Hope Callaghan - Garden Girls 04 - Death by Dumplings (2 page)

Gloria returned the hug.  “Yes, and I’m glad to be home.”

Andrea lowered her voice and glanced around.  “I was in Dot’s restaurant earlier having breakfast with the construction foreman when that man collapsed at the table.” 

Gloria nodded.  “It’s a sad situation.  I just dropped Dot off at home.  She’s really shook up.”

Andrea shook her head sympathetically.  “I sure know what she’s going through.”  And if anyone did, it would be Andrea.  Andrea was charged with her husband’s murder just over a year ago now.  That’s how Andrea and Gloria met.  When Gloria helped solve the case and bring the real murderer to justice.  “Let me know if there’s anything I can do to help,” Andrea offered.

The construction supervisor was heading their way.  “I have to finish up with him,” she said.  “Do you have a minute to come inside?”

“Absolutely!” Gloria said.  “It’ll help take my mind off poor Dot.” 

She waited out front while Andrea spent another few minutes with her head bent over the blueprints.  She wandered around the side of the house to check out the progress.  The rest of the exterior was free of paint. 

“Looks weird without paint, huh.”  Andrea came up beside her, gazing up at the side of her house.  “Come back next week and the outside should be done.”

“What color did you decide on?” Gloria wondered.

Andrea stuck her hand on hip and tilted her head.  She tapped her lower lip.  “You know, I’m torn between two colors. Traditional white with black shutters – or – what do you think of Sunglow yellow with Periwinkle blue shutters?”

Gloria knew what she herself would do.  “Pick the one that makes you happy,” she advised.

“I thought you’d say that.” Andrea grinned.  “Yellow it is!”

Gloria nodded her approval.  That’s what she would’ve chosen, too.  Of course, she was a lot older than Andrea and it seemed like the older she got, the less she cared about appearances and what others thought.  Life was too short to worry if someone didn’t like Yellow and Periwinkle…

Andrea motioned her inside.  “C’mon, I want to show you something!” 

Gloria followed Andrea up the narrow steps and in the back door.  It was nice to see a smile on her young friend’s face.  Last year had been nothing but sadness and heartache for the poor thing, what with her husband cheating on her and then getting murdered. 

Not long after that, a body was found in the shed of the old Johnson mansion and Andrea was once again a suspect. Gloria and Andrea teamed up and tracked down the killers, in a roundabout way.  Since then, things had settled down for Andrea and Gloria was glad.

Gloria gasped as she stepped into the kitchen.  The transformation was simply amazing.  Shiny black granite covered the spacious countertops.  The white oak cabinets had been restored to their original beauty.  Brand new state-of-the-art stainless steel appliances gleamed brightly.  The kitchen was perfect.  A blend of old and new.  “It’s beautiful,” Gloria said.

Andrea’s face beamed.  “You think so?  You really like it?”

Gloria shook her head.  “No, I don’t like it.  I love it!”

Andrea stepped over to the wall that divided the kitchen from the library on the other side.  “How do you think it would look if I tore this wall down, opened this whole thing up and added a bar area?”

The kitchen was nice the way it was but opening it up – well that would completely transform the rooms.  Make it more modern but still keep a lot of the historic charm.  Gloria slowly nodded.  “I think that is a great idea.  Did you think of that yourself?”

Andrea patted the flowered wallpaper.  “Yep.  The contractor told me it’s not a load-bearing wall so they could take it out.”

“I think you should become an interior designer.  That’s what I think!” Gloria said.

“Really?  Because that’s what I was thinking myself.  I’m having so much fun and have so many ideas…”

If this was Andrea’s dream, Gloria was behind her 100%.  “Absolutely!  In fact, when you’re done with this, I’ll hire you to help me with my place. It needs a bit of sprucing up,” she added.

“Oh, no, Gloria.  I love your farm house just the way it is.” Andrea paused.  “I could think of a few small things to make it maybe a little more functional…”

“Good!  Then I’ll be your first customer,” Gloria told her.

Andrea shook her head.  “But I don’t want to charge you. You’ve helped me so much. I would do it as a favor.”

