by Tonya Kappes
“You have an alibi with a woman when Chuck Shilling was murdered?” I asked.
“How did you know?” He jerked his head around.
I wasn’t sure why, but having him admit it made it feel like a betrayal to me even though there was nothing between us. He had been Richard’s best friend, and there was no way after ten years that I was going to take it as anything but a charity-case friendship, though I did believe he loved Grady as much as Richard and I did.
“Harriette told me this morning how she’d seen you and Chuck arguing right before a lady left crying.” I smiled when I noticed he was really bothered by me knowing. “Do you think you have to keep your love life from me?”
“Love life?” He rolled his eyes. “Some love life. I can’t even find her to prove she was my alibi.”
“One-night stand?” I knew she wasn’t. Harriette had said she’d seen the lady coming there for quite some time. But if he didn’t want to tell me, I wasn’t going to beg him for the details.
“I’ve known her a while, but we had an argument that I’d rather not talk about.” He looked down at his hands and picked at a hangnail. “I just want you to know that I didn’t kill Chuck Shilling.”
“Why did you and Chuck have a fight?” I wanted to know because I wanted to tell him that I was looking into who else could’ve had motive to kill Chuck.
“After the city council meeting last night, Chuck came over. Tasha was there.” The muscles in his face tightened as he clenched his jaw.
So her name was Tasha. Ugh.
“He told me he wasn’t sure if he was going to sell his part of the country club to me after all. He mentioned how he was getting some pushback from not only Dennis Kuntz but members of the community.” He continued staring out the windshield.
The referees were walking onto the field with two football players from each team.
“Tasha and I…” He slid his eyes to me. There was a haunted look there that put a chill into my bones. “We…” He gulped.
I couldn’t help but feel as if he was going to tell me something about his love life, but then he stopped.
“I…” He shook his head. “I just don’t know.”
“What don’t you know?” I asked. I watched Samuel clap his hands and jump up in the air after they did the coin toss in the middle of the field.
My heart jumped. I knew Grady would be thrilled they had gotten the ball first. He had said that was how they would win: get the first touchdown and stay ahead. At least it had been his plan at the beginning of the week.
“I don’t know what happened.” Mac lifted his hand to his head and rubbed it. “I just know I didn’t see Chuck after he left my house until the officer came and got me this morning.”
“You had an alibi with Tasha?” I asked, though I wasn’t sure I wanted to hear the answer.
He nodded a few times.
Mac didn’t have any good reason for me to believe him without any concrete evidence to back him up, but for some reason, I did believe him.
He might’ve been telling me the truth about Chuck Shilling, but I had a feeling he wasn’t telling me everything.
“I believe you.” I reached over just as the other team kicked the ball. “And I’m going to keep my ears open during my route.”
“I appreciate it.” Mac turned to me and smiled. “You’re a good friend, Bernie.”
“You, Mac Tabor, are family.” I gestured toward the field. “And if we miss any part of this game, Grady will kill both of us.”
I noticed Mac didn’t find my little joke as amusing as I did.
“Too soon?” I winked.
“Let’s find the real killer first.” He shook his head and rolled his eyes and put his hand on the door handle. “I guess you better get out there before the Grizzlies score the first touchdown.”
“Me? What about you?” I asked.
“I’m not too popular around here right now. I’ll watch from my car.”
“Mac.” I said his name to stop him.
“Yeah.” He jerked his head around, his body half in and half out of the car.
“Why didn’t you tell me about Tasha?” I asked. “Not that you had to.”
The blood drained from his face. He took a hard swallow.
“It’s not like Grady or I expect you to stay single and never have companionship. I’m just not sure why…” I could tell my words were making him uncomfortable. “…you would want to keep it from me. It’s not like you didn’t know I saw those letters. And they smelled pretty good.”
