by Tegan Maher
She pulled the cakes out of the oven and slid them onto the counter, then rushed upstairs to change.
While I was waiting, I double-checked my list and added a couple more things.
"Ready?" she asked a few minutes later.
"I think so, though I'm sure I'll forget something."
She pulled the flower nails from the center of the cake and unwrapped the wet towels from around them, then flipped them onto the cooling rack. "Let's go, then. I wanna stop and get a latte on our way."
We ironed out some more details on the way and also ordered a half-dozen large pizzas to pick up on the way home.
Once we made it to Walmart, it didn't take us any time at all to get what we needed. We were both in-an-outters when it came to shopping; neither of us were ones to take forever in the grocery store.
While we were checking out, I noticed a clerk eyeballing me.
"Hang on a sec," I said to Dee, holding a finger up while I kept the clerk in my line of sight. I followed her down the canned veggies section, where she stopped and began arranging cans.
"Excuse me," I said as I approached her. "But I couldn't help but notice you staring at me."
She pressed her lips together then abandoned the cans and turned to me.
"You're checking into Charlie's murder, right?"
"I am. Why? Do you know something?"
Her face flushed with guilt, and she paused before she spoke.
"Listen ... Candice," I said, peering at her name tag. "Whatever you tell me, I'll keep confidential if I can, but if you know something, it's important that you tell me."
"It's just, I don't wanna get anybody in trouble," she said. "Unless, of course, they deserve it," she rushed to add.
"Okay, then tell me what you know, and I'll decide what to do about it."
Candice pulled in a deep breath and released it. "I was working the morning Charlie was killed. I was talking to Lily, and she was bragging that her mom was gonna go out and make him pay up. You know, over those stupid roses." She snorted. "As if light blue roses actually made that mess any hotter than it already was."
Truer words. "So do you know if she actually went?"
She shook her head. "I got off early, so I didn't talk to her again, and I haven't talked to her since." She frowned. "I hope I did the right thing. Like I said, I don't wanna get her in trouble if she didn't do anything, but I didn't wanna sit on that then find out her mama was the one who did it."
I put my hand on her arm. "You did the right thing. Thank you. I'll look into it without bringing your name up to anybody but the chief."
"Thanks," she said, looking like I'd just lifted a ton of bricks off her. "I'm sorry I couldn't tell you more."
"You told me plenty," I said. "Thank you."
She dipped her head and turned back to the cans, her face still a little troubled.
"What was that all about?" Dee asked as we pushed the cart to my car.
I glanced over my shoulder to make sure nobody was looking. The last thing I wanted was for somebody to overhear that she'd ratted Lily out.
"Lily told her that her mom was gonna go out and make Charlie pay up on the day he was killed."
Dee stopped loading the groceries into the truck and turned to me. "No way! Did she follow through?"
I shrugged. "Candice didn't know. She said she left work early that day and didn't talk to her again, and she hasn't seen her since."
"Too bad you didn't go to Walmart before you went to Buns," she said. "Then you could have called her on it."
"Yeah," I said. "That seems to always be the way of it."
As soon as we were back in the car, I called Gabe to fill him in.
"It looks like the net's closing," he said. "The only problem is that we don't have any solid evidence on her. I went back out to get the scarf, but I didn't see any hairs or anything on it. We're a small town. Some of our equipment dates back to the early '90s, so it's not like we have high-tech machines to do fancy analysis. Besides, three-quarters of the stuff you see on TV is bull, anyway."
"Where was the scarf made? Have you checked that, yet?"
"Mass market," he replied. "You can buy it pretty much anywhere."
"Great. So even if she was the one who did it, the only way we'll get her is if she confesses."
"Pretty much," he said. "They're looking at the fragments of the pot he was clobbered with, but it has a rough, porous texture sorta like lava rock. Prints aren't likely."
"We're still stuck at the beginning, then."
