Jenny watched Noah give Carrie his undivided attention as the child chattered away. His charm was definitely at work—the same charm that caused everyone in town to hold him in such high regard.
He turned suddenly. ‘Do you want to move these old shelves first?’ A wide grin spread across his face as he caught her staring at him like a love-struck teenager.
‘Good idea.’ Embarrassed, she avoided his gaze as she hurried forward and grabbed one end of the long wooden shelving unit. ‘Are you ready?’
He raised one eyebrow. ‘These look heavy. Maybe we should call someone to help—’
‘Take care of your end and I’ll take care of mine,’ she retorted.
He shook the rickety structure. ‘Are you going to keep these?’
‘No.’
‘It would be easier to break them down first.’
‘All right. I’ll get my tools.’
Before long, they’d reduced all the shelves to a pile of scrap lumber.
‘I’ll assemble the new ones,’ he offered.
She shook her head. ‘Sorry, bud. If you think you can get out of swabbie detail this easy, you can think again. I’m pretty good with a hammer myself.’
He snapped his fingers. ‘Just my luck!’
‘While you’re scrubbing, I’ll haul what’s left out to the dumpster,’ she decided.
‘I’ll take care of it since I’m waiting for Carrie to finish sweeping.’
‘I’m capable of carrying boards,’ she said firmly. ‘I wouldn’t want to deprive you of your own fun.’
‘Spoilsport.’
She grinned. ‘I know. Once you prove how handy you are with a mop, I’ll promote you to assistant carpenter.’
‘Fair enough.’ He dunked the sponge head into the bucket of soapy water, before running it across the tile. ‘You’re enjoying this, aren’t you?’
Jenny watched his shirt strain across his back as he washed Carrie’s freshly swept floor. If he only knew… ‘You bet,’ she said. ‘It’s the first time I’ve ever had a doctor at my mercy. Maybe I should snap a photo to document the occasion.’
He cast an innocent look in her direction. ‘Don’t forget. Paybacks can be hell.’
‘I’m quaking in my boots. By the way, you’d better hurry up, or you won’t be finished in time to get a cone before the Ice Cream Churn closes.’
He rinsed the mop and cleaned another section. ‘So you’re paying in ice cream tonight?’
‘That’s right.’
Noah glanced at Carrie who was looking on with interest. ‘Is that OK with you?’ At her nod, he said, ‘Then it’s OK with me. The grunts have to stand together, don’t we, short stuff?’
Carrie giggled. ‘I’m not short.’
He appeared to give the matter some thought. ‘You’re not?’
She shook her head, her ponytail swaying like the pendulum of a grandfather clock. ‘You’re just tall.’
Leaving the two behind to carry on their own conversation, Jenny carried the broken pieces of shelving outside, then slipped away to the corner of the pharmacy that served as her office. She needed to place another order, but before she did she wanted to check some of the old invoices so as not to miss anything.
Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, until she ran across several large purchases of fluconazole tablets. Used for a variety of yeast and fungal infections, she wasn’t surprised to find it listed on an invoice.
Yet not a single bottle graced her shelves.
She tapped her pencil against her temple, trying to remember if she’d ever seen a record of the drug being dispensed. If only her uncle had taken the plunge and entered the computer age her task would be so much easier.
In the end, she decided to order only a small supply. It was too expensive to sit on the shelf and tie up her inventory dollars for an indefinite period. If someone needed it, she’d have enough to start their treatment regimen. Her supplier could overnight express the rest.
Noah poked his head through the window. ‘We’re all done. How are you coming in here?’
‘Fine.’ She toyed with the idea of asking Noah about the medication. Being one of the town’s two physicians, the chances of an affected patient being his were fifty per cent. And even if the case wasn’t his, he’d know about it from an infection control standpoint.
He might hesitate to answer her questions on the grounds of breaking confidentiality, but she wasn’t asking for names. The drugs she hadn’t been able to account for in recent days could easily have caused the drain on the pharmacy’s finances and literally threatened its existence.
That reason alone should encourage him to co-operate.
