by Lyndsey Cole
Dusty’s gaze darted between Annie and Jason. “Why all the questions?” He pulled his hand from Annie’s grasp and took a step away from her but her hand darted out and held his arm.
“Why did you go to Christy’s house?” she demanded to know, staring into his intense green eyes.
Dusty leaned into Annie’s face and she jerked backward. “She has something I want.” He held her gaze before spinning on his heels and hustling toward the pub.
“Geez, Annie,” Jason said. “Now he’ll have you in his crosshairs along with the rest of that gang working at the pub.”
“What do you mean?”
“Come on, Annie,” Jason said with frustration lacing his voice. “Samantha told you she’s worried about Christy throwing suspicion for Eddie’s murder in her direction. Samantha and Kyle are living together. Now, this Dusty creep says the owner of the pub asked him to come to town to help out right after Eddie showed up? Don’t you think they might all be connected to Eddie’s murder somehow?”
Annie shrugged. “Maybe.” She started walking without looking at Jason. She could feel his eyes boring into her. Waiting.
“You should tell all this to Tyler.”
Annie’s mud boots clomped on the sidewalk.
“I already told him that Samantha said Christy stole something from Eddie when she left and that’s why he came to town. To try to trade her dog Blue, for whatever it was she stole.”
Jason let out a long breath of air. “Of course you would tell him before you told me.” Jason stopped walking. “I’m not feeling up to helping scoop ice cream. I’m going back to my house. Can you get a ride home?”
Harry’s car slowly made its way down Main Street with Charlie squawking trick-or-treat over and over. The happy babble of kids following the car drifted toward Annie’s ears but she didn’t even notice.
“I’ll find a ride home,” she finally said in barely a whisper. She quickly wiped a tear from her cheek so Jason wouldn’t see, even though he was already walking in the opposite direction, back to his car.
Annie watched him disappear into the crowd, mentally kicking herself for being such a fool. She didn’t want Jason to worry about her. That was the only reason she didn’t share every detail, she told herself. Of course he would think she still had feelings for Tyler.
The high school marching band followed behind the trick-or-treaters. The leader was dressed in a clown costume, prancing and waving her baton to the beat of the big drums. It should have made Annie feel nostalgic and happy with her memories of being younger and marching down main street all those years ago, but all she felt was an emptiness—a small lonely island in the middle of the noise, music and laughter.
She felt an arm around her shoulder, startling her out of her funk. “Why aren’t you at the café helping Leona?” She heard Camilla’s cheery voice.
“I’m on my way,” Annie answered as she noticed Camilla was not alone.
Camilla introduced Annie to Dusty Reed, unaware of the fact that Annie and Dusty had met only minutes earlier.
Dusty nodded his head, but said nothing. Annie forced a smile.
Camilla chattered away, walking between Annie and Dusty as they all headed to the Black Cat Café. When Camilla paused to breathe, Dusty said to Annie, “This is quite a Halloween event here in your quaint little town.”
“Yes, it is. We tend to do all the holidays up into something special. Halloween is one of my favorites. Except this year,” she added.
“Oh, why is that?” Camilla asked, almost jogging on her high heels to keep up with Annie’s quick pace.
Annie glanced at Camilla, then Dusty. “Ah, you know. The other night?”
Camilla’s hand went to her mouth. “Oh, wasn’t that just awful? That poor guy murdered by the lake. He wasn’t even from around here. Now, who would do something like that?”
Annie felt her mouth twitch up slightly. Leave it to Camilla to put all the cards right out there on the table. “Yes. Exactly what I was thinking, Camilla. Who would do something like that?” She leaned forward to look in front of Camilla toward Dusty. “What do you think about this tragedy?”
His mouth opened, closed, and opened again. “I don’t know,” he managed to stutter in response.
Camilla jabbed him in the side with her elbow. “Aw, come on Dusty, you told me you came here because of Eddie. You wanted to have a beer with him but he was already dead. Or something like that.”
“That’s interesting, Dusty,” Annie said. “And what were you two going to chit chat about?”
