The Heavenly Hazelnut Murder

by CC Dragon

  “It’s on me.” I smiled. “You waitress or bartend before?”

  “I waitressed at the diner for a bit. I always end up in a mess,” she admitted.

  “You’re doing okay at the grocery store?”

  She nodded. “Martha’s mom has a rule. No dating co-workers, which Martha and Harry are probably breaking.”

  “Well, things happen, but if you have a habit of picking the wrong guys, like I do, it’s best not to play where you need to be all business. Katie’s been needing some waitressing help. Promise not to date her brothers?” I asked.

  “I could use the extra money. I’m trying to save up,” she explained.

  I looked at Katie. “Fine, I’ll give you a try-out tomorrow night. Tonight, if Martha can’t come in. Waitress only, and anyone gives you trouble, take it to Harry or Larry.”

  “You’re the best,” Megan said. “My ex-husband found out about all this and is trying to get back together. He says he changed.”

  “I don’t think that I ever met him,” I said.

  “Belle, get that Dr. Pepper, and then we need to check on the kitchen,” Katie cut in.

  After pouring the drink with extra ice, I followed Katie. “Was that out of line? I just thought it’d be another option for you on the tables. She needs help.”

  “I know. I don’t mind that. I’m just worried about her and customers like Ed. Martha ignores them. I was worried about her too. You need to be a bit tough and sassy to work a bar full of drunk men. She’s a mouse,” Katie scolded.

  “You said the same things about Martha, and now she’s working more places with more confidence. Sometimes you have to set a good example and give people a chance to learn. I do feel about bad the maternity clothes remark, but you could park a wheelbarrow in her camel toe. She needs to let that baby breathe,” I agreed.

  Katie snickered. “True enough. But you’re going to staff my bar up into not needing you.”

  “Never. I prefer behind the bar and I’ll always work for free. But you need help with all those tables. Harry isn’t good at it,” I teased.

  “No, and he’s full time at the grocery store. Larry works the door well and David can cover. The goal is, Harry is here for fun and just backs up the brothers. But I need a new short-order cook. That one is too slow. Chili fries?” Katie called.

  “What’s wrong with just fries?” the guy grumbled. “Fries, burgers I got, but heating up chili…”

  The microwave dinged and he took out the chili and dumped it on the fries.

  “Thanks,” I said.

  We went back to the bar. “The cook is new.”

  Katie waved it off. “I hire and fire one a month. Did Martha reply?”

  “I’ll go outside and call her and see if she’s busy.” I went around the bar and Gus followed me. “What’s wrong?”

  “You went to see Mrs. Gillis?” he asked.

  “Yeah, she wasn’t any major help, but she had access to the house. Is she mad?” I folded my arms and leaned on Gus’ SUV.

  “No, but she’s worried if you keep snooping. She’s worried about Ed. I get the idea she helped with Shelley and I just want you to leave Ed and Shelley and all of that alone,” he said.

  I gave a slight nod. “Okay. I didn’t bring it up so much as he did. I asked why he was gone so long.”

  “Don’t ask him anything,” Gus instructed.

  “We’re all just supposed to be afraid of him?” I rolled my eyes.

  I heard the door but didn’t look. The next thing I remembered was Gus pinning me to his SUV and kissing me until I couldn’t breathe and didn’t care.

  “Way to stake your claim there, Sheriff.” Ed whistled. “Make sure to keep her in line.”

  Gus pulled away. “Shut it, Ed.”

  I tried to push Gus away. “Women aren’t dogs to be trained, Ed.”

  Ed got into his car and drove off, kicking up gravel. His music was blaring so any response was drowned out. He wouldn’t fight me with Gus there.

  “Don’t mess with him. There’s a separate investigation underway and you need to stay out of it,” he informed me.

  “Fine, but if I was bartending and didn’t talk to him at all, it’d be weird. I’ll act normal and avoid certain topics.”

  “Good idea.”

  “But it wouldn’t shock me if he borrowed a motorcycle or rented a car, drove back, planted the snake and left—then he had an alibi no matter what. If the pastor was dead, good. If not, he had a good scare and Ed could finish things when he got back,” I added.

