Dying For Dinner Rolls Part 7

"Let's just hope that we didn't anger him too much."

"Why?"

"I'm just saying that if he is still a suspect, that means he is capable of violence."

"Shoot. Maybe I should have been nicer."

"Too late." My stomach twisted.

Chapter Eight.

Fifteen minutes later, we arrived at the Red and White Grocery Store in Habersham Village.

A girl around eighteen years old stood at one of the three registers. Her red name badge read "Cynthia." The white linoleum floors had yellowed in spots that looked like permanent coffee stains. The place smelled of bleach and fresh-baked bread. Glancing around at the metal shelving and fluorescent lights, it looked as though the store hadn't changed much in the thirty years since it'd opened.

"Good morning, Cynthia. My name is Catherine Thomson. This is Annie Mae Maple. We were wondering if your manager would have a few moments to talk to us."

"Are you Timmy and Teddy's mom?" Cynthia blushed.

"You know my sons?" I said.

"Um, like, yeah, every girl knows them." She flipped her blonde hair over her shoulder. "They're hot."

"Did you hear that? Your boys are hot." Annie Mae tapped me in the arm.

It unnerved me to hear my boys connected to that s.e.xual term. "Can we talk to your manager, please?" I asked.

"Miss Susie Wells?"

"If that is your manager, then yes," I said.

"Like, she left a while ago. I don't know if she's back yet." Cynthia pressed a b.u.t.ton on a speaker next to the register and spoke into it. "Miss Susie, you're wanted at register one."

A lady walked through the automatic doors, letting in a blast of hot air. A squeaky wheel on her metal shopping cart echoed off the walls.

"While we're waiting for Miss Susie, I'd like to ask you some questions," I said.

"Yes, I'm single."

I raised an eyebrow, and my mouth fell open.

"Tell your sons. Either one, it doesn't matter." Cynthia popped a piece of gum in her mouth and began chewing. "'Cause they're identical. Like, you know."

"Girls are not subtle these days, are they?" Annie Mae whispered in my ear.

"Cynthia, how long have you worked here?" I asked.

"Almost a year. But I only work part-time. Like, I still have school and all." Cynthia twisted her hair around her finger and popped a bubble in her gum.

"Do you know a customer named Lucy Valentine?" I asked her.

"She's a friend of ours." Annie Mae peered at a potted plant for sale at a table near the register. "I need a plant that is low maintenance. Do you have any that don't need a lot of water or sun or, well, anything?"

"I dunno. They should have a little white stick thing in the pot that tells you about them." Cynthia wiggled her hand.

Annie Mae walked over to the display and pulled out a white plastic stick. "Found it. *Lots of sun, water every other day.' Way too much work for this one."

"Do you know Lucy Valentine?" I asked Cynthia.

"Didn't she..." Cynthia leaned in. "Slit her wrist?"

It made my heart sink into my stomach thinking about Lucy being gone. "How well did you know her?"

"She came in here all the time. I'm, like, waaaaay younger than her. We weren't, like, friends or anything like that." Cynthia rolled her eyes.

"Can you tell me anything you may remember about the last time you saw her?" I asked.

"I have a picture memory. It's something like photosynthesis or something." She beamed as though telling me she had a genius IQ.

"Photographic?" I offered.

"Yeah. Right." She snapped her gum. "Like, I remember Lucy bought some peaches and some rolls. I also remember she was sort of weirded out. Like, she kept looking around every time my manager was in sight. Lucy's eyes kind of stalked her. You know what I mean?"

I said, "Not really."

Cynthia leaned in to me over the conveyor belt. "Like, it was kind of creepy."

A short, thin, redheaded lady wearing a tight sleeveless pink dress, offering ample cleavage, approached us. "Did you need me?"

"Yeah. This lady here." Cynthia waved her hand toward me.

I stuck out my hand. "My name is Catherine Thomson, and over there is Annie Mae Maple." I pointed to the plant display a few feet away. One by one, Annie Mae took out the white plant stakes and read them.

Just then, Annie Mae called out, "I'm still looking for one that is low maintenance. Give me a few more minutes."

"Try the Dieffenbachia or Pothos," Susie called over to Annie Mae.

"Great. Thanks," Annie Mae called back.

I smelled sweet fragrance near Susie. "Nice perfume."

"Oh, no. Just a new shampoo." Susie fluffed her hair. "You look familiar. You said your last name was Thomson?"

"Yes. My married name. I've lived here all my life, so you may know me by my maiden name, Argall."

