Small Town Murder

by Patti Benning

  Autumn bit her lip, then decided that she had already planned to be here for the evening, so she might as well stay. “I’ll stick around for dinner. Let me know if you need any help.”

  “I will,” he said. He looked at her, and she saw surprise in his expression. He hadn’t expected her to stay. “Thank you, Autumn. It really means a lot that you’re staying to help.”

  Autumn joined her aunt and uncle, who were in their shared room together. When Uncle Albert saw her, despite her protests, he rose to hug her. Her Aunt Lucy, who was still unable to form clear words, and had limited mobility in her face and her right leg and arm, gave her the best smile she could.

  “Hi, Aunt Lucy,” Autumn said, bending down to hug her aunt. “It’s good to see you.”

  “Is dinner ready?” her uncle asked, looking at his watch. “It’s a bit early.”

  “No, there won’t be any meatloaf tonight,” she said. “Something came up.”

  She told them both all about what had happened.

  “Nick thinks it was an accident – that some confused resident went in and did it without knowing what would happen.”

  “Do you think it was something else,” her uncle said. “Do you think someone did it on purpose?”

  “How can I not?” She shook her head. “It can’t be a coincidence. Not with what happened on Sunday.”

  “But why would someone try to kill the cook?”

  She threw up her hands, then felt bad for taking her exasperation and frustration out on her uncle. “I don’t know. All I know about this place is what I hear when I visit you guys. Uncle Albert, do you know anyone that might have some reason to want to disrupt the kitchen? Someone who hates the food here, or hated Benson, or anything like that?”

  “Well, the food has never been great,” he said with a chuckle. “I know it’s not the cook’s fault, though. They have to give us all this low-sodium stuff, since a lot of us have issues with blood pressure and cholesterol. Plenty of people complain about it, but I don’t think anyone would actually do anything about it. Eating bland food isn’t exactly a good reason to commit murder. And Benson was great. He was always happy to laugh, and loved listening to the stories some of the residents told him. He was a good guy. He could have been making a lot more money cooking somewhere else, but he chose to work here. I don’t know anyone who would want to see him dead.”

  Autumn sighed and sat down. Her aunt reached out with her good hand and patted Autumn’s arm. She gave her aunt a tight smile. Her emotions were a tangle right now. She was angry at what had happened, frightened by the thought of someone trying to kill her, and frustrated to know that she couldn’t do anything about any of it. All she wanted was to have a nice, quiet holiday season, do some good work in her spare time, and find a new job. She didn’t want to be involved in whatever was going on here, but at the same time, she couldn’t back out now. Not with her aunt and uncle still here. She would make good on her promise to cook some of the dinners, and just be sure to keep her guard up while she was there. She would double check everything before she used it.

  About an hour later, someone knocked on the door to her aunt and uncle’s room. She got up and opened it to find Nick Holt standing outside with a box of pizza.

  “I come bearing dinner,” he said. “I was wondering, would you mind if I join the three of you? Everyone’s eating in their rooms tonight. The police are here, and they’re going through the kitchen now.”

  Autumn looked over her shoulder to check with her aunt and uncle before she said, “Yes, of course, come on in.”

  She took the pizza box from him, placing it on the coffee table. Her uncle got up and pulled some paper plates and napkins out of the cupboard. She helped him carry them over to the table, and the four of them settled down to eat.

  “So, I take it you didn’t find out anything from the staff?” she asked the director.

  “Unfortunately, no. None of the staff remember seeing anyone go towards the kitchen, but we are a little bit understaffed as it is. None of the residents were able to help either. Someone suggested that the kitchen was haunted, and now that’s the most popular theory going around.”

  “Better than the rumor about Justine,” Autumn said.

  He raised an eyebrow.

  “Natalie told me that people are saying that she let Benson die on purpose. I don’t know how it got started, but I feel bad for her.”

  “So do I,” Nick said. “Telling her that she was being put on administrative leave is one of the hardest things I’ve ever done. She’s a good woman, and I know that she didn’t do it on purpose. But at the same time, I have to think about the residents’ well-being. At least she’s not here to hear the rumors about her. I will have to talk to the staff about it.”

  “Well, this is the most exciting thing that has happened since we moved in,” Uncle Albert said. “Benson’s death is terrible, of course, but there is nothing like a good mystery. When you find a new cook, will you tell them about what happened?”

  “Yes,” Nick said. “I already thought about that. Whoever decides to work here deserves to know the possibility that the incidents are connected. Of course, it will probably take a while to hire someone new. I’m just glad Autumn has agreed to stay on for a while.”

  “What?” her uncle asked, putting down his slice of pizza. “Autumn, I thought you had more sense than that. You can’t stay here and put yourself in danger for us.”

