by Maisy Marple
“Hey, everyone!” Officer West called out. He was standing at the usually vacant receptionist desk. “Roberta’s back with more goodies!”
I looked at my mother, shocked that even Donald West knew her by name.
There were four or five other officers that came over and thanked us as we set the plates down on the desk.
“You boys know the drill,” my mother smiled coyly.
To my surprise, they all barreled past us and out to our car.
“That’s how it’s done,” Roberta Cafe winked at me.
Officer Billings was a little late to the party and came around the corner from his office a moment later.
“Oh, hey Connie…Mrs. Cafe.”
“Hello, Teddy,” my mother said. “Connie made cookies for everyone.”
I shot her a quick glance. I was not liking where this was going all of the sudden. Not that I had been too hot on its trajectory before.
“Really?” Officer Billings smiled. He stared at me with his baby blues. And even in my embarrassment, and retro-teenage angst, I felt myself attracted to his handsome face and kind smile.
I also didn’t want to tell a lie, so I just smiled and said nothing.
“Thanks,” he said. “We love our cookies around here.”
“We know,” my mother chimed in, patting me on the back. “Say, Teddy, do you have a moment to talk in private?”
“Sure,” he said, “why don’t you two follow me back to my office.”
He turned and we followed, my mother grabbing my wrist and dragging me the whole way. I gave about as much of a fight as I could without making it too obvious to any onlookers — of which there were none, now that my mother had trapped them all with fresh baked cookies — that I was being dragged against my will.
Once we were in Officer Billings’s office, he invited us to sit down. My mother did not sit down.
Neither did I.
“This won’t take long, Teddy.”
“Okay,” he nodded, looking a little confused.
“You and Connie went to school together, right?”
He nodded.
“She’s a pretty girl, right?”
He looked at me, and I could tell when our eyes met that he was just as mortified as I was.
“Why don’t you take her to dinner sometime?”
“Mom?!?”
She waved my protest away with her hand. “I’m serious. I’m tired of watching my young, attractive, intelligent daughter, and this wonderful young, attractive, honorable man go through life alone.”
Officer Billings looked at me, and then brought his attention back to my mother.
“Roberta…Mrs. Cafe…that’s very nice of you, and I’m honored and all, but I could never take Connie out if she didn’t want to go with me. That would be wrong.”
My mother shot me a quick elbow in the rib. “Tell him Connie, that you’d love to go out with him.”
My mother was staring at me.
Officer Billings was staring at me.
My father, and God, and the Sweet Baby Jesus were staring at me from on high — I was sure of it.
I shrugged.
“Sure?”
10
It just so happened that Officer Billings’s shift ended twenty minutes after my mother had asked him out for me.
And since he didn’t have a family to worry about, he changed clothes at the office and we ended up going out for a night on the town right then and there.
I, honestly, don’t know what would have been worse in that situation: Going home with my mother and having to wait for a date I wasn’t sure I wanted, or watching my mother walk out of the police station without me and not waiting at all for a date I wasn’t sure I wanted.
“So, where would you like to go?” He asked, meeting me out in the parking lot. He was dressed in a cobalt blue polo and a pair of khaki shorts.
“I don’t know,” I said, nervously. “I really wasn’t planning on this tonight.”
“Me either,” he chuckled. “Your mother is quite a firecracker, isn’t she?”
I nodded. “That she is.”
I smiled, and looked him in the eyes, and as weird as this all was, I felt suddenly at peace with the idea. I could tell he had a gentle soul. My mother had seen it before I had. But, in this moment, I knew the night was going to be alright.
Ted Billings drove a big truck. Getting in and out were a challenge for me, as I was much shorter than him. He helped me in and drove us to the end of Main Street.
Putting the truck in park, he said, “Do you want to just take a walk and see where that leads us?”
“That sounds really good,” I smiled. “Let’s do that.”
We walked down Main Street talking about the impact that growing up in Coffee Creek had on us.
“I love it here,” he said. “I can’t imagine living anywhere else. This place is my home, through and through.”
“My idea of Coffee Creek is a little different than yours,” I said. “I love it here, don’t get me wrong. But I was on a path that was taking me away from here before my father died. That was fourteen years ago, and I’m still here. I often wrestle with God about my path. I’m constantly questioning whether or not this is where I truly belong.”
“I can see that,” he nodded. “So, what’s He saying to you lately?”
“Lately,” I guffawed. “Lately, he has definitely been sending me the Get Out of Dodge messages.”
“How so?”
“Well, let’s just recap the past four months. I’ve found two dead bodies, one of which was found in the building where I am going to put my coffee shop. I’ve been a suspect in a murder investigation, had terrible things written about me in the paper I worked at for years by people that I thought were my friends. I took a ride in a guy’s trunk and thought for sure that I was going to die. Oh, and my mother asked a cop out on a date for me. In the prayer world, those are what one might call signs.”
We shared a quick laugh about things before he gave his take on the situation.
