Killer Run

by Lynn Cahoon

  “What’s going on, Darla? Is there a problem?” I went around the side of the booth and stood by my friend. Her face was beet red, and I thought she was ready to climb over the top of the table and throttle the guy.

  “Who are you?” The taller man stared at me, like I was interrupting.

  “I’m Jill Gardner, the owner of the mission wall here in South Cove, and owner of the coffee shop. Darla’s the South Cove’s community event planner, and she has been involved with this from day one. This is the first we’ve heard of only online entries. Not to complain about Sandra and Michael, but maybe you should talk to them, not us.” I straightened the flyers on the table in front of me.

  “You’re right, we will be talking to the Ashfords. As for today, Adam will stay with you until the end of the sign-ups and take the money box from there.” The taller man spun on his heel and threw up a small spurt of sand as he huffed toward the parking lot.

  “I wouldn’t want to be Michael or Sandra when Oscar gets ahold of them.” The man now known as Adam held out his hand. “Adam Truman, so nice to meet you. The event looks amazing, especially since it appears you did all of this yourselves.”

  “The Ashfords came by this week. I never imagined there would be a company hired on to help.” I shrugged my shoulders. “We would have followed the rules, had we known them.”

  Adam circled around and found a chair. “Not a problem. We dropped the ball here, not South Cove.”

  “We’ll be right back.” I pulled a very red Darla out of the booth and toward a grove of trees that lined the Mission Walk. When we were out of earshot, I turned her toward me. “Are you okay?”

  “We never got any instructions besides the original letter. If I had known …” Darla blustered.

  I held up a hand. “I know, and I’m sure the problem lies with the Ashfords. I mean, seriously, those two are a mess. I just want to make sure you are okay. That was kind of tense over there.”

  Darla took in a deep breath. Then another. “Yes, I’m fine. I just hate the idea of being questioned by suits.” She glared toward the booth. “Although Adam seems nice.”

  “Let’s just get through today. If we decide to commit to next year, we’ll be wiser and know to get all the information up-front.” I put my hand on Darla’s shoulders. “Besides, now handling the money is one less thing you have to worry about, right?”

  Darla nodded, then her face broke into a wide grin. “Exactly. I just got a new helper.”

  I threw my arm around her and walked back to the sign-up booth, where a line was starting to form and Adam stood shifting from one foot to the next, clearly uncomfortable. “He looks scared to death.”

  “I’m sure he hasn’t worked a crowd for years, if ever. Suits, they think they know everything.” Darla stepped behind the table. “Form one line, people. Fill out your registration forms here, then turn them in to Adam and I’ll hand you your shirt and entry number.”

  I waved at Darla and stepped down to the Diamond Lille’s booth. They weren’t open yet, as they were sponsoring an after-race burger event, but Carrie and John, the evening chef, were in the booth setting up.

  “Hey, Jill!” Carrie held up her cup with the CBM logo. “Thanks for opening on the beach this morning. I needed my caffeine.”

  “No problem. Here to help out the addicted.” I picked up one of the to-go menus with a fridge magnet as a giveaway. “I should have thought of something like this. Cute idea.”

  “Lille had them made up.” Carrie held up the magnet that had a picture of Diamond Lille’s and a phone number. “She’s all into promotion right now. I kind of miss the days when all I had to do was take orders and deliver food. Now it’s all about the image.”

  “You’re a great server, what else is there?” I stuck a menu and magnet in my pocket to show to Aunt Jackie. We could make some up and deliver them to the local B&Bs with a list of staff-recommended books. Or even some of the other businesses in town … My mind wandered around the possibilities until I realized Carrie had answered my question. “Sorry, what?”

  “I thought you were drifting. My mom used to do that when I talked about my day at school. The vacant stare look is a dead giveaway.” Carrie laughed and threw her hair back over her shoulder. “All I said was that up-selling may not be my strongest skill. Look, John’s giving me the evil eye, so I’d better get busy.”

  I thanked her for the menu and left the booth. As I was heading uphill, a woman bumped into me, hard, knocking my coffee out of my hand. Her brown hair was pulled back into a ponytail, and she wore the typical runner’s uniform. “Hey, watch it.”

