Dying for a Change (8 page)

“
I saw that.”

“
Well, what you didn’t see, or hear, was they were accusing each other of Hank’s murder. You don’t think either of them could have done it, do you?”

Instead of an answer, I got a question. “Why does Ray think Tom might have killed Hank?”

“
Oh,” I said, feeling I’d let the cat out of the bag. Dan knew about the controversy between Hank and Ray, but he evidently didn’t know about Tom and Hank’s argument, and I didn’t want to be the one to tell him.

“
Well?” He watched me expectantly. I didn’t have a choice, so I took a deep breath and started, but only got out one word.

“
Here we are,” Ruthie sang. She set down huge bowls of soup giving off clouds of mouthwatering aroma, an overflowing basket of fresh, warm muffins, a dish of wrapped butter squares, and filled the coffee cups again. She pushed the cream toward Dan and paused, half filled coffee pot in one hand.

“
You gettin’ anywhere findin’ out who killed Hank?”

“
Now, Ruthie,” Dan picked up his spoon. “It’s early days. We’ll find him.”

“
You better,” she said crisply. “Hank was a good man.’ She waved the coffee pot in the air. I ducked. She gave me a surprised look and trotted off.

“
She never spills it.”

“
There’s always a first time.” I reached for a muffin and buttered it, hoping Dan had forgotten I was to tell him about Tom.

“
Go on, Ellie. Why would Tom Chambers want to kill Hank Sawyer?”

I was trapped.

“
Hank made a pass at Nicole and Tom told him to lay off.” I took a large mouthful of soup. Big mistake. It was still boiling. I grabbed for the water glass, swallowed quickly, and accepted the napkin Dan handed me to wipe my watery eyes.

“
My, my. Sharon told me Hank had started in on Nicole, but I didn’t realize--you all right? Need another napkin?”

I shook my head and very gingerly took a sip of soup.

“
So,” Dan’s spoon hovered half way between his bowl and his mouth, “knowing Tom’s temper, he probably made quite a production out of telling Hank to lay off. And, knowing Hank, he probably ignored Tom. Or laughed. Right?”

“
I don’t know. Sharon told me. I never saw any of it. I only met Hank once, last Saturday when he came in the office, looking for Sharon.”

Dan sighed. “Hank was really pretty harmless, but he somehow felt obligated to try. I’m sure your turn would have come. You’re pretty. And shapely.”

Dan was looking down at his soup, so he didn’t see my flush. How lucky I’d worn my new dress. It was kind to my waistline. And it was nice to get a compliment, even if it was an offhand one. Brian hadn’t given me one in years. But that brought another thought. Compliments. Dottie. Hank. No, that wasn’t possible.

“
What?” Dan said. “You’re thinking something. What is it?”

“
How do you know? You’re not a mind reader.”

“
I don’t have to be. I can read your face. I always could.”

“
That’s not true.” I replied with great dignity. “I’m not thinking anything.”

“
It is too true, and you might as well tell me.” He sipped his soup.

I put down my soupspoon and stared into the bowl. I was torn between not wanting to drag Dottie into this and the need to hear Dan say how silly it was to even think she could be implicated. “It’s really nothing. But what you said about Hank, and making passes … I was over at Aunt Mary’s and...”

“
You sure are dragging this out.” Dan looked more curious by the minute. He finished his soup and started on his second muffin.

And I’m just deeding that curiosity, I thought. “Pat Bennington was there. Do you know her?”

Dan nodded. “I play poker with her husband, Carl. He’s a veterinarian.”

“
Well, Pat said Hank had been seeing a lot of Dottie Fielding lately. You know, Dottie, our office secretary. They all belong to that amateur theater group and...”

I broke off. Dan’s muffin hadn’t quite made it to his mouth, a good thing, because he exploded laughing. “Hank and Dottie Fielding? You’ve got to be kidding.”

“
I’m not. Besides, why not Dottie?”

Dan didn’t bother to answer. We both knew.

