Death of a Coupon Queen

by Jenna Harte

  Bull stepped back to give me privacy, but not so far that he couldn’t protect me if necessary.

  “Sophie?” AJ said when he picked up the call.

  In the background I heard a woman laughing and was reminded that his sister was in town. “Oh, I’m sorry. I forgot your sister is there. I’ll go—”

  “What’s wrong?”

  “I ah . . . it’s okay.” It wasn’t of course, but I could find someone else to talk to. After all, Bull was right outside my door. For a big gruff man, he’d shown a soft side. I’m was sure he’d let me unload my utter despair at the situation of my life.

  “You don’t sound okay.”

  “I was fired today. Twice.”

  “What?”

  Saying the words out loud made my eyes drip again.

  “Can you come to my house or should I come get you?” He paused. “Where’s Bull?”

  “He’s here. What about your sister?” I said through hiccupping gasps.

  “I’ll come get you, or have Bull bring you. Where are you?”

  His kindness and putting me ahead of his sister soothed, even as it made me feel guilty. “I don’t want to be in the—”

  “Sophie.” His voice was sharp. “Come here or I’ll come get you.”

  “I’ll come.”

  “Are you sure you can drive? Maybe you should have Bull bring you.”

  “I’ll be there in 20 minutes.”

  When I hung up, I wiped my tears. Looking into my review mirror, I winced at my blotchy face. I thought about going home first to clean up, but I didn’t want to explain to Aunt Rose that I was unemployed, and seeing AJ wasn’t a date. I didn’t have to look my best.

  I told Bull where we were going, and he followed me all the way until I parked in AJ’s drive twenty minutes later. AJ and Dutch were through the door before I was out of the car.

  AJ cocked his head as he watched me, as if he wondering what was up. His features were soft, concerned, and once again I wept.

  “Sophie.” He pulled me into his arms and held me. “I’ve got her now, Bull, thank you.”

  “You call if you need me,” Bull said. “For anything.”

  I took Bull’s words to mean he was willing to enact revenge on Randy. I wouldn’t deny that I’d have liked to see what Bull might do, but it wouldn’t change anything.

  When I stopped convulsing, AJ guided me into the house and sat me on the couch. “Want wine? Or something stronger?”

  “I don’t know that I should drink.”

  “If you have too much, you can stay here.”

  I was about to remind him that I couldn’t leave Aunt Rose overnight, but he continued. “Or I’ll drive you home.”

  “Wine.” I wanted something stronger, however, wine was a good compromise.

  “I’ll be right back and then you can tell me what happened.”

  I nodded. While he was in the kitchen, I scanned the living area and craned my head to see up the hall wondering where his sister Alison was.

  “Where’s Alison?” I called to him.

  “She’s out with friends. She won’t be back until late.”

  At least I wasn’t interrupting their reunion.

  When he returned, he handed me a tall glass filled with wine and sat next to me. “Now, what happened? Who fired you?”

  I took a large gulp of wine then rested my head on his shoulder. “The library and Randy.”

  “Both?”

  I sniffed and nodded.

  “Why?” His hand rubbed my arm. Even Dutch acted like she wanted to offer comfort, as she rested her head on my lap.

  I gave her a pat with my free hand. “The library is worried I’ll put the kids in danger since someone tried to shoot me last night. And Randy’s mad that I told Vivie about his affair with Tracy.”

  “Tracy? Her sister?”

  “Yes.”

  “I’m sorry, Sophie.” He pulled me close and kissed my head. “Does your aunt know?”

  I shook my head. “It won’t be long, though. Bad news travels fast. She woke me up this morning because Tilly Watson called wondering what hospital to send flowers.”

  “Huh?”

  “She heard I’d been shot.”

  “Ah.” We sat in quiet and I was glad he didn’t immediately go into fixit or consolation mode. He couldn’t fix it and feeling bad for me wouldn’t make it better. Dutch lifted her head and looked at me, like she wished she could help. She then lay on the floor, resting her head on my feet.

