Janet McNulty - Mellow Summers 03 - An Apple a Day Keeps Murder Away (4 page)

I walked in and greeted the lady by the door.
“Has an elderly lady come in yet? She wears pearls, a feather hat, and scarf.”

The woman’s expression told me that Aunt Ethel had indeed arrived.
She must have already been causing trouble.

“This way,” said the lady.
She led me to a table by a window.

“Mellow, you made it.
For a moment I thought you had decided to leave me here in this noisy place.”

I took a
seat across from her. I reached for the glass of water.

“You should ask for a fresh one,” said Aunt Ethel, “By now that water probably tastes old.”

“It’s fine,” I said.

The waitress came for our order.

“I’ll just have your Grand Slam. Scrambled. Bacon. Coffee,” I said without even looking at the menu. I didn’t feel like looking at a bunch of different menu items and spending an agonizing time trying to make up my mind.

“I’ll have your item here.
Make certain the fruit is fresh and that the yogurt is nonfat. Orange juice.”

The waitress wrote it down and walked off.
Her face told me Aunt Ethel struck a nerve. Telling the staff of a restaurant to make sure the food is fresh implies that you think they serve garbage.

“Aunt Ethel, a little
bit of fat and calories won’t hurt you,” I said.

“Nonsense,” replied Aunt Ethel, “You should eat more fruit and less
bacon. Though I must say you look a bit scrawny. Are you sure you’re eating enough? Maybe you should have asked for a double helping of bacon.”

Typical
Aunt Ethel. She would criticize you for not eating healthy and then encourage you to eat the very food she thought you should stay away from.

“So what brings you here?” I asked.

“I told you, Mellow. I thought I’d just drop by for a visit.”

“From South Carolina?”

“Well, I’ve been doing a lot of traveling,” said Aunt Ethel, “I’ve been to Massachusetts and Maine. And I’ve already done the Europe thing. Did I tell you I was planning on going to the Grand Canyon? You should come with me.”

“I really can’t,” I said.
“Classes start again in the fall and I need to save my money.”

“You
still hoping to be a director?”

“I like making films.
”

“Yes, but you could do something more worthwhile,” said Aunt Ethel.

“And why is making movies not worthwhile? I want to do my thing. And that was something my parents didn’t understand.”

“Well, you know they love you.
And you and Jackie can’t spend your whole lives together as roommates.”

“Lay off Jackie, will you?”

“But she told me to be happy with the food you have in the fridge. She doesn’t treat me with much respect.”

“Maybe because you don’t treat her with any,” I said.
“You’ve never liked her, but she has always been there for me. Give her a chance.”

“And the people you hang out with, Mellow.
They’re not the most likeable characters.”

“I like them,” I said.

“But you’re so much better than this.”

“Aunt Ethel,” I said growing impatient, “No one chooses my friends for me.
”

I noticed a man sitting on the other end of the restaurant.
He kept his face hidden, but seemed to be staring at us. I glared back at him. When I did, he quickly looked away.

“What is it, dear?” asked Aunt Ethel.

“I think that man is watching us,” I said pointing out the stranger.

Aunt Ethel glanced at him.
The man now studied a menu. “Nonsense. You probably imagined it.”

Our food arrived.
The waitress placed more napkins on the table. It happened again. An image of someone holding a white cloth over my nose and mouth hit me. It only lasted for a few seconds, but must have been enough to make me practically faint.

“Mellow dear, are you all right?” asked Aunt Ethel.

“I’m fine,” I lied.

“Are you sure?
You look pale.”

I had to give my aunt bonus points.
She really sounded worried. “I’ll be fine,” I said.

The waitress looked at me as though I might pass out at any time.
I couldn’t blame her. “I’ll get you some more water,” she said.

“I’m OK,” I repeated to my aunt.

The worried look on her face told me that she didn’t believe me.

We ate our breakfast in silence.
There wasn’t much to say after I almost fainted. I barely tasted my food. My mind wandered everywhere. What were these images that kept popping into my head? What did they mean? How did it all fit together?

I put my fork down when I realized that I had been sitting with
it in the air while staring out the window. My Aunt Ethel looked at me with a mystified expression on her face.

“I don’t think this area agrees with you, dear,
” Aunt Ethel said.

“I just have a lot on my mind,” I said evasively.
I did not want to tell her that I had been missing for two days and was now suspect number one in a possible murder.

“Hey!”
Rachel’s appearance caused me to drop a forkful of food. “I just got back from the spirit world. Still no sign of any recently murdered ghost from this area. Either no one’s been killed or he just doesn’t care about it.”

