by Nicole Ellis
Desi and I looked at each other. Her eyes were as wide as mine felt. He was Mindy’s husband? That poor woman. The man continued to berate the customer service representatives at the insurance company, and we snuck out of there before he could take his wrath out on us.
When we were down the stairs and to our car, which was parked one building over, Desi said, “So that was Mindy’s soon-to-be ex-husband.” She held her keys out and beeped the car open.
“Why do you think he’s going to be an ex? I mean, I wouldn’t want to be married to him, but he told the insurance company he was her husband,” I said as I grabbed the door handle.
Desi shrugged. “Angela knows everything and she told me that Mindy was going through a bitter divorce.”
“She was gossiping about Mindy?” I asked.
“No, not gossiping. She was complaining about Mindy’s unstable personal life and how it was affecting her.”
Now it made sense. I hadn’t seen Angela as someone who enjoyed the camaraderie of a gossip session, but griping to someone about how another person’s misfortune was affecting her—that seemed about right.
“It sounded like she never changed the insurance policy before she died and he gets all of the money,” I said.
“That’s what I thought too. I bet her daughter isn’t happy about that.”
“Wouldn’t she be ok with her dad getting the money?”
Desi turned the key in the ignition and warm air puffed out of the vent. “He’s not her dad. Her parents split up a long time ago. Apparently Stacey never got along with her stepfather.”
Angela really did know everything about everyone, just as her husband had claimed.
“That explains the crack he made about Stacey not being here.”
“Yeah, he really doesn’t seem to like Stacey,” Desi said. “Which explains why Stacey isn’t here. She probably wanted to stay as far away as possible from her stepfather and figured he could help us find the ledgers just as easily as she could.”
“So Mindy had a soon-to-be ex-husband who now inherits her life insurance policy. Sounds like a motive for murder to me,” I said.
“But how would he have access to Angela’s backyard? That’s what strikes me as odd. I wouldn’t think he was familiar with her house and I’d assume Mindy would have noticed him following her.” Desi bit her lip in thought.
“I don’t know. Are you going to call her daughter to find out where the storage unit is?” I asked.
“Yeah, I guess so.” She pulled out her phone and tapped a few buttons.
“Hello?” Desi said.
A woman’s tinny voice came through the phone line.
“This is Desi Torres. I spoke to you earlier about needing to find the MUMs financial ledger.” She listened as the woman spoke. “Uh huh. It wasn’t in your mom’s apartment. I’m sorry to bother you about this, but I really need the ledger. Do you know where it might be? Your mother’s husband was there and he said you had the key to the storage unit.” She held the phone away from her ear as the woman’s voice became louder. “Ok, we’ll see you then.”
“What did she say?”
“She wants me to meet her on Sunday at Lindstrom’s department store in the mall. She’s working today, but doesn’t have the storage unit key with her, so she said Sunday would be better.” Desi chuckled. “She had a few choice words to say about her mother’s former husband.”
That explained why Desi held the phone away from her ear. There was definitely no love lost between Stacey and John.
I shrugged. “If you want me to come with you, Sunday works for me. Adam will be home to watch the kids.”
Desi gave me a grateful smile. “Thanks, Jill. I really hope it’s there so I can get started on the treasurer work. If it’s not, I don’t know what I’ll do.”
I patted her hand. “I’m sure it’ll be there.”
“Are you going to the Harvest Carnival tonight?” Desi asked. “Anthony’s excited about dressing up for it and getting to wear his Halloween costume early.”
I nodded. “Mikey too. I hope Adam has their costumes ready. I haven’t tried on my Leia get-up. I have my fingers crossed that it’ll fit.”
She laughed. “Well, you’ll recognize me. I’ll be wearing my pumpkin costume for the third year in a row. I’m determined to get my money’s worth out of that thing. Lina’s going to be my baby pumpkin this year.”
“Cute.”
