by Lynn Cahoon
Many of the other students were fresh out of their undergraduate degree. Staying in school to stay out of the workforce was my guess. No one had real experience in running a small business but me. All these kids wanted to do was grab a job with one of the big conglomerates that were based out of San Francisco. I’d played that big city game when I graduated law school and I’d hated it. No, South Cove was my home. Now, I just had to figure out if I was willing to share more of my life with Greg now or later.
I’d gotten two pages read before the Greg problem attacked. Reading didn’t keep me busy enough to avoid thinking about it. I took my dirty dishes to the counter, cleaned up the kitchen, and then took my iced tea and homework into the living room.
I used to study with the television on one of the music video stations, but now, they had more actual programing than just music so I turned the satellite to the 90s music only channel and sank into my couch to finish my reading for the week.
A text buzzed on my phone about nine as I had just finished reading and was now channel surfing for something to watch. I’d found a showing of Sleepless in Seattle that wasn’t too far into the story line. Greg’s text made me smile.
“I’m still out here at the farm. I’ll talk to you tomorrow. I love you.” I read the words aloud to Emma who lifted her head off her place on the couch to listen.
Then thinking about love, life, and moving in together, I put my phone on the coffee table and sank back into the couch to watch Meg Ryan figure out who she wanted to spend the rest of her life with. Somehow knowing that even Meg had trouble with the concept comforted me.
*
The next morning, my regulars were in and out. Even those who didn’t own or work for local businesses knew that the first Tuesday of the month meant the swarm would be arriving any time. “I think you’re an angel having to deal with all those politicians and business people,” Angie Hartman said. She worked in the city at the local women’s shelter. She was the angel, and Coffee, Books, and More donated books and money to the organization each quarter. I tended to think that was why she bought her caffeine at our shop before driving into the city. The council members were fine. In fact, some of them also attended the business meeting, like Bill Sullivan, who served as our committee chair. It was the mayor no one wanted to work with or, to be honest, even talk with. How he kept getting elected was a testament to how broke our election system was in the area.
“It’s not that bad. I just channel my old trial lawyer self and I can get through the next two hours.” I looked at the clock. “Speaking of, the first arrivers should be coming in anytime.”
Angie looked around the empty shop. “I was hoping that Sasha would be here. I wanted to talk to her about her project for the marketing class. You know she’s doing commercials for the shelter with the local television station.”
“Actually, I didn’t. Sasha’s been so busy with school. We haven’t seen much of her here at the store.” I tried not to look hurt, but man, I’d wished she’d told us about the project. I really wanted to help her. But Sasha was growing up and didn’t need my guidance much anymore. She’d come a long way from when we’d first met the girl in her early twenties, a shy welfare-to-work participant who’d done her internship at the store. “I’m sure she’s just saving telling us as a surprise.”
Angie passed me her card. “Will you give this to her when you see her? I really need to approve those storyboards before they go too far into the development process. You would think the station would understand this.”
I watched as Angie walked out the door and Toby strolled in. He gave the exiting woman one of his killer smiles and I swear even the do-good-angel almost melted. He called after her, “Have a nice day and come back to see us soon.”
No wonder women flocked to the shop when Toby worked. The boy had charm. Even in his depressed-over-his-love-life state. “Glad you’re here early. Harrold hasn’t shown yet so I need some help moving tables.”
“Glad to assist. I’d hate for Jackie’s beau to have a heart attack in the store. She’s kind of smitten with the guy.” Toby started moving the tables from the dining room into one long table. “How many do you expect?”
“Probably seventeen to twenty. The new clock guy, Ian, is supposed to attend along with a rep from the Jensen Farm. But maybe with what happened last night, they won’t be sending someone?” I started filling carafes of coffee, watching Toby for a reaction.
“Are you asking or fishing?” Toby moved chairs around the newly formed set up. “Cuz you know Greg gets touchy when I fill you in on an open investigation.”
