A Catered Halloween by Isis Crawford Page A

see that Timberland’s smile was now slightly smaller.
    “You’re not here for auto insurance,” he said.
    “Then what am I here for?”
    “To ask me questions about my relationship with Amethyst.”
    “And why do you suppose that?”
    “A little birdie told me.”
    Somehow Bernie couldn’t believe that birdie was Jeanine. Maybe Inez? Most probably Inez.
    The corners of Timberland’s mouth turned up at Bernie’s evident confusion. “But actually, it doesn’t matter,” he said.
    “That you and Amethyst hung out together?” asked Bernie.
    “So what if we did back in the day?”
    “And that your family moved away right after Bessie Osgood went out the window?”
    Timberland smirked. “Again, so what? I’m sure if you check, you’ll find that lots of people left around that time.”
    “So maybe that has something to do with Amethyst’s death.”
    Timberland’s smirk grew bigger. “I guess you’re behind the times.”
    “Not me. I’m fashion forward,” said Bernie.
    Timberland blinked for a minute, then recovered himself. “You mean, you haven’t heard?” he asked.
    “Heard what?” Bernie replied. Now it was her turn to be puzzled.
    “They arrested Bob Small this morning for Amethyst’s murder.”
    Bernie shifted from one leg to the other. She wondered if that was what her dad had been calling her about. It probably was.
    “So?” she said. “Your point is?”
    “My point is that I want you to keep away from me. You have no legal authority.”
    “Is that what you brought me here to tell me?”
    “As a matter of fact, it is. I brought you here to tell you that I’ll have you arrested for stalking if you keep bothering me.”
    Bernie couldn’t help it. She laughed. “You’re kidding me, right?”
    “Not in the least.”
    “You could have said no when I called.”
    “I just saw your name on today’s calendar.”
    “Even so. You could have called and cancelled.”
    “I wanted to tell you in person.”
    “How considerate.”
    “I’m a considerate guy.”
    “I don’t know…,” Bernie said.
    “That’s obvious.”
    Bernie talked over him. “For someone who is in the clear, you’re certainly going to a lot of trouble to tell me to lay off. Why is that?”
    Timberland took another step toward her. “You and your sister have a reputation for causing trouble.”
    “It depends on your definition of trouble . And, anyway, what could we do to you? You just told me you had nothing to do with any of this.”
    Timberland went on as if she hadn’t spoken. “If you’re smart, you’ll stay out of my way.”
    “You want to tell me about your daughter?”
    Timberland flushed. “You’ve been warned,” he growled.
    “I guess you don’t like talking about her.”
    “Get out before I have you arrested.” Timberland took his cell off the clip on his belt. “I’m dialing.”
    “I’m going. I’m going.”
    Well, that had been a complete waste of time, Bernie thought as she got back in her vehicle. She shook her head in disgust at herself. She’d let him lead the conversation from the get-go. Bad. Bad. Bad. The only thing she did know was that the daughter was a definite sore spot. She sighed and looked at her watch.
    She had another hour before she had to meet Libby at the Haunted House. She decided to use it to pick up more potted mums at the garden center. If she recalled, they still had some left. And as long as she was there, she could ask Kathy about Zinnia. They were the same age. Maybe she’d know something about her.
    Then if she had any time left over, she’d buy some more napkins. She’d seen some really cute ones with ghosts on them in the dollar store over on Grand Avenue. And maybe they had some other Halloween stuff as well. That was the thing with the dollar store. You never knew what you were going to find. Kind of like life , Bernie decided. She shook her head. She was definitely getting sappy in her old age.
     
    Kathy’s Garden Shop was located in a mini