“No reason,” said Kate, getting to her feet. “Good luck with the Langley’s.”
As soon as Kate stepped out onto the snowy sidewalk, she felt like a short walk would do her good. Bean There was only three blocks away, and with all her health concerns she hadn’t been getting nearly enough light exercise.
She was sure to take slow, cautious steps, figuring there could be black ice beneath the compacted snow. The air felt crisp, but not frigid, and as she crossed block after block she felt her heart rate climb, though not too high. This was healthy, she thought, swinging her arms and breathing deeply. Nothing wrong with a sensible walk.
By the time she reached Bean There she expected to find Maxwell’s Volvo parked along the curb, but it was nowhere in sight, so she pulled the door open and stepped inside the coffee shop.
There wasn’t a single customer in the entire shop, and perhaps because of it, Kate didn’t see Clara or any of the baristas behind the counter.
“Hello?” she called out.
“Be right there!”
She recognized Clara’s voice and a moment later the woman stepped out from the back. “Here for your daily decaf?” she asked, seeming in a chipper mood.
“Lunch actually.” Though she loved her daily decafs, she had drunk a cup last night at dinner. She took her doctor’s ‘once a day’ order very seriously, which meant she really shouldn’t indulge until this evening. “Let’s see,” she said, eyeing the display sandwiches under the glass countertop. “Maybe a chicken Panini? Those look good.”
“You got it,” said Clara, who disappeared in the back to throw Kate’s sandwich on the hot press.
When she returned, Kate ordered a bottle of water and paid for both with cash.
“So,” she began, eyeing the barista as she made change in the cash register. “Carly mentioned the whole Gillian at the library thing to me.”
“Oh, did she also see Gillian there?”
“No, but you had mentioned it to her as well.”
“Right,” said Clara, looking suddenly apprehensive.
“But I spoke with Gillian and she wasn’t there that day.”
Clara attempted to laugh it off, but it landed badly. “I wouldn’t trust the word of a criminal.”
“She’s not a criminal anymore,” Kate pointed out, but the barista shot her a ‘don’t give me that’ look.
“Come on,” she said. “You don’t believe that. Hey look, I’m not saying she did it. I’m just saying she was there, and if the police don’t know that, then it amounts to lying. And lying to the police during an investigation...well, that looks guilty to me.”
The hot press dinged from the back and Clara rushed off.
From the corner of her eye, Kate saw a man approaching the entrance door and when she glanced over, thinking it was Maxwell, she found a tall man in his mid-thirties opening the door. He looked rugged in weathered jeans, a beat-up Carhartt jacket and work boots.
She didn’t want to stare, so she began perusing the cupcakes on display, and soon Clara returned with her Panini on a plate.
“Enjoy,” she said, handing Kate her lunch, but her eyes were locked on the man.
Kate grabbed her bottle of water off the counter and made her way through the coffee shop where she decided on a table next to the window. She sat facing Clara and her customer, who by the looks of it wasn’t only a customer.
Clara had stepped out from behind the counter and thrown her arms around the man. They were both smiling and speaking softly between kisses, holding each other.
Kate didn’t recognize the man, but that was no big surprise. Though business had slowed down greatly, the summer months had drawn all sorts of characters to Rock Ridge thanks to Dean’s amusement park. Over the years, people had fallen in love with this small town and ended up staying into the autumn months, and a few stragglers had even decided to stay permanently. She figured the man was one of those die-hards that hadn’t been able to bear going back to whatever state they called home.
After she’d eaten a few bites of her Panini, Maxwell barreled in from the cold and spotted her easily. He waved then stepped up to the counter to place his order.
Minutes later, the man had left the coffee shop, and Maxwell was approaching with a plate of chocolate cake.
“Don’t tell me that’s your lunch,” she said.
“I’m a kid at heart.” He slid into the seat opposite her and asked, “There’s a rock climbing club around here?”
Confused, she said, “No there isn’t.”
“Are you sure?”
“What makes you ask?”
“That guy,” he said, glancing over his shoulder to where the man had been kissing Clara. “He was trying to get the barista to go rock climbing with him.” Maxwell shrugged. “Maybe there’s a climbing club a few towns over or something.”
Rock climbing?
Kate suddenly remembered the murder weapon. Scott had explained it was a black nylon cord that would’ve been used for rock climbing.
And the new man in Clara’s life enjoyed the hobby...
Chapter Nine
Kate stood next to Maxwell in the snow along with eight other amusement park employees, as they listened to Dean Wentworth excitedly explain the glory that would be the First Annual Rock Ridge Winter Wonderland Extravaganza, a name so long Kate had begged him to reconsider.
“The food vendors will set up over here,” he said, motioning to a row of tents at the wayside. “Imagine hotdogs and cotton candy...”
Leaning into her ear, Maxwell whispered, “And all the food items we always have at the park. Where is he going with this?”
“And the band will play over here,” Dean went on, gesturing toward a snowy expanse. “That’s what I need you all for, to build the bandstand. Kate? Want to take it from here?”
She sighed. She really didn’t want to take it from here, but Dean had hired her to oversee the construction of the bandstand for the winter event. She made her slow way toward Dean, and when she turned toward the employees, Maxwell gave her two, gloved thumbs up.
