Shenanigans in the Shadows

by Kari Lee Townsend

  I just smiled and wiggled my eyebrows at her and then took off running. People should be scared when I got this way. Crazy with a capital C is what I became when people messed with my friends, and right now the Erwins should be very afraid.

  I made it to Perry’s Pawn shop before it closed, totally out of breath and sweaty and irritable. I really hated to exercise. Wally down at Wally’s World was still on a mission to make me a believer. I was a believer, all right. A believer in not exerting any more energy than I had to. Okay, fine, I was lazy, plain and simple.

  “Miss Meadows, what a pleasure to see you.” Perry LaLone grinned wide, his black hair slicked back, his capped teeth pearly white, and his smile as phony as ever. He wasn’t a bad guy, just cheesy and cheap and always out for himself.

  “Pleasure to see you too, Mr. LaLone.” I smiled back just as wide, not completely unskilled in playing the game.

  “How’s that charming grandmother of yours?”

  “She’s doing well, thanks. But I’m not here for small talk, Perry. I’m here to do business.” I rested my hands on the counter and looked around conspiratorially, then leaned in close. “A little birdie told me you got some new merchandise in yesterday.” I bluffed.

  He raised a brow. “Maybe. Maybe not. What are you in the market for, and I’ll let you know.”

  “Jewelry, and not just any jewelry. I’m looking for something expensive from, oh, let’s say a mutual acquaintance with the last name of Erwin.”

  He blinked, surprised, but then quickly recovered and I could already see the calculator in his brain crunching numbers. “You like to stay informed, I see, but it might cost you...if I even have the merchandise you’re looking for.”

  “Money’s no object for something special, and let’s just say I need something special for a wedding present.”

  He walked to the front of his shop, turned the lock and flipped his sign to closed.

  “I’m not technically supposed to do a transaction yet since I have to give the seller a chance to change his mind, but for you I just might make an exception. If the price is right, that is.” He was practically salivating over the thought of making a hefty profit. I hated to burst his bubble, but I had the law on my side, and I wouldn’t have to pay a dime for stolen goods. I would love the chance to return the rings to Cole and Jo and see the looks on their faces.

  “I need to see the merchandise first.”

  “Then follow me, Miss Meadows. Something tells me you won’t be disappointed.”

  Bingo!

  5

  “Come on in and make yourselves comfortable,” Jo said, opening the door wide to their brand new home. A cute little modern ranch with a fenced-in back yard not far from my own. A perfect starter house for a new family with a dog.

  Jo and Cole had invited Mitch and I and Morty over to join them for Sunday dinner. “I love what you’ve done to the place,” I said, following her into the kitchen.

  “Thanks. It’s still a work in progress, but it’s coming along.”

  She opened the back door and we stepped out onto the deck, overlooking the yard. Biff lay sprawled out on the ground and didn’t so much as flinch when Morty ran past him and leapt onto the top of his doghouse with a hearty meow.

  “What’s up with Biff?” Mitch asked.

  She shrugged. “Not sure. Animals are like children. They can tell when Mommy and Daddy are upset. He’s not himself.”

  “That makes sense,” I said, nodding toward my illustrious cat using the roof of Biff’s dog house as a scratching pad. “Morty’s been acting weird, too.”

  “Morty is weird,” Mitch grumbled, earning a scowl from me that said, You promised you’d try harder.

  He sighed long and deep.

  “Biff will be fine,” Cole said. “We all will.” He gave Jo a hug and held up two cigars and two longnecks, motioning for Mitch to follow him out into the yard to a pair of Adirondack chairs facing west so they could watch the sunset.

  “I’ll let you know when I’m ready for you to cook the steaks.” Jo grabbed me and pulled me into the kitchen. “So, did you find out anything new?” she asked as she poured us each a frozen margarita. She prepared the baked potatoes while I cut up veggies for a salad.

  “As a matter of fact, I did. I thought I had a lead with Zeb Erwin. His wife Wanda overheard us talking at Pump up the Volume on Friday about you bringing the rings over on Saturday morning. Granny said they were hurting for money, and he vowed to get what was coming to him because he lost out on the community center bid to Cole.”

