by None
Apparently our chief of police knew the secret land baron better than the rest of us did. “Have you seen it, then?”
“No,” he admitted. “I got the call from his niece, Gina. She was worried about him when she didn’t hear from him, so she asked me to drop in and check on him.”
That sounded suspicious to me. “If she was so concerned, why didn’t she go herself?”
“She was in Chastain when she called me. She phoned the house because he was supposed to call her about something, and when he didn’t answer, she got worried. It’s perfectly understandable, Eleanor.”
“Maybe, but don’t you think it’s odd that this happened so soon after Judson’s murder?”
He laughed, but there wasn’t an ounce of joy in it. “Now you’re seeing conspiracies where they don’t exist.”
I wasn’t all that fond of being mocked, especially in my own pizzeria. “Since you clearly had no intention of telling me about Nathan, what brings you here?”
“I was hoping to get a pizza to go. I’m working late tonight, and I got hungry. I called and got Maddy, so it should be ready.”
“I’ll get it for you,” I said.
I went back into the kitchen to find my sister with her hands buried in detergent doing dishes, something she hated.
“Getting an early start on leaving?” I asked.
She shook the bubbles from her hands as she pulled them out of the water. “No offense, but I can’t wait to get out of here. Whatever I did to deserve this, trust me when I say that I’m sorry, and as soon as I figure it out, it will never happen again.”
“I keep telling you, it’s not punishment,” I said as I looked at the to-go warming shelf and saw Kevin’s pizza there.
“It’s sure not a reward,” she said.
When Maddy saw me pick up the lone box, she asked, “Did our esteemed chief of police finally make it in?”
“He’s there now. Nathan Sizemore had an accident this evening,” I said.
“What?” she asked, nearly dropping the soapy glass in her hand. “What happened to him? Is he all right?”
“He’s fine, but his mower ended up in the water at the rear of his property.”
Maddy frowned as she finished washing the glass in her hand and put it in the other sink to rinse. “Do you think it was really an accident?”
“I don’t know. It’s hard to imagine that it’s just a coincidence.”
“They do happen, you know,” Maddy said as she started rinsing things.
“I still don’t have to like them,” I replied.
The kitchen door opened and Kevin walked in. “Let’s go, ladies. I don’t have all night.”
“You don’t need it. Here you go.”
He handed me his money, and I said, “Hang on, I’ll get your change.”
“Put whatever’s left in the tip jar,” he said. “From what you pay my son, he can use his cut of every extra penny you get.”
“Hey, he loves being here,” I said defensively.
“I know. I don’t get it, but I can’t talk him out of it. Good night.”
“ ’Night,” I said.
I looked at Maddy. She looked exhausted, and I knew how tired I was as well. “Let’s close up. I’m tired of people right now, and I just want to go home and take a long hot soak in the tub.”
She managed a faint smile. “It’s not so easy out there, is it?”
“I never said that it was,” I replied.
Maddy offered a slight sigh. “Then I can be honest with you when I say that I’d rather go hungry and never shop again if it meant I didn’t have to work in the kitchen for another second.”
“Wow, don’t hold back, Sis. Tell me how you really feel,” I said with a smile. I knew it was hard work, but I enjoyed it.
“I can go into more depth and detail if you’d like me to,” she said.
“I think I’ve got it,” I said. “Why don’t you go lock up, and I’ll finish up back here? Think of it as an early parole for good behavior.”
“Are you kidding?” she asked as she rinsed a plate. “I’ve almost finished up. The dining room is all yours.”
“That’s only fair,” I said.
I announced we were closing, and our last two customers left without complaint.
As I was sweeping the floor, Maddy came out.
I looked up and said, “I thought you were going to finish in the kitchen.”
“I am,” she said. “I just came by for the rest of the dirty dishes.” Maddy walked over and flipped the sign to CLOSED, something I’d neglected to do. “As soon as I’m finished, I’ll come out and give you a hand.”
“I’ll be finished before you will.”
“In your dreams, Sis,” she said.
“I’ll race you,” I challenged her with a laugh.
“You’re on. You’re going to get slaughtered, you know that, don’t you?”
“We’ll see,” I said as I started cleaning at a much more harried pace. It was childish, immature, and lots of fun to try to beat Maddy, and it came as no great surprise that I lost the competition.
As we walked to Maddy’s car in back when we were finished, the air was getting a real bite to it that had been missing so far. October was coming to a close, and it was ending on a much cooler note than it had started on.
Maddy pulled her jacket closer to her. “If it keeps this up, the kids are going to have to trick-or-treat in their jackets.”
“Remember the time it snowed, and Mom made us wear our snowsuits over our costumes? That had to be the worst Halloween ever.”
“At least we got lots of candy,” Maddy said as we walked through the shortcut.
“Because not many other kids were insane enough to go out in eight inches of snow just for a little sugar.”
“Were we crazy, or savvy?”
“I vote for crazy.”
I could see her smile in the glow from the streetlight. “Yeah, you’re probably right, but we were rarely bored as kids. A little crazy is never a bad thing.”
