From the Grounds Up (19 page)

'And the inheritance?' Sarah reminded him. Amazing how sentimental she could be one moment, admittedly about her own car and her own foster kids, and how callous the next.

Ronny said, 'The way I understand it, I got the inheritance more by negligence than benevolence.'

'Your father died intestate?' I guessed.

'Correct. He kept putting off making a will and . . .' Ronny shrugged.

Kornell
had
been hit by a train. Made sense that he hadn't seen it coming.

'I can't think of a more fitting place to invest the money than in the family business.' Ronny gave a sheepish grin, now, like he was worried that Sarah was going to remind him that he wasn't really family.

But Sarah seemed genuinely touched.

'That's really nice of you.' She sniffled. 'Family is so important.'

'And I can stretch the inheritance dollars,' Ronny continued, 'save the three of us real money. I mean between sub-contractors who owe me favors and my own sweat equity . . .'

Before Sarah could break down again, I interrupted him. 'We do need to be practical here, though. The shop may not produce a return on your investment for years.'

I spoke, sadly, from personal experience.

But Ronny was shaking his head. 'I think you may be wrong on that, Maggy. This place, done right, could be a huge success. I just want to help you do it right. Be a part of it.' Now
he
sniffled.

Oh, for God's sake. Two days ago I had no partners. Now I had two weepy step-cousins and a 'family' business.

I looked around the depot. The kitschy ticket windows. The space. The potential.

'Works for me,' I said, standing up. 'Let's shake on it.'

Of course, nothing is that easy. Nor should it be, in business.

We needed to have a real partnership, with legally proper documents. Sarah and Ronny readily agreed that I should be the one to talk to Caron and get a concrete answer on whether she was in or out.

By the time we left the station, the sun was slanting through the windows toward sunset. To me, it was eerily reminiscent of the night Kornell was killed.

'Want to grab something to eat?' I asked the other two. Pavlik had suggested I keep an eye on Sarah. Especially since the Sam/Courtney e-mail--and the subsequent bourbon--that initially good idea had grown in importance.

But Sarah shook her head. 'Nah. I've got too much to do.'

'That's right,' I said, glad Sarah was thinking about her business again. 'The realty agency doesn't run itself. I'll give you a ride.'

Another shake of the head. 'I'm packing up Sam and Courtney's things.'

'Don't you think that's jumping the gun a little?' Ronny asked as we circled the building to our cars.

Sarah's straightened her shoulders. 'Maybe. But it's what I have to do.'

I said, 'There aren't
other
things you "have to do"? Beautiful houses to list, eager buyers to—'

'I'm going to close down for a while.' Sarah walked right past my Escape.

'Close down the realty?' I followed her. 'Why?'

She turned and shrugged, arms hanging at her side like they were too heavy to lift. Whether it was from the Jim Beam or the events of the last two days, I didn't know.

Either way, I needed an ally. And I had one.

'Up to you, Cuz,' Ronny said smoothly. 'Something tells me we're all going to be mighty busy over the next few months. Now Maggy, you're going to talk to your former partner, correct?'

'Correct,' I said. Talking business had helped lift Sarah's spirits earlier, so we'd give it another try.

'What about the partnership agreement?' Sarah asked.

'If things go well with Caron,' I said, encouraged, 'maybe Bernie could draw up the partnership papers. He did ours. I mean Caron's and mine.' Patricia's name had been on the agreement, too, though I didn't necessarily want to remind Ronny what had happened to the last person who'd been my 'third partner'.

'That'll be awkward.' Sarah shivered. Apparently the bourbon wasn't enough to keep her warm in the cool night air of spring.

'Want me to look into having it drawn up?' Ronny asked while untying his sweater and placing it over Sarah's shoulders.

'I'd love it,' I said. 'The conversation may be difficult enough as it is.'

'Done,' Ronny said. 'Sarah, are you riding with me?'

She looked around like her mind still hadn't registered the plight of her Firebird. 'Oh, yeah. I guess so.'

'Good,' Ronny said, opening the passenger-side door for her. 'We can talk about the layout Maggy and I put together.'

Ronny gave me a little wink as he closed the door.

'Good thinking,' I said, then lowered my voice. 'You'll make sure she's OK before you leave?'

'Of course.' He stuck out his hand. 'Happy to have you as a partner, Maggy.'

