by Jenn Cowan
I shoot him a thankful smile then practically sprint down the hallway with Regina keeping pace at my side. She’s awful fast for an older gal. When we reach the ICU, Regina drags me to the side before we enter Travis’s room. “He remembers Cat and seems to have his full memory back.” Tears are brimming in her eyes and I assume they’re happy ones.
“That’s great! Does he remember anything about the attack?”
She chews on her lip. “I haven’t pushed him to try and remember it. He’s asking for you. I think he’d rather tell you. The captain’s keeping him in the dark on the case, I know Travis knows it’s because you have more information than he does.”
I stifle a grin and shrug. “Maybe.”
She swats my arm. “Oh, stop.” Then her face grows serious. “He doesn’t seem to remember losing his memory or the little kiss you two shared. You might want to keep that to yourself. I’ve put out the word around town about the whole situation so everyone’s loose lips better be sealed.” Regina squeezes my hand. “I can’t thank you enough for being there for Travis earlier today. I know it wasn’t easy for you or for Josh. I heard he’s MIA. I’m so sorry. He has to know you love him otherwise you wouldn’t have accepted his proposal, right?”
I let out an exasperated breath. “Why does everyone keep asking me if I’m sure I want to marry Josh. Of course, I do. Nothing that happened today has changed my feelings for him.”
Regina seems a little taken aback by my outburst, but recovers quickly. “I know, dear. Josh will come to his senses and you two can get married tomorrow just like you planned.”
My stomach starts to churn thinking about the wedding not happening tomorrow. What if Josh doesn’t show up? What if he decides I’m not worth all this trouble? I feel like I’m going to be sick.
“Autumn, you’re as pale as an albino bunny. Sit down. Take a few deep breaths. You look like you’re on the verge of a panic attack.”
I stumble to the nearest chair and put my head in my hands while taking a few deep cleansing breaths.
Regina sits beside me and rubs circles on my back.
We sit in silence for a few moments while I get myself together. These past two days have taken a toll on me and I don’t feel like I’m any closer to solving this case before tomorrow. I take another deep breath and lift my head. My eyes meet Travis’s. His brow is pinching together with worry as he studies me then he motions for me to join him.
“I’ll wait here,” Regina says, picking up a tabloid magazine and engrossing herself in it.
I stand on wobbly legs like I’m a newborn giraffe. My leg is still giving me some pain so if there is a wedding tomorrow, I may have to reconsider my footwear. Heels and this leg are not going to work. I push open the door to Travis’s room. His green eyes are practically burning holes through me.
“What’s wrong? Did something happen with the case?” He pushes himself up in the bed and winces.
I grab a pillow and place it behind his back to give him better support.
“Thanks,” he breathes out then focuses back on me. “Why do you look like someone ate the last vegan cinnamon roll at the bakery?”
I snort laugh. “That’s a crime in itself.”
He chuckles then grabs the back of his head. “Man, that hurts.”
I cringe. “Sorry, I’ll try not to make you laugh anymore.”
“It’s fine.” He waves it off then dives right into detective mode. “Now, if you’re not going to tell me why you look so glum, tell me what’s going on with the case.” He pats the chair beside him.
“Not much,” I say, sitting down in the chair. I brief him quickly on Allison’s mom, Jean, Wyatt’s mom and sister and Mr. Gillman.
He scratches his head and says, “A woman hit me from behind.”
I perk up at his words. “A woman? How do you know?”
“I could smell her floral perfume.”
“How could a woman kidnap Allison?”
“Do you think Allison was actually kidnapped? Or did she go willingly?”
I arch an eyebrow in disbelief. “You’re joking, right?”
“Not if it’s her mother. Allison will do anything to make her mother happy. Jean didn’t exactly welcome me and Cat with open arms. It wouldn’t surprise me if she enjoyed whacking me over the head and talking her daughter into escaping. I bet she and Allison got into an argument like they usually do so Allison makes up a story about getting away.”
“And the second kidnapping?”
