Vintage Teaberry Malice

by R A Wallace

  Megan thought back to the other tidbits she’d gathered. “Do any of you know if Alice sang while she was here?”

  “I’d forgotten about that,” Victor said as he looked around the group. “She used to sing all the time when we were in school together.”

  “Really?” Kevin asked. He turned to Megan. “I didn’t go to school here, so I didn’t know her back then. But I started a choral group here for the holidays a couple of years ago. When I asked Alice, she said she couldn’t read music and she didn’t like to sing.”

  Victor turned to Megan with a confused look on his face.

  Megan held up a finger. “I have one more question. Do any of you remember Ginger Sturdivant?”

  “I do,” Silas said, happy that he could contribute something. He looked around the group. “You remember her, right? She was always trying to get Alice in trouble back when we were in school.”

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Daryl signaled for the moving truck to continue backing up. Once it was positioned close enough to the rear entrance of Vintage Teaberry, he signaled to the driver to stop. Two men exited the truck and came around to meet Daryl. Both men were young and looked strong enough to transport all of the larger pieces of furniture and other items they had received from the community in advance of the sale in the hopes that Vintage Teaberry would sell them on consignment. The movers grabbed some of the moving pads from the back of their truck.

  “You can access the shop through here.” Daryl pointed to the back door. “We’ll need you to wrap the larger pieces of furniture with your moving pads before loading them onto the truck.”

  Both men nodded. Those were the instructions they had been given by their supervisor before coming to the job.

  “Did you decide not to sell these pieces?” One of the young men asked. His name tag said Levi.

  “They’re all for sale,” Daryl said as he led the men through the shop. “But we’ve been getting so many of them in, we can’t keep them all here for now. We’ll be in violation of the fire code if we keep them all here during the week. You’ll be bringing them back this weekend when we can use the sidewalk and other shops around us to display them.”

  The men stopped when they saw all of the furniture Daryl was indicating. They looked at each other. One nodded and the other went back out to get more moving pads.

  “That is a lot of stuff,” Levi said. “We’ll take care of it for you.”

  Leah came over with her clipboard and nodded to Levi. “I printed out a list of everything we’re sending with you.”

  “That’ll make it easier. I can just attach it to my paperwork,” Levi said as he began wrapping a dresser. The other young man returned carrying more pads. His name tag said Frank.

  Leah turned to Daryl. “Is Megan coming today to pick up the hall tree?”

  “Yes.” Daryl glanced at the time. “She said she’d be here later this afternoon sometime, probably just before we close.”

  “Good. I didn’t put the hall tree on the list,” Leah said more to herself as she double checked her list.

  “Don’t tell me you’ve finally come to your senses and you’re getting rid of all this junk.”

  Leah turned around when she heard the voice behind her.

  “Sebastian Windemere. What is your problem?” Leah demanded. She’d had enough of this nonsense.

  Daryl stood next to his wife and crossed his arms. He had been ready to ask the very same question. Leah had beaten him to it.

  “As if you didn’t know,” Sebastian sneered.

  Leah threw a hand up in the air. “That’s just it, Sebastian. I do not know. I’m clueless. I have never done anything but act professionally toward you. I repeat. What is your problem?”

  Frank and Levi shared a look. Then they both picked up some furniture and moved it out of the way.

  “Well,” Sebastian stammered. “You stole from me!”

  Leah slammed her clipboard into Daryl’s stomach and took a step forward, one hand raised as she pointed a finger at Sebastian. “That is not true, Sebastian Windemere. I do not steal,” Leah said in a very even voice.

  Daryl knew that voice. He held on to the clipboard and prepared to enjoy the show. Leah could take on the best of them. He almost felt sorry for Sebastian. Almost.

  Sebastian straightened to his full height. Leah still towered over him. And she looked angry.

  “It was at the Brzezinski place.” Sebastian took a step back. “I bought an antique clock from her. Someone told me later that you took it.”

  “You have got to be kidding me! You have been dogging me for years because of this?” Leah held up her hand, spun around and walked over to her cash register. Reaching behind it, she pulled out a clock, then stormed back to Sebastian.

  Daryl glanced over and saw that the moving men had stopped working and were watching also. He couldn’t blame them.

  “Here is your clock,” Leah said as she slammed it into Sebastian’s arms. “Here is the note that came with it.”

  Sebastian looked down at the clock then back at Leah. “Note?”

  “Mrs. Brzezinski couldn’t remember your name. She had just lost her husband and she couldn’t take care of herself anymore. She was being moved to an extended care home. She asked me to find out who bought the piece and get it to them. I was just starting out in the business and I didn’t know anyone back then. There were so many people at that sale. I tried for years to figure out who’d purchased the clock but no one that I asked ever knew about it.” Leah took a deep breath.

  Sebastian tried to hold on to his anger. “Why didn’t you ever ask me?”

  “Because you were always so mean to me,” Leah said. “Every time I tried to have a conversation with you, you either snubbed me or made some horribly rude comment.”

  “Oh.” Sebastian looked over at Daryl.

  Daryl raised an eyebrow. The moving men waited to see how it would end.

