Alibis & Arranging Page 4

  ″Were you with Hilda a long time?″ Aurora asked.

  ″Not me. My Aunt Jane served Hilda for thirty years. Then she passed away last spring and I took over,″ Milly said. ″I'm not really much of a maid but the price was too good to pass up and Hilda said at her age she didn't want strangers in the house. Really, what I want to do is open up my own salon. Of course, it'll take some time to save up.″ She leaned back in her chair. ″Life's not easy for the middle class these days. My daughter will be going to college soon. My ex-husband just lost his job at Chevy. My parents are getting older, too...″ She looked off into the distance.

  Aurora sympathized. ″It's harder to eke out a living.″

  ″Sure is. Then you see people like Hilda living in style, with pots of money that's never going to be used.″ Milly sighed and shook her head. ″She didn't leave me a dime, you know? She always claimed that she was going to take care of me in her will.″

  ″Did she mention her will a lot?″

  ″Pfft. All the time.″ Milly laughed. ″If I didn't dust right, I was out of her will. If I made a good pot roast, she said she'd leave me a fortune. If I didn't shine her shoes right, I was out again. She was obsessed with her will. She waved it over everyone's head…including Rosa and Russell.″

  ″Well, in the end, Rosa got it all.″

  ″Oh, yes. Lucky Rosa,″ Milly agreed. ″In more ways than one.″

  ″Meaning?″

  ″Well,″ Milly leaned forwards, suddenly conspiratorial, ″don't tell anyone else about this but, the day after you folks had dinner together, Hilda summoned Rosa over. Summoned I tell you. She phoned her that morning and ordered her to come for lunch.″

  ″Did she?″ Aurora's eyes widened.

  ″Oh, yes. Hilda could be so petty, too. She knows Rosa hated clams, so she told me to make clam pasta for lunch. Can you believe it? Poor Rosa was nibbling on bread throughout.″ Milly grinned. ″While Hilda took quite a few bites out of her.″

  ″Meaning?″

  ″’Married!? How could you get married! Without so much as a text message to me!’″ Milly imitated Hilda's voice eerily well. ″She was plenty mad, I'll tell you that.″

  ″Did Rosa stand up to her?″

  ″Well, Rosa's a decent sort, but she had no backbone where Hilda was concerned. Once in a while she'd pipe up with an objection when Hilda was too scathing about Jonah, but mostly she just nibbled on her bread silently.″ Milly took a long sip of her Coke.

  Aurora considered this. ″She didn't strike me as particularly weak but… she did look scared of Hilda.″

  ″Hilda was scary,″ Milly said. ″She scared me, too. And I'm a tough one, I can tell you. But, anyway, like I was saying, in between yelling and slurping up her pasta, I remember Hilda saying that she was going to make sure she changed her will. She was planning to cut Rosa out completely and leave everything to Russell.″

  ″Oh!″ Aurora stared at Milly. ″Are you sure?″

  ″Sure, I'm sure. I heard everything. If Hilda hadn't died when she did, Rosa and Jonah would have had a tough time of it.″

  ″What do you mean? Isn't Jonah a successful

  farmer? I thought he has plenty of his own money.″

  ″Everyone knows how tough a farmer's life is. Jonah's got a lot of loans on his back,″ Milly explained. ″As for Rosa, well, being an artist is good for the soul but not for the pocketbook.″

  Aurora narrowed her eyes. ″Do you think…that is to say…is it a little too coincidental that Hilda died when she did?″

  Milly sighed and lowered her eyes. ″I don't know. I don't want to think it. But the sheriff did ask me a few pointed questions. It was strange, you know. Hilda was quite particular about her medicine. Even if she was old, she was sharp. It wouldn't be like her to make a mistake.″

  There was a long silence. Milly was observing her nails intently, while Aurora stared off into the distance, trying to process everything she'd just heard. Once in a while, Milly snuck a glance at Aurora.

  ″Well?″ Milly asked finally.

  ″Well, what?″

  ″You solved Chip Goggins' murder, didn't you?″ Milly asked.

  ″Well, yes. But…that was different. This is none of my business, really.″ Aurora gave Milly a sharp look. ″You really think it's murder?″

  ″What would I know? I'm just a maid who wants to be a hairdresser one day.″ Milly paused. ″I'm too old, or wise, to get entangled in something like this. But it doesn't stop me from wondering, I can tell you that.″

  8

  Potluck

  The nice weather continued, even if Aurora's mood soured a little after her serious conversation with Milly. But Aurora got no chance to question Joy about what she knew…and whether she, too, suspected that Hilda's death was not an accident.

