A's in the Hole

by Wendy Meadows

  “You can feel it?” Jake asked.

  “Don’t look at me like that,” Van snapped. “I’m not crazy. There’s someone in that house and they’re killing off the radio hosts in this town. Someone who wants power or who wants to replace us.” He clicked his fingers. “I bet it’s someone from a TV network. They’re always trying to rain on our parade.”

  Olivia didn’t bother pointing out the insanity of that statement. “Do you have any proof that this is happening?”

  “Yeah, I have proof all right,” Van replied. “Things have been moved around in there.”

  Jake and Olivia exchanged another glance.

  “Inside Lilac’s house?” Olivia asked, just to be sure. “How do you know?’

  Van had the decency to appear embarrassed – whether he was telling the truth was another matter entirely. “I have a spare key to her place. She’s never had an alarm system installed because she didn’t think it was necessary in Chester. Always talked about what a waste of money mine was. Guess that was just one more thing Lilac was wrong about.”

  “And you’ve been inside her house since her death?” Jake asked, not to be dissuaded from the course of justice. “You realize that’s trespassing.”

  “I just went over to make sure nothing had been taken. I saw that ex-husband of hers over there and Heaven knows he’s always been a creep.” Van rummaged in his pocket and brought out a small silver key. “There, see?”

  “Do the police know you have it?”

  “No. I thought it’d make me look bad,” Van replied. “Take it, take the darn key. I don’t want it anymore. Give it to the cops or maybe you can take a look next door.”

  Olivia removed the key from his palm.

  “I don’t think that’s a good idea. Right, Olivia? That’s not a good idea,” Jake said and his voice squeaked in places. He knew it was already in her mind to go over there and check things out.

  “I’ll be right back,” she said. “I need to go to the restroom.”

  “Olivia –”

  “Make me a cup of coffee while I’m gone, will you, Jake?” She exited the kitchen, mind whirling at the prospect of what she might find next door – more answers? Or perhaps a clue that would link Hank and Violet to the crime.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  O livia inserted the key into the lock and hesitated. She glanced back over both shoulders at the path that led from the gate to the porch. It wound between lavish statues, fountains, rosebushes and miniature trees.

  She couldn’t shake that sense that there was someone hidden nearby, watching her every move. No wonder Van the Man was paranoid about this place. It had a strange atmosphere.

  “Doesn’t change the fact that you have to check it out,” she muttered, and turned the key.

  Olivia let herself into Lilac’s house and the creepy vibe increased tenfold. All the lights were off, the curtains drawn, and a strange ticking noise rattled down the hall.

  She walked past pictures of Lilac in various poses and at different ages. None of them contained anyone else. It was clearly the Lilac show in this house and the owner hadn’t wanted anyone to forget that.

  The image of Lilac in her wedding dress hung skew. Olivia resisted her primal instinct to straighten it. She entered the living room and found the source of ticking; a grandfather clock.

  The tick-tock reverberated through the area, bouncing off the immaculate sofas and the crystal coffee table. Olivia shivered. “Focus,” she whispered. “Evidence. Find evidence.” This had been a terrible idea.

  What if Van was right and someone had been in the house. What if –?

  A door creaked somewhere in the mansion and Olivia jumped. Gosh, this was ridiculous. She wasn’t technically allowed in here. She steeled herself and hurried out of the living room and down the hall toward the source of the noise.

  Sweat trickled down her neck and she swiped it off. She shook her head. It was ridiculous to be this jumpy. “There’s no one in here,” she whispered.

  A door slammed upstairs and Olivia’s brave constitution evaporated. She wasn’t about to perpetuate the horror movie trope and follow the sound. She jogged down the hall toward the front door, squinting in the gloom.

  Another slam and Olivia let out a tiny yelp. She looked back at the staircase at the end of the hall, but there was no one there… as far as she could tell. “Keep it together, woman,” she whispered.

  She quickened her pace and banged into a hall table. It tipped rattled and the vase atop it crashed to the boards.

