“But, it didn’t,” he said. With his free hand, he played with the laces on his boot. “There were some quiet months when things were back to normal. But then the phone calls started again. And then the visits.”

“The visits?”

“Helen,” he told me. “She started popping in while he was here.”

“Here in the shop? Why?”

“At first, it was to bring by papers,” Elliott said, closing his eye in concentration. “Some addendum or something to the divorce. There were a bunch of those. And then she’d swing by with questions about the house; she’d gotten that as part of the divorce settlement. Olaf was polite but distant.” He opened his eye and looked at me. “He was a good man.”

“It sounds like it,” I said. “So, did she finally get the hint?”

He was silent for a minute. “Yes.”

“And so she left? Just decided to leave him alone? Stopped coming by?” This didn’t line up with what Olga had told me. According to Olaf’s sister, persistence was Helen’s middle name.

“Yes and no,” Elliott said, his expression morphing. He looked uncomfortable, like he was sitting on a bed of nails.

“I’m not following…”

He uncrossed his leg and stood up. “That’s all I know.”

I stared at him. “I don’t believe you.”

His mouth twisted into a frown. “I’ve told you nothing but the truth. And I didn’t have to tell you anything.”

I held up a hand in apology. “I know. I’m sorry.” I swallowed and looked at him. “But if there’s anything else, no matter how small of a detail you might think it is, I’d appreciate it if you could tell me.”

He looked at me for a long moment. “It’s a good thing you’re pretty,” he finally muttered.

“Excuse me?”

He walked over to the table and poured himself more coffee. “I have a soft spot for pretty women.”

I didn’t know how to respond to this admission so I said nothing, just sat and fidgeted in the rocker and waited for him to return to his seat.

“Helen stopped coming to see Olaf,” he said, adjusting himself back in his chair. He crossed the other leg on to his lap.

“Okay.”

“She started coming to see me.”

TWENTY SIX

“You?”

Elliott nodded.

Now that was interesting. And weird. “Why?”

“At first, I thought it was to make Olaf jealous,” he said. He ran his thumb along the rim of his cup. “But then it…changed.”

I sat up a little straighter. “How?”

“She kept coming by.” He paused, then cleared his throat. I glanced at him and his ruddy cheeks had taken on a deeper red color. “But she came by to see me.”

“You?” I repeated, my voice squeaking a little on the single word.

He nodded. “Hard to believe. But true.”

“I didn’t mean— ” I began, flustered.

Elliott held up his free hand. “No need to explain. The women aren’t exactly lining up for me.”

I thought it would be insulting to argue with his statement, and just as rude to agree, so I simply nodded and kept my mouth shut.

He took a deep breath, his chest expanding like a balloon, then deflating when he exhaled. “I guess you could say she was flirting with me. Granted, it’s been a while since I’ve played the game but I was young once.”

“That must’ve been…awkward. For both you and Olaf.”

“Yes.”

“Did that cause problems?”

“For Olaf?” Elliott shook his head. “No.”

I took a sip of my coffee. It was now lukewarm and I tried not to make a face as I swallowed it down. “For…you?”

“It was uncomfortable,” he said. “Her attention. Helen can be a bit…forward.”

I thought back to my encounters with her and what Olga had told me. She was definitely an in-your-face kind of person. I could only guess how she would interact with the opposite sex.

“Anyway, I nipped it in the bud,” Elliott told me. His ankle bounced on his knee and he kept his gaze fixed on one of the deer mounted on the wall.

“Oh? And how did she take that?”

His cheeks reddened more and he seemed at a loss for words. “Fine. She took it fine.”

I forced myself to take another sip of coffee. I knew he wasn’t telling me everything. It wasn’t adding up. At the beginning of our conversation, he’d told me Helen was a liar. He’d started out willing to talk, then clammed up. And now he was parceling out bits of information the way I handed out candy to my kids after their Halloween haul.

“I’m confused,” I said, deciding to throw caution to the wind and voice the thoughts swirling around in my head. “You said at the beginning that Helen was a liar. What exactly did she lie about?”

Elliott’s ankle stopped. I shifted my gaze to his face and I squinted, trying to focus. I couldn’t be sure but his good eye looked watery, like it had suddenly filled with tears.

He stood up. “I’ve told you all I know.” He rubbed at his good eye. “Damn allergies.”

I was clearly being dismissed. I had no choice but to stand, too. Elliott reached out and took my half-empty cup of coffee.

I glanced out the window of the taxidermy shop. It had started to snow, fluffy white flakes that clumped together as they fluttered to the ground. I dug my gloves out of my purse and put them on.

I looked at Elliott. “Thank you. For taking the time to talk with me.”

He hesitated, then nodded. “You’re welcome, ma’am.” He paused. “And I’m real sorry about what happened to Olaf. Real sorry.”

TWENTY SEVEN

Jake held up his beer. “I’m drawing the line at stuffing that little hamster you forced on me.”

We were sitting at the local sports grill and pub. Without kids. As much as we loved our brood, a weekly date night was a must, even if it only consisted of eating hamburgers and drinking a beer at The Penalty Box. We were halfway through our meal and I’d just finished telling him about my conversation with Elliott Cornelius.

“That thing is going in the trash when it’s done,” he said, referring to the hamster now affectionately known as Lucky.

“Yeah, let’s see how tough you are when the girls are crying their eyes out over it.”

“I will hold strong.”

“Right,” I said, shaking my head. “Anyway, that was how I spent the afternoon.”

He took a massive bite of his burger, a big mess of meat, cheese, bacon and peanut butter. I was convinced they kept it on the menu just because he came in once a week and ordered it.

He wiped at his mouth. “Good to know you had a productive day.”

I took a swallow of my beer. “Look, I told you I was going to poke around.”

“I’m aware.”

“And that’s all I did.”

He eyed me over the table. “So what’s next?”

“What do you mean?”

A corner of his mouth raised up in a knowing smile. “You can’t convince me for one second that just because you had a conversation with the taxidermist that you’re now going to leave all of this alone. Like you should.”

I decided to avoid answering that question directly. “Speaking of the taxidermist, how does he know you?”

Jake shrugged. “No idea.”

“Well, he seemed like he was ready to throw me out of the shop but as soon as I mentioned your name, he backed off.”

“Don’t say I never save you from anything.” His eyes lit up with amusement. “See? I protect you even when we’re not physically together. I’m like a superhero.”

I frowned. “Don’t you think it’s strange?”

“No,” he said. “We probably had a booth near each other at the fair. Or some expo.” Even though Jake wasn’t involved in the day-to-day operations of the plant, he was personable and friendly and, because of this, did a lot of the community outreach events.

I picked up a french fry and dragged it through the puddle of ketchup on my plate. “I still think it’s odd.”

“You acting like a private eye?” He nodded vigorously. “Absolutely.”

I ignored him. “And the way he said he was sorry when I left. It was like he was sorry about more than Olaf being dead.”

“What do you mean?”

“Like he’d done it or something.”