Single Elimination: A Cozy Mystery (Brenna Battle Book 4) (8 page)

“I’ll get them, Bly,” I called up to her. “Don’t move,” I threatened Jake. I rushed inside, grabbed her keys out of her desk drawer.
 

“Sensei,” Sammi said seriously, “should we call 9-1-1?”

“No!” I said a little too sharply. The image of Will answering that call, of him and Jake—it was too much. “Everything’s under control.”

“Sensei Brenna,” my little Grace asked, “do you have to go back to Arizona?”

“No, I’m not going anywhere, Gracie. I’ll be right back.”

I ran back out, making sure to shut the door behind me. Surprisingly, Jake had only dared go as far as the first step. Blythe stood at the door to our apartment, her back to the stairs, arms crossed. She was trying to look firm, but it looked just as much like she was hugging herself.

“Blythe, catch!”

She turned and I tossed her the keys. Blythe always had great hand-eye coordination, even better than mine, and she caught them easily and let herself inside. I wanted to go in there with her so bad. To cuddle up on the couch with her and put on a sappy movie and get her a great, big bowl of ice cream. But I had to take care of those kids, and get Jake the Snake out of here. Out of our lives.

“Nice work, Jake. We’re happy here. Blythe is happy here. She moved on, and then you just had to butt into it.”

He threw up his hands. “It was just a friendly visit. I didn’t think it would be like that.”

“She loved you,” I hissed. “She really loved you.”

“Well, we can’t help who we love.”

Do you still love Mitzi?
Part of me was dying to know. But I couldn’t let him know that. He might think I still cared, that I still loved him.

I said, “But we can help what we do to the people who love us, can’t we?”

“Look, I didn’t come here to fight, Brenna. I really didn’t.”

“Then you’d better leave. We have kids in there. Kids who are counting on us.”

“No problem. I can help with the kids.”

“No problem?
You
are a problem! And you being here, in our space, that’s an even bigger problem!”

“I feel really bad that it went down like this. Let me make it right. Let me help you out until Blythe calms down.”

“I don’t want you anywhere near those kids.”

“Okay. I’ll just go try to talk her down, then.”

“Or my sister! Don’t you dare come near my sister again.”

“Fine.”

Finally, Jake looked a little miffed. It wasn’t near as good as apologetic, but it sure beat acting like everything was okay, or that everything
could
be okay.

I went back inside and bolted the dojo door shut. The kids all looked up at me with wide eyes. They were sitting in a circle on the mat, with their gi tops and belts, which I always had them take off for snack time, back on. The snack table was cleared off and wiped down, and twelve pairs of slippers were lined up at the mat’s edge.

Sammi and Katie quickly got up and came to the edge of the mat. “We were playing Telephone,” Sammi said.

“Because it’s quiet and calm,” Katie added.

“Oh.” That was all I could get out, because there was a lump in my throat. How thoughtful of them to come up with Telephone, the game where they sat in a circle and whispered a phrase from one person to the other. The kids looked so concerned, and I knew in my heart it wasn’t for themselves, it was for me and Blythe. I hated Jake for coming here and causing such a commotion. I hated it that the kids had been scared, even a little bit. But that look in their eyes—especially Sammi and Katie’s…

We love you
, it said. Jake had made me question everything I ever thought about love. He’d made me wonder if it was even real, and if I’d ever know real love when I saw it. But the love of these girls was real. I slipped my arms around both of them and pulled them in for a hug.

“Thank you, girls,” I said. “I’m glad I can count on you.” Before I could release them, a dozen pairs of bare feet pounded toward me. In seconds, I was covered with a blanket of kids. The last few tried to jump on top, and we toppled over into one big pile, laughing and shoving and rolling around. I caught a glimpse out the front windows, of Jake in his rental car driving away. I hoped that was the last I’d see of Jake for a very long time.

Of course, what had started as a hug on the mat evolved into judo, as anything on a judo mat tends to do. I eventually called a stop to the melee and split the kids into two groups by size for one of their favorite games, the circle drill. In each of the two circles, the kids grabbed the judo gi lapels of the people next to them and tried to get them to fall down, using only foot-sweeps. Anyone who let go, dropped to a knee, or fell down, was out of the circle, until only one person per circle remained standing—Champion of the Circle.

