Chapter 20
I stared at my mother in shock. Norman must have told his mother, who blabbed to my mom. Unfortunately, Mrs. Spratt was now standing right beside my mother, her eyes trained on me, waiting to hear my answer. I couldn’t tell my mother the truth in front of her friend without insulting Mrs. Spratt and creating havoc. Why wasn’t I better at lying? I felt the moment of silence stretching out as I cast about for a response. “The relationship isn’t that far along yet, Mom. We’re not quite ready to meet families.”
Mom looked at me with disbelief. “Still, you could have told me. What else don’t I know?”
Why hadn’t I prepared for this? Drat that Norman!
“Who is this lucky young man?” asked Norman’s mom.
I scrambled for a plausible response. “Just someone I met in the bookstore.”
They raised their eyebrows.
“I presume he has a name?”
Ouch! My mom was good at making a point through sarcasm.
Jonquille stepped up beside me. He held his hand out to Mom and Mrs. Spratt. “Sergeant Eric Jonquille. Mrs. Fox, I see where Florrie gets her wit.”
Mom actually blushed and giggled like a schoolgirl! “You’re Florrie’s mystery man?”
To my complete amazement, he nodded. I should have been grateful, but I was paralyzed with fear at what might happen next.
“A police officer,” Mom gushed. “I’m so glad Florrie has someone in law enforcement looking out for her after Delbert’s murder and all.”
Jonquille wrapped an arm around my shoulders. “I’m keeping a close eye on her.”
Norman’s mom had blanched. I owed Jonquille big-time. He had saved my bacon.
Mom smiled. “Would it be too forward of me to invite you to a family cookout, Sergeant? Florrie’s sister is bringing her new beau. We’re eager to meet him. I know my husband would like to meet you, as well.”
Jonquille didn’t miss a beat. “That sounds great, Mrs. Fox. Thank you for including me.”
I shot him a glance. “We’ll talk about it, Mom. We don’t want to rush anything.”
When they left, my mother beamed. Mrs. Spratt, on the other hand, was clearly not thrilled by her son’s competition.
The door shut behind them, and I realized I had been holding my breath. I released a mouthful of air. “Thanks for bailing me out. That was nice of you.”
“My mom does the same thing. More to my sister than to me.” He raised the pitch of his voice to mimic his mother. “Darcy, your cousin Loulabelle is younger than you, and she’s getting married!”
I laughed at his portrayal. “Do you really have a cousin named Loulabelle?”
“Her real name is Louisa, but she’s the cousin we all hate. Do you have one of those? Always made straight As in school. Won the science contests. Was head cheerleader and homecoming queen. No matter what we did, we were always compared to her.”
“Oh yuck. You’d have to resent someone who was perfect like that.”
“Your mom seemed to like me, but that other lady was pretty upset.”
“She has delusions that I will marry her son and live miserably ever after. The awful thing is that I lied to him. I made up a relationship just to get rid of him. Word obviously got back to my mom and that’s why she now thinks I’m seeing someone.”
“He can’t be that bad. Is he a lech?”
“No. He’s just . . .” I hated to say it, because people could say the same about me. “A bore.”
Jonquille laughed. “Could be worse, I guess. So do you want me to attend this family gathering?”
“It’s nice of you to offer, but you don’t have to go through that charade. I’m actually very uncomfortable lying, which is probably why I’m not good at it. Especially to my parents. They’re really wonderful people. There isn’t anything I wouldn’t do for them or my sister. What is it they say about lies? One begets another? Well, this lie stops here.” I looked at my watch. “I’ll give Mom enough time to have lunch, ditch Mrs. Spratt, and go home. Then I’ll call and tell her the truth. How she and Dad handle it with the Spratts is up to them, but I’ll be in the clear and won’t have to worry about it anymore.”
Jonquille looked at me with those delphinium-blue eyes, and I had the feeling that he approved. “I better get back out on the street. Call me if you need a pretend boyfriend.”
