Murder And Salutations Part 8

"How odd," I said.

"In this culture, perhaps, but it's not without precedent in the world. That was just the beginning of the changes he was forced to make."

"Well, I like Helena, and the place is perfect for me," I said.

Lillian shrugged. "I take it you've made up your mind, then. You know you can still come live with me if you'd like."

"Thanks, Lillian-I really do appreciate it, but I think it's better for everyone this way."

She nodded, then clapped her hands together. "Then the least I can do is help you pack. I wish Hester was in town, I'd give her a tongue lashing like she's never had in her life. I still can't believe she'd kick you out into the street like this."

"It's all for the best," I said. "I wasn't all that taken with the other people living here."

"They were both less than satisfactory, weren't they?"

As Lillian helped me sort through some of the things I'd acc.u.mulated since moving to Whispering Oak, I said, "So what brings you by here tonight? I know you've got better things to do than to check up on me and my dates."

"Actually, I have some progress to report on our investigation," Lillian said.

"Don't keep me in the dark," I said. "What did you find out?"

"Nothing concrete as of yet," she said. "But I did make an appointment with Polly Blackburn. I told her I was thinking about putting my house on the market, and she jumped at the chance to talk to me."

"Doesn't she realize they'll have to blast you out of there with dynamite to get you to leave?"

Lillian frowned. "I don't know if that's necessarily true anymore. There are times I envy your lifestyle, Jennifer. You change places more often than I change fabric softener. There must be some real advantages to keeping your roots shallow."

I looked at the mess I was in the middle of. "It's not as positive as you think. I hate packing and unpacking, but it's a part of moving." I looked around the attic apartment. "I've grown quite fond of this place," I said. "I'll miss it."

"How about your cats? Will they miss it too, do you think?"

"As far as Oggie and Nash are concerned, as long as their meals come on time and they have one of my pillows to sleep on, they couldn't be more content." I put a few more books on the pile, then said, "What about Luke Penwright? How are you going to get him to talk to you?"

"Actually, we're having lunch tomorrow at Hurley's. I was going to suggest The Lunch Box, but he surprised me by asking me to meet him where his ex-wife was murdered. I find that rather odd, don't you?"

"I think he's crazy," I said.

There was another knock on the door, and I told Lillian to be quiet.

I retrieved my bat from the couch, then asked, "Who is it?"

"Jennifer, it's me. Use your peephole."

I unbolted the door and let my brother in. He nodded to Lillian, then bolted the door behind him. "Good girl. I'm proud of you for watching out for yourself."

"I learned my lesson," I said, remembering the time recently when someone had broken into my place. "I don't answer the door without my softball bat. So what brings you out this late? Cindy's going to have your hide." Bradford's wife liked him at home.

"I'm working. She understands it's about family."

I nodded. "So, have you had any luck clearing Sara Lynn's name?"

"Jennifer, that's why I'm here. Do you have any idea where Bailey is right now?"

I didn't even have to think about it. "No, not a clue. How about you, Lillian?"

My aunt shook her head. "He could be in New York by now, for all I know."

"What makes you think he'd go there?" Bradford asked.

"It was just a figure of speech. I could just as easily have said San Francisco."

"But you didn't," Bradford pushed. "You said New York."

"Perhaps I said it because I've been thinking of going back sometime soon. Fifth Avenue is my Mecca, you know."

Bradford shrugged. "I'll take your word for it. I just wish I knew where he was."

"Did you hear he stole Sara Lynn's money before he took off?" I asked, instantly regretting the slip when I saw his face.

"She didn't say a word to me about it, and I was with her three different times today. What happened?"

"You know what? Maybe I was mistaken," I said, trying to backpedal as fast as I could.

"We both know better than that," he said. "Now tell me."

Lillian stepped in before I could tell him. "If you must know, Sara Lynn noticed that he'd taken five hundred dollars from their emergency fund and left an IOU. Sara Lynn couldn't be sure when he'd taken the money. Most likely it has nothing to do with what happened last night."

