by Lynn Cahoon
I shook my head. “I didn’t even compare the numbers,” I admitted.
She smiled. “And that’s why you have me helping to run the coffee shop. Face it, dear, you’re impossible when it comes to the business side of the store.”
As I climbed up the stairs, I realized she was right. If anything, digging into the financial records of the Ashfords’ business had taught me I needed to learn more about running a business. And not just researching what books to order and taste-testing new coffees and dessert treats. I promised myself I’d look into the local business schools. Maybe there was an online MBA that I could work on from the house. As long as Aunt Jackie was around to help me with my homework, it might not be so bad.
I woke Saturday morning to my aunt banging on my door. I really needed to get her back to her own apartment sooner than later. “I’m up,” I lied through the door.
“Good, because Sasha needs our help for the teen book club meeting today. She tried to reach you on your phone, but all she got was voice mail.” She opened the door and peeked inside. “You aren’t even out of bed. Come on now, time’s a wasting.”
I waited for Aunt Jackie to close the door, then threw myself back on the bed. I’d totally forgotten about Sasha’s group. When the cruise got cancelled, I’d opened my mouth and volunteered to help. Now I had to finish the bed, seal the floor, and help manage twenty or more teenagers who might or might not want to talk about a book I hadn’t even read. My day couldn’t get any more complicated.
I pulled on my running clothes, determined to take just a quick break for myself before the crazy hit. Emma was already downstairs, sitting in the middle of the kitchen and staring adoringly at Aunt Jackie, who was telling the dog our plans for the day. She jerked and shut her mouth when she saw me in the kitchen doorway. I reached down and patted Emma’s head as I passed and got a slurpy kiss on my hand for my effort. I grabbed a bottle of water and drank down half of it, looking longingly at the coffeepot and the chocolate brew my aunt had started.
“Do you really think you have time to run?” Aunt Jackie looked at the clock. “The group starts at eleven.”
“And Sasha has everything ready for them. All she needs is for us to man the front and deal with any issues.” I glanced at my watch, calculating the morning schedule. “Emma and I will run for thirty minutes. I’ll go finish the bed frame, which will probably take me until ten. Then I’ll shower and we’ll drive in to the store, arriving at ten thirty, which gives us plenty of time.”
My aunt took a sip of her coffee. “If you say so. I’ve always thought it better to be early than just on time.”
“We are going to be early.” I held up my hand. “Let’s not argue. Keep the doors locked while I’m gone, don’t let anyone in, and we’ll talk about what you found in the stack of papers while I’m working on the bed frame.”
Honestly, I hoped the frame wouldn’t take as long as the first one had and I’d be able to fit in the first coat of sealing the bedroom floor, too. But I wasn’t going to tell my aunt that or she would probably explode in front of me.
I clicked Emma’s leash on her collar and stepped onto the porch. I pulled the door closed behind me and checked the doorknob to make sure the lock had engaged. My aunt made a shooing motion with her hand.
I laughed and headed to the road toward the beach. Running helped clear my head, and with a jam-packed day like this Saturday was developing into, I needed some downtime right up front.
Returning to the house after the run, I finished off the rest of the water and grabbed a banana from the fruit bowl. My aunt was settled on the couch reading a Princess Diana biography. I poked my head into the living room. “Come get me at ten if I’m not back in by then.”
“Ten,” she repeated and went back to her reading.
An hour later, Greg found me covered with old paint, stripper, and sweat in the garage. I heard his truck in the driveway, and when I looked up, I jammed the putty knife into my finger. “Crap.” I shook it off, checked it for blood or a cut, then shook the hand again, hoping to stop the pain.
“Hey, sunshine.” Greg leaned against the garage door watching me. He looked all sharp in clean jeans and a pressed shirt. He’d probably also had a shower, something I was looking forward to, too, as soon as I finished the last six inches of the bed frame. Six inches that might as well have been six miles.
“What time is it?” I sat back on a stool that I kept in the garage and surveyed the project.
