Killer Comfort Food

by Lynn Cahoon

  “I will.” She paused. “Angie, thanks for your help.”

  Angie hung up the phone, then slipped on her coat and put the phone in her tote. “I’m an idiot.” She looked down at Dom. “I suppose you’re saying you’re going if I’m going?”

  A woof was all the response she got.

  “Okay then. Let me grab your lead.” She went to the fridge to grab two bottles of water, just in case, and then glanced over at the desk. She grabbed the letter and tucked it into her tote and the water bottles in Dom’s backpack. They might not need them, but it was better to be prepared. She got everything and everyone into the SUV, then hooked up her phone. If she was lucky, she’d get voice mail.

  As she pulled out of the driveway, she dialed Ian’s cell. And her luck held. It rang her into voice mail directly. He must have put it on do not disturb for the meeting. “Hey, don’t get mad, but I’m heading over to Jon’s house for a few minutes, then I’ll be at the Red Eye talking to Barb. You can probably catch me there. And I’ve got Dom for protection.”

  When he heard his name, Dom barked from the back seat.

  “He’s on the job.” Angie hung up and headed to the subdivision outside of River Vista.

  When they got there, Angie parked in the driveway. She saw Barb’s Mustang parked up the road a few houses down on the corner. At least she’d been smart about that. She got out of the car and stopped by the window where Dom had his nose out of the car, sniffing. “We won’t be long, and I’m not going in. If I disappear, you start raising Cain, okay?”

  His tongue reached out, and he licked her hand. Message delivered. Or at least she hoped. Her ability to talk to animals was severely limited by her not speaking Dog.

  She pulled the letter out of her purse and glanced at one of the upstairs windows. Barb’s face popped into view, and Angie nodded. Then she went to play distraction.

  She rapped hard on the door.

  When Jon answered, he frowned down at her. His hair was mussed, and he looked like he hadn’t showered in days. Working must have been the only thing keeping him on some type of routine since Susan’s disappearance. Now he didn’t even have that. He stared at her with bloodshot eyes. “What do you want?”

  Angie could smell the alcohol rolling off of him—“coming out of his pores” was what Nona had said about a friend who’d get lost in drinking. She dug in her purse and pulled out a letter. “I got this Saturday.”

  He peered at it, and as he did, she saw Barb sneaking down the staircase. If Jon turned around for any reason, they’d be almost face-to-face.

  He waved his hand. “I can’t read that. I can barely see the paper.”

  “How long have you been drinking?” She lowered the hand that held the paper. “You know you need to be alert, just in case.”

  He snorted and almost turned away, but Angie caught his arm. He stared at her hand, then up at her. “Why are you here? You’re ruining a perfectly planned pity party.”

  “Is that what Susan would have wanted? You to get lost in the bottle?” She juggled the paper in front of him. “What’s going on with this company? You said there was something you needed to tell me.”

  “Oh yeah.” He leaned against the door frame, trying to focus on her. “There’s a history of this place sweeping up property for cheap prices when the true value is a lot higher. I think there’s some strong-arming going on. I can’t prove it, but you’ve been okay about the whole thing and I thought you should know.”

  She studied him. “You’re saying they’re putting pressure on people to sell?”

  He shook his head. “No, I’m not saying that. That would be leaking my client’s proprietary information or his secrets or something. I would never do that—attorney-client privilege.”

  Angie watched as Barb disappeared out the back door. She saw Jon turn toward the sound, but then Timber came running to the door from the back. Barb’s leaving must have woken the dog. Jon leaned down to scratch Timber’s ears. “Who’s a good boy?”

  With Barb safely out of the house, Angie could leave, but she wanted one more try at getting Jon to say something that might help her save the farmhouse. “Then what are you saying to me?”

  He looked up from scratching Timber and for a second, his eyes focused on her own and he held the gaze. “If I were you, I’d watch my back. Especially if you’re going to continue fighting the land sale. People have gotten hurt before. And even though I don’t like you, I don’t want to see you wind up dead. Like Susan.”

