by H L Bur
I threw on my most comfortable pair of stretchy skinny jeans, a blue t-shirt, and a pair of casual sneakers. I headed out of my room before I doubled back to grab a sweatshirt just in case. The weather was finally starting to cool off and I hated being cold. I jogged quickly down the stairs and grabbed my keys off the key hook by the door and went out through the garage. I thought about calling an alarm company on my way to work, but I just couldn’t bring myself to do it. Riverton had never been a town where you even had to bother locking your doors, let alone have an alarm system for your house. I was sure this was just a fluke and going to such extreme measures was unnecessary…at least I hoped.
I was able to clear my head somewhat on my short drive to the bookstore. It was overcast today and there was a cool breeze in the air. I noticed the leaves had turned even more over the past day or two, the bright reds, oranges, and yellows starting to fill up the branches. I was suddenly excited for cooler temps and pumpkin-spiced everything.
It felt good to be opening up the store at its normal time and putting my energy into the business. The store had suffered from our frequent absences this past week and I was determined to get everything back in order. I needed to burn off this nervous energy that had come over me, so I was looking forward to being distracted by my work. I had a good feeling that this whole thing was going to come to a close very soon, but I knew I was unlikely to get any more clues about this investigation before Gigi reported back to us, or rather, if Gigi reported back to us. Until then, I decided to focus on the bookstore and stop trying so hard to make heads or tails of this. Who knew? Maybe an answer would come to me if I stopped thinking about it.
After feeding Henri and giving her some unwanted attention, I spent the rest of the morning unpacking shipments, organizing, and placing new orders. For a Wednesday morning, the store was fairly busy with customers. Thankfully today they weren’t just there on a pretense, trying to gather gossip from me, but were actually there to shop.
This upcoming weekend was going to be busy for the shop. We had a Zin & Zen paint night scheduled for Friday evening after hours, Saturday we had a Children’s book reading in the Kid’s Korner, a yoga class in the afternoon, and on Sunday we were having our first ever crossword puzzle race. This was something new we were trying, but I was pleasantly surprised with all of the signups we’d had so far. Basically, the first person to finish the New York Times Sunday crossword puzzle won a prize, but more importantly, bragging rights.
Around lunchtime my stomach started grumbling. All I could think about was the new stuffed crust pizza that Rest in Pizza had just added to their menu. I felt guilty for a second because I’d slacked off on my workouts this week given all that had happened. I quickly pushed that guilt aside, knowing I could make up for it later and picked up the phone to call in my order.
As I hung up the phone, the door chime went off. I looked up to see Brent walking in. Startled, I dropped the phone and had to bend over to pick it up and put it back on the receiver.
“Brent, I’m surprised to see you.” I tried to hide the wariness in my voice. He may have been cleared of the murders, but he was still involved in this somehow and I didn’t trust him for a second.
“Hi Cady.” He glanced around the store nervously before coming to a stop in front of my counter.
“Is there something I can help you with?” I offered.
“Uh…” He paused. “Actually, is Quinn here? Maybe I could just talk to her?”
“I’m sorry, she’s not.” I eyed him suspiciously. “I would be glad to help you, though.”
“It’s just, uh…” He glanced around again. “Argh, sorry Cady, I would just feel more comfortable talking to Quinn.”
I narrowed my eyes at him and leaned in to the counter. “Brent, what’s going on? I know you’re involved with Rhodes and his crony,” I said stonily. “I know about the drug smuggling. Tell me what’s going on and maybe I can help you,” I pleaded.
If he had been nervous before, now he was downright beside himself. He looked around quickly and wrung his hands together before running them through his hair and down his face. As a nurse I had been around plenty of people on the edge of mental breakdown, and Brent was acting more and more unstable by the minute. He began pacing back and forth from one end of the counter to the other.
I knew I needed to de-escalate him or things could go south in a hurry. I forced my most soothing voice and tried to calm him down. “Brent, it’s okay. Whatever has happened, we can fix it. Why don’t we go sit in the café and talk this out?”
