by Leona Fox
“Well, my dear,” he said, leaning an arm against the shelf so his aftershave wafted around her, and she had to stop herself from choking on it, “how would you like more to come?”
“What do you mean?” she replied, all wide-eyed.
“This town has a great deal of potential and it's such a shame to see it squandered. I could help to bring it into the modern age and it could be a place where people come from miles around, and more famous people than me, too.”
“You think you'd get all those people coming just for a mall?” Ellen said.
She straightened her back and dropped the faux-cherubic demeanor. Longthorne creased his brow and then scowled again. This time it didn't disappear quickly.
“I don't like it when people try tricking me,” he growled.
“I don't like it when big businesses try to rip out the heart and soul of this town,” Ellen said in a hushed whisper.
“Look, I don't know how you came to know of this or who you are but these plans are confidential. Keep to your own business.”
“This town is my business and I'm not going to stand by while you try forcing your way in here. We have a special way of living and we want to hold onto that. You might as well leave now because you're not going to see your mall built. We'll fight you every step of the way to preserve what we love about this town.”
“What you love is something that can be packaged and sold to bring more people in here. You are wasting this town’s potential. There's so much money to be made here and all you can think about is a precious heart. All I see around me is a place that's dying. You have the old mill and that's it. I'm talking about jobs, about a way for East Pender to grow and move into the twenty-first century.”
“There's more to life than money.”
“Cried the naive. You might think that, but deep down, people are greedy and they will do whatever it takes to get rich. And I think you know that, too.” He let the words sink in as he studied her for a moment.
“Yes, actually I think I do recognize you. You're that woman they wrote an article about. The one who always interferes in things that don't concern her. I see you are true to your reputation. I think that perhaps you have other things you should be worrying about. I am aware there is a new cafe opening.”
Ellen flinched. “How do you know that?”
Longthorne raised an eyebrow. “We all have our particular areas of interest. I'm surprised you're not more worried. In my experience people always will be intrigued by something new, and the old stuff is left to rot.”
“You obviously haven't experienced things in East Pender,” she said, now struggling to keep her voice under control. She glanced over at the clerk and urged Longthorne to go outside, which he obliged.
“I've experienced things in a lot of places and they all go down the same way. It's inevitable, Ellen. You can't stop progress. I suggest you run along and look at what your competitor is doing because she may offer things you cannot. If you don't do your best to keep up you're going to be left in the dust.”
“I'm not even worried about that. I'm here to talk to you about the mall, don't try changing the subject.”
“I told you. There's nothing to discuss. Whatever plans I have are between me and the mayor. You do not have a say in it.”
“I have a right to know when I'm working with the police and you're a suspect in a crime.”
She had expected more of a reaction from Longthorne but he merely continued staring at her.
“That's quite an accusation. I hope you can back it up with facts.”
Longthorne's tone was biting and the longer the conversation went on the more annoyed he became with Ellen, but she wasn't about to let him go so easily, not now when she had him in her sights.
“They will come in time, but right now I have a theory, a theory that I think makes quite a lot of sense. Since you're a man in the know I'm sure you've heard there have been some burglaries, including one in that very store. Now, if there were plans for a mall and you needed certain buildings out of the way there probably would be less opposition if those store owners were frightened out of their minds.”
“You have quite the imagination,” he said, smirking, his eyes belying no trace of his real thoughts.
“But I believe you are misguided this time. Shame though, I had heard much about your prowess when solving crimes. Perhaps it was all a myth and the chief of police is the real brains behind the operation. If you had done your research properly, which most people do before throwing around wild accusations, you would know I am an honorable businessman and I do not resort to such brutal tactics. I have no idea who broke into these stores and, quite frankly, I do not care. This town is going to change whether you like it or not, and the sooner the better.”
Ellen fumed and her cheeks reddened but she found herself unable to come up with an adequate reply. She heard footsteps behind her and turned to see that Longthorne's son, Stephen, was joining them. He was the spitting image of his father, although his hair was not yet flecked with gray, and he did not exhibit the same polished dress sense as his father.
“We need to go, father. We've spent too much time here already,” Stephen said, glancing toward Ellen out of curiosity, but otherwise paying her no mind.
“Yes, yes, I am ready to leave. I was just involved in a discussion with a local. It seems that wherever we go people are resistant to change.”
“Small town, small minds,” Stephen said derisively and Ellen immediately took a dislike to him.
“Now, now, Stephen, remember what I said about being diplomatic,” Longthorne said as he escorted his son away.
“Remember what I said, Ellen. If you're not first you're last!” were his parting words as he disappeared down the road.
Ellen cursed and kicked the curb. She looked back at the store and shook her head. She wasn't in the right frame of mind to look for clues now. Longthorne had shaken her up. Had she miscalculated in revealing her theory to him? Perhaps the burglaries and his company were unrelated.
