Killer Green Tomatoes

by Lynn Cahoon

  “Like he was supposed to attend a meeting this afternoon and he didn’t show up. He’s not at the farm. People haven’t seen him since this morning.” Sheriff Brown leaned his head back and sighed. “I’m hoping he’s just hiding somewhere trying to get past this whole thing with Heather and the loss of status in his family.”

  “But he could have been kidnapped.” Angie thought about their conversation. “He didn’t seem really upset last night. Sad maybe, but not suicidal.”

  “Now, that’s one alternative I don’t want to leave this room. I’d rather you telling everyone he was kidnapped, although I think the chances of that are slim to none.”

  “Why don’t you think he was kidnapped?”

  “No ransom note. And Javier’s family doesn’t have money. Although it could be an old lover gone crazy.” Sheriff Brown took out his pen and wrote some notes. “What time did you talk last night?”

  “About six? Mrs. Potter likes to eat early, so we left the house a little after five, and with the drive, it would have been six before we were seated.” Angie glanced at her phone. “Did you try Estebe? Maybe Javier’s just over there sulking.”

  “I’ve tried everyone in that family.” The sheriff lumbered out of the couch and onto his feet. “Well, I guess we’ll talk later. Do me a favor and stay out of this investigation. There’s something off about the whole thing.”

  “Why do you think I’m investigating?” Angie tried for a sweet and innocent look. From the laugh she got from the sheriff, she must have missed the mark.

  “Seriously?”

  She shrugged, not able to meet his steady gaze. “Let’s just say I’ll be careful.”

  “I guess I’ll have to take that. For now.” He tucked his notebook into the pocket on his shirt. “Call me if he shows up here.”

  Matt and Hope still sat at the table, although it looked a little off-kilter, like they’d just gotten back to their seats when Sheriff Brown opened the door. She couldn’t blame them for eavesdropping. She would have done the same thing, but she would have been more careful about being discovered afterward. She shook her head and followed the sheriff out of the building toward the front where he’d parked his car.

  She stood watching the empty street for several minutes after the police car pulled away from the club. First Heather was stabbed in the alley on the same block as the County Seat. And now, Javier, the sheriff’s best suspect, was missing. River Vista was turning out to have a darker side, more than the sleepy farming community portrayed.

  “I didn’t take you for a smoker.” Barb Travis leaned against the brick wall of the building, watching her. She flicked the ashes of the long, thin cigarette she was smoking.

  Angie moved down the stairs to stand near her. “I’m not.”

  “Don’t know why anyone would hang out in this disgusting alley if they didn’t need a drag.” She nodded toward where Sheriff Brown’s police car had been parked. “You got trouble in there?”

  Angie followed her gaze and realized what Barb was asking. “No. He just came by to see if I’d heard from Javier.” She narrowed her eyes at her. “He’s not sitting, drinking in your bar, is he?”

  Barb cracked a smile. “Not at the moment. You’re telling me he’s missing?”

  “Currently unaccounted for is a more precise term. I guess he missed a meeting and his family is worried.”

  “If I was that guy, I’d get in my car and keep driving until I hit the border. He should be able to cross into Mexico before the APB hits.” She took another drag off her cigarette. “I never knew what women saw in him. He was always too cocky for my taste. Anyway, I remembered something.”

  Angie was taken back at the quick change of topic. “About?”

  “Heather. You ran off to play that prank on the firefighter guys, and after you left, I remembered something about that night.”

  “I didn’t…” Angie sighed and let it go. “Sorry, what were you saying?”

  “Heather had some guy chatting her up after Javier left.” She crushed out her cigarette with her foot on the cracked asphalt. She turned to go.

  “Wait, who? Did you tell Sheriff Brown this?” Angie stepped around Barb, blocking her movement. “What did he look like?”

  “You know I probably had over a hundred people in there that night. And only two bartenders, three including me. You think I have time to check out every cowboy?”

  “Felicia says you know everyone who comes in.” This was almost as frustrating as talking to Mrs. Potter. Angie leaned against the building, trying to mirror Barb’s stance. “What do you remember?”

