Death Rides a Pony, page 12
Distracted, Hope didn’t respond. Ever since Dylan had mentioned Percy, her mind had been on Rosemarie. She turned to Nate.
‘Have you seen Rosemarie and talked to her about Davis? How is she handling it? As you directed us, we haven’t had any contact with her since yesterday, but I’m worried about her. Rosemarie is such an old-world romantic, and even though I think she deserved better than Davis, I’m afraid that she might be – or, at least, believe herself to be – dreadfully heartbroken by the loss.’
There was a short pause, then Nate replied, ‘Yes, I have seen Rosemarie, and I have informed her about Davis.’
‘And how did she take it?’ Summer pressed him. ‘Did she explain to you where she went last night after the four of us – well, five, if you include Percy – split up at the booth? Why didn’t she ever come to the carousel?’
‘It’s probably a good thing she didn’t come to the carousel,’ Hope remarked. ‘Can you imagine how awful it would have been for her if she had seen Davis lying there the way we did?’
Summer grimaced. ‘That’s true. Poor Rosemarie.’
‘To answer your first question,’ Nate said, ‘Rosemarie took the news of her boyfriend’s demise reasonably well. She wasn’t nearly as shocked as you might suppose. It was almost as though she expected it.’
‘Oh, poor Rosemarie.’ Summer sighed. ‘Her intuition was correct from the outset. She told us that she had a bad feeling when Davis went missing.’
Hope nodded.
‘And to answer your second question,’ Nate went on, ‘according to Rosemarie, after first searching for Davis and then subsequently searching for you – both unsuccessfully, apparently – she and her dog were tired and went home. She claims that her feet were hurting and the dog had indigestion.’
‘Rosemarie had a bad blister,’ Hope corroborated. ‘Too much walking in strappy sandals. And Percy had a bad stomach. Too much festival food.’
‘Poor Percy.’ Summer sighed once more. ‘Poor Rosemarie.’
Nate didn’t appear to share her sympathy. ‘You really should stop referring to her as poor Rosemarie.’
‘Not this again!’ Summer exclaimed. ‘You’re not going to contend that because Rosemarie didn’t break down in wailing hysterics in front of you, it demonstrates that she was somehow involved in the death. We covered all the arguments in that regard yesterday. Rosemarie couldn’t have been in any way responsible for what happened to Davis.’
‘I’m not saying that she was responsible,’ Nate replied. ‘I’m not accusing Rosemarie of Davis’s murder. You might feel less pity for the woman and be more aggrieved at her, however, when you learn that she is the one who accused you.’
Hope and Summer stared at him.
‘R–Rosemarie?’ Summer said unevenly after a moment. ‘Rosemarie Potter?’
Nate inclined his head in confirmation.
‘Rosemarie accused us – Hope and me – of murdering Davis Scott?’
He inclined his head again.
‘No,’ Summer declared, her hands returning to her hips. ‘I don’t believe it. I don’t believe it for one second. Rosemarie would never do something like that. Never. She’s loyal, and Percy’s loyal—’
‘Percy’s loyalty lies with whomever is providing him the most treats at any given time,’ Dylan interjected wryly.
Summer scowled. ‘That has no bearing whatsoever! At the end of the day, Rosemarie wouldn’t turn on us. She believes deeply in Hope and has great faith in her abilities. Without Hope’s readings, Rosemarie would be lost. She wouldn’t take the chance that, by slandering us, she could no longer come to the boutique. Isn’t that right, Hope?’
Hope considered a minute. ‘What exactly did Rosemarie say?’ she asked Nate.
‘When she learned that Davis had been strangled with one of the scarves she had purchased from your shop, she said that it was your fault. You were to blame, because the quality of your silk was too good. If the material had been cheaper and weaker, it would have ripped apart in the carousel before causing Davis any harm. Therefore – in Rosemarie’s view – without your scarf, the man would still be alive.’
‘I suppose in a way that’s true,’ Hope mused.
‘It is not!’ Summer disputed. ‘The scarf was just the most readily available tool. The murderer probably saw it lying on the ground wherever Percy had lost it and—’
‘Do you think so?’ Hope said. ‘I’ve been wondering about how the person got the scarf. Did they find it by accident and merely decide to pick it up? Or did they steal it with the deliberate intention of using it to kill Davis?’
