Kernel of Doubt: A Neela Durante Mystery

by Hillary Avis

  “You’re touching me.”

  “I know!” Neela whispered again, squeezing his shoulder more tightly.

  Chalk stood up abruptly, shrugging off her grip, and only then looked at the screen. “Oh no—that can’t be right!”

  “It all depends on where that elevator stops, doesn’t it?” Neela asked softly.

  They waited, frozen.

  Then, a tiny figure emerged from the elevator on the fourth floor and headed to the QA lab.

  “That’s enough,” Chalk said. “We don’t need to see more—we need to leave. The mirror server has a ten-second delay, which means we are ten seconds behind, too, and we need to leave right now. Get in the box.”

  Neela could hardly take her eyes of the screen. “Really? Why?”

  “Now. I’ll explain in the car.”

  Hurriedly, Neela climbed into the box, and Chalk sealed it with tape and literally ran with the dolly to the elevator. Neela could hear him counting under his breath as the elevator rose.

  “Wrong size!” she heard him call cheerily to the security officer. The dolly clattered over the curb into the parking lot, and she braced herself for the jostle of being loaded into Chalk’s hatchback.

  He groaned as he lifted her, then folded and loaded the dolly and slammed the back of the car shut. Once Neela could feel the car start, she asked, “Why the hurry?”

  Chalk raised his voice so she could hear him over the sound of the engine and through the cardboard walls of her coffin. “Don’t you get it? Miles was killed because he downloaded those files.”

  “Right, but now we know who did it,” Neela said. “We can go to DALE with the footage.”

  “Who downloaded those files this time?”

  “Oh no—Cassie!”

  “Right,” Chalk said grimly. “We need to get to her first.”

  Chalk’s car lurched to a stop, and Neela was grateful when he ripped open the box so she could climb out. She squinted in the bright daylight until her eyes adjusted, and she saw they were standing in front of the old Sunflower Springs pillow factory that had been converted into a loft apartment building called the Sweet Dream.

  “How did you know where she lives?” Neela asked.

  Chalk rolled his eyes. “It’s like you think I don’t have friends.”

  Neela pushed open the door. “Lead the way, you social butterfly.”

  Chalk rang the bell at an apartment on the second floor. The minutes felt like hours as they waited for Cassie to answer the door, and Chalk rang the bell again. The door flew open.

  “What?!” Cassie snapped, and then when she recognized them, she added, “Oh, it’s you. What do you want?”

  Neela shook her head. “No time. You need to come with us now.”

  “What? No, I’m not going anywhere with you. You’re crazy!” Cassie started to close the door, but Chalk put his foot in the way.

  Neela put her hands together and pleaded. “Please, this is serious—you’re in danger.”

  Cassie paused for a split second and then said, “Yeah, from you.” She stomped on Chalk’s foot and, when he yanked his foot back with a yelp of pain, slammed the door in his face. “I’m calling the cops!” she yelled through the door.

  Chalk turned to Neela. “Sheesh, what did you do to her last time you talked?”

  Neela winced. “I may have been a little bit confrontational.”

  Chalk knocked on the door. “Hey, Cass? Call DALE instead of the Sunflower Springs police.”

  Cassie’s voice came through the door. “Why should I do anything you say?”

  “Because the DALE office is just down the street. They’ll be here faster. Tell them it’s urgent. We’ll wait outside.”

  He motioned Neela to follow him and headed back out front to the sidewalk. When they got outside, he said, “If she won’t come with us, maybe she’ll go with them.”

  “And we can show them the footage so they can make an arrest for the murder,” Neela added. She wondered if Teo would be the one responding to Cassie’s call, and her stomach fluttered at the thought. Her heart hammered in her chest when Teo’s SUV pulled up, blue lights flashing in the grill, just a few minutes later.

  Teo groaned when he saw her standing by the entrance to the building. “We got a call about harassment related to the Broad Earth case at the Sweet Dream—it wasn’t you, was it?”

  Neela grimaced. “Maybe?”

  “Why, Neela? This is going to totally destroy your career—there’s no way Broad Earth HR is going to clear you in their investigation now!” Teo frowned at her.

