“How about Tipsy McQue’s?” Katie wondered.
“If you’re gonna stay around here, you gotta call it Tipsy’s. Otherwise, you sound like a tourist.”
“Good tip. What do you think? Are they hiring? I used to work for a catering business years ago. I know how to serve food.”
Craig, always blunt, asked, “But can you deal with half-drunk men?”
Katie scoffed, “I think you’d be surprised. I can handle myself.”
“I bet she can,” Jarrod said, and Thad nodded in agreement. The three men talked and argued among themselves.
“I still say she should go to the resort.”
“She says she used to be a server. How ‘bout the Rotisserie, up by the highway?”
Tom touched her arm. “I’m not sure whatcha got in mind, but there are a few rentals in town.” He led her away from the group, walking toward a bulletin board tacked up behind the door.
The bell rang, announcing new customers, and a noisy family of five walked inside. The mom held two sets of little hands and sent out instructions. “Look with your eyes, not your hands!” Dad carried a miniature version of himself straddled across his hip.
Tommy pointed Katie toward the board. “There are a few rentals listed there,” he said and turned to greet his newest customers.
Katie squeezed behind the door and began reading. The local church had a food pantry, and she filed the information away, hoping she wouldn’t need to ask for handouts. She cocked her head sideways, reading the ads. She was intrigued by an apartment over the General Store, of all places.
Not aware she was there, Nick Connelly crashed through the door and smashed Katie against the wall.
Katie yelped and put her hands up to shield her face. She bent her head and squeezed her eyes closed, ready to take the blow.
Craig Caruthers had been on enough domestic dispute calls over the years to recognize a woman used to taking a beating. He stood up, ready to help, while the rest of the people in the store stayed in place, their mouths hanging open.
Katie jerked her head around, convinced Jack had found her. It took a long two seconds to realize she was looking at a stranger. Rust-colored hair, taller. Wiry, not muscular. Not Jack. Not Jack.
Nick reached toward Katie. Her eyes were huge, and he
noted they were greener than any he’d ever seen. “Are you okay?
She couldn’t stop herself and flinched. “Sorry. I’m so sorry.”
“Why are you apologizing? I crashed into you.”
Katie’s face turned dark red. Squeezing past Nick, she mumbled, “It’s my fault.” Before he could stop her, she fled toward the cabin, forgetting the truck in her hurry.
Nick stood with his mouth open, and his hand still outstretched to help her. He turned to face the store. “What just happened?”
Katie sat in the corner of the cabin, her hands over her ears. “There was a crooked man, who walked a crooked mile...” It took ten minutes, but she calmed down. I have to go back. There’s no way around it. She walked back to town, took a big breath, and re-entered the store.
Skinny Tom looked up when the bell rang and rushed to her side. “Are you okay?”
“I am. That guy took me by surprise.” Her eyes silently begged him not to pursue the conversation.
“You can say that again,” Skinny Tom said. “We haven’t had that much excitement in years, right boys?” He raised his eyebrows--a silent warning--they’d better not ask a bunch of asinine questions.
Thad chimed in, “That’s for damn sure.”
“Got my heart pumping,” Craig added.
Jarrod harrumphed. “We could use more stimulation, instead of sitting around playing cards.”
Craig smirked as he laid his card on the table, “Rummy!”
Katie gave a small appreciative smile and went back to talking to Skinny Tom, “Is the apartment over this store still available?”
“So, you’re serious about staying?”
All conversation stopped as the old men listened.
“Maybe. If I had a place to live, it would be a start.”
“Well, I can let ya see it,” Skinny Tom said as he pulled out an enormous ring of keys. “It’s been vacant awhile. The Connelly’s rent it out, but they won’t mind if I show it to you.
He reluctantly left Craig in charge of the register and walked Katie through the storeroom to a back entrance and staircase.
“The apartment’s big, about half the size of the store. My office and a storage room are up here too.” He pointed at another door at the top of the wide landing.