  “Well. It seems I owe you an apology,” Sebastian said. He couldn’t quite look Leah in the eye. He focused on the clock instead.

  Daryl and the moving men watched for Leah’s response.

  Leah crossed her arms. “Oh, Sebastian. We could have solved this years ago if you would have just said something.”

  Sebastian finally looked up at Leah. “Well. It’s solved now.” He tried a smile.

  Daryl grinned. The moving men went back to work.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  The noise outside her office never even phased her. Jessilyn had multiple spreadsheets displaying on her monitor and her total focus was on the numbers she was seeing. The first Teaberry Community Sale was scheduled for the upcoming weekend. Although that was still several days away, Jessilyn was tracking to ensure that everyone who planned to participate had an application on file.

  She had already called all of the restaurants in town. They were planning on extra staff to handle the crowds that day. She was happy to see that the Station Pub & Grill would also have food for sale in two different areas throughout the town using both their new catering truck and the concession stand from the TeaFest. Based on the permit applications they had submitted, they were not planning to have those located close to any of the other restaurants in town. That was one crisis Jessilyn was happy that she wouldn’t have to deal with. She didn’t want any of the restaurants crying foul because of poaching.

  All of the shops along Main Street and many of the other streets in town would be participating with sidewalk sales. The banners on the lamplights lining the streets in town had been promoting the community sale for some time now. Jessilyn had requested that some of those banners be swapped out to promote upcoming events such as the upcoming Blues, Brew & BBQ event.

  Flyers and brochures promoting the upcoming events had been delivered all over town to have businesses distribute them. Megan had all of the town web site pages updated to promote all of the events. The portable restrooms had been ordered and would be delivered the day before the event. The police were
ready with plans in place to handle both the foot traffic and the influx of vehicles.

  Jessilyn sat back in her chair. They were as good as they could be at this point. She crossed her fingers and hoped there weren’t any major catastrophes between now and the weekend.

  ***

  Jim turned to Doug, his eyebrows drawn together in concern. “What do you mean we’re going to be short on staff?”

  Doug sat at the table in the small room they used to hold meetings and private parties in the rear of the Station Pub & Grill. He had paperwork spread out on the table and his tablet in front of him. He pulled up a file on his tablet and compared it against the printouts.

  “Some of the guys from the fire station are going to staff the concession stand in the town square. Tyler says he can handle the catering truck on his own.” Doug looked up at Jim. “I would prefer he didn’t have to do that.”

  Jim nodded in agreement. “He’s good, but we don’t want to kill him in one weekend.”

  Doug hummed his agreement as he focused back on his tablet. “Cathy will be here to handle the bar. I think she should have some help with that.”

  Jim rubbed his chin. “Yeah. We’re usually packed on weekends anyway. This community sale is going to put everyone over the top.”

  “I think we should add a few more waitstaff to the restaurant for the weekend also.” Doug set his tablet down on the table.

  “Okay. So, good problems to have,” Jim said.

  A half smile pulled at the side of Doug’s mouth. “That’s one way to look at it.”

  Jim raised his arms, linked his hands, and rested them on the top of his head. “Tyler’s family is from eastern Ohio. That’s not that far away. Maybe he has someone who could help him with the catering truck?”

  Doug nodded slowly and pulled out his phone. “Good idea,” he said as he texted Tyler.

  Jim reached for his phone and texted Jennifer. He grinned when he got an immediate reply.

  Doug glanced up. “I know that grin.”

  “Jennifer said she could help cover the bar,” Jim said.

  Doug thought for a moment. “Let’s run through the applications that we’ve received recently and see if anyone in there already has a lot of experience. If we get them in here now, they might be up to speed by the weekend.”

  Jim stood and headed for the filing cabinet. “Sounds like a plan.”

  ***

  Tia Jamison stood back and admired her handiwork. She’d created a new display in the window of her shop, Olde Tomes, to complement the theme of the community sale. There were several books on the history of the surrounding area that often attract the out-of-towners, but she’d also added in a lot of mysteries that she’d just gotten in stock last week.

  Walking back over to her cash register, she opened the box sitting on the counter from the morning deliveries. She already knew what was in the box. These books were for the book club that met frequently at the bookstore. In the past, the group had crammed into the shop. Now that Ross had had a door installed between their two spaces, they’d be able to meet in his conference room. It was a shared space that she could access from her shop just for her book club. Tia couldn’t wait.

  She checked the books in the box, counting them to be sure they’d all arrived. Then she closed the box back up but kept it near the cash register. She knew that the club members would trickle in over the next few days to pick up their books. She had been the one to choose the title for their first meeting in the conference room. It was a particularly interesting mystery with an unusual twist that involved a lifelong campaign of one woman who repeatedly tried to ruin the happiness of another. Tia smiled to herself. She knew that everyone loved a good mystery.

  ***

  Jessilyn got home after a long day at work. She sniffed appreciatively when she entered the house. She’d put a pot roast and a lot of vegetables in the slow cooker before leaving for work. She changed out of her work clothes quickly and took the bobby pins out of her hair. After finger combing it, she pulled it back into a tail.

