Heat warmed my cheeks, and I lowered my eyes. "Thanks."
Johnny clenched his fists at his sides. "I hate seeing her go through this. You guys are like family to me. I'd do anything for Gram, and that includes the Muccio clan as well."
Ever the kidder, it was obvious by the tone of his voice that Johnny wasn't fooling around this time. The serious look in his dark eyes sent a slight shiver down my spine, but I managed a smile. "Get out of here. Go show my sister a good time."
Johnny's devilish grin returned, and he let himself out the door.
"Well, I'll be damned," Josie said. "He certainly does worship the ground Gianna walks on. Pretty nice to have a guy that'll do anything for you. And they haven't even officially started dating yet."
How far would Johnny go to protect my sister? Okay, stop it, Sal. "She deserves the best."
"Just like her big sis."
I said nothing, thinking about the missed opportunity for romance again last night. Although, this time, I had no one to blame but myself for falling asleep on Mike.
Sarah reappeared and removed some sugar cookies from the oven. She set them on the counter on a trivet and started measuring out tablespoons for another tray. Everything took twice as long in this environment.
"What time are we meeting the structural engineer?" Josie asked.
"Not until five," I said. "He couldn't make it any earlier. Maybe we'll find that Bernardo's killer left a clue behind to their identity while we're there."
"Don't get your hopes up. Then again, we have known killers to be careless in the past," Josie agreed.
I turned to Sarah. "Are you okay closing up without us?"
She looked up at me. "Oh no. I have to pick Julie up by four today. I didn't think you'd mind if I left then, what with it being my last day and all."
"Okay." Jeez, it seemed like Sarah couldn't wait to be rid of me and my bakery. "I understand." I looked down and saw she was still wearing the shoe with the heel missing. I wasn't sure how she managed to walk in the thing. I would have felt off-kilter all day. "We'll just plan to close up a little earlier tonight."
"I'm sorry, Sally," she mumbled. "You've been so good to me, and I feel like I keep letting you down."
"Don't worry about it, Sarah." Maybe it was a good thing she was leaving. The constant apologizing and excuses were starting to wear on me a bit. I would miss Julie, though. Since I hadn't had a chance to pick up a good-bye gift for Sarah, I wrote out a check and added a hundred dollars to the usual amount then handed it to her.
She glanced at it, clearly thunderstruck. "Sally, you made a mistake."
I waved it aside. "Buy something for Julie with it."
Sarah's lower lip trembled. "Thank you." She placed the check in her jeans pocket. "I wish there were more people like you in this world."
The musical notes on my cell phone sounded. I gave Sarah a pat on the shoulder before I answered. "Sally's Samples. Can I help you?"
"Hi, Sally. Marah Webster here," an elderly woman's voice greeted me. "I saw the advertisement you placed in the paper. How's the new location working out?"
I laughed. "It's taking a while to get used to the surroundings, so to speak, but we're managing. What can I do for you?"
"It's my granddaughter's birthday today," she said. "She loves those genettis that you make. Can I get two dozen of those and two dozen sugar cookies? I'll have my daughter pick them up in an hour if that's okay. I can't get away from the restaurant right now."
I jotted the order down on paper. "You're in luck. Josie just made a batch of the genettis this morning. We'll have it ready for you. The restaurant's swamped, huh?"
"Oh goodness, yes. This is our busiest time of the year. We get so many people on their way to the falls who stop by here for lunch or dinner first. It's such a nice compliment, you know."
"It must be a pain with the floors not being finished. But you're in good hands at least," I teased.
"I'm sorry?"
"The floors that Mike's putting in for you," I said.
She was silent for a moment. "Sweetie, I haven't seen Mike in weeks. Did he say he was working here?"
An ice-cold chill swept over me and nudged my shoulders apart, settling between them. "Um, no. I must have confused you with somebody else."
"Oh, okay then. I've got to run, dear. The lunch crowd is absolutely crazy. Tell your grandmother I said hello."
