A Pour Way to Dye (Book 2 in the Soapmaking Mysteries) Read online

  “The mystery bookstore? I’ve been meaning to go in there. I hear it’s fabulous.”

  “You should, it’s really something. So are we finished here?”

  Mom nodded. “I’m sorry about how I acted earlier. I hated to treat you two like children, but somebody had to say something.”

  “You did the right thing,” I said, “But if you tell Molly I said that, I’ll deny it with my last breath.”

  She pinched my cheek, something she knew I hated but did occasionally nonetheless. “Don’t ever change, Benjamin.”

  “I thought you just ordered me to.” I skipped away from her half-hearted swipe, and even managed to get her to laugh. It died in her throat as we saw Jeff and Molly drive away. They’d gone out the back door, no doubt to avoid running into me.

  Mom shook her head. “I do hope they know what they are doing.”

  “We’re all grown-ups,” I said, “regardless of how we’ve been acting lately.”

  “I wish I could be sure of that,” she said as we both walked inside. Two sisters and two brothers were standing near the register when we walked back in, no doubt trying to catch a glimpse of the inquisition that had been going on outside.

  Mom clapped her hands together. “The break’s over. Everyone, let’s get to work.”

  Bob and Jim disappeared into the back while Louisa and Kate busied themselves straightening the shelves. Mom smiled. “That’s what I like, a family that listens. Now I’ve got to get back upstairs. I’ve got a pile of paperwork on my desk.”

  As she started for the back stairs, I called out, “Hey Mom.”

  “Yes,” she said as she turned.

  “Thanks.”

  “You’re most welcome. Have a lovely time tonight, Benjamin.”

  “I’m planning to,” I said.

  The second Mom was through the door, Kate and Louisa nearly tackled me.

  Kate said, “Come on, big brother, give. What happened out there?”

  “What are you talking about?” I asked as innocently as I could manage.

  “You know exactly what I want to know,” she said.

  I looked over at Louisa. “You, too?”

  She just smiled. “Mom’s scoldings are great, as long as you’re not the one on the receiving end. Was it bad?”

  I studied their eager faces, then said, “I don’t know what you two are talking about. We had a pleasant conversation, then Molly left to have lunch with Jeff.”

  Kate stuck her tongue out at me. “Spoilsport.”

  Louisa just laughed as she locked her arm in her sister’s. “Come on, we’re not going to get anything out of him. Let’s inventory our shelf stock while it’s quiet, and maybe both of us will get out of here before nine tonight.”

  “But I want to talk to Ben about his big date tonight,” Kate protested.

  Louisa answered, “Do you honestly think he’s going to tell us anything more about that than he did about what happened on the porch? Come on, Sis, get serious.”

  “All right,” she agreed reluctantly.

  I mouthed a silent thank you to Louisa, who just winked back at me. I knew I’d have to go through a grilling session tomorrow about dinner tonight, but at least I’d been spared a cross-examination before I’d even actually done anything.

  Chapter 7

  I glanced at my watch and saw that it was past time for class to dismiss. Was Cindy keeping an eye on the clock? I waited four more minutes, then started for the classroom door just as it opened.

  Diana was the first one out. “What happened to you, stranger?”

  “I got hung up,” I said. “Sorry about that. How was the class?”

  “Your sister seemed nervous at first, but she did fine once she got into it. She’s really very good. Will you be there tomorrow?”

  “I’ll do my best not to miss it,” I said. “Listen, what lime would you like me to pick you up? Would a late dinner work better for you or an early one? I’m pretty flexible.”

  She smiled at me and said, “I don’t get a lot of chances to go out at night because of the bookstore, especially to a place as nice as The Lakefront. Let’s make it seven, shall we?” She handed me a slip of paper with her address and telephone number on it. “If I don’t hear from you, I’ll expect to see you at seven.” She added, “Thanks again for the invitation. I can’t wait.”

  “It sounds great to me, too.”

  As Diana was leaving, I noticed Kate and Louisa were watching us. I just shook my head and walked into the classroom, doing my best to pretend that they weren’t there.

