Murder by Arrangement

  Amanda glanced at Edna with curiosity. “Maybe.”

  At that moment, they heard a noise in the hall and the object of their discussion appeared in the doorway. “It’s your turn,” Lettie said with a note of impatience.

  Amanda sat up straighter, pulling her legs in. “I’m going to see if Mary’s home.” As she stood, she added, “I want to play with the kittens.”

  “Me, too,” Lettie said, her face lighting up with anticipation.

  “You have to leave your phone here, though,” Amanda said sternly.

  “Mommy doesn’t like it if I don’t answer right away. She worries.”

  Edna wondered if Amanda might be wrong about who mainly initiated the texts between mother and daughter. Could it be that Rosie was afraid something might happen to Lettie and had to check on her constantly? “Why don’t you text your mother and tell her to call me if she needs to talk to you? She has my number.”

  Before Lettie had time to respond to the suggestion, Edna heard Starling hurrying down the stairs. At the same time, the doorbell rang.

  “I’ll get it,” Starling called out seconds before Edna heard the front door open.

  At the sound of muffled voices, Lettie disappeared into the hall with Amanda not far behind.

  Curious as to who had just arrived, Edna got up and followed the girls into the hall in time to see Rosie hug her daughter. She was laughing, as if delighted to have played a trick on Lettie. “Surprised to see me, sweetie?”

  “Hello, Rosie,” Edna said, approaching the group at the front door. “I thought you were working this weekend.” She must have been texting while driving, Edna thought with disapproval.

  The woman shook her head, still obviously pleased with herself. “It’s Saturday. I decided to take the night off. I missed my little girl and thought I’d drive down ahead of the snow to spend some time with her.” She tilted her head toward the outside. “Looks like I just made it.” To Lettie, she said, “Why don’t you go get your things? I want to reach Lily’s before the roads start to ice up.”

  Edna wondered about the reason Lettie was visiting Lily in the first place. Hadn’t Rosie claimed she’d be too busy to take any time off for the next week? Shaking the idea from her mind--after all, Rosie’s schedule was none of Edna’s business--she introduced Starling to Lettie’s mother before asking, “Would you like a cup of tea before you go?”

  “I’d better not take the time. Lettie won’t be long.”

  The three women chatted about the weather and road conditions for the few minutes it took the girls to fetch Lettie’s backpack. By the time the youngster retrieved her jacket, hat and gloves from the coat closet, Rosie was reaching for the doorknob.

  “Whew, that was fast,” Starling said when the door had closed behind mother and daughter. She put an arm around Amanda’s shoulders, turning her toward the living room. “I hereby challenge you to a game of Parcheesi, Manda-Panda.”

  The girl had apparently forgotten all about visiting Mary and the kittens as she smiled up at her aunt and walked with her down the hall.

  “When is Charlie picking you up for dinner?” Edna called to Starling.

  “He’s not.” Starling glanced back over her shoulder with a pout. “He called just before Lettie’s mother arrived and said he has to work tonight. They’re expecting emergency conditions and want all available personnel on duty. We’re postponing our dinner date,” she said, adding with emphasis and a roll of her eyes, “again.” She turned abruptly to face Edna and scowled. “Did you have this much trouble trying to get a date with Dad when he was on call at the hospital?”

  Edna was taken aback for a second or two and nearly whooped with delight. Is this a hint that something more serious is going on between her and Charlie? Edna wondered, but didn’t want to push the matter at that moment. Starling would confide in her when the time was right, or clam up, if it weren’t. Instead, Edna said, “I’ll call Mary and see if she’d like to come for supper.”

  “What are we having?” Amanda asked, pausing in the archway, and the look passing between mother and daughter broke.

  “How about chicken pot pie?” Edna suggested, her glance lowering to her granddaughter’s face. “Comfort food for a cold night.”

  The resounding cheers from her daughter and granddaughter made her laugh, but as they disappeared into the living room, she wondered if she’d have a chance to get Mary alone long enough to ask what she knew about the Haverstrum and Beck scandal.

