Read Between the Tines (6 page)

"Now. Yes, right now." She swiveled to the side. "Lisa, go get a notepad and pen from the desk in the study. Pastor Stephens, you might want to sit down. This could take some time." She turned back to me. "Okay, ask away."

I felt stabs of guilt at allowing Karen to ignore her grief, but quickly warmed to the idea of tracking down a killer again. After all, Karen couldn't really put
Gary
to rest without knowing who killed him.

Let's see. I tapped my finger on my chin. Who might have killed him and what did I need to ask?

Lisa returned with a yellow legal pad, a pen, and a scowl.

I took the pad and pen but ignored the scowl. "I guess the first thing I need to know is when you last saw
Gary
."

A shot of pain flashed over Karen's face before she schooled it. "This morning. At 5:30. He went to work early so he could come home and destroy the patio." She gave a weak grin. "He was so looking forward to it."

"Do you know if he made it to work or if anyone there saw him leave?"

"I don't know." Her fingers curled into a fist, turning white from the tension. "I don't know, Paige. I didn't think of that. Why was he at the ball field instead of work? I mean, where is his car? We have to find his car." She grabbed my hand.

"My first point to clear up." I extricated myself from her grip and made a few notes on the pad. "Do you know
Gary
's usual route to work?"

She rattled off directions, and I wrote as fast as I could. "Did you tell the police about this?"

Her hands twisted together. "I don't remember what we talked about. It was such a shock."

"Okay, well, I'll drive the route later and see what I can find. What kind of car did he have, and do you know the plate number?"

"A Ford Explorer. Black." She turned to Lisa. "In the desk, bottom drawer is our car registration info. The number will be on the form. Will you get it?"

Before leaving the room, Lisa gave me a look much like the head of a dart might have the moment it narrowed in on the target. Maybe she had a point other than to skewer me. Maybe I should make this short. Just a few more questions. "Is there anyone you can think of who might want to hurt
Gary
?"

"No, no, of course not." She shook her head so hard, her heavy hoop earrings slapped against her skin. "Everyone liked him. At least I think they did. I don't know much about the people he worked with. Could be one of them, I suppose. As a personnel manager, he had to let people go from time to time. Maybe someone went postal. But they wouldn't chase him down in the woods. They'd do it at work, wouldn't they?"

"Is there someone at the factory who might be willing to talk to me about
Gary
?"

"I'm not sure.
Gary
liked to keep work separate from home. He was friends with Nathan Jacobs. He's the accounting manager there. He's also the guy who helped with the patio. Nathan used to come over quite a bit, but when
Gary
became a Christian, Nathan quit coming around."

I scribbled Nathan Jacobs on the paper. "I'll see if he'll talk to me or find someone at the factory who might. How about before you moved here? Anyone you can think of who might have wanted to hurt
Gary
?"

She tapped a fingernail against her teeth. While she thought, Lisa returned with a folder and shoved it at me. She made a slash across her throat, which even if it wasn't our radio sign for wrap things up, I would know what she meant. She wanted me to leave Karen alone, and let her move forward in her loss. I noted the license info then laid a hand on Karen's jeaned knee.

"Karen," I said gently. "I think this is enough to get started. Why don't I go now, and we can talk in a day or two when I've learned something?"

"Oh, yes, good. Good. Get started. That's what I need you to do." Her eyes burned with excitement, but her tone held apprehension.

"I'll get back to you." I gave her knee a quick pat, and before she changed her mind, I made my way to the door.

Lisa's flip-flops snapped in a rapid beat as her short legs worked to keep up with me. The moment I stepped onto the porch, she snagged my elbow then gave my flesh a twist.

"Ouch," I whined.

"What are you doing?" she whispered and pulled the door closed. "It was bad enough when you thought you could figure out who killed Bud on your own. You were afraid Mitch would send you to jail. But this! This is just foolish."

"Come on, Lisa. What can it hurt if I ask around a bit?"

"Did you forget that asking around last time nearly led to your death?"

"This is different. The murder has nothing to do with me. I'll be fine."

"You're being naive."

"Maybe so, but I have to do this. I don't have the skills to help Karen with her grief like you do. I feel like I'm doing something to comfort her by looking into the murder."

"And what will you tell Adam? He'll go ballistic if you do this."

"He'll understand once I explain how important this is to Karen." Knowing I couldn't win the argument, I slowly eased backward and made my way down the steps. "Let me know if Karen needs anything else. I'll be at the shop. Daisy and Adam are coming by."

"You better tell him what you're up to when you see him." Her warning tone gave me a moment of unease, but I shook it off and rushed to my truck.

I hurried to the shop and backed the trailer into a narrow space in the alley. Inside the shop, I heard muffled voices belonging to Daisy and Adam coming from my office. Daisy's voice sounded shrill and Adam's comforting as he usually sounded, warming my heart.

When I spotted them, their positions confirmed my assessment. Daisy, sans Briny suit, sat crying in a worn side chair, her arms clasped around her concave waist. Adam, brown eyes narrowed, patted her shoulder with the reserve one might use in patting a cactus. "No reason to cry, Daisy. Everything will be fine. I'm here to make sure to help you and Paige is on the way."

I didn't like how he looked at her or how his warm tone brought out a tentative smile on her face. Surprised at my response, I halted in the doorway. Daisy was married, and Adam was committed to me, but I still felt a sting of misgiving over the scene. I'd never been in a relationship long enough to feel jealous. My reservations were unfounded, but still, I didn't like it.

Adam sat back and caught sight of me. His very kissable lips tipped in a full-blown smile that I knew was only for me. The movement sent a cute little scar by his bottom lip moving and sent my unease to Never Never Land.

