by Terri Reid
Danny nodded. “Oh, hey, yeah, that’s pretty cool. Like one of those psychologist things on television,” he said. “Let me think.”
He paused for a few moments, looking down at his hands while he concentrated. “I thought about it,” he said, raising his head and meeting Mary’s eyes. “And you know, Mitch, Mitch Howse, he was never the same after I came home. I don’t know. I tried to get together with him and Viv, but they wouldn’t have anything to do with me.”
“Is there any other reason they wouldn’t get together with you?” Mary asked.
“Well, you know, Mitch almost died over there,” he said. “And I came home pretty much blemish free. I always thought he was just jealous of me. But, you know, it could have been that.”
“Well, really, facing death could change someone,” Mary suggested.
“Yeah, but I could never figure out why Viv was his friend but she wasn’t friends with me,” Danny said.
“Why wouldn’t Viv be his friend?” Mary asked.
“Because Viv’s twin brother died saving Mitch’s life,” Danny said.
“What?” Mary asked.
“Yeah, they were under fire, and Mitch got pinned down in the jungle,” Danny explained. “Their captain ordered the rest of them to retreat, said it was too late for the ones in the swamp. But Vic didn’t want to leave Mitch, so he disobeyed orders and ran back into the jungle, his machine gun blazing. They said he took out a couple dozen Vietcong before they got him. After all the smoke died down, the rest of the platoon was able to go in and rescue the guys, including Mitch, but it was too late for Vic.”
“Oh, that’s awful,” Mary said. “I’m sure that it was devastating for Vic’s whole family.”
Danny shrugged. “Well, it was just Vic and Viv,” he said. “Their dad left when they were born. Their mom told them he couldn’t handle two babies at the same time. Then their Mom died when they were in high school.”
“Best thing that could have happened to them,” Kristen muttered. “That woman was a crazy bitch. Blamed them both for the hardships in her life.”
“So, Viv got a little money from the government because of Vic’s death, and she bought the café,” he said. “Some people might have thought it was blood money, and some people might have said that. But what choice did she have?’
“People actually said that?” Mary asked, incredulous.
“And you thought I was bad,” Kristen said. “At least I had the decency to only write my thoughts down and not say them out loud.”
“Yeah, they said it,” he said with a shrug. “But Viv’s always been strong. She can take it.”
Chapter Forty
“Viv, I really need you to be strong,” Mitch said as they sat alone in the café. The sign had been turned to “CLOSED,” and the shades had been pulled down to block the midday sun. Mitch pushed the plate with a half-eaten piece of pie away from him. “We need to talk about this.”
“Mitch, I don’t understand,” she said. “Kristen’s death was a long time ago. Why bring it up now?”
“Because Andrew Tyler was also killed,” Mitch said.
Viv nodded. “I heard,” she said, purposely keeping herself busy behind the counter. “They found his body in the school. And that’s a shame. He seemed like such a nice young man.”
“But Viv, you need to listen to me,” Mitch insisted. “He was murdered.”
“It’s not like I’m unsympathetic,” Viv said, looking up from shelving some coffee cups. “But what does that have to do with us? We don’t know what kind of stuff he was involved with in Chicago. I figured his life just caught up with him.”
Mitch stood up and paced to the door of the café and back. “Don’t you get it?” he said, trying to keep his frustration in check. “It didn’t have anything to do with Chicago. I know it didn’t. Do you understand?”
Staring at him, she came around the counter and walked to him, placing her hands on his arms. “Mitch, are you saying you know who killed Andrew?” she asked, meeting his eyes.
He stared at her for a moment and then dropped his head. “Yes. Yes, I know who killed Andrew,” he replied, his voice filled with incredible sorrow.
“Oh, Mitch,” Viv said, sliding her hands up his arms and embracing him. “I won’t tell. I promise. It will be just our secret.”
Placing his hands on her shoulders, he gently pushed her back. “But that wouldn’t be right, would it?” he asked. “It wouldn’t be right to lie about what happened, would it?”
