Bagels and Blackmail

by C A Phipps

  “Were you angry about the way Mrs. Oliver had treated you?”

  “Not especially. She’s like that with everyone.”

  “Did she talk to anyone else?”

  “No. Even my staff let her be.”

  “What about the day before.?”

  “Ethan, I mean Sheriff Tanner, Laura, Angel, and I handed out flyers and put up posters around town.”

  “And you spoke to Noah Jackson. Anyone else?”

  It was nerve-wracking knowing he had so much information on her. “I visited Mr. Clayton, then I came home to make new flyers since I’ve decided to offer a reward.”

  He frowned. “What did you see him about?”

  “I wanted to be sure he was okay. He’s terribly upset about his dog and was worried that me talking to the Sheriff might have jeopardized everything, since he hadn’t received his ransom note at that stage. He’ll be even more upset when he finds out about Mrs. Oliver.”

  “Were they friends?”

  “I shouldn’t think so. She wasn’t a favorite around the community center because they felt like she looked down on them. The Country Club group can be a bit uppity according to Gran. Still, she didn’t deserve to die like that, and Jed will no doubt think everything that’s happening is somehow tied to Sissy’s disappearance.” She frowned as a thought occurred to her. “I wonder if her dog turned up.”

  The detective and Rob exchanged looks, which intrigued Maddie. She had only been worried about the dog being fed, since it’s owner would not be coming home. Clearly they had other ideas.

  “I didn’t know she’d lost a dog.” Detective Jones said carefully.

  Maddie raised an eyebrow. “It was reported, along with all the other animals.”

  The deputy studied her oddly. “No, I don’t think it was.”

  “I saw it in the paper,” she said defensively.

  The detective pressed. “When?”

  “I looked online the other day. It was an older article from last week. It really was there.”

  “That’s very interesting. We’ll take a look.”

  “You don’t sound convinced.”

  “Right now we’re looking for a reason that Mrs. Oliver would be at your place at that time of night when you don’t have anything to do with her outside of her being a customer of yours.”

  When said aloud it made about as much sense as chocolate frosting on a meat pie, and potentially put her as a suspect. Maddie felt the need to put things into perspective.

  “An infrequent customer. One who had a missing pet, and was terribly upset the last time I saw her. She kept looking out the window and up and down the road as if she were watching for something or someone.”

  “And you have no idea exactly who that was? Or, why?”

  “None at all. I tried to talk to her, but she bit my head off, drank her tea and left. Without paying.”

  “That doesn’t sound like her. Maude Oliver always crossed her t’s and dotted her I’s.” Rob said, then looked guiltily for interrupting the interview. He shook his head at Maddie, who couldn’t help a small snort.

  The situation wasn’t funny, but stress made a person’s behavior a little off and Maddie was happy that the men weren’t looking at her like she was guilty of something any more.

  “I agree. Not paying meant she was deeply troubled,” she added.

  Detective Jones stood, scraping his chair on the floor. “I think that will do for now.”

  He opened the door and allowed Ethan to enter.

  “I’ll take you back home.”

  Rob Jacobs flicked off the recorder and with a curious gaze at the two of them left the room with the detective.

  “I could walk if you’re busy?”

  “I’m not too busy. Besides, I’d like to take another look around.”

  “Whatever for?’

  “Sometimes you only see the obvious the first or second time around. Often, when you’ve taken a little distance from it things might seem a bit clearer or it can take you down another path altogether.”

  He sounded like a different person when he was in sheriff mode. Not at all like the Ethan she knew. Certainly nothing like the young man she had left behind all those years ago, when they had been teenagers in love.

  It wasn’t a long drive and when they got inside, Gran, Laura, and Luke stopped what they were doing, eagerly waiting for information. Ethan wasn’t interested in sharing any, and gave her no time to do so either.

  “Can you show me where Mrs. Oliver was sitting and where exactly she was looking?”

  Maddie sat down on the chair close to the window. From here Maddie noted that the main street could be viewed quite a long way in either direction.

  “This is it. You can see that she had a lot to look at, but nothing in particular she wouldn’t have seen a hundred times or more.”

  They swapped places.

  Ethan looked up and down the street as she’d suggested, then he stood and turned to face the room, which he studied for some time. Maddie kept still while he worked, watching closely, trying to see things through his eyes.

  “What’s that?” he asked, pointing at the small pot plant which sat in the middle of the table.

  “It’s a cactus. All the tables have them.”

  “Not one like this,” he said, pulling a pen from his pocket and scooping a crushed piece of paper from the earth. He put it down on the table and spread it out using the pen.

  Bring the money to the green tonight. Five hundred dollars. Small bills. Don’t be late and don’t tell anyone if you want to see your crazy dog alive.

  Maddie gripped the back of the chair. “Oh, my gosh. Another ransom note. Sitting there all this time.”

  “We don’t know for sure that it was left by Mrs. Oliver.”

  She put her hands on her hips. “We do know it. She sat here. She was upset. Her dog is missing.”

  “And that still makes it circumstantial.”

  “You can’t be serious?”

  “I am. That’s the way law works. You have to be certain before you can say something is the way you think. Even assuming that she left the note, it doesn’t help us know who is taking the pets.”

