Crepe Expectations, page 6
“I’m guessing this means you’re still on the track to open the crêperie?” Clare asked.
“Yes. I’m not going to let this person scare me away.” She hesitated. “Well, not unless things escalate a lot. By the way, thanks for sending Liam my way, but you could have been a bit less confusing when you told the poor man to come talk to me. He had no idea what it was I wanted from him at first.”
“I have a reputation to keep up,” Clare said. “I walk a fine line between being the town’s eccentric psychic and being the town’s weirdo. I’ve got to keep people talking about me to keep getting new clients. Besides, he came to see you, didn’t he? It all worked out.”
“Apparently, his parents got two letters—one before they sold the building and one after. How did you find out they owned it, anyway?”
“I asked Martin. He delivered mail to them back when the place was a burger joint. He told me they had moved out of town, but their son was still around.”
“Yeah, he said his mother, at least, lives in a nursing home about an hour from here. He didn’t say anything about his father. I wonder if he passed away?”
“I’ve got no idea. I go to his bookstore sometimes, but I don’t really know the guy. He didn’t know who sent his parents those letters?”
Theresa shook her head. “No, but since it happened eight years ago, we can probably assume it wasn’t teenagers. Whoever has been harassing the owners of my building is an adult. And they are serious about it. I think the person behind these threats is the same person who killed Levi.”
“So, the wrong man is in jail?” Clare asked, putting her fork down. “You really think that?”
Theresa bit her lip. “I don’t know the full story. I wasn’t here when everything was happening. But it would make sense, right? Whoever is leaving these threats and vandalizing the building is obviously willing to go to extreme lengths to chase people away from it. For all we know, things with Levi escalated for years.”
“I’m not saying you’re wrong, but the guy they arrested… They found the murder weapon in the back seat of his car. Do you think that was a setup?”
“Maybe that guy was framed. And if that’s the case, that means an innocent man is in prison. And that’s just horrible. I’m half tempted to try to solve all of this myself just to get that poor man out from behind bars.”
“Well, who do you think it is?” Clare asked. “It’s got to be someone in town—probably someone I know. It’s hard to imagine someone committing a murder and then just … going on with their lives like it never happened.”
“Well, it has to be someone who’s wanted the building for a long time. Maybe another business owner? I was talking to Alyson the other day when Jace was over, and she said there is one company that owns a lot of the commercial buildings in town, and the others rarely go up for sale. Maybe the killer is trying to chase me out like they chased Levi out so they can make an offer on this building when it goes up for sale at a lower price.”
“You think Alyson has something to do with this?”
“Not her specifically, but I’m not going to cross her name off my mental list of suspects yet either,” Theresa said. “You’re the one who knows everyone in town. Who do you think it could be?”
Clare took another bite of her crêpe as she thought, a deep frown pulling down the corners of her mouth. “Well, Dora from the deli did mention she was thinking of putting a bid in on the building when it first came up for sale. I don’t know if anything came of it, but maybe we could talk to her. I can’t imagine her being a killer either, but I guess that’s how it goes a lot of the time.”
“Dora? The woman who owns Club King?”
Clare nodded. “She said something about wanting to move the deli to a building without an apartment upstairs. Maybe we should do some poking around.”
CHAPTER TEN
The next morning, Theresa woke up to a notification that her security cameras were going to be delivered at some point that day. The email didn’t say when they would get there, so she decided to spend most of the day at the crêperie. She had a few things she had to deal with on the legal side of opening a restaurant, but she could do that in town just as well as she could at her apartment. She packed up her laptop, made herself a cup of coffee to go, grabbed a yogurt from the fridge, and headed out.
It was a routine she had gone through a thousand times before in her life, but instead of driving to a dreary office building and taking an elevator down to the windowless basement, she stepped into her own little restaurant that was slowly starting to come together. She turned on the radio she had purchased a couple of days ago when she stopped by the hardware store to buy a ladder. While listening to quiet instrumental music as she checked through her emails, she made a few calls to make sure she was on track to open soon.
She was really getting down to the wire with choosing a name. She looked around the crêperie, hoping for inspiration, but nothing seemed to fit. The traits she loved about the building—the brick walls, the hardwood floors, how it was a little separate and smaller from the other buildings downtown—didn’t really make for good names. No one was going to want to eat at a place called the Brick Crêpe.
She spent a quiet morning coming up with ever more ridiculous names and chasing down the last few bits of paperwork she had to turn in before she was ready to open. Before she knew it, it was time to meet Clare for lunch at Club King. Meeting her cousin for lunch or dinner was quickly becoming a new habit, but today they had another motive for going out to eat. They were going to play detective.
