“Is that what Eli was meeting with him about last week?”
“Yeah,” Candice said. “He was concerned that he would get in our way, but Eli convinced him that we both wanted him to be here with us.”
“Sweetie, what in the world are you going to do with a farm?”
“We’re going to rent out the fields to the neighboring farmers, which will also help bring in more money, and the person who keeps his cows here has employees that stop by every day to milk them and take care of them. He’s going to pay us in milk, which Eli is going to use to make the ice cream for his shop—yet another thing that should bring in more money. And, of course, David can keep the brewery here as long as he wants. Plus, we’ll have plenty of room when we want to start a family a few years down the road.” She grinned at her mother, and finally Moira found herself smiling back.
“It sounds like you’ve really thought this through,” she said. “I’m happy for you.”
“You don’t like it, do you?” Candice said. “The house, I mean. I saw your face when you realized Eli and I had bought it.”
Moira sighed. “It’s not that I don’t think it’s a nice house. It really is; it’s big, well built, and looks beautiful. It’s just that I don’t have very many good memories here. You know what happened to Zander, and then what happened with the previous owner.”
“I know,” Candice said. “That doesn’t bother me, though. I don’t believe in ghosts or any of that. I think that we’ll make plenty of our own good memories here.”
“You know what? I think you’re right.” She pulled her daughter into a tight hug. “Congratulations, Candice. I’m so happy and excited for you and Eli. I really mean it.”
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
* * *
Moira and Candice joined the others at the card table where they were filling their plates with snacks. David shot her a smile, which she returned. It looked like Eli had filled him in. She knew that this must be great news for him. He wouldn’t have to worry any more about what would happen to the brewery. She had a feeling that he liked this place, despite all of the unfortunate things that had happened there. She would just have to try to do the same.
“So, Caroline, when do you go back home?” she asked, grabbing a paper plate and helping herself to some of the chips, salsa, and queso sauce.
“They’re dropping me off at the airport after this,” the dark-haired young woman said. “Hopefully I’ll be able to come back soon. I love it out here. I’m so happy for Candice.”
“Me too,” Moira said. “This is a nice house. I’m glad that she and Eli like it so much.”
It felt odd to think that this house would be her daughter’s, hopefully for many years to come. It still felt like a stranger’s house to her. She supposed that would change, given time. Once Candice moved her furniture in, along with her cat, Felix, it would probably start to feel more homey.
“What are you going to do with Reggie’s house?” she asked Eli as she reached for a can of pop.
“We aren’t sure yet,” he admitted. “He’s going to keep it for now. It’s paid off, and he can easily afford the property taxes. It doesn’t feel right to sell it, somehow. We may rent it out, preferably at a low price to someone we know. If Caroline ends up coming back like she’s planning, she can stay there until she gets on her feet.”
“It sounds like this is going to turn out perfectly for everyone,” she said, smiling.
“Candice, Eli, are the two of you expecting anyone else?” David asked. He was looking out the window, a chip halfway to his mouth.
“What? No. Is someone here?” Candice hurried over. “Oh, my goodness. I don’t believe it.”
“What?” Eli asked.
“It’s Alexa,” she said. “Your crazy ex. Why won’t she just leave us alone?”
“Seriously? She’s here?” He walked over to stand next to them.
Moira felt her stomach twist. Alexa, here, while the police were scouring the town for her. Had she come to finish off the job? Was she planning on hurting Candice?
“I’m going to go tell her this is unacceptable,” Eli said. He pulled open the door and strode outside. Candice hesitated, then followed him. Caroline trailed along behind the two of them with a shrug, as if she was just along for the show.
“Candice, wait—” Moira sighed. “I’m going to go make sure no one gets hurt. David, will you call the police and tell them that their suspect is here?”
“All right. I’ll be right behind you.”
She hurried out the door and followed the three younger people across the yard to where Alexa was busy attacking Eli’s car.
“Lex, calm down,” Eli said, approaching her. “What are you doing here?”
“I can’t—” she yanked one of the back doors open with a grunt “—believe—” she hauled a suitcase out of the back seat “—you chose her—” the suitcase’s contents went flying across the grass “—over me.”
“That’s my stuff!” Caroline yelped. Candice put a hand on her friend’s arm.
“Let him deal with it. I don’t think us getting closer would help.”
“David’s calling the police,” Moira told her daughter. “She might be dangerous. Eli should get back.”
“He knows what he’s doing,” Candice said.
At that moment, Alexa picked up something heavy from the spilled contents of the suitcase and hurled it at the car window, which shattered. Candice winced, and Caroline groaned.
“The statue I bought for my mom,” she said. “What is wrong with this chick?”
Eli was approaching her slowly, taking one cautious step forward at a time. “Alexa, can you please stop breaking my car? Let’s just sit down and talk about this.”
“What is there to talk about?” Alexa snapped. “You made it perfectly clear that you’d rather be with her than with me.”
“Yes, Candice is my fiancée,” Eli said. “And that’s not going to change. But attacking my car and destroying Caroline’s stuff isn’t going to help anything.”
