A Roux of Revenge

by Connie Archer

  Bradley was approaching from the direction of the horse fence, pushing the young man forward. His wrists were secured behind his back.

  Nate called out, “Put him in the car, Bradley. We’re taking him to the station.”

  “Hey,” Ernie shouted. “You can’t do that. We need all the help we can get here.”

  Lucky saw the tall violinist on stage turn slightly to watch as Bradley walked his charge to the cruiser. The man caught the eye of the keyboardist and indicated with a subtle nod of his head the action occurring in the parking lot. Lucky turned to watch. In the parking lot Bradley opened the rear door of the cruiser and, placing his hand on the head of the young man, pushed him into the police vehicle. No one on stage changed their positions or their expressions, but Lucky was certain every one of the musicians was aware of the young man’s capture.

  “Are you arresting him, Nate?” Remy asked.

  “I’ll let you know if I charge him with anything. Right now I just want to talk to him, find out why he tried to run.”

  Another man with weathered skin approached from the open field and walked in their direction. Ignoring Nate, he spoke directly to Ernie. “I’m planning on harvesting that corn before the week is out.”

  “You can’t do that. Not now,” Ernie shouted. “This festival runs till Halloween. The kids have to have the corn maze.”

  “I told you before, Ernie. I couldn’t promise I’d hold off all week. I gotta harvest that corn now.”

  Ernie’s face grew red. “Like hell! You told me you could wait till after Halloween. I put up ropes and everything.”

  “They can have their corn maze; I’ll hold off on that section till later. But I can’t have anybody in there or anywhere around when we come through with the combine. You know that, Ernie.”

  “Damn it. You said you were gonna wait.”

  “I said I’d try. And I have waited. I can’t wait anymore. We’re gonna go through that field in a few days—very early at first light. Just you make sure no one’s around when we do. I don’t want any accidents. Besides, you told me you were gonna fence off that area, and you didn’t do it. We agreed on a temporary fence, not stakes and ropes.”

  “What are you talking about? I never said that. That’s not part of our deal.”

  “Like hell, Ernie White. It may not be written in the contract, but you gave me your word. Don’t ask me to trust you next time you want to use my property.”

  “There won’t be a next time,” Ernie snarled. “I’ll find another field.”

  “Fine by me.” The man turned and headed back toward the cornfield. “You got today and two more days and then we’re going through that corn,” he shouted over his shoulder.

  Ernie fumed. “Son of a . . .” He muttered under his breath.

  “Watch it,” Nate said. “There are ladies here.” Nate had remained silent during the exchange between Ernie and the farmer. “And I want to see you first thing tomorrow at the station with your employment records and proof of insurance. And make sure you provide home addresses for all these people you hire and a list of the farmers’ and vendors’ concessions. You got that?”

  Ernie looked furious but didn’t say a word. If it was possible, his face grew redder and a vein throbbed in his forehead. He took a deep breath and made a conscious effort to quell his temper. “Sure thing, Nate,” he said through gritted teeth. “Not a problem.” Ernie stormed away in the direction of the vegetable sellers.

  Remy looked as if he wanted to say something to Janie, but she had taken no notice of him. “I’ll see you all later,” he said. “I better lend a hand with the horses.” He hurried away toward the corral.

  “Ladies,” Nate said, “it’s been a delight.” He smiled and headed toward the cruiser where Bradley waited, his prisoner locked in the back.

  Sophie squeezed Lucky’s arm to get her attention. Janie was white as a sheet, still staring at the man playing the violin.

  “Janie, are you okay?” Lucky asked.

  “No,” she replied angrily. “I’m not okay. That man is a . . . traveler. I heard all about them in town.” She turned to Lucky, a stricken look on her face. “How awful is that? My father is a homeless man. And my mother slept with him!” she cried.

  Sophie’s eyes grew wide, shocked at the meaning of Janie’s words.

  Lucky placed her free arm around Janie’s shoulders. Her whole body was trembling.

  Janie turned back to look at the stage. Her face shifted as realization dawned. “Oh no,” she whispered. “Was my mother one of them?”

