details of something off in the distance. “I'm sure of it.”

“What exactly did Dad show you this time?” I was rewarded with a beaming smile. Mom loved it when someone wanted to talk paranormal stuff with her.

“He's showing me row after row of books, all sorts and conditions. A hand is lifting them up one by one and pulling out a dollar bill from each and throwing it up in the air.”

“And you think that means someone sold used books and offered the money up to God?” It wasn't the kookiest theory she had come up with for what Dad was trying to say.

Even when he wrote out a list for her in black and white of things he needed from a store when he was alive, she would come back with aquarium fish instead of fish fillets or cashews instead of the nuts from the hardware store. Things hadn't really improved since he had passed over to the other side.

“Do you have a better suggestion?” Mom asked. She had me there. I was stumped. I wished, not for the first time, that Dad had learned to write his thoughts down clearly on poster board in the afterlife and then could hold them up for Mom to read. It would still be an otherworldly communication but it would just be so much more efficient. Unfortunately, there didn't seem to be any sort of customer service representative I could call about it.

“What about if someone found a whole lot of money tucked into some books and felt guilty about it so they gave it away? Especially since it didn't belong to them?” Lowell said.

“I think you're right,” Mom said. She squinted even harder and nodded. “Forrest is nodding at me like you made a good suggestion.”

“But does that have anything to do with the money from the festival being stolen? If it is from the sale of used books it can't be the stolen money.” I had to ask. It wasn't that I didn't enjoy hearing from my father but
if getting information from beyond the grave was going to be more useful than a party trick we needed to keep on point.

“I don't know. Dani, he's pointing at you and then covering his eyes.”

“Like shielding them from the sun?” I asked.

“He's mouthing something while he has them covered.”

“Could he be counting?” Lowell asked. “Like for hide-and-seek?”

“Exactly,” Mom said. “He started nodding right up and down as soon as you said that. And now he's pointing at you again, Dani.”

“What does that mean? Does he want to play hide-and-seek with me? Is it my turn to seek?” I asked.

“He's gone.” Mom slumped back in her chair and dug in her bag for a mint. She seemed to need a hit of sugar right after her psychic experiences. Lowell looked more like he could use a stiff drink.

As much as his relationship with my mother still made me slightly uncomfortable I had to give Lowell high marks for being a stand-up guy. It couldn't be easy dating your best friend's widow. It would be even harder if your dead friend kept getting in touch with the two of you.

“None of this has any bearing on what I said, Dani. I want you to get back to the business of sugaring and planning the festival,” Lowell said. “Leave the investigating to me. I'll speak to Tansey myself and tell her you're done on my say-so.”