by Emily Greene
“Of course she is going to win, Harper has the best pastries for miles around, and it’s about time that the people of Prairie Cove show her a little love and respect and returned back to her bakery.”
“One interesting thing I did find out is Courtney has a buy one get one free policy which is unadvertised. Apparently, she has been doing this since day one so that explains why my business has suffered. Edna told me that she and the girls go to Courtney’s bakery more often now because they can stretch their dollar further. I can’t really compete with a buy one get one free policy, So I have to figure out why she would open a bakery to try to destroy my business. I know that she copied everything I did in college, but there is just something more there with her story, I can feel it and I am going to get to the bottom of it.”
“She has always been sneaky, and I don’t trust a thing she says. Just be careful, Harper, and don’t get too close to her,” my mother said.
“Do you know what you’re going to make?” Katie asked.
“Yes, apple turnovers. I think people will find them to be delicious and hopefully I can’t lose with that choice.”
“Your apple turnovers are the best I have ever tasted, Harper. It is going to be a slam dunk. Mark my words,” Nicole said as she smiled at me.
It was so nice to have such support from my family and I felt even better about the bake-off after talking with them. I was looking forward to getting on with it and getting the results, which would hopefully mean more business for me.
“Thank you, really, it means a lot to me.”
“Anytime,” my mother smiled.
“Well, I have to get going, Greg is being overly protective now that I am pregnant and he doesn’t want me out past 9 o’clock.”
“That is completely understandable, Greg is a good husband.” My mother could not stop smiling at Nicole.
We all said our goodbyes and I stopped at the convenience store to pick up some milk for Gracie. As I was making my way to the front to pay for the milk, I saw Courtney in the next aisle over and quickly ducked down so that she couldn’t see me. I was in no mood for fake pleasantries that night.
Literally two seconds later I heard her arguing with someone in a loud whisper. I leaned my ear against the cereal boxes that were on the shelf and strained to eavesdrop.
“I told you to stay away from what does not belong to you, and I meant it,” a woman hissed.
“You don’t tell me what to do and I meant that! Now, leave me alone!” Courtney hissed back.
“I am warning you one last time that you had better stay away, or else,” the woman hissed again.
“I am not afraid of you! Now let go of my arm!” Courtney yelled loud enough for the entire store to hear.
I crouched down even further as people looked around. Thankfully, no one asked me what I was doing or if I needed help. I think everyone was too shocked by Courtney’s outburst to be concerned about what I was doing.
I heard Courtney at the front counter and peeked over the short aisle to see if I could see who had yelled at her, and I saw a woman with red hair give Courtney a nasty look as she walked out of the convenience store. Courtney was slightly shaken but remained calm as the clerk checked her out. I had never seen a woman before but I was definitely going to ask around to see if anyone knew who she was. Clearly, there was a story there and I was going to get to the bottom of it.
When I walked into my house, Gracie was at the door waiting for me and rubbed up against my leg as she purred softly. I picked her up and nuzzled her with my cheek, gently stroking her fur.
“Gracie, mommy has had a crazy day and I am so happy to be home with you. Did you have a good day?”
She purred softly as her tail gently moved back-and-forth.
“Mommy has a treat for you, let’s go over to your bowl.”
I poured her a bowl of milk and she jumped out of my arms and began to lap it up happily. I looked at her and smiled. It would be so nice if life was as simple as she had it.
I was exhausted so I went upstairs, got ready for bed, quickly checked my email and then climbed in between my sheets. A few minutes later Gracie hopped up on the bed, curled up at my feet and we both drifted off for the night. It had been a long day.
Chapter Three
As soon as I walked into the bakery the next morning I pulled Carrie to the back to tell her what I had seen and heard the night before.
“Are you sure that’s what the woman said?”
“Positive. The woman was angry and it sounded like she was doing everything in her power to refrain from screaming at Courtney. Whatever Courtney has done, this woman is not happy.”
“Well, what was Courtney’s reaction? Did she sound nervous or afraid?”
“No, if anything, she sounded irritated that the woman was even talking to her. Whatever she has done, Courtney did not sound like she has any remorse for it.”
Carrie’s eyes searched mine. “Wow, I wonder what she did?”
“I have no idea, but I am definitely going to find out.”
“Have you ever seen that woman before?”
“No, she did not look familiar so I figured I would ask around but I only have a vague description of her. I didn’t get a very good luck because I only saw the back of her head and then half of her face and she shot Courtney a nasty look as she left the store.”
“Well, it seems our Courtney has a bit of a messy situation on her hands,” Carrie said.
