Ax to Grind (2 page)

Chapter Three

After the enchanting evening, Meg came into the donut shop the next morning as happy as could be.  It seemed like nothing could keep a smile from her face.  Then, something did.  Even stranger, the source of her dismay was one she never would have expected. 

Liz Donnelly was usually as chipper as could be.  She was the kind of person who always seemed to find a way to look on the bright side.  That positive attitude served her well after years of waiting in wings as an understudy.  When she arrived at the donut shop, Meg expected Liz to be full of cheer.  After all, she finally landed the starring role and nailed her first performance as a lead the night before. 

Instead of being full of cheer, Liz looked completely on edge.  There was no smile to be found.  Her long, dirty blonde hair was pulled back into a ponytail, she was wearing blue-framed glasses instead of her usual contact lenses, and she had on a t-shirt and pair of leggings on her tall, trim body instead of one of the dresses from her floral-print heavy wardrobe.  If Meg didn’t know better, she would have thought Liz had just come from the gym. 

The fact was, Meg did know better.  She suspected Liz had a late night with little or no sleep to speak of.  The question became, what had kept her up, and why did she look like the sky had fallen down on her?

“You look like you could use a donut,” Meg said.

“I could use a dozen,” Liz replied. 

That was the most uncharacteristic thing Meg had ever heard out of her friend’s mouth.  As an actress, Liz had to keep her body in good shape.  Donuts were usually nowhere near her diet.  As a matter of fact, it was hard to usually even get Liz to come into the shop to even visit, because the temptation to nibble on a cruller was too great.

The irony of their usual predicament was not lost on Meg.  Liz usually resisted the donuts because she thought they’d make her fat.  Meg meanwhile put a magical ingredient in every donut that made the baked goods as healthy as could be.  Unfortunately, Meg couldn’t tell Liz she could eat a dozen donuts and not gain a single pound without revealing her secret that she was a witch. 

Liz’s will power had abandoned her that morning.  That’s what Meg was worried about.  She knew trouble was brewing.  The worry was all over Liz’s face. 

“This has the makings of a pastry emergency,” Meg said.   

“I wish it was just that.  It’s more like life 911.”

Meg furrowed her brow.  “I’m confused.  I thought you’d be happy. Your acting dream just came true.”

“It did.”

“So, what’s the problem?”

“That dream turned into a nightmare after the show last night.”

“Uh oh.”

“You don’t even know the half of it,” Liz revealed.

Meg handed Liz a donut.  She promptly began to devour it.

“Fill me in,” Meg insisted. 

“The show has been canceled.”

Meg’s jaw nearly dropped.  She stammered her reply.  “What?  Wait, but ‘Enchanted Nights’ has been running longer than we’ve even been alive.  How could it have been canceled?”

“Two words--Ethan Wakefield.”

Meg was even more puzzled.  “The carpet king?”

Liz nodded. 

Every small town had their local hucksters that insisted in starring in their own cable access-quality commercials.  Ethan Wakefield would go down in infamy for some of his awful TV spots.  They were schlocky affairs, with cheesy lines and horrible video quality.  Apparently, they worked.  Twenty years ago, Ethan Wakefield had proclaimed himself as the local carpet king when he opened his first upholstery warehouse, and to this day, no one had been able to steal his crown.  Who knew a man that lived to sell upholstery also had an interest in dabbling in the theater as well?

Liz continued her explanation.  “Ethan bought the theater, promptly canceled the show, and is going to be staging a new play that his wife wrote.”

Meg’s heart went out to her friend.  “I’m so sorry.”

Liz sighed.  “Yeah, it’s crazy.  In one night, I went from being on top of the world to out of a job.”

“I’m so sorry.  I know getting that role was the opportunity you’ve been waiting for.”

Liz nodded.  “Life sure has a crazy sense of humor sometimes.  I finally get the role of a lifetime; then I barely have time to enjoy it before the rug is completely pulled out from under my feet.”

