Murders and Metaphors Page 20

  My knees knocked together. I didn’t know if it was from fear or the cold. “Hey!” I shouted at the figure. “Who’s there?”

  The giant shadow turned and ran down the path. Forgetting my fear, I held the watering can to my chest and took off after the shadow. Just before I reached the person, there was a scream and then a thud.

  I ran to where I heard the fall and found Joel Redding lying on the ground holding his ankle. A giant tree root poked out of the ground to his right.

  “Owww!” Redding moaned. “My ankle. Call an ambulance! I’m hurt.”

  I stared down at him. “Were you following me?”

  He groaned.

  “Answer the question.”

  “I told you that you were my lead to solving the case. When I followed you, I thought you were going into the woods to meet someone. I didn’t know you wanted a drink of water.”

  I shivered. Redding had seen me gather water from the natural springs. What did this mean? Would he figure out Charming Books’ secret? This was much worse than him just following me to learn more about the murder.

  “What are you doing out here in the middle of night anyway?” Redding wanted to know.

  “I went for a walk. Not that it’s any of your business.”

  “Who goes for a walk carrying a watering can?” he asked.

  I stepped around him and started down the path.

  “Wait! You can’t leave me here. I’m hurt.”

  I walked a few more feet.

  “You’re really going to leave me in the middle of the dark woods with what is most likely a broken ankle?”

  I sighed and turned around. “Are you sure it’s broken?”

  “Look at it!” He pointed at his ankle.

  I did, with only the dappled moonlight that came through the cracks in the tree cover to see by. His ankle was bent at an odd angle. The laces of his boot were stretched, as it had already begun to swell. “Maybe it’s just a sprain.”

  “Doesn’t feel like a sprain,” Redding muttered.

  “Then we need to get you to the hospital.” I set the watering can on the ground and started to help him to his feet.

  “No! Ow! Don’t move me. Don’t you know that you’re not supposed to move someone with an injury?”

  “I’m pretty sure that’s someone with a back injury, and your back is fine. I can help you down the path and you can hop on your good foot to my car. It’s parked in front of Charming Books. It’s not too far.”

  “It’s not too far for someone with two working legs. It will take forever for me. You need a better plan.”

  “I can’t just leave you here.”

  “Call for an EMT or something.”

  I chewed on my bottom lip. If I called for an EMT, Chief Rainwater would surely hear about it. I didn’t want to bring more attention to my walk in the woods than I already had. “Don’t be a baby, Redding. You will probably be on crutches for a while after this. You should get used to hopping.”

  “I’ll never get used to hopping.”

  “My offer is to take you to the hospital in my car, or we can go to Charming Books and I can call an ambulance from there for you.”

  He rubbed his knee and glared at me. “All right.”

  “Can I help you up?” I asked.

  He nodded.

  I bent and grabbed Redding under the right shoulder. As I straightened up, he cried out.

  I grimaced. He wrapped his arm over my shoulder and hopped on one foot.

  “Try to keep your balance while I pick up my watering can.” I bent down with Redding clinging to my shoulder as I picked up the watering can. Only a very small amount of the spring water splashed out. I righted myself and held the can to my chest with my right hand and supported Redding with my left.

  We started our way down the path. Our progress was slow. Redding wasn’t a great hopper, and he had to rest every few feet.

  “Tap water isn’t good enough for you?” he asked.

  “What?”

  “The watering can. Do you collect water from the spring because you don’t care for tap water?”

  I searched my brain for an explanation. “It’s for my cat. He doesn’t like tap water,” I said. Inwardly, I groaned. Redding would never believe that excuse, and I couldn’t blame him for that.

  “Your cat?”

  “You shouldn’t have followed me into the woods. If you hadn’t, you wouldn’t be hurt right now.”

  “I followed you because I wanted to tell you that you’re right.”

  I stopped in the middle of the path. “What?”

  Redding hopped wildly in place trying to keep his balance. “Hey, you can’t just slam on the brakes like that. You have to warn me.”