  As soon as she reached home, she saw Joy rushing around the house, looking under the couches and tables.

  ″Joy?″

  ″There you are! A life saver! What time is it?″

  ″About 5.30?″ Aurora glanced at her watch. ″What are you doing?″

  ″Looking for my dad's barbecue tongs. And my favorite shorts. I'd tossed them both somewhere here last week.″

  ″Is that why they were on the couch?″ Aurora huffed. ″I put one in the kitchen, where it belongs, the other in the closet by the front door. Honestly, Joy, you—″

  ″Need to control my mess. Yes, yes.″ Joy rolled her eyes. ″Now, come on, what are you waiting for? Put on your shorts.″

  ″My…shorts?″ Aurora stared at her.

  ″Yes, we're going to Dad's for a barbecue. Come on.″

  ″What?″

  ″It's a family tradition,″ Joy said. ″We always have one really nice day, even this early in the year. Dad breaks out the barbecue, everyone breaks out their shorts and first person to get cold has to down an entire bottle of wine.″

  ″Are you making this up?″ Aurora asked. With Joy, she never knew when something was a prank.

  ″Why would I make up the Russo Rustic BBQ?″ Joy looked confused.

  ″Come on, it'll be fun. The entire neighborhood will be there.″

  ″You're really going to wear shorts? It's cold outside, and will be even colder when the sun sets.″

  Joy stuck out her tongue at Aurora. ″I get it, you big city folk are chicken. Scared you'll freeze to death?″

  Challenged, Aurora silently put on her shorts and headed out with Joy.

  The party was already on when they reached Joy's parents' house. The street was lined with cars and music was blasting from a stereo. Laughter and chatter filled the air. As usual, Aurora was greeted with loud shouts and hugs while Joy made the rounds, somehow conversing with ten different people at once while handing her father the tongs. Joy's father, James, looked a lot like Joy - to the point that Aurora was sometimes sure that Joy could pass for him if she just pasted a bristly mustache on her upper lip. James clicked his tongs at Aurora in greeting, then turned to the grill, which was surrounded by men holding beers and discussing the best way to grill a burger.

  ″Aurora!″ Joy's Uncle Beppe, newly sober and holding a can of orange soda in his hand, gave Aurora a one-armed hug. ″I feel I haven't seen you in forever, dear.″

  ″Hello, Uncle Beppe. How are you?″ Aurora gave him a peck on the cheek and was pleased to note that his breath smelt of orange instead of beer. He'd been working really hard to stay sober, and it looked as though he was succeeding.

  ″I'm hanging in there.″ He held up the soda and crossed his fingers. ″Some days are harder than others. But what are you doing with empty hands? Giulia will have my head. Hang on a minute.″ He vanished into the crowd and reappeared seconds later with a paper plate that was thrust into Aurora's hands.

  A slice of sourdough bread drizzled liberally with olive oil and sprinkled with rough salt, a canape topped with mozarella and tomato, and a bunch of fresh grapes were arranged on the plate. Beppe, with his old habit of sharing food, grabbed a grape, squeezed it experi
mentally, then popped it into his mouth.

  ″Philbert's not nearby, is he?″ Aurora looked over Beppe's shoulder nervously. She'd had a few close encounters with Beppe's pet ostrich, and didn't want to share her food with him, too.

  ″Philbert can't stand parties,″ Beppe said, of his ostrich companion. ″He's holding down the fort back at the farm. I've got big plans for that ostrich, you know. Big plans.″

  ″Oh, yeah? What kind of plans?″ Aurora was curious.

  ″Well, the other day I read in the paper that a town in Alaska voted for a cat to become it's mayor. A cat! Now, I don't know about you, but when I think of leadership, I think of strength, speed, intelligence. All of which Philbert has in droves.″

  Aurora nearly choked on a grape. ″Are you saying...″

  ″Next election I'm putting Philbert on the ballot. Philbert for Mayor. The town already loves him. They might just vote him in.″

  ″Uncle Beppe.″ Aurora wasn't too sure what to say. This is madness seemed a little too impolite. Besides, Beppe looked so enthusiastic about his idea. He was grinning from ear to ear.

