Deadly Greetings Part 9

As I walked in the door, I heard him say, "I'm not going to ask you again. When will she be back?"

"I'm right here," I said.

"I need to talk to you," Barrett said, turning his back on Lillian.

My aunt said coldly, "Jennifer, he's been most insistent. Should I call your brother?"

"No, it's fine. Barrett's my new neighbor."

It was clear Lillian didn't like anything about him. She stood there glaring at him, and I could tell it was making Barrett uncomfortable.

After what had happened the night before, I wasn't his biggest fan either, but he had helped me with Wayne. "Lillian, will you check that order that came in this morning? Last week they shorted us three sets of stickers and an expensive stamp. I think the s.h.i.+pper's hired his cousin again."

Lillian looked as if she wanted to refuse, but I signaled her to go in back. "Call me if you need me," she said as she glared at Barrett.

Once she was gone, he turned to me and said, "Thanks, she was making me a little nervous."

"My aunt is just looking out for my well-being. What can I do for you?"

He bit his lower lip a second, then said, "I'd like to take you to dinner tonight."

"Sorry, I'm busy," I said. Even if my card group wasn't meeting, or if I hadn't tried to make plans with Gail, even if I hadn't said yes to Greg's dinner invitation-discounting all of that, I still wouldn't have gone out with him. His ex-girlfriend Penny looked like she wasn't going to accept the "ex" part of their arrangement, and I had no earthly desire to get in the middle of that. My life had enough complications without my going out of my way to add any more, thank you very much.

But Barrett wasn't going to give up that easily. "Then how about lunch tomorrow?"

"No, again. I'm busy."

He looked like he was going to snap. "You have to eat sometime, Jennifer."

I'd let him dangle long enough. "I'm not going out with you, Barrett, so you can stop asking me, okay?"

"How am I going to explain what happened last night if you won't at least hear me out?"

I nudged him gently toward the door. "You don't owe me any explanations. We shared some wine and most of a pizza. Just because I was willing to eat with you once doesn't mean I'm in any hurry to repeat it."

That killed his last ounce of effort at niceties. "I can't help it if my ex-girlfriend is stalking me."

Enough was enough. "What you don't understand is that it's not my problem if I don't choose to let it be. You seem like you can be nice enough when you're not scowling, and you're not totally repulsive, but believe me when I tell you that you're not that nice and you're certainly not good-looking enough to make it worth my while to take your problems on, too. Believe me, I've got enough of my own."

"You can't let Penny get away with this," he said.

We were at the door, and I reached over and opened it for him. "It's got nothing to do with me," I said. "I'm not going to be a part of this."

Barrett walked outside, but before I could close the door, he said, "I'm going to keep asking you out until you say yes."

"I've got a feeling you'll give up before I cave in to that particular request," I said.

Lillian was out of the storeroom before the door shut. "I don't like him, Jennifer. Good for you for not letting him bully you into dating him."

"That approach didn't work on me in the seventh grade; there's no way it's going to work now." I raised an eyebrow and asked, "How's that inventory coming?"

"You know perfectly well that I was eavesdropping," Lillian admitted.

"I knew it, but I wasn't sure you'd admit it."

She waved a finger in the air toward me. "I realize you think you're completely autonomous, but there are times when even the strongest of us needs someone else."

"What exactly are you implying?"

Lillian frowned. "Jennifer, don't be any more difficult than you already are. You know perfectly well what I'm talking about. I'm not saying you need a man in your life; I'm saying you need your family, no matter how much we tend to grate on your nerves."

I wasn't about to admit that she was right, though I knew that on some levels she was. Needing my clan was one thing, but admitting it to any of them was something else entirely.

"Let's jump on that inventory," I said. "Did you at least get the invoice out of the box?"

"It's still there, and it can wait until I go to lunch myself. I wasn't included in your little tete-a-tete, now was I? When I get back, I think we should discuss our questions before your group gathers tonight, don't you?"

"We're still running a business here, you know," I said. "Our profit is every bit as important as finding out what really happened to Maggie Blake."

