Goody Goody Gunshots (15 page)

“And all this happened when?”

“Last Tuesday. The sixth.”

“So that means that he was in town then.”

“Yeah. I think he’s been in town for a while. Have you heard anything?”

“Me?” Marshall seemed surprised by the question, but the surprise didn’t seem entirely genuine. He laughed and shook his head. “Sorry. Nobody tells me anything, and I’m okay with that. The less involved I am in the guy’s murder, the happier I’ll be.”

I probably should have felt the same way, but I didn’t. “I saw him one other time before the murder,” I told Marshall. “Outside the recreation center after practice.”

Marshall cocked an eyebrow. “Practice?”

“I’ve been roped into being the assistant coach for the Miners, one of the Youth League teams. I don’t know how long that will last, though. Coach Hendrix hasn’t exactly become a fan of mine.”

“You’re working with Kerry?”

Kerry?
I eyed Marshall warily. “You know him?”

“He’s been in the restaurant a few times,” Marshall said. “He’s got quite a temper.”

“Terrific,” I said with a grimace. “That’s good to know, since he’s not exactly thrilled to have me hanging around. I saw the dead guy messing around with Hendrix’s truck one night and tried to stop him, but Hendrix is convinced
I’m
the vandal.”

Marshall looked outraged. “He
said
that?”

“He not only said it, he filed a complaint with the police.”

“I knew I didn’t like that guy.” Marshall frowned so hard his forehead rutted. “What was the dead guy doing with the jerk’s truck?”

“I don’t know, but I’m convinced there’s some kind of connection between the two of them. There’s also a third person involved—someone who drives an SUV.”

Marshall laughed without humor. He tossed his muffin wrapper into the trash and leaned forward, resting his arms on his thighs. “That could be almost anybody in this town.”

“Yeah, but this is a dark-colored SUV with a broken running light on the side. I’ve seen that SUV twice now: once when the vandal got into it after messing with Hendrix’s truck, and again Monday night.”

Marshall sat up slowly, his eyes locked on mine. “You probably don’t want my advice, but if I were you, I’d steer clear of this whole thing. It sounds dangerous. Hell, it
is
dangerous. One person is already dead.”

“Yeah, but why? What do all of these people have in common? That’s what’s driving me crazy.”

“Who knows? But really, Abby, think about what you’re doing. You’re messing around with murder. Just because you’ve done it before and come out okay, that’s no guarantee you’ll be safe this time.”

Marshall’s vehemence surprised me. “I’m not
that
far involved,” I assured him. “I’m just trying to find the answers to a couple of questions, and when I do, I’ll go straight to the police. Besides, if Coach Hendrix is involved or being targeted, I can’t just turn my back and let him be alone with all those boys, can I? Don’t I have a duty to make sure they’re safe?”

Marshall noticed a trail of crumbs on my desk and swept them into his hand. He stood and brushed the crumbs into the trash can, then came around the desk to stand over me. “Let the police save the world, Abby. It’s their job, not yours.” And before I knew what he intended, he leaned in close and touched his lips to mine. The kiss didn’t last long, but it left me speechless and totally unable to form a coherent thought long after he walked away.

I was still trying to process what had happened when a soft knock on the office door brought me back to the present. Karen stood in the open doorway, a deep scowl on her face as she watched me. She’d clearly witnessed Marshall’s kiss. “What was all that about?”

“All what?”

“You and Marshall.”

Still confused, I could only shake my head. “I have no idea. He came by to make sure I was okay after finding the body the other night—at least that’s what he said.”

Karen came into the office and sat in the chair Marshall had vacated. “Well, it’s pretty obvious that’s not all he wanted.”

“Maybe.” I gave up a thin smile and tossed the uneaten half of my muffin into the trash. “He’s a nice enough guy, but that wasn’t what I was expecting.”

“Judging by the look on his face, you’d better expect it next time you see him. He’s got the hots for you. So, are you going to tell Jawarski?”

“About that?” I laughed lightly. “Why? Nothing happened.”

