The somber energy hit Lexy as soon as she walked inside. The faint sound of hymnal music blended with hushed conversation and the sweet smell of freshly cut flowers dragged at her heart driving home the gravity of the occasion.
The four of them stood in the entryway of the centuries old mansion. In front of them, a tasteful sign gave directions to the different viewings. Apparently, business was good for old Mr. McGreevey, because there were three viewings today.
“We’re in luck!” Ida whispered as she pointed to the sign. Not only was Veronica being waked here, but Philippe was also.
“We can kill two birds with one stone,” Nans whispered back. “Ida, Ruth and Helen—you go check out Philippe’s wake, Lexy and I will tackle Veronica’s. Looks like it’s in the
Rose Petal
room.
The ladies were no strangers to wakes, especially at McGreevey’s, and Nans knew exactly where the
Rose Petal
room was. Lexy followed her down the hall, stopping only to peak into the small narrow alcove they used for refreshments. She noticed with dismay that they had grocery store cookies out on trays. How tacky. She made a mental note to talk to McGreevy about a discounted price if he wanted to offer cookies and pastry from her bakery.
Nans grabbed her arm and propelled her into the
Rose Petal
room. Lexy’s throat constricted as she looked at Veronica laid out in her casket. Even though she hadn’t gotten along with Veronica, she certainly didn’t wish
this
on her. Glancing around the room, she noticed it was practically empty.
Veronica’s parents, sister and brother stood on the other side of the casket. About a dozen people sat in the metal folding chairs that had been setup in rows. Eddie Sharp stood in the corner shooting angry looks at them. Lexy elbowed Nans in the ribs and nodded her head toward the corner.
Nans started toward Eddie, whose eyes widened as he realized they were headed straight for him.
“Aren’t you the nice young man from the museum?” Nans asked.
“Yes,” Eddie said, his eyes darting to the left and then right.
Probably looking for an escape route
, Lexy thought.
“Oh it must be terrible having your friend and his fiancé to mourn.” Nans shook her head and made tsking sounds. “Did you know Veronica well?”
“Not as well as I knew Stu,” Eddie answered.
“You and he must have been very close,” Nans said. “I mean for you to come here to mourn his fiancé. I bet you probably were the types of friends that did everything together.”
Eddie shrugged. “Well, not everything.”
“But surely, you must have known them well enough to have some idea about what got them killed,” Nans said.
“Listen lady, I don’t know anything … but if you want to know who was close enough to Veronica to know
everything
, then you might ask her.” Eddie slid his eyes to the left. Lexy’s heart leaped into her throat when she realized who he was looking at.
Ramona.
Ramona looked up and their eyes met, sending a jolt through Lexy. Ramona’s eyes widened and she took a step toward them.
“You!”
Lexy fought the urge to run as Ramona advanced on them. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see the other mourners had turned to look at them. She glanced back at Eddie, but the corner was empty—he’d made his escape.
“Just what do you think you are doing here?” Ramona demanded.
Nans drew herself up to her full five-foot-one height and said, “We’re paying our respects.”
Ramona ignored Nans and stepped close to Lexy, her face so close that Lexy could smell she’d had a liverwurst sandwich for lunch. “Listen, Miss Busybody. You better stick to your own business and get out of Veronica’s.”
“What
do
you mean?” Lexy feigned ignorance.
“You know damn well what I mean. You’ve always had it in for Veronica and now you’ve been meddling around and making things worse for everyone. Can’t you leave Veronica alone, especially now when she’s dead?” Ramona’s voice rose to a shriek as she said the last five words.
Lexy’s pulse surged. She could feel everyone in the room staring at her. A dark-suited man hovered in the doorway—probably one of the McGreevy’s ready to throw them out if they caused more of a scene. Nans pulled at her elbow to leave, but Lexy jerked her arm free.
“Whoa, wait a minute.” Lexy held her palms up in front of her. “The last thing I want to do is make things worse. And I have no idea what you mean by meddling.”
“You’re a liar just like you were in high school.” Ramona spat the words at her.
“I don’t understand why you’re so upset.” Lexy narrowed her eyes at Ramona. “Do you have something to hide?”