“You’re right, she’s the one who needs to go.” Alexa threw something toward Candice, but it fluttered harmlessly to the ground just a few feet from her hand. A pair of socks.
“Hey, crazy,” Caroline shouted. “You better get this outta your system before the police come, or you’re going to be in even more trouble than you already are.”
“You called the police?” Eli’s ex wailed. “I just wanted to talk to him.” She aimed another kick at his car. Eli reached for her, but she twisted away and, sobbing, started running down the driveway. He heaved a sigh.
“I really should go after her,” he said reluctantly. “I think she’s probably parked down around the curve. I wouldn’t want her getting away.”
“I’ll come with you,” Candice said.
“No, I don’t want to risk her hurting you. If your mom’s right, she might be the one who stole your car and killed Josh. That means she’s dangerous.”
Reluctantly, Candice stayed back while Eli jogged away. Moira put a hand on her shoulder. “I’m going to go see what’s taking David so long,” she said. “I think Eli’s right, you should stay far away from Alexa.”
“C’mon, Candice, let’s go pet the cows or something. We’ll hear the police when they pull up. Eli will be fine.” Gently, Caroline guided her friend away. “Let the crazy girl be crazy somewhere else.”
Moira shot one last glance at where Eli and Alexa had vanished around the curve of the driveway, then began the trudge back up to the house. David pushed through the screen door and met her halfway.
“The police are on their way,” he said. “Sorry it took me a while. Jefferson had some information about the case.” He paused and looked around. “Where is everyone?”
“Alexa ran off, Eli followed her so she wouldn’t get away, and Caroline is trying to help Candice calm down, and also keep her away from Alexa,” she told him. She realized how completely things had spiraled out of control.
“
All right, I’ll go after Alexa and Eli. Which way did they go?” She told him. “Thanks. Will you stay here in case the police show up before we get back?”
She reluctantly agreed, knowing that he was right, but not liking the idea of letting him and Eli do all of the dangerous work. It wouldn’t feel right to just stand around and wait, but she couldn’t see any other option. They needed the police to help with Alexa.
“Be careful, all right?” she said. “I love you.”
“I love you, too.” He paused long enough to kiss her, then turned to hurry away.
“David,” she called out. He turned back to look at her. “What did Jefferson say about the case?”
“Nothing helpful,” he said. “The hair that they got off of the back of Candice’s seat was fake. It must have been from fake fur, on one of her coats or scarves or something.”
He raised one hand in a quick wave goodbye, then jogged down the driveway after Eli and Alexa. Moira watched him until her rounded the curve, then sighed and went to go and wait by the cars. She hated feeling so useless.
She leaned against the hood of Eli’s car, glancing occasionally toward the bend where her husband had vanished. Maybe this place is cursed, she thought. What has my daughter gotten herself into?
Too anxious to hold still, she began to pace. On her second circuit, something lying in the grass amongst the spilled contents of Caroline’s suitcase caught her eye. It was a limp yellow thing. At first she thought it was some sort of dead animal. As she got closer, she realized what it was. A wig. A blonde wig. The hair the police found was fake, she thought. Like faux fur… or a cheap wig.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
* * *
Could she possibly have been so wrong? She tried to remember every interaction she had had with Caroline since the girl had come back to Michigan. Had she missed something, some tiny clue that would have told her that the girl was out to get her daughter?
It doesn’t make sense, she thought. Why would someone that Candice considers one of her best friends try to frame her for murder? She looked down at the messy wig. Can there possibly be a good reason for Caroline to have a wig that matches my daughter’s hair color so perfectly? Try as she might, she couldn’t think of one. Hoping that she was very mistaken, she began walking toward the dairy barn.
The barn was filled with cows. They were lined up on either side of the center aisle, and blinked at her calmly as she walked by. She saw Candice and Caroline down at the far end, and relief swept through her. Her daughter was fine, for the time being at least.
As she strode toward them, a cow behind her let out a low moo. The girls turned and saw her. Candice waved and began walking to meet her.
“Did Eli find Alexa?” she asked.
“Not yet. David went to help him,” Moira said. “The police should be here soon.”
“Good,” her daughter said firmly. “I’m very ready for them to take her away.”
“Candice,” Caroline said. “It’s getting late. I don’t want to miss my flight.”
“What time is it?” Candice glanced at her phone and frowned. “I’m sorry, Caroline, I didn’t know all of this was going to happen. I don’t know what to do. I guess I could borrow Eli’s car and take you to the airport while everyone else deals with Alexa and the police, but that doesn’t seem fair to them. Would you be okay with a later flight?”
“There isn’t one, not until tomorrow.”
“Well, I guess I can go see if I can find Eli’s keys,” Candice said dubiously.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Moira said. She didn’t like the thought of Caroline getting one last chance alone with Candice. What if she decided to up the ante? If her new theory was right, then Caroline had already killed one person.
“Why not?”
“Well, I’m sure the police will need to talk to you,” she said.
