Chapter 7

After telling the remaining permanent staff—Lily, the sixty-something-year-old woman who worked with Jade, and Frank Flowers, the gardener—about Ivan’s murder, I decided taking an hour away for an AA meeting was in my best interest. I needed a dose of the ribbing, bad jokes, and laughter we all shared there. Jokes others deemed highly inappropriate, offensive, and in poor taste, but had us ex-boozers nearly crying with laughter. We were an odd lot who, under normal circumstances, wouldn’t mix. But we got each other like no one on the outside ever could.

I pulled open the heavy oak door of St. Michael’s church and attached Aspen’s leash to his harness. Except for service dogs, which included Aspen for the meetings, animals weren’t allowed. I guess it’s because they sucked up the attendees’ attention, leaving the speaker talking to air. Couldn’t blame them, really. Dogs had that effect on humans. Except for Ivan. And Brad. It’s not that Brad didn’t like Aspen, he just didn’t particularly notice him, even if they were in the same room. He never had a dog growing up, so I couldn’t fault him.

Maybe that’s a partial explanation of why his marriage proposal shocked me. Why would a man ever assume a woman would give up everything for him? What an insult. We’d been together for several years, but during that time, we’d grown into completely different people.

The lingering smell of incense from the church and terrible coffee from the basement greeted me as I descended the spiral staircase. Today the brick walls caused me a bit of claustrophobia as they appeared to close in, but the smell of coffee propelled me forward. I was a self-proclaimed coffee snob since I’d quit imbibing, but over time, I’d become accustomed to AA coffee. I could honestly say I even enjoyed it.

Everyone greeted Aspen first with baby talk that we humans seemed to reserve for animals. I snickered, and it echoed in the hush that had fallen over the room as they all looked at me. Then all of them started speaking at once.

“What the heck happened at your place last night?”

“Was it murder?”

“Knowing Ivan, just about anything could have happened.”

“Do the police know who did it?”

“People,” Sister Alice interrupted. “Give the girl a chance to get some coffee and catch her breath.” She poured a cup and handed it to me, giving me a side hug after she did. “Now, what do you know?” 

“What about the part about letting me catch my breath?” I asked her.

“You’re a runner. You’ve caught it by now.”

I laughed a hollow sound that echoed in the darkness beyond and sat in one of the few empty chairs in the circle. Aspen settled in and made himself comfortable at my feet. 

“AA traditions, people,” I said. “No outside topics.”

“The meeting hasn’t started yet,” one of them complained. “Dish.”

I exhaled and shook my head slowly. “I found Ivan dead this morning. But apparently, you already know that.” I took a sip of coffee and grimaced. “Sister Alice, did you make the coffee today?”

“Yep.”

“I can tell.” 

“Because it’s that good, right?”

“Because it’s that strong. More than usual even. The potent stuff must have been your booze of choice back in the day.”

She grinned. “Everclear vodka. If you’re going to drink, why bother with the stuff pansies drink?”

Everyone laughed. 

“So give us details,” a man named Scooter said. 

“First, am I the only one in Spirit Lake who didn’t know all the enemies Ivan had in town?” 

“Probably,” said Wes Wilson.

I’d met Wes last spring when I visited Spirit Lake with a friend. He was quite the colorful character. He strived to be helpful to others, often to his detriment. He’d too freely loan money, pushing his way into someone’s space to help them even when they’d asked him not to. He possessed loud energy that annoyed folks, and language—well, suffice it to say he had colorful language. And yet, if anyone needed anything, it was Wes to whom they turned because they knew it was a given.

“Sister Alice, why did my grandparents keep Ivan on for so many years if he was such a nuisance? Marcie said you’d know.”

“He wasn’t a nuisance to them. He admired and respected them.”

“I didn’t know he was capable of that. And let me tell you that admiration and respect didn’t carry over to me.”

“You know how they were—they gave everyone the benefit of the doubt and wanted to give everyone a chance. Besides, he’s a heck of a cook.”

“What are you going to do for a chef?” Wes asked.

