Mummified Meringues (15 page)

Lexy nodded.

“They were,” Mary said. “I remember because Lois sent us a lovely post card. I dug it out after I heard about Earl on the news to check the year. I have it right here.”

She twisted around and grabbed a postcard from atop a pine dry-sink behind her, then read the card to Lexy.
 

“Having a great time. Wish you were here.” Lois pointed to the upper right corner. “And there’s the postmark right there. August thirteenth, 1955.”

Lois handed the postcard over to Lexy. It was a linen-style card, typical of the nineteen-fifties. The image was of a gondola in a crowded canal. Venice. The back was yellowed with a few stains. The message in blue pen had faded over the years, but the postmark was clear as a bell. Lexy handed the card back to Lois, making a mental note to tell Davies about it. That card was proof the McDonalds couldn’t have killed Earl.

“And you didn’t notice anything strange going on at their house while they were gone?” Lexy asked.

“We can’t really see the house from here,” Paddy replied. “It’s two houses down and offset from us, but we saw the contractor in the driveway. They were having the basement refinished that summer.”
 

“Yeah, I heard,” Lexy said. “You know Earl was found stuffed into a small room in the basement. The room had been sealed up as part of the remodel and no one even knew it was there. How do you think he ended up in there?”

Mary and Paddy looked at each other. “We talked about that and we figure it must have been the stranger.”

So, they’d seen the mysterious stranger, too
, Lexy thought. Something was fishy about this stranger, but she hoped it turned out that the stranger
was
the killer or Bobby Nesbaum, because if not, then Paddy Sullivan and Floyd Nichols were the next most likely candidates.

“Some of the other neighbors reported this stranger, too,” Lexy said. “I’m not sure I understand. Was he just skulking around the neighborhood or was he doing something? Was he here every day? Did you seem him?”

Paddy and Mary glanced at each other out of the corner of their eyes. Mary got busy digging for a cookie in the bakery box.

“He was just seen lurking around. Mostly at night. I can’t say as he ever did anything.” Paddy pressed his lips together and looked at the ceiling as if trying to dig up his memories of the stranger. “I saw him a couple of times. And once I heard him in the back yard arguing with Earl.”

Lexy perked up. “You saw him argue with Earl?”

“Yes, that’s right. Least I think it was them. It was dark out and I couldn’t really make out who it was or what they were saying, but it was loud. They were out in the back between the backyards and I thought it was odd, since it seemed to be coming from the McDonalds, but I knew they were out of town.”

“Really? When was that?”
Could it have been the night Earl was murdered?

“Oh, I can’t remember exactly. I know it was hot, though, as we had the windows open and that’s how I heard them.”

“Did you happen to see this stranger?”

Paddy and Mary glanced at each other.
 

“I did catch a glimpse,” Paddy said.

“What did he look like?”

The two exchanged another glance.
 

“I …well …” Paddy stammered.

“He was a ruffian,” Mary cut in. “You know the type, all scraggly with facial hair and an unkempt appearance.”

“How tall was he? What color hair did he have?”
 

“He was about average, I’d say with brown hair. Hard to describe, really, wasn’t he, dear?” Mary looked at Paddy.

“Yes, he was. Very nondescript,” Paddy said.

Lexy felt a niggle of doubt. This was not how the others had described the stranger. Was it possible there was more than one stranger? Or maybe their memories were faulty since all the witnesses were old and over fifty years had passed since they’d seen him.

“Ed Johnston mentioned something about Earl selling insurance.” Lexy decided to move on to her next question.

Paddy’s face turned red. Lexy noticed he avoided looking at Mary. “Insurance? I don’t remember that.”

Lexy wasn’t surprised. She figured no one wanted to admit to being scammed by Earl.
 

“So, tell me what you thought of the cookies.” Lexy pointed to the bakery box.

“Oh, they were very nice, dear.” Mary looked down at her plate, which had a half-finished cookie on it.

