CHAPTER 7
As soon as I walked into the Party Palace, I knew I was in trouble. The woman at the counter took one look at me and came around to greet me like we were old friends. “Jill Gardner, I’m so excited to see you. I’ve heard that you and that man of yours are starting to take the next steps.” She must have seen the confusion I felt in my face. “Or maybe you are here about your lovely shop? I do all my book shopping there. I’m not much of an internet kind of girl. I do love your little author meet-and-greets. I have some great ideas on how I can help you expand your business.”
I held up a hand to stop the verbal on slot. “Actually, I’m here as a favor for a friend. Amy Newman said you were holding some kind of list for her?”
“Oh, Amy, she’s such a sweetheart. I’m so glad Justin has finally seen to take her off the market. Women like her don’t stay single long.” She turned to a file cabinet, then spun around. “Oh, my gosh. You must think I’m a terrible person.”
Actually I thought she was stuck in the fifties, but I hadn’t gotten to terrible yet. She looked a little younger than my aunt, but apparently had the same philosophies about the roles of men and women in this world. Girls were made to be married. “No,” I said, hesitantly, not sure what to follow up with.
“Now don’t be polite and pretend you didn’t notice my error. I didn’t even introduce myself. I’m Martha Folks. I’ve run this party planning store for over twenty years. Of course, back then, we had some crazy parties, not expensive, mind you, but imaginative.” She held out her hand. “I make a point of knowing most of the people around the area including South Cove. But it seems like every time I go into your coffee place to introduce myself, you’ve just left.”
“I’m sorry about that.” Actually, I wasn’t sure why I was apologizing to this woman I’d never met before. I’d read a book that said one of the ways women give up their power is by saying I’m sorry for things that weren’t their fault. I decided right then and there that I was going to make a rule not to apologize unless it really was my fault. I’d start a sorry jar and every time, I said those words inappropriately, like just now, I’d throw a dollar in.
“Oh, no need to apologize.” Martha squeezed my hand. “Meeting people happens when it’s supposed to happen. I believe Fate keeps a close eye on our comings and goings.”
Okay, now I just wanted to throw up. The sugar water was getting a little deep. I gently took my hand out of her grip. “I hate to cut this short, but I’ve got an appointment soon.”
“Oh, dear, I didn’t mean to keep you. Me and my jabberwocky mouth. I guess I’m just alone here too many hours a day. I really should just work from home, but what fun is that?” She turned and opened the file drawer and started digging. “I think I might have put that book aside in the back. I’ll be right back.”
Great, now I had made her feel bad and lied to boot. Thank goodness I hadn’t set up a lie jar. Maybe this paying my way to good manners wasn’t going to be as easy as I’d thought. “Maybe I could come back some time, you know, when I wasn’t so rushed. Or you could come to the coffee shop.”
“I might just stop by soon.” She disappeared into the back.
I sat my purse on the counter and knocked off a stack of papers. I knelt to get them and found a proposal addressed to Levi Wallace. Maybe Martha had put together the bachelor’s weekend or she was going to produce the wedding that now wouldn’t happen. I peeked around the counter, but she was still in the back room. So I read the first page, and the second. Greg needed to see this. I took my phone out of my purse and snapped copies of each page of the five-page document. I’d just stood and returned the papers to the counter when Martha returned and handed me a three-inch binder, so heavy, I almost dropped it.
“I’m still a little shaken up about what happened at The Castle. You don’t know what happened, to that poor man, do you?” Martha peered at me over the piles of loose papers.
“The Bakerstown police department is handling the investigation. I guess with Greg being friends with the victim, it just seemed more appropriate.” Apparently, my reputation for sticking my nose into things like local murders had traveled. Okay, now I’d have to figure out how I was going to stay and chat when I’d just said I had to leave. I painted myself into a wall this time.
Martha took out a rag and dusted off the top of her counter. “I was just wondering.”
She was playing cagy. “Had you met Levi and Jessica?”
Martha stopped wiping and considered me. “No, sorry. All I know is what I saw on the news. Why do you ask?”
“I thought maybe they’d talked to you about their wedding plans.”
As I walked out of the shop, Amy’s notebook heavy in my arms, I decided to show Greg what I’d found out over dinner. My mood lightened as I got into the Jeep. I liked being able to investigate out in the open. In the past, having to sneak around Greg’s back when he had asked me not to get involved had been hard. Now that he was benched, he wanted me to find out the things he couldn’t. Maybe he could give all the murder cases to the Bakerstown Police Department. Then we could be like those couples who investigate on television. Aunt Jackie had loved a show like that when I was in high school, but I think it was in reruns even then. I’d have to ask her what it was called.