  Shock must have shown on her face, because with that, he tried to close the front door on her. Then he paused. “Look, just because my wife’s missing after I tried to talk them into buying a different property, that could all be a coincidence. Maybe your life isn’t in danger. But even a broken watch is right twice a day.”

  Angie watched as he shut the door on her. When she thought her legs would move, she sprinted toward the SUV. Dom watched her from his view at the window. He watched her closely, then gave her wet kisses when she climbed into the driver’s seat. “Hey, boy, thanks for the assist.”

  A small growl came from the back, and Angie glanced around, pushing the door lock button as she started the car. She didn’t see anything in the direction the dog was watching, but that didn’t mean they weren’t being watched. And she’d just put herself in the enemy’s crosshairs.

  A chill went over her as she drove toward River Vista to talk to Barb. She turned up the heat, but she didn’t think it was the chill outside that was bothering her. It was the knowledge that Jon was being watched. Or at least his house was. Had the watcher seen Barb break in? Was she in trouble now, too? She glanced in her rearview to see if she was being followed. She’d never felt this vulnerable during an investigation before. It was like the killer had labeled her as victim number two.

  As she drove past the park with the construction in the back, she shivered. Maybe victim number three.

  She parked in the back parking lot for the County Seat and got Dom out of the car. Then instead of heading to the restaurant, she walked through the alley to the Red Eye. Dom had her pause at his favorite tree for a bit of watering. She saw Ian standing outside the door at the Red Eye, waiting. The man did not look happy.

  When they reached the steps into the business, she held up a hand. “Hold the lecture, I need to give one of my own.”

  He nodded, then opened the door. They walked through the narrow hallway with Dom’s nose in full smell mode. He paused at the edge of the entrance to the main saloon and woofed quietly.

  “Hey, buddy, I didn’t know your mom was going to bring you,” Barb addressed Dom first.

  His tail went crazy.

  “I hope it’s okay I brought him in. He’s kind of my bodyguard right now.” Angie gave a quick glance at Ian. “And he did his business before we came in.”

  “I hope you’re talking about Dom and not Ian.” Barb’s cackle ended in a spasm of racking coughing. She waved them closer. When she stopped coughing, she reached down to give Dom a rub on his head. “He’s always welcome. He’s probably got more manners than some of the lot that come in here at times.”

  Dom sat in front of Barb and stared up at her.

  Angie pulled up a chair to the table Barb had chosen rather than her normal perch at the bar. “Tell me what you were doing at Jon’s?”

  Ian sat across from her and on the other side of Barb. He leaned his elbows on the table, but didn’t say anything.

  “Okay, so after you called last night to tell me you hadn’t found anything, I was worked up. Mad at you. Mad at the sheriff. Mad at Jon. And finally, mad at myself for not believing that we could have been a family. I gave up on her and me too soon. I let my sister talk me into giving Sunny up because it was better for her. I’m not sure that was true.” Barb paused to light a cigarette. “Anyway, we don’t need to rehash my life and my bad choices.”

 
“Except for the one this morning when you went over to Jon and Susan’s house,” Ian reminded her.

  “You’re right. I probably should have just let Sheriff Brown deal with finding her, but I thought if I could just see where she lived, maybe my Spidey sense as a mom would kick in and I’d find the one thing that everyone else had overlooked.” She took a drag on the cigarette.

  “Did you?”

  Barb pulled out a leather-bound book. “Maybe. It looks like Sunny kept a journal. I didn’t get to read it much, but the last few entries talk about her meeting someone who could get Jon out of the trouble he was in. Apparently, Sunny didn’t trust the firm he worked for and thought something bad was about to happen.”

  “Then she gets kidnapped.”

  Ian shook his head. “She could have just left.”

  Angie glanced at him, and she could see even he didn’t believe that line of possibility anymore. It had just been a reaction to the kidnapping word.

