by Deany Ray
I couldn’t have agreed more with the part about not just standing around waiting for the next call or even worse…poisoning someone.
“Thank you for doing this. I promise, I’ll watch out,” I said to him.
“Okay. I’ll be back to Ouna Bay as soon as I can,” he said then hung up.
I couldn’t believe it. He was actually driving back to Chicago to see his uncle and confront him about all that was happening. I think my heart skipped a beat.
Since he was not here anymore and couldn’t do anything about it, I didn’t think it was necessary for him to know about the poisoned cake episode. The same still held true about the plan to get some phone recording information from Marie. I didn’t think Houston would agree with that plan, but I as well couldn’t just sit around anymore and be at the mercy of whoever was behind this. I had to take action to stop the madness and to return to my old care-free life.
At about three pm, the Yearly Official Brunch was over and the guests were on their way out. The lieutenant thanked me for the delicious cake and hoped they could book my café next year also. I was relieved that everything went okay, that nobody (except for poor Rosalie) was hurt and that they enjoyed my baking. I'm also proud to say that I succeeded to avoid any eye contact with her, but not with Roger. He caught my eye and came straight to me.
“Oh, by the way. Unfortunately, we couldn't find the person who smashed your window,” he said.
“I see. Do you have any leads?” I thought asking wouldn't hurt. Who knows, he may have had some.
“Unfortunately, no. As soon as we find something, or someone, we'll let you know.”
“Yes, of course. Do that.”
Then he paused for a second and looked at me.
“You would tell me if anything's wrong, right?” he asked.
“Right. I mean, why would anything be wrong?”
We locked eyes for a couple of beats, then he nodded and left.
I really disliked the fact that Roger knew when I was lying. He was a good cop in this regard. And the fact that we had known each other since high school made me feel vulnerable, because he knew me all too well.
As I was cleaning the tables and dwelling on my thoughts, the phone rang again.
“Hon, it's me.”
“Rosalie! How are you? What did the doctors say?” I asked almost holding my breath.
“Well, I'm home in bed now. They said I don't need to stay in the hospital and I was sent home with a caretaker. You were right about the cake. It appears I was poisoned.”
Chapter Eleven
“Oh my God!” I exclaimed. Knowing for sure was a lot more shocking than just assuming.
“It's no biggie. I mean, it is a biggie that someone is capable of doing this, but I'm not gonna die or anything like that. Apparently there was only a small amount of paint thinner in the cake. Just enough to make you feel like you wanna throw up, like you said.” Rosalie then explained to me some medical stuff that the doctors said to her, but I can't say I understood much of that. I was only glad she was okay. Sort of.
“Rosalie, I am so sorry about this,” I said with a shaky voice.
“You don't have to apologize, hon. It wasn't your fault. But there's something you should know,” she said.
I sucked in a breath of air.
“What? Did the doctors find anything else?” I asked.
“No, no, nothing like that,” she answered. “The doctors were somewhat suspicious about the results. I went on with my I-ate-a-bad-apple-story and I hoped they bought it. They said I couldn't have had hydrocarbon poisoning from eating a bad apple, which we both already know. I didn't want to put any blame on you so I haven't mentioned your cake.”
“Oh gosh, Rosalie, I don't know what to say,” I said and tears started flowing down my cheeks.
“Now don't get all emotional. You know I wouldn't do that. You're like my sister. And you've done nothing wrong. Somebody tried to frame you and they should pay.”
She was right. This wasn't fair. I didn't know who was behind this and what the motive was, but it needed to stop. Nobody hurts my friend and gets away with it. Suddenly more tears flowed on my cheeks, but they were tears of anger.
“Rosalie, you're still up to going to Marie on Monday?” I asked.
“You're damn sure I am. That bastard is going down!”
Wow, when Rosalie uses the 'bastard' word, then she's really serious.
“Okay, then it's settled. Monday morning we're paying a visit to Marie at the phone company,” I said.
***
I woke up on Sunday feeling tired and restless, but that was nothing new. I'd been waking up like that the past few days. One thing was a relief, though. Sundays the Blue Bay Café was closed and I had some free time. I realized this was the first time ever I was so happy that the café would remain closed. I love my job and I love making people happy with my pastries, but having to worry about a harasser kind of puts a damper on that.
I mentally reviewed the day before and got chills at the thought of the paint thinner incident. After the guests were gone and the tables were clean, Maia had finally asked me why I freaked out that way about serving the wrong cake to them. Since I knew she would find the cake in the trash, I told her I was just experimenting with some new recipe and the cake didn't turn out as good as I thought and was therefore not to be served. I didn't know if she believed me, but I couldn't drag another person in this whole mess.
Beside keeping one piece of the poisoned spice cake, I also kept the can of paint thinner I found. Otherwise it would just feel like I was throwing evidence away. I just hoped it wouldn't incriminate me.
The fact that Roger suspected something was wrong didn't sit well with me. I wouldn't want him coming every day to the café asking more questions. And then I thought about the one person that came into my café every day in the last few days. Houston. I wondered if he talked to his uncle and how that went. I also wondered when he would be back.
