by Kate Bell
“What’s he doing?” Lucy asked.
“Driving away,” I said, and started my car. “Hold the binoculars. I don’t want to lose him.”
I pulled out, allowing plenty of room to keep Phil from seeing me. He was headed downtown and there was very little traffic to lose him in.
“Where’s he going?” Lucy asked. She had the binoculars trained on the back of his car.
“Put those down, what if someone sees you with them?” I said.
“Oh, stop it. There’s hardly anyone out and no one is going to see me.”
Phil drove into the grocery store parking lot and drove around it, weaving in and out of parking spaces.
“Do you think he knows he’s being followed?” I asked. “He’s just driving around the parking lot.”
“I don’t know. Pull into a parking spot and stop. He’ll think we’re going into the store and we can see him when he drives out.”
I pulled into a spot and shut off the lights and we waited. Phil made another round of the parking lot and then left by the furthest exit. “All right, Phil, you’re trying to be tricky,” I said and turned my lights back on.
“Stay back,” Lucy said. “Don’t let him see you.”
“I am, I am,” I said.
Phil headed back in the direction of downtown again and I made sure to give him extra room. After a couple more minutes, Phil parked in front of the Center Street Gift Shop and shut his lights off. I pulled over in front of the jewelry store a block away and followed suit with the lights. Lucy and I slouched down in our seats again and watched as Phil got out of his car. Most of the shops were already closed. It was after seven and this small town closed up early in the evening.
Phil stood on the sidewalk, looking up one way and then down another. Then he took off at a pace faster than I thought was possible for his short legs across the street.
“There he goes,” Lucy said, training the binoculars on him.
“Where’s he going? Give me those,” I said, reaching for the binoculars. Across the street was the gun shop and the Salvation Army and a couple of empty stores. Phil hustled around the side of the gun shop and was gone.
“What do we do now?” Lucy asked.
“We follow him,” I said and we got out of the car, closing the doors lightly.
“I like your style,” Lucy whispered to me as we crossed the street.
I reached for my front jeans pocket, making sure my phone was there. “Maybe I should call Alec and let him know what we’re doing,” I whispered.
“No, he’ll come down here and stop all our fun,” Lucy said.
“Fun?” I asked. I wasn’t sure if this was fun because my heart was pounding in my chest and I was breathing hard. But I didn’t turn back. That would have been the smart thing to do and there was no sense in suddenly doing the smart thing.
We slipped around the side of the gun shop like we had seen Phil do. The alley was dark and deserted. We stopped and tried to see if there was anyone there.
“Where do you think he went?” Lucy whispered.
“I don’t know,” I said.
We started walking down the alley, looking for Phil and hoping he wasn’t looking for us.
“Maybe we should try that door?” Lucy whispered.
She was pointing to the backdoor of the gun shop.
“What if he’s hiding in there, waiting to jump us?” I asked. I was worried that I already knew the answer to that one. I wondered if I should have Alec teach me how to use a gun. Just in case.
“Go see,” she said, nudging me.
“Seriously?” I said and tip toed up to the door. I hoped it wasn’t wired with an alarm. Would turning the knob set it off? I doubted it, but it would be bad if it did and we got caught slinking around out here in the dark. I reached for it, trying to steady my trembling hand and turned it. It was locked. I turned back toward Lucy and shrugged and headed back over to where she stood.
“I have a flashlight, but it will alert people that we’re here,” she whispered. “Should I use it?”
“No, let’s look some more.” We kept walking up the alley, but other than an alley cat looking for food, we didn’t see anyone.
“Where on earth could he have gone?” Lucy asked when we got to the end of the alley.
“I don’t know. It’s weird. What would he have been looking for out here?” The cold was setting in and clouds scudded across the sky, darkening what little light the stars and quarter moon had provided. “Let’s get out of here before we get into trouble.”
We headed back down the alley, still looking, but Phil was nowhere to be seen. It made no sense. There wasn’t anything in that alley.
We headed back to my car. My cheeks were freezing cold.
“Hey,” I said, stopping in the middle of the street. “Phil’s car is gone.”
“So it is,” Lucy said. “How the heck did he get back here so fast? Come on, let’s get out of this street.” A car turned the corner and had us in its headlights.
We caught hands and ran as it sped toward us. Lucy screamed as it swerved and sped past us and we jumped onto the curb. I turned back toward the car, but the night was dark and I couldn’t tell what kind of car it was. All I could see were red taillights set in a dark-colored car.
--17--
“Did you tell Alec about Phil?” Lucy asked me.
“Sort of,” I said. We were headed to Le Chemise. I had become obsessed with their desserts. I planned on ordering several desserts and taking them home. I wanted time to really enjoy them. Okay, I wanted time to see if I could figure out a way to make them better than they already were. I needed to figure out a way to beat the French at their own game. It was a lofty goal, but a goal nonetheless.
“What does ‘sort of’ mean?” Lucy asked as I pulled into a parking space.
“It means if I told him we went to spy on Jenna and Phil, he would have a fit, so I left that part out. I expect you to leave it out of any conversations we might have about it when he’s around.”
