Plain Jane Mystery Box Set 1

by Traci Tyne Hilton

  “But you’ll land on your feet, won’t you? I mean, don’t you live with your parents still?”

  Kaitlyn nodded. “I moved back home to save money for the wedding and for moving to the Philippines. But I can’t save any money if I don’t have a job.”

  On the one hand, Jane could sympathize, but on the other… all of Kaitlyn’s immediate needs were met. “I’ll keep you in my prayers.”

  “I need thirty thousand dollars in the bank before the wedding.”

  Val dropped Kaitlyn’s hand. “Why on Earth do you ‘need’ that much money Kaitlyn?”

  Kaitlyn held up her prosthetic. “This.” She set it down again with a thud. “The organization Spencer serves with won’t take me on board if I’m not self-insured. I need to have enough money for a round trip ticket back to America, a hospital stay, and a new prosthetic if anything should happen to this one.”

  “That costs thirty thousand dollars?” Jane tried to hide her disbelief.

  “It’s a really handy hand.” Kaitlyn flexed the fingers on her fake hand. “Plus, I have a special one for swimming. And anyway, a hospital stay could easily eat up that much money in a day.”

  “I see,” Jane lied.

  “So your job is very important to you right now.” Valerie had a sweet, cooing tone to her voice. Jane knew it was what Kaitlyn needed, so she attempted to adjust her own attitude.

  “Yes.” Kaitlyn sniffed. She dabbed at her nose with Jane’s napkin.

  “But there’s really no way you could save up $30,000 in—what, a year?—working at Bubble-Bubble Tea.”

  Kaitlyn nodded, chewing on her lip. “I sell Bible studies I write on Amazon too.”

  “I can see how stressful this is for you.” Jane’s first attitude adjustment hadn’t helped, so she tried again. “Let’s keep optimistic. You haven’t lost your job yet.”

  “That’s right, sweetie,” Valerie said. “Let’s not jump the gun, okay?”

  “I just know that whenever we get really close to doing a good work for God, the enemy comes in and tries his best to blast it all to pieces. And, Jane, we have a great idea for a good work, yeah? My job at the mall is a key piece to that.”

  Jane had her eye on the barista, who appeared to be laughing. A second barista, a good-looking man with graying hair and black plastic glasses, flicked the laughing one with his towel. “I’m sure your job there could be very useful.” The black eye-glasses barista caught Jane’s eye and mouthed, “I’m sorry.” Jane looked away.

  “It’s a great idea. Let’s focus on that right now,” Valerie said.

  Kaitlyn nodded, still sniffling. “We’ve just got to trust God, right?”

  “Right.” Valerie nodded her head, curls bobbing as she offered reassurance.

  From the corner of her eye, Jane glimpsed the glasses-wearing barista watching their table. He seemed to have his eye on Valerie, and he was smiling.

  The idea tickled Jane. She’d have to make sure they had more meetings at this very coffee shop.

  While Jane distracted herself from her annoyed feelings with matchmaking schemes, the glasses-wearing, gray-haired barista himself joined the table.

  He set a tray of pastries down. “You all looked like you could use a little cheering up.” He addressed them all, but his eyes were only for Valerie.

  Valerie blushed, just a little.

  “Thank you.” Kaitlyn offered him a small, sad smile.

  “Anytime.” He went back to his work station, stumbling a little on the way.

  “Why don’t you all tell me about what your new idea for ministry is?” Valerie kept her eyes on Jane, and not the handsome barista who, as far as Jane could tell, still hadn’t taken his eyes off of her.

  Kaitlyn leaned forward. “We want to reach out to victims of bullying.”

  Valerie drew her eyebrows together. “How?”

  “We want to get them together at the mall where I see them suffering. We can give these little guys a taste of God’s love.” Her face did the beatified thing that Jane found a bit over the top. But considering the rest of the hyperbole Kaitlyn had delivered, she figured a little wide-eyed passion wasn’t going to kill her.

  “But how? Victims of bullying are a pretty non-specific group. How are you going to identify them and connect with them?”

  “I was thinking it might even be too specific,” Jane said.

