by Leona Fox
She took a sip of her drink and looked out of the window. “I hope he finds what he needs.”
“I think he actually was afraid I wasn't going to approve his transfer request. I'm sure he'll be happier where he's going. He can get lost in the crowd and work behind the scenes, and help in his own way. Speaking of which,” Andy said, checking his watch, “I'd better get going. I've got to meet Iris for another meeting.”
“How is she getting along?” Ellen asked.
“She's a real go-getter. Kinda reminds me of myself when I was younger, which also means she's going to be trouble. I'll catch up with you later,” he said, bending down to give Ellen a kiss on the cheek, and nodding to Kelly. The two women watched him leave and Ellen sighed.
“Are you jealous that Andy is spending so much time with a younger woman?” Kelly said with a teasing look in her eyes. Ellen gave her a tired smile.
“I don't have the energy to be jealous. Besides, Andy talks about her too much for there to be anything going on. If there was he'd be much more clandestine about it. Andy's not like that anyway. If he was, I wouldn't have fallen in love with him in the first place.”
“Good point, I was only making sure.”
“It's actually good for him to have someone to mentor...pass on all his wisdom. Even though he doesn't talk about it often I think he would have liked to have had a child, so this lets him indulge his fatherly side.”
“Have you met her yet?”
Ellen shook her head. “No. I've been keeping away from the station for the last couple of weeks. Tried to focus on this place, not that it's done much good...” she said, her voice trailing off as she looked around at the unusually quiet atmosphere.
A couple of people were sitting in the corner but, other than that, Ellen and Kelly had the place to themselves. Well, Scampy was there as usual too, and unlike his owner he was enjoying the emptiness of the cafe. It allowed him to run around the floor without the risk of getting tangled in anyone's legs.
“You're really worried about Maggie, aren't you,” Kelly said with a hint of surprise in her voice.
“Can you blame me?”
“It's just that you've always been unflappable. I've never known anything to get under your skin. Even with all the crimes we've helped solve you've always kept a level head. What is it about this woman that's making you feel so threatened?”
Ellen leaned back in her chair and gripped her large mug with two hands, feeling the warmth emanate through her skin. “When I help Andy with crimes it's not my job. I'm just doing it because I have a talent for it and I don't want to sit by and not help when I can make a difference. But this is my life, you know? My livelihood. You know as well as I do that the cafe wasn't exactly making loads of money and if Maggie steals all my customers, well, the better woman will have won.
“This cafe though...if it has to close it's going to feel like a waste of all those years...of my inheritance. What would my parents think if they knew I had squandered it? I could have used the money they left me to travel the world, to move somewhere completely different...I don't like the idea that I've wasted the last few years of my life.”
“Ellen,” Kelly replied in a matter-of-fact tone, “I'm sure that on more than one occasion you've told me that nothing is a waste of time because, at the very least, it gives you experience. And you can't tell me you haven't enjoyed owning and operating this cafe. Without it your time here would have been completely different,” and as Kelly said that Ellen's mind drifted toward another life, another path where she did something else after her parents died.
She could have left East Pender behind and traveled the world, but she never would have formed a friendship with Kelly, never would have fallen in love with Andy, and never would have owned Scampy. More than that, all the people she helped would have had different outcomes. She influenced so many lives, but that still couldn't quell the feeling of hollowness at the thought of the cafe failing.
“I know that. I'm just feeling a little low at the moment, that's all. I guess I don't really know what my place is anymore. The work with the police is taking up more and more of my time...maybe it's right that Maggie is here. Maybe the people need a cafe that is dedicated to giving them a good space, someone who isn't so distracted all the time.”
“Ellen, you're being way too hard on yourself and I don't like seeing you like this. You know you're going to be okay. If the cafe needs anything, like some investment, you know I've got you covered, and even if it did have to close I'm sure Andy could pay you for consulting with him. This isn't as bad a situation as it seems.”
“Yeah, you're probably right,” Ellen said, smiling weakly, “I guess it just feels like there's a lot changing around here and I've never been the type of person who likes change.”
“Some changes are good. I never thought I'd get married but here we are,” Kelly said, admiring the elegant ring that curled around her finger, the diamond sparkling as it caught the light.
“Am I going to hear about your honeymoon again?” Ellen asked, with a mischievous twinkle in her eyes.
“It was the best time of my life,” Kelly said, her smile widening.
Since she had been back from her honeymoon Kelly barely had been able to talk about anything else because it had been, in her own words, 'magical'. It was evident to Ellen that something had changed within Kelly as well. It often has been said marriage changes a person, and here Ellen was seeing it first-hand. Kelly seemed more secure in herself, more focused than she had been before. There was a calm serenity about her, as though she had worked out the mysteries of the universe...or perhaps it was that she simply didn't care about them any longer. Either way, Ellen was pleased to see her friend had made the right decision in getting married.
“Are you not even the least bit curious as to what the place is like?” Kelly asked.
“Of course I am, but given what happened between the two of us, I think it's bad form to go over there now. I don't want to distract from her opening,” Ellen replied.
