Tea Cups and Carnage (7 page)

I waited in silence as she read the email. When she turned back toward me she shook her head. “Sorry, false alarm. They’re implementing a new scanning system in the records department and they’re having some problems. They hope to have an answer Friday. They tried to trace it through your account, but came up blank, so they’re working backwards from the check clearing the city’s account, and that’s where the scanning problem occurred.”

“I really just came in to make a deposit. I appreciate you keeping me in the loop.” I stood and she followed me out to the lobby area. She took the envelope and walked it over to an older teller.

“Margie will help you with this.” She paused before leaving. “I didn’t realize you were doing deposits again. I thought you had delegated the task?”

Dodging the question, I went with a mostly true answer. “I’m heading over to the rec center to work out so I thought I’d handle it. Besides, the shop’s busy with the festival going on.” Claire wasn’t really listening to my answer; she was staring at the young girl helping out a drive-through customer.

“Not like that, Allie. Your check is upside down.” She sighed and gave me a quick smile. “Sorry, I’ve got to go help.”

As Margie rang up my deposit, counting out the cash and running the checks through the scanner, I watched as Claire walked the other teller through the deposit process. I could tell this wasn’t the first time she’d been corrected when the girl rolled her eyes when Claire’s back was turned. I blessed the two, now three, employees I had. At least they wanted the job. This girl seemed like she was more interested in the polish on her nails than learning the right way to process a deposit.

As I waited, I tried to convince myself to relax. This missing money thing was only a blip. Claire would find it and we’d be fine again. Except something in Sasha’s pained expression when I’d confronted her made me wince.

Margie handed me a slip and then I remembered the funds transfer. I explained what I needed and in just a few seconds, I had a second slip in my hand. I loved the ease of making banking transactions lately. Besides, I never remembered account numbers to fill out those blank generic deposit slips.

Walking out of the bank, my cell buzzed. Glancing at the caller ID, my heart sank. Not Greg, Mary.

“Hey, what’s going on?” I paused in front of the bank. If I needed to go to Mary’s South Cove Bed and Breakfast, I’d be turning west. If not, I’d be going east. The sunshine warmed my face as I stood on the empty sidewalk in front of the bank.

“Ashley’s in labor. Of course, it could just be a false alarm, but I’m not waiting. I’m taking off this afternoon for Boise. Did you want to go over the preliminary report for the council with me before I leave?” Mary didn’t wait for an answer. “I’ve already sent the PowerPoint to your email and you know what’s scheduled. Of course, we won’t have solid sales numbers until the next meeting, but they always want to know what their council funding is buying. You can just deflect those questions until the next meeting. Bill should be there to help you out if they get crotchety.”

“Congrats. Do they know if it’s a boy or a girl?” I’d have to put together a welcome basket of books for the new arrival. And get Ashley’s address from Bill.

“They wanted to be surprised. Ashley is convinced it’s a boy though. I don’t think she even picked out a girl’s name. I hope she’s right. A girl just won’t sound right being called William Anaston the third.” Mary paused and laughed at something in the background. “Of course, Bill’s pointing out the baby can’t really be the third since he won’t have the Sullivan surname.”

I started walking toward the bed and breakfast. Amy couldn’t even gripe about me missing class for this. But then Mary started talking again.

“So I guess if you’re fine, I’ll just leave now so I can be there first thing in the morning. I should fly, but with rates as high as they are, it would cost a fortune. Lord knows if I’d even get out of here today. No, driving’s better. And I should be there for the birth.”

I heard Bill talking in the background.

“Yes, I know.” Mary yelled back. “He said I won’t be there unless I leave, so good luck with the council and let your aunt know I’ll call her from the road later this afternoon.”

The phone clicked off and I found myself standing in front of the bed and breakfast watching Mary drag her suitcase on to the porch. She started when she saw me.

“Well, look at you. I guess I didn’t need to call after all.” She looked at her watch.

I kissed her on the cheek and watched as Bill grabbed the suitcase from her. “Don’t worry about me, I was on my way to work out when you called.”

“Did you have any questions? I guess I went through that pretty fast.” She paused as I opened the car door for her.

“Nope. Safe travels.” I watched as she climbed into the front seat of their SUV and Bill came around from the back and gave her a kiss.

