by Kate Bell
“Well, I can’t wait for that,” he said. “And why is it that you always say your grandmama taught you to bake pies, and not your mother? Certainly she must have taught you some of what you know.”
“Nope. Not a thing. Well, I take that back,” I said. “She did teach me to catch lightening bugs and put them in a jar. That’s important, you know.”
He chuckled. “Indeed, it is. But why didn’t she teach you to bake?”
“Because she couldn’t. Every now and then she would give it a try, but her crust always came out hard as concrete and her fillings were usually mush. One time she tried to make a lemon merengue pie, and she put so much cornstarch in it the filling had a texture similar to rubber. She couldn’t get the egg whites stiff enough to make a meringue, so she skipped that part. It was probably safer for all of us that way.”
“So, don’t let your mother make Christmas dinner?” he asked.
“She can cook better than anyone I know. It’s the baking she never was able to master. Grandmama said the baking gene had skipped her and was passed right on down to me.”
“Well, I have to agree. You did get the baking gene. Even with all the running I’ve been doing, I’ve still managed to gain four pounds in the past month. Can’t you make fat free pies?” he asked, pulling in to Lucy’s driveway.
“Bite your tongue! That’s an abomination!”
“I’m sure it is,” he said and chuckled.
He parked the car, and we headed to the front door. It had rained earlier in the day and Lucy’s front yard was a mess with all the mud. The rain had brought warmer temperatures, and I was enjoying it.
“Hey, there you guys are,” Lucy said, opening the door for us. Her house was warm and cozy. She had spent most of her paychecks on cute decorative items from the flower shop where she worked. Scented candles were placed in every nook and cranny, and floral arrangements adorned nearly every flat surface. Diana Bowen had helped her to decorate before she had been murdered and I regretted not having her come to my house to help me.
“Hi Ed, how are you doing?” I asked Lucy’s husband. He sat on the sofa, with a football game on the television.
He looked up from the game, his ample body spread out on the sofa. “Hello Allie. It’s good to see you. Alec, would you like a drink?”
“No, thank you. I’m driving,” he said. “Who’s winning?” he asked, nodding at the television.
He shrugged. “I don’t know. I never watch football, but Lucy tells me it’s un-American not to, so I thought I’d try it.”
Alec glanced at me and I gave him a slight shrug of my shoulders. Ed was one of a kind. You never knew what was going to come out of his mouth.
“Dinner’s almost ready,” Lucy said, as we all took a seat in the living room. “I made roast chicken.”
“It smells wonderful,” I said.
“So Alec, tell me, did you ever find out who killed Todd Spellman?” Ed asked.
“No, we’re still investigating,” Alec answered, and reached for a pretzel in a bowl on the coffee table.
“Well, it doesn’t really matter. That Todd Spellman was one of the most hated people in town. He had it coming,” Ed said matter-of-factly.
“Wait, how do you know that?” Lucy asked.
He shrugged. “I thought everyone knew that? He swindled a bunch of people seven or eight years ago when he started up his own investment company. But he never got caught because he sold IRAs and invested them in places that a lot of people thought were just plain foolish. He got away with it though. One thing he did know how to do, and that was cover himself.”
“Why have you never mentioned this?” Lucy asked, wide-eyed. I had never heard any of this before, so I was pretty wide-eyed about it, too.
“Like I said, I thought everyone knew. A group of people went to a lawyer to see if they could sue, but the lawyer looked over the paperwork and said there wasn’t anything that could be done.”
“Well it seems like you might have mentioned it when you knew Todd had been murdered,” Lucy said. She was starting to get cross with him and I hoped they didn’t start arguing.
“Who lost money?” Alec spoke up.
“Well, if I remember, Sam Bailey, Diana Bowen, oh, and his own sister,” Ed said. “I don’t know who else. I heard no one really invested large amounts, but still. Who has so much money that they don’t mind losing some of it?”
“Sam Bailey? The chief of police?” Alec asked.
