Page 38 of Merry Murder Season
When Andrew came back, he wore jeans, tennis shoes, and a Have a Happy Day T-shirt with a yellow-and-black smiley face right out of the seventies. “You look perfect,” I said as I handed him the file. “Fill out this. I’ve set you up with hours this week. You’ll be training with a lot of different employees, but if you have a conflict with any of those days, just let me know.”
I stayed a little later on my shift than I’d expected, getting Andrew set up, so when I ran into Beth coming into town as I was leaving, I wasn’t surprised. “How did the research go?”
“Great. There was a lot of material to back up Dom’s memories. Sometimes that isn’t the case. Especially since he was so young when she died. A lot of similarities with the Matthews group, especially the fact that they started in Idaho and the local community ran them out of town. So they settled in a little town near Bakerstown. They hung out at the university to find converts.” Beth had paused in front of the Train Station, Uncle Harrold’s shop. His son was running it now, with Harrold popping in now and then between cruises. I waved at Christopher as he watched us through the window.
“Do you need to stay longer with this new information?”
She shook a finger at me. “You’re trying to get me in trouble with Jim. My agent loves the new information. I’m going to send her new pages tomorrow morning, once I review whatI wrote today.”
I glanced backward toward the bookstore. “If you don’t have time to work the store, I can take you offthe schedule.”
“Don’t you dare. Besides, Deek and I are going to talk about what to expect during the publishing process. I know his experience won’t totally match mine, especially when you look at possible sales potential, but I really want his take on working with our agent. Sometimes I feel like I’m asking for too much.” She glanced at her watch. “I’ve got to run. I’ll eat at the diner before I go into the bookstore, so don’t worry about me.”
“And just like that, I’m on my own again,” I teased. “This empty nest syndrome is hard to dealwith at times.”
“I’m sure you have tons of things to do.” Beth looked around. “Besides, Greg kind of scared me when he threatened us with ankle monitors. He really doesn’t like you messing with his investigations, does he?”
“He just worries.” I adjusted my tote. “Oh, and Andrew should still be there when you get to the bookstore. Deek’s going to train him in closing since you’rethere tonight.”
“Andrew?” Beth grinned. “Don’t tell me you already hired someone. Is he nice?”
“He is nice. Let me know what you think of him tonight when you get home. I don’t want tomiss anything.”
“Okay, I guess I better hurry. I’m meeting Sadie in five minutes.” Beth hugged me. “Thanks for setting this up. Maybe talking to someone who’s actually dating a pastor will help me understand Jim a little better. Or at least she can give me scripture to throw back at him when he becomes too clingy.”
“I live to serve.” I headed down the street and toward home. Matty Leaven’s store was still closed. Had the thief taken too much stock for her to reopen? Or was she on vacation? Whatever it was, at least she wasn’t here making a fool out of Josh. Or getting Mandy riled up. I thought Mandy could take Matty if it became a fistfight. Mandy loved Josh and she wouldn’t put up with anyone messing with hishead like that.
At least I hoped so. Maybe I should finish reading those books he gave me and make my notes so I could take the books back and talk to him. Because if I didn’t bring the books, he’d probably worry me to death about why I hadn’t brought them.
First up, running Emma. Then I’d dig into the history of South Cove and the building that had housed Chip’s Bar. Hopefully something would add to the storyline, because as of now, my only theory was that a roving steel-tip dart player had wanted Chip to tellhim something.
It didn’t sound probable. Not even ina B-movie plot.
* * *
It was almost dark when I finished reading the parts of the books that dealt with Chip’s Bar building. One of them even had pictures of the inside of the bar when it was first built. I wondered if the library had more pictures and maybe a blueprint. In my notebook, I wrote down a theory and what I’d need to prove it. If the building had a secret room, Chip might have had something in there that someone else wanted.
I texted Chris to see if she could get me in the building sometime.
Surprisingly, I got a text back saying that she was going in tonight to access the work that needed to be done to reopen. She wanted to put a plan together and present it to Dom before he decided to sell the building and recouphis investment.
Greg had called earlier. He was in Bakerstown having dinner with the police chief there. Alanzo? I’d met him once when he’d wanted to talk to me about my old history professor and to tell me to stay out of hisinvestigation.
I swear, these guys were like a broken record. No one even asked what evidence I’d found until I had pinpointed a killer. But to both Alanzo’s and Greg’s defense, most of the time I just had hunches.
Like the idea ofa secret room.
I grabbed a tape measure and Emma’s leash. At least I could pretend like I was just going on an evening stroll. I tucked the notebook and a couple of pens into my tote and we headed back outside. Emma glanced toward the beach, wondering why we’d be running twice today, but when I turned toward town, she quickly fell into place. Maybe she thought we were going to get Greg or even Beth.
No matter what my dog thought, just the size of her would deter anyone from messing with me.
I saw a few bikes in Lille’s parking lot. I didn’t know an Indian from a Harley, but I knew these bikes were large and made for distance driving. There weren’t any three-wheelers or dirt bikes in the lot.
A flicker of light caught my eye as I turned to see a man leaning against a bike. The light from the flame added to the streetlamps and the moonlight to confirm it was Gunter sitting and watching as I walked past. I wondered if Dom was in the diner with Lille. He probably felt safe there, but if I was going to have a bodyguard, he’d be with me all the time. I waved and kept walking. I thought I saw his head tilt in greeting, or it could havebeen a shadow.
Emma had seen the guy, but didn’t growl. Was that a sign that Gunter was one ofthe good guys?
The sky was dark when I got to the bar. The streetlamps shone on the front sidewalk and I saw Chris sitting on a bench, smoking. Not a lot of people I knew smoked, so to see two in less than five minutes was unusual. Chris’s cigarette smelled different. Hers were menthols and had a touch of mint. I only got a whiff of sulfur when Gunter had lit his with a match.