“He was at the house when he got the call. I know they found a body. A male victim on the tree.” I sat the filled carafes on the table at intervals. It didn’t matter; they would need to be refilled several times over the two hours. The committee members loved free coffee. And cheesecake.
“Then you know as much as I do. I left the station before Greg did his report to the deputies so I could be here.” Toby shrugged. “Sorry, but you asked me to come in early.”
“I didn’t know there would be a murder. Now how am I supposed to get the gossip?” I sat already cut whole cheesecakes in the middle of several tables with stacks of plates and a glass filled with forks.
“Maybe you could ask your boyfriend.” Toby put on his apron and adjusted the paper cups around the station. “I hear he’s moving in with us.”
“You don’t live with me; you live in the shed.” I pointed out the obvious.
Toby smiled. “But I park in the driveway. Are we going to have enough room for all three vehicles?”
“I don’t know. I don’t even know if he’s moving in.” I pushed back my hair in frustration. “Where did you hear about this anyway?”
“Where else, Lille’s. I’m in the pool.” He leaned over the counter and stared at her. “If you can hold out at least two weeks, I might just have my down payment.”
“I can’t believe they’re actually betting on this. Don’t these people have a life?”
“Doesn’t who have a life dear?” Aunt Jackie came out the back office with Harrold right behind her. She turned and glared at him. “I guess we’re too late to help with set up.”
“We handled it just fine.” I rubbed my face. If this was going to be how the day went, I didn’t think I could deal with it. “And I wasn’t talking about anyone.”
“She’s upset because of the pool about her and Greg moving in together.” Toby poured Aunt Jackie a cup of coffee. “I’ve got the twenty-seventh.”
My aunt took the cup, then went over to sit on the couch. Her gait was unsteady, and I knew her arthritis must be bothering her. Which is probably why they were late. Or at least late by Jackie’s standards. “Well if someone was betting against my happy ever after, I’d be grumpy too.”
“Wait, who’s betting against us?” I hadn’t thought of that. Did people think Greg and I were a bad match?
“Darling, if there’s a pool, there has to be both sides of the coin. One, you take Greg in like you should or two, you cast him aside and he goes running back to that awful Sherry creature. You wouldn’t want to force him to resort to that fate, would you?” My aunt stirred sugar into her coffee, another sign that she wasn’t up to par. She only used sugar as an energy pick-up when she hadn’t slept well the night before.
“Aunt Jackie, if you’re not feeling well, we can do this without you.” I perched on the coffee table next to her.
“Just because you’re out of sorts about the whole Greg thing doesn’t mean you can cast your insecurity on my health status. I’m fine and I’ll stay through the entire meeting.” She turned toward Harrold. “And I’ll work my shift.”
“Jackie,” Harrold started but his next words were cut short by the look my aunt gave him. What she said was law, at least in Jackie’s world. I was surprised to see Harrold challenging her. But I blessed him for it.
“Well, then, I better fill up some water pitchers, just in case someone is thirst
y for something besides coffee.” I patted her hand. “You’d tell me if something was wrong, right?”
She squeezed my hand. “You’re a sweet child.”
Harrold smiled at me and I patted his arm as I walked past. Loving Aunt Jackie was hard. I was just her niece and I had trouble breaking through her shell. I wondered how he was doing in that area.
Just then the door opened and a stream of people came in. Ten minutes to start time and the room went from quiet to excited buzzing. Bill walked straight to me. “So nice to see all of you, especially after you being so gracious to attend my party on Friday night.” He greeted Aunt Jackie and Harrold, then pulled me into the children’s nook. “What on earth is Greg doing?”
I shrugged. I wouldn’t have put Bill on the she-won’t side of the poll. “I don’t know, what is Greg doing? Don’t tell me you’re upset about us moving in together. Darn Bill, I thought you liked me.”
He stared at me, dumbfounded. “What on earth are you talking about? Of course I like you.”
“Then what are you talking about?” I felt like I was part of the old Abbott and Costello who’s on first routine.
