Treated and Dyed (A Bekki the Beautician Cozy Mystery Book 13) (6 page)

The next morning Bekki found herself in a bit of a fog. She stayed in bed a little longer than she should have. Nick was gone as she had expected. He always left early in the morning when he was working a case. She sat up slowly and saw a note on the bedside table. It was from Nick, letting her know that she was cleared to open the salon. Bekki yawned and started to force herself out of bed. Her phone rang before she could even get out of her pajamas. She picked it up when she saw that it was Sammy calling.

“Hey, I texted Nick and he said we could open today. I'm going to head in and get things ready for the day. Why don't you take the morning off?” Sammy suggested.

“Thanks Sammy,” Bekki said warmly. “But I left the place in a mess yesterday and who knows what the police have done there, so it's probably best if I come in.”

“All right, but take your time, I'll open up,” Sammy said.

“Great, thanks Sammy,” Bekki said. She hung up the phone and finished changing. She was in such a daze that she left the house without even grabbing anything for breakfast. By the time she reached the main strip her stomach was rumbling for food.

She decided to stop at Angela's Bakery for a muffin and some information about the memorial. When she walked into the bakery she found that it was very busy. People were probably still gossiping about the murder. When Bekki walked towards the counter a hush fell over the bakery that had just been filled with chatter. Bekki set her jaw and continued to the counter.

“Hi Bekki,” Angela said warmly. Bekki knew Angela wasn't the type to get too involved in gossip. She always had a kind word and was always willing to help, but the majority of the time she kept to herself.

“Can I have two cranberry orange muffins and two coffees,” Bekki requested.

“For you and Sammy?” Angela asked.

Bekki nodded. “Yes, thank you.”

Angela knew how they liked their coffees since either Bekki or Sammy was in a few times a week to order them. Slowly the chatter began to build up around Bekki again. She knew why everyone had become quiet when she walked in. Not only was she the last person to be with Stella, but her husband was one of the detectives investigating the murder. That made her fascinating for the moment.

“Here you go,” Angela said. She set down a white paper bag with the muffins and two cups of coffee. For just a moment Bekki hesitated. What Nick had said about only eating at home flashed through her mind. The bakery was packed, was it possible that someone could have gotten to her food? “I prepared everything myself, Bekki,” Angela said. She smiled, as if she knew what Bekki was thinking.

“Thanks,” Bekki said. She handed over a ten dollar bill to pay for the coffee and muffins. Angela rung everything up in the register and handed Bekki her change. “Do you need any help with the memorial?” Bekki asked. She tucked the change back into her purse.

“Everything is coming together just fine,” Angela said. “It will be at six tonight, and I will have some food available as well as a variety of drinks. We're going to try to keep it short.”

Bekki nodded. “I think it's great that you are doing this.”

“She belonged to Harroway, and we take care of our own,” Angela said. Bekki smiled at her. She was reminded that there were some very nice things about being from a small town. As she walked out of the bakery with the muffins and coffee she noticed McAllister Dane ducking into the Get and Go. Bekki paused a moment. She wanted to know what he was up to. In the back of her mind she knew that it made perfect sense for Stella's lawyer to visit one of the businesses that she had owned, but still, something felt off to Bekki and she wanted to know exactly what he was doing there. She glanced down at the coffees in her hands. She knew if she waited too long they were going to get cold. She hurried into her car and drove the short distance to Get and Go.

Just as Bekki was parking, McAllister stepped back out of the shop. Bekki watched from her car as Holly followed him out. Holly stood in the doorway of Get and Go. She had her arms crossed. She was glaring fiercely at McAllister. He didn't seem to mind as he slipped something into his pocket and then took off down the road. Bekki was about to get out of the car and find out from Holly what McAllister had been up to, when her cell phone rang. It was Nick.

“Bekki, I wanted to let you know that we've confirmed that the powder on the candy is the source of the poison. Someone crushed up prescription heart medication in a very high dose and coated the candies in the bag with it.”