I couldn’t help laughing. “Thanks for coming by. And for saving me from myself.”
He hadn’t even reached the door when Helen sidled up to me. “It didn’t take you long to move on. Maxwell has only been in jail for a few days.”
I shook my head like a wet dog. “What?”
“Florrie, you don’t have to pretend with me. We girls have to stick together. Besides, everyone knew about you and Maxwell.”
I turned to face her. “Knew what?”
“That you were living with him.”
I froze. “People think I was having a romantic relationship with the professor?”
“You don’t have to pretend anymore, Florrie. We all know about it.”
“Eww. Eww, eww, eww. He’s almost forty years older than me. Old enough to be my grandfather. Have you lost your mind?”
Helen brushed back a strand of her gleaming hair. “May-September romances are nothing new.”
“Let’s get this straight. I did not move in with Maxwell, nor was I involved in a romantic anything with him. Where on earth did you get a ridiculous idea like that?”
Helen cocked her head. “Are you denying that you live with Maxwell?”
“Yes, I am. I live in the carriage house on the rear of the property.”
She had the nerve to wink at me. “How very convenient. Wish I had known he was open to younger women.”
“Oh, that’s just revolting. What is wrong with you? I work for the man. That’s all.”
“That’s not what Detective-Sergeant Zielony thinks.”
“Zielony?” I sputtered. I rubbed my temples as things became clear to me. His visit to me in the guesthouse. His desire to look at my bedroom. Jonquille’s surprise that I had never been in Maxwell’s bedroom. I gasped. “They all think that.”
Helen clucked at me. “Did you really believe that you two could keep it a secret?”
“It’s not a secret!” I blurted. “It’s not true!”
“Don’t get so upset. Your face is all red. Maybe you should have a cold drink to calm down.”
I felt like I had been broadsided. But I could imagine how it had happened. Maxwell’s sister, Liddy, probably planted the idea in the cops’ heads.
“I’m sorry that he’s locked up,” said Helen, who obviously did not believe me. “I don’t understand why it’s so hard to find a nice guy.”
Bob was talking with a customer, not too far from us. Poor guy, he wasn’t flashy enough for Helen.
“Too bad that guy you like didn’t call you. Maybe it’s just as well and you should move on.”
Helen fingered her pearls and spoke wistfully. “We went out twice, and he was so nice. Very attentive and humorous. And so cute! I thought he was attracted to me.”
“Nice pearls, Helen.” I couldn’t help thinking of the pearl I had found on the landing.
“Do you like them?” She leaned over and whispered, “They’re fake. I prefer to wear my real ones, but I couldn’t resist these.”
“They’re lovely.” I couldn’t help wondering if something had happened to her real pearls. “I can’t recall, Helen, did you know Delbert?”
“Only socially.”
My radar went to alert status. “You dated him?”
“Nothing like that. I saw him around town. You know, where people hang out.”
“Like Club Neon?”
“One of my girlfriends says DC is slim pickings for men our age. No wonder you went for someone older and more sophisticated.”
I didn’t bother denying it any longer. She clearly wasn’t going to believe me no matter what I said. “Tell me about Delbert.”
“I didn’t find him that attractive in the beginning. But he was a smooth talker. He had a talent for engaging people and charming them. Before long, I was drawn to his charisma. He had a personal magnetism that was alluring.”
How could that be? “He was dreadful to me!”
She shrugged. “He probably didn’t like you getting cozy with his uncle. He had a lot to lose if Maxwell left everything to you.”
Huh? Was that what people thought? Crazy! It was sheer nonsense. I shook off the insanity of that notion and focused. Delbert must have known how to turn on the charm. How could he have taken advantage of so many people otherwise?
Did Helen have a reason to murder Delbert? Could she have stabbed him with a spear? She didn’t have a motive that I knew of. Had she wanted to impress Delbert by letting him into the bookstore after hours? It wasn’t outside of the realm of possibilities.
The moment Helen left to help a customer, Zsazsa sidled up to me and whispered in my ear, “We have information.”