“Yeah.” Vic’s smile seemed forced. The water in the bathroom stopped running, bringing them both back to the present. “Speaking of foster care, tell me about Reg. You guys seem like you were close.”
“Yes. Maybe the closest I ever was to a foster sibling. But she also… got us in a lot of trouble. She’s a… not a troublemaker, exactly. But someone who agitates others…”
“And you were her favorite target.”
“I guess so,” Erin agreed, surprised at how quickly Vic grasped the situation. “Even after we were both adults, out of the system, she still tracks me down, shows up in my life at the most unlikely times, and gets me involved in some grand new scheme.”
“What is it this time?”
Erin shook her head, not sure how to put it into words. Calling Reg a fortune-teller or medium didn’t begin to describe the grandness of what she had in mind. “I don’t know. That’s her own business.”
The bathroom door opened, and Erin felt the moist air expanding outward, dissipating into the house. The fresh smells of soap and shampoo wafted over Erin. When Reg stepped out of the bathroom, she was wearing one of the nightgowns that had been hanging in the closet in Clementine’s room, which Erin had assigned to Reg. She was already making herself at home, digging herself in, making it harder to extricate her when it was time.
“Oh, you have company. Hi, there. You’re… Vic, from the bakery.”
Vic nodded.
“She lives over the garage,” Erin advised. “Her apartment is just across the yard,” she gestured.
“I didn’t know you were such good friends. That’s awesome.”
If Reg’s intuition had been as powerful as she said it was, she should have been able to discern the strong friendship between them, especially with her knowing Erin so well.
“Yeah. We’re just going to visit for a few minutes, and then I’ll be heading to bed. We need to start work pretty early in the morning…”
Reg didn’t take the hint. Instead, she settled in, making herself comfortable in the other recliner. “So, what’s been going on with you lately?” she asked Erin. “We kind of talked about what I’m up to, but you didn’t say what’s up with you.”
Erin blinked at her. “Well… running the bakery. That takes up most of my time. I’m up really early, work until evening, and then have a short break before bed and starting all over again.”
“I don’t get how you ended up with the bakery. Did you buy it? Is it like… your own start-up? I know you liked to cook, but I never thought you’d have a place of your own. Pretty hard for a foster to get up capital like that.”
“It was my aunt. Clementine. She left it to me in her will. It was a tea shop when she was running it, but I didn’t want to run a tea shop, I wanted a gluten-free bakery. So that’s what I did.”
“The muffins are good.” Reg patted her stomach, as if she’d just eaten one, instead of having consumed it early in the day. “If everything else measures up, I can see why it’s popular. Normally, I see gluten-free, and I think ‘cardboard.’ But your baking is really nice.”
“Thanks. I hope I can keep growing it. I notice we’ve started to get some out-of-town traffic lately.” Erin glanced over at Vic for her input.
“You’re right,” Vic agreed. “Seeing more and more people from towns nearby where people have heard there are good gluten-free treats to be had in Bald Eagle Falls. If we can get more and more of those people, we don’t have to rely just on the Bald Eagle Falls residents, which would be really good.”
“Especially with Charley trying to reopen The Bake Shoppe,” Erin agreed.
“Who is Charley?” Reg asked.
“My half-sister. I just found her recently. She was my mom’s daughter, but not my dad’s, and I never knew about her. She inherited a bakery from her dad’s side, or half of it, and she wants to open it up again as soon as she can. And I guess they’re doing the transmittal before too long, which means she’ll be able to open it if she wants to. As long as Davis, her brother and the owner of the other half of the bakery, doesn’t object.” Erin glanced over at Vic. “She wants to get full ownership, but I guess she’ll be fine just to have control of it. She’ll get it open as soon as she can, and then we’ll have competition.”
“What does she need to do to get full ownership?” Reg asked, her eyes shrewd. “Buy out her brother?”
