Spaghetti, Meatballs, & Murder

by Beth Byers

  I paid for my things and left the pharmacy to find Simon waiting outside, leaning against his truck.

  “What are you doing in there, Rosemary?” He said it in a way that said he might have a pretty good idea.

  I held up my bag and pulled out the can of Pringles, popping it open and taking a few. I offered them to him.

  He shook his head and said, “You passed a convenience store to get those?”

  “I got eyeliner, too,” I said brightly.

  “Rose…”

  I smiled and started walking back to my diner. He followed and that made me smile a little wider.

  “So Morgan Brown stole insulin from the pharmacy?”

  “Rose…”

  “Always the third wheel,” I said, “Never the partner.”

  “Rose…”

  I turned and walked backward to face him.

  “Rose,” he said, softly. “What are you doing?”

  “Gossiping,” I said. “How did you know I was gossiping?”

  “Glory,” he said. “She doesn’t like Zee very much.”

  “Oh,” I noticed. “Did Zee steal her boyfriend? Back in the day?”

  “Last year,” Simon said.

  “Shut the front door,” I gasped and then laughed.

  “Before that, they were very close. It has caused quite a division in the knitting circle and ladies auxiliary society.”

  My laughter morphed into giggles. I had to stop walking, especially backward, and lean against the building we were standing by. It was an ice cream parlor and suddenly, I just needed ice cream therapy. I walked inside, letting him come or go as he wanted.

  I went with a double scoop of Tillamook mountain blackberry and white chocolate raspberry yum. I got them in a waffle bowl with a spoon. Simon had ordered just straight vanilla. Oh, the poor man, I thought. I was going to torture him with flavors as soon as this mess was cleared up.

  “What are you up to?”

  “It’s all Zee,” I tried.

  “But you went to Zee’s house, not the other way around.”

  “Who me?” I took a bite of my ice cream and looked up at him.

  He considered my innocent expression for a moment, but before he could ask me more questions, I asked, “No coconut?”

  I watched him sort of squirm and I added, “Chocolate chips? Walnuts? Cookies? Peanut butter?”

  I didn’t want a specific answer, because I had every intention of making something detailed and full of coconut just to watch him choke it down.

  “I like vanilla,” he said simply, taking a bite of his ice cream. “What are you up to with Zee?”

  “Mostly listening to her harass people I’ve never met before,” I said.

  Ok, someone’s head definitely turned as we walked down the street and watched us. What were they thinking? That he was questioning me again? He was. Or perhaps they were thinking we were walking down the street together as friends, maybe something more. We had done that before. It wasn’t so outlandish.

  “I need you to stop,” he said.

  “Have you talked to Tara?”

  He shook his head at me and then chucked his ice cream into the trash. Mine was therapy and it wasn’t going anywhere except down the hatch. Rather than taking him into the diner, I plopped onto the bench outside and took another bite of my ice cream. Tillamook really did make excellent ice cream. It made me want to road trip up to the factory and get a bunch of their different fun cheeses.

  “I need you to stop interfering, Rose,” he said.

  “She didn’t show for work,” I said. “We’re worried about her.”

  “I need you to stop,” he said.

  I took another bite and looked him over. He was earnest. I knew he wanted what was best for me, maybe for all of us, but I also knew I wasn’t sure I could feel good about myself if I didn’t check up on Az and Tara. Maybe after that…I could let it go. I wouldn’t even know what do after those things and now that Morgan seemed to be the likeliest suspect…maybe…but I wasn’t going to make any promises.

  “You heard about the insulin being stolen from the pharmacy?” I asked taking another bite.

  He sat next to me and the look he gave me was a little disgusted.

  “I wouldn’t have suspected that you’d be so stubborn.”

  “You can’t honestly expect me to just hope that you’d know that?”

  “Of course, I know it,” he snapped. He folded his arms over his chest and leaned back. We both stopped speaking as Paige from the boutique crossed behind us. If she had to go that way, right then, I’d eat my shoes. She didn’t usually have help during the day which meant, she’d left her shop closed to make that trek. Yeah. Right.

