Six Sweets Under, page 12
“He was afraid they’d find his stash of stolen property?”
“I don’t doubt it.”
That made sense, especially if Archie was transporting items onto and off his land on a regular basis. If he stole things, he probably fenced them too, and he most likely would have done that outside of Larch Haven, to keep his shady practices under wraps.
“Pops,” I said, not sure how he’d react to my next words, “you need to tell the police that you took your scooter back from Archie’s place.”
“That wouldn’t look good. It was the same night he was killed.”
“It’ll look worse if they find out some other way,” I pointed out. “Besides, the police know you’re holding back about where you were that evening. Sawyer warned me that there’s a good chance you’re going to get questioned again. You need to tell the police the truth. The whole truth.”
“What’s this?” Lolly interjected.
I hadn’t noticed her on the other side of the screen door. I didn’t think Pops had either.
She came out and joined us on the porch, letting the screen door slam shut behind her.
“Did you finally get the whole story out of him?” Lolly asked me.
“You knew about the scooter?” I said with surprise.
“The one Archie stole?”
I could tell by her confusion that she didn’t know everything.
“Pops has been cagey about where he went walking on the night of the murder because he went to Archie’s place and took his scooter back.”
When the significance of that sank in, Lolly fixed her stern gaze on Pops. “Ernest Ransom, you need to do what your granddaughter says and come clean with the police.”
Pops avoided her eyes. “I don’t want to end up in hot water.”
“You’re already in it, and it’s about to boil,” Lolly said. “If the police find out from someone else what you did . . .”
“That’s exactly what I was saying,” I chimed in. “It’ll look even worse.”
Lolly nodded her agreement with me. “You’re telling the police everything, Ernie. First thing in the morning.”
There was no arguing with Lolly when she spoke with that tone. Pops clearly realized that too.
“All right,” he relented. “I’ll tell the police.”
That should have eased my mind, but I still worried about the whole situation. Yes, it would look worse if the police got the information about the scooter from someone else, but the fact that Pops lied to them also didn’t look good. Once the cops knew the truth, Pops might seem like an even stronger suspect. They might think he went to get his scooter, ran into Archie, got into a fight, and killed him.
I didn’t voice any of those worries out loud. Pops might not have been willing to acknowledge the gravity of his situation, but I thought Lolly had a clear view of things.
My grandmother sent me home with a basket of carrots and sugar snap peas, picked fresh from the garden that day. I snacked on the peas as I walked, thinking once again about who the real killer might be.
I didn’t get very far with my thoughts before I heard Dizzy call my name. I stopped and turned to find her hurrying my way.
She peeked into my basket when she reached my side. “What have you got there? Oh, yum! Are those sugar snaps?”
“Delicious ones. Help yourself.”
Dizzy grabbed a handful of peas and fell into step with me. “I’m guessing you were visiting Lolly and Pops.”
I quickly told her about the scooter situation and how I was hoping to find the real killer so a cloud of suspicion would no longer hang over my grandfather.
“I’ll help,” Dizzy offered without hesitation. “I’ll be the Watson to your Sherlock, the Hastings to your Poirot, the George to your Nancy.”
“What about Bess?”
“I’ll be George and Bess rolled into one.”
That brought a smile to my face. “You’re the best, Diz. There’s just one problem—I’m not sure how either of us can figure out who killed Archie.”
“We’ll brainstorm,” Dizzy said. “But before we do that, we’ve got another situation to talk about.”
“The Justin situation?” I guessed with a distinct lack of enthusiasm.
“Have you talked to him?”
“Not yet.”
“You’ve come to a decision, though.” It was a statement, not a question. Dizzy knew me well.
“I have.”
“Don’t you think you should get the whole thing over with?”
“He’s probably still at the office,” I hedged.
“Text him and find out when he can talk.”
We stopped in the middle of a bridge and I rested my basket on the railing so I could send Justin a quick text message. Minutes after Dizzy and I reached my cottage, he replied.
“He says he has a few minutes to talk right now,” I said as I read his message. A surge of anxiety swirled through me.
Dizzy gave me a hug and then held me by the shoulders. “You can do this.” She gave my shoulders a squeeze and released me. “I’ll wait out on the patio.”
I stood there staring at my phone as Dizzy stepped outside. This wasn’t a call I wanted to make, but my best friend was right; I needed to get it done and over with. That would be best for both me and Justin.
