Secrets in a Small Town

by Nicole Stiling

  “So, this might seem like a lot of work, but it’ll definitely be worth it. We just need some volunteers to get us started. Here are a few sign-up sheets,” she’d said, passing around the paper and pen. “Lots of positions available. Creating fliers, selling tickets, setting up booths, finding a DJ, food vendors. All kinds of things.”

  “We could do that.” Savannah’s voice was loud at the far end of the table. “Or we could invite Cody Pratt to perform on the common.”

  There were audible gasps in the conference room.

  “How would we manage that? He’s the hottest singer in the country right now. There’s no way he’d come to Winter Valley for free,” one of the councilmen said, resting his folded hands on his belly.

  “Oh, he’s already offered. I know his father quite well and explained exactly what we were trying to raise money for. The whole family will be in Vermont on a ski weekend next month, and Cody’s more than happy to help us out.”

  “That’s amazing!” someone yelled from the back of the room.

  “My daughter is going to freak out!”

  The councilwoman holding the volunteer sheet for the carnival tore it in half. “We’ll raise triple the money with Cody Pratt coming to town, and we won’t have to spend anything on booths or vendors!”

  Micki had smiled through gritted teeth. “That’s wonderful, Savannah. Thank you.” She sat back down in her chair, deflated and annoyed. Anything to steal her thunder. Literally, anything. Yeah, it had been a good idea. But why not combine it with Micki’s? It hadn’t even been a discussion.

  Micki was well aware that Savannah thought she was inept. Mostly, it didn’t bother her. When it came down to it, Savannah ran the town well, and Micki respected her for it. The few times that Savannah had seemed to forget about their rivalry, their thought processes were very similar, and their goals were comparable. Then Savannah would remember that Micki had pissed her off that one time, and her airs would come right back. They just weren’t going to get along. There was no way around it. Micki could either suck it up and work around it or quit. And she was no quitter.

  Chapter Five

  Steam rose from the mashed potatoes Savannah doled out onto two plates. Eliana sat in anticipation, her fork and knife held tightly between two small fists.

  “Extra butter?” she asked hopefully.

  “Just enough.”

  Eliana’s face fell but quickly perked up at her first bite. Her mom’s mashed potatoes made having to eat the disgusting boiled asparagus worth it.

  After a few moments of companionable silence while they ate, Eliana took a long sip of her apple juice. “Micki loved my egg-carton-flower-bouquet.”

  Savannah’s mood darkened, but she tried to maintain a neutral expression. “When did you see her, Eliana?”

  “This afternoon. She stopped in to pick up her sunglasses.”

  Savannah blanched. Eliana hadn’t mentioned anything about an art project to her. “Would you like to show it to me?”

  The fact that Micki lived in the same apartment as her daughter’s babysitter sent flames up the side of Savannah’s face. That she felt the need to ingratiate herself into every facet of Savannah’s life enraged her. Imagined or not.

  Eliana motioned toward her backpack, hanging on the hook in the front hall. “It’s in there.” She shrugged.

  Savannah shoved a forkful of asparagus into her mouth to disguise the hurt. “I assume that Chief Blake has a lot of work to do, and she probably doesn’t need a first grader monopolizing all of her time. Did you finish all of your homework?”

  “I don’t see her every day,” Eliana said, sullen. “She’s super nice, you know. She told me that…”

  Savannah listened and nodded in the right places, trying to look engaged. It took effort since her favorite time of day with her daughter was now tainted. She knew she was overreacting, but she was beginning to feel like a prisoner in her own town. A self-inflicted issue, sure, but a prisoner nonetheless. “You know, Mrs. Lawson at the doctor’s office has mentioned that she does child care as well. Maybe it would be good for us to try something new?”

  “No!” Eliana whined. “I don’t want to go to Mrs. Lawson’s after school. I like going to Rebecca’s.”

  “That’s fine, Eliana, it was just a suggestion.”

