Santa Sleuth (12 page)

The only dark spot on the perfectly wonderful day was the fact that Ellie looked sort of down. She was wrapping packages, talking, and nibbling goodies like everyone else, but her smile didn’t quite reach her eyes.

I was about to pull her aside when my phone rang. “Hey, Salinger. What’s up?” I greeted him.

“I just wanted to let you know that with the exception of the elusive Blugo, I’ve managed to track down and talk to everyone else who participated in the poker game in which Overland cheated.”

“And?”

“They were all pretty mad, and a couple of the men even stated they had a plan to rough him up, but they all swore they didn’t kill him. All have alibis that have been verified.”

“You’ve been busy.”

“It’s my job.”

“Yeah, I guess it is. Did anyone from the game know where Blugo might be or whether he was in the area at the time of the fire?”

“No one knew for sure, but they all seemed to think Blugo had moved out of that apartment building he lived in over the summer and moved into one of the summer cabins up on the mountain after the snow closed the area for the winter.”

“They think he’s renting a summer cabin?” I asked.

“More like squatting. After Saturday’s snow the road is completely inaccessible, but I thought I might take a snowmobile up there tomorrow if I get a chance. I sort of doubt he’s there, but it couldn’t hurt to take a look.”

“Be careful,” I cautioned. “From what everyone says the guy is dangerous.”

“Your concern is touching,” Salinger replied with a note of sarcasm in his voice.

“I just got you broken in,” I teased. “I wouldn’t want to have to start over from scratch.”

Salinger laughed.

“Seriously, though, be careful, and call me when you get back.”

“Will do.”

I headed back into the living room, where Ellie was refilling the snack trays. When she headed to the kitchen with the empty punch bowl in her hand, I knew it was my chance to check in with her.

“Hey,” I said as I entered the room.

“Do you have any more lime soda?”

“In the pantry. Hang on, I’ll get it. Seems like everyone is having fun.”

“Yeah. It’s a good turnout. When I first showed up I thought you were going to have way too many helpers and then I saw the pile of gifts the girls collected. It’s really amazing.”

“Yeah, they did a great job.”

I handed her the soda and Ellie began mixing the punch.

“Is something wrong?” I asked.

“Does it show?”

“Only to me. Best friends have a keen eye for these types of things. I’m sure everyone else believes you’re having the wonderful time you’re trying to portray.”

“There is something wrong, but I’m not sure this is the time or place to get into it.”

“I bet the dogs need to go out. What do you say we refill the punch and then go for a walk?” I suggested.

“Yeah, okay. I could use some fresh air.”

We refilled both the punch and the coffee and I announced to everyone that Ellie and I were going to take the dogs out for a bathroom break. It was cold and overcast, but the snow had temporarily stopped, allowing us to navigate the path Zak had plowed for just this purpose.

“So what’s going on?” I asked.

“Levi and I have decided to split up.”

I stopped walking and looked at Ellie. “Really? Why?”

“We had a long talk yesterday and we both agreed that while we love each other very much and fully intend to stay best friends, we want different things out of life. If you think about it, this split has been coming for quite a while.”

“Yeah, I guess so,” I admitted. “Are you okay?”

“Actually, I am. I’m feeling a little melancholy, but I’ve thought about it a lot, and in the end, this is the best decision. If I gave up my dream of having a family in order to remain in a relationship with Levi, I would grow to resent him, and if he agreed to having children he really doesn’t want in order to remain in a relationship with me, he would grow to resent me. We decided our friendship is too precious to risk. I’m sure there will be an adjustment period for both of us, but I really think we can return to best friend status without too much damage to that relationship.”

I hugged Ellie. I knew this had to be harder on her than she was letting on, but I had to agree it was the right decision.

“Can I do anything?” I asked.

“Not really. Right now I feel sort of numb, but I’m sure there’s a good rant in my future, so I guess I’ll need a sympathetic ear when the time comes.”

“Absolutely. Day or night, I’m your girl.”

