Her Hometown Detective

by Elizabeth Mowers

  “Were you out riding with that woman?” CeCe asked, pecking her words like an angry hen.

  “That woman?”

  “You know who I mean.”

  “I don’t.” He did.

  “Faith Talbert.”

  “I don’t know a Faith Talbert.”

  CeCe scoffed. “Don’t get smart with me, Detective. I’ve been around long enough to know when people are being cheeky. I’ve also been around long enough to sniff out a woman who is angling to get her hooks into a man. That’s exactly what Faith Fitzpatrick—” she puckered her face “—is doing with you.”

  “Mrs. Takes—”

  “CeCe. Good heavens. You know that.”

  “I appreciate your candor. I’ll watch for... What did you call it? Angling?”

  “Good man,” CeCe said, patting him approvingly on the arm like a trainer rewarding a prized pup. “But that wasn’t quite what I wanted to talk to you about. I asked Angelo to keep you at the shop this morning until I returned, but he said you got called away.”

  Tully kept his face blank to keep from agreeing with Angelo’s lie, although he appreciated Angelo’s spin.

  As they reached the sports shop, he saw Mara watching them from behind the front window.

  “Now,” CeCe continued. “Word on the street is that Faith has been speaking to the shop owners who have had their stores vandalized. It’s curious that she never showed up to speak to me about anything. I don’t have to tell you what that means.”

  Tully knew it meant that Faith didn’t care what CeCe had to say about the vandalism or life in general.

  “No. What?”

  “She’s trying to intimidate the owners. She didn’t come around my shop because she knows I’m a woman who can’t be bullied. No one muscles me, Detective. No one.”

  “I’ll keep that in mind.”

  “And keep this in mind too. I know how women like her think. I can tell what they’re going to do before they do it.”

  “Okay...”

  “She’s vandalized several stores on this street—”

  “Allegedly, according to you.”

  “But most likely,” CeCe said, powering on. “She comes from a family who made their fortune swindling the people in this town—”

  “Only her father did that and Faith wasn’t even out of high school when he was caught.”

  CeCe leaned in. “Mark told me that he let Faith sign a month-by-month lease on her shop. He said it was better than nothing and wanted it occupied for the tourist season. If something happens to that shop, and she collects an insurance payment on it, she can skip town financially ahead of the game.”

  “It wouldn’t really be worth it, Mrs. Takes. Think about what you’re saying. It would mean that Faith is so deceitful that she moved here, pretended to open up a motorcycle shop and then lied about wanting a life here just to scam a few bucks.”

  “It could be more than a few bucks. At least it might have been if she didn’t know I was onto her. Look at her shop. Aside from a painting on the front window and a tool chest and cleaning supplies in there, what else has she invested in the place? She’s not going bankrupt fixing it up, if you know what I mean.”

  “Which means she wouldn’t have anything of value to claim from insurance.”

  “No? Didn’t I see you pull up on a new motorcycle? It wasn’t yours, was it? I’m telling you, she’s using these break-ins to set the stage.”

  Tully widened his gait, mulling CeCe’s words over. Claim her motorcycles as stolen in order to collect? That was a giant hop, skip and leap from breaking a window or spray painting a few walls, and it wasn’t Faith. That wasn’t the Faith he’d seen that afternoon. A woman hell-bent on fooling him wouldn’t have kissed with the conviction she had or leaned in to listen about the troubles with his dad the way she had. She wouldn’t have insisted on coming to see his dad with him and waited so patiently as he helped his dad fix the shack. He had to believe she wasn’t pulling the wool over his eyes but opening him up to a new possibility. The one where he entertained a relationship that lasted long enough for him to start caring for once.

  Tully said, “I can tell you’ve given this a lot of thought.”

  “More than that. I’ll even do you one better. She’s set the stage not only with the break-ins but with—pardon me for saying so—but with you, Detective.”

  “Angling...hooks in me...got it.”

  CeCe huffed. “She’s vandalized a few shops, played up pretty to you, and what’s coming next is so obvious.”

  “Is it?”

  “Mark my words. The next shop she’ll target will be her own.”

  “Excuse me?”

  “It’s smart, isn’t it? She’ll throw suspicion off her by playing one of the victims. It’s like in those hostage negotiations when one of the kidnappers pretends to be a hostage, then flees from the building with his hands in the air. She’ll be laughing all along to the next poor, unsuspecting town before anyone even realizes they’ve been hoodwinked.”

  Mara pushed open the door and smiled brightly.

  “There you are, Tully. I was about to send out a search party. I’m getting ready to take off and can give you a lift to the house...”

  “I’ll let you go,” CeCe said. She twinkled her fingers at Mara in a friendly wave before cocking a finger at Tully. “Think about what I’ve said. The logic is sound.”

  “Thank you, Mrs. Takes.”

  CeCe scurried back to The Sandwich Board, pausing to peek into Faith’s store before continuing.

  “What was that all about?” Mara asked.

