“I have no intention of re-opening it, as a jewelry store anyway. Maybe down the road after things have settled a bit I’ll rent it out or something, but for now, once that guy is done, I think I’ll just have a liquidation sale then have Travis clear it all out.”
“But you’re going to keep the building?”
He laughed, finally realizing why I was grilling him. “Yes, I’m keeping the buildings. Renting them makes sense since they are paid for. Once the repairs are done and paid for the rent is extra income, which always makes sense.” He explained again that Travis would be overseeing all the work on all three buildings. The jewelry store was going to require a lot of work to shore up the foundation before anything else could be done in there. It also needed a different type of construction crew so it could be done at the same time the repairs to my building and Paula’s building were being done.
I took a deep breath before diving into the next thing I really needed an answer to, “I have to know, are you going to raise the rent for Paula and me?”
“Heck no. I don’t know what that old goat was thinking but what you are paying is already more than what you should be, so I’m actually going to reduce the rent and offer you a new long-term lease. Same for Paula,” he smiled.
I was so excited I threw my arms around his neck in a giant hug. “Thank you, thank you, thank you. You have no idea what a relief this is to me,” I said, then realized what I’d done. “Sorry, um, I, um, well, I’m just so happy to know I can stay here and continue with the bakery.”
“I think you’ll find that I’m nothing like my old man, nothing at all,” he said, trying to reassure me that things were going to be okay. “I will take care of the buildings and won’t run you out of here. I’m glad to have people dedicated to growing their businesses like you and Paula.”
“I guess I better get ready to go downstairs. Julia will be ready for business, and the Sheriff should be here soon,” I said, as I took my coffee cup to the sink.
“Any desire to help me go through those boxes next door? Probably not, but I thought I’d ask. I’d like to pull out those altered books that have the notes in them, pack them up, and ship them home so I can go through them.”
“Well, to be quite honest, I’m not thrilled about going back in that building, but I’d really like to know if you can put together a story from what you find, so sure, I’ll help.”
“Great. I’ll get started after the Sheriff leaves, then you can join me after lunch is done,” he said, as he walked toward the door.
As soon as he was gone, I sent a text message to Paula letting her know about the buildings and the rent. While I waited for her to reply I took a shower and got dressed. I couldn’t help but think of everything I could do now that I knew I would be able to stay in this building. I couldn’t wait to talk to Julia about it too and depending on how much the rent is reduced, I might be able to hire another part-time person.
Paula replied that she was in her shop and I told her to come over and that I would tell her everything after the Sheriff left.
I made sure the wood stove was stocked with wood, got Frosty to get up, and together we went downstairs. Julia was busy with the early morning customers on their way to work, so I jumped in to help her noticing immediately that Toby wasn’t there.
“He went next door to let someone in and said he’d be back in a few minutes,” Julia winked at me. I guess I was obvious. “You know the whole town is now talking about the two of you and how you’ve saved each other.”
“Good, let them talk. They’ll have even more to talk about when he leaves. I can hear them now, telling tales of a lovers spat, taking bets on when he’ll be back or if I’ll go after him.” I laughed at the thought of all the crazy rumors that would go around.
“Are you going to come after me when I leave?” Toby asked from the other side of the counter. Once again he managed to sneak in and hear something that wasn’t meant for him to hear.
“Doubtful,” I grinned.
“Darn.”
Darn? What did he mean by that? Luckily, I was saved by the bell when the Sheriff came in.
“The usual?” Julia asked him.
“Yes, please,” he responded happily. “Let’s get right to it, shall we?” he asked Toby and me, as the three of us sat down at the table furthest from the door and the counter.
Toby and I agreed in unison, hoping this would be some long-awaited good news.
“I talked to Stuart last night for a long time. Physically he’s going to be fine, emotionally, he’s a wreck. I’m not sure if you know this or not, but Joan hasn’t been well for many years. The poor thing suffered from some physical and mental health issues and recently started declining rapidly,” he shared with us.
“I knew she wasn’t well; I’ve taken food to them a few times.”
“A lot of it started when their daughter died. It was a terrible accident; she was driving and swerved to avoid an oncoming vehicle, her car hit a tree, she wasn’t wearing her seatbelt, and she didn’t survive. The friend that was with her described the oncoming vehicle but wouldn’t swear to her description. The vehicle she described was similar to the one Mr. Sampson drove - that old Chevy truck he had forever. Turns out both the girls had been drinking, but Joan only wanted to blame Mr. Sampson. According to Stuart she never let it go. She also never let go of the way Mr. Sampson treated her when she was your teacher,” he said, moving his hand in Toby’s direction.
“I think I see where you’re heading,” Toby said.
“Stuart said when Joan heard what Mr. Sampson was doing to you and Paula, she lost it. She started disappearing, didn’t open the antique store when she was supposed to, and finally just took to her bed. Stuart said he’d had enough and told her he was going to put her in a home, and that was the argument you must have overheard when you got to their end of the tunnel.”
