by Cindy Bell
Luke only nodded at her in return. He looked at Charlotte for a moment, then returned his attention to Ally.
“Did Connor mention any arguments he'd had? Any financial trouble?”
“No. We didn't talk much.”
Luke turned his attention to Charlotte. “Did he mention any of that to you?”
“No. Connor was a good boy.”
“A grown man.” Luke narrowed his eyes. “He was in his twenties.”
“You, young man, are still a boy to me,” Charlotte bit her words back. Ally cringed at the sharp tone she took with Luke, but it did not surprise her.
“Did you know his family well?” Luke continued as if her correction had no impact on him.
“As well as anyone else in this town.”
Luke glanced over at Ally and then back at Charlotte. “Is it a family trait not to answer questions?”
“Excuse me?”
Ally braced herself as she waited for Charlotte to unleash a tongue-lashing. Julian stepped in before things could get any more tense.
“I think we have all of the information we need, Ms. Charlotte. Thank you for your time.”
Luke scowled slightly in Julian's direction. Ally moved closer to her grandmother.
“Julian, wait just a minute.” Charlotte picked up a platter from behind the counter.
“Yes?” Julian turned back.
“You know better than to walk out of here with an empty stomach.” She smiled sweetly at him. Julian grinned.
“Thanks, Ms. Charlotte.” He picked up one of the cookies. Charlotte looked over at Luke. “You too, young man.”
Luke shook his head. “No thanks.”
Silence fell amongst them. Ally held her breath as she wondered how her grandmother would react. Luke looked between the troubled expressions and seemed to gather that he had made a mistake.
“I'd rather have one of those muffins.” He cleared his throat. “If you don't mind.”
Ally tried not to be amused by the timid way he looked at Charlotte. She picked up one of the triple chocolate muffins and offered it to Luke.
“It's quite rich.”
“Thanks, the richer the better. We'll be in touch.” He nodded to Ally and Charlotte, then turned towards the door as Julian crunched down on a cookie.
“Let’s go to the auto shop,” Julian said to Luke between bites.
Charlotte pulled Ally to the side. “I don't think I trust this.”
“Trust what?” Ally glanced past her grandmother to the two detectives that were just walking out the door.
“Julian knows the area, but Luke isn't from around here. I don't know of any Elms that have ever lived in this town. He turned down one of my cookies. I don't trust him.”
“Well, I think we're on even ground then, because he sure doesn't seem to trust us.” Ally watched the two men disappear down the sidewalk.
“I'm just sick about what's happened.” Charlotte wrung her hands. “I wish there was something more that we could do. I'm concerned that Luke isn't going to be as invested in finding out the truth since he is from out of town. He's probably from a place where murders happen all of the time.”
“Relax, Mee-Maw I'm sure he'll do his job.” Ally felt a little unsettled as well, despite coming to Luke's defense.
“But, did you see the way he acted? I don't know. It seems like he's trying to be too much of a tough guy. Hopefully Julian will take control.” Charlotte sighed.
“Hopefully,” Ally muttered. “I think I'm going to take a walk. Is that okay with you?”
“Sure, I doubt we’ll have a huge rush this morning.”
Chapter Five
Ally slipped out the back door of the shop. She could see the parking lot from it. She waited until the two detectives were in their car, then she stepped all the way outside. As Charlotte had predicted, the parking lot was empty with no sign of filling up any time soon. Once the detectives were out of the driveway Ally made her way through the backyard of the neighboring house. Even though the detectives were in a car, she knew that she would likely beat them across town. There were stop signs and traffic lights on the road, and she knew every short cut to get across town as quickly as possible.
When Ally emerged behind the library she noticed that their car was just turning down the street towards the auto shop. She gave them a few minutes to drive into the parking lot, park, and get out. Then she crossed the road and headed to the shop as well. There was a small opening between the auto shop and the convenience store that was next to it. That was where the dumpster was. Ally crept along the outside of the auto shop and paused a few feet from the corner. She could hear Julian and Luke talking.
