“What?” Chief Andrews’ eyes nearly bugged out of his head for a second, then annoyance spread over his face. “Very funny.”
“I mean, really, Chief.”
“What happened after that?” Nora asked. “Did you come straight home?”
“I had a coffee at their place, then walked back home,” Lucas said. “I fell asleep soon after. Jacob and Grace were still up with Uncle Finley and Mom in the library. They were playing cards, I think.”
“So you didn’t see anybody locking up?” Chief Andrews asked.
“No, but Jacob said he did, right?” Lucas stared at Chief Andrews. “Why? What’s the point of all these questions?”
Chief Andrews shrugged. “Nothing, really. I suppose I’m just trying to get a holistic view of the situation. So far, it seems like Ramona and Sophia were back home by twelve and that you were back home and fast asleep a little later. Nora and Harvey went to bed much earlier, as did Kaylee. Eugenie and Dave stayed awake a little longer, but then went off to bed. Grace, Finley and Viola all went upstairs together to their individual rooms at about quarter to one, while Jacob stayed downstairs and locked up. Bobby Black left the diner at around 1am. Two hours later, he was dead.”
“It’s not true, though,” Lucas said. “Not the way you said. Uncle Finley didn’t fall asleep. He went out somewhere, and didn’t come home until much later.”
“Ah, yes.” Chief Andrews tapped his chin.
“So? Don’t you see he has the weakest alibi?”
“Actually, I’ve talked to him and he has the strongest alibi,” Chief Andrews said. “I’m not going to divulge any more, that’s up to him, really. But I’m satisfied with his explanation of where he was.”
“This is bull!” Lucas exclaimed. “You’re just defending him because you’re buddies.”
Chief Andrews raised an eyebrow. “Really? And you’re not just defending Jacob because he’s your brother, I suppose?”
“Wh—Th—there’s nothing to defend him from,” Lucas stammered. “Jacob didn’t do anything.”
“I didn’t say he did.” Chief Andrews tapped his chin again. “But, let’s just say I’m keeping an open mind right now. Good day, folks.”
“Chief Andrews, please wait…” Nora hesitated. “My daughter is planning to marry this man. Are you really saying you suspect him of…something?”
Chief Andrews shook his head. “Look, investigations take time and—”
“If he’s under suspicion, I won’t…” Nora bit off her words. What could she do, exactly? She couldn’t march up to Grace and forbid her from marrying Jacob. For one thing, they really didn’t know if he was involved. For another, until they had concrete proof, Grace — ever loyal Grace — would defy the world and stick by him. But as for Nora, until Jacob had been completely cleared of any involvement, she couldn’t bear the thought of Grace being anywhere near him. It was unfair, she knew. After all, she herself had been a suspect in a murder case years ago. So had Harvey. There was every chance that Jacob was innocent. But her maternal instinct, ever protective, was screaming at her to grab Grace and run as far away from this whole mess as possible. The Giordano family could handle themselves. Why did the Nathaniels have to get involved?
“We’ll let you know as soon as any new information comes to light,” Chief Andrews said, getting into his car.
“Wait.” Nora hesitated. Normally, she would never have done this. She would have respected a promise asked of her. But Grace. Nora had to protect Grace. “Lucas has something to tell you. Something he saw in the woods yesterday.”
Lucas stared at her, his face red. “No!” he shouted.
Instantly alert, Chief Andrews stared at him. He got out of the car.
“Tell him, Lucas, or I will,” Nora said. “I don’t care about what you owe Jacob. I need the police to have every single bit of information they need.”
“It was nothing. She’s just a silly old woman.” Lucas started trying to back away, but Chief Andrews caught his arm.
“You should come down to the station with me,” Chief Andrews said. “We need to talk.”
“Gimme an hour, okay?” Lucas said. “I just need to—”
“Now,” Chief Andrews said. “This is not a request.”
As she watched the car back out of the drive, Nora wondered what would happen now. Had she done the right thing? Part of her thought she had. The other part wondered if Lucas, and maybe even Grace, would ever forgive her.
*****
Chapter 16
Interlude
Nora walked into the house to find a scene of confusion. Grace, Viola and Jacob were looking on as Eugenie walked in tight circles on the carpet, a phone pressed to her ears.
