In the car on the way back to Myrtle's, Puddin said in a wheedling voice, "You know, Miz Myrtle, it's easier for me to clean if you ain't there."
"I'm sure it is easier. You don't have anyone telling you not to watch game shows instead of vacuum."
Puddin persisted stubbornly, "It ain't easy cleanin' up with somebody staring at you."
Myrtle sighed and looked out the passenger window as if trying to find where her patience had gone. Then she leaned forward. "That's Carter Radnor."
Sure enough, Carter was walking down the sidewalk with a small dog of indeterminate heritage.
Miles glanced over, "Looks like he's headed to the park."
Puddin said craftily, "You could meet him in the park an' ask him questions."
"All right. Miles, let's plan on accosting Carter in the park. Puddin, you plan on making my house sparkle."
This agreed upon, Myrtle and Miles headed to the park as soon as Puddin was dropped off at Myrtle's house. The park was right in the center of downtown and a popular place for the town to gather. It was directly across from an excellent ice cream shop, a happy coincidence many people took advantage of. There was a climbing wall for children, paths to walk on, and benches on which to sit. Myrtle and Miles decided to sit.
"You think Carter will come by this way?" asked Miles as they plopped onto a wooden bench with an excellent view of both the paths and downtown Bradley.
"His car is right there." Myrtle gestured to an elderly Cadillac that was parallel parked yards away.
So they sat and waited. Sure enough, twenty minutes later up came Carter with the little dog.
"Well, hi there," said Carter, pausing in front of them. "I didn't see y'all here before."
"Oh, we decided to hang out after having breakfast at the diner," said Myrtle airily.
The little dog, an odd mixture of a bushy chin, droopy ears, and a wiry tail, came up to Myrtle and sniffed curiously. Myrtle reached out and petted it.
Carter beamed at her. "Crystal has really taken to you, Myrtle! She doesn't take to everyone."
She didn't, in fact, seem to have taken to Miles. Miles gave the dog a wary look and Crystal showed a few teeth.
"Yes, well, animals do tend to be drawn to me." She looked up at Carter and said, "My, you're dressed up for walking the dog."
He turned a bit pink, which made Myrtle raise her eyebrows.
"Ah, I thought I might run into Orabelle here," he murmured, taking great interest in a rather sickly-looking gardenia bush.
"Does Orabelle usually hang out in the park?" asked Myrtle. "I thought she'd be delivering mail now."
Carter next gave a soliloquy on Orabelle's daily schedule and routine involving lunch that made it very clear his interest in her couldn't be too recent.
Miles said, "So you're planning on meeting up with her?"
Carter sighed. "That's the ironic thing. She always follows the same routine. But today, when Charlie and I are all dressed up for Orabelle, she's not here."
Myrtle almost gave him a mini-lecture in what irony actually was. But she decided not to when she saw his dejected expression. Instead, she looked closer at the rather-unattractive little dog who was giving her a snarling smile and saw she did indeed have a bow on.
"Forgive me, Carter, but I somehow thought you'd always harbored a bit of affection for Pansy." Myrtle used her best nosy-but-harmless-old-lady voice.
Carter flushed again and looked away. "To be honest, I'm really angry at myself for pursuing Pansy for so long. Even you know about it, Myrtle. The whole town must have thought I was making a fool of myself."
Miles cleared his throat. "I don't think anyone knew, Carter. Myrtle just is very perceptive."
Carter sighed. "Nice of you to try to make me feel better, Miles. But I'm well aware of how obvious I was when I was trying to get Pansy's attention. It was almost like a bad habit I'd fallen into and it kept me from seeing the big picture."
"And the big picture has Orabelle in it?" asked Myrtle.
Carter shrugged. "To be honest, I'm not sure. But it's an idea I'd like to pursue and see where it leads me. She's a nice woman and has always been very thoughtful. She'd chat with me sometimes when she delivered my mail and I was always so caught up with Pansy that I didn't really appreciate my conversations with Orabelle. I'm trying to change that now, if it's not too late."
Myrtle said, "I hope it works out. I do like Orabelle." She paused and then implemented a radical change of subject. "And I was so sorry to hear about Liam Hudson."
Carter blinked at the rapid shift in topic. "Liam Hudson?"
