"Did you allow her to a.s.sist you on cases when you ran the city of Charlotte's police department?" Captain North asked.

"Of course not. That was different," Zach said.

"In what way?"

"She didn't have a stake in any of them. This case directly involves her, and I'm not the officer in charge of the investigation. We can use what Savannah finds, if we just let her help."

"That's out of the question. Frankly, given your reputation, I can't believe you are even suggesting it."

"Well, believe it. Look what was missed by the officers investigating the scene: a box of money and an incriminating set of notes that might have been written to one person, or possibly three."

Captain North didn't look all that pleased with Zach pointing out the ineffectiveness of the police search. "I wasn't at the scene investigating the victim's home, but you can be sure I'll have a word with the officers who were there."

Zach kept frowning at her. "You have to admit, both of these clues could turn out to be valuable."

"That's beside the point," she said, raising her voice. "I can't have an amateur meddling in my investigation. This has to end, right here and right now. Understood?"

I wasn't exactly certain what to say to that. Fortunately, I didn't have to say anything. Zach turned to me and asked, "Savannah, would you mind stepping out for a minute? I want to talk to Captain North cop to cop." My husband looked at me with a plea for me to comply in his expression, and I decided this was not the time to disagree with him.

"Go ahead; take all of the time you need. I don't mind a bit." That was one discussion I had no problem missing out on. "I'll be outside if you need me."

I walked out into the bracing autumn air, knowing that winter was just around the corner. I loved the snow-it gave everything a clean and refreshed texture-but autumn was still my favorite time of the year. Even with the trees nearly barren of their leaves, there was something in the crispness of the breeze that suited me as it rattled through the stragglers still clinging to their old perches.

I stood under a pin oak, its brown leaves all still in place, and listened to the wind. I wasn't certain how long I stood there looking up as the leaves moved in unison with each gust, but I was surprised when I heard someone call my name. I hadn't even been aware that anyone could see me.

When I looked toward the sound of the voice, I saw that it was the coffee shop owner. "Barbara, what are you doing out here?"

To my surprise, she actually smiled at me-something I hadn't been expecting, given our last conversation where I'd walked out on her.

"I always take a walk around town this time of evening," she said. I had a hard time believing that. When I took a stroll, I wore tennis shoes, blue jeans, and an old jacket, but Barbara was wearing a dress and a pair of flats. Still, to each her own.

"It is a glorious night, isn't it?" I asked.

"I think so. I've been meaning to speak with you, Savannah. I may have been a little abrupt with you when you came to me for help yesterday."

"Not at all. I understand your position completely. You were right to ask that I keep our conversation private. I'm just sorry I couldn't make you the promise you asked me to."

She shrugged slightly. "That's what I've been mulling over. You could have easily lied to me, you know. That way you could have had my input and told your husband afterward. I would have never known."

"Probably not, but I would have, and that's all that matters. I won't give my word if I have no intention of keeping it," I said.

"I can't tell you how much I admire your candor. I've changed my mind. I'll help you," she said.

This was almost too good to be true. Barbara could let me in on the secrets of Parson's Valley like no one else could, even Rob. I still had to be sure she understood my position before I accepted any aid from her. "Even if I tell Zach everything we talk about?"

"As long as it's just him, I can live with that. I have to trust a former police chief's discretion. What do you say?"

I looked around, but there was still no sign of my husband. That didn't mean he wouldn't show up soon, though. "I can't do it right now. I'm so sorry, but Zach is going to be here any minute."

Barbara laughed. "I didn't mean right now. Why don't you come by first thing tomorrow morning? We can have a cup of coffee outside if it's nice, and I might have some solid information for you by then."

"Are you saying you don't mind being seen out with me?" That, too, was a turnaround from her previous position.

"Of course not," she said with a smile.

I wasn't about to let it go that easily, though. "The reason I ask is because before we were meeting in your back room like a couple of anarchists plotting to overthrow the government."

"It's nothing as dire as all that," she said. "We have every right to chat in public as much as anyone else does. I'll see you in the morning."

"I'll be there," I said as she started to stroll away. "And, Barbara?"

She paused and looked back at me.

"Thank you."

That brought out a hint of laughter in her voice. "You're welcome. We're going to have fun."

Zach came up and joined me a few seconds after she was gone. "What was that all about?"

"Were you spying on me?"

"No, to be honest with you, I was mostly just ducking Barbara. Was it my imagination, or did I actually see her smiling?"

"You weren't mistaken. She wants to meet in the morning so we can talk about Joanne's murder."

He looked steadily at me as he asked, "Did you promise not to tell me anything you learned?"

"No. As a matter of fact, she told me I could tell you everything, as long as you were discreet. Why does everyone think you can keep a secret but I can't? I'm beginning to be a little offended by it."

"Don't let it bother you too much."

I shrugged. "I'll try. How did it end with the captain?"

"She's not happy about what you're doing, but she's not going to throw you in jail for it, either, so I suppose that's some type of progress."

"How does she feel about you?"

He frowned. "That's a different story altogether. Can we talk as we go back to the car?"

"That's fine with me. What should we talk about? The weather's just about perfect, isn't it? Do you think we'll get much snow this year? I think we should plant more trees out back; what do you think?"

Zach laughed as he said, "Slow down, woman. I wasn't looking for random topics. There's something specific that I want to discuss with you."

