Over their big steamy mugs of brew, he ruined the mood. “Have you made any progress on your investigation?”
Taylor stiffened. “No.”
“It’d be hard, I guess. I’ve always heard you can’t prove a negative, and if no one’s responsible, then that’s the task you’ve got.”
“An accident isn’t really a negative, though. I don’t mean that metaphorically. I mean that it’s a thing that happened rather than the absence of a thing.” Taylor was fighting for the side of the debate she wasn’t really on, but she resented him for bringing it up and ruining her escape from her troubles.
“Have you talked to the other guests from that night yet? Gina and Nancy?”
“I’ve sent Facebook requests, but haven’t heard back.” Taylor wanted to say her coffee was bitter in her mouth, but it was just her attitude. The coffee still tasted great.
“I hope you hear from them. They might be the witnesses you need.”
“Yeah.”
“You haven’t come across any good motives yet have you?”
“Nothing new.” Taylor pursed her lips. How was he not getting the mood change here? Did she need to just up and leave so he’d get the point? She considered it, maybe even just excusing herself to the ladies would help him see she wasn’t into this conversation.
“Hey, sorry about that um…the Lolita joke.”
Taylor leaned forward like she hadn’t heard him well. “Oh?”
“Belle’s a good kid. That’s what I thought made it funny. The irony, you know? But I’m assuming it was not funny to you.”
“So you think the only reason I wouldn’t call you is because you called my sister Lolita, huh?” He was too close to correct, but he didn’t need to know that.
“You’re not the first person who didn’t call when I gave them my number.” He shrugged lightly. Humble, but it was hard to believe. What girl wouldn’t call this guy if he asked? “But after thinking about it, I did wish I had just said ‘call if I can help in any way’ because that’s all I meant, and it wasn’t really a good time to be funny.”
“Yeah, that would have gone over better.”
“Belle is sharp. And from what I saw, she’s working hard to make sure folks don’t see her as a pretty face instead of a brain.”
“Forget about it. I can probably forgive you.”
Relief swept across his face. “Awesome. I know you have to get back to work, but before you disappear again, can I take you out to dinner sometime?”
Coffee with a friend was something she needed. Dinner with a guy? She wasn’t so sure.
“The timing is just….”
He nodded. “How about this instead: call me anytime. Got a racoon stuck in your garage? I’ll get it out. Roof leaking? I can move some buckets under it for you.”
Taylor sighed, but in a smiling way. “I know that’s not as much fun as a date, but it’s about as far as my mind can think right now.” She paused and sipped her coffee innocently. “You wouldn’t believe the racoon problem we have in this town.
Taylor thought about the coffee “date” quite a bit the rest of the afternoon, especially because Roxy had a million questions for her. Who was he? How had they met? When was he moving in? She seemed to be avoiding the troubled conversation with Dale. Her son Jonah was about the same age as Dayton, Cooper, and Belle. Whatever Roxy thought about the problem, the kids, or even the way Taylor was handling things, she kept to herself. Taylor again realized this lady was worth her weight in gold.
“Roxy!” Taylor swatted at her with the March copy of Quilt Shop Owners Monthly. “I’m not even on the rebound yet, much less ready to move some rando in.”
“Leave the girl alone,” Grandpa called from his station at the back of the shop. How that had woken him up and Dale hadn’t, Taylor couldn’t guess.
“Yeah, leave me alone,” Taylor said.
Grandpa countered. “No, you leave Roxy alone. She’s got her head on her shoulders. That’s a nice boy what came in to take you out. Forget that city boy you used to see. You need a good feller like that Hudson East.”
“You know him?” Taylor ambled over to Grandpa.
“Sure, I do. His granddad Boggy and I were in the Fraternal Order of Odd Fellows together, and two odder fellows you never did see.” Grandpa laughed. “Next time you see that boy, ask him if Boggy still has those rockets. He’s not supposed to, that’s a fact, but I have a feeling he’s got them hid somewhere.”
