Trouble on Main Street

by Kirsten Fullmer

  Heidi didn’t know the kindergarten teacher personally, but she had heard plenty from the ladies around town and it was all good. “I’m so glad to see you,” she greeted Sarah. “Please come in.”

  Sarah stepped across the threshold, concern marring her brow. “You were vague about why you wanted me to come over tonight. Are you okay?”

  Heidi smiled reassuringly and closed the door, encouraging Sarah further into the house. “Oh, I’m fine. Now that you’re here, I can share the good news. You are officially invited to join the Sugar Mountain Ladies Historical Society. You can take your oath at our meeting tonight!”

  Sarah stared at Heidi blankly, as if she hadn’t assimilated the news.

  Heidi tried again. “Have you heard of our group? We do twice yearly reenactments depicting the history of Sugar Mountain.”

  Sarah swallowed hard. How could she tell Heidi that she had heard plenty about the ridiculously slipshod society performances? Most of the people in town considered the reenactments comically bad. She’d also been informed that it was customary to show support and donate money anyway, out of civic pride.

  She leaned forward to cast a glance about the living and dining rooms, both of which were devoid of ladies. “Tonight? Where is everyone?”

  “They’re upstairs. I have a meeting room in the attic.”

  Looking for a way out of the awkward situation, the young teacher stammered. “Well, I—I don’t do well in groups of people I don’t know.”

  Heidi linked her arm in Sara’s elbow to pull her toward the stairway. Heidi was short, only five foot two, and the younger woman towered over her, but Heidi was built strong and curvy. She didn’t feel small. “I know it seems awkward, being new in town and all, but I promise everything will be okay. We need you. Come on up and meet the ladies.”

  Sarah dug in her heels, bringing them both to a halt. “I’m really very busy and—and I need to stay focused on my students.”

  Heidi laughed, a big belly laugh. “Honestly dear, you need to be with adult women too. How stimulating is the conversation with your kindergarten class?”

  “You’d be surprised at the things the children tell me,” Sarah asserted, her chin coming up a notch.

  Pleased to see spunk in her latest recruit, Heidi patted herself on the back. “See, that’s exactly why we have invited you to join our society. You are not only intelligent and talented, you are also well connected.”

  Sarah turned toward the door. “Thanks, but I really don’t have time tonight. I have grocery shopping to do and—”

  “Nonsense,” Heidi demanded, giving her a tug. “I promise, if you give us a chance and you’re not interested, you can leave.”

  Sarah disengaged her arm. “I’m not interested.”

  But Heidi had a way of mothering people, both to influence them and to comfort them. Women liked her and trusted her. “Now, now, have some faith in the ladies of our fair town and come upstairs to hear more,” she said in her best maternal voice.

  “I don’t see how I can help you. I don’t know much about Sugar Mountain,” Sarah hedged.

  Heidi put her hand on her hip. “We may be far more fascinating than you think. Come up and give us a chance.”

  Sarah nibbled at her bottom lip, weighing her options.

  Heidi knew Sarah had perfect manners and was nearly out of ways to escape. But she was also self-possessed, sly as a fox, and wouldn’t do anything she didn’t want to do.

  “Look,” Heidi said, dropping pretense. “I haven’t been 100% honest with you.”

  Chapter Two

  Sarah’s eyebrow rose at Heidi’s admission.

  “The society does more than reenactments. A lot more.” Heidi encouraged.

  “Like what?”

  Heidi considered her words carefully. “We try to improve the community. For instance, the potholes being repaired in the north end of town, we did that.”

  “You went out and—”

  Heidi raised her hand. “No, we didn’t actually fill the potholes; we coordinated and paid for the repairs. We got new playground equipment in the city park and put lights and new bleachers on the baseball field.”

  Sarah considered what it had taken to achieve those tasks.

  “We get involved in all sort of community issues, you’ll see,” Heidi assured.

  Sarah’s face scrunched in confusion. “Why do you keep that a secret?”

