The next day, Gemma was scheduled to work the ten-to-four midday shift, so after breakfast, she left the kids watching a Dexter’s Laboratory cartoon marathon and headed out the door. She’d gone to bed thinking about Lucas asking about Australia, and the over-the-top request made her smile again. Thinking about that helped take her mind off her impending interview for the assistant manager’s job, scheduled for after work. She was determined to give it her best shot and told herself there was nothing to be apprehensive about but she was.
As she approached her car in the driveway, she stopped. For some reason the gray Taurus looked off balance. Not sure what was going on with it, she walked closer and her knees turned to jelly. All four tires were flat. How could that be? She took a slow tour around the vehicle.
“Hey, Gemma? Everything okay?”
She looked up. Across the street, Trent was coming down his steps, probably on his way to work, too. “Could you come look at my tires, please?” she called, still puzzled.
He came over. After hunkering down by the tire on the front passenger side, he looked up with concern. “Hate to tell you this, but this one’s been slashed.”
“What!”
He inspected the other three and found them all vandalized.
“Who’d want to slash your tires, Gem?”
“I have no idea.” And truthfully, she didn’t.
Colonel Payne lived next door and he came over to see what was going on just as her kids stepped out onto the porch.
Wyatt asked, “Something wrong with the car, Gram?”
“Just some flat tires,” she explained, not wanting to make a big deal of this and have them worry. “I must’ve run over something. You guys go on back in the house.”
They obeyed, albeit reluctantly.
Trent said to her, “I have some tires at the shop that might fit. If not, I’ll run over to Franklin and pick up some new ones for you.”
“Thanks, Trent.” He left, and a few minutes later, she saw him driving away in his truck.
The colonel was on his phone. When he ended the call, he said to her, “Just talked to Gary. He said come in when you can. I also spoke with dispatch over at the sheriff’s office. They’ll send someone out as soon as they can. I’ll stay with you until then if you want.”
“I’d appreciate it.” She’d been too shocked to think about calling the sheriff, but of course she needed to file a police report. Tires didn’t slash themselves.
Barrett asked, “Do you think Alma may have done this?”
“I don’t know. I hope not.”
“Any other enemies?”
“None that I know of.” She supposed Alma could be classified as an enemy, but Gemma had no idea who else might be upset with her enough to warrant this level of retaliation.
Concern on his face, Barrett cast a critical eye around at the houses on their street. “The only place in town not wired for security is our neighborhood. We’ll get started on changing that today.”
Gemma was outdone. Who hated her enough to slash her tires? Was she in personal danger? Were her kids? There were no answers, but she hoped there would be soon. If the person or persons responsible intended to scare her, they’d done their job.
A few minutes later, a brown county sheriff’s car arrived. By then, she and the colonel had been joined by his wife, Sheila, and Roni and Doc Reg Garland. Across the street, Brain, Zoey, and Amari were watching from Trent’s front steps. When Will Dalton stepped out of the cruiser accompanied by Deputy Davida Ransom, Gemma was surprised to see him. A town-wide text had gone out last night alerting everyone to Vicky Dalton’s passing. When he walked up, there was weariness in his face and an abject sadness in his red-rimmed eyes.
“Morning, everybody.”
They replied and offered their condolences.
“Thanks. I had to come to work to keep from losing my mind. The kids and I will let you know when the arrangements are finalized.”
Gemma noticed her kids were back on the porch. So much for keeping this from them.
“Okay, Ms. Dahl, tell me what’s going on here.”
Deputy Ransom took pictures of the car and tires while Will asked her questions that echoed those put to her by the colonel: Did she know who might have done this? Did she have any enemies? She gave him the same answers she’d given Barrett.
“Have you ever been threatened by a customer?”
“No.”
“Is there anyone you don’t get along with or who doesn’t get along with you at your job?” Dalton asked as he made notes in a small spiral-bound notebook.
She met Barrett’s eyes and he gave her an encouraging nod. Seeing the kids still looking on, she asked Will quietly, “Can we move down the driveway a bit? I’d rather my kids not hear this.”
They moved a few feet away and once there, not knowing how her neighbors would react, she drew in a deep breath and told Dalton about Alma and why the woman was so hostile. When she finished, Sheila rubbed her back gently. “This Owen Welke was obviously a louse to prey on a teenager.”
“Amen,” Roni chimed in softly. “None of us think less of you.”
Their support was buoying.
Will said, “I’m going to question Ms. House and talk to Gary, too. We’ll do our best to get to the bottom of this. Promise.”
“Thanks, Sheriff.”
“I’ll be in touch.”
Everyone offered their condolences again. He and Davida drove away.
Moments later, Trent returned with four new tires. Once he and Barrett put them on, Gemma asked, “How much do I owe you?”
