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With the enticing smell of my favorite crispy, crinkle cut fries beckoning from the bags, I hurried to the car. Talking myself out of reaching into the bag for an appetizer, I noticed the RV I had seen earlier in town. The redhead was heading in the direction of the motel. She must be staying at the campsites out that way. Again, it struck me how similar she looked to Lavender. I shrugged it off and turned toward town.
The more I thought about it, the more my imagination worked overtime. What if it’s not just a coincidence that she resembles Lavender? Did Lavender have a daughter that followed her here? Since my Honda wasn’t new enough to have Bluetooth, I had to wait until I pulled into my driveway to make a call. I put the car in park and scrolled through my phone to find the number for Lake Shore Café.
“Jolene? This is Glory Harper. By chance, have you seen a woman in the café lately with striking red hair?”
“As a matter of fact, I have. She was in around lunchtime.”
“Any idea who she is or where she’s staying? I’ve seen her twice now and she’s in a small RV, so I assume she’s at one of the campsites.”
“No, I’m pretty sure she paid with cash. I asked her if she was enjoying her visit to Smith Lake and she mentioned that she wasn’t on vacation. She was here on family business. That’s all I know. I’m sorry. I just didn’t think anything about it at the time.”
“It’s no problem. If she comes back in, could you give me a call? And maybe see if you can find out where she’s staying?”
“I sure will.”
I thanked her and clicked off the call. I gathered the bags and walked in just in time to greet Macy heading out the door for supper with Tony and James.
“Hi, Mom! Bye, Mom!” she laughed. “I already fed Izzy but I’m sure she’ll need to take a potty break soon. See you later tonight!”
“Y’all have a nice supper,” I chimed. “And hey, if you get a chance, see if James has heard any gossip among the judges about Lavender’s demise.”
“Will do!” She breezed out the door.
I set the bags of food on the counter and looked at the clock on the microwave. I had about fifteen minutes before Momma and Kelly arrived, so I decided to take Izzy on a quick walk down the street before I unbundled from my coat and scarf. I clipped on her leash and she bounced down the porch steps ready to go. Lately I hadn’t had time to take the regular walks that Izzy and I enjoyed. Business at the bakery had really picked up as the holidays got closer, and I was spending every spare minute helping Macy or helping Momma get ready for the competition. I made a mental note to make a better effort to squeeze in some activity.
It was seriously cold, at least for the deep south, but it still felt good to get a little exercise. I walked briskly and talked to Izzy as if she cared a lick about my suspect list. She was much more interested in what dog watered what blade of grass along the way, but I forced her to listen through my theories as we walked.
“Izzy girl, who do you think is responsible for all this? What do you think about Martha Jean? I know she’s probably at the top of Hunt’s list. I just don’t see her killing anyone, but it looks like Bobbie Clark may have to represent her in more than a defamation of character case.”
I paused at the stop sign at the end of the street and let Izzy do her business while I bounced from one foot to the other to keep warm.
“Is all this about a cake recipe?” I asked Izzy while she pulled at the leash to head back toward the house. I guessed the cold was too much for her. “Who hated Lavender enough to want her dead? Who was she selling her recipe to? If that rumor’s even true. Was she really seriously dating Paul London? Or was that just another rumor?”
Izzy wasn’t answering my questions, but I supposed that was just as well. She didn’t know Lavender any better than any of the rest of us. That’s the trouble with out-of-towners. So many rumors and so much hearsay. Not a lot of solid, trustworthy information. It was clouding up and the air was smelling wet, so we picked up the pace and crossed the street for the trip back, walking against traffic, like Momma always taught me.
Kelly was just getting out of her car when we got back to the house. “Hello, Miss Izzy!” she greeted, her breath forming a big cloud. She bent to give the pup a good scratch behind the ear and followed us up the front steps and into the warm house. She placed her houndstooth-print laptop bag on the coffee table and grabbed glasses from the cabinet for the three of us.
“I wasn’t sure what everyone would want, so I got a variety.” I unbagged all the food and placed it, buffet style on the counter. “You can choose a burger, a grilled cheese or a grilled chicken sandwich. I also got some fries and chips.”
