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Maddie looked at her watch. They’d driven from Redbud Glen to the outskirts of Aunt Winifred, hoping to catch Genevieve at home. By the time they talked to her and got back to Estherville, they’d be lucky if there were any lunch customers still around.
She sneaked a sideways glance at Suzanne. Her expression was lively and she sat up straight, as if looking forward to talking to Genevieve. When Suzanne was in investigating mode, not much could stop her.
“I wonder where Vanessa lived,” Maddie mused.
“We should try and find out,” Suzanne said. “When we get back to Estherville, I’ll see if I can discover any traces of her online.”
“Good idea,” Maddie replied. “Maybe she had a social media profile.”
“Uh-huh.” Suzanne nodded. “And if we had her last name, we could try the phone book.”
“Bob didn’t seem to know much about her, did he?” Maddie said thoughtfully.
“Except that she seemed to like his coffee,” Suzanne commented. “But to be fair, we don’t know many of our customers’ surnames, do we?”
“Only the older people who we only know by their surnames. Like Mrs. Cantrell.”
“Mrrow,” Trixie agreed. Maddie suspected elderly Mrs. Cantrell, who always made a fuss of the Persian, was one of Trixie’s favorite customers.
“I think this is Genevieve’s place,” Maddie said, pulling up outside a large property on the outskirts of Aunt Winifred. A rambling farmhouse built of yellow clapboard stood next to a big garden, dotted with different varieties of flowers and shrubs.
“Yes, this is it.” Maddie checked the address Jill had given her.
“Her garden is huge!”
“Mrrow!” Trixie pressed her nose against the small window in the back of the truck.
“Maybe Genevieve will let you wander in her garden, Trix,” Maddie said as she turned off the ignition.
A raspy purr filled the truck.
“What are we going to ask Genevieve?” Maddie exited the truck before letting Trixie out.
“We could ask her about her relationship with Jill, and see if that tallies with what Jill – and Bob – told us,” Suzanne suggested.
“Good idea.”
“Mrrow.” Trixie pulled at the harness, something she rarely did, urging Maddie in the direction of the large garden.
“And ask if Trixie can explore her garden,” Maddie said with a smile.
“I think Trixie wants that to be the first question.” Suzanne laughed.
They walked up the path to the house, Suzanne pressing the doorbell. They heard a faint ding dong inside, but nobody came to the door.
“Maybe she’s outside?” Maddie turned away from the door.
“Can I help you?” A woman came around from the side of the house. She wore a straw hat and overalls dusted with soil.
“Hi,” Suzanne started. “We’re—”
“Maddie and Suzanne, right?” The woman interrupted.
“Genevieve?” Maddie guessed. The older woman looked different in her gardening gear, and her face was shaded by the brim of her hat. But her voice sounded as Maddie remembered – a tad bossy.
“Yep.” Genevieve chuckled. “What can I do for you two?”
“Jill said you were a landscape gardener,” Suzanne said.
“Sure am.” Genevieve jerked her head. “You can see my garden if you like.”
“That would be great.” Maddie smiled.
“Mrrow.” Trixie pulled at her harness again.
“Your cat is beautiful.” Genevieve bent down to say hello. “What’s her name?”
“Trixie,” Maddie replied. “And I think she’s eager to look at your garden.”
“Come on then, Trixie.” Genevieve led the way around the side of the house. “You can have a stroll while Maddie and Suzanne tell me why they’re here.”
Maddie and Suzanne exchanged a look. Genevieve certainly wasn’t a pushover.
But she couldn’t be all bad, Maddie reasoned. After all, she was indulging Trixie.
They entered the garden via a small white wooden gate, pink rose bushes on each side.
“Mrrow.” Trixie led the way, padding on the lawn and sniffing the occasional blade of grass.
“This is beautiful,” Maddie said, taking in the pastel pink gerberas, yellow and orange poppies, and purple pansies.
“Thanks.” Genevieve looked pleased at the praise.
“How well do you know Jill?” Suzanne asked.
“Since college,” Genevieve replied. “Why?”
“Just wondering,” Suzanne smiled. “I’m sure she appreciated you helping her out like that last night.”
Genevieve sighed. “I might have been a bit bossy with you two – I’m sorry. I just wanted Jill’s night to go well. Going into business with Bob is a big thing for her, and I wanted last night to be a success.” She shook her head. “Although, I don’t really understand why she wants to be business partners with Bob. Her café was doing okay when she was on her own. And women don’t really need men these days, do they?”
“Umm ...” Maddie thought Genevieve had a point in some ways, but on the other hand what if you wanted to get married and have—
“You do if you want kids,” Suzanne interrupted Maddie’s train of thought with exactly the same notion.
“I’m too old for all that.” Genevieve gestured to herself.
Maddie pegged her to be in her early forties, as she guessed Jill to be.
“We’re not.” Suzanne instantly looked as if she regretted her words. “I mean—”
“It’s okay. I get it.” Genevieve barked a laugh. “Not all women are like me – totally independent. I’ve never relied on a man for anything, and I’m not about to start now. That’s why I was so surprised when Jill told me she was going into business with Bob. I mean, he’s a nice enough guy, but has she really thought this through? What if they expand too quickly? What if they can’t agree on the location for their next café? And what happens if there’s a downturn in business?”
“Wouldn’t she and Bob have thought all that through before they turned their cafes into a chain?” Maddie asked.
Trixie urged her to keep walking, her nose to the ground as she seemed to sniff her way along the lawn.
