Rocky Road

by Josi S. Kilpack

  When Tess focused on Sadie, her eyes narrowed slightly. “But—I thought this is what you did. You’re a PI and everything, right?”

  “I had a private investigator business for a while, but I don’t do it any more.”

  “But you solve murders and stuff. Caro told me about what you did in Santa Fe, and then something back east, too, right?”

  “Well, yes, but I don’t do those things on purpose.” That didn’t sound right. “I mean, I don’t put my nose into things that aren’t my business.” That was a bald-faced lie. “I mean, well, I believe it’s best to help the police figure this out rather than do it ourselves. They know more than we do, and for us to act on this independent of them would be duplicating information and could cause some problems with their case.”

  “What kinds of problems?” Tess asked, accusation and challenge heavy in her voice. The nice bubbly woman Sadie had first met was gone and in her place was a woman who likely wished Sadie had never come to town.

  “All kinds of things can go wrong when you’re doing an investigation and the police are better trained to deal with those things. We certainly don’t want to mess anything up for them.”

  Silence fell on the table between them and after a few more seconds Tess picked up her spoon and took another bite of her ice cream, staring at her bowl. Her annoyance was palpable, and Sadie felt bad despite knowing she was doing the right thing. At her core, Sadie was a people pleaser—she liked people to be happy. Tess was not happy right now.

  Despite the awkward mood, Sadie wondered about this list of names Tess had mentioned. Caro hadn’t mentioned it. Had they planned to create an actual scrapbook? Or just tell people that’s what they were doing? What else had they done in preparation for this “case”? But Sadie couldn’t allow herself to think about that for very long. It wasn’t safe, considering how easily she’d become invested in past cases.

  “I’m sorry, Tess,” Caro said after several seconds had passed. “I should have thought about turning the pictures over to the police sooner.”

  “What if they don’t do anything with it?” Tess said sharply, looking at Caro—not Sadie. “Dr. H’s foundation saved my life and he was the only one who seemed to understand how important it was for me to keep the option of having another baby. He’s made that a possibility for me—he did. In the two months since he’s disappeared, the police have found no leads. Not one. And we did. I owe it to him to find out what it means. I can’t believe you two decided that didn’t matter without even talking to me about it.”

  Ouch. “The police haven’t found leads they’ve shared,” Sadie cut in, though she tried to smile to make up for her rudeness in interrupting. Tess did not smile back as Sadie explained further. “There are things that take place behind the scenes that aren’t necessarily made public. And they might be things that your discovery could help with. I understand how strongly you feel about this, Tess, but the police really are the best option for evaluating the photographs. They can do more than we ever could.” Even as she said the words, dozens of memories rushed through her mind of times when the police hadn’t found the answers Sadie had sniffed out on her own. Caro had said as much back at the hotel, but now Sadie was remembering actual details about things she’d uncovered that no one else had. But with those memories came the reminder that she’d also gotten in the way of police investigations. She’d put herself in danger, and she’d created dangerous situations for other people. This was far more complex than either Caro or Tess realized.

  Caro and Tess returned to their ice cream. After a few moments, Tess looked up again. “That’s really it, then?” she asked in a tone that seemed casual, but didn’t mask her disappointment ... or frustration. “All that planning for nothing? I never considered that we were wasting our time with the lists and everything.” She cast a quick accusatory glance at Sadie, and Sadie looked away again. Her hopes that she and Tess would be friends began to thin.

  “I’m sorry,” Caro said.

  Even the last bite of ice cream couldn’t make Sadie feel better about this. What a killjoy she’d turned out to be. Who else was on that list? Why was Lori Hendricks helping with the memorial luncheon for her ex-husband?

  “So you agree with her?” Tess asked Caro as though Sadie weren’t sitting right there.

  Caro paused a moment, but then she nodded. Sadie would have liked a stronger answer.

  “And you guys took all those articles I found to the police? Without even asking me about it? I spent hours gathering those articles. Hours. If I’d known you were going to just hand them off, I’d have kept them myself.”

  “I’m sorry,” Caro said. “I should have told you about it before we went to the police. I made copies of the articles, though. I’ll bring them over tomorrow.”