She dropped me back off at my house a little after one o’clock. Just enough time for a nap with the kids before it would be time to get ready for the Harvest Carnival. Worrying about murderers and their possible motives had worn me out and had kept me from sleeping the night before. With the hope of a little nap, I was looking forward to a fun evening out with my family.
14
“Are you ready?” Adam poked his head into our bathroom and whistled. “You look great.”
I shot him an amused expression and glanced at my reflection in the mirror. I’d found a loose white dress at a thrift store and tied it with a sash at my waist, then wound my long red hair up into twin buns on either side of my head.
“You look just like Leia.” He couldn’t stop staring.
“Ok, ok.” I turned and took in his costume. He was garbed in a Luke Skywalker costume, complete with light saber. “You know Mikey’s going to want one of those, right?”
He grinned at me devilishly. “I know. Why do you think I picked up an extra one?” From behind our dresser, he pulled out another light saber. “We’re going to have epic battles.”
I laughed. It was good to see him having fun with the kids. Speaking of the kids …
“Are the kids dressed?”
“They are.” He left the room and returned with Ella, who’d been turned into an Ewok. “Mikey, get in here.”
A miniature Darth Vader entered the room, solemnly saying, “Luke, I am your Father.” He then burst into an uncontrollable fit of giggles. “I’m Daddy’s father, heeheehee.”
I rolled my eyes. This ought to be an interesting Harvest Carnival at the preschool.
“Ok, let’s go.” I picked up the bottom of my dress and led them down the stairs and the door to the sidewalk.
“You don’t want to drive?” Adam asked.
“No.” I looked up at the sky. Clouds drifted across the inky darkness, blocking the half moon. “It’s a nice night and, besides, there won’t be any parking anywhere near the school.”
He shrugged. “Ok then.” He grabbed the stroller I’d left outside earlier and plopped Ella into it. Her eyes were as wide as half dollars as she looked between her family members.
I kissed her on the forehead as her head was covered by a brown cape and furry ears. “It’s ok, sweetie. It’s just us.”
She examined me dubiously and tugged at the fur on her head.
“Let’s go. I don’t want to be late.” Adam pushed the stroller down the hill toward town.
I had to stifle a laugh. I’d never seen him so excited about a school event before. If only this excitement could translate into the weeks we were required to be parent helpers. I’d be happy to let him have my shift at the preschool so I could avoid Nancy Davenport.
“I’m sure there will be plenty of candy left by the time we get there.” I walked carefully on the pavement, holding up my white dress so it wouldn’t drag and get dirty.
“Candy?” Mikey asked. “Cool! I’m going to get so much candy.” He put his hand on the stroller, trying to get Adam to go faster.
This was how the Halloween madness began—one piece of candy at a time. The crisp autumn air felt good on my face and we were walking fast enough that I didn’t feel cold without a coat. Besides, growing up in the Pacific Northwest, I knew enough to plan costumes where I could layer clothing under my costume. I was currently wearing a pair of long underwear and a thermal undershirt beneath my dress. I’d given Adam similar items for him and the kids; so as long as it didn’t rain, we would be good to go for a night outside.
> When we arrived at the Busy Bees Preschool, the parking lot had been transformed into a wonderland of kid-friendly game booths, a small bouncy house, and even a petting zoo to one side. They’d outdone themselves this year.
Mikey tugged at my sleeve. “Mommy, can we pet the goats?” He couldn’t take his eyes away from the petting zoo.
“Sure, honey, but let’s get something to eat first.” My stomach grumbled. We’d been so busy getting dressed that we hadn’t eaten dinner and I’d counted on there being something to decent eat at the Harvest Carnival.
“Looks like there are hot dogs and chips,” Adam said, peering over a sea of small children dressed as pumpkins, characters from popular cartoons, and the ever-popular witch and cat costumes.
“No pizza?” I really didn’t like hot dogs, but at this point, I was willing to make an exception.
“Doesn’t look like it.”
We paid our admission and made our way over to the food. He’d been right—only hot dogs were left.
