Chapter 13
Dear Sophie,
My life is chaos. Between the kids and my husband, I can’t keep track of anything. Bills to pay, permission slips that need signing, not to mention my car keys! They’re always lost, and I waste hours looking for them.
Need Help in Messmore, Pennsylvania
Dear Need Help,
You need a home command center! They’re so easy to make. With a blank wall and a few inexpensive items, you’ll be more organized. Start with a calendar that is large enough to write on so you won’t miss appointments. Add a clock, a grocery shopping pad, a key hanging strip, a basket for permission slips and another for bills. A chalkboard is helpful, too. Mount everything on the wall and put a frame around it. Now it’s all at your fingertips.
Sophie
“Because I knew it wouldn’t look good. They’re going to arrest me.” Humphrey reached into his pocket and pulled out a tiny velvet box. He flipped the top open to reveal an engagement ring. A stunning square diamond sat in platinum prongs. On each side, three smaller square diamonds were embedded in the band, decreasing in size.
For a long moment, no one said a word.
Mars finally asked, “You chickened out and didn’t propose?”
“Worse than that,” Humphrey moaned. “She turned me down.”
“Humphrey,” I said gently, “I’m so sorry.”
“I missed her so much while she was away. For three weeks I thought of little else. I bought the ring and planned how I would propose. Romantic, but not corny. She was exhausted from her trip. It was a mistake, but I was so excited. She fell asleep while I was pouring champagne, so I waited until morning. She woke early because of jet lag and the time difference, I guess. While she showered and dressed, I made coffee and brought it upstairs to her. It was wrong. I shouldn’t have done it that way. She said, ‘Oh Humphrey, I’m so flattered.’”
Mars winced.
“Flattered! As though I had told her she was wearing a pretty dress, or her hair looked great. She closed the box and handed it back to me, saying, ‘I can’t.’ I felt like I was twelve years old and had misread the intentions of a girl who had been sending me notes in class.”
Nina patted his hand. “What did you do?”
I got to my feet and stumbled down the stairs and out the door. I didn’t even say goodbye. I couldn’t bring myself to speak. It was all I could do to put one foot in front of the other and keep going like I was in a daze. That was the last time I saw her. Now I’ll never be able to . . .”
Nina withdrew her hand and said, “To what?”
“To ask her why she declined. To tell her that I love her. To change and be whatever she wanted me to be. But now I’ll never get a second chance.” He bit his upper lip and avoided our eyes. “Maybe I never would have seen her again anyway. Maybe she would have dodged me.”
I felt terrible for Humphrey and barely knew what to say. He had looked for a girlfriend for so very long. If Mrs. McElhaney could be believed, Humphrey and Lark had been seeing each other for months. Of course, marriage was a different matter entirely. Who knew why she turned him down? And now that someone had killed Lark, Humphrey would go through the rest of his life wondering what went wrong.
“You see the problem, don’t you?” asked Humphrey. “Besides her killer, I was probably the last one to see Lark alive. My fingerprints are all over the house. I can’t prove my relationship with Lark because we kept it secret. Either the police will think I didn’t have a relationship with Lark and that I killed her or that I murdered her because she turned me down when I proposed. Either way, they’re going to think I killed her.”
We sat silently. He was right.
I reached for a pad of paper and a pen. Drawing a circle with a dot in it, I asked Humphrey, “Does this mean anything to you?”
They all stretched and craned their necks to see it.
Nina said, “It looks like the Target logo. The circle and dot in theirs are thicker, though.”
Mars laughed. “It’s just like you to see a symbol for shopping! What is it supposed to be, Sophie?”
I didn’t want to say yet. Maybe it would mean something to Humphrey, and I didn’t want to throw him off. I watched his expression, but it didn’t change. I had hoped that it was some sort of signal between Humphrey and Lark.
Maybe I had gotten it wrong. I took out my phone and found the photo I had taken. I showed it to Humphrey, and everyone else leaned in for a look.
“Lark drew this in the mulch,” I explained. And that was all I said, though I was wondering if perhaps it was actually a G or something else that I hadn’t seen in it yet.
Humphrey shook his head and buried his face in his hands.
Nina snatched the phone. “Are you sure it’s a complete circle?”
