murder? He and I banked at Carmel Bank, a locally owned business. Would a chat with my loan officer deliver answers? As if. No loan officer, not even mine who had a heart of gold, would give me the time of day about someone else’s finances.
“What’s got your face in a pucker?” Joss asked as I returned inside the shop.
“Nothing.”
Fiona said, “She chatted with Emily Watkins. That woman is crisp.”
Joss rested a hand on my shoulder. “Why don’t you take a walk? You’ve been going strong all day.”
“I need to make a phone call first.”
I retreated to my office. Fiona accompanied me. Putting the phone on speaker, I dialed the Orchid, Oriana Gray’s inn, and asked the clerk to put me through.
“Miss Kelly, what can I help you with?” Oriana had a firm, crisp tone. I’d never stayed at her inn or referred anyone to it. Were the beds at the place as hard and unwelcoming as she was? “I’m about to consult with a client. Spit it out.”
“I want to ask you about”—my mouth went dry—“a meeting.”
“I’m sorry,” she said. “Did you say you want to set up a meeting?”
“No. I want to ask you about a meeting. With Petra Pauli. She...” I begged my courage to find its voice. “She said she had a secret political meeting last Wednesday night. I assume you were in attendance.”
“Heaven’s no. It started way too late for me. I go to bed religiously at ten every night. I need my beauty sleep.”
Fiona yawned and flitted out the door without saying good-bye. Where was she going?
“I think Petra planned the meeting on purpose to keep me at bay,” Oriana added. “Did she tell you that I was there?”
“No. I—”
“Then I don’t know what the issue is.” Oriana cleared her throat. “Look, Miss Kelly, I know what happened at your shop. You must be devastated. Petra said you’re a suspect. That’s a shame, but if there isn’t anything else, I’ve got to go.”
I thanked her for her time. When I hung up, I realized my hands were sweating and I was breathing high in my chest. Asking people point-blank for information did not come easily to me.
Needing air, I took Joss’s suggestion and went for a walk. I would pick up my mail at the post office while I was out.
None of the homes in Carmel had mailboxes. It was a city ordinance. Within the post office, there were a number of rooms filled with keyed boxes of varying sizes. My box was located in the second room. As I was removing mostly mailer advertisements from it, Tish Waterman and her two Shih Tzus traipsed into the room. I’d never realized Tish’s post office box was in the same grouping as mine. Once again the trio was dressed alike: her dogs in striped sweater vests and Tish in a black-striped dress that made her look licorice-thin.
“Good morning,” I said, using a friendly tone.
Tish startled. The dogs yipped. She shushed them.
“How’s your day going?” I asked.
Tish didn’t respond.
“I love our quaint post office, don’t you?” I continued, not acknowledging her silent snub.
She grunted.
“Look, Tish, I don’t know what I did to deserve your wrath, but if you’d explain what I have done wrong, maybe we could bury the hatchet.”
“Bury the...” She stammered. “There’s no hatchet to be buried.”
“You’re mad at me. Please tell me why. To my face.”
She clicked her tongue.
“I passed by your spa yesterday, and it was filled to the max,” I said. “Congrats on owning such a thriving business.”
“It’s not thriving, but it should be.”
Okay, perhaps I didn’t understand the difference between doing well and thriving. Apples and oranges.
Tish strode past me and opened her box, withdrew a slug of envelopes, and closed it.
“Why do you hate me?” I asked.
“I don’t—”
“You do.”
“Quiet.” She wasn’t talking to the dogs.
I refused to back down. “I hear your garden is beautiful.”
She frowned and fiddled with the top button on her spring coat. “How would you know about my garden?”
“My fai—” I jammed my lips together.
“Did your fairy tell you?” She dragged the word fairy out, making it sound dirty.
I forced a smile. “I hear you have at least a dozen hybrid tea roses. Maybe I could photograph them sometime, and we could go to tea afterward and get to know each other better. Sound good?”
Tish’s cheeks tinged pink, but she didn’t say anything.
Insincerely convincing myself that we had taken a step forward in our relationship, I said, “Okay then.” I closed my mailbox and locked