Cupcakes and Killers

by Laina Turner

“I would imagine the land in California is much prettier,” Cora said.

  “Just more expensive, mostly,” she replied.

  “Where’s he going?” I wondered out loud as George turned down a dirt road that didn’t have a name, or at least no road sign displaying a name.

  “I don’t think anyone lives back here anymore, but there is an old abandoned farmhouse about a mile up the road, I think,” Sally said.

  “How is it we have both lived here all our lives, and yet you know everything about everything, and I have no clue?” I asked.

  Sally shrugged. “Maybe because Tom and I were always looking for secluded make-out spots when we were in high school. We know where all the off-the-beaten-path farmhouses are.”

  “Seriously, though, Tom has always been interested in all the old farmhouses and buildings around here, and has worked with the historical society a lot in securing funds to save some of these old buildings from being demolished. You should see the old plot maps he has in his office. I’m not as interested as he is, but I do admit I enjoy hearing about the history of the families who built and lived in these places. It’s fun to imagine how they might have lived.”

  “Why would George be coming all the way back here if all there is, is basically nothing?” Cora asked.

  “Obviously he doesn’t want to be seen doing something he shouldn’t be doing, and if he was closer to town, someone might spot him. Why else would someone drive out in the middle of nowhere? I told you he was up to no good,” said Sally, slowing the car down as she noticed George doing the same. Even if Macie was right and he was oblivious to who was behind him, we still didn’t want to get too close.

  George turned into a driveway, which faced a run-down old barn that looked ready to crumble any second. Farther down the road, I could see the old farmhouse Sally had been talking about.

  “There’s already a car here,” said Macie, pointing to a black Cadillac.

  “I think that’s your dad, Rachel,” I said. “At least, when we saw him talking to George the last time, he was driving a black Cadillac.”

  Just then, a man stepped out of the car to meet George, who had stepped out of his.

  “It is him,” Rachel snapped. “Pull in. I don’t care if they see us. I’m going to talk to him and find out what the hell is going on.”

  “Okay,” Sally said, pulling in and right up behind George’s vehicle. Rachel got out of the car, followed by the rest of us. There was no way we were going to miss this. Both men looked over. Surprised to see us would be an understatement. They looked downright shocked. I wanted to laugh, but maybe it was the sangria talking.

  Lewis recovered quickly and turned to Rachel, to ask as she approached him, “What are you doing out here, honey?” His tone sounded as if he found nothing surprising about her being out in the middle of nowhere.

  “I could ask you the same thing. Why are you three thousand miles from home, meeting someone out in the middle of nowhere?” Rachel demanded, hands on her hips.

  “Honey, surely you remember George Parker, my buddy from college?”

  “I remember seeing him one time at the house, but that doesn’t explain why you’re meeting out in the middle of nowhere.”

  “I could ask you the same thing. What brings you out here?”

  “Probably the same thing as you, Dad,” she said.

  “I doubt it, honey.” He chuckled.

  “Maybe I can clear this up.” George broke in, seeming a little nervous, maybe, by the fact we had obviously followed him out here. This seemed to give more credence to Sally’s theory he was up to no good. “I asked your dad to help me plan a trip for mine and Cathy’s thirtieth wedding anniversary.”

  “And planning an anniversary trip calls for meeting out here in the middle of nowhere?” she asked, spreading her arms wide.

  “I don’t want anyone to see us and tell Cathy, which would spoil the surprise. That woman is smart, and I’ve never, in over thirty years of being together, been able to pull off a surprise. Maybe this is a little over the top, but I wanted to be safe. Everyone in town knows me, and it would get back to Cathy that I was meeting someone she didn’t know. Then she would grill me. I can’t keep secrets from that woman.”

  I looked at Sally. What he said made sense. Well, about the anniversary. Avery told me she had been asked by George to make one of her special cakes for Cathy, and she was afraid she wouldn’t be cleared by Clive to open in time. Sally shrugged, and I could tell she thought it made sense as well. Big, coming from her, since she was the one suspicious of him anyways.

