Gluten-Free Murder (Auntie Clem's Bakery Book 1)

by P. D. Workman

  Vic rolled her eyes. “There is no GPS or radar for caving. You need a compass.”

  “You’re the one who has been doing the research. You pick one out.”

  As Vic looked through the compasses and compared features and prices and how they felt in her hand, Erin watched Gema and the store clerk. Eventually, they said their goodbyes and gave each other a hug. They separated to go their different directions. Erin waved to catch Gema’s attention.

  “Gema! Over here!”

  Gema turned her head, obviously catching Erin’s voice. Then Gema spotted her. She looked hesitant at first, looking toward the exit doors of the camping store as if she had to leave. Then she turned back toward Erin and moved toward them, smiling.

  “What are you guys doing here?” she asked. “Doing some camping?”

  “Spelunking,” Vic declared, at the same time as Erin said, “Caving.”

  Erin shook her head. “Fine. Spelunking,” she agreed. “But no underground lakes.”

  “That sounds like fun,” Gema said. “Where are you going? There are some nice ones around here.”

  “Erin found a map—”

  “Oh, yes. Your map.” Gema laughed. “Treasure hunting, then?”

  “I wouldn’t mind if we found some treasure,” Vic said.

  “We’re not looking for treasure,” Erin disagreed. “We’re just going to look at a couple of caves. Nothing too remote or scary. Just some well-traveled, safe caves.”

  “I looked at the map and picked a couple out,” Vic contributed, ignoring Erin. “And I looked them up on Google Maps and made sure that none of them are big commercial places. There are a couple of small ones that I couldn’t even find on Google Maps, so I don’t know if they’ve had a cave-in, or what—”

  “Cave-in?” Erin echoed weakly. It was sounding like a worse and worse idea. What were they thinking, going to explore caves where there was no one else to help them? Two inexperienced women, alone. Probably GPS and cell phones wouldn’t even work out there in the sticks. They could be lost for days.

  “We won’t go into one that has had a cave-in,” Vic assured her. But that wasn’t what Erin wanted to hear. She wanted to hear that they wouldn’t go anywhere near any of the remote, non-tourist caves.

  Erin looked at Gema for help. “Have you ever done this? Explored a cave?”

  “Sure. I grew up in the area. I’ve been in a lot of caves around here. Even used to take my boys to some of them. Boys love exploring caves.”

  “Maybe we should get Gema to go with us,” Erin suggested to Vic. “That would be okay, wouldn’t it?”

  Vic’s face fell. “I wanted it to be just the two of us.” She looked at Gema. “I don’t mean anything by it, I just wanted to do something ourselves.”

  “Of course I’m not offended. If you want to explore caves together, that’s what you should do. People should do what makes them happy.” She looked wistful. Erin wondered if she was thinking about her family and how they used to explore together. Now it was just Gema and her husband. Erin had seen the two of them together, but Gema’s husband didn’t match her for vibrancy. He looked more like the type of husband to fall asleep with a beer in front of the TV than someone who would go on adventures with her. And maybe that was fine with Gema. But she did look like she was missing the fun they had had when they were raising their boys together.

  “So, what brings you here?” Erin asked. She made a motion to where Gema had been talking with her friend. “Was that—”

  “A young cousin of mine. I always see how she’s doing when I’m in the area.”

  On considering, Erin thought there had been similarities in their features.

  Gema looked at the compasses on the shelf. “Do these ever bring back memories.” She tapped one. “Did you know that Mary Lou and I were in Girl Guides together? A coon’s age ago, to be sure. Can you believe we’ve known each other for that long?”

  “Wow,” Vic said. “I haven’t known anyone that long.”

  “You haven’t been alive that long!” Erin laughed. “I haven’t either, though. I moved around so much… I haven’t known anyone more than a couple of years.”

  “Really?” Gema shook her head. “That would be very strange to me. I’ve lived in Bald Eagle Falls all my life. I’m practically a fixture.”

  Vic finally picked out a couple of compasses and showed them to Gema, the experienced one. “These ones? Do you think they’re good?”

  “Those ones will be just fine.”

  “Mary Lou said something funny the other day,” Erin said, thinking back.

  “What was she talking about?”

  “She was talking about Angela.” Erin glanced at Vic to make sure she didn’t mind Erin talking about her aunt in front of her. Vic gave a little nod. “She was saying that Angela was the type of person who knew everything about everyone. Even the things they wanted to keep secret.”

  Gema raised her brows.

  “And she would hold what she knew over people to make them do what she wanted them to. Like… emotional blackmail.”

  “I wouldn’t know anything about that,” Gema said. She gave a little laugh and swept her hair back behind her head with both hands, looking like she was going to scrunch it all together into a ponytail. Then she released it. “What exactly was Mary Lou talking about?”

  “I don’t know. She didn’t give any specific examples. She just said that everyone had secrets… and Angela knew them all.”

  “I see.”

  “But she said she didn’t have any,” Erin continued. “She said her life is an open book; she doesn’t hide anything. When I asked her about what happened between her and Angela, she said I should ask someone else about it. Why it was Mary Lou didn’t like her.”

