Plum Deadly (28 page)

“You won’t. I know you won’t. Something will come up and you’ll feel compelled to tell the truth. I don’t want to kill you, Maggie. I like you. I loved Lou. We only had each other. I did what I had to do—not that it helped. Stan was stupid enough to get caught anyway. And now what? I can’t think about where to go from here. My life is over. I probably should kill myself after I kill you.”

“You know, Lou loved you too, Jane. He was always talking about you. He wanted what was best for you.” Maggie didn’t know if any of this was true. She was just stalling.

Lou had never mentioned his sister. That’s why Maggie had been so surprised when Jane had introduced herself.

“I know. I suppose you think I’m a terrible person. I mean, who murders their own brother to keep up a standard of living? A very good standard—but still—he was my brother. It wasn’t easy. Lou was soft. Once he found out you weren’t really guilty of stealing that money, he wouldn’t rest until he put it right. I begged him to leave it alone that morning. I didn’t give him the poison until he made it clear he wouldn’t back off, but I was ready for it.”

That must’ve been as much a surprise to her as it was to Maggie that Lou wouldn’t stop until the true embezzler was
revealed. “We can work this out, Jane. I know we can. What can I say that will convince you?”

“There’s only one thing left to say.” Jane sounded like she was crying. “Goodbye.”

Maggie knew Jane couldn’t see her well in the dim light. She’d have to come down off the stairs to shoot her. As soon as Jane started down, Maggie planned to run around the front of the building. Her breath came fast, like she’d been running, and her heart was pounding.

The next instant the back door flew open, knocking into Jane. Light came from inside the pie shop.

“Maggie? What’s going on back here? I thought you said you were going to hurry.”

Maggie didn’t waste another moment. She could see Jane’s slender form on the ground where Aunt Clara had unwittingly pushed her off the stairs.

“Let’s get inside.” Maggie grabbed hold of Aunt Clara’s hand as she shut the door tightly behind them and locked it.

She immediately went to the front of the shop and told Officer Harding what had happened. He called for backup then took out his pistol and walked around to the back of the building.

Maggie grabbed Uncle Fred’s old baseball bat he’d always kept behind the register in case someone tried to rob him.

She tried to convince Aunt Clara to stay in the pie shop. Of course Aunt Clara insisted on going outside with her.

Maggie walked carefully around the building. She didn’t need to bother. It was all over by the time she got there. Officer Harding was handcuffing Jane, who hadn’t
completely revived from her close encounter with the back door.

A few minutes later two other police officers and Frank had arrived. Ryan wasn’t far behind them with his camera. He’d also brought a gun. He kept it hidden since the police seemed to have everything under control.

They took photos of everything—the police and Ryan. Maggie told two officers what had happened, as well as an assistant DA. She’d assured everyone that she was fine.

Aunt Clara was smart. After seeing that Maggie was all right, she had Officer Harding take her home. “There’s nothing else I can do here.”

Maggie agreed, hugging her. “I think you did plenty! You saved my life.”

“No need to be dramatic,” her aunt waved away the praise. “I’ll see you at home.”

Maggie also told Frank everything that had happened. “Jane was waiting for me. She was going to finish the job.”

“You were lucky, like I said. She came right after you again. Maybe that doesn’t seem like a good thing, but because of it Officer Harding was here to save the day. He might not have been if she’d waited too long.”

“I’m glad Aunt Clara was here too,” Maggie said. “If she hadn’t come out at that moment, this story would have another ending.”

Frank looked around. “Where is she, by the way? I’ll need a statement from her too.”

Maggie laughed. “I imagine she’s home watching
Dancing with the Stars
. I hope her statement can wait until tomorrow.”

“Sure. That’s fine,” he said. “
Your
statement can’t, though. Let’s go down to the station and you can tell us once more what happened and how it happened. This time I promise that someone will write it down.”

Ryan drove them to the station after getting as much information as he could. “Aunt Clara must have really walloped her with that door. I never realized she was so dangerous.”

“Only when you get between her and
Dancing with the Stars
. She loves that show.”

He looked at her when they stopped for a red light. “You’re okay, right? No bruises or bullet holes? I’m glad Jane was finally caught. Now you know what happened to Lou.”

“Yes. His sister was afraid of losing everything and poisoned her only brother. How sad is that? If I had a brother, I can’t imagine wanting my three homes, yacht, and country club more than him. I guess it takes all kinds.”

“You know I want a full exclusive for the paper on this.” Ryan smiled. “I hope you’re up for it. We have a few days. I guess I don’t have to ask that you freeze out the other media?”

“I don’t know. They might offer me stuff. Do you have anything to offer for that exclusive?”

He pulled the Honda into the police parking lot. “Dinner? Free rides in my car?” He finally kissed her. “Anything else you have in mind?”

Maggie smiled. “I think those will do for starters.” She glanced at the well-lit police building. “This could take a while.”

“I can wait. There’s always time for dinner.”

She agreed, lamenting that they would probably go out again with her in jeans and a Pie in the Sky T-shirt. The black skirt and turquoise sweater would have to wait for another time.

• • •

H
er interrogation took
even longer than Maggie expected. Frank questioned her first. Captain Lance Mitchell, Frank’s boss, questioned her as well. Then the assistant district attorney questioned her, again. Each asked her if she wanted to have a lawyer present. Maggie didn’t care about that. She knew what had happened and wanted to get this last part over with.

When it was finally finished, she stepped out of Frank’s office. Ryan was waiting for her.

So was Stan Isleb. She hadn’t expected to see him there.

“Mr. Isleb,” Frank said. “Back so soon? I take it you made bail.”

“That’s right.” Stan was still defiant. “I’m here to help my wife.”

