by C A Phipps
“Hurry up!” Arthur yelled, startling them both.
Violet dropped a lid, which clattered loudly in the quiet room.
“No need for rudeness, Arthur. I’m sure your steamrolling can wait another minute or two,” Olivia spoke loudly as she entered the room, an edge to her usually soft voice.
Scarlett was relieved until she saw Arthur’s face. Livid, he looked like a man on the verge of a heart attack.
“I was not steamrolling,” he blustered.
“Really? Then I don’t know why you’d change the time of this meeting and not inform the whole committee.”
“Stop making a fuss, Olivia. I told you when I told the others. Perhaps you forgot.” He gave a condescending smile to the men who managed awkward grins.
Olivia might not be a friend of Arthur’s, but she had a lot of sway around town, and they knew it. On the other hand, Mable didn’t care and gave a short cackle.
“I did not forget it because you didn’t tell me.” Olivia dropped her bag on the floor, the bang loud enough to stop the ridicule. “I’m wondering, Mr. Mayor, if the vote would have still happened when you realized your error.”
Arthur turned a mottled red. “I don’t make errors!”
“Well, excuse me for disagreeing. When precisely did you tell everyone else?”
Just like a tennis match, heads swiveled between the strong-minded pair. Nobody looked happy about what had occurred or perhaps what was about to, and for the first time, Arthur seemed unsure.
“I believe it was last night.”
“So now you don’t remember? As the secretary, I imagine Mable made the calls. Did you?” Olivia said to the gloating librarian.
“I don’t see it’s of any importance since you’re here now,” Mable shot back, a sheen of sweat on her face, which got redder by the second.
Scarlett thought she hadn’t looked healthy for a while, but that was probably her diet. Loathed to set foot inside the café, she took most of her meals at the diner. Olivia often went in there to see Daisy and mentioned that Mable liked her food fried.
The rest of the group shifted uncomfortably, and perhaps sensing a further divide, Arthur turned his attack to Violet and Scarlett.
“Why are you still here? This is a private meeting!”
Scarlett picked up the other containers and placed an invoice on the table near Arthur’s hand. “I’ll leave this with you, shall I?” At least this way, the other’s would see she was owed the money rather than have Arthur the sole person capable of refuting it. “We hope you enjoy the food,” Scarlett added pleasantly, while her heart hammered because of his dislike.
“Mable will make sure you’re paid, dear,” Olivia called out as they left.
As soon as she closed the heavy door, voices erupted, Arthur’s louder than the rest. As much as Scarlett was dying to know about the commotion and voting issue, Olivia mentioned, they had work to do.
“Wow! That was awful. What do you think Arthur’s up to now?” Violet whispered.
Scarlett pulled her away from the door. “I don’t know, but it didn’t look or sound like it was something the rest of them were happy about.”
“Do you think it has something to do with Arthur’s company wanting to build high-rise apartments along the main street?”
They headed to that very street. “Maybe. It can’t happen, though. Too many businesses stand in the mayor’s way,” Scarlett said, although her conviction wasn’t as firm as it once was.
Violet grimaced. “I don’t feel so definite about it either. Arthur gets what Arthur wants, and as far as I can tell that man wants world domination. At least, Cozy Hollow domination. Thank goodness Harvey has his own plans; otherwise, real estate around here would be held in a monopoly.”
Imagining Arthur getting the power he craved, a shiver ran down Scarlett’s spine. All he had to do was get Daisy and Olivia off the committee. Then it would be a piece of cake to railroad the town. Dale might always side with Olivia, but without her, he would fold like a card table.
“There are other people who won’t allow it,” she insisted.
“He already tried to make sure that Olivia wasn’t around when they voted,” Violet reminded her. “Maybe we don’t know for sure what he intended, but you can bet he won’t give up on whatever the intentions were.”
When Scarlett stalled in the middle of the path, Violet linked arms. “Sorry, Sis. I know you don’t need another thing to stress about right now.”
