“I gather Charlene told her mom about the DNA test she took?”
“Griselda was completely against it. She’s so angry with Amos for leaving them.” She leaned toward me and said under her breath, “It’s been decades. I don’t think she’ll ever get over it.”
“How did it happen?” asked Natasha.
“He just walked out one day and never came back. After spending years looking for him, she finally decided he must have died. Then one day someone recognized his photo on the wall over there. We think he’s still alive, but heaven knows where he might be.”
“That sounds exactly like what he did to me and my mom.” Natasha’s face flushed with anger.
“Do you really have a TV show?”
“Yes. And a newspaper column, too. Do you recognize me now?”
“No. You just look a lot like Charlene. There are so many cable shows these days, you know? Griselda hasn’t had a TV in years. I don’t know how she does it. She refuses to buy a cell phone, too. She’s stuck in the past.”
“Did you ever meet Charlene’s boyfriend, Fred Conway?” I asked.
“Don’t bring up his name to Griselda. She’s certain that he’s no good. He’s a bit of an odd duck, isn’t he? Charlene brought him around a couple of times. He was always polite enough, but he gave me the creeps.”
“Did Charlene ever mention someone named Abby to you?”
Lonnie shrieked. “Yes! Charlene was so excited about Abby. They met at an advanced class on French pastries.”
Finally, a connection that made sense. “Did they do other things together?”
“I believe they became fast friends.”
She was happy to gossip, which I appreciated. I tried to pull as much information out of her as I could. “I’m a little surprised that Charlene was interested in Fred.”
“We were, too. She’s such a pretty woman. You’d think she could have her choice of gentlemen friends. Of course, she has her mother’s moxie. Griselda is thickheaded and opinionated, which can be hard to take sometimes. But I’ll let you in on a little something.”
“Oh?” I leaned toward her.
“Charlene was about to break off their relationship.”
“Are you certain about that?”
“I was standing right here when she told Griselda. She slipped a topaz into Charlene’s pocket when she wasn’t looking. They’re supposed to bring courage to the wearer.”
I reeled from that information. “Did you tell the police?”
“Of course! Griselda hasn’t been able to work since Charlene stopped answering her phone. She’s been hanging out in the back pretending to take inventory, but I know she’s just trying to keep herself busy so she won’t have to think about Charlene. I’ve been crying myself, but I try not to do it in front of Griselda. I love Charlene as much as if she were my own child. She is the sunshine in Griselda’s life.”
Natasha huffed. “Well, now I’m just mad. I used to be sad about my dad, but I’m angry with him now.”
She wiped away tears viciously.
Griselda reappeared rolling an overnight case behind her. She stopped in front of the wall of herbs and selected a number of them, which she placed in an old-fashioned doctor’s bag. “Got that hospital information?”
Lonnie handed Natasha a pad of paper and a pen. Natasha wrote it down and tore off the sheet, which she carried over to Griselda.
Griselda wrapped an arm around Natasha. “The next time your mother comes for a visit, I hope you’ll bring her up here. I’d like to meet her. We have a lot in common. And if you learn anything about who mugged my Charlene, I hope you’ll tell me.”
Griselda hugged Natasha and kissed her on both cheeks. She took Natasha’s hand, dropped something in it, and closed Natasha’s fingers over it.
“Thank you, Griselda.”
I said goodbye and left the store, noting that no customers had visited while we were there. I hoped they weren’t having financial difficulties.
When I started the engine, Natasha opened her hand and smiled.
“What is it?”
“A piece of topaz. For courage, I imagine. Isn’t that what she gave Charlene?”
Natasha was uncharacteristically quiet on the drive home. It wasn’t until I stopped my car in front of her house that Natasha said, “I think Fred is the one who beat Charlene. But I don’t know how to prove it.”
The trouble was, neither did I.
* * *
I took Daisy for a long walk that evening. She needed to get out, and I needed to think and wrap my head around all the things that had happened. It was a cold night. I pulled my fleece jacket closer and could smell smoke from fireplaces. It was a familiar and cozy scent that evoked memories of fun times with friends and family around a crackling fire.
Meanwhile, I was out in the cold, pondering murder.
Daisy wagged her tail cautiously, as if she wasn’t certain about something.
She stopped before a young woman who sat on brick steps.
“Schuyler?” I asked.
“Hi, Sophie,” she patted Daisy.
“What are you doing out in the dark?”
“I was supposed to meet up with a guy, but I guess I’ve been stood up.”
Ouch! I remembered that kind of hurt. “What time was he supposed to be here?”
“An hour ago.” She snuggled deeper into her hoodie.
“You must be freezing.”
“It’s not that bad.”
“Does your dad know you’re here?”
“Please don’t tell him! He thinks I’m at Briley’s house studying for a biology test.”
“We could walk you home.”
“Thanks. I know he’s not coming, but sometimes I like to get away for a little bit.”
“How about a hot chocolate?”
“That would be great.”
“Come on.” The three of us strolled to the coffee place where Mars had asked me to work for Tilly. I ordered two hot chocolates and one carrot pupcake for Daisy. We sat down at a table and warmed our hands on the hot cups.
“I gather you don’t particularly want to go home.”
“It’s not really like that. I just need to take a break now and then. My dad says I was everything to my mom. I appreciate that, but it’s weird now that she’s gone. My dad’s an obstetrician, so he’s always having to go deliver babies. No wonder my mom wanted me around all the time. She was lonely. Was your mom that way?”
“No. But I remember being your age and wishing I had more freedom to do things on my own. Aren’t you afraid hanging out in the dark?”
Schuyler shrugged. “What’s there to be afraid of?”
I didn’t want to scare her. On the other hand, maybe she needed a little fright so she would realize that bad things could happen to her when she was wandering around in the night. “Your mom was murdered, Abby disappeared, and another woman was brutally attacked.”
“I heard about that. My dad says they were probably using drugs and didn’t pay their bills.”
“You knew Abby.”
“Sure. I met her at Briley’s house.”
“Did she seem like a drug user to you?”