Raisin the Dead (7 page)

“It's not the antifreeze. I've never been in their garage. Again, I don't know for sure Baldelli was murdered.”

“Oh, please! You must be sure. Why else would you have to question my mother again? Why would you call it a case? What exactly came up?” I deposited Noelle back on the ground and waved my arms in the air. “Never mind, I know you can't tell me. You realize she'll tell me everything after you talk to her. Which, by the way, will be when?”

He sat beside me and took my hand again. “Tomorrow. I'm asking you not to say anything to her about this before I talk to her. Promise me.”

I did, reluctantly.

“If I didn't love you, I wouldn't have told you ahead of time. It's about as far from protocol as I can get.”

My heart lurched and my stomach clenched. Then, my throat went dry and my knees went wobbly. Good thing I was sitting down. “You love me? Did you . . . did you say you love me?”

He hooked his thumbs on the pockets of his pants. “Yeah.”

Of all the ways I envisioned Sean telling me he loved me—if he chose to do so, that is—announcing it right after telling me he had to question my mother further about a murder case, excuse me, suspicious death, was not one of them. This was supposed to be the moment I wrapped my arms around his neck and told him I loved him, too, because I did.

Instead, I was wrapping my mind around him questioning my mother again. Could I love a man who was sending my mother away for murder? An overstatement, I realize, but that's where my brain went.

“Tell me what you're thinking,” he said.

My eyes filled with tears. “Why did you decide to tell me you love me now?”

He drew me into a hug. “I didn't decide, it slipped out. I'm sorry. Bad timing on my part. Forget it, we'll discuss it later.”

I tried, but his words kept echoing in my head. And heart.

He stood. “I'd better see how things are going out front. You're going to the bakery later, right?”

“I have to be there at eleven.”

“I'll see you tonight. We can talk.” He gave me a knowing look. “Not about Baldelli.”

“I won't mention him. Stay safe.”

He smiled. “Thanks. I'm sorry, too, about having to talk to Annie.”

“I know. I can't imagine what's linking her to Baldelli's murder.”

He didn't answer. We walked back to the front of the library. I was happy to see some of the protestors leaving. Daniel was still talking to a few of them. Why did my mother let him get away with that? Shouldn't he be inside working? I said goodbye to Sean, who was back to being a detective. I watched him address the rest of the protestors, and thought about his visit later.

I walked into Bread and Batter a little after eleven. Noelle had been happy to stay with Dottie and Beau. I had a birthday cake to work on, which was a good thing. It was a chocolate cake with chocolate frosting. The man's wife had requested a motorcycle motif, and I had several drawings of motorcycles spread around me. It would take my mind off love and death. I slipped past the counter as Olivia handed a customer a box of cupcakes.

“I'd like one of your cute t-shirts, too, I think,” I heard the customer tell Olivia as I grabbed my apron from behind the door, slipped it over my head, and tied it.

“Hi,” Olivia greeted me when the woman left. “Phew! It's been crazy busy today so far, not that I'm complaining. Glad you're here. Do you mind if I go grab a sandwich at Morton's to bring back? I'm starving.”

“Not at all. Take your time. Can you get me a Swiss cheese sandwich with lettuce, tomatoes, and mustard? And a bag of corn chips. I drank a smoothie earlier, and that's it. Oh, and one of Morton's apples, too. They buy them from that Mennonite market, they're fabulous.”

She laughed. “Are you sure that's it?”

“I think so.” I dug in my pocket for money then handed it to her.

“Be right back,” Olivia called as she went out the door.

I straightened up our pile of t-shirts, adjusted the mugs, then went in the back to line up my ingredients for my afternoon project, a Batman cake for a seven-year-old boy. Maybe I should've ordered a banana chocolate milkshake from Morton's. I was that hungry.

The bell on the front door jingled. I hurried to the front. I was pleased to see Ed McCray. He was renting the apartment over the garage at Addair Funeral Home, which is owned by Brian's family. Brian runs it now and lives in the main house.

I'd lived in the garage apartment before I moved into Dottie's house. Lola had a problem with me living in such close proximity to him, so Brian asked me to move out. It had hurt a little, but in retrospect, it was the best thing that could have happened to me.

Ed's a great guy who had helped me with some questions I had about Calista's murder. I'd grown fond of him. “Hello there, good to see you.”

He removed his worn Brooklyn Dodgers baseball cap. “Hi there, Molly. How's the bakery business?”

“Excellent, thank you. What can I get you?”

He looked down at our case. “How 'bout some of those chocolate and mint cupcakes? They taste like the Girl Scout cookies. Go great with a glass of milk.”

“They do, don't they? How many?” I reached for a box in which to put the cupcakes.

“Oh, a dozen, I guess. Dozen cannoli, too. Got family coming this weekend. I'm sure they'll go quick.”