“Tony will take over. But I’ll need to fill Tony’s spot ASAP.”

“Maybe it was Tony that offed him so he could have the position,” Evelyn said.

“Tony’s as good as they come,” Luna said. “He’d never do that.”

“I saw Ivan at the bar the other day,” said Bill. “He was in a heated conversation with Mike Swanson. Maybe it was him. Mike.”

Sister Alice swiveled her head to look at him over the bright red frames of her glasses. “While that’s a concern, Bill, you in the bar concerns me more.” 

“It’s all good, Sister,” Bill said. “I’ve got this.”

“Those words are the kiss of death for an alcoholic, Bill,” she said, and sighed. “You’ve been in this program enough times to know that.”

“This time’s different.”

“That’s what you said the last two times.” Sister Alice shook her head. “Let’s get started, shall we? And Andie Rose, can we speak after the meeting, please?”

“Ooh,” Wes said, laughing like an obnoxious teenager. “Someone’s in trouble.”

Sister Alice and I shook our heads and sniggered. Boys.

After the initial matters and the routine way we started our meetings, Sister Alice said, “Andie Rose, want to start us out?”

I shrugged a shoulder. “Sure. My name is Andie Rose, and I’m an alcoholic. And by the time the day’s over, I’m gonna need a drink.” Nervous chuckles gave way to laughter when I said, “Oh, My-lanta, people. I’m kidding.”

The strange looks I received at one of my favorite sayings—and one I used often—set the tone for the rest of the meeting.

****

After the meeting wrapped up and the last person trickled out, I stayed with Sister Alice and helped clean the table from the coffee and cookies she’d laid out earlier. Or rather the cookie crumbs, since the cookies inevitably were gone before the meeting was halfway over. I slipped the plate with the crumbs on the floor for Aspen, trying to be discreet, but my effort to escape Sister Alice’s attention failed.

Sister Alice cleared her throat. “Dogs don’t eat from dishes, Andie Rose.”

I met her gaze and smiled sheepishly. “The dishwasher sterilizes it.” She stared, not budging in her apparent disapproval. “Aspen is only part dog,” I tried again, attempting to win her over. “The human part requires human treats. On human plates.” She shook her head slowly. “So what’s up?” I asked her. “Why’d you wanna talk?”

“I’ve come to accept that you’re not going to ask, so I’m offering to be your sponsor. You’ve been free-falling long enough. Your grandpop and Honey would never forgive me if I let you crash and burn.” 

“Speaking of my grandparents, I don’t remember seeing you when I visited as a child. Why have you never told me how close you were to them?”

“You never asked.”

If I could sum up Sister Alice in one word, it would be spunky. Or feisty. Or rambunctious. Quirky? Maybe mischievous. Okay, there wasn’t just one word that fit her. She had short spiky white hair and favored brightly colored frames for her eyeglasses that sometimes included matching lipstick. She wore a crucifix around her neck and drove a moped almost everywhere she went. She didn’t wear the customary habit, which didn’t surprise me, but she was sure to wear her headpiece to church on Sundays and while working her shifts at Lakeview Hospital. 

From the meetings I’d been to since moving here, I’d learned that Sister Alice grew up in an orphanage and turned to alcohol when she was seventeen until she reached the age of thirty when she got sober and became a sister. “Traded one habit for another,” she’d joked. I’d discovered she’d worked at Lakeview Hospital for almost thirty years and lived in a modest house behind St. Michael’s church with two other nuns, Sister Ida and Sister Eunice.

“How did you become so close to my grandparents? Other than they were long-time members of St. Michael’s.”

“They took me in when I first moved here.”

She snatched a towel from the countertop, removed her glasses, blew heavily on the lenses, and wiped them off. Thank the good Lord, because the lenses were so smudged, she couldn’t have spotted a walrus five feet in front of her.

“They let me stay at the inn free until I got my feet under me.” She put her glasses back on. 