“Unbelievable,” Bekki said. “Poor Stella never had a chance.” Bekki gasped slightly as she remembered the way that the woman had coughed on the candy. “Oh Nick, I think she knew something wasn't right. If only I had paid attention I might have been able to do something to help.”

“No,” Nick said firmly. “The dosage was so potent that there was nothing anyone could have done to save her. I'm just so glad that you didn't take one of those candies.”

“All of the candies were laced?” Bekki asked as she started her car. She wanted to get to the salon before Sammy was inundated with customers looking for the latest news.

“Yes, someone went to a lot of trouble to make sure that Stella would ingest the medication,” Nick said. “Just do me a favor, Bekki, and stick to our rule. Maybe you shouldn't open the salon today.”

“Nick, we'll be fine,” Bekki assured him. “We'll close in time for the memorial. Are you going to be there?”

“Dave and I should both be,” Nick said. “It's a good place to watch for possible suspects. People that commit these kinds of crimes often like to see the consequences of their actions in person.”

“Wonderful,” Bekki said and narrowed her eyes. She remembered what Angela had said about there being food and drink at the memorial. “Maybe we should monitor the food extra close just in case.”

“Good idea,” Nick agreed. “If you have any trouble, call me.”

“I always do,” Bekki said cheerfully. When she hung up with Nick she pulled out of the parking lot of Get and Go. Holly watched her car leave. She didn't raise her hand to wave, nor did she crack a smile. Bekki kept her head down and drove towards the salon.

***

When Bekki stepped into the salon Sammy was busy sweeping up from the day before.

“Morning Sammy,” Bekki said as she set the two cups of coffee and muffins down on the counter for them.

“Morning,” Sammy smiled. She set the broom against one of the counters and walked over to her.  “Thanks.”

“I forgot to have breakfast and I took the opportunity to stop in at Angela's Bakery to see if she needed any help with the memorial,” Bekki explained. “Of course she doesn't, but she did have fresh coffee and muffins.”

“Are you going to the memorial tonight?” Sammy asked. She opened the lid of her coffee to let the hot liquid cool off a little.

“I think we both should,” Bekki said. “If you want to that is. Stella was a regular customer.”

“Oh yes, I planned to, I just wasn't sure if you would be up for it. After finding her, and with Nick investigating,” Sammy explained.

“They are fairly certain that it was the candy that Stella ate that was poisoned,” Bekki said. “I can't believe that someone would stoop that low.”

“Can you imagine if she had handed out the candy to other people?” Sammy gasped. “It's tragic enough that Stella died, but whoever poisoned the candy apparently didn't care if she was the only one.”

“I know,” Bekki cringed. “Luckily Nick said there were no other reports of people dying.”

“I guess that Stella was as stingy with her candy as she was with her money,” Sammy said.

“She offered me a piece,” Bekki admitted.

“What?” Sammy stared at her friend. “Oh, Bekki, how frightening.”

“I know,” Bekki frowned and shook her head. “It's a little selfish of me, but I keep thinking about what might have happened if I had said yes.”

“Bekki,” Sammy hugged her. “That's a horrible thought. I can see why you're thinking about it though. I don't think I would be able to stop thinking about it either.”

“It's just a hateful thing to do,” Bekki said as she turned away. “I'm not sure that the police will be able to catch the killer either. Truly, the possible suspects are endless.”

“Well, with Nick on the case, and Morris on the street, I'm sure they will get to the bottom of it,” Sammy said with confidence.

“I hope so,” Bekki sighed. “I just can't help feeling that Stella will never get any justice.”

Sammy looked as if she was going to say something more, but the phone began ringing.

“I'll get that,” Sammy said. Bekki snatched up the broom and finished sweeping up the salon. When Sammy hung up the phone she turned to Bekki.

“Looks like we're going to have quite a crowd today. Hattie and her ladies from the quilting class are coming in,” Sammy said.