I handed him the box of cupcakes and the box of cannoli and rang him up. “I hear you're taking Dottie to the dance at the Elks Club in two weeks. She's so excited.”

He pulled out his wallet. “I'm not much of a dancer anymore, but she thought we'd have a good time, so there you are. She's probably right. Guess I'll buy a new suit. Got one I go to church in, but it's looking a little old. Like me.”

I'd fixed Dottie and Ed up a few months back and they'd hit it off wonderfully. I was so happy. I wondered if wedding bells might be in their future. I'd do their cake as a wedding gift. “You look amazing. I'm sure you'll have fun.”

He put his hat back on and took the boxes from me. “She is a wonderful woman, I'll give her that. Glad you forced her on me.” He scowled. “Haven't seen her pull out an iron yet and offer to do my shirts, but it's the little things you have to let go.”

I laughed because I knew he wasn't serious, and he knew I didn't force her on him. I merely suggested. “She's crazy about you, too. She blushes and gets all flustered when I bring you up.”

He shook his head. “Silly woman. You gals got a great business here. Love to see the locals doing well. Don't want any of those big box stores coming to Destiny. Bad enough we got that outlet mall with people arriving on buses from all over. Maybe one of them killed Philip Baldelli.”

My heart tripped. “Did you know him?”

“For years. He and I were in the Masons, Elks, Buckskin Bowmen, and the Destiny Lake Duck Hunters Club together. We were both members of Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic Church. Can't believe he's gone.”

“You think he was killed? Maybe it was suicide.”

“Course I think he was killed. He didn't decide one morning to drink antifreeze in place of his orange juice. The man wasn't senile, depressed, or out of his mind. He had no reason to die. He had a beautiful house on the lake where he fished any time he wanted, had a great garden, and lots of friends. I'll tell you this, I don't like having two murders in town less than a year apart.”

“Neither do I. Do you have any idea who might have done it?”

“None. He didn't have any enemies that I know of. We didn't have many personal conversations, I'll admit, but we were always on friendly terms. I'll leave it to Detective Corsino to figure out. Please tell him not to waste any time doing it. Hey, Dottie tells me you two are romantically involved.”

“Yes, we are. But we're taking it slowly.”

“Good way to do it. Course, I can't take it too slow with Dottie; we don't have that luxury. One of us could keel over before too long.”

“Don't say that. You're both healthy. No reason for either of you not to be around for a few years.”

“Your mouth to God's ear.” A smile split his ruggedly lined yet still handsome face. “Speaking of ears, I've talked yours off enough for one day. I'll be on my way. Tell Olivia hello for me.”

“I will. Thanks for dropping in. If I don't see you beforehand, enjoy your family and the dance.”

“Thanks. Take care now.”

Olivia arrived a few minutes later with our food. I told her Ed McCray said hello, grabbed a couple of iced teas for us, and we settled into one of the two booths we had against the wall. I hoped we'd have a few minutes to eat before anyone came in. I took a few bites of my sandwich, along with some corn chips, and swallowed before I started talking. I opened my mouth, but she beat me to it. “Have you had a chance to talk to Sean about Mr. Baldelli's death? Was it murder?”

I nodded as I chewed.

“Oh no! Who did it? Does he have any idea? Has anyone been arrested? Why was he killed?” She leaned forward, her eyes wide, as if I were about to deliver a message from a deity on high.

I shook my head, swallowing again. “I meant yes, I talked to Sean. Not yes, Baldelli was murdered.”

“Oh.” She sank bank against the red leather booth seat. “Well, what did he say?”

“That the investigation is ongoing and he loves me.”

“The inves—” Olivia paused, her Cuban sandwich in mid-air. “He what?”

I repeated, more slowly. “Sean said he loves me.”

She dropped her sandwich. “Oh my God! Oh my God! I knew it! I am over-the-moon happy for you. What did you say to him? Don't leave anything out.”

“I was shocked. I knew we have strong feelings for each other, we've just never voiced them. It came out of nowhere. He said we'd talk later since he was on duty. There were people at the library protesting the expansion, so it wasn't like we were having a romantic dinner or anything. He's coming by tonight.”

“I can't wait to hear all about it. What protestors?”

“People against the library expanding.”

She nodded. “I think I saw something about that on Destiny Dishes. Are people getting crazier, or does it just seem that way with all the social media out there?”

“I think it's because you hear about stuff more now.” Destiny Dishes is a Facebook group devoted to all things Destiny. The whole world is on Facebook now. I joined Destiny Dishes, but I'm not on there a lot; too much arguing for my taste. Someone says the sky's blue, ten people will argue it's purple with yellow spots. It is good for entertainment once in a while. Our Bread and Batter Bakery Facebook page, I love—and we get lots of traffic.

“Back to Sean saying he loves you,” Olivia continued. “How come you didn't tell me right away? How could you hold on to that? I'd have been blabbing about it the second I walked in the bakery.” She took a breath. “You are so lucky. I wish the guy I bought from the library bachelor auction had worked out. This is so romantic. Should I be hurt that you didn't mention it right away?”