  ″But enough about Philbert. Tell me all about you. I hear you've been cleaning up Hilda's estate?″

  Aurora was about to reply when two bodies hurled themselves at her, almost knocking the plate out of her hands. Skillfully, Beppe plucked it from her just seconds before she was knocked to the ground. Aurora spent the next few seconds in a tangle of knees and elbows, trying to extract herself.

  ″Matt! Tilly! You brats!″ Aunt Giulia shouted from somewhere inside the house. ″Just you two wait till I catch you!″

  Aurora recovered enough to realize she'd been knocked down by Joy's niece and nephew. Last time they'd met, Matt and Tilly had been using superglue in her blender and created a nuclear-level mess in her kitchen. Clearly, they'd done something again to awaken Aunt Giulia's wrath.

  ″Save us,″ Matt pleaded with Aurora.

  ″It isn't our fault.″ Tilly batted her eyes pleadingly.

  ″Come on!″ Joy appeared out of nowhere and grabbed Tilly's hand. Intrigued, Aurora followed her through the living room, up the stairs and up through a trap door that led to the attic. All four sat there, hugging their knees to their chest.

  ″I hid here a lot as a child when Aunt G was on the warpath.″ Joy grinned.

  ″What did you do back then to set her on the warpath?″ Aurora asked.

  ″Just some stupid, little things. Broke a vase, accidentally used permanent marker on important papers, set fire to the kitchen. Typical kid stuff.″ Joy grinned. ″Aunt Giulia is a lovely lady but she doesn't understand art.″

  Matt was poking around the attic and soon settled down with a pile of comic books. Tilly stretched out on the floor and put her head on Aurora's lap. Aurora was touched.

  ″So what did you two do this time?″

  ″We ate her grape jelly pie before she could give it to the guests,″ Tilly admitted in a small voice. ″I just meant to have the smallest of bites. I promise. Matt ate most of it.″

  ″Joy had a pretty big piece, too!″ Matt protested.

  ″Worth it.″ Joy was unrepentant. ″Besides, I was getting cold standing around in shorts outside.″

  ″Ha! Weakling.″ Matt snorted.

  ″Hey, cheating's part of the rules.″ Joy grinned. Turning to Aurora she said, ″Did I mention that the winner of Russo's Rustic BBQ gets a big jar of Uncle Pietro's BBQ sauce at the end? It's worth fighting dirty for.″

  Aurora laughed. ″I will never get used to your family.″

  ″Aunt G said you're part of it now,″ Tilly told her.

  Aurora felt her throat tighten a little. She nodded instead of saying anything. Joy punched her playfully on the shoulder.

  ″Yeah, once we have you in our grip we don't let go.″ Joy grinned.

  Trying not to let Joy see her emotion, Aurora turned to look out of the small window that was letting in the last of the sunlight. She gasped suddenly. Parked in front of the house was a bottle-green Ford.

  ″Joy!″ Aurora exclaimed. ″That car…do you know who that car belongs to?″

  ″Which one?″ Matt, Tilly and Joy all crowded around Aurora to see where she was pointing.

  ″Hmm. No,″ Joy said. ″Sorry. But I could find out. Why?″

  ″Someone broke into Hilda's house this morning,″ Aurora said. ″I think it was the owner of that car.″

  ″Broke into Hilda's house?″ Joy looked suddenly sharp, all ease and laughter vanishing from her voice. ″Are you sure?″

  ″Sure I'm sure,″ Aurora said. ″That's the same car, I tell you. We've got to find out who it belongs to.″

  ″Shouldn't be a problem,″ Joy said. ″Whoever they are, they're right here at the party. Lucky us.″

  9

  The Bottle-Green Ford

  ″Will the owner of the bottle-green Ford parked out front please come see me?″ Joy shouted as she walked from room to room. ″Owner of the Ford, license plate ACT-128. Come see me please?″

  Aurora walked behind her anxiously, craning her neck to see if somebody would respond. None of the party-goers seemed concerned, however. They would look up momentarily, distracted by Joy, but then go back to sipping their beers and chatting with their group. The Ford owner was probably planning on staying anonymous.

