The Rocky Road to Ruin

by Meri Allen

  Voelker’s phone buzzed and he looked at the screen. “Excuse me, I have to go.” We all stood and headed for the door, where Sprinkles was still moping. She hissed, and the detective stepped carefully around her. “Have a good day.”

  Caroline waved as he got into his SUV and drove down the lane.

  “I hope you’re not falling for a man who might arrest me for wasting police time,” I said.

  Caroline rolled her eyes at me but smiled. We returned to the kitchen and her smile faded as she looked toward the bag of Mike’s things. “What do I do with these?”

  I pulled out the items one by one. “His class ring, keys to his car…”

  “Maybe you can drive his car instead of Buzzy’s,” Caroline said.

  It was a nice car, but I knew I’d never feel comfortable driving it. “I’ll stick with Sadie.”

  Caroline picked up the phone and I wondered if the police were able to access its contents. I remembered that anything found at the scene of a crime is evidence that the police could use. How I wished I knew what they’d found.

  She pressed ON and the screen brightened.

  “It’s locked,” Caroline said. Her eyes met mine and I knew she was thinking the same thing I was. For years, we’d played Mike’s computer games whenever he wasn’t home. His password hadn’t been hard to guess—his high school football team and the number one.

  Had he kept the same password all these years? “Bobcat one?” I said.

  Caroline put it in and the screen unlocked. Together we bent our heads over the phone. “Let’s look at his pictures.…” She hesitated then handed the phone to me. “You do it.”

  I swiped through the photos. Most were of the farm, probably taken to include in his real estate sale brochure. I swiped back further and stopped at a photo of Angelica on a sailboat, silhouetted against a cloudy gray sky, hunched in a sweatshirt. She did look green around the gills, just as she’d told me earlier about their trip. Going through the photos was like replaying a film in reverse. Angelica and Mike traveled back across the Sound to a charming seafront hotel on Block Island I recognized from a bike trip there a few years earlier.

  I swiped again, and there was a selfie of Kyle and Mike on a golf course, then shots of a magnificent seaside home. I wondered if they’d stayed there or if it was a property Mike had planned to list. In another photo, taken on a restaurant patio, Angelica raised a glass to a spectacular sunset. Another hand, a woman’s, held a drink in the frame. I flicked through and didn’t see any photos of Nina.

  “Look at that,” Caroline said. “Can you make the photo of Nina’s hand bigger?”

  I expanded the photo of the women toasting the sunset.

  Caroline pointed at Nina’s diamond watch. “I saw a watch like that once at an auction. Very pricey.”

  It looked pricey. “Kyle must be doing well to buy that for her.”

  Caroline took the phone, placed everything back in the bag, and put it on the counter next to the TV, then cleared Voelker’s empty coffee cup from the table. A small smile softened her features.

  “Let’s eat those eggs,” I said. “When you’re done mooning over that cop, we have ice cream to make.”

  Chapter 24

  After a quick breakfast, a shower, and blessedly clean clothes, Caroline and I hurried down the lane to Udderly. Pru waved from the farm stand.

  “Mom and baby okay?” I called.

  She held her hands shoulder-width apart. “Big boy. Nine pounds! Mom was a trooper.”

  Once inside the kitchen, I pulled down the schedule clipboard. Scheduling was one thing I’d definitely change. “Who’s on the schedule this morning? Oh. One intern. And us. All day. Every day. Through eternity.”

  Pru burst in, her colorful paisley-print skirt twirling, her hair tied back with a red bandanna. “I forgot to ask if you’re ready for strawberries. The hands picked them this morning.”

  “Yes!”

  Caroline carried a five-pound bag of sunflower seeds from the pantry. “Did the baby keep you up late?”

  “Nope, he came fast. Surprised mama and me for sure,” she smiled. “I was in time for the ceremony at Town Hall.”

  “Congratulations. I wish I could’ve been there,” I said.

  “Me too,” Caroline said. “It’s a wonderful honor.”

  “It was so good to see Darwin recognized for his work with the interns. He’s been going full throttle, trying to keep his mind occupied.” Pru’s smile faded. “He’s waiting for the other shoe to drop. He’s not sure if the police are through with him.”

