“Wait. If all of those things happened, and only one of them was me, who do you think did the rest?” Dina asked, eyes widening.
“Beats me. The same person sending people in here to say we made them sick?”
“Whew. Then it’s definitely not Luke,” Dina said, letting out a breath and exiting to office.
“Hold on,” Joss said, grabbing Dina’s arm and pulling her back. “What do you mean, it’s not Luke?”
“If things are happening to Becky, then I was thinking maybe it was Luke’s doing, but if they are happening here too, I’m less likely to believe it was him. He wouldn’t do anything to harm his own restaurant.”
Joss thought for a moment, trying to make sure she was clear on everything Dina was saying.
“Why would it be Luke at all? He’s not even in Lemon Bay,” Joss pointed out.
“I’m not sure you understand how mad Luke is. One of his employees opened up a similar business up the road from him. Becky lied and is now our competition. She knows all of our recipes and secrets. Joss, he’s furious. I don’t know if Luke came back to town, but when I talked to Richie, he said that Luke said he was coming back immediately and was going to talk to Lorraine at the hospital. I didn’t see him, but Richie was worried what Luke might do if he really did come back to town.” Dina poked her head out the door, checking on the dining room. “Tyla has a line at the door. I’m going to help.”
Joss stood, then sat again, resting her head on the desk. She believed that Dina had only superglued the locks, even that was a horrible thing to do, it could have been much worse. She believed that Luke wouldn’t cause trouble for the diner just to get revenge on Becky. What she wasn’t sure about was Luke being in town. Becky had said she’d seen him, and now Dina said Luke mentioned coming back. The thing that sent her over the edge was that if Luke really had been back in Lemon Bay, based on the timeline of things, it was on the night that Jane was murdered. Luke wasn’t capable of murder, was he? Joss had been part of Luke’s life, both business and personal, for many years. He was a little gruff, but he wasn’t a killer. Joss forced herself to push the thoughts out of her mind. She refused to believe that Luke or even Becky was responsible for killing Jane, but that still meant someone was.
Chapter Nine
“Joss? What are you doing here?” Ashley asked as Joss entered the laundromat.
“Laundry,” Joss said slyly. “Why else would someone be at a place like this?”
Holding the door open with her hip, Joss carried a small, gray basket with some towels into the laundromat. The towels weren’t even dirty. She’d pulled them from her linen closet and grabbed the first basket she could find to put them in, making sure to unfold them a little so she wouldn’t come off as any more suspicious than she already felt.
“Did something happen to your washing machine?” Ashley asked, a look of concern on her face.
“Something like that.” Joss said. “Do I just pick whatever machine I want or what? I have no idea how this works.”
Ashley gestured for Joss to follow her across the laundromat so she could put her towels in to be washed. Once Joss got everything settled, she looked around. She needed to find the best view.
“Do you want a magazine or something? We have lots over there.” Ashley pointed toward a row of chairs near the entrance, right in front of the windows where she could look outside and across the parking lot toward Becky’s Bistro.
“That sounds great.” Joss grinned.
“I thought it might,” Ashley said, clearing catching on to Joss’ attempt at being sneaky. “I have a little work to do, but I should be able to join you when I’m done.”
Joss found a magazine and sat down in one of the chairs. She flipped a few pages and glanced outside. Becky was there, which Joss had already known since she’d seen her car when she pulled in, but there had been no sign of her outside. She should have expected that Becky would be inside working all day, not hanging around outside, waiting for someone to snoop on her. Truthfully, Joss wasn’t even sure why she’d decided to come at all. She’d already spoken to Becky, and while it had been one of her employees that was killed, there wasn’t really any reason to believe that she’d been the one to do it. Joss sighed, flipping through the magazine absentmindedly when she saw Ashley out of the corner of her eye, heading in her direction.
“You aren’t a very good spy, ya know.” Ashley chuckled, pointing outside.
“Shhh. Not so loud,” Joss whispered, following Ashley’s finger. “Who is that?”
“That’s Niles. He works at the market. He and Eric are pretty close, I think.”
“Why is he helping Becky then?” Joss asked, noticing Becky holding the door open to her bistro while Niles carried in a stack of boxes.
“Your guess is as good as mine. Becky stole Jane from Eric, so maybe Niles was her second choice.” Ashley shrugged, still looking out the window.
“Eric owns the market, right?” Joss asked.
“Yup. Jane used to work there before she ended up with Becky,” Ashley answered.
“Hmmm. Like it wasn’t bad enough that Becky did what she did to us at the diner, now she’s stealing employees from the market. She really shaped up to be not that great of a person.” Joss mused, watching Niles carry more boxes in.
“Look!” Ashley squealed, sitting down next to Joss.
“That’s Eric,” Joss said, squinting to see what was happening.
