by Curry, Edna
“Oh?” She eyed it warily and sipped her coffee.
“Aren’t you going to open it?” he asked.
She shrugged and reluctantly set her cup down. Quickly she tore at the brown paper and babbled, “I haven’t bought anything yet, but it’s probably just something Aunt Dee ordered for the shop. Some things take a while to be delivered. She warned me before she left a few things she’d ordered hadn’t yet arrived.”
He frowned and drank his coffee, leaning on the counter. “What if it’s something you don’t like?”
Another lift of her shoulder as she unwrapped the box. “Then I’ll return it, of course. No problem.”
She opened the box and lifted the tissue paper to reveal a single fresh, long-stemmed yellow rose. Loni gasped. She backed away from it as though it were a live snake, her hand on her mouth as though to stifle a scream. “Oh my God!” she cried. “Get rid of it.”
Matt leaned forward to touch it, then stared at her suddenly white face. He set down his coffee and looked through the box, expecting a huge live spider or something. “Wha-at? There’s no card, but it’s just a fresh flower, Loni. Why are you so upset?”
“I—I’m not upset. I just don’t—don’t want it.”
She drew a deep breath and picked up the box by the edges, as though it were contaminated. Marching out to the trash barrel just inside the mall entrance, she dumped it in and hurried back. She glanced over her shoulder as though it might follow her.
He watched her curiously. Something was wrong here. She looked as scared as she had the night they’d found the dead raccoon. Was there a connection?
“I guess you really didn’t like that gift,” he said, trying for a bit of levity.
“No, I didn’t.” With a satisfied sigh, she gave him a determined smile. She grabbed her cup and gulped some coffee, then picked up a doughnut and bit into it. “It sure wasn’t something Aunt Dee ordered.”
“No. But you know who sent it?”
She shrugged. “I have a pretty good idea.” Her voice was flat and the tone said the subject was closed.
He watched her eat the doughnut. The color was returning to her cheeks and she was relaxing again. But maybe he’d better not accept packages for her after this, he thought. Who did she hate so much? Or should he ask: who was she so afraid of?
A bit of sugar glaze clung to her soft lower lip. He had the oddest urge to lick it off. Then she did, and his gaze followed the tip of her tongue.
Warmth slid along his veins and a most untimely response tightened his loins. He hoped she didn’t notice and quickly looked away and swallowed more coffee.
Honestly, what was he doing, reacting to her this way in the middle of a workday? Best he go back to work in his own shop before he did something he’d regret. She wasn’t giving him any encouragement this morning, was she? In fact, in sharp contrast to their hot lovemaking last night, now she was sending out ‘mind your own business’ and ‘keep away’ vibes.
Like now, when she was looking uneasy. Why? Did he make her as uneasy as she made him? Good. Tit for tat. But her over-the-top reaction to this rose was something else, something worrisome. He pulled his thoughts back to the problem. “Anything else weird happen lately?”
Her gaze shot to his. “No. Why do you ask?”
“No reason. I just wondered if the dead raccoon was the only thing, or if it was part of a pattern?”
She went still. “Pattern?” The word came out in a soft, fear-filled whisper.
He nodded. “You know, did anything like that ever happen to you before?”
She frowned, angry now. “Are you a cop or something?”
He swallowed the last of his coffee, straightened and shook his head. “No, I’m just a curious friend who would like to help. I guess as a PI, I do think like a cop, though. Loni, I like you and I can’t help worrying about you. You don’t have to answer if you don’t want to.”
“I told you I don’t want to file a report.”
He frowned. “Maybe you should.”
She shook her head. “Just forget it.”
“Whatever you say, Loni.” He picked up the coffee tray and returned it to the restaurant.
Why didn’t she want to answer that question? he wondered as he strode upstairs. Because the answer was yes, other things had happened?
And if so, what else had happened?
Why did he care? He didn’t need to play Sir Galahad to a woman who didn’t want a white knight, attractive or not. One night of lovemaking doesn’t give you the right to interfere. Mind your own business.
