A Pour Way to Dye (Book 2 in the Soapmaking Mysteries) (27 page)

“
I’m here whenever you need
me,” I said.

She smiled. “I’ll take you up on that.”

After they were gone, I stared at the garden,
wondering what in the world I was going to say to Diana when she
drove up and parked beside the shop.

“
I was just getting ready to
call you,” I said.

She looked embarrassed as she said, “I acted
like a schoolgirl running away like that. I don’t know what got
into me. We never claimed to have an exclusive relationship.
Anyway, I just came by to apologize.”

“
Hang on a second,” I said.
“Don’t I get a chance to explain?”

Her gaze stared downward. “I just told you,
there’s nothing we need to discuss. You’re a free agent, Ben.”

I gently touched her shoulder. “I want to
tell you what happened. Terri Joy’s brother just died, but before
he did, he confessed to murdering their father. I was just trying
to comfort her. There was nothing more to it than that.”

Diana looked relieved by the admission. “Of
course. I’m so sorry. I feel like such a nit,” she said.

“
I think it’s sweet you
care,” I said. “Diana, there’s something you should know about me.
I don’t date more than one woman at a time. It’s just not in me.
Right now, you’re that woman, unless you’re not happy with that
arrangement.”

She showed me how she felt by kissing me,
long and hard. As we broke it off, I said, “I take it you
approve.”

Diana laughed as she got back into her car.
“I’ve got to go open the bookstore.”

“
I’ll call you later,” I
said.

When I walked back into Where There’s Soap,
my brothers and sisters were applauding, whistling, and stamping
their feet. It appeared that Diana and I had had an audience
without realizing it.

I took it for a few seconds, then said,
“Okay, you’ve all had your fun. Now let’s drop it.”

To my amazement, they did just that. As the
men drifted back to the production line, Kate and Louisa went back
to their customers. At that moment, Cindy walked back in. “I heard
you all from the parking lot. What did I miss?”

Before Kate or Louisa could say a word, I
said, “Nothing much. Now that you’re back, I’ve got some things I
need to do.”

“
Where are you going?”
Louisa asked me. “Andrew confessed to the murder. You’re off the
hook.”

“
There are still a few loose
ends I want to tie up,” I said. While I could believe that Andrew
had killed his father, I was still puzzled by Ralph’s behavior,
especially with the coins I’d seen him intentionally tarnishing.
Louisa was right. I probably should just leave it alone now that my
name was cleared, but it wasn’t in my nature. I wouldn’t rest until
I knew the answers to all of my questions, not just some of them.
Andrew had told me he was going to Raleigh the night his father
died. I’d assumed Molly had checked that alibi out, but it had to
be faulty if Andrew found a way to get back and kill his father.
Maybe he got to the hotel, checked in, and drove straight back. It
was even possible he had someone else check him into his hotel. For
whatever reason, he’d figured out a way to beat the system. That
still left a lot of questions unanswered.

Where to go to get answers was another
question entirely.

I thought I was driving randomly as I played
with the possibilities racing through my mind, but I suddenly
realized that my subconscious was working overtime when I found
myself in front of the Joy household again. It was going to be a
quiet place with Andrew and Earnest both gone. I got out and stared
at the house, willing it to tell me its secrets.

Then I saw movement out of the corner of my
eye. Ralph Haller, or whatever he wanted to be called, was coming
out his own front door, a pair of suitcases clasped in his hands.
As he threw them in the open trunk of his car, I approached on
foot, but he didn’t see me. I was almost to his front door when he
charged back out, this time loaded down with boxes that had
obviously been hastily packed.

“
Going somewhere?” I asked
him.

For a second I thought I’d given him a heart
attack. His face went ashen and the boxes slipped from his grip.
“What are you doing here?”

“
Did you hear about Andrew?”
I asked, sidestepping his question.

“
Yeah, I heard. It’s a real
shame.”