“Thanks, Zoe. I feel like I’ve been tossed into a dark abyss of uncertainty between losing the restaurant and my split with Levi. But I also feel a spark of hope. Maybe once everything old has been stripped away, there’ll be room in my life for something new and wonderful.”

“I’m sure you’re right.” I looked toward the beach, where the dogs were chasing one another back and forth. It must be nice to be a dog, to have every day be a good one. “Have you decided what you’re going to do about the restaurant?”

“Actually, I have. I talked it over with Zak and he’s going to help me settle the insurance claim and pay off my loan. He’s also going to handle the sale of the land so that I’ll have a little cash to tide me over.”

“Have you thought at all about what you want to do next?” I asked as Charlie trotted over and sat down next to me.

“I have. I’m going to work for you.”

“Me? You want a job at the Zoo?”

Ellie laughed. “No, silly. Zak offered me a job at Zimmerman Academy.”

“You’re going to be a teacher?”

“No. I’m going to run the kitchen. You don’t actually have a kitchen right now in the temporary facility, but once you open the new campus in the fall you’ll need a full-time kitchen staff. And when you begin taking boarders you’ll need an even larger staff.”

“That’s great.” I hugged Ellie again. “Although I’m a little surprised Zak didn’t mention he was planning to offer you a job to me.”

“I don’t think he did plan to. We were discussing the sale of the property and we got to talking about the future. I mentioned that I liked to cook but didn’t want the responsibility that comes with owning my own business, and he suggested I work for the Academy. It wasn’t something he’d thought about; it just sort of popped out. I told him I wanted to think about it and I asked him not to mention it to anyone until I decided. And I hadn’t decided for sure until I was thinking things over last night, after Levi left. I decided that the job would be perfect for me. I’d have quite a bit of control over the kitchen as the manager, but I’d also have a staff, which would allow me to work a more regular schedule.”

“I really do think it’s perfect,” I agreed. “And I’m glad my brilliant husband thought of it.”

Ellie picked up a stick that was poking out of the snow and threw it down the beach for the dogs to chase. “I’m looking forward to joining the Zimmerman Academy staff. The people you’ve pulled together are all not only brilliant but supernice and supportive. I really think you’re building a family, and I find with all the change that I’m looking forward to being part of that family.”

I hugged Ellie. “You’ll always be my family.”

“I know. And you’ll always be mine.”

“Have you told your mom you aren’t reopening the restaurant?” I asked.

“I have. It turns out she’s thinking about selling Rosie’s as well.”

I frowned. “Why? She’s owned Rosie’s forever.”

“It seems my mom’s friend has been asking her to move in with her now that her husband has passed. She lives in a huge house on a large piece of land, so there’s plenty of room for both of them. My mom said she’s getting sick of dealing with the snow, so moving to a milder climate might be exactly what she needs. Plus, I think she’s just tired. She’s been working really hard for a really long time. If she moves in with her friend she can relax a bit.”

I supposed Ellie had a point. Now that she was settled and out on her own, maybe it was time for Rosie to focus on herself.

Chapter 10

“What a day,” I said to Zak as we snuggled on the sofa in front of the fire and shared a bottle of wine. Alex had gone home with Phyllis and the girls and Scooter had gone to a slumber party for a friend who was having a birthday, so it was just Zak and me and Pi, who was in his room working on his computer.

“It was a lot of work, but I think Alex’s project is going to bring a smile to a lot of faces on Christmas morning.”

“Yeah,” I agreed as I stared at the lights on the tree. “She’s worked so hard, and so has Eve. I think they might have started an annual event.”

Zak took a sip of his wine. “Ashton Falls is a great town whose citizens take care of their own, but I really think we needed something like this.”

“I agree. It was a fantastic idea. Didn’t it start out as something they were doing for Zimmerman Academy?”

“A community service project. We’re encouraging all the kids to do one, although we haven’t made it mandatory, so some students are doing projects and some aren’t. Once we get the permanent campus and have the kids full-time, I think we’re going to make it part of the curriculum. Speaking of the Academy, I wanted to talk to you about something.”

“You offered Ellie a job.”

“Yes, I did. I didn’t mean to make a decision like that without talking to you about it first, but it sort of slipped out during a conversation we were having about the restaurant and her future.”

