Pecan Pies and Homicides (7 page)

Reba pulled a short knife from her boot and was about to slice the apple from the branch. “Might as well give it a try,” she said when Ella Mae stayed her hand.

“I'll enchant my own apples. Let's leave these where they belong.”

Nodding, Reba put her knife away. “I don't know how you're gonna figure out who needs help now that your friend is gone.”

“I guess I'll have to talk to Robert Morgan.”

“Not necessarily,” Reba said. “Her friends will be at her funeral. You've got to track down that girl from the coffee shop in Eira's town. The one who knows everything about everybody.”

“Yes,” Ella Mae agreed. “I need to find Jenny.” She wrote the word “courage” on the leaf and put it in her pocket to release once they left the grove. “I started off the weekend by crashing a party. Despite the fact I was completely uncomfortable with that, I'm going have to take my rudeness a step further. Now I need to crash a funeral.”

• • •

After leaving Havenwood Mountain Park and tossing her leaf into a breath of cold wind, Ella Mae had Reba drop her off at Canine to Five. She was a little early for her date with Hugh; she needed to see him. Even though she couldn't reveal that she was of a race of magical beings, she could tell him that the beautiful young woman she'd met at the Gaynors' party had been found dead. She wanted Hugh to gather her in his arms, to rub her back while she put her face on his shoulder and took in his scent of wet grass and summer rain.

Waving good-bye to Reba, she opened the front door and walked past the unmanned reception desk and down the corridor toward the small pool where the dogs were allowed to take their daily swim. She entered the spacious room and let out a gasp. Candles burned everywhere. Hundreds of candles of every shape and color. They were grouped on tables and lined the entire perimeter of the pool. Dozens more, shaped like lily blossoms, floated in the water. Soft light reflected off the walls and the surface of the water, making the room almost as magical as the grove.

Hugh had arranged a picnic near the shallow end. Ella Mae approached the table, smiling as she noted a glass wine decanter, china dishes, a moss-green vase filled with pink carnations, and a plate of chocolate-dipped strawberries.

As she reached out to warm her hands over the candles on the table, Hugh came out of the kitchen carrying a bottle of red wine. “You're early!” he said and pointed at her purse. “I hope you remembered your suit. We're having a starlight swim.” Seeing Ella Mae glance up at the ceiling in confusion, he smiled. “Watch this.”

Setting the wine on the table, he jogged over to the wall. He pressed a button on the stereo and Billie Holiday's “It Had to Be You” floated through the speakers. He then switched off all the overhead lights, allowing the candle flames to glimmer and wink in the dimness.

Ella Mae dropped her purse on the floor and knelt by pool's top step. The water was warm and inviting.

“How does it feel?” Hugh asked, coming to stand beside her. “I thought we could eat and then—”

She silenced him by pressing her fingers over his mouth. Kicking off her shoes, she yanked off her socks, unzipped her jeans, and wriggled out of them.

“Oh,” Hugh said, watching her.

Ella pulled her sweater over her head and tossed it away. Wearing only her bra and panties, she stepped into the pool. With the water lapping at her ankles, she turned and held out her hands. Hugh took them and bent to kiss her.

“I guess you don't have much of an appetite,” he teased.

“Not for food.” Ella Mae began to unbutton Hugh's blue shirt. As she slid each button free, she told him about Eira. She touched his chest with trembling fingers.

Grabbing her wrist Hugh raised her fingers to his lips and kissed each one. “You're upset. Maybe this”—he gestured at the room at large—“isn't a good idea.”

She looked up at him. “I've always wanted you, Hugh. But right now, I
need
you. And I do have an appetite. Take off the rest of your clothes, come into the water, and I'll show you exactly what I mean by that.”

Hugh didn't hesitate. He shucked out of his shirt, threw his pants on top of Ella Mae's, and dove into the pool. Arching his body, he sailed right over the top three steps and entered the water without a splash. He was like an arrow piercing a piece of blue silk. Breaking the surface, he smiled impishly and pulled her so that she lost her balance and fell into his arms. Cradling her tightly, he walked deeper into the water. And then he gave her another mischievous smile and buckled his knees, submerging them both. When they rose to the surface again, they were both completely wet.

