by J. M. Madden
"In the gift shop."
"Oh that. Yeah Mrs. Milton and her husband are bringing a birthday cake over for the mayor."
"Clark?" Abbie squeaked and turned to where she hoped Cissie and Clark remained until she could get Jimmy away.
"I better head back. I'm at the party and Becka's probably looking for me."
"Can I come over when I get off?" He asked and pulled her against him. "I won't be too late."
Abbie's giggle sounded more hysterical than she hoped. "Ugh, no not tonight. I have...well I'm sorta..." she walked backwards toward the restaurant.
Just then Cissie and Clark came around the corner, Cissie gasped. Jimmy pulled his gun and Abbie tripped over a rock. Jimmy tried to catch her but lost his balance when she accidently kicked him in the nuts.
She hated how loud her screams were and how far they traveled when she did so. What was even more admirable was how fast people rushed to the scene.
What they saw was Abbie on the ground, one shoe off. Jimmy on top of her and Cissie hiding behind Clark after seeing the gun and Clark with a raging hard on.
THE VET STOOD with all the watchers as Jimmy helped Abbie up and then had to rush to help Clark when Belinda began calling him a son of a bitch between slaps. Cissie had pretended to faint, only until realizing no one was there to catch her. Then she'd rushed inside to get her purse and keys.
At a loss, Abbie went to Logan. "Sorry. I was..."
"Judging for the yard of the month again?" Logan gave her an uneasy smile. "Gotcha."
"Sorry. It's kind of a bad time for me right now. I'm in the middle of an investigation and so it's kinda complicated."
His eyes narrowed. "You're a cop?"
"What?" Abbie giggled and then hiccupped. "No I...well sort of."
"Umm- hmm," he said not seeming to believe her.
"Anyway. How about you do your own thing and I'm just going to hang out with Becks?"
"Good plan," he visibly relaxed.
"It could have been worse," Becka said later while they waited for Abbie's third margarita. "I mean at least they know you won't sleep with Logan."
Her ankle ached and she hoped it would not be swollen in the morning. "Do you think tequila helped with swelling?"
"Time to get you home." Jimmy came up behind her and eyed the drink in her hand. "I need to talk to you two tomorrow."
Exhausted Abbie stood up and limped. "Damn it I can't have a bad ankle, the festival is next weekend."
Jimmy lifted her easily and carried her out of the room while she squeezed her eyes shut not wanting to see the reactions of the few people that remained. At the same time, it sure felt good to be held by a strong good-looking guy.
EIGHT
Abbie and Becka sipped tea in Abbie's kitchen as Jimmy read them their rights. It was hard not to grab her cell phone and update her social media status with the occurrence. How to word that she was being read her rights by a cop she'd slept with the night before while drinking tea with her best friend? She eyed her cell. Surely the statement could be done with one hundred and forty four characters.
"Now how about you tell me why the two of you were peering into Logan Porter's window," Jimmy said, his face blank, eyes flat. Abbie had to admit he could switch on the cop thing pretty well.
"We saw him acting suspicious," Becka told him with a shrug. "He was dragging a box into this house."
Jimmy stayed quiet and looked to her.
"It was dishes," Abbie added. "We thought it was strange."
"He's just arrived in town and moving into a new place," Jimmy stated the obvious. Both she and Becka drank tea and waited for the next question.
"What about Cissie's? Did you steal her dog?"
"Nope," Abbie was ready for that question. "She acted funny when I returned Fugly the first time. Now I know it was probably cause Clark the cheater was over there. But we did our civic duty and returned to investigate in case she was the random thief."
Becka interrupted. "The stupid dog got out cause Abbie left the gate open. We tried to catch it. It just showed up at the shop."
"Did you take the parakeets, mailbox and rocking chair?" This time Jimmy's lips twitched.
"No," both she and Becka said.
Abbie rolled her eyes. "And I didn't take my own wreath and mat either. I think we should question that nosy thing across the street again. If she says she didn't see anything, she's lying."
"We," Jimmy said, "are not doing anything. You two are benched. Let me do the investigating."