  “How are you helping him, Dad?” Rachel said, still suspicious.

  “I’m letting him use our time-share in Rome, and helping him plan a trip through the Italian vineyards. Like the trip I took your mom on a few years back.” Rachel paused in thought for a few minutes. “So what brings you out here?”

  “Stephen. That’s why I thought you were out here too. Looking for him.” She faltered a little. I could tell she wasn’t sure whether to believe this far-fetched story or not, but she wanted to.

  “I thought you were done with that scum,” her dad said darkly, obviously none too happy at her revelation.

  “I am. Well, I was. I still am,” she said, shaking her head. “It’s complicated, and not really any of your business.”

  “You’re my daughter, Rachel. Everything you do is my business. Besides, how do you know he’s even here?” Lewis asked.

  “These ladies are the ones he had the run-in with a few months back, and he’s been contacting them wanting the money back that he stole from you, which got confiscated by the police due to Trixie here.” She pointed to me.

  “Nice to meet you, Trixie,” he said politely, which seemed a contrast to the image I had of a criminal in my mind. Or maybe I did have too much sangria, and that’s why nothing seemed to be making any sense.

  “Likewise, sir. These are my friends Sally, Cora, and Macie,” I said, making the rest of the introductions.

  “Nice to meet all of you ladies. I assume you all know Rachel over this Stephen business?”

  “Yes. I came here because I knew Stephen was in trouble and these ladies were involved. I’m trying to help,” Rachel said.

  “Are you going to get my money back?”

  “No, Dad, the police have the money. This isn’t about you. It’s about making sure Stephen doesn’t do any more bad things.”

  “How do you propose doing that?” Lewis asked.

  “If I tell you, do you promise to stay out of things?”

  “Yes, dear. That small amount of money Stephen took is not worth my time. I’ve moved on.”

  “If you expect me to believe that, you underestimate how well I know you.”

  “What do you mean, Rachel? I would never underestimate you, dear!”

  “You want me to believe you’re going to turn a blind eye to someone who stole from you? You’ve killed people for that!”

  Lewis’s eyebrows shot up.

  “You think I don’t know about all the things you have done?” Rachel said, her voice getting louder.

  I could see this was turning into a family argument that had clearly been brewing for some time, at least on Rachel’s part. Lewis looked at us and at George before turning his attention back to Rachel. “Let’s not air our dirty laundry here, sweetheart. No one wants to know about our family dysfunction. We can talk about it later. Let me finish my business here.”

  Rachel opened her mouth to say something and then paused a few seconds. “Fine, but only if you promise to leave him alone.”

  “If that’s what you want, but why are you wasting time on him?”

  “Let’s say I am going to do my best to make sure Stephen does no more harm, and he goes to prison where he belongs. Prison is where all criminals belong,” she said pointedly.

  Lewis ignored the comment and said, “Okay, fine.”

  “You ladies won’t tell Cathy about this, will you?” George said to the three of us who knew
his wife.

  Sally spoke up first. “Your secret’s safe with us . . . at least, your vacation secret.”

  “Call me later, Rachel. Maybe we can head back to California together,” Lewis called out as we started walking back to the car. Rachel just nodded without responding. We all got back into the car.

  “That’s not what I expected.” Cora was the first to say something as Sally backed out of the driveway and headed back down the dirt road.

  “Do you think they were telling the truth?” Sally asked Rachel.

  Rachel shook her head. “I kind of hate to admit it, but I think so.”

  “Then I guess we are just waiting for Stephen to call,” I said and leaned back into the seat, while Sally drove us into town.

  We had traveled a few miles in silence when I looked over my shoulder and saw Rachel was staring out the window.

  “You okay, Rachel?” I asked. “That was quite an exchange you and your dad had.”

