by Brenda Novak
But no one ever did, did they?
“Your insurance will cover most of this, won’t it?” Isaac asked.
Liz knew it would cover some of the damage. But because of the low crime rate locally, she hadn’t been worried about this type of problem. So she’d purchased an inexpensive policy with a high deductible.
“Yeah, the insurance will cover it,” she said. She opened her eyes but tried not to see what was there. The shop had been so perfect….
Isaac scraped mashed strawberry into the trash. “That’s good.”
“It’ll be fine,” Liz told him. What else could she say? It wasn’t Isaac’s fault that she’d skimped on the insurance. Besides, Gabe was going into surgery tomorrow and might not come out of it alive. How could she worry Isaac and Reenie about the shop when Reenie’s brother’s life was on the line? “It’ll just take time,” she added. A lot of time. And where would she get the deductible?
Reenie scowled at her. “Stop it,” she said. “You don’t have to pretend this is okay for us.”
Liz said nothing. It wasn’t okay—not at all. She’d been crazy to stay in Dundee. She should’ve gone back to Los Angeles to rebuild her life. But she’d started to feel safe here, part of the community.
Until now.
Go home, bitch. She couldn’t remember anything like this ever happening to anyone else in Dundee.
“If it’s Keith, I’ll beat him to a bloody pulp,” she heard Isaac murmur to Reenie.
“I’ll pile on,” Reenie whispered back.
Liz pretended she couldn’t hear them. She was in Dundee so Keith could be near his children. She knew he’d left upset last night. But would he really wreck the one thing that brought her joy?
The back door swung open with such force that it banged against the outside wall. Startled, Liz turned to see Carter stride in. The hard line to his jaw and the glitter in his eyes told her he was livid. He surveyed the damage, eventually focusing on the words written across the wall, and when she realized his anger was directed at whomever had done this to her, her vision blurred. She, who ordinarily couldn’t cry even when she needed to, suddenly couldn’t stop the tears.
Carter’s expression gentled when he saw her. He crossed over to her and she buried her face in the soft cotton of his T-shirt.
Isaac and Reenie stared as Carter tucked her head under his chin. But Liz didn’t have it in her to care. Her children weren’t around. She could allow herself this small amount of comfort. She wasn’t sure she could have stopped herself, anyway. In this moment, Carter was like the air she needed to breathe.
“Don’t worry.” He smoothed her hair away from her eyes and made her look up at him. “I’ll fix everything, okay? I have to go to New York for a few days, but I’ll start the minute I return. I promise.”
As she nodded, he said, “You’ll see,” and wiped the dampness from her cheeks.
CARTER LEANED AGAINST the cinder-block wall that served as the back of Mary Thornton’s Trinkets and Treasures Gift Shop. In less than an hour, he had to leave for Boise to catch his plane. Johnson was expecting him. But it was nearly nine o’clock, which meant Mary would be arriving soon and he wanted to talk to her.
Reenie came out of Liz’s shop, eyes focused on the ground in front of her and car keys jangling. Carter said nothing as he watched her cut across the alley to her van. But then she glanced his way—and did a double take. “What are you doing here?” she asked in surprise. “I thought you had a plane to catch.”
“I want to talk to Mary before I go.”
Liz’s sister-in-law lowered her voice and angled her head toward The Chocolaterie. “About what happened?”
“It’s always smart to talk to the neighbors,” he said vaguely. But a vague response was never good enough for Reenie Russell. From what he knew of her, she didn’t like subtleties. She preferred to have everything spelled out. Maybe it came from being a math teacher. She had to be taken step-by-step through any equation that didn’t immediately appear to add up.
“You don’t think it was Mary, do you?” she asked.
“No.” While Mary struck him as being a little more interested in Liz’s business than she had any reason to be, she cared too much about her image to do anything that might reflect badly on her. Maybe deep down she’d love to sabotage Liz’s chances of success, but Carter doubted she’d do it at the risk of embarrassing herself.
Of course, he could be wrong. He’d been wrong before—and it had cost Laurel an extra day in that hotel with Hooper. He’d always wondered if it had been that particular day that had left the deepest scars. Which was why he wanted to talk to Mary. Just in case he was tempted to focus too closely on Keith. After the way Keith had acted last night, it was difficult not to blame him.
“Isaac’s going to take my classes today so I can stay here and help clean up,” Reenie told him. “I can’t leave Liz like this.”
“He can handle yours as well as his own?”
“He’ll have to combine them but that’s okay for one day.”
“Good. I’m glad you’ll be with her,” he replied, and he meant it. He supposed some schools would fire a teacher for missing a day at the last minute. But this was Dundee. Reenie’s brother had paid for the new football field, the library bore her mother’s name, and according to the little old ladies he’d heard in line at the grocery store, she and Isaac were both excellent teachers. He supposed that gave them a little more wiggle room than some. Regardless, school was out in another week, so maybe it didn’t matter too much. He’d heard Reenie tell Liz that she’d lined up a substitute for tomorrow, too, because she’d be too nervous to teach while her brother was in surgery.
