A grin spread across her fact. “Thanks for caring about my eating habits, but I actually had breakfast at home hours ago. The cinnamon bun was dessert.”
“It’s only eight-thirty now.”
“I know, but I got to bed early and woke up at dawn.” She winked at Bobby. “That’s what happens when there’s nothing interesting going on in a woman’s life.”
Tucker sighed heavily at the clever way she’d managed to bring up their relationship again and the fact that he’d nobly left before anything could happen the night before. “You are not going to taunt me into changing my mind.”
“Changing your mind about what?” Gail asked, regarding him with blatant curiosity.
“Never mind,” Tucker said.
“Tucker thinks it is too soon for us to…” Mary Elizabeth leaned across the table toward Gail and said in a stage whisper, “Date.”
He scowled at her. “Well, it is.”
“Says who?” Gail asked.
“I know this town better than you do,” he told her. “It wouldn’t look right, and they’d hold it against her.”
“And you?” Gail inquired. “Would they also hold it against you?”
“I am not thinking of myself,” Tucker insisted. When Mary Elizabeth started to reply, he stopped her. “And you are not going to change my mind. Period.”
“Bet I could,” she teased as she slid from the booth. Laughing, she and Gail left.
“I’ll bet she could, too,” Bobby said.
“Oh, go to hell,” Tucker grumbled.
“What? And miss all this?” Bobby retorted, grinning. “Not a chance. This is the most fun I’ve had in ages.”
“Glad you’re enjoying yourself. Maybe I’ll mention to Daddy that I’m surprised you and Jenna haven’t started adding to your family yet,” Tucker said innocently. “Not that we don’t love Darcy, but I think we’re all anxious for a new little Spencer to join the ranks.”
“I could learn to hate you,” Bobby retorted.
“Me? I was just giving you a little something to keep in mind the next time you decide to start poking and prodding at me,” Tucker said. “Surely you don’t hold it against me?”
“Okay, okay, let’s call it a draw,” Bobby said, looking resigned. “You keep your mouth shut about babies around Daddy, and I’ll keep mine shut about you and Mary Elizabeth. Deal?”
“Deal,” Tucker said. “Isn’t it nice how this all worked out? A pleasure having breakfast with you, Bobby.” He slid out of the booth. “Thanks for treating.”
“Hey, I didn’t say I was buying,” Bobby protested.
“Didn’t you?” Tucker said. He took great satisfaction in Bobby’s muttered oath as he left Earlene’s, barely resisting the desire to give the woman a piece of his mind. Why spoil his mood? Seeing Mary Elizabeth, a free meal and irritating his brother all in one morning—what a great way to start the day!
20
Liz took to working in the bookstore as if it was what she’d been born to do. She loved opening the boxes that arrived from the distributor—it felt just like Christmas morning. She liked running her fingers over the foiled, embossed covers of the paperbacks, scanning the back-cover copy, even sneaking a peek at the first page or two of titles by her favorite authors. Invariably she set aside a huge stack of books she wanted to take home.
“At this rate, it will take you until closing to finish checking those books and get them on the shelves,” Gail said, regarding Liz with amusement.
Liz cast a last longing look at a new thriller, then reluctantly put it aside and checked the five copies off on the packing slip. “How do you ever get anything done?” she asked Gail. “I want to read everything.”
“So do I, which is why I don’t let myself start. If I did, I’d be back in the café all day long with a book in my hands. The paperwork would stack up to the ceiling.”
It was Liz’s second week on the job. She’d worked the prior weekend completely on her own so Gail could celebrate her anniversary. Aside from jamming the cash register once and losing track of what she was doing a dozen times and having to start all over because she was chatting with the customers, she’d done okay. The receipts and the money in the register had balanced at the end of both days, and she’d gone home exhausted but happy.
The customers had been surprisingly tolerant of her mistakes and generous in their welcome. Many were tourists who had no idea who she was, but even the locals, aside from expressing some surprise at finding her behind the counter, had been pleasant. She’d told Gail on the following Monday morning that she thought it was going to work out. Gail, thankfully, had agreed.
