###
The next morning, having dug up a few more tidbits while eating at Wanda’s Diner the night before, I slid the folder across the conference table to Frank. I also managed to sell a couple of ads at the last minute, by practically begging friends of Mom’s who owned their own businesses. Because of this, Frank sat grinning like a fool.
Which was almost as scary looking as his scowl. Instead of his eyes disappearing under a hanging brow, they now disappeared behind wrinkled cheeks covered by a big-toothed grin that reminded me a bit of a shark.
He tapped the folder on the table and glanced at Stacy. “Well, what have you got? Any good stories?”
“No, sir.” Stacy slumped in her chair. “Family problems interfered.”
Frank’s grin turned to a frown. “That’s unacceptable. With the problems this paper is having, we can’t afford to have sloppy work. I want a newsworthy story in my email before midnight tonight so we can squeak it into this weekend’s edition.”
“What do you want me to write about?”
He slammed his fist on the table. “I don’t know! You’re the reporter. Must I go out and drum up stories myself! I have before, and can again. But that’s what I pay you for.”
Feeling sorry for her berating, I almost offered her the story of getting shot at, but considering that happened a few days ago, it was hardly newsworthy anymore. I searched my mind for something else…and came up empty. There wasn’t much that went on in River Valley. Oh!
“Why don’t you write about the names that are appearing in the obituaries thirty days before the person dies of suspicious circumstances?” There. The answer to her problem and, quite possibly, a more legal upfront way of me finding out information.
“What’s this?” Frank asked. “People are dying?”
“Technically, people die every day, Frank.” I fought not to roll my eyes. “But in this instance, people’s names are showing up before they die.”
“Why hasn’t anyone told me?” He glanced from me to Stacy.
“Hasn’t Officer Barnett questioned you?” Darn that Bruce. He told me he would investigate.
“No one has said anything to me.” Stacy studied her manicured nails. “It might make an interesting story. Especially if I’m the one who solves the mystery.” The sliver of a smile flickered on her lips. “Reporter goes after story, finds herself in danger, and solves the murders. Of course, I won’t really put myself in danger. That would be elaboration for the paper.”
I narrowed my yes. Did Stacy confirm my suspicions that someone was killing people they thought would be expendable in order to sell more papers? “Are any of us in danger of losing our jobs if the paper does poorly?”
“Of course we are.” Frank shook his head. “You need to sell more ads, and Stacy needs to write better news breaking stories. If the paper folds, it won’t be just one of us out on the streets, it’ll be the whole staff.” He grabbed the folders in front of him and stood. “So, get your rear ends out there and do your jobs.”
Of course, Country Gifts from Heaven was my main job. The newspaper was for extra cash, and the opportunity to snoop under cover of working on the paper. I’d gotten myself in a jam. Country Gifts provided my living, but a good work ethic wouldn’t allow me to do a shoddy job on the paper. Now, the lack of time to effectively do both jobs teased me.
“Go!” Frank banged both hands on the table top, sending Stacy and me to our feet and crashing into each other on our way through the door.
“So, Stacy,” I said once we were in the hall. “I didn’t know you and Amber were sisters.” I smoothed the skirt of the dress I wore. “I love the boutique she works at.”
“The one my mother owns?” Stacy turned and glared. “Well, stepmother. Amber and I are half-sisters.” She stopped. “Why am I telling you this? It’s none of your business what kind of drama goes on in my family.”
“True, but I’ve always been told I have a very sympathetic ear.”
“Whatever.” Her heels tapped out an angry rhythm as she marched away. “My stepmother is nothing but a worthless old hag who belongs in a nursing home. Making Amber take care of her after her stroke. It’s inhumane—” She clamped her lips closed and continued on her way.
Well, alrighty then. That raised a bunch of new questions. Ones I hoped Mom could answer.
Oh, no! Catching a glimpse of a calendar hanging in someone’s cubicle, I fished my cell phone out of my cavernous purse. “Mom? Do you know what tomorrow is?”
