Honeysuckle Homicide (Trash-to-Treasure Crafting Mystery) (16 page)

As I headed toward my car, a noise caught my attention. At first I thought it was a fly, but then I spotted Mitchell waving me over to where he stood leaning against the brick building. I hoped he didn’t want me to take a drink of his whiskey. He was always offering, but I had to kindly decline the offer. I didn’t have the heart to ignore him, so I headed over to where he stood.

“Hi, Mitchell. How are you today?” I asked.

He smiled, showcasing the space between his teeth. “It’s a beautiful day.” He looked up at the sky and I wondered if he’d forgotten that I was even standing here.

“I’d better go
, Mitchell.”

He looked at me as if he’d just remembered I was there. “Oh, I saw you talking to Charity. I was surprised to see her in town. Plus, she was with Ross. I hope that didn’t hurt your feelings too much. Don’t let it bother you. You’re better off without him.
”

I couldn’t believe I was getting this advice fr
om Mitchell. It was sweet of him to think of my feelings.

I quirked a brow. “You know Charity?”

Apparently, Mitchell knew everyone in town and even people who weren’t from Honeysuckle. He paused as a couple people walked past. They gave both of us a dirty look as then walked by. I got a dirty look because I had discovered a murder scene, never mind that Ross had found this one. Mitchell received a dirty look because they figured he drank too much. I figured they should mind their own business and stop judging people. I would ignore them. There was no need to use energy on worrying about them.

Once the people had walked by I looked at
Mitchell. At least he didn’t get distracted by the weather again. He shook his head. “I used to work with her daddy. As a matter of fact I saw him just last week. I go over to do some shopping every once in a while. I saw him at the liquor store. His daughter was driving. She’s a little controlling if you ask me. Treats her daddy as if he’s old. Hell, as far as I know he’s only in his sixties.”

I should use this information to ask more about Charity.

“Do you know anything else about Charity?” I asked.

Mitchell took a drink from the bottle that he had hidden in the brown paper bag. He leaned the bottle toward me.
“Would you like a drink?”

I waved it away.
“No, that’s okay. I’m good.” How sweet of him to offer again.

I waited for his answer as he took another quick drink. Finally he looked at me and said
, “Her daddy was dating that realtor who was murdered, Darcy Parish.”

My mouth probably dropped open. I hadn’t expected that revelation. I wondered if anyone other than Mitchell knew about that connection.

“Darcy is much younger than Charity’s daddy. I reckon Darcy is about your age,” Mitchell said.

“How did you know that they are dating?” I asked.

“I suppose he was proud of her. He told me about it right away.”

I
’d thought Darcy had been dating Luke. That didn’t mean she wasn’t seeing both men though.

“Did he say how they met?”

“Darcy was friends with Charity from when they were in school together.”

Mitchell was just full of details. He knew everything that was going on in town. How did he not know who had murdered Luke and Darcy
?

“I suppose Charity didn’t like that her father was seeing Darcy.”

Mitchell shook his head. “She got red-faced when she heard him talking about Darcy. As far as Charity is concerned, no one could ever replace her mother.”

“I don’t think Darcy was trying to replace her.”

“Charity didn’t want her daddy to be with anyone,” Mitchell said.

“Mitchell, who do you think killed Darcy and Luke?” I asked.

He looked down at his feet. “That’s beyond me. It’s not something I would know.”

If he had his suspicions then he was keeping them a secret.
Mitchell knew everyone in town, so I decided to ask a few questions.

“Mitchell, h
ow long have you known Ross Perkins?” I asked.

“
Since he was a kid. He used to come to work with his daddy over at the factory in Belleville. No offense Ms. Raelynn, but I knew he was trouble way back then. You should have asked me before you got hitched to him.”

“
Well, I didn’t know you then, Mitchell, but I wish I had. It would have saved me heartache and time.”

“
If there’s anything else you want to know you just come to me first. Like with Sheriff Klein. He’s a good one.”

I couldn’t help but smile. Maybe I should listen to Mitchell.

I folded my arms in front of my chest. “Have you met Ross’ mother Doreen?”

Mitchell placed his head in his hands. Finally he looked up at me and shook his head.
“Yes, I’ve met her. That woman is meaner than a rattlesnake. One time I asked to borrow a quarter and she stepped on my foot.”

“
That wasn’t very nice. She could have just said no,” I said.

“
I walk to the other side of the street now if I see her coming.”

“
That’s probably a good idea. Do you know if she knew Luke or Darcy?”

He nodded. “
I saw her speaking with Darcy just last week out on the sidewalk in front of Ms. Parish’s office.”

“
What about Julian Montgomery?” I asked.

He took a swig from his bottle
. “I’ve known Julian since she was born. Her family lived across the street from me before I moved. She was always a sweet girl. Kind of quiet though. I guess Julian had been dating that Luke fellow for a while. It was probably best that they broke up because all those two did was fight like cats and dogs. I was surprised they didn’t kill each other.”

I wondered if Mitchell realized what he’d just said. That meant Julian could really be the killer.

“What about Luke? Did you know a lot about him?”

I was getting more information from Mitchell than I had expected.

“Just met him recently. He always seemed to be in such a hurry. Never stopped to smell the roses. It’s too late for that now.”

Mitchell was right. It was too late for Luke. I needed to remember that when I felt I was too busy to stop and enjoy the little things in life.

“He seemed like a decent fellow though. What a shame.”

Did Mitchell wonder why I was asking so many questions?
If so, he didn’t ask why. One last question before I had go.

“
What about Darcy? She had started dating Luke. But you said she was dating Darcy’s father.”