“That’s part of our charm, don’t you think?” I said. “That reminds me. We’ve got to get things ready for the Halloween Blowout.”
“Funny, it feels as though we just had one,” she said as she opened her car door.
“What can I say? Time flies when you’re getting old,” I said with a laugh.
“Hey, at least I’m not as old as you are,” she said, her laughter carried away by the wind.
As she dropped me off at my place, I said, “See you tomorrow, Maddy.”
“Not if I see you first,” she said.
As I walked up to my front door, I realized that I fussed about the cool temperatures sometimes, but, in truth, the chilled air always invigorated me. Joe had been a great deal more warmblooded than me, and he’d always had a blanket on when the thermometer plummeted, since I was always reluctant to turn the heat up past 67 degrees. It was no surprise that the weather change made me miss him. Just about anything could pull that trigger, from the way the leaves changed colors to coming across an old book we’d both loved to read. The edge of my despair had softened since he’d died, but there was still something there when I thought about him, a large portion of thankfulness that he’d been in my life for so long, and a hint of sadness that all I had of him now were memories. Maddy was right, and I knew it. He wouldn’t have wanted me spending the rest of my life looking back. If my late husband had believed in one thing, it was that life was meant to be lived to the fullest, and I was finally beginning to realize in my heart as well as my head that was exactly what he would have wanted me to do.
It was just so much easier to talk about than to accomplish.
I was surprised to see David Quinton’s car parked on the street in front of my place when I looked out the window. A little of the gloom I’d been feeling seemed to lift from my shoulders when I saw him there.
He got out of his vehicle as I stepped outside. “I hope you don’t mind me just showing up like this. I went b
y the Slice to see you, but you were closed, so I thought I’d come by here. If you want, we can talk tomorrow.”
“No, this is fine,” I said as a gust of wind sent shivers through me. “Want to come in for some hot chocolate?”
“You know what? I really would,” he said and smiled, as he followed me inside.
Most of my weariness melted when I saw that smile. It was amazing how much of the somberness had left him since he’d moved to Raleigh. David was suddenly fun to be around, something I hadn’t felt before.
As I took his jacket and hung it in the hall closet, I said, “You seem absolutely giddy these days.”
“Do I?” he asked. “It must be the air. I love the chill here. Timber Ridge has to be at least five degrees cooler than Raleigh.”
“How do you like it so far?”
He shrugged. “The work’s challenging, and I’m around a lot of nice people, but I’m a mountain kind of guy, and if the foothills here in Timber Ridge are as close as I can get, that’s something I can live with.”
“Well, I’m glad to see you again,” I said as I moved into the kitchen. David followed and took a stool at the counter. It was natural to have him with me, and I found myself enjoying his presence more than I had before. I had to wonder if that was entirely due to his change of address or more because of his new disposition.
“Likewise,” he said with a smile. As I started the milk on the stovetop and gathered my special blend of cocoas and sugar, he added, “It looks like I’m going to be here a little longer than I’d expected.”
Was that a hint of happiness in his voice as he said it, or was I reading something into it that wasn’t there? “What’s going on?”
“It appears that my old boss was playing fast and loose with some basic accounting principles, and it’s going to take some work to straighten things out and hire his replacement.”
“You’re firing him?” I asked.
David shrugged. “Well, I could have him arrested, so on the whole, I think it’s a better alternative for everyone involved. He’s agreed to pay back the money that ‘disappeared,’ and in return, we’ve promised him that we won’t prosecute. If he reneges on the agreement, he’s going to jail, so I don’t think that’s going to be an issue with him.”
“I’m sorry about that, but it will be nice having you around town a little longer.”
He nodded. “I’m pretty happy about the assignment myself. I’m actually going to be able to go to the Halloween Blowout. I don’t have much time to come up with an outfit for it, but I’ll find something.”
It was tradition for many of the adults in town to dress up for the festivities, but David had never done it before. “Are you really going to wear a costume?”
“Absolutely. I’m thinking of being either a pirate or a gangster.” He scratched his chin, and then added, “Hey, I just had a thought. Maybe I’ll be both. I could wear a pirate outfit and add a black fedora.”
“I love it. Your parrot can have a tiny little machine gun,” I said laughing, getting into the spirit of it.
He nodded. “It would present quite the image, wouldn’t it? What are you going to wear?”
“To be honest with you, I wasn’t planning to dress up this year.”
He frowned. “That’s insane. I love your costumes. You can’t let me or the rest of the town down.”
David had a point. I usually came up with something good, and several folks had asked me if I’d decided what I was going to be yet. I hadn’t felt moved to do it before, but now I was in the mood to add to the event’s festivities with something of my own. “Why not? If you’re going to dress up, then I will, too.”
“But not as a gangster–pirate,” he said with an air of mock seriousness about him. “That’s mine.”
“Never that,” I agreed. “But don’t worry, I’ll come up with something.”
“I can’t wait,” he said. His voice softened for a moment as he asked, “Any chance you could save me a dance?”
