by Lynn Cahoon
“What am I thinking?”
Tanya shot her a flat stare. “That my husband took care of his competition and that’s why Daniel is dead. Honestly, that’s the most ridiculous theory. One, I saw him leave through the security gates that night to go to the conference. And two, my husband would never kill another soul. He doesn’t have an ounce of violence in his body.”
Angie watched as Tanya got up and tucked her compact back into her purse. “Well, I had to ask about that man. I guess it’s just a coincidence. Daniel must have been right, he was another professor. There’s nothing more than professors like to do than gossip.”
Being a professor would explain why Evan had been at the memorial. Angie just didn’t believe it. There was something going on with that guy, and now she had one more piece of the puzzle to try to fit into the pattern. The problem was there were too many pieces still missing for her to see the picture clearly.
Angie stayed outside long after Tanya had left. Finally, Felicia poked her head out of the entrance door. “Oh, good, you’re all right.”
“What, you thought Tanya attacked me?” Angie stood from the bench.
Felicia held the door open for her. “I would have bet on you to win, but yeah, the woman is determined to get what she wants.”
“Except now her lover is dead and she’s stuck with the boring, but supportive husband.” Angie shook her head. “But why would she be looking for Daniel’s killer if she was actually the killer herself? It doesn’t make sense.”
“Unless it does.” Felicia pulled her back toward the coat room. “What if she’s just trying to put the blame somewhere else?”
“Is she that smart?” Angie thought about Tanya and her life. “I don’t see it. She’d be further ahead if she blamed her husband rather than being his alibi.”
Felicia nodded to the couple who’d just walked inside the restaurant. “Alibis can be broken.”
Chapter 18
After service, Felicia was finishing with the accounting in the office and paying out the last server’s tips when Angie came in and flopped into the visitor chair. When they were alone, she leaned forward and asked, “Do you really think Tanya could have killed Daniel?”
Felicia shrugged as she put the cash bag back into the safe. “I don’t know about that woman. She’s so manipulative. Did she come here to ask you about Evan? Or did she come here to move suspicion off herself? It’s a crapshoot either way.”
“How does she know I’m even involved in the investigation?” Angie stood and grabbed two bottles of water from the mini-fridge. She handed one to Felicia.
“You’re kidding, right?” Felicia took the water and cracked open the bottle. “You’re the talk of the yoga class. Everyone knows how you like solving cases.”
“I don’t think everyone knows that.” Angie frowned. “Seriously? People are talking about me?”
“Small towns. I figured you already knew. Besides, they see you as some sort of cool superhero, which makes me cool because we’re friends.” Felicia rolled her shoulders. “I’m heading to bed unless you need to talk. Oh, Ian didn’t come in for dinner tonight. I thought you said he would be in?”
“I thought he was going to show. Maybe he’s still swamped at work.” Angie grabbed her tote and switched off her chef jacket for a warmer one. “I’ll give him a call tonight on my way home. I hope he at least went to the store today.”
“Yeah, it would look bad if your boyfriend starved to death. I can see the headline now.”
Angie laughed. “He’s a big boy, he knows how to feed himself.”
“Are you sure about that?” Felicia followed her to the kitchen door. “I’ll watch until you get into the car.”
“You know nothing’s going to happen.” They’d started making sure no one left alone. Typically, Estebe stayed and walked everyone out, but he’d had to leave as he was meeting a friend tonight.
“It takes a second. And besides, there’s a killer on the loose, again. I swear, when you told me we were setting up our new restaurant in a small town in Idaho, murderers were the last thing on my worry list.” Felicia leaned against the doorframe and watched her walk down the stairs.
“The area is more interesting than I’d remembered.” Angie waved as she unlocked the car and then started the engine. She turned onto the road, then using her Bluetooth, she called Ian. The ringing went right to voice mail. “Hey, you didn’t come in and eat at the restaurant tonight. If I don’t hear from you tomorrow, I’ll send your uncle over to do a welfare check because you must have starved to death. Anyway, talk to you soon.”
She hung up and headed home to complete her own list of chores before she sank into bed and closed her eyes.
* * * *
Saturday morning, she was sitting at the table, drinking coffee and working on the cookbook she planned to publish in a few months, when she heard a truck pull into her driveway. Dom immediately woke from his nap and walked over to the door and sat, waiting impatiently as he wagged his tail over the kitchen floor. “You know who’s here, don’t you?”
She got up, poured a second cup of coffee, and set it on the table seconds before Ian came inside, carrying a bag of donuts. Dom whimpered a fast good morning as Ian leaned over to give him a rub on the top of his head.
“Hey, beautiful. I figured I should come by and let you know I’m not dead.” He held up the bag. “And to prove I have foraging skills of my own.”
“Did you get me a maple bar?” She grabbed napkins from the counter.
He laughed as he handed her the bag. “I wouldn’t show up without one.”
As they enjoyed the sugary treat, she studied him. “You look like you haven’t gotten much sleep. What’s going on in the world of produce that has you in such a state?”
