by Rose Pressey
I wanted this case solved just as much as he did. I watched as he turned and walked toward the door. He looked back just before he was ready to leave. He looked at me, which made my stomach flip slightly, but then he also turned his attention to Hunter. If Detective Monroe thought he knew Hunter from somewhere maybe I should’ve done a background check on the guy. I supposed it was too late now. Hunter seemed innocent enough and it was probably nothing. The detective turned and walked out the door.
Mary Jane released a deep breath. “Wow, that was intense.”
I looked at her. “What was so intense about it?”
“That he likes you, duh.”
“Oh, yes, I definitely picked up on that vibe,” Grandma Honey said.
“You guys are being ridiculous,” I said. “There was no such thing.”
They exchanged a look that said, Yeah, right.
“I have to go help this customer. If you’ll excuse me, please,” I said, walking past them.
“You like him,” Grandma Honey said under her breath.
I didn’t even turn around to look at them. I pretended as if I didn’t hear the comment.
I walked over to the customer. “May I help you find anything?”
“I’m looking for chocolates,” the woman said.
“Right this way, please.” I pointed to the other side of the room.
She followed me over and I helped her select a box of chocolates. Then she added some peanut clusters as well. Every time I had a customer it was an adrenaline rush. I walked with her up to the counter. Mary Jane rang up her purchase and Grandma Honey placed it in the specially ordered bags for the shop. The customer was on her way out the door.
“Well, now that you’re finished with a customer, we can discuss this situation with the detective even more,” Mary Jane said.
“I thought we were finished with that.” Where was another customer when I needed them the most? “There’s really nothing to discuss. He’s looking for a murderer and it happened in my shop.”
“Then let’s discuss the murder.”
“What about the murder?” I asked, whispering so that Hunter wouldn’t hear me.
“He knows about it now. Why are you whispering?”
“It’s just kind of creepy, that’s all.”
“Well, it’s a fact now. You can get over it,” Grandma Honey said.
I could always count on Grandma Honey to be blunt. Couldn’t she use a filter?
“I know one thing we should do,” Grandma Honey said.
Oh, no. I should probably sit down to prepare myself for this. Mary Jane and I focused our attention on Grandma Honey.
“What should we do?” I probably shouldn’t have asked, but I did it anyway. My curiosity was piqued.
“I think that we should solve the murder,” Grandma Honey said.
I stared at her for moment. “You can’t be serious.”
“Well, yes, I am serious. Why not?”
“Because it’s not our job.”
“That doesn’t mean we can’t do it. My job consisted of a lot of things that weren’t in the description, but I did them anyway.”
“You know…,” Mary Jane said with a point of her finger. “That’s not a bad idea. Maybe we should look into this.”
Oh, now I had both of them going after me for this.
“So what do you suggest we do?” I asked.
“Well, we just have to find out more information about this Mr. Sutherland.”
“That’s probably easier said than done. I doubt the police want us poking around in their business.
“I know one detective that wouldn’t mind Reese poking around,” Grandma Honey said.
“I can’t believe you said that,” I said
Mary Jane and Grandma Honey laughed.
“I’m just saying a quick spin around Mr. Sutherland’s house wouldn’t hurt, now would it?” Grandma Honey said with a wave of her hand.
“What are we going find out by going to his house? We can’t get in.”
“Maybe we can, maybe we can’t,” Grandma Honey said.
“It’s time to close. We need to stop this discussion right here. We will have to go there some other time. Right now it’s time to close the shop. Plus, I need to pick up some supplies.”
“You are such a spoilsport,” Grandma Honey said.
I shook my head. “Grandma Honey, don’t say that.”
“Fine. Tomorrow we go track down Mr. Sutherland’s home.”
“Grandma Honey, you just like the idea of playing detective.” I held my hand up. “And no more double entendre about the detective.”
Grandma Honey raised an eyebrow. “Would I do something like that?”
Mary Jane and I said in unison, “Yes.”
Grandma Honey waved her hand. “Pshaw.”
They helped me with the closing duties. As I stood by the door, I surveyed the room. “Well, I guess things could have gone better.”
Mary Jane stood behind me. She was already on the sidewalk. “Yes, but it could have been worse. At least no one was killed.”
“It’s kind of sad when the way to gauge the success of the day is whether or not there was a murder.”
“Think of it this way,” Grandma Honey said from over my shoulder. “The bar is already so low we can only go up from here.”
“That’s one way to look at it,” Mary Jane said.
I sighed and, after stepping around the spot in the floor, pulled the door shut.
“How long are you going to avoid that spot?” Grandma Honey asked.
“Forever,” I said as I locked the door.
“Mary Jane, would you mind giving me a ride?” Grandma Honey asked.
“Sure, where are you headed?” she asked.
“I’m meeting the girls at the mall.” She met her friends at the mall and they walked around. It was good exercise for her.
“You don’t want me to take you?” I asked.
