Deadly Greetings Part 16

I was all ready to blast Barrett again when I went downstairs, but his door was shut, as was Jeffrey's. Lillian was outside her car, leaning against it and staring off into s.p.a.ce.

She studied me closely, then said, "Jennifer, it took. you all that time to choose that to wear?"

"Just get in the car and start driving to The Lunch Box. I'm starving."

She did as I asked, so I explained, "I only took a minute to change."

"I can't tell you what a relief that is to hear," she said.

"Do you want me to tell you what happened or not?"

Lillian bit her upper lip. "Of course I do. Not another word from me, I promise."

I didn't see how I could possibly hold her to that, but it was a step in the right direction. "I spent most of my time talking to one of my fellow tenants."

Lillian sighed, then said, "Jennifer, if you're going to tell me you had a quick dalliance with Barrett, please spare me the details."

I flicked her arm, not enough to sting but enough to show my displeasure with her a.s.sumption. "I was with Jeffrey Wallace, if you must know."

"Far be it from me to criticize, but isn't he a tad old for you?"

"Lillian, get your mind out of the gutter. We were talking about Maggie. You'll never believe this. He thinks she was murdered, too. They were in love."

Lillian nearly swerved off the narrow path. "So it is true? He was dating Maggie?"

"He confirmed it, and there were a dozen cards on display that she'd made him. The one I read inside certainly indicated that they had some kind of relations.h.i.+p."

"You just never know, do you? So what else did you discover in your impromptu interview?"

"Nothing," I said, "but he offered to help."

Lillian glanced at me quickly. "And what else did he offer you, Jennifer?"

"What do you mean by that?" I asked as we finally neared The Lunch Box.

"Did it occur to you that his offer might be to see what we discover, and not out of some altruistic motive?"

I unbuckled my seat belt. "I'm not following you."

"If he killed her, wouldn't he want to know if we were getting close to him? He could have murdered Frances too, for that matter. After all, who else had better access to her apartment than he did?" What was my aunt talking about?

"How about Barrett? He lives there, too."

Lillian studied me a moment before speaking. "Jennifer, are you suggesting that Barrett had something to do with both murders? I hope you've got more proof than an honest dislike for the man."

"That's the trouble, isn't it? We don't have much proof of anything yet, just a few cards and some suspicions."

"Perhaps that's about to change," she said as she handed me a twenty.

I took the bill, then asked her, "What's this for, my superior detective work?"

Lillian grimaced. "Don't flatter yourself; it's for the food I ordered while you were inside. Knowing Savannah, it's ready and waiting for us."

"I can't let you buy dinner for me, too," I protested. "You pay for too many of my meals as it is."

"Think of it as a business expense for our new venture. As far as I'm concerned, Patrick Benson can pick this one up. After ail, we're doing him a tremendous favor on rather short notice."

"Is that how you've spun it in your mind?" I asked. "He hired us under unusual circ.u.mstances at your request so we could have some legitimacy for our snooping. So now you're going to stick him for our dinner?"

Lillian laughed. "Why not? He's got more money than he knows what to do with."

I opened the car door and asked, "So what did you order for me?"

"It's a surprise," she said. "If you're that curious, ask Savannah yourself."

"Thanks, but I'll pa.s.s. I'm sure whatever it is will be fine, as long as it's not anything healthy."

Lillian averted her gaze.

"Are you telling me you ordered me a salad too? Lillian, you've got to be kidding."

"I never said anything like that. Stop jumping to conclusions."

I walked into the restaurant, and the second Savannah saw me, she called back to her husband, "Pete, Jennifer's here."

He handed her two bags, and as I gave her Lillian's twenty, I said, "So what are we having tonight?"

"I'm having brown beans, spinach and corn bread," she said.

"You know what I mean," I said.

"If I had to guess," she said as she handed me my change, "Lillian's having a salad and you're having a barbeque sandwich and onion rings, but I could be wrong. I might have that mixed up."

"I'm willing to bet you got it dead-on. Thanks, Savannah."

"You're most welcome, girl. If you don't mind my raying so, you could use a few more pounds to help take the sharp edges off that figure of yours."

"Savannah, if I gain much more, I won't have any edges left at all. See you later."

"Bye, Jennifer. You behave yourself now, you hear?"

"Now what fun would that be?" I asked as I walked back out to the car. As I handed Lillian her change, I said, "Just be glad there really weren't two salads in there."

"I never claimed there were," she said. "Should we wait until we get to Maggie's to eat?"

I looked at one of the picnic tables in front. "I know it's a little chilly out, but I'd rather eat before we start working if it's all the same to you."

"I understand and agree. Let's dine outside, shall we?"

We'd hardly sat down at the table when the front door of The Lunch Box opened. Savannah stared at us for a second, then asked, "What are you two trying to do, freeze to death?"

"We find the brisk weather invigorating," Lillian said frostily.

"Well, when you've had enough invigorating, come on in. I've got fresh coffee that will take that right out of you."

Lillian shook her head, then gathered up her food. "Come on, Jennifer, I knew this wouldn't work."

I protested, "Hey, where are we going?"

"Inside, where we don't have to freeze to death," she whispered to me as we walked in past Savannah Lillian paused, then told her friend, "Not one word, do you hear me?"

Savannah stared at her a second, then both of them started laughing. They had the oddest friends.h.i.+p I'd ever seen, and I envied them both every ounce of it.

