Pecan Pies and Homicides (12 page)

“I had a chance to talk with Barric Young yesterday. I don't know if you met him at the party, but he was—”

“The hotheaded farmer. I didn't bother speaking with him. He doesn't interest me.”

“Because he's poor?”

“And unrefined. I'm sure he crashed our party. I don't remember seeing his name on the guest list.”

Yuri tied a towel turban around Ella Mae's hair and wiped her skin clean with a warm washcloth that smelled of eucalyptus. Using a cosmetic brush, she began to paint Ella Mae's face with a thick cream scented with mint. The cream quickly hardened into a mask and Yuri began to rub Ella Mae's knotted shoulders, making it hard for her to focus on the purpose of her visit.

“I think he just wanted to be near Eira. They were lovers.” The mask made Ella Mae's cheeks and chin feel stiff. It was difficult to speak clearly. “What makes you call him a hothead?”

Loralyn laughed derisively. “The same thing that lets me say that you're totally wrong about he and Eira being lovers. I overheard them talking and I can assure you that they've never done the deed. Actually, I should amend that previous statement. Eira was talking. Barric was
yelling
.”

Ella Mae propped herself up by the elbows. “About what?”

“I found the entire argument extremely dull.” Loralyn feigned a yawn. “After all, the subject matter was such a cliché. Girl tells boy she's pregnant. Boy rages because baby isn't his. Girl cries. Boy storms off, wounded to the core. Total soap opera material.”

“The baby wasn't Barric's?” Ella Mae gaped, forcing a crusty piece of mask to fall from her upper lip.

Loralyn shrugged. “According to what I heard, Mr. Twinkle Toes never got past second base. And he obviously thought his lady love was pure as a snowflake. That boy was furious.” She paused thoughtfully. “Everyone knows to expect vengeance from a woman scorned. But what about a man scorned? What does he do?”

“A man consumed by fury can react without considering the consequences of his actions,” Ella Mae said, gesturing for Yuri to hand her a washcloth. She scrubbed the mask off her face and then met Loralyn's curious stare. “He can be driven by impulse, by a desperate need to lash out. He can feed his anger until it commands him. Until he obeys it. And that leaves me wondering this: Was Barric angry enough to murder the love of his life?”

Loralyn didn't answer the rhetorical question. Having realized that Ella Mae had nothing to offer in exchange for the information she'd provided, she signaled for Yuri to turn on her hearing aid and left the room in a cloud of indignation.

“Relax. It's okay.” Yuri convinced Ella Mae to lie back down.

While the aesthetician treated her skin with deft fingers, Ella Mae tried to make sense of what Loralyn had said.

Who had fathered Eira's baby if not Barric? Ella Mae had no doubt that he and Eira had been in love, but Barric had freely admitted that he never wanted a child. Had he avoided being intimate with the woman he loved because he was afraid of getting her pregnant?

Ella Mae's shoulders tensed as she realized that Barric was much more than Eira's grief-stricken lover. He was the second man Eira had jilted. The first had been her husband. And, like Robert Morgan, Barric had become a suspect in Ella Mae's eyes. After all, Barric had admitted that Eira had made him very angry the night of the party—that she'd dropped a bomb on him. Hearing the news that the woman he loved was pregnant with another man's child must have torn a hole in his heart. Had Eira's duplicity led to her death?

Ella Mae knew all too well what betrayal did to a person. Less than a year ago, she'd discovered her husband
in flagrante
with two redheads who lived in the same apartment building. Though it had become less and less painful as the months passed, the memory was forever seared into her memory. For a time, she couldn't think of her husband without feeling a white-hot rage—the kind of rage that's birthed when love turns into hate.

There was a thin line between the two, Ella Mae knew. Some people were able to cross it and return again. To forgive and forget. Not Ella Mae. Her anger had eventually dulled, but any trace of affection she'd once felt for her husband dissipated along with it, leaving her feeling nothing at all.

Barric hadn't had the chance to reach that stage of numbness. His overt anguish told Ella Mae that he was being wracked by grief and regret. And possibly, by overwhelming guilt as well.

Had he killed Eira? Ella Mae could picture Barric carrying his unconscious lover in his arms, holding her close to him as he climbed the mountain path. Was he truly capable of leaving her to freeze to death? To die alone in the dark?

“This is full of vitamin C and will tingle a bit.” Yuri applied a cream that smelled of oranges to Ella Mae's skin and then massaged it into her cheeks, forehead, and neck. When she was done, she advised Ella Mae to drink plenty of water and to return for another facial in six weeks.

