by Lena Gregory
“I was looking for Harley; have you seen him?”
“Not today. Do you want anything? Coffee? A cold brew, maybe?”
Gia pressed a hand against her stomach to still the churning. She was a little hungry, but they were going to stop at Xavier’s as soon as she picked up Savannah. “I’ll just grab a muffin.”
“Sit, relax, and I’ll get it. What kind would you like?”
She hung her bag over the back of a stool at the counter and sat. “What’s left?”
“Banana chocolate chip.”
“Mmm…my favorite.”
“Mine too.”
Not too many customers remained, and those who did seemed content. “Why don’t you sit a few minutes and have one with me?”
Willow eyed the muffin. “Okay, you talked me into it.”
Willow put two muffins on plates, slid one in front of Gia, then sat next to her with the other.
“Was it busy today?”
“Steady, but not too bad.”
Although Gia was glad they hadn’t been swamped with more than they could handle, steady but not too bad wasn’t going to pay the bills forever. She broke off a piece of her muffin and popped it into her mouth, savored the rich flavor for a moment, then swallowed. “I talked to your mom.”
Willow halted her hand halfway to her mouth, then lowered her piece of muffin to her plate. “And?”
“She’s okay.” She was treading on thin ice. How to reassure Willow without telling her anything that should come from Skyla? “She’s just got a lot on her mind.”
“Did she tell you what?”
“Not really.” True enough. Though Skyla had talked about her past, she hadn’t said what specifically was bothering her. She was obviously scared of something, but she hadn’t confided that in Gia. Gia could only assume it had something to do with whatever had brought Gabriella and Bobby Fischetti back to Boggy Creek and gotten Ron Parker killed. “But give her time. The two of you are very close. I’m sure she’ll share whatever’s bothering her when she’s ready.”
Willow ran a finger back and forth across the edge of her plate.
“You okay?”
She nodded. “I guess I just thought she trusted me.”
“What do you mean?”
“I don’t know.” She shoved the plate away and sulked. “Whenever I have something on my mind, I talk to my mom about it. I guess I always hoped she’d trust me the same way.”
“Trust is a two-way street, Willow. If you want her to trust you, you have to trust her as well, have to have faith that she’ll talk to you when the time is right. Sometimes, people need to work things out in their own minds before they can share their feelings with anyone else.”
A man approached the register, and Gia started to get up.
“This is your day off, remember?” Willow stood and gave Gia a quick hug. “You’re right. Thanks.”
“Anytime.”
“Now get out of here before you end up in any more trouble with Savannah.”
Chapter 19
As soon as Gia got out of the car at Savannah’s, Thor bolted through the front door and headed straight for her.
She backpedaled until her back hit the car, then braced herself. “Easy, boy.”
Thankfully, Thor stopped just short of plowing into her.
She petted his head, and once she was sure he’d stay down, she dropped to her knees for a hug. “I missed you too, baby.”
“Oh, stop it, Thor.” Savannah hefted her overnight bag over her shoulder and strode across the yard toward them. “Don’t go acting like Joey didn’t spoil you to death.”
Gia opened the door, grabbed the big bouquet of daisies, and thrust them toward Savannah.
“For me?” Her hand fluttered to her chest, and she batted her eyes. “Oh, honey, you shouldn’t have.”
Gia laughed.
Savannah held the flowers close to her nose and inhaled deeply. “But I sure am glad you did.”
“Do you want to take them inside and put them in water?”
“Nah, let’s take them to your house. I’ll probably be there most of the week anyway.”
“Uh…” When had they decided that?
“Sorry, hon, but you owe me a vacation. Remember?” She grinned. “But thanks for the flowers; I love daisies.”
“Did you look through the yearbook?”
“Not yet. I visited with Tommy and the baby for a while, so I just got home a few minutes ago. I figured we’d stop and get barbeque, then look through it after we eat.” She tossed her bag on the floor in the back, then gestured Thor in, before getting in the passenger side with her flowers in her lap. “Now, don’t you eat anything, Thor.”
Gia slid into the driver’s seat, slipped her sunglasses on, and backed out of the driveway.
“So, what happened with Skyla and Donna Mae?”
She wanted so badly to blurt out everything and have Savannah sort through it all with her and try to make sense of how the past connected to the present, but she’d have to make do with sharing what she could. “Donna Mae used to go out with Harley, then apparently something happened to make him change.”
“Something?”
“Something to do with Mitch and his buddies, Ron and Bobby.”
Savannah’s eyes went ice cold, and she balled her hands into fists. No easy feat with her dagger nails. “You mean those three did something to him?”
The memory of Donna Mae’s story came crashing back, and Gia rubbed the ache in her chest. Even if she could repeat that without betraying a confidence, she wouldn’t. No reason Savannah should suffer with the knowledge of how Harley’s brother had treated him. “Let’s just say I won’t be voting for Mitch Anderson, and neither will you.”
“And to think, I actually liked that man.”
“I think a lot of people were fooled by him.” The man was a liar, a sneak, and a con artist, among other, less favorable things. “It seems Mitch Anderson is not what he pretends to be, but do you think he could be a killer?”
