Weaving The Web: A Cold Hollow Mystery (Cold Hollow Mysteries Book 2) (8 page)

CHAPTER 11

Belinda Carlisle woke up early Sunday morning and muttered as she did the farm chores. “This backward town is as crooked as the damn prison system!” She emptied a bucket of manure into her vegetable bed and spread it out. She had already fed all the farm animals and mucked the stalls, but the work had doubled since the disappearance of her sister. The stupid police department didn’t have any leads as to her whereabouts, and Belinda was beyond upset over it. She planned to visit the police station after her chores were done and she’d had a bite to eat. Since her sister’s disappearance, she had not been eating right and she knew it. She was accustomed to Bernadette’s cooking and had relied on it so long she soon discovered she couldn’t even fry an egg. She threw the bucket across the yard and watched it plunk to the ground behind the house. After going inside, washing her hands, and running a brush through her hair, she headed toward town in her pickup truck.

***

Chief Hanover sat at his desk at the police station and began writing out new questions for the parole officer to ask both Warren Measly and Robert Collins. He had listed off at least ten new questions when an officer escorting Belinda Carlisle into his office interrupted him. She plopped in a chair opposite his desk, crossed her arms, and snarled, “Have you found my sister yet? What have you done to find her? Have you even checked any of the homes in this sick demented town, or are you just sitting here on your ass!”

Chief Hanover stood and leaned over his desk. “I have done what any chief of police would do. We’ve run searches, made inquiries, and done some investigative work. If your tone does not change with me, Ms. Carlisle, I’ll stop right there! You are no longer the bully of this town!” His voice rose an octave and his face turned red. “I am!”

She turned her head and whispered, “Well I sure as hell would like to have her back. I don’t understand any of this.”

“Tell me this, Ms. Carlisle, how many enemies have you made in this town? Who would want to see your sister gone?”

Her head turned slowly back toward him, and her eyes displayed the fury she felt over being asked this question. “The stinkin’ people in this town are twisted rejects. My sister and I work hard. We haven’t bothered anyone recently.”

He harrumphed as he sat back down. “Recently. That is funny.”

“Why is it so funny?”

He stared at her, made a firm line of his lips, and spoke through them. “You have a long past in this town and have managed to aggravate or assault most of the people who are trying to better their lives. Don’t hand me some cockamamie bullshit about ‘recently.’ Hell, I could inspect all the homes in this town and find each resident held a grudge against you or your sister for one reason or another. Without solid evidence, I can’t just barge into their homes and say, hey there, I’m just checking to see if you’ve kidnapped someone.”

She remained silent and put her head down. He snapped, “Ms. Carlisle, I have an investigation to run. So please get out of my damn police station.”

She stood and left his office, slamming the door behind her.

Chief Hanover rubbed his eyes, leaned back in his chair, and stared at the ceiling as he contemplated more questions for the parole officer to ask Warren and Robert. He’d be in Myrna’s office during those two particular meetings, in case he was needed.

***

On Monday morning at first light, Robert Collins jumped in his truck and went to Main Street. Myrna had given him the keys to his new restaurant, and he could hardly wait to check it out. He pulled up in front of it and unlocked the front door, which opened up to a rather spacious front room. It took him all of two seconds to decide this would be the main dining room. A charming fieldstone fireplace ran up one of the walls. It would come in handy in the winter months. Off to the right was a smaller room adequate for a small banquet hall. There were two bathrooms located in the hallway between the two rooms, and he found it was the perfect plan. Returning to the main room, he went in back to find a rather large kitchen area and storage room. Of course, the equipment was antiquated, but he plugged in a few things and found some of it was still in satisfactory condition to save, though the stove and refrigerator would not do. He pulled a pad from his back pocket and began writing down notes. If he threw enough business at the furniture store manager, he was sure the man would break a leg to get Robert what he wanted when he wanted it.