“Who was the guy who crashed into me anyway?” Katie asked, changing the subject.
“That’s Nicky. He just moved back from New York. He’s still clipping along at city speed, which is why he crashed through the door instead of walking in like normal folk.” Tom made a big show of jiggling the lock. “Don’t worry about him.”
Katie quietly waited for Tom to open the door. “Wow.” Katie was right on Tom’s heels. “It is big.” A large living room faced the street with two windows, letting in plenty of southern light. “There’s furniture!”
“Well, that can be put in storage. I imagine you’ve got nicer stuff.” Tom patted the old green couch, and a plume of dust rose and danced in the sunlight.
“Actually, I don’t. I’m starting over from scratch.” A well-loved chair, coffee table, and two end tables completed the living room ensemble. Old wood flooring still gleamed here and there.
A thick half-wall with a spacious countertop separated the living area from the kitchen. Katie imagined a couple of stools pushed underneath, eliminating the need for a table. “There’s plenty of cabinets.” Katie trailed her hand along the countertops, picking up dust as she went. There were appliances, which was good. She peeked out the window over the sink and saw an alley below. “Is the alley lit at night?”
“Yeah, it’s lit. The door at the bottom of the stairs has two deadbolts, too. You’d be safe here,” Skinny Tom added.
Katie squeezed his shoulder as she walked through the kitchen. Double doors revealed a deep pantry. She opened and closed the doors twice. “Extra storage. Nice.”
“Yeah, Don added as much as he could.”
Katie entered a good-sized bedroom, pleased to see there was indeed another large closet. The double window here faced east, and she relished the idea of waking to the sun each day. A small second bedroom and full-sized bathroom completed the place. “How much is the rent?”
“I think Don said he was getting four-hundred.”
Katie frowned, already doing the math.
Watching her face, Tom added, “It includes water and trash.”
“Any little bit helps.”
“You’d have to be adding internet.”
“That’s not going to happen for a while. None of it matters if I can’t find a job. I think I’ll go check out Tipsy’s.”
They locked up, and Tom kicked Craig out from behind the counter where he’d been eating a donut. “Go on back to your corner, ya freeloading S.O.B.”
Craig grinned at Katie and licked the icing off his lips.
Katie waved goodbye to the entire store. “Wish me luck!”
As the door shut, the retirees hammered Tom with questions.
“Did she like the apartment?”
“What’s she talking ‘bout?”
“Wish her luck about what?”
“A job,” Tom answered. “She wants to stay here.”
“Where’s she wanting to find a job?” Thad asked.
“Tipsy’s, I think. At least that’s what she said.”
“Well, when will we know?” Craig demanded.
Tom flicked his towel at the lot of them. “Hell, I don’t know. You got nothing but time anyway, old man.”
“Old man, my butt. I’m two years younger than you.”
And with that, the old men were back to arguing and talking over one another.
Chapter 48
Joh
n Giovanni, the lone police officer in town, walked into the General Store and grinned at the raised voices in the corner. “What are you guys arguing about this time?”
“New girl in town,” Thad answered.
“Her name’s Annie. Wants to move here and is looking for a job,” Jarrod clarified.
“I say The Rotisserie is the place to look, but this yahoo,” Craig jabbed a finger at Jarrod, “wants her to go to the resort.”
“We don’t get many new people here. Is that her truck outside?’ Giovanni asked.
Thad answered, “Yep, Dodge Dakota.”
Giovanni walked to the window and wrote down the license plate number. He could hear the old-timers still debating where this Annie should work. If they were interested, he was too.
Katie wandered down the street, trying to calm her nerves. She craved all of it--the apartment, the town, the new life. She found herself entering the Crested Iris. A motion detector chimed, and Maggie poked her head out from the storage room where she’d been stripping thorns off roses.
“Hey, Annie! Be right there.” Maggie came out, removing her gloves, “How you doing?”
“Fine, I guess.”
“Still checking out our Bluff Creek?”
“Yep, all sorts of things, including the apartment over the General Store.”