“
Hank was really paying attention to Dottie?”

“
Even took her home one night last week.” I nodded to emphasize my point

“
Pat and Mary think Dottie might have mistaken Hank’s attention for something more than a casual...”

“
I’m sure they’re wrong.” I started to feel a little anxious. He wasn’t supposed to take this seriously.

“
It doesn’t seem likely, but then, it’s been known to happen.”

“
That’s what Aunt Mary said.” I didn’t like the thoughtful look on Dan’s face. He needed distracting. “There was some other excitement at the office today.”

“
Oh? What?” he asked, but he didn’t look as if he was paying much attention.

“
Evidently Benjamin Lockwood came storming in, yelling he was going to take Hank’s place on the Planning Commission and make sure the Stop N Shop store won’t come and that Sharon couldn’t stop him.”

Now I had his attention.

“
Benjamin.” He frowned, a sort of concerned, worried frown. “He gets more crazy every day. Have you been in the Emporium since you’ve been back?”

I shook my head.

“
Benjamin’s changed it all around. The way he goes on, you’d think it was better than, what’s that big store all you women like?”

“
Nordstrom’s.”

“
That’s it. He’s been having a fit ever since he heard about Stop N Shop, and he’s got a lot of support, especially from the other downtown merchants.”

“
Why? This town is growing. I couldn’t believe it when I came home. Why, we even have a new supermarket.”

“
Yeah, and the local market has fewer customers. No, the merchants have a right to be worried, but if Stop N Shop doesn’t come, some other store will, if not this year, then next. The locals have to look at what they’re doing and learn to do it better, or different, because you can’t stop change.”

“
Does that mean you think Benjamin might have killed Hank? To somehow keep the new store from coming?” I was amazed, first that he could suspect an old man, and second, that he thought something as simple as a new store could be a motive.

“
I don’t know who killed him, or why.” For the first time there was no smile under that neat little mustache, no laugh lines around his eyes. “But the Emporium is everything to Benjamin, and Stop n Shop will put him out of business. He’s not so crazy he doesn’t know that. He also knew Hank wanted that store, and was doing some heavy lobbying to make sure it got built.”

I put my coffee cup down with a clink. “Good grief, Dan. It sounds like half the people in this town had some kind of reason to eliminate Hank Sawyer. The only person we’ve left out is his wife, Vera.”

“
We haven’t left her out. Are you ready to go?”

“
Oh.” I remembered my conversation with Aunt Mary and couldn’t help thinking what a tidy solution Vera made. Probably too tidy.

I opened my purse, but Dan already had money on the table and his chair pushed back.

“
Thanks,” I said. I almost said I’d get the check next time, but caught myself. Would there be a next time?

“
You can make me dinner some night.” That little smile was back.

The man had read my face again.

Dan left me at the library to go back to the station. I continued on to the office with some reluctance. I barely knew any of these people and felt, somehow, I had been thrust into the middle of their personal lives. It was none of my business if Dottie had, in her middle age, finally managed to have an affair, if Tom was jealous of his wife, if Ray skirted the fine edges of ethical behavior. Unless, of course, one of them was a murderer.

I shuddered, thought of Benjamin, rejected the idea, and decided the murderer was either Vera or some stranger.

Tom was in the conference room with clients, Dottie was engrossed in doing something on her computer, and the rest of the office was empty.

“
Ellen, you have a message.” Dottie didn’t look up.

“
Me? A message?” I headed for my desk. Maybe Bernice had changed her mind, and she and Harvey wanted to buy the house after all.

Call Alive Ives, the message said. Who was Alice Ives? The name sounded familiar but--. Of course. Alice. One of my mother’s bridge friends. We’d called them the ‘faithful four’ because they never missed a Tuesday afternoon. Did women do that anymore? I wondered as I dialed her number.

“
Ellen, dear, how lovely to hear your voice, and how is your dear mother and all your lovely family?”