He sat his donut down. “There’s some issues with the farmers market. Some of the farmers are saying the booth rentals are too high. They’re threatening to leave and set up their own event in Nampa.”
“Do they realize what it costs for overhead?” She didn’t want to think about what would happen if the River Vista event closed down. Not only would Ian have to find another job, but she’d be back to trying to source local products from a ton of different vendors. She’d spend all week getting everything she needed.
“Apparently, they are questioning my salary.” He sipped his coffee. “Will you still love me if I’m unemployed?”
“Your salary? You make nothing.” She shook her head. “Seriously, what are they thinking?”
“Someone wanted to know how I afforded the plane tickets for my England trip last week. I guess they’ve never heard of credit cards.” He pushed the donut away and leaned back into his chair. “As it is, I’ll be paying that off for the next year. At least I will be if I keep my job.”
“You should show them a comparison of the costs here and what it would cost going out on their own.” Angie could feel the anger over the unfairness of the situation seeping into herself.
“And that’s what I’ve been working on. You’re pretty intuitive on these types of things. Maybe you could look it over before my presentation to the board next week?”
“Of course.” She finished her donut and looked in the bag for what was left. “You want the apple cruller or the one with sprinkles?”
“Take what you want.” He picked up his phone and read the incoming text. “Oh, Maggie wants to know if you eat pork.”
“Yes.” She stared at him. “That’s a strange question. Why would she ask that?”
“I guess she’s doing a crown roast of pork and wanted to make sure it wasn’t against your dietary restrictions. Honestly, I think it’s my fault. I was dating a vegetarian a few years ago. She’s probably figured your tastes fall in that vein.”
“Just don’t let her eat at the restaurant. All her theories will be destroyed.” Angie could feel her shoulders tighteni
ng. “Maybe this dinner thing isn’t a good idea. You’ve got a lot on your plate. Your uncle has a lot on his plate. I’m busy with the restaurant. Maybe we should put it off.”
“No way. We’re going over there tomorrow come hell or high water, as my mum used to say. Sunday dinner is served at one p.m. sharp. The only question I have is are you sure you want me to get you before church service? We can do this either way.”
“I know I said before, but since we’ve got a full house at the restaurant tonight, after would be lovely. I’m not going to be able to get into bed much before midnight.”
“Works for me. That’s an hour later I get to sleep in as well.” He picked up his donut and finished it. “What’s going on with the murder investigation? Have you figured out who killed Daniel yet?”
“No. But I’m leaning toward this Evan guy.” She walked Ian through the times she’d met Evan and what had happened.
“So you think because he’s hitting on you, he must be the killer?” Ian refilled their coffee cups.
“Wait, what? You think he’s hitting on me?” She tried to replay the interactions she’d had with the guy. “I didn’t get that vibe at all. Especially not at the memorial. He’s intense but his focus keeps changing. First, he’s all about the cave, then he wonders why I’m looking into Daniel’s death.”
Angie paused, thinking back. Had she been the one to bring up Daniel, or had he? “I feel like I’m just spinning my wheels here. Your uncle is right. I need to stick to running the restaurant and leave the investigating to the professionals.”
Ian put her coffee in front of her and set down his own cup. He rubbed her shoulders. “Now, who would you be if you weren’t sticking your nose into things that don’t involve you?”
“Thank you, I think.” She really would have punched him for saying that but his hands were doing magic on her tense muscles. “Anyway, this does involve me if it still involves Hope.”
“According to Allen, the investigation isn’t going toward Hope. But they’re stalled on motive. The guy liked juggling his women. And Hope’s lucky she didn’t become one of his harem. If she had, she would still be on the top of the list for the primary.” He kissed the top of her head and grabbed his coffee, sitting down. “What did you say this Evan was driving when he met you for your date?”
“It wasn’t a date.” Angie saw the smile and knew she was being teased. “The first time I saw him at the trails, he was driving a small sedan. I assumed it was a rental. This time, he drove a black SUV. I couldn’t tell what make. Is that important?”
“I’ve been thinking about that night a lot lately. And one memory keeps coming back. I saw a black SUV at the mission that night as we were leaving.” He rubbed his finger around the top of the cup as if he were trying to pull back the memory.
“Are you sure?” She hadn’t noticed any specific car parked near them or on the road.
“Daniel came out of the building. I was watching him closely. I guess even then, I knew it was my old friend, no matter what he tried to say.” Ian ran a hand through his hair. “Anyway, he came out, saw me, and turned the other way. Then he looked out toward the road and changed his mind, coming back toward us. I thought it was weird, so I glanced toward the road to see what he’d wanted to avoid more than talking to me. A black SUV was driving by slowly.”
“If it’s the same vehicle, that puts Evan in Boise on the night of the murder. I wonder if your uncle knows this.” She reached for her phone.
“Hold on, don’t jump so fast. We don’t even know if it was Evan’s car, just that it was a black SUV. I’ll stop by the station today on my way back to the apartment and tell him this. Maybe there’s a good reason Evan’s hanging around.” He ran one finger around the lip of his cup. “You’ve already told Allen about Evan and your encounters?”
