Creamed at the Coffee Cabana: A Cozy Mystery (Sweet Home Cozy Mystery Series Book 1) (4 page)

Mildred nodded. “See, everyone would have guessed it was me. It was so embarrassing. Fannie said she was telling me so I’d have a heads up. My, wasn’t that sweet of her. Anyway, I saw her that day during the parade. She was walking up the street so I followed to try to talk some sense into her. She then ducked down the alley and I did too. I saw her slip into the back door of your shop so I followed her in.”

Okay, now we have Mildred in the shop.

“She was snooping around in your trash and looking through the cupboards. I startled her and she was none too happy with me. I pleaded with her not to hand out those papers at the festival. That we’d been friends for all these years and how could she be so mean. She didn’t care though. I think at that moment I finally saw her for what she was. A mean spirited evil woman who didn’t care what misery she bestowed on people. She turned away from me, but I wasn’t about to be stopped. I grabbed her arm and swung her around to face me. That’s when she seized the front of my jacket and pulled me forward. She said she didn’t need me as a friend. That she wanted Toe for herself and wasn’t about to compete with me.”

Wow, Essie just got another hit! Dang, that Toe had the women lined up from here to Disney World. Seems being a lifelong bachelor is a turn on for the old girls!

“She shoved me back and that must have been when she grabbed the button on my jacket. I was too upset to notice and ran out the back door.”

“So that’s the last time you saw her alive?” I asked.

“Yes,” Mildred answered tears spilling down her cheeks. “I was mad at her, but I could never harm anyone.”

I could tell by the look on Essie’s face that we agreed. We didn’t think Mildred killed Fannie.

I handed Mildred a tissue. “Did you happen to see anyone in the alley when you left?”

Mildred thought for a second. “Actually, I do remember seeing Mr. Barton at the corner of the building. At the time I thought it odd that he was there, but I promptly put it out of my mind because I was so upset.”

Essie patted her on the shoulder. “Come on; let’s get you a cup of hot tea.”

“Could I have my button back?”

Essie looked at me. “Sure, here it is.”

That probably wasn’t the right thing to do, but I couldn’t say no to her. She seemed way too distressed. But now we had the conundrum of Mildred spotting Mike near the murder scene.

We walked back up front and Essie poured Mildred one of our new offerings. Cinnamon apple tea. She sat at the counter and sipped. It seemed to calm her down.

Jules pulled me aside. “So what did you find out?”

“She was here with Fannie,” I whispered. “They got into a fight in the back of the store over something in that special edition paper. The fight got physical and evidently the button popped off Mildred’s jacket and then lodged between the stove and cabinet. But she says she didn’t hit her with the skillet and I tend to believe her.”

Jules looked over at Mildred who was blowing her nose. “I agree. I don’t think she has a mean bone in her body.”

“But she said she saw Mike in the alley when she left. And Essie said that during the parade Mike left to go make a phone call.”

“Did Mildred say he was on the phone when she saw him?”

“No…she said he was just standing there. She thought it odd, but she was too upset to give it much thought.”

Jules twirled a strand of her long black hair. “Hmmm…I wonder if Mike saw anyone.”

“What about Mike himself?”

Jules made a face. “I would hate to think Mike would murder anyone, even Fannie.”

“Oh that’s right, you weren’t here.”

“What do you mean?”

“A few days before the festival Mike and Fannie got into a heated argument right here in the shop.”

“What about?”

“Fannie’s stupid rag of a newspaper of course. She alluded to Mike killing plants and shrubs on client’s property to make more money.”

Jules shook her head. “I hate to talk ill of the dead, but the nerve of that woman. She really delighted in causing misery. I guess that does give Mike a motive.”

“She threw Toe under the bus in the same paper, but you know him. He lets that stuff slide right down his back.”

“Yeah, Toe’s too laid back. But it doesn’t sound like Mike’s the same way.”

I felt sad thinking it might be Mike. “No he doesn’t.”

The front door opened. Hildie and Toe were back. “Harvey needed to get home and feed Miss Pickles.”

Miss Pickles was his cat. She was a stray that ended up on his doorstep a few months after his wife passed. She was black with four white paws. The tip of her tail was also white. Miss Pickles loved men, sashaying around their legs and using her paw to gently get their attention. Not so with the women though. She’d hiss and even claw at them if they came near her or Harvey. Essie swore she was the reincarnation of his dead wife.

“Well we wouldn’t want Miss Pickles to starve, would we?” Essie said sarcastically.

I noticed Essie was watching Toe carefully to see how he and Mildred would interact. Nothing out of the ordinary. I knew this was driving Essie nuts. Toe had asked her out several times around a year after her husband passed, but she wasn’t interested. Now that she discovered Toe was known around town as some sort of Casanova, her radar was on alert.