“That would do it,” Erin admitted. “But what she really wants to do is to take it away from him without paying for it. She wants to prove that he had something to do with killing his brother, and he can’t profit from his crime.”
“Ah,” Reg nodded sagely. “Makes sense.”
Erin was a little surprised at Reg’s interest in business matters. The Reg of the past had always been in it for fun and fast money, and things like building a business would not have interested her. But maybe she was maturing, and she was getting interested in more than just quick, easy money.
“I still think she’ll do it,” Vic said. “Prove that Davis was involved in Trenton’s murder, I mean. She’s driven.”
“And what do you do besides the bakery?” Reg asked. “You can’t work all the time. What do you do for your own entertainment?”
Erin had a hard time answering that one. She spent almost every second of the day at the bakery or wrapped up in running it somehow. If she wasn’t baking and selling her wares, she was working on paying the bills, writing ad copy, working through marketing plans, or thinking ahead to the next party or holiday.
“Well… not a lot,” she admitted. “It takes up most of my time.”
“Solving murders,” Vic suggested.
Erin shot her a look. “I don’t solve murders,” she said quickly.
“Well, not all of them, but you’ve got a pretty good track record so far.”
“Solving murders?” Reg repeated with wide-eyed interest. “How many have you solved?”
“Uh… well, Angela Plaint; her son Trevor; her husband, Adam; and my father. Charley’s boyfriend. Joelle Biggs. That’s it.”
“Six,” Reg counted. “And how long have you lived here?”
“About a year.”
“That’s one every two months. That’s amazing. I know full-time PI’s who don’t have a record like that.”
“It’s just been… luck. I haven’t been looking to solve murder cases and haven’t been paid for it. I just sort of… fall into things...”
“You get any money for it?”
“No. I was trying to stay out of prison for most of them!”
Reg laughed. “Right in the midst of things, our Erin. Man, I miss you, sister! You always did get into the most interesting scrapes.”
“Not without your help.”
“Come on, you would have gotten into trouble whether I was there or not, am I right? You just couldn’t help yourself.”
“No,” Erin protested. “I was quiet and kept to myself. I wouldn’t have gotten into any trouble without your help.”
“Ha!” Reg looked at Vic for help. “Tell me you don’t believe her. You’ve seen how it happens, haven’t you? She just attracts trouble, like bees to honey.”
“Well…” Vic screwed up her nose and tried to think of what to say. “It’s not that she’s trying to, though. So I don’t know if it counts.”
“It counts. It goes to show that she can find trouble all by herself without me at her side.”
“I suppose,” Vic admitted.
“You’re supposed to be on my side, traitor!” Erin said with mock hurt.
There was a knock at the door and they all looked up. Erin wasn’t expecting anyone else. She went to the door and peeked through the peephole, expecting to see Terry, or maybe Mary Lou. Other people just didn’t stop by for a visit. Not usually. She twisted the deadbolt and opened the door to Bella, standing there looking embarrassed and much smaller than usual.
“Bella? What are you doing here?” Erin couldn’t think of what would have brought Bella to the house, especial
ly when she didn’t drive.
“Sorry,” Bella apologized. “I probably should have called instead of just showing up on your doorstep. It’s just, my mom is visiting a friend, and I was with her, but I was getting bored and thinking about things, and I thought I’d stop by here and see…”
Erin waited for her to finish her sentence. “Yes…? See what?”
“See if you’d figured anything out yet about my grandma.”
“Uh…” Erin looked at Vic and Reg. “I haven’t looked into anything. I told you, I’m not a detective. I don’t think I’m going to get very far looking into an old case.”
“You did before. You figured out what happened with Adam Plaint.”
“Well… but I had Clementine’s journal to help me out there. I wouldn’t have known where the boys hid the body without the journal. And I wouldn’t have known about the men being switched, if it wasn’t for Bertie Braceling being involved. It was just luck…”
“But you said Clementine talked about my grandma and grandpa in her journal. So you do have a starting point. Couldn’t you at least… think about it? Read it over and try to imagine what had happened?”
