by Cindy Bell
“We have brand new magazines in the waiting area,” Bekki offered. “We can work with three of you at a time.”
“I should be fine with the style you gave me the other day, Bekki, I'm just here for moral support,” Hattie said.
“Okay, let's get started,” Sammy suggested. She led two of the women to empty chairs. Bekki escorted the third. Soon the group was chatting about the memorial.
“Angela is really so kind to be hosting that memorial,” Hattie said. “You know that Stella once tried to force Angela to sell the bakery.”
“No, I didn't know that,” Bekki said. She layered Beverly's short, gray hair. “Are you sure that's true?”
“I'm sure it is,” Hattie said. She turned the page in the magazine she was holding so sharply that Bekki thought it might have ripped. “She tried to persuade the bank to call back Angela's loan, and she even threatened to bad mouth the bakery around town.”
“That's horrible,” Sammy said. She spritzed Carol's hair with hairspray. “I couldn't imagine anyone being so cruel to Angela. She's never been anything but nice.”
“I know,” Hattie said. “But Stella didn't care about how nice she was. All she wanted was that corner lot. She had big plans to turn it into a discount store. Of course if she did that it would put a lot of the little shops out of business.”
“What did Angela do?” Bekki asked curiously. She walked over to the chair that Maude was sitting in and fluffed her curls carefully.
“Angela stood her ground. She didn't let any of Stella's threats intimidate her. She just dug her heels in and refused to budge. Of course not everyone has the stamina to be able to do that,” Hattie said. “I'm sure Stella ran plenty of good people out of town with her ways.”
“Well, she's gone now,” Bekki said. “So, maybe we should focus more on her good points.”
“You name one, and we'll join in,” Hattie said. She snapped the next page in the magazine. Bekki suspected she wasn't even reading any of the articles, she just wanted something to snap.
“She was always nice to me,” Bekki said. “I think we all need to remember that she has a daughter who has lost her mother.”
“A daughter who couldn't care less about losing that mother,” Beverly piped up. “I've heard the things that Jodie has said about her own mother. Bekki, I know your heart is in the right place, and since Stella passed in your shop you probably feel a little emotional about it, but Stella was a mean old witch. She tried to bankrupt my son, Petey, when he went to her for a personal loan. She agreed to the loan, in return she wanted to be able to have a garden on his dairy farm. He agreed of course. Well, when he went to sign the paperwork, he was wise enough to read it over. She had changed the terms of the loan to reflect that she would own his entire farm if he was late on a single payment. I don't even think that was legal, but I can tell you that if he had signed it, she would have made it stick.”
“I'm sorry about that, Beverly,” Bekki said with genuine sympathy. “I'm really not saying that Stella wasn't ruthless, I'm just saying that her death is still a loss for this town.”
“Bekki's right,” Sammy piped up. “Stella may have had her flaws, but she did always make sure the town had everything it needed.”
“Well, I'm sure that Holly is relieved to be dealing with Jodie instead of Stella,” Hattie said with confidence in her voice.
“Why do you say that?” Bekki asked as she arranged Beverly's hair.
“Stella was hell on that girl. She was always giving her a hard time about that rent,” Hattie shook her head. “When I handed the keys to the place over to her, I warned her that Stella was a hard woman to deal with. Not a week later when I stopped in, Holly had already had her taste. She exploded about how difficult Stella was making the lease, and how Stella kept promising her one thing and then putting something different into the agreement. She was quite angry.”
“Holly?” Bekki asked with surprise. “She doesn't seem like someone who would get angry easily.”
“Honestly, I don't know her all that well,” Hattie admitted. “In fact I don't think anyone in town knows her very well. But I do know what I saw and what she told me. She was not happy with Stella at all. I'm sure that if Jodie doesn't sell the place, she'll be much easier on Holly.”
