Kappy King and the Pickle Kaper Page 17

  * * *

  Jimmy stayed behind to read to with Martha Peachey. Kappy even heard him promise to come back later in the week and help her clean out her chicken coop. It was a nasty chore, but he seemed to be looking forward to it. He loved animals that much. Even chickens.

  “I think we should swing by Mabel Mast’s house first, then we’ll try to find Judy Ames,” Edie said as Kappy pulled her buggy onto School Yard Road and headed toward the highway.

  “If she’s working tonight, we could just order pizza,” Kappy quipped.

  “Great idea.”

  “I was joking,” Kappy said.

  “Never joke about pizza,” Edie returned.

  It seemed to take an hour to get just a few miles down the road. It had to be because Edie told her how much quicker it would have been if they had only driven her car.

  “That’s her house there.” Edie pointed to a modest-size house with a red front door. The siding was a gray-blue and the trim white. All in all, it was a cute dwelling, well kept, with flowers blooming in planters and the beds that lined the front.

  “That must be the car.” Kappy cocked her head in a side nod.

  “Okay, what’s the plan?”

  “Plan? I don’t have a plan. If we needed one maybe we should have come up with it before we headed over here.”

  “Okay, here’s what we do. You go knock on the door, and I’ll stay here and look at Mabel’s car.”

  “Why can’t I stay and look at the car?”

  “Because you’ve got to knock on the door.”

  Kappy opened her mouth to protest, then stopped.

  Just then the front door opened and a small, round woman stepped onto the porch. She cupped one hand over her eyes to shade them as she scrutinized her visitors.

  “Too late. She’s seen us.”

  “Great,” Kappy muttered.

  “Go see if she has any produce to sell.”

  “It’s Sunday. She can’t sell on Sunday.”

  “She’s not Amish.”

  “I am, and I can’t buy on Sunday. You should go. She’ll talk to you since Mennonites don’t shun.”

  Edie rolled her eyes and let out a small growl. “Fine. But give that car a once-over.”

  “How—” Kappy was going to ask how she was going to justify examining Mabel’s car, but Edie was already on her way to the door. It wasn’t like she could crawl out the back of the buggy to avoid being seen. Well, she supposed she could, but she wasn’t going to.

  She could water her horse, though. That was a neighborly service that wouldn’t raise any eyebrows, and the water trough was just to the other side of the car. The perfect excuse to walk around it.

  Kappy hopped down from the buggy and waved toward the house. “Water my horse?”

  Mabel waved in return, and Kappy set about backing up the horse and buggy to position the mare to get a drink. She wasn’t following the conversation at the porch, but she prayed that Edie kept talking. She needed all the time she could get.

  She looked back toward the house. So far, so good. Edie was talking to Mabel, though Kappy couldn’t hear the actual conversation. Things appeared to be going smoothly. Mabel hadn’t stomped her foot and pointed her finger toward the road in a “get off my land” sort of fashion. Instead, she turned and led Edie toward the side porch where tables of produce were displayed.

  The minute their backs were turned, Kappy hunched down and hurried around the side of the car. It was a nice car, she supposed. Clean, as if Mabel had just had it washed. Maybe the day before at the church car wash? Was she hiding something? Kappy hadn’t seen her at the car wash, but they couldn’t hang around the entire day. That would have been terribly suspicious.

  Kappy popped up a bit to check on Edie and Mabel. They were still under the porch covering. Kappy crouched back out of sight and started looking at the car. She went around it twice. There were a few weird spots on the fenders that looked a little like they had been pushed in by a giant hand, but since both sides were like that she figured it was supposed to be that way. There were chips out of the paint close to the door handle and a small dent that looked like it had been hit with a golf ball from the side. But no marks that looked as if the car had hit a buggy—Amish or grocery.

  “Okay,” Edie called. “Thanks so much. These are going to be great tonight.”

  Kappy duck-walked around the car and managed to climb back into the buggy before Edie.

  “Come again.” Mabel waved, her brow smooth. She wasn’t suspicious. Whew. That was a relief.

