“Pull over, right here,” I yelled out loud as Star narrowly avoided missing my stop.
“My brake pads are almost worn to the metal since I’ve started giving you rides.”
I’ll admit that I stank at giving directions. My slow reaction time made matters worse. If it weren’t for having a GPS in my ex’s car, he would have dumped me years earlier.
“You’re going to Pappy’s Barbershop?” Star said, stunned. She thought about it for a moment, then shrugged her shoulders. “This place can’t be any worse than Cookie’s place.”
I trusted Pappy and Pappy alone to cut my hair. This was the case since my father took me there as a little girl. I loved staring at the red and white striped barber sign out front. The sign reminded me of a lolly-pop. I gazed at it until I felt dizzy each time we visited.
When I walked up to the shop, I immediately spotted Pappy. He sat on the bench in front of the shop, reading the Sunny Shores Times. I stood still for a brief second and soaked it in. The moment and setting took me back to my childhood.
“Hey Pappy? Long time no see,” I said.
Pappy folded the newspaper in two and placed it in his lap. He adjusted his glasses until his eyes were back in focus. As soon as he realized who I was, he grinned from ear to ear.
“Kara,” he shouted as he jumped off the bench and give me a big squeeze. “It’s about time you came by and see me. Once I heard you were back, I wondered when you’d come by.”
“I wanted to come by sooner, but the truck has taken up most of my free time,” I explained.
“Nonsense. Ol’ Pappy knows how running your own business is. When I first started the barbershop, I spent the majority of the day here. I was gone so long my kids called the milk man daddy.”
“Milk man? How old is this shop?” I asked as I laughed.
Pappy smiled. “Way too old, if you ask Mrs. Pappy. She’s been wanting me to retire for years.”
“Why don’t you?”
“Have you met my wife?”
We both enjoyed a good laugh.
Pappy was a great man with an even better sense of humor. He was born in Cape Town, South Africa. His family emigrated to the United States when he was a boy. Pappy fought through poverty and racism as a young man, working hard and saving his money. By the time he was twenty-five, he saved enough to open his own shop.
“What can I do for you?”
I smiled. “Have time for a trim?”
“For you, always,” he said as he opened the door for me. He invited me in and walked me to his barber chair.
My heart felt at ease from being inside those walls again. The place looked the same from the last time I visited. In the left corner, an old magazine rack stood. It didn’t contain a magazine from after 1990. He still had the glass lolly-pop case on the counter by the register. If I sat still enough, he’d give me an extra one.
If I closed my eyes, I could imagine my father sitting in the barber’s chair. He laughed and cut up with the other men. They talked sports, politics, and occasionally women. They kept it clean when I was there.
“So just a trim, huh? Have a hot date?”
I hesitated for a moment before answering him. “Unfortunately, I do.”
“You don’t sound too excited,” he said as grinned.
“It’s nothing against the guy. He seems nice,” I explained. “But a part of me feels like it’s not ready to move on yet.”
Pappy’s demeanor and overall presence made people feel relaxed and open. The longer I was there, the safer I felt about sharing. To be honest, Pappy missed his calling in life. Instead of a barber, he should’ve been a psychiatrist.
“Well, Kara,” he began as he pulled a fresh comb from the glass jar. “You gotta do what feels best for you. Don’t worry about what others think.”
His words rang true. The trait of trying to please others first described me perfectly. Not for lack of trying, I attempted to change. I liked pleasing people. It bothered me to think someone was upset with me.
“At least I can question Chris at the restaurant,” I blurted out without thinking first.
With the sudden death of John Harmon, Missy allowed Chris to take over the day-to-day management of the restaurant. Since the Mama Mia food truck lay in rubble, Chris needed a new job. Quite frankly, it was a logical move.
“So, the rumors are true,” he said as he began to trim my split ends. “Little Kara Summers, the private eye.”
His response surprised me. “How did you know that?”