Clare was already there, leaning on the hood of her old convertible and texting on her phone until she spotted Theresa approaching and waved. They walked into the deli together. Dora wasn’t behind the counter, but a quick check around the room showed that she was in conversation with an elderly couple at a table against the far wall. Clare and Theresa put in their lunch order with the employee at the counter, who rang them up, then found their usual table by the window. Theresa arranged herself so she could see the crêperie from where she was. She didn’t want to miss the security camera delivery and have someone— namely, the person behind the vandalism and the threat—steal the box.
“Nice weather today,” Dora said, approaching them once she had finished talking to her other customers. “It’s finally warming up. I think I might leave a little early today to spend some time at the beach. Do the two of you have any fun plans this week?”
“I’m just going to be working on the crêperie,” Theresa said, watching Dora’s face closely for any sign of anger or jealousy. Dora just nodded and raised an eyebrow at Clare.
“I’ll be working too,” Clare said, wrinkling her nose. “The changing of the seasons is a time of great change for everyone, which means I have to commune with the powers that be more often. Speaking of, do you still think you might move Club King to a different location? I mentioned to Theresa that you had put an offer in on her building too. The two of us were wondering if you wanted us to keep an eye out for a promising new location.”
Theresa shot Clare a panicked look. Why did her cousin think it was a good idea to give up their entire hand in one sentence?
“I’m actually glad my offer didn’t get accepted,” Doris said, giving Theresa an embarrassed smile. “I don’t want you to think there’s any hard feelings between us—the opposite, really. The tenants I was having an issue with moved out last month, and we’re using the money we saved to start doing a pop-up stand at the high school and middle school once a week. If those go well, we might expand to surrounding areas. All in all, it’s probably a good thing you got the place instead of us.”
“I’m glad you found a solution that works for you,” Theresa said. “The pop-up stand is a great idea. I bet the kids will be happy to have a tastier alternative than school lunches.”
A bell on the counter dinged, and Dora turned to look in that direction. “It looks like your order is done—I’ll go bring it over for you and then I’m going to take off.” She winked at Theresa. “That’s one of the benefits of being your own boss, you can take an afternoon off to go walk along the beach if you want to.”
After Dora left, Theresa and Clare ate their lunch, talking about the encounter in hushed voices. They both agreed that it didn’t seem as though Dora had a good reason to try to sabotage the crêperie, but Theresa didn’t want to cross her off of her list yet. There might be something they were missing.
As she was finishing her sandwich, a delivery truck pulled up in front of the crêperie. She perked up, watching it. When it drove away, she was just able to make out a cardboard box sitting in front of the crêperie’s door.
“It looks like my security cameras arrived,” Theresa said. A second later, her phone dinged with an email confirming it.
“Well, I’ve got another hour before I’ve got to head off to meet a client. Do you want me to help you get started setting them up?”
“I would appreciate that. I’m not terrible with technology, but I’m really not the best either.”
They threw their trash away and stepped out of the deli. Clare decided to leave her car where it was and walk back to get it when she had to go to work. As they walked down the sidewalk toward the intersection where they could cross the street, they passed Ridiculous Beans, and Clare paused.
“Do you mind if we stop for some coffee? Now that I’m full, I’m kind of getting tired. I could use a burst of energy to get through the rest of the day.”
“Sure.” She had already had a cup of coffee that morning, but a little bit more caffeine had never hurt anyone. Probably.
Alyson was the only one at the counter today. There were a couple of people in line, so they had to wait a few minutes before it was time for them to order. Alyson looked stressed as she took their orders, but no one else came in after them, and she relaxed slightly as she started making the drinks.
“We really need to hire another employee,” she confided as she handed Clare her drink. “My shift was supposed to end half an hour ago, but my normal afternoon worker is late. I am at the end of my rope, I swear. Let me know if you know anyone who’s willing to work for minimum wage. Unfortunately, that’s all we can afford right now.”
“Maybe a high school kid looking for some extra money?” Clare suggested.
Alyson wrinkled her nose. “That would be great if the hours I need covered weren’t school hours. Anyway, enough complaining on my part. How are you two doing? You’re getting to be a familiar face around here, Theresa. How are you liking Crooked Bay?”
“It’s nice enough so far,” Theresa said, watching as Alyson filled the top quarter of her cup with foamy whipped cream. “I’m starting to worry some people are upset I bought the building.”
Alyson let out a quiet snort and handed her the cup. “Let me guess, Martin and his historical club?”
Theresa raised her eyebrows. She had been fishing to see if Alyson had a suspicious reaction to her words, but she hadn’t expected her to mention the mailman.
“Well, I have seen Martin almost every day, but to be fair, that’s his job. What’s this about a historical club?”
“Oh, you don’t know? Martin is president of the local historical society. They’ve been wanting to open a small museum about Crooked Bay. I think he had been hoping to purchase your building, but of course, that fell through. It’s one of the older buildings downtown, you know.”
“I see. He hasn’t said anything to me about it.”
“Well, I doubt he has a reason to. You bought the place, and it doesn’t seem like you’re moving anytime soon.” The bell over the door jingled, and she glanced toward it. “Well, there’s my employee. Better late than never, I guess. You two have a good evening.”