She waved her hand. “You have to pick up supplies and it’s in the opposite direction. Mary Jane is going in that direction.”
We had only taken a couple of steps when a loud noise sent us scrambling to the nearest cover. I grabbed Grandma Honey and shielded her with my body as we ran behind a car. We kneeled behind the car. No one else seemed to be hiding. Everyone else was walking and going about their business. We got a few strange looks from some people too.
“What happened?” Mary Jane asked.
“Grandma Honey, are you all right?” I asked.
She fanned herself. “I’m all right now, but what was that?”
“I suppose a car backfired,” I said. “I think we’re a little on edge.”
“You think?” Mary Jane asked. “I almost peed my pants. And these are my favorite jeans. I would’ve had to go home and change.”
“Luckily, that’s not the case now.” I helped Grandma Honey up from behind the car.
“Just be thankful that it was nothing more than a car backfiring this time,” Mary Jane said. “What about the next time?”
“There will be no next time,” I said. “We’re fine. Everything will be fine. Right, Grandma Honey?”
“If you say so,” she said.
We stepped back onto the sidewalk.
“All right now. We’re on our way,” Mary Jane said.
“If there’s any problems call me, okay?” I asked.
“Like she’ll be able to do anything to help us,” Grandma Honey whispered.
“I heard that,” I said.
Chapter 10
Now that the chaos had calmed down I headed down the sidewalk toward my car. I would hurry over and pick up the needed candy supplies. With each step it felt as if someone was behind me. I kept looking over my shoulder, but no one suspicious was back there. A few people were back there, but they weren’t close. They certainly weren’t looking at me, so I supposed the feeling was just my imagination playing tricks on me. After everything that had happened, it was understandable that I would be a bit par
anoid and spooked. Nonetheless, I hurried my steps so that I could get to the car and feel safe in my surroundings.
Just a short distance later I finally reached the car. I unlocked the door and rushed inside, closing it behind me. Once there I peered in the rearview mirror. No one was paying attention to me. It really had just been my imagination. I felt a little better now that I’d started the car. No one had been watching or following me and I was completely safe now. There was nothing left to worry about. I pulled away from the curb and headed in the direction of the supply store.
I was about halfway to the store when I got that feeling again. I looked to my right and then to the left. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Behind me there were only other cars. Maybe I was coming down with something. Why did I feel so strange? My stomach turned with anxiety.
As I waited at a red light I tried to distract myself by turning on the radio. I flipped through the stations, but there was nothing that I wanted to listen to, so I turned the thing off. The light turned green and I took off. About a half a block down the road I made a left turn. Then I noticed the car behind me had made a left turn too. It had been back there all the time. I’d noticed it at the red light. Yes, I remembered it now because it had fallen in behind me when I pulled away from the curb at the candy shop. Could this person really be following me? That sent a shiver down my spine. What would I do if someone really was following me? What if it was the killer? How would I get away from him? I tried not to panic just yet because it could just be a coincidence. The sign for the candy supply store came into view. If the car turned in there too, then I knew I had a real problem.
I turned off into the store’s parking lot and headed toward the front entrance. Navigating through the lot, I peeked into my review mirror. The car went past the store. Thank goodness it wasn’t coming after me. It was just my paranoid thoughts. I pulled into a spot, got out of the car, and locked the door. As I neared the entrance for the store, I looked over my shoulder. Out of the corner my eye, I could’ve sworn I saw that car again. When I turned to get a better look, it was gone. I was still allowing my imagination to play tricks on me. All I needed was to go into the store, gather my supplies, go home, and forget about this day.
I hurried inside, gathered up my supplies, paid for them, and headed back to the car as if this was a race. I couldn’t wait to get home. This had been a stressful day.
I had just opened the car door when the mystery car passed by again. There was no mistaking it this time. I knew it was the same car. Yet I still didn’t know if it was actually following me. I mean, people missed turns and had to turn around, or they decided to go back to another place. Maybe they’d picked up something and were now headed back home. There were many different reasons why the car could be there again. Of course my mind went to the worst possible scenario. My thought was that this car was actually following me and there was something sinister involved.
I slipped into the car and locked the doors behind me. With a shaky hand I finally managed to turn the ignition. Where was I going once I got out of the parking lot? If I went home and the car followed me then the person would know where I lived. That would make me a sitting duck. Perhaps they already knew where I lived.
I could go back to the candy shop, but it would be the same thing there. Although if this was the killer then they already knew I had come from the candy shop. My hands were still shaking and I could hardly back the car out of the parking spot. Once at the exit, I looked both ways before pulling out onto the road. Thank goodness I didn’t see the car.
I wanted to zoom right on through the red light, but obviously that wasn’t an option. Unfortunately, the first light I came to caught me. Now I was stuck sitting there like a caged animal, waiting to be tracked down by a potential killer. Okay, I was being a bit dramatic. I had no idea if this person was following me on purpose, but I didn’t want to hang around to find out. I’d rather just get on home.