“This calls for more donuts.”

For once, Liz didn’t turn down seconds.  Then again, with her acting future on the skids now, she didn’t have to pay such close attention to her figure. 

“The fact is, I didn’t even get the worst of it.  This news is tough enough for me to deal with, but I can’t even imagine what it’s like for Owen Goodman.  Or Vanessa McMillan.  Not to mention Sebastian Brown.  It must be the hardest on Daphne Scott, though.  Her ex-husband buys the theater, and then shuts down the show she’s worked so hard to produce.”

Liz had thrown out a whole slew of names.  Meg took a moment to get them all straight.  They were all involved in the production of the musical in some way.  Owen Goodman was the director of the show, Vanessa McMillan was the writer, Sebastian Brown was the lead actor, and Daphne Scott produced the musical. 

Meg agreed with Liz.  Ethan had sure found a way to screw over his former wife. 

“You have to really hate your ex to do something like that,” Meg said. 

“The fact that Ethan is going to use the theater to stage a play his third wife wrote is the real kicker.”

“It’s good to know nepotism is alive and well,” Meg deadpanned. 

“Tell Wyatt Wakefield that.  He’s been looking to get the stage show he wrote produced for a while.  Instead, his father chooses to put on his new wife’s play instead of his,” Liz explained. 

Meg’s head was spinning just hearing about all the backstabbing and hurt feelings.  “That’s a whole lot of drama.”

“That’s the theater world for you.”

“Yeah, but the drama should be on stage, not off.”

“You never know what to expect from a group of thespians.”

Meg switched gears. “Speaking of, what are you going to do now?”

“Other than eating donuts?  I don’t know,” Liz replied.

“I have a great idea.  It’s time we have a girl’s night out.  Let’s just hit the town and cut loose,” Meg suggested.

“Don’t you have a date with the hunky detective?”

“I did, but my plans have suddenly changed.”

“You don’t have to cancel your date for me,” Liz insisted. 

Meg would not be thrown off.  “Connor will understand.  Besides, if this situation doesn’t call for an emergency girl’s night out, I don’t know what does.”

“Thanks for trying to cheer me up.”

“I’m not just trying.  I am going to find a way to cheer you up.”

“You’re such a good friend,” Liz said. 

“Is that a yes on the girl’s night out?” Meg asked. 

“Sorry, but I’m just tired and mentally exhausted.  Besides, I really have to try to find a new role in a show somewhere.”

“I understand.  At least let me pack up some more donuts for you.”

Surprisingly, Liz refused those too.  She looked down at her stomach.  “No, I can’t.”

“But they are on the house.”

“Trust me, I want to say yes, but I’m afraid I have to say no.  Anyway, I should really be getting home.  I can’t afford to be out of work for long.  Otherwise, I might have to beg for my old waitress job back at Al’s Diner.”

“Are you sure there’s nothing else I can do?” Meg asked. 

“You’ve done plenty already,” Liz insisted. 

When Liz left the donut shop shortly after, Meg knew she’d done her best to cheer her friend up.  Unfortunately, Liz was still noticeably rattled.  It was understandable.  Her whole life had been turned upside down.  At the same time, Meg could sense there was something deeper going on than just Liz’s recent and wildly unexpected unemployment.  Meg couldn’t place exactly what else was bothering her friend, but maybe Liz would reveal it to her during their night out.  In the meantime, all Meg could do was speculate. 

Chapter Four

Meg hated to see her friend having such a hard time.  Life barely gave Liz time to enjoy the stroke of good luck before throwing some seriously bad luck at her.  It just didn’t seem fair.  Meg was still rattled by her conversation with Liz two hours later when her mother showed up at the shop.  

Beth Walton had a habit of waking up on the grumpy side of the bed.   The first rule of a happy life was to never cross a witch.  So if Meg’s mom refused to believe that the day started earlier than ten in the morning, Meg wasn’t going to risk getting on her bad side.  It was wise not to mess with a witch that didn’t know what the phrase “morning person” meant.  