“Marshall kissed you,” Karen reminded me, which wasn’t exactly necessary. “I don’t think Jawarski will consider that ‘nothing.’ ”

“Jawarski doesn’t own me,” I said sharper than I’d intended. “We’re not an item, and we’re not exclusive—unless he’s made some decisions without consulting me. We’re friends who occasionally go out.”

“Yeah,” Karen said, giving me a
look
. “But only because you don’t want to take things further. Jawarski’s crazy about you. You’re the only person in town who doesn’t know it.”

Uncomfortable with the conversation, I stood. “You don’t know that. He’s no more ready to make things official between us than I am.” I wasn’t in the mood to dissect my personal life right then, so I walked into the kitchen.

Karen followed and planted herself in front of me.
The look
had intensified in the time I’d had my back to her. “Don’t try to avoid the subject, Abby. If Jawarski finds out about you and Marshall from someone else, you could lose the best thing that’s ever happened to you.”

“Who else is he going to find out from? The only people who know about it are you, me, and Marshall. I’m certainly not going to tell anybody, and you’d better not tell anybody ...”

“Which leaves Marshall. I saw the look on his face. If something happened to break you and Jawarski up, he would
not
be unhappy.”

I laughed and pulled a couple of Cokes from the old refrigerator we keep around for personal use. “You make it sound like we’re living in a soap opera or something,” I said, handing a can to Karen. “It was a simple kiss on the spur of the moment. It didn’t
mean
anything, and it’s certainly not something I’m going to tie myself in knots over.”

Karen rolled her eyes as if she had never met anyone so naive, but she didn’t argue. One of the things I like best about her is that she knows when to back off. “Fine. Have it your way. But if you screw up your relationship with Jawarski, just remember I warned you.”

As if I could forget.

Chapter 19

I worked the rest of the morning situating candy
corn and lollipop sticks in the molds, then pouring the hot syrup and slowly, carefully, tapping the bubbles out of the candy.

I
was
right, and Karen
was
wrong. But no matter how many times I told myself that I had nothing to worry about with Jawarski, Karen’s warning needled at me all day. Which was ridiculous because I wasn’t even interested in Marshall.
I
hadn’t initiated that kiss. I had nothing to worry about.

When I finally had three dozen lollipops cooling, I spent an hour filling orders we’d received over the phone. By the time I had the orders ready to ship, the sun had melted most of the snow that had fallen overnight, so I packed the boxes into a canvas bag, climbed the stairs to let Max out of exile, and walked with him through town to the post office.

My route took me past Walgreens which, of course, started me thinking about the dead man again and the lack of information about his identity. Somebody had to know who he was. Somebody had to know who owned that SUV and why it had followed me last night. And I’d have bet everything I owned that someone living in Paradise had the answers I wanted. But where to begin? That was the million-dollar question.

Thankfully, the lines at the post office were blessedly short, so I was in and out in record time. Knowing that Karen had Liberty to help her at the store gave me a new feeling of freedom I hadn’t had since I took over the store. I decided to take a leisurely stroll back to work. Maybe even do a little window shopping.

I saw Vonetta Cummings driving past in her Buick and waved hello, then turned my face to the weak sun high overhead. Max sniffed at everything we passed with enthusiasm, lunging after a piece of wood one minute, stopping to check out something only he could smell the next. At the rate we were walking, it took a few minutes to reach the Curl Up and Dye, and I calculated that it would take a good fifteen minutes to get back to Divinity, but I didn’t push Max to go any faster. After last night and the morning I’d had, it felt good to clear my head.

I waved to Gavin Trotter, who stood in the window of Alpine Sports, and thought about crossing the street to say hello. But when I realized that Annalisa Kelso’s teal Jeep Cherokee was in the Curl’s parking lot, I changed my mind.

According to Paisley, her mother had seen the man with the limp on more than one occasion. Maybe Annalisa would know something that could help the police identify him. I found a warm, dry spot for Max and pushed open the door. Immediately, a wash of chemical scents rushed over me, and I wondered how Paisley and Annalisa could breathe that air all day long. The scents are just as overpowering inside Divinity, but chemicals can’t compete with chocolate, butter, and sugar.

Inside the Curl, it’s easy to forget that Paradise has become a cross between old and new. The walls are a pale, buttery yellow, the hair dryers a ghastly shade of pink, and white eyelet curtains hang at the windows. It’s pure Mayberry.