“It doesn't make much sense does it?” Luke asked.
“What do you expect, a step-by-step plan?” Julian's voice was coated with annoyance. “I think that it is pretty plain to see what happened here. Someone was after him, and caught up with him.”
“I don't know. I mean, don't you think it's strange that he went out for a delivery and didn't return, but neither Charlotte or Ally thought to call the police to report him missing?”
Ally tensed at the tone in Luke's voice. Was he really suspecting her or her grandmother of being involved in some way in the murder? She narrowed her eyes. Maybe her grandmother was right about him. The way he was acting was very suspicious.
“Not really. You don't know the way of this town. People are in everybody's business but they're also not, they respect each other’s privacy. So, Connor didn't come back from the delivery, that didn't make him missing. Maybe it made him drunk at the bar, or hooking up with someone's wife, but it didn't make him missing. People don't call the police for just anything around here.”
“If you say so.” Luke shook his head. “Something doesn't seem right though.”
“Trust me, you're barking up the wrong tree. I already have a pretty good idea of who did this.”
“You do?” Luke glanced over at him.
Ally leaned a little closer to be sure that she was hearing Julian clearly.
“There's a history with Connor's family and the family of the man who owns the auto shop, Brent. It goes way back. Lots of bad blood.”
“What kind of bad blood?”
“Just the usual land squabble that turned into one family hating the other family and little fights and romantic issues between the generations. Basically, they irritate each other.” Ally heard his voice draw a little closer to her and she ducked back against the side of the building. She didn't want to be caught snooping, that would only make the already apparently suspicious Luke even more suspicious.
“Well, that sounds like a lead to look into.” Luke cleared his throat. “It certainly doesn’t look like a calculated murder, it looks like a crime of passion or rage.”
Ally started to turn away as it sounded like the two detectives were headed in her direction. Before she could, she heard a deep growl. She recognized the sound right away. Peaches darted out from behind her and headed straight towards the dumpster. The cat's fast motion sent a mouse running for its life, and Julian running after the cat.
“Not so fast you little pest! No contaminating the crime scene,” he said with a laugh as he scooped up the cat. Ally couldn't stop herself from chasing after her feline friend. She boldly walked out in front of the two detectives.
“That's my cat, Peaches!” She frowned and held her arms out for the cat. Julian turned to look at Ally while scratching at the cat's neck.
“Did she escape?”
“Yes. I'm sorry.” Ally took the cat back from him. She avoided looking directly at Luke, after overhearing his opinion about her and her grandmother she didn't want to give him any more reason to suspect her.
“So, she slipped out of the shop and just happened to follow us all the way here?” Luke crossed the few feet between them. He reached out and pet Peaches' orange fur. Ally noticed that he didn't wear any ring
“She wasn't at the shop. She was at my grandmother's cottag
e. We must have left the door open when we left this morning.” She shifted the cat in her grasp. “She's always escaping.”
“Maybe you should keep better track of her,” Luke suggested. Ally accidentally met his eyes. She felt like he was indicating she should have kept better track of Connor, too.
“I have her now.” She gritted her teeth and turned away from him.
“Ally wait!” Julian said as he stepped closer to her. “Tell me something, did Connor mention any issues with Brent Nissle?”
“Brent?” Ally looked at him as she tried to act surprised. “Why?”
“You two dated, didn't you?” Julian smiled. Ally was shocked that he would remember something like that. Maybe Julian had paid more attention to her in high school than she realized.
“A little in high school. A long time ago.”
“Huh. So you dated Brent in the past, and Connor asked you out for a drink? Maybe Brent didn't like that too much?” Luke's voice hardened as if he was already convinced of what he was suspecting.
Julian walked closer to her. As he did Ally caught a whiff of something strange on his shirt. It wasn't a bad smell but it wasn’t particularly good, maybe it was his cologne or soap.
