Sentenced to Death (24 page)

“What are you doing here?” she asked, pleased to see him nonetheless.

“Ginny thought you’d be ready for your lunch break about now. We’ve both had ours.”

“Are you finished for the day over at the Happy Domestic?” she asked hopefully.

Mr. Everett shook his head. “Ginny’s been studying the paperwork while I’ve taken care of the customers. She hasn’t said anything to me, but she seems to be quite worried about something.”

“Oh dear.” Probably the missing inventory and those empty boxes she’d told Tricia about.

“I’ll just get my apron, and then you can be off,” Mr. Everett said, and headed for the back of the shop. A few moments later, he was back, and finished tying it around his waist before he took Tricia’s former position behind the counter. He petted Miss Marple, who burst into spontaneous purring.

“I’ll try not to be long,” Tricia said, and headed out the door. Once outside, she looked both ways before crossing the street, and saw the Patisserie’s sign. The last time she’d spoken to Nikki, she’d seemed nervous. Now Tricia knew why. Making a spur of the moment change of plans, she headed north down the sidewalk.

Only in the past couple of months had Tricia begun to really appreciate the smell of fresh baked goods, and when she entered the Patisserie she had to restrain herself from standing in the middle of the store and just breathing deeply.

Only one person stood at the counter. Nikki made eye contact but quickly looked away and continued to wait on her customer. Tricia had time to kill, so once again studied the contents of the refrigerated cases. She wouldn’t buy any coconut cupcakes today. With Ginny gone, she had no one to share them with anyway. The idea of never working with Ginny again saddened her, making her want that cupcake all the more.

Finally, Nikki made change and bid her customer a good day.

Tricia stepped forward. “Hi.”

“Hi,” Nikki said, sounding nervous again.

“You can relax now. I know about you and Russ.”

Nikki seemed to deflate. “Thank goodness. I feel like we’ve been sneaking around for weeks.”

“I still don’t understand why you guys felt you had to keep your relationship so hush-hush.”

“I know you two had some problems. Russ had a hard time letting go. Because of that, I asked him to see a counselor before I would date him. He did.”

“Do you know for sure?” Tricia asked.

“Yes, because I went with him.”

Tricia blinked in surprise, but when she thought about it, it made sense. Nikki had had enough heartache in her life—from a lonely childhood, then a bad marriage, to a lovesick admirer who would do anything—even kill—for her love and admiration. It was no wonder she’d been cautious before getting involved with anyone else. Especially after the tales Tricia had told her concerning Russ.

“Thank you for being so candid,” Tricia said.

“I wanted to say something, but Russ insisted he be the one to mention it to you.”

“I haven’t had feelings for him for a long time,” Tricia said.

“I know. But the heart is a funny organ. It aches even when it gets what it wants.” She frowned. “That didn’t come out quite right.”

“I know what you mean. I was surprised to hear about the two of you. Maybe a little hurt—but only because I consider the two of us friends. If you’re happy, then I’m happy for you.”

“Actually, I’m quite happy.
We’re
quite happy,” she amended with a laugh. “You’d be surprised how much the bakery and news businesses have in common.”

“You think?” Tricia asked.

Nikki laughed. “No. But it sounds good, doesn’t it?”

Tricia smiled. Their friendship would withstand this small strain.

“What can I get you?” Nikki asked.

“A coconut cupcake. Actually, make it two. I think I deserve it.”

“I think you do, too!” Nikki said, grabbed a white bakery bag, and carefully snagged two cupcakes, nestling them between crinkled-up baker’s tissue.

Tricia paid for the cupcakes and took her change. “Will I see you at the next book club?”

Nikki looked skeptical.

Tricia nodded. “That’s how things go when you’re into a new relationship. You want to spend all your time with that person.”

Nikki managed a laugh. “I guess those kinds of things never change.”

“When you’re ready to rejoin us, we’ll be waiting.”

“Thank you. And thank you for being so understanding.”