“You know, Connie, I don’t claim to know what God’s plan is for myself, let alone anyone else. But the way I look at it, without those things happening, you and I wouldn’t be here talking like this tonight.”
I hadn’t thought about it that way. I’d just felt all of the unpleasantness of everything that had occurred over the last little while. But he was right. If I hadn’t found David Gardner’s body, and taken a ride in the trunk of a car, and had my mother over step big time, I might have missed out on the moment I was currently in.
“I don’t know if you’re right,” I smiled, “but you do have a point.”
We walked up and down Main Street talking for hours without ever going anywhere. We didn’t have dinner, and that was alright with me.
Mable had gone home for the night. That was definitely okay with me.
Ted brought me home and walked me to the front porch.
“I had a great time tonight,” he said.
I smiled. “Me too.”
Both of us stood there, unmoving in the darkness. I didn’t want to go in, and I could tell that he was in no rush for the night to end either.
Finally, he said, “Should we do this again sometime?”
“What?” I joked. “Stare awkwardly at each other on my front porch.”
He laughed and shook his head. “No. I mean, should we—”
“I know what you mean,” I giggled. “And the answer is yes.”
“Sounds great,” he nodded. “I will see you later then. Thank you for a wonderful evening.”
“You too,” I said, waving and turning to go inside.
I waited just inside the front door as he pulled his truck out into the road and drove back into town.
I stood there until his taillights were out of view. Then I headed up to my room.
When I reached the top of the stairs, I saw my mother’s bedroom light click off.
I smiled.
She was right.
> I found myself thinking that I should listen to her more often.
11
“So, how did things go with Mr. Wonderful?” My mother smirked as she handed me a tall mug of my morning medicine.
“Mr. Wonderful?” I laughed. “Don’t you think it’s a tad early to be donning him with that moniker?”
“I don’t know,” she batted her eyelashes. “Is it?”
“Maybe, a little,” I said, bringing my finger and thumb about an inch together and crinkling my nose.
“I don’t know,” she smiled. “You two were out for a pretty long time last night. That’s all I’m saying.” She took a sip of her coffee. “Where I’m from, that’s called success.”
I rolled my eyes. “Oh, jeepers.”
“What? I’m serious.”
“I know you are,” I nodded, taking my first sip. “That’s what scares me.”
“So, what did you two do? Did he take you out to dinner?”
“No.”
“A show?”
“No.”
“Shopping?”
“Nope, none of those.” I smiled, knowing that not knowing was starting to drive her nuts.
“Well, come on, then. Out with it!”
“We just walked and talked.”
“Oh, honey,” she said, sitting back in her chair and putting her mug down on the table. She clasped her hands together and brought them up to her mouth.
“What?” I scoffed. “It’s nothing.”
“Oh, but it is,” she said. “I don’t want to put too many thoughts in your head. But that was exactly what your father and I did on our first date. We walked that same street as you and Teddy, just talking, not a care in the world about who or what was around us.”
I sat back and tried to take it all in.
“Mom?” I asked. “Did you ever think you were in the wrong place?”
“What do you mean?” She asked, picking up her coffee and sitting back in her chair.
“I don’t know,” I said, staring past her, trying to figure out how to put my feelings into words. “I guess, it just feels like God might be pointing me in a different direction, you know? With all the murder and things that seem to keep happening.”
She nodded. “I understand.”
“You do?”
“Yes.” She sat forward and put her hand on top of mine. “And I would strongly advise you to stay the course and continue to pray. The answer for you will come when you least expect it.”
“Are you sure?”
“No,” she shook her head. “Just telling you what’s worked for me over the years. We can never be sure. That’s why what we have is called faith. It’s a belief in the unknown, the uncertain. It’s choosing to follow something we can’t see, trusting that He’s going to guide us and help us come to the right conclusions.”
“Have you ever had trouble trusting?”
“Oh, heavens, yes.” She laughed and put her empty coffee cup down on the table. “You know, after your father died, I didn’t want to live anymore. I had no idea what I was supposed to do with my life. You were here to help and that was great, but I was lost and broken. And I’ll tell you, God and I had more than a few late night wrestling matches.”
“So what changed everything?”
She sat back and thought for a minute. “I think it was just taking things one step at a time. Weathering tough storms can be tremendously difficult, but if you keep putting one foot in front of the other, eventually you find yourself on dry land, and out in the clear. God guides us all and shows us the way when we are ready to see it. Trust me, honey. Just keeping putting one foot forward. You’ll find where you’re supposed to be eventually.”
I nodded.
I knew she was right. “It’s just hard to see through the clouds sometimes.”
“I understand,” she said. “But it seems to me that, perhaps, those clouds broke a little last night. Right?”
She raised her eyebrows and gave me a pat on the knee.
“Think about it,” she whispered in my ear.
Dear God,
First off, I want to say thank you for giving me the most amazing mother ever. She is so full of life and wisdom and spunk, and all of it.