"Lillian, I might not be your biggest fan, but I know you better than to think you're stupid. Do you honestly expect me to believe the money vanishing isn't tied into Bailey's disappearance?"

"I don't expect anything from you," Lillian said. "I'm just giving you a plausible alternative to the conclusion you just jumped to. It could just as easily have happened that way."

He shook his head. "If you don't mind, I'll ask Sara Lynn if that's the conclusion she reached as well." His hand was on the doork.n.o.b when he said, "Oh, and do me a favor. Don't call her. I'd like to see what her honest reaction to the theft is without you coaching her."

Lillian shook her head. "I wouldn't dream of it."

After Bradford was gone, my aunt reached for my phone. "Who are you calling?" I asked.

"Your sister, of course," she said.

I reached over and hung up the telephone.

She stared at me and asked, "Jennifer, have you lost your mind? I need to tell Sara Lynn he's on his way."

"Lillian, stop a second and think it through. Do you honestly think Bradford's going to be able to get Sara Lynn to tell him anything she doesn't want to? She's more stubborn than you are."

Lillian nodded. "I still think we should warn her that he's coming."

"And I think we've done enough already. I can't believe I told him about the missing emergency cash."

"Jennifer, you're just trying to help. So why do you think Bailey ran like that? It certainly makes him look guilty, doesn't it?"

"Do you think he'd actually do it?" I couldn't imagine my brother-in-law doing anything of the sort.

"People stopped surprising me ages ago," she said.

"Okay, let's see if we can help Sara Lynn out a more constructive way. You're talking to Polly and Luke. Should I tackle Kaye Jansen while you're doing that, or should I tag along with you?"

"Honestly, I don't know if either one of them would talk to me if you're right there. After all, your sister is the prime suspect, and we don't want any repeats of today."

"Hey, I already said I was sorry," I said, remembering my confrontation with Addie. "I can keep my mouth shut. I promise."

Lillian appeared to think about it a few seconds, then said, "I suppose you could be in the other room when Polly comes by to talk about the house. Short of slipping you in as a waitress, I don't know how I can get you close enough to my lunch date."

"Leave that to me." I knew I could work it out with Jack Hurley so that I'd be seated right behind Luke Penwright at the restaurant the next day. "So what do we do about Kaye?"

"We'll tackle her later if our other two leads don't work out," Lillian said as she stifled a yawn. "Now what can I do to help here?"

"You can go home and get a good night's sleep," I said. "We've got a busy day tomorrow."

"I don't mind staying, honestly, I don't."

"Good night, Lillian," I said as I pushed her toward the door. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Fine, I can take a hint," she said as she left. I loved my aunt to death, but I didn't need her helping me pack. After all, I'd be the one putting everything away in my new place, and to do that, I needed to know where everything was in the boxes. I worked another half an hour before I found myself yawning, too, so I decided to call it a night. Oggie and Nash were curled up on my pillows, both of them sound asleep. I just wished I could drop off as quickly as they could, but I had a lot more on my mind than they did. As I finally nodded off, our suspects' faces were swirling around in my head, with one disturbing addition. Every now and then Bailey's face would pop up, only to fade away again. At least I hadn't seen Sara Lynn's face in the whirlwind. I would have never gotten to sleep then, if my subconscious mind was willing to admit what I wasn't ready to say out loud: that Sara Lynn surely had the required motive, means and opportunity to do away with Eliza Glade.

I felt like a criminal the next morning as I hid in Lillian's pantry waiting for Polly Blackburn to show up.

"Jennifer, can you hear me all right?" Lillian asked.

"I can hear you just fine," I said, "but I won't be able to see her face. I need to see her expressions if I'm going to be able to tell if she's lying or not."

"Sorry, I don't have any one-way gla.s.s for you to peek through. You know, that might not be such a bad idea. I could duck into the pantry and see what my guests are really up to behind my back."

"Lillian, could you be serious for one second?"