“Thank you all for coming,” she said, speaking up so even those whispering to one another in the back would be able to hear. “We have all the materials right over there. The first order of business will be shoveling the snow. Shovels are in front of the stack of wood.” Again she pointed to the materials tent off to the wayside. “We need to clear an area approximately twenty by twenty feet. Maxwell Stone will set up the perimeter.” As soon as she said it, Maxwell sprung to action and grabbed a roll of pink tape from a table near the shovels. Another employee helped him by scooping a pile of stakes into her arms and they marched through the snow to get to it.
“Once we’ve cleared the snow, we’ll build the structure. Maxwell and I have drawn up blueprints, but you won’t need to worry about that. There’s a camper in the parking lot. If you get cold, don’t hesitate to warm up inside.”
Dean stepped in close and reminded her, “Don’t forget about the decorations.”
“Right,” she said, and then resumed shouting. “I’ll need a team of three to hang decorations, but that won’t be until the snow is shoveled off. Remember people, we only have six hours before sunset. That’s not a lot of time to pull this off.”
As the employees dispersed, grabbing shovels and lumbering over to the snowy area, Kate turned to Dean. “When I suggested a winter wonderland, I didn’t mean for you to throw one three days later. I don’t know if we have time, Dean.”
“You can do it,” he said excitedly. “I’m thinking if this goes well, we can hold the event once a week. Think of all the money we’ll pull in. I’m also thinking about putting in a skating rink.”
“A skating rink?”
“It takes money to make money,” he argued. “I need to make a few calls.”
Maxwell was finished lining the perimeter so he jogged over to Kate. “How are you feeling?”
“Like I’ll need to do a little work or else I’ll freeze to death.”
“You can’t shovel. It’s way too strenuous. People have heart attacks all the time from shoveling.”
“Fine, then I’ll get started on the decorations.”
“You can’t climb a ladder in your condition,” he argued.
“Fine, then I’ll start unloading the wood.”
“That’s too intense.”
“Fine, then I’ll...” she glanced around, but there weren’t that many jobs to do.
“Why don’t you make hot chocolate runs for us? It’s a short walk to the camper and back.”
“I’m a fix-it woman not a waitress.”
“Well, you could just stand here and oversee everyone’s work but then you’d get cold.”
She nearly groaned but held her tongue. “How did it go with Gillian?”
“What? We’re just friends.”
“Right,” she said teasingly. “But she’s coming tonight…”
“If Amelia will give her the hours off.”
Kate thwacked his shoulder and smiled as though of course Gillian would get the night off from the inn. In fact, she would be willing to bet good money that Holly Griffin had already demanded her way into a job at the inn and wouldn’t hesitate to cover Gillian’s shift.
As the hours ticked onward, gradually the snow was cleared and Kate began directing the employees in the construction of the bandstand. At times she made trips over to the camper, setting cups of hot chocolate in rows on a tray and carrying them back. As soon as the bandstand had been erected, she instructed a handful of workers to decorate it, while Maxwell led another team in hanging lights around the amusement park.
By the time the sun was lowering on the horizon at half past four, the park was ready for the winter wonderland celebration.
Dean stalked across the bandstand, his fists planted on his hips, as he inspected every inch of it. Kate climbed the stairs, joining him.
“How do you like it?”
“Look great,” he said, smiling and gazing out at the darkening landscape, the white twinkling lights throughout the park, and his employees who were nursing hot chocolate and deciding on where to go for dinner. “We’ll open the admission gate at eight.”
She nodded and walked off, pulling her cellphone from her pocket and scrolling through her contacts for Scott’s number.
He had taken the afternoon off to rehearse with his band, a brief respite from the complications from the murder investigation. Though it had taken days of heavy prodding, Kate had gotten him to look seriously at Holly Griffin’s letter to her grandmother, as well as revisit the possibility that the murder weapon had been planted in Hazel’s house.
Despite her efforts and his open mindedness, he hadn’t had enough to drop the charges against Hazel, though to Kate that decision seemed more political than rational. Unfortunately, all of Rock Ridge felt safer with someone behind bars, even if that someone wasn’t the real killer. It was by that logic that Scott hadn’t set the elderly woman free.
Kate had also pressed the possibility that Clara had lied and perhaps for a reason, but after Scott had spoken with her briefly at the coffee shop, he reported back to his wife that there was nothing further to investigate in that regard.
Placing her cell to her ear, she listened to it ring a few times before the line opened up.
“Hey, it’s me,” she said. “How’s it going over there?”
He sounded out of breath, saying, “Great! Can you remind me when our sound check will be?”
Sound check?
She made her way over to Dean who was marveling at the giant bandstand sign. “Dean, when should The Law get here for their sound check?”
“Ah, my electrician should be here in an hour to wire the speakers, so any time after that,” he explained. “It depends on how much time they need to warm up.”
Kate relayed as much to Scott, and then she asked him what he felt like doing for dinner.
“I’m not sure we’re going to get a dinner,” he told her with an edge of remorse in his tone. “We need to practice. Kilroy keeps botching his bass lines...”