“I don’t know.” Genevieve shrugged. “I hope so. I’ve tried to warn Jill not to rush into anything but ... I think Bob has some sort of fascination for her.” Genevieve screwed up her face as if the idea was hideously fantastic. “I don’t see if myself. But I think ... they’re dating.”
“Jill told you that?” Maddie asked gently.
“Not in so many words,” Genevieve sounded regretful. “Jill’s my best friend – she knows she can tell me anything – or she should know, anyway. I picked up on a couple of comments she made about Bob, and the fact that she cancelled our standing Wednesday night dinner.”
“Bob mentioned that,” Suzanne said.
“He would!” Genevieve snorted. “Apparently he wanted to finish redecorating her café at Aunt Winifred and only Wednesday night would do. He knew we had plans to go out to dinner, but he didn’t care. Wednesday night is Jill’s and my thing, you know? It’s one of the bright spots of my week.”
She waved a hand around the garden. “Not that I don’t love spending time out here, growing new plant varieties and tracking their progress. But we started Wednesday night dinners in college, and we haven’t missed one, until now.”
“Wow,” Suzanne murmured.
“So, even though I don’t think it’s the best thing for Jill to go into business with Bob, I sucked it up, you know? I arrived early at the party so I could help, because I wanted it to be a success for her,” Genevieve continued.
“I think it was – until ... you know,” Maddie tried to be delicate.
“What a terrible thing to have happened.” Genevieve shuddered. “I didn’t expect something like that.”
“Did you know Vanessa?” Suzanne probed.
“Nope.” Genevieve shook her head. “Never met her until last night. Can’t say I liked her, either.”
“I know what you mean,” murmured Maddie. Had there been a hidden side to Vanessa, a softer side? Or had her true personality shone last night?
“And all the coffee she drank!” Genevieve continued. “‘Get me another espresso. And another.’ It’s amazing how much caffeine she could tolerate.”
“Who gave you her last espresso order?” Maddie asked.
“She did. Vanessa,” Genevieve replied.
“Where was she?” Maddie studied Genevieve. “When she gave you that order?”
“Inside the café – just before she went outside. I believe her actual words were: ‘Get me another espresso while I go outside and have a cigarette.’”
Which meant that Vanessa was outside at the same time Maddie was. But Maddie hadn’t seen her. Was it because Maddie was out in the garden at the rear checking on Trixie and Boyd, while Vanessa was standing outside just off the front entrance while she smoked?
“And Genevieve gave the order to me, since I was at the espresso machine,” Suzanne said.
“And then I came back from outside and you took the coffee to Vanessa,” Maddie added.
“Who was still alive.” Suzanne nodded. “Because they found the espresso – or what was left of it that I gave her.”
Maddie breathed a mental sigh of relief. For a second, she’d wondered if Detective Edgewater would consider her a suspect as well. But Suzanne had just verified that Vanessa had still been alive and well at that point in the evening.
“Someone must have killed her after you handed her that espresso, Suzanne.” Genevieve looked directly at Suzanne. “Good thing I don’t think you did it.”
Maddie and Suzanne laughed uneasily. Did Genevieve suspect they were investigating? Maddie realized they hadn’t told Genevieve that Jill had asked them to sleuth around on her behalf. Should they tell her?
Perhaps not. Maybe it was best that Genevieve didn’t know they were on a fact-finding mission.
“Where were you, Genevieve?” Suzanne asked. “I didn’t see you around when I was taking the espresso to Vanessa.”
“I was in the kitchen.” Genevieve replied. “Checking whether there were any more brownies – and those sweet things you made – health balls, I think Jill called them.”
“That’s right.” Suzanne nodded.
“One of the guests was asking if we had any more goodies like that. So I went into the kitchen to find out. I didn’t see Jill, otherwise I would have asked her.”
Maddie and Suzanne exchanged a look.
Hadn’t Jill told them she’d gone outside to check on Trixie and Boyd at that stage? That must have been why Genevieve hadn’t seen Jill – if Jill – or Genevieve – had told them the truth.
Genevieve checked her watch – an old plastic thing with specks of dirt on it. “If you girls don’t mind, I better go and call Jill. I haven’t spoken to her since last night, and I think she’ll need my support.”
“Of course.” Maddie nodded.
Trixie stopped sniffing the grass and sat down, her plush, plumy tail wrapped neatly around her paws.
“Do you think Jill and Bob will still go ahead with their business plans?” Genevieve asked. “Even though I don’t approve, I don’t want Jill to be disappointed if it doesn’t work out with Bob.”
“I guess that’s something you’ll have to ask Jill,” Suzanne said, as they fell into step beside Genevieve, Trixie trotting along next to Maddie.
“Yeah.” Genevieve sighed.
They stopped when they reached the house.
“Come by any time, girls, as long as you bring Trixie with you.” Genevieve bent down to say goodbye to the feline.
“Thank you for letting Trixie explore your garden,” Maddie said as they waved goodbye to the older woman.
“Mrrow!” Trixie sounded as if she was saying thank you, too.
“Wow!” Once they were back in the truck, Suzanne let out a low whistle. “I don’t think she wants Jill to have a business partner.”
“Not if it’s Bob.” Maddie started up the truck.
“Did you believe her when she said she was in the kitchen around the time of the murder?” Suzanne asked as Maddie drove down the road.
“I want to,” Maddie said slowly. “She seems to be good friends with Jill. Why would she want to sabotage her? And besides, she seemed to like Trixie.”
“Unless it was all for show.” Suzanne twisted around in her seat to look at Trixie. “What do you think, Trix?”
But Trixie had nestled in the back, and seemed to have fallen asleep.