“Gotta go. See you,” Tricia said, and waved as she walked out the door. Back on the sidewalk, she glanced at her watch. Could she eat an entire tuna salad plate in under ten minutes? She’d have to try.

She crossed the street at the corner and headed south down the sidewalk. As she passed the Happy Domestic, Tricia waved at Ginny, who was with a customer, and then she hurried on to Booked for Lunch.

“About time you got here,” Angelica said from her perch at her usual counter seat. “I’d about given up on you.”

“I brought a peace offering. One of Nikki’s coconut cupcakes.”

“Oh, great. I’ll pour the coffee,” she said, and got up from her seat, crossing to the coffee urn, and poured them both a cup. She set the coffee in front of Tricia, then grabbed the tuna plate from the undercounter fridge. “Anything interesting happen today?”

“I confronted Russ about his relationship with Nikki.”

“Spill the juicy details,” Angelica said with relish as she rested her elbows on the counter and her head in her hands.

“Not much to tell. Nikki’s got his number, and even made him go to counseling before she’d date him.”

“Good for her. And good for Russ, too. Maybe he isn’t the world’s biggest jackass after all. Anything else?”

“Russ found out a big deposit was made to Monty Capshaw’s savings account the day he died. A
cash
deposit.”

“You still don’t think someone paid him to kill Deborah, do you?”

“You have to admit it looks suspicious.”

“Maybe,” Angelica reluctantly agreed.

“Elaine Capshaw came to visit me earlier,” Tricia said, and took another bite of tuna. Oh, how she missed all those wonderful crunchies when Jake made it. She swallowed. “I asked her if she wanted to come work for me.”

“You don’t waste any time.”

“Cheryl Griffin also came to visit just before that. Did I tell you she thinks she’s about to be abducted by aliens?”

“If only it would happen,” Angelica said wistfully.

“She wanted the job, too. I am
not
hiring her.”

“You can hire anyone you like,” she said, and straightened. “So, what’s it like on your first day without Ginny?”

“Lonely. I loaned Mr. Everett to her for a couple of days. She wasn’t happy with the way things were left at the Happy Domestic.”

“How so?” Angelica asked.

“Missing inventory, for one.”

“Oh. That doesn’t sound good.”

“She wasn’t sure how to bring it up to Antonio. I told her to just tell him.”

“Wise decision.” Angelica studied Tricia’s face. “What’s wrong?”

Tricia looked away. “Nothing.”

“Oh, yes there is. Now spill.”

Tricia kept her gaze fixed on her plate. “I guess I’m not a big fan of change. You were right. I was in a nice, comfortable rut at Haven’t Got a Clue. Ginny, Mr. Everett, and I made a great team. The business had done far better than I could have hoped. . . .”

“And you’re afraid Ginny leaving is going to jinx that.”

Tricia frowned and glared at her sister. “You know I don’t like that word.”

“No, but it’s an accurate descriptor. Trish,” she said, softening her voice, “the only thing certain in life is that nothing ever stays the same.”

“I think I knew that.”

“With your
mind
, but not your
heart
.”

“Nikki said just about the same thing not ten minutes ago.”

“She’s a sharp lady.” Angelica got up from the counter and topped up their coffee cups. Then she reached into the bakery bag and extracted the cupcakes. She set one in front of Tricia and removed the paper from the outside of her own. “Carpe diem,” she said, raised her cupcake in salute, and then took a bite. Loose coconut shards rained onto the counter and a smear of white icing clung to her lip. “Damn, that tastes good.”

Tricia pushed her nearly finished tuna plate aside and picked up her cupcake, removing its paper and holding it aloft, too. “One thing in life
is
certain. There will always be cupcakes.”

“Amen,” Angelica said, and took another bite.

