by Fiona Grace
But she couldn’t help but feel sympathy for her mother and for what her father had put her through all those years ago. And she felt very protective of her as she marched along with her head held high against the staring passersby.
As they reached the store, Lacey cast a glance across to the patisserie. Luckily it appeared to be crowded inside, which meant Tom had not witnessed the horrible fight. Lacey was glad for the small mercy.
She led the way inside her store.
Frankie, Naomi, and Gina were sitting on the vintage couches with a pot of tea and an impressive spread of sandwiches and vegetable sticks on the coffee table before them—even more impressive considering the short amount of time Gina had had to cobble it together. Clearly, she was going all out to make it up to Lacey.
Frankie was halfway through chewing a carrot stick slathered in hummus when he spotted Lacey and Shirley entering. He shoved the rest in his mouth and jumped up. “Yay! Aunty Lacey’s here!” he said through his mouthful. He hurried up to her and hugged her.
Despite the anguish Lacey had felt moments earlier, it was all worth it to see her nephew and get a hug from him. Even if he did have sticky fingers…
“How’s everyone doing?” she asked, glancing at Naomi.
Her sister seemed to have stopped crying now, though her face was still red and blotchy.
Lacey worried the most about her. It just seemed to be shock after shock when it came to their father, and she wasn’t sure how well her fragile younger sister was coping.
“Maybe you guys should go straight to the Lodge?” Lacey suggested. “I’m friends with the manager, and I know she’d be happy to let you check in early. You all look exhausted after the journey. Perhaps a nap would help? Then we can meet for lunch just like we planned.”
Shirley folded her arms. “You’re trying to get rid of us.”
Lacey tensed. Great. They really were off to a flying start, weren’t they?
“No,” she said, gently. “I’m trying to give you all a bit of time and space to decompress. It was never my intention for you to bump into Dad like that, and it must’ve been an awful shock for you all. So a rest might be a good idea. For all of us.”
Shirley pouted. She hated to be outsmarted by her daughter, or even admit that she was right. But she clearly understood Lacey was talking sense. She snatched up a sandwich from the platter. “Fine. But I’m taking these with me.”
“Help yourself,” Lacey said. “Let me just get my keys.”
She headed over to the counter where her spare car keys were kept beside the register. As she went, Gina leapt up from the couch and scurried after her.
“Lacey,” she said, grasping her arm. “I’m really sorry about everything.”
“Why didn’t you just do what I asked in the first place?” Lacey asked her with an exasperated sigh.
“I didn’t understand,” Gina told her. “You didn’t make it clear.”
“I was dropping hints left, right, and center,” Lacey said, making it to the counter and heading behind. “I thought the whole point of a maid of honor was to make things run smoothly.” She snatched up her car keys. “I’m going to drop my family off at the Lodge, and ask Finnbar to come and help you here.”
Gina looked affronted. “I don’t need help! I can handle the store on my own.”
“This isn’t up for debate,” Lacey said, playing her rarely used “Boss” card. “There’s too much going on here for one person to manage. I’m expecting a scholar to get in touch about the scepter. We have Brother Benedict to look after. And obviously we have the usual shop stuff to do. You’re stressed over the wedding, so let’s have Finnbar come in and ease some of the workload.”
“He has a paper to write. He won’t want to.”
“He always has a paper to write,” Lacey countered. “And I know he wants the money.”
Gina looked like she was about to quibble again, but thought better of it. “Fine,” she muttered.
“Great. I’ll see you soon,” Lacey replied. She got her cell phone out of her pocket with her spare hand so she could call Finnbar on the walk to the car. “Don’t do anything crazy while I’m gone. Okay?”
“Yes, yes,” Gina said dismissively.
At least there was a monk there to stop her from doing anything too stupid. He seemed to have a sensible head screwed onto his shoulders.