“No, really,” Lexy said. “You won’t hurt my feelings. I’ve heard the recipe needs more sugar and it’s important for me to know, as I want to win. I’m going up against Violet Switzer.”

Mary’s hand flew to her mouth. “Oh, dear. She’s a tough competitor.”

“Oh, that’s right.” Lexy stood to leave. “You probably know her. I heard she used to live in the neighborhood.”

“Well, a few streets over,” Paddy corrected her.
 

“Did she know Earl?” Lexy asked.

Paddy and Mary looked at each other again.
 

Mary shrugged. “I can’t rightly say, but if you’re going up against her, good luck. She takes her contests very seriously. Maybe a little more sugar in the cookies won’t hurt.”

They walked Lexy to the living room. As she turned to thank them, a fuchsia sparkle from the table beside the recliner caught her eye. Lexy frowned at the table where a familiar pair of fuchsia-studded glasses was folded up beside the lamp. “Are those my grandmother’s reading glasses?”

Mary and Paddy both swiveled their heads to follow her gaze.
 

“No. No, these are mine.” Mary picked them up and shoved them on her face. “They’re a very common design for reading glasses. Lots of us ladies have them.”

“That’s right, and you look lovely in them,” Paddy said.
 

“Well, thanks for coming by and you have a nice day.” Mary bumped her shin on the coffee table as she practically pushed Lexy toward the door.

“Thanks. You, too,” Lexy said.

“Good luck with the dessert contest,” Paddy called out, and then promptly shut the door before Lexy had even stepped off the first step.

***

“I’m beginning to think we should move,” Lexy said to Jack over pizza in the kitchen of their home after her visit with the Sullivan’s.

“Why is that?”

She glanced out the window. “I think we might be living in a neighborhood of murderers.”

Jack chuckled. “Surely, that can’t be true. There hasn’t been a murder here in over fifty years.”

Lexy laughed. “True, and I don’t really think any of the neighbors are killers, but I am sure a few of them have been lying to me.”

“I remember you were suspicious that Floyd Nichols knew the year Earl died when he claimed he hadn’t heard about it on the news.” Jack folded a slice of green pepper, onion and hamburger pizza and paused, holding it in front of his mouth. “Did something happen at the Sullivan’s?”

“Sort of.” Lexy picked a pepperoni off her slice and popped it into her mouth, then wiped her greasy fingers on a napkin. “They’re really a sweet couple and you can tell they are devoted to each other. Paddy said he had to defend Mary against Earl. But I think they lied to me, too.”

“About Earl being interested in Mary?”

“No, I’m sure that part is true. But I got the feeling something was off. They’d said they hadn’t talked to Nans in weeks, but I saw her reading glasses there and I know Nans had those the other day.”

“I think you might be reading too much into this. The Sullivan’s are old—they probably just lost track of time.” Jack reached over and wiped some cheese from the corner of her mouth. “When you’re retired, it’s harder to remember if it’s been a couple of days or a couple of weeks.”
 

“True, but I know Mary lied about the glasses because she said they were hers but she’d just read a postcard to me less than an hour before without any glasses on at all. Why would they lie if they had nothing to hide?”

Jack shrugged. “You tell me.
 

“There’s another strange thing, too.” Lexy broke a tiny piece of crust off her pizza and fed it to Sprinkles, who had been sitting next to Lexy and quietly begging for some with pleading, brown eyes. “The descriptions of this stranger everyone seems to have seen are all different.”
 

“Again, that could be due to age and memory. A lot of time has passed. But I have to admit, this case sure is getting strange, especially with the Feds coming in.”

Lexy’s brows dipped together. “Yeah, what about that? Why do you think the Feds are interested?”

“I don’t know. I guess Davies’ insurance scam theory makes sense. The two guys they sent, Binder and Fluke, have taken over one of the interrogation rooms down at the station, but they are pretty tight-lipped about what they’re doing in there. Davies is all riled up about it.”

“I bet she is. Do you think we can trust her?”