"I'm not denying that, but our investigation is critical, too. We can't forget that."

I took my aunt's hands in mine. "Lillian, I'm just as eager to uncover the truth as you are. Tell you what, we can talk about the questions on the board as we check the s.h.i.+pment's bill against the actual inventory, okay?"

"I suppose it will have to be good enough," she said as she squeezed my hands gently in hers.

"That's the spirit," I said. "Have a nice lunch, and take your time. Things are dreadfully slow around here, aren't they?"

"We're doing fine, Jennifer."

After she was gone, to my surprise I waited on several customers, adding nicely to our day's receipts. Lillian took me up on my offer, because by the time she got back, it was an hour till closing.

I said, "We've just got time to finish this. Would you like the invoice or would you like to do the actual inventory?"

"And rob you of the chance to muck about with your accessories? Give me the sheet." She took the invoice from me, but before she'd let me get started, Lillian said, "I'm going to set the marker board up where we can see it. Don't worry. I'll make certain no one will be able to spot it from the sales floor."

I wanted to protest that we had enough to do without worrying about Maggie at the moment, but Lillian was right. I was just going to have to find the time to look into her death while I ran the card shop, got settled into my new apartment and watched my back with the former deputy Wayne on the loose in Rebel Forge. It was just about more than a gal should have to deal with, but I was going to manage it if it didn't kill me first. Man, I was glad I hadn't said that out loud.

"Jennifer, what's a can stamp number two? Is it actually a stamp in the shape of a can?"

I took the sheet from her and looked. "No, the invoice is smeared. Let me think. I know." I dived into the box and came out with a fancy stamp of a candle in its stand. "Here it is. I ordered this for Nancy Klein. She's got a distant cousin in the candlemaking business, and she wanted me to get her something festive. I can't imagine how tough it must be to run a candleshop."

"No harder than a card shop, I'd say," Lillian said.

"I certainly wouldn't trade places with him," I said.

"I doubt he'd ask. Now, what's a roll of heart sticks? That sounds ghastly."

"They're heart-shaped stickers. Honestly, Lillian, perhaps we should trade jobs after all."

Lillian handed me the list, and I said quickly, "Okay, I saw this and this and this," as I checked the items off.

Lillian said, "It might help me know what to pull before you check them off the list. I swear, Jennifer, this would be faster if you just did it yourself."

"I don't want you to feel left out," I said, though I agreed with her.

"You've got to be kidding; you won't hurt my feelings. While you do this, I'll focus on our other list."

I couldn't help wondering if Lillian's incompetence was feigned or real, but it didn't really matter. She was right; I was much happier doing the job on my own. By the time I finished, I'd seen that every item listed on the invoice had been in the box. At least this time, it appeared that the order had been filled properly.

"All done?" Lillian asked.

"I am. So why am I a little disappointed everything was there?" I asked her.

She laughed. "I can answer that, my dear. It's because you bristle with competence, and you accept nothing less from the world around you. Think how fun it would have been to catch them with their knickers around their knees."

I grabbed one of the stools we kept in back. "Lillian, am I impossible?"

She put an arm around me, and for just a moment I remembered what she'd been like when my parents had died, loving and supportive, always there for me. "My dear, I think you're just about perfect."

A few errant tears crept down my cheeks, and I wiped them quickly away. I swear, sometimes my emotions get the best of me when I least expect it.

To divert my aunt's attention from my behavior, I asked, "So do you have any other ideas about what we should ask tonight?"

Lillian stared at the board a few moments, then said, "No, I'm afraid much of it is going to have to be spontaneous. The last thing we want is for anyone to suspect we're looking into Maggie's murder."

As I studied the board, I asked, "Why, don't you want to be tarred as an amateur investigator?"

"Jennifer, one of the people coming tonight could very well have killed Maggie, if our theories are correct. Do you honestly think it's a good idea to warn them that we're suspicious, when even the police are ruling her death an accident? This killer is very good, so we don't want to give any reasons to set their sights on us, now, do we?"

That surely took the fun out of it. "You're right, of course. So how do we ask questions without it sounding like we're grilling them?"