  “Either way, it’s the wrong kind of specific. No one wants to join a group where their identity is tied up with being victimized.”

  “We could base it around an interest, like some game kids are playing these days.” Jane racked her brain to think of something kids were into, but failed.

  “How would you keep the bullies themselves from taking over the group?” Valerie asked.

  “That’s easy. We’d pick something they weren’t into.”

  Valerie pursed her lips. “I don’t know, girls. I think this one needs quite a bit more prayer and thought. Why don’t we put it aside for now and brainstorm some other ideas.”

  Kaitlyn crossed her arms. “I think Jane and I feel strong about this one, don’t you, Jane?”

  Jane looked from Valerie to Kaitlyn. Kaitlyn had offered her boundless enthusiasm and support for the idea she had hatched at the mall, but it wasn’t like she was married to the idea. And with today’s display of job-related panic, Jane wasn’t sure she wanted to hitch her wagon to Kaitlyn.

  This must be why missionaries needed practice. They hadn’t started the work yet, and it was already hard.

  “I don’t think it would hurt to pray over it more,” Jane said.

  Valerie nodded and smiled. “It never hurts to pray more. Listen, girls, I have to get to work, but I’m glad we had a chance to reconnect. Email me with your thoughts on this.” She excused herself from the table. Jane watched closely, but Valerie didn’t offer a passing glance to the employees behind the counter.

  “Jane!” Kaitlyn’s big eyes looked hurt. “You totally just threw me under the bus.”

  “What? No. Not at all.”

  “You should have my back on this. You know God is calling us to this thing. Why else would I be under such a direct attack right now?”

  “From the Yo-Heaven?”

  “Yes, from the Yo-Heaven. Bubble-Bubble Tea has been absolutely fabulous. Everything has been going so smoothly. Why would my job be threatened by the competition, all of a sudden, if it weren’t a direct attack from the devil?”

  “I don’t know the answer to that, Kaitlyn. I’m sorry. But if one of our teammates isn’t on board, what I say can’t make a difference. All we can do is pray.”

  Kaitlyn stood up with a huff. “Oh, I’ll be praying, all right.” She flipped her hair over her shoulder and stormed out of the café.

  Jane picked at a raspberry Danish sitting on the still-full tray of pastries. If this little team was meant to prove to Paula that the three of them were ready for prime time, it was failing.

  Chapter 8

  Jane prayed the matter over, and determined that the first thing she should do on behalf of Kaitlyn was check out the lay of the land, so the next day when she was done with her clients, she headed to the mall.

  How close was this Yo-Heaven to Bubble-Bubble Tea? How many customers did it have during the peak frothy-beverage-drinking hours? How many kids could she find hanging out at the mall without their parents, who also appeared downtrodden, and in need of some kind of undefined activity?

  Jane stuck her earbuds in and walked the mall slowly, pretending to listen to music.

  Little knots and tangles of high-schoolers jostled and flirted at the corners of the mall. But they were older than the kids she and Kaitlyn had in mind.

  The arcade next to the food court was quiet. Just a few boys were playing games inside, but they didn’t look particularly downtrodden. A couple of women with really nice hair were drinking coffee at a table next to the arcade entrance. The game-playing boys’ moms perhaps?

  She scanned the food court. The fatteni
ng aroma of cinnamon rolls floated through the air. People milled about, reading the menus that hung from the walls. She spied Kaitlyn’s golden head holding court over the cash register at Bubble-Bubble Tea. Three teenage girls appeared to be placing an order.

  Yo-Heaven, the popular yogurt smoothie and salad shop, was in the small restaurant space right next to Bubble-Bubble Tea.

  While Jane could understand why that might make Kaitlyn nervous, it didn’t strike her as an impossible co-existence. Bubble-Bubble had shared the food court with Frosty Maids just fine for a few years now. Jane meandered toward the line. She counted twelve kids in the food courts, four of whom looked a bit downtrodden, socially speaking, but all of whom were with their families.

  “Vanilla mango, small.”

  “Hey, Jane.” Kaitlyn’s bright smile faded. “I’m trying to hold it together, but this has been the quietest morning in forever.”

