Office Heretics (A Coffee & Crime Mystery Book 2)

by Nan Sampson

  In a way, it was. Charlie jogged in and skidded to a stop in front of the fridge. "What's up, ladies?"

  "Where have you been?" Kate was frowning a bit. "The boys were disappointed that you didn't take them to lunch like you'd promised."

  "Ah. Yeah, I uh, guess I got a little sidetracked. Are they really upset?"

  Patting him on the shoulder as she brushed past him, Ellie couldn't help smirking a little. "S'okay. I covered for you."

  "Thanks. I think."

  "So what were you 'distracted' with? I can tell that's the question Kate's going to ask you next."

  "I was talking to my cop buddies."

  That surprised Ellie. "About Lacey?"

  He gave her a pointed look. "Yeah. After last night--" He stopped, but not in time. Kate raised her eyebrows and looked at Ellie, and it was clear what she what she was thinking.

  She glared at Charlie. "Don't go there again, Kate. Charlie will tell you. Nothing happened last night. We are not a thing. Well," she gave Charlie a disparaging look, "sometimes he acts like a thing, but we" and she pointed between the two of them, "are not a thing."

  Charlie had the balls to laugh. "Wait, what? Kate thinks we..." He shook his head. "Sorry, Katie, Ellie's right. Nothing happened." He shot Ellie a look. "Well, nothing like that happened, anyway."

  Kate frowned. "Why don't I believe either of you?"

  Charlie grinned and shrugged. "I don't know."

  Damn him, he wasn't helping. "So you talked to your cop friends. What did they say?"

  He looked behind him. "Maybe we should wait until after dinner."

  Kate nodded. "You mean until after the kids are in bed."

  "Or at least well out of earshot."

  Ellie didn't like the sound of that. "Is it that bad?"

  "Not bad, but sure not G-rated."

  Kate dropped her voice to a whisper. "So she was raped."

  Charlie shook his head. "Doubtful. But there might have been some sort of sexual component to the crime. Look, we should probably put this off until later."

  "What about her body?"

  "What about it?"

  "Do you think we'll be able to claim it?"

  "The M.E. isn't finished yet. Probably won't be for a couple of days. After that I don’t see why not.”

  Kate looked relived. "Since you weren’t here to place your hot dog order, I made a couple of ham sandwiches for you." Kate pulled a couple of zip lock bags out of the refrigerator. "And there's potato salad too."

  He gave her a peck on the cheek. "Thanks, sis. You're the best. I'll apologize to the boys."

  She put the sandwiches on a plate and stuck a spoon in the large bowl of potato salad. "You just better. Do that too many times and they won't have much to do with you."

  "I know. You're right." He took the plate, then cocked an ear towards the family room, where Ellie could now hear the boys shrieking gleefully about something. She hoped they weren’t having a French fry fight. “Sounds like maybe I should go check on the restless natives now.”

  Kate nodded. “Thanks. We’ll be there in a minute.”

  When he’d left, Kate touched her arm again. “You okay?”

  Ellie nodded. The anger had burned off most of the anxiety, but she knew she’d be snagging some time for herself that afternoon. Someplace quiet and away from the chaotic energy that surrounded the McCallum household. “Yeah. I’ll live.”

  She gave Kate’s hand a squeeze, then went after Charlie. She wanted to retrieve her phone and then maybe take a walk. A long walk somewhere where there were trees.

  Finding him in the sunroom, at the table where the boys were indeed tossing French fries at one another, she tapped the lanky man on the shoulder. "Charlie, I need my phone back."

  He quickly chewed and swallowed an enormous forkful of potato salad and patted his pockets. He finally came up with one. “That one's yours, right?"

  She shook her head. “No. Don’t tell me you’ve lost my phone.”

  “No, it’s here somewhere. Hang on.” He searched again, finally came up with her phone.

  “So whose phone is that, McCallum?”

  He stared at the piece of electronics. “Um...”

  Kate came up behind him and snatched the phone from his hands. “That’s Kaela’s phone. And if you’ve made her go over her talk time limit, you’re paying for the overage out of your own pocket.” she held up her hand as he started to say something. “And, you’re explaining it to Dan so she doesn’t get a lecture.”