  “I wasn’t thinking about the investigation. I was just trying to keep her out of harm’s way. I think the person who killed Miles might be after Cassie, too. Show him the footage, Chalk.”

  Chalk pulled up some stills on his phone and held it out to Teo. “We set a little digital trap, and this is what we caught.”

  Teo glanced at the screen and shook his head. “That doesn’t prove anything. It could be a coincidence. Broad Earth personnel have a million plausible reasons to be in the building. To make an arrest, I need evidence of an actual threat.”

  “Can’t you just take her somewhere safe?” Neela begged, tears welling in her eyes. “It’s our fault that she’s in danger. If we hadn’t used her account to set the trap...”

  Teo rolled his eyes. “Let me go talk to her and give her some choices. I can have the local police patrol her building every few hours—or she can go with you. At least until we’re sure nobody is after her.”

  While they waited for Teo to return, Neela couldn’t keep still. Her teeth chattered from nervousness, and she kept looking over her shoulder when a car came down the street. “How long do you think we have?” she asked Chalk.

  Chalk shook his head. “No idea.” He was so pale, he looked green.

  Teo returned a few long minutes later, Cassie behind him wearing a sour expression. She didn’t even look at Neela. “Your place, I guess?” she said to Chalk.

  Chalk shifted uncomfortably. “Actually, it’s better if you don’t. I’m on the security footage at Broad Earth today, plus we’re friends. Anyone looking for you would try my place. Since you and Neela aren’t exactly on the best terms, she’s your best bet.”

  Cassie crossed her arms and tossed her ponytail. “I’m not setting foot in that woman’s home.”

  Neela stepped toward her, but stepped back again when she saw Cassie flinch. “Please—you don’t have to stay at my house. I’ll take you to my family’s farm up near Davis. I won’t even stay the night. My sisters will spoil you, and nobody will think to look for you there. It’ll be a day or two, tops, until Chalk and I get things sorted out in Sunflower Springs, and then we can all go back to work. I mean, you can. I know HR is probably going to fire me for coming here today, and that’s OK.”

  Cassie narrowed her eyes and stared at Neela.

  Neela nodded. “It’s OK,” she repeated. “I’d rather you were safe than anything else right now.” She was grateful to see the skepticism leave Cassie’s expression. She turned to Teo with a pleading expression. “Drop us at the Waffle Nook? My truck is still there.”

  Teo nodded, and as Cassie and Neela were getting into the back seat of the SUV, Chalk gave Neela a little half wave. “Heading home. I have to get another server rack and install it at Broad Earth to finish up my little part of this ruse. Text me when you’re safe, but don’t say where you are. You know, just in case.”

  Neela nodded. “It’s a deal. You be careful, too.”

  Chapter Twelve

  Cassie hardly spoke while they made the two-hour drive up to the Quiñones farm. But when they pulled into the driveway and Dottie came out on the porch, Cassie pasted on a smile.

  “Hey Dot,” Neela said. “This is my co-worker Cassie.”

  Dottie wiped her hands on her apron and gave Cassie a quick hug. “Hey, girl. What brings you two up here?”

  Cassie glanced at Neela, and Neela shook her head the tiniest bit. Don’t scare th
em, she thought. Please.

  “Just needed to get out of Sunflower Springs for a bit, and Neela said you had a nice place up here.”

  “We weren’t expecting you back so soon!” Dottie grabbed Neela in a big bear hug, and Neela shot Cassie a look of gratitude over Dottie’s shoulder. “Come on in and get settled. It’s not fancy, but it’s ours.”

  Dottie led them into the house and introduced Cassie to Mama, who was ironing in the living room. Neela was happy to see Mama looking pink-cheeked and busy. Not her old self, but at least not absent like she’d been after the funeral.

  “Where’s Robin and the others?” Neela asked.

  Mama pursed her lips. “Robin doesn’t live here anymore.”

  “Wendy and Orinda are over at the Turners helping them bring in the peas and beans,” Dottie added. “They’ll be around later.”

  “My other sisters,” Neela explained to Cassie. “Usually they’d be working here, but my father was sick this spring, so our fields didn’t really get planted.”

  “We don’t need to talk about that,” Mama said, looking strained, and Dottie quickly herded Neela and Cassie out the back door and through the milking porch to the backyard.