“No, don't be silly. I'm still processing it myself. It took me totally by surprise. I wasn't expecting him to blurt it out like that.” I wasn't lying. I was still getting used to him being in love with me, but I was also concerned about the fact that he'd be questioning my mother again. Was that going to cause a problem for us?

I took a drink of my tea. I'm not used to holding things back from Olivia. We're as close as sisters. She knows things about me no one else on Earth, including my parents and past significant others, knows, but I promised Sean I wouldn't tell anyone he was going to question my mother again. That included Olivia.

***

I got home at five thirty and picked up Noelle from Dottie. Sean had texted me at five telling me he'd be by around seven thirty. I promised him dinner.

“We just went for a nice long walk,” Dottie said. “She should be good for the night. She's such a sweetie. I love having the dogs around. I may have to get one of my own.”

“Oh, you should, Dottie. It would be wonderful company. By the way, I saw your man at the bakery today.”

Her cheeks turned rosy. “This Saturday we're going to go see the new Meryl Streep movie. I do so love everything she does.”

I smiled at her happiness. She deserved it. “I'm glad you two have hit it off. Are you planning on asking him to move in?”

She lightly smacked my arm. “Good Lord, girl, I should say not! I don't believe in shacking up with someone before there's a ring on my finger. It better be a nice one, too, with a diamond big enough that I can see it without my bifocals.”

I laughed. “You're too much. I'm seeing Sean later. I might as well take Beau home, too.”

***

I fed the dogs. Noelle was good about sharing with Beau; they were best friends. I then went into the bathroom, turned on the hot water, and poured in some Vanilla Sugar bubble bath. My anxiety level was climbing, not only because Sean and I were going to have a conversation about our feelings, but because I was dying to know what he was going to say to my mother. Not that I thought for a minute he'd tell me, mind you. I closed my eyes and submerged myself into the hot water and practiced deep breathing. While doing that almost lulled me to sleep, it didn't do anything to quell the anxious feelings rising in my chest. I stayed in the tub until the water was almost tepid.

Once I had toweled off, dressed, and dried my hair, I began dinner: Vegetarian risotto with sundried tomatoes, salad, and a big bottle of wine. Maybe that would help. Not that I'm a big drinker, mind you, but I am partial to wine. I live in wine country, after all. I consider it doing my part to help the local economy.

The table was set, the salad thrown together and the risotto done by the time someone thumped on the front door.

“It's me,” Sean's baritone voice announced.

Both of the dogs almost knocked me down in their haste to get to the door first. I was so nervous, you'd think I was going on our first date. I unlocked the door and let him in.

“Hi, babe.”

“Hi. Welcome to Chez Molly.” He leaned in for a kiss. I gladly obliged.

“Dottie said you had Beau up here. Thanks.” I waited while he greeted the dogs and realized it would be like this every day if we got married. Then I came to my senses. The idea of another marriage scared me. I admitted to being in love with Sean, but I had already failed at one marriage. I didn't know that I wanted to try again. Not that he'd gotten down on one knee or anything. Other than to greet the dogs, that is.

“How did things at the bakery go?”

“Good. How was the rest of your afternoon?”

“Not too bad.”

He sniffed. “Something smells really good.”

“It's either the risotto, or me. It's almost ready.”

“You need help with anything?”

“Would you mind opening the wine while I set the table?” I pulled two glasses off a shelf in one of my open kitchen cabinets and handed them to him.

“I can do that.”

Sean ordered Beau and Noelle into the living room while we ate. They obeyed instantly. Whenever I try that, they look at me as if they suddenly don't understand English. Little traitors.

“It's not like I'm going to enjoy questioning Anne,” Sean said between mouthfuls. It was as if he'd read my mind.

“I know. I wish it wasn't you. You aren't arresting her, are you?”

“Nothing like that, babe. Maybe I shouldn't have said anything earlier. I don't want you worried about it.”

“No, I'm glad you did. I think I'd be more upset if you hadn't. Can we talk about something else?”

“Good idea. I don't want to think about work when I'm with you anyway.”

I threw him a grateful smile. We chitchatted about inconsequential things until our plates were empty. “Ready for dessert?”

“If you made it, of course.”

I pushed my chair back. “Raspberry crisp with homemade vanilla ice cream.”

“Awesome. You really spoil me.”

I beamed at the compliment. “My pleasure. You do your own share of spoiling. You can take some leftover risotto with you if you like.”

“I like. I'll take it for lunch tomorrow. It was really good, even if it had no meat.”

“See? You could get used to being meatless.”

He chuckled. “That's never going to happen. One of these days, I'm going to grill you a steak you'll fall in love with.”

I snickered. “Good luck. Every Thanksgiving my dad offers me money to eat turkey. I think he's up to about five thousand now. It's not working.”