CHAPTER TWO
Before Sarah could respond, Wheaton’s acting police chief, Dwayne Gerard, and Sarah’s boss, attorney Harlan Endicott, joined them. Harlan immediately greeted Sarah and Jacob and commented on the evening’s success while Chief Gerard swallowed the last bite of a black and white cookie.
With a sweep of the outside of his hand, the chief flicked away the crumbs clinging to the mustache he’d grown in the past month. “Black and whites were my favorite kind of cookies when I was a boy, but I rarely find good ones anymore. If Jane keeps them on her menu, she’ll have me as a regular customer. Great food, don’t you think?”
“Couldn’t agree more. Some of the best in town.” Harlan patted his stomach.
Sarah stared at him. Admittedly, he handled the legal work for Jane’s Place and Southwind, but didn’t he owe the Southwind crew a bit more loyalty? After all, she was his receptionist/secretary. Not to mention his only employee. And what was with his budding bromance with the chief? The way the two sparred a few months ago over whether Sarah’s mother was guilty of murder, Sarah couldn’t understand how they could suddenly be so chummy. Harlan often said, “Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer,” but seeing the two men side by side, nothing indicated they were frenemies.
Chief Gerard rubbed his hand against the side of his mustache. “Sarah, it sure tastes like Emily and Marcus are going to have some real competition on Main Street.”
“Now, Chief, don’t you think you should wait to pass judgment until Southwind opens? I bet they’ll run circles around Jane,” Sarah said.
Harlan laughed. He took a quick look around him before quietly speaking. “That won’t be hard when it comes to Jane’s dishes. She apparently did get something out of the time she worked for Southwind. In fact, I think she tweaked a few of Marcus and Emily’s original recipes and is claiming them as hers, but none of hers holds a candle to theirs.”
Sarah exchanged a glance with Jacob. Having worked with Jane, Marcus, and Emily, especially during the Food Expo, Jacob had personal knowledge of Jane’s limitations in the kitchen. He didn’t respond or even appear to be listening to what Harlan was continuing to say.
“It’s Riley’s food that has all of us on the edge of our chairs. None of us knew vegan dishes could be this good. Do you know if Southwind will offer any vegan specialties?”
Sarah admitted she didn’t.
Chief Gerard kissed his fingertips. “I don’t know how Riley makes everything taste so light and creamy and still be vegan. Mark my words, she’ll have a huge following. Maybe Marcus and Emily should consider stealing her away from Jane in time for Southwind’s grand opening?” He laughed at his little joke.
Sarah bristled. Considering the time and training Marcus and Emily had put into their chosen field, which was far more than that of the amateurly trained Jane or new culinary school graduate Riley, Sarah was stung by the police chief’s comments. She wondered how many more people who attended the soft openings for Jane’s Place harbored similar feelings.
Much as she thought she hid her conflicted emotions, she obviously failed, or at least Harlan picked up on them. “He’s only teasing, Sarah. If you knit your brows any closer together, you’ll have a sweater the perfect size for RahRah by morning.”
The image of anyone trying to squeeze her cat into a sweater did the trick of easing her black mood. “I might be able to knit the sweater, but fat chance of getting RahRah into it.”
She looked for the telltale signs of whether Harlan was going to continue their RahRah banter. From the twinkle of his hazel eyes showing through the lenses of his glasses and the lines deepening around his mouth, she knew he was playing the joke out in his mind. If there was one thing she’d learned working for him during the past year, it was that he was very serious when it came to the law and his clients, but he took great pleasure when he came up with a funny—even if no one else laughed.
To her dismay, Chief Gerard chuckled and played along with Harlan. “Are you sure? What if it was a one-of-a-kind Sarah Blair designer number?”
Sarah didn’t give Harlan a chance to get off another one-liner. “Not going to happen. RahRah has a mind of his own. Besides, crafts, like cooking, aren’t my thing. You can be sure if you ever see RahRah in a sweater, it’s store-bought.”
She looked at Jacob, hoping he would introduce a new topic. When she caught sight of his scrunched nose and lowered brows, she immediately realized she should have let Harlan continue with his one-liners. “Are you okay, Jacob?”
