"Where are we at with this case?" Clemmie's phone call woke me up bright and early Monday morning at seven o’clock. It took me a minute to get my brain working and formulate a response.
“Hello? You there?” Clemmie asked.
“Sorry, I haven't had any coffee yet."
“Best I can do is some black tea. You want me to send a cup your way?" I made a face. "Don't make that face."
I pulled the phone away from my ear and looked at the screen. We weren’t on a video call, so I had no idea how Clemmie knew I had pulled a face.
"Because I know you and how much you like your morning coffee. That’s how I know,” Clemmie responded to my unasked question. "Anyway, I've got news. You ready for this?”
“Ready.”
“I heard our boy Kellan had done time. So I started asking around. You know, we've had a lot of new folks move into town. It turns out Kellan wasn't the only one with a criminal history."
“There’s someone else?”
"You're never going to believe this, but it’s Terry Dawes."
"Oh, no, I believe that, all right. Do you know when he went to jail and what for?"
"No, and no. I just know he told Craig Daniels that he did a stint in the slammer and was wondering if Craig was related to a Kirk Daniels. It was a buddy he knew on the inside."
"Interesting. Is Craig related to that other guy?”
“Not that he knew of.”
“Huh. I wonder if Terry is somehow connected to Kellan?"
"That sounds like a Vance question," Clemmie remarked. She was right. Vance was the one good with research. No one knew the criminal justice information system like he did. "I don't want you or Misty going and talking with Terry, either, you hear?"
"Speaking of Misty, I didn’t see her all day yesterday, did you?"
"No, ma'am. I was too busy winning the chili cook-off."
"You did? Congratulations.”
“I'd ask where you were, but I know you’ve been running yourself ragged trying to solve this case."
"That I am. Hey, how did Luke do?"
"Second place. He gave me a run for my money, but no one can resist Ms. Clemmie's chili once they have a taste. It’s that good.”
“I bet.”
"Promise me you won't go talk to Terry," Clemmie brought the conversation back on track.
"You don't have to tell me twice."
"Good, be sure to let me know if there's anything I can do on my end."
"You know I will. I'll talk to you soon, okay?"
"You got it."
Now that I was awake for the morning, I decided I should get ready and head to the bank. Before leaving, I called Misty. She didn't answer her cell phone, so I called up to the bookstore.
"Hey Vicki, I was wondering if Misty was working today?"
"No, she called in for the day."
"She did? Is everything okay?"
"Define okay."
"Oh no, does this have anything to do with Daniel?"
"You mean that low-life, ridiculous rock star who wasted her time and broke her heart?"
I guess that answered that question. "He broke up with her?"
"I guess so. All I know is she asked me to cover for her yesterday and today. I'm hoping she comes in tomorrow because I could use a day off after the busy weekend."
"I don't blame you. I’ll stop by and visit her in a little bit."
"Don't tell her I said anything."
"Don't worry. I won't."
I would've stopped by Misty's house first if I didn't think she might still be sleeping. Misty was a lot like me and didn't like waking up before nine o'clock and would sleep in later if she didn't have to be anywhere. Seeing she called in to work, I figured she might be getting extra rest.
The bank was busy, even for a Monday morning. From the look of the number of business owners in line making deposits, I had to assume the bicentennial weekend had been a success in terms of revenue. That put a smile on my face. I always liked seeing Silverlake succeed despite the recent unfortunate events. Mayor Parrish should be proud of herself for pulling off another successful event.
"Hey, Molly," I said to Mr. McCormick's daughter. "Pretty busy this morning, huh?"
"Mondays usually are, but today it's extra busy. I don't mind. It'll make the day go by faster. How was your weekend?" One of the things I liked about Molly was how upbeat and talkative she was, but not when I had some important sleuthing to do.
"My weekend was okay, but I wanted to ask you something. Did you hear about Kellan Mahoney.”
"I did. Isn't that just awful? He was such a nice young man."
"Did he have a bank account here?"
"He sure did. He came in every week and deposited his check from the bakery."
I had to be careful what I told Molly because the woman could talk. Whatever I told her, she was sure to tell everyone else. "Does anything jump out as being odd about his account?"
