Pinky’s eyebrows lifted then she smiled. “Chinese. Sweet and sour chicken, maybe some beef and broccoli. Pick up a few different things we like and we’ll share.”
Erin nodded. “You’re making me hungry. How about you, Cami, are you in?”
It’d been a while since the three of us had hung out together and shared a meal. “I am in. It sounds like fun. Back in junior high, we did that a lot. Just the three of us.”
But as it turned out, it was not just the three of us. Our little gathering would end up being double that number.
• • • • • • • •
The crowd in the coffee shop was smaller the rest of the afternoon so Erin managed fine without much help from me. I had spurts of customers, and when I was alone in between them, my thoughts returned to Mayor Frost, his grieving family, and the missing pendant. And then I’d wonder about the hot ticket issues discussed at the council meeting. And Frosty’s emotion-filled visits from farmer Marvin Easterly and Councilors Harley Creighton and Rosalie Gorman the day after.
It was nearing 5:30 when I sat down to take another look at the Brooks Landing City Council meeting. At least the highlights—or low points—when the microbrewery and the children’s clothing factory were being hashed around. I’d watched for about ten minutes when another customer came into the shop. I remembered him from the other day, first because of his size, and second because he was interested in the snow globe the mayor had purchased. The same one Nicoline liked.
With the way it turned out for Frosty, I wished with all my heart that either this man or Nicoline had seen the snow globe and purchased it first. It may not have prevented Frosty’s death, but at least he wouldn’t have died because he was hit over the head with the snow globe I’d sold him at Curio Finds. I hit the pause button on the video and greeted the man, once again awed by his mammoth size. “Is there something I can help you find?”
“I’m looking, thank you.” He visually browsed through the merchandise. “Perhaps you can help me. Might you have a snow globe with bears in the scene?” Like the other snow globe he’d admired.
“Not at the moment.”
“So you have not gotten more in this week as you had thought?”
I tried to remember if I’d said that specifically, or not. “No, we haven’t. I’m not sure when more will come. But I can check with my parents. They’re the owners of the shop and do most of the ordering. They’ve been at it for so many years and know much more about it than I do. I can give you a call to let you know what I find out.”
He shook his head. “That’s not necessary. I pass through here often enough. I will stop in again.”
“All right.”
He turned to leave as Margaret from the police station came through the door. The man stopped abruptly then threw up his hand, probably as a wave, but it almost looked like he was covering his face. Then he turned and headed the opposite direction instead into Brew Ha-Ha, like he suddenly needed a cup of coffee.
Margaret glanced at his back and shrugged. “I’m here to find a gift for my daughter, and I can’t tell you how happy you made me when you gave me the certificate. Not that you had to do that, but it was really nice.”
“It was my pleasure.” And then I took a chance and ribbed her a little. “So no other crazy woman has burst into your office this week besides me?”
I was relieved when she smiled. “No. And I wanted to tell you that if I had been the one that found Mayor Frost like that, and got his blood on my hand besides, I’d have acted a little crazy, too, maybe worse than you did.”
Maybe she would have. “Poor Frosty. And his family, too. I know the police have a lot of potential suspects to weed through, but I hope they can find his killer soon.”
“We all do.”
I took a small breath and changed the subject. “So what kinds of things does your daughter like?”
“She has good taste and likes pretty things. When she was young she had a snow globe she really loved. Her grandmother gave it to her for Christmas when she was about thirteen, but it got broken a few years after that. I got to thinking that I bet she’d appreciate another one.”
“Well, you have come to the right place.” I picked up a globe that was similar to the one Nicoline had sold the couple earlier on in the day. It didn’t have the same variety of colored lights. Instead they were varying shades of violet tones, from pale lavender to a deeper purple. And the scene inside was of a young couple skiing down a slope.
I turned the switch on, and Margaret let out a little yelp. “Audrey will love this. It’s perfect. Purple is her favorite color and she met her husband when she went on a ski trip to Colorado.”
