by Amber Crewes
Meghan’s stomach churned. She thought of Jack and his busy work schedule; he was often called into the police station in the middle of the night, and sometimes, she didn’t hear from him for days at a time. “Its work,” Jack would tell Meghan. “Work keeps me on my toes, beautiful!”
Meghan, Sheila, and Karen walked into the lobby of the gym. The blonde instructor walked by the trio and winked at Sheila. Meghan’s jaw dropped, but she quickly recovered her composure.
“I can’t help how I feel,” Sheila said softly as they walked out of the lobby and into the cool evening. “My husband was never home, girls. He was never around. I fell in love at that gym--with myself, with my body, and with my fitness instructor. I wish that things had been different. I wish that poor Tom were still with us. But I can’t change the past. And I’m going to live happily in the moment. And that moment is my new life, without my husband, a man who never managed to make his beautiful, bright wife happy. I have no regrets, girls. No regrets in the slightest.”
Karen turned to Sheila and stared at her. “No regrets?”
Sheila shrugged. “Everyone in town knows what I have done,” she confessed. “And let me just tell you girls something: when a wife is ignored, she has to do what she has to do to find her own happiness again. Let’s just say that I did what I had to do….”
8
Sheila’s cold words about the state of her marriage kept playing on a continuous loop in Meghan’s mind. She couldn’t imagine things deteriorating to that level in her relationship with Jack. The arrival of her least favorite person in Sandy Bay broke up her musings.
“I told you, Meghan Truman,” Mrs. Sheridan screeched as she waved her cane up and down to destroy the arrangement of fresh gingerbread on the counter of Truly Sweet. “Gingerbread is bad luck! You and that Jack had gingerbread at the movies, and Tom Doncaster was killed! How can you bring this bad luck into your bakery at such a time? Shame on you.”
Meghan’s dark eyes filled with tears as Mrs. Sheridan kicked one of her display cases. The fresh gingerbread cookies fell to the floor and crumbled, and Meghan shrieked. “Please,” Meghan pleaded as Mrs. Sheridan raised her cane. “Please, stop! Those cookies were for a new order, Mrs. Sheridan! The customers paid over the phone. I stayed up all night to make that gingerbread!”
Mrs. Sheridan scoffed. “I don’t care,” she declared to Meghan. “I told you that gingerbread is bad luck, and you went and filled your bakery with GINGERBREAD. It’s like you are asking for bad luck to sneak up and bite you on the bottom, Meghan Truman, and I won’t stand for it.”
Meghan balled her hands into fists, thinking of the sleepless night she had spent preparing the last minute order. “Mrs. Sheridan,” she murmured. “You’ve ruined my order. What else do you want?”
Mrs. Sheridan stared at Meghan. “I want you to understand that gingerbread should not be in this town,” she explained to Meghan as her eyes flashed in anger. “Ever since I was a little girl, anytime gingerbread has been around, there has been trouble! You listen to old Mrs. Sheridan, Meghan. I know what I am talking about.”
Out of nowhere, there was a loud crash in the kitchen, and Meghan heard Trudy let out a scream.
“Ouch!”
Meghan turned toward the kitchen. “Are you okay?” Meghan called to Trudy.
“I’ll be fine,” she replied. “Just spilled some cake batter, but I’ll clean it up.”
Mrs. Sheridan cackled. “I told you,” she said to Meghan. “The gingerbread. The gingerbread caused that woman to fall. I told you, Meghan Truman. I told you.”
“Told her what?”
Meghan’s shoulders dropped in relief as Jack walked into the bakery. “Mrs. Sheridan, are you talking about the gingerbread again?”
Mrs. Sheridan narrowed her eyes at Jack and gestured at the spilled gingerbread on the floor. “I did what I had to do.”
Jack gasped. “You did that? Mrs. Sheridan, I am warning you; if you ruin anything from this bakery ever again, I will arrest you.”
Mrs. Sheridan rolled her eyes at Jack and hobbled out of the bakery. Meghan collapsed to the floor and began to cry.
