Found and Destroyed: The Second Sarah Martin Mystery

by Danelle Helget

  “Hey, sweetness,” he said.

  “Hey. Did you talk to your sister yet?” I asked.

  “No, but I did talk to my mom. She wants to have all of us kids to dinner tomorrow night to talk about things with Kelly. She asked Kelly to come alone.”

  “Oh, really? That’s sounds like a drama-filled evening.”

  “Yeah, not looking forward to it, but hopefully we can talk some sense into her.”

  “Well, good luck,” I said. “I’m painting the kitchen with my mom tomorrow, then taking her to dinner at Morning Glory. Too bad you’re busy. You could have joined us,” I said with as much sarcasm as I could fit in.

  “Oh gee, now I feel torn. I don’t know which sounds better.”

  “Well, I hope it goes well. Let me know,” I said.

  “Thanks, I will. I’ll call you Wednesday sometime. Take care, sweetness.” He disconnected.

  Our relationship was new, but deep because of what we had gone through together. I had met Derek in college one night at a party. We had stayed up all night talking. I was with Jake at the time, so it was just a conversation, but there was still chemistry there. I was attached to his hip throughout the entire investigation and things just kind of moved from friendship into … something. I was not really sure what, but we’d been on a few dates, and kissed a lot. He’d spent the night at the cabin a couple of times, but had always slept in the other room. He was an old-fashioned kind of guy and didn’t want to move too fast. His words, not mine. But, I was thinking the same thing. I hadn’t known him that long, but he had become a very important part of my life. I liked him a lot. But I was newly divorced and wasn’t sure I was ready for another relationship yet. But I definitely knew I liked him. A lot.

  I’d lay down and watched a movie, then made a quick dinner. I really didn’t like eating alone, or living alone for that matter. I mean, sure, it was nice because there was no one to answer to, or worry about, but it was too quiet, and a person can only talk to a cat so much before it starts to feel crazy.

  After dinner I took a long, hot bath and went to bed early. I needed the extra rest for my back.

  The next morning I woke up startled. Faith had been climbing on my dresser and knocked my phone to the floor. It was time to get up anyway—already seven. I got ready for work in a rush, grabbed my purse and coat, and scooted out the door. I opened the store and avoided getting too involved in any big projects, knowing that right after I got off I was supposed to meet my mom at home.

  The morning went by quickly as usual. When Ginger arrived a little before eleven, I ran for the door. Before I left town, I spun into the hardware store to pick up some new paint rollers. I was just on my way out the door when my mom called.

  “Hey, I’m about twenty minutes away,” she said.

  “No problem. I’ll see you when you get here,” I said and disconnected.

  I beat her home and started gathering all the painting supplies. I moved all of the items off of the counter and began the taping process. I was about half done when my mom walked through the front door with her arms loaded with more paint supplies, as if I didn’t know what we needed. She sang hello.

  “Hey, I brought some items from home in case you didn’t have them,” she said putting the bags in the entry and slipping off her shoes.

  “Hi, I have a bunch, but thanks,” I said and walked over and gave her a hug. She handed me a Danish roll from one of the bags.

  “A snack for break time,” she said with a wink.

  “Looks good,” I said and put it down. “I’m almost done taping. If you want to you can start doing the brush work, or rolling, and I’ll join you when I get done with the tape.”

  “Sure, I’ll brush,” she said rolling up her sleeves and reaching for the tray and paint.

  I’d picked out a burnt orange that, I thought, went great in the room.We talked the whole time we painted. It was good to catch up. My mom was very good about listening to me and not trying to run my life. She was a great friend, but still offered advice like a mom should. She always let me make my own choices, but warned about mistakes she could foresee and always praised my success. It was a good mother-friend balance.

  My father was pretty quiet and straight to the point. He was loving, but a man of few words. He was retired and spent most of his time on the couch. Once in a while he’d meet his guy friends for breakfast and take the boat out, but in Minnesota boating season was short. Mom had tried to get him involved in other stuff, but he wasn’t interested.

  “So, how are the neighbors?” Mom asked.

