Candy-Coated Secrets

by Cynthia Hickey

  “Ethan!”

  He poked his hands between the bars and gripped mine. “Are you all right?”

  “We’d all be better, sweetie, if you were in here with us,” a voice from the neighboring cell replied.

  A muscle twitched in Ethan’s jaw.

  “I’m fine.” And I was. “Can I leave now?”

  “I don’t know. I’ve been sitting in the waiting room. I just couldn’t go home with you in here.”

  “Ah, ain’t that sweet?” Someone laughed.

  “It’s not your fault, Ethan. It’s Joe’s.”

  A dimple winked from Ethan’s cheek, brightening the gloom of my cell. “Sweetheart, it’s no one’s fault but your own. Joe asked you over and over to stay out of things. He gave you more chances than he would have anyone else.” He squeezed my hands. “We’re afraid for you. Plus, it’s his job. It killed him to drag you here in cuffs. April is livid. She’s threatened not to speak to him for weeks.”

  I couldn’t help but think being locked in here with my best friend would be preferable to Aunt Eunice. April and I would laugh about it afterwards, maybe. Make it into an adventure. Embellish the facts and make light of the situation. Aunt Eunice would only find Bible verses that applied, making me feel guiltier than I already did.

  A few choice verses on forgiveness came to mind, and I brushed them away. I’d work on that later, when I wasn’t incarcerated.

  “What time is it? Joe took my watch.”

  “It’s three thirty.” He rubbed his thumb over the top of my hands. “Look, there’s a chair over there. I’ll sit where you can see me until you’re released.”

  “Don’t be silly. You don’t have to do that. Go home and get some sleep.”

  “I want to go with you.” Ethan released me and lowered himself into a straight-backed chair. His silhouette provided a dark contrast against the colorless wall. Knowing he watched over me, my personal guardian angel, I stepped back to my aunt. After resuming my position as her pillow, I nodded off to sleep.

  It amazed me the next morning as I strolled toward our candy booth how little the carnies cared that we’d been arrested. They waved, some cheered, but most acted as if arrest was a daily occurrence. I shrugged. Maybe it was.

  When Joe released me, he’d made me promise not to go by Millie’s trailer, or disappear without letting someone know where I would be, or go nosing around any place that looked dangerous. He might as well lock me back up. However reluctantly, I promised. Another night in jail didn’t appeal to me.

  The temperature continued to rise in the fabricated arts and crafts building as we celebrated a day of Indian summer weather. Plucking at my sweater, I wished I’d worn a T-shirt. “I’m going to step out for a breath of fresh air.”

  Aunt Eunice waved a hand to let me know she’d heard and turned back to the customer. The back door pushed open with a squeak.

  A light breeze blew between the building and trailers. I lifted my hair off my neck. Hushed voices drifted from around the corner. With the stealth born from a childhood of sneaking cookies from the kitchen after bedtime, I moved toward them.

  My eyes narrowed. Washington Bean and another carny I didn’t know stood huddled beneath an awning. Their words were too faint to hear. The carny handed Washington some money, and Washington pulled something from his pocket. I stretched my neck, straining to see, and tripped over a wooden crate. After I landed in an undignified heap, I rubbed my smarting shin.

  “Miss Meadows, you all right?” Washington bent over me.

  I grasped his offered hand and allowed him to pull me to my feet. “Yes, thank you. Another example of me not looking where I’m going.”

  “You’re probably just tired after your experience last night, that’s all.” He turned the crate over and lowered me onto it. “I know I’m always beat after a night in the slammer.”

  “How many times have you spent the night in jail?” My heart hammered against my rib cage.

  “My fair share, Miss Meadows. Less than some people, more than others.”

  “Do you sell drugs, Washington?”

  “No, ma’am!” His eyes widened. “That stuff will kill you. What you want to know about something like that?”

  “No reason.” If he wasn’t selling drugs, what could it be? Of course, I knew he could be lying. If he was, he deserved an Academy Award.

  “Thank you for your help.” I stood. “I’d best be getting back to the booth.” I turned and limped back into the building.

  Once inside, I plopped on a stool and raised the leg of my pants. Blood trickled from the scrape, staining the top of my socks red.

