by M A Comley
Lucy raised an eyebrow. “Intriguing? More like downright dangerous.”
“Oh, now you have piqued my interest. Okay, I respect your vow of silence, but if someday you need to vent or release the information for the state of your health, please come and fill me in. I’ll be all ears.”
“Listen, I’m so grateful for your kindness. I think it was the thought of being without a phone that triggered the panic attack.”
“You’re welcome to use mine.”
“No, I’m fine. I’ll have one by tonight.”
“The offer stands if you change your mind. Come back anytime. Hope to see more of you next door. We moved in only a month ago and I haven’t had a chance to make any friends yet.”
“Good, then I can return the favor and introduce you. The usual hangout in the village is temporarily closed for vacation, but as soon as Sal’s reopens, we’ll go for coffee, my treat.”
“Sal’s?”
“Sal’s Sweets. Best bakery and coffee in town.”
“Sounds ideal.”
“Okay, I’ll get going. Thank you so much. I’ll be forever in your debt. If I had my way, I would be in the ER right now. This was much more preferable.”
“You did all the hard work. I only guided you on your journey. Bye now.”
22
Brendon came into the house and found Lucy napping on the sofa. “Hey, sleepyhead, I’m home.” He kissed the top of her head and went back in the hallway to hang up his jacket.
“Something smells good. Is it chili?” He glanced over his shoulder as Lucy approached.
“Yes, I hope you don’t mind. You told me to make myself at home. Ugh… I must look a mess. I’m just so tired.”
“Is something wrong, Lucy? I know the past twenty-four hours haven’t been the best for you, but you’re safe here.”
“I’ll tell you about it later.”
“Okay. That chili is making my stomach rumble.”
“Go on and sit down. I’ve set the table already. I’ll bring you a bowl.”
“Let me wash up first.”
Lucy served up and carried two bowls of steaming chili to the table. Brendon’s eyes lit up as she handed him his bowl, a thick layer of mozzarella cheese melted over the top. She was back a minute later with a basket of sliced bread and two glasses of cold milk to combat the heat.
“Luce, you sure know the way to a man’s heart. This is absolutely awesome.”
His compliment forced a smile out of her, before shyness set in. “I had to find something to do.” Tears blurred her vision.
He paused and he laid down his spoon and reached across the table to put his hand on her cheek. “It’s catching up with you, isn’t it?”
She shrugged.
“What is it, sweetie?”
“It was sort of a bad day. I had what I guess was my first panic attack.”
“Really? How do you know that’s what it was?”
“Have you met your new neighbors—the Rathbornes?”
“Can’t say I have. I haven’t been around here much lately, and when I am, it’s generally dark and I go straight to bed. You know how it’s been.”
“I freaked out. Brendon, it felt like I was dying. I ran out of the house when I realized I didn’t even have a phone. I went to their house and beat on the door to ask them to call an ambulance. Mary, that’s the wife’s name, was so kind. She’s a nurse, I guess, and lucky for me, it didn’t take her long to work out what was going on. She got me through it.”
“You ever have that before?”
“No. I told you, it’s my first one. I thought I was bloody dying. I sought out help, not even thinking about using your house phone. I was in panic mode all right. Horrible it was, absolutely terrible.”
He tucked a few stray hairs behind her ear and ran a hand down her cheek. “I’m not surprised. Look at the stress you’ve been under lately.”
“That’s what she said. I didn’t tell her anything that’s going on in my life right now. The fewer people who know the truth, the easier it will be to solve this mystery and get back to a normal life.”
“I think that’s a good way of looking at it. Since we’re on the topic, we had a bit of good luck come our way today.”
Lucy sat up straight. “Really? I hope you’re referring to what happened to me?”
“Sorry, not this time. Although you’re at the top of my list, priority wise.”
“Okay, what then?”
“I sent a detective over to the Stiltson neighborhood to talk to the doctor’s neighbors. I got to thinking that all small towns are alike. If anything looks out of place, you can count on neighbors taking notice.”
“And? What was the outcome?” she asked, her chili all but forgotten, and the cheese firming up. Brendon glanced at it.