“That is ridiculous,” Ally said. “I haven't seen Brent in years, and Connor and I barely spoke. Connor asking me for a drink had nothing to do with this.”
“But here you are, eavesdropping.” Luke held her gaze as if he was daring her to lie about what she had been doing. “Is there a reason for that?”
“I was looking for my cat.” Ally returned his gaze just as steadily. She had no qualms with lying to a man who seemed convinced that she was somehow involved in a murder. For just a second she felt a twinge of fear. Was he trying to frame her?
“You've found it.” Luke patted Peaches lightly on the top of her head. Peaches hissed. She might have sensed how annoyed Luke was making Ally.
“Her. I've found her.” Ally turned away with her pet. Luke might have been one of the handsomest men she had ever laid eyes on, but she didn't like the way that he spoke about her cat.
“We'll let you know if we have any more questions, Ally,” Luke called after her as she walked away. Ally didn't even bother to nod or look back. She didn't want to be asked any more questions. What she wanted was to figure out what had actually happened to Connor.
Chapter Six
Ally headed back to the cottage with Peaches. She wanted to be sure that the cat wouldn't escape again. When she got there she noticed that the back door was open. She didn't remember ever opening the back door. Maybe her grandmother had opened it and in the chaos of the morning somehow it had been left open. She secured the door and then went through the rest of the cottage to make sure that everything was as it should be.
“You stay put!” Ally warned her cat. Then she left for the shop. She decided to drive in case they had any deliveries for the day. As she drove she thought about the strange way Luke behaved. He seemed to have a problem with her without even knowing her. Or maybe he was just doing his job and she was used to the friendly demeanor of most of the people in the town. When Ally returned to her grandmother's shop she found three ladies inside waiting at the counter. They chatted quietly to one another.
“I heard that it was all over a girl.”
“Nonsense, Connor wasn't seeing anyone. I heard that he was involved in drugs.”
“Oh yes, drugs. Drugs will always get you killed.” The third woman sucked her teeth and shook her head. “It all starts at home you know. Maybe if his busybody of a mother hadn't gone and gotten herself knocked up by that other man…”
“Hello!” Ally spoke up brightly. She didn't want to hear anything more about Connor's mother's affair. The three women all turned to face Ally. One by one warm smiles appeared on their perfectly lipsticked lips.
“Ally! I didn't know you were in town.”
“So sorry to hear about your marriage.”
“Don't worry, dear, you're still so young, and pretty.” The third woman sucked her teeth again and shook her head. “Such a shame.”
“Mrs. White, Mrs. Cale, Mrs. Bing, thank you for your concern, but I'm doing just fine. Sometimes it just doesn't work out.” Ally remembered them all as the town gossips. Well, really there were many more than three, these three in particular just happened to be the most easily noticed, because they weren’t exactly discreet.
“Not like in my day.” Mrs. Bing shook her head. “Back then there wasn't an option for things not to work out. We got married, we stay married.”
Ally opened her mouth to share her opinion, but before she could Mrs. Cale interrupted. “Oh shut it, Bessie, no one deserves to be stuck in a miserable marriage. You should know.”
“My marriage was not miserable!”
“That's not what he said.” Mrs. White giggled.
“What's going on out here, ladies?” Charlotte stepped out of the back with three small boxes of chocolates. Ally looked from Mrs. Bing's horrified face, to Mrs. White’s all too pleased smirk, and did her best not to laugh.
“Well, I never!” Mrs. Bing snatched up her box of chocolates and stormed out of the shop.
“I heard he never.” Mrs. White winked at Mrs. Cale.
“Ladies.” Charlotte wagged a finger at them with playful criticism. “We mustn't gossip.”
“You're right, Charlotte.” Mrs. White nodded.
“Ally, could you help me in the kitchen?” Charlotte requested. “I trust you two have what you came for.” She slid the small boxes towards the women.
