Jeanne Glidewell - Lexie Starr 03 - Haunted (27 page)

Sheldon Wright was the one suspect I wanted to concentrate on, but I couldn’t track him down alone, and I knew I wouldn’t fare well in trying to get Stone to help me. Maybe I could talk Wyatt into interrogating him further, if he could do so without jeopardizing his job. He could question him a little more about my accident in the parking lot and about the possibility of him stalking me. We already knew he owned a navy blue SUV, which fit the description of the vehicle that had struck me.

It was about seven-fifteen when Stone joined me on the back porch with his own cup of coffee. He made it clear he wasn’t happy about me sitting out on the porch alone. I sat quietly while he read through the newspaper. When I heard other people moving around inside the inn, I went in to start preparing breakfast. Eleanor Dudley was pouring two cups of coffee, one for herself, and one for her husband, Steve.

“Good Morning. How was dinner with your friends last night?” I asked her.

“Very good. She served a delicious pasta with Alfredo sauce. We had a very nice visit with them. We hadn’t seen them in quite a few years.”

Damn, I thought. Why hadn’t I thought of serving pasta for the strict vegetarian? I made a decent Pasta Primavera. I used rigatoni and lots of fresh vegetables. Sometimes, when I wasn’t cooking for vegetarians, I added chicken or shrimp to the dish. Oh well. She had survived on my casseroles all week. I smiled at her and said, “Good. I’m so glad you had a nice evening with your friends. The mustard potato salad is all ready for you to take to the Dudley family reunion this morning.”

“Thanks Lexie. I really appreciate you making it for us. And, by the way, it’s the McCoy family reunion. My side of the family, not Steve’s,” she said.

“McCoy? Did you say McCoy?” I asked. “McCoy is your maiden name?”

“Yes, I grew up in Kansas City, and my aunt and uncle have always lived right here in Rockdale. They’re the ones who organized the reunion.”

“I guess I just assumed it was the Dudley family holding the reunion. Do you know an Audrey McCoy?”

“Sure. Audrey is my niece. She’s my sister Norma’s only child,” she replied.

“What kind of girl is Audrey? I met her the other day at a funeral, but only had the opportunity to talk briefly with her,” I said.

“She’s a nice gal, but very driven and determined to have her own way,” Eleanor said. “Unfortunately, she takes after her father instead of my sister. My sister is very laid back and mellow, but her husband is extremely temperamental and more than a little overbearing. It doesn’t take much to set him off, and Audrey is the same way. I just mark it down to her being a little spoiled by being an only child.”

Audrey was one of the people on my list I wanted to speak with again, if for no other reason than to convince myself she couldn’t have had anything to do with Walter’s death. She seemed considerably pleased to have him dead, and also pleased about how badly his death had devastated Sidney. How could I use this family reunion coincidence to my advantage? I had to give it some thought while I worked around the inn.

After I served breakfast and then cleaned up the kitchen, I performed some housekeeping chores. I dusted, vacuumed, and cleaned mirrors and windows. Once I was finished I took a coffee break in the kitchen, instead of on the porch, so as not to upset Stone again. At about nine-thirty, Eleanor came in to retrieve the potato salad.

“Well, I better pick up the salad and get going, so Steve and I can get to the American Legion Hall by ten,” she said. “That’s the time the reunion begins.”

“Oh, no!” I said, with mock concern on my face. “I just thought of something. What time is lunch at the reunion?”

“We’re eating at noon. Why?”

“I just remembered a critical ingredient I forgot to add to the potato salad,” I told her.

“What’s that?”

“Uh, er, well, um, you see, I forgot the mustard,” I stammered.

“You forgot the mustard in your mustard potato salad? That’s odd. What a strange ingredient to forget. How long will it take to stir it in?” she asked.

“Well, actually, I need to go get some at the store. I meant to do it last night and forgot. But I am going out today anyway, so why don’t I just drop the salad off at the American Legion Hall at eleven-thirty. That would be much better, anyway. It will still be fresh and cool that way. Much tastier than to let it warm up to room temperature, don’t you think?” I asked. “And no chance for bacteria to set in, either.”

