Angel in Disguise

by Mitzi Pool Bridges

  “I love the mini-chocolate chip eyes, the red icing mouth. I especially love the chocolate icing for the hair.”

  “What about the ears?” Mia asked, grinning widely. “Only I didn’t do those. Gabe did.”

  Tiny one-inch round sugar cookies were placed on each side of the monkey face for ears.

  “Perfect. And delicious.” She finished her cupcake. “You’re right; the customers are going to love these.”

  “Would you mind putting them on the counter? Mia and I have one more tray to decorate and some cleaning up to do.”

  Before she picked up the tray, Julie went to her daughter and gave her a big hug. “I’m so proud of you.”

  Thirty minutes later, the shop was sparkling clean again and the closed sign was on the door.

  Gabe gave Mia a high five. “Good job, princess.” He walked over to Julie. “Same routine tonight?”

  “I don’t like it that you don’t sleep.”

  “I get enough.”

  Gabe remembered all the nights in the pen when he didn’t dare shut his eyes, much less sleep.

  There was too much evil around him then to relax.

  Those times were gone. He wanted to make sure they stayed gone.

  Chapter Eighteen

  I’m falling in love with a man I know little about. Julie thought to herself when the door shut.

  She wanted to be with him right this minute—wanted to lean against his back—wrap her arms around his waist—inhale the clean, spicy scent that mixed so pleasantly with sugar and chocolate that it made her mouth water.

  She wanted more, but didn’t think there would be more. Not with Gabe, the traveling man. Her heart heavy, she grabbed the day’s receipts and, taking Mia’s hand, went to her car.

  If only things were different.

  When James died, she’d thought the part of her life she shared with a man was over. But she could see herself living with Gabe forever. But this was only an interlude.

  She was in love with the wrong man.

  Gabe was a good person. He loved her daughter. He was patient and kind. Plus he not only baked like an angel, he had good ideas. Orders for the sourdough bread he’d introduced were getting larger every week. The other day Gabe had asked if she could make the lobster/clam chowder as well as her mother. When she’d laughed and told him how she’d learned when she was a teen, he’d suggested that with the winter months coming up, the customers might like the chowder served in small sourdough bread bowls.

  It was a good idea. One she was still mulling over. It would mean buying a couple of large pots, a small steamer to keep the chowder warm, and probably add a helper for Gabe. With all the pastries he baked, it would be a heavy load.

  But he wanted to try it.

  Dare she? Would he be here long enough to warrant the expense? Her heart tumbled. Probably not. And that was the reason he was wrong for her.

  Her practical business side warred with her emotional side. She wanted to try out his suggestion because so far, he hadn’t been wrong, and because she cared for him so much. However, she couldn’t afford to make a mistake. The shop was on a good footing right now, but one big misstep could lead to disaster.

  What if he left in the middle of the night like he did a couple of days ago? Would he come back? She doubted it. If he left again, he would be gone forever.

  Fighting tears, she made her deposit and pointed the car toward home.

  ****

  Gabe followed the same routine as he had the night before with the same results. By one o’clock he was back at the shop, his Harley left at his apartment once more. His alarm woke him at three and he went right to work.

  Almost every customer commented on Mia’s Monkey Cupcakes. Some asked to buy a few for their children who were in school. Julie was reluctant, as they weren’t all exactly perfect. A few of them had a crooked mouth and some cocked eyes. She finally gave up and told them to put a quarter in Mia’s cup.

  Most put in more. Gabe even saw a couple of dollar bills. Mia would be thrilled.

  Paul made his daily trip, but not Chad. Was he paying Gabe back for knocking his glasses off or was something else keeping him away? Gabe would bet on the former.

  Late in the afternoon, the sheriff walked in with a tall, well-built guy in jeans, T-shirt, and jacket. She was dressed casually as well.

  Was the guy her husband? Gabe knew next to nothing about the sheriff other than she was married and had a fifteen-year-old daughter.