  “Your friend is sweet, but my memory isn’t as good as it used to be. But, okay, so maybe I did check this one out a little more. Heather was a good kid. She didn’t deserve a second jerk in her life.” Barb pulled out another cigarette and lit it as she thought. “He was tall. Good looking and he knew it. Wasn’t a real cowboy, just a wannabe from town.”

  “Why do you say that?”

  Barb coughed and Angie wondered if the second cigarette was really a good idea. Not her life, she pushed the worry away with a quick closing of her eyes.

  “His boots were brand new. Not an ounce of dirt or cow manure on the outside. You can’t really work in a pair of boots without getting something on them.”

  Angie wished she had a piece of paper handy, but she knew if she stopped Barb’s story to run and get one, Barb would be gone back to her bar and she might not be able to get her talking again. “Did you get hair color or eye color? What about a name?”

  “I took a copy of the credit card he used to pay for his drinks. We do that on all tabs from non-regulars since a guy stiffed us for over five hundred dollars.” She pulled a piece of paper out of her bra and handed it to Angie. “I’d rather give this to you than that old fart Brown. He’s not real happy about having my business here in town.”

  “Most towns have a bar in them. He has to realize that, right?” Angie took the paper and unfolded it. “Jerry Reno, it sounds like a stage name.”

  “It does, doesn’t it.” Barb smiled and crushed out her half-smoked cigarette. “I’ve got to go back inside. It’s inventory day. They don’t like to move and open all the boxes if I’m not there to watch.”

  Angie watched her neighbor saunter down the alley. Even at her age, Barb still had moves that could make a man shiver. She definitely didn’t like Sheriff Brown. Angie went back inside to finish the menu and send it to the printer. Tomorrow morning they’d have all new cream-colored menus on thick paper. She just hoped Estebe wouldn’t go looking for his cousin, leaving her down a sous chef.

  She was about to call the police station with Barb’s information when her cell buzzed. It was her home number. Part of her didn’t want to even think about answering the call, but she did.

  “Hello, Mrs. Potter. What’s going on?”

  “Oh, Angie, I don’t know how it happened, but you need to come home quickly.” Mrs. Potter’s voice wavered.

  “I’m on my way. What happened? Is Dom all right? Mabel? What about Precious?” Angie rapid fired questions as she grabbed her purse and headed toward the back door and her car.

  “It’s all my fault. Please come and help.”

  At that the phone went dead. Angie considered calling Sheriff Brown and asking him to meet her at the house, but she figured having one false alarm in a week was probably her quota. She kept it close to the speed limit, but even with clear roads, it took more than twenty minutes to get home.

  The house didn’t look like it was on fire when she pulled into the driveway. As a precaution, she thought about where her fire extinguishers were in the kitchen. She burst through the door and took a step into the house, and water splashed on her sandals.

  She looked down at the floor. “Water? Where’s the water coming from?” She grabbed dish towels from the third drawer and threw them on the floo
r. “Mrs. Potter? Where are you?”

  “I’m in the laundry room. I’m so sorry. I just wanted to help.”

  Angie made her way through the kitchen and into the mudroom. A stream of water was coming out of the water hookups for the washer. Mrs. Potter was fiddling with the controls. Angie reached over her, turned off both faucets, and the water stream stopped.

  Mrs. Potter pushed her hair out of her eyes. “How did you get it stopped?”

  “I turned off the supply. It looks like one of the hoses came loose. Were you doing laundry?” Angie grabbed a stack of towels she kept in the mudroom for Dom and started sopping up the water.

  “I put Dom’s bed in to wash. I was only trying to help. Then I must have fallen asleep when I was watching my show, and a large banging noise woke me.”

  Angie put the wet towels in the sink and grabbed a mop. It wasn’t as bad as she’d thought when she’d walked in, as long as she could get the water up fast. She’d tiled both rooms when she’d remodeled, and the living room had a step up between it and the kitchen, so the water had stayed on the tile. Dom licked some of the water off the floor.