“It represents the sun,” said Bernie.
Mars raised an eyebrow and looked at him doubtfully. “Right.”
“Seriously. It means sun in hieroglyphics,” protested Bernie.
Nina glared at the two of them. “Really? Like Lark happened to know hieroglyphics and her last word was a symbol that only an Egyptologist would recognize? Target was a better guess than that.”
Mars gently touched Humphrey’s arm. “Any chance that Lark might know something about hieroglyphics?”
“Not that she ever told me,” said Humphrey.
Mars sucked in air. “It means the end.”
“That’s not even remotely funny,” I said.
Mars seemed surprised. “I’m not being funny. In Scouting, a dot in a circle means end of the trail. Gone home.”
For probably the first time in our lives, we sat in complete stunned silence.
Bernie was first to speak. “Unless she was a scoutmaster, I’d say it was highly unlikely she would have taken her last moments to draw that symbol. It has to mean something else.”
“Humphrey,” I said softly, “please give this some thought. You were so close to Lark. Maybe you can figure out what she meant to tell us.”
“And maybe you should talk to Wolf and explain everything to him before they take you in for questioning,” suggested Bernie.
“I had the same thought,” said Mars.
“But not without Alex German,” said Nina.
It was my turn to wince. I still hadn’t run into Alex since the day I broke off our relationship. Old Town wasn’t huge, but it was big enough to avoid someone if you made an effort. Alex’s turf was his office and the courthouse, places I didn’t go often anyway, so that had been easy. But I would never stand in Humphrey’s way just because of a little embarrassment to me. Alex was the best criminal attorney in Old Town, and we all knew it. “You’d better call him now before someone else is accused, too, and snaps him up first.”
I held out my hand for his cell phone and dialed Alex’s number for him.
We listened to Humphrey’s end of the conversation. When he hung up, Humphrey was paler than normal. “He said he’d been expecting my call.”
“Either someone else saw you, they have the fingerprint results back, or Mrs. McElhaney is a bigmouth,” said Mars. “Is he coming here?”
Humphrey nodded. “This afternoon. I hope that’s okay.”
Nina smirked a little. “You’re finally going to have to face him, Sophie.”
“Actually, I’m not. I have the DIY Festival to take care of and I’m already running late.”
Nina gasped, “I forgot all about that! I promised to go to Paisley’s tent.”
I rose from my seat and headed upstairs to shower and dress.
I confess that even though I was running late, I took a little extra time with my makeup and attire. I had no interest in getting back together with Alex. None whatsoever. But everyone wants to look good when they run into an ex. There’s just that awful and probably really wrong hope of sparking a tiny hint of regret. I was the one who broke it off, but that fact didn’t diminish the desire to look my best. I pulled on black jeans and a black V-neck top to appear thinner, a cropped black jacket with white threads running through it, and a chunky gold link necklace. I added bold gold earrings.
I hurried back down the stairs. Mars whistled at me.
“Very funny. Where are Nina and Bernie?”
“She went home to dress.”
“She wasn’t afraid to go home by herself?” I asked.
“Bernie went with her. They took Muppet and Daisy, as well as the Taser I gave you. After being away for so long, I think she really wants to get back to normal in her own home as soon as she can,” said Mars.
“I can’t blame her.” I grabbed my purse and clipboard. “Good luck with Alex,” I said to Humphrey on my way out the door.
I had barely approached the tents when several people rushed toward me. They waited politely in line while I took care of their problems. Fortunately, most of them were minor, until Greer Shacklesworth pulled me aside.
“Sophie, it’s not like me to complain,” she said.
Did she always begin that way? Was she under the impression that declaring she didn’t complain somehow negated the fact that she was complaining? I smiled as sweetly as I could.
“The people in the tent next to mine have plastic coverings on their tables.”
I blinked at her. Was she kidding? Judging from her expression, I was fairly certain that she was serious. “Maybe they’re doing something messy and need a surface that’s easy to clean.”
“It looks trashy. And that’s not all,” she continued. “They’re eating something made with garlic. I know now why it keeps vampires away. It keeps buyers away, too.”
