Buried in Bargains (Good Buy Girls) (10 page)

“Hello?” she answered.

“Maggie, it’s Sam. How are you?” he asked.

“Waiting,” Maggie said. “Michael is in surgery, so I’m doing the obligatory coffee run.”

“How’s Joanne?” he asked.

“Praying,” Maggie said. “Or meditating, it was hard to tell which, although I imagine it was probably a little bit of both.”

She glanced around the nearly empty cafeteria and realized that other than a few staff persons in scrubs and some in suits, the place was quiet. She figured the surge of visitors probably wouldn’t start until later, and she was grateful for the calm.

“I’ve got the medical examiner and the crime-scene investigators here now,” Sam said. “Once they’re about finished, I’ll meet you at the hospital.”

“Okay,” Maggie said. There was something in his tone that made her wary. “What aren’t you telling me?”

Sam let out a sigh. “You’re not going to like it.”

“I figured that much,” Maggie said. “So, let’s just get it out.”

“Diane was definitely strangled,” Sam said. “And unless we find some evidence that someone else was in here with them, Michael is going to be a prime suspect.”

Chapter 11

“But that’s ridiculous,” Maggie protested. “It could have been a robbery gone wrong or, well, something else.”

Sam didn’t say anything, and Maggie flashed onto the conversation she’d overheard at the ball between Michael and Diane. It had sounded like he was trying to break something off, something like a relationship. What if Diane had refused, and he’d strangled her? Well, then why would he have a head injury? Unless she’d managed to clock him on the head while he was strangling her, but then, where was the item used to knock him out? Maggie’s mind raced through the possibilities.

“Let’s hope the crime-scene investigators discover that it was a burglary,” Sam said.

His voice was reluctant, and Maggie knew right away why. “Nothing was stolen, was it?”

“No,” he said. “The office safe was untouched and the register was already loaded for the day, and it was untouched as well.”

“It looks bad, doesn’t it?” she asked.

“Yeah,” he said. “I’m going to have to dig into the relationship between Michael and Diane, Maggie, and it may get messy.”

Maggie sighed. She knew Sam was doing his job, and he was trying to prepare her for what was coming. She knew she should tell him what she had overheard. She opened her mouth to tell him, but then she thought of Joanne kissing her husband good-bye as he was wheeled off to surgery, and she couldn’t do it. Not yet.

“I understand,” she said.

“I’m sorry, Maggie.” Sam sounded truly regretful, and Maggie felt a surge of guilt that she wasn’t telling him what she knew.

She would wait, she decided, until after the crime-scene analysis was done. If it proved to be a burglary gone wrong, well, then the information she had was irrelevant and unnecessary.

“Me, too,” she said.

Sam sighed, and Maggie knew he had no idea that she was apologizing to him and not just commiserating with him. She felt bad about it, and she really hoped that keeping what she knew to herself did not bite her on the butt later. She had a feeling that Sam in detective mode was not going to forgive her for holding information back from him.

She ended the call with a promise to let him know if there was a change in Michael’s condition, and then she picked up the coffees and returned to her hard chair in the waiting room.

• • •

The Good Buy Girls filtered in and out of the waiting room all day long. They took turns sitting with Joanne, and Claire even dashed over from the library on her lunch hour to join the vigil.

Ginger had broken the news to Laura, who did not take it well at all. She came to the hospital with Ginger, and Maggie held her daughter while she cried over the loss of her new friend. When Claire left to go back to the library, Laura went with her. She wanted to be back in the shop. She said she needed to keep busy. Maggie couldn’t blame her. Sitting in the tiny room was becoming excruciating.

The surgery took several hours, and when Joanne started to look pasty and likely to faint, Maggie forced some soup on her. She was sure Joanne was only eating for the baby, but that was fine.

When Doc Franklin appeared in the waiting room door, he looked haggard. He had been in the gallery that overlooked the operating room, keeping an eye on Michael for Joanne.

Joanne jumped up from her seat at the sight of him and immediately wobbled on her feet. Both Maggie and Ginger stood to support her.

“How is he, Doc?” she asked.

“He’s stable,” Doc said. “The surgeon will be in to talk to you shortly.”

“Can I see him?” Joanne asked.

