Murder With Jammin’T

by R A Wallace

  “I’m not signing until I talk to headquarters.” Tyler stared the other man down.

  Aaron shook his head. “Fine. I’m getting a cup of coffee. You have ten minutes, and I’m out of here.”

  Tyler turned and pulled Holly’s phone from her back pocket. He pulled his own phone back out to get the number. It wouldn’t even turn on this time. Tyler shoved it back into his pocket and searched the Internet for the company name. Within moments, he got an answer. It wasn’t the one he wanted. Tyler explained that most of the order wasn’t on the truck. When he was done with the call, he disconnected. He took two steps to reach Holly and put the phone in her back pocket.

  “What did they say?” Holly cracked more eggs onto the grill.

  “They said it was on the truck when he left. They’re going to call him and confirm what I’m saying we received. They’ll edit the order from their end and push the revisions down to his tablet so I can sign.”

  Tyler rubbed his hand over his chin. “I need to get back out there. At least you’ll have help in here soon when the rest of the kitchen staff clocks in. Do you have ideas for the lunch special? People are probably going to be switching over from breakfast orders to lunch orders any minute.”

  Holly grinned.

  When Tyler left the kitchen, he stopped at the board first to erase what was there and write the new option. He hoped everyone liked it. The daily specials had been in place since the early days of Bert and Betty running the diner.

  Tyler caught Lynn’s eye. She finished setting two orders on a table before walking over to join him.

  “We have to change the special for today.” Tyler watched Lynn’s eyes dart to the board before widening.

  “That sounds… different.” Her gray and black mid-length hair was pulled back in a tail. She stuck a pencil behind one ear. Lynn looked over at the driver.

  Tyler followed her gaze. The driver had a cup of coffee in front of him. He was arguing into his phone about the order.

  “Do you think anyone will complain?” Tyler asked.

  “About the special? Nah. Bert and Betty only offered the same thing all the time because it was easier on them toward the end. Before that, when they were younger, they used to change it up all the time.”

  Tyler managed a smile. “Good to know, thanks. If I haven’t said it within the last five minutes, thanks for all the guidance you’ve given us. It’s been great having someone here who knew the routine from before.”

  Lynn gave out a quick laugh. “With them moving to Florida permanently now, I guess I’m all you’ve got. After over a decade with them, I definitely know the routine. I think the changes you’ve been making are fine. You don’t want to change everything all at once. But a little here and there is okay.” Lynn shot off to take care of another order.

  Tyler walked over to the driver. He was no longer talking on his phone. He was staring at it.

  Aaron looked up when Tyler approached him. He held out the tablet.

  Tyler took the tablet without speaking. He scrolled through the list of supplies, then nodded before handing the tablet back to the driver.

  Aaron pulled up the signature page and handed it back. Tyler signed, then turned on his heel and walked away. He saw a familiar face enter the door.

  “Hey, Patty. I’m going to need to stop next door and see you at some point today. My phone isn’t working again.”

  Patty took a seat at the counter. “Yeah, not a problem. I’ll be there. Hey, can you get me a coffee and a muffin?”

  “If you can work your magic on my phone, I’ll give you two muffins.” Tyler quickly packaged the coffee and muffins to go.

  “Thanks. Like I said, I’ll be at the shop next door whenever you can make it in.”

  Tyler watched his business neighbor leave the diner. It was great having a phone store right next door. He crossed over to the other end of the counter.

  “You two order yet?” Tyler asked.

  Cy turned to Casey.

  Casey pointed to the board. “That new special looks interesting. I’ll give it a try.”

  Cy nodded his agreement. “What’s this about a missing cow? The message Holly left on my phone last night wasn’t clear.”

  “Looks like we have one. The police stopped out last night and made a report.” Tyler gave a rueful smile. “Sorry. I have no idea what could have happened to a cow or how it might have gone missing.”

  Cy watched Tyler leave to place their order before turning to Casey, a thoughtful look on his face.