  “You don’t think they would stoop that low, do you?”

  “Actually I did. I thought maybe they were the ones to steal the rings so I went to Perry’s Pawn shop. Turns out they did pawn something late Saturday night, but it wasn’t the rings. It was his grandfather’s watch. Perry wasn’t too happy when I passed on buying it after he shut down his shop early just for me.”

  Her shoulders slumped. “Maybe Zeb just hasn’t pawned them yet.” She looked at me hopefully.

  “Mitch and I thought that too, but why wouldn’t he get rid of them as soon as he could? We actually talked to him this afternoon, and he says he and his wife were home on Saturday going over their finances and figuring out what they could pawn. They don’t have proof, of course, but I can’t think of a good reason for them to hold onto the rings when they are desperate for money.”

  “Unless he’s biding his time because he knows they’re stolen goods.” Jo set the table as she talked.

  “Maybe.” I shrugged, grabbing some napkins and helping her. “In the meantime, can you think of anyone else who might want the rings or have something against you and Cole being together?”

  “Before yesterday, no,” Jo replied. “But now that you mention it, Veronica Lewis quit last night, leaving me high and dry for hired help today. That’s why I had to push back dinner tonight. I had to work all day.”

  “Why would she quit? She’s one of your best waitresses. Hasn’t she worked for you for years?” I asked.

  “She sure has. We go way back. We actually went to high school together. We’ve never really been friends, but we certainly weren’t enemies.”

  “Then how does this relate to this case?”

  “Because Cole and I are together now.”

  “You mean Veronica has a thing for Cole?”

  “Apparently so, but I never knew it. Cole said she’s always had a crush on him. They even dated once back in the day. But then he got married, and she was heartbroken. After Cole’s wife died, she started coming around, offering to help him. He told her he wasn’t ready, but truth is he just didn’t feel that way about her any more. She accepted he needed more time, but when he fell for me and asked me to marry him so quickly, she changed toward me. Became cold and aloof. I couldn’t figure out why, but she did her job well so I didn’t see a reason to fire her.”

  “Why wouldn’t she have quit before now then?” I asked.

  “I honestly think she thought we wouldn’t last. But she was here Friday night when Cole showed me his grandmother’s rings and we talked about taking them over to your house the next day. She must have overheard us. The next day the rings were stolen, and she didn’t show up for work that night. She called in first thing this morning and said she quit.”

  “Did you ask her why?”

  “Yes, and all she said was that I didn’t deserve her any more than I deserved Cole or his grandmother’s rings. Then she said to mark her words, my wedding would be a disaster.”

  “Wow.”

  “Do you think she could be right? Is my wedding meant to fail? I heard she was a witch.”

  “Oh, she’s a witch, all right, but not the kind you’re worried about. She’s just trying to scare you, and I think we just found our next suspect.”

  The rest of dinner involved the four of us talking about our next plan of attack. When we went to leave, Morty was missing, but that wasn’t unusual. Morty had a habit of appearing and disappearing at will,
which meant he had gotten bored and was probably already at home. Mitch obviously needed a break, so we headed toward Warm Beginnings and Cozy Endings café for coffee.

  “Okay, let’s regroup,” Mitch said as we pulled into the parking lot. “The thief is obviously not Diana, so we can rule her out.”

  “And Zeb and Wanda are each other’s alibi’s, saying they were at home going over finances at the time of the robbery, but they can’t prove it,” I stated.

  “True, but it also wouldn’t make sense for them not to pawn the rings for cash if they had them,” Mitch added as we climbed out of the car.

  “Then all that leaves is Veronica Lewis,” I said as we walked inside with Mitch in the lead.

  He stopped short, and I bounced off his back. “Speak of the devil,” he said.

  Veronica wore an apron as she stood behind the counter and filled coffee and dessert orders. She looked up, saw us staring, and her face flushed pink.