Dusty reached to open the door of the café, stepping back so Annie and Camilla could enter first. “Just old times when we were at the Mixed Drinks Bartender School together. I did see him sitting at the bar, but we never got a chance to talk.”
Leona glared at Annie as she entered the café. Her angry face, plus her warty nose and witch hat, made Annie pause. Leona threw an apron to Annie. “It’s about time you showed up. Where’s Jason? I thought he was going to help too.”
“Something came up. Are you here alone?” Annie looked around at all the caramel apples lined up on the counter, trays of cookies covered with plastic, and the ice cream cooler humming.
“Your mother isn’t feeling well, Danny had to work late at the Harper House and, well, Martha is tooting around with Harry in the parade. Yeah, I’m alone.”
Camilla, still in her painter outfit from earlier in the day, grabbed a couple of aprons. “We can help.”
Leona looked at Camilla as if she was seeing her for the first time, then smiled at the handsome face behind her. “And who do you have with you, Camilla?”
“Oh, this is Dusty. We were stopping here for some ice cream, but we can pitch in if you want us to.” She looked at Dusty. “Is that okay with you?”
He shrugged, obviously not sure what he was getting himself involved in but wanting to please Camilla.
“Okay then. You two scoop the ice cream while Annie and I hand out the caramel apples and sugar cookies.” She gave Dusty a once over with her eyes. “Not bad, but you need a costume to fit in with the rest of us.” She handed Dusty a witch hat. “This will have to do.”
Kids began to stream through the door as soon as Annie pulled her straw hat over her strawberry blond curls. Leona cackled and held a caramel apple toward a young girl dressed like a princess. She wouldn’t take the treat.
Annie bent down to the girl’s eye-level and whispered in her ear. The little girl smiled and let Annie hand her the treat.
“Nice one, farmer girl,” Leona said and winked at Annie. “You definitely have the touch with kids.”
Leona stopped cackling and instead pasted a friendly smile on her face. Costumed kids stared at the caramel apples with big round eyes, carefully carrying their treat to sit outside at a table with their parents. A long line was forming at the ice cream window, keeping Camilla and Dusty busy.
Annie’s initial negative feeling toward Dusty was melting slightly as she watched him work easily with Camilla. He smiled at her often and acted comfortable around her and the customers. Had she misjudged him earlier?
The next face that appeared in the window shocked Annie. Christy reached in and tapped Dusty on the arm. Annie saw his jaw clench and he gave a slight, almost imperceptible shake of his head. Christy frowned. What was she doing at the ice cream window?
Chapter 14
Annie snuck a cookie for herself before she pushed the tray closer to Leona. “I’ll be right back.” She ignored Leona’s protest and headed outside to find Christy.
The tables were full with parents eating ice cream and kids getting sticky from their caramel apples. What a mess. Annie found Christy hunched over the railing, gazing out at the lake.
“Couldn’t stand it in your house any longer?” Annie asked, standing next to Christy.
Christy’s lip puckered up on one side. “That’s an understatement. I’m used to being on the go all the time. I wore a path on the hardwood floor with all the pacing back
and forth. The dogs even gave up on me taking them outside for a walk.”
Without turning to face Christy, Annie asked, “So, what’s going on with you and Dusty Reed?”
“Nothing,” Christy said but her voice hesitated.
“I don’t believe you. Is he stalking you? Harassing you?”
Christy turned to face Annie and grabbed both of Annie’s arms, snarling between clenched teeth. “Listen, and listen carefully. You don’t want to get involved in this. I told you before; I’ve got it covered. Now, butt out! For your own good.”
Annie’s mouth fell open and she shook Christy’s hands off her arms. “You just answered that question whether you realize it or not. Now tell me this—is Camilla in danger by dating him?”
“What? Tell Camilla to stay as far away as possible.” Christy returned to her lake-gazing position but Annie saw her jaw muscles clenching and unclenching rapidly.
Back in the café, Leona was on the last tray of caramel apples and Annie could tell she was having trouble keeping up the friendly chatter with the kids.
“Take a break, I’ll finish here,” Annie told Leona.
