Snow Way Out (16 page)

Dad nodded. “That we can do. When your mother feels stronger, we’ll be getting out to more auctions and estate sales. I’ve gone to a couple myself in the last few weeks and picked up some knickknacks; I got a mantel clock and an old covered crock that might have been a cookie jar. A few odds and ends. We’ll get them cleaned up, figure out the right price, and bring them in.”

“That’ll be good.”

Dad put his arm around Mom. “I guess everything is under control here, Beth. Why don’t we grab a cup of coffee and one of those blueberry scones you love so much?”

Mom put her hand on his chest. “I’d love that, what a nice pick-me-up.”

All four of us descended on Pinky, who was setting mugs of coffee in front of a pair of young women. She smiled at my parents. “Beth, Eddie, what a nice surprise. It’s been a while. Holy moly, I miss seeing the two of you next door in your shop. Not to say that I don’t enjoy Cami being there, of course. Find yourselves a seat at a table and Cami can take your order.”

“Well, I need to run so I’ll catch you all later,” Erin said and held up her to-go cup as she headed out the door.

My parents and I waved our good-byes, then they sat at their favorite table in the middle of the shop. “Okay, Mom, you want chai tea with your scone?”

“Please.”

“Dad?” He changed up his order from one time to the next. He had no “usual.”

“I’ll go with a cup of the daily special and a cherry vanilla chip scone.”

“Coming right up.” I fixed their order, made a chai tea for myself, then sat down with them. We chatted for a few minutes until Pinky joined us.

“You are really looking good, Beth.” Pinky rested her hands on Mom’s shoulders for a moment then sat down.

“Thanks. It’s been a challenge, but I’m tolerating the chemo fairly well.” She picked up her scone and took a bite. “Mmm, this is so good.”

“Did Cami tell you about the new snow globe that appeared on her shelf this morning, and then disappeared?” Pinky said.

I wasn’t ready to share the latest surprise with them, but my blabbermouth friend didn’t know that. Mom and Dad looked at me for the story. After I’d given the details, Mom reached over and held my hand. “I don’t like all the shenanigans that have been going on around here.”

“That’s a great word, ‘shenanigans.’ I like it,” Pinky said.

“Mom, I’m not sure what they are, or what’s really going on. Maybe someone is pulling pranks, but I have no clue why.”

“It seems more like they’re sending messages than pulling pranks, if you ask me. The first snow globe for sure. At least from the way Cami described the scene. It all fit, in a really scary way,” Pinky said.

“And the second snow globe scene had to have been just a weird coincidence,” I said.

“How is that?” Pinky said.

“When I took that break a little while ago, I walked down to Lakeside Park—”

“You went
where
?” Pinky’s hands dropped on the table.

“Don’t say it like that. You know very well I wasn’t going to stay away from there forever. I’ve probably been there thousands of times in my life.”

“I might stay away from there for good after everything that’s happened.” She crossed her arms on her chest.

“No, you won’t. You love the summer concerts there.”

“Oh, yeah.”

My parents had shifted their eyes back and forth from Pinky to me during the conversation.

“Why did you go back there?” Dad asked.

“I felt I had to. Someone had left another park scene, and after what happened the last time . . . I just had to, that’s all. And what I found out made me wonder if someone around here has ESP.”

“Extrasensory perception?” Mom echoed.

“You mean someone besides you?” Pinky said.

“I don’t think that’s what experts would call my ‘feelings.’”

“What did you find?” Dad got us back on track.

I looked at Pinky. “Tell my parents what was in the snow globe scene, the one from this morning.”

Pinky lifted her hands and pointed at the air as she described it. “Some trees, like it was a park. Three kids playing; one was kicking a ball. Oh, and a cop was walking nearby.”

“Okay, guess what I saw when I was in the park.”

“Nooo.” Pinky’s eyes widened and she shook her head.

“Three kids kicking a ball around, and a Brooks Landing police officer by the name of Jake walking through on foot patrol. Just like in the snow globe.”

Mom reached over and covered my hand with hers. Then Dad put both his hands on top of them.

“And you wouldn’t make that up in front of your parents,” Pinky said.

“Pinky, you know very well I wouldn’t make that up, period.”

Dad nodded. “We could always count on Cami to tell the truth, from the time she was a little girl.” He withdrew his hands and moved the right one to a couple of feet from the floor, as the indicator of how tall I must have been.

“And she’s not one to embellish the truth, either. Even with her sometimes overactive imagination,” Mom added, and her lips tugged to the side in a sly smile.

I lifted my hands. “What do you think it means? Another baffling scene captured in a snow globe that shows up in real life.”