“You need to eat, Luce. I’ll tell you in a second, but first take a couple of bites. I don’t want you having another panic attack.”
Lucy shoved two quick bites into her mouth and then gestured for him to continue.
“Okay, so a woman who lives across the street told Matt that she has a sewing room located at the front of her house. It has a window that overlooks the street and I gather she keeps track of the comings and goings of the neighbors from there.”
“And? The suspense is killing me, Brendon. What did she see?”
“It seems that the good doctor wasn’t entirely faithful to his wife. The neighbor reports that Mrs. Stiltson would leave for several days at a time to go and visit her sister somewhere on the east coast. As soon as her car cleared the end of the street, another arrived and a woman got out and went inside.”
“No! Really? Can’t say I’m surprised. I sort of gathered that from Connie, the waitress. Remember? I told you about our waitress at the Roadside Café? The first time we were there, the doctor was also there with some other men. Connie made quite a spectacle of herself, hanging over his plate with her blouse pulled down. He turned away, embarrassed, but I could tell there was something going on between them. Then, the other night when Sophia and Jenny were with me, he came storming into the café and screamed at her, shaking his finger in her face. He also shouted something about ‘that it was to come to an end.’”
“I don’t remember all this,” Brendon commented.
“Damn, did I forget to tell you? Thinking about it, the confrontation happened the night of the fire; maybe I’m guilty of having other, more demanding issues on my mind.” She reached for a chunk of bread and began nibbling, then gasped. “Do you think this was a woman scorned type of murder? Could Connie be our killer?”
“I wouldn’t know. I just got this information before I came home. Sounds like I need to stop by the café and have a chat with this Connie.”
“You want to go now?” Lucy dropped her spoon into the bowl and was halfway out of her chair.
“Hey, Luce, slow down. The doctor and the waitress might have had a thing, but that doesn’t answer all the questions. For instance, why they would come after you? You barely know the waitress and certainly haven’t had anything to do with the doctor, right?”
“Other than she waited on our table at the café, and I saw him a couple of times professionally.”
“Sweetheart,” he said, pulling her down onto his lap and putting his arms around her, “I know how badly you want this all to be over and done with, but we can’t railroad someone just because it makes you feel safer. We have to arrest the right person or we have nothing at all. Besides, I doubt the waitress did it. If she did, she’s got more guts than I could imagine. Killing his wife and then going back to work like nothing had ever happened—even waiting on him and flirting?”
Her head dipped. “I suppose you’re right.”
“Let’s watch a movie tonight, it’ll give you time to get all this out of your head. I’ll go back there tomorrow and talk to the neighbor myself. In the meantime, let’s clean up dinner and run over to the phone store and get you set up. I don’t like you not having a way of reaching me.�
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Lucy hugged him around the neck. “Oh, I do love you, Brendon. You said you’d look after me and that’s exactly what you’re doing. Thanks for the loan of the truck too, I’d like to look in on Jenny tomorrow, and maybe Marnie, if that’s okay? It’s supposed to rain tonight, maybe I’ll be able to collect some of my possessions from the house, even if they are soaked.”
“Before you do that, let me have the fire marshal go over and check out the site. If it’s alright for you to enter without danger, I’ll tell him to tie a length of yellow tape around the tree in the front yard. Don’t go near until you see it, you hear me?”
Lucy nodded and rose. She picked up the dishes and wandered over to the sink.
“Hey, I was eating that.” Brendon made a grab for his bowl.
“You wanted to get to the phone store before it shuts. It’ll warm up, and there’s cake and ice cream for dessert when we get back.”
“Women,” he muttered. He wiped his mouth on his napkin and grinned.
Later that evening, Lucy and Brendon left the phone store.
As with all new gadgets, Lucy wanted to stay up late and play with it. It had far more features than her previous model. Brendon smiled, went to bed and left her to tinker with her new device.
