Make, Take, Murder (32 page)

Before we said goodbye,
I made a request. “Clancy, you’re smarter about contracts than I am. Will you look this over? I want to go on that cruise, but I’m scared I’ll misread the fine print. I don’t want to incur any obligations I can’t fulfill.”

“Gladly,” she said. “I’ll get back to you quickly so you have time to contact them if there’s a problem.”

“You won’t be spending tomorrow alone, will you?”

She fought a smile. “No. An old friend is back in town. He’s single, and he heard about my divorce. We plan to spend the day together.”

That made me happy.

I drove home, took care of my canine charges, and then on to Sheila’s for the last night of Hanukkah. I can’t say I was surprised when Ben answered her door instead of Linnea.

“Hope you don’t mind.”

“How could I? First of all, it’s not my house! Once again, those roses are beautiful. I’m leaving them at the store because everyone is enjoying them so much.”

“Maybe I should have sent them to your house, but I worried you wouldn’t be there for the delivery,” he took me into his arms and kissed me.

“I’ll take delivery of that any day,” I murmured.

The noise of my daughter letting the swinging kitchen door fly shut caused us to jump apart. I’m sure we had “guilty” written all over our faces because Anya froze. She stared at me and then at Ben and back at me.

“No PDA, okay? I’m not old enough to see stuff like that.”

Ben smothered a laugh.

“Gran said to tell you two we’re waiting in the kitchen.” With an exaggerated roll of her eyes, Anya added, “She always wants to light the candles in there. She’s scared silly of burning the house down.”

The smell of Linnea’s roast chicken hurried us along. I gave Robbie Holmes and Linnea brief hugs before I extended my arms to Sheila. I have to admit, I’m glad these days for her affection. We’re not perfect, either one of us, but we both have our good points. On the balance, she’s certainly fallen on the plus side of the scale more often than the minus, especially if you offer brownie points for the positive impact she has on Anya’s life.

Usually she hugs me quickly as though it’s a chore to check off her to-do list. Tonight, I started to pull back, but she added another squeeze just before we separated. A lump formed in my throat. My poor throat. It was really getting a workout lately.

“Properly, these should have been lit at sunset, but I’m bending the rules because surely it’s sunset somewhere,” huffed Sheila.

“
Baruch atah
…” intoned Anya and we all joined in, even Robbie Holmes and Linnea.

Sheila passed out her presents first. I squealed with delight when I opened the signed “Queen of Everything” print by Mary Engelbreit. Sheila handed Linnea a bonus check and a box of Godiva chocolate. She’d gotten Ben a new cashmere muffler, Anya received a gift card for her iTunes, Robbie also got a muffler, although he added, “I’ve got my love to keep me warm.”

With that, Sheila held out her hand. “Observe. We are now officially engaged.”

“Wow. That’s quite a sparkler! You did a good job hiding it by turning the stone to your palm.”

“Otherwise I would have spoiled the surprise. It’s from Mary Pillsbury of course. She does designs for all the best people.”

Linnea brought out a bottle of champagne so we could all toast the happy couple.

“I want a June wedding,” said Sheila. “This will be so much fun to plan.”

I could almost hear poor Robbie choking on his drink.

“I need to run out to my car,” I said. My presents were more modest. I’d bought Ben a big bag of Kaldi’s expresso. He was delighted. I made Robbie a small album with pictures of him golfing that I’d borrowed from Sheila to copy. I crocheted a scarf for Sheila, and while I never expected her to wear it, she promptly tossed it around her throat. I was amazed at how nice it looked. Finally, I gave Linnea a tea cozy I’d crocheted.

“Been needing one of these. I saw them using these on Masterpiece Theatre, and I thought to myself, that’s a smart idea. Thank you!” With that, she gave me a heartfelt hug. She added, “I know it must have taken you a while, so I’m doubly proud to own this, because when you make something with your hands you give a person a little bit of yourself.”

I couldn’t have said it better.

Ben gave me a lovely silver starfish necklace from Tiffany’s. He gave Sheila chocolates, and to my daughter, he gave a book of passes to the local movie theatre. I could see his thoughtfulness touched Anya. She stared at the passes, then at him, and then at me. “This is really, really neat. Thanks so much.”

Robbie asked if he could borrow me, and we moved into Sheila’s great room. “You all right? I heard what happened with Ross Gambrowski. I meant to call you right away, but I knew you’d be busy at the store. Detective Hadcho filled me in.”

“My neck hurts. Nothing I can’t deal with.”

“After this holiday is over, I’m taking you to the gun club. That’s my gift to you, Kiki. I want to make sure you’re safe. While I’m still not sure that arming citizens is the way to go, at least if you have training, we can decide later what to do.”

I felt a frisson of alarm. “You think Gambrowski’s getting out? Or are you worried about Jerald McCallister?”

“Neither. There have been sightings of your husband’s killer. Besides, I guess a single woman can’t be too careful in today’s world. Used to be, men lived by a code of conduct. Today? Even men of stature like Ross Gambrowski act like thugs.”

“If he hadn’t been a ‘man of stature,’ he might not have gotten away with brutalizing his wife for so long.”

“That bothers me. I’ve sworn an oath to protect and defend, but how many more women like Cindy Gambrowski are out there? Women whose husbands have the social clout to keep them isolated? Time was, we thought domestic violence happened in lower-class families. Now we know, it occurs in all levels of society.”

“I plan to put up a poster in our store.”