  Eventually AJ spoke again. “Once the shooting thing is solved, will the library take you back?”

  “I think so. If it’s not too long.”

  He was quiet for another moment and his expression had me wondering if he was contemplating if he should say what was on his mind. “I have to be honest, Sophie, I’m not sorry you won’t be working at the Booty Burgo. I never liked you being that close to Randy Danner.”

  “I didn’t love it either, but I need the money.”

  He shifted to look at me. “Maybe I can help.”

  I shook my head and pulled away. “I don’t want a handout.”

  His blue eyes flashed with heat, but he took a breath and spoke calmly. “It’s not charity, Sophie. And it’s not offered because I don’t think you’re capable of taking care of yourself. It’s an offer to help. That’s what people do when they care about someone. They help them when needed.”

  “I don’t want to need it.” I suspect I was pouting, but I’d worked too hard to take care of myself to have to rely on AJ or anyone.

  “I know.” He pulled me to him and kissed my head. “However, if you need it, it’s there.”

  I took another sip of wine, rethinking my choice of drink, and the option to stay the night.

  “Why did you tell Vivie about him?”

  I shrugged. “I thought she should know.” I turned to him. “Do you think Randy could kill someone?”

  AJ’s face turned fierce. “Did he threaten you?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “What do you mean you don’t know?”

  “He told me I should mind my own business and suggested that Marla hadn’t minded her own business.”

  “Marla your friend that was killed?”

  “Yes.” I turned away, feeling perplexed. “I can’t figure out if he knew Marla or why he’d think she was in his business.”

  “Could she have known about him and Vivie’s sister?”

  “I don’t know how, unless Tracy told her. I don’t think she would have done that. And why would I get off with being fired and she killed?”

  “He could have taken that shot at you last night.”

  “Maybe. He wasn’t at work last night. However, I don’t know that he really knew Marla.”

  “What about Tracy?”

  I shook my head. There was so much rattling around in my brain and I couldn’t sort it. “I don’t see why she’d try to hurt me after I told Vivie.”

  “You should call Davis.”

  I groaned. “He’ll just be mad at me again.”

  “Why?”

  I looked at AJ wondering how he could be so dense. “Because he also wants me to stay out of it and he’s always mad when I have information.”

  “Except in this case you weren’t poking around. It could be nothing, but that’s for him to sort out, Sophie.”

  “I guess.” I finished my wine and set it on the coffee table.

  “Why don’t I get you another glass while you call Davis.”

  Having drunk the equivalent of three glasses of wine, I wasn’t sure it was a good idea. I was feeling warm and fuzzy, so it was working. More than anything I just wanted to be with AJ. I might not want him to fix things, but I did like to have him here, giving me strength.

  “I’ll call
Davis, but I don’t want more wine.”

  “Okay. I’ll get you water.” He went to the kitchen and I called Sergeant Scowl. I was glad when he didn’t pick up. I left him a detailed message and then hung up.

  When AJ came back, I downed the glass of water.

  “Thirsty?” AJ laughed.

  I answered by taking his face in my hands and kissing him, hard and shifting onto his lap.

  “Sophie.” His voice was a combination of interest and agony. “Honey, your head isn’t in the right place.”

  “It’s on my shoulders where it should be.”

  He rolled his eyes at me.

  I stared into his blue eyes, hoping he’d see the conviction in mine. “I need a distraction, AJ. I want to feel safe and loved and like I belong.”

  “Ah, Sophie.” He pulled me close and hugged me. “No matter what, I love you and you belong to me.”

  “Prove it.” It could have been my emotions or the wine, but I wasn’t kidding that I needed him.