  “Fine. She was taken.” He blew out some air. “Even I can’t see this as anything except a kidnapping, and I haven’t read the diary yet.”

  “You’ll see when you read this.” Barb pushed the book toward him. Then she turned to Angie. “I’m sorry I got you involved, but when Jon came home, I needed some backup. And you’re the only one I trust.”

  Angie squeezed the older woman’s hand. “No problem. I found out some information on the development case too. Apparently, the company has issues with other people who stand against them. Like maybe they just disappear. I’m going to pull out any information I can find on Taylor Farms and CelCat Developing and see what I can find.”

  “Sounds like a plan.” Barb put out the cigarette when it was only half done and put it back into the pack. “Look, I know you said you were done, but I need your help. I have to know what happened to Sunny soon. I go into surgery the first of next month, and I need to know if I should change my will.”

  “You’re having surgery, not dying,” Angie said, but then something in Barb’s face made her wish she could take the words back. “Right? You’re not dying, right?”

  Barb took a minute before responding. “Look, I have lung cancer. Nothing crazy. The doctor’s going to cut it out, and I’ll be done with it.” She held up the packet of cigarettes. “And I’m done with these too. As soon as I leave the hospital. It might be a little too late, but I’m willing to do my part to keep the rest of my lungs healthy.”

  “You want to talk to Susan before you have surgery.” Angie filled in what Barb hadn’t said.

  “This might sound heartless, but if she’s dead, I need to change my will. There’s no way I’m going to let that jerk have my money.” She smiled sadly. “Even if he didn’t kill her.”

  As Ian and Angie walked to her car, he held her hand. “I should be mad at you for leaving the house without me, but I get it. Barb needs our help.”

  “Now more than ever. I can’t believe I told her she was on her own.” Angie opened the back door for Dom to climb inside, then leaned against the car, watching the back door of the Red Eye. “Sometimes life just isn’t fair.”

  Ian leaned down and kissed her. Then he opened her door, handing her the diary Barb had given him. “Let’s get you home. We’ve got some research to do.”

  After making plans for Ian to follow her in his truck, Angie pulled out of the parking lot and headed home. Her phone rang soon after crossing the railroad tracks that outlined River Vista’s city limits. “Hello?”

  “Hey, stranger. I thought you might come in and say hi, but you just got in your car and left.” Felicia’s voice flowed through the car speakers, and Dom barked at her from the back seat. “Hey, big boy, I saw you too.”

  “We had to go save Barb, and then Ian and I spent some time with her. She found Susan’s diary. If there are names in there we don’t know, can I call you later?” Angie glanced in the rearview mirror and saw Ian’s truck following her. “Ian’s planted himself at the farmhouse and won’t leave until this thing with the developer is over. Allen is worried that they may try to do something to force me to sell.”

  “Well, I’m the heir of your estate, so if they do get through Ian and knock you off, rest assured, I’ll continue the good fight.”

  Angie laughed. “I’m not sure that makes me feel any better. But thanks. Hey, can you deliver a couple of quarts of soup over to Barb before she heads home? And put a note on the calendar that we’ll send her a dinner as soon as the restaurant opens each night?”

  “Sure, that’s sweet. But why?”

  Angie filled Felicia in on Barb’s upcoming surgery. “I just want her to have food available that she doesn’t have to make. Take at least one worry off her list for the day.”

  “You are amazing.” Felicia sniffed. “Let’s make sure we do it after she gets home from the hospital too. I’m not sure who she’ll have managing the bar while she’s gone, but I’ll see if Jeorge might be willing to go over to work on the nights we’re not open.”

  “Talk to her. If we have to hire a temp for him so he could work full-time at the Red Eye, we’ll do that too. She needs someone she can depend on.” Angie hadn’t thought about what Barb would do with the bar while she was in the hospital. Of course, she’d work as long as possible at the bar before she went in and probably just close it for the days she was off. But with Jeorge, maybe she could keep it open. Keeping a business open all by yourself was hard work. Thank God she had Felicia to share the burden. She pulled into the driveway and turned off the engine. “I’m at the house. Call me after you talk to Barb.”

