Becky was just about to take a step toward the man with one of her fists raised when they heard the sound of a siren pulling up to the front door. They all turned to look as the sheriff jumped out of his car and strode quickly into the lobby. Once he entered and saw that there was no bloodshed, he walked at a more sedate pace toward the three of them, holding his hands up in a placating manner. “That’s enough, let’s not start anything that I’ll have to finish. Becky, let me handle this.”
Abby looked around and realized that Becky had not lowered her fist, so she reached out and pushed it down for her. She wasn’t entirely sure Becky would’ve taken a swing, but she wasn’t sure she wouldn’t either. Becky clearly had a temper.
Becky nodded towards Abby as she lowered her arm, but clearly wasn’t done with being angry and turned her ire onto the sheriff, instead. “Bob, you’d better talk some sense into Frank right now!” she fumed and waved the paper at the sheriff. “I’m quickly losing my patience with this crappy investigation you’re running if you let things like this happen!”
The sheriff walked up and held his hand out for the paper which Becky deposited into his waiting hands. Abby had taken a step back at that point and was watching the entire proceeding and noticed Frank start to sweat.
Just as she suspected might happen, the sheriff's bushy eyebrows begin the lower over his eyes in anger before he looked back up at Frank. “Frank, you are a world-class idiot in a very small town. Do you have any clue how illegal this is!? You can’t just shut off someone’s account because they’re under investigation.”
Frank begin to crumble. “But…but I was just trying to help. Craig was a pillar of our community. She can’t be allowed to get away with this and if I let her have access to her money, who knows how far she would run?”
The sheriff just took a long deep breath and blew it out as he gave the bank manager his best irritated parent glare. He glanced over at Abby, giving her a pointed look before turning his eyes back to Frank and gave a very familiar speech. “Kind of you to try to give us a hand, almost like a real police officer. One who’s been trained to do this sort of thing for over twenty years and might know what they are doing.”
Frank blinked and opened his mouth like he was going to say something, but the sheriff just started shaking his head. Finally, the big man got the message and looked like he had the inklings of embarrassment.
“Can I please get my accounts back?” Becky snapped. “Not that they will be staying in this bank for very long, but it would be nice to be able to buy food.”
Abby had been casually watching Susan in the background and how her face had drifted from surprise to anger and finally into a state of triumph. She had been typing away for the past minute, and even as Frank turned toward her to give the order, she stood up and walked toward the group.
“All taken care of, Becky,” Susan said with a hint of triumph in her voice. She let her eyes drift over to Frank, only this time there was more confidence in them. “I reinstated her accounts. Also, I documented everything and sent that off to corporate.”
Frank’s eyes went from slightly apologetic to panic at light speed. “You did what?!”
“I sent all of the documentation of what you did to corporate,” Susan said slowly and clearly. “Everything.”
At that moment the phone in Frank’s office begin to ring with an ominous air. Abby almost felt sorry for him until she thought about the off-color jokes she’d overheard him say on her first day in town, and how he’d made Susan get him and Craig coffee. She hadn’t reminded herself about how he’d shut down Becky’s accounts before she stopped feeling sad for the man.
Frank’s eyebrows beetled as he took a step toward Susan and clenched his fists. “Do you have any idea what you’ve done? I swear to God, I’ll have you fired for this. You’ll never work in this town again! In fact, you are fired! Get your stuff and get out!”
Susan’s bravado quickly dissipated and she took a step back. Frank was a large man, and clearly, he knew how to intimidate a woman, but Abby was going to have none of it. Danny had been a front-line army officer, and she was used to the testosterone from him and his army buddies on game day.
“Hold on a minute, Mr.!” Abby growled as she stepped in his way. “Don’t you dare threaten Susan for something you decided to do, yourself. A sixth grader could’ve told you that cutting off someone’s bank account without police involvement was against the law. Now, you’ve been caught, and I’m not about to let you take it out on your employee. Probably ex-employee, and not the way you want that to happen, either.”
