by Lena Gregory
“If Trevor had just answered the stupid questions, maybe Hunt wouldn’t have had to push him,” Savannah huffed. “What would you have had him do, Gia? Ask Trevor politely if he killed Ron Parker and dumped him in his freezer? Then accept his word that he didn’t just because he said so?”
Gia squirmed. When she put it like that…
“If I remember correctly, you were once on the receiving end of one of Hunt’s interrogations, and you didn’t blow up like that.”
“I—”
“No, I’m not done. Hunt may question him hard, but just like with you, he’ll do right by him, and he can’t do that by going easy. Y’all weren’t here when the first two officers arrived on the scene, and Hunt radioed them to leave Trevor alone, to be sure he received medical attention but not to question him until Hunt got there.”
“I didn’t—”
Earl held up his hands. “All right, ladies, that’s enough. Hunt will do the right thing by Trevor. Gia knows that, Savannah. Everyone’s a little stressed right now, but bickering won’t help anyone.”
Gia nodded. “You’re right, Earl. I’m sorry, Savannah. I didn’t mean to imply Hunt did anything wrong. I’m just worried about Trevor.”
“No, I’m sorry. I just…I can’t believe Trevor would do anything like that…” Savannah looked down and took a shaky breath. “But what if he did?”
“What are you talking about?” How could she even suggest something like that? “You know Trevor. How could you think for even one minute he could have killed someone?”
She lifted her gaze and stared into Gia’s eyes. “I don’t think he killed someone, Gia, but what if he did? You hang out with Trevor all the time. Off in the woods, kayaking by yourselves. Think about that.”
Gia had been spending a lot of time with Trevor lately, especially since Hunt had taken over as captain, often spending her day off each week kayaking on the lake in the woods. In a very remote area. “He didn’t kill anyone. Trust me, Trevor is no killer.”
Savannah simply nodded and let it go. If Gia knew her at all, which she did, she knew she’d bring it back up again later, but for now, at least, she was willing to drop it.
“Thank you for worrying about me.” Gia hugged her. “And I’m sorry for saying that about Hunt. You’re right—when I was in trouble, Hunt did everything he could to help me, and I have no doubt he’ll do the same for Trevor.”
“Yes, he will.” Savannah massaged her temples for a minute, then looked up at Gia. “So, are we still going to the Keys? I have to call back and finish making the reservation.”
Gia thought about it for a minute. There really was no reason she couldn’t still get away. They weren’t supposed to leave until Monday morning. Surely, Hunt would have cleared Trevor by then. She smiled. “Sure thing.”
Savannah smiled back, and that easily, the tension between them evaporated. Savannah returned to the stack of brochures and pulled out her phone.
Gia returned to Earl. “Thanks, Earl.”
“Anytime,” he said with a wink.
“Do you think I should go down to the station?”
“For what?” Earl wrapped a hand around his coffee mug and started to lift it.
“Hang on, Earl. That’s probably ice cold, and we’ve already established you have no interest in cold coffee.” Gia stuck his mug in a bin under the counter, poured him a fresh one, and set it on the counter in front of him. “I don’t know. Maybe it would be helpful to know someone’s there for him.”
“For what it’s worth, I think you should leave him alone for a little while. When Hunt’s done questioning him, he’ll either give him a ride home, or Trevor will call someone he trusts for a ride.”
“I guess you’re right. It just doesn’t feel right to sit here and do nothing.”
Savannah came up behind Gia and rubbed a hand up and down her arm.
Apparently, all was forgiven.
“He’s right, Gia. There isn’t much you can do right now. After Hunt’s done, we can go pick him up if you want, see if he needs someone to talk to.”
She nodded, but it still didn’t feel right to go on with her day as if nothing had happened. The sudden realization that she hadn’t had a customer since Trevor came in hit her, and she glanced out the window at the small crowd gathered outside and the two police officers blocking the door. “Maybe I should go see how Cole’s making out.”
“They’ll never let you in.” Savannah finished tying an apron around her waist and started clearing the table Skyla’s old friend had been sitting at, the friend she’d acted totally weird about running into.
Come to think of it, Skyla had been acting strange all morning. “What do you think is up with Skyla?”
Savannah dumped the dirty dishes into the bin with Earl’s mug. “No idea, but did you see her expression when she realized it might be Ron Parker?”
“Poor girl was shaking like a leaf,” Earl said.
“And earlier, when that couple came in, the instant she laid eyes on the woman she looked like she’d seen a ghost.” Gia had wondered even then what was up with her.
Savannah leaned against the counter. “You know how weird it can be sometimes when someone from your past pops up unexpectedly.”
A vision of Bradley flashed before Gia, and she gasped.
Savannah’s eyes widened, and she reached for Gia. “Oh, Gia, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean—”
“No, it’s okay.” Gia waved her off. “Really. I’m fine. But you’re right. Even under the most normal of circumstances, running into someone from your past can be awkward.”
The sound of voices cut off any further contemplation as the Bailey twins walked through the front door. Apparently, Gia was once again open for business.
Savannah grabbed a couple of menus and started around the counter to greet the women.
