I figured that would get me through the week, and I’d have snacks in my room too. While I was picking up the apples, two women stood on the other side of the small produce section engaged in what I guessed was gossip. They looked at me and lowered their voices, but I could still hear most of what they said.
The gist of it was that the subject of my investigation, Frankie Horowitz, was loaded. One of the women mentioned that she might have gold buried on her property. That part I blew off as fantasy, but I wondered what they meant by loaded.
Sadly, no one had had the slightest idea how much money Mrs. Horowitz had really been worth. Her case was the first time I had no idea about the size of the estate that was at stake. Not all of my jobs included tracking down relatives for property distribution. But in the past, any of them that did, I at least knew how much money was involved.
It was time to call in backup.
Chapter Three
Lara
Ellie Kazamakis is a colleague of mine who worked low-information cases. I wasn’t sure how she did it, or if her methods were entirely legal. But what I did know was that Ellie could get results when a case seemed hopeless.
I’d never had to call her in this early before, and I’d never had so little information. I hoped that she was up for a challenge. I thought that perhaps if I could frame the situation like a game or puzzle and stroke Ellie’s ego just right, she’d jump at the chance to come bail me out of the mess I’d found myself in.
After I got back to my room at the inn, I put my groceries away and gave Ellie a call. It went to voicemail after a few rings.
Lunch had been late but by the time I’d gotten in for the evening, my stomach had begun to growl again. Brody had said something earlier in the day about a diner in town. I made the decision to grab some dinner there. I figured if Ellie called back, I could get the food to go. If not, it would be something to do until she and I did speak.
I had no idea where the restaurant was or what it was called, and I didn’t want to call Brody. It was too big of a risk that he’d want to meet me, and I definitely didn’t want him here while I spoke with Ellie about the case. So I headed down to the front desk to see if there was someone who could tell me where the diner was located.
A large, pleasant-looking woman sat at the desk. She was reading a paperback. Her hands were covering the important parts and I couldn’t quite make out what book she read. There were hints of a sweeping dress and a woman swooning into the arms of a bare-chested Viking so I assumed it was a romance. The woman wore a name tag that said Roberta.
“Good evening, Lara,” Roberta said after she placed her book on the desk facedown. “How are you?”
“I’m good, thank you.” It was still a bit unnerving that people knew who I was without introduction at that point, but I’d decided to go with it instead of commenting every time someone called me by name before I’d introduced myself.
“Is there something I can help you with?” She asked with a sweet, sincere smile.
“Brody mentioned a diner earlier. We work together, but you probably already know that.” I said the last part more to myself than to Roberta. “What he didn’t tell me was where it is located. I would like to go there.”
“Oh, certainly. You just take a right when you go out the front doors, walk to the end of the block, take a right, and then walk about two more blocks. You should see the neon sign as soon as you turn the corner. It’s just a hop, skip, and a jump from here.”
“Thank you, Roberta,” I said.
“Let me know if you need anything else,” she said and then thought of something else. “Oh, and my name tag says my Christian name, but you can call me Bertie.”
“Okay, Bertie. Have a good evening.”
“Night, sugar,” Bertie said as I walked out the front doors into the chilly night air.
Bertie had been right. I could see the diner’s sign as soon as I turned the corner. If I’d taken the time to go into the gardens behind the inn, I probably could have seen it from there. It was twilight by the time I headed out for dinner, so the warm glow of red and blue neon mixed with the mouth-watering smell of grilled burgers beckoned me in the half-light.
One block down and halfway to the diner, I got the sinking feeling that someone was following me. It was a weird sensation because one of the only places to eat in town was ahead of me, and the center of Ash Road was behind me. It would stand to reason that lots of people might have been walking that way at that time. But the hairs on the back of my neck stood up. It was a sixth sense I’d picked up from spending so much time in unfamiliar cities but I hadn’t expected it to trigger in a small town like Ash Road.
