Chapter 23
Friday Morning
As soon as she settled Rooney for the day, Savannah grabbed her backpack and headed over to McCloud’s and parked in the empty visitor’s parking lot. She walked around the outside of the gallery and back to the hot shop.
As she expected, each of the hot glass stations was occupied and Duncan McCloud was overseeing the operation off to the side. He turned as she walked up.
“Hi, Savannah, this is an early call. What’s up?”
“Good morning, Duncan. I need your expert opinion on a small bit of glass. Do you have a few moments?”
“Sure, what do you need?”
“It really needs to be on a light table to see properly. Can we look at the glass now or do I need to wait until your students are done?”
Duncan looked at the operations and nodded to Savannah. “This beginner team is almost finished and then it will be twenty minutes until I need to monitor their next piece.”
Savannah smiled her thanks and perched on the observation bleachers to wait. The beginner team only needed help with the final scoring to make sure it was deep enough for the small vase to crack off the blow pipe.
Duncan congratulated the team and made sure that they had it safely stored in the annealing kiln. “Okay, Savannah. Let’s look at your glass.”
They went inside the gallery building into a small preparation workshop, and Duncan pressed the ON switch to a large table. The light shone through an opaque glass top with a soft glow. Savannah pulled the envelope out of her backpack and spilled the shards out onto the surface of the light table. “Can you tell me how this glass was made and what makes it so luminous?”
Duncan bent over the crimson shards and then lifted a pair of strong magnifiers from the pegboard wall and pulled them over his head. After adjusting the fit, he said, “I’ve seen this before. It is part of what Megan was working so hard to perfect.”
“I don’t understand?”
“One of the glass suppliers has formulated a new copper ruby especially suited to the typical soda lime batches that we use here in the studio. Unlike other colors based on gold, silver, or, for that matter, cadmium selenium glasses, which do not substantially change, copper ruby requires particular care during the curing or it turns dark and dull or, even worse, clear.”
“But if it’s readily available, why was her technique so valuable?”
“If she had discovered a sure-fire process, she could have made a fortune selling beautiful figures as well as enjoying an open-armed welcome at any hot glass shop in the world teaching that process.”
* * *
Getting to Webb’s Glass Shop a little before nine, Savannah unlocked the back door and dropped her backpack on the floor beside the oak rolltop desk and dropped the keys on its worn surface. She went through the classroom and into the display and retail room, unlocked the front door, and pressed the START button on the register. It slowly booted after the hard drive whirred and groaned, then displayed the startup screen and settled into a satisfied hum.
I’m really going to have to get a better machine.
The front-door bell jangled and Amanda appeared in a cotton candy froth of pink and violet carrying three large flat boxes of Krispy Kreme donuts. Her feet were clad in closed-toe Wellington rain boots in pink with violet polka dots.
Savannah held the door while Amanda struggled to set the boxes down on the checkout counter. “I’ve brought a treat for the class. This is graduation day!”
“Indeed it is.”
“I also brought one box just for the posse. I’m sure we deserve it, and we need to make sure that Edward gets a taste of a southern treat. I called him when I was at the drive-thru so he wouldn’t bake anything.”
The door bell jangled once more as Jacob stepped into the shop carrying Suzy in his arms. He wrinkled his nose. “What’s that smell?”
“Krispy Kreme donuts.” Amanda lifted the lid of the top box and the smell of warm glazed sugar exploded into the room. “Edward has never tasted them.”
One more door bell jangle announced Edward’s arrival. He was carrying a large carafe of coffee with four mugs. “Wow, those smell good. Are they the donuts you were telling me about?”
“Yes.” Amanda waved a Vanna White wave over the donuts. “I got the two most popular types, the warm glazed and the custard-filled chocolate. Try one of each so we know which team you’re on.”
Jacob placed Suzy on the floor, then reached into the box for one of the shiny circles. “I’m glazed. That’s my favorite.”
Amanda snagged one of the chocolate custards. “I’m filled.”
Edward looked at Savannah with his eyebrows raised. Savannah smiled. “I’m not going to tell you. This is an important choice you need to make on your own.”