  “I can’t comment on investigations,” he said.

  I grumbled and texted Martha. “He has a snake tattoo on his arm. Maybe he had snakes as a kid?”

  “Belle, please,” Gus said.

  “Fine, I’m going to help Katie. You playing tonight?”

  “Maybe.” He pulled me in for another kiss.

  I rolled my eyes. “That was quite a display.”

  “I didn’t want Ed to think we were talking about him. Or talking at all,” Gus replied.

  “But you wanted him to see us making out?”

  “He’s far less likely to harass you if you’re dating me,” Gus suggested.

  “Men.” I sighed. “Are you going to have him pulled over for driving under the influence?”

  “I’ll make a call to a deputy on duty.” Gus grabbed my hand as I turned to go back into the bar.

  “What?” I asked.

  “You can handle yourself with most people. It’s not you.”

  I shook my head. “I worked in Atlanta, lived there for years.”

  Gus nodded. “I know. But we don’t have Atlanta-level police support or ambulance support here. Cities are different. Small towns, I know people will look after you, Harry and so on, but I don’t want anything to happen to you.”

  “That’s sweet, but you’re not the boss of me. You can’t be with me all of the time.”

  * * * *

  In the middle of the night, nature called, and when I returned to my bed, of course I’d forgotten to fill my water bottle before bed.

  I trudged to the kitchen and filled the bottle. With the view from the sink straight out of the back, I saw the sleeping goats and the RV in the distance. The lights were on, but that wasn’t a shock. We couldn’t hear them, so there was no drama, but I did see a car out there that wasn’t familiar.

  Gran liked keeping an eye on her property and left her binoculars by the sink to watch out for Duke, missing goats and so on. I debated for a half a second, then grabbed them. I didn’t recognize the car, but there was a tent outside. Probably Jeff. Maybe he got a car on the road?

  Then the door on the RV opened. Someone exited and I had to put the glasses down and rub my eyes. I was awake. I looked again. Sure enough, it was Dina slipping out of there like a cat burglar. I never thought about if they brought girls around to the RV or not. It wasn’t my business. But this one, Gus’ ex…

  The grandfather clock in the dining room struck one.

  “Nothing is open after midnight but legs and hospitals.” I frowned.

  I’d figure out tomorrow who she was seeing. For tonight, I was just grateful something had woken me up to see it. That wasn’t going to happen, not on my property.

  She drove off and I shook my head.

  * * * *

  Around lunch the next day, Jeff and the band came. The shop landlord had dropped off the equipment for the improvements and a check for the handyman. They were just glad they didn’t have to arrange the repairs. One mention of a code inspection and they were happy to upgrade the electrics. Gran took Jeff into the back while the band got lunch.

  The rest of the guys were served, but Dillon had trouble picking a beverage.

  “You need to invent a super-caffeinated coffee smoothie,” he suggested.

  “Late night?” I teased.

  “Playing.”

  “Who was Dina there for?” I asked.

  “Do you spy on me, Belle?” Dillon asked.

 
“No, I got up for some water and saw someone driving away. I recognized her. She’s Gus’ ex,” I explained.

  Dillon cocked his head.

  “But you know that. Did she try to get you guys to convince Gus to get back together with her?” I asked.

  “No, she was getting to know me better. Is that a problem?”

  “No, but I don’t want her on the property. She’s trouble,” I replied.

  “Those women are the most fun. No offense,” Dillon teased.

  “None taken. I’m fun, but not ‘trailer trash playing with men for rings and running around in the middle of night’ fun,” I shot back.

  Dillon smiled. “I was careful. Thanks for your concern.”

  “She’s so trashy, she best not linger near the curb on garbage day or they’ll toss her in,” I warned.

  “Belle, calm down. We ran into her on the road. She was waitressing. She offered to help. She didn’t have anywhere else to go so she rode back with us,” he said.

  “Where did she go after she left the RV?” I asked.

  He shrugged. “I’m not her keeper.”

  “You need to get rid of her. I don’t want her in this town.”

