A Minute on the Lips (10 page)

Maybe Tammy was right about taking a chance, but she didn’t understand that Andi’s work with the FBI was important. She couldn’t give up forever the satisfaction it gave her, not even for her best friend.

Jackie came back with the sandwiches and deposited them wordlessly. And Andi’s tea glass was full again. She was really coming to appreciate Oscar’s abilities. She took a more-aggressive-than-strictly-necessary bite of her own sandwich and chewed forcefully.

“Did you hear anything else over at the beauty shop? Any news?” Tammy took a bite of her own sandwich.

“Edna couldn’t wait to tell us about Jimmy and Maylene.” Andi shook her head. “And I wasn’t going to repeat it. What’s wrong with me?”

Tammy laughed. “That’s not news to anyone who knows Maylene, Andi. She’s been smiling ear to ear like a lunatic.
She
knows how important a good man is. They’ve been dating for four months. Edna must be slipping.”

Andi leaned back in her seat. “Really?” She picked up a potato chip and crumbled it into pieces. “Everybody seemed surprised.”

Tammy waved her hand. “I’ll guarantee you that most of them already knew it. Half the fun of getting your hair done is seeing who can tell the best story. They don’t really have to be breaking news.”

Uncomfortable at the reminder that there was so much going on that she didn’t know about, Andi asked, “When do you think you’ll get the debate set up?” Back to business. It was easier.

Tammy shrugged. “It would be nice to wait until it’s cooler.”

It was the beginning of October now. Clearly there was no guarantee it would ever get much better. “Mayor Jones won’t be happy to lose a night of singing on the square for a debate when the tourists are flocking to town.”

She nodded. “You’re right. I’ll aim for three weeks and see how that works with everyone’s schedule. Maybe we can squeeze into one of the nights already booked.”

Jackie marched back to the table to deposit the check. Andi used her own developing ninjalike quickness to snatch it up before Tammy even knew there was a contest. Jackie also had three pages stapled together. It looked like a list of everyone in Tall Pines with a few names Andi didn’t recognize. She didn’t know if those were tourists who’d come through town once or maybe people he’d met the few times he’d stepped foot outside the county lines, but she was pretty sure she could cross Willie Nelson off the list of suspects. One down and about eleventy million to go. He’d helpfully written numbers beside each name and short descriptions of why they were after him.

Andi tried to ignore the sinking feeling she got about how long it would take to read the list, much less work through everyone on it, and she smiled up at him. “This is good, Jackie. Are the numbers a ranking system? Maybe I should start with number one and work down the list?” Just like his spotless restaurant, Jackie made a ruthlessly organized list.

He nodded once sharply. “Exactly. I don’t expect most of ’em have the ambition or pure want-to to accomplish this, but it’s hard to tell about people sometimes.”

“Is Mona around? I’d really like to talk to both of you.”

Jackie snapped to attention and shook his head. “Not right now. She’ll be back about four to help out after Oscar’s shift. We’re shorthanded until I can get somebody hired.” His eyes tightened suspiciously as he handed her change. “Maybe you can leave her out of this. I don’t want her more upset than she already is.”

Telling him that she wanted to check with his wife about her whereabouts and, more importantly, find out what exactly was taken from the safe would send Jackie into a full-on fit. Instead, Andi said, “Oh, I want to check with her to see if she’s noticed anything around here that needs to be investigated.”

She wasn’t certain he believed her. He finally nodded. “Come on back after four, then.”

Andi left a generous tip and followed Tammy back out to the sidewalk. From the corner of her mouth Tammy asked, “You want to get Mona’s take on the whole thing, right?”

Andi smiled and said, “You bet.”

Tammy hugged Andi and thanked her for lunch. “Come on by the store when you have a minute. We got some new sock yarn in, and I picked the most obnoxious color combination just for you.” She said the last bit in a singsong voice because she knew it was a temptation. No matter how much sock yarn she had, Andi could be counted on to buy more. Knitting was therapy.