“I see. Ok. Uh-huh. I understand,” she was saying. “I’m calling Miller right now, Lucas. You know your rights, you stay silent. Ok? I’ll handle it. No, don’t worry. I’ll be right down there.”
“What’s going on?” Nora asked.
“It’s Lucas. He’s in Chief Andrews’ car. He said the Chief’s taking him down to the station for questioning,” Eugenie said and grabbed her coat and her car keys.
Her husband Dave was on the couch with a handful of chips halfway to his face. He dumped them back into the bag and stood up. “Are you going down there, too?”
“Yes,” confirmed Eugenie.
“I’ll drive,” Dave said, and caught the keys in mid-air as she tossed them to him.
“I’m coming, too,” Viola said. “I just don’t understand it. Lucas was fast asleep when all this happened. Chief Andrews knows that. How can he suspect—”
“We don’t know anything yet, Viola. Lucas could only talk to me for two minutes before hanging up.” Eugenie had her phone pressed against her ear again. “Miller? Yes, hi. I need you down at the police station. My nephew’s been taken in for questioning and needs a lawyer there, I think. Would you…yes. Yes. No, not Jacob. Lucas, the younger one. Thank you. Thank you so much! We’re on our way, too.”
“Look, if everyone could just calm down—” Nora said.
“No.” Eugenie’s cheeks were red and her hair was flying behind her. “I always liked Chief Andrews but I just don’t know his game this time. Why won’t he call this whole thing an accident like it so clearly is? Instead, he’s determined to call it a murder so he can make a big to-do about it. Well, he must not realize who he’s dealing with. Anybody who harasses my family is going to feel my wrath.”
“I agree with Nora,” Dave said. “Keep a cool head, Eugenie.”
“Oh, I have. So far.”
“Look, if it helps, I know for a fact that Lucas hasn’t been taken down there because Chief Andrews suspects him of murder,” Nora said. “Far from it. He’s down there because Chief Andrews thinks — knows — that Lucas has a piece of evidence he isn’t revealing to shield someone else.”
“What?” Eugenie looked confused. “That makes no sense whatsoever. Why would Lucas withhold evidence? Ridiculous.”
“Either way, our best bet is to get down there and find out what’s going on,” Jacob said. “I’ll take my car, too.”
“I’m coming, too,” Viola said then paused, looking stricken. “But Kaylee, she’ll be back from school any second now. And lunch—”
“I’ll handle that.” Grace stepped up and put her hands on Viola’s shoulders. “I’ll take care of Kaylee, don’t you folks worry. All of you go down to the station, sort this out and, hopefully, we’ll be gathered around the table again soon enjoying a good meal with no worries.”
“Thanks, babe.” Jacob pecked Grace on the cheek. “I really appreciate it. Come on, Mom. No time to waste.” Jacob was halfway out the door.
Ten seconds later, the house was silent except for the screech of tires out in the driveway.
Grace sank down on a chair and sighed. “This is crazy. All of it. Chief Andrews thinks it’s a murder now, Mom. He isn’t going to announce it to the press but—”
“I know, sweetheart. He told me,” Nora s
aid. “Listen—”
“Dad went home, by the way,” Grace said. “Something came up at the office so he had call a taxi and go deal with it. Uncle Finley is out somewhere, too. So it’s just you and me right now.”
“Good.” Nora sat down next to Grace. “Sweetheart, I want you to hear this from me because, otherwise…” Nora took a breath.
“Hear what, Mom?”
“It’s...” Nora hesitated. She wanted to tell Grace about Jacob and about the fact that Chief Andrews suspected him. But she just couldn’t get the words out. She felt exhausted, like someone had dipped her in ice water and then hung her out to dry.
“Mom?” Grace sounded worried.
The door flew open and little Kaylee stepped in, a pink backpack with ponies on it dangling from one shoulder. She looked around the house, confused. “Hey, Aunt Grace. Where is everybody? The bus just dropped me and I saw the cars racing away.”
“Oh…they had to run some errands, honey.” Grace jumped up. “So do we. Will you help us cook lunch?”
