Diva Wraps It Up, The (20 page)

Dear Sophie,

In the winter, my beautiful garden is dormant and gray, except for a few lovely red berries. When there’s no snow, it’s a pretty bleak view from the great room. How can I dress it up for the holiday?

Avid Gardener in Swans Point, Maryland

Dear Avid Gardener,

Hang a wreath on the garden gate or a bench. Cluster pinecones and unbreakable ornaments on a table or in an empty birdbath. Pop a Santa hat on a little garden statue or place a couple of battery-operated lanterns where you can see them at night.

Sophie

“Baxter, you don’t think your children ate it?” I asked.

“It wouldn’t be the first time they snitched a snack. What’s the problem? There’s nothing wrong with that candy.”

We explained that it might contain blood-thinning medicine.

“Good heavens! Bethany? Bradley?” He hurried up the stairs with more life in him than he’d had since Gwen died.

Wong’s eyes met mine. “I’d bet anything Gwen gave it to Liza and Luis.”

Wolf leaned against the kitchen counter. “Maybe you’d like to tell me what’s going on?”

While Wong filled him in, I looked through the pantry again and discovered the box smashed behind big cereal boxes. “Found it! Wong, I’ll let you recover it.” I backed out of the pantry, my heart pounding.

Baxter returned to the kitchen. “The kids deny any involvement. That’s a relief! What could have possessed Gwen to do such a thing?”

I slipped out the back door by myself. Something must have happened between Gwen and the Scrogginses, and between Gwen and Liza and Luis. I couldn’t imagine why she wanted to kill any one of them. How could she have been so cheerful and happy at the cookie swap when she was waiting for Horace to die? I shuddered at the thought.

I couldn’t prove that she had moved the mirror in Edith’s house or that she had taken the cash meant for the housekeeper, but unless she had thrown it out, which was a possibility, I might find the little garden statue that was taken from Edith.

The Babineauxs had a concrete parking pad instead of a garage. But inside their back fence was a little storage shed, not unlike my own potting shed. The door creaked when I pulled it open. It was packed. Loaded to the very top with yard equipment, holiday items, beach gear, paint cans, rakes, snow shovels, buckets, and heaven knew what else.

I was about to give up when it dawned on me that Gwen had taken the statuette recently. It had to be near the front. I stood back and searched visually from left to right.

At the exact moment that I saw what might be a tiny head, someone behind me said, “You look pretty in green. Aren’t you cold?”

I turned around to see Baxter. “Thank you.” What could I say to him? He’d caught me looking in their shed. I could feel the hot flush of embarrassment rising in my face.

“What are you doing out here?”

There was no avoiding it. I told him about the strange things going on at the Scroggins home. “Someone took a statuette from their garden. I think it’s a little boy. I’m sorry, Baxter, but I suspect that Gwen was the one pulling those stunts on Edith, though I can’t imagine why. I thought if I found the little statue here, it would confirm that Gwen was the culprit.”

“A couple of days ago, I would have been offended. But I’m learning a lot that I never knew about Gwen. I think you’re in luck. Is that it?” Baxter pointed where I had been looking.

It was too high for me to reach without toppling other items, but Baxter was able to lift it out.

Edith was right. It wasn’t anything valuable. Just a little boy with angel wings, and a bird perched on his hand. “Do you suppose they need this as evidence?”

“It’s going to be pretty hard to prosecute Gwen. What do you say? Shall we return it to Edith?”

While we walked across the alley and through Edith’s garden, I told Baxter about the son Edith and Horace lost.

I knocked on her back door. She opened it, and for one moment she gazed at Baxter with horror. But when she saw what he held, she placed her hands on her cheeks.

“Gwen took it?” Edith asked.

I nodded. “It appears that way.”

“Where would you like me to place it?” asked Baxter.

Edith hustled outside and pointed to a circle of dead grass. “Right there, please.”

She thanked us. “I cannot imagine what we did to Gwen to induce such animus toward us. I had no idea Gwen harbored hatred toward Horace and me. Why would she try to poison Horace and trick me into thinking I’d lost my mind?”

A small commotion in the alley caught our attention.

Baxter and I hurried out to the alley and over to Liza and Luis’s backyard.

Nina and Wolf stood by the ladder, looking down at it.

Old and wooden, with years of paint drippings, it seemed like the same ladder. The second rung still hung on to it at a rakish angle. I bent to peer at it more closely. “I’m pretty sure it’s the same one. See how the end of this rung starts out smooth, like someone sawed it? But the bottom part of the rung splintered when Baxter put his weight on it.” I straightened up and stepped aside so Wolf could examine it.

Luis came running toward us from his house, with Liza chugging behind him.

“What’s going on?” asked Luis, breathless.

Wolf faced him. “Your wife gave us permission to search your shed. We found this ladder. Do you know to whom it belongs?”

Luis shrugged when he said, “Yeah. It’s mine.”

“I assume you’re aware that Baxter took a bad fall off the ladder?”

Luis held up his hands. “I’m just glad it wasn’t worse. I teased him about landing on his feet like a cat.”

