Cast Iron Will (The Cast Iron Cooking Mysteries Book 1)

by Jessica Beck

  “I can see that you both believe that’s true,” Kathleen said.

  “Is that it? Aren’t you going to scold us and tell us to butt out?” Annie asked, pressing our older sibling harder than I would have liked.

  Kathleen didn’t get upset, though. Instead, she simply shrugged before she spoke. “You’ve both done good work here. I already had most of this information, but I’m willing to admit that you’ve added some valuable tidbits into the mix.”

  “So then you won’t have a problem if we keep working on the case?” Annie asked, clearly as surprised by Kathleen’s reaction as I’d been.

  “I wouldn’t go that far,” the sheriff said. “I can’t officially endorse what either one of you has done regarding Chester’s murder investigation.”

  “How about unofficially?” I asked her before Annie could get a single word out of her mouth. Now was the time for diplomacy, and I meant to do everything in my power to make it happen.

  “No comment,” she said, and then our older sister headed for the front door.

  “Thanks,” I said. “You won’t regret it.”

  “Regret what?” she asked me. “Just promise me one thing, Pat.”

  “I’ll do it if I can,” I said.

  “Don’t do anything stupid or let our sister get herself into more trouble than she can get herself out of, okay?”

  Funny, I was the one who was about to do something reckless, not Annie, but I couldn’t very well bring that up. “I’ll try,” I said with a grin, hiding what I could.

  “Don’t worry. I’m not expecting miracles.”

  “I’m still here. You both know that, right?” Annie asked plaintively.

  “I’m sure that I’ll see you both later,” Kathleen said, and then she was gone.

  “I didn’t appreciate that last bit even a little,” Annie said as we both did our parts in closing up the Iron for the night. We had half an hour before I had to leave, so I knew that I’d have to hustle to get to the park in time to meet Harper.

  “I couldn’t very well correct her,” I said. “Sorry about that.”

  “You’re forgiven,” Annie said a little too easily. “I still don’t like the idea of you meeting Harper in the park alone.”

  “Tell you what. I’ll call you the second I leave,” I said, trying my best to reassure her. I was beginning to have second thoughts about the wisdom of the meeting myself, but I knew that I couldn’t back out now. No matter what happened, I had to continue with my plan. “Is that good enough?”

  “No, but it’s probably all that I’m going to get, so I’ll take it,” Annie said as she worked at shutting down her station for the night. Thank goodness we had a dishwasher in the backroom. Otherwise, my twin sister and I would both be up to our elbows in bubbles long past the time for my rendezvous. As it was, I knew that if I didn’t hurry at finishing up my closing tasks, I wasn’t going to make it.

  I finally wrapped things up, though. “Can you finish the rest of this on your own?” I asked Annie. “I really have to go.”

  “Take off. Remember, you need to be careful, Pat. She might be a killer, so don’t ever forget it.”

  “I won’t,” I said, and on impulse, I kissed her cheek. “Thanks for worrying about me.”

  “Hey, it’s what I do,” she said with a smile, but I could see the worry in her gaze as she said it.

  CHAPTER 20: ANNIE

  I couldn’t believe that my idiot brother took my pledge not to interfere at face value! Frankly, I was a little disappointed in him. It was almost as though he didn’t even know me. Of course I was going to follow him to his meeting with Harper. If I didn’t and something happened to him, I’d never be able to forgive myself.

  I had to be sly about it, though. He knew my car all too well, and if he spotted me in his rearview mirror, I’d be busted. I had an advantage over most tails, though.

  I knew where my target was headed.

  It took every last ounce of willpower not to speed to catch up with Pat, no matter how little sense that made. My first instinct was to protect my brother, and if that meant that we scared off a potential ally, then so be it. Finally, I had to force myself to pull over into the Shrewsbury’s grocery store parking lot. I was going to give Pat five minutes to get to the park and make it to the bench in question, and then I was going after him.