  “I don’t really know. I haven’t met any yet, I mean, besides Carrie’s parents who live on the lake. I haven’t met the people who live in the other two houses. You can see their houses pretty well from here now that the leaves are gone,” I said pointing out the patio door. Mom went over and looked out across the lake.

  “Oh, yep. The homes seem well taken care of, so they can’t be that bad, right? I mean crazy people don’t rake leaves, paint their homes, or garden right?” she said seeming a bit concerned.

  “Riiiiight,” I said raising my eyebrows and smiling. “I did meet a waitress at the restaurant this morning. Turns out I’m the big talk of the town. She was very interested in my story, but I didn’t give her much. She seems to know all the gossip though. She was nice, nosey but nice,” I added.

  “Oh, good, you’re making friends already.”

  “I don’t know if I’d go that far,” I said with a snort. “She was a great waitress, and if her food doesn’t lift your spirits, her makeup will.”A couple of hours later we were finished with the painting. It looked really nice. We cleaned up, changed our clothes, and fixed our hair and makeup. We hung out on the porch for a bit, and drank some coffee and had the rest of the Danish. After a while, I gave Faith strict instructions to stay away from the walls and served her a handful of kibble. We locked up and sauntered out to the Jeep. Mom pointed out the fact that I had a lot of trees, and a lot of leaves. That was a fat hint.

  “I know. I’m going to call a landscaper to take care of that after they all fall. Sometime in the next couple weeks,” I told her.

  Pulling up to Morning Glory, I noticed it was kind of busy. I wasn’t expecting that on a Tuesday evening in such a small town. When we got inside, it smelled like Mexican food. I noticed that the decor had changed a bit, and there were two buffet bars full of Mexican food. There were all kinds of things hanging from the ceiling, and the booths and tables all had brightly colored tablecloths on them. There was also a big note on the special’s chalk board that read: Hola! It’s Mexican Buffet Night, Amigos! The hostess walked up to us in a white shirt with a lacey, rounded collar and puffy sleeves and a brightly colored skirt to complete the outfit. It was cute. Loud Mexican music filling the room too. It was louder than one normally found in a restaurant. It was actually very uplifting. It made me feel as if a party was going on. I smiled.

  “Two?” the hostess asked.

  “Yes,” I answered.

  “Do you want menus or the buffet?” I looked to my mom.

  She was smiling looking around the room. “Buffet,” she said.

  “Right this way, please,” the hostess said. She took our drink order, which was virgin margaritas. They had to be virgin since the Morning Glory didn’t have a liquor license. “Help yourselves when you’re ready, ladies,” she added.

  “This is super fun!” Mom said with a smile.

  “I know, right? So cute and apparently the customers like it too,” I said looking at all of the people bustling around. Everyone seemed happy. I didn’t see Tannya anywhere. She must have gone home for the day.

  We went and got our food. It looked really good. The buffet had everything Mexican a person could ever want, and a bunch of Mexican desserts that I couldn’t wait to check out on my next trip up there. We ate and talked a little about the differences between living in the Cities and Nisswa. There were lots of things that I liked, and a few I didn’t. After we finished
our meals and desserts, we drove back to the cabin. Mom left for home as soon as we got back, she had a long drive and didn’t like driving at night. I cuddled up with Faith and went to bed early. My back was still sore.

  Chapter Two

  I’m not sure what I was thinking when I put myself on the schedule to open. At night I always had big plans to get up early, go for a run, and then go into work. But, then morning came, and the alarm went off, and I hit snooze. Then I hit snooze nine minutes later, and again after nine more minutes. When it went off for the fourth time, I’d look at the time and leap out of bed, angry with myself and running behind. It was a vicious cycle. I’d always promise myself I wouldn’t do it the next day, but I’d do it anyway. And, of course, it happened again, so I had to rush through getting ready, feeling exhausted and scatter-brained, which lasted for hours afterwards.

  After pulling out of the driveway, I went as fast as I could on the dirt, back-county road to make up for lost time. A mile or so later, I noticed lights in my rear-view mirror. Shit! A cop. Dang it. Now I’m going to be even later. I pulled over to the side of the road and put my hazards on. Dang it. Dang it. Dang it.