“I’m fine, but considering what we just saw, I’d think you’d be able to come up with more than a string of bad jokes.”
Sarah heard rather than saw Chief Gerard’s intake of breath as he moved from being a party guest into his more official role. “What did you see, Jacob?”
Instead of answering immediately, Jacob locked gazes with Sarah. He was the first to break their link. Angling himself to face Chief Gerard, Jacob averted his gaze from Sarah’s face. “We saw Botts manhandle Riley Miller. You know what a master he is when it comes to charming people, especially the opposite sex, and then taking advantage of them.”
“I don’t think I understand,” Chief Gerard said.
Before things got out of hand, Sarah interrupted. “That wasn’t exactly what we saw.”
Still keeping his shoulder turned as if shunning her, Jacob cut Sarah off. “He hit her.”
“No, he didn’t. Riley came up behind him while Botts was pivoting abruptly. His arm bumped into her, but it wasn’t intentional. He didn’t . . .” She glanced at Harlan, hoping he could come up with the word she was seeking.
Harlan picked up on her need for help and prompted her. “He didn’t hit her willfully?”
“That’s right. He was being rude and moving quickly, but I saw and heard everything. He didn’t intentionally strike or threaten Riley in any way. In fact, when Botts left, she offered to go with him, but he told her no. He told her this was her night and she should enjoy it, but he needed to take a ride to clear his head.”
The chief queried Jacob. “Did you see it that way, too?”
Jacob’s gaze dropped to his shoes. “Maybe. Sarah was closer to Botts and Riley than I was, but anyone could see he was short with her.”
“He left abruptly,” Sarah admitted. “In fact, he was out the door before Riley followed him. I heard the rev of a motorcycle, but I don’t know if she caught up to him or not.”
She stopped for a breath. This time, Jacob didn’t interrupt her, but his red face and pressed lips were telltale signs of how agitated he was. In all the times she’d observed him involved in a crisis at Southwind or during one of the heated battles relating to the entertainment district at city hall meetings, he always kept his cool. Often, he was the one who came up with the solution everyone agreed to.
“Chief Gerard,” Sarah continued, “I didn’t like a lot of what I saw from Botts tonight with Riley, or anyone else, for that matter, but his behavior wasn’t an act of violence or I would have said or done something immediately.”
Jacob forced himself into the chief’s line of sight. “Maybe Botts making contact with Riley wasn’t intentional, but we all know he’s as bad and dishonest as they come. I’m surprised you haven’t checked him out professionally, or did the city council or some of the other political bigwigs tell you to leave him alone? Perhaps they hinted you should look the other way if you want the permanent appointment?”
Harlan put his hands up, seemingly to shush Jacob, but it didn’t work.
“You can keep your heads in the sand, but the proof is out there about Botts. It’s only a matter of time until the rest comes out.”
“That’s more than enough, Jacob. Why don’t you go home and cool off?” The chief kept his voice even, but he moved his hand to rest on the top of his holstered gun.
Jacob shook his head one more time as he stared at Chief Gerard. Making a sound of disgust, he pivoted away from them. Without stopping, he left the restaurant through the rear door, slamming it behind him.
Even though Sarah had seen the door flying closed, she still jumped when it banged. She turned to see how Chief Gerard was reacting to Jacob’s accusations. She wasn’t expecting much. She’d known Chief Gerard for almost a year now, since before he became the acting chief of police, and more times than not he’d bumbled things—some involving her own family. Still, making mistakes during an investigation was a far cry from intentionally overlooking criminal behavior.
Sarah understood the tenuous position he was in as acting chief of police. Any scent or accusation of impropriety could ruin his chances for the actual appointment. She hoped the chief would let Jacob’s words roll off his back. As the chief stared at her, Sarah silently held her breath.
“You’re sure Botts didn’t do anything out of line?”
“Not that I know of. He was rude and quick to leave, but he wasn’t violent, at least not here at the party.”
The chief rested his hand on the bottom of his face. With his forefinger, he rubbed the edge of his mustache before using a movie-like Southern drawl. “Sounds to me like we might have a little bit of rivalry going on here. I think we’ll just let everybody, especially that young ’un, cool down a bit.”
