A Murder of Taste: A Queen Bees Quilt Mystery Page 7

  “Do you suppose Picasso can shed some light on it?” Leah asked, pushing her cup aside, and slipping her arms into the sleeves of her sweater.

  “Perhaps,” Po said. “We didn’t talk about it much the other day.”

  Leah moved the photos of the quilt around on the table like pieces of a puzzle, seeing it from different angles, admiring the fine design. One picture, slightly stuck beneath the others, came loose, and Leah picked it up.

  “What’s this, Kate?”

  Kate leaned over and looked at the photo. She quickly took it from Leah’s hand. “Oh, I didn’t mean to include that one.” She bit down on her bottom lip and looked from Leah to Po. “I didn’t know I had this picture until I downloaded my camera photos onto the computer. I think Amber, one of my students, must have taken it. I met her in the park that day and let her play with the camera for awhile.” She paused and stared hard at the photo, her brows pulling together. Her heart had nearly leapt out of her chest when she’d discovered the photo an hour before. It was a clear shot of Laurel St. Pierre in the arms of another man. She’d called P.J. instantly, but his message said he’d be back later, and she remembered, then, a meeting he had told her about. “This is for P.J.,” she said aloud. “I’m headed over there on my way home.”

  “P.J.?” Leah looked more closely at the picture. She frowned. “Is that Laurel?”

  “Yes,” Kate said. “She was in the park the other day—I think I mentioned it to you, Po. I didn’t even know it was Laurel at first. They—Laurel and this man—were standing up near a grove of trees, kind of hidden. When they stepped from the shadow, I realized it was Laurel—and a man. But I didn’t know Amber had taken their picture until today.”

  Po took the picture from Kate’s hand and looked at it closely. “The police will want to see this right away, Kate,” Po said.

  Kate nodded. “That’s my plan.”

  “Oh, my,” Selma said. “It’s one thing to hear the rumors, but quite another to have a picture of it.”

  “I almost felt guilty watching them that day,” Kate said. “I didn’t intend to intrude. But then after Laurel was killed, I told P.J. what I’d seen, but without a description, they couldn’t do much except include it in with all the other things people were saying about Laurel.”

  “But now you have a picture,” Leah said. “This is good, Kate.”

  “Maybe it will help Picasso,” Po said.

  Kate nodded.

  Selma put her glasses back on and looked carefully at the photo. “He looks vaguely familiar. But I can’t place him.” The picture was passed around and examined carefully.

  “Maybe it’s someone Laurel knew before they moved here, someone from back east,” Leah offered.

  “And maybe it’s someone who might have a motive for killing her,” Kate said.

  “From the looks of that photo, that’s not what’s on his mind.” Selma looked at it again, then put it back down on the table.

  “Maybe not. But at least it’s someone else for the police to concentrate on,” Kate said. She scooped up the pictures and stood to slip on her jacket.

  The others gathered their purses and coats and pulled out dollar bills to leave on the table for the young waitress waiting to gather their cups.

  Kate looked down at the table as if she were still looking at the picture, focusing in on that moment in time. “I was so surprised to see Laurel that day that I kept watching them for a minute. The camera caught the kiss, but there was more that it didn’t see. Laurel—and whoever he is—pulled apart right after the embrace. They seemed to be talking briefly, and then the whole lovely scene was shattered by an angry slap. And I think it was Laurel who was doing the slapping.”

  CHAPTER 12

  Wednesdays were writing days for Po, but a restless night left her mind foggy. A run along the river would put her in a better frame of mind, she thought. Perhaps it would bring some writing inspiration and distance her a little from things she couldn’t do anything about.

  Po was an eclectic writer, having several books of essays to her publishing credit, a book on women and quilting, and occasional articles in magazines. In addition to the article on crazy quilts, her current long-term project was a book of essays on notable Midwestern women, a topic of interest to her, but one clouded over by the week’s events.

