by Holly Quinn
“Wait. Detective Nash shared something with you?” Ellie flung an index finger in Sammy’s direction. “That’s a surprise,” she teased, her eyes widening and dancing with amusement. “He’s back, huh? No more disappearing act, twice in two days? Interesting …”
“Long story. One I’m not supposed to share, but I’m sure we’ll be chatting about it anyhow, especially if Heidi’s coming tonight. This is a real job for S.H.E.,” Sammy said, invoking the childhood investigative club of three: S for Sammy, H for Heidi, and E for Ellie.
“No, no, no, Sammy. Not S.H.E.” Ellie wagged a warning finger. “We’re not involving ourselves in another investigation. Nope.” She vigorously shook her head in disagreement.
Sammy smiled to lessen her sister’s apprehension and hopefully warm her enough to dig for more intel. “Relax, I’m just teasing. No worries.” She waved a casual hand to diffuse the anxiety. “How do you know Marty’s missing, though? What’ve you heard?”
“Well, Randy is supposed to be co-listing the sale of Wanda’s house. I can’t believe his luck. His first genuine real-estate deal, and everything’s now on hold. I’m so ticked off.”
“He’s co-listing? I didn’t see his name on the sign.”
“What were you doing in front of Wanda’s house that you saw the sign?” Ellie plucked a loose hair off her sweater and then studied her. “That’s not on your regular driving route. You’re deeper in this than I thought. ’Fess up … you’ve been investigating already, haven’t you? You little stinker!” Her frown transformed into a sly smile.
Sammy shrugged off the question and waved her sister off again, as if it were commonplace for her to drive a few blocks in the other direction from town on roads she rarely traveled.
Ellie shook her head and rolled her eyes disapprovingly, but then continued, “Randy doesn’t have signs printed yet. They’re still on order, but Regina was letting him co-list for his first trial run. Yes, Regina’s name is technically on the sign, but my husband has been doing all the footwork, to be honest. The police department phoned him today, though, and halted all showings until further notice.”
“Oh boy,” Sammy said. “That’s not good.”
“Yeah. Not good at all. It’s hard enough getting people to list their houses in the dead of winter without stuff like this happening. We really need the money. We’re taking a huge risk here with this new ‘hobby’ of his.” Ellie threw up her fingers in air quotes.
“I don’t know if you should use the term dead of winter right now,” Sammy suggested with a smile and a wink.
Ellie cringed. “Yeah. Oops … I didn’t even think of that. I better think a little longer before I open my big mouth in public. What is it with us Kane girls?” she asked sheepishly. “I need to avoid that type of flippant talk right now!” She chuckled and nudged her sister playfully.
Heidi’s car pulled into the driveway and her high beams blinded them both, prompting Sammy to shield them from the light with Tyler’s present and Ellie to hide beneath her forearm. As soon as the lights dimmed, Sammy tucked the present under her right arm and Ellie dropped her arms to her side.
“Hey, chicas! What are you two doing out here in the cold? You’re nuts to be standing out here.” Heidi opened the rear door and pulled out a large present about the size of Sammy’s. She hoped they hadn’t purchased the same thing.
“Legos?” Sammy asked.
“Yeah, why?”
Sammy lifted the present tucked under her right arm for Heidi to view.
“That’s okay. Boys can’t get enough Legos—right, Ellie?”
Ellie nodded. “Although I bet neither one of you guys has ever stepped on one of those darn little plastic things. They’re lethal,” she added with a laugh and then a cringe.
“Speaking of lethal,” Heidi interjected, “you guys heard they’re running an autopsy on Wanda, right?”
“That doesn’t surprise me,” Sammy said.
“Yeah, Tim mentioned that you heard the frantic call.”
Ellie’s eyes bounced between the two, confused, and then she slapped her sister playfully with the back of her hand. “You’re holdin’ out on me?” she asked with an accusing tone. “I knew you were a stinker!”
“I was just about to tell you.” Sammy’s shoulders lifted in defense, and she almost dropped the package from beneath her arm.
