“You earned it,” Fiona said as she paused behind a chair. “You work so incredibly hard here, and you treat each customer as if he or she is very important, which most people don’t do. My sales have been much better since you started working here, and my young adult section is in constant flux. I love it. You’ve brought the store to more people than I ever did on my own.”
“I doubt if it has anything to do with me,” Holly said, trying to pass off some of the credit. “I think a lot of it has to do with this incredible place. It’s so relaxing here.”
“Well, I know it’s better with you here. That’s all I’m saying,” Fiona said as she finished rearranging the chairs. “If you don’t want to be here for the book club discussion tonight, you can go through the books in the back. I have a few boxes of new arrivals that came in the other day, and if you want to process them, that would be fine. You know the routine. I’ll let you know when we’re finished, so you can talk to Jodi.”
Holly nodded. “I think that would be for the best. I thought I might look a little odd trying to participate when I clearly hadn’t read the book.”
“That’s what I thought too,” Fiona said with a nod. The bell over the door rang, just as they heard the sound of voices. “Looks like they’re starting to show up. See you afterwards.”
Holly took one last look at her special little spot on the table before slipping around the counter and going into the back room. She didn’t want to be a distraction for the group. She found the boxes in the back that Fiona had mentioned and opened them. They were stuffed full with new releases and a couple of older books that had been popular.
She sat down, made herself comfortable, and began sorting the books and getting them ready to go on the shelves. Placing the books in stacks, Holly entered each one of them into Fiona’s system. Slowly but surely, she started to make progress.
“Psst, Holly,” Fiona said as she stuck her head through the door a while later. Surprised, Holly looked up. “You must have been in the zone,” Fiona said as she stepped through the doorway. “I said your name twice.”
“Oh, sorry,” Holly said, shaking her head. “I must have been lost in my thoughts. I always find it to be a little Zen when I do this part.”
“Well, the book group is breaking up, so if you want to talk to Jodi, now would be a good time,” she said. “She’s browsing through some books while everyone clears out. I’m sure she won’t mind if you talk to her.”
Holly nodded and pushed back her chair. Making sure she had her phone with the photo of the coat displayed on it, she headed to the front of the store. She saw a group of three women chatting and giggling as they pushed open the front door and stepped out into the evening air.
There was one woman roaming through the romance section that Holly thought must be Jodi. She was taking her time as she browsed, pulling book after book from the shelves, only to replace it after scanning the back of it.
“Excuse me,” Holly said as she approached the woman. “Are you Jodi Jenkins?”
“Yes, that’s me,” the woman said turning toward her. The woman was taller than Holly had expected, with light blonde hair and an ivory complexion. “Can I help you?”
“I hope so,” Holly began. “My name is Holly Lewis. I’m trying to find the person who donated this coat to the coat drive held by the church.” She pulled her phone out to show Jodi the photo.
Jodi peered at the photo closely and then shook her head. “I didn’t donate that one. I did drop off one that looked a lot like it, but not exactly. Why? What’s wrong?” The woman looked concerned.
“Nothing’s wrong. I found something in the coat and wanted to return it to the person who donated it, that’s all,” Holly sighed.
“I’m sure that’s been a lot of work, trying to track someone down,” Jodi said as she returned her gaze to the books. “Why even bother, if I may ask?”
“Long story short, I thought that whoever donated the coat didn’t realize they’d left something in it. I’m just trying to help out,” Holly explained. “Thanks for your time.” Disheartened, she closed her phone and slipped it into her back pocket.
“Don’t give up. What you’re doing is really nice. I’m sure when you find the person, they’ll be extremely grateful,” Jodi said giving her a small, encouraging smile.
“I’m trying not to get discouraged, but this is turning out to be a lot harder than I expected,” Holly admitted as she fiddled with the books on the shelf in front of her.
“Anything worth doing is usually harder than you think,” the woman pointed out. “At least, that’s what my mother always told me.”
