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

  She rolled her eyes as she shook her head, obviously showing disdain for her eldest child’s intelligence. “I know that. What happened?” She approached the sign and read it aloud. “property of earnest joy. no trespassing.” Has that man finally lost what little of his mind he had left?”

  A car drove by and honked its disproval of my mother’s parking job with a steady blast as it barely missed the rear end of her vehicle.

  I suggested, “Why don’t you pull into the customer parking lot and then we can discuss this.”

  She shook her head. “If the entire family parks there, we’ll have no room for our customers.” She had a point. There were days when we had more Perkins offspring at Where There’s Soap than customers.

  “Look on the bright side. It will certainly look like we’re busy all the time.” She was ready to reply when I cut her off, a dangerous thing in the best of times. “Mom, why don’t we both move our vehicles and then I’ll tell you all about it. I promise.”

  I wasn’t sure if she’d do as I asked, but thankfully she got into her minivan and backed up into the street, nearly hitting a brand-new Mercedes in the process. After both our vehicles were safely ensconced in the customer lot on the side of the shop, I said, “Earnest claims that the land all the way to the back of our building belongs to him. He just had a new survey done.”

  Mom asked, “Did you happen to see the name of the surveyor?”

  I thought about it a second, then said, “Don’t quote me, but I think it said ‘Monk.’

  “I dug the document out of my back pocket and handed it to her.

  Mom shook her head as she accepted it from me. “Try Thunk. David Thunk.”

  “Yeah, you’re right. It is Thunk. I’ve never heard of the guy”

  My mother frowned as she stared at the papers, then said, “I wish I could say the same. He and Earnest go way back. They’ve been lying and cheating for each other for years. I suppose that the thing that amazes me the most is that he didn’t try this sooner. The two of them would steal the shoes off a baby’s feet without a second thought.”

  I didn’t want to bring my grandfather’s name up since he and my mother had been squabbling the last time they’d been together, but I didn’t have much choice. Besides, how much angrier could she get?

  “Grandpa’s involved somehow,” I admitted.

  Man oh man, had I been wrong. There was a new intensity to her glare as she spat out her words. “What did he do, lose our land in a card game, or was it betting on a coin toss? No, he probably lost it playing checkers. Paulus is reckless, Ben. He always has been. And now it’s going to ruin us.”

  My grandfather was my father’s father, and when Dad was alive, he and my mother appeared to get along just fine. After Dad died, though, the tension between them started to grow, and Paulus had mentioned loudly on several occasions that my mother was running the family business into the ground. It was clearly up to me to fix this, if I could.

  “We need to talk to him to find out what’s really going on, Mom. Do you have any idea where he is?”

  She bit her lower lip, then said, “Benjamin, I don’t have a clue, and that’s the truth. It’s your job to handle this situation; you know that, don’t you?”

  My frustration was starting to bubble to the surface. “I’m trying to, but I need to talk to him if I’m going to figure out if there’s any truth to this claim. Earnest looked too smug about mentioning him to be lying. I’ve got a feeling there’s more to this than a bluff, even if the surveyor is on his payroll.”

  Mom faltered, then said, “If you want to know where Paulus is, you’ll have to ask your sister.”

  My mother hated to admit that she didn’t know everything that was going on with the family, so it was a startling admission coming from her. “Which sister? I could go hoarse talking to all three of them.”

  She shook her head. “You only need one. You know how close Paulus and Kate are. If anyone in the family knows where your grandfather is, it’s going to be Kate.”

  I should have known that without asking. Though parents and grandparents weren’t supposed to show favoritism, there had been a bond between the two of them nearly from the start. “Then I need to talk to her right now.”

  “She’ll be here soon. Come inside, Benjamin. We need to plan our course of action.” So now she was stepping in? Mom could deal with the entire mess if she wanted to, but there was something I had to do first. “You go on. I’ll be in later.”

  “What do you have to do that’s more important than this?” she asked as she gestured to the fence.

  “I’m going to stand over there and keep everybody else from wrecking into it.”

  She wanted to fight me on it—I could see it in her eyes—but with my mother, family came first above all else, though I wasn’t sure she’d apply that particular philosophy to her father-in-law. Reluctantly, she admitted, “That’s smart. I’ll talk with you as soon as everyone gets here.”

  Mom walked toward the front of the shop and I moved in the opposite direction, heading back to the truncated parking lot in back.

  It took some doing—Jim nearly drove me down before I could stop him—but I finally managed to redirect most of my siblings to the alternate lot. None of them were happy about the fence, but when I told them Mom was inside waiting for them, no one lingered.

  Finally, Kate was the only one who hadn’t shown up yet.

  I was about ready to give up on her when I was surprised to see my three brothers—Jeff, Jim, and Bob—come out of the shop together, and from their expressions of anger, it appeared that the other Perkins men were spoiling for a fight.

  Chapter 2

  Before I could ask them what they were up to, Jim said, “We’re not about to let him get away with this. Are you coming with us, Ben?”

  “What exactly are you planning to do?” I had a pretty good idea what they were up to, but I had to buy some time so I could calm them down.

