Chapter 15

Chapter 15

Greg hadn't come home for dinner, so I used the salsa, cooked hamburger taco meat, and made nachos for my dinner. It was an easy dinner to eat in the living room, watching television, and Greg could heat up what he wanted when he got home.

I was on the couch, topping off the nachos with a small bowl of ice cream, when he came inside.

He put his gun away in the office, then came and gave me a kiss, taking the bowl and spoon away from me. "Tell me this wasn't your dinner."

"Nope, I had nachos. The stuff is all in the fridge if you want some. I made homemade salsa and, yours is extra hot."

"You made salsa? This I've got to try." He stood and headed into the kitchen, finishing what was left of my ice cream as he walked.

I paused the show I was watching and followed him. "It's really good. At least mine is, I didn't taste yours."

"You need to learn to like hot things. We have amazing peppers that grow locally that we could use to season meats or even casseroles." He took both plastic containers with the salsa out. I'd written HIS and HERS on the top of the lids. He laughed and opened both. I handed him the bag of chips I'd opened earlier. "Thanks."

"No problem. Tell me what you think. I got the recipe off the internet, so I'm not invested."

He took a bite of the mild salsa first. He nodded, pointing to it with a chip. "This is good. A little spicier than I expected for you."

"I like a little spice. I just like to be able to feel my lips after I eat." I poured some into a small bowl and surrounded it with chips after setting it on a plate. "There's a couple of beers in there too if you want one."

"I'll have one if you are." He glanced at the clock. "I've already eaten dinner, and I know it's late."

"Not too late." I went to the fridge and took out the beers, and as I did, I updated him on what my afternoon had been like. He'd probably already heard about most of it from Esmeralda, but I added in my visit to the farm and my thoughts when I was running. "Her cousin, Heidi, thinks she might have gone swimming and drowned."

"We've been keeping an eye out at the beach, but I don't think that's the answer." He took a big bite of salsa on his chip. Then his eyes started to water as he hurried to eat it. "This is hot."

"I told you." I smiled, happy I hit the right heat level. "I love fresh salsa. I don't know why I don't make it more often."

"Probably because you're always running around getting involved in my investigations." He took his plate over to the table and sat down.

"What? You asked me to go to Tank's room." I was glad I hadn't just taken a sip of beer. I set the bottle down. "And you asked me to babysit Josh. You invited me into this case. Don't you forget it."

He held up his hand. "Truce. You're right. I'm starting to depend on your viewpoints a little too much in my work. So after this, we're taking a break."

My hand stilled over the chips. I guessed that would solve my issue with finding a venue. "You don't want to get married?"

He set down his beer bottle. "What are you talking about?"

"You said you wanted to take a break." I swallowed hard, and my heart was pounding.

Greg came over and pulled me from my chair into a standing hug. "I meant from me inviting you into my investigations. Not us. Never us. We're getting married. Even if my mom can't come to the wedding. Or we can't find somewhere else to do the ceremony. We have options. Like Bill's church or the beach. We're getting married. That's the end of the discussion."

I realized I could breathe, and the tears that had been brewing had fallen during the hug. "I'm glad."

"Glad is such an overwhelming emotion." He chuckled as he wiped my cheeks. "I'm pleasantly happy as well."

I hit him lightly in the chest. "You know what I mean."

"And now we're back to grade school." He kissed me. "Nothing is ever going to pull us apart as a couple. Now, as an investigation team, we're doomed."

"You're just saying that so I won't cry." I leaned my head on his chest.

He rubbed my back. "I'd do almost anything to keep you from crying. I even said Mandy and Josh could come to dinner, remember? That alone should tell you that I love you to the moon and back."

We sat back down with our late-night snack. "I think Mandy's disappearance is getting to me. Her uncle said she was finally happy now, with Josh."

"Funny, Tank said they were happy together until her uncle wanted her to postpone the wedding until after she graduated. Tank blamed their breakup on that." Greg leaned back and rolled his eyes. "See, I did it again. I can't help but talk to you about this case. Next murder or disappearance that happens in South Cove, I'm moving into a motel until it's finished. Just don't expect to see me until I solve the mystery."

I giggled. "I don't see you very much now. I don't know how you could make it any less. Anyway, Kyle thinks that Tank's hiding something from Josh."

"And you think it's Mandy?"

"It would explain why she'd go with him. She probably thought they were going for a drink or two, and now she's locked up in a storage center somewhere inland."

"Maybe." He held up a chip with a pile of salsa on top. "Thank you for making this, it's terrific."

"You're welcome," I said, turning what I knew around in my head. "Esmeralda says she'll go searching with me for Mandy tomorrow. Did she tell you?"