"Yeah, and I can only hold Amelia for another twenty-four hours before I either have to charge her or let her go. The judge'll deny bail since she's a flight risk, but I don't think we're gonna have enough to arrest her."
I sighed. "As bad as I hate to say it, I'm starting to believe she didn't do it, anyway."
"I'm still not convinced," he said. "She hasn't been the nicest person since I arrested her."
"Violent?"
"Not exactly, but the woman definitely has rage issues."
From the way Maisey'd described the conversation she'd overheard Amelia having with the vendor, I'd already known that. "Did you go talk to Aggy?"
We were approaching Mean Beans, the best coffee shop in town, and I flicked the blinker on.
"You need more caffeine already?" Dee asked, and I shook my head and mouthed Annie. Though thinking about it, I could go for another cup. I hadn't exactly slept well the night before, and we still had a ton of stuff to do. I wanted to get everything prepped so that all I had to do was the actual last-minute cooking on Sunday.
"I went to talk to her, but she and her sister are out of town, too. They went up to Savannah to visit their brother and won't be back until tomorrow afternoon."
"We're stalled, then."
"Yup. At least until they get back. If you want, we can go together late tomorrow afternoon. Kristina's supposed to be back, too, and she doesn't live too far from Aggy. Two birds, one stone."
"That'll work," I said. "By then, I'll be ready for a break, I'm sure."
"How's that going, by the way? I'm worried about Dee. She's been burning the candle at both ends again."
I glanced at her and smiled. She wasn't so much a workaholic as a woman trying to do three jobs. She'd managed to slow down some since her aunt had died and left her the cafe, but word was spreading about her baking skills and she was always slam-busy. I'd been on her to find an assistant because as much as I wanted to help her, I could only do so much.
"So what else is new? I'm actually with her right now. You wanna talk to her while she's not elbow deep in icing or some other confectionery delight?"
He laughed. "Yeah, put her on."
I handed her the phone and she smiled that goofy grin she still got anytime his name came up. "I'll go in and get the coffees if you wanna stay here and chat. Do you want anything?"
She sighed as she took the phone. "Sure. I've been trying to cut back on the caffeine, but I don't think this weekend is the time to do it."
"Vanilla frappuccino or iced Mocha?"
"Frappuccino," she said, then paused. "Large. Triple shot, extra whip."
I grinned. "That's my girl!"
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
THE ONLY STOP LEFT was for the pizzas, and they were ready when we got there.
"You must be havin' one humdinger of a shindig out there," the kid working at the counter said.
"Sorta, but not the fun kind," I replied as I handed him my debit card. "We're doing a bunch of work out at the lodge. We're have a wedding there Sunday, and there's still a ton left to do."
"Oh yeah," he said, coming around the counter with the pizzas. "I'll help you carry them out. I heard about the wedding. My friend's brother's helping Scout out with somethin'."
I laughed. "Right now, it seems like everybody's brother's helping out with something out there. I just hope I ordered enough pizzas."
"If not, call. I'll run a few more out if you need 'em."
"That's r
eally sweet of you," I said, handing him a ten.
"It's nothin'. I've been wantin' to see the place anyway."
"Come out any time," I said.
When we got home, it seemed like there were even more cars parked outside the lodge than there had been when we'd left.
"Crap!" I said when I saw the dead flowers on the steps. "I meant to grab some fresh pots of flowers while we were at Walmart."
She glanced at the phone on her clock. "You can always go back."
I huffed out a breath. "I'll have to at some point. There's nothin' to be done for the ones we have."
I thought longingly of the beautiful arrangements I'd seen out front at Charlie's. If I had just a tad less conscience, I'd have called his nephew. Sometimes being aware of other people's feelings sucked.
We unloaded everything, then called everybody into the great room to eat. I couldn't believe the progress Annie'd made in the hour or so we'd been gone. The walls were finished and the tables were arranged so that the were at a diagonal to the two she'd set up at the front of the room near the fireplace. The two girls who'd been hanging lights were making table toppers over in one corner, and the fireplace looked to be finished, though the fresh mortar was still darker than the rest.