“If Stella even left the shop to Jodie,” Beverly pointed out. “She might not have. The will hasn't been read yet. I wouldn't be surprised if Stella decided to donate her entire fortune just so that Jodie didn't get a dime of it.”
“I guess we'll find out soon enough,” Bekki said.
“Have you guys heard about the new detective in town?” Sammy asked. Bekki looked over at her with gratitude. She knew that Sammy must have sensed that Bekki was about to boil over.
“The one with the accent?” Beverly asked.
“Oh, he's a yummy little treat,” Maude said with a wink.
Everyone burst out laughing at Maude's comment. Bekki spent the rest of the day fluffing and primping just about the entire town for the memorial that evening. By the time the last customer left her shoulders were burning and her feet were aching.
“Let's get cleaned up,” Sammy said and picked up the broom.
“No way, you opened,” Bekki reminded her. She took the broom from her. “You go onto the memorial I'll be right behind you.”
“Are you sure?” Sammy asked. Bekki could see the hesitation in her expression.
“I'm sure,” Bekki said. “I want to wait until Nick gets there to go over anyway,” Bekki explained.
“Okay,” Sammy said. “But take it easy, it was a long day.”
“It sure was,” Bekki said. After Sammy left the salon Bekki cleaned up quickly. She wanted to talk with Nick as soon as she could. She expected he might stop by the salon before heading to the memorial. However, he still had not called by the time she turned the lights out in the salon.
As Bekki locked up the salon, everything that she had heard about Holly that day was weighing on her mind. Holly was fairly new to Harroway. It seemed like no one really knew much about where she had come from, or what her past had been like. No one had become friends with her either. That was a difficult task to pull off in a small town where everybody wanted to know as much as they could about their neighbor. From what Bekki had gathered about her, and observed herself, she had a pretty strong feeling that the woman was probably hiding something. She decided to call Nick before heading over to the memorial.
“Nick, are you at the memorial?” Bekki asked when he answered the phone.
“Not yet,” he replied. “I sent Dave ahead of me. I had some information to sort through on pharmacies that supply the medication that was used.”
“I know you're busy, Nick, but if you get a chance I think you should look into Holly's past,” Bekki suggested. “I think that there's something that she's hiding.”
“What makes you think that?” Nick asked. “Is it something she said?”
“Actually no, it's more what she didn't say. She says so little about herself,” Bekki explained. “If I ask a question she barely answers it.”
“Maybe she's just private, Bekki,” Nick suggested. “You're used to hearing everyone's dirty laundry at the salon, but some people like to keep their business to themselves.”
“We don't gossip all day at the salon,” Bekki said. She pursed her lips with annoyance but pushed the reaction down. “Only part of the day. But that's not the point. I could understand if she was just private. I've known plenty of private people. But that is not how this feels to me. It feels more like she is trying to avoid my questions. She doesn't just answer me vaguely she goes out of her way to change the subject. The only people I've known to do that were liars, or were hiding something.”
“I trust your instincts, Bekki,” Nick said. “I'll look into it. I should be at the memorial before it's over. Dave should be there already.”
“Well, that's a good reason for me not to go,” Bekki said.
“Aw, don't be so hard on Da
ve,” Nick said. “He's just a little rough around the edges. He seems really determined to find out what happened to Stella. He’s taking the case very seriously.”
“Interesting,” Bekki said. “Don't worry, I'll do my best to play nice.”
“Hmm, I wish I could trust you to do that,” Nick laughed a little.
“I'll behave,” Bekki promised. “Call me if you turn up anything on Holly, okay?”
“I will,” he said before hanging up the phone. Bekki hung up her phone and decided to walk over to the memorial. It was only about a block away and she could use the time to think. As she walked towards the bakery she could already see a line-up of cars making their way down the main strip. There was a lot of foot traffic on the sidewalks as well. It made her smile a little bit to think about the fact that Stella would have been complaining about the traffic. The memorial was a great way to honor the woman's memory, but the truth was she would not likely have attended it herself. When Bekki walked up to the bakery there were already several people standing outside. Some were talking, some were just waiting. Inside, the candles were glowing. Bekki could see Angela and her mother, Marie, talking quietly by the front counter. Bekki pulled open the door and stepped inside.