  Then she went out her back door and over to her neighbor’s house. The boys were playing in the back yard. Cindy saw Jessilyn from her kitchen window and waved Jessilyn into the house.

  “Is something wrong?” Jessilyn asked when she entered the kitchen. Evan had looked fine when she’d said hello to the boys, but she’d asked Cindy to let her know if Evan was still having problems with bullying at school.

  Cindy glanced out her window to make sure the boys were still out there.

  “Did you hear?” Cindy asked in a low voice.

  Jessilyn took a step closer. “Hear what?”

  “About Brianna.” Cindy looked at Jessilyn intently.

  Jessilyn narrowed her eyes and thought about the woman who had tormented her all through high school. After meeting with the principal to resolve the issue with Brianna’s son now bullying Evan, she’d hoped Brianna would stop all of her old tricks. “No what?”

  “She’s the new president of the PTA.”

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  The moving men returned to drop off the key to the storage unit that Leah had rented for the overstock. She gave them a large tip and the details regarding when she needed everything to be returned. She and Daryl had spent their afternoon rearranging the space in Vintage Teaberry once the movers had taken the overstock.

  At the end of the day, Leah looked around and gave a sigh of relief. Things were starting to look more normal.

  “I’m glad that we came up with the idea for the community sale. But I really like having my shop back now that the excess furniture is gone,” Leah said.

  Daryl nodded, then turned, when he heard the bells on the door. “Megan! You’re here for the hall tree?”

  “I am. My truck is out front, but I can move it around to the rear if that’s easier to load it up,” Megan said as she walked over to join Leah and Daryl.

  “I have a hand truck, so it isn’t a problem,” Daryl said. “How is the sleuthing going?”

  Megan tilted her head to the right once as she thought about her answer. “I think I’ve learned a couple of things, but I also have a lot more questions.”

  “Did you read through the whole journal?” Leah asked.

  “Oh, yes. And I’ve been speaking to a lot of different people.” Megan explained everything that she had learned.

  “Wow. That’s a lot to take in,” Leah said.

  Megan pulled the key from her pocket. It was the one that had been pressed into the journal.

  “I still don’t know what this goes to though,” she said as she held up the key.

  Leah looked at it closely, then pulled out the key the moving men had just given her.

  “That looks like this key,” Leah said.

  Megan took the key from Leah and compared them. She looked up, excitement flashing in her eyes. “It does. The numbers aren’t the same, but that makes sense. They’re different storage units.”

  Daryl held out his hand for the keys. After examining them both, he looked up at Leah and Megan. “What do you think? You want to take a drive after I load up the hall tree?”

  ***

  “Who gets to do the honors?” Megan asked as the three of them stood in front of the storage unit matching the number on Alice’s key.

  “You’ve got the most time invested in this. You do,” Daryl said.

  Megan inserted the key into the lock and turned it easily. She threw a glance at Daryl and Leah. So far, so good. Then she bent down and opened the garage-type door on the unit.

  Although there were several boxes, old luggage, and some old furniture inside the unit, it was the human remains that immediately drew everyone’s attention. Megan pulled out her phone.

  ***

  The storage facility was crawling with police and other emergency crews. They had cordoned off the unit and the investigation was underway.

  Jerry and Rhys were with Megan, Leah, and Daryl. Megan had already explained how they had figure
d out the key was from the storage unit and a few of the other things Megan had uncovered.

  Jerry turned when another uniform walked over carrying a book. “We found this. It might explain a few things.”

  Jerry looked down at the journal and flipped open the cover to the first page. Then he looked up at Megan. “Looks like you were right again. This says Volume Two.”

  Megan allowed herself a small smile. She knew that there had to be more to Alice’s story.

  “What are you going to do with it?” Daryl asked.

  Jerry glanced at him quizzically. “What do you mean?”

  “Alice’s belongings were all left to the retirement community. They’ve already given Megan the first volume,” Daryl pointed out.

  Jerry considered it as he watched the crew move the remains from the storage unit for transport. Then he turned to Megan. “I need to maintain chain of custody, just in case. I’ll have you sign some documents. But I will expect to get this back by tomorrow.”

  Megan nodded once, then reached for the journal.

  ***

  Dan stood back and looked at the hall tree. “It looks like it belongs there.”

  Megan managed a smile. “It does, doesn’t it?” Daryl’s experienced eye had not been wrong. The hall tree and the hall table were definitely a match.

  Dan took Megan’s hand and led her down the hall to the living room. He glanced at the two parts of the journal on the table by the couch. “Looks like you have your reading cut out for you tonight.”

  Megan nodded. “What are you going to do?”

  Dan considered his options. He did have a new mystery on his tablet to read. It was a new release in a series that he particularly liked and he had really been looking forward to it. Then he looked back at the journals. “Actually, I’d like to know what happened to Alice. Do you mind reading out loud?”

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Megan rose early on Wednesday to the smell of coffee. She stretched and reached across an empty bed. She was finally getting used to having Emma gone in the mornings when she woke. She found Emma in the kitchen, cleaning herself after her breakfast. Emma stopped when she saw Megan and wrapped herself around Megan’s ankles.