  “Things are a little tight, and it stresses Mama out,” Dottie said. Maybe the understatement of the century.

  “The goats are over here.” Neela pointed at the goat shed, attempting to distract Cassie from the family drama.

  “Ah,” Cassie said. “I’m not, um, really an animal person.” She stared at the goat shed with a terrified expression. “They can’t climb the fence, right?”

  Dottie giggled. “You are hanging on to that tote bag for dear life! We better get you some tea or something to relax.” She squeezed Cassie around the shoulders and headed into the kitchen.

  Neela grinned. “Don’t worry, you don’t have to go near the goats if you don’t want to. I’m just trying to give you the fifty-cent tour. This is the RV where Robin and Rick were living, but it sounds like they’re not around. That’s the chicken barn. Big strawberry patch over there, and that”—she pointed to the empty field to the east of the farmhouse—“is what should be planted right now if it were a normal year. That’s why everyone is worried about money.”

  “I’m sorry about your father,” Cassie said, looking Neela in the eye. “Art told me he passed.”

  Neela nodded and a big lump rose in her throat so she couldn’t even thank Cassie for the polite sympathy. She spread the dirt from a mole hill around with her foot until Dottie mercifully arrived with a couple of glasses of iced tea.

  They all sat at the picnic table, sipping the tea and watching the swallows fly in and out of their mud nests on the side of the chicken barn. Nobody spoke for several minutes.

  “Well,” Dottie finally said. “I guess you want to put that bag away. Come on, we’ll make you up a bed in the RV. You probably don’t want to share a bunk with Neela—she kicks.”

  “Oh, I can’t stay the night!” Neela said, a little horrified at the idea of Cassie staying in an RV that had recently been home to a couple of meth addicts. “I have to get back. Cassie can sleep in the house.”

  Dottie yanked open the door of the RV. “Of course you’re staying the night. Whatever you’ve got going on in Sunflower Springs can wait until Sunday morning. Plus, I’m sure Cassie doesn’t want to be crammed into a bunk room with a bunch of Quiñones women.”

  Cassie looked almost as panicked as she had when Neela introduced her to the goats. “Sorry,” Neela mouthed behind Dottie’s back, and silently prayed that the RV didn’t stink too bad. When she stepped inside, she was pleasantly surprised—it smelled like lemons and was neat as a pin. Dottie must have worked her magic on it after Rick and Robin moved out.

  “Wow!” Cassie exclaimed, turning around to check out the interior. “I was not expecting this. An all-stainless kitchen?”

  “Yep. Teo installed it for us,” Dottie said proudly. “Robin used it for making goat cheese, so all the surfaces had to be easy to sterilize to pass the health department inspection.”

  “It’s really cute, Dot,” Neela said, shoving down the well of emotion at the mention of Teo’s name. “Did you sew these curtains?” She fingered the lightweight, pin-tucked linen shades.

  Dottie nodded. “Recovered the seats, too. And new linens in the back.” She nodded toward where Cassie was investigating the small bedroom in the back of the RV. “There’s water in the sink and shower, but you’ll have to use the toilet in the house. Hope you don’t mind.”

  “Not at all,” Cassie called back over her shoulder. “This place is cute!” She came out of the bedroom smiling and looking relaxed for the first time since she got into Neela’s truck.

  “Well, get unpacked and then come on inside. The girls should be back anytime, and we can get dinner going.” Dot opened the door and paused halfway down the retractable steps. “We’re happy to have you here, Cassie. Any friend of Neela’s is a friend of ours.”

  Cassie nodded awkwardly, and Dottie let the door slam behind her. Neela half laughed and motioned around her. “I know it’s not ideal, but it’s just for a couple of days...”

  “It’s fine. It’s great,” Cassie assured her. “I know we’re not—well, friends, exactly. But I appreciate the hospitality.”

  “OK.” Neela felt irrationally pleased that Cassie wasn’t horrified by the whole setup. “I want to apologize, too, for everything.”

  “Mm, don’t worry about it. We were both upset by Miles’s death.”

  “Murder. He was murdered, Cassie. And I’m going to catch the person who did it.”

