by Leona Fox
In between the forest and the river was the town of East Pender, the town that held a special place in Ellen's heart. On days such as these she remembered what it was like to jog in the big city. Either she would go to a gym and plug in her earphones to block out the rest of the world or she would take to the grimy streets and try navigating her way through the crowd of people who were milling in all directions, the black smog in the air filling her lungs. The air in East Pender was clean and fresh and the routes were wide and open. Rarely did she ever encounter a crowd of people, and if she did the only hazard was they would try stopping her for a little chat. Ellen never let that happen when she was running, though, for that was her time to decompress. In the cafe she always was open for a talk, but enjoyed this time to herself where she could reflect on her life, which she found herself doing more often now that she was in her mid-forties than when she had been in, say, her twenties. And, ever since she had employed Jack Teller in the cafe she found she had more time to herself, which was good because Scampy required a lot of attention.
The small dog scampered along beside Ellen, running on his stumpy little legs, his pink tongue lolling out, panting heavily. He seemed to have adjusted well after the horrible events that led to his master's death. Although Ellen had felt trepidation about taking the dog under her care, she had become used to it and now couldn't imagine life without him. He lit up her home, and when she took him into the cafe he was often the delight of the customers. Ellen had to scold them whenever they tried giving him too many treats. 'Just one won't hurt' they always would say, but when every customer offered one that added up to a lot. It was one of the reasons she took him on her runs, because no matter how keen an eye she had, one or two treats always sneaked by.
She approached the cafe and felt pride at how she had become such an integral part of the community. She was pleased Jack was working out as well. The man had fallen on hard times but had turned himself around. Many people were shocked when she employed him but she prided herself on her ability to judge people, and she knew he was genuine in his efforts to be a better person. He was a dark, intense man and always seemed to be haunted by some metaphysical pain that he dared not share with anyone. However, he'd made a great effort to cultivate a good social atmosphere. The book club he started had grown by a staggering amount. Ever since he had begun working at the cafe he brought all the members along for coffee as well, which caused the café’s profits to swell. Ellen had little to be sad about.
But as she rounded the corner she saw a crowd gathering around the café entrance and her heart sank. She so hated it when there was an incident like this. It reminded her of all the bad things that happened in the city, and she wondered why everyone couldn't simply get along? She slowed her pace and Scampy matched hers. Breathing heavily to catch her breath and calm her heart rate, she strolled up to the cafe to get a better look at what was happening. People were being drawn in, curious. Voices were loud and were shouting, breaking the peaceful atmosphere that East Pender could boast.
Ellen walked up to the crowd, unable to see through the sea of people.
“What's going on?” she asked in a stern voice, and everyone turned to look at her.
Thanks to her welcoming atmosphere and the part she had played in solving George's murder she was something of a minor celebrity in town, and most people, if not all, respected her. They mumbled as they parted Ellen's face fell in shock as she saw Jack was cowering against the wall with his arms raised in self-defense. His shoulders were hunched and his eyes were wide with terror. His entire body was trembling. He looked like a defeated man. Worried lines creased his brow and sweat poured from his temples, making his skin glisten unnaturally. Ellen had not seen him in such a state ever since he had started working for her and her mind was reeling with questions. She knew his emotions ran deep and that he had suffered much. Not many people could lose everything and come back from it unharmed and unbroken. Had the day finally come when Jack had snapped? Ellen truly hoped it hadn't because she thought of Jack as a friend and wanted him to remember happiness.
The crowd was muttering to each other. Ellen caught snippets but nothing to give her a better indication of what actually was happening. As she got closer she could see the bruises around Jacks' eyes, and the marks on his arms. He was trembling and evidently had been beaten. Ellen glared at those around her, wondering why none of them had stopped this barbaric event.
“What's wrong Jack?” she asked in a soft voice, placing her hand on Jack's arm.
He pulled away. The event evidently had affected him deeply. Nobody would answer Ellen and she was forced to try lulling Jack into talking. The fear was written plainly on his face and his eyes darted around furtively, then peered over her shoulder. Ellen turned around to see a large, well-built man step forward. He was tall, well over six foot, and had an imposing demeanor and a cruel, stony face. But it turned out he had a reason to look this way. He jabbed a thick finger in Jack's direction and spoke with gusto.
“That man stole something of my mother's. I was just trying to get it back. Maybe you should think harder before you employ people at your cafe,” he said.
Ellen studied him for a moment and then turned to look at Jack, who still was unable to talk coherently. The poor man was terrified and it only steeled Ellen's resolve to protect her employees. The man, who Ellen knew to be Chris Evans, took a step forward menacingly, but stopped when Scampy growled at him. Ellen placed herself in between the two men and glared up at Chris, speaking in a clear, even tone.
“If you have an issue about one of my employees then come and raise it with me. If you think something has been stolen then go to the police. Do not take these matters into your own hands like some kind of caveman. Especially not outside my cafe. If you want to discuss this further then by all means step inside, but you will leave my employee alone,” she said, and despite Chris' accusations her instincts told her Jack was innocent.