  She bit her lip. He was right. At this moment in time the note proved nothing. She walked through the shop and grabbed her back pack with the new flyers. Ethan followed her.

  “Where are you going?”

  “To do something positive. I can’t sit here wondering. I can do that just as easily while I walk. If you’ve finished with me?”

  “I can’t think of anything else right now, and I can’t stop you, but don’t take any risks. This is not just about someone wanting money anymore.”

  The others were still waiting, and when Ethan said goodbye they barely responded. It was nice that he was worried, but she’d told the truth. If she stayed here to dwell on all that had happened she might have a meltdown.

  “Gran can I take some of these cookies you’ve just made?”

  “Of course, but I hope you’re taking into account what Ethan said.”

  Maddie tried to erase the concerned expression with a hug. “I’m just going for a walk, and I might drop in to the station with these cookies for Ethan and his deputies for being so kind.”

  She didn’t miss the looks the three of them gave each other and she sighed, leaving them to their suppositions.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Maddie’s heart was in her throat as she came across another of her posters in tatters. It seemed as though every single one of them had been vandalized to the point of being unreadable. One or two might have been a coincidence, but not all of them. Someone had targeted hers alone and walked miles to do it.

  What did it mean? That the person who took Big Red had killed him? She felt ill. Then she became angry. If this was a joke it was in bad taste, even if it was a child, which she doubted, since the posters covered a fair bit of territory. If it was a cat killer, or any other animal, then she wouldn’t rest until they were behi
nd bars.

  Hurrying to the station she walked up to the counter. The woman behind it reminded her of the sloth from the children’s movie, Zootopia, which Angel had made her watch a few weeks ago. Maddie did not recognize her, and apart from a finger in the air, as she continued to peck at her computer, it took a few minutes to be acknowledge properly. By this time Maddie was tapping her fingers on her thighs in irritation. The deputy might be new here, but that didn’t mean she could be rude.

  Eventually, she looked up. “Can I help you, ma’am?”

  “Yes, please. Is Ethan available?”

  “You mean Sheriff Tanner?” she said coolly. “I’m afraid that he isn’t. Can I assist you?”

  To be fair Ethan hadn’t said he would be coming back to the station, and he had a wide area to look after, so she tried not to take exception to the woman’s attitude, or disbelieve her.

  “I hope so. My cat has been missing for several days. I’ve put up posters all around town. Since yesterday, this happened.” She placed one of the shredded posters on the desk.

  The deputy barely glanced at the poster. “Have you tried the pound?”

  Maddie felt the wave of anger which had previously been directed at the vandal concentrate on the uncaring woman in front of her, who having made the inane comment, went back to her computer. She read the name tag pinned to an ample bosom.

  “I can assure you that I’ve tried everywhere, Deputy Funnel. With the help of the caring members of our community, I have done everything I possibly can. With so many animals missing we need help from this department before more disappear.”

  The officer looked up annoyed at the further interruption. “We’re pretty busy with real crimes, ma’am. A missing cat doesn’t really head the list right now.”

  Maddie was incensed. “Well, it should. Didn’t you hear what I said? It’s not one cat. It’s several animals. If this is allowed to continue, it could be a catastrophe for the pets and owners alike.”

  The woman suddenly laughed, her chins wobbling a little. “Catastrophe—good one.”

  “I beg your pardon, Officer Funnel, this is not a laughing matter. What if this was your child we were talking about? How would you feel then?” Maddie’s voice had risen several octaves, and stopped the woman mid-guffaw.

  “You wouldn’t be threatening me at all, would you?” She raised herself, glowering at Maddie over the desk.

  “Certainly not. I’m trying to explain that Big Red is like my child.”

  The officer frowned. “Yet, it’s not a child, is it?”

  “No, but, . . .”

  “Tell you what I’ll do. Leave me a poster and I’ll make sure all our staff sees it. Other than that, I’m not able to help further.” Dismissively, she went back to her paperwork

  Maddie sniffed. “I guess that will have to do. For now.”

  She was out the door before she remembered the container of chocolate chip cookies in her hand she had intended to leave there. Looking back at the building she had spent more than enough time in lately, she decided she’d rather give them to Layla at the doctor’s office than go back inside and deal with that woman. Walking briskly down the street she tried to get her emotions under control. Did Ethan know he was working with such a heartless person?

  Layla Dixon was a nurse and single mother to Jessie and James. Working long hours, Layla was a glass half-full kind of person, much like her brother Ethan. Sitting behind the receptionist desk, squinting at the screen in front of her, she grimaced apologetically.

  “One moment, please Maddie. Oh, this darn thing!” she dropped the mouse in disgust. “Spreadsheets! Sorry about that. Did you need an appointment? Grace is off sick today, so you’ll have to bear with me if that’s the case.”

  “I don’t.” The way she said it must have alerted Layla to Maddie’s mood.

  “Big Red isn’t home yet?”

  She swallowed hard. “No.”

  Layla gave her a sympathetic look, as she came around the desk to hug her. “Hopefully soon. I’m glad you stopped by. I wanted to tell you that the boys had a wonderful morning with you, Laura, and Angel, on Sunday.”

