If Onions Could Spring Leeks (11 page)

Whoever was pounding on my front door must have been endowed with some strong arm muscles.

“Good grief,” I muttered to myself as I looked at the time on my phone. It was almost six in the morning, but not quite.

The pounding continued.

“I'm coming,” I said. I sat up and made sure I was dressed appropriately enough to answer the door. I was in a T-shirt and shorts. My legs didn't have much opportunity to get sun so I might blind the person knocking, but I figured they deserved it for bothering me at that hour.

I looked out one of the small fanned windows at the top of the front door. It was a woman I thought I'd seen around town a time or two, but I didn't know who she was. She was older than me, pretty, in an “I'm ready for work and you aren't” way, and serious, if the pinched look on her face was any indication. Her blond, short ponytail was neat and her makeup
conservative and in place. She wore clothes that I would regard as dressy, but were technically classified as business casual.

Keeping the chain on, I opened the door a small gap.

“Yes?” I said in a not too unfriendly manner.

“You're Betts Winston, right?”

“Yes.”

“I'm Bonnie Rowlett. I kept my married name. I was married to Derek at one time. Can I come in?”

I blinked and put her in focus a little better. It was unwise to allow a stranger in, but she seemed pretty harmless. I also remembered Teddy mentioning she was an attorney. Though that didn't make her non-threatening automatically, she at least had learned the law. Hopefully she was, in turn, abiding by it.

“Sure, come on in.” I unlatched the chain and welcomed her inside. “Coffee?”

“No, thanks; I really can't stay long.”

“Have a seat.”

She took one end of the couch and I took the other.

“What's up?” I said.

“I heard you asked Wendy about Derek and Lynn and their relationship,” she said.

“Sort of. I didn't get far, and I didn't ask about Lynn at all, I don't think.” If I was going to be chastised I wanted it to be for the correct things.

“You need to stop doing things like that,” she said.

I couldn't squash the huffy laugh that came out. I said, “I'm sorry, Bonnie. That was a bad reaction. But, I'm not sure why I can't ask whatever I want to ask to whomever I want.” I blinked. It was early and I couldn't be sure about the grammar, but I didn't want to lessen my stance by attempting to correct it.

“Because, you just need to leave well enough alone,” she said.

“Well enough? Derek's dead. Well enough has left the building.”

“I don't mean with Derek, but between Lynn and the rest of us. We all have a decent relationship with her and we all want to keep it that way.”

“Why in the world would my questions to Wendy, you, or anyone matter to Lynn? And you divorced Derek.” I looked at her a long moment. My vision was no longer morning fuzzy. “I understand wanting to keep a civil relationship with your ex-mother-in-law, but frankly, you seem kind of scared. What's that about?”

“First of all, we know you know Lynn. Everyone knows Lynn. We wouldn't want anything that we say getting back to her. Even if we say nothing bad, she finds ways to interpret things badly.”

“I believe that, and just so you know, it would never occur to me to tell Lynn about any of my conversations with other people, whether they were her former daughter-in-law or not. And more importantly, what happens to you when she interprets things badly?”

“That's not important.”

“Really? It certainly sounds very important.”

Bonnie pursed her lips and looked down at her hands on her lap as she shook her head slightly. “I should not tell you this next part, but I will only if you promise not to tell a soul.”

“I promise.” I knew I might be lying because if she told me something important regarding Derek's murder and my assault, I'd be on the phone to Cliff before Bonnie got to the bottom of my front porch stairs.

“None of us should have married Derek. It was a mistake for all of us. We have all come to know each other and we all know we should have stayed away from him.”

“Was he mean to you?”

“No, not mean, certainly not abusive in any way. It's just that he was more about keeping the relationship between him and his mother strong and happy than his relationship between himself and any of his wives.”

“Why did you marry him, then?”

She shook her head again. “It was just a mistake, that's all. We were all kind of duped.”

“Duped? By what? He wasn't dashingly good-looking, though I don't want you to think I'm about looks because looks mean nothing once you truly get to know someone.” It was something I believed, but also felt the need to reinforce with Bonnie after my intentions had been so misinterpreted with Wendy. “But I didn't see a shining personality either. I'd love to know more details even if they aren't any of my business.”

Bonnie smiled a sad smile and said, “Can't go there.”

“I'd sure like to understand why.”

“Would it help if I told you that the peace will be better kept for everyone if you don't?”

“Not really.” The idea suddenly occurred to me that these five women might have killed Derek together, or plotted to. I wasn't going to make any sort of accusation to the woman sitting on the other end of my couch, but I was surprised I hadn't given serious credence to the idea earlier. Even Opie had.

“It's better that way, I promise,” she said.

“Okay.” I nodded.

“I appreciate that.”

“Where were you the morning Derek was killed?” Dangit, I couldn't help myself.

“At home alone. Just like Wendy. Neither of us have a legitimate alibi. We've both told the police as much. Neither of us are
suspects
, but I'm sure they suspect us, at least a little. How could you not?”

“They stick with evidence more than assumptions.” But she had a point. How could Derek's ex-wives not be considered?

“We'll see,” she said.

“Lynn must be something else,” I said, still digging.

“Lynn is one of the most interesting people I've ever known,” she said as she stood. “However, I wouldn't recommend spending a lot of time with her.”

“I don't have plans to.” I stood, too. She didn't need to know that Gram and I were visiting Lynn that morning.

