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“NOO-NOO,” SAID POSY in a tender voice as the little dog trotted in. Noo-noo wriggled her entire rear end and then flopped over immediately for a tummy rub while grinning lovingly up at Posy.
There were a handful of customers in the Patchwork Cottage, and they all hurried over to ooh and ahh over Noo-noo and then show pictures on their phones of their own dogs.
Posy beamed at Beatrice and said in a low voice, “I think Noo-noo might be a big draw for folks to shop here! She’s certainly a conversation-starter.” They glanced over at the women who were still sharing pictures with each other and loving on the corgi, who was soaking it all up.
Beatrice said, “If she’s not a tremendous distraction! We want them to buy fabric and notions, not pet Noo-noo.” She looked fondly at the corgi, who was grinning at everyone as she lay on her back.
Posy laughed. “And look at Maisie! Like I said, I didn’t think there would be any issues with our store cat.”
Maisie, a large white cat, was trotting toward Noo-noo, weaving around the legs of the customers on her way to see the little dog. Then she observed Noo-noo solemnly before going up to groom Noo-noo’s head, which Noo-noo lay very still for.
Beatrice grinned. “I think they’ve made friends.”
The whole shop was chuckling over the two and one woman took pictures with her phone.
Posy said, “Well, I think you can rest assured that Noo-noo will be fine here while you take Piper to her appointment.”
“She’ll never want to go home!” said Beatrice. “Thanks so much. I’ll check in on her after the appointment and before we go to lunch, just to make sure.”
Posy shook her head. “Don’t worry about it. I’ll send you an update in a little over an hour. Regardless, have a nice lunch with Piper! I know y’all will enjoy that.”
Piper’s appointment went really well. Beatrice’s eyes had welled up a few times during the doctor visit, particularly when they heard the baby’s heartbeat and saw the baby on the monitor.
“You have a fine baby,” said the doctor with a smile at them as she very carefully avoided any gender pronouns that might reveal if the baby was a boy or girl. “And seems very healthy.”
Posy did indeed send Beatrice an update, just as she and Piper were making their way out of the doctor’s office. In the picture she sent, Noo-noo was grinning obligingly at the camera as Maisie lay curled up against her, blissfully sleeping.
Beatrice showed the photo to Piper as they got into Beatrice’s car. Piper snorted. “That is one laid-back cat!”
“Posy thought she’d be completely fine with a dog in the shop, and Maisie was,” said Beatrice. She looked over at Piper as she started driving toward downtown. “How are you doing?”
Piper said, “Great! I really haven’t had any issues and nothing to complain about. The baby has been really active during the day, which is kind of fun. And at night, he or she seems to conk out and go to sleep, which allows me to sleep.”
“I have a brilliant grandchild,” said Beatrice with a smile.
Piper picked a restaurant right in downtown. It was a pretty place with cheerful pastel murals on the walls and white tablecloths and a single flower in a vase on each table. Even though the ambience made it feel like a special occasion, the pricing was moderate. And the restaurant offered a huge selection of food.
They were about to walk in when Meadow approached them on the sidewalk. “How did the appointment go, Piper?” she asked a bit breathlessly. She followed Piper’s appointments religiously and had clearly restrained herself from texting and asking for an update before now.
“Everything is fine,” said Piper in a soothing voice. “The baby is doing great.”
Meadow’s face relaxed immediately. “Wonderful news!” Then she turned to Beatrice and said urgently, “I need to talk to you later. Fill me in!” She gave Piper a hug and said, “So excited!” And she was off again, heading briskly in the direction of the grocery store.
After they ordered,—Piper choosing their chicken salad plate and Beatrice opting for a quiche with a salad—Piper said, “Okay, so what was Meadow alluding to so mysteriously? I can’t imagine it’s the work you’re having done at your house.”
Beatrice sighed. “Or the work that’s not being done at our house.” She filled Piper in quickly on losing Dale because of injury and ending up with Dale’s cousin, Len. Then she paused. “I think that Meadow was being cautious because she’s being protective of you. She doesn’t want you to be worried about anything right now.”
Piper lifted an eyebrow. “You mean overprotective. And now my curiosity is definitely piqued. What was it that Meadow was tiptoeing around? Something happened, right? Is everything okay with Wyatt? You’re both feeling well?”
