“This place is packed.” Jo tightened her grip on the steering wheel as she drove past Divine Delicatessen. “They must be giving food away.”
“Divine is growing. We have the newer development on the other side of town, which brought in a whole slew of residents. It looks as if we need more restaurants, although it’s good for Marlee and I’m sure Sherry is killing it with the tips.”
They circled around the block and lucked out, snagging a spot between the deli and Claire’s Coin Laundromat.
Sherry did a double take and hurried over when she saw them step inside. “Hey, Jo, Delta. I didn’t know you were coming into town.”
“It was an unplanned trip.” Jo’s eyes scanned the dining room. “You guys are busy.”
“It’s like this every day. You should see it on the weekends. The line is out the door and down the sidewalk.” Sherry motioned for them to follow her. “There’s a table over there, if you don’t mind being close to the kitchen.”
“Not at all.”
The trio zig zagged past the diners to an empty spot in the corner. “Today’s special is a hot ham with Swiss cheese on a kaiser roll with a side of either potato salad or coleslaw and a dill pickle.”
“That sounds tasty,” Jo said. “I’ll take the special with coleslaw and have an iced tea.”
“Make it two,” Delta said.
“You got it.” Sherry gathered up the menus. “So why the special trip?”
“We’re here to see what you and Marlee know about Shane Barr, the supervisor over at Dave Kilwin’s farm, who was murdered the other day.”
“I know who he is. Was Leah working when it happened?”
“Working, doesn’t have an alibi and is now a suspect,” Jo said.
Sherry’s jaw dropped. “Seriously? Why would Leah kill the guy?”
“Because he wrote her up for allegedly destroying a bag of seeds.”
“That’s crazy. Leah would never do something like that.”
“I couldn’t agree more. Unfortunately, you know better than anyone how the past can come back to bite you, no matter how innocent you are,” Delta said.
“Do I ever. I wish I could help. I knew who the guy was. He came in here a few times for lunch. He wasn’t my best customer.”
“Wasn’t your best customer,” Jo repeated.
“He was never happy with his order. The coffee was too hot. The food was cold. Yada, yada. There’s always one.” Sherry glanced across the dining room. “I need to check on my other tables. I’ll see if Marlee has a minute to chat.”
Sherry rushed off, and Jo waited until she was gone. “It sounds as if Shane Barr made his rounds.”
“Sure does. If anyone has more info on the guy, it will be Marlee,” Delta said.
Their drinks and food arrived fast, and they were halfway through the meal when Marlee appeared.
“Hey, ladies. Sherry said you were looking for information on Shane Barr.”
“Unfortunately, Leah started working at the farm just before he was murdered. He wrote her up, and she doesn’t have an alibi.”
“That’s terrible.” Marlee eased into an empty chair. “The investigators can’t seriously suspect Leah of being responsible.”
“They do. In fact, the lead detective was at the farm this morning and asked to take a look at Leah’s file.”
“I would have told him to go fly a kite.”
“I thought about it, but have nothing to hide. Leah was a model resident,” Jo said. “Besides, he was going to get her information one way or the other, so I figured I would let him see it. We’re here because we thought if anyone had the scoop on him, it would be you.”
“Shane has lived in Divine for several years.” Marlee told them he worked at another farm when he first moved to the area. “Dave hired him and I heard he was a hard man.”
“That’s what we’re finding out.” Jo thought about what Carrie had told her. “Carrie Ford said he was a womanizer and cheated on his wife.”
“With Robyn Colburne. She took a job down the street at Claire’s laundromat.”
“Who is she?” Jo asked.
“Her husband is our rural route mail carrier.”
Jo snapped her fingers. “I knew her last name sounded familiar. Robyn is married to Glen Colburne?”
“Who took over the route when McDougall retired,” Marlee said. “He’s a nice guy.”
Jo’s heart skipped a beat. “Glen delivers our mail, which means he also delivers Dave Kilwin’s mail.”
Delta picked up. “His wife is having an affair with the farm’s supervisor. Maybe he found out, went to the farm, confronted Shane Barr, and then strangled him.”
“It seems like maybe the investigators should take a closer look at Glen.” Marlee glanced over Jo’s shoulder. “Evelyn McBride is here. She knows everything that goes on at the sheriff’s department. Maybe you should chat with her.”
Evelyn hustled across the dining room and greeted them. “There’s not an empty seat in the place.”
“You can sit with us.” Jo patted the seat next to her. “We were just talking about Shane Barr’s death.”
“Such a tragic turn of events,” Evelyn tsk-tsked. “I noticed the police were over at the post office.”
“To question Glen about what he might have seen since he runs the route and delivers mail to the Kilwin farm?” Jo asked.
“That would be my guess.” Evelyn lowered her voice and leaned in. “I’m sure they know about Shane’s affair with Glen’s wife. I mean, everyone in town knew about it.”
“I didn’t know about it,” Jo said.
“Ditto,” Delta added.
“Most people. Anyhoo, it was only a matter of time before Shane messed with the wrong woman,” Evelyn said.
