by CeeCee James
“Looks like Douglass Glass hasn’t receive any payments in the last few months.”
No payments? What? That didn’t sound like Tilly.
He handed me a paper and then left. His SUV spit up gravel as he backed out into the road. I glanced at the paper. It was an eviction notice.
The paper trembled in my hands, maybe catching a small breeze, but most likely from all the emotions coursing through my veins. Pam had once asked me what I’d been afraid of. Now my answer would be very different.
How was I going to tell Tilly? I could just imagine the conversation with my friend. Sure, Tilly. I’ll be happy to watch your daughter. Go on to Australia. In the meantime, your sweet cherub will dye her hair blue, someone will get murdered, and then I’ll get you evicted.
“That was weird,” AJ said from behind me.
I turned, surprised. I hadn’t heard him join us. “Why?”
“That was hokey as all get out. There’s no such thing as a special agent.”
“Are you sure?”
“Unless you count the fancy plastic badge you get at the bottom of Sugar Bear cereal, then, yes, I’m serious.”
Who was this guy snooping around my property then? “Do I take this seriously?”
He glanced at the paper. “That looks official. But I’m pretty sure you have some rights here.”
“I know we haven’t been late on payments.”
“You have a case then.” At that he gave a half grin, half grimace. “I’m sorry this happened, but take heart in knowing your goat had two beautiful kids. All are healthy and well.” He clapped my shoulder. “You need anything, let me know. In the meantime, take care of that kid over there.” He gestured to Emma who was sitting on the porch with her arm around Jasper and the most forlorn look on her face.
“Look, I don’t know what’s going on, but you have a witness. I heard him threatening you. Don’t let him scare you.”
“You’re right.” I answered. I’d get to the bottom of this one way or another.
“Come on. Bring little miss over there. Let’s go see a beautiful sight.”
I smiled at him and went to the porch to grab Emma’s hand. “It’s going to be okay, Emma. Don’t you worry.”
“Promise?” she asked.
I wasn’t going to let her down. “Promise.”
Her fingers clenched at my fingers in confidence. Hand in hand, we followed AJ back to the barn. I glanced behind me to see Jasper following as well.
When we entered, I could hear Daisy making a soft bleat. Excited, I let go of Emma’s hand and hustled over to the stall.
Momma goat stood in the clean straw, calmly chewing a mouthful of hay. On either side of her were two kids nursing. Both of the babies had their tails wiggling in circles.
“They’re standing!” I gasped.
“Yep! Pretty amazing, isn’t it?” AJ said, leaning against the stall door and smiling.
I couldn’t believe it. I’d never seen a baby animal before, with the exception of my friend’s puppy. “Look Emma!”
“Oh, they’re so cute! Freckles is going to be so happy when he sees them!”
Chapter 17
The next morning was another rerun, with getting everyone breakfast, including Emma. I crammed the dishes in the dishwasher (wincing at the clatter when I pushed the door shut) and then examined all the animal paraphernalia the vet had left me yesterday. Things for the goats for worms, vitamins, along with long dosing syringes. I shuddered. It could wait until evening, but I was not looking forward to it. AJ said there should be enough medicine here, but if I ran out I could pick up more at the Farm and Feed.
After getting Emma on the bus, I headed to work where Polly greeted me with her usual fluttering eyelashes and smiles from over her puzzle.
“You’re working on a new one!” I noted.
“Yeah, this one is supposed to be quite the brain buster.”
I wandered over to check it out and saw that all the pieces were white. “Er. There’s no picture?”
“Not this time. Like I said, a brain buster,” she said, snapping in a piece. “Maybe, when I’ve finished, I’ll draw a picture on top of it.”
“You couldn’t draw a candy cane on a Christmas tree,” said her sister as she came out of the back room. “Chelsea! I’m glad to see you. How are you doing? Better?”
The slight reference to my breakdown yesterday made me wince. I nodded and smiled.