He chuckled. “This is a small town and word travels fast. Besides that, you’re talking to a barber. Everyone spills the beans to me.”
Everybody kept mentioning how small a town Sunny Shores was. I felt the town was shrunk daily by the way everyone knew my business. It made matters worse that discretion wasn’t my strong suit.
“Your father became one of my best customers. In fact, I probably cut his hair more often than anyone else in town.”
Hearing that made me smile. I almost forgot how often my dad visited Pappy for a haircut.
“And I tell ya, Kara, it wasn’t because he liked his hair short.”
“Then why?” I asked.
“Don’t play coy with me. You are your daddy’s daughter, that’s for sure,” he replied as he continued to cut my hair. “I bet you’re here for the same reason he always came.” He looked into the mirror, directly at my eyes. “You’re looking for information on John Harmon’s death, aren’t you?
“I can’t help it, Pappy. I possess this unquenchable thirst for solving this case. It’s all I can think about.”
He laughed. “Your daddy was the same way. He came here so often because he wanted to keep his ears to the street. Being a good investigator in a small town requires you blend in with the people. He was great at that.”
“So what do you think happened to John Harmon?”
“Mr. Harmon was a rich and powerful man. He lived a very successful life, and no one can deny that. However, to get to that point, he stepped on many folks along the way. Hurting others without remorse to get what he wanted led to a trail of victims. He amassed a lot of enemies.”
“Who do you think could have done it?” I asked.
“A lot of the time in these cases, it all leads back to family.”
“So you think someone in his family did it? Perhaps his wife or step-son?”
“Could be. You never know,” he responded as he finished up. “I’ll tell you this. My gut tells me it’s not about money.”
“Why so?” I asked.
“Blowing a person up with propane strikes me as a crime of passion or revenge. Someone wanted him to not just die, but suffer. If it were over money, I would imagine someone using a less gruesome means of murder.”
His perspective was interesting and brought up a few good points. I had a lot more to think about. Maybe I was looking at the case in the wrong light.
“What do you think?” he asked as he rotated the chair to face the mirror. “Simple and understated. My specialty.”
“Looks great, Pappy. Thank you.”
“My pleasure.”
As we walked towards the register, I pulled my wallet out of my purse to pay. When he noticed the gesture, he shook his head no at me.
“Your money is no good here. The haircut is on the house.”
“That’s very sweet of you, but I insist.”
“Hmm…” he said as he pondered an idea. “Tell you what. Bring me a piece of that tasty Key lime pie the next time you stop by. Then we can call it even.”
“Sounds like a deal.”
Before I stepped one foot out of the door, he waved me down. “Before you go, I wanted to tell ya to be careful out there. The rich and powerful of this town are as dangerous as any run-of-the-mill criminal. Maybe worse. I don’t believe for one second that your daddy’s death was an accident. Just make sure to watch your back.”
When I walked outside, I noticed I had missed a text from Star.
Call me back when
you can. We have a serious problem.
I rushed back to Grove Park as quick as my legs would take me. After the craziness that occurred days before, I didn’t know what to expect. I feared the worst.
“What’s the problem?” I shouted as I rushed into the truck.
“I have good news and bad news, I’m afraid,” Star replied as she pulled out a chair for me to sit in.
“Give me the bad news first.”
“Our only oven is now broken as well.”
“Are you kidding me?” I said as I started to hyperventilate. “What are we going to do without an oven?”
“Don’t worry,” Star said as she tried to calm me down. “There’s good news as well. Mrs. Conway from Sunny Shores Baptist Church wants you to fix an order of ten Key lime pies. Ty ran the numbers, and it would be enough to fix both ovens.”
I regained my composure. “It’s not so bad. We can do it. Maybe this is a blessing in disguise?”
“True,” Star replied. “Not to mention you have a hot date tonight.”
With everything going on, I forgot about the date that night. So much for my calm nerves.