I moved to come out from behind the counter when he suddenly shouted, “No! Don’t you understand? There is no fixing it. There is no going back!” He slammed his hands down on the counter and I jumped, startled. He was really starting to scare me now.
“You’ve known the chief for a long time, Brent. You know he will work with you. I’m sure he would much rather have Rhodes and his crony than you. Let’s go talk to Chief Kowalski, Brent. I know he can help.” I could hear my own voice shake with fear.
He dropped his head into his hands and breathed heavily. For a moment, I thought he was going to agree to go to the chief, but then he suddenly let out a frustrated scream. “AARGH! No, I’m sorry Cady, but it’s too late. Could you just please tell Quinn to call me?” He turned to walk out the door.
I went to go after him when he spun back around.
“Cady?”
“Yeah?”
“Tell her I’m sorry. I’m sorry for everything.”
“Brent, what do you-” My question went unfinished as the door shut behind him and he walked quickly away from the bookstore. I ran out onto the sidewalk. He was headed north, toward the lake, his head tucked down and his hood pulled up. I debated whether to run after him or not, but I knew by how he was acting I wouldn’t get anywhere with him. I watched him for a minute longer before stepping back inside the bookstore.
So much for distraction, I said to myself, shaking from the confrontation. I could feel my heart racing in my chest. Where was Quinn when I needed her?
I suddenly felt like the bookstore was not where I needed to be right now, but couldn’t justify closing up early just because I was on edge. I took a few deep breaths to calm myself and decided to text Sam to see if she could close up for me tonight after she got out of school.
She replied with a ‘Sure, no problem!’ just as my pizza was being delivered. I tipped the driver and took my entire pizza into the café and curled up on the couch. The store was empty at the moment, so I didn’t feel the least bit bad about indulging so freely.
The new stuffed crust was everything I’d hoped it would be and I sat back, stuffed to the brim after scarfing down three slices. I sat there for a few minutes while my eyes started to feel heavy. I was almost dozing off when the front door chime went off again.
I jumped up, a little nervous it would be Brent again, but this time I was surprised to see Beverly Mayfield walk in.
I beamed at my newfound friend and hopped up from the couch, clearing my pizza box from the coffee table. I offered her a slice, but she politely declined.
“How about a cup of coffee then?”
“Now that is something that I will never turn down.” She smiled.
I poured the leftover coffee from this morning out and started us a fresh pot.
“So, what do I owe this pleasure?”
“Well I told you I take daily walks on the trails by the lake.” She seemed a little nervous.
“Yes,” I urged her on.
“Well, I decided to try to get closer to the sawmill than I normally would go. You know, just to see what I could see.”
“Uh-huh.” I was part eager, part nervous to see where this was going.
“Well, as I got close, I heard some voices so I stepped off of the path and covered myself behind a large tree trunk.”
“Okaaayyy,” I said warily, not sure where this was going to go.
“I think I saw this Mystery Man you were ta
lking about.”
“You did?” My mouth dropped open in shock and I shifted uneasily in my seat.
“Well, there was a man. He was tall and had a black business suit on. He had dark hair that was cut close, like a crew cut, and he had dark sunglasses on.”
“Sounds like him,” I admitted. “Beverly, you have to be careful. You do not want to get on this guy’s bad side,” I warned.
She waved me off. “I’m tougher than I look.”
“Well I have no doubt about that, but still?”
“I also saw a young woman. I was still pretty far away so I didn’t get a good look at her, but she was pale and had jet black hair.”
“Rose!” I gasped. “Thank God, she’s alive. Did she look hurt?” I asked impatiently.
“She looked okay from what I could see, but it looked like our Mystery Man was leading her into the sawmill.”
“No, no, no. This is bad. There was blood on the floor of the sawmill when I was out there. What if he’s going to kill her in there? We’ve got to do something!”
“What should we do? I’m sure that man is well-armed, so I don’t think it would be wise to go bursting into the sawmill just the two of us.”