To Ella Mae, Hugh had always looked like a merman, but never so much as at this moment. His dark, wavy hair was slicked back and fat droplets clung to his handsome face, his sculpted chest, and his muscular arms. He belonged to the water. Even his eyes, which were the brilliant blue of a Grecian sea, rippled with waves of light.

I don't know what you are
, Ella Mae thought.
But you are no ordinary man
.

That was the last lucid thought she had. After Hugh bent to kiss her neck just below her earlobe, her senses could focus only on the feel of his lips and his hands. She barely noticed when he carried her out of the water, naked and dripping, to a makeshift mattress made of two pool floats. All she knew was that she wanted Hugh Dylan. And now, the moment she'd been dreaming about since she was a teenager was finally happening.

Smiling in joyful expectation, Ella Mae lay back and closed her eyes against the candle flames, which winked and flickered in the darkness like a host of fireflies.

• • •

Much later, wrapped in soft towels and happiness, Ella Mae and Hugh ate a cold supper.

“The Parmesan chicken was a nice choice. It tastes good hot or cold.” Ella Mae grinned and gestured at the cucumber salad and the bowl of noodles tossed with garlic, olive oil, and tomatoes. “If I hadn't known better, I'd have said you prepared an entire meal that didn't need to be heated.”

Hugh grinned. “I had other things on my mind when I came up with the menu.” He passed her a basket filled with slices of French bread. “You were hungry as a bear.”

Ella Mae took a heel of the crusty bread and glanced at her empty plate. “I guess so.”

The two of them laughed and talked of everything and nothing. They filled each other's glasses and savored the sweet strawberries. And by the time they'd eaten all the food and drunk all the wine, the candles were sputtering and the night felt old.

Suddenly, the mood shifted. Ella Mae didn't know why, but she could feel it. She pulled her towel tighter around her shoulders and looked at Hugh. He was staring at her with a tender expression. But there was sadness in his eyes too. “What's next for us?” he whispered. “I want to share my life with you, Ella Mae. So what do we do about this weird thing between us? We don't even talk about it, but it's not exactly normal that we both have to be soaking wet to avoid setting each other on fire.”

Ella Mae had been anticiptating this conversation for months now. She was unsurprised that Hugh had picked this moment to talk about their unusual problem. After all, they'd both just allowed themselves to be completely vulnerable, letting go of any inhibitions and doubts. They should have been giggly and starry-eyed, but theirs was a different kind of intimacy. They'd already overcome obstacles to be together. They'd have to overcome many more if they wanted to stay together.

Ella Mae got out of her chair and sat down on Hugh's lap. His arms automatically closed around her. “I don't know why we're like this,” she said. “There must be something in us that combines to create the burning sensation. But how do we discover what that something is? Or why our bodies react this way? We can't go to a doctor or a therapist. Can you imagine how they'd look at us?”

“Like we were total nut jobs.” Hugh laughed. “We can share a padded room until we both grow old and gray.” He tightened his grip and rested his chin on her shoulder. “That would still be better than the alternative: life without you. We can figure it out, Ella Mae. I don't know how, but I feel like we can do anything together.”

She put her hand over his. “We're going to be taking lots of baths, showers, and dips in the pool. Maybe we should move to a tropical island. We can swim all year long.”

They fell quiet until the Billie Holiday CD started over for the sixth time. “I have to turn that off,” Hugh said and Ella Mae stood up. She watched him walk away, feeling wretched that she couldn't be honest with the man she loved.

Can I continue to do this?
she wondered silently.
To keep secrets from him day after day, let alone year after year?

Feeling cold, Ella Mae got dressed. When she was done, she turned to find Hugh looking at her with questioning eyes. “Can I help you clean up?” she asked.

He shook his head. “No. This place is closed tomorrow, so I can do it then.” He put his shirt on and began to button it. “I guess you don't feel like sleeping on those pool floats, do you?”

She knew he was teasing, but she had a better idea. “Come home with me,” she said.

“How about tomorrow night?” He took her by the shoulders and kissed her lightly on the forehead.

She hugged him tightly. So much had happened over the last twenty-four hours that she could use a little solitude to process all of it, and yet, she didn't want the night to end. Not like this. “I wish we could be like everyone else, but I know that we belong together. That's all that matters.”

“Trust me, I don't want to be like everyone else,” he said. “From the outside, you and I might look like a complicated mess. But to me, what we have is nothing short of magic.”

