There’s no way that Aunt Amy or Uncle Paul would ever harm anyone.”
“Diana, I’m not saying they could. I just don’t want to see you go to jail because the police were too stubborn to look at anybody else.”
She paused, then asked softly, “You know something? You never even asked me if I did it.”
“I’ve been working on the assumption that you were innocent,” I agreed. “Shouldn’t I have?”
The next thing I knew, she hung up on me. Okay, maybe it had been a little out of line. I sat there staring at the phone for a minute, wondering what I should do, when it rang.
“I’m so glad you called back,” I said before even waiting for a comment. “I didn’t mean anything by it. I swear I didn’t.”
Instead of Diana’s voice, Molly chuckled and asked, “What did you do this time? Never mind, I don’t want to know. Listen, have you seen Jeff?”
“Is this a cop asking, or my brother’s girlfriend?”
“Guess,” she said. “So have you seen him?”
“No, but you might try the shop. Use the private line.” We had a line for family and friends that wasn’t published anywhere. Though it was an added expense to our bottom line, none of us cared.
“I did, but no one picked up.”
“You might want to try Jim, then,” I said. “Sometimes they hang out together after work.”
“Thanks. Bye.”
Before I could ask a question myself, Molly hung up.
The phone rang again before I could put it back down. “That took longer to get through than I thought it would,” Diana said.
“Molly just called,” I explained.
“My, you are popular, aren’t you?”
“She was looking for my brother. Listen, I didn’t mean that last bit like it sounded.”
“Do you mean that Molly didn’t call for Jeff?”
“Diana, don’t make this harder on me than it has to be. You know exactly what I mean.”
She sighed, then said, “Of course I do. I just thought that you’d believe in me without any explanation necessary.”
“I never doubted you,” I said firmly.
“That wasn’t how it sounded to me.”
“That’s what I meant.”
“Good, I’m glad we got that cleared up. Good night.”
And then she hung up on me again, this time before I could wish her a good night myself. I knew she had reason enough to be sensitive, but I wasn’t about to apologize for something I didn’t do. I turned off the ringer and set the answering machine volume to zero. I needed some rest, and the way my night was going, I wasn’t going to get any if I didn’t take steps to protect my space. Anybody who really needed me knew where I lived. Let them bang on my front door if it’s an emergency, but otherwise, I wanted the world to leave me alone, at least for tonight.
THε next morning, I checked my answering machine after I dragged myself out of bed. There were no messages, and I wasn’t sure if I should feel good about that or not. Maybe I wasn’t all that important after all. Before I forgot, I turned the ringer back on just as it jumped to life.
It was my sister Louisa.
“Can you talk?” she asked.
“Of course I can. What makes you ask that?”
“I tried calling you earlier, and you didn’t pick up. When I heard your answering machine kick in, I thought you might have an overnight guest.”
“No, I’ve been here by myself all night. What’s up?”
“You need to come in to the shop early this morning,” she said. “The rest of us are already here.”
“What on earth is going on now?”
“Nobody died or anything,” Louisa said with her normal bluntness. “Kate’s going to demonstrate how to make lip balm and hand lotion to all of us.”
“I could probably live with missing that,” I said.
“Could you survive being AWOL at a family meeting?” she asked. “Mom called this gathering, not Kate. For some reason, she’s really pushing this expansion. If I didn’t know better, I’d say our dear sweet mother was behind it herself.”
“Why would she do that?” I asked.
“Diana, I’m not saying they could. I just don’t want to see you go to jail because the police were too stubborn to look at anybody else.”
She paused, then asked softly, “You know something? You never even asked me if I did it.”
“I’ve been working on the assumption that you were innocent,” I agreed. “Shouldn’t I have?”
The next thing I knew, she hung up on me. Okay, maybe it had been a little out of line. I sat there staring at the phone for a minute, wondering what I should do, when it rang.
“I’m so glad you called back,” I said before even waiting for a comment. “I didn’t mean anything by it. I swear I didn’t.”
Instead of Diana’s voice, Molly chuckled and asked, “What did you do this time? Never mind, I don’t want to know. Listen, have you seen Jeff?”
“Is this a cop asking, or my brother’s girlfriend?”
“Guess,” she said. “So have you seen him?”
“No, but you might try the shop. Use the private line.” We had a line for family and friends that wasn’t published anywhere. Though it was an added expense to our bottom line, none of us cared.
“I did, but no one picked up.”
“You might want to try Jim, then,” I said. “Sometimes they hang out together after work.”
“Thanks. Bye.”
Before I could ask a question myself, Molly hung up.
The phone rang again before I could put it back down. “That took longer to get through than I thought it would,” Diana said.
“Molly just called,” I explained.
“My, you are popular, aren’t you?”
“She was looking for my brother. Listen, I didn’t mean that last bit like it sounded.”
“Do you mean that Molly didn’t call for Jeff?”
“Diana, don’t make this harder on me than it has to be. You know exactly what I mean.”
She sighed, then said, “Of course I do. I just thought that you’d believe in me without any explanation necessary.”
“I never doubted you,” I said firmly.
“That wasn’t how it sounded to me.”
“That’s what I meant.”
“Good, I’m glad we got that cleared up. Good night.”
And then she hung up on me again, this time before I could wish her a good night myself. I knew she had reason enough to be sensitive, but I wasn’t about to apologize for something I didn’t do. I turned off the ringer and set the answering machine volume to zero. I needed some rest, and the way my night was going, I wasn’t going to get any if I didn’t take steps to protect my space. Anybody who really needed me knew where I lived. Let them bang on my front door if it’s an emergency, but otherwise, I wanted the world to leave me alone, at least for tonight.
THε next morning, I checked my answering machine after I dragged myself out of bed. There were no messages, and I wasn’t sure if I should feel good about that or not. Maybe I wasn’t all that important after all. Before I forgot, I turned the ringer back on just as it jumped to life.
It was my sister Louisa.
“Can you talk?” she asked.
“Of course I can. What makes you ask that?”
“I tried calling you earlier, and you didn’t pick up. When I heard your answering machine kick in, I thought you might have an overnight guest.”
“No, I’ve been here by myself all night. What’s up?”
“You need to come in to the shop early this morning,” she said. “The rest of us are already here.”
“What on earth is going on now?”
“Nobody died or anything,” Louisa said with her normal bluntness. “Kate’s going to demonstrate how to make lip balm and hand lotion to all of us.”
“I could probably live with missing that,” I said.
“Could you survive being AWOL at a family meeting?” she asked. “Mom called this gathering, not Kate. For some reason, she’s really pushing this expansion. If I didn’t know better, I’d say our dear sweet mother was behind it herself.”
“Why would she do that?” I asked.
Similar Books