On the other hand, she felt uneasy about discussing the situation. Perhaps she was looking for a problem where none existed. And even if it did turn out to be an issue, she didn’t want to mention it to a man who, for all intents and purposes, was still a stranger.
But what difference would her investigation make? a little voice argued. The money and pharmaceuticals were long gone—she wouldn’t recoup those losses at this late date. It was time to start over.
His smile turned to a frown. ‘What’s wrong?’
She quickly marshalled her thoughts as she rose. Maybe she’d satisfy her curiosity some other time, but not now. After all, the puzzle was hers to solve, not his. ‘Sorry. My mind was someplace else. We’ll build two of the new units—it shouldn’t take too long because they’re in kits—then call it a night.’
‘Do you want them in the same arrangement as the old ones?’ he asked.
She rejoined him as she answered. ‘No. I want to see everyone who walks in and I can’t do that with a lot of clutter in the middle of the room.’
Since she only had one set of tools, Noah organized an assembly line. Carrie acted as assistant, handing over crucial screws and tools like a well-trained surgical nurse. Because Jenny didn’t own a power screwdriver, fastening the pieces together took time and a lot of muscle. In the end, they both took turns spelling each other.
Because their system was efficient they finished sooner than Jenny had originally thought, and she decided to assemble the remaining two storage units. Before long, everything stood in place and appeared exactly the way she’d envisioned.
‘The center looks awfully bare,’ he commented.
‘It won’t be for long,’ she said. ‘I’m displaying my new products there.’
‘What do you have in mind?’
‘Nutritional and vitamin supplements. Some herbal products, too.’
‘Sounds like you’ll need the shelves we tore apart.’
She grinned. ‘I’m going to use some of the old cabinets and tables that are stored in the basement. They’re real character pieces.’
‘You’ve given this a lot of thought, haven’t you?’
‘Just trying to make every penny stretch.’ She turned to Carrie. ‘Are you ready for ice cream?’
‘Yippee. I’m ready. I’ll get Bugs.’
Since Jenny’s house was on the way to the Ice Cream Churn, Noah followed her home where they dropped Bugs off to enjoy his own rabbit treats. As soon as Carrie had secured him in his hutch, they piled into Noah’s Blazer to travel on to their destination.
Surprisingly, as it was eight o’clock, they had the place all to themselves.
‘Enjoy the peace and quiet now. We’ll be busy by eight-thirty,’ the girl in the pink uniform said in answer to Jenny’s question. ‘The softball and baseball games start ending around then.’
After ordering Carrie’s Rocky Road waffle cone, Noah’s chocolate chip, and her own strawberry cheesecake, Jenny led the way to a booth in a far corner.
Although Carrie sat beside Jenny, Jenny was extremely conscious of Noah across the short table. Occasionally, their knees brushed together by accident and, flustered by the sudden heat, she nearly licked the top scoop of strawberry cheesecake ice cream right off her cone.
‘Was this place here when you were a little girl?’ Carrie asked, catch
ing the drips with her tongue.
‘No, it wasn’t,’ Jenny said. ‘We served drinks and ice cream in our store.’
Carrie’s eyes grew wide. ‘You did?’
‘Yes. When I wasn’t stocking shelves I worked behind the counter, making banana splits, malts and floats.’
‘Gee, too bad we can’t do it again,’ Carrie said.
‘It was a lot of work. Now there are too many other restaurants in town to compete with.’
Carrie licked her cone again, smearing ice cream on her nose. ‘Since we’re a pharmacy, we’d better stick to what we do best.’
Noah pushed an extra napkin in Carrie’s direction. ‘Spoken like a savvy businesswoman. So tell me more about Bugs,’ he said. ‘What does he like to eat?’
With the two deep in conversation about alfalfa pellets and the ingredients of rabbit mix, Jenny’s thoughts drifted back to the discrepancies she’d found. Although she’d only spot-checked a small portion of her inventory, the things she’d encountered so far were worrisome. All indications suggested that her uncle had lost a great deal of money in recent months, if not years.
