Corpse on the Cob: Odelia Grey Mystery, #5

DEDICATION

For my niece Lindsay.

Thanks for introducing me to corn mazes, and for tracking through one by my side for hours in the heat while I did my research.

Love,

Aunt Sue 

CHAPTER

ONE

THE DEAD GUY ON THE ground did not look familiar. The woman crouched over the body did.

I tried to think of something to say to her, but what do you say to someone who walked out of your life thirty-four years ago without so much as a note, leaving worry and speculation of the worse kind in her wake? Not to mention shattering the already shaky self-esteem of an overweight, lonely teenage girl. And, honestly, a part of me always worried about what I would say to my mother, if given the chance. Would I be coldly polite? Weepy? Angry? Sentimental? Accusing? Or would I start off warm and fuzzy and morph into a stumpy Medusa, telling her to stick motherhood where the sun doesn’t shine?

Dead body aside, I, Odelia Patience Grey, now had my big chance.

This whole misadventure started three weeks ago in Seal Beach, California, where I live with my paraplegic husband, Greg Stevens, a golden retriever named Wainwright, a one-eyed, raggedy-eared cat named Seamus, and a sweet, mischievous cat called Muffin. By trade, I’m a corporate paralegal at the Orange County law firm of Wallace, Boer, Brown and Yates. It was shortly after my fiftieth birthday. A pink plastic pig was involved. In fact, I’m blaming everything on that damn pig. And my husband. And my father. And not necessarily in that order.

It was a Sunday afternoon. The pig had just exploded before my eyes. I raised the hammer in my right hand and delivered another blow to its head, assuring that it would never oink at me or anyone else again. Die, die, die, silently escaped my lips as hot tears streamed down my flushed face.

What in the hell are you doing?

Ignoring the question, I raised the heavy wood and rubber mallet and sent it crashing down for a third time. I would have hit the beast a fourth time, but as soon as I raised the hammer above my head for the next assault, it was snatched from my grip.

Whipping my head around, I faced Greg, who now held the hammer in his hand. Give it back, I demanded.

His mouth hung open in undisguised shock. What in the hell are you doing? he repeated.

Killing my birthday present.

Seated on the floor of our kitchen, I was surrounded by carnage. Shards of pink plastic decorated the floor like ill-shaped confetti. Seamus and Muffin had taken refuge under the buffet when the slaughter began. Wainwright had come in with Greg. He was now busy sniffing through the damage looking for life. He found none.

What birthday present? Greg put the hammer on a nearby counter and maneuvered his wheelchair closer to view the deceased. I don’t recall any gifts made of pink plastic.

He was right. The weekend before, our closest friends, Seth and Zee Washington, had thrown me a big fiftieth birthday bash at their home. The pink plastic pig had not been among the many gifts.

I got up from the floor. With much of my anger released, I was as limp and rubbery as a deflated balloon. I disappeared into our bathroom to splash cold water on my face.

This morning, right after you left to play basketball, I got a call from Gigi, I explained when I returned, a wad of tissues at the ready in my hand.

Oh oh. Greg hung his head in frustration. He knew no call from Gigi, my stepmother, would be pleasant.

When I was thirteen, my mother had insisted on a divorce from my father, Horten Grey. Their marriage had been as rocky as the Maine seashore and just as cold and stormy, and I was caught in the middle. Both of my parents had their flaws. My father was sweet but extremely passive, allowing himself to be led around, first by my mother, later by his second wife and her disgusting family. I don’t think my mother ever forgave him for not living up to her expectations. My mother, Grace Grey, was delusional, brow beating, and an alcoholic. Both were disappointed by the cards life had dealt them, yet neither seemed to realize they could discard and be dealt more. At least not until much later, when they finally divorced. A few years after the divorce, my mother discarded me and moved on to play in a new game.

I still remember the day I came home from high school to discover my mother had moved out – lock, stock and vodka bottle. There was no note, no forwarding address, not even a prior clue that this might happen. One morning I left for school. She was getting ready for work, as usual. When my day was over, I returned to find her and all her personal items gone. I lived in our apartment alone for nearly a month, wondering if she’d return, half-hoping she wouldn’t, but not daring to call anyone. I even paid the rent out of my savings account to avoid having to call my dad. On the surface, I was sure she’d be back as soon as her bender was over. In my heart, I knew she wouldn’t be. I wasn’t a favorite handbag she’d simply forgotten. I was old baggage she didn’t want to lug around anymore.

