Happy Hour

by Anina Collins

  Nodding, I slipped out of my father’s hold and wiped my eyes again. “I think so. I have some stuff to work through, and I think I have someone to apologize to. Other than that, I’m the same old person I’ve always been, you know?”

  That got me one of my father’s broad smiles. “The sweetest daughter anyone could ever have, and one of the kindest and smartest women I’ve ever met?”

  “Well, I don’t know about any of that. I wasn’t exactly the sweetest anything a few minutes ago, and it remains to be seen if anyone but you thinks I’m kind or smart. I have a feeling Alex might have a different opinion after our fight tonight.”

  “Give him a chance, honey. Something tells me he’s far more understanding than you’re giving him credit for. He knows you well enough to know all the good that exists in you, even when you’re at your worst. I think it will just be a matter of saying those magic words and meaning them.”

  “Please and thank you?” I joked.

  My father rolled his eyes at my silliness. “I’m sorry. Please and thank you are good too, but I think in this case I’m sorry will be better. Don’t let your stubbornness get in the way of you doing the right thing.”

  “I won’t. I promise,” I said sheepishly. “I better go.”

  “Okay, honey. Thanks for coming by to check on me.”

  I chuckled at his poking fun at my lie. “Yeah, that’s what this visit was all about. You don’t need me to check on you. You’re tough, remember?”

  He smiled and moved past me to sit down on the couch. “I remember. Someday you will too.”

  Kissing him goodnight, I turned to leave and then stopped to look back at him. “Did you mean it when you said you wanted to kill Jared when you found out what he did to me back then?”

  His big Irish grin faded, and he nodded somberly. “I did. He hurt you, and I had to fight the urge to hurt him. Hell hath no fury like a father wanting revenge on the man who hurt his little girl.”

  “I think the saying is hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, Dad.”

  “Oh, that’s definitely true, but since you couldn’t give him that fury, I wanted to. He should be glad cooler heads prevailed. But then again, there’s another great saying—revenge is a dish best served cold.”

  I liked that saying. Maybe someday I’d even get some revenge on that rotten ex of mine.

  As I walked home thinking about what that revenge might look like, an idea struck me. What if Marcus Tyne’s poisoning had been revenge? I still liked Frank Mitchell for that motive, but what about Gerald Engels?

  Had he simply been in the wrong place at the wrong time, or had he been part of some revenge served cold too?

  Chapter Seventeen

  After the day I’d had, I barely made it to my bed before I fell asleep. So much for my plans to consider if Marcus Tyne and Gerald Engels had been on the receiving end of someone’s revenge that had led to one of them dying and the other still lying in a hospital bed a few miles away.

  Come morning, I opened my eyes and instantly thought to check for a text from Alex. Rolling over, I grabbed my cell and saw he hadn’t messaged. Disappointed, I rolled onto my back and stared up at the ceiling. He had no real reason to text me since I’d given him such a hard time last night. I just hoped that he had found some new clue in the case and wanted to let me know my father was no longer a suspect.

  And I hoped he would have messaged me to make sure I was okay.

  With any other case, this wouldn’t have been an issue. If he didn’t text or call me, I’d get in contact with him. We didn’t stand on ceremony when it came to things like that. If he had something to say, he found me. When I had something to tell him, I found him.

  But this case had turned every facet of our relationship upside down. For the first time, my work partnership with Alex had been severed and my opinions on the case weren’t welcome anymore. After a year of working together, I felt lost, like a huge part of my life had fallen away. I knew after the investigation ended we’d be back to solving mysteries together, but would what happened with this case forever change the dynamic we shared?

  And compared to our work relationship, the romantic side of us was on downright shaky ground. As much as I knew Alex didn’t have a choice when it came to the case, he did have a choice to react to my emotional outburst the way he did. I still loved him, but could I be with someone who so easily shut me out like that?

  Maybe being ruled by stubbornness would hurt me in the end, but as I lay there staring up at my bedroom ceiling, I decided not to contact him. I could lie to myself and say it was because I didn’t want to interfere with the investigation, but the truth of the matter was I didn’t want to be the one who called first.

