“I don’t want any part of that place,” Tara said, and stood. “Neither should you.” Tara turned to Katie. “Kiss your mama goodbye. You’re going to stay here and bake cookies with me while your mama goes and does something important.”
“I get to make cookies in your bakery?”
“You sure do, sugar. Now, go wash your hands with lots of soap and water in the bathroom and count to sixty while you rinse them. Then dry them off with clean paper towels and when you come out, we’re going in the kitchen and I will show you the secrets to making gingerbread men.”
“Yay!” Katie turned her sweet face to Nikki. “Bye, Mama. Thanks for letting me play with Aunt Tara today at her bakery.”
Nikki kissed her daughter goodbye and watched her skip to the restroom to go wash her hands.
When the little girl was out of earshot, Tara said, “Nikki, don’t go there again. Not to our old house. Please!”
“I’m getting our photos and Mom’s watercolor paintings and stuff.”
“Oh, my God, Nikki. You’re tormenting yourself in an extreme way.”
“It’s the only way I can heal, Tara.” She paused. “How do you heal from this?”
“By never talking about it. Never going there where it happened. And baking like a madwoman and hiring two neurotic French pastry chefs who let me focus on their drama instead of mine. And dating Ted, a very calm and wise man.”
“Oh, dear. I just figured it out. The pastry chefs were fighting over you. Not over the flakiness of pie crust.”
“That’s right, but I won’t go out with employees, no matter how cute they are or how much they flirt,” Tara admitted. She sighed. “Drive carefully, sis. Pay attention.”
“I will.”
“Taking your meds?” Tara asked.
“Yes, when I remember. You?” Nikki replied.
“No, not for a long time, but I have chocolate on tap here. You don’t.” Her sister hugged her. “I love you so much.”
“I love you, too. I wish you could come with me to our old house.”
“I have to work weekends, you know that, Nikki. And I’ve got three wedding cakes to deliver on Saturday.”
“That’s great. Your wedding cake business is booming.”
“Yeah, it makes more money than anything else in the bakery, put together.”
“So very cool, sis. Congrats.”
“Thanks. If I didn’t have three wedding cakes, I would force myself to go with you to that evil house and pick it clean of the good stuff.”
“Thanks for admitting that. It’s the thought that counts,” Nikki said.
Tara asked, “Are Mom’s Noritake dishes there? With the gold rims?”
“Yeah, in the china cabinet. Do you want me to get the set for you?”
“Yes, please. And if the photo albums are there, will you take out the photos of Dad so I don’t have to look at him? I just want to see Mom again.”
“He didn’t do it, Tara. He didn’t kill Mom.”
“The police have had a standing warrant out for his arrest for twenty-five years.”
“Well, that’s just lazy police work. Mom died. Dad disappeared. There’s no evidence that he killed her. None! It’s all circumstantial and I refuse to believe that he would ever do such a thing.”
“Says Daddy’s little angel,” Tara retorted. “His favorite.”
“That’s the meanest thing you’ve ever said to me,” Nikki said, and left the bakery in a huff.
Chapter Seven
Finally, Saturday arrived. Brad was up early making pancakes and sausage in his red plaid Christmas pajamas, even though Christmas was months away. Katie was playing with Legos in front of the TV as cartoons blared softly. She was also in her pajamas, but hers had Hello Kitty on them.
Nikki came into the kitchen fully dressed in jeans and a long-sleeved tee-shirt with her handbag on her shoulder.
“It’s Saturday, love. Where are you off to so early?” Brad asked.
“Following up on some old life history. Trying to find peace and some semblance of zen.”
Brad’s eyebrows furrowed. “Oh, Nikki. Let it go. I don’t know what you’re up to, but I have this bad feeling that whatever you are doing today, it’s just going to make you very unhappy.”
“I can’t let it go, Brad,” Nikki said, and kissed his cheek.
He threw his arms around her. “Eat breakfast with us. I’ll make you a pancake and draw a smiley face with the maple syrup, like I do for Katie.”
