It was going to take more than that to turn the evening around, but that compliment was certainly a good start.
Chapter Six
After putting on a white blouse and a blue skirt, I ran a brush through my hair before heading off with David to my favorite restaurant. There was a simple reason why Home Away From Home was one of the most popular restaurants in town. It was a place where comfort food was always on the menu. It turned out that I couldn’t have too much comfort on a night like that.
Not that David hadn’t provided me with plenty of his own. He was a great boyfriend—caring, attentive, and kind hearted. I knew from experience how difficult it was to find a man like that. Unfortunately, before David came into my life, my romantic past had been checkered at best.
Take my ex-boyfriend, Wally Tuttle, for example. He was neither caring, nor attentive, nor kind hearted. Wally only pretended to be those things. Deep down, he was nothing more than just a raging alcoholic. At first, I hadn’t been able to see beyond the smoke screen that he put up. I foolishly believed that he truly was a charming man instead of just pretending to be one.
Over time, Wally didn’t even bother putting up a façade. He was too busy getting blitzed. When it became apparent that Wally loved the booze more than he loved me, I ended things between us.
After getting out of such a bad relationship, I wasn’t in any hurry to give another man a try, even a better one like David. To David’s credit, he was patient with my heart. It took some time, but David eventually won me over.
Looking back, I was glad that David had been willing to put in all the effort to earn my trust. He was truly a wonderful man—not to mention highly intuitive. He didn’t just get hunches when he was investigating a case. They came to him in his personal life, too.
“Been thinking about your sister again?” he asked.
I wanted to change the subject as quickly as possible. Talking about Jessica wasn’t going to change anything. It certainly wouldn’t bring her back. If anything, discussing her disappearance would only lead me deeper down a rabbit hole that would result in an uncomfortable amount of wallowing. What I needed to do right then was to break the cycle, not continue it.
I tried to change the subject. “Did you find anything odd at the old Watterson estate?”
David and I had been dating for over a year. During that time, he had learned to pick up on my subtle and not so subtle cues. Sensing that I was desperate to talk about anything other than my sister, he didn’t force the issue. Instead, he replied to my question.
“The Watterson estate,” he said. “Right. Yeah. I checked out the place. There weren't any lights on when I got there. Nor did I spot anyone or anything that may have caused the noise you told me about. Are you sure Kelly wasn’t just imagining things?”
I shook my head. “She was dead certain about what she had seen.”
He exhaled. “If the light truly was on, someone turned it off before I got there.”
My forehead wrinkled. “That’s odd. Did you see any sign of trespassers when you were there?”
“No.”
I stared out into the distance. “What do you think happened?”
David shrugged. “It beats me.”
“Kelly thinks the place is haunted.”
He grimaced. “I don’t know about that. Then again, I’m not eager to spend enough time there to find out.”
I snickered. “Who is?”
Before David and I were able to speculate any further, a peculiar sight caught our attention.
There was an old banquet hall on the way to the restaurant. The hall had shuttered its doors years ago. Ever since then, both the banquet hall and the building’s parking lot had sat empty. In the years since the place had gone out of business, I had driven by the banquet hall countless times and had not ever seen a single person there.
That night, the banquet hall had life once again. Not only was it operational again, but in addition to the dozen cars that I spotted in the parking lot, there was also a line of men—all wearing business suits—waiting to get into the place.
Hmm.
I didn’t remember ever seeing a doorman at the front door to the banquet hall before. There was certainly one there now. The brawny doorman checked the men in one by one.
As I fixed my gaze on the line to get into the banquet hall, a number of questions popped into my mind. When did the hall reopen? Was it now a nightclub? If so, why would someone turn a banquet hall into a nightclub when there were much more suitable empty buildings within city limits that weren’t located so far away from downtown?
My forehead wrinkled. “What’s with the line?”
David had a blank expression on his face. “I have no clue.”
He slowed his car down to the point where we were almost stopped.
“Is it some kind of party that we weren’t invited to?” I asked.
“That wouldn’t surprise me. My days of being a party animal are long over.”
“Not that you were much of a party animal to start,” I joked.
“You got me there. It turns out I’m a little too low-key to have ever truly partied like an animal,” he replied.
“That’s just the way I like it.”
David stared intently at the men that were standing in line. “I don’t really like the feeling this crowd is giving me.”
I zeroed in on the business attire that the men were wearing. “Me neither. Especially since I’m not getting the vibe that they are actually here to party.”
Upon further observation, three things stood out to me. The first was that there were no women in line. The second was that each of the men was wearing the exact same colored suit. Finally, and most interestingly, I recognized one of the men who was in line. His name was Tom Dillon. In addition to being a noted real estate developer in town, he also happened to be a regular at my family’s coffee shop.
David scrunched his nose. “What do you think this is?”
“I don’t have the foggiest idea. Whatever it is, our invitation clearly got lost in the mail,” I replied.