  The morning was brisk, and the air energized Po as she moved along the meandering paths, her slick red jogging pants making swishing noises as she ran. The riverfront park was nearly empty this morning, and Po enjoyed the solitude and time to sift through her tangled thoughts. Kate’s pictures of the quilt had unleashed something inside her—a nagging, uncomfortable feeling. And she suspected it would get worse before it got better. She needed to sort through this mess they were mired in, to bring peace back into their days. Esther Woods’ bird quilt weighed heavily on her mind. Such a lovely work of art, and sitting there in all its glory on Picasso’s wall. But how in heaven’s name did it get there? Po suspected Picasso wasn’t going to be much help. Only Laurel could tell them, and Laurel certainly wasn’t giving any answers.

  The river was quiet today as Po ran along its edge. It had been swift, she remembered, the night Laurel had died. She looked across the narrow waterway as she ran, where the path continued but the land behind it was less developed, rugged and craggy with overgrown weeds and thorny bushes. She wondered where Laurel had met someone on that path—and why. The police hadn’t said exactly where Laurel had been thrown into the river, only where her body had been found. But it didn’t matter much, Po supposed. The path started in the downtown area, and ran all the way past the bridge and for a couple miles south, where a smaller bridge crossed the river and connected the walking path to the one Po ran on now. It could have been any where along the way, and ended in the same grisly way. She shivered as the grim thought of Laurel’s murder took hold, and rubbed her arms against the chill. Then she headed up one of the small paths away from the river bank, and back toward the Elderberry Road neighborhood and her own home. As she neared the shops, she slowed down slightly, turned in behind Selma’s shop, and began running down the deserted alley. The sight of Picasso’s van behind the French Quarter made her smile—any sign of normalcy coming from the grieving Frenchman was a good thing. She ran toward the restaurant, happy to see the kitchen windows open wide and sounds of life coming through the screens. Picasso working was a good thing. She’d have to come in later in the week for his steamed mussels swimming in garlic butter, just the way she loved them. And maybe a small bowl of French onion soup with Picasso’s home-baked croutons floating on the top. Now if only she could help dispel the ugly rumors that swirled about his little round head, life would be much better, indeed.

  Po slowed to a stop behind the restaurant and breathed in deeply, stretching out one leg and leaning into it, her eyes lifted to the back of the restaurant and the high, kitchen windows on its west corner. Maybe this would be the perfect time to ask Picasso a few more questions about the quilt that hung so stately on his wall. And perhaps he’d offer her a glass of water as well.

  As Po brought her body upright, she spotted Picasso’s blunt profile just inside the open kitchen window, but before she could call out her hello, he turned away from the window and his voice rose in startling anger. “Vicious man! Judas!” he called out. “You were my friend and you betrayed me!”

  Another voice, unfamiliar to Po, murmured an answer. The man must have been standing across the room, and at first his words were indistinct. But before Po had a chance to move away, the man moved closer to the window and his voice rose through it in churlish tones. “I did you a favor, old man,” the voice said. “You’re better off now, believe it. She was a bitch.” The last word was punched out and flew through the window like a hit ball. Po stepped back as if it might hit her directly in her solar plexus.

  “Out, get out of my sight!” Picasso yelled. “Don’t you ever come back into my restaurant.”

  “Oh, I’m outta here, all ri
ght, and you can shove your business you know where. But it’s not over, Frenchy. There’s still more I can get out of that scheming wife of yours, and believe you me, I intend to get it!”

  Before Po had a chance to move down the alleyway, away from listening in on a private conversation, a broad-shouldered man rushed through the back door, nearly knocking her down. He headed for a sports utility vehicle that had been hidden behind Picasso’s van and jumped inside. A shiny black Lab sat upright on the back seat, looking at Po with interest.

  Po stared at the man as he jumped into the SUV and brought the engine to life. Only the dog seemed aware of her presence. The man had dark, thick hair, prominent cheekbones, and wide brows marking a strong face. He backed the car recklessly close to the edge of the alley, then lurched into drive and raced down the alley past Po, scattering gravel in all directions. The dog stuck his head out the back window of the car, still looking at Po.

  But it was the man, not the dog, that Po recognized. Even in the rush of his departure, Po knew she had seen this person before. There was no doubt in her mind. He was the same man Kate had snapped a picture of—the man who had been standing on the hill kissing Laurel St. Pierre, blown up now into a real-life figure.

  CHAPTER 13

  Po hesitated only seconds before opening the back door to Picasso’s French Quarter restaurant and walking directly into his kitchen.

