by Harper Lin
There was one thing I actually didn’t think about, not until long after Mike had explained that I’d still have to have police protection, just inside my house instead of stationed outside it, as well as another officer lurking behind the scenes at the café. That was that someone was trying to kill me.
That thought held off until I was lying in bed, Latte at my side, trying not to think about Matt. Then, suddenly, it was all I could think about. Someone was trying to kill me. Someone wanted me dead.
I realized that I had mentally narrowed the suspects down to Dean and Todd. Dean because he seemed to have such a grudge against me and Todd because, well, I couldn’t think of many reasons why Todd would be out to get me. I’d helped solve the murder outside his gym, which should have been a good thing. I’d figured out that he and Karli were dating, which eventually led to her parents making them break up, but Todd and Karli were back together now, so that shouldn’t matter.
Thinking about Todd and Karli’s relationship got me thinking about Matt again. I hadn’t talked to him all day. It was the longest we’d gone without talking since we’d been together. I wished I was brave enough to call him and apologize. He was probably still furious with me. He’d be even more furious if he knew I was going back to work tomorrow. But I missed him so much.
I WAS up before the sun the next morning without an alarm, excited and raring to go. I grabbed the cast-iron skillet I’d set aside for Sammy and tucked it into my tote bag. Sammy’s boyfriend, Officer Ryan Leary, was waiting outside my front door for me. He introduced me to the officer who would be guarding my house while I was gone. I gave her a brief explanation of how to use the espresso machine and invited her to make herself at home. Ryan escorted me to the café, where Sammy was already waiting. She gave me a big hug and Ryan a kiss. After I gave her the skillet, Ryan settled into the back room, where he’d be stationed for the day, and Sammy and I got to work.
We made donuts and baked cookies. I mixed up some brownies and popped them in the oven. Sammy threw together a quick soda bread and got it baking. We sliced tomatoes and chopped lettuce and got a decent amount of preparation done before the first early-morning patrons started trickling into the café.
Everyone was ecstatic that we were open again. Customer after customer gave us hugs. They expressed their sympathies at Ephy’s death and their gratitude that we were alive. I tried not to feel too guilty.
Mike came by more often than was strictly necessary. I wasn’t sure that even he could drink as much coffee as he was downing. He’d come in, get a cup, then wander back out to make a loop of Main Street before wandering in again. I almost pointed out that he was being far from sneaky, but I didn’t want to do anything that would endanger my ability to stay open, so I kept my mouth shut and kept filling his cup.
Mid-morning, Dean came in, scowling, and got a donut and a cappuccino to go. I watched from the end of the counter as Sammy told him that the donuts were buy-one-get-one. “One is plenty,” he snapped. He took his bag and glared at me on the way out. I didn’t know why he came in if he was so grumpy about it.
It was shortly after lunchtime when Todd came in. I’d gotten so used to seeing him with Karli glued to his hip that I was surprised to see him by himself. He gave me a big hug when he saw me. “Fran! I’m so glad you’re open again. I’ve been so worried about you.”
“You have?” I asked, genuinely not expecting to hear that. “Why?”
“You know.” He shrugged. “Just everything that’s been going on.”
He looked down at me with his sparkly blue eyes, his hands still resting on my shoulders. I searched his face for any sign of malice but came up empty. I couldn’t imagine that Todd had anything against me.
“Todd? What are you doing here?”
Todd dropped his hands from my shoulders as he turned and saw his girlfriend. “Karli! Hey. I thought I’d stop in to see Fran now that Antonia’s is open again.”
She looked from Todd to me in disgust. I wanted to tell her that I was not interested in her boyfriend, not by a long shot. I had my own boyfriend. He and I might have been going through a rough patch, but I wasn’t looking to trade him in. Instead, I just gave her a warm smile. “Hi, Karli!”
She ignored me and looked at Todd. “I was going to surprise you with a coffee.” She pouted.