“We’ll talk about it later.”
“Trent?”
“Later, Gem. No need to worry about that now.”
She looked back at her kids. They weren’t babies. She owed them an explanation.
Sheila interrupted her thoughts. “The kids can hang with me and the ladies at the rec today. I know you don’t want them home alone.”
And she didn’t. Under normal circumstances, they’d be okay at home alone. Wyatt was twelve and very responsible. If anything happened, she and every other adult in town were only a text away. This wasn’t a normal circumstance, however, and she’d feel better knowing they were being looked after at the rec. “Thanks, Sheila. I really appreciate the offer.”
Sheila said, “Tell them to come knock on my door when they’re ready and have them bring their suits so they can hang out at the pool.”
Roni asked, “Anything you need from me or Reg before we take off?”
She couldn’t think of anything.
Reg said, “If you do, send a text, I’ll be in my office at the school.”
Roni said, “And I’ll be at the studio.”
Grateful again for the cocoon of love and safety Henry Adams offered, Gemma thanked them and Barrett and walked back to the porch. The kids followed her inside.
“But why would somebody do that?” Wyatt asked angrily, once Gemma explained about the tires.
“I don’t know, but Sheriff Dalton will find out.”
Jaz said, “That’s so mean.”
“I agree.”
“We have to go to the rec?” Lucas asked.
He’d learned to hide his emotions so well, Gemma couldn’t tell if it was a complaint or not. “Yes, so go get dressed. Mrs. Payne is waiting on you.”
But they stayed and Wyatt acted as their spokesman. “We want to go to the store with you.”
She assessed the three determined young faces. “You can’t.”
“Why not?” Jaz asked.
“Because there’s no place there for you to hang out.”
Lucas explained, “We don’t want to hang out. We want to be with you in case something happens.”
She paused and studied them. They were determined but she sensed their fear as well. They’d each suffered a life-changing loss. She assumed they were afraid of losing her too, which made her want to pull all three into her arms and offer what reassurance she could. “Thank you for wanting to protect me, but I’ll be safe. Brain’s dad’s there and he’s not going to let anything happen to me. He can see the entire store from his computers.”
“What if he doesn’t see the person, though?” Wyatt asked.
“He will. Besides, whoever slashed my tires is probably satisfied they scared me and are done with me now.”
Lucas wasn’t buying it. “What if they’re not? What if they come back and try and kill you or something?”
“I don’t know Lucas, but that’s why we have Sheriff Dalton on our side. I can’t let this paralyze me and make me so scared I can’t leave the house, otherwise whoever did this will have won, and I refuse to let them think that. So, go get dressed. We got this.”
They looked at each other and then back at her.
“Go on,” she encouraged softly. Once she was alone she cursed the person responsible, not for scaring her, but for scaring her kids.
The sheriff’s cruiser was sitting outside the store when she turned into the parking lot. Will hadn’t wasted time starting his investigation and she was pleased by that. Alma would undoubtedly throw a fit about being questioned but Gemma didn’t care. Scaring her kids meant all bets were off and she hoped Alma had sense enough not to get in her face about it or try and write her up for being late to work.
There weren’t many customers inside. She gave a quick wave to the co-workers she passed on her way to clock in and wondered if they knew why the sheriff was on-site. If not, they would soon and she braced herself for all the questions sure to come her way.
She’d been on her register about thirty minutes, when the phone rang at her station. She picked up. It was Alma. “A sub is coming to relieve you. When she arrives come to my office, immediately!” The last word was spoken with a snarl.
“What’s this about?”
The line was dead.
Wishing she could ignore the summons, but knowing she couldn’t, Gemma turned her lane over to the sub, a college student named Emily, and headed for Alma’s office.
Inside, she found Alma seated at her desk. A thin, brown-haired woman Gemma didn’t recognize was seated in one of the chairs.
Alma snapped, “How dare you sic the sheriff on me!”
“And how dare someone slash my tires and have my kids scared to death that someone’s going to kill me! Dalton asked for names of people who had a problem with me and you’re at the top of the list, or am I wrong?”
Alma looked surprised by the fiery comeback but Gemma wasn’t in the mood to be nice. “So, what do you want?”
Alma gave her a cold smile. “I thought you’d like to meet my baby sister, Lisa. The one whose marriage you wrecked.”
Gemma froze.
“Lisa, this is Gemma Dahl. Owen’s little whore.”
The woman paled visibly. Her wide eyes took in Alma and then Gemma before returning to Alma’s smug, satisfied face. She stood and her eyes flashed with fury. Appalled, Gemma braced herself for an altercation.
“How dare you!” Lisa screamed. “How dare you!”
But to Gemma’s shock, the words were flung Alma’s way.
“Why would you do this!” she asked, now standing at the desk.
