They needed to figure out a way to make this guy think they were here for some other reason. But why would anybody drive out into the woods at night and park unless…
“Spy movies!”
She grabbed Connor’s face and kissed like her life depended on it. Because it did.
Chapter Four
Tandy continued kissing while unbuckling her seatbelt and climbing up to her knees. This way if the bad guy didn’t buy their act and tried to hurt Connor, she would be free to climb into his seat and drive them to safety.
A rap on the window physically affected her the way a slap to her face might. Was Tandy feeling more scared or guilty? She cringed as she pulled away from her best friend’s boyfriend.
Connor watched her, the whites of his eyes flashing in contrast to their dark surroundings. “You didn’t have to really kiss me,” he hissed.
Well, that would have been easier to explain to Marissa. If they survived. “I panicked.”
“Yeah. At least you fogged up the windows.” He turned to face their enemy, and as he rolled down the window, his edginess morphed into what looked like embarrassment, à la slouched shoulders and goofy grin. “Oh good, you’re not a cop,” he said as if the stranger was a conspirator and they were the lawbreakers.
The flashlight blinded Tandy. She lifted her hand to shield her face. She needed to act as nonchalant as Connor, but that felt impossible with her heart in her throat.
“You’re on private property,” the scary dude said. It was difficult to see what he looked like with the light pointed at her, but he sounded like he’d eaten gravel for breakfast. Had he come to Caffeine Conundrum and eaten a crumpet instead, he might not sound like such a bad guy.
Of course, he probably was there at breakfast time, but he had to leave before coming in because he didn’t want anyone to suspect him of killing George.
“I’m sorry. We didn’t know.” Tandy squeezed Connor’s arm as an outlet for her terror. She leaned forward to unite them like a team. If nothing else, they were two against one. But until the Batman impersonator realized they were against him, she’d pretend that she was hanging onto Connor out of infatuation. “If we leave, do you promise not to press charges?”
The dude flashed his light on her again. He wouldn’t recognize her, would he? She’d taken her car to George’s body shop, but she didn’t remember meeting any employees who had a voice like this.
“Aren’t you two a little too old to be parking?” the dude growled.
Um… He had a good point.
“Sadly, I still live with my parents,” Connor confessed. “And she’s got a boyfriend. So…”
Tandy frowned. The part about her having a boyfriend was true, but did Connor still live with his parents? That had to be an excuse.
The guy chuckled. “That is pretty sad.”
Tandy laid her head on Connor’s shoulder. “See why we don’t want anyone to find out?”
The dude ran a hand over his head and looked the direction of the house where the Bug had been parked. It wasn’t visible through the trees. That would work in their favor, right?
He stepped away. “Get out of here, and don’t come back.”
Tandy held her breath rather than exhale in one big whoosh. Such a reaction might be a tad suspicious. They were so close to freedom. She couldn’t mess this up now.
Connor nodded. “Thanks, man. I really appreciate it.”
“Yes, thank you.” Tandy echoed. She grabbed her seatbelt and strapped herself in, ready for Connor to step on the gas.
Connor shifted then gave a friendly wave. The truck rolled backwards, and he had to do a three-point turn to direct it toward the street again. His window was still open, and the bad dude still watched, otherwise Tandy would have given a Dukes of Hazard type ye-haw.
Gravel crunched.
Her chest threatened to explode.
Connor gunned the engine, and they burst into the open.
Tandy scrambled for her phone and dialed. “I can’t believe that happened.”
“Which part?” Connor sounded so calm. Too calm.
“Any of it. Good thinking with the kissing cover. Though for Marissa’s sake, you may want to lay off the onions.” She held the phone to her ear, listening to the ring.
“For Marissa’s sake, maybe we shouldn’t tell her about this right before Valentine’s.”
The couple’s history was reason enough to believe that Marissa would make mountains out of their make-out session, but the longer Connor waited to tell her about it, the more volcanic her eruption would become. “You can’t keep it from her forever, Connor. Eventually you’ll have to tell Marissa that we kissed.”