She practically yanked her coffee out of my hand when I wandered toward her.
"This place looks amazing already," I said. I can't believe you got all this done in less than two hours."
She blushed. "It's not that big a deal. You'd be surprised how much you can change a place with just a few moderate adjustments."
"Wait, did you clean out the inside of the fireplace?" I asked, craning my neck to get a better look.
"Of course I did. Well, not me personally, but I did hire a cleaning crew to come in and give the downstairs a good cleaning. And the upstairs rooms the bride and groom will be using to get dressed."
I gave her a bemused look. I'd thought the place was already clean, but it wasn't like Dee or I either one were neat freaks.
Guilt spread across her freckled nose when she seemed to realize what I was thinking. "Not that it was dirty, but there was still construction dust in the corners and stuff from where y'all have been workin' over that past few months."
She wasn't wrong. And I sure didn't make it a habit to clean the fireplace. I asked her about that.
"Oh, I'm gonna make it the centerpiece of the room. I'm gonna do a huge bouquet and put it right inside, then decorate the mantle and hearth with candles and garland and stuff."
I could sorta picture that in my mind and had to admit that it sounded pretty.
"I'll defer to you, then. I'm sure the place needed a good cleaning."
"Yeah," she said, "and it only cost a couple hundred bucks."
"Really?" I asked. As much as Dee and I both hated to clean, that would be something to look into once we got the lodge up and running.
"Really," she replied. "Now, I'm starving!"
Dee had already set out paper plates and napkins along with the chips and sodas we'd bought, and was dumping the ice into a giant bowl. I snagged a sleeve of solo cups from the pantry, and everybody dove in.
I grabbed a couple slices and a handful of kettle chips and settled in beside Scout. The guy who'd been laying the bricks sat across from us.
"Toni, this is Guy Andrews. Guy, Toni Owens."
Guy gave me a warm smile as he reached across the table to shake my hand.
"Pleased to meet you, Toni."
"Likewise," I said, taking an instant liking to the man. A slim woman came and took a seat beside him, then, much to my surprise, leaned over and gave him a peck.
"Hey, handsome," she said. "Whatcha doin' later? Wanna buy a girl a drink?"
He grinned. "As long as that girl is you."
"Toni," Scout said, his eyes sparkling with laughter, "this is Grace, Guy's better half."
I raised an amused brow. "I assumed they'd met. Nice to meet you, Grace."
"Same here," she said. "We really appreciate you guys throwin' us some extra work. Times have been a little tough lately. I lost my job and haven't been able to find another one."
"I'm sorry to hear that," I said. "Where did you work?"
"At the Grill and Fill out near the highway. I was there for seven years. Only called off twice, and both times it was because I was in labor. Then the owner died and his daughter took over. We didn't get a long."
Guy snorted. "More like you knew more about runnin' the place than she did and she didn't like it."
She lifted a shoulder. "Maybe so, but no matter why, the result's the same."
"Do you know anything about bartending?" I asked. If she'd only called out twice, that at least showed she had some work ethic. And Guy's comment about runnin' the place didn't sound awful, either, assuming it was true. Still, she was already heads and tails above anybody else I'd seen apply. "Or do you have an aversion to it?"
She shook her head. "Oh, no. No aversion. I've just never really done it, at least not since I graduated college."
"Oh," I said, "What's your degree in?"
"It's just an associates in business," Grace replied.
Guy drew his brows down. "It's not just anything. You worked hard for that. And if your mama hadn't gotten sick, you'd have had your bachelors."
She fluttered her hand and gave me a wry smile. "That's water under the bridge, though. Why do you ask, Toni?"
"Because Don down at the Dead End is lookin' for a day bartender. Maybe some nights too, if you're interested in that. The money's not awesome, but it's not terrible, either. And the work's easy."
Grace turned to Guy. "What do you think?"
