Cut out cookie, p.7
Cut Out Cookie, page 7
“I’m not with anyone right now,” Reg dismissed. “I don’t need any man in my life making things more complicated.”
“Oh… okay, then.” Erin shrugged it off. Apparently that topic wasn’t going anywhere either, and the mixers were making conversation even more difficult. “I should probably let you go. As you can hear, I have a bunch going on right now,” she said apologetically. “I need to get everything ready for tomorrow.”
“Okay. Take care of yourself. You’ll be careful, won’t you? Especially around the water? Or alone in the woods?” Reg said worriedly.
Paranoia now too? “Uh… sure. Of course. You used to always get after me for playing it too safe, you remember that? I’m not a big risk-taker,” she reassured.
“Yeah… I guess I’ll talk to you later, then. If you need something… give me a call…?”
“I will,” Erin agreed. She said goodbye and reluctantly terminated the call. She stared blankly at one of the mixers for a few minutes, mesmerized by the metallic shine and the hypnotic whir. She tried to make sense of the conversation with Reg, but could make neither heads nor tails of it.
Hopefully, Reg was all right and not in the midst of a breakdown. In all the time that Erin and Reg had lived in the same household, Reg had never been completely symptom-free, as far as Erin knew. She’d been able to keep her symptoms hidden from foster parents and case workers for a while, but Erin had seen Reg when the adults were gone and she stopped masking them.
Erin hoped Reg had friends in Florida who would help her through whatever was going on.
CHAPTER 12
“Erin, there’s someone out here to see you!” Charley stood in the kitchen doorway, gesturing to the front.
Erin straightened up and arched her back, trying to work out the kinks. “Who is it?”
“A couple of kids. I’ll take over here. What are you working on?”
Erin pointed out the various different batters she had been in the process of preparing. Charley had been helping out for long enough that she seemed to grasp all of the details right away. She picked up the recipe book, where all of their regular recipes were printed and stored in sheet protectors. “I’m on it.”
Erin took a quick look around to make sure that she hadn’t forgotten to tell Charley anything, then returned to the front of the store. She saw Harold, one of the teenage boys from the school. He had been friendly with her and helped her out in the past, and had continued to come to Auntie Clem’s even when a number of the townspeople had blacklisted Erin for a time, unhappy with her role in solving a series of thefts before Christmas. Harold and his family had stood by her through a lonely time.
“Harold, so nice to see you. What can I get you today?”
“Some granola bars?” Harold suggested. He looked into the display case. “And… one of those brownies?”
“Sure.” Erin nodded. She picked out a few granola bars for him and packaged up one of the gooey double-fudge brownies. “Don’t ruin your supper!”
“Maybe this is my supper.”
“It better not be. That’s no way for a budding basketball star to fuel up.”
Harold chuckled. He wasn’t really into any organized sports. He just played some pick-up basketball and skill drills with his friends at school. He didn’t play for any of the school teams.
“I heard what happened,” Harold ventured. “I hope… is everything okay? That must have been scary for you.”
Erin thought about the discovery of Theresa’s body in comparison with some of the other things that had happened to her in Bald Eagle Falls. “Actually… it wasn’t so bad,” she said. “I wasn’t the one who found it. Her. And I didn’t see her. So it was just…”
“Just a corpse in your backyard.”
Erin laughed. “You make it sound a lot worse than it is!” Erin wondered how much she dared to say to Harold. He was not one of the children whose parents had been up in arms about her talking to their son, But they might not support her bakery or her friendship with Harold if she gave him any graphic details or anything that might upset him or give him nightmares. “The lady whose body was found… she wasn’t a friend. She was a very dangerous person. So however it was that she died…”
“Someone did you a favor?” Harold suggested.
“I wouldn’t want to put it that bluntly. But… I am relieved to know that she won’t ever be coming after me.”
“Can I quote you on that?”
Erin looked past Harold in confusion. She hadn’t taken a good look at any of the other customers who were waiting to be served. She always tried to keep her focus on the customer she was serving. She had taken all of the lanky figures for Harold’s basketball buddies, but the young man who had spoken was not one of Harold’s friends.
Joshua Cox.
Joshua’s older brother, Campbell, had been a big sports star at the school. Joshua had initially followed in his footsteps, but found that he didn’t have the same skill level as Campbell did and that he didn’t have the interest and energy to pursue a career in sports. The Cox family had been through a series of tragedies and, while the boys had tried to weather the storm, they had both eventually run out of steam, unable to keep up with the school’s expectations of them. Campbell had dropped out. Joshua was still enrolled at the school, but he had put his education on hold for a semester as he recovered from being kidnapped.
Erin sincerely hoped that he would go back to school in the fall.
Joshua stood there with his pencil and open notepad, waiting for Erin’s response to his question.
“What?”
“Can I quote you as saying that you were relieved to know that Theresa Franklin would not be coming after you?”
“Mmm…” Erin looked at Vic to see what she thought of this. It was the truth and, surely, most people would be able to understand that it was better to not have a murderer terrorizing her. But the allegations against Theresa hadn’t been proven in a court of law, and people in Bald Eagle Falls who might be related to her might take offense. “I don’t think you’d better quote me on that. I didn’t even see you standing there; I didn’t intend to give a quote to the press.”
