by Mary Maxwell
Before she lured me into a fruitless argument about Muldoon and his laissez-faire approach to spelling, I patted the guy on the back and thanked him for the balloons.
“No worries,” he said, glancing at his feet again. “And I’ll be real careful with your clean floor. Wouldn’t want downstairs to look as messy as upstairs, huh?”
The strange remark was delivered with a grin, but it made me uneasy. It was as if Muldoon was aware that someone had burglarized my apartment the day before.
“I mean, that’s pure speculation on my part,” he added, letting the lopsided grin rise into a wide smile. “As busy as you are down here, I can’t imagine you’ve had much time to settle in upstairs.”
Olivia snickered. “That’s a safe bet,” she said. “But Katie never was one for keeping a very clean house.”
I frowned at her. “He doesn’t need to know your opinion about my domestic skills,” I said. “Besides, you never saw my last place in Chicago. It was spotless and beautiful the entire time I lived there.”
My sister shrugged. “I’ll take your word for it,” she said. “Now, shoo! Get back to the kitchen so Muldoon can be on his way and I can decorate this place before we open for business.”
I thanked them both and went back to join Julia. She was humming loudly and filling two tins with graham cracker crust when I returned to the kitchen.
“How’d it go?” she asked.
“About as well as I suspected,” I said. “My sister’s in a snit again. I think it might’ve been a better idea to decline her offer to come up and help this week.”
“She’s going through something with her husband,” Julia said. “That can tend to make somebody a little jumpy.”
I rummaged through the utensil drawer for the box of pastry bag tips. “Oh, she told you about the pink thong?”
Julia nearly dropped one of the finished lemon meringue crusts on the floor. “About the what?”
I felt an instant surge of guilt race through my chest. “Uh-oh. I maybe shouldn’t have—”
The door suddenly swept open. Muldoon and my sister came through it on a wave of laughter.
“Alright then,” he said. “That should do it for me.”
Olivia lunged forward and gave him a big hug. “Thank you again,” she gushed. “I’m sorry it took two trips to get them right, but they look amazing!”
The awkward embrace left Muldoon visibly uncomfortable. He mumbled another goodbye before disappearing through the backdoor.
“Isn’t he sweet?” Olivia burbled. “Such a gentleman. And so handsome.”
I found the pastry bag tips and closed the drawer. “I wonder if Cooper would agree with that,” I asked.
“Oh, don’t be silly!” my sister said, blazing the room with a bright smile. “Me and Coop got everything smoothed out late last night.”
Julia squealed and clapped her hands. “Oh, golly gosh!” she sputtered cheerfully. “I’m so thrilled to hear that, Liv!”
My sister plucked a strawberry from the bowl in the sink. “Amen to that,” she said, biting into the plump fruit. “Turned out the pink thong belongs to his coworker. Her car was in the shop and Cooper let her take his to the gym at lunch. I guess her satchel spilled in the backseat and she picked up everything but her thong.”
I shot a doubtful look at Julia, but she was still celebrating the matrimonial good news.
“And before you say one peep,” Olivia warned, “I want you to know that I trust my husband implicitly. When I asked him about the pink thong, he didn’t hesitate at all; the explanation came right out without any hemming or hawing.”
I smiled. “Because all of the hemming and hawing had already happened,” I said, winking at my sister.
“Hey!” she blurted. “I’m not kidding! I feel so ridiculous for suspecting that he would do something like that.” She dropped the strawberry top into the compost bucket and reached for another. “I suppose it was just my own insecurity or something.” She nibbled on the second berry, deep in thought. “Or maybe it was watching Fatal Attraction again last week,” she added. “It probably got into my subconscious and that’s why I immediately suspected that Cooper was cheating on me.”
There was too much work to do, so I merely smiled and nodded in agreement. After finishing a few more strawberries, Olivia went back to the dining room.
“And before you roll your eyes again,” she said, vanishing through the door, “the balloons are going to look perfect!”
