by Nancy Mehl
Harold blushed. “We got together to play cards last week. I asked her to come to dinner with me Thursday night. We’ll be here around six.”
Mary came around the counter and gave him a hug. “I’ll have the best seat in the house waiting for you two. I’m so happy to hear this news. Kay is a lovely woman.”
With that, Harold said good night, stopping first to ask me how Sam was doing. I assured him that the fruit trees were fine without going into details. After the door closed behind him, Mary rushed over and locked it. She’d already turned the Open sign to Closed. But now she pulled down all the shades.
“That should do it,” she said with satisfaction. “I rarely close early, but almost every time I do, people keep coming—trying the door and hollering for me. For some reason when I pull down the blinds, they take it more seriously.”
“Out of sight, out of mind?”
She chuckled. “Maybe so.” She waved toward a table in the back that had been specially set. “Have a seat. I have our dinner warming in the oven.”
“Is Hector gone?” If he was still here, I wanted to say hello. I’d grown to like the friendly man who’d taken me so graciously under his wing after the first storm though he’d been under so much pressure.
“Yep. I told him to take off after he cooked the last order. Nice chance for him to spend a night with his family.”
I sat down at the table, which had been covered with a beautiful white linen tablecloth and set with flowered china. “Pretty fancy for just us gals,” I quipped.
“We deserve the best, don’t we?” Mary disappeared into the kitchen while I waited. I’d been a little nervous about this dinner, but her easy manner and extra effort put me at ease. I had high hopes we could be good friends. Not an easy thing to do with a background like ours. The silence in the restaurant felt strange. Usually this place bustled with chatter and laughter. Drifting through the overwhelming quiet, I was certain I heard low voices. A conversation. But Mary said no one else was here. Who could it be? I got up to check out the kitchen when Mary suddenly pushed the door open and came toward me with two large plates of food.
“I thought I heard you talking to someone,” I said. “Is there anyone else here?”
She laughed. “Just me talking to myself. I do that from time to time. Sorry.”
“Wow. Thought I heard two different voices. Must be the strain of the last few days.”
Mary placed the plates on the table and pulled out my chair. “Sit back down. Hopefully dinner will help to take some of that stress away.”
I sat down and checked out my plate. “This looks incredible. What is it?”
“Chicken paprikash with spaetzle. It’s a family recipe. My mom was famous all around M–Marion for this dish. The secret is the paprika. It can’t be just any old paprika. I get mine shipped from a special store that orders their spices from Europe.”
“Marion? Is that where you’re from? My friend Allison grew up in Marion. Did you know the Cunninghams?”
Mary cleared her throat and stared blankly at me. “No…no, I don’t think so. But we moved away when I was eleven. I don’t remember many people.” She picked up the glasses on the table. “I made raspberry tea, but if you’d rather have coffee, I’ve got a pot on.”
“I adore raspberry tea. Maybe I’ll have a cup of coffee after dinner if it’s okay.”
“Sure. I’ll get the tea and rolls and be right back.”
“Mary, you shouldn’t have gone to all this trouble. This wonderful food and the raspberry tea. How did you pull it off after working all day?”
“I’ve been looking forward to this for quite some time, Gracie. It was a pleasure to cook this dinner for you.” She smiled and headed back toward the kitchen.
For a moment she’d seemed uncomfortable. Was it my question about Marion? And I couldn’t believe she hadn’t known the Cunninghams. Mr. Cunningham was the principal of the elementary school. Had been for thirty years. But maybe she’d just forgotten. Still, it seemed odd. Just then she came back into the room.
“Here we go. Fresh iced tea and rolls hot from the oven. Hope you enjoy everything. Although I can cook pretty good main dishes, desserts are not my specialty. I bought a cake from Menlo’s. They make a carrot cake to die for.”
“Yummy. I can hardly wait.”
Mary sat down across from me and picked up her fork. Then she set it down. “Oh. I guess we should say grace. Why don’t you do it?”