With a heavy heart, I placed the call.
Chapter Seventeen
I didn’t want to get out of bed the next morning. As much as I enjoyed working at True Confections, I hadn’t had enough sleep to feel ready to face the day. My talk with Justin had left me feeling gloomy, even though we’d ended our relationship as amicably as possible. Dizzy had stayed late, keeping me company and talking about what we could do to clear Pops’s name. Our conclusion was that we needed to find out more about Maria Vasquez and Jolene Doyle-Brodsky.
We wanted to know if Maria’s passion for plants and her bitterness toward Archie could have boiled over into deadly rage. As for Jolene, the discrepancy between what she’d told me about making peace with Archie and what Estelle had overheard her say bothered me, and Dizzy felt the same.
I rolled over in bed, thinking I’d give myself another five minutes. Binx and Truffles had other ideas. They jumped up onto the bed, Binx landing right next to me. He sat down and let out a loud meow. Truffles padded her way up my back and perched on my shoulder. Once Binx pounced on my feet and attacked them through the blanket, I gave up. My cats were more effective than any alarm clock.
Downstairs, I set out breakfast for the cats and spent the next half hour doing a mixture of yoga and Pilates. That helped to settle my mind and shake off the melancholy that had been clinging to me since making my breakup with Justin official.
After a quick breakfast of yogurt and homemade granola, I left Binx and Truffles watching birds from their catio and hopped into my whisper boat, hoping to make up some time since I was running later than usual. Now that the gondola races had finished, the canals would be quieter. We still had plenty of tourists in town, but the crowds wouldn’t be quite so large, and there wouldn’t be as many gondolas on the water. At this early hour, I had the canals almost to myself and I made it to the main dock near Venice Avenue in a matter of minutes. From there, I enjoyed the short stroll to True Confections.
As I got to work putting chocolate in the tempering machine and setting out the ingredients I needed for the fillings I was going to make, I realized I felt lighter and could breathe more easily. I hadn’t wanted to end things with Justin, but I knew it was the right decision, and now that it was done, it was like a heavy weight had lifted from my shoulders.
After Angela opened the shop, but before it got too busy, Lolly stopped by. During a quiet moment, without any customers, I joined her out front with my cousin.
“I just came from the police station,” Lolly announced.
My heart jumped into my throat. “Has Pops been arrested?”
All the color drained from Angie’s face. “Arrested? Pops?”
I grabbed her arm, worried she might faint.
Lolly put a comforting arm around her. “Shh. Don’t worry. He hasn’t been arrested. He’s playing darts with his friends.”
Some of the color returned to Angie’s face. “But why were you at the police station?”
I added my own question. “Did Pops go with you?”
“Of course,” Lolly confirmed. “I wasn’t going to let him get away with putting it off.”
I quickly filled Angie in on what Pops needed to tell the police. Although she no longer looked like she was going to faint, worry practically radiated from her brown eyes.
“How much trouble is he in?” she asked.
Lolly patted her back. “I’m not sure. The police seized your grandfather’s scooter, but Hilda McIntosh’s grandson is a lawyer. She gave me his name and number. I’m heading home to give him a call. Better safe than sorry.”
“I think that’s a good idea,” I said with a touch of relief.
At least if the police wanted to question Pops again, he could get some legal advice first. Hopefully he could even have a lawyer present with him.
“I don’t like this,” Angie said to me after Lolly had left the shop. “I can’t believe Pops is a murder suspect. It’s crazy!”
“I know. But if I have anything to do with it, he won’t be a suspect for long.”
Angie eyed me as she stacked boxes of chocolates on a shelf. “What are you up to, Becca?”
“I’m just making some discreet inquiries.” At least, I hoped I was being discreet enough not to tip off the killer to the fact that I was trying to identify them.
“Please be careful. I know I said earlier that I was glad you were involved, but maybe that was hasty of me. This isn’t a murder mystery movie or TV show. There’s a real killer out there.”
“I know,” I assured her.
A family of five came into the shop then, putting an end to our conversation. I returned to the kitchen for a couple more hours and then took another break since Dizzy and I had arranged to get together during her lunch hour. I met her on the front steps of the library with two bubble teas in hand, lychee for her and taro for me, both with tapioca pearls.
