by R A Wallace
“He’s in trouble now?” Julia guessed as she took a seat.
“I’m starting to think that trouble just naturally follows him.” Dena made a guilty face at Megan. “Sorry.”
Megan waved her cracker. “I’m not sure I can disagree given the circumstances. I know you’ve been trying to help him out at the garage.”
Dena nodded.
Julia looked confused. “You work on cars too?”
Dena laughed. “No. My ex-husband owns a trucking company. I ran it for years handling the books. Gabe is great with anything covered in grease. It’s the paperwork he’s clueless about.”
“Ah, gotcha.” Julia picked up a bunch of grapes.
“Have you seen him much lately?” Megan took a strawberry.
Dena reached for a cracker and began crumbling it over her plate as she frowned at it. “Yeah, a couple of times. One was at the Chase over the weekend. The boys and I went on Saturday. We brought Misty with us. Misty Moore.”
“That’s the day the victim was killed,” Megan said. “How did Gabe seem that day to you?”
Dena continued to stare at the cracker crumbs on the plate for a moment before speaking. “He was with the victim.” She looked up at Megan. “They were in a group together. I swear it was like they were working the crowd.”
“Working the crowd? Gabe was drumming up business for his garage?” Megan tried to make sense of that in her head.
“No.” Dena’s eyes dropped back to the crumbs. “It was some sort of gambling thing.”
“Gambling?” That was not what Megan had expected to hear.
Dena sighed. “Yeah. I mean, I just couldn’t believe it. They said it was for charity though. You know, some of the proceeds go to education and whatnot.”
“Okay.” At least that was something. Megan reached for another cracker. “Do you know of anyone else Gabe may have spoken with?”
“Probably everyone the way they were working the crowd.” Dena sat back in her chair. “I did watch him for quite a while though. I just couldn’t believe how different he was. He didn’t even talk to the boys. They were pretty upset about it.”
“I’m sorry,” Megan said quietly. “Can you remember any names?”
Dena tilted her head. “Well, I saw Amy Callahan. The volunteer firefighter?”
Megan nodded to indicate that she knew her.
“Cole was there. Did you see him?” Julia asked.
Dena pointed at her. “Yeah. Yeah, I did. He was with his brother, Garrett.” The expression on Dena’s face showed her concentration as she thought back. “Jessilyn was there. She was with Seth, Evan and Logan.” She turned to Julia. “Evan and Logan are a couple of grades behind my youngest.”
“It’s a start,” Megan said. “Maybe one of them saw something.”
“Oh, and Danny. I saw Gabe talk to Danny Ortega, the dishwasher at the diner.” Dena glanced at the clock. “I need to get the upstairs done.”
***
LeAnn stood in front of the real estate office and took a deep breath before pushing open the door with Stan Jiblonski’s name on it. He was waiting for her inside.
“There you are.” Stan removed his reading glasses. “I was wondering if you would come back.”
LeAnn put her hand on her stomach as though to calm the butterflies inside. “I’m ready to sign a contract now.”
“You’re sure you want me to put your house up for sale?” Stan studied the woman in front of him.
LeAnn took the seat across from his desk. “Yes. It’s time.”
“Were you able to make any repairs to it since the last time I saw it?” Stan asked.
LeAnn grimaced. “No.”
Stan offered an understanding smile. “That will affect the price, you know that, but it might also help it to sell. We’ll market it as a cost-savings fixer upper.”
LeAnn managed a smile. “I know you’re fibbing but I appreciate it.”
Stan’s return smile was fleeting. It was replaced with a look of concern. “Now, about having both of your names on the title.”
LeAnn looked down at her hands. “I talked to Jennifer, as you suggested.”
Stan looked relieved. “I just want everything resolved so it doesn’t impact the sale at the last minute.”
“I know. I agree. So does Jennifer. She’s going to be speaking with Gabe about it today.” LeAnn raised eyes filled with sadness. “If he wants to buy out his half of the house, he’s welcome to it.”
