Deadly Greetings (Book 2 in the Cardmaking Mysteries) (21 page)

Lillian laughed. “Why not? He’s got more
money than he knows what to do with.”

I opened the car door and asked, “So what
did you order for me?”

“
It’s a surprise,” she said.
“If you’re that curious, ask Savannah yourself.”

“
Thanks, but I’ll pass. I’m
sure whatever it is will be fine, as long as it’s not anything
healthy.”

Lillian averted her gaze.

“
Are you telling me you
ordered me a salad too? Lillian, you’ve got to be
kidding.”

“
I never said anything like
that. Stop jumping to conclusions.”

I walked into the restaurant, and the second
Savannah saw me, she called back to her husband, “Pete, Jennifer’s
here.”

He handed her two bags, and as I gave her
Lillian’s twenty, I said, “So what are we having tonight?”

“
I’m having brown beans,
spinach and corn bread,” she said.

“
You know what I mean,” I
said.

“
If I had to guess,” she
said as she handed me my change, “Lillian’s having a salad and
you’re having a barbeque sandwich and onion rings, but I could be
wrong. I might have that mixed up.”

“
I’m willing to bet you got
it dead-on. Thanks, Savannah.”

“
You’re most welcome, girl.
If you don’t mind my raying so, you could use a few more pounds to
help take the sharp edges off that figure of yours.”

“
Savannah, if I gain much
more, I won’t have any edges left at all. See you
later.”

“
Bye, Jennifer. You behave
yourself now, you hear?”

“
Now what fun would that
be?” I asked as I walked back out to the car. As I handed Lillian
her change, I said, “Just be glad there really weren’t two salads
in there.”

“
I never claimed there
were,” she said. “Should we wait until we get to Maggie’s to
eat?”

I looked at one of the picnic tables in
front. “I know it’s a little chilly out, but I’d rather eat before
we start working if it’s all the same to you.”

“
I understand and agree.
Let’s dine outside, shall we?”

We’d hardly sat down at the table when the
front door of The Lunch Box opened. Savannah stared at us for a
second, then asked, “What are you two trying to do, freeze to
death?”

“
We find the brisk weather
invigorating,” Lillian said frostily.

“
Well, when you’ve had
enough invigorating, come on in. I’ve got fresh coffee that will
take that right out of you.”

Lillian shook her head, then gathered up her
food. “Come on, Jennifer, I knew this wouldn’t work.”

I protested, “Hey, where are we going?”

“
Inside, where we don’t have
to freeze to death,” she whispered to me as we walked in past
Savannah Lillian paused, then told her friend, “Not one word, do
you hear me?”

Savannah stared at her a second, then both
of them started laughing. They had the oddest friendship I’d ever
seen, and I envied them both every ounce of it.

We took a spot at the serpentine counter,
and Savannah delivered two fresh cups of hot coffee. As she
finished pouring Lillian’s, she said, “Now if I was going to
comment on your outfit, which I won’t because you’ve asked me
nicely and I respect your request, I’d have to say I think you look
mighty fine. But I’m not talking about it.”

Lillian said, “It’s a good thing, or I
wouldn’t have a chance to eat because I’d be sitting here all night
listening to you.”

Pete rang his little bell in back from the
kitchen to let Savannah know another order was up. The restaurateur
said, “You, dear girl, have been saved by the bell.”

“
It’s not the first time,”
Lillian said, and again the two shared a private joke that nobody
else in the world got. The diner was half full, but it was late for
their usual crowd. I knew Savannah; her husband, Pete; and their
daughter, Charlie, did most of their business at noon, feeding
everyone from factory workers to judges, but they liked to stay
open for the early dinner crowds, something I heartily endorsed.
Charlie wasn’t around, no doubt off working on her degree. I knew
that neither Savannah nor Pete had gone to college—though they were
both extremely bright— and it was their one stone-cold rule that
Charlie was going to get the best education she could.