Lillian smiled. "Follow my lead, dear child. I've been doing it for more years than I care to admit. If there's any advantage in being married to as many different men as I have in my life, it's learning early on how to spot a lie."

"So you think it's some kind of acquired ESP that came with your vows?" I asked.

Instead of laughing at my jab, Lillian looked at me with a serious expression. "Don't scoff. Being able to separate the truth from the fiction made me a very rich woman."

I didn't even know how to comment on that, but I didn't have to. The front door chimed, and I walked up to see who was visiting. Greg Langston was there, and after a quick glance at the clock, it looked like he wanted to start our date early. The poor dear even had a bouquet of daisies in his hand.

Too bad I was going to have to dash his hopes yet again.

HANDCRAFTED CARD TIP.

While precise, sharply cut edges are perfect for many cards, sometimes I like to tear the edges of additions to the cards I'm making. This rough border gives a much more informal tone to the card, and while I wouldn't use it on a wedding invitation, it's perfect for any card that just says h.e.l.lo to an old friend.

Chapter 8.

"Greg, I can't go out with you."

He looked at me like I'd stabbed him in the heart. "Jennifer, I'm not going to let you get cold feet. We're going, and that's final."

"You don't understand," I explained. "I've got a meeting here tonight, and I need to prepare for it. It won't be over till ten, and I know how you hate to eat that late. I do too, for that matter, but it can't be helped. I really am sorry."

Greg paused a second, then said, "No, I'm not willing to accept that. I think a late dinner would be perfect."

"We can do it tomorrow, I promise." Honestly, he was as stubborn as ever, though I didn't mind it nearly as much as I had when Barrett had been so insistent earlier.

Greg smiled as he said, "If we can do it tomorrow, we can do it tonight. Ten o'clock sounds great."

Before I could say another word, he was gone.

Lillian had obviously been eavesdropping again in the back room. "I knew there was something I liked about that young man. He's persistent, isn't he?"

"A little too much for my taste," I said. "Now my schedule's going to be all out of whack eating that late. Blast it, I forgot I have to go home and feed the cats."

Lillian glanced at her watch. "So go feed them. You've got plenty of time; just don't dawdle. I'll start getting things ready here."

"Thanks," I said as I hurried out the door. I knew if I waited till midnight to feed Oggie and Nash, there would be an open cat rebellion, and I wasn't in the mood for shredded paper towels and toilet tissue all over the apartment, their favored method of showing their displeasure.

I raced back to my new place, intent on making the round trip in minimum time. It wasn't that I didn't trust Lillian to get things in order, but it was my shop, and ultimately, everything that happened there reflected on me. I might be preparing to grill some of my best customers, but that didn't mean I wasn't going to do right by them in everything else. I'd ordered two extra embossing kits so my group could play with them. If the club members liked the equipment, I offered the ones we used at a healthy discount, but still allowed myself enough of a profit to make it worth my while. It was something I'd wanted to try at Sara Lynn's shop, but she'd always vetoed it, hating to give anyone a discount on anything. I believed that it encouraged more spending, not less. After all, what fun was it to have a new tool or technique and nothing to practice it on?

Both of the doors in the building's foyer were shut, which was fine with me. I was in no mood to deal with either one of my fellow tenants. When I got to my door, there was a bouquet of flowers leaning against it. Barrett just wouldn't get the hint! What was I going to have to do to convince him I wasn't interested, smack his hand with a ruler? Without giving it a second thought, I grabbed the bouquet and marched down the steps. Barrett answered after my third knock.

"Hey, what's the problem-is there a fire? Oh, hi, Jennifer. Listen, I'm sorry, but if you came by to take me up on dinner, I've already made other plans."

"You arrogant son of a snot," I said, "How dare you? I wouldn't date you if there was bonus money at the end of the evening, do you understand? Here. I don't want these." I slammed the flowers into his chest, but instead of looking miffed, he just smiled.

"What's so funny?" I asked, ready to blast him again.

"I don't want them either," he said.

"So take them back to the flea-bitten florist where you bought them and try to get your money back."