  “Morgan hasn’t come back from Seaside,” Simon said. “She’ll be back soon, and we’ll talk to her.”

  “She doesn’t answer the phone?”

  “She didn’t take a charger,” he said.

  I looked at him until he shrugged. I didn’t believe that. He surely didn’t. Even if she hadn’t, she’d have bought or borrowed one. Pretty much everyone used a mini USB or an apple charger. I took a deep breath and then said, “Interesting how both of them are gone right now.”

  “Interesting,” he said. “I’m not doing this with you, Rose. No matter how much I like you.”

  I had to hide my smile by taking another bite of ice cream. I might become forever fond of these two flavors of ice cream just because he’d admitted he felt something for me. He might be handsome and kind, but he moved as quickly as an old man, and he was as stubborn as an oak tree.

  “Stay out of it, please,” he said and then paused for what would no doubt have been a continued lecture because his phone was buzzing. Whatever he saw had him standing up immediately, he just let his hand touch my shoulder for a moment and then said, “See you later.”

  I sat in the cool sunshine and ate my ice cream. I was going to need a hot coffee after this, but bringing two to Az’s place to get Daisy would give him a reason to invite me to stay, and me a reason to ask him what was going on with him and his brother.

  I considered for a moment and then messaged Zee that Simon had hurried off with whatever he’d been told. I couldn’t do anything with that information, but Zee could do a lot more than I could.

  Chapter 17

  Before I drove to Az’s, I downed another 5-hour energy and then went back to my cottage to take a few minutes to gather my thoughts. I called my mom and she scolded me about letting the murder investigation get me down, telling me it was just bad luck. I let her counsel me until she needed to leave for her date. I tried not to be jealous, and I wasn’t. But I wanted to be getting ready for a date rather than preparing to go get my dog, harass my favorite employee, and then go home to crash after my third 5-hour energy wore off.

  I drove to Az’s and parked outside. When I walked up to his door, I carried the two to-go coffee cups and knocked. When he opened the door, he looked behind him and then said, “Oh hey.”

  He stepped out and closed the door. I stared at him and then looked at the door.

  “Um,” he said.

  My eyes narrowed at him, and I handed him the coffees to pick up Daisy and say hello. Once I set her down, I asked, “You hiding your brother in there?”

  “What? No,” he was so startled that I believed him, but I was sure he was hiding something.

  My head cocked and I sidestepped him. Before he could stop me, I opened the door. Tara was curled up on the couch crying. She didn’t look up, and I didn’t say anything. Instead, I quietly closed the door, before she noticed me.

  “Oh goodness,” I said, taking a deep breath. I looked up at him and raised my brows.

  “She…she was here when I got home,” he said finally and very simply. “She knows where Eddie and I keep our extra key. I guess she just needed someplace to be alone. Her mom and grandmother are very…prone to lecturing a girl. Y’know?”

  I nodded, believing him. I’d seem him text Tara when Zee and I had been
calling. We, all of us, had been worried.

  Just because I believed that though didn’t mean I had forgotten I had other questions. I glanced around. Az and Eddie lived in a little single wide trailer, on a piece of land, near the mountains. I wasn’t entirely sure it was a real address or just added to someone else’s property. You did pass a rather large farmhouse up the road to this little thing.

  “Did you know about the files that Jenny kept?”

  He froze and then slowly nodded.

  “Did you take yours?”

  If possible, he became even more still and then he said, “I wasn’t aware it was missing.”

  I examined his face, looking up at him, and thought that I believed him. I hoped I wasn’t being foolish. But unless Zee took it, Jenny had. Why had Jenny taken only Az’s file? On that thought, I pulled out my phone and texted Zee that Tara and I were at Az’s. I bet she would come, and she just might admit she’d taken the file when she realized I was pushing Az about it.

  “Why did Jenny protect only you?”

  He frowned for a moment and then said, “I don’t know.”

