CHAPTER 27
Travel tip number 27: Sometimes it takes a bit to get the hang of things.
Placing Van on the ground, I lunged forward, running toward Max. Maybe he would be so surprised, it would throw him off his guard. As fast as my legs would allow, I ran for him. His eyes widened when he realized what was happening. Stretching his arms out, he readied himself to tackle me.
When I was almost upon him, I darted to the left to dodge around him. Unfortunately, my calculations were off, and Max managed to grab me. We tumbled to the ground. The weight of his body almost crushed me. I was more concerned about Van. I could hear him barking. When I looked to the left, I realized he’d taken off. That was my worst nightmare. I would never be able to find him now—though that might not matter, because it looked as if Max was going to kill me right there by my trailer.
“Hurry up and get rid of her before someone sees us,” Ruth said.
“Oh, Celeste, how are you going to get out of this?” Elizabeth asked.
Max was dragging me away from the trailer and trying to get me in his car. But I wouldn’t go without a fight. I knew once he got me in the vehicle, it would be all over for me. I would stand a better chance of getting away if I were here. Maybe someone would hear all the commotion.
Ruth raced over and grabbed my leg. Max was pulling me from the upper body. The next thing I knew, loud, growling sounds surrounded us. Ruth screamed. She was shaking her leg, trying to get Van to release his grip on her. His teeth had pierced her ankle. Van wasn’t alone. He had brought reinforcements.
Caleb’s German shepherd, Gum Shoe, stood over Ruth now, growling and baring his teeth. Van released his hold and Ruth froze on the spot. Max let go of me, obviously afraid the dog would attack his mother.
I pushed to my feet and raced over to grab Van.
“Gum Shoe, where are you?” Caleb yelled.
As I raced around the trailer, I smacked right into him.
“Are you all right, Celeste?” he asked.
He looked over my shoulder and spotted Gum Shoe standing over Ruth and Max, who were both frozen in fear.
“Don’t stop him,” I said. “You have to call the police. Max is the killer and Ruth is his accomplice. She’s also his mom! They were trying to kidnap me to murder me. Thank goodness Van and Gum Shoe stopped them.”
Caleb was ready to pull out his phone when police cars surrounded us.
“Put your hands up,” an officer said as he jumped out of his car.
We all did as we were told. I put one hand up because I was holding Van with my other one. I was surprised that neither Max nor Ruth had tried to run. I supposed they knew when it was over for them.
Now I had to explain to the police officers what had happened, and they needed to place Max and Ruth in handcuffs. About twenty police cars had descended on the area.
Caleb got Gum Shoe and patted his head. “Good job, buddy. He took off with Van. I didn’t know what was going on, so I followed them.”
“I can’t believe Van went to get his buddy to save me. Van is my hero. And Gum Shoe too. I don’t know what I would’ve done without them.”
“They’re brave,” Caleb said.
As we stood behind my Shasta near the old oak tree, I looked around for Elizabeth, but she was nowhere to be found.
“Are you looking for someone?” Caleb asked as he rubbed Van’s head.
I sighed. “No.”
What was the point? He couldn’t see her anyway. Sunlight filtered through the tree’s branches splashing across Caleb’s handsome face and blond-streaked hair. The tall trees creaked and the leaves rustled in the wind.
“I have something to confess,” I said.
“Is that right? What is it?” Caleb asked as he swatted away a mosquito.
“You were on the top of my suspects list. I mean, no offense, but you were right there when Evan was killed. You had those cuts on your hands, and I saw you with all that money. Not to mention the bloody shirt.”
“You saw the shirt, huh? I suppose that looked suspicious. I just didn’t want you to know how clumsy I am.”
“I’d rather have known you were clumsy than think you were the killer,” I said.
“Yet you still went out with me?” he asked.
“I figured if I went out with you, I could get closer, and maybe get some clues. Or a confession.”
“That was very dangerous, Celeste,” he said.
“That’s what I told her,” Elizabeth said.
I jumped when I realized she was beside me again.
“Anyway, like I said, I didn’t want to believe it.”
“You didn’t?” Caleb asked.
“No, I didn’t. Well, you’re so nice,” I said.
“I try to be,” he said while blushing.
“So what about the cuts on your hands?” I leaned against the oak tree’s trunk to step out of the sunshine.
“It was exactly like I told you,” he said.
“Well, you said a couple of things, one to Aunt Patsy and another to me.”
“They were both true,” he said.
“I should apologize for thinking you were the killer and had stolen all that money.”
“I suppose I should say the same to you,” he said.
“You really thought I was the killer? That I was capable of doing something like that?”
“In my line of work, I have to be suspicious of everyone. No matter how nice they seem, the person could always be hiding something.”
“That’s true. I won’t hold that against you.”
He laughed. “Thank you. I’m just glad we have the perpetrators now.
“Maybe things will get back to normal,” I said.
“Speaking of normal, do you plan on going to the Farewell Summer Arts and Crafts Fair in a couple of weeks? It’s over in Cherokee.”
I smiled. “Yes, I plan on going. What about you?”