‘I’ve been wondering the same thing,’ Nate told her.
‘Does it really matter?’ Summer returned. ‘Either way, if it hadn’t been the scarf, it would have been something else. Without the scarf, the murderer would have simply selected another method.’
‘It’s impossible to know for certain, of course, but I think that you’re most likely correct,’ Nate agreed. ‘If not the scarf, then the next best thing at hand. One of those cords, for example.’ He gestured toward the curtains. ‘With the way they’re stitched and the thickness of the fabric, they would serve the purpose much better. What’s your opinion, Dylan, from a medical standpoint?’
‘A silk scarf – even a strong one – is far from an optimal tourniquet,’ he answered, ‘so it can’t be relied on as a surefire mode of strangulation. Which suggests to me that Davis’s murder wasn’t premeditated. All else being equal, his killer would have chosen a more dependable weapon.’
Nate nodded. ‘I share your assessment. Rosemarie, on the other hand, takes the opposite position. She believes that the murder was premeditated. She is convinced Summer planned it from the very beginning.’
‘I did what?’ Summer cried, aghast.
‘According to Rosemarie, you wouldn’t allow Davis to remain in the booth yesterday evening. You threw him out when he wouldn’t provide the requisite number of tickets. As a result, Rosemarie was forced to separate from him. In her mind, if it wasn’t for that separation and the scarf, Davis Scott would continue to roam on this earth.’
‘He probably does continue to roam on this earth,’ Summer grumbled. ‘And in another couple of days, he’ll most likely start haunting either us or his killer.’
Hope cleared her throat.
Summer glanced at her. ‘I know. I’m sorry. I might have jinxed us.’ She turned back to Nate. ‘For your information, Rosemarie’s account isn’t at all accurate. She was already separated from Davis before the kerfuffle about the tickets. They were supposed to meet at the pretzel stand, but Rosemarie and Percy got delayed waiting in line to see us, so Davis came to our booth to find her.’
‘Interesting,’ Nate murmured, scribbling in his notepad.
‘Furthermore,’ Summer went on, ‘if it had been premeditated on my part, I would have stolen Percy’s scarf then, while he and Rosemarie were in the booth. But I didn’t. Percy was still wearing his scarf when they ran after Davis.’
Nate paused his writing. ‘You’re sure about the scarf? It was definitely on the dog when they left?’
‘Yes. I remember because as Rosemarie was going out and Megan was coming in, I noticed Rosemarie limping and saw the blood on her ankle. As Hope said earlier, it was a bad blister—’
‘There was blood on Rosemarie’s ankle?’ Nate interrupted her. ‘How much blood?’ He shifted in his seat and motioned to a spot on the ground. ‘That blood?’
Summer took a step toward it, and Hope leaned forward in her chair to see the place that he was indicating. There was a dark-red streak along the short tufts of grass not far from the table. Hope gave Nate a quizzical look.
‘I observed it when I picked up the chair,’ he explained. ‘Is it Rosemarie’s?’
‘It might be,’ Hope answered. ‘Or it might not. We’ve had so many people in here over the last two days, including a considerable number of children who were running around barefoot. The blood could be from any of them. I don’t see what difference it would make regardless …’
She broke off as Dylan and Nate exchanged a glance. Hope took it as a sign that she had unwittingly hit on something of significance.
‘But it could make a difference,’ she amended slowly, thoughtfully, ‘if you had also found blood somewhere else, somewhere important.’ She remembered how Dylan and Nate had bent down on the carousel platform to examine a spot near Davis’s body. ‘At the crime scene, perhaps?’
There was another glance between the men, and Nate more or less confirmed Hope’s supposition by switching the subject.
‘Returning to the scarf,’ he said to Summer, ‘you were telling me that Rosemarie was going out of the booth while Megan was coming in?’
There was a marked inflection in Nate’s voice when he spoke Megan’s name, which gave Hope the impression that his query had a specific purpose, even though she had no idea what it was.