Grandpa was lost in memory. Taylor didn’t know if she’d take Hudson up on his offer for help, but if she did, she would certainly ask about this Boggy and his rockets. It would be nice to talk about something other than her dead mother and her moody sister.
Not long after, the moody sister herself showed up.
“Hey Belle, come back with me and get a snack.” Taylor wandered back to Grandpa’s domain and dug around in his little fridge looking for something to offer her.
They hadn’t talked since her accusation that Taylor had abandoned the quest for her mom’s killer, and they needed to sort that out.
“Whatcha been up to?” Her opener was not brilliant, and neither was the cold, stale Ding Dong she passed her.
“Nothing.” Belle accepted the snack and ripped open the little white bag.
Her guess was that “nothing” meant keeping Dayton and Cooper out of school.
“So my friend requests to Gina and Nancy haven’t been accepted yet. When they are, I’ll get right on questioning them about that night.”
“That will be nice for you.” Belle’s gaze was fixed on something in the room behind her, or maybe nothing, just so long as she didn’t have to look at Taylor.
“But, um, maybe we should go talk to Andrea again.”
Belle shot her a quick glance and then looked away. “Whatever.”
“Or not.” Taylor had thrown that out as a Hail Mary. She hadn’t given it any thought, and there really wasn’t any good reason to talk to the owner of the bed and breakfast again. “But maybe you and I should just like, go away. We could go away for the weekend even. When was the last time you were in Portland? It would be pretty fantastic to get some real shopping in. When was the last time you’ve been to a Target, even? What about this?” She showed her phone calendar to Belle. “Grandpa Ernie could stay with Grandma and Grandpa Quinny, I bet.”
Belle shrugged, then froze. “Hold on. There’s actually a thing coming up…” She checked the calendar on her phone, blushing. “Um…prom is that weekend.”
“Prom!”
Her blush deepened. “Yeah, I wasn’t going to go, but Mom wanted me to.”
“Do you need a dress? An appointment for hair? What can I do?” The excitement bubbled up in Taylor. She couldn’t help it.
Belle looked at her with laughing, disdainful eyes.
Taylor wondered if Belle had looked at their mom that way…then her eyes softened, and the color receded from her face. “I’m wearing Mom’s prom dress, and um, Cooper’s mom is doing my hair.”
“Sissy?” Taylor couldn’t hide the disbelief in her voice.
“Yeah, she’s a stylist. She’s good.”
“Did she give you that cut?” Taylor tried not to reveal how little she liked Belle’s current look.
“No, I did this myself.”
“Are you going with Cooper?”
“Nah, I made him take Dayton.”
“And you?”
The color began to rise again. “His name is Levi. He’s from Hillsboro. I met him at the OSU early admittance summer program last year.” Her voice was quiet.
“Is he headed off with you in the fall?”
“He’s already there.”
And that, Taylor realized, was the real reason Belle wasn’t graduating with her class.
No. That wasn’t fair.
Belle wasn’t graduating with her class because she had outgrown this school. Maybe in a different town, with a larger pool of kids that could keep up with her, she would have done all four yea
rs, but then again, maybe not. She had options and she was wise to want to take them. This Levi character was a bonus.
At least Taylor hoped so. “Okay, so…not this weekend. How about next?”
Belle shook her head. “I dunno.” Though she had reverted to caveman language, she looked relieved, probably because Taylor had changed the subject from prom.
“I’ll see what I can come up with. Maybe…” Taylor remembered the invitation to go to the beach with the Kirby’s and swallowed. Stupid. She should have brought that up. It’s what they really needed to discuss. There was literally no reason on earth to go to Portland, no matter how badly she itched to hit every major mall and leave loaded with a bunch of stuff she didn’t need.
“Whatever.” Belle moved toward the back door.
“Real fast…before you go…”
Belle paused, hand on the knob.
“After you get your hair done, can you come back home? I’d really like to take some pictures of you and Levi. Please?”