Annalisa Kelso stood over a customer at the shampoo station near the back of the salon. Closer to the front, Paisley frowned in concentration as she worked a hair dryer over a customer’s new hairdo. Paisley didn’t seem to notice me, but Annalisa, a sturdy woman with dark hair and a warm smile, looked up as I entered.

“I’ll be right with you, Abby. Have a seat while I finish up here.”

I settled in with a magazine on the rock that masquerades as a sofa and waited while Annalisa rinsed and repeated. Finally, she wrapped a towel around her customer’s head and steered her toward a haircutting station.

“Sorry about that wait,” she called out, tottering on swollen feet toward the register. “What can I do for you? Haircut? Maybe a shampoo, cut, and style? We’re running a special.”

I did my best not to look horrified by the suggestion. “No thanks. Actually, I just came by to ask you a couple of questions. Is there any chance you could take a quick break?”

Annalisa looked over her shoulder at the woman with the dripping hair.
“Now?”

“I know you’re busy, but it will only take a minute.”

“That may be so,” Annalisa said with a tight smile, “but it’s really not a good time—unless you want to talk while I cut Joyce’s hair.”

I’d have preferred to talk with her alone, but I’d take what I could get. “That’s fine if you and Joyce don’t mind.”

“Not a bit. We can kill two birds with one stone. Come on back.”

I followed her and sat in the empty chair beside her workstation.

“Now,” she said as she picked up a comb, “what do you want to know?”

“I ran into Paisley the other night, and she mentioned that you might have seen a man with a limp hanging around this area in the past few days. Is that true?”

Her customer turned her head so she could look at me. “Are you talking about the guy who was killed over by Walgreens?”

Annalisa put her fingers on the woman’s chin and turned her back so she was facing the mirror. “I need you to hold still, Joyce, or you’re going to be very unhappy with your hair when you leave here.”

Joyce giggled and muttered a soft, “Sorry.”

Annalisa dug around in a drawer and pulled out a handful of pastel hair clips. “Yes, I did see the man you’re talking about. He was out here in our parking lot a couple of times and standing around on the corner once or twice. Why?”

“The police haven’t been able to make a positive ID,” I said. “I’m trying to help them figure out where to look next.” Which was true. In a roundabout way. Anything I learned, I’d eventually share with Jawarski.

Paisley glanced over her shoulder and said, “I heard he had a thousand dollars in his pocket when they found him. Is that true?”

I shook my head. “I don’t know. If he did, I haven’t been told about it.”

“I have no idea who that poor man was,” Annalisa said, continuing our conversation as if Paisley hadn’t spoken. “But I know who might be able to tell you. I saw the man get into a car one day.”

“Is it true that he was a drug dealer?” Joyce asked, turning her head again and causing Annalisa to lose her grip on another strand of hair. “I heard that he was.”

Rumors and gossip always spread fast in a town like Paradise, and obviously this time was no exception to that rule. I was itching to hear what Annalisa had to say, but I felt an obligation to nip rumors in the bud. “Where did you hear that?”

“I don’t remember,” Joyce admitted. “I think somebody at the school told me. Or maybe it was the clerk at King Soopers.”

“I wouldn’t believe anything you hear unless it comes in a statement from the police. Now, Annalisa, the car he got into . . . was it a dark-colored SUV?”

“An SUV?” Annalisa shook her head firmly. “No. I saw him getting into a light-colored sedan. I don’t know anything about an SUV.”

“How did he die?” Joyce asked. “Is it true that he was stabbed to death?” She met Annalisa’s eyes in the mirror and confided, “Thomas says that he was stabbed, but you know how
he
is.” She smiled at me and dropped her voice to a confidential whisper. “My husband’s a bit of a know-it-all.”

I knew the answer, but I hadn’t seen an official statement about cause of death from the police, so I shook my head. “I’m afraid I can’t say for sure,” I told her, and turned to Annalisa once more. “Are you sure it was a sedan?”

“Of course I’m sure,” Annalisa said with a laugh. “I know the difference between a sedan and an SUV.”