After Savannah delivered a hamburger plate
to a lone diner, she came back over to us. “What brings you two out
together in the evening? And why aren’t there lines of men
clamoring to get your attentions?’“

I started to answer when Lillian said, “It
was all we could do to avoid the crowds, but we denied them all. We
heard the cuisine was better here at night.” Savannah leaned
forward. “And what’s your diet?” There was no jesting in her voice,
and I hoped Lillian didn’t get us banned from the place with an
ill-timed joke.

“
I can’t imagine there’s
anything in the world that could beat your lunchtime fare.
Honestly, I think they’re both great.” Savannah whooped and slammed
the counter with her spatula. “Now, that’s what I’m talking about.
Now are you ready to answer my real question?”

Lillian said softly, “If you’d lower your
voice, perhaps I would.”

“
I can speak softer than you
can,” Savannah said in a near whisper that still seemed to carry
across the room. “Now what are you two really up to?”

“
We’re helping clean Maggie
Blake’s house. Did you know her?”

Savannah nodded, and her ever present smile
faded for a few moments. “She used to come in here now and then
before she got all health craze nuts on me. It’s a real shame what
happened to that girl.” Lillian leaned forward and said, “And what
exactly did happen to her?”

Savannah looked startled by the comment.
“You mean you think something happened to her?”

“
Keep your voice down,”
Lillian snapped.

Savannah actually looked contrite. “Sorry,
that surprised me, that’s all.” She appeared to think about it for
a few seconds, then turned to me and said, “What do you think?”

“
You’re asking me?” I said
after I finished my bite, “I trust your instincts, Jennifer; I
always have. You know that.”

I searched her face for a hint of a smile,
but she was deadly serious. “I agree with Lillian. Something’s not
right.”

Savannah nodded, then said in a loud voice,
“Did anybody here know Maggie Blake?”

I thought Lillian was going to kill her on
the spot but I was surprised when an older woman raised her hand.
“I knew her fairly well,” she volunteered.

“
Then get right over here,”
Savannah said. “If you can add anything to the conversation, I’ll
give you a slice of lemon meringue pie on the house.”

That got the attention of everyone in the
diner. Savannah was famous for her pies, and she charged
accordingly.

“
I know her, too,” the diner
with the hamburger plate called out.

“
Heck, we used to go out,” a
man in his thirties yelled.

“
I’m her godfather,” another
old man said.

“
We’re sisters,” a woman
barely out of her teens added.

Savannah slammed her spatula down on the
counter, and that ended the chorus. “Funny, you all are riots,
every last one of you. Now eat your food before I charge you
double.”

There were a few grumbles but mostly laughs
as the crowd went back to their food. Savannah could do: that, kid
and cajole a group of strangers and make them feel like they all
belonged to the same family. She was an artist at it, and I wished
I could do the same with my customers.

The original woman who’d spoken joined us at
the bend in the bar. “I’m afraid there’s not much I can: tell you
about Maggie. She was a friend of mine, but I never got as close as
I would have liked. She was fun, you know? Always a real joy to be
around.”

Savannah looked at her steadily and asked,
“Do you think she fell asleep at the wheel in the middle of the
day?”

The woman looked startled by the suggestion.
“Is that how she died? I hadn’t heard.” She paused, then added, “I
can’t imagine it. We drove to Richmond once for a quilt show, and
she was the safest driver I ever rode with. Unless she changed
dramatically, there’s no way she would have taken the chance.

That’s one of the reasons we drifted apart.
Maggie wouldn’t ride with anyone else, she didn’t trust them at
behind the wheel, and I got tired of always riding with her. It’s a
shame,” she added. “I’ve missed her, and now I’ve lost my chance to
be her friend again.”

Savannah reached over and patted the woman’s
hand. “Tillie Matthews, I’m sure you were a fine friend to her.
People drift in and out of our lives all the time. Now let me get
you that pie.” As Savannah left to grab the promised dessert,
Tillie told us, “I don’t believe those other rumors I’ve been
hearing, either.”

“
What have you heard?”
Lillian asked.