  The guy waved at Julie before stepping into the kitchen. “Sorry to bother you. Jake Mackenzie.” He introduced himself. “I wanted to thank you for that cake Lynn picked up a few days ago. It was undoubtedly the best chocolate cake I’ve ever eaten.”

  Gabe chuckled, stopped his work to wipe his hands on his apron and shake hands. “Glad to meet you.”

  “Same here.” Mackenzie looked pensive for a moment. “I don’t know if you realize I’m an FBI agent working out of the Bangor office, but the boss has a birthday next week and he’s a chocolate lover, too. Could you bake a sheet cake?” Jake sized the pan with his hand. “About that big by next Tuesday afternoon. His birthday is the next day. I know he’d appreciate it.”

  FBI? Could it get any worse?

  Calm down. The guy knows nothing about you. But no amount of talking to himself could quell Gabe’s nerves.

  They chatted for a minute before Jake went to join the women.

  Gabe’s sigh of relief was audible.

  Shit! FBI for Christ’s sake. What next?

  There was nothing to do but stick to the routine, which he did. Only it was the same as the last two nights. He was back at the shop a little after one. He placed his gun alongside the shop’s phone next to his makeshift bed. As he covered himself with the thin blanket, he wished for his bed. An hour later, a noise woke him. He sat up, glad he’d gone to sleep fully clothed. He picked up his gun and the phone.

  The noise was louder now. Someone was jimmying the door. He stood behind the kitchen door. Whoever it was wouldn’t see him when they walked in.

  He punched the sheriff’s cell number that Julie had written next to the phone and Gabe had committed to memory.

  When she groggily answered, he told her what was going down and to come in the back door.

  When she started barking orders he shut the phone off.

  The back door opened.

  The figure was only a shadow. Gabe pointed his gun and waited.

  When the person was well into the room and raised what looked like a bat, Gabe flipped on the light. “I have a gun. I suggest you don’t move.”

  The man wore a ski mask. The bat was still over his shoulder ready to swing. “Drop it.”

  “Don’t shoot.”

  The voice was strangled. Scared. Gabe knew it was Chad. The kid was in more trouble than he’d bargained for.

  The bat fell to the floor with a clatter.

  “Keep your hands up.”

  “Let me go. I won’t do it again.”

  Gabe chuckled. That’s what they all said.

  “Was taking from others the only way to get drug money?”

  The kid’s head drooped. “I didn’t take much.”

  “Why did you try to frame me?”

  “You’re new in town. Figured you’d leave and the sheriff would forget it.”

  “Does that mean you’d stop stealing then?”

  His head drooped lower.

  They waited. Gabe wanted to verbally beat some sense into the kid but knew it would do no good.

  The kid stood on one foot then another. “What are you waiting for? Aren’t you going to call the cops?”

  “Anxious to go to jail, are you?”

  “I can’t go to jail. My parents will kill me. They think I’m going to graduate from college next semester. They don’t know I was kicked out. This’ll kill them. Please. I’ve learned my lesson.”

  “Maybe so. Maybe not.”

  “Look. My parents don’t have a lot of money. It was all
they could do to pay my way to college. Said they didn’t want me to start my life with a big loan over my head. If I go to jail they’ve wasted their hard-earned money. Give me a break here, would you?”

  Typical victim mentality. Gabe kept the gun leveled at the kid but knew he’d never pull the trigger. He hadn’t even taken the safety off. But Chad needed to have the shit scared out of him. If it took a gun and the sheriff to do it, then he’d do his best to put the fear of God in him.

  “Know what happens to kids like you in jail?”

  “I can’t go to jail,” Chad wailed.

  “That’s where you’re headed and let me tell you just how well liked you’re going to be. I’ll bet under that ski-mask, you’re a good looking kid. There are guys in the pen who love boys like you. They call you virgins. Wanna know why?”

  ‘No.”

  “I’m going to tell you anyway. One of the meanest, ugliest, smelliest, and biggest guy there will pick you to be his sweetheart. Every night when it gets dark…”

  “Stop! I don’t want to hear anymore.”