CHAPTER 19
I was staring at the whiteboard in the kitchen, trying to decide what to do next, when my phone vibrated on the stainless steel counter by the sink. I lunged and grabbed it right before it skittered over the edge into a sudsy ocean filled with soaking pots and pans.
“Thank you for calling Sky High Pies,” I said, not bothering to check the name on the screen. “This is Kate Reed.”
“Morning, sunshine,” said Trent. “I’m returning your call from the wee hours of the night.”
His laugh was warm and firm, swirling into my ear like a summer breeze. “I don’t see how you can keep going with as little sleep as you must get.”
“Hi,” I said. “Thanks for calling back.”
“My pleasure, Katie. What’s shakin’?”
The relaxed inquiry was standard Trent Walsh. The first time we met, he’d looked up from the school newspaper that he was reading and asked me the same question. He’d moved to Crescent Creek during the summer before our senior year. I’d seen him around town. And all of my girlfriends had buzzed about the hot new guy on the football team. But that two-word greeting during high school orientation had sent my teenaged heart fluttering into overdrive.
“Earth to Katie!” Trent called loudly. “Come in, Katie!”
I smiled at the memory and listened to him snickering. “You don’t have to yell. My hearing works just fine.”
The snicker swerved into a throaty laugh. “Just like all your other parts,” he said suggestively. “Va-va-va-voom, Miss Reed.”
I didn’t know how to respond, so I ignored the remark. “Listen,” I said. “The reason I called last night was to let you know that I found something in one of my—”
The swinging door suddenly slammed open and Harper rushed into the kitchen.
“I can’t find the checklist for the dining room,” she blurted. “Did somebody take it and not put it back?”
Her face was damp with a light sheen of perspiration. “Oh, Kate,” she whispered, seeing the phone in my hand. “I’m so sorry about that.”
“Trent? Can you hang on for a sec?”
“Sure thing,” he said.
I started toward the dining room, but Harper held up one hand. “I’ll find it,” she said softly. “I’m just a little frazzled today.”
“What’s going on?” I asked. “Is everything okay?”
She sighed. “Actually, I was going to talk to you later. I wanted to wait until we were open and…” She paused to gulp in a breath. “But since you asked,” she continued. “I got a bunch of strange phone calls last night, Katie. They were warning me not to come to work today.”
The announcement hit me like a sucker punch. “Not to come…” I studied the expression on her face; genuine fear and concern laced with ever-present stoicism. “Why didn’t you let me know?” I asked. “Why didn’t you reach out last night when you got the calls?”
“I didn’t want to worry you,” she said. “I figured it was maybe some kids playing a prank. But then Julia told me about the break-in upstairs, and I…” She managed a weak smile. “Like I said, I didn’t want to trouble you with it last night.”
“Did you call the police?” I asked.
She answered with a quick nod. “Yes, I talked to someone at the station. They offered to send an officer out to the house, but I told them everything I could and they promised to have someone drive by here and our place during the night. They promised to kind of keep an eye on things.”
A dull throb began to pulse a
t the base of my neck. “Hold on for me,” I told Harper. Then I pressed the phone to my ear again. “Trent? Can I call you back?”
“Everything okay?” he asked.
“Well, to be honest, Harper just told me that she—”
“I saw the report when I got in this morning,” he interrupted. “A series of calls last night telling her to stay away from Sky High.”
“Okay, so I guess I’m the last one to know,” I said sharply.
Trent chuckled. “Calm down, Katie. Calhoun had a couple of guys keep an eye during the night. And I’d like to stop by later to ask Harper a few more questions.”
“That would be great.” I turned to glance at the whiteboard again as my brain zigzagged with tasks for the day. “I can also tell you what I found last night when you’re here.”
“Can you give me some idea what it is?”
“A flash drive that Rodney mailed to me right before he was murdered.”
The line was silent for a few seconds. Then Trent said he was on the way over in the next half hour to talk. When I turned back to continue my conversation with Harper, I was alone in the kitchen. After another quick sip of coffee, I scurried into the dining room and saw her huddled with Julia near the front of the café.