“When did you use the ladder last?”

“About a week ago, I think.” Luis looked to Liza. “Yeah. I hung Christmas lights around the front door.”

“And it was okay then?”

Luis nodded. “No problem. I don’t understand. What’s the big deal with the ladder?”

Wolf didn’t answer him. “Did Baxter ask to borrow your ladder?”

Luis’s mouth twisted to the left. “I don’t remember. But we’re friends. He knows he’s welcome to anything in the shed that he needs. It’s not a biggie.”

“You didn’t notice the ladder missing?”

“No. We have another one. Shorter, but lighter to carry around. I bought the wooden one at a garage sale. If I’d realized how heavy wooden ladders are, I never would have bought it.” Luis crossed his arms over his chest. “This is what you were looking for? Gosh, if you had told me, I would have brought it straight to you. You think the ladder is somehow involved in Gwen’s death?”

Wolf deftly slid right over that question, too. “Could I come in for a moment? I’d like to ask you a few questions.”

“Sure. You’re welcome to take the ladder if you need it as evidence or anything.”

“Thank you.” Wolf spoke to Luis, but looked past him at Liza, who trembled, with her hands cupped over her nose and mouth.

I hurried to her side. “Are you okay?”

She nodded, but I could see that something was wrong. Her eyes were huge with fear. I wrapped an arm around her. “Could I make you a cup of tea?”

She grasped my hand. “You and Nina come inside with me.”

We followed her to her kitchen. She motioned us into a little huddle. “I have to hear what he’s going to ask Luis.” Liza grabbed our sleeves. “I’m in big trouble.”

Dear Sophie,

Every year my husband turns into Clark Griswold and goes crazy with lights on the house. I’m always a nervous wreck, afraid he’ll be shocked or start a fire. He says I’m silly. What do you think?

Nervous Nellie in Evergreen, Montana

Dear Nervous Nellie,

Christmas lights can spark fires. Be sure to keep your tree watered. Never connect more than three strands of lights. And use the touch test. Extension cords and light cords should never be hot.

Sophie

We knew we shouldn’t listen to Wolf’s conversation with Luis, but we did anyway.

I’d been interrogated by Wolf once and could imagine his earnest expression. He didn’t give away much of what he was thinking.

“I’m told that you are—were—Gwen Babineaux’s psychiatrist,” said Wolf.

Luis sounded incredulous. “Me? No. That sounds like something Gwen would claim, though. Look, I’ll save you some time here, okay? It’s my guess that Gwen suffered from histrionic personality disorder. She tended to be dramatic and act in ways that drew attention to her.”

“Would this disorder predispose her to being violent?”

“You think she attacked the person who killed her? Interesting. But no, she would not have been more violent than anyone else. She had low self-esteem and sought the approval of other people. They tend to be overly dramatic. For instance, she was prone to being flirtatious. She did things that made people focus on her.”

“It was all about her, huh?”

Luis smiled. “Yes, that’s a good way of putting it. But more so than for most people.”

“So, for instance, that might prompt her to mention a love affair in her Christmas letter?”

“An excellent example. She knew that would interest people and start them talking about her.”

“Do
you
think she was having an affair?”

“That, I don’t know. Making up an affair would be consistent with her condition.”

“Where were you between six thirty in the afternoon yesterday and six thirty in the morning today?”

“At home, with my wife. She can confirm that.” A wry grin crossed his face. “In fact, I, uh, almost electrocuted myself putting up Christmas lights. The rescue squad probably made note of the time.”

“You went to the hospital?”

“I didn’t think that was necessary, but Baxter called them, and they came to the house.”

Wolf didn’t say anything for a long moment. “Thanks. I assume you’ll be around if I need to ask you anything else?”

“Sure. Anytime.”

Liza’s face had turned the color of a ripe peach with a red flush on it. She exhaled and bent over, letting her arms hang loose and her fingertips touch the floor.

“Are you okay?” Nina asked.

Liza shook and stood up straight. “We’ve got to talk. Not here. Too many ears around this place.”

The three of us marched across the street to my house.

We hadn’t even sat down when Nina demanded, “What’s up? What do you know?”

“I’ve done something terrible.” Liza spoke in a whisper, her eyes huge. “They’re going to arrest me. They’re going to put me in jail! I know they will! I can’t go to jail!”

I hadn’t expected this. Was she going to confess to murdering Gwen?

“You know the ladder that broke causing Baxter to fall off his roof?” asked Liza.

“We were there,” I said. “After he fell.”

“I wanted to prove to Luis that he’s not homeowner handyman material. That we need a condo. No ladders, no saws, no manly man equipment.”

“
You
sawed that rung?” I was horrified.

“Don’t look at me like that! It was only the second rung. I didn’t want Luis to plummet from the top. How could I know Baxter would borrow it and schlep it to his roof? I figured Luis would use it on the ground, step on it,
boom
, little fall, big scare. I never thought anyone would get hurt. They’re going to find my fingerprints all over that ladder! They’ll think I killed Gwen!”