  We reassured her, but still her eyes were troubled.

  “You don’t want to miss the ice cream making party tonight,” I said. “Everyone wants to come. Even Paulette’ll be here.”

  “Paulette?” Pru’s eyebrows flew up. “Well, well. Red-letter day.”

  A little furry black head peeked in the screen door of the kitchen. “Rocky!”

  As I approached the door, Rocky turned tail and scampered off. I looked down on the steps to see a dead field mouse—well, more accurately, half a field mouse. “Ugh.”

  Pru and Caroline joined me at the door. “Ah, a present! He loves you!” Pru teased.

  After clearing away Rocky’s love offering and giving thanks that the health inspector wasn’t there to see me do it, I washed up, switched places with Caroline, and took over making the sunflower ice cream. I couldn’t help but dip in a spoon to sneak a taste of the creamy vanilla ice cream with honey and caramel set off by the salty, nutty crunch of sunflower seeds. Delicious.

  The screen door in the kitchen swung open.

  “The cavalry has arrived,” Flo said. “I brought you lunch.” She handed me a tray with sandwiches and a pint of ruby red strawberries, then pointed toward the door. “You two have to take a break. Go sit outside at that picnic table and eat, and I mean it.”

  “I’m afraid if I sit down I won’t be able to get back up again,” I said.

  But we did as Flo told us and dug into turkey sandwiches with thick slices of tomato and lettuce, then devoured the sweet, just-picked strawberries. The food, the warmth of the sun, and the view worked together as a mini vacation. Caroline looked as relaxed as I felt.

  A black sports car rolled up Farm Lane to the house. I shaded my eyes and watched Kyle get out and carry a cardboard carton to the porch.

  Did lawyers make house calls? My cynical self thought, They do if the client is sitting on several million dollars’ worth of real estate.

  “I’d better see what Kyle wants.” Caroline walked up the hill, smoothing her apron—her nervous tell. I gathered our trash and went back into the kitchen.

  Flo joined me as Pru brought in an enormous flat of strawberries. “Picked this morning. Darwin had some of the hands wash them.” Pru had removed the bandanna and now her hair was pulled back in a tidy ponytail that showed off sparkling silver earrings. “I saw Caroline go up the hill. Is she okay?” Pru asked.

  “Kyle Aldridge brought her some things from Mike’s condo.” I washed my hands, grabbed a cutting board and knife, and started prepping the strawberries.

  “His dad was a good man, God rest him.” Flo poured batter into the waffle iron.

  “Sorry, I have to run.” Pru waved as she left.

  Flo said, “Pru’s going to a memorial luncheon for her friend Martha Woodley. She and all the area midwives do it every year.”

  I looked up from the cutting board. “Who’s Martha Woodley?”

  “She was practically a mother to Pru. Trained her to be a midwife,” Flo tsked. “Killed in a hit-and-run and the police never caught who did it. What a sad summer that was. It was the same summer Brooke Danforth died.”

  Brooke, Dandy’s daughter. “I remember. Caroline and I were away at camp, but that’s all people were talking about when we came home.”

  “So sad,” Flo sighed. “She took an accidental overdose of sleeping pills.”

  I searched my memory. “She had bulimia.”

 
“Yes, her eating disorder may have contributed to her death. She was a tiny thing. What a sad time.” Flo brought the freshly made cones to the front of the shop while I continued to slice strawberries, my mind turning over memories of that summer. I certainly hadn’t moved in the same circles as Brooke, a popular cheerleader, but I remembered the shock I’d felt when I learned of her death.

  Twenty minutes later, Caroline returned.

  “What did Kyle want?” I said.

  Caroline shrugged and washed her hands. “Same spiel about selling the farm, the great opportunity. He gave me a box of papers and mail from Mike’s condo. I keep forgetting that he and Mike were such good friends. Remind me to send him that photo of them from their trip to Block Island.” She squared her shoulders and repositioned her glasses. “There’s too much to think about. I need to stay busy.”

  “No trouble with that.”