“Thanks.” Leona lifted her witch hat and ran her fingers through her hair. “I didn’t expect this to be more tiring than serving the regular customers. I’m beat. Hey,” she elbowed Annie in the side. “What’s the story with Camilla and her hot date?”
Annie shrugged. “I’m not sure. He’s part of the group that knew Eddie, and he showed up at Christy’s house. Christy just about bit my head off when I asked her about him.” Annie watched Camilla and Dusty bump and jostle each other as they scooped the last of the ice cream.
“He looks harmless enough,” Leona said. “Unless being too handsome is a risk factor.”
“Who’s too handsome?” a voice asked behind Leona.
Annie laughed and watched some red creep up Leona’s neck. “Hey Danny, nice timing. Leona was just telling me that baby Claire is smitten with your handsome face.” Annie said, covering for Leona.
Leona laughed nervously. “Yep. I don’t like having any competition but I guess I could think about sharing you with that adorable baby girl.”
Danny took one of the last caramel apples off the tray and looped his arm through Leona’s. “Join me outside, my sexy witch?”
Only a couple of kids were still waiting for a treat. A little girl dressed in jeans and cowboy boots with blond curls spilling from under a cowboy hat several sizes too big, and a boy a couple of years older, wearing a blue shirt with a badge pinned on his chest.
“Where’s your pony?” Annie asked the little girl.
“He’s tied up outside. Can I take an apple for him, too?”
Annie’s eyes widened. “Really? Your pony’s outside? I’d love to see him.”
The adorable girl slipped her tiny hand into Annie’s hand. “Come on. His name is Amigo. My name’s Sally.” She looked up at Annie with dark blue eyes. “Amigo means friend. He’s my best friend. Do you have a best friend?”
Annie nodded. “Yes, I do as a matter of fact. Her name is Roxy … my dog.” Annie realized it was only partly true what she told Sally. Roxy was her best four-legged friend, but Jason was her true best friend and she had to fix what she broke earlier. Of course, Jason had every right to be upset, even angry that Annie shared more with Tyler about what was going on with Christy than she told Jason.
Annie picked up the last caramel apple, set the empty tray down on the counter and followed the cowgirl outside to a table with a young couple, but no pony.
“Mommy, she brought out an apple for Amigo.”
Sally’s mom rolled her eyes and smiled sheepishly at Annie. Sally picked up a stuffed pony at least half as big as she was. She hugged him to her chest, whispered something in his ear and then handed him to Annie.
Annie squatted down to Sally’s level. She gently accepted Amigo and stroked his soft covering.
“He’s the most beautiful pony I’ve ever seen,” Annie told Sally. Her eyes lit up like the fourth of July. “I think this apple might be too sweet for him, though. Maybe your mom or dad would like to have it.”
“Okay,” Sally said and handed the apple to her mom. “Amigo already ate tonight anyway.”
Annie felt the corners of her mouth twitch up but managed to stay serious. “Yes, too much food and Amigo might get a tummy ache.” Annie handed Amigo back to Sally. “Thank you so much for introducing us. He sure is special.”
Sally’s mom silently mouthed a ‘thank you’ to Annie as Sally climbed into her lap.
“Next time you come to the café, you can meet my dog, Roxy. She likes cowgirls.”
Sally rested her head against her mom’s shoulder and clutched Amigo tightly. “Does Roxy like ponies?”
Annie patted Sally’s head. “Of course she does.”
Annie said goodbye and hustled back into the café. No more kids, but Tyler was helping himself to a handful of orange frosted sugar pumpkin cookies.
“Hey! Those are for the trick-or-treaters,” Annie scolded.
“I’m in my costume,” Tyler sputtered with crumbs flying in every direction. After he swallowed and brushed the stray crumbs from the corner of his mouth, he continued, “What’s Christy doing here?”
“Cabin fever. Big time. She almost bit my head off earlier.”
Tyler’s forehead creased. “Any particular reason?”
Annie busied herself cleaning up the empty trays and motioned for Tyler to follow her to the sink. With her voice low she said, “I asked her about Dusty Reed since Camilla’s out with him tonight.”