“What do you mean?” Scarlett resented the implication that she was a worrier, despite it having a foundation in truth. She hadn’t always been this way. Being responsible for the business and her sisters, while nursing their mom, had taken her anxieties to another level.
Violet groaned. “Don’t do that. Don’t shut me out and pretend you don’t know what I’m talking about. We should be able to discuss what’s going on with the café. Good and bad.”
Scarlett squeezed the crook of her arm. “We can. I’d hate you and Ruby to think we couldn’t.” When Violet didn’t answer, she stopped, forcing her sister to do the same. “You do know you can tell me anything, right?”
Violet looked up at the clear blue sky. “Maybe. It’s not so easy for any of us to say what we’d like.”
Scarlett put a hand to Violet’s chin, pulling her face down so she could look into the hazel eyes so like her own, and more disconcertingly, their mom’s. “Okay, now I’m extra curious. You’re not talking a hypothetical conversation, are you?”
Violet shook her head. “We all know that we’re not making enough money right now to keep the café going as well as making significant inroads on the medical bills that are still outstanding. The interest is crippling the business and us.”
“We’re chipping away at it.”
“Hardly fast enough to notice.”
Scarlett stiffened. “We’ll manage.”
“You’re so stubborn!” Violet shook her head.
“Alright, I’m stubborn, but I don’t have that on my own, do I?” There should be a better way to deal with this topic, but Scarlett couldn’t think of one right now, even though she’d lain awake at night trying to find some way around their plight.
“That’s true, Mom gave us all a strong belief in fighting for what we believe in. Violet acknowledged. “The bills are no one’s fault except the stupid hospital that used Doctors who weren’t in-house for her treatment. We can’t change what happened, and Ruby and I understand how you feel about the café.”
Violet’s words touched her, but she often felt alone on the path she’d chosen. “Do you? This is mom’s dream we’re talking about, and I can’t walk away,” Scarlett’s voice cracked.
“Yes, it was her dream. Now it’s yours, but what about us? You have to concede that Ruby and I have been patient,” Violet said with less force. “Maybe we don’t work as hard as you, but we sure try to. The bakery is your baby now, and if possible, we want you to keep it. Just give me a clue—how long will we be tied to it? Because I honestly can’t see anything changing for the better anytime soon.”
Violet’s voice faded, and Scarlett felt the knife of guilt cut a little deeper. It hurt knowing her sisters were talking about this without her. Yet, wasn’t that was her fault for not wanting to discuss it?
“I hate that you two feel trapped,” Scarlett declared. “I won’t make you and Ruby stay forever. I know that you both want other things and I absolutely want them for you. Don’t you know that?”
“And equally, you must know that we won’t leave you if you need us.” Violet gave her a watery half-smile. “Thanks for at least giving me some hope.”
Scarlett sighed again. “I wish I didn’t need you. The problem is that we can’t afford to hire staff, and even if we did, I wouldn’t have time to train anyone if you both go.”
Violet frowned as if weighing up all the scenarios. Scarlett waited, used to her sister’s ability to pigeon-hole things, and was rewarded when her sister’s eyes suddenly sparkled.
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“Fair enough—we both can’t go. How about you and I run the café and Ruby does her own thing? We can keep a lookout for a junior who won’t ask for much money. Once we get them trained, then I can move on. Sound fair?”
Scarlett searched Violet’s face. This last bit sounded too rehearsed. “Did you two have this planned already?”
“Not at all.” Violet lifted her chin. “Yes, we’ve talked over our feelings about working at the café forever, but I’m not the one with a degree being thrown away. Let’s give Ruby her chance. If she has a job, she can help out with bills until we get the café back to where it was.”
Scarlett’s mouth gaped. Another revenue stream?
“You don’t look happy.” Violet’s sparkle diminished further.
“On the contrary.” Scarlett grabbed her by the shoulders, relief and ideas surged through her. “I can’t believe I didn’t think about this. But what about you?”
Violet studied her fingernails. “No need to worry about me just yet.”
“That’s not what I asked.”