  “Sorry.” I started walking again. “What was I right about?”

  “Lacey. I don’t think she killed Belinda either. When I got that call at the vineyard and left, I was headed for Le Crepe Jolie. Sebastian was there and wanted me to question Lacey. I did, and I concluded that there isn’t a single mean bone in her body. She didn’t kill Belinda.”

  I gave a sigh of relief. “Thank goodness. You should have come to that conclusion a lot sooner, though. So, who do you think the killer is?”

  “My money is on Lacey’s husband.”

  “Adrien?” I gasped. “You can’t be serious.”

  “The man is built like a professional wrestler, and he’s protective of his wife. He saw her be publicly humiliated when Belinda rejected her. He was angry.”

  “Adrien wouldn’t do that. He’s a gentle giant,” I said, just as we reached the back gate of the shop. I had never been so grateful to see Charming Books in all my life.

  “It’s a gut feeling he’s the killer, and my gut feelings are almost always right.”

  I opened the gate. “Not this time.”

  “I know you didn’t go to the springs to collect water for your cat. But whatever propelled you to go into the woods in the middle of the night was important.” There was a pause. “I’m going to find out what that is.”

  Grandma Daisy met us at the kitchen door and held it open for us. She had her coat on. “I was just about to go look for you, Violet; you were gone so long.” She stared at Redding. “What’s going on?”

  “Grandma Daisy,” I said. “This is Joel Redding, the private detective that I have told you about who has been following me around the village. He followed me into the woods tonight and might have broken his ankle.” I stopped myself just in time from saying that he deserved it for snooping.

  “Oh dear, you both come inside from the cold.”

  I helped Redding through the doorway, and he winced. I knew that he must be in a lot of pain. I settled him on the kitchen stool.

  Grandma Daisy looked from the watering can in my hand to Redding and back again. I gave a slight shake of my head. There was no time to explain now. I had to get Redding out of the shop. “You can have a quick rest, but we need to get you to the hospital so you can have the ankle looked at,” I said. “I need to get my car keys.”

  When I was in the main part of the shop, I looked behind me to make sure the door between the kitchen and the rest of the shop was closed. It was, and with another moment’s hesitation, I watered the tree and stored the watering can behind the sales counter. Then I grabbed my car keys.

  When I came back into the kitchen a few minutes later, Redding was sipping from a cup of tea.

  Grandma Daisy smiled at me, but it didn’t reach her eyes. “Mr. Redding was just asking me all sorts of questions about the history of the bookshop. He’s very curious about this place.”

  “Oh,” I said, and I felt the knot in my stomach tighten. I turned to Redding. “Are you ready to go?”

  He nodded. He was much paler than he had been a few minutes ago. I helped him to his feet for a second time and led him to the back door. There was no way I was taking him out the front of the shop where he would see the birch tree. I knew that it was impossible to keep him from learning about the tree. E
veryone in the village knew it was there. I only wanted to postpone that as long as possible.

  “Violet,” Grandma Daisy said, stopping me. “Be careful.” She gave me a meaningful look.

  “I will,” I said.

  Chapter Thirty

  The entire drive to the emergency clinic, Redding moaned about his ankle. I finally gave up consoling him about it. At least he had fallen on his own accord in the public park. He had no grounds to sue me or Charming Books over the injury. I didn’t doubt for a moment that he would have tried, given the fuss that he was making.

  We arrived at the clinic, and it must have been a slow night because they took him right in. While I was in the waiting room, I called Rainwater. I knew I was long overdue to tell him about what I’d been up to.

  He answered on the first ring. “Violet, are you okay?” He sounded a little bit out of breath.

  “I’m fine,” I said. “P.I. Redding not so much. We’re at the emergency clinic.”

  “What happened?” he asked.

  “Maybe I should start from the beginning?” And I did just that. I told Rainwater about everyone I had spoken to about Belinda: my visit with Adele, running into Michelle, talking to Charles Hancock, learning that Rathbone was Belinda’s ex-husband, and the guild meeting at Bone and Hearth Vineyards.

