“That’s a possibility,” Wade conceded as he looked over at Holly.
“Even so, they’d have to know who they got the coat from,” Holly pointed out. “So, if we talk to them, we should still be able to get some information. What can you tell us about them?”
Fiona began to rub her enlarged belly as she thought. “Well, I’m not sure. Both of them come into the bookstore from time to time, but it’s not like they come in at the same time. Let me think.” She seemed to get lost in her thoughts before finally shaking her head. “Duh, why didn’t I think of it sooner?” she cried out as she whacked herself in the head with the palm of her hand.
“What?” Holly asked, slightly surprised.
“Jodi comes to almost every book club meeting at the store. And you know when we’re having another meeting,” Fiona said as she led Holly to the answer.
“Tomorrow night, perfect,” Holly said as she relaxed. “What about Leslie Cole?”
Fiona sighed. “To be honest, my brain isn’t working right now. I should remember where she works and lives, but right now all my mind can think about is watermelon. I’m sorry. I’m sure I’ll figure it out by tomorrow night, though. When I do, I’ll write it down, so I can tell you then. I know you don’t usually come to the adult book club anymore, but she should be there,” Fiona nodded.
“Then I guess I will be too,” Holly said. “Please don’t tell anyone what I’m doing, okay? I don’t want word to get around.”
“My lips are sealed,” Fiona said as she mimed locking her mouth and throwing away the key.
“Have you found out what sex the baby is?” Wade asked.
“No, not yet,” Fiona said. “And we’re really leaning towards not doing it, you know? There’s something fun about not knowing and getting to look forward to the surprise the day its born, just like women always used to do.”
“Well, if you don’t, how are you going to plan what colors to select for the baby’s clothes, its room, and things like that?” Wade asked.
“We’ve decided to do a neutral theme. I’m really liking soft greens and yellows with splashes of dark grey,” Fiona said as she held her hands up. “Brandon says I can do whatever I want as long as I don’t try to put a dress on the baby if it’s a boy.”
Holly laughed. “Well, it sounds like he’s letting you have free rein.”
“Maybe,” Fiona shrugged. “How did the studying go with Levi? Did you get him caught up while you were working?”
Holly glanced over at Wade when she sensed he’d turned to look at her. She must have forgotten to say something to him about it.
“Who’s Levi?” he asked.
“New kid at school. You haven’t met him yet?” Holly asked. When Wade shook his head she said, “Oh. Well, he’s in my math class. Mrs. Lohman asked me to help him catch up since the school he transferred from was behind us, so I told him to come by the bookstore while I worked and we could work on catching him up.”
Wade nodded slowly.
“I remember once when I was in school we had a new kid come from some big city. She was so lost, because their previous school had been so far behind ours. Eventually she got moved to a lower level class, because she just couldn’t catch up,” Fiona explained.
“That’s kind of what’s going on with Levi,” Holly said. “He moved here from Denver, and his previous class just wasn’t where we are, but he’s pretty smart. I think with a couple more sessions he’ll be caught up.”
“That’s good,” Fiona said. “I’m sure he’s grateful to have you helping him.”
Holly shrugged. “Who knows. Anyway, we’ll leave you alone. We just wanted to see if you knew either one of the people in these two photos, since you seem to know everyone in town.”
“That I do,” Fiona said as she reached up for a hug. “I’m sorry if I caused you any trouble with Wade,” she whispered in her ear.
Holly gave her a squeeze and a faint smile to let her know it was fine. She’d sensed Wade’s tension too, although she wasn’t sure why. How many times had Holly helped other students? Lots. So, what’s different about Levi, she wondered.
They said their goodbyes and stepped outside before Wade spoke.
“Why didn’t you tell me you were tutoring someone else?” he asked. The look in his eyes made Holly feel terrible. It wasn’t as if she’d deliberately done it to hurt him.
