CHAPTER 11
“M
iss Gardner, you do realize that knocking on a door is the appropriate way to enter a private office, right?” Mayor Baylor stared at me.
I glanced around the room. Greg was sitting on the couch in the middle between Sherry and Tina. I'd never seen him look that uncomfortable. He bolted to his feet when our gazes met. He stepped to my side. “I'm sure Jill was alerted to the issues and felt she needed to tell her side of the story. It's been a little one-sided so far.”
He actually put his arm around my shoulder then. I didn't know whether to kiss him or ram my elbow into his side. My fist tightened as I started to lean in. “Thanks, Greg. I'm kind of lost here, what's the problem?”
Voices erupted, both Tina and Sherry trying to get their list of complaints against me on the table. The mayor stood and bellowed at the two women. “Stop.”
They both quieted and sank back into the couch. He glared at me.
“Did you tell my wife you didn't want to be part of South Cove's festival planning?” He paused, waiting for my answer.
“No.”
Tina stood up. “The hell you didn't.”
Mayor Baylor interrupted his wife. “Tina, sit down and shut up.”
Greg nodded at me. “Go ahead.”
“What I said was Coffee, Books, and More was doing their own charity drive for Bakerstown Children's Center, therefore we couldn't play a major role in whatever Tina has developed for the town's sponsored program.” I sighed. “Look, you got me upset and I said stuff I didn't mean. Can't we just get past this?”
Tina's death stare was the only answer I got.
Mayor Baylor pointed to Sherry. “Now, this woman tells me that you ignored her pleas for assistance and told her to sue the city.”
Sherry smiled, her eyes glinting evil. “That's correct, Marvin.”
At the coo of her husband's name, Tina refocused her death stare from me to Sherry.
Greg cleared his throat. “Is that correct, Jill?”
I saw Sherry's eyes narrow as he used my name, which, heaven help me, made me want to kiss him again. “No. I heard her scream and went running out, but all she kept saying was I was going to pay for her broken shoe. I explained that the sidewalks weren't part of the store and said she might want to talk to someone at City Hall.”
“Whatever.” Sherry dismissed me and Greg. “Marvin, what are you going to do about my shoes? Will the city replace them?”
“Yes, Marvin,” Tina drawled out his name. “What is the city going to do about Sherry's poor little shoe?”
I bit my lip to keep from smiling. For the first time, I wanted to be a fly on the wall at the mayor's home tonight. He was in trouble. Big trouble. And everyone in the room, except apparently Sherry, knew it. But maybe she did, too, as I saw her sneak a sideways gloating look at Tina.
“Mrs. King, you can file a claim with Amy, but it has to be approved by the council. And honestly, things are kind of tight in the budget right now.” Mayor Baylor focused on his wife next. “Tina, it doesn't sound like Miss Gardner was being totally unreasonable. I'm sure she'll work extra hard on the decorating committee since she's unable to help with the fund-raising.”
I sighed inwardly. Like I had the time to be Tina's slave. But I put on a smile, hoping it would seem at least a little genuine. I doubted my acting ability. “Of course, whatever I can do.”
“See now, everything is back to normal. And if you don't mind, I've got a few phone calls to make before the end of the day.”
I glanced at the large grandfather clock in the corner, two thirty. My midday break was almost over. Greg and I turned back to the door.
“Greg, dear,” Sherry called out. “Would you please help me out to the car? My ankle hurts.”
I stood still, wondering what Greg's answer would be. As he turned, I knew he couldn't step away without helping. It wasn't in his Boy Scout nature. It was just like helping an old lady across the street. An old lady who looked like a beauty queen and whom he'd been married to and slept with.
He rolled his eyes, then kissed me on the cheek. “Let me walk Sherry and Pat back to her car, then I'll stop by the house. Have you eaten?”
I shook my head, not trusting my voice. I went over to Amy's desk and slumped into her visitor chair. We didn't talk until we saw Greg and Sherry leave through the front door. She clung to him like they were teenagers on a first date.
