by Cindy Bell
“About the same.” She stretched her arms above her head. “I just can’t seem to get out of this funk.” As she fed Cashew she listened to the steady drip of the coffee pot.
After breakfast, she still felt as if something was very off. She knew one way to brighten her attitude.
“I think I’m going to bake something nutty for Steve. This entire thing has been hard on him.”
“The quickest way to a man’s heart is through his stomach.” George quirked an eyebrow as he stepped out of the kitchen.
“That’s not why, Grandpa!”
“If you say so.” His laughter echoed down the hallway as he headed to his room. She sighed then looked through her recipe box for the perfect choice. She had created some recipes to use the ingredients she sold and offered a recipe card to customers for free with their purchase. When she found the recipe she wanted she plucked it from the box. As she began to collect the ingredients, her mind calmed. All of the anxiety she felt about Reiner being arrested started to fade. Even if everything didn’t line up, there was clear evidence that he was responsible. There was justice for Damian, and though that didn’t ease the loss of him, it did give closure to those that needed it.
She began to stir the mixture and hummed beneath her breath with each swirl. This was the balm that she needed to release the tension of the past week. She spooned the batter into a muffin pan lined with cupcake liners, then slid the pan into the oven. As she washed the dishes she ran over the facts in her mind once more. Damian stumbled upon Reiner burying contraband, and once he had, decided to expose him. But he needed a little more proof to make that happen. So, Damian had gone the extra mile, stuck his neck out, and ended up dead. After the banana nut muffins were done, she pulled them from the oven and carefully picked them out of the muffin pan and placed them in a metal serving dish.
“Those smell delicious. Did you leave any extras for me?” George stepped into the kitchen just as she finished wrapping up the dish.
“I left one over there, but it’s still too hot to eat. Don’t worry I can make another batch for us so you can have more if you like them.” She smiled. ”I’m going to take these over to Steve. Last I spoke with him he was going to be working on the story at the office. He probably won’t remember to eat, so this should help. Do you need anything while I’m out?”
“Actually, if you don’t mind, I’d like to tag along. I want to pick Steve’s brain about a few things. I just can’t wrap my head around Reiner being the killer.”
“Really? Why not?” She stared at him with a mixture of anxiety and excitement. Did he have the same doubts that she did?
“Now, don’t get upset with me, but…”
“I won’t get upset. I’ve been feeling the same thing. Something just doesn’t sit right with me. But the police found all of the physical evidence they needed in that toolbox, along with his fingerprints.”
“I know, but anyone could have put that gun in the toolbox. Anyone that knew that the property was empty most of the time, and that Bernard spent a lot of time over at Bill’s house.”
“So you think maybe someone tried to frame Reiner?” Her eyes widened. “Who? Garret?”
“No, if Garret was the killer it would have been out of anger. This was very premeditated. Someone had something to lose, and they wanted to be sure that they were protected. That’s why I want to talk to Steve. He may know something and not even realize it. I have a feeling that whoever did this might have been around Damian often, maybe even on a daily basis, which means that Steve might have seen him just as often.”
“Well, let’s head over, I’m sure he’ll be interested in discussing it.” She led her grandfather out to the car. Once he was settled she handed him the banana nut muffins.
“These smell so good. Maybe the real reason I’m tagging along is because I hope that Steve will offer to share.”
“Oh, I see.” She smiled and started the car. “I don’t think I believe that. I think you’re as unsettled as me. I’m wondering if Steve feels the same way.”
“I bet he does.”
“I keep thinking of the ring. I know it may mean nothing, but my mind keeps shifting back to it.”
“Then don’t ignore it. Our subconscious figures things out a lot faster than our busy minds can.”
“That’s true.” She nodded and headed for the building that housed the newspaper office. Along the way she wondered if she should have texted Steve about her visit. She didn’t often just drop by people’s workplaces, but she was excited for Steve to taste the banana nut muffins while they were warm, and she had no reason to think he wouldn’t be happy about the interruption. “I hope he’s still at the office.” She looked at the modern six-story building as she pulled into the parking lot, it was the newest and by far the tallest building in Cascade Grove. She parked the car and looked around the nearly empty parking lot. “Oh look, there’s his car.” She pointed to the sporty car.
