Trouble on the Books

by Essie Lang

  She’d taken a couple of sips of coffee when he finally stopped walking and turned to face her.

  “I understand your aunt is recovering from a knee operation. I hope she’d doing well?”

  Shelby felt puzzled but supposed he was making chitchat. “Uh, yes. She’s actually starting to get slowly back to work in the main store. Do you know her?”

  “Only in passing, but she’s got a way about her that attracts attention. I was hoping maybe you could introduce us.” He glanced at her with an easy smile.

  What? “Uh, sure, I guess. Is this business or pleasure?” Are you looking to replace Loreena so soon?

  He laughed his deep-belly roar. “You come right to the point, don’t you? I’d say it’s a bit of both. She seems to be an astute businesswoman and I’m a businessman. And I think she’ll be interested in what I have to propose. But I also think she’ll be more open-minded about it if you put in a good word for me first or even come with me when I meet her.”

  Shelby hesitated, not really sure how to answer. She didn’t like being put in that position, but she guessed that Edie could make up her own mind about talking to him.

  “After all,” he continued when she didn’t answer, “I was willing to help you the other night and answer all those questions.”

  She bristled at that, but she guessed it shouldn’t have surprised her. “I’ll talk it over with her,” she finally answered.

  He touched a nonexistent hat brim and made his way down the path toward the dock.

  Had he come all the way to the island just to ask her that? What a strange man. What was he planning? One thing was for sure, she knew she couldn’t trust him.

  * * *

  She needed to talk to Edie about Pellen. And a great many other things, too, but she wasn’t ready to do that just yet. But she couldn’t avoid her forever, and she hoped that if she dropped in unannounced after work, she’d find Edie alone. She rang the doorbell and then knocked on Edie’s front door. It was opened fairly quickly.

  Edie looked hesitant but welcomed Shelby inside. Shelby realized how much she’d been both dreading and looking forward to seeing Edie again.

  “I need to talk to you.” She said it without emotion, and she could see that Edie picked up on that. Hesitation flickered back into Edie’s eyes before she turned and walked to the kitchen. Shelby followed, wondering where to begin. The facts. Just the facts.

  “I just wanted to tell you that I had a visit from that developer Barry Pellen today. Do you know him?”

  Edie turned to her. “I know who he is, but we’ve never met. What did he want?”

  “To meet you. He wants me to introduce him to you.”

  Edie’s jaw dropped. “Why on earth would he want to meet me, and why would he ask you?”

  “Well, according to him, it’s because I went to see him to ask a few questions.” Shelby decided she’d better tell her aunt everything. There had been too much secrecy in the past, and look where it had gotten everyone.

  “Why did you do that?” Edie pulled out one of the wooden chairs and sat at the kitchen table, indicating that Shelby should join her.

  “Because I’d heard he’d been romantically involved with Loreena.”

  “And?”

  “Well, I’m trying to find the murderer, and he could be a possibility, but I think I’m all over the place.”

  Edie sat completely still for a few seconds and then grabbed the napkin holder and ran her finger along the top. She seemed totally absorbed. Finally, she said, “It worries me that you’re still looking into this. It could be dangerous.”

  “But you were the one who asked me to help. You were worried about Matthew.”

  Edie nodded and looked up at Shelby. “I know, and it’s because I was so frightened about Matthew not having a fair chance. But I’m much calmer and more settled about that now. And, as you well know, I did ask you to stop.”

  “I know, and I tried. But it’s really bothering me, and I feel like if I just keep going a bit longer, I can figure it out.”

  Edie shook her head. “Well, tell me about Barry Pellen. What does he want to see me about?”

  “He wouldn’t say, only that it had to do with business and would be something that could help you both. Or something like that.”

  “I wonder what that could be. I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to talk to him. But how did you connect him to the murder?”

  Shelby realized she hadn’t shared much about what she’d found out, other than her theories about smuggling. Now was obviously the time.

  “Felicity Foxworth told me that he was dating Loreena. So I wondered if they might have had an argument, like a really heated argument that had turned violent. And I’d also heard that Duncan Caine had dated Loreena, so maybe there was a triangle that one of the guys found out about and that led to her murder.”

  “It’s all so hard to imagine. These are just normal everyday folks. Nothing like murder is supposed to happen, especially around here.”

  “I don’t think Alexandria Bay is immune to murder, and from what I’ve read and seen on TV, it’s often ordinary folk that get involved in bad things happening.”

  Edie was silent for a few minutes, then said, “Now that I think about it, I’d heard that Pat Drucker—she’s the chief librarian—had been seen having dinner with Barry Pellen. I wonder if he was dating two women at the same time?”

  “For someone who doesn’t get out much these days, you sure know a lot about what’s happening,” Shelby teased. “By the way, I saw him having dinner with Felicity Foxworth, too.”

  “It helps to have good connections in the community, although I hadn’t heard that part,” Edie said with a small laugh. “It’s very unsettling, though, that’s what it is. Who do you trust?”

