“Emily Jacobson. This is fine, thanks. I take it black.”
“Have a seat and take your time. If you have any questions just asked. I make everything here, so I can rhyme off the ingredients if there’s something you need to know.” She raised a cup to her lips. “Decaf, but it’s just as good. Are you staying in Braden or just passing through?”
“Staying for the year at least. I’ll be working at the school.”
“I heard there were new people on staff. Maybe you’ll change your mind and decide to stay longer. Braden is a nice place. The people are friendly, if maybe a bit touchy at times, but what can I say? It’s home.”
An elderly man, his weathered face testifying to years working out under the hot Iowa sun, approached the counter and stepped in front of her, ending the conversation. He tapped his cup on the top of the glass case, and mumbled something unintelligible under his voice. With his grizzled gray hair, he reminded her a bit of her grandfather. Gramps hadn’t always had the best manners when he wanted something, and he’d never considered strangers as particularly important. It had driven Gramma nuts.
“Sure thing, Daryl,” Merryn said, not losing the sparkle in her eyes as she refilled the old man’s cup. “Meet Emily. She’s going to be working at the school.”
“You don’t look like any schoolmarm I ever had,” he muttered sourly in that way old people did when they were faced with any kind of change, and looking her up and down with clear blue eyes that belied his age.
“I’m not a teacher,” she said, hoping to disarm the man. “I’m the dietitian working for the federal government. I’m here to assist in implementing the Healthy Living Initiative.”
On her words, the room became deathly quiet, as the other three men in the place stared at her antagonistically.
Wonderful.
“That’s just bureaucratic doublespeak for the government sticking its nose into our business. So… you’re the one who’s come to take poor Mabel’s job away from her. That woman has given her life to that school cafeteria and the feds just shove her aside like trash—”
“You’re mistaken, Daryl,” Emily interrupted, trying not to lose her temper in the face of the old man’s vitriolic and unfounded defense of the woman. “No one is taking Mabel’s place. My job is simply to work as a go-between to help implement the program. For the first year, I’ll be helping her with the menus and the ordering, but the cafeteria will carry on as it always has, except for the foods offered. By the end of the year, Mabel will be on her own once more, and I’ll be off to help another school.” If she had to stay longer in Braden to find the Chef that could be a problem.
Daryl mumbled something she couldn’t hear.
Then Merryn drew her attention away from the crotchety old man. “That program sounds really interesting,” she said, coming out from behind the counter and offering Daryl a plate of chocolate chip cookies, probably hoping to keep him quiet.
It seemed to work since the man glared at her once more, murmured something she couldn’t quite make out, but she assumed wasn’t complimentary, before taking his treats and going back to sit down with the others. She’d expected opposition based on what Lisa had said, but not this.
“Don’t pay Daryl any mind. He’s always sticking his nose in where it doesn’t belong, and since he’s a little sweet on Beatrice, my part-timer, and that woman is Mabel’s best friend, he believes whatever they tell him. Knowing Mabel, she’s turned this into a personal attack. She likes to think the school couldn’t get along without her, but one of these days, Jackson will lose his patience with her and let her go. In the past, I provided the cafeteria with bread and desserts. I suppose now everything will come from the city?”
“No. As a matter of fact, that’s why I came to see you. I was hoping we could get most of our bread, cookies, and other baked goods from you, but you’d have to adhere to the USDA regulations. I have them with me, and wondered if we could work something out.”
“We most certainly can,” Merryn replied. “Let me get Beatrice out here, and we can sit down and talk. She’ll keep Daryl occupied and out of our hair.” She chuckled. “Want a muffin with that coffee? My bumble berry ones are fresh from the oven and low fat, not that you need to watch your weight. I, on the other hand…”
“That sounds great,” Emily said, not wanting to dwell on Merryn’s pregnancy. “You look wonderful.” She continued, hoping the envy she felt wasn’t evident in her voice. “I was quite ill last year, but things are looking up, so I hope to gain a few pounds, and if everything in here tastes as good as it looks, that won’t be a problem.”