  “What did you do now?” Aunt Eunice planted her fists on her hips. “That needs to be cleaned. You’d better get over to the first aid tent.”

  “I didn’t do anything. I tripped over a crate.” Now that I’d seen the blood, my leg hurt more. “I’ll get a bandage before my pants are ruined.”

  The walk across the fairgrounds never seemed so long. Exhaustion, the result of a sleepless night, wore at me as if I struggled through thick mud. My shin throbbed, and self-pity threatened. By the time I reached the first aid tent, I was near tears. Sometimes being emotional could be a real hindrance.

  When I entered the tent, I almost turned and fled. Instead, I froze in the doorway. A man sat on a tattered couch. He groaned as his hands clutched a foot covered with a blood-saturated bandage. A woman knelt beside him.

  “That stupid elephant. She ought to be shot.”

  “It’s fine, Harvey. The ambulance is on its way.” The woman laid a hand on his arm.

  “It’s not fine. I’ll probably lose my foot. That’s the most cantankerous animal I’ve ever met. And to think they let little kids look at her. It’s only a matter of time before someone gets killed.”

  “Excuse me?” I didn’t dare venture any closer to the man and his blood. “Are you talking about Ginger?”

  “You see another elephant around these parts?” The man squinted at me. “Oh, it’s you, Miss Summer, the one who walked Ginger here. What do you have, a death wish?”

  He shook his head. “I never could figure out why they’d have a greenhorn walk that death trap of a beast.” He groaned again and grabbed at his foot. “I ought to sue. You’d think Ginger would have been happy to be fed, wouldn’t you? No, sir. Not her. Decided to knock me down and roll me around like a child’s ball. Then stepped on my foot. Playing with me, they said. I’ll give them playing. Bet Foreman will cancel that particular attraction now, won’t he. Oh, my foot. Where’s that ambulance?”

  A siren wailed in the distance. Its sound rose above the tinny music of the amusement rides. I ventured closer. “I’m so sorry about your foot. Did y’all hear about the lion getting loose? He ended up at my place. About a mile from here.”

  “Yeah, and that’s the strangest thing. His cage was locked up tighter than a drum. I’ve told Foreman time after time that county fairs don’t have wild animals. The man won’t listen. Only a matter of time before he gets sued. Mark my words.” Harvey clutched at the other woman’s hand as paramedics rushed into the trailer. I limped out of the way.

  With his free hand, Harvey reached for mine. “Don’t do anyone else any more favors, little girl. Think about it. Nothing makes any sense. I’ve been a friend of your uncle’s from way back. Even knew your daddy before he died. Roy’s told me what’s been going on. Told me to keep an eye on you. I can’t do that while I’m gone. Ya hear?”

  I nodded and pulled free. His grip had left a blood smear on my hand. With a grimace, I scrubbed it on the thigh of my pants. What did Harvey know about me? Why his spine-tingling warning? I was definitely living in a B-horror movie. If a hag with a wart on her nose showed up, I’d be out of there. With my luck, it’d be a hag with a chain saw.

  “May I help you?”

  I turned to face an elderly woman in nursing scrubs. No wart. Her kind face put me at ease, and I lifted my pant leg.

  “We can take care of that in a ji
ffy. Have a seat in this room back here.”

  Twenty minutes later, a clean bandage on my leg, I headed back toward the arts and crafts building. Ginger thundered along the fence of her paddock and trumpeted in my direction. I quickened my limping pace, not wanting to be anywhere near an elephant as unstable as a pit bull.

  I halted. Near the restrooms, Washington stood in a whispered conversation with a woman. Money exchanged hands. If I were speaking to my cousin, this might be something worthy to report.

  Washington glanced up and locked gazes with me. He smiled, and my blood ran cold. As fast as my injured leg would allow, I rushed back to the safety of the candy booth.

  “Took you long enough,” Aunt Eunice retorted. She studied my face. “What’s the matter? You look pale as a ghost.”

  Perched on the stool, I rested my elbows on my knees. “Does Uncle Roy know a man by the name of Harvey that works here?”