  Chapter 8

  After a deep and dreamless sleep, Edna awoke and rose early. The storm had ended, leaving six inches of snow in its wake. Glancing out the window at the scene below, she saw that the Benton brothers, neighborhood teenagers who shoveled for the Davies and Mary without having to be phoned each time, had already cleared the drive. Edna idly wondered if they were on break this week or had they dragged themselves out of bed on one of the few mornings they could sleep in. She made a mental note to add a generous tip when they came around to collect.

  Going down to the kitchen, she made coffee and took a cup to her office. She wanted to resume her search of news about Gregory Haverstrum before Amanda and Starling came down for breakfast, but the computer hadn’t finished booting up when the doorbell rang. Surprised, she looked at the wall clock and realized it wasn’t yet eight o’clock.

  “Who in the world …” she muttered, hurrying into the front hall.

  Before she reached the door, she heard muffled banging, as if gloved hands were pounding on the wood. A faint voice called through the heavy wood, “Edna? Edna, are you up. Please let me in.” The doorbell rang again.

  Tuck? Recognizing the voice, Edna grew increasingly agitated by the urgency in her friend’s tone. She fumbled with the deadbolt.

  “Tuck?” Edna finally had the door open. Frowning, she wondered what had brought her friend to the house, and why she seemed so distressed. “Was I supposed to join you in church this morning?” She tried to remember if she’d forgotten a previous engagement with all that had been distracting her for the past few days.

  Ignoring the question, Tuck pushed past her into the hall, unwrapping a cashmere scarf from her neck as she did so. “Oh, Edna, something terrible has happened.” Tuck always wore a slightly puzzled expression as if not certain how she had gotten where she was. This morning, her eyes, the same sky blue as her scarf, appeared both frightened and bewildered. She stripped off her jacket, and Edna saw how upset Tuck must’ve been when she dressed. Usually so meticulously turned out, Tuck seemed to have pulled on an old pair of navy blue stretch pants and a light green turtleneck. Edna’s attention was drawn away from Tuck’s clothing at her friend’s next words. “Peppa’s been arrested,” she blurted, plopping down on a nearby ladder-back chair.

  “Arrested? For what?” Edna couldn’t imagine Peppa doing anything unlawful.

  “Vehicular homicide.”

  That one, Edna could believe. Having been a passenger in Peppa’s vintage Mercedes when they’d first met, Edna managed to repeat the harrowing experience only twice in the last year and a half. True, the woman was quite reckless behind the wheel, but miraculously had avoided having an accident in over fifty years. Tickets for speeding, running red lights and ignoring stop signs were a different matter, but she always paid promptly and cheerfully.

  “My goodness.” Shocked by the news, Edna needed time to absorb what she’d just heard. “I knew it was bound to happen sooner or later, but homicide.” Her voice rose on this last word, making it sound like a question.

  Tuck nodded as she removed her overcoat and pulled off her snow-caked boots.

  “Come into the kitchen. The coffee’s fresh,” Edna said, feeling numb and wanting to sit before her knees gave way.

  In the kitchen, instead of sitting, Tuck paced and babbled, apparently talking more to herself than to Edna. “She’s got old Dick Feinberg to represent her. He’s not a criminal attorney, but they’ve known each other for years. She phoned me this morning after she calle
d him. Officially, she’s only allowed one phone call, but most of them at the station are her Saturday morning kids, you know.”

  They and half the town, Edna thought and almost felt like smiling. If there was anyone in the area who hadn’t attended Peppa’s weekend story hour, they hadn’t grown up locally.

  “You’ve got to go talk to her.”

  “To Peppa?” Edna was confused. When Tuck merely gave a curt nod, Edna asked, “Why me?” She realized her question sounded like she was reluctant to speak with her friend, but before she could amend it, Tuck spoke.

  “Because she’s not speaking to me at the moment.”

  Edna shook her head, trying to decipher Tuck’s convoluted way of thinking. “I thought you said she phoned you this morning.”

  “She did, but when she found out I knew Clem was back in town, she got angry and hung up on me. I called back, but was told she wouldn’t come to the phone. I even went over to the station. That’s where I was before I came here. She’s flat out refusing to see me.