“Listen. Mac stepped all the way out of the car and kept his head poked inside. “I don’t even know what the relationship with Tasha is about, and in fact, last night, I had a real hard conversation with her, and I’m pretty sure she won’t be coming around anymore. So we don’t need to bring her up again. Tim is working on finding her.”
“Oh.” My eyes popped open.
“If there ever was anyone serious, you and Grady would be the first to know,” he assured me and nodded his head toward the field. “Get on over there and root for our boy.”
Our boy.
Why didn’t it bother me when he said it as if Grady was ours?
NINE
“We won,” I told Rowena when I walked into my house after the game. She was meowing and rubbing up against me. I picked her up and snuggled her close. “Samuel made three touchdowns. Your brother was very happy.”
It drove Grady crazy when I called Rowena his sister. He liked her, but he hadn’t grown up with her. We’d always had dogs on the farm, and after Richard’s blue heeler had passed away a couple years after his death, I just couldn’t bring myself to get another dog.
I spent long days delivering the mail, so it wasn’t fair to get another dog who’d spend many hours at home alone. That would make me feel guilty.
I’d taken an extra route for one of the other carriers during their vacation a couple of years ago. The SPCA was on his route, and I fell in love with the little orange tabby that’d been turned in with a few little babies of her own. Rowena was only eight months old and had done all she could to nurse the three kittens. She was unable to nurse them due to being so malnourished, so the SPCA volunteers had to bottle-feed her babies, and I took in Rowena. I had told myself Rowena was just a foster cat and would go to a fur-ever home, not realizing she was my ticket to not being so lonely at night.
Rowena had wormed herself into my heart, and her stay ended up being permanent.
She jumped out of my arms, and I took the angel pin off the scarf before I took the scarf from around my neck. I dragged the scarf down the hallway, letting Rowena pounce on it a few times before she got her claw deep into the fabric. I let go so she could play with it and occupy herself while I did my nightly ritual. I washed my face and got my pajamas on before I grabbed the book I was reading and tried to get some sleep before my five thirty a.m. alarm went off.
“Mom! Mom!” Grady’s voice echoed through the house.
“Hey, honey.” I popped my head out the door of my bedroom and saw him and Julia standing at the end of the hallway. “I’ll be right out.”
“You scared me. You didn’t stay after the game and after today…” His voice trailed off.
He’d remembered. I could tell in his tone that he remembered it was the anniversary.
“I’m sorry, Mom.” Grady stood stoutly staring at me when I came out of the bedroom. He had a head full of curly brown hair. He looked exactly like Richard had at the same age. It was a blessing and a constant reminder when I looked at Grady.
Julia had one hand rubbing Grady’s back, while the other was occupied with Rowena.
“I’ve been so wrapped up in the game that I forgot.” His face was flushed.
“I forgot because of all the stuff going on with Mac and the office.” Julia put Rowena down.
“I forgot too,” I confessed in hopes of making them feel better. “Maybe it’s time for us to move on from the date.”
The three of us emb
raced, and I could feel the emotions building up in my baby boy. I pulled away.
“Enough of this.” I wiped away the tear that fell down my cheek. “We have a life to live, and your father would’ve wanted us to celebrate your big win.”
I moved past them into the kitchen.
“I’ve got some pumpkin sugar cookies for you two.” I took the Pie in the Face cardboard box from the counter and opened it. “I saved y’all some.” I put them on the farm table and sat down, patting the seat next to me. “Come sit down.”
“What about Mac, Mom?” Grady grabbed the milk out of the refrigerator, and Julia grabbed three glasses off the shelf. “I can’t believe I didn’t hear that you found Chuck Shilling’s body until after the game, when Vince Caldwell asked me how you were doing.”
“We had no idea.” Julia had gotten me some ice for my milk.
“Mac didn’t do it.” I broke the cookie in half before sticking part of it into my mouth. “I’ve got a list of people who could’ve.”
“Why do you have the list?” Julia asked.