“Ah, I see. What did you tell him then?” she asked as we got out of the car.
“I told him I happened to be in the neighborhood and that I saw Phil driving, so we followed him. He stopped across from the gun shop and got out and then disappeared in the alley. All completely true,” I said. And it was, other than the omission of the part about us getting out and following him down the alley. I felt guilty about not telling him the complete truth, but he would have gotten mad and lectured me about it.
“I see,” she said, holding the front door of the restaurant open for me.
We approached the hostess and I asked for a menu.
“Would you like to sit?” she asked in her heavy French accent. She was blond and petite and wore a lot of makeup.
“No, thank you,” I said. “I’d just like to order some dessert and take it to go.”
“Ah, I see. Yes, here you go,” she said and handed me a menu. “I’ll be right back.”
Lucy looked at the menu over my shoulder as I went over the dessert menu. The hostess left while we made our decision.
“Oh, look, they have a lemon mousse. I think that’s new,” I whispered.
“I think you’re right. I don’t remember seeing that on the menu before,” Lucy said. “How many desserts are you going to order? You’re not going to get nutty on me, are you?”
“What? I’m not going to get nutty. But I am going to order several,” I said, reading over the rest of the listings. Everything sounded so good. Whoever had written up the menu had done a great job of describing every delectable detail. I was taking note of it so I could work on my blog descriptions.
“Excuse me, but what are you doing?” a French accented woman asked me.
I looked up from the menu in my hand. A petite, dark-haired woman stood in front of me. Her hair was pulled back in a tight chignon and she was rocking a bright shade of red lipstick.
“Um, I’m getting ready to order some dessert,” I said. I wasn’t
sure who this woman was, but she was giving me some distinct attitude with her hands on her hips and her chin jutting.
“No, you aren’t. I know who you are. You’re Allie McSwain and you write that disgusting blog and make desserts for that horrible Henry’s restaurant,” she said.
I gasped. “Excuse me?” I said. “Henry’s is not a horrible restaurant and my blog isn’t disgusting!”
The nerve!
“It is horrible,” she said. “And you are spying on us. You want to take our desserts and steal our recipes. You are a terrible baker and will ruin the recipes. Well, I will not allow that. Get out of here.”
My eyes shot wide open. “What? I am an expert baker! Who are you?” I asked.
“I am Suzette Monreal. I am the pastry chef here. I know all about you and your feeble attempts to try and bake desserts. You must leave here. I will not sell you any dessert.”
My mind tried to process this vile little woman’s orders. How had she heard about me? “This is a restaurant, isn’t it? I have a right to eat here as well as anyone else,” I said.
“No, you do not. Get out,” she said. “I will call the police.”
I gasped. I had never been kicked out of any place in my life.
“Come on, Allie, let’s get going. Everyone’s looking,” Lucy whispered.
I looked in the direction of the dining room and it was true. It seemed that people at every table were looking in our direction. My cheeks went pink. I had two choices. I could leave quietly. Or I could scream “rat” and run. I huffed air out of my mouth.
“Fine. I’ll leave. But don’t you think for one minute that you’ve won here. I have a reputation in this town and I’m a better baker than you could ever try to be,” I said.
“You may have a reputation, but I have all the customers,” Suzette said with a smirk.
I gasped again.
“Come on, Allie, let’s go before things get ugly,” Lucy whispered. “People are staring.”
“I’ll go. But this isn’t over, you little French tart!” I turned and hurried out before I embarrassed myself any further. Lucy was hot on my heels.
“I can’t believe that just happened,” she said.
“Me either!”
We made a beeline to my car. I just wanted to get out of there. We pulled up short when we nearly ran into my daughter Jennifer.
“Jennifer! What are you doing here?” I asked.
“Oh. Mom. Hey, how are you? I just stopped by the house, but you weren’t home, so I thought I’d get some lunch,” she said, looking suspiciously guilty.
“Why didn’t you go to Henry’s? I have your favorite key lime pie there,” I said, folding my arms across my chest. I smelled a turncoat.
“Oh, you do? I didn’t know that. I just heard there was a new restaurant in town, so I thought I’d stop by. Have you tried it yet?” she asked.
“Indeed I have. Their desserts are terrible though,” I said.
“Really? I heard they were the best in town. Oh, I mean, oh, that’s not what I meant,” she said trying to backtrack. “I’m sure they aren’t that good.”
I sighed. “They aren’t terrible. They’re very good. Very authentic French cuisine,” I said, sadly.
“Oh,” she said sadly. “Are they hurting your business?”
I nodded. “My recipes stink,” I said, trying not to cry.
“That isn’t true,” Lucy said, coming to be defense. “It’s just a new restaurant and people always want to try out what’s new. I’m sure that’s all it is.”
“I’m sorry, mom. That’s all I was doing. I just wanted to try something new. But I don’t have to. I can go to Henry’s. I do love key lime pie.”
“No, honey, you should try this place out. It’s really good. Oh, and you know, maybe you could order a couple of desserts to go? I just wanted to try some for research purposes,” I said.
“Sure, I can do that. But why don’t you just come in with me and we can all have lunch?” she asked.