On the other hand, she had good news. With both Herb and Earl gone, any problems had basically resolved themselves. Becoming financially solvent no longer seemed impossible.
Carrie nudged her. ‘Can you let me out? I want to wash my hands.’
‘Oh, sure.’ Jenny moved so Carrie could scoot past her and head for the bathroom.
Noah leaned back. ‘You’re preoccupied this evening.’
She pleated the extra, unused napkin. ‘I suppose I am.’
‘Want to talk about whatever’s bothering you?’
‘Not really.’ Go ahead, a little voice urged. Acting on impulse, she asked, ‘You were Uncle Earl’s doctor, weren’t you?’
‘Yes. After Dr Ingram suffered a mild heart attack and brought me on board, Earl started coming to see me. Why?’
She posed another question, instead of answering his. ‘Had he been sick before the accident?’
‘Sick? As in…?’ He waited expectantly for her to fill in the gaps.
‘Was he on any maintenance medication for a chronic condition?’
‘I didn’t prescribe any.’ He leaned forward, his gaze intense. ‘What are you saying?’
‘So far, I’ve noticed discrepancies in insulin vials, digoxin tablets, and the antifungal agent, fluconazole.’
‘I assume you’ve already ruled out a clerical error.’
She nodded.
‘Are you implying that he was medicating himself?’
‘I’m not implying anything, although he certainly would have known how to calculate the dosages. Even if that were the case, the numbers exceed what any one person could use during that time period.
‘Also, the antifungal was received a few days before he died. If it was for his personal use, then I should still have those bottles on my shelf. If it wasn’t and he’d ordered such large quantities because of an outbreak of thrush or Cryptococcus meningitis, I’d have a record of where those pills went. I can’t find either.’
‘Have you talked to Herb?’
‘We talked about the ordering procedure shortly after the funeral,’ she admitted. ‘He knew the procedures, but Uncle Earl personally monitored his inventory. Occasionally Herb special-ordered something if Earl went on vacation, but that rarely happened. His handwriting wasn’t as neat as I remembered, but I still recognized it as his.’
She paused, hating to ask her next question. ‘He wasn’t becoming senile, was he?’
CHAPTER SIX
NOAH stared at Jenny as if she’d lost her mind. ‘Earl? Senile? If you’d been around, you’d know…’
She winced at his cold tone. She’d made him angry and she hadn’t meant to. ‘If I’d been around,’ she said, ‘things probably would have been different. But I wasn’t and I don’t need any more guilt added to what I already feel. However, something strange was going on and I’m trying to explore all reasonable possibilities.’
He sat back, the angry light in his eyes dimming as he appeared somewhat appeased by her explanation. ‘Earl was the sharpest man I knew. He’d been working fewer hours in order to pursue his “other interests” as he called them, but his mental faculties were very much intact.’
‘It didn’t seem likely,’ she admitted, regretting her impulsive question and hoping the last few minutes of their evening would return to their formerly even keel. ‘But I had to ask. I don’t like loose ends.’
‘Earl complained at times of arthritis,’ Noah commented, stroking his chin thoughtfully, ‘but it wasn’t severe enough for anything stronger than an OTC med. It could explain the change in his handwriting.’
One mystery solved, she thought. ‘Probably so.’
‘I can’t think of anything else off the top of my head, but if you want another detective on the case, I’m game,’ he said. ‘I can’t break patient confidentiality, but I can help you sort through papers and piece information together.’
‘Thanks, but I’ll probably let the whole thing drop. The only person with the answers isn’t around to ask, so why waste any more time on speculation? Even if I found out the truth, it wouldn’t change anything. The meds are gone and the money’s been spent.’ Jenny hated the idea of giving up her search for answers, but didn’t have any choice.
‘You’re right,’ he agreed, ‘although I can understand your need to know.’ A half-smile tugged at his mouth. ‘By any chance, do you reconcile your banking statements down to the penny?’
The tense moment had passed. ‘I shouldn’t confess this, because everyone tells me I’m being ridiculous, but I do. I’ll spend hours looking for any error, even if it’s only a few cents.’
