Ring In the Year with Murder--An Otter Lake Mystery

by Auralee Wallace

“Well, I wouldn’t say that I’m hiding exactly. They surprised me. That’s all.” I started chewing the corner of my mouth before I remembered I was wearing lipstick. I gave my teeth a quick rub with the side of my finger. “I just needed a second to compose myself. I’ll go and say hi in a bit.”

  I got an identical “Uh-huh.”

  “No, really. It’s kind of like spiders,” I went on.

  “Spiders,” Tweety repeated, tapping the side of her glass.

  “Like I’m fine with spiders in theory. And I don’t squash them with tissue when I see them in the house. In fact, I take them outside by trapping them in a glass and sliding a piece of paper underneath.” I made the gesture with my hands. “But it’s not like I want to be surprised by one running across my pillow when I’m half asleep. ’Cause that’s terrifying. Like Candace and Grady suddenly appearing when you’re not expecting them. You know what I mean?”

  “Nope,” Kit Kat said.

  I nodded. “Can you see them?”

  She leaned heavily over the armrest of her chair to peer out into the front hall. “Yup. They’re talking to Rhonda and some beautiful redhead.”

  Tweety had to get up to lean over her sister to see. “Oh yeah. She is beautiful.” She looked over to me. “Nice dress. Kind of looks like yours. But, you know … what’s the word I’m looking for?”

  “Nicer,” Kit Kat replied. “Much nicer.”

  “What?” I leaned over to get a peek. Huh, Grady and Candace had their backs to me, but I could see Rhonda and her cousin. Wow, she was gorgeous. And yes, she was wearing a dress near identical to mine except hers was white and silver, not red, and was probably the dress that my dress wanted to be when it grew up. She also had finger-waved hair—perfectly done finger-waved hair by the looks of it—that wasn’t in the shape of a mermaid. How had she found time to do that and deliver a baby horse? They must teach that in grad school.

  I sat back down. “That’s Rhonda’s cousin Jessica,” I said. “She’s a vet.”

  “Oh that’s good,” Tweety said, sitting back down. “Maybe she can take a look at Freddie’s dog. I think it might be dead.”

  “Stanley’s not dead,” I said, leaning over to pat his belly … and maybe check to see if he was still breathing. “Just really old.”

  “We’re really old,” Kit Kat said, smiling at her sister. “And you don’t see us passed out on the floor of a New Year’s party.”

  “Not yet anyway.”

  They clinked glasses and laughed, arms crossed over their bellies—probably to prevent any laughing hernias.

  We fell into silence.

  “So…” Tweety said with a slow nod. “You want to talk about it?”

  “No. No. You guys just carry on with whatever you were talking about. Don’t mind me.”

  “Okay,” Kit Kat answered. “Hey, Erica, did you hear Burt Young died yesterday? He went to five different family Christmas dinners. Doctor said no heart could take that many marshmallow-topped sweet potatoes.”

  “Interesting,” I said, looking over my shoulder.

  “Although,” Tweety went on. “I think it would take more than just sweet potatoes. I’m going to ask Joyce what kind of desserts he had. She knows Betty, Burt’s wife, pretty well. She’ll find out the real deal. Eggnog cheesecake,” she said with a knowing wag of her finger. “Now that’s a killer.”

  “Sounds nice,” I said, stretching up a little farther in my seat.

  Kit Kat slapped my knee. “Burt Young dying sounds nice?”

  “Sorry. Sorry,” I said, sinking back down. “I was just … nothing.” I shook my head. This was ridiculous. I was being ridiculous. I needed to focus. I was here to do a job tonight, and despite what Amos had said about this letter writer being all bark and no bite, I couldn’t help but think finding out as much as I could about the threats to Candace was an important part of doing that job. Now might be a good time to do a little intel gathering. “Hey, have you guys heard about anything weird at all happening around town lately?” I was purposely avoiding any details. Amos was a sweet kid. I didn’t want to get him in trouble for being loose-lipped about police business.

  “You’re going to have to be way more specific than that,” Tweety said. “Do you mean weird like Mr. Carlise mowing the church’s lawn at five in the morning?”

