by Cindy Bell
The knob twisted again, then the door creaked open. A cry escaped her lips as she jumped back and reached for a statue on a side table.
“Ally?” Luke ducked his head inside. His cheeks flared as he saw the fear in her eyes. “I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you.” He pushed the door closed behind him. “I shouldn’t have used my key.”
“No, it’s okay.” She pressed her hand to her chest as she set the statue back down. “It’s just you never do.”
“I know, but this couldn’t wait, and I wasn’t sure if you were awake.” He eyed her robe for a moment. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have come so early, but I just need to know about this.” He held up a newspaper.
“About what?” Ally narrowed her eyes as she detected frustration, maybe even anger in his voice. It wasn’t often that he spoke to her in anything but a patient, loving manner. “What’s happened?”
“That’s what I want to know.” He thrust the paper towards her.
“Hold on, I’ll make us some coffee.” Ally started to turn towards the kitchen, but he caught her by the arm.
“No, you read this, I’ll make the coffee.” He pressed the newspaper into her hands then headed for the coffee maker. Ally followed behind him and sat down at the kitchen table. Her stomach ached with dread. If it was that important to Luke, then it had to be something quite serious. The headline jumped out at her right away.
“Small town cover-up?” Ally looked up from the newspaper and watched as Luke settled at the table across from her. “What is this?”
“This.” Luke’s jaw tensed as he clenched his teeth. He got back to his feet. “This is an article written by Christian, that accuses basically everyone in this town, and especially the police force of knowing exactly who killed Josh and covering up the crime.” He shook his head and turned away. She could tell from the way he paced back and forth in front of the table that he was angry. “What right does he have to accuse us of this?”
“I can’t believe Christian wrote this.” Ally skimmed the article. Each word she read made her angrier. Not only did he specifically name Luke in the article, he claimed that everyone in town was protecting Billy because he was the last surviving member of a wealthy family with a long history in the area. “How did he even come up with this?” She rolled her eyes. Then her heart dropped as she read one particular line. “Oh no.” She closed her eyes.
“What is it?” Luke crouched down beside her and peered at the article.
“He used Mee-Maw as an example of the senior community that protects their own. Oh Luke, she’s going to be furious with me.” Ally pressed her hand against her forehead and groaned.
“With you? Why?” Luke sat down on the chair beside her and rubbed her shoulder. “What don’t I know here?”
“Yesterday, when I spoke with Christian, I mentioned that Mee-Maw’s shop has been open longer than most of the others in town, and that she is well-respected. He kept saying things like how old money runs the town, and that Mee-Maw and I get some kind of special treatment due to our history with the town. I mentioned some things about the town being more traditional, and having a strong, influential community.” Ally sighed. “It sounds like he might have taken some of those comments the wrong way.”
“Why?” His eyes widened. “Why would you say anything to him at all about the town and how it works?”
“We were just having a conversation, it’s not like I had any idea that he was going to write an article. Luke, I never would have said any of these things. But he’s also not wrong about them.” Ally shrugged. “When someone’s kid gets in trouble there are back channels to go through to get them out of it. When Perry Walkers drove drunk that one time and ended up in a pond, it was swept under the rug.”
“That was a long time ago.” Luke grimaced. “I wasn’t here then, and the department has become far stricter.”
“Yes, I know, but I grew up here. I’ve seen and heard all of it.” Ally sighed. “He just took what I said the wrong way. I also told him that now we have a great police force. But somehow he knew about us, he kept pressing me about you. I didn’t say anything other than good things.” She frowned as she continued to read the article. “What a piece of work this guy is.”
“That’s one way to put it.” Luke narrowed his eyes. “Now, not only do we have to try to solve a murder, but we have to be questioned about whether we are doing our job correctly. What if the bigger news networks pick this story up?” He flicked his hair away from his eyes and frowned. “Think about it, Ally. Are you sure that you didn’t say anything else to him? About the case? Or me?” He looked hard into her eyes.
“Luke, no.” Ally spoke forcefully, but kept her gaze fixed to his. “I didn’t say anything else to him. It was just a casual conversation. I would never violate your trust. Don’t you know that?”
“Of course, I do.” Luke cringed and brushed his hand across her cheek. “I’m sorry for questioning it. I just had to make sure. I need to know what to expect if he’s going to come out with another article tomorrow.”
“It’s okay. I understand.” Ally bit into her bottom lip and struggled to hide the emotion in her voice. “I promise, Luke, I never said anything against you.”
“I know you didn’t.” He swept his arms around her waist and pulled her close. “Sweetheart, I know you didn’t. I’m not upset with you. I’m just upset with this situation. And honestly, quite upset with Christian.”
“Actually, I had planned to suggest you do a full background check on him. I did some digging on him last night, and I discovered that he’s done things like this before. He has been accused of creating false stories for the sake of getting his name in the paper. I’m sure that’s what he’s done here.” Ally frowned and tightened her grasp around him. “I’m so sorry that you have to deal with this, Luke.”