"Sorry, I thought you were trying to fill some kind of lag in the conversation. What's up?"

He took his time telling me, so I knew it was most likely something I wasn't going to like. "I need to take you home so I can tag along with North when she goes to Joanne's to interview Laura in twenty minutes."

"How did you manage that?" I asked.

"A little bit of flattery and a whole lot of groveling," he said with a grin.

"Okay," I said simply.

"It can't be as easy as that, is it?" he asked as he stared openly at me.

"I'm not all that difficult to get along with," I said. "I'm just amazed you got her to agree to your presence during the interview."

"It was close, but I managed to convey the impression that Laura wouldn't talk to her without me there as well. I didn't really leave her much choice."

"Who knows?" I asked as my husband drove me home. "You might just be right. Laura trusts you, but I don't think she's too fond of any other law enforcement personnel."

As we drove the familiar roads, I asked, "What does she hope to accomplish by talking to Laura? She really wasn't much a part of Joanne's life. Captain North knows that, doesn't she?"

"I have no idea, but it took a major miracle to get to tag along, so I'm not going to blow it."

He pulled up in our drive, and I got out.

"I might be late," Zach said as he drove away.

That meant there was no real reason for me to stay home, now that I had my own transportation.

I had time to do a little more digging on my own, and I was going to take full advantage of it.

First things first, though. I knew what I'd told Laura, but I needed to see Rob and bring him up to speed on what I'd found out at Joanne Clayton's house. I also needed to let him know about my new arrangement with Barbara. It was only fair, and I wanted his take on why she'd so willingly given in on her earlier demand.

I'd been stirring the pot as hard as I could, and it appeared that things were finally starting to happen.

Chapter 12.

ON AN ORDINARY EVENING, THE HARDWARE STORE would already be closed, but given the state of our local economy, Rob had started to stay open later on certain nights to try to help his bottom line. For once, I was happy that he had to, since we needed to talk.

When I got there, the parking lot was nearly deserted. I walked inside and looked around for Rob, but I couldn't find him anywhere. I walked over to Lee, who was putting out a display of snow shovels. "Any idea where your boss is?"

"Hey, Savannah. The last time I saw him, he was outside with a customer in the bedding plants."

"This late in the year? I'm amazed that anyone would wait this long to plant anything."

Lee shrugged. "You know my boss. If we've got it in stock, Rob's going to sell it."

I started to go out the side entrance to where Rob kept his plants for sale. From early spring to mid-autumn, he offered flowers and vegetables of all kinds to his customers, but the area was rather barren at the moment.

I spied him through some dead ferns hanging from baskets and was about to speak when I realized that his customer was still there.

I couldn't believe it when I saw that he was talking to Harry Pike, one of the suspects on my list. From the clouds on Harry's brow, it was a good bet that they weren't discussing the chances a dried-up tomato plant had of producing a crop this year, either. There was clear and obvious tension between the two men.

But I had no idea what it could be about, so I tried to get a little closer to hear.

Harry said, "I'm not telling you that, so stop asking."

Rob replied, "Do you honestly think you have any choice? Talk to me, Harry. I'm not messing around here."

Harry said something I couldn't hear, so I took another step closer. Too close, it turned out, as a terra-cotta potted fern slipped off the hook and plummeted to the concrete, shattering the pot it had been in.

Both men looked at me as though I'd fired a shotgun at them, which, on reflection, was probably what the pot had sounded like when it had exploded on the ground.

"Hey, Savannah," Harry said as he quickly scurried away.

I walked up to Rob and said, "Sorry about killing your pot. I'd be glad to pay for it."

"Don't worry about it, Savannah; it was cracked anyway."

"What were you and Harry talking about? And don't try to say it was ferns, because I know better. I saw the look on his face when you pressed him. You were asking him about Joanne, weren't you?"

Rob knelt down and picked up most of the major shards of pottery after he threw the dead fern on a compost bin in one corner. He looked almost relieved as he admitted, "Harry knows something. I'm sure of it. I was just about to get it out of him when that pot fell."

"Sorry, I didn't mean to sabotage your investigation. Why didn't you wait for me, though?"

"You were busy at Joanne's," he said. "Harry came by unexpectedly, so I decided to take a chance and talk to him without you."

"I wish you wouldn't do that," I said as I got a broom and started sweeping up the remnants of the soil and the pot as Rob finished with the pottery pieces.

"I'm not going to apologize," he said with a smile. "I saw an opportunity, and I took it."

I knew arguing with him about it was just a waste of breath. "If you have to go out on your own, at least keep me posted on what you find out. Can you do that much for me?"

"If you return the favor."

"You know I will," I said as I finished with the broom.

Rob looked at me with a smile on his face as he asked, "What happened at Joanne's, anyway? I was expecting Laura to scream at you when she found you snooping around in the bedroom, but when I came in later, you two were acting like old buddies. I don't understand how you were able to manage that."

"It might have helped that I found a box full of money," I said.

Rob's eyes lit up. "Are you serious? How much did you find?"

"A little over eleven thousand dollars," I said. "But keep it to yourself. No one's supposed to know." I realized too late that I'd promised Laura to keep her secret. I just hoped it didn't come back to bite me later.

I wasn't expecting the level of his disappointment at my discovery. "It's not exactly a fortune, is it?"

"I wouldn't turn it down if someone gave it to me. Would you?"