“Honestly, Wade, I just forgot,” Holly said, and it was true. With so much going on she hadn’t really thought it was a big enough deal to even mention it to him. “Remember how Margo and I were talking about a new kid when we were sorting the coats? That’s who we were talking about,” she explained.
“It just kind of makes me feel a little jealous to think some guy’s spending time with you, and I didn’t even know about it,” he admitted as they climbed in his car. “Geeze, I sound like such a cliché.” He shook his head as he turned the key in the ignition.
“Hey, it’s okay,” Holly said as she put her hand on his arm. “I didn’t not tell you on purpose. He’s no threat to our relationship. It’s all good,” she said easily. She was glad they were having this conversation. She didn’t want Wade to ever feel that someone else could come between them. There was no one else at school she was even remotely interested in. They may be young, and things could happen, but for now she thought their relationship was going great.
“You promise?” Wade asked with big, soulful eyes.
“I promise,” Holly said as she leaned over and gave him a kiss. “You’re stuck with me,” she said with a grin.
“Hmm, that’s okay with me. There’s no one else I’d rather be stuck with than you, Holly Lewis.”
Holly thought she could hear him say those words a million times, and she was sure they’d never get old.
CHAPTER 14
“Wow, that was a lot more fun than I thought it would be,” Holly said as she and Brigid entered Brigid’s house. They’d just returned from their first self-defense class, and while Holly had only gone because Linc and Brigid had said they wanted her to, now she was glad she had.
“I know,” Brigid said as she shut the door behind them. “Not only is it a fairly good workout, but you get to take out some of your aggressions at the same time.”
“Well, hello, ladies,” Linc said from the recliner where he was sitting. His feet were propped up, and Lucky was stretched across his lap while Jett lounged on the floor nearby. “I take it the class was fun?” He was watching one of those true crime shows on TV, his hand behind his head, looking completely relaxed.
“It really was,” Brigid said as she dropped her purse on the table by the door. “It was fairly basic stuff at first, but once we started learning a few pressure points and moves, it got a lot more interesting.”
Her vibrant red hair was pulled back in a ponytail, and she looked laid back and relaxed in her athletic pants as she kicked off her shoes and collapsed on her favorite spot at the end of the couch. She propped her feet up on the coffee table and sighed. “But I’m worn out. I don’t know if I have it in me to cook dinner tonight.”
“Don’t. We can always go somewhere or get takeout,” Linc suggested.
“I don’t know if I have the energy to go anywhere,” Holly said as she leaned over and scratched Lucky. He woke up and moved closer to her, as if begging her to pick him up.
“I bought that new superhero movie that just came out. How about if we get dinner delivered and just stay in tonight?” Linc suggested.
“Now you’re talking more my speed,” Brigid sighed. “I’m fairly sure I’m going to be feeling the class tomorrow, but I still had a blast. I just didn’t realize how out of shape I’ve gotten lately.” She tossed her arm over her eyes and exhaled a long deep breath.
Holly carried Lucky around to the other end of the couch and curled up. “Me, too. I used to ride my bike everywhere, but I think I’m getting soft with all the car rides provided by Wade.”
“You poor, out of shape, old thing,” Linc tea
sed as he put the footrest down on his recliner and stood up. “How will you ever manage?” Making his way to the kitchen area, he pulled open the drawer where they kept the takeout menus.
“At this point, I don’t even have the energy to be witty with you, Linc,” Holly muttered. “I feel like I’m wasting away as we speak,” she said dramatically.
Brigid laughed. “I’ll never get tired of hearing you two mess with each other,” she said.
“That reminds me,” Linc said as he walked back towards them with a menu in his hand. “Lucky did have a few accidents today, but I got them cleaned up. I think he’s starting to relax a little, so any bad behaviors he might have previously had may start to crop up. Nothing to worry about, but we’ll have to keep an eye on him.”
“I’m sorry,” Holly apologized. “I’ll use more of those training pads you bought. I thought about putting some down before I left this morning, but I forgot. He’d been so good, I wasn’t sure he’d actually need them.”