She sighed and tears glistened in her eyes. “I know that things changed after you came back from Nam,” she said. “And I know that all of us were changed when Vic died. And back then, they didn’t understand things like post-traumatic stress disorder, so we all just stumbled through life.”
“But that doesn’t give us the right to kill someone,” he said. “Even if we feel our secrets are going to be revealed, it still doesn’t give us that right.”
She shook her head, stepped away from him and walked back to the counter. “Kristen’s death was an accident,” she said. “I know it was an accident.”
She felt his hands on her shoulders once again. “But this time,” he whispered, “this time it wasn’t.”
“No, you’re right,” she agreed. “This time it was deliberate, to cover up the secret from so long ago.”
He exhaled harshly. “And how many have to die to cover up the past?” he asked. “I thought it was only a one time occurrence. I thought I had it all handled…”
A tear slipped down her cheek. “Are you…” she faltered. “What are you going to do?”
He turned her and pulled her into his arms for a comforting embrace. “I’m going to go down to the police department and confess,” he said. “And I have to do it before that woman Mary O’Reilly gets any more information on the case. If Mary testifies, it will cause more trouble than we can imagine. Besides, I know Vic would want me to do it.”
She shook her head and looked at him. “Vic would want you to be happy,” she said. “That’s the most important thing. You don’t have to do this. You don’t have to worry about Mary O’Reilly.”
He placed a chaste kiss on her forehead. “Yes, I do,” he said. “Goodbye, Viv. Take care of yourself.”
Chapter Forty-one
“So, then there’s this knock on the door,” Stanley said, sitting at his kitchen table watching Kate and Rosie create cheesecakes. “But, I can see straight out the window, and there ain’t no one on the door stoop doing the knocking.”
Kate paused from pressing chocolate cookie crumbs into the bottom of a spring-form pan and turned to Stanley. “Are you kidding me?” she asked.
“Scout’s honor,” Stanley said, raising his hand to form the familiar sign. “‘Tweren’t hide nor hair of anyone even close to that door.”
“So, what did you do?” Kate asked, returning to her task.
“I called my older sister’s name and told her someone was waiting at the door fer her,” he chuckled. “I figured if anyone could scare away a ghostie, it would have been Lenora.”
“Stanley,” Rosie scolded. “As I recall, Lenora was a lovely woman.”
“Well, yeah, she mellowed in her old age,” he replied. “But as a youngster, she pinched my ear so many times my left ear was a full inch longer than my right one.”
Kate chuckled and then wiped her hands off on a dish towel. “Okay, Rosie, here’s step one,” she said. “How does it look?”
Coming up next to her, Rosie critically eyed the baking pan filled with the chocolate crust. “It looks perfect,” Rosie said. “And delicious. Now put it in the oven for about five minutes, to set it. And while it’s baking, you can melt the chocolate over the double-boiler.”
“Okay,” Kate replied. “I am so grateful that you are helping me with this.”
“Oh, it’s my pleasure,” Rosie said. “It’s nice to have company while I’m baking.”
“I’m always here when you’re baking,” Stanley interjected.
“What am I, chopped liver?”
Rosie shook her head. “No, you’re a nuisance,” she replied. “A sweet nuisance.”
He stood up, walked over to where Rosie was creating her cheesecake and stuck his finger in the batter bowl. He popped the batter in his mouth and nodded happily. “It’s good,” he said. “What is it? Something with cinnamon?”
Rolling her eyes, Rosie shooed him away from the mixer. “Stanley Wagner, you step away from my work area,” she said. “It’s pumpkin cheesecake, if you must know, and it’s for tomorrow night.”
Grumbling, Stanley moved away from the mixer. “A man could starve in his own house,” he muttered, moving back towards the table.
Kate sent Rosie a quick grin, and Rosie shook her head. “There are some fresh oatmeal raisin cookies in the cookie jar,” she said. “I made them this morning because I knew you’d be prowling around the kitchen getting in my way.”