  I looked in my side mirror and saw a uniformed male get out of the car and saunter up to my door. He was gorgeous. Oh, my gosh, drop dead gorgeous! His skin on the tan side, and he had a great body. It was usually hard to tell in the unflattering uniforms the cops had to wear, but he made it work. His eyebrows and day-old beard were dark. He had his hat on, so I couldn’t see his hair, but I could imagine it being just as dark.

  He smiled. “Hey there, speedy,” he said stepping up to my window. I mentally face-slapped myself to snap myself out of dreamland. I noticed that I was suddenly two degrees warmer. I didn’t care anymore what this was going to cost me. I just wanted to hear his voice again. His teeth were white and straight, and he had a great smile—Oh, gosh even a dimple in one cheek. It was just too much. I could see the area women speeding regularly just to get him to stop them and talk. It was worth a ticket.

  “You in a hurry?” he asked again, with a sexy, velvety voice.

  “Um … I … ah … yeah,” I finally answered, feeling like an tongue-tied fifth grader. I wondered if my jaw had been hanging slack when he’d walked up. I shook my head slightly to refocus. “Yes, officer. Sorry. I was going a bit fast. I’m running late for work … again.” I said with a wince, hoping he’d go easy on me.

  “Ah, yes, the late for work excuse,” he said slyly, looking like he was sizing me up. “And where is it that you work?”

  “Lost and Found, the little boutique in town,” I answered.

  “Really?” he asked confused. “Are you the new owner?”

  “Yes, I am.” I smiled proudly, and realized that I must have looked really dorky as soon as I did it.

  “Oh, so you must be Sara Martin,” he said extending his hand. I took it and shook.

  “Yes, hi,” I said, with a small giggle. “Nice to meet you Officerrr … Dalton,” I said spotting his name badge.

  “Rex, Rex Dalton,” he corrected. “Nice to meet you, too. You’ve been very popular conversation topic around here lately. I was on leave with a leg injury when the case was being handled, so I never got to meet you. But I heard all about it from the guys. Interesting story, to say the least.”

  “Yeah, tell me about it,” I answered.

  “So you decided to stick around? Bought the store?”

  “Well, actually, I bought the cabin. The store was sort of part of the package,” I answered. “I still have an apartment in the Cities, so I’ve been floating back and forth.”

  “Oh, okay. So tell me, what do you think of our little town so far?” he asked.

  “It’s nice. The people so far have been great, and I love the cabin and Lost and Found.”

  “That’s good to hear. And if the people are ever not great, you let me know. I’ll take care of that for you. And since you own the store you won’t get in trouble from the boss if you’re late. So, you can slow down a little, right?”

  “Right,” I said, biting my lower lip and smiling like a kid getting scolded.

  “All right,” he said. “Take it easy. I’ll see ya around. Nice meeting you.” He tapped the top of the door twice, winked and walked away.

  “Okay, thank you.” Wow, he’s … nice. I pulled out onto the road with a huge grin on my face. He reminded me a lot of Derek. I took a deep breath and a sip of my water to cool my body down while I tried to concentrate on my driving.

  I kept it at the speed limit the rest of the way and got to work fifteen minutes late. No one was standing outside the door when I got there, so it was fine that I was late, I just didn’t want to make it a habit. In fact, starting tomorrow, I’m going to start that running routine.

  I was starving by the time Ginger got there. I not only missed breakfast, but I didn’t bring any snacks with me, so as soon as she was ready and punched in, I went to the Morning Glory for brunch. Tannya was waiting on a table near the door. I walked past her, and she looked up at me. “Hey, girl!” she said with a big smile.

  “Hi,” I said taking a seat a few tables over. I took a quick peek at the menu.