  Kappy waved in return, then gasped when she caught sight of Edie. “What do you have?”

  “Red peppers, strawberries, and tomatoes.”

  “Isn’t that sort of . . .”

  “Red?” Edie supplied.

  “I was going to say random, but red works.”

  “I’m hoping I can get Jimmy to try some of it. I read about it in a book. It’s called ‘food expansion.’ ”

  “And he’s okay with this?”

  “I didn’t say that, but I’m tired of making two meals or eating what he eats. It can’t be good for him.”

  Kappy shrugged. “He’s made it this far.”

  “True, but I would feel better if he ate more fruits and veggies.”

  Spoken like the overprotective sister that she was. And what an overwhelming task: trying to get him to eat foods of other colors. Tan was his hue of choice and red was definitely out. The only thing green Kappy had ever seen him eat was a sliced apple. And it could be argued that it would have been as beige as the rest of his diet if someone had cut off the skin.

  No wonder Edie felt so frustrated with the changes in her life. As long as Kappy had known Jimmy, she’d never seen him branch out while eating.

  “Where to?” She stopped the buggy at the end of the lane that led to Mabel the Mennonite’s house.

  “We could swing by the pizza place and see if Judy Ames is working.”

  Kappy nodded. “Maybe she’ll be there and we can get a look at her car.”

  “That’s the plan.” Edie grinned. “And speaking of cars . . .”

  “Nothing,” Kappy said. “Well, nothing big. There were a few scratches, but nothing that looked like it had been in a bad accident.”

  “The bad part is, it’s been long enough since the accident that a good body-and-paint man could have fixed it and had it back to her.”

  Kappy thought about it a minute. “I suppose. Are we wasting our time running down these cars?”

  “Not everyone would be as neat and orderly as Mabel.”

  “True. Jah.”

  “So maybe they still haven’t taken their car in to be repaired.”

  “We should be so fortunate.” The words had no sooner left her mouth than a blue car whizzed past them from behind. The honking horn trailed behind the vehicle as it sped out of sight.

  “Was that... ?” Edie asked.

  “I believe so,” Kappy replied.

  “And was that a dark-haired girl driving?”

  “Looked like it to me.” Though the car had been moving kind of fast.

  “Then follow her!”

  Kappy flicked the reins over the mare’s back and urged her into a trot. She only gave a fleeting thought to what they would do once they caught up to the car.

  “Faster.” Edie slapped her hands against her thighs. “We’ve got to go faster.”

  The blue car was getting smaller and smaller, then it disappeared over the next hill.

  “Faster,” Edie said.

  “I’m going as fast as I can.” Any faster and they would flip over at the first bump in the road.

  “But—” Edie sputtered. She raised up from her seat, peering off into the distance for the dark-haired girl driving a blue car. It was almost out of sight. And then it was gone. Edie flopped back onto the bench seat. “I told you we should have brought the car.”

  True, if they had driven Edie’s car they might have been able to catch up with the blue car, but
the thought of driving pell-mell down the road sent shivers down Kappy’s spine. She shuddered.

  “Did you get a good look at the car? Was it damaged?”

  Edie sighed with frustration. “No. She went by too fast.”

  Kappy slowed her horse and silently promised the faithful mare an extra scoop of oats tonight as thanks for all her effort today. “Now what?”

  Her friend gave a one-shoulder shrug. “I guess the pizza parlor. Let’s see if Judy Ames has anything to offer.”

  But Judy wasn’t at work. Or rather her car wasn’t. Most likely she was out delivering pizzas.

  “You don’t suppose it was an accident? You know, like the whole thirty-minutes-or-it’s-free policy so many pizza delivery places have.”

  Kappy frowned. “I’m not sure what that means.”

  “You really have to get out more.” Edie shifted in her seat as if gearing up for her story. They were still parked outside of Frank’s Original Italian Pizza. “If the pizza driver doesn’t make it to your house within thirty minutes of you ordering, then you get it free.”

