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Chapter Twenty-Eight

Alan and I discussed our plans for the day at breakfast. Given that we knew the Sterlings wintered in Florida, he intended to ask Clare for their address, then touch base with law officials there. He thought Liz may have sought solace in a place that brought her comfort before the arrival of her sister.

I disagreed. “There’s nothing in Liz’s day planner about flight arrangements to Florida. Besides, she was closing out accounts for Ed’s business and needed to verify something with the bank on Monday. Remember?”

“Maybe it was a bank in Florida.”

“I understood her sister-in-law to mean the bank in town,” I said gently. “I do agree that we need to investigate the Florida connection, but her pattern indicates she would’ve scheduled the trip in her day planner. Maybe you could stop by Aspen Notch’s bank and ask if she had met with someone this week.”

Alan nodded slowly. ”I doubt they’ll tell me anything, but I can try. I’ll meet with Mark to bring him up to speed, then talk to folks at River Mill again. Did Liz have plans to meet anyone there last week?”

“Yes, she had a one o’clock appointment with Courtney Bates on Wednesday. It’s strange the manager didn’t mention that to us.”

“Right. I’ll ask about that, then pick Jim Withers’ brain. As bartender and owner, he knows more than he’s letting on. Do you want to come with me?”

I gave a slight shake of my head. “The garden shop needs me today, so I’ll be busy. In fact, I want to call Evelyn to see if she’d like to lend me a hand. I’ve barely seen her this week.”

“I’m sure she’d appreciate that. Do you want to go to the Black Horse Pub tonight?”

“You must have read my mind,” I teased.

Alan cleared the island while I stacked the dishwasher, then let Sophie out to the yard. “She’s still fixated with that scarf,” he remarked.

I glanced to see it draping her favorite spot on the sofa. “I suppose it’s soft and comfy. At least she’s not dragging it outside.”

Alan smiled as he pressed a contact on his phone. After a few moments, he left a message for Clare Dolan. “I wonder where she went so early on a Saturday morning.”

“Maybe to the grocery store. It wouldn’t surprise me if she intends to shop for her neighbor, Jane Windsor.” I reached for my phone and called Evelyn.

She seemed delighted about my invitation, and promised to join me at the garden shop after lunch. When we disconnected, I finished tidying the kitchen, then threw a load of dirty clothes into the washer. Glancing out the window, I saw Sean chasing Sophie in the yard, while Alan attempted to rake the first batch of fallen leaves .

The view made me smile—and I counted my blessings.

^^^

Evelyn brought me a plastic container filled with her scrumptious spritz cookies, which I had to immediately sample despite having just finished my lunch. “I don’t know what your secret is, but you make the best cookies!” I exclaimed.

“I just beat the butter and sugar until the combination is light and fluffy.” She replied casually, yet I knew my compliment had pleased her.

“Well, they’re delicious and I thank you.” We put on our aprons embroidered with the Butterflies and Blooms logo before I unlocked the front door and turned the “closed” sign to “open.”

“You’re welcome. What would you like me to do?”

I retrieved cash from the safe behind the loft steps. “Talk to me. We’ve been like two ships passing through the night.”

She smiled nostalgically. “I’ve missed you.”

“Same here, though it’s my fault. Fall is always busy, yet I didn’t expect to take on an investigation before we even unpacked. I would have liked some time to catch up with you, but that didn’t happen.”

“I understand,” she said supportively. “Have you found any sign of your neighbor?”

“Unfortunately, not yet.” I shook off my frustration while rearranging a few of the garden gnomes on a shelf as we waited for customers to arrive. “Would you leave town if you knew your sister planned to visit?”

Evelyn shook her head. “Of course not, unless I didn’t want her to come. I guess in that case, I’d have told her that I was busy or something.”

I agreed, even though it looked as if Liz had cleaned her house and left notes for Clare. She must have known she wouldn’t be there when her sister arrived, but why?