I made a U-turn and headed toward the other side of town where Doc Ames had built his mortuary years ago. When he’d been approved by the county for the crematorium, the ten acres had been in the middle of farmland. Now, a subdivision and an industrial complex sat on either side of the funeral home. The parking lot was empty except for Doc’s black hearse. Before I’d left town, I’d stopped at the shop and picked up a bag of ground coffee and an assortment of the desserts from the display case. It was blatant bribery for information, but I didn’t think Doc would mind. Much.
The front door was open and I could see light coming from the hallway leading to his office rather than the other business part of the building. I’d never been down to where Doc did his autopsies or prepared the body for burial, and I hoped I never would have to look for him there. Have I mentioned that I threw up in third grade when my science teacher was talking about how the blood pumps through your body?
I swallowed hard and made my way toward the office. “Doc? Are you in there?”
“Who’s out there?” Doc Ames came to the doorway of his office, his serious look turning into a smile when he saw me. “Well, if it isn’t Nancy Drew. Why are you here, he asks, as he eyed the coffee shop bag?”
“Sue me, I’m transparent.” I held out the bag. “I’ll take one of those if you have some coffee made to go with it.”
“There’s not anyone else I’d want to share with.” He motioned me inside the office. “Come sit down. How’s Greg? Does he know you’re here?”
I plopped down on the couch. “I’m shocked you’re asking. I wouldn’t hide things from him.”
“And I wasn’t born yesterday.” He went to the coffeepot and poured me a cup. “You take it black, right?”
“I do.” I leaned forward and took the coffee. “Let’s get the formalities out of the way. Yes, Greg knows I’m here. He’s been taken off Levi’s murder case and so…” I paused and Doc Ames finished my thought.
“He thought you could find out unofficially what had happened to our poor groom.” He opened the box. “Éclairs. I love éclairs.”
They weren’t my favorite, but Sadie was going through an éclair stage. She had made at least ten different kinds in the last few weeks. This recent experiment had a pumpkin cream filling and a maple frosting. Basically it was seasonal autumn heaven.
I waited a few minutes, letting the conversation focus on Sadie’s Pies on the Fly business, and how much Doc Ames wished she would open a full time shop in Bakerstown. I didn’t think that would be happening any time soon. Sadie liked her freedom to work in the morning and then have the afternoon off to do her church work. But I wasn’t going to be the one to burst Doc’s bubble.
He finished off the éclair he was eating and looked down at the box. “One left, do you want it?”
“Not unless I want to run by myself this afternoon. Emma’s on injured reserve for a few days.” I went on to tell him about the incident when Toby was babysitting since I was at the bachelor-party weekend. Then I decided to jump into the real purpose of my visit before he finished the last éclair. “Speaking of the weekend, do you know how Levi died? Maybe he just slipped and hit his head when he fell into the pool?”
“An accident like that could be possible.” Doc Ames wiped the side of his mouth with a finger, removing a dot of the maple frosting. “However, that wasn’t how Mr. Wallace died. From the evidence, I believe he was dead before entering the pool. I’ll be getting tox screens in a few days and I’ll have an official cause of death to the Bakerstown police then.”
“You still haven’t mentioned how he was killed.” I knew I was pushing our friendship and the power of the éclair, but Greg had given me this assignment and I wasn’t going to let him down. Especially since this was the first time my investigation habit had been green lighted by my boyfriend. Everything was situational, I guess.
He closed the empty box and stood, taking it back to his desk and putting it into a nearby trash can. He sat at his desk, opened a file, and read aloud. “The victim appeared to be strangled with some sort of rope or fabric, yet to be determined.”
“Strangled?” Someone had been angry enough to squeeze the life out of him. Someone strong like Butch? This was no accident.
Doc Ames closed the file and looked at me, his eyes twinkling with humor. “Oh, I didn’t see you still sitting there. I thought you’d left. You know I can’t release an official cause of death to anyone except the officers investigating the case.”
“I better be going anyway. I still have shopping to finish and I’m having lunch with Amy later.” I stood and crossed the office to the doorway where I paused. “Thanks for having breakfast with me.”
“Anytime. But I’d like it if I saw you more often than just when someone has died.” He turned back to his computer and booted it up.
