Magic & Mystery

by Sara Bourgeois

  “There’s a lot about him you don’t know,” she said thoughtfully as we pulled into the Hyvee parking lot. “You’d feel differently about him if you knew more.”

  “What don’t I know?” I asked as I turned off the ignition. “Please tell me. I want to understand.”

  “It’s not my story to tell, dear. I’m many things, but I’m not a gossip. I will talk to you later about Frankie, but if you want to know more about Brody, you’re going to have to find a way to get him to talk to you,” she said and got out of the SUV.

  It was frustrating to me that she wouldn’t spill the beans, but I was more frustrated with myself for assuming that just because Nora lived in a small town, she would tell me everything she knew. I had presumed Nora had far less integrity than she actually did, and I felt like a jerk.

  We got most of our shopping done quickly. My stomach had begun to protest again, and I wanted nothing more than to get home and fix supper.

  As we rounded the corner to the bread aisle, I heard two familiar voices in the next aisle engaged in a heated conversation. I could swear it was Brody and Sylvie arguing right in the frozen food section. I couldn’t make out what they were saying, so I turned the cart around and attempted to head that way.

  “We didn’t get our bread,” Nora protested.

  “I think that’s Brody and Sylvie arguing in the next aisle. I can’t hear what they are saying. I’ve got to get closer,” I said without stopping.

  Nora reached her hand out and gently grabbed my arm. “Dear one, you’ve got to get your raging feelings for that boy under control. Look at you ready to charge over there and start a scene in the grocery store.”

  “I’m not jealous or anything. I’m worried it has something to do with Frankie’s estate or the murders.” But that was only a half truth. I was jealous. Only people who cared about one another argued like that. I thought Sylvie was sweet on Jimbo the bartender and bouncer. What was she doing having an argument with my man?

  Oh jeez.

  “Oh really?” Nora asked with her eyebrow raised.

  “I’m just going to go over and say hi. It’s the neighborly thing to do,” I said.

  Nora sighed loudly. “Fine. I’ll get the bread.”

  The expressions on Brody and Sylvie’s faces as I rounded the corner was exactly what I’d expected. They looked busted. I wondered if they’d come to the Hyvee in another town to meet because they figured no one from Ash Road would see them here.

  That didn’t make sense. I was sure that, just like Nora and I were doing, people from Ash Road shopped at this particular store all of the time. They’d met here because they didn’t figure they’d see me.

  I had myself thoroughly convinced of it, and I could feel the heat rising in my cheeks with my temper. Still, I put on a sweet smile.

  “Hey, you guys. I didn’t expect to run into you here.”

  Both of them stuttered and stumbled, and neither one issued a coherent sentence. Suddenly I felt self-conscious because I didn’t know what to say either.

  “Hello, Brody and Sylvie,” Nora chirped cheerfully from behind me. “It’s a pleasure to see you both.”

  “Brody, can I speak to you for a moment?” I asked stiffly.

  He nodded solemnly, and I led him away from the frozen foods to the nearby yogurt section.

  “This isn’t what it looks like,” Brody whispered even though we were out of earshot of Nora and Sylvie.

  “Oh yeah? And what does it look like?” I asked sarcastically. I wanted to know exactly what he thought I’d caught him doing. I believed it was far better to let him tattle on himself.

  “I mean...” He stuttered and rubbed the rough stubble that had formed on his chin. “Sylvie and I aren’t here together. I mean we aren’t together.”

  “So you two just happened to run into each other in the frozen food aisle?”

  “No, I mean...we met here. I have my reasons. Please trust me,” he said.

  “Trust you?” I almost shouted. “You want me to believe you? After this?” I said and swept my arm around to indicate I meant the current situation. “You’ve got to be kidding.” My voice was shrill.

  “Lara.” Nora’s stern voice cut through my hysteria. “Not here, dear,” she said and beckoned me.

  “This isn’t over,” I said to Brody.

  “Please trust me, honey.”