  “Well, look what the cat drug back as a treat for us!” Tannya said, walking up to the table. I’ve never heard it said quite like that, but it seems to work for her. She had her blonde hair pulled back into a pony again with a pen stuck in there, and the blue Morning Glory polo shirt and too-tight black stretch pants to boot. Her makeup was neon-blue eyeliner with ruby-red lipstick and bright pink cheeks. My fingertips ached to rub it in to blend it better. It was tacky to say the least, but she made me smile. I giggled at the comment and set the menu down on the table.

  “Yup, I’m back,” I said, smiling. “I’ll probably be a regular here, since I can’t seem to get my butt out of bed to eat a good breakfast before work.”

  “Great, you’ll keep us in business, and give me something to do.”

  “I was here last night with my mom. It looked a lot different,” I told her, noticing that the Mexican decor was all gone and the music was on quiet radio tunes.

  “Oh, geez, ya got to see Taco Tuesday, huh? I avoid working Tuesday nights like the plague. What can I get ya today?”

  I ordered the two-egg omelet, whites only with the veggie mix, and a side of whole wheat toast dry.

  “Kind of a change from the caramel rolls,” Tannya said, grabbing the pen from her hair and writing the order on her pad. She reached for the cup on my table and flipped it up, then grabbed the carafe she’d set on the table behind me and filled it up.

  “Yes, that was a moment of weakness. I’ve had a lot of those lately,” I said.

  A few minutes later, Tannya brought over my order and glass of ice water. “So I hear you got pulled over this morning by Officer McHottie.”

  I almost spewed out my coffee. Seriously? That was hours ago, news really does travel fast. “Um, yeah … Officer McHottie?” I said, in obvious shock.

  “Yeah, McHottie! Or don’t you agree?”

  “Oh, no, I completely agree. He’s a very nice looking man.”

  “Honey, nice looking is my brother. Rex is far from nice looking. One look in my direction from him and I melt like butter on a hot tin roof,” she said, fanning herself. “He comes in here a couple times a week on his break, and I can’t stand the wait between visits. He looks good and smells good, and he’s single.”

  I laughed at her enthusiasm. “Are you single too?” I asked.

  “Yes, but I don’t stand a chance, sweet thing. He likes those cutzie wootzies like you. You’re single, right? I think you should give him a call. Maybe ask him to dinner. Maybe you ask him to dinner and you come here. I wouldn’t mind at all waiting on your table. I could look at him all day long.”

  “Well, thank you for the advice, but I’m kind of seeing someone right now.”

  “Really. Is this other guy your ‘kind of seeing’ as hot as Rex?” she asked.

  “I guess it’s
a matter of opinion but, yes, I think he is. And he’s a cop too,” I added, hoping to close the conversation.

  “Yeah, well I heard the way Rex talked about you,” she said suggestively. “So, if you can get through your day and not think about him, then maybe it ain’t meant to be. Enjoy your lunch, love,” she said then spun on her heels, tipped her chin up, and marched away.

  Great, so now I’m the talk of the town again. I took a deep breath and started to eat. When I was almost done, Tannya came back and filled my cup again. “So, how are things at the store going?” she asked.

  “Good so far. Thank goodness for the staff. They really know what they’re doing and have been very helpful.”

  “Yeah, Ginger and Maureen are good people. You lucked out there. So, getting back to this crime solving, psychic ability of yours … do you take on new cases?”

  “What? Ah, no. I’m not psychic, and I’m certainly not a crime solver at all,” I said, with an awkward giggle.

  “Well, I think you are, and so do the people of this town. You solved the biggest crime this town has ever seen, and they think it’s good to have you around,” she informed me.

  I laughed out loud. “That’s not really my cup of tea. The situation was very strange, and I’m glad it worked out, but I don’t normally do that. I’m a lawyer, or, well, I used to be. I don’t really do it that much anymore either. I really just run the Lost and Found. That’s it.”

  “Huh. Well that’s too bad ’cause I heard a local talking today about …” she looked around, lowered her voice, and dipped her head closer to me, “… a problem of sorts that you could probably help her with. She said she was looking for a private investigator … of sorts and was willing to pay a lot for the service, but there’s no one around here who does that sort of thing, and Miss Kitty has a lot of money. You could help her out and maybe make some cash too,” she said quietly.