  “Have faith, friend.” Jane passed her debit card to Kaitlyn. Kaitlyn’s forever was around a month. Jane had a feeling the slow morning and Yo-Heaven might not be related. “God’s hand is in this, somewhere.”

  Kaitlyn shook her head. “I wish I were sure.” She turned and mixed up a tapioca-based smoothie for Jane.

  Jane scanned the food court again while she waited. It was getting a little busier as the lunch crowd filtered in. There were more teens, more families.

  “Jane! You never called!”

  Jane spun around in a circle. She knew that voice.

  “Over here, Jane!” Jake Crawford leaned over the counter of the Yo-Heaven.

  “Why didn’t you call?”

  “Call? When?” Jane went hot, then cold.

  “All year, that’s when. You didn’t call me all year.”

  Kaitlyn put her hand out with the bubble tea in it.

  “You’re not drinking that bilge, are you, Jane? Where’s your loyalty?”

  Jane took the drink.

  “Don’t harass my customers,” Kaitlyn snapped.

  “Your customer?” Jake leaned on his elbow. “In the grand scheme of things, is Jane more your customer or my muse?”

  Jane took a big suck on her drink. She gagged, just a little. “Jake—” Jane stopped. What was the point in arguing with him when you could just ignore him? She stepped closer to Kaitlyn’s counter.

  “I’ve been checking out the ministry potential here at the mall,” Jane said in a low voice.

  Kaitlyn eyed Jake warily, but answered Jane. “See anything good?”

  “Not yet, but I plan on hanging out all afternoon. I want to see how the crowd changes over the course of the day.” Jane checked Jake out of the corner of her eye. He was taking orders. In the few seconds Jane had been talking a line had formed for yogurt smoothies. She checked behind her. No one in line for the bubble tea.

  “I’m off at two,” Kaitlyn said. “Will you still be around?”

  Jane checked her watch. 11:45. “Yeah, I think I can manage to stick around that long.”

  “Okay. I’ve got to get back to work, but if you meet me here at two, we can compare notes.” Kaitlyn’s face was dead serious.

  Jane stifled the urge to snicker. “Sounds good. I’ll be back.” She turned to go, but Jake called out to her again.

  “Cut in line real fast, Jane. Let me make you something to eat.” His voice had a little pleading quality to it that Jane was very familiar with. He wanted to wheedle something out of her, but she had no idea what it would be, as he wasn’t exaggerating when he said they hadn’t seen, or heard, from each other in over a year.

  Jane sidled over to Jake’s counter. “What’s up?”

  “Just really fast, why didn’t you call me? I mean, it was a whole year.”

  Jane licked her lips. “I didn’t know you wanted me to call you.”

  “Really?” Jake’s voice was low so the people in line couldn’t hear him. Not that it would have been easy, with the noise of the blenders, shakers, and yogurt machines whirring behind him. Jane noticed two tall redheads whipping together drinks for the people in line. “I’m not kidding. After what we went through together you really didn’t think I wanted you to call me?”

  Jane looked at her hands. Then she looked back up. “You didn’t call me either.” She lifted her eyebrow and tried to laugh. “It’s not like you were waiting around all year to hear from me.”

  “Yes, I did call you, and yes, I was waiting.” Jake drew his eyebrows together over his gray-blue eyes. “I called two weeks after the funeral, and you never called back.”

  Jane bit her lip. She remembered that call. She remembered ignoring that call. “I’m sorry.”

  “Good. Make it up to me, but not right now. I’m totally swamped. Your timing is atrocious, but I know you’ll call me. Tonight, okay? Call tonight sometime.” He flashed her a grin and then turned to the redhead at the cash register.

  Jane stared at him. What was his game this time?

  She pulled her eyes away, and meandered slowly into the mall lunch crowd. She couldn’t call him tonight. His number was stored in the waterlogged phone being held as evidence in the murder of Douglas Swanson.

  After her mall recon and meet-up with Kaitlyn, Jane popped over to Paula’s house. She still wanted to find a way she could serve the woman who had given her whole life to missionary work. She had yet to figure out what it was Paula wanted or needed, but she was determined to keep trying.