“Bekki,” Marie said warmly when she saw her daughter. “I'm glad that you were able to come.”
“I wouldn't miss it,” Bekki said and hugged her mother. “Is everything set up?” she asked.
“Just about,” Angela replied. Her lips were quirked in a troubled expression.
“Angela, what's wrong?” Bekki asked.
“It's Jodie,” Angela replied. “Stella's daughter. She was supposed to be here for the memorial. I expected her over an hour ago.”
“I can go check on her,” Bekki offered. “Maybe she just fell asleep or lost track of time.”
“I hope so,” Angela said. “I just hope nothing terrible has happened to her, like it did to her mother.”
Bekki's heart skipped a beat as she remembered the empty package of candy in the trashcan that she had seen when she visited Jodie. Was it possible that the candies she had were poisoned also? Maybe she had put the candies into a dish or a drawer rather than keeping them in a package. Or maybe she had deliberately given the contaminated ones to her mother.
Chapter Eight
Bekki knocked on the front door of Jodie's house. She could see that all of the lights were out. She could also hear music playing inside the house. She knocked harder. Finally the door jerked open. Jodie leaned against the door as she stared out at Bekki.
“What do you want?” she asked.
“Are you okay?” Bekki peered past her into the darkened house.
“I'm just fine,” Jodie replied.
“It's almost time for the memorial,” Bekki said. “Do you want me to give you a ride?”
“No,” Jodie sighed. “I'm not going to the memorial. I have funeral arrangements to make. It'll be a private funeral. If the people of Harroway want to saint my mother they can do it without me.”
“Jodie, it's just a way of saying goodbye,” Bekki said softly. “I know that you're angry, but you might regret missing the memorial later.”
“No, I won't,” Jodie said. “I have my own way of remembering my mother, Bekki, and it has nothing to do with candles.”
“Jodie, I can drive you over,” Bekki offered. “Don't you need to be there after for the reading of the will?”
“I already told that loser of a lawyer that he can just let me know tomorrow. He's worthless you know. I sent him over to Get and Go today to get the rent that Holly owes, and he came back empty handed. Said she needed a few days. Can you believe that? What kind of lawyer takes no for an answer. I needed that money today, and he didn't even come through for me,” she scowled. “No, I'll stay right here and enjoy my evening. What you do with yours is your business, Bekki,” she said.
Bekki sighed as Jodie closed the door in her face. She was beginning to think Jodie was more than happy about her mother being gone. As she walked back to her car she remembered seeing McAllister meeting with Holly. Bekki had a feeling there might have been more to their meeting than what she had observed. As she drove back towards Angela's Bakery, her phone began ringing. Bekki could see that it was Nick. She switched it onto speakerphone.
“I'm heading to the memorial now,” Bekki said. “Where are you?”
“I've just arrived at the memorial,” Nick said. “But I wanted to update you on what I found out about Holly. Where are you coming from?” he asked.
Bekki hesitated for a moment. “I went to talk to Stella's daughter, Jodie,” she said. “I'm really concerned about her. She either has a very guilty conscience or she is in denial.”
“The death of a parent can really shake you up,” Nick said. “Is she going to be at the memorial?”
“No, she refused to go,” Bekki said. “I offered her a ride, but she said she had her own way of honoring her mother.”
“Hmm,” Nick muttered. “Okay. I'm keeping my eye out for Holly Smith.”
“Really?” Bekki asked. “Why?”
She could see the bakery not far ahead of her.
“It turns out that before she came to Harroway she had a career as a pharmacist,” Nick explained. “She was sued and nearly arrested when she mixed up some medications and almost killed one of the pharmacy's customers.”