She laughed and kissed his mouth. “You’re the best husband ever and you taste like cinnamon toast.”
He laughed. “Want some?”
“No thanks. I’m only going to be gone for a couple of hours. Three tops. Can you make some room in the garage for boxes?”
“Boxes?” he said. “So, you’re going to yard sales?”
“No, and I promise, it isn’t anything that will affect the budget.”
“Okay. So, you’re going to keep your plans for today under wraps?”
“For now. I’ll tell you later. I’m taking your truck and the dolly, okay?”
“Okay, sweetie. Call me if you need me to help you with whatever is in the boxes.”
“Thanks. I would take you along, but Katie…”
Brad nodded, understanding that she didn’t want to drag Katie into whatever old history she was researching to find peace in herself.
“Don’t hurt yourself lifting anything.”
“I won’t. I have a helper.”
“Okay. Love you, Nikki.”
“Love you, Brad. Thanks for hanging out with Katie. I’ll be back before noon.”
“Sounds good. Let’s take her to the park later. I’ll pack a picnic basket and the horseshoes and the croquet set.”
Katie perked up and turned away from her cartoons. “Picnic? The park! I love picnics in the park.”
Both Nikki and Brad laughed.
“Can I bring my kite?” Katie asked.
“Sure,” Brad said. “We’ll see if we can get it up this time.”
“If it’s windy,” Katie said.
Nikki kissed them both and headed out the door to get some boxes at U-Haul and head over to her old house.
When she got there, she pulled into the driveway and texted Jimmy Matthews. Soon, he came down the street with a German shepherd puppy on a leash.
She got the dolly out of the bed of Brad’s truck and squatted down to pet his wiggling puppy.
“You brought your dog over?”
“Actually, Rosie’s a rescue from a breeder and she not only has separation anxiety and chews up my stuff if I leave her alone, but she’s good company.”
“Why is she a rescue?”
“She was mismarked because she has a pink nose. They were going to put her down, so I agreed to have her spayed and re-home her.”
“Aww, she’s sweet!” Nikki said as the dog licked her hand and wagged her tail. “They would kill her for a pink nose?”
“Some breeders would. I wouldn’t.”
“Your parents used to breed German shepherds, right, Jimmy?”
“Right. All of their dogs are long since passed across the rainbow bridge. I’m just down to working on rescues and rehoming for the breed. Rosie is staying with me temporarily. I’m fostering her.”
“That’s admirable,” she said.
“Thanks. Are you interested in a dog? Rosie, for instance?”
“Aww. Rosie’s so sweet. I would say yes, but I’m full time at school and my husband works full time and Katie’s almost five. I think she should be older before we get a dog, and probably, I should be a stay-at-home mom. I love animals, and I think they deserve to have someone who is home a lot.”
“I understand and you’re right,” Jimmy said, although he was clearly disappointed.
“You should keep her. She’ll be good company for you for years to come.”
“I’m thinking about it. I’ve been taking her to work with me and she just lays in the sun watchin
g me cut lawns and plant flowers. She’s so good, no matter where I take her.”
“Why not keep her then?” Nikki asked.
He paused. “I just don’t know what the future holds. I have some serious financial problems, which is why I am selling your old house so cheap. I need to use the money to save my parents’ house,—which is now my house—from foreclosure.”
“But your lawn care business and your landscaping. You have that income.”
“My dad and I were business partners and he heavily borrowed on some used heavy equipment, a backhoe that turned out to be an expensive mistake since every guy in town who owns a backhoe can do what I can do, but cheaper. We used to rent one when we needed it. It was more cost-effective, but my dad was not the best decision-maker.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Hey, thanks. I’ll figure it out. I just don’t know where I’ll be, ya know?”
She nodded her head, hoping he wasn’t going to be homeless. She was hoping that Rosie wouldn’t be either.
Jimmy let Rosie off the leash and she went to the front door and sat down, looking at Jimmy expectantly.