“Second kidnapping?” he straightens and his eyes grow wide. “What are you talking about?”
Oh, shoot. “I thought maybe Regina mentioned it.”
“She didn’t. Feel free to catch me up on everything.”
I clear my throat and tell him about how he, Cat and Allison along with myself were all kidnapped.
His shoulders go rigid and he grumbles something I can’t make out.
“What was that?”
“I feel like I’m remembering something about being kidnapped. A voice. A smell.” He sniffs the air as if trying to recall the smell. “Two distinct smells. One was sweet and the other was rancid.”
I stiffen at his words. “I smelled that after the murder. I couldn’t recall where I smelled it before.”
“I know. I feel like I have too, but I can’t put my finger on it.”
I pat his hand. “We’ll figure it out. Don’t stress yourself out about it. You need to rest.”
Travis glances down at my hand on his arm. “It’s Friday night. Why aren’t you at your rehearsal dinner? Did something happen between you and Josh?”
I withdraw my hand and notice he’s staring at my empty ring finger. It feels bare without my engagement ring on it. “No. We decided not to have it with everything going on. It will give us more time to solve the case before the wedding tomorrow.”
“So, there will be a wedding tomorrow?”
“Of course,” I squeak then cough to force down the lump in my throat.
“Autumn,” Travis’s voice softens. “Something happened, didn’t it? You can tell me. It has to do with me, doesn’t it? When I had amnesia.”
My eyes snap to his. “How do you know you had amnesia?”
“The doctor told me and it wasn’t hard to figure out when Cat cried on my chest and kept repeating how glad she was I remembered her.”
My heart aches for Cat. I can’t imagine how hard the past few hours have been for her.
“Autumn? Did Josh call off the wedding because of something I did?”
I blink back the tears on the brink of spilling down my cheeks.
“Was it something you did?”
I brush the tears off my cheeks and swallow down the words I want to scream at him. It’s not his fault he thought we were still high school sweethearts. I can’t blame him for any of this. “It’s nothing we can’t work out.”
“Autumn, tell me. You’re not wearing your engagement ring. Your rehearsal dinner isn’t happening and you look like a raccoon with all the mascara running down your face.”
I huff out a laugh and wipe my eyes. “Travis, you need to rest. I’m going to follow up with Mr. Gillman and see if I can get some answers.” I begin to stand when he grabs my arm.
“I did something, didn’t I?”
“Travis, it’s nothing.”
“Tell me, Autumn. If I did something to cause you any pain. I’m sorry. I would never do anything to mess up your big day. You have to know that. Even though I’m not over you, I would never…”
“You kissed me and Josh walked in on it.”
Travis lets go of my arm and collapses back onto the pillows. “Wh-what?” He rubs his head. “I don’t remember that.”
“You thought we were still in high school. You were the sweet and charismatic Travis I fell in love with. Regina asked me to play along so I did. Josh said he understood, but he left with his dad this afternoon and no one can get a hold of them. I think the wedding is off and I don’t know what to do.” I plop dow
n on the bed and sob into my hands.
“I’m so sorry, Autumn.” He rubs my back in an attempt to comfort me.
I sniffle and wipe my eyes. “It’s not your fault. I should have warned him before stepping foot in here. He took my ring and said it was for safe keeping until the wedding, but I’m not so sure that’s why he took it. It is a family heirloom. What if he’s decided he doesn’t want to marry me?” I begin to hyperventilate.
“Autumn, breathe. Josh would be an idiot not to marry you. Us kissing probably triggered old feelings of jealousy from high school. I saw the way he looked at you, which made me crazy. He was in love with you just as much back then as he is now, probably more.” Travis smirks. “You were the only one who couldn’t see it.”
I push my hair out of my face and let out an exaggerated breath. “All I want is to solve this case, take a hot bath and marry Josh, is that too much to ask?”
Travis chuckles. “No, it’s not.” He pauses, but before he can continue, shouting comes from down the hall.