Joshua stepped to the side so that she could see him better. Still somewhat paler and skinnier than he had been before his kidnapping. Erin had noticed that Mary Lou had reduced the amount that she was buying from Auntie Clem’s Bakery. Was that because Joshua was not eating as much?
Maybe he had just finished a growth spurt.
“What can the two of you tell me about the body of Theresa Franklin being found in your yard?” Joshua asked.
“I imagine you know all of the basics already,” Erin said slowly. “There really isn’t much that we can add. I didn’t even see it. Her. And Vic wasn’t there.” Erin looked over at Vic.
“Not that it’s anyone’s business,” Vic said firmly.
“You knew her too, right?” Joshua persisted. “She used to be your friend.”
Vic wasn’t in any position to argue. Especially not if Joshua managed to get his hands on a picture of the two of them together. Vic looked considerably different from the way she did now, but people would still know it was her.
“A long time ago,” Vic admitted.
“Less than five years,” Joshua countered.
“Yes. But would you want me throwing a relationship back in your face that you’re having now, a few years from now?”
“I don’t really have any relationships,” Joshua said, his face getting red.
“Yeah. And anything I had back then, it wasn’t serious either. It was just… experimenting. Figuring out who we were and where we wanted to go in life. And that wasn’t with her.”
“Why was she at your house? Did she still want that relationship?”
Vic gave Erin a warning glance. They both knew that Theresa did, in fact, want a relationship. But that information wasn’t widely known and Vic didn’t want Erin spreading it around.
“I never saw her,” Vic told Joshua with a shrug. “I wasn’t home. So I can’t tell you why she was there.”
Joshua looked dissatisfied with this answer. He considered it seriously, probably recognizing that she was holding back. “So… where were you when Willie Andrews found the body?”
“That’s none of your business.”
Joshua shrugged, looking a little embarrassed at his own question.
Harold, finished making his purchase, turned around to face Joshua. “Leave them alone, man. It’s not like they did anything wrong. Miss Victoria can’t help it if some psycho is stalking her.”
“I’m just trying to get the story. For the paper.”
Erin was surprised to hear Harold confronting Joshua. She knew how much he looked up to the Cox boys. “Maybe we should just leave the investigating up to the police,” she told them reasonably.
Joshua snorted. Erin looked away, her face heating up. Yes, she had involved herself in a lot of police matters since she had moved to Bald Eagle Falls, but that wasn’t the same. Most of the time, she found herself in the middle of things by accident. The few times that she had intentionally tried to solve a case, it was when her friends had been suspects, and she had to help them out…
That wasn’t the same as investigating for a newspaper story. But she couldn’t bring herself to try to explain that difference to Josh. He was right; she was being hypocritical by telling him he should stay out of it when she had put herself in the midst of an investigation so many times before.
“Can’t I get comments from either one of you?” Joshua pressed. “Anything? What did you think of Theresa Franklin?”
Erin pressed her lips together and shook her head. It probably wouldn’t go over well, especially with the church ladies, if she were to express her real feelings.
But if they were honest, they would have to admit that it was true; it was better that Theresa was dead.
“Sorry. I don’t really have any comment.”
After Erin had dealt with the other schoolboys and they were gone, she gave a long, exasperated sigh. “I suppose I’m going to come off looking like some bloodthirsty vigilante in Joshua’s article.”
Beaver had been behind the boys and stood looking into the display case, chomping on her gum. “You didn’t say anything that isn’t true. Life will be a lot easier for you without Crazy Theresa Franklin around.”
CHAPTER 13
Erin expected that Terry would have a long day at work. Whenever there was a homicide or other major crime to be investigated, she could count on his putting in long hours to try to break the case. The police department did not have a big staff, and Terry was the most qualified.
Vic had gone straight home to her loft apartment, informing Erin through wide yawns that she was going to go straight to bed for a nap. It didn’t sound like a bad idea. Still, Erin suspected that if she took a nap early in the evening, then either she wouldn’t be able to wake up after that until one o’clock in the morning, or she would sneak in a nap and then not be able to get to sleep again at bedtime. Either way, she didn’t relish another poor night’s sleep, so she was determined to stay up until it was either her regular bedtime or she couldn’t stay on her feet any longer.
She made a light supper for herself and petted and fed the animals, then opened up one of Clementine’s journals and read through it on the couch. Mostly, Clementine’s journals were pretty routine. Gossip about friends, events going on around town, any special events or holidays coming up that she was preparing for. Routine, everyday kind of stuff.
But that was the kind of life Clementine had led. Safe and routine and pretty uneventful. She certainly hadn’t had Erin’s knack for running into trouble. But people did confide in her, and she kept their confidences—but wrote them down in her journal. Erin did occasionally find out something about a Bald Eagle Falls resident that she wouldn’t otherwise have known. Usually, they were parents or grandparents of people she knew, but sometimes they were senior customers of Auntie Clem’s.