  “It’s just less complicated that way. But it’s all perfectly aboveboard, I assure you.” Even as she said the words, her neck turned red. Through the years the society had engaged in all manner of sneaking around, and some of it had definitely not been legal.

  As the young teacher considered Heidi’s words, she wandered across the room and hesitantly touched the beautifully carved newel post at the foot of the stairway. She turned back to Heidi with a glimmer in her eye. “Sneaking around, huh? Okay, but I can’t stay long.”

  “No problem,” Heidi assured as she put one hand on Sarah’s back to usher her up the steps. She knew the young teacher was dedicated to her students, which meant she was also dedicated to their families. If something involved the community, she’d be interested.

  Sarah cast a glance about her. “Your house really is lovely.”

  “Thank you,” Heidi replied. “I inherited it and all the furniture pretty much the way it looks now.” They reached the top step and Heidi led Sarah down a grand hallway.

  Sarah’s head twisted back and forth, trying to take in all the details of the grand hall. “Inherited, from your parents? Did you grow up here?”

  “No, I didn’t,” was all the explanation Heidi offered as she pressed a panel on the wainscoting and a hidden door swung open revealing the narrow stairway up to the attic.

  Sarah jumped back in surprise. Her gaze came up to meet Heidi’s, then she cocked her head to see up the steps.

  “It’s okay, go ahead,” Heidi urged her new friend.

  “You know I’m straight, right?” Sarah asked.

  “It’s nothing like that,” Heidi assured with a giggle as the pair progressed up the stairs. The rumble of ladies’ voices could be heard above.

  “Go ahead, open the door,” Heidi coached when they reached the top. “I’m right behind you.”

  Sarah took a deep breath and turned the doorknob. To her surprise, the first thing she noticed was how wonderful the room smelled. Scents of fresh coffee and herbal tea, cookies and cakes permeated the space. The attic room was large and well-lit and missing all the pomp and circumstance the rest of the house displayed. The hardwood floor shone like honey, and seats were built in under the dormer windows. The floor was covered with colorful handmade rag rugs and soft cushions filled the window seats. A huge overstuffed chair in one corner had a snuggly throw tossed across its back, and a table along the far corner contained a coffeemaker along with mugs and teacups and fixings of all sorts.

  Women Sarah recognized from town were seated around a long wooden table in the center of the room. She saw several old ladies from the park, a girl she’d seen walking a huge pack of dogs, a woman with pink hair, the woman who owned the local tavern, and several others. Most of the women had a coffee cup or snack in front of them as well as an assortment of notebooks and planners. The whole setting was a fascinating blend of comfort and warmth, yet businesslike organization.

  She shuffled to one side to allow Heidi through the doorway

  “Ladies,” Heidi said with a flourish, “this is a very special evening indeed. Tonight we have the great honor of welcoming a new member.” She put her hand on Sarah’s back, encouraging her to step forward. “This is our very own Sarah Barton,” she continued “—the new kindergarten teacher at Sugar Mountain Elementary.”

  A warm round of greetings and applause came from the ladies gathered at the table. Each smiled, making the young teacher feel welcome.

  “You can sit over here, dear,” Mildred said, patting the empty chair next to her.

  Sarah moved forward, taki
ng in the group as she slid into her seat. She put her purse under her chair and jumped when the little dog under Mildred’s chair bared his teeth in a smile. She sat up, adjusted her chair up to the table, and glanced shyly at the other women.

  “I’m Mildred,” the sweet old lady said. She had soft, white, wispy hair and twinkling eyes. “Would you like tea or coffee? A cookie perhaps?”

  Sarah shook her head, too overwhelmed to be hungry.

  “Well then,” Mildred said, “I’m the secretary and you can ask me questions as the meeting progresses.”

  Heidi took her place at the head of the table. “By way of introduction,” she said in a businesslike manner, motioning toward the woman by her side. “This is Mildred.”