  She knew her eyes were as wide as saucers, but she couldn’t contain her surprise. “Are you kidding? And Frank’s OIP has such a policy?”

  “It’s right there on the sign.”

  Kappy looked back at the building. The only sign she saw was the open sign in the window flanked by two flyers. One announced that Bettie Hershberger had pickles for sale and the other told of a battle of the garage bands the following week. Neither one was of much interest to Kappy. And neither one said one word about free pizza.

  “Not that sign. That one.” Edie pointed to the marquee sign with change-out letters. Sure enough. THIRTY MINUTES OR IT’S FREE.

  “Let me get this straight. You’re saying that Judy was going to be late so she ran Sally June off the road in order to keep from giving away a free pizza?” Kappy shook her head.

  That was the worst one yet. There was a lot of evil in the world, this she knew. But someone so evil that a pizza was more important than another’s life? She couldn’t fathom.

  “I can’t believe that,” Kappy concluded.

  “Yeah, well, it sounded better inside my head.”

  “Besides, it was barely lunchtime when we went to pick up Jimmy, which means Sally June was killed even before that. Who orders a pizza at ten in the morning?”

  “Good point.” Edie blew her rose-colored bangs out of her eyes, something Kappy had noticed she did when she was frustrated.

  “Now what?” Kappy asked.

  Edie shook her head. “Home, I guess, unless you want to see if we can find her on her delivery.”

  Kappy shook her head. “That doesn’t sound like a good way to spend our time.”

  “I’ve got it.” Edie snapped her fingers. “We’ll go home and order a pizza. With any luck, she’ll come to us.”

  “Good plan. I think.” Kappy pulled the buggy onto the road and started for home. They were almost to the cemetery when Edie’s phone chimed. She pulled it out of her shirt and tapped on the screen.

  Kappy would never understand the Englisch love of cell phones. They seemed to be more interruptive and distracting than anything else.

  “Oh, my stars. Pull over.”

  “What is it?”

  “Pull over.”

  Kappy turned her buggy into the packed gravel lot of the cemetery, stopped the mare, then turned to face Edie. “Tell me.”

  Edie sucked in a deep breath and pushed her bangs off her forehead, another sign that she was agitated. As if her trembling fingers weren’t enough.

  “Mr. Text just texted me again. Listen to this. It’s not the car. Look for the repair.”

  Chapter 17

  By Thursday, Edie, Kappy, and Jimmy were all sick of pizza. Well, Jimmy was okay with it as long as they ordered thin crust with chicken, onions, and Alfredo sauce. It wasn’t bad the first time, but after four nights of eating the same non-pizza pizza, Kappy was ready to throw in the towel and declare Judy Ames completely innocent of any crime. Four nights of pizza and not once had she been their delivery driver.

  “I think we should go in and talk to her boss,” Edie said as they drove Jimmy to work on Thursday. “What if she’s on vacation? Or out sick?”

  “On vacation . . .” Kappy mused. “That would be almost an admission of guilt.”

  “Admission?” Edie asked.

  “Yesterday’s word,” Kappy replied.

  “If she’s on vacation, she might not ever return,” Edie said.

  “Maybe not if she knows we’re looking for her.”

  “And if she’s guilty.”

  “That’s a lot of ifs,” Jimmy commented from the back seat. And he was right. That was a lot of ifs, a lot of questions that when answered might change everything.

  “Has Bettie Hershberger been in to ask Mose about selling her pickles in his shop?”

  Jimmy made a face. “Why would Mose want to sell her pickles?”

  Edie shrugged, her hands loose on the wheel. “I don’t know. Helping out another member of the community?”

  Jimmy vigorously shook his head. “That’s yuck. Pickles and bait.”

  “Mose sells honey,” Edie pointed out.

  Jimmy stopped. “That’s different.”

  “How so?” Edie glanced at him in the rearview mirror.

  “Just is,” Jimmy grumbled.

  “I thought we had crossed Bettie off our list.”

  “No one’s off our list. In fact, I’m wondering if there’s not a few people we should add to it.”

  “Like who?”