Ellen staggered back to the cafe with much on her mind. It felt as though she was spiraling down and losing control of everything she held dear. This was the second person to warn her against Maggie and, although Longthorne wasn't a trustworthy source, she didn't know who to believe now. Ordinarily she would have had a firm idea of what was going on but now things were different. She didn't know if she even would be able to solve the case.
On her way back to the cafe she saw Maggie working hard, but this time she was not tempted to go in. How much did she really know about this woman? How she wished Kelly or Andy were there as a sounding board. It was strange, she mused, to be so dependent on other people when for so long she had been self-reliant. It was tempting to laugh as, for a long time, she never was close enough to people to feel the need to share things with them. Some would have seen it as a weakness, but she was glad for her friends. She only wished they were here when she needed them most.
That evening in the cafe her phone rang and her face lit up, thinking it might be Andy, but it was only Jimmy. He told her they finally had done an inventory of both stores, and none of the items stolen were the same.
“There's nothing remarkable about them at all, actually. They're just ordinary household items. I don't know why anyone would steal them. They're not rare, and it's not like they're going to bring a lot of money on the secondary market like electronics.”
“Maybe it was just a smokescreen,” Ellen said, still sticking to her theory that there was something more to these burglaries than meets the eye. “They may have stolen those things at random, because the point wasn't to get them, but to make everyone worried. It's part of a theory I'm working on.”
“Care to share?”
“Not yet, sorry. You'll understand why when I tell you. I just need to figure a few things out first. Call me if you need anything else,” she said, and hung up.
While she had been talking to Jimmy Ellen had received another call, and the co
de indicated it was from another country. She accessed her messages and listened as Kelly's loud, happy voice emerged.
“Hey! Must have just missed you. Tried to work things out with the time difference but it really confuses me. Right now we're just leaving to sit on a beach all day and drink cocktails! This place is paradise. I don't know where Matthew found it but it's incredible! I'm having so much fun. The only bad thing is you're not here to enjoy it with me. Anyway, just wanted to say hi and that everything is fine. I'm not sure if I'll get the chance to call again because it's super expensive but I'll be back before you know it. Hope you're not missing me too much!” and then the line went dead.
Ellen cursed Jimmy for calling at the exact same moment that Kelly had called, and felt aggrieved that she just missed her best friend. But perhaps it was for the best since Kelly was on her honeymoon and didn't need to know all about Ellen's problems.
With little else to occupy her mind Ellen went through the rest of the day as if on autopilot. Scampy attempted to cheer her up with his usual antics, and while they brought a smile to her face it did not last long. The general fear that permeated her existence faded somewhat, and although there was still an uneasy quiver when she was alone at night, she mostly could function normally during the day. However, she felt she was missing something crucial about the burglaries and was afraid that her skills had left her. If she couldn't help the police anymore then she didn't know what she would do. Even though she liked to think of herself as just a normal person who owned a cafe, she did enjoy helping the police, making a difference to the town and, yes, becoming involved in people's lives.
The night was long and her mind was alive, jumping around, unable to settle on anything, even her favorite book. Scampy rested peacefully at the end of the bed as a calm breeze wafted in through the window, which had been cracked open. Ellen lay on her back with her eyes open, staring into space. She rose and got a glass of water, then returned to bed and played some Brahms on her phone, hoping the music would draw her mind away from the turbulent thoughts careening around.
It was the most distraught she had been since she had returned to East Pender. For all the crimes she had seen committed they all had happened to other people. She had been able to retain a certain level of detachment, but the secret admirer had targeted her and her alone.
Sometimes, she thought, getting lost in the big city wasn't a bad thing. It meant other people couldn't target you, couldn't single you out. There would be others as well, even Longthorne knew her name. If he was concerned about her digging into his business there was no telling what he would do, or his son. She only had met him for an instant but there was something about the son that unsettled her. Perhaps it was his shifty eyes or the way he spoke with such anger in his voice. Either way, the music she was listening to didn't help to ease her mind as she had hoped. Ellen endured a restless night.
Chapter 6
There were no more burglaries for a few days. The first two had happened so closely together that Ellen was surprised there hadn't been a third yet. The other merchants, however, still were fretting and continually badgered her to talk to the mayor again. It took all her willpower to remain calm in the face of their nagging. Individually they were lovely people, but together they made for a rather nasty headache.
There were still no leads, and Jimmy had called Ellen into the station to have a word. Other officers nodded to her as she came in and she exchanged a few words with more than one of them, having made some good acquaintances in her time helping Andy. Yet once Jimmy was out of sight the officers grimaced and made fun of him, and Ellen felt great pity for the man. He looked more tired than the last time she had seen him as well. His cheeks had lost a lot of their color and there were bags under his eyes.
He grabbed a mug of coffee and she assumed he had been living on those for the past week or so.
“How are you doing, Jimmy?” she asked, with more than a hint of concern in her voice.