She acted uninterested. “Yeah, but I’ve already got enough yarn to make everyone in town a pair.”

Tammy pretended to think it over. “Wonder if that would work as a campaign promise. Vote for Andi, and she’ll give you a pair of ugly socks.”

Tammy didn’t get it. Sock knitting was the perfect kind of knitting: small, quick and precise—just the way Andi liked her projects. She shook her head sadly. “While it might work for me, it would definitely not work as a slogan for Purl’s Place.”

Tammy snorted. “You’re right. Forget I mentioned it. Besides, you’d make me knit a pair or eight hundred and that would ruin my life.”

As she opened the door to her shop, Tammy stopped and pointed at Andi. “Swear you’ll call me with any new developments.”

Andi was confused but she nodded uncertainly. “Okay, sure. If I find out anything concrete about Jackie’s robbery, I’ll give you a call.”

Perky Tammy stomped her foot. “That’s not what I meant.” She looked up and down the street, then said in a stage whisper, “I was talking about Mark Taylor, girl.”

Andi should have known. Tammy didn’t think twice about crime in this town except to consider whether or not it would get Andi elected. She’d known Andi a long time. Except for the years she’d spent in Atlanta, she and Tammy had talked almost every day and just about every day they talked about boys. They’d mainly been Tammy’s boys, not Andi’s, because Tammy had gone a much saner accounting route while Andi had done a double major. Thanks to the scholarship that sent her to college, Andi didn’t have much choice except to concentrate more on books than boys. Thank goodness she’d always been able to live vicariously through Tammy.

Andi gave her a thumbs-up and Tammy waved before stepping inside the shop. She looked at the clock on the tower above city hall. She had less than an hour before Mona would be over at the diner. Andi walked back to the SUV and decided to try Oscar’s house.

After introducing herself to Oscar’s mother only to learn they’d already met at the school’s field day, Andi verified that Oscar had been home on the night of the break-in. As she was getting ready to leave, she said, “One more question. You mentioned he liked working at the diner. How does he feel about his boss?” Andi expected to get some good dirt with this question.

Mrs. Martinez shrugged. “Jackie gives him forty hours or more a week and pays on time every time. He understands that I sometimes need Oscar’s help with the children and has always been flexible.” She nodded once. “And yes, Jackie has a temper. But it takes quite a lot to ruffle my Oscar.”

She was probably right about that. Andi sighed. Logically, it was possible that Oscar might have another reason to unlock the window, but she remembered watching him drag over that metal chair, clamber on top of it and struggle to reach the handle. Eagle-eyed Jackie would have noticed. Andi mentally drew a black line through his name.

She’d thanked Oscar’s mother and headed back to the diner. With no other suspects, Andi decided to take a closer look at Jackie’s list. She needed to widen her net. Maybe Mona could help with that.

CHAPTER SEVEN

M
ONA
WAS
ALREADY
behind the counter when Andi walked into the diner. After she took a deep breath of the nice, cool air, Andi slid onto a stool in front of her.

“Howdy, Sheriff. How’s your day going? Any news?” Jackie’s wife looked tired, and maybe older. Her eyes were puffy, as if she’d been crying, and when she smiled it didn’t reach her eyes. Andi rolled her shoulders as she smiled at Mona. “Well, I’ve had better, but I’m hoping you can help me with that.”

Mona filled a glass with ice and set it in front of Andi before she filled it with sweet tea from a nice, sweaty pitcher. She put the pitcher on the counter and one eyebrow rose higher and higher as she watched Andi drain half the glass. When Andi noticed her fascination, she carefully set the glass down. Mona refilled it, and Andi forced herself not to touch it.