  I looked up into Rachel’s eyes as she focused in on me. “Oh, Jill, I’m sorry. Not paying attention, I guess.”

  The travel agent looked ready to bolt, but she was probably in the runners’ group that was lining up to be shuttled to the starting line. “No problem. I have an in with the coffeehouse.”

  “What?” Rachel was looking past me into the crowd. “Sorry. I’ve got to go.”

  I watched her worm her way through the crowds, not toward the bus line, but instead to the grove of trees. She stopped in front of a man who was standing off on his own, smoking a cigarette. I shaded my eyes, trying to see if this was the new Mr. Right in Rachel’s life. She sure was acting like a teenage girl in love.

  The man turned away from me, and the two melted into the trees. Oh well, maybe I’d see them later. I headed back to the coffee truck and slipped into the van, washing my hands in the sink and donning an apron. “Hey, Aunt Jackie, Josh is sitting out on the bench waiting for you. Why don’t you let me take over?”

  “Does him good to have to wait for a while. Didn’t I teach you anything about how to catch a man?” My aunt rang up an order and glanced back at me. “Don’t tell me you run at the snap of Greg’s fingers?”

  “We’re not talking about my love life.” I sliced up another cheesecake and divided the pieces into boxes, restocking the fridge as I worked. “Sasha, you want to chime in on the best way to catch a man?”

  Her laugh filled the kitchen area. “Who says I want to catch one? Right now, and probably until my college life is done, I’m more into the catch-and-release program. That way you don’t have to worry about games or problems. Let a guy wine and dine you for a few dates, then move on.”

  “What about love?” I finished prepping another cheesecake and washed the utensils I’d used.

  “Single moms don’t have time to fall in love. We have too many other fires on our list to deal with.” Sasha handed two mugs out the window to a waiting customer.

  “Now, dear, that’s not true. What about Elisa and Toby? They seem to be on the path to the chapel.” Aunt Jackie slipped off her apron and checked her hair in the compact mirror she carried with her.

  “Toby’s one in a million.” Sasha didn’t look up as she started a new pot of coffee. “Not everyone can be as lucky.”

  Josh now stood at the door to the van, waiting. Aunt Jackie kissed me on a cheek and waved to Sasha. “You two have fun. I’ll be back after two to box up the rest of the supplies, and Toby is transporting them back to the shop.”

  I was tempted to pry a little more about what Sasha had said, but a rush of people hit the food truck and we were instantly busy. The runners might be health-conscious, but the race observers and walkers sure enjoyed their cheesecake. The race had started, and the last group had been shuttled to the starting line.

  I leaned over the counter and watched Darla and Adam talking at the sign-up booth. He leaned against the booth’s table, apparently in no hurry to get the cash box to the bank. Darla, on the other hand, had turned the booth from being a place to sign up, into the winner’s circle. She had ribbons and medals strung around the table, waiting for the first runners to emerge through the grove of trees and across the finish line. Mayor Baylor was supposed to hand out the first ten ribbons, then he had another pressing engagement. Just enough time for the press to see him supporting the event.

  I act
ually was very pleased at our first attempt at a race/walk. Darla was amazing at these types of events, and she made the entire process seem easy, a descriptor I knew wasn’t true. Today’s little tiff with the Mission Society over the process was a great example of what could go wrong, through no one’s fault. Although it did make me wonder about Sandra and Michael. Had the slow destruction of their personal relationship doomed their business, as well?

  “Jill, you need to come with me.” Toby stopped by the booth, all dressed in runner’s gear, tight in all the right places.

  “Are you already done?” I glanced over at the finish line and realized people were starting to move through, collecting their badges.

  “Barista Babe in workout gear. Outfit sold separately.” Sasha teased as she stood next to me. “What’s going on?”

  “There’s been a”—Toby paused, searching for a word—“an occurrence. Your aunt needs you.”

  “Oh no.” My hand flew to my mouth. “Is she okay? I should have kept her from walking.”

  Toby chuckled and shook his head. “Like you could have stopped her. Anyway, she’s fine. She’s just a little upset. Josh, well, Josh collapsed on the trail.”