“I couldn’t tell what they were saying, I just heard the yelling,” Toby said.
“The bottom line is that she told Stuart she was going to kill him the same way she killed, and I quote, ‘that horrible old man’,” the Sheriff told us.
We both gasped, shocked at what he just told us.
“Joan killed Mr. Sampson?” I asked, barely able to believe it.
“It seems so,” he confirmed. “She told Stuart she’d been slowly poisoning Mr. Sampson for a long time - small doses of arsenic in the sugar he used for his coffee. She would sneak through the tunnel at night, go into the jewelry store and poison the sugar. He only kept a small amount at the store at a time because he didn’t want to attract mice or rats. When she found out about him raising the rent here, she upped her game and laced his sugar with a lethal dose of something called monkshood, a plant she and Stuart were growing to use around the back of their property to help keep the wild animals out.”
“I can’t even believe what I’m hearing,” I said, letting out the breath I’d been holding.
Toby reached over and patted my hand, once again letting his hand linger a while. “So, it’s over then? Abby and I are no longer suspects?”
“Nope, you are both cleared. The coroner found arsenic in Mr. Sampson’s system originally but said that wouldn’t have killed him. They were testing for something else which we can now assume was the final dose of poison and was the Monkshood. We found the plant and the arsenic along with a notebook she kept, which tracked when she added the arsenic and how much she added. She even noted how much Monkshood she used as a lethal dose. It’s all pretty cut and dried, so you two are free to go about living your lives.” He stood to leave.
“I’ll walk out with you,” Toby said, and they disappeared out the door and down the street.
“Wow, that was quite the story,” Julia said from across the bakery. “I’m just so glad it’s over, and you can move on with things.”
“And as a bonus, the other apartment upstairs is going to be fixed so you can move in soon, if you want,” I told her. “I’ll be back in a bit; I have to go tell
Paula the news.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
Chapter 27
“A little bit, I guess,” I shrugged. It was nice to have Paula back on her regular schedule. I always enjoyed our early morning coffee chats before she would open her shop. We were making our final plans for the Valentine’s Day event the next day. Julia’s friend had been helping Paula in her shop and making candy, while Julia and I had tested a variety of cookie recipes and perfected our sourdough pizza crust. We would offer pizza by the slice only on event days but would sell the dough as a regular item.
I also decided that I would only extend my hours by an additional two hours a day, starting on May 1st. It would be a trial run with the understanding that if sales weren’t good, I would go back to closing at 2 pm. Julia’s friend was going to help in the bakery part-time and would help Paula part-time. She would also be sharing the apartment with Julia as soon as Travis could finish it. Toby ordered heating to be put into both apartments
“Did you figure out what you’re going to do with that extra space?”
“No, I still have no idea what to do. I was thinking maybe some bookshelves with books that people could borrow, and then just add a couple more tables?”
“That would work, or maybe a sofa?”
“I don’t want to turn it into a library or book store, though,” I contemplated. “It doesn’t matter; I’ll figure it out eventually. I’m more concerned about getting Julia’s apartment finished.”
“Okay, I have to know, have you heard from Toby at all, since he left?” Paula blurted out her question like she couldn’t hold it in anymore.
“No, I haven’t, but I don’t expect to. He told me the same thing he told you; pay the rent to the property management company he hired, and they would bring the new and improved lease when the current one is up.” I shrugged. I didn’t want to admit I was a little disappointed that I hadn’t heard from him, but I guess in some way I really didn’t expect to. He went back to the life he had in Wyoming, he had the strange altered books from his mom, and certainly no time or desire to stay in contact with me.
“Well, the least he could do after almost getting you killed is to tell you what he learned from the diaries,” Paula huffed.
Toby and I spent a couple afternoons going through all the boxes we found in the jewelry store. Every box had at least one altered book in it, and some boxes had more than one. He didn’t go through the books or read any of the notes before he left, so I still had no idea what the story was. The only thing he was able to determine was that the boxes had to be from his mom. They started arriving a short time after she disappeared from Virginia City and stopped a couple of months ago, which didn’t match the date of death we found for her. Did someone else send the boxes or did someone continue sending them after she died?
“It’s his story to tell; I hope he shares it, but also respect him wanting to keep it private if that is what he chooses to do,” I told Paula.
“I better get going, there’s still a lot to do,” Paula said.
“Our ovens will be working overtime today. Thankfully we are ahead on bread and rolls, but we’re going to get an early start on the muffins and scones for tomorrow. I have no idea what it will be like, so we’re going to keep it simple,” I explained. Because neither Paula nor I served liquor of any sort we were not directly involved in the event, but being located on the main street in between bars, we were hopeful that as people made their way from one bar to another, they would stop into our shops.
After a busy lunch and a baking marathon, Julia and I were putting the final touches on the bakery when Paula returned. She decided to close earlier today so we could have an evening of pizza and beer early enough to avoid the evening crowd that there was sure to be since all the hotels and bed and breakfasts were booked for Valentine’s Day weekend.