  Rainwater remained silent through all of it. I couldn’t tell if he was happy, angry, or indifferent about everything I had learned. I didn’t know if I was telling him anything new or if this was all old information as far as he was concerned, but I didn’t hold anything back. When I finished my story and he didn’t say anything, I asked, “Do you have anything to say about that?”

  “I have a lot to say about it,” Rainwater confessed. “I’m just trying not to say anything that I will regret over it.”

  “I would do it all over again. Lacey is my friend, and I want to protect her.”

  He sighed. “I know. You’re a loyal friend, Violet, and that is an admirable quality. You should be proud of that.”

  “Thank you,” I murmured.

  “We can talk more about this later and in person. Why don’t you go home? I’ll send Wheaton over to wait and take Redding home after he’s released from the clinic.”

  “You want me to just leave him?”

  “Yes,” he said, leaving no room for argument. “This man has been badgering you. Just tell them at the desk that Wheaton will be there.”

  It sounded like a good plan to me. “All right,” I agreed.

  “I’m tied up at the moment, but I’ll come over and see you at the bookshop just as soon as I can.”

  “You don’t have to do that,” I said in a low voice.

  “I know I don’t have to, Violet. I want to.” There was a pause. “Now, go home. I’ll see you in a little while.”

  I finally agreed, not because I was willing to take orders from Rainwater but because I didn’t want to listen to Redding whine about his ankle any longer.

  When I got back to Charming Books, there was a note on the sales counter. Faulkner cawed and Emerson meowed.

  I read the note. I WENT TO LE CREPE JOLIE TO CHECK ON LACEY AND GET SOME DINNER. COME JOIN US! GRANDMA D.

  Dinner with Lacey, Adrien, and Grandma Daisy was just what I needed. I texted Rainwater to tell him where I would be in case he arrived at Charming Books sooner than he thought.

  I bundled up in my winter coat, hat, gloves, boots, and scarf again and headed out the door. Emerson followed me. I shook my finger at the little black-and-white tuxie. “I don’t think so. It’s far too cold out there for you to be romping about, especially now that the sun has set.”

  He meowed and placed his white front paws on my legs. He looked at me imploringly. I shook my head, trying to be firm. “No, stay here with Faulkner. He could use the company.”

  The large black bird flew through the shop and landed on the mantle above the fireplace. “Hogwash.”

  I narrowed my eyes at the bird. “You’re not helping.”

  Finally, I had no choice but to do the one trick that I knew worked with the cat. I picked up a pen from the sales counter, walked to the front door of the shop, waved the pen back and forth in front of the cat’s face, and then threw it as far as I could across the shop. “Fetch!” I shouted.

  Emerson bounded after the flying pen, Faulkner took to the air, and I jumped out the front door, locking it behind me.

  I heard an ear-splitting yowl from the other side of the door. The cat wouldn’t let me forget this injustice, that much I knew. I would worry about Emerson’s wrath later. I ran down the steps, onto the snow-covered yard, and through the gate. I slowed my pace as I reached the icy sidewalk. It was nice to know that I could move through the village without being followed by Redding. Not that I was happy that he had hurt his ankle. All right, maybe if not happy, I was a little bit relieved.

  I followed the turn where River Road curved to follow the river. Lacey’s café was to my left, but instead of going there straightaway, I crossed the street to the Riverwalk. The moon was nearly full, and its white light reflected off the rushing river water. The ice shimmered and the river glowed. A breeze coming over the border from Canada made me shiver, but I walked to the river’s edge anyway. The sight was so lovely, I couldn’t turn away.

  Another figure moved on the Riverwalk. The person appeared to be dressed all in black. I might have been mistaken, but it looked like Adele Perkins. Was she on the Riverwalk to finally make amends with Lacey? I hoped that was the case for both of their sakes. I couldn’t discount what Adele had told me, that she had wanted to kill Belinda for no longer supporting her art. Even so, it was hard for me to believe that the youngest Perkins girl had committed murder, and Lacey would be heartbroken if I even suggested Adele as a suspect. I had told Rainwater what I learned from Adele, and I decided that I would leave it at that.