“Tell Ashley I’ll get up there in a week or so. We’ll tag-team grandparent this baby.” He caressed her cheek. “I wish I could come with you.”

Watching them, I realized how hard managing a place like this must be. The Sullivans did take time for themselves, but it took closing down for a week for them to really get a vacation. I was lucky. I could leave the shop in my aunt’s care and take off. One more reason I was glad I hadn’t opened a bed and breakfast. Well, that and I really didn’t like talking to people first thing in the morning.

Bill and I stood together as Mary drove off, waving until she disappeared out of view on Main Street. He turned to me. “You want some coffee?”

“I’m late to meet Amy, so I’ll take a rain check.” I paused, “You going to be okay, Grampa?”

Bill shuddered. “Man, don’t call me that. I can’t believe little Ashley’s old enough to be married, let alone having kids already.”

I watched as a figure came up the sidewalk toward us. Kathi Corbin was doing the walk of shame. Her clothes, the same ones from last night, were rumpled and dusty. And her hair looked like she hadn’t even brushed it that morning. She held up a hand. “No talking, no comments, nothing until I get a shower.”

I shrugged. “All I was going to say was good morning.”

“Is it?” She turned and looked at Bill. “Please tell me you still have coffee available in the dining room.”

“Of course.”

Bill and I watched as Kathi climbed up the stairs and went into the house, letting the screen door slam behind her. “Late night, I guess,” he said.

“Definitely.” I said my goodbyes and headed to the gym. Had Kathi hooked up with Blake after leaving the winery? They really hadn’t talked much but maybe she’d come back after Greg and I had left. I glanced at my phone again. No text or missed call from him. The case must have turned out to be more than just a dead body. A chill ran down my back. Like a murder.

Amy frowned at me as I walked into the gym ten minutes late. She pointed to the locker room. “Go get changed. We’ve already started.”

We
consisted of Amy, Blake, Matt, and the instructor. None of the class members from the police force were there making me even more curious. I hurried and changed into my clothes and re-entered the gym.

“You’re just in time for laps.” The instructor grinned as I approached the group. “Today is cardio workout and we’re going to test your endurance.”

Great
. I fell in step with Amy whose blond hair was in a ponytail that bounced as she jogged.

“Where were you?” She asked. “I called the shop but Sasha said you’d left over fifteen minutes ago. I was worried.”

“Bank.” I struggled to keep up with Amy’s pace. Even though I ran most days with Emma, that was at my own slower pace. I really needed to work out harder. “Then seeing Mary off. Ashley’s in labor.”

Amy’s shriek made me miss a step and I almost fell.

“Seriously? Mary must be so excited.” Amy sped up even faster. “This is terrific. I bet that baby’s going to be so spoiled.”

We continued to talk about the baby and Bill and Mary until the instructor glared at us.

“Ladies, this isn’t a church social. Focus on the run. My grandmother can run a faster lap than you’re doing.”

As we got out of earshot, I muttered. “I don’t like that guy.”

Amy’s laugh echoed in the gym which garnered us a full-fledged glare from the teacher. After that, we just ran.

Limping home, I saw Greg’s truck parked at City Hall. I went in through the side door that took me to the police station. Amy kept going, heading home to shower before returning to her job as city hall receptionist.

Greg stood by Esmeralda’s desk and raised his eyebrows when he saw me. “Rough workout? I’m glad I was too busy to go today.”

“Oh, you’ll get yours. Don’t think demon trainer didn’t notice you were gone.” I leaned on the counter in front of Esmeralda’s desk. The woman kept her desk immaculate. One pen, one message pad, one small calendar, and a stapler. That was it. I knew she kept a book tucked in the desk drawer. She loved reading historical romance which always made me smile when she came in to buy her weekly supply. “Hey, Esmeralda. You look busy.”

“Don’t be snide. Just because I keep a clean house doesn’t mean I’m not earning my wage.” Esmeralda cocked her head and looked at me. “You’ve lost something.”

A chill ran through me. The woman was our local fortuneteller and my closest neighbor, but even she couldn’t have known about the missing money. I tried to change the subject. “My mind. How I let Amy talk me into this class, I’ll never know.”