Toe put Hildie’s bag from Jackson’s hardware store in the back room. “Thanks for carrying that for me Toe.” Now Essie was giving Hildie the side eye. Heh.

“We have some news,” Hildie continued oblivious to Essie’s sourpuss face. “Mr. Jackson said a few of his customers came in and said they saw Mike Barton being taken into the police station.”

Essie, Jules and I looked at one another, not sure what to make of it.

“They didn’t arrest him did they?” I asked.

Hilde shook her head. “Not as far as Mr. Jackson knows. Although he arrived in a police cruiser with Eli. His hands weren’t handcuffed as far as anyone could see.”

A few more customers strolled in for their afternoon pick me up. Of course, word spread quickly regarding Mike being taken into the police station for questioning. Mildred finally left, taking her button with her. Not long after, Harvey showed up again.

He walked up to the counter and sat on one of the stools next to Jules. “I might as well tell you all the news.” His face looked dour.

We steeled ourselves for the worst. “Eli arrested Mike for Fannie’s murder.”

Hildie gasped. “Oh no. I was hoping they were only questioning him.”

Harvey’s shoulders sagged. “They did question him, but evidently they didn’t like his vague answers. Some people saw him in the alleyway behind the shop during the parade that day.”

Apparently Mildred wasn’t the only person who saw him in the alley so she must have been telling the truth.

“What do you mean about his answers being vague?” I asked.

“Mike said he was making a phone call, but he wouldn’t tell Eli who it was. Said it was personal and he shouldn’t have to reveal a name.”

Essie didn’t like the sound of that. “Well that sounds odd. Why wouldn’t he tell Eli who he was talking to? I don’t care how personal it was; better to tell than to be thought of as a murderer.”

I had to agree. Why would Mike not want to divulge who he was talking to? My mind immediately went to Meghan and Trevor, his wife and son. They must be devastated.

“We should make dinner and take it over to Meghan and Trevor this evening. Give them some support don’t you think?” I asked.

My aunts and Jules agreed. We’d make a meatloaf and all the fixins and take it over. I was sure they probably weren’t hungry, but in the south food cures all, or at least makes things seem better. Unfortunately, nothing was going to help this situation.

Chapter Seven

I called Meghan first to make sure it was okay with her that we bring a meal by. She was understandably upset, but told us to come ahead. That it would be good to have friends around. When we arrived and set the food in the kitchen, Trevor and a friend emerged from his bedroom. They filled their plates, got a few colas from the fridge and went right back to Trevor’s room.

“How is he holding up?” I asked Meghan.

Meghan placed a small slice of meatloaf on her plate. “He’s doing okay. Basically, he’s ignoring what’s going on. Playing his video games with his friends. Maybe that’s better.”

Essie poured herself a glass of lemonade from the pitcher we brought with us. “Sooner or later he’ll have to face it.”

Meghan nodded. “I know, but I think I’ll let him be for now. I am so glad you all came, and it was so thoughtful of you to bring dinner.”

We told her it was our pleasure and that we wanted to help in any way possible. As we sat down to eat, Hildie brought up the issue of bail for Mike.

“Have the police said how much the bail might be? Maybe we could pitch in and help get him out.”

Meghan took a small bite of mashed potatoes. “We won’t know until he sees a judge tomorrow morning. However, I don’t want you ladies handing over your hard-earned money. I appreciate the offer though.”

Meghan was subdued and who would blame her. But what caught my attention was her lack of defending Mike. I would have thought she’d want to talk about how crazy the situation was. That there was no way her husband could kill or harm anyone. But she didn’t. I was beginning to wonder if she believed her husband had killed Fannie.

I was hesitant to ask, but I finally did. “Meghan, do you have any clue what kind of evidence they have against Mike?”

Hildie shot me a disapproving look, Essie sat stuffing her face full of green beans, and Jules kicked me ever so lightly under the table.

Meghan looked up from her plate. “I suppose it has something to do with that phone call.”

“Do you know who Mike was calling?”

Jules hit me a little harder in my shin, Hildie looked as though she might fly across the table, and Essie continued to shovel it in.

Meghan dabbed her mouth with her napkin and laid it on the table. “He said he was making a call to someone over in Sabina about lawn mower parts.”

That didn’t make sense. Harvey said Mike was vague about his answers to police. Why would he be vague about lawn mower parts? Unless….duh! He was lying to Meghan.

I was about to open my mouth and ask another question but the look on Hildie’s face meant certain death if I did, so I shut it. We ate the rest of the meal in silence. Afterwards Jules and I washed the dishes for Meghan as she, Hildie and Essie sat outside on the porch with their iced tea.

“I’m going to have yellow and purple bruises on my leg tomorrow, thank you very much.”

Jules handed me a wet plate to dry. “You’re being dramatic. I didn’t hit you that hard. Besides we came here to comfort Meghan not quiz her about her husband.”