Matt went back to work at his computer, but the image of her too-white face when she’d found the raccoon seemed to be stuck in his head. Remembering it brought back the answering clench in his own gut. Now she’d had the same reaction to a single fresh rose. Something was going on. Whatever it was scared the daylights out of Loni, but he couldn’t help if she wouldn’t let him. He sighed and gave up trying to work.
His assistant, Kerry Anderson, rang up a box of disks for a customer. He waited until she’d finished, then told her he’d be out of the store for a little while. Then he strode back down the stairs and headed down the street.
Loni might not answer his questions, but the sheriff would. And Matt knew just where to find him. Sheriff Ben’s office was on the opposite end of the town square. Ben’s official car sat at the curb, so Matt knew he’d find him at his desk.
Matt walked into the modern brick building. At least the county spent some money on this building. It was one of the few new government buildings they’d built lately in this county, although if the way his taxes kept going up was any indication of things, you’d think they’d have plenty of money.
He waved to the dispatcher and walked on through to Ben’s office. Ben’s eyes were glued to his computer screen. “Hi, Ben. Got a minute?”
“Hey, Matt,” Ben said. He minimized the document he was working on and picked up his coffee. “Sure. Grab a cuppa and a chair and sit a spell. What’s up? The local kids been ripping off computer games and software again?”
“No, nothing like that,” Matt said. He filled a Styrofoam cup with coffee from the machine on the corner table and dropped into the chair opposite Ben.
“What then?”
Matt chewed his lip and drank some coffee. “About that dead raccoon last Saturday night at Loni’s.”
“Yeah? What about it?”
“The way she wanted to talk to you alone that night—sending me home.”
“Matt, you know I can’t betray a confidence.”
“Uh huh. But I just wondered if you’ve had any other weird problems reported lately? Pranks on teachers? You know, the old manure on the front porch, soaped windows, eggs on cars tricks?”
Ben set his cup on his desk, leaned back in his swivel chair and folded his hands behind his head. His sharp blue eyes regarded Matt curiously. “Not at this time of the year, Matt. In fact, not since last Halloween. Why?”
Matt hesitated, frowning. “Well, I’m not supposed to report this, so it’s off the record, okay?”
“If you say so.” Ben tipped his head, but narrowed his eyes and gave him a frown. “I can’t do anything about something off the record, though.”
“I know. But, I’m worried and I’d feel better if you heard about it. In case you have some ideas, you know?”
“Yeah? What am I not hearing about?”
“Another prank on Loni this morning. She was pretty upset, but she didn’t want me to call you.”
“Why not? And what was it this time?” Ben rubbed the side of his slightly bent nose. Matt remembered seeing him rub it before. Had Ben broken his nose at some time or other? It seemed to bother him.
Matt shrugged and continued, “This morning, the UPS man brought her a package. She wasn’t open yet, so he left it upstairs with me like usual. I took it down to her a while ago, so I was with her when she opened it.”
“What was in it?”
“A single fresh yellow rose. And she really f
reaked out when she saw it.”
“A rose? Sounds like from a boyfriend. Why would she get upset about that?”
“Beats me, unless she knew who it was from and didn’t like the guy. She threw it in the garbage can and her face was just as pale as when she saw that raccoon that night.”
Ben eyes sharpened. “UPS brought today’s package? It wasn’t from the local greenhouse? Any note or return info on it?”
Matt shook his head. “No note. I’ll see if I can find out if there wasn’t a return address. If not, I think UPS has a tracking number on the outside of the package.”
“A tracking number would help. I don’t like this. Sounds like more than a joke is going on if she’s so scared. See what you can find out. Maybe she’ll talk to you more later. Chicago’s where she lived last, wasn’t it? Maybe someone there sent it.”
Matt nodded. “I got the feeling she had an idea about who put the raccoon there and sent the rose and why, but she wouldn’t explain.”
“Hmm. Like maybe it wasn’t the first time?” Ben asked.