Holly nodded and thanked Jodi again before helping Fiona put the chairs back. Fiona gave her a reassuring half smile, having overheard the conversation. Holly had really been expecting Jodi Jenkins to be the one. After all, the initials seemed to match. Now the only one left was Leslie Cole. Could it be that she was the one who donated the coat, even though the initials weren’t the same?
Holly didn’t want to think too hard about it right now, because she could feel tears of frustration threatening to slip out. No, she wasn’t giving up, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t getting a little worried that she’d never locate the person.
Jodi chose the books she wanted to purchase and walked up to the counter. Fiona rang up her items, placed them in a bag, and handed it to her. After Jodi had left, Fiona walked over to Holly and put her arm around her shoulder.
“It’s just a bump in the road,” Fiona reassured her. “You still have one more person to talk to, and now I remember where I’ve seen her the most.”
“Where’s that?’ Holly asked.
“At church,” Fiona said happily. “She goes there every Sunday morning, like clockwork. I can introduce you to her, if you’d like me to.”
Holly felt the weight lift off her chest that had settled there after finding out that Jodi wasn’t the one. “That would be great, but I don’t know if she’s the one. The initials on the coat were different from hers,” Holly said with a groan.
“She’s engaged to a guy who has kids. Maybe that’s why? I don’t know, but you can always ask her,” Fiona pointed out. “What do you have to lose?”
Holly knew she was right. She couldn’t quit now. If she came this far and didn’t bother to speak with the last person on her list, that would be the stupidest thing she could do. No, she had to speak with Leslie. There was no way around it.
Slowly, Holly began to nod. “You’re right. I’ll sit with you at church Sunday morning. I’m sure Brigid plans on going. She doesn’t miss very often.”
“Well if she decides not to go, just give me a call. I’ll swing by and drive you. We’ll get to the bottom of this, no matter what it takes. But I’m telling you, I think you’re going to find what you’re looking for very soon. I can feel it in my bones,” Fiona said as she rubbed her hands over her arms.
“You think?” Holly asked. “Are you still going to that women’s circle? Is that where this intuition is coming from?”
“I don’t know,” Fiona laughed. “Maybe. I still go occasionally, but ever since I became pregnant, I feel like I’m more in tune with the things that are happening around me. It’s weird. Maybe it’s all in my head,” she said as she went to the front door and locked it before flipping over the open sign.
“You never know,” Holly shrugged. “Either way, I hope you’re right. I know I’m being impatient, but I’m really anxious to get to the bottom of this whole thing.” She straightened the small items around the register as Fiona came back over and removed the cash from the register.
“Try not to stress over it. Things will work out exactly as they’re supposed to,” Fiona said gently. “There’s no need to let things you can’t control begin to control you.”
“I’ll try, but I can’t make any promises,” she said as she followed Fiona to the back room where she stored the cash in a small safe.
“I know exactly what will help,” Fiona said as sh
e placed the cash drawer inside the safe and locked it. “A hot fudge sundae.”
“I don’t think Myrt’s Ice Cream Parlor is still open,” Holly said as she looked at her phone.
“Yeah they are,” Fiona said confidently. “But only if we hurry. Come on, my treat.”
“You don’t have to ask me twice,” Holly said as she quickly followed Fiona to her car. She’d learned early on that when Fiona was in the mood for something, you better keep up or you’d get left behind.
CHAPTER 16
Brigid decided to skip church and stay home, so on Sunday morning Holly jogged out to Fiona’s waiting car in the driveway.
“Thanks for picking me up,” Holly said as she climbed into Fiona’s car.
“Not a problem,” she said with a grin. “I like having someone to ride with me. Sometimes I wish Brandon would come to church with me, even if he is of a different faith. I tried explaining to him that Jordan’s services aren’t heavy on religion, but he’s stuck on not attending. It’s not that big of a deal, but as I said, sometimes I like a little company.”