The interior door swung open, and Randy popped his perfectly groomed platinum head outside. “Hurry up, you guys; Tyler and Bara are doing laps around the dining room! A little help here with the hyper party child?” Randy eyed Ellie, who quickly moved toward her husband.
“Duty calls, but I’m not done talking with you girls. Don’t let me miss anything this time either, Sammy,” Ellie said over her shoulder as she stepped inside the house.
Sammy caught Heidi by the arm to stop her from following Ellie into the house. “Wait. Did they find Marty? Nash was going to trace the cell phone and see if they could locate him.”
“No, but the police department put out a BOLO.”
“Bolo?”
“‘Be on the lookout.’”
“Oh yeah, right. What do you think happened?”
“Dunno. But it’s pretty crazy.”
“I know, right? Nothing makes sense. I mean, there’s no way Wanda had a heart attack. That woman was in the best shape and stuck very close to her vegan diet. Something fishy is going on here. Did you ever attend her yoga class?”
“Very seldom. She mostly led the later classes, which never really fit in my schedule due to my swing shifts at the hospital. But I heard a lot of the girls that used to take classes with her are talking about attending Joy’s class now if there’s room, so I’m guessing there isn’t going to be much mat space.”
“When is the next class?”
“You want to go to yoga? No offense, but this is a first!” Heidi smiled wide.
“No. I’d rather not contort my body in ways that seem utterly intolerable. However, I’ll consider it if we can hear the chitchat about what was going on behind closed doors at the Wadsworth house. Which, by the way, is now for sale.”
“That actually might be a good idea,” Heidi said thoughtfully, rubbing her perfectly shaped chin. “Yeah, I heard it was for sale; did I forget to mention that this morning? Sorry, I was a bit distracted getting ready for work while we were talking.”
“Any other intel from the police department that you want to share?”
“Not really. So far I’ve given you all the info Tim shared with me. One of these days he’s really going to get in trouble for oversharing police information with me. But you know, I have my ways to get him to leak.” Heidi batted her mascara-dipped lashes and puckered her lips.
“You’re so naughty. But I love you!” Sammy pulled her cousin in for a half hug.
“We’d better get inside before we catch a cold.” Heidi shivered.
“Yeah, maybe Randy can give a hint of insight as to what was going on behind closed doors at the Wadsworth house. He is one of the listing agents on the property, after all. He must know something.”
Chapter Seven
Normally, the scent of dinner wafting from inside Ellie’s house was one to tantalize the senses. Unfortunately, tonight was not one of those nights.
“Ellie, what are you cooking?” Sammy shadowed Heidi into the kitchen, where her sister stood in front of the large white farm sink. Ellie’s hands gripped each side of a colander, and a plume of steam rose in the air.
Ellie laughed at her sister’s remark, knowing full well Sammy wasn’t a huge veggie lover. “Cauliflower. I’m making cauliflower mac and cheese. It’s Tyler’s absolute favorite, and this is what he requested for his birthday dinner.”
“You’ve got to be kidding? Cauliflower?” Sammy wrinkled her nose. “No offense, but are you sure Ty-baby didn’t request pizza or something else? You must be joking! Seriously? For a birthday dinner? What have you done to my poor nephew?” Sammy folded her arms across her chest. “You’ve
got him on a diet now too?”
“Just wait until you try it before you judge. Trust me, you’re going to love it. Have I ever cooked something you didn’t like?” Ellie asked over her shoulder as she dumped the steaming cauliflower florets into a large bowl lined with a towel to remove the excess water.
Sammy thought about it a moment. Her sister had a point there. But the pungent smell of cauliflower wasn’t a very appetizing aroma and was most definitely conflicting with her belief system.
“I think it’ll be fabulous!” Heidi said “And so low-cal! Way to go, Ellie, getting Tyler to love his veggies!”
“Shhhhh, keep it on the down-low,” Ellie said, raising a finger to her lips. “Please don’t tell him it’s a vegetable; he still thinks it’s really mac and cheese!” she laughed.
“Anything we can do to help? I’ll do anything to hurry this along and get the smell outta this kitchen,” Sammy said, waving a hand in front of her nose before pinching it shut.