Savannah gasped. “You think Mitch could have killed Ron Parker?”
“I know it sounds far-fetched.” Mitch was in a good position, poised to be mayor, especially now that Ron was out of the picture. “But with Ron gone, Mitch has a pretty clear path to becoming mayor.”
“He was favored to win anyway, so what’s really different now?”
“What if he didn’t kill Ron to eliminate the competition? What if Ron had something on him, something he could have used at the last minute to discredit him?”
Savannah stared out the side window as acre after acre of forest passed by.
Perhaps Gia was letting her intense dislike for him interfere with her thought process. But who else had motive to kill him?
“It doesn’t make sense,” Savannah said after a few minutes.
“What doesn’t?”
“Mitch as the killer. Why kill Ron when, according to pretty much everyone, the two of them were good friends?”
“And yet Ron was running against him,” Gia pointed out.
“So, our pool of suspects includes Mitch Anderson, Trevor—”
“Hey, I never said—”
“You have to consider him—”
“I’m trying to rule Trevor out.”
“Whether you want to or not.”
“Ugh… You don’t get it.”
“I get it, Gia, but you can’t just exclude him from the list because you don’t want him to be the killer. You have to either prove he didn’t do it or prove someone else did.”
“That’s it!”
“What’s it?”
“We have no clue who did kill Ron, but maybe that doesn’t matter. All we really have to prove is that Trevor didn’t do it. Then it’ll be up to the police to figure out who did.”
> Savannah chuckled.
“Oh, stop. You know what I mean.”
“Yeah, I do. And you’re right,” Savannah agreed. “Now, if we could just figure out what Trevor was doing the night Ron was killed and why he wouldn’t answer any of Hunt’s questions.”
“Which brings us back to the theory that maybe he’s protecting someone.”
“Yeah, but whom?”
Gia pulled into the gravel parking lot at Xavier’s.
Savannah gestured toward the cluster of picnic tables on the side of the building. “Look, there’s actually a table free. Do you want to eat here or take it home?”
“Let’s take it home, if you don’t mind. That way I can take care of Thor before I sit down for the night.” Her arm had started to throb, and she needed to take Motrin. “I can leave him in the car with the AC running and the windows cracked if we go to the take-out window.”
“Sounds good. Let’s get enough for Hunt and Leo, just in case.”
Fat chance Hunt would be showing up, but whatever. “Sure.”
“Be a good boy, Thor.” She left the car running, since it would only be a few feet away, propped her sunglasses on top of her head, and started toward the take-out window.
“Hey.” Savannah grabbed her arm. “Don’t look.”
“Okay.” Gia kept her gaze focused on the menu above the window, despite the intense desire to look around and see what Savannah didn’t want her to look at.
“When you can do it discreetly, check out the last table in the far corner. Isn’t that the woman who freaked Skyla out in the café?”
“Gabriella Fischetti?” Gia whispered.
“Yes.”
She waited for Savannah to move ahead of her into the line, then slid her glasses back on and looked around—discreetly, she hoped. “Yeah, that’s her.”
Gabriella sat in the farthest corner of the courtyard, a full cardboard carryout container in front of her. She made no attempt to eat, just looked around and bounced her leg up and down, faster and faster the more she scanned the area.
“What do you think she’s doing?” Savannah stared pointedly ahead of her.
“Looks like she’s waiting for someone.” Gabriella might hold the answers Gia was looking for. If nothing else, she’d know who the blond woman who confronted her outside the café was. “Do you think I should try to talk to her?”
“Why don’t you stand back while I order?” Savannah suggested. “Keep an eye on her, and if she starts to leave, stop her.”
“Why not just talk to her now?”
“Because it’s obvious she’s waiting for someone, and I’m curious to know who it is.”
“Hmm…” Gia hung back, lowering her head to seem as if she was searching through her bag but keeping a close eye on Gabriella from beneath her lashes.
Gabriella fidgeted with the full food tray in front of her on the table. She ripped off a piece of cardboard and tapped it up and down against the table, then folded it. She looked down the road one way, then the other, then went back to tapping the folded cardboard.
Gia was running out of ways to appear discreet. How discreet was it to stand there digging through your purse for an hour? She moved back to the car, rested her elbows on the roof, and leaned forward.
Thor mashed his face against the semi-open window, stuck his tongue through the crack, and licked her chin.
“Ugh…” She jerked upright, wiped slobber off her chin, and laughed. “Thor.”
Gabriella looked straight at her, then returned to scanning the parking lot and street. Maybe she didn’t recognize Gia. No reason she should, really, since she’d only seen her a couple of times, both of them under awkward circumstances.
A black Mercedes pulled into the parking lot, crunched over the gravel until it reached the farthest corner, then stopped. A woman emerged, her straight pencil skirt, stiletto heels, diamonds, and the confidence with which she carried herself screaming opulence. She turned heads as she sauntered through the picnic area toward Gabriella.
If Gabriella’s goal had been discretion, she’d failed miserably.