"You were friends, I believe."
Carter shook his head slowly. "I don't know him. That is, I know of him. But only that he's a local lawyer."
"You didn't have a recent violent argument with him?" asked Myrtle sweetly.
Carter colored again, but this time with anger. "What? Who said I did?"
"I don't really remember," prevaricated Myrtle. Old age was a useful thing when it came to excuses. People seemed to have such low expectations of one's capabilities.
"I did not have a violent argument with Liam Hudson. I barely even knew who the guy was. I probably wouldn't have been able to pick him out of a lineup. Why on earth would I have killed him?"
Myrtle said, "Well then, that's settled. It sounds like you were doing something else while Liam was killed. Right?"
"I certainly wasn't killing Liam at the time. But there I go again, not knowing when I might need an alibi. I really need to do a better job with that. I was at home with Charlie. Sleeping. And Charlie is quite the bed hog, too." He looked down and Charlie grinned up at Carter with her snaggle-toothed grin. "So that's it. Charlie is my alibi."
Carter looked glumly around him. "Well, I suppose I should be getting along home. Orabelle is definitely not here. Hope the two of you have a good day."
Charlie trotted ahead of Carter to the car and they left.
Myrtle and Miles sat thoughtfully on the bench, watching him drive off.
"I sure hope he doesn't chase Orabelle as much as he did Pansy," said Miles.
"Ditto. Although I don't have much hope considering what we just saw. He was awfully spiffy looking for his walk in the park."
Miles said, "And even dressed Charlie up."
Myrtle made a face. "Hard to make that dog pretty. But she seems sweet. I guess."
"What now?" asked Miles as Myrtle stood up and balanced for a moment on her cane.
"Now? We head back to my house to make sure the Nefarious Puddin didn't just lounge around and eat up my junk food instead of cleaning up the house."
But Puddin had apparently pulled herself together and done some cleaning before Dusty picked her up. The house, although not exactly sparkling, was definitely a lot better than it had been and even had a light, lemony scent to it.
Myrtle beamed at the dustless surfaces. "Excellent!" She did a quick walkabout and saw that, although not perfect, everything seemed a lot better than it was.
"Have you already done the crossword today?" asked Myrtle.
Miles nodded, but pulled a carefully-folded bit of paper out of his pocket. "I thought I might give the Sudoku a go today, though."
Myrtle raised her eyebrows. "That's adventurous of you. I remember the last time you tackled the Sudoku you said it stymied you."
"Yes, but it was a five-star puzzle. As a novice, I should never have attempted that." Miles settled onto the sofa and took a book off Myrtle's coffee table to put under the puzzle. She handed him a pencil.
"What's the level of the puzzle today?"
"Two-stars. I should be able to handle that," said Miles, although his expression was less than confident.
"Just don't tear the puzzle into tiny bits if you get frustrated like last time. I don't want anything messing up my house from its currently pristine state." Myrtle got out the crossword puzzle book from Perkins to pick up where she left off. She frowned at the puzzle.
Miles asked, "How are your puzzles going?"
"These make the ones in the Bradley newspaper look like children's games. These are cryptic, where the clues are deliberately obtuse and just hint at the answers. Each clue is a puzzle, itself. They might be anagrams or homophones or hidden words."
"But you're an expert at doing crosswords. You'll be fine." Miles scowled at the Sudoku, which was already not cooperating.
"I'm solving them, but it's taking me ages for each one. I'm starting to think Perkins's mother must be a genius."
There was a light tap on the door and Myrtle walked to the door. Peering out the window on the side of the door, she spun and said to Miles, "Orabelle!"
Miles put his puzzle down and stood up as Orabelle came in. She greeted Myrtle and gave Miles a wave when she saw him. "Hope it's okay that I'm running by. I just finished up my mail route for the day."
"Come on in," said Myrtle, opening the door wide. Orabelle settled next to Miles on the sofa. "Can I get you something to drink or eat?"
Orabelle waved the suggestion away brusquely. "No, thanks, I packed a lunch and ate on the route today. I just wanted to drop by to thank you both."
"Thank us?"
"Yes. For being kind to Tripp last night. It means a lot to me." Orabelle hesitated, her hands folded tightly together in her lap. "I don't like to talk about things like this, but you deserve an explanation."
