“Buddy Janss promised me some corn seed and Miranda is giving me rose cuttings. And she said I could dig up that one Italian lilac bush she has.”
“If it’s Italian, don’t do it,” Harry laughed. “This damned lamp is Italian.”
Cooper laughed with her. “I’ll bear that in mind. You know the best varieties of okra, lettuce, all kinds of tomatoes. I don’t know too much.”
Harry read copy. “Okay. My advice”—she picked up a pencil and began circling vegetables—“is to go with the hardiest. Also, the old varieties often taste better but they’re harder to grow sometimes. So, here.” Harry pointed to a green pea. “A little water, a little sun. Tough. And so is this squash.”
As Harry flipped through pages, circling types of vegetables, Cooper talked. “Both of our recent murder victims’ bodies are with the medical examiner, but we already know how they were killed: bullet through the heart. No struggle, and the killer faced Josh and Hester. So it’s likely the killer seemed unthreatening, or they knew who it was and didn’t fear him—or her.”
“Face-to-face. Damn, that’s cold-blooded.”
“It is. I’m telling you because you found them. The paper will report the gunshot wounds, but we’re holding back details, like face-to-face. No true bruises on the forearms, no teeth knocked out. You’d be surprised how many people fight for their lives, but neither Josh nor Hester fought, so I hope it was quick. Finding those victims always affects me. I wonder, were they afraid or was the adrenaline too high for them to act defensively? I guess it varies from person to person. One confusing moment of recognition when the gun was pulled, then bam.”
Harry shivered. “It’s still an awful thought.”
“Well, this is more awfuclass="underline" If Hester knew her murderer, so do we. I think of that a lot, how many killers do I pass each day and don’t know it?”
Harry rested her chin in her hand. “Never thought about that, but then, I’m not a deputy.”
Cooper sighed. “Well, didn’t mean to sound so negative. Back to the seeds.”
“I marked everything you need, because I know your soils,” said Harry. “You and I are both right up on the base of the mountains. We have our own little weather system.”
Cooper took the catalogue back. “Thanks.”
“This isn’t negative exactly, but I can’t erase the sight of both those people’s grisly ends, and I didn’t know how much I liked Hester until, well, until she wasn’t with us,” admitted Harry. “What could she have ever done to provoke being killed? I didn’t know that accountant, but Hester wouldn’t hurt anyone. Oh, she might make you check your watch, but she was okay.”
“Best roadside stand in the county, and she’d always try to give me something for free,” said Coop. “I’d tell her I can’t take anything when I’m on duty. I mean, really, she wasn’t bribing me, but the rules are rigid and people these days are so quick to find fault. If anyone had seen me take a cantaloupe and not pay, I bet you Rick or the newspaper would have heard about it.”
“I can see the headline now: ‘Scandalous Melon Payoff.’ ” Harry laughed.
“I’m starting to wonder if these aren’t some sort of thrill killings. Usually sex is involved in those cases, or some sort of dominance or power play. This doesn’t exactly fit the pattern, but then again, maybe we, the public, are supposed to feel a thrill, a ripple of fear.”
Harry thought a long time. “So the killer is really warped or really smart, or both.”
“Poppy, she’s not listening to you,” Elocution warned as she sat in the chancery window the next morning, observing Harry outside.
Cazenovia and Lucy Fur meowed in unison.
Rev. Herb Jones, wedged behind his desk, glanced up, opening his mouth to quiet the kitties, then he heard a metallic clink. Pushing the chair away from his desk, he rose, hurrying to the window where Elocution fussed.
“See! See!” the cat spoke louder.
“I will bless her.” Reverend Jones hustled out of his beautiful office, grabbing his coat and dashing out the back door. “Harry, what are you doing?” he said, finding her next to a ladder propped against the building’s wall.
“Waiting for the roofer?” she half-fibbed.
“You were going to climb up there, I know it.” Reverend Jones’s face reddened.
“Well, eventually.” She flashed her brightest smile.
Inside, Lucy Fur turned to Elocution. “He can never resist her smile.”
Cazenovia agreed. “It’s amazing.”
Outside, Harry, hands in pockets for the air had chilled, headed off a lecture. “Seth Isman will be here in a minute. I just know bad weather is around the corner, so I figured we’d better hop on this.”
“Uh-huh.” The reverend crossed his arms over his chest. “Hop on, hop up.”
“Don’t worry about me. I’ve got two feet on the ground and am looking at the most wonderful Lutheran minister in Virginia.”
He burst out laughing. “You stinker.” Then he put his arm around her. “Sweetie, I do thank you for taking on building and grounds and for doing this so soon after finding Hester’s body. We would all have understood if you’d waited.” He took a deep breath. “God rest her soul.”
“I’d already made the appointment for today, Reverend, and truthfully, I feel better if I’m busy.”
“You know, Hester’s service still isn’t organized.” The pastor shook his head. “Hester’s brother died years ago and her niece lives in Houston. I called over to St. Francis in Staunton, where Hester worshipped, but so far, no plans. We are all distressed. If I knew her niece I’d offer help, but Hester’s priest told me the young lady—her name is Sarah Price—is doing all she can and he feels things will be properly done. She’ll get here from Texas next week. Terrible. Such a terrible thing.” He turned as the roofing van drove up and parked in the rear of the church lot. “Now, see here, Harry, don’t you get up on that roof. Look me in the face and promise.”
Taking a deep breath, she promised, “I won’t.”
“You can’t dissemble to my face.” He laughed. “Well, you can’t really lie anyway. Never could, but that doesn’t prevent you from withholding information or wiggling just a little.”
“You’ve known me too long.”
“Remember that. I’ve got my eye on you.”
True to her word, Harry remained earthbound while wiry Seth scrambled around up on the roof. After a few minutes, he backed down the ladder.
“Is it worse than I thought?” asked Harry of the short young man.
“No,” he replied. “A two-foot-square area, just like you thought, should fix the problem and prevent more. The workmanship on that old roof is something, just something.”
“Our ancestors knew what they were doing and they weren’t deluded by technology. It still takes good materials and a good man who knows how to use them.”
Seth smiled, which enlivened his strong face. “Yeah. We’re losing it, though. Losing hand skills.”
“You haven’t lost yours,” Harry complimented him.
“Thanks, Harry. Once I decided to concentrate on older structures, things just fell into place. I don’t work with cheap materials. After I’ve repaired a roof, I don’t get calls back about leaking. I understand that most folks don’t know about construction. And they only have so much money, so they buy footage and flash instead of maybe something smaller that is well built. Being able to get up on this roof, seeing how those shingles were laid … I don’t know. Kinda gives me chills. Like I’m part of something that goes way back.”
“I know what you mean. Well, you know I have to report to the board, so as soon as you can write up an estimate, I will deliver it. They already agreed for the work to be done, but if I can present an estimate, that makes everyone feel better.”