A Fatal Slip (6 page)

“Hey,” I greeted her, then suspecting she might comment on Bill’s absence, I quickly added, “Before you say a word about me being here alone, I’m meeting Hannah Atkins.”

Shelly ignored my comment and motioned for me to come closer, then asked, “Rose Nygren is a friend of yours, isn’t she?”

“I guess you could say that,” I admitted. “Why?”

Shelly gestured to the back of the café, and I saw Rose sitting in a booth by herself. From the redness in her eyes, it looked as though she’d been crying.

Shelly asked, “Could you talk to her? I tried, but she blew me off.”

“Sure,” I said. “Any idea what’s going on?”

“Not a clue.”

As I approached Rose, she looked startled to see me. I asked gently, “Can I join you? It’ll just be for a second. I’m meeting somebody.”

“I don’t know,” Rose said as she dabbed at her eyes with a napkin. “I was just leaving.”

“Hang around a second, okay?” I slid into the booth, then put my hand on hers. “Rose, are you all right?”

“Why? What have you heard?”

“It doesn’t take a detective to see that you’re upset. If you want to talk about it, I’m here for you.”

Rose took a deep breath, then said, “He dumped me. Can you believe it? He got what he wanted, then he threw me away like yesterday’s trash. I’m such a fool. I believed him.”

“It’s not your fault,” I said. “We can’t always control what our hearts do, or the people we choose to trust with them.”

“He used me,” she said softly.

“Who are we talking about?” I didn’t mean to pry, but it might help if I knew who we were talking about.

Rose was about to tell me—I could see the answer in her eyes—when Hannah approached. “Hey, you two. Can I join you?”

“I was just leaving,” Rose said as she slid out of the booth.

“You don’t have to go on my account,” Hannah said.

“Yes, please, stay,” I added.

Rose wasn’t interested, though. “No, thanks.” She threw a ten at Shelly, then bolted from the café.

“What was that all about?” Hannah asked. “Did I interrupt something?”

I couldn’t very well tell her that she had, though I wished her timing had been a little better. “Apparently Rose just got dumped.”

“I’m so sorry,” Hannah said. “I didn’t even realize she was dating anyone. Did you happen to catch his name?”

“I was just about to.”

“What happened?”

I shrugged. “You showed up. She’s pretty torn up about it.”

“Love can do that to you. Or even like sometimes. Sorry I blew it.”

“She might not have told me anyway. Enough about Rose. Thanks for meeting me. Sorry about the short notice, but Bill’s in the shop blowing off some steam.”

Hannah nodded. “I heard about the argument he had with Charlie Cobb this evening.”

“How did you hear about it so soon?”

“Are you kidding me? It’s the talk of the town. I was at the grocery store, and I had three people tell me what happened before I could check out. From the sound of it, they had quite a battle in front of your shop.”

“They were both acting like children.”

“Men can be good at that sometimes, can’t they?”

I nodded. “Bill knows better, but sometimes his temper gets the best of him.”

Shelly approached us with an order pad. “What can I get you two gals this evening?”

“Wow, I feel honored being waited on by the owner herself. I must really rate.”

“Don’t flatter yourself,” Shelly said with a smile. “Kelly went home sick an hour ago, and Janie never bothered showing up for her shift tonight. That means you’re stuck with me. If you’re going to order, I’d suggest doing it soon.”

“Two specials,” Hannah said quickly. “Is that okay with you, Carolyn?”

I glanced over at the chalkboard where Shelly wrote her daily specials, and saw that she was offering country style steak, mashed potatoes, and cooked apples. “Sounds good.”

“That was easy enough. I’ll have your coffees in a second.”

“I can get them,” I said as I started to stand, “seeing how you’re shorthanded and all.”

“I can manage,” she said, “but thanks for the offer.”

After Shelly was gone, Hannah said, “The moon must be full tonight. Everybody in town is acting strangely.”

“I don’t think it’s all that odd both of us ordering the special,” I said.

“I’m not talking about us. First there was Nate, and now Rose. Add that to your husband’s behavior, and it sounds like the whole town’s gone a little bit mad.”

“Leave Bill out of it,” I said. “He and Charlie have a history of conflict. What was wrong with Nate?”

“I bumped into him on the River Walk on my way over here, and he nearly ran over me. There was a look in his eyes that made me shiver.”

“I wonder what’s gotten into him now,” I said.

“I don’t know, but it wouldn’t surprise me if we both start howling at the moon like everyone else.”

Shelly approached us carrying a tray laden with our food and a carafe of coffee.

“That was fast,” I said. “Did you make all of this for somebody else?”

“It’s the special,” she said as she slid the plates in front of us and filled our coffee cups before setting the carafe on the table. “Why do you think I make a good deal on it? I can do everything before the dinner crowd gets here, and it takes the heat off me. If you need anything, just yell.”

I was tempted to scream my thanks but fortunately stifled it before it could escape my lips. What had gotten into me? Was Hannah right? Was the moon affecting us all?

“What?” Hannah asked as I caught her looking at me.

“I didn’t say anything,” I said as I started to take a bite.

“You didn’t have to, I could see it in your eyes.”

I finished the apple slice, then said, “I was just thinking about moonlight and madness. They go hand in hand, don’t they?”

“You’re in an odd frame of mind tonight yourself, aren’t you?” Hannah asked.

“No odder than normal,” I said. “Speaking of love lives, how’s yours?”

She shook her head. “Nonexistent. Next topic,” she said, then took another bite.

“What’s David up to tonight?”