  “Are they rushing him to the hospital?” I slipped off the apron and glanced at Sasha. “If you get overwhelmed, just shut down. I’ll be back when I can.”

  “You just get to Jackie. Don’t worry about me.” Sasha tapped my shoulder with a hand.

  Toby held up a hand slowing me as he met me at the food truck door. “According to the EMTs, Josh is fine. Dehydrated maybe, but fine.”

  “I don’t understand. What’s the issue, then?” I stopped at the bottom of the stairs and held Toby back, waiting for his answer.

  “Josh fell on someone when he collapsed.” Toby shook his head. “A very dead someone off the side of the trail.”

  CHAPTER 5

  Toby led me against the wave of runners who were coming up the path toward us. Several runners called out “Wrong way,” as they passed by. A few, more direct, muttered, “Idiots.” About a half mile into the walk, Toby turned off the main path toward a bench. Several people milled around the area, and I saw Greg talking to Doc Ames. Josh was firmly planted on the bench, his head in his hands. Jackie saw me and waved me over.

  “I can’t believe it.” She linked her arm around mine and squeezed. “How’s the truck doing? Pulling you away isn’t causing a problem, right?”

  Leave it to my aunt. “Don’t worry about sales. What happened? Are you okay?”

  Aunt Jackie stepped away from the group, leading me with her. “I’m fine, dear. Poor Josh was feeling a bit faint. I’m sure he didn’t eat this morning like I told him to, but you know men. You can’t tell them anything.”

  “So, Josh got faint and … ?” I rolled my hand, hoping my aunt would get to the point and tell me who was dead, since it obviously wasn’t the antique dealer who appeared to be freaked out but fine. Or at least as fine as he could be after walking daily for the last week. My aunt’s fitness craze could kill the guy.

  “He fell on that terrible woman.” Aunt Jackie rolled her eyes.

  “What terrible woman? And he killed her by falling on her?” I’d never heard of death by fat guy, but I guess it was possible in a freak-accident kind of way.

  “No, he didn’t kill her. She was already dead. Sandra Ashford, the woman from that PR team. She’s the dead one.” My aunt looked at me like I was slow. But then a smile crept onto her face. “It reminded me of the scene in the Wizard of Oz—where the house falls on the witch? All you could see were her feet in those knock-off designer shoes.”

  Greg came up to us and put his arm around my aunt. “You okay there?”

  I saw the tears fill my aunt’s eyes and quickly get blinked away. “I’m perfectly fine. The question is, how is Josh?”

  “I’m sending him to the hospital to be checked out. The EMT guys are a little worried about his blood pressure.” Greg looked at me. “I’m trying to keep this off the grid until the race is complete. The official line right now is that two racers are being taken to the hospital.”

  “Two?” I looked at my aunt.

  “Not Jackie. Doc Ames is taking the body out using the ambulance. We think it’s the best solution to try to keep this under wraps.” Greg lowered his voice. “I need you to take Jackie out like you two were walking the race and tell Darla what happened. I don’t want her to be left in the dark in case the press grabs hold of this.”

  “We can do that.” I peered around Greg as the EMTs loaded the body onto the cart, an oxygen mask set on the dead woman’s face. “Are you sure they’ll think she’s alive?”

  “As long as they don’t see the high heels, we should be fine. By this time, the runners are through the course and the walkers are starting to feel the pain. They’ll be focused on their own progress, not the fallen around them.” Greg waved Toby over to his side. “Set these two back on the path, then help Doc get the body to the ambulance. We’ll come back for Josh.”

  “I’m not riding in the same van as that woman,” Josh muttered.

  Greg rolled his eyes, then turned toward the antique dealer. “We’ve ordered a special bariatric-equipped ambulance from Bakerstown. You don’t have to share your ambulance, but you do have to wait for a few minutes. One of the EMTs will stay with you until the second one arrives.”

  Toby started toward the race path, but I stayed next to Greg. “You’re sure it’s Sandra Ashford? I mean, why would she even be out here?”