“You'll be better off that way. Don't talk to the rest of Derek's wives. Don't ask any more questions.”

I didn't want to make that promise, even as a lie. “Bonnie, I don't want to hassle anyone, but I can't guarantee that I won't want to talk to any of you again. If I do, I'll make sure it's not out in the open. I'll be more private about it.”

Bonnie said, “I guess we'd all appreciate that.”

I stood and followed her. She stepped out the door and onto the porch, looking every direction a few times. Then she kept her eyes on the end of the street where I'd seen the train stations. She looked there so long that I wondered if she might be seeing something other than the empty field. I leaned out the door and looked, but there was nothing ghostly there.

“You okay, Bonnie?” I asked.

“I'm fine,” she said before she hurried down the stairs and into her car. She'd driven off my block and out of the neighborhood only a moment later.

If I got to Gram's early, we'd have enough time to discuss some of yesterday's events and my morning company before we set out for Lynn's. I reconfirmed that there were no ghosts down the street, got ready in record time, and drove over to Gram's.

•   •   •

“Betts, you're early,” Gram said as she opened the door.

“I had a surprise visitor this morning,” I said.

“Come in and tell me all about it.”

I told her about my conversations with two of Derek's ex-wives as we both enjoyed big mugs of coffee.

“That is strange,” she said. “I don't like to judge, but you're probably right, there's something weird—other than the fact that it's unique—about Derek having five wives.”

“And then there's Lynn.”

“Yes, there's Lynn,” Gram said.

“You think she's a pain, too; I know you do. Even with the story of her saving the day all those years ago.”

“I wouldn't say I think she's a pain. I think she's a challenge. I'm beginning to wonder if Derek's ex-wives might be just as much of a challenge. You might not need to have any more conversations with them, Betts. Think about it.”

“I will,” I said, but I didn't think I was quite done talking to them.

“Hmm. Right. Let's get this over with.”

Lynn's house wasn't far from Gram's. It was only slightly
newer than Gram's, but Gram's was one story with an attic space that had been renovated a long time ago and had been used as my dad's bedroom. The houses in Lynn's neighborhood, including Lynn's, were all true two stories with three bedrooms and a small bathroom on the top floors. And almost all the houses had two front dormer windows extending outward.

Lynn's neighborhood was also one of the woodsier ones, with lots of old, big trees on each of the extra-large lots.

“Where did Derek live when he was killed?” I asked Gram.

“He lived here with Lynn,” Gram said.

“What about when he was married the last time? Well, actually, when he was married any time. He and his wives didn't live with Lynn, did they?”

“I don't know about all of them, but I know there were times when he and a wife lived in an apartment just outside of town.”

“At least he didn't always live with his mother,” I said as I parked the Nova on the street in front of the house.

“Oh, something tells me that Lynn was always in the middle of her son's life no matter where he lived. He didn't even go to college because she didn't want him to leave town.”

“I know he was a handyman, but did he have any other jobs?”

“I don't know.”

Gram opened the car door and stepped out and onto the curb. I glanced up at the house for a moment before I joined her. One thing I knew was that everyone was weird in their own way. I was sure people thought I was sometimes strange—and if they only knew the complete truth; weird and strange
wouldn't even begin to cover it. It was clear that Lynn and Derek were at least a little weird with their mother/son relationship but that was obvious to everyone in Broken Rope. What was really going on? What was their less obvious “weird?” I would have bet that every one of Derek's wives knew exactly what it was, but they weren't going to tell me. In fact, I bet what they knew scared them and had made Bonnie seem frightened this morning. Between Gram and I surely we could figure out what it was even if we didn't ask too many questions.

Gram reached into the back seat and pulled out a platter of cookies and one of the green bean casseroles from last night's class. She handed me the cookies as she cradled the casserole.

“You knock,” she said as we approached the front door.

Lynn answered quickly, as though she'd seen us coming.

“Miz, Betts, come in, come in,” she said, her demeanor subdued but attentive. “Oh, thank you.” She held out her arms for the food.

We handed her the items and watched her shuffle away with them, disappearing into the kitchen at the back part of the house.

“You two need to take off quickly?” she called from the kitchen.

“Actually, we have a few minutes, Lynn,” Gram said, sending me a shrug. “We're awfully sorry about Derek.”

Lynn came back into view. “Thank you. It's been downright terrible.”

Gram and I stood still for a moment and blinked uncomfortably.

“Oh! I'm so sorry. Come in and sit down,” Lynn said.

Lynn led the way into the comfortable living room that was
located off to the left. Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted an old pair of men's slippers tucked under a side table. Derek's? Or did Lynn have her own love life? That idea hadn't ever occurred to me.

If they were Derek's, the slippers were a sad reminder, and I was compelled to look around the room for other things that had been left behind. The space was neither masculine nor feminine, neither messy nor extra tidy—it was lived in and filled with cushiony furniture and framed pictures. I didn't have time to inspect each picture, but I saw a few that were of Derek and Lynn together.

Lynn sat down on a chair that faced the couch Gram and I sat on. Lynn was also facing the big window that looked out toward the front yard of the house. As she sat, she seemed to be glancing out the window, looking for something.

I couldn't ignore the urge to twist around and look, but all I saw were the large trees in the yard and the Nova in the road out front. I turned back and saw that Lynn wasn't pleased that I'd caught her searching, but she normalized her expression quickly.