Eventually, of course, I had to call my dad, who was already married to Gigi, a hateful woman with two grown hateful children. I went to live with them and moved out almost before the smoke had cleared from the candles on my eighteenth birthday cake.

Between my sixteenth and my fiftieth birthdays, I’d not heard one word from my mother. I didn’t even know if she was still alive. My father never spoke of her and wouldn’t allow me to discuss her. Until now, Grace Grey was the elephant in the corner in the room that is my life. The always present, yet never acknowledged, boogey man.

And? Greg encouraged me to continue.

I heaved my shoulders in an exaggerated sigh. When I started to talk, my tears started again.

Come here, sweetheart.

Greg rolled over to the sofa. Positioning his wheelchair and locking the wheels, he hoisted himself from the chair onto our sofa with a strength and grace that always astounded me. Once he was settled, he indicated for me to join him. When I sat down next to him, he wrapped his protective arms around me and pulled me close. I burrowed into the solid warmth of my husband. We sat that way for several minutes. Me crying softly. Greg giving me time to get it out and collect myself.

I’m sorry I’m so sweaty, he finally said, breaking the silence and referring to the fact that he’d just returned from playing basketball.

I looked up at him. That’s okay. I like you this way. I gave him a weak smile.

He smiled back and kissed my forehead. So what’s up with Gigi? he asked.

She called me to say she had a birthday present for me and a box of Dad’s stuff she’d forgotten to give me the last time we were there. I blew my nose again. So I went over to the house. She gave them to me. I left.

Is what you just destroyed the gift?

It was a pink plastic pig.

A piggy bank got you this upset? he asked.

I shook my head from side to side. No, it wasn’t a piggy bank. It was this obnoxious plastic pig that you put in your fridge. Every time you open the door, the pig lets out this horrible snorting noise.

Greg pulled me closer. Sweetheart, this isn’t about an offensive gift, and you know it. You usually take Gigi’s insults in stride.

He was right. At just over five foot tall and tipping the scales at two hundred plus pounds, I was used to barbs and insults from Gigi and her family about my weight. I had endured them for decades, from the moment my father married Gigi when I was a plump teenager.

This is about your dad, isn’t it? Greg squeezed me tight, as if his arms could shut out the pain. It’s tough being orphaned, Odelia. Even at your age. Inevitable, but tough.

It was true. My father was gone. He had died almost four months earlier. And even though he was elderly and his health starting to break down, his death had devastated me. One morning he simply got up and started scrambling himself a couple of eggs. Somewhere between the cooking and getting the plate to the kitchen table, he’d had a heart attack. The doctor told us it had been fast, leaving no time for anyone to get help.

I pulled away just enough so I could look Greg full in the face. But that’s just it, Greg. I’m not an orphan.

Your mother is long gone, sweetheart. His voice was soft and gentle. And she’d be in her late seventies, possibly her eighties.

Seventy-seven actually.

Well, by now, it’s quite possible she’s dead also.

I shook my head and fought the tears starting to pool again. She’s not dead, Greg. She’s alive. I called her today. 

You what? He stared at me, his mouth hanging open so far I could count the back fillings.

I pointed toward the dining room, drawing his attention to a small cardboard box sitting on the table.

Gigi gave me that today. It contains some of my dad’s stuff. Scraps and clippings and small mementos of his life. I took a deep breath. I went through it when I got home and found an envelope addressed to Dad. It was from my mother. The postmark was more than twenty-five years ago.

What did the letter say?

There was no letter, just the envelope.

I got up from the sofa and retrieved a business size envelope, yellowed with age, from the box on the table and brought it to Greg. He held it as if it were a snake, disbelief radiating from his eyes like heat waves over asphalt.

Grace Littlejohn, he read from the return address. Greg looked up. I can’t read the address. It’s smudged. But it looks like New Hampshire.

She’s in Massachusetts now. A small town called Holmsbury. I ran a search on her using an online company.

And you talked to her? What did she say?

