Authors: Jessica Beck
“It happens
every day, and you know it. I’ve got to
do
something.”
“Just promise
me that you won’t do anything crazy,” I said.
Ellen shook
her head, and I decided that it was time to change the subject. Maybe it would
help lighten her mood a little. “So, what’s going on with Wayne? I didn’t even
know that you two were officially seeing each other, and now I hear that he’s
defending your honor.”
“He’s a real
sweetheart,” she said as her stern expression softened. “I didn’t want to say
anything about it before. I’m sorry, but I didn’t want to jinx it. You know my
track record with men. I don’t have a very good history of choosing the right
ones.”
“You’ve got a
winner there, though,” I said. “Wayne’s a good guy.”
“Believe me,
I know,” she said. “He’s embarrassed that Gordon got the best of him last
night, and he swore that the next time they ran into each other, the outcome
would be different. Victoria, what am I going to do about this mess?”
“I’m not sure
there’s anything that you
can
do at
the moment,” I said. “Things might just have to run their course.”
“If that
happens, then, I’ve already lost.”
I hated the
air of defeat in her voice, but there was nothing else that I could say.
“Ellen, would
you like to go home early today? I can manage here on my own until Jenny comes
in at four.”
“Thanks, but
the kids don’t get out of school for hours yet. If you don’t mind, I’d rather
just stay here and work. Who knows? Maybe it will help take my mind off of
things.”
“It couldn’t
hurt, right? If you need anything, you know that all you have to do is ask.”
“I know, and
I’m sorry I kept this all from you.”
“Hey,” I said
with a grin. “You don’t owe me anything but your undying loyalty and
friendship. That’s not asking too much, is it?”
“Not if
you’re willing to return it,” Ellen said with the first smile I’d seen that
day.
“You know
it,” I said, and we tried to go about our business, despite what had just
happened.
Five minutes
later, Robert Hightower whispered something to his daughter, and then he walked
out of the diner a much calmer man.
As the
sheriff paid their bill, I asked, “What did you say to him?”
“I basically
told him not to do anything stupid that he’d regret for the rest of his life.”
“And what did
he say to that?”
The sheriff
frowned for a moment before he answered. “That’s what I’m worried about. He
said if he did something, there wasn’t a chance on earth that he’d ever regret
it. I don’t like it, Victoria. As far as I’m concerned, the sooner Gordon
Murphy leaves town, the better.”
“As long as
he doesn’t try to take Ellen’s kids with him when he goes, I couldn’t agree
with you more,” I replied.
After the
sheriff was gone, I wondered just what Gordon’s game was. He’d shown no
interest in his children before now, so why the sudden change of heart? Was it
his motivation to get them back, or was it his fiancée’s? Either way, I had a
hunch that things were going to get bad before they got better.
I just hoped
that nobody I cared about got hurt in the meantime.
Chapter 2
“What’s this
I hear about that loser Gordon Murphy showing his face around here this morning?”
my grandfather demanded to know as he stormed into the diner an hour later.
“Where is he?”
“Take it
easy. He’s been gone over an hour, Moose,” I said. “We managed to throw him out
just fine on our own,” I added with a smile.
Moose
snorted, and then he said, “Fair enough. You know that you can call me if you
ever need me, Victoria. We don’t have to be investigating a murder for me to
lend you a hand.”
My
grandfather and I had solved a crime or two in the past, and to our mutual
surprise, we’d turned out to be quite good at it. Apart from the times our
lives were in jeopardy, we enjoyed the thrill of the chase, even when it led us
straight into trouble. Well, that was mostly me. I seemed to have a knack for
getting myself in difficult situations, but they’d all worked out so far. If we
never had to solve another murder as long as we lived, that would be just fine
with me, but with our luck, I had a feeling that sooner or later, we’d be
called into action again.
“I know
you’re there for me,” I told him as I patted his shoulder. “I’m counting on it,
as a matter of fact. Since you’re here, why don’t you hang around and have a
piece of pie?” My grandfather and I both loved pie, just one of many traits and
tastes we shared.
“No, I’d
better not,” he said uncertainly as he shook his head.