“You can always give me a call,” Holly said as they backed out of the driveway. “I don’t have any problem going with you if you need someone, and as you know, sometimes Brigid goes too.”
“I’ll keep it in mind,” Fiona said, smiling over at Holly. “Are you excited to get this over with?”
“Yes,” Holly said. “Even when I talk on the phone with Wade, it seems like the conversation eventually finds its way back to all of this. I’m ready to put it all behind me.”
“Didn’t you tell me Wade was looking for a part-time job?” Fiona asked as she drove.
“Yeah, he’s got a car, but now he has to find a job,” Holly nodded.
“Brandon was saying something about posting an ad looking for help. I told him I thought Wade was looking for a job, and he said if he was interested to have him go out to the lodge and talk to him. He’s looking for someone he knows he can count on. I think it’s mainly keeping the area around the lodge clean and things like that. He has a tough time finding people who will actually clean up and not just pretend they’re doing it,” she explained.
“No problem. I’ll send him a message later and let him know. Thanks, Fiona,” Holly said happily. “I’m sure Wade will jump at the chance.”
When they got to the church, Fiona pulled into an empty spot along the street. After climbing slowly out of the car, Fiona and Holly walked inside and found a seat.
“It’s hard for me to see if Leslie’s already here or not,” Fiona said as she craned her neck to look. “We may have to look for her after the service.”
“Hopefully she didn’t skip out today,” Holly said, worried. That would be just my luck, she thought. The one day I need to speak to her she decides to stay home or something.
“I doubt it,” Fiona said shaking her head. “Leslie is almost always here. I think the only times she’s ever missed was when she was sick or the weather was really bad. Otherwise, she’s always here.”
The service started and Holly became distracted by the message Jordan, the church’s pastor, was trying to convey. He was explaining how everyone should always strive to be the best person they could be. He said no one should ever be judged by their outward appearance or by the mistakes in their past, because everyone is learning and growing every minute, which means they’re no longer the people they were yesterday.
Holly liked that idea, but she also found it a little disheartening. There were certain people in her life she wasn’t sure she could ever like, so did that mean she wasn’t a good person? But as the sermon continued, Jordan explained how God would understand if we struggled with forgiveness, and that everyone should strive to do their best, whatever that seemed to be for them that day.
As she looked around at the people sitting nearby, Holly wondered about each of them. Did they struggle like she did? Did they have people they weren’t sure they could ever forgive? One person Holly truly despised was her mother’s killer. She tried not to think about how her mother had lost her life at the front of the very room she was in now.
Some people might think that fact would make a person want to avoid the church, but for Holly it felt like her mom had become a part of it, and that anytime she felt a need to speak with her mother, she could do it here. Sometimes she could even still see her mother’s bowed head in the front pew.
When she’d started getting sober, Holly’s mom had come to the church often when she was struggling to overcome her addiction. She’d said it was the only place she could make the anxiety of wanting a drink or another hit ease up. Once she’d told Holly she believed it was because she was in the house of God and He took care of everyone who entered His house.
Holly wasn’t sure if that was true or not, but she liked to think it was. And if it was, then hopefully He could help her out with the pill predicament she found herself in. Before long, the service was over.
“There she is,” Fiona said nodding towards a woman who was standing against the wall of the church, waiting for the aisle to clear so she could go outside. She was wearing a simple floral dress with a dark blue background, her light brown hair hanging straight above her shoulders.
Jordan had finished his sermon and everyone was milling about, chatting and catching up with one another. Most of the congregation had exited the church and were talking out on the lawn. “We can probably catch her once we make it outside.”
Holly nodded and they started shuffling toward the aisle. The sound of dozens of quiet conversations filled the church as everyone milled about.
“You said she’s engaged to someone who has kids?” Holly asked Fiona as they made their way to the exit.