  “Yeah. I’m okay. And you’re right, I’ve wanted to say that and more for a long time. I actually feel good. Opening that door to a future conversation feels right.”

  Chapter 16

  I was waiting on customers the next morning, happy it was pretty busy. There were lots of people wanting coffee, and boy, I knew the feeling. I’d stayed up way too late last night, and had way too many sangrias. We went back to the bar after leaving George and Lewis, since that’s where everyone’s cars were. Once there, we decided it would be a good idea to go back inside and have just one more round. It turned out to be not such a good idea after all, because one round turned into a few, and Cora ended up driving everyone home. Because of her pregnancy, not only did she not get to have any sangria, but she also had to play chauffeur. She was good-natured about it and teased us unmercifully this morning. She was bright-eyed, while Sally and I were sadly dragging. I was too old for all-night drinking, especially when I had to work the next day.

  I heard the phone ringing, and Sally answered it. A few seconds later she called out to me, “Trix, it’s for you.”

  “Tell whoever it is I will call them back.”

  “I think you better take it,” she said, walking to me. “I’ll finish making the lattes. It’s Katherine, and it sounds like something is wrong.”

  My heart started racing. Katherine never called me here at work. I could only imagine something horrible happened. I told Sally what kind of coffee I was making and ran over to the phone.

  “Hello?” I said, heart racing.

  “Trixie, I’m sorry to bother you at work, but there’s been an incident.”

  “Katherine, is everything okay?”

  “Yes, everyone is fine, but we’ve had quite a scare here, especially Phyllis. I hate to ask, but can you come over here now? She’s asking for you.”

  “Yes, of course. I’ll leave right now and be there as soon as I can.” I quickly hung up the phone and untied my apron.

  “Sally, I’m sorry, but I’ve got to get to the shelter. I’ll call Barbara and see if she can get over here to cover me.”

  “Don’t worry about it. I’ll call. Just go. Call me and let me know if there’s anything we can do.”

  “Okay.” I ran to the back, grabbed my purse, and hurried out the front door to the parking lot. I was driving too fast but not so far over the limit that I worried about getting pulled over. Not that I cared about getting a ticket, but I didn’t want to be slowed down by getting pulled over. About fifteen minutes later I pulled into the shelter, and my stomach dropped even further when I saw two police cars there. I crossed my fingers and hoped nothing bad had happened to Phyllis. I would never forgive myself.

  I saw Katherine as soon as I walked through the door. “What happened?”

  “Phyllis’s husband showed up here and caused a ruckus. The cops have him in the office and are getting ready to take him to county. As you can imagine, she’s a wreck. I hated to bother you, but I thought maybe you could calm her down.”

  I waved away her concerns. “Don’t worry about it. I’m glad you called. Where is she?”

  “In her room.”

  “Okay. Thanks.” I headed down the hall. I caught a glimpse of the police talking to a man in Katherine’s office. I assumed he was the husband. Clive wasn’t one of the police in there with him, but I knew both of them slightly. Clive had a good team, and hopefully this time, he’d go to jail and stay there. I felt so bad. This was supposed to be a safe place.

  “Phyllis, I got here as soon as I could. How are you?” I said as I walked into her room. She was sitting on the edge of her bed, visibly upset. She seemed somewhat composed now, though she still had those hiccup breaths of someone who had just finished crying. She jumped up and hugged me, and I could feel her trembling. I felt so bad for her. She should have been safe here.

  “Trixie, I don’t know how he found me. Someone I trusted must have told him.”

  “Sshh. It’s okay,” I said, hugging her tightly and rubbing her back. “Katherine and the police will make sure he can’t hurt you. He’s going to jail, and will hopefully be there for a long time.”

  “I knew he would find me. He won’t ever stop until he kills me. He told me he wouldn’t let me leave alive,” she cried. “This is never going to end.”

