2 Multiple Exposures (11 page)

Chapter Eleven

“Who had the donuts?” the waiter shouted and stood on a chair to be heard above the buzz. “Hey! Who had the donuts?”

I snapped out of my deep thoughts and raised my hand sheepishly. “Sorry, that’s me. Over here.”

He hopped down from the chair and weaved through the bodies and chairs with piles of coats on them to get to me. My belly growled with my first inhale of vanilla and cinnamon. The saucer had scarcely touched the wooden surface of the table before I scooped up a treat with a muttered thanks. Soft, chewy dough with just the right amount of sweetness, I was in heaven. After I had downed my Precious and stole a lick of my thumb, I scanned the restaurant’s interior. Edna’s group, a few other interested citizens, and I had descended upon the establishment and basically took over.

With a light snow falling outside that would never stick and a sharp chill in the air, calls had been made all around town inviting folks to get together to try to solve the case of Dr. Bloomberg’s murder. Of course, I saw this gathering as an excuse for us all to visit with each other, and since I thought it would be fun, I had joined in. Edna and I had ridden together, and Talia arrived with Ollie.

I had invited Gloria but was turned down. After Spencer arrested Paul, there was no communication at all on that end. I wondered how the arrest would impact the attorney’s business and the ladies’ confidence in him, but Spencer had basically said he didn’t care. I had also asked him about the cryptic remark he made regarding Paul’s background, but he refused to tell me, saying it was confidential. Very frustrating.

My thought was Spencer’s ego had been bruised along with his busted lip. Not a good experience for the sheriff and probably not a good look for the town in general.

As I removed my jacket, the bell at the door jingled, and I glanced over to see David stepping in. With him a sharp breeze swept in, and several of the older women cried out. Talia demanded he shut the door immediately or go home. I rolled my eyes in amusement and signaled for him to come to my table.

I stood when he reached me, and we hugged. “David, I haven’t seen you in forever. What have you been doing?”

He pouted. “Crying in my hot cocoa, honey. You know why?” He made a dramatic gesture of heartbreak, and I wrapped an arm about his shoulders as he sat down.

“Aw, you’ll find someone, sweetheart. For now, take a load off and have some hot chocolate with your friends.”

David sank into the seat beside me as he pulled his arms from his jacket. One of the ladies happened by at that moment and gathered his jacket to pile on top of the others. “Hot chocolate, David?”

“Oh, honey, yes. I need something to warm my insides. It’s cold out there.” He accepted the cup handed to him while straining to see over the heads of those in attendance.

“Who are you looking for?” I whispered.

He pouted. “Someone interesting, but never mind.”

“Are you sure you’re okay? You didn’t really have anything going with Brandon.”

“He could have been the one. You never know. Maybe I’ve been out of the game too long.”

“Well, look.” I spread my hand over the crowd. “You’ve got Ollie over there. He hasn’t tied the knot yet.”

David laughed, and I joined him. He waggled a finger at me. “You’re too much, Makayla.”

“I got you smiling, didn’t I?”

He agreed.

“That you did because nobody in their right mind would choose Ollie.”

“He’s a pretty good guy if you don’t mind him sharing all of your business all over town.”

David looked at me cross-eyed.

Someone tapped silverware against a glass, and I looked up. Talia stood in the middle of the room at the table where she reigned. “Since nobody is going to speak up, I will.” She looked at me. I wasn’t the one that called the meeting. When I shrugged to indicate such, Talia scowled. “Ladies and gentleman, this isn’t a social engagement. There’s another murderer among us.”

Across the room, Peony paled. I hadn’t expected her to come, but she did. I supposed she wanted justice as much as the rest of us, and she may have wanted to show she had never and would never support a murderer no matter who they were. I tried to catch her eye to show my belief in her, but she kept her head lowered. I would catch up with her later on.

“Far as I see it,” Hardy Joe said, banging a meaty fist on his table that made all the others there jump, “no one cares what happened to Bloomberg. He got his just desserts.”

“Does that mean you killed him?” Talia asked just as bold as she pleased. I recalled her doing the same with me, but in this case, I was curious what he would say as well. Hardy Joe had come in a jacket far too thin for the weather, and the T-shirt he wore had seen many wash days. At least it was clean, if faded beyond recognition. Lissa sat beside him in a coat she hadn’t removed and a cup of hot cocoa before her I didn’t think she had sipped from.