“It’s all right. All it does is give me more motivation to find out what this guy is really up to. I will, I promise you that.” He kissed her forehead. “I’m sorry I can’t stay for breakfast. I’ve got to try to get ahead of this thing before it gets worse.”
“Keep me up to date when you can, all right?” Ally kissed him, then pulled away to look into his eyes. Did he really trust her? Was there some part of him that still questioned whether she had let vital information spill? There was no hint of it in his expression, but she still felt awful.
“Be careful who you speak to, Ally. This guy is a predator in my eyes. All he cares about is making a name for himself.”
“I will be.” She chewed on her bottom lip, then sighed. “But that’s not going to help me with Mee-Maw. When she sees this—” She was cut off by the shrill ring of her cell phone. “Oh no.”
“It’s all right.” Luke kissed the top of her head, then ran his hands along her shoulders. “She’ll understand. She knows you would never say anything bad about her.”
“I hope you’re right.” Her hand trembled as she picked up the phone.
Luke’s phone buzzed, and he checked a text on it. “I’m sorry, I have to run, Ally. Something’s come up with the case. I’ll check on you later.” He stole a quick kiss, just as Ally’s phone began to ring again. It was clear that her grandmother was not going to be ignored. She watched him go, and tried to think of an excuse not to pick up the phone. Just before the last ring, she snatched it up.
“Good morning, Mee-Maw.”
“Good morning?” Charlotte’s voice pierced through the anxiety that caused Ally’s heart to race. “Have you seen the article that busybody wrote about our town?”
“Yes, I have. I’m so sorry.” She took a deep breath. “Mee-Maw, I spoke to Christian yesterday. But I never meant to involve you and the things I said were taken the wrong way.”
“Ally, I’m not worried about what you said. I know that you’re an honest person, and I’m certain that he didn’t give you the impression that he was going to be writing an article about all of this. I am worried about that beast of a man, and what we’re going to do about h
im. How dare he describe Blue River like some kind of backward place? We’re quite evolved, thank you very much!”
“Mee-Maw, just take a breath.” Ally followed her own instructions as she tried to get her grandmother to slow down. “I know how upsetting this is, but we can’t let it get to us. It could just be a smokescreen to cover up his involvement in the crime.”
“Wait a minute, Ally!” Charlotte gasped. “That’s it! That’s exactly it!”
“What are you talking about?” Ally blinked and tried to catch up with her grandmother’s train of thought.
“Do you know how much attention this is going to generate for him? He’s going to be talked about by the whole town, and likely other nearby towns. He’s probably going to get interviews with the local news stations. I bet he set this whole thing up!”
“The article? He did. He fished for information all over town, I’m sure, and then contorted it to suit his agenda.” Ally frowned as she cleaned up her breakfast dishes. “I can’t believe I didn’t see right through him.”
“No, it may be more than that, Ally. What if he killed Josh to create a story so that he could write about it? He invented his own scandal to catapult his name through the media. What do you think?” Her voice became high-pitched with excitement.
“Oh wow, that would be quite an extreme thing to do. It makes sense in a way, but I don’t know, Mee-Maw, it seems like quite a stretch.” In her mind she played through the conversations she’d had with Christian. He had mentioned before that he had to move around a lot. Was that because he couldn’t overcome the damage to his career? Maybe he’d gotten so desperate that he thought murder would be a good idea.
Chapter 12
Ally’s morning encounter with Luke was still on her mind. He said that he wasn’t upset with her, but she worried that he was. Did he think she’d said bad things about him or the police department? It made her concerned to think that he might. But how could he be sure after the scathing article that had been published? She wished she’d never spoken one word to Christian, not that it would have mattered, he probably would have spewed the same lies anyway. It made her blood boil that good people were being slandered by this man, and for what? To get his name splashed across the front page?
Ally was almost to the shop when she remembered that she needed to pick up a few things. There was a convenience store at the end of the street. She pulled in and parked, with a list of items revolving through her head. With so much on her mind, she was sure that she would forget something. Before she could reach the door, she ran into Anita, just outside of it. She had her bicycle and as she attempted to fit all of her groceries into the basket, she dropped a large yellow envelope on the ground.
“Oh darn!” Anita groaned and started to reach for it.
“Here, let me get that for you.” Ally quickened her pace and reached for the envelope before Anita could attempt to bend down to retrieve it. As she picked it up she noticed that it was addressed to ‘Barns and Barns’, a well-known antiques appraiser located two towns over. She knew of it because they had appraised some of the wooden toys that covered the shelves in the chocolate shop.
“Thanks, Ally. It’s for my old employers, I would hate to lose it.” Anita smiled with relief as she took the envelope from her. “I always underestimate just how much I need to get from the shop when I come here. I should have just brought the car. I still need to get to the post office.”
“Did you get a new bike? This looks so shiny. I thought your bike had a green basket?”
“Oh yes, I got a new one. The old one was getting a little rusty. Safety first, you know.”
“Absolutely. Would you like a lift to the post office?” Ally watched as Anita swung her leg over the bicycle. She could only hope that she would be so agile and energetic at her age.
