Hope Callaghan - Garden Girls 04 - Death by Dumplings (6 page)

The two of them lived in a double wide trailer.  It was brand new when they bought it and quite nice.  There was a large, open living room and it even had a massive, stone fireplace, which Gloria loved. 

Jennifer and Tony had three children. Gloria hadn’t seen the kids in years. 
They must be teens by now
, she thought.

The double wide was set close to the road.  Gloria noticed Jennifer’s beat up old four door sedan parked in the driveway.  Tony’s pick-up truck was parked beside it. Gloria pulled in behind Jennifer’s car and climbed out. 

Jennifer must’ve seen her coming.  She swung the screen door open as Gloria and Mally shuffled through the grass towards the front deck. 

“Hi Gloria!” Jennifer said.  “What brings you way out here?”

“Hey Jennifer,” Gloria replied.  She really liked Jennifer.  She wasn’t born and raised in Belhaven like her husband, Tony.  She was what they jokingly referred to as a “City Slicker.”  Tony met her long ago on a trip to Chicago.  After she finished high school, she moved to Belhaven and she and Tony married. 

For years, Jennifer raised the boys while Tony worked in Green Springs at the tool and die shop.  Gloria heard they cut Tony’s hours back when the economy tanked.  That’s another reason Jennifer was working at the restaurant.  She was trying to help make ends meet until Tony could get more hours down at the shop.  Thank goodness they had their home on family property. 

“C’mon in,” Jennifer said.  She patted Mally’s head.  “You, too!”

Gloria hugged Jennifer and stepped inside the house.  The kids must be home.  She could hear loud, thumping music coming from somewhere in the back. 

She glanced towards the kitchen.  “Is Tony here?”

Jennifer shook her head.  “No.  He ran over to the sawmill to help his dad run some boards through for a customer.” 

Jennifer’s father-in-law, Fred, had a heart attack a few years back. He no longer worked from sun-up to sun-down.  Tony helped out at the sawmill whenever he wasn’t working at the shop. 

Jennifer waved her hand towards the kitchen table.  “You want to have a seat?”

Gloria nodded as she made her way over to the chair.  “I told Dot I’d come by and check on you today.” She dropped her purse on the floor.  Mally curled up next to her feet. 

Jennifer pulled out a chair and plopped down.  “It’s just horrible, Gloria.” She dropped her chin in her fist.  “Dot must be devastated.”

Gloria nodded.  “She’s taking this whole thing hard.  That’s why I’m here.  To see if you can recall anything at all about that morning that might help track down the killer.”

Jennifer glanced out the back slider. “I got to the restaurant around eleven that day,” she said.  “Right around the time the breakfast crowd cleared out and before the lunch crowd started wandering in.”

She went on.  “I came in through the back.  I remember the chicken and dumplings were already done.  The big pot was sitting on the counter and the kitchen smelled heavenly.” She paused.  “You know how delicious Dot’s dumplings are.”

Gloria nodded, waiting for her to continue.

Jennifer leaned forward, her eyebrows scrunched together.  “Gloria, I tasted the dumplings like I do every Wednesday morning. You know.  Not much, just a small sample.  She must’ve just finished making them.  They were piping hot.”

“After I finished the dish, I put on my apron and headed to the front cuz it was starting to get busy.  I was pouring coffee for your friend… uh…Andrea, when Dot stopped by the table to say she had to run down to the Quick Stop to pick up some salt.”

“So it was only you and Ray running the restaurant during that time?” Gloria asked.

Jennifer nodded.  “Yeah.  No one was in the back kitchen while Dot was gone.”

“That means from the time you sampled the dumplings around eleven and the first order was served to Mike Foley and his wife, someone dumped poison in the pot,” Gloria theorized. 

Jennifer grabbed a pen from the center of the table and began tapping it on the table top.  “Yeah, it had to be while Dot was down at the store.”

“How long was Dot gone?” Gloria asked.

Jennifer gazed at the ceiling as she thought about it.  “I’d say ten minutes. Fifteen tops.”