  Herbert and Constance Wilson had been talking to Cindy, but they broke away and we met halfway to the door.

  “Did you enjoy class today?” I asked them.

  Herbert winked at me as he said, “Are you kidding? She’s better than you are.”

  Constance smacked his arm. “I can’t believe you just said that. Apologize this instant.”

  He nodded, then said, “Ben, I’m sorry I told you the truth. It won’t happen again.” There was another wink for my benefit.

  “Herbert Wilson, you know that’s not what I meant.”

  “Woman, give me some peace.”

  They were still squabbling as they left. Cindy was at one of the stations cleaning up. I was getting the royal frost treatment from her, but I wasn’t about to let her stay mad at me.

  “So how’d it go?” I asked.

  “It was fine,” she said curtly without looking up.

  “Come on, I heard you were fantastic. Well done, Sis. I’m proud of you.”

  She looked up at me and said, “Benjamin Perkins, you set me up. I can’t believe my own grandfather had a hand in it. That phone call was pretty conveniently timed, don’t you think?”

  “Cindy, I know it might have looked that way, but I swear to you, today’s absence was unplanned. He needed to talk to me, and by the time we were through, you were handling things so well I didn’t want to interrupt.”

  Some of the frost was melting, but there was still a chill in her voice. “It could have been a disaster, you know that, don’t you?”

  I smiled at her. “Not on your life. I’ve got faith in you, Cindy. I knew you could do it.”

  “Well, they seemed to like it,” she reluctantly admitted.

  “The important question here is how you felt about it.”

  She thought about it for a few moments, then said, “I loved it. I didn’t want to, and the last thing in the world I want to do is admit it to you, but I had a blast.”

  “That’s great,” I said. “Do you want to teach tomorrow solo, or should I sit in and help you?”

  “Let me think about it,” she said. “It really was fun.”

  “Don’t sound so surprised. Why do you think I’ve been teaching all these years?”

  Mom walked in and asked, “What’s this I hear about you teaching a class today, Cindy?”

  “It’s not that big a deal,” she said nonchalantly. “Ben needed me to take over, so I handled things here.”

  Mom hugged her, and I could hear the breath swoosh out of Cindy’s lungs. “I knew you could do it. I’m so proud of you.”

  Cindy pulled back and smiled as she asked, “Proud enough to give me the rest of the day off?”

  I knew she must have lost her mind. Mom didn’t give away free time unless it was absolutely required. To my shock, Mom clapped her hands together and said, “Why not? Enjoy yourself. You earned it.”

  “Thanks,” Cindy said as grabbed her coat and ran for the door, no doubt hoping to get there before Mom came to her senses.

  “What was that all about?” I asked.

  “She had a great triumph today, Benjamin; she deserves a reward.”

  “What about me? Do I get to leave early, too? After all, I’m the one who talked her into teaching.”

  She patted my shoulder on her way out the classroom door. “And a fine job you did at that.” Unfortunately, with Cindy gone, I need you to help cover the sales floor. Well done, Ben
jamin.”

  I laughed as I walked into the boutique section of our operation. My mother had found a way to get exactly what she wanted, seemingly without effort. I was being set up—no doubt by my sisters wanting a captive to grill about his life—but there was absolutely nothing I could do about it but smile.

  “Good news, Ladies,” I said to my two remaining sisters. “It appears that this is your lucky day. I’m working with you two this afternoon.”

  Kate looked at Louisa, and asked, “It’s too late to call in sick, isn’t it?”

  Louisa laughed. “I feel something coming on myself.” Two fake coughs were followed by, “I’m not well, not well at all.”

  “Both of you are ungrateful shrews,” I said with a smile. “But I’ll ignore your pettiness and help anyway.”

  They both collapsed against me laughing, until Mom talked out of the break room, “What is this? No foolishness during business hours,” she commanded, though her eyes were twinkling. I knew she loved having us all working at Where There’s Soap together, and while we’d never get rich doing it, we were just as glad to be there.