  “Honey?” I hissed.

  “Lara, let’s go. You can find a better place to discuss these matters with Mr. O’Malley.”

  “Fine,” I said, and in retrospect, I admit that I stomped off like a petulant child.

  While I cooked the meat for the tacos, Nora chopped up a head of lettuce and a couple of tomatoes. She was behind me at the white wood kitchen table, and I stood at the stove.

  “Do you think there is something romantic between Sylvie and Brody?” I asked without turning around.

  “I think you’re mistaken about their connection,” she said cryptically.

  “What does that mean?”

  “I really don’t feel comfortable telling you about Sylvie and Brody’s lives. You should talk to them,” she said.

  “I’ve tried. Well, I’ve tried talking to Brody. He clams up every time. I don’t get it,” I said. “You know, I’ll just level with you. I’ve found evidence that someone has tampered with Frankie Horowitz’s records. I think Brody and the mayor are in cahoots to get at her estate.”

  “You’re wrong about Brody. You should trust me on that.”

  “Are you sure?” I turned around to face her. I was still skeptical.

  “Lara, I’ve lived in Ash Road all my life. Brody is not who you think. He’s got his reasons for doing anything he’s doing. I assure you of that. Now that Sylvie on the other hand...I won’t gossip, but you shouldn’t trust her,” Nora said seriously.

  “Really? She seems so sweet. She saved Jinx.” Right on cue, the cat walked in and laid down at Nora’s feet.

  “She’s definitely not who you think she is,” Nora said.

  “Really? People seem to not like her because she’s an exotic dancer on the weekends. Is that why you don’t like her?” I asked in as non-judgmental of a tone as I could muster.

  “Heavens, no. I don’t care about stuff like that. I don’t think as many people in Ash Road care as you think, either. That’s a convenient excuse so that Sylvie doesn’t have to take responsibility for her poor reputation,” Nora said as she put diced-up tomato into a bowl.

  “There was the arrest for passing bad checks,” I said, remembering the arrest.

  “That’s bad enough, but there’s reason to believe there’s more,” she said.

  “You’re not going to tell me, though. Are you?” I stated with a chuckle.

  “I don’t want to distract you from what matters,” she said with a warm smile. “About Frankie’s estate. You said that you didn’t know how big her estate is. I don’t have any exact numbers for you, but it’s millions, sugar. Probably tens of millions.”

  “How is there no record of her estate?” I murmured to myself.

  “There are records somewhere. I can’t tell you what happened to them, but there has to be a paper trail. I know she had to have a will. Frankie was a smart cookie. There’s no way that she would leave anything to chance. Frankie would have wanted her money to go to building something good and not fall into the hands of whoever was greedy enough to take it.”

  “You know, that knowledge only makes me more suspicious about Brody and his father. That’s a lot of money. That’s the kind of money people kill for.”

  Chapter Thirteen

  Lara

  After dinner, I decided that I wanted to hear what Sylvie and Brody’s connection was from Sylvie. I was curious about what she’d have to say. Nora didn’t like her, so instead of inviting her over to the house, I asked her to meet me at the tavern. After learning that the Horowitz estate was potentially worth tens of millions of dollars, I needed a stiff drink.

  When I got to the t
avern, I ordered two margaritas. Jimbo was tending bar and he gave me a look.

  “I’ll have to go to the back and get those margarita glasses, and I don’t have a blender,” he said flatly.

  “Do you have salt?” I asked.

  “Yeah, I’ve got a container back here somewhere,” he said and began rooting around in a cabinet.

  “Don’t worry about finding margarita glasses. Just use two highball glasses instead,” I said.

  “As you wish.” He bowed and set to making the drinks.

  By the time Sylvie arrived, Jimbo was setting the two margaritas on the rocks on the bar in front of me. I smiled and gave him a five-dollar tip. He’d even managed to find little umbrellas under the bar, and that lifted my spirits a bit.

  “Oh, margaritas,” Sylvie cooed as she sat on the stool next to me. “So, how’s the cat? What did you name him?”

