“I’m good with faces and details,” she said.
We sat down and she stood by the table with hands on hips. “So, since it’s after Labor Day, I’m afraid we’re on a modified menu. We’re totally out of the vegetarian specialties and the last of the barbeque went yesterday. Cook can make you a burger, nearly any style, and all the Mexican dishes are available.”
She kept talking as she bustled to the counter and brought a pitcher of water to fill our glasses.
“Sorry about the limited menu. It’s just, once summer’s over, the crowds are gone and it’s not worth our while to keep much in the freezer. We use it all up then we close for the winter. Cook makes up some pretty creative things, though. Today’s special is the pulled pork burrito with green chile sauce and papitas. They’re real good.”
My mouth began to water as she described it. We each ordered one. Susie busied herself behind the register and I gathered, from conversation with the cook, she was the owner. She tended to a dozen little duties but kept our glasses filled and asked whether we needed anything more. When she came by with our check, she focused on Clover.
“You’re the girl from the news, right?”
Clover was used to the question but didn’t like to respond, so I spoke up and steered the conversation another way.
“She is. We’re neighbors. In fact, we’ll be almost-neighbors of yours. Drake and I just bought a little cabin up in the hills.”
Susie blushed a little and faced Clover again. “Oh, I didn’t mean to pry. I felt so sorry for you, honey. I’m sure you were hounded to death by the press. I just wanted to ask a favor and see if we could help each other. Part of the reason we close here in the winter is there’s a ton of stuff to do for the store and the café—the place gets bombarded by tourists all summer, so, yeah, the maintenance is fierce. Thought I’d see—you know, if you need a job—if you’d be interested. You could live in one of the little bungalows out back, help me with the work …”
I watched Clover’s face.
“I’m an artist,” Susie said, “and I like to use the winter months to paint a lot so I have some new things to sell the next summer. But I end up spending too much time building and fixing stuff. It’s hard for me to get around to everything myself. There’s a place for you to stay out here where it’s quiet, and I can pay you a bit.”
Clover gave the most genuine smile I’d seen in months. “Ms. Scott, that’s so nice. Can I think about it for a little while?”
“Sure, hon. Just let me know.”
We split the check. I was pleased to see Clover chip in her share but not make a grandiose gesture to pay for everything with a credit card the way she used to do.
Back at the cabin, we picked up where we’d stopped—bracing the framing for the new room partition. I held the partition in place while Clover hammered the supporting pieces.
“So, that was kind of a surprise,” I said. “Susie Scott offering you a job.”
“It was nice of her, and I think I’d be interested. I wanted to talk to you first, though. See, I had another idea.” She got shy all of a sudden. “Since we’ve been working on the cabin, I … well, I really love doing this.”
I waited to hear the rest. Did she hope we could keep her employed on our job forever?
“So, I’ve been thinking a lot about it, and I want to go to trade school. I want to become a carpenter.”
“Clover, that’s great!” For the kid who’d thought of nothing more serious than shopping at designer stores, spending on an unlimited credit card, and keeping up with Instagram, this was a huge breakthrough.
“I mentioned it to my dad on the phone a couple days ago and he flipped. Said if I was so damn sure of myself then I must not need his money anymore.”
“Oh, gosh. I hadn’t thought of that.” I let go of the partition. She’d braced it well.
“I don’t care,” she said, setting her hammer down. “I got an offer for Zayne’s car the other day and I’m selling it. That’ll cover my first year in school. I’ll sell mine and get a more practical vehicle, like a little pickup truck. And now … well, I think running into Susie today was fate. I can do what she said. Live out there in Madrid, go to school during the week and help her on weekends.”
“You’re sure? It doesn’t sound as if your parents will be very happy about this.”
She nodded. “I did things their way for a long time. The social friends, the contacts in the business … Ugh, it’s all just so phony. Someday, I want what you and Drake have. I want a partner who loves the same things I do, a genuine guy who’s my best friend, the guy I’ll want to spend time with and do projects together.”