“I imagine you’re right. Are you sure it’s no trouble for you?”

Eleanor asked.

“No trouble at all,” I assured her. With any luck, I’d run into Audrey at the reunion and get a minute or two to speak to her. I felt safe in approaching her in a crowded public place such as the American Legion Hall would be today, with the family reunion taking place there.

I wanted to ask Audrey what kind of car she drove and see what her reaction was. If she were stalking me, she would realize I was aware I was being stalked, and I was also aware that she was my stalker. It might make her think twice about continuing along that line. I could also check out the parking lot for a dark SUV with a busted-out headlamp in case she lied to me, which she was sure to do if she was guilty of first-degree murder and possibly attempted vehicular homicide. I really had no idea if the two events were connected, but thought it was likely and wanted to ask Audrey about her vehicle just in case the two incidents were related. Usually a person’s reaction to an unexpected question will give them away if they lied. I was pretty adept at reading people’s body language.

Stone would never consent to me driving to the American Legion Hall by myself, but I could tell him the same story I told Eleanor, other than the part about forgetting to put mustard in my mustard potato salad. It really wouldn’t be a lie, because potato salad really was best when it was cool and fresh. And nothing could put a damper on a family reunion quicker than a little salmonella on the buffet line. Stone would surely prefer to wait out in the parking lot while I took the potato salad inside. He was still under the impression it was a reunion for Steve’s side of the family and not the McCoys, and there was no pressing reason to tell him otherwise.

Mrs. Dudley agreed with my plan to drop the potato salad off right before lunch and needed to get on her way. I told her she looked terrific, and I meant it. I was glad to see she was wearing a black pantsuit that didn’t emphasize her large posterior. She had gone easy on the makeup, and she was wearing black flats, not sequined high heels. She’d even had her hair styled, and she looked very elegant.

I told Eleanor to have a good time and went to find Stone. He said he’d be happy to drive me to the American Legion Hall to drop off the Dudleys’ potato salad. I hadn’t mentioned the appointment at Boney’s Garage, because Stone knew I’d just recently had the oil changed in my Jeep. I’d have to play this one by ear and hope it didn’t land me in any trouble. However, my luck in that regard had not been good lately, and I doubted it would change any time soon.

* * *

As I took clean sheets out of the dryer in the laundry room at about eleven, I looked outside and was surprised to see large snowflakes coming down. I knew a strong cold front had come through early in the morning, but I hadn’t expected snow this early in the season. Snow in early November in Missouri was rare, but certainly not unheard of.

By eleven-fifteen, as I was stepping into Stone’s car with the big bowl of potato salad, the snow was coming down at an even brisker rate. It was still melting on contact with the pavement, but was beginning to stick on the grassy areas.

“Was this predicted?” I asked Stone.

“Yes,” he said. “The weatherman on the morning news said several inches of snow was possible, with an accumulation of an inch or so. Most of it will melt on contact with the warmer ground temperatures, but the melting snow will be turning to ice as the temperatures drop. He said to watch for slick roadways this afternoon. By tomorrow the roads should be clear, he said, as it is expected to warm up again. Wendy will need to be careful driving Andy to the airport.”

Stone drove carefully to the American Legion Hall. He let me out at the front door before pulling around to park the Corvette in the parking lot. As I walked into the large meeting room, I glanced around quickly. I spotted Eleanor on the other side of the room in the midst of a large crowd of people. They were all standing directly in front of the table full of food. She was engaged in a lively conversation with a younger couple.

I needed to find Audrey before I went over to place the potato salad on the table, because Eleanor would see me and naturally expect me to leave right after setting the bowl down. Just as I was beginning to give up hope on finding Audrey, I saw her walk out of the ladies’ restroom. I rushed over to her.

“Hi, Audrey. It’s nice to see you again,” I said.

“What are you doing here?” she asked. “You surely aren’t a member of the McCoy family, are you?”