Estelle and Esmeralda had been customers since Gia had first opened, when they’d come in amid rumors and controversy to judge her for themselves. As much as she liked the two elderly women, the last thing Gia needed this morning was their gossip. On the other hand, who knew how long they’d been lingering outside with the rest of the crowd? Maybe they’d heard something about what was going on at Storm Scoopers. “I’ll get it, Savannah.”
Savannah handed Gia the menus, grabbed another stack, and went to greet the group of customers coming in behind them. Since Cole hadn’t returned yet, it looked like Gia would be heading back to the kitchen. She plastered on what she hoped would pass for a genuine smile. “Good morning, ladies.”
Esmeralda greeted her with a warm smile.
“Gia, how are you?” Estelle gave Gia a quick hug, then stepped back and patted her blue up-do. Not a single hair out of place, as usual.
“I’m doing well, thank you.” She led them toward a table in the middle of the room, where she knew they liked to sit so they could hear everything going on around them. “Have you ladies been waiting long?”
“Oh, no, dear, not at all,” Estelle assured her.
“Did the hold-up have anything to do with the body they found at Storm Scoopers?” Just like Esmeralda, straight to the point.
Gia wasn’t about to get into a discussion about Trevor being questioned by the police. These two would have him tried and convicted by noon. As much as she’d come to like the Bailey sisters, they tended to jump to conclusions. And when you spent as much time gossiping as they did, that could be downright dangerous. She dodged the question with one of her own. “Do they know who it is yet?”
Esmeralda and Estelle shared a knowing look.
Esmeralda looked around then leaned closer to Gia. “Rumor has it, it’s Ron Parker.”
She stepped back and watched for Gia’s reaction.
Gia feigned surprise. “Seriously?”
“That’s what they’re saying.”
“Not surpr
ising, really.” Esmeralda settled in her seat and opened her menu.
“No,” Estelle agreed as she sat. “When he was a kid, that boy was always as sneaky as a fox in a henhouse.”
“Yup. Always up to no good, that one was.”
“Never did figure he’d amount to much.”
“To be honest, I was more surprised to see him running for a respectable position such as mayor than I was to hear he was murdered.” Esmeralda turned over her coffee cup for Savannah to fill.
Savannah filled her cup, then her sister’s, then moved off to see to the next table.
“If anything, I’d have expected him to back Mitch Anderson,” Estelle said.
Esmeralda was nodding before her sister even finished. “Two of a kind, those two. Thick as thieves when they were kids.”
Estelle sighed. “Like everything else, alliances change over time.”
“You’re so right, Estelle. This used to be such a peaceful little town, and now a prominent citizen has been murdered.”
Estelle’s mind obviously changed as much as everything else, since Ron Parker had gone from a sneak to a prominent citizen in a matter of seconds.
“They’re sure he was murdered?” Though Gia knew that already, it still felt strange to have it confirmed. As if it were any less real if it hadn’t yet hit the Boggy Creek gossip mill.
“So I’ve heard,” Esmeralda confirmed.
“How?” Gia would only have another second or two before Savannah would start putting orders up.
“Haven’t heard yet. But he obviously managed to get on someone’s bad side.”
Esmeralda snorted. “If that ain’t the understatement of the year.”
With the crowd in the café growing, and Cole still unaccounted for, Gia excused herself and headed for the kitchen.
Chapter 5
Three order slips already hung above the grill. With her mind racing, Gia pulled on a pair of disposable vinyl gloves and started the first order.
She scrambled a bowl of eggs, tossed in some pre-cooked crumbled sausage, diced green peppers, onions, and tomatoes and poured the mixture onto the grill, then laid three homemade tortillas on the grill to warm.
She couldn’t get Ron Parker out of her mind. Could whatever had happened to him have had something to do with the campaign? His visit to the café had been somewhat annoying, but even if he’d annoyed everyone along Main Street, she couldn’t see that as a motive for murder.
Her thoughts shifted to Mitch Anderson. With Ron Parker out of the picture, Mitch would have an easy time getting in, since he’d be running unopposed.
Earl, who’d been around Boggy Creek forever, had suggested something about Anderson having skeletons buried in his closet. And Skyla had agreed he shouldn’t be mayor.
If the majority of Boggy Creek’s citizens felt that way, then how had he ever become a candidate?
Of course, Savannah had also been born and raised in Boggy Creek, and she planned to vote for him. But in her case, it seemed more because she didn’t trust Ron Parker than any great love for Mitch Anderson.
And what was the deal with Ron Parker and Mitch Anderson being friends? Why would Ron have run against a friend? Wouldn’t they have shared the same views? Of course, people changed over time.
Gia sprinkled grated cheddar cheese onto the egg mixture, then laid the warm tortillas on plates, filled them with the eggs, rolled them, ladled some homemade salsa over the top, and added a generous helping of her new Southwestern home fries.
She made them similar to her regular home fries, with onions and crumbled bacon, but added diced tomatoes and jalapenos instead of green peppers. They were a little spicy for her taste, and she’d only been serving them for a week, but so far, people seemed to like them.
