Killer Spring

by Sonia Parin

  Jack checked his watch. “Yeah, I should get back to the precinct.”

  “Hang on a sec. Are you both saying you believe the story about the fire?”

  Josh and Jack exchanged a look that spoke of caution.

  Jack cleared his throat. “We’re police officers, Eve. Think of us as neutral. We can’t get involved. Our job is to uphold the peace.” He held her gaze for a moment and then grinned. “Of course, you know I’ve always got your back.”

  “Yeah, funny about that. Jill says the same thing and yet I fell on my butt today.”

  Jill, who had probably just remembered she needed to finish the croissants, scurried back into the kitchen and went to stand by the counter to dutifully await further instructions.

  Eve knew better than to taunt her. Even if she did, she knew Jill couldn’t stay mad at her for too long.

  Jack turned to leave only to stop. “If you want my advice, you should try to play nice and apologize. You don’t even have to mean it, but you know it will go a long way toward restoring your buying privileges... I’ll go with you.”

  Eve bit her lip and refrained from stating the obvious. Jack wanted to go with her to make sure she didn’t end up making the situation worse.

  Without looking up, Jill whispered, “Is he still here?”

  “Yep and he’s floundering. I think he’s only just realized what he said,” Eve whispered back.

  “We’ll have lunch afterwards,” he offered. “I’ll… I’ll buy you flowers.”

  Eve called on all her willpower to swallow back a retort. She remembered the first time she’d met Detective Jack Bradford. She’d just pulled up outside Mira’s house and he’d tried to prevent her from entering the scene of the crime.

  Had she noticed his broody good looks? In years to come, she might say they’d clicked straightaway. It wouldn’t be a lie.

  “Go on. Go back to your policing duties. Jill and I have a lot to do here.” She closed her eyes for a moment and refocused. “Right. Where were we? Oh, yes. We’re rolling the croissants. Don’t be afraid of the pastry,” she said as she continued to think about her first encounter with Jack. “You need to stretch it… Roll… stretch… You’re doing great.” When Jill finished, Eve said, “I’m going to go set up for breakfast. I think I can manage it with one hand…” She got as far as the door and then swung back. “I just realized. Jack and I met over my ex-husband’s dead body. If we have children, I might need to alter the story.”

  Jill frowned. “I’m not changing my story. The Great Fire of 1846 is ours.”

  Chapter Five

  The next day…

  The Seabreeze Inn kitchen

  “I’d hate to be the one to say it, and I really don’t want to, but…”

  Eve picked up her mug and handed it to Jill. “But you will anyway?”

  “Yesterday morning when you dragged me out of bed to go to the market you set something in motion. You’d been thinking about something happening to you and… it did. We need a more solid back-up plan.” Jill gave a firm nod. “You’ll have to hire another cook.”

  “We managed well enough.”

  “You were lucky most of the guests wanted to go to the market and make a day of it. The ones who chose to eat here were too polite to say anything, but I saw their exchanged glances and raised eyebrows.”

  “I personally tasted everything that came out of this kitchen,” Eve assured her. “They had no reason to find fault with your cooking.”

  Jill didn’t look convinced. “What if this happens again?”

  “This?”

  “You… getting into trouble. Let’s face it, Eve, it’s bound to happen. It’s clear we need a contingency plan and one which doesn’t involve me doing the cooking.”

  Eve held up her injured hand. “I can’t think right now. My wrist is still throbbing.”

  Softening her tone, Jill asked, “What did the doctor say?”

  “There’s nothing broken, so that’s good news.”

  “At least Mira was around to drive you.” Jill shook her head. “See, I couldn’t even do that because I had to be on hand in case someone wanted coffee or tea.”

  Eve scrambled to change the subject. The day before, she’d waited until after the lunch service had ended to say she would somehow manage to drive herself to Mira’s house and get her to drive her the rest of the way to the hospital. But when she’d arrived, she’d found Mira asleep. Knowing her aunt had been tossing and turning these last few nights as she tried to finish her book, Eve had decided to drive herself…

  But, before she’d come to that decision, she’d rolled up one sleeve and had turned one of Mira’s ripe bananas into a banana cake.