“Are you heading to New York on business or pleasure?” Reenie asked.
Carter smiled. Reenie was always warm and friendly, but she was direct, too, and generally didn’t hesitate to ask about anything that piqued her curiosity. He’d seen her husband try to warn her off now and then with a gentle look and a “don’t do it” grin. But it was rare that Isaac managed to convince her.
“Business.” His inflection indicated she’d be better off not to press him further, and he knew she’d gotten the message when she frowned.
To her credit, she let the subject go. “Oh, well, have a safe trip.”
“Thanks.”
She unlocked her car door, but hesitated before climbing in. “You know, Liz means a great deal to me.”
It was Carter’s turn to frown. He and Liz had only been seeing each other for a couple of weeks, but he suspected he was about to receive his first personal helping of the well-meaning interference he had witnessed so often since arriving in Dundee.
“And with Keith and her father, she’s been through a lot.” Reenie continued.
Carter was growing impatient. He’d face Hooper soon; he had a lot on his mind. “Is this where you warn me not to hurt her?” he asked dryly.
Reenie shook her head. “No, this is where I tell you that you’ll never meet a more wonderful person.”
Carter blinked in surprise. He opened his mouth to say something, anything to make amends for how gruff he’d just been, but Reenie didn’t seem to expect a response. She climbed into her van and drove away.
The sound of the van’s engine faded, but Reenie’s words seemed to echo in his head. You’ll never meet a more wonderful person. He wasn’t ready to meet someone so wonderful, was he? He was still too angry, too bitter. And too much in love with Laurel.
Mary rolled past him in her Cabriolet, parked in the lot and approached the store.
“Liz’s shop is that one right there, in case you’re confused,” she said, pointing in the direction of the chocolate shop. “Or have you decided to be friendly to some of the rest of us, too?”
“This isn’t a friendly call,” he admitted.
“Then why are you here?”
“I have some questions to ask you.”
Confusion etched a series of lines on her forehead. “About what? I have a lot t
o do and I’m running late.”
“Where were you last night?”
“Why do you want to know?”
“Someone broke into Liz’s shop and trashed the place.”
Her stride faltered for a moment, but then she unlocked the back door and stepped inside, flipping on lights as she moved toward the front. “Okay, I was with Lou Masters.”
“Doing what?”
She gave him a suggestive grin. “How detailed would you like me to get?”
“A yes or no answer as to whether he’ll support you in that statement will do.”
“Statement? What, are you working for the police now?”
“No. But they should be next door. If you don’t want to talk to me, you could talk to them.”
Giving him an arrogant look, she set her purse and money bag on the counter. “Don’t try to badger me. I could tell you to get lost and I’d be well within my rights.”
“Is that what you’re going to do?”
Her mouth puckered in a pout. “You deserve it.”
He cocked a questioning eyebrow at her.
“For ignoring me,” she said, flashing her dimples. “You’ve been hell on my ego.”
“There’s always Lou Masters,” he replied.
“He’s not quite the challenge you are.” Her gaze moved down his body and back up again. “Anyway, I’m busy. Maybe we could discuss this over dinner tonight.”
“I’ll be out of town.”
“Someone just trashed Liz’s shop and you’re leaving?”
“Do you know who’s behind the vandalism?” he asked.
She stepped up to the cash register and started filling the drawer. “I have no idea, unless it’s that guy I saw.”
“What guy?”
“The one standing in the parking lot, watching Liz’s place when I locked up the other night. I warned her about him the day she opened.”
Why hadn’t Liz mentioned this to him? “Who was it?”
“I didn’t recognize him.”
“But you’d know him if he was from around here, wouldn’t you?”
“It was pretty dark, but, yeah, I’d probably know him. Or know of him. He wasn’t familiar at all.”
Which meant this guy had to be a tourist or someone from a neighboring town. But that didn’t make any sense. Why would someone who wasn’t even from Dundee want to hurt Liz? The fact that her shop had been damaged twice removed the possibility it was a random act.
“Can you give me a description of him?” Carter asked.
“He was tall. But he was wearing a pair of extra-baggy jeans and a sweatshirt with a hood, so it was difficult to see his face or even the color of his hair.”
“What was he doing?”
“Just leaning against his truck, drinking what looked like a beer.”
“What kind of truck?”
“I already told Liz. It was a red Toyota.”
“Do you know the model? The year?”
“No. It wasn’t new, that’s all I can tell you.” She thought for a moment. “And it was missing the back bumper.”
“Did you see the license plate?”
She shut her cash drawer. “Jeez, were you once a cop or something?”
“Something.” He rarely mentioned having worked for the FBI. It saved him from answering the Dreaded Question—why aren’t you with them anymore?
“Did you get the plate number?” he repeated.
“No.”
“Was it an Idaho plate?”
“Yeah, but an older one.”
“What else can you remember? You said he was drinking a beer. How did you know it was a beer?”
“I recognized the bottle.”
“Was he also smoking? Chewing tobacco? Listening to music?”
“No. Like I told you, he was standing there. When I came out, he tossed his beer into the Dumpster, hopped behind the wheel of his truck and took off.”