I smiled as I thought of my grandparents. “That doesn’t surprise me at all. I just wish Grandpop could have been as forgiving with my uncle.” She cocked her head to the side and waited, encouraging me to continue. “My uncle and Grandpop had a falling out years ago, and it never got resolved.” 

“Two people were involved, not one. You can’t pin it all on your grandpop.”

“But he could have ended it.”

“Don’t be so quick to judge something you know nothing about,” she said, laying her hand on my shoulder. “They were the best people I’ve ever known.”

“Until you met me, right?” I teased. “Do you know what the falling out between Grandpop and my uncle was about?”

She shook her head and sat down in one of the remaining chairs. “Nope, and I never figured it was my place to ask. But I know it was excruciating for him.” 

“Hmm,” I said. 

“So?”

Aspen nudged my leg, snapping me out of my thoughts of Grandpop and my uncle. “So, what?”

“Are you going to let me sponsor you?”

“Well, yeah. I was just afraid to ask.”

She jerked back a bit. “Good heavens, child. Why?”

“Asking someone to be a sponsor is kinda like asking them out on a date.”

“Well, honey, neither of us swings that way, and I’m already married to God. I’da had to say no to that. But I’d say yes to being your sponsor.”

I laughed. “Well, in that case, I’m happy to be in a relationship with you.”

“Besides,” she said, grinning, “you’re going to need my help to find out who killed Ivan.”

“Why would you think I’d work on that?”

“Because I’ve been keeping my eye on you for the past several months and know you’re the curious type.”

“Are you calling me nosey?” I smirked.

“If the shoe fits. And from seeing Ivan leave the pub the other night and then you and your pup not long after. You looked like you had the weight of the world on your shoulders. Something went down between the two of you in that pub, and I assume you’ll need to eliminate yourself as a suspect.”

I squinted. “Sister Alice, were you spying on me?”

“Good heavens, no. I just happen to catch a show once in a while when I walk through town.”

I nodded. “Hmm. I’m sure you do. Free entertainment.” 

“I don’t make enough on a sister’s salary to pay for it,” she said. “Now, what have you got so far on Ivan’s murder?”

“From what I’ve heard, it could be just about anyone in this entire town. Including some of my staff.” I shook my head and exhaled. “I want to clear them and find out who the actual killer is. Tony went so far as to joke that it was the ghost.”

Sister Alice smiled. “That sounds like Tony. He’s a good one, that boy.”

“And one with a motive to kill Ivan,” I said, sighing as I slumped back in my chair. When she made a rolling motion with her hand, encouraging me to keep talking, I said, “He’s been wanting the lead chef position. Also, he told me Ivan stole a recipe from him, entered it in a contest, and won pretty big bucks. And at thirty-one,” I added, “he’s hardly a boy, as you call him.”

She shook her head. “Honey, all men are boys. But I know Tony. He wouldn’t kill over that. He wouldn’t kill at all.”

“Well, the police don’t know that. That’s why we need to clear him.”

“And clear you. That’s why I want to help you with this.”

I gave her a sidelong glance. “This so-called partnership doesn’t mean I have to ride in the sidecar on that moped of yours, does it? I want to drive.”

“Of course you do. One of the biggest lessons we learn in AA is to stop trying to be a control freak.” She winked, then grinned. “I’m large and in charge here.”

I laughed. This was going to be one fun relationship. I only regretted not asking her sooner. 

“What else have you got?” Her eyes danced behind the red frames. 

“Are those even prescription glasses, or do you just enjoy being bold and colorful?” 

“Both. I have prescription ones for when I drive. The rest are my unique style. Now come on, tell me what else you’ve got.”

“Well, as you heard in the meeting, there’s the guy he fought with at Brewski’s a couple of days ago—Mike Swanson, was it?” Sister Alice nodded. “And Jade, who works at the front desk—do you know Jade?” 

“Of course. It’s a small town.”

“With a ton of tourists,” I added.

“Well, I hardly think a tourist works at your front desk.”

I narrowed my eyes at her. “Am I going to regret having you as my sponsor?”

“Probably,” she said. “What about Jade?”

