She let out an exhausted sigh, “I should have known better.”
Harold, one of the café’s regular seniors whistled, “Hot dog, Junie! You look very nice today, all dolled up. You should dress like a woman more often, it suits you.”
Juniper looked up and gave Harold the evil eye. He could be sexist but they gave him a pass most of the time because he was older than Moses. Harold strolled up and leaned casually against the counter, taking a puff off his thin cigar.
“Careful, Harold or we’ll add you to the #metoo movement.” Juniper teased.
“Sounds like fun. Anything that involves me, you and movement.” He turned to Pike, “Coffee with cream and two sugars, sugar.”
Pike slapped her hand down on the counter, “Harold! Now, what are you doing? Get out of here with that filthy thing—and by that, I do mean your mouth and as well as your cancer stick.”
“Oh, come on, Pike, loosen up.”
“My goodness, you’re as bad as Eve, always pushing the limits and, anyway, quit flirting with Junie. You’re going to make Mabel jealous again. Look at her; she’s giving us a cut-eye from that corner booth. I do not need more of your drama in here. The last time you ticked her off, she just about chucked a coffee cup through my window.”
“It’s true,” Juniper said dryly, “And I do not— I repeat, I do not—want to make an enemy out of that woman, even if you are the second most handsome man in town.”
When Harold smiled, Pike gave a head tilt and motioned toward the door, “The cigar.”
Harold huffed and took himself outside. By the time he came back sans cigar, Pike had his breakfast ready for him.
“So, what’s new?” Pike asked as she took a sip of her coffee.
“I just wanted to give you an update. Your ghost says he knows who killed Belinda.”
“Oh my god, who?”
“He won’t tell me… yet. He’s making me jump through hoops first. That’s why I’m off to the historical society, to do his bidding.”
“So, that’s why you’re all dressed up. I’ve never seen you in anything outside of jeans when you’re working. He’s some kind of negotiator. I hope he moves out before I move in. I’m a terrible negotiator.”
“Apparently, so am I,” agreed Juniper. “I have a look at the rest of those newspapers. I’m trying to find out what happened to Victoria.” Juniper lowered her voice, “Maybe get more details on your resident ghost’s death.”
“I wish I could go along,” Pike said, “but Velma’s already covering the late shift.”
“Oh, I also wanted to let you know the electrician and plumber are in this week. Last chance to make changes to the layout.”
“I’m good. I liked all of your ideas and suggestions, and best of all, I liked how you stayed within my budget.”
Juniper grinned and unfolded some drawings. “Yes, that is an important component. Anyway, I’d like to go appliance shopping soon so we can get those ordered. Sometimes it takes a while and we don’t want them throwing off our timetable. Here’s what I’m thinking, style and size wise. Let me know by next week if I’m way off. Oh, and do you want me to go ahead with that furniture inventory we talked about?” Juniper asked.
“That would be great.”
Ten minutes later Juniper was finished with her coffee. She picked her bag up off the stool and slipped its strap cross ways over her shoulder. “Well, have fun. Try not to give Harold too much flack without me. If you recall, he is the best dancer in Bohemian Lake.”
“True, and that comb over is legendary. It just doesn’t move.”
“Are you mocking me?” Harold set down his doughnut and glared at Juniper and Pike through narrowed eyes.
Pike retorted, “Only a little… sugar.”
Chapter Sixteen
A s Juniper got behind the wheel, her cell phone rang. Life of a contractor, she thought. She clicked the button on her Bluetooth and said hello.
“I heard you found a body,” Professor Mick Spirit said over the phone. Mick was the head of the Planning Commission and an old friend of Jack’s. He also never wasted time with pleasantries unless he was talking to Nana Vianu who he had the hots for.
“Hey, Mick. I’m well, thanks for asking.”
“Sorry, you know I’m just an awkward old man on the telephone.”
And off the telephone, Juniper thought.