Alyson walked over to her employee, already taking off her apron, Theresa and Clare left the coffee shop at the sounds of her berating the younger man behind them.
“She’s not in a great mood today,” Clare said. “That’s good for me, at least—she always schedules readings when she’s stressed.”
“What exactly goes on during these psychic readings?” Theresa asked as they walked down to the intersection and waited for the light to change so they could walk across the street.
Clare grinned at her. “You can find out if you schedule one. I charge eighty bucks an hour. Sorry, no family discounts.”
“Don’t you still owe me almost two thousand dollars from that time I bought you a plane ticket when you were in Europe and your wallet got stolen?”
Clare’s grin faded. “Well, maybe I can do a small family discount…”
CHAPTER ELEVEN
They had only gotten as far as unpacking the security cameras and laying them out on the big table in the dining room before Clare said she had to go. “I can come back this evening to help if you need it, though.”
“I might,” Theresa admitted. She looked down at the various wires, screws, and the box that would record the footage. She knew she could figure it out if she tried hard enough, but she wasn’t sure if it wouldn’t just be easier to hire someone to come and do it. The only downside to that was that she would need to wait at least a few more days before they could fit her into their schedule.
She waved goodbye to her cousin as she walked across the street and down the road to where her car was parked. It was a cloudless day, and there was a warm breeze coming off the lake. She would much rather be spending her time outside than in here, poking away at the cameras, but she really wanted to get at least one set up. She didn’t know when the person who had been harassing her might come back, and she didn’t want to miss her chance to catch them on tape.
She turned to go back inside when she spotted a familiar figure coming down the sidewalk: Martin. She waved at the mailman, and he nodded back, coming over and handing her a few pieces of mail. All of it looked like junk mail, but she thanked him anyway.
“I hate to be a bother, but would it be possible for me to come in and use your restroom? I’ve been drinking more water with this nicer weather, and, well, it went right through me.”
“Of course,” she said, stepping aside so he could go in through the front door. She’d responded automatically, but as soon as the words were out of her mouth, she regretted them. She remembered what Alyson had said earlier. Martin was someone who had wanted this building. He was certainly old enough to have put in an offer on it back when Liam’s parents had sold it. She eyed him as he walked toward the back and decided to stay near the front door and pretend like she was looking through her mail. If he tried something, escape would only be a few steps away.
She heard a door open and close, then open again, and saw him coming out of the kitchen, not the bathroom. She opened her mouth to point out where the correct room was, but he seemed to have spotted it and made his way over. It wasn’t long before she heard the toilet flush and he was on his way out.
“Sorry about that. It’s been a while since I’ve been in here, and I got a bit turned around. I think I about gave that poor woman a heart attack.” He chuckled.
Theresa had been all set to say, It’s no problem, have a nice day, but her mouth worked in silent shock instead. “Woman? What woman?”
Martin gave her a strange look. “Whoever’s helping you in the kitchen. I surprised her when I went back there. Thanks for letting me use your restroom, ma’am. I appreciate it.”
He let himself out through the front door, leaving Theresa to stare after him. Slowly, her gaze drifted back to the kitchen.
Had Clare come back? No—why would her cousin go in through the back and not through the front? Was Martin imagining things?
Slowly, quietly, she set the mail down on a table and walked toward the kitchen door. Her heart was in her throat. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she knew she should call the police, but she had to see for herself. Who was back there, if there was even anyone back there in the first place. She was certain she had locked the back entrance, though she didn’t remember the last time she had used it.
Ever so quietly, she pushed open the kitchen door and peered inside. The kitchen looked empty, just like it should be. The back door was shut, and nothing seemed out of place. Maybe Martin really had imagined it.
“Hello?” she said, her voice loud in the quiet building. She stepped through the door and let it close behind her. “Is anyone in here?”
She was half expecting someone to push their way out of one of the cupboards under the long counter. What she wasn’t expecting was to hear the shifting of fabric behind her and feel the cold prick of a blade press against the back of her neck. The intruder hadn’t been hiding in a cupboard. She had been hiding behind the door.
CHAPTER TWELVE
Theresa didn’t dare move. She was surprised her heart hadn’t stopped beating, she was standing so still. It felt as if she could barely even think. Her brain just kept repeating the fact that someone was holding a knife to the back of her neck over and over again. Maybe it wasn’t quite as frightening as if they’d held it to her jugular, but she had no doubt whoever was standing behind her was the same person who had killed Levi. And they had killed him by stabbing him in the back. It was safe to assume whoever held that knife knew what they were doing with it.
“I warned you.” The voice came out low, as if the speaker was trying to change it so she wouldn’t be recognized, but it was definitely a woman’s voice. “I didn’t want to hurt anyone else. I tried to get you to leave without doing this. Why did you have to swoop in and buy this place up? It would’ve been mine if it wasn’t for you.”
