Chapter 22

Chapter 22

Now that Mandy was home, Greg's part of the investigation was over. But I still wondered about who killed Professor Wellborn. And as I walked back to the house after spending some quality time with Josh and Mandy, Steve's Scuba Shop was still closed. According to Greg, Mandy's uncle had asked Tank to pick Mandy up at the farm stand to take her to dinner. Then they drugged her, and Eric drove her to the Idaho cabin outside St. Maries.

They tried to change her mind about Josh. Mandy had been furious when she woke up, and tried to leave several times, but the cabin was deep in the woods and she couldn't find a road to town. After Eric had returned her to the cabin a fifth time, he called his uncle for help. That was when he'd gone up to talk to her and realized she wasn't going to change her mind.

They'd been planning on bringing her home today, but the local sheriff had shown up at the cabin door yesterday. Mandy was mad, but not willing to charge Tank, her uncle, or her cousin with kidnapping. Josh, on the other hand, would have sent them all to prison for the rest of their lives. Especially Tank.

Emma greeted me as I opened the front door, and I followed her outside into the backyard as she did her business. The night was cool, so I pulled a blanket around me as I sat on the swing. My phone rang. "Hi, Aunt Jackie."

"I saw you walking home just now. I went downstairs to catch you, but I didn't make it. Why were you out so late by yourself? Everything okay with you and Greg?" My aunt peppered me with questions.

"I was coming from the police station. Mandy's home. I was sitting with Josh while they got everything settled. Greg had to stay for a while, so I walked home." I felt like a kid explaining why I'd missed curfew. "How are you?"

"I'm fine, dear. Looking forward to lunch tomorrow." She paused. "I'm glad Mandy's back. She's good for that boy. And it was nice of you to help him get through this mess. He looks up to you."

This time I laughed. "Josh hates me. He always has. Even when the two of you were friends." I didn't say dating because having Josh as my uncle was a bridge too far. Even in my wildest imagination.

"I know you didn't approve of our friendship, but Josh was good for me. He taught me how to open up after your uncle died and got me ready to meet Harrold. People come into your life for all kinds of reasons. And Josh does respect and admire you. I think you also scare him a little bit." She paused for a minute to let that sink in. "Anyway, I need to go. Harrold and I are watching a show on BritBox. I have to be there and focused; otherwise, I miss the clues and he figures it out first. I hate that."

I hung up and curled tighter under my blanket. Mandy was home. And Josh had a second journal from Gabriel Santiago. I wondered what it said about the hidden treasure. I needed to remember to ask Greg when he was returning the first journal. I pushed thoughts of lost treasure away and went inside and opened my planner. I made a note about the journal and another to finish the announcements and reach out to Martha to cancel the reception at the Santa Barbara mission. I didn't know if she'd be happy or put out. I'd go with the latter. I didn't think Martha liked anything that messed with her carefully planned life. Although she did say she had a waiting list for our wedding day. Some other couple would get married there at the same time we were saying "I do" at a mission a little north of that one.

The world would keep turning. I took out Aunt Jackie's retirement plan and my notes and dug in. I had a lot on my plate tomorrow to get done. And now that I wasn't actively seeking out Mandy's whereabouts or babysitting Josh, I had the time to do it.

* * * *

Just before my shift ended the next day, Josh came into the shop. He had a card in his hand that he tossed at me. "That's your invitation to the wedding and the reception. Mandy thinks that since you and Greg were so involved in getting her home, you should come to the ceremony. It's at that dead tree she loves so much."

"I don't think the olive tree is dead. I think it's dormant. And now with all the rains we got this spring, it might even pop out of it." I tried to remember what the tree had looked like when I found Josh there last week. As I did, I realized he might be right. The tree might be dead. "Well, the views are breathtaking there."

He actually smiled. "Good save."

"How's Mandy doing?" When I'd left the station last night, she was holding on to Josh's hand like he might disappear.

"Good. A little shook up. She knew she wasn't in danger, but she worried about me." He shook his head in disbelief. "She's the one that was kidnapped, but she was worried about me. I only wish I'd actually got ahold of Tank that night. Maybe he would have told us then what was going on."

"That was wrong of him to be part of Mandy's disappearance." I still thought Tank had been hanging out with Josh to find the treasure. Or to see if he went postal because of Mandy's disappearance. "Did you finish the other journal?"