“Thank you,” Dizzy said with enthusiasm when she accepted her bubble tea. “How did you know I was dying for one of these?”
“Our BFF psychic connection.”
We bumped fists.
“Are you hungry?” I asked.
She shook her head as she took a drink. “I had some pasta salad at my desk. What about you?”
“My boba will tide me over.”
“Then let’s get sleuthing.”
We set off up the hill toward the new town house development that overlooked Shadow Lake. From the front, the town homes were accessible only by foot, bicycle, or golf cart. From the back, however, the units would be accessible by car. Since the development sat at the edge of town, a road would lead from the highway to a parking area behind the town homes. The road wouldn’t be visible from the rest of town, maintaining the car-free character that tourists and so many of us locals loved.
The town houses offered a gorgeous view of the town and the lake, and from the pictures I’d seen online, they would look fantastic inside and out. I wasn’t tempted by them, though. In my opinion, the best Larch Haven living was done right by the water. I loved that I could step out my front door and hop into my kayak or whisper boat. Anyone who wanted to get to the nearest canal from the town houses would have to walk down the hill and around the shops on Venice Avenue.
“So, what are we hoping to find out?” Dizzy asked as we followed the cobblestone walkway up the hill.
“Whether Jolene has an alibi for the time Archie was killed,” I said. “Or anything else that might point us in the direction of the real killer.”
Dizzy chewed on a tapioca pearl before speaking again. “I don’t know if they’re offering tours of the units yet, but I guess it doesn’t matter. As long as we can get Jolene or her husband talking, that’s what counts.”
We’d decided the night before that we would pretend Dizzy was interested in purchasing one of the new town homes. Hopefully, once we got a conversation going with Jolene or her husband, we’d be able to steer it in the direction of the murder.
Temporary fencing surrounded the town houses, and the front yards remained unfinished, with dirt instead of grass and pieces of construction equipment and materials lying here and there. A portable office with its door standing open sat outside the fence. I could hear the sound of some sort of saw whining in the distance, and three men in hard hats stood conversing outside the farthest unit, but I didn’t spot Jolene or her husband anywhere.
“Do you know Jolene’s husband’s name?” I asked Dizzy.
“Alex, I think.”
“Right.” I’d known that at one time but had forgotten.
We both fell silent, drinking our bubble tea as we approached the office. We’d nearly reached the open door when I heard terse voices coming from inside.
“What if the cops find out?”
I couldn’t be sure, but the woman who asked the question sounded like Jolene.
Dizzy and I both stopped in our tracks.
“They won’t find out. Nobody will,” a man said.
Dizzy and I exchanged a glance and crept toward the open door, sticking close to the outer wall of the portable office.
“Sometimes I think even the trees in this town have ears,” the woman said.
Carefully, I raised myself up on my tiptoes and peeked in through the window. As I suspected, the woman’s voice belonged to Jolene. I recognized the man with her as her husband. I’d never met him, but I’d seen his picture on the development’s website when Dizzy and I took a quick look at it the night before.
“Then don’t say anything more about it,” Alex said.
He turned toward the window, and I dropped down out of sight.
“But if the cops do find out . . .” Jolene said.
“Babe. Relax. Nobody’s going to find out. The old geezer can’t talk now that he’s dead, and no one else knows. It’s smooth sailing from here on out. Okay?”
I chanced another quick peek through the window. Alex took Jolene into his arms and kissed her. She wrapped her arms around him and kissed him back.
I ducked down and took Dizzy’s arm, pulling her with me as I scurried back the way we’d come.
Chapter Eighteen
Once we’d put some distance between us and the open door of the portable office, Dizzy and I drew to a stop.
“Oh my gosh!” Dizzy exclaimed. “Alex and Jolene were in on it together! They killed Archie!”
“Maybe.” I was still turning over everything in my mind.
“What did you see when you looked in the window?” Dizzy asked. She wasn’t tall enough to peek into the office like I had.
“Not much. They were just standing there talking, until they started making out.”
Dizzy clutched my arm. “Look, here they come. Should we still talk to them?”
Alex and Jolene descended the three steps from the trailer door. Jolene gave her husband a kiss and then hopped into a nearby golf cart.
“Shoot,” Dizzy said. “There goes Jolene.”
She zoomed past us in the golf cart, barely casting a glance our way.
“Let’s see what we can get out of Alex,” I suggested.