“Don’t worry about it,” Linc said easily. “I bought plenty, as well as a special spray that’s for cleaning up his accidents. We just have to be consistent with him, and he’ll get it.” He turned and walked away, carrying his phone.
“He’s right,” Brigid said. “Don’t worry about it, but make sure you correct him and clean up any spots. He may have struggled with it before, and that’s why someone dumped him,” she explained. “Not that it’s any excuse for what they did,” she added.
“No, I get what you’re saying,” Holly replied. “After all, nobody would leave a well-trained dog on the side of the road. I kind of wondered what the problem might have been. That’s okay though,” she said smiling down at the little dog in her lap. He’d gone back to sleep again, and was all curled up in a little ball. “I love him enough that he’ll get it.”
“That’s what I like to hear,” Brigid said. “By the way, did you ever talk to Fiona about those photos?”
Holly sat upright with a start. “Oh! Yes! I forgot I hadn’t been able to tell you about it yet. First, Wade found Brittany Jackson. We went to the hardware store where she works and spoke to her. As you can probably guess, she didn’t donate the coat. Her coat was close in appearance to the one we found, but they were different colors.”
“That figures,” Brigid lamented. “It’s never the first person you ask, is it?” She silently shook her head.
“No,” Holly sighed. “It would have made things easier if it had been, though. After that we headed over to Fiona’s. She’s getting big fast, but I’ll tell you the baby stuff in a bit. Anyway, she knew both of the other two, but could only help me get in contact with one of them. Her name is Jodi Jenkins, and she’s a regular at the book club meetings.”
“I assume that means you’re going to go to the book club meeting tomorrow night and see if you can talk to her, right?” Brigid asked. Linc had moved farther away from them, so he could order their dinner. They could barely hear him talking in the distance.
“That’s my plan. Fiona said she’d eventually figure out where she’d seen the other woman. Her name is Leslie Cole,” Holly explained. “Both of the women were bookstore regulars, but that doesn’t help me get in contact with Leslie.”
“I understand what you’re saying,” Brigid said. “This may be a small town, but it’s still big enough. Well, with any luck it will soon be resolved, and you can have it over and done with. Although, if you’re like me, you probably kind of like the investigating part.”
She gave Holly a wink and a smile. Brigid loved investigating about as much as she loved her job as an editor. And sometimes Holly wasn’t so sure she didn’t like it just a little bit more, but Brigid would never admit to that.
“Dinner will be here in twenty minutes,” Linc said as he returned to his recliner chair. “Want me to start the movie now or wait?”
“Let’s wait until dinner gets here,” Brigid said as she grabbed his hand when he walked by. She gave it a slight squeeze before they exchanged a smile. Seeing the two of them like that always warmed Holly’s heart. It was so cute and sweet to watch them. She thought the most romantic parts were when they did the smallest of things for each other.
Brigid turned back to Holly, “I’ll bet Fiona will figure out where you can find the other woman by tomorrow night. She’s been a bit more absent-minded than usual, but I’m sure it will come to her.”
“What are we talking about?” Linc asked, suddenly not focused on food anymore.
“Holly’s been doing a small investigation,” Brigid replied. “Although I think it’s gotten to be a little bigger than she expected.”
“That’s for sure,” Holly said as she raised her eyebrows. “But we’re getting there.”
“Well, good luck,” Linc said. “I’m sure you’ll get it all figured out. You have a great coach in your corner to help you.” He cast a loving glance toward Brigid who returned it.
“Yeah. Sometimes I think I may be a little crazy to have gotten involved in this one, but something keeps urging me to keep going. And last night I even dreamed about my mom. She was encouraging me to keep trying,” Holly explained.
“Wow, that’s kind of neat,” Linc said. “Do you think it was really her?”
“What do you mean?” Holly asked. “Like she visited me in my sleep?”