“Oh, it’s all right, I’ll make it.” She smiled. “Thanks for your kindness, though. I really appreciate it.”
“You’re welcome.” Ally started to walk past her towards the store, when Anita called out to her.
“Oh Ally, we’re going to have a picnic redo. I wasn’t sure if Charlotte told you about it. I hope you and Charlotte can be there.” Anita met her eyes.
“Of course, we will both be there. I think it’s great that you’re doing this. See you later, Anita.”
“See you!” Anita waved to her then got off to a wobbly start on her bike. Ally watched until she was sure that the woman would make it, then stepped inside the store.
After Ally picked up the few items she needed, she headed for the chocolate shop. When she arrived and unlocked the door, she was happy to have a few minutes of quiet. Surrounded by the delicately crafted toys that populated the shelves around the store, and some of Luke’s own artwork that he had whittled out of wood, she felt a special connection to everything in the shop. Each piece held some memory for her, and even though there was a time when she lived in another place, this shop, more than any other place, would always be home to her. So would Blue River, despite the trouble it faced. She could hardly imagine a young family moving into the town when such a tragedy had occurred. It wasn’t the type of reputation that Blue River deserved. At least if the crime was solved, there might be some shift in the way that the incident was viewed. However, with the local police being blasted in the newspaper, along with some of the oldest and most influential families, it was hard to imagine that there could be a full recovery from the scandal.
The more Ally thought about it the more furious she became, and the endless process of trying to figure out who the murderer was, left her feeling frustrated on top of everything else. In order to gain some peace she focused on creating a few batches of chocolates. It wasn’t time to open yet, so she was able to crank up some of her favorite music and flow through the steps of the process. The aroma of melted chocolate soothed her nerves as it always did. By the time she had a few batches done she was far more relaxed. She stacked them in the refrigerator, then headed out front to clean up the store.
It was hard for her to resist calling Christian. She wanted to hunt him down and tell him exactly what she thought about him. But as angry as she was, she knew that would only make things worse. If she fed into his manipulation, he’d only have more ammo to fling at the town she held so dear in her heart.
By the time she unlocked the door she’d managed to gain some control over her emotions. Everyone that came in would be talking about the article, she was sure of it. She had to be ready to face their questions and comments without appearing to be flustered or upset by them. If she was, then Christian would win, and there would be no reason to believe her side of the story.
On cue Mrs. Bing, Mrs. White, and Mrs. Cale arrived. Ally braced herself for the barrage of questions, but all three were quiet as they surveyed the chocolates that were on display. Eerily quiet. She’d never seen the three of them together without any chatter, laughter, or at the very least insults. They barely made eye contact with Ally as she greeted them.
“Good morning, ladies, those are all from fresh batches. Please enjoy.”
Mrs. Cale gave a light nod, and Mrs. White spared a brief smile, but Mrs. Bing’s lips were tightly pressed together.
Ally was about to dig into why they might be acting so strange, when the door swung open and Charlotte stepped inside. Ally looked at her nervously. She claimed she wasn’t upset with her, but she wasn’t sure if she could really believe that. Now that they were face to face she knew that she would be able to read her grandmother’s true emotions. She couldn’t blame her if she was upset, just like she couldn’t blame Luke for being upset. If only she hadn’t said a word to Christian, she wouldn’t have any reason to feel guilty. Unfortunately, he had charmed her, though she thought she was immune to it, and that had led to her saying things that he was able to twist into his own version of fact.
“Morning, everyone.” Charlotte gave a wide smile to the three women, as well as Ally. If she was bothered by the article, it didn’t show in her expression, or
her voice, which lilted with joy. “I’m so glad to see the three of you. I want to make sure that you know we’re going to be supplying chocolate and chocolate treats at the picnic that Anita is setting up. Will you be able to make it?”
“Where there is candy, there I shall be.” Mrs. Bing finally broke into a smile. “Good morning, Charlotte. I’m so sorry about that article today. Complete garbage of course.”
“Of course.” Mrs. White chimed in. “That man should be charged, in my opinion. Can’t you get Luke to charge him with something?” She looked straight at Ally with such fierceness that it startled her. “I mean really, no one should get to say whatever trash they make up. Especially about the respected people of this community.” She cleared her throat.
Ally realized that while her grandmother might not be upset with her, Mrs. White certainly was. But how did she know that she’d spoken with Christian?
“Mrs. White, what’s wrong?” Ally gazed back into her eyes. “Are you upset with me?”
“I called Christian this morning, right after I read his article. I demanded to know where he got his information from, and he was all too happy to tell me that you were his source. You can only imagine how shocked I was to hear that. In fact, I argued with him, I accused him of lying. But he insisted. Ally, was he lying to me?”
“It was a misunderstanding. He asked me a few things about the town, but I didn’t say anything insulting. Most of the article was lies, and what held some truth was twisted. I would never say anything bad about Blue River or the people that live in it. You’re all my family, and I’m as much a part of this town as anyone else.” Her cheeks flushed as she felt like she had to defend herself against Mrs. White’s critical gaze.