“Of course I do. It’s Lindsey’s sixteenth birthday party.”
“I’m going to be a little late coming in this morning. I still haven’t ordered her cake, or purchased decorations. Please tell me invitations went out.”
“Over a week ago. What in the world would you do without me?”
I continued my way to the lobby. “I’d be a total failure.” Once this mystery was solved, I could get back to my own version of an organized life. Which wasn’t very organized, but it was all I had. That and my aspirations to do better.
When I stopped in front of Darla’s desk, she turned her computer screen away from me and cupped the mouth piece of the phone. “I don’t care what you want. I’m the boss here, and I say she has to go!”
Interesting. I stepped closer to her desk, now looking for something, anything, in my purse. My hand curled around a tube of lipstick that had to be from the 90s. When was the last time I wore anything other than a clear gloss?
“I’m not sure you realize who you’re talking to.” Her voice hissed, sending a shiver down my spine. I got the impression Darla was not a woman to get on the bad side of. “You said you would go with me tomorrow… I don’t care if I wasn’t invited…You can’t go back on your word. We’ll discuss this later. Marsha, may I help you?”
I’d been so engrossed in looking busy, I hadn’t realized when she’d hung up the phone. “There it is!” I held up the lipstick, ignored the gunk gathered around the lid, and pulled the top off to smear the ruby red color across my lips. If I’d paid closer attention before actually acting as if I wanted to wear lipstick, I would’ve realized it was left over from a prior Halloween.
“That isn’t really your color.” Darla crossed her arms. “And you have lint stuck on your bottom lip. It looks like you’ve been kissing someone’s belly button.”
Heavens! I picked at the fuzzy stuff on my lip and tried to come up with a reason for stopping by her desk.
Darla sighed. “Well? Did you want something, or were you eavesdropping on my phone conversation?”
Boy, she was good. If she wasn’t on my list of possible suspects, I’d enlist her help. “Uh, do you have any possible leads for advertising? Frank’s on my case about the paper needing money, and well…”
“You want me to do your job, in other words.”
“No, but you’ve been here longer, and might know the type of businesses that would pay for advertising.”
“Any business that wants to increase their profits will want to advertise.” Darla turned back to her computer. “All you have to do is pound the pavements and ask. Some will say yes, some will say no.”
“Thanks.” I guessed. Tossing the old tube of lipstick into a nearby trashcan, I headed into the mid-morning sun and glanced up and down the street.
River Valley was not a metropolitan city. Main Street consisted of maybe twenty businesses, ten on each side of the street, with one street branching off to form a plus sign. That side road had maybe four shops. Thankfully, one of them sold party goods. Then, a quick run by the grocery store and I’d have the important elements of Lindsey’s party—oh, my gosh, we’d need food.
Sub sandwiches would do. I high-tailed it to the party store and made a beeline to the party lights and teen section, most of which was, thankfully, hot pink with some black thrown in. I was pretty sure no one would want me to come up with a color scheme on my own, and Lindsey loved pink and black. Arms loaded down with lights, streamers and all the paper dishes I could carry,
I rushed toward the counter.
“I will kill you.” A voice drifted from the aisle behind me. “If you touch her, say anything to her, I will cut you so deep, you’ll cry for your mother.”
I whirled and knocked over a stack of stuffed animals. Somehow keeping my grip on my things, I thrust them into the cashier’s arms, “I’ll be back,” then dashed out the door.
All I needed was for someone threatening murder to catch me eavesdropping.
Chapter Sixteen
I was pretty positive the voice I heard was Stacy’s. Who in the world could she be threatening so cold-heartedly?
Leaning against the concrete block walls of the building, I tried to ignore the fact I stood in a dirty alley and focused on my breathing. The purchases on the counter needed paid for and taken home, regardless of an overheard phone conversation that sent spiders dancing up and down my spine.
After taking a couple of deep breaths, I moseyed back into the store and approached the counter. “Do you have my order ready? The one I placed earlier this morning?”
