Iris Avenue

by Pamela Grandstaff

  “That’s enough,” Knox said, as he took her by the arm. Miraculously, Anne Marie went with him, docile as a lamb.

  Jeanette had cleaned up the mess in the children’s section and stuck her head in Maggie’s office.

  “What was that all about?” Jeanette asked.

  “Poor Anne Marie,” Maggie said. “She’s gone off the deep end.”

  Maggie couldn’t even muster up enough schadenfreude to call and laugh with Hannah about what happened; it was just too sad. She started to call Scott but remembered she was still mad at him. She sighed instead, and went back to her invoices. Anne Marie’s words reverberated in her ears, however, and she found it hard to concentrate. When she thought about people she needed to forgive, she immediately pictured Gabe and Scott. When she thought about charming snakes, funnily enough, it was Agent Jamie Brown who came to mind.

  CHAPTER FIVE - Wednesday/Thursday

  Ed Harrison heard about the body being pulled out of the river and rushed to the scene with his camera. By the time he arrived the county morgue van was there, and they were zipping up the body bag. Scott allowed him to look at the corpse, but not to take photographs of it.

  “I know him,” Ed said. “His name’s Ray. He’s a bartender at the Roadhouse.”

  Sarah was there, and she shoved everyone aside to get to Ed.

  “When did you last see him?” she asked, and clicked on her handheld tape recorder.

  Ed was taken aback, but after a glance at Scott, who nodded his head, he answered.

  “Last summer. He plays on their softball team. He’s their right fielder.”

  “Last name?”

  “I don’t remember. I have it on the team roster at the office.”

  Sarah nodded at Scott.

  “Take him back to his office, get that name, and call me.”

  Scott nodded, gritted his teeth, and turned to Ed.

  “Will you give me a ride?”

  “Sure thing,” Ed said, looking amused at his friend being bossed around so thoroughly, and hating every moment of it.

  Malcolm Behr stayed behind, waiting for Sarah to say if they would be allowed to break up the beaver dam. It may have been a murder site, but it was also a serious flood threat. According to the National Weather Service there was a warm front on the way, and it was bringing foul weather. If the snow base in the mountains melted rapidly, and if something wasn’t done about the beaver dam, the ensuing deluge would endanger Rose Hill.

  As soon as they were bumping up the muddy track that led from the river to the main road, Ed cleared his throat.

  “I didn’t tell Sarah everything,” he said.

  “Why not?”

  “I wanted to talk to you first.”

  “I thought maybe it was because she accused you of killing Theo Eldridge,” Scott said.

  “That’s the kind of thing that’s hard to forget.”

  Ed had been the one to find Theo’s body, and subsequently Sarah made him her number one suspect.

  “So spill it,” Scott said.

  “A few weeks ago I went to see Phyllis out at the Roadhouse to find out to whom she’d rented her trailer. I got this notion that Brian was hiding out there, and it turned out he was. Ray overheard me talking about Brian and he followed me outside afterward. He said there was a price on Brian’s head for stealing half a million dollars of some drug kingpin’s money. He said the reward was fifty grand, and he hinted that he would like to collect it.”

  “Did you know Brian escaped from prison?”

  “I heard the scanner granny gossip but there’s been nothing on the news and no law enforcement agency will confirm it.”

  Scott told him as much as he knew from talking to Sarah.

  “They have dogs and every uniform from the county to the National Guard out looking for him, but he seems to have disappeared.”

  “He’s good at that.”

  “I’m thinking maybe Brian tangled with Ray and killed him,” Scott said.

  “Wait a minute, here’s another thing Ray said to me,” Ed said. “When I asked who the kingpin was he said it was someone who ate guys like Theo Eldridge for breakfast, and that he would tell me who, but he didn’t want me to end up floating down the Little Bear with my throat cut.”

  “Way, way off the record I can tell you that ‘kingpin’ is actually a woman named Mrs. Wells. She probably sent someone to kill Ray.”

  “For helping Brian?”

  “Or over some other drug-related business.”