“I think it would be a good idea,” he said. “I had a lot of fun hanging around with you. And I’d like to continue that now that this fair is almost over.”
I knew I was probably blushing. Speaking of blushing, Pierce had arrived and was speaking with another detective. I didn’t think they’d even noticed me yet. The way I felt about spending more time with Caleb, I also felt about Pierce. What would I do? I wouldn’t tell Caleb about my feelings, that was for sure.
As if on cue, Pierce waved. Caleb noticed him and tossed up his hand.
“Wait a minute. You’re not enemies?” I asked. “It seemed like you two didn’t like each other.”
“Well, I wouldn’t say enemies, no.”
“The tension is definitely there when you two are around each other,” I said.
“I suppose we have our reasons,” he said.
“What are those reasons?” I eyed him suspiciously.
“I’m not sure I can disclose that right now,” Caleb said.
Why couldn’t he just give me an honest answer? Why were things so secretive? Wait. Madame Gerard said someone was watching me and it was a secret.
“You knew each other before meeting here, didn’t you? And what did you mean when you said in your line of work, you have to be suspicious of everyone? You don’t mean being a wood sculptor, do you?”
“I was wondering when you were going to catch that,” he said with a sheepish grin.
“The stress slowed me down, I guess. Are you going to tell me what’s going on here?” I asked.
“I’m a detective with the police department. I’ve been working undercover. We knew someone had been taking money from craft fairs.”
“Your real name is Caleb Ward, though, right?”
“Yes, my name is Caleb Ward. And I am a wood sculptor. Maybe not a great one, but I try.”
“A detective? That explains why your dog is named Gum Shoe.”
Caleb rubbed Gum Shoe’s head. “You got it.”
Van yipped his approval.
“So you were working the craft fair undercover the entire time? And you work with Pierce?” I asked.
“Yes, we work together in the police department. And we had suspicions that someone was stealing from other craft fairs. When Evan and Max moved over here, we decided to come by to see if it happened again. Unfortunately, it turned deadly quickly, as you know.”
“Yes, unfortunately for Evan. I’m just glad Max and Ruth were stopped and no one else was harmed.”
“I’m glad they’ve been arrested too. Thanks to your amateur sleuthing and your chihuahua.”
“A girl and her chihuahua have to do what a girl and her chihuahua have to do,” I said.
Caleb laughed.
“I can’t believe I didn’t know you were undercover. I should’ve guessed. I’m not much of a detective if I couldn’t figure that out.”
“Well, I like to think I’m good at my job, and that’s why you didn’t know.” Caleb winked. “By the way, is the ghost from the painting still around?”
Elizabeth waved her arms through the air, as if guiding in a landing airplane. “I’m here.”
“She’s still around,” I said with a smile.
Van barked and wagged his tail. When I looked to my right to see what had caught his attention, I spotted Pierce walking toward us. Pierce briefly shifted his attention to Caleb. I wanted to know what had happened between the two. Behind him, I could see the police place Ruth and Max into the back of a police cruiser.
Ruth looked right at me as she got into the back seat and said, “Your artwork is horrible.”
“She’s not a fan,” I said as I looked at Caleb.
“I wouldn’t worry about her critique,” he said.
When Pierce reached us, he said, “Do you mind if I talk with Celeste for a minute?”
Caleb didn’t look as if he was thrilled about the idea, but he said, “I’ll see you in a bit, okay, Celeste?”
“Sure,” I said.
Caleb winked at me again before smirking at Pierce. There was something obviously going on between them. I’d like to know what kind of history they had with each other.
“So, you had quite an eventful day,” Pierce said. I groaned. “Yes, you could say that.”
“Caleb told you everything?” Pierce gestured toward him with a tilt of his head.
Caleb had moved over to talk to the other officers, but he glanced over at us every once in a while.
“I think he told me mostly everything that happened,” I said. “Maybe not everything. I get a sense you guys don’t like each other that much.”
“I wouldn’t say that at all,” Pierce said.
Yet he didn’t seem willing to give any details about why they kept giving each other looks like that. It seemed like there was some sort of competition between them. A rivalry. I suppose if they wanted to deal with that, it was none of my business.
“I was wondering if maybe now that the investigation is over, you’d want to go to dinner with me sometime?” Pierce asked.
I knew my face must’ve turned red because I felt the heat in my cheeks. I had hoped he would ask me that. I wanted to spend time with him and get to know him a bit better. But I immediately looked over at Caleb. It was as if he knew what Pierce was asking me. I didn’t know what the right thing was to say.
“Sure, dinner sometime would be great,” I croaked.
My phone rang and interrupted Pierce before he could comment. “Just a sec.” I held up my index finger.
“Celeste, this is your aunt Patsy.”
“Yes, I have your number programmed in my phone, Aunt Patsy. Your name comes up when you call,” I said. I’d told her this before. She never remembered. So much for her claim of having a memory like an elephant.
“I remembered where I’ve seen Caleb. He gave me a warning for speeding a few months back. That was nice of him, right? Why didn’t he tell you he was a detective?”
“I’ll come by for dinner, Aunt Patsy. I have a lot to tell you.”