“Way too weird for words and I don’t want to think about it because it is honestly creeping me out.” Pinky glanced over at her customers. “I gotta go. Refill time.” She left our table and headed to the serving counter.

“There are such things as coincidences in the world,” Dad said.

“I think that things happen for a reason, more often than not. But in this case, maybe the snow globe scenes that came to life really are just coincidences like your father says,” Mom said.

I nodded. “I can accept that. What I have trouble with is why they appear out of nowhere and then disappear into thin air.”

“Cami, all you have to do is figure out who was in the shop earlier today and then came back some hours later. Or, like you mentioned, it could be that he—or she—was here sometime yesterday and set it on the shelf, forgot about it, then came back for it today,” Mom said.

“Beth, the new snow globe could have been left by one person and taken by another,” Dad said.

I’d thought of all three scenarios. I wondered about the lanky guy, and if he had come into either of the shops when I wasn’t there. Had he been scoping the shop out to see if I was there the time he looked in the window and then turned tail and disappeared when he saw me looking at him? There was no reason I could think of to explain why he’d be avoiding me specifically.

Mom and Dad finished their afternoon snacks and stood to leave. “What a lovely break we had here, even with hearing about the strange snow globe mysteries that have been dropped in your lap,” Mom said.

Dad wrapped an arm around my shoulder. “For the time being, I’d feel a lot better if you’d stay out of the park. Or at least don’t go there alone until they find out who killed Jerrell Powers and have him locked up.”

“Dad—”

Mom put her hand on my other shoulder. “Please, Cami.”

“All right. Since it means that much to you, if I go back to Lakeside before the killer is found, I will take someone with me. Maybe even a police officer.”

Mom and Dad smiled together when the last two words popped out. Then they headed for home. As I gathered the dishes, then carried them to the sink to wash and sanitize them, I considered my next course of action.

Pinky emerged from the back room. “Well, Cami, I’m going to shove off, unless there’s something I forgot.”

I glanced around. “Not that I know of. One thing I’d like you to think about when you’re whipping up your baked delights: who was in your shop either yesterday or early this morning, before ten, and then came back this afternoon before the snow globe disappeared.”

She stuck out her lips. “Cami, that’s maybe too much to ask of my little brain.”

“It is not. You are a people person. Out of everyone I know you are the one I can always count on to help me with any people-related question I have.”

“You don’t have to butter me up. I’ll think about it and write down every name I can come up with.”

“Thank you. I mean, don’t you think it’s curious?”

“I just want this whole business to disappear like the snow globes did. I can’t stand how our lives have been turned upside down by someone who should never have come to Brooks Landing in the first place.”

“I’m with you on that one, Pinky. The problem is that someone took the law into their own hands to get rid of him.”

Pinky shrugged. “See you tomorrow. We have police who are investigating all of that, you know. Oh, did you tell Mark about the latest?”

“I haven’t seen him yet today.” I looked at the time. “If he doesn’t stop in before quitting time, I’ll give him a call.”

“Later, then.”

“All right.”

Mark Weston saved me a phone call when he stopped by a little after five. I heard the bell on Pinky’s door ding and was happy to see it was him.

“Are you lonely? You act like you’re glad I’m here,” he said.

“I am. Not lonely, but glad you’re here. There are a couple of things I need to tell you.” I went behind Pinky’s counter, poured him a cup of coffee, and set it in front of him.

Mark lowered himself slowly, duty belt and all, onto a stool. “Like what?”

“Okay. You know that guy I asked about the other night, the one I saw at Sherman’s Bar and Grill?”

“The one with the beard and Buddy Holly glasses that nobody else saw?” He raised his eyebrows and his forehead wrinkled.

I put my hands on the counter and leaned toward him. “That’s the one. And I’m sure someone else saw him since it was crowded in there. It’s just that the others in our group missed him.”

“Yeah, what about him?” He picked up his cup.

“It seems like I should know him, but can’t place him. I even went through our yearbooks, thinking it might be someone from our school days.” I straightened and poured myself a glass of water.

Mark took a drink of coffee. “I take it you didn’t find him there.”

“There are two men that could be possibilities. I’d appreciate if you’d check on them. See if they are still around. Some people change so much that if you don’t see them from time to time, it’s hard to recognize them.”

“Are you looking to date the guy, or what?”

I laughed. “No, I am not currently in that market. I get the feeling he may be keeping tabs on me, but I have no idea why.”

“You are the biggest celebrity in town right now.”

“You think that could be it?”

“Could be,” Mark said.

