Fortunately, when she'd handed the tissues to Tarleton, he appeared to have collected himself.
"Yes, it was a shock for me too, especially how it all played out. As I mentioned, I found our new neighbor a job with the bank. With his previous banking experience in Boston, it was only too easy to do so. But then, higher up the chain in the bank, they decided to make some changes. Neil is ... was ... quite a salesman. He could sell all sorts of bank products. I'd always felt that my role at the bank was more to be a friendly face—the community face of the bank," said Tarleton in a gruff voice. He struggled again to maintain control and stop the imminent flow of tears.
Miles asked, "Do you have any leads in terms of a new job? Or, considering the circumstances, can't you get your old job back? Now the bank needs a manager again."
Tarleton shook his head. "I was so upset when I was fired that I burned a few bridges. I had no idea there would be a vacancy in the position so soon. I've also heard from my old coworkers that the bank is planning to hire from without. Finding another banking job would be tough. There simply aren't a lot of high-level jobs available. Plus, there's the fact that I've lived in Bradley all my life. I'm not wanting to move away and start a new life at a different bank at sixty years of age. That's why I'm here today, Miss Myrtle. I've decided that I'm going to scale back my lifestyle and try to do a variety of different things to make my living here."
Myrtle frowned. She'd always thought that Tarleton had a relatively modest lifestyle. Scaling back was going to be tough. "What types of things are you looking to do?"
"Well, I was talking to Red and he mentioned that maybe you had some things around the house that I might be able to help you with. Small repairs and whatnot. Errands. Maybe even some mowing or yardwork," said Tarleton.
Myrtle said, "Well, not that I wouldn't want to outsource my yard to someone else, but I already have a yardman. I will admit that Red isn't great about coming over and fixing all the little things that need to be fixed here. That's probably why he mentioned it. I do have a small list of things I'd like done. Some are repairs, for instance, the spigot handle outside is broken, and I have a towel rack that's about to come off the wall at any instant. I'd also like a couple of pictures hung. Oh, and I think it's about time for the smoke detector batteries to be replaced."
Tarleton was looking more cheerful now. "That would be wonderful. How about errands? Red said that you don't drive."
Myrtle said, "Red would say that. I don't have a car, but I can drive. I'll keep you in mind if I need something." She paused. "I suppose Red also mentioned that I'm not made of money as a retired schoolteacher? I'm not sure what your going rate is."
Tarleton cleared his throat, looking uncomfortable about talking about money. This from a man who'd been a banker his entire life. "Red mentioned something about his subsidizing anything you wanted to have done. Considering, he said, he wasn't having to do the work, himself."
"That makes sense," said Myrtle. "Well, good. Would you like to start tomorrow?"
Tarleton flushed and said earnestly, "If there's something that I can fix and stay out of both of your way, I'd be happy to get started right now. I have a tool chest in the car."
Myrtle asked, "I'm sure that must have been expensive—getting a set of tools."
"Oh, no ma'am. I've had these tools all my adult life. I was always fiddling with things at my house, when I wasn't busy at the bank," said Tarleton. "My father was quite the handyman, and I grew up helping him fix things."
"I'd no idea you were so handy. All right, I'll come up with a list. We'll leave the living room out of the list so that Miles and I can watch our soap," said Myrtle.
Miles colored at this, which was the desired effect.
"I'll go get my things, then," said Tarleton.
"Before you get started, I did have one more question for you," said Myrtle. "I know that Neil must, understandably, not be your favorite subject, but I was wondering if you knew of anyone who might have wanted to kill him."
Tarleton blinked at her and then said, "Oh, that's right—you write for the newspaper. But you won't use my name?" His voice was anxious. "I'd rather not get on anyone's bad side right now, considering that I need to ask people for work."
"I never reveal my sources when they're off-the-record," said Myrtle with a sniff.
Tarleton nodded, as if he hadn't really expected any less from Myrtle. "All right, then. Let's just say that I've noticed a couple of odd things about Neil. As I mentioned, I took him under my wing when he arrived in Bradley; I found him a bank job and I introduced him around town. While I was introducing him, I noticed that he did a double-take when he saw Holt Kelly. And Holt didn't look all too pleased to see Neil, either."