“I know, and I cannot wait to find out more. Some people just don’t change and I am pretty sure that Courtney is one of those people.”
I nodded in agreement. “Definitely.”
“Who do you think we should ask about that woman?” Carrie asked.
We looked at each other and smiled. “Edna and the girls!”
They had just been at my bakery the previous day so I have no idea when I would see them again and the last thing I wanted to do was go over to Courtney’s bakery to talk to them there, so I had to practice a lot of patience and just wait for them to show up. Thankfully, I did not have to wait for very long because they came into my bakery later that morning. Edna must have felt terrible after our little chat, but I did not want her to feel badly about her choice to go to another bakery, I just did not want her to abandon me altogether. I was so happy to see them that I said hello the moment they walked in.
“Ladies,” I smiled, “it is so good to see you again so soon! Let me show you to your regular table.”
I made sure they were seated and comfortable and then I looked at them, put my hand on my hip and smiled. “Now, what can I get for you? The usual?”
They all smiled at me and nodded their heads.
“Wow, Harper, this personal service is above and beyond today. Is there some special occasion happening that we are unaware of?” Mavis asked.
“No, I just want to give my favorite customers the personal touch and show them how much I appreciate their business.”
“You’re very sweet, Harper, thank you, dear,” Edna said.
“You’re very welcome. I will be right back with your pastries and your coffee.”
Natalie helped me bring things over to them and I decided to sit with them for a couple of minutes to see if I could gather any information about the mystery woman with the red hair.
“I wanted to run something past you ladies, if you don’t mind.”
“Of course, Harper, how can we help, dear?”
“Well, I was in the mart last night and I sort of ran into Courtney Laidig.”
Betty looked confused. “What do you mean you sort of ran into her?”
“Well, I saw her, and, although I am not proud of it, I avoided her seeing me.”
“Okay.” They all look confused.
“I overheard her talking with a woman who kind of sounded like she was threatening her to stay away from something. She didn’t say what it was but she definitely was firm and was not happy about whatever it was Courtney was doing to upset her. Court
ney did not seem concerned and, if anything, was just as upset with the woman as she was with her. It was very strange.”
“Hmmm, that does sound strange. Did you happen to get a good look at the woman?”
“No, all I noticed is that she had red hair, bright like a fire engine.”
All four ladies let out a collective sigh as they nodded their heads.
“That is Connie Blair, they just moved to town about two months ago.”
I knew that they would know who she was. I wanted to jump up-and-down but I had to keep my cool in front of the ladies. Edna and the girls were easily one of Prairie Cove’s finest treasures.
“Connie Blair? That name does not ring a bell. Is she married? Does she have any children?”
“Yes, she and her husband, well I guess he is the soon to be ex-husband, have two children.”
“Ex-husband?”
“Yes,” Doris leaned in and I could see her eyes sparkling with the juicy piece of gossip she was about to share. “The word around town is they split up about two months ago when Connie discovered that he was having an affair.”
The words hung in the air for a moment and we all looked at each other as the light bulb went off in all of our heads.
“Oh my goodness, do you think that Courtney is the woman Connie’s husband is having the affair with?” Edna asked.
Mavis jumped right in. “I suppose it makes sense, especially given what Harper told us about what she heard last night.”
Betty looked at all of us.
“What does anyone know about this Courtney Laidig? She rolls into town two months ago, seemingly breaks up a marriage and ruins, excuse me dear, tries to ruin Harper’s business, even though we will not let that happen, and is just an all-around troublemaker.”
Doris looked around at everyone. “I have never heard of her.”
The rest of the ladies agreed and I told them that I knew her in college.
“Oh, okay, well there is the Prairie Cove connection, I suppose. So that could explain why she is here since she is your friend. Was she a troublemaker in college?” Mavis interjected.
It was a loaded question and I did not want to get into all the specifics so I just got straight to the point.
“Yes, she was. And let me be clear, ladies, she is not my friend. With friends like Courtney Laidig, you definitely do not need any enemies. I am not surprised to hear that she is having an affair with a married man because her moral bar has always been set very low. As long as I’ve known her, Courtney has been the kind of person to do whatever she had to to get whatever it was that she wanted, without any regard for other peoples feelings.”
“Well, it’s too bad that she is that kind of person, most of the people here in Prairie Cove are kind and pleasant. Hopefully she won’t be staying too long,” Betty added.
“I agree, it is too bad that she is that kind of person. Well, I better get back to work. Thank you for the information and let me know if I can get you ladies anything else, okay?”
