Breach of Crust: A Charmed Pie Shoppe Mystery (6 page)

Ella Mae darted a quick glance at Opal, an unspoken question in her eyes.

Opal saw the question and said, “No, he can’t cure me. No one can. But he can give me a few more months. Maybe even half a year. I’ll be more like my old self. More importantly, I won’t be confined to a hospital bed. And when the end comes, I’ll go quickly and painlessly. Dr. Kang has promised me that.”

If we find an object of power, you can be completely healed
, Ella Mae thought.

Aloud, she said, “Professor Matthews is here to help me locate Loralyn.” She went on to describe Henry’s ability. “We’ll need to explore her bedroom, but is there another
place she might have gone before she left town? Did she have a favorite haunt? I know Rolling View is full of hidey-holes and secret nooks. Was one of these special to her?”

Opal looked grieved. “I don’t know. Loralyn and I . . . we weren’t good at talking about personal things. I regret that. I regret that I wasn’t a more loving mother, and I want to apologize to my daughter for that. I loved her, but I didn’t show it. Not enough. I didn’t hold her in my arms or wipe away her tears when she got hurt. I didn’t hum her back to sleep when she woke up, frightened, in the middle of the night. I encouraged strength, toughness, and above all else, pride. What did that get me?” She raised her eyes to the ceiling. “An empty house.”

“Facing your demons is part of your treatment,” Dr. Kang said. “It is good to say these things out loud. It exorcises toxic energy from your body.”

After pausing to take a sip of tea, Opal faced Ella Mae again. “As for Loralyn having sentimental places or objects, I have no idea. In recent years, she’s been focused on work and doing her part to increase the family’s reputation.”

“What about her nail salons? The managers haven’t heard from her at all. I’ve called both locations.”

“Things are running smoothly and profits are piling up in the bank, but Loralyn hasn’t been in touch.” Opal turned to Henry. “I’m sorry, Professor Matthews. I wish had more useful information for you.”

Setting his teacup aside, Henry got to his feet. “Please don’t apologize. It’s a pleasure to spend the morning in such a lovely home. I just hope we don’t upset the housekeeper too much by moving things around.”

At this, Opal grinned. “Rearrange as much as you like. The poor woman is dying of boredom. With just myself, Dr. Kang, and Ruiping living here, she has nothing to do. She’s
accustomed to biweekly dinner parties, luxurious Sunday brunches, bridge nights, and book clubs. The monotony is driving her mad.”

“All right, then, I’ll make a real mess of things.” Henry winked at Opal and moved to the door, where he waited for Ella Mae to accompany him upstairs.

“Once you reach the landing, take the hallway to the left. Loralyn’s bedroom is at the end of the corridor,” Opal said.

Loralyn’s room was cold and vacuous. Ella Mae glanced from the gray satin sheets and the plum-colored blanket on the waterbed to the floor-to-ceiling mirror positioned on the opposite wall and rolled her eyes. “This is definitely a diva’s bedroom.”

“Right down to the crystal chandelier and framed prints of designer high heels,” Henry said.

Every item in Loralyn’s room centered on beauty or fashion. Henry’s fingers traveled over makeup cases, jewelry boxes, perfume bottles, hand mirrors, and stacks of fashion magazines.

He suddenly pulled back, frowning.

“What is it?” Ella Mae asked in concern.

“She’s not a very nice person, is she?”

Ella Mae couldn’t count the number of times she’d been humiliated by Loralyn when they were children. “No, but you heard her mother. I don’t think she knew much warmth as a girl. She was rarely praised, hugged, or kissed. And when she came into her gifts and learned that she was a siren and could manipulate people—men in particular—she didn’t hold back.”

Henry laced his hands together. “I often feel intrusive, catching glimpses of another person’s life. In other cases, such as this, I feel tainted.” He cast his gaze around the room. “I’d rather only touch things that might lead us to a tangible clue. These other items are clearly unimportant, and quite frankly,
they’re giving me a bleak outlook on the future of the human race.”

“She’s not
that
bad,” Ella Mae said with a laugh. “Believe me, I’ve met worse.”

There was a collection of framed photographs on Loralyn’s dresser and Henry crossed the room to examine them. Curious, Ella Mae followed behind. She was unsurprised to find that most of the images showed Loralyn posing at one of her salons or with a celebrity at a horse race.

When the photos failed to provide useful feedback, Ella Mae pointed at an image of Loralyn and a Hollywood actress standing beside a magnificent chestnut Thoroughbred.