  “Or weird like Mrs. Coulter stealing her neighbor’s cat and trying to pass it off as her own,” Kit Kat finished.

  “Neither. Weird like illegal maybe?”

  “Nothing that jumps to mind. Why do you ask?”

  “No reason really,” I said, trying to look like I meant that. “I just heard something about Candace that—”

  “Candace! Oh we’ve got news about Candace,” Kit Kat said, hauling herself up excitedly in her seat.

  “I can’t believe we’ve been sitting here talking about a dead man and his sweet potatoes when we could’ve been talking about what we heard at euchre last night.”

  Kit Kat nodded and leaned in too.

  I thought about resisting the group huddle. I was pretty sure, judging by the excitement on their faces, that this was some pretty salacious gossip, and I was trying to be a better person, but who was I kidding? Sure, I had moved on, but I was still human. And it was totally normal for me to be interested in what my ex was up to. I mean, would social media even exist if people weren’t interested in what their exes were up to?

  “Well,” Tweety said, leaning in even closer—which made me lean back. I didn’t want to get drunk on the fumes of her breath. “It seems there was a new man in town yesterday looking for Candace.”

  “Big guy,” Kit Kat added with a double pop of her eyebrows. “Really handsome.”

  I frowned. “How do you know he was looking for Candace?”

  “He was sniffing around MRG.” MRG Properties had bought an old Victorian house on Main Street and had converted it into a temporary base of operations.

  “That could be anyone,” I said. While my interest was definitely piqued, given the letters, I didn’t see what was so exciting about this. “It was probably work related.”

  “No. No. No,” Tweety said with a devilish smile. “That’s not what it looked like at all.”

  Kit Kat nodded. “Word has it, he was nervous. Like he couldn’t quite work up the guts to go up to the door.”

  “At least one source had him carrying flowers.”

  I cocked my head. “What exactly are you two getting at?”

  They exchanged looks before Kit Kat said, “You put it together.”

  I sighed. “Candace isn’t cheating on Grady.” I believed that too. In many ways, Candace and I didn’t have a lot in common. As a person, she was warm and welcoming and sweet. And not that I wasn’t those things, but … well, she was much better at them. And even though I couldn’t see us having sleepovers anytime soon so we could braid each other’s hair, I did believe she was a good person. “She’s not the type.”

  “We never said she was cheating,” Kit Kat said deadpan. “What a thing to say!”

  “Although,” Tweety added, pointing her Scotch glass at me, “it would make sense given all the other rumors that have been floating around.”

  I looked from one twin to the other. “What other rumors?”

  “You know. All the ones about Grady and Candace—”

  Suddenly Kit Kat slapped my knee. “Whoop! Whoop! Red alert! Red alert! The eagles are flying.”

  “Who’s flying? Grady and Candace?”

  “How many other people are you hiding from tonight?”

  I popped to my feet and lunged to the far side of the wall. “I’m not hiding. I’m just taking a moment to get myself to—”

  “Erica! Not that…”

  And ran right into Candace and Grady.

  “… way.”

  Chapter Five

  “Grady! Candace! Hi!” I practically shouted. “Happy New Year!”

  Oh wow, Grady looked nice in his tux. Then again with his model build, chiseled good look
s, and soul-piercing blue eyes, Grady looked nice in just about anything … and nothing. He really looked good in nothing …

  I gave my head a shake. Candace looked great, too, in her black sequined dress. It contrasted nicely with her bouncy blond hair and dimples. Well, maybe her dimples didn’t contrast with the dress, but … whatever.

  They both smiled at me, looking just a little taken aback by my enthusiastic greeting, then in a startling gesture Grady leaned toward me. Oh my God. What was he doing? Kissing my cheek? I wasn’t ready for that kind of contact! And I couldn’t help but think Candace wouldn’t appreciate it either!

  Before I realized what I was doing my hand had flown up into a stop gesture right in front of Grady’s face. Yup, that’s right, this year I was single-handedly bringing back talk to the hand.

  He froze.

  I chuckled. “Uh … New Year’s high five!”

  He lightly slapped my palm with his.