Becka gave Abbie a "yeah right" look and Abbie tried to hide a chuckle, so it sounded like a burp. Damn her inability to make cute noises.
After Jimmy left, Becka stretched. "I can't believe he had me come here so early on a Sunday morning. What is wrong with him?"
"I don't think he sleeps." Abbie said, then snorted. "I can't go to church today. I slept out of wedlock twice. I don't feel right going to Sunday service. I'll go next week, by then the guilt will have rubbed off."
"What if you sleep with him again before Sunday?" Becka asked picking up a piece of bacon Abbie had cooked for them.
It was hard to figure out what was going on between her and Jimmy. Were they an item now? "I don't know. I think it will be okay. The newness may be gone by then and I won't feel like a hootchie in church."
"You need to clarify your relationship status. That will help." Becka said in a sage voice. "Then you need to get him to propose."
Abbie choked on her tea.
AN HOUR later they were parked in front of Mousy Brown's house. The teenager's name was not really Mousy, it was Missy, but they'd secretly renamed her. Abbie's neighbor had finally cracked when they'd caught her at the mailbox and admitted seeing Missy walk up to Abbie's porch on the day in question.
Mousy opened the door and stared at them, her mouth open revealing she was in the middle of breakfast. Her greasy hair was plastered to the sides of her head and she wore a stained sweatshirt and no shoes. "What?"
"Hi Missy," Becka smiled brightly. "We came to personally congratulate you for winning a gift certificate from our shop."
The teen's eyes narrowed. "How did I win? I don't like tea." Something flew out of her mouth and Abbie hoped it didn't land on her.
Abbie looked past her into the house. It was surprisingly neat and brightly decorated. Of course Mousy's mother was a normal human. "Well, someone must have entered you. Can we come in and take a couple pictures for our website?"
"All right." Mousy moved back and shuffled through the living room to the kitchen. "Mama, some ladies are here to take pictures," she mumbled and came back and sat on the couch. She picked up what looked like a breakfast sandwich and stared at the television.
"Hi there," Mousy's mom, Janet Brown walked into the room with a bright smile. In contrast to her daughter, she was dressed in a pink t-shirt and black yoga pants, her hair was combed up into a ponytail and she wore lipstick.
Abbie felt bad lying to her about winning a certificate when noting that there was no way Mousy could sneak in parakeets and a rocking chair without her mother noticing. Once they explained about the gift certificate and then produced one to Janet, they took pictures with her instead.
Mousy ignored them until Abbie tapped her on the shoulder. "So I hear you stopped by my house the other day. Were you looking for me for something?"
"Mom's making me get a job, so I was knocking on doors asking if anyone needed pet sitting or stuff like that."
"I don't have a pet," Abbie thought of poor Fugly not getting adopted, but pushed the thought away.
Mousy shrugged.
"That was a waste and cost us twenty dollars," Abbie said as they got in the car. "Can you believe the contrast between mother and daughter?"
THE AFTERNOON WAS PLEASANT. Abbie put her old mat out front and watered her potted plants. The she went to the spare bedroom where she kept her crafting supplies and began putting together centerpieces for the shop. It had to be festive since visitors were sure to come t
o town for the Whisper day festivities.
Her cell rang and she picked it up at seeing Jimmy's number.
"You're off the hook, neither Logan or Cissie want to press trespassing charges."
"Oooo...kaaay. So any leads?"
"Nope."
"Nothing?" She couldn't help that her voice pitched in annoyance. Surely some body in that town knew something. They sure figured out quickly who spray-painted a mustache on the Clucky chicken the summer before.
"This is crazy. I think we need to step up the investigation and call in law enforcement from the GBI to help."
"We?"
"You know what I mean," she snapped.
"Can I come over tonight?"
Her insides quivered. "What is our status?"
"Huh?" There it went, his impressive switch from police officer to cave man.
"Are you my boyfriend?"
There was a nervous chuckle, followed by throat clearing. "Yeah, I suppose so."
"Not good enough. You have to be sure. So no, Jimmy you can't come over." She hung up and smiled. He'd call back.
