I glanced at one of the pink throw pillows she had wedged all around her. The nauseating color clashed with my kaleidoscope décor. Emily insisted they stay because they were comfortable. Since the couch doubled as her bed, I let the argument slide.
“Where do you think he went?” she asked.
I shrugged. “Shouldn’t you know since you’re at the office all the time?”
She moved her arm a fraction so she could glare at me. “I don’t know everything. He can be very secretive.”
Too secretive.
“I don’t see why I couldn’t go,” she complained.
“They have a new client, right?”
She nodded. “The papers were signed today.”
“Then I guess he’ll have a long night.” Brett and T were probably knee-deep in planning the various needs of the client.
I drummed my fingers on my knee, knowing I should be doing something other than sitting here listening to Emily’s complaints. How Emmy put up with Emily all day was . . . impressive. I’d shoot her with paintballs.
Paintballs . . .
Standing, I crossed over to the window and peeked around the closed drapes. Light from Mrs. Janowski’s garage illuminated her car parked in the driveway. Shadows flittered about. It could only mean that Mrs. Janowski was on the move. Dropping the curtain, I grabbed my keys from the side table.
“Where are you going?” Emily sat up.
“Over to Mrs. J’s. I’ll be right back.”
Emily scurried to stand, knocking pillows to the floor. “I’m coming with you.”
“No!” I hadn’t meant to shout, but it came out like a foghorn.
Emily stilled for a moment then tsked, rolling her eyes in a large, exaggerated circle. “You know I don’t take no for an answer.” She shoved past me.
Paintballs.
The back of her blonde hair became a flouncing target. I walked behind that target, trying to singe her hair with my fiery glare. Had I more time and energy, it might have ignited. However, Mrs. Janowski caught my attention. She tossed another shovel into the trunk of her car and slammed it closed. She turned, startled to see us walking up her driveway.
“You scared the daylights out of me!”
“What are you up to?” I asked. “Kind of late to be putting a shovel in your trunk. Does that make two shovels?”
She waved an annoyed hand at me. “Nothing going on here. I’m just digging up some rhubarb over at Sylvia’s tomorrow and I want to make sure I have my shovel. Her yard is being overrun by the damn things.”
“Doesn’t Sylvia have a shovel?” I questioned, knowing she did.
“Of course she does, but we’ll both be working. Edna is coming to help too.”
I nodded, but my suspicions remained. Perhaps it was the way she held herself rigid, as if she would bolt if the police drove past the house.
“This wouldn’t have anything to do with the Fearsome Foursome, would it?”
“The Fearsome Foursome isn’t a gardening club,” she stated, then stopped for a moment. “However, I might have to look into starting something like that.”
Mrs. Janowski starting a gardening club? It’d be perfect and keep her out of mischief.
“I think you should,” I said.
Emily snorted. “Boring.”
In order not to jab more pointed glares at Emily, I kept my focus on Mrs. Janowski.
Mrs. Janowski looked at Emily. “It’s not boring. You never know what intel you could overhear while trimming hedges.”
Emily raised her dainty blonde brows.
Mrs. Janowski stretched her arms out wide and sighed a long, loud, completely fake yawn. “Well, I better hit the hay. Got a long day ahead of me.” Without a backwards glance, she scampered into the house and snapped the door closed.
Emily shook her head. “She’s a bit cuckoo if you ask me.”
“I didn’t.”
Mrs. Janowski was up to something. A war brewed inside me, both wanting to find out what she had planned, and also to go home and pretend the conversation never happened. On the one hand, she was a hazard to herself and the community. On the other hand, I didn’t want a headache.
As I weighed my options, Emily made up my mind for me when she declared, “I’m starving! When are you making dinner?”
I smiled politely, no gritting of teeth or snarls. “I’ll have to go to the store and pick up something.”
Emily tsked, traipsing back to the house. “Okay, but don’t take too long. And make sure to bring something back for Brett. He’s always hungry after work.”