“That’s what I thought. She’s only been here a couple weeks, so if there were other incidents, they would have been somewhere else, or we’d have heard about it, wouldn’t we?”
Ben scratched his head. “You’d think so. Not much goes on around here we don’t all hear about, sooner or later. That’s the best and worst thing about living in a small town.”
“Right,” Matt agreed. “I just thought she might have told you something that would explain what’s going on. I’m concerned about her. And I’m right there in the mall with her most days. If there is a problem, I could help keep an eye out for trouble. “
“Right neighborly of you.” Ben grinned, sat up and lit a cigarette. He stared out the window a minute, then sent Matt a sharp glance over the stream of smoke. “People sometimes don’t want to explain private squabbles, you know. Doesn’t always pay to meddle.”
“Yeah, I know. But Ben, Loni was really scared. If you’d seen her—her face was so white and her whole body trembled when she saw that raccoon. I think getting the rose today made her mad though, rather than scared. This seems like more than a private squabble to me.”
“You’re probably right.” Ben stared out the window as he puffed on the cigarette. He looked back at Matt and sighed. “Even so, if she doesn’t want my help and won’t file a complaint, I can’t do anything.”
“I know.” Again Matt wondered about the rose. Was it from a former lover? Jealousy surged in his gut at that thought, jealousy he had no right to feel. He pushed it away.
A woman throwing away a gift of an expensive fresh flower didn’t mean anything was wrong, did it? Surely it wasn’t a crime to not want a gift if you didn’t like the person you thought had sent it.
Loni had a right to some privacy, didn’t she? She hadn’t even wanted to tell him who she’d thought had sent the yellow rose, so she surely wouldn’t want people around town to be speculating about it.
And they would speculate, if he opened his mouth and talked about it. A little town like Canton thrived on juicy gossip, especially if the people thought it had anything to do with dating. Lover’s spats were always the preferred subject for the gossip mill.
Now he said, “Let’s keep this just between us, Ben. No sense giving the gossips fuel.”
“Of course.”
“I wonder if Jolene’s flat tires are connected to Loni’s incidents?”
Ben’s glance snapped up to his. “What makes you ask that?”
Matt shrugged and said, “Jolene picked up Loni before the party. So, if somebody was watching her house, they’d have seen her car, you know?”
“Hm. Maybe you’d better help me keep an eye on Loni. Just in case this guy gets nasty.” He tapped out his cigarette into a metal ashtray.
“I’ll do that. Thanks, Ben.”
The phone rang and Ben reached for it, saying, “Sheriff’s office, Ben speaking.” Then covering the mouthpiece, he said to Matt, “Good luck with the lady.”
Matt grinned and stood, accepting his dismissal. “Never could fool you, could I?”
“Nope.” Ben laughed and added, “Don’t even try.” Then he turned back to his caller.
Matt waved goodbye and strode outside. He picked up his mail from his post office box and went back to the mall. When he stepped inside the building, he remembered the rose Loni had thrown away. He glanced at Loni’s shop. She sat at her computer with her back to him. He reached into the garbage can and pulled out the brown paper wrapper the rose had come in.
Damn, no return address. But yes, a UPS tracking number. He pulled off the label and tucked it into his pocket, then dropped the paper back into the wastebasket and moved on up the stairs to his office.
At his computer, he pulled up the UPS tracking site and typed in the package number. It had been shipped from somewhere in Minneapolis. But there was no return address except the UPS shipping station.
Hell, not much help. He’d expected it had been sent from Chicago. Why Minneapolis? Had someone from here sent it? Anyone could have called a florist in Minneapolis to order it and have it sent out.
His assistant, Kerry, stuck her head in the door. “James called, boss. He said ‘Don’t forget the Chamber meeting tonight.’”
Matt groaned. “Oh yeah. Thanks.”
“Can I take a break now?”
“Sure. Sorry, I wasn’t watching the time, Kerry. I’ll be right there.” Matt realized Kerry’s usually cheerful face looked harassed. He turned off the monitor and went out to man the floor while Kerry went for lunch.
