by Amber Crewes
Meghan looked around the crowded gym. “What can we do to help?” she asked Angela.
“You haven’t been trained in the serving process, but you could go chat with some of our guests,” Angela told Meghan. “There’s a spot at that table over there. Rebecca? Why don’t you go visit the nursery? We offer childcare during meal times, and you might enjoy visiting with the little kids.”
Meghan and Rebecca set off in their different directions. Meghan took a seat at a table of middle-aged men. “Hi,” she said to the man beside her. “I’m Meghan. What’s your name?”
The man was dressed in a ratty sock cap and a dirty turtleneck. He had a thick beard that curled around his collarbone, and Meghan could smell his greasy hair. “Why are you talking to me?”
Meghan smiled. “I’m visiting today,” she said to the man. “I might start volunteering here.”
The man laughed. “Oh, a little spoiled princess working with the poor? That’s rich.”
A woman beside him elbowed the man in the side. “Alan, be nice to her. She’s just being friendly.”
Alan frowned. “It’s embarrassing that rich folks come in here and talk with us poor people,” he replied briskly to the woman. “Look at this girl. She looks like she ain’t ever done a lick of hard work in her life.”
Meghan pursed her lips and nervously played with her hands beneath the table. “I have worked before,” she insisted. “I work at a bakery in town. I own it, actually.”
Alan narrowed his eyes and stared into Meghan’s face. “Oh? How much of your food do you donate to us homeless? Judging from the look on your face, I would guess that you don’t give anything away. I hate that. I hate when rich little girls march in here to volunteer for the day, but in reality, they don’t really care. If you really care, little rich girl, you would donate food from your bakery to feed the poor.”
“You are right,” Meghan agreed. “I should do that. I don’t know why I never thought of it, but that is something I need to start doing.”
Alan rolled his eyes. “Don’t talk down to me, rich girl,” he growled as he balled his hands into fists. “You need to get out of my face.”
Meghan shook her head. “I just wanted to come over and say hi,” she pleaded with the man as he face darkened. “I’m sorry if I offended you.”
Alan glared at Meghan and rose to his feet. “Little rich girl here is sorry she offended me, huh? You don’t want to know what happened to the last fellow who offended me, rich girl.”
Meghan’s eyes widened as Alan stormed away. “Just ignore him,” the woman begged Meghan. “He doesn’t mean bad, and we are truly grateful for the chance to get meals here.”
Meghan nodded. “It’s okay,” she said to the woman as she pulled her dark hair back into a ponytail. “I feel bad that I offended him.”
Alan circled back around to the table and resumed sitting by Meghan. “Sorry,” he muttered as Meghan leaned away from him. “I get angry sometimes. Sorry I was nasty.”
Meghan forced herself to smile. “It’s fine,” she said. “I just want to visit with everyone and spread some holiday cheer.”
“I had enough holiday cheer this year,” Alan laughed as Meghan raised an eyebrow. “That loser Roger Williams died. That brought enough cheer to my heart for the year.”
Meghan’s mouth dropped open. “Did you know him?”
Alan smirked. “Oh, I knew him. That idiot didn’t deserve to become the store Santa, and I’m glad he...dropped dead before he could.”
Alan turned around and grabbed a loaf of bread from the table behind him. “I’m extra hungry today,” he said as he stuffed the bread into his mouth.
The table behind him yelled. “That’s ours,” they shouted. “You jerk.”
Alan rose to his feet and grimaced as a portly man from the other table walked over and shoved him. Alan kicked the man’s knees, and he man fell to the ground. Alan chuckled to himself as everyone stared at him.
“You all had better let me do what I want,” he yelled to the crowd of shocked bystanders. “I wanted more bread, so I took it. I wanted to be the Santa at the store, so….just listen up, people. You mess with me, and I’ll mess with you. You should see the last guy I messed with. He was dying to get away from me.”
A collective gasped filled the room, and Alan’s eyes bulged out from his head. “I didn’t kill Roger, or did I? I know what you all are thinking. I’m out of here.”
Meghan stared as Alan turned on his heel and bolted out of the gym. She reached into her red purse and retrieved her cell phone, quickly dialing Jack’s number. “Babe,” she breathed into the phone as Jack answered. “I think I know who did it. I think I know who murdered Roger.”
11
“I’m just not sure, Meghan,” Jack said as the pair talked on the phone later in the evening. “The officers brought him in and talked with him, but I’m just not sure if this is our guy.”
Meghan snuggled deeper into her bed and pulled the comforter up to her neck. She could see the snow falling out the window, and she felt cozy and comfortable amidst the three chai-scented candles burning in her bedroom. Fiesta and Siesta were asleep at her feet, and Meghan wiggled her toes beneath their warm little bodies.
“You did say that Alan had a checkered past,” Meghan replied to her boyfriend. “You told me that Chief Nunan pulled some records of his. I even read online that there’s even a search warrant out for his arrest right now. He stole some cans of tomatoes from the store last week!”