  “Should I have told Sarah all this?”

  “Probably. Don’t worry about it. You can always say you remembered later. There’s an FBI agent in town I’d like you to talk to. That’s also off the record, by the way. Not for print.”

  “You’re making it very difficult for me to practice my profession.”

  “If I didn’t trust you I’d just say, ‘no comment.’”

  “Like everyone else I call for confirmation,” Ed said. “If I could print uncorroborated gossip, I wouldn’t have any problem filling my columns.”

  “Remember your journalistic integrity,” Scott said.

  “Oh, I do,” Ed said. “It’s what’s keeping me from paying the light bill.”

  Ed found Ray’s last name in the softball roster from the previous summer. Scott called Sarah and gave her the information, but didn’t add all that Ed had told him. He wanted to talk to the federal agent first. Scott left Ed at the newspaper office and walked up Pine Mountain Road to Ava’s bed and breakfast. Maggie’s Aunt Delia was working the front desk, and Scott noticed she was looking tired.

  “Hey, Delia,” Scott said as he approached the front desk, “are you feeling okay?”

  I don’t think I can do this much longer,” she said. “I’m helping out at the bakery and the pub, and my own house is a filthy mess.”

  “Doesn’t Ava have anyone else to help her? What about those girls she hired?”

  “With all that’s going on she doesn’t want to put the girls at risk,” she said, with a pointed look.

  He didn’t know how much Delia knew but it seemed as if she knew quite a bit.

  “Ah, I see,” Scott said. “Maybe Ava should close for awhile.”

  “Oh no,” Delia said. “Everything has to look normal; as if I can remember what normal looks like. Since Theo Eldridge died this whole town seems to be coming apart at the seams.”

  Scott was taken aback by Delia’s pessimistic tone. She was usually the one who bucked up everyone else.

  “Don’t let this make you sick,” Scott said. “I’ll have a word with Ava.”

  “Don’t bother,” Delia said. “She’s got her hands full with that FBI agent.”

  “Agent Brown is here to protect Ava and the kids,” Scott said.

  “He’s definitely keeping her under close surveillance,” Delia said.

  “As long as Brian is out there somewhere we all have to be on our guard, but Ava may be in real danger.”

  “I understand you’re staying here nights.”

  “Only until they catch Brian,” he said. “I’m sleeping on the couch.”

  “Mmm hmm,” Delia said. “You be careful, Scott. I love Ava, but she has a way of taking advantage. Be careful you don’t end up in the same boat as Patrick.”

  Scott was further surprised by this comment. Not many people knew about that affair.

  “It’s just for her safety, nothing more,” Scott protested. “Ava didn’t ask me to do it, I offered.”

  “Of course not,” Delia said. “She never has to.”

  Before Scott could interpret this comment they were interrupted by a guest entering through the front door. Delia waved Scott back toward the hallway to the kitchen, saying “They’re back there.”

  When Scott entered the kitchen he found Ava and Jamie seated close to one another at the kitchen island, drinking coffee and talking in low voices. Ava jumped up when Scott entered the room. Jamie’s face was inscrutable but Ava looked embarrassed. This expression was
immediately replaced with a warm smile, and Ava greeted him with a brief but tender hug and kiss on the cheek.

  “Scott, I’m so glad you’re here.”

  Scott decided he shouldn’t take to heart anything Delia said when she was so tired. Ava was a naturally warm and friendly woman, and no one should read anything more into it than that. He did feel a little buzz whenever he was in Ava’s presence, but he assumed every man did.

  “Delia seems a little frazzled,” Scott said. “Isn’t there anyone else who can cover the desk so she can go home?”

  “Oh no,” Ava said. “I feel so awful. I’ll go up and take over. You two can talk.”

  Ava lifted Little Fitz out of his high chair, where he had been carefully picking up rings of oat cereal and trying to put them in his mouth. The baby waved a pudgy hand and garbled some sounds as Ava carried him out of the room.

  Scott told Jamie about Ray’s body being found and what Ed had said. Jamie didn’t respond with either words or a change in facial expression. Instead he excused himself, grabbed his coat, and left through the back door.

