Chapter 19
Liz raced down the front steps, taking them two at a time. She reached her neighbor at the same time as Paige and Echo.
Christi’s eyelids fluttered, and she let out a low moan.
Liz leaned in. “Christi. It’s me. Your neighbor, Liz. Can you hear me?”
The woman whimpered, her eyelids continuing to flutter.
“Christi.” Liz repeated her name, this time louder. “Are you all right? What happened?”
“I-I heard a song sparrow in your front yard and brought my binoculars out to see if I could find him.” Christi struggled to an upright position and placed a hand on her cheek, lightly pressing on the perfectly round indentation the eyepiece had made around her right eye. “I landed on my binoculars. Did they leave a mark?”
“They did.” With Paige on one side and Liz on the other, the women helped Christi to her feet.
“I must’ve scared him off because I don’t hear him any longer. He sings the most beautiful song.” She sucked in a quick breath. “ Trill…trill…trill ,” she sang. “Have you heard it?”
“No. I haven’t.” Liz plucked a clump of grass from the woman’s hair. “I was in the back of the house when I heard you scream.”
“Now that I’ve confirmed the sparrows are nearby, you’ll need to be careful. They sometimes nest in weeds and tall grass.”
“There are plenty of both around here,” Liz grimaced. She changed the subject. “While you’re here, I would like to introduce you to Echo Quigley. Echo is moving into the mobile home. ”
“Oh.” Christi’s brows knitted. “It’s very dark and kind of creepy around here at night.”
“If I recall correctly, you mentioned that your husband travels a great deal,” Liz said. “You should be thrilled to know there will be someone else around.”
“I am. I mean, of course,” Christi said. “We should exchange cell phone numbers.”
Echo cast the woman a hesitant look and then gave a small shrug of her shoulders before plucking her cell phone from her pocket. The women exchanged numbers and then Christi started in with fifty questions. Had Liz and Floyd found evidence of someone messing around the house? What were their plans for the acres of empty farm fields? Had they heard anything else about Deanna Andretti’s death?
Liz replied in as few words as possible, secretly wondering how the woman got anything done, considering the amount of time she spent sticking her nose in other people’s business .
Finally, Christi headed home, claiming her head hurt and that she wanted to put an ice pack on her eye.
“I don’t think she even noticed Sunny the bunny,” Paige said after she left.
“She was too fixated on the bird, or maybe the bird was an excuse and she was trying to figure out what we were doing.” Liz shifted her feet. “I suppose she could be a bird enthusiast.”
Echo twirled a finger next to her forehead. “Or maybe she’s cuckoo…cuckoo.”
Paige gave her friend a playful nudge. “And now she has your cell phone number.”
“Hopefully, she won’t call me unless absolutely necessary. She strikes me as being lonely.”
“I was thinking the same.” Liz rubbed her palms together. “Time to get back to work.” She returned inside and finished cleaning the half bath. She began tackling the built-in bookshelves when the surveillance app alerted her to activity. “Not again.” Liz left the dust rag on the shelf and made a beeline for the front door.
Lucy, along with Margaret, pulled into the driveway. The women exited the vehicle and joined Liz on the front porch. “I don’t believe I’ve ever seen you in work clothes more than once,” Lucy teased.
“You’re going to see it a lot more if you hang around. I’m barely putting a dent in the place.” Liz changed the subject. “How did your Designer Diva appointment go?”
Lucy and Margaret took turns filling her in on the meeting.
“A woman showed up while we were there,” Lucy said. “She and Tammi were having some sort of serious discussion near the door. While Tammi and the other woman chatted, I snapped a picture of Designer Diva’s most recent jobs. Check it out. ”
Liz studied the photos on Lucy’s cell phone. “None of these names sound familiar. I don’t know how this is going to help us.”
“Better to have too much information than not enough.” Lucy fiddled with the screen. “I forwarded a copy to you.”
“There’s more,” Margaret said. “We found out who the mystery woman was, the one who showed up at the place while we were there.”
“Becky Kiefer,” Lucy said.
“That might not be significant. Becky was Andretti’s colleague and they worked together on various projects.”
“True, but whatever they were discussing wasn’t a ‘hey, how are you?’ kinda conversation,” Lucy said. “If I had to guess, they were arguing about something.”
Liz tapped her lower lip. “It could be Tammi is trying to seize control of the business. She might not be a fan of Becky or Hometown Design, considering they’re competing against each other.”
“My thoughts exactly,” Margaret said. “I still don’t get why Deanna would work with a competitor.”
“To steal each other’s potential clients?” Liz theorized. “I wonder if Ruth’s been able to find anything out about Carol Wright.”
“Let’s give her a buzz.” Lucy placed the call and Ruth picked up right away.
“Hey, Ruth. Margaret and I are with Liz. We’re wondering if you tracked down the Carol Wright who worked with Designer Diva.”
“I did. I planned to give Liz a call a while ago but got sidetracked with my yard art project. You gotta see this. Hang on.” There was a muffled sound on the other end of the line.
Lucy’s cell phone pinged .
“I sent you a picture. ”
“I have it. I’m putting you on speaker so the others can hear.” Lucy opened the text message and tapped on the attachment. “Ruth Carpenter, this is pretty cool. I want one.”
“It is cool,” Ruth bragged.
“Let me see.” Margaret grabbed Lucy’s phone. “Brilliant, Ruth. Absolutely brilliant. I’ll take one.”
“What am I missing?” Liz leaned in, studying the picture of a red wooden wagon filled with bouquets of wildflowers.
