by Lynn Cahoon
“You’re right, but it doesn’t have to be me cleaning up after them.” Barb waved her away. “Get out of here. I’m sure that dog of yours is probably waiting in the car for you.”
“Dom’s home but yeah, I’ve got to get going. One more stop, then I’m heading home and taking him for a walk out at Celebration Park. He loves chasing the rabbits.” Angie pushed the door open and blinked in the bright light. She didn’t know how Barb even attempted to read in the dim light, but as she glanced back, she saw she had gone back to studying her newspaper.
She took the last box of donuts out of her vehicle, then crossed the street, aiming for the small police station that shared a parking lot with the one and only drive-in in town. Traffic was nonexistent, and she hurried across the road more out of habit than necessity. When she opened the door, Sheriff Brown was manning the reception desk.
“You send your guard dog on break?” She set the box on the desk.
“Phillip is going to be sad he missed you. He enjoys your little chats. All he wants to talk about is you and your need to be involved.” He lifted the top of the box and picked out the note, along with a donut. “You don’t have to bring these every time you have a question.”
“Actually, I owed Barb some.” She nodded at the note. “Gossip around town says that Tanya and the deceased were having an affair. I figured you might want to know that.”
He wadded up the piece of paper and threw it into the trash can in the corner. “Two points. And I’d already heard the gossip. She’s coming in to make a statement tomorrow. Apparently she has a class at your restaurant at one, so she’ll be here during my lunch hour.”
“Sorry.” Angie didn’t know what she was apologizing for, but it felt like she’d stepped on the guy’s toes.
“For thinking I’m an idiot and not doing my job or that her interview messes up my lunch?” He sipped his coffee as he waited for an answer.
Angie shrugged. “Maybe both. I don’t mean to insinuate that you aren’t doing your job. It’s just people keep telling me things I think you should know.”
“Maybe they keep telling you things because you’re bribing them with these outstanding donuts?” He finished off the one he’d been eating and pulled a second out of the box. “I’ll have to leave these here on Phillip’s desk or I’ll eat all of them by myself.”
Angie felt her cheeks start to heat. She had kind of been looking for information when she’d come into town. So she was curious, what was the harm in that? “Well, I better be going.”
“I’m picking Ian up at the airport tomorrow afternoon. I’d invite you to come along, but you have that cooking class thing.”
Angie knew her cheeks were bright red now because they felt like they were going to flame up at any minute. “Well, I guess I’ll see him when he gets back.”
“Apparently, you are expected over at the house for dinner on Sunday. Maggie and Ian set it up last night on the phone. My wife is very interested in getting to know you better. She says anyone who can get me in a foul mood as quickly as you can deserves some support.” He took out a third donut before he closed the box. “And since she seems to be taking your side in all of this, I’m taking another donut. Just don’t mention these, okay? She might stop baking to try to keep me on my diet.”
Sunday dinner? With Sheriff Brown and the wife? What was Ian thinking? She stepped back toward the door. “I’m not sure if I’m available Sunday. I might be...” She needed to think up a plausible excuse and quick. She grabbed at the first thing that came to mind. “Cleaning the kitchen at the restaurant.”
His gray eyes twinkled. “She’s not going to give up. You might as well get it over with.”
Knowing she was defeated, she paused by the door. “When you talk to Ian, tell him we’re going to talk about this.”
The sheriff paused, raising the donut for a bite. “I’m thinking you all are going to have a lot to talk about when he gets home. It’s about time he told you the rest of the story.”
As she walked out to her car, Angie pondered what Sheriff Brown had said. The rest of the story? She would have never thought that Ian held any secrets from her or anyone. The guy was open and honest. But as she drove home, she realized there were a lot of times Ian had skirted the issue of who he’d been as a kid. What he’d liked in high school. Who he hung around with. Angie realized not everyone’s high school memories were upbeat and positive, but she couldn’t remember one story Ian had told her about that time of his life. It was like he’d been a child, then moved to the States full grown at twenty-five.
Yes, they were going to have a lot to talk about when he got back. She used her Bluetooth and called Ian to leave a message. “Hey, your uncle told me you’re coming home tomorrow. Come by the farmhouse about six and I’ll feed you. I hear you have some news for me.”
She left it at that. Let Ian decide if the news was about the upcoming dinner with Ian’s stand-in parents or something else she couldn’t even guess at. Instead of worrying about tomorrow, she grabbed Dom’s leash as soon as she got home. It was time for a nice walk to clear her mind and thoughts.
Halfway up Red Hawk Trail, she realized the walk was doing neither. Instead, she was ruminating on Ian and his secrets. Which led her to Daniel and his untimely death. Which led her to Hope and worrying that the girl’s future was going to get cut short over driving a guy home and accepting a glass of wine. There had to be another answer. And she was going to keep stopping by the police station with more and more bits of information until they arrested Daniel’s killer and Hope was in the clear.
She’d told Estebe that she’d make the potato soup for tomorrow’s class. When she got done with her walk, she’d go home and cook. That would keep her mind off all of this. “Control the things you can and let the others go” had always been Nona’s mantra. The problem was Angie didn’t think she could control anything right at this moment.
