Silver Springs Cozy: Pawsitively Lethal Part 11

Maggie has a vague memory from last spring when Clem was helping Josh locate more antique clocks. Maggie doesnt know when the clock collecting started, but it could have been the gateway into antiques, and eventually leading them to information that Ginger Rae, Winona and Erline thought was secret-that of the keys unlocking the power to time travel.

Maggie shuts her phone down and decides Stewart is the person she has to talk to most urgently. His name didnt come up in the article as she had hoped, but shes still suspicious of his motives in Silver Springs, and even his relationship with Clara. She starts her car and drives to the motel she followed him to yesterday and knocks on door number 206.

The same tall, curly haired man with a scar on his chin and fresh scratches on his cheek answers the door, dressed in a suit and looking like hes ready to go somewhere. The surprised look on his face lets Maggie know that he probably didnt even hear her knock but opened the door to go outside.

Maggie extends her hand and plasters a smile onto her face. "Maggie Boothe," she says in her friendliest voice, saved for situations shed rather not be in.

Stewart takes a step backward, into his motel room. "I . . . didnt hear you knock. Have you been standing there long?" he asks, his eyebrows scrunching together. He doesnt take her hand and its clear he doesnt trust her.

Maggie shakes her head and drops her hand to her side. "Nope. Just knocked. I wondered if you had a few minutes. Stewart Cole, right?"

He nods slowly. "I really dont have a few minutes. Sorry."

Maggie lets her eyes travel conspicuously to the briefcase in his hand. "Heading out somewhere? Can I come back later to ask you a few questions?" She doesnt want to push too hard and have him shut down completely.

"Yeah . . . I have some things to do. Um . . . what did you want to ask me about?"

Maggie sticks to the same story she gave Valerie. "Im a reporter and wanted to ask you about your relationship with Clara Speed."

"Im not interested in talking to reporters." Stewart doesnt give Maggie a second longer of his time and closes the door in her face. If he was really going somewhere, it can wait long enough for her to give up and go back to her car.

She does as she suspects he wants her to and gets into her car. She knows he watches her the whole time, so he knows what kind of car she drives, but Maggie needs him to trust her. She drives out of the motels parking lot back toward town and pulls into a gas station. Stewart will have to pa.s.s her if he goes to town and she wants to know where he goes.

Maggie doesnt take her eyes off the road but uses her time less than wisely. She calls Drew instead of Trista.

"Good morning," he says after only half a ring and she can hear the smile in his voice.

"Hi Drew. I had a good time last night. Thanks for coming to dinner."

He laughs. "I should be thanking you. Everything youve ever cooked for me is better than what I can get at the brewery. And they make good food. What are you doing today?" he asks, changing the subject. She knows hes trying to keep tabs on her during this investigation.

"I just tried to talk to Stewart Cole."

"Oh yeah? He looking guilty?"

Maggie shrugs to herself. "Guilty of something, but I dont know what. He was really evasive. And not interested in talking to me about Clara. Im waiting for him to drive by now. I think he was heading to town. I dont know what hes doing in Silver Springs, but I need to find out."

"Where are you?"

Maggie has promised to keep Drew in the loop and shes done a terrible job at following through on that promise, but she doesnt like feeling like hes protecting her. "At the gas station between the motel and grocery store. h.e.l.l have to pa.s.s me if he goes to town."

"Let me know where he goes in town. I can meet you there. He doesnt know me."

Maggie smiles. Drew is good at turning his protecting into an a.s.set for her. "Will do. Talk to you later."

She hangs up just as Stewarts green pickup truck pa.s.ses the gas station, faster than the posted speed limit. Maggie drops her phone into her handbag and says aloud, "Here we go," while she pulls out behind him, stepping on the gas pedal to keep up.

Maggie stays well behind Stewart, partly because hes driving so fast as they approach Main Street, but mostly because shes confident he knows her car. She doesnt want him to know that shes following him, and keeping her distance is her best bet at keeping herself safe.

Stewart turns right onto Main Street and slows considerably. When Maggie makes the turn after him, hes a block ahead of her, obeying the 25 mile per hour speed limit through the center of town.

Maggie slows and digs around in her handbag for her phone. She didnt plan ahead and keep it out so it would be available to call Drew at a moments notice. She stops at the first all way stop and unlocks the screen, pulls up Drews number and calls him back.

He answers just as quickly as her call a few minutes ago. "You found him already?"

"Yeah. Im following him down Main Street." As she speaks, Stewart turns right onto Second Avenue and Maggie does the same. "I think hes going to the town offices. Ill park in the dog park parking lot on Second. Meet me there?"