“Oh, Meghan,” Jack soothed as he bent down to sit with her. “What happened?”
“I was up all night making gingerbread for a last minute order, and then Mrs. Sheridan came in and destroyed it all. She kept saying that gingerbread is cursed, Jack. She ruined the order, and now, there’s another mess to clean up in the kitchen. Trudy fell and spilled some cake batter. It just isn’t going well today.”
Jack leaned over to wrap Meghan in his strong, muscular arms. “It’s okay,” he whispered to Meghan as he smoothed her messy dark hair. “I’m here. We’ll get this squared away, Meghan.”
Jack kissed Meghan on the forehead and pulled her to her feet. “Why don’t you go take a nap?” Jack suggested. “You look exhausted. Go rest. I’ll help Trudy take care of the mess.”
Meghan nodded gratefully. “Thank you,” she muttered as she wandered upstairs. “Thanks, Jack.”
An hour later, Meghan returned to the kitchen with a smile on her face. “I just got off the phone with the client who ordered the gingerbread,” she informed Jack. “They said that I can push the order to tomorrow with no issue. Thank goodness. I have time to begin again.”
Jack beamed. “That’s great, Meghan,” he said. “Trudy and I cleaned up the kitchen, and she told me to tell you that she’s going to take next week off.”
Meghan bobbed her head up and down. “That’s fine; I remember she told me that she was going on vacation. Thanks for helping her clean up.”
Jack reached for Meghan’s hands and stared into her dark eyes. “Something else happened while you were sleeping,” he told Meghan. “I received a phone call from Chief Nunan with an update on the case.”
Meghan’s jaw dropped. “Did they catch the murderer? Do they know who it was? From talking with Sheila and Lawrence, I wouldn’t be surprised if it were one of those two. They seemed so suspicious, Jack.”
Jack bit his lip. “They found the owner of the metallic purple car,” he explained to Meghan. “The car that was spotted leaving the theater only moments after Tom was murdered.
Meghan clapped a hand over her mouth. “They found the owner of the car? Who is it, Jack?”
Jack furrowed his brow. “It was Trevor Souza,” he said.
“Trevor Souza?” Megan asked. “Who is that?”
Jack’s blue eyes were somber, and he gripped Meghan’s hand. “Trevor Souza is Sheila Doncaster’s fitness instructor at Sandy Babes….the one she has had eyes for, Meghan. Trevor Souza owns the car that sped away from the theater only moments after Tom, Sheila’s husband, was murdered in cold blood.”
9
Friends are the family you get to choose and Meghan was grateful for the friendships she had made in Sandy Bay. She had had her highs and lows in her short stay in Sandy Bay but at every point she had been blessed with friends to share those key moments.
“I’m so glad I have you around to help while Trudy is on vacation,” Meghan gushed to Karen as they tidied the bakery. “I’ve loved having you today!”
Karen grinned, licking blue frosting from her fingertips from a batch of cupcakes she had decorated. “It’s my pleasure, sweetie,” she said to Meghan. “It’s just fabulous to help friends, and you know how much I love helping you!”
Both women looked up as the little silver bells attached to the front door chimed. A stout, mousy-haired woman walked in. “Meghan Truman? I’m Felicia Foust. I made the order for the gingerbread?”
Meghan smiled and walked around the counter to shake Felicia’s hand. “Pleasure to meet you, Felicia. Thank you for being so flexible about the pickup date for your order. I really appreciate it.”
Felicia waved her hand. “No problem! The gingerbread is for a little work party at the end of the week, so it really didn’t matter. Thank you so much for taking on the order last minute. I’m so thrilled to find someone in town who makes ginger
bread.”
Karen winked at Felicia. “You came to the right place, Felicia,” she informed the customer. “Meghan is the best. Her sweets are the best in the Pacific Northwest, you’ll see.”
Karen went to the kitchen to retrieve the order. She returned holding three yellow cardboard boxes. “Here you are.”