Summer nodded. ‘That’s why I’m positive about Percy still having the scarf then. Rosemarie complimented Megan on her hideously sequined dress, and Megan complimented Percy on his nifty scarf.’
‘And what happened after that?’ Nate asked her.
‘Nothing. Rosemarie – and Percy – rushed away to try to catch up with Davis, and Megan rushed over to our fan to try to cool off.’
‘So when did Rosemarie and Megan discuss Sean?’
The inflection redoubled, and Hope was now certain that Nate had a particular point in mind. It put her on alert, especially when joined with the unexpected reference to Sean.
Summer must have also thought that Nate’s questions were becoming increasingly odd, because there was a delay in her response. ‘Sean? There was some mention of Rosemarie seeing him in the cape and crown that he was wearing for Amethyst’s booth. Rosemarie found it dashing, of course, because she likes all things fairytale related.’
Hope tried to remember what exactly Rosemarie had told them. She had wanted to greet Megan at Amethyst’s booth, but Davis had refused to participate. At the time, Hope had thought that Davis was simply being unpleasant as usual, but maybe there was more to it than that. Maybe Davis had recognized someone in the booth, and he didn’t want to see or speak with that person. It couldn’t have been Megan, because she hadn’t known Davis. Could Davis and Sean have known each other?
‘There might have been some other mention of Sean later on,’ Summer continued hesitantly, watching her sister’s contemplative expression. ‘Wasn’t there, Hope?’
Hope was likewise hesitant in her answer. Since she didn’t know what Nate was looking for, she was concerned about further entangling Megan in the situation. And although she was only slightly acquainted with Sean, he was Megan’s colleague and friend, so she didn’t want to inadvertently get him into trouble, either.
‘Rosemarie was quite upset,’ Hope said at last, ‘because she thought that she had seen Davis near the maple syrup stand, but when she got there, he had vanished. Megan tried to comfort her by explaining that it could have been a trick of her eyes in the dark. She used as an example her own experience from a short while earlier where she thought that she had seen Sean heading in one direction when she knew for certain that five minutes previous he had gone in the opposite direction.’
Hope had believed it to be a harmless, trivial anecdote, but when Nate began scribbling in his notepad again, she winced with regret. Apparently, there was something interesting about it, after all, and it might have been better if she hadn’t shared the story.
‘I will need to speak with both Megan and Sean,’ Nate informed her. ‘Are they at Amethyst’s booth today?’
‘I don’t know.’ She was deliberately vague. ‘I’m not sure what their work schedule is.’ Then Hope posed her own question. ‘Who told you about Sean? I assume that it was Rosemarie. But I’m curious why she would mention him.’
Nate continued writing. ‘Rosemarie believes that Megan and Sean might be accessories to the crime. The woman has a lot of theories.’
Hope and Summer looked at each other in surprise. Hope’s first thought was that she had better talk to Megan as soon as she could and warn her – and Sean, too, if possible – about everything that was happening.
Summer gave a doleful exhalation. ‘Oh, poor Rosemarie.’
It was Nate and Dylan’s turn to look surprised.
‘Poor Rosemarie?’ Nate echoed incredulously. ‘You’re still calling her that after she called you a murderess?’
Summer responded with a slight shrug. ‘She didn’t really mean it. She’s just stressed and confused right now. When Rosemarie’s had a chance to properly rest and wrap her mind around things, she’ll come to her senses. One day, in a week or two – when her feet are healed – she and Percy will walk through the door of the boutique. There will be an awkward moment and a few tears, and then we’ll all laugh, hug, and move on.’
Hope nodded. ‘And Percy will make out like a little bandit, because we’ll give him a pile of extra treats.’
‘You’re a lot more forgiving than I would be,’ Dylan said.
‘And me,’ Nate concurred.
‘The Baileys have a very forgiving nature,’ Summer replied. ‘Fortunately for the two of you,’ she added under her breath.
Hope smiled.
There was a commotion at the front of the booth. A woman’s voice could be heard, although it was too muffled through the thick curtains to identify. A man with the distinct air of law enforcement responded gruffly. The woman argued in return.