“I’ll stop by soon, I promise.” As I walked out of the office and back into the public area of the mortuary, I wondered if Doc Ames was lonely. His wife had died years ago. And since then, the only time I saw him was when he was investigating a murder. Maybe he needed a girlfriend.
Driving back to South Cove, my mind worked on possible hookups for Doc. I hadn’t come to an answer before reaching the house. But I had made a plan. I’d do an engagement dinner party for Aunt Jackie and Harrold, and Amy and Justin. That way, I could invite Doc Ames and a suitable date choice without looking like a setup.
I let Emma outside while I put away the groceries, setting aside the ingredients I needed to make dinner tonight. Since Greg wasn’t involved in the investigation, he’d be home for supper. I tried to do something new and different on Mondays since I had the day off. Most nights we grilled meat and added a salad. Tonight, I was making a clam fettuccini with garlic bread and the rest of the cheesecake for dessert.
My stomach growled and I realized I had ten minutes before I was supposed to meet Amy for lunch. Food, it ruled my life. However, it wasn’t always a bad thing. Like this morning when a few éclairs got me information about Levi’s cause of death. I made a quick note about the morning conversations, including the information I’d found at the event planner’s shop about the future of The Castle. Then I let Emma back inside, and walked into town.
The fall weather was soft and beautiful. Of course, that’s why I loved living in central coastal California. Most days the weather was soft and beautiful. If I wanted winter, I could go to Tahoe and experience enough snow in a weekend to last me the season. I’d rather be in short sleeves and capris than bundled in snow suits and boots.
Amy was already at our favorite booth when I walked in. I glanced at the “Wall of Fame” Lille had set up near the cash register. Our mayor had a framed 11 by 17 signed picture of him in the middle of the wall. Then a few other Polaroids surrounded it. I needed to contact Nathan Pike like I’d promised, and maybe a few other authors who had visited recently, such as Cat Latimer. The woman had been extremely nice, especially to Sasha who had been nervous as a cat on a hot tin roof when she introduced the author.
“I’m here,” Amy called out, impatient for me to pay attention to her instead of the almost empty wall. I so hoped she wouldn’t turn into a bridezilla like Aunt Jackie had. I couldn’t take two people with that kind of attitude in my life at the same time. A girl only has so much patience.
“Hey, I brought you the list.” I handed off the heavy notebook. “It’s going to take you days to get through all that. Isn’t there an online listing somewhere? One you can sort and filter?”
Amy squealed, patting the cover like it was a rare copy of Harry Potter or maybe a signed Hemingway. “You would think so there would be, but no. Martha has more knowledge in her head about venues around the area than anyone else in the business. She needs someone to help her update her business but for now, this is the bible of event sites.”
“What are you planning, anyway?” I paused as the waitress came by and sat two iced teas in front of us. “Carrie, how are you?”
“Old and my feet are killing me.” She took out a note pad. “Let’s see, it’s Monday so Amy will have a double cheeseburger with a vanilla milkshake and you’ll have the usual fish and chips?”
“Actually, I’ll have the Cobb Salad. Italian dressing on the side.” Amy pushed the menu away as both Carrie and I stared at her. “What? I’m trying to lose ten pounds before the engagement party. I have my eye on a designer dress over at Vintage Duds, and it’s a four.”
“You’re dieting to get into a smaller size?” Amy was slender and didn’t have an ounce of fat on her body, especially since she and Justin spent most of their weekends at the beach, surfing.
“Ten pounds won’t kill me and it’s an amazing dress. Just wait, you’ll agree it was so worth it when you see me. Pat has put it aside for me so the sooner I can get the weight off, the sooner I get the dress.” Amy sipped her iced tea. “I was dying for a milkshake today, though.”
“I guess I’ll have the Cobb too.” I shrugged as Carrie stared at me. “I’m making pasta with white sauce for dinner and won’t be running for a few days.”
After Carrie left the table, Amy leaned toward me. “Thanks for the support. I don’t know if I could have resisted stealing some of Lille’s fries. And I heard about Emma. Are you ready to kill Toby?”
“He’s so upset. It’s been hard to give him a lot of grief. But for a minute there, when I found out, I wanted to wring his neck.” Our conversation continued, but my casual words gave me chills as I thought about what I’d learned from Doc Ames. Someone had been angry enough with Levi to choke him and leave him dead in a pool. The questions I needed to answer was what had Levi done to inspire that kind of anger?