Piper had always been intuitive so Beatrice wasn’t too surprised when she honed in on Wyatt. Beatrice said, “He’s fine, although he had a bit of a shock this morning. I think I mentioned to you that he had a meeting early today.”
Piper frowned. “You did, although I can’t remember with whom.”
“With Gerald Carpenter. He’s been in charge of getting bids for that air conditioning and heating project at the church. Unfortunately, when Wyatt arrived, he found Gerald dead.”
Piper’s eyes opened wide. “Did he have a heart attack or a stroke or something?”
Beatrice shook her head. “No. I’m afraid he was murdered.” She sighed. “Even though Wyatt, as a minister, has seen a lot of death, Gerald’s murder really seemed to shake him up.”
Their waitress served them and then Piper said, “I bet it did. It would have upset anyone and Wyatt can be a real softie. Were there any clues as to who might be responsible?”
“Nothing that Ramsay divulged to us, although the state police’s forensics team was there trying to get more information,” said Beatrice. “Gerald’s son, Mark, arrived and spoke to us for a few minutes.”
Piper grimaced. “I’m sure he took it hard. He spent a lot of time with his dad at the business.”
Beatrice said, “He definitely seemed surprised. And, of course, everyone processes grief differently, but I didn’t get a real sense that he was devastated. He was mostly talking about the business and the employees.” She took a bite of her quiche, which melted in her mouth. She wondered why her own quiches always seemed to be tough. Once again, she felt as if she likely didn’t possess the patience to be a good cook.
“I don’t think he’s the kind of person who’s really in touch with their emotions,” said Piper. “He always has this very tight smile. He seems really high strung to me. And I know he invests a lot of time in the family business. Maybe he’ll be dealing with his father’s death in a more private way. I don’t think he’d give away much emotion in public.”
Beatrice said, “I think that Gerald might also have been challenging to work with. He always seemed to like to do things his way, according to Wyatt. That might rub someone like Mark the wrong way since he also seems to like to do things his way. I wonder if they had any disagreements over the running of the business.”
Piper finished a bite of her chicken salad and then said, “I know someone who probably knows a lot about how Gerald and Mark worked together. Salome Hewitt.”
“I remembered Salome works at the Patchwork Cottage now,” said Beatrice. “I didn’t see her there when I dropped Noo-noo off at the shop.”
“Maybe she’ll be there when you’re picking Noo-noo up. She worked for Gerald a long time and must have all sorts of thoughts on Gerald and Mark and the rest of the family,” said Piper.
Beatrice frowned. “I’m guessing they’re not great thoughts. Mark mentioned that Salome might have something of a grudge against the family because of the way she was forced out of the company.”
“She doesn’t seem really happy about it, that’s for sure. Posy wanted to give Salome work because she has her preschool-age daughter to care for and didn’t have a job at all. Salome was apparently fired really abruptly and fairly recently. And Salome has quilted for years, so she was familiar enough with the business to step right into the job.” Piper took a sip of her sweet tea and pushed her empty plate to the side.
Beatrice asked, “Was Salome in a guild?”
Piper shook her head. “With her busy life, she wouldn’t have had time to join one.”
Beatrice said, “Mark said that Salome was fired because she asked for a raise. Although that seems a little harsh since Salome was apparently an employee of long-standing. Mark also said that Gerald liked the way that Salome kept everything organized. So it seems that she did a good job.”
“Right. Salome is pretty bitter over that point. But fortunately, she has some help in town. Her sister lives here, and she’s taken her and her daughter, Jenna, in since Salome couldn’t afford her apartment anymore. It must be very hard on all of them.”
Beatrice felt a little like Meadow as she changed the subject. But she wanted to dwell on some happier topics. “Speaking of homes, how is the indoor-outdoor nesting process going?”
Piper beamed. “It’s going well! Better than yours, apparently,” she said with a light laugh.
“As long as any sort of progress is being made, your project is going much better than mine,” said Beatrice.
And for the next thirty minutes, they chatted about nurseries and baby equipment and the new sandbox that Ash had made in their backyard.
Later, Beatrice drove Piper back home, exclaimed over the sandbox and the most recent updates to the nursery, and then drove over to the Patchwork Cottage to pick up Noo-noo . . . and see if Salome Hewitt might be working there.
As it happened, a large number of shoppers had just left the shop, and Salome was there, making Beatrice think that maybe Posy’s employee had been working in the back room when Beatrice had been there earlier. Posy grinned at Beatrice, “I’m worn out. And I know Salome is.”
