Cold Hollow (Cold Hollow Mysteries Book 1) (12 page)

CHAPTER 12

This was the first time Nazar had ever bothered to enter the bakery. She watched him look around at the walls, the display cases, and the people eating and drinking. He smiled pleasantly and addressed the customers. “Please do not let me stop you from enjoying yourselves. Carry on, townsfolk!”

He smiled and shook his head as he walked to the order counter. Myrna slid behind it and took his order. He wanted to “taste test” a few items before ordering more than one, and she allowed it. His eyes rolled as he smacked his lips and ordered six assorted muffins. Myrna assumed some of them were for May Belle at the town hall. After she cashed him out, he left the bakery with a box tucked under his right arm and waved good-bye with his left hand.

Wally and Alice Dumont looked as though they could have killed him in cold blood, right there in the bakery. Myrna noticed this and slightly shook her head at them. Bernadette and Belinda Carlisle, were there and rarely missed a thing. Myrna didn’t want them to notice anything was going on. Wally caught her motion and eye movement, and changed his expression.

Artie pulled Myrna back into the kitchen and whispered in her ear for a good long while. She nodded and her eyes lit up when she pulled away from him. She bagged two cherry turnovers for him before he left.

Wally and Alice Dumont each gave her a hug, told her to hang in there, and kissed her cheeks before leaving. Myrna and the boys took care of the remaining customers, and then it was their lunch break. Myrna set out their plates, as Sophia used to do, and they all sat in the kitchen around the prep table, eating and talking.

Donnie looked at her and said, “Something bad happened to our Sophia, didn’t it?”

Myrna nodded and had a difficult time swallowing her bite of croissant. She placed a single finger over her lips, but he missed it and kept talking a little too loud for her liking.

“I want in. I know you’re planning something. I know I’m young, but I’m fast and smart. I can act too. Believe me! I can act! I can cry on demand, laugh, or act evil.”

Daryl agreed with the latter and said, “That ain’t actin’, brother. You
are
evil sometimes.”

Myrna chuckled at that remark and hushed the boys. She told them she was busy planning funeral arrangements for Sophia and her family. When Donnie went to object, he saw Myrna look around the room and place her napkin to her mouth. He understood and stayed silent.

After a long day, Myrna locked up the bakery after prepping an abundance of goods for the following morning, just as she and Sophia used to do.

She wished she could go home, but she could not. She had to stop at the funeral parlor and arrange things for the Barners’ memorial service. She pulled into the parking lot. 

Upon entering, she met someone she remembered from prison, many years ago. He greeted her and said his name was Steve, but she could not recall his last name and he didn’t give it. He was tall and thin, and his face was pockmarked, as though he’d had severe acne when he was young. It was his eyes that shone with kindness and understanding. She had recently seen him in the bakery as well. She knew he had been incarcerated for drug dealing on a high level, but he had done his time and had not wasted it while he was in prison. He’d taken courses on how to become a mortician, and he was one of the town’s success stories. She wished there were more success stories, but unfortunately some of the parolees were running amuck again.

She’d heard the whispers in the bakery and knew who they were, but Steven was not among the names mentioned. She shook his hand, and he escorted her to the small showcase he had for urns. He recommended the right size and showed her the prices. She chose ornate urns for Sophia and Angus. They were beautiful. For Layla, she chose a pale pink urn with butterflies in flight all over it. It was feminine, just as Layla had been. She knew Sophia would have approved of her choices; their tastes had been so similar in many ways. After she paid for her selection, Steve told her she could pick up the remains in two days.

She stopped and frowned at him. “Wait a few days before the cremation. Do not disturb their remains, all right? I’ll call you when I would like it done.”

He looked confused, but agreed to her request. He would just keep the family in the morgue refrigerator. Next of kin had all types of requests, and he had been trained not to argue and to do his best to comply. She thanked him and noticed he hesitated for a moment, as though to ask her something.

She cocked her head and he chuckled. “Let me walk you to your car, Myrna.”

She didn’t object, and as they left the funeral parlor and were outside, he spoke soft and low. “The townsfolk aren’t going to stand for this much longer, Myrna. It seems like everyone loved that family. I know I went to the bakery every day, and Sophia was the kindest, sweetest woman I ever met, and so were her kids.”

“You’re right. The town will not stand for this. So if you start getting more customers, don’t be surprised.”

He opened her truck door with a chuckle as she thanked him. He did not walk away when he shut the door, so she unrolled her window and heard him say, “Let me know if you need anything.”

She started the engine and grinned. “Either Doctor Tom or I will be contacting you.”

She drove home and found Tom and Liam in the living room, playing with a few of his toys. Liam jumped up, ran to her, and hugged her legs. She handed him a small bag of cookies and went to the refrigerator to pour him and Tom some milk to accompany the delights. She watched him rush back to Tom and place the bag on the coffee table.