  At the house, Paula led Jane into the kitchen. “How are the plans for your small group ministry going?”

  Jane accepted a cup of coffee. “Slowly.”

  “Care to elaborate?”

  “I think our idea is… complicated.” Jane took a sip of coffee and watched Paula’s eyes. While Paula was looking in Jane’s general direction, she had a distant, almost vacant look on her face. She wasn’t truly in the moment. “Kaitlyn wants to do something pretty unique, Valerie isn’t convinced it’s a good idea, and I can’t quite tell how it would work, even though I came up with it.”

  “Do you think it is worth attempting?”

  “Yes? Maybe? I mean, it’s certainly a noble idea.”

  “Noble is good. Perhaps you three have stumbled onto something entirely new. New can be hard for people to wrap their minds around.”

  But was reaching out to youth new? Jane pondered that. Sunday school was invented to reach out to children who weren’t being brought to church. Then there was AWANA. And the Boys and Girls clubs were around to connect with kids at loose ends. Not to mention all the variations of scouting programs available. And youth groups—the most obvious outreach to teenagers of all. Was there really anything new to what Kaitlyn was proposing?

  “You’re quiet… what are you thinking?”

  “I’m just wondering if the idea is truly new. Maybe it’s an old idea that we are making harder than it needs to be.”

  “How much time have you all spent praying over it together?”

  Jane looked down at her cup. “None.”

  “No wonder the job seems too big.” Paula took her coffee cup to the sink. “If you don’t mind my giving you a little advice, I recommend getting together for prayer. No planning, no brainstorming, just prayer.”

  Jane chewed on her lip. “You’re right.”

  “You are wondering how you can manage it, aren’t you?”

  Jane looked up, her eyebrow lifted.

  Paula chuckled. “You’re a bit like me, I think. You don’t feel like a leader when you share responsibilities with noisier personalities. But I think if you put yourself forward—not as ‘group leader’ per se—but as the person trying to keep the job grounded in the Spirit, you will find the others follow you readily.”

  “Do you think so?”

  “Yup. There is a quiet strength to your personality that is very persuasive. I’ll say this, if there wasn’t, I wouldn’t have you in this group of candidates.”

  Jane’s heart fell to the pit of her stomach. “Really?”

  “You’re young and not very well c
onnected. You seem to have rather vague notions about what you want to do on the mission field. But… there is something in you that makes me want to see what you do with yourself.” Despite the distant, sad look in Paula’s eyes, her smile indicated a warmth of feeling.

  Jane swallowed her disappointment. “Thank you.” Her voice was weak, but how could it not be? Rather than being part of an elite group of future missionaries sent by Columbia River Community Church, she was… What was she? Entertainment? A third wheel?

  Jane stood up, cradling her coffee mug in her hands. “I was wondering if there was anything I could do for you. I know you must be…” She trailed off. Paula gazed out the window, one hand resting on the faucet. She looked far away from the little house in East Portland.

  “Between the three of you, I’d almost think I was your outreach project.” Paula turned her eyes to Jane. “But no, I’m taken care of right now. Thank you.”

  “If there is anything at all I can do… Make a meal, come by and clean.” Jane ran her eyes over the almost spotless kitchen.

  “I’m doing okay. What would really bless me is to hear back from you after you’ve gotten the girls together to pray about your outreach. Will you give me a call as soon as you’ve met with them?”

  “Yes, of course.” Jane set her mug on the kitchen counter. “Thank you for giving me this chance. I really do appreciate it.”

  “I know you do, kiddo. That’s half the reason you are here.” Paula walked Jane to the door. Don’t forget to call me after you all get together next time, okay?”

  “Of course.”

  Jane drove home with a sick stomach. She had failed to find a way to serve Paula, which wouldn’t make Kaitlyn or Isaac happy. And yet again, just when she thought she was making headway on her future, she found herself all at sea.

  Chapter 9

  Jane couldn’t wallow in her disappointment too long. She had a house waiting to be cleaned. Frida and Joe Walker were ER doctors who liked Jane to come by twice a month in the evening while they were at the hospital. She hadn’t been to their house since the tragedy at the Swansons’.