Ella Mae smiled over his choice of words. “Come home with me. I'm not ready to let you go.”

“How can I argue with that?” Hugh gestured in a wide arc, indicating all the candles. “But you'll have to help me put these out. It wouldn't look good for one of Havenwood's volunteer firefighters to burn down his own business.”

“No, it wouldn't,” Ella Mae agreed, feeling warm and happy again. She leaned over to blow out the nearest candle flame, and unbidden, her mind formed a picture of a charred and blackened grove. She moved to the next candle and snuffed its fragile light, wishing she could extinguish the arsonist with similar ease.

And then she came upon a white candle covered in silver snowflakes and she thought of how Sissy had compared Eira's frozen corpse to that of the Little Match Girl. Like the child in the fairy tale, Eira had been cold and alone when she'd breathed her last, lacy breath. As Ella Mae blew out the flame, she could only hope that Eira had slipped away as if she'd slowly drifted off to sleep, dreaming of music and dancers, the stage lights and the applause of a delighted audience warming her like a thousand suns.

Ella Mae had grown accustomed to sleeping with Chewy curled up at her feet and an empty space beside her, so it felt strange and wonderful to wake and find Hugh there instead. Less wonderful was the fact that Dante, Hugh's Harlequin Great Dane, was stretched out across Ella Mae's legs.

“Dante. Get down,” she whispered and tried to extricate her feet from beneath his bulk. He was not a light dog. In fact, Ella Mae was certain he weighed more than she did. She wriggled her legs again. “Dante. Off.”

The Great Dane raised his massive head, yawned, and went right back to sleep.

“Chewy!” Ella Mae hissed. “Wake up! Chewy! Breakfast!”

Chewy stirred to life. He stood up and stretched.

“Breakfast,” Ella Mae repeated.

Wagging his tail, Chewy dashed out of the room, arousing Dante's curiosity. The big dog lurched to his feet and followed the little terrier. Ella Mae winced as sensation returned to her legs.

Pulling on her robe, she wriggled her feet into slippers and went downstairs to feed the dogs and brew coffee. She let Chewy and Dante outside and was just shaking the dew from the Sunday edition of the newspaper when the phone rang.

“Hope I didn't wake you!” Aunt Verena bellowed.

“No, I'm up. Are you calling to tell me something about Eira's case?”

Verena put her hand over the speaker and shouted for Buddy to turn the oven off. “Sorry, hon. I had a hankering for cinnamon rolls this morning and they're ready. The timer could beep from now until next Tuesday and Buddy would act like he didn't hear a thing.” She sighed. “I don't have any more information on the poor girl, but I made a few phone calls last night to learn more about her husband. Some of Opal's party guests are my friends too.”

“And what did they say?”

“That Robert Morgan is a businessman with a reputation for ruthlessness. No wonder Opal is welcoming him to Havenwood with open arms! He and Eira were married for two years, and from what I could glean from the gossip shared among the folks from Oak Knoll, Morgan had been in perfect health prior to becoming engaged to Eira. He only asked her to marry him after his so-called accident. According to one of my friends, the Tennesseans clammed up when asked why Morgan needed a wheelchair.”

Ella Mae wasn't sure why Robert Morgan's physical state was relevant. “Do you think he was faking his disability? That he drove Eira to the park, possibly drugged her, and left her there to freeze to death?”

“I wish I knew!” Verena sounded frustrated. “But I heard Morgan talking to a police officer at the station last night and I was getting tingles all over. He's a liar, Ella Mae. Every other word out of his mouth was a lie. You know I can tell when someone's being dishonest, and if this man were Pinocchio, a dozen birds would be perched along the length of his nose!”

“I'm going to call Eira's friend Jenny in a little while. I don't know if her coffee shop is open on Sundays, but I have to contact her. I bet she's heard all the dirt on Robert Morgan.”

Verena wished her luck and then hung up, no doubt eager to get her hands on a tray full of warm cinnamon rolls. Ella Mae poured herself some coffee and began to fry bacon strips. While the bacon was sizzling, she opened her laptop and looked up coffee shops in Oak Knoll. There was only one. It was called Lulu's Lattes and was open seven days a week.

“A man could get used to waking up to this,” Hugh said when he came into the kitchen. “You, looking beautiful, and bacon.”