"What do you mean?"
"Like, did he have an unusual amount of money or make a large deposit recently?"
"Oh, I'm sorry. I wish I could tell you, but that's private information."
I debated if I should tell Molly I was a deputy now. Once I told her, everyone would know. Then again, just because I was a deputy now didn't mean I had to remain one. For all I knew, the sheriff could revoke the right at any given moment.
Decisions, decisions.
I decided solving this case was worth the bit of gossip the deputy news would generate. "I cleared my throat. Good news, then. You can tell me. Sheriff Reynolds deputized me yesterday and asked me to personally investigate this case."
Molly's face lit up like a Christmas tree. "He did? My word, congratulations!" Everyone around the lobby looked at Molly to see what she was so excited about. "I always knew you'd make a good deputy. You're so smart. Remember how you used to help me study in high school? You always knew all those dates. I could never keep them straight."
I smiled uncomfortably at the unwanted attention.
"Plus all those other cases you've solved. The sheriff is lucky to have you!"
"What's going on now?" Mrs. Potts, my second-grade teacher, chimed in from the back of the line.
"Angelica is Silverlake's newest deputy!" Molly raised her voice and announced it for everyone to hear.
"That's great!" Honor from the candle shop shouted.
"About time," Mrs. Potts added.
"Congrats, Angelica!" Lacy from the charm shop exclaimed.
"Thanks, guys," I smiled before quickly turning back to Molly. "Now, about Kellan's bank records."
"Oh, right." Molly typed on her keyboard and clicked around on a few more screens before saying, "No, there's nothing here. I only see his regular paycheck. The withdrawals are for everyday things like the gas station and grocery store. Let me print it out for you."
"Okay, thanks." I couldn't help but feel like I’d let my deputy secret slip for nothing. Molly returned with the printout. "One more thing, did Kellan have a safe-deposit box?
"Let me check." Again, Molly clicked around on her keyboard. "I'm sorry, I don't see anything. There's not a box registered in his name."
"Well, shoot." I knew it was a long shot.
Molly leaned across the counter. "I heard he tried to kill Amber. Is that true?"
"We're still not sure." Again, I had to be careful with what I revealed. "But he might not have been working alone."
"Really? Do you think her ex is involved?"
"Whose ex? Amber's?"
"Uh-huh. She had a nasty breakup."
"With whom? I didn't know she was seeing anyone."
"Chip Ferguson.”
"Dippy Chippy? The man that runs the ice cream cart?"
"That's him. He was devastated when Amber dumped him. He tried buying her roses, gave her jewelry, wrote her a song, and even named an ice cream flavor after her."
"That’s impressive. What’s it called?”
“Amber of My Eye.”
“Amber of My Eye, is that like apple of my eye?
“Huh. I never thought of it that way. That would make sense because it’s apple-flavored ice cream with caramel swirls. Isn’t that the most romantic thing you’ve ever heard?”
“It’s certainly the most creative.”
"But nothing worked."
“She wouldn’t take him back, huh?”
"No, and he was so heartbroken, but lately? I don't know. It's like he's changed. He put a layer of ice cream right around that heart of his. It's a shame because he used to be so nice."
“I see. Thanks for letting me know.” I turned to walk away.
"Hey, are you also helping to track down the sapphire?”
"Not officially. Why, have you heard something?"
"Just what my dad told me."
"What's that?"
"Did you know that they bewitched the sapphire so that it will drive you crazy if you steal it?”
"Wait, what? They cursed the sapphire?" Is that what my aunt meant by added protection? So much for it being top secret. If Molly knew so did probably half the town.
"It's not really a curse, just a spell. My dad said that the sapphire wouldn't do anything to you if you had good intentions. But if you're up to no good? It would eat away at your conscience and drive you crazy until you get rid of it."
"Yikes. It was smart thinking on the council's part."
"I thought so. Although, I told my dad it would be smarter if they told everyone about it. Maybe no one would've stolen it in the first place if they had known it would make them go nuts."
"Good point." And something to think about in the future. That is if we ever found it.