“Here’s the thing. I have seen someone a number of times who I’m convinced is the same guy as the one I saw at Sherman’s.”

“Buddy Holly?”

“Without the glasses. And maybe not the beard.”

“So he also wears contacts and may have shaved?” He frowned slightly.

“That’s entirely possible. I got a fairly good look at him the other day, but can’t swear that he had the beard. He may have trimmed it. It was his eyes I noticed most.”

“What about his eyes?”

“They’re round, dark brown, with what I’d call an intense look.”

Mark pulled a small memo pad from his breast pocket and wrote something on it. “Okay. You said you’ve seen him a number of times.”

“Yes, and I only saw his face up close the one time, unfortunately. But then he was gone in a flash. I can tell you he’s tall and thin, with broad shoulders. Sometimes he’s riding by on a bike; sometimes he’s walking. Last night he rode by my house and he looked in as he went by.”

“Like he happened to look in as he rode by, or he made a point of looking in?” Mark glanced up from his memo pad.

“You know, it’s hard to say, but he was on the other side of the street and maybe me being by the window caught his attention. I don’t know.”

Mark frowned. “Keep your curtains closed after dark.”

First Clint, now Mark.

“I will. And you know the other night when that guy crashed in my alley and rode away?”

“Sure, Clint told me about it and I read the report. Why, you think it’s the same guy?”

“I think it’s very possible. Same long, lean body. But there again, it happened so fast, I barely caught a glimpse of him. Now that I’ve seen that guy a few times, I think it could be the same one.”

“And keep your doors locked.”
Yes, Clinton Junior
.

“I will.” And I had, ever since Clint had lectured the heck out of me to do just that. And with the lanky guy hanging around I had to agree with him on that point. “Mark, have you seen a man around our age, maybe a little older, riding around town on a bike?”

“I see a lot of ’em. Not so many now that it’s colder out, but still quite a few. What kind of bike does he have?”

I shrugged. “Not sure about that. I was always concentrating on the man himself.”

“All right. Well, if you see him again, call me right away and I will respond ASAP, if I can. And I’ll write up a ‘be on the lookout’ notice and post it for the other officers to see. Chances are he isn’t on the prowl, but you can never be too careful. We don’t need another Jerrell Powers on the loose. It would have been best if that guy had stayed away for good.”

A
fter Mark left I wandered around, watching the clock and checking the Curio Finds shelves for strange snow globes that were not part of our inventory. Thankfully, there were no new surprises sitting on the shelves among the regulars, or anywhere else in either of our shops, that I could spot. And the latest snow globe park scene had not reappeared to further confuse me.

I did a mental recap of the conversations I’d had over the past days. One thing was crystal clear: there certainly was no love lost between just about everyone I knew and Jerrell Powers. The only one who seemed to care for the man was Pamela Hemley, and it sounded like her love had waned to the point that she was ready to tell him the party was over. Thinking about her reminded me I needed to mention what I’d observed happening at her house. But how? Someone had been at her house without her knowledge and had not only let May Gregors in, but had also sent something in a paper bag along with her when she left.

I finally worked up enough courage to call Pam and had just picked up the phone when the bell on the door dinged and Archie Newberry walked in. I put the phone back in its holder and went into Brew Ha-Ha to help him. “Good to see you, Archie.”

“Ah, Cami, you are here. I wasn’t sure if you were off today. I didn’t see you earlier when I stopped by.”

“I was out for a while. So how have you been, Archie? I’ve hardly seen you all week.”

“Fine, just fine. Busy tryin’ to keep up with all the fall cleanup in the parks. You know, gettin’ ready for winter, which’ll be here before you know it. If a guy had more hours in the day, it’d help.” He unzipped his canvas jacket.

“Archie, you already work long enough hours. And I have a feeling you don’t even keep good track. You donate a lot of time to our fair city, don’t you?”

Archie moved his head back and forth like he wasn’t sure what to say. “Well, it’s not like I need the money. I have everything I need.”

“You could take a trip, maybe to see some other parks around the state, or anywhere in the nation.”

“I don’t much care for travel. My years in the service took care of that. Why go to other parks when we have more than enough around here?”

“We have some fine ones here, thanks to you.”

Archie grinned. “Well, I can’t think of anything I’d rather do.”

I was going to tell him about the latest park scene snow globe, but thought better of it. He was upset enough about what had happened to Jerrell Powers in his park and there was no reason to stir up more anxiety for him.

“Can I get you a cup of something?”

“No, no; thanks, though. I stopped by to talk to Pinky, but I can see she’s not here.”

“I can leave her a message for you.”