"She mentioned it." He finished his beer, then dumped the bottle in the recycling. He got a soda out of the fridge and sat back down. "You need to be careful."

"I will." I tapped my fingers on the table, thinking. I saw Greg watching me, so I smiled and put away the thoughts about Mandy's whereabouts. "Sorry, let's talk about something else. I have the wedding venue file if you want to go over that. If we find a place, I can visit it tomorrow or Monday and get it booked. We're running out of time."

Greg scratched his head and nodded. "Go get the file. We might not find another slot of time for a while where we can do this."

I went to the kitchen desk and opened the file. Our time to find the right wedding venue was running out. For Mandy, it was just time.

* * * *

The shop was busy for a Saturday morning. The commuters slowed a bit, coming in later than normal and in fewer numbers, but tourist and local traffic picked up since it was a weekend. Today, a group of women who were visiting all the art galleries in town and were staying at the Castle this weekend had found the shop. They were wandering through the store, a latte or mocha in one hand and a basket for books in the other.

Aunt Jackie was going to be happy with our book sales today. My heart sank a little as I realized again that soon, she wouldn't care. I could still tell her, but she wouldn't have a vested interest in whether or not I sold one book on my shift or one hundred. I needed to focus on my paper, get that done, and then have the meeting with my aunt. Oh, and help find Mandy in between. All in a day's work, right?

Today, Esmeralda was picking me up after my shift, and she'd drive us to the university to see what we could find in Professor Wellborn's office. If the school would even let us in there. I was hoping since it was Saturday, we'd find the door open or at least have access to an unwittingly helpful janitor whose master key we could use. Investigating on the sly was beginning to be our thing.

Darla Taylor came in, looked around, and found me cleaning a recently vacated table. All the shop's tables were busy. Some with writers with their laptops, thanks to Deek's writer group that met on Thursday nights, and some were just looking for a place to enjoy the sunny morning. Like the couple waiting for me to finish cleaning this table. I straightened the napkin holder, then pointed Darla to the coffee bar. "Do you want your regular?"

She followed me to the bar and waited for me to drop the cups into the dishwasher and wash my hands. "Actually, I wanted to talk to you about Josh. Is it true he's in a mental hospital?"

Great, the town gossip mill had done its job and got the story wrong. "No, he's not in a mental ward. He's just exhausted. He's been going nonstop, looking for clues on where Mandy could be. He's really worried."

Darla climbed on a stool as I helped a customer with a coffee order and two romance beach reads. It was my best-selling category, and Evie and Deek kept the inventory fresh for our whale readers. Seriously, I didn't make up the word. Deek said it was industry terminology for people who read several books a week. "I think we have the full series for that one." I pointed to the first-in-series book she'd purchased.

"Oh, you do. And since I'm here for the week, I'm sure I'll be back for the rest. I like to pace my book buying so my husband doesn't notice the credit card charge. If I get one or two a day, he thinks it's just coffee and meals." She took the bag and the coffee. "And I'm off to the beach. Thanks for being open this early."

"Thanks for stopping in, and have a lovely vacation." I fixed Darla a coffee before I went around to sit by her. I refilled my own cup. "So please tell me you're not writing a story on Josh going crazy."

"No, I wouldn't do that. My editor has already done a small piece in the police callout section, but he was discreet. I just wanted to find out what was going on. I am writing a piece on Mandy's disappearance, though. Did you know she traveled when she was young with a group of scuba divers? They called themselves Treasure Seekers. I just can't see her settling down with Josh. He's so different."

"Maybe she was just fitting in with the group she hung out with back then. I talked with Mandy before she disappeared, and she was really happy about the upcoming wedding." I kept an eye out to make sure everyone in the shop was doing okay as I took a short break with Darla.

"I've met women like that. Whatever their current love interest is involved in, they go full force into that too. Then they drop it when they move on to the next guy and his hobbies." Darla sipped her coffee. "I could never fake interest in something like that."

"Maybe she wasn't faking, but then it just grew to be too much for her." I was thinking about my first husband. He was deep into politics. Saving the world from the demons who were running for the other party. It was black or white for him. I helped out with a campaign, but I never made it my entire life like he did. I wondered what he was doing now. I saw Darla watching me over the rim of her cup. "Don't judge. I've been there at least once in my life."

"I can't see it with you. You know who you are, and Greg still loves you." She glanced around the bookstore. "You created all this."

"No, my aunt and I created this. And all my staff. I never imagined the store to be part of the community like it is. Deek's brought in writers, and we're busier than we've ever been. I just wanted a quiet place to read that would provide me enough income to live." I stood and helped another customer. "Are you ready to check out?"