  Picasso was standing at the stainless steel sink, his hands gripping the edge, his head bent low. His breath came in starts and stops.

  “Picasso?” Po asked, her voice gentle at the sight of her disturbed friend. “Picasso, who was that man?”

  Picasso spun around at the sound of her voice. Thin strands of hair hung limp over his broad forehead. He wore baggy jeans and a stained t-shirt, and his eyes were wild and unfocused.

  “Po, what are you doing here?” he managed.

  “I apologize for overhearing your conversation, Picasso. I was on my morning run, is all, and I thought I’d stop in for a glass of water. Then I heard voices.”

  “Water? Yes, yes,” Picasso walked over to one of the enormous refrigerators and pulled out a chilled bottle of Evian. He thrust the bottle into Po’s hand. “Drink, Po. Sit.” He pulled a stool out from beneath the stainless steel island running down the center of the room.

  Po thought Picasso was most definitely the one who needed to sit. She pulled out the stool next to hers and motioned toward it. “Let’s both sit for a moment. Tell me what is going on, Picasso.”

  Picasso straddled the stool next to Po and took a deep, heaving breath. When he looked at Po again his eyes were more focused, his face incredibly sad. “Po, Laurel was confused. She was a mixed-up little girl, my Laurelee. People wouldn’t understand.”

  “Laurel was seeing that man?”

  He nodded. “His name is Jason Sands. He is my wine distributor. I thought he was a good man. He knows French wines. He travels to France. He loves my crispy frites, my ragout of duck.” Picasso clenched his jaw, the sadness that watered his eyes turning suddenly to anger. “But he betrayed me, Po. He used my sweet little wife. He …” His fist hit the steel table and the sound rattled through the kitchen.

  Po flinched at the force of his movement. It was a side of Picasso she had never seen before, an awful, powerful anger. An anger that, for a brief moment, seemed capable of triggering disastrous actions. Po pushed aside the disturbing thought and focused on the present. “Picasso, listen to me. This is important. Do the police know about Jason Sands?”

  Picasso shrugged.

  “You must tell them.”

  “I do not spread family affairs across the whole village, Po. This is a private family matter. What would they think of my Laurel?”

  Po bit back a response. Her thoughts about his Laurel had changed considerably in the past few days. She had wounded this man immeasurably, and his love had totally blinded him to it. But Jason Sands was another matter. “Picasso, Jason Sands might be able to tell us something about Laurel’s murder. Don’t you see?”

  “Non. I asked him. He said he didn’t do anything to her except tell her he was tired of her. Tired of her! She must have been under a spell. She was working too hard at the restaurant—working so hard and she would never take a penny for it! He took advantage of how tired she was, of her innocence. He used her, Po.”

  Po took a drink of water and collected her thoughts. Jason Sands may have indeed used Laurel. But there was more to this than Picasso was seeing. Someone needed to talk with the wine distributor. Someone needed to look a lot more carefully into Laurel St. Pierre’s quiet life. She worked without pay? Laurel had never impressed Po as one who didn’t care about money.

  “I know you mean to help me, Po,” Picasso said, “and I know people talk about me and make rumors, but I will be fine. You are not to worry.”

  When Picasso stood and began pulling out knives and vegetables for his special of the day, Po knew it was time to take her leave. Picasso would be fine, she suspected. Eventually. But on her short run home, she determined that in the meantime, she’d do all she could to erase the cloud of suspicion that was surely making his life a living hell, no matter what he said.

  ***

  A shower, fresh jeans, and a nubby red sweater helped Po feel able to face the day. The episode with Jason Sands had stuck to her thoughts like superglue, and she knew that her day was lost until something was done about it. She left a message for P.J., giving him the few scant details that she had, then loaded Hoover into her car for a drive over to Maggie’s clinic for a scheduled check-up. Maybe the mundane activity would untangle her thoughts, and she could make some sense out of the morning’s encounter.

  Maggie’s veterinary hospital was in an old house that had been completely renovated into a clinic so friendly that Po never had a problem getting Hoover to his appointments. And the golden retriever loved Maggie Helmers.

