by Bella Falls
“Quit your grousin’, old man. There’s lots of life in you, and I ain’t buying what you’re selling.” I tossed a dirty rag at him and guffawed when it hit him square in the face.
“You will so pay for that.” He picked up the first box and placed it where he’d moved the last one, playing an odd game of storage Jenga. “You coming up to the big house for dinner tonight?”
“I think so,” I admitted, too tired and lazy to fix my own food at home. My stomach growled loud enough, the dog lifted his head again. “Now I know so,” I chuckled.
Dad peeled back the cardboard panels but stopped. “You know what? I think these can wait until tomorrow. Let’s you and me head up there now. We can enjoy some sweet tea while rocking on the porch, and you can fill me in on your plans.”
I raised an eyebrow. “I thought you were telling me to stay out of things.”
He scoffed and clicked off the light, prompting Bobby to leave the barn with his foot. “There’s what I tell you and what I know you’ll do. I’ve given you my opinion, now you have to make your own decisions. You’re a big girl, butter bean. I think you can keep yourself out of trouble.” With a click of a few locks and a couple of well-casted spells, he secured the barn behind us.
The engine of a car roared close enough, and I strained to spot how close it was. A dark SUV with lettering on its side made its way in our direction. Although we’d warded the storage barns more carefully after the break-in and murder, we’d pulled some of the barriers a little closer since our latest security worked pretty well.
Deputy Sheriff Caine pulled his vehicle close and rolled down his window. “I wonder if I could have a moment of your time, Ms. Jewell.”
Dad tipped his head out of respect to the man’s profession more than the sheriff himself. “We’re about to head up to the house if you’d like to accompany us and enjoy some sweet tea.”
Bobby whimpered and stuffed his body between me and my father. I struggled not to grin and pursed my lips, but I appreciated the heads up that our alarm system was definitely armed. “Why don’t you join us up there,” I echoed my father’s invitation, trying to preserve the man’s safety.
Caine shut off the engine. “This isn’t a social call. I’ve read through your interview with the lieutenant, and I have questions.”
“Which my daughter would be happy to answer, but not here,” Dad insisted.
“This is an active investigation, and she’ll answer my questions wherever I choose to ask them.” The sheriff unbuckled his seatbelt and threw his sunglasses on top of his dashboard.
Bobby leaned into my father, his high-pitched whine almost piercing our ears. A slight clucking alerted me to the danger heading our way. Dad and I checked our immediate radius to make sure we weren’t in the pathway of destruction.
I held up my hand to encourage Caine to stop moving. “If I were you, Deputy Sheriff, I wouldn’t get out of the car.”
With determination, he ignored me and opened the door, stepping one foot onto the ground. With a cocky swagger, he got all the way out and walked toward us. “And I’m issuing you a warning that you can’t threaten—Agh!” He yelled, gesticulating wildly as something pecked at his ankles.
“Told you,” I crooned with an enormous amount of satisfaction permeating my entire being.
Rex the Rooster streaked out of nowhere in a frenzy of feathers, flapping wings, and a sharp beak. The bird attacked the unwanted visitor with single-minded focus, and Dad and I took the opportunity to move away and get a clear path up to the house. Bobby took off ahead of us, and I yelled at the traitor leaving us behind.
“What the heck is it?” the sheriff shouted.
I pointed at the bird who had the man cornered against his own vehicle. “That’s Rex. He’s a brahma bantam, which is why his legs are so fluffy with feathers.”
Caine attempted to push the rooster off with one foot, but it left his other leg vulnerable to pecking. “I don’t care about its variety. Get it off of me.”
“I did warn you not to get out of your car,” I reminded him. “If you’d taken my father up on his offer, you could have been sipping iced tea on our porch.” Walking backwards, I waved. “As it is, you’ll have to get yourself out of trouble. Come see me if you still want to talk.”