Reg had a big grin on her face and was obviously enjoying the fix Erin was in.
“I’m not a detective,” Erin repeated, giving Reg a glare. “I’m just a baker.”
“Why won’t anyone talk about what happened to my grandma? Doesn’t anybody care? I know it happened twenty years ago, but she must have had friends. People who cared about what happened to her.”
“The journal didn’t say what happened to her,” Erin said. “Just that she disappeared, and Clementine was concerned about your grandpa and what had happened.”
“I want to know. If you can find out what happened to her, then I can stop worrying about the barn.”
“The barn?” Reg asked, leaning forward. “What about the barn?”
“It’s haunted,” Bella said. “Maybe if we can figure out what happened to my grandma, then she’ll be able to rest, and I won’t have to be scared of the barn anymore.”
Reg’s eyes turned to Erin, eyes inquiring whether Bella was really serious. Erin gave a slight nod.
“Maybe I could help you,” Reg offered.
“How? Erin is the one who is good at figuring this kind of stuff out.”
“I’m sure she is. Did you know I’m her sister? And I’m trained to find things like this out. To see what other people can’t see. I have a special talent.”
“Really?” Bella’s eyes were big. “How can you find things out?”
“I have a talent.” Reg was wearing a nightgown rather than the headscarf she had been wearing earlier in the day, and had washed all of her makeup off, so there was no way for Bella to guess about her newfound psychic abilities. “What if I could talk to your grandmother?”
“You can’t,” Bella said, frustrated with having to explain it all over again. “She’s dead. Or disappeared. She must be dead, or she wouldn’t be haunting the barn. But I don’t know what happened to her or how to fix it so that she can be at peace.”
“If she’s there, I can talk to her,” Reg promised. “You just take me to your barn and I’ll talk to her. We’ll figure out what happened to her and what to do next.”
Bella’s big eyes got bigger and rounder. “You can talk to haints?”
Erin glanced over at Vic, amused. Score one for local dialect. But Reg was still in the dark about what a haint was. She frowned and blinked.
“Ghosts,” Erin told her. “She’s asking if you can talk to ghosts.”
Reg nodded solemnly. “Yes! Exactly. If you take me there, I will talk to her, and we’ll sort this all out.”
Bella looked suddenly cautious. “I can’t bring anyone to the farm unless my mom says.”
Reg’s brows drew down. “You’re not allowed to invite anyone to your house?”
“Uh…” Bella shifted nervously. “No. Not really. I can check with Mom, she might say it’s okay. But you can’t tell her that you’re coming to talk to my Grandma, or she’ll say no.”
“Doesn’t your mother want to find out what happened to her mother? Why would she block it?”
“Talking to ghosts is…” Bella looked around dramatically, “that’s spiritualism,” she whispered. “Mom would never agree to that. And she’s never wanted to talk to me about what happened to Grandma. She clams right up. Nobody knows what happened, but I think Mom’s afraid that… people would think badly of us, if word got out.”
“But people know your grandma disappeared,” Erin said. “My aunt knew. What do people think happened? That she just fell off the face of the earth?”
“She’s always kept it real quiet. No one ever proved that she died or that there was any foul play. She just… wasn’t around anymore.”
“Maybe I can come out there one day when your mom isn’t around,” Reg suggested. “We wouldn’t have to get permission and she would never know about it. That way we wouldn’t be stirring things up. I could talk to your grandma and send her on her way. Then you wouldn’t have to worry about being afraid of the barn.”
Bella nodded her understanding. “I guess… it’s just that… she’s almost always home. She doesn’t go out very much, and when she does, it isn’t for long. I don’t know when the next time is going to be.”
“The opportunity will present itself,” Reg promised. “You’ll just have to be patient while we wait for it. It will happen. And when it does, you give me a call.” Reg felt for her pockets, but then realized she was wearing Clementine’s night gown. “I’ll get you my number, wait here for just a minute.”
