‘What’s the matter with you?’ John Lagomasino grabbed Millie as she was about to throw herself on Mary, whining and crying a greeting. ‘You look like you just lost your best friend.’
‘Not quite.’ She sank down in the office chair behind the counter and let Millie crawl up in her lap, trying to protect her face from wet slobbery kisses. ‘I was only gone an hour, you silly dog. Besides, you got to stay here with all your lizard friends.’
John laughed. ‘I don’t think the lizards are especially fond of her but the new batch of kittens we have seem to be. Curious, at least. Want to see them?’
‘Not right now.’ Somehow kittens, cute as they might be, weren’t going to cure the depression that had settled over her.
‘What’s the matter?’ John pulled a stool up in front of her and took both her hands. ‘What’s happened?’
‘Tommy Lowell has a white-paneled van, that’s what’s happened.’
John dropped her hands, sat back a little and stared at her. His look plainly said he thought she’d gone crazy.
‘What are you two doing?’ Glen Manning set two white sandwich boxes on the counter next to the cash register and examined Mary with a worried look. ‘What’s happened?’
She must look worse than she thought. She’d changed into her blue seersucker pants and a fresh white cotton tunic before she went to lunch so she shouldn’t look that bad. It was the worry over Tommy. That must be it. ‘Tommy Lowell has a white-paneled van, that’s what’s the matter.’
Glen looked a little startled but not as if she’d gone crazy. ‘Yes, I know. The bank carries the note for him.’
‘It does?’ Somehow that fact startled her out of her depression. ‘How long has he had it?’
‘I don’t know. Almost since he came back from London but he doesn’t use it much. Drives that little Toyota of Marlene’s mostly.’
‘Why?’ Mary wasn’t sure why she felt a little better. The fact that Tommy didn’t drive his paneled van much wasn’t necessarily a good thing. Was it?
Glen shrugged. ‘Why does it matter what Tommy Lowell drives?’
Mary took a deep breath and let it out slowly. She’d been taught that in her Silver Sneakers Yoga class. It lowered your blood pressure, which she was sure was at record highs, and steadied your nerves. If ever nerves needed steadying … ‘I’m not sure it does. However, the only thing that seems to connect the jewelry store robberies and the murders, or at least the murder of Jerry Lowell, is the sighting of a white-paneled van.’
John gave a little gasp. Glen glanced at him then turned to Mary, guarded curiosity the only expression on his face. ‘Go on.’
‘There’s not much to tell. Only that twice a white-paneled van was seen either parked near or right by the robbed stores and at about the time the robberies took place. But that was in two different states and there were no signs or any distinguishing marks on either van. Then Luke saw a white van leave the alley in back of Jerry Lowell’s store the afternoon he was shot. Again, no identification on it and he didn’t see the driver. But that’s three times and that makes you wonder.’
‘You mean it makes Dan wonder.’ Glen looked around the store, which was empty, and sat on the counter.
‘I’d wonder, too.’ John got up, picked up Millie out of Mary’s lap and set her on the floor. ‘Go play with the kittens. You’re going to put poor Mary’s leg to sleep, lying on her that way.’ He perched back on his stool and wiggled his fingers at Glen, who handed him a sandwich box. He opened it, picked up a half, took a bite and swallowed before going on. ‘All these vans may or may not be connected but it’s not too surprising they don’t have any identifying signs or lettering. Most don’t get painted any more. They buy those magnetic signs.’
Magnetic signs. Ellen had one. She didn’t use it much, just when she was showing property. Said she loved it because when she wanted a little privacy she could take it off. It was great advertising but there were times when she didn’t want to advertise. When she and Dan were going someplace, for instance. Of course, most people who lived here knew her car, but it made her feel more private.
‘Do the Lowells have a magnetic sign?’ She knew the answer before either of the men spoke. She’d seen one on one of the cars in the Lowells’ driveway the day after Jerry died. The day she’d taken them the lasagna. What had it said? Lowell’s Custom Jewelry. It could be taken off and put on another car or just left in the garage. It could be put on a paneled van when you were trying to sell your custom jewelry and taken off when you didn’t want anyone to know who you were. That thought made her a little sick.
‘Who else in town has magnetic signs?’
John and Glen looked at each other. Glen shrugged.
John seemed to be thinking. ‘Most of the realtors. Reliable Plumbing, a couple of the electricians, Perkins Appliance Store – a lot of people.’
‘How do you know all this?’ That John did know, she never doubted.
He also knew everyone in town and, unlike her, he was almost as bad a gossip as Agnes, and a lot more factual.
He smiled. ‘One of the people who makes those signs is in our social group. We get together almost every weekend, unless we have a dog show or one of our bitches is ready to whelp. He told us about some of them. He’s the one who did the Gradys’ van. That was a very special custom job. You’d never know it wasn’t painted, would you?’
For a moment, Mary thought she’d forgotten how to breathe. The Grady van wasn’t painted. All those fireworks were magnetic signs. That meant they could come off. What else did it mean? Anything? Again, half the businesses in town used those signs. It didn’t mean a thing. Except that, when they were off, the Gradys drove a white-paneled van.
‘The Gradys’ van? All those fireworks are signs? They can come off?’
John nodded. ‘He did a great job, don’t you think?’
Mary had to admit, whoever ‘he’ was, he’d done an outstanding job. ‘Does Dan know this?’
Puzzled, John shook his head. ‘I have no idea. He’s probably never thought about it. You really can’t tell the difference unless you’re up close and … why?’
‘Mary, you aren’t thinking that the Gradys … Heath Grady is a reputable businessman. He works hard and keeps meticulous records. He’s not a thief and he’s certainly not a murderer. Why, that’s … half the country drives white-paneled vans. It proves nothing.’ Glen sounded not only defensive but almost angry.
Maybe he was right. He knew Heath a lot better than she did and, she had to admit, the few dealings she’d had with him had been excellent. He read his contract, abided by the terms and delivered what he said he would. She couldn’t have asked for more. None of that sounded like someone who would rob jewelry stores. Or did it? Those robberies had been carefully planned and the disposal of the jewelry had been also. Would Heath really not have known Jerry Lowell was falsifying records and inserting stolen goods with legally bought gold? She didn’t know. What she did know was a headache was coming on and she wanted to go home, take some Tylenol and put her feet up.
‘I’m sure you’re right,’ she told Glen. ‘I don’t think Heath robbed or murdered anyone either. I have no idea what’s going on but I’m glad Dan’s looking into it. He’ll figure it all out. In the meantime, I think Millie and I will go home. Thank you again for letting her stay.’
With repeated claims that Millie was welcome any time Mary wanted to drop her off, she started for home, but not to sit in her reading chair, sip tea and read. The computer was waiting for her, and the vague idea she’d had when she asked Emma for a list of stores and dates had crystalized. She had a date with her computer.