Taking advantage of the attacked sheriff being the rooster’s target, Dad and I skedaddled up the back yard toward the house. It took the deputy sheriff a good twenty minutes to figure out how to get back inside of his car before he drove right past our house. Dad and I rocked and watched his taillights disappear down our driveway.
“Guess he’ll find another time to ask you questions,” my father teased. “And butter bean?”
“Yeah, Dad?” I leaned back in my chair and turned to face him.
He raised his glass in the air. “After that display, I’m reminded of how well the local authorities did with your uncle. You do what you need to do if you think it’ll help your friend with my blessin’.”
He waited until I clinked my glass against his. Pleased as punch, we sat in companionable silence until the light faded and the cicadas sang.
Chapter Eight
Seagulls squawked and hovered a little too close while Gloria, Cate, and I snacked on a plate of fries. We sat under an umbrella on the patio of Ellie’s Diner like old times, enjoying the roll of the ocean on a sunny day. A short man with a few wisps of hair decorating the top of his mostly bald head and wearing a red-and-white checkered apron opened the screen door and brought us a basket of fried pickles with a side of ranch dressing.
“We didn’t order these,” Gloria stated with a hungry eye on the appetizer.
The man whipped the towel off his shoulder and wiped sweat from his face. “They’re on me. I haven’t seen you girls in such a long time, now that you two have moved on from your jobs next door.” He kissed me on the cheek first before planting one on Gloria and pointed at the larger structure of Riki’s Tiki Tavern towering over the old joint Pops had run with his wife for the beach crowds for over forty years.
“We’re lucky we even managed to get a table at all, now that you’ve been featured on that travel eating show. Our little local gem has had the spotlight turned on it, and all the tourists want to eat here.” I beamed at the humble owner who wanted nothing more in life than to serve good food in a great location. “We’re so proud of you, Pops. Ellie must be over the moon.”
A little sadness dampened his enthusiasm. “She’s frustrated because I’ve made her cut back on her time in the kitchen. But she shouldn’t be running herself ragged trying to make everything all the time. We’ve trained good people over the years, and she deserves a little rest.”
I’d heard through my friends who still worked in the beach restaurant and bars about Ellie’s health. But I knew the tough old bird would fight tooth and nail before giving up control of her baby to anyone but her husband.
I took Pops’ hand in mine. “You’ll give her our love, won’t you?”
A little moisture rimmed his eyes. “She’ll be sorry she missed you. And if you hear anything about Harrison, you’ll let me know. We’ve set up a small jar at the register up front for donations to help him out when he recovers and gets back home.”
Standing up, I embraced the short lump of love and kissed his bald forehead. “You’re too sweet, Pops.”
He blushed two shades of red, but the merry twinkle returned to his eyes. “Y’all make sure you order whatever you want, and I’ll send Wesley out here like you asked in a few.” With quick steps, he disappeared back inside.
Cate sipped on her water. “We need to come here more often. It’s been ages since we hung out on this patio.”
Gloria agreed and wiped a finger down the side of her glass, making patterns in the condensation. “Remember that time when we wanted burgers at two in the morning after a full night of working at the Tiki? And Harrison thought it would be a good idea to come over here and make burgers?”
I groaned at the memory. “W
hat were we thinking? We basically broke in and helped ourselves.”
“We weren’t thinking,” Gloria snorted. “We were in our cups and every idea seemed brilliant.”
Cate’s head turned back and forth between Gloria and me. “I don’t remember you telling me this before. What happened? The place is still standing, so I’m guessing you didn’t burn it down.”
“We did not,” I admitted. “But we did get the cops called on us, and Pops and Ellie were woken up and had to come. There’s nothing like the threat of being arrested to sober you up.”
Gloria nodded. “We thought they’d be so mad at us.”
“But they weren’t. Ellie and Pops insisted they had given us permission to stop by after work.” I popped a fried pickle in my mouth. “Once the cops left, Ellie gave us what for, but not for breaking into her place. She was mad because we hadn’t made the burgers the way she does.”
