by Harper Lin
“I guess you’re headed back to the station,” Amelia said.
“Yep.”
“Do you want to come over this evening for dinner? The kids won’t be there, so my house will be clean and quiet. I can try making some lemonade cupcakes.”
He patted his stomach and tugged his pants. “I’m not going to be able to chase the bad guys if I keep eating your cupcakes.”
“Oh, I doubt that very much.” Tilting her chin up, she waited for Dan to lean forward and kiss her. She could feel his chest and stomach beneath his button-down shirt and jacket, and there was nothing meaty about it.
She felt safe standing so close to him. As if she were hiding from the rain underneath a mighty oak tree. When his lips touched hers, Amelia quickly inhaled to smell the spicy scent of his cologne.
He slipped one arm around her waist, and she certainly felt the muscles there as she easily eased into him. When Dan pulled back, looking at her with that twinkle in his eye without smiling or speaking, Amelia spilled her secret. One of them.
“Dan, I went to dinner with Gavin.” As soon as she said it, she wished she hadn’t.
“Who’s Gavin?” Dan stepped back and pulled his arm slowly from around her waist.
“He’s the guy who runs the Philly Cheese Steak truck next to mine. It didn’t mean anything. I spent most of the night talking about the kids and work.” She tugged at the strap of her purse over her shoulder.
“Is this someone you are interested in?” Dan put both his hands in his pockets and watched Amelia’s face.
“Not like I am with you.” She looked out to the street and sighed. There was no way she would tell him about her hunch regarding Tim Casey. Not after she opened her big mouth spilling the beans about Gavin, who was a nothing, a nobody in her life. Why didn’t she listen to Lila?
Dan stared down at Amelia then looked at his watch.
“I’ve got to get back to the station.”
“Would you come over when you’re done tonight? We can talk.” Then she saw it again, the white Waterware truck. It drove past the parking lot as if it was on its way somewhere. But Amelia wasn’t so sure of that. She wanted to grab Dan by the lapel, shake him, point to the van, and tell him the man driving was Timothy Casey and he was following her because she had caught him in a lie about Preston Dwight and David Scranton and the No-Tell Motel. But that would mean something else she was keeping from him, another secret and a dangerous one.
More dangerous than going for dinner with the handsome and persistent Gavin? Really? She shook her head and focused on the issue at hand. Besides, the white truck was already gone.
“I’ll call you.”
“Okay.” Amelia pulled her keys from her pocket, opened the driver’s-side door, and slid in behind the wheel. Without looking back, she started the engine and waited for Dan to get in his car and drive away first. But he didn’t. Instead, he came around and knocked on the window.
“What do you want? License and registration?”
Dan chuckled, the left corner of his mouth curling up slightly.
“Amelia, there are certain things I need to keep from you out of necessity due to my line of work. You know this. Yet you still trust me. It would only be the gentlemanly thing for me to extend you the same courtesy.”
“You’re not mad at me?”
“No.” Dan shook his head. “I’m a sucker for a pretty face.”
“You are sweeter than sugar.”
“That’s what I’ve been told.” Tossing his keys in his hand, Dan turned and walked to his car. He leaned down at the passenger-side window, and Amelia immediately rolled it down.
“I don’t think I’ll be able to stop by tonight. But tomorrow for sure. When will the kids be back? I’d like to see them, too.” At that moment, Amelia saw Dan in a completely different light. She almost started to cry.
Blinking her eyes to keep any tears back, she grinned.
“They’ll be home around four o’clock.”
“I should be able to get there around three.” Dan tapped the hood of Amelia’s car then climbed into his. With a honk, he waved, pulled out of the driveway, and headed in the direction of the police station.
Amelia backed out and headed in the direction of home, her head twisting and turning as if it were on a swivel as she looked for any white van that might be following her. There was nothing. Or at least there was nothing that she could see.
Chapter Ten
Business on Monday at the Pink Cupcake was jumping.