Nans tugged on Lexy’s arm again as Ramona shot daggers at Lexy with her eyes. The guy in the suit started toward them and Lexy realized Nans had the right idea. They should get out of there before they made more of a scene. Lexy let Nans drag her out of the room into the large hall.
She leaned against the wall and puffed out her cheeks, the blast of air sending her bangs flying.
“Boy, she was madder than a cat in a bathtub,” Nans said.
“Yeah, but didn’t that seem kind of excessive?” Lexy asked.
“Well, look who’s here.” Lexy’s stomach twisted at the sound of the voice behind her. She spun around, coming face to face with Detective Davies.
“What brings
you
here, Baker?” Davies asked.
“Why, we’re just paying our respects.” Nans answered for both of them.
“Oh really! Is that all?” Davies chomped her gum as she narrowed her eyes at them.
“Yep,” Lexy said. “What brings you here?”
“Oh, didn’t you know? Detecting 101—always go to the wake.” Davies baby blues lit up with amusement. As she brushed past Lexy on her way into the
Rose Petal
room, she threw one parting comment over her shoulder. “They say you can usually find the killer at the wake … and look—here
you
are.”
***
“Well, I think we may not want to press our luck here,” Nans said as she watched Detective Davies disappear into the
Rose Petal
room. “Let’s see if the others have anything to report.”
They headed toward the
Velvet Slumber
room where Philippe was. Passing the refreshment alcove, they saw Ida, Ruth and Helen bending over a table of cookies. Each of them were piling cookies into large napkins they held in their hands.
“Uhh hmm,” Nans said from the doorway.
The three ladies jumped, then whirled around, the cookie laden napkins behind their backs.
“Oh, Mona it’s you.” Ruth’s cheeks were bright pink.
Nans walked into the room, closer to her friends. Lexy wandered over to one of the tables and picked up a shortbread cookie.
“Did you find anything out?” Nans said in a low voice.
Lexy inspected the cookie, it
looked
fine. She bit in, nibbling the edge and turning the small piece of cookie around in her mouth. Too sweet. Not crispy enough.
“There’s not much going on in there,” Ruth said wrapping her stack of cookies up in the napkin and shoving it in her purse.
“We did see that Millie lady though,” Helen added.
“She wasn’t very happy to see
me
,” Ida said as she shoved her cookie package into her black patent leather purse. “She called me a busybody!”
Nans and the other ladies laughed at Ida’s indignation.
“She seemed right mad,” Ida said as Lexy tossed the rest of her cookie in the trash. “If you ask me, she could be the killer with the way she’s acting.”
Helen nodded her head. “It sure seems like she has something to hide.”
“What did you guys find out?” Ruth looked from Nans to Lexy.
“Oh, we had a little run-in over there.” Nans glanced out in the hall. “Let’s get out of here and we’ll tell you about it in the car.”
The ladies secured their purses and marched down the main hallway, through the foyer and out the front door. Just as they were stepping down from the last granite step into the parking lot, a car screeched around the corner.
They jumped back up onto the steps, Lexy’s heart leaping into her throat when the car careened past, barely missing them as it sped off toward the exit. She’d had just enough time to look inside at the driver.
“Did you see who that was?” Nans asked.
Lexy nodded. “Ramona—and she was driving a red Toyota Corolla.”
Chapter Sixteen
Lexy was just leaving the retirement center after dropping Nans and the gang off when her cell phone made cooing dove noises—her ringtone for Jack.
“Hi,” she chirped into the phone.
“Hey there.” Jack’s deep baritone caressed her ear and Lexy’s pulse quickened. Her lips curled up in a smile—his voice still affected her the same way it had when they’d first met. “I heard you caused a little trouble over at McGreevey’s.”
Lexy cringed. “Hey, that wasn’t my fault. Ramona started it.”
Jack laughed. “Well, I’m sure you and Nans were there for reasons other than paying your condolences. How ‘bout we meet for dinner and you can tell me what you found out.”
“Dinner?” Lexy glanced at the clock, surprised to discover it was after five o’clock.
“Yeah, you don’t have plans with your folks or anything, do you?” Jack asked.