“I can't believe that woman,” I hissed at my friend. “You would think they were still married by the way she was all over him. The mayor even called her Mrs. King.”
Amy handed me a tissue. “Well, she is technically Mrs. King until she remarries, right?”
“No.” I took the tissue and started tearing it in pieces. “Well, maybe. I don't know. Can't we look it up on the Internet or something?”
“What and then tell the mayor he can't use the term anymore?” Amy tried to sound reasonable. “Calm down, Jill. Greg divorced her because he knows all her games. He's with you now.”
“Well, he's dating me now.”
Amy raised her eyebrows. “Like there's a big difference in Greg's mind.”
She had a point. I said my good-byes and started walking home, wondering what else the day could bring. At least I'd finally met Greg's ex-wifeâand I was dressed in jeans and an old Bon Jovi T-shirt that I'd gotten at one of his concerts. A far cry from Sherry's polished appearance.
Greg likes me this way
, I chided myself. But then I wondered. Had I let our comfort level get too lax? Should I be dressing up more for our dates? Taking more time with my hair?
I'd worked myself into a funk by the time I'd reached home. Emma's over-the-top welcome did nothing to refresh my mood. I sat at the table spinning a banana.
I stood and shook off the negativity. Greg would be here in a few minutes with lunch from Lille's. I had probably ten minutes before he'd arrive, so I ran upstairs, took a quick shower, and dressed in a light blue cotton shift, not too fancy, but not jeans and a tee.
Thirty minutes later, he finally arrived, food sacks in hand.
He buzzed my cheek as he walked past me. “Sorry, Sherry kept me longer than I wanted. Man, that girl can talk.”
I followed him back into the kitchen. “About what?” I tried to sound casual.
Greg shrugged, pulling out burgers and fries and, God bless him, milk shakes. “Absolutely nothing. She blabs on and on about people we used to know, friends who were always more her people than mine, and all the good old days. I think she forgot she hated being married and has told me over and over how I made her life miserable.”
I sat and dipped a fry into Lille's special sauce. Ketchup and Miracle Whip. “Maybe she realizes she made a mistake by letting you go.”
“Her mistake, not mine.” He took a bite of his burger. Cocking his head, he smiled at me, a drop of cheese on his lip. “You're not worried about Sherry, are you?”
I reached out and wiped the corner of his mouth. “Why would I be worried? You just spent time with a woman who looks more like a supermodel than a real person.” I put on a stronger smile than I felt.
“You don't want to know how much she spends on those stupid shoes of hers.” Greg kept his eyes cast downward, but his lips twitched. “I like the dress, by the way. Maybe Sherry should come rile you up more often?”
I slapped his arm. “Jerk. Don't think I dressed up for you.” I smoothed the blue skirt of the sundress. “I'm heading back to work after lunch.”
“Yeah, and that's what you typically wear for a shift at the coffee shop.” He shrugged. “Whatever you need to tell yourself. You know you're crazy about me.”
I needed to change the subject and not toward the mess of a situation we'd just left at the mayor's office. Tina and Sherry weren't going to ruin the rest of my day. “Did I mention that I met the new program director who took Ted's job? Or I should say, took her job back after Ted had forced her out?”
“Is that where you disappeared to on Monday?” Greg finished off his burger. “I stopped by early, but you'd already left.”
“I had some errands to run.” I polished off my fries and cut my burger in half. “Her name's Candy Peterson.”
“Whose name?” Greg pinched one of my fries.
I moved the container farther away from him. Lille made to-die-for steak fries. “The new program director.”
“Oh, her.” He popped the fry into his mouth. “She seems nice.”
I glared at him. “You already knew about her?”
“Honey, what do you think I do for a living? I'm the one who's supposed to be investigating Ted's murder, not you.” Greg stood and let Emma out the back door. “I arrived there ten minutes after you left.”
“So you know Ted forced her out of her position when he came into town.” I wrapped up the leftovers and tossed everything into the paper bag. I threw the bag into the kitchen trash and slapped my hands together. “Dishes done.”
