by Amber Crewes
Jack looked down at his boots, and Henry playfully nudged Jack on the shoulder. “What’s wrong, son? Rough day at the office?”
Jack hesitated. “I shouldn’t say…”
“Oh, come on, sport,” Henry argued. “Tell us what’s the matter. My little girl shouldn’t have to worry about her man. What’s the issue?”
Jack sighed. “It’s about the man we arrested. Alan? The homeless man? I just don’t think he did it, and I feel terrible.”
Meghan placed a hand on Jack’s shoulder. “I’ve never seen you so upset about a case before,” she murmured. “Is there something standing out to you about this man?”
Jack’s shoulders shook, and Meghan could see that he was trying not to cry. “I just feel like my gut is telling me he is innocent, and I would hate to keep an innocent man locked up. I kept an innocent man locked up for two whole weeks during my rookie year, and man, I never forgot the look on his daughter’s face when he was released. I was just doing my job, but she looked at me as if I had hurt someone.”
Henry placed a hand on Jack’s shoulder and squeezed. “Sport, you can’t be too hard on yourself,” he said. “If you are following the rules and the law, you are doing what society expects of you. You can’t give up, Jack. I’m sure it’s difficult, but you have to do your job.”
Jack frowned. “It’s just hard to ignore my gut.”
Henry shrugged. “In life, we have to do hard things,” he told him. “In my business, I’ve had to fire people, and to make hard decisions. The beauty of it is that from hard choices come better outcomes, and I know that if you work hard and do your job, things will work out.”
Jack smiled weakly. “Thanks, Mr. Truman,” he said.
Henry furrowed his brow. “Really, call me Henry,” he insisted.
Meghan’s eyes sparkled as she watched the two most important men in her life share a moment together. Her heart warmed, and she felt a sense of relief as Henry embraced her boyfriend.
“Mama is warming to Jack,” she thought to herself. “And Daddy is warming to him. Maybe this whole thing--Sandy Bay, the bakery, and Jack--will work out after all.”
12
“I’m so glad we could get together and do this,” Kayley Kane schmoozed as she led Rebecca and Meghan down the street toward a potential property. “You two have been such good sports with this snow and cold weather. Don’t worry, though; this is our last place for the day.”
Kayley held out her arms to show Rebecca and Meghan a four-story vacant building right beside Luciano’s. “It’s been empty for awhile, but it could be the perfect place for a shop, or a restaurant, or even a combination.”
Rebecca raised an eyebrow. “It looks a little...rough, Ms. Kane.”
Kayley sighed. “It was previously used to house some of the homeless,” she admitted to Rebecca. “The owner of the building is moving to the East Coast and wants to sell it quickly, but he wants to sell it to someone with the right priorities.”
“What do you mean by that?” Meghan asked as Kayley tapped her heeled shoes against the sidewalk.
Kayley chewed on her bottom lip before responding. “Well, Roberto Luciano tried to buy this place,” she explained to the Trumans. “It is just next door to his place. But the owner didn’t think Luciano had the right priorities. The owner of the property wants someone with empathy toward the homeless to purchase it, and he didn’t feel like Roberto showed that. Roberto’s been known for screaming and shouting at the homeless people, and the owner didn’t feel right about leaving the property with him.”
Rebecca frowned. “If that is the standard--empathy toward the homeless--I don’t know if I would make the cut,” she told Kayley. “I feel for them, I do, but I would not use this property to better them. I would likely turn it into something fabulous--this town needs a designer handbag shop--and I wouldn’t prioritize the homeless’ needs while arranging my next business endeavor.”
Kayley smiled weakly at Rebecca. “Are you sure? You didn’t warm to any of the other properties. Are you sure you couldn’t just donate some money to the homeless, or perhaps work with a local agency to employ a homeless person in the store?”
Rebecca frowned. “I believe I made myself clear,” she told Kayley. “None of the properties you have shown me have blown me away, Ms. Kane. Until something marvelous comes along, I’m afraid I cannot make a sale with you.”
Meghan saw the look of concern in Kayley’s eyes. “Mama, why don’t you think about some of the places from earlier? That first little building was cute; you could turn that into a little salon or boutique.”
Rebecca sighed. “You are so soft, Meghan,” she hissed. “I want the best, and Kayley hasn’t shown me the best.”
Kayley sputtered, knowing that she had possibly blown the sale. “I will make a list of alternative properties,” she announced to the Trumans. “Just you wait, ladies. I will come up with the finest places in Sandy Bay, and Mrs. Truman, I can assure you that you will be pleasantly surprised.”
“I sure hope so,” Rebecca sniffed. “Kayley, I think that’s enough for us today. Meghan? Let’s go.”
Meghan and Rebecca said goodbye to Kayley and walked away. “I just don’t know what she was thinking,” Rebecca complained. “The properties were fine, but that last one? The stipulations on it were too much. I’m happy to spend a day at a food bank, and Daddy and I write a personal check each year to the shelter in town. I just don’t believe mixing business and handouts. It seems wrong to me.”
Meghan pursed her lips. “I don’t think it’s too much to ask for, Mama,” she told Rebecca. “It sounds like the only requirement is simply to respect the homeless and to provide some sort of opportunity for them. Is that too much?”
