by Leena Clover
“When is that scamp coming home?” Star asked. “Have you talked to him recently?”
Jenny shook her head.
“I haven’t told him about Petunia. She adored him.”
“You should call him, Jenny,” Star said. “He needs to know.”
Jenny and her aunt talked about how Nick was growing up to be a fine young man. Jenny pulled the first batch of corn bread out of the oven. She cut a generous piece and broke it in half. She offered it to her aunt.
“Delicious,” Star said, fanning her mouth. “Better save some for us. You’re going to run out of this in no time.”
Jenny smiled and ladled chili into a big soup bowl. She garnished it with some chopped green onions and shredded cheddar cheese. A dollop of sour cream went on top. Jenny placed a piece of corn bread on one side and began taking pictures.
“For the Internet?” her aunt asked.
There was a commotion of sorts outside. Jenny heard raised voices and ran to see what was happening.
Barb Norton sat at a table, her chest heaving. One side of her face was caked with mud. A tiny trickle of blood flowed down her forehead.
“Barb!” Jenny cried. “What happened to you?”
“I was attacked,” Barb wailed dramatically. “That’s what happened. In broad daylight, no less. What’s this town coming to?”
Star had come out of the kitchen behind Jenny.
“Calm down, Barb,” she said. “You are going to blow a gasket.”
Barb’s red face turned purple.
“I’m not going to calm down,” she cried. “I almost lost my life.”
Jenny poured water in a glass and made Barb drink it.
“I’m making tea,” she said. “Why don’t you come into the kitchen and tell us what happened?”
“Call your boyfriend,” Barb commanded. “I want to file a complaint.”
“I can call the police from the kitchen,” Jenny assured her. “Let’s take care of you first.”
Barb’s story was simple enough. She had been walking on the road, going to the library. She didn’t know what hit her. She blacked out and when she came to, she was lying in a ditch by the side of the road. A man walking by had helped her up.
“First Petunia, now me. Do you think someone is targeting older ladies?”
Jenny didn’t have an answer for that. She called Adam at the police station and told him what had happened.
“He’s coming here,” she told Barb.
Adam arrived ten minutes later, looking grim. Barb bombarded him with a string of questions.
“Let me ask the questions, please,” Adam said. “You do want me to write up a report?”
Adam learned that Barb had been walking on a lonely stretch of road. She hadn’t seen anyone else.
Jenny spotted a bump at the back of Barb’s head. She hadn’t noticed it before.
“You need to go to the doctor, Barb,” Jenny said. “Get checked out.”
Adam offered to drive Barb to the emergency room at the hospital. She agreed readily.
“What do you think of that?” Jenny asked her aunt after they left.
Heather rushed in just then, waving a piece of paper in the air.
“I want to kill Barb Norton!”
“Apparently, you are not the only one,” Jenny said.
Heather barely heard her.
“Just look at this, Jenny. Look at how atrocious this fine is that she is asking us to pay.”
Jenny took the paper from Heather and gasped as she saw the amount at the bottom of the page.
“What is this for?”
“According to her, the Bayview Inn has contributed to the mosquito menace. This is her way of punishing us for it.”
“It does sound a bit much,” Jenny agreed.
“That’s not all,” Heather continued in an incensed voice. “She wants to destroy our lily pond. My Dad and I dug that pond when I was little. It’s not just a pond, Jenny. It has memories attached to it.”
“Are you the only one who got this kind of notice?” Jenny asked.
“I bet we got one too,” Star said drily. “Barb’s going to take objection to your water fountain. I’m sure of it.”
“That fountain’s not going anywhere,” Jenny said stoutly.
She looked at Heather.
“Well?”
“These notices have been served all around town,” Heather said. “She’s even sent one to the Newburys. Ada was on the phone with Grandma.”
The Newburys were the richest people in town. They considered themselves a notch above the rest.
“She has guts. I’ll give her that.”