Jack sighed into the phone, and Meghan could hear the angst as he replied. “He kept saying he was innocent, Meghan. You should have heard him; he sounded so earnest as he pleaded with Chief Nunan.”
Meghan remembered how intimidated she had been when Alan taunted her at the food bank. He had scared her, and Meghan sensed that Alan was not just an ordinary homeless man. He struck her as a killer, and Meghan’s gut was telling her that something was amiss.
“I know he scared you,” Jack said. “Don’t worry, he’s being held in jail pending further investigation into the murder case. Chief Nunan mentioned that there was a similar case to this one out in Maine, and perhaps we have a serial killer on our hands. She wants us to be thoroughly cautious, so she’s ordered Alan in an isolated cell until we can learn more.”
Meghan sighed in relief. “That’s good to hear,” she told Jack. “He was so frightening, Jack. He had a scary look in his eyes.”
Jack’s voice broke. “I just don’t want to mess this case up,” he choked as Meghan’s heart began to race.
“Jack?” Meghan asked in concern. “What’s wrong? What’s the matter?”
Jack cleared his throat. “It’s nothing. I just have some things on my mind.”
Meghan bit her lip. “I’m here if you need me, Jack,” she said. “I love you.”
“I love you too, Meghan,” Jack replied, and Meghan’s heart soared with those three special words. “I just don’t think he did it. My gut is telling me that he didn’t. What does Alan have to gain?”
Meghan raised her eyebrows. “The prize money,” she argued. “He could have wanted to be the Santa at the store, and Roger was going to be given the part. What if Alan wanted the prize money?”
“That’s what Chief Nunan said,” Jack admitted. “But I don’t know. My gut is telling me something else. Listen, I’m going to get off the phone and go for a walk. I need to clear my head.”
“Okay, bye, love,” Meghan said as she hung up the phone.
Meghan’s cell phone immediately buzzed. Thinking it was Jack, she answered without pausing. She was surprised to hear her father’s voice. “Meghan, what are you up to?”
Meghan looked around her bedroom. “I’m all snuggled up for the night,” she said to her father. “Why, Daddy?”
“The snow is falling like crazy, and the moon is so bright. I’m dying to get out of this hotel room. Let’s go for a nighttime walk. What do you say?”
Meghan groaned, but she knew that she needed to s
pend as much time as possible with her parents before they left. “Of course, Daddy,” she answered. “Let’s meet at the beach in twenty minutes. I’ll bring the dogs; they look so precious in their winter coats, and they can’t wait to see their Grandpa.”
It was nine in the evening by the time Meghan and Henry made it to the beach, but the light of the moon lit up the sand and the sky. “It’s just beautiful,” Henry gushed as he guided Fiesta along the shore. “The snow looks like diamonds! Your mother would sure like it.”
Meghan giggled. “Mama loves diamonds, but she hates getting cold,” she replied. “I think she’s in the perfect spot in her hotel room, that’s for sure.”
Henry chuckled good-naturedly, and then, he pointed to a lone figure in the distance. “Hey, isn’t that your man, Meghan? That’s Jack. Look! He has a dog with him.”
Meghan whistled, and Dash, Jack’s dog, sprinted toward her. Jack ran after the dog, and he smiled when he realized it was Meghan who had called for Dash. “Meghan. Henry. What a surprise.”
Meghan leapt into Jack’s arms. “I didn’t know you would come here to walk. I’m so happy to see you. Are you doing better, babe?”
Jack looked down at his boots, and Henry playfully nudged Jack on the shoulder. “What’s wrong, son? Rough day at the office?”
Jack hesitated. “I shouldn’t say…”
“Oh, come on, sport,” Henry argued. “Tell us what’s the matter. My little girl shouldn’t have to worry about her man. What’s the issue?”
Jack sighed. “It’s about the man we arrested. Alan? The homeless man? I just don’t think he did it, and I feel terrible.”
Meghan placed a hand on Jack’s shoulder. “I’ve never seen you so upset about a case before,” she murmured. “Is there something standing out to you about this man?”
Jack’s shoulders shook, and Meghan could see that he was trying not to cry. “I just feel like my gut is telling me he is innocent, and I would hate to keep an innocent man locked up. I kept an innocent man locked up for two whole weeks during my rookie year, and man, I never forgot the look on his daughter’s face when he was released. I was just doing my job, but she looked at me as if I had hurt someone.”
Henry placed a hand on Jack’s shoulder and squeezed. “Sport, you can’t be too hard on yourself,” Henry said. “If you are following the rules and the law, you are doing what society expects of you. You can’t give up, Jack. I’m sure it’s difficult, but you have to do your job.”
Jack frowned. “It’s just hard to ignore my gut.”
Henry shrugged. “In life, we have to do hard things,” he told Jack. “In my business, I’ve had to fire people, and to make hard decisions. The beauty of it is that from hard choices come better outcomes, and I know that if you work hard and do your job, things will work out, Jack.”
Jack smiled weakly. “Thanks, Mr. Truman,” he said.
Henry furrowed his brow. “Really, call me Henry,” he insisted.