  Tess stood up, pushing back her chair and leaning over the table to gather the bowls. This time she didn’t make eye contact with either Caro or Sadie. “Well, I told Nikki I would help set up at the church tonight, and I need to keep my word. You’re welcome to come with me if you’d like, but don’t feel obligated.”

  Tess didn’t wait for an answer before heading back into the kitchen. The bowls clinked together as she put them in the sink. Sadie and Caro stayed at the table.

  “That didn’t go as smoothly as I had hoped it would,” Sadie said quietly enough that Tess wouldn’t overhear.

  Caro leaned toward Sadie so she could also keep her voice down.

  “Yeah, Tess can get a little intense sometimes, and she felt like this was something she was supposed to do—as in, ‘God wanted her to.’”

  Oh, boy.

  “Couldn’t we help her set up tables at the church?” Caro asked a moment later. “It sounds like she told them we’d come—they’re counting on us, and maybe it would help Tess feel better about all this.”

  It was on the tip of Sadie’s tongue to ask if Caro’s and Tess’s real motive for going were to create an opportunity to talk to Dr. Hendricks’s ex-wife after all. But Tess hadn’t said she was going to continue the investigation, and Sadie still wanted Tess’s friendship. “I’d be happy to help set up.”

  “Oh, good,” Caro said brightly as she got to her feet, a little too brightly for Sadie’s peace of mind. “I’ll let Tess know.”

  Sadie hoped this wouldn’t be a decision she’d regret.

  Chapter 5

  Sadie had been inside her town’s Mormon church for a couple of weddings and a Scout ceremony once, but it wasn’t like this big, new, modern building. Sadie appreciated the light colors and functional design as she followed Tess and Caro into a large room Tess called the cultural hall. It looked like a basketball court to Sadie and, while the roominess was nice, it seemed too informal a location for a luncheon.

  A woman in her early forties with shoulder-length auburn hair and an overall soccer-mom quality hurried in their direction. She was slightly overweight but she had an engaging smile and was dressed nicely in white capris and a multicolored top, with matching necklace, earrings, and bracelet. She had magnificent skin, and Sadie suspected regular facials.

  “I’m so glad you guys could make it,” she said, giving each of them a hug before introducing herself as Nikki Waters. “There’s a softball tournament tonight, so some of our helpers didn’t show up.” She waved toward three people who were rolling a giant rack full of folding chairs through a set of double doors at the far end of the room. “We’re so glad you could help.” Her bracelet jingled when she gestured with her hands.

  “We are, too,” Tess said. Sadie hoped she was the only one who could tell the smile was a little forced. “Where do you need us?”

  “Well, we need to set up all of those chairs,” Nikki said, motioning toward the rack of chairs again. “We need to get some round tables from the closet in the hall, and someone put ‘fruit’ on the sign-up sheet we sent around on Sunday instead of ‘fruit salad,’ so we’re kind of scrambling in the kitchen to get it all cut up.” She turned to Tess. “Didn’t you say you want
ed to talk to Lori about the scrapbook? She’s already working on the fruit.”

  All three were silent for a few seconds—just long enough for Nikki’s expression to turn to confusion. Sadie wondered how much Nikki knew about the motivation behind the scrapbook. One of the first rules of investigation was keeping a tight lip.

  “I’d be happy to help with the tables,” Caro said, clapping her hands together and interrupting the awkwardness. “Where are they?”

  “There’s a closet in the hall just through those doors,” Nikki said, pointing toward another set of double doors on the opposite side of the room. Sadie noticed that there were no fewer than four sets of doors around the perimeter of the room. And a stage at the front. The possible uses for this room seemed endless—if you didn’t mind the basketball court painted on the floor.

  Caro headed toward the doors Nikki had pointed out, obviously eager to do something other than continue this conversation.

  “I can help with chairs,” Tess said a moment later.

  Nikki’s confusion deepened. “But I thought you wanted to talk to Lori.”