“She’s being idiotic,” Star said flatly. “There are other ways to raise money. I think Barb Norton has gone too far this time.”
Jenny’s eyes widened as she processed her aunt’s words.
“You don’t think she was attacked because of these fines?”
Star shrugged.
“You can only push people so far.”
Heather was looking puzzled. Jenny explained what had happened.
“No way,” Heather said. “The people of Pelican Cove don’t go around attacking each other.”
There was a flurry of footsteps outside and a figure in a leather jacket peeped in.
“Boss wants his lunch.”
“I’ll be out in a minute, Smiley,” Jenny said.
“You know those mobsters by name?” Heather asked, rolling her eyes.
“Do you think one of them might have hit Barb?” Star asked.
Jenny gave it some thought.
“I don’t think Vinny cares about the mosquitoes.”
She served the chili into bowls and placed the cheese and onions on small plates. She cut big pieces of corn bread and served them on a platter.
Vinny took one bite of the chili and smacked his lips appreciatively.
“This is so good! You sure know how to cook.”
“I’m planning the menu for Petunia’s memorial. Is there something you want to add?”
“Ma liked those tiny meatballs on a stick,” Vinny said. “She made them for all our birthdays.”
“I didn’t know that,” Jenny told him. “I’ll put them on the menu.”
She looked at Vinny and debated what she was going to say next.
“Petunia didn’t say much. Was she always that quiet?”
“She might have acted like a mouse. But she had the heart of a lion. She knew what she wanted and she went after it.”
Jenny brought out plates of tiramisu. She had never served it in the café before.
“It’s your mother’s recipe,” she told Vinny. “She had written it down at the back of a diary.”
“This is our Nona’s recipe,” Vinny said after he had tasted it. “Our grandmother’s. Ma was making this the day our Pa got whacked.”
Jenny understood why Petunia had never made it again.
Chapter 12
Molly came up the steps of the café and sat down with a sigh. She put her feet up on a chair and dug into a warm muffin. Star and Betty Sue exchanged a knowing look when Molly reached for her second one.
“What?” she pouted. “I’m just hungry.”
“And you’re eating for two,” Betty Sue said, her eyes gleaming. “When do you go to the doctor?”
“Tomorrow. Chris is going with me.”
“Of course he is,” Betty Sue said. “That there is a responsible boy. He’ll do right by you, Molly.”
“I am able to take care of myself and my baby,” Molly protested. “I don’t need to be taken care of.”
“Okay, okay.” Star held up her hand. “We know you girls like to think you can do everything alone. And that’s admirable. But be happy you have a guy like Chris.”
“I am,” Molly said emphatically. “Why do you think I am in love with him?”
She blushed prettily and picked up her cup of coffee.
“Switch to ginger ale,” Betty Sue said. “That’s better for you.”
>
“I can’t imagine giving up coffee,” Molly said stoutly.
“Who’s giving up what?” Jenny asked, coming out with six steaming hot muffins on a plate.
Heather was right behind her.
“Pumpkin and cream cheese muffins,” Jenny announced. “I am trying these out for the fall menu.”
“Mmmm …” Molly moaned as she bit off a big chunk from one. “These are delicious. I love the cinnamon, and is that ginger I taste?”
Star and Betty Sue added their compliments.
“Who’s the sixth one for?” Betty Sue asked.
Her face fell as soon as she asked the question. The mood around the table changed instantly.
Just then, a commotion broke out on the beach.
“What’s going on there?” Betty Sue boomed.
The Magnolias lined the deck and watched the drama unfolding on the beach.
Two men faced each other. Both of them held an aggressive stance.
“That’s Peter Wilson,” Jenny said with a gasp.
“Who’s that ruffian standing before him?” Star asked. “Never seen him before.”
Jenny peered at the unkempt man wearing an oversized coat. His face was smudged with dirt or soot and his hair was in total disarray.
“That looks like Mason,” Jenny said.
“And who is that?” Betty Sue demanded.