Sarah breathed a sigh of relief on Jacob’s behalf. She couldn’t go after him now, but she’d call or try to see him tomorrow. Hopefully, he’d have cooled down by then. If not, she might have to give him a big sister-like lecture about going overboard. In the meantime, she needed to focus on the moment.
Harlan looked as though he might try to tell another joke, so Sarah was relieved when all he said was, “Sounds like a plan. Speaking of which, Sarah brace yourself. Here comes Jane.”
Sarah peered behind her. Not only was Jane zeroing in on them, but they were about the last guests left in the dining room. With her back to the main part of the room, she hadn’t realized everyone, except the city council members talking near the bar and a few people taking a last pass at the food table, were gone. Maybe the reason they’d been lucky Jane hadn’t come over during the earlier altercations was because she’d been busy with departing guests.
Working around the stragglers, the servers were already clearing things away. For a moment, Sarah considered fleeing through tonight’s revolving back door, but gauging Jane’s velocity, there was no escaping the redheaded dynamo about to attack them.
“I’m so glad the three of you came to my little ol’ opening tonight. Wasn’t it divine? Sarah, such a shame Emily and Marcus disappeared before I could talk to them. I wanted to tell them I certainly hope when you get Southwind open you can have as nice a night as this. Maybe you should suggest they hold your grand opening on a Monday night, when we’re closed. That way we won’t be siphoning off any of the crowd who might come to your opening. I’m sure that would help you get some extra folks glad for the free food.”
“Like you did?”
Jane gave her a floppy wave. “Bless your heart, dear. Haven’t you heard how busy we’ve been the past two weeks?”
“It was a lovely evening, Jane.” Harlan effectively cut Sarah off while drawing Jane’s attention to him. “You must be very proud of how well your staff performed and how well received Riley’s dishes were.”
“Oh, I am. And did you get a chance to sample any of my new soups?”
“Just a little bit,” Sarah said. “I tried your butternut squash soup.”
“I love that soup. Maybe not as much as my chilled zucchini soup, but it’s so comforting.”
Still annoyed at Jane’s earlier remarks, Sarah couldn’t resist jabbing her. “It reminded me a lot of an easy one Emily makes in a Crock-Pot. You’ve had it, haven’t you?”
“Yes.” Jane batted her eyes at Harlan and Chief Gerard. “Our recipes are quite similar, but mine has more taste because Emily’s is gluten-free. It’s a shame so many of those gluten-free recipes, like Emily’s, taste like cardboard.”
“If anyone knows how to make food that tastes like cardboard, it’s you,” Sarah muttered under her breath.
“What did you say?” Jane narrowed her eyes.
Sarah, realizing the futility of arguing any further with Jane, decided to change the context of their conversation. “Vegan dishes were the last thing I expected to see on your menu.”
At the change in subject, Jane flashed them all a giant smile. “The decision was easy. When I judged one of Carleton Junior Community College’s student culinary competition evenings, I tasted Riley’s entries. I was hooked after the first bite. I knew Wheaton would be, too. The timing of opening my restaurant and her graduation couldn’t have been better. I think hiring Riley as my sous chef, instead of trying again to lure Emily’s Grace Winston from Southwind, was one of the smartest decisions I made. Don’t you agree, Sarah?”
Mercifully, Sarah’s need to answer was blocked out by the sound of barking and whining dogs. A motorcycle roar only agitated the animals into a louder frenzy.
“Chief,” Jane said. When he didn’t answer, she yelled his name until he heard her above the din. “You’ve got to do something! Between the dogs and Harleys, my customers can’t eat in peace. Aren’t those veterinarians and their friends in violation of some city noise ordinance?”
“Not that I know of. Besides, they aren’t all Harleys out there. Last time I looked, some of the bikes are Hondas, Yamahas, or Suzukis. There’s even one or two BMWs.”
Jane rolled her eyes and turned away from Chief Gerard. “Harlan, can I sue them?”
“For what?”