“Cook?” Kaylee looked uncertain. “Grandma never allows me to cook. She says I’m too young.”
“Well, we’ll be there to help you.” Grace smiled. “And you’re not too young. I’ve been helping my mom cook since I was five!”
“Really?”
“Sure! Come on, want to help me make pie?”
“Oh yeah!” Kaylee tossed her bag on the couch.
“Go wash your hands and I’ll take out all the stuff,” Grace said.
“I’ll come with you.” Nora tried to follow her, but Grace held up a hand.
“Uh-uh. You stay here. Or, better yet, go upstairs and take a nap. You look really stressed and tired, Mom. This whole incident is clearly getting to you. I want you to relax, okay?”
Nora’s lip quivered a little. “I’m the parent, Grace. I’m the one who’s supposed to be taking care of you. Not the other way around.”
“I’m an adult, Mom. Your parenting duties are done!” Grace laughed.
“They’re never done.” Nora followed Grace into the kitchen anyway and put on an apron with “I don’t wanna Taco about it!” printed on it.
Grace laughed. “Alright. Let’s see what we have in here...” She poked her head into the fridge and rummaged around then said, “What should we do with the leftover turkey, Mom? Make sandwiches?”
“Pie,” Nora said. She looked into the fridge, too. “We can make turkey pot pie.”
“Ha. Won’t it be a bit too much pie? I was planning on baking another apple pie for dessert.”
“When you’re my age, sweetheart, you’ll find that life’s taught you a few things. For example, You Can Never Have Too Much Pie!”
“I’ll bow to your wisdom, then.” Grace grinned.
“Hey! Don’t start without me!” Kaylee rushed back in, her face shining.
*****
Like any experienced cook, after years of working in her own space, Nora felt out of sorts in this new kitchen. Back at home, she had an easy rhythm about her as she moved around grabbing ingredients from cupboards and banging on pots and pans. Here, from the shape of the sink and the positioning of the cabinets to the lack of counter space, everything felt awkward. Still, in ten minutes, just being in a warm kitchen with the oven pre-heating and a pot on the stove felt like a welcome respite after all the madness that had preceded it.
After washing their hands, Kaylee helped Grace chop up the apples as Nora melted butter in a saucepan and began stirring in onions, mushrooms and garlic. When the mixture had become tender, she stirred in flour, sage and thyme until they were blended. After this, she poured in the leftover gravy, added water and some whole milk, stirring to blend. She waited until it all came to a boil before adding in the roughly-chopped leftover turkey and some carrots and peas. While the mixture boiled, she smiled up at Grace and Kaylee, who had now moved on to rolling out the dough.
The two were covered in flour and giggling together, occasionally playing pranks on each other. Nora felt her heart tighten as she watched. Somehow, she found herself flashing back to another day, years ago. Hazel had been going through her “terrible twos”, and Grace had just entered first grade. She was talking Nora’s ears off as she rolled the dough a little too thin, standing on a chair so that she could see over the counter.
Nora hadn’t even known that particular memory was still with her, but now she could see everything as though it had been preserved in a photo album. Hazel had been hugging her one-eyed teddy bear and Grace, wearing a navy blue dress, had giggled in delight as she used a cookie cutter on the dough.
“Think it’s time to take that off the stove now, Mom?” Grace asked.
Nora blinked. “Huh? Oh. Yes.”
Kaylee helped drape the bottom crust onto the pan and Nora poured the turkey mixture onto it. After this, both she and Grace stepped aside slightly and let Kaylee create a lattice-crust on top, criss-crossing strips of dough over the pan. When it was done and the pan was inside the oven, Kaylee stared at it, her face aglow.
“I did that! Did you see, Aunt Grace? It’s bubbling now!”
“Yep. Now let’s do the same thing for our apple pie!” Grace exclaimed. They began preparing the pie, wanting it ready to pop into the oven as soon as the other one came out.
Nora, meanwhile, was feeling her stomach grumble.
“We’ll leave the pot pie for the others, I think,” Nora said. “It won’t feed us all.”
“Aw, won’t I even get a bite?” Kaylee looked crestfallen.
“Of course, you will, muffin.” Grace pressed her finger on Kaylee’s upturned nose. “But Mom’s just going to rustle up something first so we aren’t as hungry as zombies by the time the others get home.”
