Snowmen In Paradise (Book 2 Tj Jensen Paradise Lake Mysteries) (4 page)

“Harriet thinks there’s more going on
than meets the eye,” Bonnie supplied. “She indicated—in strictest confidence, of course—that Wallaby might have ulterior motives for getting in bed with the toad.”

“Ulterior
motives?” Tj wondered.

“Harriet didn’t have many details,
but while she was doing some filing in the storage room next to Wallaby’s office, she happened to overhear the men talking about some sort of a deal.”

Tj rolled her eyes
. Harriet was famous for filing at opportune moments.

“What sort of deal
?” Tj asked.

“Harriet didn’t know for certain,” Bonnie
said, “but if she had to bet on it, she’d guess that there are large amounts of money involved. Harriet thinks Wallaby is getting some type of payoff in exchange for helping Travis get the sponsorship he’s going after.”

Tj thought about what Bonnie
had shared. She certainly wouldn’t put it past Wallaby to stoop to something so low. Not that the guy was a crook, but in the ten years he’d served the good people of Serenity, this wouldn’t be the first time he’d made an official decision based on the potential for personal gain. Tj knew that his wife, Olivia, had kicked him out over the Christmas holiday after finding out he’d been “keeping company” with a wealthy widow in the neighboring town of Indulgence. The local rumor mill had indicated that she planned to take him for everything he had and then some. The chance at a large payout to help fund his depleted bank account was probably more than he could resist.

“Grandpa
told me the council is kicking around the idea of sponsoring another candidate for mayor next fall,” Tj informed the group. “I guess they’ve finally had enough of his questionable behavior.”

“Wallaby’s been mayor for a decade,” Helen pointed out
. “Does the council think they have someone who can defeat him?”

“I don’t know,” Tj admitted
as she poured herself another cup of coffee. “I’m pretty sure it’s all talk at this point.”

“Let’s face it, the majority of the town’s citizens don’t
give a hoot about local politics and will vote for the familiar over the unfamiliar any day of the week,” Bonnie interjected. “They’d have to get someone who was already well known and respected to have a chance of beating Wallaby.”

“I don’t suppose Bookman would be interested in running?”
Helen asked.

Bookman
, aka R. L. Hellerman, was not only a current town council member but also a best-selling mystery writer and one of the Jensen family’s closest friends.

“Grandpa says no
,” Tj answered. “I guess he finally let his publisher talk him into another book, so he’s going to be pretty busy.”

“I’m not surprised he decided to come out of retirement again
, but I am surprised he didn’t mention it,” Helen responded.

Tj glanced at
Helen, who seemed hurt by the fact that there was news about Bookman he hadn’t shared with her. Everyone, except, apparently, Helen and Bookman, knew they had a thing for each other. The fact that Bookman would make such an important decision and not even mention it to her must sting a bit.

“I’m pretty su
re he just decided yesterday.” Tj tried to soften the blow. “Grandpa mentioned his agent was in town to discuss a possible deal. He probably didn’t want to say anything until he ironed out all the details. I’m sure he’ll mention it when he sees you next.”

“What does this make, the fourth time he’s retir
ed and then changed his mind?” Jenna asked.

“At least,” Tj confirmed
. Bookman was a master at the art of writing the perfect murder mystery and his fans simply refused to let him fade into the background. Tj was pretty sure that Bookman loved his characters as much as his fans, which was why, she assumed, he let his publishing team talk him out of retirement again and again. “It took longer to talk him into another book this time around, though. I’m pretty sure his agent first started working on him back in October.”

“It will be good to have another Steven Blaine novel to look forward to,” Helen admitted.

“He’s not writing a Steven Blaine,” Tj informed the women.

“Who’s he writing?” Helen asked.

Tj shrugged. “A new character he has yet to reveal. Grandpa said that part of the reason Bookman retired the last time was due to the fact that he felt he’d explored the characters in the Steven Blaine series as much as he was inclined to. The only reason he agreed to come out of retirement now was because his publisher agreed to a three-book deal for a new series, which Bookman claims will be totally different from the Steven Blaine one.”

“That’s too bad,” Bonnie commented
. “I’ll miss Detective Blaine, and as far as I’m concerned, a good murder never gets old.”

“I’m sure the new setup will be equally awesome
,” Tj said. “I’ve read everything the guy has ever written and I’ve yet to read something I didn’t love. Who knows; maybe the new series will be his best one yet.”

After they returned to the resort, Tj pulled Ashley into her room so they could have a private conversation. The house where the Jensen family lived was a large two-story log structure with the living space on the first floor and the bedrooms on the second. Tj’s room was at the end of the hall, overlooking the lake. “I talked to Ms. Grayson this afternoon,” Tj began.

Ashley paled.

Tj sat down on the edge of her bed and pulled her sister down beside her. “Do you want to tell me what happened?”

Ashley started to cry. “I know you told me I shouldn’t hit people
, but I just got so mad,” she sobbed. “Stupid Loretta was bragging to everyone about her stupid party during recess. I asked her if I could come too and she said I was a stupid head and not invited.”

“Do you know why she didn’t invite you?” Tj asked as she held her sister in her arms.

“’Cause I pushed her in the camel poop,” Ashley admitted. “But she was saying mean things about Mom. She deserved to get pushed.”

Tj agreed but didn’t say as much.
What kind of mother let her daughter invite everyone in the class to a party with the exception of one student? If Loretta’s mom wasn’t careful, she was going to find herself on the other end of Tj’s
temper, and that never worked out well for anyone.

“Are you mad?” Ashley asked.

Tj hesitated. She knew it was important to say the right thing now and in all honesty, she wasn’t sure what that was. She sympathized with Ashley and didn’t blame her for hitting Loretta, but her sister was going to come into contact with a lot of mean and rude people in her life, and she couldn’t go around assaulting all of them.