  He hung his head in mock shame. “Yes, mom.”

  Kate shook her head, looked at Ellie. “Boys.”

  Ellie rolled her eyes. "Listen, if you don’t mind, I'm going out for a little while. Call me if you need me, okay?"

  "Are you sure you’re okay?”

  “Yes. Yes, I’m fine. I just need some alone time.”

  Kate nodded, understanding. She always understood, Ellie thought. Sometimes better even than Ellie did. “Okay, honey. Dinner's around 5:00, Malnati's pizza and Dan will probably want hot wings and garlic bread too, so I'll make sure I order extra. I know how you like the cheesy garlic bread."

  "Excellent. I'll see you later."

  "Where are you going?"

  "Out for a walk."

  "A walk? In November? You'll freeze."

  "Need to connect to the Goddess, Kate, and I can't do that stuck indoors. Besides, the sun is shining and compared to home, it's positively balmy here."

  Charlie groaned. "Oh, please. Horizon is hardly the Arctic Circle."

  Ignoring him, she waved to Kate and made a hasty exit out the back door.

  Chapter 15

  Kate lived in an older section of town, where the houses had character. Old trees lined the sidewalks providing shade in the summer and a place for birds and squirrels to nest. Now the branches were bare and as she walked along, she could sense, beneath her feet, the deep peace of the earth slumbering. It was good to clear her head, breathe in fresh - well relatively fresh - air and sink her awareness into the timeless rhythm of Nature. the only thing that would have made it better would be to have Erik the Red loping along at her side.

  She let her feet take her where they would, and some little time later, she found herself at a small park. Parking her butt on a bench, she reveled in the stillness for a moment, then reluctantly pulled out her cell phone.

  She dialed Per, wondering what Marg had brought him for lunch. She hoped Marg remembered that unlike the two of them, Per was a confirmed carnivore.

  The phone rang three times before Per answered, a little breathless. In the background, she could hear barking.

  "Per? It's Ellie."

  "Ellie! Good to hear from you! Erik, sit."

  "What on earth is going on?"

  "We were just having a friendly game of tug a war. He didn't like me stopping to answer the phone."

  In the background, Erik continued to voice his displeasure. Ellie laughed. "Put him on."

  "Erik, come. Ellie wants to talk to you."

  There was a whining sound and she could hear the dog's claws clicking on the hardwood floor as he came closer, then his snuffling as Per held the receiver down to him.

  "Erik, stop barking. And be a good boy. I'll be home in a couple of days, okay? You be good. No more barking. And leave poor Per alone."

  "Don't tell him to leave me alone. We like playing together."

  "Per, you'll throw your back out. Remember last time?"

  "Hmmm. I remember the massage therapist you found for me. What was her name?"

  "Shame on you. You're a dirty old man."

  Per laughed. "Well, you got one thing right. I'm a man. So, what's going on in the City of Big Winded Folk."

  "You mean the Windy City."

  "Same difference."

  "Smart aleck." She watched a blue jay land on a nearby fir bough, found herself smiling despite the turmoil in her heart. “Things have taken a turn for the worse. You remember I told you that Lacey said someone was trying to
kill her?"

  "Yeah."

  "Well, someone did."

  There was a brief silence. "She's dead?"

  "Yes." And now, for the first time, Ellie felt the grief that had eluded her, a deep sense of loss not only for Lacey but even more for the friendship Ellie had let go of. Her control failed and she wept openly.

  Per allowed her a few moments. "Oh, Elspeth. I'm so sorry. I wish I were there with you.”

  His support made her cry even harder and it was a couple of minutes before she wrangled control of her emotions again. “Thanks.”

  “Was it an accident?"

  "Murder. The cops say it was a robbery in an alley, but..."

  He always knew what she was thinking. "...But that seems awfully coincidental to you."

  "Yes. Thank the goddess I'm not the only one who thinks so. I was beginning to think I was crazy."

  "No crazier than any of the rest of us conspiracy theorists."

  She gave a chuckle through her tears. "Oh, that makes me feel better." She brushed her eyes dry. “It's just so awful. If only I'd come up a day earlier, maybe I could have stopped it." She broke down again, the guilt and sadness overwhelming her.