  “Sure he does. Harvey Coons. They were pals in school.” Aunt Eunice took a chocolate hot air balloon out of the refrigerator and handed it to a customer. “Harvey never did much with his life. Had a father who drank too much. A mother who took off when he was eight. But Roy and him stayed friends. Why?”

  “I saw him at the first aid tent. Ginger broke his foot.” I gnawed my lower lip before continuing. “He said Uncle Roy asked him to look out for me. Then he gave me a warning. Said not to do anyone any favors. Said there’s something fishy about me being asked to walk Ginger, and about the lion ending up at our place. It is weird that they asked me to walk Ginger, but I figured, with Sally in the truck following, it was no big deal. Do you think there could have been an ulterior motive?”

  Aunt Eunice turned to face me. “Like what?”

  “Like maybe Ginger was supposed to kill me?”

  Chapter Sixteen

  Aunt Eunice slumped against the counter. “I thought Big Sally seemed like such a nice woman, too.”

  “Maybe it wasn’t her idea. Someone could have suggested it to her. She isn’t the brightest star in the sky and with her weight, it is difficult to get around. Probably seemed like a good idea. Some people are too trusting.” Like me, for instance. “We were lucky Ginger liked me.”

  “You mean you were lucky.”

  “Gee, thanks.” My body sagged from exhaustion. “After last night, all I want to do is go to bed. I had a hard time sleeping on that bench.”

  “I didn’t have any trouble at all. But my back is paining me something awful.” She placed both hands on her lower back and arched.

  “Let’s close up and go home. Get a nap.”

  “Sounds like a great idea.” I locked the refrigerator, grabbed my purse, then followed Aunt Eunice to my car. My eyes were gritty from lack of sleep, and I was grateful I had only a mile to drive.

  Once in bed, snuggled beneath a thick quilt, I lay flat on my back and stared unblinkingly at the ceiling. A breeze outside cast shadows through the branches of a tree, and I watched the changing patterns on the plaster over my bed. Never good at taking naps, the bright sunlight streaming through the windows sent sleep to the farthest recesses of my mind. Images of Joe’s face clicked across my thoughts like the spool of an old-time movie reel.

  A sigh rose from deep within me. The hurt of what I perceived to be betrayal threatened to fester within me. But sleep wouldn’t come without forgiveness. Hurt feelings or not, I’d have to forgive Joe for doing his job. The thought galled me.

  I flounced onto my side. The quilt stifled me, and I tossed it to the foot of the bed. When rest continued to elude me, I rose, got dressed, and headed back outside.

  Behind the wheel of my car, I blinked against the gritty feeling behind my eyelids. There had to be something better than facing Joe at the station. All those officers staring. Smirking behind their desks. I shuddered and closed my eyes. My head fell back against the headrest.

  A rap on the window caused my eyes to shoot open, and a squeak escaped me. Joe peered in.

  I pushed the window button and rolled it down. “You scared me half to death, Joe.”

  “Why are you sleeping in the car?” He was out of uniform. Thank You, God, I didn’t go to the station.

  “I’m not sleeping. I was on my way to see you.” I shoved the door open. He jumped back.

  “Thought I’d save you the trip.” His gaze flickered toward his truck. Ethan grinned from the passenger side. My man knew me so well.

  Although I felt manipulated, something that normally caused my hackles to rise, I was too tired to put up a fight. “Y’all come on in. There’s coffee left.”

  They followed me inside without speaking and took seats at the kitchen table. “Since Ethan got you here, Joe, did he happen to tell you why you needed to come?”

  “Said you had something you wanted to tell me.” Joe twirled an empty mug between his hands. “I figured it had to be important, so I came over on my day off. I’m taking April to the movies later, so I don’t have a lot of time.”

  God, You aren’t going to make this easy on me, are You? I lifted the coffeepot and poured the aromatic liquid into our mugs.

  Joe lifted his mug to his lips, and I blurted out what I wanted to say. “I forgive you for arresting me.”

  Coffee spewed from his mouth. He lifted a napkin from a basket in the center of the table and wiped his mouth. “Excuse me?”

  “I. Forgive. You. For arresting me.” Feeling immensely better, I sipped my coffee.