“Cool! What will she make?” Kaylee asked.
Nora looked into the fridge again. There was just enough of her mashed potatoes leftover that she could make a dish Grace loved.
“We’re going to make something your Aunt Grace used to eat all the time as a kid,” Nora explained to Kaylee. “In fact, she even took them to school in her lunch bag sometimes.”
“Can I help?”
“That’s why I said ‘we’!” Nora confirmed. “Can you guess what it is Grace?” She took the container of mashed potatoes out of the fridge and placed it on the counter-top, and Grace threw back her head and laughed.
“Oh, gosh. I’d forgotten how much I loved these. You’re making potato patties, right?”
“That’s right! Now let’s see what else is in the fridge...” Nora paused. “Kaylee, do you like cheese?”
“Who doesn’t?!”
“Great. Let’s get started. First, we’ll dump this shredded cheese into the mashed potatoes. We’ll add some spinach in, too, so we don’t feel too unhealthy.” Nora winked. “Ok, now use your hands and really mix them up. Go crazy!”
“Really? My hands?!” Kaylee laughed. “But I’ll make a mess!”
“That’s ok. We’ll clean it up later. Go on, be as rough as you like!”
Delighted, Kaylee smooshed the ingredients together for a few minutes, laughing like a maniac all the while. After she was done, Nora taught her how to make potato patties in the frying pan. Ten minutes later, they were all at the table, enjoying the patties together.
“I needed this.” Grace sighed, as she poured a generous amount of ketchup onto her patties.
Nora wrinkled her nose. “All that extra sodium?”
Grace stuck her tongue out. “Peace and quiet. I feel like—” She cut herself off, eyeing Kaylee. “Things have been a mess, that’s all.”
“You mean because of Bobby Black?” Kaylee asked, still shoving patties into her mouth.
“Say what now?” Grace blinked. “You know about him?”
“Everyone at school is talking about it,” Kaylee said. “I heard my teacher tell my other teacher that he was murdered.”
Grace’s face clouded over.
“I knew him, you know,” Kaylee said.
“They…
what?”
“He was teaching a dance class in our school, but then people found out he was in jail, so they fired him,” Kaylee explained.
“Oh. Wow.” Nora whistled.
“That’s…” Grace shook her head. “Kaylee, sweetheart, you never talked to him, did you?”
Kaylee’s eyes shifted sideways. “No,” she said.
“Come on, Kaylee.” Grace’s sharp eyes caught her deception. “Tell the truth.”
“I didn’t exactly talk to him myself,” Kaylee said. “But one time, Aunt Ramona was dropping me off at school and I think Bobby Black was flirting with her.”
“What?!”
“They seemed to like each other,” Kaylee said. “Aunt Ramona told him she would see him at dance class later. Bobby asked if I was her daughter and Ramona just laughed and said, ‘not a chance’.” Kaylee looked hurt. “I don’t think Aunt Ramona likes me, you know.”
Grace’s lips pressed together. “Why don’t you think Aunt Ramona likes you?”
“Well, she pretends to, but I don’t think she actually does,” Kaylee said. “Not like you, Aunt Grace. My grandma likes Ramona but I’m glad Uncle Jacob chose you.”
Before Grace could reply to this, the door was pushed open and the Jacob’s family walked in with Lucas leading the pack. He glared at Nora, contempt written on his face. Grace, not noticing, jumped up happily.
“Hello!” Grace jumped up and said. “We’re so glad you’re back! We were so worried. What did Chief Andrews…you know what…no. We can talk about that later. Right now, you all must be hungry. We made turkey pot pie.”
“I made the crust!” Kaylee exclaimed. “Aunt Nora said there may not be enough for everybody but I want a slice! Pleeeeaaase?”
“Grace.” Jacob stepped forward, his face serious. “I need to talk to you. Alone.”
“What is it?” Grace looked worried.
“Come on.” Jacob cocked his head to the door. “Let’s go for a walk.”
“Wait!” Nora sprang up, suddenly realizing she’d never gotten a chance to tell Grace about Jacob.
The Milburn Big Box Set Page 135