by J. B. Lynn
“So again,” she said with some frustration, “I’ll ask what you’re doing here.”
“I wanted to talk to you.”
“About what?”
He shook his head, a sad smile playing at his lips. “It doesn’t really matter. I just wanted to talk to you.”
Amanda frowned. She didn’t understand what the man wanted. She didn’t understand what he was doing here. “Well, I’m very busy,” she said.
He glanced around the customer-less store. “Oh, I can see that.”
“I have inventory and things to do like that,” Amanda told him. “So, if you don’t have something that you’re looking for…”
“Oh, there’s something that I’m looking for,” the man said.
“Well, then just tell me what it is, and I’ll see if we have it for you,” Amanda said with a hint of annoyance.
“What’s your name?” the man asked.
Amanda considered not telling him. But that would have been bad business. “Amanda,” she said. “I’m one of the…” She hesitated for a moment before finishing her sentence. “I’m one of the new owners of this shop.”
“So I’ve gathered.”
“So, if there’s something I can help you with…?”
“You’re not going to ask me my name?” the man teased. “Where are your manners, Amanda?”
Despite herself, Amanda smiled a little. “You’re right,” she admitted. “My manners are lacking. It’s been a long few days.”
He nodded sympathetically. “I understand. Death is never easy.”
“So, what is your name?”
He stood, bowed, and said, “Rupert. Rupert Graves.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Rupert.” Amanda crossed the store, still keeping the shirt between herself and the man, but extending her hand so that he wouldn’t accuse her of not partaking in any other social niceties.
He looked at her offering and chuckled. “I don’t think so.”
“Now which one of us is being rude?” she asked.
“I’m not being rude,” he said with a smile. “I really do hope you’re not the fainting kind.”
Before Amanda could figure out what that even meant, whether it was a threat of some sort, their hands touched.
Except, they didn’t. Her hand passed right through his.
She blinked, unable to make sense of it.
She wondered if the lightning strike had done more damage to her than she realized.
She tried again, reaching for his hand, but couldn’t touch it.
“Breathe,” he suggested as she started to hyperventilate. “You just need to breathe, Amanda.”
Amanda looked into his eyes and saw a mixture of amusement and concern shining in them.
“I don’t understand,” she whispered.
“Like I said,” he said with a wry smile, “death is never easy.”
Amanda swayed unsteadily on her feet, and Rupert indicated she should sit in the velvet chair. She practically collapsed into it as her mind raced to make sense of what she was encountering.
“You’re a ghost?” she asked incredulously.
He nodded. “Smart girl. I knew you were interesting.”
“But—” The bell over the door jangled, pulling her attention away from him.
Detective Tom Keller stepped into the store, his expression grim. He held out a piece of paper.
Amanda was pretty sure it didn’t contain good news.
15
Beatrice told herself that the reason she had butterflies in her stomach was because she was transporting the stolen purse out of One Woman’s Junk. But that wasn’t quite true. Just being so near Ash Costin was enough to make any girl swoon, she told herself. Not only was he handsome and polite, he’d showered and now smelled like soap and man instead of varnish and sawdust.
“I hope you have room for the chair in your car,” Beatrice said nervously.
“I transport furniture,” Ash teased. “I’m pretty sure I can find a place to fit it in.”
He rolled her over to his truck and held out a hand. “Let me put that inside for you.”
Beatrice shook her head, clutching the denim purse to her even more tightly. “I’ve got it.”
Ash shrugged. “Whatever you say.”
Without any warning, he bent down and scooped her up out of the chair.
She practically swooned. She couldn’t remember the last time a man had just picked her up like that.
He gently placed her in the passenger seat of his truck like she was a piece of fragile china he was terrified of cracking. “I’ll help you put the seatbelt on in a sec.”
Leaving her there, he busied himself with stowing the wheelchair in the back.
Beatrice took advantage of the momentary reprieve from his presence and forced herself to take some long, slow deep breaths. They didn’t do much to slow her heartbeat, which was now racing like she’d imbibed an entire pot of coffee in five minutes. It didn’t do anything to help her nerve endings, which had all seemed to explode at once when he touched her.
He closed her door then walked around and climbed into the driver’s seat. True to his word, he reached over her and helped her put the seatbelt on. “We don’t need you having any more accidents.”
She felt herself blush, the heat searing her cheeks, and looked away.
If he noticed, he didn’t say anything. He just started the truck and began driving down the street. “So, what would you like to see? Shopping? The beach? I could show you the marina.”
“Dead Bug,” she blurted out.
He glanced over at her. “Excuse me?”
“I’d really like to go to Dead Bug,” she repeated. “I need to see where Letty...”
Ash hesitated for a moment.
She imagined this was not how he’d envisioned them spending their first date.
After a long moment, he cleared his throat. “I don’t think you mean Dead Bug. I think you mean Red Bug.”
“Okay,” she agreed. “Maybe when Sandy said it, I misheard.”
He nodded. “Okay, I’ll take you there. But, to be honest, I don’t know how far we’ll get. We had that storm last night and it isn’t exactly designed to be handicapped accessible.”