“It’s practical and decorative,” Ruth said. “Plus, you can remove the flowers and fill the wagon with anything you want. Pumpkins in the fall, the Stars and Stripes for 4 th of July, Santa Claus and a wagon full of toys at Christmas. It’s an all-season’s product.”
“This is more for the yard, not the porch,” Margaret said.
“Correct. It’s also super-durable and can withstand the elements. ”
“How are you going to protect the cameras?” Liz asked.
“I’ve already figured that one out.” Lucy’s phone pinged again. “It’s an upgrade and I’ll have to charge more. A clear plastic, nearly indestructible case protects the camera.”
“I need one, too,” Liz said.
“You don’t want Sunny?”
“I’ll keep Sunny. The wagon can go in the yard.”
“Three orders.” Ruth whooped. “I’ll get started on them right away. You won’t be sorry. These will be the best bang for your surveillance buck. Gotta go.”
Lucy stopped her. “What about Carol Wright?”
Papers rustled on the other end of the line. “This one was tricky. Wright is flying under the radar. She’s twenty-eight years old and lives alone. Not married. No children. As far as I can tell, she doesn’t have much of a life other than work. ”
“How sad. She seemed awfully quiet. Maybe she’s a loner. Deanna was overbearing, and definitely the one in charge. I wonder how Carol ended up working with Designer Diva?”
“She lives above the store.”
Liz’s heart skipped a beat. “In Deanna Andretti’s building?”
“Correct.”
“Well, it certainly casts a little more suspicion her way,” Lucy said.
“Yep. Although we have nothing on her, she still might have a motive,” Ruth pointed out. “You know what Gloria always likes to say…”
“Suspect the least suspect,” Margaret said. “So now what?”
“I’m glad you asked. Remember when I mentioned Carol had little life other than work?”
“Yes. ”
“That’s because Carol has a second job. You’ll never guess where she works.”
“At a bank as a teller,” Lucy guessed.
“Nope. Green Springs Café, which is three doors down from her other job and her second-floor apartment,” Ruth said.
“Green Springs Café,” Liz repeated. “She has two jobs which is not unusual.”
“I agree. The café is owned by Horace Wright. I wasn’t able to tell if Carol and Horace are related, but if I had to guess, I would say they are.”
“Interesting,” Margaret said. “Carol worked alongside Deanna in some capacity as a colleague or employee. She also lives above Deanna’s store, yet she works for a restaurant owned by a Wright a few doors down.”
“Oh, I forgot one other thing, which might throw a wrench into your investigation. Becky Kiefer,” Ruth said. “She’s been in business for less than a year and is already filing for bankruptcy. ”
“Crud.” Liz blew air through thinned lips. “I don’t want to hire her if she’s not paying her contractors. They could place liens on our property.”
“They most definitely could.”
“I’m going to put off signing with Becky until I figure out what’s going on. Thanks, Ruth. You’re the best. Let me know when my red wagon is ready.”
“Will do.” Ruth wished them luck before ending the call.
“I guess it’s time to head over to Green Springs Café for a bite to eat,” Liz said.
“I would love to go, but I have a date with Stephen tonight,” Margaret said.
“Paige and I have plans.” Lucy clasped her hands. “Why don’t you invite Gloria? ”
Liz accompanied the women to Lucy’s Jeep, thanking them multiple times for the information. As soon as they left, she dialed her sister’s number.
“Hey, Liz. How’s Sunny the bunny working out?”
“He’s doing a great job of notifying me when someone is around. Christi was birdwatching, fell in the ditch out front and her binoculars attacked her.”
“Birdwatching?”
“Yeah. She claims she spotted a sparrow in the yard and ran over to take a closer look. She tripped and fell but is going to be all right.”
“Hopefully, she doesn’t sue you.”
“I hadn’t considered that. I wonder if she knows Floyd’s loaded.”
“I would be wary of a slip and fall injury with that woman.” Gloria changed the subject. “How’s your adorable pup, Duchess, settling into her new home? ”
Liz’s eyes fell on the puppies, still sound asleep, and curled up on the bed. “She’s going to be a farm dog and is already spoiled…spoiled rotten. Teddy, Echo’s pup, is here. They’re keeping each other company. Speaking of company, Lucy and Margaret just left.” She filled Gloria in on what the women had found. “It appears there may be some sort of strained relationship between Tammi O’Toole and Becky Kiefer.”
“Which is understandable considering the circumstances and the fact Becky is actively going after Designer Diva’s clientele.”
“I agree. We also talked to Ruth. She tracked down some information on Carol Wright. Carol lives above Designer Diva’s store. She also works at Green Springs Café, which is within walking distance of her apartment. The owner is Horace Wright.”
Gloria grew quiet, so quiet Liz thought the call had dropped. “Hello? ”
“I’m still here. So Carol works…worked with Deanna. She also works at the café down the street and lives above Deanna’s store.”
“Correct.”
“Which would give her ample opportunity to murder Deanna without raising suspicion if the store’s surveillance cameras caught her in the vicinity.”
“I was thinking the same.”
“It sounds as if you need to head over to Green Springs Café to see what you can find out.”
“That’s why I’m calling. What are you doing this evening?”
“Paul and I invited the kids over for dinner. I can’t do it tonight. What about tomorrow?”
“Tomorrow won’t work.” Liz stared out the window, watching as Paige climbed into her van and drove off. Echo began making her way across the driveway. “Floyd’s tied up over at the farm and I don’t want to put it off. I think I may have found the perfect person to go with me.”