Violet nodded. “One step at a time. Let’s discuss it at a later date when things become clearer. Come on, we should get back in case Ruby’s given away half the shop.”
Scarlett smiled, holding back tears of gratitude. Her sister’s happiness was the most important thing in her life, closely followed by the café. The café contained so much of the very essence of their mom. Clearly, it had blinded Scarlett to the obvious—there were always other options.
When they entered the café by the front door, Ruby was behind the counter serving the local paramedic. Sam Drake leaned casually against the display case, and the two of them were rosy-cheeked and laughing.
“Having a nice day,” Violet teased.
With close-cropped, almost black hair, Sam’s chocolate brown eyes had small lines at their edges, showing how much he liked to smile and laugh. Coming to town less than a year ago, and excellent at his job, he’d fast become popular and was well respected. Perhaps not so much by Arthur or his cronies.
“I am now that I have a special cupcake. Back to work.” He grinned at Scarlett, taking the package with a wave.
He was too darn cute for his own good, and he obviously knew it, Scarlett mused to herself.
“Was that a freebie?” Violet asked.
“Not that one.” Ruby grinned. “He’s a good guinea pig, so his first on was a free trial.”
Scarlett waved a finger. “You need to stop that; otherwise, we’ll always be broke.”
“He’s the only paramedic in town, and he works hard.”
Violet grabbed her apron from the hook inside the kitchen. “People in Cozy Hollow all work hard. Imagine if everyone gave away their work for free.”
“I think it would be a wonderful place to live,” Ruby sighed.
“Okay, you two. Back to work. Eutopia isn’t within reach today.” Scarlett put on her own apron, ready to make cookies.
While she prepared the mixture, she began to formulate a plan based on Violet’s suggestions. A germ of an idea took hold, and by the time the cookies went in the oven, she’d made a decision.
It would be awkward and potentially unpleasant, but it was the best idea she could come up with.
Chapter Three
Leaving the shop in her sister’s capable hands, Scarlett headed to the library in the middle of the afternoon.
Main Street was beginning to look very festive, with banners going up for the spring parade. Flowers in half barrels at equal intervals put a bounce in her step as she almost forgot what she was about to do.
At the library, a large tortoiseshell cat sat on the steps paying her approach close attention. Gingerly, she walked past it. Cats did not like her as a rule, and the feeling was mutual.
Pushing open the heavy door of the eighty-year-old building, the dreary main room she walked into was hardly welcoming. On the small side for a library, it was adequate for Cozy Hollow. A voracious reader, Ruby would no doubt disagree.
The place was quiet as usual— Mable wouldn’t accept anything less—but it also appeared to be empty. This was odd. With the front door unlocked, it was unheard of for Mable not to be in residence. When it came to these four walls, and everything inside them, she was not the most trusting of souls.
“Ms. Norris?” Scarlett called—though not too loudly.
The quiet was a bit eerie.
“Ms. Norris? It’s Scarlet Finch. Are you here?”
When she was younger, like most of the children from Cozy Hollow, she wondered if the place was haunted. The musty smell of books and poor lighting certainly helped with that impression. Her slow footsteps echoed on the scarred wooden floors as she continued down the length of the room.
Reaching the high polished desk, she scanned the room once more. “Ms. Norris?”
Perhaps Mable was in the restroom and had simply forgotten to leave the ‘back in 5 minutes’ sign on the door? It was hard to appreciate, but if that were the case, Mable would not be pleased by Scarlett hounding her. What to do?
Leaning across the desk to see if there was a note she’d missed, or to perhaps leave one if there were a piece of paper handy, Scarlett found several books laying open as if they’d been knocked from a pile. Several more had fallen to the floor. A shiver ran up her back.
Now she was truly worried. A cantankerous woman, it had to be acknowledged that Mable loved books, and the treatment of them in this way would horrify her.
There was a small room at the back which served as an office/lunchroom with a restroom in one corner. Scarlett couldn’t leave without checking everywhere.