She stuck the plates onto the cutout counter between the kitchen and the dining room. A quick peek into the packed dining room told her she’d better get her head in the game.
Savannah rushed in and stuck two orders up over the grill. “I swear half the town is in there.”
“They must have all rushed in the minute the police moved away.” Gia checked the orders and started pulling out what she’d need.
“On the bright side, none of them seem to be in much of a hurry. Most of them are lingering over coffee and gossip. Sorry to say, it’s more for the gossip,” Savannah said before she hurried out.
Remembering what Willow had once told her about becoming a gossip hot spot, meaning she’d finally gained acceptance in the community, Gia smiled to herself. She tried to settle into the routine of working the grill and tried to keep her mind from wandering toward Trevor or Ron Parker. Though used to the speed at which she had to work, she still had to concentrate if she was going to get the orders right.
She cracked four eggs onto the grill, put several pieces of precooked bacon beside them, then dropped two slices of rye bread into the toaster and cut a bagel and dropped that into the next toaster in line. She grabbed two plates and added a heaping pile of home fries to each and set them on the counter beside the grill, then flipped the eggs and added a slice of American cheese to one. She scanned the line of order tickets, pulled out the pancake batter, and ladled six puddles onto the grill.
When the toast popped, she stuck a piece on one of the plates and stacked the egg with the cheese and four slices of bacon on top, topped it with salt, pepper, and the other piece of toast, then did the same with the bagel, remembering at the last minute to add ketchup, and shoved the plates onto the cutout.
She flipped the pancakes, stuck a few sausage links on the grill, and started scrambling eggs.
“How’s it going?” Cole headed straight for the sink to wash his hands.
“Was it really Ron Parker?” Gia blurted. She stacked the pancakes onto two plates and set them beneath the warmer.
He nodded, then finished washing his hands, dried them, and pulled on gloves. “I heard one of the police officers say it was him.”
“Do they know what happened to him?”
“Nah, not that I heard, anyway.”
She poured the scrambled eggs onto the grill and added sausage to the plates, then slid over to give Cole room to work beside her. “Well, what are they saying?”
Cole scanned the tickets and started cutting the pieces of breakfast pie they’d need. “Not much, from what I could hear. But what I did hear doesn’t bode well for Trevor.”
Gia faltered, almost dropping the spatula full of eggs she was flipping.
Cole steadied her arm. “Easy, there.”
“What do you mean it doesn’t bode well for him? You can’t honestly believe he killed the man.”
“Of course I don’t think he killed him, but according to the detective I overheard… Not Hunt,” he clarified.
Gia nodded for him to continue, impatient with how little information he was giving her.
“Trevor and Ron Parker had history. Apparently, the two of them didn’t get along.”
“When Hunt was questioning Trevor, Trevor sort of admitted as much. He said Parker never came into Storm Scoopers.”
“Why not?”
Gia was already shaking her head. “He didn’t say, but he did say Parker would never have come in on his own, that someone must have put him there.”
Cole pulled down two tickets and moved the plates to the cutout for Savannah to pick up. “Did Trevor say what happened between them?”
“Nope.” Gia moved through the routine of cooking automatically, working in sync with Cole, never getting in each other’s way. “And when Hunt pushed him, he clammed up and asked for a lawyer.”
Cole’s eyebrows shot up. “You don’t say.”
“I don’t know what got into him.”
“Well, you can’t really blame him for being on edge, all things considered.”
“True.”
Si
lence fell between them as they banged out one order after another, barely keeping up with the rush. Gia took four plates to the cutout and chanced a quick peek into the dining room. Almost every table was full, along with most of the stools at the counter. Seemed a mayoral candidate being found dead in a local ice cream parlor had brought flocks of people to Main Street. She glanced over her shoulder at the grill. Still too many orders for her to leave Cole alone, though she would have liked a chance to get out there and see what people were saying.
“So, if Trevor isn’t responsible, which he isn’t,” Gia said, “then who do you think is?”
“Hmm…”
“I mean, it doesn’t seem random, right?”
“I wouldn’t think so. Especially, since the body was left in Trevor’s shop,” Cole agreed.
“Exactly. So it has to be someone with a grudge against Trevor.”
“And Ron.”
Gia couldn’t imagine anyone harboring that sort of animosity toward Trevor. He was too laid-back, too kind, too naïve to have made such a violent enemy. “Can you think of anyone who had something against both of them?”
Cole thought for a minute. “I can’t even think of one person who doesn’t like Trevor.”
“No, me neither. Granted, I haven’t been here that long, but everyone really seems to like him.”
“They do. Even the high school kids think highly of him, since he lets them hang out in his shop as long as they don’t get too rowdy.”
“Only two orders left.” Cole scraped the oil off the grill into the small pan at the front. “Why don’t you take a break, and I’ll finish these up. Then I’m going to head out.”
“Sure, that’d be great, Cole, thank you.” Gia stripped off her gloves, threw them in the trash, and washed and dried her hands. Confident Cole would get the orders out with no trouble, Gia headed for the dining room.
Some of the tables had emptied, though a small handful of people still lingered, talking quietly amongst themselves. Gia headed behind the counter.