  “I wish I knew.” The problem was he did know. Faith had said she felt like some people in this town were looking at her like she was a criminal, and CeCe was a prime example. She really wouldn’t be able to get a fresh start in Roseley if everyone else looked to the past to determine the future. Her future. He wished there was something more he could do about that.

  * * *

  FAITH AND BONNIE drove to Uncle Gus’s house, a grocery bag of Bonnie’s snacks in tow. She wanted to have more time with her friend, but Bonnie was eager to grab dinner and have a quick chat before making her bus. Bonnie was nothing if not efficient. She’d sleep on the bus all night and be ready to celebrate the holiday back home.

  Bonnie had helped Faith finish up last-minute details at the shop before Caroline had called, luring them back to the house with a home-cooked meal. Faith had been so busy, her mind and body moving in double time, it wasn’t until Caroline mentioned food that she realized she was starving. There had still been things to do when she’d locked up the shop, things she should have done instead of flitting off for a motorcycle ride with Tully, but she didn’t care. The time spent with him had been well worth it.

  Bonnie shouted over the roar the wind made through the truck’s open windows as Faith steered them to Uncle Gus’s house, but she only half listened. In fifteen hours, she’d be riding in the Fourth of July parade, opening her shop for business and, if fate was kind, seeing Tully again.

  When they got onto Uncle Gus’s street, Trig pulled out of the driveway. He gave a wave to acknowledge them before heading in the opposite direction.

  “Is that your cousin Trig?” Bonnie asked. She had always been good at listening to Faith’s stories and descriptions of her family, recalling details months later. Bonnie had never met either of the cousins, but she knew of them.

  “That’s him.”

  “I thought he lived in Detroit.”

  “He scheduled his vacation so he could come support me.”

  “Your uncle has a full house, then.”

  “And I know he prefers that. After he and my aunt Helen divorced, he never quite figured out how to take care of the place himself. I know he appreciates Caroline doing it while he’s gone, but I’m itching to move out.”

 
“Let’s hope paying customers stampede your shop tomorrow.”

  “From your lips to buyers’ ears.” Faith parked and led Bonnie into the house. Bonnie slung the bag of snacks up on the kitchen counter.

  “Where’s your Uncle Gus now?”

  “Fishing.” Bonnie checked her watch as Caroline sauntered in from the backyard carrying a plate of barbecue chicken and roasted corn on the cob.

  “When will he be back?”

  Caroline answered, “September. He can’t stand the tourists this time of year. He’ll stop home for a few days to check in on us, then he’ll be off to his other favorite camp in Canada for hunting season.”

  “My dad was like that,” Bonnie said. “My brothers too. We all liked our space. My husband, Paul, on the other hand, could carry on a conversation with an exhaust pipe as long as it puttered away with nonverbal encouragement of sorts. I guess that’s how the two of us stayed happily married for so long. Well...more or less happy, God rest his soul.” Bonnie’s eyes misted before she sniffed. “You must be Caroline. I’ve heard a lot of good things about you.”

  “I’ve heard wonderful things about you as well. Faith says you helped her get through her...” She winced an apology.

  “Divorce,” Bonnie said. “No use tiptoeing around it. Divorce is a happy word, huh, Faith? It was the bolt cutter setting you free from that rusty bucket of chains.”

  Faith pulled out dinner plates as Caroline poured them each a glass of sweet tea. Her friend certainly had a way with words.

  “You shouldn’t have gotten married in the first place,” Bonnie continued. “Luckily, it didn’t take you long to realize it. Kyle was as respectable as a bottom feeder in a cesspool, and I was happy to help you wade a path out of the deep end.”

  “Hear, hear!” Caroline said, passing them each a glass. The women clanked a toast and each took a sip of her tea.

  “He’s been calling all week,” Faith said. “Texting too.”

  Bonnie harrumphed. “He knows you’re on to bigger and better things. It aggravates him like a jagged pebble in his shoe.”

  “What does he want?” Caroline asked.

  “I don’t answer the phone so I couldn’t tell you.”

  “He wants to insert himself into your success!”

  Caroline raised her brows at Bonnie’s declaration, then broke into a laugh.

  “Tell us what you really think, Bonnie.”

  “Bonnie has been psychoanalyzing Kyle and me for a long time,” Faith explained. “She says it’s no wonder I married him, considering the upbringing I had.”

  “But that season of life is over, Faith,” Bonnie said, like a motivational speaker inspiring a crowd. “You had some insecurities when I first met you—”

  “That’s putting it mildly, Bon.”

  “And Kyle exacerbated those. But no longer.”

  “Yeah, I’d say his cheating and making no effort to quit is a good example.” Faith managed a laugh, though it was anything but funny. When she’d first suspected Kyle was seeing other women, a sickening feeling had filled her gut, like barbed wire twisting. Whenever she thought about Kyle’s indiscretions, that wire tensed and twisted again. She figured that the only way to expel it was to remove Kyle from her life for good.

  “That was a big one, but there were little daily examples too,” Bonnie said. “Like horseflies stinging you every time you left the house.”

  Faith had appreciated Bonnie’s support over the years since she hadn’t had a lot of places to turn to for help. When she looked back at who she’d been, she couldn’t blame herself for making a mistake in love. If she’d hadn’t had Bonnie to speak some loving truth into her...