15
I felt a sudden rush of nerves seeing my reflection in the mirror. At first I didn’t recognize the woman who stared back at me. The image in front of me showed a woman with her hair primped, makeup on, and wearing a cute black dress. It was a far cry from my usual outfit consisting of a pink t-shirt one size too big, worn out apron, faded capris, and flip-flops. On second thought, I decided to wear the flip-flops anyway. No high heels for me, especially since I planned to walk to the restaurant.
When it came to dating, I was like a fish out of water. Even more appropriately, I was like a fish out of water flopping around on the surface of the moon. I was that clueless and out of touch. Dating seemed less complicated in high school. Now dating consisted of Tinder, Bumble, ghosting, hookups, FWBs, slow fading, and too many rules and terms to keep up with.
My arrangement wasn’t a real date, right? What did I have to worry about? I attempted to keep myself in the right frame of mind. Too bad Star made matters worse.
She called me up that evening. Star appeared to be vicariously living through me. I found her sudden increase in interest odd, especially when she had the more interesting life.
“Tonight’s the night,” she said. “Feeling nervous?”
“Nervous? Me?” I said as I laughed. “It’s not a date, so I have nothing to be nervous about.”
I lied. My nerves were wrecked and getting the best of me. What do I say? Do I eat in front of him? What if there are awkward silences? These were all questions and concerns that pulsated through my brain.
“Look at it this way, Kara. In my experience, two outcomes are possible,” she explained. “If things go well, you will have a great time. If you’re lucky, the night could end with a kiss.”
“What’s the other outcome?” I almost hesitated to ask.
“The night becomes a disaster of epic proportions he and his friends laugh about for years to come. Or, you embarrass yourself to the point your only option is to move far away. Possibly become a nun.”
“Thanks a lot. I feel a lot better now,” I said sarcastically.
Star picked up on the fact that I wasn’t amused. “The worst thing that could happen is that you two don’t click. Not everyone is compatible. The only way to find out is to try. Believe me, I know. I’m almost out of tries around here.”
“Besides, it’s not a date,” I insisted. “I’m only going to try to get a word with Chris. He hasn’t returned my calls, so I’m going to confront him face-to-face. He’s been curious absent from the park, since the accident.”
“His absence isn’t too curious if you think about it,” Star said. “His food truck did explode and all.”
“Regardless, I’ll get a chance to talk to him. That date is just the cover.”
“Whatever you say, Kara. At least you get a free meal out of the process,” she added, then paused to think about what she said. “Bring your purse, just in case he’s too cheap to pay.”
Her words made sense and hit a little too close to home. When it came to cheapskates, my ex-boyfriend fit the bill. Actually, when it came to the bill, he slid it my way on more than one occasion.
Dustin’s family was well-off, so he never held a real job in his life. His parents paid for his college, books, apartment, and anything his heart desired. Although he received a monthly stipend to live on, he blew it in the first week of every month. Instead of swallowing his pride and begging for additional money, he turned to me for help.
My parents made a decent living, but couldn’t pay for everything. Thankfully, through hard work and dedication, I earned a full scholarship from undergraduate school through law school. I worked a part-time job to help my parents with my apartment and living expenses. Dustin took full advantage of this.
“Hmm…” I said while I pondered Star’s tip. “On second thought, I better take my wallet.”
In a move I considered a stroke of genius, I arrived at Mama Mia’s Little Italian twenty minutes before the time of my date. Rather, the time of my friendly dinner meeting. I hoped to get a chance to talk with Chris before Will arrived. Unfortunately for me, Will arrived earlier than me.
As I approached the entrance of the restaurant, Will stood waiting by the door. Tall, dark, and handsome was a tired cliché, but he wore it quite well. He spotted me and walked my way.
“Don’t you look great?” Will said as greeted me with a hug. “I think this is the first time I’ve seen you without an apron, or even outside the window of your truck.”