"Really?" Myrtle's eyes gleamed with interest.
Miles frowned. "Holt Kelly? I don't think I know him."
"He's at the high school," said Myrtle. "He's the principal there, as a matter of fact."
"That's right. And when I asked Neil about it, he acted like he didn't know Holt at all—that he simply reminded him of someone else. But I knew differently because Holt had clearly recognized him, too. I don't know what's happened between them, but there's definitely something there," said Tarleton. "And there's one other thing, since you're letting me be confidential."
"What's that?" asked Myrtle.
"When Neil and I were working at the bank together, we had just closed up for the night and were heading for the parking lot. There was someone by Neil's car, waiting for him," said Tarleton slowly.
"And who was this person?" asked Myrtle.
"Adelaide Pound. Although Neil didn't look pleased to see her. Actually, he looked very annoyed."
Miles asked, "Did she appear to be there for bank business?"
"No. It seemed completely personal. It appeared to me that the two of them were having some sort of ... relationship," said Tarleton. He made a face. "That sounds awful for me to say. I don't like to gossip. But that's the truth of it."
Myrtle said, "Thanks for letting us know, Tarleton. I'll jot down a little list for you, since Red has you on retainer."
He smiled a relieved smile at her. "That would be wonderful. Thanks so much."
Tarleton walked out to get his tools and Myrtle said, "Now let's turn our show back on, or else we'll be completely lost."
Miles seemed uneasy. "It's not the end of the world if I don't watch it. I could go on home."
Myrtle said, "Don't be so self-conscious! Tarleton Fleming has enough on his mind to fret over your television viewing habits. And you know how soap operas are: if we miss the next half-hour, babies might have grown into five-year-olds and Malena might have gotten married and divorced seven or eight times. We have to keep up!"
So Myrtle and Miles ended up being caught back up into their show again while Tarleton did a couple of small jobs in the back of Myrtle's house.
The show ended and Myrtle and Miles chatted for a few minutes longer. Tarleton resurfaced from the back. "I've taken care of everything on your list, Miss Myrtle."
She followed him back and she said, "You've done very good work, too. I'd expect nothing less from you, though. I'll be sure to brainstorm more projects for you to help with."
"I appreciate that," said Tarleton warmly. "Take care, Miss Myrtle. You too, Miles." He took his leave.
Miles said, "Not that I don't like Tarleton, but aren't you a bit worried about having a suspect in your house?"
"Not when the suspect is Tarleton. I've known him his entire life. Besides, I think I can take him, Miles." She looked at her watch. "Are you about ready to head over to the basketball game, so that we can talk to Adelaide and find out what's going on?"
"I don't think I'm going to ever really be ready to head over to the basketball game. And, as a matter of fact, I'd really rather not go today. It looks like rain outside," said Miles.
Myrtle paused and then said, "You do realize that the basketball game is played indoors, don't you?"
"Of course I do. But we'll still get wet on the way, both in and out. We'd probably have to stand outside to buy tickets, too. Plus, this has already been a long day. You could always go, yourself, though."
Myrtle made a face. "This might be an occasion where it would be nice to have my sidekick with me, especially during the game. Somehow I can't fancy myself sitting in the bleachers by myself at a high school basketball game."
"Unimaginable," agreed Miles. "I'll check online and see if they're playing a home game tomorrow."
Fortunately, a quick check determined that there would be a home basketball game the very next day and at the same time.
Myrtle walked Miles out. "All right, then, I'll see you tomorrow. And I'll hold off on any investigating until then, too."
That late-afternoon and evening passed rather uneventfully for Myrtle, after her previous busyness. She wrote the story for Sloan and emailed it over to him. Then she ended up calling him to make sure he'd received the email and that the article would make it into the paper the following day.
Myrtle actually enjoyed a sound night's sleep, despite all the things on her mind. That is, she enjoyed a sound night's sleep until the sound of a cat crying woke her up.
"Pasha!" she'd gasped. Throwing on her robe and slippers, she hurried to the front door and flung it open.
There she saw a very self-satisfied Pasha with some sort of dead rodent at her feet. Myrtle sighed. "I wish you had more conventional ways of giving tokens of your affection, Pasha. Some cats purr and rub against their owners or sit in their laps. You do some of that, and I wish you'd do more. Anything but dead chipmunks."