“How about I buy you one instead?” He wrapped his arm around her bare shoulders. Winter was definitely over, but I didn’t know how she wasn’t cold in her layered tank tops (blue and green today).
“Okay.” She pursed her lips and tipped her head up. Todd glanced at me sheepishly before giving her a quick kiss. I was surprised that they were being so openly affectionate when they were still trying to hide their relationship from Karli’s parents. She turned to me triumphantly. “I want a large iced latte with extra vanilla syrup.”
I nodded with my best attempt at a bland, neutral smile. I didn’t want to do anything that she might construe as passing judgement on her drink choice.
I made her drink and gave Todd the black coffee he ordered. They left the café with their arms around each other, and I turned to greet the next customer.
Chapter 26
I had planned to stay at the café from open to close, but around late afternoon, I started to flag. Thirteen hours was a long time to be cheerfully greeting people who might want me dead. Sammy was gone, but Rhonda had come in, and business was slow.
“Why don’t you just go home?” Rhonda asked. “I can handle the rest of the day.”
“I’m fine. I was at home for days,” I replied.
The truth was that as long as I was busy at the café, I wasn’t thinking about how Matt and I hadn’t spoken in almost forty-eight hours. Every time I thought about it, I felt nauseous and doubled down on my work.
“Fran. Seriously. Go home. You don’t need to be here. I’ve got this.”
I looked around at the few occupied tables and sighed. Even my level of stubbornness had its limits. “Okay, fine.” I pulled my apron over my head and gave her a hug. “Call me if it gets busy.”
“Will do, chief.” She gave me a mock salute.
I went in the back and hung up my apron. Ryan had been relieved around midday, and I told his replacement I was ready to go home for the night.
“Sure thing,” he said. “I’ll let Detective Stanton know.” He started tapping on his phone.
I grabbed my purse, and I noticed that Sammy had forgotten her skillet. I’d have to remind her tomorrow and make sure she knew that it was a gift. I didn’t need it back.
My cell phone dinged as I put my bag on my shoulder. I pulled it out, expecting some kind of warning from Mike to be careful, but I saw Matt’s name on the screen. And underneath, I love you. I’m sorry.
I replied immediately. I’m sorry too. I love you.
His reply came back before I could even put my phone away. Romantic dinner for two tonight at Fiesta?
My mouth dropped open.
His next message popped up. Mike told me he set you free ;)
My reply was one word. YES
I felt like I was floating on air as the officer escorted me home. I’d had a good day back at the café, and Matt and I had kissed and made up. Well, we’d made up. The kissing would come later.
Latte greeted me at the door like I’d been gone for ten days instead of ten hours.
The officer inside grinned at me. “He’s the best stakeout partner I’ve ever had!”
“He’s a good boy! Yes he is! Yes he is!” My voice descended into doggie-talk as I got down on my knees to give him good scratches. “Can I take him for a walk?” I asked the officer.
“Let me arrange it,” she said.
“Arrange what?” I asked.
“Someone to tail you. Detective’s orders. You’re not allowed out alone.”
I sighed and played with Latte for a few minutes while I waited for the officer to tell me I could go.
Finally, she nodded. “Okay, you can go. Go right at the end
of your front walk. There’s an officer waiting at the end of the block to the left. He’ll be following you the whole time but at a distance. His job is to blend in, so don’t worry if you look back and don’t see him. If you do start to get worried, call him. I’ll give you his number.”
I programmed the officer’s phone number into my cell and made sure it was ready to call if I needed to. “Anything else?” I asked her.
“Enjoy your walk!”
I hooked Latte’s leash onto his collar and headed out. At the end of my front walk, I glanced to the left. At the end of a block, a man in jeans and a T-shirt was staring down at his phone. I glanced at my front window. I couldn’t see her, but I knew the officer inside was watching. I took a deep breath, turned to the right, and started walking.
The day was glorious. The sun was shining, the birds were singing in the trees, and a light breeze brought the scent of the ocean to my nose. It was the first time I’d been alone and outside of my house in days.