  Scott helped himself to the coffee left in the pot, and had just taken a long sip when Delia came back to the kitchen, putting on her coat. She patted Scott on the arm and said, “I’m sorry I was so grouchy. I know you’re only helping out.”

  “You’re tired,” Scott said. “Go home and put your feet up.”

  She waved as she went out.

  Scott foraged around in the kitchen and found some leftover blueberry muffins. He sat at the kitchen island to eat his snack. Ava came back with the baby and smiled at him.

  “I’m glad to see you’re making yourself at home,” she said. “It’s so good to have you here.”

  Scott felt an inner glow at Ava’s kind words and lovely face. It was nice to be appreciated for a change.

  Maggie left the bookstore by the back door and was momentarily stunned to find that her vintage VW Beetle wasn’t parked where she always left it. It took her a moment to process its absence and return to the bookstore.

  “Mitchell,” she addressed her second best barista, a charming college student with dreadlocks and multiple piercings.

  “Yes, ma’am,” Mitchell responded, having been raised by a mother who prized good manners over conservative haircuts and undecorated facial features.

  “Did Patrick borrow my car?”

  “Not as far as I know,” Mitchell said.

  Maggie went to her office and called the Rose and Thorn. Patrick said he hadn’t borrowed it. Maggie couldn’t think of anyone else who would take it without asking. She called Curtis, and he confirmed her fear. Her extra key wasn’t hanging on the peg board in the service station office. There were some other things missing as well, including the petty cash and his cell phone.

  She dialed the police station and was informed Scott was out. She left the bookstore and walked quickly to her sister-in-law’s bed and breakfast, intending to ask her what she thought of the possibility that her husband-on-the-lam could have burgled the service station and stolen Maggie’s car. She rushed in the front door and down the hallway only to be stopped short by the little scene currently being played out in the kitchen. Scott was sitting at the kitchen table with Little Fitz in his arms, feeding him a bottle of milk. He had a cloth diaper hanging across his shoulder to use as a burping pad. He was talking baby talk.

  “What are you doing?” Maggie said, a little louder than she meant to.

  Scott looked up at Maggie and smiled.

  “Feeding my little man,” he said.

  “Where’s Ava?”

  “Frank took her to pick up the kids from school,” Scott said. “I offered to baby-sit.”

  Maggie had been avoiding Scott as much as possible, and when she couldn’t avoid him she’d tried to make their interactions as brief as possible. She knew he was staying nights at Ava’s while Brian was on the loose, but she wasn’t prepared to find him so domestically entrenched in her sister-in-law’s home. So comfortable looking. So at home.

  “My car’s been stolen,” Maggie said, crossing her arms in an attempt to control her temper.

  “Patrick probably borrowed it,” Scott said in the same soft tone he’d been using to coo at the baby. He said it to the baby, as if he was talking to Little Fitz and not Maggie.

  “I called him. I also called Uncle Curtis. The extra key to the bug is gone plus Curtis is missing some money and a cell phone. He thinks Brian was there.”

  Scott jerked his head up and looked at her. Finally she felt like she had his full attention.

  “You’re sure no one else could have your car? Drew maybe, or Hannah?”

  Drew was the local veterinarian who Maggie had briefly dated.

  “Drew has never borrowed my car, and Hannah would ask me first.”

  “Okay, call Skip and report it stolen. Tell Curtis to do the same. Skip will let the state and county know about it.”

  “Aren’t you going to do something?”

  “Skip can handle it, Maggie.”

  Maggie was used to Scott jumping up and helping her whenever she had a problem. She didn’t like this new behavior. She didn’t like Scott sitting in Ava’s kitchen looking like he belonged there. He was looking at her with a frank, “like it or lump it” look she’d never seen before. It made her feel cold inside. It made her feel alone.

  “Fine,” she said, and left the way she came in.

  “Your Aunt Maggie doesn’t like the taste of her own medicine,” Scott told Little Fitz, as he lifted the baby up to his shoulder and patted his back. “She doesn’t like it one bit.”

