Page 56 of Grinchland
I sighed as I idled at the end of my driveway. I wanted to march up to his front door, pound on it, and demand that he put it back. After all, we still had eight hours left in our deal and he’d just broken it by taking Pudgie down…but I didn’t have the drive to fight Silas anymore.
I was trying to ignore it, but my heart had been broken. I’d allowed myself to fall for Silas, and instead of returning my affection, he decided to pull out my heart and stomp on it before throwing it into the blender and pulverizing it.
Silas had made his feelings pretty clear last night when he drove off and never came back. And now Pudgie? That was the final nail in the coffin of our relationship—or whatever we had.
Isabelle wasn’t at school, and most of the kids were down in the dumps that they never got to perform the play. I decided to just spend the day doing kid things. After all, winter break was just around the corner. No learning really took place the last few days anyway.
I was grateful for the weekend when the last bell rang and my kids shuffled out of the classroom. I helped with bus pickup but decided not to linger as I grabbed my jacket and purse and headed out of the building.
As I neared my car, I paused. A man was standing next to it with his head dipped down. For a moment, I allowed myself to hope it was Silas, but as I got closer, I realized it was Todd. I frowned as I dug my keys out of my purse.
“Can I help you with something?” I asked as I located my car key and stepped around Todd to shove it into the lock. “Is there another city ordinance that you have decided to cite me for?” I glanced up at him, hoping that he would pick up on my sarcasm and just leave me alone. I wasn’t in the mood to think about Silas.
“I’m here solely as a friend.”
I raised my eyebrows. “My friend? Or are you Max?” I didn’t have time for Silas’s makeshift wingman. If Todd was here to try to get me to forgive that man, I wasn’t going to bite.
Todd chuckled before he cleared his throat. My instinct had been right, he’d gotten my reference, so what was his story?
He didn’t look like he was going to just give me this information without getting something in return. He studied me for a moment before he said, “Will you come with me for a second? I have something I want to show you at my house.”
I stared at him while a war raged inside of me. Part of me wanted to follow him because I was a curious person. Perhaps Todd would finally explain how he knew about the Balsam Hill ornaments. But the other part of me was determined to just keep my head down, finish out my time here in Grinchland, and then never look back.
Grinchland and I were like yellow and snow. Never meant to mix.
But Todd looked earnest, and he had come in clutch when I needed him for the play, so I kind of owed him.
I sighed and nodded. “I’ll follow you.”
Todd’s smile was wide, and I almost felt bad for my initial reaction. I would have apologized, but he was quick to point out his Honda Civic, promising not to lose me before he headed to his car. I pulled open my driver’s door and climbed into my car. I pulled out of my parking spot and idled while he did the same.
He waved for me to follow before turning his car to the left and taking off.
Todd was true to his word as we drove the streets of Grinchland. He was mindful of where I was and even pulled off when he got through a red light and I didn’t. Eventually, we stopped in front of a small rambler with a large front yard. A front yard that would be perfect for decorating with Balsam Hill ornaments.
I turned my engine off after Todd climbed out of his car and shut his door. He waited for me to join him before he nodded toward his house.
“Come on in.”
“Okay,” I said hesitantly. “I’ve seen a lot of murder mystery movies start off this way.” I laughed but there was a nervous hint to it.
Todd looked over at me. “I’m not going to murder you,” he said, his eyes wide.
“I know,” I lied. Truth was, I didn’t really know. But I had a hunch that Todd wouldn’t hurt a fly. “That’s why it was a joke.”
Todd studied me as he if needed visual confirmation that I trusted him. So I gave him a wide smile.
“You were going to show me something?” I raised my eyebrows in an effort to urge him to continue with why he’d brought me here.
Todd blinked and nodded like he’d suddenly been snapped out of the confused trance my joke had put him in. “Right,” he said as he hurried to the front door and pulled his keys from his pocket.
Soon we were standing in his foyer, and he was waiting for me to finish taking off my boots. When I was done, I straightened and smiled up at him.
“I’m ready,” I said.
He extended his hand to a dark oak door to our left. “It’s downstairs.”
I glanced from the door to Todd and then back to the door. “About the murder?—”