Amelia flew back and forth from oven to oven without a break for the entire morning rush. Lila had money in her hand, either taking it or giving change until the cash box seemed as if it were going to burst.
Finally, the crowd settled down, and each of them grabbed a bottle of water and flopped down to rest their feet before they started getting ready for the lunchtime rush.
“I don’t know why you told him about Gavin.” Lila shook her head after hearing Amelia’s confession.
“It just came out, Lila. I can’t keep anything from him. Well, not anything like that. I can spare him the details of my morning rituals and bathroom habits, but not that.”
“You did tell him nothing happened and that it was just dinner.”
“Yeah.”
“And…”
Tightness settled into Amelia’s chest, and she felt the sting of tears in her eyes.
“What?” Lila stood and went to Amelia, putting her hand on her shoulder. “Did he call it quits? If he did, I’ll have words for him. So harsh he’ll need a dictionary to figure out how I insulted him.”
“No.” Amelia wiped her eyes. “No. In fact, he was a prince. He came over yesterday to see me and because he wanted to see the kids.” She sniffled. “He wanted to see my kids, Lila. What kind of a great guy is he?”
Lila smiled and folded her arms over her chest, wiggling her red-polished nails. She nodded, making her red curls bounce and her dangly earrings jingle.
“We all ate together, and they sat on the couch while I got the food ready. Lila, just listening to them talking was so awesome. And between you and me, I’d never tell them this, but Dan listened to everything they said as if he were their father. In fact, he was better than John ever was.”
“Do you think you see that kind of future for the two of you?”
“I don’t know. But I know that Dan is not a man to just take for granted.”
The morning rush had launched the Pink Cupcake into hyper-drive. Just as Amelia and Lila got the first batch of cupcakes out of the oven and decorated, there was a line forming outside the window. The lunchtime crowd seemed twice the size of the breakfast crowd, and that nearly wiped them out.
The peanut-butter-and-jelly cupcakes sold out first. Then the peach-ginger cupcakes were gobbled up. Surprisingly, there were about half a dozen double chocolate cupcakes still left as the afternoon crowd finally started to dwindle away.
“I am exhausted.” Lila stretched her arms over her head. “I think this has been our best day yet.”
She immediately began to work on the receipts, adding up the totals and separating the cash from the charges and making a list of what it cost to operate that day.
“I wonder if the other trucks had as busy of a day or if there was just a desperate need for sweets today?” Amelia flopped down on her seat at the back of the truck, leaning over and stretching her arms to shut off the last oven.
After looking out the front order window, Lila jerked her head back in and whispered loudly, “Don’t know. But I do know there is someone coming to see you who is probably hoping for something sweet.”
Looking out the window, Amelia saw Gavin’s salt-and-peppered head bobbing along as he came to the back entrance.
“Knock, knock.” He peeked in.
“Hi, Gavin.” Amelia didn’t shy away as she usually did. “We were just talking about you.”
“Really?” He folded his arms over his chest and leaned on the side of the door. Cocking his he
ad, he looked like a model from one of those pin-up calendars for bachelorette parties or female dorm rooms.
Amelia walked over, and as he stepped aside, she went down the steps, leading Gavin to the tree that was next to her truck.
“You look really pretty today, Amelia.” He leaned in close. “Would you like to join me for dinner once you wrap things up here?”
“That’s a very nice offer, but…”
“Wait. What’s that?” He pointed to the back of the Pink Cupcake. “It looks like you’ve got a flat tire.”
“What?” Amelia whirled around and squinted at the back tire, which appeared to have sunk into the ground. “Oh, you have to be kidding me.” She tipped her head back, and her shoulders slumped. “Of all the rotten luck.”
Just then, a familiar white van pulled up along the street behind the row of food trucks. It stopped, and the man Amelia had just met the previous day waved and hopped out of the cab.
“Amelia Harley!” He sauntered up to the truck as if he and Amelia were long-time friends, extending his hand to shake. “You know, after you came to see me yesterday, I saw the write-up for your food truck in NUVO. I thought I’d come by and give your cupcakes a sample.”
