Ghost On Duty (Destiny Bay Cozy Mysteries Book 2) (6 page)

Chapter Six

Bebe was having a friendly breakfast with Gary in the kitchen, so when her land line rang that next morning, I went out into her office to answer it at her desk.

“Miyaki Farms,” I said, knowing Bebe answered it that way herself. “What can I do for you?”

“Can I speak to that young woman who is Activities Director for the pageant?”

“That’s me.” I frowned. Where had I heard this voice before?

The tone lowered and became almost conspiratorial. “Oh. Good. I’m the one who sent you that message at the meeting last night. Sorry I got hung up and couldn’t meet you at the fountain.”

“Oh!” My hand tightened on the phone and I looked back toward the kitchen to make sure no one was going to overhear this conversation.
 

“Who is this?”

“You don’t know me.”

I frowned, thinking, “
You want to bet
?”

But she went on. “I need your help. You’ve got to find the person who killed Ned Barlow. I’m going to get framed for that murder if you don’t.”

Hmm. That put a new spin on it. “Why would you be framed?”

“Because I’ve wanted the man dead for years and I said so at the coffee shop the other day. Somebody told the cops about it.”

I felt a little shiver down my back. I wanted to say,
It wasn’t me
! But then, that would only make me look more guilty.
 

“Have you been arrested?” I asked her.
 

“No. But I’ve been questioned and I can tell the way the wind is starting to blow.”

“Well, listen Peg…”

“Hey! How did you know it was me?”

I grinned. “I’ve got a sixth sense about these things. Anyway, you said in your note that you knew who the killer was. So go ahead. Let me in on it.” I held my breath and waited.

But it was a no go.
 

“No way. Not yet. It’s my ace in the hole and I’m hanging on to it.”

“And yet you want me to help you.”

“Damn right I do. You owe it to me.”

“No kidding? And how did I manage to rack up that debt?”

“I told that cop, the captain, to leave you alone. I told him there was no way you had anything to do with it. You didn’t even know Ned for long enough to start to hate him like the rest of us.”

I was clutching the phone. “Wait a minute. The captain told you I was a suspect?”

“Oh yeah. He was trying to worm his way into my good graces, of course. So I laughed in his face.”

I was outraged, but I kept my cool.
 

“So what exactly is it that you want me to do?”

“You’re a pretty girl. That’ll get you places I can’t go.”

“And?”

“Here’s what you do. Go see that Australian boy, that Bobby fella. Find out what he was doing that day and where he was. I know he was involved, I’m just not sure how.” She hesitated. “In fact, I know he went out to Ned’s house that morning. So see if you can prove it for me.”

“Oh sure. And just how do you know that?”

“I’ve got spies, honey. And I ain’t sayin’.”

“Did you tell the captain?”

“No. Like I said, it’s my ace in the hole. Just when they think they’ve got me, I’m going to come out with the info and then they’ll all have egg on their faces.” She chortled, happy to think of it.

So she thought Bobby was the killer. Interesting. I hadn’t heard that from anyone else. Was she grasping at straws, trying to find a way to hide her own involvement?

“Listen, if you go out there to his house again, take protection.”

“Do you mean a gun?”

“That, or a cop. How about that cop that’s sweet on you?”

“No one is sweet on me,” I said, sounding more bitter than I would like, but I changed the subject quickly. “Peg, tell me something. Did you really try to kill Ned before? Back in the old days, I mean.”

She stopped dead. “Who told you that?”

“I have my sources too.”

She swore softly. “Okay, I served my time. I paid my debt to society. I’m an honorable person. But yes, I did try to kill the jerk. I had high emotions at the time.”

“I see.”

“But I never, ever tried to kill anyone else. Cross my heart, honey. I wouldn’t hurt a fly ordinarily.”

“Just when your emotions are high.”

“Right.”

“Got it.”

I promised to get back to her if I found out anything she could use. That didn’t make her very happy but it was the best I could do. I hung up and frowned, thinking about the captain. I didn’t know for sure but I had a feeling he wasn’t supposed to talk about suspects like that. Who else had he told that I was in his cross hairs? How on earth had that man become my enemy without me even noticing?