“You know, when Loralyn was in grade school, she was really attached to a particular colt. Her father sold the colt even though he knew the sale would break his daughter’s heart. That horse went on to win dozens of major races. I’ve seen pictures of him in a display case at the main stable. Maybe we should check out that case.”

Henry agreed, but he wanted to be certain they hadn’t missed anything in Loralyn’s room first. He wasn’t comfortable searching her drawers, so he focused on the contents of her closet. As for Ella Mae, she had no misgivings about riffling through Loralyn’s things.

Fifteen minutes later, she stood up and sighed in exasperation. “If there was anything of personal value here, Loralyn must have taken it with her. This place is like a giant dressing room. That’s all it is. It could belong to any woman.”

“Let’s go down to the stables,” Henry said, and Ella Mae could tell that he was eager to escape the glitzy, perfume-scented bedroom.

Ella Mae stopped by the sunroom to give Opal an update, but the housekeeper informed her that Dr. Kang had taken his patient back upstairs for a period of meditation and rest.
Ella Mae thanked her and said that, after dropping by the stables, she and Henry would take their leave.

“If we have any news for Mrs. Gaynor, we’ll be sure to call,” Ella Mae said as she and Henry exited the house.

The stables, which were cool and clean, smelled of fresh hay. Henry whistled when he saw the row of display cases filled with photographs and newspaper clippings highlighting the success of the horses born and bred at Gaynor Farms.

“They’ve raised dozens of winners,” Henry said, clearly impressed. “Winners on major tracks including the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness, Belmont, Santa Anita, Churchill Downs. Ms. Gaynor is present in most of these photos. Which is the horse she loved most?”

Ella Mae searched for the chestnut gelding with a white blaze and three white socks. “Here he is. Loralyn’s Romeo.”

“Magnificent animal.” Henry opened the glass door. His fingertips stretched out toward the photograph of Loralyn and the horse. For once, Loralyn wasn’t posing for the camera. She had her cheek pressed against Romeo’s face and her arm curled possessively under his head. A jockey sat on Romeo’s back and waved at the camera, but it was obvious that the woman and the horse were lost in a moment that belonged only to them.

Once again, Ella Mae felt a rush of pity for her former nemesis. She was just about to express her feelings when Henry suddenly turned to her.

“I saw her. She stood right here with a duffel bag in each hand. She dropped the bags to open the case. She kissed this picture. Her eyes were filled with sorrow. And a cold anger.” Henry gazed into the middle distance as he recited the details of his vision. “She wore jeans and a white blouse and carried a purse stuffed with various items. There was a small notebook sticking out of the purse. It was opened to
a page covered with writing. I couldn’t read the words, but I was able to spot a flower symbol. I don’t know if the symbol means anything, but we should return to Partridge Hill so I can draw it while it’s still fresh in my mind.”

“There was nothing else?” Ella Mae asked, unable to conceal her disappointment.

Henry gave her a small smile.

“Like I said, it was unlikely that I’d see a roadmap with a town circled in red ink. We’ll just have to hope the flower symbol provides us with a tangible clue.”

Ella Mae brightened. “Luckily, I live with someone who is an expert on flowers.”

“Indeed you do.” Henry’s smile became so radiant that Ella Mae knew he was thrilled to have an excuse to speak with her mother.

“Tell you what,” she said, pulling out her phone and pretending to frown over something she saw on the screen. “Do you mind talking to my mom alone? I have a ton of things to do. I can catch up with you later tonight.”

Barely disguising his glee, Henry said, “I should be able to manage.”

He whistled all the way back to Partridge Hill.

*   *   *

That night, when Ella Mae, Suzy, and the Book Nerds gathered in the library to conduct their research, Adelaide joined them. She walked to the whiteboard positioned in front of the fireplace and stared at a crude drawing of a flower.

“As soon as Henry showed this to me, I thought of the apple blossom. There are other possibilities, but because he was certain that the flower had five petals and over a dozen stamens, I’m convinced that it’s an apple blossom.”

Suzy nodded in excitement. “That’s a start. What else can you tell us?”

“This flower is related to the rose and is very, very old.” Adelaide looked at the drawing with reverence. “There’s evidence that apple trees grew in Jordan as far back as 6500 BC. This is an ancient flower. In terms of magic, that means it’s very powerful.”

“The apple is the symbol of immortality,” Henry said solemnly. “In the myths of many cultures, the apple promises long or everlasting life.”