Andi had known Mona a long time. She hated to see her upset. As a Sunday-school teacher, Mona had been one of the first people to try to teach Andi that patience was a virtue, along with the Golden Rule and the stories of all the Bible greats. When Jackie and Mona opened the restaurant and Mona had taken over the church youth group, she’d looked like she might have known the Bible heroes firsthand—she was all sweet smiles and never-ending good humor. Now a halo would perch comfortably right on top of her fluffy white curls.

She and Jackie might be the opposite sides of a coin. She was all goodness and he was ornery cussedness. Jackie kept people stirred up and talking, but Andi had never heard a bad word about Mona. In one way she and Jackie matched: height. Mona couldn’t stand any taller than five feet even. Today she somehow seemed even smaller. She was one of those people who made Andi understand Godzilla’s dilemma when confronted with Tokyo. One wrong step could flatten something important, but a giant lizard’s gotta do what a giant lizard’s gotta do. And so did sheriffs.

“I’ve talked to Jackie’s group from yesterday morning.” Andi looked at the tea glass. Condensation slid down the side and her fingers inched a little bit closer.

Mona shook her head. “I don’t know what he’s thinking sometimes.”

Andi knew exactly what she meant. “He’s determined to find what was taken from the safe.” Andi watched Mona’s face closely enough to see her small frown come and go. “But I can’t come up with a good reason for Mark or Wanda, or even Oscar, to steal the recipes.”

“Oscar?” Mona asked, with her eyebrows raised high enough to merge with her hair.

Andi shrugged. “It would’ve been easy for him to actually steal the stuff, but he likes his job. He’s too smart to mess that up, surely.”

Mona shook her head and wiped down the spotless counter. “He’s the best employee Jackie’s ever had. He thinks the world of Oscar. If we could find another one like him, I might convince Jackie to retire or at least cut back some. He’s always wanted to see the Grand Canyon, but at this rate we’re running out of time.”

It was hard to imagine either Jackie or Mona aging. Maybe there was something magical about the atmosphere of the Country Kitchen. Neither one seemed to have changed much over the years. Of course, Andi was getting older, too. Maybe her memory was the magical part of the equation.

She pulled out the list and ran her finger down the first page as she read quickly, and she realized that Oscar’s name wasn’t there. Jackie hadn’t thought his employee had a motive, either. And that was saying something. Jackie probably stayed up all night on Christmas Eve just in case Santa did try to come down his chimney. Only instead of milk and cookies, he’d offer a loaded shotgun and a sour expression.

Andi handed the list to Mona. “These are the names Jackie gave me of people who might have something against him.” The paper crinkled as she laid it flat on the counter. As Mona put on her glasses, Andi asked, “If you had to narrow it down, which ones would you question first?”

Mona was as thorough as she had been when she drilled teenagers on their memory verses each Sunday. Andi lost count of the snorts and tsks Mona issued as she read, but her hopes were building, as Mona went on, that she’d help weed out the frivolous names and get to the real suspects. While Mona was distracted, Andi drank her tea. Yes, all of it.

“Honestly, Sheriff, I don’t think there’s a person on this list who’d break in to steal what little money Jackie kept here.” She slid it back to Andi and picked up her towel again. “It’s got to be a prank of some sort. Maybe the principal over at the high school could give you some names of kids who might be interested in something like that.”

Andi wondered how that conversation might go.
Mr. Brown, could you narrow down the high school population to two or three kids who might have nothing better to do on a school night than rob a local business?
The principal would probably think she’d lost her mind. And at this point, the last thing she needed was more possible thieves. Scratch that. The last thing she needed was another wild-goose chase. She was in desperate need of a legitimate suspect.

Andi was refolding the list to stash it in her pocket when Jackie hustled in. “Hey, Jackie, I’m glad you’re here.”

He slipped behind the counter and lurched to a stop. He quickly assessed the empty diner and then did a survey of his wife’s face. Mona smiled at him, but he didn’t look relieved. “Got some results?”

“Not yet. I’m still looking for a solid lead.”