I tilted my head and made no secret of how ridiculous I thought her complaints were. “There are no rules against plastic on the tables or against eating garlic.” I was sorely tempted to suggest that she worry more about herself and butt out of everyone else’s business. Instead I checked my watch. “So sorry. I have to run.”
In general, I don’t like to make enemies, especially over something so utterly ridiculous. But when I left Greer, I suspected she would not be eager to help me if I was in a pickle.
I headed for Market Square, passing Paisley’s tent on the way. Nina waved at me, but I could tell she was excited about a very pregnant lady who was looking at one of Paisley’s adorable rocking chairs.
Dulci Chapman was scheduled next in the demonstration tent. She grabbed my arm as soon as I walked up to her.
“Can you help me move all this stuff into the tent as soon as Mr. How-to-install-a-toilet finishes? Emery promised to be here to give me a hand, but he hasn’t shown up yet.”
“Sure, no problem.”
Furrows formed on Dulci’s forehead. “I’m a little worried. This isn’t at all like Emery. He’s not answering his phone, either.”
“He probably got hung up at work,” I said.
“He’s a pathologist. It’s not like he gets a lot of emergencies,” she said drolly.
Her phone rang just as the applause began for Mr. How-to-install-a-toilet.
While she talked, I carried a clock, a framed calendar, a chalkboard, a framed list of emergency and neighbor phone numbers, and a shopping list pad under the tent.
Dulci was still on the phone, but she managed to haul a couple of wire baskets and a key holder rack inside. After thanking someone, she disconnected the call. “No one knows where he is!”
She straightened her shoulders, took a deep breath, and walked out in front of her audience. I had to give Dulci credit, even though she was worried about her husband, she didn’t show it. I doubted that even one person in her sizable audience would have guessed that she had a problem. She discussed the various items people might need in a home control center, then demonstrated how she goes about mounting each item on the wall.
I had places where I kept things, but I loved the idea of everything being in one spot and out of the way, yet visible at a glance. No more pawing through junk drawers or piles of mail. It was pure genius.
About halfway through, her husband, Dr. Emery Chapman, showed up, puffing like he’d run all the way to Market Square. He was a large man, tall and broad-shouldered with a significant belly that hung over the belt of his low-slung trousers. His round head was bald on top. The traditional horseshoe of hair in the back and on the sides was cut short and beginning to gray. Sweat peppered his brow and his complexion was an unhealthy ruddy shade. “Hello, Sophie. Terrible business about Lark.”
He’d heard, of course. Everyone had. But he’d also been on the trip with Lark and he was a local pathologist. I assumed unusual deaths like Lark’s were quietly discussed in pathology offices.
“It’s just awful,” I agreed. “Do you need to sit down?”
He pulled a handkerchief out of his pocket and wiped his forehead. “No, no. I’ll be all right. I got held up at the hospital. You know how it is when you’re hurrying to get someplace. Everyone stops to ask you something that could have waited until later.”
“I love this home command center idea,” I whispered.
He gave me a sideways glance that indicated he was not overly fond of it. “Umm,” he grunted. “Dulci is very organized. I don’t dare step out of line.” He smiled at me when he said it.
When Dulci finished, Emery and I helped her gather her items. But members of her audience gathered around her, asking questions. I overheard several people ask what she would charge to install a home command center for them.
“Sounds like Dulci might have a new business,” I said to Emery.
“I never imagined that. It’s so simple, just hang everything on the wall.” He squinted at the crowd around her in wonder.
“I’m glad we have a minute to talk,” I said. “I was wondering if you picked up on anything unusual about Lark on your trip.”
“Dulci and I have discussed that. I wish we had. If only she had confided in us, let us know if she was in some kind of trouble. We really didn’t notice anything out of the ordinary. She was polite and cheerful.” He shrugged.
“Did she talk about her children?” I asked.
His eyebrows shot up. “Yes, of course. You can’t get a group of parents together without discussing children. Are they suspects?”
How to answer that? “I don’t think so, but I don’t really know.”
“She’s very proud of them,” he said, “and of her six grandchildren, as you might imagine. She did say she worried about her daughter. It must be rough raising so many small children at once. I remember joking that her daughter needed Dulci because she would have the little ones scheduled down to the minute. We could tell Lark was used to handling babies when one was thrown at her.”