  I had worked with him for hours and we’d chatted a lot. I had thought I knew him well, but I was surprised to find just how well I knew him. Or perhaps how bad of a liar he was.

  “You do too,” I said.

  “It’s…”

  I took my coffee back from him and took a sip. I was stalling until Zee arrived. I had no intention of leaving until we talked to Tara, and I was sure she’d lie right to my face. Zee, however…I figured Zee knew Tara well enough to know when the kid was lying or not.

  As for Az, he didn’t need to know the reason I was drinking coffee was to slow down his getting rid of me.

  “Why don’t you try telling me?”

  “I…it doesn’t affect only me.”

  There was a little fire pit with old folding chairs around it, and I crossed and sat down, putting my feet up on one of the rocks that formed the fire pit. He sat down with me reluctantly. It was quiet for a while, and I was trying to add up all the clues about Az.

  I had found the file for Tara and Zee for the business. But Az hadn’t been in there. This was an interesting house, and I knew what Jenny had paid. With a factory income, surely they could do better? It wasn’t any of my business, but I doubted the two brothers paid more than $500.00 a month for this place. It was as nice as they could make it, but there was no denying it was a rundown old place they lived in.

  Suddenly it all clicked together.

  “You’re illegal,” I said.

  He frowned, jumped and then said, “He is. I married an American girl when I was young. And I came over not long after.”

  He leaned back and said, “I didn’t want to go back. If I were legal, we’d have broken up within months, but she was kind. She…lived a sham with me for years so I could stay.”

  “Az…” I wanted to shake him. Why hadn’t he just said something? “It’s why Eddie left. It’s why you lied about where he was. You guys were hiding who you were.”

  “I don’t really hide,” Az said. “I live here because I want to. I cook because I want to. I could get another job. But Eddie…he came to visit about 2 years after I was legal, and he just never left. I told him to. I tried. He should have. He’s been here so long, though. He’ll get banned for staying.”

  I reached out and said, “I’ll help you get an immigration lawyer.”

  He shook his head and laughed at me. “It’s not easy, Rose. Eddie…”

  “What about to Canada? It’s nearby. You could see each other often. I could help with that. We could find a Canadian lawyer and see what could be done. I’ll help you, however, I can. But first, I think we need to help Tara.”

  “You think she killed Kyle?”

  I rubbed my forehead and then admitted, “I think it was Tara or Morgan, and I very, very much want it to be Morgan.”

  Az paled a bit and then we both looked towards the long gravel drive. It was Zee’s car followed by Simon’s truck.

  “Oh,” I said. I hadn’t realized that in telling Zee, I’d be telling Simon. But…if Tara hadn’t killed Kyle she could trust Simon. She could trust him to help her as much as he could regardless. If Tara had killed Kyle…oh…I didn’t want to think about it.

  “Shall we do this?” Az asked. He stood and then held a hand for me.

  “Is Eddie away, ok?”

  “He is. If this all gets cleared up, there won’t be any reason for anyone to know he did anything other than go for a quick fishing trip.”

  I squeezed his hand and said, “I’ll do what I can.”

  “Why would you help us, Rose?”

  “I like you,” I told him. “People should help each other and be kind.”

  “You don’t think he should just be kicked out of the country?”

  “I think lives are complicated and messy.”

  “He’s my only family left,” Az said. “After Jen and I broke up…he came over because I realized how much I loved her and she was over me. She was over me and beyond me, and I was falling apart. He came to put me back together, and I wasn’t back together by the time his Visa was up.”

  My heart was breaking for these brothers, and I said, “I wish I could fix it.”

  “Me too,” he said, sounding so very tired. “We didn’t do any of the things we should have and now we’re in this mess. We were so stupid.”

  “We’ll do what we can,” I said again, hoping that there was something that could be done.

  Chapter 18

  Zee got out of the truck, her face stiff. For the first time since I had met her, Zee looked old. I wondered if that meant that Tara had killed Kyle. My heart froze at that the thought. She was just a kid. A good one. She wasn’t a drug using, jerk. She worked hard, she was quiet, but…what had Tara’s grandmother said? Tara loved hard.