“Do what your sister tells you,” Grandpa Ernie said.
Belle patted his shoulder. “Yes, Gramps.” She turned to Taylor. “Yeah, I’ll come back here. I promised Mom.” On that note she headed back out again.
Chapter Thirteen
The next morning Taylor’s calendar said they had an appointment with Maddie. She had wanted to go together, but Belle was ready and out the door before she had a chance to get her shoes on.
Belle had taken care of Grandpa’s breakfast and pills before she left so Taylor shoved her resentment aside for later. At least Belle wasn’t neglecting what really mattered.
Once Taylor had Grandpa settled in his room with the paper and the TV news, she hustled over to Maddie’s office to meet Belle so they could walk home together. This counseling deal included her, and she wasn’t going to be cut out from it.
When the appointment ended, she stood in the doorway of the waiting room to block their exit. “Ladies.” Taylor looked at each one in turn. “I had a run in the other day with Dayton’s dad that I think we need to talk through.”
Maddie looked at her watch a bit too dramatically. “I don’t think we have time this morning.”
Belle smirked in Maddie’s direction. “But this could be of value for me.”
“Five minutes?” Taylor asked.
“Fine.” Maddie shut the door to her counseling room and took a seat in the waiting area.
Belle and Taylor remained standing while Taylor recounted Dale’s warnings.
“I cannot discuss any other clients with you.”
Taylor lifted her eyebrow.
Maddie passed her hand over her eyes.
“Dayton is all right, but no big loss.” Belle’s eyes grew cold and she shrugged.
“Every friend is a loss,” Taylor asserted. “Why are you encouraging Dayton to skip classes with you?”
“I’m not. I can’t control anyone but myself.”
“Good. That’s true,” Maddie said. “And Dale is in the wrong to blame you for Dayton’s actions.”
“So what do you suggest Belle do? Send Dayton away any time they’re together? Not respond to messages?”
Maddie shook her head slightly.
“Are you ready to go back to classes?” Taylor asked while Maddie considered the situation.
“Sure.” Belle’s shoulders were stiff under her backpack.
“It’s just I don’t know how many days you can miss before I mess up your plans for next year.” Taylor already regretted what had been intended as a threat.
“I said it was fine.”
“I can go to the school and explain...” Taylor couldn’t back peddle this one. She had given Belle a reason to get away from her every day, and Belle looked like she was going to take it.
“I can handle it.” Belle made as though she was going to leave, but Taylor still stood firm in front of the door.
“Belle, the break was good for you, but I was wrong about the investigation. It hasn’t achieved the goals I had for it. I think you should resume your regular life. Get back into your normal schedule.” Maddie spoke calmly, her eyes warm, but not smiling. She was like a robot set to “care but don’t invest”.
Taylor wanted to knock the controlled look off her face.
Belle pressed her lips together and stared at the door.
“But not yet. She and I have one more thing to do together.” Taylor opened the door.
Belle slipped out but waited for her at the bottom of the steps.
“Do you remember how to get to Colleen’s house?”
Belle turned, her mouth a little circle. She took a second then said, “Yes.”
“Great. I think it’s time we have a long talk with your…with the Kirbys.”
Belle nodded, her eyes hidden behind that shag of black hair. “Fine. After that I have to go back to school?”
“Yes, but if I start getting lots of calls from the attendance office, I will go to the school to talk to your teachers. Understand?”
Belle gave a half-hearted one shoulder shrug.
They went back to the house. Grandpa was pacing the living room, agitated.
“What’s up, Gramps?” Belle asked.
“Your mother had a bank book and I need to see it.”
Belle took him by the elbow and tried to lead him to his chair.
“Don’t push me into that thing.” His voice was firm, and his eyes were sparking. He didn’t look confused like he did in the evenings and mornings. “She kept accounts in an old-fashioned bank book, and I need it. Where did you put it?”
