Death of a Suitor Read online

  “No. Out, like they were definitely together.”

  “And you’re sure it wasn’t Miles?”

  “Yes. Eloise reached out and put her hand on his and squeezed it. And then he gave her a kiss.”

  Myrtle said flatly, “Well, that definitely wasn’t Miles. Miles doesn’t believe in public displays of affection. Who was this man? Did you recognize him?”

  Elaine nodded. “It was Jax Jackson.”

  Myrtle gave a low whistle. Jax was an attractive older man with a full beard and a rakish smile. He was tall and full of life.

  “I think that’s very shabby of Eloise! Imagine cheating on a kind, sweet man like Miles.” Myrtle fumed.

  Elaine said, “I know. Maybe break it to him gently.”

  “I’ll do no such thing! I’m planning on giving him as much ammunition as possible so he’ll actually break up with her. I’m not going to hold back,” said Myrtle grimly.

  Elaine glanced at her watch and took a last big gulp of coffee. “Okay, that’s it for me. Hope you have a good rest of your day, Myrtle.”

  Myrtle gave them both hugs although she was a little absentminded while she did so. She couldn’t resist immediately letting Miles know so she gave him a call.

  He must have fallen asleep because his voice was groggy when he answered. “Hmm?” he asked blearily.

  “Elaine was just over here and you’ll never believe what she said.”

  Miles said, “Jack did something cute? Or smart?”

  “Of course not, Miles. That wouldn’t be extraordinary at all. Jack is always doing something cute and smart. No, she told me that when she was out yesterday, she saw Jax Jackson and Eloise having an intimate lunch together. Kissing and handholding and whatnot.”

  Miles was quiet for a few moments. “Was she sure about that? Jax goes out with plenty of people. In fact, I thought he was seeing Marigold Pratt right now.”

  “Marigold Pratt is married.”

  “Yes, but that hasn’t seemed to stop Jax,” said Miles.

  “Maybe he’s seeing both of them. The point is that Elaine was absolutely certain of what and who she saw. She was planning on not saying anything because she was afraid your feelings would be hurt.”

  Miles said wryly, “Which is entirely the problem. My feelings aren’t hurt.”

  “Precisely. And they would be if you cared about Eloise.”

  “My pride might be hurt a little, though,” muttered Miles.

  “Your pride should know better than to take its cues from Eloise. You have plenty of other things to be proud of.”

  Miles said, “It might be helpful if you were to name a few. Just to help me bounce back from this a little.”

  “Well, you’ve become much better at chess.”

  “That’s true,” said Miles. His voice brightened.

  “You’re very tidy. I bet most single men don’t have floors that sparkle.”

  “I’m not sure I really feel pride in that, though,” said Miles.

  “And you’re a very good friend,” said Myrtle as if it had just occurred to her. “You’re always very thoughtful.”

  “Thank you, Myrtle.”

  “You’re welcome. Now go break up with Eloise. I know how you like to procrastinate things that you don’t want to do.”

  Miles groaned.

  “Just phone her up. She always has her phone with her. I know this because it’s always going off with that annoying ringtone.”

  Miles said, “I don’t think breaking up with someone on the phone is a very nice thing to do. And you just said that I was a good friend and very thoughtful.”

  “For heaven’s sake! Just phone her and ask her to meet you somewhere. She’s the one who’s not valuing your relationship enough, after all. It shouldn’t be that much of a hardship to cut the cord.”

  Miles sighed. “All right. I’ll call and see if we can have breakfast together. I’ll get back to you later.” And he rang off.

  Satisfied, Myrtle started humming to herself in a very off-key fashion while she tidied up her house. Then she finished her crossword puzzle and headed off to the grocery store for more orange juice. Red had seen to it that she didn’t have a car some time ago, so when she went to the store on solo trips, she made sure that she was just getting one or two things so she could easily carry them back.

  Near the grocery store, she spotted Miles and Eloise having breakfast at a table next to the window inside Bo’s Diner. They appeared to be having a fabulous time together. Miles, in the middle of laughing, glanced out the window and saw Myrtle’s scowling face. He quickly sobered up.