  Caroline went to the counter as I continued to prep berries. My thoughts shifted to Detective Voelker. I hoped he’d take my tip seriously and get to work investigating Emily.

  I was convinced Emily had gone to see Mike the night of the murder. She had a distinctive small car. I wondered if Emily had used an untraceable burner phone to make her anonymous tip. She’d probably called the police department’s general, nonemergency number. I knew someone who answered the phone at the police department. If I was lucky, the same person had answered the anonymous tipster’s call.

  Loose Lips Tillie O’Malley.

  * * *

  At six o’clock, Paulette swept into the shop, her hair pulled into a high bun that showcased her elegant jawline and diamond earrings. Leave it to Paulette to wear diamonds to make ice cream on a farm.

  Flo gave her an apron printed with exercising cows and the words “Mooove It.”

  Paulette pinched it between her fingers. “Funny.” She smiled gamely and put it on over her designer jeans and white linen tunic.

  Once I walked her through the ice cream-making process, from the Book of Spells to the chiller to the freezer, Paulette dove in, measuring and moving with confidence. You only had to show Paulette how to do something once. I actually warmed to her.

  Flo and Gerri insisted on staying after closing to bake peanut brittle, chocolate chip cookies, and brownie mix-ins as Paulette whipped through several more batches of sunflower ice cream. Caroline, Willow, and I sliced strawberries, stirred custard, hauled tubs of ice cream to the freezer, washed bowls and equipment, and mopped and cleaned.

  “So, Willow,” Paulette said. “Are you going to college next year?”

  “I’m taking a couple of gap years to work and save money,” Willow said as she wiped down the table. “I want to go to art school.”

  “I love what you do with our chalkboards,” I said.

  We all bumped into each other in the small space, but we laughed, and joked, and filled the freezer with enough ice cream to get us through the weekend. Paulette charmed everyone, and to my surprise she offered to come back and help another time. “I had so much fun,” she said.

  I think she meant it.

  * * *

  When Caroline and I returned to the house, Sprinkles and Rocky were sitting in the kitchen, Sprinkles mewling pitifully next to her empty bowl, Rocky peeking out from a cardboard box on the kitchen floor. Papers were scattered everywhere.

  “Rocky!” Caroline and I scrambled to pick up the papers and stack them on the table.

  “I fed you guys before I left,” Caroline said. Without being commanded, I flushed for Sprinkles and poured a bit more food in Rocky’s bowl.

  “So Rocky came back when you were here with Kyle?” I said.

  Caroline shook her head. “He must’ve snuck in when I opened the door to let Kyle in.”

  “You missed me, right?” I nuzzled Rocky. He purred for a bit, then slid from my arms and went to the window. I put on the kettle and made tea. Rocky remained at his perch, alert, his tail swishing back and forth.

  “I think he’s longing for his old life,” I said. “I’m tying him down.”

  Caroline bent her head and said in a small voice, “Riley, that’s how I feel—like I’m tying you down.”

  “Oh, Caroline! Don’t be silly.” I took a deep breath. It would feel good to tell someone the truth about the disaster in Rome. “Sit down.”

  Sprinkles stalked back from the powder room and mewed. Caroline picked her up and stroked her long, silky fur.

  “Caroline, when I was in Rome … Remember I told you I met a guy?”

  “Yes, Paolo,” she said. “The guy you said looked like a model. He worked at the embassy, right?”

  “In the IT department.” I took a deep breath. “Turns out, he was a thief. An antiquities thief.”

  Caroline’s eyes widened.

  I told her the whole story, leaving out the part about my undercover work. “I’d fallen for him. And he used me.”

  “Oh, Riley!” She squeezed my hand.

  My throat closed up, but I swallowed my tears. I wasn’t crying over him anymore.

  “Thank goodness they had him on camera, because otherwise the embassy might’ve thought I’d stolen the statue.” Paolo had disarmed a security camera, unaware that there were two in my office. “The statue was small but very valuable. Even though I was innocent of the theft, it tarnished my reputation. Now everyone thinks I’m a foolish woman who let her heart get in the way of good sense.”

  “Riley, I’m so sorry!” Caroline said in a small voice. “About work and about … everything.”