An hour later, Emily walked out of the bakery with two loaves of bread and a bag containing muffins, a selection of cookies and half a dozen brownies as well as four brandied pecan tarts, the areas signature dessert. She loaded everything in the car and got into the driver’s seat. Next stop was the sheriff’s office.
Calvin Hines had called her yesterday, and they’d made an appointment to get together around eleven thirty. It was almost that time now, and she didn’t want to be late. In their conversation, Calvin had brought her up to date on the current changes Rick and he had made to her cover to allow her to come and go freely without arousing suspicion. From now on, she was an old college friend’s daughter, and he would do whatever he could to ease the way for her. No doubt, he understood the problems Mabel’s campaign to get rid of her could cause, and since that would be an enormous problem, it had to be nipped in the bud. As he’d said, Mabel might be ready to give a federal nutritionist a hard time, but she’d think twice about doing anything to upset him or Julia, his wife.
Emily had briefly explained her run-in with his deputy, and Calvin had been less than complimentary about his subordinate’s behavior. It seemed the young deputy liked to throw his weight around, and one of these days, the boy would step on the wrong toes and get himself in trouble. She’d asked about the reason Kevin had been called to the River Road. They had pulled a floater out of the water—a middle-aged man with his throat slit and his hands cut off. She was familiar with that type of execution. It was meted out as a warning to those who dared steal from the cartel. There was no way of knowing where he’d gone into the water, but since the river flowed south, it could be anywhere from Canada on down. According to the local coroner, he had been in the water a week or two. Teenagers, intent on skinny dipping, had found him hung up on some brush. It would probably keep those kids out of the water for a while.
Chapter Five
After parking in the designated handicap spot in front of the sheriff’s office, Emily climbed the two steps to the front door. She fervently hoped Kevin was out on a call or not working today. The last thing she wanted was a face-to-face with him just now. She was still reeling from the frost in the eyes of those she’d met at the bakery, except for Merryn, who was more than willing to participate in the program.
Unfortunately, it didn’t seem to be her lucky day. Deputy Dunderhead was sitting at the main desk, and from the leer on his face, she realized he didn’t recognize her.
Oh well, too bad, so sad, but she was here to stay—at least in the short run. “Good morning, deputy,” she said sweetly, hoping he mistook the saccharine in her voice for sugar.
Recognition dawned, and he glared at her. “What are you doing here?” he asked in a hostile tone as if she had no business still being in town, let alone in the office.
“I have an appointment with Sheriff Hines.”
“What for?” he asked suspiciously. “If you’re going to complain about the other night, I had every right to suspect you were drunk. Most people don’t walk like that unless they are.”
“Walk like what?” Calvin Hines asked coming out of his office. He grinned and strode over to her, pulling her into his arms as if they were old friends. “Emily! Good Lord, look how you’ve grown. How are Mom and Dad?”
“They’re good, Uncle Cal,” she said using the name they’d agreed on last night. The look on Kevin’s face was p
riceless. She’d never imagined he could turn that shade of red.
“Let me look at you,” Calvin said holding her away from him, the twinkle in his eye telling her that he was enjoying seeing his deputy this uncomfortable. “You’re mighty thin, girl,” he continued. “How’s that hip treating you?”
“It’s getting better all the time, but it still had a tendency to give me trouble when I overdo it. After unpacking Monday, I went to Buddy’s to pick up some supper, and it almost gave out on me. I was afraid I’d fall flat on my face.” She laughed, seemingly at what she just said, but actually at the deputy whose face had whitened almost to the color of his shirt.
She and Cal had agreed not to mention Deputy Dunderhead’s behavior over the situation. Instead, they’d let him stew in his own juices and wonder if she would ever let that shoe fall.
“I took it easier yesterday.”