“I have a feeling that they didn’t send out any invitations to women,” he said.
“I’m getting that sense, too.”
“I don’t know about you, but I’m suddenly very curious to find out what’s going on.”
“What about dinner?” I asked.
“The restaurant isn’t going anywhere. These guys, meanwhile, look like they are in a hurry to get into that hall. Do you mind if I pull in there and check it out?”
There was an old saying about great minds thinking alike. That sentiment seemed particularly true at that moment. We were completely in sync.
“I was just about to ask you the same thing,” I replied.
David pulled into the parking lot and stopped just next to the front door. By then, the doorman had checked all the men in but one.
As David got out of his car, the doorman let the last man inside the hall.
“Good evening,” David said.
The doorman closed the front door of the hall before turning to address my boyfriend.
“Evening,” the doorman replied.
The doorman’s response had been filled with a distinct lack of enthusiasm. Due to David’s urging, I watched the conversation unfold from the passenger seat of my boyfriend’s car. I knew that David figured I would be safer that way.
While I had agreed to hang back, I listened intently and observed as much as I could. Unfortunately, there wasn’t much to work with. I didn’t recognize the doorman. He just looked like a tall, brawny pile of muscles who was allergic to smiling. Even more apparent was the thirtysomething’s eagerness to get rid of David and me.
David stared the doorman down. “What’s going on here?”
The doorman was terse. “A meeting.”
“What kind of meeting?”
The doorman narrowed his eyes. “The kind that is none of your business.”
David always kept his police badge on
him. At a time like this, that seemed like a very wise decision. My boyfriend pulled out his badge and held it up.
“I don’t know that we have been properly introduced. My name is David Carlson. I’m a detective with the Treasure Cove Police Department.”
The doorman shot him a glare. “Good for you. This is private property. There’s no trespassing allowed.”
David folded his arms. “Why don’t you just tell me what’s going on?”
The steely expression on the doorman’s face remained. “This is an invite-only meeting, and you’re not invited.”
“You’re not helping your case here.”
The doorman raised his voice. “This is a free country. People are allowed to hold private meetings.”
David shook his head. “At an old banquet hall that shuttered years ago? Why don’t you just tell me what’s going on? I wouldn’t want to have to get a search warrant.”
Most people would be trembling with fear at the mention of a search warrant.
The doorman held his ground. “You’re overreaching, and you know it. But go ahead and try to convince a judge to give you one. The fact is, you have no justifiable grounds for one because you are lacking a sufficient level of suspicion.”
My head was nearly spinning when I heard that answer. Not only did this guy have some serious guts to stand up to my boyfriend like that, but he was also far savvier than I had given him credit for. Although his answer did make me wonder what he really did for a living.
Apparently, the same questions that were bouncing around my mind had stoked David’s curiosity as well.
“Who are you?” David asked.
“I’m the doorman.”
David scoffed. “What kind of doorman knows legal protocols?”
“The kind that also knows privacy rights. Now I’m only going to tell you one more time. This is private property, and you are trespassing.”
David stared deep into the doorman’s eyes. “Is that how it’s going to be, then?”
The doorman glared back at David. “It is.”
I could tell that David wanted to barge into the building. At the same time, I knew he wasn’t going to do that. Not only was he off duty, but without a search warrant, he had no legal grounds for entering the hall.
Realizing that he wasn’t going to get any further with the doorman, David reluctantly returned to his car.
***
My boyfriend let out a groan from the driver’s seat. Even though a number of things were on my mind, given David’s frustration level, I decided to let him speak first.
It took him a few moments, but he finally broke the ice. “Something very strange is going on here.”
“Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like we’ll be able to figure out what it is. At least not tonight,” I replied.
David stared intensely at the banquet hall. “I may not have justifiable grounds to get a search warrant, but I’m going to keep my eye on this place. It is giving off a really creepy vibe.”
Chapter Seven
After the frustrating exchange with the doorman at the banquet hall, David looked like he needed comfort food just as much as I did. Few words were exchanged as David and I continued making our way to the restaurant.
It didn’t mean that our minds weren’t active. My mind was racing like crazy. I wasn’t alone. There was a faraway look in David’s eyes as he drove. I could practically see the gears spinning in his head. Even more, I had a feeling that our thoughts all centered on the same topic.
Unfortunately, the more I tried to piece together what had just happened back at the banquet hall, the less everything made sense. Why had the doorman been so combative? What was that meeting they were holding? Why were only men in attendance? What was with all the secrecy?
By the time David and I reached the Home Away From Home restaurant, I had gone back and forth so much in my mind that my head began to hurt. Knowing that the answers to my questions would remain elusive, I turned my attention to something I could control— my hunger.
The moment the thought of food entered my brain, it was hard to get it out. My stomach began to rumble. Suddenly, I couldn’t wait to get my meal.
But, considering how crazy the day had gone, it shouldn’t have surprised me when dinner didn’t go according to plan, either. Before my boyfriend and I were even able to be seated at a table, David got a call from work that he had to take. He excused himself while the hostess led me to a table.