  What I didn’t count on was running into one of our other suspects while I was there waiting.

  I was so absorbed watching the clock on my dashboard that the tap on my window nearly stopped my heart.

  “Annie, do you have a second?”

  It was Julia Crane, Chester’s ex-wife.

  “I’m supposed to pick Pat up soon, but I have a minute,” I said as I got out of my car. “What’s up?”

  “I just realized that I had an alibi after all when you asked me about it at Lydia’s house yesterday,” she said.

  “What makes you think I was asking you for an alibi?” I asked, doing my best to deny something that would be patently obvious to anyone who cared to think about it.

  “Come on, there’s no reason for you to lie about it,” she said. “Why wouldn’t folks suspect me? I was married to Chester for years, and our breakup wasn’t all that pleasant. Then I started dating his biggest rival, and you weren’t the first person to suggest that I was getting back at Chester by going out with Bryson.”

  “Were you?” I asked, honestly interested in what her answer might be.

  “At first, there may have been a hint of it in the relationship, but I find myself honestly attracted to Bryson in his own right. Oh, I know he’s not much to look at, but he’s the first man in a long time that I’ve ever been with who actually listens to me when I talk. It’s quite refreshing. Chester had his moments as well. Actually, the two of them were more alike than either man would have ever admitted; they were both driven to win, whether it was a sale or a woman’s heart. Anyway, I was just here to pick up my medication from the pharmacy when I saw you sitting here, so I thought I’d come over and talk to you.”

  I really wanted her alibi, but this was too good to pass up. “I know that it’s none of my business, but do you mind if I ask what kind of meds you’re on?”

  She looked surprised by my question. “I don’t see what it could hurt, though I’m puzzled why you’d want to know. It’s nothing very exciting. I’ve got hypertension. It runs in my family, so I’ve been on these meds forever.”

  “Is your medication just for high blood pressure?” I asked her, remembering what Lydia had told me earlier about Julia’s schizophrenia.

  She laughed at the question. “I see that my former sister-in-law has been filling your head with nonsense. She claims I’m on meds because I’m crazy, even though I’ve repeatedly denied it. Not that there’s anything wrong with getting help from medication for whatever ails you, as far as I’m concerned. Mental health is just not an issue with me, but if it were, I wouldn’t hide it. Sick is sick, as far as I’m concerned.”

  I believed her, and while I realized that I might be proven wrong later, for now, her word was good enough for me. “About that alibi, if you’d still like to share it with me, I’d love to hear it.”

  “It was the darnedest thing,” she said with a laugh. “My neighbor’s dog has been getting out of their fenced yard, and a little before six on the morning of Chester’s murder, I heard something digging in the flowerbeds outside my bedroom window. I threw on a robe to see what was going on, and there was Barkley, digging his way to China and ruining my flowers in the process. Curtis came by as I was trying to stop him, and the second his dog spotted him, Barkley took off like a shot. We chased that dog all the way through the neighborhood, and by the time we finally cornered him, it was well after six thirty. It completely slipped my mind when we were chatting, but I thought it might be important to tell you. Would you mind passing the information on to your sister as well? She was curious about where I was, too.”

  “I’d be happy to, but it might be better i
f she heard it from you directly.”

  “You’re probably right. I’ll stop by the station and tell her on my way home. See you later.”

  “Bye,” I said as I started my car and headed for the park. The conversation had taken considerably longer than the minute I’d hoped to wait, but I’d been able to garner some pretty valuable information. We were now officially down to four suspects.

  I just hoped that I hadn’t missed any altercations between Harper and Pat.

  When I got to a parking spot near the lake, I couldn’t just walk the loop trail to where Pat and Harper were sitting. I had to be a little more stealthy about it, so I started ducking in and out of the woods, doing my best to keep my presence unnoticed. At least there were trees nearby, so I had some shelter from their gazes. I was getting close to them when I saw Harper frown and reach into her oversized handbag.

  Was she going to try to strike my brother down as well?