  “Dom, go on outside.” She opened the door for him and then closed off the doggie door. She didn’t need him getting sick from laundry soap or bleach. River Vista’s veterinarian had recently closed up shop—involuntarily. “Mrs. Potter. Go upstairs and get more towels out of my linen closet by the bathroom. We need to get this cleaned up, and it will be faster using towels than this mop.”

  An hour later, the house was dry again. Angie reconnected the hose and got Dom’s bed to spin evenly by adding weight to the other side of the basket. Then she put the bed into the dryer and hoped it would be close to being dry before tomorrow. Dom liked taking his naps in the kitchen.

  Glancing at the clock, Angie swore and went outside to feed Precious and Mabel. When the black-and-white hen gave her a disapproving stare, Angie laughed. “Sorry dinner’s late, but we had a bit of a disaster in the house.”

  The hen turned her back on Angie and settled into a nest she’d built with straw on the floor. Precious, on the other hand, didn’t care when or if she was fed as long as Angie spent some time with her before her meal. Angie stroked the goat’s fine coat and felt her heart beat slow. “Just a few more days and we’ll have our lives back.”

  Precious bleated and gently butted her head against Angie’s in a sign of comfort. Angie gave the goat one more rub on the top of her head and stood. Tomorrow was going to be a busy day. The County Seat was booked solid this weekend. Angie just hoped she had her sous chef working beside her.

  * * * *

  As they prepped the kitchen on Friday afternoon, Estebe’s absence cast a gloom over the room. Hope came over to where Angie was working on prepping the trout for tonight’s dinners. “Thanks for calling me in early today. I really appreciate the hours.”

  “No problem. I’m glad you could step in. Estebe should be here before we open.” At least she hoped he would. When he’d called, the family was still searching in vain for Javier, and Estebe had been charged with driving up to the family cabin in McCall to make sure he wasn’t there. “Are you doing all right with the prep? Do you have any questions?”

  “Nancy has been showing me the knife cuts, so I’m good. I just wanted to tell you how much I enjoy working here. I’ve been a dishwasher at places before, but that’s all they let me do. And the cooks there wouldn’t even talk to me about what they were making. It was like it was some big secret.” She smiled. “My instructors are going to be amazed when classes start up next month. I think I’ve learned more the last couple of months than all last year in school.”

  “I’m just glad you’re willing to jump in. We’re a team and you’re a big part of it.” Angie glanced around the kitchen. “Looks like we’re in a good place. You want to take a break and grab some iced tea with me?”

  “Sure.” Hope helped her store the trout in the walk-in and then went to the drink station to fill a pitcher with iced tea.

  Nancy and Matt finished up their projects and joined them at the chef table. As Angie poured the tea, Nancy pulled out a pan of brownies she’d baked for service, dishing up the treat and then throwing some whipped cream on top. “Tell me if you think I should make ice cream instead.”

  The chocolate brownie was thick and delicious, and the cream cut the chocolate taste perfectly. Angie moaned a bit after the first bite. “I’m so glad I hired you. I’m good with desserts, but you’re amazing.”

  “I’m thinking about making a raspberry syrup to go around the edge of the plate. Pamplona Farms dropped us a flat of berries on the house since they were a little late with our order this morning.” Nancy focused on cutting another bite from her brownie. “I take it Javier’s still missing?”

  “I told her about what Sheriff Brown said yesterday.” Matt jumped in. “Sorry, but we could hear everything. You probably need to soundproof your office.”

  Angie looked at her team and saw the worry in their faces. “Look, I know you are all concerned about Estebe, but there’s nothing we can do to find Javier or figure out who killed Heather. We’re chefs and we have a dining room filled with people to serve tonight.”

  Hope raised her hand. “Actually, I was going to ask you about something. I didn’t realize I had any text messages until this morning and, well, I don’t want to get into trouble.”

  “Wait. A text from who?”