  Myrtle stalked into the grocery store and found the orange juice. She also remembered she was a little low on peanut butter, so she got that as well. The bag was already going to be a bit heavy, so she stopped there and headed to the cash register.

  When she passed by the diner again, Eloise was no longer there and Miles was standing glumly outside. He reached out a hand and Myrtle gave him the grocery bag.

  “Did you drive here?” she asked.

  “No, I walked. I wanted to clear my head.”

  “Did that work?” asked Myrtle.

  “Not particularly.”

  They walked in silence for a few moments before Myrtle asked, “So what happened at the diner?”

  Miles sighed. “It became very melodramatic.”

  “Things must have deteriorated quickly. When I was going by on my way to the store, you both looked quite jolly.”

  “Yes, but your expression reminded me what I was supposed to be doing. I managed an awkward segue to the subject of Jax.” Miles switched the heavy grocery bag from one arm to the other. “I told her that I thought she and I needed to stop seeing each other but to continue being friends.”

  “Although hopefully not the type of friend that bursts into the house in the middle of the night and breaks up puzzle solving.”

  Miles nodded. “I think I made it clear that we weren’t going to be spending a lot of time together. I didn’t want to have a halfway relationship. Actually, I don’t think I want to have a relationship at all right now. It certainly makes life a lot more complicated and I’m at the time of my life where I like things to be simple.”

  “What did she say about Jax?” asked Myrtle curiously.

  “Oh, she admitted it right away. Blushed, as a matter of fact.”

  Myrtle said, “She couldn’t have been too surprised that you found out. After all, this is a small town . . . you can’t just be canoodling with someone in the middle of downtown and not have people know about it.”

  “Apparently, they’ve had an on-again, off-again relationship for a long time. Anyway, she did act rather defensive at first.” Miles looked uncomfortable. “She decided to throw some of my own faults back at me. Eloise was being rather loud and I have the feeling she was overheard. It was quite crowded in the diner at the time.”

  Myrtle quirked her eyebrows. “What were your faults?”

  “Do I really have to catalog them?”

  “Well, we just listed your attributes a little while ago. It seems fair to consider your faults now, too.”

  Miles said, “I’m not sure they were really even faults. They were just things she didn’t like—aspects of me that didn’t work for her.”

  “Such as?”

  Miles said, “Well, she thinks I’m very quiet.”

  “That’s definitely not a fault and rather rude of her to say it was.” Myrtle’s eyes flashed.

  Miles said, “Again, it was just something that she didn’t care for. Eloise was always trying to get me to go out with her to a friend’s get-together or a movie or to get ice cream. She didn’t seem to understand my interest in puttering around the house, or doing puzzles, or reading my books.”

  “Non-readers are always trouble,” said Myrtle darkly. “What else did she think was wrong with you?”

  Miles gave her a sideways look. “That I kept odd company.”

  “Was she talking about me?” Myrtl
e was now quite indignant.

  “I guess so. She could also have meant Wanda and Crazy Dan. Although I wouldn’t say I keep company with them very often. But according to her, I have a real menagerie of friends.”

  “Hmm.” Myrtle narrowed her eyes. “I believe you’ve had a lucky escape, Miles. A very lucky one. Shall we watch Tomorrow’s Promise when we get back to my house? I can rewind it to the beginning of the show.”

  And so, to Myrtle’s delight, the rest of the day progressed precisely as planned. They watched their show with no interruptions. They had sandwiches in the early afternoon with tomatoes that Miles had picked from his backyard garden. They sat out on Myrtle’s dock for a while and listened to a mockingbird and tried to count the number of songs he was singing. It was a thoroughly delightful, unextraordinary, very quiet day. The kind of day that Eloise wouldn’t have liked—which made Myrtle enjoy the day even more.

  Miles left for home in the late-afternoon and Myrtle went inside to feed and visit with Pasha. She picked up her book to read when there was a knock at her door. She frowned—it was ten o’clock at night. Opening the door, she saw Miles there, a worried look on his face.

  “Goodness, Miles. Has something happened?”