Warily she stood at the partially closed door, hesitating to open it. Despite the giant chip on her shoulder and her near-permanent grumpiness, Ms. Norris was a tiny woman. She could simply be hidden from view.
Since this was regarded as her inner sanctum, it was a massive risk to be found inside without an invitation. Scarlett had never received one and suspected they were as rare as hen’s teeth. In Mable’s case, the old sticks and stones rhyme did not apply. Words as sharp as knives had been thrown at every member of the community, and no one came away unscathed.
Pushing the door, it creaked loudly. “Ms. Norris?” Scarlett called nervously.
A plate of crumbs, a pot of coffee still steaming, and a mug, sat on the desk—but no Mable. A letter, half-written, lay beside the mug. From the doorway, in bold writing, the name Ruby Finch was clearly visible.
Taking a step forward, something furry touched her bare calf, and Scarlett jumped, her heart doing a quadruple beat.
“Darn you, cat!”
The sneaky feline must have crept in when Scarlett opened the outer door, and now it was doing a best friend impersonation.
“Meow!”
“Don’t look at me like that. I have no food, and I don’t know where Ms. Norris is. Do you?” she asked, feeling foolish and wary at the same time.
The cat tilted its head as if he wanted to convey something, then walked behind the desk. Scarlett followed for no other reason than she didn’t know what else to do. Reading the letter might be a good start. She wouldn’t touch it, but it would be nice to know what Ms. Norris had to say about her sister.
Scarlett’s hand slapped her mouth, lodging a scream somewhere in her throat, forcing a moan out instead.
Mable lay between the desk and a filing cabinet. Her eyes wide as if surprised to find herself in this position, she looked very dead. Were there degrees? She shook her head at the crazy thought. Crouching, she felt for a pulse on the cold wrist. Taking care of her mom meant she knew a thing or two about ill-health and was used to dealing with it calmly. It didn’t mean that she wasn’t a gibbering mess inside when, as hard as she searched, she found nothing that would nix her earlier impression.
Pulling her phone from the back pocket of her jeans, she called the emergency number. It was hard to speak over the lump in her throat, but she managed to answer their questions somewhat coherently. Havin
g ascertained that there was no pulse and that Mable was cold to touch, Scarlett was told to wait for the services to arrive.
Standing, she shakily moved away from the body, bumping against the desk. The cat jumped onto it, a paw touching the letter, and winked as if sharing a secret. Clearly finding Mable had unhinged a fanciful part of her mind. One that was rarely allowed out.
Eyes drawn back to the letter, they locked onto Ruby’s name. It jarred badly. After a longer look, which burned the words ‘banned from the library’ into her brain, and without thinking things through, Scarlett did something entirely out of character. Heart racing with fear and guilt, she pocketed the note.
Sweet and kind, Ruby didn’t have a mean bone in her body. While Scarlett hadn’t taken the time to read the letter thoroughly, she knew it wasn’t likely to be a good depiction of her sister’s character to have her banned from the place she loved most in the world and was outraged on her behalf.
A door banging open and heavy footsteps crossed the library. Scarlett’s mouth dried, her palms became damp as she waited. Sam Drake, the paramedic, appeared in the doorway, and she shivered in relief.
One heck of a fine-looking man, his chocolate-colored eyes swept over her and the room. A healthy male smell tinged with something citrus wafted over her, but it wasn’t calming. Then again, being around men had never been easy. Once again, she was shocked by her thoughts and the places they took her. It had to be the circumstances.
“What happened?” he asked, looking her up and down. “I got a message about a body, but you look fine.”
“I found her like this.” Scarlett pointed over the desk.
Sam rushed around and knelt on the floor, checking Mable’s pulse. He shook his head. “She’s been gone a while.”
“That’s what I thought. I would have tried CPR, but she was cold.”
“You sure you’re okay? You’re very pale.”
“Well, I am shocked, but other than that, I’m fine. Are the police coming?”
Sam nodded, pulling out his phone. “It’s standard procedure when there’s a dead person. The sheriff is probably already on his way.”
