Twenty

Trixie wagged in delight and touched noses with Cooper. A few feet away, John was having breakfast with Laura.

Maybe Laura Pisani was the reason John had decided against having dinner with me. If that were the case, Ben and I were both out of luck. It surprised me that I felt disappointed. I barely knew John. But he’d been nice. I sucked in a deep breath of air. It clearly wasn’t meant to be. Holding my chin high, maybe too high in compensation for my hurt feelings, I called Trixie and walked into Heal!

Bob Lane smiled at me. “Morning, Holly.”

I handed Gustav’s prescriptions to the lanky man with the high cheekbones and facial structure worthy of magazine covers.

“This will take a few minutes, if you want to shop around.”

“Thanks. Gustav is in pain, so I’ll wait for it.”

Trixie and Gingersnap had made their way back to the dog and cat treat section. The two of them sniffed all the displays.

I eyed the old-fashioned soda fountain. There wasn’t a single empty seat. In fact, the drugstore was packed. The son of the owner was busy filling breakfast orders.

Pssst.

I looked around.

Pssst. Someone tapped my shoulder, and I turned.

Oh no. My Aunt Birdie. I loved her because she was my aunt, but the woman complained more than anyone I had ever known. She was bossy, opinionated, and demanding. In the old days, they would have called her a handsome woman. Gaunt enough to be bony, she was impeccably dressed in a black wrap-front knit dress. A white border ran up the left side like a stripe. It went around the neckline and was accented with a black button, as though it held the wrapped side in place. “Hello, Aunt Birdie.”

She pecked me on the cheek and slid her cool hand into mine. “We need to talk.”

She pulled me toward the front of the store. I had learned the hard way that there was no point in fighting her.

“Trixie! Gingersnap!” I called.

Birdie pushed the door open and hustled me out onto the sidewalk. I held the door for the dogs.

“Holly, dear, I don’t want you getting any prescriptions filled at Heal! You drive down the mountain and over to a drugstore in Snowball if you need anything.” She frowned at me. “What are you getting a prescription for, anyway? Are you sick?” She felt my forehead. “Does your mother know about this? Honestly, child, I have to do everything for you.”

“The prescriptions are for a guest of the inn.” I wasn’t about to tell her he was a new friend of Oma’s. Aunt Birdie and Oma didn’t care for each other much. Birdie would surely turn information about Gustav into dreadful gossip.

“Thank heaven for that.”

“Does this have anything to do with a rumor about Bob?” I asked.

“So you do know.”

“Actually, I don’t.” But I felt certain that she would tell me.

“You know the man who was murdered over in the Shire?”

“Randall Donovan.”

“Yes, that’s the one. Bob murdered him.”

“And you know this because . . . ?”

“Holly, it’s all over Wagtail. Bob hushed everything up, but you know how small towns are. The truth always comes out. Back about four years ago, Bob filled a prescription written by one Dr. Randall Donovan for a girl with anorexia nervosa. Her parents were vacationing here, so her mother had the prescription filled right here at Heal! Well, don’t you know, it caused that poor girl’s heart to stop, and her parents sued Bob Lane for causing her death.”

“Wouldn’t Randall Donovan have been the one at fault for prescribing the medicine?”

“That’s the point, Holly. But Bob was sued too, and that’s a fact. So I don’t want you letting him fill any prescriptions for you. You hear me?”

But Bob didn’t do anything wrong. In a way it was sweet of her to be so concerned about me. But I feared that she was just repeating a rumor and there was either no truth to it at all or more to the story.

“Don’t you see the connection?” Aunt Birdie scowled at me. “You’re usually much sharper than this. Are you getting enough sleep? Bob blamed Randall for the lawsuit, and murdered him because he was so upset that the girl died from the medicine he dispensed.”

Assuming the story was true, I could see that Bob might have had reason to be very upset with Randall and distressed over the girl’s death. I would have to find out more about it, but from a reliable source. I tried to wrap up the conversation. “Thank you for your concern about my well-being, Aunt Birdie.”

She bestowed a smile upon me and reached out to touch my hair. “But there isn’t a reason in the world you can’t get a trim of this beautiful long hair of yours. Stop by the beauty parlor. A decent manicure with a nice ladylike pink polish is in order, too. I don’t want your mother to think I’m not looking after you.”

Thank heaven from inside Heal! Bob knocked on a window and waved a white bag at me.

“I need to dash back with that, Aunt Birdie. Excuse me.”

I left her standing on the sidewalk while I paid for Gustav’s prescriptions.

“Did Birdie tell you I murdered Randall?” asked Bob.

He’d caught me completely off guard. How do you answer a question like that? Or was it a statement of guilt? “You know the rumor mill in Wagtail.”

Bob looked me straight in the eyes. “I didn’t kill him. But I sure would have liked to. I slugged him pretty good, though. When Dave figures out who ended the life of that miserable scum, I’m going to shake his hand.”

He was usually so even-tempered and friendly! I hoped he hadn’t said that to Dave. Feeling just a little bit shaken by his anger, I abruptly turned to leave, and hurried out of the store with the dogs.