“What do you mean?
” I whispered while Aunt Ethel ate her yogurt.

“Some people aren’t concerned about seeking justice when they’re murdered,” said Rachel.
“Our guy could be one of those.”

Rachel glanced at the untouched bowl of fruit on the table and at my empty plate.
She noted my pale face. Next thing I knew, the bowl slid across the table and stopped in front of me. “Here, you need more color in your life. Anyway, I’ve got things to do. I just wanted to keep you in the loop.” Rachel disappeared.

Aunt Ethel finished her yogurt and wen
t to grab her fruit when she noticed it missing. She saw the bowl in front of me and my guilty expression. “Really, Mellow, if you wanted my fruit, you just had to ask.”

I started to shove the fruit back her direction.

“No. Eat it. Eat it,” said Aunt Ethel, “Goodness knows I eat too much as it is. And you still look ashen.”

My stomach felt stuffed to the gills, but no way was I getting out of eating the fruit.
Aunt Ethel sat across from me watching each movement my fork made from the bowl to my mouth. She wasn’t satisfied until the bowl was empty.

The waitress brought the check.
I reached for it. Aunt Ethel smacked my hand away. “I’ll get it, dear.”

She paid the check and we
left. We ran into Jason Harrow once we got outside. Of all people, it had to be the District Attorney who was looking for any way to prosecute me for a crime everyone was certain I didn’t commit.

“Miss Summers,” said Mr. Harrow.
He looked less than pleased at seeing me again. “What are you doing here?”

“Leaving,” I replied, rudely.

“You know this gentleman?” asked Aunt Ethel.

Gentleman is not the word I had in mind for describing him.

“And who’s this?” he asked.

“Ethel Wimsy,” said my aunt.
“Mellow, what’s going on?”

“Nothing,” I said and left.
My aunt chased after me badgering me with questions about our encounter with Mr. Harrow. I refused to answer her questions.

We drove back to the apartment.
I let us inside. Jackie was nowhere to be found. A note rested on the counter.

Mel,

Got called into work.
See ya later.

Jackie

I put the note down.
Called into work. So, it looked like it would be me and Aunt Ethel for the rest of the day.

My phone rang.
I answered it.

“Mel?” said Jackie on the other end.

“Yes.”

“You need to come to work.
We’re really crowded today. Even Mr. Stilton has to work the counter.”

“I’ll be there in a few,” I said.

I relayed the message to Aunt Ethel. She looked disappointed, but didn’t protest me having to go in. “Don’t worry about me,” she said, “I’ll entertain myself.”

That’s what worried me.

Crowded was right. The Candle Shoppe overflowed with people. I started to notice a pattern. Whenever I had a lot going on in my life, the store became busy. If things were going well, we had what could be called normal business.

So today was going to be one of those days.
Packed. Busy. Overflowing with people who wanted the latest in candles, incense, warmers, and the latest scents. I dumped my purse in the back room and went back out to the front counter. I took care of the customers that waited to check out. The entire time my mind lay elsewhere.

“Here.”
Jackie ran up to me and handed me a hard hat. I had no idea where she got it.

“What’s this?” I asked.

“Just put it on,” Jackie insisted.

Reluctantly, I did.
“Now, are you going to tell me what this is all about?”

Jackie took a deep breath.
“Tammy is creating the Fourth of July display.”

Now I understood.
Tammy was a sweet girl, but got a little overzealous at times. She always thought her ideas were great despite evidence to the contrary.

Though a few weeks remained until July fourth, Mr. Stilton
wanted to start selling the holiday merchandise. It made sense. More sales. But why did he put Tammy in charge of the display? He must have forgotten about the peppermint incident.

A whizzing, crackling sound filled the store. It started soft but grew in intensity until it pounded our ears.
Smoke rose from the middle of the store. It quickly filled the entire area. People started coughing and hacking from smoke inhalation. Sparks flew everywhere.

I snatched the fire extinguisher off the wall and ran to the origin of the commotion.
Fire or no fire, I sprayed the entire area. Several minutes passed before the sparks were put out. Our July Fourth merchandise now lay under a white blanket. Ruined, all of it.

The smoke set off the fire alarm and the sprinkler system.
Water rained everywhere soaking everything, including us. Jackie ran to where the switch was that controlled the alarm. She flipped it to turn off that deafening noise much to our relief.