  Miles said grimly, “Eloise just called me.”

  “Does she not understand how breakups work?”

  “Oh, she does. But she said that Jax Jackson was dead. She found him a few minutes ago.”

  Chapter Three

  MYRTLE SAID, “LET’S get over there.”

  “I think she’s already called Red,” said Miles.

  “Maybe we can beat him there. At this hour, he’s probably already in the bed. It’ll take him a minute to get his uniform on.”

  Sure enough, as Miles drove Myrtle away, Red’s police cruiser was still in his driveway.

  Miles said as he drove, “She sounded pretty upset. I think she called me totally reflexively.”

  “It’s just as well you broke up with her, Miles. Because why was she over at Jax’s house to begin with?”

  They pulled up to a brick ranch-style house that was on the lake. Eloise was sitting on Jax’s front steps, her head in her hands. She jumped up and hurried over as soon as she saw them arrive. When Miles stepped out of the car, she threw her arms around him while Myrtle watched through narrowed eyes.

  “I knew you would come, Miles! Oh, it was awful. Just terrible. Jax was always so full of life and there he was, lying on the floor, no life at all in him.” Eloise burst into tears.

  Myrtle, never a fan of tears, hastily rummaged in her huge purse for a pack of tissues which she thrust at Eloise. “Was his door unlocked?” she asked.

  Eloise took a tissue and blew her nose. “Umm . . . yes, I think so. Yes, it must have been because I don’t have a key and I wouldn’t have been able to get in, otherwise.”

  Before Myrtle could ask more questions, Red pulled up, his lights going. Myrtle gave an exasperated sigh.

  Red jumped out and hurried over. “You okay?” he asked Eloise and she nodded, still sniffing. He turned to Myrtle. “Mama, somehow I’m not too surprised to see you out here.”

  “Eloise called Miles,” said Myrtle with a shrug.

  Red turned to go in the house, fishing his phone out of his pocket as he went.

  “He’ll be calling the state police,” said Myrtle. “I do hope it’s Lieutenant Perkins that they send over.” She turned to Eloise. “Now tell me exactly what you saw.”

  Eloise said sadly, “Well, I was going over to see Jax. Just a short visit, you know. He’s sort of a night owl and I couldn’t sleep because I have a sort of messed-up schedule.” Her eyes flashed and she gave Myrtle and Miles disapproving looks as if they were completely responsible for her lack of sleep. Myrtle regarded her coolly.

  “I understand that you and Jax are . . . friends?” asked Myrtle.

  Miles looked miserably at the ground.

  “Well, I suppose we’re a bit more than that.” Eloise had the grace to blush. “Although we don’t always get along perfectly. Does anyone?”

  “Why didn’t you sometimes get along?” asked Myrtle quickly. She was trying to fit in as many questions as she possibly could before Red came over and ruined everything.

  “Oh, you know. Jax annoyed me because he didn’t like my baby.”

  Myrtle looked blankly at her. “Your grandbaby?”

  “No, my little dog, Bingo. You’ve met Bingo, haven’t you, Myrtle?”

  “I’ve only seen pictures,” said Myrtle crisply. “So he wasn’t a fan of your dog. Was there anything else?”

  “Not really. I mean, Jax was mostly fun to hang out with. He loved going out. Not everyone does.” She gave Miles a reproachful look and Miles sighed and looked at his car, clearly wanting to be back in it as soon as possible.

  “It sounds as if he was out quite a lot. You and he were spotted having lunch together.” Myrtle’s voice was pointed.

  Eloise blushed again. “I suppose we were. But that’s the way Jax was. He loved going to the movies or out to eat. He didn’t want to go by himself—why would he?”

  Myrtle wasn’t about to join the Poor Jax club. She suspected that Jax had gotten himself into quite a pickle by seeing too many women at the same time. “Who else did he like to go out with?” she asked.

  “Marigold,” answered Eloise shortly.

  Myrtle frowned at this second mention of married Marigold seeing someone. “Marigold? She’s married to Bailey Pratt, isn’t she?”