“What?” Bekki pressed on the brakes. She looked down at the phone. “Are you sure?”
“Yes, I'm sure,” Nick said, his voice darkened. “She lost her license, I guess that's why she moved here. So, she would have had knowledge and potentially access through old connections to the medications that were used in the murder.”
“I guess that's why she's so private about her past.” Bekki was shocked that the evidence appeared to be pointing to Holly. “Do you have enough to pick her up?” she asked hopefully.
“We don't have enough yet,” Nick said. “We have to find a way to prove that she either had the medication in her possession or that she contacted someone to get that particular medication. I think we're going to have some more information by tomorrow morning. I'm curious to see if she shows up tonight. I might be able to get some information out of her.”
“I'll be there in a few minutes,” Bekki said. She was really only a minute away.
“Okay, see you soon,” Nick said.
Bekki drove towards the bakery. Then she drove right past the bakery. She headed for the Get and Go at the end of the street instead. If Holly was at the memorial it would be the perfect time for Bekki to search the store for evidence that she was involved in the crime. Nick might not be able to conduct the search himself without more evidence, but she could at least give him a heads up of what was there.
Bekki smiled when she saw that the store was dark. Quietly she crept up to the front door of the shop. The large windows were clear enough of advertisements for Bekki to see through. But the shop was so dark inside that it was nearly impossible to see. She noticed that the for rent sign that had been in the window was now gone. She wondered if Holly had taken it down. She cupped her hands around her eyes and leaned into the window in an attempt to see more clearly. She could make out the counter and some of the racks, but it was impossible to tell if there was anyone inside.
With everyone else at the memorial, Bekki was fairly certain that Holly would be there, too. To be safe she knocked loudly on the front door. Then she knocked on the window. When she heard and saw no response from inside the shop, she tried the door. It didn't budge. Holly had locked up tight. Bekki was glad to confirm that Holly wasn't inside, but now she had to wonder how she was going to get into the shop. When she was a little girl and her father had run the shop, there had been a small door in the back of the store. It was a half-door, so that packages could be slid inside even when the store was closed. Bekki had no idea if it was still there, but if it was it would be the perfect way to get in.
Bekki walked around behind the store. The parking lot had never b
een very well lit. It was something that every owner had tried to remedy, but the permit for the lighting for the parking lot was never approved. Bekki stuck close to the building as she made her way around to the back. She was just about to the small door, when she noticed something unexpected in the parking lot. It was Holly's car. She froze when she saw it. Her heart raced as she wondered if Holly was inside. Had she seen Bekki peering in the window? Then suddenly she realized what must have happened. The Get and Go was close enough that Holly had probably locked up and decided to walk over to the bakery. There was no reason to be frightened just because her car was still there.
Bekki continued towards the small door. She crouched down and tried out the door. It gave way easily. As she had expected it wasn't locked. The question was, could she fit through it? She got down on her knees and started to duck her head through the door. Just as she was about to crawl inside she heard a sharp squeal of brakes. She jerked back out of the opening and looked up with surprise. A car sped down the road, swerving and nearly striking the curb. Bekki watched it for a moment. It continued driving down the main street. She was sure whoever was driving it wouldn't make it past the bakery without Nick and Dave seeing it and chasing down the driver.
Bekki shook her head and began to crawl back through the small door. She was halfway inside when the pocket on her skirt caught on the latch of the door. She tried to wriggle loose from it, but there wasn't enough room in the door for her to be able to. She tried backing out a few steps, but again she found that she was stuck. Her heart began to race as she realized that she was trapped. The worst part was her cell phone was in her pocket on the outside of the door. Her hands were stuck inside the store. She couldn't even call for help. She was mortified by the thought of anyone finding her like this. Bekki tried to wiggle her way into the store again. She stopped when she heard a creaking sound. Her eyes widened as she saw the storage room door swing open. The entire time she thought that no one was in the shop, someone had been inside. That person was about to find her stuck in the small door.