The surprises didn’t stop there. Of all the places to be seated in the restaurant, I ended up at a table beside a familiar face.
Andrew Stewart sat all by himself at a corner table. The cherubic fifty-eight-year-old ran the business next door to my family’s coffee shop.
He was the co-owner of a chocolate shop that delighted my taste buds every time I entered. Andrew served the kind of truffles that I could not say no to. Stewart’s shop had mastered chocolate treats so much that I found it hard to stop at just one truffle. I had spent many hours on the treadmill over the years trying to burn off the sweets I had gotten from his shop.
It was weird to drive all the way across town to run into a man who ran the business next door to mine, but that was just the kind of day and night it had been. That said, it didn’t look like we would be sitting next to each other for long. Not only was he already done eating, but he had put a twenty-dollar bill down on top of the check that was on the corner of the table.
Andrew appeared to be all ready to leave the restaurant when he saw me looking his way. The chocolatier looked like he was wrought with anxiety. His thinning gray hair was disheveled. His oval face had a red hue to it. And his blue eyes were bloodshot.
“Hey, neighbor,” I said.
“Sabrina. Hi,” he replied.
There was a distinct lack of enthusiasm in his voice. I didn’t take it personally. It didn’t take a detective to see that something was weighing heavily on his mind.
“Are you okay?” I asked.
The answer was clearly “no.” Anguish was all over his face. I had just phrased the question in that manner to be polite. After all, his emotions were his business, and if he didn’t want to reveal what was troubling him, it was his prerogative.
“I’m miserable,” he said.
Not only had that been blunt, but it was also heartbreaking to hear.
I gave him a sympathetic look. “I’m so sorry to hear that. What’s the matter?”
“You know how it is. It has just been one of those days.”
Andrew continued to defy my expectations. He had gone from overly expressive to vague in the span of one reply. Then again, perhaps he felt that he had been a little too revealing with his first response and was trying to make up for it now.
“I know exactly what you mean,” I replied. “How did the universe turn your life upside down?”
He took a deep breath before answering. “I feel like I’m staring down a defining moment in my life. I have to make a decision that could change everything. Chances like this, they don’t come around often. At the same time, I am torn like never before.”
I wrinkled my nose. “What kind of chance?”
“I have received an offer to buy my shop.”
The offer could have come from a number of places, but when I thought about businesses being purchased in town, one name immediately came to my mind.
“From Jake Williamson?” I asked.
Andrew nodded.
That was not what I wanted to hear. Jake had once offered to purchase Daley Buzz. Feeling that he was gutting the character of Main Street, my mother and grandmother did not hesitate to turn Jake down.
Jake was not shy about his intentions. He wanted to buy every place on Main Street and replace those family-run businesses with chain stores. The real estate developer had already gotten a number of shops to take him up on his offer.
It shouldn’t have come as a surprise to learn that Andrew was his latest target. Only, unlike my family, Andrew was clearly having a harde
r time saying no. Then again, not everyone felt as strongly as my family did about keeping Treasure Cove quirky. For some, the allure of a big payday proved too hard to resist.
“Are you going to sell, then?” I asked.
He let out a deep sigh. “Jake has offered a lot of money.”
“Is that a yes?”
A pained expression came to his face. “It’s really complicated.”
“What do you want to do?”
“You know that store is like my baby.”
“It sure doesn’t sound like you want to sell.”
“I don’t. I built that place from nothing.”
“If you’re so insistent about staying, then why do you seem so conflicted? Is it about the money?”
He gritted his teeth then responded, “It isn’t just my decision to make.”
“The rest of your family isn’t as determined to keep the business, then?” I asked.
“It isn’t just them. My business partner thinks we’d be crazy not to sell. They all have dollar signs in their eyes, and there’s nothing I can do to get them out.”
“I’m sorry to hear that.”
He nodded. “It’s really tough. I’m getting pressure from all sides. They have made it very hard for me to stick to my guns.”
Andrew was in a tougher jam than I had originally thought. With each reply that he gave me, he had more of my sympathy. Although I couldn’t help but wonder what the end result would be.
“It’s really unfortunate that they aren’t respecting your wishes. So are you going to give in, or will you hold strong?” I said.
His face was filled with resolve. “I stuck to my guns and told them I wasn’t going to sell.”
My brow furrowed. “Wait. You already told them that you weren’t going to sell?”
Andrew nodded.
“Then why do I keep getting the feeling that you’re gearing up for another fight?” I asked.
A tired look was in Andrew’s eyes. “Because there has been nothing but fighting ever since I told my family and business partner what my decision was. They keep trying to get me to change my mind. To get me to go along with their line of thinking. I got so sick of listening to them hassling me that I decided to hide out here for a little while in hopes that their anger would die down.”
Meredith Potts Fourteen Book Cozy Mystery Set Page 87