“The one and only,” Ed said.
Alec looked at me.
“Wow,” I said.
“Wow is right,” he replied.
“I wonder why I hadn’t heard about it?” I asked.
“Probably happened right around the time your husband passed away,” Lucy pointed out. “That would have been around that time, it sounds like.”
“That’s true. I wasn’t aware of much for a long time after that,” I said.
I could only imagine what Alec was thinking right then. He got quiet and didn’t say much else and within a few minutes, Ed and he were interested in the game.
“I think dinner is about ready,” Lucy said, and we went in to the kitchen to get it ready to be served.
“Sorry about Ed,” She said when we were alone. “I don’t know about him sometimes. You would have thought he would have mentioned something about Todd being the most hated person in town when he was murdered.”
“It must have slipped his mind or something. I have to say, Todd certainly has turned out to be a surprise to me.”
“You can say that again,” she said.
I hoped Alec figured out Todd’s murderer and soon. The deeper we dug, the more dirt we found.
--20--
The warmer temperatures were sticking around and Alec and I decided we needed to take advantage of it by running outside while we could. The sun was out, and it felt good to be outside, stretching my legs and breathing the clean air in.
We had gone five miles and were near the end of the running trail when I heard it. It was a whistling sound, and I had a flashback to the Turkey Trot. I screamed and hit the ground. I felt the cold mud as my body landed, and it flew up in my face.
Alec looked over his shoulder, wide-eyed.
“What’s wrong?” he asked, running to my side.
Then I heard it again and something hit the mud on the side of the trail and it flew into the air.
“Get up Allie! Get up and run!” Alec screamed. He grabbed my arm, jerking me to my feet. The whistling sound came again, and I heard it hit the ground somewhere close.
“Alec,” I managed to get out.
“Come on, run!” he said, still holding on to my arm. He pulled me toward some trees and I heard more whistling sounds and tree bark flew off a nearby tree.
There was a large round oak tree, and we hid behind it. Alec was dialing his phone and looking around the tree.
“This is Detective Blanchard, we need backup near the five mile marker of the running trail. Shots fired. Repeat, shots fired.”
He hung up and peered around the tree again.
“Don’t do that!” I cried, pulling him back.
“I need to see if I can spot him,” he said, and leaned forward again.
We were both breathing hard and my heart felt like it would explode. We were five miles away from Alec’s car and gun. The trail ran out of town, so no houses or businesses were near.
“What do we do?” I whispered, and began crying.
“Ssh,” he said without looking at me.
I heard sirens in the distance and whispered a prayer of thanks. I hoped they got here in time. There was silence around us, but I didn’t think the shooter was gone. I hoped he wouldn’t pop up on the other side of us and shoot us both dead.
“Get down,” Alec said.
I crouched down low, making sure I stayed behind the safety of the tree.
“I’m going to run to that other tree over there. I want you to sit tight. Don’t move.”
“No!” I whispered, but he wouldn’t listen. He ran and hid behind the other tree. I wanted to look and see if I could see anyone, but I didn’t want to become a target. I was too terrified to move.
The sirens were getting closer, but they still sounded so far away. Would they get here in time? My breathing came out raw and jagged. I put my hand on my chest and could feel my heart pounding. Taking deep breaths wasn’t helping it slow down.
I finally leaned around the tree a little to see Alec better. Just as I did, he ran to another tree. I wasn’t sure if he saw something or was still trying to figure out where the shooter was.
We were sitting ducks. Why hadn’t I insisted he wear his gun? It would have looked ridiculous, but at this point, I didn’t care.
It felt like forever, but four police cars finally arrived. The police officers jumped out with guns drawn. Yancey Tucker ran to where I was crouching. I could hear his breathing coming hard and fast.
“Are you okay Allie?” he asked, searching the area with his eyes.
“Yeah, I’m okay,” I said and started crying again. “Someone was shooting at us. They had a silencer just like when Todd was shot.”