  He stared at me for a moment as if he was looking for something. Then he smiled and stood up, reaching his hand to me. I took it and let him pull me up, and walked with him to the bedroom.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Iwoke with a start, bolting upright and jerking my gaze around the room. Flowered wallpaper. Tiny secretary desk. I flopped back in relief. I was in my own bed. For a moment, I’d feared I’d fallen asleep at AJ’s and spent the night. My life was in too big of shambles to have to deal with Aunt Rose’s scolding me about propriety. It was going to be bad enough to tell her I’d been fired from my jobs. Well, the library didn’t fire me. However, the end result was that I wasn’t working.

  I considered going back to sleep since there was nowhere I had to be, when my phone rang. It was my generic ring tone, meaning it could be anyone. Most likely a scammer or wrong number. Looking at it, I saw Sgt. L Davis on the screen. Worse than a scammer. I poked the talk button.

  “Hello.”

  “Ms. Parker, it’s Sergeant Davis.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “I got your message.”

  It took me a minute to understand what he was saying. Then it came back to me; Randy’s odd comment. “Yes.”

  “Are you home? I’d like to stop by.”

  “Yes.” Did he hear I’d been fired? Is that why he thought I’d be home? There really were no secrets in Jefferson Grove, although admittedly, I knew less about local gossip than most.

  “I’ll be there in fifteen.”

  It didn’t give me much time to get dressed, but since I had nothing to do all day, I didn’t need to make a grand appearance. I dressed quickly and put my room back together. Shoring up my strength, I headed to the kitchen for coffee. If I was lucky, I’d be fortified with caffeine by the time Sergeant Scowl showed up.

  I stopped short when I saw Aunt Rose and Bull working in the kitchen. Bull turned to me. He was wearing a pink apron with cherries on it, and had flour dusting his dark beard.

  He smiled. “I’m making sweet potato pie with Ms. Rose.” His eyes softened. “How you feeling this morning, Ms. Sophie?”

  I wasn’t not sure which was stranger; Aunt Rose was making a pie with Bull or her allowing him to call her by her first name.

  “I’m okay.”

  Aunt Rose looked over her shoulder. “Why wouldn’t you be okay?”

  I gave Bull a slight headshake. With Sergeant Scowl coming, I didn’t want to deal with my unemployment issues at this time.

  He frowned, but didn’t say anything.

  “Sergeant Davis is stopping by this morning to talk to me.” I sucked in a breath as I waited for her response.

  She turned her head, her sharp eyes drilling me. “What for? You in trouble again?”

  I shook my head. “No. I heard something at work last night related to my friend Marla and he wants to ask me about it.”

  Rose was shaking her head as she turned back to mixing something in her bowl. “I don’t know how you do it, Sophie, getting mixed up in all this stuff.”

  “I know.”

  “Bull, you need to roll out that dough.” Aunt Rose motioned toward a blob of dough on the counter.

  “Yes, ma’am.” He turned but not before giving me a quizzical look.

  I wondered why Aunt Rose hadn’t asked me why I wasn’t at the library. Then again, she often forgot the day of the week unless there was something going on at the Senior Center or she was having friends over. Bull was likely a distraction, which would allow me to share the bad news later.

  I took my coffee and went outside on the porch to wait for Sergeant Scowl. He pulled up in his SUV parking in front of the house.

  “Good morning, Sophie,” he said as he climbed the few stairs to the porch.

  “Morning.” I motioned for him to sit in one of the resin chairs, while I sat on the wicker love seat. The fact that he did sit instead of tower over me suggested I wasn’t in trouble.

  “So, what’s this about Randy Danner?”

  I told him what Randy had said as he was firing me, including how he’d scared me, which was new. “I’ll be honest, it wasn’t his saying I shouldn’t get into his business, like Marla did. It was how he said it. The way he looked at me. I’d never seen him like that before.”

  “What do you think he meant? By the comment about Mrs. Naylor?”

  I shook my head. “I don’t know. I suspect he knew about her because of Vivie, but I can’t imagine he’d have met her more than in passing.” I looked at Sergeant Scowl, for a minute wondering if I should reveal the secret that got me fired. Then I thought why not? I had no reason to protect Randy or Tracy. “Tracy . . . did know her.”