“Well, she’s clearly been here before,” Nikki said, walking closer to the house as Jimmy followed her.
And suddenly, they were at the front door and tears came to her eyes and she broke out in a sob.
“Oh, no, did I say something wrong?” Jimmy said.
“No, I was just not wanting to see the chalk outline again. You know?”
“I cleaned the floors, Nik-Nik. It’s all gone now.”
She felt startled again by the use of that weird nickname and by the way he spoke to her like she was a child.
He opened the door and the dog scampered in and sniffed the floor.
She walked to the bathroom and turned on the faucet and splashed water on her face and then, since the towels were so dusty, she wiped her face and hands on the hem of her shirt. When she turned around, he was staring at her in the mirror.
Her heart gave a little jump.
“I startled you again. I’m sorry.”
“I fall to pieces over this, Jimmy. Every day. Well, you know. You knew my parents and my sister and me. We were so close. My whole life and my sister’s life was ripped away from us when we lost her. Lost them.”
His mouth tightened into a hard line. “Yeah, it’s gotta be so rough.”
“It has been. My grandparents took in me and my sister and they were nice, but it wasn’t the same as having parents.”
“Where’s Tara today?” She noticed that he had changed the subject.
“She couldn’t come. She had to work.”
“She couldn’t come or she wouldn’t come?” he asked softly.
“A little of both,” Nikki said, startled again. Why was she afraid of Jimmy?
“Well, I’ll help you to box up what you want to keep and take it out to your truck for you,” he said. “Oh, and I finally got the attic stairs pulled down and I brought down everything from up there into the master bedroom. The unframed watercolors are faded and curled but still beautiful. If you take them to a framing shop, they can flatten them gently for you.”
“Thanks, I will.”
“There are a couple of acrylic paintings in good shape.”
“Is that everything from up there?”
He paused. “Trust me, you do not want to go up there. Spiders. And it’s dark.”
“Thanks, I’ll skip the attic,” she said, shuddering.
With the puppy scampering around and finally let out the back door into her old fenced yard to run off some steam, they spent the next couple of hours packing dishes, photo albums, cookbooks, her mom’s paintings, and a file box of birth certificates and other documents that were crumbling and yellowed.
The basement was dank and had dusty tools and crates of extra bathroom tiles and other things that she had no use for.
“You can have all of the tools and building supplies. My husband is not a handyman, despite working at a hardware store. Obviously, you are good at that stuff.”
“Cool,” he said. “Thank you.”
“It is very, very nice of you to let me come and get all this stuff.”
“It was the right thing to do,” he said dismissively.
When they were done, and the last box was packed in her husband’s truck, Nikki said, “Thanks for helping me. Let’s go into the back yard. I need to cool off before I collapse.”
They both drank cool water from the hose and then sat out there and threw a tennis ball for Rosie, who was happy to retrieve the ball numerous times. The dog drank a lot of water, too.
“You should definitely keep her,” Nikki said. “She’s going to be such a good dog when she grows up.”
“I wish I could. I don’t know where I’ll be. I’m going to lose my house at the end of the street if I don’t sell this one in sixty days. I’m several payments behind on my own house, plus the backhoe loan. If worst comes to worst, I can live in a mini-camper truck that I use for hunting. Park it at some RV park until I get back on my feet. Stay inside a down sleeping bag all winter.”
“That’s not good.” Nikki grimaced. “I have a much better idea.”
The dog climbed into his lap and he kissed her on the nose. “What’s your idea?”
“Let your house by the river with the swimming pool and the kennels at the end of the street go back to the bank and sell the backhoe at auction and just move in here.”
“Live here?”
“It’s free and clear, right?”
“Yeah, it is. But sell my parents’ home that’s been in the family for a hundred years? And live in a small rundown house where…a murder happened?”
“You and Rosie could be happy here. And you own it, free and clear. Even the taxes paid up, right?”