  “Look, like Nick says, we don’t even know if what happened was connected,” she said. “Even though I don’t think it’s a coincidence, that doesn’t mean that I am right. I would feel bad if I left and someone else got hurt. I’ll just be careful from now on.”

  “You better be,” her uncle said. “I’ll keep an eye out for you. I’ve got some friends here that will help as well. If anyone suspicious gets near the kitchen, you’ll know about it.”

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  * * *

  The next day was one of her rare days off, when Jeb would be managing the day-to-day tasks at the store, and she was free to do whatever she wanted. It was a Thursday; not exactly prime time for going out and having fun, but she didn’t mind. After the busy week that she had had, she was glad to be able to just relax on her own with Frankie. The little terrier was perfectly content to lay on her lap while she sat on the couch and caught up with her favorite shows. She reheated leftovers, made some hot chocolate, and even turned on the gas fire in the fireplace. The hiss of the gas reminded her of what had happened the day before, and she felt her mood plummet, even as she sipped her hot cocoa. The police had found nothing. They still had no idea who had done it, or whether it had been on purpose, or an accident. Even worse, she had seen some of the staff looking at her suspiciously when she left the evening before. She didn’t know why anyone would suspect her, but was sure that there must be a rumor flying around similar to the one about Justine.

  She kept telling herself that she would be perfectly safe when she went back to cook dinner that evening. Even if someone had tried to hurt her before, they wouldn’t try it again, not with the police already on alert.

  “Okay, that’s enough moping around,” she said as the credits ran on one of her shows. She got up, Frankie hopping off her lap. Autumn carried her mug into the kitchen and set it in the sink. “Do you want to go for a walk?”

  She put on her warmest socks, then pulled on her winter boots and a fluffy parka. She added a wool hat and a scarf to the ensemble, and clipped Frankie’s leash to her collar before she put on her gloves. It was cold outside, and flurries of snow were falling from the gray sky. Regardless, it was beautiful. The world outside was a white wonderland. Even though it was daytime, some of her neighbors had their Christmas lights on, and the soft glow made her heart lift. A walk around the block with her dog would be perfect to clear her mind of gloomy thoughts.

  She locked the door behind her and started down the sidewalk, her dog sniffing and bounding through the snow. She waved to one of her neighbor
s, who was shoveling snow off of his driveway. When she got back, she would begin looking for a job. She loved this place, and didn’t want to leave it.

  She was coming back around the block when she saw someone standing on her porch. Her first thought was that it was one of the police, hopefully coming to clear up what had happened the day before. Then she recognized the car parked in front of her house. It was just Brandon.

  She called out to him as she drew nearer. He turned, looking surprised to see her out.

  “I thought you were just ignoring me,” he said. “I suppose I should have guessed that you weren’t in when I didn’t hear Frankie barking.”

  “We just took a walk. I wanted to clear my mind. What are you doing here?”

  “I came to apologize,” he said. “I want to talk to you. Can we go in? It’s freezing out here, and I don’t have gloves on.”

  She nodded, reaching into her pocket for her keys as she tried to sort out how she felt. So much had happened since he had broken up with her, and he hadn’t really been at the top of her list of priorities. She supposed that she was glad to see him, and she didn’t really harbor any anger toward him. She was much more concerned with the attacks at the assisted living home than with anything he might have to say.

  “Come on in,” she said. “We can sit in the living room if you’d like. Do you want some hot chocolate? I had some earlier, but if you want, I’d be happy to make some more.”

  “No thanks,” he said. “Actually, on second thought, sure. Why not? ‘Tis the season.”

  She removed her outdoor gear and unclipped Frankie’s leash before pouring milk into the kettle on the stove. While it heated up to a simmer, she got out the package of hot chocolate and the mug.

  “So, what did you want to talk about?” she asked.

  “I guess I just want to see how you’re doing,” he said. “I called you yesterday, but you ignored me.”

  “Oh, I was at the assisted living home. I’m volunteering there; cooking dinners on my evenings off.”

  “That’s nice of you,” he said.

  “Yeah,” she said absently as she poured the hot milk into the mug of cocoa.

  “Autumn, what’s wrong?” he asked, putting his hand on her shoulder.

  She bit her lip, wishing he would stop. He had wanted to end it, and it was over. Why couldn’t he just leave her be now?

  “I just wish the circumstances were different,” she said, handing him the mug of hot chocolate.

  “What do you mean?” he asked as he followed her into the living room.

  “I mean, I wish I wasn’t volunteering there because I was covering for someone who died.”

  “Someone died? What happened?”

  She realized that he probably didn’t know anything about Benson’s death. He had never been much of one for the news, and she didn’t even know if the papers would have had anything in them about the death. It had only been a few days ago. How quickly did papers print the obituaries? She sat in the armchair, forcing him to sit on the couch, and told him about the cook’s death, and the near disaster with the gas in the kitchen.

  “Are you serious, Autumn? You almost died.”