“What’s this?” I said brightly. “A meeting of the hens and nobody told me?”
Julia’s face was crunched into a look of fright. “Did she tell you about the phone calls?”
“She did. And I’d like to hear more.”
Harper had a wet cloth in one hand and a spray bottle of blue-tinted cleanser in the other. “I should get this place ready,” she said. “There are just a few more things to do before we open.”
I reached out and put one hand on her shoulder. “I know it’s almost time, but I’d like to hear what happened,” I said. “At least, in a nutshell. Trent Walsh is coming by shortly to ask you a few questions about the calls.”
Julia pulled a chair out from the closest table. “This has never happened at Sky High before,” she said. “Someone breaking in upstairs. Weird phone calls.” She shook her head sadly.
“I mean, what would your Nana Reed say, Kate?”
“She’d tell us to pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off and get back to work!”
My smile was met with resounding silence.
“She’s right,” Julia said. “Things like this don’t happen in Crescent Creek.”
I checked the time on my phone. We opened in fifteen minutes, and I still had a few last-minute prep tasks to complete.
“I’ll tell you what,” I said. “I’m not going to disagree with you; things like this don’t normally happen around here. But they did. And the Crescent Creek Police Department is on it. Trent’s coming by this morning to get more details from us. And so the best thing we can do right this every minute is keep calm and carry on.”
Harper grinned. “That’s the British slogan, isn’t it? The one they used during the Second World War to try and keep everyone from freaking out.”
Julia’s expression lightened. “I saw one that said ‘Keep Calm and Eat Bacon.’”
“That should be my personal motto,” I joked. “Right along with ‘Keep Calm and Eat Chocolate.’”
Harper’s faint grin went wide. “Or what about ‘Keep Calm and Eat Chocolate-Covered Bacon?’”
“Even better,” I said. “Now, why don’t we get back to it? I know we’re all a little stressed this morning, but everything’s going to be fine. Between Trent, Dina and everyone else on the force, the police will figure out who broke into my apartment and who made those nuisance calls to you last night, Harper.”
As we all returned to our pre-opening routine, I told myself a few more times that everything would be fine. I didn’t want Harper or Julia to know that I didn’t quite believe it yet myself.
CHAPTER 20
Our first customer of the morning was the last person I expected to see at such an early hour. It was Patricia Woodward, my childhood nemesis and Crescent Creek’s most infamous divorcée. When she came through the door, I was behind the counter clipping the Daily Special placards inside the menus. I smiled silently as she sauntered across the crowded dining room and extended one pale, slender hand in my direction. It was dripping in precious gems the size of small boulders; expensive emeralds, rubies and sapphires that glistened against her perfect porcelain skin.
“Well, don’t you just look positively blue collar in that darling little apron,” she said. “Who would’ve ever guessed it? Little Kitty Cat Katie Reed—slinging hash and pouring coffee for a living.”
Without missing a beat, I gave her a warm, welcoming smile. “Well, if it isn’t Patty Cake Woodward,” I said. “Don’t you look…” I paused briefly and she fluttered her jet-black false eyelashes. “Well, you look incredible, Patty! It looks like marriage suits you very well.”
She dropped her chin slightly, gazing at me down the length of her tapering nose. “To be honest, divorce suits me even better,” she declared. “Michael and I gave it as much time, energy and Xanax as we could. But he’s fallen for a Vegas showgirl named Tulip, so I’m moving back to Crescent Creek to mend my broken heart and see if I can find an honest, faithful man. They say that love at higher elevations is more genuine and less likely to fizzle.”
For a split second, I tried to understand her logic. But then I realized it was impossible. I tried to think of something to say, but Patty beat me to the punch.
“I love your tattoo,” she said.
The compliment threw me for a loop. “I don’t have a tattoo,” I said.
She pointed at the dark smudge on the inside of my left wrist.
I raised my arm and sniffed the spot. “That’s just dried chocolate icing. I was in a mad dash this morning to get a few things finished before we opened.”
