“Yes, but the man who broke in is dead, isn’t he? Which is why you feel safe enough to leave your back door unlocked.”
Charlie put an arm around his sister’s tight shoulders. “It’s okay, Sis. I’m here, no one can hurt you.”
“Especially not me.” Olivia held out her bag. “I come with a peace offering.” Before Charlene could start shrieking about the demon sugar, Olivia added, “These are cut-out vegetable sandwiches. Sorry about the bag, it’s all I could find.” She plunked her gift on the table between Charlene and Charlie. Pulling up a chair, Olivia said, “Sit down, please. I know this is abrupt, but I don’t have a lot of time.”
Charlene exchanged a quick glance with her brother. “We heard a rumor that Jason was being released.”
Olivia, who had started the rumor and encouraged her friends and relatives to spread it around, said, “He is . . . for now. He’s still the prime suspect, though. I want to clear him.”
“Jason is my buddy,” Charlie said, “but Charlene and I are suspects, too, so why should we help you?”
“If you are guilty, then you probably shouldn’t help me. Or you could lie. But if you didn’t kill Geoffrey King, you should have no problem answering my questions. I’m not the police. I have no interest in learning any of your secrets unless they help me find the real killer and free Jason.” Olivia opened her bag of sandwiches. “If I do say so myself, these are works of art.”
Charlene’s button nose twitched. “I smell cucumber.”
“Yep, freshly cut.”
“I eat only organic vegetables.”
Olivia nudged the bag closer to Charlene. “These vegetables are all organic. So is the whole-grain bread.”
“How can I be sure?”
“My mother bought all of it right here at The Vegetable Plate yesterday afternoon.”
Charlene hooked an index finger on the edge of the opening and peered inside. Frowning, she said, “I see mustard. I eat no commercial sandwich spreads. They contain sugar.”
Olivia quashed a strong impulse to sigh and roll her eyes. “My mom made the mustard from organic dried, ground mustard seed. And she used pure spring water.” Thank you, Mom.
Charlie opened a cupboard next to the sink and took out a large glass serving plate, which he rinsed and dried before setting it on the table. “Look, Livie,” he said, “we both care about Jason, but I don’t see how we can help. We didn’t kill Geoff, I swear it.”
Charlene began to arrange the cut-out sandwiches one by one on the glass plate. “These are pretty,” she said, resting a lettuce shape against the curve of a banana. “Did Maddie make them?”
“I made them.”
“Oh.” Charlene picked up a radish-shaped sandwich and nibbled on the top leaves. “This really has radish in it.”
“I do my best,” Olivia said. This isn’t the time to scream, she told her frantic, impatient self.
Charlene finished her radish sandwich and met Olivia’s eyes. “Well? What do you need from me?”
“Me, too,” Charlie said as he tossed an entire tomato-shaped sandwich into his mouth.
“Thank you both, for Jason’s sake. Now just so I know, am I right, Charlene, that it was Geoffrey King who threw all those flyers on The Gingerbread House’s lawn last Sunday morning?”
Charlene’s tight mouth loosened into a sneer. “Oh yeah, that would be Geoff’s work. I bet he was real pleased with himself, making me look like a jerk. He knew I wouldn’t give him away. That would mean admitting he’d ever been a part of my life.”
“Why would he do such an odd thing?”
Charlene picked up a celery-shaped sandwich and picked at the bread. A small pile of bread pellets formed on the table. “Geoff was all about showing how much smarter he was than everyone else in the entire world. He threw my leaflets on your lawn to get me in trouble with my neighbors—and to show me he could get to me anytime he wanted.” With a smug smile, Charlene added, “Except he was dumb enough to look out the window to watch you and Maddie clean up. The sheriff showed me that picture Binnie took.”
“You still didn’t identify him, though?”
“It would have made things worse for me.” Charlene shot a quick glance at her brother. Olivia saw the worry in her eyes and wondered who she was really protecting by keeping silent.
“I can understand that,” Olivia said. “Just a few more questions. I’m still confused about where you two and Jason were on Tuesday night. The police don’t confide in me, but I think there are other suspects. It’s in your best interests to be open about your whereabouts at the time of the murder.”
Charlene examined her pale rose nails for flaws. “What suspects?”
“Well, I heard you had a run-in with Geoffrey King about a loan shark that was after him.”
“Who said that?”
Olivia shrugged. “Is it true?”
Charlene relaxed against the back of her chair. “You already know the answer, so why ask? Yeah, I held Geoff at bay with one of my vegetable knives, but that doesn’t mean I used one of them to stab him.”
“I never suggested you did, but I don’t believe you’ve been truthful about where you were that night.”
“I am not a liar.” Charlene’s denial lost points for its whiny tone.
Olivia turned her attention to Charlie. “You stayed in the store all night to protect your sister, didn’t you? You wouldn’t have left her there alone, not when King had threatened to burn it down. Also, I happen to know you had nowhere else to go. You’d lost your room.”
Charlie slumped back and stared at the ceiling. “Charlene told me to say I’d gone home.” He patted his sister’s arm. “It’s okay, Sis. I’m so sick of lying and hiding all the time. See, Charlene figured if she got accused of killing Geoff she could claim self-defense. But I’d had a lot of run-ins with him. I even threatened to kill him for hurting my sister. The worst is, Geoff was . . . well, he was blackmailing me. He was taking my monthly trust money and most of my salary, and he wanted more. I wanted to kill him, I really did. But it wasn’t me.”
“What was he blackmailing you for?”
“That’s none of your business.” Charlene bolted to her feet. “I want you to leave. Now.”
“No, Sis, it’s all right.” Charlie reached for her wrist. “Let’s get this over with.” Once she’d sat down, he said, “I have a juvie record for stealing cars. It’s supposed to be sealed, but somehow Geoff got hold of a copy and threatened to show it to Struts. I’d have lost my job, and I’d never be able to work in a garage again. I love working with cars more than anything. I don’t know how he got those records, but he did.”
Charlene snorted in a less-than-ladylike way. “He probably sweet-talked some idiot of a clerk, and she fell for it.”
“That all makes sense.” Olivia hoped she sounded reassuring. “So then . . . are you saying Charlene left the store that night before you did?”
“No!” Charlene nudged closer to her brother. “The truth is, neither of us left. We both stayed all night like we planned . . . to protect the store from Geoff. That man was evil. He was more than capable of burning down my lovely Vegetable Plate, even with me in it.” Charlene’s hands flew toward the serving plate and scooped up four sandwiches. She cradled two in each hand as if they gave her comfort.
“Did you stay together?” Olivia asked. “In the store, I mean.”
“Yes,” Charlene said.
“No.” Charlie wove his fingers through his loose brown curls. “I know it doesn’t look good, Sis, but you’ve got to stop lying to protect me.” He leaned toward Olivia, elbows on the table, eyes beseeching. “Charlene slept upstairs. She has a cot up there. That’s where I’ve been sleeping since I lost my room. That night I stayed downstairs and kept watch, and Charlene didn’t come downstairs all night. I could have sneaked out and killed Geoff, but I swear I didn’t.”
“Are you saying you didn’t see or hear anything while King was being killed?
The plate of sandwiches rattled as Charlene’s small fist hit the table. “My brother has answered enough of your questions. We only wanted to protect my store. Charlie didn’t need to hurt Geoff.”