Beside Lissa sat her sister Reeza, but Reeza had ridden with her sister and brother-in-law because Pete was on duty. At least that had been the reason Reeza gave. I was of the opinion that Spencer hadn’t allowed him to come. The sheriff had informed me in no uncertain terms that nobody was encouraged to try solving this case themselves because it was too dangerous. On the one hand, I agreed. On the other, the murderer did need to be found, and who better to dig into the happenings of my new town than its ordinary citizens?

“Well, Hardy Joe?” Talia asked again when the room had erupted with her question. “Did you kill Dr. Bloomberg?”

Hardy Joe’s lips puckered in his anger, and he scraped back his chair. Lissa made a dive for him but missed. When she would have tumbled to the floor, her husband caught her and helped her straighten. Somehow seeing Lissa distressed settled him somewhat. He cared about her. “I didn’t, but I wish I did! If you’d a seen how Lissa cried when she came home the other day, how scared she was, well you wouldn’t think twice about doing what you had to do as a man.”

“I’m not a man,” Talia ridiculously pointed out.

David snorted.

“You just make yourself sound even guiltier,” Talia told him.

“He’s not,” Lissa shouted and stood up. “I didn’t tell Hardy Joe about what Dr. Bloomberg was doing. Yes, I was upset, but Hardy Joe didn’t know why. Please, stop accusing him.”

“How do we know that?” Talia said.

I stood. “That’s enough, Talia. These good people don’t deserve your harassment. They’ve been through enough, and Lissa should be praised for getting the word out that this was happening. Too many people would have turned a blind eye and pretended they didn’t see anything. Lissa was very brave.”

“Here, here, you tell ’em, honey.” David raised his Styrofoam cup.

Others began to chime in, and some moved to Lissa to pat her back or give her a hug and a kiss on the cheek. She offered a teary smile to one and all, and Hardy Joe took his seat nodding as if it was the least they could do for his wife.

“Who do you think did it, Talia?” someone asked from the crowd when everyone had settled down.

Talia smirked and surveyed us all in a slow circle of the room. She stuck her chest out and raised her chin. “Ollie might have done it to protect me.”

I’m telling you the laughter rattled the windows. Talia turned beet red, and so did Ollie. He’d been in the process of stuffing a forkful of French fries into his mouth, and with ketchup staining his chin and his coveralls, he paused. “Me?”

The disbelief in his tone was obvious, and I’m sure it embarrassed Talia just as much as the laughter of a moment ago.

Edna wobbled to her feet and raised an arm in the air. “Who here believes Ollie would kill for Talia?”

“Oh, sit down, Talia,” Louisa demanded. “You too, Edna. Are you even one of his patients, Talia?”

“I might be.” Talia, chin still high, took her seat in a regal fashion to be applauded by her entourage, all except Edna who shook her head and met my gaze in amusement. I winked at her, and her smile grew broader. I couldn’t have told you why Talia would put on such a production, but maybe she enjoyed being the center of attention so much, she didn’t care what opportunity presented itself.

“I’m beginning to think this evening was a bust,” I said to David.

“You’re surprised, sweetie? Well, listen when this nonsense is over, I have a bottle of something interesting, and we can go to my place and talk about your little issue.”

“What issue?” I said, feigning innocence.

He blinked at me, and I turned away. Someone had brought David a donut, which he hadn’t touched. “Are you going to eat that?”

He slid the treat toward me. “Be my guest.”

I proceeded to eat my third donut of the night and broke my two-donut daily rule for the first time in a long time. As stories rolled about the room, sometimes having relevance to the case but more often not, I leaned elbows on the table and tried not to fall asleep. At nine, my phone dinged, and I pulled it from my purse to check the text.

“Is now a good time to talk? I’m leaving the station.”

My stomach cramped. I weighed my options and examined my emotions. Was I feeling more stable and able to face him? Did I want to whether I was or not? I had to admit I did want to and recalled Pattie had confirmed Penelope moved to the inn. Of course, it didn’t change the problems between Spencer and me. I hesitated.