  Maddie nodded and handed her the container. “They were wonderful to help out the way they did. I brought you some cookies to take home to them.”

  “How sweet. They’ll love them. Well, they love anything you bake as does the whole town. How’s the cooking class going?”

  “Really well. Nothing too arduous, but the girls are getting the hang of the basics.”

  “You’ll be doing the diner out of customers, if they get too good at it.”

  Maddie grinned. “Hardly. I think this is a bit of fun for most of them, although Laura uses it for practice, and Angel is very studious about every lesson.”

  “Hah! The only one who doesn’t need to worry about what she eats. Sorry, I don’t mean anything by that.”

  Maddie laughed. “It’s true, but you have nothing to worry about.”

  “Keeping this place functioning right and running around after my boys doesn’t give food time to settle.”

  Maddie managed to laugh. “Better the boys eat them, than me.”

  “Lucky for us. I mean, the boys.” She gave Maddie a wink. “If you start up a cooking class for the rest of us, put my name down for it first. The only effort I make is on weekends, and we’re all heartily sick of food out of a packet in my house.”

  Maddie grinned. “I don’t know when I’d have time to run another class, but I have had people ask me about it, so you never know.”

  Some patients had arrived and were looking enviously at the container. Layla saw their glances and quickly stowed it beneath the counter.

  “No point in having to say no,” she whispered.

  Maddie laughed and walked out into the sunshine in a better frame of mind thanks to Layla. She would go back to the shop and pick up more posters to replace the defaced or missing ones.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Ethan turned up first thing the next morning. The pinched lines around his mouth were a dead giveaway that he was one unhappy Sheriff, although he was only pleasant and polite to her customers. Maddie suspected it was her visit to the police station that had brought about this visit and having time to think about it, was embarrassed by her melt-down.

  He stood at the back of the bakery until the last customer was served. This took a while, as without exception, they wanted a chat with their Sheriff on the way out. Maddie was grateful for the time to find an explanation of what had happened. When they were finally alone he stepped up to the counter, hat in his hand. His ready smile absent. She was glad her staff weren’t around.

  “Hello, Sheriff. Would you care for a donut?” Her attempt to encourage his good nature with a dig at the police and their liking for donuts, followed with a big smile, fell flat. “Or, anything else?”

  He frowned. “I’m not here for the food, Maddie, as you well know.”

  “Coffee?” she asked, hopefully.

  “I’m here because you threatened my deputy.”

  The hat was getting a severe twist at its brim and Maddie hoped he wouldn’t do it permanent damage on account of her.

  “Shouldn’t that be an alleged threat?”

  “Maddie,” he warned.

  His displeasure over the misunderstanding rankled. “It wasn’t like that. I merely posed a question and she took it the wrong way. I am sorry if I was over-zealous.”

  He sighed, but wasn’t capitulating. “What part of not interfering did you not understand?”

  Maddie’s hand went to her hips. “How is it interfering to bring the attention of the department to the vandalizing of my posters? Big Red is still missing. He didn’t get lost as your officer assumed, and there are several other animals missing with their owners suffering as I am. Deputy Funnel, wasn’t slightly interested. In fact, she had no idea the pet stealing was so extensive. You expect me to sit back and just let the days go by without doing anything, when this isn’t being taken seriously b
y your staff?”

  He ran his fingers through his hair. “You’ve done a lot to help, and getting a few people to make a larger reward was a brainwave.”

  She could see he was making an effort to hold his temper in check, and she tried to do the same. “And yet we don’t have our pets back.”

  Ethan gave his hat a few more twists, then his face softened.

  “I get it, I really do, but you can’t harass my staff.”

  Maddie sniffed. “Your staff should be more attentive and polite. How is it that the deputy didn’t know about the pets?”

  “I’m sure she does. Sometimes there are other priorities that take precedence. You know, murders and such.”

  “Which are obviously connected. Maude Oliver was murdered because she didn’t pay the ransom.”

  “We don’t know that for sure,” he groaned.

  “Of course that’s what happened.”

  He ran his hand through his hair again, making it stand up in an odd way.

  “You are the most exasperating woman I know.”

  She sniffed. “I’m sorry you think so, but we both know I’m not about to let this rest.”

  “Perhaps we should talk about it when you’re not so upset.”

  Her hands went to her hips. “I’m more than upset. I’m furious, because no one seems to be taking this seriously enough.”

  The bell chimed and Maddie froze behind the counter. Mickey Findlay walked in with a grin as large as a Cheshire cat. Until he saw Ethan. The grin which never quite reached his eyes slipped for a few seconds, then with an effort he got himself together.

  “Hello there. How are you two?”

  Maddie gave him her own false smile, ignoring the unsubtle innuendo. “Well, thank you Mr. Findlay.”

  “You must call me Mickey. My friends all do.”

  Maddie couldn’t think of a thing to say in answer which wouldn’t sound childish. The mans’ nephew was a convicted killer, and while she couldn’t prove anything, Maddie couldn’t believe Mickey hadn’t had something to do with Denise’s death.

  “How’s Ralph?” Ethan, casually asked.