appointment in three minutes, and if I’m not there on time, they’ll chide me as if I were a schoolchild.”
“Go. And, Jenna? Thanks for the information. Don’t take any chances digging into this, okay?”
“I won’t if you promise not to, either,” she said with a smile.
After Jenna was gone, I finished preparing for the day, wondering how David was doing. He would certainly be sore from the impact of the collision, but he was young, so I knew he’d bounce back quickly. The older I got, the longer it took me to recover from the aches and pains in my life.
The phone rang two minutes before I was due to open, but since there wasn’t a crowd outside my door clamoring to get in, I decided to take the time to answer it.
It was Sandy, the world’s greatest reference librarian. “I just have a second,” she said after identifying herself. “There’s something I’m tracking down, but I’m not sure what I’ve got yet.”
“You don’t have to touch base until you uncover something,” I said. “I know you have a full-time job, too.”
“This might be a factor. I was looking into the open court records on the Internet, and I found something interesting.”
“So you know about the will, too,” I said, trying not to sound too smug.
“What will? Carolyn, what are you talking about?”
I was confused, but I explained. “Charlie Cobb’s dad died a month and a half ago. Charlie was one of two beneficiaries, at least he would have been if he’d made it forty-five days after his dad passed away. Unfortunately, Charlie only made it forty-four.”
“I didn’t find any of that,” Sandy admitted. “That sounds like motive enough for murder. Do you want me to drop what I found and follow up on that?”
“No, Jenna brought the information to my attention, and she’s looking into it herself. If you didn’t find out about the will, what did you discover?”
“Charlie had a drunk-driving arrest in his past,” Sandy said.
“Is it significant?”
“I didn’t think so at first, but I started digging into the time he was arrested, going through old newspapers we have here on microfiche, and guess what else happened around that time?”
“I don’t have a clue,” I admitted.
“Nate Walker’s wife was killed. It was a hit-and-run, and they never found the guy who did it.”
I couldn’t believe it. “So you think he killed Nate’s wife, and Nate just realized it after all these years? Don’t you think he’d have known about it long before now?”
“Nate crawled into a bottle after his wife died. I doubt he knew much of anything then. Carolyn, what if he stumbled across this information and decided that Charlie killed Winnie? Would he take it to Sheriff Hodges, or would he want revenge himself?”
“I don’t know. It’s motive enough for murder, if it’s true. How do we find out, though? Do we walk up to Nate and ask him if he killed the man? I doubt he’d confess to us.”
“Let me keep digging,” Sandy said. “I’ll let you know if I find out anything else.”
“Thanks,” I said as the front door chimed. I half expected to see Martha come in with a report of her own, but it was actually a man with his thirteen- or fourteen-year-old daughter. From the expression on her face, she wasn’t all that thrilled about being in my shop.
“Listen, I’ve got to go. I’ve got a customer.”
“I’ll touch base later,” Sandy said.
“May I help you?” I asked.
“We’d like to paint some pottery,” the man said firmly.
The teenage girl sneered at her father. “Correction. He’d like to paint some pottery,” she said. “I want to go back to bed.”
“Sarah, we talked about this. It’s after ten o’clock. We don’t have that much time left together before you have to go back to your mother’s.”
“Whatever. I just want this woman to know that I’m here against my will.”
My, wasn’t she a princess? Putting on my best smile, I asked, “Why don’t you give it a
“Go. And, Jenna? Thanks for the information. Don’t take any chances digging into this, okay?”
“I won’t if you promise not to, either,” she said with a smile.
After Jenna was gone, I finished preparing for the day, wondering how David was doing. He would certainly be sore from the impact of the collision, but he was young, so I knew he’d bounce back quickly. The older I got, the longer it took me to recover from the aches and pains in my life.
The phone rang two minutes before I was due to open, but since there wasn’t a crowd outside my door clamoring to get in, I decided to take the time to answer it.
It was Sandy, the world’s greatest reference librarian. “I just have a second,” she said after identifying herself. “There’s something I’m tracking down, but I’m not sure what I’ve got yet.”
“You don’t have to touch base until you uncover something,” I said. “I know you have a full-time job, too.”
“This might be a factor. I was looking into the open court records on the Internet, and I found something interesting.”
“So you know about the will, too,” I said, trying not to sound too smug.
“What will? Carolyn, what are you talking about?”
I was confused, but I explained. “Charlie Cobb’s dad died a month and a half ago. Charlie was one of two beneficiaries, at least he would have been if he’d made it forty-five days after his dad passed away. Unfortunately, Charlie only made it forty-four.”
“I didn’t find any of that,” Sandy admitted. “That sounds like motive enough for murder. Do you want me to drop what I found and follow up on that?”
“No, Jenna brought the information to my attention, and she’s looking into it herself. If you didn’t find out about the will, what did you discover?”
“Charlie had a drunk-driving arrest in his past,” Sandy said.
“Is it significant?”
“I didn’t think so at first, but I started digging into the time he was arrested, going through old newspapers we have here on microfiche, and guess what else happened around that time?”
“I don’t have a clue,” I admitted.
“Nate Walker’s wife was killed. It was a hit-and-run, and they never found the guy who did it.”
I couldn’t believe it. “So you think he killed Nate’s wife, and Nate just realized it after all these years? Don’t you think he’d have known about it long before now?”
“Nate crawled into a bottle after his wife died. I doubt he knew much of anything then. Carolyn, what if he stumbled across this information and decided that Charlie killed Winnie? Would he take it to Sheriff Hodges, or would he want revenge himself?”
“I don’t know. It’s motive enough for murder, if it’s true. How do we find out, though? Do we walk up to Nate and ask him if he killed the man? I doubt he’d confess to us.”
“Let me keep digging,” Sandy said. “I’ll let you know if I find out anything else.”
“Thanks,” I said as the front door chimed. I half expected to see Martha come in with a report of her own, but it was actually a man with his thirteen- or fourteen-year-old daughter. From the expression on her face, she wasn’t all that thrilled about being in my shop.
“Listen, I’ve got to go. I’ve got a customer.”
“I’ll touch base later,” Sandy said.
“May I help you?” I asked.
“We’d like to paint some pottery,” the man said firmly.
The teenage girl sneered at her father. “Correction. He’d like to paint some pottery,” she said. “I want to go back to bed.”
“Sarah, we talked about this. It’s after ten o’clock. We don’t have that much time left together before you have to go back to your mother’s.”
“Whatever. I just want this woman to know that I’m here against my will.”
My, wasn’t she a princess? Putting on my best smile, I asked, “Why don’t you give it a
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