“No, no, of course I’m not. Your Aunt Eleanor and Uncle Steve have been staying at my partner’s bed and breakfast this last week. I made this mustard potato salad for her, and I was just dropping it off when I saw you. I thought I should say hello before I left. I’m afraid I might have offended you in some way at the wake the other night. I certainly didn’t intend to.”

“Well, hello then,” she said. She sat down in a fold-up chair, and turned away from me. It was obvious she had nothing else to say to me and was dismissing me. I would have to get right to the point.

“Isn’t that your vehicle in the parking lot with the flat tire? I think it was a dark-colored Chevy Suburban, or maybe some other make of SUV.”

“No, it’s not mine. I rode here with my parents,” she replied. Her answer was non-committal, so I still didn’t know if she drove a dark-colored SUV.

“Oh, I see. You left your SUV at home?” I said, trying to sound as if I was just making polite conversation.

“Like I said, I didn’t drive my car.” Why was Audrey being so evasive? Did she not want me to know what kind of vehicle she drove? It was at this moment I looked up and saw Eleanor waving me over to the food table. I told Audrey good-bye and headed toward Eleanor.

I wasn’t going to get to ask Audrey any more questions. Then it hit me that this really would be the last opportunity I’d probably have to speak with her, and I needed to pin her down on what kind of vehicle she drove. So I turned around to go back and ask her why she’d been following me. Hopefully I’d be able to judge by her reaction to my off-the-wall question if it was she who was stalking me. I had nothing to lose at this point.

I gave Eleanor an “I’ll be there in a second” gesture and rushed back toward Audrey. Just as I drew near her chair, I stumbled over a tear in the carpet. My body pitched forward, and I instinctively reached out with my arms to catch myself. The large bowl of potato salad flew out of my arms and landed upside down in Audrey’s lap, all over her cream-colored sweater and her nicely creased tan slacks.

“You idiot!” She cried out, jumping up off the chair. “What’s wrong with you, anyway?”

“I’m so sorry—”

“There’s mustard in that salad, isn’t there? I can smell it. Do you know how hard it is to get mustard stains out of clothing? This is my brand new chiffon sweater, and it cost me a small fortune. I bought it specifically for this reunion and now it’s ruined. I expect to be reimbursed for this, lady!”

“Oh, certainly, Audrey,” I said. “It was my fault, and I fully intend to buy you a new sweater to replace the one I just accidentally damaged. I’ll also pay for having your slacks professionally cleaned. I really am sorry, but it was truly just an accident.”

“I’ll bet,” she said. By now, Eleanor was standing right beside me. Her hand was over her mouth, which was hanging open in astonishment. She could see how angry her niece was and how flustered I was. After a moment of silence, Eleanor stepped between us.

“Audrey, dear,” Eleanor said, “I’m sure Lexie didn’t mean to dump the salad in your lap. This torn carpet is very dangerous. We’re just lucky she didn’t get injured when she tripped. I’ll be happy to drive you to your house to change clothes.”

“Thank you, Eleanor,” I said. “I’m so sorry about the potato salad. I certainly don’t expect you to repay me for the salad ingredients. And I apologize to you again, too, Audrey. Please send me the receipts for the sweater and for the cleaning of your slacks, and I will reimburse you.”

“Don’t worry about the potato salad, Lexie. There’s enough food over there to feed an army, and the McCoy family is only a platoon. We’ll get along just fine without potato salad. There are several other kinds of salad over there as it is.” Eleanor helped me clean up the mess before she went away with Audrey, and I left to go back outside to the car. I was sure Stone was wondering what was keeping me. I had to explain the tripping accident to him since I was carrying an empty salad bowl, which had somehow not broken. I almost wished it had shattered, so I could have just tossed the broken shards of glass into the nearest trash can and not had to explain why it was now empty and the reunion had only just begun. The new mustard-stained chiffon sweater I was going to replace must have cushioned the bowl’s fall.

I didn’t mention my conversation with Audrey to Stone, just said I had approached her to say hello, when I accidentally tripped on a tear in the carpet. Stone just shook his head as if nothing I could ever say would surprise him. He made no comment about the empty salad bowl on the way home. I was content to discuss the snow, which was beginning to stick to the road.