  “Well, I guess you trust that justice will be done, even if it needs a helping hand at times. And speaking of justice, I was wondering what had brought about the change of heart with Chief Stone. She seemed determined not to be friends.”

  “There’s a lot more than an old boyfriend that we have to deal with right now.”

  Shelby stood and started pacing. “Does it have anything to do with the fact that I left her a message saying I wanted to talk to her about my mom? It does, doesn’t it? I can see it on your face.”

  Edie looked at her a few seconds, then looked like she’d reached a decision. “She came to ask me what to do. She knows the whole story because she remained good friends with your dad. Can we put that aside for now, though, and you stay for some supper? Please. I just made some lasagna.”

  Shelby thought she might as well, particularly since the aroma had her mouth watering. She sat at the table while Edie pulled the dish out of the oven, served some pieces onto dinner plates, and set them on the table. She then opened the fridge and pulled out some tomatoes, cucumbers, and green peppers and sliced them, arranging them on a plate of field greens. She added some lemon-garlic vinaigrette to the salad, grabbed a baguette and the blue butter dish, and placed everything on the table.

  After a few bites, Shelby felt her tension disappearing. The glass of white wine Edie had poured for her also helped.

  “I know everyone’s been telling me to forget about the possibility of smuggling taking place, but Zack Griffin as good as admitted it to me.”

  “He did? I find that surprising.”

  “Well, it was sort of tied in to my agreeing not to look into it anymore. I guess I may have gotten a little carried away.”

  “You’re just now coming to that conclusion? I’m happy to hear you say that, though. I hate to think of you being in any danger from looking in the wrong places.”

  She debated whether to tell Edie about the shadowy figure at her houseboat the other night. It might make her see that Shelby wasn’t merely gadding about with a dumb theory, but on the other hand, Edie might insist she move into the house. Which would not be good. Not now. Besides, Shelby liked living on her own, and she wasn’t about to be bullied into moving by some
unknown visitor in the middle of the night. However, if that same person was a killer …

  She sighed.

  Edie reached out and patted her arm. “Maybe you should concentrate more on the business and get your mind off the murder.”

  Shelby felt like she’d been punched in the stomach. “Why? Am I doing something wrong with the store? You have to tell me if something isn’t right. I wouldn’t want to mess it up.” She loved the store.

  “No, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to make you feel that things were going wrong. You’re doing an excellent job, from what I see and what I hear. It’s just that I thought you could come up with a project like your magazine idea or a way of doing things differently. I’m grasping at straws here. I just want you to stop all this poking around. I really do worry about you. Matthew worries about you too.”

  “Matthew does? While that’s sweet, why would he worry about me?”

  “Well, maybe it’s because of me.”

  Shelby looked at her aunt and smiled. Now, that really was sweet. And it took care of Edie, but it didn’t move her any closer to solving the murder, and no matter how much she was warned off, Shelby knew that she couldn’t let it go.

  Her late-night visitor had made it personal.

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  Shelby got a surprise the next morning when she stopped in the main bookstore on her way to the island. Edie was sitting behind the counter, inputting the details of a small stack of books into the computer.

  “I didn’t know you’d be here today,” Shelby said as Edie looked up. “And you’re early.”

  “I couldn’t sleep, so I thought I’d get a jump on things. And I didn’t get a chance to tell you last night, not with all the smuggling talk going on.” Edie smiled, and Shelby decided there was no hidden message there. “What are you doing here?”

  “I thought I’d bring over some more books for the local-authors bookshelf, if we have them.” Shelby walked over to the section and pulled five books, three different titles, off the shelves. She put them in front of Edie. “Would you mind checking to see if this would leave you in low stock here?”

  Edie checked the computer. “No, we’re fine. There are more in the back room.”

  “I’ll grab some of those, then.”

  “Okay, thanks.”

  It took only a couple of minutes for Shelby to locate the books and stick them in her canvas bag. “By the way,” she said casually as she walked back to the counter, “have you given any more thought as to what I was saying about Barry Pellen?” Might as well take advantage of running into her.

  Edie nodded. “I was thinking about that, so I gave Trudy a call last night.”

  “And?”

  “She said he’s been in to the store a couple of times.”

  “I wouldn’t have thought him a big reader.”

  “Well, I guess as a developer, he’s trying to get more information on the area. It’s mainly local books he was looking at, she said, and then, of course, he asked a lot of questions.”

  “Questions? About what?”

  Edie sat back and stretched out her knee. “She said he started out by asking a lot of questions about me, which she didn’t answer, and then he said he was interested in knowing about running a small business in Alex Bay and also on the island. He wondered if it was profitable to have that second location.”

  “She didn’t find that odd?”

  Edie shrugged. “She did, and she told him he’d have to talk to me about anything to do with the business. I guess that ties in with his wanting an introduction. Why do you ask? Do you think he could be running a smuggling operation?” Edie’s eyes danced as she asked this, and Shelby found herself laughing.

  “You never know. He told me you were ‘unusual and charming.’ I think you have a fan.”