“Tandy, is that you?” the sheriff’s tinny voice blared in her ear. “You kissed Connor?”
Of all the times for Griffin to make a good detective.
“Sheriff, Connor and I found my stolen car. We followed it off 2nd Street into the woods. It’s parked in a garage.”
“I knew I heard a car engine start up when I got to the body shop. Tell me where you are. I’m going to make the arrest without Agent McNeil.”
Tandy dropped her head against the headrest. Why couldn’t people work together? Why did there have to be so much competition and secrecy? “We’ll wait for you at the church.”
Connor nodded his understanding and pulled into the parking lot. She hung up. Then they sat and stared at the white steeple. At least the heater had finally warmed up the car.
“Griffin overheard me say we kissed.”
Connor cringed.
Would the sheriff ask questions? Would it be in the morning newspaper? Had they just busted an international syndicate, and they’d be featured on Dateline? The only date show she wanted to be a part of was The Dating Game taking place in the tea house on Valentine’s Day.
“I’m going to tell Greg. I’m sure he’ll understand.”
“He’s logical like that, though I’m going to be uncomfortable around him now.” Connor shifted in his seat.
Tandy gave a sad smile. “Maybe the fact that you and I have kissed will prod him into kissing me.”
Connor ran a hand through his hair. “He hasn’t kissed you yet?”
Tandy grimaced. She’d come up with lots of excuses for Greg. Like it had only been a little over a month since they’d reconnected. And he was really busy with work. And they’d been childhood buddies, so the transition from friends to more was tricky. But hearing Connor say it made their lack of romance sound pitiful. “Is that bad?”
“It’s bad for me.” Connor looked out his window. “Now it won’t only be Marissa who hates me.”
“Marissa won’t hate you.”
“Are you sure? She broke up with me over less.”
Tandy twisted her lips. He had a point. “Too bad you’re in love with her.”
“Yeah.”
“Too bad I’m falling for another guy who doesn’t even have time for me.”
“He’s missing out.”
Tandy smiled sadly. “Too bad I didn’t feel anything romantic when I kissed you. Because you and I would make so much more sense as a couple.”
“Ironic, isn’t it?”
Maybe that would be too easy. The two of them would always be in agreement and never have anyone there to challenge them to grow. “Nothing personal. You’re a pretty good kisser.”
Connor laughed. “It was like kissing a brother though, huh?”
“Yep.”
“Then you should be the one to tell Marissa. I’m afraid to even call her and let her know I’m not going to make it back tonight to cook her spaghetti.”
Tandy groaned. The best thing she could do to convince Marissa she wasn’t interested in Connor was to get more serious with Greg. She’d talk to Greg the next morning.
In the same way, Connor needed to be the one to talk to Marissa about the kiss. But she could help out with the spaghetti thing. She already had her phone handy. “I’ll call her right now and tell her we found my car so s
he’s not expecting you.”
“Thank you, Tandy. That means so much I could kiss you.”
Tandy punched his arm then punched in Marissa’s number.
“What? Too soon?”
Marissa couldn’t get home fast enough. Holding arms wide for balance, she baby stepped down the icy sidewalk. Connor had wanted to come back and walk her to her Jeep to make sure she made it home safely since there was a killer on the loose, but since he and Tandy currently had the bad guy cornered, Marissa should be safe.
She’d say extra prayers for Connor and Tandy’s safety as she crawled into bed that night. And she wouldn’t sleep until Connor called to let her know he’d made it home, as well.
Shivering, she glanced around at the deserted street. Only Mama’s Kitchen remained open at this hour, and all the diners were inside. Should anyone intend to harm her, she’d be on her own.
She glanced across the street at Grandma’s Attic to reassure herself she was protected. At least now if anything happened to her, there would be a clear surveillance recording of her face and a record of when she left her shop.