But the loud argument had attracted the police’s attention. Two of them approached the crowd, telling everyone to disperse. Chris immediately yelled that Jack had stolen something and they went to arrest the shaking man, but Ellen intervened.
“You have no proof of this, officers, and this man,” she gestured to Chris, “has been threatening my employee with no provocation. Unless there is any evidence here I suggest you go about your business and leave this poor man alone.”
The officers looked uneasily at each other. They knew of her reputation and her relationship with Andy, the police chief.
“Okay ma'am, but we'll have to look into the matter if the accusation is serious. I think you'd better take him inside and get him some coffee.”
“I intend to do just that. Thank you, officers,” she said, and placed her arm around Jack, leading him inside. However, before she could leave, Chris became apoplectic with rage.
“You can't just let her get away with that? You have a job to do! I saw him take it with my own eyes. I don't need proof; I have the truth!”
“If you would like to make a statement, sir, then you are welcome to come back with us to the station and we can treat this matter formally. You may well be right in this matter but, unfortunately, the law does require proof. You have caused enough disturbance this morning, so either come quietly with us now or go about your business,” one of the officers said in a clear tone. Chris grumbled to himself and glared at Ellen.
“Damn busybody, poking her nose into everybody's business, thinks she can get away with everything,” he muttered under his breath.
Ellen pretended not to listen, and the cops went away. But just before Chris left he approached Jack and told him, in no uncertain terms, that he would not get away with this crime.
“I don't care who you know,” he said, directing his ire towards Ellen, “but the truth will come out and you'll see what kind of man you have had working for you.”
With that he spun on his heels and stormed away, his fists clenched and his feet pounding against the
ground. Ellen sighed.
What had been a pleasant morning run had turned into a disaster. She didn't know what had happened or why Chris thought Jack had stolen something, but evidently there was a mystery to be solved. It seemed as though this time her cafe was at the heart of the matter. She led Jack inside and sat him down at a table, poured him some tea, and waited for him to calm down. His disposition was such that it took a while for him to regain his sense of equilibrium. Ellen looked at him with worry because, even though she thought he was innocent, there was still a sense that something deeper was going on, and she would have to get to the bottom of it. Scampy ran around the tables and chairs and Ellen looked at him with envy. Life for him was always fun, and he was oblivious to the rigors that came from living with people, even in the small town of East Pender.
Chapter 2
The cafe was quiet. After the disruption most people had gone about their business and left, not wanting to receive the brunt of Ellen's ire. She still was annoyed at Chris’ behavior as well as the fact that she was unable to complete her run. Her hair was plastered to her forehead and her clothes were sticky with sweat, but she couldn't leave Jack alone in the state he was in. He sipped the tea, which she hoped relaxed him, and waited to coax the morning’s events out of him. She looked out of the large windows at the town outside. Sometimes it was easy to forget she still was living with people and there were good and bad eggs in among all of them. Life was pleasant and brisk but things like this happened. Ellen was forced to face the reality that even in East Pender there still were troubling times afoot. It was something she should have been mindful of since she often found herself involved in mysteries, but she often let herself believe the world was idyllic. It was an easy fantasy to have in East Pender.
She pulled a banana out of the fruit bowl and peeled it, taking a morning paper and flicking through it. All the time she continued glancing over toward Jack, who seemed to be breathing a little more easily. The news was the standard fare. She often kept up with the paper just so she was aware of what was happening in the wider world, although the same cycles kept re-appearing. There were celebrity scandals and political crises and the threat of war loomed over the world. With a sigh she turned to the puzzles and began working through a crossword.
“I'm sorry Ellen,” Jack said in a soft voice that cracked with emotion.
He was sitting over the table with his hands in front of him, the steam from the tea rising in front of his face like a shroud. Ellen was startled by his words breaking the silence, and she looked at him. The poor man was near tears. He sniffed and inhaled deeply. Ellen folded the paper and pulled out the seat opposite him. His bloodshot eyes flicked toward her momentarily, and then turned away in shame again.
“What for Jack? What happened?” Ellen said in a beseeching tone.
Jack brought the cup to his lips with both hands and finished off the tea. He set it down and pushed it aside. It scraped the table. He then gulped and looked at the counter.
“I...I was standing there, at the register, when Chris came in. He was loud and yelling and I didn't know...I didn't really know him, and I didn't think he knew me. But he was shouting at me and he walked right up to the counter and screamed in my face. He accused me of stealing his mother's jewelry. Everyone in the cafe stared at us and he just wouldn't stop, he wouldn't stop at all. I tried telling him I didn't know what he was going on about but he wouldn't listen to me. He demanded I go with him to the police station but I said I couldn't leave the cafe. His face was red with anger and he just kept telling me I was going to jail and that I would pay for what I'd done. Then he reached over and grabbed me by the scruff of the neck.”