Rebecca rolled her eyes. “Meghan, if I am going to buy a second home here and open a little business for fun, it’s going to be on my terms. Besides, Daddy would never approve of hiring a homeless person to work in a store of ours, and his opinion matters, too.”
Meghan walked silently beside her mother, aghast at how privileged and selfish her mother could be. Meghan knew that Rebecca lived in a world of wealth and finery, but she wished that her mother could step outside of herself and see the needs of those around her. From Kayley’s desire and need to make a sale with the Trumans, to the homeless, Rebecca seemed oblivious to the plights of those less fortunate than herself.
“Why are you making that sour face?” Rebecca asked her daughter. “Really, you should watch the way you hold your face, Meghan; it could freeze like that if you are not careful, or you could get wrinkles.”
Meghan gritted her teeth. “Mama, I think there are more important matters at stake than my face,” she huffed. “Kayley really needs to make a sale with you and Daddy. She is a single mom, and her ex-husband hardly helps with anything.”
Rebecca narrowed her eyes. “Her finances are not my concern,” she explained to her daughter. “Nor are they yours. She should not have mentioned her ex-husband, or her son’s schooling. That was very unprofessional, and if she worked anywhere other than this tiny town, she would be fired for that kind of rude behavior.”
Meghan sighed. “Mama, Sandy Bay is different than the South,” she argued. “All of the prim and proper rules don’t matter here. In Sandy Bay, people are candid. They speak their minds here, and they say what they mean. Kayley is worried about making ends meet, and I know how much it would help her to receive a large commission from a sale with you and Daddy.”
Rebecca shook her head. “Really, Meghan, you should hear yourself. It’s disgraceful. Talking about a stranger’s finances is unacceptable.”
Meghan crossed her arms in front of her chest. “No, Mama,” she responded. “Not caring is unacceptable. We have so much, Mama, and we should be happy to share with others. We’ve been so blessed and comfortable, and our family should be honored to help others get by.”
Rebecca glared at her daughter. “I don’t know what’s gotten into you,” she said to Meghan. “But this b
ehavior is unseemly. This is not a conversation I care to have anymore, so I must excuse myself. I am going back to the hotel and going to the gym.”
“The gym?” Meghan asked.
“Yes,” Rebecca answered. “I’ve been indulging during this trip. I typically only eat greens and tofu, but being around the bakery has awoken my sweet tooth. I need to work off some of this nastiness on the elliptical as soon as possible.”
Meghan smiled. “I have an idea,” she told her mother, eager to salvage their day together. “Remember my friend, Karen Denton? She is the queen of exercise. She always knows the hippest, trendiest places to squeeze in a sweat. How about I give her a call? We can work out together?”
Rebecca’s face brightened. “You are suggesting we work out? How wonderful! I never thought those words would come out of your mouth, but I am so thrilled they did. Give Karen a call. Tell her we will meet her in an hour, and beforehand, I’ll take you to Spark to buy a cute workout outfit. How do you feel about spandex?”
13
Meghan stared at her reflection in the mirror of Karen’s guest bathroom. She hardly recognized herself in the workout outfit her mother had purchased for her; the tight, clingy leggings and the matching pale pink sweatshirt were not items she would have chosen for herself, but as she studied her appearance, Meghan was pleasantly surprised at how the bottoms accentuated her curves. The leggings were snug in the bottom, and Meghan turned around to admire her backside. “I don’t look half bad in nice workout clothes,” Meghan admitted as she adjusted the crew neck sweatshirt. “Maybe with the right outfit, I’ll enjoy working out more.”
Meghan was wrong; despite her expensive new clothes, she detested exercise, and as she ran alongside her mother and Karen, she struggled to catch her breath.
“Try to keep up, Meghan,” Rebecca chided her daughter as the women jogged along the main street of Sandy Bay. “We’re going at a pace that is ridiculously slow for Karen and me. Surely you can move your legs faster?”
Meghan frowned, but she did her best to pick up her legs at a faster speed. “I’m coming,” she called out.
“You’re doing a fabulous job, Sweetie,” Karen complimented as Meghan caught up to her. “I’m so proud of you.”
Meghan smiled, thankful that someone was recognizing her hard work. “I’m doing my best,” she grunted.
Rebecca quickened the pace, moving gracefully in a pair of soft periwinkle leggings and a matching knee-length workout sweater. “Come on, ladies, let’s step it up,” Rebecca ordered. “My trainer back home is going to kick my booty if he finds out I ate my weight in holiday treats here in Sandy Bay. Let’s burn some el-bees, girls!”
Rebecca took off at a sprint. Karen followed, and Meghan attempted to keep up. “What are they doing?” Meghan wondered to herself as Rebecca and Karen quickly decreased their speed.
“We’re doing intervals,” Karen informed Meghan with a grin. “We run fast for thirty seconds, and then, we slow our pace. It’s so good for your heart, and it’s the best way to burn fat.”
Rebecca nodded as she jogged beside her daughter. “Come on, Meghan. Burn some fat with us. It’ll be the best gift you give yourself this Christmas.”