I entered the room and focused on Daisy. "How're you doing, Daisy?"

She looked up. "Paige, thank goodness you're here. I just don't know what I'm gonna do. Earl's on his way to pick me up, and he'll let me have it for sure. Will you talk to him?"

My policy on interfering between a husband and wife could be summed up in one word. Don't. "You better take care of this all by yourself."

"But Paige—"

"No buts," I said with a firm tone and held my ground even when her lower lip quivered. Earl didn't like the amount of time Daisy spent gardening, and he blamed me and my radio show for getting her started in the gardening hobby. Even if I were inclined to meddle, I certainly wouldn't have a good influence on him. "So did Mitch have many more questions?"

Adam shook his head. "He rehashed the same ones while trying to get Daisy to admit she knew
Gary
and had a motive for killing him."

Wanting Daisy to fess up about her encounter with
Gary
, I stared into her large eyes. "And what did you tell him?"

She looked away. "I said I didn't know the man."

"Then how do you explain your argument with
Gary
on Friday?" I perched on the corner of my cluttered desk, crossed my arms, and waited for her reaction.

"What?" Adam lurched forward, pulling my eyes from the now squirming Daisy. "You're acting as cryptic as Lawson."

"Why don't we let Daisy clear up the confusion?" I turned back to Daisy. "If it helps, Hazel has already told me about Friday afternoon. Maybe you want to tell your side of it."

"Fine." She sat back and crossed her bare arms in a pose that mimicked mine. "
Gary
came in the shop and yelled at me for not delivering his plants on time. He was so mean he made me cry. I didn't yell back because I knew you wouldn't want me to, but I wanted to tell him off so bad. Hazel tried to make him calm down. I just wanted to hit him."

I leaned forward, offering a sincere smile. "And when you delivered his plants, did you argue more?"

She slowly nodded. "Kinda. He tried to start things up again, but his wife stopped him. She told him Christians don't treat others that way."

"And he stopped?" I asked.

"Not at first. He hollered at her and said he was new at the Christian bit, to give him a break. Then his wife got really quiet and said new Christian or not he had to try to do the right thing. He kept looking at me, real funny like, but then he went and sat in a chair. So I unloaded the plants." Daisy stopped, sucked in a breath and looked at the ceiling.

"And that was it?" Adam asked, his face creased in frustration.

She looked down. "Almost. He apologized before I left. It was kinda weird to watch him go so fast from being such a jerk to really nice. He said it was 'cause he prayed, but I don't buy it." She picked at a spot on her jeans.

"I'm glad you told the truth," I said, feeling as if I were scolding a child. "But I'm not happy you lied to Mitch."

"I thought he'd arrest me if he heard about the fight. I didn't do nothing wrong, and I won't go to jail just 'cause Gary Buzzy went off on me." Her lips puckered into a pout.

Adam held a hand between us and stared at Daisy. "This isn't good, Daisy. Not good at all. If you'd come right out with it, Lawson would probably have let it go. Now, he's going to focus on the disagreement and try to blow it into something it's not."

She jumped to her feet, her eyes wildly flitting around like a caged animal looking for escape. "So now what do I do?"

"Might be better if Mitch heard about this directly from Daisy," I said.

Adam stood and went over to her. "Paige is right, Daisy. We have to call Lawson. Before we do, is there anything else you forgot to mention?"

"Well . . ." She gnawed on her lower lip. "I might have met
Gary
at Pacific Pickles. He was the personnel manager, and he did my first interview. But that's it."

Irritation oozed from Adam's pores as his mouth opened then closed. He breathed deeply, struggling to calm his nerves, something he always tried to do before blowing up.

While he fought for control, I considered Daisy's latest revelation. If
Gary
merely interviewed her, why wouldn't she at least admit to knowing him from the interview? Unless there was more to it. What more would a personnel manager have to do with an employee after they were employed and assigned to their manager?

Discipline, that's what.

"Daisy," I said. "You mentioned at the field that you'd gotten in trouble for something to do with Briny's costume. Did
Gary
have anything to do with the trouble at work?"

"No, I mean not really." She hung her head. "I mean, sort of."

Silently, I watched as she seemed to struggle with the decision to say more.

"My manager put me on probation. She said she didn't want to do it but
Gary
made her. Something about company policy."

Blowing out a long breath, Adam rested on the edge of my desk, sending papers into a precarious tilt. "Start from the beginning, Daisy. Tell us why you were put on probation."

Her face colored a glaring red. "I was at the Fourth of July celebration as Briny. It was so hot. Remember? Well, I felt like I was gonna keel over. I couldn't make it back to the tent where I changed, so I slipped behind the bathrooms. I took off Briny's head and opened the front of the costume. A couple of kids ran past and one of them really freaked out. Mary Stills, she's my manager, said I shouldn't have let the kids see me. If I did it again, I'd be fired. That's why I had to go into the woods today." She looked me square in the eyes. "Don’t tell Mary this, but if the same thing happened as on the Fourth, I'd do it again. She said it would be better for the kids to see a passed out pickle than a beheaded one, but I don't agree. Could you imagine a child ever recovering from seeing a dead pickle?"

A dead pickle? Jars were filled with them everywhere. Kids consumed the crunchy buggers all the time. I fought back a laugh. Daisy's predicament was serious.
Keep it together, Paige.

Adam had grown even more frustrated. I doubted he'd be laughing soon. Something I could understand as Daisy had just admitted multiple reasons for wanting to harm Gary Buzzy. Kill him, not likely. But harm him, most definitely.

"Paige." Daisy looked at me. "I really messed up. You've got to help me. You can figure out who killed
Gary
just like you did with Bud."