“This I got to hear.” Maggie pulled Katie toward a stool at the counter. “Coffee?”
Katie grinned and nodded.
Maggie poured two big mugs and added cream without asking. She plopped down beside Katie. “So, you’re thinking of staying?”
“Well,” Katie plucked out her two front pockets, “I’m outta funds. So, here I am.” Katie spread her arms. “I guess we’ll call it fate.”
“Fate or damned good luck. This is a nice town—a good place to start over.” Maggie drifted off, thinking about her son, Nick, and Annie.
“….and, I need to talk to Don about another night.”
Maggie shook her head, embarrassed she’d been daydreaming. “What’d you say?”
“I need to talk to Don about renting the apartment. As of tomorrow, I’m out of places to stay since he’s kicking me out of the cabin.”
Maggie hopped off the stool. “He’ll do no such thing.” She yanked her phone out of her back pocket, ready to give Don a piece of her mind.
Katie laughed and pulled Maggie’s arm back down. “I’m kidding. There’s already another reservation. Maybe it’s just as well. It’s forcing me to choose.” Katie gulped coffee. “I need a job!”
“Yep, you do. Whatcha have in mind?”
“Tipsy’s first and then maybe the resort.” Katie walked her coffee cup back to the sink. “I need to change my clothes and get myself psyched up first.”
Katie drove to the cabin, talking to herself the whole time. ‘God, I hope I’m not making a mistake.”
Freshened up, Katie walked into the restaurant. She waved to Colleen, who was cutting up limes and lemons for the bar.
“Hey! Annie, right?”
Katie didn’t remember sharing her name yesterday. “Yep, and you’re Colleen.”
“You know why blond jokes are so short?”
Katie smiled. “No, why?”
“So brunettes can remember them.” Colleen pointed at her own red shock of hair, “Me on the other hand? I’ve got no such trouble.”
Katie snickered and ordered a Diet Coke.
“No lunch today?”
“Not this time. I’m hoping to talk to your manager.”
“You got complaints already, girl?”
“No. I need a job.”
Colleen considered her more thoroughly. “Ah, thinking of staying.” She nodded twice. “Colin owns the place. Colin McQue.” Colleen let out a shrill whistle, “Colin! Got a girl here wants to see you.”
When Colin stuck his head out of the office, Katie was momentarily taken aback. She’d visualized a barrel-chested, red-haired man to go with the name. This man was easily pushing sixty years old, lean as a pole, and sporting a full head of bright white hair.
“You Annie?” he asked, blue eyes twinkling.
Katie sputtered out her Coke. “How’d you know?”
“My phone’s been ringing for the last hour, wanting me to hire some new girl called Annie.” He ticked off names. “Heard from Maggie, Jarrod, Skinny Tom, and Giovanni.”
“Who’s Giovanni?”
“Police chief. He ran the plates on your truck out there,” Colin pointed out the window. “Appears you’re not on America’s Most Wanted List, and I should hire you. Come on back.”
Katie swallowed around the sudden lump in her throat.
Once in the office, Colin got down to business. “Do you have any experience?”
“I used to work for a catering crew.” She didn’t want to say a restaurant. The news from Savannah was still too fresh.
“So, you can handle the work? We get pretty busy on the weekends.”
“Can’t be any busier than catering for hundreds of people,” Katie said with a smile.
“What’s your schedule like?”
“I’m completely at your disposal. No commitments, no kids, and nothin’ but time.”
“Know any jokes?”
At Katie’s puzzled look, Colin continued. “You gotta be able to swap lies and tell jokes if you’re gonna work here.”
Katie blinked. Just that morning, she’d looked up a few jokes on her phone, hoping to forge a friendship with Colleen. So, she offered the first one that popped to mind, “An amnesiac walks into a bar. He spies a beautiful blond and asks her, ‘Do I come here often?”’
Colin barked out a laugh. “You’ll do. ‘Fraid I don’t have a lot of hours to give you since the season’s over. In fact, they’re all the crap hours.”