“That’s a great idea, Kiki. Now I better get back to your mother-in-law, er, my fiancé.” He blushed to the tips of his ears.

Friday, December 25
Christmas Day

Christmas came softly and
bought us a present of fresh snow. Anya wasn’t awake yet. I decided to let her sleep. The snowfall of a few days ago still covered the grass in spots. But mostly, the precipitation had been a stop-and-go feeble effort.

Now it was really coming down. What a picture-perfect Christmas morning!

I decided to visit Monroe before it got too deep. I’ll admit that walking into his shed caused the hairs to rise on the back of my neck. I was still sore from Ross Gambrowski’s manhandling me. But I had a lovely apple for my savior, and I decided that visiting him on this quiet morning would make a perfect start to the day.

I heard footsteps behind me.

“Kiki?” The voice was Detweiler’s. “I hoped I’d find you here. How’s Gracie’s tail?”

“Healing really well, thank you. Tell your dad thanks, again, from all of us.”

“Did Anya have a good holiday? I mean Hanukkah? And Christmas Eve? I’m not sure what you celebrate.” He sounded desperate. “I know some people open their gifts the night before the day.”

“I try to celebrate everything. That’s what life’s all about, isn’t it?”

He nodded. “I heard about how that donkey saved you. I found this poem for you. I thought you might like it.”

He handed it over shyly.

The Legend Of How The Donkey Got His Voice

After the Christ Child was born long ago

In a stable that first Christmas night,

An angel warned Joseph to leave Bethlehem and

So the whole family took flight.

Then, as the three of them journeyed to Egypt,

They rested when stars filled the sky.

And while they were sleeping, their donkey’s keen ears

Heard King Herod’s soldiers nearby.

He tried very hard to get Joseph awake,
but donkeys were mute in

those days.

Then all of a sudden a miracle happened … he let out

Some great piercing brays!

The family awakened in time to escape and hurriedly

Slipped out of sight.

The donkey was grateful and quite humbled, too,

That God chose to use him that night.

And still, to this day, the loud, piercing bray from a

Donkey so gentle and mild

Reminds us again of that creature’s devotion and love

For the dear Holy Child.

—Author unknown

“That’s really cool. Thank you. I’ll have to share it with Leighton.”

We stood there, staring at Monroe.

“If Anya would like a kitten, I’d be happy to bring one over. If that’s okay with you. Once they’re weaned, that is. But I won’t offer one to her unless you say so.”

“I’m not sure how Gracie would react.”

“I bet Gracie wouldn’t care. She’s pretty docile. You could try a kitten and see. I think Mert has crates. You would just introduce the cat to Gracie a few minutes at a time. She’s always taken well to new dogs.”

“Of course she has. Gracie’s wonderful.”

“That’s for sure.”

We walked out into the area by the fence and both of us leaned against the structure without talking. The snow continued to fall around us, a thick and fluffy blanket. I brushed a small clump off my face with my new glove.

“Are you angry with me?”

“No, I’m just confused. That last conversation we had, well, you were pretty brusque.”

“Sorry about that. It was frustrating that we couldn’t bring Gambrowski in. Frustrating about Michelle, too. When you called, I was in a meeting and I didn’t know what to say.”

I nodded.

I couldn’t take the silence, so I continued, “I understand and respect the fact you are married. I appreciate you are trying to work things out with Brenda. But, life’s short and I want to move on. I’m not asking you to leave your wife. I … I just don’t know what the deal is. You’re married, so I’ve been thinking that … well, I need to make a new plan, Stan.”

That last part was supposed to be a joke. It fell flat. He took me into his arms. I felt a wetness on both our faces. Hard to know whether they were tears or snow. Not that it mattered.

His voice was husky when he said, “I don’t want you to make a new plan. I wake up every day hoping I can find a reason to see you. I tell myself I’m wrong. I tell myself you deserve better. Don’t give up on me, us, yet. Please? Brenda is finishing her master’s degree. She’s been in and out of rehab. I think if she gets this degree, she might straighten up because she’d have too much to lose. She’s talked about moving to Colorado. Can you hang in there until the summer? Is that too much to ask?”

“And then? I mean, what specifically are you asking?” Okay, I put it all on the line. I pushed away and stared straight at him to see his reaction.

He slid his arm around my shoulders. I stiffened and then relaxed into the shelter of his embrace. I buried my face in his coat.

“I’m not moving to Colorado. She knows it. She’s already had a job offer.” His lips brushed the top of my ear. It wasn’t really a kiss, more like a promise.

The surge of electricity made me bold. “What if … what if something happens between you.”

“Something?”

“Like a baby,” I whispered up at him, as I wrapped an arm around his waist. I had to know this, too. Call it a test. How honest would he be? If they were still man and wife, there was still this possibility. I held my breath, waiting.

“That’s not going to happen. At least, not with me.”

There was a tone, a sureness that I’ve never heard from him before. We swayed together, locked in each other’s arms. Two friends. The best of friends.

Or was he?

“What have you told her about me?”

He sighed. “That I love you. How lucky I was to stumble over you. How much I tried to stay away. How no matter what, you’re the world to me. You and Anya.”

I pulled back and studied him.

This was my moment, my dream come true.

Or was it?

But what about Ben?

I mean, Detweiler could have told me this weeks—even days—ago. But he hadn’t. He’d assumed there was no hurry.

I swallowed hard. “You might be too late.”