  Known for his blunt demeanor, I knew Jim wouldn’t soften his response. “We’re going to lynch Earnest Joy. Come on, it’s going to be fun. It’s long past due, if you ask me.”

  “And if his son’s around, we’re going to string him up too for good measure,” Bob added. That was a surprise, coming from the mellowest member of our family.

  “Do you have anything to add?” I asked Jeff.

  He grinned as he shrugged. “Not a word. I’m just here for the excitement.”

  I held them back as they started for Earnest Joy’s shop. “Guys, we need to be careful here.”

  Jim tried to shove past me as he said, “Earnest Joy should have thought of that before he trespassed on our land and put that fence up.”

  “That’s the thing,” I explained to them. “He might be on the level. I saw a survey map that showed the new property lines and it looked pretty official.”

  “It’s a lie,” Jim said simply.

  I’d wanted to keep our grandfather out of it, but there was no way I could do that now. I didn’t want to see my brothers compound our problem, which was bad enough without any help from them. “Paulus might be mixed up in this,” I said. “There’s more to it than we know right now. Why don’t we wait until we have all the facts before we do anything we might regret?”

  There were protests and denials, but I spoke loud enough to override all of them. “Now why don’t you all go inside so I can find out what’s going on.” There was still some grumbling, so I added, “If it turns out that a lynch mob is what we need, I’ll bring the rope myself, and that’s a promise.”

  That finally won them over. They were walking back to the shop together—and I was finally breathing again— when Kate drove up.

  She did the same thing I had, pulling in and nearly tearing the fence down before managing to stop.

  She got out of her car and asked, “Ben, what’s that all about?”

  “That’s what I’m trying to find out. Where have you been?”

  She looked surprised by my ques
tion. “I’m sorry I’m late, but Jacob’s got the flu. I’ve been babying my husband half the night.” She pointed to the fence. “Do you mind telling me how that got there?”

  “I’d like to, but I’m still trying to figure it all out myself. Do you happen to know where our grandfather is?”

  Kate frowned. “What does he have to do with this? He’s trying to stay out of sight right now because of the feud he’s got going on with Mom.”

  “Are you actually taking sides between them?” I asked. I thought Kate was too smart to get trapped in that particular snare.

  She raised her palms outward. “No way. I’m just trying to keep them from killing each other until they can both calm down and see reason.”

  I started to lean against the fence, then hesitated as I began to wonder if Earnest might have electrified it, though I’d touched it earlier without getting shocked. Knowing him, it was a distinct possibility that he was watching me from the shadows of his building, waiting for me to touch it again before turning on the power. “Earnest Joy claims this is legitimate, and that Paulus has something to do with it. Kate, I really need to talk to him. It’s important.”

  Instead of telling me where he was, she said, “I’ll tell you what I can do. I’ll call him as soon as I get inside and then I’ll have him call you right back.”

  I couldn’t believe somebody in my family was trying to thwart me when all I wanted to do was fix this mess we were in. “Just give me the number, Kate. He’ll talk to me.”

  She wasn’t about to budge, though. “If he’d wanted you to have it, he would have given it to you instead of me. Now where should I park?”

  I knew better than to try to argue this particular sister out of the telephone number. “We’re all in customer parking for now,” I said.

  Kate frowned. “I bet Mom’s just loving that. I’ll call him as soon as I get inside, Ben. I promise.”

  I followed her progress as she drove around the building and met her at the front door by the time she parked. Surveying the lot, it appeared that Where There’s Soap was doing a booming business. Unfortunately, with so many of the spots taken, it didn’t leave a lot of room for our real clientele.

  Mom was already addressing that when I walked inside. She had the family clustered together in front of the shop by the cash register, and from the expressions on my brothers and sisters’ faces, they were as unhappy about that fence as I was. Or maybe our mother’s directives were bothering them.

  As I took my place among them, she said, “There are no excuses and there will be no exceptions. Kate will follow each of you home, then bring you back here.”

  Jim said, “Why does she get to keep her car when we all have to give ours up?”

  Mom wagged a finger at him. “Because she’s the only one besides me who’s sensible enough to drive a vehicle most of the family can fit into. I can’t see everyone piling into Ben’s Miata, can you?”

  I spoke up, despite the heat of my mother’s glare. “Kate can’t do it.”

  There was silence among my siblings as I felt their stares bore into me. “What did you say?” Mom asked in a lowered voice she reserved for warpaths and national disasters.

  I quickly explained, “If you want me to take care of that fence, and I know you do, I need Kate’s help.” I didn’t have to say another word. Mom dug into her purse and found her keys. As she tossed them to Jim, she said, “Here’s the new plan. James, you drive my minivan and follow your brothers and sisters home.”

  He looked smug hearing the order until she added, “When you get back, Bob can follow you home.”

  “So how are we all going to get out of here tonight?” Louisa asked. “Mom, this isn’t going to be very practical.”

  “That’s why Benjamin is going to take care of it as soon as possible. Isn’t that right?”

  I wasn’t about to make a promise I couldn’t keep, certainly not with all of the witnesses gathered there. “I’ll do what I can. Kate, let’s go make that call.”