“No, no, that’s okay. It’s sort of private.”

What kind of a secret would Archie need to share with Pinky that he couldn’t tell me about? If anyone in Brooks Landing, or at least in our group, could keep a secret, it was me. Pinky? If you swore her to secrecy, she’d probably remember, but it wasn’t a guarantee. She was naturally gabby and sometimes forgot what bits of information were secrets she had sworn to keep.

Whatever it was my friends were talking about behind my back was wearing on me. What on earth could it possibly be if it wasn’t concerning Jerrell Powers? The whole intrigue with them had started the day after his death. Every single one of them acted a little guilty. And now Archie seemed like he might be in on it, too.

“I’ll tell her you were here, at least,” I said.

“No need to bother. I’ll stop by in the morning.” Like he always did. Archie looked at his watch. “I guess it’s about time for you to shove off, so I will, too.”

“Can I give you a lift home?” Archie walked to the city shop each morning, drove one of its trucks to perform his park duties, then walked home again at the end of the day.

“No, the walking does me good. And I might stop by Erin’s on the way.” He would never come right out and say it, but out of all of us, Erin was his favorite. A few weeks back, he and another gentleman were sipping coffee at Pinky’s counter. Erin had just left the shop, and I overheard Archie say, “There’s a special place in my heart for that young’un.” Archie had made it clear on more than one occasion that during his time in Vietnam, he’d had a lot of sympathy for the little ones who lived in the war-torn country.

“Archie, you’re a good person to ask this question. Have you seen a tall man, late thirties or early forties, who bikes around town?”

Archie scratched at the whiskers on his cheek. “I guess I’ve seen a few guys like that. Don’t think much about it when they speed by. There’s the one who always wears those black pants the athletes wear, and goggles, too. With his helmet on, I can’t tell you how old he’d be, but probably around forty. There’s younger and older ones, too. Why is it that you ask?”

“I keep seeing this man and I can’t place him.”

“Well, if he’s got you all curious, maybe you should wave him down and talk to the guy.”

“Maybe I will.” If someone else was with me, anyway. Hopefully Mark would spot him soon and find a way to talk to him.

“’Bye, Cami.”

“Have a good night, Archie.”

Archie was mumbling to himself before he reached the door, and I wasn’t sure if he’d even heard me. He was one of the oddest ducks in the pond, but was very special to my friends and me. It was endearing how much he cared for us. The first time Erin, Pinky, and I met Archie was when we’d had a sleepover at Erin’s house when we were eight, and had hiked to Lakeside Park the next day. It was a bright summer morning and Archie was there, tall and wiry, down on one knee, his long fingers working to fix a chain on a swing set.

We all giggled when we heard him talking, presumably to the swing. We stood and watched him work a minute until feisty little Erin interrupted his monologue. “Do you have an imaginary friend?” she asked. We knew what they were because Erin had had one when she was a very little girl.

Archie jumped up as though he’d heard someone yell “Fire!” and turned to us. “What are you young’uns up to on this fine day?” I remembered how his gray-blue eyes had fixed mostly on Erin, and how they’d twinkled.

“We came here to swing,” Erin said.

“Well, then, it’s a good thing I fixed this here chain so you won’t fall and get hurt.”

“Thank you, mister.”

“You’re welcome. I best be getting back to work. And you have a real good time, now.”

“We will. Thanks, mister.” Erin was doing all the talking for us that day.

“I’d be obliged if you’d call me Archie. I’m sure I’ll be seeing you girls from time to time here, and then you’ll know who I am. Are you allowed to tell me your names?”

At the time I wasn’t sure why we shouldn’t tell him. We’d all been cautioned about being wary of strangers, and Archie was as strange a person as I’d ever met, but not one of us was afraid of him.

Erin raised her hand and pointed as she talked. “That’s Cami and Alice, and I’m Erin.”

“It’s a real pleasure meetin’ all of you.” He picked up his tools and his long stride took him out of our sight in seconds.

“I don’t think grown-ups have imaginary friends, Erin,” Pinky said.

“How do you know?”

“Because when you got older, yours went away. And my mom told me you had grown out of it. So there.”

I shook my head and smiled at the memory of meeting Archie, and Erin and Pinky having their little squabble. There had been many over the years, but that one stuck in my brain. Probably because my parents had often commented on my imagination, yet I didn’t have an imaginary friend and was honestly a little jealous that Erin did.