  Olivia stopped and drew a breath. Silence surrounded her, now, apart from the lethargic tick of that grandfather clock. Nothing creaked or moved upstairs, but whoever was up there had to know they weren’t alone now.

  Olivia stepped around the vase and kicked the table leg. No, not the table leg. Table legs didn’t slide across the boards like that. She bent and fumbled in the murk, fingertips brushing wood and, finally, a smooth leather cover. A book?

  She picked it up and tucked it against her chest. It might be nothing, but she had to find out. She’d left her handbag and phone back at Van the Man’s place. She hurried to the front door, now shut though she certainly hadn’t closed it, and tried the handle.

  Locked.

  “What the –?” Now, this was a true pickle. She hadn’t locked it, and without the key, she couldn’t let herself out. Shoot, she couldn’t even call Jake to come over and check if the key was still in the lock outside.

  But the door couldn’t have locked itself. Which meant someone had locked her in. Olivia felt the entrance hall for a light switch and admitted defeat – she couldn’t hide her presence in the house any longer.

  Hopefully, the lights would signal Van or Jake that something had gone wrong. Mr. Morgan wasn’t a slouch in the intelligence department. He’d figure it out.

  Olivia switched on the entrance hall light and blinked in the sudden glare. She peered up the hall at the stairs, but the coast was clear. No mysterious hunters or burglars in sight, thank heavens.

  “This wasn’t one of your smartest ideas, Olivia,” she whispered.

  Olivia switched her focus to the leather bound book instead of mentally berating herself. Mistakes were mistakes, after all.

  She flipped open the cover and withheld a gasp. It was Lilac’s journal. But why had it been on the floor? Or had it fallen when she’d kicked the hall table? Whatever the case, she had it within her grasp.

  She paged through, the thin pages crinkling beneath her touch, and stopped on the final entry.

  I have never written it down or spoken about it to anyone. It was an accident I can’t take back. Hank doesn’t even know. What happened is between me and her and God. I thought we were the only ones who knew about it, but I was wrong. Someone else knows. I can feel them watching me as I write this.

  I can never take back what I’ve done. I can only regret it. But regrets won’t save me now. I’m scared nothing will save me from what’s coming.

  Olivia read the entry twice, breathless each time. The words gave her more creepy vibes than anything in the house had. Lilac had regrets about something. A secret that she’d supposedly taken to the grave with her, and only one other person, a woman, had known.

  Or wait, did the entry mean that another had found the truth? And what exactly was the truth?

  Footsteps clamored on the porch and Olivia slapped the journal shut. “Hello? Is there anyone out there? Please, help, I think someone locked me inside.”

  Keys scraped. The lock clicked. The door swung inward and Olivia’s relief at her new found freedom evaporated. The last person she’d ever want to see in a situation like this stared back at her.

  “Olivia Cloud,” Detective Keane said, shaking with anger.

  “I can explain.”

  “Save it,” Keane said. “You’re under arrest for trespassing and interfering in an active investigation.” He whipped his handcuffs out. “You have the right to remain silent –”

  Olivia tuned out the
rest of the litany. She felt helpless as he wrenched the journal from her hands and gave it to another officer.

  It’d had happened, at last. She’d made one mistake too many and now she’d pay the price.

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  J ake gripped the wheel and stared out of the windshield at the traffic. The wipers swept rain aside and light blared in the gray morning haze.

  “You’re not going to berate me?” Olivia asked, and folded her arms across her chest – the same clothes she’d had on yesterday, but dirtier. That was what happened after spending the night in a jail cell on a hard bench.

  Jake’s lips drew into a thin line.

  “Thanks for bailing me out,” she said. “I – this has never happened before.”

  “Miracle.”

  “What’s that?”

  “It’s a miracle it’s never happened before when you treat every investigation like your personal… ugh, I don’t know. Like it’s your personal right to pursue them and do whatever you like to get answers.”