  “I’m calling him Jinx,” I said and took a sip of my drink. “I thought it sounded cute.”

  “That is sweet,” Sylvie said and waved at Jimbo. “Hey, baby, can you get me a shot of tequila to go with this?” she asked and pointed to the margarita.

  Jimbo brought her the shot and she immediately downed it. I waited while she chased the Jose Cuervo with a big gulp of her margarita.

  “Sylvie, I asked you to meet me so that we could talk about you and Brody,” I said.

  “What about us?” she asked innocently. Sylvie batted her eyelashes at me and did her best to impersonate someone who had nothing to hide, but it didn’t fool me.

  That was the first time I’d seen the cracks in Sylvie’s persona. I didn’t see a murderous sociopath hidden behind her smile, but I could smell a con. I’d been caught off guard by her when I first got to town because I didn’t know anyone, but it was apparent that she was as fake as a ten-dollar Rolex.

  “Are you guys involved?” I asked after another big gulp of my margarita. “Like, with each other.”

  “It’s nothing like that,” Sylvie said with a wave of her hand.

  I looked at her skeptically but said nothing.

  “We’re old family friends. It’s nothing more. I get the feeling you’re sweet on him, though,” she said and masterfully turned the spotlight back on me.

  “So, you and Brody have never been involved in any kind of romantic relationship?” I wasn’t sure why I was pushing that aspect of my inquiry, but at that time, I was following my gut.

  “Okay, alright. You caught me. Brody and I dated a while back. It didn’t last long, and neither one of us is interested in each other anymore. I swear.”

  “It’s over then?” I asked but didn’t give her a chance to answer. “That’s good. I’m relieved about that. Why were you guys arguing at the Hyvee? I didn’t mean to eavesdrop, but it was hard not to hear that you were angry.”

  “You didn’t hear what we were saying?” she asked and waved for Jimbo. “Another shot please, baby.”

  It didn’t get past me that she answered my question with a question. She wanted to know what I knew before answering. That was a red flag.

  Was she ordering another shot because of her nerves?

  “I couldn’t hear what you were saying, but I could definitely tell that your voices were angry. It has me worried. I know it sounds paranoid, but it almost feels like you guys met there because you thought I wouldn’t be there. But that doesn’t make sense either. Why wouldn’t you guys just meet at a restaurant or something? You know what I mean?”

  “The Hyvee is the only store that has the brand of ice cream that I like. I’ve looked at every store within three counties and no one else has it. Of course, that means it sells out within a day of them stocking it cause I’m not the only one who loves it. The frozen food manager is sweet on me, so he calls me whenever it’s in,” Sylvie said.

  “You work at an ice cream shop. Surely Stan’s stuff is better than grocery store ice cream,” I said.

  “Better according to who? I like my brand,” she said, finishing her margarita.

  “That still doesn’t explain why you had Brody meet you there,” I said.

  She hesitated for a moment and then answered. “He wanted to talk to me about his father, but don’t ask me to give you details about that. That’s not my story to share,” she said. “I gotta go.”

  With that, Sylvie stood up, waved to Jimbo, and left. She called out “Good night, Lara,” as she sashayed out the door.

  Awesome, I thought. Not only had Sylvie not cleared anything up, but she’d also made the mystery deeper. What kind of family stuff could Brody be discussing with an ex-girlfriend? He had family problems with Gordon, but why would he want to talk to Sylvie about them? I hadn’t realized the two of them were that close of friends.

  I had new information, though. I wondered what Brody would have to say about what Sylvie had told me at the bar.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Gordon O’Malley

  Gordon knew that Brody had figured out what he’d done. He just hoped that his veiled threats concerning Brody’s sister, Madeline, would be enough to keep Brody’s mouth shut. The mayor hadn’t cared much about having Sylvie kill Ellie, but another death would probably have been a step too far. Especially since that simpering idiot had put a member of law enforcement in a coma during the commission of her crime.

