The Obituary Society (9 page)

Chapter 12

Better-than-Betty Crocker

Lila and Ada settled into their lawn chairs and let the stress of the day drain away as they watched the festivities.  Luckily they'd been blessed with a cloudy day, but the air hung heavy and warm.  The crowd moved slowly, as if they waded through a swimming pool.  Lila pushed the damp hair away from her face and swished her skirt back and forth, and Ada fanned herself with a styrofoam plate. 

After a few minutes Ada pointed.  “Oh, look now, there's Clint Edwards coming this way.”

A man with silver hair and a matching mustache approached them.  His white button-up shirt bulged out over his jeans, and he wore a bolo tie, like a cowboy.  Lila thought of the contrast between Clint and his law partner, Asher.  Of course, Asher probably wouldn't wear a suit to a town celebration either, but there was something about him that made her certain he would look distinguished in shorts and a t-shirt, if he ever wore shorts and a t-shirt.  This man looked casual and down to earth, but had an air of respectability too.

“Have you met him yet, Lila?”  Ada asked.  “He was your grandfather's lawyer They were friends all their lives.  I would think you'd have met him, but then he hasn't been around as much as usual.  Matilda and Leona have a brother-in-law who saw him at the cancer center in Omaha.  That would certainly explain things, but he hasn't said a thing about it himself.  He's a sweet man, but some people are very private about that sort of thing.”

“
I've only spoken to him on the phone,” Lila answered.

When he reached them, a broad and genuine smile spread across his face.  He looked from Lila to Ada. “Would this happen to be Miss Lila Moore you have with you today, Ada?”

“It certainly would, Clint.”

He extended his hand and shook Lila's heartily.  “It's so good to finally meet you, Miss Moore.”

“It's nice to meet you too, Mr. Edwards.”
“You can call me Clint.”

“
If you call me Lila.”
“It's a deal.  Listen, would you take a walk with me for a few minutes?”  He turned to Ada.  “Mind if I steal her away?”

“
Go on ahead.  I'd better get the rest of these desserts sold.  I see Pamela Stevens over there.  I know if I just put these shortbread cookies under her nose she won't be able to say no.”

“
I wouldn't say no.”  Clint teased, his eyes crinkling as he smiled.

Ada couldn't resist slipping one of the cookies off the plate for him and he took the first bite with such exaggerated bliss as to make it well worth it.

He held out his arm like an old-fashioned gentleman and Lila hooked hers through.  They sauntered slowly around the outside of the crowd as he finished off the cookie and pulled a hanky out of his jeans pocket to wipe off the greasy crumbs.

“
I sure miss old Isaac.”  His voice was low and gravelly.  “Did he ever tell you about that time a group of us went to make some trouble in Lincoln?”
Lila shook her head.  “I'd certainly like to hear about it.”  She was already at ease, as if she had known him for years.

He chuckled deeply.  “Isaac's daddy lent him his car and asked him to go down there and get some parts he needed, so me and Stew Jenkins and Dale Johnson went along with him.  After we'd checked off all our errands, we looked around to see what fun there was to be had in town.  At some point, Stew grabbed Isaac's car keys and jumped in the driver's seat.  He went driving down “O” Street, that's the longest main street in the country, you know.  Isaac was nervous because you never knew what Stew was going to do.  'Course that only encouraged Stew, and he drove right through a stop sign just to see Isaac react. 

“Unfortunately he also caught the attention of a police officer, and he pulled Stew over.  He said  'Now, Son, didn't you see that stop sign back there?'  And Stew, he had something of a stutter, especially when he was nervous.  He answered, 'Y-yes,  b-but I didn't s-see you.'”  Clint slapped his leg and wheezed.  “Isaac could always get it together in a tight situation, but me and Dale in the backseat laughed so hard I'm surprised that officer didn't take us all in.”

Lila laughed harder than she had in a long time.  She wiped a tear from the corner of her eye.  “That's a good one, Clint.  Glad to have someone around who was a witness, or a co-conspirator, to the more lively tales I've never heard.”

“Happy to oblige.  Listen, I'm sorry I wasn't here to meet you and give you the details of Isaac's will,” he began.  “Did Asher take good care of you.”

