Read Between the Tines (12 page)

"I didn't think you did, but I want to be able to tell Karen where people were at the time of
Gary
's death."

"And what time did he die?"

"I don't know yet. That's why I'm asking about such a broad range of time."

"I was home until 8:30. My wife can confirm I was there. I arrived here before 9:00 and had various appointments all day. My assistant can confirm them."

"How about Daisy Plante, the woman who found
Gary
. Do you know her?"

His eyes took on an interested glint. "Know her? Not really, but I see her on Fridays when she comes in to pick up her paycheck."

Daisy came in every Friday? This was news to me. "So the accounting department hands out the checks?"

"No. We process the payroll then pass it on to the department managers who keep a disbursal log. We used to give them out but had a problem with a few employees who cashed their check then claimed it had been stolen. Company overreacted as usual and now every employee has to sign a log stating they've received it. The manager has to sign as a witness."

"So Daisy would have gotten her check from her manager, Mary Stills?"

"Yeah, unless Mary was off for the day. Then the assistant manager could fill in."

I scribbled a note about Daisy coming to the office weekly. "And what floor is marketing on?"

"Second. Next to personnel."

"Okay, so if she came to the second floor to get her check and your office is on the fourth floor, how did you happen to see her so frequently?"

"Just in passing. In the hallway." His jaw clenched, and he looked at his watch. "This is really going nowhere fast Ms. Turner, and I'm out of time." He jumped to his feet and came around the desk.

I quickly wrote 'why did N see D every week?" on the page and looked helplessly at the list of unasked questions. "I'm not finished. Karen will—"

"Look," he said as he peered down on me. "I'm sorry
Gary
was killed, and I'm sorry his wife is all wigged out about it. But I'm a busy man, and I can't sit around jabbering with you about things I'll probably have to spend time talking to the police about." He motioned toward the door, as if his hand could pick me up and toss me to the curb.

Reluctant to end this conversation, I slowly pushed to my feet. "Do you have an appointment with the police?"

He groaned. "You the Energizer Bunny or something?"

I gave him a slight smile. "I just want to be thorough for my friend."

"Not that it's any of your business, but the chief is coming by this afternoon. Now I have to insist you leave."

He stepped into the hall, and I rushed after him, locking my eyes on his back like a tractor beam. I glued my mind to thoughts of following up on him and especially following up on why he saw Daisy every week.

I might be leaving, but I wasn't done with Nathan Jacobs by a long shot. If Mitch wanted to talk with the man nearly running away from me then Nathan Jacobs knew something of value. I just had to figure out what it was and if it led to the killer.

The gate at security lifted, and I sped under the metal bar as if being freed from jail. As I left the building, the sight of
Gary
's office trussed up with a seal brought back the sight of his body hidden in the leaves, and I suddenly couldn't get away from here fast enough.

At the four way stop on Elm, three cars approached the intersection. I slowed and used the time to switch my cell from the silent mode. Four missed calls. Two calls were from Karen, one from Adam, and one The Garden Gate. Karen could have information about
Gary
's murder. I wanted to punch in her number as fast as my fingers allowed, but after my newfound resolve to patch things up with my sweetie, I would phone him first.

At my age, I couldn't afford to lose a man from failing to return his call. I scoffed at my obvious dual—or has it now reached triple—mindedness. Seriously, I needed to get my priorities straight. I kept a big secret from the man, but I was afraid not to return his call lest he dump me. And radio show callers had been asking me for relationship advice all month?

I punched speed dial for Adam, mounted my headset and eased into the intersection.

"Don't you answer your phone anymore?" he grumbled before I could utter a sound.

Yikes, his attitude was worse than yesterday. No matter. He wouldn't rock my resolve. "Sounds like you're grumpy."

"I'm sorry, but things didn't go so well at our appointment with Lawson this morning." He said sorry, but his tone held no remorse. "Nothing is going right."

"What happened?" I wanted to console him over his day, but if I were honest, I wanted to know about the meeting with Mitch just as much.

"I don't have time to get into it right now. I'm slammed in court all day."

Despite his tone, I put a smile into mine. "Any chance I'll see you soon?"

"Tonight. I asked Perry and Lisa to have dinner with us at The Old School House. I made reservations for seven. I won’t be able to pick you up so I'll meet you at the restaurant."

Hold up. Not again with the mister in charge thing. What was he thinking, making a group date without checking with me? I wanted to spend the night working on this case. Now I was committed to a dinner at one of those tacky theme restaurants and it would last at least three hours.

Had we reached a new level in our relationship where we could take each other for granted, or was his I-forbid-you personality taking over our dating life too? Could I let this go or should I say something?

I slowed behind a garbage truck grinding and heaving as if it were on its last legs. "I don't—"

"Hey, listen another call's coming through. I have to go. See you tonight."

"I don't know if I can make it."

Silence. He did not just hang up on me.

"Adam, are you still there? Adam?" Argh, he so totally did.

I ended the call with a violent stab of my finger on the keypad. The silly phone chimed as if my rough treatment hurt it. I eased around the truck and glanced at caller ID.
Gary
Buzzy. I gasped and my pulse quickened.
Gary
? How could it be
Gary
? Right, Karen must be using their landline. Seriously, how freaky to see
Gary
's name as if he were coming back from the dead.

I accepted the call. "Karen, is that you?"

"Oh, Paige, thank goodness you answered this time." Frantic didn't come close to describing her frenzied tone. "You're the only one who can help me. I need to see you."

Now why couldn't Adam have said that? Couldn't have said something even remotely close to that? "You sound really upset."