I debated until the diner was half a block away and then decided to be brave and turn around. No one was there but I could have sworn I saw a shadow dart into the bushes of a house I’d just passed.
“You’re being silly,” I whispered to myself. “You’ve gotten yourself all worked up over nothing.”
Still, I quickened my pace and pushed through the doors of the diner as fast as I could. The din of conversation stopped and heads swiveled in my direction as soon as I entered. I tried to pretend like I didn’t notice because otherwise I would have turned and fled.
“Take a seat anywhere, honey,” a waitress behind the counter said before turning her attention back to the man who had been giving her his order before I walked in and disrupted everyone with my presence.
There were only two booths available. One was right by the front door, and the other was in the back corner by what I assumed at the time was the kitchen door. I chose the out-of-the-way table because I hoped Ellie would call back shortly.
Menus were stuck in a metal rack between the condiments and the salt and pepper shakers. I pulled one out and opened it up. The offerings were standard diner fare and I quickly located the burger section. By the time the waitress—her name tag said Candy—made it to the table, I knew what I wanted.
“What’ll it be?” she asked and popped her gum inside her cheek.
“I’ll take the double burger with no cheese and mayo only,” I said and closed the menu. “Diet Coke to drink, please.”
“You want fries or onion rings?” She asked, but didn’t give me time to answer. “If you like onion rings, I’d get those. It’s the best thing we got here. The fries are okay but the onion rings are out of this world. If you like that kinda thing,” she finished with a smile.
“I’ll take the onion rings then.”
“Comin’ right up,” she said and spun away on her tiptoes.
My food arrived less than ten minutes later and I was actually kinda glad that Ellie hadn’t called yet. The burger and onion rings smelled incredible, and it was a treat to eat them while they were still piping hot. The double hamburger was cooked to juicy perfection, and the onion rings came with a special house sauce that elevated them to heavenly. When I was done eating, I left cash on the table and headed out.
If someone had followed me, I didn’t notice them on the way home because Ellie finally called.
“What’s up, buttercup?” Ellie asked as soon as I answered.
“Buttercup?” I asked, and she just laughed. “Anyway, I’ve got a case I could use your help with if you’re available.”
“I don’t come cheap,” she responded. “Especially not right now. I’ve got more jobs than I can take. But I won’t gouge you if you can wait a week for me. I’m in the middle of something I can’t walk away from.”
“A week?” I asked sadly.
“Yep. Sorry, toots. For you, I’d walk away from what I’m working on if I could. I can’t this time. It sucks.”
“A week is a long time to delay the case. I’ve got to get out of this town.”
“I heard through the grapevine that you’re trapped in a small town in Middle America,” she said.
“Can I have a bit of time to think it over?” I asked.
“Yeah, but not too long, okay? I’ve got three other clients breathing down my ne
ck to accept their jobs.”
I walked the rest of the way back to the bed-and-breakfast. By the time I was in my room, I knew I had to wait for Ellie. It would take me longer than a week to sort things out for myself. I called her back and prayed she answered the phone right away. I didn’t want to wait longer for her services because someone who could offer more money than I could called her before I got through.
“If you’re calling me back this fast, you must have decided that you’re going to employ my services,” Ellie said after answering my call on the fifth ring.
“Yeah, I’ll wait for you. I need your help on this one,” I said.
“Yippee. The dynamic duo is back in action,” she said, and it made me laugh. “Now fill me in a little on what’s got you stumped. What am I getting myself into?”
I filled her in on the details of the case. Ellie listened as I told her about the missing paperwork, the lack of information on the amount of the estate, and all of my suspicions. When I was done, she just said,
“Interesting.”
Chapter Four
Lara
I’d gotten myself all riled up during the conversation with Ellie. I knew there was no way that I could go to sleep, but what could I do at this hour in a small town? It felt like the walls of my room were closing in on me and I had to get out.
