The Rosemary Caper 2

Cora Suggests a Suspect

Previously: The president of the Merryweather Herb Guild asks China Bayles (a former lawyer, now owner of Thyme & Seasons Herbs) and Ruby Wilcox (the Crystal Cave) to investigate the theft of a valuable cookbook from the Guild House.

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The library is at the end of the second-floor hall of Myra Merryweather’s old Victorian house, overlooking the Guild’s beautiful garden. Vickie unlocks the library door and Ruby and I follow her in. Sure enough, the display case is smashed, and broken glass litters the floor.

“How long has the cookbook been on display here?” I ask.

“We took it out of the safety deposit box just a few days ago,” Vickie replies. “We planned to hold an open house the Saturday before Greta’s talk, so people could drop in and have a look. We never dreamed somebody would steal it!” She glances at the bookcase where the Guild keeps its collection of vintage cookbooks. “Now I’m a little concerned about the other books.”

Ruby picks up a piece of glass. “How many people knew that Mrs. Merryweather’s book was here?”

“So far as I know, only the members of the Library Committee.” Vickie reaches for the broom leaning against the wall and begins sweeping up the glass.

I walk over to the window, wondering how many people on that committee had just happened to mention the cookbook to a friend or two. The window was painted shut. “How did the thief get into the house? I checked the front door as we came in. I didn’t see any sign that it was jimmied.”

“It wasn’t.” Vickie sweeps the glass into a dustpan. “That door was locked when I got here this morning. And the downstairs windows don’t show any signs of forced entry.”  

“How many people have keys to the house?” Ruby asks.

“I do, and so does Cora Demming, our secretary-treasurer. And Jerry Weber—although I can’t imagine he’d take that book. He manages our maintenance. He is completely trustworthy and always so helpful.”  Vickie dumps the glass into a wastebasket. “I suppose Delia Clark still has a key. She was president last year.” She frowns a little and I remember that there was some unhappiness with several of Delia’s decisions.

“Four people with house keys,” Ruby murmurs. “And keys can be copied, of course.”

Ruby is right. There’s no telling how many people have house keys. I point to the library door. “Was that door locked?”

“Yes. But everybody knows that we keep the key on the bulletin board in the pantry. I suppose we don’t give enough thought to security,” Vickie adds ruefully. “We’ve just never had to.”

Where had I heard that before? But there was no point in playing the blame game. It was time to start making a list. “We’ll begin with the people on the library committee, since they’re the only ones who knew—who were supposed to know—that the cookbook had been taken out of the bank.” I pulled a notebook and pencil from my purse. “Names?”

Vickie began to sweep up more glass. “On the committee? Well, there’s Cora Demming—I mentioned her a minute ago. And Jane Clark and Delia Murphy. And me, too, of course.” She gave me a sideways glance. “But if I were going to take the book, I wouldn’t have broken the case, would I? I have a key to the display case—the only key.”

Ruby and I trade glances. Personally, I doubt that Vickie is our thief, but we can’t rule her out. Sure, she might have a key. But if she had taken the book, breaking the glass would cover her tracks.

Vickie catches our glances. Horrified, she stops sweeping. “You can’t imagine I did it!”

“Please don’t take it personally, Vickie,” Ruby says. “We have to consider everybody.”

“I know you do.” Vickie manages a half smile. “But I’ll expect an apology when you find the real thief!” She sighs. “And I know you’ll have to tell the people on  your list about the theft. But ask them to keep it to themselves, please. I don’t want the news to get out.”

We leave Vickie to finish cleaning up the mess. On our way out, I say, “It’s getting late and I have to get home and cook dinner. How about if we try to talk to one or two of the people on our list tomorrow afternoon, right after the shops close?”

“Works for me,” Ruby says cheerfully. Her tone changed. “I vote that we start with Cora Demming. I have . . . well, I have a feeling about her. And then Jane Clark? The two of them are neighbors.”

I nod. Ruby and I have been friends for a long time and I’ve learned to trust her intuitions. Maybe she’s right on this one. But I’m not exactly thrilled with the plan. Cora and I were on the Guild’s finance committee a couple of years ago. She was the treasurer then, and there was some unpleasantness when the Guild’s accounts didn’t quite balance. We finally got it straightened out, but one or two people got their feelings hurt.