“In a bit,” Doc said. He looked at Maggie and Ginger. “From recovery, he’ll go to the ICU, where it will be family only.”

“We are family,” Ginger said in a growl.

Doc took in her fierce expression and he gave a faint smile. “Indeed you are.”

“I’m afraid I have to get back to the office,” he said. “Call me if you need me.”

“We will,” Maggie said. “Thanks, Doc, for everything.”

“Yes,” Joanne said. “Thank you.”

Just then a nurse appeared at the door, “Mrs. Claramotta, if you’ll follow me, you can visit your husband in recovery now.”

Joanne hurried forward and Ginger went to follow, but the nurse blocked her. “Just his wife, please.”

Ginger looked as if she’d argue, but Joanne gave her a small smile, and said, “It’s okay. I’ll be all right.”

Ginger nodded, and Joanne hurried from the room with the nurse as if she was afraid the woman would change her mind.

“Okay, Doc,” Ginger said. “Tell us what you know.”

“He’s no longer my patient,” Doc said. “It’s up to his surgeon, Dr. Graber, to tell Joanne what his status is.”

Maggie nodded while Ginger’s frown deepened.

“What I can tell you is that he’s got his youth and good health going for him,” Doc said. “But the blow to his head was severe. Now all we can do is wait until he wakes up to see what we’re dealing with.”

Maggie and Ginger exchanged glances, and Maggie knew Ginger was thinking the same thing that she was: This was going to be very hard on Joanne, and they were going to have to watch her round the clock to be sure she took care of herself and the baby.

When Joanne returned from the recovery room, she was visibly upset. Maggie and Ginger tried to talk her into going home to rest, but she was having none of it. Michael was being moved up to the ICU on the fifth floor, so she planned to move to the waiting room up there and visit Michael as much as she could.

Without having to discuss it, Maggie and Ginger made the move with her. When Joanne went into the ICU to see Michael settled, Ginger went to call Roger and her boys, and when she returned Maggie took a stroll down the hallway and called Laura to see how she was holding up.

“My Sister’s Closet,” Laura answered the shop phone. “May I help you?”

“Hi, sweetie,” Maggie said. Her voice was gentle. She knew that Laura must have still been processing the news about Diane.

“Hi, Mom,” Laura said. “How is Michael? Is he going to be all right? People have been calling the shop all afternoon.”

“He’s holding his own. He’s out of surgery, but we have to wait until he wakes up to see how he is,” Maggie said. She tried to keep her voice optimistic. “How are things at the shop?”

“Not terribly busy,” Laura said. “We had a couple of returns and I made a few sales, but I have to say, my heart is really not in it. I can’t stop thinking about Diane and I—”

Laura broke down and cried, and Maggie wished she could be there to wrap her in her arms and comfort her. She knew that Laura hadn’t known Diane long, but still they’d seemed to hit if off so naturally. It had to be an awful shock.

“You know it’s fine if you close the shop, honey,” Maggie said.

“I know, but I’m afraid it will be worse if I go home and have nothing to do, and I don’t want to freak Josh out by bursting into tears every few minutes,” Laura said. She made a loud sniffle, and Maggie knew exactly what she meant. In times of disaster, Maggie liked to be busy, too.

“Have you talked to Sam? Does he know what happened?” Laura asked when she’d calmed down. “Were they robbed?”

“No one knows as yet,” Maggie said. She knew it wasn’t looking as if that were the case, and she knew her daughter would keep it to herself, but Maggie didn’t even want to put it out there as yet.

“Well the local businesspeople are all getting very twitchy. In fact, Summer Phillips has hired Tyler Fawkes to patrol her shop,” Laura said. “She even put him in a rent-a-cop uniform and everything.”

Maggie rolled her eyes. Of course Summer had. If ever there was a person who brought attention to herself through someone else’s tragedy, it was Summer.

“Tyler’s even packing,” Laura said.

“Packing what?”

“He’s armed,” Laura said.

“With a gun?” Maggie squawked.

“A Taser,” Laura said.

“Oh, good grief,” Maggie said. “I don’t know who is dumber, Summer or Tyler. I swear they are a match made in heaven.”

“Are you talking about us?” a voice asked from behind her.

Maggie turned to find Sam standing there, and she felt her face get hot. He thought she was talking about them? Then she saw the twinkle in his eye, and her insides turned to mush. How did he do that?