He paid an exorbitant sum for three hot dogs and we carried them over to the picnic tables covered with orange plastic tablecloths to eat. I opened the refrigerated bag I’d stuck in the bottom of the stroller and took out the bottle I’d prepared for Ella. She took it out of my hand and sucked it down quickly, no warming necessary.
Mikey was only halfway through his food when he said, “There’s Case. Can I go play with him?” He pointed to a little boy standing with his mom near the bounce house. Case’s mom waved at me and smiled.
“Sure, go ahead.” From where we were sitting, I could see all of the carnival and a makeshift fence had been erected around the parking lot, so I didn’t think he could get into much trouble by himself.
“Do you think he’s going to finish that?” Adam asked, eying Mikey’s discarded hot dog.
“No, but do you really want to eat after him?” I screwed up my face.
He grabbed the food and moved it over to his plate. “Eh, it’s food.”
I laughed and helped Ella get the last few drops out of her bottle before gathering up our garbage and disposing of it in the trash bin.
“Ready?” I asked.
He tossed the last bit of hot dog into his mouth and crumpled up his napkin. “Yep. Let’s win us some candy.”
On the way over to the carnival games, someone tapped me on the shoulder and I turned around.
“Hi,” my friend Dorinda said.
Adam motioned to me that he and Ella were going to keep moving toward Mikey.
Dorinda’s four-year-old son tugged at her arm. “Mommy, can I go play with Mikey and Case?”
“Sure, go ahead.” She nudged him lightly toward the other kids and he left, the scales on his red dragon costume flashing as he ran.
“So how are things going?” I asked.
“Good. Daniel is enjoying school this year and Ericksville is starting to feel like home. It’s been a lot of work managing the business on my own, but we’re finally in the black.” She shook her head. “I don’t mean to speak ill of the dead, but Louis certainly had made a mess of things at Ericksville Espresso before he died. How about you?”
I laughed. “Well, Adam’s new practice is still in its infancy, so he’s home a lot, which is a challenge. Things are going well at work and we’re actually hosting the big haunted house this year.” I felt weird complaining about my husband being home too much to Dorinda. Her husband had died about a year ago and she and her son had moved to Ericksville to be closer to her in-laws. Soon after they’d moved here though, her new business partner at an espresso roasting company had been murdered. Not a very nice welcome. I was happy to hear that things were looking up for her and her son.
“Ooh, that sounds fun. Daniel and I will have to attend.” She scanned the preschool grounds. “Speaking of Daniel, where is he?”
I looked around. “There.” I pointed at the bounce house, where a red dragon was leaping out of the inflatable structure.
She smiled. “Looks like he’s having fun.”
Daniel took off across the parking lot to where Mikey and Case were standing in line for the fishing booth. Adam and Ella stood nearby and Dorinda and I joined them.
They reached the front of the line and extended a rod behind a tall divider. An unseen person tugged on the line and they pulled it back to examine their ‘fish.’
Mikey unclipped it and beamed at us. “I got vampire teeth, Daddy!”
“Whoa,” said Case. “That’s so cool.”
“Yeah, I want one too!” Daniel bounced up and down.
Mikey immediately unwrapped them and inserted the teeth in his mouth. They were meant for a slightly larger child and dwarfed his small lips. He clomped the teeth up and down.
“How are you going to eat Halloween candy with those in?” Adam teased.
Mikey’s eyes widened and he dropped them back into his candy bag. “I didn’t think of that. Now can we go pet the goats?”
“Sure.” I said goodbye to Dorinda and carried our little Ewok baby over to see the goats too. Although we had a cat and a dog, she’d never been around barnyard animals before, so I wasn’t sure how she’d react.
While Mikey and Adam petted the goats, I walked around with Ella, pointing at the bunnies and chickens. She lay against me, content to not be on the ground with them, but her eyes followed the animals as they strutted around.
I was watching a particularly cute brown lop-eared bunny nibbling on a bite of hay on the ground when someone tapped me on the shoulder. I froze. I’d seen Nancy over near the goldfish bowl game and I’d done my best to avoid her.