Lacey whistled for Chester, then whisked her family up, sandwiches and all, and ushered them to the door. Hopefully, with her Dad hiking the cliffs of Wilfordshire and her family napping in the Lodge, she’d be able to get an hour or two breather to collect her thoughts and work on the scepter. Perhaps the worst was now over, and with a bit of luck, things would be smooth sailing from here on out. But on the other hand, Lacey knew luck had never really been on her side.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
“Hey, Gina,” Lacey said as she emerged from her office several hours later. “Will you be able to mind the store for five minutes?”
She’d spent the last hours after dropping her family off at the Lodge therapeutically cleaning the scepter, in blissful silence under the quiet presence of Brother Benedict and a snoring Chester. Gina had left her alone ever since she’d gotten back—avoiding her, no doubt, because she was still in a bad mood from her earlier dressing down, and annoyed that Finnbar had agreed to come over for the afternoon shift while Lacey was on her lunch date with her mom, sister, and nephew. He’d not arrived yet, but Lacey wanted to take the only opportunity she’d get today to purchase a second pregnancy test for later.
Gina looked over at her and pouted. “Why?” she asked. “Where are you going?”
Lacey felt her cheeks warm. Now was definitely not the right time to tell her friend about her pregnancy scare. “I just have an errand to run. It will take me five minutes. Finnbar’s on his way. Brother Benedict is praying in the office… or sleeping. It’s hard to tell sometimes. So, can I trust you to take care of things for five minutes?”
“Can you trust me?” Gina replied, grumpily. “You don’t need to ask.”
Lacey rolled her eyes. She could really do without Gina’s attitude on top of everything else.
“Chester,” she called. “Let’s go.”
Her dog came trotting. On this day when it seemed like everyone was annoyed at her, it was nice to have someone’s unflagging support.
Lacey headed out of the store with Chester in tow, and walked along the cobblestone street to the pharmacy. Before heading inside this time, Lacey peeped through the windows to make sure there was no one she knew inside. The coast was clear, so she went in.
The bell overhead tinkled as she beelined for the shelf of pregnancy tests. Her eyes scanned the array of different brands once again. Since the last one had been so inconclusive and irritating, she decided to go with a different brand, even if that did mean having to look at a very happy, smiling model. She picked the test deemed “most trusted brand,” and headed to the counter.
The same pharmacist in the white coat was on duty again today. “In need of a second opinion, I see,” she commented as she rang up the pregnancy test.
“The last one was inconclusive,” Lacey explained. “One pink line. One gray one.”
“Doesn’t sound inconclusive to me,” the woman said. “Sounds positive.” She grinned and held out her hand. “Fifteen pounds, please.”
Lacey did not move. The second the pharmacist said positive, she’d frozen to the spot with shock.
“Sorry, did you say…”
“…Positive?” the pharmacist said. “Yup. Two lines usually means pregnant, even if the test was only able to pick up a very weak signal.”
“But…” Lacey stammered. “But then why would the box show two fat pink lines as pregnant! It was very clear. Mine was one pink line and a thin, barely visible gray line!”
“Maybe you were dehydrated. That can do it. Or did you pee on it properly?”
“I know how to pee on a stick!” Lacey exclaimed.
The
pharmacist shrugged. “Well, I guess you’ll know for sure once you’ve used this brand. It’s considered much more reliable. That last one you got is notorious for dud results.”
Lacey narrowed her eyes. “Then why do you sell it?”
“Not all women want to be pregnant,” she replied simply. She pointed at the overjoyed model. “The packaging upsets them.”
Lacey ground her teeth. But what could she do? There was no time to book a doctor’s appointment and have an actual, reliable test done. And now the pharmacist had strongly hinted that the first test was positive, there was no way she’d be able to put it off until after the wedding.
Frustrated with the whole situation, Lacey reached into her purse, only to find her wallet was not inside.
“Dammit!” she cried, realizing she must have left it at the store. “I forgot my wallet.”
The pharmacist gave her a knowing look. “See. Baby brain,” she said with a smirk.