  “Well, that’s a guilty look if ever I saw one,” I said from beside Mitch. “And I can tell you for certain that this job doesn’t pay nearly as much as Smokey Jo’s. So how is Veronica paying her bills? Did she steal the rings and pawn them in another town?”

  “Now now,” he responded quietly, “innocent until proven otherwise. We both know the importance of not judging someone too quickly.”

  “True, but we also both saw the looks on Jo and Cole’s faces when the rings turned up missing because of us, I might add.”

  He looked down at me, and raised one thick black brow. “What did you do wrong? I was the one who put the rings on my workbench. It was my responsibility to keep them safe.”

  “Only because I ordered you to do so.” I rested my palms on his chest and said with resolve, “We made this mess. We need to fix it.”

  He blew out a breath, and I could tell he wasn’t happy about involving me. “Fine, how do you want to handle this? Good cop bad cop?” he asked with a grim expression, and I wondered if I would ever get him to stop worrying so much. Probably not.

  “I got dibs on good cop.” I smirked, trying to lighten the mood. I patted his chest and stepped in front to lead the way, adding over my shoulder, “You couldn’t be good if you tried.”

  6

  “I hate to say it, but I think it’s time to throw in the towel,” Jo said sadly through the phone on Monday morning.

  “You can’t give up, Jo,” I replied pleadingly. Mitch and I had grilled Veronica, but she claimed she went for a hike in the trails around the park to clear her head Saturday morning, and she came to the realization that she couldn’t work for Jo any longer. She needed to quit in order to move on and get over Cole. Of course she didn’t have an alibi, either, which gave me hope. “Veronica could still be guilty. Mitch is looking into her more closely as we speak.”

  “Finding the guilty culprit could take weeks, Sunny. Our wedding is right around the corner. While I would love to wear Cole’s grandmother’s heirloom rings, I can’t risk not having any rings at all. I already feel like my wedding is doomed for some reason. I don’t want to rock the boat any further. Can you watch Biff while Cole and I go ring shopping? I feel bad leaving him alone. I know you have clients, so I can bring him over to your house. He’ll be fine outside.”

  “Sure thing,” I replied, feeling awful that we hadn’t been successful in getting the rings back. It just felt wrong for Cole and Jo to buy a new set, but I understood her nervousness. I had always believed in signs, but I also knew for certain that Jo and Cole were meant to be together. “Your wedding is not doomed. This is just a hiccup. Everything will work out. You’ll see,” I said reassuringly, yet even I wasn’t convinced nothing would go wrong.

  “I hope so.” She tried to sound positive. “See you in a few minutes.”

  We hung up, and I gave a reading for the mayor, one of my best clients. When I finished, he left and I puppy proofed the house, getting ready for Biff. I gave Morty a stern lecture to behave, and then Jo arrived. She dropped Biff off and then went to meet Cole, looking anything but excited over what should be one of the happiest moments of her life—picking out the rings that would symbolize their love.

  Lightning streaked across the sky and then thunder boomed a few minutes later, creating an ominous foreboding atmosphere. The universe wasn’t any happier with the situation than I was, but what could I do? I only hoped Mitch could find something incriminating on Veronica or Zeb or Wanda in time. My next client cancelled, and Granny was busy inside cleaning because it was Monday. Granny never veered from her schedule. I stepped outside, and Biff sat there like an angel. A little sadder than normal, but an angel nonetheless.

  “I know how you feel, buddy,” I said as I looked up at the sky, knowing it was about to open up and rain hard. Weird because the sun had been out a moment ago, and the forecast didn’t call for rain.

  Morty appeared by my side and stared at me.

  “Come on, boy. It’s going to rain. Let’s go inside.” I went to pick him up, but he scurried out of my way, further into the yard. “Morty, what’s gotten into you? You are being very naughty. This is not the time to play games.” I chased after him, but he kept slipping just out of my reach, with an amused expression on his haughty face. “Fine, have it your way. But when you come in looking like a drowned rat, I don’t want to hear one single hiss. Understood?”