Ellie encouraged her exit by directing a finger to the arched kitchen entryway. “You go help Randy with Tyler, then.”
“Do you need me to set the dining room table?” Sammy asked.
“Already done,” Ellie said, swishing her sister away with her hands. “Heidi, if you wouldn’t mind sticking with me and grating the cheese over there?” She pointed to a large block of cheddar on the kitchen counter. “Meanwhile, I’ll start the roux.”
“No problem,” Heidi said, reaching for the block of cheese and immediately starting to shred.
Sammy backed out of the kitchen, thankful for an escape from the pungent scent. When she arrived in the small living area, she noted Bara comfortably sprawled in front of the crackling fireplace and was instantly relieved that the horrid vegetable smell was replaced by the scent of smoky wood. Tyler stood with his hands behind his back, bouncing up and down on his toes, eyeing the side table that held his wrapped gifts. He dared not shake them, though, as his mother had previously warned that he wouldn’t be able to open any of them if he didn’t wait patiently. Sammy wondered how long Tyler would be able to hold out. A real test for sure. Randy was seated in a dark leather wingback chair reading the newspaper beneath a reading lamp. The room was cozy and welcoming on such a bitter January evening.
“Shall I pop another log on the fire?” Sammy suggested after moving closer and noticing the fire growing dim.
Randy’s eyes lifted from the newspaper to regard the glowing embers. He folded the paper and set it aside on a nearby coffee table and then rose from the high-backed chair. “I can do it; no worries, have a seat and relax. I’m sure you’ve been busy on your feet all day.” He gestured to the dark tweed sofa set along the wall. The sofa had a patchwork quilt draped over the arm and two matching quilted pillows, all purchased from Community Craft.
Sammy watched as Randy carefully sidestepped Bara, pulled back the fireplace screen, and stoked the fire with a metal poker before adding another log.
“Congratulations. Ellie tells me you’re working on your first real-estate deal. That must be pretty exciting.”
“Yeah. I’m sure she told you the current status, though. I mean, about the police now putting a hold on showings.” Randy turned to face her, a blond eyebrow cocked in question.
“Well, hopefully the police will find Marty soon and all will be back to normal for you. I’m sure he won’t want to keep that big old house alone, especially now …” Sammy chewed her lower lip to keep herself from saying what they both knew. Besides, Tyler had turned his attention to them, and she didn’t think her nephew should hear such a conversation.
“Yeah. I hope so. Sure seems weird with what happened to Wanda, and then Marty disappearing?” Randy gazed in his son’s direction and seemed to stop himself from saying too much also. “I just hope the police can get to the bottom of it soon.”
Sammy agreed with a nod of her head. “No kidding. It’s horrible,” she said as she sank into the sofa and curled her feet beneath her.
“Open-present time?” Tyler moved over to Randy and tugged on his pant leg, looking up at his father with pleading crystal-blue eyes.
Tyler instantly knew by the shake of his father’s head and a look of warning that he would have to continue to wait. So he slowly moved back to stand in front of the stack of gifts with longing eyes.
Randy returned his attention to Sammy. “The Wadsworths have only lived in the home for the last eight years. Initially they were going to restore it, but Wanda decided it was too much work with them both working full-time and Marty traveling during the summer months.”
“What does Marty do for work? Do you know?”
“He sells seeds to farmers across Wisconsin. Mostly his territory runs from Heartsford along the southeast corner of the state, from what I understand.”
“Oh.”
“Anyhow,” Randy continued, “their Queen Anne Victorian should be listed as one of Heartsford’s historical properties. The house was built back in 1910 and still has many of the original features. I’m in the process of trying to make sure the new owner will choose to have it officially registered as a historical landmark, but it will take a very special buyer for sure. I may be able to encourage someone to go that route, as there can be some tax incentives or lower-interest loans if the buyer moves forward with that idea. I’m very lucky to be able to work on this type of project. Hopefully I can find a buyer who will respect the historical aspects of the property as much as I do. I’d hate to see someone come in there and destroy it by painting the woodwork.” He shuddered at the thought.