Half embarrassed and half flattered, I smiled. I attempted to not blush, although I was sure I appeared red as a strawberry. It didn’t help that he looked hot in his tight dark jeans.
“You clean up pretty well yourself,” I said as I tried to keep reminding myself it wasn’t a date. His half smile, half grin made it difficult.
“Let’s go inside, shall we,” he said as he opened the front door for me. “I’ve already got us a table.”
As the hostess led us to our table, I looked around the restaurant for Chris. The place was booming for a weeknight, with most tables occupied with a mix of locals and tourists. With so many people moving around, finding Chris in the crowd proved difficult at best.
“Excuse you,” a woman in a red hat shouted as I bumped into the back of her chair. I lacked coordination as it was, so trying to locate someone in a crowd while walking proved a bad idea.
“I’m so sorry,” I said as I tried to apologize.
“Hmmph,” she said under her breath as she avoided looking me in the eyes. The woman looked familiar, but I couldn’t quite put my finger on how I recognized her. On the other hand, if she recognized me, she seemed to have no desire to reconnect.
After that mishap, I decided to focus on walking the rest of the way to our table. We were sat at a quiet table in the back of the restaurant. Lucky for me, one side of the table faced the kitchen. I obviously chose the chair with that view, so I might catch a glance of Chris working in the kitchen.
As we sat down, the hostess handed us our menus.
“So what’s good here,” Will asked as he pulled my menu down. I guess I couldn’t hide behind my menu all night.
“I love the chicken parm here. That, or the lasagna,” I said as I glanced back at the menu. “Honestly, everything I’ve tried here has been delicious.”
John Harmon’s reputation as a person might have been suspect. However, the man knew how to run an excellent restaurant. The food at his downtown location was excellent. My stomach growled in anticipation from the aroma that filled the air.
“Chicken parm it is,” he said. “You know, it’s kind of funny.”
I looked at him, curious. “What’s that?” I asked.
“My parents always talked about opening an Italian restaurant of their own.” He smiled.
“What’s so funny about that?”
“They b
oth were awful cooks,” he said, laughing. “If I hadn’t learned to cook, I might have starved to death.”
I smiled at him as I picked up the wine menu. “They have an amazing Pinot Noir that complements the dish. I can never remember the name. I believe they carry it by the bottle if you want to try it.”
“None for me, thanks,” Will said as he shook his head. “I’m not much of a wine person. Feel free to order it for yourself.”
“You don’t have to twist my arm,” I replied. It was a rare occasion that I went out, so I wanted to take full advantage of it. Besides, a little alcohol wouldn’t hurt. I needed something to calm my nerves.
After the waitress stopped by to take our order, I noticed Chris Kelly out of the corner of my eye. Chris and another waitress stood around the drink station talking to each other. At this point, I tuned out Will and had no idea what he was saying. The only thing I could think about was how I needed to speak to Chris. My window of opportunity closed by the second.
“Can you excuse me for a second?” I asked Will, interrupting his rambling.
He appeared to be slightly taken aback, but grinned regardless. “Sure. I need to step out and make a phone call. I haven’t heard from my partner, Tom, all day.”
I excused myself and walked in Chris’s direction. I wasn’t sure if it was intentional or not, but he began to walk in the opposite direction. I began to get the hunch that he was avoiding me. I finally cornered him in the banquet room in the back of the restaurant.
“Hey Chris, do you have a second?” I asked as I waved him down.
“Hey Kara, what are you doing here?”
“I’m having dinner with a friend. Your father’s restaurant is one of my favorites in town.”
“Step-father,” he quickly interjected.
“I’m sorry to hear about your loss. I’m sure it’s been hard on you and your mother.”
“You could say that,” he said. I didn’t get the feeling he was too upset, to be honest. He appeared to be more annoyed by me asking.
“I’m not sure if you heard or not, but the video footage from my camera showed someone else around your truck that morning.”
Key Lime Crime Page 7