“Do you have time to swing by this morning? Grandpa Stone is here and he’s all fired up again—says he’s not leaving. He’s still got that bee in his britches over the mills rehab. Can you talk to him?”
Juniper didn’t resist rolling her eyes since no one was there to see her. From the first day she’d met with the Planning Commission to discuss Pike’s proposal for a few modest changes to the mill, Grant ‘Grandpa’ Stone had questioned her ideas and had worried aloud whether Juniper would destroy the town’s beautiful old landmark.
“Right now? You know Jack is the Grant whisperer, not me.” Juniper asked.
“Yes. I tried calling Jack, but he’s not picking up. I swear he’s going to have a heart attack over this thing if he doesn’t calm down.”
“We don’t want that, but I’m not sure I can do anything to help. We’ve gone around and around on this issue. Jack is the only one he listens to.”
“I know, but I’d appreciate your coming by if you can.”
“I’ll be there in ten minutes.”
“Thanks, kiddo.”
As she drove to the town hall, she thought about the best way to handle the crotchety old man. Grant was a centenarian. He’d just had his one hundredth birthday and, despite his age and the fact that he’d retired fifteen years ago, he still had a huge influence on the Planning Commission. Juniper was trying to be thoughtful of his age and his concerns, but all this arguing was starting to annoy her. She tracked down Mick in his cramped office and knocked on the open door. He glanced up. “Oh good. You’re here.”
“I wouldn’t get your hopes up. I’m no Jack.”
Mick chuckled, “I sure hope not. You make such a lovely Juniper.” He led her down a long hallway and into the large mahogany-paneled meeting hall. He gestured toward the old man.
“Hello, Mr. Stone.”
“Young lady,” he said, taking another step forward, supporting himself with a cane and moving slowly, yet with purpose.
A breeze could blow him over.
“I’ve come to talk to you,” he said. His voice was dry and low, like the rustle of leaves.
“Okay,” she said.
“Because you have to know the truth about that mill. It’s evil.”
“A house can’t be evil,” she said, staring firmly at him.
“Think whatever you want, but people do evil there because evil was done there before,” he told her gravely.
She didn’t know what to do. He was so old and looked so frail that she didn’t want to upset him, but his intensity and the craziness of his words were disturbing. She fought the urge to walk away.
He took another step closer to her. “You must listen. It’s important. You can do something, you can…communicate with them. You need to find out the truth and stop it from happening again. But first things first, you have to stop your work. I’m telling you right now, someone is going to get hurt in there if you don’t.”
“We have stopped working there,” Juniper said sharply. “But only for the moment. We found a dead body inside the house.”
His eyes blinked and his hands shook. “A . . . a body? You found her, then? She was killed… ” He worked his jaw back and forth and rubbed his hand over his mouth a few times, clearly uneasy.
He blinked again and continued to mumble, but Juniper couldn’t understand him.
Juniper regretted her outburst. Grant was an old man and obviously couldn’t take that kind of shock. But he’d said something about a body. Had he been around when Belinda was killed?
“Grant, do you remember seeing someone hanging around inside the old sawmill? A girl, maybe? Someon
e who didn’t belong there?”
He stared at her for a few long seconds, as if he didn’t know her. A moment later, the haze cleared from his eyes and he was glaring at her again. “That house is evil and it will hurt somebody else.”
Her shoulders sagged a little. Hearing him say the same things he’d been repeating made her concerned that his mind was slipping. “The evil remains, it resides inside those walls,” he said.
He was in his dotage, she told herself. She should call his grandson, Oliver to calm him. The problem was that just when Juniper was about to feel sorry for him being nonsensical, he would turn all cantankerous about the mill because his Uncle Almer had owned it once upon a time and he considered himself an expert. He was also a stickler for the most obscure Historical Society rules and procedures, which he’d probably devised just to be difficult.
Juniper wanted to be kind to the old man, but he had tried her patience to the limit. She pulled out the chair next to him and sat down. “This is our company. Now, it looks like you don’t trust us to do a good job on the mill and you’re letting everybody in town know about it. Are you trying to ruin our business?”
