Vintage Whispers (A Cozy Retirement Mystery Book 1) (11 page)

“Traveling corpse?” Opal thought about the description. “I like it.” 

“Oscar made it from Kelly’s bed to the coroner’s office to wherever he is now.” Pearl paused. “Wait a second.” She undoubtedly had another ah-hah moment. “But Oscar didn’t live with Kelly.”

“Maybe he spent the night at her studio or vice versa,” Opal suggested.

“He doesn’t seem the type, especially with his irritability and all,” Pearl said.

“You, my friend, are a genius.”

“Really?”

“No. She was being nice,” Opal hurriedly said, thrusting the paper and pen forward. “Here’s the list. If anything happens, go back to Johnny’s car and wait there. If we don’t meet you soon thereafter, call Sheriff Littleton.”

“But he’s on the list,” Pearl reminded her.

“And so is Johnny,” Mary Louise said, handing over the binoculars. “Watch our backs, but if anything happens get out of here.”

“Save yourself,” Opal added.

“I’m not Johnny. I don’t leave my friends behind.”

Opal narrowed her eyes and took a death grip on her flashlight.

“Let it go.” Mary Louise left them to snarl at one another and hurriedly tiptoed across the lawn, acting more like a retired ballet dancer than a sleuth-in-the-making. She muttered a few choice words when she stepped on several snapping twigs, but it didn’t compare to the old porch squeaks. As soon as she hit the first split board, the loud cracks and pops began. The darn planks moaned, whined, and groaned with each footstep.

In her periphery, she noticed Opal hightailing it to the barn. Maybe they should’ve stayed together.

About that time, the double metal doors swung wide open and the chilling sound of a dying generator filled the air. The lights went out and all was dark. Mary Louise turned. “Opal!” Her voice carried. A nearby cow responded with a bellowing moo.

“Run!” Pearl motioned for her. “Get out of there!”

Mary Louise paused in her tracks. “Wait. Is that a…”

Before she could finish, a white single-cab truck with black tinted windows sped by her. Opal held fast to her red beanie. Right as the vehicle approached, she jerked the darn thing over her face, turning one way or another as if she didn’t have the ability to remove it again.

Thinking she may have been disoriented, Mary Louise squatted next to the picket fence and waited for Opal to regain her bearings. When it didn’t happen, she and Pearl raced to her side.

“Who was that?” Pearl twirled Opal around and rolled the material away from her face. “Any idea?”

“No. I couldn’t see a doggone thing.”

“Well I wonder why,” Mary Louise said.

“Really,” Opal grumbled. “I couldn’t think of anything else to do. I didn’t want them to see me.”

“I hate to tell you this but it needs to be said.” Pearl looked dead serious. “You wear costumes, not clothes. You never dressed for success or comfort but for attention. Whoever was behind the wheel of that truck, knows who you are.” She shuddered. “You’ve been marked.”

“You sound jealous.” Opal remained clearly shaken. She kept fidgeting and looking around like she halfway expected the truck to return and plow right over them.

“I’m not. But you and your wooden shoes are about as recognizable as a misplaced Scarecrow so if I were you, I’d click my heels and race for home. If we have a murderer on the loose, you’re probably next on his hit list. And I’m guessing he knows where to find you.”

Chapter Eleven

“Are you planning to make this a regular habit?” Someone with a baritone voice stepped behind them as soon as they slipped through the gates and picked up their pace, walking toward the hillside manor.

Pearl was the first to spin around. She clasped her hands together and acted as pleased as punch. “Oh there you are, Dr. Smalls. Well I sure didn’t expect to see you here.”

“Well I expected to see you,” he informed her, sounding as if he were about to hand down corporal punishment.

Opal thumbed the gate. “We were uh…trying to…”

“Don’t you dare say ‘leave’ because I’ve been waiting for you. You’re the reason I was called in early this morning. You’re the reason that I’m standing before you now. Care to tell me what’s so important that you have Johnny from the Neighborhood Bar and Grill driving you around after dark?”

Pearl clicked her tongue. “Well, if you must know. We’ve always been the kind of girls who like to ride around on the back roads and drink beer.”

Opal immediately jerked. “Really?”

Mary Louise stifled her laughter.

“Is that right?” He sounded amused, which was a positive. “And Johnny drives you?”

“Absolutely.”

“While you drink beer?” His nostrils flared and Mary Louise assumed he didn’t detect alcohol.

“Okay we’re caught,” Pearl said, throwing up her arms. “What do you want me to say?”

“Start with the truth.”

“He—Johnny—didn’t mean to. He isn’t involved.”

“Is that right?” Dr. Smalls took a deep breath and stared at Pearl for a few moments before he addressed Opal. “I understand you were out at the Jackson place tonight. Care to tell me why?”

“Not at all,” Opal said smugly. “It’s a free country.”

“That’s all you have for me?”

“Yes, pretty much. This is a retirement community and while I’m sure you have curfews and rules for your residents to follow, I have an obligation to help people I care about.”

“Wait a minute.” He frowned. “Does this concern the same friend you mentioned this morning?”

“What friend?” Opal turned to Mary Louise.

She groaned. “We discussed
our friend
when we spoke to Dr. Smalls earlier. Remember?”

“It was just this morning,” he said. “I’m sure it’s tough to keep your days and nights straight when you stay up until dawn and run around all night.”

“It is,” Pearl drawled, not helping at all.

“Well I haven’t slept, ladies. And I’m not happy to be standing here now. Tell you what. Why don’t you girls decide if you’d like to become permanent residents here. In turn, I’ll think about whether or not I’ll let you stay. Deal?”