I’d expected more of a reaction from him,
especially given his previous devotion to Andrew Joy.

“
That’s all you’ve got to
say about it?”

Ralph started retrieving objects from his
fallen boxes. “What can I say? He’s gone, but I’m still
kicking.”

“
So where are you
going?”

He said, “Out of town, out of Dodge, out of
North Carolina, and if I don’t do it soon, I’ll go out of my mind.
Does that satisfy you?”

There was definitely something amiss about
his reaction. “Surely you’re staying in town for the funeral.”

“
No way,” Ralph said as he
shoved a box into his backseat. “If I do, there might be
two.”

“
What are you talking
about?”

He shook his head. “You should have kept your
big nose out of this. You’re the reason he’s dead.”

“
Andrew killed himself out
of remorse,” I protested.

“
Yeah, right, that’s exactly
what happened.” He hustled back into the house, and I thought about
following him in when he came out, slammed the front door shut, and
got into his car.

“
You can’t just run away,” I
said.

“
Watch me.”

He peeled rubber out of his driveway and
raced down the road. Something had him spooked, and from the way he
was acting, it was pretty bad.

I peeked inside his house, but there was
nothing but junk left behind. When I walked over to the Joy house,
I thought about forcing my way in, but I knew all that would get me
was a stay in jail. Molly was pretty serious about crimes committed
in her jurisdiction and our history wouldn’t save me from
punishment if I blatantly broke the law. I went so far as to try
the doorknobs, both front and back, but they were locked tight.

I couldn’t do much if the
answers were tucked away behind closed doors. I drove to the soap
shop, then changed my mind at the last second and circled the block
to the Joy jewelry store. No one was there, as I’d suspected, but
there was a note on the front door. I got out and read it.
closed until further notice
was printed in bold letters. I wondered if the place would
ever reopen. Terri was the only one left to run the jewelry shop,
and she already had a job. She’d mentioned the possibility of
running it herself, but I didn’t see how she could do it now, given
the circumstances. I peeked inside the window and looked at the
display cases. Earnest really did have a fine touch converting old
coins into jewelry. And then it hit me.

Old coins. Or were they? When I’d confronted
Molly about Ralph Haller’s counterfeiting conviction, she’d said it
wasn’t money, at least not any kind you could spend. I’d seen Ralph
doctoring coins in his living room, and I naturally thought he’d
been cleaning them until I’d talked to my brothers. Suddenly it all
began to fit together. Ralph Haller had to be making counterfeit
coins that Earnest was selling in his jewelry. If he wanted a
bigger slice of the action, he could have killed Earnest himself.
So why did Andrew’s death send him scampering out of town like his
tail was on fire? There could only be one reason I could think of.
Someone else had killed Earnest, and Ralph must have suspected that
they’d had something to do with Andrew’s death as well. Who was
left with motive, means, and opportunity? Then I realized how it
all fit together. No one had heard Andrew’s confession except
Terri, the only other person in the world with motive enough to
kill. By blaming her father’s death on her brother, she’d made
herself sole heir and put the blame on her brother. Then I realized
that I’d given her the opening she’d needed at the hospital by
asking her a leading question.

But how on earth was I going to prove any of
it? I couldn’t go to Molly. She’d laugh in my face. Kelly couldn’t
help me, either. I had to do something, but I couldn’t imagine
what.

Then I heard a car pull up behind the Miata,
effectively blocking my escape route. It was Terri Joy, and she
didn’t look all that happy to see me.

“
Ben, what are you doing
here?”

I couldn’t accuse her, but I had to get some
evidence that I was right. “I was hoping someone would be here. I
still need that present.”

She raised an eyebrow. “Come on, that was a
ruse, and we both know it. It’s okay, I forgive you.”

“
You don’t understand,” I
said. “Diana drove by when I was comforting you in front of the
soap shop. I’m in hot water with her, and I’m hoping one of your
pieces will help me fix it.”