“And?”
“And, I got nothing but a big earful to back off and tell Camilla to stay as far away from him as possible.”
“Interesting. I’ve been doing some background checks and I can’t find a thing about Dusty Reed. He was a late signup for the Mixed Drinks Bartender School class that Eddie was enrolled in, but no information before that.”
Annie finished rinsing the trays. “Do you think it’s a false identity?”
“That’s my first assumption. But why? What could he be hiding?”
“Is there any information on the disk from Eddie’s computer?” Annie leaned against the sink waiting for Tyler’s response.
“I wasn’t going to tell you this but,” Tyler crunched his lips together, “here’s the thing. I put a tracking device on Eddie’s computer. Just in case.”
Annie’s eyes widened.
“It’s still in Christy’s house.”
“That can’t be,” Annie said, shaking her head to reinforce her puzzlement. “I saw someone in Christy’s house. Jason was with us too.”
“You may have seen someone, but that person didn’t take the computer.”
“Are you going to tell Christy about this?”
Tyler looked away. “This is so hard. I like Christy, but I have to put my job and the safety of the community first. She needs to tell me why she staged the theft. I want her to start sharing information with me, but so far, she’s been a closed book. Not just closed, but slammed shut and locked inside a big vault.”
“Huh. This makes no sense.” Annie looked outside and watched Dusty and Camilla standing close together at the railing, not too far from Christy. “Maybe Camilla can get information from Dusty. She’s good at that.”
Annie pulled Tyler outside. “Camilla, thanks for helping out tonight. Did you try the pumpkin ice cream?”
Camilla quickly pulled her hand from Dusty’s. “It was hard not to.” She sucked on her bottom lip. “Yup, delicious.”
Annie noticed Christy keeping her eyes on Dusty during the conversation. She moved slightly to block Christy’s view. If Christy wanted to be part of the conversation, she could join them; otherwise, as far as Annie was concerned, Christy could butt out.
“How long will you be in town, Dusty?” Annie asked, putting her arm on Camilla’s shoulder.
In typical Camilla fashion, she started to jabber all the information she had already pu
lled from Dusty. “Oh, he’s working on a project and just loves Catfish Cove. Right, Dusty?” She continued without giving him any time to respond. “He’s staying for as long as needed. And he was fortunate to know the owner of the Catfish Cove Pub and fills in as bartender when needed.” Camilla looked at Dusty through her long lashes.
“Interesting,” Annie said, tilting her head to one side. “Tyler and I would love to hear what sort of project it is.”
Dusty looked between Annie and Tyler. “Well—” he started, but was interrupted before he could say anything more.
“You need to come with me,” Christy grabbed Dusty’s arm and pulled him away from the others.
“What the heck?” Camilla said, staring at the disappearing backside of her date. She dug around in her big purse. “At least he gave me his cell phone number. It’s in here somewhere.”
Camilla pulled out a business card triumphantly. “Ta-da. He’s getting a piece of my mind for leaving me stranded here.”
Tyler held his hand out. “Can I look at the card he gave you before you call him?”
“Sure.” Camilla handed Tyler the card with Dusty’s handwritten phone number.
Tyler flipped it over. “Huh, this might be some help in figuring out who this Dusty Reed is.” Tyler held the card up so Annie and Camilla could read the name. Dusty R. Pearson had been hastily crossed out, but was still legible.
“Oh shoot, I’ve been duped again,” Camilla said and hit the side of her head with her open palm.
“All of us, Camilla,” Tyler added. “I’m going to do some more searching.”
Chapter 15
Camilla gave Annie a ride back to her apartment after she made Tyler promise to let her know if he found out anything more about Dusty—or whoever he might actually be.
She walked by Jason’s car, wondering if she should go to her apartment or his house. The light from his windows looked warm and inviting. First, she’d take Roxy for a walk and then decide if she was ready to tackle the mess she made with Jason.
No Roxy.
Annie panicked and raced across the driveway, storming into Jason’s house, out of breath and wild-eyed.