I watched the kids, having a great time just being kids, and I thought about Blythe. I quietly left the mat, picked up my phone, and texted her. But before she replied, the lock turned on the back door and she came in, keys in hand, looking just as put together as ever.

I gave her a hug. “Come and be with the kids,” I whispered. “It’ll make you feel better. They love you, Blythe.”

“I know.” She smiled. “Maybe we should get in on this.” She eyed the circle of bigger kids mischievously.
 

“Go ahead,” I said. “I’ll keep order.”

There were good-natured squeals of protest against Sensei Blythe entering their contest. Of course, she came out victorious. It was so good to see the smile back on her face. Jake still affected her—deeply.

And she doesn’t even know the half of it.
The thought sent a pang of anxiety through me. Some day, I had to tell her. Or did I? I shrugged off the debate I’d had with myself so many times. That I’d lost sleep over so many nights. One thing I knew for sure, now wasn’t the time. She wasn’t ready. I could worry about it later.
Always later
, that little voice inside me nagged.
Shut up
, I told it.
What’s so bad about later?

11

I rapped on Will’s door. I heard Chloe scuttle across the entryway, nails clicking on the hardwood floors, barking happily.

“Come in!” Will called from the kitchen.

I let myself in and gave Chloe the attention she demanded. I found Will in the kitchen, standing in the open refrigerator door. “Ready for second dinner?” he said.

“Yes! What are we having?”

“Steak, of course.”

Will’s specialty. Okay, just about the only non-breakfast main course he knew how to make from scratch. If the two of us ever got married, we were really going to have to expand our cooking repertoire.
Wait…did I just think that? Married?
The thought did give me a happy little bundle of butterflies in my heart. I wanted to be married someday, to have kids of my own. But thinking about being married to a specific person, bound to them for life—wow, that scared me like nothing else. It didn’t before. Before I discovered just how wrong I could be about a person. A person I’d known half my life.

Will shook a bulk-sized bottle of steak rub vigorously over two generous portions. “You look tired.”

“Thanks.” I took an onion from the bag on the counter. “Not as tired as you look.”

“I’m fresh as a daisy, as always.”

“Ha.”

“You know why
I’m
tired. But what’s going on with you?”

I began peeling the onion. Will would want it caramelized. Well, I wanted it caramelized, anyway. I could already taste the browned butter. “Blythe’s ex showed up today,” I said.

“Oh. He came all the way from Arizona? How was that?” Will said cautiously.

I’d never told Will about Jake. Not even about Blythe and Jake. All he knew was that he was her ex-husband and my former coach, and that she’d divorced him shortly before coming here. Looking at Will, realizing he didn’t even know for sure whether Blythe seeing Jake today was a good thing or a bad thing, I was overwhelmed by the magnitude of the messy pile of my baggage Will was completely in the dark about. How much of who Blythe and I were was tied to Jake and everything that had gone along with him for the last decade? Could a person really know either one of us, without knowing that?

“Brenna?” he prompted.

“It was a little…”

“Awkward?”

“It was awful. Blythe was really moving on, but…”

“But she invited him out here?”

I laughed dryly. “No way. He just dropped by. A very Jake thing to do. But I didn’t think it would happen as long as we were a couple of states away. Maybe we should’ve moved to Maine. Or Instanbul.”

Will leaned in behind me a nuzzled my neck. “I’m glad you didn’t move to Istanbul.”

We got a little carried away, expressing just how glad we were that the two of us were here, together.

Will kissed me one more time, then pulled back and said, “So why was he here? Trying to get her back?”

I turned away so he couldn’t read my face. Was Jake trying to get back with Blythe? Or was he trying to get back in my good graces? Or just mess with us? But that was the thing. Jake didn’t really do that. Mess with people just to mess with them. That wasn’t his style.

“I don’t know,” I said. I caught a look at Will out of the corner of my eye. He looked a little perplexed. He sensed something was up.

“Why did they split up?”

“He left her for a younger woman.”

Will raised his eyebrows. “Blythe’s not exactly old.”

“A younger, ditzier woman.”

Will nodded knowingly. “Ah. One of those.” He pulled me close again. “Just in case you were worried—I’m not into those.”