Alma stuttered, “I thought—”
Lisa slapped Alma so hard, Sgt. Ma’am nearly fell from her chair. “Stay out of my life! Do you hear me!” she shouted. “Always meddling. Damn you! You thought what? That I’d be as mean and hateful as you? Owen was a cheating piece of trash the entire time we were married!”
Alice turned to Gemma. “Did he promise to marry you?”
Gemma nodded.
“You weren’t the first or the last, honey, believe me. Did you have the baby?”
“Yes.”
“Boy or girl.”
“Girl.”
“Where’s she now?”
“Buried in Arlington National Cemetery.”
She stopped. “Oh, my word,” she whispered, scanning Gemma’s tight face. “I’m so sorry.”
“Thank you.”
Lisa asked Alma, “Did you know this?”
“No.”
“Of course not! Why would you care about anyone else’s pain? How’d you find out about her? You weren’t even living in Franklin back then.”
“Astrid Wiggins told me a few months ago.”
“Seabiscuit? Another piece of trash.” The disgust on her face mirrored Gemma’s and she made a mental note to have Astrid’s name added to the sheriff’s list of possible tire slashers.
Lisa said to Gemma, “I heard you’d left Franklin during your pregnancy, but had no idea where you went. No offense, but at the time, I didn’t care.”
“None taken. My parents sent me to an aunt in Chicago.”
“Owen was a bastard. We both deserved better. Just like we both deserved better than to be ambushed by this person who calls herself my sister,” she snapped, glaring at the stunned Alma. “She told me you were an old friend from my high school days who wanted to reconnect, so I drove up from Plainville.”
Gemma asked, “Where’s Owen now?”
“The last time we spoke, he was selling cars in California, but that was twenty years ago right after the divorce. Haven’t heard from him since.”
Gemma wondered if the colonel was watching this on his monitors. Alma’s left cheek still bore the bright red splash of her sister’s fury.
“My apologies to you, Gemma,” Lisa said sincerely.
“Thank you.”
Lisa picked up her purse and without a word or a glance back at her sister strode from the office.
In the silence that followed, Gemma asked, “Anything else?”
“Get out!”
Keeping her satisfaction hidden, Gemma complied.
For the rest of her shift, she didn’t see hide nor hair of Alma. At lunch, she heard that Sgt. Ma’am hadn’t been feeling well and had gone home. That she’d set a trap for Gemma only to have it blow up in her face. Priceless. Gemma hoped she’d be unwell until the cows came home.
Driving to the rec after work, Gemma thought her interview with Gary went well. In spite of the crazy day, she felt as though she’d answered all the questions to the best of her ability. He’d been impressed by the letters of recommendation she’d given him from some of her co-workers. Although they didn’t count as references, she thought the letters would show how the employees felt about the possibility of working under her in the position. He advised her that he had a few more applicants to interview but promised to let everyone know who’d be getting the job by the middle of the next week. She was still worried about the incident with her tires, though, and hoped the sheriff found the person soon.
Gemma picked up the kids from the rec, made them a quick dinner of hamburgers and fries, then hurried off to her class.
Taking her seat, she felt herself relax for the first time that day. In class, there’d be no slashed tires or ambushes from Sgt. Ma’am. The meeting with her team last Saturday went well, so there were no worries concerning their ongoing build-a-business-assignment. Seeing Professor LeForge enter, and fielding the smile he shot her way, buoyed her also.
Once class began, LeForge said, “Okay everyone, I want you to get with your groups and continue working on your businesses.”
Earbud Brad Young hadn’t shown up, so Gemma, Josh, and Carrie pulled their desks close and began working. They were discussing how many employees their tat shop would need, and how much they could afford to pay, when a woman entered the room. She was a young redhead. Even though Gemma had never seen her before, she thought the woman might be a class member until she said, “Honey, I locked my keys in my car. I need your extra set.”
Gemma froze. LeForge sent Gemma a quick glance before opening his bag and began searching inside.
He handed her a key. The woman asked the class, “Isn’t my hubby an amazing instructor?”
If Gemma had any doubts about who the woman was before, there were none now. She turned to Josh. He met her eyes, and sadly shook his head. Pushing her disappointed feelings aside, she returned to the discussion.
When class was over, a melancholy Gemma gathered up her possessions and headed to the door.
“Ms. Dahl.”
She stopped, but didn’t turn.
“Um. Can I walk with you to the parking lot?”
She shook her head and left.
Driving home, she supposed she owed the fates a thanks for revealing LeForge’s true status. All they’d shared were a few smiles, nothing more, but the potential for more had been simmering like a pot on the back burner of a stove. Finding someone to spend time with might have been nice, but the last thing she needed was to hook up with another married man. She had enough on her plate with a job, raising three kids, and school; she didn’t need drama.