“I’m going upstairs to check the apartment,” Greg insisted, leading the way.
The door was slightly open.
“Oh no, not again,” Tabby sighed, tearing up.
“Stay here,” Greg ordered.
He disappeared inside and all was quiet.
Chapter 9
* * *
“You can come in,” Greg yelled, after he turned on all the lights.
“Where are Ghost and Marmalade?” Tabby questioned in a panic, afraid that they had gotten out through the open apartment door.
They heard faint meowing in the bathroom; Tabby raced to open the door. Ghost was curled up in the sink. Marmalade sauntered over to Tabby, stretching upwards to show that she wanted to be picked up.
“I’m so glad you guys are okay,” Tabby said as she gathered up Marmalade close and gave Ghost a pat on the head. “Come get supper, you two.”
Greg was looking around.
“Where are the blueprints you took from Mr. Well’s house?” he asked.
Tabby put Marmalade down in front of the food dish and ran for the small bedroom.
“They’re gone,” she yelled from the other room. “He took the blueprints.”
“Where is the set you took from his office?”
“They are still in my purse,” Tabby confirmed.
Nothing was out of place in the kitchen or living room. It looked just like it had been when they left earlier. Tabby walked to the front window. Across the street, Fink was gone from the upstairs window and the light had been turned off. She walked to her bedroom but found everything just as she left it.
“Whoever broke in here was obviously looking for the bear,” Greg noted. “He’s going to figure out that you have it on you since you didn’t have it here. The blueprints were a bonus find for him.”
“I think so, too. This is so different from the first break-in; the apartment hasn’t been trashed like before. Why did he put the kittens in the bathroom? The door was left open at Mr. Well’s house. Calypso could have gotten out and the intruder didn’t care,” Tabby noted, still checking around. “I’m going to call Sheriff Puckett and tell him everything; this is getting too dangerous.”
She quickly placed the call to the sheriff. He arrived at the apartment in less than ten minutes and they proceeded to inform him of everything that had transpired. He was not happy that Tabby had taken the blueprint with her the night Richard had disappeared. She didn’t mention that she took the ones from Fink’s office when she saw how mad he got about the first set. Tabby reluctantly removed the bear and the key from her purse as Greg explained how they found them. Since Mr. Wells had given the bear to her, Tabby didn’t think to look inside until Greg suggested it. They explained the numbers on the key matched the numbers handwritten on the back of the stolen blueprints.
“Something in that safe deposit box is very important to Larry Fink,” Tabby stated, nervously.
“I’m worried that he has figured out that Tabby has the bear on her. I think he will go after her next,” Greg admitted, slipping his arm around her waist.
The sheriff smiled when he saw how protective Greg was towards Tabby. He breathed a small sigh of relief that someone would be watching over her.
“Sheriff, doesn’t it seem weird to you how neat this break-in was compared to the other one?” Tabby asked. “It’s almost like this one was done by a different person.”
“I was thinking the same thing,” the sheriff agreed.
“On Monday morning I am calling my alarm company to alarm this whole building,” Greg stated.
The sheriff walked to the back door, key in hand. He checked the door frame.
“No jimmy marks. Someone had a key to get in here,” the sheriff concluded. “The only one I can think of is Fink.”
“I’ll have to take another day off from work and have all the locks changed,” Tabby decided.
“We saw Fink at the Outdoor Café tonight with some dark-haired woman. They took off running when he spotted us watching them,” Greg admitted. “Our waitress told us Fink eats there almost every night. This was the first time she had seen the woman that was with him.”
“We didn’t get a good look at her face,” Tabby added.
“I’m going to pay Fink a call tomorrow,” the sheriff confirmed as he was leaving. “Be sure to lock the doors, even though it won’t make any difference since Fink has a key to the place. Be careful.”
The sheriff left. Tabby took two wine coolers out of the fridge and offered one to Greg. They sat on the couch with the lights off, watching to see if Fink would appear in the window across the street. The kittens hopped up on the couch. Ghost crawled up on Greg’s shoulder and fell asleep as Marmalade made herself comfortable on Tabby’s lap.
“That is the first time Ghost has snuggled with anyone,” Tabby observed. “I think he likes you.”
“I like him, too,” Greg said, patting the kitten. “What I don’t like is you here by yourself tonight. Fink must have figured out you have the bear with you by now. If you are home, so is the bear. He may come in while you are sleeping.”
“When I was little my mom used to alarm our house at night She would take canned goods and made a pyramid with them in front of the door. Then she would balance a pan on the top so if the door was opened the whole thing would fall and make lots of noise to warn us of an intruder.”
“If Fink gets by my alarm system, this will be sure to stop him,” Tabby assured, pulling an old cast iron frying pan out of the kitchen cabinet.
“I guess I don’t have to worry about you,” Greg acknowledged, laughing.
“I can protect myself, most of the time anyway,” Tabby stated. “I am going to have to skip church tomorrow morning. I don’t want to leave the place empty for too long and give someone a chance to come back.”
“Now that I know you can protect yourself tonight, I will be heading home,” Greg said, getting up from the couch.
Tabby stood up and followed him to the door. Greg turned around and leaned against the door frame.