To Liz’s amazement, she had actually found herself a steady job, or rather it had fallen into her lap. Working in a bookstore might not be quite the same as serving on the boards of several charitable institutions, but it gave her a sense of purpose. And with the flexible schedule she and Gail had devised, she could still continue on several of those boards. It was the best of all possible worlds. She could actually envision a real future here in Trinity Harbor—with or without Tucker.
Hopefully with, she thought with a sigh, but the man surely was stubborn. If he pulled back from making love to her one more time, she wasn’t sure she’d be able to restrain herself. She understood his reasons—all of them, including those he probably hadn’t even admitted to himself—but it was damned frustrating watching him struggle to be noble when there was no need. She’d mourned the loss of her husband a long time ago. His death hadn’t been the end for them. His affairs had accomplished that.
“Let’s take a break,” Gail said now. “It’s three o’clock, and I could definitely use a cup of coffee and a biscotti as a pick-me-up. How about you?”
“I thought you were just chiding me about not getting these books checked in,” Liz teased.
“You’ll work faster once you’ve had some caffeine and a little sugar,” Gail theorized, leading the way to the small area that had been turned into a café at the back of the store. There were a handful of tables and chairs, along with a few cozy, chintz-covered, overstuffed chairs for people who wanted to relax and browse through a stack of current newspapers and magazines kept for that purpose.
Gail poured them each a cup of coffee, plucked two chocolate almond biscotti from a jar on the counter, then sat in one of the overstuffed chairs and propped her feet on the coffee table. She sighed. “Ah, this is heaven. I had no idea how tiring it could be to stand on my feet all day.”
“You could trade off with me more,” Liz said. “I don’t mind working the register.”
“We need to talk about that. You’re already putting in more hours than I’m paying you for.”
“I’m not complaining,” Liz said. “I didn’t take this job for the money.”
Gail chuckled. “That was pretty much a given, considering the salary you’re getting, but I don’t want to take advantage of you, Liz.”
“Trust me, I love this, every aspect of it.” Suddenly a chill swept over her. “You haven’t had complaints about me being here, have you?”
“No, absolutely not,” Gail reassured her. “If anything, the opposite. Everyone seems to be enjoying having the chance to get to know you again. I’ve had nothing but compliments. I’m just worried about taking up so much of your time.”
“It’s not as if I have a lot of things to do,” Liz said, unable to keep the bleak note from her voice. “Tucker’s still showing considerable restraint about spending time with me. And Daisy finally said she’d meet with me tomorrow to start on a list of prospective committee members and look at some property for the youth center. Frankly, I’m dreading it.”
“Because?”
“Because she’s made it plain that she’s agreed to do this under pressure from you and Anna-Louise. Once we’re alone, I’m not sure she’ll manage to be civil, much less pleasant.” She sighed. “It’s not as if I expect her to forgive me overnight, but it’s hard having someone who was once like a sister treat you as
if you have a communicable disease.”
“I could come along,” Gail offered at once. “I’d be a buffer.”
“Thanks, but sooner or later, Daisy and I have to deal with this. Besides, we’re going during the day. You’ll be here.”
Just then the bell over the front door chimed. “I’ll go,” Liz said. “You keep your feet up.”
She was halfway to the front when she realized with a sense of shock and dismay that the customer was Cynthia. Liz’s steps slowed. Cynthia regarded her with a total lack of surprise. If anything, there was a triumphant gleam in her eyes at having caught Liz off-guard.
“What are you doing here?” Liz asked coldly.
“Looking for a book, what else?” Cynthia said, returning her gaze with an amused look. “Something with lots of lies and deception and sordid sex in it.” She feigned innocence. “But then, you haven’t written about your life with Larry yet, have you?”
Liz froze. Before she could lose it completely and tear the woman’s hair out, Gail slipped between them.
“I think we have just what you want,” she said cheerfully. “Right over here.” She looked directly into Cynthia’s eyes. “In fiction.”