“I'm fine, thanks for asking, just a little tired. I don't know how Andy does it, y'know? There's so much to keep track of, not to mention all the personnel issues.”
“Personnel issues?”
“Nothing too serious, just a few people who had some differences of opinion, that's all.”
“Have you gotten used to the job yet?”
“No, and to be honest, I don't think I ever will but Andy chose me for this so I'm going to try my best. I just wanted to run a few things regarding the case by you. It feels as though I've come to a dead end and I don't know where to go next. I was thinking about talking to some of the other officers but then I remembered what you said about leadership. I didn't think it would be the best idea to show them I was struggling. Truth is I don't think they have much respect for me anyway. They think I don't see the faces they make but I do. I thought they were my friends but they just treat me like I'm some kind of joke. I can understand it, y'know? It's like whenever you had a substitute teacher at school, and you knew they were only there for a short time so you took advantage of that. This is exactly the same, but it doesn't make it hurt any less,” he said with a heavy sigh. It was clear to Ellen that Jimmy hadn't just called her in to talk about the case.
“I'm sure everyone goes through a similar thing when they are given command for the first time. It's all a learning experience and you have to use this to make yourself better in the future.”
Jimmy shook his head. “Some men are born for it. They just stride in and know exactly what to do. Everyone else knows what's expected of them, like there's some unspoken understanding between them all and I just don't have that. It's the little things, like talking to each other in briefings when I'm trying to tell them something, or taking longer to file a report and I don't have it in me to get angry at them. I'm just not that kind of person. I always was told to turn the other cheek as a child and I did. Served me well so far.”
“Jimmy, can I ask you a personal question?” Ellen asked, getting the feeling that if she didn't interrupt him he would continue with his self-pitying diatribe, and that wouldn't be good for anybody.
“Sure,” he said, sitting down at the table, hunched over with his head hanging over his cup of coffee.
“Why did you become a cop in the first place?”
Jimmy shrugged. “It seemed the most logical thing to do. Knew I was never the type to make it into college but I wanted a proper career so I took the exams. Thought being in a sleepy town like this, no offense, would be a good place to learn and get experience before I moved onto a bigger city but I guess I'm just not ready for this.”
“Jimmy, usually we're not ready for anything life throws at us, but we make it through anyway. I think you need to look at yourself and see if this is making you happy because life is too short to do things that make us unhappy. It's never too late to change your mind, even on something like a career. Heck, I was in completely the wrong line of work for most of my life because I thought I had to stick it out and try making it work. But for now you are the one in charge and you're the one leading the investigation. This is your job and, like it or not, you must have shown Andy you were capable. Otherwise, he wouldn't have left you in charge. Self-pity isn't a good look on you or anyone, so we'd better try cracking this case.”
“I guess,” he said, and Ellen rolled her eyes. She had hoped for a little more enthusiasm from him.
“What's your working theory so far?”
“Well, we know they took money and an array of items. There seems to be nothing in common among the things taken. So we don't think they were after anything specific. Unless they did take something specific but stole all this other stuff to cover it up.”
He ended that sentence with a raised tone, trying to gauge if Ellen thought his theory had any merit. When she didn't say anything his eyes fell and he continued in a lower tone.
“But that could be wrong...maybe the two burglaries were just opportunistic and now that they've got whatever they wanted they're going to stop? Or they
just could be taking their time before they strike again...Like I said, I don't really know.”
Ellen pursed her lips and tapped her fingers on the surface of the table, once again frustrated that Andy and Kelly were absent as working through a crime wasn't the same without them.
“You mentioned you had a theory?” Jimmy asked tentatively. Ellen stopped tapping her fingers and leaned forward, lowering her voice.
“I do, but you can't tell anyone about it,” she said, and proceeded to tell Jimmy all about Longthorne and the proposal to the mayor, then her theory that they were responsible for the burglaries to scare people.
“I don't think Longthorne necessarily did it himself, but I got a bad vibe from his son. If they got people feeling unsafe that would be a way to make a mall more palatable.”
“But how would we ever get to them?”
“If that theory holds then they're going to strike again because the deal still hasn't gone through. But like I said, it's just a theory.”
“It's the best one we've got,” Jimmy said grimly.
“I'm so glad you're here to help. I don't think I could do this without you,” he said, and smiled appreciatively at her.
However, Ellen was wishing that her two partners were there as she didn't know if she could do it without them. Jimmy was a fine man but she could see he was not made for the role. She only could hope that he found enough strength to make it through the rest of Andy's absence without losing too much confidence.
She left the station wishing she could talk to someone, but the only person she really felt comfortable talking to was Maggie, and Ellen still had her reservations about her after what Richard and Longthorne had said. Despite what most people thought Ellen was an introvert at heart. She was more than able to be friendly and engage in small talk with most people, but when it came down to meaningful conversations there were few people with whom she could connect. This led to her forming some strong relationships, yet it also meant her social circle was limited.