I looked at
him with justifiable concern. “Moose, are you feeling okay? Should I call a
doctor?”
He looked
surprised by my new line of questioning. “Why do you ask that? I’m fine,
Victoria. I don’t want to have anything to do with a doctor, and you know it.”
“Normally,
I’d agree with you, but let’s face it; something’s wrong. You just turned down
pie.”
My
grandfather just shrugged, and then he said with a sheepish smile, “I suppose
you’re right. After all, what could it hurt?”
“Not a thing
in the world, as far as I’m concerned,” I said as I reached into the display
and brought out the last slice of strawberry pie and grabbed a fork. “Would you
like some coffee to go with this?”
“How about
some ice cold milk instead?” Moose asked.
“You’ve got
it. I keep some in the back of the fridge, since Greg likes it that way, too.”
My husband couldn’t stand milk that was within shouting distance of merely
cool. It had to be cold enough to freeze, and if there happened to be a crust
of ice on the top of the glass, he was perfectly fine with that.
After I set
Moose up at the counter, he dug into the pie with so much vigor that I
considered joining him, despite the fact that I was still working the floor
with Ellen.
“Ellen, I
hate to complain, but I didn’t order this,” I heard Reverend Mercer say a few
minutes later as Ellen dropped off his plate. As Ellen apologized, the reverend
added, “Usually I wouldn’t complain, but I’m allergic, you see.”
“I’m so
sorry. I’ll fix it right away,” Ellen said as she picked the plate up as though
it were toxic. She was clearly off her game; for the first time in a long time,
she was getting orders wrong. Even when they were right, she was delivering
them to the wrong customers.
I decided
that enough was enough, for both our sakes.
“It might not
be a bad idea if you go on and head home early,” I said as I followed her into
the kitchen.
“I don’t
want
to leave,” Ellen said, though I was
having a hard time believing her. She handed the plate to my mother, explained
what she’d gotten wrong, and then she turned to me, tears welling up in her
eyes. “Maybe you’re right. Victoria, I don’t know what’s gotten into me.”
“Come on,
don’t be so hard on yourself. You’re under more strain and pressure than any
normal person should have to endure. Go home before the kids get off the bus,
take a long hot bath, and turn the ringer off on your phone.”
“I couldn’t
do that,” she said.
“Which part?”
I asked. “I’m willing to negotiate here,” I added with a grin.
“Going home
probably isn’t a bad idea, and the bath sounds wonderful, but I have kids. I
could never turn off my ringer. What if something happened to one of them?”
“Okay, leave
your phone on, but the other two items aren’t really an option. Go on. Things will
look a lot better after a long hot soak.”
“You’re
probably right. After all, I’m not doing much good here. Are you sure you don’t
mind?”
“I can have
Moose drive you, if you’d like him to. I’m sure that he wouldn’t mind.”
“No, the walk
home might help me clear my head. If you’re sure, I’m going to take you up on
it. Thank you for being there for me, Victoria.”
“You’re part
of our family, Ellen. If there’s
anything
I can do, all you have to do is ask.”
“Do you mind
if I sneak out the back way?” she asked me. “I don’t want to be around anyone
right now.”
“That’s fine.
I’ll see you in the morning, but don’t forget, if you need me before then, I’m
just a telephone call away.”
“I know, and
I appreciate it. Bye.”
After she
left, my mother handed me a new, properly filled plate. As she did, she asked
worriedly, “Victoria, is she going to be okay?”
“Honestly, I
have no idea. This thing with her ex-husband really has her rattled.”
“You did a
nice thing sending her home early today,” Mom said.
“For us, or
for our customers?” I asked with a grin. “After all, she almost killed Reverend
Mercer.”
“For her,”
Mom said. “Now, go deliver these orders before they get cold.”
“Yes, Ma’am,”
I said with a soft smile.
I did as my
mother suggested, and when I came back over to Moose, I saw that he’d finished
his pie and drained his glass.
“Feel better
now?” I asked.
“You were
right. Pie never hurts,” he admitted as he looked back toward the kitchen. “Is
Ellen coming back out soon?” he asked with concern.
“I just sent
her home,” I said. “She was a wreck.”