“Heh,” Lacey replied. “I, er, I’ll just have to go and fetch it. Can you hold on a minute?”
“Of course,” the pharmacist said.
She set the test to the side, but it was still well within eye-shot of anyone passing by. And since Wilfordshire was full of nosy gossipers, Lacey didn’t like the thought of someone seeing her leave the pharmacy and the test on the counter and put two and two together.
“Could you maybe put it out of sight?” she asked the pharmacist, feeling a little foolish.
A flicker of confusion appeared on the pharmacist’s brow, before she smiled politely. “Of course.”
She moved the pregnancy test to a more covert position, and Lacey scurried out with Chester and raced back to the store.
As soon as she opened the door of her store, she was hit by a blast of cold wind. Lacey immediately knew what that meant; Gina was out in the garden, probably tending to her winter squashes, and had left the patio door wide open, creating a wind tunnel. The store felt like an ice block.
Lacey shivered as she hurried past a snoozing Boudica and into the back office to search for her wallet. Brother Benedict was standing in his usual corner, eyes closed, perfectly still and silent. Lacey had started to suspect he’d mastered the art of sleeping standing up.
She rummaged through her things, searching for her wallet and not finding it.
“Where did I put that damn thing?” she mused allowed.
The pharmacist’s comments replayed in her mind. Baby brain. She quickly pushed them away.
“I’ll try the back room.”
She headed inside and started searching through the room. But as she searched, something peculiar caught her eye. The safe didn’t look quite right.
Abandoning her task, Lacey inched closer, peering at the big bulky lock. Then she gasped. The combination on the lock, which she always turned to 0000 once she had locked it, was showing a different series of numbers.
A jolt of worry went through Lacey. She thought back, trying to recall whether she had forgotten to set it after she’d last used it, but the number on the lock wasn’t the actual combination, it was a completely random series, almost as if someone had been…
Lacey gasped.
Someone had been in the store, and they’d tried to get inside the safe!
The worry in Lacey’s chest turned to full-blown panic. She let go of the lock, noticing now what appeared to be scuff marks all around the seal of the steel safe door. Someone had attempted to pry their way in! She’d been gone for barely five minutes, but there was clear evidence that someone with ill intentions had been inside.
“Gina!” Lacey cried, suddenly worried for her friend. What if the person had harmed her? Kidnapped her?
Lacey’s mind turned into a frantic stream of fantastical ruminations as she hurried out the back room and through the auction room to the patio doors standing wide open. Chester raced along behind her, looking at her with an expression of curiosity and concern. They raced into the garden side by side.
Breathing raggedly, Lacey glanced around searching for any sign of Gina.
Suddenly, she spotted movement coming from the greenhouse. She gasped, thinking immediately of an intruder. But then she recognized the frizzy gray hair, the Wellington boots, the big flowing skirt. It was Gina, pottering about in the green house without a care in the world. Her friend was entirely unharmed, busily tending to her plants, oblivious to the sheer panic she’d just caused Lacey.
Knowing she was now safe, Lacey stopped worrying, and switched immediately to anger mode. She marched into the greenhouse.
“Gina!” she snapped.
The older woman swirled, looking startled. “That was quick.” She frowned. “Is everything okay?”
“What’s going on?” Lacey demanded.
Gina gestured to the terracotta pot in front of her. “I’m tending to my squashes.”
“I mean with the store!” Lacey cried. She put her hands on her hips. “You left it unmanned! Unlocked!”
“Boudica was in charge,” Gina replied.
Fury burned Lacey’s cheeks. “Boudica? The world’s sleepiest dog? Well, guess what. She didn’t do a very good job of it.”
“What are you talking about?” Gina asked with a frown.
“Someone’s been in the back room,” Lacey revealed. “They’ve had a go at getting into the safe.”
Gina gasped. But a second later she shook her head with disbelief, and waved a dismissive hand. “You must be imagining things. It’s impossible. Boo would’ve barked. And what about Ben?”