  Cassie’s eyes filled with tears, and she grabbed Neela’s hands. “I believe you—in fact, I’m counting on it. If you need to get back to Sunflower Springs right now, I’ll make excuses for you in the kitchen.”

  Neela squeezed back and let Cassie’s hands drop. “Dottie’s right, I don’t need to run off right away. Nothing I can do tonight, anyway. I’ll head back early tomorrow.” She waited outside while Cassie got settled in the RV, and then they walked together back into the house.

  Mama had finished her ironing and was folding up the board when she spotted them. She nodded to Cassie and said, “The little girls are back from work. They’re waiting on you in the kitchen.”

  “Brace yourself,” Neela said to Cassie, and Cassie grinned.

  The kitchen was in chaos. Orinda was going through every cupboard shouting out the contents, and Wendy was scribbling a list in pencil on the back of an envelope.

  “Cornstarch!”

  “Got it.”

  “Maple syrup!”

  “Got it.”

  Neela raised her voice to be heard over the clatter of cupboard doors. “This is Cassie. She’s staying for a little while.”

  “Hey,” said Orinda.

  Cassie gave them a little wave. “Where’s Dottie?”

  Wendy raised her eyebrows. “She went out a little while ago to do the evening milking.” She shrugged. “Must have just missed her.”

  “What are you doing?” Neela went around to look over Wendy’s shoulder.

  “Taking an inventory of the kitchen.”

  Neela chuckled. “I thought you’d be tired after picking beans all day.”

  “You know we Quiñones are never happy without something to do. Papa would say, ‘You girls need a project.’ So our project is figure out what we’ve already got so we can cut the grocery bill by making what we already have.”

  “OK, last thing, vanilla,” said Orinda.

  Wendy wrote it down. “Got it.”

  Orinda shut the cupboard and climbed down. “What now?”

  “Dinner,” Neela said. “Cassie, what kind of stuff do you like?”

  “Can’t be picky around here,” Orinda grumbled. “Pretty much eggs and milk all day, every day.”

  “I’m not picky,” Cassie said, pulling up a chair at the table. “You can make all kinds of delicious things out of eggs and milk.”

  Orinda cros
sed her arms. “Name one. Besides scrambled eggs, fried eggs, poached eggs, and boiled eggs.”

  “Um—bread pudding.”

  Orinda frowned. “Need bread for that.”

  Wendy checked her envelope. “We have bread, so there.”

  Cassie grinned triumphantly. “I’m sure there are other things, too. Quiche? Soufflé?”

  Orinda made a face.

  “You know what else?” Wendy asked. “Cajeta.”

  All three sisters let out involuntary mmms.

  Cassie looked at them blankly. “What’s cajeta?”

  “What’s cajeta?!” Dottie asked from the doorway with a jar of milk in her arms. “Did I hear that right?”

  “It’s basically just goat milk and sugar cooked down into caramel,” Wendy explained.

  Orinda smacked her lips. “It’s freaking heaven on a spoon!”

  “It’s pretty good on bread pudding, too, now that you mention it,” Neela added.

  Cassie grinned. “Sounds like dinner to me.”

  Dottie reached over with her free hand and gave Cassie a high five. “I think I like you already! Let’s get to it, chicas.”

  None of them needed instruction. Dottie put Cassie to work slicing the homemade bread into cubes. There was cinnamon bread left from breakfast, and egg bread and plain wheat bread in the freezer from the memorial service, all cut into cubes and a mountain of crumbs. Wendy heated the gallon of goat milk with butter on the stove. Orinda flitted from cupboard to cupboard gathering ingredients, and Neela mixed them in a big bowl at the table.

  Even Mama got in on it and read out the ingredients to Orinda from a recipe card penciled with spidery handwriting.

  “My grandmother’s—your great grandmother’s—bread pudding recipe,” she said. “I’ve kept it all these years, through everything.”

  “Thank you, Mama,” said Neela, cracking egg after egg into the bowl.

  “What now?” Dottie asked, brushing crumbs from her hands. “What’s the next step?”

  “You need that big casserole,” Mama said. “The deep one. It’s blue.”

  Wendy stood at the stove stirring the milk and sugar for the cajeta. It was spiced with vanilla and a cinnamon stick, and it filled the kitchen with its scent, a promise of the comfort it would deliver in each spoonful.