“He looks mad,” Ashley squealed, enjoying the excitement. “Want to go outside and see what’s happening?”
“I’d better not. I don’t need Becky seeing that I’m here.” Joss frowned.
“It won’t be weird if I do it. I’ll be back,” Ashley said, dashing outside.
Joss sat in her chair, trying hard to guess what was going on. From where she was, it looked like Eric was upset and yelling at both Becky and Niles. Becky didn’t hold back, she seemed to be yelling too, but Niles, stood there, not moving, just watching the two of them go back and forth. Eventually, he sat the boxes down next to the door of the bistro and followed Eric back toward the market. Joss was eager for Ashley to come back so she could hear what really happened. Somehow, watching it acted out like a game of charades just wasn’t enough.
“Soooo?” Joss asked once Ashley was back.
“Hang on. I have to do something really quickly.” Ashley rushed toward a washing machine, pulled out its contents, and transferred them over to a dryer. “Sorry,” she said, finally coming back after what felt like an eternity.
“I admire your work ethic, but I can’t wait a second longer. Tell me what happened!” Joss joked, feeling eager.
Ashley laughed. “Well, we were right. Eric was mad because he asked Niles to pick up a shift for someone who was sick at the market, but Niles declined, saying he had other plans. When Eric came out and saw that those plans involved helping Becky, he was furious and started screaming about how he wasn’t responsible for taking care of things like that. Becky tried sticking up for Niles, saying that he didn’t have to exclusively work at the market and that he’d done nothing wrong. Eric didn’t see it that way and after a lot of arguing, finally got Niles to agree to go talk with him privately.”
“Do you think Niles is working for Becky or just helping her out?” Joss asked.
“I think she hired him part-time, and after the way Eric just flipped out, I wouldn’t be surprised if he quits the market entirely.” Ashley grimaced. “He was really acting like a jerk.”
“I always thought he seemed like a pretty nice guy,” Joss said, recalling the several times she’d run into him at the market.
“Mrs. Krispin said the same thing. We were talking yesterday and…”
“Wait. You were talking to her yesterday?” Joss asked.
“Yes.” Ashley nodded once, looking confused. “She was here.”
“Mrs. Krispin said her washing machine was fixed. I even specifically asked her about it after we talked last time. I didn’t expect to h
ear that she was still coming. That woman really does love to be in the know, huh?”
Ashley pursed her lips. “All I know is that she was here and said pretty much the same thing you did. Eric was nice, always kind to her…”
“I guess none of us are very good judges of character,” Joss interrupted, tossing the magazine down, ready to change over her towels.
“Maybe not, but if Niles winds up dead, I think we can safely say Becky is the one killing off her employees.”
“Or it’s Eric, mad that Becky is stealing his employees,” Joss pointed out.
“Unfortunately, I’d believe either one of those options,” Ashley said, watching Joss walk away.
Chapter Ten
Joss heard the door to the diner open and was thankful for the break. It was still eerily quiet ever since the rumors began to spread that the food at the diner was making people sick. She’d been cleaning, scrubbing, and organizing the same things over and over again, just to give herself something to do. It was a shame that people believed it was the diner’s food, but at the same time, Joss understood that it was a small town, and something like this was bound to spread quickly.
“Morning!” Joss greeted. “Have a seat wherever you’d like.”
“I’d just like a coffee to go, please,” the woman replied with a smile.
Joss was a little sad that the woman wouldn’t be staying but was also thankful that she wasn’t there to complain about bad food either. Joss had a niggling feeling that no matter what Becky had said, that she was the one responsible for the trouble at the diner. Especially since things were happening at her place, too. It was only logical for Becky to believe that the people she’d upset would be out for revenge.
“Of course. Cream and sugar?” Joss asked, pouring the coffee.
“Sure. I can put it in myself, though. I like a lot.” The woman blushed.
“Here you are,” Joss said, resting a small pourer of cream and several sugar packets on the counter. “Can I get you anything else?”
The woman looked at her watch. “Well, I suppose I do have a few minutes,” she said, nodding. “Do you have a muffin or something?”
“We do.” Joss smiled. “Banana Nut, Blueberry, and Cranberry Orange.”
“I’ll take the banana nut, warmed with a little butter, please.” The woman sat on the stool in front of her, tearing open every last packet of sugar.
Joss got the woman’s muffin and more cream and sugar and delivered it to her customer. “Let me know if you need a refill.”
“I probably will. I’ll finish this cup while I’m here and take one to go when I meet my realtor. Thanks.”
Joss thought for a moment. She wasn’t particularly excited about having to move, but maybe if this woman was meeting a realtor, she was in the market to buy a home. If she could find a buyer, even accidentally, it would sure free up her time on having to be available to show the house.
“Oh! Are you buying here in town?” Joss asked.