  “Hey, Hoover, my love, up here,” Maggie coaxed, patting the surface of the low examining table. Hoover promptly jumped up and licked her waiting hand while she stepped on a pedal and slowly raised the platform to an examining height.

  “So Po, why the frown?” Maggie asked, as her hands deftly examined Hoover’s coat.

  “Too much activity early in the morning,” Po said, and related the events at Picasso’s. “I know you’re as crazy about that little Frenchman as I am, Maggie. We need to help get rid of this dark aura about him and cast those dangerous rumors to the wind. It will begin to affect his business soon, I’m afraid.”

  “Do you know any more about the wine distributor? He and Laurel must have been very discreet in meeting one another. This is the first I’ve heard about it. And believe me, lots of gossip hits these walls between rabies vaccinations and spays.”

  “Since he was in and out of the restaurant, they probably had plenty of time to plan meetings. And instinct tells me Laurel was a clever woman and could probably hide anything she wanted to from Picasso. Love can blind one very easily.”

  “Do you think the guy had anything to do with her murder?”

  “I think he certainly could be a suspect.”

  “But why would he kill Laurel?” Maggie gently pressed Hoover’s ears wide and checked inside with a tiny light.

  “I don’t know, Maggie. But Kate said the embrace Amber caught on her camera was followed by a fight of some sort. Perhaps Laurel was breaking up with him?”

  “From what you overheard him saying to Picasso, he wouldn’t have cared.”

  “A love scorned may say things like that to save face.”

  “I suppose that’s true. What else do you know about the man?”

  “Nothing, really. Except he had a beautiful black Labrador sitting in his back seat.”

  Maggie perked up at the mention of one of her favorite breeds. Her tendency to identify people by their pets was well-known among her friends. “Black Lab? What did you say his name was?”

  “Sands, I think. He had a Kansas license plate, so I guess he liv
es around here somewhere.”

  “Sands …” Maggie pondered the name as she lowered the examining table and allowed Hoover off to sit on the floor next to Po. “Was he a big guy?”

  “I’d say so. A little rough looking.”

  Maggie turned toward her computer and tapped a few keys, then squinted and scrolled down through a list of names. “Sands … Albert Einstein. Five-year-old Labrador Retriever. Bingo, Po. They’re clients!”

  CHAPTER 14

  According to Maggie’s records, Jason Sands lived with his dog, Albert Einstein, just outside the city limits of Crestwood, not far from the wooded estate that Susan shared with her elderly mother. Which was the reason Po used to convince herself to drive out that way. She needed to pick up some books from Susan, and today was as good a time as any. With Hoover in the back seat, Po headed west.

  Nothing in Crestwood was very far away from anything else, and it took Po less than fifteen minutes to spot the winding road that led to Jason Sands’ home. She had intended to drive on by, but curiosity forced the car right onto Hilltop Lane, and before she realized it, she was driving slowly down the street. Po had no idea what she’d do when she passed the house, but curiosity propelled her to at least see where this man—now a piece in the growing puzzle of Laurel’s murder—lived.

  The country road was dotted with new, ranch-type homes. Several houses were under construction, indicating the area would soon be absorbed into the city, but for now, it still held the flavor of country. The same address that Maggie had scribbled on a piece of paper for Po was posted on the mailbox in front of one of the few older homes on the road. It was a small one-story house, bordered by a split-rail fence and with a large yard that stretched back to the woods behind it. A good place for Albert Einstein to play, Po thought. Not to mention that the remote area would have been a good place to shield an affair. The black SUV she had seen at Picasso’s earlier was nowhere to be seen. Po drove past the house and turned around at the end of the road, then headed back down the street toward the main road. She wasn’t sure, really, why she had even come. It would be foolish for her to stop and talk to this stranger. Maybe even dangerous. And what would she say, even if she did stop? But somehow she felt a need to situate Jason Sands somewhere, before she shared his relationship with Laurel with P.J. and the police. Maggie had only vague recollections about the man, except that he had flirted with her receptionist and had made an off-color remark when Albert was in for his rabies vaccination. She knew everything there was to know about Albert Einstein, though, and reported that he was well cared for and a lovely dog. “Albert is a regular here for wellness exams. He’s been a patient for a year or so,” she’d said.