I dropped the fire extinguisher.
Jackie walked up beside me taking off her helmet. Many of the customers ran out the door dumping their items. I didn’t think any of them would come back. One, however, seemed overly interested in what had happened. Vaguely, he seemed familiar and reminded me of the guy in the restaurant, but I passed off the notion as just nerves.

Tammy crept out from behind a bunch of shelves.
Her face was covered in smoke and grime. She stopped by the destroyed display with a shocked expression.

“What in the world were you thinking?” I asked her.

“Mr. Stilton wanted a Fourth of July display and I wanted to make sure that it would be something memorable,” she said looking down.

Memorable was right.
I felt certain that no one would forget this incident.

I investigated what Tammy had done.
She had arranged the various flag shaped candle holders and the red, white, and blue candles in a nice motif. Unfortunately, Tammy had decided to spice it up by adding the sparklers. She had tied them in four bunches of twenty and attached them to the table. Then, she lit them.

No wonder the entire store filled with smoke and sparks and loud explosions.
I wondered what this girl had for brains. The package clearly stated that they were not for indoor use and that you only light one at a time.

Mr. Stilton ran out of his office.
I thought he was a bit late, but better late than never. He looked around the Candle Shoppe taking note of everything that now lay under water. The three of us just watched him as he made his way toward us.

“What…What…What the hell happened?”

Jackie, Tammy, and I all eyed each other. None of us wanted to speak. I thought it looked pretty obvious. Tammy practically set the place on fire. Everything was drenched and soon the Fire Department would arrive.

“Tammy got a little overzealous with the Fourth of July display,” said Jackie.

“No shit, Sherlock,” screamed Mr. Stilton. This was the first time I ever saw him angry. I couldn’t blame him. The entire place was a mess. He calmed a bit and regained his composure. Though, his temple pulsed uncontrollably making it clear that his anger was still just below the surface. “What happened?”

Tammy held onto her arms and shrugged her shoulders a bit.
Jackie and I remained silent. This was Tammy’s mess and she needed to explain it.

“I…I just wanted to make the display match the holiday.
So I thought I would add some fireworks,” said Tammy.

“Are you insane?!”
Whatever self-control Mr. Stilton had just went out the window. “Fireworks are banned within city limits. And they are not to be used indoors under any circumstance. I can’t believe you.”

“Yeah, now all we need is for the fire department to show up,” said Jackie sarcastically.

Mr. Stilton glared at her, shutting her up quickly. Right after Jackie’s statement, the wail of a fire engine shrieked outside heading straight for us. It stopped right out the door. Firemen burst through the glass doors with axes and a fire hose. They stopped when they saw us.

“Where’s the fire?” asked on
e of the firemen.

Mr. Stilton regained his composure and explained about Tammy’s enthusiasm over the Fourth of July display.
I could tell that the guys were doing their best not to laugh, despite the fact they had their masks on. They turned off the sprinkler and reset the alarm. The fire chief explained to us about the dangers of fireworks being set off within buildings.

After they left Mr. Stilton turned back to us.
“I want this place cleaned up. And you,” he pointed at Tammy, “Are fired.” My boss walked off back to his office.

Tammy’s face fell.
This was her first real job and after a few months she managed to get fired. Such a thing is a blow to anyone, especially in this economy. She shuffled away and grabbed a broom and began sweeping.

I suddenly felt sorry for her.
I went to the back to get a box for putting the ruined candles in.

“Love
d the show,” said Rachel. She leaned against the wall with a bag of popcorn in her hands. She proceeded to eat it. How a ghost can eat popcorn was beyond me, but I wasn’t going to ask her about it. “I think you guys managed to permanently scare every person that would ever come into this place.”

“I’m not in the mood, Rachel,” I said.

She must have heard the weariness in my voice because her demeanor changed.

“You wouldn’t know how to keep Tammy from being fired, would you?” I asked.

“After what she just did you still want her working here?”

I gave Rachel a pleading look.
“I think she learned her lesson.”

I glanced over at Tammy.
She continued cleaning the floor well away from everyone. Her face glistened a bit with tears. 

“You have such a soft heart,” said Rachel.
“OK. OK. I’ll see what I can do.” Rachel walked through the wall and straight into Mr. Stilton’s office.

Five minutes later he burst out of the room and headed straight for Tammy.
“Tammy, I might have overreacted,” he said to her, “You aren’t fired. But, pull a stunt like that again and I’ll have to let you go.” He went back to his office. I heard him talking which meant he was on the phone. Probably trying to get some new stuff to sell since everything was gone.