Ella Mae glanced down at her bathrobe and laughed. “You don't have very high standards, do you?”

“The highest.” Hugh crossed the room and kissed her. The kiss was light, but Ella Mae felt a spark of heat against her lips. She pulled away, ostensibly to save the bacon from burning. Cracking eggs into a bowl, she asked Hugh to pour two glasses of orange juice and set the table.

“I thought I felt the bed lurch to one side last night.” Hugh opened the refrigerator and peered inside. “Did Dante crush you?”

“I couldn't feel my legs, but he kept me warm.”

Hugh frowned. “Hey, now. That's my job.”

“No, your job is to find the orange juice,” she teased.

They shared a leisurely breakfast, while watching the dogs through the window. Chewy and Dante were playing a game of tag on the lawn. They barked noisily and raced back and forth over the frost-covered grass, their exhalations drifting into the air like puffs of smoke.

“I'm going to have tenants in Partridge Hill,” Ella Mae told Hugh. “I hope they all like dogs.”

Hugh gestured at the main house with a piece of bacon. “You're letting strangers move in? Why?”

Ella Mae shrugged. “Mom won't be back until spring. Maybe even later. She doesn't want the house to sit empty in the meantime.” She made herself smile. “It'll be nice to see lights on at Partridge Hill during the long winter nights. And the renters can help with the housework. I have enough trouble keeping my own place clean.”

Hugh examined his empty plate. “Speaking of messes, I'd better get down to Canine to Five and take care of the one we made. If my staff sees what I left behind, you and I will be the topic of conversation at every water cooler in Havenwood on Monday.” He collected the dirty dishes and carried them to the sink. After washing everything by hand, he refilled Ella Mae's coffee mug. “What are you doing today?”

Ella Mae pointed at the newspaper. “After I read this, I'm going to create the menu for The Charmed Pie Shoppe booth at the winter carnival. Is the fire department sponsoring an activity again this year?”

“We're responsible for the bonfire and the Polar Plunge. Someone usually comes close to having a heart attack after they dive into the lake, but it's one of those events that raises tons of money so we keep doing it. I overheard your uncle saying that he has over a hundred pledges already.” Hugh put on his coat. “Is Havenwood's mayor a good swimmer?”

Ella Mae got up and walked him to the door. “Not really. If Uncle Buddy's taking the plunge, you'd better be dressed in a wetsuit and have a defibrillator on hand.”

Hugh didn't seem concerned. “I don't really get cold in the water. Must be my alien DNA.” He kissed her on the cheek. “After I clean up Canine to Five, I'm going to try to solve our mystery, Ella Mae. Starting today, I plan to check out every Internet site that so much as hints at our situation.”

“If you do a search for sparks between lovers, you're going to end up with a bunch of romance novel titles or links to porn sites.”

Hugh flashed one of his characteristic impish grins. “Sounds like the perfect Sunday.”

• • •

After Hugh left, Ella Mae called Lulu's Lattes and asked for Jenny.

“That's me,” a woman said in a light and merry voice.

Her cheerfulness gave Ella Mae pause. Unless she was an incredible actress, Jenny didn't know about Eira's death.

No one called her
. With dismay, Ella Mae realized that she would have to be the one to tell Jenny the terrible news.

She gave Jenny her name and explained that she owned a pie shop in Havenwood. “I met Eira at a party Friday night. She asked for my help.”

“Oh, thank goodness. Can you do anything for us?” Jenny's tone was laced with both hope and fear.

Ella Mae heard the hiss of milk being steamed and the pleasant din of customers talking in the background. “Yes, but maybe we should have this conversation later.”

“No way,” Jenny said. “Give me your number and I'll call you back from my car. I always listen to audio books on my break. I'm a book and junk food addict.”

She's going to fit right in
, Ella Mae thought after Jenny hung up. She moved to the window seat and gazed out at her mother's dormant garden, wishing she didn't have to be the one to shatter Jenny's world. But she doubted Robert Morgan would call Eira's friends to tell them what had happened. He might not even invite them to her funeral. If there was a funeral.