23
Brendon had already left for work when Lucy fried herself an egg, suddenly realizing that she was missing the camaraderie of Sal’s, along with a cup of her favorite coffee. She dressed, sourced the small plastic bag the phone had come in that would serve as a temporary purse, and locked up the house as she left. Mary was out front, sweeping her sidewalk. “Hey, how are you?”
Mary waved. “I’m fine, more importantly, how are you?”
Lucy gave her a big thumbs up. “I’m setting off to begin the onerous task of putting my life back together.”
Mary returned the thumbs up and wished her luck. Lucy climbed into the big four-by-four Dodge and fired it up. She loved sitting up high. It gave her a sense of power—well, at least a bit more control. She headed into town first. To the thrift store, to be exact, to see what bargains she could find for her non-existent wardrobe. She loved re-purposing thrift store finds. Lucy felt excited at the prospect, although all her crafting equipment had been lost in the fire. She’d overcome that tiny obstacle in the near future, she hoped.
She turned down Market Street and noticed a lot of cars along the curb. Someone must be having a sale. Her gaze followed the path of a couple of women, and she was amazed to see an OPEN sign on Sal’s Sweets. “Huh!”
Lucy quickly found an available space, but parking the vehicle was a hassle as the truck was far larger than her own car before its untimely demise. What it had lacked in horsepower, it had made up for in being able to squeeze into tiny places. As it happened, the parking spot she selected was right outside her insurance company. “No time like the present,” she said and went there first.
“I wondered when I would see you, Lucy,” said old Mrs. Roberts, not to be confused with her daughter-in-law, young Mrs. Roberts. Len Roberts, son of old Mrs. Roberts, had brought home a mail-order bride from the Ukraine. It had been quite the talk of the town for some time. Enough that old Mrs. Roberts, as she was then to become known, solidly put her foot down. Len was to inherit the business at his father’s death, but his mother had seen nothing but disaster in Len’s marriage to the Ukrainian girl. She had stubbornly put her foot down, refused to put the insurance business in Len’s name, believing that the young hussy, as old Mrs. Roberts called her, was out for Len’s money and she was determined their generations-old insurance company wasn’t going to become part of the pot at the end of that particular rainbow. Len, unhappy with his mother, hired his Ukrainian wife to be a receptionist at the insurance company. It was his way of making both women happy, sort of.
“I suppose you’ve heard?” Lucy asked.
“Sure did, honey. My heart went out to you the moment I heard. Have the police found anything yet?”
“No. They have to wait until the site has cooled down before they can go digging around. In the meantime, I am quite literally carless and homeless. You hold the policies, so I’m here to get things rolling.”
“Of course you are, and we’ll get the paperwork organized for you now. Would you like a cup of coffee?”
“No, no thank you. I’ve had one and frankly, I see that Sal’s is back open, so I’ll shoot over there once we’re done. I’ve missed them.”
“Such a shame,” old Mrs. Roberts sighed.
“Shame? What is?”
“Oh, my, don’t tell me you haven’t heard? Unfortunately, one of their daughters was in a car accident. Sal and Dan got the call in the middle of the night and rushed over there to be with her. Poor thing. Damaged her back and she’s in a wheelchair right now. They don’t know whether she’ll walk again.”
“Oh, no! That’s simply awful.”
“Yes, it is. We may be a small village, but we have our share of misery just like any big city, I suppose. Now then, let’s get started on those forms.”
Old Mrs. Roberts busied herself with the filing cabinet while Lucy sat in the chair, staring across the street with huge tears in her eyes. How could I suspect Sal? What a hateful person I am.
Brendon had warned her there could be a hundred explanations for the two by four, and she’d chosen the least honorable reason to believe. Lucy decided she’d wait a day or so until the curious crowds died down and then visit both of her friends, in the hope of offering them comfort.
Old Mrs. Roberts kept Lucy busy for the better part of an hour and then walked her to the door. “Like I said, I have to call the underwriter and they’ll send over an adjustor. You should hear from someone within the next day or two. They’ll take it from there. You’re completely covered and hopefully can be out looking for a builder or a new home in no time at all.”
“I can’t thank you enough, Mrs. Roberts.” The older woman smiled and closed the door. With one last long look at Sal’s Sweets, Lucy returned to the truck and drove to Jenny’s house.