  “Pat, look out!” I shouted on impulse as I raced toward them.

  Both my brother and Harper looked confused by my sudden appearance, and then, in almost the exact same instant, they both got angry.

  “You said that you were here alone!” Harper yelled as she stood.

  “I was supposed to be!” Pat shouted right back. “What are you doing here, Annie?”

  “She was reaching into her bag,” I said, pointing at her as I spoke.

  “For lip balm,” she protested. “I can’t believe you people. Chester told me that I could trust you, but I can see now that he was wrong.”

  As she angrily started back for her car, Pat tried to follow. “Harper, I didn’t know she was there. I swear it.”

  “Does it even matter at this point?” Harper asked. “I’m not sure that I’ll ever be able to believe either one of you now.” Pat continued to follow her when she turned abruptly and faced him. “Stop following me, or I’ll call the police!”

  She’d be calling our sister to stop my brother, but if the irony of that didn’t get to her, I wasn’t about to point it out. I put a hand on Pat’s shoulder. “You need to just let her go.”

  “Annie, what were you thinking? She was just about to tell me something.”

  “I’m sorry. I thought she was going to stab you or something.”

  Pat frowned as he studied me for a moment, and then he hung his head. “You should have trusted me when I said that I could handle things here.”

  “You’re right. The next time, I will. I promise.” I wasn’t sure that I could keep that pledge, not when my brother’s life might be on the line, but at least I was sincere when I said it.

  “Okay. I don’t suppose there’s any way that we can repair this now. Maybe if we give her a little time, she’ll come around,” he finally said, reluctantly accepting my promise but most likely knowing that there was no way that I was going to be able to keep it. “What happens now?”

  “Why don’t we go to Glory Landing and track down Nathan Pepper? I’m dying to know if he will substantiate Bryson’s alibi.”

  “Since we’ve already spoken with Lydia, Franklin, and Harper this afternoon, I suppose it makes sense to dig more into Bryson and Julia.”

  “Not so fast. It turns out that Julia’s off the hook.” I brought him up to speed as we made our way to our vehicles.

  “So she’s in the clear,” Pat said as he got out his truck keys. “Good work.”

  “She found me. All I did was sit there and listen. It was just plain dumb luck,” I admitted. “Why don’t you drive, and we’ll pick my car up later.”

  “Are you sure?” Pat knew that I liked driving when we went places together, so it was a major concession on my part to allow him to chauffeur me.

  “Positive,” I said.

  He nodded. “Okay. Thanks. Let’s go. We can’t stay long, though.”

  How could he possibly know that I was meeting Rob back at my property later? Had the attorney told my brother about our plans? “Why is that?” I asked as coyly as I could manage.

  “The park closes at sunset, so if we don’t get your car in time, it’s going to be locked up here all night,” he said. “Why else would we have to rush back?”

  “That’s the only reason as far as I’m concerned,” I said, praying that my brother would drop it. To my delight, that’s exactly what he did, and thirty minutes later, we were rolling into Glory Landing in search of a man named Nathan Pepper.

  Three dead ends later, we were leaving Glory Landing, utterly defeated in our attempts to find Nathan Pepper. We’d left our phone numbers—both personal and the one at the Iron—but I wasn’t positive that Nathan would ever get our message. Most likely, we’d have to come back tomorrow to look for him. It was the first real roadblock our investigation had encountered, and as Pat and I drove back to Maple Crest, I found myself envying our older sister’s ability to compel folks to speak with her.

  “Is there anyone else we need to speak with this evening?” Pat asked me as we neared our hometown.

  I wasn’t about to tell him about my pending meeting with Rob. “If it’s all the same to you, it’s been a long day. I’d just as soon pick up my car, run home, and get something to eat. You’re welcome to come along, if you’d like.” Please say no, please say no, I kept repeating in my mind as some kind of mantra as I waited for his reply.