Nothing but hello. When Greg shot me a curious look, I continued. I called her. Someone answered the phone, a man. I asked for Grace Littlejohn. When she came on the line and I heard her voice, I knew it was my mother. But I couldn’t say anything. I was completely tongue-tie. Can you believe it? So I hung up.

After all this time, you just hung up?

What did you expect me to say, Greg? My voice rose in frustration as I paced in front of him. Hi, Mommy, can you bake me some cupcakes for school? I stopped pacing. Not that she ever did that anyway.

It would have been better than nothing, don’t you think? Greg’s voice was also increasing in volume.

We stared at each other, surprised at ourselves. We seldom raised our voices to each other. It told me how much his emotions were feeding off my already near hysteria. Wainwright, sensing the disturbance between us, trotted over and nudged Greg, looking for reassurance that we were okay. He received a reassuring pat.

Sweetheart, I’m sorry. Greg toned down his voice like the volume on a radio. I know this must have been a shock to you today, but you went to the trouble of looking her up, why not speak with her?

Tears rolled down my face again. I was turning into a regular waterworks. Greg, she left me when I was sixteen. And not once did she try to get in touch with me. Why would she want to hear from me now?

Maybe she did try, Odelia. Maybe that’s what was in that envelope. She might have written you a letter and Horten didn’t give it to you for some reason.

The envelope was addressed to my father, not me. I pointed at the envelope in his hands. Look at it.

He studied the address, then looked up at me. Odelia, this letter was sent when you were about twenty-five years old and already out on your own. Maybe she wrote to your father asking about you. Where you were. What you were doing. Stands to reason she would assume you wouldn’t be living with Horten and Gigi at that age.

If that’s true, then why didn’t Dad tell me or let me see it?

Greg held out a hand to me. I took it and squeezed. This man wasn’t just my lover and husband, he was my rock.

I don’t know why Horten didn’t let you know about this letter. And unfortunately, you can’t ask him about it.

No, I couldn’t. It was a secret he took to his grave.

I could always go to a séance and see what he has to say for himself.

Greg chuckled.

Don’t laugh. There’s a woman at the office who goes to them regularly.

Better yet, Odelia. Why don’t you make that call again. And this time, talk to the woman.

I eyed him as if he were crazy.

I mean it, sweetheart. What do you have to lose?

Silently, I ticked off three things inside my head: pride, nerve, sanity.

CHAPTER

TWO

CAN I COME HOME NOW?

Did you meet your mother yet?

I twitched my nose, hoping my husband could feel my annoyance through the phone. No, but I’m in front of her house right now and no one’s home.

Then you can’t come home.

I’m a grown woman, Greg. I’ll come home if I damn well want too.

He laughed. If that’s so, then why are you asking my permission?

Smart ass.

He laughed again, this time with more gusto.

I could picture Greg sitting in his wheelchair behind his big desk at Ocean Breeze Graphics in Huntington Beach – three thousand miles away. Wainwright would be hunkered down on the floor nearby. It was 8:15 a.m. in California, three hours behind my current time. His pared-down Saturday staff would be there and the place would be humming with activity and good natured ribbing. Greg’s employees love working for him, and no wonder. He treats them great and, thanks to an inheritance from his grandfather, even offers scholarship assistance for those who choose to attend college while working for him.

But I was still annoyed. After all, he’s the one who insisted I travel to Massachusetts to meet my mother. He’s the one who’d bought the ticket and used frequent flyer miles to upgrade it to first class. On top of that, he’d arranged for me to stay at a charming country bed and breakfast while here. And he’d talked my boss, Michael Steele, obnoxious attorney-at-law, into letting me have a last minute mini-vacation.

All I had to do was get my fat ass on the plane and travel by rental car from Hartford, Connecticut to Holmsbury, Massachusetts, the small town where my mother lived. Oh – and place a call to my mother beforehand to let her know I was coming. Which, by the way, I had failed to do. So now I was sitting in a rental car on the Saturday morning of Labor Day Weekend on a lovely village road in front of a sweet house that supposedly belonged to my long-lost mother.

Just minutes before I called Greg, I had taken the long walk up the short path to the door of the house and rang the bell. When no one answered, I let out the breath I was holding and hightailed it back to the car ready to catch a flight back to California.