  For some reason, looking at the river made me think of Nathan and Colleen and all that we had been when we were young. We had spent so much of our time growing up in this very spot that it was impossible for me to separate this moment from those that clouded my memory. I could always hear Colleen’s infectious laughter, but the January wind seemed to carry it away just before I could catch it. It was like losing her again. I knew that if Colleen were still alive, I would have told her about being the Caretaker of Charming Books. I would have trusted her with that information. Was it fair not to trust Rainwater? Could I trust him enough to tell him my secret? I knew I could never really be with him if I had this wedge between us.

  I shook my head, doing my best to chase my rambling thoughts away. It was time to go see Lacey and my grandmother. I had started to turn back toward River Road when I felt two hands on my back. Before I could even scream, those hands pushed me into the rushing water below.

  Chapter Thirty-One

  This was how Colleen died! She drowned in this river. I don’t want to die too. I don’t! The thoughts shouted inside my brain. Stand up, stand up!

  Somehow in the bone-chilling cold, my muscles listened. I felt my foot touch the bottom of the riverbed, but still my head didn’t break through the surface. My body jerked in the current, and I was so cold, so very cold. It would be much easier to lie down. I just wanted to lie down for a minute. I wanted to stop fighting the current for one minute; that was all I needed.

  Then I felt a jerk that nearly pulled my shoulder out of joint. I heard the shout. “I have her!”

  I felt my body being pulled from the river’s current, the back of my coat scraping over the jagged ice on the riverbank. Once I was on the riverbank, I was rolled onto my side.

  “Is she all right?” a high-pitched voice cried. In my fuzzy state of mind, I thought that it might be Lacey. “Is she dead?”

  “Not dead,” my grandmother said.

  “She should go to a hospital. She might have hypothermia.” Lacey sounded worried.

  “I got her out pretty fast,” Grandma Daisy said.

  “You might have hypothermia too,�
� Lacey said.

  “No, no,” I said, finally able to speak. “No hospital. I just want to go home.”

  “I don’t think that’s a good idea.” It was Rainwater speaking. When had he arrived? I wondered.

  I tried to sit up. “Please, just take me home.”

  I felt someone wrap a blanket around me, and then I was picked up by strong arms. My vision cleared at that point, and I realized Rainwater was carrying me up the street. I wanted to protest and tell him to put me down. I could walk perfectly fine, but instead I rested my head on his shoulder and closed my eyes.

  When I woke again, I was tucked into my bed under at least fourteen quilts. There were so many blankets on top of me that it was impossible to move.

  “David, thank you for helping me get Violet into bed,” I heard my grandmother say just outside the door.

  “That was a foolhardy but brave thing you did back there, Daisy. You might very well have saved Violet’s life,” the police chief said.

  “She’s all I have in the world.” My grandmother sounded choked up. “I’m going to sleep on her sofa just outside her bedroom and keep an eye on her.”

  “I’ll stay the night too.”

  “You don’t have to do that,” my grandmother said. “I am more than capable of taking care of Violet.”

  “I know you are,” Rainwater said. “But someone tried to kill Violet tonight, and I’ll be damned if I let it happen again.”

  “You didn’t let it happen, David,” Grandma Daisy said soothingly.

  “I should have been there.” There was a pause. “I can’t lose her.”

  Then their voices moved away from my bedroom door. Although my body still felt so, so cold, there was a warmth in my heart put there by Rainwater’s words. I snuggled down in the blanket and closed my eyes again.

  The next morning, every muscle in my body ached. I touched my shoulder and felt a bruise forming there. I shoved off the pile of blankets and quilts that had buried me alive the night before. Emerson was at the foot of my bed watching me. When I got out of bed, I saw I was in my pajamas. The conversation I had overheard last night came back to me. Grandma Daisy had mentioned something about Rainwater helping her put me to bed. I prayed to God that he had not helped get me into my PJs. If he had, I would surely die from embarrassment.