  “How did she even know one was missing?” Casey held a section of the newspaper in front of him, his coffee in the other hand.

  “You know Holly with animals. She named them all.” Cy scratched his chin. “I can’t say I’ve heard of any cattle rustling activity in our parts. You?”

  “No, but it wouldn’t surprise me. A full-grown cow could fetch a decent price.”

  Chapter Three

  Cy left the diner and drove the short distance to his farm. It was the same farm where Holly and Tyler now lived. They had been caring for his animals on a daily basis so that he didn’t have to while they rented his old farm house. Since his marriage to Jill Swindell, he’d been spending most of his time at the twins’ farm.

  He still stopped out at the farm periodically to check on the animals. As he walked toward the barn, he tried to think back to the last time he had been here. Maybe he hadn’t been stopping as often as he should. It was just that the animals seemed to be in good hands with the two youngsters.

  He stepped into the barn and checked on the horses. Just as he expected, the stalls were practically spotless. He could tell that Holly had been out caring for them before she’d gone to work at the diner the first thing in the morning. The tack was all hanging precisely where it should be. The feed supply was stowed away the way it should be. The horses’ coats looked shiny. From everything he could see, they were being extremely well cared for. Just as he had suspected.

  He went outside and behind the barn to look out over the field. There were cows dotting the large expanse here and there. It was a typical sight. He wondered if he would have ever noticed being short one cow in a field of many. They were all the same breed. To most people, they probably all looked exactly the same. Cy stood and tried counting but it was a large field and, like many places in Pennsylvania, the land was not perfectly flat. Maybe there was one cow missing. Maybe not. He’d have to take Holly’s word for it. Unless he went out into the field to do a headcount, there was no way to tell for sure.

  Cy glanced back at his truck. He’d rather not have to deal with it. He could just climb into his truck and drive to the twins’ farm. Let Holly and Tyler handle it. They were doing a great job taking care of the farm. He leaned against the fence, clasped his hands together and stared down at them.

  Maybe it was time to sell the place. If he was losing stock for whatever reason, that was a big deal. One he needed to handle personally. Raising his head back up, he narrowed his eyes and looked across the field. There was no other way. He pushed himself away from the fence and went back to the barn. After a few minutes, he was driving the four wheeler through the gate into the field. He was going to have to do a manual count up close. It was the only way.

  ***

  Tyler glanced at the clock on the wall. They had another hour before closing time and he had yet to hear back from the food supply company on why he’d been shorted supplies or what they planned to do about it. He had hoped they’d send out the missing items the first thing the following morning. Now he wasn’t so sure that was going to happen.

  The elevated level of voices caused him to turn and look across the diner. Lynn was trying to get his attention. The man at the table doing all the yelling had his back toward Tyler. Tyler couldn’t ever remember seeing the older woman flustered as she was now. He quickly moved across to see what the problem was.

  “Take it back to the kitchen. This is slop!”

  The look that Lynn shot Tyler was a
mix of surprise and discomfort. Having a screaming customer at Jammin’T was not something she was used to.

  “Can I help?” Tyler reached Lynn’s side and looked down at the customer. He was around five ten, had dark hair, and his face was flushed with anger. “Lefty? What are you doing here?”

  “Getting a bad meal, obviously. How can you even serve this slop?” Lefty demanded.

  Tyler looked down at the plate. It was the special that Holly had come up with. It looked great to Tyler.

  “I’m sorry that you don’t like it. Everyone else who ordered it today raved about it.” In fact, everyone had been so happy, Tyler had planned to make it a regular special. “We can take it back to the kitchen and get something else for you if you’d rather.”

  Left stood and slammed the chair into the table. “I don’t want any more food if this is what you have to offer.” He pointed toward Holly in the kitchen. “She shouldn’t be allowed anywhere near that kitchen.”

  Tyler told himself to remain calm, but he knew it wasn’t going to work. The other man could say anything he wanted to about him. Talking that way about Holly wasn’t acceptable.