She disappeared into the guest room, and returned a minute later with a business card, which she insisted Bella take. “How else are you going to call me? Keep that. Let me know when she’s gone, and I’ll come straight out.”
Bella handled the business card as though it were hot, holding it gingerly by the edges. “I don’t want my mom to see this…”
“Then memorize it and get rid of it. Just make sure you know it when the time comes.”
Bella stared down at the card, nodding dubiously.
Chapter Eight
A
fter Bella was headed back on her way, Erin said her goodbyes to Vic. Neither of them could say much in front of Reg, but they were familiar enough with each other’s facial expressions and body language to communicate the basics. Erin didn’t like Reg having anything to do with Bella. Vic wasn’t sure what she felt about Reg herself, but she was willing to give Reg a chance and see how things turned out. They would talk about it at the bakery in the morning, where they could do it without being overheard.
“Nice to meet you,” Vic told Reg, giving her a social hug where they barely touched each other. “I guess I’ll see you around.”
“Maybe we’ll come see you at your house next time,” Reg offered. “Save you the long trip.”
Vic gave a little laugh, but her eyes when she looked at Erin were worried. She didn’t want her sanctuary disturbed by the likes of Reg Rawlins, medium.
Erin gave a wide yawn, motioning Vic toward the door and herding Reg into the guest room. “You found everything you needed? I’ll see you in the morning… you can call or come by the bakery once you’re up and around, I assume you won’t be when we get up. And don’t worry if you think you hear a baby crying or someone being murdered. Erin looked down at Orange Blossom. “I’ll try to keep Blossom quiet, but he can be very loud and bothersome. We haven’t had a guest before, so I’m not sure how he’s going to react. Hopefully, he’ll just come and sleep with me like usual and won’t bother you.”
“He won’t bother me,” Reg said, though her nostrils flared a little and Erin suspected Reg didn’t want anything to do with a cat. “I like cats. He could come and keep me company.”
“I’ll try to keep him quiet,” Erin repeated. She called Orange Blossom to follow her to the bedroom and shut the door most of the way behind him. He could still get out if he wanted to,
but she hoped he would just settle in and sleep when she did.
Wednesday, morning Erin was surprised by the delivery of her new freezer. She had the deliveryman put it into position and plugged it in to start it cooling. It was a beautiful, modern-looking steel and glass affair, and Erin could just imagine what it was going to look like filled with frozen treats. While finding gluten-free ice cream and popsicles was not difficult, she would be able to offer the vegans and dairy-allergic and intolerant some lovely dairy-free options.
“That’s going to be popular when the heat hits,” Vic commented.
Erin, quite warm enough with the late spring weather and the bakery ovens, wiped her forehead with the back of her arm.
“We’ll start stocking it tomorrow,” she promised.
Vic grinned. Taller than Erin, she didn’t have to watch what she ate quite as carefully, and she had a sweet tooth. She would enjoy sampling Erin’s new creations.
Terry stopped by in the afternoon for a cookie and a water bottle refill. He leaned on the counter and watched K9 lap water from his bowl.
“So, you got yourself a cold case,” he commented.
Erin breathed in sharply. She had told Terry she wasn’t going to look into Grandma Prost’s disappearance. How had he found out so quickly that she had agreed to look a little further? Erin hadn’t exactly said she would take the case, but she was curious to see what she could find out, just asking around a little and studying Clementine’s journal.
“Uh… how did you hear that?”
“Word gets around town pretty quickly,” Terry pointed out. Gossip did spread through Bald Eagle Falls like wildfire. All Erin had to do was sneeze, and everyone would be asking her how her cold was for the next three days. “Especially where it involves desserts,” Terry added.
Erin stared at him, bewildered.
“Your cold case,” he repeated, nodding to the freezer and raising an eyebrow.
“Oh, that!” Erin said with sudden understanding. “Yes, of course. We’re going to fill it up with all kinds of tasty desserts.”
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