Gluten for Punishment (19 page)

CHAPTER
25

I
arrived home to find Grandma Ruth sitting on the swing which hung from the ceiling
of my wide Victorian porch. Not surprisingly, a cloud of cigarette smoke enveloped
her. She wore a skirt today made from a wild butterfly pattern. The skirt was hitched
up across her wide-spread knees to expose the tops of her knee-high hose and her worn
Nike tennis shoes. She wore a dark navy pea coat and a dark blue stocking cap on top
of her orange curls. The tall, sand-filled pot she used for butts sat conveniently
in front of her.

I parked the van and trudged up the side steps, buzzed a kiss on her rough cheek,
and sat down next to her. My eyes watered from the smoke. “Hey, Grandma, how are you?”

The fall darkness showed a myriad of stars in the night sky. The two parties had been
evening affairs and I was lucky enough to lay out the food and be done by nine.

“The real question is, how are you, kiddo?” Grandma Ruth asked and blew out a wreath
of smoke.

“I suppose you heard Ed Bruner was found dead this morning.”

“Yep. For the first time in a week, you’re not on the front page of the newspaper.”

“I’d say yay, but not at the expense of another man’s life.”

“I agree.” Grandma took a long drag. “I heard his head had been smashed in by some
sort of heavy instrument, like a pipe. He was left crumpled in a pile in the drive-thru.”
Grandma squinted her blue eyes at me. “Right by the night-deposit bin.”

I winced. “Another crime of passion?”

“No, this one was premeditated,” Grandma stated. “It wasn’t the same weapon, that’s
for sure. I understand it left a completely different mark. Plus, there was some sort
of metal flakes. The cops sent them to the lab in Wichita for analysis.”

My stomach lurched. Premeditated . . . which meant whoever killed Ed had planned the
act and could be out there right now planning my demise. I hoped Meghan was onto something
and the murderer was only targeting men.

“I understand you got a threatening letter today.” Grandma broke into my self-pitying
thoughts.

I made a face to express my frustration. “Yes. It said I was responsible for Ed’s
death. And that I needed to leave well enough alone.”

“Interesting.” Grandma stared out at the nearly bald elm tree. Its dark branches threw
scary shadows on the street. Perfect for Halloween.

I pushed my bangs out of my face. “What do you think it means?”

“I heard you told the chief about your bank deposit bag theory . . .”

“Tasha told him,” I muttered and crossed my arms. “I admitted there wasn’t any evidence
to support it.”

“Still, Chief Blaylock went to Ed and asked to examine the bank deposit bags.” Grandma
was like a hound on a scent.

“Even if they found evidence on the bags, there’s no way they could trace it to a
killer. Could they? It’s not like the bags have serial numbers.”

“Ed must have figured out who did it.” Grandma puffed on her cigarette. “Or he must
have been close enough to make the killer feel threatened.”

I shook my head and jammed my hands in my jacket pocket. “I still don’t know how that’s
my fault. I’d never even spoken to Ed until he pounded on the van window last night.”

Grandma snapped her head in my direction. “Did he threaten you?”

“Scared me, sure. Threatened me? Maybe a little, but Sam Greenbaum showed up and chased
him away.” I leaned my head back against the swing and blew out a long breath. “Now
Officer Emry thinks I’m involved in both murders, and I just got my computer back.”

“Officer Emry is a bumbling fool. Chief Blaylock knows that.” Grandma patted me on
the knee. “Don’t worry. We’ll figure this out. Now don’t ’cha want to hear about my
sewer adventures?”

“Sure.” I lowered my eyebrows. “Did you actually find anything while you were down
there?”

“Bill found some bones he thought were interesting. He took them back to his shop.”

“Bones?”

“Nothing to worry about; some kind of animal, he said. I teased it was an alligator.”

I chuckled. Grandma did have a great sense of humor.

“What I found, however, was more than a little interesting.”

“Really?”

“I didn’t find a murder weapon.”

“Oh.” Disappointment made my shoulders droop.

“But I think I found an old speakeasy.”

“What?”

“There was a door a few feet from the bank entrance. It wasn’t on the official sewer
system map. Bill and I managed to pry it open. Inside was a ten-by-ten room lit by
two old chandeliers, nothing fancy. There were a couple of tables and a few chairs
in there.”

“A speakeasy, that’s crazy cool.” Grandma had been a flapper in her youth. She could
tell some stories.

“I know, I’m researching now and trying to figure out who ran it. Who attended the
parties, etc. It’ll make for a great human-interest story. For my blog, of course. . . .”

“Of course.” Admiration warmed my heart. “Thank goodness you didn’t find a murder
weapon. The way Officer Emry thinks, he might accuse us both of being involved.”