Juniper caught the distress in his expression as he leaned back away from her. “I’m not ruining your business.”
“But you’re bad-mouthing us around town,” Juniper explained. “What if some homeowner gets wind of it? Do you think they’ll ever hire us?”
“Now see here, young lady.” He wagged his finger at her. “I have nothing but respect for you and Jack, and your business is doing just fine. My concern is with the old sawmill.”
“That’s my concern, too.”
“Good. Then we’re agreed.”
Juniper frowned. “Okay.”
“So, you’ll leave it alone.”
“What? No.” Juniper shook her head to clear it. “No. The project is already underway.”
He threw his hands up. “Then it’ll kill someone.”
And they were back to where they’d started. This was the same argument she’d been having with him for weeks.
His jaw clenched so tightly, Juniper thought he might break a tooth. She hated to see him so angry.
“Mr. Stone, I don’t want to argue about this anymore. All I can do is promise that no one will be hurt. My construction crew is very prudent and we follow all safety procedures and guidelines.”
His lips shook slightly as he spoke and he pointed a finger at her, the effect was eerie enough to make her shiver.
“You’ll find out the truth. The evil in this house will keep coming back unless you stop it.”
Juniper didn’t know whether to run away screaming or shake the old man and make him see that he was wrong, that the old mill wasn’t cursed or evil. It was just a structure.
But she didn’t want to hurt him, not even his feelings. Before she could speak again, or make up her mind what to do, they were interrupted by a voice.
“Grandpa? Oh, dear God. Grandpa, where are you?”
The voice was feminine, and clearly concerned.
“We’re in here!” Juniper called.
She heard footsteps, and then, coming up the hall she saw a woman with shoulder length, wavy mocha brown hair, a classically beautiful face and slightly tilted cat’s eyes much like Oliver’s.
She set an arm gently around Grant’s shoulders and looked at Juniper apologetically. “I’m so sorry. Mick just called me. We were out walking, and Grandpa wanted a tea. When I ran inside Pike’s to get it, he walked off on me.” She flashed Juniper a hopeful smile. “I am so, so sorry. I hope he wasn’t to hard on you.”
“It’s all right. We were just talking,” Juniper said.
The woman looked relieved as she offered Juniper a hand. “I’m his granddaughter, Crystal Stone. I’m just visiting.”
“Your Bruce’s daughter then?”
“Yes, and Oliver’s sister and Grandpa’s all-around favorite grandchild. Right?” She turned to him as she spoke, and he nodded.
“And standing right here,” Mr. Stone said flatly. “You needn’t talk about me like I’m deaf. I came to see Ms. Palmer because she needed to hear the things I know.”
Crystal lowered her head for a moment, then looked back up at Juniper. “It’s this business about the missing girl. He’s always hated that property,” she explained.
“It’s perfectly all right,” Juniper said. She stepped forward and took one of Mr. Stone’s hands. “Come by the mill anytime, Mr. Stone and check things out for yourself if you’re worried.”
A look of gratitude lit Crystal’s eyes. “You’re very kind and understanding.”
“It’s fine, seriously,” Juniper said. “And I mean it, your grandfather is more than welcome to come back and see me anytime.”
“Thanks,” Crystal said. “Right now, though, he—we—need to get back. He’s due for his medication, and timing is important.”
Grant was staring intently at Juniper.
“I didn’t mean to upset you,” he said. “But you believe me, don’t you?” he implored suddenly. “‘It’s happening again.”
“Grandpa, we really have to go,” Crystal said.
Grant nodded, but he was still staring at Juniper. “It’s all right. I’ll go. Juniper knows. And she’ll find out the truth.”
Chapter Seventeen
J uniper finally made it back to the Old Mill where a ladder was perched in the wide-open space and streaks of colors were splashed across the walls. Splotched drop cloths covered every inch of floor space. Green painter’s tape masked the edges of all the windows. The place was one giant unicorn at the moment.
