“Something wrong?” Anna asked.
Shirley looked up and smiled. “Just hang on a second, Anna. I’ll be right back.” She locked her drawer and headed for an office next to the customer service desk. Anna looked at the man in line behind her and shrugged apologetically. He rolled his eyes and looked away. It was a few minutes before Shirley returned, stepping back behind the wicket and leaning toward Anna.
“Would you mind coming with me for a moment?” she asked with a polite smile that didn’t reach her eyes this time.
“Is something wrong?” Anna asked again.
“It won’t take long,” Shirley said, putting up a sign saying that her wicket was closed. Another teller opened the station next to hers, and the man in line behind her stepped forward as Anna followed Shirley to the office that she had just left. A young man in a grey suit and blue tie stood up as she entered the room.
“This is Anna Nolan, Jim,” Shirley said. “Anna, this is Jim Cheong, the assistant bank manager.” Anna and Jim nodded at each other. There were two chairs facing his desk, and Jim indicated that she should take one of them. Anna sat down as Shirley left the room, closing the door behind her. There was a ten dollar bill on the desk in front of Jim, and Anna pointed to it.
“Is that my ten?” she asked. “Is there something wrong with it?”
“I’m afraid so,” Jim said, picking it up and rubbing it between his fingers. “There are a few abnormalities, I’m afraid. Shirley was on-the-ball to have noticed them. It’s definitely a counterfeit.”
“Counterfeit?” Anna repeated, perching forward on her chair. “I can’t believe it. Nothing like this has ever happened to me before.”
Jim dropped the bill back onto his desk and leaned forward on his elbows, clasping his hands together. “Shirley tells me that you’ve been a regular customer for four years.”
“That’s right,” Anna said, her voice a little higher than normal. “You don’t think that I’m a counterfeiter, do you?”
“We’d like to know where the bill came from,” he said, gazing into her eyes.
“Just a minute,” Anna said, fumbling for her purse. She drew out her wallet and opened the billfold, checking the bills within. “I had a fifty last night when I went to the store, and Sherman gave me back a ten and a twenty in the change. See, here’s the twenty,” she said, holding up the bill.
“May I?” Jim asked, reaching across the desk for it. He studied the front carefully before turning the twenty over. “You mentioned a store. What store was that?”
“May’s Groceries and More,” Anna said, watching his face.
“You said that Sherman gave it to you. Sherman Mason?”
“That’s right. May had an accident, so Sherman was filling in for her last night.”
“I see,” Jim said, gazing up at her with a smile and handing back the twenty. “This bill is fine, but I’m afraid that we’ll have to give your ten to the police.” He opened the drawer in the top of his desk and withdrew a slim plastic bag. Dropping the ten inside the bag, he sealed it. “It’s not the first counterfeit ten we’ve see this week, either.”
“Really?” Anna said, her eyes opening wide.
He slipped the bag into his desk and stood up, offering her his hand and smiling. “Thank you for your cooperation, Anna. We’ll let the police take it from here.”
“You’re welcome,” she said, jumping to her feet to shake his hand. It wasn’t until she was back on the street that she realized she didn’t have the change she needed for work next week, but there was no way she was going back inside the bank. Not having just escaped such an unnerving experience. Instead, she turned next door and headed for the sanctuary of The Diner.
Chapter Fourteen
Sherman sat on the edge of the chair pulled next to May’s hospital bed, his baseball cap dangling between his fingers. He had come in just as the lunch trays were being removed. May’s elderly roommate had a visitor, a middle-aged woman who was sharing some photographs with her. May wore a nightgown instead of the hospital gown she had worn the previous evening, and cuddled a bouquet of peach-coloured sweetheart roses in her arms. She beamed at Sherman.
“They’re just beautiful. Thanks for bringing them.”
“Least I could do, May. I used to buy them for Evie on our anniversary. They were her favourite flower.”
“I used to buy Earl beef jerky every year. You might think that doesn’t sound very romantic, but he was crazy about the stuff. The company that makes it out in Longview has some pretty great flavours, like barbecue and honey-garlic.”