  “I don’t get the connection.”

  “Tracy is in the coupon group. She knew Marla.”

  “What business would Marla know about that involved Tracy or Randy.”

  “The only thing I can think of is that Tracy and Randy were having an affair. I thought I was the only one who knew about it, and I didn’t say anything until recently. I think Randy figured I wouldn’t because he was my boss. What I don’t get is why Marla would know or why Randy might kill her over it. It’s not like people don’t know his philandering ways.”

  “So, you think he killed Mrs. Naylor because she knew about him and Tracy?” Sergeant Scowl spoke matter-of-factly with no indication of an opinion one way or the other about my insinuation.

  “It could be possible, couldn’t it?”

  Sergeant Scowl looked out toward the street where a neighbor was walking by with his dog. “At this stage of the game, anything is possible.” His tone this time suggested he didn’t think it was probable.

  “It would explain the lack of forced entry and the fact that there’s no record of a stranger coming in the gate since he lives there.”

  “True, and I’m not dismissing your theory. After your call, I checked out where he was during the time of the murder and his secretary and another accountant in the firm both say he was there.”

  “Oh.” At first, I was disappointed. Then I realized I should be relieved. If Randy couldn’t have killed Marla, then maybe it wasn’t murder I saw in his eyes last night.

  “I’ll talk with Tracy and see what she has to say.” He stood. “That doesn’t mean Vivie Danner is off the hook. She’s still the best fit for all this as well as Junior Junior Mason’s attack.”

  I gave a slight nod to let him know I understood as I rose from my chair. “How is Junior Junior?”

  “He’s still out. The doctors think he’ll live, but aren’t sure of the extent of brain damage he’ll have.”

  “I hope he’s okay.”

  He trotted down the stairs and then turned to look up at me. “You need to stay out of all this, Sophie.” Using my name instead of Ms. Parker made it seem like he was being a friend instead of a Sergeant fussing
at me to mind my own business.

  “I wasn’t investigating.”

  “I know. I also know you get curious or want to help your friends and I’m telling you to let us handle it.”

  I nodded. I’d already decided to keep my head down. It wasn’t like he was telling me to do something I hadn’t already agreed to.

  When he left, I went into the house and prepared to tell Aunt Rose about my job situation. However, she and Bull were elbow deep in pie dough.

  Instead I went to my room. For a long time, I sat on the rollway couch/bed, completely spacing out. I didn’t know what to do with myself. I could deal with my coupons, but that made me think of Marla, and then Tracy and Vivie. I could work on my children’s programs for the library, but what if I never get to teach them? I thought about calling AJ, but I knew he was doing some work with his boss and then would be with his sister and mom. Lani was at work. Aggie was a possibility, but I didn’t want to burden her.

  What I really wanted was to talk to my dad. It had been awhile since I’d seen him, because I worked weekends, and weekday visiting hours were generally in the evening. It was a long way to Petersburg, which would get me home late. It was one thing to drive twenty minutes home from the Booty Burgo late at night. However, I didn’t want to drive my thirty-year-old Volvo three hours to and from Petersburg late at night. Tomorrow I didn’t have to work, so I decided I’d make the trip.

  I wondered if Bull would insist on coming with me to Petersburg. It would be nice to have someone to share the ride with. On the other hand, Bull struck me as the type of person to steer clear of prisons.

  My phone rang the Top Gun theme interrupting my thoughts.

  “Hi AJ.”

  “How are you?” He didn’t use his usual greeting. I wondered if it was because he was worried or he had more bad news for me.

  “I’m okay.”

  “Is Bull there?”

  “Yes. He and Aunt Rose are making pies.”

  There was silence. “Did you say pie?”

  “Yes. Hold on. I’ll show you.” I quietly left my room, headed up the hall, and peeked around the corner. I stealthy pointed my phone towards Aunt Rose and Bull and snapped a picture. I sent the picture to AJ as I snuck back to my room.