  “We’ve met.” The old lady said, patting Sarah’s hand on the table.

  “This is Monique,” Heidi continued, motioning to the serious beauty sitting on the other side of Sarah. The thirty-something, dark-haired woman looked to be a mix of nationalities and represented the striking beauty of them all.

  “She owns the tavern on Main Street.” Heidi added.

  Monique, never one to waste time or words, simply nodded a welcome.

  Next, Heidi motioned toward a bright-eyed thirty-five-ish black woman. “This is Jessica.”

  “Hi honey,” Jessica greeted with a bright smile. She had a broad, sweet face and a sisterly manner. Sarah liked her immediately.

  “And Samantha,” Heidi continued around the table. “She’s our local dog walker.”

  The athletic, young blonde offered a serious nod. “You can call me Sam.”

  Sarah bobbed her head in understanding, wishing she’d brought something to take notes.

  “This is our Stella,” Heidi said motioning toward an ancient woman with thick glasses that magnified her eyes. “She’s our senior member.”

  “I once dated Rock Hudson,” the old lady blurted in a loud voice.

  Mildred scoffed and waved off the comment. “That was Rick Hansen, silly old goose.”

  Heidi ignored the interruption and continued the introductions. “Last but not least we have Michelle. She owns the beauty salon.”

  A forty-something woman with pink hair and perfect makeup waved her fingers hello.

  Sarah couldn’t help but notice the beautician’s extra-long, brightly-painted and jewel-encrusted nails.

  “Okay,” Heidi said, adjusting her notes on the table. “First on the docket is explaining to Sarah how the society works and what we do. I’ve given her a hint, but I didn’t go into detail. Monique, you always put it so eloquently,” Heidi continued. “You tell her.”

  The pretty woman next to Sarah turned in her seat to better see their recruit. “We handle the problems in this town,” she stated flatly.

  Sarah glanced from face to face in concern. “What type of problems? I don’t – Heidi mentioned potholes, but—”

  Mildred placed a wrinkled hand on Sarah’s shoulder. “Honey, somebody has to manage things, and usually it falls to us.”

  “But—but what about the reenactments?”

  The ladies around the table snickered and elbowed each other as if they’d heard a good joke.

  Heidi banged the gavel to restore quiet. Once the women had hushed, she turned to Sarah. “I’m sure you’ve heard all about our productions, and I know it wasn’t good.”

  “Well—” the girl hedged, not wanting to be rude.

  “It’s a front—” Monique explained, “—so nobody suspects what we’re really doing.”

  Unsure what to say, Sarah remained silent.

  Heidi smiled. “It’s okay, honey, you just sit in on this meeting, and by the end you’ll know if you want to be part of our group.”

  Heidi added a chair to the top of the stack and shoved the pile against the wall of the empty attic room while Monique crisscrossed behind her with the dust mop. Neither spoke, as no words were needed due to many years of repeating the task.

  Monique leaned on the broom handle. “Sarah didn’t run back down the stairs, so that’s good.” Her brow lowered. “Are you okay?”

  Heidi shrugged. She was glad that Sarah had joined their group, but she was still upset about the parcel. Her pleasure in introducing a new member had definitely been dampened by talk of the blood on the package. The group had offered all manner of speculation, but no one had an answer or even a good idea as to what would cause an injured person to put already-delivered mail into the outgoing box. Heidi was an organized person by nature, and one of the things she liked about her job was the schedule and sameness of it. There were no surprises to shock a person at the post office. No death or loss, just the same process day in and day out. Yes, she was sometimes curious about something being mailed or delivered, and she knew some things about where and how much people were online shopping, but in general it was a planned and scheduled job, and that suited her. The blood-smeared parcel had thrown a wrinkle into that process.

  “You need to relax,” Monique lectured. “Just because a weird package went through the post office, the world isn’t ending.”