  “Change of plans,” she said, making Sadie think of all the things she needed to do back home in Garrison. If this trip were going to continue to be uncomfortable, maybe she’d just go home. Caro and Tess could do whatever they wanted. But she’d feel bad backing out of the entire weekend, and she worried that Caro and Tess would make a mess if she left them to figure things out on their own. Ugh.

  “I’ll help Lori, then,” Sadie said, eager to escape as Caro had. “Where do I go?”

  “Um, through those doors,” Nikki said, pointing to another set of double doors. “The kitchen’s straight across the hall. You can’t miss it.”

  “Great. Thanks,” Sadie said as she headed that direction. She wasn’t fast enough to avoid overhearing Nikki whisper, “What do you mean a change of plans? I thought ...”

  As Sadie made her way to the kitchen, she told herself that she was the best choice to help Lori. It would keep Tess or Caro from being unable to help themselves from acting on their agendas. But something prickled in her chest, all the same. This was the ex-wife of Dr. Hendricks—someone who might be more honest about his flaws than most people would be. The information Sadie could learn from a conversation with this woman was impossible to quantify. She hoped she would be able to control herself.

  “It would be interfering with an investigation,” she muttered under her breath as she saw the open doorway and prepared herself to be strong. I am not here to investigate. It would be wrong and hypocritical for me to do anything the least bit investigative after I shut Tess’s and Caro’s ideas down.

  At the door, Sadie took a deep breath.

  “Hi,” Sadie announced as she entered the kitchen, a big “no agenda” smile on her face. The woman who had to be Lori Hendricks—there wasn’t anyone else here—looked up from where she was cutting a honeydew melon. Lori was stocky, with dark red hair—dyed at home, Sadie would bet—and a black bandana tied around her forehead biker style. She wore a yellow T-shirt and black athletic shorts and had green flip-flops on her feet—she cast a sharp contrast with Nikki Waters, though they had both been doctors’ wives at one point. “Nikki said you could use an extra set of hands,” Sadie said.

  “Absolutely,” the woman said, smiling back. “There’s a cutting board over there—I’ll grab you a knife. I’m Lori, by the way.”

  “Nice to meet you. I’m Sadie,” Sadie said. A hundred questions began lining up in her brain as she retrieved the cutting board. Since Lori was helping with the luncheon, did that mean she’d had an amicable relationship with her ex-husband? Why did they get a divorce in the first place? How long had it been since they’d split up? Was Dr. Hendricks a good dad? Did Lori have any idea why his car wasn’t where it should have been on the Sunday before it was discovered? Sadie tried like crazy to push the questions away as she washed her hands and dried them with paper towels from the dispenser beside the sink. Don’t give in, she told herself. Be strong.

  “I really appreciate the help,” Lori said when Sadie came back to the counter. There was a big, grey garbage can between them, and Lori handed Sadie a chef’s knife. “I think two great big bowls of the fruit salad would work pretty well—what do you think?” Lori had already filled one large metal bowl a third of the way full.

  “Sounds good to me,” Sadie said, positioning her cutting board so that it wouldn’t slide on the counter. She wished she had an apron, but since Lori wasn’t wearing one she assumed there weren’t any available. She’d just have to be extra careful. “And then we’ll just store it in the fridge overnight?”

  “Yeah. I brought stuff to mix up for a dressing, but I thought we should probably wait until tomorrow to add it, don’t you think?”

  “Makes sense,” Sadie said even though, from her experience, she thought it didn’t really matter. In fact, letting the flavors of the dressing and the fruit blend overnight could be really good. Still, she wasn’t in charge. “What kind of dressing are you making?” Sadie asked.

  “I just put together plain yogurt, some maple syrup, and vanilla—nothing fancy.”

  “Sounds good,” Sadie said. “I don’t think I’ve ever had maple syrup in a fruit salad, but I imagine the natural flavors complement each other.”

  “Exactly,” Lori said. “But I can’t really take credit. Nikki gave me the recipe several years ago—she’s a great cook. I like it ’cause you don’t really have to measure anything—just a little of this and that until you like the level of sweet and vanilla. Then mix it all together—easy breezy.”