Miles shook his head. "No, we don't."
Orabelle said, "All right, maybe you don't, but I'd like to give you one. I can't really make excuses for Tripp anymore. He's a grown man, not a teenager. I just love him dearly and I hate to see him facing such challenges."
Myrtle watched as Orabelle's eyes misted just slightly before she sternly got control of herself again. Orabelle sniffed loudly and then went on, "You see, Tripp has a problem with drugs. He had an issue when he was a young man, but we were able to get him to a good rehab program and he was able to kick it. But the last couple of years have been tough on him. He got divorced and lost his job and the next thing I knew, he was clearly using again." She shook her head.
Myrtle said, "That must have been very hard for you to witness. As a teacher, though, I saw the way drugs could get their hooks into the students. Tripp isn't alone."
Orabelle gave her a grateful look. She relaxed her shoulders into a slightly less-militant posture. "If anything good came out of last night, it was the fact Tripp now says he'll go back to rehab. Maybe it will work again. After all, it took years for him to relapse last time."
Orabelle gave them a hopeful look and Myrtle and Miles nodded.
Orabelle said, "We can hope, anyway. But it meant a lot to me that you two stayed there, talked to Tripp, and then offered him a ride home. I just feel terrible that I wasn't able to help."
"You were out?" asked Myrtle innocently.
Orabelle shook her head. "No. I was actually at home, playing the piano. I was trying to learn a piece I'm playing in next week's church service. I just about have it, except for this one particular part. I keep playing it over and over again, trying to nail the section." She sighed. "When Tripp went out, part of me was relieved. I knew I could practice the song over and over again without Tripp having to roll his eyes and put his earbuds in."
Myrtle said, "Miles and I were happy to give Tripp a lift. You've raised a fine man."
Orabelle narrowed her eyes as if trying to see if Myrtle was being sarcastic.
Myrtle continued, "You really have. Anyone can get addicted to drugs or alcohol. But Tripp is also a pleasant person to be around. You just don't know how many annoying people I deal with on an average day. He seems genuinely nice."
Miles nodded in agreement.
Myrtle added, "And he spoke fondly of you. He mentioned you'd always dreamed of traveling, for one."
Orabelle flushed as if a desire to travel was an embarrassing secret being revealed. She said briskly, "Well, it's one of those things on my bucket list. But not something I have to do. I'm perfectly content here in Bradley. And in a lot of ways, I've traveled the world from my armchair by reading books. It's certainly an inexpensive way to travel."
Miles cleared his throat. "Tripp seemed to think maybe you'd have really liked to travel. That perhaps you approached Darren about it."
Orabelle's shoulders were stiff again and her hands clenched together in her lap. "Tripp is right. I would still love to see Paris. All the books I've checked out from the library about France seem to just have whetted my appetite. I did go speak with Darren because I thought maybe he and I could go on a trip together. He made so much money from the sale of that painting and he wasn't a young man. I figured maybe he'd be just as interested in seeing the world as I was."
Miles gave her a sad look. "But he wasn't, was he?"
Orabelle shook her head. "No."
Miles said thoughtfully, "Darren always did seem like a homebody to me. He was so happy to stay inside and play chess or read a book."
"He turned me down right away. And I understood . . . in a way. Darren has never really been the big adventurer. I remember being amazed when he ended up in Boston years ago. Of course, he ended up right back here in Bradley. I thought it would be good for him, though, to get out of town and go on a trip—by himself, if that's what he wanted. But he was being fiercely protective of the money he'd made." She shook her head again. "Maybe he hadn't completely wrapped his head around the fact that he had money now. He was never one to make rash decisions. I think he wanted time to absorb the knowledge that he was financially secure and decide what to do next."
Orabelle gave a harsh laugh. "And the ironic thing was that he didn't have any time left to reflect. It wasn't fair."
"Did Darren leave you his estate?" asked Myrtle.
Orabelle nodded. "For the most part. And now the fact that I'll be able to travel after all doesn't even make me happy. It sort of leaves me with a bitter taste in my mouth." She paused. "It makes me sad."
"Did Darren also provide for Tripp?" Myrtle asked.