“How do you know him?” Heather wasn’t far behind.
“I don’t, really. He’s just a guy who hangs out on the beach.”
“Hush, girls,” Molly interrupted. “Can you hear what they are saying?”
Peter Wilson was waving his hands in the air, clearly disturbed about something. He jabbed a finger in the other man’s chest and pushed him. Mason pushed Wilson back.
A crowd had begun to gather. People stood in a circle a few feet away from the two men, watching them intently.
Suddenly, Mason pulled something out of his coat pocket. It glinted in the sunlight.
“Oh my God, is that a gun?” Heather shrieked.
The Magnolias huddled together, struck speechless.
Peter Wilson took a step back. Mason held the gun in both hands and pointed it at Peter Wilson’s chest. The crowd had begun to step back. Mason whirled around and pointed the gun to his right. A woman in the crowd grabbed her child and clutched him tightly.
Mason threw back his head and laughed. Every eye on the beach was trained on him now. He turned around again and pointed the gun at someone else.
“Let’s go inside,” Star said under her breath. “Start walking back very, very slowly. Do you hear me, girls? Don’t make any sudden movements.”
For once, Heather listened without any arguments and started inching back inside.
“Wait,” Molly said. “That Wilson guy’s saying something.”
They saw Mason give a nod and put the gun back in his coat. He began walking away. The crowd parted to let him pass.
A few minutes later, Mason was out of sight.
“I think he’s gone,” Molly said.
Betty Sue had collapsed in her chair. Her brow was drenched in sweat. Jenny felt some beads of sweat on her own lip. They had almost been in the line of fire. Anything could have happened if the man had started shooting.
“What was that?” Star asked, sitting down with a thump.
No one spoke a word.
“That man is your friend?” Betty Sue thundered. “You need to be more careful, girl.”
“He’s not my friend,” Jenny argued. “I’ve just seen him on the beach here. He walks around, scribbling something in the sand. I thought he might be hard up so I offered him a meal.”
“I advise you to stay away from that man,” Star said strongly. “You need to be more circumspect, Jenny.”
“Shouldn’t we report this?” Molly asked.
“Of course,” Jenny agreed. “I’m calling Adam now.”
She went into the kitchen and called the police station.
“Jenny!” His voice was laced with urgency and a good amount of fear. “Are you alright? All of you? I hear someone just pulled a gun on the beach.”
“We are fine,” Jenny assured him. “I was just calling to report that.”
“We got multiple reports,” Adam told her. “Some people even came in and demanded action.”
“Are you going to arrest that man?”
“We’ll bring him in for questioning. But I’m guessing he’s long gone.”
Jenny told him everything she knew about the man.
“Stay away from him in the future,” Adam warned.
Jenny went back out. The Magnolias had calmed down a bit. A few groups of people came into the café and Jenny was kept busy for the next hour. Heather helped her serve the customers.
“Sit down,” Star said when Jenny went out to the deck again.
“I don’t agree with them,” Molly said.
“What are you talking about?”
“Getting a gun,” Betty Sue said. “You saw what just happened. You need to get a gun to protect yourself.”
“I don’t believe in guns,” Jenny said flatly. “I’m surprised you are saying this, Betty Sue.”
“My grandpa taught me how to shoot when I was eight,” Betty Sue said. “I went hunting with him when I grew up. There was a rifle up on the wall in our living room, ready to greet any intruders.”
“So what? We should all whip out our guns and shoot at each other?” Jenny asked, incensed.
“The town’s changing,” Star said. “We have more transients than we ever had before. There’s nothing wrong in being prepared.”
Jenny said nothing. Her aunt had a point.
“Look what happened to Barb Norton,” Betty Sue continued.
“She had a close call,” Star reminded Jenny.
“Did we find out who attacked her?” Heather asked. “I still think it was because of those ridiculous fines she imposed.”