“No, they’re having dinner with some old friends tonight. I’m free.”
“Great. Meet me at
The Burger Barn
in ten.”
“Okay. See you then.” Lexy snapped the phone shut. She was excited at the thought of meeting Jack at their favorite restaurant. Things had been so crazy lately she hadn’t been able to spend much time with him, and her parents’ presence in her driveway pretty much eliminated any possibility of spending any time alone with him.
She pulled into
The Burger Barn
a few minutes later. Jack was already there so she pulled her little Beetle up next to his truck. Jack jumped out of his truck and came over to open the door for her.
“Wow, you look great.” He held her at arm’s length and made a big show of looking her up and down. Lexy giggled as he let out a wolf whistle.
Jack brushed his lips against her forehead, his hands on her shoulders. “How was your day?”
“Great.” Her five-foot-one frame made it necessary for her to tilt her head back to look up at all six feet of him. “How about you?”
“Good, but I’m starved. Let’s eat.” He draped his arm around her shoulders as they walked to the entrance. The smell of grilling meat hung in the air and Lexy’s stomach grumbled. She hadn’t realized how hungry she was … a burger sure would hit the spot.
They got a seat in their favorite booth and ordered right away. Neither one of them needed to see a menu. They’d eaten there enough times to have it memorized.
“How are things going with your dress? Is it going to be ready?” Jack asked over the rim of his beer.
“Dress?” Lexy’s brows mashed together as she stared blankly at Jack.
“Yeah, you know—your wedding dress? You do remember that we are getting married Saturday, don’t you?” Jack teased.
Lexy slapped her forehead with her palm. “Yes, of course. I guess I’ve been so focused on this investigation I hadn’t been thinking about the dress, but my mom has it all under control.”
Lexy started mentally going over her “to-do” list for the wedding.
What else had she forgotten?
Her stomach fluttered with nerves as she pictured the ceremony without flowers or the reception without food because she’d forgotten to finalize some detail … like making sure the guys got fitted for tuxes.
“What about the tuxes?” she asked.
“All taken care of.” Jack smiled. “Your dad and I went downtown and got fitted today. Then we hung out at the cigar club and had a few beers.”
Lexy frowned into her beer—she’d been so immersed in the murders that she didn’t even know Jack had taken her dad out for some male bonding.
“Gosh, I’ve been so busy with this investigation. I haven’t been paying attention to much else.” Lexy put her hand over Jack’s hand. “I’m sorry.”
He flipped his hand over and laced his fingers with hers. “No worries. I don’t blame you for investigating it. I’ve been keeping an eye on it for you and Davies isn’t doing a half-bad job.”
“Really? She seems like a total ditz to me.”
Jack laughed and leaned back in his chair. “I did find out something about the case today that you might be interested in.”
Lexy lifted her brow slightly. “Spill it.”
“The medical examiner nailed down the time of death for all three victims. Stuart Wiggins died
before
Veronica and Philippe.
And
they were all shot with the same gun.”
Lexy chewed her bottom lip. “So he didn’t kill her.”
“Nope.” Jack pushed his beer aside to make room for the plate the waitress was setting on the table. Lexy did the same, taking the top bun off her burger so she could smother it in ketchup. She replaced the bun and brought the burger to her lips, opening her mouth as wide as she could in order to fit it into her mouth.
The melded flavors of beef, cheese, ketchup, pickles and mayo tickled her taste buds and she leaned back in her seat and thought about Jack’s news while she chewed.
If Stuart didn’t kill Veronica in a fit of anger, then who did? Who was the target at
Chez Philippe
? Philippe, Veronica …, or both of them? She shook her head as she swallowed the bite.
“This doesn’t make any sense. I thought for sure Stuart killed her because of the fight they had.” She took the top of the bun off of her burger and cut into it with her knife and fork. The burger was so thick that she always ended up eating it this way, even though she usually made at least one attempt to eat it with her hands.
“It looks like someone wanted both of them dead.” Jack dipped a french fry into the puddle of ketchup he’d poured on his plate. “Do you have any idea why someone would want that?”
Lexy shook her head. “No, but I did find out who has the red Toyota.”