“Great!” she answered. “Well, we’re going to be busy today. We just had a huge shipment of stuff from one of our local families. They’re having an estate sale. Can you help me set it up?”
Of course I could. It’s what I was being paid for. But I appreciated Pam’s relaxed managing style.
I was unboxing the items on a table near the front door when the bird bell above the door chirped, announcing an older couple as our newest customers.
The man caught sight of me and stared. I mean a full on stare, complete with a dropped jaw. He nudged his wife who didn’t understand what he meant. She turned in my direction with a casual smile. Her face paled, and she glanced at the man. Without a word, he made the sign of the cross, and then grasping his wife’s elbow, he steered her back out of the store.
What in the world? Was I that scary looking? Maybe it was the dark circles under my eyes. Heaven knows I was beyond exhausted. I pushed my hair back from my cheek. I only hoped that Pam and Polly hadn’t noticed. I couldn’t imagine I had much job security if my very looks were driving customers away.
I wasn’t sure what I could do about the exhaustion. Chores were piling up, especially with the addition of Jelly and Bean, our two baby goats. Not to mention the threat of eviction looming over my head.
Feeling a bit hopeless, I sighed and covered my face with an old magazine.
Breathe. I can get through this. I glanced at the magazine, an antique, and was immediately calmed by the cover scene.
It was of an old fashioned camper with two kids fishing in a river while the mom tended a smoldering campfire that had a pan sizzling over the top. I was reminded of the pond with a river down behind Tilly’s property. Sharon had said people went on fishing trips, and her nephew was the tour guide. I decided I might need to find him. Might be nice to get a little break, and I bet Emma would like it, too.
Pam returned with another box.
“Where did you say all of this come from? An estate sale?” I asked.
“This was from the mayor’s uncle, Henry McDaniel. Poor guy, the mayor can’t escape tragedy, it seems. The uncle died last month. He owned the used car lot down the way, along with a recreational vehicle site. It wasn’t unexpected, not exactly. After all, Henry was in his eighties and not in the best of heath. But still, I feel for Mayor McDaniel.”
“Aw, what happened to his uncle, if I can ask.”
“Had too many of those sneaky Petes.” Here Pam mimed taking a shot of alcohol. “Drove his boat straight out to sea in a storm.”
I shivered.
“Don’t know who’s going to take over his car business now. Was supposed to be his son.” Here Polly coughed from the counter and Pam shot me an anxious look.
“His son?”
“Clint McDaniel. The one who died at your place.”
I nodded. “Oh, geez.”
“Course, that man was up to no good.”
“Clint never was,” Polly agreed, back to snapping pieces into the puzzle. Her many rings glittered from the overhead light.
“No, he never was. He was a bear in high school before he disappeared.”
“I imagine Henry was happy to see him come back.”
“Probably one of the only ones. Course, he was his son, what do you expect?”
“I expect Henry had all of his fingers and toes crossed that Clint was back on the right road,” Pam said.
“You be careful,” Polly hissed as she glanced toward a customer in the back.
Pam shrugged casually even as her gaze darted back there. “What it’s tru
e,” she said, lower this time. “Don’t worry. They didn’t hear nothing.”
Polly watched her for a second more before turning back to me. “It’s the mayor that I worry about. Clint was his cousin.”
“They were close then?” I asked.
Her lips pressed together. “Closer than two fiends, and I mean that. But that was back in school. When Clint left, Mayor McDaniel got on the straight and narrow. Sometimes it takes that, separating from the ones that drag you down.”
“Why are people so afraid of him? The mayor, I mean.”
“Why do you think people are afraid?” Pam asked.
“Well, everyone keeps telling me I need to be nervous because Clint was found on my property. And then I got an eviction notice yesterday.”
“You did? You have it on you?”
I shook my head.
Pam straightened to her full height and puffed up her dark hair. “Well, Doug Glass owns that farm out there. And he’s our cousin. Why would he be evicting you?”
“The man said for late payments. But I know for a fact we weren’t.”