  He made soothing noises at her for a minute and even though they were over a hundred miles apart, she could feel him with her, a solid comforting presence.

  "Now, Ellie, you know you're not responsible. If this was her destiny, if this was her path, no matter what you did, she would have wound up walking down this road one way or another."

  It was true and it was what she believed, but when confronted with a destiny so ugly, it was hard to stomach. "You're saying that even if I saved her from her fate last night, her path would have caught up with her some other way."

  "That's how it works. We all have to learn the lessons we were put here to learn. You can't take her karmic burden on yourself. You'd be foolish to try."

  "I just feel so guilty. I really didn't want to help her. And I'd promised I'd always be there for her."

  "Did you mean it when you said it?"

  "Yes." She thought about it. "Well, I meant it as much as I could mean it at the time. We were young. We didn't know what life could throw at us. We didn't know how life would change us."

  "And when you decided to go help her, why were you doing it?"

  "Because I remembered what I'd said. And I knew I had to keep that promise."

  "Not because you felt guilty?"

  "Well, a little, yes. But mostly because I had made a commitment. And I don't break trust with people."

  "That's right. That's who you are, at a fundamental level. So you have nothing to feel guilt about."

  She sighed. "Are you sure you're not Wiccan?" A plane flew low overhead, on its way to O’Hare. She’d forgotten how noisy the damn things could be.

  Per paused to wait for the sound of the jet engine to fade before saying, "Quite sure. Where are you?"

  "In a kiddie park a few blocks from Kate’s house. I needed to get out, clear my head. And,” she laughed, “make a phone call in private. The house is a little crowded.”

  “Ah, yes, you mentioned that Charlie was staying with Kate too.”

  How did the man know she’d meant Charlie instead of the three McCallum children? Sometimes Per was as maddening as Charlie. “Yup.”

  "How is Charlie? He quit the force to become a gum-shoe, didn't he?"

  "Gum-shoe? Good lord, Per, you make him sound like Humphrey Bogart. I guess that's what he's doing. I don't know. I can't keep up with his career changes. For all I know, he's a merchant marine now. Or maybe a foreign legionnaire."

  "I don't believe he'd be at Kate's if he were in the Foreign Legion."

  "Who knows? Perhaps, just perhaps, he's just a bum!"

  Per chuckled. "Or a free spirit. Seems to me 'bum' is what my older brother used to call me, back in the day."

  Older brother? It seemed to be a day for revelations. "Back in the day? Have you been watching TV again, Per?"

  "Just a little VH-1. Keeps the mind young."

  "Well, just don't let Erik watch it. Don't want you perverting the minds of the young and innocent with that drivel."

  "He'll be disappointed. He was really starting to groove on Snoop Dog."

  "A pox on thee, Per Gustafson. I'm a witch, you know. I can do that."

  "Hex me not, Goodie Gooden, or I'll have thee in the stocks in the center of town. I'm a town elder. I can do that." She could hear the broad smile in his voice and it eased her heart a little. She could hear it too when he sobered a bit. “So, what are you going to do now?"

  “Um... Go back to Kate’s for dinner?"

  "No, I meant in the grander scheme of things. You're staying for the funeral, I imagine?"

  "Yeah. Well, service anyway. Lacey was Wiccan - at least, I think she still was. She’ll have wanted to be cremated.”

  “Of course. And then?"

  "And then I'll come home."

  Was there the briefest of pauses? "Okay. Well, you know you can stay as long as you need to. Erik and I are just fine."

  "I know. I really miss you. I wish I could come home right now."

  "Tend to your business, girl, and get it finished. Then come home with a clear conscience and a clear mind. Horizon will still be here – and more or less the way you left it."

  "Thanks. You promise you won't let the Chamber of Commerce do anything stupid while I'm gone?"

  "I'll try. I still think taking Karl Howard out back and caning him is the only way to go. Or maybe a good old fashioned dunking for being a greedy, immoral sod."

  "I think Bill Gruetzmacher might have a problem with that. Something about assault and battery."

  "You're no fun."

  "That's me. Ellie the no-fun-elf."