“Greg came to the bed and breakfast a few hours ago and took Nathan Pike down to the station. Don’t tell me you didn’t know.” Bill sank into one of the wooden kid’s chairs. “This is a publicity nightmare. If Nathan did kill Walter, then we just gave a party for a murderer. If not, Greg just got the town sued for false arrest.”
“Walter who?”
Bill looked up at me, pity in his face. “Walter Knicely. The owner of Beal Street Bed and Breakfast. Boy, you are out of the gossip loop.”
“Time to get started, honey.” Mary Sullivan came around the wall and held her hands out to her husband. “Let me pull you up. Why on earth did you sit in this chair? It’s too low and you know your knee is going to give you fits.”
Following them into the shop’s dining room, I saw that everyone was already sitting, chatting, and devouring cheesecake. Mary slipped into the vacant seat next to Ian, and Mandy Jensen had taken a seat next to Josh. She was chatting about the meeting and opening the fruit stand. Josh looked like he wanted to be anywhere else but here.
Josh Thomas, besides being a pain in my side, was the owner of Antiques by Thomas, the store that was right next to mine. He was also Aunt Jackie’s boyfriend before Harrold came into the picture. For the last few months, Josh had been working on losing some of his extra weight. Okay, he had a lot to lose, but I was proud of him for taking control of his life. I wondered if he thought he might win back Aunt Jackie being slimmer and more active. And maybe that had been his first thought, but he looked so much better and I could tell he felt better too.
Except for now. Right now he had the same pained expression I must wear when he came over to the shop to add trivial things to the agenda. Like the time he wanted air fresheners added to the street lights to get the ocean smell out of South Cove. Did I mention we were a tourist town on the central California coast? Where people go to see and smell the ocean?
I waved at him and smiled. Mandy saw me and waved back. Josh just glowered.
“Let’s get this meeting started, shall we?” Bill now stood at the head of the table. His chairman persona took over and any trace of the anxiety I’d just witnessed was gone. That was why he kept getting elected to the city council and the chairman position. The guy could be cool as a cucumber. Or really an ice cube, which is a better analogy.
I took the last seat next to Marie Jones who owned The Glass Slipper. Marie didn’t hate me, but we would never be friends. Mostly she just wanted to be left alone. From what I knew of her past, I didn’t blame her. I gave her a quick smile and to my surprise, I got one in return. Then she turned her head and studied the agenda.
Moment gone.
But at least it had happened. From where I sat, I could see the Cinderella themed stained glass I’d purchased from Marie’s shop hanging in the window where we displayed kids’ books. I should get a new one for a wall in the reading nook. One wall already had a ceiling to floor chalk board where the kids could draw or write their own stories. But there was one empty spot just above the bookcase.
“Jill, did you have something to add?” Bill’s voice interrupted my decorating daydream. Everyone was looking at me. I had no idea what the conversation had been on. I glanced down at the agenda. Surely they couldn’t be talking about the summer festival yet.
“Sorry, I didn’t hear the question. What item are you on?”
Josh snickered and I felt my face heat. So sue me, I wasn’t paying attention. No one really did at these meetings.
“I was mentioning the fact that our temporary resident author was deep into his research phase and may not be able to be disturbed by drop-in visitors. Are you still having the book club meet and greet on Friday?” He looked at me, giving me the chance to cancel the event based on the circumstances. I guess murder was a circumstance.
“As far as I know.” This got me a glare from Aunt Jackie. “I mean, of course we are.” I went through the plan for the event and invited the committee to attend. Then I turned the floor back over to Bill.
“Okay, well, then we’ll just play that by ear.” Now he got the glare from Aunt Jackie, but I saw Harrold put his hand over hers, stopping whatever tirade she had planned. I was liking the idea of Harrold and Jackie more and more.
Bill introduced Ian as the newest committee member. He stood, explained the concept of Killing Time, then quickly sat back. When the welcome comments from the table subsided, Bill announced the next topic.