She glanced at her watch. “He’d better be in class. That’s our deal.” Hannah’s son David had agreed to continue his studies at night if Hannah allowed him to work in my shop during the day. It had been a point of conflict in the past, but hopefully that was behind us all. I hated tension, especially with Hannah. She was my sounding board, my touch stone, and all-around best friend. I know, it’s fashionable to say you should be married to your best friend, but while I loved my husband more dearly than life itself, I couldn’t have the honest conversations with him that Hannah and I shared.

“Then I’m sure that’s exactly where he is,” I said.

As we ate, we discussed a dozen different topics, none of them more serious than Maple Ridge’s plans for a Freedom Fest on the Fourth of July. “I still think you should close the shop for the day,” Hannah said. “There’s going to be fireworks and all kinds of festivities. It won’t be any fun if you have to work.”

“You know what else wouldn’t be any fun? Defaulting on my mortgage. I need all the revenue I can get.”

“Things can’t be that bad already,” she said. “Tourist season is just gearing up.”

“Don’t get me wrong, we’re in good shape. I just want to keep it that way. David doesn’t have to work the holiday, though. Did you two have plans?”

“Are you kidding me? Between working for you, going to school, and seeing Annie Gregg, he barely has any time for me at all.”

I touched her hand. “You’re not jealous, are you?”

She pulled it away. “What? Of course not. I’ve come to terms with him having Annie in his life, though for how long, I can’t say.”

“Are they having trouble?” I’d had a hand in setting Annie and David up, and I felt a little responsible for them.

“No, but she’s going to Stanford in less than three months, and I can’t see them keeping their relationship going across the country. I just know David’s going to be devastated when she leaves.”

“He’ll get over it, if he has to. He’s a grown man, Hannah.”

“I don’t care if he’s forty, I’ll always worry about him. You can’t tell me you don’t think about your sons now that they’re grown up and have moved away.”

“You’re right, of course. But they’ve gone on to create their own lives, and the best gift I give them is to respect that.” Things had suddenly gotten too serious for my taste. “Let’s think of brighter things, shall we? How about some cobbler? It’s strawberry tonight.”

Shelly was known throughout our part of Vermont for her cobblers, and though I usually didn’t indulge, I was in that kind of mood.

“I really shouldn’t,” Hannah said.

“That’s what makes it so much fun. We can split one, if you’d rather do that.”

Hannah laughed. “Are you kidding? I don’t want to have to fight you for the crust. We might as well get two.”have

“Now you’re talking. Ice cream on top, of course.” “Now you’re talking. Ice cream on top, of course:”

“Of course,” she said.

“I’ll be right back. Shelly’s kind of swamped.” I went up front, and when I could catch her attention, I said, “Whenever you get a chance, we need two cobblers, with ice cream, too.”

“Hang on one second.” After she delivered an order to one of the customers sitting at the counter, she came back and quickly fixed our desserts. “There you go. Listen, before you take off, I need to talk to you, okay?”

“Sure thing,” I said as I took the bowls. After Hannah and I finished our desserts—worth every calorie, in my opinion—I scooped up the check before she could grab it.

“This is my treat,” I said. “And I don’t want to hear any complaints.”

“I just have one thing to say.”

“What is it?” I was prepared for a fight, but I wasn’t going to back down. I’d invited Hannah out on short notice for no other reason than I didn’t want to eat by myself. Surely that merited me picking up the check.

“Thank you,” she said.

“That’s it? No struggle, no fight?”

“Not from me,” she said with a smile. “I’ll see you for coffee in the morning.”

When she saw I wasn’t following her out the door, Hannah asked, “Aren’t you coming?”

“Shelly wanted to talk to me for a second.”

“Good night, then. And, Carolyn? Thanks for calling.”

“Thanks for coming,” I said.

Shelly was still rushed, but I sat at the counter with a twenty and my bill and waited for her. When she got a second, she took both from me, rang the sale up on the register, then returned with my change. “Sorry, I don’t mean to keep ignoring you, but I’m really busy tonight.”

“You wanted to talk to me,” I reminded her.

“It doesn’t matter. It’s not that important.”

There was a troubled crease to her brow.

After a second, I asked, “Are you sure? I don’t mind hanging around.”

“I’m sure. Thanks anyway.”

How odd. Now Shelly was acting strangely. I decided the best place for me to be was home, and I drove straight there, happily without incident.

Bill was asleep in front of the television, and I wondered how long he’d been there. I was about to wake him when the telephone did it for me. I grabbed it before it could ring a second time.

“Hello?”

“Carolyn, this is Sheriff Hodges. I need you to come down to your shop.”

I didn’t like the tone in his voice. “What happened? Did someone break in?” I could just see the scattered shards of pottery and broken windows.

“No. Just come down. And bring your husband with you.”

“I’m not budging until you tell me what this is about,” I said. The sheriff and I weren’t on the best of terms, and though I knew I should have cooperated without question, there was something stubborn in me that wouldn’t allow it.

“Okay, we’ll do this over the phone, then. Just remember, you asked for it. I found a body in the alley out back of your place, and I need you and Bill to come down here.”

I felt my fingers loosen their grip on the telephone. A body? Whose? I wanted to know, but I couldn’t bring myself to ask.

Beside me, Bill was now completely awake. “Carolyn? What is it? What happened? Is it one of the boys?”

I ignored him and spoke to the sheriff. “Who is it?” “Wouldn’t you rather do this in person?” Hodges asked.

“I need to know right now,” I said insistently.

“It’s Charlie Cobb, and from the look of things, somebody held his head down in a bucket of mud in back of your place until he drowned in it. That’s why I want to see your husband, too. I understand from the talk around town that he had more reason than anyone else to want to see the man dead. Now are you coming down here of your own free will, or do I have to send somebody there to get you?”

“We’re coming,” I said, a little bit of me dying with the words. Then I turned to Bill and told him what the sheriff had conveyed to me.

Chapter 4