  The back door opened. “Sheriff!” Her voice was hard. A cop’s voice.

  “In here,” Gabe answered. “I have a gun so don’t come in shooting.”

  “Put the gun away.”

  “I have no intention of using it, sheriff. You’re safe.”

  Sheriff Lynn Lawton Mackenzie walked in with her gun drawn, took one look and, putting her gun in its holster, pulled out her cuffs to handcuff the intruder.

  Gabe put his gun away.

  She then pulled off the ski mask. “Chad Stiner. What do you think you’re doing?”

  “A word, sheriff?”

  She pushed Chad into a chair. “If you move, I’ll pull my gun. If you run, I’ll use it.”

  Chad sat and dropped his head. The kid was defeated. But had he learned anything? Was he apt to go out and rob again and again until he went to jail for good?

  “What are you doing with a gun, Gabe?”

  “It’s legal. I want to talk about Chad.”

  “What about him?”

  “Look. The kid got hooked on drugs and messed up in college. He had to have money so he stole enough stuff to keep his high. He didn’t hurt anyone but himself.”

  “He hurt those he took from. He hurt you. So what are you getting at?”

  “Give him a break. Tell him if he fingers his dealer, you’ll not file charges. But he has to confess to his parents, go into rehab, and when he gets out get a job to pay back those he stole from. Then he has to go back and finish college.”

  “Is that all?” The question was about as sarcastic as Gabe had ever heard.

  “No. Once you get the dealer, you make another deal, and so on until you get to the head of the snake. The end result will be much better than allowing one kid to ruin his life. If you don’t know already, he might go to jail a kid in a little bit of trouble, but when he comes out, he could be a hardened criminal. Why have that on your conscience?”

  “You do realize this is my town, my suspect in cuffs in the next room. What’s this to you?”

  “I didn’t mean to interfere. But it’s the sensible thing to do.”

  She studied the young man in tears now from fear. Snot ran from his nose down his chin. Every so often he’d lift a shoulder and try to wipe it off.

  “Julie would be in her rights to file charges.”

  “You know as well as I do she won’t.”

  “You’re right.”

  She gave Gabe a close look. “Who are you anyway?”

  He chuckled softly. “Just a pastry chef, sheriff.”

  The sheriff’s blue-gray eyes flashed with something he’d swear was admiration. “Well, Mr. Pastry Chef, you just outlined my usual procedure on a first-time drug offense. So, though we’ll be doing this your way, it’s really SOP. We’d both better be right about this kid.”

  “One way to make sure is to have him check into your office every so often.”

  “I have a better idea.”

  She put on her tough sheriff face and went over to Chad. “Let’s go.”

  “Am I going to jail?”

  “Not if you cooperate and tell me who your dealer is and where to find him.”

  “Will I stay out of jail if I do?”

  “After you tell me what I want to know you’re going home and I’m standing there until you tell your parents the whole story.”

  Gabe saw the look of fear and desperation on Chad’s face.

  “Every single thing, Chad, starting with when and how you got hooked on drugs.”

  He started to cry. “They’re going to kill me.”

  “They love you. They won’t kill you.”

  “I don’t know if they can afford rehab.”

  His look was one of desolation.

  “I’m sure your dad has insurance, if not, you can bet they’ll work something out. Are we in agreement?”

  He nodded.

  “Not good enough, Chad. I want to hear it.”

  “I’ll do everything you say.”

  “One more condition. You come in every day and report to the jail. You’ll clean up the cells and the bathroom. That includes the shit, the piss, and every drop of vomit you find. Then you’ll tell me how much you’ve saved from a regular job to pay back those you stole from.”

  “How can I do all that? I won’t have a minute to myself.”

  “That’s the idea. Take it or leave it. I have a cell I can put you in right now.”

  “Okay,” he said weakly.

  “I didn’t hear you.”

  “I’ll do it, sheriff. Thank you for not putting me in jail.” He paused. “Could I pay them back anonymously? I don’t want everyone in town to look down on me like I’m a crook.”