  “Clem?” Edna couldn’t imagine there was more than one man in town with the name, but it was too coincidental. “You mean the ‘Clem’ who works for Lily Beck?”

  Tuck nodded. “Peppa’s ex.” Her tone implied Edna was already supposed to know, but in the relatively short time she’d known Peppa, the woman hadn’t discussed her former husband or anything about the divorce. She definitely hadn’t spoken his name.

  “What has he to do with it?”

  “He’s the man she ran over last night, the reason she’s been arrested.”

  This last pronouncement was too much for Edna. “Hold on, Tuck. I need you to take a deep breath, then sit down and tell me what’s going on. From the beginning, please,” she added as she herself sat at the kitchen table.

  Tuck did as she was told, taking a minute to stroke Benjamin’s golden fur. In the seat next to hers, the cat blinked sleepily, having been awakened by the commotion. Seeming slightly more relaxed, Tuck stared down at the coffee Edna placed before her and began her tale.

  “Peppa’s call woke me. I didn’t realize she was calling from the police station. I wasn’t wearing my glasses, you see, so hadn’t looked at the caller ID before picking up.”

  Edna knew Tuck was apt to go off on a tangent and lose her train of thought, so she prompted. “What did Peppa tell you?”

  “That she found a body at the foot of her driveway this morning.” Tuck raised her eyebrows and lifted her shoulders as if totally baffled. “I thought she was joking, so I laughed and waited for her to deliver the punch line. She got huffy and said she wasn’t kidding. That’s when she mentioned she was calling from the police station. She’d already phoned Dick and was waiting for him to show up. She wanted me to know what had happened, in case they put her in jail. Asked if I could go over to her place and take care of Rufus.”

  An image of Peppa’s large but gentle and loving Rottweiler popped into Edna head. “Will you take him to your house?”

  Tuck took a sip of coffee and thought for several seconds, frowning as if the idea hadn’t occurred to her. Then, she nodded. “I will if Peppa’s not released today. He’ll be all right in the backyard, but I’d hate to think of him all alone, waiting for her to come home. Don’t you think that would be sad?”

  Time to get Tuck back on track, Edna thought, more confused than ever. “You said she ran over her ex-husband last night and found a body in her driveway this morning. His body?”

  “Of course,” Tuck said, as if it were plain as day. “That’s the problem. Because of how bitter she’s always been, everyone’s going to think she ran him down on purpose.”

  Edna thought Tuck was probably right, but didn’t say anything as her friend continued.

  “Peppa said she remembered the car bouncing over a snow mound when she turned into her driveway last night. She’d been out to dinner with friends and got home late. You know she always has a glass or two of wine with dinner,” Tuck added.

  Before she could go off on Peppa’s drinking habits, Edna said, “There’s usually a pile of snow in the gutter after the plows have been by. I bet she gunned the engine and swerved into the driveway. She does that even in good weather.” Having followed Peppa home on several occasions, Edna pictured Peppa’s erratic driving habits.

  “That’s what she said. Not about her racing the car, but about thinking the snow had been left by the street plows. I was supposed to pick her up for church this morning, so she thought she’d get out early and clear it away before I got there.” Tuck paused and set her cup back on the table. “She’s so thoughtful.”

  Edna ignored Tuck’s last remark, so horrific was the image that popped into her head. “And instead of a pile of snow, she found the body of her ex-husband?”

  Tears filled Tuck’s eyes and she fumbled for a pocket before realizing there were none in her stretch pants. Edna, having already noticed what Tuck was doing, pushed up from the table and retrieved a box of tissue from beside the sink. Resuming her seat, she laid the box where Tuck could reach it.

