Book Clubbed

“I have. But I don’t want him to think you’ve been keeping information from him that could prove vital to his investigation.”

“I don’t see how he could think that. He didn’t return my call and he has the same computer files I’ve got. It’s up to him to ferret out what’s important and what isn’t.”

“Yes, but you have the perspective to judge that. He doesn’t.”

“I suppose. Look, if you’re so interested, why don’t you go over all the files with him?”

“I’ve done my part: I brought it to his attention. But we agreed that as Chamber president the bulk of it should come from you.”

“Well, I really don’t want to be involved.”

“But you already are.”

Angelica sighed. “You like all this intrigue. I don’t. If you want to compare notes with the man, go ahead and do it.” Angelica dipped a piece of lettuce into her salad dressing. “While we’re on the subject, have you heard anything new on Betsy’s murder?”

“Not exactly. Although I wonder if I’ve been thinking about her death in the wrong way.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, there are all kinds of reasons why people would want her out of the way. But the suspects keep petering out. I really don’t think her husband had anything to do with it. Her sister might have been angry that she’d been cut out of Betsy’s will, but I can’t picture her killing Betsy over it. They didn’t seem close and she apparently has no idea of the estate’s worth, so why would it come as a shock that she’d been disinherited? And since Betsy wasn’t in ill health, there was no reason to suspect she’d die of natural—or u

“That’s true,” Angelica grudgingly agreed.

“And even if Bob Kelly is a bit of a rat, I can’t see him killing her. By the way, I spoke with him this morning.”

“Oh?” Angelica asked warily.

“I told him Betsy had been skimming Chamber funds and he seemed genuinely angry. But that’s hardly a motive for murder, since he’s no longer the Chamber president.”

Angelica was quiet for a long moment. “Just where did you find Bob? Not that I have any real interest.”

Oh, yeah?

“He was skulking between the Have a Heart bookstore and the Patisserie. He looked half frozen. He was angry to hear that Betsy was skimming funds, but even more angry with you.”

“With me?” Angelica repeated, puzzled.

“He says you’ve ruined his life.”

“Well, somebody had to do it,” Angelica said in jest, and cut a cherry tomato in half.

“I asked him about the Chamber member list Betsy kept. He knew about it, but he swears Betsy collected the information and that he told her to delete it.”

“Which makes me think it was something Betsy wanted for her own amusement. Granted, she collected a lot of nasty gossip, but I don’t remember seeing anything salacious enough to warrant someone paying to have it suppressed.”

“You’re right,” Tricia admitted and poked at her own salad.

“By the way, just what were you doing gallivanting around the village when you should have been minding the business at your store?” Angelica asked.

“I got a call from Billie Burke. She said she couldn’t find you.”

Angelica looked up sharply. “Why would she need to?”

“Because Dumpster divers, looking for treasure, had descended on the rental house.”

“So what? We’d already been through everything. There was nothing left of value.”

“Au contraire. One of them found a solitaire diamond ring.”

“Don’t tease me, Trish,” Angelica said tartly.

“I’m not. When I found them there, I immediately called Grant, who came right down from the police station and told them they had to leave. I looked in their bags of loot and saw the ring. It’s got to be worth at least a grand. Do you think it could have been Betsy’s engagement ring?”

“Maybe. She never wore any rings during the time I’d known her. Do you still have it?”

Tricia shook her head. “Antonio showed up with his contractor just then and I gave it to him.” She left out the part about Baker’s engagement joke. She wasn’t in the mood to be teased by Angelica.

“What’s got me puzzled is how those guys knew to come to the rental house and sift through the trash. I didn’t tell anyone. Antonio swears that he and Gi

“Me?” Angelica asked, sounding defensive.

“It’s well-known you’ve got the village’s biggest gossip in your employ. Did you mention it to Fra

“No,” Angelica answered automatically, but then frowned. “At least, not directly. I did speak to Antonio this morning and the subject did come up.”

“Were you in the Cookery at the time?”

Angelica nodded grimly. “Oh, dear. I’m sorry, Trish. I should know better than to talk about sensitive subjects when Fra

“It’s over and done with. I’m just worried the word will reach Joelle. Fra

“Really? I had no idea. But Joelle hasn’t got a leg to stand on. Antonio has already spoken with a lawyer. The trash in that house belonged to NRA, no ifs, ands, or buts. Antonio is using the cash we found to pay for the repairs to the building. Apparently they haven’t figured out what kind of a structure they want to put in place of the house.”

“I thought they had it all figured out.”

“According to Antonio, they haven’t even spoken to their architect. I guess they’re not in a terrible hurry to knock it down, which is good for the Chamber—at least in the short run.”

“Antonio invited me to hang around while he talked to the contractor. Are you interested in what they decided?”

Angelica’s eyes lit up. “Definitely.”

Tricia spent the next twenty minutes updating Angelica on plans for the new office space, including upgrades to the electrical and the kitchen. “They found hardwood floors under that dirty rug in the living room. They’re going to sand and refinish them.”

“What about the timeline?” Angelica asked, getting up and pouring another coffee for both of them.

“As it’s winter, Jim Stark isn’t exactly rolling in work. They’re going to start tomorrow.”

“That soon? Oh, good. I’m so eager to get all the Chamber’s baggage out of my storeroom. I feel like I should fumigate the place to eliminate the stench of death, too.”

“Does it really smell?”

“Only in my mind,” Angelica admitted. “I’ll be glad to put all of this behind me and get back to work for the Chamber. I have so many wonderful ideas that will take the organization to a whole new level and I feel like I can’t get started until we’re in the new office.”

“It’s only a matter of days now,” Tricia reminded her.

“I’m going to need some volunteers to champion certain new committees. Can I count on you?”

Tricia shrugged. “I guess so. I’ve got nothing else to do in the evenings.”

“Good. I’ll keep you posted.”

Tricia looked at her half-eaten lunch and then her watch. “It’s time for me to get back to work.”

“You mean sleuthing?” Angelica teased.

“Hardly. Then again, with so few customers, there’s not much work to be done, either.”

“Are you sure you really need two employees—especially during the slowest time of the retail year?”

“Probably not. But I couldn’t bear to lose either of them. And as long as I’m in the black, I’m not going to let either of them go.”

“Good for you,” Angelica said. “It’s too bad other businesses don’t feel the same. People need jobs. Jobs feed the economy. Everyone benefits.”

“Speaking of my employees, I’d better get back to my shop.” Tricia got up from her stool and grabbed her coat. “Thanks for lunch. I’ll talk to you later.”

Pixie and Mr. Everett were standing at the cash desk conversing when Tricia got back to Haven’t Got a Clue. “Looks like a welcoming committee,” she commented and took off her coat.

“Sort of,” Pixie admitted. “Mr. E and I thought we might want to see if we can simplify the inventory system. Since it’s been more quiet than the morgue around here, we wondered if it was okay to play with it for the rest of the day. What do you think?”