After Maggie's cafe was burgled she had to put the opening back a couple of weeks. In that time, she had placed large sheets over the windows so nobody could see inside. That made everyone far more curious and eager to attend when it finally did open, including Ellen. It took a lot of self-restraint not to head over there and see what was going on.
“It'll even out, you know. People are just going there today because it's the grand opening and they're curious. They're not going to forget about you just because there's something new. Case in point,” Kelly said, nodding toward the door as Ray came in.
The mill manager was looking good, if not a little more tired since he had taken over the manager role, but he greeted the women with a friendly smile.
“It's good to see you Ray,” Ellen said, and rose from the table to serve him. “I'm surprised you're not at Maggie's with everyone else.”
“After everything that happened I'm always going to be loyal to you. If it wasn't for you I wouldn't have a job, and the mill would be in the hands of some horrible businessman. I owe you a debt that never can be repaid,” he said sincerely, and Ellen almost blushed.
“Let's hope other people around here share your feelings,” Kelly said.
“The problem with people is they're fickle. They see something new and shiny and their attentions gets caught by it, but don't worry. This cafe is almost an institution itself and people aren't going to forget it that easily. Just give them time, they'll come back. I did pass it, though. It's looking good in there. Whatever you may say about her she's done a good job at getting that place ready. Did most of it herself as well, she's a determined one, got a lot of heart,” Ray said, waiting for his hot chocolate. He placed a food order as well and remained leaning on the counter, happily chatting away to Kelly and Ellen.
“That's enough about cafes anyway. How are you, Ray? How's the mill?”
Ray ran his hands through his salt and pepper hair, and craned his neck back. “I gotta tell you,
this management lark isn't that easy. Emily manages to handle the business side of it and I handle the people but, well, when I was just their rep it was different. I could be their buddy and we still could joke around, but now I have to make the hard calls and some of them don't like that. It's tough, you know? To have to tell your friends things they don't want to hear. It can get quite lonely but, hey, it needs to be done. So who am I to complain?”
“I'm sure you're doing a better job than you think, and there's no better man for the job, in my opinion,” Ellen said.
“That means a lot to me, Ellen. It really does. I hold your opinion in very high regard,” he said, and made his way to a table where he picked up a paper and started reading it.
Ellen put his order through and then went to sit back down with Kelly. Ray was at the table over from them and was leafing through the paper, still chatting away happily.
“I'm glad those storms are over, though. It was hell living through them. One night I was walking back and I was only out there for about five minutes before I was soaked through! Still, I guess a little bit of stormy weather isn't too big a price to pay for the rest of the year. I'm not looking forward to winter. Think I might go down and visit my brother in Florida. It's the cold, it makes my joints ache.”
“I never thought you were that old, Ray,” Kelly said in her charming way that always made men take a shine to her.
“It's a life of manual labor. I've put my body through a lot over the years. Sometimes when I wake up it's hard to get out of bed but, hey, you don't want to hear about the problems of an old man.”
“We don't mind, and you're not old, Ray. But you actually could help me. I was just talking to Ellen because she's a bit down in the dumps. I was telling her East Pender wouldn't be the same without her.”
“Oh, definitely not! I know my life certainly wouldn't be. I can't imagine what we would have done without you. I know Andy is the chief of police and I respect that greatly, but you're one of us, Ellen. You were born here and you have a connection to this town that goes beyond anything else.”
Ellen felt like blushing again. Scampy ran up to her and started pawing at her legs. She scooped him up in her arms and cuddled him.
“Frankly,” Ray continued, “I'm surprised you're not over there now to see what Maggie is doing.”
“She didn't want to disrupt the opening,” Kelly said, rolling her eyes. Ellen pouted toward Kelly.
“I don't think it would be disrupting. I think you're doing more harm staying here. At least if you're there people will know you showed up, that you were open enough to wish Maggie the best. I don't know the exact details of what happened between you two but she can't complain if you show up, and you'd look like the bigger person.”
Ellen considered his words and after contemplating them for a couple of minutes she decided to indulge her curiosity, leaving Kelly to watch over the cafe in her absence. Before she left she served Ray his meal. Then she made her way over to Maggie's, anxiety swelling inside her as she thought about how her friend had turned to a rival, all because she had been swayed by her fears.
The doors to Maggie's cafe were wide open and the sounds of buoyant conversation rang down the street. Even from a distance Ellen could see that the place was packed, and she couldn't help but feel a professional envy for Maggie. The outside looked fairly plain, but inside the place had a unique feeling. Ellen pushed past a number of people, who all whispered in surprise at her presence, as she looked around at the building to see how it compared with her own.
Maggie's cafe had a much different aesthetic than Ellen's. The walls were covered in expansive murals; a colorful mixture of paints that swirled and melted into each other. It had a lounge feel, with lots of low, comfortable seats accompanied by beanbags, cushions and pillows. The drinks she offered were exotic. They hinted toward a broader cultural experience than what one would have assumed after talking with Maggie who, with her thick Southern accent, seemed as though her blood ran red, white, and blue.
