Murder on Wheels

by Lynn Cahoon

  Or maybe she was just responding to the voice mail I’d left her yesterday. I’d like to believe it was the former.

  She slipped onto one of the stools and looked at me, putting her purse on the counter next to her. “Let me get this straight. You want me to develop a gluten-free dessert for your customers since the jerk and his now-deceased wife aren’t opening up a dessert truck that could have run both of us out of business.”

  “You have to admit, it’s a good business decision. Besides, we just need one or two choices, besides the fresh fruit cup we offer now.” I smiled what I hoped was a winning smile when in fact it was probably serial killer creepy.

  Sadie’s shoulders sagged. “I’m being emotional about a business decision, aren’t I?”

  “You have a right to be emotional. Austin was a total butt to you. He led you on and stole your recipes. He should go to jail for being a bad man.” I poured her a cup of her favorite chocolate-flavored coffee and filled my own cup before I walked around and sat next to her. “If you don’t want to help me with this, you don’t have to do it. I’ll figure out something else.”

  She wiped away tears that had begun to fall. “I’ll start playing around with some things. I have Kacey’s notes, but I think instead of changing one of my recipes, I’ll create something new and name it after her.”

  “I think that would be lovely.” I put my arm around her and gave her a quick hug. “You are such a kind person.”

  “A kind person who wants to murder Austin? I think that’s the definition of unkind, although Pastor Bill seems to think my rage is perfectly human.” She pulled away from my hug and took a sip of her coffee. “I’d always thought I was above hate. I chair the South Cove Methodist Women Against Violence Committee, for gosh sake.”

  I pressed my lips together to keep from laughing. “You were hurt. Hurt people, like hurt animals, lash out at times.” I was glad Toby or Greg wasn’t here listening to Sadie’s rambling. They might take her anger out of context and instead of Austin sitting over at the station, she’d be sitting there. Sadie was likely to admit to being guilty for not being more understanding than actually committing a real crime.

  “I appreciate you looking at all sides of the issue.” I returned to my coffee. “If you can’t figure out something to make that we can serve, it’s not a big issue. I don’t get a lot of requests for gluten-free products.” Well, that was a big fat fib, but I didn’t want to make her feel bad.

  “I’ll figure out something. It will help me take my mind off poor Austin. I can’t believe Greg is still holding him in that cell. Doesn’t he have to charge him or let him go?”

  “I think the DA is the one actually holding off on releasing him. It’s not like he hasn’t disappeared before.”

  Sadie waved her hand, pushing away the thought. “That was when he was a kid. She lured him into helping her escape. And you know some people will do anything for love.”

  I turned toward the door, where the bell had announced Toby’s arrival. He looked like he’d been rode hard and put away wet, or in layman’s terms, like crap. His usual crisp white shirt was replaced with a rumpled T-shirt I was pretty sure I’d seen in the corner of the police station’s locker room when Greg had asked me to get him his coat out of a locker last week. I felt Sadie turn to see what I was staring at and heard her audible gasp.

  “I look that bad, do I?” Toby shook his head and went behind the counter. “I’m kind of in between places right now and didn’t feel like going to Elisa’s for a clean shirt this morning.”

  “Well, I’d better be going.” Sadie air-kissed me and skittered to the doorway. “Lots of baking to do, you know.”

  As she left, I turned back toward Toby, who now had a clean apron over the logo of the classic acid rock band. He looked better, but still drawn and pale. “What do you mean, you’re in between places? I thought you were living with Elisa.”

  “She kicked me out. Or we broke up. I can’t remember the exact order, but as of ten o’clock Friday night, I’ve been homeless. I sublet my apartment to a buddy when I moved in with Elisa, and now I can’t find a place that’s close and in my price range. I’m pretty sure I’ll have to look in Bakerstown or even Collinsville.”

  “Oh Toby, I’m so sorry. How are you dealing with the breakup?” I wanted to ask about what he’d said a few days ago, that he thought she might be seeing someone else, but I didn’t want to scare him off. It had taken him days to tell me this much.