Jenny met her at the door. “They’re back!” was the first thing Jenny said.
“I know. I just went to Roberts Insurance and saw the crowds heading in there. I thought I’d give them a day or so to get back into the swing of things before I go and see them. It’s a shame about their daughter.” As soon as the words were out of her mouth, Lucy wanted to take them back. There was Jenny, the result of exactly the same misfortune and being expected to extend sympathy to someone else.
Jenny nodded sympathetically. “Yes, I heard. I’m sure she’ll be fine, but I will give her a call. She’ll want someone to unload on and might have questions. I could help her.”
“I’m sure the whole family would appreciate that. You’re such a generous, sweet person.”
“We all can be, when we try,” Jenny said in an odd voice that caught Lucy off-guard. She wondered if she’d done something to offend Jenny. She was right, though. Perhaps everyone had it in themselves to be good, but some failed to let it out.
Lucy sat down at the kitchen table, but refused the offer of a cup of coffee. “Thank you, no. I have so many errands and I’d hate to be caught short in the middle of something.”
“Don’t you hate that?” Jenny laughed. “What do you think of Brendon’s place? You know you can always come here and stay with me if it’s not suitable for you.”
“Oh, thank you. That’s so sweet, but I’m fine. Well, sort of, anyway. The first day was rough. No phone, no vehicle, no nothing. I’m afraid I had a little breakdown and had a panic attack.”
“Oh, Lucy, no!”
“I’ve never had one before and it was really scary. I can’t imagine living with them on a regular basis. Anyway, I got so freaked out that I ran outside to find someone who could call an ambulance. Turns out that Brendon has a new neighbor who happens to be a nurse. She recognized the signs and talked me through it. A really nice lady called Mary. She’ll fit right in around here.”
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�Oh, that’s good. Maybe I’ll meet her at Sal’s one day.”
“I’ll make sure she comes with me, so I can introduce her to everyone. It’s a great place to start to get to know people in town, we all know that.”
“Anything from Brendon yet, about the Stiltsons?”
“As a matter of fact, yes. It seems Dr. Stiltson was seeing someone outside of his marriage.”
“Connie from the café?” Jenny jumped in.
“You knew?”
“Oh come on, we all did, didn’t we? Anyone with eyes could see she was flirting with him. And then what about the confrontation they had at the café? There had to be something going on between them. It sounded like she had been behaving like a jilted woman.”
Lucy stopped short. “Hmm… you think?”
“Of course. Oh, she might have had her days at the top of the list, but I have an inkling he wanted nothing more to do with her. He made a public spectacle of himself letting her know that. It was very embarrassing. It wouldn’t surprise me one bit if he hasn’t already moved on to a new woman.”
Lucy nodded without saying a word to dispute the notion or agree with it. Who was his next amor?
The girls chatted a while longer, reliving the excitement of the past few days and pondering how Sylvia’s death could be connected or not. Lucy finally stood up. “I need to run. I’m going to the thrift store and shop for some new outfits. You want to come with me?”
“Oh, no, not exactly a good day for going out. A bit tired. I’m just not used to all this cloak and dagger, living on the edge stuff. Let me know when you’re going to Sal’s so I can join you there.”
“You are funny. I’ll drop by tomorrow and take you to Sal’s. And Jenny, thank you for being such a good friend. You mean everything to me.” Lucy bent and hugged her.
“That’s what friends are for, silly. Anyway, you’ve been there for me in the past and don’t go denying it either.”
She left the house and climbed back into the truck. Her next stop was the thrift store close to the shore. It attracted people from all areas up and down the coast. Lucy was particularly interested in the items people donated after clearing out the attic. She had a strong nostalgic streak running through her, one that belonged to another era entirely by all accounts. Mark had always despised the clothes she bought, although he’d never had the courage to tell her outright, not until the divorce had been finalized. His stinging words only made her more determined. She wondered if Brendon would ever turn on her the way Mark had. Stop being so insecure! He loves me, that’s the end of the subject.