Life was full of twists and turns, much like people skiing down the hills of a mountain. Two short days before, Margaret had not cared for me one bit. And now she was standing in my shop, thanking me, and happy as a clam that I’d helped her find the perfect gift for her daughter.
I wrapped the snow globe for Margaret, and she thanked me over and over again. She was barely out the door when the official-looking woman—the one who’d been waiting in Brew Ha-Ha early yesterday morning for Curio Finds to open—came in.
“Welcome,” I said.
“Hello. My friend was in here a short time ago. A large man, wearing a long coat, fur cap.”
“He was, yes.”
Her eyes moved from one snow globe to the next. “Did he find anything, buy anything?”
“No, he didn’t.”
“Thank you. I didn’t think so, but I needed to verify that.”
She left without another word, and I found myself shaking my head. More unusual people than ever before seemed to be coming out of the woodwork and into my shop lately. Was the wintry December weather affecting people and bringing out some strange behavior? Erin and I met in the archway between the two shops. “You look a little perplexed,” she said.
“I don’t know what it is, but there must be something in the air.” I told her about the bear of a man and the woman interested in him and his purchases. And about Nicoline and that we were about to hire her.
“Cami, I know you’re short on help around here, but hiring someone you don’t know, and are actually worried about, may not be so smart.”
“Maybe not, but I’m letting my instincts be my guide with her.”
She leaned in and raised her eyebrows. “As in, keep your friends close and your foes closer?”
I gave her a little push. “Erin, she’s more a friend than a foe.”
Mark strolled into Brew Ha-Ha and let out a long exhale. “Hi, girls. I got tied up and missed my coffee break earlier. How’s it going?”
“Good.” Erin pointed at the Betty Boop clock. “Five minutes ’til closing time, so we’re winding down.”
“‘Winding down.’ Good one, Erin,” Mark said.
Her comment had gone over the top of my head.
Erin shrugged and grinned. “You’ve been putting in some long days, Mark.”
“That we have, and we’ve interviewed more people than on any other case I can remember in my whole career. Things just aren’t adding up yet, but we’ll get there. So what are you two doing tonight?”
“Picking up Chinese and taking it to Pinky’s,” I said.
“Hey, I know three handsome eligible bachelors that would love to join you.”
“Really? Where’d you meet them?” Erin managed to keep a straight face.
But it made Mark smile. “In the line of duty. Actually, Clint told us we need some R & R after the last few days of hitting it so hard. We were talking about grabbing a burger and a beer.”
“Who’s the third handsome eligible bachelor?” I said.
“Jake Dooley.” Another Brooks Landing police officer.
“What do you think, Cami?” Erin said.
“Sure, if it’s okay with Pinky.”
“I’ll call her.” Erin spent a couple of minutes on the phone and when she hung up said, “Pinky thinks it’d be fun. She got a little power nap in and is feeling way better.”
“What time?” Mark said.
“We’re heading over right after work,” Erin said.
“How about this? I’ll talk to the guys, see what they want to eat, you tell me what you want, I’ll call in the order, and we’ll meet you there at . . .”—he looked at his watch—“. . . six forty-five, or so?”
I left it up to Erin and Mark to figure out the food order and went back into my shop. Our little get-together had expanded into a party that included men. Not that I was trying to impress any of them, but I didn’t want to offend them, either. I needed to clean up and get out of the clothes I’d worked in all day.
I took a last look at the shelves and once again admired Nicoline’s handiwork, hopeful she’d give me some pointers. I rang out the cash register, very pleased with the day’s total, then checked the bathroom to be sure the light with a mind of its own was off. When I went into the storeroom to get my coat, I saw the box that UPS had dropped off and I’d all but forgotten. I picked it up and looked at the return address. It was from Van Norden Distributing in Amsterdam. An hour ago I’d told the man I had nothing else to show him. I felt a little guilty and wished he’d left his phone number so I could let him know there were more snow globes after all. A box of them.