  “I miss that little girl like crazy.” Toby arranged the cups. “But it’s over, so I guess I’d better deal with it. Hey, you don’t know of any apartments going up soon, do you?”

  “Did Josh rent out the second apartment next door?” My eyes drifted to the Antiques by Thomas building. Josh lived in one of the top floor apartments, but he had an extra.

  “Kyle’s living there now that he’s moved out from his mother’s house. I’d see if I could bunk with him, but he has a girlfriend who stays most nights.” Toby shrugged. “I’m sure I’ll find somewhere to stay. For the last couple nights I’ve been at the station. Greg’s been awesome about letting me crash there, but I need someplace I can sleep past six, since I get off patrol at two.”

  “You could stay with me.” The words were out before I really thought about it, but I did have a guest room and a second bedroom upstairs that had a bed in it. The guest room was probably too frilly for Toby’s taste, but he could get used to it until he had a place of his own.

  “Not an option. I don’t want to intrude on both of my bosses during our time off. I’d be out of one job or maybe both within the month. And I like working for you.” He grinned one of his special Toby Lady Killer smiles, but I could tell his heart wasn’t in it.

  “I was talking about the shed behind the garage. Miss Emily put a bathroom in with a shower. I guess she would get dirty painting and didn’t want to come into the house that way.” I was turning over the idea. I had initially meant the main house, but this was a much better idea. “You would have a private entrance from the driveway. It’s insulated, so you wouldn’t be cold, and it has a window air-conditioning unit when it gets hot. The only downside is that it doesn’t have a full kitchen, just a fridge.”

  Toby seemed to be considering it. “I have a microwave in storage and I could move my bed, couch, and dresser in, and leave most of the other stuff in storage. Except my television. That would definitely have to come along.” He watched one of his regulars climb out of her car, her stacked high heels making it hard for her to walk on the brick sidewalk. “Can I move in tonight?”

  “Of course. Just come by after you get off and I’ll give you a key. I don’t have much in there except some boxes of Miss Emily’s that I haven’t gone through yet. And we can put those in the loft.”

  “You’re sure it won’t be a problem?” Toby ran a hand through his hair. “I mean, we already spend a lot of time together, maybe this is a little too close.”

  I picked up my purse. “You’ll be doing me a favor. Greg wants to turn the place into a home gym. Now I have an excuse to put it off.” I nodded my head toward the woman applying lipstick in the window reflection before she entered the shop. “Although, if you’d rather ask one of your friends …” I let the implication hang for a second.

  “No way. I’m done with the dating life for a while. Elisa did a number on me, and I’m still not sure why we broke up. I really thought she was the one.” Toby let his smile drop, and I saw the pain in his face. “I’ll never again date someone with a kid. I’m going to miss that cupcake.”

  As the bell rang announcing his first customer, Toby put back on his fake smile and then nodded to me. “I’ll see you after my shift. Thanks for doing this. I really appreciate it.”

  “Just no wild parties. Emma will have a cow if there are too many people running back and forth.” I squeezed Toby’s arm and exited out the back into the office. Now I had another reason to stop by Greg’s office. I needed to tell him about Toby moving in before t
he gossip got there first. And maybe I could find out more about what was going on with Kacey’s murder investigation.

  I exited out into the back parking lot that held Aunt Jackie’s car and nothing else. Even when we were slammed by tourists in the summer, our back lot stayed open, mostly due to the fact the alley entrances were several blocks up and down the street. The town had blocked off several of the intersecting streets to build places for street vendors. Sometimes that made it hard to get out of the lot since tourists used the alleys for pedestrian walkways, but I rarely drove into town anyway.

  I touched the large cement planters surrounding the building, empty except for the dirt. Typically these would be planted with spring flowers by now, pansies and primrose, with a few bulbs in the middle. This year, because of the lack of rain, we were holding off planting. Hopefully the delay wouldn’t last all summer. I would hate to see South Cove without the flowers overrunning the planters that ran the length of Main Street.