Ellen already had noticed the disheveled look of his clothes and she clenched her jaw at the thought of Chris manhandling Jack. There was a sharp disparity in their builds and it was akin to bullying, and if there was one thing that Ellen detested it was bullies.
“He pulled me and dragged me and, before I knew it, we were outside and everyone followed. I only just managed to pull away when he turned on me and punched me in the gut. I was about to defend myself but he was too quick. I took another one to the eye, then you came and it was all over. But he was adamant I had taken something from his mother and I didn't Ellen, I promise you I didn't.”
Ellen looked into his eyes and saw the desperate look of an innocent man, and for some reason or another Chris was sure Jack had taken something.
Ellen bit her lower lip and tried to think what really had happened. Chris was a fiery character and he had a reputation for flying off the handle. She knew that had she not intervened when she did something much worse could have happened. Just a year before Chris had put someone in the hospital after a drunken fistfight, and that had led to him being fired from his job at the factory. Word traveled fast in the town and he was a brute of a man. Being fired only fueled his bad temper and he walked around with a constant chip on his shoulder. He was one of those people who thought the world was out to get them, and when he saw the world beating on him he beat back at anyone who was in his path. Jack kept glancing out the window and Ellen knew why he was worried. Chris could have come back at any point. If he was so sure Jack was the culprit he wouldn't want to wait for the police to do their jobs. He'd want to dispense his own kind of justice, a swift one.
“I know Jack,” she said, and reached out to squeeze his hand.
His face lit up with relief, but then his brow furrowed in confusion. His dark, hooded eyes held within them a lot of pain. It was clear he had been so run down by life that he found it unexpected when something good happened to him. Ellen recognized that look the day she had offered him the job. It started out with him doing some odd jobs for her around the place. At first he thought it had been some kind of joke, not believing that anyone would want to hire him after all he had been through. But Ellen had indeed been sincere and he repaid her with no less than his full effort.
“You're too good to me Ellen. You have no reason to be, even I know that. If you want, I will get my things and go. I know it will look bad for the cafe if you have someone here who is suspected of being a thief, and it won't be good for business if Chris comes back round.”
“You let me worry about him, and remember there is still such a thing as being innocent until proven guilty. But for what it's worth, I don't believe you did it. I don't know why Chris is so convinced you did but there's something that's not sitting quite right with me. I know you, and I wouldn't have offered you the job if I thought you were an unsavory character. You know all too well what it's like to lose things and I do not believe you would want someone to suffer a similar fate.”
“That's true...” he said, and a rare smile appeared on his face.
“It's funny to think how much my life has changed since you offered me this job. I didn't think there was any hope for me after I had to sell everything to pay for my debts. I felt so stupid investing in that company. I knew in my heart it was a mistake but I was assured it was going to be a success. They kept wanting more and more money, promising me it all would turn out right in the end. Then with the gambling...I guess I just got used to living the high life.”
“I imagine it must have been quite addictive,” Ellen said in a neutral tone.
“I realize now the folly of my ways and I'm just glad I have the chance to appreciate life again. But I'm worried Ellen, what if this Chris is so convinced it was me that he comes back here? I've worked so hard to make my life better. I have the book club and this job...I don't want to see it taken away.”
“It won't be Jack; I can promise you that. Look, I'll speak to Andy and I'll see what's going to happen. There are proper channels for this. If Chris does come back to threaten you again you make sure to tell me and we'll try getting a restraining order on him. I don't know why he thinks you stole the jewelry but that's the first thing we're going to have to find out. I'm not going to let him get away with attacking you like that. One way or another he's going to apologize for what
he did. Have you ever had any dealings with him before?”
“Not that I remember,” Jack said, searching his memory, “I've seen him around town a few times, and I do remember seeing his mother in here. She's a kindly old woman, and if anyone did steal anything from her they should be punished but I haven't had any dealings with him directly, until now. I'm just...I'm so afraid he'll be there waiting for me,” he said. Ellen pressed her lips together and looked around the cafe.
“Look, I tell you what, since it's quiet in the café I'll lock up for a little bit and drive you home. I'll let you know what I find out, and don't worry about anything. I'm sure this is all just a big misunderstanding and it'll be sorted out as quickly as possible.” Jack offered her a grateful smile and as they drove home they began talking.
“I've seen a lot of things change here over the years. You know, sometimes I wonder what I was thinking when I tried making that investment. I was so sure I wanted to leave this place and live the big, glamorous life, but there's really no place like here. I mean, look at the trees and the scenery. Why would anyone ever want to leave?”
“I suppose we always think the grass is greener on the other side.”
“How foolish we are. Of course, it didn't help that I had Tilly urging me on. She always wanted the high life and I was so in love that I wanted to give it to her.”
“Do you ever speak to her anymore?”
“Not really...sometimes we pass each other on the street and we say hello but other than it's like we're strangers. Although, well, it was strange but, a while ago, she came around and asked me for money,” he laughed grimly.
“It seems life didn't turn out so well for her after she left me, either. Maybe she's the one who’s cursed.”