Gloria shook her head firmly.  “No, my dear.  We can discuss that down the road if it’s something you decide to do, but even friends need to get paid for their services.”  Plus, Gloria thought, if she cashed in those gold coins that she and Margaret and Liz found up in the mountains a few days ago, she’d have plenty of money to pay Andrea…

“Knock, knock, anyone here?” A male voice echoed from the front of the house.

“Oh, that must be Justin,” Andrea said.  “In here!” she yelled back.

Gloria’s eyebrows raised. “Justin?” 

Andrea tucked a long strand of blond hair behind her ear.  “He asked if he could stop by and see the place…” she mumbled.

Justin was the mayor’s son.  He’d taken a liking to Andrea the first time Gloria brought her to church.  Gloria got the impression Andrea wasn’t as keen on him.  But maybe things had changed…

Justin’s tall, lanky frame filled the doorway leading into the kitchen.  He was holding a pizza box and a liter of Diet Coke.  His eyes lit up when he saw Andrea.  It took him a minute or so to realize Gloria was even in the room.  “Ahem.”

That caught his attention.  He turned his head, a twinge of color crept into his cheeks.  “Hello, Mrs. Rutherford.”

“Hello Justin.” Gloria turned to Andrea.  “I’m going to head on out now…”

“Would you like to have lunch with us?” Andrea asked.

Gloria shook her head.  “Not this time, dear…”  She gave Andrea a small hug, a warm smile in Justin’s direction and headed for the front door. 

As she got in the car, she thought of all that had changed in the past several months.  Mostly for the better.  Except for Dot.  The whole thing was weighing heavy on Gloria’s mind.

She started the car before glancing down at her cell phone, still resting in the center console.  There was one missed call.  It was her friend, Ruth. Ruth was head postmaster at the post office in town.  She was Belhaven’s unofficial snoop, which worked out quite well for her since half the town stopped by every day to chat. 

There was no message.  Gloria could almost guarantee Ruth called to find out what she knew about Dot’s restaurant.  She decided not to call her - or anyone else - until she had more information.  She didn’t want anyone to think she was gossiping about the terrible incident, especially Dot.  Plus, she probably knew more about what happened than anyone else.  Besides the police, that is. 

Her plan would’ve worked out great if not for the fact that a bright yellow jeep she didn’t recognize was parked in her driveway when she pulled in.  It was her friend, Lucy.  “What happened to your convertible?”

“I traded it in for something more practical.” Lucy patted the hood.  “Four wheel drive for the wintry roads!”

Gloria peeked in the window.  “Nice.  I like it!”  She changed the subject.  “You heard about Dot?”

“Yeah.  I drove by there a little while ago.  I saw your car parked at the end of the street,” Lucy commented.  “Did you talk to Dot?”

Gloria groaned inwardly.  Lucy was in their small group of friends and she and Gloria were close.  She nodded.  “You want to come in for a cup of coffee?”

Lucy could tell from the frown on Gloria’s face, she was torn on what she should say.  “I won’t pry.  I know you know something but don’t want to feel like you’re gossiping about Dot,” she said.

Gloria let out a sigh of relief and hugged her friend.  “I appreciate that.”

“But we can still talk about it?” Lucy asked.

Gloria nodded.  “Yeah, sure.”

Lucy followed her up the steps.  “First, tell me about your trip to the mountains.  Margaret said it was quite an adventure.”

Gloria smiled.  “That’s an understatement.” She started a pot of coffee.  “You might as well have a seat.  You’re not going to believe what happened.”

Gloria set two cups of coffee and a plate of baked goodies on the table before she filled Lucy in on all the details of the unexpected trip to the mountains. How they finally tracked down Gloria’s sister, Liz, and then found their long-lost relative - Aunt Ethel.  The only part she left out was the part about finding the coins.  That had to remain a secret until the three women – who made a pact to keep mum about the coins - were all ready to share the news.

Lucy reached for a key lime tart.  She peeled off the paper shell and took a small bite.  “You have a long-lost aunt?”