“Like I said,” Grandma puffed on her smoke, “the man’s a bumbling fool. I have no
idea how he passed the test to get on the police force.”

We sat silently for a while, staring out onto the quiet street. Unlike the busy cruising
streets of Central and Main, no one but homeowners rambled down the brick-covered
roads in the old neighborhoods.

“There weren’t a whole lot of people at the memorial,” I said, breaking the comfortable
silence. “How’s your suspect list coming along?”

“Ed was there,” Grandma said. “I thought maybe you were right. He made a really good
suspect. But now that’s out.”

“I agree; I don’t think his death was suicide.”

“Hard to bludgeon yourself in the head. Ed was talented but not that talented.” Grandma
chuckled low until she coughed. I laughed with her.

“That doesn’t leave many suspects,” I mused. “Well, there’s still Todd but I have
no idea why he would kill George now after nearly two years. There’s no way Sherry
or Alisa were up and dressed and walking down Main Street at 5:30
A.M.
”

“Right. It takes those two at least two hours of prep before they are decent enough
to leave their homes.”

I laughed at the thought that Sherry would be mad enough to storm down Main Street
in a housecoat and curlers with night cream on her face to whack George upside the
head for spray painting the buildings. I sobered. “Who else besides Todd wanted George
dead? Wait, is there a neighborhood watch for the downtown area?”

Grandma Ruth frowned and stroked her chin. “Not that I’m aware of. I know there’re
a few apartments over stores but those are mostly rented to folks who travel around
picking up temp jobs. Migrants wouldn’t care who was coming or going or stalking around.
They have no stake in keeping the downtown nice.”

“Huh. Do you think the killer lives above one of the stores?”

“And what, came into town to kill randomly then move on?”

“Kind of creepy to think about, isn’t it? But yes. Do you think that’s possible?”

Grandma shrugged and lit another cigarette. “Possible, but not very probable. It would
mean the murders are random, and those are the hardest to solve.”

My shoulders fell in defeat. If this were a random serial killer, the murder would
never be solved and I’d spend the rest of my life living under a cloud of suspicion.
Even the possibility of never solving these murders made me want to cry.

“Don’t worry.” Grandma patted my knee again. “Those threats you’ve been getting mean
that someone in town knows something. I’m sure we’ll get to the bottom of this soon.”
She snuffed her cigarette out in the sand. “Let’s go in.” Grandma stood, rocking the
swing wildly. “You can make me dinner while we figure out what to do next.”

CHAPTER
26

T
wice a month, Tasha and I met for Sunday afternoon coffee. Kip spent the day with
his grandma and we were free to have girl time.

My den was cozy with a crackling fire in the fireplace. The coffee table was laden
with a tray holding two carafes—one with coffee and one with chai tea. There would
have been wine and margaritas if I weren’t certain I’d fall asleep after the first
drink. Instead there were plates of cookies and cakes and assorted coffee flavors,
creams, and sugars.

I had my bare feet up on the edge of the coffee table, exposing my toenails, which
I was painting Zombie Black to celebrate the season.

Tasha had foils in her hair for new white streaks in her long blonde locks. I had
tried to talk her into pink but she was concerned they would come out too red. Not
that there was anything wrong with red hair. “How’s the investigation going?”

I cringed. “It’s stalled ever since Ed was killed.”

“I know he was your number one suspect.” Tasha sipped her tea. “So, let’s think about
this . . . who would benefit from George’s death?”

“The only one I’ve known who’s benefited is Mike Smith. Ever since the flour bombing,
people in the surrounding counties have been buying newspapers. Grandma Ruth tells
me they’re thinking of adding extra reporters. She might even get her column back.”

Tasha’s eyes widened. “That’s it! Of course, why didn’t I see it before? With every
incident, Rocky gets new photos in the paper, Candy gets more readers, and Mike sells
more papers.”

I frowned. “Are you saying that one of them is killing people?”

She shrugged. “Why not? Did George pick on Rocky at school?”

“Gosh, I don’t know. It seems like everyone picked on Rocky during school. It’s his
parents’ fault. They gave him that name.”

“Well, Candy could have done it. She wants nothing more than to get one of her articles
picked up by the
New York Times
.”

I shook my head. “That isn’t going to happen.”

“Unless the murders continue and she gives this serial killer a name.”

An inelegant snort came out of my mouth. “You’re reaching.”

“Am I? Did you know that Todd Woles once waited four years to seek revenge on a guy?”

I leaned in toward her. “Really?”

“Yes. I asked Phyllis, who talked to Sue, and she said that it’s a known fact that
in high school Jon Ramsey and a bunch of his thugs grabbed Todd, stripped him, and
tied him to the flagpole by the stadium. Coach Hillard found him hours later. The
boys were suspended and Todd’s parents hired him a bodyguard.”