'Same here, Ronny.' I paused as I tried to remember his wardrobe rotation. 'Fifties tomorrow, right?'

'I changed my mind,' he said, opening his car door. 'I think all these good vibes cry out for the Psychedelic Sixties.'

'I'll look forward to it.' As I waved and turned back toward my car, I realized I meant it.

Me. Ronny. Sarah. This was going to be one hell of a trip.

Chapter Twenty

As it turned out, the conversation with Caron the next morning was easier than expected. In fact, I sensed she might be relieved.

'Oh, thank God.' Caron threw her arms around me.

'So, you're certain you want out?' I managed from inside the clinch.

'Want out?' She released me and collapsed on to her flowered couch. 'Of course, I'm going to miss it, but . . .'

Caron burst out laughing. 'I can't do it. I can't pretend I'm sad. I'm happy, happy, happy!'

I collapsed even more than my friend had, though into a matching chair-and-a-half. Had everyone around me gone nuts? Next thing you knew she'd be dancing a jig in her designer yoga outfit.

'I can see that,' I said evenly. 'And I certainly understand if this takes financial pressure off you. The economy has been tough on all of us.'

Caron hunched forward. 'I suppose, but that's not why I'm feeling good.'

'Drugs?' I wondered if Ronny's Psychedelic Sixties came complete with marijuana. Was it wrong to hope so?

'Well, that too,' she said. 'For the seasonal affective disorder, you know.'

'Seasonal . . . Caron, it's mid-May.'

She looked hurt. 'I didn't say which season affected me.'

For myself, I was feeling a little
dis
affected. I rose from the chair. 'Well, I should be going. Lots of work to do.'

Caron followed me to the door. 'Don't forget there's that stuff from the old store in my garage.'

'I'll clear it out as soon as I can,' I assured her.

'I hope you've thought this through.'

I turned, my hand on the knob. 'Sarah and me? I think we'll do just fine.'

And I did believe that, despite Sarah's current problems and the 'accidents'. Plus, Ronny's presence should have a balancing effect--and not just on our bottom line.

'I didn't mean so much with Sarah and you, specifically,' Caron said. 'I'm talking more about staying in the coffee business, period.'

She moved closer. 'The first morning that I didn't have to get up at five? I slept in till noon.'

'We took turns opening,' I protested. 'And if that was a problem, we could have asked Amy to take opening. She wouldn't have minded.' Amy certainly would have, but I preferred to ignore facts that didn't support my point.

'But Maggy,' Caron continued, voice hushed in wonder, 'I realized that I didn't
ever
need to get up at dawn again. Not ever. Not if I didn't want to.'

What
I
wanted to do was smack her one. 'Some of us have to work, Caron. It's not just a frolic. We can't take yoga classes at ten a.m.—'

'Ten thirty,' Caron corrected.

'—because we have to support ourselves.'

'That's not fair, Maggy. Before you and Ted divorced, you could have quit.'

'First of all, it wasn't that Ted and I "divorced". We split because he fell in love with somebody else.'

'Ted was a fool.'

'As it turned out,' I said. 'My point, though, is that the failure of our marriage was not my choice.'

'Until you found out what a cheating man-whore he was,' Caron said.

'Yes.' I wasn't going to let her get me off-topic. 'Thing is, I enjoyed working--both at the bank and at Uncommon Grounds.' Though truth be told, I wasn't so fond of the five a.m. starts, either.

'But even if I hadn't enjoyed jobs, I needed to work. Ted never made much money as a dentist.' At least that he didn't spend on drilling his hygienist.

'I'm sorry, Maggy. I didn't know.' A tear ran down Caron's freckled cheek.

This time I was the one who gave
her
a hug. 'No, it's me that's sorry. For myself.'

'You don't even like yoga,' Caron said with a timid grin.

I laughed. 'They'd have to pay
me
to put my foot behind my head.'

'I understand there are places that are willing to do that.' Now she was laughing, too.

'Heavens,' I said in mock horror. 'Not in Brookhills.'

Caron raised her eyebrows. 'Don't tell the town chairman.'

'Our secret.'

We stood staring at each other.

'I'm going to miss you, you know,' I finally said.

'Me, too,' she sniffed.

'Do not do that,' I warned. 'It's tough enough dealing with Sarah's tears.'

'Sarah? Tears?'