“Look, there is already a line at the wedding place up the street, and the old-time photo places have lines too. With the beautiful weather, we might luck out and have a grand slam weekend,” Paula declared, as she burst through the door.
“People are happy and in love,” I sighed. I ran upstairs to grab a jacket and my wallet. On my way back downstairs, I heard Paula yelling for me to hurry up.
“How many?” Paula was asking the person at the door holding a gorgeous vase of roses.
“Ten,” he replied.
“Ten what?” I asked, approaching them.
“Ten dozen roses,” Paula squealed.
“For what? I didn’t order flowers,” I said confused and mildly panicked, wondering if some outlandish charge would appear on one of my nearly maxed out credit cards.
“Are you Abby?” the delivery guy asked.
“Yes.”
“Then they are for you,” he shrugged setting down the vase before he went out the door and started bringing in more.
When he brought in the last vase of flowers, he handed me an envelope. “Here’s the card that goes with them; there are also some balloon bouquets in the van,” he said, and disappeared again returning with what had to be at least 5 five dozen balloons. Once he was gone, Paula and Julia began jumping up and down like kids wanting to know what the card said.
I opened it and read the whole thing out loud to them.
Abby,
I’m not sure how to go about thanking you for all your help while I was there, so I thought I’d start with some flowers. The more I thought about what you did and how much time and energy you put into figuring out who killed my father made me realize I should increase the order. Then I thought about being trapped in the storage room and added more flowers. The last 5 dozen are for going through the tunnel with me and almost getting killed, then staying up all night taking care of the rescue workers.
The balloons you ask? They are just some extra decorations for the event tomorrow; I hope business is good.
Before I forget again, could you text or call this number so I have your phone number?
What kind of idiot doesn’t get the girl’s phone number before he leaves town?
Happy Valentine’s Day,
Toby
“Oh, I’m in love,” Paula sang and danced around with Julia right behind her doing the same thing. Swooning and making kissing sounds in a silly dramatic fashion.
“Wow, I don’t even know what to say,” I said, as I sat down. Never in a million years did I expect this kind of a thank you. I guess the mystery was solved over why I hadn’t heard from him.
“You’re going to call him, right?” Paula demanded.
Seeing an opportunity to tease her, I shrugged and said, “I doubt it.”
I thought they would both lose their minds over my response. In unison, they screamed, and I laughed until I had tears. I finally got them, and I got them good.
Within seconds they were laughing with me. “Yes, of course, I will text him. I need to thank him, but don’t either of you read anything into that, or get your hopes up for something that isn’t going to happen.”
They both groaned, but I knew they understood that Toby had his life in Wyoming, and mine was here. I took a few minutes and placed the vases of flowers and balloon bouquets around the bakery, then took a picture and sent it to Toby along with a thank you message before I closed the shop and headed to dinner with Paula. Julia and her friend were going to join us since we were getting an early start the next day. I think they were also hoping to check out the local scene since they would most likely be moving in within a few weeks.
The pizza place was busy already, so we took a seat at the bar. Matt, the bartender, let us know that he was buying our pizza and beer to say thank you for everything we did the night of the tunnel cave in. Matt was on the rescue team and wanted to extend the teams appreciation to us.
“I see the old man’s house was torn down the other day; that kind of surprised me,” Matt said when he handed us our drinks.
“It was in such bad shape it couldn’t be rented, and with Toby not living here, I think it was easier to tear
it down. No worries about it that way,” I shrugged. Toby told me he was going to have it demolished because of the shape it was in and the memories, but I didn’t feel that was information that needed to be shared.
“Any idea what is going to happen with the old jewelry store?” Matt asked.
“No clue,” I said.
“The contractor has been working in there; they fixed the foundation and gutted the inside, then they covered the windows so you can’t tell what is going on in there,” Paula said. She paid more attention to it than I did. All I knew was that since the buildings shared a common wall, it was always noisy.
“But you don’t know if anything is going to open in there?” Matt asked.
“I supposed someone will open something. I can’t imagine with the demand for storefront space around here that it will sit empty for very long. Then again, who knows?” I shrugged again with no enthusiasm since I’d been answering the same questions for weeks.
“Why is it every time I turn my back, you two are talking about me?” came the deep voice I suddenly realized I’d missed hearing.
“What the heck are you doing back here?” I said, as I turned and saw Toby standing behind me. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. Why in the world would he send all those flowers if he was going to be here? No wonder he didn’t respond to my text, he was being sneaky.
“I forgot something, so I came back for it,” he laughed.
“What in the world did you forget that you would come all the way back here for?” Paula asked.
“A kiss,” he smiled, looked at me, and winked.
The End
Notes from the author
Thank you!
Thank you for taking the time to read this book.
I love bringing characters to life and sharing their stories with you. As an independent author I am responsible for every step in the writing to publication journey. An indie authors successes is most often measured by the amount of reviews they receive. I would appreciate it if you would take a few moments to leave a review.
Murder on Main Street Page 14