Putting on her best poker face, Amelia smiled and shook Tim’s hand enthusiastically.
“Well, Tim, that’s really nice of you.” Without hesitation, she introduced Gavin and suggested Tim try his Philly cheese steak sandwich. “I’ve actually got a bit of a situation that I need to make a phone call about.”
Amelia pulled out her phone, but before she could dial Dan’s number, Tim spoke.
“Is it that flat tire?” Tim’s face held a sadistic edge in each crease of his smile. Like looking into a two-way mirror, Amelia saw both the face Tim showed the world and the face he showed David Scranton and Preston Dwight.
She couldn’t prove it. Not yet. But she was sure he killed them both. If she had any doubts before, they were gone in the blink of his eye. She was also willing to bet the day’s receipts that Tim had something to do with her flat tire.
“Y-Yeah,” Amelia stuttered. “Gavin just pointed it out. I don’t know what to do. This is a new one for me.”
“Well, I’ve got an Ultimate Fix-A-Flat in my van. I’d be happy to hook that puppy up and get your tire filled.” Tim rocked on his heels.
“They’ve got those for semitrucks, too,” Gavin added. Amelia knew he was trying to be helpful, but he really wasn’t helping at all. “I’ve been meaning to get just that thing for my truck. You just never know what you might drive over.”
“Yeah, right?” Tim nodded at Gavin. “People just throw rusty nails, glass, anything in the grass. It’s well worth the investment. What do you say, Amelia? Are you going to let me help you?”
Shaking off a shiver, Amelia nodded. What else could she do?
“Sure. I appreciate it, Tim. I really owe you one.”
“It’s settled. Let me just get it from the back of my van.” Tim turned and started to walk away, when Gavin spoke.
“What a nice guy.” Gavin said it as if it were a secret. “It’s a good thing he happened to be passing by.”
Amelia looked at Gavin as if he had suddenly turned green.
“I better help.” She left Gavin standing under the tree and walked up to the back of the van.
Chapter Eleven
“Can I offer you a hand, Tim?” Amelia asked.
As she leaned around the door, she caught a glimpse of a strange coincidence. Tim was pulling the Fix-A-Flat out of a bag as if it was brand new. Quickly, he stuffed the bag into a corner of the bed, behind some cords and the vacuum cleaner.
“Oh, ah, no, Amelia. I’ve got it.” He whipped around, smiling. “This takes seven minutes. At least it has in my experience.” He yanked up the box up by its handle and headed toward the drooping end of the Pink Cupcake. Folding her arms over her chest, Amelia looked into the van.
Pipes. Plungers. A hair dryer? What in the world was a hair dryer used for? Leaning a little closer, Amelia caught a glimpse of the cord. It had a wavy design going through the center of it. The same kind of pattern she saw on the crime scene photos Dan had shown her.
The thought walked through her mind like a tourist strolling along the beach. It didn’t jump at her or shock her. It came into focus simply, almost pleasantly, as if saying, “Here you go, Amelia. Now be a dear and pass this information along to Dan. He’ll know what to do with it.”
As she stood there, feeling a cold draft brush over her shoulders, she also saw an icepick in the toolbox on top of wrenches, screwdrivers, a hammer, and a couple baby jars filled with screws and washers. She stifled a shiver.
Slowly, she walked to the back of her truck, where Gavin was eagerly watching with intense fascination as Tim hooked up the inflator to the tire and began the inflating process. They were chatting about something, but Amelia basically heard all of it like mumbling from another room. Standing back out of the way, she watched in a trance, but then she snapped out of it at Tim’s loud voice.
“Uh-oh,” he stated. “Looks like you’ve got a bit more damage than just a flat. Looks like something pierced your tire. See here?” He pointed, and Gavin leaned in like an eager student in shop class. “The stuff that fills the tire is coming out this other end. It’s not a big hole, but it probably won’t hold you to get to a service station.”
“That really makes me mad.” Amelia clenched her teeth. “You know, if only I knew who did this. I’d string them out to dry.” She stared right at Tim.