At the corner, I turned right to go toward Main Street and the beach. I’d forgotten to bring a ball to use for fetch on the beach, but we could walk along the boardwalk. It usually had enough people on it that the officer behind me should be able to blend in too.
I walked slowly, soaking it all in. Once or twice, I stopped to look around and glance discreetly behind me. Every time, the man in jeans and a T-shirt was somewhere behind me. I turned onto Main Street. I was just a couple of blocks down from the café. I figured I’d walk by there, poke my head in to make sure Rhonda was doing okay, and then continue on towards the beach. It felt good to be out in the world.
I stopped to look in a shop window and checked behind me again. I couldn’t see the officer, but I told myself he was back there. Main Street was busier than the side streets had been, so he was probably just hidden behind someone else.
I kept going. I was getting closer to the café now. The building Sammy lived in was just behind me. I passed a narrow alleyway that held the fire escape for one of the apartments in the building next to Sammy’s. Latte’s ears perked up as he heard a dog barking somewhere on the other side of the street. I turned my head to look just as someone grabbed me from behind and pulled me into the alley.
I tried to scream, but a cloth covered my mouth. My attacker’s forearm pressed against my throat as they dragged me back. I kicked backward, trying for the shins of the person holding me. I only got air, and my feet slipped out from under me.
There was something on the cloth that burned my nose. I shook my head to try to break free. They yanked back again. I felt like I was choking.
Latte barked and growled. The pressure against my throat disappeared, and Latte’s leash wrenched out of my hand. His barking got quieter as he ran off, leaving me to my attacker. Where was the officer who was following me? I scratched at the arm as it went back around my throat. I had to stay in the alley. I had to stop them from dragging me into the parking lot behind it. I had to stay. I had to fight. Just until the officer caught up to me.
The hand over my mouth shifted, and the cloth covered my nose as well. I shook my head, trying to get away from the cloth. The hand clamped down tighter. I kicked the air. I tried to claw at the arm again, but my arm was heavy—too heavy to lift. I kicked again, but this time my leg stayed on the ground. The world swirled around me. I fought for consciousness. I couldn’t pass out. I couldn’t. I had to stay awake, had to stay here. Like in a dream, I felt my body start to sink. I tried to stand up, but the ground felt like water. A gray cloud moved into my vision. The world shrank to a tiny dot.
Latte was barking. I could hear him in the distance, or maybe not the distance. Maybe he was right beside me. Maybe he wasn’t there at all. I imagined I heard footsteps running and a shout. A thud. The ground fell out from under me, and I landed on the pavement. The world started to grow again. Someone somewhere shouted my name. Latte barked. A figure appeared above me, and I fought to focus my eyes.
“Fran! Fran! Fran!” the voice screamed above me. “Franny!” Slowly, the face came into focus. Blond hair and big blue eyes. Sammy. “Fran! Are you okay?” She held a cast-iron skillet in her hand.
My head rolled to the side. I blinked at the body on the ground next to me. My mouth tried to work, but my tongue was huge and dry, so the word came out thick and slurred. “Karli?”
Chapter 27
I sat at my desk in the back room of the café, flipping through applications. I was back to having to hire a new employee. I’d posted the barista job again and had a whole new stack of resumes, most of them only marginally more qualified than the batch that included Ephy’s. Pretty much anyone halfway decent was only looking for seasonal work, and while I needed that, I needed someone during the off season too. Maybe a qualified person would just walk through the door, and I wouldn’t have to worry about it anymore.
The door opened. Sammy poked her head through and smiled. “The boys are here,” she said.
“I’ll be right there.” I stuffed the applications in a folder and put it in my top desk drawer. I could worry about them tomorrow. Tonight, we were closing early.
I ran my fingers through my hair and touched up my lipstick in the mirror then grabbed the heavy tote bag from under the desk. I slung my purse over my shoulder and went out to the front.
“Everybody ready?” Ryan asked from where he and Sammy were standing by the door.
“Ready!” I said.