Mitchell shook his head. “
I don’t think Darcy was serious with anyone. For what I heard, she just wanted to have fun and date. Of course there’s nothing wrong with that. She had the right idea. No need to settle down until she was absolutely ready.”

I knew that was true. I’d settled down with Ross and obviously neither one of us had been ready. Thank goodness that was all behind me now. I had started my life anew.

I nodded. “Thanks for the information. I suppose I’d better go. I have a lot of work to do.”

“Don’t you work too hard now, you hear? Are you sure you don’t want a drink of whiskey? It’ll clear your head and help you work.”

I questioned his logic on that one. All the whiskey would do was make me dizzy and make my stomach hurt. I’d had a sip once and it had done nothing but make my insides burn. I waved and then headed out across the parking lot. When I glanced back I noticed that Mitchell had already left.

That wasn’t the only thing I noticed though. Charity’s car was parked at the supermarket. I hadn’t noticed it earlier when I was talking with Mitchell. But then I realized that she had left with Ross. That meant that she probably wouldn’t be back to get her car for a while. Would it be so bad if I took a little peek inside? She really would think I was a jealous ex if she caught me. But I didn’t intend on getting caught. Of course I wasn’t sure what I was looking for
, but I just had to know. If I didn’t look I would think about the missed opportunity for the rest of the day.

I glanced around to see if anyone
was watching me. Luckily, the nosy people weren’t around at the moment. I hurried across the lot, back to the spot where her little yellow car was parked. Once I reached her car I looked around again. When I was confident no one was watching I leaned close to take a look.

In the passenger seat was what looked like an overnight bag. She had a couple small suitcases in the backseat. I supposed she had plans on moving in with Ross. Too bad he didn’t have a home for her to move into.

I was just about to walk away when I spotted something on the floor of her car. It was a shiny award that looked just like the one that had been hidden in the bushes at my house. I glanced around again to make sure no one was watching, then I leaned close to try to get a better look. It was the same type of award. But I noticed the name right away and it didn’t say Luke Lexington like the one I’d found. This one had Darcy Parish written on the front. I couldn’t believe Charity had the award right there in her car. Why did she have it?

How would I find out why she had this award? Darcy wouldn’t have given it to her. Why would she? I decided to pop back into the s
tore and tell Claire Ann about what I’d seen.

W
ithin a couple seconds I was stepping inside the store. The cool air eased my hot skin when I walked through the door. As far as I could see no one was in the store. I didn’t even see Claire Ann. She was usually behind the counter or stocking the shelves.

“Hello
?” I called out.

Claire Ann popped up from behind one of the aisles. She had a bag of potato chips in her hand.

“You’re not going to believe this,” I said as I made my way over to her.

She placed the bag on the shelf. “I would believe anything at this point. What’s going on?”

“I was looking in Charity’s car and she has Darcy’s award. It was just like the one used to kill Luke Lexington.”

Claire Ann looked around as if she thought someone might hear us. “What were you doing looking in her car?”

“Oh, I was totally being nosy.” I waved my hand. “Why would she have the award?”

Claire Ann shrugged. “I have no clue. Are you sure if was Darcy’s?”

“I saw her name right on the front. Oh, and Mitchell said that Darcy was dating Charity’s dad. Charity wasn’t happy about that either.”

“
What have you been doing?” Claire Ann frowned.

I leaned against the rack of mayonnaise jars.
“Just a little snooping, I guess.”

“
It sounds like it. So you think Charity may have killed Darcy? What about Luke Lexington? What would give her motive?”

I shrugged.
“That’s something I plan on finding out. Oh, by the way, Charity announced to me that she and Ross are engaged.” I studied my pink-polished fingernails.

Claire Ann reached out and shoved my shoulder. “Get
out!”

I stumbled backward, knocking over several jars of mayonnaise. Luckily none of them broke.

Claire Ann reached down and helped me to my feet. “Raelynn, I’m so sorry. Are you okay?”

I pushed hair out of my eyes and straightened my shirt. “I’m okay.”

“I just got a little excited. Why didn’t you tell me earlier?”

“
Well, I just found out right before I talked with Mitchell.”

Claire Ann picked up the jars.
“Won’t they make a happy couple? I give them a year, tops.”

“That’s if they make it down the aisle,” I said.

Claire Ann and I were at the front of the store. A few customers had just checked out and we were discussing the upcoming newspaper article. I enjoyed writing for the paper, but I wondered how many people actually read the article. “I’ve gotten really good feedback,” Claire Ann said.

“From who? My mother? That doesn’t count. And not your mother either.”

Claire Ann smiled, which let me know that I’d been right.

“I think people are more interested in the local police report than my decorating efforts,” I said.

“You’d be surprised. Sure, they like the arrests, but they like your stuff too.”

The door opened and caught our attention. We stared in disbelief. Doreen walked inside, never making eye contact with us. I exchanged a look with Claire Ann. She shrugged and mouthed,
What is she doing?

I suppose
d Doreen was just shopping, but I found it suspicious that she didn’t turn around and leave as soon as she saw me standing there. And I knew she’d seen me. She’d looked directly at us when she entered the store. I figured she was up to something. How long would I have to wait to find out what that something was?

Doreen was completely ignoring us as she moved across the store floor. She went down one aisle and picked up a loaf of bread and a package of crackers. Then she turned down the next aisle and picked up a jar of pickles. She had to feel us watching her, but she never
let on. I had to hand it to her, she had a lot of willpower. I would have had to look at people if they were staring as much as we were staring at her. She always had been stubborn though.