  As the others left—grumbling, but not loud enough to draw our mother’s wrath—I followed Kate to our break room, a place where we kept our personal items, ate, and generally hung out away from our customers. It was a small room between the boutique and the production line, and Mom kept it stocked with a better selection of treats than most bakeries had. I thought the Krankles’ bakery in Fiddler’s Gap might give her a run for her money, but I wasn’t going to mention that to her.

  I never would have found the bakery if it hadn’t been for Kelly Sheer. Kelly and I had been trying to date lately—mostly unsuccessfully—due to her daughter Annie’s protests. We were going to challenge that at the Fair on the Square the next day, escorting Annie together to the rides, booths, and food stands set up downtown. I was looking forward to finally getting another chance to see Kelly when Kate’s words brought me back to reality.

  “Stop daydreaming, Ben. We need to call Grandpa.”

  Trying not to look guilty about being caught, I said, “I was just trying to figure this mess out.”

  My sister wasn’t buying it, though. “Then why were you smiling? I know what you were thinking about. Or should I say who?”

  I pointed to her purse. “Are you going to get that number or do I have to search your bag myself?”

  She offered it to me. “Go ahead and try it. Watch out for the mousetrap, though. I like to keep a few surprises handy for anybody crazy enough to stick a finger inside.”

  “No thanks,” I said as I refused her purse. Knowing Kate, she probably really had booby-trapped the thing.

  “Coward,” she said as she dug into the bag. As I watched her pull out an eclectic assortment of gadgets, makeup, and notes of all shapes and sizes, I marveled that she could find anything in there. In less than thirty seconds though, she held a piece of paper triumphantly in the air.

  “I knew right where it was,” she said.

  “I didn’t doubt you for an instant.” I handed her my cell phone and said, “Call him, Kate.”

  “Let’s go to your office,” she said. “I need some privacy.”

  I couldn’t believe my sister. “If you don’t want me eavesdropping, I’ll go out on the porch.”

  Kate said softly, “It’s not you I’m worried about,” as she pointed to the door.

  Though our mother was feuding with Paulus, I knew she was dying to find out where he’d gone. That’s when I noticed that the door was open a crack. Was that my mother’s ear framed there? Louder than I needed to, I said, “Okay, you’re right. Let’s go upstairs. You’ll be more comfortable in my office.”

  I gave my mother time to scamper away from the door, then opened it to find her pretending to read the morning paper. If it had been in her hands right-side-up I would have had a better chance of believing her ruse.

  Without a word to our mother, Kate and I walked back to the assembly line—past the idle equipment—and up the stairs. The top floor of our building housed three offices in its space and covered just the production area and storage in back. Each office on the second floor featured a large window that looked down on the sales area below, no doubt so that we could see what was going on while we were isolated upstairs. The door to my mother’s office was open— as it always was, since she spent most of her time downstairs—and Grandpa’s was firmly shut. He rarely used his office space since he’d scaled back his participation in the business. I had the last office in line. Unfortunately, I spent way too much of my time locked in there trying to straighten out another mess.

  I ushered Kate inside, then stepped out into the narrow hallway so she could have some privacy. While I waited for her to call our grandfather, I walked down to his office. I wasn’t snooping, not really, but I couldn’t help wondering if there might be something there that would help me figure out what was going on. I opened the door and started to turn the light on, but then I realized that Mom would be able to see it from the sales floor below. That was one conversation I didn’t want to have, so I managed with
the light coming in from the window and the open door. I knew Paulus liked to keep things neat, but it was even sparser than it had been the last time I’d been in there. The desk was now clear of any sign of occupancy, and even the photos he’d kept on display were gone. I pulled one drawer partially out of his desk, and then another. Instead of the papers I’d expected to see, there was a lone telephone book in one of the drawers, and it was three years out of date. His file cabinets were empty, too. It was as if he’d left with no plans of ever coming back. Was something going on here I didn’t know about? I was just walking out of his office when Kate approached me.

  “Ben, I can’t believe you’re snooping on our own grandfather.”

  I frowned. “There would have to be something in there before I could snoop. Kate, what’s going on?”

  She looked puzzled by the question. “What do you mean?”

  “That place has been cleaned out. There’s nothing left.”

  She peeked inside. “That can’t be true.” After a second, she added, “Ben, there’s lots of things in there.”

  “I’m not talking about furniture or file cabinets,” I said. “Unless you count an old phone book, the place has been absolutely gutted.”

  She didn’t believe me, or maybe she just didn’t want to. After Kate had systematically opened and closed every drawer and cabinet, her frown deepened. “I don’t understand this.”

  “There’s one sure way to find out. Call Paulus back and ask him what’s going on,” I said.

  Kate looked uncomfortable. “I’d love to, believe me, but there’s a problem with that.”

  “What’s wrong? Is he too busy on one of his larks to help us out here?” Sometimes it felt like our grandfather was reverting to his childhood, denying any responsibility for anything and just focusing on having a good time.

  Kate scrunched her lips together and ran a hand through her chestnut hair before she finally answered. “The place he was staying doesn’t know what happened to him. They haven’t seen him in three days.”

  “You’ve got to be kidding me,” I said. “They actually told you he was missing?”