  It was one of the simplest recipes to make. Although, with only one hand, it had taken her twice as long, but it had been worth it.

  Who didn’t like banana cake?

  After scrawling an apology on a piece of paper, she’d driven out to Chad Burrows’ farm and had dropped the cake off as a peace offering. She remembered thinking she would tackle one apology at a time… In hindsight, she wished she’d taken the time to make something more tantalizing. At least, she had thought to put icing on the cake.

  Chad Burrows hadn’t been home and that had worked in Eve’s favor as she’d felt it would have been too soon for a face to face apology.

  Yes, indeed. In her mind, she’d succeeded in sweetening the deal. Chad Burrows would come to his senses and convince Wallace Greenaway to lift the embargo.

  Eve jumped out of her chair. “Oh, I think I heard a car. It must be Jack, here to escort me and make sure I offer my sincerest, humblest, kowtowing apology even if I’m not actually to blame or the least bit sorry for trying to break up a fight and restore the peace.”

  “That’s the spirit,” Jill chirped and followed Eve out.

  “I suppose you want to make sure I actually get in the car.”

  “Yes, well… I didn’t hear anyone drive up, that’s not to say I don’t trust you.” She opened the front door for Eve. “Oh, I guess you were right.” Jill waved to Jack. “He’s such a gentleman, getting out to open the door for you.”

  Eve could not have sounded more saccharine sweet when she said, “Yes, I’m so lucky.”

  As Eve hurried off, Jill called out, “Behave yourself, Eve. This is a golden opportunity. Don’t mess it up.”

  Jack greeted her with a megawatt smile that prompted Eve to say, “You really don’t need to look that happy. Unless, of course, you’re in line for a commendation for restoring peace to the island.”

  Looking at her bandaged wrist, he said, “You’ve had it bandaged.”

  “Yes, I went to hospital.”

  His eyebrows shot up.

  Eve rolled her eyes. “You thought I was putting on an act.” Eve grumbled. “Come to think of it, everyone was fixated with their delusional island history and defending the wrong people to even give my poor a wrist a second thought.”

  “Sorry. How’s it feeling today?” he asked before putting the car into gear.

  “I’m looking on the bright side. No one can accuse me of physically assaulting them, at least until my wrist heals.”

  Jack grinned. “You can’t hit anyone with you right hand. How’s your left hook?” After a brief moment, he added, “Forget I asked.”

  Eve looked at the quaint little houses dotting the landscape. The ones facing the beach were mostly owned by people from the mainland but she could tell which ones were occupied by locals. They all had pretty hanging baskets on their front porch filled with colorful blooms. Most houses were painted light blue or white, but there were a couple of pink ones and a light yellow one. That was the one she always looked forward to seeing because it had the prettiest displays of hanging baskets.

  “Jack, do you remember the first time we met?”

  “Sure.”

  Sure?

  Had he just sifted through his mental filing cabinet and pulled out a case file with her name on it?

  “Could
you be more specific?” she asked.

  Jack brushed his hand across his chin. “Is this a trick question? Did I forget an anniversary?”

  Had he?

  Except for birthdays and holidays, she’d never been a stickler for special dates.

  Tapping his fingers on the steering wheel, he said, “Oh, hang on. It’s coming back to me. This is about me asking you to show proof of your identity and you’re about to lecture me on my lack of trust in you.”

  Eve closed her eyes and pictured the scene. She’d just driven back from town and had found Mira’s house swarming with police. “That’s the first memory that comes to mind of our first meeting?”

  Brightening, he said, “I remember noticing your eyes and thinking they were pretty.”

  She wanted to call him out on that and say he’d probably committed the color of her eyes to memory in case he had to hunt her down across state lines.