“Hey, boss,” Arlo said from atop the ladder. “Ceiling should be ready to paint anytime.”
“Great. Has Pike chosen the color scheme she wants in here?”
“She’s leaning toward dusty rose and charcoal grey but lime green and pale pink is still an option.”
“What about the bedroom?”
“She’s still stuck between ultraviolet, turquoise and marigold, or hot pink and mint green.
Juniper laughed. “She’s enjoying the rainbow. She’s already doing orchid and gold in the guest bedroom so tell her I said no more purple.”
“You tell her. I don’t want her cutting off our doughnut supply,” he said, grinning.
Things felt peaceful as Juniper walked through the house, checking on the work they’d done so far.
When Pike came by later to check out the progress, the guys had all gone home, but Juniper was there, all alone, completely wrapped up once again in the job of removing wallpaper.
“Junie?”
“What?” Juniper flinched a little, which told her how zoned out she’d been. “Hey, Pike.”
“You’re still working?”
Juniper stared at the wall and the progress she’d made, then back at her. “I guess I am.” Juniper climbed down the ladder, picking curly pieces of wallpaper slivers off her shirt and tossing them into the large trash bag nearby.
Pike gazed around the room. “You’ve gotten so much done.” With a smile, she said, “You look tired.”
“Just what every girl wants to hear,” Juniper said, and laughed. “But, yeah, I really am tired.”
Pike set her purse and a small grocery bag on the utility table They’d set up near the foyer archway. “What’s going on besides the dead body?
Twilight had come, and the shadows were deepening, and Grant’s characterization of the mill suddenly reverberated in her mind.
She reminded herself that she didn’t believe a building could be evil. Even so, she found herself unnerved.
Suddenly she didn’t want to be there any longer. She felt inexplicably afraid to turn around, afraid to look in the corners and see what might be lurking there.
She grabbed her purse and waved the question away. “It’s not worth talking about.”
“Of course, it is. Come back to the shop and have a glass of wine with me.”
Juniper hesitated, then said, “Well, I can h
ardly refuse an offer of wine, but only if you agree to choose paint colors. We really need to get started on that tomorrow.”
***
Juniper carefully pulled the truck into the driveway of the Gothic Inn and was pleased to see Jack standing there.
“Are you on your way out?” She asked after climbing out of the truck.
“No, I just got home and saw your headlights coming, so I thought I’d wait for you.”
“Oh, I’m just headed across the road to Pike’s to have a drink. She showed up at the Mill. I’m going to force her to choose a color scheme.”
He laughed and wrapped his arm around her shoulder. “You’re the only one who could,” His hug felt so warm and so right. The wind had picked up, and she snuggled even closer to him as he walked her in the direction of the cafe. “I feel like I haven’t seen you much lately,” he said. “Is everything all right?”
“Sure,” Juniper said casually, then reconsidered. “Well, actually, between the ghost and the dead body, it’s been a lot.”
“I know,” he said. “That’s a lot of stuff going on. And I want to hear every last detail, but I know you need to have some girl time. So, I’ll meet you upstairs after?”
“That sounds amazing,” Juniper said, shoving all thoughts of ghosts and skeletons to the far regions of her brain.
“Good.” He walked her to Pike’s front door and waited until she turned the handle, then kissed her on the cheek. “Text me before you leave and I’ll watch for you.”
Juniper found Pike in the back kitchen of Cookies and Corsets as she set out a smorgasbord of snacks and pulled a bottle of cabernet from the cupboard. They sat at the island and Pike handed her a glass. “Now take a sip or two and then tell me why you’re perpetually frowning.”
Juniper must’ve been ready to talk, because once she started, she couldn’t seem to stop. She told her all about her conversation with Grant, the ghost and gave her a brief history of what she learned at the historical society. And by her second glass of wine, they’d moved on and were laughing over Barbara’s idiocy. It felt good to laugh given the events of late.
Crumb Cake, Corpses and the Run of the Mill Page 7