  “For arresting you? You forgive me for doing my job after I warned you countless times?” Joe shook his head. “You beat all, Summer. You really do. I should have done that months ago.”

  “For what?” This was not going the way I’d planned.

  “The same thing.” Setting his mug on the table, Joe leaned forward. “Look. I know you’re eager to help solve this case. Just like the jewelry theft and murder in July, but you go about it all wrong. You contaminate every crime scene you come in contact with. You consistently put your life in danger, and you won’t leave things alone when I ask you to. This is my job. I happen to be good at it. And I could be better if I wasn’t saving you every waking moment of the day.”

  He pushed back his chair and stood. “I’m happy you forgive me. I accept. Now, I’ve got to go.”

  I didn’t bother to rise. I pictured me soccer kicking his head across the room. Working on my attitude needed to become a priority. Fine. “I’m sorry for making your job harder. I know having me for a cousin isn’t easy.”

  Joe laughed. “No, Summer, it isn’t.” He clapped my shoulder and left.

  Nobody asked my permission before burying the diamonds beneath my rosebush a few months ago. Or stashing the money in my tree house. Or breaking into my home. My consent hadn’t been given when Nate kidnapped and almost shot me. No more than I’d asked to find Laid Back Millie’s body.

  Maybe out of ignorance I’d touched things I shouldn’t have, not called the police when I should’ve, and been in the wrong place at the wrong time. Again, these things could happen to anyone. Right? Everyone made mistakes. I was in a learning process.

  “What’s on your mind?” Ethan scooted his chair close to me and brushed a strand of hair away from my face.

  “That didn’t go how I planned.” I stared into my mug at the light-colored liquid. Should have let it perk longer.

  “You thought he’d be grateful. That he’d say thank you.”

  “Yes. Instead he seemed aggravated.” I leaned my head on Ethan’s shoulder.

  “Come on.” He stood and pulled me to my feet. “Let’s go into the living room. We’ll be more comfortable.”

  Like a docile puppy, I allowed myself to be led. Ethan lowered me onto the floral-patterned sofa before sitting next to me. He put a pillow in his lap and pulled my head to rest on the chenille fabric. It was heaven against my cheek. My tired body went liquid.

  Ethan smoothed my hair, his hand moving from my head to my shoulders in one relaxing movement. “You scare Joe, Summer. You frighten everyone wh
o loves you. The way you get yourself into fixes. Joe may be your cousin, but he cares for you like a brother.” His stomach rose with his deep breath.

  “I don’t ask for trouble.”

  He chuckled. “Maybe not, but you love it anyway. The attention. The excitement. You caught a bug last July that burrowed under your skin and won’t leave.”

  Ethan was right. The thrill I got from getting close to an answer defied description. And I was improving. The clues came faster this time. The answers easier.

  Yet something else nagged at me. Tugged, urged me on. There was another reason solving these crimes meant so much. Not to prove I wasn’t stupid, nor to solve a stranger’s murder, but I didn’t know what it was. And asking God why frightened me.

  I stared into Ethan’s face. He gave me a crooked smile, melting my heart.

  “I’ll quit if you ask. I’ll buy special crime-repelling bug spray. Right now. This instant. All you have to do is ask.”

  He leaned forward and kissed me. “I know. And I won’t. Doesn’t do any good, anyway. Just be careful, and don’t break any laws. You put Joe in a tough spot when you do.”

  My eyelids grew heavier and closed.

  I woke to a room cast in shadows. My head still rested in Ethan’s lap, and soft snores issued from his slightly open mouth. Low murmurs drifted from the kitchen. I yawned and sat up to stare through the dim light at Ethan’s face.

  The moon’s glow highlighted the stubble on his jaw. To think that someday I’d have complete access to his lips, anytime I wanted, warmed my insides. My gaze shifted to the square of light coming from the kitchen. As protective as Uncle Roy is, it’s a wonder he’d allowed me to sleep with my head in Ethan’s lap.

  “What time is it?” Ethan’s voice was raspy from sleep.

  “I don’t know. My aunt and uncle are in the kitchen. Do you want to join them?”

  He gave me a slow, lazy smile. My stomach flipped. “Not really, but we probably should. Before Roy gets his gun.”