As I thought about all of this, I put a pot of coffee on to brew and made myself some breakfast. Once it was all finished, I placed it on the table and then went outside to grab the newspaper from my doorstep. Before I opened the door fully, I poked my head out, checking to see if there were any dead flowers. Luckily there weren't.
While I ate my breakfast and sipped my coffee, which I desperately needed, I read the newspaper. Nothing interesting was going on, but I did manage to get some good coupons from the centerfold. Once I was finished, I decided to call Rosalie to see how she felt.
"Hello?" came the groggy voice from the other end of the line.
"Hi, it's me. How are you feeling?" I asked her.
"Hey hon. I'm feeling better," she said. "I can get out of bed now, and I've been able to move from my bed to the kitchen and the living room."
"That's great. I'm so glad the situation didn't end up being worse than it was, though it was pretty bad," I told her, still feeling guilty about her getting poisoned from my cake.
"Stop feeling so bad about it," Rosalie told me. "I'm not dead, just a bit sick. And it wasn't your fault."
She knew me so well.
"I'm going to come spend the day with you," I told her. "I could use the company and you could use the help."
"That would be great," I knew she was really feeling poorly if she accepted my help without protesting.
"I'll be there soon," I told her and hung the phone up. I got dressed, putting on a pair of comfortable jeans and a loose t-shirt. After my stressful week, I just wanted to be able to relax.
Once I was dressed, I walked to the kitchen where my keys hung on a rack next to my back door. Normally I would walk to her house – it wasn't too far and I liked to get the fresh air. However, taking the car would be safer. Who knows what I could encounter while walking? What plans whoever was messing with me had for the next time I was out and alone?
I grabbed the keys and headed into the garage to get in my car. Once I sat in the driver's seat, however, I re-thought
driving. Not only was it a waste of gas when the weather was so nice, but it was also letting fear rule my life. I didn't want the person who was harassing me win and by letting the fear lead every choice I made, I would be letting them win. So, I changed my mind and began to walk.
As I walked, I enjoyed the weather. It was a nice day and I loved the feeling of the sun warming my skin. I tried not to dwell on everything that had happened during the previous few days. I didn't want the stress and worry to ruin the peace that I usually felt while taking a walk in the nice weather. It was hard and I didn't manage to completely ignore my worries, though the walk was helping me to feel a little bit better.
Along the way, I ran into Angela, who looked to be speed walking. She wore a green jumpsuit and walked with her elbows bent and arms pumping. However, when she saw me, she stopped so we could talk.
"What are you up to today, Becky? Are you baking some more of your delicious treats?" she asked me.
"I'm just on my way to Rosalie's," I told her. "She isn't feeling well so I thought I would go and help her out today."
"Yeah, I heard that she went into the hospital yesterday. Is she all right?" Angela looked worried. I should have known she would hear about it.
I smiled at her kindness. "Yes, she's fine. Just ate something bad."
"Good, I'm glad to hear it," Angela said. "So what new recipes have you discovered recently? What do you have planned that's good?"
I laughed. "You'll just have to come by the café and try it out."
“I know, I know. I haven't been there lately. I should put that on my list.”
“On top of your list, Angela,” I told her, smiling.
"Oh, you're so funny. So who was that hunk who was looking for you the other day?"
I tried not to wiggle so I didn't show Angela how awkward her question made me feel.
"His name is Houston. He came by the café a couple of times, but wasn't there yesterday. I'm not sure where he is now."
As I told her this, Angela's eyes moved to my right and behind me. Her jaw dropped slightly and she pointed to whatever it was she was looking at. I turned to see Houston walking down the street toward us, a smile on his face. Immediately, my heart began to race. Not only did his smile always put butterflies into my stomach, but I was also about to find out what happened between Houston and his uncle. Would he bring me news that his uncle was the one harassing me and had poisoned my friend or would it be a dead end?
Chapter Twelve
"Oh, I should go," I told Angela.
Angela wiggled her eyebrows up and down. "All right, I'll see ya later." She walked away, once again pumping her arms.
I walked toward Houston as he continued walking toward me.
"Hi, Houston. How'd it go? What did your uncle have to say?" I asked, when we reached each other. I got straight to the point and Houston understood my impatience.
"Well, I talked to him for a while and told him everything that has been happening here with you and your store," Houston said. "When I asked him if he was involved, he was quite surprised. He told me that he didn't do any of it. I know him and I know that he would tell me if he had done it, so I believe him when he says he's not involved."
I nodded, not sure whether I could believe his uncle. Just because Houston did, didn't mean I had to.
"Has anything else happened while I was gone?" he asked.
I shook my head. "No, nothing else." I didn't want to tell him about the paint thinner in the cake and Rosalie. He would have just tried to persuade me to tell the police about everything. I just couldn't involve them—not with knowing that Roger would be there through every step of the investigation. I also still didn't mention the plan to go talk to Marie the next day. I was certain he wouldn't agree with our plan.
Houston nodded. "Good. Why aren't you at the café today?"
"I keep it closed on Sundays. I need at least one day off a week, after all," I told him, half-smiling.
He smiled back. "Yeah, that makes sense."