  “I don’t know,” Edie said. “But we’re missing something here.”

  “Maybe if we could figure out what Mr. Text means by find the repairs.”

  “Yeah, how do we find the repairs without finding the car?” Edie turned her car into the lot at Peachey Bait Shop.

  “The honey is Mose’s,” Kappy said.

  Edie stopped the car. “What?”

  “The honey belongs to Mose. He has the bees and everything.”

  Jimmy looked from one of them to the other, then got out of the car. “Pick me up at three, jah, Edie?”

  “Yeah.” Edie’s reply was absent at best.

  Jimmy turned to Kappy.

  “I’ll make sure she’s here.”

  “Thanks, Kappy.” Jimmy smiled and skipped into the bait shop.

  “But there’s no place that Bettie has to sell her pickles,” Kappy said.

  “They have that stand there at the house.”

  “But she needs reach if she’s going to convert the whole valley.”

  “True.” Edie nodded.

  “So we’re back to pickles being the motive.”

  “When you put it that way . . .”

  That was the biggest problem of all. They couldn’t find a motive. Sally June had no enemies, she was a fine member of the community, a perfect candidate to join the church next fall.

  Without a clear motive, they were running around almost chasing themselves as they tried to figure out not only who but why. And was the killer after Jonah or Sally June?

  They both jumped as a car horn sounded next to them.

  Kappy sucked in a calming breath as Edie slapped a hand over her heart. “Jack Jones, that was totally uncalled for.”

  He smiled. Even through two car windows Kappy could tell that the ever-present shadow still darkened his cheeks.

  “How’s your investigation going, Detective?”

  He glanced away, then looked back with a shrug. “As well as can be expected.”

  Kappy had a feeling that meant not well at all.

  “Any new clues?” Edie asked.

  “You’re not . . . investigating on your own, are you?” Kappy stared at her hands, unable to look at Jack and tell an outright lie.

  Edie had no such problem. She blew out a breath, her lips vibrating with the motion. “Of course not. What would we be investigating?”

  “I hear things, you know. Thi
s town is small. The whole valley is small.”

  “Don’t I know it,” Edie muttered.

  “I thought you wanted our help,” Kappy said.

  “Listen,” Jack said on an exhale. “I can’t stop you from poking around. Even if I tried, you would probably do it anyway. So at least do me this favor: If you find anything, let me know. The longer this case goes unsolved, the harder it will be to solve it.”

  * * *

  “What do you think about that?” Kappy asked after Jack had pulled away.

  “I think he has no leads.”

  “Maybe we should tell him about the texts,” Kappy mused.

  “Why are you so gung-ho about giving him my phone?”

  “I don’t know.” Kappy shrugged. “I guess I sort of feel sorry for him.”

  “Well, stop. He’s trained to do this and if he can’t find out what we have, that’s his problem.”

  “I suppose so.”

  “I know so. Besides—”

  “I don’t want them to take my phone.” Edie and Kappy said the words simultaneously.

  “Yeah, I might have mentioned that a time or two.”

  “Just a couple,” Kappy said with a laugh.

  “I’ve got an idea.” Edie bit her lip, her eyes sparkling with something akin to excitement.

  “Jah?”

  “We’ve got three primary suspects, right?”

  “Jah.” Mabel, Delilah, and Judy. The women.

  “Mabel is pretty much cleared, right?”

  “If she didn’t have her car repaired before we went to see her.”

  Edie half turned in her seat. “That’s the thing. Any of them could have already had their car fixed before now. So we check out the body shops. See if anyone has brought in a car fitting that description to be repaired.”

  “Maybe that’s what Mr. Text meant by the repairs.”

  Edie nodded. “That’s exactly what I’m thinking.”

  * * *

  Blue Sky boasted two main body shops. Edie and Kappy’s plan was simple: Visit both of them.

  Body by Black was the closest of the two, and they went there first.

  Edie pulled to a stop in their asphalt parking area and frowned at the sign overhead. “It sounds more like a personal trainer than someone who works on cars.”