  Thinking of the drought made me think about Josh and his water citation. I narrowed my eyes and stared at the building next door. If I hadn’t told Jackie to handle it, I would march right into his store and give him a piece of my mind. I turned and made my way through the narrow walkway that separated our two buildings. Glancing at the doorway of Antiques by Thomas, I realized the store was closed. Josh had cut his hours down for winter even more drastically than I had. Of course, maybe I got more coffee addicts and he was catering toward a more select clientele. And there was the thing about being less available making you more desirable. If anyone besides me worked the dead hours my shift typically held, I would be cutting my store’s open hours, as well, but I didn’t pay myself a salary. My monthly income was based on the profit margin. So the more hours I worked, the better for the bottom line.

  Well, Josh just avoided a butt chewing from me. Hopefully Jackie would take care of it before I had to say something. I knew I wouldn’t be as tactful as my aunt would be. I crossed the street and headed to the police station. The morning was warm and I could feel the sun kissing my upper arms that had gone pasty white over the winter. I wasn’t a big tanner. Sure, I’d sit out in the yard, but I didn’t have the patience to be totally committed to the cause. Besides, the swing on the shaded back porch was a perfect place to spend the sunny summer days reading.

  Maybe that would be my afternoon activity today. I had a new thriller in my bag that I’d scarfed off the advance reader copy pile that Jesse, my book salesman, had left last week when he’d come to visit. He came more often now that we were having a higher sales volume. And the happier he was with our sales, the more free books he left. The book in my purse was one of those big-name authors who had people writing his books for him. I’d been hooked on the first book in the series, so now I read everything this coauthor wrote. Readers are like that. You get attached to an author’s world building and you just want to stay in their reality.

  I was thinking about the love interest in the last book and wondering if the same character would be in this release when I ran into Greg coming out of the station. He dropped his file, and we both bent to pick up the papers before a gust of wind took off with them. I looked at the first page, and it was a warrant to arrest Austin. “What on earth are you arresting Austin for?” I shook the paper in front of him.

  “You weren’t supposed to read that.” He took the page out of my hand. “Seriously, Jill, how are you always in the wrong place at the wrong time?”

  “Maybe I’m at the right place at the wrong time?” I paused, rethinking my words. “Or the wrong place at the right time.” No, that wasn’t right, either. Now Greg was grinning at me. “Oh, you know what I mean. And you didn’t answer my question.”

  “I’m not arresting Austin. I’m going in to Bakerstown to try to talk John out of this. There is no way that guy killed Kacey, you and I both know it. But John is out for bear. He has something stuck in his craw about this case, and I’m going to find out what it’s all about.” Greg kissed me on the cheek. “Now, can I go, or do you need to confess something else about sticking your nose in my investigation?”

  “No. I was coming over to work my magic and get you to tell me something about the case.” I eyed the folder with the loose papers sticking out at all angles. “And I guess it worked.”

  “Your sleuthing methods are unscientific and yet, sometimes, successful.” He shook the file at me. “You know if I convince John that Austin isn’t the murderer, I’m going to have to figure out who really did kill Kacey.”

  “I have faith in you.” Besides, I was starting to think I could help somehow on the problem. I nodded to the other end of the street. “I guess I’ll head home then.”

  “I could drive you.” Greg tossed his keys in the air and caught them with his free hand.

  “I’ll walk. I might stop at Lille’s and get lunch before I head home.” I held my hands up. “Besides, it’s a beautiful day.”

  “Let’s just hope Sunday is as nice.” Greg turned toward the parking lot, where he’d parked his truck.

  “Sunday?” My question stopped him, and he turned around and pointed at me.

  “Do not tell me you’ve already forgotten. We’re going out with Justin and Amy to that geocaching club event. You are not stranding me with the treasure hunters.” He narrowed his eyes.

  “I forgot. Sorry.” I waved, then turned back. “One more thing?”

  Greg hadn’t moved from his spot. “Yes?”