So he didn’t like being seen…. What was the link between this stranger and Liz? “Can you think of anyone who might have it in for her?” he asked. “Heard any good rumors lately?”
“I’ve heard she’s sleeping with you,” she said pointedly.
He refused to let her put him on the defensive. “I suspect you’re the one spreading that rumor.”
“Maybe. Maybe not. Is it true?”
“We’re talking about the damage to the chocolate shop, not my personal life.”
She scowled. “I definitely sense some loyalty there.”
“Are you going to answer my question?”
She gave him a dirty look and started to tidy up behind the counter. “You want a list of her enemies, huh? Well, you’d think Reenie would hate her, that they’d hate each other. But no, they’re best friends and have been since before Reenie married Isaac.”
“Anyone else? Besides the obvious?”
“The obvious?”
“Her ex-husband?”
“You know, I would’ve bet money it was Keith. Until I saw that stranger in the lot.”
“What about you?” Carter asked softly.
“What about me?”
“You’re not very excited about having The Chocolaterie next door.”
She glared at him for several seconds after she realized his intimate tone actually harbored an accusation. “I already told you. I was with Lou Masters last night.”
“You could’ve done it together.”
“Wait a second. Liz is selling a lot of the same stuff I’m selling, and I worry that she may cost me my business. But I’d never break in and destroy her property.”
“Really?”
Mary folded her arms and held her chin at a defiant angle. “Really.”
Carter knew the whole “stranger” sighting could be an elaborate lie meant to point him in the wrong direction. He’d had suspects try to mislead him in the same manner, many times. But Mary was more interested in trying to add him to her list of admirers, in feeding her ego, than in getting rid of him. If she was really the culprit, she’d probably be more eager to see him leave.
“I’m glad to hear that,” he said, pulling a card from his back pocket. “Will you call me if you see that stranger again?”
“Why should I?” she asked in an injured tone of voice. “What have you ever done for me?”
He grinned as he held out his card. “I believe you. Doesn’t that count for anything?”
She hesitated, but accepted it. “You’re too good-looking. You know that?”
He chuckled and headed out.
When he reached the alley, there was a police car parked next to the building. He wanted to go back into the chocolate shop to see what the Dundee police had to say about the break-in. Maybe someone had seen the perpetrator running from the building and called in a tip, or better yet, a patrol car had spotted the mysterious stranger that Mary had mentioned. But if Carter didn’t hurry, he’d miss his plane.
Checking his watch, he strode briskly toward the Jag. But then he spotted the Dumpster Mary had mentioned sitting on one side of the parking lot, and if only to check her story he spent a few minutes digging through it. He doubted he’d find many loose bottles in there, at least ones that weren’t broken. The shop owners probably tossed their bottles in a recycling bin or bagged them up with their other garbage.
Carter found that to be true, for the most part. There were only two loose bottles. One was a broken vinegar bottle. The other was a Bud Light.
Being careful not to smudge any prints that might still be on the bottle, Carter carried it to his car and put it in his glove compartment. It wasn’t practical to lift and run the hundreds of prints that would be inside Liz’s shop. But he was doing the bureau enough of a favor that Johnson should be able to run one or two prints for Carter in return.
He doubted he’d get a hit. He knew of only three people who had a motive to do what had been done to Liz’s shop—Keith, someone close to Keith, or Mary. Unless the culprit had a police record or had served in the military, he o
r she wouldn’t be in the FBI’s Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System. Running the print was arguably overkill for a case of vandalism. But Carter was meeting with Johnson anyway. And after what had happened to Laurel, he couldn’t stand the possibility of a stranger lurking about….
Anyway, it was worth a shot. The local police weren’t likely to do anything without an eyewitness. They didn’t have the resources or the expertise to track down the offender through physical evidence.
So, yes, checking the fingerprints was definitely worth a shot.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
GORDON RUSSELL LEANED BACK and tried not to reveal how nervous he was while Dundee’s only real-estate agent, Herb Bertleson, wedged his ample, pear-shaped body into a swivel chair on the other side of the desk. Gordon knew he was doing the right thing in returning to Dundee. But he couldn’t believe how hard his heart was pounding. Or that, even now, he thought he’d just as soon drive off and pretend all was well instead of facing the mess he’d made, accepting the challenge to make it right, and confronting the fear that he’d be unable to do so.
Avoidance. That was his greatest temptation. He was good at shoving his messier emotions under the bed, so to speak. He’d done it for years.
But he wouldn’t let those tendencies get the best of him this time. He’d made Chloe a promise. And he’d promised himself. Although recently the anger he felt toward Chloe and Randy ebbed and flowed between outrage and betrayal on the one side and understanding and forgiveness on the other, no matter where he stood on that continuum he had only to think of Chloe’s anniversary card to remember his purpose.
Liz and Isaac. He was robbing himself by not trying harder to bridge the gap between himself and his children. Anyway, they deserved more than he’d given them so far, regardless of what their mother had or hadn’t done. Gordon couldn’t change the past, but he could change how he reacted to it.
