Mrs. Pruitt gave her a pleasant smile and started away again, but a thought suddenly popped into Candy’s mind. She couldn’t help blurting out, “Oh! Mrs. Pruitt!”
“Yes?” Helen Ross Pruitt looked back expectantly.
“I-I have just one more question for you.”
“Yes?”
“Well, I was wondering-why did you hire that lawyer for Ray?”
Mrs. Pruitt gave her a long look that seemed to tell her the answer was obvious. Still, she answered as pleasantly as she could. “Just like you, Ms. Holliday, I, too, knew Ray Hutchins had not killed that girl. He has been doing good work for us at Pruitt Manor for many years, and I am quite a good judge of character. Ray’s innocence should have been clear to anyone with a bit of common sense, but it seems you and I were the only ones who knew the accusation against him was a grievous error. Regardless, I wanted to do something to help him, and since I knew he did not have the financial capabilities to hire a good attorney himself, I thought it was the least I could do, to help out a fellow Caper. Wouldn’t you have done the same had you been in my place?”
“Of course.”
“And I did set you onto the right trail, didn’t I, when you visited me Wednesday morning?”
Candy had to think about that a bit, recalling the conversation they had had at Pruitt Manor that day. Yes, now that she thought about it, Mrs. Pruitt had brought up the subject of bribery, which had fueled Candy’s curiosity, driving her to dig deeper.
“You did,” Candy acknowledged.
Mrs. Pruitt nodded emphatically. “Well. There you are. ’Til Sunday then.”
And taking the arm of Hobbins the butler, Mrs. Helen Ross Pruitt walked regally toward her waiting Bentley, her chin held aristocratically high.
“She’s a piece of work, isn’t she?”
Candy looked around. Maggie had come up behind her. “She’s a pistol all right. Definitely someone who marches to the beat of her own drummer.”
“Have you noticed that we seem to have a lot of those kind of people in this little town?”
“I’ve noticed.”
Maggie sighed dramatically. “I guess every town has its own burdens.” She tilted her head toward the departing Mrs. Pruitt. “So what did she have to say?”
“Well, for one thing, she’s invited us to Pruitt Manor next week for tea.”
“Ooh! Did I hear you say
“It means you too. But we’ll have to do it later in the week. I’ve got some busy days ahead of me.”
“The farm?” Maggie queried.
“Oh, yeah, that too. I almost forgot-it’s berry-picking time, isn’t it? Thank goodness we’re ready for it. Doc’s got the winnower and rakes all set to go, and we’ve a truckload of crates from the plant. But that’s just part of it. I’ve also got to find some time to write a column for the newspaper and bake pies for Melody.”
“That’s right! The cafe! I forgot about that.”
“I almost did too, until Melody called me this morning to make sure the pies were coming on Monday. She says she’s counting on me. So is Ben, with the column.” She paused, her eyes darting. “Speaking of Ben.”
She nodded as he joined them. “Good morning, Maggie, Candy,” he said, nodding to each of them in turn. “You look like you’ve recovered well from last night’s excitement.”
Maggie rubbed at her shoulder. “Just a few bruises. Right, Candy?”
Absently Candy’s hand went to her throat. She could still feel Bertha’s hands wrapped around it, and that morning she had indeed noticed some bruising on her neck. But she nodded. “Right… just a few scrapes. But it would have been a lot worse if you hadn’t showed up,” she told Ben.
He smiled. “I’m just sorry I arrived too late to get in on all the fun.”
Candy knew that though they were all speaking of it lightly, those had been some harrowing moments up on the widow’s walk of the opera house. Ben was the one who had been driving the car, the one that had swerved and gone up on the sidewalk. Right after Bertha had gone over the side of the building, he had burst through the hatch door, scaring Maggie and Candy half to death. He called the police and an ambulance. The police found Bertha severely wounded from the fall off the roof, and rushed her to the hospital.
“It’s just a good thing you showed up when you did,” Candy said. “When you swerved and missed Judicious, it was just enough to distract Bertha.”
Ben looked at her oddly. “Judicious?”
Candy nodded. “He was standing there under the light, halfway out into the street. You must have seen him. Isn’t that why you swerved the car?”
Ben shook his head. “I heard gunshots. I thought someone was shooting at me.”
“You didn’t see Judicious?”
Ben gave her an indulgent look. “I’m afraid not. I was alone down there.”
“But…” Candy looked over at Maggie. “You saw Judicious, right?”
When Maggie didn’t respond, Candy pressed her friend. “You saw him, right? You heard him shouting?”
Maggie shrugged. “I might have heard something. I thought you were trying to distract Bertha.”
“I was, but…”
She saw him then, standing about fifty feet away under a tree, dressed in a black suit with a white shirt and black tie. Judicious F. P. Bosworth. He smiled faintly, gave her a nod. Surprised, she glanced at Maggie, then at Ben. They were both looking at her strangely. “But…”
When she looked back at Judicious, he was gone.
She let out a disbelieving laugh. “Well I’ll be. Maybe he really can make himself invisible.”
Looking concerned, Maggie put a hand to her friend’s forehead, as if checking for a fever. “Are you sure you’re feeling alright? Maybe you got a bad bump on the head last night.”
Candy let out a sigh. “Perhaps you’re right.”
Just then they heard a horn beep. They turned to see Doc drive up in his old pickup truck, waving through the windshield. As he pulled up beside them, he called out, “Look who’s with me!”
It was Ray. He had been formally released from the county jail earlier that morning. Doc had driven up to Machias to give him a ride home.
Ray was overwhelmed with joy as he climbed out of the cab. He immediately dashed to Candy and embraced her. “Doc told me what you did,” he said, barely able to contain his emotions. “I can’t thank you enough, Miss Candy.”
“You don’t have to thank me, Ray. That’s what friends are for.”
“You’re the best friend I ever had, Miss Candy.”
“Thanks, Ray. That’s very sweet.”
He glanced up the slope, where Sapphire’s grave was being filled in. “I’m sorry I missed it,” he said quietly. “I’m sorry she’s gone.”
“We all are,” Candy agreed.
“I’m taking Ray home,” Doc said from the driver’s seat. “I just thought we’d stop by and say hello. What do you say, Ray? Ready to see the old place and get back to normal?”
Ray smiled tentatively and bobbed his head. “That sounds good.”
He climbed back into the cab, and Maggie glanced at her watch. “I’ve got to get back to work,” she said. “I’ve got some folks coming in for a meeting in twenty minutes.”
They began to disperse then, Ray and Doc driving off, Cameron and Amanda heading to Gumm’s, Maggie heading to her office. Soon only Ben and Candy were left standing by their cars.
“Well,” he said, “I guess I should get back to work as well.” He looked over at her. “How about you? What have you got planned for today?”
Candy shook her head. There was so much to do. But she knew what was at the top of her list. “Well, for one thing, I’ve got a column to write.”
“Oh?” Ben gave her a curious look. “So what are you going to write about?”
Candy stood for a moment, looking back up the hill, then at the departing cars, then back to the tree, where she had seen Judicious standing a few minutes before.
And it struck her then, something Doc had said to her the day before at the kitchen table.