  “Toby is going to move into the shed for a while. He needs a place to stay until the sublet on his lease is up.” I shrugged. “I guess we’ll have to put off that home gym remodel for a while.”

  “You did that on purpose,” Greg grumbled.

  I put my hand to my chest and widened my eyes. “I assure you, I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

  “Evil woman,” Greg muttered, then strode to his truck. “I’ll get back at you for this.”

  As I walked down the sidewalk, I decided I would stop at Diamond Lille’s for lunch. Looking in the storefront windows, I noticed the smile on my face. Yep, today was a good day.

  CHAPTER 16

  By the time I went to bed that Wednesday night, Toby was all moved into the shed. I had to admit, the building made an excellent bachelor’s pad. He put his bed in the loft, along with Miss Emily’s boxes. With Tim’s help, he had even moved a small dresser to the makeshift bedroom. Downstairs he had set up a television game room with a couch and a recliner, and even a small kitchen area, using a microwave stand next to the fridge and a table under the back window that looked out onto what might someday be the mission wall.

  I was impressed with his ability to quickly move in after rescuing most of his belongings from storage. He even had a coffeemaker for his morning java. Ten minutes after he unloaded the last box, I gave him the keys to the shed, and he disappeared for his shift at the police station. Emma and I returned to the big house, and I made a quick dinner of a frozen potpie and a bowl of ice cream. I took the ice cream upstairs after I’d eaten along with the book and started reading.

  The next morning I woke with the sun and stretched, enjoying the peace. Since this week, like last, I was working Aunt Jackie’s late shift and Aunt Jackie had agreed to take Saturday’s early shift, I had four mornings of no alarm bliss to look forward to. I stretched and dressed in my running clothes, giddy about my ability to sleep in late tomorrow. I’d pushed bedtime back last night, wanting to read one more chapter. Tonight I’d finish the book, no matter what time it was when it ended. I could get used to this schedule. Maybe I should make it a permanent change?

  Emma and I took off for the beach. The run was glorious. The waves pounded the shoreline, keeping time with the slap of my running shoes. Emma ran ahead, then back to me, then ahead again. When I realized the shape in front of us was actually a man walking toward us, though, I put her back on the leash.

  “Good morning, Miss Gardner.” Taylor Archer stopped in front of me, dressed in jeans and a sweat jac
ket. “I understand you and your friends will be joining in our fun on Sunday.”

  “That’s what I hear.” I scanned the far parking lot and saw a white van. “I didn’t realize you lived around here. It’s a great place to run in the morning before the beach gets busy.”

  He put his hands in his jeans pocket. “I’m not much of a runner, bad knees. But I do enjoy getting out and walking. It clears my head.”

  He stepped closer, and Emma growled low, back in her throat.

  Taylor stepped back. “I can see it’s going to take some time for us to make friends.” He looked up at me. “And you’re skeptical of me, as well.”

  “I wouldn’t say that.” Of course, I really would, but not to the guy’s face. I do have some manners.

  He looked past me. “I can be a really good friend.” His words dropped, like he really wanted to add, “or a bad enemy,” but maybe that was just a feeling I got.

  “I’m sure you can be …” I paused, looking for a word besides nice, which really didn’t describe the guy. Instead of responding, he put a hand up to wave me off and walked away. As I turned to watch him go, I saw what he’d been looking at: Bill and Mary Sullivan were walking toward us, holding hands.

  They nodded to Taylor and waved to me. As they approached, Emma lay down in the sand, wiggling her pleasure at seeing the two.

  “Hey, Jill.” Bill crouched down and petted Emma on the head. “Who’s the good girl?”

  Mary gave me a quick hug. “I haven’t seen you in weeks. How have you been? How’s Jackie? With this new committee, her job, and now Harrold, I barely get to talk to her.”

  “I’ve been good. Busy.” I watched as Taylor disappeared into the woods where the greenbelt started. It was only then that my shoulders sank, and I realized I had been holding my breath.