We took a spot at the serpentine counter, and Savannah delivered two fresh cups of hot coffee. As she finished pouring Lillian's, she said, "Now if I was going to comment on your outfit, which I won't because you've asked me nicely and I respect your request, I'd have to say I think you look mighty fine. But I'm not talking about it."

Lillian said, "It's a good thing, or I wouldn't have a chance to eat because I'd be sitting here all night listening to you."

Pete rang his little bell in back from the kitchen to let Savannah know another order was up. The restaurateur said, "You, dear girl, have been saved by the bell."

"It's not the first time," Lillian said, and again the two shared a private joke that n.o.body else in the world got. The diner was half full, but it was late for their usual crowd. I knew Savannah; her husband, Pete; and their daughter, Charlie, did most of their business at noon, feeding everyone from factory workers to judges, but they liked to stay open for the early dinner crowds, something I heartily endorsed. Charlie wasn't around, no doubt off working on her degree. I knew that neither Savannah nor Pete had gone to college-though they were both extremely bright- and it was their one stone-cold rule that Charlie was going to get the best education she could.

After Savannah delivered a hamburger plate to a lone diner, she came back over to us. "What brings you two out together in the evening? And why aren't there lines of men clamoring to get your attentions?'"

I started to answer when Lillian said, "It was all we could do to avoid the crowds, but we denied them all. We heard the cuisine was better here at night." Savannah leaned forward. "And what's your diet?" There was no jesting in her voice, and I hoped Lillian didn't get us banned from the place with an ill-timed joke.

"I can't imagine there's anything in the world that could beat your lunchtime fare. Honestly, I think they're both great." Savannah whooped and slammed the counter with her spatula. "Now, that's what I'm talking about. Now are you ready to answer my real question?"

Lillian said softly, "If you'd lower your voice, perhaps I would."

"I can speak softer than you can," Savannah said in a near whisper that still seemed to carry across the room. "Now what are you two really up to?"

"We're helping clean Maggie Blake's house. Did you know her?"

Savannah nodded, and her ever present smile faded for a few moments. "She used to come in here now and then before she got all health craze nuts on me. It's a real shame what happened to that girl." Lillian leaned forward and said, "And what exactly did happen to her?"

Savannah looked startled by the comment. "You mean you think something happened to her?"

"Keep your voice down," Lillian snapped.

Savannah actually looked contrite. "Sorry, that surprised me, that's all." She appeared to think about it for a few seconds, then turned to me and said, "What do you think?"

"You're asking me?" I said after I finished my bite, "I trust your instincts, Jennifer; I always have. You know that."

I searched her face for a hint of a smile, but she was deadly serious. "I agree with Lillian. Something's not right."

Savannah nodded, then said in a loud voice, "Did anybody here know Maggie Blake?"

I thought Lillian was going to kill her on the spot but I was surprised when an older woman raised her hand. "I knew her fairly well," she volunteered.

"Then get right over here," Savannah said. "If you can add anything to the conversation, I'll give you a slice of lemon meringue pie on the house."

That got the attention of everyone in the diner. Savannah was famous for her pies, and she charged accordingly.

"I know her, too," the diner with the hamburger plate called out.

"Heck, we used to go out," a man in his thirties yelled.

"I'm her G.o.dfather," another old man said.

"We're sisters," a woman barely out of her teens added.

Savannah slammed her spatula down on the counter, and that ended the chorus. "Funny, you all are riots, every last one of you. Now eat your food before I charge you double."

There were a few grumbles but mostly laughs as the crowd went back to their food. Savannah could do: that, kid and cajole a group of strangers and make them feel like they all belonged to the same family. She was an artist at it, and I wished I could do the same with my customers.

The original woman who'd spoken joined us at the bend in the bar. "I'm afraid there's not much I can: tell you about Maggie. She was a friend of mine, but I never got as close as I would have liked. She was fun, you know? Always a real joy to be around."

Savannah looked at her steadily and asked, "Do you think she fell asleep at the wheel in the middle of the day?"

The woman looked startled by the suggestion. "Is that how she died? I hadn't heard." She paused, then added, "I can't imagine it. We drove to Richmond once for a quilt show, and she was the safest driver I ever rode with. Unless she changed dramatically, there's no way she would have taken the chance.

That's one of the reasons we drifted apart. Maggie wouldn't ride with anyone else, she didn't trust them at behind the wheel, and I got tired of always riding with her. It's a shame," she added. "I've missed her, and now I've lost my chance to be her friend again."

Savannah reached over and patted the woman's hand. "Tillie Matthews, I'm sure you were a fine friend to her. People drift in and out of our lives all the time. Now let me get you that pie." As Savannah left to grab the promised dessert, Tillie told us, "I don't believe those other rumors I've been hearing, either."

"What have you heard?" Lillian asked.

Tillie looked down at her hands, then said, "I hate to speak ill of the dead."

"What if you could help her? Would you do it?"

"Of course I would," Tillie said.

"So tell us what you've heard," I urged her gently.

Tillie looked around, then said softly, "I heard she'd had an affair."

Lillian said, "We've heard that ourselves."

"I don't care if she and Frances were close. That's how rumors like that get started."

"Are you talking about Frances Coolridge?" I asked.

Tillie nodded. "She even put her in her will, the way I heard it."

I'd heard they were friends, but this was not really any new information. "Maggie put Frances in her will? I wonder who inherited her stuff instead?"

"No, you misunderstood me," Tillie said. "From what I heard, when Frances died, Maggie got everything she had. Honestly, I think that's what started, the rumors."