Three cars pulled into the lot in front of the shop, so Evelyn and I stayed busy with those patrons until the next group arrived. At one point, I caught her eye and we both smiled as we pretended to take deep calming breaths.

We had a lull at three o’clock, so we sat on the bench near the hearth with the container of cookies. “Fall flowers are popular around here,” I said, munching. “It’s a good thing I ordered plenty before going to Japan.”

She reached for a spritz and nodded. “Do you remember that first year when we didn’t know what we were doing?”

I laughed. “How could I forget?” It always tickled me when Evelyn acted as if the garden shop had been her idea. I had to admit, though, without her egging me on, Butterflies and Blooms would probably never have come to fruition.

“We make a good team,” she said, adding her encouraging smile.

“Yes, we do,” I agreed.

The sound of jingle bells alerted us to someone entering the front door. I greeted Clare Dolan as she stepped inside carrying a sheaf of papers, then introduced her to Evelyn.

She smiled pleasantly. “I’m happy to meet you.” Turning to me, she added, “I hope you won’t mind if I hang this flyer in your front window.”

I took a look at it, admiring her technical skill to make an eye-catching sign with an enlarged head-shot of her sister. “You’re offering a reward?” I questioned, wondering how she’d come up with $1,000 .

“Yes. Do you think it’s enough?”

Evelyn gave an immediate response. “I’d say so, and I’ll plan to start looking for Liz Sterling as soon as I finish helping Sue in the garden shop.” She leaned in to view the photo more closely. “I don’t think I’ve ever had the pleasure of meeting your sister.”

“She was a snowbird,” I said.

“What does that mean?” Clare asked.

“She and her husband flew south for the winter. They went to Florida.”

She nodded. “Yes, they owned a home in the Villages near Orlando. Edward had a lot of business contacts there, and they’d connect with the friends they’d made through the years.”

I begged the obvious question. “Could she have gone there this week? Maybe she wanted to put the house on the market.”

Clare gave a firm shake of her head. “I don’t think so. I’ve called the landline repeatedly, and no one has answered. The management company hasn’t heard from her, and there was no flight information in her day planner.”

I picked up a roll of tape on my workstation and took one of the flyers to hang in the front window. “Good job, Clare.” She had gone a step beyond me by calling possible contacts. “Did you talk to Alan this morning?”

“No, I went to the grocery store in Ed’s car, then took food next door to Jane. She’s a sweet lady, but so very talkative.”

“That was kind of you,” Evelyn remarked. “I heard you’re a nun.”

Clare smiled enigmatically. “I am, and I provide health care to the people who live in a small village in Uganda. Providing food for the poor is also my mission.”

“I think Liz tried to emulate you,” I said. “In Florida, she volunteered at a local food bank.”

She nodded. “Apparently, she did that here, as well. I didn’t see it recorded in her planner, but Father John at St. Stephen’s told me their food pantry was stocked because of her fundraisers.”

“You must be proud of her,” Evelyn stated.

“I am, but I’m also terribly worried.”

“Alan had a meeting with our police chief this morning, “ I said, “and he’s continuing our investigation at the golf club this afternoon. Hopefully, he’ll have some good news later. We plan to go to the Black Horse Pub for supper tonight, and you’re welcome to join us.”

Clare paused, thinking. “I could do that since I’d like him to fill me in. What time?”

“We’ll pick you up around five-thirty. How about you and Marty, Evelyn?”

She sighed with a roll of her eyes. “You know Marty’s a man of predictability. I have to pick up hoagies from Franco’s when we finish here today, but maybe I’ll see you at brunch tomorrow.”

“That sounds like a plan.” I chuckled as we waved Clare off to hang her flyers, watching as she set out on foot, heading down Main Street.

“She’s one determined lady,” Evelyn noted.

“Yes, she is.” I no longer questioned her integrity. She’d already shown that she had spunk, and I gave her credit for that.