Thirty-five

“Tell me exactly what happened,” I said.

“Cooper woke me by barking. It wasn’t like when he sees a squirrel and barks like a crazy dog. It was just a bark or two—more like an alert. It was around three in the morning. A large bedroom suite takes up the second floor of the house. There’s a nook with cushions at a large window that overlooks the backyard, and Cooper had jumped up on it to look outside. So I got up and peered out, too. That was when I saw you. I considered going downstairs to yell at you, but thought better of it and went back to bed. Of course, at the time, it never occurred to me that it could be anything more than you snooping around. I wondered why you would bother, unless you were hanging around to see if a woman was staying over at my place.”

“You never saw this person’s face?”

“No,” he said.

“You just assumed it was me?”

He blew air out of his mouth like a deflating balloon before he said, “I recognized the jacket you wore the night we found Randall’s body. It’s white, which, by the way, is not the best color to wear when you go out to murder someone at night.”

I thought back to what I had worn the day before. “If you saw me earlier that night, then you knew I was wearing a dark coat over a life vest to bulk me up.”

“Like you couldn’t change clothes? Plus, I hear the killer used a garden hoe from your aunt’s shed. You would have known where to find that.”

“I suppose you think I murdered Randall, too?”

“No, I don’t.”

“I can’t believe it! Why not pin that one on me?”

“I don’t know exactly what time he was murdered, but you seemed to be pretty busy at the inn, and I seriously doubt that there would have been enough time for you to run over to the Shire, murder him, and get back to the dog play area before I saw you there,” John said.

“Gee, thanks for letting me off the hook for that murder. Has it occurred to you that I might be too smart to wear a white jacket to clobber someone in the dark and that other people also own white jackets?”

“I’m feeling a little bit sheepish about that now. I really thought it was you. If it makes you feel any better, Dave found a button in the grass. There’s a good chance it matches the jacket that was worn that night.”

Now I wanted to run up to my closet and search for my white jacket.

“You’ve been turning up everywhere I go, and when I saw the jacket, I thought, There she is again. I didn’t expect this, Holly, but I was a lot more comfortable when I thought you had murdered Hank. At least I knew who to watch out for. Now it could be anybody.”

“Do you think you’re the next target?”

“Not really. But I’ve been carrying pepper spray in my pocket, just in case.”

“You bought pepper spray to protect yourself from me?”

“I bought it to protect Cooper and me from bears when we’re out hiking on the mountain trails. But strange things have been happening in this town, so I’ve been carrying it around with me.”

I couldn’t help laughing. “That’s why you were brave enough to sit out here with me. You have it on you right now?”

His eyes met mine. “I feel like a complete crumb. The thing is that since I met you, I’ve felt like I’m being watched. I’ve seen people lurking in the dark around my house. And you’ve turned up everywhere I go, so I thought it was you.”

“Maybe you felt that way because Hank was hanging around Zelda’s house and your backyards aren’t separated by a fence. I saw him walking between your houses when I went over to lead him astray.”

“You’re probably right. I associated it with you because it didn’t happen to me before I met you. But Hank arrived in town just about that time, didn’t he?”

“I don’t know when he arrived, but he came to the inn a couple of hours before you did.”

“So if you didn’t murder him, who did?” asked John.

“Ben, Zelda, and I discussed this. I think we can eliminate Sky Stevens. She’s Randall’s sister-in-law, but I don’t think she had to time to kill Randall.”

“You’re assuming the same person murdered Randall and Hank?”

I looked at him in surprise. “Randall’s wallet, containing a large amount of cash, was in Hank’s pocket.”

“Whoa!” John exclaimed so loud that the dogs jumped up. “That puts everything in a new light.”

I nodded. “Nessie Jamieson appears to have known them both. She was steaming angry at Hank the night he died. As far as I can tell, she had the opportunity to knock both of them off. I guess her daughter could have, too. And then there’s Bob Lane, one of the pharmacists at Heal! Have you met him yet?”

“Is that the good-looking guy, around forty-five or fifty?”

“That’s him,” I confirmed.

“I don’t know him, but he has always been nice when I’ve gone in to buy something. And he makes a great old-fashioned milk shake. I didn’t think anyone made those anymore.”

I told him about the lawsuit against Bob and how Hank had stolen from the drugstore. “That’s really all we’ve got in terms of suspects.”

“You left a few people out. I know she’s your friend, but you have to consider Zelda—“

“No way! I’ve seen Zelda catch spiders and bees. She takes them outside and releases them. I know Hank was a pain in her neck, but she wouldn’t have killed him unless it was in self-defense. But don’t forget Macon.” And you, I thought. I immediately hated myself for even thinking such a thing. After all, I had no reason to imagine that he had known Randall or Hank. Nevertheless, I glanced back at the inn and took comfort in the murmuring I could hear only a few yards away, where Oma, Gustav, and Zelda talked on Oma’s patio.

If I’d truly thought John had killed someone, I would have left already. I looked at his face. Even in the fading light of day, he had honest eyes. I didn’t want to run away. I wanted to kiss him. Surely I wouldn’t want to kiss a killer!

Was I doing what Macon had described? Was something in my brain overriding the fact that John had turned me in as a killer? I should be too furious to speak with him. But I wasn’t. Drat that Macon. Would I be questioning my reactions in relationships the rest of my life?

I decided to go with my gut feeling. After all, Trixie liked him. Dogs were known to be excellent judges of character.

“Macon. Randall said such awful things about him.” I glanced up the hill toward the inn. “Seems unkind to talk about him that way when he set up this picnic for us.”

“Holly, I haven’t met many people in Wagtail who haven’t been nice. To me that means someone who seems terrific is really evil to the core.” He lowered his voice. “And Macon certainly had the opportunity. I’ve seen him all over town. I seriously doubt that he had an event scheduled in the middle of the night, when Hank was killed, or Thursday evening when Randall was done in. But I don’t know why he would have murdered Hank unless it was because he lied about being a doctor.”

“You heard about that, huh?”

“Everybody heard about it. I think it made a lot of people reconsider their matches. I know Laura had second thoughts about Ben.”

“They weren’t matched to begin with. They just met in a bar. But Macon had a big reason to loathe Hank. Seems Hank took financial advantage of Macon’s favorite cousin. Macon interfered in the nick of time, but I gather quite a bit of money went to Hank.”

“Macon. Who would have thought it? Should we tell Dave what we know?” John asked.

“You should certainly tell him that you have changed your mind about seeing me there at the time of the murder!”

The sun had almost set and the moon glowed in the sky. We would need lanterns soon. Cooper and Trixie played along the edge of the lake. Cooper jumped in and out, and Trixie sniffed along the shore.

I was feeling much better. John would clear me with Dave, and I wouldn’t be a suspect anymore. And I was convinced that he was telling me the truth about the terrible allegations against him at Douthier.

We had made it to the chocolate-dipped strawberries when Trixie started barking. I bit into a strawberry and turned my head to see what Trixie was fussing about.

Cooper appeared to flounder in water that was over his head.