“Are you sure you don’t mind me tagging along?” George looked over at her.
“No, not at all.” She stepped out of the car then took the muffins from her grandfather. When they walked up to the door, George held it open for her. She nodded to the security guard.
“What floor?”
“Top.”
“The offices up there are closed at the moment.”
“I know, but my friend Steve is working up there today.”
“Oh Steve? Sure, he’s up there. Go on up. You’ll have to knock on the door to get let in though.”
“Okay, will do. Thanks so much.”
He sniffed the air as she walked past him. “Just bring one of those back down with you.”
“No problem.” She grinned.
Kerri hit the button on the elevator and the doors opened right away. As she stepped in, her grandfather followed after. When the elevator lifted, her stomach churned with nerves at the anticipation of seeing him. She watched the numbers count up. The elevator came to a stop and the door slid open again. A long glass wall stood in front of them with glass doors at the center. There were lights on, but Steve was nowhere in sight.
George’s hands were free, so he knocked. A few minutes passed, but no one came to the door. “Knock again.” She nodded to her grandfather.
Paranoid thoughts began to form in her mind. Did he know she was out there, but didn’t want to be interrupted?
“Maybe he’s not here, Kerri.”
“I’m sure he’s here. His car is in the parking lot and the security guard said he was here. Knock again.”
“All right.” George pounded harder this time. As she waited for Steve to come to the door, she shifted the muffins from one hand to the other.
“These things are getting heavy.”
“Here, let me take them.” George took the dish from her.
“I wonder why he’s not answering?”
“Maybe, he just doesn’t want visitors?” He frowned. “I’m sorry, Kerri. We should probably just go.”
“No, Steve wouldn’t do this. Even if he was busy he would find a way to let me know that he wasn’t able to come to the door. I’m going to call him.”
Kerri dialed Steve’s number. A second later she heard his cell phone ring beyond the glass wall. She could see it flashing on his desk. She waited for him to emerge from the bathroom, or another office, but the phone just kept ringing. As she hung up her phone, her stomach twisted.
“Something’s not right.”
“Maybe he forgot his phone? That explains things.”
“No, it doesn’t. I don’t think he would ever forget his phone or leave it behind. He keeps it with him all the time. It has all of his notes on it.”
“Kerri, let’s go back down and see if security can contact him.”
“Something’s wrong!” Kerri’s heart began to race. A loud crash from inside the glass wall made her jump out of her skin. She grabbed the handle of the door and tugged it hard. It wouldn’t budge. “I’ll get the security guard!” Kerri lunged for the elev
ator.
“No, there’s no time!” George heaved the dish of banana nut muffins hard at the glass door. The glass just above one of the handles shattered. He was able to reach in and twist the lock. “Kerri, wait here!”
George walked through the door and Kerri followed after, there was no way that she wasn’t going inside. George turned around and raised his eyebrows when he saw her but didn’t stop walking. She followed right after him. Beyond the initial cubicles and desks was a blue wall that shielded the private offices from view. George slowed down as they neared the hallway that led to the private offices. Kerri forced herself to slow down behind him. A muffled shout made her nerves sing with fear. George put his finger to his lips and tilted his head towards the first office. She listened hard for any sound that might indicate Steve was alive and safe. But she didn’t hear his voice, or any other movement. Her chest tightened at the thought that he might already be dead.
“None of this had to happen.” The voice drifted into the hallway. She recognized it right away. Jasper. Her stomach clenched as she fought against the urge to burst into the office. All along it had been Jasper? “If Damian had stayed out of things, if he had stopped pushing so hard for information, none of this would have happened. I didn’t want to kill him, you know, of course I didn’t. But I didn’t have a choice. He wouldn’t listen to me. He insisted that he was going to expose the gambling ring and the fixed fights. Of course, he hadn’t realized yet that I was the one who started the ring or rigged the fights. Maybe if he had figured that out already, he wouldn’t have gone to the property with me. He was going to expose everyone he could find involved in the ring then move away from Cascade Grove and not tell anyone where he was going. I think he even broke it off with Chloe because he didn’t want to put her in danger. He should have left it alone but he didn’t and then you had to make it worse by interfering. If you had stayed out of it you wouldn’t be in this position.”