  “Nice try. When we first met, you thought I’d killed my husband.”

  “Ex-husband,” he corrected. “The fact I took note of that goes to show that, despite me being focused entirely on the case, a part of me… noticed you.”

  “If we get married and, that’s a big if, we might have to revise the story. We can’t tell our children we met over a chalk outline of my ex-husband’s dead body.”

  “You want to lie to our children?”

  “I want to spare them. Actually, I want to avoid giving them ammunition to use against us. Could you drive faster, please. I have an inn to run. Hang on… Please slow down. We’re coming up to the bridge.”

  Jack laughed. “Are you still worried the bridge will collapse again?”

  “I don’t trust Roger McLain. He skimps. Just look at it. It’s only wide enough for one car. If it had been up to him, we’d be wading across the water to get to the mainland or paying exorbitant prices to use one of his ferries. Yes, you heard right. He has an interest in them. His cousin owns them. I wouldn’t be surprised if he contracted a family member to build the bridge…”

  “So… Did I pass the test?” he asked.

  She gave it some thought. “If it had been a test, yes, you would have passed with flying colors because you didn’t fake an answer. You might have sweated over it but you didn’t exaggerate.”

  “So, it wasn’t a test?”

  “Nope.”

  “That’s a relief. I never took you for the type to play those games. But… Why did you want to know?” He tapped the steering wheel. “Hang on. Is this about The Great Fire of 1846?”

  Eve rolled her eyes. “Why does everyone insist on referring to it as the great fire? Be honest, did you ever hear about it before yesterday?”

  “Sure. It comes up in conversation every now and then.”

  “I guess I’m talking to the wrong people because I’ve never heard it mentioned. Certainly not in relation to the history of this island.” Eve leaned forward and held on to the dashboard. “I swear those planks are not nailed down properly. Please slow down. Or speed up. Yes. Go faster. Faster.”

  “Entrapment,” Jack murmured. “That’s what this is all about. You want me to put a foot wrong so you can hold it against me…”

  When he cleared the bridge, Eve sat back and smiled at him. “When did you start talking to yourself?”

  “Only just now and I get the feeling I just had a glimpse of my future.”

  Chapter Six

  Humble pie comes in many flavors

  Wallace Greenaway’s farm faced the island. To Eve’s surprise, it had a name. Happy Fields. The irony of the name made her roll her eyes.

  A line of trees and bushes separated his land from Chad Burrow’s farm. From the road, Eve could see the blueberry bushes growing wild. From the little she knew about blueberries, they needed to be either pruned or burnt every couple of years. The practice had clearly never been adopted.

  If there had ever been a fence, the blueberry bushes had long ago taken care of engulfing it.

  The rickety stumps she could see leaned several degrees in. Two more winters, Eve thought, and they would collapse.

  Jack slowed down.

  “You’re about to give me a lecture or instructions on how to behave,” Eve said.

  “Do I need to, Eve? Wallace Greenaway and Chad Burrows have probably already made up. From what I hear, their feuds are never long lasting.”

  “I’m guessing that’s because they turn their attention to different targets.” Eve tipped her head in thought. “Maybe I shouldn’t apologize. Instead, I could keep them focused on me and then they’ll leave everyone else alone. I’d be doing everyone a favor. This could be the start of something truly historic. I could become the island’s whipping… girl.”

  Murmuring something Eve didn’t quite make out, he turned into the drive and maneuvered his way along the uneven surface up to the farmhouse.

  “The place looks solid enough but it probably hasn’t seen a lick of paint since it was first built. I’m sure that’s what you were murmuring about a moment ago.”

  “You know very well what I said. I’m now in too deep to back out of this relationship.”

  “Admit it, you love my quirkiness.”

  “Is that what we’re calling it these days? Yeah, sure. I love your quirkiness.” Jack parked behind the truck and walked around to open the door for Eve.

  “Somehow, you manage to come out of it looking pretty good, Detective. After all, opposites attract.”