Less than a minute later, Jenny was back on the phone. “It was so nice of you to call, Ella Mae. I can't tell you how worried I've been about our future. The closest grove is in the North Carolina mountains, and while it's beautiful there, there isn't much work to be had. A few people have gone to Colorado or as far north as Montana, but I hate the cold. There are at least twenty of us looking to start a new life in a place not too different from Oak Knoll, and as soon as Eira told me she was headed to Havenwood, I started researching the town. It seems like the perfect place for all of us.”

Ella Mae assured her that she was welcome to come for a visit and to stay at Partridge Hill. “Jenny, we have our share of troubles here. Even though I wanted to touch base about relocating you and your friends, I also have something really difficult to tell you.”

“It's Eira, isn't it?” Jenny's voice was suddenly taut with anxiety. “She checks in with me every day. When I didn't hear from her on Saturday, I had this terrible feeling. . . . Her bastard of a husband keeps her on such a short leash. What's he done to her now?”

“I'm so sorry, but Eira's dead.” Ella Mae spoke as gently as possible. There was no point in delaying the pain any longer. “I don't know how she died, but I will find out. I promise you.”

Jenny went silent. She didn't scream or burst into tears, she just seemed to disappear. Ella Mae couldn't even hear her breathing, so she just kept talking. “I was the one to find her. We were supposed to meet at our grove. When I arrived, it was already too late. She looked like she'd been there all night.” Ella Mae spoke quickly, knowing that every word was like a dagger. “She said she needed sanctuary. Who was Eira scared of, Jenny? Her husband?”

There was no answer.

“She looked as if she'd gone to sleep within inches of the grove's entrance,” Ella Mae went on. “For some reason, she didn't go inside. She was lying on the ground with no coat. No hat. Nothing. Someone had to have dropped her off. Who would have driven her to our park? Robert? Barric?” She waited for a moment and then spoke more firmly. “Jenny, I know this is devastating, but Eira's death is all wrong. If someone hurt her, I want them to pay. Don't you?”

Jenny let loose an enraged howl. Ella Mae flinched as a high note of grief and fury burst through the phone speaker. She waited while Jenny released another guttural cry and then murmured, “It'll be okay. Shhhh. Shhhh. Talk to me, Jenny. Talk to me.”

“Why should I?” Jenny demanded. “I don't know you. I don't know anyone from your town. How can I trust you? My best friend is dead, my grove's been burned, and I have no place to go. In a few minutes, I'm supposed to go inside and serve coffee as if nothing happened. It's too much. I can't take another blow. I can't take any more. . . .”

“I know exactly how you feel,” Ella Mae said after a moment. “Listen. Please. My mother is the Lady of the Ash. My role is to serve my people, and I promised Eira I would do my best by her people too. Come to Havenwood. Help me find justice for Eira and create a new future for you and the others who've lost their grove.”

Jenny was silent for several seconds. “I don't have any other choice but to trust you. I'll be there in three hours.” She expelled a deep breath. And then another. Jenny was pulling herself together, steeling herself against her grief. At that moment, Ella Mae knew that Jenny Upton was made of stern stuff. She was glad of it. She needed Jenny to look after the people who'd be relocating to Havenwood.

Ella Mae had so many questions for Jenny, but she knew that they would have to wait. She gave Jenny directions to Partridge Hill and, after saying that she was sorry about Eira once more, said good-bye.

Chewy jumped onto the window seat cushion and put his head in Ella Mae's lap. She stroked his neck and velvety ears and stared out the window, where a male cardinal was flitting from branch to branch on the dogwood tree. The flash of his red feathers was a stark contrast to the rest of the gardens' beiges and browns. Ella Mae looked for the cardinal's mate, but the female was nowhere to be seen.

“She has more camouflage than the male,” Ella Mae murmured to Chewy. Inadvertently, she thought of how Eira's ethereal beauty stood out in a crowd. There was one person who would have hated to share the spotlight with such a lovely, young woman. Someone who would have viewed Robert Morgan as excellent husband material. That person was Loralyn Gaynor.

“Could she be involved?” Ella Mae asked Chewy. “Or do I just want her to be a suspect?” Chewy sighed and licked her palm. Ella Mae ran her fingers through her dog's fur and wondered how long it would take the medical examiner to get Eira's lab results back. Without knowing how Eira had died, Ella Mae couldn't begin to figure out who'd had a hand in her death. Not unless she could discover who had driven her to the park in the first place.