  “I don’t need a fan. I have thermostat control every place I go. Anyway, I’d think he has enough on his hands trying to sell the village and the council on his hotel and casino, which should keep him too busy for anything else, illegal or otherwise.”

  Shelby nodded. “I guess you’re right. Just checking all the possibilities. But I’d better get going. It’s a long swim to the island if I miss that shuttle.”

  She just made the shuttle boat and spent the entire trip thinking about Barry Pellen. She was still curious about him, and even more so when she noticed him walking toward the grotto later that day. He hadn’t stopped by the store, so she’d had no idea he was on the island until she caught a glimpse of him on the path. She debated only a second and then followed him at a distance. If he turned around, he’d see her for sure, but she could always say she was taking a break, which was true, and always took a walk around the island, which wasn’t. He didn’t turn around but veered off the path and over to the fence that edged the island. He seemed to be very interested in the coastline and even stopped to duck under the rope and peer over the edge a couple of times.

  Shelby felt a hand on her arm and almost cried out. She spun around to face Matthew, who put his finger to his lips, indicating she should be quiet, then pulled her back to the trail.

  “What are you doing?” he asked in a soft voice.

  She wasn’t sure what to say. She didn’t want to look too silly. “Just taking a break, and I noticed Barry Pellen.”

  “So you followed him. I watched you. What do you think you’re doing?”

  “It’s a long story.”

  “Well, why don’t you go to the Sugar Shack and buy us each a coffee, and I’ll join you shortly. Then you can tell me all about this long story.” He pulled a ten-dollar bill out of his pocket and put it in her hand. “Now.”

  Shelby was torn between asking what he was up to and wanting to finish tailing Pellen but decided to do as Matthew suggested. She nodded and made her way back to the main trail. When she turned around, both men had vanished.

  Totally intrigued and hoping Matthew would have some useful information, she bought the coffee and wandered over to a remote picnic table nowhere near the trail to the grotto. She had just checked her watch for the third time when Matthew showed up. Finally. She’d have to get back to the store soon.

  He took the coffee she slid over to him, pulled the top off, and had a long sip after he sat down across from her. She decided to let him take the lead, but he just kept sipping and looking around like he was enjoying the scenery. She followed suit and immediately felt some of the tension in her shoulders start to leave her body. The setting was that beautiful. A perfect sunny day with a few puffy white clouds, a surprisingly calm river up close to the island with some choppiness farther out in the channel, and an immaculately tended green lawn with pops of color in the occasional flower beds around the grounds.

  She couldn’t hold back any longer and finally asked, “What’s going on?”

  “You know I like to keep an eye on things around here; in fact, that’s part of my job. This Pellen guy has been over here quite a bit in the past week, and he’s been walking the property, taking it all in. So, whenever I see him, I keep an even closer eye on his movements.”

  “What do you think he’s doing?”

  “Since he’s a developer, you never know. I’m thinking it might be something to do with the hotel and casino, but I can’t figure out what it would be.”

  “Do you think it has to do with smuggling?”

  “Are you still on that? Listen, Shelby, I know those stories add a certain charm to Blye Island, but that was a long time ago. There’s no way that could be happening these days, not with modern technology and law enforcement all over the place. I think you should give it a rest. Who knows, maybe he wants to develop the grotto as a wedding destination. With the right lighting, it could be pretty romantic in there. And scenic, too.”

  “What? How could he do that?”

  Matthew smiled. “I don’t know if it could be done, but I’m just throwing out a suggestion. You want some reasons for his being here.”

  “What if we ask him outright?”
<
br />   “That’s not going to happen,” Matthew said, standing and picking up his cup. “Leave that to the town council, Shelby, and leave the murder investigation to the police. Your aunt would be inconsolable if anything happened to you.”

  Shelby felt as if she’d been doused by a cold bucket of water. She was still shivering when she walked back into the store.

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  She didn’t realize, until it was time to start closing up, that the rest of the day had flown by in a blur and she hadn’t had a chance to think much about what Matthew had said earlier. The store had seemed about to pop its seams around midafternoon when a group of seniors, on a Knights of Columbus tour that had originated in Florida, swarmed the small space, all talking and laughing at the same time. That had netted Shelby her best sales day yet at the store, along with a bare shelf where the local authors had been displayed.

  She called the main store and asked Trudy to put aside what copies they could spare, promising to pick them up the next morning on her way to work.

  Then she dashed around the bookstore, straightening book displays, shelving a book that had been left out on a table, and counting the cash. She’d just finished that task when the phone rang. Much to her surprise, the caller ID displayed Felicity Foxworth.

  “I’m sorry for bothering you at this late hour,” she said, “but I was hoping you could stop by my store when you get back to the village. Can you do that, or do you have plans?”

  “Sure, I can do that. Is anything wrong?”

  “No … yes … well, I just need to talk to you.”

  “Okay, I’ll come straight from the shuttle.”

  “Thanks, Shelby.” And Felicity hung up before Shelby had a chance to ask anything else.