He went one step further and inspected the ventilation system and smoke detectors, fire extinguishers, chimney, and all of the items the inspectors would check before he could open for business. If he wasn’t mistaken, it was as though the ventilation system had recently been cleaned and the fans degreased. As he walked from room to room, he smiled. The rooms were a bit dark for his liking, but with new light fixtures and some paint on the walls, the place would come to life. He would also have a music system wired in, because he just could not go without it, not to mention the diners would appreciate some soft music playing as they dined.

As soon as the clock struck nine, Robert crossed the street and went to the furniture store. The manager was at the back, taking off his suit coat, and smiled at Robert. “What can I do for you today?”

Robert smiled back. “A lot, so buckle up.” He watched the manager rub his hands together and pull out some books as Robert displayed his lists.

***

Myrna sat at her desk as more chairs were brought in to accommodate the town financial meeting. Chief Hanover sat across from her, rolling a toothpick around in his mouth. Her lips twitched from restraining laughter. “You ate somewhere, didn’t you?”

He displayed a sly grin. “Yep, I got a fine routine down. I knock on the back door of Robert’s cabin for supper every night. Sometimes I even bring something home for the little lady.”

Myrna laughed. “So you come to my place for breakfast and lunch, then off to Robert’s for supper?” She knew Robert had not even opened his restaurant yet, but was testing recipes and wanted to make a good impression with the chief.

He wore a crooked grin. “Life is good, Myrna. Life is goddamned good. Now I only have to tolerate my wife’s cooking two days a week when you guys are closed.”

She guffawed as the rest of those attending the meeting arrived with files under their arms and took their seats. Artie Lavoie tripped over his own feet and almost dropped his files, but he managed to right himself in time. He was wearing his usual thick glasses, and his eyes appeared positively bulbous behind the lenses. He sat beside his girlfriend, Amanda Borges, smiled, and asked, “What’s so funny, Myrna?”

Myrna pointed at the chief. “He’s in heaven. Can you believe it? The town curmudgeon is finally happy.”

Artie leaned forward and squinted at the chief. “You are?”

The chief snapped back, “Artie, why don’t you get laser surgery to correct your vision so I don’t have to look at your massive bug eyes anymore!”

Artie sat back, shrugged, and turned back to Myrna. “Well, his mood is certainly unpredictable.”

Amanda and Myrna were giggling as they opened their individual folders and began the meeting. Hugo Morrissey, the park ranger, was supposed to be there, but he was usually a few minutes late for these things and didn’t mind at all if they began without him. Myrna only placed the people she trusted the most on the town finance committee.

“My first question is this, what projections have you come up with, Artie, for when we can shake the government and commissioners off this town’s back?”

Artie winced and shook his head. “I did the projections, and it won’t be able to happen for at least another year.”

Myrna lowered her head into her hands. She spoke from this position. “Amanda, how many vacant homes do we have left to fill up in this town?”

Amanda pulled a small slip of paper out of her folder and counted. “Ten. I suggest we advertise these homes prominently in the fall and winter. With the tourists coming in droves each year, we’re bound to fill them up faster. It’s how we snagged those other two families this year.”

The chief spoke up. “If there’s no more room in town, then the commissioners can’t send us anymore parolees. I like it. Let them open up another experimental town somewhere else. I don’t think the experiment is a failure; I think it worked for a great many of you, but it just has its pitfalls.”

Artie chuckled. “Hey, speaking of epic pitfalls!”

Myrna frowned. “Shut up, Artie.” She knew he was going to say something about deceased Ranger Bullock. He had been forced to fall into a pit at the hiking trails and broke his neck. The chief didn’t need to know. Bullock’s death was listed as accidental, his remains found scattered about by wildlife. It would stay that way, but Myrna often had to stop Artie’s lips from flapping. This was the reason she kept him close.

She continued with ideas as Amanda wrote them down. “We can also create jobs and place ads in nearby towns’ local newspapers. It’s how I found the Macy family.”