Kerri heard frantic thumping against something solid. Her eyes watered with tears. There was no time to spare.
“Just settle down, Steve. I’ve found a brilliant way to spin this story. Damian rejected the woman you loved, he hurt her, and you wanted to make him pay. Sure, she wasn’t interested in you, but he hurt her and that was all that mattered. So you killed him. Consumed by guilt over the thought of an innocent man going to prison for your crime, you decided to end your life. The whole world will know just what a romantic you were, Steve, and it will only take a day or two to scrape you off the pavement.” He laughed. Kerri peeked through the open office door and saw that Jasper had Steve pushed half out the window. He only remained inside the office from his waist down. “Poor Steve, just had to do it, didn’t he? And he wrote it all down, just like always, in a neat little letter for everyone to read. Me, I’ll be the one that was almost in time to stop you, heartbroken that two of my best employees are gone.”
Kerri knew there wasn’t a second to risk. She had to get Jasper distracted or he was going to push Steve the rest of the way out. She did the only thing she could think to do.
“No, they won’t, Jasper! Because I know what you’re doing! If you push him out that window then your career and life are over!” Kerri stepped into the office, her grandfather reached out to try and stop her, but she was already out of reach. “I’m here, I know what you’re doing! Are you going to throw me out the window, too?”
“How did you get in here?” Jasper flung Steve to the floor as he spun around to face her. “Don’t think I won’t!” As he lurched towards her, Steve wriggled in the ropes that were tied around his hands. She caught sight of the gag that covered his mouth. Jasper had his hands on her before she could even lift a hand to defend herself. He slung one arm behind her back and arched it so high that she cried out in pain and her knees buckled. “A lover’s quarrel then, that’s what happened here.”
“No!” Steve’s muffled cry was greeted by a swift kick in his stomach from Jasper. “You first, Kerri!” He began to pick her up off the ground and head towards the window. Steve stuck out his foot and caught Jasper’s foot with it. Jasper stumbled, with Kerri in his arms, and began to fall towards the window. Kerri shifted her weight to angle them away from the window, but they were falling too fast. Just as she felt the breeze of the air beyond the window, two firm hands caught her by one arm, and pulled her and Jasper back away from it. Kerri slipped away as Jasper struggled to get to his feet. He was met by George’s fist. Jasper stumbled back, close to the window.
“You’ve lost, Jasper. Just accept it.” George scowled.
“He’s ruined my life! Ruined it! I plucked that stupid kid from the middle of this go-nowhere town and I made him something! Then he turned around and ruined my life!” Jasper slammed his fists into his thighs and let out an incoherent growl.
“I’m sure that Damian was grateful for how you helped him, Jasper. Whatever went wrong between you, that wasn’t his fault, or yours, these things just happen.” Kerri tried to placate him as she crept closer to Steve.
“Grateful?” He shrieked. As Jasper talked Kerri managed to get the gag off Steve. The ropes tied around him were so tight that she couldn’t get them loose. “He had a funny way of showing it! I made sure he had every advantage in the boxing ring. He let his morals get in the way of my profit. The gambling ring didn’t hurt anyone, no one! I started it to make sure that the gym would be able to stay open, and it became so lucrative that there was no way I was shutting it down. But he just wouldn’t leave it alone. I knew that if he found out I was involved he would have exposed me, he would ruin my career, he wouldn’t care! It didn’t matter to him how many sacrifices I made to keep him happy.”
“Jasper, how do you know that? Damian didn’t even know it was you!” Steve glared at him as Kerri finally managed to get his hands free. “He found out about most of the others if not all, but he didn’t know it was you! Even if he did he might have protected you.”