“Ten to ten. Why, you have a hot date? I thought you were focusing on projects at the house today.”
I rolled my shoulders back and forth trying to loosen the knots. Ten minutes? There was no way I could do six inches of paint stripping in ten minutes. I started putting my tools on the bench and closing lids on jars and cans. “I told Sasha I’d help with the bookstore today. I’d forgotten, but she got ahold of Aunt Jackie, so we’re due there at eleven.”
“Tough break. Another hour or so and you might have finished this.” He squatted down to the still-painted section of the frame. “You really had a mess here. This must be ten different types of paint.”
“Tell me about it. The only thing I’ve accomplished is running Emma. This will have to wait until we get back from the store.” I looked at him, hope filling my veins. “Tell me you found out Adam isn’t a killer so Aunt Jackie can return to the apartment tonight.”
“Sorry, can’t say that.”
I stopped mid-stretch and straightened to look at him. “Adam is a killer?”
Greg shrugged. “Can’t say that, either. The only thing I can say about Adam Truman is that before five years ago, he didn’t exist.”
“Whoa. That’s not what I was expecting to hear.” I took off the shirt I’d been working in and hung it on a rack. I could see the sweat beads on my arms.
“Exactly. Now you know why I want to keep you out of investigations like this.” Greg looked at his phone as a text came in. “Toby just found where the guy lives and he’s heading there now. I’ll let you know what we find out as soon as we’re done.”
“You’ll share the information?” My smile got a little wider. “Great, I’ve got a lot of questions about—”
Greg held up his hand. “Easy, hon. I’ll let you know if I think it’s safe for Jackie to go home. That’s all I meant. You need to keep your pretty little nose out of this thing.”
“I’ll try.” At least that was a promise I could keep. Somehow I always got dragged in, and most of the time, it wasn’t because I wanted to be there.
“That’s all I can ask for.” He stepped closer and kissed me quickly on the cheek. “You going to shower before you go?”
“No, Greg. I thought I’d go to my place of business smelling like paint stripper and sweat. I’m not an idiot.”
He held his hands up, warding me off, and took a couple of steps backward. “Forget I even said anything.” He walked back to his truck and paused in the doorway. “My offer to help tomorrow morning still stands.”
I waved him off. “I’ll call you if I need rescuing.” I swear I could hear his laugh above the roar of the truck’s engine when he turned the ignition.
As I promised, we pulled into the parking lot behind the shop at exactly ten thirty. I’d had to drag myself out of the shower long before I’d started to feel human again. But at least I smelled like my floral shampoo and conditioner mix rather than the horror I had a few minutes earlier. We walked in the back door without talking.
A buzz of sound echoed in the back room, and when we entered the counter area, my jaw dropped. There must have been thirty people, well, teenagers, milling around the area, joking and laughing. Some carried the book we’d ordered; some had library copies. Sasha turned and squealed when she saw us.
“Thank God you’re here. I didn’t expect this many to show up, especially on a summer Saturday.” She looked at the line in front of the cash register. “Can you start taking orders and I’ll get caught up on the drinks?”
I nodd
ed and stepped up to the counter while my aunt stepped behind me to wash her hands and put on an apron. We worked side by side, and with ten minutes to spare, had all the drinks and eats served. The number of books sold was twice that of a normal Saturday. And that was just in the last thirty minutes. I nodded to Sasha. “You’re on. Go knock ’em dead.”
My aunt watched as Sasha took off her apron, smoothed her hair, and grabbed the book she’d tucked under the counter. She’d set up a podium at the children’s side of the bookstore and had lined up chairs and floor pillows. From what I could see, every chair was taken, and there had been several tables moved over to the area from the dining room.
I looked at the almost-empty display case and nodded to Aunt Jackie. “I’ll handle this if you want to watch the front.”
She nodded and leaned against the counter, sipping on a bottle of water.
I pulled out three new cheesecakes and a box of cookies from the refrigerator section in the back. Then I replaced those items with frozen ones so that if we needed to restock again, we wouldn’t be waiting for the treats to thaw.