  “Here’s to not seeing him again,” Bonnie declared, taking another swig of her drink.

  “Speaking of seeing someone again...” Caroline began and leaned against the counter like it was a locker and she was ready for cliquey gossip.

  She nodded at Faith, and Faith smirked at her from over her glass, secretly bursting to share her news. She whispered excitedly to Bonnie, “I met someone.” The thrill in her voice made Bonnie shimmy her shoulders in a tease.

  “Is it that fella you were ogling before?”

  “I wasn’t ogling anyone.”

  “Honey, your eyeballs would have leaped from their sockets if they weren’t fastened in. I could have given myself whiplash from watching you stare at him, then look away whenever he glanced in your direction. Back and forth, back and forth.”

  Faith and Caroline laughed, making Bonnie nod knowingly.

  “Please tell me what’s wrong with him because a man as handsome as that should not go walking around in public without a permit.”

  “He’s a police detective.” Faith beamed.

  “He serves and protects too? Heaven help you.”

  Faith chuckled, appreciating it for the escape it was. It wasn’t often she felt this excited about something.

  “He’s honorable and kind and—” Faith threw her head back, forcing the last word out with a cry “—good.”

  “She had the biggest crush on him in high school,” Caroline supplied. “As you can see, her feelings have only magnified.”

  Bonnie harrumphed. “Can you blame her? You can’t fix a man who ain’t good. Believe me. I’ve seen a lot of friends try and fail. Good will keep you warm during the cold times. And, Faith, you deserve some good.”

  Faith ran a fingertip around the rim of her glass, a thoughtful whimsy overcoming her. As Bonnie and Caroline fixed their plates and scraped back chairs from the kitchen table, she thought of all that had transpired this week and all of the hopeful things that beckoned from the horizon. She had wanted to be a business owner by the time she’d completed technical school and now she was taking a calculated risk to make that dream happen. And after the afternoon she’d shared with John—

  “Earth to Faith,” Bonnie said, before turning to Caroline. “She’s daydreaming about Detective Be Good.”

  Faith fixed herself a plate and joined them at the table. Preparing to open her shop played a close second to what had transpired with John that afternoon. Finding success as a small-business owner would fill a part of her identity she’d always known she’d needed and craved. If John McTully wanted to be a part of her life, her romantic life, her forever life, she hoped the hole in her heart could begin to heal too.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  TULLY ROSE WITH the sun, but his mind had been awake much earlier. He’d stayed late at Mara and Peter’s house and let the others do most of the talking. Samantha loved carrying most conversations, and as she had returned from Cape Town, she had plenty of stories to hold her audience captive. They’d grilled and eaten and listened to stories of Samantha’s adventures in Africa until the nightshade of ink chased the sun below the horizon.

  Tully had dropped his sister at her apartment after solidifying plans to meet the next morning. Then he’d taken the long way back to his house, watching fireworks some locals fired off from their backyards. He had cruised slowly around Lakeshore Drive, determining that the fireworks were coming from the Garners’ lakefront property at lot 99.

  Mr. and Mrs. Garner had had five children of their own while fostering several others over the years. As kids, he and Charlie and Samantha had sought out the Garners’ yard for long games of hide-and-go-seek. As teenagers, the Garner kids had thrown the best parties when Mr. and Mrs. Garner were out of town. A couple of the Garner kids had married and had children of their own, growing the clan to lake-wide fame. If the rest of the bunch finally settled down and started having children, Little Lake Roseley might not be big enough for all of them.

  Tully had loved the days spent at the Garners’ house. Mrs. Garner would put out a spread of food so the children could graze, darting to snag a hot dog or handful of grapes before returning to play. By late evening, when all the children were f
ilthy and stinking of sweat, fish and bug spray, Mr. Garner would pull out the garden hose and call everyone in for a shower. Tully and Charlie had raced alongside the Garner children like two more puppies in the rambunctious litter. They’d taken their turns, squirming and laughing as Mr. Garner hosed them down, before waving good-night and riding their bikes home.

  Tully had arrived home, smiling at the few childhood memories he enjoyed revisiting. Sleepy but unable to sleep, he lay on his bed, staring at the ceiling and recalling every detail of his motorcycle ride with Faith. It was unlike him to put emotion ahead of duty. The people in town thought of him as responsible, reliable and level-headed, and it was because he was—until, perhaps, now.

  His first stumble had been agreeing to go on a motorcycle ride with Faith in the first place. If anyone had spotted the two of them out of town together, tongues would start wagging faster than Duke’s did over bacon strips. Tully would have had a hard time justifying his actions to anyone, but he had the hardest time justifying it to himself. Faith was an unofficial suspect, sure, but practicing caution where she was concerned would have been wise.

  His second stumble had been into her kiss, though the positioning had been a lot smoother than that. He didn’t mind replaying it all in the hours since it had happened, but his lack of caution would make things convoluted when they shouldn’t be. She’d think he was interested in her and wanted her—and didn’t he?