Salome was a small, attractive woman with shoulder-length black hair and dimples that appeared when she smiled. “That was a lot of checking out at one time.”
Posy said, “But it would have been much worse if Noo-noo hadn’t been here as a distraction. Then they all would have checked out at the same time instead of just half of them. They were all giving Noo-noo attention.”
Beatrice said, “I’m sure she absolutely basked in it, too.”
Posy said, “She definitely did! She was such a happy dog. Everyone loved seeing her big, doggy smile. Be sure to bring her back anytime. We loved having her here, and Maisie loved her, too.” She glanced over at Salome and said, “Could you keep an eye on the shop for me while I catch up on some paperwork and inventory in the back room? I’ve been meaning to do it and just can’t seem to find the time.”
“Of course,” said Salome.
Posy quickly headed off to the back room of the shop, and Salome said quickly, “Actually, Beatrice, I was hoping for the opportunity to speak with you.”
Beatrice noticed that there were weary lines around her mouth and eyes and that Salome seemed tense. “What can I help you with?”
Salome said quietly, “One of the customers who came in was talking about a suspicious death over at the factory—the pimento cheese factory that Gerald Carpenter owns. And she said that your husband had been there. I was wondering if you had any information about what happened. I used to work there, you see, before I started working for Posy.”
“I see. Wyatt was there early this morning for a meeting with Gerald—a meeting that didn’t happen. I’m afraid that when Wyatt got there, Gerald was dead. And yes, the police are treating his death as suspicious. When Wyatt called me, I drove over to join him there,” said Beatrice.
Salome abruptly took a seat in the seating area a few feet away and Beatrice joined her. Noo-noo opened one eye to observe her before quietly falling back asleep.
Salome said under her breath, “I can’t believe it. Who would do something like that?” Then she grimaced. “I bet the police will be over to speak to me soon.”
“Why is that?” asked Beatrice, hoping that Salome would offer up the entire story so that she wouldn’t have to ask.
Salome did seem in the mood to talk. She gushed, “Because of the way I left the company. I’d worked there for ten years and then Gerald fired me really abruptly, and I was scrambling to find work. I have a young daughter, and I didn’t know where to go. I was so relieved when Posy offered me some work, even though it’s just part-time. So far, it’s been working out for me because I’ve been able to move in with my sister, Carla, and cut back on expenses.”
“Why did Gerald fire you?” asked Beatrice.
Salome gave a harsh laugh. “It didn’t make any sense at all to me. But I should have known he might react the way that he did. Gerald had always been really tight-fisted with his money. As I mentioned, I’d been at the company for ten years. I was doing all right, but felt as though I was just scraping by and living paycheck to paycheck. Most of my income was going to my rent. On my ten-year anniversary, I used that date as a springboard to ask for a raise. I figured that ten years of loyal service must be worth something. I mean, I was at that company for so long that I still have all of Gerald’s contacts on my phone, as if he’s going to ask me to make a call for him. But, despite all that service, I was so nervous. Maybe, subconsciously, I knew that it wasn’t going to go well. I practiced asking for the raise in front of the mirror ten or fifteen times and crafted my language to make sure that I sounded grateful as well as deserving of more income.”
“And he fired you for asking?” asked Beatrice.
“Yes. Not only was Gerald tight-fisted, he could also be fairly childish. He saw my request as evidence of my dissatisfaction and lack of loyalty to the company. It made him mad. He thought I should be grateful for the job, and he fired me on the spot.” Salome looked at Beatrice and then said slowly, “There’s a bit more, too. I hesitate to bring it up, but I need to talk about it with someone. And I’ve hashed it out with Carla so many times that I think she’s tired of hearing about it.”
“Of course. I’d be happy to listen,” said Beatrice.
“I appreciate that,” said Salome with a warm smile. “Also, I’d like for you to share it with Wyatt. If you don’t mind, I’d really like to schedule a pastoral visit with him at the church to talk about this. And to talk about how to find forgiveness in my heart. Because right now, I don’t have it in me to forgive, and it feels like I have a hole in my soul.”
“I’ll do that as soon as I get back home. He’ll be in touch,” said Beatrice.
Salome took a deep breath and glanced around her to make sure the shop was still just as quiet as she thought. “I made a mistake,” she said in a low voice. “My child is Gerald’s daughter.”