  A part of me was jealous of the mere idea of loving hard. I wanted to have something more to my life even though I was loving the life I’d created. I…had messed up with Simon, and I needed to apologize. Simon got out of his truck and then turned to face me. His gaze met mine. This wasn’t the place or the time. I shrugged, but I tried to make my face look as sorry I actually felt. I just hadn’t known exactly how sorry I’d be until I saw how his gaze fixed on mine and how his eyes had slid past me just a bit as if he had something to hide.

  I hadn’t known Tara was here when I’d come to get Daisy. And yet, I’d texted Zee, not Simon. He didn’t look pleased, but he didn’t say anything. Which meant…he didn’t make me leave. Should I ask permission? Zee went into the trailer. Simon followed. I took breath, looked at Az, and we followed them.

  Zee had paused by the living room and was just staring at Tara who’d hadn’t moved from her fetal position, curled facing the back of the couch.

  “Have you figured out what happened yet?” I hissed to Zee. She shook her head and then turned to Az.

  “Water. And coffee.”

  Zee crossed to the sofa, picked up a chair, and set it near the side of the couch where Tara’s head was.

  “Hey,” Zee said with a gentleness I hadn’t known she was capable of. When Tara turned towards them, I had to wince at the look on her face. It was terrible.

  “I…” Tara dropped her head back to her arms and snuggled her face in.

  Az came back, handing over the drinks and then he took a seat in the corner.

  Zee’s head cocked and she said, “Up girl.”

  There was something in her tone that got Tara sitting up, turning around, and facing them.

  “Tell us…” Zee said.

  I looked at her, noticed the way her hands were shaking, the way she seemed so very, very sad. She seemed like she’d been through something terrible. Was this what it was like to lose your longtime boyfriend? I suddenly wasn’t so sure I wanted to love that hard.

  I took a deep breath and crossed to sit near Tara’s feet. She looked ill now. I remembered suddenly that I’d noticed black circles unde
r her eyes for weeks.

  “It’s more than Kyle, isn’t it?” I said gently.

  Tara looked at me, blinking slowly and then shrugged.

  “It has to be more than that,” I said. “You have been off for a while? Haven’t you? I don’t think I knew you before you were like this. But she’s different isn’t she?”

  Az choked, cleared his throat, and then said, “She has been off for a while. Little love…won’t you trust us?”

  “I’m not blind,” Tara said. She sniffed and took the coffee between shaking hands. “That’s Simon over there. He’s a cop.”

  Simon cleared his throat and said, “I’m not your enemy, Tara.”

  Tara shook her hand and said, “Yeah. I’m my own enemy. That’s what my grandma says. Since I’ve been little. I always thought she was old-fashioned and uptight.”

  “Does she know why you’re so upset?”

  “Parts of it,” Tara said.

  “What did she tell you to do?” Zee asked, pushing back Tara’s hair.

  “She told me to be my own person. To make my own fate.”

  “And how are you supposed to do that?”

  “I already ruined everything,” Tara said. She smiled a little at Zee and said, “Why do you care what Grandma said? You two hate each other.”

  “We’ve hated each other many times over the years,” Zee said, squeezing Tara’s hand. “It gives our lives’ spice.”

  “How did you ruin everything? Your Grandma didn’t want you to go back to Kyle. She didn’t want you to be with him. Did she want you to leave Silver Falls?”

  Tara shook her hand. “No. She wanted me to do what the women in our family do. Generation after generation after generation.”

  Zee’s head cocked at that, and she said, “Are you saying…”

  Tara’s eyes filled with tears and she said, “Not anymore.”

  It was the way she said it, the way she curled around herself, the way she triggered a thousand little memories and one recent one. Of the locker…I thought. Of the prenatal vitamins. Of the way, she’d never spoken of a father. Of the way, her grandmother’s walls were covered with pictures of the three of them. Of the possibility of what that life the generations of the Bean women lived. “You…you were pregnant.”