They smiled and nodded at me.
“Okay, dear.”
I could not wait to get to the back to tell Carrie what I had just learned. I grabbed her arm and pulled her to the back, telling Natalie she would be right back. Natalie gave us a curious look as she took over the register but nodded and smiled.
“So, I found out who the mystery redhead is!”
“Well? Don’t leave me in suspense! Who is she?”
“She just moved here a couple of months ago, she has two kids, she and her husband are getting a divorce because he cheated on her a couple of months ago with guess who?”
Carrie thought for a moment and then her eyes were as big as saucers. “No!”
“Yes!”
“But, how did that happen so soon? She just moved here a couple of months ago!”
“I don’t know, I guess she works fast. She must have met him literally a day or two after they both moved here,” I said.
“If the wife is divorcing the husband, why was she telling Courtney to stay away from him? Does that make sense?”
Carrie had a good point.
“Maybe the wounds are still strong? I can only imagine that they would be since they have two children together and this happened a couple of months ago, and from what I heard last night it sounds like it is still going on.”
“Courtney really is worse than a piece of dirt. I don’t even know the red-haired woman and I feel sorry for her that she is losing her husband,” Carrie said.
“I agree with you, but remember, it takes two people to cheat. Maybe the husband isn’t all that much to write home about. In any event, it is sad because a home is being broken up and Courtney appears to be in the middle of it.”
“Do you think she really just met him a couple of months ago? Maybe she met him before that and that is the real reason that she is here in Prairie Cove.”
I thought about that for a minute.
“You know, Carrie, that sounds like it could be a possibility because to meet someone that quickly, get caught, and get separated seems to have happened just a little too fast. I bet you’re right. I bet they knew each other before she moved here. I am going to have to do a little bit of digging into that.”
“Just be careful, Harper. Courtney is not a nice person.”
“I will. Well it looks like the mystery of the red-haired woman has been solved!”
“Yes, let’s chalk it up to another successful case solved by amateur sleuth Harper Madison!”
“I don’t know if the whole story is solved quite yet, because we don’t know why Courtney is really here, but from what we have learned so far it sounds like we are getting really close to the reason.”
“I bet we are closer than we think.”
“We’ll see!” I glanced at my watch and realized that I was going to be late for my lunch date with Andrew. “Oh, my goodness, I have to go, I am meeting Andrew in 15 minutes and I am covered in flour.”
“Come on,” Carrie grabbed my hand and pulled me toward the bathroom. Once inside, she grabbed a few paper towels, twisted them around each other to create a fan effect and proceeded to swat my clothes. Within one minute I was flour free, thanked Carrie, threw on some lipstick and dashed out the door. I made it to the restaurant with one minute to spare.
Andrew was already there and kissed me on the cheek when I arrived.
“Hi, beautiful.”
I still blushed every time he gave me a compliment.
“Hi there, handsome. How much time do you have for lunch today?”
It was rare that we are able to eat lunch together because Andrew had such a crazy schedule and could be called away by the Sheriffs office for any reason, at any moment.
“I have about 45 minutes today, I wish it was longer.”
“Hey,” I smiled, “I will take what I can get.”
He smiled and put his arm around me as we were seated by the hostess. The lunch rush at The Burger Place was always pretty hectic, and the good thing about that was service was extremely fast. Our food was served about four minutes after we ordered which give us a chance to actually chat for a bit when we were done eating.
“So how has your day been so far, Harper?”
“It actually turned out to be a pretty good day so far. The strangest thing happened to me last night.”
Andrew looked at me intently. “Were you hurt?”
“No, no, nothing like that. I stopped off at the mart last night after work and I nearly ran into Courtney Laidig.”
“Oh?” Andrew looked confused. “Is that a bad thing?”
“Well, no, but I did not feel like putting on with herself I ducked down behind a shelf so that she couldn’t see me.”
“okay, and did something happen?”
“Well, I happened to overhear a conversation she had with a woman who basically sounded like she was threatening her.”
That seemed to pique his interest. “Really? What did she say to her?”
“She told he
r to stay away from what did not belong to her. She claimed that she had warned her before and she was not going to warn her again.”
Andrew furrowed his brows. “Did she say anything else?”
“No, that was basically it, but she didn’t give Courtney a very nasty look as she walked out of the store.”
“Hmmm, that sounds very strange. Any idea who the woman is?” Andrew asked.
“Yes, I found out this morning that she, Her husband, and her kids just moved here a couple of months ago, he began having an affair and now they are currently separated. Apparently, Courtney is the mistress.”