Billie’s place looked darker than usual. Didn’t the store owner usually leave a back light on inside? Tonight there wasn’t even a silhouette of the antiques. The only light coming from that side of the street was the glint of streetlamps off glass. And that wasn’t as bright as usual.
Marissa stilled. Something was off. She frowned in concentration.
Reality hit her like a brick through a window. Which was exactly what it looked like had happened to Grandma’s Attic. The large pane of glass at the front of the store included a gaping hole.
Fear shot up Marissa’s spine to the base of her neck in the form of goosebumps. Anybody could have broken into Billie’s shop…anybody from George’s killer to a petty thief. And that person might still be inside.
Whether someone was there or not, it was likely the criminal had destroyed the surveillance system. Which meant Marissa was not on film. No records of her whereabouts were currently being created.
She shot into motion once again, doubling the speed of her baby steps and digging through her purse for her phone or keys or pepper spray. Her phone was about to die, so she should probably go for the pepper spray.
Her breath huffed in the air. Her pulse pounded even louder. But, thankfully, no footsteps echoed after hers.
She settled on grabbing her car keys and locking herself safely inside her Jeep. She wasn’t going home now. Not if both the sheriff and Connor were only a couple of blocks away at the church. She gunned her motor and stepped on the gas.
Under a bright white steeple sat Griffin’s police car next to Connor’s truck. Sheriff Griffin stood outside Connor’s driver side window.
Marissa slammed into park and charged from her vehicle. She wasn’t sure who she was more excited to see. Griffin or Connor?
She’d start with Griffin since he was closer. She ran the best she could in the frozen parking lot and slid into the side of Connor’s truck to stop herself the way she used to do at the roller-skating rink as a child.
Griffin shot her a withering look. “It’s going to be hard to function in stealth mode with the whole Scooby-Doo Gang here.”
“We’re missing the dog,” Tandy retorted from the cab before Marissa had even caught her breath.
Connor glanced at her without making eye contact. “I didn’t know you were coming, Marissa.”
She gripped Griffin’s arm, but only partly to get his attention. The other part was for balance. “There’s been a break-in.”
Tandy’s face appeared next to Connor’s. “At Caffeine Conundrum?”
Connor twisted to get a better look at her now, eyebrows drawn. “Are you okay?”
“No.” Marissa closed her eyes and shook her head. She wasn’t explaining this well. She took a deep breath to focus. “I mean, yes, I’m fine, but no, nothing happened to our shop. It’s Billie’s.”
Sheriff Griffin punched a fist into his palm. “They were going after the surveillance video.”
Marissa had been afraid of that. “Didn’t you already get the video footage from George’s death?”
Griffin muttered under his breath for a moment before responding in comprehensible words. “Billie couldn’t remember her password. She was waiting to hear back from her son who’d set up the system.”
Marissa frowned. “Who would have known that?” She hadn’t known that. Unless the thief had known that, a break-in would be pointless.
“The guys at the body shop would have known.” Griffin hung his head. “I tried to use the knowledge that we were getting evidence of a murder to scare them into confessing.”
“Well…” Connor did his best to break the awkward silence.
Marissa would help him out. “It doesn’t matter now because you are going to catch the car thief red-handed.” Though obviously it was a good thing she’d rushed over and was here to help. The sheriff always seemed to aim at his own foot when he fired off his mouth.
Tandy clicked her tongue. “Don’t you think the FBI should be here for this arrest?”
Griffin lifted his chin and glared. “I’ll let McNeil know when I have the perp behind bars. All I need is for you to lead me back the way you came, Connor.” He marched toward his patrol car.
Marissa wasn’t staying behind for this. She’d pull out her phone and film any action so that this time the authorities really would have evidence. If the battery didn’t die.
Balancing against the truck with one hand, she clip-clopped around the front end to pull open the passenger door. She stepped one foot onto the running board and motioned for Tandy to scoot.
Tandy scooted the wrong direction as if they had time to rearrange for Marissa to sit in the middle.
Marissa blocked her path. “Get in the middle. Griffin’s ready.”