“Okay.” Edward picked up one in each hand. He tasted the glazed. “Mmm. That’s awesome. What a perfect combination of sweet dough and sugar.” He tasted the filled. “That’s perfect as well. The custard is the right texture and the dough is light and sweet. They’re both brilliant.”
Savannah smiled. “Right, but which one is your favorite?”
“Both.”
Jacob reached for another glazed. “You can’t have two favorites. That makes no sense.”
“Okay, okay.” Edward took another bite of the filled donut. “Definitely the crème filled. It reminds me of the custard we serve over bread pudding. I love them.” He looked at Savannah. “Which one are you?”
“I’m a traditionalist.” She reached into the box. “It’s glazed for me.” She took a huge bite out of one of the glazed donuts. “However, to experience the full impact, you need to go to the store and have them pick out one right off the manufacturing line.” She chomped another enormous bite with a mischievous grin, then popped the remaining bit into her mouth and licked her fingers. “Those are out of this world.”
“I’ll have to try that.” Edward finished his crème donut.
“Let’s take the coffee back to the office and make our update there.”
They settled into their self-assigned stools and chairs. Edward served coffee all around and Suzy curled herself up for a nap in the dog basket by the back door.
This is becoming a comfortable routine for us. Is this a good thing?
Savannah settled into the oak rolling office chair and cupped her coffee with both hands. “Let’s review. First, Amanda. What’s up with Frank?”
“Well, I’m lucky that he’s so well connected socially in the community. He’s on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest all the time. I verified that right after his argument with Megan, Frank gave a speech at the monthly meeting at The Bob Graham Center for Public Service. His presentation was about the effect of the Buy Local movement in small cities.”
“But the argument was on Friday. When was the speech?”
“It was on Saturday morning. The University of Florida sponsored the series of presentations and it’s about a three-hour drive north of Tampa. He spent the weekend with faculty friends, and there’s a Facebook check-in late on Friday night at The Fat Tuscan Café. Then he arrived at his shop late on Monday. His alibis are watertight with so many people confirming what social media already says.”
“But can’t you preprogram your posts for Facebook?”
“Sure, if it’s your account. You can prearrange the post times of everything for several days.”
“So that’s no proof then?” Savannah grabbed a marker and walked up to their whiteboard.
“Hang on there. I said you could post in advance. You can’t participate in shared posts with multiple group photos in advance. It’s all documented as it occurs in real time.” The other three stared at Amanda. She put her hands on her ample hips. “That means he couldn’t have done it. He was liking, commenting, and generating posts until the wee hours of Saturday morning. Well after the time of Megan’s death.”
Edward took the pen from Savannah’s hand. “That means that Frank is in the clear.” He drew a single line through all the words in the entire first row, put the pen back in her hand, and sat back down in his chair.
“Grrrrrr, that’s hugely disappointing.” Savannah took the pen and added another line through each of the words. “I really wanted it to be Frank.” She sighed deeply. “It would make my life so much easier.” She slumped back into the oak chair, awakening an alarming squeak from its vintage spring.
Amanda grabbed the pen from Savannah and crossed out all the words in the second line. “I’ve already identified Megan’s team. I don’t think this is a lead anymore.” Savannah turned, then pointed to Edward. “That leaves Wanda Quitman as still an active line of inquiry.”
“Yeah, I need some ideas. She doesn’t seem the murdering type.”
Savannah tilted her head. “No one on our list seems to be a murderer.” She sipped her coffee and placed the cup on the work surface of the rolltop desk. “But she does keep popping up everywhere we turn.”
“There’s got to be a way to confirm an alibi.” Edward stood and walked up to the whiteboard. “Maybe we’re overthinking this. With everything she does for all these organizations, she’s got to have an assistant. Right?”
Amanda frowned as she lifted the lid of the Krispy Kreme box. “Then why haven’t we met the assistant?” She picked out a custard-filled donut.
“Good question. Wanda’s in the public too much to do all the administration by herself, but I think she wants everyone to believe how busy she is. Maybe she’s keeping the assistant a secret.” Savannah rubbed her hands together. “That’s your next task, Edward.” She added “Find assistant” to Wanda’s Investigation column on the whiteboard.
“Oh joy, more time in Wanda land.” Edward folded his arms.