He hurried over to the counter, pulled the lid off the cookie jar and inhaled deeply. “Rosie, my love, you are amazing,” he said, lifting out four cookies.
“Two,” she said. “After that shake last night, you don’t need four cookies.”
Stanley glanced over at her, dropped one cookie back in the jar and slid the extra one into his pocket. “I’m just gonna take a little drive downtown,” he said.
“That’s a wonderful idea,” Rosie agreed. “And while you’re out, would you mind dropping that box off at Mary’s office? It’s her costume for tomorrow.”
“Well, then I probably need a couple more cookies for Mary,” he said, lifting the lid off the jar once again. “You know she’s eating for two.”
“I’m going to call Mary and make sure she got those cookies,” Rosie warned Stanley.
He grabbed a handful of cookies and turned to Rosie with a smile. “She’ll get them all right,” he said, and then added with a grin. “Leastways she’ll tell you she got them.”
Rosie shook her head once he was gone. “That man,” she said with a huff.
“You totally adore him,” Kate said.
Rosie smiled. “Yes, I really do,” she said. And then she stopped and clapped her hand over her mouth. “You don’t think he’ll mention to Mary that we were baking together?”
Kate slipped the double-boiler from the heated element to the middle of the stove. “Oh, call him, quickly,” she said.
They both hurried over to the counter, and Rosie picked up her cell phone. As soon as she dialed, they both heard a phone ringing in the living room. With a sigh, Rosie shook his head. “He forgot his phone,” she said. “Again.”
“Well, there’s nothing we can do about it now,” Kate said, going back to her melted chocolate. “I will sure be glad when this shower is over. I never realized how hard it would be to keep this whole thing a secret.”
“Well, perhaps he won’t tell her,” Rosie said. “You know, he did some top secret work when he was in the military. He does know how to keep a secret.”
Kate turned, met her eyes and raised one eyebrow.
“You’re right,” Rosie said. “He’s going to spill the beans as soon as he walks through the door.”
Kate nodded. “We could always call Bradley and have him cut Stanley off at the pass,” she suggested.
“Oh, that’s a wonderful idea,” Rosie said, picking up her phone again. “And Bradley will be happy to shut Stanley up.”
Chapter Forty-two
Stanley pulled his car into a parking spot about a half-block away from Mary’s office. Grabbing the box and the cookies, he stepped out of his car and started toward the sidewalk.
“Stanley!”
He turned to see Bradley hurrying down the street to meet him. “Dagnabbit, did that woman call the police because of a couple of oatmeal cookies?” he grumbled.
Laughing, Bradley shook his head. “No, she called me because you forgot your phone at the house, and she needed to remind you not to mention to Mary that she and Kate were together,” he said.
“I don’t need reminding,” Stanley growled. “I got a mind like a steel trap.” He pointed a finger to his head. “Ain’t nothing gonna slip past this mind.”
“Well good,” Bradley said. “Then we don’t have to worry.”
They walked together down the street to Mary’s office.
“Well, to what do I owe the honor of having two such handsome men come into my office?” Mary asked.
“I got shooed out of my house,” Stanley said. “So I’m delivering cookies and a costume.”
He walked over to her desk, put the box on a clear corner and handed her the bag of cookies.
“Well, I’m sorry you got shooed out,” she said, opening the plastic bag. “But I’m excited about the delivery. Thank you, Stanley.”
“Well, iffen you think that’s too many cookies,” he said, “I would be happy to help you eat them.”
She grinned and held out the bag for him and Bradley. “But let’s keep this our little secret,” Mary said. “I wouldn’t want Rosie to think that I didn’t appreciate her baking.”
“Oh, well, she’s in baking heaven right now,” Stanley said as he happily munched on the cookie. “She’s getting to play mother hen, teaching Kate Brennan how to bake…”
He froze, half a cookie hanging from his mouth, and swallowed loudly.