He stood outside the portable office, texting on his phone. He glanced up when Dizzy and I approached. Tucking his phone into the back pocket of his jeans, he flashed us a smile.
“Afternoon, ladies. How can I help you?”
“My friend here is interested in the new town houses.” I gave Dizzy a subtle nudge, reminding her to play her part.
“That’s right!” she said. “Is it possible to get a tour of one of the units?”
“Not yet,” Alex replied. “But the show unit will be open for viewings in a couple of weeks. In the meantime, I’ve got floorplans and an artist’s rendering I can show you.”
“That would be great,” Dizzy said with what sounded like sincere enthusiasm. Maybe she was catching the acting bug.
“Come on and join me in the office.” Alex led the way inside.
Dizzy and I followed close on his heels.
“There will be two- and three-bedroom units,” Alex said as he grabbed a remote control off the top of a desk. “Do you know what number you’re looking for?”
“Oh . . .” Dizzy pretended to think about it. “Two would suit my needs.”
Alex punched a button on the remote and a flat-screen mounted on the wall came to life. He navigated through an onscreen menu until a floorplan appeared.
Dizzy and I stepped closer for a better look. As Alex pointed out the various rooms and features, and Dizzy pretended to be interested, I glanced surreptitiously around the office. I didn’t see any incriminating evidence that would help me in my investigation. Not that Alex would have left any such thing lying out in plain view.
While Alex and Dizzy chatted about the town houses, I edged closer to the wastepaper basket sitting next to the desk. A quick look inside showed me that it held nothing but a couple of crumpled tissues and a receipt from Pure Bliss, Maria’s store.
“Let me get you a couple of printouts to take with you,” Alex said to Dizzy as he shut off the screen. He opened a desk drawer and pulled out some papers.
I decided it was time to do some fishing for information.
“I hope the police haven’t been giving Jolene too much trouble since Archie Smith died,” I said as Alex flipped through the papers.
He glanced at me before pulling two pieces of paper out of the small pile in his hands. “Why would they?”
“I understand she didn’t have a good relationship with Archie. The police questioned my grandfather because he’d argued with Archie recently. But I guess as long as Jolene has an alibi, she’s in the clear, right?”
“I don’t doubt it.”
That made sense, especially if Archie was transporting items onto and off his land on a regular basis. If he stole things, he probably fenced them too, and he most likely would have done that outside of Larch Haven, to keep his shady practices under wraps.
“Pops,” I said, not sure how he’d react to my next words, “you need to tell the police that you took your scooter back from Archie’s place.”
“That wouldn’t look good. It was the same night he was killed.”
“It’ll look worse if they find out some other way,” I pointed out. “Besides, the police know you’re holding back about where you were that evening. Sawyer warned me that there’s a good chance you’re going to get questioned again. You need to tell the police the truth. The whole truth.”
“What’s this?” Lolly interjected.
I hadn’t noticed her on the other side of the screen door. I didn’t think Pops had either.
She came out and joined us on the porch, letting the screen door slam shut behind her.
“Did you finally get the whole story out of him?” Lolly asked me.
“You knew about the scooter?” I said with surprise.
“The one Archie stole?”
I could tell by her confusion that she didn’t know everything.
“Pops has been cagey about where he went walking on the night of the murder because he went to Archie’s place and took his scooter back.”
When the significance of that sank in, Lolly fixed her stern gaze on Pops. “Ernest Ransom, you need to do what your granddaughter says and come clean with the police.”
Pops avoided her eyes. “I don’t want to end up in hot water.”
“You’re already in it, and it’s about to boil,” Lolly said. “If the police find out from someone else what you did . . .”
“That’s exactly what I was saying,” I chimed in. “It’ll look even worse.”
Lolly nodded her agreement with me. “You’re telling the police everything, Ernie. First thing in the morning.”
There was no arguing with Lolly when she spoke with that tone. Pops clearly realized that too.
“All right,” he relented. “I’ll tell the police.”
That should have eased my mind, but I still worried about the whole situation. Yes, it would look worse if the police got the information about the scooter from someone else, but the fact that Pops lied to them also didn’t look good. Once the cops knew the truth, Pops might seem like an even stronger suspect. They might think he went to get his scooter, ran into Archie, got into a fight, and killed him.