“Come on inside, and we’ll talk. I want to know all about this new job of yours.” He turned to go into his office, but stopped and pivoted. “Oh, wait. Where are my manners? Kevin Carlyle, meet Emily Jacobson, she’s the daughter of my best friend. We haven’t seen each other in years. Emily is here to implement the new Healthy Living Initiative at the school. You’ll probably end up working with her since she’ll be doing drug awareness and safety, too. I know you’ll do everything you can to help her. Em has a special parking permit. If you see her car parked in one of those spots, no need to be concerned. You may have to run interference if Mabel doesn’t stop acting like an idiot, too.”
“Pleased to meet you, Kevin,” Emily said straight faced as Cal added to the young deputy’s embarrassment. She held out her hand to him.
The look of confusion on his face was worth every bit of humiliation he’d caused her that night.
“Pleased to meet you, ma’am,” he replied, reaching out to shake her hand, but letting go as soon as he could as if her touch burned him.
Smiling, she followed Calvin into his office.
“That was worth all the aggravation the boy causes me.” Calvin snickered going around his desk and sitting down. “He’s a mite high strung, but he’s got good instincts, and when he thinks before he acts, he does a fine job. Sit. Make yourself comfortable.” He indicated the chair beside her. “I’ve spoken to Julie, and we’d like to take you out to dinner tonight. I’ve invited Mike Reynolds to drop by, so you two can meet in a neutral place that won’t give anything away.”
“Does your wife know the truth about me?”
“Nope, love the woman dearly but … I thought it best to give her the cover story that your dad and I were old classmates. She’s met Mike before since he’s made friends in town with some of the other guys working at the new plant including my son, Morgan. The boy is finding himself. My daughter Faith is away at school. She left last week, and Lilah, my eldest lives out of state. Hopefully, after she meets you, she can put in a good word with Mabel. That woman has the whole town worked up about nothing.”
Emily chuckled. “So I’ve noticed, but I think I’ve convinced a few to give me a chance and I’ll keep at it. If everyone is against me, it’ll make my real job here even harder. I need their help if I’m going to stop the Chef.”
“Understood. I’ll do my part, too. Now, how can I help you?”
“Basically, I need to be kept in the loop if things change around here. From what we discussed last night, despite the floater, I gather there hasn’t been an increase in crime in the area—no robberies, home invasions or physical assaults, in spite of the short tempers all the problems have caused. It doesn’t sound as if there’s been an increase in drug use either, but if that changes, it’ll tell us the Chef is ready to get started. He begins by giving product away, and once he’s got someone hooked, he moves in for the kill. He’ll get a place no one would ever suspect would house a meth lab, and teach someone else to follow his recipe and produce the meth for him, then he’ll find others to sell for him or carry it to other markets. My boss is certain he’s looking to make this the hub of a distribution center in the northern Midwest since the southern states are pretty much already serviced. He offers a lot of money to those who help him, but only one or two will know his real identity, and once everything is established and running smoothly, he’ll move on, killing those who can identify him.”
“What kind of person can cook this stuff up?”
“Anyone with the proper equipment can set up a meth kitchen just about anywhere. In the past, he’s targeted pharmacists, science students or teachers, short order cooks, lab assistants, basically anyone who can follow a recipe. I’ve heard of someone doing it in the front seat of a car, but for the quantity he’ll want to produce, think of a larger space—a barn, a warehouse, the basement of a house, a two-car garage, an apartment, that kind of things. Producing the meth can be extremely dangerous since breathing in the fumes can damage the nasal passages, lungs, and eventually the brain. The ingredients themselves are highly reactive and can explode. We don’t believe the Chef is a user, and neither are those he trains to work for him, so they’ll be wearing hazmat suits and breathing apparatus to protect themselves. But there have still been fires and explosions in labs he started because of errors made by inexperienced cooks, which is why he finds the best and the brightest to do his dirty work.”
“A lot of people have that kind of equipment at home. Braden has a large volunteer fire and paramedics department. I’ll keep a closer eye on them and make sure gear doesn’t disappear. Why would anyone help him?”