Did I tell you, I said into the phone, that I rented a GPS with the car?

What does this have to do with you facing your mother, Odelia?

Ignoring his question, I continued on my own path of conversation. According to this gizmo, the Ben & Jerry’s factory is just a short three hour drive north of here. If I left now, I might make it in time to take a tour.

Uh huh, my husband snorted. You got a hankering to visit the promised land, do you? Wouldn’t it be easier and more time efficient to go to the grocery store to get your fix?

But it could be fun. More fun, though, if you were with me.

I had mixed feelings about Greg not coming with me. Even though he was swamped at work and short-handed while some of his key people were on vacation, he would have traveled with me had I asked him. On one hand, I thought it would be easier to deal with this meeting, or my inability to deal with it, without his cheerful encouragement and pushing. On the other hand, I missed him terribly, including his support and not-so-gentle nagging to just do it. Ever since waking up this morning alone in the big antique canopy bed, without Greg and without our furry four-legged children, I’d been out of sorts. And not just this morning. Ever since discovering my mother’s whereabouts, I’d been crankier than usual. Something Steele didn’t hesitate to point out. Nor had Zee Washington, my best friend, minced words about how helpful and healthy it would be for me to get to the bottom of my mother’s disappearance.

Maybe, Greg suggested, after you meet Grace, you can take a road trip to Vermont. Kind of like a reward.

A reward. I thought of Wainwright’s beloved Snausages. Outside of verbal praise from us, our golden retriever considered Snausages the absolute gold standard in reward treats. When it came to Ben & Jerry’s ice cream, I wasn’t all that different. I wondered if they gave factory tours at the Del Monte plant where they made Snausages.

I was about to ask Greg about the animals when I noticed, and not for the first time, someone watching me from the house across the street. I could see a face peering out at me from behind frothy curtains framing a window.

Greg, I’m being watched.

What?

I’m being watched. Someone across the street is watching me from their window. I glanced over at the neighbor’s house again, but the face had disappeared.

Are you sure?

Yes, I’m sure. Maybe I should be moving along. I wouldn’t want someone to think I was casing the joint for a robbery.

He laughed again.

Why are you laughing? I wouldn’t want them to call the police.

Well, sweetheart, that wouldn’t be a consideration if you’d called Grace first like I’d suggested.

"Are you giving me the old I told you so line?"

I told you so.

Oh oh.

What? Greg’s jocular mood turned serious in a flash.

Someone just came out of that house and is walking toward me.

With Greg still on the phone, I watched as a white haired woman left the house across the street and made her way down her driveway toward my car. She was wearing a white tee shirt and pink sweat pants with a gray stripe down each leg. Draped across her shoulders was a matching pink cardigan-style sweat shirt. On her feet were bright white sneakers. In one hand she held a leash attached to a long-haired rat. As she got closer, I identified the rat as a long-haired, miniature dachshund. The dog, its coat the color of stale baloney, marched in double-time at the end of the leash. When the woman got to the street, she picked up the dog.

It’s a little old lady in jogging clothes, I whispered into the phone. What should I do?

Is she toting a gun or a baseball bat? I could hear him snickering.

Just a wiener dog.

He snickered louder. You’re making this up.

Afraid not. The woman’s gotta be in her late seventies.

Sweetheart, you’ve stared down the barrels of loaded guns and kept company with serial killers. I doubt if a septuagenarian and a dachshund are going to be much of a threat.

How do you know? I whined. She could smother me with the dog. Did I say it was long-haired?

As the woman approached my car, I gave her as warm of a smile as I could muster. The cell phone connection was still open. Just in case.

Hello, she said to me, her homey face displaying open curiosity. The dog let out a low growl.

Hi, I answered, eyeing the animal with suspicion. How are you today?

She didn’t respond to my question, but instead asked her own. May I help you?

I’m sorry?

May I help you, dear? she asked again. I’ve notice you sitting out here in your car for some time and wondered if you were lost.

If this were Southern California, no elderly woman in her right mind would saunter out to question a stranger hanging around her neighborhood. At least not without fire power or pepper spray. A tiny dachshund is hardly a pit bull.

