Page 23 of Merry Murder Season
“Your husband is going to read me the riot act if I keep letting you pry information out of me with cookies.” He grinned and held one up. “But it will be worth the beatdown for these.”
I decided to get right to the punch. “So what do you know about Chip?”
“He drank too much, smoked too much, and would have been dead from lung cancer in six months. It was a horrible way to go, but someone just shortened his misery. He was walking to an early grave all on his own.”
“Sad. I wonderif Chris knew.”
“Chris was back in his life? Man, I thought she had said goodbye for good the last time when she caught him with that blonde from Bakerstown. He didn’t understand the premise of monogamy.”
“I’d heard they were on-again, off-again types.” I was the opposite. I was a one-man woman until I said, “Enough.” Then there was no looking back. Just ask myfirst husband.
Doc grabbed a second cookie. “He was flaky. Chris loved him since high school. I graduated the same year as Chip. Chris was a freshman whenwe were seniors. She fell hard and never gave up hope. True love, at least on her part. Chip, he liked the variety. But he had a soft spot for Chris.”
I sipped my coffee. “Doc? Would Chris have killed him? Maybe amercy killing?”
He shook his head. “One, I don’t think she could have done it. Chris would have dragged him to doctors all over the country to save him. And two, she isn’t strong enough to have put the steel-tip darts so far into his body. He was tortured. The killer wanted something and I don’t know if they got it. Chip could be stubborn.”
After leaving the funeral home, I thought about what Doc had said. The dart throwing had been playing with Chip. Making him hurt until he told them what they wanted to know. Then they’d started using the knives. Chip had bled out long after they’d left him tied up in that back room. Too tired and weak to even try to escape. I wondered if he’d hoped that someone would come looking for him. Chris was tucked in her bed at home, thinking he was home in his apartment above the bar. No one would have even been at the bar that morning except for Chris and Carrie, who were planning on taking the money and the toys to the charity. He could have been there until the bar reopened onTuesday night.
It sounded like the killing had been planned. But by whom?
* * *
The next morning, Beth chatted about her research and a new source she’d found as we made breakfast. She was continuing the conversation she’d started while we made dinner last night. I went to bed as soon as the kitchen was cleaned.
I must have nodded or commented enough that she kept talking, but by the time dinner was over, I was bone tired. It must have been from working that morning.
“Thanks for letting me use your office. My apartment’s so small that I’ve been using my dining room table. I feel like I’ve been upgraded.” She refilled Emma’s water dish as we talked. “I want to turn the third bedroom in Jim’s house into a den when we get married. If we get married.”
“Don’t give up on him yet. He really can’t be that stupid to let a little thing like you working stop you two from being together. And if he does, he doesn’t deserve you.” I sat down with my bowl of oatmeal and fruit. Having Beth around was way healthier for me. I might justkeep her here.
“You would think that he’d be used to me being independent and strong-willed. When Amanda was sick, he wanted to hire a nurse for her. I told him he was crazy and I’d do it. I took leave from the church and just worked on my degree back then. Huh, I’d forgotten, but Les wasn’t happy when I did that either. I wonder if Les is pressuring Jim more than helping him discernour situation.”
“Your pastor wouldn’t do that, would he?” I didn’t have a lot of experience with churches, well, at least those that weren’t cults like the one that had moved into SouthCove last year.
“Humans are fallible. I need to have a heart-to-heart with my spiritual advisor and see if his needs are messing with Jim’s decision-making in this matter. Les is a good guy. He just doesn’t like change.” She smiled at me. “One more task on my to-do list. What’s on your schedule today? Are you coming into Bakerstown with me?”
“I think I’ll stay home. I need to run with Emma after work, then do some reading or maybe laundry. Or multi-task and do both.” I also wanted to figure out how I could find out more about Chip without hanging out at his bar and talking to the long-term customers. Besides, I didn’t think it would be open. Not for a while. If Chris was his heir, wouldn’t she need a court order or something to start running it again? Maybe Amy would know. “When are you goingto Bakerstown?”
“I’m going to head over early if you’re not coming. Probably around nine or ten.” She played with her spoon. “I’ll be back to cook dinner. Maybe something creamy and baked. Anything you guys don’t like?”
“We’re pretty much open to anything.” I stood and put my empty bowl into the sink. “Especially if I’m not cooking. You don’t have to do that though.”
“It helps me think. And I’ve got a lot on my mind between this manuscript, the new job, and, well, Jim. I might just bake all of your Christmas cookies before I leave.”
“Knock yourself out.” I grabbed my tote and said goodbye to my dog. “I’ll see you sometime tonight. Call if you’re going to belate. I worry.”
“Yes, Mom.” Beth grinned and shook her head. “I want to be part of a family again. What am I, crazy?”
“It’s a possibility,” I teased back as I headed outside. As I walked into town, I texted Amy to see if she could have lunch with me at Diamond Lille’s. I didn’t get an answer until I was almost at the shop. It was short but positive.
Sure. Noon?
All the businesses in town were bursting with holiday décor, ready for a busy holiday season Saturday. We’d had a sale at the bookstore last week for Black Friday and the sales for this week were just as high. People liked buying books for gifts. Especially since we had a huge local charm section where we had cookbooks, travel books, and even fiction that was set in our geographical area. I’d also ordered a few touristy items like South Cove pillows, jackets, T-shirts, and magnets. People loved magnets to put on theirrefrigerators.
This morning, I’d mostly sell coffee and paperbacks to the tourists staying at the bed-and-breakfasts scattered around the area. Holiday shopping traffic would pick up just as I was leaving. Which would make it Deek’s problem. He loved working Saturdays. He was our one true extrovert in the bookseller group. The rest of us would rather just be there in case someone wanted to buy something. Deek reached out to everyone who walked into the store and had a high rate of success by talking to them about books. Books he loved, books they’d read, and what they were looking for. I’d watched his magic once, amazed at the way he brought even the most reluctant buyer to the register with at least one book, if not more,in their hands.
I thought it had a lot to do with the way he read people. Well, he’d say he read auras, but I knew his secret. He was a people watcher and could tell who was responding to his banter, changing it up when it wasn’t working. He knew what people wanted most. To be seen. He saw everyone.