The chief said, “Put one in now for two more officers. I can’t find anyone qualified in this town, and it would take up two of the homes. We’ll need the extra staff during the festivities this summer.”

He watched as Myrna marked her calendar and began thinking of other jobs the town needed to fill. “You can also ask Robert Collins if he’s in need of any wait staff and run the ad at the same time.” Myrna nodded and kept writing on her calendar.

Artie spoke up. “I could use someone at the orchards part time. With me spending time with Amanda, the children, and this job, I’m falling behind.”

Myrna glanced up at him. “Do you take in enough income to pay the person?”

Amanda frowned and glanced at Myrna. “He’s a tightwad and hates to part with a dime. He makes a good living at the orchards and here, so yes, he can afford it.”

Myrna wrote it down as well and sat back, satisfied. “We’ll come up with more ideas for jobs by the end of this week and fill as many homes as we can before fall, providing the budget allows it. I want those idiots off this town’s back.”

They agreed and startled as Hugo Morrissey came barging in and said, “What idiots? This town has quite a few. You better be specific, honey.”

Myrna grinned and shook her head as the meeting continued. As they reviewed the new town budget, profit sheets, and expenditures, the chief could not find a thing suspicious, so he knew the commissioners wouldn’t either. It was all aboveboard, and Amanda and Artie were doing a fantastic job.

Hugo asked, “As the mayor, have you been checking statements from the bank to make sure all of Artie and Amanda’s figures match the bank’s?”

Myrna waved some bank statements in the air and was smiling. “We have two financial wizards among us.”

Hugo turned to Artie and patted his arm. “Good job, you guys.”

Hugo was only there to make sure nothing crooked was going on under Myrna’s nose or the town’s nose. They had all learned a lesson the hard way when the old mayor imposed ridiculous fees upon the residents and pocketed all of the money. After Myrna showed the chief proof the parolees in town were meeting with their parole officers on a timely basis and keeping their appointments, the meeting was adjourned.

***

The manager had put a rush order on Robert’s new appliances for the restaurant, and he was ecstatic to see they had been installed. He stood in the kitchen of his restaurant, prepping a new dish in order to try out his new stoves and pans. He held a nine-inch blade in his hand and rapidly chopped vegetables. A woman clearing her throat startled him. He spun with the blade in hand and saw one of the town bullies standing there. He approached her and grimaced. “You are not allowed back here. This place is not open for business yet.”

Belinda Carlisle back stepped and snarled, “I want to know why you’re not ordering stuff from my farm for this restaurant.”

For every step she took backward, he took one forward. “I order from reputable vendors. I can’t afford to have my equipment tampered with or for you to sell me shit at a high price, which will make my customers sick. Your reputation got around, farmer.” He pointed the knife close to her and flicked the blade at her blouse, cutting off a button. She watched it fly through the air and plink to the floor. He continued speaking as he twirled the blade within an inch of her nose, his face red, his voice rising in anger. “If you think you and your sister can push me around this town like you do other people, forget it. I don’t scare easy. Feel free to try and mess with me or my business, feel free, but keep in mind, I’ll come back to bite you, and I bite hard!”

Her lips pinched tighter and tighter with each statement he made. She turned and went to the front door of the restaurant with him right behind her. She grumbled over her shoulder, “I won’t be coming here to eat your slop. You just lost a customer.”

He snickered. “Wow, I lost a customer I never wanted. What a loss!”

When she closed the door behind her, he bolted it shut. Returning to the kitchen, he shook his head. As he resumed his task, he heard knocking on the front door of the restaurant. He slammed his knife down on the counter and swore, “Son of a bitch!” Stomping to the front of the restaurant, he felt his shoulders relax and his blood pressure lower. Becky Macy was staring in the window. She was smiling and waving. He chuckled to himself, unlocked the door, and held it open for her until she was inside. “Hey, kid. Are you hungry? I’m trying out my new restaurant equipment.”