Lila blushed.  “Yes, he was very helpful.”

He raised an eyebrow just slightly and paused, as if he had something to say but thought better of it.  “Good.  I just want to make sure Isaac's girl is taken care of.”

“
There are a couple of things I meant to talk to Asher about.  Maybe you can help me,”  Lila said.  “I noticed the house looks, well, like someone's been inside.  I mean, it looks like its been
searched
through.  Do you know of any way someone might have gotten in?  Probably just teenagers or something, but I'd like to get that taken care of quickly.”

Clint slowed to a stop.  The good-natured smile had disappeared, and the white brows lowered over troubled eyes.  “Can you describe what you saw?  What made it look like it had been searched through?”

“Well, things just looked shifted out of place, drawers had been pulled out, shoe prints, that sort of thing.  Maybe it's nothing, I didn't mean to worry you, but it's just that—"

“
Isaac wouldn't have left it like that,” Clint mumbled, as if he was mulling it over. 

He took her arm and they walked slowly again.  “Lila, I can't come to any certain conclusions just now, but I have some ideas on the matter.  I will look into it.  Was there something else bothering you?”

“There is one more thing.”  She tried to sound casual but her voice wavered.  It was silly, but chills went through her just saying it out loud.  “The pond behind the house.”

Clint stopped again.  A look flashed across his face that Lila didn't have time to decipher.  Was it fear?  He quickly recovered, but the pleasant expression that replaced it seemed forced.  “Did you see—did something happen?”

“I just wanted to check it out.  I waded in a bit, and something pulled me under.  I nearly drowned.”  She released Clint's arm and wrapped her arms tightly around herself.  “I know it sounds crazy, but something is in there.” 

Clint hesitated, as if choosing his words carefully.  “It's best you don't go back there at all.  Isaac asked Ada and myself to keep people away from there.  I'm surprised they didn't tell you.”  He raised a brow as if he suspected they might have, then continued on.  “ Of course, people will be curious.   After Isaac left there were some strange things that happened back there.  A couple of teenagers 'bout drown one evening in a similar way to what you described.  It was generally agreed upon that it was not a safe place.”

Lila couldn't seem to leave it at that.  “But what kind of thing could do something like that?  What's down there?”

“
To tell you the truth, Miss Moore, I have no idea.  This is a strange town, at times.  And some secrets don't want to rest quietly.  That one's best left alone.”

They walked on in silence awhile.  His answer didn't set well with Lila, but she didn't know how to get any more information out of him. 

Then Clint cleared his throat.  He looked around, as if surveying present company.  “I was one of the last people Isaac spoke to before he left, and I knew his family's business better than anybody, of course.  There were some things he and I discussed that never did get sorted, concerning some property of your great-grandparent's.  What I'm saying is, there might be—”

A shadow fell on the two of them and they looked back to see Asher smiling down on them.  Clint flashed a startlingly broad and stiff smile in return.  “Hello, Mr. Whiting.  I was just catching up with Miss Moore, here.  Lila, why don't you come and meet with me at the office next week and we'll talk a little more in depth.”

Lila was thrown by the interruption, and how quickly Clint dropped their conversation.  But she went along with it and smiled at him.  She appreciated his commitment to honoring her grandpa's privacy, even with his business partner.  “I'll do that.  Thank you.”
He shook her hand.  “I have a few more people to say hello to, so I'll leave you young people alone.”

They watched him walk away, Lila feeling the presence of the handsome lawyer beside her like an electric charge.  She wanted to say something, but didn't know how to start the conversation.

Luckily, Asher had the gift for conversation and easing awkward situations that Lila had wished for on so many occasions.  He turned toward her.  “Clint is always dominating the attention of the prettiest eligible girls at the party.  It's time someone challenged him.  See, look over there.  There he goes again.”

Clint was leaning against the Ladies' Society table, and had the full attention of both Matilda and Leona Bell. 

Lila laughed.  “I can see why you might feel threatened.”

“
Every man wants a woman who can cook.”  His eye twinkled with mischief.