Erin stuck her head into Curio Finds. “I’m locking up. Mark is going to pick up some beverages. I’ll stop at home to freshen up then pick up the food we ordered. See you at Pinky’s.”
13
The eaves, front windows, and bushes of Pinky’s house were decorated with strings of pink lights. Naturally. She’d been ecstatic when companies added a variety of color choices and started selling her favorite one some years back. She had a white artificial Christmas tree in front of her living room window full of varying shades of pink ornaments including birds, glass balls, beads, poinsettias, even a nutcracker. Plus more strings of pink lights, and garlands, and feathers stuck here and there among the branches. It was stunning.
I was tickled she was hosting a party that included manly men surrounded by an array of pink objects and accents. Would they notice, or think anything of it? I knew Mark didn’t. He’d known Pinky almost as long as I had, and we always agreed that to know her was to love her.
Mark and Jake were in the kitchen, helping Pinky fill her refrigerator with bottled water, soft drinks, and beer when I let myself into the house. There were a few bottles of wine sitting on the counter. “Hi, Cami, welcome,” Pinky said.
Mark held up a bottle of soda and pointed it toward me. “Par-ty time. You know Jake, right?”
I nodded. “Hi, Jake.” I’d met him once in passing when he walked through the park on patrol. We’d said little to each other at the time, except to exchange names. Seeing him again I realized he was closer to my age than I’d originally thought.
“Camryn,” he said then we shook hands.
Mark’s phone rang twice and quit. He looked at the display. “That’s Erin’s signal that she’s in the driveway with a load of food. I said I’d carry it in for her.” He dashed out the door.
“Should we put the white wine in the fridge, Pink?” I said.
“Sure, go ahead. Do either of you know what wine you’re supposed to drink with Chinese?”
“I’m more of a beer man,” Jake said.
“That’s the thing, in this group we’re all more beer than wine people,” I said.
“Believe it or not, Cami was raised with an Italian father who knows something about wine, and she still prefers beer.”
I shrugged and raised my eyebrows. “I like a good wine, but it’s true, I do prefer beer. To answer your question, Pinky, I’ve heard people in the know say a German Riesling is a good choice. But the ones I’ve tried are too sweet for my taste.” I looked at the labels on the bottles. “There isn’t a Riesling here, anyway. And my opinion is drink what you like. We’re getting a variety of dishes that have beef, chicken, pork, or shrimp in them. Wine experts tell you to drink red with one thing, white with another. Right?” I said.
Mark and Erin, with Clint picking up the rear, came into the kitchen carrying some delicious-smelling food. The aroma drifting out of the boxes was so strong it was like being smack dab in the middle of the Chinese restaurant kitchen. “Holy moly, how many more people have you got coming here tonight? This looks like enough to feed an army,” Pinky said.
Erin smiled. “Look at these guys. They’re like a small army themselves.” They were all big boys. Six feet tall and over. Muscular. Jake was far from fat, but was broader and heavier than either Clint or Mark.
Clint inclined his head toward the living room. “Pinky, you certainly do a fine job living up to your pink-loving reputation.” I listened for sarcasm in his voice, but it wasn’t there.
Jake leaned in toward Pinky. “When I was a little kid, about two, I think, my mother was taking videos and asked my brother and me what our favorite color was. Travis was four and said, ‘Black,’ I said, ‘Pink.’ That’s a true story and my confession about it all rolled into one.”
Pinky laughed and moved closer to Jake. A man whose favorite color had been pink, even if it was for a short time, had obviously scored high points with her.
Mark set an armload of food on the counter. “And what’s your favorite color now, Jake?”
Jake grinned. “Pink . . . mixed with blue, and that makes a shade of purple.”
Clint came up behind me. “Camryn. Keeping out of trouble?”