Considering how
boring the day had been, Tricia was looking forward to a quiet evening with a glass of wine, a good book, and Miss Marple’s company. But as she went to turn the deadbolt on the shop door, she heard the muffled roar of an engine zooming up Main Street, the screech of brakes, and a scream. She yanked at the lock and wrenched the door open in time to see the taillights of the car heading north and what looked like a pile of clothes and a stroller on the sidewalk. A child screamed, and Tricia recognized the stroller. Could the pile of clothes be—?

“Elizabeth!” she nearly screamed, and ran toward the huddled mass on the sidewalk. She ran up the sidewalk, as other shop doors along the street also began to pop open.

“What happened?” Frannie called.

“Call 9-1-1!” Tricia hollered as she approached Elizabeth, who wasn’t moving. She crouched beside her, noting her scraped cheek where her face had done more than just kiss the sidewalk. Davey continued to scream, but the stroller looked intact and he didn’t appear to be hurt—just terrified.

“Elizabeth?” Tricia called, afraid there would be no answer. She was still breathing, which was a hopeful sign, and there was no sign of blood. Still, she could be badly hurt with internal injuries. Tricia decided not to touch her—just in case.

“Is she alive?” Tricia looked up into Nikki’s worried face.

“So far. What’s taking the rescue squad so long to get here? They’re only up the street.”

True to her words, she heard the sound of a siren and looked up to see the fire truck approach. It rolled to a halt, and in seconds the EMTs spilled from the cab.

“What happened?” one of them asked, crouching down to touch Elizabeth’s neck, checking for a pulse.

“I heard the roar of a car, a squeal of brakes, and a scream.”

“Did you see the car’s make?” the second EMT asked. Tricia shook her head. “It all happened so fast—I’m not even sure I could tell you the color.” She stood, backing away to allow the men to do their work.

“Do you think she’s going to—” Frannie didn’t seem able to finish the sentence.

“Did someone deliberately try to run Elizabeth down?” Nikki asked.

“Hey, what happened?” Russ called from across the street, as he emerged from the
Stoneham Weekly News
with his Nikon slung around his neck. With no traffic in sight, he bounded across the road without even looking to the left or right. He stepped onto the curb and exchanged a worried glance with Nikki. For a moment, Tricia thought they might grab one another, kiss passionately, and then cling to each other, but then they both looked down at Elizabeth with concern. Russ showed great restraint by not photographing her at her worst.

Soon Elizabeth began to stir. Her first thoughts were of Davey, still strapped in his stroller. He’d ceased crying and now whimpered, arms outstretched, trying to reach his nana.

“Davey, Davey,” Elizabeth called, which seemed to upset the boy even more.

“He’s okay,” the EMT assured her. “But you’re going to the hospital to get checked out.”

“Who’ll take care of Davey?” Elizabeth wailed, her eyes wild with fright. “I’m all he’s got!”

“We’ll find someone,” the second EMT said as he fastened a cervical collar around her neck.

Elizabeth’s gaze roamed all the faces towering above her and finally focused on Tricia. “Tricia, you were Deborah’s best friend here in Stoneham. Will you take care of Davey for me?”

“I . . . I . . .” was all she could get out as the EMTs rolled Elizabeth onto a backboard. She howled in pain.

The EMTs soon transferred her to a gurney and hustled her to the back of their ambulance.

“That poor woman,” Nikki murmured. “First she lost her daughter, then the shop, and now this.”

Someone—Russ?—pushed the stroller in front of Tricia. No one else seemed interested in taking charge of the toddler, and already the sidewalk seemed to be clearing. Tricia looked down at the whining child, wondering what she’d do with him. Had he had dinner? Was he potty-trained? The paramedics had grabbed Elizabeth’s purse, but there didn’t seem to be a diaper bag anywhere in sight. What had Elizabeth been doing walking down Main Street after business hours? Nothing was open. Shouldn’t she have been at home getting Davey ready for bed?

Tricia glanced around and saw that Angelica had emerged from the Cookery and was conversing with Frannie, who nodded and stepped back inside. Angelica advanced on Tricia, who felt rather shell-shocked. What on earth was she supposed to do with a not-quite-two-year-old boy?