Her expression turned sad. “I can’t believe Zayne or I ever thought Ryan Subro and his friends were interested in us. Not the honest kind of interest I really want.”
“Do those kids ever contact you, try to get you back in their circle?”
“While I was in jail, and even before the horrible days of the trial—not one of them called or texted me. They don’t care about me. They care about appearances. Things got back to me, things they were saying about me. You wanna know what I did?” The quirky grin was back on her face.
“What?”
“Threw them away.”
“Your old friends?”
“In a way. I threw away my phone. All the contacts—gone. All the social media accounts—I’m done with ’em.”
“You won’t miss them or wish for the contact?”
“It’s not like any of them miss me, is it? No, I don’t need those kinds of friends. I got myself a plain old phone that does nothing but make calls. If I ever need to talk to Missy or any of the others, I’ll call them, but so far my parents, Elsa and you are the only people’s numbers I’ve programmed into the new phone.”
The afternoon sun had gone behind the mountain and there was a distinct chill in the air. Drake came in and announced he had the pump ready to hook up to the new line, first thing tomorrow.
“You ladies look kind of serious,” he said, giving me his questioning everything okay? look.
Clover laughed first. “Everything is perfect.”
We grabbed our jackets and locked the cabin before starting down the hillside.
“Charlie? Could we make a stop on the way home?”
“Certainly.”
“I want to tell Susie Scott my decision.”
“We absolutely can stop for that. And Clover? I’m so proud of you.”
She gave me one of the most heartfelt hugs of my life, and all at once the months of worry and the agony I’d felt on behalf of my young friend—it all melted away as I watched her embark on her new and steady path.
* * *
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* * *
As always, this one is for Dan, my husband, best friend and constant inspiration through all the years.
Special thanks go out to my editors Susan Slater and Shirley Shaw for spotting my errors and helping me to make this book as good as it can be. And to my beta reader team members who helped with this title: Joanne Horak, Jeannie Jackson, Isobel Tamney, Debbie Wilson, Gail Wolf, Marcia Koopman, Susan Gross, Jane Parker, Katherine Munro, Lisa Train, and Carol Blacklock—each of you added something of value to the book.
Thank you for your time and attention to detail.
Author Note
The idea that this story would become about teens and their relationship with social media came to me after reading the book American Girls: Social Media and the Secret Lives of Teenagers by Nancy Jo Sales, and after watching a 60 Minutes episode on the subject, which aired in spring 2017. If you have a child or grandchild who spends hours a day with cellphone in hand, you might want to read it, too. The fictional scenario in Alibis Can Be Murder is, sadly, all too real for many teens today.
Thank you for taking the time to read Alibis Can Be Murder. If you enjoyed it, please consider telling your friends or posting a short review. Word of mouth
is an author’s best friend and is much appreciated.
Thank you,
Connie Shelton
Books by Connie Shelton
The Charlie Parker Series
Deadly Gamble
Vacations Can Be Murder
Partnerships Can Be Murder
Small Towns Can Be Murder
Memories Can Be Murder
Honeymoons Can Be Murder
Reunions Can Be Murder
Competition Can Be Murder
Balloons Can Be Murder
Obsessions Can Be Murder
Gossip Can Be Murder
Stardom Can Be Murder
Phantoms Can Be Murder
Buried Secrets Can Be Murder
Legends Can Be Murder
Weddings Can Be Murder
Alibis Can Be Murder
Holidays Can Be Murder - a Christmas novella
The Samantha Sweet Series
Sweet Masterpiece
Sweet’s Sweets
Sweet Holidays
Sweet Hearts
Bitter Sweet
Sweets Galore
Sweets, Begorra
Sweet Payback
Sweet Somethings
Sweets Forgotten
Spooky Sweet
The Woodcarver’s Secret
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Alibis Can Be Murder Page 24