  “Not very American,” he scoffed. “But Gus could help you there.”

  “Does he know she’s back?” I asked.

  Dillon nodded. “Not thrilled.”

  “It’s mine and Gran’s property. No Dina,” I warned.

  “Okay, fine. Jeff is okay?” Dillon asked.

  “Sure. I’ll make you an extra-shot smoothie, but don’t blame me if you can’t sleep,” I warned.

  “I won’t. Maybe I’ll knock on your window?” he teased.

  “You’ll find a loaded shotgun while you’re barking up the wrong tree.”

  “Wound way too tight and good.” He grinned.

  “Dina is trouble. I warned you. The only culture that girl will ever have is a yeast infection,” I snapped.

  “Cat fight.” Dillon winked.

  I shook my head. “Never. I don’t fight over men. I got better things to do. She’s the type that’d only fight over men. She’s a user of men and will trade whatever she’s got for it.”

  “Relax, darlin’. Gus is only interested in you,” Dillon reassured.

  “I’m not worried about Gus. I don’t want Dina taking advantage of Gran or Jeff. They’re nice people and might not know about Dina’s past.” I handed him his extra caffeine.

  “Thanks. Good to know. I’m going to catch up the old guys. Milan looks good,” Dillon said.

  “He just got out of the hospital yesterday, but he swears he’s calmer here than at home.” At least we could keep an eye on him.

  “Probably better than him being home alone, just in case,” Dillon pointed out.

  It was a creepy feeling as he walked away. The bad girl was always nice deep down in the movies, but was it my business who they were dating? Better Dillon with Dina than her trying to get Gus back. That sounded selfish too. Dillon deserved someone good and not so flighty…but maybe that was what he wanted? What was the word? I didn’t know Dina that well, but a lot could be inferred about how she conducted herself on her job and at night.

  Gran wouldn’t have that behavior on her land, so I knew I was safe warning Dillon. Now I had to ignore this weird tension. Just when I’d started to get ready to date Gus and the feelings were setting in that this could be serious—Dina shows up. It was like driving a shiny new Mercedes off the lot and a bird craps on it…or someone hits it.

  Chapter Sixteen

  A couple of days later, things almost felt normal. The band was playing and Dina was annoyingly around the bar, but Ed hadn’t shown up and that brought down the tension levels to blissfully low.

  Jeff sat at the bar, drinking Coke. “I don’t mind helping, but RVs and wandering isn’t my style. I know the handyman work is nice and I don’t mind it, but…”

  “You miss preaching?” Katie asked.

  Jeff nodded. “I do. But no one is going to hire me.”

  “Why not? We need one. Something led you here. Why not talk to the mayor and the church board? Worst they could say is no,” I replied.

  “I thought we have separation of church and state in this country. How do they get away with it?” Jeff asked.

  “They are separate as far as authority. Just some leadership crossover. It’s a mutual benefits thing—it’s the biggest church in town. The mayor is on the church board anyway,” Katie added.

  I smiled. “We use the church ground and the huge foyer on it for a lot of events for the town. Instead of having a separate community center or a church food pantry and a town food pantry, we have one combined. The town helps with some of the upkeep of the grounds and outside. The town voted on it years ago. People got mad their taxes were paying for something and the church was doing it too, so they were paying twice.”

  “Slippery slope,” Jeff agreed.

  “Exactly, but it’s a tiny town, so it works if the lines and rules are clear. I think Luke liked to take advantage of his position too much,” Katie commented.

  “We need someone who’s seen life’s challenges, not just been picked and raised to be a pastor and life handed it to him,” I agreed.

  Jeff sipped his Coke. “Some people like believing their pastor is above things. Is better.”

  “Those are judgy people. The ones who need help feel better knowing we’re all human.” Katie shook her head. “Plenty of people didn’t like a single young woman buying a bar. What will people think?”

  I laughed. “It’s true. But she’s good at it. Her brothers look out for trouble. What does it matter if she’s married or not? I remember one woman saying at least if she was a widow it’d be better.”

  Jeff chuckled. “Women are supposed to be perfect while men can sow their oats. It’s a double standard I don’t support.”