“My little Suzie Homemaker.” He leaned back in his chair. “What else did you find out?”
I pulled the sheet out of my jeans pocket. “I think Ted was still looking for the wife who disappeared ten years ago.” Greg glanced over the receipt. “It's for a private investigator.”
Greg rolled his eyes. “I can read, you know.” He slipped the page into a plastic bag he'd pulled out of one of the kitchen cabinets. “As far as leads go, it feels like a dead end.”
“But . . .”
“I didn't say I wouldn't check it out.” He kissed me on the top of my head. “Gotta get back to work.”
I followed him to the door. “I'll be right behind you. I'm just closing up the house, then back to the shop to relieve Toby.”
“Your aunt and Josh make up yet?” Greg leaned against the doorway, watching me, and his gaze made my blood heat.
“Not yet. She's sure he's seeing someone else. Even swears she saw the girl sneaking up the back stairs.”
Greg laughed as he walked down the stairs. “I just can't see Josh as a player.”
“Me neither.” I watched him drive away and then glanced at my watch. I had better get moving before my barista started thinking with the cop side of his brain and assumed something bad had happened.
I walked into the shop with ten minutes to spare. The women from the cosmetology school, or Toby's girls as Jackie called them, had all but disappeared. The only customer was a young woman reading the latest novel from a popular romance novelist turned mystery writer. A cup of tea sat in front of her as well as what appeared to be part of a brownie. Toby was cleaning the back sink when I approached the coffee bar.
He turned and a wide smile filled his face. “Hey, boss. How was your break?”
“Besides getting yelled at in the mayor's office and having Greg's ex-wife look at me like I had just been rescued from the woods where I'd bonded with bears.” I came around the counter and poured a cup of coffee, chocolate-flavored.
Toby poured his own cup and, glancing at the lone customer, nodded at the counter. “Come tell me all about it.”
“You're not a psychiatrist or even a counselor.” I crawled up on a stool and sipped my cup, wondering if Toby's ability to listen was what drew women to him. And yet I started talking about the crazy meeting in the mayor's office, finishing with the one thing that irked me more than anything else. “Then your other boss decides he has to walk his old flame back to her car and leave me hanging.”
Toby laughed. Not quite the response I'd been looking for.
“Men, they all stick together.”
He shook his head. “You don't get it. Greg hates Sherry. It must have driven him crazy to have to be nice to her.”
“He didn't seem to mind.” I thought about the way Greg had acted with Sherry hanging all over him. Maybe Toby was right and I in my jealousy could only see their past, not the reality of the present.
Toby shrugged. “Greg does a lot of things that you'd never guess drive him crazy. You should have seen him being nice to Tina when she came over to decorate the jail. He tried to tell her that the jail wasn't supposed to be bright and cheery, even at Christmas. In true Tina style, she totally ignored his request for her to leave. Face it, around women your boy toy's kind of a wuss.”
“Most men are,” a female voice agreed. Toby and I glanced away from each other and the window. The young customer reading by the window had abandoned her book and was standing in front of Toby and me. Her face was drawn and thin, apparently from a lack of regular meals. Her jeans and T-shirt looked like she'd been wearing them for a week. She couldn't have been old enough to be on her own. This was the type of person who needed to be protected. “Sorry, didn't mean to intrude. Can I get another tea?”
I stood and walked around the counter. “No problem. How's the book?”
“Okay, I guess. My boyfriend was always reading crap like this. I wanted to figure out what the big deal was.” She glanced out the window toward the street.
I pointed to a display book, another young adult vampire knockoff. “I could suggest some books you might enjoy.”
The girl didn't even look at me before she answered. “Don't know if I'll be around for much longer this time. No need to be nice to me.”
The pain in her voice twisted my heart a bit. “I'm not being nice. Part of my job is to suggest books you might not know about. I sell books as well as coffee.” I nodded over to the row of bookcases that lined the dining room. “Do you want to talk about books you've read and liked in the past? I bet I could list off five great authors for you to try after talking to you for ten minutes.”