There was a lull in the conversation, and Sherman’s eyes roamed around the room while he searched for something to say.
“I’m glad to hear that they’re letting you go home tomorrow,” he said, his eyes lighting back on May. “I mean, go home to Miss Dombrosky’s. She’ll take good care of you. Not that I wouldn’t be happy to help if you wanted to go back to your place, but I wouldn’t make a very good nurse.” A rare smile of amusement flitted across his face.
“Yeah, I can’t wait to get out of here. Not to complain, they treat me real well, but it’s hard to get any sleep when they keep waking you up at night to check on you.”
“Things are going well at the store,” Sherman said, twirling the cap in his hands. “Your son got some extra staff in to help. Besides me, that is. Things are pretty quiet at the cemetery this time of year, so I’m happy to help.”
“So Gerry said. It was nice of you to take over for him yesterday, though.”
Sherman nodded. “The least I could do, after you’ve been so kind to me. It’s very convenient, too, living over top of the store. I’ve been keeping things tidy for when you get back.” He glanced up after a few moments when she didn’t respond; May was frowning at him.
“Listen, Sherman,” she said, leaning in close and lowering her voice. “Did anyone tell you what really happened to me the night I fell? Gerry thinks I’m nuts and should keep this to myself, but I know what I saw. I didn’t just trip on those stairs. There was a ghost waiting for me, and I fell trying to get away from it.”
Sherman stopped twirling his hat to gawk at her. “No, he didn’t tell me. What do you mean, a ghost?”
“I know I already said I don’t believe in ghosts,” May added, “but what else could it have been? One minute it wasn’t there, and the next, it was standing right in front of me, waving its shroud around.” May shuddered while Sherman stared at her.
“Did it say anything?”
“Not a thing. It didn’t make a sound.”
“Then what happened?”
“I don’t really remember. I fell down the stairs, and I guess I bumped my head and passed out. When I woke up, it was gone.”
Sherman grasped her hand between his callused fingers, his face full of dismay. “May, I’m so sorry. Nobody told me about the ghost. It’s all my fault.”
“How?” May asked, her face creasing in concern.
“If I hadn’t been staying with you, she would never have gone to your apartment.”
“Who wouldn’t have?”
“Evie. It’s me she’s after. If I had known that she could leave the house, I would never have stayed at your apartment. I wouldn’t put you in any danger. You’re such a sweet, generous lady.” He bent to kiss her cheek, and stumbled to his feet. “I’ve got to go.”
“Go where?”
“I don’t have many things at your apartment. I can clear them out right away and leave the key at the store.”
May reached for his hand and missed it as he set his cap back on his head. “But Sherman, where will you go?”
“I don’t know. I’ll figure that out later. I’ve got to stop Evie before she hurts anyone else.”
“Sherman!” May called after him as he ran from the room.
Chapter Fifteen
Anna glanced around the restaurant, hoping that she hadn’t missed Erna. She wanted to talk to her privately about the counterfeit money episode at the bank. S
he had a bad feeling that Sherman was somehow involved, but she didn’t want to air her suspicions in front of everyone else at The Diner. It would be all over town by the end of the day if she did, and that wouldn’t be fair to Sherman.
The stools at the front counter were empty. Mr. Andrews was reading his paper at one of the back tables, and the other tables were occupied by out-of-towners. No sign of Erna.
Anna sat down at the counter and watched Mary fill a teapot with boiling water. After a moment, she cleared her throat to catch the waitress’s attention.
Mary glanced over her shoulder. “Hi, Anna. You’re late. Sleep in this morning?”
“Yes. Have you seen Erna?”
“Been and gone.” Picking up the teapot and a mug, Mary paused at the counter for a moment. “Erna said that a friend was taking her to Calgary this morning to buy some new linens and things for May. I’ll be back in a second,” she said as she hurried past.
Judy backed out of the kitchen, letting the door swing shut behind her, and turned to rest four bottles of ketchup on the counter. Her face lit up as she spotted Anna.
