The Heirloom Murders - Kathleen Ernst [80]
An unfamiliar car was in the driveway, so Chloe parked in front of the house. As she walked around the house, she saw her friend in the garden—in the embrace of a tall man. Chloe felt her eyebrows rise. Who the hell was that? She didn’t recognize Simon Sabatola until he stepped away from his sister-in-law. “So please, don’t worry about it,” he was saying as Chloe let herself in the garden gate.
“It’s not your responsibility,” Dellyn said. She saw Chloe and lifted a hand in greeting.
“It is,” Simon said firmly. He wore tan trousers and a navy polo shirt that screamed, Rich executive trying to look casual. “We’re still family, Dellyn. I’m not going to turn my back on promises I made your parents.”
Dellyn leaned over and pulled a clump of purslane from the soil, and tossed it onto a pile of weeds wilting in the sun. She wore flip-flops, cut-offs, and a grubby T-shirt. “Let me think about it, OK? I do appreciate it, though. Really.”
“Sure. We’ll talk soon.” Simon turned to leave and saw Chloe. “Good morning.”
Chloe could tell he was trying to place her in his memory. “I’m Chloe Ellefson,” she said. “We met at Bonnie’s funeral.”
Simon’s eyes got glassy. “Yes, of course. Nice to see you again.”
Chloe watched him get into his car and back out of the driveway. “Hey,” Chloe said to her friend. “I didn’t mean to chase your brother-in-law away.”
“You didn’t.”
Chloe regarded her friend. “Did you get any sleep last night? You look so tired.”
“Well, we had a bit of drama here last night.” Dellyn snorted. “You remember my neighbor, Sonia?”
“Sure.”
“She’s got a son. Alex is about my age, and we grew up playing together. Sonia was our 4-H leader.” Dellyn exhaled slowly, looking inexpressibly weary.
“And?”
Dellyn cocked her head at the little table and chairs set in one corner of the garden. “C’mon. Let’s sit down.” She paused to crouch by a melon patch. She felt several cantaloupes before pulling a jackknife from her back pocket and cutting one from its vine.
Chloe hitched one chair over so it was shaded, and sat down. “And?” she prompted.
“Well, things started getting weird when we hit junior high and high school. Alex developed this crush on me.” Dellyn looked at her with a hint of desperation in her eyes. “I never wanted to date him. It was one thing to play softball and raise chickens together. Quite another to … you know. I never led him on. I swear, Chloe. ”
Chloe raised a hand, palm forward. “Hold on. Did someone say you did?”
“Yeah. Sonia did.” Dellyn sliced the melon into glistening salmon-colored wedges, releasing a juicy and sweet aroma. “Grab a couple of plates, will you? There are some in that hamper. Anyway, Alex was always over here, always following me around at school. It got annoying. And one day a teacher heard me telling Alex to leave me alone. It got blown way out of proportion. Alex and I ended up in the principal’s office, and then Sonia storms in and accuses me of leading Alex on. She said that if I didn’t dress so suggestively, and act like a tease, he wouldn’t follow me around.”
Chloe glared toward the Padopolous house. “It’s bad enough when men say things like that.”
“Yeah.” Dellyn served up the melon. “I was sixteen. Pretty fragile, like most teens. Having Sonia accuse me like that really hit me hard.”
Chloe thought back to the day she’d met Sonia Padopolous. No wonder Dellyn seemed reserved with her neighbor.
“My mom came to school too, and she calmed everything down. It was the only time I ever saw her angry at Sonia, but they patched things up. I’ve never been able to let it go, though.”
“It’s despicable to blame the woman when a man acts inappropriately,” Chloe said firmly. “But … what happened last night?”
“Well, the cops have been great, keeping an eye on my place since you got attacked. Late last night I heard someone yelling. I came outside and found Officer McKenna and Alex in my back yard. Alex was in handcuffs.”
“What?