“Because I know he didn’t do it, and I owe it to him to look around.” My words made Grady look at me as if I had three heads and caused Julia to look at him with her big eyes wide open. “What?” I asked. “Mac has been very good to us over the past ten years. If I can keep my ear to the ground, find out a few details about why people wanted to kill Chuck—and there are many out there—then I’m going to help him.”
“I don’t think you need to do that, Mom.” Grady gave me a tone and a look I certainly didn’t like.
“I’m sorry if you don’t think I need to do it. I’m doing it.” There was no negotiation in my voice, but he kept on.
“You sound crazy.” He pulled back and drummed his fingers on the table just exactly the way Richard used to do when I’d spent too much money.
“Don’t you say that to me.” I pushed myself up from the table. “I’m tired. Just because tomorrow is Saturday and you are off work, I still have to work, so I’m going to bed.”
“That’s it. You’re not going to rethink this crazy idea of taking a murder into your own hands?” Grady stood up, and we squared off. He was about two feet taller than me, but I was still his mother.
“I’m going to keep my ear to the ground, that’s all.” It was apparent Grady was not happy with my decision, which just made me realize he didn’t need to know everything I was doing.
“Grady, Bernadette wouldn’t do anything to endanger herself. Besides, I’m sure she’ll let Angela know if she hears anything.” Julia tried to reason with him. “Isn’t that right, Bernadette?”
“Of course I’d tell Angela. Anything to get Mac off the hook.” It wasn’t easy not giving into Grady, as I normally would, but I felt a strong conviction to help Mac.
“Mom, it’s not looking good for Mac.” Grady continued his campaign even as I walked them to the door. “He has a girlfriend.”
“Tasha is not his girlfriend.” I shrugged.
“Mom, he’s been seeing her for a few months.” Grady seemed to know more than I did. “People have seen them in town together. I asked him about her, and he told me that he’d introduce me when they took it to the next level.”
I took a hard swallow and cleared my throat. “He told me they were over, and I really need to find her, because she’s his alibi. So if you know how to get in touch with her…” I put my foot in front of the door so Rowena wouldn’t run out when I opened it. “I’d love the information.”
“She lives in Tennessee. That’s all I know,” Julia spoke up. “Do you remember when he was gone for that long weekend a couple of weeks back?”
“The fishing trip?” I asked. Richard and Mac used to go on big weekend-long fishing trips together. “With Tim Crouse.”
“Well, he gave me his keys to the house so I could water his plants.” Julia looked at Grady.
“Don’t tell her this.” Grady let out a long, deep, unhappy sigh and looked away.
“I’m telling her.” Julia shook her head. “I wanted to let you know about it that weekend, but Grady insisted I keep my mouth shut.”
“What happened?” I asked.
“While I was there, Tim Crouse called Mac and left a message on his answering machine. He said that he knew he was spending the weekend with Tasha, and he had the paperwork drawn up for her to sign. He said he was sorry he didn’t have it in time for his trip to see her. Which reminds me that I still have his key.” Julia’s eyes stared into my soul.
“See, look at her.” Grady threw his hands up in the air. “I knew you would be hurt, Mom.”
“I’m not hurt.” I tried to cover up the hurt I was feeling. “I’m just not sure why he’d not tell me. That’s all.”
Grady looked down at me with his big brown eyes with a little bit of hurt in them too. It was the same set of eyes that had looked at me when he’d run inside after skinning his knee or when his own feelings got hurt.
“No. I’m happy for Mac.” I placed my hand on my chest. “He deserves to be happy. Which is why I need to find this Tasha person and help get Mac off the suspect list.”
“Grady has some crazy notion that one day, you and Mac…” Julia stopped talking after Grady grabbed her hand.
“I’m tired. We’ve got to go.” Grady bent down to kiss me on the cheek.
I stood on the covered front porch and watched the taillights of their car fade off down the driveway.
Julia didn’t have to finish her sentence.
“Me too, Julia,” I whispered the words.
