Free 7 Madness in Miniature by Margaret Grace Page A

suspect or charge her with the crime, and they wouldn’t do that unless they thought they had enough evidence that pointed to her. I decided not to share that much with her brother.
    “Jeff, if Bebe didn’t hurt Mr. Palmer—”
    “She didn’t, Mrs. Porter. She couldn’t have. You know her. She can sound mean sometimes, but she’s all talk. She’s really a very gentle person.”
    I wondered if Jeff had ever seen his sister angry. Or heard her vitriol against SuperKrafts and those who represented the store.
    “Would you like me to see what I can find out, Jeff?” I wanted to take back the offer almost as soon as it left my mouth. Who was I to pretend to hand out hope with respect to the dealings of the LPPD and their investigations?
    But when I heard Jeff’s response, a deep sigh that I took as great relief and gratitude, the reason he’d called me, I couldn’t retreat. “Would you, Mrs. Porter? I hate to impose on you or your nephew, but that would be so great. Thank you, thank you.”
    “I have to ask you something, Jeff.”
    “Shoot.”
    “Did your sister know that you and Catherine were seeing each other again?”
    A long pause. I figured I’d caught Jeff by surprise with my insider knowledge. “Not until yesterday,” he said when he came back on the line. “Bebe came into the shop, which she hardly ever does, and found me and Catherine in the back. We were arguing, but she could tell that we were, you know…together.”
    Interesting that lovers could argue in a way that someone knew they were…lovers. Another mystery. Besides that, I was building a new image of Catherine, arguing with her current ex-boyfriend and also with her former ex-boyfriend, who was now her current boyfriend. Busy life. I wondered how she kept it all straight.
    “How did your sister respond when she saw you two?”
    “She was mad, but she knew there was nothing she could do about it. I’m not seventeen anymore. Or even twenty. What does this have to do with Palmer’s murder?”
    “I’m not sure, Jeff, but if I’m going to help Bebe, I want to know as much as possible about her state of mind.”
    “Okay, sure. I get it.”
    My next question should have been, “Where were you when the vase crashed onto Craig’s head?” but I couldn’t bring myself to ask it. There must have been some reason the police picked up Bebe and not her brother. If Jeff knew of Craig’s reluctance to accept the end of his affair with Catherine, then Jeff had a strong reason to want the former lover out of the way.
    “I’ll do my best, but I can’t promise anything, Jeff.”
    “I know, but just try. That’s all I’m asking.”
    Only when I hung up did I notice that Maddie had been a silent partner in the phone call, her attention glued to my side of the conversation. She held her cereal spoon as if it were a pitchfork, her eyes wide and expectant.
    “You’re going to help him, right, Grandma?”
    “I’m going to try.”
    “Are you expecting to drop me off at Taylor’s?”
    “The thought crossed my mind.”
    Maddie shook her head with great passion. “Uh-uh.”
    “Are you going to tell me what’s wrong between you two?”
    “Nothing’s wrong. I just want to go with you. You know I love seeing Uncle Skip and his friends at the station.”
    It was hard for me to argue since Maddie did always want to accompany me to the LPPD. Wasn’t that a thrill for every preteen? But I knew this time the scales were tipped against being with Taylor, no matter what the alternative was. I decided not to push it. It was true that all of Skip’s coworkers in uniform loved her and I could count on at least one of them giving Maddie a tour of a corner of the building she hadn’t yet visited, or failing that, giving her free access to the food in the lunchroom.
    “Be ready in a half hour,” I said, and she skipped off.
    * * *
    Before I slithered into the police station and skulked around for information, I needed to call both Bev and Henry to