  Gema shook her head. “That’s a long story. Well, not so much a long story as a sad one. A tragedy.”

  “Really?” Erin added the compasses to the shopping cart. She was hoping they were at the end of Vic’s list and could start to head for the check-out. Vic folded the list up, which Erin took as a signal they were done. She turned the cart around and pointed it toward the check out lines. “So, what happened?”

  “Angela was always involved in these new businesses and ideas. She was a good businessperson, she always made back her investment. She was very sharp.”

  “I heard that.”

  “That is, she always made her investment back… until she didn’t.”

  “What does that mean?”

  “She got Mary Lou and half the town involved in some scheme. One of these things where everyone is supposed to get back ten times what they put into it. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. That’s what I always said.”

  “How did Angela get Mary Lou into something so risky? She seems so level-headed.”

  “I don’t know. Just because Angela was Angela. It always worked out. So, why wouldn’t it work out again? It was more risky, but that just meant that it was going to bring in a better return.”

  They waited in line for a cashier. Erin could already see how the story was going to end.

  “She always made her investment back. Until she didn’t.”

  Gema nodded. “Mary Lou went all-in. She put everything she had into the scheme. And more. She borrowed.”

  “Oh, no…”

  “Yes. When everything came crashing down… Angela had only invested modestly. Some people had been careful and some had risked more. But Mary Lou… she had been sure it was her chance to put away enough for retirement. Maybe even an early retirement. They had never been wealthy. Her husband, Roger, he was a plodder.”

  “She must have been crushed.”

  “Mary Lou is made of pretty stern stuff. She declared bankruptcy. Promised all her creditors that she was still going to pay them back, no matter how long it took. Started working, which she hadn’t done since before the boys were born. But Roger couldn’t handle it. The way that he’d been embarrassed in front of everyone he knew. Losing the house and
his car. The way that people talked about them.”

  “What did he do?”

  “He tried to take his own life, of course. And failed at that too.”

  Erin swallowed and nodded. She didn’t know what else to say, or if it were acceptable to ask for more information.

  “He has a brain injury from going without oxygen,” Gema said matter-of-factly. “And, of course, he still suffers from depression. Not just over the money, but now about what he’s done to himself and his family, too. He completely failed them. And he put all of that burden on his wife and sons.”

  Her words made Erin feel the horrible bleakness herself. They had lost everything. And his attempt to escape it all had just made it that much worse.

  “Mary Lou is always so cheerful,” she said in amazement. “You’d never guess by looking at her that any of this had happened! And she doesn’t look…” Erin struggled for a tactful way to say it and failed, “…poor. She always looks so perfectly turned-out.”

  “And those boys are the same way. You’d never guess there was anything wrong at home. They’re all-stars at school They work part time to help support the family. And they’re like her, always cheerful and not letting anyone feel sorry for them.”

  “That’s amazing. It really is.”

  Vic had been silent throughout the story. After the cashier finished ringing everything through, Erin paid with her credit card. She’d always done her best to master the situation and pull herself out of the holes she ended up in. But Mary Lou reached a whole new level with the way she dealt with her troubles.

  Gema smiled a polite goodbye. “I still have some errands to run before going back to Bald Eagle Falls. I’m sure I’ll see you girls there.”

  “You’re coming by for tea after church tomorrow, right?” Erin verified.

  “Yes. I’ll be there. We’ll all be there.”

  Vic helped Erin to load their gear into the car, quiet and contemplative. Erin looked at her as they sat down in front and put their seat-belts on.

  “Are you okay?”

  “Just thinking.”

  “About Mary Lou?”

  “I thought I had things tough. You know, I get myself down and sit around feeling sorry for what I’ve been through. And then I hear something like this… and I realize, I’m still such a baby. Not because I’m young, but because… what I’ve gone through is nothing compared to what someone like Mary Lou had been through. Losing everything, including her house. Her husband. His wage-earning ability. It’s just… it’s so sad. What happened to me? I got called names. I got kicked out. So, what? I still have the ability to make money and learn to support myself. I have a friend who gave me work and a place to live until I get on my feet. I really have everything I could want.”

  Erin nodded her agreement. “Same for me. I mope around about how I didn’t have any parents. Had to grow up in foster homes. Had to fend for myself when I was eighteen, and pretty much for a couple of years before that. I was working as soon as I was old enough to get a job, because I knew I was going to have to look after myself. And… so what? Now I’m independent. I’m strong. I have my own business and an employee. And a cat. I’m not tied down to a disabled husband and two children. I don’t have thousands of dollars in debt to pay back. Mary Lou would probably love to have all the advantages that I do.”

  “Yeah.”

  Erin blew out her breath in a sigh. “It just puts everything in perspective.”

  “Even being a murder suspect. It isn’t like they’ve arrested me and put me behind bars. Things could be a lot worse.”

  “Just be glad we didn’t live back in the days when they would just string you up. No judge or jury, no investigation or human rights. Someone thinks you did it, and they hang you.”

  They drove in silence for a while.

  “We’re still going to the caves, right?”

  Erin laughed. “We’re still going to the caves. But you better make sure I don’t die there.”