The girl looked at me as if my eyes had turned yellow. “This stuff?”
“Yes, of course. Thank you so much for having it ready. How much do I owe you?”
“I’ll … have to ring it up.” She shook her head and glanced over my shoulder, shrugging.
I followed her gaze. Stacy glared from the section of baby shower items.
“Are you following me?” she asked.
“No, I’m picking up decorations for my daughter’s party tomorrow. Are you planning a baby shower?” Amber didn’t show yet in her pregnancy, but some people were known to start things early.
“I’m just browsing.” She looked as if she wanted to say something else, but instead, turned and rushed out the door.
“This has been the strangest morning,” the cashier said. “You throw things at me, she yells at someone on the phone, and some guy comes in to buy balloons, starts to cry, and doesn’t buy anything.”
“I didn’t mean to toss my purchases at you.” There was no explanation that wouldn’t make me sound like a Looney Tune, so I left it at that. After leaving her a card with the newspaper’s advertising information on it for her to give to the owner, and with my purchases now in bags, I headed back down the sidewalk to my car.
If I’d planned ahead, I would have thought to drive down the street and save myself the back and forth walking. Although, the exercise has done me good. Between two jobs, limited time to dig into my M&Ms, and parking away from shopping, I’d managed to drop a few pounds.
The door to the dress boutique beckoned. When had I turned from overalls to dresses? Maybe a new dress for dinner that night. Duane actually had the night off from football practice and was taking me out to eat somewhere other than Wanda’s Diner. I stowed my bags in the trunk of my car and almost skipped to the boutique.
What? Locked? I cupped my hands around my eyes and peered through the glass.
Maybe the shop was closed because of pregnancy? In mourning because of Danny and his deadbeat mother. Oh, well. I had another dress I’d bought last week I could wear to dinner. After another glance through the window, I turned, then stopped.
When had the store started selling black combat boots? Those didn’t fit the rest of the inventory at all, and I’d definitely spotted a pair tossed next to the counter. I fished my cell phone from my pocket and called 9-1-1.
Ten minutes later, Bruce runs down the street, one hand on the butt of his pistol. He stopped next to me and bent at the waist, panting for breath. “Should…have…known.”
What? That I would be here? “I think Amber, the clerk in this store, is injured inside.”
“What makes…you think so?” Bruce straightened, hands on his hips.
“They don’t sell combat boots here, and there is a pair next to the counter. Plus, the store is closed in the middle of the day. Don’t you think that’s odd?”
“I think you need to pray to the Almighty God to cure you of your affliction.”
“What affliction?”
“The one that compels you to stick your nose where it doesn’t belong.” Bruce tapped on the locked door, then peered inside.
“See the boots?”
“Yep, and I see the striped sock that goes in them, too. I think.” He took the club off his belt and bashed in the door. “Stay back.”
I’d stay back while glass rained down, but I’d follow him so closely in the store, we’d share the same perfume. We rushed around the counter. The shoes were empty. The striped socks was actually a scarf draped over the heel of one of the shoes.
“That’s weird.”
Bruce shook his head. “I should’ve known nothing was up the moment I found out it was you that called.”
“Oh, stop it. It’s still strange that the door is locked in the middle of the day.”
“Whatever.” He continued through a door behind the counter and down a short hall.
I followed, peering into a closet and small restroom. Regardless of Bruce’s opinion, something was not right. I pushed open the door to the alley.
Amber and Danny jumped apart like two scalded cats. From the smear of scarlet lipstick on Danny’s mouth, they weren’t whispering secrets. I crossed my arms and grinned at sneaky young love. Stacy would have a heart attack.
“This is why the store is locked?” High spots of color glowed on Bruce’s cheeks. “Your mother would have a fit if she knew. Once she recovers from her stroke, she’s going to be coming back to work and doesn’t need to pull this place back up from the dumps.” With a curt nod, he marched away.
