Part 9 (1/2)

One corner of Mary Lou's mouth pulled into a wry smile. ”It would be easier, wouldn't it? I mean, thinking that you're cursed, and that's why bad things happen to you. Or you're somehow blessed and that's why you're successful. If you believed that, then you wouldn't have to accept the fact that there are people who actually choose to do evil things to other people.”

”And you think someone chose to do this to Angela?”

Mary Lou's gaze snapped to mine. ”Well, obviously. Someone killed her.”

”But you don't think it was random. You think it was planned. Why do you think that, Mary Lou?”

She set her cup on the worktable. ”Well, I can't say for sure. Believe me, if I could, I'd go right to the police with the information. But it does make you wonder, doesn't it? About what's in people's hearts. About their motives.”

”Did anyone you know have a motive to kill Angela?”

Mary Lou lifted her teacup and took a sip. Over the rim of her cup, her gaze flickered my way. ”You know there was bad blood between Angela and Susan O'Hara?”

”I heard something about that, yeah.”

”Well...” Mary Lou set down her cup. ”Maybe Susan shouldn't have been so convinced she lost out. You know, where Larry is concerned.”

I wasn't sure what Mary Lou was getting at.

Unless...

I put down my cup, too, the better to concentrate on my guest. ”You're saying that Susan had a chance to get Larry back. Because...”

Mary Lou scooted forward on the stool. ”Well, I don't know all the details because I could only hear some of it, but...” She leaned nearer. ”It happened the afternoon Angela was killed. I was in Larry's hardware store picking up a few things. It's a big, old-fas.h.i.+oned sort of store. You know, lots of aisles, lots of inventory. I was the only customer there. Larry was up by the cash register and I was by the plumbing supplies. That's way in the back of the store. I'm sure that's why Angela didn't see me when she came in.”

Something that felt very much like hope blossomed in my heart. Oh, I didn't expect Mary Lou to hand me the solution to this case on a silver platter. But-finally-I was about to hear information. Information about the day Angela died.

I didn't want to scare Mary Lou. Or make her think I was some kind of weirdo. I controlled my curiosity, and my voice, when I asked, ”She was shopping?”

”More like she was looking to bust heads.” Mary Lou gave me a steady look. ”Namely, Larry's head.”

”Really? But they were-”

”Madly in love? Yeah, that's what everyone in town thought. Including Susan, which is why she's been so upset all these months. She couldn't believe Larry dumped her for Angela. But if Susan had been in the hardware store that day...” Mary Lou whistled low under her breath.

And I could only pretend to be semi-interested for so long. I leaned forward, too. ”What happened?”

”Well, like I said...” Mary Lou settled herself more comfortably. ”I was the only person in the store, and Angela didn't see me when she walked in. That would explain why she came in spitting fire.”

”You saw her? From where you were at the back of the store?”

”Didn't need to see her. Didn't have to.” Mary Lou shook her head. ”I heard her.”

”And she said?”

Mary Lou laughed. ”What didn't she say! The first words I heard after the front door banged shut behind her were something like, 'Larry, we need to talk.' And you have to admit, that doesn't sound like much, except for the way she said it.”

As if reliving the moment, Mary Lou got quiet. A second later, a s.h.i.+ver snaked over her shoulders. ”There was venom in her voice, that's for sure. That's what got me to sit up and take notice, so to speak.”

”So you...”

Mary Lou's cheeks got dusky. ”I moved up closer to the front of the store, of course. So I didn't miss a word.”

”And Angela still didn't see you?”

”She didn't. And honestly, I think Larry forgot all about me being there. But then, I got the impression Angela blindsided him. He greeted her like everything was normal. Asked how she was. Told her she looked pretty that day.”

I remembered Angela's outfit-the sweatpants, the T-s.h.i.+rt, the Crocs-and decided right then and there that Larry must have been one special boyfriend. ”What did Angela say to that?” I asked.

”She said that Larry should quit it with the bulls.h.i.+t.” Mary Lou nodded. ”I know, that doesn't sound like much. But if you knew Angela, you'd know she never talked like that. But it's exactly what she said. Bulls.h.i.+t. And when Larry tried to ask what she was talking about...well, that's when all proverbial h.e.l.l broke loose.”

”She got mad?”

”That's putting it mildly.”

”But did she...” I wanted to make sure I got as much information as I could out of Mary Lou, so I phrased my question carefully. ”Did she say why she was angry at Larry?”

She shook her head. ”He asked. A couple times. And she kept saying the same thing. That he should know what she was talking about. That she couldn't believe it herself, but that she'd been through it over and over and that now she was sure.”

”Of what?”

Mary Lou shrugged. ”Unfortunately, another customer came in, and Larry ushered Angela into the back office. While they were in there, I rushed out of the store as fast as I could. I couldn't bear the thought of either of them realizing I'd heard what I heard. I mean, it would have been so embarra.s.sing. For both of them!”

Suddenly, those pictures that had been taken down off the wall at Angela's house made a whole lot more sense. ”She was angry,” I told myself. ”Angry enough to rip his pictures off the wall.”

Mary Lou confirmed this. ”I kind of waited around in the parking lot for a little while after I left the store,” she said. ”I hoped Angela would come out. I wouldn't have told her I knew what happened in the store, but I thought I could...oh, I don't know. I guess I thought if I just tried to pretend we'd just run into each other and be friendly and engage her in conversation, it might help.”

”But she didn't come out.”

”Not while I was there. That other customer came and went and I figured...well, I guess I figured that would give Angela and Larry a chance to talk a little more. I didn't want to go in and interrupt. I figured they'd work things out.”

I wondered if they did.

”You never said anything to Larry?” I asked Mary Lou. ”Not even at the funeral?”

”Oh, good heavens, how could I?” She fanned her flaming cheeks with one hand. ”He was so darned broken up at the wake. And at the funeral, the poor man could barely hold himself together. I knew what that meant. He and Angela had settled their differences. Whatever they were. Otherwise, he wouldn't have looked so terribly unhappy.”

She was right, and I told Mary Lou as much. Still...

”That explains why Angela looked so terrible when she came here to the b.u.t.ton Box,” I said. ”And why she never called to say she was on her way, either. The poor woman was too upset. But if she and Larry had already made up...”

Mary Lou looked at me hard. ”What are you saying? That you don't think they made peace?”

”If they did, Angela would have been happy, and she wouldn't have looked as miserable as she did when she walked in here that evening. And she wouldn't have talked about how she hoped once she gave away the charm string, the bad things in her life might be reversed. She wasn't talking about the attempted break-in at her house. Or that fire in her kitchen. She was talking about breaking up with Larry. She thought it was the fault of the charm string, and once it was out of her life, she thought maybe they could get back together again. She wouldn't have said any of that. Not if she and Larry had already kissed and made up.”

”You're right.” Mary Lou looked at her watch and slipped off the stool. ”And I have to get going. Thanks for taking those b.u.t.tons off my hands. Maybe I'll see you around Ardent Lake sometime.”