He pulled it out of his coat pocket. "I did. From what I've read, I think Santiago spent the money on building the orphanage. There's a lot of record-keeping in here about the costs, and besides bank robbing, he didn't seem to have a lot of income."

"Can I read it?" It was official. I was a California history geek. "I'll be careful."

"I trust you." He handed me the book and met my eyes. I think his words meant more than just trusting me with the book.

"I'm having lunch with Jackie, and I'll start reading it after that. Now that I'm done with school, I need some educational reading added back into my to-be-read pile." I took the book and set it under the counter by my tote. "I'll get it back to you probably tomorrow."

"Anytime. Mandy's going out to the farm to talk to her family later, so I'm going to the shop and tearing down all the research in the conference room. Treasure or not, I'm done wasting my time with it. I've got other priorities." He reached into his coat again. "I'm not sure Jackie will accept, but Mandy and I would love it if she and Harrold came to the wedding and reception. Can you give her the invite when you see her?"

I took it and put it with mine where I'd stashed the book. "I'll be glad to. Can I get you some coffee?"

He shook his head. "Mandy says I'm not drinking enough water. So I have a bottle at the shop, waiting for me."

I watched as he walked out. Deek had just come in from the back, and he watched with me for a bit. "He's a lot better. His aura was gray for a while. I was really worried. I'd never seen one that color before, except for when my grandfather passed away at home. He went from bright blue to that same gray."

"I think Josh is on the mend. What color is his aura usually?" Now Deek had me convinced about auras and his ability to see them. At least he thought I was convinced.

"Josh is bright yellow. Which is odd, since I didn't think he was capable of the joy that usually accompanies people with that color." He smiled at the couple that just walked in. "These guys need some books. Let me help them, and you get ready to go have lunch with your aunt."

"Sometimes you worry me," I said as he headed out around the counter to meet the newcomers. Deek just seemed to know what a customer was looking for. In books or at the coffee bar. He must have heard me tell Josh I was having lunch with Jackie.

He winked at me. "A magician never explains his tricks."

Or maybe I wrote it on the calendar in the back or the online calendar that my staff had access to. We put our vacations and out-of-office times, as well as shift assignments, on the networked calendar that was on our website on an employee-only page. Either way, my staff typically knew where I was most of the day. Small town or psychic abilities, it didn't matter. What mattered was we were there for each other. Good and bad.

I got ready to leave and tucked everything, including my notes for the meeting, into my tote. Then I stopped and packed a dozen cookies into the box. It wasn't a cake, but it was a celebration. Greg mentioned a party. Maybe I should plan it for her last day. Invite people she'd met as part of Coffee, Books, and More. Something special to show how much we appreciated her and how much we would miss her. How much I would miss her.

Aunt Jackie was already sitting at a booth when I arrived at Diamond Lille's. She had ordered vanilla milkshakes, and mine was waiting as well. I smiled at Carrie, who had been chatting with her. "Traffic's slow."

"Thursdays are usually slow unless a tour bus comes in. Now, tomorrow, my feet are going to be screaming at me by this time, as we're going to be packed. With next weekend being Memorial Day, I might as well just put up a cot in the back room." Carrie tucked her pad into her pocket. "I'll get the order into the kitchen."

I kissed my aunt on the cheek. "Milkshakes? It's not my birthday."

"No, it's my second retirement, and this time, I'm celebrating every step." She nodded toward Carrie. "I ordered us both fish-and-chips, so if you want something else, you better grab Carrie."

"No, that will be great." I handed her the cookies. "Great minds think alike. Here are some cookies for you to share with Harrold."

"That was sweet of you." She set the box on the seat beside her and picked up the envelope that I'd put in front of her. "What's this?"

"Josh asked me to give you your invitation to the wedding and reception. You and Harrold can ride with us to the wedding if you want. It's on the Jensen farm, if she doesn't change her mind. She's not happy with her uncle right now." I'd put the wedding and reception on our calendar on the fridge. Greg would just have to deal with it, since we were going.

"I'll talk to Harrold and let you know." She tucked the envelope into her purse without opening it. "I do need to go to town to buy them a gift. Does it say where they're registered?"

I hadn't thought about that. My unease must have shown on my face. "I'm not sure. I can look."

"That look tells me you and Greg haven't registered anywhere either." My aunt put a hand on mine as I reached for my tote. "Don't worry about it. I'll check it later, but you and Greg need to register soon so people can determine what you need."