She disconnected, leaving me with the phone frozen to my ear. Josie and Sarah were both discussing the texture of the fudge frosting and paid no attention to me. I walked into the living room, past the coffin standing open—and empty for a change—and out the door. I sat down on the front steps and stared out at the soft billows of clouds gathering in the sky. It was another beautiful June day. I took several deep breaths in an effort to calm the anxiety growing within me.
Mike had been lying to me. I was certain of that. The question that kept zooming through my head at a furious pace was…why?
CHAPTER NINETEEN
"Okay," Josie said as we settled into her van on the way to the bakery. "You've barely said a word all afternoon. What's eating you?"
I turned my head toward the window as she backed the vehicle out of my parents' driveway, thereby managing to avoid her direct and all-knowing gaze. "Nothing. I'm fine."
She placed a hand on my arm. "Sal, you talk to me about everything. Let's hear it."
I shook my head stubbornly, blinking back tears.
"Hey." Her voice was gentle. "This isn't about Mike, is it? You're still not thinking about Marla, are you?"
Resigned, I turned around in the seat to face her. "I really don't know what to think. He told me he was working late every night to install flooring at Webster's Restaurant. I talked to Mrs. Webster today, and she didn't know anything about it."
Josie blew out a breath and was quiet for a moment. "I'm sure he has a good reason."
"A good reason for being dishonest? It had better be darned good. I'm not going to start our marriage off with a pack of lies between us."
She stopped for a light and narrowed her eyes at me. "Don't go there, Sal. He loves you. Maybe he's got a job that he's ashamed of. What if he's installing toilets or working in a sewer somewhere?"
I cocked an eyebrow at her in disbelief. "That's crazy. Why would I care about something like that? I'm proud of him no matter what he does."
"Then give him the benefit of the doubt," Josie said. "You haven't seen much of him lately, so maybe he's been putting off telling you. Or what if the job fell through, and Mrs. Webster thought he should be the one to tell you. Maybe Mike's embarrassed."
I knew she was trying to help, but the churning in my gut told me there was more to it than that. "I don't care what time he gets home tonight—we're going to have a serious talk. I've been lied to before, and I'm not about to go through it again."
"Don't even attempt to compare Mike to that louse you were married to." Josie pulled up in the alley that ran behind the bakery.
My mind shifted back to the condition of my shop. If it wasn't for the discolored wood and the acrid smell still in the air, everything would have appeared to be normal from the outside. Mike had installed a new door on the back of the building. He'd said I had to have something in place to prevent looters from getting in, whether the building was salvageable or not. My heart told me he felt the place was beyond repair but didn't want to tell me yet, another reason why he wanted his friend to check the place out.
If there was some way we could continue to run the bakery here, I wanted Mike to start working on it right after our honeymoon, or when he finished whatever the heck he was doing now. Ugh. There you go again, Sal. I didn't want to think about the lie again.
The glass door in the storefront had some cracks and was probably still useable, but Mike had advised us to use the back door. He said Dave would meet us there.
Josie looked at her watch. "We're a few minutes early."
"Let's take a look inside," I said. "We were in
a hurry the other day, so I want to see if there's anything else salvageable."
She snorted. "Right. I know what you're thinking, Nancy Drew. You're not going to find anything. The police already looked the place over."
"I don't care. Brian finding Gianna's necklace was not a good thing. Someone is trying to implicate my sister in this mess. Whoever killed Bernardo and stole the money is one and the same person. It's weird, but I feel like I should already know who did this. Come on."
I inserted the new key Mike had given me into the door, and with apprehension, we entered the back room. The door closed noiselessly behind us. I looked around our former kitchen and prep area with dismay. The place smelled of mildew, and the floor was blackened. I sighed and took a broom, starting to sweep up the debris.
Josie wiped at her eyes. "Sal, why bother? Do you really think this place is going to be useable again? I'm guessing not."
I bit into my lower lip, determined not to cry. "It would make me feel better at least."