"See you in five."

The line goes dead and Maggie pa.s.ses the town offices, turns left and backs into a parking spot across the street so she can keep an eye on the office buildings front door. Before Drew shows up, Maggie watches Stewart walk from the town offices back parking lot around front and into the building.

Maggie keeps checking the time on her phone, wishing Drew would show up faster. Four minutes after she spoke to him, he rides in on his bike, leans it against the fence of the dog park and opens Maggies pa.s.senger door.

"Your bike? I was starting to think it didnt really exist," she teases. Shes given him a hard time about his choice of vehicle-a gas guzzling SUV-even though he claimed he only drove it when he was helping her with an investigation. This is the first time his bike has made an appearance on a work day.

"Youve gotta learn to trust me," he teases right back and she smiles. "Catch me up. Wheres Stewart now and what does he look like?"

Maggie tells him about the fresh scratches on his face and how she thinks he got them, the noticeable scar on his chin and the dark curly hair that are Stewarts most prominent characteristics. She remembers the photo Daniel texted to her yesterday and shows him that for good measure. "He walked inside," Maggie glances at the time again, "three minutes ago. I dont know what office he went to."

"Im on it." Drew gives her a quick kiss.

He gets out of the car before Maggie can react, her hand gently touching her cheek where the warmth of Drews lips still linger.

Maggie waits for an eternity-or just fifteen minutes, but her impatience gets the better of her. She pulls her tablet from her handbag and opens her notes about Clara. She adds the link between Mitch and Josh from Two Forks, Iowa, hoping that information will shed light on Claras killer down the road. Then she reads over everything shes already entered, starting with Ginger Raes account of Clara from Sat.u.r.day night immediately after the murder, and Sunday mornings encounter at the salon.

Maggies blood boils at the memory of the group of young women spreading nasty rumors about a blameless victim. She unconsciously runs her fingers through her freshly cut hair and glances in the mirror, checking for any gray roots. She doesnt want to worry about her appearance but she cant help it. She doesnt like her gray hair, not like Clem does.

Each rumor Maggie reads heats her up even more. Ranging from Claras supposed prost.i.tution to being a virgin, stealing from her family to ending up in rehab ignites a fire in Maggie. Even if Maggie didnt know Ginger Rae, shed want to bring Claras killer to justice.

Remembering that Clara did go to rehab sends Maggies mind into a spiral. She learned-straight from Clara-that she met Karl Jacobs there. Could he be the link to Mitch and Josh rather than Stewart?

Maggie doesnt have time to dive into that line of thought because just then Drew comes out of the office building and calmly crosses the street. He opens the pa.s.senger door and reports back. "Stewart is fighting for a cut of Claras life insurance."

CHAPTER 25.

"You didnt stay to listen to what he has to say?" Maggie asks.

Drew smiles. "I lurked long enough to know why he thinks hes ent.i.tled to it, and to know who else is in line."

Maggie raises her eyebrows in question.

"Marla was in there. You know her?" Maggie nods, remembering her conversation with Marla and David yesterday. "Stewart feels hes 'owed," he uses air quotes to emphasize his point, "because hes been supporting her even after they got divorced and he didnt have to. It was all from the goodness of his heart, he said."

Maggie huffs. "Do you think he could have killed her just to get the money back he thinks he deserves?"

"I dont know. He seems pretty sleazy to be going after his deceased ex-wifes life insurance, but murder sounds extreme." He places his hand on the door handle. "I have to get to work. But if you need anything, I can always get out for an hour or two."

Maggie nods and leans across the center console to meet him halfway for a kiss. "Have a good day," she says, already thinking about Stewarts greed. She watches Drew get on his bike and ride away back toward Main Street.

Maggie waits more than a half hour for Stewart to come out of the town office building. When he finally does, hes smiling and chatting to Marla like theyre best friends. Maggie cant believe her eyes: Claras ex-husband and her estranged mother getting along.

The two of them walk behind the building to the parking lot and Maggie gives up on hoping to make heads or tails of what she just witnessed. She gets out of her car and walks to Two Sisters. If shes lucky, sh.e.l.l get a call from Clara. She has a pressing question she wants answered.

Inside, Maggie is met with the sound of a woman shouting, and its not Clem. She walks quickly toward the back office and peeks inside. Aurora Holt, owner of Kidz right next door, is yelling at Clem.

"Youre just like your mother," she screams and turns on her heel toward the door to leave. Maggie steps aside to let her pa.s.s and Aurora shoots her a look of disgust that matches her tone of voice.