  Sunday morning they slept in, and it was heavenly. God or no god, Erin awoke with a prayer of thanks in her heart for the extra hours of sleep. And that Orange Blossom had let them sleep in and not started howling for his breakfast.

  Since all they were doing was tea and not opening up the bakery for a full shopping day, they just had a few items to put in the oven and had prepared it all ahead of time so that all they needed was a couple of hours before church let out. Then the church ladies made their way down Main Street and set the front door bell ringing as they gathered in the chairs to gossip and relax. Erin had tea steeping—several varieties, in fact. The smells threw her back into the past, to Clementine’s Tea Room. The smells and flavors of the teas that Clementine had carried were so familiar. Erin remembered all the old boxes and wrappers. And the women chattering away happily while little Erin carefully carried cookies and other treats to the tables.

  “Erin, this is lovely,” Mary Lou said, taking one slim biscotti biscuit from her tray. “Just like when Clementine was around. I hadn’t even realized how much I have missed it. She was forced to retire because of her health. Certainly none of us ever held that against her. She just did what she had to do. But I have missed this.”

  There were nods from the other women and choruses of agreement from the sipping and munching clientele.

  “There’s nothing like sisterhood,” Gema declared. She had a blueberry muffin with her tea, light-colored with the addition of plenty of cream. Erin didn’t know all of the women well, but the faces were familiar and Erin had to agree with what Gema said about sisterhood. She felt warm and comfortable and secure. All her anxiety evaporated with the steam from the tea.

  “You really should join us at church too,” Melissa said. “We had a really nice service today.”

  The other ladies quieted, looking at each other and looking at Erin out the corners of their eyes, not daring to meet her gaze.

  “Thank you,” Erin said. “But I don’t have any plans to go to church in the near future.”

  “And… what about you, Vic?” Melissa asked. “You’re not an atheist too, are you? Did the two of you not go to the same church back in Maine?” She laughed at her own joke.

  “No, I’m Christian… but God and I aren’t exactly on good terms these days,” Vic said haltingly.

  There were a few minutes of awkward silence. Vic hovered, offering treats and coffee refills to anyone who appeared to be getting low. Erin didn’t know what to do with her hands or how to get the conversation flowing smoothly again. If she bombed the first ladies’ tea, there wouldn’t be any point in trying it again. She could forget about bringing in any business on a Sunday.

  “We’re going exploring this afternoon,” Vic offered brightly.

  “Exploring? Exploring what?” One of the ladies immediately took up the thread.

  “Caves. I have a map and I picked out a couple near here that look like they could be interesting. We picked up some gear yesterday and we’re going to explore this afternoon!”

  “How adventurous,” Mary Lou said. She looked off into the distance. “We had some wonderful adventures when the boys were young. There was always somewhere new to explore. Now with the new geocaching, it seems like the young people are staying closer to home, picking out the easy walks instead of delving into the unexplored.”

  “Geocaching? They even do that in the city,” Erin said. “There are a lot of urban caches; I had friends who did that.”

  “It’s a great way to get out and be active,” Melissa declared.

  “But at the expense of real treasure hunting and exercise,” Mary Lou pointed out.

  “Maybe it’s just one step along the way. Maybe if they start with geocaching, they’ll get into more challenging stuff later.”

  Mary Lou sniffed. “I doubt it. People are happier to play games in front of the computer these days.”

  “What cave you going to?” Gema asked.

  Erin looked at Vic, who was the one in charge of their adventure. She
didn’t know where the caves were that Vic had picked out. But Vic didn’t answer.

  “It’s kind of… a secret,” she said.

  There were some giggles from the ladies, but they looked at Vic indulgently.

  “Well… let me give you some advice.” Gema said. “There are a couple of caves about ten miles north of town, near Beaver Creek.”

  Vic nodded, blinking. “Yeah, I saw those.”

  “Stay away from them.”

  Vic looked at Erin, then back at Gema. “They looked like they would be good.”

  “I’ve seen that shiftless William Andrews out there, messing around.”

  “He’s just prospecting, isn’t he?” Erin asked. “That’s what Officer Piper said.”

  “Terry Piper doesn’t know what’s going on under his own nose.”

  “I hear he’s a treasure hunter,” Melissa said.

  “Officer Piper?”

  “No, William Andrews. He’s searching those caves for Confederate gold.”

  “He’s not looking for ore or for treasure,” Gema disagreed, shaking her head at both of them. “He’s a drug runner. He’s got a stash out there.”

  Just like Officer Piper had warned Erin about. Despite what Gema thought, Piper did know there were drug runners using the caves. Not the specifics, maybe, but generally speaking.

  “How do you know William Andrews is using the caves by Beaver Creek?” Erin asked Gema.

  “I told you, I’ve seen him.”

  “Did you report it to the police department? I would think that if they knew something that specific, they would arrest him.”

  Gema laughed. “They have to catch him in the act and he’s too canny for that. And those caves are like a labyrinth, you could wander down there for days and not find where he had hidden the drugs. And that’s if you knew they were down there. A police investigation won’t do much more than look in the mouth of the cave, or maybe a couple of the nearby passages if he’s feeling adventurous. Searching every little crack and crevice? Not likely.”