The women giggled as Clint appeared to be telling another of his stories.  “Clint is quite the charmer though, isn't he?  The ladies seem to be crazy about him,” Lila said. 

“They are indeed.  But he has his enemies around here.  Don't get me wrong;  most people love him.  He's one of the good ones.  But being a lawyer can be unpopular work at times.  It's the nature of the job.  For every case we win, there's got to be a loser.”               He smiled and it was as if the sun broke free of the clouds.  “It looks like the ladies are taking down the booth.  All those delectable dishes being packed away.  Don't think I haven't noticed you can't tear your eye away from that beautiful slice of yellow cake with thick chocolate frosting.  Going . . . going . . . ”

“
Let's get it,” Lila said.  “But there's a problem.  I can't buy that slice of cake.  Gladys made it, and it might hurt Ada's pride.”

“
Wait here, my lady.”

Asher went up to the booth and dropped a folded bill into the box before casually picking up the cake.  He didn't go unnoticed, however.  Gladys shot him a nasty look and he gave her a smile that Lila assumed he must use to win over his most difficult clients.  If it didn't work on Gladys, it certainly did a number on Lila.

He returned, Gladys watching his back like a hawk.

“
My hero.”  Lila eyed the cake hungrily.  “What did you say to Gladys?”

“
Nothing.  I don't think she likes me.”

“
Well, that's got to be hard on the ego.”

He chuckled.  “Her loss, baby.  There are other fish in the sea.”
“You might not feel that way after you get a bite of this cake,” Lila said.  “I happen to know that Gladys is an excellent cook.  Let's find a place out of elderly eyeshot.”

Asher took her hand and led her to a bench at the corner of the park, where a large tree spread its arms over them.  The heat of the day was subsiding as the thick clouds above them darkened to indigo, but Lila had learned not to expect much relief from a Nebraska evening.  Her hair still stuck to her face, and she pulled at her clinging summer dress.

“Uh, oh,” Lila said as they sat.  “You forgot forks.”

“
I'm not going back there.”  He glanced nervously in the direction of the booth.

“
What will we do?”

Asher broke off a piece of the cake and put it in Lila's mouth, his finger brushing against her lip.  “Who needs forks?”

Lila's eyes widened as she smiled at him.  The moist vanilla flavor of the cake balanced perfectly with the rich, smooth frosting.  It definitely beat Betty Crocker.   She followed Asher's lead and dug in with her hands.  “Oh, this is good,” she said, licking the thick frosting from her fingertips.  “Don't tell Ada.”

“
Your secret is safe with me.  You're sure it's not the company enhancing the experience?”  Asher asked, his tone hopeful.

Her eyes caught on the yellow crumbs stuck to the corner of his mouth and she smiled.  “Maybe.” 

He must have seen her staring because he brushed the crumbs away.  “What were you and Clint discussing?  Anything I can help with?” 

“
We were just talking about the house and the property.”  She wanted to ask him about the strange occurrences, but she felt so ridiculous about it. 

“
Is everything all right?”

“
Yes.  Mostly.”  She let out a long breath and looked at Asher.  “I was just telling him I suspect someone's been searching the house.  And there is definitely something strange about the pond near the back of the property.”

From what Clint told her, she guessed Asher had heard rumors about the place, and held her breath as she waited for his reaction.  She hoped beyond all reason that he didn't laugh, or call her crazy.

He didn't crack a smile.  “I think you should be very careful.”

“
That's basically what Clint said.  What's with the shroud of mystery?  Is there someone who will give me a direct answer about what's going on?”
“Probably not.”  He pulled out a pack of cinnamon gum and offered her a piece.  She shook her head, and he peeled the foil off, put the gum in his mouth and chewed a moment, as if he were thinking.  “This is not that kind of town.  You'll hear lots of talk, but without regard to accuracy.  What fun would that be?”  He chuckled quietly.  “In this case I think there's some truth to the talk.  I can't explain it, but I've been back there myself.  There's definitely something weird about that place.  Who knows?  Perhaps the only person who could answer your questions was Isaac himself.”
The comment stunned her.  If there was something strange going on, wouldn't her grandpa have known about it?  He knew she would inherit the house.  Why hadn't he told her anything?