Myrtle wondered if Pasha's gift was something that could be added to Tarleton's list of things to do, but then decided that might be considered rude. She walked back in, carefully closing the door behind her, and walked into the backyard for a shovel. When she returned, Pasha's present, and Pasha herself, were gone. Pasha was clearly exasperated by Myrtle's inappropriate reaction to the present.
Myrtle picked up the newspaper and scanned the front page. Sure enough, there was her story. She smiled to herself.
She spent the next few hours waiting for the rest of Bradley to wake up. Myrtle worked on her crossword puzzle, which she was able to complete in thirty minutes. Then she had a large breakfast of scrambled eggs and sausage links, complete with a bowl of grits. Although sometimes other meals could be tricky, Myrtle had mastered the art of making breakfast.
After checking her emails, she glanced at the clock again and sighed. Still too early for the stores to be open or for people to really be about. That was annoying. She liked it when she got emails praising her articles in the newspaper.
Myrtle was startled by the doorbell, having decided that no one in town was awake. She peeked through the window beside her front door and smiled when she saw Elaine and Jack there. Jack was pulling a red wagon that was full of various plants and even a couple of small shrubs.
She opened the door and said, "Look who's here! Good morning!"
Jack gave her a hug around her legs and seemed on the point of pulling the wagon full of plants right into Myrtle's living room until Elaine stopped him. "These are outside plants, remember, Jack?" She smiled at Myrtle. "I figured it wasn't too early to come by. Jack decided to have an early start this morning."
"Well, whenever he does, he's welcome to come over and play with his Nana. Jack and I have a lot in common," she said. "The early bird gets the worm, doesn't he, Jack?"
Elaine said, "I thought I'd go ahead and get started in your yard before it gets too hot out."
Myrtle still had that uneasy feeling that she always had whenever Elaine embarked on a new hobby. They never really ended well. But Elaine was a member of garden club. With any luck, this would go better than the other disastrous hobbies had.
"That sounds wonderful, Elaine. Although I know there are a lot of gnomes out there to work around, plus the fact that the ground is probably soggy from the rain we had last night," said Myrtle.
"Oh, that's all right. The gnomes will keep Jack and me company out there. He loves them." Elaine paused. "Remind me again what the gnomes are a result of?"
Myrtle said, making a face, "Red wants to take over my bill paying. He thinks I'm not paying my bills on time—there was simply some sort of mix-up or misdelivered mail that kept one bill from getting paid."
"It would be nice if Red would take over our bill paying," said Elaine with a sigh. "I'm the one in charge of that. Well, if it makes you feel better, he hasn't said anything to me about it. Maybe he's forgotten, what with the case and all."
"Speaking of the case, have you heard anything from Red about the investigation? Any insights?"
Elaine said ruefully, "I believe that Red thinks I'm a mole. He's keeping this investigation pretty quiet because he knows I tell you all sorts of things."
"Hm. That's a pity. Well, I guess I'll just have to pump Lieutenant Perkins for information when I have my meal with him," said Myrtle a little grandly.
"Perkins? I didn't know y'all had plans. Is he ... easy to talk to?" asked Elaine. "He always seems sort of stern and quiet to me."
"He's both of those things, but once you get to know him, he loosens up a little bit. Or, at least, I hope that's true. It's nice to get little snippets of information and you'd think that would be the least Red and Perkins could do for me, considering all the cases I've solved for them," said Myrtle in an irritated tone.
Elaine said, "You know, there is one thing. I heard Red on the phone and he said something about running by to see Holt Kelly. I thought that was sort of weird. The high school principal has something to do with Neil Albert? Neil didn't even have children. But it was definitely to do with the murder and not some separate issue."
Myrtle said, "Believe it or not, I'd already found out that Holt might somehow be connected with Neil, but it's good to have it verified."
Jack was getting restless and Myrtle stooped down. "Would you like to see if we can find some cookies in my kitchen?" She glanced up at Elaine. "Is that all right? It's never too early for cookies, is it?"
"Never. I'd like one myself, if you find them," said Elaine with a grin. Once they'd had a cookie break, Elaine and Jack set out into Myrtle's yard.