  “Phyllis, listen to me, you can’t let him get to you. I know it’s hard, and yes, he did find you here, but you can’t let this incident undo all the progress you’ve made. You don’t need him, and you can’t let him in your mind. He wants to intimidate you so you’re miserable without him. Don’t let him take up that space in your head.” It was much easier for me to say than I know it was for her to do in actuality. But what I was saying was true. She needed to break free, emotionally and physically.

  “I know, and I felt like I was making so much progress. I thought maybe I could get free, and then he shows up here. I thought this was a safe place. If I’m not safe here, I won’t be safe anywhere.” She started crying again.

  I didn’t really know what to say. She was right in a sense, but she had to work through this herself. No one could do it for her. In the short time I’d been working at the shelter I had learned that much. We couldn’t fix people’s issues; we could only support them. I was so thankful that, for all the issues I may have with Cody’s dad, abuse wasn’t one of them. I just held her, trying to give her some comfort in the only way I knew how, and finally, her tears subsided again. She started breathing more calmly.

  “Let’s sit down,” I suggested, and we both moved to the small table and chairs in the corner of her room. “Why don’t we try one of the exercises I know you’ve been doing in group, where you look at everything from the positive angle and try to work your way back to feeling positive. Can we try that?”

  She nodded, and we spent the next hour talking about all the things that had happened since she’d been at the shelter, and the positive aspect of each event. God knows it was hard, but by the time we talked it through, she was feeling a little better. Or at least, she seemed to be. I left her with a promise that I would come back tomorrow and check on how she was doing.

  I stopped in at Katherine’s office on my way out. She looked up as I came to stand in her doorway.

  “How is she?” Katherine asked, looking worried.

  “Actually, better than I expected. We worked on some of those positivity exercises, and they seemed to help. She is still scared he’ll come back, but that is just going to take time for her to get over. How did he get in here?”

  Katherine shook her head. “The usual. One of the members of her family told him, so he could come talk sense into her.” Katherine sighed. “It’s not the first time this has happened, and won’t be the last. I have such a hard time understanding what people are thinking when they give abusers this information.”

  “I think people want to believe people will change. But in these cases, it’s not usually going to happen,” I said. “Anyways, I told her I would stop back tomorrow and check on her.”

  �
�Thanks, Trixie. It really helped you coming here. I appreciate it, and I know Phyllis does too.”

  “No problem. Glad I could help. Don’t hesitate to call me if you need anything else.”

  Chapter 17

  “This is ridiculous, Cora. You need to do something about this, or I will!” I heard Sally almost yelling at Cora as I walked back into the shop after returning from the shelter. The rush had passed, and there weren’t any customers around to listen to Sally’s outburst.

  Hanging my jacket up, I asked, “What’s going on?”

  “Her friendly stalker paid her another visit,” Sally said, arms crossed. She was angry, and I knew it was out of concern for Cora. I agreed that Cora didn’t seem to be taking this seriously enough.

  “Cora, what happened?”

  “It’s not that big of a deal—”

  “Of course it’s a big deal,” Sally interrupted. “You need to stop blowing this off and treating it like it’s not important.”

  “Sally, calm down. Let her talk,” I said.

  “He left flowers on my front door. They were there waiting for me when I got home. It’s not that big of a deal. Sally is overreacting. It’s not like he left a death threat.”

  “Not yet,” Sally muttered under her breath.

  “And you’re sure they were from him?” I asked.

  “Yes. There was a card enclosed. It just said, ‘Thinking of you. All my love.’ Once again, creepy, but the card wasn’t threatening, so why worry about it? There’s nothing anyone can do. He’s a harmless pest.”

  “That’s not true, Cora. There’s nothing the law can do, but Jonathan could do plenty!” Sally said. “And you heard Macie yesterday. These things usually escalate. He needs to be stopped now.”

  While I did think she was being hard on Cora, Sally had a point. Though this behavior seemed more annoying than threatening now, after what happened at the shelter earlier, it made me realize how much this situation could escalate. Which is what I proceeded to tell Cora. She did need to take it more seriously.