“Come on, we’re going to run back to my car and you’re going to get inside and get low on the seat, okay?”
“Okay,” I whispered.
“Ready? Run!” he said, and we both ran to his car, with him behind me.
I jumped in the back seat and he closed the door. I lay on the seat, sobbing and shaking and hoping Alec was okay. I listened for more gunshots, but none came.
I lay there for what seemed forever when the car door was opened. I looked up and saw Alec.
“Oh, my god,” I said and jumped into his arms.
“It’s okay. Everything’s okay,” he soothed.
I sobbed in his arms for a few minutes, just thankful we were both okay. “Did you find them?” I asked, pulling away to look into his face.
He shook his head. “No. I’m sure they ran as soon as they realized I had called for backup. They’re gone. Yancey is going to drive us back to my car.”
We sat in silence, holding hands in the back seat, during the short drive to his car. We got out of the police cruiser and got into Alec’s car. I looked around, making sure the shooter wasn’t near. Alec waved to Yancey as he drove off.
“Oh Alec, I don’t know what I would have done if you had been hurt,” I said, turning toward him. “You shouldn’t have run over to that other tree.”
He gave me a small grin. “I’ve had a little experience in this kind of thing. We’re okay. That’s all that matters.”
“Okay, I know you know what you’re doing, but you scared me!”
“I’m sorry. Let’s get you home,” he said, and took me by the hand and led me to his car.
“I can’t believe that just happened,” I said.
“I know. I’m sorry you were involved,” he said softly.
I turned to look at him. “We could have died.”
“But we didn’t. We need to focus on that, Allie.”
“You’re right. I know.”
--21--
“Where are we going?” Lucy asked as we drove down Center Street.
“I don’t know,” I said. And I didn’t. I had tossed and turned all night long. Someone wanted Alec and I dead. The facts of the case turned circles in my head. I had finally drifted off to sleep around three in the morning, and I heard that whistling sound go right past my ear. I sat up screaming, with the darkness of the room closing in on me. It took a few seconds to realize that I had imagined it. I had gotten up and made myself some coffee. I was paying for it now. I could hardly keep my swollen eyes open.
“Hey,” she said, putting her hand on the back of mine. “It’s going to be okay. Alec will find the killer.”
“I know. It just hit really close to home is all,” I said.
“If you want, you can come and stay in my spare bedroom. It might make you feel better.”
“Thanks. I’ll think about it,” I said. The truth was, I wasn’t sure if I wanted to be around other people. An odd, depression like state had come over me. It felt a little like what I went through when my husband had died. I suddenly wanted to be alone, and I wasn’t sure why.
“Drink your coffee before it gets cold,” she admonished, motioning toward the cup holder.
“I think I’m all coffee’d out. I’ve drunk more today than I have in the past month,” I said. “Hey, turn down Main.”
She did, driving slowly on the narrow street. It had turned cold overnight, and the roads were icy. There was a dark blue pickup parked on the street in front of Rudy’s shop. The license plate said RG PLMG.
“Stop the car!” I said.
“What?” Lucy asked, glancing at me, wide-eyed.
“Park the car, I want to talk to Rudy Gallo!” I said.
She did as I asked, pulling into the parking spot next to the blue truck. I jumped out of the car and ran into the plumbing store. Rudy was standing at the register, just finishing up with a customer. I strode over to him as the customer picked up his bag of plumbing parts.
“How could you?” I exclaimed, looking at Rudy.
“What?” he asked, looking puzzled.
“I know what you did!” I said. “You aren’t going to get away with this!”
“What are you talking about Allie?” Rudy asked. He glanced at the customer, but got no help from him as he scurried out the door.
“I know what you did!” I repeated.
Rudy shook his head. “I don’t know what you’re talking about!”
“You tried to kill Alec and I yesterday!” I accused.
“What are you talking about?” he asked. “I have no idea what you’re saying!”