He raised his brows. "I think you're the one who has to do it. If you think you'd enjoy it, then go for it. I've known Don all my life, and we've spent our fair share of time at the place. It's not like it's some skeezy dive where I'd have to worry about your safety."
"Well," I said, smiling, "I don't know if I'd go so far as to take it out of the dive category, but it's definitely not skeezy. Or dangerous."
"I'll go down tomorrow afternoon and check it out," she said, smiling. "Thank you, Toni."
"Hey," I said, popping a chip in my mouth, "if it means I don't have to cover for some slacker knucklehead on a regular basis, I'll be the one thanking you."
The tables were full, and I met several more people while we ate, all of them friendly. I almost wished we could do something like this on a regular basis, and thoughts started forming in my head. I hadn't had time to meet many people on a social basis since I'd moved to Mercy, and I liked the idea of pulling a group together every now and then. I said as much to Scout, who nodded.
"That would be awesome. We used to do stuff like that all the time. A holiday get-together in one place, a football party somewhere else. Everybody sorta went their own ways though, and now the only time anybody gets together is at the church socials or special events like fairs or weddings or funerals."
I looked around at all the smiling faces. "Then lets put our heads together if we live through this wedding and come up with a plan."
Ms. Maisey popped in, hands on hips. "That's a big if right now, young man. If that garden's not put back to rights by tomorrow evening, head's are gonna roll! And here you sit, like you ain't got nothin' better to do than lounge around all day."
Grace tilted her head to one side. "Did you hear that?"
My brows shot up. "Hear what?"
"It was sort of an echo." She laughed. "Pay me no mind. It must be all the glue I've been sniffing all morning, because I would have sworn I heard a crabby old lady."
I cringed and cast a glance at Ms. Maisey, whose expression was fluctuating between, well, crabby, and flummoxed.
"How did she hear me?" she asked. "I'm peeved, but I definitely had my station set to only broadcast to you two."
"Maybe you're hearing ghosts," I said, injecting as much levity into my voice as I could.
Grace laughed. "You joke, but my granny swears she's a psychi
c. Or a medium. I'm never sure what the difference is between them."
My gaze shifted back to Maisey, who shrugged but didn't say anything else.
"Maybe so, then," Scout said. "I heard the lady who built this place could be either sweet as pie or a real nag depending on when you caught her."
Ms. Maisey narrowed her eyes and pinched her lips together, and I couldn't help but cringe a little when I saw her draw her hand back. Poor Scout was gonna be caught totally unaware.
"Duck," I said as she swung, but I was too late. She caught him with a direct slap right to the back of the head. Thankfully, she'd opted not to put any oomph into it, so her hand passed right through his head. Still, I knew what that felt like, and it wasn't pleasant.
He jerked, then yelped and shook his head, then whipped around toward her.
"Are you okay?" Grace asked, her expression a mix of concern and confusion.
"Yeah," Scout said, turning back toward her. "Muscle spasm. Probably from holding my arms up trimming rose bushes all day." He shot a quick glare over his shoulder toward Maisey under the pretense of stretching his neck. "Maybe I should take a break and do something else. I'm sure somebody would appreciate my help."
"You wouldn't," Maisey hissed.
"I heard Annie needs some help in here, stringing lights," he said.
"Fine," Maisey growled. "I'm sorry. I got excited. And worried. My fountain still ain't right."
I patted Scout on the arm. "I'm sure everybody will think the garden looks amazing when you're done with it. I know I, for one, am grateful." I shot a prompting glance toward Ms. Maisey.
"Yeah." She heaved a put-upon sigh. "So am I. Three months ago, it was just a jungle, and now it looks almost like it did back in my day. So finish your pizza."
Grace's expression had shifted to studious and she was looking around behind us. Maybe there was something to that whole witchy hoodoo thing after all. I couldn't think of any other explanation. After all, a year ago, I'd have laughed if you'd told me ghosts were real.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