“For the money…lots of money…and in a cash strapped area like here now, he could have any number of willing associates. We also think the man is charismatic, convincing those who help him that no harm is being done. One lab in Modesto, California, didn’t sell any of its product locally, but turning people into users isn’t the only problem a town with a kitchen faces. For each pound of meth produced, you’re looking at five to seven pounds of toxic waste. These chemicals get dumped everywhere and anywhere, and eventually end up contaminating the local drinking water supply. Cooks in cities will even dump the chemicals into the toilet, sinks, or tub, and that ends up causing huge problems, especially in tenement buildings where both the fumes and the residue can affect everyone’s health.”
“I don’t understand young people. Why would anyone willingly put that poison into their bodies?’
“Why does anyone drink alcohol, smoke or take any drug? For the euphoria, they get from it, but like so many other addictive drugs, they’re forever chasing the high because after the first time, it’s never quite the same. But it isn’t just young people. Meth can give an incredible energy boost that lasts for up to twelve hours. When we think meth users, we think addicts, but there are a lot of people who use meth and still function without anyone being the wiser—frazzled overworked people burning the candle at both ends—no one expects to get hooked.”
“Damn shame that we’ve gotten to the point in society when a decent life can’t be enough for a person.”
She shook her head. “Sadly, more and more people are stretched to the limit these days. My boss Kyle was saying that meth use increased when the economy went south and people were so stressed. Meth is a relatively cheap high. Fifteen bucks to make your problems go away for a few hours. Most people can’t even get drunk on that, but when they come down, the depression is worse than ever, so they crave another hit.”
“You don’t think this Chef of yours has set up shop yet, right?”
She nodded. “Our inside information says he’s already been here, scoping out the area, finding what he needs, and getting himself ready. It’ll take him a while to get everything in place. The only drugstore in town would notice if all the cold medicine it stocked was vanishing off the shelves too quickly, just like those who sell lithium batteries, antifreeze, or naphtha might notice a serious increase in sales. I’ll give you a list of the ingredients he uses, and you can ask local merchants to watch for unusual activity for those products. I’ll have you send the in
formation to every law officer within a hundred mile radius, too. If we can make things difficult for him, he may get discouraged and move on, find another place to set up shop.”
“As much as I’d like that, it wouldn’t solve the problem or stop him. We’ll get him, Emily. Rick told me what the man has done in the past, and what he’s done to you personally, and it stops here. I’ll talk to Jackson and make sure he knows what to look for in his students.”
“I’m meeting with Mr. Harris next Friday, but we’ve decided he needs to stay out of the loop for now. He’s too close to the problem, and if he knows the truth about me, he could ruin everything.” She didn’t mention that in the past, highly placed school officials had turned a blind eye to missing supplies and drug use for the right price.
The sheriff frowned. “I think you’re wrong. Keeping Kevin out of it makes sense since he’d overreact, but I think Jackson could be a valuable ally. He’s a good, solid man, a pillar of the community. Losing his uncle last spring was hard on him, and I almost thought he’d leave Braden and move on to the big city, but he stayed. You could do a lot worse than have him watch your back.”
She chuckled. “Maybe you’re right, but at the moment, I have to make sure he keeps Mrs. Loucks from sticking a knife in it.”
“Mabel has sure got a bee in her bonnet over this. She’s not usually mean-spirited, but she’d always been possessive of the idea that she feeds the bodies and minds of those kids. She won’t take kindly to change, but, if you can win her over, she’ll be your strongest supporter.”
“I hope so. My real job here is supposed to be the dangerous one, not the cover.”
Calvin nodded. “I’ve made the reservation for seven. Do you want us to pick you up?”
“No. I’ll meet you there.” She stood and walked to the door. “I’ll see you later, and thanks.”
Opening the door, she was pleased to see Kevin wasn’t in sight and hurried out to her car. She had one more stop to make before going home.
Secrets and Lies (Hearts Of Braden Book 4) Page 7