Was that why Pammy had stayed so long in Tricia’s apartment?

“Libby told me Pammy was eager to see Stuart Paige at the Food Shelf dedication,” Joe continued. “Coming into money-making a scene to meet a rich man. That almost sounds like a formula for blackmail.”

“Yes, I thought of that, too,” Tricia said. They resumed walking. “I didn’t see you at the dedication.”

“No, I had to work.”

“And where’s that?”

“A public relations firm here in Nashua.”

“That’s a bit of a commute-a whole fifteen, twenty minutes,” Tricia said, and laughed.

“Ideally, I’d like to work in Stoneham, but there’s not much in my line of work in a small town-except for people wanting freebies. And Libby would never leave Stoneham. I’ve got an old diesel Volkswagen that I converted to run on cooking oil. I get all I need from the Bookshelf Diner and a couple of fast-food restaurants between Stoneham and Nashua. It works out pretty cheaply, and I’m not dependent on foreign oil.”

“Something I wish I could say. But then, I don’t travel far from Stoneham these days, myself. In fact, I usually fill up my gas tank only a couple of times a month.”

“You’re a good citizen of the Earth.”

Tricia laughed. “Thanks. And was Pammy? She apparently liked to recycle things. I understand she was an antiques picker at one time. My sister says she knew about and was good at restaurant food prep-not that she did it for Angelica for more than an hour or so before she was killed.”

Joe shook his head. “I can’t believe we’ve had three murders in Stoneham in the last year. It bucks the odds.”

Tricia didn’t want to get into the old “town jinx” discussion-especially since she’d been the one to find all three bodies-and quickly steered the conversation away from the topic. “I just can’t imagine why she wanted to see Stuart Paige. You mentioned blackmail. Did Pammy give you any hint of what she was up to?”

“Not a word. We mostly talked recipes. And don’t forget, we were barely acquaintances. I only met the woman twice, when she came along on our forays.”

“How did she do that? She and Ginny weren’t pals, so I can’t imagine her inviting Pammy along. In fact, she would’ve told me if she had.”

“I’m pretty sure it was Pete who first invited her. I think she ran into him one night in back of the convenience store in Stoneham.”

Pete-the one person Tricia hadn’t had a chance to talk with on this little adventure. She couldn’t even remember his last name. But Ginny would know. She’d ask her as soon as they got back to the car. If she could track Pete down, she might finally find out exactly what Pammy was doing in Stoneham. Then again, he might be as clueless as the rest of them. That thought didn’t fill her with confidence.

She’d get no more out of Joe or Eugenia, and figured she might as well make small talk to kill the time until they got back to the car. “Tell me more about your job,” Tricia said.

“I write press releases for a nonprofit. Public service announcements. The whiz kids get all the interesting assignments. I do a lot of volunteer PR for the Food Shelf, too.”

It sounded pretty boring to Tricia.

Joe continued with his job description, but she only half listened, preoccupied with her disappointment at not finding out more about Pammy and her recycling lifestyle. Before she knew it, they were standing behind Brian’s SUV. He’d already opened up the back, and he and Ginny were stowing their finds. Tricia handed him the canvas bag she held.

“You really need to get a more fuel-efficient car, Brian,” Joe said.

“Yeah, yeah-but this thing’s paid off. I can’t afford a new loan-not with the house sucking up every spare cent we have.”

“Don’t start this argument again,” Eugenia told her father, and gave Ginny a hug. “See you next week, if not before.”

“Sure thing.”

Eugenia leaned in to give Brian a quick kiss on the lips. He didn’t seem startled by it, but Tricia could tell by Ginny’s expression that she wasn’t happy about it.

“Good night, Tricia,” Eugenia called.

Joe waved a good-bye to them all, and he and his daughter continued walking.

Brian gave the button on his key ring a squeeze, and the SUV’s doors unlocked. Ginny waited until they were in the car to speak. “You let her kiss you again.”

“Hey, babe, we have a guest. Can’t we discuss this at home?”

Ginny exhaled a snorting breath. Tricia was glad she wouldn’t have to hear the argument that would probably break out the minute they dropped her off in front of her store.

They buckled their seat belts and Brian started the car, steering the vehicle away from the curb and heading for the main drag once more.

No one spoke for quite a while. Brian hadn’t even turned on the radio to extinguish the tension.

The lights of Nashua were fading behind them when Tricia finally broke the quiet. “Thanks for bringing me along, guys.”

“Did you find out what you needed to know?” Brian asked.

“Joe told me that Pammy started coming to these little jaunts at Pete’s invitation. Of course he told me this after Pete and Lisa left.”

“Was it Pete?” Brian asked. “I thought it was Joe.” He shrugged. “Guess I’m wrong.”

A number of cars whizzed by in the opposite direction.

Tricia frowned. “Is there some way I can get hold of Pete? I’d like to talk to him-without Lisa being around. I think she took a dislike to me.”

“She’d dislike anybody who was Pammy’s friend,” Ginny said.

“Why?”

“That woman was a terrible flirt. Just like Eugenia,” Ginny grated.

Pammy had never given Tricia that impression. Or maybe it was just perceived that a woman alone was man-hungry.

“Do you have a number where I could reach Pete?”

“Sure,” Brian said. “But you can look it up yourself. He works at the convenience store in Stoneham.”

No wonder Pete had looked familiar-he’d probably waited on Tricia more than once. Had he found Pammy digging in that store’s Dumpster? “I assume he works the day shift?”

“He works whenever he feels like it. His father owns the store.”

Tricia felt the SUV accelerate.

“Why are you going so fast?” Ginny asked.

“There’s a car speeding up behind me.”

“So, let him go past,” Ginny said.

Tricia looked behind her.

Brian pulled the car closer to the side of the road, but the car didn’t go around them. Instead, it rode mere feet from the back bumper.

“What’s this guy playing at?” Brian asked nervously.

“We’ve got an SUV-outrun him!” Ginny cried.

Brian steered back onto the road and gunned the engine. The SUV took off like a Formula One car, leaving the smaller car to eat its dust, until it was a couple of pinpricks of light on the darkened road.

“Yee-ha!” Brian called.

Suddenly another set of lights pulled onto the highway. Not just headlights, but blue flashing lights.

“Oh, no,” Brian groaned as he braked the SUV. “Here comes a ticket. And a couple of points on my license.”

He pulled over to the side of the road and hit the button on his armrest. The driver’s-side window slid down, and he dug for his wallet so he could fish out his license. The Sheriff’s Department cruiser pulled up behind them, its lights eerily piercing the surrounding landscape.

Another car whooshed past them, and Tricia could’ve sworn she heard someone yell from its window, “Suckers!”