“Which would mean someone was lurking outside the back of the restaurant between 11 and 11:30, saw their opportunity to sneak inside and dump the poison in the pot and then escape out the back door without ever being seen.” 

This was progress.  Gloria had the timeframe narrowed down for the poisoning and how the killer gained access to the restaurant.

Jennifer glanced out the back slider again.  Her husband was walking down the path towards the house.  “Tony’s coming,” she said.

Gloria got out of the chair and pushed it back under the table.  “Is there anything else that sticks out in your mind?”

Jennifer shook her head.  “The rest is a blur.  I was busy waiting other tables when Dot brought the dumplings to the table.”

Jennifer walked her to the door just in time for Tony to head indoors.  He smiled when he saw Gloria standing in the living room. 

Tony was a handsome young man.  Well, young to Gloria.  He had to be in his mid to late 30’s by now.  His sandy brown hair was parted on the side and combed back over his ears.  Clean cut.  That’s how Gloria would describe him.  He reminded her of her own two sons that she never got to see anymore. 

Her oldest son, Eddie, lived in Chicago with his wife.  They didn’t have children and to hear them talk, they never would.

Her middle child, Ben, lived in Houston, Texas with his wife, Kelly and their twins.  Ariel and Oliver or Ollie as the called him.  The family made an effort to come back for a visit every summer but missed last year.  The kids were into almost every kind of sport imaginable and they couldn’t break away, even for a couple days. 

Ben and Kelly offered to pay for Gloria’s plane ticket if she wanted to come visit but Gloria didn’t care to fly too much. 

The last time she talked to Ben, he warned her this summer might be another no-show for them.  Gloria already decided she would make a trip to Texas this summer if they couldn’t come home.  If not, her grandkids wouldn’t remember who she was!

Tony brought her back to earth when he leaned over and gave her a quick hug.  “What’s the special occasion?” he smiled.  “No.  Let me guess.  You’re investigating the poisoning over at Dot’s place.”

Gloria grinned.  “Guilty as charged.” She turned to glance at Jennifer.  “I hoped Jennifer might remember something important from the other morning.”

Tony turned to his wife. He reached over and squeezed Jennifer’s arm.  “The whole thing shook her up.  What a tragedy,” he added.

Jennifer grabbed the handle on the screen door and pushed it open.  “I wasn’t much help.  About the only thing I remembered is what time I got to the restaurant and how the first thing I did when I got there was try a small bowl of dumplings myself.  They were delicious.”

Gloria and Mally stepped onto the deck. 

Tony and Jennifer followed them outside.  “I wish I could remember more.  Something that would help,” Jennifer confessed.

Gloria hugged her.  “No, you were a big help.  Now I know the timeframe the pot was poisoned and that whoever it was came through the back kitchen door.”

Jennifer walked to the railing as Gloria made her way down the steps.  “You think they’re going to open the restaurant back up anytime soon?”

“I hope so.” Gloria shrugged.  “I know you can use the money and Dot needs to stay busy and not dwell on this.”

Jennifer and Tony were still standing on the deck as Gloria backed out of the driveway.  She gave a small wave before pulling Anabelle onto the main road. 

Her mind was in high gear.  The killer knew exactly what he was doing and had the perfect time frame to commit the crime.  And killing someone with a common household cleaning product that couldn’t be traced back to a specific person was genius. 

Gloria parked in her drive and made her way out to the mailbox.  She pulled a small stack from the box and rifled through it as she made her way towards the house. 

Halfway through the stack, she spied an envelope with her name and address neatly printed on the front.  She flipped the envelope over and pried it open.  Inside were three sheets of paper.  She unfolded the sheets. There was a small yellow sticky stuck on top.  The print was too small for Gloria to read without her glasses.

She and Mally walked onto the back porch.  Gloria grabbed the newspaper off the steps before making her way into the kitchen.  She dropped the paper on the table and reached for her reading glasses.

She read the sticky note on top of the papers first. 
“Gloria, I hope this note finds you in good health.  Sandy signed the waiver releasing her rights to the coins.  Here are your three originals.”
The small note ended. 
“Keep in touch.  I’d love to hear what you all did with your coins.”
The note was signed, “David Henderson.”