Felicia opened one of the boxes, her eyes wide with excitement. “These look gorgeous!”
Meghan smiled demurely. “You are too kind.”
Felicia shook her head. “Seriously, these look wonderful. I cannot wait to share them.”
Felicia paid Meghan, and as she left, Meghan bid Felicia farewell. “Bye, Felicia!” Meghan called out. “At least someone in this town appreciates my gingerbread,” she muttered as Felicia left.
The little silver bells chimed again, and Kayley Kane strutted into the bakery. “Meghan Truman,” she cooed. “Long time no see. I have some treats to pick up, as well as a question for you.”
Meghan sighed, but pasted a smile on her face. “I have your treats right here. What did you need to ask me, Kayley?”
Kayley gestured at the door. “I just passed Felicia Foust walking out of here, and she was gushing about the gingerbread you made for her. I’ve never heard her be so complimentary of anyone before. Meghan, I have a favor. My son is having a birthday party next week and wants a fruit cake. Would you be available to make one? I know that fruit cakes aren’t your usual treats to make, but would you make an exception for me? Just this once?”
Before Meghan could respond, Tim Dollar, the new manager of the movie theater, walked into the bakery. “Meghan Truman! Good evening!”
Meghan waved at Tim, and then gestured to Kayley. “Tim Dollar, this is Kayley Kane. Kayley is a real estate agent in town.”
Kayley stuck her hand out to shake Tim’s hand, pumping it vigorously. “Pleasure. What do you do, Mr. Dollar?”
Tim smiled, revealing a deep dimple on his left cheek. “I am the new manager of the movie theater. I just arrived in town from New York. Our headquarters sent me out here to get that place in shape!”
Kayley’s face brightened, and she batted her eyelashes at Tim. “The new manager of the movie theater? Oh, it is an absolute pleasure to meet you,” Kayley breathed. “I have been trying to track you down for days!”
Meghan watched as Tim raised an eyebrow at Kayley. “You’ve been trying to track me down? Why is that, Mrs. Kane?”
“Ms. Kane,” she corrected Tim as she flirtatiously bit her bottom lip. “I’m not married. Anyway, I’ve been trying to track you down all week. Like Meghan said, I am a local real estate agent at one of the best firms in town. I wanted to ask you a question about the movie theater. Are you planning on selling the theater?”
Tim shook his head. “Absolutely not,” he informed Kayley. “Headquarters sent me out to Sandy Bay to fix things, not to sell the business.”
Kayley’s face fell. “Are you sure? You are sure that the movie theater is not going to sell?”
Tim laughed. “Ms. Kane, I’ll be honest with you. I’ve had my eye on the Sandy Bay branch of our theaters for a long time, and I am thrilled to finally be the one in charge now that Tom is out of the way….I mean, no longer with us.”
Kayley frowned. “I see. Well, it was nice to meet you. Meghan, I’ll talk to you later.” Kayley took her sack of treats and stomped out of the bakery.
“What a lovely woman,” Tim admitted to Meghan as she stared into his eyes. “Sandy Bay is just filled with the nicest, prettiest girls! Including you. Anyway, I just wanted to grab an eclair, if that’s possible.
Meghan nodded and fetched an eclair from the kitchen. As she wrapped the sweet in the bakery’s signature yellow paper, she wrinkled her forehead in confusion. Meghan was perturbed by the conversation Kayley and Tim had shared; Tim sounded pleased that Tom had been killed, and she felt goosebumps on her arms as she handed him his eclair.
“Thanks, Meghan. Good to see you. You have a truly sweet day,” Tim joked as he walked toward the door.
Meghan turned to see Karen walk into the front of the bakery, her mouth agape. “Did you hear all of that?”
Karen nodded, her eyes large. “Yep. I heard every word. It sounds like we need to add another suspect to the list; Tim Dollar sounds guilty, and I think we might have our guy now.”