"Jennifer, I've never been more serious in my life." The doorbell rang, and she said, "Not a word out of you. I'll keep the door ajar so you can hear our conversation, but unless she's trying to strangle me, I don't want to see you come out of that pantry, do you understand? No matter how provoked you feel, you're going to have to keep your mouth shut. Can you do that? If you don't think you can, tell me now and you can slip out the back door."

The doorbell rang again. "Just let her in. I'll be quiet."

"No matter what?" Lillian asked again.

"Yes, now just go."

Lillian pulled the pantry door nearly closed, then I heard her high heels clicking on the hardwood floor as she went to let the realtor in. The only light I had was coming in through the narrow gap in the door. I was glad I didn't get claustrophobic.

Through the crack, I could see Polly as she walked into the kitchen. Her hair was dyed a shade of blond few people could naturally claim. She wore a dark blue suit, and a colorful scarf that added a blast of color. I could smell her perfume soon after she came in. Poor Lillian must have been overwhelmed by it if it was that strong in my confined s.p.a.ce.

Lillian said, "Why don't you take a seat at the bar? This is my favorite room in the house."

Polly said, "I'll need to look around later, but we can certainly start here. I see you've got a fireplace in the kitchen. That's excellent, you know."

"I enjoy it," Lillian said. I could tell she was straining to keep her voice level. She had admitted that she wasn't a big fan of Polly, so I knew how hard it was on Lillian to make it appear otherwise.

I could see Lillian's foot from where I stood, and if I strained, I could barely catch sight of Polly's left arm.

"Lillian, do you mind if I ask why you're moving? I never thought you'd leave Rebel Forge."

My aunt said, "Sometimes one needs a change."

Polly jumped all over that. "Now, dear, you mustn't blame yourself for your relatives' actions. We all know you had nothing to do with what happened the other night."

"What exactly are you referring to?" Lillian asked.

"Why, the murder, of course. How difficult it must be to see your niece accused of the crime."

"I hadn't realized Bradford had made an arrest yet," Lillian said. I could tell without even seeing my aunt's expression that she was straining not to throw Polly out.

"Of course not, but everyone knows it's just a matter of time. So you've finally decided to go out on your own again. Jennifer must be crushed by your decision to leave her. From what I've heard, she wouldn't be able to run that little shop of hers without you."

"Jennifer will be fine," Lillian said. Her foot was nearly a blur, it was bobbing up and down so fast.

"Honestly, just between the two of us, she really did bite off more than she could chew. You're propping her up, aren't you? I can't imagine she makes enough on her own to buy food for those two stray cats she has, let alone pay rent."

Despite my promise to Lillian, I was ready to rush out of the pantry and let Polly say those things to my face. Lillian must have sensed it, too.

"Since we're letting our hair down," Lillian said, "you must have mixed emotions about Eliza's murder yourself."

"Whatever do you mean?" Polly asked.

"Now that she's out of the picture, I can't imagine the chamber choosing anyone else but you to run the organization. It's rather convenient, isn't it?"

"I'm just as crushed as everyone else in Rebel Forge about what happened to Eliza," Polly said.

"I'm sure you are," Lillian replied. I doubted that Polly believed that she was being sincere. "So, have you already made your bid for her office, or are you going to wait a few days? You'd better not tarry, dear; you know how much power the president has."

"It's a great deal of work," Polly said. "In fact, I often helped Eliza with the day-to-day operations."

"Were you helping her the night of the banquet?" Lillian asked. "I understand the two of you had quite a discussion at Hurley's that night."

"That's utterly ridiculous," Polly said. "I don't know where you're getting your information, but Eliza and I got on wonderfully all the time."

"So you're claiming now you didn't fight with her that night?" What did Lillian know? If she had information about Eliza and Polly fighting, she hadn't shared it with me.

"We were discussing the award presentation," Polly said.

"From what I heard, you were talking about more than that. It was just before she died, wasn't it? You might have been the last person to see her alive."

"You mean besides the killer, don't you?"