But she could make soup.
When she got back to the trailhead, a man was standing outside what looked like a rental sedan. He was looking at a map and looked up with such obvious relief when they came down the path, Angie almost laughed.
“Can I help you?” She paused at her car, motioning Dom to sit. The dog was curious about the newcomer and wagged his massive tail on the ground, kicking up a mini dust cloud.
The man stepped toward her. “Thanks. I’m looking for the Indian petroglyphs that they recently discovered out here. Ancient Native American artifacts is my specialty. I’m a professor at University of Utah.”
“I didn’t think they were allowing people into the cave yet.” Angie glanced upward, wondering who she could tell this guy to call.
“I got permission from the state historical commission.” He stepped closer, holding out his hand. “I’m Evan Morris.”
“You teach at U of U?” She kept her hand on Dom. The guy didn’t look like a teacher. She would have thought he’d be more likely to be in construction or some kind of physical work.
“Mostly research. They make me teach a summer class every year, just to keep me considered facility rather than just research.” He dropped his offered hand. “Sorry, I guess you don’t know me from Adam.”
“Not trying to be rude, but my dog isn’t the friendliest. I think you should go down to the park office. They should be able to approve you for entrance and have someone show you the way. It’s kind of hard to find.” She knew where the cave was because she’d been the one to find it last summer. But he didn’t need to know that. She pointed toward the road. “Turn left at the bottom of the hill, and the parking lot for the office is right there.”
“Thanks.” He turned, then turned back. “I didn’t catch your name.”
“Angie.” She rubbed Dom’s head. “This is one of our favorite hiking spots. Soon the weather is going to make it hard for us to get out here.”
“You always bring your dog
?”
Something in the way he asked made Angie question his attention, which Dom picked up and let out a low growl. She took her keys out of her pocket and unlocked the SUV. Then she patted her pocket. “Yep. My dog and my handy pepper spray. A girl can’t be too careful.”
A smile crept over his lips. “Point taken. Thank you for your assistance, Angie. I hope we run into each other again.”
She stood where she was, and only when he pulled the car out onto the road did she load Dom up in the back seat. She didn’t know why, but the guy felt creepy. Not a typical response she got from a university professor. And how did he know about the petroglyphs? The last she’d heard from Boise State was they were keeping the site under wraps until the paintings could be authenticated. But of course, they didn’t run everything by her. In fact, they didn’t ask her opinion at all. She locked the doors, then pulled the car out of the parking lot.
Glancing in the rearview, she saw Dom watching the road where the stranger’s car had disappeared. Apparently, he had felt something too. Or he was just feeling her unease. Either way, she decided that she really was going to get some pepper spray for them to take on their walks. The canyon was deserted and remote. If someone decided to be up to no good, well, there wouldn’t be anyone to stop them.
Who’d have thought that moving out of the city would be the final straw on her carrying protection? She made her way home, and once she had fed Precious and Mabel, she turned on all the lights on the bottom floor, locked the doors, and settled in to make soup. She hoped the chill she’d felt from the chance meeting would ease sooner rather than later.
Her phone rang at nine. She’d already packaged up the soup and played with a few other notes for the class tomorrow. Now she was ready to call it a night and find a place to curl up with a book. She didn’t recognize the number as she picked up her cell. “Hello?”
“Angie?”
The noise from the bar made it hard for her to hear Barb, but Angie knew immediately who was calling. “Hi, Barb, what’s up?”
“You need to come down here.” The words were almost a whisper.
“Did something happen to Felicia?” Dread hit her like a ton of bricks. Maybe her unease today had been a premonition of tonight. “Is she all right?”
“Honey, Felicia’s not here. You just need to come down.”
Relief made her sink into a chair, the adrenaline rush she’d felt leaving her body weak and drained. “I’ll come in soon. Ian will be home tomorrow and we’ll make plans to come see your new band.”
“You think I’m calling you because I want you to hear the band?” Barb laughed, or coughed, into the phone. Angie couldn’t exactly tell which.
“Why are you calling, then?”
The bar noises faded and Angie realized Barb had probably walked outside. She could still hear the voices and the laughter, but they sounded far away. “The reason I called is to tell you to get down here. That girl I was telling you about is here with her group. They’re singing karaoke tonight.”
“I’ll be right there.”
Chapter 11
Angie threw on a coat and her tennis shoes and grabbed her tote and keys. Dom looked at her from his bed in the kitchen. “Sorry, buddy, you need to stay home. I’ll be right back.”
It took her twenty minutes to get into town. She parked in the County Seat back parking. Felicia’s car was gone, which meant she was probably with Taylor. Again. Angie power walked to the bar through the alley. She swung the back door open. Instead of the dark and empty place she’d been in that afternoon, the neon signs lit up the large open room. People crammed around tables; a few were on the stage singing a really bad version of an Underwood song she really liked.
Angie wove her way through the crowd.
“Hey, beautiful. Want to dance?” A cowboy stepped in front of her and took her hand.
She shook him off. “Sorry, I’m on a mission.”
“Everyone has time for a dance,” he grumbled as she hurried past him right to Barb who was pouring drinks at the bar.