She shook her head in resignation and walked out into the storefront. I reached the broom underneath the appliances and soon had a huge pile of dust and debris sitting in my dustpan. The plastic trash receptacle had disintegrated from the fire, so I went out to the alley and emptied the dustpan into the trash bin. I caught sight of a car leaving the alley, but it was too far away to see what kind it was or who was driving. I hoped Dave hadn't decided to ditch us for some reason.
I turned around to go back inside but completely missed the step and tripped. The dustpan went flying from my hands and landed under the sink. As I stooped down to retrieve it, I noticed a small, thick piece of what appeared to be burnt wood against the wall and picked it up. I stared at it, confused. For some reason I thought I should know what it was. Ah heck, what difference did it make? The place was a disaster. Disgusted, I threw the wood on to what was left of our prep table. I hoped Dave would show up soon. It hurt to see the repercussions of the fire firsthand, and I wanted to get this over with as soon as possible.
I glanced up at the hooks on the walls. The aprons that had been hanging there were now charred bits of burned cloth, beyond recognition. The ball caps were also ruined. With a sigh, I started to clean off the shelf above them. As I extended my arm to the back, my fingers connected with a piece of metal. I pulled it off the shelf and found myself staring at a gold charm bracelet.
Shoot. This belonged to Julie. She had insisted on helping wash the dishes last time she was here—much to Josie's dismay—and I had suggested she take the bracelet off and place it up on the shelf for safekeeping. We'd all forgotten about it afterwards.
I grabbed my cell phone out of my jeans pocket and dialed Sarah's cell phone, fingering the little charms as I waited. They consisted of a Happy Birthday sign, a cat, the letter J, and a soccer ball. The fact that the metal had not endured damage from the fire cheered me up some. I thought with a pang of the sweet little face from the last time she was here, when she'd chattered on about how much she wanted a kitten until Josie exclaimed she was giving her a headache.
"Hi." A little voice giggled and interrupted my thoughts.
I smiled to myself. "Hi Julie. It's Sally. Is your mommy—?"
"Sally!" she squealed. "Mommy's out."
Confused, I glanced at the phone. "What do you mean she's out? She left you all alone?"
"Well, sometimes she does," the little girl admitted. "But she's just outside right now. I'm a big girl, so I can take care of myself."
I was perplexed. Julie was only eight years old. I knew Sarah didn't have an easy life, but I couldn't imagine leaving my own child alone at such a young age. "Oh. Well, I found your bracelet. Maybe Mommy can stop over to get it tonight and bring you too."
"I'm not going to get to see you anymore." Her voice sounded wistful.
My heart dissolved into a giant puddle as I pictured the child with her blonde pigtails and enormous blue eyes set in a perfect oval face. How lucky Sarah was. "Your mommy won't be working here, but we can still see each other."
"No. We're moving away."
I must have heard her wrong. "Sweetie, your mommy's taking another job, but it's not that far away. I'll still see you."
"No," the child cried. "We're leaving tomorrow."
Curiosity got the best of me. "Where are you going?"
Julie giggled. "Mommy said it's a secret. She just bought me the Cinderella gown from the Disney store, so I bet I'm gonna go see her and all the other princesses."
That had to set Sarah back quite a few bucks. Maybe she'd used the extra money I'd given her "Oh, I bet you look so pretty in it."
"I do," she agreed. "Can I have some more fortune cookies before we go?"
"Of course. You can have all the cookies you want, as long as it's okay with your mommy. If she can't come, I'll bring them over tomorrow. You also left—"
"No. Bring them tonight," she insisted. "We're leaving tomorrow. I want to see you and Josie again. Her cookies are even better than my mommy's, but don't tell her I said that."
Her little voice was squeezing my heart so tight I found it difficult to breathe. "I promise. But I thought Mommy was going to work in the grocery store."
"Mommy doesn't have to go to work ever again. Okay, I'll tell you. I think she's going to take me on the Disney cruise."
Wishful thinking on the child's part, but I played along. "Wow. That's so awesome. Did she tell you that's where you're going?"