“Because she just got kicked out of there,” Lucy said, nodding her head slowly.
“What? What do you mean?” Jennifer asked, sounding appropriately disturbed.
I nodded my head sadly. “That little French tart was on to me. She knew who I was. She must have seen my picture on my blog and recognized me. And now I’m banned.”
“Well, don’t you worry. They don’t know who I am. I’ll get you your desserts,” Jennifer said.
I smiled. That’s my little girl. “Make sure you get me some of that Lemon mousse. It’s new and I haven’t tried it. And at least a couple of others. Um, four others, okay? Anything you want.”
“Seriously? You want that many desserts?” Jennifer asked.
I nodded. “Research purposes.”
“Okay, I’ll stop by the house when I’m done.”
“Thanks, honey. I always liked you,” I said.
“Yeah, yeah,” she said and headed for the front door of the restaurant.
That girl was a keeper.
--18--
After being shown the door at Le Chemise, I decided I needed a caffeine fueled mood booster and we headed to the Cup and Bean. The combination of sugar and caffeine always made me feel better. My ego needed it.
“I’m going with the Crème Brulee latte,” Lucy said as we waited in line.
“That sounds French,” I pointed out. I had had enough French anything for one afternoon.
“Sorry. My taste buds were primed for French and they were denied. I need this,” she said.
I snorted. “Fine. I’m getting a mocha with a double shot of espresso. And maybe a piece of double fudge cake.”
“Good choice. That will make you forget you were rejected.”
“Thanks for reminding me,” I pouted.
“Valentine’s Day will be here soon, you know,” she said out of the blue.
“I’m aware of that. Alec said he was taking me somewhere, but he won’t come clean on the details. As long as it’s not a certain French restaurant, I don’t really care,” I said.
Lucy turned to me, with a big grin. “You know what I think?”
“What?”
“I think he’s going to pop the question,” she said. “I’ve been thinking about this for a few days now.”
“Uh, what?” I said.
“He’s going to ask you to marry him. You guys are such a cute couple and I know you haven’t been together that long, but you guys are so good together!” she gushed. “I just have a feeling about this.”
“Stop it, Lucy. He is not going to ask me to marry him,” I said.
“I bet he is,” she insisted. “How romantic! Ed doesn’t have a romantic bone in his body so I’ll have to live through the two of you. I think he wants to watch a Twilight Zone marathon on Valentine’s Day. Oh, I’m so happy for you!”
“Lucy, I swear, he is not going to ask me to marry him. I don’t think,” I said, thinking about it. “No, I know he isn’t. Stop it.” It was ridiculous to think Alec was going to ask me to marry him. We hadn’t been dating nearly long enough. I mean, if he were going to ask me to marry him, wouldn’t I know it?
“Okay, if you say so,” she said, turning back toward the front of the line again.
I was fairly sure Alec was not going to ask me to marry him. At least, I didn’t think he was. Did I even want him to? I was crazy about him, to be sure, but it was still early in our relationship. And other than hinting that our Valentine’s Day date was a surprise, I had no other hints that he might be ready to pop the question. Other than we were crazy about each other. And so comfortable with each other. That was one of the things that I loved about him. We just fit one another so perfectly. I pushed the idea of him asking me to marry him out of my head. A thought like that would make me crazy.
The door whisked open and I glanced over my shoulder. Jenna Maples walked through the door and got in line behind us.
“Hi, Jenna,” I said, turning and giving her a smile.
“H
i, Allie,” she returned. “This place always smells so good.”
“Yes, it does. How are you doing?” I asked. I wanted to ask if she killed Spencer, but I figured Alec wouldn’t be too thrilled with that.
“I’m great. I’ve been working all day, packing up my house.”
“Oh?” I asked. “Are you moving?”
“Yes, I am,” she said. She looked very chipper and happy. “I’m moving back to California. I lived there a few years ago, and I’ve missed it.”
“Did you get a job there? What is it that you do?” I asked. I couldn’t remember her ever mentioning where she worked.
“Yes, I did. I’ve done a little IT work in the past. I just can’t wait to get back into the sunshine.”
I would have to tell Alec about this. She was an unofficial suspect and he needed to know that we were about to lose contact with her.
The door swung open and I bit my lower lip as Meg Cranston walked through it. When she spotted Jenna, she stopped in her tracks.
Jenna turned to see who had come through the door and smiled at Meg, then turned around, without a trace of recognition on her face. I swallowed and elbowed Lucy. Lucy turned to see why I was elbowing her and caught sight of Meg standing there.
“You have some nerve,” Meg said, walking up behind Jenna.
“Uh Oh,” I whispered to Lucy.
Jenna acted as if she hadn’t heard Meg, and began searching through her purse.
“I said, you have some nerve!” Meg said louder.
Jenna looked up and slowly turned toward Meg. “I’m sorry, were you talking to me?”
“You know I’m talking to you,” Meg said, moving toward Jenna. Her face twisted in anger. “Why did you kill him?”
Jenna’s face showed surprise. “What are you talking about? Kill who?”
“Maybe you should call Alec,” Lucy whispered in my ear.