“Yeah,” I replied, not concerned with feeding either of them.
Eyeing Mrs. Janowski’s house, I noticed the living room curtain pull back just a tad and then drop back into place. It confirmed my suspicions. She was up to something and didn’t want me involved. I should thank my lucky stars, but . . . it gnawed at me. She dragged me into every scheme of hers. Why not this one?
I turned back to the house and followed Emily inside. I would need my coat and purse. Anything else? For a moment, I considered the handcuffs upstairs but let the thought go. I wouldn’t be able to stop Mrs. Janowski, and Edna knew how to pick locks. Plus, I liked them where Brett left them, dangling on the headboard. A reminder of things to come.
Hopefully.
That was for later. Right now, I had a mystery on my hands.
Since there was no way Mrs. Janowski would make a move if she thought I was watching, I made a great show of gathering my things and walking out the door, paying no attention to the shifting curtain across the street.
Hopping into my car, I backed out of the driveway and headed down the street. As soon as I drove far enough away, I parked and turned off the car to wait for Mrs. Janowski. She was predictable. Not five minutes later, her large blue tank grumbled by.
Waiting until she was two blocks ahead of me, I started the car and pulled out, keeping a discreet distance. After a few turns, I knew exactly where she was headed. The shovels in her trunk only confirmed my suspicions.
Why didn’t she just tell me the truth? I would have helped. Ida must have finally caved and Mrs. Janowski was anxious to find the time capsule.
Since I knew where Mrs. Janowski was headed, I allowed more distance to stretch between us. By the time the Hog came into view, I had already turned off my headlights. I could see the silhouette of Mrs. Janowski’s car parked near another in the torn-up lot.
Edna’s car.
Three beams of light flashed and swished across the ground as the shadowy figures moved. I should have thought to bring a flashlight as well. The night sky was darker than usual, covered by heavy rainclouds.
Sending up a silent plea to keep the rain at bay until the girls were safely back at home, a rumble in the distance told me my request might not be granted. I should stock my trunk with flashlights and umbrellas.
No, ponchos would work better in situations like this.
No! I should be at home in my pajamas, hoping Brett will come home and take them off. Yes, that was a much better “situation.”
Exiting the car, I followed the lights and sounds of bickering. Stumbling a few times on the uneven surface, I slowed my pace to feel the ground in front of me with my toe before committing to a step.
Progress was slow, but I made it in time to hear, “We shouldn’t do this.” I was pretty sure that it was Edna speaking. “I have a bad feeling about this.” Yes, definitely Edna. “We should call the authorities and tell them it’s just been a mix-up.”
“Mix-up?” Mrs. Janowski sputtered. “How on earth could we spin this to be as simple as a mix-up?”
“Maybe we should just keep everything where it is and hopefully nothing will be found,” Sylvia said.
“What happens if it is found?” Mrs. Janowski asked. “How are we to do anything about it then? No, we dig tonight and move it. The past can be buried somewhere else.”
I stayed back, not wanting to be discovered. They’d clam up if they knew I was her
e. But what could cause this much commotion? It was just a simple time capsule, right?
Unless whatever was in the capsule had embarrassing evidence . . . or criminal. Was Ida trying to hide something? If so, why didn’t she just burn it or destroy it long ago? What could it possibly be?
Nothing.
It had to be nothing.
Mrs. Janowski was known to blow situations out of proportion. I silently laughed at myself for allowing my thoughts to run wild. It was probably something Ida didn’t want to unbury. There were plenty of things I could think of that I wouldn’t want to have unburied from my past. Braces, for one. That permed wig I insisted on wearing until it attracted lice would be another.
As I thought of the many things I could have put into a capsule, I slowly stopped to look around. Where was Ida?
“We’re never going to find it in the dark,” Sylvia stated.
“Ida gave us directions,” Mrs. Janowski countered.
“She was three sheets to the wind,” Edna said. “She passed out right after she told you.”