"I can't talk about it on the phone. Please, can you come over? Now?"

Could she pique my interest any better than that? I checked my watch. I had an hour before I needed to be at the radio station. Enough time for a quick chat and hopefully enough time to ask a few questions of my own. "I'm on my way."

I hung up, circled the block and pointed my truck in the direction of the Buzzys' house. After Adam took charge for the second time in as many days, I didn't feel guilty about going to see Karen. What was with him, anyway? Maybe I didn't know him like I thought I did? Was he even the right man for me? Not if this continued. I was struggling enough to relinquish control of my life to God; I couldn't be with a man who seemed to want me to give up control, too.

I parked in front of Karen's house and jumped out of the truck. The sight of her house hit me hard, and my anger eased. Shoot, it fully dissolved when I remembered that Karen would just be happy to have
Gary
alive. I sighed. Adam and I could work this out. We just had to talk about it. Tonight after dinner, I'd make him understand why I needed to do this.

I skirted around a silver Cadillac hanging over the sidewalk at the end of the driveway. Must belong to Karen's mom. Strolling up the walkway, I contemplated what to say if she looked down on my involvement in this investigation. Though Karen wanted me to investigate, I wouldn't be surprised if her mom held another opinion.

I pressed the doorbell and patted my hair as if arriving for a job interview. My palms felt moist. What was it with moms? How could the mere thought of one take you back to the childhood angst of getting caught when you'd done something wrong? Not that I engaged in terrible mischief in my youth, but I received my share of groundings and punishments.

The door opened. I sucked in my breath and held it.

"You must be Paige," the smiling older version of Karen said. "I'm Yolanda Brown, Karen's mother."

I released a rush of air. "Karen asked me to come over."

She nodded, her fashionable chin-length bob swinging as she moved. "Please, come in. And thank you for arriving so fast. Karen's in the kitchen." She closed the door and headed for the front hallway, glancing over her shoulder as she glided like a model on the runway. "This has been so difficult for Karen. She seems to brighten a bit when she thinks about catching
Gary
's killer. She's certain you're going to find him."

I followed her down the hall, wishing I had even one fourth of that certainty.

At the kitchen entrance, I hung back and let Yolanda announce my arrival. She wore a linen pantsuit in muted beige, the legs whispering together as she walked. I looked around the renovated room with top of the line stainless appliances, marble countertops, rich mahogany cupboards, and slate flooring.
Gary
had obviously been well paid if they could afford such a sumptuous kitchen.

Karen sat on a padded wrought iron stool behind a wide island. Her eyes were sunken and accentuated with dark moons below. She wore a loose fitting silk pantsuit in a ruby red. Yolanda spoke in quiet tones that seemed appropriate for such a lush space and for Karen's fragility. From this distance, the pair looked like sisters, their profiles nearly identical.

I would have to call Yolanda baby's breath, 'Bristol Fairy' to be exact. In any garden, this plant was one of the most valuable, and her comfort would surely be priceless to Karen right now. Plus 'Bristol Fairy' went so well with feverfew. They would naturally be grouped together in my garden.

Yolanda stepped back, and Karen leaned forward.

"Paige," she shouted and hopped off the stool. Eyes darting about, she rushed across the tile and enveloped me in a fierce hug. "You're the only one who can understand what I'm going through."

Huh, me? Understand the loss of a spouse? Where could she have gotten such an idea? Still, I let her guide me to the island and climbed onto a stool. "So, what's this all about?"

"That police chief, Mitch Lawson, that's what. I want to throttle him something fierce." Eyes darkening, she looked at Yolanda for affirmation. Yolanda patted Karen's hand and gave her a quick nod. Karen drew in her breath. "He called me this morning. All syrupy sweet at first. I thought he was so kind to call and offer his condolences. But then, he asked the unthinkable." She clutched her chest.

I sat forward in anticipation. "What did he ask?"

"He had the nerve to ask me if
Gary
was having an affair. Imagine! And if that wasn't enough he hinted that I'd found out about the affair and killed him." Her voice broke in a sob.

I squirmed on the seat until my back connected with the iron. So this was what I was good at dealing with? Mitch's misplaced ideas.

Why would he suspect an affair? Did Verna run to him and tattle about the photo Karen had hacked up? Could it have to do with seizing
Gary
's work computer? Did they find something incriminating on the PC? And most importantly, did Karen kill her husband?

I didn't believe it for one minute, but I had to follow up on all clues. "Did Mitch tell you how he came to this conclusion?"

"No and when I pushed, he clammed up and told me he'd be in touch. Just like that. He tarnishes my memory of
Gary
and hangs up. But then,
you
know how that man operates. You've been in my shoes."

I patted her arm, infusing my hand with sympathy. "I sure do understand how frustrating Mitch can be. After a while, I found the best way to handle these feelings of rage is to move forward. Let's forget about Mitch and figure out who really killed
Gary
. Then you won't have to deal with Mitch anymore."

Her eyes brightened. "Did you have any luck with Nathan?"

"He didn't have time to answer all of my questions, but he did give me some background information. I'll need to ask you a few follow up questions. Is this a good time?"

"Yes, of course."

I glanced at Yolanda for her take on questioning Karen in this fragile mood. Yolanda, face wrenching with the pain of watching her child suffer, gave a clipped nod.

I would proceed with caution. "You and Gary moved here three years ago. Could you tell me why?"

She broke into a full smile as if the memory of coming to Serendipity was a pleasant one. "The promotion.
Gary
got a wonderful offer to relocate. In fact," she held her palms up, "we paid for this kitchen with the bonus he got for making the move."