“Oh, golly! I’m so sorry, Katie. I just saw it and assumed you were imitating me again.” She pressed her lips into a wide smile. “You know—like you did in third grade?”
Since I could barely remember what I did an hour before, the reference to prehistoric age was even more confusing than mistaking a chocolate icing smudge for a tattoo.
“Now it’s my turn to apologize,” I said gently. “I don’t know what you’re talking about—as far as third grade or whatever. And I’d love to chitchat, but I need to dash into the kitchen and make sure Julia is doing okay.”
“Is that the same Julia that worked for your parents?”
I nodded.
Patty smiled. “Now there’s a heifer for you.”
I gulped in a breath at the cruel comment.
“What’s wrong?” Patty asked ingenuously. “Hadn’t you realized that yet?” She tilted her head and laughed, a cold, flat sound that made my stomach lurch. “Julia eats enough to feed the entire population of Grand Junction, Katie. If I were you, I’d padlock the pantry and bolt the fridge when she’s working in the kitchen. If you don’t, your profits will go right into her mouth.”
Listening to Patty’s callous remarks spun me back to grade school when the three of us were in Miss Patrick’s class and Julia was caught in the coat closet with a half-eaten box of Little Debbie Swiss Cake Rolls. Despite Miss Patrick’s attempt to keep the other kids in the dark, word leaked about Julia’s early morning chocolaty binge. Patty seized on the opportunity to bully Julia mercilessly, a cruel attribute she still seemed to possess all these years later.
“Patty?” I said finally, doing my best to refrain from reaching out and slapping her so hard the coat of radiant gloss on her lips would fly off and freckle the far wall of the dining room.
“What’s that, Katie?”
I lifted my chin and cleared my throat. “I’m really glad you came in this morning,” I said, sounding diplomatic and even-tempered. “But if you’re going to be a total witch, maybe you could take your business elsewhere.”
Patty answered my comment with a throaty cackle. “Oh, Katie!” she tweeted. “Don’t take it all so seriously! I was just kidding a
bout Little Porky Pumpkin’s dietary habits.”
I hadn’t heard the nickname for years, but it zinged just as hatefully as it did when we were kids.
“Well, I’m not kidding,” I said firmly. “And I meant every word. It’s really nice to see you, but I can’t have you coming into Sky High and saying such nasty and vile things.”
The front door bell chimed, but I kept my eyes fixed on Patty.
“Relax,” she purred. “Then maybe you should take a Valium like a normal person.” Her eyelashes quivered as she laughed. “Do you remember that line, Katie? From Desperately Seeking Susan? We must’ve watched that a million times back when we were kids.”
She was right, but I wasn’t in the mood to reminisce. Instead, I thanked her again for coming in before asking whether she wanted a table or something to carryout.
“A table would be awesome!” she said. “I’m meeting a new client for breakfast. She’s a bit on the AARP side, but who am I—”
Blanche Speltzer suddenly wedged herself between us. “Watch it there, sunshine!” She wagged one crooked finger at Patty. “I heard what you just said about me.”
I smiled at Blanche. “Oh, so you two know each other?”
She sneered at me. “You can drop the bogus pitter-patter, sweetheart. Everyone in town knows this vision of feminine perfection.” She nodded at Patty. “And everyone is also aware that you tadpoles were once thick as thieves until fate interceded at puberty.”
The last thing I wanted to do was discuss my teenage years, so I grabbed two menus from the counter and headed for an empty table near the windows. Blanche and Patty followed like well-behaved ducklings.
“How about this one?” I said, pulling out a chair for Blanche.
Patty shrugged as her new client slowly sat down. Then she breezed around to the opposite side, brushed one hand across the seat cushion and took a seat.
“Would you be a doll and bring me a cup of hot water?” asked Blanche.
I nodded.
“And you don’t need to trot out that little wicker basket of teas,” she added. “Just bring me two slices of lemon, one packet of Stevia and a bag of English Breakfast.”