I didn’t voice any of those worries out loud. Pops might not have been willing to acknowledge the gravity of his situation, but I thought Lolly had a clear view of things.
My grandmother sent me home with a basket of carrots and sugar snap peas, picked fresh from the garden that day. I snacked on the peas as I walked, thinking once again about who the real killer might be.
I didn’t get very far with my thoughts before I heard Dizzy call my name. I stopped and turned to find her hurrying my way.
She peeked into my basket when she reached my side. “What have you got there? Oh, yum! Are those sugar snaps?”
“Delicious ones. Help yourself.”
Dizzy grabbed a handful of peas and fell into step with me. “I’m guessing you were visiting Lolly and Pops.”
I quickly told her about the scooter situation and how I was hoping to find the real killer so a cloud of suspicion would no longer hang over my grandfather.
“I’ll help,” Dizzy offered without hesitation. “I’ll be the Watson to your Sherlock, the Hastings to your Poirot, the George to your Nancy.”
“What about Bess?”
“I’ll be George and Bess rolled into one.”
That brought a smile to my face. “You’re the best, Diz. There’s just one problem—I’m not sure how either of us can figure out who killed Archie.”
“We’ll brainstorm,” Dizzy said. “But before we do that, we’ve got another situation to talk about.”
“The Justin situation?” I guessed with a distinct lack of enthusiasm.
“Have you talked to him?”
“Not yet.”
“You’ve come to a decision, though.” It was a statement, not a question. Dizzy knew me well.
“I have.”
“Don’t you think you should get the whole thing over with?”
“He’s probably still at the office,” I hedged.
“Text him and find out when he can talk.”
We stopped in the middle of a bridge and I rested my basket on the railing so I could send Justin a quick text message. Minutes after Dizzy and I reached my cottage, he replied.
“He says he has a few minutes to talk right now,” I said as I read his message. A surge of anxiety swirled through me.
Dizzy gave me a hug and then held me by the shoulders. “You can do this.” She gave my shoulders a squeeze and released me. “I’ll wait out on the patio.”
I stood there staring at my phone as Dizzy stepped outside. This wasn’t a call I wanted to make, but my best friend was right; I needed to get it done and over with. That would be best for both me and Justin.
With a heavy heart, I placed the call.
Chapter Seventeen
I didn’t want to get out of bed the next morning. As much as I enjoyed working at True Confections, I hadn’t had enough sleep to feel ready to face the day. My talk with Justin had left me feeling gloomy, even though we’d ended our relationship as amicably as possible. Dizzy had stayed late, keeping me company and talking about what we could do to clear Pops’s name. Our conclusion was that we needed to find out more about Maria Vasquez and Jolene Doyle-Brodsky.
We wanted to know if Maria’s passion for plants and her bitterness toward Archie could have boiled over into deadly rage. As for Jolene, the discrepancy between what she’d told me about making peace with Archie and what Estelle had overheard her say bothered me, and Dizzy felt the same.
I rolled over in bed, thinking I’d give myself another five minutes. Binx and Truffles had other ideas. They jumped up onto the bed, Binx landing right next to me. He sat down and let out a loud meow. Truffles padded her way up my back and perched on my shoulder. Once Binx pounced on my feet and attacked them through the blanket, I gave up. My cats were more effective than any alarm clock.
Downstairs, I set out breakfast for the cats and spent the next half hour doing a mixture of yoga and Pilates. That helped to settle my mind and shake off the melancholy that had been clinging to me since making my breakup with Justin official.
After a quick breakfast of yogurt and homemade granola, I left Binx and Truffles watching birds from their catio and hopped into my whisper boat, hoping to make up some time since I was running later than usual. Now that the gondola races had finished, the canals would be quieter. We still had plenty of tourists in town, but the crowds wouldn’t be quite so large, and there wouldn’t be as many gondolas on the water. At this early hour, I had the canals almost to myself and I made it to the main dock near Venice Avenue in a matter of minutes. From there, I enjoyed the short stroll to True Confections.
As I got to work putting chocolate in the tempering machine and setting out the ingredients I needed for the fillings I was going to make, I realized I felt lighter and could breathe more easily. I hadn’t wanted to end things with Justin, but I knew it was the right decision, and now that it was done, it was like a heavy weight had lifted from my shoulders.
After Angela opened the shop, but before it got too busy, Lolly stopped by. During a quiet moment, without any customers, I joined her out front with my cousin.