  Even if every time I glanced at my phone that’s all I wanted to do.

  Better to get yourself up out of this bed and off to work, Poppy. Whatever’s going to happen will happen. There’s no point lying around and feeling bad about things.

  Lame platitudes aside, I showered and dressed to head down to The Eagle. If anything could take my mind off my problems with Alex and the issues surrounding this case, some hours with my nose to the grindstone could.

  Although my mind continued to be filled with worry, I couldn’t deny how wonderful the morning sun shining on my face felt as I strolled down Main Street toward work. Spring in Sunset Ridge had bloomed all around me with colorful baskets of yellow, pink, and white flowers hanging from storefront awnings and standing guard beside business doorways. I loved this time of year, a true gift after months of cold, and as I passed the tiny park near the police station, I considered setting up a temporary office with my laptop right on the oh-so-inviting green grass.

  But first, my stomach told me some breakfast was in order. Glancing down the street, I thought about going to The Grounds for the first time since the health department allowed them to reopen but decided to head to the Madison Diner instead. My support for Pam and Gerry remained steadfast, and of course I’d be back at their place soon to get my multiple daily coffee fixes, but today I wanted to stay away from the place I so identified with Alex and me.

  Finding a booth at the back of the restaurant, I lifted the large laminated menu in front of me and did my best to hide from the rest of the patrons.

  “You look like you’re trying to avoid someone, sweetie,” a syrupy voice said above me, and I looked up to see one of the Madison’s waitresses with a nametag that said Cindy standing next to my table dressed in the usual black and white uniform they all wore. I’d never seen this woman before, and my eyes were drawn to her short platinum blond hair and the fake beauty mark drawn on her lower cheek mimicking Marilyn Monroe’s famous look.

  Smiling, I lied. “No, not really. It’s just early. You know, some people like to talk a lot in the morning, and I’m practically catatonic before I have a few cups of coffee in me. Better to avoid people than seem incoherent.”

  “Coffee then, sweetie? How about some eggs and bacon to go with that too?” she asked with a twinkle in her eye like the breakfast there pleased her.

  I quickly looked away from her and scanned the bottom of the menu. “How about some pancakes instead of eggs, but I’ll take the bacon. Extra cream for the coffee, please.”

  Cindy slipped the menu from between my fingers and promised to have my breakfast to me in a jiffy. I watched her walk away and wondered how old she could be. She physically looked in her mid to late twenties, except for the Marilyn Monroe beauty mark thing, but she spoke like she was over fifty. Who said jiffy anymore?

  Without my menu barrier, I suddenly felt incredibly exposed. While I knew it was likely all in my mind, I wondered if everyone in the Madison knew I’d been thrown off Alex’s case by none other than the man himself, who was also the person I was dating.

  In all honesty, the people sitting around me there probably either had no idea any of that had happened or didn’t care. Not everyone in Sunset Ridge was a nosy gossip.

  Then, just as I’d convinced myself I
didn’t need the menu because no one in the Madison Diner cared at all that I sat there alone, Jared walked in and zeroed in on my immediately. At first, I wanted to hide away but then the memory of those horrible accusations he’d made against my father to the police echoed in my head and I sat up straighter, ready to tell him what I thought of his despicable lying.

  As I waited for him to reach me, sure he’d have the nerve to sit down across from me and turn on that charm of his, I saw the area around his right eye looked purple and swollen. Did he have a shiner?

  Instantly, my mind raced as the question of if he had one was answered and I wondered who had punched Jared hard enough to give him a black eye? I definitely wanted to shake his or her hand.

  He stopped at the counter and intentionally ignored me, turning his head so he didn’t have to look my way. Too curious to know who had given him that black eye, I stood up and walked right up to him to ask.

  Tapping him on the shoulder, I waited for him to look at me and nearly chickened out from saying anything when I saw up close how awful his eye looked. Whoever had hit him had done a number on him.