As I brought the last cheesecake out to cut, I noticed the guy I’d seen in Lille’s heading out the door. “Hey, he showed up.”
My aunt closed out the register, then looked at me. “Who showed up?”
“The guy I gave my business card to for the discount. What did he buy?” I slipped the slices onto plates and put them on the last rack of the display case.
“A travel book about the area and a large coffee.” My aunt looked at me. “Why are you so interested in the guy?”
“I don’t know. He’s just around a lot, and I haven’t been able to find out why.” I glanced at the register. “Tell me he paid with a credit card.”
My aunt shook her head. “Cash. Have you thought that maybe he’s a tourist? That’s what we mainly have in town, tourists.”
Something niggled at the back of my mind. Had I seen him somewhere before? I started restocking the cups and supplies for the front. Sasha had turned the podium over to kids who wanted to talk about their favorite section of the book. And surprisingly, several of the readers were lined up to take their turn. She glanced over at me and gave me two thumbs up. She’d hooked them with these books. Now it was time to keep the momentum going. I made a note to do some research on possible topics for future meetings.
The bell rang over the door, and Sadie and Austin wandered into the shop. Sadie hesitated, looking at the bookstore side, but she smiled when she saw me at the register.
“What’s going on?” she whispered when they got close.
“Teen book club day. Isn’t it great?” I lowered my voice. “When Sasha said she wanted to start this, I assumed we’d have the five girls who almost run the school library now. But no, she got a crowd.”
“If you expect the best, you get it.” Sadie looked at Austin. “We’ve come in for a couple of large iced teas to go, then we’re going to wander down to the beach and have a picnic lunch.”
“On a Saturday? Who’s watching your bike rental place?” I looked over at Austin, who blushed.
“I hired someone to help me out on weekends. I’ll be back at the shop in an hour.” He took Sadie’s hand in his. “You have to wake up and smell the roses sometimes. No one said work was the only important thing in life.”
I swear my friend almost swooned to the floor. I was a bit more skeptical of Austin’s reasons. The man had been known to shut down in the middle of tourist season so he could spend a week backpacking in Colorado. To say he was dedicated to his shop was a bit of an overstatement. I handed over the teas that Aunt Jackie had made while we talked. “Sounds like an excellent date. That will be four dollars and fifty cents.”
Austin handed me a five and then gave one of the cups to Sadie.
I tried to give him his change, but he waved it off. “Do you want sugar or sweetener?”
He shook his head. “I’ve got all the sugar I need right here.” He touched Sadie’s face and she laughed. I fought the temptation to roll my eyes.
“Well, you two have fun.” But I was talking to myself, as they had already started walking toward the door, their gazes locked together. I dropped the quarters into the tip jar and turned toward my aunt. “Man, they’ve got it bad.”
Aunt Jackie watched them leave the shop and sighed before she spoke. “I remember when I first met your uncle. We were inseparable just like that.”
I shook my head. “You don’t think it’s a little too clingy?”
“Jill Gardner, when did you become a love scrooge?” My aunt swatted me with a bar towel. “There is nothing wrong with a little public display of emotion and young love. Well, young-to-them love.”
“If you say so. I just hope he’s as devoted as he appears. If he hurts my friend, I’m going to have to kill him.” I nodded toward the meeting. “Get ready, it looks like Sasha’s closing up. We might get another run on drinks.”
It was almost four before the shop died down enough for me to even consider returning to the house. Aunt Jackie stayed on to run her evening shift, and Sasha called in some favors to stay for a couple more hours. I’d come back to get my aunt at closing. Aunt Jackie made a call to have Josh come and be with her when Sasha left.
“This really isn’t necessary,” Aunt Jackie fussed as I was leaving. “I know how to protect myself.”
“Humor me. Until Greg locates Adam and finds out what he’s looking for from Sandra, I’d rather not have you staying alone.” I grabbed my keys and headed to the back parking lot.