“Well, Sheriff, I already made you a list. You want me to do the rest of your job, too?” His face was turning red, but he hadn’t reached full steam yet. He wrapped an arm around Mona’s shoulders and squeezed her close.

“I was hoping to have the chance to speak with both of you privately.” When neither of them said anything, Andi added, “About what was stolen from the safe.”

Jackie pointed at Andi. Aggressively. “I told you, it’s important stuff.”

Andi nodded. “What I’m wondering is whether that might have been the real target. Can’t you tell me more?”

Mona started to answer, but Jackie shushed her. She frowned but didn’t interrupt.

“Papers. All my recipes. Things that mean a lot, Sheriff.” Jackie shook his head. “I couldn’t sleep last night, thinking about my recipes out in the world, particularly this close to the cook-off.”

Andi believed he couldn’t sleep. She just didn’t buy that it had to do with recipes. He had everything committed to memory. That’s who he was.

She fiddled with her tea glass while she tried to figure out how to ask the question. “So, Jackie, the part about this that puzzles me is the trophies. No random thief would steal them. Other than bragging rights, they don’t have any value. That seems to indicate someone with a real personal motive, maybe even revenge.”

Jackie propped his hands on his hips. “Yeah, Sheriff. Exactly. And now he’s got my...recipes and stuff.”

Andi glanced at Mona to see her staring intently at the floor.

“Here’s the thing. Remember when I asked about Wanda and you didn’t want to talk about her?” He nodded. “Well, I get the feeling that wasn’t the only secret I’m working around. You know more about who broke in or what they were after, but you don’t want to tell me.”

Jackie pursed his lips and pulled Mona closer.

“And I can see you want everything back. I get that. I want to find out who did this, too, but I think I need to know...”

Mona sighed. “Honestly, Jackie, if we can’t trust the sheriff, who can we trust? Besides, it’s not like we can keep it a secret now that...well, the cat’s out of the safe.”

Jackie frowned ferociously, but he didn’t disagree.

Andi rolled her shoulders and did her best to look honest, trustworthy and quiet.

“No one knows this, Sheriff. Before Jackie and I moved to Tall Pines...I had a son. He died in an accident when he was ten. That safe held all his photos, his birth certificate, the newspaper clippings...his death certificate. Important stuff.”

Andi reached across to squeeze Mona’s hand. Mona looked miserable, and she could feel the sympathetic tears rising to the surface. Crying into her tea glass would probably not be reassuring. “I’m really sorry to hear that, Mona. I always wondered if you and Jackie... Well, you must have been a great mother.”

Mona sniffed and smiled at Jackie. “We would have been great parents.”

“Why not tell me this in the very beginning?” Andi had no idea why anyone would take such personal stuff, but now she was even more determined to find out who had stolen it.

Mona shrugged. “Well, I’m guessing Jackie didn’t tell you... He wasn’t the father. I got pregnant and had the baby all on my own before Jackie came along.”

And now Andi understood the secret. She did her best not to gape in shock. An illegitimate son, even so many years before the town knew them, would cause talk thanks to Mona’s previous spotlessness. Having to relive the loss all over again for curious friends and neighbors could be devastating. Andi was uneasy as she considered who might have access to Mona’s secrets.

“It’s okay that the secret’s out, but I want those photos, Sheriff. I need them.” She blinked away tears. Jackie wrapped his arms around her and rested his forehead against hers. Andi felt a pang in the general area of her heart while she watched Jackie melt under his wife’s tears. She had to bite her lip.

He’d been doing his best to protect Mona’s secret. Andi had to admire him for that.

“We’re going to find them, Mona. I promise. Before I go, I have to ask...did anyone else know what you were keeping in that safe?”

Jackie thought for a second. “Can’t see how they would, Sheriff. But I’m guessing they know what they’ve got by now.”

He was a guy who collected feuds like baseball cards. The answer had to be on his list.