Maggie shook hands with Officer Harding and thanked him for his help. She wanted to leave without talking to Stan. He was a past chapter in her life and she wanted to move on.

Stan had other plans.

“Ms. Grady,” he called her name as she and Ryan were about to slip out the door.

Maggie turned back, not sure what she could say to him. He and Jane had lost everything, including each other. She
was involved, but not really part of it. She hoped he’d see that.

If not, they were in a police station. He couldn’t do more than give her a hard time.

“Yes?” She steeled her jangled nerves to take whatever he meant to dish out.

“I want to apologize for both your problems at the bank as well as your problems with my wife.” For a brief moment, he appeared humbled, looking at the floor as though searching for inspiration. “I’m sorry your life was disrupted by ours. I hope you’ll be able to move ahead now.”

Maggie was completely shocked by what he said. She certainly hadn’t expected an apology. “I know you didn’t mean any of this to happen, Mr. Isleb. I hope things work out for you.”

In the quiet of the room, Maggie turned and left.

E
arly the next
morning when the news broke about Jane Isleb’s arrest, a flood of visitors arrived at Pie in the Sky. There was barely enough pie to feed everyone, even with the twelve Amazing Apple pies Aunt Clara and Maggie had made that morning.

“I’d better get in back and get some new ones started,” Aunt Clara said when she saw the crowd of reporters, stunned regulars, and curiosity seekers.

“No. Not now,” Maggie replied. “There won’t ever be a better time to announce the winner of the mystery pie contest.
This is a huge audience. Thousands of people will know. Let’s pick one out of the jar.”

Aunt Clara agreed. It took Maggie a few minutes to get the shop quiet enough so everyone could hear what she had to say. The TV reporters got their microphones and cameras ready.

Maggie stuck her hand into the oversized jar and pulled out a name. She gave the torn piece of yellow legal pad to her aunt.

Aunt Clara read the paper out loud. “Evie Hansen is a student at Duke and she wants the mystery pie to be Evie’s Elegant Eggnog pie. Congratulations, Evie! You’ll get Elegant Eggnog pie until the new year for free!”

Everyone applauded. Maggie wished Evie had been there. It was a little anticlimactic without her. Still, it was a great opportunity to show off the contest. Even as they emptied the jar to start the new contest, customers began putting their names in.

Between the new publicity from Jane’s arrest, and some surprises she had in mind for refurbishing the pie shop, Maggie thought the shop would see a big increase in revenue.

Maggie had plans for the X-Press It owners and Donna Davis from Triple Tan too. She was going to talk to them about paying rent from now on. She was willing to be reasonable, but they needed to realize that paying at least a modest rent was part of running a business.

After about an hour, the excess group of visitors had gone, leaving behind a smaller crowd of regulars with a ton
of questions. Maggie wondered if she’d have to start giving tours of the alley and garbage area. Everyone was interested in where Lou’s body was found and Jane was arrested.

Maggie had to admit there was a certain poetic justice in Jane coming there to threaten her, only to find herself in custody.

Ryan had called her late last night, after he’d dropped her off, to tell her that Jane had already made bail. She and Stan were on a plane home after certain agreements were reached with the Durham District Attorney’s Office.

It certainly put a crimp into her idea of justice to know people got arrested for murder and attempted murder then left to head for their vacation home until the trial. Of course, she couldn’t complain. If the bank would’ve had her arrested for embezzlement, she’d never have been able to prove her innocence. She’d still be in a cell somewhere awaiting trial.

There would be more to it than that, Maggie realized. No doubt Stan and Jane would lose most of what they owned. It might even be more devastating for them than it was for her since she didn’t have that much.

The pie shop stayed busy all morning with no quiet time. It was all Maggie and Aunt Clara could do to keep up with pie making. Coffee poured faster than rain from a downspout. Maggie encouraged her customers to drink iced tea. There weren’t a lot of takers on that. The chilly weather made everyone want something hot.

Ryan had been there with the crowd early in the day. After hearing how busy they continued to be, he brought
lunch for Maggie and Aunt Clara. He even took some pie out to customers and poured coffee so they could sit down and eat.

“Did you have a chance to deposit your check from the bank?” Aunt Clara asked her.

“Yes. And I have some really good ideas about ways to spend it. What would you think about new tables and chairs, a paint job, and new tile? I think Pie in the Sky could use a face-lift, don’t you?”

Aunt Clara smiled. “I think that would be wonderful. I can’t wait to see how it turns out.”

Maggie didn’t tell her about the money she planned to spend on the house. That could come later. She didn’t want her aunt to be too surprised.

“I have good money news too.” Aunt Clara drew a letter from her pocket. “The money from the rents on the shops is enough to pay off the lien on the house. Isn’t that wonderful?”

They both watched Ryan run around the pie shop serving customers.

“He’s a good person,” Aunt Clara observed. “He could use a little practice pouring coffee. Otherwise, I think he’s a keeper, don’t you?”

“I like him a lot,” Maggie admitted. “What about you and his father?”

“It doesn’t seem like Garrett and I are going to work out. He only wants to talk about politics and golf. I only want to talk about pie. We can’t seem to find any common ground. There may be someone else. We’ll have to see.”

“Well, I’m sorry he’s not what you were looking for. I
have a little surprise for you.” Maggie got up and went behind the counter to take a box out of the glass case. She opened it on a perfect coconut cream pie.

“For goodness’ sake. Did you make this all by yourself ?”

“It’s from Mom’s recipe. I started thinking about you not eating your favorite pie because she was gone. I know it probably won’t be as good as hers, but I made it with lots of love.”

Aunt Clara had tears in her eyes as she tried a piece of pie. “This is very good. You added exactly the right amount of coconut. That’s always a hard part. What are you going to call it?”