“Yeah, they were almost nothing.” He let out a long shuddering sigh. “I have to tell you something important, Nik-Nik.”
Suddenly, the name clicked. “You, you were there that day! You! You called me Nik-Nik, when you were trying to comfort me after my mom was killed. You pulled me off my mom’s body! You called the police. You did.” She held up her hands and looked at her palms. “I had blood all over me. Her blood.”
“Yeah. You did.”
“Why were you here?” she shrieked.
“It’s not what you think,” he protested.
She jumped up, alarmed. “Did you kill my mom?”
“I was barely twelve years old!” he sputtered in a way that made her cringe.
“Then why are you upset about living in this place if you didn’t kill my mom?”
He hung his head. “Because I think my dad had an affair with your mom in this house. And I think your dad found out and killed her because of what she and my dad did together.”
“No! My mom wouldn’t do that! My dad wouldn’t do that! I thought you were my friend. I thought you understood, but I really hate you now!” Nikki shouted.
“Nik-Nik!”
“Stop calling me that!” She ran inside the house, grabbed her purse, sprinted to her husband’s fully loaded truck and got in it.
Jimmy ran outside, too, but she locked the truck door and honked for him to get out of the way of Brad’s truck. When he did, she peeled out in reverse, just narrowly missing hitting him with her vehicle and managing to flatten the mailbox post.
She could hear him calling after her, “Nikki! Stop!”
She drove home like a maniac, with tears streaming down her cheeks and her whole body shaking. She walked in the door just as Brad put Katie down for a short nap. He was just softly closing her bedroom door and put a finger to his lips for her to be quiet.
“Hi, babe,” Brad said softly. “I’m going to wake her in an hour and then we can go on our picnic in the park.” And then he took a good look at Nikki. “What’s wrong? What’s happened?”
“I went to my old house and the owner gave me the stuff out of it that I wanted.”
“What old house? What are you talking ab
out?” Brad asked.
“From when I was a kid. From when my mom died and my dad never came home. That house is for sale and it was still full of our stuff. The owner let me take what I wanted. It’s all in your truck. He helped me pack it up and put it in there.”
He opened his arms. “Oh, Nikki! Why didn’t you tell me what you were doing?”
So, she went into his arms and crying against his strong chest, she blurted out the whole thing, including that Jimmy Matthews had said that her mom was having an affair with his dad. And the rest of what he had said, too. It all came out in a jumble of crying and screaming. Brad listened patiently.
Finally, when she ran out of breath and story, he held her apart from him to look at her face. “You’re a basket case, honey. All of this stuff happened, if it even happened in that way, years ago. None of these people can hurt you ever again. It’s going to be okay. You’re going to be okay.”
Brad held her while she cried, and finally, when Katie woke up from the commotion she was making, Nikki washed her face and tried to calm down for the sake of her daughter. They had a picnic in the park to try to enjoy.
With horseshoes, croquet and a kite, for Pete’s sake.
Chapter Eight
Later, Nikki awoke in the middle of the night in a sudden panic. The dream she had was still fresh on her mind. She dreamed that she was a child again. She was with her mother in a huge garden and they were hand in hand in a circle. They were singing a song that was unfamiliar to Nikki. She couldn’t recall ever hearing it before. Her mother was in a long, flowing white dress with a wreath of flowers around her head. Nikki thought she looked just like a beautiful angel. The two were laughing and singing and for a moment, it seemed almost real. Then, there was that familiar feeling of dread that Nikki usually got in her dreams, the recollection that her mother was dead and had been dead for quite a while. She then cherished the time they spent in the dream because she knew it wouldn’t last.
As the two fell to the floor in the dream, Deborah whispered something into her daughter’s ear. “Only you can find my killer, my sweet girl. Call me!”
That’s when Nikki woke up. She sat up in bed and glanced at her sleeping husband. Brad was cuddled up to his pillow. Nikki covered up his bare shoulder with the blanket and then got out of bed.
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