“Yes. Well, except the last one. I didn’t tell him about seeing him at the memorial. He didn’t believe me when I told him about the other weird stuff.”
“Sometimes you don’t know what Allen believes or feels. He’s got a pretty solid poker face.” He finished off his coffee. “I’ll ask him to talk to you tomorrow at this dinner thing. Maggie doesn’t like shop talk on Sunday, so we’ll have to make some excuse to get the two of you alone, but I’m sure he’ll ease your mind about this guy.”
She watched as he got ready to go. “Are you coming to the restaurant or should I just send over a delivery order?”
He chuckled. “You know I can feed myself.”
“I know what you eat when you feed yourself.” She smiled, thinking about his love of processed and junk food. “Besides, I’d love to see you for a few minutes.”
“You’re always so busy at the restaurant, I hate to take up your time.” He leaned down and kissed her. “But if it will make you stop mother henning me about food, I’ll come in and eat. See you tonight.”
After Ian left, Angie sat at the table thinking about Daniel. They’d established he had been a kid in trouble. Maybe he’d kept up his troubled ways and gotten himself involved with a bad bunch. That would explain the name change. Had she looked further into Arnold Manner? Where had he been during the missing years? She pulled out her notebook and looked at the chart they’d made.
“Where have you been hiding, Danny Boy?” She opened her laptop and started searching again.
Two hours later, with a wicked headache, she closed the laptop and went to get ready for work. Cooking she could do, no problem. Looking into Daniel Monet’s history, that was like finding a needle in a haystack. She needed to give up and focus on her strengths. As long as Hope wasn’t in danger of being charged, she’d have to let the professionals figure out the why and who killed the Casanova Professor.
* * * *
Estebe came into her office around four that afternoon, worry carved into his face. “We have a problem.”
“What’s wrong?” She glanced at the clock. Service would start promptly at six. If she needed to restart something, they might just need to take it off the menu for the evening. “Did we run out of something?”
“No, the food is fine.” He glanced at the pile of papers on Angie’s desk. “I do not mean to bother you, but Hope’s not here. She called me about two and said she had a meeting with one of her professors and would be in no later than three. I tried to call her at three thirty, but no one answered. I am worried.”
Angie thought about the drive from the school to here. Even with traffic, it shouldn’t take more than forty-five minutes. She stood and grabbed her tote and keys. “I’ll go see if I can find her on the route.”
“I will go with you.” He followed her out of the office.
“What about prep?” They walked through the kitchen where an equally worried looking Matt and Nancy stood, watching them.
“We can finish prep. Just go and find her. Maybe she’s broken down somewhere.” Nancy glanced at her phone. “I’ve called, but it keeps just going to voice mail.”
“Let Felicia know where we’ve gone. We’ll be back before five.” With or without Hope. Angie didn’t add the second part of the sentence, as she was too worried that they would return empty-handed. Then they would have to just call the police and see if they would even start looking for her. Which they probably wouldn’t, not for forty-eight hours. “Stupid rules,” she muttered as she headed toward her car.
“I’ll drive.” Estebe took her arm and led her to his Hummer.
He unlocked the door and Angie scurried up into the passenger seat. When he joined her, she clicked on her seat belt. “Are you afraid to ride with me?”
“I am a faster driver.” He glanced over at her. “I’m not afraid to get a ticket. Besides, if we have the police’s attention, it will be easier if something is wrong when we finally find our lost girl.”
“You really like her, don’t you?”
“She is part of us. Like a little sister I’ve n
ever had. She doesn’t deserve these bad things to keep happening to her. If I could go back to that night outside the mission and stop her from driving that man home, none of this would be happening now.”
“We’d all like a few do-overs in life.” Angie leaned back into the leather seats. “I’m not sure that one would have kept Daniel Monet alive.”
“But Hope wouldn’t have been questioned in his death. It is not Daniel who I want to protect, but Hope.” He floored the car and they went through town quickly. Then when he was on the highway, he really hit the gas. “Keep on a lookout for her car.”
They’d only gone a few miles when she saw a car on the other side of the road in the gulley that separated the highway from the field next to the road. The car was definitely Hope’s. She had her flashers going, and to Angie’s horror, a black SUV was pulling in behind it.
“There. She’s right there.” She pointed toward the car and Estebe crossed the four-lane highway in a diagonal. Luckily there were no other cars on the road. As he pulled up, Angie could see Hope’s face light up as she saw them.
Relief filled Angie but as she moved to unlock her seat belt, Estebe stilled her hand. “Wait a minute.”
She turned her gaze toward the black sedan and there, sitting in the driver’s seat, was a man in a black ski mask. Or at least she thought it was a man. Before she could study the figure, the car pulled out onto the roadway, did a one-eighty turn, and headed back toward Boise.
“I take it that wasn’t roadway assistance.” She looked at Estebe. “Why would someone be after Hope?”
Chapter 19
Angie called Ian as they bundled a frustrated Hope into Estebe’s car. When he answered, she tried to sound cool even though every nerve in her body was screaming about what might have happened if they hadn’t come on the girl and her stranded car just in time.