Even given her crabby history with the morning, Beth came in looking more bothered than usual that morning. 

Beth shook her head and ranted with an exasperated look on her face. “What’s this town coming to?”

“Uh oh.  Sounds like someone has a serious case of the grumps,” Meg joked. 

“This is no laughing matter,” Beth replied. 

Meg looked into her mom’s eyes.  She could tell immediately that it wasn’t just the usual “there goes the neighborhood” rant, which her mother used for occasions as trivial as people leaving their Christmas lights up until June.  No, this was serious.  Meg gulped.  She wasn’t sure she wanted the answer to her next question. 

“What’s the matter?” Meg wondered. 

“I saw a half dozen police cars in front of Ethan Wakefield’s house,” Beth revealed. 

Meg’s eyes opened wide.  “Ethan?”

The mention of his name stopped Meg dead in her tracks.  After what Liz had told her earlier, Ethan managed to make a slew of enemies last night when he shut down “Enchanted Nights.” 

Meg continued.  “What happened?”

Beth shrugged her shoulders.  “I don’t know for sure.  I wasn’t about to get out of my car and ask the police what had happened.  It sure looked like a crime scene to me.  What’s happening to our town?”

“A crime scene like someone robbed the place, or--”

“I just said I don’t know.”

That only made Meg panic even more.  “Mom, this is really important.  Did you see the police talking to Ethan?”

“I didn’t see Ethan at all, just the police.”

This was just what Meg feared.

Beth continued ranting.  “This used to be such a quiet town.  A happy place, peaceful.  I miss the days when the biggest problem were raccoons knocking over our neighbor’s garbage cans in the middle of the night.”

Meg’s heart started beating out of her chest.  She could sense trouble.  Before her anxiety grew out of control, she decided to take a step back. 

Beth stopped ranting when she saw her daughter’s face turn white.  “Honey, are you ok?”

“Mom, I need to take a break,” Meg insisted. 

“Was it something I said?”

“I just need to get some air.”

“Meg, tell me, what is it?”

“That’s the thing.  I’m getting a really bad feeling,” Meg explained. 

***

Meg stepped out back to get some air.  Her emotions had a tendency to get the better of her in the heat of the moment.  In those cases, she found it helped to stare out at the horizon.  Sometimes, a little perspective was all she needed.

This wasn’t one of those times.  All her usual tricks didn’t work.  Meg had a terrible feeling that she just couldn’t shake.  She listened to her instincts and gave Connor a call.  Unfortunately, he didn’t pick up. 

She tried texting him instead.  Sometimes Connor was too busy to take a call, but could shoot back a quick text message.  She got nothing back from him. 

How frustrating. 

Meg’s thoughts then turned to Liz Donnelly.  She was really on edge this morning—all due to Ethan Wakefield’s actions the night before.

Meg called up Liz and waited impatiently as the phone rang three times.  She groaned.  Not voice mail again.  Like Connor, Liz wasn’t always able to answer a call, but she was usually lightning fast responding to texts. 

Meg shot one her way.  She didn’t receive anything back.  Waiting did no favors to her anxiety level.  She was already a highly impatient person, but during a time like this, a level head was nearly impossible to come by. 

Finally, she reached a breaking point.  She couldn’t just wait around.  It was time to get answers herself.

Meg wasn’t the only one with spooked feelings.  Her mother exited the shop and joined her. 

“Honey, you’re completely off in the ozone.  What’s on your mind?” Beth wondered. 

“Trouble,” Meg said.

“What kind of trouble?”

“Mom, I need you to cover for me.”

“Why?”

“Because, there’s something I need to go check on,” Meg explained. 

Beth was still completely in the dark.  “What is it?”

“I have a bad feeling about this Ethan Wakefield situation,” Meg revealed.