As we talked, we had slowly been moving closer and closer toward each other. Houston lightly put his hands on my arms and began to pull me toward him. I had a serious case of butterflies-in-the-stomach. He looked directly into my eyes and I almost got lost in them. Just as he leaned in for a kiss, a car honked their horn as they drove past, startling us out of the moment. My heart sank and I realized just how much I had wanted the kiss and I was suddenly mad at whoever was driving the car. "Well," Houston said, quickly. "I need to get some work done. I'm going to head back to the hotel. I'll see you at the café in the morning. Whoever was messing with you was probably just joking, but you still need to be careful."
I nodded. "Yeah, you're right. I'll see you tomorrow."
"Bye," Houston said as he walked away.
Finally, I arrived at Rosalie's house. I walked through the door, knocking as I opened it.
"I'm here!" I shouted, so she would know it was me that was walking into her house and not someone else.
"I'm in here, hon." Rosalie's voice came from the kitchen. I walked to the back of the house where the kitchen was. Rosalie sat at her table drinking a mug of ginger tea and eating a bagel.
"What are you doing up?" I joined her at the table. "You're supposed to be resting."
"I'm feeling better and thought I should get something in my stomach," she told me. She popped the last bite of bagel into her mouth and grabbed her mug. "Let's go into the living room. I hear the couch calling."
We walked into the living room where Rosalie put her mug on the table and plopped onto the couch. I joined her on the other side, stretching my legs out in front of me and resting my feet on the coffee table.
"So," Rosalie said with a grin. "Have you heard from Houston?"
I smiled. Rosalie was always so straightforward. There was no fluff with her. She cut right to the chase. "Yes, I actually ran into him on my way over here," I told her, trying not to blush as I was thinking about how we almost kissed.
"And...?" Rosalie prompted and her eyes grew bigger.
"Well...he nearly kissed me," I told her.
She gasped and sat up. "What? How did this happen? And why nearly? What stopped him?"
I laughed. "One question at a time, please. As we talked, we moved closer and closer together. Then he put his hands on my arms and started to pull me in. Right before we reached each other to kiss, a car horn honked and scared us. We pulled apart really quickly and then he said he had to go."
"He chickened out, huh?" Rosalie asked, huffing.
I paused before telling her, "It's not the first time."
Now she was really exasperated.
"He tried to kiss you before and you didn't tell me?" Her voice became this high pitched sound, like Minnie Mouse.
"Well, I've been kind of busy. You know, with someone harassing me and all. But yes. We almost kissed once before," I told her.
"What happened that time?" she asked.
"It was at the café," I told her. "Maia came in right before we kissed."
Rosalie crossed her arms in a huff. "Well, if I have anything to say about it, you two will kiss before the week is out."
"No," I told her, waving my finger at her. "You're not going to get involved."
"What?" she exclaimed, incredulous. "You're going to push me out?"
I nodded. "Yes. If things happen, they happen. But I'm not going to have you playing matchmaker."
"Ugh. Fine," Rosalie finally consented. "Do you have any idea yet who's been harassing you?"
Now I shook my head. "No. I've thought through it all. Houston visited his uncle and he insists it's not him, though I haven't ruled it out completely. I just don't have any idea."
"Wow. He must really like you, if he went to all this trouble talking to his uncle about it. I told you from the beginning, he's totally into you.”
“I suppose he wanted to help me.” I blushed again.
“What about Roger? We haven't ruled him out. You don't think he would be involve
d?" Rosalie asked. "Maybe he expected you to call the cops. Then he'd be around you more during the investigation."
"I don't know," I told her. "I know that the flowers kind of point toward him, but do you think he would be that obvious? I also don't know if he has it in him to pull something like this."
Rosalie nodded. "Yeah, I know. I just can't imagine who would be doing this. I know I've asked already, but, it couldn't be...well, do you think it could be her?"
"I guess it could be. I'm just not sure. At this point, just about anyone is a suspect in my mind."
I stopped as Rosalie pouted at me. "Of course not you. But I've even wondered if it could be Maia, though I don't know what her motive would be." I sighed, stressed at the thought that it could be just about anybody.
Rosalie stood and walked to her desk that was pushed up against the left wall. She pulled open her drawer and grabbed a small black spray bottle. Wrapped around it was a tight cloth that had a Velcro strap coming off the side. "Here," she said, handing it to me.
I took the bottle and inspected it. It was pepper spray. "What are you giving this to me for?"
"I want you to keep it with you to protect yourself," Rosalie said.
"I don't need it," I said, trying to hand it back to her, but she wouldn't take it.
"Hellooo? Of course you do," she said. "I have one, too. It's great because it's small enough to fit in your purse or even your pocket. With everything that's going on, I want you to take it and keep it with you at all times."
I opened my mouth to protest, but she gave me her "Do what I say" look, so instead I told her, "Fine. I'll keep it." I had to admit, she was right. I tucked the pepper spray into my pocket, where it bulged out a little.
Rosalie nodded, satisfied. "Thank you."
"Where did you get pepper spray, anyway?" I asked her.
"My high school friend, Will. He owns a chop shop just outside of town," Rosalie told me. "I've actually had this bottle for a little while, I just kept forgetting to give it to you."