  Lucky opened her mouth to speak, wanting to be honest, but unsure what to say. Miriam would have to be the one to reach her daughter. If only Janie would break down and talk to her.

  Hot tears spilled down Janie’s cheeks. “Please, can we go? I don’t want to stay here. I don’t want anything to do with these people . . . these gypsies.” She spat out the words. She pulled away from Lucky and ran toward the parking lot.

  Lucky sighed and turned to Sophie. “Let’s go. I think we just made a bad thing worse.”

  Chapter 21

  SOPHIE SLOWED TO a stop in front of the Spoonful. They had ridden back in complete silence. Janie sat in the backseat, her cheek pressed against the glass staring up at the sky. She looked completely miserable. Sophie was confused but careful not to ask any questions. Lucky was forced to remain silent, unable to offer any information to Sophie or solace to Janie without risking another outburst. As soon as the car came to a stop, Janie jumped out and headed inside the restaurant to return to work. She hadn’t spoken a word since leaving the festival.

  “Well, that went well,” Sophie remarked.

  Lucky sighed. “No good deed . . . as they say.”

  “Uh, can you fill me in?” Sophie drummed her fingers against the steering wheel impatiently. “What was all that about?”

  Lucky closed her eyes and leaned back against the headrest. “I’ll give you the broad strokes, but you have to promise never to tell this to anyone, even Sage, and you can’t let Janie know I’ve told you.”

  “It’s a deal,” Sophie replied.

  Lucky conveyed the gist of Janie’s dilemma in a few short sentences. When she had finished, Sophie let out a low whistle. “Well, that must have been a shock to the poor kid.”

  “It was . . . it is. However, she’s sleeping on my sofa, and I’d really like to see her make it up with her mother and go home. I thought today might cheer her up a bit. Boy, was I wrong!”

  “Well, that’s no reason for her to act like a total little brat, especially where you’re concerned.”

  “She’s a good kid, Sophie. She’s just had a big shock, and she’s so young she doesn’t have any experience of real life or what can happen to people—people like her mother. Miriam’s the one I feel bad for. I’m sure this is breaking her heart. Her whole life’s revolved around that girl. She must feel like she’s been kicked in the stomach.”

  “Frankly, I don’t know what she’s so upset about. I would have traded my whole family any day for a tribe of travelers. I used to dream about running away with the circus when I was thirteen.”

  Lucky laughed. “You think you’d trade ’em in. But trust me, you wouldn’t.”

  Sophie grew still for a moment. “Speaking of trading in . . .” She looked carefully at Lucky. “What you were telling me last night about Elias? There might be something to it.”

  Lucky felt a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. “What are you talking about?”

  “A couple of little birdies have been chirping in my ear.”

  Lucky waited, her heart beating heavily. This was not going to be good news.

  “The word is that you and Elias have broken up and that he’s seeing the new doctor at the Clinic.”

  “Whaaat?” Lucky said. “Where did you hear that?”

  “One of the bartenders at the Lodge saw them having dinner last night. They seemed very cozy.”

  “Last night?” The night that Elias said
he had other plans. The night he didn’t come with her to Sophie’s. “So who said we were breaking up?”

  “I can’t remember, Lucky.” Sophie looked apologetic.

  “Come on, Sophie. Of course you can remember.”

  “No. Honestly. It was really thirdhand. And where it originally came from, I don’t know. I think it was one of the waitresses from the Resort who’s friendly with a woman who’s a patient at the Clinic, who heard something from someone there.” Sophie held up her hands in surrender. “That’s it. That’s all I know.”

  Lucky bit her lip. “If that’s true, it might have been decent of him to at least let me know.” A heavy feeling settled in her chest. She felt as if the world she knew was spinning around too fast.

  Sophie reached over and grasped her hand. “Look, maybe it’s not at all true. You know how rumors start. Everyone in this town is so damn nosy. Maybe somebody noticed an attractive woman working there and jumped to conclusions. It could be as simple and as stupid as that.”