Sammy knew her brother-in-law had been involved in the Heartsford Historical Society for the last few years, so she understood why this property would hold special meaning for him. She observed Tyler, who had moved away from the table of gifts and now knelt next to Bara to stroke his soft fur. If she could show Ellie the calming effect a dog had on Tyler, maybe her sister would reconsider having a pet? “You’re being very gentle and kind, Ty-baby,” she said to her nephew, who looked up and smiled. “Puppy loves when you pet him nice like that.”
Tyler smiled shyly and continued to stroke his little hand tenderly along Bara’s back.
Sammy returned her attention to Randy. “You know what …”
“Nope.” Randy quickly held up a hand in defense. “We’re not getting a dog. Ellie is pretty firm on that.”
Sammy smiled and held back a chuckle. “That’s not what I was going to say. Actually, I wanted to mention that I think I may know a potential buyer for your listing.”
Randy cocked his head in surprise.
“You know Kendra, who leads the Beautification of Heartsford Committee? She was looking for a larger home a while back, and I think her lease is almost up. Now that I think of it, just recently she mentioned that she wants to get into the dry-floral business, and she needs the extra space to spread out to do that. Do you by chance have a listing sheet handy that I could give her? She pops in my shop at least once a week, and I’d be happy to pass it along. Maybe when this all settles down, you could take her for a showing. Do you know Kendra?”
“In passing. Our paths have definitely crossed a few times at different town events. Sure, I can print you off a sheet right now.”
“Hey, when you pull up the listing on your laptop, would you mind if I peek at the online photos too? I’d love to see what the Victorian looks like inside since Wanda rewallpapered a few rooms. Unfortunately, I couldn’t make it to her holiday party this year, as I was swamped stocking Community Craft for the last-minute holiday shoppers. You know how hard it is for me to attend all those parties during my busy season. Now I wish I’d made the time to go,” Sammy said with melancholy. “Had I only known how important her last social gathering would be …”
“Yeah, sure, I’d be happy to, especially since you have so many connections with people at Community Craft. Maybe you can keep an ear open for those in the market to buy,” Randy said with enthusiasm. “Let me just pull up the listing. I can print a listi
ng sheet off too while I’m at it. It’ll print in the office and then I can go grab it for you.” He smiled wide, showing the deep dimple in his chin.
Evidently Sammy had struck the right chord with her brother-in-law. She watched him animatedly reach for the nearby laptop bag and pull out the computer. Randy’s fingers flew over the keys after Sammy made room for him to join her on the sofa. As soon as he pulled up the listing photos, he placed the computer on her lap.
Heidi stepped into the room, held up a finger, and said, “Fifteen minutes until dinner.”
This caused Tyler to jump to his feet—startling Bara—and make a mad dash toward the kitchen, where they all heard from the adjacent room a whine to his mother: “Mom-eee, I wanna open my presents nowwwww!”
“Whatcha doin’?” Heidi asked as she moved toward Sammy and Randy.
“Checking out the listing photos for Wanda’s house.”
“Oooh, can I see?” Heidi plopped between her and Randy, who was just rising from the sofa and jutted a thumb toward the nearby office.
“I’ll go grab that listing sheet for you,” Randy said, before leaving Heidi and Sammy alone in the living room.
Sammy readjusted herself on the sofa and planted her feet back on the carpeted floor. The two cousins huddled together as they perused the photos of Wanda’s house, and Bara came over to sniff out the situation and stand nearby, looking for attention. As Sammy stroked her hand down Bara’s back, his legs folded and he lay down atop her feet, keeping them warm.
“I knew you were in here digging for intel. Sneaky Samantha. I knew the second you started complaining about the cauliflower, it was just a ruse to corner Randy with questions without Ellie present to stop you. You little instigator, you’re in S.H.E. mode, aren’t you?” Heidi said accusingly with a hint of teasing.
“Whaaat? Me? Come on now?” Sammy put a hand to her heart, and her eyes left the computer screen to regard her cousin innocently. “I was actually taking a peek for Kendra, but now that you mention it.” She grinned. “Do you see anything in these photos that might help with the investigation?” She returned her eyes to the screen, hoping not to miss any minor detail.