“Oh yes, thank you so much, Charlotte.” Mrs. White gushed her gratitude and snatched up her box. Mrs. Cale picked up hers as well. She spared Ally a light wink as she stepped out the door. Once they were alone Charlotte rolled her eyes.
“They're like sharks those women, they smell blood and they attack.”
“I remember.” Ally passed a somber gaze over her shoulder. She could recall many occasions of being treated differently because she was the child of a single mother, and then essentially an orphan.
“Don't let them get to you. Come tell me what you found out. I know you didn't just go for a walk.”
Ally followed her grandmother into the kitchen. “How do you know?”
“Because you're a lot like me, Ally. I wouldn't have just gone for a walk. So, what do you know?” She looked at Ally.
“I don't know much, other than that their prime suspect is Brent Nissle.”
“That doesn't surprise me. There are plenty of people that know about the problems between those families.”
“And the body was found by Brent's shop.” Ally sighed. “But that's not all. It seems that as suspicious as we are of Luke, he's suspicious of us, too. I don't know why, but it seems he has a problem with me. I think I made it worse because they caught me snooping.”
“Oh dear. Well, that’s not something to worry too much about. Listen, I'm going to work in the back for a bit. I'm going to make something special to take over to Connor's mother. Can you keep an eye on the front and tidy up a bit?”
“Sure.” Ally nodded. When she stepped back into the front of the shop she settled into her old routine of wiping down all of the counters.
She swished the rag back and forth over the same spot several times.
“Are you trying to wear a hole into the counter?” Charlotte asked from just behind her. Ally jumped, despite recognizing her grandmother's voice.
“Sorry, I was just thinking.”
“Thinking about what?” Charlotte frowned and took the rag from her.
“Just something that new detective, Luke, said.”
“What did he say?” Charlotte walked over to the register and began rifling through the receipts.
“Julian was telling him about the bad blood between Brent's family and Connor's family. Then he accused me of knowing more about the situation than I was saying. As if I tried to play Connor against Brent, or the other way around.” She shook her head.
“He a
ccused you?” Charlotte's voice heightened with anger. “How dare he!”
“Well, not in those exact words, but it was close enough.” Ally sighed. “I just hope they're not going to try to blame Brent for this without doing a thorough investigation.”
“Brent's not the same boy you remember,” Charlotte's tone was quiet. She set down the receipts and looked over at Ally. “Things change, people change, even in small towns, Ally.”
“Not that much though,” Ally stated firmly. “I don’t think it's possible. At least I hope it isn’t.”
“I'm going to finish up in the back.” Charlotte patted Ally's shoulder as she walked past. Ally managed a smile in her grandmother's direction. They could disagree on a topic and have it not be an issue, but Ally was genuinely bothered by what her grandmother had said. Did people really change that much? Could someone like Brent, a friend she had trusted, really become a killer? As Ally thought about this she lost herself in dusting and straightening the shelves. As she worked she nearly knocked over the hummingbird that Luke had given to her grandmother. It struck her that she had considered it so beautiful before, now that she had met the man who created it, she had a hard time believing that he could create something so beautiful. Maybe her grandmother was right about people changing.
The door to the shop swung open and a young woman walked in. Ally thought she looked fairly familiar, but then just about everyone in town did. She looked young enough to be finishing school.
“Amy?” Ally gasped with surprise as she recognized her.
Amelia offered a nervous smile. “It's been a long time, Ally.”
“Last time I saw you you were still in pigtails.” Ally smiled at her. Then her smile faded some. She had a feeling that Amelia had an ulterior motive for the visit.
“Did you hear about Connor?” Amelia asked.
“Yes. I did.” Ally frowned. “It was terrible news.”
“Then I'm sure you've also spoken to the detectives.” Amelia brushed her hand lightly back through her hair. “I spoke to them, too.”
“I did.” Ally nodded. She felt uncomfortable as she studied Amelia and wondered what she was really there for.