  But I didn’t chicken out and with a smile asked, “Run into a door or something, Jared?”

  He glared down at me and winced as his eye tried to shut but couldn’t from the swelling. I waited for him to answer, but he said nothing, so I took a more direct tactic.

  “That looks like it hurts. Who hit you? Inquiring minds want to know.”

  Jared said nothing but groaned like my question hurt him. I swallowed hard as I readied myself to tell him off but good for lying about my father, but just as I opened my mouth to let him have it, he spun on his heels and stormed out of the restaurant, leaving me standing at the counter unsure what had just happened.

  Oh well. Sunset Ridge was a small town, so I knew I wouldn’t have to wait too long to find out who had beaten up my ex. For now, my breakfast had arrived and waited for me at my table, so I’d just create a story about how Jared got that black eye, one that included him experiencing the most acute humiliation and those lovely scorpions attacking his private parts relentlessly.

  Never before had pancakes at the Madison Diner tasted so good as I sat there daydreaming about Jared getting what he deserved. It wasn’t exactly revenge served cold, but revenge by proxy wasn’t bad either.

  I pushed my empty plate away and closed my eyes as the image of my unknown hero punching Jared straight in the face replayed over and over in my mind. Perhaps it was petty of me, but I didn’t care.

  “You look like an angel sitting there smiling. Was breakfast that good? Maybe we should start coming here each morning.”

  Slowly, I opened my eyes to see Alex standing in front of me wearing a gentle smile. He certainly was a sight for sore eyes. “Hi. What’s going on?”

  “Mind if I sit down?” he asked, as if I’d ever not want to sit with him.

  “You know the answer to that.”

  He nodded and pulled the chair out to sit down. “I do.”

  A strange silence settled in between us. I knew it had to do with how I’d acted last night, so I said, “I’m sorry about all that last night at my house. You aren’t the bad guy in all of this, and I know that.”

  The smile he gave me told me he was as happy as I was we weren’t fighting anymore. It lit up his dark eyes, making me wish we weren’t sitting in the Madison Diner.

  “Good. I didn’t like leaving things like that with you, Poppy. I hope you know that.”

  “I do. I didn’t realize how much a toll this case was taking on the two of us until you left last night. Well, to be honest, I didn’t realize it until I went over to see my father a little while later. He really is one of your biggest fans, you know that?”

  Alex smiled at my description of how much my father liked him. “I know I shouldn’t admit this since I’m the lead officer on this case, but I’ve never believed he had anything to do with the poisonings of Tyne or Engels. I had to do my job, but I never wanted you to think I thought he was guilty.”

  Reaching across the table, I touched his hand and gave it a squeeze. “I know. You don’t have to explain anything to me, Alex. I was just emotional because my father’s involved. I hope you didn’t take anything I said to heart.”

  “Other than you calling Stephen an ass?” he joked.

  “Well, yeah. That I meant. You heard how he talked to me. What a jackass!”

  I knew I didn’t have to defend myself to Alex, but I wanted him to know what I thought of Stephen’s behavior on the phone the night before. If I’d had my way, Stephen would have found out how I felt too.

  Alex didn’t look shocked by my characterization of his fellow policeman. Nodding, he said, “I did, and when I got back to the station, I told him exactly what I thought of how he talked to you.”

  “Ooooh, do tell and don’t skimp on the details!”

  Humble as always, he simply shrugged off the suggestion. “It wasn’t a big deal. Just one man letting another man know what he thought of his behavior.”

  Sometimes Alex could be so exasperating. “Okay, that’s the exact definition of skimping on the details. Like in the dictionary next to the phrase skimp on the details, there’s a picture of you sitting right there saying exactly what you just said. So how about we try that again but this time with some details, Officer Montero?”

  Alex sighed, but a tiny smile cracked his serious expression. “Okay. Let’s just say that I explained to him as I stood very close to him that if he ever spoke to you in any way that wasn’t entirely polite and helpful that he’d have to deal with me. You could also say I reminded him that it wasn’t me who allowed you to work with me but Derek, so if he stepped out of line again, he’d have to deal with me and the Chief of Police.”