She looked sympathetic. “I suppose I should
let you in, since I’m partially to blame. Come on.”

I followed her into the store. I had a plan,
but I wasn’t sure it would work.

“
So, have you come to any
more conclusions about what she might like?” Terri asked as she
dead-bolted the door behind us.

“
I saw something the other
day that would be perfect,” I said.

“
Pick out whatever you like,
and I’ll sell it to you at cost. I’m closing this place down, so
it’s time I got rid of our inventory.”

“
You’re not going to run the
store after all?” I asked.

“
No, I never really liked
retail anyway. I think I’ll leave Harper’s Landing altogether,” she
said. “There are too many memories here for me.”

“
I understand completely,” I
said as I moved to the case with the fake bar of gold in it. “I see
just what I want.”

I pointed to the display of ancient coins
dangling from a necklace.

“
I’m sorry,” she said. “But
I don’t think so.”

“
I thought you said I could
have anything I wanted?” I asked.

“
Anything except items from
that display.” She reached into the case and pulled out the gilded
lead brick with her left hand. “I’m sentimental, and these were the
last pieces my father ever made.”

I stared at her and realized I should have
gotten Molly’s help after all, even if it would have caused me some
humiliation. “You’re right. This isn’t a good time after all. If
you’ll let me out, I’ll go get her some flowers or something.”

Terri nodded, and she followed me to the
door. I had my hand on the dead bolt when I heard a click behind
me. I didn’t even have to turn around to know that she had a gun
pointed at me.

“
So, you know, don’t
you?”

“
Know what?” I asked,
refusing to turn around. Maybe I could bluff my way out of this
after all.

“
Give it up, Ben. It’s no
use. You always were too clever for your own good. Now step away
from the door and I may just let you live through this.”

I pivoted, but realized the second I looked
into her eyes that I wasn’t going to get out of there alive.

“
I give up. You’re right, I
know you did it. I just don’t know why.”

Terri laughed, but there was no joy in it.
“And you think I’m going to tell you? Please, you’re kidding,
right?”

“
Don’t I deserve to at least
know the truth?”

She shook her head. “Believe me, the truth is
highly overrated.”

“
Humor me, Terri. After all,
you won’t be able to ever tell anybody else, and I’ve got a feeling
I’m not going to live to see the sunset.”

She appeared to think about it for a few
seconds, then said, “Why not? It all started because of my moron of
a brother. He never was very smart, but forcing Dad to commandeer
your parking lot was a colossal blunder, and attention we didn’t
need.”

“
Why did he do it?” I asked,
hoping against hope that someone would see our cars and wonder what
we were doing in a closed shop.

“
He found some of our coins
in the backyard that Dad was trying to age naturally. It had been
when he’d first gotten started, and he hadn’t discovered that
darkening agent yet. Dad forgot all about them, but Andrew
uncovered them with his new metal detector, and he thought he’d
struck it rich. If he’d just told Dad or me we could have set him
straight, but he was too greedy. Andrew wasn’t about to
share.”

“
That’s when he started
gardening,” I said.

“
You’ve got it. He must have
dug up a dozen old spoons, buttons, and other worthless junk, but
he was convinced there was more treasure out there. That’s when he
persuaded Dad to take over your parking lot. The fool even dug into
it before I could stop him. I took Andrew aside and explained what
we were doing, at least a part of it, and offered to cut him in.
We’d been right to exclude him, though. When he found out, he
threatened to go to Molly with the truth about our counterfeit coin
scam. I decided he had to go, but then I saw a way to get it all
for myself. If I killed Dad and pinned it on Andrew, I could
inherit it all. But he left a clue before he died, and I didn’t
know about it until it was too late.”

“
Are you talking about the
soap in his hand? I figure you planted that yourself to put the
suspicion on my family.”

She shook her head. “No, he did that himself.
The clue wasn’t the soap, though.”

That’s when it hit me. “It was in his left
hand, and you were the only real suspect who was left-handed.”