“Gosh—that’s a pregnant one there. Literally. But I’m not sure I should spread my employees’ secrets.” Sister Alice stared at me, her short, white spiked hair sticking up more than ever as she ran her hand through it. I sat up straight again. “Jade and Ivan were having an affair. Jade turned up pregnant, confronted Ivan. Ivan wanted nothing to do with it, and I assume an argument ensued. In the kitchen, where I found Ivan’s body.”

Sister Alice whistled through lips, red to match her frames. The red made the small mole on her upper right lip stand out. 

“Jade also fessed up to her husband last night. Which means—”

“Tom could have confronted Ivan,” she finished.

“How well do you know Tom?”

“Enough to know that his silent nature disturbs me just a tad.” She pinched her thumb and forefinger together. “It’s like something is lurking behind that wall.”

“A killer?”

She pressed her lips together. “Well, I certainly hope not, but I couldn’t tell you to be sure.”

“And then there’s—are you ready for this one?”

“Spit it out.”

“Luka Molotov.”

“Hmm. I’ve known about the falling out between Ivan and Luka for years.”

“Is Luka capable of murder?”

“I certainly hope not. He’s the deacon at St. Michael’s.” She pursed her lips and blinked rapidly.

“So I’ve heard.”

“If you came to church, you’d know instead of only hear about it.” She winked at me. She did that a lot. Like we were in a secret club, sharing a top secret. And I guess we kind of were. Alcoholics Anonymous was kind of secret, hence the anonymous part, unless you were a member. 

“The church will go up in flames if I walk through the doors. I haven’t been since long before Honey and Grandpop died.” My grandmother got the nickname because that’s what Grandpop always called her. The kids in town thought it was her real name. I was into my teens before I learned it wasn’t.

“If Luka’s a killer, and it hasn’t gone ablaze from his presence, I hardly think it would for you.”

I cocked my head to the side. “Good point. I’ll think about it; how’s that?”

“It’ll do.” She smiled. “I want to hear about what happened in the pub last night. What was going on with you when I saw you a mere half hour after Ivan stormed out? And what were you doing in a bar?”

“It’s where Brad—my boyfriend—wanted to meet.”

“How considerate of him,” she scoffed.

“It wasn’t a big surprise. Brad’s a sports nut and follows all the Minnesota teams. He knew the Vikings football game was going to be on the tube. But what did surprise me was I thought he was coming to break up with me. Instead, he proposed.”

My heart flipped, then flopped. Not because of excitement, but because I didn’t know what Brad would do once I gave him my answer.

Two parts of my brain I’d studied in life coach training played tug of war—the amygdala, incapable of rational thinking, asked me if he’d be out of my life entirely and was I ready for that? The prefrontal cortex, the part responsible for logic, reminded me it wouldn’t be any different than it was right now if I didn’t see him again. And then the amygdala began wedging itself back in control like a bad pair of underwear. Nope. It was no longer a comfortable fit for either of us.

“He proposed?” she asked, her eyes wide. “I hadn’t realized it was that serious. You don’t see much of one another, do you?”

I shook my head. “Not anymore. He wants me to move in with him and start a family. I don’t want that. Not now. At least not with Brad,” I added.

“Good. This town doesn’t want to lose you.” 

“I’m not leaving this town, Sister Alice. Unless the ghost shows herself to me and demands it. Then I’d run like a scared little girl.”

Sister Alice laughed loudly. “I’d pay a million bucks to see that show. What about—”

My cell phone rang, and I slipped it from the back pocket of my jeans, expecting it to be from the inn. I’d been gone longer than anticipated, and as short-staffed as we were, I needed to stop procrastinating and hightail it back. 

Seeing it wasn’t a familiar number from the inn, I answered, “This is Andie Rose.”

“This is Detective Griffin. We need to talk.”

This time, my stomach flipped, then flopped from dread. I knew what this was about, and it wouldn’t be pleasant. I was gladder than ever that I had Sister Alice helping me. I was going to need all the help I could get.