That’s when I remembered what I’d seen a block in the other direction of the diner on the opposite side of the road. Ash Road had at least one tavern within walking distance of the inn. While I was still a bit creeped out about the prospect of someone following me, I figured that whoever it was probably thought I’d turned in for the night. Or, I was crazy, and there was no one stalking me.
Fortunately, I didn’t get that anxiety-inducing there’s someone behind me feeling on the way to the bar. I could hear the loud honky-tonk music spilling out from the bowels of the building and it made me feel better. I don’t know why. Up until that moment, I’d always hated country music. But the sound was comforting and made me feel less alone.
Once I got inside, the smell of beer and peanuts hit me. The music was loud, but not so much that you wouldn’t be able to hold a conversation with someone sitting right next to you. There were a few people at tables and some guys playing pool at the only pool table in the corner, but the tavern wasn’t packed.
There was only one person sitting at the bar. I walked over and hopped up onto a stool on the opposite end from him. The guy looked haggard and had given me the “I’m drinking alone” look when I walked in so I gave him his space.
The bartender was a burly man with a long beard and a bald head. He nodded at me when I pulled myself onto the stool. Once he was done putting some glasses away, he made his way down the bar to stand in front of me.
“What can I get for you?” he asked quietly.
“I’ll have whatever you have on tap,” I said.
The bartender nodded and made his way back down the bar to pour my beer. I watched him pull the tap and fill the glass with the pale, amber liquid. Even though it was a dive bar in a small town and he was probably filling my glass with a cheap, mass-produced brew, he still took the time to get the perfect amount of foam on the top. I appreciated people who took their work seriously, no matter what they were doing, and tipped him well.
I was about a quarter of the way through my beer when Sylvie walked into the bar. I’d been there for about twenty minutes because I was nursing my drink slowly. I didn’t want to get drunk because, even though I had to wait for Ellie, I still planned on working the next day. I figured if I dug hard enough, I might come up with something.
Sylvie looked around the bar and spotted me almost immediately. Her face lit up and she walked quickly over to me. After hopping up on the stool to my right, she waved to the bartender.
“Hey, Sylvie,” he said. “The usual?”
“You know me so well,” she said, and he started making her a drink. I didn’t pay too close attention but I knew it had a shot of whiskey.
One thing I did notice was that everyone in the bar turned their attention away from us when Sylvie sat down. The regulars had been watching me pretty closely up until that point.
“Here you go,” the bartender said as he set the drink down in front of Sylvie. “Can I get you anything else? Is your beer okay?” he asked me and then indicated my partially drunk beer.
“I’m okay. I’m just a lightweight. It’s fine,” I said with a smile and took a big swallow to prove it.
“Thanks, Jimbo,” Sylvie said to the bartender. So, at that point, I knew his name.
“Not a problem, Syl. Let me know if you need another, and get me if any of these jerks bother you again,” Jimbo said, and I could see a fiercely protective gleam in his eye.
“Thanks, Jimbo.”
When he was gone and Sylvie had turned her attention back to me, I had to know what they were talking about. Jimbo was sweet to Sylvie, but there were other men and women in the bar who were shooting daggers at her with their eyes. I could smell a story behind it all.
“What’s that all about?” I asked when Sylvie set her drink down on the bar.
“Oh, people around here don’t like me much. They don’t show it during the day while I’m working at the ice cream shop, but nobody feels the need to pretend to be neighborly in here,” she said.
“It’s probably rude of me to ask, seeing as how we don’t know each other that well, but why don’t they like you?”
“It’s because of my other job,” she said matter-of-factly. “You see, I work at Stan’s ice cream place during the day for him, but on Friday and Saturday night, I work at his other business,” Sylvie said with a shrug.
“What’s his other business?”
“Well, I’m not sure if I should tell you. I don’t want you to start disliking me too. Then I’ll have to sit here and drink my cocktail alone. You know what they say about people who drink alone,” she said softly.