  “That’s not –”

  Jake clicked on his indicator. “Don’t you dare say it’s not true, Olivia. Don’t you dare.”

  Olivia chewed her lip instead of answering. She’d never seen Jake this mad. He didn’t tremble or yell, but he was white from head to toe, and brimming with tension.

  “I trust you too much,” he said. “I trust that you’ve got everyone’s best interests at heart, including your own but that’s never the case. You’re more than happy to throw yourself under the bus at a moment’s notice. That kind of ‘sacrifice’ doesn’t come off as heroic, Olivia. It comes off as stupid.”

  “Wow, tell me how you really feel.”

  “I finally am,” Jake replied. He pulled into a parking space outside the Block-A-Choc Shoppe. “Do you know how frustrating it is to watch you operate and know that I can’t stop you from making stupid mistakes that will get you in this kind of trouble? What did you think you’d achieve by going over there?”

  “I found her journal, Jake,” Olivia said, and unhooked her seatbelt. “Lilac’s journal. In it, she said –”

  “No.” Jake raised his palm. “Don’t tell me. I don’t care about what you found. I care about the fact that you thought it was permissible to do something like that. Don’t you care about yourself? About –” he cut off and jammed his lips together.

  “I do. I just care about solving the case more.”

  “And you think that the police in Chester are incapable of doing that?” Jake asked.

  “You’ve got to hear me out here. Lilac had some huge secret. She wrote about it in her journal, Jake. It was something only she and one other person knew about. She said that she was sure someone was after her. It was terrifying in there, Jake.”

  “What?” Jake asked.

  “In the house. I’m sure there was someone upstairs. I kept hearing noises and someone locked me inside. I wouldn’t have been arrested if that hadn’t happened.”

  “You wouldn’t have been arrested if you hadn’t trespassed in a murder victim’s house,” Jake replied coldly.

  “Okay, when is this going to be over?” Olivia asked. “I get that you’re angry, but we’ve got a case to discuss and new evidence has come to light. I say we put our personal differences aside and move ahead.”

  Jake sighed and focused on the car parked in front of his. He focused on the folks who’d only just gotten out of bed and needed their first cup of coffee. The old lady who frequented the antique store across the road hovered outside and checked the time on her watch.

  After a night behind bars, it was surreal to her.

  Jake cleared his throat. “I know you’re on this path and I can’t take you off it. I don’t understand where this deep need to make things right comes from, but I’ve supported it. No, I’ve enabled it. Maybe it’s time I stop.”

  “What are you saying?”

  “I’m saying that I’m an idiot for thinking you cared about me.” Jake pressed a button and the central locking clicked.

  “What’s that got to do with any of this? Do you think I owe you something because you’ve been my friend?”

  Jake snorted. “Don’t be ridiculous. I chose to follow you around and enable this type of behavior. And it wasn’t just because I’ve fallen for you –”

  “Jake!” Olivia sucked in a breath. Her mind turned to mush.

  “It was because I believed that you were on the right track! I believed that you’d be a great investigator. It was because you’re just; you’re like a magnet, Olivia! You draw in all kinds of good and bad. People revolve around you, but I need to not be one of those people anymore. It’s not good for me.”

  “Jake, please,” she said, and tears pricked the corners of her eyes. Had he really fallen for her? She’d thought perhaps they had chemistry and had put off her high school crush as just that. But love? She couldn’t fathom it.

  “No,” Jake said. “I don’t think we should see each other anymore.”

  “But, I need your help.” She reached out for him and he jerked away.

  “Goodbye, Olivia.”

  Olivia didn’t stay a second longer. She clunked the car door open and bundled out into the cold, tears burning on her skin. She’d never believed she could hurt as she had years ago after her husband had left. She’d been so focused on avoiding that pain she hadn’t noticed it sneaking up on her.

  Olivia unlocked the Block-A-Choc Shoppe and hurried inside. Lilac’s litany about regrets ran through her mind.

  I can never take back what I’ve done. I can only regret it.