"We don't need anything," I countered, but I knew I wasn't going to win this argument. "I'll talk to Greg tonight. And good news, we have a venue."

As we drank our milkshakes, I told her about the mission and its grounds. I braced for a liturgy of all the reasons it was a bad choice.

"That sounds lovely." She pulled out a folder. "Should we start going over the plan before our food gets here?"

I nodded and pulled out my copy of the plan and my notes. I'd made stars by the items I needed either more clarification on or had a different opinion of. Mostly, I agreed with her points. When we got to the payouts, I held up a hand. "I don't think these are right."

"Jill, I've tried to be fair with the payments. I don't want to drain your business accounts, but I need a specific severance package." Aunt Jackie started to explain, but I interrupted.

"I think they're too low. This is my counterproposal." I handed her a restructuring of the payouts with higher amounts.

She shook her head and pushed the paper back. "You forget I do your books. You can't afford this."

"I can if I supplement it with Miss Emily money." I had an inheritance that I'd received years ago that I'd kept separate and used as my slush fund. It paid for trips and contributions to staff and the community when the need arose. This seemed to be one of those times. "Look, this money is just sitting there, growing. If I don't give it away, it's going to continue to grow until I buy an island or something stupid. Let me help you as you helped me all these years."

"I wouldn't need this money if I hadn't gotten scammed before." She let me hand her back the new payout listing.

"And you wouldn't have come to live here in South Cove. You'd still be traveling, and you wouldn't have met Harrold." I tapped my pen on the contract. "Now can we get back to reality and what we do have today? I have a few more questions."

After we agreed to the final plan with my last change of being able to use her as a sounding board for the rest of my life, we both signed one of the copies. "I'll make you a copy when I get back to the office and put this one in the safe."

My aunt glanced at her watch. "I need to go. Harrold's taking me to dinner to celebrate our future. Thank you for everything."

"No, thank you. I'm not sure Coffee, Books, and More would have survived this long without your firm hand."

"You would have gone bankrupt in less than a year." My aunt rose and gave me a kiss on the cheek. "But you're fine now."

I sat in the booth for a while longer. Having my aunt retire a second time was a big deal. For her and Harrold and for me. I wondered if the party should be expanded to allow more people to come and celebrate. I pulled my planner out of my tote and started making notes. We'd have to fit it in around the Memorial Day festivities and Mandy and Josh's wedding.

As I glanced through the available dates, I saw Toby come into the diner. He waved at me and then paused by my table. "Hey, are you going to be able to make it on Monday to talk about restructuring?"

He nodded. "With Mandy home, I think I should be fine. Greg already sent me home today. Deek was a star picking up some of my shifts these last two weeks. Make sure you tell him he's appreciated."

"I'm sure he appreciated the extra hours." I closed my planner. "Did I miss Sasha and Olivia the other weekend? With trying to finish my project and helping out Josh, I've been swamped."

"Actually, we postponed her visit. I didn't feel comfortable with her coming into town and me working all the time. And of course, with Mandy missing, well, we just thought it would be better to delay. She's coming for Memorial Day weekend. I'm still going to be working a lot, but at least I have my nights free, and there's lots for her and Olivia to do."

"Make sure she pops by the food truck that weekend. I'm pretty sure I'll be working there." I stood and walked out of the diner. Life was beginning to slow down again. Which was good, since it would allow me to add throwing my aunt's retirement party to the list.

Exiting the diner, I saw Josh leaning into the glass of one of the windows, looking into the diner. I walked up beside him. "Mandy's not in there, if that's who you're looking for."

He jumped and tripped over a bush next to him. He pulled himself up and dusted off his jeans. "Miss Gardner, don't scare me like that. Anyway, I'm not looking for Mandy. I was looking for you."

"You know you can just walk in the diner and see if someone's there. They don't charge you unless you order food," I teased as I watched him.

"I know. I saw Toby go in, and I didn't want this to get back to Greg." He nodded to his van. "I think I found Santiago's cave. Can you come with me?"

"Tell me it's not the bat cave." When he laughed and shook his head no, I still hesitated to answer.

I needed to get home and take Emma running. I hadn't even considered what we were having for dinner. And the invitations needed to be ordered. My to-do list was full for the afternoon. I started to say no but realized that besides Mandy, Josh didn't have many friends.

Maybe I was that friend he needed.

"How long is this going to take?"