“I’m not mad,” Tj stroked Ashley’s hair
, “but I am concerned. I know that sometimes people are so mean to us that we want to hit them, but we have to be mature enough to know that hitting isn’t a good solution to our problems.”

“What
is
a good solution?”

Good question.
Tj had to admit she wasn’t exactly known for keeping her cool when someone angered her.

“
Honestly,” Tj wiped the tears from her sister’s face, then looked her directly in the eye, “I’m not sure. I know that most adults will tell you to ignore people who are mean to you, to walk away rather than fight back, but I know sometimes doing that can be really hard. I’m afraid that both of us were born with fiery tempers to go with our red hair.”

Ashley smiled.

“Mrs. Remington is going to meet with us later this week. She’s been trained to help people like us deal with bullies. Maybe she can give us
both
some tips.”

“Okay.” Ashley hugged her big sister.

“In the meantime, you’ll need to spend your recess inside with Ms. Grayson. I don’t want you to give her a bad time about it. It’s not her fault you got detention.”

“I know. I’ll be nice. I promise.”

Tj smiled. “I love you, you know.”

“I know.” Ashley smiled back. “I love you too.”

Tj tried to move
, but she was trapped between immovable objects weighing down her arms and legs. She could hear the ringing in the background and knew she needed to fight toward consciousness if she was to stop the incessant clatter. Struggling to open her eyes, she was greeted by total darkness. Fighting to unwind her limbs from the mass of animals littering her bed, she reached for the cell phone she’d left on her bedside table and pushed the answer button. The last thing she wanted to do was wake up the entire household at—she glanced at the clock—six a.m.

“Hello,” she
said groggily.

“This is a recorded announcement
. All schools in Paradise County are closed due to snow.” As Tj listened to the familiar recording, she frowned. If school was closed for the day, did they have to call
quite
so early? Given the amount of snow that had fallen during the previous twenty-four hours, everyone at the lake must have assumed there would be a snow day before they even went to bed. Why not officially call it then and let everyone sleep in?

Tj
tried to go back to sleep, but the beasts surrounding her had been awakened. She could feel her dog’s hot breath caressing her face as her cat began rhythmically massaging her arm with his sharp claws. “Just another hour,” she pleaded.

Echo, her
130-pound Bernese mountain dog, politely and obediently laid back down, but Cuervo, the huge orange tomcat, who was neither obedient nor polite, pounced on her head as she rolled over and tried to close her eyes. Cuervo was a difficult cat who liked to call the shots and rarely took no for an answer. He wasn’t sweet and cuddly, like Gracie’s cat, Crissy, and on more than one occasion he’d demonstrated a propensity for using his claws when he was displeased. But in spite of his fractious nature, Tj loved him. Two years earlier, Tj had rescued Cuervo from a group of frat guys who were staying in the campground and thought it would be funny to offer the stray a shot of their libation. The silly cat had enjoyed the tequila, so after Tj took him in, she’d decided to name him after his drink of choice.

“Okay, okay, I’m getting up.
” Tj shivered as she pulled back the heavy down comforter. She pulled a long sweatshirt over the flannels she slept in before slipping her feet into her knee-high slippers. Dragging herself into the bathroom, she brushed her teeth and pulled her long mass of auburn curls into a sloppy knot on the top of her head. Heading down the hall, she could hear laughter coming from the kitchen below.

“Mor
ning, everyone,” Tj greeted as she poured a cup of coffee from the pot on the dark green counter.

“
Snow day!” Ashley and Gracie cheered as Tj slid onto one of the tall stools positioned around the kitchen counter. Tj took a long sip of her coffee and stared out of the window at the lake beyond. The blowing wind obscured the normally priceless view, but the effect of the stormy day combined with the warm and cozy kitchen left her feeling happy and content in spite of the long day ahead.

“I hope
it’s okay that I told Jenna she could bring Kristi and Kari over,” she informed her grandpa, who was standing behind the eight-burner stove.

“More the merrier
.” Ben smiled as he stirred something that smelled like bacon sizzling in the large cast-iron skillet.

“Kristi and
Kari are coming?” Ashley trilled. “Can we make cupcakes? The last time they were here, you said we could make cupcakes next time,” she reminded her older sister.

Tj groaned
. She
had
said that. If there was one thing she still needed to learn about being a mother—or, in her case, a mother substitute—it was not to make promises you might not be able to keep. “I’m not sure I’ll have time. I need to meet with Travis Davidson about the opening ceremony, and I promised Papa I’d take care of some errands while I’m in town.”

“I can help the girls with the cupcakes,” Ben offered.

“Really? That would be great.”

“Been thinking about doing some baking
, and today seems as good a day as any. How about some pancakes to go with that coffee?”

“Yeah, thanks.”
Tj didn’t always have time for a big breakfast, but with the snow pelting the window and the warmth from the cozy brick fireplace, it seemed like a pancakes kind of day.

“Blueberry or regular?”

“Regular,” Tj replied before helping herself to a second cup of the liquid adrenaline her grandfather had brewed. “Where’s Dad?”

“Plowing,” her grandpa answered
. Ben was tall and rugged, with snowy white hair and a beckoning smile that pulled you in like a warm embrace. Thick wool socks were topped with faded blue jeans and a royal-blue sweater that perfectly matched his eyes. “The snow is a welcome event, but it’s going to be a busy week with the resort being booked for the wedding.”

“It’s only Tuesday
, and most of the guests aren’t scheduled to arrive until Friday,” Tj pointed out. “The National Weather Service says the storm should pass by tomorrow evening, so we should get everything dug out before the bulk of the guests arrive.”