  Well, that had gone well. Almost exactly how I had pictured it in my head.

  I took a breath then turned to Candace. Oh jeez, it looked like she was coming in for a hug. She always had been a hugger. Okay. No problem. I could do this. I could hug my ex’s girlfriend. No big deal.

  Candace and I both lifted our hands at the same time for the embrace, knocking each other’s knuckles.

  “Oops,” she said sweetly.

  “Fist bump,” I said, chuckling and rubbing my knuckles. That had hurt.

  We leaned toward each other again … and I don’t know exactly what happened. I think she thought I was going for the fake cheek kisses when I thought we were doing a straight hug, but whatever happened, somehow my lips ended up smearing across her cheek.

  “Oh,” she said, leaning back. “I think you got me there.”

  I stared at the horror of what I had done. “Oh … I did. You’ve got just a bit of lipstick on you … there.” I pointed at her cheek. It kind of looked like I had slashed her with a razor.

  She rubbed the spot. “Well … Happy New Year.”

  “Happy New Year to you too!” I smiled big and nodded. They smiled back. Then we all looked away … at nothing.

  “Oh Erica, I wanted to introduce you all to someone,” Candace said, stepping to the side to reveal a pretty but dour-looking girl wearing a long black dress. “My sister, Bethanny.”

  I shot the girl a quick wave. “Hi!” I didn’t know Candace had an adopted sister. At least I was guessing she was adopted given that she was Asian. Freddie would be excited. He thought it was really funny to take pictures of himself and every minority that came to town and then offer the photos to the library for the archive. Freddie was a master at awkwardness.

  “She’s doing her first year at Dartmouth. We’re so proud of her,” Candace said, giving the girl’s shoulders a squeeze. She then leaned toward me and said in a quiet voice, “We were hoping to cheer her up tonight. She’s going through a bad breakup.”

  “I am standing right here,” Bethanny said dryly. “Where’s the bathroom?”

  Candace looked around the room. “Oh, I’m not sure…”

  “Never mind, I’ll find it.” And with that the girl left.

  “Don’t mind her,” Candace said quickly. “You know how brutal breakups can be.”

  I nodded. Yes, yes, I did.

  She blushed and exchanged a quick look with Grady.

  This was going great. Now how did I make it stop? What was the minimum acceptable time for small talk with one’s ex?

  “So, Erica, how’s the house hunting going?” Grady asked.

  I shot him a look that said, Really, Grady? Really? A moment later I saw the realization dawn in his eyes. Real estate wasn’t exactly a neutral subject in Otter Lake. “Um … it’s been tricky.”

  Candace nodded.

  Part of Candace’s job at MRG these days included getting a jump on any property that went up for sale in Otter Lake. There was no way I, or any other mere mortal who wanted to live in town, could outbid MRG.

  Silence fell over us again for a good long moment.

  “I heard Freddie got a dog,” Grady suddenly said. “I was kind of surprised after … what was his other dog’s name?”

  “Daisy,” I said with a small nod.

  “Yeah, Daisy.” Grady’s face broke out into a smile. “That’s right. After Daisy, I didn’t think he’d ever love again.”

  “Who’s Daisy?” Candace asked.

  Grady frowned. “It’s a long story.”

  “A sad one too,” I threw in.

  “Oh,” she said with a nod.

  Okay, fine, that had felt a little rude. It’s not like we were purposely trying to leave her out. Grady and I shared a lot of Otter Lake history. But I guess he was feeling the same guilt because he added, “I can tell you later.”

  “Sure.”

  “He says he’s not keeping him, though,” I threw in quickly.

  “What?” Grady asked.

  “Well, he only has him because Stanley’s original owner is going into a nursing home. She was the breeder for Daisy. She remembered how much Freddie loved Daisy, and asked him to take Stanley. He couldn’t say no, but now he swears he’s taking him to the pound once—”

  Suddenly the sound of a glass shattering came from behind me. I whipped my head around. Mrs. Robinson, town librarian, had dropped her champagne. When I turned back, though, I saw Candace clutching Grady’s arm, face white as a sheet.

  “Are you okay?” I asked.