“And then she instructed us how to do them right before she and Pops made us all food before sending us home,” Gloria finished with a shake of her head. “Yeah, we definitely need to come back here more often. I’d forgotten how good they were to us.”
A plate of sliders appeared in front of us. “And that their food is pretty good as is the staff they hire,” Wesley interrupted, pulling over a chair and plopping down on it. “Pops told me to bring these out to you and that I was on break for however long you needed me. I hope you’re not here to tell me Harrison’s taken a turn for the worst.”
Gloria gasped and almost choked on her sip of tea. “Oh my gosh, Wes, I would have called you if something had happened.”
He ruffled her hair, enjoying the annoyed smack on his arm. “I know, sis.” His face sobered. “You’ve been a huge support for Azalea and barely left her side. I’m glad to see you out and about.”
“I kidnapped her,” I said, raising my hand. “She needed some fresh air. Well, she needed a shower first or the air around us wouldn’t be so fresh right now.” A fry hit the tip of my nose and fell conveniently into the ketchup on my plate.
“With Azalea’s parents being banned, Azalea has nobody else to help her. They should be on their honeymoon.” She sniffed and unfolded her paper napkin to dab her eyes.
Wesley rubbed her back. “Things are gonna get better soon enough. But if there’s no update, then why do y’all need to talk to me?” Since none of us had touched the sliders, he took one for himself and bit into it.
I scooted my chair a little closer and leaned in so he could hear my lowered voice. “We wanted to ask you to give us some details about Harrison’s former dating life.” The other two girls gave him their full attention.
He stopped chewing. “I don’t see how that’s any of your business.”
Gloria punched his arm. “Come off it, Wes. You’re Harrison’s best friend, and while we,” she gestured between me and her, “aren’t blind to his player past, we also don’t know any specific names of girls he might have gotten a little more serious with.”
“And why do you,” he pointed at me and his sister, “need to know?”
Cate popped off. “Drop the bro code, dude, and think about it. They haven’t arrested anyone who might have done what happened to your best friend. We’re talking motive here, and who else would be a better candidate than a woman he’s pissed off?”
“Uh, off the top of my head, maybe Azalea’s parents. They hate him and have tried multiple times to pay Harrison to not marry their daughter,” Wesley exclaimed.
I narrowed my eyes. “How many times?”
Recognizing his slip up of sharing, Gloria’s brother frowned. “Enough that it took a whole lot of effort on my part not to deck her father the night of the rehearsal dinner.”
I snorted. “You would have had to get in line behind me. They’re pretty awful, but I think you would have been proud of Azalea and how she threw them out of the hospital.”
“Yeah, Glo told me about that. Harrison will freaking love it when I tell him that story.” He smiled in appreciation.
“Don’t call me Glo,” Gloria complained. “And stop dodging our question. Names, big brother. We need names.”
Wesley pondered our request, delaying his response by eating a second slider. When he finished, he wiped his mouth. “To be honest, there are a fair number of girls he interacted with. Not many of them lasted long enough to remember their names. Other than Azalea, there are just two that stand out.”
“And they are?” I pressed.
“One was Jane Bryce. They’d seen each other off and on since high school. Although I wouldn’t classify what they had as a relationship as much as relying on each other for specific means of comfort from time to time with no strings attached.” He avoided the gaze of all three of us females, concentrating on dipping a fried pickle in the ranch sauce. “I’m pretty sure she didn’t do anything because last Harrison told me, she had moved out of state and was married with three kids.”
Cate wrote down the name on her napkin with a pen. “We can easily check on that. Who’s the other girl you’re thinking of?”
“You’re not gonna like it, Glo.” Wesley leaned in my direction away from his sister.
“Who?” Gloria balled her hand into a fist, preparing for the reveal.
“Cassidy Larkin.”
My friend uttered a swear word loud enough for a customer at a nearby table to notice. She leaned back in her chair and stared up into the sky, counting down from ten.