Polly rolled her eyes. “Doug Glass and Mayor McDaniel are poker buddies. Doug is a weak man. Always was. I remember he’d tattle on us as kids if we so much as snuck one piece of candy. Doug never could stand up to anything stronger than a cow sneeze, I swear. No constitution.” She patted my arm. “I still got some sway with that man. He better figure this out or there won’t be any Thanksgiving at our home this year.”
After finishing the display, the rest of the morning was pretty mundane and concerned dusting shelves and running laundry through the machines. That’s okay. I needed something chill. My mind was already running full speed thinking about the meeting I had at lunch time with Emma’s teacher, David Frank.
The time came all too quickly, and I soon found myself in a school hallway that was longer than any elementary school hallway had a right to be. All the doors were covered in cute posters, with the teachers’ names above the doors in colorful cartoon bubble letters. I could hear kids laughing from the direction that scents of pizza and fish sticks wafted from. I assumed it was the cafeteria.
I located Mr. Davis’s room and knocked.
“Come in,” called a pleasant voice. It wasn’t too deep—soft in the way you want bedtime stories to be read in.
I poked my head in. “Hi, there. I’m Chelsea Lawson. We have a meeting scheduled?”
“Hi! You came at the perfect time.” A man about my age rose from behind the desk and strode over, hand extended. He had on a brown jacket over a t-shirt, in a mixture of professional and casual. And a definite mustache. Emma had that detail right. “I’ve heard a lot about you!”
“Oh, really?” I could only wonder what he’d heard.
“All good things, I promise. Did you have a chance to have lunch yet?”
“No, not yet. You?”
“Just finished. Peanut butter and jelly.” He sheepishly smiled. “I was running a little late this morning and had to go with the basics.”
“I hear you,” I said as I looked around. The classroom walls were plastered with cut-out colorful leaves, pencils, books, and balloons. There was a chart with gold stars on it by the door. As I went to examine it, a ruffly noise near my elbow made me jump.
On the other side of the door was a huge cage. Inside were two guinea pigs.
Mr. Davis laughed. “Those are our class babies. The kids take turns keeping them clean and giving them attention.” He smiled at me. “Now, how about if you join me over here and let me get to the point.”
He indicated one of the low plastic chairs surrounding a table. I instantly recoiled. He wanted me to sit in that? With an uneasy glance that brought visions of Goldilocks running amok and breaking other people’s chairs, I gingerly lowered myself into the seat. I was overwhelmed with gratitude when the chair held.
Mr. Davis didn’t seem to think it was weird that an adult was sitting in a kid’s chair, but he didn’t join me. Instead, he perched on the edge of his desk and folded his hands together. “So, I heard that Emma’s mom is out of town?”
I nodded. He was probably concerned with the blue hair.
“Well, she’s been talking a lot about a friend that lives at her house. A Mr. Freckles.”
Oh, dear. This was about him. Invisible friends was still uncharted territory for me.
“And with what recently happened,”—here his mouth pulled into a frown—“I wanted to check in with you and see how she is really doing.”
“Oh, surprisingly, she’s fine.” I remembered the blue hair. “I’m sure her hair was a shocker, but she did it for fun.”
He laughed in a way that was meant to put me at ease. “Oh, that’s fine. We see that all the time. So her concentration is okay? She’s eating well? Sleeping normally?”
I nodded. “As far as I can tell, she seems happy and content. Spunky, even. How is she doing in the classroom?”
“Emma is her usual precocious self. I don’t see anything to be worried about, other than the mention of Freckles. It’s really not that big of a deal. Kids have imaginary friends all the time. It’s better for them if we don’t focus too much attention on them. I only brought it up as a concern in regards to what happened at your place. Especially since she doesn’t have her mom.”
“Right. Well, I’m on it. Her mom will be home soon as well.”
“Okay, sounds good. If you need any help, please give me a call.” With that, he stood up and leaned over his desk to rifle in a drawer. He came back with paper and a pen. Quickly, he scribbled something down. “Here’s my number. Call me any time.”