“I don’t…”
The other woman might not be as skinny as Marissa, but this was no time to worry about discomfort. “Hurry so we can get your car back. Then you won’t ever have to be in the middle again. Why are you making a big deal out of it?”
“I don’t know.” Tandy gingerly squeezed over on the bench seat, sitting straight with knees together and hands on her lap.
Marissa jumped in and slammed the heavy door.
Connor rolled up his window and pulled onto the street without a word.
“What did I miss?” Marissa leaned forward to see both their faces. “Tell me everything.”
Neither Tandy or Connor answered. Maybe they were too intent on finding the right driveway.
Marissa peered farther down the road. It wound and curved through the trees with long driveways splitting off here and there. “How far do we have to go?”
Connor cleared his throat. “Maybe half a mile.”
Marissa nodded. She was glad she’d come. Now she’d get to see justice prevail. “Did you get a good look at the guy’s face? Did you recognize him?”
“No.” Connor’s short answer told her he was definitely concentrating. The guy usually preferred to joke and kid.
“Me neither.” Tandy bit at her fingernails. Such a bad nervous habit. Marissa would have to get her a bottle of nail polish with a nasty flavor to break her of it. “I don’t think I’ve heard his voice before either.”
Marissa gasped. “You talked to him? What did you do? Go knock on his door and pretend to sell Girl Scout cookies?”
Tandy sat up straighter. “Not exactly.”
“There it is.” Connor swerved to the side of the road in front of a gravel driveway. He motioned for Sheriff Griffin to turn.
Marissa unbuckled her seatbelt to reposition herself toward the passenger window to get a better look. She had a front row seat for the show. The last time she’d seen someone get arrested, she wasn’t nearly so safe.
She grabbed her phone to film the action, but the blank screen told her it had indeed died. “Tandy, can I borrow your charger?”
Tandy pointed to the house under sur
veillance. “If you want to go get it out of my Bug.”
Hard pass. “Can I borrow your phone then?”
Tandy handed the device over without her standard lecture, and the darkness hid any disapproving looks she might have tried to include in the exchange.
“I’ll get a portable charger soon. I promise.” Marissa clicked on the camera icon. “I hope Griffin doesn’t bungle this one.” She pressed record and zoomed in to watch the sheriff knock on the door. Someone answered, and the lawman went inside. “What if he comes running out? Or we hear gunfire? Or Tandy’s slug bug bursts through the garage door to make a quick getaway.”
“Nobody is going to drive my car through a garage door.”
Tandy was probably right. Marissa smiled over her shoulder in a show of support.
Connor held up his phone. “I’ve got Agent McNeil on my speed dial.”
They waited. Finally, Griffin led a man out of the house in handcuffs.
Marissa deflated into her seat. She was glad Tandy’s car hadn’t been damaged any more, but there hadn’t been much to see. Oh well.
Flipping the phone camera to selfie mode and hitting the flash button, she held it up to capture her friends behind her. “Smile, guys.”
Tandy chewed on a fingernail. Connor’s grin looked more disgruntled than anything. “Are you disappointed too?” she asked. “Hoping for a little more drama like me?”
“Nah.” Connor slid his eyes Tandy’s direction. “I’m good without drama.”
“Yeah.” Tandy smiled brightly. Not a natural look on her. “No drama for me either.”
“Wow.” Marissa widened her eyes at her own reflection. “You two are boring. It’s a good thing I joined you tonight. I can’t imagine what you would have done out here without me.”
Chapter Five
“I kissed Connor last night.”
Cocoa, Tandy’s Pomeranian, barked at Greg from between her feet. Ever so loyal. At least if Greg left her, she’d still have one male in her life.
Greg lowered the bouquet he’d been holding out, fully revealing the gray suit and wool overcoat. His everyday attire. If he’d only worn a fedora, he’d be a regular Cary Grant. Did a woman ever cheat on Cary Grant? Tandy doubted it.
A Cuppa Trouble Page 4