  Little Fitz responded by spitting up everything he’d just eaten.

  After Ava came back, Scott waited until the kids were settled in the family room before he told her about Maggie’s visit. Scott thought Ava would be preoccupied with the idea that Brian might have been in town, but instead she asked him, “Are you still in love with Maggie?”

  “I do love Maggie,” Scott said. “But she’s still tangled up in her feelings for Gabe.”

  “You know if it weren’t for the fact that you’ve been so good to me, I’d never butt in,” Ava said. “But it seems to me you shouldn’t have to convince someone to love you. She’d be lucky to have you.”

  “Well, thanks, Ava,” Scott said. He could feel his face get hot and knew he was blushing.

  Ava placed her hand on one side of his face and kissed the other.

  “If I were a single gal,” she said, “I’d never let you get away.”

  Patrick pulled up in front of Ed’s newspaper office in a robin’s egg blue Volvo station wagon. Ed came out and Patrick tossed him the keys.

  “Kept in a garage for fifteen years,” Patrick said. “It belonged to the man’s mother; she died last year and the estate was settled this week. He started it up every so often, and kept the oil changed, but there are hardly any miles on it. He brought it to us this past weekend to get it ready to sell. Curtis said to tell you he would waive the commission if you pay for the oil change and new air filter.”

  “This is great, Patrick,” Ed said as he got in the driver’s side.

  “These cars are known for their safety ratings,” Patrick told him from the passenger side. “Let’s take it for a spin.”

  Once around the block was enough for Ed. He went home to get his checkbook and then met Patrick back at the station. He left a check for the car with Curtis, and then drove it over to the bakery. Bonnie, Delia, and Mandy came out to see it.

  Mandy wasn’t as excited as he expected her to be.

  “It’s old,” she said.

  “It is,” Ed said. “That’s why I got such a good deal.”

  “So you already done bought it?” she said.

  “Well, yeah,” Ed said. “It has really low mileage, and it’s a safe car. I want you and Tommy to be safe when we drive. You hate it?”

  “I’ll get used to it, I guess,” she said.

  Ed realized he’d made yet another decision on th
eir behalf without consulting her.

  “I guess I should have let you see it first,” he said. “I thought it would be a great surprise.”

  “Well, I’m surprised, alright,” she said, and looked at the car in distaste.

  “You want to drive it?” he offered.

  “No, thanks,” she said, and went back in the bakery.

  “It’s a lovely car,” Bonnie said.

  “She’s young,” Delia said. “She probably imagined a red sports car.”

  “It was the sensible thing to buy,” Bonnie said.

  “She’ll come around,” Delia said.

  Ed thanked them but he didn’t feel any better.

  Brian Fitzpatrick winced as the VW Beetle he’d stolen from his sister jerked and sputtered up a rutted, muddy track rarely used outside of hunting season. The self-inflicted stab wound he’d made was oozing blood, and every pothole and rock felt like another knife being inserted in the same wound. He was in trouble, not from bleeding too much, but from the infection he knew was going to develop in the deep gash that had not been stitched up.

  As soon as the car crested the ridge of the hill, he checked for a cellular signal and was relieved to find he had service on his uncle’s phone. He pressed the numbers he knew by heart and when the party he was seeking got on the line he made his request short and to the point. He also reminded the recipient what would happen if his request wasn’t followed to the letter, and right away. He gave directions and then ended the call.

  Back in the VW, he steeled himself for two more agonizing miles of narrow track, muddy where the sun shone on it and icy where it didn’t. He had to stay alive long enough to come up with a new plan and get as far away from Rose Hill as possible. It would be nice to have a big wad of cash as well, but right now he would settle for some pain killers and a safe place to sleep.

  The hunting cabin the Fitzpatrick family owned was located on the outskirts of the land Curtis had deeded over to Hannah and Sam when they got married. It was in a remote location only approachable by a logging road that started on Hollyhock Ridge, wound through the State Park, and ended in another state.