  She shook her head, making her blond bob shudder. “I’m fine. I was just startled. It’s been a long day. Week, actually.”

  “Can I get you a glass of water or something?” I asked, reaching to touch her elbow, but she stepped back with a nervous chuckle.

  “I think I might need something stronger.”

  Okay, that was new. Candace wasn’t a drinker. My eyes flashed to Grady’s. His jaw flexed.

  “Erica,” Grady said, shaking his head. “Candace is…”

  My breath caught as I waited for him to finish that sentence.

  It could be anything.

  Maybe something to do with our earlier conversation …

  Candace is just doing her job.

  Or …

  Candace is going through a tough time. Someone’s been threatening her.

  Or maybe something unexpected like …

  Candace is allergic to gluten.

  Or maybe …

  Candace is no longer my girlfriend, so she’s turned to the bottle.

  “Grady,” Candace interrupted. “Can I talk to you for a second?”

  The couple exchanged an intense look. There was a lot going on in that look. I couldn’t help but wonder if it had anything to do with the rumors the twins had been going on about. ‘Cause right before I had run off, I almost thought they were about to tell me that Grady and Candace were breaking up. Not that I was swirling overhead like some starving vulture.

  “Erica,” Candace said, turning to me. “Would you excuse us?”

  Caw!Caw!

  “Oh sure. I’ll just…” I put up my skedaddling thumbs and jerked them to the side.

  “Actually, we’ll go. If you see Bethanny, tell her we’ll be right back.”

  I nodded. “Sure. No problem.”

  “Oh, but before we do,” she said. “I wanted to tell you something.”

  Uh-oh, I did not like the seriousness of her expression at all.

  “I just wanted to give you a heads-up that Bryson is coming tonight.”

  “Oh,” I said, straightening. Then I repeated my “oh” with a lot more disgust. “Your boss, Bryson?”

  “He’s not my boss anymore,” Candace said. “He’s actually my assistant now. The company didn’t know what to do with him after all those accusations of bribery and blackmail two summers ago.”

  Bryson had been accused of paying some town locals to cause trouble around the lake to incentivize some of the older property owners to sell their land to MRG. The charges never went anywhere. MRG
could afford some pretty fancy lawyers.

  “Okay, but I don’t get what this really has to do with me?”

  She winced. “I think he’s got it in his head that you are going to be his New Year’s Eve … conquest.”

  “Ew,” I said, meaning every last bit of it. “Seriously?”

  “I just thought you’d appreciate having some warning.”

  “I do. I mean, thank you.”

  She nodded and walked toward a hallway on the opposite side of the foyer. Grady hesitated, meeting my eye. There was a lot going on in that look too … but I had no idea what any of it meant! Then he was gone.

  A strange powerful feeling thudded in my veins. Nope. That could not possibly be what I thought it was. Not again. I mean, couples did fight … and I had moved on. For the most part. So there was no way I was feeling just the tiniest flicker of hope right now …

  I chewed the side of my thumbnail, but stopped when I felt a bit of polish chip off into my mouth. Gross. I brushed it off my lip.

  No. No. Hope was not a good thing. Hope meant opening doors. Opening doors that I had been working so hard to shut.

  I had spent a lot of time over the last nine months trying to process what had happened between Grady and me. And it wasn’t just about how things had ended. There were other sticking points that I had trouble moving past. The main one being that the major obstacle that had been standing in our way was now removed. Grady had never really believed that I was going to move home. And now that I had spent months and months thinking about it, it made total sense that that was such a big deal for him. You see, Grady’s father had left when he was a teenager. It was a big shock for everyone—especially Grady. It had seemed like they’d had the perfect family, but, apparently, his father had fallen in love with someone else and just left. Grady had told me how much it had hurt him, but I didn’t realize at the time that my inability to jump into a relationship with both feet had probably triggered a lot of that pain. Stupid, I know. But I was dealing with my own commitment stuff, and now I was home, and … Gah!

  See? This was exactly what I did not want to do anymore. Go over the same stuff again and again. It got me nowhere. So what if I had figured all this out now? Grady was with Candace. End of story.