***
Caitlyn checked the system for the florist shop to see if Gail had taken any orders while she was out doing her morning deliveries.
“I made an appointment for you. Another bride-to-be and her mother would like to go over their order again.” Gail moved to another arrangement with live plants and watered it.
“Did you tell them we quadruple the price if they change their mind the night before the wedding?” Caitlyn was only half joking.
Gail laughed as she moved to the next arrangement on the shelf. “No. In this case, they’re thinking of adding some flowers for the church and the wedding isn’t until August. I asked.”
“That sounds great.” Caitlyn finished checking the new orders and looked across the room at Gail. “Are you sure you don’t want me to bring something back from the Jammin’T for you?”
“No, thanks.” Gail returned the watering can to its normal place. “I brought my lunch again. I’m still in no-buy mode after my splurge on my designer purse.”
Caitlyn still had doubts about the purse but didn’t mention them. Instead, she retrieved her own purse and walked the short distance to the diner. The place was packed. Caitlyn scanned the room and spotted two seats left at the counter. She nodded at a waitress on her way across the diner.
“Someone will be right with you,” Lynn called to her.
Caitlynn flashed a grin at Cy Douglass and Casey Adams as she slid into a seat one over from Cy. “I’m saving the seat in between us for Megan.”
Sissy stopped on the other side of the counter and motioned to the overturned coffee cup in front of Caitlyn. Caitlyn held her hand over it. “No. Two glasses of iced tea, one unsweet.”
“We don’t see you in here that often,” Cy said.
“I have someone helping me at the shop this summer.” Caitlyn smiled her thanks as two glasses of tea appeared before her.
“Is that for me?” Megan maneuvered into the chair at the counter.
“Unsweet,” Caitlyn said with a grimace. “I don’t know how you can drink that.”
Megan grinned as she took a sip. “You’re part hummingbird.”
Caitlyn glanced at the board next to the window where Holly worked at the grill. “The special looks good today.”
“I can vouch for it,” Cy said.
Casey leaned forward to talk around Cy. “Bella and I will be out to check on the horses.”
“Do you have a home for them yet?” Megan held her breath.
Casey gave an apologetic smile. “No, sorry.”
Megan expelled her breath. “Not a problem. They’re fine where they are for now.”
“You sound relieved,” Caitlyn said.
Megan didn’t deny it. “I don’t know what I am.” She made a face. “My hormones are all wacky. I don’t want to make a commitment then find out shortly after that I’m too busy with the baby to even notice they’re there.”
Caitlyn pulled her phone out and began typing.
Megan looked over her shoulder. “Are you texting my husband?”
Caitlyn nodded. “To let him know you got here safely for lunch. He put us all on Megan Watch.”
“Megan Watch?” Megan’s eyes narrowed as she thought back. “Is that who Justin was texting earlier at Lauren’s?”
“Probably.” Caitlyn smiled up at Tyler when he appeared on the other side of the counter in front of them. “I’ll take the special.”
Megan nodded her agreement.
“Sounds good.” Tyler turned to Caitlyn. “Do I need to te
xt Dan?”
Caitlyn motioned to her phone on the counter in front of her. “Already did.”
Megan considered telling Tyler he didn’t have to be on watch then changed her mind. She knew it wouldn’t work. “Would it be possible for me to talk to Danny Ortega?”
Tyler looked around the diner and frowned. “We’re shorthanded today and Danny has to leave early for a doctor’s appointment. Can you come back tomorrow, like at closing time?”
“I understand. I have a lot of other people on my list to talk to in the meantime.” Megan picked up her tea.
Tyler leaned forward. “Does this have anything to do with that death out at the campground?”
“Have you heard anything?”
“Not much yet, but I’ll keep my ears open.” Tyler motioned to someone across the room. “Gotta go.”
Megan turned to Caitlyn. “How are you doing?”