Since most of the town’s population was on there, the possibilities were mind-boggling. Andi shook her head as she folded the wad of paper and put it back in her pocket. To steel her nerves, Andi picked up her tea glass and emptied it. As she thumped it back down on the counter, she slid off the stool. “I’ll let you know as soon as I find something, Jackie.”

Andi met Tammy on the sidewalk in front of the diner. And following on the heels of her best friend were the two people she least wanted to see: Mayor Jones and Ray Evans.

“Hey, Sheriff, I was hoping you might still be here. I ran into these two and wanted to see if I could get everybody together for a quick minute to talk about a debate.” Tammy was wearing her best perky smile. Andi could feel the gray cloud forming over her head.

When she’d agreed to the debate, Andi had thought Tammy would have a hard time pinning down one or the other of these men. The fact that she’d managed to do so—and Andi along with them—in less than three hours shouldn’t have surprised anyone, least of all Andi. She dropped down on the bench outside of Jackie’s Country Kitchen. A huge, gusty sigh rattled around in her brain for long seconds but did not come out of her mouth.

Andi was pretty sure it showed on her face.

Mayor Jones might not patrol the sidewalks, picking up litter, measuring all grass and flower heights, and making sure the benches were placed precisely at equidistant intervals, but he seemed the type. He was a real politician who loved his job and knew that it depended on tourism. Tourists want tidy towns. And convenient benches. He was a ruthless enforcer of both.

The mayor always seemed to be wound a bit too tight, and today was no different. It had to be the bow tie. Not the winding, but the appearance. Although the two could be related.

Under a brilliant white cowboy hat, Ray Evans had a satisfied smirk on his face as he gestured for Tammy to take the other half of the bench. He propped his hands on his leather belt and rocked back and forth on his cowboy boots. Ray Evans looked exactly like a sheriff should look, especially if there were ever a showdown at high noon in the middle of Main Street. In the face of his picture-perfect cowboy persona, Andi was aware of her own inadequate tough-guyness. She straightened up her sprawl to make room for Tammy, and Tammy perched delicately beside her on the bench.

Tammy lobbed the first volley. “Well, gentlemen, I wanted to talk to you about setting up a debate before the election.”

The mayor was already shaking his head. “We aren’t going to take away any time from the music on the square right in the thick of the season. You ought to know better than that, Sheriff.”

Andi opened her mouth to defend herself, but Tammy’s sugary sweetness interrupted the oncoming rant. That was probably a good thing. Andi wasn’t feeling very conciliatory to any of them at this point. Tammy knew good and well that the major portion of her unpaid job was to handle this stuff without involving Andi and here she was, right in the middle of it. And Ray, well...the whole darn thing was his fault. Andi could be happily working her shift and driving home at the end of it instead of politicking. He deserved some heavy, heavy blame.

“Of course we wouldn’t interrupt the most important business the town does, Mayor. Andi and I had already discussed that carefully.” Tammy blinked innocently up at both men.

The mayor looked thoughtful. Ray Evans could not care less about a debate. Andi knew he was already the favorite.

Finally, Mayor Jones crossed his tweed-covered arms over his chest and nodded once, sharply. The calendar might read October, but the bank sign still said “86 degrees” this late in the afternoon. Tweed jackets were an overkill of catastrophic proportions. But that was Mayor Jones to a T.

Finally he said, “All right. We’ll do it. In three weeks. Darla can carve us out some time in the program. What do you think, half an hour?”

When he looked at Ray Evans for confirmation, Andi had a sinking feeling that she knew exactly how well the debate was going to go.

Andi opened her mouth to let him have it, but she was interrupted. Again.

* * *

M
ARK
COULD
SEE
the displeasure building on Andi’s face from across the street. He’d been working on a fluff piece about Melba Simmons’s one-hundredth birthday when he’d noticed the unholy gathering in front of the Country Kitchen. All it would take to complete the set would be Jackie.