  When she looked back at the street, the old lady was still outside the antique store, pacing now, but Jake’s car was gone. Dodger barked a greeting from upstairs. Olivia walked past the broken remnants of her air-conditioning unit toward the staircase to greet him.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  O livia couldn’t quit thinking about two things: Lilac’s regrets and Jake’s confession. Both had confused her and taken her by surprise.

  She stood behind the counter in the Block-A-Choc Shoppe and rested her forearms on the glass. Her mind churned over one topic and then moved to the other. Jake had feelings for her and she’d made him feel helpless.

  Her actions and insistence on following every lead, no matter the cost, had pushed him away. Not that she was ready for a relationship. But it had been years, hadn’t it? How old was Sebby now? His father had left them when he’d been just five years old and she’d never recovered from it. She’d worried that Sebastian wouldn’t either, but he’d flourished into an awesome kid.

  “Stop,” Olivia said, and stood up straight. The clock on her back wall ticked to 9am. The air conditioning guy should be here any second. As soon as the damage was repaired, she’d be able to get back down to business. Forget about all those muddled up, silly feelings and focus on chocolates and the case.

  The case. She would still focus on it, even if she’d made a big mistake.

  Lilac had mentioned a secret regret. It had to be tied to her death – she’d seemed convinced that she couldn’t hide from them anymore. “But what does it mean?”

  A knock rattled the front door and Olivia waved the repairmen inside.

  Georgie entered carting a toolbox behind him. “Morning,” he said. “How are you?”

  “I’ve been better, as you can probably tell.” She gestured to the wreck of equipment in the corner.

  “I see,” the young man said, and heaved a sigh. “Boy, if I’d known the job was this big I’d have brought some help along.” He dumped his toolbox on the tiles, then brought out his cell and tapped on the screen. “They don’t give me enough information on these jobs. It’s just directions, really. Go here, do that.”

  “Oh,” Olivia said. “You should speak to them about that. It sounds like a spectacular waste of time.” Olivia had learned how to small talk during her time in Chester. She had to if she planned on running a successful chocolate shop and café.

  “Eh, it’s all rig
ht, I guess.” Georgie tucked his phone into the back pocket on his jeans, and then dropped to his knees beside the toolbox. “It’s not like this is my dream job.”

  “What’s your dream job?” Olivia asked.

  “I haven’t figured that out yet. If I had, I wouldn’t be in this town,” Georgie replied.

  “You don’t like Chester?”

  “Do you?” He countered.

  Olivia mulled that one over. “I guess I didn’t in the beginning. When I first arrived it was just to get away from everything and the people were so strange to me; so small town.”

  “Right, that’s a good way of putting it; small town. Small town hearts and minds.” Georgie’s upper lip curled, but he turned it into a smile. “Maybe I’m just sour because I’ve been working all weekend. Sorry.”

  “No, don’t worry about it,” Olivia said. “I like Chester now, though. Once you get used to all the idiosyncrasies and start making friends it’s pretty nice.”

  “If you say so,” Georgie said. “I don’t know how much longer I’ll be here, though. The minute I’ve saved up enough cash, I’ll get out and –”

  Olivia’s phone rang and she shrugged an apology. “Gotta take this,” she said.

  “No problem.” Georgie scrounged around in his toolbox.

  Olivia whipped her phone out, answered, and then walked up the stairs to her apartment. “Hello,” she said. She wasn’t looking forward to this particular conversation.

  “What on earth is going on?” Alberta asked. “I’ve just spoken with Jake’s mother on the phone.”

  “And good morning to you, too, Albie,” Olivia said. She opened the upstairs gate, and then stepped inside and shut it behind her.

  “Never mind your good mornings, woman! Were you in jail last night?” Alberta asked.

  Olivia sighed and leaned against the passage wall. Dodgy padded out of the kitchen and licked her ankles. “It was a misunderstanding.”

  “A misunderstanding? That’s what they’re calling a criminal record nowadays?”