“I’m enjoying having an employee. It gives me time to do things like this.” Caitlyn picked up her tea and swiveled around on her counter stool. “How was Lauren when you were there.”
“Good. Did you know about Bev selling her house?”
Caitlyn held her glass of tea in front of her and nodded. She swung her feet as she looked around the diner. She could touch the floor if she wanted to, but just barely and not without effort.
“How are Susan and Ross?” Megan took a sip of her tea.
Caitlyn’s feet stopped swinging. “I haven’t seen as much of Ross lately.”
“No?”
“He’s been traveling to Washington state a lot.”
Megan’s eyes were drawn to one of the televisions suspended from the ceiling. “He still owns property there, right?”
“Yeah.” Caitlyn swung back around to face the counter.
“Maybe he’s just dealing with that?”
Caitlyn set her tea down on the counter. “Yeah. Maybe.”
Chapter Thirteen
Bella stepped inside Tea & Thyme with a stack of flyers in one arm. There wasn’t anyone at the front counter when she entered. There was another counter on the other side of the rear door to the staff area that reminded her of old photos she had seen of soda shops. She knew the twins mixed their energy drinks and tea there. They also had display cases of baked goods on the top of the counter. That counter ran the length of the back wall to a side entrance that led out into the addition. That’s where Bella heard voices. Before she could go in search of them, one of the twins appeared from the rear.
“Oh, hello. Can I help you?” Jill Swindell studied the young girl in front of her.
“Hi. I’m Bella Prescott.”
“Oh, Ava’s daughter? How nice.” Jill turned as Janice joined them from the addition. “Janice, this is Bella. You know, the young genius.”
Bella offered a friendly smile as she quickly took in the slight differences between the twins. “I was wondering if I could post this in your shop?”
The twins shared a dubious look. Jill held out her hand. “Post?”
Bella stepped forward and handed her a flyer. “We have an injured beagle at the animal hospital. No one has come forward as the owner yet.”
Jill turned back to Bella. “You’ve been working there?”
“Volunteering.”
“Isn’t that nice?” Jill said to Janice.
“It is. That reminds me of us when we were her age,” Janice said.
“We’ve always loved animals, haven’t we?” Jill agreed.
“Still do,” Janice said.
Bella watched the conversation go back and forth. “The beagle hasn’t stopped crying since we got him. I’m worried that the owner is missing him just as much.”
“I can imagine. Look at that face.” Jill pointed to the flyer.
Janice made a noise of agreement. “We’ll mention it to our customers.”
Jill stepped behind the counter with the cash register. “I’ll hang it here. Most of our customers will see it when they pay.”
Bella stepped into Togs next. The woman behind the counter was a couple of inches taller than Bella’s five six. Bella guessed she was older than her mother by several years, probably somewhere in her late thirties.
“Can I help you?” Giselle smiled at the young girl.
Bella stepped forward and explained her flyer. Giselle reached for one and looked at the sad beagle.
“I’d like to find the owner, if possible,” Bella said.
“No collar?”
Bella shook her head. “Nothing that easy. He was found out by the campground but no one there had seen him before.”
“That’s too bad. I don’t have a board to hang it on but I can leave it here at the counter,” Giselle suggested.
“I would appreciate it.” The bells on the door caused Bella to turn around.
“Hey, Bella. What brings you in?” Julia crossed the shop to join them at the counter.
Bella held up the flyer and explained the lost dog.
“Good luck with it,” Julia said.
As Bella left the shop, she heard Julia telling the owner about the genius child taking classes at the high school. She went down one door in the long brick building and stepped inside. This space was twice as large as the others she’d already been in.
“Can I help you?”
Bella smiled at the serious looking man with kind eyes behind thick glasses. She handed him a flyer and explained it. As she spoke, a woman joined the man. She was taller than he was and didn’t have the same serious look. Both had friendly smiles.