  “Perhaps you’ll be happier eating somewhere else,” Tyler said evenly. Although the other man had two inches on him, Tyler knew he outweighed Lefty.

  “I’m calling the inspection board. Someone needs to check this place out and see what you’ve been serving to your customers.” Lefty took several steps toward the door, then stopped and turned back to Tyler. He pointed toward the kitchen again. “And they need to get her out of that kitchen!”

  Tyler took a step forward. Lynn reached out and grabbed his arm, stopping him. Tyler watched Lefty stalk out the door. He turned to Lynn. Her eyes darted around the diner. Tyler became aware that everyone in the diner was watching him. He raised his hands, palms facing out.

  “Sorry everyone. Just a difference of opinion.” He flashed Lynn a quick look.

  She nodded once and managed a smile. “I’ll clean this table up.”

  “I’ll take the plate, thanks.” Tyler picked up the meal and turned to go to the kitchen. His attention was drawn to the front door when it opened again. This time, the person that walked through was a welcome sight.

  Ian Riordin walked over to the counter. He was not in uniform. Tyler stopped when he reached Ian.

  Ian pointed at the door. “Was there someone in here causing a problem?”

  Tyler nodded down at the plate. “Said he didn’t like the food.”

  “The man doesn’t have any taste. That stuff was crazy good. I stopped in to get a takeout order before you close so I can have it for dinner tonight, too.”

  Now that was more like it. Tyler knew there wasn’t anything wrong with the food. Ian was right. Lefty Leftwich didn’t have any taste and he was always that way.

  “I’ll let Holly know and have it right out for you.” Tyler left the other plate in the kitchen, placed the order for Ian and went back out to the counter.

  “It’ll just be minute or two.” Tyler reached for a rag behind the counter and began wiping it. “What, no sidekick today?”

  “Rhys has the day off.” Ian took a seat at the counter. “Bad day?”

  Tyler huffed out a laugh. “Aside from the missing cow, part of our supply order was missing in action this morning, my phone quit working, and we had an irate customer. First one we’ve had here. He actually criticized Holly’s cooking.”

  “What happened to your order?” Ian watched Holly working at the grill through the open window. She placed a large to-go bag on the counter that separated her from the kitchen side.

  Tyler went over to retrieve it and set it down in front of Ian. “I have no idea. The company hasn’t called me back about it yet.”

  Ian handed Tyler some money and stood to go. “Tomorrow is another day, my friend.”

  Tyler returned Ian’s smile. “That it is.”

  Ian held up his bag to get Holly’s attention. He could tell she was still upset about whatever the irate customer must have said.

  “This is true ambrosia here,” he called to her. He was rewarded with the quick flash of a smile before it was gone. He knew she was the sensitive type. He hoped she wouldn’t dwell on the negative comment for long.

  ***

  Rhys looked down at the exam results. He wasn’t sure exactly what he was looking at, but he thought they were pretty good numbers. Pretty great, actually.

  “I don’t understand the comment the teacher made.” He looked up at Ava and Bella.

  “I guess I didn’t do as well on the standardized test at the high school as expected. Maybe I shouldn’t have taken it.” Bella drew her brows together. Rhys could tell she was upset. It was the first time he’d ever seen Bella question her brain.

  “But the numbers look really high to me,” Rhys said stubbornly. “Why would the teacher write a note criticizing your efforts?”

  “The teacher thought that Bella wasn’t as focused on the test as she should have been,” Ava said quietly. She could tell that the scores Bella had received had upset her. She would have expected Bella to do better also. Perhaps she had been overwhelmed by a test that was designed for students several grades above her.

  Bella didn’t respond. Rhys studied Bella for a moment before setting the test results down. He patted the couch next to him.

  “Sit down here, honey.” Rhys draped his arm across the back of the couch behind Bella. “Something happened to mess you up. I can tell. I mean, I may not understand what all the numbers stand for on the results, but I know you aren’t happy with them. Tell me what happened.”

  Bella shrugged and remained mute.