He grinned. ‘Is it worth it?’
She laughed. ‘No, but it’s the principle of the matter. If it’s my error, I want to know. If it’s the bank’s, I want them to correct it. As Ben Franklin said, ‘A penny saved is a penny earned.’‘
‘Then you’re not the type of person who’ll dismiss the errors you’ve found in your business ledgers.’
She sighed. ‘Probably not. I thought if I kept telling myself to forget the past, I would. It works for a while, and then I’m afraid that whatever had caused my uncle’s financial problems could also affect me.’
‘Then you should keep digging.’
She thought of the boxes stored in the basement. They would either be a treasure trove or a junk pile. ‘Whatever I decide to do will have to wait until I organize my own system of bookkeeping. It doesn’t make sense to delve into the past if my current records are a mess.’
Carrie reappeared with clean hands at the same time as a group of twelve young boys entered, wearing dirty baseball uniforms and congratulating themselves on their win. ‘I’m ready to go,’ she announced.
Although Jenny had known this moment would arrive, she hated to see it come. She’d enjoyed the evening far more than she’d ever imagined. Telling herself that all good things eventually came to an end, she grabbed her bag. ‘Then let’s head for home.’
Noah ushered the two out to his Blazer. Carrie skipped ahead a few steps to open the doors, while Noah stayed close to Jenny’s side. His hand rested on the small of her back, exerting a gentle pressure. The light touch stirred her senses and comforted her at the same time.
She’d never felt this way about Ted, which, considering he’d turned out to be on the level of pond scum, had been a blessing in disguise.
She and Ted had enjoyed some good times in the early days of their relationship. She’d been comfortable with him, but ‘comfortable’ didn’t describe the feeling that Noah’s presence evoked in her. All of her senses seemed heightened, as if something inside her had homed in on him alone.
What nonsense, she scolded herself. Ted had taught her a hard lesson about men who lived by the concept of the ends justifying the means. No matter how easily Noah made her insides quiver, she wouldn’t forget what she had learned. Noah’s interest
lay purely in having a pharmacy in town. If he had to wine and dine the only pharmacist as part of his strategy, he would.
As he drove back to her home, Carrie stuck her head between the two front seats and stared at Jenny. ‘I thought Noah did a good job with scrubbing tonight. Didn’t you?’
‘Yes, he did.’
‘Did he do better than you thought he would?’
Pinned under Carrie’s expectant gaze and Noah’s questioning one, she answered, ‘Yes, he did.’
Carrie nodded in apparent satisfaction. ‘Then you have to pay him more than an ice-cream cone.’
‘Yeah,’ he chimed in. ‘I deserve a bonus.’
‘The deal was ice cream,’ she reminded them. ‘I don’t remember our verbal contract including a bonus.’
‘But he did a lot of work,’ Carrie insisted. ‘He deserves more than ice cream.’
Suspicious, Jenny narrowed her eyes as she met Noah’s gaze. ‘Did you put her up to this?’
‘I did not. Honest,’ he said, turning the corner. ‘How could I? You were with us the whole time.’
‘I thought of it all by myself,’ Carrie said proudly. Turning her head to stare at Noah, she added, ‘So, what else would you like?’
Jenny saw a familiar unholy gleam light up his eyes and braced herself.
‘What I’d like,’ he began slowly, ‘I wouldn’t get, so I’ll settle for a basketball game. One on one.’
‘A game?’ Jenny had been certain he’d ask for something else…something more intimate…something like a kiss. In her heart, relief fought against disappointment.
He nodded. ‘A game. First one to sink five baskets wins.’
The opportunity to best him dangled in front of her like a prize. His size might be to his advantage, but she’d learned a few tricks to even the odds. ‘Only five? How about ten? Or twenty?’
‘Five,’ he insisted. ‘Winner gets to ask a question and the loser has to give a straight answer.’
Suddenly wary, she asked, ‘What kind of questions are we talking about?’
He shrugged. ‘Anything. Everything. The sky’s the limit.’
‘Somehow, I’m not surprised.’
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