“Easy, tiger,” Gavin teased her. “It could just be an accident. Like Tim said, who knows what kind of stuff gets tossed on the ground.”
Amelia slowly approached the tire, her arms still folded in front of her.
“Looks like someone poked it with something.” She stood up straight, switching her weight from her right foot to her left.
It was one thing to try and intimidate her with drive-bys and tails. It was another thing completely to attack her business. Amelia wondered just who Timothy Casey thought he was. Looking intently at his profile, she watched him nod and agree with her.
“Can you think of anyone who might want to do something like this?” Tim said. “Anyone who you may have accidentally offended, intruded on? You know, Amelia, your cupcakes are fantastic. I wouldn’t be surprised if one of the other bakery trucks down Food Truck Alley wasn’t feeling a pinch since you got here.”
Gavin was annoying in his complete unawareness of what was going on. But Amelia stared at Tim and made sure he knew she was staring at him.
“I don’t think that’s it.” Her voice was low and serious. “In fact, I think I better call my boyfriend to come and check this out. Detective Dan Walishovsky. Do you know him, Tim? You said you knew every uniform in the surrounding area.”
Amelia pulled her phone from her pocket. As she did so, she saw Tim’s jaw clench and unclench, rolling the skin and making it pulse.
“Can’t say I do,” he said. “I don’t think you need to call him.”
“What are you talking about? Someone popped my tire. There are surveillance cameras everywhere around here.” Amelia pointed to all the buildings on the adjacent streets. She wasn’t sure of what she was saying. But it sounded good, and from the look on Tim’s face, she was making him madder and madder by the second. “I’ll bet somewhere one of them caught something. My gosh, Gavin, your truck could be next. This isn’t something we want happening while we’re trying to run our businesses. Am I right?”
“Yeah,” Tim interrupted her. “The last thing you want is someone trying to ruin your business.”
“Maybe you’re right,” Gavin added, looking clueless.
Tim blinked at Amelia. He nervously wiggled his fingers at his sides like a cowboy at a shootout waiting for the clock to strike twelve so he could draw.
“I’ll get Dan over here.” Amelia smiled.
“Well, this obviously isn’t going to work.” Tim leaned down and quickly pulled the i
nflator tube from the tire. “I’ll just get out of the way.”
“No, Tim. You should stay here. I know Dan will want to talk to you, and you did try to do a nice thing. He’ll be here in no time.”
Tim began walking toward his van.
“Sorry, Amelia. I’ve got something else to do. I forgot I’ve got an appointment.”
“Oh, someone with a backed-up toilet need help? Tell me this, Tim. Do they have any children?” Amelia almost growled the words.
“As a matter of fact, they do.” Tim didn’t say another word but tossed the Fix-A-Flat kit in the back of his truck and slammed the doors shut. He stomped angrily to the front of the truck, climbed in, revved his engine, and within seconds was out of sight.
“That was weird.” Gavin put his hands on his hips. “What a weird dude.”
“Yeah.” Amelia felt a twist in her gut. Something was wrong besides her flat tire. Looking at the ground where the rubber had spread out in a sickly pool around the hubcap, she chewed her lip. “What am I going to do about this?”
“Well, I might not be quick enough to have the Ultimate Fix-A-Flat in my truck, but I do have Triple A. I’ll give them a call, and we’ll have you fixed up right in no time.”
“That’s going to require a tow, isn’t it?” Amelia wanted to spit, she was so mad. Tim did this—she knew he did. She showed up where he worked, so he was going to return the gesture in kind and drive the point home that she’d better back off.
“Yes, more than likely.”
Lila peeked her head out the door. Apparently, she hadn’t been listening to any of the conversation and had been engrossed in finishing the receipts.
“Are you holding on to something?”
“No, Lila. Why?”
“You cleared over eight thousand dollars today. Cleared it.” Lila mouthed the words “eight thousand” so no one would hear. When it came to money, Lila trusted no one, which was probably a good idea.