“You shot at us while we were on the running trail!” I said. “You killed Todd Spellman! You’re a murderer!”
The door swung open and the little bell above it tinkled and Lucy entered the shop.
“Allie, that’s not true, I did not kill Todd Spellman, and I certainly didn’t shoot at you or Alec! What’s wrong with you?” Rudy asked.
“Allie?” Lucy whispered.
I turned to look at her and she looked at me wide-eyed.
“He killed Todd,” I explained more calmly than I felt.
“Honey, why don’t we go home now? You’re tired,” Lucy said gently.
“You better get her out of here. She’s off her rocker,” Rudy said. “I don’t know what’s gotten in to her.”
I turned back to Rudy. “That’s your truck out front. I saw the rifle rack you have in it. I know you killed Todd Spellman and you tried to kill Alec and me.” I could hear the desperation in my own voice. My thoughts swirled around my mind. He had done it, hadn’t he? He had all the reason in the world to do it. He was protecting his daughter, and he was afraid that Alec and I had figured it out.
“I haven’t hunted in years. I just never took that rack out. What does that have to do with anything?” Rudy asked. He turned to Lucy. “Get her out of here before I call the cops.”
“Come on Allie,” Lucy said gently. “Let’s get you home.” She approached me cautiously and took my hand.
I looked from Rudy to Lucy. It felt like they were looking at me as if I were some kind of monster. “You believe me, don’t you?” I pleaded with Lucy. Couldn’t she see the truth of what had happened?
“I’m callin’ the cops,” Rudy warned.
Lucy raised a hand to him. “Just hold on.”
“Call whoever you want!” I said through gritted teeth.
She glanced at Rudy and then back to me. “Let’s go home and talk about it. I’ll call Alec and we’ll talk. Rudy isn’t going anywhere. Alec will talk to him if he thinks he should.”
The silence surrounding me roared as I stared at Rudy for a few moments. What am I doing?
“Come on Allie, let’s go,” Lucy said calmly.
I let her lead me to the door and took one last look at Rudy. All I could see was confusion
on his face.
“Sorry,” Lucy said to Rudy as the bell above the door tinkled and the door closed behind us.
“Here, get in the car,” she said, opening the passenger side door for me.
I got in and stared off into space. I broke down sobbing. I needed sleep. Lots and lots of sleep. And I needed Alec. I needed him to talk some sense into me.
--22--
Sunlight streamed through my window as I struggled to come back to consciousness. The events of the past two days came flooding back as I forced my eyes open. I felt a wave of humiliation wash over me as I remembered what happened at Rudy Gallo’s store. What had I done?
I reached across the bed and felt Alec, asleep next to me. I had taken a sleeping pill the night before, but still had had problems going to sleep. He had insisted on staying the night with me, sleeping on top of the blankets, still in his clothes. I pushed back the layer of heavy blankets and struggled to get free of them. After a few moments of fighting the sheets, I was free. Alec slept on, exhausted from trying to calm me. I was fuzzy on the details, but I thought we had fallen asleep sometime after two in the morning, with the TV volume turned low to help lull us to sleep.
I stumbled to the kitchen, tripping over my cat, Dixie. He meowed and scurried out of my way.
“Sorry,” I mumbled and hit the corner of the kitchen counter with my side.
I started coffee and opened the blinds in the kitchen to let light stream in. The tile floor of the kitchen was cold, and I wished I had put my slippers on, but was too tired to make the trip back to the bedroom to put them on.
Just as I was pouring a cup of coffee, the phone on the wall rang. I jumped, spilling the coffee on the counter, and stared at the phone. After three rings, I set the coffee pot and my cup down and staggered over to stand in front of it.
“Stop it,” I whispered as it rang on. Four times, five times, six times.
On the eighth ring, I picked up the receiver, and listened. There was a long period of silence while I listened, having forgotten to say hello. I began to wonder if it had even rung and started to hang it up, and then, there was a weak “hello.”