“Why doesn’t Gloria like this Cassidy person?” I asked, confused at the strong reaction.
When she got to one, Gloria exploded with vehemence. “Oh, just that Cassidy Larkin is my nemesis. My sworn enemy.”
Wesley smirked. “They used to be best friends.”
“Until I saw her for the snake she was,” Gloria interjected. “She stole my boyfriend. Two of them, actually. It took me a while to see that whenever she acted like she cared and listened to me talk, like most teenage girls do about boys, what she was doing was taking mental notes and then pursuing the ones I either wanted to go out with or was actually dating.”
Although Gloria and I had become friends in our early twenties, I knew she had always been a little insecure about dating. Hearing how a close friend betrayed her explained a lot and also shed light on why it was so huge that she was instrumental in bringing Azalea and Harrison together.
“So, she must have known you wanted to date Harrison,” I exclaimed, making the connection.
Wesley cast an apologetic glance at his sister and explained, “Cassidy hooked him more than any other girl I’d seen. But she told him you guys were still friends and it would complicate things if you knew about them dating. So, he agreed to keep it a secret.”
I was pretty sure actual steam rose off the top of Gloria’s head. “That manipulative little—”
“How long did they go out and how serious did it get?” I cut her off.
Wesley rubbed his chin in thought. “They actually went out for almost six months, which was a record for him. He broke things off, but in true Harrison fashion, he would still see her from time to time.”
Gloria scooted her chair even closer to Wesley. “Was that on-again off-again time when he went out with me?”
“Maybe? I don’t know, Glo, I wasn’t paying that close attention.” He pushed her seat away.
“What about when I introduced him to Azalea. Did he cheat on his wife with Cassidy?” His sister glared at him with furious intent.
“No. Absolutely not. He called me after he took Azalea out for the first time. I expected the same story as always, but it surprised me that he didn’t even try to stay at her house after the first date.” Wesley paused. “You know what he told me that night?”
“What?” I asked.
Wesley looked around the table at all three of us girls. “He said that he was pretty sure he’d found the woman he was going to marry. He didn’t look at anyone else after that.”
“Whoa.” Cate put down her pen. “That’s kind of big
.”
Gloria studied her brother with suspicion. “If that’s true, then why didn’t you say that in your wedding toast?”
Wesley picked up the basket of fried pickles and ate them. “He asked me not to. But I’m breaking the bro code so y’all will believe me and stop looking at me like you want to dump your drinks over my head. I’m not bringing you any refills if you do.”
After a tense moment, I held up my cup. “Would you bring us some if we let you stay dry?”
Lost in thought, Gloria missed my joke. Wesley put down the basket and wiped off his hands on a napkin. He reached out to mess with her hair again but thought better of it, touching her shoulder and squeezing it. “It’s in the past, Glo.”
She drew in a deep breath and let it out in a loud sigh. “Maybe not. We’re going to have to talk to Cassidy and make sure she didn’t mind when Harrison moved on. The way I remember her, she never liked rejection.”
Wesley stood. “I think it’s a far stretch to consider she might have gone out of her way to hurt him at his wedding reception.”
I tilted my head and scolded him. “You clearly don’t know much about scorned women.”
A cocky grin spread across his lips he’d once bragged no girl could resist. “I’d have to actually date them more than once to learn.” Clearing off the empty food baskets, Wesley left us to our plans.
“It won’t be hard to track down whether or not Cassidy still lives in the area,” Cate offered.
“She does,” Gloria confirmed. “She’s still working at her mother’s floral shop. You know why I know that?” Her chair scraped on the wooden patio as she got up and retrieved her purse from the back of the chair.
“You’ve been secretly stalking her all these years, waiting for the day when you would get your sweet, sweet revenge?” I suggested, hoping to lighten her mood.
All I got for my efforts was a snort. “Not hardly. No, but I’ve seen Cassidy not too long ago,” Gloria said with a sigh. “When I went with Azalea and her mother to interview their shop about doing the wedding flowers.”