Matt grabbed me around the waist and kissed me on the lips.
I grinned when he pulled away. “Nice lipstick.”
He wiped at his mouth with the back of his hand and blushed when he saw the red streaks across it. I grabbed a handful of napkins and tried to help, but at some point it was impossible to tell the difference between the lipstick and the redness that came from rubbing the lipstick off. “At least they’ll all know I’m taken,” he said in a low voice that gave me shivers. I loved him so much.
Ryan held the door for us, and then I locked up. Our little group started the short walk to Cape Bay Town Hall.
Sammy grabbed my hand as we passed the alleyway where Karli had attacked me. “I still can’t believe she tried to kill you,” she whispered.
“I still can’t believe you whacked her over the head with a cast-iron skillet,” I replied.
She giggled. “It was such good luck that I forgot the skillet and came back for it.”
“No kidding!”
“I don’t understand why she wanted to kill you. It was really just because she thought you had a thing for Todd?” Ryan asked.
I shrugged. “That’s my understanding. It doesn’t make sense to me, but I guess it made sense to her.”
“You were never even alone together,” Matt said. “Were you?”
I elbowed him in the ribs. “No, of course not. And even if we had been, we’re both happy with our partners. Were happy, I guess.”
I’d run into Todd a couple of times since Karli’s arrest—once at the grocery store and a couple of times at his gym, where I was still taking classes. The first time, he’d tried to stammer an apology for Karli, but he looked so stricken that I told him it wasn’t his fault.
It wasn’t, of course. He’d had nothing to do with her poisoning the punch or the chocolates or trying to chloroform me to death, but he knew that she was doing it because she wanted to keep him. From what Mike said, she’d told Todd as much when she was being guarded in the hospital while she recovered from the concussion Sammy gave her. As far as I knew, she never said what it was that made her think I wanted Todd or that he would even consider leaving her for me, but that was what she thought, which was why she was facing dozens of charges for assault, murder, and attempted murder.
I was relieved that I could feel safe again, but I was sad too. She was so young. It was such a waste of a life.
Mike greeted us at the door to Town Hall and escorted us up to the council chambers. There were seats reserved for the four of us in the front row. When Sammy was looking the other w
ay, I passed Mike the tote bag, and he disappeared up to the front with it.
We took our seats and talked quietly amongst ourselves until the meeting was called to order.
Sammy’s recognition was the first thing on the agenda.
The mayor called us up to the front, where Sammy and I stood side by side with Ryan and Matt behind us.
“Samantha Ericksen,” he began, “it is my privilege today to recognize you with the highest civilian award Cape Bay has to offer.” There was some laughter, since that was also the only civilian award our small town had. The mayor continued. “The Cape Bay Mayor’s Commendation in honor of your heroism in wielding a cast-iron skillet against an armed attacker and rescuing Francesca Amaro. We are truly proud to have you as a daughter of Cape Bay.”
The small crowd made up mostly of our friends applauded as the mayor handed Sammy a framed certificate.
“I understand there’s something else?” The mayor looked around.
Mike stepped forward with the cast-iron skillet I’d slipped to him earlier. He passed it to the mayor.
“Is this the skillet?” he asked. He weighed it in his hands to demonstrate its heft to the audience. The mayor had a reputation for being a bit of a ham when given the opportunity. “Impressive! Did you use one hand or two?”
Sammy flushed bright red. “Two.”
He held it like a baseball bat in front of him and mocked a swing. “Yes, I can see how that would work better.” His demonstration done, he reverted to a slightly more dignified manner. “Now, Sammy, something you don’t know is that your friends had a little work done on this skillet for you.”
She looked at me. I smiled and shrugged. I’d just gotten the skillet back from the local metalsmith that morning. I knew what he’d done, but she didn’t.
The mayor turned the skillet over in his hands so that the back was facing the public. “It’s engraved. Can you all read what this says? It says Sammy’s Sledgehammer, and it has the date right here that she saved Fran. Let’s all give Sammy a round of applause!”