“So, did you have a good time tonight?” he asked quietly.
“Yes, I did,” Tabby answered, looking into his eyes.
“Good,” he said, gently kissing her on the cheek. “I’ll check on you tomorrow.”
As Tabby closed the door, her cheek felt like a million electrical charges were pulsing through it. She could hear Greg waiting on the other side; as soon as he heard the clicks of the two locks, he loped down the stairs and headed home. Grabbing another wine cooler from the fridge, she stood in the front window watching Greg drive up Main Street.
She wondered if love at first sight was really possible; Greg certainly seemed to think so. His parents seemed to have set the example by marrying quickly. Tabby couldn’t help but feel like she could fall in love with him very easily. But, that was crazy, she hadn’t even known him for very long. Once his car was out of sight, she built a pyramid of cans at each door and topped it with an aluminum pan. She didn’t think Fink would be stupid enough to break in twice in one night, but wasn’t going to take any chances.
Ghost and Marmalade followed her around the house. Tabby put the bear and her purse with the blueprints in the bedroom under the bed. The frying pan was placed at an arm’s reach from where she would be sleeping. She shut off the lights in the apartment, closed her bedroom door, and propped up a shower curtain rod against the edge of the door so it would fall and alert her if anyone tried to get in.
The kittens jumped up and settled in on the extra pillow next to Tabby’s head. Luckily, the night passed uneventfully and the sun shining into her eyes woke her up early the next morning. She decided not to waste the day away.
Mac’s opened at eight. She was in line buying fresh strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries for her first attempt at making her grandmother’s jelly when Larry Fink walked briskly into the store.
I need to push him into making a mistake; I just know he has Mr. Wells hidden somewhere.
While he stood watching her from the service desk, Tabby pulled the bear out of her purse pretending it was in the way of her wallet. Fink’s eyes went right to the bear. She crammed it back in her purse after she was sure he saw it. He left the store, not waiting for what he came in for.
Now, let’s see what he does.
Tabby called Greg on her cell phone on the way home to share what had just happened; he was not happy about the stunt she had just pulled. She assured him she would lock the doors while she made her jelly. Since Jenny was coming over to visit and have supper, Tabby would not be alone for most of the day. Greg was more concerned about her being alone at night; he promised to call her later in the evening to check on her.
She arrived home, locked the doors as promised, and began her preparations for jelly making. Gram’s jelly recipes were hidden in Tabby’s bible. Luckily, whoever broke into her old apartment had just thrown the bible aside not bothering with it or the papers tucked inside it. She pulled them out and said a little thank you to her gram for providing her the chance to start her own business. She opened the windows facing Main Street so the wonderful aroma of the jellies would fill the town as they cooked. It would also send the message that Jellies, Jams, and Weddings was underway.
When Jenny arrived around three, Tabby had already finished six batches of jellies. The jars were cooling on the table in the second bedroom.
“Everyone could smell the jelly cooking down at the church,” Jenny informed her. “If you took it out on the street right now I’m sure you would sell every jar.”
“The batch I am making right now is to fill little jars as gifts to the locals for helping me out the way they did,” Tabby replied. “I’ll pass them out during the week as I run into people.”
“What is in the recipes that makes gram’s jellies and jams so good?”
“That’s a secret. If everyone knew the secret ingredients, then her jelly wouldn’t be so special. Someday, I’ll tell you. I’m sure gram would have trusted you with the recipes; after all, you were like her second granddaughter,” Tabby replied, pulling a sterilized hot jar out of its water bath.
“Are you going to the meeting at the library tonight?” asked Jenny. “I missed the last one.”
“Don’t worry. They didn’t forget you,” Tabby said, laughing. “You and I are co-chairman of the Blue Ribbon Committee.”
“I just knew I would get drafted for some committee even though I wasn’t there,” Jenny groaned.
“I was planning on going, but I can’t leave the house tonight,” Tabby stated.
She explained to her friend what she did at Mac’s that morning and caught her up on everything that had happened in the last few days.
“Always in the middle of trouble,” Jenny lectured, shaking her head.
“I was thinking,” Tabby said. “Do you remember that fight I heard between Mr. Pierce and Larry Fink? What if Pierce was saying drive-in and not driving?”
“Do you think he was mixed up in this whole thing somehow?” Jenny asked, pouring more wine.
“It’s possible. I’m going to do a little investigating of my own and find out who Mr. Pierce really was and what his involvement was in this drive-in thing. Greg volunteered to go to the deeds office and get more information on the sale of the drive-in.”
“You’ve dragged Greg into this, huh? Is he a willing participant?”
“I think he likes it as much as I do,” Tabby confirmed.
“You’ve been spending a lot of time together. I told you I thought he liked you,” Jenny reminded her.
“I do enjoy the time I spend with him,” Tabby admitted.
“I guess you won’t be single for too long,” Jenny said, smiling at her friend.
“We’ll see,” Tabby evaded. “How do you want your steak done?”
As the friends ate they chatted about more pleasant things; there was no more discussion of mysteries or kidnappings. They polished off a bottle of wine and opened another one. The local gossip was discussed. Jenny informed Tabby that Damian was staying in Scotland and that they ended their relationship.