Rachel walked up to me with a satisfied expression.
“What did you do?”

“Nothing,” replied Rachel.

“Aren’t you going to tell me?” I asked.

“A ghost must have her secrets.”

“Mel,” Jackie walked up to me with a box full of soaking smudge sticks, “We’re never going to get this cleaned up.”

I surveyed the entire shop.
She was right. Everything had been reduced to garbage. It would take us days to clean it all out.

“Too bad you can’t sell it,” muttered Rachel.

A thought struck me. “Perhaps we can sell it.”

“What?
Sell?” Jackie looked at me, puzzled. “Rachel’s here isn’t she?”

“In the spirit,” said Rachel so Jackie could hear her.

I went into the back storeroom and snatched a big piece of card board and some markers.
I wrote in giant letters
All You Want $10
. I placed the sign in the window.

“What’s that about?” asked Tammy noticing the sign.

“For ten dollars people can have anything they want and as much as they want,” I replied. “Maybe we can clear some of this out, make a little money, and have less for us to do.”

I looked at Rachel.
“We need customers,” I said.

Tammy couldn’t figure out why I told
thin air about needing customers. But, of course, she couldn’t see Rachel and had no way of knowing whom I really spoke to.

Rachel
got the hint and disappeared. Within ten minutes people walked in. I explained how for a ten dollar cover charge they could have anything they could carry. I gave them boxes and bags to fill. “Everything must go,” I said, “But I want no fighting.”

People loved the idea of having everything they want
ed for ten bucks. It was sort of like a buffet, except instead of food, we sold candles. More people arrived. Several called their friends. I didn’t care as long as we got rid of everything.

Rachel wandered around the store as peacekeeper.
I put her in charge of keeping people from breaking out into fights. She thoroughly enjoyed the job. She might have enjoyed it a bit too much. But since she was invisible, she had a distinct advantage.

Wherever a couple
of people began arguing, Rachel showed up. She would either make an object float by or say something. A disembodied voice always seems to get people to stop what they’re doing.

For the most part the clearance sale went well.
We managed to make a few hundred dollars. By the time closing arrived, the shelves were bare. Pleased with my success, I handed Tammy the mop while Jackie and I cleaned the shelves. Within two hours we had the place scrubbed down and managed to avoid throwing anything out.

Mr. Stilton finally came out of his office.
I swear he lived in there. He looked at the store and marveled at how clean it was.

I handed him the bag of money.
“We managed to sell everything at a very marked down price.”

“Whose idea was that?” asked Mr. Stilton.

“Mel’s,” blurted out Rachel.

Both Mr. Stilton’s and Tammy’s eyes grew wide.
Only Jackie and I were used to Rachel speaking without appearing.

“You should give her a raise,” said Rachel.

I shook my head at Rachel.
Sometimes I felt that she liked making my life interesting.

“I might do that,” whispered Mr. Stilton.
“You girls go home. Be here on Thursday. The new stock should be delivered by then.”

We locked up the place and left.
Being summer the sun was still high in the sky. It felt more like late afternoon instead of evening. I really didn’t feel like going home. I had spent the last day not allowed to go anywhere and the last thing I wanted was to go back to my apartment. Besides, Aunt Ethel would be there.

“We should go somewhere,” I told Jackie.

“Where?”

“I don’t know.
I just don’t want to go home right now. It’s so nice out.”

Jackie thought about it for a moment.
“Food is at home.”

“So is Aunt Ethel.”

My last statement must have sealed the deal with Jackie. She scrunched up her brows deep in thought. “You know,” she said, “There is a sandwich shop just around the corner. We could pick up some sandwiches, drinks and go to the park for a picnic.”

I smiled at the prospect.
“Sandwiches it is. And turn off your cell.”

“Why?”

“So Aunt Ethel can’t call it wondering where we are.”

“Good point.”
Jackie pulled out her cell and turned it off. I turned mine off as well. It’s not that I don’t love my aunt, but she gets on my nerves. And I just wanted to get away from her and everything for a while.

Jackie and I went to the sandwich shop.
Luckily, it wasn’t crowded. I ordered a BLT special. It was a standard BLT with Dijon mustard, chipotle sauce, salami, and cucumbers. It was my favorite sandwich. I added chips and a coke. Jackie got her usual turkey sandwich with chips and a sprite.

We took our food to go and went back to our cars.
Both of us decided the park would be a perfect place to go. It was on the other side of town so we drove over. Once there, we found a somewhat secluded area under a shady tree.