Mrs. Janowski jammed the shovel into the ground, the beam of light from her headgear aimed at the dirt. “It’s here. We have an obligation to help Ida.”
“What obligation?” Sylvia questioned.
“Didn’t she help you out of a scrape with that doctor?”
“How was I to know he wasn’t one? But this is different.”
“We could go to jail,” Edna tittered.
“For digging up a time capsule?”
“You know that’s not all we’re digging up,” Edna said.
My fingers automatically curled around my phone, still in my pocket. The itch to call Brett grew strong. The girls were obviously in over their heads. However, a call to Brett would mean he’d try to take over like he normally did. Cop-mode Brett would return.
While I didn’t want that side of him to reappear, what I overheard warranted his help.
Quietly, I snuck back over to the car and hid behind it so the light of my phone or my voice wouldn’t attract attention. Before I could dial, a large vehicle pulled up next to me.
Momentarily blinded by the headlights, I wasn’t sure who was in the truck until I heard, “Why is the geriatric club on my land?”
Here I had been worried about the small light on my phone. Rand’s headlights blazed over the lot, the ladies stuck in the beam. Mrs. Janowski hid the shovel behind her.
Rand was not the person I would have originally called, but he could serve as a replacement until I knew what we were dealing with. Straightening, I walked over to his open window to speak to him without being overheard.
“I think there’s something buried that Ida doesn’t want found.”
Only the dashboard light illuminated Rand’s normally handsome features, which were now grim. Why did he always have to look grumpy?
“Construction is set to happen tomorrow,” he said.
“I know. It’s why they’re here now. Whatever’s buried, they’re afraid the construction crew will stumble upon it.”
He let out a slow breath. His tightened lips glowed red from the lights. “Tell them to go home. Whatever it is, it won’t stop construction.”
I glanced over at the girls who were huddled together. Mrs. Janowski muttered to the others from the side of her mouth.
“I’ll tell them, but I doubt it’ll stop them.” I looked to Rand. “What are you doing here, anyway?”
His eyes widened just a fraction before narrowing into a squint. “Never mind. Just tell them to get out of here before I call the cops.”
“Stop ordering me around.” I crossed my arms. “I’m still mad at you for dumping me in a field. If you want the ladies off your land, you tell them.”
He averted his unnerving gaze for a moment. “Sorry,” he muttered. For him to say the words out loud was an amazing moment for me to witness. I wondered if he said it often, or at all. “I see you got back to your car with no problem. Should I expect a visit from Brett?”
“No, but it’s because of you that Mrs. Janowski found out about the time capsule. If she hadn’t had to pick me up she wouldn’t be here now. So, really, this is your fault, and you can deal with it yourself.”
The hardened look he fixed on me cracked momentarily. Shifting his truck into park, he opened the door and stepped out.
“Be nice to them,” I said, following him to where Mrs. Janowski and the others stood.
“I’ll be my normal charming self,” he clipped.
“That’s what I’m afraid of.”
“Then you shouldn’t have asked.”
“And you should have stayed home,” I muttered to myself, but unfortunately he heard. Rand turned around so suddenly and swiftly that I didn’t have a chance to escape.
“Don’t forget who owns this place,” he gritted between clenched teeth. “I could just as easily fire you and the rest, but I didn’t.”
Even though his angry face was just inches from mine, I wasn’t afraid. Maybe I should have been, but I instinctively knew he wouldn’t hurt me. Not really. Leave me at the side of the road, yes. Physically hurt me, no.
Was that why he came back to the Hog? To make sure I wasn’t hurt?
I smiled.
“What in the hell is wrong with you?” he barked. “I’m trying to have a serious conversation with you and you’re smiling like a goddamn clown.”
“You call this a serious conversation?” I scoffed. “I call this yelling. And I know your secret.”
“What secret?”
“You came back to check on me and make sure I was okay.”
He stepped back as if I was trying to hug him. “Don’t think for one second I give a damn about you or anyone else.”