  After Mom disappeared in back, my sisters fell on me like a shroud. “Come on, Ben. We want details,” Kate said.

  “I’m not sure what you’re talking about,” I answered as innocently as I could muster.

  Louisa smiled. “I’m sure if you use your imagination, you’ll be able to come up with the topic. So what made you ask Diana out? Not that we don’t approve, mind you, it’s just a little out of character for you to act with such swiftness in your love life.”

  I stared at them a few seconds, but it was obvious I wasn’t going to get any peace until I gave them both something. I took a deep breath, then said, “I won a dinner at the raffle, and I had to take it tonight. Diana was here, so I asked her. Satisfied?”

  Kate looked at Louisa and said, “Do you buy that for one second?”

  “It’s lame enough to be true,” she said. “Or did he make up the raffle win as an excuse to ask her out?”

  “Good point,” Kate said as she turned to me. “Well, did you?”

  “Ladies, do you honestly think I’d choose The Lakefront if I was going to fake a free dinner?”

  Louisa laughed. “True, The Hound Dog would have been a better choice. Well, cheaper, anyway.”

  “Are you two finished now? I for one would like to get some work done.”

  They finally agreed to relent, and I set about working in the boutique. For the rest of the afternoon, I helped customers with their selections of molds, base soap, aromatics, and emollients. Lately I didn’t often get to work the floor, and it was a real pleasure spending time there.

  A woman in her late fifties came in late in the day sporting teased hair and spandex. She didn’t look like the typical soapmaker, but then again, we saw a range of customers at Where There’s Soap, and I’d learned early on not to judge people by their appearances.

  I noticed as she asked Kate a question, and my sister pointed straight at me. As the woman approached, I could see Kate’s grin. It was all I could do to keep from sticking my tongue out at my sister.

  As the woman neared me with her right hand extended, she said, “My name’s Linda Mae, and I want to shake your hand.”

  “Okay,” I said warily, doing as she asked. “May I ask why?”

  She smiled broadly. “You surely can, Darlin’. I hear you’re the one who finally took care of Ernie.”

  I pulled my hand back. “You heard wrong.”

  She looked surprised by my reaction. “You mean you didn’t do it?”

  “No, ma’am, I did not. Sorry to disappoint you.”

  She shrugged. “Life’s full of disappointment, isn’t it? At least somebody did it, and whoever it was, I hope and pray I have the chance to shake his hand someday.”

  It was a pretty callous attitude. “How well did you know Earnest Joy?” I asked.

  She snorted. “Long enough to be married to him for eleven months. That man was meaner than a snake. You did the world a favor.”

  “I keep telling you; I didn’t do anything,” I insisted. “When were you divorced?”

  She winked at me. “Now who ever said we were divorced?”

  That was a shocker. “Funny, I didn’t hear your name being mentioned in the will,” I said.

  She frowned, crinkling her nose at the same time.

  “Yeah, that’s why I came to town. Ernie and I kept separate households, so to speak, but I’ve got the wedding papers, and they’re as legal as can be. I’m going to get my share, you can believe that.”

  “I don’t have anything to do with any of that,” I said, trying to back up a few steps in case her taste in clothes or basic insanity was contagious.

  “Don’t fret about it,” she said. “I’ve got a lawyer of my own. Well, if you’re not the man deserving of my thanks, I’ll just head on out.”

  Kate waited until Linda Mae was gone, then came up to me and said, “What was that all about?”

  “Let me ask you something. Did you know Earnest Joy was married?”

  She said, “Sure. Terri and Andrew’s mom died ages ago, though.”

  “Apparently he married Linda Mae later.”

  Kate looked puzzled. “So why did she want to see you?”

  “I’d tell you, but it sounds too crazy to believe,” I said.

  “Try me, Ben.”

  I bit my lip, then admitted, “She said she wanted to shake the hand of the man who killed her husband.”

  Kate shivered noticeably. ‘That’s dreadful. I almost feel bad for Earnest.”

