CHAPTER 14
Michael wasn’t really angry. At least, I didn’t think he was. He fumed for a few moments but he got over it quickly. We sat and talked for thirty minutes. Then he glanced at his watch and motioned for the waitress to come over with our bill.
I reached for the bill, but he slid it away. “I know I’m old-fashioned, but I just can’t have a woman pay for my meal.” He pulled out a twenty and handed it along with the check to the server. “Keep the change.”
“You are old-fashioned. Technically, it would have been on the casino because I was going to use my winnings.” I slid out of the booth.
“You can pay me back in thumbprint cookies. Or save me a slice of that chocolate cake you made.”
“How’d you know about that?”
He held up his phone. “Gotta love social media.”
I turned away so he couldn’t see my smile. He was following me!
We walked to the front. I waited while he gave his ticket to the valet. We walked over to the coat check. He handed over his ticket and held out a hand for mine.
“I didn’t check my coat.”
He stared. “It’s freezing outside. You didn’t come out in this weather without a coat?”
“Of course not. I had one when I left home, but I left it in the car so it wouldn’t get all smoky.”
“In the car that you let Leroy and April take home?”
“I’ll be fine.” I crossed my arms across my chest. “It’s not like we’re going to walk home, are we? You do have heat, right?”
“Of course I have heat.”
The coat check person returned with a wool tweed coat.
Michael gave the guy a tip that made his eyes bug a bit, and then took the coat and wrapped it around my shoulders and buttoned the front.
I glanced up at him. “Thank you.”
He stared into my eyes for several moments, and I felt heat that had nothing to do with the wool coat.
“Are you warm enough?” he asked.
I nodded.
We went outside, and he led me to a sleek black Tesla Model 3. He opened the passenger door, and I slid onto the luxurious leather seats.
He hurried around to the driver’s side.
The valet held a huge smile. “Man, that is one sweet ride.”
They fist-bumped, and Michael gave him a tip and then got inside. He turned up the heat to full blast and adjusted the seat warmer. “How’s that?”
“Perfect.”
He drove off, but he kept glancing in my direction as he drove down the dark country roads. “What?”
“Nothing. I just didn’t expect this.” I waved my hands across the dashboard. “I expected a veterinarian would drive a pickup truck.”
He chuckled. “I have a pickup truck. It comes in handy, especially when I need to transport a two-hundred-fifty-pound English mastiff around. Or hitch a horse trailer on the back. But can you imagine my grandmother climbing in and out of a pickup truck?”
“No, I can’t imagine that.”
“Plus, it’s practical. All-wheel drive and electric.”
“Doesn’t hurt that it’s super sexy, either.”
“Glad you think my car’s sexy.”
If our relationship were different, I might have said something more. Instead, I just smiled.
It didn’t take long to drive downtown. Before I realized it, we were pulling in behind Baby Cakes. There was a dark blue Subaru parked behind the building, and the door to the bakery was slightly open.
Michael parked. “Maddy, I don’t think this is a good idea. In fact, I know this isn’t a good idea. What’s really going on?”
“What do you mean?”
“You’re too smart not to see that this is a bad idea. Every slasher horror movie on the planet has a scene where the beautiful but naive heroine does something really dumb, like going into a dark building to meet a killer. You’re too smart for that. Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t back up, turn around, and take you home.”
“Because you’re smart, and you know that if you take me home, I’ll just get in my car and come back by myself.”
He pushed out a deep breath and rubbed the back of his neck. “Why? I don’t get it. Why is this so important to you?” He sighed and turned to face me full on. “One thing four years in the military taught me is to trust my gut. My gut tells me this is a bad idea.”
I sifted through my thoughts to figure out how to answer.
He waited, but I should have known he wasn’t done. He’d merely regrouped and was going back to finish the battle. I was well accustomed to that battle strategy. The Admiral was a master.
“You don’t know Garrett Kelley. You only met Paul Rivers a couple of times, and you didn’t even like him. Two weeks ago, you didn’t know any of them. April doesn’t believe you killed him. There’s nothing tying you to any of this. Two weeks ago, you barely knew you had a great-aunt Octavia. Why are you now willing to risk your life to do this?”
I gasped. His last words hurt, and I felt as if I’d been punched in the gut even though he hadn’t laid a hand on me. I took several deep breaths and blinked back the tears that were stinging the back of my eyes. Whoever said Sticks and stones may break your bones, but words will never hurt you was an idiot. Nothing hurt more than words. Broken bones heal, but words left scars that cut deep and sometimes never healed. I wanted to lash out, but instead I swallowed the pain.
“You’re right. I didn’t know Paul Rivers and I don’t know Garrett Kelley. And I didn’t know much about Aunt Octavia. But she’s my family. She loved my mom, and I know she loved me, too. She trusted me with everything that was precious to her: her house, business, secret recipes, and Baby.” I smiled but made a decision that sobered me. “Two weeks ago, I didn’t know you, either, but I trust you.”
“Then trust me when I tell you this is a bad idea. We need to call April and—”
I held up a hand. “I trust you, so I’m going to tell you what I learned today.”
I told him everything. I told him about the box with the pictures and the letters from my dad. I told him about the video and everything Aunt Octavia said.
He listened patiently.
“I didn’t know her, but she knew something was wrong. I feel like she deserves to have someone believe her. I just want to find out what he knew. Michael, she was scared, and I think something happened to her. I just want to find out what, if anything, Garrett Kelley knew that might help.” I sat quietly waiting for him to back up and take me home.
After a few moments, he sighed. “I don’t suppose you’ll stay in the car and let me go in and check things out.”
“Absolutely not. Classic slasher horror movie mistake. Never split up and investigate alone. That’s when the beautiful but naive girl gets killed.”
He shook his head, opened his door, and got out.
I wasn’t sure he’d open the door for me, so I hopped out.
He closed my door but wasn’t finished giving orders. He moved so his face was mere inches away. He looked me in the eyes. “Stay behind me.”
He walked silently with the stealth of a cat. I stayed within inches. Inside, he paused and listened. The hairs stood up on my arm, and I knew something was wrong. When we were near the kitchen, he turned, placed his finger to his lips, and indicated that I should stay.
It took everything in me to obey, but my legs had turned to stone, and I wouldn’t have been able to lift them if I tried.
He slipped into the kitchen and came back with the samurai sword I’d discarded in favor of a smaller weapon when I’d come here with Baby the first night. He started down the hall, and I tugged his sleeve to get his attention. When he turned, I whispered, “I’ll be right back.”
I didn’t wait for him to object. Instead, I slipped into the kitchen. Within seconds, I was back with a cast-iron skillet.
If he had a comment about the skillet, he kept it to himself, but his lips twitched briefly.
We crept down the hall and into the store. If I thought it was dark before, I was wrong. Last time, the windows weren’t boarded up, and moonlight and streetlights pierced the darkness. Tonight, the room was pitch-black.
He stopped suddenly, and I bumped into his back. We waited and listened. There was a squeaking noise. Michael looked back, and with his eyes asked what the noise was. I couldn’t place anything that would make that noise and shook my head.
We walked into the bakery. Michael stopped and turned. “Let’s go.”
“What happened?” I glanced around him, and that’s when I saw the source of the squeaking.
A chain was hanging from the ceiling. Swinging from the bottom of the chain was Garrett Kelley.