“Oh, sure. She’s not that bad. She just likes to do things her way and it’s better than letting the Feds have total control.” Jack grimaced. “From what I’ve seen, they don’t seem too competent and I get the feeling they’re more interested in getting the case over with quickly than figuring out what really happened.”

Lexy’s gut churned, making her wish she hadn’t eaten that third piece of pizza. “You don’t think they’d just pin it on someone without evaluating the evidence properly, do you?”

“I hope not. But that’s why it’s important we keep looking into it, too. And that we keep Davies informed so she can do things through proper police channels.”

“Okay. I’ll call Davies tomorrow and let her in on my conversation with the Sullivan’s.” Lexy rose from the table, grabbed their plates and put them in the sink. She paused, a fluttery sensation nagging at her stomach as she looked out the window at the yellow crime scene tape stretched across Jack’s bulkhead. “You know, I can’t help but feel like something isn’t right. Like someone is leaving something out or trying to misdirect us.”

“I know what you mean. With all the strange ‘forgetfulness’ going on, I have a bad feeling myself, which is why we need to get to the bottom of this before the Feds do—just in case.”

Lexy turned from the window, a puzzled look on her face. “Just in case of what?”

“In case the evidence starts to hit too close to home.” Jack’s eyes were dark with concern. “Because from where I’m sitting, a lot of the loose ends seem to point directly toward Nans.”

Chapter Seventeen

The next morning, Lexy made a surprise visit to Nans. She couldn’t shake the feeling that Nans was avoiding her and she didn’t want to call ahead and tip her off, lest she make an excuse that she was going out.

She stood in front of Nans’ apartment door, her fist raised to knock, her stomach full of the butterflies that had started fluttering after Jack’s comment of all the loose ends leading to Nans. He’d said he didn’t think Nans was involved, but sometimes evidence can be tricky. He’d pointed out that the Feds didn’t know Nans and might interpret things the wrong way. It was best to stick close so they could protect her, if need be.

As Lexy stood there, the door jerked open. Lexy stumbled back.
 

Nans stared at her from the doorway with wide, startled eyes. “Lexy, you scared the devil out of me. What are you doing lurking around out there?”

“I wasn’t lurking. I was just about to knock.”

“Oh, did you call? I didn’t know you were coming.”

“Sorry. I was in the neighborhood and I thought I’d check on you since I haven’t seen you in a while.” Lexy crossed her fingers behind her back and wondered if she’d be struck by lightning for lying to her grandmother.

Nans eyes narrowed. “Really? It was just the other day we went to Tommy O’Keefe’s together.”

Lexy hugged Nans and pulled her inside. “Hey, I can come visit my favorite grandma if I want to, right?”

Nans smile warmed her face. “Of course, dear. I was just going down to the clubhouse to see if anyone wanted to play some cards, but that can wait.”

“Oh, good, because I was afraid you were avoiding me.”

“Avoiding you? Never. I’ve just been busy. We old ladies have stuff to do, too, you know.”

“With your new boyfriend?” Lexy asked slyly.

Nans narrowed her eyes. “Have you been talking to Ida and Ruth?”

Lexy shrugged. “I cannot reveal my sources.”

“Well, no worries, there’s nothing serious.” Nans dismissed the notion with a wave of her hand. “Can I make you some tea or coffee?”

“Coffee would be great.” Lexy hung back as Nans started toward the kitchen. “I need to use the bathroom.”

“Yes, go ahead, dear. You know where it is.”

Lexy sprinted down the hall, a stab of guilt slicing her heart. Instead of turning right into the bathroom, she turned left into Nans’ room.
 

Her pulse pounded as she raced to the bureau, quickly pulling out the top drawer. She stuck her nose in and sniffed. No lavender smell. She stole a quick glance toward the hallway to assure herself Nans wasn’t coming and then plunged her hands into the drawer, feeling gently for the telltale bulge. No sachets. She quickly repeated the process for the other drawers then, feeling incredibly relieved at not finding any she darted into the bathroom, flushed the toilet and walked back to the kitchen.