“Oh my God, that’s terrible.” I swallowed in horror. Poor Todd.

“He waited four years, like I said, but he got his revenge.”

“He did?”

“Yes, Todd was driving down Kellogg in Wichita when he saw Jon waiting at a bus stop.
Todd drove his car up on the curb and ran Jon down.”

“He hit him?”

“No just chased him for like a mile.” Tasha leaned back. “Not that I blame him. Jon
was so embarrassed to be seen running screaming from a Smart car that he refused to
press charges.”

“Wow.”

“So, see, it might have been two years since Todd filed that restraining order, but
he might have been watching and waiting for his opportunity to exact his revenge.”
She wagged a newly polished nail at me. Her polish color was Vixen Red.

I studied my toenails as I contemplated Todd’s ability to wait to take revenge. “Grandma
does think George’s murder was one of opportunity.”

“See, I just gave you four solid suspects.” She sat there in the velvet wing chair
with foils in her hair, a mug of tea in her hand, and a superior attitude on her face.
“Now, tell me about your love life.”

I paused, the glass bottle in one hand and the tiny brush full of polish in the other.
“I don’t have a love life. Remember? I’m too busy being a murder suspect. But I’m
really glad you and Craig are working out. You deserve some happiness in your life.”

“So do you.” Tasha lasered in on me. “Are you interested in Sam? I get the impression
he’s interested in you. Have you checked out his muscles? And his backside?” She fell
back against her chair, all drama. If it were me, I’d have spilled tea all down the
front of me, but Tasha could be dramatic with not even a drop of liquid leaving its
container.

“You have a boyfriend,” I said, trying not to laugh. “Why are you checking out Sam?”

She batted her eyes at me. “Why, I’m checking him out for you, of course. It’s my
BFF duty to make sure you have a prime specimen interested in you.”

I laughed at her. “What about
my
BFF duty, hmm? Weren’t you the one to keep your new boyfriend a secret from me for
nearly a month?”

She wrinkled her nose and sipped her coffee. “That was different.”

“How?”

“I needed to trust my judgment. You know how bad things have been for me with men.
I needed to know I could choose a good one on my own.” She rested her elbow on the
arm of the chair and flung her hand. “I needed to learn to trust my own instincts.”

I raised one eyebrow. “How’s that working out for you?”

Her eyes grew big and a secret smile flirted across her face. “Wonderfully. You saw
him at the dinner party the other night. Isn’t he great with people?”

I nodded and raised my eyebrows in agreement.

“Best of all, he’s great with Kip. He knows just how to handle him. Don’t get me wrong,
I’m sad his little nephew is autistic. I wouldn’t wish that on anyone. But I’m happy
to find a wonderful guy who doesn’t freak out when Kip doesn’t act the way he thinks
he should.”

I leaned back against the brocade of the settee. “Besides how Craig treats Kip, how’s
he treating you?”

“He’s been such a gentleman. It’s nice to be treated right for once.” Tasha’s eyes
sparkled.

“Good, I’m glad. You deserve the best, and I appreciate you asking him to keep an
eye on me. It’s nice to know my friends have my back.”

Her face went blank and there was a long awkward pause. “I’m sorry?” Her eyebrows
formed a
V
shape and her mouth went a little flat.

“Oh, you know.” I waved away her confusion as part of her stress-filled life. “When
you asked him to follow me in the car that one time to make sure I got to the bakery
safely.”

“Oh, right.” Relief filled her expression. “I did that because I love you. Plus, Craig
is a big guy. He’ll scare away the bad guys. It’s part of his appeal.”

“Right? A girl has to appreciate big guys who scare away bad guys.” I made a final
stroke on my pinkie toe and shoved the nail polish brush back into the container and
twisted it tight. “If Sam hadn’t been there the other night, there’d be no telling
what Ed would have done.” I leaned back and closed my eyes, trying not to think about
what might have happened. “I mean, Ed was hopping mad about Chief Blaylock wanting
to take all the deposit bags for testing.” I opened my eyes and sat up straight, leaning
toward her. “If you had been there, you would have thought Ed was hiding something.
He scared poor Meghan near to death.”

Tasha rested her head against the velvet. “The whole incident sounds scary.”

“It was. You should have seen Ed. He was crazy upset. I’m glad I didn’t lower the
window all the way like he asked. I swear the man would have reached into the car
and shaken me.”

“If a man does that to a woman, then if you ask me, he deserves to die.” Tasha nodded
and put her coffee cup down on the table and got up. “Time for me to rinse.”