“I know.”

Then what is it?
He looked like he was about to say it. But he let it go. He let me go. “I’d better check on the grill.” He went out the side door, and I didn’t know whether to feel relieved or absolutely awful.

Blythe stopped mopping the mat and bit her lip. “Okay. You’re right. Will and the rest of Bonney Bay PD needs your help, whether they can say it or not. And I don’t want to do the snooping myself, so…”

I put down the sprayer I was using to douse the mats with disinfectant while Blythe mopped after me, a typical morning ritual for us as we strove to protect our Battlers from awful rashes and other infectious nastiness. I hugged her tight. “Thanks, Bly. I owe you.”

It was settled. After camp, I was going over to Herbert Random’s campaign headquarters to sign up. I’d been doing a lot of thinking about which direction to go with my sleuthing, and I’d decided I needed more of an inside look at the dynamics of this mayoral election. The best way to get more involved in the election was to join one of the campaigns. And the only campaign I could support in good conscience was Herbert Random’s. As an added bonus, it should make Harvey very happy, since Random supported the idea of exempting Reiner House’s sidewalks from the planned widening. No, it wouldn’t remove Gunter Hatton from the race, but at least I’d be doing something to support him.

About a hundred red, white, and blue signs bearing a smiling image of Herbert Random covered the neatly manicured lawn. A newly printed banner hung between the pale periwinkle pillars, which flanked the front steps:

Welcome to the Herbert Random campaign. Honesty, integrity, good-old-fashioned common sense for good old Bonney Bay.

The slogan would probably appeal to the many retirees in Bonney Bay, but would it draw enough of the younger voters? Well, I was a younger voter and I liked the message, but I’d never been into “hip.” Never really followed fads. And flashiness didn’t speak to me at all. The retirees of Bonney Bay weren’t a monolithic group either. They ranged from retired military and successful business people, to old money, to art and nature lovers escaping the bustle of Seattle or other big cities to settle somewhere quaint and picturesque. Not to mention the old-timers, the families who’d been here for generations.

Gunter Hatton was a businessman and an artist. He had the potential for real bridge appeal. And Jessie Pakowski had that no-common-sense feel-good thing going for her. And maybe it was just me, but it seemed like common sense was eroding and feel-good was a winner for more and more people.

I rang the bell, and a young woman answered the door. She had a sweet smile, so genuine that her overbite only added to her prettiness. Her dark blond, shoulder length hair was secured with a headband, and she wore a light cardigan and dressy jeans.

“Hello! Welcome to the campaign headquarters of Herbert Random.”

“Hi. I’m Brenna Battle. I’m here to help with the campaign.”

“Really? That’s wonderful! What made you decide to join us?”

“Something Mr. Random said at the salmon bake. He has good sense, and that’s what Bonney Bay needs.”

“Exactly!” She shook my hand. “I’m Evelyn Random. I think you know my husband, Walter?”

“Walter! Yes, I know Walter from judo. How nice to meet you, Evelyn.”

Evelyn ushered me into a sitting room to chit-chat and fill out a contact form. From the open doorway, I saw what must’ve been a den, now outfitted with folding tables and extra chairs. A handful of volunteers were busy at their lap-tops in the makeshift office. Lawn signs were stacked neatly in one of the corners.

“We’re having a kick-off party on Friday for all our volunteers,” Evelyn said. “Of course, it’s open to the public, too. Herbert will be there to answer their questions.”

“So it’s kind of a ‘get to know the candidate’ thing?”

“Exactly! Of course, most Bonney-Bay-ans have known Herbert for ages, but it’s a chance for them to get to know Herbert, the future mayor.”

“Friday, as in tomorrow?”

“Yes, of course. I can’t believe tomorrow’s Friday already. I’ve got to call the caterer and make sure we’re on track. You can make it, can’t you?”

Caterer? That sounded promising. “Sure. I’ll be there,” I vowed.

“We really appreciate it, Brenna. Herbert needs all the support he can get. Walter had to convince him to run. Mrs. Pakowski means well, but we just don’t think she’s mayor material. And Mr. Hatton—if he wins, he won’t be in office for long, if you know what I mean.”

I nodded knowingly, even though I wanted to say,
No, I don’t know what you mean. Spill it!