“I couldn’t take that risk.” Jasper stared at Steve with wide eyes. “He would have found out about me eventually. That’s why I met him on that property. He said he was going to try to find proof that the Weber brothers were involved in the illegal gambling ring, and I said I would go there with him.”
“To keep him safe?” Steve sneered at him. “So, Damian trusted you. He went out on to that property with you, believing that you were there to protect him, and you killed him?”
“He would have worked out it was me. He would have turned me in.” He lowered his eyes to the floor.
“No, Jasper, you don’t know what he would have done. He still thought the sun rose and set with you when you pointed that gun at him. He fought for his life didn’t he? Just the way you taught him.”
Jasper trembled as his hands balled into fists at his sides. “It didn’t matter. He would have ruined me. And everything was going to be fine. Reiner, a real criminal was going to jail. I made sure of that. I knew that the Weber brothers were coming into town that night so I needed to get rid of the body straight away, so I buried it where we were instead of bothering to move him. I also knew that if the body was on the Weber brothers’ land and it was ever found that would implicate them. The body was found even though I didn’t think it would be, but that was okay I dealt with it. I planted the evidence to implicate Reiner Weber in case the body was ever found. I used the shovel that Reiner used to bury his goods. I knew which toolbox Reiner used when he visited the property and I put the gun in there and then planted it in the caretaker’s shed, under the floorboards. I knew it would only be found in a thorough police search and I could always tip off the police anonymously if necessary. If the body was ever found I wanted the murder to be solved quickly so they wouldn’t look at me for it.”
“Well, now the murder is solved.” George took a step closer to him. “Get down on your knees.” A loud alarm began to blare through the building. Outside, sirens screamed as police approached.
“No.” Jasper turned to look out the open window. “No, I won�
��t go to jail.” He lifted his leg over the window.
“No, you don’t!” George grabbed him and threw him down on the ground.
“The police will be here soon, Grandpa,” Kerri gulped out her words as Steve wrapped his arms around her.
“You killed someone, Jasper. You don’t get to escape that. For that, you have to pay.” George placed his knee on Jasper’s back.
“It had to be done!”
“No, it didn’t. When I figured out that you were the only person who could have run the gambling ring, I was shocked. You had a career, you had the respect of this entire town. But that wasn’t enough for you? Because of your greed, Damian is dead, and this town will never be the same. Reiner may be a criminal, but you are the monster!” Steve growled.
“He was a useless, stupid boy that never would have been anything without me!”
“You keep quiet!” Steve lunged towards him.
“No Steve, don’t.” Kerri caught him around the waist and held him back. “Don’t, it won’t make you feel any better.”
The shouts of police officers filled the top floor of the building.
“Let me go! I won’t go to jail!”
“That’s exactly where you’re going,” Steve bit out each word. “For the rest of your life!”
As the officers swarmed the office, Kerri, George and Steve backed away from Jasper. He fought against the officers, but they managed to subdue him and place him in handcuffs.
“It’s over.” Kerri looked into Steve’s eyes. “It’s really over this time, Steve.”
“Yes, it is.” He took a deep breath and gazed into her eyes. “Thanks to you, I’m here to see it.”
“I brought you some banana nut muffins,” she stumbled over her words. “They were going to be really good.”
“Oh?” He smiled. “I can’t wait to try them.”
“I think I’ll have to make you another batch.” She grimaced as they walked past the shattered remains near the door.
Chapter 17
Over the next few days Kerri prepared for the grand opening of the shop. The town grieved, then did its best to get back to normal. Although there were still many somber exchanges of condolences, there were also many moments of warmth and pride. Damian was no longer remembered for the wedding fiasco, but for his bravery as he tried to protect the town from dishonesty and illegal activity. Kerri kept her focus on the shop finally opening, and decided to make a few batches of banana nut muffins to hand out for free during the event. Keeping her grandfather from eating them all before the day even arrived was a bit of a fight. She couldn’t help but admire the man. Some of the things he said and did, scared her. She’d never been around someone so reckless and brave at the same time, but other things inspired her. He was determined to seek the truth no matter what, and he would do anything it took to protect her. She wondered if her father had these same traits.