I tried to stand up, a little mortified at how my knees creaked. “Thank you,” I said, first brushing my hair behind my ear and then accepting it.
“So, you’re new in town,” he started again, this time his voice a bit deeper.
I jerked my gaze up to him. His tone had changed from professional to friendly. Extra friendly.
“Yes. I like it here.”
“Well, if you ever need a tour guide, I’m usually free. Maybe we could have lunch sometime, and I could show you around.”
“Oh, that’s awfully kind of you. I’m not sure when I’ll have time. I mean, I’m the babysitter for Emma, and my car is acting up.” I said, trying to figure out if etiquette was being breached.
“Sure. Of course. Bring her along.”
“Bring her?” I said.
“Why not? It’s just a friendly neighborly thing, and after all, I’m her favorite teacher.” He grinned, raising an eyebrow. Surprisingly, his comment didn’t sound as creepy as it was worded. In fact, for the first time in a while, I felt like maybe I might find my people in this new town after all.
“Oh! A fellow eyebrow archer,” I sparred back, lifting my own.
“Yeah, watch this. I can do two at the same time,” he said and then made a silly face with both eyebrows up.
“What a coincidence! Me too!” I imitated him, and we laughed.
“See, I told you we were kindred souls.”
I laughed.
“About that lunch?” he hinted.
I wasn’t sure what I wanted my answer to be. The bell rang then, signaling the end of recess. Saved by the bell.
“Not to mention,” he continued. “I know where the best car mechanic is. And by best, I mean cheap.”
I grinned. “We’ll see,” I said before heading out.
As I walked down the hallway, dodging little kids all about armpit height, I did have to ask myself. Did I really want to be saved by the bell?
Chapter 18
As I left the store, my car did that funny rattle again. I rolled my eyes and decided to keep ignoring it and call the Farm and Feed. I wanted to find out what happened to Sam and if he was okay.
“Farm and Feed,” a woman answered.
“I just wanted to say thank you for the delivery. Was the delivery made by Sam?”
“It was. He said he was so sorry but the first time he came by
your place he had a medical emergency and needed to go straight home.”
“Oh, no! Is he okay?”
“Yeah.” There was a pregnant pause, and then the clerk continued. “He’s a dependable worker but he has epilepsy. When he says he’s not well, we listen.”
Poor guy. He came by and had to leave. It was just a fluke in timing.
“He’s better now, I hope.”
“He is, although he’s taking some time off with the passing of Clint. They used to be high school buddies, and he’s taking it hard. I’ll pass your concern on to him.”
“Yes, thank you so much.”
“Okay then. Terrific. If there is anything else we can do to help, please let us know.”
I said goodbye and ended the call. Then I glanced at the time. Emma was due home in a couple of hours. I had time to stop at the store and then the post office. I could use Mom’s care package, that was for sure.
Family Grocery was busier than I expected. I found a spot to park in the back, grabbed one of the last baskets (an old rickety one with three working wheels and one wonky rebel) and headed inside.
I didn’t need much. Some more Noodle O’s, and some fresh fruit. And oddly, some dog food. Tilly had said the bag would last until she got back, but Jasper was so hungry, I wasn’t so sure. Those eyes of his… I couldn’t refuse him.
I brought my full basket to the check-stand and loaded the items onto the conveyer belt. There was only one checker. A huge line grew behind me, and I was grateful I’d gotten there when I did.
The checker was a young man who did not look well. He was pale, with thinning hair and puckered lips like he’d just taken a gulp of lemonade with no sugar. He sighed when he saw me and slowly began ringing my items up.
“Are you the new girl out at Tilly Miller’s place?” he drawled out.
I didn’t know where this was going and gave a hesitant nod.
“You know, I heard that a man died out at your place.” His voice raised with each word until I was certain the people at the end of the line could hear him.
“Yes, it was very sad,” I whispered, hoping to give him a hint.