I bowed my head and thanked God for the food. Then I prayed blessings over Mary and her restaurant, also asking God to bless our friendship and help it to grow into something that honored Him. When I raised my head, I found Mary frowning at me, the same funny look on her face she’d had earlier. I wanted to ask her if something was bothering her, but I didn’t want to come off as nosy or paranoid. Again I blamed it on the strain of the last several days.
I’d started to take a bite of my paprikash when Mary stopped me.
“Here,” she said. “Put some extra paprika on it. It really brings out the flavor.”
As I took the bottle from her, I noticed a ring she always wore. I’d never looked at it up close. At first I didn’t recognize it, but suddenly I remembered where I’d seen the exact same ring before.
“That ring,” I said slowly. “It’s a high school ring. From Mound City.” I raised my eyes to meet hers, which had grown wide. For several moments there was silence between us. Finally I said, “Mary, what’s going on? You don’t know Mr. Cunningham who was the principal of the school when you lived in Marion. And you act like you don’t know Eric Beck, who went to school in Mound City at the same time you did. The school was too small for you two not to have known each other.”
My mind began acting like a minicomputer, processing comments and different incidents, bringing them together. One dot connected to another until the picture that was left seemed extraordinarily ugly and unthinkable. Unfortunately, the conclusions couldn’t be denied. Why hadn’t I seen it? The truth had been right in front of me the whole time. “But you do know Eric, don’t you? You…you and Eric… What have you been up to?” I set my fork down. “I don’t understand, Mary. Obviously you two are working together to accomplish something. But what?”
Mary’s face was blank, devoid of emotion, but there was something in her eyes. Was it fear?
I took the linen napkin off my lap and put it on the table and stood. “I don’t think this dinner is a good idea. Unless you want to tell me why you and Eric have kept your relationship secret, I don’t think we have anything to talk about. Some really strange things have been happening in Harmony, and they started not long after Eric arrived. I don’t think it will take a lot of effort to trace most of them, maybe all of them, back to one or both of you. Maybe Sheriff Taylor would be interested in putting the pieces together.”
Mary opened her mouth to say something, but no words came out. Her eyes darted quickly to a spot behind me.
“Sit down, Gracie. Unfortunately, you won’t be going anywhere.”
I turned around to find Eric Beck standing at the kitchen door, a gun in his hand. And it was pointed directly at me.
Chapter Sixteen
I told you to take off that stupid ring.”
Eric’s scolding seemed to vanquish whatever spark of willpower remained in Mary’s body. Her shoulders slumped and her eyes became lifeless. “I—I couldn’t get it off. I’ve put on weight since high school, and I didn’t want to ruin it.” Tears filled her almost expressionless face. “Please, Eric. You don’t have to hurt Gracie.”
Eric pulled up a chair from a nearby table and sat next to me, his gun still leveled at my chest. “Actually, I really do have to hurt her.” Gone was the kindness I’d thought I’d seen in him. It had been replaced by a cold hardness that sent chills throughout my body. He glared at Mary. “Thanks to your incompetence, it’s our only way out.”
Although I had no desire to anger him, for some odd reason I felt the urge to keep him talking. “I
f you’re going to shoot me anyway, why don’t you explain what’s going on?” I said. “I get that you and Mary have been trying to acquire land in Harmony, but why go through all this? Did you ever really want Rand McAllister’s property?”
Eric, seemingly pleased to have a chance to spout off about his plan, some of which I’d already figured out, sat back in his chair and relaxed his grip on the gun. “No, I never wanted Rand’s property. Waste of time, piece of dirt. I paid him to pretend I wanted his land, then to back out after everyone in town was pumped about having a new development to help the town.
I shook my head. “But why did you feel you had to go through all this? A quiet retirement community would be a blessing here. Unless that’s not what you intended at all.”
Eric grinned. I couldn’t understand what I’d ever seen in him. There was no warmth or compassion in this man—absolutely nothing appealing.
“Smart girl,” he said. “No, there’s no retirement community. My investors are looking for a resort that will be close to the new casino being built near the highway.”