Please, please let this not be her, the evening is going so well. Ella squirmed, probably sensing my dismay.
I turned around to face the person. Appropriately, Nancy was dressed in a floor-length witch costume, complete with pointy hat. A paper broomstick was taped to her black dress.
“Nancy,” I said as pleasantly as I could.
Without preamble, she said, “I heard you’re now in charge of the annual Ericksville Haunted House.”
I relaxed a little. If it wasn’t preschool business, she didn’t have much say in what I did or didn’t do.
“I am. Why?”
“I wanted to make sure you were having a children’s section this year. Last year there wasn’t any area where small children could go in the haunted house. It was a disgrace.”
I wasn’t sure what Adam had planned, but we hadn’t discussed a children’s area and Angela hadn’t mentioned anything in her designs either.
“You know, I don’t think we are. Maybe that’s an idea for next year.”
“Next year? This is a community event. There needs to be more inclusion for all the children. I knew several families last year that weren’t able to attend because their small children were unable to participate.”
I nodded. “I understand your frustration.”
Adam and Mikey came up alongside me and an idea popped into my brain.
“Nancy, this is my husband, Adam. Adam, this is Nancy Davenport.”
“Nice to meet you,” Adam said, extending his hand. “I’ve heard a lot about you over the years.”
I elbowed him in the side, but he just smiled at Nancy.
She shook his hand vigorously. “So nice to finally meet you. I hear you have a new law practice in town. Maybe you’ll be able to take part in more of our school activities since your wife is too busy to do so.” She stared pointedly at me.
“Nancy, Adam is actually creating the haunted house this year. Perhaps you could speak with him about your ideas.” I smiled sweetly at her and grabbed Mikey’s hand.
Before either Nancy or Adam could object, Mikey, Ella, and I joined the flow of people moving toward the petting zoo’s exit. Part of me felt bad about throwing Adam under the bus with Nancy, but I’d done my share of dealing with her over the years.
Mikey took part in a race with a few of his classmates that involved eating a mini powdered sugar donut from a string. He came in se
cond place, but all the kids received a candy prize, so he was happy.
“Now can we do the fish bowl game?” Mikey pleaded.
“No, I told you. No more fish. We have a cat and a dog. That’s enough animals in our house.” Besides, after his most recent fish had died, I’d given away the aquarium. My house was blissfully free of fish and I intended for it to stay that way.
“Just one? I promise I’ll take care of it.”
I looked over at the glass bowls full of small goldfish swimming lazily in water.
“No. Sorry, kid.”
“But, Mommy!”
Adam found us, resting his hand on my shoulder as he took in the fish bowl game. “This looks fun. Did Mikey play yet?”
I removed his hand from my shoulder and glared at him. “No fish.”
He held his hands in the air. “Ok, no fish.”
He turned to Mikey. “Hey, I think I saw a pumpkin painting area. Do you want to do one with me?”
“Yeah!” Mikey exclaimed, the fish quickly forgotten, just the way it would have been if it had made it into our house.
I followed them over to the picnic table where kids and their parents were drawing pictures on pumpkins with paint brushes. I hovered over Adam while he helped Mikey draw R2-D2 on one.
“Not bad,” Adam said, admiring their artwork.
Mikey nodded in agreement. “Mine’s way better than Case’s.” He examined his hands, which were covered in black, blue, and white paint.
Adam laughed and pointed at the handwashing station in between the petting zoo and the painting table. “Go get washed up. I think they brought out apple cider and donuts at the food booth.”
He pushed himself up from the table, gingerly moving the paint-coated pumpkin to another, smaller table for drying.
“You know, Nancy isn’t as bad as you made her out to be.”
I said nothing, bouncing Ella in my arms.
“She had some great ideas for the haunted house. I think we can totally make a separate kids area that will have the same exit as the scarier main section. They can enter through one of the side doors.” He was practically bouncing as much as Ella.