“Now you listen here,” Frank began, but sheriff Pearson joined Abby and put his hand on Franks' shoulder and steered him toward his office door. “Enough, Frank. You’d best answer your phone. It sounds like you’re going to have a lot of explaining to do, but honestly, you’re in a world of trouble. Even if Susan hadn’t done anything, I would have had to let your central office know this happened.”
Frank sunk in on himself as the sheriff let them back to his office. His red face quickly became ashen as he stood in the doorway and looked at the ringing phone. The sheriff gave him a gentle nudge and then closed the door before walking back to the three women.
“Thank you, Bob. And you too, Susan,” Becky said a clear sense of relief washing over her face. “I’m sorry I got so angry, but it’s been a stressful day. More like a stressful week.” She corrected herself. “I really should’ve just called you and let you handle it.”
Abby gave Becky a hug while Susan patted her on the shoulder. Her friend turned to Susan and gave her a huge hug as well. “Thank you, Susan. You always were the bravest of the S’s. I bet that felt good?”
Susan nodded and gave a huge grin. “You bet that did. I wasn’t about to pass up that opportunity. I was getting sick and tired of fetching his coffee for him, too.”
Abby smiled but tilted her head. “What does S’s mean? I mean, besides letters.”
Becky turned to her about to answer, but she was cut off when the sheriff stepped forward. “I understand you’ve had a bad day, Becky, and I’m sorry to have to do this, but I’m going to have to take you downtown.”
Becky gasped at the sheriff as he put his hand on her arm.
“But she didn’t do anything,” Susan said.
The sheriff looked at them all sadly and shrugged. He kept his voice down, but there was a note of iron to it. “This isn’t about what happened today. Something else came up in the case, and I’m going to ask Becky to come quietly. She’s not under arrest, but I need to talk to her. No need to make a scene, we just have some questions.”
Becky began to look panicky, and she blinked rapidly at the sheriff. “What do you mean something came up? I didn’t do it. What could come up?”
The sheriff turned her toward the front door, and fortunately, Becky followed along without fighting him. Abby was happy for that because she didn’t want to see her friend dragged out in cuffs for whatever was going on.
“We just have a few questions about something you might’ve said a few days before the festival,” the sheriff repeated and then turned to Abby. “Would you mind coming down as well? You can drive your car, but apparently, you were there when what was said, was said. I’d like to get your side of the story.” He shook his head as he opened the door for both of the women. “I guess you got your wish to be involved.”
Abby stood in the doorway and watched as the sheriff escorted Becky toward his squad car and sat her in the back seat. Thankfully, the man didn’t use his cuffs on an already mortified Becky. For her part, Abby was too busy racking her brains over the sheriff’s comment. Something Becky had said a few days before the festival?
Then it hit her. When Becky was trying to keep Mabel Clawson from attacking Craig, she mentioned poisoning him with her omelet. It was purely in passing, and no one would’ve ever taken it seriously, but after a murder how could you not? And why would Mabel purposefully tell the sheriff that? Abby wondered if the old w
oman was just mean spirited, or was trying to cover something up.
Abby let out a deep breath as she watched the sheriff begin to roll out of the parking lot. She gave Susan one last nod before heading for her own car, a sinking feeling deep in her chest. “Oh, jackrabbits,” she whispered to herself as she pulled out and followed the sheriff.
Chapter 21
It was exactly as Abby had feared and probably worse. Mabel Clawson had told the police that Becky had threatened Craig’s life with poisoning. If Abby was going to guess from the way the detective was asking her questions, Mabel had also overemphasized it to make it sound as if it were more menacing than it had been. Abby tried to downplay it, but she couldn’t tell if it had meant anything to the police officers. All she knew was that her friend was in even more trouble than before.