Thankfully, I didn’t see Birdie anywhere. But John and Laura were still gabbing and laughing.

No matter, I told myself. I barely knew the guy. Maybe he had nice eyes and seemed sincere, and his dog, Cooper, was a sweetheart, but I would manage just fine without them.

Trixie and Gingersnap ran ahead across the green, and I followed. We hopped into the golf cart and rolled by Zelda’s home. I slowed down and observed police busily coming and going through her side yard. I hoped she was holding up okay.

In a matter of minutes I parked at the inn and jogged to the sliding glass doors of the reception lobby. I heard voices in the office, and Huey bounded out to meet us.

I skirted behind the reception desk and held up the medicine bag as I entered the office. “I’m sorry it took so long. I was . . . detained.”

Oma and Zelda sat on the sofa with coffee and pastries on the coffee table in front of them. Gingersnap trotted straight to them and laid her head in Zelda’s lap. Not to be left out, Trixie jumped on the sofa, barely wedging in next to Zelda. It was as though they knew instantly that Zelda was in crisis.

Gustav held a coffee cup and saucer on his lap. At the sight of me, he placed them on the table. He gladly took the bag, tore it open, and immediately swallowed two capsules. I could see that he moved with stiffness. “Thank you, Holly.”

“I’m sorry for the delay.” I handed him his change.

“One can never anticipate murder.”

“The Ben brought Zelda to be with us.” Oma patted Zelda’s hand.

Zelda’s eyes were huge with terror. “They already have a search warrant for my house! Ben’s there taking care of everything. He thought dogs would be in the way, so he left Huey here. I’m sorry, Holly. I never was very fond of Ben, but I’m so glad that he’s helping me now.”

“Me, too. Has anyone seen Nessie?”

Oma gasped. “Holly! I do not believe that Nessie murdered Hank. She is a lovely woman.”

“Then who?” I asked.

Zelda gazed around at us. “Half of Wagtail! He probably owed money that I didn’t even know about. There’s no telling what underhanded things he did to people.”

“That casts a rather broad net.” Gustav helped himself to a cinnamon bun. “Do they know how he was killed?”

“He was so bloody!” Zelda buried her face in her hands.

I nodded in confirmation.

“I don’t know why I can’t stop crying. I hated him,” Zelda blurted. “Hated! He could be so sweet, but he left me with mounds of debt that I haven’t been able to pay off yet. Maybe I never will! I’ve been furious with him for a long time, and now I’m crying because he’s dead!”

In a very gentle tone, Oma said, “Perhaps you never wished him such a terrible end.”

Zelda sniffled. “Don’t be so sure about that. When I was struggling and angry I wished some pretty awful things on him.” Her face contorted with sorrow. “But you’re right, Oma. No matter what ugly things I said about Hank, I never would have wanted this.”

Gustav watched Zelda, showing no emotion. “What about the young man with whom you went out yesterday evening? Maybe he encountered your Hank and a fight ensued.”

“That would be awful! I hope that’s not what happened.”

“Dave has the name of your young man?” asked Oma.

“Yes. I don’t think he killed Hank, though.”

“Too nice?” asked Gustav.

“He is very nice, but I never told him where I live. You know, as a precaution. He was a stranger.”

Part of me longed to hang around the inn and have a cup of tea. But I still had to pick up the dog and cat kibble before someone pitched a fuss because it wasn’t available. “I’m off to get the pet food now. Is there anything else I should pick up while I’m out?”

“Hurry back, liebling,” Oma said. “We will eat lunch here in the privacy of the office. Or maybe on the terrace just outside. It’s such a beautiful summer day.”

I called Trixie and Gingersnap. Trixie jumped to the floor and ran out the door ahead of me. Gingersnap didn’t budge from Zelda’s side. She gave me a look, though, and I understood. It was Gingersnap’s mission in life to comfort everyone.

Trixie and I took the golf cart back to the green. But this time, I avoided Zelda’s street. Mostly because the next street over was closer to the store and it would make loading the kibble bags easier. But also because it was a little creepy. I hoped Zelda wouldn’t feel that she had to move. She loved that house, and it suited her personality so well, with its old-fashioned cottage feel.

I parked, and we walked to the store. Her nose to the ground, Trixie sped inside.

I ambled toward the owner and handed him my list. “Another raid on the pantry last night.”

He laughed. “I need to teach more dogs to do that. I’d sell twice as much food.” He hurried to the back, clutching my list.

I knew why Trixie had been eager to enter the store when Cooper loped toward me. Oh no. It wasn’t like I could dash out now to avoid John. I patted Cooper and stroked his soft ears.

John was carrying a bag of kibble when he spotted me. “Holly.” He sucked in a breath so large that his chest heaved.

I tried to be cheerful. “Hi, John.”

“I’m just picking up some food for Cooper.” He edged away, keeping his eyes on me.

I nodded. I had no idea what to say. “So, how’s the thriller coming?” There, that was neutral and harmless.

“Look, Holly, I’m going to be in town a couple more months, so I’m just going to come right out and ask you to stop this.”