“Hey, Anna. Frank and I were just talking about you. Frank, Anna’s here,” she called through the kitchen window. “We were so sorry to hear about May’s fall,” she added, the smile fading. “Erna was telling us earlier that you were the first one to get to her that night.”
“Yeah,” Frank said, following Judy through the door and leaning against the counter. “I hate to think of May lying on the ground in the dark all that time, poor lady. Erna said she’s doing better today, though.”
“Is she? That’s good. I haven’t talked to May since visiting her at the hospital last night. She was pretty much out of it with all the pain medication.” Mary came back and sat down on a stool beside Anna.
“Pretty weird, the bulb missing from the light over her stairs,” Judy said, resting her hip against the counter. “Erna said that May thought she saw someone on the stairs before she fell.”
Anna shrugged. “Who can tell what she really saw.”
“It must have been awfully dark without her outside light on. How could she have seen anyone?” Frank asked.
“And she bumped her head and all,” Mary added, raising her eyebrows. “Maybe she was delusional.”
Judy shook her head. “Maybe, but it’s been pretty creepy around here ever since Henry went missing. The Calgary police still haven’t found him, you know.”
“Honey, you don’t have to worry about Henry anymore,” Frank said, hugging her with one arm. “What’s he going to do, sneak back into town and break into our house?”
“I wouldn’t put it past that psycho!” Judy said. She leaned toward Anna. “Don’t laugh, but last week, after Henry threatened Frank, I hid our knife block at home inside one of the kitchen cupboards.”
Frank sighed. “Makes it pretty hard to cook with all the knives shut away.” Judy frowned at him. “Whatever makes you feel safe, honey,” he added hastily.
Judy turned back to Anna. “Well, first Henry, and now May. Something weird’s going on in town, you can bet on it. And have you noticed that we haven’t seen Steve for a few days? It’s like he disappeared or something. What happened to Steve?”
Steve opened his fridge door and stared inside at the meager contents. It was almost noon, and he was starving. He pulled out a carton of eggs, a block of butter, and a jug of milk, and set them down on the counter beside the stove.
“I’m going to make us some eggs, okay?” he shouted.
Tiernay sauntered into the kitchen wearing nothing but a black towel, her hair damp from the shower. She came up behind him as he broke six eggs into a bowl and wrapped her arms around his bare chest. He hadn’t bothered with a shirt when he got out of bed this morning; just threw on a pair of jeans. He leaned back and rubbed his cheek against hers.
“Ouch. Time for a shave, handsome,” she said, pulling away from him and walking toward the fridge.
“Sorry.” He whisked the eggs and milk with a fork, and then set a frying pan on the burner, plopping a spoonful of butter into it.
“I could kill for some orange juice,” Tiernay said, rummaging in the fridge.
“We’re out. I was going to pick up some things for breakfast last night, but you wouldn’t let me leave, remember?”
“Doesn’t matter,” she said, taking a seat at his pine table-for-two. There was a single red apple left in the wicker basket on top of the table, and she picked it up and bit into it, licking the juice from the corner of her mouth.
“I’ve got to go into work tonight,” he said, tilting the pan to let the melted butter ooze over the bottom before pouring the egg mixture into it. While the eggs sizzled, he dropped two slices of whole wheat bread into the toaster.
“Okay,” she said, munching the fruit. “I should check in at the store to see how Greg’s making out anyway.”
Steve stirred the eggs with a wooden spoon. “Won’t he mind you leaving him in charge of the store all this time?”
“It’s only been a couple of days. He’s been back-up for me before.”
“You go AWOL like this often?” Steve switched the heat off under the eggs to let them set and grabbed the toast as it popped up. Tiernay rose from her chair and strolled over to him. She draped an arm over his shoulder and watched him spread butter on the toast. When he was finished, he turned toward her, and she pressed the apple to his lips.
“It’s almost gone. Here, have a bite.”
He bit into the apple, gazing down into her uncanny, pale eyes as he chewed. But before he could swallow the mouthful, she pulled his head down and kissed him.