Amber’s eyes filled with tears, and she two-hand shoved Danny away from her. “I told you this was not a good idea.”
“We’re just kissing.” He followed her into the store.
Well, it had been a long time, but if I remembered correctly, kissing is what started everything that resulted in me having Lindsey. Mystery of the locked store solved, I strolled back to my car and drove to the grocery store to order Lindsey’s cake and giant sub. Mom was probably having a fit by now, wondering what was taking me so long.
I checked my cell phone. Nope, no messages. I sent Mom a quick text telling her I was still shopping, then pulled out of town and headed down the highway. The small store in River Valley wouldn’t have the type of cakes suitable for a sweet sixteen, and I wanted my baby’s day to be as special as I could make it.
###
“Wow.” Duane stepped through the front door. “You look amazing. What’s up with the change?”
“You’ve noticed?” I smoothed the skirt of my dress.
“That you’ve been dressing in something other than overalls and getting thinner?” He put his hands on my waist and pulled me close. “You bet I have. I like it. I didn’t think it possible for you to get any better.” He nuzzled my neck, making my knees weak. I giggled.
“I thought we were going out to dinner.” I planted my palms on his chest. The feel of his sculpted muscles did things to me that should be unlawful. “If you keep kissing me, we’ll never leave.”
“Promises, promises.” He planted another lingering one on my lips, then stepped back. “Hurry up and set a wedding date, would you? I’m dying over here.”
That made two of us. Blood simmering like a pot over a low fire, I stepped into the early evening air and made my way to Duane’s truck. Heels, even low kitten ones, made walking on gravel tricky. Maybe I should’ve practiced.
Duane took my arm to steady me and helped me into his truck. “Maybe you should wear sneakers to the wedding.”
“Ha ha.” I smoothed my dress and clicked the seatbelt into place. I’d already planned on wearing flip-flops. Bejeweled ones, of course.
We spoke of love, the someday wedding, and other routine things until we sat down at the table and ordered our steaks. I glanced around the restaurant, approving of the muted lighting and scattered tables which provided a little privacy. Very romantic.
“So, I heard you didn’t
show up for work today?” Duane reached across the table and took my hand.
“Mom has a big mouth. I had a meeting at the paper, then went shopping for Lindsey’s party tomorrow.” Which, thankfully, I’d finished. I filled him in on the rest of the day’s strange proceedings.
“Hmmm.” He straightened and reached for his glass of ice water. “That doesn’t look good for Stacy, does it? But then again, people threaten to kill people all the time.”
“Yeah, but most of them don’t mean it.” I stared at the flicker of the candle in the center of the table. Dad always said he hated dim restaurants. Couldn’t see where to put the food in order to eat. “I think she was talking to Danny.”
“And then he rushed right over to the shop to smooch on his girl. Brave boy.” Duane straightened as the waitress brought us our food.
“Or stupid.” We bowed our heads while Duane said the blessing, then I cut into my steak, forking a piece to my mouth. Yum. Crusty blue-cheese on top of a perfectly cooked filet. Pure heaven. “I have to admit, though, that I haven’t a clue as to who is killing off these old ladies. I’m really worried about Dottie. Time is running out.”
“Have you stopped to pray about it?” Duane patted my hand. “No offense, sweetheart, but everyone knows how you tend to take the reins and gallop off without guidance.”
“True, and no, I haven’t taken the proper time to pray.” Remorse spread through my stomach. Why didn’t I pray first and act second? I knew the proper way to approach any situation, yet I constantly forgot. God must spend a lot of time shaking His head at me.
“Once you do, things will start falling into place.” Duane winked. “Just remember, you promised not to go investigating alone.”
“I won’t.” I wasn’t sure if he would be relieved to know I didn’t go anywhere without my pistol or my Tazer. That might raise a bunch of new worries. It still boggled my mind that such a handsome, got-my-life-together, man wanted to marry me.
Advance Notice (A River Valley Mystery, book 2) Page 10