“Who’s that?” Laura asked.

“Sam just arrived,” Maggie said.

“Tell him I said hi,” Laura said. “Call me if there’s any change with Michael or any news.”

“But—” Maggie began, but Laura had already ended the call.

“Laura says hi,” she said.

Sam stepped closer and pulled her into a gentle hug. The solid feel of his arms around her made Maggie feel stronger, and she was grateful.

“I really like that girl,” he said.

Maggie smiled against his shoulder before stepping back. “What’s the good word?”

Sam pushed a strand of her long auburn hair back behind her ear. He looked pensive, and Maggie held her breath.

“No good word at the moment,” he said. “As far as we can tell, the only two people in the deli this morning were Michael and Diane.”

“But it’s not conclusive yet, is it?”

“No, but it’s not looking good,” Sam said. “Maggie, I’m going to have to talk to Joanne.”

Chapter 12

Sam looked so genuinely regretful that Maggie didn’t have the heart to fight him on it, even though she wanted to.

“I’ll be very tactful,” he said.

Maggie nodded.

Together they walked back to the waiting room. When they entered, Joanne glanced up with hopeful eyes and Maggie knew she was hoping it was the doctor with good news.

“Hi, Joanne,” Sam said as he took the seat on her right.

Ginger was on Joanne’s left, and she gave Maggie a questioning glance. Maggie nodded, hoping Ginger would know that she meant they would talk later.

She took the seat across from the group and waited.

“Maggie tells me that Michael is holding his own,” Sam said.

Joanne gave him a watery nod and fidgeted with the paper napkin in her hands. She’d been fretting it, twisting it tight with her fingers, but now she smoothed it out against her lap as if she could do the same with Michael’s condition. She took a deep breath and met Sam’s gaze with an intense look of her own.

“Who did this, Sam?” she asked. Her voice was stronger than Maggie expected, and she realized Joanne was angry. “Who would harm my Michael? And who would strangle that young woman?”

“Well, that’s what I’m hoping you can help me with,” Sam said. His voice was kind and gentle, and Maggie watched as Joanne’s rage was quickly diverted into a cause.

“Absolutely,” Joanne said. “I’ll help in any way I can.”

“What do you know about Diane Jenkins?” he asked.

“She’s young,” Joanne said. Realizing how it must have sounded, she quickly added, “I mean, she’s in her early twenties. She’s from Vermont or some state up north. She relocated to St. Stanley about two months ago just when Michael was looking for an assistant, you know, because of the baby. He wanted more flexibility. He wanted to hire someone with deli experience, and Diane answered the ad.”

“Did either of you know her before that?” Sam asked.

Joanne narrowed her eyes. “What do you mean?”

Sam coughed, and said, “Was she referred to you by anyone? Had she worked for any business associates or family friends?”

“No.” Joanne frowned and then paused. She looked pained when she added, “I guess I should say not that I know of. I’ve been so caught up with the baby, I, well, I haven’t been paying much attention to the business. I should have been there this morning, but no, I was off choosing paint at the hardware store.”

“Completely understandable,” Ginger said, and patted Joanne’s knee.

Joanne looked miserable. Maggie knew her well enough to know that she was thinking if she’d been more involved in the business that somehow this tragedy wouldn’t have happened. But Maggie knew it probably would have, but it might have been even worse, in that Joanne and the baby could have been put in harm’s way also. The thought made her shiver.

“Mrs. Claramotta.” A doctor appeared in the door.

“Yes?” she asked. She rose from her seat, and Maggie could see the hope shining on her face.

“I’m sorry,” Dr. Graber said. “There’s been no change for better or for worse, but we’re done with our examination if you’d like to sit with him now.”

“I would. Thank you,” she said. She looked at Sam and asked, “Do you need me for anything else?”

“No,” he said. “I’ll be in touch if there is anything to report.”

“Thank you,” she said, and she hurried after the doctor through the automatic door that led into the ICU.

“Maggie, you look done in,” Ginger said. “Why don’t you go home and have dinner. I’ll stay until visiting hours are over and then take Joanne home. I’ve already convinced her that Michael would be unhappy if he knew she was planning to stay the night here.”