“Yum, your lips taste sweet,” she said with a smile. She snuggled against his warm chest, and he buried his face into her soft, tousled hair. It smelt faintly of cinnamon, and he wondered where the scent came from. Not from his shampoo. There was something crazy and mysterious about Tiernay, and being with her made him feel off-balance. Satiated, but off-balance. He wrapped his arms around her and kissed the top of her head.
“Happy?” she asked, her lips tickling his chest.
He stopped to think about the past two tumultuous days. Tiernay was beautiful and sexy as all get-out, but she was also demanding and needy.
“Hell, no,” he replied, crushing her against him so that she wouldn’t get the wrong idea.
“Perfect,” she said.
Chapter Sixteen
The following morning, Anna left home early to catch Erna before mass. Gerry would be bringing May over from the hospital just before lunch, so there wouldn’t be time for a private chat with Erna after service. Her friend was just shaking out the front hall mat when Anna arrived, and asked her inside.
“There, everything’s ready for May,” Erna said, leading her into the living room. Anna peered around the room, catching a whiff of furniture polish. It was a sunny, cheerful space with pale lemon walls, a wood-burning fireplace surmounted by a white mantel, a blue-and-white-striped couch, and a blue upholstered recliner. Erna patted the couch beside her, inviting Anna to sit down.
“What brings you out so early today? I didn’t expect to see you before church.”
“I wanted to talk to you before Gerry brings May. Something happened at the bank yesterday that’s been worrying me, something that might have to do with Sherman. I wanted to warn you to be careful with him.”
“What do you mean?” Erna said with a frown.
Anna explained about the problem that she had had with the counterfeit money. “Don’t you think it’s strange, counterfeit money turning up at the store the week that Sherman starts working there?”
Erna sighed. “You’re thinking about the scandal at the bank while Sherman was manager.”
Anna nodded. “Maybe you’re wrong to suspect that Tiernay was responsible for May’s fall. First the counterfeit money, and now another woman gets hurt falling down the stairs. Maybe it’s not a coincidence. Maybe Sherman pushed them both.”
“But why would Sherman h
urt May? She was just trying to help him.”
“Who knows what goes on in his mind? I think there’s something seriously wrong with him.”
Erna shook her head. “I don’t believe it.”
“Maybe not, but I think that we should warn May to stay away from him. I can come back this afternoon after she’s settled so that we can both talk to her, if you like.”
Erna clasped her hands together in her lap. “I don’t wish to sound harsh, Anna, but sometimes you are a bit impetuous. Perhaps you should think things through more before you share your opinions, or act upon them. Like the time you broke into the Primos’ house and removed their gun because you suspected it might be the weapon that killed your ex-husband.”
“Technically, I didn’t break into their house – Amy snuck me in.”
“And then you suspected Jessie Wick of murdering your ex-husband. As I recall, Charles was injured while you were snooping on her.”
“That was an accident,” Anna said, her face growing warm.
“And this feeling you have about Sherman. Upon what do you base that?”
Anna perched on the edge of the couch. She felt anxious, like one of Erna’s slower-witted history students who couldn’t recite the causes of the First World War.
Counting on her fingers, she said, “First, he heard Evelyn calling to him in the cemetery. What sane person hears dead spirits calling to him? Second, he’s an alcoholic. Third, he’s very suggestible. Look how easily he swallowed everything Tiernay told him at the séance. Now he’s convinced that someone killed his wife, and is still on the loose.” She held up both hands. “I just don’t trust him.”
Erna leaned back on the couch and crossed her ankles together. “Yes, Sherman has a drinking problem, but he’s held the caretaker’s job for four years, and that shows that he’s managing his dependency. As to hearing Evelyn’s voice in the cemetery, sometimes the wind can play tricks on people’s hearing, especially when they are under the influence. That’s perfectly understandable. As to having anything to do with his wife’s death, I’ve known Sherman for thirteen years, and I don’t believe that he would raise his hand to a woman.” Erna paused, pursing her lips as she considered Anna. “You criticize Sherman for so readily believing that Evelyn was murdered and that her killer is still at large. If he is convinced of that, he can hardly have killed Evelyn himself, can he? Which is it, dear?”
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