As I sat there chewing the last of a thumbnail, David pulled my phone from between my hands and read the message. Then he handed it back. “Go. If you didn’t want to, you wouldn’t take this long to answer. So just go, and don’t regret it after.”

He was right. I slid my chair back as silently as I could, tiptoed over to the pile of coats and found mine, and then made my escape. As I warmed up the car, I texted Spencer. “Meet me at my place.”

Chapter Twelve

I was running late for my lunch date with Inna and her new friend, but that was nothing unusual for me. Today, I had tried to spruce myself up since Inna had said the woman was older, her word, like closer to my age and not a teenager. I didn’t see how being thirty-four needed the amount of emphasis Inna had given it, but maybe I was just being sensitive. I had worn a turtleneck cream-colored sweater dress and even added a pair of low-heeled black pumps to complete my ensemble, given the snow had long since stopped, and the ground had all but dried.

I parked in the last available spot in the front lot of Zekey’s and stepped out of the car. Most tables were occupied in the eatery, but I spotted Inna and her guest right away. The woman seemed familiar, but I couldn’t place her. She had a pretty face with soft chocolate eyes and a pleasant smile, which could have matched anyone I might have passed on the streets of New York.

As I drew near the table, she turned a welcoming smile on me and offered her hand to shake. “You must be Makayla. I’m Isabelle Givens. It’s very nice to meet you. I feel like I know you since Inna hasn’t stopped talking about her friend, the photographer.”

I blushed. “It’s good to meet you too, Isabelle. I feel like I know you. Have we met?”

“I think I might have one of those faces. Have you ever visited Summit’s Edge?”

“North Carolina?”

“Yes, it’s a small town, about the size of this one.”

“No, I’m afraid I’ve never heard of it. I’m not originally from the area.”

She waved a hand. “I didn’t think you had. We’re just a blip on the map anyway. New York?”

“Yes, the accent?”

She nodded. Throughout our conversation, while I warmed to Isabelle and she seemed like a friendly enough sort of person, I got the feeling that she knew so much more about me than she led on. Not that I thought she misled me, but there was a look in her eyes. Sort of like that wisdom from the older generation—the older generation that wasn’t busy competing with each other for attention, I mean.

We ordered lunch, and I decided on the tuna salad to try to make up for my bad choices in recent days. Inna ordered a burger and fries because her young genes were still firing away, burning everything off seconds after she swallowed it. Can you sense the jealousy? Isabelle also made modest choices, but she admitted to indulging with a hot cocoa with marshmallows, whipped topping, and a cinnamon stick.

As we tucked into our food, I asked Isabelle, “So what do you do?”

She wiped her mouth with delicate grace and set her napkin down. “I’m a nurse by profession, but recently I opened a shop of my own where I sell herbs.”

Inna wrinkled her nose. “Do people buy that stuff?”

Isabelle chuckled. “Yes, of course, else I wouldn’t sell it. What’s most important is that they
need
it. Because they do, they
will
come to me.”

I was just as skeptical, but I figured Isabelle knew her business, and she wouldn’t have given up a job with benefits if she didn’t think she could make her dream a success. I always admired entrepreneurs and told her so.

“Thank you, Makayla. I appreciate that.” When she spoke, she laid a polite hand on my arm, and then left it there, tilting her head to the side as she studied me. “You’ll have troubles in love, but everything will be all right in the end.”

I started and pulled away frowning then looked at Inna. My friend appeared as doubtful as I felt. “Um, I guess word gets around. Personal lives seem to be on display for everyone to critique in Briney Creek.”

I didn’t mean to sound so snappy or sensitive. The fact is, I had sneaked out of the meeting the other night to meet Spencer, and while I didn’t feel we had resolved all of our questions regarding what we were doing, I did let him stay the night. I didn’t know how to feel the next morning, so I had just left for the studio. We texted a few times, nothing major. Isabelle’s comment made me think people were talking, even the ones just visiting. My life should be so interesting. No, it shouldn’t. I was happy with routine.

“Oh, no,” Isabelle assured me, “sometimes I just know things. No one has spoken to me about you, other than Inna about your work, not your personal life.”

I noticed Inna stared down at her French fries, but since Isabelle first spoke so directly regarding my love life, she hadn’t eaten a bite. “So you’re some kind of psychic?”