• • • • • • • • • • • •

A
fter I’d closed up the shops, I walked to my car still debating what to tell Pamela Hemley, and whether I should call or have a face-to-face with her. By the time I pulled out of the parking lot, I’d decided to at least drive to her house and see what happened. When I pulled up in front, it appeared dark inside, like no one was home. I breathed a sigh of relief, telling myself maybe tonight was not the night to talk to her after all. I took out my cell phone and dialed her home number to double-check. There was no answer and I didn’t leave a message. If she checked caller ID and wanted to call me back, that would be up to her.

I wasn’t in much of a spying mood, but drove around the block and parked where I had a good view of Pam’s house, in case she came home in the next ten minutes or so. As much as I dreaded having the conversation and was fine with putting it off as long as possible, she had to know the truth. I turned off the car and watched the western sky turn shades of pink and blue as the sun prepared to go down for the night. A gentle breeze rustled the colorful autumn leaves, shaking some loose from the trees and sending them floating to the ground. I would have been content to stay there for as long as I was warm, but something shook me out of my musings.

The lanky guy was riding toward me on his bike. The right side of his face was captured in the dimming sunlight. I picked up my cell phone out of instinct, I guess, and hit the camera button. But he’d ridden on by before I could snap his picture. Dang. I dialed Mark’s number.

“Cami, what’s up?”

“I saw the lone lanky bike rider again.”

“Where are you?”

I’d forgotten I’d have to tell him that. “On East Ridge Drive.”

“What are you doing in that part of town? Are you driving around looking for the guy or what?”

That was a better explanation than the real reason. “No, I happened to see him, that’s all.”

“I’m climbing into my personal vehicle and will head over to that part of town. Should be there in a few minutes.”

“I’ll cruise around, too, before I head home.”

“Just to let you know, if the guy is riding around, minding his own business, I’m not about to stop him and harass him.”

“Of course not. I just want to know who he is and why he seems to be just about everywhere I am.”

“I don’t think I’ll be able to ask him that, either.”

“I know. I’m mainly hoping you’ll recognize him so you can put me out of my misery.”

“I’ll do my best.”

I turned my car around in a driveway and drove where I hoped the rider had gone, but he had disappeared on me once again. Holy macaroni, he was fast. He had to have gone down a side street, but which direction? If I turned right, it was sure as shooting he had turned left. I took my fifty-fifty chance, turned left at the next block, and resisted a strong temptation to go faster than the speed limit. After a few blocks of no action, except a number of motion detection lights going on as I passed, I did a U-turn and headed the opposite way.

I met Mark at the next intersection. I waited as he pulled up beside me then we unrolled our windows to talk. “I lost him,” I said.

“No luck on my end, either. Cami, you might as well give it up. One of these days he’ll come in for a cup of coffee or a snow globe and you can talk to him face-to-face.”

“Thanks for trying, Mark. We’re bound to run into each other sooner or later. Get back to your evening and I’ll catch you tomorrow.”

“All right. And remember about your curtains and doors.”

I gave him a military-like salute. “Aye, aye, Officer Mark.”

He shook his head and closed his window. We drove off in different directions, and then I went back to Pam’s for one final try for the night. The house was still dark so I went home in search of a light supper and a lighter show to watch on television.

• • • • • • • • • • • •

I
was dipping a grilled cheese sandwich into a bowl of tomato soup when the phone rang. It startled me and I missed my mouth and dripped soup on my chest. Not that I was jumpy or anything. I grabbed a dish towel and wiped my face and patted my chest to sop up the liquid. I reached for the phone and saw it was Erin calling.

“Hey, Erin, you still have a visitor?”

It took her a few seconds to answer. “Oh, you mean Archie? No, he was only here a little while. You know how he likes to check in to be sure all is well. Ever since Jerrell Powers broke in a few years ago, he sort of feels it’s his job to stop by on his way home.”

“That’s not all bad.”

“I actually kind of like it. It gives him something to think about besides trees and playground equipment.”

“He could use another hobby.”

Erin chuckled. “Pinky told me you two may host another class once things settle down. You could ask Archie if there’s anything he’d like to learn to make and invite him to participate.”

“He seemed intrigued with the snow globe–making class. Now I feel kind of bad I told him and Mark to stay out of the way of the members who had paid for the class.”

“Don’t worry about it.” Erin was quiet a moment. “The other thing Pinky told me is that you actually agreed to go to that Halloween party with a bunch of strangers and hosted by people you’ve barely met.”

“I could ask Mark to be my escort if it’d make you feel any better.”

“What would make me feel better is if you call them and tell them you can’t make it.”

“I don’t want to disappoint them. Besides, what would I tell them?”

“It’s not like you owe them anything, seeing as how you don’t even know them. You could say you have other plans.”