I glared at Evelyn. “Why did you come here when you knew I had someone in the office? You nearly scared the poor woman to death.”
“Daphne Harper! As I live and breathe! Well, I neither live nor breathe, but I like the expression. And I must say, I’m pleased that she sensed my presence!”
My mouth fell open. “You know her?”
“Indeed I do. I happened to be floating around the library when Daphne showed up. I recognized her though she left Clover Ridge many years ago. I decided to follow her to find out why she came back after that terrible business. And to my surprise, she ended up here in your office.”
I couldn’t make much sense of what Evelyn was saying. “Daphne came to see me because she wants to give a program about different psychic abilities. She claims to have acquired some psychic abilities of her own after a recent near-death experience. I wondered if she was making it up until I saw how she reacted to your presence. But what terrible business are you talking about?”
Evelyn perched on the corner of my assistants’ desk, her favorite pose whenever she paid me a visit. “It’s a sad story. Daphne comes from an unhappy, dysfunctional family.”
I nodded. “I kind of thought so.”
“There’s a brother, Billy, who’s two years older than Daphne. Their father drank and was abusive to their mother and the kids. When he lost his job, his wife took on a second job to pay the bills. Daphne was sixteen or seventeen when her father was murdered. Killed with a knife to the gut. Daphne told the police that Billy must have done it because she’d heard them arguing an hour or so before the murder. Everyone was shocked to hear this because Daphne adored her brother. He’d protected her since she was a baby.”
“So what happened? Was Billy convicted of his father’s murder?”
“He was, and then released after spending a few years in prison. His case was reopened because the knife turned up when the apartment house where the Harpers had been living underwent extensive renovations. They found Chet’s blood on the knife as well as fingerprints, but they weren’t Billy’s.”
“How sad,” I said. “I wonder why Daphne accused her brother of the crime, given the family dynamics.”
“Your guess is as good as mine, though I never thought the poor boy capable of killing anyone.” Evelyn sent me a look that meant she was about to give me an assignment. “Carrie, Daphne’s going to need your help.”
“With what?” I asked, but Evelyn was already disappearing from sight.
What an eventful morning, I thought as I prepared to focus once again on library matters. I’d already met someone with psychic abilities and learned about a murder that had been committed here in Clover Ridge twenty years ago. So that was why Daphne had thought the Singleton name sounded familiar. I found it interesting that she hadn’t mentioned growing up in Clover Ridge. And I wondered if her return had anything to do with her father’s murder. If her brother was innocent, then the murderer had never been apprehended.
I felt a rush of excitement. Did Daphne want me to find the person who had murdered her father? Perhaps her psychic abilities had informed her that I’d helped solve a few murders, one of which had been another cold case. I quickly stifled my enthusiasm as best I could. The downside of investigating homicides was putting my life in danger, which upset Dylan and John Mathers, our police chief and dear friend. I’d all but made a lifelong promise to them that I wouldn’t get involved in any more murder cases.
At five o’clock I headed downstairs and said good-bye to Susan, who worked as my part-time assistant a few afternoons and evenings a week. I found her in the small room off our large meeting room painting posters to advertise our Adopt-a-Pet program in May.
“Gorgeous!” I said, admiring the zany colorful poster she was working on, of two children petting a dog and a cat. “Let’s send this one to the local paper.”
Susan’s thin face was wreathed in smiles. “You think?”
“I certainly do.” I winked. “And it’s sure to boost your sales.”
At my suggestion, Susan had paid a visit to the Gallery on the Green, which was a five-minute walk from the library. Ron and Martha Mallory, who owned the gallery, had taken one look at Susan’s watercolors of local scenes and immediately asked her to bring in several more to put up for sale. Next, they’d had her painting mugs, canvas bags, and polo shirts for the tourists who were expected to visit Clover Ridge as soon as the weather turned warmer. I feared it was only a matter of months before I lost my artistic assistant for good.
Upstairs on the main level, I found Smoky Joe sniffing near the front door that faced the Green, a spot he’d never paid attention to until recently. I scooped him up in my arms.
Andy Harlowe, a retired gentleman in his seventies, smiled at me as he pulled open the door. “Don’t worry, Carrie. I saw your sign and wasn’t about to let the little rascal run outside.”
“He has spring fever,” I said. “Maybe I should leave him home until it passes.”
“We’d sure miss him, but better safe than sorry.”
I returned to my office, placed Smoky Joe in his carrier, and left for the day. Dylan called as I was driving home.
“Tonight’s meeting is on after all,” he sighed, “which means I won’t get home till after ten. Sorry I won’t get to stop by tonight.”
“I’m sorry, too. But I’m glad if it means another client for you.”
“Lots of thieves roaming around,” Dylan said. “If things keep up this way, I’ll have to take on a junior partner sooner than I’d planned. Then my hours will be more regular.”
“I’m looking forward to it. Don’t forget to eat dinner.”
Dylan laughed. “Rosalind makes sure of things like that. Sometimes I get the feeling she thinks I’m one of her kids.”
“I’m glad she turned out to be such an efficient Gal Friday. Soon as I drop Smoky Joe off at home, I’m heading to the gym.”