Orabelle said, "No. I guess he wanted me to dole out any money to Tripp. I'm sure he was worried about Tripp's addiction problems and didn't want to do anything to make them worse." She paused. "He did leave some money for Pansy, too."
"Really?" Myrtle and Miles chimed in together.
Orabelle smiled. "Darren always was a bit of a romantic. It's not a huge amount, but it's something. He always had a soft spot for a damsel in distress."
Miles asked, "Is that what Pansy is?"
"I suppose Pansy thinks so. And she was able to make Darren think the same thing. Anyway, like I said, it's not much but it should keep the wolf from her door."
Myrtle said slowly, "I did have a question for you, Orabelle. You know how I hear things sometimes."
Orabelle gave her a weary look. "How can you avoid hearing things? You're an active older lady in a gossipy small town."
"Yes. Anyway, I did hear that you engaged in some sort of an argument with Liam. I found that a little unusual. Liam was probably the attorney in charge of Darren's estate, wasn't he?"
Orabelle rubbed her eyes. "Oh, this town. You can see why sometimes I feel I want to escape. Apparently, someone has a bone to pick with me." She suddenly stopped looking tired and started looking cross. "You know, people in Bradley drive me crazy sometimes. But this is one rumor I can nip in the bud with your help."
Myrtle and Miles nodded.
Orabelle said, "It's just that I might, after many years, be finally embarking on a new relationship. It's really too early to tell."
Myrtle said with a smile, "We happened to run into Carter in the park before we came here. He was looking very dressed up for a walk in the park."
"So was Charlie," offered Miles. "She had a bow on."
Orabelle chuckled, looking pleased. "As if a bow could make that poor little dog look more attractive. She's sweet, though."
"He happened to mention he was hoping to run across you there. Carter seemed to know your routine very well," said Myrtle.
Orabelle nodded. "I deviated from it today, but only because I wanted to speak with you. Yes, he's the relationship I'm hoping might end up developing into something. He'd also like to travel. Maybe it's not too late to do all the things I put on my bucket list. Anyway, about Liam. I did argue with him, but only because I'd heard he might have something to do with Darren's death."
Myrtle narrowed her eyes. "You mean, that he was responsible?"
"Yes. Although I guess it was sort of a leap. Pansy mentioned Darren might have known something untoward about Liam, although she wasn't sure what or how he even knew. It made me wonder if maybe Liam had felt threatened by Darren somehow."
Miles said, "You're not saying that Darren was threatening?"
"I suppose I mean more that Darren found something out about Liam and Liam felt threatened simply because Darren knew about it. Anyway, I've been quite devastated by Darren's death." She paused and took a deep breath. Orabelle's voice shook just the slightest bit as she said, "Darren was the only family I had left, besides Tripp. He and I were very close. His death hit me harder than I could have imagined. So yes, I went over to see Liam and confronted him."
Myrtle said, "Surely, that wasn't a very wise thing to do, if you thought Liam had killed your brother."
"It definitely wasn't prudent. It's not the sort of thing I'd ordinarily have done. I acted completely on impulse."
Miles asked curiously, "How did Liam react?"
Orabelle snorted. "Oh, he was really appalled. He tried to hush me up, first. I thought for a minute he was actually going to put his hand over my mouth so no one could hear me. Then, as he listened to me, he turned white as a sheet. I have no idea what Darren uncovered, but it must have been major."
Myrtle said, "As a matter of fact, I did a little digging and found out a few things." She filled Orabelle in.
Orabelle said, "Well, no wonder he didn't want anyone to know about his past. And Red is sure his death wasn't suicide? It sure seems likely to me that Liam just couldn't stand the public humiliation and decided to leap from the window."
Myrtle said, "Red seemed sure. And Tripp did, too, as a matter of fact."
Orabelle nodded. "That's what Tripp told me. It's all very odd. I guess perhaps Liam made someone else angry with him and that person pushed him out the window." She sighed. "I suppose, aside from the fact his past was about to be revealed, he really wasn't someone I could picture killing himself. He was far too fond of himself for that." Orabelle stood abruptly and said, "I'm going to let you two finish up your puzzles. Thanks so much again for being there for Tripp last night. I owe you one."
Orabelle quickly walked to the door and out. Myrtle stared after her.
"Curiouser and curiouser," she said.