Gloria pulled the sticky off the sheet and read the words.  She didn’t understand most of the mumbo-jumbo on it.  But she did understand the part that said Sandra McGee waived all rights and claims to the gold coins David Henderson, Gloria Rutherford, Margaret Jenkins and Elizabeth Applegate found on the Henderson property.

Her hand shook as she folded the pieces of paper and stuffed them back inside the envelope.  They were one step closer to being able claim a small fortune!

She picked up the phone and called her sister, Liz, first.  “Hello?”

“Hey Liz, it’s me.  Guess what I got in the mail today?” Gloria asked. “Sandra McGee signed off on any claim to the coins!”

“No way!”  Liz let out a shriek and dropped the phone.  Gloria pulled the phone from her ear as it clattered to the floor. 

Liz was back.  “You still there?”

“Yep.  I have three signed releases in my hot little hands,” Gloria confirmed.

“That’s great!  I’ve been checking out different places where we can sell the coins,” Liz said.  “I also did a little research on the coins themselves.  I think they’re worth even more than what we originally thought.”

Gloria’s heart fluttered.  “H-how much?”  They still weren’t out of the woods as far as the coins were concerned.  There was still a chance the government could try to lay claim to the coins like they did to the family in Pennsylvania that the coin appraiser told them about. 

“Millions.  As in more than one,” Liz said. “When do you want to get together to go over this stuff?”

“I haven’t had a chance to work on my part yet,” Gloria admitted.  “I’ve been too busy trying to figure out who poisoned a customer at Dot’s restaurant.”

“I heard!” Liz exclaimed.  “That’s just terrible. If anyone can figure out who did such an awful thing, it’ll be you!”

Gloria grinned.  “I’ll take that as a compliment.”

“Well, it is,” Liz said.

Gloria’s brain switched gears.  “Oh, hey.  Before I hang up, I was wondering if you’d like to come over here for a cookout.  Next weekend.”

“Just me?” Liz asked. 

“No.  It’ll be Lucy and her boyfriend, Margaret and Ray.  And Paul so you can finally meet him,” she added.  Gloria didn’t mention inviting Al. 

“Sure.  I’ll come.  Can’t wait to meet your beau,” Liz teased.

Gloria grinned as she hung up the phone.  This was the first conversation in years that she could remember where she and Liz didn’t snip at each other. 

Gloria picked up the phone again.  It was time to call Margaret with the good news.  No one answered at her place.

She was on her way to the fridge when she heard a light tap on the porch door.  Gloria made her way around the table.  It was Margaret.  She opened the door and stepped aside.  “I just left a message on your answering machine at home.”

“Why?” Mally heard Margaret’s voice and padded into the kitchen.

Margaret reached down and patted her head.  “There’s our partner-in-crime!”

Gloria grabbed the papers off the kitchen table and handed one of them to Margaret.  Margaret squinted at the words.  “What’s this?”

“The waiver from Sandra McGee!”

Margaret’s head shot up.  “You’re kidding!”  She squealed before she grabbed Gloria’s shoulders and danced around her.  “Woo Hoo!”

She folded her waiver up and shoved it in her purse. “I stopped by to let you know what I found about some of the different investments.”

“You’re way ahead of me, Margaret,” Gloria warned.  “I haven’t had a chance to talk to a lawyer yet.  The death at Dot’s has been keeping me busy.”

Margaret nodded.  “I understand.  Friends come first.”

Gloria looked at the clock on the wall.  “That’s another reason I called. Do you want to go over to the new restaurant in Lakeville? You know, scope it out.”

“Hmm…” Margaret was only half-listening.  She was staring at the front page of the local paper.  “Did you see this?”

“Uh-uh.  What?”  Gloria leaned over her shoulder.  Smack dab, front and center on the first page was a photo of Dot’s restaurant.  The caption underneath read:  “Poisoning at Local Restaurant Leads to Man’s Death.”