19
After convincing Travis to stay in bed, I rush down the hall and find my dad. “What’s going on?”
My father gestures to Mr. Gillman, who is arguing with the nurse. “He’s refusing to talk to the police and is demanding to go back home. The doctor wants to keep him overnight for observation because they fear he has a concussion.”
“Have you talked to him?”
“I’ve tried, but his lips are buttoned up tight.”
“Maybe he’ll talk to me?” I step toward the threshold when the nurse who gave me a hard time earlier grabs my arm.
“You’re her, aren’t you?” She points at my leg. “The one who left here and had us all in a frenzy. What are you doing back here? I heard about you upsetting that detective. Now, you’re back to upset this patient. Uh-huh. No way. Not today. Not on my watch.”
I open my mouth to protest, but the captain pushes his way in.
“Sorry, Miss Fisher. I’ll take it from here. Why don’t you go home and get some rest before your big day tomorrow? Let the professionals handle this.” He shoots me a stern look.
“Come on, Autumn. Let’s go,” my father says, tugging on my sleeve to get my attention.
I glare at the nurse and captain before reluctantly following my father. This day started with me in the hospital and is ending with me at the hospital. At least I won’t be staying the night… at least I hope not.
My father opens the passenger door for me before rounding the hood and slipping into the driver’s seat. “Maybe the captain will crack Mr. Gillman. I mean claiming a ghost threw banana bread and a rolling pin at him is a bit of a stretch. My money is on him killing Wyatt and using this as a distraction.”
I rest my head against the seat and close my eyes. Something doesn’t sit right about any of this. The strange sweet and rancid smell at the murder scene and then the sweet smell again when we were kidnapped. What could that be? I wish I could place my finger on it. Right now, my money’s on Jean since I’ve eliminated Wyatt’s mom and sister from the list. Mr. Gillman has a strong motive, but he’s not strong enough to kidnap Travis, Allison or Cat. They would need someone with muscle and a large truck to transport Travis in a hospital bed and why even kidnap Travis? What’s the motive behind that? My head is spinning by the time we reach the house. I open my eyes praying I see Josh’s car in the driveway, but it’s empty. Where are you, Josh? I check my phone for the hundredth time and there’s still nothing from him. I have a text from Nikki asking what’s going on, but I don’t have the energy to explain everything. She’s probably wondering if she can break her juice fast. She’s been on it for over a week in order to fit into her bridesmaid’s dress.
“You alright, kiddo?”
I snort and push open the car door. “No, but what I can I do? I can’t solve this murder because I feel like I’m missing a huge clue and I can’t convince Josh to pick up his phone and talk to me.” I stomp toward the front door like a toddler throwing a temper tantrum. Life was so much easier when I was three and my mother could kiss away my sadness.
“Autumn!” My mother greets us at the door and yanks me in for a hug. “I’ve been worried sick. I heard about Mr. Gillman and Travis waking up. Cat and I made some vegetable soup for dinner since the rehearsal dinner was…” her voice drifts off as she lets me go.
“Thanks, Mom,” I mutter as I make my way to the kitchen.
“Autumn! You’re back. Are you hungry? We made soup.” Cat jumps up from her chair and dashes over to the cabinet to get me a bowl before I can answer her.
I plop down in a chair and rest my head on the table.
“Aren’t you hungry?” Cat asks, placing a steaming bowl of soup in front of me.
I lift my head and breathe in the comforting smell. “Thanks, sweetie.”
She gives me a sympathetic smile then sits down and picks up a bundle of seed.
“What are you working on?”
“Your mom and I got the best idea to give everyone at the reception.” Cat holds up the bag of seed in a sheer pouch. She takes a scoop and dips it into a bigger seed bag and fills the shimmery blue pouch. “We wanted to make it fancy. It’s sunflower seeds since they’re your favorite. We thought everyone could plant them as a symbol of yours and Josh’s love continuing to grow.”
I smile at the thoughtful gesture then my smile falters when I catch a whiff of something familiar. “What’s that smell?”