“I heard Barr was married. What about his wife?” Jo asked.
“They were separated, maybe even divorced by now. I guess she put up with enough of his shenanigans and got out.”
Sherry finished delivering lunch to one of her other tables and hustled over. “Good afternoon, Evelyn.”
“Hello, Sherry. I’ll take today’s special with a cup of hot tea.”
“Coming right up.” Sherry hurried off and Marlee reluctantly stood. “I need to get back to the kitchen.”
Evelyn waited until Marlee walked away. “I didn’t want to say anything in front of Marlee, but I heard Leah, your resident, is also a suspect.”
“Unfortunately,” Jo sighed. “Leah didn’t take Shane Barr out. I would bet my life on it.”
“Detective Vine is very thorough. I’m sure he’ll figure things out.” Evelyn changed the subject. “Will you be finding new residents now that Leah has moved on?”
“Already have,” Jo said. “Twin sisters, as a matter of fact. Carli and Courtney Ladeaux.”
“The Ladeaux sisters?” Evelyn pressed a hand to her chest. “Aren’t they career criminals who committed more than one armed robbery?”
“Because of their father,” Jo said. “They’ve done their time and are eager to start over. I have faith they’ll be successful if they stick with my program.”
Evelyn reached across the table and patted Jo’s hand. “You are an absolute saint, Joanna Pepperdine. I would have to sleep with one eye open if I were you, always wondering if one of my residents was going to snap.”
“They have their own units and I have a gun,” Jo said. “I fully vet all my residents, and I won’t take anyone who was convicted of murder.”
“Still, it would be too much for me personally. God gave you a special heart, that’s for sure.”
The conversation shifted to the weather, how the town of Divine was growing and after they finished their meal, Jo insisted on paying for Evelyn’s.
“Thank you for lunch. If I hear anything else about the Barr case, I’ll give you a call.” Evelyn left, and Jo and Delta weren’t far behind.
They stopped by the kitchen to tell Sherry and Marlee goodbye and then backtracked, stepping onto the sidewalk.
“Well?” Delta asked. “It seems to me the cops should focus on who Barr was hanging out with.”
“Or the jealous husband. We need to chat with Claire. If Robyn worked at the laundromat, I’m sure Claire knows something about what was going on.”
They passed by Jo’s SUV and made a beeline for the laundromat. Unfortunately, Claire wasn’t there. The counter was closed with a note stating they wouldn’t be open for dry cleaning services for another hour.
“Crud.” Jo pursed her lips.
“Claire’s probably next door at her antique shop,” Delta said. “Let’s try over there.”
The women exited the laundromat and trekked down the sidewalk to the antique store, which was open.
The overhead bell jingled, announcing their arrival.
Claire appeared, and a wide smile spread across her face as she strode down the center aisle. “Hey Jo, Delta. I thought I saw your SUV parked out front. How have you been?”
“Busy. Always busy,” Jo said. “How are you?”
“Wonderful. The whole main street is in the midst of a revitalization, thanks to the new neighborhood bringing in families and young couples. Some of Divine’s old-timers aren’t thrilled, but I say it’s exactly what we needed.”
“I agree, as long as it doesn’t get out of control and they start taking out all of our forests and fields,” Jo said. “I’ve also noticed an uptick in visitors at the bakeshop and mercantile.”
“Miles’ movie theater has brought the locals into town. His place is busy every weekend. He’s helped give us a jumpstart as well.”
“I haven’t seen my brother in a while now. I should stop by there one of these days to check in on him,” Jo said.
Claire leaned an elbow on the counter. “I’m sure you heard about Shane Barr’s death.”
“Heard about it and had the lead detective show up on my doorstep this morning,” Jo said.
“Because Dave Kilwin is your neighbor, and they thought you might know something?”
“No. Because Leah started working for Dave and she’s a suspect.”
“Leah?” Claire pressed a hand to her chest. “I don’t know what she was like while she was in prison, but she’s a different person now. I doubt she would hurt a fly.”
“Unfortunately, Barr wrote her up. Hours later he’s...” Jo made a thumbs down.
Claire wrinkled her nose. “Barr was a big guy. There’s no way petite little Leah could’ve wrapped twine around his neck and choked him.”
“I agree and I know she didn’t do it, which is why I’m here. I heard he was having an affair with Robyn Colburne who works at your laundromat.”
“She was and is. I never could understand what she saw in him. He would stop by the laundromat here and there and I found him to be rude. He treated her like dirt. She ate it up.” Claire motioned toward the laundromat. “She’s taken a personal leave. Her life is in shambles, between the affair and now I heard Glen served her with divorce papers.”
“Has Detective Vine been by to talk to her, or you about what happened?” Delta asked.
“Yeah, and I told him everything I know. Robyn was already on leave. I believe he planned to stop by her place.”
“At the risk of putting you on the spot, do you think it’s possible she was responsible for Barr’s death?”
Claire placed a light hand on the back of her neck. “You know, now that you mention it, Barr stopped by a couple weeks ago while Robyn was working. They had an interesting conversation.”