  Heidi wanted to believe Monique. Not only was the woman her best friend, she was tough as nails. But the blood on the parcel had her on edge and she wanted to get to the bottom of it. Who in town was bleeding and why? She stuffed her notebook and laptop into her bag. “I hear the words, I’m just worried.”

  Monique returned the broom to the corner closet. “Nothing in this town happens fast. We’ll get to the bottom of it.”

  Heid didn’t respond.

  “Okay, you’re right, a murderer is running loose, posting more bloody mail as we speak.”

  Heidi tossed her friend a nasty look.

  Monique’s expression softened and she tried again. “What can I do?”

  Heidi led the way down the narrow attic staircase. “I don’t know what would help. Maybe I’m just overtired and need to go to bed. Tyler has a test tomorrow, I should send him to bed and get some sleep myself.”

  “Is he worried about keeping his grades up to stay on the baseball team?”

  Heidi scoffed. “Not as worried as I am.” She led the way through the kitchen to the secret door in the washroom where the society members entered for meetings.

  Monique hesitated at the door. “You know where to find me.”

  Heidi offered a sad smile. “Thanks.”

  Monique frowned and hesitated, then gave Heidi a quick, one-armed hug. She wasn’t one to get touchy-feely but she could see that her friend was floundering.

  Heidi understood the magnitude of the awkward gesture and a lump lodged in her throat. What would she do without her friends? The women in the society were special—they were trusted sisters. She waved at Monique as she disappeared down the secret passage into the tunnel then heaved a long sigh.

  What was happening to her cherished town? The parcel had brought home what Heidi already knew. Growing a town was hard. Complications came along with loads of tourists and booming business.

  As people came in, they brought problems with them. There was a lack of affordable housing and no hospital. Sugar Mountain’s little clinic was swamped and many sick people had to go to Boone for treatment. The roads were run-down from too much traffic and the water and sewer district couldn’t keep up. Even trash collection was a problem.

  The city council was woefully unprepared to deal with the onslaught of issues and the society had picked up the slack. Then again, the society had been doing the same thing throughout the town’s history. Sometimes, the society had simply been unhappy with a decision made by the council and had worked behind the scenes to get things changed.

  No matter the times, it seemed that each grand master had had her own problems to confront. If it wasn’t dealing with newfangled speeding motorcars or moonshiners, it was building parks and playgrounds, or educating women.

  Most folks in town had no idea that the women and their little historical society were behind many of the changes in their community, and the society liked it that way
. No one could try to disband the group if they didn’t know they were involved.

  Heidi frowned as she plodded up the stairs. The society’s effort to bring in tourism had definitely saved Sugar Mountain, but it seemed no one had considered the implications.

  She paused to rub her temple. It appeared that crime was a problem now too. Heidi knew drug overdoses happened far too often and that petty theft existed in town, but up to today none of that had touched her life. Whose blood had been on that parcel? And what did the mayor’s office have to do with it?

  She continued up the steps and then headed down the hall to knock on Tyler’s bedroom door. Something had to be done to correct the problems in town, but what could she, or even the society, do? They were just normal women, they couldn’t take on all the community’s problems, especially not criminal activity.

  “Come in,” Tyler called out.

  Heidi creaked open the door and stuck her head in. Tyler looked up from his textbook and Heidi’s heart swelled. He was such a cute kid, and at fourteen he was looking more and more like his late father. “You need to finish studying and get some sleep.”

  Tyler’s hand slipped and he hurried to hide the comic book tucked into his textbook. He thumped the book closed and rose from his desk. “Okay.”

  Heidi considered calling him on the deception but changed her mind. “Goodnight then,” she said. “Love you.”

  “Love you too, Mom.”

  Heidi closed the door and continued down the hall to her bedroom. So, what could the society do? Anything involving blood was pretty much over their heads; they’d never been involved with criminals before, at least not in her time as grand master. The ladies during prohibition or the ‘60s may have, but since she’d run the group they’d mostly been involved with community development.

  She plodded into her room and closed the door, then leaned against it.