'Long story, but her car was pretty much totaled yesterday, and Sam and Courtney want to move in with relatives on the east coast.'

'Relatives?' Caron echoed. 'I didn't think any existed. At least, who wanted them.'

'Things have changed. Patricia's sister Patrice—'

'Her sister is named Patrice?' Caron interrupted.

'And mother, Patsy. You didn't know?'

'Patricia didn't talk about her family much.'

'Well Sam and Courtney connected online with their cousins--Patrice's son and daughter. The cousins invited the two of them to visit on Cape Cod and just a day into the stay they both have decide they don't want to come back.'

'Oh, God,' Caron said. 'That's not good.'

'Sarah's absolutely despondent.'

'I'm sure, but that's not what I mean. Patricia once told me her family was about as dysfunctional as they come.'

'In what way?' I asked, a new worry growing in my gut. 'I mean besides Patricia's mother's multiple marriages.'

'And lovers,' Caron said. 'Apparently there was a parade of them coming through. A legion of "daddies".'

God. 'Meaning, abuse?'

'Patricia wasn't specific, but . . . well, that was my impression.'

'But let's be fair here,' I said, not wanting to jump to conclusions. 'Even if it's true, Patricia came through all right. Maybe her sister did, too.'

'Patricia survived it, but she spent her life doing what men told her to do. Does that sound normal?'

Not to me, it didn't. And, in truth, it was probably what got Patricia killed.

'Tell you what,' I said. 'I'll talk to Pavlik and see what he can find out about the family.'

'Good, and I'll talk to Bernie and see what Sarah's legal options are.' She caught the doubtful look on my face. 'Hey, copyright attorneys know the law, too. And they also know other attorneys who might be able to help.'

She was right. It was like Ronny being able to call in favors from his subcontractors.

'What should we tell Sarah in the meantime?' I asked. I didn't want to keep anything from her, but I also didn't want to alarm Sarah through mere speculation. Especially given her current state of mind.

'Nothing,' Caron said. 'All we have to go on is my memory of what Patricia told me.'

'Hearsay,' I agreed. 'You know what I don't understand, though? Sarah and Patricia were best friends. Wouldn't Patricia have told her?'

I didn't add 'if she told you'.

'If she told me, you mean?' Caron didn't take offense. 'I honestly believe she didn't mean to tell me. We went to a Hitchcock film festival and
Marnie
was the feature.'

'Oh.'

Not Hitchcock's best film, but I could see that it could spark memories for Patricia. 'I'm going to call Pavlik. You talk to Bernie. Is he at his office?'

'His office here,' she nodded over her shoulder toward the back of the house.

'I didn't know he had a home office,' I said.

Caron's face reddened. 'He gave up the outside office. Didn't really need it.'

'And Flora?' She'd been in Bernie's office for years.

'We couldn't . . .' Caron's face was nearly burgundy, the freckles gone. 'I mean, Flora retired.'

I took my friend by the shoulders. 'It's me, Caron. Not your yoga friends. Everyone has to cut back.'

She swiped at the tears and tried to smile. 'The new measure of stature in Brookhills is how much you've lost in the market.'

'Hell,' I said, smiling back. 'It's easy to lose it in the market. You've got to really
try
to have the roof literally fall in on you.'

'So you're not mad at me?' Caron asked tearfully. 'I mean about bailing on you with Uncommon Grounds?'

'No. Like I said, we're going to be fine. Maybe even better than fine if everything works out with the commuter train line.' I looked at her. 'Sure you don't want in?'

'Absolutely sure. We can't afford it.'

I punched her in the shoulder lightly. 'See? Doesn't it feel good to admit it? It's nothing to be ashamed of these days. Being broke is the new black.'

Now Caron laughed outright. 'Glad I'm keeping up with the trends. And I wasn't lying when I said it felt good to sleep past five.'

'Don't I know it.' I tugged on the door handle. 'I'm going to make the most of these weeks before we re-open.'

I stepped out on the porch and turned back to her. 'Friends?'

'Always,' Caron said. 'Now you go see Pavlik and I'll trek to the back bedroom and consult with Bernie. We have another friend who needs our help.'

I drove to the depot and parked. Then I called Pavlik and relayed what Caron had told me.

'Even if Patricia meant what Caron thought she did, any abuse was a long time ago.'