I don’t have to tell you this, but I was completely mortified yesterday when she asked Ted Billings to take me out. I didn’t know what to do, and I’m not going to lie — I was cursing your name a little bit inside my head. But, again, you already knew that.
As it turns out, spending time with Ted was a really great thing. I hope it was great for both of us, but I know it was definitely something that I enjoyed tremendously.
Now, on to the hard stuff, oh Lord.
I know there’s a reason James Popper was put in my building to discover. And I know there’s a reason that I discovered him. I just don’t know why.
Perhaps, it’s because I am supposed to give up my dream of running Connie’s Cafe. But I don’t think that’s it. I don’t think you would put me in the place I was, only to pull the rug out from beneath my feet.
No.
There has to be a different reason.
I just don’t know what that reason is…yet.
I have no doubt with your guidance that I will find out the reason eventually. But Lord, if it’s at all possible, feel free to send me a sign. Something I can see, or touch, or feel. It’s really hard to go at these things blind. I don’t have enough wisdom within me to know what you want me to do.
Am I supposed to get involved with this? Am I supposed to start making notes and tracking down leads, and figuring out the puzzle of it all?
Or did I do it wrong that last time? Are you giving me a redo? Are you trying to tell me that I wasn’t supposed to find David Gardner’s killer? But I did. And that’s why you’ve put James Popper in front of me? As a test. Do you want me to just sit back, oh Lord, and let the police do their work?
Even praying that doesn’t sound right? It doesn’t sound like your ways to hurt a child of God simply to teach me a lesson. Perhaps, my vision is too narrow, God. Perhaps, I need to broaden my lens and look at this a different way.
Maybe James Popper was killed as a result of evil motives and you are using me as your instrument to help in some way. Am I supposed to help rid this town of some evil among us?
I wish I knew, and I wish you would reveal your plan to me a little quicker than you are.
But everything in your time, not mine.
Thank you, Lord, for all of the many blessings in my life. And thank you, Lord, for the path that you will, no doubt, reveal to me as I move forward through this very confusing time in my life.
In your holy name, I pray,
AMEN
12
It was mid-morning on the third day since the murder of James Popper, and I was all business.
I called up the police station and asked to speak with Ted.
“Hey, you,” he said, his voice playful on the other end of the line.
“Hey,” I said. “Listen, I don’t want to be dismissive or anything. I had a really great time last night. But I need to know if I can get back into my shop or not?”
“Sure, let me check on the progress of the investigation so far.”
He put me on hold and a very cheerful message about The Coffee Creek Police Department and their dedication to every citizen in the community began playing in my ear. I had to listen to it play three times through before Ted was back on the line. To be fair, it was only about twenty seconds long.
“Connie?”
“Yup, I’m here.”
“So, everything that we needed to do in there has been done. I’m sending over Officer Freeman now to remove all of the police tape so you can get inside.”
“Great,” I said, “Thanks.”
“No problem. Quick question.”
“Sure.”
“Are you planning on heading over there anytime soon?”
“Yes,” I said, grabbing my purse and keys and walking out to my car
. “I’m heading over right now.”
“Okay, great. I’ll have Officer Freeman stay with you for a little while to…you know…”
“What?” I asked. “What do I know?”
“Well, I’m just concerned for your safety, given the note that we found in Mr. Popper’s pocket the other night.”
I sighed. “I appreciate your concern Ted, but trust me, I’ll be just fine.”
“At the risk of sounding a little too bold, and possibly ruining the sentiments of last evening, I have to share this with you. I am not aware of many people, if any, who thought they were going to be in danger before danger showed up. Everyone thinks they’re going to be fine…until they aren’t.”
I smiled. “First, I am going to be fine. Second, I think it’s sweet that you want to protect me. And third, you did not ruin any sentiments of last evening.”
“Great! Are you going to be working in the shop all day today?”
“I don’t know. Why do you ask?”
“Well, I get off work at five. I was wondering if you’d like me to pick you up and we could have another evening together. This time, I’d take you out to dinner.”
“Well, that sounds lovely. But why don’t you pick me up at my place. I’m going to need time to shower and get ready if we’re going to have dinner.”
“Sounds great. I’ll see you then. Officer Freeman just left in a squad car. He should be over at your place in a few minutes.”
“That’ll be perfect timing.”
As I walked up to the shop, it was refreshing to see that the yellow police tape had been removed from the front steps and doorway.
I stood there staring at the front of the building, excited about the prospect of getting started on real work toward my dream.
“Murderer!”
That didn’t take long.
Mable was out in front her store, screaming at me at the top of her lungs.
I turned and waved to her. “Good morning, Mable.”
Before I went inside I took a second to survey the street and see who was witnessing the harassment coming my way.
Much to my surprise, it was only Piper, whose hair was now a very fake shade of yellow. She was on her way into Reads & Teas, and she was staring at me as Mable continued her verbal barrage.