But I didn’t have time to dwell on it. I looked in on Bebe and Gary. They were leaning close over their cups of coffee, talking earnestly, and I decided not to bother them with aimless conversation. I changed into a light wool pants suit, white and blue with kind of a nautical flare. A glance in the mirror told me it looked pretty good on me, and I got ready to head out to the Victorian Village where I was going to meet Lance for a tour through the houses.
 

But first I wanted to check on the silver cat. I hadn’t seen him all morning, though Sami was underfoot every time I walked from one room to another. I’d tried to keep Silver in since this was a strange house to him and I was hoping to get him used to it before I let him out—but I was afraid he’d gotten out anyway.

I slipped out the back door into the garden. Even in the middle of winter, Bebe had flowers and vegetables in raised beds all over, some covered with greenhouse structures, some out in the winter coolness on their own. It was like a maze of greenery, with a few blossoms here and there to brighten the scene, even while the skies were filled with fog and clouds. It was going to be a cool day.

I looked around. No cat. I really hoped he hadn’t gone far but I didn’t have time to look for him. Suddenly I noticed Aunty Jane walking between the rows, her straw hat set jauntily on her grey curls, her Hawaiian muumuu a splash of crimson color that couldn’t help but make you smile on this gray morning.

“Aunty Jane,” I called out. “Have you seen a silver cat? I brought him home two days ago and he’s missing.”

She stopped, looked back at me and got a frightened look on her face. I went around a tall greenhouse panel to meet her at the end of the row, but by the time I got there, she’d vanished like smoke.
 

I sighed. It was hardly surprising. She was pretty shy and she was a ghost, after all. I was just going to have to hope for the best where Silver was concerned.
 

The drive to Victorian Village was only about five minutes. I met Lance in the parking lot of a small neighborhood grocery store, just as we’d planned. He got out of his car and I got out of mine and he gazed meltingly at me as we met in the middle of the space between us.
 

“Mele,” he said. “You look lovely this morning.” For a second I thought he was going to kiss my hand, but he merely shook it with extra affection.
 

That gave me a bit of a start. I mean, this was really nice. He really liked me. Lance was a rich guy and he was definitely acting like he was interested. I’d never snagged myself a rich guy before. For just a moment, it was tempting to play into that and see how far I could get.
 

“Nice to see you too, Lance,” I said. “Thanks for agreeing to take me on this tour. I’m looking forward to meeting some of the tenants and seeing what they’ve cooked up for the pageant.”

He began giving me some tips on what to look for and who I’d want to talk to. I watched him talk and it occurred to me that there seemed to be a line of tension around his mouth that I hadn’t noticed before. His eyes looked blood-shot, with deep dark circles beneath them. It seemed Lance had just experienced a toss-and-turn sort of night. I wondered what was keeping him up late.
 

But he wasn’t letting it slow him down. He introduced me to a couple of the main movers and shakers in the community organization and we set up a plan to meet the day before the program started.
 

“You’ll definitely want to come to the dress rehearsal,” one of them a man named Jim Beed, told me heartily. “You’ll want to check out everything to make sure we’re on the right track.”

I thought it was generous of them to act like I really mattered to the show. After all, I was certainly Johnny-come-lately. They seemed to be a nice bunch of people.
 

The village was just as cute as it sounded. Most of the residents kept the homes up beautifully, even though they were only leasing. Most of the homes had the usual gingerbread trim, the wrap around porches, the beautiful windows, the turrets and multiple stairways. But they also had a good recent paint job, and often with bright colors that were almost startling to see. We walked the length of the row as Lance pointed out special qualities and houses where the people had gone the extra mile to produce something really exceptional.
 

Of course, each house was decorated for Christmas which made them even more fun to look at.
 

“Do people just do whatever they want?” I asked Lance.