Leah took the flyer from Daryl. “Poor thing. I keep a cork board behind the counter. I can hang it there.”
“Have you thought about posting it on the town web site?” Daryl asked.
“No, but that’s a great idea. Megan handles that, right?” Bella watched them both nod. “I’ll ask her the next time I see her. Thanks.”
***
Megan carried the takeout container into the feed store. She nodded at the employees as she passed them on her way to Dan’s office in the rear. He wasn’t inside. She left his lunch on his desk and went looking for him. She found him outside behind the building where some of his larger stock was kept.
He leaned in for a kiss when he saw her. “Is it lunchtime already?” He looked at her face. “What?”
“Megan Watch?”
He laughed and put his arm around her shoulders. They walked together to the rear entrance. “You must admit, it was a good idea.”
“It certainly seems effective.” She followed him back to his office and took a seat across from his desk.
Dan opened the takeout container. “Looks good. You already ate?”
“With Caitlyn, as you know.” She shot him a look.
He grinned again then turned more serious. “Any luck with the puzzle?”
“I got a list of people that Gabe, and possibly the victim, spoke with on Saturday at the Chase.”
Dan’s brows went up. “Gabe spent the day with the victim?”
“Sounds like it, at least for the few moments they spoke with Dena. I don’t know yet how long they were together or how well they knew each other. Anyway, one of the people that may have spoken to Gabe is here.”
It took Dan a moment to connect the dots. “Cole took his brother to the Chase. He’s mentioned it several times.”
“Mind if I bother him at work?”
Dan waved with his plastic fork. “Go. He’s at the dock dealing with this morning’s delivery.”
Megan left Dan in his office and found Cole on the dock at the rear of the building with the large overhead door still open.
“Hey, Megan.” Cole gave her a curious look over the stack of feed bags.
“How is your summer so far?” Megan stayed across the room from Cole so she wasn’t in his way.
“It’s good. Dan is keeping me busy.” He checked a list on a clipboard.
“You’re still working out at the golf course too, right?”
“Yeah, whenever they give me
hours.” Cole used a utility knife to slice the outer plastic wrap from the stack of feed bags that held them together.
“Mind if I ask you some questions?”
Cole pulled off the plastic wrap and began balling it up. “Are you working on another puzzle?”
“This one involves Dan’s brother. Did you see him out at the Chase over the weekend?”
“Yeah.” Cole tossed the plastic wrap into the dumpster.
“Did you have a chance to talk to him?” Megan watched as Cole picked up a bag of feed and tossed it onto a large cart.
“Not really. He seemed a little busy. I saw him several times though.” Cole transferred another bag to the cart.
“Can you tell me what he was doing or if he was with anyone?”
Cole paused in his work for a moment and looked at Megan.
“What? Did you see something?”
Cole made a face as he reached for the next bag. “You’re going to think I’m crazy.”
Megan thought of all the times the level-headed young man had helped her in the past. “I doubt that.”
Cole glanced at her quickly before tossing the bag onto the cart. “If I didn’t know better, I’d say he was tracking someone.”
“Tracking? As in, following?”
Cole nodded and reached for another bag. “Every time I saw Gabe, he was following some other guy. Every time I saw that other guy, I’d see Gabe a little later going the same way. It was weird.”
“That does sound weird.” She had no idea what it could mean.
The door to the dock opened and Brianna came in from the store. She was pulling gloves on as she approached Cole. She smiled at Megan as she passed her.
“Need help?” Brianna went around to the other side of the feed bags and grabbed one. She gave Megan a curious look as she carried it to the cart.
“Megan is working on a puzzle,” Cole said to her.
“Ah.” Brianna nodded and gave Megan another curious look.
“How are things with you?” Megan asked her.
Brianna grabbed another bag. “My husband is leaving us alone, so it’s good. Thanks.”
Megan is asking about the Chase,” Cole said.
“You took your brother Garrett to that, right?” Brianna asked as she hefted another bag onto the cart.