  “If you don’t mind, I think I’ll go it alone tonight,” he replied, and it was all I could do not to smile. “Unless you don’t want to be by yourself. If that’s the case, then I’d be happy to come over.” Blast it all, leave it to my brother to be too nice about it.

  “No, that’s okay. I know how you feel about my driveway at night. Besides, we don’t have to spend every waking moment together, do we?”

  “No ma’am,” he agreed.

  As he dropped me off, I was happy to see that Harper hadn’t come back to vandalize my car, so I had that going for me, at least. As I got out, I said, “We’ll tackle the case again tomorrow.”

  “You bet we will,” Pat said. I got in, and we drove off in tandem, him in front, me in back. We parted ways soon enough, and I headed back home. I had to neaten things up a little if I was going to give the attorney a tour of my place, and if I was lucky, I’d manage to get a bite or two in as I worked.

  But only if he wasn’t early.

  Just my luck, the attorney was already there when I drove up, so that plan was out the window. It looked as though Rob was going to see how I really lived, mess and all.

  “You’re early,” I said as I got out of my car and approached him as he leaned against one of the timber roof supports for my porch.

  “Sorry,” he said with a grin that told me that he wasn’t repentant at all. “I couldn’t help myself. I hope you don’t mind. I’ve hiked around a little. I love the pond.”

  “Thanks. I do, too.” With his level of enthusiasm, it was hard to be angry with him. “I’ll warn you right now, the cabin’s a real mess inside.”

  “I don’t mind. I’ve been dying to see it.” He crowded me a little as I put my key in the lock, and I could almost feel his hot breath on my neck. I’d been attracted to the attorney initially, but there was something a little unsettling about the way he was hovering so close to me now. Had I made a mistake inviting him out to my secluded home without anyone else being there? I hoped not.

  After I unlocked the front door and we both went inside, I put a little space between us. If he tried something now, I wasn’t sure how I’d defend myself. Looking around, I realized that grabbing the shotgun I kept by the door would look like a severe overreaction, especially if his motives were innocent. Then again, I didn’t want to take too much for granted, so I settled on a walking staff I kept by the door for my forays into the woods.

  That turned out to be a mistake, though.

  “What’s that?” he asked as he tried to take it away from me.

  “It’s my walking stick. Sometimes I like to carry it around inside the cabin.” That wasn’t even a very good lie. The attorney had m
e rattled, and not in a good way.

  “May I?” he asked politely, withdrawing his grip.

  What choice did I have? Feeling like a fool, I surrendered my only weapon. He studied the old man’s face I’d carved into it. “This is nice work. Where did you get it?”

  “I made it myself,” I admitted.

  One eyebrow rose. “Really? It’s nicely done.”

  “I think so,” I said as I reclaimed it. Somehow, I felt a little better having it back in my possession. “Anyway, this is it. The kitchen’s over there, along with the shower, this is the living room, and my sleeping loft is upstairs.”

  His gaze went up to my bedroom. “I’d love to see that, too,” he said as he started toward the ladder.

  I put a hand on his shoulder. Something in my gut was telling me not to let him up there. “I’d really rather you didn’t. Like I said, it’s a mess.”

  “I don’t mind,” he said, pulling away from my grasp.

  “But I do,” I said flatly.

  I finally got through to him. Rob stopped in his tracks and pivoted to face me. “Annie, did I do something wrong?”

  “If you ask me, you’re acting a little too eager,” I admitted. “It’s creeping me out a little.” There, I’d said it.

  He shook his head slightly. “Sorry. I just haven’t seen a layout like this before. Everything’s perfect, from the pond to the woods to the cabin itself.” He reached into his front pocket, and I gripped the walking stick tighter. It would do me no good against a gun, but if he had a knife, I liked my chances. There was no way that the attorney’s reach could exceed the one I had with my walking stick.

  To my surprise though, he pulled out not a weapon but a checkbook. “I’ve seen enough. Name your price.”

  I looked at him carefully, the confusion not feigned at all. “Excuse me?”