  Rebecca wasn’t exactly Savannah’s favorite person in the world, but she’d always been wonderful with her daughter. Savannah couldn’t justify pulling her daughter out of Rebecca’s care just because she didn’t particularly like her roommate. Savannah didn’t particularly like very many people. She’d grown up happy, sheltered. But then the people she’d trusted most had either let her down or died, so the branches on her olive tree no longer extended very far.

  They finished in near silence, dinnerware clinking and ice tinkling. Eliana trudged up the stairs to do her mother-required nightly reading. Savannah brought the dishes to the sink, clanging the silverware loudly against the stainless steel. Taking out her disappointment on the cutlery was childish but satisfying. Disappointment in herself, mostly. She gripped the edge of the sink with both hands, hanging her head in defeat. She’d never doubted her abilities as a mother. Not ever. But lately, she felt as if she was letting Eliana down again and again. She tried, she really tried. Eliana was spontaneous and fun-loving and exciting. And Savannah was…not. It tore her apart to think that Eliana would rather spend her time with Rebecca and Micki than her. Maybe she should buy a pair of roller skates. That would be spontaneous, right?

  Flecks of remorse for the way she treated Micki would pop up now and then, but something like this would happen, and even though it wasn’t Micki’s fault, the silent rage would begin to boil again.

  The shrill ding of the doorbell startled Savannah out of her reverie. She wiped her hands primly on the dish towel near the sink and made her way to the front door, her heels clicking loudly in the otherwise quiet foyer. She pulled it open expectantly.

  “Hello?” she called cautiously over the empty stoop, fear beginning to rear its head.

  No one there. No answer.

  “Who’s there?” she called again. She expected silence at that point and received exactly that.

  Savannah slammed the door shut, flipped her dead bolt, and fastened the chain. She felt hot tears spring to her eyes. Who is doing this, she thought, fighting a chill. Why are they doing this? She brushed the hair out of her face and strengthened her resolve. No one was going to intimidate her. No one. She went into each of the downstairs rooms and double-checked the locks on every window. She turned on the floodlights to illuminate the backyard. The branches from her weeping willow tree cast an eerie shadow on the stone patio. Savannah closed her eyes, pushing away the paranoia that was rapidly threatening to take over.

  As she finally began to feel satisfied that the house was safe, she heard a light knock on the front door. She froze, waiting to see if it was actually a knock or just the flag, a branch, a fucking earthquake. Anything else.

  The knock repeated, louder this time. Savannah jumped, inhaling deeply.

  “Mom?” Eliana called from upstairs. “Is someone at the door?”

  “No,” she called back, wiping her cheek rapidly. “It’s just the wind.”

  She looked out the beveled glass of the front door and didn’t see anyone. What she really wanted to do was call the police. But her stubbornness, her absolute defiance wouldn’t let her. How sad I am, she thought and chuckled bitterly. It’s nothing. If there were a real threat to me or to Eliana, I would swallow my pride and call the police. But I won’t allow myself to get swallowed into a sick game.

  Gathering her composure, she unchained the bolt and snicked the door open softly. Unsurprisingly, there was no one there. She did, however, see an envelope lying on the top step. She shook her head, willing her heart to beat a normal rhythm again. It was just an envelope. Nothing could jump out at her from there.

  She closed the door tightly after picking up the unaddressed envelope. She held
it between her thumb and index finger as if it might bite. Savannah swallowed hard and ripped the edge off, shaking its contents into her hand.

  On a lined 8.5 x 11 sheet of white notebook paper, a beautiful cursive penned the words:

  Do you ever get the feeling you’re being watched? I’ve read that it’s a part of your brain that senses something is out of place, even though your conscious mind isn’t registering it. It’s not foolproof and certainly doesn’t mean that someone is really there. Everything is usually fine.

  P.S. Asparagus is always better steamed.

  Savannah caught a sob in her throat before it escaped and slid down the front door, her back grinding softly against the smooth wood. The letter lay at her feet while she covered her face with her hands.

  Chapter Six

  Micki raced into the small town hall auditorium, plowing through the doors just as the council members were finishing the recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance. The five sets of eyes at the council table whipped away from the flag and toward her to see what the commotion was.