Moose looked
alarmed. “Victoria, you didn’t send her out alone, did you?”
“She’s a big
girl, Moose. She can take care of herself.”
“Ordinarily
I’d agree with you, but not with that fool of an ex-husband walking around
Jasper Fork. She needs someone with her.”
“You don’t
seriously think that she needs to be protected, do you?”
“She’s not
the one I’m worried about,” Moose said as he headed for the back. “What do you
think she’s going to do if she’s worried that Gordon’s coming after her
children? To be honest, I have a feeling that he’s the one who’s going to need
protection. I personally wouldn’t mind one bit if she pushed that weasel into
oncoming traffic, but it won’t do her kids any good.”
Moose was
gone before I could stop him, and I wondered if perhaps he was right. Should I
have kept Ellen at the diner where she had something to do instead of sending
her out on her own? No, I stood by my decision. As far as I was concerned, she
needed the peace and quiet of home, not the frenzied activity of the diner.
That didn’t
keep me from hoping that Moose caught up with her, though. I’d feel better
about everything if my grandfather played guardian angel to someone else for a
change. It wasn’t that I didn’t appreciate his thoughtfulness, but sometimes it
could be a little much.
Things got
busy just then, and I quickly forgot all about Ellen, Gordon, and Moose while I
ran the place single-handedly until reinforcements showed up later in the day.
It was after one before I thought of Gordon Murphy again, and the only reason
he crossed my mind was because his old crony, Sam Jackson, showed up at the
diner looking for blood.
“Where is
he?” Sam asked as he stormed into the diner. Jackson was a big, hulking man,
and his normal expression was a scowl, but the look on his face at the moment
took that to a completely different level. I had to do something to calm him
down before out customers started fleeing en masse.
“First, you
need to lower your voice, and second, you’re going to have to be a lot more specific
than that, Sam,” I said.
He took a
deep breath, let it out slowly, and then he said, “Sorry. I know it’s not your
fault. I heard Gordon Murphy was here.”
“He was, a
few hours ago, but he’s long gone. Why are you so eager to see him?”
“He owes me something,
and I mean to get it back.”
“I don’t
think you’ll have much problem collecting,” I said. “I understand his fiancée
is rich.”
“This isn’t
about money. It never was. Do you have any idea where he might be?”
“I can
honestly say that I don’t have a clue,” I replied.
“Don’t worry.
I’ll find him, and when I do, he’ll be sorry that he ever came back to town.”
Sam left, and
I had to smile at the thought of him catching up with Ellen’s ex-husband. It
sounded as though Gordon was going to be on the wrong end of bullying this
time, which would be a nice change of pace. I was still thinking about that
when Mitchell Cobb handed me his check, along with a ten-dollar bill.
“Is it true?”
he asked me as I made change for him.
“What’s
that?”
“Is Gordon
Murphy really back in town?”
“Do you want
to get even with him, too, Mitchell?” I asked. The man was about Ellen’s age,
and a calmer fellow I’d never met. Mitchell was the original ‘Go Along, Get
Along’ guy.
“He stole
Ellen from me a long time ago,” Mitchell said in a hurt voice. “I asked her to
the prom, and she said yes, but then Gordon swooped in, and I never had a
chance. She’s going to be really upset when she finds out that he’s back.”
“You don’t
know the half of it,” I said. “He already came in here threatening to take her
kids away from her, and Ellen doesn’t know what she’s going to do. I’m sorry
that she ditched you for the prom. You must have been upset about it.”
“It wasn’t
her fault,” he said with the hint of a soft smile. “Gordon had that effect on
people back then. He could charm the pants off a rattlesnake, you know?”
“I don’t
believe that I’ve ever seen a snake wearing pants,” I said, smiling back.
“You know
what I mean.”
“I do.”
“I don’t like
that he’s here again, not one little bit,” Mitchell said.
“You’re
clearly not the only one upset about it,” I said. “Not many folks seem to be
pleased that he’s back. Have a nice day.”
“You, too.
Tell Ellen that I’m pulling for her.”
“I’m sure
she’ll appreciate it,” I said as I touched his arm lightly.