Tillie looked down at her hands, then said,
“I hate to speak ill of the dead.”

“
What if you could help her?
Would you do it?”

“
Of course I would,” Tillie
said.

“
So tell us what you’ve
heard,” I urged her gently.

Tillie looked around, then said softly, “I
heard she’d had an affair.”

Lillian said, “We’ve heard that
ourselves.”

“
I don’t care if she and
Frances were close. That’s how rumors like that get
started.”

“
Are you talking about
Frances Coolridge?” I asked.

Tillie nodded. “She even put her in her
will, the way I heard it.”

I’d heard they were friends, but this was
not really any new information. “Maggie put Frances in her will? I
wonder who inherited her stuff instead?”

“
No, you misunderstood me,”
Tillie said. “From what I heard, when Frances died, Maggie got
everything she had. Honestly, I think that’s what started, the
rumors.”

Savannah returned with Tillie’s pie. The
older woman said, “You don’t have to give this to me on the
house.”

“
I’m a woman of my word,”
Savannah said. “Enjoy it, girl.” Instead of sliding it in front of
her, Savannah walked it back down to where Tillie had been sitting
before. It was a clever way to get our privacy back.

As we finished our meals, Savannah came by
again with two Styrofoam cups. “Here’s some coffee for the road.
Sorry I couldn’t help with Maggie.”

“
You did fine,” Lillian said
as she slid a few dollars under her plate.

“
You already paid for your
food,” Savannah said as she tried to hand the bills back to
Lillian.

“
But not for the coffee,” my
aunt said, refusing the money.

“
Are you saying I can’t
treat a couple of my best friends to a cup of coffee when I
please?”

We were starting to attract attention again.
“Put it in the college fund jar,” I prompted. There was a glass jar
near the counter that used to hold pickles but now housed money for
Charlie’s college tuition. I knew Savannah and Pete were doing okay
at their restaurant, but their income wasn’t always enough, no
matter how popular the spot was.

“
That I can do,” Savannah
said. “And we thank you for the contribution.”

Once we were outside, Lillian said, “I don’t
believe that rumor for a second. Maggie and Frances together? I
just don’t see it.”

“
I know what you mean.
Maggie was a big fan of men; there was never any doubt about that.
I wonder if the other part is true, though.”

“
It should be easy enough to
find out. When we get to Maggie’s place, I’ll call Patrick
back.”

I glanced at my watch. “There’s no way he’ll
still be in the office, Lillian. We’ll just have to find out
tomorrow.”

My aunt smiled as she unlocked her car. “We
won’t have to wait. I’ve got his home number, and I’m willing to
bet that if he handled Maggie’s business affairs, he’ll know if
Tillie was right.”

As she drove, I asked, “How do you happen to
have a lawyer’s home telephone number memorized?”

“
Patrick’s much more than
just a lawyer,” Lillian said cryptically.

“
Don’t tell me you dated
him, too.”

Lillian said, “And what would be wrong if I
had? He’s not that much younger than I am, and some men find
sophisticated older women a refreshing breeze from the banality of
youth.”

When it came to my aunt, I didn’t doubt that
for a second. “So you two used to go out.”

“
I never said that,” Lillian
said. “You just assumed it.”

I swear, sometimes she could drive me crazy.
“So we’re back to our original question. How do you have his home
number?”

Lillian waved a hand in the air. “The truth
is so mundane, it barely needs to be repeated.” When I realized
that was all the answer I was going get to get out of her, I gave
up. My aunt liked to think of herself as mysterious, and I wasn’t
about to try to dissuade her of that opinion. She more than made up
for my intermittent frustrations with her, with an air that made
her exciting to be around. We pulled into Maggie’s driveway, a neat
cottage with a well-kept garden in front and a white picket of
fence.

I stared at it with longing in my heart.
“Why can’t I find a place like this to live?” Lillian asked, “Are
you unhappy with your current accommodations?”

“
No, I guess it’s fine, but
there are a few things I’m not exactly thrilled about.”