  “It’s okay,” I said. “Being here, running the shop, it’s been good to have something new to do so I can regroup. Well, there you have my sad story.”

  “I’m really sorry, Riley.” She put her arm around me and I rested my head briefly on her shoulder.

  “I have Rocky now and Sprinkles, right?” I went to pet Sprinkles and she hissed. “Sweet.” My eyes fell on the cardboard box. “Anything important in there?”

  Caroline looked at the gathered mail. “Not really. I’m not sure why Kyle bothered.”

  “Bills?” I said.

  She handed the stack to me. “All Mike’s bills were paid electronically. Kyle’s going to send me a report.”

  I flipped through a sailing magazine and three brochures from art colleges. “Was your brother going back to school?”

  “Not that I know of,” Caroline said. “It wouldn’t be for art. He had no interest at all.”

  I sorted envelopes. “Junk mail. Family Finder? That’s the company that helps you find your ancestry through DNA? Was Mike interested in genealogy?” I handed her the envelope.

  “Not in the slightest.” Caroline tore it open. “I mean, we were adopted and there’s no way he’d want to link up with our biological parents.” I didn’t ask for an explanation. I knew the years before foster care and adoption had been difficult.

  “That’s odd.” Caroline read, “‘More results will be sent via email.’” She handed a paper to me and I scanned it.

  I saw why she was confused. The results were for Elizabeth Spooner. “Was Mike helping Buzzy with her ancestry?”

  She shrugged. “No idea. And more results via email? Have you seen a computer in this house? Buzzy didn’t even have a cell phone. I mean, I got her one, but she never even turned it on.”

  “There’s a laptop in her office. I’ve used it.”

  “Mike bought it for her for Christmas. He set it up for her but she never touched it.”

  I read the results, which listed several nationalities and ethnicities.

  “No surprises,” Caroline said as she returned the papers to the box. “Buzzy always said she was one-hundred-percent American mutt. I should toss all these papers, but…” Her lips turned down.

  “I understand.”

  She stood and stretched. “Well, I’m off to bed. Or maybe I’ll paint a bit.”

  “Sounds good.”

  Rocky padded down the hallway and Sprinkles jumped down to follow him.

  I boi
led some hot water to warm up my tea, turned off the lights, then poked my head into the parlor.

  Sprinkles and Rocky sat erect on the back of the sofa, looking out the window with uncanny attention. A feeling of foreboding kindled as I came up behind them. “What’s so interesting, you two?”

  A tiny spark of light flickered up the lane. It was across Farm Lane to the west, close to the old Fairweather family cemetery, instead of behind the barn to the east like the other night. Still, the fire burned close to a field of parched sunflowers. Too close. “Not again! Caroline! Fire! Call nine-one-one!” I shouted.

  Caroline pounded down the stairs.

  My tea sloshed as I set it on the table. I ran out the door, pushing the screen door so hard it banged against the house.

  My footsteps pelted on the lane and then sank into the softer earth of the paths through the sunflowers. Years ago I could have run through these paths blindfolded, directly to the opening in the stone wall that ringed the cemetery. Now I thrashed through the sunflowers hoping I was going in the right direction.

  “Riley!” Caroline panted behind me. “I called nine-one-one! They’re coming. Wait!”

  I slowed. Caroline was right. What was I going to do? I had no firefighting equipment. Still, I had to see who was setting these fires.

  Frustration surged in me as I pushed through the sunflowers, trying to find a direct path to the cemetery. Their heads nodded gently, unconcerned that their dried leaves tore at my arms, that the darkness disoriented me.

  “Riley, wait for me!” Caroline continued to call behind me. I stopped, breathing heavily, and caught the aroma of cooked garlic and mushrooms.

  A siren wailed behind us and tires crunched gravel as I crept closer through the sunflowers, following the scent. As I reached the wall, a shadowy, angular figure shrugged a backpack onto its shoulders and cut away into the woods that hemmed the cemetery.

  “Stop!” I shouted, but the figure disappeared into the trees. Was it Stretch? There wasn’t enough light to tell.

  Heavy footsteps pounded toward us and a bright flashlight beam dazzled my eyes.