  “Yeah. So, I’ve been a bit distracted. Plus, the grocery store is closing down, so I have to find somewhere else to work. This isn’t really a great time, Brandon. We can talk later. Let’s give it a couple of months, okay?”

  “I don’t want to give it that long,” he said. He wrapped his hands around the mug. “I think I might’ve made a mistake.”

  She frowned. On Sunday morning, she might have been glad to hear his words, but so much had happened recently that their breakup was no longer the most important thing on her mind. Witnessing a death and facing the prospect of losing her job had somehow given her the space to see that Alicia was right. She hadn’t been in love with Brendan. She cared about him, and she had wanted the future that he might have offered, but it wasn’t the sort of romance that she desired.

  “I don’t think it was a mistake,” she said. “You’re right. I don’t think it was me or you. It was both of us, or neither of us. We just aren’t right for each other. No hard feelings, okay? Just let me figure out everything else that is going on, and we can talk again. We can be friends, like you wanted. I would enjoy that. I really did care about you, Brandon. I still do. I enjoyed spending the past year dating you. It was… nice. I had a lot of fun.”

  He stared at her for a moment, then gave a dry chuckle. “I came here to try to repair things between us. I guess that was silly of me. I’m sorry for hurting you, Autumn.”

  “Like I said, no hard feelings.” Even though she had come to terms with the fact that he wasn’t the one for her, thinking about their breakup still stung. She had been so sure that they would get married, and she felt ridiculous to think about how blind she had been.

  “I guess I really messed up, huh?” he said. “I’m sorry to bother you. I’ll be going now. I want you to be careful, though. Okay? Whatever’s going on at the assisted living home, it sounds dangerous. I don’t want you to get hurt.”

  “I’ll be careful,” she promised. “My aunt and uncle are there, they will watch out for me. Nick also said he would keep an eye out for me and asked the staff to do the same. Someone has to cook the meals, and I really do enjoy it. I will just have to hope that I’m wrong, and everything was a coincidence.”

  “Nick?”

  “Oh, he’s the director of the home. He’s a good guy. He seems to really care about his job.”

  “Ah.” Brandon fell silent. Autumn frowned.

  “What?

  “Nothing. It’s not my business anymore, I suppose. Here. Sorry I didn’t drink much of the hot chocolate.” He gave her a tight smile. “I’ll see you sometime. I’ll talk to you after the holidays.”

  Puzzled and slightly hurt at his sudden departure, Autumn watched him go. Her emotions were a mess. She knew that Alicia was right. She hadn’t been in love with Brandan, and she didn’t want to waste her life being married to someone that she didn’t really love. At the same time, some small part of her brain wondered if she had done the right thing. Should she have taken him back? Was it time to settle? Was he her last chance at having a family?

  CHAPTER NINE

  * * *

  Her relationship troubles were relegated to the back burner by the time that she went into work the next day. Thursday evening, she had successfully cooked dinner for the entire assisted living home. Everything had gone smoothly, and she hadn’t felt endangered once. Even better, some of the residents had come forward to compliment her afterward. Not only had she made a meal for thirty people without burning anything, they had liked it enough to thank her.

  It was a good feeling, to know that she had done something right. She had thoroughly enjoyed making the meal, and was already looking forward to going back on Saturday to do it again. Before long, it would be Christmas, her favorite day of the year. She would spend most of the day there, preparing the Christmas feast that they would enjoy together the evening of the holiday. The thought cheered her up even more. She wouldn’t have enjoyed sitting at home alone all by herself. Now, she would be spending it with her aunt and uncle, surrounded by the people that she had gotten to know at the assisted living home.

  “Hi, Ms. Roth,” Grace, one of her employees, said when she got in. Autumn smiled at the younger woman.

  “Hi, Grace,” she replied. “How are you doing today?”

  “Great. I love working at this time of year. Everything just feels so festive. I’m looking forward to the time off around Christmas. I love that Jeb closes the store for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. A lot of places make their employees work through the holiday now.”

  “He’s a good guy,” Autumn said. She frowned, thinking about the store’s fate. She hated being the only one that knew about it.

  “Is something wrong?” Grace asked her.

  “I’m just tired,” she replied. She forced herself to smile. “I’m going to
go take my coat off, then I’ll come back here to help you restock the shelves.”

  She told herself that she wasn’t lying. She was tired. She had been up late the night before looking for new jobs.

  She managed to keep the secret for the next few hours. She focused on her work, restocking shelves, helping customers find what they needed, and wiping the registers clean periodically throughout the day. In the early afternoon, she was surprised to see a familiar face.

  “Nick?” she said.

  The director of the assisted living home turned around and gave her a smile. “Autumn. It’s a small world. I was just thinking about you.” He took in her khaki pants, her green shirt, and her name tag. “Do you work here?”