  Sylvie also no longer seemed interested in serving him in the manner in which he’d become accustomed. The little tart had gone and grown a conscience after killing Ellie, and Gordon wasn’t too sure if he’d continue to hold her loyalty.

  One issue was that Lara was far more determined to find the truth than Gordon could have imagined. He expected her to come to town, look around, get frustrated with the search, sign off on Ash Road inheriting the estate, collect her paycheck, and move on.

  It’s what he would have done. How was she so resistant to easy money? He’d give anything for an effortless paycheck. Why was she so driven to make her own life more complicated?

  If he could figure that out, he’d know how to push her buttons. Gordon believed that everyone had buttons to push and that everyone had a price.

  At that point, Lara had passed up the opportunity for easy money, and she hadn’t fled the town in fear when her friend died. What else could he do? Then it hit him.

  Brody.

  Gordon had heard around town that the determined genealogist was sweet on his son, so those were the strings he needed to pull. The only way to get to Brody, other than through Lara, was Madeline.

  Brody’s younger sister was in a special home in New York State. She received the best care for her “condition,” but it kept the young woman far away from him. The last thing he needed was more embarrassment from her. If she came back to Ash Road and kicked up trouble, he might not get reelected.

  If Gordon was no longer mayor, the next one would discover Ash Road’s financial difficulties. If that happened, at best Mayor O’Malley would never work in politics again. At worst, he’d spend a long time in prison.

  It wasn’t just his mishandling of his duties, Gordon had been funneling the town’s money into his personal bank accounts for years. He hadn’t started out a thief, Gordon told himself. At one point he’d been a young, idealistic politician who wanted to save the world.

  But in his current opinion, the world didn’t want to be saved, and the lure of the money had been too strong. It hadn’t happened overnight, but instead, his progression from idealistic dreamer to criminal had happened a little bit at a time. Greed and lack of discipline chipped away at his core.

  As Gordon looked out the window of his office at the beautifully manicured grounds of his home, he knew that there was no way that he would go down without a fight. He would not give up the comforts that surrounded him.

  Gordon would find a way to let Brody know that Madeline’s situation was dependent on his cooperation, and Brody would benefit from the estate as well. Gordon would make sure that Brody had enough money to secure the Federal contracts that would change the trajectory of his
career. All his son had to do was yield.

  If not, Gordon had accepted that the death of his son might be the necessary end.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Lara

  I got to work the next day two hours early. I’d hoped to get a chance to comb through the archives again alone. Unfortunately, Brody showed up thirty minutes into my search. At that point, I was convinced he was keeping an eye on me, or he was stalking me.

  “Lara, I’m sorry,” Brody said from behind me.

  I continued to go through the file drawer I’d been searching when he walked in and did not turn around to look at him. I heard him take a step closer.

  “Lara?”

  “What exactly are you sorry for, Brody?” I asked without turning.

  “I’m sorry that I can’t say the things you want to hear,” he whispered.

  “You didn’t tell me that Sylvie was your ex-girlfriend,” I said flatly.

  “It was brief, and I knew you’d want to know why we broke up. You seemed to like her and I didn’t want to tell you negative things about her. I’m not the kind of guy who badmouths exes. I wanted to let you form your own opinion of her.”

  “So are you going to tell me why it didn’t work out?” I asked as I finally turned to face him.

  “Are you sure you want to know?”

  “I’m sure I’m about ready for you to tell me something. You are so secretive. Give me something, Brody. Please,” I said and inhaled sharply when he took another step toward me.

  “She was using me,” he said, and his shoulders slumped.

  “For money?” I asked softly.

  “That’s what I thought at first, but she had other reasons,” he said.

  “What were the other reasons?”

  “That’s not for me to say,” he said and left the room.

  I had to take deep breaths and count to ten. I was so close to getting him to tell me something, and he left the room. I wondered what Sylvie could have used Brody for if it weren’t money. What else did he have that she could want?