“She’s not completely wrong,” Betty Sue said grudgingly. “Mosquitoes and pests carry deadly diseases. We had a really bad outbreak one year, back in the 70s. It was the Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever. People died because of it.”
“West Nile and Zika are bad too,” Jenny noted. “Surely the people understand that? Barb might be a bit overzealous sometimes, but it’s all for a good cause.”
“Why did someone bash her on the head then?” Heather demanded.
“Do you think it was a prank?” Molly asked. “Kids from the high school having some fun?”
“Barb is too well known around town,” Star said. “She probably knows most of the kids and their parents.”
“How is Barb doing?” Jenny asked. “Has she recovered from the shock?”
“Today’s the last day to pay the fines,” Heather said. “And there’s another meeting at the town hall tomorrow. Barb will be there alright, ready to pounce on people who haven’t paid up.”
The Magnolias dispersed soon after. Jenny was making chicken parmesan sandwiches for lunch. She stirred her homemade tomato sauce and seasoned it the way Petunia had taught her to. Heather had brought some fresh oregano and thyme from the inn’s garden.
Vinny and his boys arrived and went to sit out on the deck. Jenny placed steaming sandwiches before them, smothered in melted mozzarella.
“How you doing, sweetheart?” Vinny asked her. “I heard someone pulled a gun out there today?”
Jenny assured him she was fine.
“You want me to set you up with a piece?” he asked.
“A piece of what?” Jenny asked, bewildered.
Smiley, Six Pac and Biggie burst out laughing.
“Never mind,” Vinny said. “Someone comes bugging you, you let Vinny know. Alright, sweetheart?”
Jenny hoped Vinny was just grandstanding. She didn’t want to think about the alternative. She pasted a smile on her face and served them big slices of chocolate cake.
Enzo Bellini arrived a few minutes after Vinny left. He was dressed in a blue tracksuit. He wore h
is signature fedora and chewed on his cigar.
“Fabio came to see me,” he said to Jenny.
Jenny needed a few seconds to remember Fabio was none other than Peter Wilson.
“Who’s this punk with a gun, anyway?” Enzo whispered. “I told Fabio to keep an eye on you.”
“That’s not necessary,” Jenny protested.
“He’s always taken care of the café. I don’t see why that should stop now.”
“Petunia …” Jenny stuttered.
“My girl thought a lot about you,” Enzo wheezed. “You are family now. And Enzo Bellini takes care of his own.”
“Thanks,” Jenny said shakily.
She wasn’t sure what the old man expected from her.
Back home, Jenny spent the evening in her garden, admiring her roses as the sun went down over the horizon.
Dinner was a lively meal, with Jimmy and Star talking about a trip they wanted to take.
“Weren’t you planning a trip to the mountains?” Star asked her.
“That was last year,” Jenny said. “We never made it there. Adam hasn’t said anything about a trip this year.”
“Maybe we should all go together,” Jimmy suggested.
“Talk to Adam about it,” Star whispered, giving him a nudge.
Jenny rolled her eyes and ignored them. She was feeling stuffed after a lavish meal of crab cakes and oven baked fish. But she forced herself to lace up her walking shoes and go out for her walk.
Tank came bounding up after she had barely taken a few steps. She hugged him tight and pulled a battered tennis ball out of her pocket. She flung it in a wide arc, smiling as Tank leapt after it.
She finally looked up and met Adam’s gaze.
“What a day, huh?” he breathed. “I’m so glad to see you are fine.”
“Apparently, there’s more than one person looking out for me.”
“What does that mean?” Adam asked.
Jenny laughed and told him about Enzo’s offer. Adam swore under his breath.
“You’re getting a bit too close to these people.”
“That’s not all,” Jenny said. “Betty Sue wants me to keep a gun at the café.”
“No, no, Jenny.” Adam shook his head vehemently. “That’s not a good idea.”
“Relax,” Jenny cooed, taking his hand in hers. “I have already told them I am against the concept. I don’t believe in violence.”