By the time I was done, Darla had finished her coffee. She laid a five on the counter. "Well, I think you've found your niche. And South Cove is better with you here."

I laughed as I rang up her coffee. "Don't let the mayor hear you saying that. He's still waiting for me to move so his developer friends can buy my house."

"He's going to have to wait a long time," Greg said from behind Darla. "Good morning, Darla. How's the winery going? Toby tells me your bartenders are cutting people off at just the right time to keep down the DUIs."

"Well, we aim to please." She grinned as she took the change. "I think the fact that we have a dedicated Uber driver for the area now helps more. Caroline's loving her business. She goes to school during the day, so she's perfect for the job. I just hope we can find someone else when she gets a real job."

"Whatever is happening, our streets are safer. Chip's been a little less open to managing his customers' intake." Greg pointedly looked across the street at the small bar. "Maybe we should close the town to traffic at sunset."

"Tell me you're joking." Darla turned to me. "He's joking, right?"

Greg winked at her. "You'll never know."

"He'd have to get it past the city council. I don't think Bill Sullivan would agree, since a lot of his traffic comes in late on Friday night." I handed Greg a large coffee in a to-go cup. "Why are you here messing with Darla? Just bored?"

"Actually, I thought we might have some time to talk, but you're busy." He took the coffee and waved goodbye to Darla as she scurried out of the shop. "And keeping her on the defensive gives her less time to grill me about Mandy's disappearance and the murder."

"True. She did ask me about Josh's current whereabouts, but she seemed concerned, not journalistic." I took Darla's cup and wiped the counter area as we talked.

"You never know what she's thinking." Greg sipped his coffee. "I just wanted to ask you to be careful today."

I looked around the coffee bar. "I haven't burned myself on a hot coffee machine all week."

That wasn't quite true, but Greg didn't need to know that.

He reached for my arm and turned it to show the recent burn. "I'm not talking about here, and you know it."

"Okay, fine, I did burn my arm on Tuesday, but I wasn't quite awake." I grabbed a sleeve of travel cups and refilled the counter area. When he didn't say anything else, I met his gaze. "I'll be careful at the college with Esmeralda."

"Thank you. And I appreciate the fact that you're not doing this all ‘Lone Ranger' style." He pointed to a lemon drop cookie. "Give me a dozen of those, and I'll take them back to the station. Toby's grumpy about having dispatch duty today."

I boxed up the cookies and handed them to him. "I'll put it on the station's bill. And the Lone Ranger wasn't alone. He had Tonto to keep him out of trouble. I don't even know why they called him the Lone Ranger when he had someone with him all the time. And his horse, Silver. He was smarter than the average horse."

"That's Yogi Bear's tag line." He leaned over and kissed me. "Just take care of my Jill."

"Yes, sir," I said as he sauntered over to the doorway. He tipped his hat to a group of women who were watching us.

As one came up to pay for her books and get a second coffee, she grinned at me. "I think I should come here more often if you grow them out here like that."

"That one's taken, but I'm sure there's someone for you." I made the coffee, then rang up the purchase. "There's a key for every lock, as my aunt always says."

The woman laughed as she took the coffee cup. "Your aunt sounds like a wise woman."

"Oh, she is very wise," Deek said as he came in from the back office with a cherry cheesecake to put into the case.

"A local legend then." The woman winked at me after grinning at Deek. "I tell you, there must be something in the water around here."

As she left to join her friends, Deek looked over at me from the cheesecake he was dividing up. "Did I miss something in that discussion?"

"Definitely." I laughed as I checked the time. "I didn't realize it was so late. It's been crazy busy."

"Judith's on her way. She texted me that there was a slowdown on the freeway. I can't believe she drives an hour to get here." He looked around the room. "I can probably hold the fort until she arrives."

"I'll need to leave when Esmeralda arrives. She's my ride to Bakerstown." I grabbed a rag and went to clean another table. Deek followed me with a bin.

"Are you working on your final paper?" He put the dirty dishes in the bin.

The thing about Deek was he listened. He always asked questions about what was going on with my degree and classes. So he knew what I'd been working on. I couldn't just blow it off. "Not today. She's helping me with something for Greg."

"You're looking for Mandy, then." He leaned over to the table next to us and asked if the man was done with his plate. "You think she's in Bakerstown?"

"I don't know. I'm actually trying to see if we can check Professor Wellborn's office for any clues." I shook my head. It sounded totally stupid when I said it aloud. It was a crime scene. No one would just let me in to look for clues.

"He kept a key on top of the doorframe," Deek said, picking the bin up and holding it out in front of him, watching me.

"How do you know that?" I stared at him as I sprayed the table.

"Perpetual student, remember? I dated his TA one year."