“Casino? I haven’t heard anything about a casino in this area. I doubt the citizens of this county would vote one in.”
Eric’s laugh was full of contempt. “The hicks who live around here won’t have a say. Not when several of their county officials are in the pocket of the group I work for. There are ways to push things through without asking permission, you know.”
“A casino near Harmony would ruin the town,” I said, stating something I was sure Eric already knew.
He shrugged. “Maybe. Maybe not. It will still bring in revenue.”
“And a lot of other influences we don’t need here. Harmony is…special. Your plan would destroy the very qualities that make this place unique.”
He sighed. “Not my problem.”
Again something whispered inside me to stall. “So if you didn’t really want Rand’s property, what did you want?”
Even before he opened his mouth, I knew the answer. I looked at Mary. “You said something once about grandkids fishing and swimming at the retirement community. At the time I thought it was odd, since there’s no place like that around here. I should have paid more attention. I thought it was just a slip of the tongue.” I swung my gaze back to Eric. “You want my land, don’t you?”
He grunted. “Not just yours. Your boyfriend’s, too. My investors want lakefront condos for their high rollers.” He jabbed his finger at Mary, who’d sat silently since he’d come out of the kitchen. “I told you your stupid slipups would cost us. Good thing she didn’t figure it out until now. When it’s too late.”
Mary’s head drooped lower, and she wouldn’t look at me.
“So when did you two put this thing together?”
“It’s been in the works ever since Mary and I ran into each other at a bar in Topeka. I hadn’t seen her since high school. When I told her I needed lakefront property for a new resort near a future casino, she mentioned Harmony—and you and your boyfriend’s property. But she told me you wouldn’t sell outright. That I’d have to trick one or both of you out of your land. We’ve been working on this ever since.” He slapped the table with the hand that didn’t hold the gun. “Your sites are the only spots in the right area that will work. They’re perfect.”
I shook my head. “But why, Eric? Is this deal really so important you’d risk everything to put it through?”
“He owes money to the men behind the casino.” Mary’s first words since Eric sat down were matter-of-fact. “If he doesn’t pay them, they’ll hurt him. Maybe even kill him.” She lifted her head a little higher. “If he doesn’t get your land, his life isn’t worth a plug nickel.”
Anger flashed in Eric’s eyes. “Shut up.”
Instead of heeding his warning, Mary turned toward me. “The plan was to split you and Sam up. If you left Harmony, Eric would buy your place and the building would begin. He figured that would force Sam to sell his property, too. Trust me, Sam and Sweetie wouldn’t be happy living next door to the kind of people the resort would bring in.”
“You two started the rumors about the baby, didn’t you? And you told Esther the baby was mine. Did you write the note, too?”
“Mary wrote it. I delivered it,” Eric said. “I thought it was a great opportunity dropped right into our laps. Too bad it didn’t work.”
I frowned at Mary. “You knew about Sam’s past, didn’t you? You figured making him think I’d done the same thing as his mother would destroy our relationship.”
She shrugged. “Sam told me once about his mother dropping him off at a church. I could tell it still bothered him.”
“But why, Mary? Do you still hate me that much?”
“I did. I don’t know; I guess I do.” She shrugged. “Eric promised me money—and a new life. I planned to leave Harmony and start over with him.” She sighed. “I know you love this town, but I want out. I’m tired of seeing the same people day after day. Having the same conversations over and over. Not everyone wants what you do, Gracie.”
“I thought you were happy here. I thought this place meant something to you.”
“It does. But just not what it means to you.”
I frowned at Eric as a mental picture flashed in my mind. “It was you in the orchard, wasn’t it? Sweetie said one pair of boots was still wet after she put them on the rug to dry. They were yours, weren’t they?”
His grin made my stomach turn. He was pleased with the evil he’d done. He was proud of the web of deceit he’d woven throughout Harmony.