I lay my head on Zak’s shoulder. “You don’t have to ask my permission to hire people. It’s your school, which you’re paying for with your money. You can do whatever you want.”

Zak turned and looked at me. “First of all, it’s
our
school that we’re paying for with
our
money so that
our
children will have a place to gain a quality education without us having to move. I
want
us to discuss the important decisions that need to be made. More importantly, I should have asked you before offering Ellie a job because she’s your best friend. I should have made sure you were okay with her working with us before I brought it up.”

“I’m fine with it. I’m more than fine with it. I think it will be the perfect job for Ellie and I think she’ll be an asset to the Academy. And I think she needs something positive to focus on, now that she and Levi have ended things.”

“Good. I was hoping you would feel that way. I was sorry to hear about the breakup, but I think it’s for the best.”

“Yeah, me too. Wait. You heard about the breakup?” I hadn’t had a chance to mention my conversation with Ellie to Zak yet.

“Yeah,” Zak admitted. “Levi told me. We actually had a long talk while we were driving around rescuing people during the blizzard. He mentioned that he’d been thinking things over and he’d come to the conclusion that it would be best to end things with Ellie. He told me he planned to break the news to her the next day.”

“You’ve known for two days that Levi planned to end things with Ellie and you didn’t tell me?”

“Levi asked me not to say anything to you until he had a chance to talk to Ellie.”

I supposed I understood that. I would have had a hard time not filling Ellie in, and it wouldn’t have been my place to do so.

“So is that why he’s been acting like such a spaz lately?” I asked.

“Partly.”

“Care to elaborate?”

Zak took a deep breath. “I’m not sure how much I should say. Levi is my friend and he confided in me, but yeah, part of what Levi has been dealing with lately is the decision he knew he needed to make regarding Ellie. He loves Ellie and he didn’t want to hurt her, but he could see that in the long run things weren’t going to work out between them.”

Zak was repeating himself. Based on his guarded expression, there had to be more going on. Something Levi would confide to Zak but didn’t want me to know.

“Levi has another woman!” I blurted out. The look of surprise in Zak’s eyes confirmed my suspicion. “How could he do that to Ellie?”

“He hasn’t actually done anything to Ellie,” Zak defended him. “But Levi did share that he’d struck up a friendship with one of the other teachers at the high school, and that the two of them had gone out for drinks a few times in a strictly platonic manner. I had the feeling that once he wrapped things up with Ellie he was interested in pursuing that relationship, but I also believed him when he assured me that nothing physical had occurred between them prior to our discussion.”

“He was with her that day,” I realized, “when no one could find him.”

“They went skiing. He claims he forgot about the Santa booth and he didn’t get your calls until later that evening because he left his phone at home.”

I frowned. I sort of doubted the whole thing. Levi was pretty attached to his phone and was rarely without it. Chances were he just didn’t want to deal with his responsibilities, so he’d intentionally ignored my calls.

“Ellie is going to be devastated if Levi hooks up with someone else so soon after their breakup,” I pointed out.

“I know. He knows. He’s decided to fly to the East Coast to spend the Christmas break with his family. He’s promised me that he’ll take Ellie’s feelings into account before he moves ahead with a new relationship. Levi really cares for Ellie. I think he’ll do as he said.”

“Yeah.” I had to agree with Zak. Levi did care for Ellie. He wouldn’t intentionally hurt her. “I guess you’re right. And I think it’s a good thing he’s going out of town for the holidays. It will give Ellie some space to heal. I know in my heart that splitting up is the right thing to do for both of them, but they’re my best friends, so I can’t help but ache for them.”

“Ellie is a strong woman. She knows what she wants and she intends to get it,” Zak reminded me. “It might be tough for a few months, but she’ll move on with her life and hopefully we can all go back to being friends.”

“I hope so.”

Zak put his arm around me and gave my shoulder a squeeze. “So are you okay with all of this?”

I fought the feeling of dread deep within my soul. “Yeah. I’m okay.”

“So back to what I actually wanted to talk to you about,” Zak continued.