"Your family owns the Sunshine Market on Forsyth, don't they?" Susie pursed her pink lips.

"Yes, they do."

"I'm really sorry about the burglary and your dad." Susie tilted her head and let out a small tssk.

"Thanks." My heart ached.

"After that happened, it scared a lot of businesses like us. We upped our security by adding new locks and alarms. I'm even thinking about getting a gun." Susie bent over and picked up some trash on the floor. "Cynthia, when you're not ringing up a customer, you need to clean up around you."

The whoosh of the automatic door sounded, and three children and their mom entered the store, followed by an elderly couple.

Cynthia popped another bubble and turned her back to ring up Annie Mae who handed her a plant.

Susie had flawless, porcelain skin. Her blue eyes were outlined perfectly in black liner. With slight wrinkles around her mouth and eyes, I put her age around late fifties, early sixties. I didn't see a wedding ring on her hand, or any rings, for that matter. She wore a stunning gold necklace with a diamond Celtic cross that fell into her decolletage.

"Beautiful necklace," I said.

"From my boyfriend." Susie blushed while she touched her neck. "So, what can I do for you?"

"I'm sure you're busy. I just wanted to ask if you knew Lucy Valentine." I adjusted the purse on my shoulder.

Susie's face froze. Her eyes darted up to the ceiling then back at me. "She was a regular customer here."

"Yes, I know. That's why we're here. We're trying to see how she was the last week of her life. If anything seemed different about her." I tried to make eye contact with Susie, but she seemed to be occupied with things around me.

She seemed familiar. Where had I seen her before?

Lucy's funeral.

"No. Nothing. She was fine." Susie gazed at her manicured fingers.

"Nothing unusual at all?" I asked.

Cynthia called out. "I need an over-ring." An elderly couple stood at her register.

"I have to go. By the way, we have peaches for sale if you need any. You'll love them, locally grown with no pesticides. They'll melt in your mouth." Susie turned on her kitten-heeled sandals and walked away.

Annie Mae strode over to me, plant and receipt in hand. "I've adopted it. This thing can practically take care of itself. I wish I could find a man like this."

"Low maintenance?"

"h.e.l.l, yeah. It'd be great if men had the little information stakes on them, too. I could've been warned when I married Ernie that he needed three home-cooked meals daily, frequent watering with beer, and lots of attention." Annie Mae grinned.

I laughed. "Andrew would've said *low maintenance, easygoing, needs lots of s.e.x.'"

"Don't they all." Annie Mae and I walked outside to the parking lot. Steam rose from the blacktop.

Annie Mae opened the SUV pa.s.senger door and put her plant on the seat. "Roll down the windows a crack. Do you think my plant will be okay in here?"

"You got a low maintenance one. It should last forever. Plus, it's in the shade now." Pressing the b.u.t.ton on the key, I locked my SUV.

"Do you think I should have gotten two plants, so Marvin has a friend?" Annie Mae shrugged her shoulder.

"Who's Marvin?"

"My plant, Marvin Gaye. Now that it's mine, of course I needed to name it. I was thinking that or Jim Croce."

"Of course." I put the keys in my purse. "The antique store is only down the street. We can walk."

"So did you find out anything?"

"Yes. We've just met Bert's mistress."

Chapter Nine.

"The girl who's every other word was *like'?" Annie Mae asked.

"No. The redheaded store manager, Susie."

"No kidding. The nice plant lady?" Annie Mae whipped her head in my direction as we ambled along the sidewalk in front of the small strip mall. "So that was the same woman who Bert fawned all over during Lucy's wake. Didn't she wear a black hat with a net hanging in front of her face?"

"Yes. It took me a few minutes to recognize her, too. And she wears pink lipstick. Could be the same color found on Lucy's note. Oh, and she smelled like mango shampoo."

"Call Jose. Have her arrested."

"Not so fast. I have no proof she killed Lucy. I just know that she's Bert's mistress. Lucy probably knew Susie was having an affair with Bert."

We made our way over to the Blue Belle Antique Shoppe a block away. The heat and humidity felt so thick you could cut it with a knife.

"You know, I feel like I'm losing weight doing all this sleuthing. Maybe I don't need to take water aerobics." Annie Mae huffed as she walked beside me. "With all the extra calories I'm burning up, I'm getting hungry."

I shielded my eyes from the noon sun.

Annie Mae held her stomach. "I say after this, we call it a day and grab lunch at the Green Truck Cafe. A big, juicy burger with fries is calling my name."

"Let's go after we finish here." I grabbed the large silver door handle.