Charlaine Harris - Poppy Done to Death

I suppressed a familiar ache and listened with a smile to their swapped stories about teething, walking, crawling, and sleeping patterns. This is the small talk of women of a certain age, and not only was I getting past that age; I’d never learned the language.

I quit feeling sorry for myself when I passed Arthur and Cathy Trumble on the sidewalk to Lizanne’s front door, and reflected on how much I had to do between now and tomorrow. It was incredibly fortunate that I had to work only three hours today, and the library would be closed tomorrow and through the weekend for the Thanksgiving holiday.

When I pulled up to Melinda’s house, she persuaded me to come in for a minute and talk to John David. He didn’t want to go back to the house he’d shared with Poppy, cleaned or not, and he was taking very little care of his son. Melinda hadn’t spoken to him about it yet, but she was going to, she told me. “It’s not that I don’t care for the little guy; he’s cute as he can be,” she said, guilt written large on her face. “I just feel like I have enough to do.”

“Of course,” I agreed promptly, because to do less would have been insulting. I realized that no one had suggested that I should take Chase. And I realized that I was relieved. A couple of years before, I’d had the care of a baby, with absolutely no preparation or warning. Going into it cold was simply terrifying. “John David should be able to take care of his own son, especially if he hires a nanny,” I said cautiously.

“Avery could cope with the situation,” Melinda said. “He took as much care of Marcy as I did, when he was home… which wasn’t as much as I was, of course. And he was so excited when Charles was born!” Melinda’s face was transformed by a huge smile. “Avery’s a good dad,” she said, wrapping up a whole bundle of memories.

“I guess John David got a big bundle of charm but none of the moral fiber,” I said.

She considered. “I think he likes to do the right thing, as long as it’s not too much trouble.”

That summed up John David pretty accurately. But maybe we both would be proved wrong.

Melinda seemed relieved to get out at her own home, where she could follow her own normal round of activities. She’d deposited the children at Mother’s Day Out at the Methodist church so she could finalize the preparations for driving to her parents’ home for Thanksgiving, and she told me she was determined to go no matter what happened. “It’s been awful and tense the past few days,” she said. I couldn’t argue with that. “We don’t know when the funeral will be, because Poppy’s body hasn’t been released yet, and this is a good time to get away, at least for a day. The kids need some downtime.” I wasn’t sure who needed it more, but obviously Melinda was looking forward to seeing her family, and I wished her a happy day before leaving to put in my hours at the library.

It was absolutely dead at work. A few patrons dashed in to return books, and one or two checked out audiobooks for the long drives to holiday destinations. But no one was browsing, and precious few were even using the computers. I had no compunction at all about leaving a little early for my appointment with Bryan Pascoe.

Bryan drove a Cadillac, which surprised me. He was wearing a very nice suit, and he looked as though he’d gotten a haircut. When he held the car door open for me, I smelled his cologne. It was something classic and masculine, like Old Spice-another surprise. I would have predicted a Mustang convertible, a Calvin Klein cologne, and bikini underwear. I couldn’t ask him about that, but I amused myself on our ride to the service station named on the receipt by trying to imagine a conversation in which that question would occur naturally.

“I understand that Cartland Sewell has a cast-iron alibi,” he said out of the blue. Bryan sounded as if that were a bad thing, and since he was representing John David, I guess it was. The more viable suspects, the better, particularly for my brother-in-law.

“I’m glad for Lizanne’s sake,” I said. I know this was dumb of me, but I hadn’t realized I ought to tell Bryan what had happened with Lizanne the day of Poppy’s murder. Now I told him in as few words as possible. After questioning me closely about the probable time of all the events Lizanne had described, the lawyer lapsed back into a silence that I chose to characterize as thoughtful.

The Cadillac was so comfortable and the heat so effective, I was nearly drowsy by the time we reached the Grabbit Kwik. Bryan came around the car to open my door just as I was about to open it myself, so I held still and let him. This world is so devoid of courtesy, I never mind receiving a little, even if it’s misplaced.

He offered me his hand, and I took that, too. I was wearing off-white pants, a fuzzy blue sweater, and blue suede moccasins, so I didn’t have to worry about getting out of the car modestly. He gave a little pull, and up I popped, just like a cork.

The outside of the Grabbit Kwik was like any other convenience store/gas station along any highway. Grabbits are all painted a bright green, and this one had all its tawdry Christmas regalia in place. It had probably been up since the Halloween ghosts and pumpkins had come down. The concrete outside the door was dirty, but the glass doors were gleaming. We were the only customers at the moment, which I chose to regard as a good sign.

Inside, everything was as you’d expect, too-the racks of junk food and the refrigerated cases of drinks, the raised counter, the woman in the red smock behind the cash register. Her hair was a construction of elaborate and rigid ringlets, and she was generously round. Her heavily lined eyes looked like raisins sunk in gingerbread dough.

“Can I help you folks?” she asked cheerfully. On a tiny television behind her, a talk show was in progress.

Bryan produced a card immediately and introduced himself. She told him her name was Emma McKibbon and that she’d worked there two years. Her eyes flicked over to me curiously, but Bryan didn’t include me in this dialogue. He’d been so absolutely correct and polite up to now; it made me as curious as Emma apparently was. But there must be a reason, so I kept quiet.

The woman’s face looked really familiar, though, and I kept examining her, hoping I’d make the connection.

Bryan was asking her if there was any way she could remember a particular customer who’d come by two days before, and Emma confirmed that she’d been right there behind the counter on Monday. But Emma was wary of Bryan, for whatever reason-maybe just because he was an affluent white male. Watching her face seal itself off, I had a sinking feeling that any information we could have gathered was being chucked down a well inside the clerk.

“We were pretty busy that morning, same as always on Monday,” she said grudgingly. “Let me see the receipt, but I ain’t holding out much hope.”

I pulled the receipt out of my pocket and handed it to her. As our eyes met, a little click sounded in my ears. “Emma!” I said. “You were three years behind me in high school, right?”

“I sure was,” she said, relieved to track down her own elusive memory. “I’m Jane’s sister-Jane Pocket she was then.”

“Oh, sure. How is Jane?”

“Well, she’s gotten married twice now, and she has four kids in school and another one on the way. I have two myself. I married Dante McKibbon right after we graduated. My girls;- one’s in high school, and the other’s in junior high.”

“Oh, how nice,” I said, smiling as brightly as I could.

“Now, you still live in town, don’t you? I’m sure I saw you at the store last month.”

“I do. I have a house over on McBride.”

“You married?”