"HE NEVER CALLED BACK?" Becka asked as she placed each scone on a baking sheet. Mondays she usually made orange and snicker doodle scones. The shop smelled like Christmas.
Abbie pulled a baking sheet of scones out of the oven. "Nope. He's an idiot. I don't care." Her chest tightened and she hated the alert that she'd just lied. At forty, she should know not to put stock into a guy just because they slept together.
The bell jingled and Jimmy strode in. Her stomach tumbled at the sight of him. His hair was still damp from a shower and he was not in uniform. Wore a dark grey t-shirt that showed off his well-toned chest and arms and jeans. "Good morning ladies." He had the audacity to look relaxed and not at all uncomfortable after not being able to declare their status. Abbie almost hated him at the moment.
"Hi Jimmy," Becka said. "Coffee?"
"Thanks," he gave Abbie a quizzical look. "You okay? Look mad."
Seriously? She eyed a hot scone and considered chucking it at him. "I'm great."
"The damn thief struck again," he muttered. "Supposed to be off, but Clark wants me to go with Frank and see about it." He referred to the other deputy, Frank Walker.
"What got taken this time?" Becka asked.
"The Clark's post box flag. You know those little things that hang from the mailbox. Someone took it and replaced it with a pair of dirty underwear."
"That was probably not the random thief," Abbie couldn't help but chime in. It doesn't fit the M.O. He or she's never left anything in place of what's taken.
"Did you watch Law and Order last night?" Jimmy asked with a grin. "Should have let me come over. I would have talked cop language to ya."
Abbie blushed and Becka laughed.
"So Jimmy, you and my friend an item now?" Becka asked in a casual tone, but it didn't stop Abbie's eyes from widening."
"Yep. Otherwise I can't come over," Jimmy replied and took a scone from the tray.
Before he could bite it Abbie snatched it out of his hand. "You haven't said the actual words to me yet."
He eyed the scone for a beat before meeting her gaze. His lips curved slowly and she wanted to drag him across the counter and feel them on hers. "Will you be my girlfriend and let me have sex with you every night?"
Her lips quivered at his earnest look. It would have been romantic if he'd looked at her and not the scone while speaking. "Fine, here take it."
"Is that a yes?" Becka asked with a wide grin.
"Yeah, she can't resist me," Jimmy replied between bites and Abbie couldn't help but laugh.
The bell over the door jingled and two women walked in. They made a beeline for the counter and began exclaiming about how good it smelled in the shop. While she served them tea and scones, Jimmy blew her a kiss and walked out the front door. Damn he was sexy.
LATER THAT AFTERNOON, Abbie wiped the tables by the window and watched Mrs. Grundy shuffle down the street. Today she wore a loose dress that hung from her shoulders at odd angles. "Old woman shouldn't wear sleeveless tops," Abbie mumbled.
"What is she doing?" Becka joined her as the woman bent at the waste and held out something.
"Is that Fugly?" Abbie squinted toward the bushes near where the woman stood. Why would Mrs. Grundy want to mess with a dog? The woman was equally mean to both human and animals.
"I hope not," Becka replied. "If she catches him, she'll probably cook him for dinner."
The terrier jumped up at Mrs. Grundy throwing the old woman off balance. As she flayed her arms attempting to catch her balance, he snatched the treat and dashed away.
Abbie and Becka cheered as Fugly ran across the street toward their building. Mrs. Grundy sat on the bench and glared at them. "Don't you have work to do?" She lifted her cane in a threatening manner.
NINE
Arriving to a bare door was depressing. Abbie looked both ways hoping to spot her wreath, but it was a pretty dreary sight. Everyone took their wreaths down and would probably wait until the morning of the festivities to put them back up. She considered rushing to the craft store to get the stuff to make another one, but decided to wait. If hers wasn't found by Friday, she'd get the stuff and make a new one, although not as pretty up on Saturday morning. Everyone knew all proper households in the south had decorative wreaths and a seasonal flag hanging from the mailbox.
With a supermarket salad, carbonated water and a fork, she sat on the couch and looked out the front window. She pulled her laptop closer, next to her salad on the coffee table.