She eyed her choices and tapped her chin. “Your momma will probably want the grilled chicken, and I know you want the grilled cheese,” she gave me a wink. “So, I’m good with the burger.” When you’ve been best friends as long as Kelly and I have, you know the way to each other’s heart, and she knows a good grilled cheese makes me happier than a dead pig in the sunshine. If you add a little of that pig onto the grilled cheese in the form of bacon, it’s so good it’ll make you slap your momma.
“Mmmm...yum!” I closed my eyes and rubbed my palms together in anticipation.
The door opened and Momma burst in shivering, closing the door behind her as quickly as she could. “It’s sleeting out there, y’all! I’m glad I have 4-wheel drive on my Jeep! It may be nasty by the time I leave.”
She reached up and jerked off the knit cap she had yanked down past her ears. “Ta-da!” Salt and pepper curls sprang out in all directions. Her straight-as-a-poker hair was now curly as it could be. She ran her fingers through the short ringlets and fluffed it up. “What do you think?”
After a loud collective gasp from me and Kelly, I squealed, “I love it! Whatever made you decide to get a perm? You hadn’t even mentioned it.”
“I know I agreed to go home after we left the school this morning, but I couldn’t just sit there and do nothing all day. I decided to go down to the Cut and Curl and see if I could hear anything that might help us with the case.” The Cut and Curl was the best place to get breaking news.
“And you ended up with a perm?” Kelly laughed and poured us all a glass of tea.
I passed out napkins as we unwrapped our sandwiches and dug in.
“I was just planning to get a new coat of clear polish on my nails—you know they got this new girl, Beth, that’ll do your fingers and toes and gives you a good foot rub, too,” Momma mumbled around a big bite of chicken sandwich.
I nodded. “Go on, Momma,” I said urging her on with the story.
“I know, I know. I was just letting you know in case you want to go get your toes all painted for that man of yours.”
I rolled my eyes so hard I could’ve seen the back of my head and Kelly just about fell off the bar stool. “When’s he gonna see my toes in the dead of winter? And besides, in this weather, I’m doing good to shave my legs, much less paint my toes. Get on with the story, Momma.”
She took a sip from the glass of tea Kelly slid across the kitchen counter to her. “Anyway, I went in and it was gonna be an hour wait before Beth could get to me, and Bonnie’s chair was empty, so she talked me into a perm.”
“Did you get any juicy information?”
“You bet I did! Trisha Lynn Burkes was in there getting her roots done, and she was telling me about an argument she overheard this morning at the drugstore.” Momma dipped a fry in her ketchup and popped it in her mouth. “She said Emmitt Baker was in there really giving that sweet little pharmacist Kristy what for.”
“Why was he upset with her?” I took a bite of my gooey, grilled cheese.
“He wanted her to refill his prescription and she wouldn’t do it. He said he needed his anxiety medicine because he’d run out. He’d been so nervous about baking and now all this about Lavender, he didn’t know if he could make it if he didn’t get it refilled.”
“What did Kristy tell him?” Kelly asked.
“She told him that she couldn’t give him more because it was a controlled substance and according to the dates on his prescription bottle, it wasn’t time for a refill. She couldn’t help it if he had taken more than he should have because he was upset about the competition. Trisha said he yelled a few choice words at her and stomped out.”
“Well, that’s interesting, but I’m not sure how that ties to Lavender’s death,” I said as I took another big bite, the hot cheese stringing down onto my chin. “Ow! Dang, that’s hot!” I grabbed a napkin and wiped it off. “Did she mention the name of the drug?”
Momma thought for a minute. “It started with a V—Viagra?”
“Good Lord, let’s hope not! I don’t even want that image burned into my mind,” I covered my eyes with my hand.
“Vallamin? Vanadun?”
“Valium?” I suggested.
“That’s it!” Momma blurted out.
I sucked in a quick breath. “Hunt said that the early reports showed that Lavender may have died from an overdose. He said she had Valium and alcohol in her system.”