  “It’s tough, I’ll grant you that. Still, there’s a part of me that thinks she’s exactly what he deserved. It would be nice to believe that she managed to make him just a little miserable while he was alive; he spread so many dark clouds himself.”

  She put a hand on my arm. “Ben, I can’t stop you from thinking it, but you shouldn’t say things like that. It could get you into real trouble, given Molly’s suspicions. There’s no reason to give her more cause to think you might have done it, and bad-mouthing a dead man would surely get her attention.”

  I scratched my chin. “It’s hard to imagine being in much deeper than I am now, but thanks for the advice. I’ll try to watch what I say.”

  She nodded, then walked back to the register, and I started waiting on legitimate customers again.

  By closing time, I’d made my share of sales. Kate looked at Louisa and said, “He really wasn’t nearly as bad as I thought he’d be. What do you think?”

  “He’s got potential,” she said. “But he’s going to need a lot of work.”

  I shook my head. “Say what you want. I was magnificent, and you both know it.”

  They were still laughing as I left.

  It was time to get ready for my date. I was old enough to know better, but as I showered and dressed, I still couldn’t keep the butterflies out of my stomach. I hadn’t wanted to abandon my budding relationship with Kelly, but ending it hadn’t been my choice. Molly had always offered a safe and comfortable evening when I needed it, but that wasn’t an option anymore, either. Ready or not, tonight I was embarking on a new relationship, and I wasn’t about to let what had happened in the past—no matter how recently— affect it.

  It was time for a fresh start.

  I got to Diana’s apartment ten minutes early, so I parked out front and tried to sit patiently until it was time to ring her doorbell. I’d run the Miata through the car wash in town on the way over to her place, and it gleamed. Five minutes that seemed like a month later, I finally walked to her door. Before I could even knock, it opened.

  She looked absolutely lovely. Her lustrous brown hair was curled and wavy, and she’d done something with her makeup to really make her eyes dance. It didn’t hurt that the burgundy dress accentuated her curves perfectly.

  Without stopping to censor my reaction, I said, “Wow.”

  She smiled brightly. “For such a short sentence, that’
s the nicest thing anybody’s said to me in ages.”

  “You look great,” I added lamely.

  “Thank you. I love that suit.”

  I nodded my acceptance of her compliment. “Nothing but the best for The Lakefront, right?”

  “Absolutely,” she said as we walked out together. “This is going to be so much fun.”

  “I think so, too.”

  She looked at my Miata and said, “It’s my turn to say wow. I love your car.”

  “Thanks. I’m pretty attached to it, too.” I held the door open for her, and she graciously accepted the courtesy for what it was.

  As we drove to the restaurant, I asked, “So how did you happen to own a bookstore?”

  “My parents died when I was nine years old, and I found my solace in books. Charlotte MacLeod, Carolyn Hart, Agatha Christie; they all saved me. I never wanted to do anything else with my life but share my favorite mystery writers with the world. As soon as I turned twenty-one, I got my inheritance, and that’s when I opened Dying To Read.”

  “It must have been tough, losing them like that.”

  She sighed. “The worst part of it was that I didn’t have any brothers or sisters. Sometimes I feel all alone in the world. I really envy you your family, Ben. It must be heaven.”

  I’d never heard it described quite like that, but then I’d never met anyone with Diana’s unique perspective before, either. “It can be that, but we manage to visit the other place often enough, too.”

  She laughed. “I’ve seen the way you all interact. I’ve always longed for that. So, how do you like working in the family business? I can tell from your class that you truly love to make soap.”

  “I do,” I admitted. “It’s a passion of mine. All of us share it, really, though Cindy’s not so sure it’s what she wants to do with her life yet.”

  “Really?” she asked. “She’s a wonderful teacher. I was quite impressed with her today, once she got warmed up.”

  “We’ll see,” I said as I pulled into the parking lot of the restaurant. I felt a little wave of despair as I remembered the last and only other time I’d eaten there. Kelly and I had really enjoyed ourselves, and I wondered if I should have taken Diana somewhere else for our first date, despite the free meal.