“Hattie? But she was here two days ago,” Bekki said. “How could she need her hair done again?”

“I don't know, but she just booked appointments for everyone. I have a feeling we're going to be quite busy until the memorial,” Sammy shook her head. “Everyone wants to look their best, I suppose.”

With the memorial plans spreading through Harroway, Bekki was not surprised that the Quilting Club were coming into the salon. Hattie and a group of other women from Harroway created the Quilting Club. They would host quilting events. Bekki was sure that they would all be eager to look their best at the memorial as it was an opportunity to dress up. Bekki knew that it was innocent on their part, but it made her feel a little guilty that the memorial was turning into a social event.

Bekki’s mind wandered back to what McAllister had said about Stella leaving her something in her will. She was sure it wasn't money, but she had no idea what else it could be.

“Here they come,” Sammy warned. She pointed to the large front windows. A flock of women were walking up the front walkway from the parking lot. Bekki braced herself as Hattie swung the front door open.

“Sammy, Bekki, time to get to work,” Hattie said. She held the door open for all of the other women to parade through. Bekki lost track of their names from time to time but she knew that they were all on just about every committee that existed in Harroway.

“We have brand new magazines in the waiting area,” Bekki offered. “We can work with three of you at a time.”

“I should be fine with the style you gave me the other day, Bekki, I'm just here for moral support,” Hattie said.

“Okay, let's get started,” Sammy suggested. She led two of the women to empty chairs. Bekki escorted the third. Soon the group was chatting about the memorial.

“Angela is really so kind to be hosting that memorial,” Hattie said. “You know that Stella once tried to force Angela to sell the bakery.”

“No, I didn't know that,” Bekki said. She layered Beverly's short, gray hair. “Are you sure that's true?”

“I'm sure it is,” Hattie said. She turned the page in the magazine she was holding so sharply that Bekki thought it might have ripped. “She tried to persuade the bank to call back Angela's loan, and she even threatened to bad mouth the bakery around town.”

“That's horrible,” Sammy said. She spritzed Carol's hair with hairspray. “I couldn't imagine anyone being so cruel to Angela. She's never been anything but nice.”

“I know,” Hattie said. “But Stella didn't care about how nice she was. All she wanted was that corner lot. She had big plans to turn it into a discount store. Of course if she did that it would put a lot of the little shops out of business.”

“What did Angela do?” Bekki asked curiously. She walked over to the chair that Maude was sitting in and fluffed her curls carefully.

“Angela stood her ground. She didn't let any of Stella's threats intimidate her. She just dug her heels in and refused to budge. Of course not everyone has the stamina to be able to do that,” Hattie said. “I'm sure Stella ran plenty of good people out of town with her ways.”

“Well, she's gone now,” Bekki said. “So, maybe we should focus more on her good points.”

“You name one, and we'll join in,” Hattie said. She snapped the next page in the magazine. Bekki suspected she wasn't even reading any of the articles, she just wanted something to snap.

“She was always nice to me,” Bekki said. “I think we all need to remember that she has a daughter who has lost her mother.”

“A daughter who couldn't care less about losing that mother,” Beverly piped up. “I've heard the things that Jodie has said about her own mother. Bekki, I know your heart is in the right place, and since Stella passed in your shop you probably feel a little emotional about it, but Stella was a mean old witch. She tried to bankrupt my son, Petey, when he went to her for a personal loan. She agreed to the loan, in return she wanted to be able to have a garden on his dairy farm. He agreed of course. Well, when he went to sign the paperwork, he was wise enough to read it over. She had changed the terms of the loan to reflect that she would own his entire farm if he was late on a single payment. I don't even think that was legal, but I can tell you that if he had signed it, she would have made it stick.”

“I'm sorry about that, Beverly,” Bekki said with genuine sympathy. “I'm really not saying that Stella wasn't ruthless, I'm just saying that her death is still a loss for this town.”