  Tuck nodded in appreciation and, having had a minute to compose herself, pulled out a tissue and dabbed away tears before speaking again. “Peppa said she didn’t realize who it was. Just that she saw the body of a man, so she ran back into the house to call nine-one-one. After talking to the dispatcher, she went back out to see if he might be alive, but the police had told her not to touch him. He was lying face down, so she didn’t see his face until after the police arrived. The fire and rescue truck pulled up right behind them. They were the ones who turned him over. She was already in shock over what she had done, but then the police asked her if she could identify the guy. She had no idea until they asked her to look at the body that it was Clem.” As if exhausted by the telling, Tuck sat back in her chair and reached over to stroke Benjamin’s back.

  Edna thought about what she’d just heard as she sipped her coffee, now almost cold. She grimaced at the mug and put it aside before looking over at her friend. “You said you knew Clem was in town, but Peppa didn’t?”

  Slumped in her chair, Tuck looked utterly miserable. “When she told me it was Clem, she sounded really and truly stunned. Five years ago, when Peppa kicked him out, he moved to Springfield to live with his father and brother. She’d told him that she wouldn’t have anything to do with him until he stopped drinking and straightened himself up.”

  “Is that why they divorced? He had a drinking problem?” Edna thought back to the man she’d met at Lily’s. Yes, she could see that he might have been a recovering alcoholic from his thin frame and deeply lined skin, but he’d also looked fit and healthy.

  “That’s right.” Tuck looked up at Edna. “She told me she hasn’t heard from him in all that time, that she didn’t want to know anything about him unless he was sober. I told her he hadn’t touched a drop of alcohol since the night of that near-fatal accident five years ago last Christmas. She asked me how I knew, and I had to confess that I’d run into him at Lily Beck’s last November. He’s been living above her garage for the last six months.”

  Edna thought of how gentle and friendly Clem had seemed, but didn’t interrupt Tuck to say she’d met him at Lily’s, too.

  “Peppa asked me why I hadn’t told her, and I said because he asked me not to. He wasn’t ready to face her. I don’t know what he was waiting for, but I respected his wishes. Peppa thinks I should have been loyal to her, not to Clem, so she hung up on me. You know how stubborn she can be. Now she’s not speaking to me and I don’t know what to do. Will you go see her and make her understand my side?”

  “Before I do that, I need to know why you didn’t tell Peppa. I thought you two were the best of friends. Why so loyal to Clem?”

  “Because he was as much a friend as Peppa, at least at one time.” Tuck gave a deep sigh. “Clem was a botany professor at the university. Nip hired him when we built our herb garden off the kitchen patio,” Tuck said, speaking of her deceased husband. “The two men hit it off so well, th
at’s when we started seeing Clem and Peppa socially. So, you see, I really knew Clem before I met Peppa. She’s one of my best and dearest of friends, but I also feel a great deal of loyalty to Clem, particularly since he was trying so hard to reform.”

  Edna was wondering what she ought to do when she heard the shower go on upstairs. “My girls are getting up. Will you join us for breakfast. I need some time to absorb what you’ve told me. Perhaps later we can discuss what I should do.”

  Tuck shook her head and rose to her feet. “Thanks, Edna, but I can’t stay. I need to go see about Rufus.” She paused, looking more baffled than usual. “Do you think the police will let me near the house?”

  Edna followed her friend to the hall, promising to talk to Peppa, if she could, but after Tuck had gone, it was Lily who came to Edna’s mind.

  Has anyone told her that her handyman is dead?

  Chapter 9

  “Who were you talking to?” Starling said, entering the kitchen ten minutes later and looking around the room as if expecting to see someone else.

  “Helen Tucker,” Edna said abstractedly. “She left while you were in the shower.”

  Leaning back against the edge of the kitchen sink, coffee mug in hand, Edna had been mulling over Tuck’s news. Before she could explain further, Starling surprised her.

  “Was she here about Peppa’s accident last night?”

  “How did you know?”

  “I had a text from Charlie on my phone this morning. He asked me to call him when I got up. He told me Peppa might have killed her ex-husband. Isn’t that awful?” Starling paused as she poured herself a cup of coffee and then looked over at Edna. “Actually, it’s you he wants to talk to and as soon as possible, so I invited him to join us for breakfast.” She looked anxious, as if Edna might object, given the horrifying news of the morning. “You don’t mind, do you?”