“You’re right.” I thought for a moment. If it was Quinn and me, I would probably have no problem doing just that, but I wasn’t about to put Beverly at risk. I resigned myself to my fate, no matter how much it hurt to do so. “I’ll call Fletcher.”
Chapter Twenty-Five
Ξ
Fletcher picked up on the first ring.
“Is everything okay?” he asked immediately.
“Rose is alive! Drachen has her out at the sawmill.”
“Where are you?”
“At the bookstore.”
“I’m on it,” he said quickly. “And don’t even think about going out there,” he added before hanging up his phone.
I dropped my phone onto the counter in frustration. Why would he assume I was going to go out there? Obviously that’s why I called him. I was tired of him treating me like I was some kind of half-wit criminal. Although, it was semi-endearing that he took what I had to say without hesitation and didn’t question me on the matter. He could have easily demanded me tell him why and how I knew that information.
My mood softened at the thought, but I was still anxious. I crossed my arms over my chest and started pacing around the store. Beverly looked just as pensive as I felt, her brow furrowed in worry.
Where was Quinn? I walked back to the counter to check my phone. I tried to think back to our conversation this morning to follow her train of thought. She took off right after Gigi admitted that Rhodes was involved in a drug smuggling ring and I announced my plan for his take down. She must be looking into something else about Rhodes, but I still couldn’t figure out what it might be.
I sent her a quick text of ‘Rose - 911…call me’. I anxiously awaited the speech bubble prompt telling me she was replying, but several minutes went by without any text or call.
Slowly the minutes dragged on. I tried to busy myself around the store and was grateful for Beverly’s company. She had decided to stay with me until we heard word from Fletcher. She helped me sort orders and shelve books. We worked mostly in silence, both of us too nervous for the outcome of Fletcher’s search.
I was starting to worry about Quinn. It was certainly in her character to run off on a whim without explaining herself first, but it wasn’t like her to ignore my texts. Our mothers had imprinted on us at a young age that you always need to check in. For Pete’s sake, I was still forced to check in with my mom when I made the short trip from her house to my own.
I glanced at the clock. It was going on three o’clock, which meant Sam would be here soon to take over for me. That, in turn, meant I would be free to do some investigating of my own.
“Beverly, when Sam gets here I think I’m going to go look for Quinn.”
“I figured as much. Would you like me to go with you?”
“It’s up to you, but ever since the break in here, I’m hesitant to let Sam close the store by herself.”
“Say no more!” She looked at me with understanding. “I’d be happy to help Sam out around here.”
“Would you really? Beverly, you are truly one of a kind.” I smiled at her.
She waved me off. “Are you kidding me? I’m glad to be put to work. Besides, old people like me need to feel needed.”
I couldn’t help but laugh. “Beverly, you are anything but old.”
She made a slight gasp. “Oh, poor Birdie is going to think I abandoned her.”
“Well, the more the merrier,” I replied without hesitation. “Besides, maybe it would do Henri some good to have a friend around here.”
Beverly grinned and gave me a quick nod. “I’ll be right back then,” she said as she took off out the front door. I walked to the large bay window and watched her get into her beige Cadillac and pull away from the curb. I couldn’t help but smile when I thought of her. She was such a spunky little thing.
Shortly after three, Sam arrived looking back to her usual happy, all-around American girl self.
“Hey, you!” I greeted her happily. I was relieved to see her looking so normal. It had concerned me more than I realized when she was so glum and inside herself the other day.
“Hey, Cady! How’s it going?” She set her backpack down behind the counter and hopped up on a stool.
“Well, I think we’re getting close to getting this whole thing solved.” I tried to keep a light tone to my voice, not wanting to upset her again. “How are you? How’s Zoe?”
“I’m doing much better. I think it was just a shock to see a dead body for the first time and also, if I’m being honest, I think it dredged up some memories of my mom. Zoe is still pretty worked up, but she’s in therapy and she’ll be okay.”