“I just came from the police station,” Lolly announced.
My heart jumped into my throat. “Has Pops been arrested?”
All the color drained from Angie’s face. “Arrested? Pops?”
I grabbed her arm, worried she might faint.
Lolly put a comforting arm around her. “Shh. Don’t worry. He hasn’t been arrested. He’s playing darts with his friends.”
Some of the color returned to Angie’s face. “But why were you at the police station?”
I added my own question. “Did Pops go with you?”
“Of course,” Lolly confirmed. “I wasn’t going to let him get away with putting it off.”
I quickly filled Angie in on what Pops needed to tell the police. Although she no longer looked like she was going to faint, worry practically radiated from her brown eyes.
“How much trouble is he in?” she asked.
Lolly patted her back. “I’m not sure. The police seized your grandfather’s scooter, but Hilda McIntosh’s grandson is a lawyer. She gave me his name and number. I’m heading home to give him a call. Better safe than sorry.”
“I think that’s a good idea,” I said with a touch of relief.
At least if the police wanted to question Pops again, he could get some legal advice first. Hopefully he could even have a lawyer present with him.
“I don’t like this,” Angie said to me after Lolly had left the shop. “I can’t believe Pops is a murder suspect. It’s crazy!”
“I know. But if I have anything to do with it, he won’t be a suspect for long.”
Angie eyed me as she stacked boxes of chocolates on a shelf. “What are you up to, Becca?”
“I’m just making some discreet inquiries.” At least, I hoped I was being discreet enough not to tip off the killer to the fact that I was trying to identify them.
“Please be careful. I know I said earlier that I was glad you were involved, but maybe that was hasty of me. This isn’t a murder mystery movie or TV show. There’s a real killer out there.”
“I know,” I assured her.
A family of five came into the shop then, putting an end to our conversation. I returned to the kitchen for a couple more hours and then took another break since Dizzy and I had arranged to get together during her lunch hour. I met her on the front steps of the library with two bubble teas in hand, lychee for her and taro for me, both with tapioca pearls.
“Thank you,” Dizzy said with enthusiasm when she accepted her bubble tea. “How did you know I was dying for one of these?”
“Our BFF psychic connection.”
We bumped fists.
“Are you hungry?” I asked.
She shook her head as she took a drink. “I had some pasta salad at my desk. What about you?”
“My boba will tide me over.”
“Then let’s get sleuthing.”
We set off up the hill toward the new town house development that overlooked Shadow Lake. From the front, the town homes were accessible only by foot, bicycle, or golf cart. From the back, however, the units would be accessible by car. Since the development sat at the edge of town, a road would lead from the highway to a parking area behind the town homes. The road wouldn’t be visible from the rest of town, maintaining the car-free character that tourists and so many of us locals loved.
The town houses offered a gorgeous view of the town and the lake, and from the pictures I’d seen online, they would look fantastic inside and out. I wasn’t tempted by them, though. In my opinion, the best Larch Haven living was done right by the water. I loved that I could step out my front door and hop into my kayak or whisper boat. Anyone who wanted to get to the nearest canal from the town houses would have to walk down the hill and around the shops on Venice Avenue.
“So, what are we hoping to find out?” Dizzy asked as we followed the cobblestone walkway up the hill.
“Whether Jolene has an alibi for the time Archie was killed,” I said. “Or anything else that might point us in the direction of the real killer.”
Dizzy chewed on a tapioca pearl before speaking again. “I don’t know if they’re offering tours of the units yet, but I guess it doesn’t matter. As long as we can get Jolene or her husband talking, that’s what counts.”
We’d decided the night before that we would pretend Dizzy was interested in purchasing one of the new town homes. Hopefully, once we got a conversation going with Jolene or her husband, we’d be able to steer it in the direction of the murder.
Temporary fencing surrounded the town houses, and the front yards remained unfinished, with dirt instead of grass and pieces of construction equipment and materials lying here and there. A portable office with its door standing open sat outside the fence. I could hear the sound of some sort of saw whining in the distance, and three men in hard hats stood conversing outside the farthest unit, but I didn’t spot Jolene or her husband anywhere.
“Do you know Jolene’s husband’s name?” I asked Dizzy.
“Alex, I think.”
“Right.” I’d known that at one time but had forgotten.