Ella Mae groaned. “Not good. This symbol provides us with no leads as to where Loralyn went, but it suggests that she could be searching for an object that grants immortality. I don’t think humanity is up to an endless future filled with Loralyn Gaynor’s plots and schemes.”

Suzy pushed a pile of books toward Lydia and another toward Madge. “Let’s get cracking, friends. It’s going to be another late night.” She then passed Ella Mae the corkscrew. “We’d better skip the wine. Times like this call for coffee. Vats and vats of coffee.”

Henry was right. Apples appeared in the myths of multiple cultures, so the Book Nerds divided the task of researching the assorted versions. Lydia, who was the resident expert on Chinese folklore, volunteered to study the apple myths originating from China. Henry opted to tackle the Norse legends, while Madge and Suzy divvied up the Greek stories.

“Leave it to the Greeks to have three times the number as the rest of the civilizations,” Madge said with admiration. “What overachievers.”

“What about the apple from the Garden of Eden?” Reba asked. She’d dropped by to deliver the shirts she and Jenny would be wearing for Saturday’s Row for Dough rowboat race. Reba and Jenny were representing The Charmed Pie Shoppe and wanted their outfits to be a surprise, but Ella Mae had overheard Jenny exclaim, “I am
not
wearing that!” several times over the past two weeks. Considering Reba
liked to show off her assets while Jenny preferred loose-fitting clothing, Ella Mae couldn’t imagine how the two women would ever agree on a design.

Suzy glanced up from a thick tome. “The fruit Eve gave to Adam wasn’t identified by name in the Bible. It might have been an apple, but it also could have been a pomegranate, date, pear, or quince.”

Reba pursed her lips. “I wouldn’t have been tempted by a pomegranate. Too many seeds.” She sidled up to Henry and ran a finger along his jawline. “What about you, love? What’s a girl gotta do to make your heart beat faster?”

Henry’s cheeks turned red. “Well . . . I . . .”

“Don’t distract him,” Ella Mae chided. “He isn’t flipping through magazines at the barber shop. He’s trying to figure out if Loralyn is tracking an object of power.”

“A golden apple, right?” Reba smiled wickedly. “I can show the professor a lovely pair of golden apples.”

And though Ella Mae ushered Reba from the room and closed the door, everyone’s concentration had been broken. Try as she might, Ella Mae could no longer focus on the Hercules myth she’d begun to read in an effort to help Madge and Suzy.

“Let’s take a break,” she suggested. “My mother is making chicken and basil stir-fry for supper and I bet it’s almost ready. Why don’t you all relax on the patio while I make a salad with herbs and feta? I’ll bring out some warm flatbread too. Henry? Can I put you in charge of the wine?”

“It would be my pleasure,” Henry said.

It was plain that Henry enjoyed being the man of the house. Though Calvin still lived at Partridge Hill, he was rarely home. He was too busy working. This gave Henry leave to play the host opposite Adelaide. He selected and decanted the wine, carved the meat, and pulled out chairs
for the ladies. He opened stubborn jars and reached for objects on high shelves. When he needed to step away from the library and its piles of books and stacks of documents, he looked around for things in need of repair. Ella Mae often entered Partridge Hill to find him mending a rent in the window screen, fixing a dripping faucet, or hammering loose floorboards.

Ella Mae was delighted to see how he and Adelaide had fallen into an easy rhythm together. After supper, the pair would wander through the garden or on the paths meandering by the lake’s edge. They spent a long time walking and talking every evening, and as the days passed, Adelaide began to glow with secret happiness. Ella Mae hoped that Henry would be the man to finally put an end to her mother’s self-imposed solitude.

“Stranger things have happened,” Ella Mae murmured later that night as she crossed the lawn leading to her house.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a flash of white. It was her mother. Clad in a gauzy sundress, Adelaide had her arm hooked through Henry’s. Their backs were to Ella Mae, so they didn’t know she was watching when Henry paused beneath an arbor covered with climbing roses and lifted Adelaide’s hand to his lips. He pressed a kiss against her skin and smiled tenderly at her.

The roses in the arbor, which had been the palest of pinks, suddenly changed color. Within seconds, Ella Mae saw a dozen shades of pink flow over each petal. The hues moved like wind over water—cotton candy, ballet slipper, blush, shell, bubblegum, flamingo, fuchsia, magenta—until they all shone with such an electrified hot pink hue that they were almost neon.