  Eloise gave the trilling laugh that always managed to set Myrtle’s teeth on edge. “Oh, Myrtle. You’re really from a different era, aren’t you?”

  “An era that made a lot more sense.”

  “Everyone knows about them. Marigold and Jax have been seeing each other for quite some time.”

  Myrtle glanced at Miles and he shrugged. Apparently, he knew, too.

  “And Bailey Pratt? Does he know about his wife seeing Jax?” asked Myrtle.

  “If he doesn’t, he’s the only person in town.”

  Myrtle saw that Red was wrapping up his phone call and seized the moment, orchestrating a dizzying change of subject. “Where were you earlier this evening?”

  Eloise blinked at her. “You think I had something to do with Jax’s death?”

  Myrtle just waited. Eloise said, “Well, I was on the phone with Miles. Miles, you remember that.”

  Miles said slowly, “We were on the phone together, yes. Although I doubt a phone call precludes you from homicide.”

  And on that note, Red came over to speak with Eloise. But first, he dismissed Myrtle and Miles. “Y’all are just going to be in the way once all the state cops get here. And it doesn’t sound as if you know anything.”

  Myrtle bristled at that, but before she could make a retort, Red gave Miles a considering look. “I do believe I’m going to need to chat with you later on today, though, Miles. I’ll be in touch.”

  Myrtle was grumbling as she and Miles got back into the car. “I don’t know why Red needs to talk to you. It’s not as if you know anything that I don’t know.”

  Miles gave another sigh. “It’s because he thinks I’m a suspect.”

  “What? He wouldn’t. Red is many things, but he’s not stupid.”

  “It’s his job, Myrtle. He has to consider all the options. And, let’s face it, I’m definitely an option.”

  Myrtle glowered out the window at the darkness they were driving through. “That’s completely absurd and a waste of police time. You’ve been with me practically all the time.”

  “We don’t know exactly when Jax was murdered but I don’t believe you’re going to be able to give me an iron-clad alibi,” said Miles in his steady voice. “Think about it. I could have been enraged that Jax was seeing Eloise and stealing her away from me.”

  “But you weren’t. You were trying to break up with that woman! Oh, this is all that Eloise’s fault. I swear she engineered the whole thing. Maybe getting you taken off to jail is her reveng
e for your dumping her.”

  Miles gave her a sideways look before looking back at the road. “I hardly think that’s the case. Red is at least considering the possibility that I killed Jax in a jealous rage. You said Elaine was the one who told you that Jax and Eloise were out together—she probably told Red, too.”

  “This is all most aggravating.” Myrtle folded her arms. “Now I’m all keyed up.”

  Miles said, “You need to get unkeyed. Remember, you have a big day tomorrow.”

  Myrtle frowned at him and then her eyes widened. “Book club at my house! This whole mess with Eloise has made me lose my mind.”

  “You really don’t have anything to do to prepare for it, you know. The house looks fine and we’ll all just pull your kitchen chairs into the living room.”

  Myrtle said, “But there are snacks to get! Food to prepare.”

  Miles quickly interjected, “No, no. Remember, book club recently changed the rules. If you’re hosting, that’s all you’re responsible for. So you don’t have to provide refreshments.”

  “It seems rather ungracious for a hostess to require guests to bring their own food.” Myrtle’s brow furrowed some more.

  “But it’s what the club decided,” said Miles with an air of finality. “If you prepare food, you’ll have far too many snacks on hand.”

  “It’s still a very odd set-up,” grumbled Myrtle. “Who on earth even came up with that?”

  “It was decided last month. By Tippy.” Miles carefully didn’t remind Myrtle that the rule was born directly after everyone realized Myrtle would be the hostess for the next meeting. He maneuvered the subject into safer waters. “Do you think everyone has read the book?”

  “They certainly should have. I picked an easy title on purpose. There are no excuses this time.”

  Miles smiled. “I’m not sure everyone would think Ethan Frome an easy read.”

  “Then that’s their own fault and a sign of their cognitive decline. I taught high school students that book, for heaven’s sake. And Edith Wharton is always a delight to read.” Myrtle sniffed.