Cat’s gaze drops to a bag on the floor. “Oh, that. I meant to take those out. Those are some of the bad ones. They smell kind of rancid, don’t they? My science teacher says when seeds go bad they smell like that because the natural oils are breaking down due to being exposed to oxygen.” She beams at her fun fact.
“They do smell rancid, don’t they?”
She shrugs and studies me with a concerned expression on her face. “Yes. Are you okay?”
I get up and grab the bag of bad seeds. A sinking feeling forming in my gut. “Where did you get these seeds, Cat?”
“Devin was supposed to bring them by the spa yesterday, but he never showed up. Your mom and I went out to the seed company today to pick them up. Mr. Rivers said some might have gone bad because some vandals have been leaving the seed bins open so we can just toss them if they smell.”
I sniff the bag again then smile at my dad. “Care to take a drive to the old seed company?”
“Why? To return them? I don’t think Mr. Rivers will give you any money back. I’m surprised he even had those in stock with him selling the company to the new developer in town.” My dad shoots me a pointed look as if reminding me not to spill his secret.
“He had to search for them. They were in the back so he wasn’t sure how good they’d be so he didn’t even charge us for them. The whole place kind of smelled rancid too.” Cat wrinkles her nose in disgust. “The new owner’s going to have their work cut out for them.”
I smirk and lift an eyebrow at my father.
He scowls then coughs. “What’s going on, Autumn?”
“I’ll tell you in the car. Let’s go.”
My father doesn’t ask any other questions, which I’m thankful for. My mother protests, but quickly realizes she’s not going to keep me from leaving.
When we get in the car and head toward the old seed company, my dad finally breaks the silence. “Why are we going out to the old seed company?”
“I think Mr. Rivers and possibly his son, Devin had something to do with everything that’s going on around town.”
“You think they killed Wyatt? Why? I bought their property. They have no reason to kill him.”
“I’m not sure they actually killed Wyatt, but I think they had something to do with it and maybe the kidnappings and Violet and Eddie’s weird absence.”
My dad coughs. “Violet and Eddie were with me.”
“Wh-what do you mean?”
“Violet took Eddie out to the mine. I was working on the model and heard them come in. They thought I
was some big bad developer and went to call you. Why they didn’t call the police, I don’t know. Anyway, we sat down and had a nice long chat about everything. I showed them my plans for the town and swore them to secrecy, especially to you.
“But they told Josh.”
“I asked them to. I knew he wouldn’t listen to me without feeling like he was betraying you so Eddie and Violet talked to him. In case you didn’t see reason when I told you, I wanted Josh to be able to explain it to you. I thought maybe it would help if we ended up at odds.” He sighs then says, “I planned to show you the model and everything I have in store for Daysville. I think you’re really going to like it.”
I humph to acknowledge him, but don’t say anything else. I can’t decide if I’m ready for all the changes my dad is planning to make to Daysville.
We ride in silence for a moment before my dad asks, “Who do you think followed you to the hardware store and shot Chase?”
I stifle a yawn and reply, “I have my suspicions on that.”
“Care to share?”
I pretend to zip my lips then let out a yelp when I’m thrown against the side of the car as my dad does a U-turn. “What are you doing?”
“Going to the police station.”
“Why?” I ask, gripping the door handle in case he goes rogue again and whips the car back around.
“Because if Mr. Rivers and his sons are in on this murder we can’t go question them alone.”
“Why not?”
“Autumn, you know as well as I do that the Rivers’ have more guns than everyone in Daysville put together. There’s no way if we confront them about all of this they will let us leave their property… at least not alive.”
I brave letting go of the door handle to cross my arms over my chest. “What do you think will happen if we go to the police station? Are you forgetting who Mr. Rivers’ brother is? I don’t think the captain will take kindly to us accusing his brother, do you?”
My dad mumbles under his breath then remains quiet for a moment before turning the car toward our house.
“What are you doing now?”
“It’s late. We’re going to sleep on this and regroup in the morning.”