  Rhys rubbed his other hand across his face. Maybe he should check the library for books on how to raise teenage girls. He was pretty sure he wasn’t doing well at the moment. He glanced over at Ava. She looked just as confused as he was. He tried to think back to the day of the test.

  “Did something happen on the day of the test?” He watched Bella glance at him quickly. He wondered what he had seen in her eyes for just a brief moment. “Something did, didn’t it? Bella, you know you can tell us anything, right?”

  Bella reached for the exam results. She started folding the pages together. “It isn’t important. I can take the test again.”

  Rhys shared another look with Ava. He was on to something. He just didn’t know what it was yet.

  “Bella, what happened on the day of the test? You seemed fine to me when I saw you. Wasn’t that around the time I stopped to talk to you about your mom?” Rhys watched as Bella’s hands went still.

  “You stopped to talk to Bella about me?” Ava looked between the two of them. Bella wouldn’t meet her eyes. Rhys gave her a confused look.

  “Yeah, you know. Just before I proposed. I wanted to talk to Bella first and ask if she was okay with us the way we were.”

  “Oh.” Ava looked over at Bella as it dawned on her. “Oh!” Ava repeated as she stood. She went over to the couch to sit on the other side of her daughter. She put her arms around Bella and drew her in for a hug. Bella rested her head on her mother’s shoulder.

  “What? What am I missing?” Rhys was so going to get some parenting books from the library.

  “Did you actually tell her you were going to propose? Or, did you tell her things would stay the same as they were? You know, when we weren’t getting married.” Ava gave Rhys a look over Bella’s head.

  Rhys had no idea. He’d been too nervous at the time. He thought he’d explained himself well. If he hadn’t, it meant that he’d upset Bella just before her big test. He glanced down at the results in Bella’s hands. She had rolled them into a tube and was holding on to them tightly.

  “Ah, honey.” Rhys gently pulled the results from Bella’s hands before she accidentally ruined them. “I’m sorry. This is my fault, isn’t it?”

  “It’s okay. I should have known better.”

  Rhys smiled. “You’re only thirteen. You can’t possibly know how much I�
�ll mess up yet. Wait till you’re eighteen and we’ll compare notes again.”

  Bella lifted her head to look at him. He was happy to see that she managed a smile.

  “Are you sure you can take the test again?” he asked.

  “Yeah. It was probably a good thing that I didn’t do as well as I should have.”

  Now he was confused again. “Why is that?”

  “They give scholarships for the highest scores. I’m not ready to go to college yet. The money should go to someone who is.” Bella held her hand out for the scores. “I’ll put those away.”

  Rhys watched Bella leave the room before turning to Ava.

  “Sometimes, I wonder which one of us is the adult here.”

  Ava gave a rueful smile. She knew the feeling.

  Chapter Four

  It should have been an easy day at the diner. The part of the order that hadn’t arrived yesterday as expected had shown up without explanation this morning. It allowed Holly to run the regular special without having to dream up a new one. Not that she had minded yesterday, of course. It had been fun to create something on the fly as she had. She wouldn’t mind doing it more often. Everyone had seemed to enjoy it.

  Well, almost everyone. Holly frowned. She had no idea why Lefty Leftwich was in Teaberry or why he would have attacked her cooking in the way that he had. She hadn’t been able to hear the entire conversation, but she could tell from their body language that something was wrong with the food. At least, Lefty thought something was wrong with the food. Holly tried to remember the last time she’d seen him. She wasn’t even sure what state they were in at the time. It was yet another county fair that her parents had dragged them to with their food truck. Lefty had been there working one of the rides.

  No one else had been complaining about the special Holly had made. Ian had even come for a second time yesterday to take an order of the special home. That had to mean it was good. Right? Holly looked through the window into the restaurant side. It was almost quitting time for the day. Most of the waitstaff had already left. There weren’t nearly as many customers now as there had been all day. She liked that they closed at three. It meant being up very early to open for the breakfast crowd, but having the evening to herself was amazing. It allowed her to spend more time with the animals at the farm.