Savannah popped up behind Gia, bags in hand, and gestured toward the newcomer. “You know who that is?”
“No idea.”
“Seriously, Gia? Come on.” She nudged her with her elbow. “That’s Felicity Anderson.”
Still didn’t ring a bell, though the name Anderson certainly caught her attention. “Who’s that?”
“Oh, please, don’t you ever pay attention to what’s on TV?”
“Not really, unless it’s an old movie.”
She rolled her eyes. “It’s Mitch Anderson’s wife.”
“What in the world is she doing at a barbeque place in the middle of pretty much nowhere, meeting up with Gabriella Fischetti?”
Savannah shrugged. “You got me, but she sure doesn’t seem too worried about drawing attention.”
“That’s for sure.”
“And Gabriella sure doesn’t seem happy.”
Gia jerked her gaze back to the two women.
Gabriella’s posture had stiffened, and she sat rigid while Felicity stood over her, hands pressed against the table, voice pitched way too low for Gia to hear, though in all fairness, she’d have to be yelling for Gia to overhear anything from where she was standing. She took a few steps forward.
Savannah stepped in front of her. With her hands full of bags, she couldn’t very well grab her.
Good thing, too, because Gia had no intention of stopping and every intention of finding out what the two women were talking about.
She sidestepped Savannah and inched closer. When she reached the seating area, she joined the small group of customers waiting for seats and pretending not to pay attention to Felicity Anderson. No easy task considering what an imposing figure she made.
Before Gia could make out any of the conversation, Felicity spun on her nude, leather Christian Louboutins and strolled back to her car as if she didn’t have a care in the world. The woman didn’t even miss a step as she crossed the gravel in those ridiculous—but gorgeous—shoes.
Gabriella kept her head down, her hair falling over her face.
Gia couldn’t blame her. There’s no way she didn’t know the spectacle Felicity had caused.
Felicity’s tires spun as she pulled out of the parking lot, shooting gravel up behind them.
When all eyes turned to the Mercedes rocketing down the rural road, Gia approached Gabriella. Savannah wouldn’t leave Thor alone, so it was a pretty safe bet she’d have at least a few uninterrupted minutes with Gabriella. Whether or not she could make them count for anything remained to be seen.
“Excuse me?”
Gabriella looked up, her face beet red. “Yes?”
“I’m sorry to bother you, but I was wondering if I could sit for a few minutes while I’m waiting for my friend to get our dinner? My feet are killing me, and there are no other benches free.” Gia breathed a silent thank you that Xavier’s was always so crowded.
She looked around as if unsure Gia was speaking to her, then shrugged. “Whatever.”
“Oh, thanks.” Gia plopped onto the bench across the table from Gabriella. She glanced down at her sensible Keds. “I’ll tell you what, I have no idea how that woman walks around in those shoes. Never mind the pain they’d cause in my feet and lower back, I’d feel like I was walking on stilts, trying to balance up there, you know?”
A small smile appeared for just a second, or it could have been a twitch.
“You look familiar. Have you ever been in the All-Day Breakfast Café in town?” Gia prodded.
“Once.”
Gia narrowed her eyes and studied her, then snapped her fingers and hoped she wasn’t overdoing it. “I remember now. You were in with your husband the other day. Skyla’s friend.”
She p
erked up at the mention of Skyla’s name, studying Gia with a little more interest. “You know Skyla?”
“Of course, her daughter works for me. I own the café.” She extended a hand across the table. “Gia Morelli.”
“Gabriella Fischetti.” She took Gia’s hand tentatively. “Nice to meet you.”
“Nice to meet you too.”
Gia gestured over her shoulder in the direction Felicity had gone. “She’s a bit much, huh?”
Gabriella stared after her, though the car had disappeared already. “That she is.”
“I don’t mean to be nosy, but what was her problem?”
Gabriella studied her closer.
Uh-oh, she may have pushed it too far.
“She’s just a witch.”
Gia laughed.
“It was nice talking to you, but I have to go.” Gabriella stood and dropped her uneaten food into a garbage pail as she walked away.
Darn. She’d been hoping to get at least something. Giving up, she headed back to the car where Savannah stood waiting, keeping one eye on Gia and one eye on the bags of barbeque on the front seat of the car and Thor pacing the seat just behind it.
“So what was that all about?” Savannah asked.
“Nothing she’ll share.”
“Odd, but every time we run into that woman, she’s arguing with someone.”
“I wouldn’t exactly say arguing, but she does always seem to be on the receiving end of someone’s anger.”
Chapter 20
Once they were back at Gia’s house and Thor was taken care of, Gia and Savannah piled plates high with barbeque and settled on the couch with Tommy’s yearbook spread open on the coffee table between their plates.
Savannah flipped to a page in the middle and pointed out Hunt’s senior portrait. Even in the same suit and tie everyone else wore, his defiance stood out. His long, shaggy hair barely covered the earring he wore in his left ear, giving him an eighties rocker look that had gone out of style more than a decade before. “Other than the earring, and with the hair a bit shorter, he still looks the same.”
“I know. Go figure, he got the good genes.”