  “Heather. She must have texted from the bar. Actually, I have several from that night. She was so steamed. Three messages where she tells me over and over what a butt Javier is and what she’s going to do to him and his house.” Hope shrugged. “I’m sure she wouldn’t have really burned the place down, but the girl was mad.”

  “Would have served him right.” Nancy broke into the conversation. “I swear, horndogs like that seem to get away with being a jerk, and the girls are the ones that have to repair their broken hearts.”

  Matt put his hand over his own heart. “I can testify there are plenty of women out there who are good at breaking hearts too.”

  “You’re both right.” Angie held up her hands, blocking off the argument. “When it comes to love, everyone’s vulnerable.”

  “That’s why this is so sad. Her last text that night was about this new guy. She said he was perfect and she was going to show Javier that someone loved her.” Hope pulled her phone out of her pocket and scrolled to the picture. “He was a cutie.”

  Angie took the phone and glanced at the guy. This must have been the man Barb had seen talking to Heather that night. She gave the phone back to Hope. “Can you send me that picture? And I think you should go see Sheriff Brown and tell him about the texts. Maybe you could run by the police station before service starts?”

  Hope’s eyes widened. She took the phone back and quickly sent Angie the picture. “Do you think it’s important? Could he have killed her?”

  “Probably not, but I’m sure Sheriff Brown would like to talk to him about that night.” She glanced at the clock—almost four. “Why don’t you go over to the police station now and see if he’s in. That way it’s done before service because until Estebe shows up, we might be having you on the line instead of washing dishes.”

  “Really?” Hope stood up and giggled. “Then I hope he’s delayed on the road. I’d love to work the line for at least a little while. I’ll be right back.”

  Nancy stared at Angie. She waited for Hope to leave the kitchen, then said, “You realize once you let her on the line, she’s going to be hard to get back doing dishes.”

  “Yeah, I know. But I have a feeling she’s ready for the next step. I guess I better ask Felicia to hire us a new dishwasher to start up next month.” Angie pressed her lips together. “Unless the school won’t let her.”

  “They want their students working. It makes it easier for them to teach someone who’s motivated by a salary.” Nan
cy stood. “I’m grabbing a smoke and then I’ll be back. Thanks for being a good boss, Angie. It’s a pleasure working in your kitchen.”

  Matt followed Nancy out the back door, reminding Angie of Dom and his insistence on being wherever she was. If Angie was right, Matt had it bad for his coworker.

  Alone in the kitchen, Angie studied the picture Hope had sent her. Could this be the face of a killer? The guy looked like he spent his mornings playing polo and his evenings drinking gin and tonics. Not the typical patron of the Red Eye. No wonder Barb had been suspicious and Heather in over her head.

  Felicia sat next to her and poured herself a glass of tea. While she dished up a brownie, she glanced down at the picture. “You thinking about getting tickets? I’d love to go with you.”

  Angie frowned. “Tickets? For what?”

  “For Our Town. I know it’s an old play, but Boise’s not going to be getting Hamilton any time soon.” She piled on the whipped cream, took a bite, and groaned. “I am so glad Nancy works here. Although she makes me go to the gym every weekday since I can’t resist her desserts. I’d rather run them off than deny myself.”

  “What are you talking about?” Angie shook her head when Felicia held out a fork filled with the chocolate delight. “No, before you went all gooey eyed about the brownie. Why do you think I’m looking at going to a play?”

  Stuffing the bite into her mouth, she tapped on the picture showing on Angie’s phone. “Him,” she said between swallows. “That’s the guy playing the lead. I saw it in today’s paper. It’s front page on the entertainment section. I guess locally, he’s kind of a big deal.”

  “He’s an actor.” Angie tried to remember the name Barb had given her. “Jerry Reno? That’s the guy’s name.”

  Felicia shook her head. “I’m certain it was Thomas something. Hold on, I have the paper in the front.”

  Angie waited, her stomach rolling. She pushed away the brownie. No way would she be able to eat. Not if she’d already found out who Heather had spent her last hours with. She was so glad she’d stayed behind when Hope went to talk to Sheriff Brown, but now she thought she should call with the new information at least.