“And she agreed?” Maggie asked.

“Baby on board is excellent leverage,” Ginger said. “Claire is going to meet us at her place after the library closes and spend the night with her.”

“Sounds good,” Maggie said. “I want to make sure that Laura is all right.”

They gave each other a quick hug, and Sam hugged Ginger, too.

“I’ll give you a ride home,” he said to Maggie. She gave him a considering look, and he asked, “What?”

“You look as bad as I feel,” she said. “Take me home and I’ll feed you some dinner.”

Sam gave her a slow smile as they walked down the hall.

“I think I could get used to this,” he said, and he pulled her close to his side as they made their way out of the hospital.

Maggie leaned into him, taking comfort from his strength. “I know what you mean.”

Sam kissed her head before helping her into the car. They drove through town in companionable silence, which Maggie was pretty sure was a first for them. Usually, they were at odds over one thing or another.

She wondered how much of their squabbling had been because they’d still had a thing for each other and how much had been because they’d had different viewpoints. She had to admit that it felt good to let go of all her years of stored up anger with him. She wondered if he felt the same.

She thought he must, and then it hit her how fragile this new beginning was. She didn’t want to be the one to damage the new trust they were trying out by withholding information, but she didn’t want to wreak havoc with her friend’s life either.

As Sam pulled up in front of her house, she knew she was going to have to tell him about the scene between Michael and Diane at the ball. She hated that she would be telling him something that she hadn’t even told Joanne, but if it would help him find whoever had killed Diane, then she had to do it.

“What are you thinking about?” Sam asked as he opened her door for her.

Maggie met his gaze and was about to tell him, when the front door opened and Jake came out carrying Josh.

“Auntie Maggie!” Josh cried.

He reached out with his arms and Maggie took him from Jake. Holding Josh was the world’s best medicine and, for the first time all day, Maggie felt just the tiniest bit better.

“Sorry,” Jake said with a shrug. “Josh saw you through the window and wanted to say good night to you.”

“Oh, good night, sweetie,” Maggie said and kissed his soft, blond head.

“I didn’t see you all day,” Josh said. He leaned back and put both of his chubby hands on her cheeks. “I missed you.”

Maggie felt a lump form in her throat. “I missed you, too.”

“Come on, champ,” Jake said. “It’s time for bath and stories.”

Maggie handed Josh back to his dad, and they all walked into the house together.

“Daddy’s giving me a bath and telling me stories tonight,” Josh announced. He wriggled with excitement.

Maggie looked at Jake’s face and couldn’t decide who looked happier about their time together, Josh or his dad.

She reached out and squeezed Jake’s arm. “It’s good to have you home.”

“It’s good to be here,” he said.

“G’night, Josh,” Sam said and held out his hand for a high five. Josh gave it a good whack, and Sam pretended to be hurt from the impact, which made Josh giggle.

Maggie and Sam waved as Jake headed down the hallway with his son. Together they made their way to the kitchen to find Laura finishing up the dishes while Sandy cleaned up the booster seat that Josh used to eat at the table.

“You know, I wonder how much actually gets into that boy’s mouth given the amount he leaves behind on his seat,” Sandy was saying as she brushed it off over the sink.

“Hi, Aunt Maggie, Sam,” she said.

“Hi, Mom, Sam,” Laura said as she turned from the sink. “I haven’t packed up the leftovers yet. Are you hungry?”

“Oh, I’ll get it,” Maggie said. “I’ll feel better if I have something to do.”

Sitting all day in the waiting room had made her feel restless and edgy. She had kept longing for something—anything—to do, and had even wondered if the cleaning people would let her have a go with a mop for a while.

She took down two plates and started dishing out the leftover pot roast with potatoes and carrots for her and Sam.

“Is there any news?” Laura asked. Her voice was hesitant.

“No, not yet,” Sam said. “I’m sorry.”

“How’s Joanne?” Sandy asked.

Maggie gave them an update on Joanne and Michael while she reheated dinner for her and Sam in the microwave. There wasn’t much to tell, but she tried to put it in a positive light, as if by saying it that way she could make it so.

A splash and a squeal of delight sounded from down the hall in the bathroom.

“Excuse me,” Sandy said. “I have a feeling I’m on cleanup duty—again.”