  “Or not.” Lucky could barely choke out the words. She felt hot angry tears forming.

  Sophie hit her in the shoulder. “Cut it out. It’s not true unless it comes from the horse’s mouth. I know what I’d do. I’d march myself right over there and get in his face and ask him point blank what’s going on.”

  “I can’t do that.”

  “Oh, you have too much pride, I suppose? Well, it’s a better idea than imagining the worst and suffering in silence.”

  “But what if it is true? What is there to say? I’m in love with Elias, have been for months, maybe my whole life, and he’s falling for somebody else? Sophie, she’s a doctor! She’s probably brilliant. She’s gorgeous. How could I ever compete with that? What do I do? I run a restaurant for heaven’s sake!” Lucky felt her face burning.

  “Don’t you dare put yourself down!” Sophie shouted. “I’ll slap you silly. I swear I will. You’re an amazing person. You’re beautiful too, just in a different way. You have a heart as big as the world. You’ve helped so many people, and you have so much to offer as a person.” Sophie heaved a great sigh. “And if it’s true, I’ll kick his butt and tell him exactly what an idiot I think he is.”

  Lucky snuffled back tears. “I have to get back to work. Jack’ll be wondering what happened to me.” She reached down and lifted the heavy pumpkin onto her lap.

  “Don’t forget what I just said. Otherwise, I’ll have to paint it on the front window of the Spoonful so you’ll see it every day and not forget.”

  Lucky laughed in spite of herself. “Thanks for saying all that. I appreciate it. I really do, but I have to get back.” She leaned over and hugged Sophie. Fighting off a heavy feeling of misery, Lucky climbed out of the car and waved as Sophie drove away.

  Chapter 22

  “I WASN’T TRYING to keep you out of the loop, Jack.” The Spoonful was closed for the night, and Lucky wanted to fill her grandfather in on everything she knew. She had no desire to betray Miriam or Janie, but Jack had certainly noticed the changes in Janie’s behavior, and it was obvious to him that Miriam and Janie were not on good terms. He needed to hear everything, if only to be on the alert. Lucky wasn’t entirely sure that the man who watched the restaurant was really Janie’s father. Miriam had never identified him. It was only Janie’s opinion that the man in her mother’s photo was the same man who had been watching from across the street. Miriam had received a forget-me-not in her mailbox, but that wasn’t actual proof that the person who left it and the man who was watching Janie was Eamon MacDougal. And if he wasn’t Eamon, what was his motive for hanging around and keeping the restaurant under observation?

  “Janie is upset. I guess she’s angry and ashamed. And Miriam told me everything in confidence. She’s the one I worry about more; she’s a complete wreck right now.” Lucky passed the sugar bowl to Jack and watched as he stirred a tiny spoonful into his mug of tea. “So now you know everything I know.”

  “I’m glad you’re not keeping any secrets. That could be dangerous.”

  “And I am worried about Janie. She doesn’t seem to be handling this any better. I thought after a few days she’d calm down and reconcile with her mother, but she just seems to be more entrenched in her anger. Besides . . .” Lucky smiled. “I sure would like to get my apartment back to normal.”

  “She’s young. She’ll get over it. Don’t forget, she’s just lost her father. I mean the man she thought was her father, so that’s a part of it too.”

  “You’re right.”

  “I do have a question though,” Jack said. “Is Miriam sure that man we’ve seen across the street is Janie’s father?”

  “That’s exactly what I’ve been wondering. Miriam seems sure. But what evidence does she have? She says when she found the flower in her mailbox, she knew right away he was here in Snowflake. It was something very significant to them when they were young. So to answer your question, unless Miriam actually sees him and talks to him, which she doesn’t want to do, we won’t know for sure that the man hanging around is Janie’s father. Although there is a resemblance between him and Janie. By the way, his name is Eamon MacDougal.”

  “Might be a relative of his?” Jack speculated.

  “Could be. Even assuming the guy we’ve seen is Eamon, we still don’t know anything about him. The man Miriam knew when she was young could have changed. How do we know he isn’t the killer of our mystery man?”