“I snuck out after everyone went to bed. Sam said something about the wind knocking over the smudge pots. It was a spur-of-the-moment decision. I had no idea what would happen. I planned to set quite a few trees on fire. In retrospect, my actions were ill conceived. The fire probably wouldn’t have caused the kind of damage I’d hoped for.”
“And hitting me on the head? What was that for?”
He laughed harshly. “I thought you were on the other side of the orchard, but you surprised me by showing up when I wasn’t expecting you. I couldn’t allow you to find me out there. After you passed out, I took your car keys and your walkie-talkie. I had to stall you long enough for me to get back into the house and act surprised when the fire was discovered.” He shrugged. “I wanted to give Sam a reason to sell his property. If his trees were destroyed, that would have done it.”
“She could have been killed out there,” Mary said. “You said no one would get hurt.” Although she still seemed somewhat disconnected, I could see something smoldering in her eyes. Maybe Eric was losing his partner in crime.
Keep stalling. The words were so loud in my mind I almost looked around to see who else was in the room.
Eric waved the gun around wildly. “I told you I didn’t plan to hurt anyone.” He glared at Mary and swung the gun her way. “I guess things change, don’t they? If the fire had done its job, I’d be sitting pretty right now. With Gracie dead, everything would have fallen into place. I could buy her place and poor, distraught Sam would gladly hand over his property.” He turned his attention back to me, his lips drawn up in a snarl. “I should have finished you off, but I didn’t have enough time to come up with a plan to make it look like an accident. If that nosy sheriff hadn’t shown up when he did, I could have figured out a way to do it without having to count on that stupid fire.” He banged his hand on the table. “Don’t look at me like that,” he yelled at Mary, who stared at him like she’d never seen him before. “I’ve only done what I was forced to do. None of this is my fault.”
“What really happened to Rand?” I asked, trying to keep my voice calm and steady. Eric was losing it. If he suddenly went completely off the deep end, the results could be tragic. “I knew something was wrong with the story that he’d accidentally wandered outside.”
“What is she talking about?” The timbre of Mary’s voice climbed a couple of notches. “You said Rand’s death was an accident.”
“But it was
n’t, was it?” I asked Eric. “Did he renege on your deal?”
“Little creep figured out something big was up,” Eric sneered. “He thought he could get more money out of me. Threatened to go to the sheriff with what he knew.” He let out a long, slow breath. “He tried to extort more money out of me. What happened to him was his own fault.”
Mary rose partially to her feet. “You…you killed him? You murdered Rand McAllister?”
He laughed harshly. “You’re really stupid, you know it? I killed him on Thursday night after I took Gracie home. Then I brought him back here and stuffed him in one of your empty freezers until I got the chance to pick him up and toss him in the snow. You never even knew it.” He laughed again and looked at me. “Now you know what I was really doing before I ditched my truck and walked back to your house that night.”
Mary’s face turned ashen and she looked ill. Her eyes sought mine. “I didn’t know, Gracie. I swear I didn’t know.”
“Shut up, Mary,” Eric shouted. “Just shut up.” His fierce gaze swung back to me. “I gave you every chance to get out of this alive. If you and your boyfriend had parted ways, I could have bought you out lock, stock, and barrel.”
“But I offered you my property once,” I said.
“No. You offered me part of it. I need all of it.” He chuckled.
“My plan was to get you to willingly hand it over. After disposing of Rand, I arranged that supposed breakdown so your boyfriend would find us in a compromising position and break up with you. I figured you’d leave town after that. Like I said, if I got your place, I knew I could drive Sam and his old-maid aunt out.” He put his head back and giggled crazily. “I even turned on the charm, hoping you’d decide to leave your hick boyfriend behind and go for me. Then I planned to nicely talk you out of your place.”
“Well, it seems that none of your brilliant plans worked. So now what?”
He grinned wildly, his eyes frightening orbs of madness. “Now you have an accident, just like Rand. You know, the roads are slippery. After you leave Mary’s, your little car runs off the road and you’re fatally injured. Or at least that’s what it will look like.”