They watched her go, and Maggie turned to Laura.

“Thank you for watching the shop today,” she said.

“No problem,” Laura said. Her eyes looked sad. “It was healthier than sitting home alone brooding. I still can’t believe Diane’s gone. I didn’t know her for very long, but she seemed like she was beginning to come out of her shell, you know?”

“You knew her?” Sam glanced at Laura with interest.

“I was beginning to,” Laura said. “She was very shy. It took a lot of persistence to get her to go out and do things.”

Sam looked thoughtful. He asked Laura a few more questions, but she had no information. She and Diane had talked mostly about books, movies and clothes. She knew that Diane loved to read and was partial to old movies, but that was about it. She didn’t know where exactly Diane was from or whether she had family nearby or anything.

“She never talked about herself,” Laura said. She looked sheepish. “I think I did all of the talking for the two of us, which really makes me feel just awful.”

Maggie rubbed her back. “It’s okay, sweetie. I saw you make her laugh. She was as fond of you as you were of her.”

Laura sniffed and pressed her lips together, obviously trying not to cry in front of Sam.

“If you think of anything else, anything at all, please tell me,” Sam said. “We haven’t been able to trace her family, and with Michael still unconscious, well, it’s making contacting the next of kin pretty tough.”

Maggie slid a plate in front of him at the counter and took the seat beside him.

“I will,” Laura promised.

Feeling the need to change the conversation so that she could stomach her dinner, Maggie asked Laura about her day at the shop.

“You said earlier that we had some returns,” Maggie said. “Which ones?”

“Well, Anna Kendrick brought back the Galliano, saying it didn’t fit her,” Laura said.

“But I saw her in it at the ball, and I know for a fact she had it altered to fit those boxy hips of hers,” Maggie said. “We can’t accept a return that’s been tailored.”

“Which is exactly what I told her,” Laura said. “I told her it was a no-go unless she wanted to leave it with us as a consignment of which we’d take a cut of the resale.”

“Good girl,” Maggie said. “Well done.”

“Thank you,” Laura said, looking much less like she was going to cry. “I thought so.”

“Any other messy returns?” Maggie asked.

“No, the other two were straightforward,” Laura said. “One gown that hadn’t been worn at all and a business suit for Mimi Carter. She was going to interview for a job in Richmond, but she changed her mind. She just didn’t think she’d get along in the city very well.”

“Which gown came back?”

“The Anne Barge,” Laura said.

“Blake brought it back?” Maggie asked as she speared a chunk of meat on her fork. Sam was quietly chewing beside her, and she thought she could hear the gears in his head turning as he mulled over the events of the day.

Her chest tightened at the thought of the money they’d have to return on the Barge gown, but a part of her was thrilled to have the designer dress back. It was definitely going right back in the window for the holidays.

“Apparently, his fiancée did not want anything off the rack,” Laura said in a mock snooty tone. “He was very apologetic about it.”

“Some people just do not appreciate the value of resale,” Maggie said with a shrug. “I’m sure whoever scores the dress will be thrilled.”

“I know I would,” Laura said.

Maggie smiled at her daughter. When Laura was growing up, Maggie had never been able to afford ballet lessons, manicures, pedicures and all of the other extras that most girls seemed to need to grow up these days. It had hurt Maggie deeply at the time to say no, but as a single mom with a mortgage to pay, she hadn’t had any choice.

But now as she gazed at her kind, funny, brilliant and beautiful daughter, and saw a young woman who had worked her butt off to earn a scholarship to the university of her choice and who took nothing for granted; maybe all of the noes had been a good thing.

“I love you, baby,” she said.

Laura grinned, and said, “I love you, too, Mom.”

Sam glanced between them and smiled as if he, too, understood the genuine affection and respect that Maggie and Laura shared.

“Good pot roast,” he said.

“I’ll tell Sandy you said so,” Laura offered. “And on that note, I’m going to bed. I’m just . . .”

Her voice trailed off, and Maggie knew exactly what she meant. They were all overwhelmed by what had happened.

“Call me if you need me,” Maggie said. “My tuck-in service never expires.”

Laura laughed. “Thanks, Mom. Good night.”

Sam got up from his chair and began to clean his dishes in the sink, adding them to the dishwasher, which had yet to be run.