Meghan’s eyes sparkled as she watched the two most important men in her life share a moment together. Her heart warmed, and she felt a sense of relief as Henry embraced her boyfriend.
“Mama is warming to Jack,” Meghan thought to herself. “And Daddy is warming to him. Maybe this whole thing--Sandy Bay, the bakery, and Jack--will work out after all.”
12
“I’m so glad we could get together and do this,” Kayley Kane schmoozed as she led Rebecca and Meghan down the street toward a potential property. “You two have been such good sports with this snow and cold weather. Don’t worry, though; this is our last place for the day.”
Kayley held out her arms to show Rebecca and Meghan a four-story vacant building right beside Luciano’s. “It’s been empty for awhile, but it could be the perfect place for a shop, or a restaurant, or even a combination.”
Rebecca raised an eyebrow. “It looks a little...rough, Ms. Kane.”
Kayley sighed. “It was previous used to house some of the homeless,” she admitted to Rebecca. “The owner of the building is moving to the East Coast and wants to sell it quickly, but he wants to sell it to someone with the right priorities.”
“What do you mean by that?” Meghan asked Kayley as Kayley tapped her heeled shoes against the sidewalk.
Kayley chewed on her bottom lip before responding. “Well, Roberto Luciano tried to buy this place,” she explained to the Trumans. “It is just next store to his place. But the owner didn’t think Luciano had the right priorities. The owner of the property wants someone with empathy toward the homeless to purchase it, and he didn’t feel like Roberto showed that. Roberto’s been known for screaming and shouting at the homeless people, and the owner didn’t feel right about leaving the property with him.”
Rebecca frowned. “If that is the standard--empathy toward the homeless--I don’t know if I would make the cut,” she told Kayley. “I feel for them, I do, but I would not use this property to better them. I would likely turn it into something fabulous--this town needs a designer handbag shop--and I wouldn’t prioritize the homeless’ needs while arranging my next business endeavor.”
Kayley smiled weakly at Rebecca. “Are you sure? You didn’t warm to any of the other properties. Are you sure you couldn’t just donate some money to the homeless, or perhaps work with a local agency to employee a homeless person in the store?”
Rebecca frowned. “I believe I made myself clear,” she told Kayley. “None of the properties you have shown me have blown me away, Ms. Kane. Until something marvelous comes along, I’m afraid I cannot make a sale with you.”
Meghan saw the look of concern in Kayley’s eyes. “Mama, why don’t you think about some of the places from earlier? That first little building was cute; you could turn that into a little salon or boutique.”
Rebecca sighed. “You are so soft, Meghan,” she hissed. “I want the best, and Kayley hasn’t shown me the best.”
Kayley sputtered, knowing that she had possibly blown the sale. “I will make a list of alternative properties,” she announced to the Trumans. “Just you wait, ladies. I will come up with the finest places in Sandy Bay, and Mrs. Truman, I can assure you that you will be pleasantly surprised.”
“I sure hope so,” Rebecca sniffed. “Kayley, I think that’s enough for us today. Meghan? Let’s go.”
Meghan and Rebecca said goodbye to Kayley and walked away. “I just don’t know what she was thinking,” Rebecca complained. “The properties were fine, but that last one? The stipulations on it were too much. I’m happy to spend a day at a food bank, and Daddy and I write a personal check each year to the shelter in town. I just don’t believe mixing business and handouts. It seems wrong to me.”
Meghan pursed her lips. “I don’t think it’s too much to ask for, Mama,” she told Rebecca. “It sounds like the only requirement is simply to respect the homeless and to provide some sort of opportunity for them. Is that too much?”
Rebecca rolled her eyes. “Meghan, if I am going to buy a second home here and open a little business for fun, it’s going to be on my terms. Besides, Daddy would never approve of hiring a homeless person to work in a store of ours, and his opinion matters, too.”
Meghan walked silently beside her mother, aghast at how privileged and selfish her mother could be. Meghan knew that Rebecca lived in a world of wealth and finery, but she wished that her mother could step outside of herself and see the needs of those around her. From Kayley’s desire and need to make a sale with the Trumans, to the homeless, Rebecca seemed oblivious to the plights of those less fortunate than herself.
“Why are you making that sour face?” Rebecca asked Meghan. “Really, you should watch the way you hold your face, Meghan; it could freeze like that if you are not careful, or you could get wrinkles.”
Meghan gritted her teeth. “Mama, I think there are more important matters at stake than my face,” she huffed. “Kayley really needs to make a sale with you and Daddy. She is a single mom, and her ex-husband hardly helps with anything.”
Meghan sighed. “Mama, Sandy Bay is different than the South,” she argued. “All of the prim and proper rules don’t matter here. In Sandy Bay, people are candid. The speak their minds here, and they say what they mean. Kayley is worried about making end’s meet, and I know how much it would help her to receive a large commission from a sale with you and Daddy.”
Rebecca shook her head. “Really, Meghan, you should hear yourself. It’s disgraceful. Talking about a stranger’s finances unacceptable.”