  His chivalrous defense of my honor completely charmed me. I imagined that jerk Stephen being cocky when Alex first began talking, but by the time he finished, he probably was cowering in the corner like a scared animal.

  Or at least that’s how I wanted to think of it.

  For the second time that day, I’d found peace by fantasizing about karma visiting someone who had it coming. Now if Alex could tell me my father had been eliminated as a suspect, I’d be walking on air.

  I gazed across the table at my hero. That quiet guy who sometimes spoke not even half of what I said in a day had put Stephen in his place.

  “Thank you, Alex. I appreciate you defending me. You know, I could have given him what for myself, though. If you hadn’t jumped into the conversation, I would have.”

  He chuckled. “Oh, I know that. Stephen would still be smarting if you had told him off. I just wanted him to know that you weren’t the only one who had a problem with how he acted.”

  “And who said chivalry is dead?” I teased him.

  Alex puffed his chest out and proudly lifted his head. “Not me. I’m all about the chivalry, even if you aren’t a damsel in distress.”

  “You underestimate how bad these last few days have been, between seeing my father interrogated as a murder suspect and my ex coming back to town and promptly accusing him of that very crime,” I joked.

  My comment made Alex’s eyes open wide in excitement. “Speaking of that, I can say without hesitation that Jared Cooke’s statement has been shown to be entirely false.”

  This morning was turning out to be pretty good. Eager to hear the details of how he had found out my ex’s claims were complete lies, I asked, “How do you know? And by the way, if you skimp on these details, I might have to come over the table.”

  He winked at me. “Promise?”

  “Flirting later. Details now, please. I’m dying here. And can you tell me if you know anything about how he got that black eye?”

  A self-satisfied smugness settled into Alex’s expression. “He’s sporting a black eye today? I had a feeling he might be.”

  He stopped talking as I sat on the edge of my seat waiting to hear what happened to make him know Jared had lied. After a pregnant paus
e I had a feeling was for effect, Alex began his story.

  “Last night after I left your house, I stopped in at Diamanti’s for a quick drink before going home. I saw him at the end of the bar regaling some people with his story of how he was back in town and planned to win back the woman he’d left years before. One of his fellow drunks reminded him that he hadn’t just left you but broke off your engagement, so it probably wouldn’t be as easy as he thought to get you back.”

  I interrupted Alex, grumbling, “Like that could ever happen.”

  “Do you want me to tell this story or should I stop?” Alex jokingly chastised me.

  “Tell the story, of course. I just felt the need to make sure the record reflected there is not even a snowball’s chance in Hell of him ever getting me back.”

  Alex smiled. “Duly noted. Where was I before you interrupted me?”

  “Drunk guy telling my ex it wouldn’t be a cakewalk getting me back because he dumped me for the local grocery store tart.”

  I saw in Alex’s eyes his amusement at my vivid description of Cicely. That was the nicest way I’d ever thought of her. If he only knew what I said about her to myself.

  “Well, brace yourself. This gets a little rough. He went on to explain to his drunk friend he left you because you weren’t woman enough for him back then but now that he’s older and willing to settle, you’re just what the doctor ordered. By that time, I’d downed a glass of scotch and figured it might be time for Jared and me to get better acquainted. So I tapped him on the shoulder and told him he needed to watch his mouth. Your ex was too drunk to listen to good advice, unfortunately.”

  Thrilled by this story, even if I didn’t like the part about me not being enough woman years ago, I inched forward on my chair as I waited to hear more. “So that’s when you slugged him straight in the eye?” I excitedly asked.

  Shaking his head, Alex held up his hand. “No, not yet. Patience. There’s more.”

  “Okay. Keep going. Sorry I stopped you.”

  “So he began to brag that he had told your father the same thing, and like me, he’d told him to shut his mouth before he got it shut for him.”