“Steel trap, eh?” Bradley whispered to him.
“Kate’s over at Rosie’s?” Mary asked. “And they’re baking together?”
Suddenly, Bradley’s phone rang. Saved by the bell, he thought. He pulled it out and looked at the caller ID. “It’s the Polo Police Department,” he said as he clicked on the phone to answer it.
“Alden,” he said into the receiver. He remained silent, although his eyebrows rose in surprise. “You don’t say.”
“What?” Mary whispered. “What don’t you say?”
He covered the mouthpiece with his hand. “Mitch just turned himself in.”
Mary sat back in her chair, and her jaw dropped. “He confessed?” she said. “Well, I would have never in a million years…”
“Yes, thank you,” Bradley said. “I really appreciate the call.”
Disconnecting the phone, he shook his head. “Why does this bother me so much?” he asked.
“Because we didn’t get to solve the crime,” Mary said with a shrug. “It’s a bit of a letdown.”
Nodding slowly, Bradley thought about that for a minute. “Well, he was my favorite suspect,” he said.
“Mine, too,” Mary agreed. “He had opportunity and motive. And Danny told me that Mitch had stopped hanging around with him once he got back from Vietnam.”
“Why are you two fussing?” Stanley asked, grateful the focus had shifted from his gaffe. “You got the crime solved, and now you can enjoy Halloween without worrying.”
Mary nodded. “Well, that’s true,” she said. “There’s just something…”
“Yeah,” Bradley said with a shrug. “Something. But, maybe it’s just that Mitch snatched the victory lap away from us.”
“Okay, I can admit that I love the victory lap,” Mary said with a smile. “So, no mystery, and we can enjoy Halloween. I like that!”
Mary turned to Stanley and held open the bag of cookies. “Well, let’s celebrate,” she said. “Cookies all around.”
“Actually, girlie,” Stanley said, backing away from her desk. “I’d best be on my way. Rosie’s probably looking fer me. Can’t keep her waiting.”
“Are you sure?” Mary asked.
Stanley nodded. “Sure as sure can be,” he said with a quick nod as he let himself out the door.
“A rat abandoning the ship,” Bradley muttered, turning and watching through the window as Stanley made his way down the street.
“What did you say?” Mary asked.
Bradley turned back to Mary and smiled. “Oh, nothing important,” he replied, and then he picked up the box. “So, let’s take a look at this costume.”
“Don’t change the subject,” s
he said sadly.
“What subject?” Bradley asked, inwardly praying that it was not the subject he thought it was going to be.
“Rosie and Kate are baking together,” she said softly.
Damn, it was that subject.
“Yes, they are,” he replied, taking another bite of cookie. “And it sounds like Rosie was giving Kate tips, just like Rosie used to do for you before we were married.”
Mary looked up at him, surprised. “But, they didn’t…” she began.
Bradley leaned over and placed his hands on the edge of her desk. “Mary, I really don’t want to upset you,” he said. “But when are you going to stop thinking the worst of your friends and start trusting them again.”
She sat back quickly as if she’d been slapped. “I don’t think the worst…” she started.
His raised eyebrow silenced her. She was quiet for a long moment, and finally she sighed. “I haven’t given them the benefit of the doubt, have I?” she asked quietly.
He shook his head.
“I’ve been a bit of a brat, haven’t I?”
He leaned over farther and kissed her lips lightly. “No, you have been on a roller coaster of emotions,” he said. “And we all know it. And we all love you.”
“What should I do?” she asked.
“Worry less and have more fun,” he replied.
She laughed softly. “That’s what Mike told me to do,” she said.
“Mike’s a genius,” Bradley replied with a smile.
Pushing back her chair, she stood up and walked around her desk. “I have no more work for the day,” she said with a teasing smile. Then she picked up the box and held it to her chest. “Want to come home and help me try on my costume?”
He leaned over the box and kissed her again. “And you’re a genius, too.”