Especially Cora.

Cora Demming’s garden has been named Pecan Springs’ Garden of the Week twice this year, which makes a great many of her friends envious. That’s where we find her the next afternoon, snipping herbs into a basket. She has already collected sprigs of lemon balm and lemon verbena and is just starting to clip a lemon-scented geranium. She looks up when Ruby and I say hello, but she doesn’t smile. So far as I know, she hasn’t smiled since her husband disappeared with his secretary last year, leaving her with a stack of credit card bills as tall as the Texas Tower.

Cora rolls her eyes when she heard about the stolen cookbook. “I told her so,” she says. She repeats it, triumphantly. “I told her so. But did she listen? Of course not!”

“Told who?” Ruby asks.

“I warned Victoria Bridges not to take that book out of the bank vault,” she says. “The locks at the Guild House are a joke.”  She gives a short, hard laugh. “She promised to ask Jerry to install new ones, but that’s like asking the fox to guard the hen house.”

 “Jerry Weber? A fox?” I raise my eyebrows, interested. “What makes you say that?”

“Because that man is perennially hard up for cash.” Cora tosses her head scornfully. “I know, because when I was the Guild treasurer he was continually pestering me for an advance on the monthly amount we paid him for his maintenance. But Vickie got upset when I told her that he costs us more than he saves.” She gives us a tight smile. “In fact, she was so protective that I wouldn’t be in the least surprised to learn that there was something going on between the two of them. Call me suspicious if you want, but I wouldn’t put it past that man to take our cookbook.” She doesn’t add And Vickie to cover for him, but her expression certainly implies it.

I am a little surprised at Cora’s vehemence. Somehow, I don’t think Vickie would compromise herself with Jerry Weber. Still, he’s a charming man, and since her husband’s death, Vickie has made no secret of the fact that she’s available. And she did make it a point to tell us that Jerry wasn’t involved.

 “We checked the doors and windows and there’s no sign that anybody tried to break in.” I pause and add tactfully,  “I wonder—has anyone asked to borrow your key?”

Cora snorts. “If they did, I’d tell them what they could do with it. Anyway, you don’t need a key to get into that place. All you have to do is jiggle the knob on the kitchen door and you’re in. Anybody could have walked off with that book.”

“If they knew it was there,” I remark. And only the members of the Library Committee knew that—supposedly.

“A rare book is a strange thing to steal.” Ruby tilts her head. “I mean, once you have it, what would you do with it?”

Cora picks up her basket. “You might ask Jane Clark about that. Her brother Eric is a rare book dealer. Of course,” she adds in a meaningful tone, “I’m not making any accusations. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m expecting a delivery.” She glances at her watch. “Any minute now.”

We thank Cora and say goodbye. “So Jane Clark’s brother is a rare book dealer,” Ruby says as we get in my car. “And Jane is on the Library Committee. Maybe she took the book and gave it to her brother to sell.”

“That’s what Cora is suggesting. And she’d like us to consider Jerry Weber as a prime suspect, too.” I turn the key. “If you and I were even a little suspicious, we might think Cora was trying to deflect our attention from her.”

“Well, I have to say—” Ruby breaks off and puts a hand on my arm. “Hey, China, look at that!”

I glance up. A truck from Blanchard’s Furniture Store has pulled up in front of Cora’s house. As we watch, a couple of brawny guys climb out and begin unloading an elegant living room suite—several thousands of dollars’ worth of new furniture.

Ruby frowns. “I thought Cora’s bad-doing husband left her broke and in debt. Where’d she get the money for all that new stuff?”

 “That,” I says thoughtfully, “is a very good question.” I watch as the men unload an expensive-looking glass-topped coffee table.

And it might also point to a very good motive.

Everybody, that’s it for Episode Two. Thanks for reading! China and Ruby will be back next week with Episode Three, “Jane Clark Is Annoyed.”

For supporting subscribers: your premium extras (below) include suggestions for growing and using lemon herbs, like those in Cora’s prize-winning garden—plus recipes (of course), and a few suggestions for collecting cookbooks.