“I’ll take them.”
“You don’t know what they are yet.”
“It doesn’t matter. I’ll take them.”
Colin cocked his head at her and repeated, “You’ll do. Be here tomorrow afternoon, one to six. I can give you five dollars an hour, and the tips are yours.”
Katie popped out of the chair. “I’ll be here!” She ran out the door to tell Colleen but then spun back around. “Don’t I have to fill out an application?”
“Let’s try things out a few days. If it’s working, we’ll make it official.”
Katie ran out and then back in again, “What should I wear?”
“Jeans are fine. We’ll supply the shirt.” He studied Katie a second, taking in her lean but firm frame. “Medium?”
She nodded, and Colin laughed. “See ya at one.”
Katie danced her way to the bar. “I got the job!”
Colleen high-fived her and announced, “We got us some help startin’ tomorrow!”
A short, blond woman walked over and introduced herself, “I’m Lorraine. Do you have any experience? We need help!” Her eyes were hopeful.
“I’m a little rusty, but I can hold my own,” Katie assured the woman.
The other barkeeper checked Katie over from the sidelines and pretended to be uninterested. “I’m Mark. What time do you start?”
Colleen wasn’t fooled and shot him a scowl. “Back to work, lover-boy.”
“See you tomorrow!” Katie rushed out, eager to sweet talk Don into renting her the apartment.
The Connelly Rental office was locked. Katie sat on the bench outside. A half-hour passed, and she was about to give up when she saw Don drop Maggie off at the Crested Iris. He kissed his wife goodbye. They must have had lunch together. Isn’t that sweet?
Maggie saw Katie and held both her hands out, asking a silent question, “Well?”
Katie flashed a smile and thumbs up. Maggie pushed a bewildered Don toward his office. The scene convinced Katie she’d made the right decision.
Katie and Don sat at his desk as he searched through desk drawers and files for a rental agreement. “You’ve seen the place, right?”
“Yes. Tom showed me this morning. I hope tha
t’s all right.”
“Fine with me. Skinny Tom’s got keys to all the locks in the building.” Don found the form and flourished it triumphantly. “The rent includes water and trash. You gotta haul the trash down to the dumpster, though.”
“How much is the rent?” Katie fumbled with her tote.
Don watched her. Poor thing. She’s scared to death. “Maggie and I talked it over at lunch. We’d rather have some rent come in versus none at all.” Don patted Katie’s nervous hands. “How’s three-fifty sound?”
“Really? Tom thought four-hundred.”
“You’d rather pay more?” Don chuckled and pretended to write in the new amount.
“No! Three-fifty would be great.”
“Okay then, it's a deal. The electric’s in my name. You’ll need to switch it over this week. We require a two-hundred-dollar deposit and the first month’s rent. Can you swing that?”
Katie pulled out crumbled bills. “So, you need five-fifty?”
“Whoa. Hang on there. First, you shouldn’t be carrying around that kind of cash, and second, we haven’t even filled out any paperwork.”
Katie blushed. “Sorry. I’m excited about having my own place.”
Don couldn’t help feeling protective. “Let’s at least do a quick background check.”
Katie handed over Cassie’s social security card.
“Cassandra?” Don frowned at the full name on the card. Seeing the middle name, Anne, he nodded. “Anne suits you better. And you shouldn’t be carrying this around either,” He gestured with the social security card.
Katie fidgeted on the edge of the chair while Don typed information into a website. She suspected Don would be more thorough than the manager at Ashley Commons.
Don frowned. “This says the social security number is flagged as deceased.”
Katie dropped her head in her hands and groaned, “I can’t believe it’s still showing incorrect information. I’ve spent months convincing the social security office I’m very much alive.” She dug in her wallet and placed her driver’s license on the desk in front of Don. She pretended to take her pulse too. “Yep. I still have a heartbeat.”
Don narrowed his eyes, wanting to believe.
There Was a Crooked Man: A Psychological Thriller Page 24