  "Take care, my dear, and keep me posted."

  "I will. Oh, by the way, what did you have for lunch today?"

  "Pot roast, carrots, mashed potatoes and some biscuits. Why?"

  "Just making sure you're being taken care of."

  "Trust me, Marg is being a fine caretaker. Although, you know, I could just walk into town and get my own lunch. I'm not a cripple."

  "No, you're certainly not. If you see Marg again today, tell her I'll call to check in with her tonight. Are things going okay? Does she seem too frazzled?"

  "She seems perfectly fine. Stop worrying and go for your walk. We're all fine here."

  Why did that make her so sad? "Okay. I'll probably call you tomorrow. Meantime, you call me if you need anything."

  "Will do. Take care, Ellie."

  She hung up, feeling better somehow. Getting off the bench, she turned her steps back down the street as the early winter sun turned golden on its way toward the horizon.

  Chapter 16

  Dinner was carefully controlled chaos. The kids were boisterous, and there were more than the usual number as it seemed that all of them had brought friends home. Dan was there – unusual, as Ellie hardly ever saw him when she came for a visit. The two of them did an unconscious little dance of avoiding each other as they typically butted heads on just about every conceivable issue and they both really loved and respected Kate. In the long run, it was just easier for everyone if they kept their distance from one another. Given the unusual close proximity, Ellie went out of her way to make nice-nice with him, kept the conversation light and mostly centered around and with the kids, while watching Charlie behave very uncharacteristically glum. He seemed distracted, dour. Ellie wasn’t sure which was more disturbing - the fact that bouncy, peppy Charlie was gone or that she cared enough to want to know why.

  After the pizza-fest was over, she sent Kate to put her feet up and conscripted Charlie into helping her clean up the mess, which mostly involved disposing of paper plates and napkins and sweeping up the pizza crust crumbs.

  As she handed him a sponge to wipe off the plastic tablecloth Kate had thrown on top of the dark-stained oak trestle table in the dining room, she probed him a little. "What's up with you? You look like
you've lost your dog."

  He looked at her, startled. "What do you mean?"

  "You're all down."

  He shook his head. "It's nothing. No biggie. Here, why don't I take the garbage out – that bag's about ready to bust."

  It was a nice evasion and he whipped the bag out of the trash can and was out the back door before she could even come up with a response. She was left standing with the sponge in her hand, so she put it to use, then dried off the table cloth with a dishtowel and folded it up and laid it on top of the kitchen counter.

  By then, Charlie was back, and trying to act like his old self. "So what now, Sarge?"

  Ellie looked around. "I think that's it. Did Dan leave with our young scouts yet?"

  "Yeah, he bailed before you could draft him into KP duty. He used to do that when we were kids too."

  "Figures." She said it under her breath, but Charlie must have heard, because he grinned. "Yeah, he was good at getting out of stuff like that. S'why it rankles now that he accuses me of being the slacker."

  She raised her eyebrows. "Well, you gotta admit your career choices haven't been..."

  "What? Traditional? Stodgy? Boring? No, they haven't. I may not have all the money in the world, but I won't die wishing I'd spent less time at the office."

  "Easy, easy. I just think--"

  His tone held an intensity she hadn’t heard before. "Yeah, I know what you think. You're just like everyone else. Be a good boy, Charlie. Follow the rules, Charlie. Color inside the lines, Charlie. Well, that's kind of the pot calling the kettle black, Gooden. Like you're so mainstream? You're a witch, for crying out loud. And you quit the corporate sector to go live in some commune and brew tea for a bunch of aging hippies. You can't tell me that's any more 'normal' than what I'm doing."

  She already had her mouth open to retort then stopped as she thought about what he said. "It's not about my line of work, it's about my work ethic," she decided out loud.

  "What would you know about my work ethic? Do you follow me around all day while I work a case? Either now or when I was on the force? No. You've got no idea what I do or even CAN do. The only thing you know is that I don't get up before the sun and I don't fall into bed when the damn thing sets." He ran out of breath and steam at the same time, falling into a kitchen chair. Running fingers through his curls, he stared glumly at the floor. "God, I hate staying here."