  I swear to God he rolled his eyes at me.

  “Why can’t you be a good boy like Biff?” Shaking my head, I went to gather up a much bigger yet infinitely easier target, leaving Morty to fend for himself. That would teach him.

  Biff wagged his tail as I drew closer. I started to pick up his toys so I’d have everything together when Jo returned, but when I picked up his bone, I froze. My eyes narrowed into tunnel vision like they always did during a reading, and suddenly I was looking out of the eyes of the thief. The thief must have had Biff’s bone at some point and then the poor baby must have witnessed the whole thing, I realized. No wonder he was out of sorts. He’d been through so much before being adopted by Cole and Jo, but he was doing tons better. Poor guy probably wanted to give back to them by telling them who the guilty culprit was, but he couldn’t talk.

  My thoughts faded as the eyes I stared out of crouched low to the ground, watching Mitch and Cole come out of the garage. It must have been right after Mitch had put the rings on his workbench. I was surprised we hadn’t heard Biff barking. Then again, Cole took Biff everywhere. The dog knew everyone in town, so the thief obviously wasn’t a stranger.

  The guys went inside, and then the thief didn’t waste a single moment before bolting to the garage. They ran really fast so it had to be someone young and energetic, which pretty much ruled out Zeb. Wanda was in decent shape, but I was leaning more toward Veronica who jogged regularly. I couldn’t tell what was happening, like maybe the thief struggled with the door, but finally got it open. Then the person tore through the place in such a hurry I couldn’t make out what was going on. The thief was probably afraid of getting caught because they were breathing heavy and I could feel their heart beating wildly.

  I frowned. Maybe the thief couldn’t see that well because it looked like they literally stuck their head all over the place, right next to each item, inspecting it closely. Above things, below things, shaking things, and then finally grabbing the bag of rings with their...

  I sucked in a breath, dropped the bone, and my jaw grew slack. As quickly as I could, I grabbed my phone and called Jo.

  “What’s up?” she asked.

  “Did you buy the rings yet?” I blurted, panting.

  “Um, no, are you all right? You sound like you’re ready to hyperventilate.”

  “I’m fine, I’m fine. Just, don’t buy new rings!”

  “Okay, why? What on earth has gotten into you?”

  “I found your thief. Don’t ask. Just get here now!” I hung up, knowing that would spur her to move. I made a call to Mitch and told him the same message, then hung up on him as well. I had to laugh when the
y all showed up within minutes, probably breaking every speeding record imaginable.

  Meanwhile Morty was still evading me and the thunder and lightning were getting louder and closer.

  Jo and Cole ran into the back yard, followed quickly by Mitch who nearly ran over them both with gun drawn and eyes wide. They all looked around and spoke at the same time:

  “Who’s the thief?”

  “Did they get away?”

  “Should I call backup?”

  “Put your phone away, Detective, and holster that weapon. No they didn’t get away, Cole. And Jo, your wedding is not doomed, but your parenting skills might be.”

  “What are you talking about, Tink, because once again you’re not making a whole lot of sense? And right about now I’m ready to trade places and put you in the doghouse for scaring the hell out of me.” Mitch scowled.

  “Let’s just say I had a vision and saw the whole thing. Very creepy. Hiding out near the woods, watching us, then breaking into the garage and trashing the place. But what finally gave away who the thief is was when he put the rings in his mouth to carry them out.”

  “His mouth?” Cole rubbed his jaw.

  “Are you saying what I think you’re saying?” Jo asked, while narrowing her eyes and turning her stare on her dog, who blinked at us innocently.

  “Exactly. Turns out Biff isn’t such a good boy after all.” I glanced at Morty, who rolled his eyes at me with a look that said Duh! and finally went inside. The sky suddenly cleared, the sun came back out, and I realized what he’d been trying to tell me all along. “I’m thinking Biff was still jealous of you taking Cole away from him, so he grabbed the rings and hid them.”

  “So that’s why Morty was digging up the yard,” Mitch said. “I thought he was the one who put all the holes there.”