“I’m not buying,” the woman explained. “Just renting, but I have a property management place helping me look for something that’s right for me.”
“I see. Sorry to butt in. The house I’ve been renting just went up for sale, and I thought I might be able to help. I’m actually looking for a new place myself.”
“Well, take my advice and don’t use the people I am. This lady has rescheduled almost every meeting we’ve had, and the ones she doesn’t reschedule, she’s late for. I’m not very impressed with her, but I’ve got to take what I can get right now. My parents set me up with her, so I’m just dealing with it.”
The woman looked younger than Joss by several years. She knew how hard it was to find a home that suited you well, and that was financially doable. If Joss had to do that at a young age, she’d accept all the help she could get.
“It’s nice that your parents are helping. Finding a place is hard. Is this your first?” Joss asked, knowing she probably seemed nosy, but was bored since she’d basically had no customers all morning.
The woman looked sad. “No. It’s not my first. I used to have a roommate and now, well… now, I don’t, and I can’t afford the place on my own.”
“Ahh. Roommates are tough. I’m sorry.” Joss totally understood how hard it was to have a roommate.
“She was my best friend.” The woman looked as though she was trying to hide her tears but was unsuccessful.
Joss suddenly felt uncomfortable. She was just making conversation and didn’t mean to make anyone upset.
“I’m sorry,” she said again, not sure what else to do.
“It’s okay. Jane wasn’t the best roommate, but she was my very best friend. Ever since she’s been gone, everything has just been so terrible.”
Jane. Joss couldn’t have been more surprised to find out that the woman sitting in front of her was the best friend of the woman that was killed. She didn’t believe in good luck or in coincidence, but there was no other way to explain this.
“I’m sorry,” Joss said for the third time. “It must be so hard to lose your best friend.”
The woman nodded, still sniffling. “I miss her, and I hate that I have to move, I just can’t be there anymore. There are too many memories.”
“I understand,” Joss said, refilling the woman’s cup of coffee and realizing that the first time she’d said couldn’t afford the place on her own, and the second time that there were too many memories of her friend. Being a suspicious person was getting the better of Joss. This poor girl had just lost her best friend, and Joss was trying to find clues in everything. “I hope you find something.”
“Me, too.” The woman sighed. “If I ever get to see anything, that is. My realtor was supposed to call me, and of course, I’ve heard nothing.”
“Maybe you can look at some places on your own? I know they have a lot of listings online and in the newspaper,” Joss suggested.
“Yeah, like I said, I’m using this company because of my parents. They are paying for my first and last month’s rent plus the security deposit, so I don’t have much of a choice. They said this is the best way to find a decent place and that I needed to make sure I was in a gated area or had a doorman or something after what happened to Jane. They worry about me, and I get it, I guess. Annoying, but it makes sense.”
Joss had several questions, and typically wouldn’t ever involve herself when it came to a person mourning the loss of their best friend, but when her customer said something about safety and her parents concern after what had happened to Jane, she felt like it might be okay to ask just a couple of questions.
“Safety is very important, especially if you’re living alone.” Joss agreed.
“Jane wasn’t living alone, and she was killed. It had nothing to do with who she lived with, anyway. It’s not like it happened in our house.”
“What happened?” Joss asked, seeing a way in.
“My best friend was found murdered in the park. It’s all over the news. I’m surprised you haven’t heard about it.”
“I did hear about that. It’s such a shame it happened,” Joss offered her condolences.
“Nobody knows anything. The cops can’t figure it out. Her parents keep asking me what I know or if I can tell them about people who may have been upset with her. I mean, I feel like I’m being questioned as though I was a suspect myself.” The woman turned red. “Gosh, I’m sorry. I don’t know why I’m even saying any of this to a stranger.”
“I’m Joss.”
“Sheila.”
“See. Not strangers anymore.” Joss offered a smile, hoping she made Sheila feel at least a little better
Sheila wiped her face and sat up straight. “Thanks for listening. Sorry for being so awkward and weird.”
“Not at all. In fact, come back and see me again when you find a new place. I’ll buy your meal as a housewarming gift,” Joss said, putting a few more sugars on the counter.
“The world should have more people like you,” Sheila said,
passing Joss her credit card.
“That’s very kind,” Joss smiled, running the card and passing it back. “I hope I see you again soon.”
“I just might take you up on that,” Sheila said, exiting the diner with a wave.
That poor girl, Joss thought as she watched her leave. If she ever lost Tyla… well, she didn’t even want to think about something so terrible.
Chapter Eleven
With everything that had been going on, Joss hadn’t gotten much of a chance to stop at Luke’s house and check things out. She was supposed to be retrieving his mail, and most importantly, watering his plants. She’d promised to be much more careful this time, and the last thing she needed was to kill something else. There had been more than enough of that to go around lately.
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