  “Sounds good. I’m going to call Estebe and see if he wants to come over and make up some meals we can freeze for her so she has something later.”

  Angie got out of the car and took Dom straight to the house. Ian pulled into the driveway as she was opening the door, and the dog woofed at the new visitor. “It’s just Ian,” Angie told him as she put him inside. Then she waited for Ian on the porch. He walked over, carrying a small duffel bag. Angie pointed to the bag. “What’s in that?”

  “Provisions, just in case I’m here for a while longer. I’ve got some books I’ve been meaning to read, and I brought some more clothes.” He smiled at her. “Can I use your washer and dryer today?”

  “Of course. I could do it for you.” She followed him into the house.

  He shook his head. “I can do my own laundry. I’m a big boy.”

  She laughed and set the book down on the table. “Fine, be that way. I’ve got some reading to do anyway.”

  She put water on to boil so she could make some tea and then sat at the table, reading Susan’s diary. She probably didn’t need to start at the beginning, but she did, hoping it would give her a better sense of the woman.

  When the teakettle screamed, Ian stood from where he’d been reading, too, and poured them water for tea. Angie grabbed a packet of oolong and went back to reading while it steeped. When the tea was finished, she stood and stretched. Then she put the kettle on again.

  “Did you find anything?” Ian slipped a bookmark into the book he’d been reading.

  Angie shook her head. “Nothing about the soybean factory or why she’d go missing. She mentions the women in the yoga group. Most she didn’t like, not at all. But she did say nice things about Felicia. She said she hoped Holly didn’t eat her alive before Felicia figured out that the woman was a snake. If these two were best friends, Susan didn’t trust her much.”

  “Or at all.” Ian threw away his empty tea bag and set up the cup for a new one. “Tell me again what Holly does for a living?”

  “Mostly takes care of her husband’s networking. He’s a financial consultant.” Angie rolled her shoulders. “She was trying to get Felicia to have Estebe work with him.”

  “Maybe Holly has a reason to want Susan out of the picture. Could she have driven her away?” Ian refilled the cups with the teakettle
that had just started to scream. “People like that don’t have boundaries on what they won’t do to advance a career.”

  Despite the warmth coming from the oil heater, Angie felt chilled to the bone.

  Chapter 13

  By the time she finished reading the diary, Angie had a headache and a need to cook. Cooking made her feel in control of things, and right now, she needed some control in her life. Ian came inside from feeding and took off his coat, putting on the teakettle after washing his hands in the mudroom. “It’s cold outside.”

  “You were out awhile. Did something happen?” She laid out plastic for the chicken breasts she planned on rolling into a divan with a mixture of broccoli, cheese, and a little pancetta. She turned toward Ian before starting to pound the meat into a thin patty.

  “Actually, Precious and I went and walked her fence. I haven’t done it since she got out around Halloween. She’s an inventive one, so I wanted to make sure she wasn’t planning her next escape.” He rubbed his hands together. “And it got me outside for a bit. Typically, I walk around town around lunch just to get the blood moving. I enjoy it much more in the summer than I do this time of year.”

  “The fence is good?” Angie returned to beating the chicken.

  “Solid.” He took the mallet out of her hands. “That chicken is flat. Hold on a second. What did you find in the diary?”

  “Not much. She had a few people she seemed to like. I sent that over to Felicia to see if they are in the yoga group, so tomorrow morning we may go make some visits. And she had a meeting the day after her last entry. She said she’d write more later, that it was too much to try to think about now. And Jon was having an affair. Or at least Susan thought he was.” Angie took the mallet back. “I felt like I was violating her privacy and her marriage as I read the entries. Susan seemed to be a sensitive person. One whom I might just like if I ever met her.”