“Thank you. That was wonderful,” Ella Mae said. “I'm sorry that I kept moving around.”

“You must learn to be still. In here.” Yuri smiled and touched her heart. “You are very beautiful. Full of light. I hope you'll come back and see me.”

The compliment buoyed Ella Mae. She practically floated to the receptionist's desk where she paid an exorbitant price for her service and left Yuri a generous tip.

After collecting Chewy from Canine to Five, Ella Mae headed for Aunt Dee's house. Her aunt's calm and quiet demeanor was just what Ella Mae needed. Dee had a deep sense of tranquility about her. A stillness of the heart, as Yuri had indicated.

Pulling up in front of a converted barn her aunt used as a studio, Ella Mae let Chewy out to play with Dee's pack of rescue dogs and rapped on the massive sliding door.

“Come in!” Dee called.

Ella Mae stepped inside, expecting to see her aunt sculpting a metal replica of someone's beloved pet. She'd seen countless numbers of cats, dogs, birds, hamsters, goldfish, and all sorts of reptiles come to life in Dee's studio, but she'd never slid open one of the heavy barn doors to find her aunt crafting a piece of furniture.

“Are you diversifying?” Ella Mae teased. “I thought you already had more work than you could handle.”

Dee pushed her welder's mask off her face. “I do, but I promised to help the animal rescue center with their bed. If they win, they'll use the prize money to build a cat play area. There are more homeless cats than ever these days and there isn't enough room for them to exercise.”

She stared at the white and blue flame of her welding torch and Ella Mae could see her aunt's resolve to aid the shelter. Dee loved all animals, but animals in need of rescue held a special place in her heart.

Ella Mae edged closer. “So this is for Saturday's bed race?”

Dee nodded. “I've made it as light as possible. The shelter volunteer who'll be sitting in this bed weighs less than some of my dogs, so this baby should fly. And the four runners have been practicing all year. They really want to win one of the cash awards.”

Ella Mae peered at the headboard, admiring the design her aunt had engraved into the metal. A dog and cat were nestled together on top of a plaid blanket. In a dream bubble above their heads was an image of a charming little house. The animals were clearly fantasizing about being given the chance to live in such a home. “That picture alone will elicit lots of donations,” she said.

Dee gestured at the footboard. “Check out the rest of the story.”

Walking to the end of the bed, Ella Mae couldn't help but smile when she saw the engravings of two sleeping children. To the left was a boy who dreamt of throwing a ball to a small dog with a spotted coat. On the right was a girl who dreamt of dangling a piece of yarn before a fluffy kitten.

“How did you do it?” Ella Mae asked. “The eyes of the dog and cat—they're glowing. I thought you could only do that with a sculpture—that you needed to have a feel for what the real animal was like in order to bring its spirit to life inside the metal.”

“These two are real animals. The dog is a beagle mix named Scout and the cat is a domestic longhair named Snowball. They're at the shelter, waiting to be adopted. I've gotten to know them quite well over the past few weeks.”

“I hope I'll be able to get away from the pie shop booth for a few minutes to watch the race,” Ella Mae said. “From what I've heard, the costumes have been getting crazier every year.”

Dee shook her head in wonder. “I can't believe what a draw this race has become.”

The bed races were a relatively new component of the winter carnival. Havenwood's major competition had always been the annual Fourth of July Row for Dough boat race. That event took place during the height of the tourist season and routinely filled the town coffers. Because of its incredible success, Uncle Buddy had proposed that a race be added to the winter carnival program as well.

The first bed race was relatively small, but thanks to a bunch of riotous YouTube videos, word quickly spread and the number of teams entering had tripled by the second year. Now, teams came from all over the South to compete. The registration fees had also increased, as had the cash awards. If Havenwood's animal shelter could secure one of the three top prizes, beating out teams of triathletes or structural engineers, it would be a real coup for the volunteers who worked there.

“I suspect you'll see plenty of unfamiliar faces in the pie shop starting tomorrow. I heard that lots of teams, including the circuit's most infamous team, The Naughty Nurses, checked into the resort last night.”

Ella Mae rolled her eyes. “Naughty Nurses? Seriously?”

Dee grinned. “These ladies wear very short, very tight uniforms with white garters, and many a competing team has been distracted by their, ah, assets. The Naughty Nurses have caused dozens of crashes. They have a loyal following too. People travel from all over to watch them race. And they're fast.
Really
fast.”

“Can the shelter gals take them?” Ella Mae asked.