Before Meghan could respond, Rebecca and Karen took off in a sprint again. “Come on, Meghan,” Karen yelled. “It’s only thirty seconds of hard work! You can do it.”
Meghan took a deep breath. She picked up her knees and pumped her arms vigorously, but just as she reached her fastest pace, her mother and Karen slowed down. Meghan could feel the frustration fill her heart, and she struggled to stay positive as her athletic mother and friend raced down the street. The three women sprinted and jogged for a half hour, and finally, it was time for them to cool down.
“We’ll just do a little two mile run to cool down,” Karen said as she high-fived Rebecca. “Feeling good, Meghan?”
Meghan nodded. “I’m….feeling something,” she responded breathlessly.
Karen smiled at Meghan. “So, how is Jack doing, Sweetie? I haven’t seen much of him in town, lately.”
Meghan sighed. “He’s been so busy with the case,” she told Karen. “I’ve barely seen him myself.”
Karen nodded. “Who do you think did it, Meghan? Does Jack know of any leads?”
Rebecca interjected. “My husband told me that Jack doesn’t think that other homeless man, Alan, killed Roger,” she said to Karen. “He says that Jack told him that he believes Alan is innocent. I have to disagree. I saw the way that terrible Alan upset my daughter at the food bank, and I think he had something to do with it.”
Meghan agreed. “I didn’t feel safe around him,” she confirmed. “He was a big man, and he had a terrifying look in his eyes. He even told the crowd that he had messed with people before, and I think he meant that he killed Roger.”
Karen slowed the pace. “We’re going too fast for a cool down, ladies,” she warned Rebecca and Meghan. “Anyway, that’s terrible that Alan scared you, Meghan. Any other thoughts? They don’t have any other suspects, do they?”
Meghan bobbed her head. “Actually, they do have another official suspect,” she told Karen. “Roberto Luciano?”
Karen gasped. “Robbie? They think Robbie Luciano killed that man? There’s no way he did that.”
Meghan shivered as a gust of cold air hit her face. “From what I heard, they think he could have killed Roger because of his disdain for the homeless. A group of homeless guys hangs out outside of Roberto’s restaurant nearly every night, and Roberto feels like he loses business because of it.”
Karen shook her head. “I just cannot imagine Robbie Luciano hurting a fly,” she insisted. “He and his family are such wonderful additions to the community. His wife, Maria, volunteers at the library each morning. His son, Francisco, donated a kidney to a little boy in town who needed a donor. His daughter, Angela, is one of the main coordinators for the local food bank. I just don’t believe anyone in that family could have anything to do with the death; the Lucianos just don’t have a mean bone in their bodies.”
Meghan agreed. “That’s how I feel as well,” she told Karen. “Roberto gets frustrated with the homeless, but I don’t think he is a killer.”
Rebecca frowned. “If I were in his situation, though, I would sure be angry,” she told the women. “If I owned a fine restaurant in the middle of town, and a group of rowdy homeless men were constantly around, I would be furious. I’m already furious that my own daughter has to deal with such scoundrels in her own town. I hope Roberto didn’t kill that man, but if he did, I would understand. What a nuisance.”
Meghan’s jaw dropped at her mother’s callous words. “Mother, how can you say something like that?”
Rebecca maintained her pace. “Obviously I don’t condone murder, Meghan; don’t be daft. I’m just saying that it’s frustrating to see so many people like Roger in one town.”
“What do you mean, ‘like Roger?” Meghan asked her mother. “You mean, homeless? Poor? Down on their luck?”
“Precisely,” Rebecca answered. “It’s terrible to see so many of those people in the place where my daughter lives. I don’t think a nice man like Roberto Luciano would kill a homeless man, but if he did, I would surely empathize with his frustrations.”
Meghan tugged at the sweatshirt; it was tight around her neck, and her mother’s brash words shocked her, making her throat feel tight and her chest swollen in disappointment. “Mama, do you know what holiday is coming up?”
Rebecca smirked. “Of course. It’s almost Christmas.”
Meghan nodded. “Exactly. And Christmas is all about love, the birth of Jesus in a manger and taking care of those less fortunate than us. I can hardly believe a loving, good woman such as yourself could empathize with someone for killing, but not with the homeless and downtrodden. It shocks me, Mama.”
Rebecca came to an abrupt halt. “That is not what I meant, Meghan Truman,” she insisted. “You know that. Don’t make me out to be some kind of cruel monster.”<
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Karen stepped between the mother and daughter. “Let’s change the subject,” she said. “What if there is someone we haven’t thought of who could be the killer? Wouldn’t it be funny if Sally Sheridan had killed him?”
Meghan’s eyes widened. “Karen! That’s a terrible thing to say.”
Karen giggled. “I’m only joking,” she said. “But seriously, if Sally Sheridan killed that man, she’d probably get caught trying to get a refund on his body! She would take it back to the coroner to see if she could get some money back.”
Meghan erupted into laughter. It had been a tense afternoon with her mother, and despite the macabre nature of Karen’s joke, Meghan was thankful for her dear friend for clearing the air. “You are too much, Karen Denton,” Meghan said. “You are too much.”