“Heavens, no.” Isabelle chuckled, a light and pleasant sound. She was smooth. I had to give her that, but I didn’t trust her, not with Inna.

“Why did you place that ad?”

“That’s a fair question.” Isabelle shrugged. “It’s simple. I was looking for someone like me.”

“What does that mean?” I leaned forward. “Inna is my friend, and if you’re here—”

“Makayla,” Inna squeaked. “Isabelle wouldn’t—”

“It’s okay.” Isabelle was unperturbed by my accusation. She rested her hands together in her lap, shoulders relaxed, smile in place. “Inna is young, and I’m glad she has people who love her and worry about her well-being. I have people who worry about me too, and I look out for them. One in particular has had life-changing challenges. I can’t explain specifically, but what I was looking for in the ad was a friend of a like mindset.”

I still didn’t understand. “A
girl
friend?”

She grinned. “I assure you, Makayla, I’m looking for love too—from a man. I just haven’t found him yet. I maintain hope, like you.”

“I…” My impulse was to deny it, but what was the point? I could watch her while she was in town and warn Inna to be careful. “How long will you be in Briney Creek?”

“As long as needed, I suppose.”

What did that mean? I groaned, and Inna smirked.

“Dude, she speaks like that all the time. It’s freaking annoying.” While Inna complained, I saw her excitement. She liked Isabelle, probably looked up to her for some reason that I couldn’t fathom. Maybe it was the way a young person’s mind worked these days. I would still talk to her and have to trust her common sense.

I continued with my meal. “Well, I don’t want to disappoint you, sweetheart, but love problems aren’t to come. They’re here now. I’m not wearing any rose-colored glasses. I’m a strong woman who will do what she needs to…even…well, even if it comes with a little pain.”

Isabelle nodded. “That you are, and you will.”

Conversation moved to other topics and Inna’s desperation to get away on her own. She lamented her mother’s lecturing, and I tried to soothe her with how worried Allie Kate was. The smart rebuttals to my opinions and Isabelle’s for that matter never slowed down. In the end, Isabelle and I shared a knowing glance or two and let the girl be.

When we were done eating, we stood, and Inna and I walked Isabelle out to the street. She hugged Inna and to my surprise me as well. “I will be here a few more days. Makayla, if you would like to talk, I’m always available. Inna has my number.” She squeezed Inna’s hand and headed off down the street.”

Inna swung in my direction. “So, what do you think?”

“I’m not sure what I’m supposed to be thinking. This situation confuses me, Inna. She’s the one who wrote the ad?”

“Yeah, isn’t she cool? I think she’s a witch.”

I blinked. “A witch?”

“Yeah, how spooky is that?”

“Um, not at all.” I folded my arms across my chest. “If real witches existed, I don’t think they’d be in Briney Creek.”

“Wow, that’s logical,” Inna snarked.

“You know what I mean, Inna. Wait,
I’m
not sure what I mean. Never mind. She seems nice if a bit odd. We’re used to odd here, so I’m sure she would fit right in if she stayed longer.”

Inna said nothing.

“Are you like her, Inna?”

She rocked on her thick-soled boots that were Big Bird yellow today, and stuffed her hands into the oversized pockets of a sweater. The material was so thick it could double as a coat, which she used it for now. “Different? Alone in some respects, in a small town when I want to be gone yesterday? Yes!”

“I didn’t get the impression she was unhappy at all or antsy to leave home.”

“Not that, I guess, but she would if she thought it was what she should do. Isabelle is a free-spirit. She would blow with the wind, and it would totally be her choice. Nothing would hold her down.”

I had the feeling Inna projected her own wishes onto Isabelle. Inna wanted to be so unfettered, and I didn’t blame her. Everyone had his or her desires. I for one wanted to stay in Briney Creek because I had found a peace and fulfillment here that I had never known before. My friends were my life, and I wouldn’t trade them.

“It’s not long for you, kiddo. Before you know it, the end of the school year will be upon you, and we’ll be attending your graduation.”

“I have almost the
whole
school year.”

“An eternity in teen years, I forgot.”

She glared at me. I laughed and said good-bye as I headed back to my apartment. For the rest of the day, I immersed myself in mindless television, alone.