"Well," Julie said in a singsong voice, "she said our ship has come in. So I think that means we're going. Can you come too?"
My eyes grew moist. "I wish I could, sweetheart, but I have to make more cookies for the customers."
"Okay," she said reluctantly. "I'll tell Mommy you called. Will you say goodbye to Josie for me? She's going to miss me a lot, isn't she?"
"Totally." Okay, so it was a bit of a stretch, but there was no reason to hurt the little girl's feelings. I longed for a child so much that I literally ached from the want at times. Josie, on the other hand, often compared herself to the old woman who lived in a shoe. She was a good mother and loved her boys in a fierce and protective way but was brutally honest when she said she had no time or inclination to entertain anyone else's children. Hopefully someday mine would be an exception to her rule.
"Bye, Sally. I love you."
A tear rolled down my cheek. "I love you too, Julie."
As I put the phone back into my pocket, an uneasy feeling of dread settled over me. Why had Sarah lied about the job? What would make her leave town all of a sudden? Something here wasn't adding up.
After a couple of minutes, I glanced at my watch. Five fifteen. I was getting annoyed with this guy. I knew he was doing Mike a favor, but hey, my time was valuable too. My phone pinged at that moment with a text from Mike.
Dave said you called him to cancel. Why?
What the heck was going on? I texted back. I never called him. Why would I cancel?
His message came back a minute later. Don't know. Thought maybe the kitchen got really busy, and you couldn't get away.
No. Josie and I are at the bakery waiting for him.
I waited another couple of minutes, and then my phone pinged again. If you're inside that building, I want you out. Now. Don't think it's safe. Just texted Dave, and he said he'll get over later but couldn't give me a time. I'll meet him if you can't.
I was tempted to say something about how could he meet the engineer when he had so many other jobs going on but stopped myself just in time. I wouldn't go there now. Okay we'll leave now. What time will you be home?
The answer came quick. Probably not till midnight. Want to get these floors done for the Websters by this weekend.
The hand that held my phone started to shake. Another lie. How many more, Mike? My throat grew tight with tears as my fingers flew across the screen. Please come home early. We need to talk.
What's wrong?
I hesitated before answering. I loved this man so much and knew he loved me too,
so what was I doing? Why were doubts getting the best of me again? Catching Colin in a compromising position flashed through my mind, and I thought of Grandma Rosa's words. See before you jump. I honestly didn't think Mike was cheating on me, but why wouldn't he tell me what he was doing? I knew I needed to think this through some more before reacting—or overreacting.
I typed out a brief message. Nothing. I just miss you.
It won't be for much longer. Miss and love you too.
I swiped at my eyes and put the phone back in my pocket, glancing around the room again. I could hear Josie on the phone by the front door. She must have been talking to Rob. I tried to envision what might have happened Saturday night when Bernardo was here.
Gianna thought she had locked the door. If so, how had Bernardo gotten in? Even with the fire, Brian said there didn't appear to have been a forced entry beforehand. Bernardo could not have been hiding because Gianna was parked in the alley and would have seen him in the back room before she left. Either he had a key, or she hadn't locked the door.
I thought about Brian's comment that the perpetrator had been left-handed. True, Gianna was left-handed. But who else? I tried to remember the day when Luigi had dropped by my parents'. I thought he and his son, Sergio, were both right-handed but couldn't be positive. Victoria? Not sure. And Rufus? No question about it. I remembered how the ape had laid his enormous right hand on me in a possessive manner.
My eyes came to rest on the black piece of wood on the table. I picked it up and flipped it over in my hands. There was a red spot on one side, and my chest constricted at the sight. Blood? Could this have been a possible murder weapon? Was Bernardo hit with it? I walked into the storefront with the wood cupped in my hands.
Josie said goodbye to whoever she was talking to and turned around to face me. "What are you looking at?"
I held the object out to her. "Do you know what this is?"
Burned to a Crisp (Cookies & Chance Mysteries Book 3) Page 17