“I’m still looking at the application records.” Jacob looked directly at his name on the murder whiteboard. “There is something more there. I know it. I just know it. But it’s not yet clear. I need more time.” He scooped up Suzy and left the office to head back into the custom workshop and his piles of sorted applications.
The remaining posse watched him go.
Stepping back, Savannah looked down the rows. “Next is Leon and that one is assigned to Edward, but I think”—she looked back to Amanda—“you should tackle that one now that you’ve cleared Frank. Is that okay with you?”
“Yep.”
Savannah sat back in the oak chair. “I have an update on the glass shards. I showed them to Duncan McCloud early this morning and he recognized the glass that Megan used. It is not only a special glass but the processes used to anneal or cool the glass are what makes that color so beautiful. Megan had the knack for the process and was keeping it her secret. There would have been no hint during the making of her pieces. The secret technique was afterward, when she could cool the pieces in privacy.”
“How does that help?” Amanda asked.
Savannah marked through that row. “It doesn’t help. Megan would need to be alive for that process to be shared.” She sighed and plopped down again.
Edward poured more of the coffee into his mug. “How’s Keith doing with Megan’s relatives?”
“I haven’t heard from him.” She frowned. “That doesn’t sound right. I’ll give him a call and remind him. I thought I had invited him to this meeting. Do you remember if I did?”
Edward took another filled donut. “You most certainly did. I most definitely heard you. Definitely.” He took a large bite.
“Maybe he’s meeting with the family now,” Amanda shot back at Edward. “We should give him a chance. None of us are professionals.”
“That’s worrying. I was counting on him.” Savannah wrote “call” under Keith’s name. “I’m sure things are progressing, but I’ll check.”
She stepped back to look at the whiteboard. “So, the only remaining row is mine for Vincent.”
“What are you going to do?” asked Edward.
“I’m going to try to reach him through his art. I’ll ask him to come here to the shop and maybe we can all help him feel more comfortable with us.”
“Why would he come here?”
“I’m going to suggest that he teach a private class to me and Amanda.”
Stepping up to the whiteboard, Savannah wrote “Verify alibi” in the Investigation column and her own name in the Assigned To column.
Amanda clapped her hands together. “That’s great. We can make him comfortable and get something out of him.”
“What’s his forte?” said Edward.
“It’s embarrassing that I don’t know. That’s one more thing that I need to ask Keith.”
They were interrupted by the front-door bell jangling followed by Keith calling out, “Savannah?”
She leaned into the open doorway. “We’re back here. Thanks for coming.”
“Sorry I’m late. I banged my knee in the shower and there was more traffic than I thought down Central Avenue.” Keith looked at the gathering and limped back into the classroom to grab a work stool, then placed it beside Edward facing the whiteboard.
Edward grabbed a cup from Savannah’s desk, checked to make sure it was clean, then poured Keith a cup of coffee. “This will calm your nerves. Driving in St. Pete is an adventure in avoidance.”
“No problem, we were getting to your row.” Savannah smiled and erased the “call” reminder next to Keith’s name.
“I don’t have particularly good news for you. It was very easy to verify that Megan’s family was all in Seattle over the weekend—both parents and the sister. So . . .” He took the marker from Savannah and crossed out the Relatives row. He gave it back to Savannah.
Savannah looked at the whiteboard. “Ugh, I’m getting depressed with our progress. Lack of progress is more accurate.”
Edward stood and took the tray. “No one said this was going to be easy. I think it’s going to get harder.”
Savannah placed her cup on the tray. “I agree. I still can’t imagine that Megan needed to die for any reason. Anyway, let’s meet at Queen’s Head tonight to touch bases. Six o’clock. Good?”
Edward, Keith, and Amanda nodded while still looking at the whiteboard.
They heard the front-door bell clash its loudest. “That would be the Rosenberg twins.” Amanda put her cup on Edward’s tray. “I told them about the Krispy Kreme donuts so they’re here extra early.” She raised her eyebrows, smiled wide, and plunged through the door into the classroom.
Edward looked into Savannah’s eyes. “You know, it’s okay if you want to stop this. Detective Parker is perfectly capable of solving Megan’s murder without your help.”
“He’s perfectly capable, but I want to solve this case and bring justice to Megan. She died too young. The world will be much poorer because we lost all the art she could have shared.”