“I assure you that I won’t dislike you because of your other job. How bad can it be if Stan owns an ice cream parlor?” I asked.
She chuckled. “Okay, so one county over, Stan owns a strip club called the Snake Pit.”
My eyes must have gone as wide as saucers because Sylvie let out a howl of laughter. I snapped my jaw closed because it really wasn’t a big deal, but it wasn’t what I expected. “That’s not what I expected.”
“Well, it’s not so bad. We don’t get totally naked or anything. It’s not even a topless bar. The furthest we go is down to a bikini, but even I have to admit that some of them are pretty skimpy. I wouldn’t invite my mom in to check it out,” she said and took a big gulp of her drink. “Anyway, it’s not bad money to wiggle around on stage in a bathing suit, and Jimbo here works as the bouncer because there’s another bartender that works weekends here. He makes sure that no one gets handsy when they are throwing five-dollar bills at me,” she said and winked at Jimbo, who’d been standing just within earshot.
I took a minute to process what Sylvie had told me. It made sense. She was a knockout, but what didn’t make sense was how people who knew she worked as an exotic dancer didn’t approve.
“Do you tell the people who live around here that you dance there?” I asked, completely perplexed.
“Nope, it’s not something I advertise.”
“How do they know you dance at that place if they hate it so much?”
“Amen to that,” Sylvie said and clinked her glass against mine.
That was my first taste of small town hypocrisy, and looking back, I think it poisoned me to Ash Road a little bit. I hoped that I wouldn’t have to encounter too much more judgment from the people around me before I got to escape.
“I’m going to go back to my room,” I said when I finished my beer. “Do you want me to walk you home or anything?” I asked because I wasn’t accustomed to leaving female friends alone in bars.
“I’m cool. The bar closes in a couple of hours and Jimbo will make sure I get home safely.”
>
“Alright.”
After that, we exchanged cell phone numbers and said our goodbyes. I walked back to the inn quickly. It wasn’t that late but Ash Road felt abandoned. I could still see the light of the diner, but no one appeared to be coming or going.
When I got back to the inn, no one was sitting at the front desk. I figured no one would work at night, but I wished I’d asked if the Magnolia and Willow had any vending machines. It didn’t seem likely, but I still decided to poke around the first floor. I was pleasantly surprised when I found a soda and candy machine tucked in an alcove by the kitchen. I pulled some change out of my purse and bought a Diet Coke before making my way up to my room.
For a moment, I thought I saw movement outside of the window in the lobby. It was a flash of shadow that was vaguely human shaped. By the time I turned my head to look out the window fully, there was nothing there. I dashed up the stairs to look out my room’s window. I figured if there was someone out there, I’d be able to see them. Again, there was no one there, but I did think that I saw some bushes across the garden rustling slightly. There was no wind.
I sat down at the table in my room and opened my soda. There was so much about this town that I didn’t understand, and I had to fight back my frustration.
Just as I was about to attempt to find something on television so I could zone out, my phone buzzed. It was a text from Brody. I’d given him my phone number earlier in case he needed to let me know if he wasn’t coming into work one day or something.
I just wanted to make sure you were in safe for the night.
That seemed both sweet and odd at the same time. I even felt a little bad for not inviting him out with me, but I had no idea why. We were temporary coworkers and nothing more. I didn’t owe him an invite out, and I certainly didn’t have to check in with him.
I’m in. I’m fine. Thanks for thinking of me.
I typed it out so quickly that I didn’t realize it wasn’t what I wanted to say until I’d already hit send. Something about Brody had gotten under my skin, and it was more than a little distressing. My conscious mind wanted nothing more than to keep him at arm’s length, and that was particularly true since I had no idea at the time if I could trust him. My subconscious, on the other hand, seemed to want to undermine my ability to keep him at a distance.
Magic & Mystery: A Cozy Mystery Sampler Page 29