“Why would they think that?” I stood up and put on water for coffee. Decaf. Liza didn’t need to be any more agitated than she already was.

“Obviously the ladder is tied to her death somehow. Why else would they care about a rotten old ladder? Oy! I can’t go to jail. Do you think they’ll go easy on me since I didn’t mean to hurt anyone?”

I took out the cream and sugar. “I doubt that it will come to that. You and Luis own the ladder, Liza. They’ll expect to find your fingerprints on it.”

She bounced in her chair. “You’re right! Why didn’t I think of that? Oh, thank you!” She leaned back against her chair. “I’m so relieved. The Christmas light thing didn’t work out so well, either. I’m done trying to booby-trap Luis’s stuff.”

It was all I could do to speak calmly. “Christmas lights? You frayed that cord on purpose?”

“Just a little bit. I didn’t know you could get seriously hurt. I thought it was like a little battery jolt. I’m not the only one. Baxter said Elvin used to
wrap
himself up in lights. I thought they were harmless.”

I was afraid to ask, but I did anyway. “Is there anything else you might have tampered with?”

Liza flapped her hands at me. “Goodness, Sophie, you make it sound like I’m an axe murderer or something. I just wanted to teach Luis a lesson, that’s all.”

I didn’t know how to bring it up in a nice way, but this was as good a time as any. “I noticed that you bought rat poison the other day.”

Nina coughed. “Please tell me you don’t have rats!”

Liza groaned. “I swear I hear noises in our basement. It has to be mice. But Luis yelled at me for buying rat poison. He was totally right. Oscar would lap it up in a second. It’s too dangerous to have around. I threw it out.”

“That’s good,” said Nina in a most uncertain tone. “It’s not like you poisoned anyone or whacked Gwen over the head or anything. Right?”

Liza laughed. “You’re so funny! I haven’t a reason in the world to want to kill Gwen. My money is on Baxter’s ex-wife, Patty. Now, there’s someone who had a motive.”

“Shh!” Nina waved at Liza just as Patty knocked on the kitchen door and stepped inside.

“Is that coffee I smell? I feel like such a moocher.” Patty settled into a chair by the fireplace. “I’m exhausted. I have to tell you, this is the last thing I expected when I came here. I knew something was wrong when I read Gwen’s Christmas letter, but in my wildest dreams I never imagined she would be murdered.”

“How are the kids?” asked Nina.

Patty tilted her head and focused on Liza. “I don’t know how I can ever thank Luis. He’s been there for all the Babineauxs, especially Baxter and the children. He’s helping them talk through their feelings and deal with Gwen’s death.” She smiled. “I think Bethany might have a little crush on him. His patients must fall for him all the time. He’s so comforting.”

Liza beamed. “Luis is quite well regarded in his field. I’m glad he could help the children.”

I poured the coffee into my Christmas mugs with the candy-cane handles and set out a platter of Scotcheroos along with paper napkins printed with huge old-fashioned Christmas lights.

When everyone sat at the table, I asked Patty about Elvin. “I understand he and Sugar will be staying through the holidays.”

“Maybe longer than that. Gwen’s death has brought everyone closer together. In a weird way, we all appreciate each other more. We know it could happen to any of us. Well, not murder, I hope, but you never know what life will bring. Anyway, Elvin is planning to stick around to help out Baxter. The poor guy needs help. If Baxter argued with Gwen half as much as Bethany claims, you’d think he’d be glad to be rid of her.” Patty bit into a Scotcheroo. “I always forget how wonderful these are. I really should bake them for the kids. Maybe I will now.”

“Lots of fights, huh?” asked Nina.

“Mmm.” Patty nodded her head. “Mostly about money, from what I can gather. Gwen refused to tighten the purse strings. She liked living lavishly. Did you know that Kat’s room is set up like a little castle? Gwen paid someone to paint the walls with scenes from a fairy-tale book. That child is going to think she’s a princess.”

I wanted to get back to Elvin. It was a long shot that the glasses Kat had found meant anything, yet they still worried me. “Is Elvin moving in with Baxter permanently? I thought he had some kind of charity thing he does. Feeding children or something.”

“He can do that anywhere. I don’t know that they’ve decided anything yet, but Baxter would be lucky to have Elvin around.”

Liza snorted. “If Baxter doesn’t want him, I’ll take Elvin in. He takes out their trash, helps Baxter decorate the house, and cleans their kitchen.”

“That’s Elvin!” said Patty. “You know how people say
nice guys finish last
? They mean Elvin. I probably married the wrong brother. Of course, when we were young, I saw things differently than I do now. Baxter had the good job and great looks. He was athletic and had job prospects. Look at him today, living in a fancy house and broke as can be. But, you know, when I was younger, married to Baxter, and stuck on the highway with a flat tire and a van full of kids, it was Elvin I called, not Baxter. Elvin would help out anybody. That’s just how he is.”

My eyes met Nina’s. I felt certain she was thinking along the same lines as me. Would Elvin have murdered Gwen to help Baxter out?