We both fell silent, drinking our bubble tea as we approached the office. We’d nearly reached the open door when I heard terse voices coming from inside.
“What if the cops find out?”
I couldn’t be sure, but the woman who asked the question sounded like Jolene.
Dizzy and I both stopped in our tracks.
“They won’t find out. Nobody will,” a man said.
Dizzy and I exchanged a glance and crept toward the open door, sticking close to the outer wall of the portable office.
“Sometimes I think even the trees in this town have ears,” the woman said.
Carefully, I raised myself up on my tiptoes and peeked in through the window. As I suspected, the woman’s voice belonged to Jolene. I recognized the man with her as her husband. I’d never met him, but I’d seen his picture on the development’s website when Dizzy and I took a quick look at it the night before.
“Then don’t say anything more about it,” Alex said.
He turned toward the window, and I dropped down out of sight.
“But if the cops do find out . . .” Jolene said.
“Babe. Relax. Nobody’s going to find out. The old geezer can’t talk now that he’s dead, and no one else knows. It’s smooth sailing from here on out. Okay?”
I chanced another quick peek through the window. Alex took Jolene into his arms and kissed her. She wrapped her arms around him and kissed him back.
I ducked down and took Dizzy’s arm, pulling her with me as I scurried back the way we’d come.
Chapter Eighteen
Once we’d put some distance between us and the open door of the portable office, Dizzy and I drew to a stop.
“Oh my gosh!” Dizzy exclaimed. “Alex and Jolene were in on it together! They killed Archie!”
“Maybe.” I was still turning over everything in my mind.
“What did you see when you looked in the window?” Dizzy asked. She wasn’t tall enough to peek into the office like I had.
“Not much. They were just standing there talking, until they started making out.”
Dizzy clutched my arm. “Look, here they come. Should we still talk to them?”
Alex and Jolene descended the three steps from the trailer door. Jolene gave her husband a kiss and then hopped into a nearby golf cart.
“Shoot,” Dizzy said. “There goes Jolene.”
She zoomed past us in the golf cart, barely casting a glance our way.
“Let’s see what we can get out of Alex,” I suggested.
He stood outside the portable office, texting on his phone. He glanced up when Dizzy and I approached. Tucking his phone into the back pocket of his jeans, he flashed us a smile.
“Afternoon, ladies. How can I help you?”
“My friend here is interested in the new town houses.” I gave Dizzy a subtle nudge, reminding her to play her part.
“That’s right!” she said. “Is it possible to get a tour of one of the units?”
“Not yet,” Alex replied. “But the show unit will be open for viewings in a couple of weeks. In the meantime, I’ve got floorplans and an artist’s rendering I can show you.”
“That would be great,” Dizzy said with what sounded like sincere enthusiasm. Maybe she was catching the acting bug.
“Come on and join me in the office.” Alex led the way inside.
Dizzy and I followed close on his heels.
“There will be two- and three-bedroom units,” Alex said as he grabbed a remote control off the top of a desk. “Do you know what number you’re looking for?”
“Oh . . .” Dizzy pretended to think about it. “Two would suit my needs.”
Alex punched a button on the remote and a flat-screen mounted on the wall came to life. He navigated through an onscreen menu until a floorplan appeared.
Dizzy and I stepped closer for a better look. As Alex pointed out the various rooms and features, and Dizzy pretended to be interested, I glanced surreptitiously around the office. I didn’t see any incriminating evidence that would help me in my investigation. Not that Alex would have left any such thing lying out in plain view.
While Alex and Dizzy chatted about the town houses, I edged closer to the wastepaper basket sitting next to the desk. A quick look inside showed me that it held nothing but a couple of crumpled tissues and a receipt from Pure Bliss, Maria’s store.
“Let me get you a couple of printouts to take with you,” Alex said to Dizzy as he shut off the screen. He opened a desk drawer and pulled out some papers.
I decided it was time to do some fishing for information.
“I hope the police haven’t been giving Jolene too much trouble since Archie Smith died,” I said as Alex flipped through the papers.
He glanced at me before pulling two pieces of paper out of the small pile in his hands. “Why would they?”
“I understand she didn’t have a good relationship with Archie. The police questioned my grandfather because he’d argued with Archie recently. But I guess as long as Jolene has an alibi, she’s in the clear, right?”