I sighed and made all the appropriate noises. I had forgotten how Alice prattled on, filling conversation with hurried, breathless little phrases that meant nothing. Unfortunately, you had to pay attention or you’d miss the important bits. I almost did.

“
And that’s why I want you to list my house, because I really think Florida would be closer to the children and...”

List her house? I couldn’t believe it.

“
Alice,” I interrupted. ‘I’d love to. When would you like me to come over?”

“
Well, dear, I always say, if you are going to do something, don’t put it off. Just get right in and do it, and I’ve made up my mind, so I think we should get started, but not today. This week though. Let’s see, tomorrow is my hair appointment, Wednesday is poor Hank’s funeral--I must call Vera--and Thursday is something, I just can’t remember, but I know there is something--maybe Friday? Why don’t you call me on Thursday. We’ll set up a time them. Is that all right?”

I hung up with mixed feelings. My first listing! That was exciting. But Alice Ives, how was I going to handle Alice? She meant well, but it was almost impossible to keep her on track. And her house! How did you go about pricing a house like her lovely, large, well kept, but aging giant? It was on a double lot, with lots of trees, but I’d be willing to bet the plumbing hadn’t been upgraded since the thirties. I was going to need some help on this one.

Dottie came over to my desk and handed me the message book. “I’m going home to lunch. I’ll be back in about an hour. Nicole is out showing property, so is Ray, and Sharon is still working on the Planning Commission emergency.”

I looked up, studying her, wondering if her face would give some sign of how she felt. Remorse? Grief? Luckily, Dottie took my silence for nervousness at being left alone.

“
If you get a question you can’t handle, buzz Tom in the conference room. You’ll be fine, Ellen. Really.”

I watched her carefully cover her computer, replace her pencils in a red, white, and blue striped mug, square up all the files she had been working on, then work herself into a heavy dark brown sweater and leave. She gave me her usual timid smile as she went out the door.

I spent the rest of the afternoon answering the phone, which got easier, and trying to figure out what to do about Alice’s house, which didn’t. Tom finished with his clients, then paused by my desk and made a few noncommittal comments while waiting for Nicole. She came in, said something to him in a low tone, and they both left. Ray breezed in, gave Dottie, who was back from lunch, a raft of instructions, then made a point of talking loudly on the phone. I wasn’t impressed.

It was five thirty when Sharon finally came back. Dottie had once more tidied her desk and had gone. I was putting the phones on answering service and was also ready to leave.

“
You look exhausted.” I paused, curious. “What happened?”

“
We fought. All afternoon. But Benjamin isn’t going to get Hank’s seat. Evan Hopkins is. He owns an antique store, so he’s not afraid Stop N Shop will put him out of business. Now, we’ll wait and see what happens.”

“
Do you think Stop N Shop really might not come?”

“
They’d better come. I’ve worked on this too long and too hard to have it crash now.” Her voice was grim and in spite of how tired she looked, the set of her jaw said determination. “This town needs it. The only place we have to shop is The Emporium, and that’s plain pathetic.”

I took in Sharon’s long flowered silk skirt, her matching silk sweater, low-heeled Italian pumps, and delicate gold chain. It was obvious she didn’t shop at the Emporium, but I didn’t think she’d be doing too much at a discount store like Stop N Shop either.

“
I hear Dan Dunham took you to lunch.” She smiled at me. “Renewing old friendships?”

I could feel my face get stiff. How did she know? “Something like that.”

“
I remember how you used to tag after Dan when you were little. You had quite a crush on him.”

“
He lived next door. I thought of him as a brother. I still do.”

“
Of course,” Sharon dismissed the subject as of only passing interest. “I’ll collect my messages and head for home. See you in the morning.”

I took my cue and left. Sharon’s intimation that Dan taking me to lunch might mean something made me uncomfortable. Hazel had intimated much the same thing. I couldn’t possibly think of Dan in any way but as a friend, and I was sure that was how he thought of me. Wasn’t it? Of course it was.