Is that what love looks like?
Ella Mae wondered before hurrying inside to call Hugh. They hadn’t made plans to get
together that night, but she decided there was nothing she’d rather do than climb into a hammock with Hugh and lie there, whispering—or saying nothing at all—as they returned the resplendent gaze of a million stars.

*   *   *

The town of Havenwood had postponed its official Independence Day celebrations until the fifth of July, ensuring that the majority of its citizens would be able to enjoy the Row for Dough race and the food truck carnival following the main event.

With two members of The Charmed Pie Shoppe staff competing in the race, Ella Mae did something she rarely did on a Saturday: She hung a closed sign on the pie shop’s front door. She wasn’t the only merchant who decided to take the day off either. From one end of town to the other, storefronts were dark. It seemed as though the entire population of Havenwood, along with hundreds of tourists, had risen early to toss blankets and binoculars into their cars or bike baskets.

The Row for Dough event, which was established to raise money for a different charity each year, also created a flurry of side bets. Though not officially sanctioned, a chalkboard listing the top ten favored teams was erected at The Wicket, Havenwood’s pub, and bets were placed up until an hour before the race. As of Saturday afternoon, the two teams favored to win were the Havenwood Police Department and the Havenwood Volunteer Fire Department.

“Damn chauvinists,” Reba hissed as she studied the board. “We’ll show them, won’t we, Jenny?”

“Aw, it’s not like that,” said Lou, the bartender. “The whole town loves and respects you, Reba, but those donut eaters and hose jockeys have been training for this race for months.”

Ella Mae was shocked by the derogatory terms, but she
quickly realized that Lou was trying to get a rise out of the police and firemen gathered near the pool table.

“What was that, Lou?” one of the cops asked.

Lou grinned. “I finally got your attention! Good! You’re all going to be late for the beginning of the race if you don’t hightail it out of here. You too, ladies,” he added, making a shooing motion with his dishrag. “Just don’t start without me! With so much money riding on this race, I need to make sure it’s a clean one.”

“If anyone cheats, I’ll knock their teeth out with an oar,” Reba said and headed for the door.

Lou saluted her with an empty pint glass. “You’re my kind of lady,” he said. “Feisty as a chili pepper and sparkly as a firecracker. Why don’t you come back after the race? I bet you’ll be thirsty.”

“Oh, I’ll be here.” Reba gave him a saucy wink. “But not to drink. I’ll need to collect my winnin’s.”

Ella Mae accompanied Reba and Jenny to the contestant area, where her uncle, Mayor Buddy, was waiting to give a rallying speech. The funds raised that day would help offset the cost of the library expansion.

The Book Nerds had been so impressed by the architectural renderings they’d seen in the community center during their first week in Havenwood that they’d immediately signed up to participate in the race. Though only Henry and Lydia were rowing, leaving Madge to serve as their lakeside cheerleader, all three of them had had custom T-shirts made at the print shop in town. The front simply said, “Book Nerds,” while the bold letters on the back read, “Lit Happens.”

Over breakfast that morning, Henry let slip that he’d once helped coach the Oxford Men’s Crew Team to multiple victories and still competed in races against his peers. Having only seen him in his bookish attire, Ella Mae was stunned
when he donned his T-shirt, revealing a pair of wide shoulders and muscular arms. Henry wasn’t built like Hugh, who had the physique of a Grecian statue, or Calvin, who was as brawny as a bull, but he was very fit.

“Which team will you root for?” Reba asked Adelaide as she and Jenny headed to their rowboat. “You have to choose between our team and Henry’s team.”

Adelaide pointed at her daughter. “Ella Mae has no qualms about dividing her loyalties, so I’ll root for multiple teams as well.”

Ella Mae smoothed her peach-colored T-shirt. The front was embroidered with The Charmed Pie Shoppe’s name and logo in green while the back was decorated with an oversized rolling pin and the text “This Is How We Roll.”

Chewy, on the other hand, wore a doggie firefighter costume in support of Hugh and his best canine buddy, Dante. Unfortunately, he’d already wriggled out of the mock helmet and was on the verge of tearing it to shreds when Ella Mae snatched it away.

“That might be a sign,” Jenny said, indicating the hat. “Maybe you should have worn a chef’s costume, Chewy.”

Chewy wagged his tail and trotted closer to Jenny, hoping for a treat.

At that moment, a voice burst through the outdoor speaker system, calling for the racers to head to their boats. Ella Mae was just wondering what was keeping Hugh when she saw him running toward her. His oar was balanced across his broad shoulders, and though he vaulted over an unoccupied folding chair, his eyes never left Ella Mae’s face.