  “Simple and delicious are the best kind of recipes,” Sadie said as she picked up one of the four cantaloupes laid out on the counter. There were also five honeydew melons and four big watermelons. She hoped there were strawberries somewhere. And maybe mangos, too—mangos were so good in fruit salad.

  Sadie sliced the cantaloupe in half, scraped the seeds out of the middle with a big spoon, and lay it cut-side down on the cutting board. Using the knife Lori had given her, she cut off the rind, exposing the orange melon below the surface. She sliced, and then diced the melon and then lifted the handfuls of fruit and dumped them in the bowl. Through every motion, she tried to not to think about how to begin a meaningful conversation with this woman. That is not why I’m here!

  “How did you do that so fast?” Lori asked, interrupting Sadie’s thoughts, which was a relief, really. If she could keep her mind occupied, it wouldn’t go into auto-pilot investigative mode. Sadie had told Caro earlier that she didn’t have a personal investment in this case like she’d had with the others she’d worked on. She was beginning to think she didn’t need a personal connection, though. With the kind of experience she had, what was to keep her from becoming invested simply because of the fact that she knew what a resolution would mean to the people who did have a personal investment?

  Focus on the fruit!

  Lori was holding a wedge of cantaloupe she’d been cutting the fruit from. Sadie smiled—she used to cut melons that way too.

  “I cut the rind off the fruit instead of cutting the fruit out of the rind. It’s faster and you get more fruit that way. Want me to show you how?”

  Lori nodded, and Sadie used the other half of her cantaloupe to demonstrate the technique. A minute later Lori was cutting the rind off of her own cantaloupe half. “I can’t believe how much faster this is.”

  “A nice trick, huh? I learned it in a cooking class I attended a few years ago. The best part of those classes is when chefs share their tips.” She sliced another cantaloupe and scraped the seeds into the garbage can while making a note to be sure the garbage got taken out tonight. No one wanted a pervasive cantaloupe smell to permeate the church building.

  “Do you cook a lot?” Lori said.

  “As often as I can,” Sadie said. “At times it’s been a bit of a problem for me.”

  Lori laughed.

  “Do you cook?” Sadie asked.

 
“Not much,” Lori said with a shrug. “I’m a single mom, and working, and going to school. I’m afraid we eat a lot of bagels.”

  “Been there,” Sadie said with a nod. “I look back now and wonder how I ever did it.” She kept to herself the fact that, for her, things like cooking and cleaning were sanity-savers and fulfilling in more than just a role-playing way. But she realized not every woman had the same experience, even when circumstances were similar.

  “I wonder every day how I’m going to do it,” Lori replied as she went back to cutting. After several seconds, she spoke again. “It’s not my business, but were you divorced, too? I should have told you—I’m the ex-wife of Dr. Hendricks.” She said it as though confessing something that should be said in whispers.

  “I was widowed, actually. And I knew who you were,” Sadie said, giving Lori a quick smile to alleviate any awkwardness. “I came with Tess—I don’t know what her last name is, sorry—to help set up. Tess said that the two of you led an art project when your sons were in a class together a few years ago. First grade, I think.”

  “Tess Callbury?” Lori said, smiling, and glancing toward the door leading to the hallway. “I haven’t seen her in ages. I didn’t know she was in Nikki’s ward.”

  It took a beat for Sadie to remember that “ward” was the word for a Mormon congregation. “I don’t think she’s in this ward,” Sadie said, trying to remember what Tess had said earlier. “But she’s friends with Nikki, and Nikki needed some extra hands.”

  “I didn’t even know they knew each other—small world,” Lori said, still slicing. “I like Tess quite a lot.”

  “Me, too,” Sadie said, even though she wasn’t sure what she thought about Tess right now. She’d been warm and wonderful until Sadie shot down the investigation, and then she’d been rather rude. Passive-aggressive maybe? Sadie hated dealing with passive-aggressive people.

  “I’m sorry to hear about your husband,” Lori said, turning the conversation in an unexpected direction. “That must have been hard. Has it been a long time?” It was a perfect segue into the questions Sadie was trying not to ask and, even though Sadie tried to resist, after holding her breath for a few counts, she just couldn’t keep silent.