  “I don’t think she was out here. Not for the race, that is. It looks like a body dump. But yeah, it’s her. The local chamber in Bakerstown will have her fingerprints on file when they set up their business. Apparently a new process for those who are in a consulting type of activity.” Greg nodded to the retreating Toby and Jackie. “Besides, she has one of those paper name tags plastered on her dress. From a meeting or something. You’d better catch up.”

  I nodded and quickly caught up to Aunt Jackie. We didn’t talk at all on the way back to the finish line. Between Toby’s determination and my aunt’s focus, we were at the celebration before we knew it. Darla put a medal around both Toby’s and Jackie’s neck. When she reached me, she frowned. “I didn’t think you were walking.” She glanced toward the coffee truck, looking confused.

  “Can you get someone else to hand these out? We need to talk.” I took Darla by the arm and led her away from the path toward the back of the booth.

  “Sure.” She motioned to the woman standing in the booth. “Clarice, can you take over for a few minutes? I’ve got to deal with this.” She handed off the medals and pulled me over to the side of the booth. “Well?”

  “There was an accident.” I stopped and looked at Toby, who had followed us. “Well, not really an accident—”

  Toby interrupted. “Josh is having some medical issues and is being taken to the hospital.”

  I saw Darla visibly react. “Honey, I thought you were saying someone died on my watch. Josh going to the hospital is unfortunate, but not unexpected.” She started walking back to the finish line.

  Toby put his hand on her shoulder, stopping her. “Darla, when Josh collapsed, we found a body just off the path. I’m sure it has nothing to do with the race, and we’re not stopping the walk, but Greg thought you should know. Please keep this quiet, though.”

  “I’m not running off to file an article with the Examiner, if that’s what you’re worried about.” Darla shook her head. “I’m not an idiot.”

  Toby put his hands up. “I just wanted to be clear. You know how Greg gets …” He glanced at me. “Sorry, Jill, but it’s true. I needed to say it or he would have had my hide.”

  We watched him sprint back into the crowd toward the scene. Darla sank into a chair. “I can’t believe this is happening. What a day. First, the run sponsors are all over my butt because of a rule I didn’t even know about, and now there’s a death on the greenbelt? What’s next, Diamond Lille’s booth bursting into flames bec
ause of a grease fire?”

  I held back a smile. “I’m sure we’re fine.” But my gaze instinctively turned to the booth that had a long line in front of it as the runners waited for their free food. “Look, I’d better help Sasha get things packed up. Toby probably won’t be able to help close up with this.”

  As I stepped away, Darla grabbed my arm. Her eyes were bright and curious. “You don’t know who they found, do you?”

  After convincing Darla I had no clue, which was hard since I didn’t even believe my own assertions of ignorance, I sprinted back to the coffee shack. Sasha had already closed up the outside, moving the Open sign to Closed, and, with Nick’s help, was stacking things into the Pies on the Fly van. We’d leave the empty food truck locked up and parked here, and Jackie’s friend would come and get the keys from me tomorrow. I was sure I was going to get a sales pitch to purchase the vehicle from the guy, and, before today, I would have jumped at the chance. Now, with Sandra dead, I realized maybe I needed to take some time with the decision.

  “Is Jackie okay?” Sasha dropped the stack of boxes she’d carried from the truck into Nick’s hands and ran up to meet me.

  I took her inside the truck before I answered. Greg had asked us to keep this quiet, and although I was going to tell Sasha, we didn’t need eavesdropping runners to hear. I leaned against the counter, suddenly tired. “She’s fine. They’re taking Josh to the hospital to be checked out, but I think he’s okay.”

  Sasha pressed a hand to her heart. “I’m so glad to hear that. When Toby came to get you, I was scared to death.”

  I glanced through the window, but most of the crowd was still over at Lille’s booth or crashed on the beach eating their burgers. “Actually, there’s more. Josh kind of fell on a body when he collapsed.”

  Sasha’s eyes widened. “Oh dear, God, please don’t tell me he crushed someone to death.”

  I couldn’t help it, I laughed. The vision of a cartoon Josh squashing Sandra came to mind and wouldn’t leave. Sasha stared at me. Finally, I choked back my chuckles and wiped my eyes. “No. Well, kind of, but no, he didn’t kill her. She was already dead.”