  “We don’t. We don’t know anything. I’m not willing to trust him, even if he fesses up to being Janie’s father,” Jack said. “Not until Miriam sees him and says it’s him.”

  “Too bad he wasn’t hanging around when Miriam came in a couple of days ago to talk to Janie. We know he’s working at the festival, he’s a musician and he’s a traveler, but I have a sneaky suspicion he’s around a lot more than we realize. If he really is Janie’s father, then I can understand it at least. If he’s not, then in my opinion, his motives are definitely sinister.”

  Lucky nervously fidgeted with the salt and pepper shakers on the table. “And the man who was shot to death may have no connection to the group that’s here now. Just because he has a false ID, doesn’t mean he’s a traveler. He could be on the run. He could have been the inside man at that robbery, the one who disappeared. And whoever shot him could be the guy who took off with the cash.”

  “Or the other way around. If one guy took off with the cash, maybe he didn’t share the loot. And maybe the guy on the inside was after him. We could guess till the cows come home, but it’s all speculation. Why don’t we talk about what’s really been on your mind these last few days?”

  Lucky blushed furiously. “You don’t miss much, do you?”

  “Nope,” Jack replied. “Keepin’ watch from the fo’castle is part of my job. Where’s Elias been?”

  Lucky shrugged. “I don’t really know. I haven’t heard from him.”

  Jack waited while Lucky struggled with how much to tell her grandfather. “We had an argument, I guess you’d call it. You know he hired a new doctor?”

  Jack nodded. “I heard.”

  “She . . . I met her at the Clinic. She’s very beautiful, and I think she’s making a play for Elias.”

  “So? The world’s full of beautiful women. I’m sure lots of ’em have been taken with him. And by the way go have a look in the mirror if you’re feelin’ wobbly.”

  “I don’t feel wobbly!” she exclaimed.

  Jack raised an eyebrow. “Coulda fooled me.”

  “All right.” Lucky sulked. “I feel wobbly. I feel threatened. I feel jealous. Happy now that I’ve admitted it?” she replied grumpily.

  “That’s a start.”

  Lucky took a deep breath. “I’m sorry. Didn’t mean to bite your head off. I know you’re just trying to help. It’s just . . . Elias was worried that I would be upset. He wanted to tell me that he had had a relationship with this Paula . . . whatever her name is . . . years ago. He wanted me to know, and he said he didn’t want it to i
nterfere with our relationship.”

  “That sounds pretty straight to me.” Jack took a sip of his tea. “But you don’t buy it.”

  “It’s not that. I think he meant what he said at the time. But I got really upset because he had never mentioned this relationship before. And then to go and hire her to work at the Clinic. I just don’t get it. They split up because she didn’t want a small town practice, and now she’s supposedly changed her mind? I kinda lost my temper and wanted to storm out of the Pub.”

  “Hmmm.” Jack ruminated for a moment. “Hope you didn’t give him a right hook.” Jack was referring to the time she had broken the nose of an elementary school bully. Jack had nicknamed her Lucky after his favorite Navy boxer, Virgil Lukorsky. The nickname immediately stuck until eventually only her mother called her Letitia, her given name. Jack had always been very proud of her pugilistic abilities. “Sounds like he just wanted to clear the decks and be honest with you. And he must’ve meant what he said—that he didn’t want anything to come between the two of you.”

  “Sometimes I feel stupid that I reacted like I did. But to make matters worse, she’s staying at his place until she can find something on her own, and the night I was looking for Janie I saw a strange car parked in his driveway.”

  “He told you this? Or are you just jumping to conclusions?”

  “He did. He told me himself.”

  “If that’s the case, I can see why that’d make you uncomfortable. So what happened after that night at the Pub?”

  “Nothing. Absolutely nothing. I think he’s angry at me, and he thinks I’m an idiot. He couldn’t make it to Sophie’s with me. I just found out he was out to dinner with Paula.”

  “Then it’s time to go after him. Fight for what you want, my girl.”

  “Easier said than done, Jack. I have no idea how to do that.”

  Chapter 23