Pearl looked frantic. “You can’t do that.”

“Oh yes I can,” he said, crossing his arms. “I’m responsible for you. If something happens to you on my watch then I have to answer for it.”

“He means he could get sued,” Opal explained.

“Oh we wouldn’t do that,” Pearl said. “We left here of our own free will.”

“Good. I’m glad to know there weren’t any ghosts from the past leading you astray.” He blew out a hard breath. “I’ve heard enough of that for one year.”

“See there,” Opal said, grinning. “At least we aren’t seeing things or pretending to be someone we’re not.”

“That’s debatable. Were you detectives, cops, or perhaps investigators in another lifetime?”

“How’d you know?” Pearl asked, never cracking a smile.

Dr. Smalls wasn’t amused. “Look ladies. You can’t wander around after curfew. It isn’t safe. I don’t mind to arrange transportation for you during normal business hours. However, we don’t have any drivers who roam the back roads.”

“Perhaps you should hire Johnny,” Pearl suggested.

“We’re not beer guzzlers under normal circumstances.” Mary Louise set the record straight. They didn’t drink much at all and they certainly didn’t throw back the booze with the local boys.

“Good to know.”

“Anything else?” Mary Louise asked.

“That’s pretty much it.”

“Fine. Goodnight.” She was so embarrassed. “Come on, girls. Let’s scoot.”

“Sorry you had to worry with us tonight.” 

“What she said,” Opal added. “Goodnight, Dr. Smalls.”

“Ladies.”

****

“What were you doing at my farm tonight?” Clarence stepped beyond the shadows and met them at their pod entrance.

Mary Louise jumped. “Clarence, what are you—”

“Answer me,” he grated out.

“Guess you’re the tattletale who keeps Dr. Smalls on speed dial.” Pearl crooked her finger back and forth. “You should be ashamed.”

“You’re one to talk. You were trespassing and I want to know why.”

Opal pointed at their living room as soon as Pearl moved aside. “Why don’t you come inside where we can talk in private?”

“I can’t,” he said, snarling. “Rules.”

“Well then we’ll talk to you in the morning,” Mary Louise said, prepared to slam the door in his face and hoping he’d let her.

His hand landed between the wall and doorjamb and he pushed his way inside. A big guy, Clarence had always been a nice person. Regardless of his size, Mary Louise had never thought of him as intimidating. Tonight he was different. He pushed his way around her and immediately went to the sitting area.

“Can we get you anything?” Pearl asked, flitting around nervously. “I could make you a grilled cheese, put on a pot of potato so—”

He jerked at the mention of Samantha’s favorite foods. “You’ve been talking to Johnny.”

“We see Johnny B from time to time,” Opal said, trying to cover. “He recently gave Pearl his recipe for a grilled cheese sandwich.”

“There’s no special secret to it. He buys his bread from the local bakery, toasts it on both sides in melted butter and slaps a piece of American cheese in between the slices. What’s so hard about that?”

“Pearl can’t cook,” Opal said, nervously wringing her hands.

“Then how come she’s been teaching the sheriff how to make stews and casseroles and such?”

“I wouldn’t eat anything from her table,” Opal said, catching a sneer from Pearl.

“She’s entitled to her own opinions.” 

Mary Louise arched a brow and studied Clarence. He acted nervous, guilty. “Can we get you something to drink?” And she shouldn’t have made him feel comfortable. What if he killed his own wife? What if he had blood on his hands? What if…

“You can answer my question. Why were you at my house tonight? I won’t ask again.”

“Well, we thought we’d check in on you and see if you would like to come with us to…” Pearl frantically looked from Opal to Mary Louise. “To…”

“You’re on your own, girlfriend,” Opal said.

Mary Louise sat next to Clarence. “We were prowling. I know we shouldn’t have been but we were and we’re sorry.”

“Prowling?” He took his time and scanned their faces. “What on earth for?” He seemingly relaxed.

“We think your wife was murdered,” Opal said.

Clarence stiffened again.

“I know it sounds crazy, about like it sounds when you hear rumors about me and the sheriff, but it is what it is. She was murdered.” Pearl sat on the other side of the recent widower. “Oh Clarence. I’m so sorry. We didn’t mean to trespass and we didn’t mean to pry. It’s just that Samantha was loved by everyone and when—”

Opal cleared her throat. “Pearl? Stop talking.” It was pretty clear that Clarence didn’t want them on his property. “So you were out there tonight?”

“I wasn’t.”

“Then how did you know we were?”

He abruptly stood, hesitated, and then stomped to the door. “Stay off my land or I’ll report it.” He glanced at Pearl. “I won’t mention this sort of behavior to your boyfriend. I’ll go above his head. Understand me?”

“We’re sorry,” Mary Louise said.

“You’re sorry you got caught,” he said. “Don’t go back there. I’m not asking.”

As soon as Clarence left, Opal blurted, “Guess who just moved to the top of our list?”

“Impossible,” Pearl argued. “He loved his wife.”

“Loved her to death if you ask me.”

“Doesn’t add up.”

“I’m with Pearl on this one. He really doesn’t have a motive. She was dying.”

“And she’d recently developed a friendship with Oscar.” Opal went to the kitchen, retrieved an avocado from the fridge, and pulled a paring knife from a nearby drawer. She sliced and peeled before adding, “I think he killed his wife in a fit of jealousy and then murdered Oscar for betraying his friendship.”