Esmeralda shrugged. “If that’s the way you want to play it. Just know it’s safe, you just have to look more carefully.”

The phone rang and as she answered the call, Greg took my arm and led me into his office. He closed the door and sat with me on the couch. “Do I want to know what that was about?”

“She’s your employee, how would I know?” I felt bad not telling Greg, but I didn’t want this to become a big thing until I was sure the money was actually gone. Besides, according to the woman plugged into the vast unknown, I’d find it eventually. For some reason, even though I didn’t believe Esmeralda had the gift, her comment made me feel better about the entire situation.

“Okay. So why are you here?” He pushed a curl back out of my face. “Too far to walk home after the workout?”

“You’re just mean, you know that right?” I sank into the couch. It did feel amazing just to veg for a second or two. Okay, so Greg could have been right about my real motives for the impromptu visit. “Actually, I wanted to know about your call-out last night. I’m assuming this was a murder and not an old guy dying in his sleep.”

“And you deduced that from?” He watched me closely.

Shrugging, I sank deeper into the cushions. No wonder Greg didn’t mind sleeping in his office every so often. The couch was amazing. “No one blabbed, if you’re thinking of blaming Toby. You didn’t call, and you’re still wearing last night’s clothes.”

He chuckled. “You’re right. I guess I’m more transparent than I thought.”

My eyes flew open. “Is Toby going to be able to work? This isn’t going to affect him running the food truck today?”

Greg held up a hand. “Relax, Toby’s on his normal schedule. We don’t know much about the murder, except the guy checked in a few days ago under a false name. Of course, the motel doesn’t ask for any verification or even a credit card. Cash only out there.”

“So he’s not a local.” For some reason, this made me feel better. Sure, it was sad someone had died, but people died all the time. I just didn’t want it to be one of my friends.

“Not that I can tell. But I think it’s the biker who’s been racing up and down Main Street. He fits the description.” Greg shrugged and grinned. “And, there’s a bike parked outside his room. Yep, I’m a trained investigator, I notice these things.”

“Big guy?” I thought about how the elderly woman had almost been smashed by the rider just a few days ago.

“Nope, you were wrong. He’s tall, maybe six feet, but if he weighs more than a hundred fifty soaking wet I’ll buy you dinner.” Greg groaned as he stood and walked across the room to his desk. He pulled me to standing. “I hate it when you do that.”

“Do what?” Now that I was upright, my stomach growled reminding me I hadn’t eaten all day. I dug into my tote and pulled out a protein bar.

“Trick me into telling you more than I should.” He pointed to the door. “Out of here. I’ve got work to do.”

I took a bite of my protein bar as I walked out. Pausing at the door, I turned back to look at him. He was already typing into some document. “I take it I won’t see you for dinner?”

“Not tonight. But I’ll be over on Sunday at the latest.” He paused. “Are you working the festival that day?”

“Just the morning shift. We’re closing the main store and only running the food truck that day.” I adjusted the strap on my tote, feeling the weight on my screaming shoulder blade. “Oh, and Ashley’s having her baby.”

Greg turned to look at me, confusion filling his face.

Before he could ask, I responded. “Mary and Bill’s daughter?”

He nodded. “Sorry, my mind is on other things.”

I walked out of the office and wondered how bad the murder had been. Just because it was a stranger that lay in the morgue, didn’t mean someone from South Cove hadn’t been involved or known the guy.

Or why else would he have been here?

My hair still wet from the shower, I grabbed a bag of grapes and cuddled up on the couch with another YA novel. This one was set in summer and from the few chapters I’d read, the author was amazing at setting the scene. Sasha had insisted I read the book after she’d finished, her exuberance for the story shining through.

Unlike this morning. I paused with the book in my lap and wondered if money worries was really what had my YA specialist in the doldrums. The girl was always on the go. Between school, work, and Olivia, I didn’t think she had a spare moment to herself. I made a mental note to suggest a girls’ spa night out for Sasha and Aunt Jackie once this summer festival was over. We all would need a break then.

An hour later, with my stomach growling, I sat the book down and went into the kitchen. I chopped veggies for a salad and put a chicken breast on to grill. Sitting down fifteen minutes later to eat, I heard the knock on the door.