“Yeah, but I can’t remember who it is. She’s mentioned he has two daughters. I think one is about your age, and the other one is somewhere around middle school age,” she said. A person nearby drew Fiona’s attention and began to talk with her about the book they’d recently bought from the store.
Holly was trying to listen politely, but found her attention wandering. She simply couldn’t find a nonfiction book about what foods you should eat interesting. She’d read a lot of things, but that subject held no interest at all for her.
Eventually, they stepped out of the interior of the church and into the warm sunlight. The air smelled crisp and fresh as they scanned the crowd for Leslie. Holly had started to think they’d missed her when Fiona spotted her.
“There she is,” Fiona said pointing. “She’s sitting on the bench over there under the tree.”
Navigating through the groups of people clustered outside the church, they eventually worked their way over to where Leslie was sitting.
“Good morning, Leslie,” Fiona said as they approached. ‘How are you this morning?”
“Oh, Fiona!” she cried out as she stood up. “I’m great. How are you? You’re getting so big!” she exclaimed as she hugged her.
“That I am,” Fiona sighed. “I swear every morning when I wake up my stomach has grown another inch, but I love it, even though there are some aches and pains. I don’t care if I gain fifty pounds by the end of it. I know it will be worth it,” she said with a smile.
“I bet,” Leslie sighed. “I can’t wait to have children of my own. Not that I don’t adore Joe’s girls, but I can only imagine that having a baby grow inside of you is a completely different thing.”
“Leslie, this is Holly. Holly, this is Leslie,” Fiona said as she introduced them. “Holly is basically my niece. She’s been living with my sister after her mother passed away.”
“I’m sorry to hear that,” Leslie said as she gave Holly a sympathetic look. “But you found your way into a wonderful family. Fiona is just the best,” she said with a grin.
“She certainly is,” Holly said politely. “I don’t know what I’d do without her and Brigid.”
“Holly was helping Missy with the church’s coat drive recently, and she came across something in one of the coats. We thi
nk it may have been a coat you donated,” Fiona explained as Holly pulled out her phone.
“I did donate quite a few old coats,” Leslie said as she took the phone from Holly. She zoomed in on it in order to look closely. “Yes, I’m pretty sure I donated this one. It came out of one of the girls’ closets, but to be honest, I’m not sure which one.”
Holly couldn’t believe what her ears were hearing. She’d finally found the person who had dropped off the coat. “That’s fine,” Holly said. “I just wanted to get in touch with the coat’s owner,” she explained.
“You can come by later today if you’d like,” Leslie said. “We’re staying home, so we’ll be there all day.”
“That would be wonderful, thank you,” Holly said cheerfully. “I have to work until 2:00 this afternoon, but I could swing by after that, if that’s okay with you.”
Leslie handed her back her phone and nodded. “That would be perfect. Wow, I can’t imagine the trouble you must have gone through to find out who owned the coat. I’m sure you had your work cut out for you.”
“It wasn’t too bad,” Holly said easily. Now that she was almost there, it didn’t seem that bad, after all. Suddenly she was wondering why she’d been so stressed out about the entire process.
“We live at 233 Bridge Street,” Leslie said. “I’ll keep it to myself that you’re coming, though. Might as well surprise whoever it is, if they even know they’re missing something. I swear, kids just leave things everywhere. I don’t know how they keep track of everything!”
The conversation changed to Fiona’s pregnancy, and they chatted about the service Jordan had held that morning. Meanwhile, Holly wondered who the pills had belonged to. She hated the idea that someone her age could be abusing pills. But the thought that it might be a middle school aged girl was even worse. At that point, Holly wasn’t sure what she should be hoping for.
Eventually she resigned herself to the fact that she’d have to just wait and see. She hoped they didn’t completely deny it, but even if they did, maybe the fact that she’d stepped forward out of concern for them would make a difference. She knew that small actions could have a ripple effect, and maybe that would be enough.
Holly Lewis Mystery series Box Set Page 22