“I need a kiss for luck before the race,” he panted when he reached her side. He dropped the oar and pulled her in close.

“Traitor,” Reba grumbled.

Hugh kissed Ella Mae and then turned to Reba with a
serious expression. “Look, I’ll take all the help I can get. Forget about what Lou’s board says. You two ladies are the real threat.”

Preening, Reba and Jenny hurried off to their boat.

Hugh stole one more kiss from Ella Mae before following them.

The largest boat launch area belonged to Lake Havenwood Resort, and dozens of rowboats were lined up along the fan-shaped stretch of beach. Behind them, spectators crowded the lawn and docks, shouting encouragement to their favorite teams until the mayor quieted them with three blasts from his bullhorn.

“Welcome!” he bellowed. Buddy could match Verena’s volume decibel for decibel. “Welcome to Havenwood’s annual Row for Dough! Are you ready to have fun?” People responded with enthusiastic applause, whistles, and shouts. “We have a record number of rowers today, folks,” Buddy continued. “So things could get hairy—and a little bit scary—out on beautiful Lake Havenwood today!”

This drew more applause. The onlookers relished the thought of splintered oars or capsized boats. For some reason, their lust for disaster made Ella Mae think of Bea and of the night she’d found the dead woman floating in that water. It seemed so long ago now, especially in the middle of a hot July day, but Ella Mae felt a momentary shadow fall over the festivities, as though Bea’s ghost were haunting the shore in search of justice.

Buddy chuckled into the bullhorn, interrupting Ella Mae’s maudlin thoughts. “Even though there can only be one grand prize winner, we have some wonderful prizes for the top
five
teams this year. Thanks to the generosity of our Havenwood business partners, we’ll be giving away fabulous gift certificates and merchandise. And, of course, the first-place team
gets cold, hard cash. A bundle of Benjamins! A group of greenbacks! A mountain of moolah! How does that sound?”

Having successfully whipped the crowd into a frenzy, Buddy paused dramatically. “But the true winner today is the town of Havenwood. Our library has needed updating for a long time—kind of like my hairstyle—and it’s getting a serious makeover that will include a new children’s wing, a technology center, a career services desk, and yes, tons of new books!”

There was an especially boisterous cheer from the librarians, who’d congregated to one side of the mayor’s podium.

“All right, folks. Before my gorgeous wife, Verena, gets her hands on the starter pistol, I’d like to remind you that there is a cornucopia of food waiting for you in the library parking lot. Due to the number of food trucks, the lot has been closed to car traffic, so park in town and walk on over. If you require handicapped access, please continue to the library lot and one of Havenwood’s finest will direct you to a special parking area. Okay, I’m going to let my wife’s gun do the talking now!”

An anticipatory hush fell over the spectators. Even Chewy could sense the change in atmosphere. He raised his nose and sniffed, his nostrils quivering.

“It won’t be hard to track The Charmed Pie Shoppe Team seeing as Reba covered most of her peach baseball cap with rhinestones,” Ella Mae told Chewy. “I don’t know how she talked Jenny into wearing one of those. And Hugh’s team won’t be hard to spot either. Not with those Day-Glo yellow shirts.”

Pulling her binoculars out of her backpack, Ella Mae scanned the row of nervous contestants. She recognized most of the townsfolk and all of the teams representing local businesses. Nearly every merchant had entered a team in the race. Even Suzy had been talked into competing by one
of the high school students she’d hired for the summer. Two boats down from Suzy, the WoodWorks team looked tense and ready to spring into action. Finn Mercer and Calvin Upton certainly had the most unique boat in the race. Hoping to showcase their craftsmen skills, Finn had purchased a rowboat meeting all race specifications and had carved dragonflies and leaping fish along both sides. Calvin, the master electrician, had then wired the boat so that tiny white and blue blinking lights glimmered just above the boat’s water line, creating the illusion that Finn’s fish were moving.

Another blast from the bullhorn startled Ella Mae and she jumped in surprise. Pivoting, she trained her binoculars on the figure standing at the end of the dock. Draped in a voluminous white dress with a red, white, and blue sash, Aunt Verena looked like a full-figured Greek goddess. And when she pointed her starter pistol in the air, Ella Mae could almost feel a thousand people hold their collective breath.

The report echoed across the lake and the racers leapt forward, shoving their boats into the water and hopping aboard. Some were less graceful than others and capsized within the first minute of the race. The moment it became clear there’d be no more gaffs to witness, the crowd quickly began to disperse.