  “Sorry,” she whispered sheepishly, slapping her hand over her heart.

  Once they finished roll call and pushed past the regulatory town business, Micki cautiously raised her hand. Everyone turned to look at her. She always felt so stupid at these things.

  One of the selectmen acknowledged her. “Deputy Chief Blake.”

  “I would like to request a full-time administrative assistant for the police department. In the past, this has been denied, but I believe we would be more effective as a department if we could delegate some of the more clerical tasks.”

  “As I’ve addressed with you in the past, Deputy Chief Blake,” Savannah began, adjusting her glasses, “we have a strict board policy to keep budget increases at two percent or less. We do not have the room to add a full-time employee at this stage.”

  One of the council members spoke up, a woman who’d lived in town her whole life. She was Micki’s best chance. “Ms. Castillo, do we have the capacity to add any additional staff to the police department at this time?”

  Savannah turned to her, hands folded in front of her. She smiled sweetly. She reached for a calculator and flipped to a specific page in her packet. “We could afford you ten hours per week of administrative assistance, Deputy Chief. Will that be sufficient?”

  Of course not, Micki thought. Ten hours a week was nothing. “Well, Ms. Castillo, I’m not sure that amount of time will achieve the desired detraction from our current workload.”

  “We do need to stick to the budget, Deputy Chief,” the councilwoman said, giving her a sympathetic look. “It’s a fair compromise, don’t you think?”

  Savannah grinned at Micki.

  “Sure,” Micki said bitingly. “We’ll take what we can get, I suppose.”

  After a quick tally of hands, Savannah removed her glasses and folded them in front of her. “Motion carried. Congratulations, Deputy Chief Blake.”

  Micki smiled, trying desperately not to look as pinched as she felt. God, she sucks. Did she need a clerical person? Probably not. They had time on their hands as it was. But Jack would be retiring soon, and administrative organization was one of Micki’s admitted weaknesses. She was confident in her police work, but she didn’t want incomplete or incorrect forms to underscore Savannah’s perception that she wasn’t good at her job. Shaking her head, Micki sat back in her chair and waited for the meeting to adjourn.

  * * *

  “Could it be a pissed-off employee?” Micki asked, tossing a handful of fluorescent yellow popcorn into her mouth.

  Chloe shrugged. “Maybe. But she’s a pretty fair boss. At least in the time I’ve been working there. I’ve heard that the admin who was there before me had a crush on her, but that’s it. Nothing else that I can think of.”

  “Well, yeah. That doesn’t surprise me. If you can pretend she doesn’t have the personality she does, she’s a total catch. Maybe someone was trying to grease her palms, get her to do something, and she refused?”

  Supernova, the one and only pub in Winter Valley, was unusually busy for a weeknight, but it gave Micki and Chloe the privacy they needed to talk about Savannah. No one could possibly listen in to their conversation; they could barely hear themselves over the loud twang of the country band up on the stage.

  “You really think that’s it?” Chloe asked, sipping her bright blue cocktail.

  “No, not really. It seems a little more personal than that, but I’m trying to cover every angle. I’ve been looking through old articles and public records to see if there was some kind of zoning issue or public scandal that Savannah had any involvement in, but I haven’t come across anything.” Micki leaned back in her seat, sighing heavily. She ran her hand through her hair. “I really need to talk to her, Chloe.”

  “Well, you can’t.” Chloe took another sip of her drink and cocked her head thoughtfully. “Not yet anyway. I’m hoping it all just stops, and the psycho got the scare he was looking for.”

  “Or she.”

  “I guess.”

  A good-looking guy in his late twenties approached their table. “Hey, ladies. My friend and I just found this place on our way home from a hike. Would you mind if we join you?”

  Chloe batted her lashes at him while Micki smirked at her. Chloe was about five foot zero with dark gray eyes and a wild mess of strawberry-blond hair that framed her face like a lion’s mane. She received a lot of attention from the locals in town, but this time the focus seemed to be on Micki.