“Ben?”
“Brother Benedict,” Gina corrected. “He’s been here the whole time, meditating away silently in your office. Don’t you think he would’ve heard something?”
“Look, I’m not making it up,” Lacey contested. “Come with me. I’ll show you.”
She led Gina back inside the store, crossing through the auction room and dipping her head in through the door of her office. The monk was standing in his usual corner, eyes closed, expression serene.
“Brother Benedict?” Lacey said, gently.
His eyes opened. He looked at her with a placid smile.
“I think you might want to come with me. This pertains to the scepter.”
The monk put his hands in prayer position and bowed. He followed her out of the room, his robes swishing as he went.
Lacey led everyone over to the safe.
“See the marks?” she asked, gesturing to the scuffs and dents around the door.
Gina and Brother Benedict leaned in, both squinting as they peered closely at the safe.
“They’ve been there for months,” Gina finally said, drawing back. “Remember when that man tried to steal the jewels from Penrose Manor? He was the one who made the dents.”
Lacey hesitated. Maybe she was going off on the wrong tangent here? But no. What about the combination?
“The combination has been changed,” she explained. “I always set it to 0000. At the very least someone’s been trying to guess it.”
Gina and Brother Benedict both looked blank.
Lacey huffed. “You guys really heard nothing?” she asked.
They both shook their heads.
Maybe Lacey was really going mad…?
Just then, a sudden sound came from behind. Lacey and Gina jumped out of their skin. So too did Brother Benedict, who was usually poised.
They all spun to the door. Finnbar was standing there.
“Is everything okay?” he asked, taking one look at their panicked faces.
“Not really,” Lacey said. “I think someone’s been in the store, trying to break into the safe.”
Finnbar’s face dropped. His hazel eyes registered fear. It was the last thing an anxiety-prone person like Finnbar wanted to hear.
“There’s no thief,” Gina refuted. “Lacey’s going mad. She thinks someone managed to get in, in the five minutes she was out and I was in the greenhouse. But me and Ben didn’t hear a thing, and neither did Boo.”
“Who’s
Ben?” Finnbar asked.
“The monk,” Gina said.
“The monk?”
“The monk!” Gina cried, losing her patience. “The monk! The bloody monk standing behind you!”
Finnbar glanced over his shoulder at Brother Benedict. “Oh,” he said, surprised. “Hello.” Then he looked back at the women and whispered, “Why is there a monk here?”
“Long story,” Lacey said. “The short version is he’s helping oversee some work I’m doing for St. Cyril’s. It’s regarding the item inside the safe.”
“Which has been tampered with,” Finnbar said, piecing it all together.
“Exactly. The combination has been changed,” Lacey explained.
Finnbar’s eyes immediately widened. Clearly he agreed with Lacey in thinking the change of combination was a red flag. Lacey felt vindicated as he hurried toward the safe and grabbed the padlock. It helped to know that at least one person had their head screwed on right.
“She’s right,” he said, turning over his shoulder to face the others. “Someone’s definitely tried to guess the combination.” He ran his fingers over the scuffs and dents of the door seam. “Looks like they used a crowbar.”
Lacey immediately shot Gina a look. “See.”
Gina pouted and folded her arms. “Well. I honestly don’t understand. There are valuables all over the place. Why go for the safe?”
“Because the person who did it wanted what’s inside,” Lacey said.
Her mind went straight to the sketchy treasure hunter. Had he done this? It certainly seemed possible. He was immoral enough to impersonate someone else, and seemed money-hungry and greedy.
“What’s inside?” Finnbar asked. He was still trying to get up to speed. “I know the jewels from Penrose Manor are in there. What else?”
“It’s a scep—” Lacey began, before Brother Benedict stepped forward and rested a hand on her arm. She managed to stop herself just in time. “—I can’t say. It’s a secret. The item in the safe belongs to St. Cyril’s.”