Who is this girl? I couldn’t get over Sam’s astounding ability to psychoanalyze herself and everyone around her.
She must have noticed the contemplative look on my face. “Cady, everything is going to work out. You’ll see. It’s exactly what I told Quinn this morning.”
“You’re right. Everything always works out in the wash, as my grandma says…wait, you told that to Quinn this morning?” I was suddenly confused after finally processing what Sam had just said. “When did you see Quinn this morning?”
“When I was leaving for school she had pulled up to my house looking for my dad. I told her he had already left. He had an early job this morning. She looked so stressed out, I figured she was finally going to confess her feelings to my dad.”
My mouth slacked in quiet wonderment of this young woman. “Who are you?” I asked aloud, not bothering to keep the thought to myself this time.
Sam laughed. “It’s obvious they like each other.”
“Agreed.” I nodded and quickly moved on. “Okay, did Quinn say where she was going after she left your place this morning?”
“The bus pulled up right behind her so I had to go, but I told her where my dad was working today and told her she could probably find him there.”
“And that was where?” I questioned.
“He was supposed to be starting a new construction project today. I think he was going to be out by the old sawmill. He’s been contracted to build a new house out there. I told her to try his office first though.”
My blood ran cold as ice. I suddenly felt lightheaded and was unable to focus, like my world was spinning out of control around me. I willed myself to remain calm. “The sawmill?” My voice cracked in panic.
“Yeah,” Sam answered hesitantly, sensing my fear. “Is everything okay?”
“Uh, yeah,” I lied, bringing my hand up to rest on my forehead. “Okay, there is going to be a really sweet old lady named Beverly that’s coming here with her dog, Birdie, to help close the store. She’s probably the coolest lady I’ve ever met and I know you’ll love her. I’ve got to run.” I forced my voice to remain even and calm.
“I don’t nee
d a babysitter,” she remarked coolly, shaking her head.
“No, of course not. She’s actually a friend of mine and you’d be doing me a favor keeping her occupied. She’s lonely,” I fibbed. Well it might not actually be fibbing, she could be lonely, I didn’t know.
“Okay, no worries.” She shrugged.
I turned to walk out of the bookstore, but paused in the doorway. “Sam, you really are the best.”
“Yeah, yeah.”
I left the store and hopped into my SUV, quickly dialing Fletcher’s number as I pulled away from the curb. When he didn’t answer, I tried Kyle’s number, praying that Quinn had found him earlier in the day and that she was still with him. Again, no answer. I quickly dialed the bookstore and Sam answered on the first ring. I asked her if she could try to get ahold of her dad and have him call me and she agreed. I hung up and threw my phone down onto the passenger seat as I made a right at the end of Main Street. Shit! I knew something was wrong and had a horrible feeling in the pit of my stomach that Quinn was in danger. I pushed the gas pedal and quickly picked up speed as I made my way out of town toward the sawmill.
I glanced down at my phone and realized there was an envelope sitting on my passenger seat that I knew for a fact had not been there earlier today. The envelope was addressed to me. I glanced at the return address. The initials D.N. were at the top left corner with no other return address information.
“D.N.?” I asked aloud. “No!” It couldn’t be! How?
I snatched it up off the seat and began steering with my left knee while I ripped the envelope open. I slid the piece of paper out of the envelope and unfolded it, glancing back and forth between the road and the contents of the envelope. Inside the folded paper was a picture. It was a picture of Quinn with a handkerchief in her mouth tied up to a kitchen chair. Not just any kitchen chair…I knew that kitchen chair! I slammed on my brakes and flipped a U-turn, cutting off a red pick-up truck that was headed towards town. The driver laid on his horn and I waved him a quick apology as I sped up again, now heading back the way I came.
I picked my phone back up and tried Fletcher again, but he still didn’t answer. I punched in 9-1-1 for what seemed like the twentieth time in a matter of days and tried my best to explain to the operator what was going on.