As Tabby set the dessert down on the table her cell phone chirped. It was Greg checking on her and making sure she wasn’t alone. He told her that he had called his alarm company and they would be out to install an alarm at her place at eleven o’clock the next morning. She told him she had run into Tully at Mac’s while she was shopping and he promised to be at her house by nine to change the locks. Everything was working out perfectly. She said goodnight and he promised to call her the next afternoon from the flower shop. After dessert was finished, Jenny gave her friend a hug and she left to attend the meeting at the library.
The night passed with no unexpected visits. Tabby was up early the next day to go to the cable office and explain to her boss why she needed the day off. It was short notice, but it was necessary. She walked in and there was a young man sitting in her chair at the first window.
“Hi, Tabs,” a cheerful Patti said from the second window. “What are you doing here?”
“I was working here, I thought,” Tabby answered, looking at her occupied seat at window one.
“Didn’t you get my Dad’s message?”
“No, what message and when?”
“He left a message on your phone earlier this morning. While you were off this past weekend, we started to train Brian to fill your shoes. Oh yeah, this is Brian Pyle. Brian, this is Tabby. Dad figured with Mr. Pierce’s sudden death you would be able to rent the shop earlier than planned. Brian filled out an application a while ago so we called him and he started training on Saturday.”
“You mean I don’t work here anymore?” Tabby asked in a shocked voice.
“Well, technically I guess you do. Dad gave you an early out if you want to take it. He smelled the jelly cooking on his way home from church yesterday and decided to give you a call this morning. You can quit today, with no two-week notice and start setting up your shop. Personally, I think he can’t wait to get his hands on some of your gram’s jelly,” Patti confided with a grin.
“This is awesome!” Tabby declared. “Things couldn’t have worked out better for me. I was coming in today to ask for the day off. My new place was broken into and I had to be home today so Tully could change all the locks. An alarm company is coming to safeguard my shop and apartment right after the locks are changed. I had planned to submit my two weeks’ notice this week.”
“Dad beat you to it, but he wants one of the first jars of jellies in exchange,” Patti said, giving Tabby a hug. “I’ll miss working with you. Get that shop up and running before tourist season is in full swing.”
“I will. Tell your dad he’s first on my list for jelly delivery,” Tabby confirmed. “Nice meeting you, Brian. I have to run.”
Oh, my God. I’m my own boss now. No more cable company…woohoo!
Back home, Tabby waited for Tully to arrive. She poured herself a second cup of coffee and began working online to order wedding supplies for her store. Her computer desk had been set up in the front corner of the living room, next to the window. She could see up and down Main Street while seated there. When Tully’s truck pulled up, Larry Fink was watching out the front door of his realtor’s office. Tabby could tell by the look on Fink’s face that he was none too happy with the locksmith being there. She watched as he picked up his cell phone and called someone.
Tully changed the locks on the apartment’s back door, the shop’s front and back doors, and the connecting door from the shop to the upstairs apartment. He finished just as the alarm company showed up.
“I’ll make you a deal. Give me a couple of jars of gram’s Blueberry Sin Jelly and I’ll send you a bill for services after you’ve opened the shop and have some money coming in,” Tully stated.
“Seriously? It’s a deal,” Tabby agreed, heading to the second bedroom to grab two jars of jelly. “Thanks, Tully. This makes me feel so much safer.”
You would have thought she gave Tully a million d
ollars the way he hugged those two jars of jelly. Tabby was beginning to gain confidence that her business was going to be a success because of gram’s jellies. Tully left and Tabby turned her attention to the alarm company.
The installer walked her through what he thought would be the best way to alarm the whole building. All windows and doors on the first floor would have sensors on them. The backstairs door to the apartment would also be alarmed. As Tabby was looking over the monthly charges the installer wrote up for her to approve, she felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned and was face to face with Larry Fink.
Chapter 10
* * *
“What do you think you are doing?” Fink demanded.
“Excuse me?” Tabby asked innocently.
“You haven’t even signed a rental lease yet and you are changing everything like the building is yours,” an irate Fink insisted.
Now you care about the rental because you won’t be able to get into the building to get the bear.
“It is mine. Mr. Wells said so,” Tabby confirmed.
“And how did he do that? He’s not even here,” the realtor replied in a menacing tone.
“Yes, let’s talk about that, shall we? Mr. Wells disappears mysteriously, and all of a sudden you are giving people fake tax hike bills and in charge of all the rentals again. The whole town knows that you were fired as his agent. How convenient for you that he is nowhere to be found and you are in charge of everything again,” Tabby stated, standing up to him and showing no sign of fear.
“Are you accusing me of something?” he hissed, getting right in Tabby’s face.
“If the shoe fits…” Tabby answered, pushing back.
“You smug little…”
“Back off, Fink,” Greg yelled from the stairs.
Greg finished running up the stairs, two at a time, and pushed his way in between Tabby and the imminent threat. The realtor took several steps backwards.
“What do you think you’re doing?” Greg demanded.
Bodies and Blueberries (Jams, Jellies and Murder Book 1) Page 12