At the sound of noise at her back door she froze. Was the random thief back? Her heart began to thump and she slipped off the couch and got on all fours on the floor. She grabbed a big flashlight from the side table and went closer hoping to get a sneak peak. Inching to the windowpanes next to the door, she peeked out. There on her back porch was a cage.
It two parakeets.
"What the hell?" She stood and looked around. There was no one there. Just as she wrapped her hand around doorknob, knocks sounded at the front door and she screamed.
Jimmy barreled through the door. "What's going on?" His gaze went from her face to the huge flashlight in her hand. "Are you planning to hit someone with that?"
"I could have hit you, you scared the bejeebbers out of me." She let out a breath and but still held her left hand over her chest. It was good to have Jimmy there. If not for being freaked out, she would have thrown herself at him.
"I heard a noise and crawled to the back door. I picked up the flashlight in case someone was breaking in."
"Why didn't you grab your cell phone and car keys there," he motioned to the objects on her counter, "and run out the front door and call me?"
It made too much sense. She stared at her keys and then to the front door. It would have been much closer to just do as he suggested, but she'd be damn to admit it. "Because I was back here and if someone broke in, they would have caught me before I made it to the counter."
Jimmy eyed her salad and laptop. "Uh-huh."
"Aren't you going to investigate?"
"Sure," He walked toward her and she held her hands out. "It's the birds. Which means the random thief was here. We need to rush out the front door and see if we catch up."
Jimmy walked out the back door and around her deck. He looked at the birds and then stepped down and walked around the deck. He hurried around the side of the house while Abbie went back through the house out the front door and waited for him by her car.
He walked out to the sidewalk and looked both ways, then silently walked down the sidewalk to the corner. He stood there for a long time hands on his hips deep in thought. Then he pulled out his cell phone and made a call. When Abbie started toward him, he held his hand out to stop her.
She went back to the car in front of her house and wondered what to do, the birds were on the back deck, the cop was on the corner and her salad was getting wilted.
Just then a car came around the corner and
slowed. Mr. and Mrs. Polanski parked across the street. "Oh great," Abbie muttered. "How did they know the birds were there? Did they have some sort of bird global positioning system?"
"We got an anonymous call that you have Polly and Pete," Mrs. Polanski rushed toward her. "Shame on you."
"They just showed up!" Abbie exclaimed looking toward where Jimmy still talked on the phone. "Jimmy's investigating right now." Either that or calling another woman and it was why he didn't want her to overhear.
Mr. Polanski turned to the corner. "Jimmy I'm taking my birds and you can't stop me."
Jimmy waved his hand.
"What the hell is with the wave?" Mrs. Polanski asked.
"I don't know." It looked like a parade float wave to Abbie.
The Polanski's moved toward her house and she walked along with them. "You might contaminate the scene. Maybe we should wait in case Jimmy needs to do fingerprints."
Mrs. Polanski stopped in her tracks and her husband ran into her back. Abbie's eyes widened at the woman's furious glare. "Our Polly and Pete were the most valuable item stolen. I don't give a rat's ass if anyone else gets their shit back." Spittle flew from her mouth and both Abbie and Mr. Polanski leaned away.
"Hey where are you going?" Jimmy, the phone operator finally caught up with them. "I need to fingerprint the birdcage. Give me a minute."
Abbie and Mr. Polanski looked to his wife. She let out a huff. "Fine. But hurry it up."
Southern hospitality took over. Abbie invited the Polanski's in for a glass of sweet tea, while Jimmy went to his truck. She assumed to get a crime kit or something. The older couple walked inside and Mr. Polanski turned in a full circle. "No recliner?"
"No I'm sorry," Abbie replied through clenched teeth.
Mrs. Polanski glowered at her husband who tested one of her chairs. "We're not here to visit Henry. Don't get too comfortable." She accepted the glass of tea and peered down the hallway toward her bedroom. "I don't suppose you have any rockers do you?"
It was impossible to stop the eye roll. "I am not the random thief Mrs. Polanski. I didn't take the birds. Isn't it obvious someone is trying to frame me?"