Cynthia allowed herself to be led away, but not before she’d cast a satisfied smirk in Liz’s direction.
Liz sank onto the stool behind the register, her thoughts racing. Why was Cynthia back in Trinity Harbor? Was she here purely to torment Liz? Or was there another, more sinister reason for her reappearance in a town where she had no ties?
Only one way to find out, Liz decided, bracing herself for Cynthia’s arrival at the checkout counter. A face-to-face confrontation with Larry’s ex-lover was long overdue. Maybe if she’d faced Cynthia down years ago herself, rather than leaving it to Larry to handle, she would have maintained a better grip on her own self-esteem. She didn’t intend to start a fight, but she would stand her ground.
In mere minutes Cynthia returned with Gail right behind her, a bestselling hardcover in her hand. Gail handed the book to Liz. “Can you ring this up, so our customer can be on her way?” she asked, giving Cynthia a pointed look.
“Certainly,” Liz said, beaming an insincere smile at Cynthia. “Cash or charge?”
“Cash, of course,” Cynthia said, her smirk still firmly in place. She handed Liz two twenties.
“I’m surprised to see you back in Trinity Harbor,” Liz said, managing to keep her tone mildly interested rather than confrontational.
“I’m here to see a client,” Cynthia volunteered.
“Oh?”
“Ken Willis is planning to run for Larry’s seat in the legislature. He’s asked me to coordinate his campaign. I imagine we’ll be seeing quite a lot of each other, Liz. Won’t that be fun?”
“As much fun as hives,” Liz muttered under her breath, recalling the scene at Larry’s funeral when she’d spotted Ken with several political party bigwigs. The speculation had been right. He’d seen an opening and seized it, even if his timing bordered on bad taste.
Cynthia apparently heard enough of her comment to get the gist of it. She laughed. “It’s wonderful to see that you’ve managed to cling to your sense of humor. Few women would be able to after finding their husband murdered only a couple of months back.”
“And few former lovers would want to work for the man who’s intent on becoming his replacement,” Liz snapped back as she handed Cynthia her purchase and her change. “But then, you always make the expedient choice, don’t you?”
“Well, well, well, Ms. Goody-Two-Shoes has a bite,” Cynthia retorted approvingly. “Maybe Larry didn’t make such a dreadful mistake marrying you after all.”
“Believe me, it was my mistake,” Liz retorted. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have work to do in back.” She locked the register and walked away without so much as a glance at Cynthia. She could feel the dreadful woman’s considering gaze on her just the same. It was several minutes before the bell over the front door rang to signal her departure.
When Liz got to the café, Gail regarded her worriedly. “What on earth was that about? Who is that woman?”
“She was Larry’s campaign manager when he and I got married. She was also his lover, but I didn’t stumble on that fact until I walked into his hotel room one evening,” Liz explained.
“Oh, no,” Gail whispered sympathetically. “I’m so sorry. What on earth is she doing here?”
“She says that Ken Willis has hired her to help him campaign for Larry’s seat.”
“Now there’s a losing cause if ever I saw one,” Gail remarked. “The man doesn’t have two brain cells to click together.”
Liz grinned at the blunt assessment. “But he is a charmer, just Cynthia’s type. She can do great things for him.”
“Do you suppose she’ll go after him, the way she did your husband?” Gail asked.
“Oh, I’d bet on it,” Liz replied. “I wonder if I should clue Arlene in, so she can be prepared to defend her turf.”
“I’ve met Arlene Willis,” Gail said. “Something tells me she can take care of herself.”
Surprised by the hint of disdain she heard in Gail’s voice, Liz regarded her with curiosity. “You don’t like her much, do you?”
Gail hesitated, her expression thoughtful. “She just seems a little high-strung to me, a little unpredictable.”
It had been years since Liz had spent any time with Arlene, but Gail’s assessment didn’t match her recollection. “Arlene was always a little on the quiet side in school. She stayed in the shadows.”
“Those are the ones you always have to watch out for,” Gail said.