10
Meghan nervously bit her fingernails as she walked up the pathway to Kayley’s house. Kayley had called the previous night to confirm her request for a fruit cake to serve at her son’s birthday party, and Meghan had agreed to fill the order. As she approached Kayley’s beautiful home, she could feel her heart beating nervously in her chest.
“Meghan,” Kayley greeted her as she flung open the door. “So glad you are here.”
Meghan stepped into the entryway of Kayley’s elegant home and gasped. “This is a lovely home, Kayley,” she gushed.
Kayley snapped her gum dismissively. “It was all I got in my divorce,” she shrugged. “It’s fine. You brought the cake, yeah?”
Meghan nodded and held up the yellow cardboard box containing the cake. “It’s my first fruitcake, but I think your son will like it!”
Kayley bit her lip. “I hope so,” she whispered. “This party is already off to a strange start.”
Meghan cocked her head to the side, yelping as she felt Siesta and Fiesta nipping at her ankles. “Oh! I hope it’s okay that I brought my dogs. You mentioned that you have a dog, and I wanted my dogs to get some fresh air.”
Kayley shrugged. “Whatever,” she answered. “It’s fine. Your dogs are the least of my worries today.”
Meghan followed Kayley into the kitchen. She studied Kayley’s outfit. Kayley was dressed in a tight red skirt and a matching jacket. She wore her signature high heels and matching lipstick. Meghan knew that she could never pull off such a look, and she pulled nervously at her party dress, a navy blue tea-length frock with large white polka dots across the skirt.
“She came to the party,” Kayley hissed, as Meghan tugged at her skirt. “She came. It’s so uncomfortable, Meghan; I extended an invitation to her before the scandal at the movie theater, and she still had the audacity to show up. Granted, I only invited her so I could find out if her husband would think about selling the theater to me, but now, he’s dead, and she’s still here, and it’s terribly classless.”
Meghan raised an eyebrow. “Who is here, Kayley? Are you talking about Sheila?”
Kayley nodded. “Yes. Sheila Doncaster is here. I invited her in the first place so that I could pick her brain about her husband’s business plans, but now that her husband is dead, there is no reason for her to be here!”
Meghan bit her lip. “But she doesn’t have children. Why would you invite someone without a child to your son’s party?”
Kayley rolled her eyes. “You are so naive, Meghan. I needed to talk with her, and this was the perfect excuse to have her over.”
Meghan sighed. “Whatever you say, Kayley.”
Kayley glared at Meghan. “It’s just a disaster, Meghan. First, she shows up here, and she’s dressed like trash. You should see her. She looks like trash. It’s a child’s birthday party, for goodness sake!”
Meghan peered out the kitchen window. The party was taking place in Kayley’s immaculately decorated backyard, and Meghan could see Sheila holding court amidst the Sandy Bay mothers. While Sheila was approximately the same age as the Sandy Bay mothers, her age was the only similarity between her and the other women; her hair was long and flowing, and she was dressed in a designer dress and dripping in diamonds.
“She looks ridiculous,” Kayley hissed. “She says that this is her official goodbye to Sandy Bay. Upon her arrival, she announced to the group that she is leaving for an extended-stay luxury cruise and that we won’t be seeing her for a long time.”
Meghan stared at Kayley. “She said that to you?”
Kayley nodded. “Good riddance, though. Sheila has always been spoiled and sassy, and drama just seems to
follow her all over the place. She couldn’t keep her eyes on her own husband, and look what happened to him. Everyone in town knew about her interest in that fitness instructor, Trevor. I think Sandy Bay will be better off without Sheila, and after the gauche way she showed up here, I’m of half a mind to tell her that myself!”
Meghan’s jaw dropped. “So she’s leaving? Indefinitely?”
Kayley shook her head. “I just said that. Aren’t you listening to me, Meghan Truman?”
Meghan said nothing. She reached into her red purse and retrieved her cell phone, walking out of the kitchen and leaving Kayley alone. Meghan hastily dialed Jack’s phone number, praying that he would pick up. She felt relieved when she finally heard his voice after the third ring.