“No problem,” she said. “I’ll see you here whenever you show up.”
With a few hours to spare, she found Maxwell amongst the employees and waddled her way over. But just as she was about to get his attention, his gaze locked on the parking lot. When Kate glanced over, she saw Gillian coming over and soon Maxwell jogged off to meet her.
“Looks like I’ll be dining alone,” she muttered, starting through the snow toward her truck.
As she popped the driver-side door open, she noticed a few flurries fluttering down and looked up at the night sky. It would snow tonight, which might be pretty, unless it turned into an all-out blizzard.
She could use a sugary snack, she thought, hoisting herself behind the steering wheel.
“Kate!”
Glancing over, she saw Dean’s wife, Jessica, crossing through the parking lot. Jessica’s son, Bradley was trailing after her, looking at the sky, his palm held up as if it would give him insight in terms of the weather to come.
“Hi Jessica,” she said, sliding her boots to the snow.
“Look at how big you are,” she exclaimed and gave Kate a hug as soon as she’d reached her.
“I’m not that big,” she grumbled. “I’ve got another eight weeks until I’m due.”
Bradley shot her a forced smile. Jessica frowned at her son then quickly mentioned to Kate, “Bradley had plans at that new rock climbing facility over in Scranton.”
“Scranton?” asked Kate. “That’s a ways off.”
“And totally worth it,” said Bradley. “Indoor rock climbing is all the rage.”
“And Scranton’s the closest one you could find?” asked Kate.
“It’s not that far,” he argued.
“In this weather,” said Jessica, annoyed, “it’s a suicide mission just getting there and you know it. Besides, Dean has worked really hard on this winter event.”
“Yeah, I get it. I’m here, aren’t I?”
Jessica huffed out a long sigh and smiled at Kate. “I’ll see you later tonight?”
“Definitely,” she said, but when Jessica started off toward the bandstand, she quickly asked Bradley, “Tell me about this rock climbing place.”
“What do you want to know?”
“Actually, I’m wondering if you know of any other Rock Ridge residents who like to go there.”
“A few,” he said. “Sometimes we carpool, you know, to save on gas.”
“Who do you carpool with?”
“Um...” he glanced down at her round belly. “You’re thinking about getting into the sport?”
“Hardly, Bradley, just answer the question.”
“I go with Samantha sometimes. She works with Bobbie Hamden over in the permits department.”
“Anyone else?”
“Yeah, but I mostly rock climb with Samantha.”
By the sound of his tone, Kate could tell he had a crush on Samantha, but it wasn’t at all what she was interested in hearing about. “Who besides Samantha?”
“Harold Fink,” he said. “But we don’t have as much in common.”
“Who’s Harold Fink?” She neared him, and then realized she was being too insistent, so she took a step back.
“Technically, Harry doesn’t live in Rock Ridge, but he’s been seeing Clara from Bean There, so it seems like he’s in town all the time.”
“Does Harold bring his own gear?” she asked eagerly.
“We all do—”
“Do you know what he does for a living?”
“Uh...you could ask him yourself.”
“I’m asking you,” she blurted out. It took all the patience she had not to grab him by the shoulders and shake the answer out of him.
“I haven’t bothered to learn that much about him, and if I’m being honest with you, I stopped carpooling with him for a reason. He guy stinks.”
“What does he smell like?”
“Car
oil and gasoline. It’s too cold this time of year to drive with the windows down. The last time I drove with him, I was dizzy by the time we reached Scranton.”
“I need you to tell me everything you know about Harold Fink.”
Chapter Ten
The snow was coming down in big, fluffy flakes as residents lined up at the admissions gate, payed for their tickets and raced off toward the food vendors.
By the looks of it, Dean would make a pretty penny, but Kate wasn’t convinced that hosting an event of this magnitude once a week would be profitable. She kept her opinion to herself however as she stood beside the mayor and watched Scott and his band, The Law, tune their instruments on stage.
“This was a great idea,” he told her before wrapping his arm around Jessica to help warm her up.
A gust of wind blew sideways through the park kicking up snow, and a bunch of people yelped in response.
“It’s really coming down,” Kate remarked, eyeing the sky and then glancing at the food vendors. There were at least twelve things she felt like eating.
Scott smiled at her from the stage, as his bandmates set their instruments in stands and made their way to the stairs.
As soon as he had joined them, Kate walked toward him through the snow, which had accumulated to nearly six inches.
“Feel like a snack?” she asked.
“Yeah, I’m starving.”
They started for the food area, but Scott kept peeking over his shoulder at the instruments on stage.
“Is something wrong?”
“It’s really cold out. I don’t want our gear to get damaged.”
When they neared the end of a line for pizza, Kate felt an incredible urge to tell him everything she had learned from Bradley about Harold Fink.
“I’m going to eat light,” he said, “so I don’t get a cramp singing.”
She had no idea that was a thing. “Do you not want pizza?”
“No, I’ll have a slice. Just one slice,” he smiled. “Thanks for making me do this.”
She thwacked his shoulder, saying, “I didn’t make you.”
Mrs. Fix It Mysteries: The Complete 15-Books Cozy Mystery Series Page 111