I knew she was right. “I know, I just can’t help myself. I want to know who killed Fannie in our shop and why. I have a feeling it has to do with that last edition of her paper she was putting out.”

“I agree with you on that. Too bad we can’t see what was in it.”

“Wait…Mildred knew her story would be in the paper. Maybe she knew some of the other stories as well.”

“Wouldn’t hurt to ask,” Jules said as she emptied the dirty water in the sink.

We said our goodbyes with hugs to Meghan and told her to please stay in touch and let us know if there was anything she needed. She nodded, her eyes still red from all the tears she must have shed earlier in the day.

When we got in Essie’s golf cart, she announced we were headed to the ice cream shop in town. She had a hankering for a dip of chocolate chip cookie dough. I swear that woman could eat like a lumberjack, yet never gain a pound on her slender build.

We all sat down at a table with our various dips of ice cream pleasure, discussing how we thought the evening went with Meghan.

“I thought it went well except for the inquisition,” Hildie said.

I took a bite of my mocha caramel. “I wasn’t that bad.”

“We were there to support her Lily,” Hildie replied.

I licked my spoon. “I’ve already gotten my licks from Jules. And a few are going to show yellow and blue in the morning.”

My aunts looked at me as if I was nuts but I decided not to pursue that line of questioning. We heard the bell tinkle as another customer made his or her way into the shop. It was Eli. He was off duty so was wearing a nice pair of blue jeans along with a dark blue polo shirt that made his dark hair stand out. He waved at us as he made his way to the counter to place his order. When he was done and heading to the door, Essie scooted out a chair next to her and told him to come sit with us.

“Don’t be in such a rush Eli. Come sit with us hens for a bit.”

He smiled and obliged. “So what are you ladies doing out and about tonight?”

“We just came from Meghan Barton’s house,” Jules answered. “We took her and Trevor dinner.”

Eli looked down at his cup of cherry jubilee. “That was nice of you ladies.”

He was keeping his cards close to his vest, but Essie was having none of it. She leaned over to him.

“Eli, why would you arrest Mike Barton? He’s a very nice man. I can’t see him murdering Fannie. It has to be somebody else. I mean no one liked the woman…I couldn’t stand her.”

“You’re not confessing are you?” He asked teasingly.

Essie sat back up in her chair. “Of course not! You know you’re not too old for a swatting.”

Heehee…good one Eli.

Eli laughed. Wow, I hadn’t seen him laugh in well, forever. He had a nice smile with dimples that creased his cheeks. Most of the time I only saw him in his uniform and he was always so serious. Now he seemed much more laid back.

“Ladies, you know I can’t discuss an ongoing investigation.”

“Essie leave him be. We’ll just have to figure this out on our own,” I said.

Eli sat back and looked at me. “So are you ladies trying your hand at detective work?”

“We might be,” Essie replied.

“Since the murder occurred in our shop, we would like to know who did it,” I answered.

“And you don’t think it was Mike?”

I looked across the table at Eli. “Honestly I don’t.”

“Then who do you think it is?”

“Oh no,” Essie interrupted. “If you won’t tell us about your evidence, we’re not telling you anything.”

“That’s obstructing justice,” Eli said. I could tell he was still teasing Essie, but she couldn’t.

“Eli Davis, are you suggesting you might arrest me?”

“Not at all Essie.” She seemed to settle down a bit. “But if you ladies do run across something that pertains to the murder, you will let me know, right?”

We all looked at each other across the table. The button! That freaking button! We were all thinking the same thing but each of us nodded and said ‘oh yes, we’ll let you know if we find something Eli.’ Ugh!

Eli stood up to leave. “Have a good night ladies.” We said our goodbyes and I watched as he walked to the door of the ice cream shop. Suddenly he turned and winked at me. Huh? What was that? I suddenly felt a twinge in my chest. Abruptly it was gone as my Aunt Essie’s voice loomed.

“What are we going to do now?” She whispered loudly.

“About what?” I whispered loudly back.

“Why are we whispering?” Hildie asked.

Jules shrugged and continued to devour her rocky road.

“The button, girl!” Essie whisper shouted. “You gave Mildred the button back.”

“I thought we all agreed to give it back to her.”

“Don’t pull me in with you peeps,” Jules said out loud. “I wasn’t here for your escapade.”

I was tired of whispering. “What? Now we think Mildred is the perp?”

“What’s a perp?” Hildie asked.

Essie ignored her. “No but…after what Eli said.”

“Why did you have to ask him about the case in the first place?” I asked.

Essie straightened in her chair. “It’s in my nature to be nosy.”

“That’s your defense?” I asked. Suddenly I laughed. I couldn’t help it. Which got them all to laughing. It was a welcome release, one we all needed after a stressful week. We finished our ice cream and headed home separately. We would need our rest because the next day would be a doozy, one with unexpected revelations.