“Oh no. Every January they submit plans that have to be approved by July 4. You’ll be intimately involved in that for next year I’m sure. Then they go to town on their places, each one vying with his neighbor to come up with the fanciest display. It’s rather like what it would be if regular people built the floats for the Rose Parade. Can you imagine?”

That made me laugh. A few people came out and waved at us, and we did go up and look into a few houses. Many had owners home, working on preparations. One middle-aged man was busy stringing lights in the leafless birch tree that stood in front of his house.
 

Lance introduced me.

“Mele, I’d like you to meet Tony Genera, our organization chairman.”

Tony came down off his ladder and shook my hand.
 

“Any relation to Ginny Genera?” I asked. “The marathon runner?”

 
He grinned. He had a handsome face and a pleasant manner. “Yes, she’s my sister. I run marathons too. In fact, I’m the one who got her started. I taught her everything she knows.”

“Really?” Come to think of it, he looked a bit like her. “I don’t see you running all over town like Ginny does.”

“I train at the Y. I wish Ginny would too. It’s dangerous out running on the public roads all day and night like she does.”

“Luckily, it’s a pretty peaceful town.”

“Maybe.” He looked doubtful and I had to admit, if just to myself, that there had been some pretty fishy things going on lately. “I’m really out of shape right now. I’m going to have to get back into it before Spring.”

“Good luck.”

We moved on, chatting with residents, looking over the decor. Finally, Lance led me to the front door of a house where we were going to take a closer look.
 

“I’ve already spoken to Ellie Chang and she said to bring you right in. She loves to show off her house. She lives here with her mother, Rose, who doesn’t speak much English, but Ellie will translate if she needs to.”

Ellie was about 35, bright and friendly and talked a mile a minute, while her mother stood aside and nodded, looking pleased and proud of her. They had every room in the house furnished with the Nineteenth Century in mind, though they were mostly modern versions of styles, not the real thing. Still, it was like stepping back into another century. I was truly enchanted.
 

We ended our tour in front of a door that was firmly closed against us.
 

“Sorry,” Ellie said with a shrug. “We actually rent this room and our garage out to someone else. I didn’t ask him if he would mind, and the room isn’t decorated like the rest of the house anyway. In fact, it isn’t much more than storage space the way he uses it. He does sell so much, mostly on the internet.”

Lance’s phone rang and he looked at the tiny cell phone window. “It’s my mother,” he told me softly. “I’m going to have to go outside to take this.” And he left.
 

Lucky timing, because I was over the Victorians and definitely into the story behind the rented room. Could this really be where Bobby kept his supplies?
 

“Are you talking about that Australian surfer guy?” I asked her as soon as Lance was out of earshot. “Bobby?”

She smiled. “Oh, you know him. Yes, he’s been renting from us for about six months now.”

“Really?” How was I going to get in to see what his operation looked like? “Is he here right now?”

“Oh no. He’s hardly ever here. He has so many friends and contacts and so much work to do….”

“Oh.” I thought for a moment. “Is the door locked?”

Ellie looked startled. “I don’t know.”

I hesitated. “Do you mind…could I just take a peek? Really, I’m so interested in the architecture of this house and I’d like to see what the window looks out on. Is it the porch, or is there another structure….?”

I didn’t know what the heck I was talking about so I didn’t want to get too specific. Ellie looked concerned.
 

“Well,” she said. “I don’t suppose it would be too much to just let you look. I mean, I go in there all the time to clean and take in his packages, unless they’re very large. Those go into the garage.” She pulled out some keys. “Here. Just a quick look, now.”

I did just that, and there was a lot to see. The room was filled to the gills with boxes and display racks. There were t-shirts and teddy bears with banners proclaiming “Victorian Village Days!” and boxes of candies and simple toys—everything you would think a hustler like Bobby would be preparing for the pageant crowds.
 

“Thank you so much,” I said as I pulled back. “I see now.”

And Ellie closed the door and locked it just in time as Lance came back in.
 

“Everything okay?” I asked him brightly, and he nodded, but I could tell there was some problem that was going to be occupying his mind for awhile.