She’d called earlier in the day to let Hazel know where she was, but it wasn’t until four or five in the evening until she was able to leave the police station. She was famished, but the café was closed, and Callahan’s was just way too nice to go for casual dining. Walking into her grandmother’s house, she could hear Hazel puttering around in the kitchen, and when she stuck her head in to say hi, she saw a nice roast beef sandwich and a glass of milk waiting for her.
She looked up just in time to see Hazel gesture for her to sit down, and Abby wasted no time in picking it up and taking her first bite. Not only did it taste like heaven, but it was still warm and dripping in gravy. A fact that made her close her eyes and hum softly to herself in appreciation.
“Call me if you need anything, dear,” Hazel said as she gave Abby a hug before leaving the kitchen. Abby was thankful for that since she really didn’t want to talk about the day’s events yet. She was not only hungry but worn out from worry for her friend.
As she sat and ate her heavenly sandwich, her eyes roamed idly over the kitchen table and came to rest on a beautiful box sitting on top of some mail. It had the name of Callahan’s on it and a small, folded note attached to a string. Curious, she pulled it closer to herself and opened the note even as she chewed.
Welcome to the town, the note on the box said. The writing wasn’t very good, but the rest of the packaging was very nice. Abby would have given this as a present to her husband’s commanding officer any day.
After swallowing a few more bites of her sandwich and taking a drink of the milk, she called into the other room. “Grandma? What is this box in here?”
A moment later, Hazel stuck her smiling face into the kitchen. “Box? Oh, that. That came for you earlier today. I guess they sent Samantha down with it as a welcome gift. It’s an excellent year. One of those bottles of wine you want to let breathe before you drink it.”
“Samantha Greene?” Abby asked as she opened the box and pulled the bottle out.
“Yes, I think that’s her last name. She’s a sweet girl if a little quiet. I don’t believe she said more than four words to me but from what I hear, that’s kind of normal for her.”
Abby nodded. “That’s her. I think she might have autism or something. I’ve seen her once or twice around town.”
Hazel came into the kitchen and picked the bottle up out of Abby’s hand. “Dear, you’re likely to see everyone in town at least once or twice on any given day. That’s the nature of a small town.” She paused and sat down next to Abby, giving her a concerned look. “It’s also supposed to be peaceful, but these past few weeks have been anything but. How are you holding up?”
Abby gave a halfhearted laugh and shook her head. “I don’t know how to answer that. It’s overwhelming, but I don’t think it would matter where I was. Someone dies, and your best friend gets accused of it. I think I’d be equally weirded out anywhere.”
For some reason, Hazel smiled and leaned back. “Best friend?”
Abby blinked but then nodded. “Yeah. Yeah, I think that’s right. She is my best friend right now.” Abby frowned and just absorbed that for a few minutes. “How did that happen so fast?”
Hazel chuckled to herself and put the bottle of wine back into the box. “Well, sometimes that happens when things are crazy. When was the last time you had a best friend?”
Abby took another bite of her sandwich and chewed for a moment to think about it. When she finished, she put her sandwich down on the plate. “I had a lot of good friends amongst the wives of Danny’s platoon. Out of all of them, Lara was probably my best friend. Full of energy and drive, plus she loved to do projects. That woman was always learning something. She even taught herself how to do glass beads if you can believe it. She also loved people, and she loved to have people over. There always seemed to be people over there. I miss her.”
“Do you stay in touch?”
Abby shook her head sadly. “Not as much as I should. After Danny died, I withdrew into myself. When I moved to Phoenix, I just lost all touch with her. I have to say; it was just easier not to try to keep the friendship going. It wasn’t a good decision on my part.”
“Well, there’s always tomorrow. Many excellent friendships never truly end. I’m sure it will be like you never stopped talking when you call.”
Abby took a deep breath and blew it out but nodded before taking another bite. Hazel just sat quietly and waited while Abby thought things through. It was a companionable silence, and whereas with most people it would be awkward, with her grandmother it just felt okay.
