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Chapter Forty-Four

The evening sky displayed dark clouds toward the west end of town when Alan pulled into our driveway. I reached for my phone to see if we should expect rain anytime soon, then remarked that I should let Sophie out to the yard before the predicted showers.

With his eyes on the rear-view mirror, Alan replied distractedly. “Good idea, honey. Dr. Wiley just turned into his driveway, and I’d like to talk to him.”

I swiveled to look, reminding him we worked as a team. We both exited the car, and I waved to catch Joe’s attention before he went into his house. He waited for us to cross the street, then greeted us pleasantly.

“What are the odds,” he remarked with a chuckle, “that we’d return home at the same time tonight, yet never noticed each other before?”

Alan smiled. “We live busy lives and, probably, spend more time out back due to the traffic on Church Street.”

“Definitely,” he agreed. “Besides, if I’m not working, I’m at River Mill Golf Club. ”

“And you travel,” Alan noted. “Anyway, I wanted to tell you that we found Liz today.”

He looked ecstatic. “That’s fabulous news! Where was she?”

“With her brother-in-law.”

“Ed’s brother, Damien?” he queried rhetorically. “I wonder why she didn’t let anyone know.”

“That’s a mystery,” Alan replied, “but we’re glad she’s okay. She wanted me to tell you that she appreciated the money and notes you left her.”

His brow furrowed. “What money and notes?”

“A pad of yellow sticky notes,” I interjected, “as well as some large bills.”

He laughed. “Liz must have a fairy godmother, and it’s not me.”

“Sorry,” Alan said. “I’ll let her know when I see her.”

Joe’s eyes darted to the house next door where Clare must have set up lights on timers. “We could tell her now.”

Alan gave a quick shake of his head. “No, she has her sister with her, so let’s give them time to catch up.”

“True,” Joe agreed. “Well, I’d invite you in, but I have early appointments tomorrow morning.”

“Not a problem,” Alan said, turning to leave. “We’ll have you and your wife over soon.”

“Sounds good,” he replied with a hasty wave back to us.

I caught up with Alan on the other side of the street where we paused to make sure “spyly Wiley” went inside. “I’d say Dr. Joe has some explaining to do.”

Alan raised his right eyebrow, which I detected even in the increasing darkness. “I agree, Mrs. Jaworski. Let’s give Sophie her run while we discuss our case. Shall I open a bottle of wine?”

“Sure,” I said, figuring it would be a long night .

Alan took my hand to walk inside where Sophie greeted us enthusiastically. It felt good to be home.

^^^

Alan opened the wine and brought out two glasses, while I gathered cheddar cheese, pepperoni, and crackers to take to the sunroom. Neither of us felt in the mood for a full meal, yet we wanted something to munch on while we talked business.

“Consider this my version of a charcuterie,” I quipped.

“It’s just a snack with a fancy name,” Alan said, filling our glasses and setting the bottle on the coffee table. “Cheers.”

“Cheers,” I said, taking a sip. “We’ll have to really put on the dog if we have the Wileys over.” Sophie, already exercised, fed, and watered, gave me a quirky look before she closed her eyes.

Alan had his sip, then cut a wedge of cheese. “So, who left the money and notes for Liz if Joe didn’t do it?”

“It had to be another J.W.,” I said, cutting more slices of cheese. “I need my notebook because I’ve already forgotten what was written on the sticky notes.”

Alan made the extra effort to retrieve my spiral pad from the desk behind us. “You’ll have to read it because I don’t have my glasses.”

I figured he couldn’t decipher my scribbles. Flipping pages, I paused when I found my notes. “ For You , Use my money , River Mill , Be Careful , and J.W ,” I read aloud. “Why would Liz think Joe Wiley wanted her to be careful? ”

“Right,” Alan agreed. “What about Jane? She could have been watching out for Liz.”

“Yes, but she has nothing to do with River Mill, so I still say we eliminate Jane. That leaves Jim Withers, and he owns the golf course. Why would he give Liz money and tell her to be careful?”

Alan reached for a couple of crackers. “This is crazy. We have Janice Walker in custody, and she’s a J.W. we wouldn’t want to cross in a dark alley. Does it really matter who left the notes for Liz?”

“We could have a crime within a crime here,” I suggested. “We know J.W. was warning Liz to be careful at River Mill. Wait a minute! What if her husband was killed by J.W. at River Mill.”

Alan sipped his wine, thinking. He slowly nodded. “Jim Withers watched the action on the 14th green. He saw Ed go down and Dr. Joe Wiley attempting to revive him. Do you actually think Joe could have killed Ed Sterling?”

“I don’t know, but you could call Jim to ask if he left the sticky notes for Liz.”

“I could,” Alan said. “We didn’t mention those notes to Joe, did we?”

“No, why?”

“Because Joe has access at the hospital, so Liz could still be in danger. Maybe Janice isn’t guilty, after all.”

“She’s guilty of something,” I said assuredly. A rumble of thunder in the distance caught Sophie’s attention. “It’s just a little storm,” I told her.

Alan pressed a number on his phone, which I thought was a call to Jim until he said, “Clare, I need you to be extra vigilant tonight. I’m not sure how long the police will detain Janice, and we don’t know if Joe Wiley has any involvement.” He laughed before disconnecting .

“What did she say?”

“She reminded us that Liz called him ‘spyly Wiley.’”

I chuckled wryly. “True, though I’d add ‘wily Wiley. He’s pretty shrewd.” After I took a long sip of wine, I said, “Don’t forget to call Jim Withers.”

“I need to watch his body language,” Alan replied. “Let’s go to River Mill tomorrow morning and present your hypothesis to him.”

“I thought it was yours.”

Alan grinned. “Maybe we came up with it together.”

I leaned in to give him a kiss. “Maybe we did.”

Rain pounded on the sunroom windows before the lights flickered. “Maybe we should head to bed,” Alan whispered in my ear.

I yawned, which made me laugh. We put away the food and capped the wine for another evening, but Sophie had no interest in going outside. With another rumble of thunder, we locked up, turned out the kitchen lights, and made our way to the bedroom.

When Sophie jumped up on the bed, I told her we still needed to solve our mystery. She didn’t seem very interested, but I wanted to determine who left the notes and money for Liz, and why she stayed in hiding for ten days.