  ″Well, if the mountain doesn't come to us, we'll go to the mountain,″ Joy said, crinkling her nose. ″Come on.″

  ″What's the plan?″ Aurora followed her out of the house, curious. Joy had a look on her face that Aurora had come to recognize - part mischief, part determination. It meant trouble for whoever was on the receiving end.

  ″Maybe the owner will come if the car calls them.″ Joy winked at Aurora. They walked across the street to the car and Joy peered into the windows. ″Just a normal car.″ She said with a sigh. Aurora peered in, too, then gave a gasp.

  ″There! In the backseat!″ she said. ″You see that statue of a puppy?″

  ″Sure. Ugly thing.″ Joy cupped her hands to her face and stared through the window at it. The backseat was cluttered with several books on World War 2. Among the pile was a statue, looking rather out of place.

  ″I'm very sure Rosa told me it belonged to Hilda!″ Aurora exclaimed. ″I know it did. Rosa described it perfectly: a ceramic beagle puppy with imitation gems in the eyes and collar. The owner of the car was definitely in Hilda's house today!″

  ″Excuse me?″ a soft voice said at Aurora's elbow. ″You were asking about the car?″

  Aurora looked back to see a woman with a rather bookish face. Something about her was familiar - the neat hair that was tied up in a bun or the casual, yet expensive, clothes. What was it?

  ″Teresa?″ Joy looked from the woman to Aurora and back. ″Aurora, you remember her, right? We met at Hilda's dinner party? She's an accountant and the head of the local historical club.″

  Aurora remembered now - she'd been sitting next to Russell that night.

  ″Teresa. You were Hilda's accountant,″ she said.

  ″That's right.″ Teresa nodded. ″Can I help you with something?″

  ″You were in Hilda's house today,″ Aurora said, trying and failing to keep the accusation out of her voice. ″Why?″

  ″Me? I've been working all day in my office,″ Teresa said. ″I don't know what you're talking about.″

  ″Are you the only one driving your car?″ Joy asked. ″Does anyone share it with you?″

  ″Actually, it's Jonah's car,″ Teresa said. ″He and I are old friends. I borrowed it this week because my car is in the garage.″

  ″Jonah?″ Aurora raised an eyebrow, not sure whether to believe Teresa. ″Did he borrow it from you earlier today?″

  ″No. It was parked in my office lot all day. Why?″

  ″Well, explain that.″ Aurora pointed at the statue in the back. ″How did that come to be in your backseat?″

  ″That? Oh, it was already in the trunk and I moved it to the backseat,″ Teresa explained. ″I had
a lot of briefcases I needed to transfer from my home to my office this week.″

  Lies, total lies! Aurora knew it. She knew that Teresa knew that she knew it. There had been a thread of slight nervousness underlining all of Teresa's words. Yet what could Aurora do? It wasn't like she could drag her to the police station for stealing the statue. Teresa would just claim it was a gift from Hilda or something and that would end the matter.

  ″Hmm.″ Joy had her head cocked to the side and was examining Teresa closely. Teresa met her eyes confidently. There was a long moment of silence. Aurora knew this was one of Joy's tricks. In interviews for the newspaper, Joy would punctuate questions with silences. That way, the subject would sometimes tell her the really interesting details she wouldn't have thought to ask about. ″It works more often than not,″ Joy had once said to Aurora.

  ″Aurora Sparks, right?″ Teresa snapped her fingers suddenly. ″I remember now. Jonah mentioned you'd be cleaning the house out for Rosa. She's really glad to have found you, he said. How is it going? Find anything interesting?″

  ″Not yet. But, if I do, I'll be sure to hand it right to the proper authorities.″ Aurora said, trying to make it sound like a threat. ″Whoever I saw in the house today looked like they'd been interrupted in the middle of a search.″

  ″Did they?″ Teresa's voice was bland.

  ″Sure. But Milly and I made a point of locking it all up really tight. Plus, I've asked Rosa to reactivate the security system. Nobody's getting in anymore. So whatever this mysterious intruder was looking for, I'm sure to find it.″

  ″I wish you luck,″ Teresa said, opening the door and sliding into the driver's seat. ″Give your parents my regards, will you, Joy? I'll see you in town sometime.″

  ″Hang on.″ Joy popped open the back door and reached across the seat. She emerged from the car with the statue of the dog pressed against her chest. ″There you go. I'll hand this over to Rosa. It belongs to her now. I suppose Jonah just accidentally left it in his car somehow.″