There was a knock on the door. Erin hadn’t heard anyone coming up the walk, so she was startled. But it wasn’t a loud, insistent knock, so she didn’t panic. She went to the door and checked the peephole, then opened the door to Willie.
“Hey.” She smiled at him. “Vic is at the loft, I think. She was going to lie down.”
“Yeah. I’ll head over there in a few minutes.” He continued to stand on her step expectantly.
Erin nodded and stepped back, letting him in. Willie didn’t usually approach her alone. She hoped it didn’t mean that there was something wrong between him and Vic. Or that he was worried about Vic. Of course, he had every reason to be. All of the recent drama in her family, topped off with the killing of a former lover right outside her door? It would have been enough to upset anyone.
“Pull up a chair,” Erin invited. “Make yourself comfy.”
She wondered if she should make some tea, but discounted it. Willie wasn’t a big tea drinker. And Erin didn’t want to make coffee or open a bottle of wine. Coffee would keep her up and wine might make the conversation between her and Willie look like something far more intimate than it was. Erin had once been somewhat interested in Willie. Intrigued by him, at the very least but, when Officer Piper had started showing her more attention and Vic had shown an interest in Willie, Erin had put any such thoughts out of her mind.
Willie sighed and didn’t look particularly comfortable in the upholstered chair that he selected. “How are you doing, Erin?”
“I’m fine.” Erin shrugged, surprised at the question.
“I didn’t get a chance to talk to you last night about what I found… I’m sorry about being so abrupt with you.”
“No, that’s fine. I wasn’t offended. You were just doing what anyone would have expected you to. Calling the police and keeping everyone safe in case the killer was still around.”
Willie looked at her, his gaze piercing. “Is that what you think?”
“Yes…?” It became a question. What else would Erin have thought? That was exactly what had happened.
“You don’t think I had anything to do with it.”
The thought had floated around in the back of Erin’s brain, but she hadn’t given it any heed. Maybe Willie had caught Theresa hanging around Vic’s door. Maybe he had been defending Vic, keeping her safe from Theresa. If that were the case, though, then surely he would have just said so. Anyone with half a brain could understand that it was self-defense. Or whatever you called defending someone else under the law. Justified.
But in truth, she hadn’t heard Willie’s story. She had only assumed that she knew what he had told the police. But if Willie had been claiming self-defense, then wouldn’t Terry have asked her questions about that? Whether she had seen the two of them fighting, had heard any yelling, or whether Willie had told Erin he had killed her.
“Did you have something to do with it? Other than finding the body?”
“No.”
Erin shrugged.
He continued to look at her as if he expected more.
“The police kept you for a long time,” Erin observed.
“Yeah. They were full of questions. Did Terry talk to you about it?”
“You know he doesn’t talk about police stuff at home. He’d get in trouble if he told me stuff about active investigations. He’s always really careful.”
“What have you heard? Between what you saw last night and all of the gossip at the bakery, and whatever Terry didn’t tell you, you must have a pretty good picture of what happened.”
Erin shifted uncomfortably. She picked up Clementine’s journal and fiddled with the cover. “I don’t really know what happened last night. And you don’t want to hear the gossip.”
“Everyone thinks that I did it.”
“Well… a lot of them are suspicious. But those are just prejudices. It doesn’t mean that you did anything. Just that they’re making assumptions. I don’t think that.” She paused, thinking about it. “Unless you tell me that’s what happened.”
Could he have had a confrontation with Theresa? Come back to see Vic and found a stalker in the yard? Maybe it was the two of them arguing or a physical altercation that had woken Erin up in the middle of the night.
Willie didn’t say one way or the other. He didn’t say that he had just found Theresa’s body there, and he didn’t say that he’d done it. She knew that he had been trying to track Theresa’s movements for some time. He’d never said what he’d planned to do if he found her. And Erin had never asked.
If Willie had told the police that he’d killed her, then he would have been in jail. Even with a claim of self-defense, they would still arrest him and then let a jury decide whether he had been justified or not.
Erin shook her head, thinking about it. As obvious as it would be to suspect Willie, the one who had reported the killing and had a motive for killing her, the pieces just didn’t fit.
Willie knew of caves and mines where Theresa’s body would never be found. If he had killed her, then the easiest thing would have been to take her body to one of those horrific holes in the ground and deposit it there. Theresa was on the run, wanted on several charges, so no one would be surprised not to see her for a while, and the longer it went before people really started questioning, the harder it would be to establish where and when she had been killed, and therefore establishing who could have killed her became a more and more impossible task.
Willie couldn’t have killed her; it just didn’t make any sense.
“Do you know who did it?” Erin asked.
Willie frowned. He shook his head at her as if he couldn’t believe the question. “Don’t be so naive, Erin.”
Erin looked toward the back of the house as if she could see through the walls. “Vic? It wasn’t her.” She shook her head. Willie’s eyebrows pressed toward each other, a deep crease between them. “Terry already said that it wasn’t a gun the same size as Vic’s. And I’ve seen them both together, Willie. Twice now. Vic never made a move to threaten or attack Theresa. You were there when we went to Theresa’s house. Vic never even reached for her gun.”
