Anything Goes

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    Lily put the wooden figures back on the windowsill when they got home and went to check on Mrs. Prinney. Mimi claimed she was recovering, but still too shaky on her pins to get out of bed. “And she even made a grocery list. I’d walk to town, but she needs me here.“
    “I’ll go. Robert can drive me. Give me the list.“ The list came with a twenty-dollar bill. She hunted down Robert and before doing their shopping, she asked him to stop at Mr. Prinney’s office in town. Prinney was thrilled with the solution to the Kessler problem.
    “You’ll have to see if he’s agreeable, of course,“ Prinney added. “He’d be a fool not to be.”
    “Shouldn’t you talk to him?”
    Prinney shook his head. “No, it’s your excellent idea and your friend in the city. I trust you to handle it well.“
    “Isn’t she a wonder?“ Robert said proudly. “She is indeed,“ Mr. Prinney said.
    Shops were closing and Lily had to rush from the greengrocer to the butcher to the bakery to get everything Mrs. Prinney had asked for. She felt duty-bound to get receipts as well, so there was no question where the money had gone. As they drove back up the hill, Lily checked the receipts and counted up her change.
    “Robert!“ she suddenly said. “This is ‘my ten-dollar bill in the change.“
    “Lily, don’t be daft. All bills look alike.”
    “Not this one. Pull over. Look.”
    Robert stopped the car. “It’s been folded like a tiny fan.“
    “I did that. I really did. When we were coming up on the train the day we moved here. I was so nervous and upset and I folded it that way when I’d finished double-checking how much money we had left. And look, Robert, there’s the same grease spot on the corner.“
    “So you lost it in town and somebody found it and used it. You can’t blame anyone for that.”
    “Or somebody stole it and used it. Go back. I want to find out who spent this money.“
    “The shops are closed by now, Lily. We’ll go back tomorrow.“
    “We certainly will!“ Maybe she couldn’t solve a double murder, but Lily was determined to solve the ten-dollar bill mystery.
     

Chapter 24
     
    By the next morning, Mrs. Prinney had recovered, though she was still pale and wan, and Mimi was free to show Lily the shortcut path to town. “Just don’t take no turnings. Keep going straight as you can. Worst that can happen is that you come out at the icehouse instead of behind the church. Wear stout shoes.”
    The path was very steep, but wider and more used than the paths behind Grace and Favor. Someone had even put in some rudimentary stone steps in some of the most hazardous spots. Lily was surprised at how quickly she found herself in town. Sooner than she wanted, really. The shops weren’t even open yet.
    While she waited, she went to the newspaper office. Jack Summer was in the outer room, banging away at a beat-up typewriter. “Hello, Miss Brewster,“ he said cheerfully. “What can I do for you?“
    “I came to see Mr. Kessler. Is he in?“
    “Oh? Why do you want to see him?”
    Lily gave him a long, blank look.
    Jack grew a bit red in the face at her reaction to his question and scowled. “In his own office.“ He jerked a thumb at the door.
    Lily tapped on it and Kessler called out, “Enter.“ His office was a mess. Papers everywhere, newspapers and ordinary sheets with scribbled notes. The file cabinets were so stuffed that they wouldn’t entirely close. The windows were grimy, the paint on the walls was water-stained and there were scratches on the second- or third-hand furniture. The floor was littered with wood chips and on the one clean surface, a shelf behind the desk, was a good dozen of his wooden figures.
    “Miss Brewster, I believe.“
    “Mr. Kessler. I’m here on behalf of my brother, myself and Mr. Prinney who is managing Uncle Horatio’s estate. I’d like to have a private talk with you.”
    Kessler put down the figure he was carving. “I guess you know, then, who owns the newspaper.“
    “I do.“ Thinking of Jack in the next room, possibly with his ear against the door, she added, “Could we take a stroll? Perhaps sit at the bandstand in the square?”
    Kessler nodded, looking grim, as if he knew he was about to get his walking papers.
    “I’m showing Miss Brewster around town,“ Kessler said to Jack, who was just sitting back down at his typing desk as they came out of the back office.
    They strolled across the grass to the bandstand and sat in the