Before Liz could ask what she meant, the bell chimed and Tucker strode through the store, his expression grim.
“What’s wrong?” Liz asked at once.
“I just saw the Miles woman over at Earlene’s. Since she had a bag from here, I figured she’d been in. What did she want?” He scanned Liz worriedly. “You okay?”
“Bloodied but unbroken, figuratively speaking,” she assured him. “I handled her.”
“You shouldn’t have to,” he said heatedly. “I can find some way to run her off. I’ll get Walker to turn up the pressure, make things so uncomfortable, she’ll be delighted to get out of town.”
“Now there’s a scene I’d like to see—Walker going toe-to-toe with Cynthia,” Liz said. “But I think you should probably forget about it. She’s here on business. She’s working for Ken Willis.”
“Son of a bitch!” Tucker said. “Now there’s a combination that strikes terror in my heart. Let me guess. He has renewed political aspirations, now that his biggest rival is dead.”
“Got it in one,” Liz confirmed.
“Which raises an interesting question,” Tucker said, his expression thoughtful. “Just when did Willis develop these ambitions, and how anxious is he to see them fulfilled?”
Willis was a lowlife, Liz reflected, the kind of kid who’d cruised through school with barely passing grades, the kind who preferred Cliffs Notes to texts. He was still taking shortcuts. He’d bought up a number of small businesses, but rather than trying to build them into successes, he’d run them into the ground, bleeding them of every cent they made. He’d accumulated more money than sense over the years. But a killer? Liz didn’t think he’d have the stomach for it.
“Surely you don’t think he could have killed Larry,” she said to Tucker.
“He’d certainly have a motive, wouldn’t he?” Gail asked, pouncing on the idea. “And he has quite a gun collection from what I’ve heard.”
“You’re right,” Tucker said. “I’ve got the registration for all of them down at the station. I’d better get over there and fill Walker in. We can check that list and see if he has anything the right caliber, then try to get a search warrant to look for it.”
He grabbed Liz out of her chair and planted a hard kiss on her mouth that snatched her breath away.
“Thank you, darlin’.”
“Me? I think you’re
barking up the wrong tree.”
“Well, until we know one way or another, steer clear of Cynthia and Willis. I’m going to try to get Walker to haul them both in for questioning.”
“And set yourself up for harassment charges,” Liz warned. “Tucker, be careful. Those are not two people you want for enemies, even if they had nothing at all to do with Larry’s death. Ken’s a mean, vindictive little thing, and Cynthia’s claws can be deadly. She knows how to manipulate the media. You don’t want her to go after you in print and on TV. She’ll destroy your career.”
“I can handle the likes of Cynthia Miles,” Tucker said confidently.
He was almost out the door when Gail called out.
“Tucker, wait!” she shouted urgently. “I just remembered something. I knew I had seen that woman before, but I couldn’t think where. It just came to me. She was here the day of the murder.”
“In the store?”
“No, but she was here in town. I’d stake my life on it. I bumped into her, literally, coming out of the bank as I was going in. I apologized, but she never even looked at me. She was counting a big wad of cash.”
Liz met Tucker’s gaze. “Blackmail money from Larry,” she said at once.
“Or the first installment on her pay for helping Ken Willis,” Gail said. “Maybe he had reason to believe he’d be campaigning sooner than anyone else anticipated.”
“What time was this?” Tucker asked.
“Just before closing, I’d say. Maybe one forty-five,” Gail replied.
“And you’re sure it was the day of the murder?”
“Absolutely. I’d just picked up the Weekly. I always grab that on my way to the bank to make my deposit. That’s why I apologized, because I was glancing at the headlines and figured it was my fault that we’d bumped into each other.”
Tucker nodded. “Thanks, Gail. That puts her right where we need her, here in Trinity Harbor and not down in Richmond, where she claimed to be.”
Once again, he leveled a look at Liz. “Don’t go out to Swan Ridge alone tonight, okay? Wait till I can go with you.”
Along Came Trouble Page 26