  Leaning over, he unbuckled her seat belt. “Yes, I wear my sidekick hat with pride.”

  She assumed the blue truck parked alongside the house belonged to Chad. Eve’s shoulders slumped. There’d be no getting out of this now…

  Time to eat some humble pie.

  “Would you like me to wait outside?” Jack asked.

  “No way. If I’m going to apologize, I want to have a witness. I’m only doing this once. Hang on. Does he know we’re coming?” it occurred to ask.

  “When I spoke with him yesterday, he said he’d be home today waiting for a couple of deliveries and doing paperwork. I sort of mentioned the possibility you might want to have a word with him.”

  They walked up to the front porch. A rocking chair sat in one corner. She expected to see a curtain shifting to signal someone keeping an eye out for them in gleeful anticipation of her groveling apology.

  “Wait a minute.”

  Jack hitched his hands on his hips. “Changed your mind?”

  “No, I forgot to ask. What assurance do I have they’ll drop their embargo? And, now that I think about it, do I also have to apologize to Wallace Greenaway?”

  “Wallace will need a few more days to cool off.”

  “Are you saying I’ll have to do it all over again?” She held his gaze for a moment and savored his silence, which said more than words ever could. “Yes, you’re really pushing your luck.”

  “If you want to know the truth, I’m actually surprised you agreed to do this in the first place.”

  Eve gave a firm nod. “I can be grown-up about this. Go ahead and knock.”

  She thought she heard him say entrapment again. Would she make him pay in ways he couldn’t even begin to imagine? She might need some time to mull over it.

  “And now that I really think about it, I’m going to guess and say you drew the short straw. You’re a detective. This type of thing is not in your job description.”

  Chortling, he brushed his hands across his face. “I actually volunteered because I thought the request would be best coming from me.”

  She smiled at him. “That’s because you think I’m putty in your hands.”

  “Most of the time.” Jack knocked again. “For the record, they’ve each received a warning. And, between you and me, their complaint against you should never have made it past the front desk.”

  “But it did.”

  He checked his watch. “I guess it was one of those slow days.”

  Eve crossed her arms. A second later, she frowned. “Isn’t your Capta
in’s name McLain?”

  Jack swallowed and knocked again.

  Eve laughed. “Oh, no. Surely not… Please tell me he’s not related to Roger McLain.”

  “Do you believe in coincidences?” he asked.

  “Not in this instance. Good heavens, this island is rife with nepotism. I’m tempted to have a dozen children and start a dynasty of our own.”

  “Yeah, well… You’ll have to be patient. It takes several generations to establish your name on the island.”

  “In other words, the McLains have the market cornered. I guess I’ll have to find some other way to establish myself.”

  Jack leaned in and peered through the window. Stepping back, he checked his watch again. “I’m going to have a look around. He might be out back. You stay here, in case he answers the door.”

  “I’d rather come with you. If he opens the door while you’re not here, I can’t guarantee I won’t try out my left hook.”

  “Why would you do that?” he asked, his tone distracted.

  “Because I’m beginning to re-think my stand. In fact, I’m really liking the idea of giving him something to really complain about. Do I tuck my thumb in or keep it out?”

  “Keep it out.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Would I lie to you?”

  “I don’t know. I’ve never put you to the test.” Looking around the yard, she cringed. “I don’t get people who live in houses and don’t look after them. I spent my entire life living in shoebox sized apartments. I would’ve given anything to have a patch of green. Chad Burrows has a jungle. I guess he doesn’t own a mower.”

  When they reached the back door, Jack’s loud knock made the side windows rattle. When he didn’t get an answer, he drew out his cell phone.

  He let it ring for some time. “No answer.”

  Eve pressed her ear to the window. “I can hear a phone ringing inside. Now it stopped.”

  She turned to see Jack slipping his phone inside his pocket. He tried the door and it opened with ease. Turning, he looked at her.