  “What did you think when you took items that weren’t yours? Weren’t you exactly that? A crook?”

  He ducked his head.

  “I’ll consider it. It will be according to how well you handle yourself. And by the way, you can thank the pastry chef for the get-out-of-jail card.” She herded him toward the back door.

  Chad detoured by the kitchen. “The sheriff says this was your idea.”

  Gabe nodded. It seemed the kid had grown up right before his eyes. He was going to take responsibility for his actions.

  “Thanks, man. I’m really sorry about the door.”

  “I’ll fix it. Just do your part and we’re cool.”

  “Deal.”

  Then they were gone.

  Gabe went to the back door to see if he could get it to lock. It took a while, but he rigged it for the night, and went back to his cold bed. He had about thirty minutes before he had to start baking.

  When he put his head on the pillow he was smiling.

  Chapter Nineteen

  When Julie saw the chewed up lock on the back door the next morning, her heart leaped into her throat. Had they been robbed? Had the thief graduated from hitting homes to stealing from businesses?

  Was Gabe okay?

  She opened the door to the sweet aroma of chocolate and apple. Her heart settled down somewhat. If Gabe was baking, there couldn’t be too much wrong.

  She skipped her morning routine and hurried to the kitchen. When she saw Gabe standing there, his head bent over a bowl of icing, she wanted to run over and kiss him. She couldn’t. An affair with Gabe would be disastrous. “What happened to the door?”

  He looked up and smiled.

  That imaginary affair looked damned good right now.

  “Had a visitor.”

  She put her hands on her hips. Getting anything out of Gabe was next to impossible. “Tell me what happened, Gabe.”

  He put the bowl down, came over to her and, holding both her hands in his, told her what had happened last night. When he finished, she felt weak enough to pull up a stool and sit down. “Chad? And you were here? How long have you been spending the night? And why didn’t you tell me?”

  He went back to putting the frosting on the cupcakes. “Wh
y worry you when I didn’t know for sure anything would happen?”

  Now she was angry. “Don’t you think you should tell me what could possibly happen in my own shop?”

  “Look,” Gabe explained. “I saw the anger in Chad’s dilated eyes and thought he might try to get even. I didn’t know anything. What if he had eye problems? I didn’t know. It was just a guess.”

  “A guess that came to fruition.” He could have told her he was spending the night on the cold floor. She could have done something to help him. If nothing else, she could have provided a few more blankets.

  “Sorry to say it did.”

  “What happened to Chad? Is he in jail? He’s young, not even out of college, how could he get in so much trouble in school?”

  “Drugs,” Gabe said. He told her what the sheriff offered as a way out.

  “That was good of Lynn.” Julie turned to start the coffee. “But Lynn’s always had a soft heart.”

  As she turned on the coffee machines, she thought of what had happened here just a few hours ago. What if Gabe hadn’t been here? Would Chad have destroyed the place?

  Chad’s parents had to be devastated. They were so proud of their son. Neither of them had gone to college, but they insisted on giving Chad a better chance in life. Not that either of them were hurting. His mother worked at the Coast Guard station as a secretary, his dad drove a UPS truck, and made the trek from Lobster Cove to Bangor every day for his job. This would hit them hard.

  Julie got busy early and stayed that way all day. With all the special orders, Gabe was barely finished before Mia came in.

  Julie grabbed her before she ran to the kitchen. “Did you have a good day?”

  “I did. Two of my classmates had my monkey cupcake in their lunch.”

  “Did they know you made them?”

  “Of course. They liked them, too.”

  “Good. I think you should leave Gabe alone today.”

  “Not bake cookies?”

  Julie pulled her daughter to her in a hug. “Gabe’s had a rough day.” As well as several nights without enough sleep. “Let’s let him rest today.”

  “I’ll ask him.” And she was off.

  Julie sighed. At least she’d tried.

  The next thing she knew, Mia had a big smile on her face, her apron around her waist and was turning on the mixer.