“Trying to ruin my business. The noise is terrible when they let the animals out in the runs, but it’s especially bad during my dinner rush. I bought this house thinking I was buying a quiet Main Street property. I was excited when they suggested taking advantage of our adjacent driveways and putting our separate dumpsters near each other to create more available parking between their place and my restaurant. I thought it would be perfect for evening overflow parking. They never mentioned they planned to put their animal runs practically on top of my main dining room or to let that community motorcycle gang hold meetings and park at their place. I swear, if it isn’t the dogs yowling, it’s one of those doctors or their motorcyclist friends zooming in or out on their Harleys at all hours. So, can I sue them?”
“The zoning for these houses lets every owner use their own property as desired.”
“But isn’t the noise a nuisance or something? Their privacy fence is meaningless. Whenever anyone parks on the motorcycle parking pad, the animals staying with them go crazy. It’s even worse when someone leaves.”
“Wheaton doesn’t have a noise ordinance. If they use their property as it’s zoned, their guests are allowed to make noise consistent with their mission.”
Jane’s cheeks now matched her hair. “By that logic, my diners are entitled to a pleasant dining experience because feeding them in peace and quiet is my mission.”
“And I thought your mission was making money or undercutting Emily and Marcus,” Sarah muttered.
“What did you say?”
“Now, now.” Chief Gerard raised his hands so the palms were aimed in Sarah and Jane’s respective directions, seemingly signaling “enough.” Once he had their attention, he continued to use his hands almost in a tomahawk chopping manner to emphasize his words. “Jane, tomorrow I’ll talk to the doctors and see if we can work out a better schedule for their animals to be outside so your guests can enjoy a quiet experience during your core dining hours. Okay?”
Apparently not fully satisfied, Jane pouted. “What about the riders and the noise they make?”
“That I may not be able to help you with, but I’ll look into it.”
“Thank you, Chief Gerard.” Jane flashed a big smile at him. “You’re a peach.”
Not exactly the words Sarah would use to describe him. Her pondering of what might be more descriptive of Chief Gerard was interrupted by Jane.
Flashing a toothy grin at them, Jane piled on the Southern charm by using an exaggerated drawl. “Gotta run, but I can’t thank y’all enough for attending the opening of Jane’s Place. The three of you are so special.”
Once Jane was out of earshot, Harlan turned toward Chief Gerard. “I don’t think this is the last you’re going to hear from her about the noise and her neighbors.”
“Not by a long shot, but I am going to have to figure out something to keep the peace. The vets next door aren’t going to put up with Jane’s shenanigans.”
“I know at least two of the doctors ride hogs. Are you going to tell them they can’t park their motorcycles in their own parking spots because they make too much noise crossing the open lot? Or, for that matter, their club can’t congregate at their place?”
“Of course not. Baby steps, Harlan. Baby steps. If I can get them to keep the boarding animals in during Jane’s core dining hours, that will give her something to be happy about. The last thing we need on Main Street is owners yipping, if you’ll forgive the pun, at each other.”
While the chief laughed at his own wit, Harlan and Sarah exchanged a look between themselves. Jane had given in too easily. Knowing her like they did, Sarah and Harlan agreed Jane’s polite capitulation probably meant she wasn’t going to wait for Chief Gerard to do something tomorrow.
Sarah glanced around the room. There was no sign of Jane’s red mane. If Sarah was a betting person, she would lay odds Jane already was taking matters into her own hands. Remembering how vindictive Jane was in the past, Sarah hated to think what might be said between the neighbors in the next few minutes.
A lone howl punctuated the night. When it didn’t end, but merely seemed to pause before escalating, Sarah realized the sound wasn’t coming from the mouth of a dog. It was the cry of a person.
Followed by Harlan and Chief Gerard, Sarah ran out the restaurant’s back door toward the singular human cry. She stopped midstep. The two men barely avoided running into her. A few parking spaces to the left of the door, Jane stood frozen, screaming. Her gaze seemed fixed on the dumpster area shared with the veterinarian’s office. The hairs on the back of Sarah’s neck prickled as she turned in that direction.
Jacob, his knees resting on the ground, was bent over Riley. Her long, light hair, tinged coppery dark in spots, spread in all directions. As Chief Gerard struggled to get around Sarah to check for a pulse, the pallor of Riley’s face and the angle of her neck belied the fact that Riley’s vibrancy was extinguished without the need for Jacob’s hoarse whisper “She’s dead.”