A weary sigh escaped. When would he realize he could drop the act? Maybe he could fool other people, but he couldn’t fool me. “Stop acting like a bull and start helping. The longer you stand here yelling at me, the longer it will take to dig up the capsule.”
He snarled before stomping over to Mrs. Janowski and snatching the shovel from her. Stabbing it into the ground, he began to toss dirt into a pile off to the side.
Mrs. Janowski took a shovel from Edna and started her own hole next to Rand. While she wasn’t able to keep Rand’s furious pace, she did quite well for her age.
I was about to step in to help when Edna stopped me. “There’s something down there,” she whispered.
“I know. The capsule.”
She shook her head. The light strapped to her forehead darted through the sky, blinding me with each pass. Between the truck’s headlights, the flashlights, and the head gear, there was enough light to make out her worried expression. But she always wore that petrified look when she was with Mrs. Janowski. If it had not been for the conversation I had overheard just minutes ago, I would have dismissed it. But now it concerned me.
“What is it, Edna?”
She wrung her hands. “Oh, it’s just too horrible, Mars.”
“What’s too horrible?”
She chewed on her lower lip, stopping it from trembling. I turned to Mrs. Janowski for answers, but her focus was trained on the shovel.
“Sylvia?”
She frowned. “You’ll find out soon enough.”
“Then why can’t you tell me?”
“I’m hoping Ida is just drunk and talking nonsense,” Sylvia said.
“But you don’t think so,” I said. “Otherwise, you wouldn’t be out here in the dark.”
Since the three ladies gave me no answers, I waited, hoping it wasn’t as bad as they supposed. But, really, it was Ida. What could she have buried that was so horrible?
Rand was a foot deep into the widening hole when the answer became clear.
“Oh, God!” Edna squeaked, covering her mouth with a shaking hand.
Startled, I looked to Rand. “Is that what I think it is?”
He cursed and tossed down the shovel. “Looks like construction will be delayed.”
“How can you think
about construction?” Sylvia questioned.
“Delays cost a fortune.” Rand shot a glare at her. “I’m calling the police.”
“No!” they all shouted.
“Ida will go to jail for sure,” Mrs. Janowski pleaded.
“If she has anything to do with this, she deserves to go to jail,” he responded.
“No, she doesn’t. This is all a misunderstanding,” Sylvia insisted.
“A misunderstanding?” Rand questioned.
I winced, knowing that it was a little more than a misunderstanding. The ivory bones, soiled with dirt and decay, told a much different story.
Chapter 4
A hand. That was all that Rand had unearthed before tossing the shovel.
“Let’s call Brett and T,” I said. “They’ll know what to do.”
“Yes, go call the golden child.” Rand stepped away from the hole. “I don’t give a damn what you do or who you call, but this mess better be cleaned up by morning.”
The ladies and I watched as he abandoned us, slamming the truck door and gunning it down the road.
“I never liked him,” Mrs. Janowski said.
“He’s working through stuff,” I said, wondering why I felt a need to defend him.
Mrs. Janowski shook her first. “I’ll give him something to work through.”
“Enough about Rand,” I said, pointing to the hand. “What happened?”
Mrs. Janowski shook her head. “We couldn’t get much out of Ida.”
“But she must have said something to lead you here.”
“She was very drunk,” Edna said. “Slurring even.”
“What did she say?”
“We thought she might be delusional,” Sylvia said.
“What. Did. She. Say?”
“That she killed Wade,” Mrs. Janowski said, plopping her hands on her hips.
I looked back into the hole. “That’s Wade?”
They all nodded, blinding me with the flashlights still on their foreheads.
Well, now we knew why Wade disappeared, but what could have possessed Ida to kill him? Hank and Wade were friends. It didn’t make sense.
“What were you planning on doing with him?” I asked.
“We were hoping he wasn’t here,” Mrs. Janowski said. “But I do have trash bags. We could—”
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