“Would you drop a note off for Loni downstairs on your way, Kerry?”
“Sure thing, boss.”
Matt wrote a quick note telling Loni about the Chamber meeting and offering to take her. He handed it to Kerry, saying, “Tell her I’ll call her for her answer in a little while.”
Then he went to wait on a couple of people browsing in his computer software aisle.
A few minutes later, the store was momentarily empty of people and he phoned Loni.
“Hi. Matt, here. Did you get my note?”
“Oh. Yes.”
“Is it okay to pick you up right at closing time for the Chamber meeting?”
“Well…I hadn’t really thought about going,” she hedged. “I didn’t know about it until I got your note.”
“Of course you should go. You need to meet all the business people in town and they need to meet you. It’s just good business, Loni.”
“I’ve known most of them all my life,” Loni said, her voice sharp with irritation. “And I’m not sure I can afford membership in the Chamber. It’s kind of expensive, isn’t it?”
“Dee paid for the shop’s membership for the year last January,” Matt pointed out. “So it’s not going to cost you anything except for your dinner. We go Dutch.”
“Well…”
“You have to eat. And it’s good for business.” Matt knew he was repeating himself, but wanted to press that point.
“All right. Will I have to change?”
Her voice held reluctance, but she’d said yes. “Nope. Everyone wears their work clothes. See you at closing then.”
He hung up and sat staring at the phone. Was she just shy? Or did she have some other reason to want to keep to herself? Dee had told him she was a cheerleader in high school and dated a lot. He could see why, she was an attractive woman. So why was she being stand-offish now?
Chapter 6
At closing time, Matt waited while Loni locked her door. As they strolled down to the bank together, she told him about her day. He unlocked the night depository and held the little door open while she dropped her money bag into it, and then dropped his own in. They strolled over to the parking lot, got into his car and pulled onto the highway.
By the time they arrived at the restaurant, most of the other chamber members had already gathered in the large dining room and were sipping cocktails.
Most members greeted Lo
ni jovially and she responded in kind. His gut tightened in annoyance. They were friendlier to her than to him. After a year, he’d thought he’d made progress toward being accepted here.
Well, that figured. She’d been raised here and he was the new kid on the block in this town, wasn’t he? Ben had told him you had to live in a small town twenty years before they considered you one of them. So he was still an outsider.
“What’ll you have to drink?” he asked, hovering beside her.
“A diet cola would be nice,” Loni said, smiling up at him.
He nodded and went to the bar set up along one side of the room. When he returned with their drinks, George, a bony beanpole in an expensive gray suit, stood beside her. Matt hid his dislike of the man behind a polite nod and handed Loni her cola.
“I hear you’re in charge of Dee’s Gifts now,” George was saying. “When is Dee returning?”
Loni hesitated and finally said, “I’m not sure. She hasn’t really decided yet.”
“Oh? She’ll sell the shop, though?” George pressed.
Anger seethed in Matt at George’s insinuation that Loni wasn’t capable of running the shop. He knew she’d had experience in other towns.
With satisfaction, he said, “You’re too late, George. Dee has already sold it to Loni.”
George’s face turned red with anger. He scowled at Loni. “Is that true?” When Loni nodded, he burst out, “What does a young snip like you know about running a store? And why would you want to?”
When Loni raised an eyebrow and didn’t reply, he snorted and moved away, muttering. Matt hid another grin. “Sorry if I talked out of turn. Most people in town already know, don’t they?”
“Of course. Dee told her friends before she left and I’ve told quite a few, too.” Loni sent him a smile.
“I don’t like George much.”
Loni’s eyes twinkled as they met his. “I had the same reaction.” Her smile disappeared and a frown dipped her brows as she gazed after the businessman. “Why should he be so against my buying Dee’s store?”
Matt explained, “Dee told me he wanted to buy it from her a few months ago.”
“Really? Why didn’t she offer it to him when she decided to sell, then?”