The woman was slightly built and would have been considered tall had she not been bent with age. Her face was lined and rosy and she was wearing a lovely shade of pale pink lipstick. Her hair capped her head like the end of a fluffy white Q-tip. I had no doubt that her home across the street was just as perfectly groomed. Even the dog’s coat glistened in the sun.

Um, I said, I stopped by to see Grace Littlejohn, but no one appears to be home.

She leaned forward and studied me through thick lenses with pale pink and silver frames. The dog growled more as it drifted closer. I leaned back in my seat. The woman broke into a big smile. Why, you look just like Grace.

I do?

Spitting image. You must be a relative. Are you a niece or something?

I hesitated. In my tote bag was a photo of my mother taken when I was a child. She always hated having her picture taken, so I didn’t have anything more recent. It was hard to tell from the photo if there was a strong resemblance.

Yes, something like that. Then I added, I’m just visiting, but it’s a surprise, so I didn’t call first.

If Greg was picking up the conversation via the microphone in my earpiece, I had no doubt he was rolling with laughter and mouthing I told you so.

I’m Cynthia Rielley. I’ve lived across the street from Grace for over thirty years. She picked up one of the dog’s paws and waved it at me. And this is Coco. Coco growled again. Sh, Coco, the woman commanded in a low voice before turning her attention back to me. He’s so protective of me. She smiled.

I smiled back. Nice to meet you both. I’m Odelia Gre... Stevens. Mrs. Stevens. I glanced at the Littlejohn house. I guess I could leave a note on the door and let them know where I’m staying.

This is Labor Day Weekend, dear. Grace won’t be back home until very late tonight?

Did she go out of town? A hopeful tone crept into my voice.

Oh no. Labor Day Weekend is when we have the Autumn Fair. Grace always works at the fair.

I remembered the owner of the B&B telling guests something about a local fair this morning over breakfast, but I hadn’t been paying close attention. I had been too busy trying to swallow my nerves along with my blueberry pancakes.

Is that like a county or state fair?

Yes, but on a smaller scale. Several of the small towns around here put it on to raise money for various local charities. It started more than ten years ago and grows every year. She straightened her shoulders in pride. We now draw folks from as far away as Nashua and Boston. Why, there’s even a corn maze.

A corn maze? I asked.

Yes, every year Old Man Tyler plants a field of corn near the fair just for the maze and runs it every weekend for the whole month of September and most of October. It’s very popular.

Awkwardness crept between us. I wasn’t quite sure what to do or say. No matter what I’d just said to Mrs. Rielley, I had no intention of writing a note to leave on the door, but clearly she expected me to do something. The dog had stopped growling but was still keeping his big brown eyes fixed on me in case I tried to assault his mistress.

I know, Mrs. Rielly said with a burst of excitement. Why don’t you drive on over to the fair and find Grace? She’ll be so surprised.

You have no idea. 

I don’t know, I said. I wouldn’t want to disturb her while she’s working.

Nonsense. Mrs. Rielley turned to face down the road in the direction my rental car was pointed. You just go down this street a piece until you come to a small rotary. Take the second turn off the rotary. That’s Old Mill Road. Go straight until Turner Junction. You can’t miss it. There’s a Dairy Queen and a Dunkin Donuts on the corner. Turn left and keep going until you’ll see the fair. There should be signs for it along the way.

Um ... thank you very much, Mrs. Rielley.

She turned back toward me. You’re quite welcome, Mrs. Stevens. Just check the food booths. Grace is always in charge of things having to do with food.

Like mother, like daughter.

I started up the car and Mrs. Rielley stepped back. Coco looked disappointed that I hadn’t given him reason to sink his teeth into me.

Maybe we’ll see you there. She gave me a small wave goodbye. My husband and I are going tonight. They always have country music on Saturday night, right after the fireworks.

Did you hear that? I said to Greg as soon as I was several blocks away from Mrs. Rielley.

Greg was laughing. I even heard the dog growl. I hope you’re heading to the fair.

Are you nuts? I can’t meet her in a public place. What if she makes a scene? What if she faints? Has a heart attack?

Which could have been avoided had you just made that call.

Greg, are you going to nag me forever about this?

Nope, just until it stops being fun. He paused. I really do think you should go to the fair, sweetheart. Think about it. You could check your mother out from a distance before actually meeting her.

As if on autopilot, the