“Had.” Gloria corrected her. 

After the entire story was told, Lucy shook her bright mop of red curls.  “So I missed an awesome adventure…”

Gloria nodded.  “Yep!”

“That figures!  No way could you go anywhere without having something crazy happen to you,” Lucy said.  Which reminded her.  “You still have your reward money socked away for that cruise next summer?”

Gloria nodded.  It was during Gloria’s last murder investigation, she and Lucy did a late night stakeout at the old Johnson mansion.  The stakeout turned into what could
possibly
be considered a break-in at the old place. Of course, one could argue they didn’t
technically
break in since the back door was unlocked…

She and Lucy stumbled upon some stolen money from a bank robbery and returned it to its rightful owner – the bank.  There was a reward and each of them ended up with $5,000.  They decided to save the money for Lucy’s dream vacation – a cruise - which was still in the planning stages. 

The plan was to surprise their small group of friends – The Garden Girls – with an all-expenses paid cruise.  In addition to Lucy and Gloria, there was Margaret, her friend who just returned from the Smoky Mountain trip, Dot and, last but not least, Ruth, the one that ran the post office.

“Yeah, I stuck mine in a short-term CD.  By the time I can cash it in, we’ll be ready to book the cruise,” Gloria added.

Lucy grabbed a Bavarian cream donut before changing the subject.  “What on earth happened over at Dot’s?”

Lucy nibbled on her donut as Gloria explained how someone died and that the restaurant was shut down pending the investigation.  She didn’t mention the poison in the dumplings.  After all, that wasn’t confirmed yet.  She didn’t want rumors flying around town and Dot find out she was the one who started it.

Lucy finished the rest of her donut before taking a sip of coffee cup.  She set it back down on the table.  “We need to pray for her.  This is just horrible!”

Gloria agreed.  The two friends bowed their heads and prayed a heartfelt prayer for their dear friend.  “Dear Lord, we ask that you help investigators find the reason for the unfortunate incident at Dot’s restaurant this morning and that Dot and Ray are cleared of all charges.” Gloria paused.  “And that they can re-open their restaurant because they need the money.”

Lucy squeezed Gloria’s hand.  “Amen!” She stood up.  “I gotta get going.  My washer’s on the fritz and the repair guy is supposed to show up anytime now.”

Gloria walked her to the door. She waved good-bye as she watched Lucy make her way to the jeep. 

Back inside, she threw together a quick sandwich for lunch.  Puddles and Mally stood side-by-side and watched as Gloria placed slices of carved turkey on the bread. 

“I know, I know, you want a bite.”  She grabbed two slices, dropped one in Mally’s dish and the other in Puddles.  In one gulp, the pieces were gone.

She wrapped her sandwich in a paper towel and headed to the living room.  She turned the TV to the weather station.  It was time to start on the garden and she wanted to make sure frost was out of the ground first. 

She must’ve dozed off because when she woke, late afternoon soap operas were on.  Her eyes darted to the clock.  It was almost five already!

She jumped out of the chair and headed to the bathroom.  Paul would be here in less than an hour to pick her up for their dinner date!  She jumped in the shower and lathered her hair with her favorite scented shampoo of orange blossoms.  Her mind wandered to Dot as she spritzed on perfume.  She wondered how she and Ray were holding up.  She made a mental note to check on them after she finished getting ready. 

She also wondered if Paul would be able tell her anything about the case.  After all, he was part of the Montbay Sheriff’s Department and his unit handled a lot of the investigations.  It couldn’t hurt to ask…

She let Mally out before she stepped back inside the kitchen and picked up the phone.  She dialed Dot’s home number.  Ray picked up.  “Hello?” he answered in a hushed tone. 

“Hi, Ray, It’s Gloria. I was just calling to see how you and Dot are holding up,” she said.

Ray let out a long sigh.  “I’m okay but I’m worried about Dot.”

“That’s what I was afraid of,” Gloria fretted.  She knew her friend was the ultimate worrywart.  “I’m having dinner with Paul tonight.  I’ll see if he has any information he can tell me about the investigation.”