“I hope so. I've been researching lightweight metals and different types of wheels for nearly nine months now.” Dee put a hand on the metal frame. “If the Barkers Beauties can avoid a collision, I think they have a strong chance of winning.” She put her welder's mask on her workbench and began to polish the footboard. “Is there something on your mind, hon? I have a feeling you didn't come here to talk about the bed races.”

Ella Mae filled her in on the investigation. “I need Verena's help. But how can I get Barric and Aiden and the rest of the Oak Knoll folks to open up to her?”

Dee tapped on the bed. “Get her to chat with them at the carnival or while they're watching the race. If they're distracted, they're unlikely to realize that they're being grilled by a woman who can tell whether they're lying or not.”

“You're brilliant, Aunt Dee.” Ella Mae gave her a hug. “I always find answers when I come over here.”

“It's the animals,” Dee said. “They settle us—give us the kind of peaceful calm we need to be able to think straight.” She slid the door open and was immediately rushed by three dogs and an orange tomcat. Dee's pets gazed at her with adoration. She leaned over to ruffle their fur and coo at them. “Theirs is an unselfish kind of love. They ask so little, yet give so much. People aren't like that, Ella Mae. Look at Eira and Barric. Both of them were unfaithful. They made promises they couldn't keep. They hurt each other deeply. That isn't an unselfish love.”

“No, it isn't,” Ella Mae agreed. “But what about the man who gave Eira what she most wanted? The chance to have a child of her own? Could she have been in love with him?”

Dee considered this. “I'm not certain she was capable of loving any man. She was married to Robert Morgan, made promises to Barric, her childhood sweetheart, and still, she had another lover. A man who doesn't want to be known.”

“Why do you say that?”

“Because he's stayed in the shadows instead of coming forward to seek justice for her,” Dee said. “If he loved her, he'd act.”

“Maybe he's safe as long as he hides. I'm sure both Robert and Barric would try to punish him for sleeping with Eira,” Ella Mae said. She watched a black cat slink into the woods, instantly disappearing in the dark. “On the other hand, this third man could be the killer. In that case, he'll stick to the shadows to protect himself.”

“Why did all these men fall for her?” Dee mused. “She had a fragile beauty, I could see that. But what made her truly special was long gone by the time we found her that night on the mountain. What was it?”

“Her dancing,” Ella Mae said without hesitation. “That was her gift. It must have had the same effect on men as Loralyn's voice. Eira could seduce through dance. I assumed that she was sweet and innocent, but she may have been more manipulative than I could ever imagine. Even Loralyn doesn't toy with three men at once. She usually limits herself to two.”

Dee seemed lost in thought. Scooping up an orange tomcat, she began to stroke the fur under his chin. He purred and rubbed his pink nose against her cheek. “Where did this third man see her dance? Perhaps Eira's friend can tell you.”

Ella Mae groaned. “The things I've learned today are going to tear Jenny apart! She thought she was Eira's closest friend, but look at all the secrets Eira kept from her.” Ella Mae squatted down to pet a yellow lab who'd grown tired of trying to get Dee's attention. “I hate to cause her any more pain. She's strong, but she's been through so much already.”

“Having Eira's murderer behind bars will help everyone heal,” Dee said softly. “It's the unanswered questions that keep our wounds from closing.”

Whenever Dee spoke so morosely, Ella Mae wanted to ask what had happened to give her aunt such insight about pain and loss. Reba had once told her that Dee had had her heart broken, but no one would elaborate any further.

Hasn't everyone had at least one broken heart?
Ella Mae thought as she glanced at the animals Dee had taken in. It suddenly occurred to her that her aunt surrounded herself with these homeless cats and dogs because loving them was less risky than engaging in a relationship with another human being. Ella Mae didn't know who'd caused Dee to don such thick armor, but it must have happened many years ago, because her aunt had been alone as long as Ella Mae could remember.

As if sensing her thoughts, Dee said, “My questions were never answered and I never got over my first heartbreak. I'll tell you all about it, but not today. I have a bed to finish and you have far more important tasks to accomplish.” She let the squirming tom jump from her arms. Ella Mae watched the cat run off to seek cover under the nearest bush, said good-bye to Dee, and then ushered Chewy into the Jeep.

“Let's go home,” Ella Mae said to her terrier. “A hot bath and a big glass of wine are calling my name.”

She carefully edged away from the animals and drove down her aunt's long and winding driveway. Overhead, the moon was an insignificant sliver and the stars were concealed behind a curtain of dark clouds. The trees lining the road were black hulking shadows and the forest felt close. Too close.