“Well, yeah,” Linc said. “You’ve never heard about that?” Holly shook her head, so Linc continued. “They say if you have a dream with a loved one in it who has passed on and it feels almost real, it might be. There have been people who have these dreams where their loved ones come and tell them things that turn out to be true. Usually they describe the dream as feeling very real.”
“It did kind of seem real,” Holly admitted. “Like I forgot for a little while that she was gone, but at the same time, part of me still knew. It’s hard to describe.” She shook her head, feeling as though she were talking in circles and not making any sense at all.
“I think I get it,” Linc said nodding. “I’ve had a dream like that before. What was she saying?”
“It was so quick,” Holly began. “We were sitting in the pews at the church. Instead of being in the back where we always liked to sit, I was in the front row. She wasn’t there at first. I was sitting there for no real reason, just looking around as if I was waiting for someone. That’s when she appeared right next to me. She didn’t scare me though. It was as if she’d been sitting there the whole time, even though I know she wasn’t.
“She looked happy and healthy. Not thin and pale, like I would have thought she would have looked. Anyway, I was so overwhelmed I just grabbed her and hugged her. All my anger was gone, and I was so grateful to see her. She told me not to give up. That there’s a reason I found those pills and that someone out there needs me.” Holly took a moment to explain to Linc about the pills and why she felt compelled to try to find the person who left them in the coat.
“That’s a big-hearted thing for you to do, and risky too. I agree with your mom. There’s a very real possibility someone out there needs you. Just be careful. I don’t know what I’d do if anything happened to you,” Linc said seriously.
“I’m being careful. I promise,” she said with a smile. “I won’t do anything stupid.”
“That’s all we ask,” Brigid said as she reached across the couch. She took Holly’s hand and squeezed it like she had Linc’s, making Holly’s heart feel as if it had swelled up and was about to burst. “That reminds me,” Brigid began. “Linc and I were talking while we were on our honeymoon…”
A knock on the door startled everyone and made Jett jump to his feet, barking loudly. Brigid was trying to shush Jett while Lucky began his small yappy bark in support. Holly did her best to get him to be quiet, but as soon as Jett let out one of his loud barks, Lucky seemed compelled to join in.
Meanwhile, during all the commotion, Linc was at the door trying to pay for the food that had been delivered. When he was finally able to shut the door, the dogs calmed down. Wh
atever threat they thought there had been, it seemed that everything was all right now.
“Why is it that Jett only barks when there’s a delivery person?” Linc asked as he carried the food to the kitchen counter. “I don’t think he barks at all when we have visitors. It’s just when we have food or a package being delivered.”
“It’s probably because Jett doesn’t bark at people he knows. I don’t know how, but it’s like he has a sixth sense about it or something,” Brigid said as she went to the kitchen to get plates for them. “Maybe he can tell who it is before we even open the door.”
“Well, I guess that’s a good thing,” Linc sighed as she returned.
Everyone forgot the chaos they’d been talking about while they got their dinners organized. Before long they’d filled their plates and sat down to watch the movie together.
CHAPTER 15
“Well, how do you like it?” Fiona asked Holly as she pointed out the display she’d made for Holly’s first book recommendation. She’d placed it on the table closest to the counter where the cash register was located, ensuring that everyone would see it. There, on a platform above all the rest of the books, was Holly’s latest favorite and a little sign that said exactly that, with a stack of the books next to it, so people could easily buy one if they were inclined to do so.
“I love it,” Holly said, grinning from ear to ear. Seeing the little display in person made her heart swell so much she thought she might cry. She reached out and gently touched the handmade sign that Fiona had painted. It was one thing for Fiona to suggest that Holly have her own little place in the store, but it was completely different to actually see it in person.
“If you don’t like the sign, you can make your own,” Fiona said as she started moving chairs around. “I just did what came to me.”
“No, it’s perfect,” Holly insisted. “I’m really speechless.” The dark blue background with the little white stars surrounding the words made her smile.
Holly Lewis Mystery series Box Set Page 21