TEN
I’d like to say I got a lot of sleep so I could be nice and prepared for the full day of walking ahead of me, but Mac, Chuck, and the entire country club situation weighed heavily on my mind, so much that I didn’t even get one wink of shut-eye.
Even Rowena was sick of me moving around in the bed, leaving me at about two a.m. to find a more peaceful place to sleep.
I gave in to my restlessness and got ready for work. I didn’t even bother making coffee because I knew it would be perfect timing to stop at the Roasted Bean on my way to work. I filled Rowena’s bowl, grabbed a piece of bread for my duck, and headed out.
The Roasted Bean was a coffee shop on Main Street between the community center and Tabor Architects. It was perfect for me to park my car at the post office and walk across the street.
Matilda Garrison was the young and hip owner of the coffee shop. She had gorgeous long black hair she wore in dreadlocks. She’d grown up in Sugar Creek Gap but moved away to go to an actual roasting school located in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina. After she completed school, she worked there and saved up enough money to come back home and open her own shop.
“You’re in here awfully early.” Matilda was behind the counter, hand drying a few of the white ceramic coffee mugs. “I usually only see my regulars.” She nodded toward a group of elderly people at a table in the corner.
The tables were at the front of the left side of the shop. There was a long counter on the right side with some barstools. The building had been an old-time soda fountain that had stood empty until Matilda revived it. The entire town had been happy to see she’d kept the original structure and interior.
“You’re not delivering mail already, are you?” she asked as she put the mug on the hook with the others.
“No. I couldn’t sleep with all the ruckus going on around here.” I eased down onto one of the stools.
“I heard about Chuck.” She shook her head. “It was a shame. He was just in here a couple of days ago with Ashley Williams.”
“He was?” I asked.
“Yeah. I remember because he ordered a caramel frap, and she ordered one too. Normally she gets a pumpkin spice latte this time of year.” Matilda smiled. “He even complimented that I had just the right amount of the good stuff, he called it.”
“I’m glad you have that fond memory of him,” I said. “Can I get a large hot coffee with cream to go?”
“Sure
.” Matilda turned and grabbed one of the white to-go cups.
“Did you hear what they were talking about?” I asked.
“I hear a lot of things.” After she filled the cup, she opened the refrigerator and grabbed the creamer. “She was saying something about the country club. They were whispering.”
She put the black lid on the cup and slid it toward me.
“On the house. I’m sure you could use the caffeine.” She offered me a sweet smile and put her hands in the front pockets of her apron.
“If you recall anything you heard from Chuck and Ashley, please let me know. I’m really trying to help Mac out. I think someone is framing him.” I picked up the coffee and took a drink before I stood up so I could head back across the street to the post office.
“Sure thing.” She nodded.
Just before I walked out, Matilda hollered after me.
“Bernadette.” Matilda hurried around the counter to meet me at the door just as I was about to walk out. “I did hear Mac and Chuck arguing a couple of days ago. Mac told Chuck it was a done deal and things were going through as planned, because he’d owed someone some money, and his investment in the condos was his way of paying them back.”
“Mac owed someone money?” I asked to make sure I understood her correctly.
“Yeah. I thought he was loaded.” She laughed. “Can’t judge a book by its cover.” She winked. “Look at me. See ya.”
Gosh. Now I had more questions than I’d had before I went to bed. On one hand, I wanted to help Mac out so bad, but on the other, I was finding things out about him that made me wonder if I even knew him at all.
I pondered all the questions as I walked back to the post office with no answers to any of them.
Monica Reed was in the parking lot behind the post office.
“Good morning, Monica.” It was still super early for any of the mail carriers to get there, but Monica was the main clerk, and she was always here by four thirty a.m. “What’s going on?”
“I get to do a vehicle route today.” She was inspecting the vehicle to make sure nothing was wrong with it. It was something all the carriers who used a vehicle had to do after they swiped their time card. They would be checking for flat tires, leaks, any damage, and so forth.