My aunt’s voice called after me, “What about you?”
“I’ve got Emma.” I didn’t stop walking as I answered. No need to give her a reason to keep me at the shop longer. I would get that bed frame done today.
CHAPTER 18
A man grabbed my arm and pulled me into the walkway between Coffee, Books, and More and Antiques by Thomas. I squeaked out a protest but before I could go into full-blown scream, his hand covered my mouth. “Just be quiet. When I get what I need, I’ll let you go.”
The voice sounded familiar, but I wasn’t taking any chances on exactly what it was this man needed from me. I stomped on his foot, then, as he released his grip, I spun around, digging in my tote for my pepper spray. I’d started carrying it when I worked in the city and had considered putting it in the kitchen drawer now that I lived in a small safe tourist town. Now I was glad my paranoia had prevailed. My fingers wrapped around the cylinder as I recognized my attacker. Adam Truman. He stepped toward me, and I pointed the canister at him.
“Stop right there.” My voice was calm. A lot calmer than I felt.
He stepped back, limping a bit on the foot I’d injured. “Look, all I need is the packet that Sandra gave you. Then I’ll be out of this town and you’ll never hear from me again.”
“Which you is leaving?” I dug into my tote for my phone, not moving the pepper spray or looking away from the crazed man. “The one who just started existing five years ago? Or the person your mother named when you were born?”
He seemed to crumple as I watched. I dug deeper for my phone.
“So you read the papers Sandra gave you.” He shook his head. “I should have known that even though I followed through on her instructions, she was never going to let me get away.”
“I’m not sure what you’re talking about, Adam Truman.” I spoke loudly so anyone walking out on the street could hear the conversation. “I never got a packet of papers from Sandra Ashford.”
“Right. Then how did you know I changed my name?” He rubbed his hands through his hair. “Look, I did all three things on the list. Even after Sandra died. She said you’d be handing over the documents after I destroyed the window. I held up my end of the bargain, now it’s your turn.”
“Are you crazy? Why would Sandra give me anything? I barely knew her.” I took a chance and glanced down at my purse. But then Adam’s words sank in. “Wait, you’re saying you were the one vandalizing The Train Station? Why?�
�
“Are you deaf or just not listening? Sandra said if I did what she asked, she’d stop blackmailing me. Now you’re telling me you’re not her partner?”
“No, I’m not.” I abandoned my search for the cell phone and started yelling, still holding the pepper spray focused on Adam’s face. “Help, someone help me!”
I heard rocks crunch under running feet and looked up to see Greg and Toby flying through the opening between the buildings. How they got there so fast, I didn’t know, but right then I didn’t care. I’d never been so happy to see anyone in my life. I swallowed away tears as Greg stood in front of Adam.
“Put your hands behind your back and turn around, slowly.” He slapped on a pair of handcuffs and handed Adam off to Toby. “Jill, do me a favor and put the pepper spray down.”
I looked at my outstretched hand, now shaking violently, and then dropped my arm, putting the spray back into my tote. Then I sank into Greg’s arms. “Thanks.”
“It’s my job. Although your antics make it an ongoing task on my to-do list. Maybe you should just stay put sometimes when things are crazy.” He squeezed me, then looked at Adam. “Toby, read this guy his rights.”
As Toby walked Adam through the walkway and out to the street where I assumed a South Cove police car was waiting, I looked up at Greg. “So, what are you going to charge him with? Sandra’s murder?”
“First, your attack. And don’t tell me you’re not going to press charges because he’s such a wounded soul.” He stepped back and looked me over. “He didn’t hurt you, did he?”
I rubbed my arm where he’d originally grabbed me, and shook my head. “Scared the crap out of me. When I stomped on his foot and he let me go, well, I didn’t know what he wanted. All I knew was I wasn’t going to let him take me.”
“Smart girl.” Greg put his arm around me and we walked to the street. Toby already had Adam in the cruiser. Aunt Jackie ran toward me as soon as we cleared the building.