“Excuse me.” Mandy stood and addressed Bill. “You forgot me. Of course, you may not have known I was coming. Things at the farm have been a little crazy. Anyway, Jensen’s Farm is opening a produce stand down by the highway. We’d planned on opening a few months ago, but the early crops weren’t ready. Now we’ll have fresh fruits and vegetables along with a great supply of flavored olive oils and fresh and dried herbs. If you love to cook, we’re your first stop.”
“Welcome, Mandy.” Bill picked up his agenda to continue. “Thanks for coming today.”
Mandy still hadn’t sat down. “Glad I could. I almost didn’t get to leave the farm, what with the murder investigation and everything.”
CHAPTER 6
“Well, that was interesting.” Aunt Jackie glared at Toby. “Why didn’t you tell us there was a murder out on the olive farm?”
“I wasn’t at liberty to discuss it.” Toby wiped down a table. “Besides, I don’t have anything to tell. I was on patrol last night and I left before Greg’s update this morning.”
“Still, you could have mentioned…” Aunt Jackie started to continue, but Harrold put a hand on her arm.
“Jackie, leave the boy alone. You know he’s not allowed to share a lot of what goes on with his other job. You need to give him some space.” Harrold grabbed the edge of a table that Toby had stopped in front of and winked at the barista. “Besides, having a few secrets aren’t the worst thing a man can have.”
“What about you Jill? Did Greg tell you about this?” Aunt Jackie pointed to the carafe I’d just picked up off the last table to be cleared. “Throw that one away. The handle is broken.”
“Yes, ma’am.” I stepped behind the counter. “I didn’t know much more than what you just heard. You know Greg doesn’t share information about open investigations.”
“All I know is when the rumor mill hits the winery, Darla’s going to be ticked that she didn’t attend this morning’s meeting.” Toby looked around the dining room and gave Harrold a high five.
“Isn’t that the truth.” I started to box up a couple dozen chunk chocolate chip cookies. “Toby, put these on my marketing budget.”
“Where are you going, the clock shop?” Aunt Jackie’s face looked like she’d swallowed a lemon.
“Crap, I forgot to introduce Ian to Mary. I bet he could fix her grandfather clock.” I closed the box. “Actually, I’m going to the police station. I’m sure Gre
g and the crew have been stuck at the station for hours.”
“That’s not really marketing,” she commented. “That’s feeding your boyfriend so you can get dirt about the murder.”
“Whatever you want to call it.” I gave her a kiss on the cheek as I was leaving. “Do you need me to cover for you tonight? Are you feeling okay?”
“You have class. I’m not giving you an excuse to skip. I’m fine.”
Harrold helped her to her feet. “Besides, she’s going to go lie down for a while. I’m in charge of lunch duty so I’m making my tomato basil soup. I’m so glad that girl is opening a produce stand so close. It will make my shopping so much easier.”
I left the shop through the front as Jackie and Harrold left via the other door and headed upstairs to her apartment. With Aunt Jackie’s arthritis bothering her, I wondered how long before she and Harrold would be in the market for a ranch house.
The sun was warm on my back and the summer flowers the city planted in large pots on the sidewalks filled the air with a sweet but salty smell. I loved living here. Being able to walk to work, buy most of my supplies here in town, and still run to the beach, I knew I was blessed.
Entering the police station, I walked straight to the dispatch/reception desk. Esmeralda had her hair back in a ponytail and was dressed in a T-shirt and jeans. Definitely not working the fortune teller look this morning. Now, she looked like a normal person at a normal job. I felt a twinge of concern.
“Hey, I brought cookies over for the gang. You want one before I put them in the break room?” I opened the box and held it out to her.
She shrugged. “I guess. Thanks.”
I watched as she took a cookie and sat it on the desk. “Are you feeling okay? You seem a little distracted.”
“You don’t really want to know, but I’ve been visited several times by spirits without my usual connection methods. Typically, I can segment the voices so that they only come during my sessions. But with this child in danger, they’re all screaming at me to help.” Esmeralda met my gaze, pain and sadness filling her face. “And I don’t know what to do. The only thing they can tell me is that he hasn’t crossed over. Not yet, but he’s close. And I need to find him.”