Maggie watches her go and then walks into the office. Thankfully there is no one else in the shop so she sits across from Clem.

"What was that about?" Maggie asks.

Clem hasnt moved since Aurora stormed out. Her face is red with anger, but Maggie knows she would have kept her cool. She takes a deep breath and answers. "Shes trying to get the four shops on the block to advertise together. Just like she did when Mom and Dad ran the store. But I still see no benefit in it for us. We have plenty of business but Aurora is too dependent on the holiday season. She cant seem to figure out how to get more business year round."

"What does Leah think?" Maggie asks, referring to the owner of The Last Page bookstore on the corner.

"I havent asked her directly, but Aurora sure made it sound like she wants to go in together on ads. But it doesnt even matter. We dont need it so why waste our money?" Clem stands with a finality that Maggie understands means the conversation is over.

Maggie nods to herself and relaxes back into her chair for the briefest moment before the phone in the phone booth rings. Clem is already out of the office but Maggie knows she wont answer it. Its not for her.

Maggie makes her way through the antiques and picks up after the fifth ring.

"Clara, I need to know more about your relationship with Karl Jacobs," Maggie requests as soon as she answers. She doesnt want to give Clara a chance to berate her for not solving her murder yet.

"Theres not much more to tell," Clara says carefully. "We didnt get along."

"Why not? What happened?" Maggie knows theres always more to a relationship than just 'not getting along. And knowing the details of Claras lack of friendship with Karl could shed some light on her murder. "Why was he in rehab?"

"Thats the thing. He was so negative about everything, bashing others for being there, but he was there too."

"For what? Drugs? Alcohol?" Maggie presses.

"I dont know. We werent in the same group and I tried to keep to myself. I burned enough bridges in my life that I knew I had to just get help and get out."

"So when did you interact with him if he wasnt in your group?"

"Meals. He seemed to always sit next to me. I always sat alone, and the next thing Id know, there was Karl."

"What do you know about his past?"

Maggie can almost hear Clara shrug on the other end. "Not much. I didnt really ask him questions. I didnt want to know. Eventually that made him lash out. He said he was just trying to be friends. I told him to go be friends with someone else. He didnt take that well."

Maggie can understand why.

"Why do you want to know so much? Is he guilty?" Clara asks.

Maggie hesitates. "I dont know. The only connection between you two is being in rehab together." Maggie pauses before asking, "Did you know anything about your aunts keys?" She knows the question sounds ridiculous as soon as its out of her mouth.

"Her keys?" Clara chuckles. "What do you mean?"

"She has a key that she wears on a necklace. Did you know anything about it?" Maggie asks again.

"I know the one youre talking about." Clara stops and Maggie waits for her to continue. Shes almost positive she will. "Her friends have them too." Another pause forces Maggie to be patient. "I heard them talking about them one time when I was visiting. Years ago. Before I even met Stewart. Your parents were there."

"Did you ever tell anyone about them?" Maggie asks.

Clara doesnt answer right away but Maggie knows shes still there. "Maybe . . ."

"Did Stewart know about them? Do you know about what theyre capable of? Did you tell Karl?"

"I just know my aunt thinks that all the keys, together with some globe like thing, have some kind of power. I dont know anything else." Clara exhales and continues. "Yes, Stewart knows about them. But he thought my aunt was as crazy as I did. And no, of course I didnt tell Karl."

Theres no click for a phone hanging up, but the line goes dead. Maggie isnt sure if sh.e.l.l hear from Clara again after how upset she was. But she got enough information to track down Stewart and ask about Ginger Raes key.

CHAPTER 26.

"Everything okay?" Clem asks when Maggie slowly closes the door to the phone booth.

Maggie nods. Stewart is looking more and more guilty, but Karl keeps popping up in Maggies brain. She knows she has to let his article go, but the only way to do that might be to confront him.

"Have you seen the paper today?" Clem asks, handing a copy to Maggie.

Maggie takes it and is surprised to see a photo of Clara on the front.

"Its the article Ginger Rae wrote with the senior editor, Ellen Furst. I think they put it on the front page so everyone would see it," Clem continues.

Maggie scans the first few paragraphs but cant focus. All she picks up is what she knows to be true about Clara-she had a tough childhood, an even tougher adulthood and was turning her life around when she was killed on Sat.u.r.day night.

"Just dont look at it online. Of course there are the trolls who are leaving comments and think Karls article is the truth," Clem adds.

Maggie hands the newspaper back to her sister.

"No, keep it. Ive already read the whole paper. You should read at least this article." Clem holds her hands up to keep Maggie from returning the paper.