  “You have beautiful eyes,” he said, looking directly at Micki. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen that shade of blue before.”

  “Thank you. Unfortunately, my friend and I were discussing something pretty important, so if you don’t mind, it’s not really a good time.”

  “And she’s into women, so later on won’t be a good time either.” Chloe smiled, mixing her drink with the two little straws sticking out of it. “But I’ll come say hi before we leave.”

  The guy raised his eyebrows. He nodded reluctantly and walked back to his seat at the bar. His friend turned and waved to them.

  “Nice, Chloe,” Micki said. She shook her head. “I need to know more about Savannah’s personal life. What can you tell me about her ex, David?”

  Micki shoveled in another handful of popcorn and washed it down with a swallow of Coors Light.

  Chloe shrugged again. “Not much, really. I don’t know him very well. We were on the same human dogsled team last year at the winter festival. I think that was right before they split up. He was fine. Nice enough, I guess. They just didn’t fit. She finally broke it off after deciding there just wasn’t anything left between them.”

  Micki discreetly pulled a compact notebook from her back pocket. She grabbed a keno pencil from the table and scribbled furiously on her lap. “So, she left him. Good to know. Do you know how he took it? And how do you know this stuff, anyway?”

  “The same way I know about everything. Small town. From what I’ve heard, David was pretty broken up about it.”

  “Also good to know.”

  “I don’t think it’s him, Mick. He’s bland, not bonkers.”

  “It’s always the quiet ones, Chloe,” Micki muttered, making a final note before replacing the pencil into its plastic holder. “This is good, though. Keep thinking.”

  “Hey, girls.” Rebecca slid in next to Chloe. “What are we talking about?”

  “Stacey,” Chloe said quickly. Micki shot her a dirty look.

  Rebecca made a face. “Why? What about her? You don’t miss her, do you?”

  “No. Not really. That was almost a year ago. I mean, I’m pretty sure I’m destined to be alone, so that’s cool.” Micki picked at the label on her beer bottle.

  “Oh, stop. Stacey was a flake, let’s be real.” Rebecca flagged down a waitress and ordered a glass of wine.

  “Be nice. It wasn’t her fault I was emotionally unavailable.” Micki shrugged. “She wanted more; I was afraid to give it
to her; she found someone who wasn’t. Can’t really blame her.”

  “She could have waited maybe a week, don’t you think?” Chloe asked. “I know you weren’t together that long, but still.”

  “Whatever. I hope she has a wonderful life. I just don’t need to be a part of it. To Stacey,” Micki said and raised her beer in a toast.

  Chloe and Rebecca clinked glasses with her, but they both shook their heads. “You’re so evolved,” Rebecca said. “I think I’d still be sending her nasty texts if it had been me. Could be why I’m still single.”

  Micki chuckled. Her feelings about the Stacey situation really were dormant, but she wished Chloe had come up with something else to change the subject. Micki wasn’t interested in combing through the details of their failed relationships. She really just wanted to talk about Savannah. Was she really the reason Savannah was so reluctant to involve the police? Something about that gave Micki a pit in her stomach. She’d never been someone’s nemesis before. At least that she knew about. How could someone be that upset about a real estate deal or a job assignment? It just didn’t make sense. There had to be more to it.

  Shrugging off her thoughts, Micki ordered another drink and tried to immerse herself in the conversation. If Savannah wanted to handle things on her own, then let her.

  * * *

  Savannah stood in line at Cuppa Joe’s, checking her watch repeatedly. She’d barely gotten any sleep after the incident with the phantom door knocker. The bell above the door chimed behind her. She turned to see Micki and Rebecca walk in, both with sunglasses still covering their eyes. Savannah audibly tutted at their obvious hangover attire.

  “Ooh, that cheddar bagel looks good,” Micki said. Her voice sounded deeper than usual. “Is it the last one?”

  “Maybe. I’m just getting a coffee. The thought of cream cheese makes me want to yak.” Rebecca shivered dramatically.