“That’s true. If Alexa really is the one that stole my car, then we’re all going to need to talk to them.” Candice sighed. “I’m sorry, Caroline, but this is just too important. A man is dead, and I can’t miss my chance to help him get his justice. We’ll just have to switch your flight to tomorrow.”
Caroline reluctantly agreed. “Can we at least go and clean up my stuff before the police arrive?” she said. “I don’t want a bunch of strange men looking at my undergarments.”
“Sure.” Candice gave a cow one last pat. “I do feel better, thanks for making me walk away and regroup. I’ll help you clean up, then we can wait together for the guys to catch Alexa, or the police to get here, whichever happens first.”
Relieved that the two women wouldn’t be alone together, at least not until after the police arrived and could sort things out, Moira turned to go back the way she had come. She only made it a few steps before Caroline spoke up again.
“Hey, what’s that?”
She turned to see the young woman staring at her. Moira brushed a hand against her back pocket and felt the blood rush out of her face. The wig. She thought she had stuffed it in deep enough, but a few hairs were hanging over the edge of the pocket. She met Caroline’s gaze, and saw the younger woman’s eyes first narrow, and then widen.
“What’s what?” Candice asked, her voice light and curious. “Did you find something, Mom?”
“I…” The deli owner looked again at Caroline, trying to judge the girl’s reaction. “Yes, I did, Candice.” Deciding the truth was probably the best course of action, she pulled the rumpled wig out of her pocket and held it up in front of her with two fingers. “I found this in Caroline’s luggage.”
“I don’t understand. What is it?” Candice peered at the thing. “Is that a wig?”
Her mother nodded.
“You had no right to go through my stuff,” Caroline snapped. She stepped forward, reaching for it, but Moira took a matching step backward.
“I didn’t go through anything,” she reminded her. “It was lying on the grass. It fell out of your suitcase when Alexa was throwing stuff around.”
“It’s not mine,” the other woman said.
“I thought you just said I had no right to go through your stuff? Isn’t that implying that the wig is yours?”
Caroline glared daggers at her. “I must have packed it by accident. It must be from an old Halloween costume or something.”
“Candice, there was one thing that never made sense about Alexa stealing your car,” Moira said. “How would she have known how to hot-wire it? According to both the police and David, it wouldn’t have been an easy feat. Somehow she doesn’t strike me as the type to learn that sort of skill for fun.”
“What are you saying, Mom?” Candice looked between her mother and her friend. “What’s going on?”
“When you went to the convenience store the night you came home from the bar, did you bring your keys with you?”
“I don’t know,” Candice said. “I guess not. I wasn’t driving, and Eli had his keys. I don’t think I even brought my purse.”
“So, Caroline would have had access to your car key that night,” Moira said flatly. The dark-haired young woman was pale, but Candice’s face was beginning to flush as she put the pieces together. To the deli owner’s surprise, her daughter’s anger was directed not at her friend, but at her.
“Seriously, Mom? You’ve never liked Caroline. I knew you were going to do something like this. In fact, I’m surprised it took this long. You always thought she was a troublemaker. I’d hoped you’d have gotten over it by now.”
“Candice, I’m not saying any of this because of how I felt about her when you were kids,” her mother responded, hurt. “I actually felt terrible for trying to keep the two of you from being friends. I like her a lot now, or I thought I did before found this wig mixed in with her stuff.”
“She wouldn’t have any reason to steal my car,” Candice said. “Besides, I trust her. She’s my friend. I’m so sorry about this. I don’t know what my mom’s doing, but—” She turned to face her friend, then broke off mid-
sentence. Moira realized that she had taken her eyes off of Caroline for just a second too long. The girl had found a pitchfork, and was pointing it at her friend.
“Stay back, both of you,” she said. “Candice, where are Eli’s keys?”
“What are you talking about?” Candice snapped. “Don’t be ridiculous, Caroline. Put the pitchfork down. My mom’s not going to turn you in. We both know you didn’t do it, she’s just holding a grudge from way back when we used to get in trouble together.”
“You’re so stupid,” Caroline spat at her. “I’m not your friend. I only ever hung out with you back then because there was no one else around and you didn’t care about getting in trouble. I didn’t get why you kept trying to talk to me after I moved away. Half the time I never even answered you, but you just kept trying. How could you really think I cared?”
“Wha— Caroline, we were best friends.” Candice stared at the other woman, hurt etched across her face. “If you didn’t feel that way, why did you want to come out to visit?”
“You offered to pay for everything. Why would I turn a free trip down? I figured I’d keep in your good graces, have a good time, and maybe mooch a second trip out of you next year. It was actually kind of fun. I set up this whole persona for myself, and pretended to be the person you thought I was.”
“I thought you wanted to move back here. You wanted a job at the candy shop. We were going to let you live in Reggie’s house while you figured stuff out.”
“I was so insulted when you offered me a job. Like I want to spend my life working in a candy store for someone who’s barely older than me. I mean, the free house was a good deal so I went along with it.”
Glazed Ham Murder (The Darling Deli Series Book 20) Page 6