“That was fast,” Barb said, as she loaded the three beers and two mixed drinks onto a tray. The waitress gave her the cash and she rang it up into the register before turning back to Angie. “Sorry, you want a beer?”
“No, I can’t stay. I’ve got work in the morning.” Angie glanced around at the people. “Where is she?”
“The girl I called you about?”
Angie nodded. Sometimes talking to Barb was a little frustrating. “Yeah, the girl you called me about.”
“Oh, she left. I was going to call you, then Tina had to leave for a break and I got stuck back here. Sorry.”
“You mean I came down here for nothing?” Angie couldn’t believe it.
A hand circled around her arm. “It doesn’t have to be for nothing, I can buy you a drink.”
She couldn’t believe that cowboy wouldn’t take no for an answer. She spun around, ready to fight, and instead of the tall, drunk cowboy, the man from this afternoon stood in front of her. What was his name? Then it came to her: Evan. “Thanks anyway, I’ve got work tomorrow.”
She tried to move around him, but he blocked her exit. “This has to be a sign. Twice in one day. Why don’t you give in to fate that keeps throwing us together and let me buy you a drink?”
Angie stared at the guy. He was flirting. Time to shut this down, now. She was too tired to play games. “One, I don’t believe in fate. Two, I already told you, I don’t want a drink. And three, I have a boyfriend.”
The smile came over his face again. “You have a boyfriend? Like you had pepper spray in your pocket?”
“No, I really do have a boyfriend. His name’s Ian. Ask Barb if you don’t believe me.” She waved toward the bar. Then she paused, considering the guy. “And how did you know I didn’t have pepper spray?”
“Your jeans were too tight. A canister of pepper spray would have made an impression.” He turned to let Angie walk by. “I really would like to buy you a drink. Maybe some other time.”
“I doubt we’ll see each other again.” Angie started walking out of the bar, then turned back. “What did the office tell you about the petroglyphs?”
He shook his head. “Sadly, they are not letting anyone inside the cave, not yet. I guess I made the trip for nothing.”
“That’s too bad.” Angie spied the cowboy moving her way. “I’ve got to go.”
She got outside without running into the cowboy again, then hurried to her car. Tonight was just getting weirder and weirder. She unlocked the car, climbed inside and, for the second time that day, locked the doors after her.
Time to go home. And when she got there, she’d do the one thing she’d forgotten to do earlier today. She’d find the University of Utah’s website and see if Evan Morris really did work for them.
As she’d suspected, there was no listing of Evan in the professors list, but then again, the college only listed their tenured professors for each department. She tried to access last summer’s schedule, but it was already off the page and next year’s hadn’t been posted yet. She sat with a cup of hot chocolate pondering the screen. Then she went through all the social media programs she was part of. No luck with Evan Morris, although Facebook did have about sixty screen names listed for the name or a version of the name.
Then she ran Daniel Monet through Facebook. Fewer matches and one hit. Daniel had used a shot of him teaching at the culinary school for his banner, and his portrait was the same professional shot he had on the college website. The account showed he’d been a member since August of that year. Maybe Facebook wasn’t popular in the Canadian college crowd, but Angie thought the better answer was Daniel Monet only became a person when he moved to Boise. So who had he been before when he’d been that troubled teenager that Ian had known?
She racked her brain, trying to remember what Ian had called him tha
t night. Arnie, but Arnie what? It had been close to Monet, but not quite.
A cold nose came up under her forearm, bringing her back to the present. Then Dom’s head fell in her lap. He quietly whined. “Hey, buddy, what’s the matter?”
She glanced at the clock. Almost midnight. She needed to get some sleep. And apparently, her dog thought the same thing. She stroked his wide head. “You don’t like anyone messing with your bedtime, do you?”
His tail beat quietly on the floor.
“Okay, then. Let’s hit the hay.” She closed the laptop and checked the doors to make sure they were locked. Normally she wasn’t this safety cautious, but something about Evan being everywhere tonight had kind of freaked her out.
Even though she was tired, it was long after she started hearing Dom’s snores from his bed before her mind settled and she followed him off into sleep.
* * * *
Estebe was already in the kitchen when she arrived on Tuesday. “You’re in early.” She set a box down on the counter. “Can you get the rest out of the car? I’d like to get the soup on the stove to warm.”
“Sure.” He put down the knife he’d been using to chop vegetables. After he brought the box in, he refilled his coffee cup. “I didn’t get a lot of sleep last night.”
Now that Angie could relate to. “Worried about the class?”
He shook his head. “Worried about our Hope. That man has her in a bad spot.”
“All we can do is be there for her. She’s going to be okay. There’s no way they will charge her in his death.” Angie poured another cup of coffee for herself, although she’d drunk two cups more than usual at home. By the time the class was over she’d be wired from the caffeine and the adrenaline. She wouldn’t sleep tonight. There was no doubt.
“You have more faith in the legal system than I do. My cousin, he’s seen innocents broken by the process. Hope is such a sweet girl. She’ll make an excellent chef one day.” He sipped his coffee. “My stomach is going to revolt if I don’t eat something soon.”