We told her what we'd learned and about the bullet hole in the skull. By the time we'd finished, she was slumped on the couch in a mix of shock and relief.
"I really didn't kill him?"
"You really didn't."
"Oh, thank the dear Lord."
Just then, Bill arrived back with champagne and a small wicker basket carefully packed with four long-stemmed champagne glasses, and for the next half hour we pushed murder and dead bodies out of our minds and toasted their happiness before saying goodbye and leaving them to call their families and friends with the good news.
"So we've established that the murder weapon wasn't a pitchfork, and it wasn't a Buick," Jack said when we'd gotten a block away. "What next?"
"I do need a new flower pot," I said slowly.
"What? Now?"
"They have flower pots at Dead End Hardware."
"Ah. Smart. So let's go talk to the Misters Peterson and find out whether they hated Earl enough to shoot him in the head."
"You think they'll just come right out and tell us if they do?"
Jack flashed his smile that had a lot of teeth. "I have ways of making people talk."
15
Emeril and Harold Peterson were both at work when we arrived at Dead End Hardware.
"Tess!" they both called out, smiling.
"You did a fine job as the Swamp Cabbage. That was a funny bit, rolling down the street like that," Emeril—his overalls had an E embroidered on the pocket—said.
"Yeah, Marvin never did anything exciting like that in his act," Harold—an embroidered H—chimed in.
"That was great, wasn't it?" Jack grinned at me and took a quick step back when I tried to elbow him.
Emeril nodded. "I vote Tess should be the Swamp Cabbage for life!"
I had to nip this in the bud.
"No! I mean, it wasn't part of the act. Those kids attacked me and… you know what? Never mind."
"Okay," Harold said agreeably, putting his hands in his pockets. "What can we do for you?"
"Whatever happened to Marvin, by the way?" Emeril looked at his brother. "Is he the one who runs the drive-in movies down to Daytona Beach?"
Jack laughed. "Oddly enough, we were just talking about this. No, Marvin drives the blood bank bus, now that he's a vampire. He couldn't wear the Swamp Cabbage costume anymore because he'd catch on fire."
"Oh, right, right," Harold said. "Bad for the kiddies."
"AndFrank Juniorruns the drive-in theater in Daytona Beach."
The Misters Peterson both nodded solemnly. "Oh, right? Frank. May he rest in peace," Emeril said.
"Someday," Harold intoned.
Jack's expression was pure fascination. "Why does everybody say 'someday' about Frank resting in peace?"
Emeril looked astonished. "Well, you wouldn't want him to rest in peace quite yet, would you?"