  “If men can fool around, but women can’t, what women are they having fun with?” Katie asked.

  Dina flirted with the band and was keeping far away from me. I nodded to her.

  Katie smiled. “She is exactly…look at those heels. Those are stripper high heels.”

  “Higher the heels, the lower the morals,” I sassed.

  Jeff smiled at us. “Maybe I will go speak to the mayor and church board.”

  Gus walked in and it was tense. Dillon approached him, but Gus waved off playing today. Dina didn’t dare.

  “Is it weird?” Gus asked as he sat down.

  “Oh, no, not at all. Dina and I are like two peas in a pod. Thick as thieves. No ax to grind except I want her gone,” I demanded.

  “I’ll see what I can do,” Gus replied.

  “I’ll help,” Jeff offered.

  “First, I need to ask you something. Megan was around Luke a lot. He never talked to you about her?” Gus asked Jeff.

  Jeff frowned. “He talked about Belle a bit. He said another woman was complicated and didn’t work out. Obviously, the damage was done. Maybe they didn’t know about the pregnancy, but it didn’t seem to bother Luke.”

  “She said her ex was protective and concerned. Hopefully she won’t go through it all alone. Have you tracked him down?” I asked Gus.

  He consulted his notebook. “He’s in the army, not deployed, but he’s accounted for on the weekend in question. That doesn’t mean he couldn’t have had someone do it as a scare tactic.”

  “The army is probably what broke them up. Very hard for spouses to move around to army housing away from their families and some support system,” Jeff said.

  The suspect list was getting really short. Those with true motives were almost gone. Megan’s ex getting someone to plant the snake was possible.

  “Where’s Ed?” Gus asked.

  “Hasn’t shown up today,” I replied.

  “Makes a nice change. He wasn’t here yesterday either. We should pray he’s on another long haul,” Katie teased.

  I sipped a Diet Coke. “I’m worried he’s after Shelley. That man lies like a n
o-legged dog. Can’t we get her a warning?”

  Gus shook his head. “I spoke to Mrs. Gillis, but she dropped Shelley off somewhere and someone else picked her up. There’s a way to do these things so no one knows everything. No one can expose her.”

  “I just wish we could warn her. A call or something, do you think maybe she called Luke to let him know she’s safe? Maybe from a neighbor’s phone or a new burner phone?” I asked.

  “I did have some phone numbers on Luke’s phone that weren’t contacts and left no messages. It’s possible she called and he picked up. I assumed they were robocalls,” Gus dismissed.

  “You didn’t check them?” I nudged.

  “They are being run, but things take time, Belle. It’s not a TV show. He blocked the contacts but didn’t delete the call or numbers from his history. If they were something he’d be afraid someone would see, he would’ve deleted them. I went through all the deleted stuff first. We’ll get the info back soon and see what it says,” Gus assured.

  “You only found one phone at Luke’s?” I asked.

  Katie cleared her throat. “Belle, why don’t you and the sheriff go take a walk around the bar, check the back? We’re pretty packed today and I don’t want anyone acting dumb in the parking lots.”

  “Isn’t that what your brothers are for?” I teased.

  “Come on.” Gus waved at me.

  A break sounded good, so I followed him out of the front and we walked slowly through the rows of cars.

  “You think it’s worth tracking her down?” Gus asked.

  “She’s the only suspect we haven’t been able to rule out.”

  “She wasn’t here. She’s been in hiding.”

  “But she has friends too. Family enough to take her in. It’s possible someone wanted to be sure Luke would stay away,” I suggested.

  “We’re running them all down. I just can’t believe Shelley would do that after what Luke did to help…even if he did get some things very wrong. Cutting off contact and moving on is one thing. Why harm Luke?” he asked.

  I caught up to him and whispered, “Ed. What’s more dangerous than stepping on the tail of a two-headed rattler? An abuser who has gotten away with it for years and is so cocky he sat on a barstool and said he’d find his family. He’d have a talk with Luke, and he didn’t mean a nice friendly chat. Ed didn’t have a flinch of remorse. He doesn’t care if we all know what he is.”