She winced at being called handicapped. Even though she knew her condition was only temporary, she found her limitations frustrating.
“If it’s too much trouble…” she trailed off. “I’m sure the marina would be lovely.”
He shook his head. “I can understand why you want to see where Letty collapsed.”
“Thank you,” she murmured quietly.
“I’ll do my best to help you,” he pledged. “But like I said, don’t get your hopes up. I really don’t know if we’ll be able to get you in there.”
He made small talk as they drove across town. He seemed to be careful not to ask her any questions, just pointing out some of the sights. “That’s the best taco place,” he said. “And that right there, if you ever need to rent a kayak, that’s the place to get it. I know the owner. His name is Tom. A little strange, but really good at what he does.”
Finally, Beatrice felt compelled to ask him something. “How well did you know Letty?”
He shrugged, spinning the steering wheel. “She was a good neighbor. We didn’t have that much in common except we both have stores in the plaza. She liked to come in and watch me work.”
Beatrice nodded, staring at the scenery that was whizzing by. She wouldn’t mind watching the man beside her work.
“How well did you know her?” Ash asked.
It was a strange question, and Beatrice glanced at him sharply. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“I mean, I know she was very proud of you all,” he said. “But most people aren’t that close with their godchildren.”
“Most godparents don’t take their duties as seriously as she did,” Beatrice said softly. “My parents died only a few months after I was born.”
“I’m sorry,” Ash sai
d softly.
“Letty took us in. All three of us,” Beatrice explained. “She raised us.”
“So I guess that means you knew her pretty well,” Ash said with a note of self-recrimination. “I shouldn’t have opened up my big mouth.”
“No,” she replied. “It’s a fair question. You have the right to be curious.”
“Here we are,” Ash announced, pulling into a small parking lot.
Beatrice surveyed the area, confused. “This is Red Bug?”
He nodded. “It’s not much. Just a little nature preserve. Hiking trails, fishing and trees.”
“It doesn’t look like a place Letty would go,” Beatrice said, really confused. “She loved the sand. She loved the beach. She wasn’t a fan of trees.”
Ash shrugged. “This is where I heard she was found. Do you still want to check it out?”
“If we can,” Beatrice said doubtfully. He hadn’t been exaggerating. It didn’t look like a place that had any kind of wheelchair-friendly accessible paths. It looked wild and overgrown.
“Let’s see what we can do,” Ash said.
He got out of the truck, removed her wheelchair, scooped her up, and placed her into it. “You want to take the purse with you?” he asked, obviously confused by her white-knuckled grip on it. “We could leave it in the truck.”
Beatrice shook her head. “No, I’m taking it with me.”
It was a bumpy ride down a lightly graveled path. It then became a dirt path, covered with fallen pine needles and punctuated with the remains of muddy puddles. Ash did his best to avoid the biggest holes, but it was still a heck of a bumpy ride.
Still, Beatrice gripped the wheelchair with her one good hand, having looped the purse over her shoulder, and didn’t complain. The canopy of woods overhead provided shade, but she also thought it was kind of creepy. Considering how much Letty had loved the sun, she really couldn’t understand why she had come to this place that was dappled with shadows.
“We’re almost there,” Ash promised as he pushed her through a particularly rough trough.
Beatrice didn’t know what that meant, but she was glad. She was wondering if her kidneys were going to become dislodged from all this jostling.
They came to a fork in the path.
Ash chose the left side and resolutely pushed her along. It grew brighter ahead. The sun hit her face once they were no longer under the branches. She blinked and held up her hand to shield her eyes.
Once her vision had adjusted, she saw that they faced a pretty pond, dotted with waterfowl.
“Maybe she liked it here,” Ash suggested. “It’s peaceful.”
Beatrice nodded. “Maybe,” she said doubtfully. Something made her unzip the denim purse, reach in, and grab hold of the green leather one. And then she was gone.
16
Beatrice felt the shift and for once she wasn’t afraid of it.
The sky changed to an overcast day. It was cooler.
In the distance, she watched a couple and their dog playing. They hadn’t been there a moment before. They hadn’t been where she and Ash had been.
She was in the same location, but she got the distinct impression she was in a different time.
She looked around and saw Letty fiddling with an old-time digital camera.
She wanted to call out to her, but even she knew this was just some sort of vision. It wasn’t real.
Letty looked strained. Wrinkles of concern furrowed her brow. She kept looking up and then looking at the camera.
It didn’t feel like a happy memory, like the beach memory had. This was a different time. Letty was anxious.
She wanted to see more but, all of a sudden, it was gone as Letty raised the camera to eye level.
Blinking, Bea came back to the world, where Ash was crouched down, staring up at her with concern.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
“Of course.” She stretched her neck from side to side, trying to alleviate some of the throbbing at the back of her head. At least she hadn’t gotten dizzy this time.
“You didn’t answer me,” Ash said worriedly. “You didn’t respond to your name. You didn’t respond to me asking if you were okay. It’s like you just totally zoned out. Did you suffer some sort of brain injury when you had whatever caused this?” He waved his hands up and down to indicate her cast and elevated middle finger.