I turned to him and instead of snarling, I smiled. “For the most part. How about you?”
His brown eyes darkened as they searched mine. “For the most part.”
“We’ve got a nice little buffet assortment here, if we can all open a container or two,” Mark said. We had everything ready and arranged on the long counter in short order.
“The plates and utensils and napkins are over there,” Pinky said and pointed at the opposite counter.
“Go ahead, everyone, and pop the top off the beverage of your choice. They’re in the fridge,” Mark said.
“If anyone wants wine, I’ll open a bottle,” I said.
Erin touched one. “I like this red blend. I’ll have a glass of that, thanks.”
Pinky’s dining table easily accommodated the six of us and we settled around it with filled plates and our drinks. Erin and Pinky had wine, and the rest of us had beer. As we ate and drank and talked and joked, I was amazed how well Clint and Jake blended in with the rest of us, like they, too, had been our friends since childhood. Clint was much easier to get along with in a crowd than when we were alone. Except when he had his arms around me and wasn’t talking about the things I needed to do to stay safe and out of trouble, that is.
It seemed like he’d read my mind because he caught my eye and raised his bottle like he was toasting. Then he smiled. Not so much that his teeth showed, but enough so the crow’s feet by his eyes deepened a tad. I tried to keep a neutral expression on my own face, but he was so doggone easy to gawk at that I felt my cheeks warming. I didn’t look away from him fast enough, and it was obvious when his face colored slightly that he’d noticed it, too.
When we finished eating we all helped put away the leftovers, then washed and dried the dishes. Then Pinky pulled out a trivia board game called Party Smarts from her closet. “My brother gave this to me last Christmas and I haven’t gotten around to playing it yet. I don’t want to tell him that, so are you all agreeable to try it?”
None of us had played it before, and everyone was willing. “As long as it doesn’t drag on like Trivial Pursuit can,” Erin said.
“We can cut it off if we need to,” Mark said.
It turned out to be a fun game. We all took turns reading the questions, and eac
h of us knew a respectable number of answers, so nobody looked bad. And the bonus was it was a quick game. After the rough week we’d all had—some of us more than others—we needed to call it a night fairly early. We finished in less than an hour, with Erin as the declared winner. Besides being as smart as a whip, she knew things like what states bordered other states, and remembered who the tenth president of the United States was. Clint came in a close second. By nine o’clock we were thanking Pinky, saying our good-byes, and climbing into cold vehicles for the short drives to our houses.
Clint walked me to my car, but didn’t say anything about following me home as he so often did. I assured myself that was fine. A part of me longed to be with him more and more, but another part of me was afraid to let that happen. Too many times he’d brought out a snarky side in me I didn’t even know was there. He pushed buttons in me. Again, ones I didn’t know were there.
Sometimes he acted like he was attracted to me. And other times he treated me like a naïve kid with no street smarts at all. Like he was doing me a favor by guiding and directing and protecting me. And that’s when a big red button inside of me pressed down on my heart, and it hurt. A lot. But instead of striving for a reasonable conversation with him about it, my cattiness came to life instead.
My house felt lonelier than usual when I unlocked the door and stepped inside. Maybe it was because I’d been with people all day. It was so quiet, the only sound I heard was the ticking clock in the living room. The wound I’d had since finding Mayor Frost’s body cut deeply. I was sad for his family and for the community he served, and it filled me with an intense need to find out who had killed him. Just because I wasn’t a policewoman or private detective didn’t mean I couldn’t snoop around and ask some questions.
I decided to watch the video of the city council meeting again. As my computer came to life, Pinky phoned me. “Cami, where has Jake been hiding all this time?”
“I don’t know, Pink. I understand he started with the PD about the same time I came back to Brooks Landing, so about nine months ago, not all that long. Mark said they’ve worked different shifts and haven’t hung out much together.”
Frosty the Dead Man (A Snow Globe Shop Mystery) Page 14