“I didn’t put it anywhere, Gramps.” Belle let him go back to his pacing. “She used a computer for her banking.”
“Not for her personal banking. She used that computer for the business.”
“Do you mean her check book?” Taylor asked.
“If I had meant her check book, I would have said her check book.” Grandpa Ernie’s face was turning an alarming color—something between red and heart attack.
“Let me get you your….” Taylor didn’t know what to get him
“The bank book? Because that’s the only thing I want right now. What have you done with it? It was always right there till you moved in.” He pointed a finger that only shook a little bit at the table by his chair.
“I’ll go look.”
“I looked.” He raised his voice so that it rattled in his throat. “I’ve looked everywhere. She was stealing from me, Taylor. Your mother had been stealing from me for years and I want to see it with my own eyes.”
“I think you need to sit down.” Belle whispered.
“I do not need to sit down. I know when someone steals from me and I won’t put up with it.”
“I promise I will never steal from you.” Taylor spoke firm, and in charge, though she felt anything but.
“You’re living in my house, aren’t you? And you aren’t paying rent. What do you call that?”
“Grandpa, I’ll pay you rent. I have plenty of money.”
He stared at her, his jaw working back and forth. “Spoiled. That’s what your mother was. A terrible spoiled brat. Convinced my own wife to steal my business from me. Stole from me every day after my wife died. Stole the business right out from under me.”
Taylor looked to Belle who seemed frozen in place. “What now?” she mouthed. She had never seen him so angry, never heard these kinds of words from him before.
Belle shook her head, then looked at her phone.
Grandpa Ernie looked like he was at risk of a heart attack, but he wasn’t in extreme crisis, falling down or anything. And he was lucid, maybe. Taylor couldn’t tell. But he looked lucid. She was afraid if she called 911 they would think she was wasting their time.
“Let me look anyway. I’ll look in Mom’s room. And I’ll call the bank and have them send you all of the records.”
Grandpa tilted his chin up and appraised Taylor.
“Do that. Yes, do that.” He stood in place, the color fading from h
is cheeks, though little beads of sweat broke out on his forehead.
Taylor went upstairs. She shut herself in her room with her phone. Grandma Quinny had promised her if she ever needed anything, all she had to do was call. She made the request as succinct as she could.
Grandpa Quinny was on his way over.
She took a deep breath, then tore into the closet. If there was a personal bank book, where would it be?
Before she was halfway through the first box, the doorbell rang, the old door creaked open, and her Grandpa Quinny’s charming, smooth, and loud voice echoed up the staircase.
Taylor ran down to greet him.
He pulled her into a side hug. “Taylor! Darling!” He kissed the top of her head. “My dear, I know you ladies need a man around, but could you spare Ernie for me?”
Grandpa Ernie stared at Grandpa Quinny, his junior by at least ten years.
Grandpa Quinny, the tall, distinguished gentleman farmer with a new, thin mustache. “Ernie, I have a problem with my seed-sorter and no one is better with small machines than you are. Could you spare me an hour or two at the farm? Margot will make dinner to repay you.”
Grandpa Ernie frowned, but in a different, more satisfied way. “Sure, sure. I could look at it.”
Grandpa Quinny passed Taylor some folded bills. “You girls go out and have some supper together, this might be a while.”
“Thanks, Grandpa.” Taylor slid the money into her pocket.
Ernie frowned a little deeper. “You keep looking for that bank book, you hear?”
“Yes, definitely Grandpa.”
“You wouldn’t believe the way that girl has been stealing from me all these years.” He shook his head as he led Grandpa Quinny outside.
“Kids!” Grandpa Quinny was saying. “You never can satisfy them, can you?”
After Taylor shut the door, she pulled the little wad of cash from her pocket. Two hundred dollars.
“What made you think to call him?”
Taylor looked up at Belle. “Don’t know exactly, but Grandma Quinny said I could call her any time I needed her. You know, she wants both of us to move in with her.”
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