“Aha! Hoping to catch the eye of our handsome personal trainer?”
“As if. And even if I wanted to,” I kidded, “Robby’s always swamped with paying clients.”
“Have a good workout,” Dylan said. “Talk to you later. Love you.”
“I love you, too,” I said, and disconnected the call.
At home in my cottage, I fed Smoky Joe his dinner, then changed into yoga pants, a T-shirt, and sneakers and climbed back into my car. Dylan and I had joined Parson’s Gym in February, agreeing it was a good way for us to stay in shape. It was located in a strip mall a short drive from the Avery property, in the opposite direction from Clover Ridge. I loved the yoga and aerobics classes but occasionally worked out in the larger room crammed with treadmills and other machines. Tonight, I decided, would be one of those times.
I grabbed a towel and put in a half hour on a treadmill at a brisk pace, then moved on to an elliptical machine, where I managed all of eight minutes before I started huffing and puffing. I climbed down still panting.
“Great job, Carrie,” Robby said.
“Thanks, Robby.”
Pleased by his compliment, I flashed him a smile. Robby Dowd was handsome, with nice, even features and thick dark brown hair. He was just under six feet, had a great build, and moved as gracefully as a cat. His good looks and pleasant, caring manner made him the most popular of the gym’s three trainers. I wondered why he was checking up on me instead of working with one of his many clients.
“You’re doing great, Carrie. Remember when you started out, you could barely do a minute on the elliptical?”
“I remember,” I said.
“Dylan’s not here with you tonight?”
I shook my head. “Late meeting. He’ll probably come in tomorrow morning.”
Robby nodded as if he well understood late meetings. “Why don’t you work on your upper arms today?”
“Okay.”
“I’ll set the weights for you.”
I followed him to a machine that would work my upper-arm muscles. Robby adjusted the weights and nodded.
“Three sets of ten reps,” he said, as he walked away to oversee someone else’s routine.
When I’d finished, he reappeared and led me to another upper-body machine that worked a different set of arm muscles.
“Thanks for doing this,” I said between pulls. “Usually you’re busy with your clients.”
“Marcia’s just finishing up, so I have some free time. I’m happy to make sure you’re using the right weights.”
When I was done, I went over to the stretching area.
“Stretching is essential to every workout,” Robby said.
I finished my stretches and decided to call it a night. “Good night!” I called to Robby, and waved to the few people on the treadmills.
“See you soon!” he answered as I exited the gym.
I climbed into my car and realized I was famished. Eating ASAP was an appealing idea. I glanced at the other stores in the strip mall. At the far end was an Italian restaurant where Dylan and I had gotten a pizza one evening. Closer, just three doors down from the gym, was a sushi restaurant. I decided to have dinner there.
I’d finished what I’d managed to eat of my sashimi dinner and was waiting for the waitress to pack up the rest to bring home when Robby slid into the booth opposite me.
“Mind if I join you?”
“Of course not, but I’m about to leave.”
He smiled. “Have a cup of tea and talk to me.”
I must have looked surprised, because he laughed. “Carrie, I’m not hitting on you. I simply want to have a conversation with someone that has nothing to do with abs or weights.”
I laughed, relieved. “In that case, converse away.”
The waitress arrived with my boxed food and my bill. Robby ordered a tuna-and-avocado roll and a tea for each of us.
“I eat here pretty often when I work evenings, but I’d like some recommendations—restaurants where you and Dylan like to eat.”
“Sure. Due Amici’s one of our favorites. It’s a ten-minute ride past Clover Ridge.”
Robby nodded. “I’ve heard of it.”
“I didn’t realize you were new to the area.”
“Kind of. I moved to Merrivale six months ago.”
“Do you have a wife? A sweetheart? Parents in the area?”
“None of the above.” He sounded bitter.
“Then what drew you to this part of Connecticut?” I asked.
Robby shrugged. “I tend to move around and thought this was as good a place as any—for a while. I find that gyms can often use another trainer. At least, I’ve been lucky so far.”
Our waitress brought our tea. I sipped mine, then said, “I must have come to Clover Ridge only a few months before you.”
“Really?” He seemed surprised. “You and Dylan strike me as a solid couple.”
“I sure hope we’re solid. I also have family here. My great-aunt and uncle live here, and I’ve got Singleton cousins galore—most of whom I’ve yet to meet.”
“Lucky you.” When his roll arrived, Robby used chopsticks to bring a piece to his mouth.
I glanced at my watch. “Well, I think it’s time—”
“I’ve heard that you’ve solved a few murders.”
I chuckled. “Somehow I’ve managed to get involved in a few homicide investigations. But I’m sure it won’t happen again.”
He cocked his head. “How can you be so certain?”
I stood and slipped on my jacket. “Because I’m determined to lead a quiet life and focus on my work and the people I love.”
Robby laughed as if I’d just said the most amusing thing he’d heard all day. “Sometimes things work out very differently from how we planned.”
As I drove home, I couldn’t help but wonder what it really was that Robby Dowd wanted to ask me.