The crowd shifted upon Ellen's arrival and she greeted the people around her with a smile, trying to ignore the way they looked at her, as though she were an intruder. The spat between her and Maggie was public, and while Ellen had tried to enforce a dignified silence, Maggie had not been so inclined. While at first Ellen had considered her a friend it seemed that when the battle lines had been drawn Maggie was a fierce rival and would do anything to sully her, but Ellen was determined not to sink to that level. Behind the counter, Maggie was red-faced and tired, but smiling widely at how rushed she was. As she cast her eyes across the cafe she saw Ellen, and her face turned into a scowl.
“Congratulations on your opening, it looks like everyone is having fun,” Ellen said in a calm voice.
“Thank you,” Maggie said tersely, then turned to serve another customer.
“I just hoped, now that you're open, we can put what happened behind us. I was in a bad place; I didn't mean anything by it. I'd like us to be friends again.”
Maggie swung her head around and looked at Ellen with fire burning in her eyes. Her voice was low and every word laced with bitterness.
“They sound like the words of a woman who knows she's in for a tough time. I bet you would like us to become friends, wouldn't you? Find a way for both our cafes to co-exist? But you only are suffering from the consequences of your actions. You began this conflict, Ellen, but I am going to finish it and there is nothing you can do or say that will stop me. And now, I would ask you to leave this establishment as you are not welcome here. I would hate to think that you are stealing ideas from my cafe.”
Ellen was about to say something in response when Maggie twisted away and moved out of sight, swallowed by the crowd. Filled with much regret, Ellen steeled herself against sorrow, for it was clear Maggie was not open to repairing their relationship. While Ellen's actions had led to this disagreement, she had given Maggie ample opportunity to form a truce and anything that happened now was entirely her decision. Ellen simply had to prepare to fight for her customers. But still, she was happy to concede this night to Maggie, and backed out of the cafe as requested.
She hurried back to her own cafe and through the window she saw Kelly and Ray laughing. As she opened the door she saw Ray's expression change to one of shock and he winced in pain, his hand cradling his stomach. His eyes widened and he stared at Ellen. He was about to say something but never got the chance. He slumped over, crashing down on the table. Kelly shrieked and the other customers turned around to see what had caused the commotion. Ellen ran to the table and placed her fingers against Ray's neck. She felt nothing.
Chapter 2
“Call an ambulance,” Ellen said as she pulled out the chair and laid Ray out on the floor, keeping him stable.
“There's no pulse,” she said, leaning over his mouth to try hearing any sign of breathing.
The other customers gathered around, peering down at her as she shook her head and pulled out her own cellphone, placing a direct call to Andy.
“How could he just drop dead like that?” Kelly asked.
“I don't know,” Ellen said, rising up from her knees and placing her hands on her hips.
“There is a disorder called Sudden Death Syndrome, which causes people to drop dead unexpectedly, as the name would suggest. But from the way he gripped his stomach it would seem that he felt something inside.”
“Could it have been a heart attack? He did mention how the physical labor was taking its toll,” Kelly suggested. Ellen pursed her lips.
“We'll have to wait for the experts to arrive before we make any other judgments.”
And they did not have to wait long. Soon enough they heard the sirens screaming through the streets as the police and medical teams arrived. Of course, this got the attention of the people in Maggie's cafe. They soon migrated toward the scene of the crime, much to Maggie's annoyance. Ellen waited patiently and described what had happened to Andy, also mentioning that she had left the cafe for a period
of time.
“And did anything happen in this space?” Andy asked Kelly.
“Not at all, we were just chatting as normal. I was telling him about my honeymoon and he was telling me about his. He didn't even cough or anything, then Ellen came back and it happened exactly as she said.”
“Were you distracted at any point? Could anything have happened if you had turned your head away?” Andy continued.
“Not in the slightest. And you can ask the other customers. They'll tell you the same thing.”
Indeed, they did. Andy ordered Iris to take down their reports. Iris stood about five feet four inches tall, a little shorter than Ellen, and had black hair that was tied into a ponytail, hanging down just below the base of her neck. She was so young, with all the world in front of her, and Ellen envied her for this. She also carried herself with a professional demeanor as she went over to talk to the other customers. Andy came over to Ellen, shaking his head.
“Ray was a good man,” he said.
Both of them watched as his body was gathered up and taken away by the coroner. The people looking on were stunned and anxious, but also curious as they tried to see what was happening. Andy's officers did their job well, though. They managed to keep everyone out of the cafe, although they had to part when Ray's body was taken out. The mood was somber and Ellen was quiet, only hearing Iris' soft voice as she questioned the other customers.
When she was done, Iris came back and placed her hands behind her back as she delivered the report to Andy, also nodding at Ellen. This gave Ellen the opportunity to study her. She had big dark eyes, almost black, and milky skin. There was something about the way she looked as well, as though there was a fire burning inside her. Andy hadn't told Ellen too much about Iris but from what he had said she gathered Iris was an ambitious sort and Ellen watched her with interest. She was certainly different from Lister, who had entered the crime scene with no confidence at all and clearly didn't belong. That wasn't the case with Iris. She was meant to be here, born for this job.