‘It sounds as though we have a visitor,’ Nate said, rising from his chair. He paused and gave his own shrug. ‘Maybe you’re a better judge of human nature than I am. Maybe it’s Rosemarie, already seeking forgiveness and redemption.’
Hope didn’t think so. Although she agreed with Summer that the situation with Rosemarie would in all likelihood smooth itself out in due course, she was doubtful that the time had come so quickly.
‘Although I can’t legally prohibit you from having contact with her at this stage,’ Nate went on, ‘I would strongly advise you not to discuss the pending matter with Rosemarie. It won’t be beneficial for either side.’
Summer’s response was muted by the pair of voices growing steadily louder outside the curtains. The woman was evidently unwilling to take instructions from the policeman. The velvet folds began to move, but just as when Davis had arrived at the booth, there was so much fabric that the person entering wasn’t immediately visible.
‘My money is on Rosemarie,’ Nate predicted.
‘Olivia, perhaps?’ Dylan proffered. ‘Or maybe Megan?’
Hope and Summer shared an uneasy glance. They didn’t think that it was any of the three.
Finally, the curtains parted, and the visitor appeared, followed closely by an irate uniformed policeman.
‘Hello.’ The woman simpered at them.
It was Larkin.
THIRTEEN
‘Maybe we should have stayed,’ Summer said, her voice uncertain.
‘No,’ Hope replied decisively. ‘Staying would have only made things worse.’
Less than a minute after Larkin’s arrival at their booth, they had made the decision to leave it. That was all the time they had needed to see Larkin in action. Smooth as silk, she had presented Nate with a sparkling white smile, draped herself on Dylan’s shoulder, and batted apologetic eyelashes at the uniformed policeman. It had taken only another minute for the sisters to secure the opportunity for a successful departure. Larkin had promptly launched into a dramatic explanation for her appearance at the booth. According to her, Morris had been gravely anxious to find Dylan and had eagerly sent her to look for him. Hope doubted the veracity of the tale. More likely, Morris had mentioned his son in passing, and Larkin had used it as an excuse to track Dylan down with the tenacity of a bloodhound. In any event, the men had been so engrossed in Larkin’s account that they hadn’t noticed Hope and Summer slip out of the back curtains.
‘Maybe we should have gotten permission,’ Summer suggested.
Hope raised an eyebrow at her.
‘Well, not permission exactly,’ she amended. ‘But maybe we should have told Nate where we were going.’
‘Why? You heard him earlier. He has no intention of either arresting or charging us, which means that we’re free to go wherever, whenever we please. And it’s not as though we’re racing up to the Canadian border or hopping on a transcontinental flight in a desperate attempt to evade the authorities. We’re simply taking a stroll through the festival grounds to visit our friend at her booth.’
Summer made a nervous mewing sound.
Hope nodded sympathetically. ‘I know. You’re worried about how much Larkin will flirt with Nate in your absence. If it’s any consolation, I think it’s quite clear that she has her sights set on Dylan.’
‘Even so, she might choose Nate as her fallback. Larkin seems like the type who always wants to keep a fallback – or two – on hand.’
‘No doubt,’ Hope agreed scornfully.
‘And why can’t she properly button her blouses? The one that she has on today is even worse than the one from yesterday. The way that she leaves them undone in such an obvious fashion is insulting to all womankind.’
That made Hope laugh.
‘I told you this would be a bad day, didn’t I?’ Summer groused.
‘You did. But keep in mind that the day isn’t over yet. It could still end very nicely. There’s the Green Goat this evening, remember?’
‘That’s too many hours away.’ Summer squinted unhappily at the height of the blazing sun. ‘And I can’t imagine that Nate will come tonight after we threatened to pelt him with cocktails.’
Hope smiled. ‘I wouldn’t be so sure. I have the feeling that dear Detective Nate will use any available opportunity to enjoy your company.’
Although her face was already flushed from the heat of the day, Summer’s cheeks grew a bit rosier. ‘You really think that?’
‘I do. We’ll pick a quiet table in a darkened corner of the place, and when everybody’s had a drink and gotten themselves nice and comfortable, Megan and I will inconspicuously move to a different table, leaving you and Nate alone.’