“I don’t think things are going well with Becky, now. Not after what Mabel Clawson said to the police.
“What did she tell them?”
“She told them that Becky threatened Craig’s life. Threatened to poison him with her omelets. The worst part was I was there, and I heard it all,” Abby said sadly. “I mean, it was just in passing because the man was just that big of an ass, but she said the words. I know she didn’t mean them, but I think Mabel made it sound like she purposely threatened the man’s life.”
Hazel raised an eyebrow and shook her head. “The Clawson’s may be the oldest family in town, but they are far from the best. Mabel's not a bad person, but sometimes she doesn’t think things through. She may have just been trying to get the police out of her hair. However, if Becky did say that, she has to stand by what she said.”
Abby looked miserable and didn’t feel much like eating any longer. “I’m sure she didn’t do it,” She said half-heartedly.
“Well, if it’s any consolation I don’t believe she did it either. Someone took a shot at you out in the forest because they thought you might be trying to clear Becky. Now Mabel seems to purposely be trying to point the finger at Becky as well. If I were a betting woman, and I sure do go to the Indian casinos on the weekends, then I bet the sheriff sees that too. Bob Pearson is a smart man, and he won’t let someone pull the wool over his eyes.”
Abby looked up hopefully. “Do you think so?”
“Honey, I didn’t get this old by just lying to myself. I think that’s the way of it.”
“I probably shouldn’t go out with Gabe to the mushroom sellers tomorrow, then. I’ll just be getting in the way.”
Hazel just laughed and slapped the table. “Poppycock. You’d better go out with Gabe tomorrow. Did you see the dimples on that man?”
Abby’s eyes got wide, and she laughed along with Hazel. “What is it with everyone noticing his dimples?”
“It’s not that we noticed his dimples,” Hazel said with a twinkle in her eye. “It’s that we noticed you noticing his dimples.”
Chapter 22
The ride out to Clapshaw Road where the mushroom buyers gathered wasn’t exactly a short drive, but it was relaxing as they left the main roads and made their way through the well-traveled back roads of the mountains in Gabe’s big truck. Abby wasn’t sure what to expect, but she did enjoy the drive to get there.
When they arrived, she was surprised to find there was no building at all. Just a few trucks and jeeps parked haphazardly in a wide open area. Amusingly, amongst all of the trucks and SUV’s, she saw a too-pristine minivan that looked l
ike nothing more than a lapdog sitting amongst wolves.
Gabe drove over to where the trucks seemed to be a bit cleaner than the others with several men and a few women standing around talking. As they pulled up, all the eyes turned towards them, but no one had a smile.
“Don’t worry about them,” Gabe said. “Those are the buyers and a few sellers. They are all right, but the Forestry badge on the side of the truck makes them nervous. Not one of those scoundrels hasn’t tried to go fishing or hunting without a license at one point in their life. Once they see it’s me, they’ll relax.”
Gabe stopped the truck and turned it off before getting out and waving at the small group standing there. Their unfriendly expressions quickly turned to smiles when they saw who it was and they waved back happily enough. For her part, Abby was sure they would pull out banjos at any moment and have impossible to understand accents, but as they walked toward the group, most of them nodded politely and then continued talking in completely understandable English. She was finding that most of the people up in the Pacific Northwest tended toward no accent at all, even way up here in the woods.
“Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen,” Gabe said politely to the group as Cheerio hopped out of the truck and made a beeline for the people, wagging his tail as he received several pets from the assembled strangers.
A chorus of ‘hey Gabe’s’ and ‘hello’s’ greeted them, but she saw several of the older men begin digging into pockets. Gabe held his hands up and shook his head. “Don’t worry; I’m not up here checking licenses today. Just came out to see how things were going with the season and see if you had any more good Sasquatch stories.”
Hot Tea and Cold Murder: A Red Pine Falls Cozy Mystery (Red Pine Falls Cozy Mysteries Book 1) Page 10