Should I call the detective? No. Nothing had happened. There was no reason to call him. Thank goodness, the light finally turned green and I took off. So far, so good. There was no car behind me. It wasn’t long though until I saw it behind me again. This time I knew without a doubt that it was there on purpose. There was no way that it could have fallen in behind me again by coincidence.
What did this person want? I had to think of a way to get away from this car. Where would I go? I could drive to the police station. I didn’t want to call the detective right now while I was driving, but I could certainly go there. Maybe then this person would stop following me. I was very proud of my quick thinking.
I didn’t speed on my way there, although I thought this was a matter of life or death. It seemed like an emergency to me, but I took my time. The car kept with me the whole time. Every turn I made, it made too. With each lane that I shifted, they went too. And unfortunately, I thought I knew where I was going, but when I reached the address I discovered that the police station wasn’t there. I had a huge problem on my hands. This car was riding even closer to me now. I couldn’t see who was behind the wheel, although I thought maybe for a moment it was a woman wearing a baseball cap with possibly her hair pulled back up into the cap. She also wore aviator sunglasses.
Again, I checked the address on my phone and discovered that I was on the wrong street. I made a couple turns and then saw the police station. Thank goodness. Now I wondered if this person would follow me into the parking lot. I made the right turn and they drove on past. Whew, that was a relief. Though I wasn’t going to stop there. I would definitely tell the detective what had happened.
I parked the car and hurried across the parking lot, looking around to see if I could find the car. It was nowhere in sight, so I took this opportunity to run for the police station doors. I burst through and the police officer coming down the hallway almost bumped right into me.
“Is everything all right?” he asked.
“I need to see Detective Monroe,” I said breathlessly.
“If you’d like to have a seat I can get him for you.” He motioned toward the chairs in the little waiting area.
“I don’t think I want to sit there,” I said.
I was afraid that the killer would come right through the door. It didn’t matter that I was in the police station.
“Are you sure you’re not in danger?” the officer asked.
“I’m not sure. I could be,” I said.
He guided me toward the door. “Come on back here with me.”
We went down another little hallway until we came to the door with the detective’s name on it. The officer knocked on the door.
“Come in,” the detective said.
He opened the door and immediately our eyes met. He smiled. “I wasn’t expecting you.”
“I wasn’t expecting to come here today,” I said.
“Come on in,” he said, motioning for me to enter.
I stepped into the room. The officer who had guided me there closed the door behind me. I took the seat in front of the desk.
“You look a bit upset. What happened?”
“I think the killer followed me here,” I said.
“What makes you think that?” he asked, studying my face.
“A car followed me.”
“What kind of car was this?” he asked, getting out a pad of paper and a pen.
“It was a black car and I think it was a Toyota. Four-door and I didn’t get the plate number. They were always behind me, except for the time when I pulled into the store parking lot. They drove past and then I went into the store. When I came back out I saw them again. They were waiting for me, but it was too far away for me to get the license plate number.”
“What happened when you came here?”
“Of course they wouldn’t come here. I mean, this is the police station.”
“And you’re sure this isn’t someone you know?” he asked.
“I’ve never seen that car before. I don’t know why anyone would be following me. That�
�s why I think it was the killer.”
“Well, try to stay calm,” he said. “I will definitely look into this. The fact that you got the car make and model, that’s a plus in this investigation.”
“What will you do? Will you be able to track down the driver? I mean, there’s a lot of black Toyotas out there.”
“There are a lot of things that we can do to look for this car,” he said. “Video surveillance in the area might’ve captured the license plate number.”
“Oh, that’s a good one,” I said.
He smiled. “Yes, it is a good one.”
“What else you got?”
“Well, there’s other things, I’ll put it that way.”
I released a deep breath. “That makes me feel a little bit better.”
He studied my face for a moment longer. “Where are you headed now?”
“I was going to go home as long as no one is following me.”
“I’m headed out. I could follow you home and make sure you get there safely.”
“That would be great, thank you.”
He pushed to his feet and walked around the desk. He wore black trousers and a white shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. He’d obviously loosened the tie a long time ago. It hung loose around his neck. I stood from the chair and walked out of his office. He closed the door behind us and we headed down the hallway toward the entrance. When we got to the door, I stopped. He opened the door and said, “I’ll look out there first. If that’s what you want me to do.”
“Absolutely,” I said. “I don’t want the killer to be waiting for me.”
“I don’t think the killer would actually come here to the police station, do you? That would be awfully brave.”
I knew he was kind of teasing me, but I was serious about this.
“I hope you’re right,” I said, peering around as I stepped outside the building.
I walked close to the detective as he walked me to my car. It was nice being close to him and for once I felt safe.
Chapter 11
Another day at the shop, but not much had changed. The killer still hadn’t been captured.