“No.” It wasn’t like she could explain to him what had just happened. She wasn’t sure she understood it herself. But she was convinced she’d seen a glimpse of Letty in this very spot.
“Well, I heard you guys were struck by lightning,” Ash said worriedly. “Maybe they didn’t do the right kind of tests. Maybe I should take you back to the hospital. Maybe—”
Without thinking, Beatrice leaned forward and touched a finger to his lips to silence him.
His eyes grew wide, surprised by her action.
She was, too, and she snatched back her hand, burying it in her lap, as if to stop it jumping out to do anything else on its own again.
A smile played at the lips she had just touched. “If you’re sure you’re okay,” he said slowly.
Not trusting herself to speak, she nodded.
He stood slowly. “Maybe it’s just that you’re not accustomed to the heat.”
“That could be,” she agreed. Of course, that wasn’t what it was, but it was a pretty decent excuse. “Before this, I was at a ski resort.”
“That’s where you got hurt?” Ash asked.
She nodded. She didn’t want to talk about that. She stared out at the pond and pointed to a white bird. “What kind of bird is that?”
Ash followed her gaze. “I’m no birder, but I believe it’s an Egret.”
“It’s pretty,” Beatrice remarked.
“Most things in nature are,” Ash agreed. “Take you, for example…”
She blushed at the compliment and looked away. “Was Letty a birder?”
He shrugged. “I wouldn’t know. But wouldn’t you?”
She shrugged. “I thought I would have, but she took up a lot of new things here; pickle ball, the ukulele, and line dancing. Plus, there’re so many things I just don’t understand.”
“Like what?” Ash asked.
She shook her head. It wasn’t her place to tell anybody about Letty’s stolen property.
“I didn’t mean to push,” Ash apologized. “The path doesn’t go all the way around the pond,” he explained. “It leads to a canal and the canal goes into a neighborhood. So I can’t push you all the way around, but I can push you down the length of it, if you like.”
She nodded. “I’d like that.”
He pushed her silently down the edge of the pond. This path was relatively smooth ground covered by grass, and she didn’t worry about the safety of her internal organs. She took in the wildflowers, the green leaves, the bugs skimming across the surface of the pond, and the birds. There were an awful lot of birds. Maybe Letty had become a birder, after all. Maybe she’d come here to take pictures of birds. But that wouldn’t explain her mood when she was here.
Bea frowned. Part of her wanted to touch the leather purse again, but another part of her knew it wasn’t a good idea. She didn’t even know what she was looking for.
After they’d gone the length of the pond and back, Ash pushed her down the bumpy path back to the truck.
Once he’d deposited her back inside, he asked, “Are you hungry?”
She nodded. “I could eat.”
“Anything in particular you’d prefer?” he asked.
She shook her head.
“A friend of mine is performing at a little seafood place,” he said. “It’s kind of a bar, but they do some good fried seafood. Would that be okay?”
Beatrice nodded. “Sounds like fun.”
She could use some fun.
17
“Is that a search warrant?” Amanda shrieked indignantly at the police detective as he walked into One Woman’s Junk, looking around.
“No,” he said, seemingly caught off-guard by the question. “It’s a takeout menu.”
Amanda strode forward to snatch the paper out of his hand to confirm his story.
“I could get one, though,” Detective Keller said tiredly.
She frowned at him. “A search warrant?”
“Yes, to search for that purse I was telling you about earlier,” he explained as he looked around the store. “We’re alone?”
The dog, who’d been napping behind the cash register raced out, barking excitedly. He threw himself at the man with unrestrained abandon, yipping the whole time.
“You understand I’m just doing my job, don’t you?” the detective said, petting the exuberant mutt. Standing up, he asked again, “We’re alone?”
Out of the corner of her eye, Amanda saw Rupert chuckle. “Sure,” she lied smoothly.
“Listen,” Keller said. “I understand that you’re going through a rough period and I feel terrible for interfering in your mourning, but I have to look for this Tucci purse.”
“You didn’t even know Letty was dead,” she accused. “What makes you think you can find a missing purse?”
The detective’s gaze hardened. “I was out of town for over a month,” he informed her tightly.
Amanda found herself wondering why, but she didn’t voice the question.
“Either I can bring a team in to do it, or I can do it myself, your call,” the detective said. “I’ll try to be as unobtrusive as possible.”
“Fine,” Amanda replied. “Have a look around. You’re not going to find it. My godmother was not a thief.”
The detective nodded. Starting at an area closest to the front door, he began to systematically search for the purse.
Amanda made no move to help him since she knew it wouldn’t be in the shop. Instead, she picked up a throw pillow featuring a crying hippopotamus and hugged it to her.
“Rumor has it you may keep this shop open?” Keller asked as he searched.
Amanda wasn’t even sure if she was legally obligated to answer the question, so she waited a moment.
He glanced over at her.
“We might,” she said. “But it also appears Mr. Perkins wants us out.”