There was a dance held on the promenade, filled with folks from around town wearing the craziest getups. I loved to watch, but I’d never really participated since Joe’s death. “I don’t know if I’ll be able to. I’ll probably be busy selling little ghost pizzas.”
I expected an argument from him, but he just shrugged as he said, “If you have time, I’ll be around.” There was no hard sell like the old days, just an offer to dance, if and when I was interested. Nice.
David took a deep breath, and then asked me, “It smells heavenly. Is there any chance that it’s ready yet?”
I stirred it again gently and looked down into the richness. “It looks good.”
I poured the hot cocoa into two stout mugs, and David surprised me by saying, “I know this is going to sound counterproductive, but do you have any interest in drinking these outside? I just love the way the wind blows the leaves around on the ground when it’s dark, and there’s nearly a full moon tonight.”
“I’d love to,” I said.
We put our jackets back on, grabbed our mugs, and then went out to the porch. Each of us took a rocker, and we chatted and sipped as we looked around the neighborhood. It was a quiet and special time, and I found myself relaxing even more in the comfort of the mood and the easiness of the conversation.
I was startled later when David stood and handed me his mug. “That was the most fun I’ve had in ages, but I’ve got people to fire tomorrow and money to confiscate.”
“It sounds like a busy day,” I said as I stayed seated.
“Are you going in?”
“No, I think I’ll stay out here a little longer. Thanks for coming by.”
“The pleasure was all mine,” he said, bowing at the waist, and then adding, “Rrrrrrr, good night, Eleanor. You’re quite a dame, you know that, don’t you?”
“In fact, I do, but I never get tired of hearing it,” I said.
After David was gone, I sat out there a little longer, but the night had lost some of its magic without his presence, so I wrapped my jacket closer, collected our mugs, and went back inside. It was too bright and much too warm in there, but I knew I’d get used to it soon enough. It was funny how things worked out sometimes. I’d been happy to see David leave Timber Ridge, knowing that I could never give him what he wanted, but only by leaving did he become more interesting to me.
It was no surprise that most men found women hard to understand, since we didn’t always know why we did the things we did, ourselves. As far as I was concerned, that was one of the things that kept life interesting.
My telephone jarred me out of bed at three A.M., and as I reached for it blindly, I wondered who would be calling me at that hour.
“Keep nosing around where you don’t belong and you’re going to pay for it,” someone said in a gravelly whisper before hanging up.
It appeared that I’d made an impression on someone in my questioning.
But it would have been nice to know who.
I called Maddy immediately, and was surprised to get a busy signal. It was on the edge of possibility that she could have made the call as a twisted joke, but I had a hard time believing it. I hung up, and was about to try again when my telephone rang.
As soon as I heard that it was her, I asked, “You got a threatening call just now, too, didn’t you?”
My sister seemed surprised by the statement. “Are you saying that you didn’t just call me?”
“And threaten you? No, that wasn’t me.”
Maddy said, “If you thought it was funny, you’re wrong.”
“Maddy, wake up,” I said loudly.
“I’m awake,” she protested.
“Then think about it. In your wildest dreams, can you ever imagine that I’d find something like that amusing? You maybe, but me? Never.”
She took a deep breath, and then let it out. “You’re right. I might do it on a whim, but you never would. Wow, I can’t believe someone actually threatened us.”
“It’s great news, isn
’t it?” I asked her.
“I’m not so sure about that,” she said.
“Think about it. We managed to get someone so riled up in the past few days that they thought they had to try to scare us off.”
She hesitated, and then said, “But maybe not the murderer.”
“I told you before, I don’t believe in coincidences.”
“That might not be what this is. We’ve been digging into a lot of people’s lives, only one who is likely a killer. But that doesn’t mean other folks don’t have secrets of their own to hide.”
She had a point, I knew that, but I wasn’t about to embrace it. “I refuse to accept that,” I said. “I’m looking at this as good news.”
“Wow, then I’d hate to hear what thrills you. Eleanor, should we call someone about this and tell them what happened?”
I thought about it, and then answered, “In this day of disposable cell phones, I doubt anyone would be stupid enough to call us from their home phone. If we tell Kevin Hurley, then we have to admit that we’ve been digging into Judson Sizemore’s murder, and that’s a conversation I don’t want to have. If we tell Bob, he’ll just worry about us, and it won’t do any good.”
“Then we keep this to ourselves, at least for now,” Maddy said.
“And we keep digging,” I added.
“See you in a few hours,” she said.
“If you can get back to sleep.”
“Trust me, I’ll be out before you’re off the line.”
I doubted I’d be that lucky, but I had to try. I couldn’t face the day without at least making some kind of attempt to get more rest. To my surprise, I was able to nod off again without too much trouble. Whoever had called us had been threatening enough, but they didn’t know my sister or me. We don’t scare easily, even when it makes perfect sense for us to be terrified.
All it was going to do was intensify our search for Judson Sizemore’s murderer.
“We need to talk and clear a few things up,” Lacy White said to Maddy and me the next morning as she barged into the pizzeria. We’d just opened for business, so at least we didn’t have any customers yet, but I knew that could change at any moment.