He yelled out, “Aunty Myrna, did they find my sister yet? Is Layla all right?”

Myrna went to the living room and sat down. Her heart ached for Liam. She had to tell him that his sister was dead, and didn’t want to. She knew he had a right to know, so she pulled him up onto her lap, wrapped her arms around him, and held him tight. “There was a horrible accident, Liam. They found your family, but Layla was hurt terribly and I am sorry to tell you, but she couldn’t be saved.”

His hazel eyes filled; he tilted his head up to her and asked, “So, she is with my Mommy and Daddy in Heaven?”

Myrna nodded. “And you are here with us. They’ll be watching you from the clouds when they get their angel wings, so you must be good and make them proud.”

His little eyes spilled a few tears, but she watched him force a smile and agree. “I will. I’ll be brave just like my dad, smart like my sister, and run fast like my mom.” He then seemed to think things through and asked, “You won’t leave me, will you? I mean, you and Doctor Tom will take care of me, right? You will love me. When I’m sad, you’ll cuddle with me, right?”

Myrna began weeping and pulled him close to her chest. She hugged him tight and told him it would take a charging rhinoceros to separate them.

He thought that was quite humorous and asked Tom what it would take to separate the two of them. He grinned. “It would take a monster tornado.” Liam raised his head and giggled to the ceiling.

Myrna then had a serious discussion with Liam. She asked him where he would rather live. Did he want to stay in her house, or live in his house that his family had come to love? He stated he wanted to live in his house because the deer there liked to eat apples. Myrna looked at Tom and he nodded. “Then that is what we will do. I’ll see to it in the morning.”

Tom asked, “How?”

“I’m going to buy it, contents and all.”

“And this house?”

“I’ll sell it.”

Tom seemed to think about things. When he looked up at Myrna, he smiled. “I’ll sell mine too.”

Myrna knew his parole time wasn’t up, and he had to stay in town at least three more years according to the government agreement they had all signed. There was no way she was leaving him behind and moving out of state with Liam.

A deal was struck between them, and it took Myrna about two minutes to make the phone call to Nazar. He sounded leery about her being able to afford the Barners’ old home, but then she reminded him about how it would save him the trouble of emptying the place and he agreed. He asked about her house, and she told him that he could feel free to sell it for her once she had moved out.

He then asked about the bakery. Apparently, he had enjoyed the baked goods he had purchased that morning so much that he thought she should take over the business. She agreed. She wanted to keep it up and running, and actually enjoyed it. She told him she would continue to lease the building and leave the bakery name the same, so long as he didn’t up the rent. He had laughed at that, but in the end agreed to a three-year lease with the price locked in. They had both agreed that the document signing would happen in the morning when the bakery opened.

When she hung up the phone, she gave Tom the most devious grin he had ever seen on her, and he laughed at her expression.

The following morning, Tom had to work, but Myrna had come up with a plan and he was currently driving toward the Dumonts. He had Liam hiding in the backseat with a blanket over him while hugging a bag of toys. As he slowly drove the roads, he said, “Don’t worry, Liam. Pretty soon we won’t have to hide you.”

He heard, “I like playing hide-and-seek. Are you sure we can’t keep playing longer than a week?”

“We can if you want to, but we won’t
have
to.”

“Good.”

He dropped Liam off, and both of the Dumonts swore a solemn oath that they would hide him if anyone pulled up their driveway. They were staying inside with him all day, playing games that they had stored in the attic and never got to use. Wally had assured Tom that all cameras and bugs in the home had been discovered and disposed of that morning. Nazar had shown no interest in them or their home in many years and he doubted he would now. Tom gave Liam a kiss good-bye, and Liam smiled and waved good-bye as Mrs. Dumont tugged him into the living room where Tom spied many games set out.

Wally slapped Tom’s shoulder amicably. “My wife and I just love kids. It’s a joy to watch him for you. Don’t worry about his safety. I’ve got me a shotgun hidden up high, and I ain’t afraid to use it.” He pointed above the doorframe and Tom let out a sigh of relief. It was out of Liam’s reach. Tom didn’t even want to know how he had obtained a firearm. Except for the police, no one in town was allowed to have one.

Tom smiled and replied, “Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that.” He slipped Wally a flat package and said, “So, I’ll see you at noon behind the hospital?”

“You got it, Tom. I’ll see you then.” He took the package and held it to his chest.

Tom left the Dumonts and went straight to the hospital, where he met up with another doctor and the pharmacist. They went into the break room and pretended to review patients’ charts. They slipped notes back and forth into each other’s charts and shared charts back and forth for one hour. When it was settled, Tom shook their hands, gathered the charts, and yanked all the notes out. He crumpled them into a ball and stuffed them into his pants pocket. He would burn them that night in the fireplace at Myrna’s.

After making morning rounds, Tom met Wally Dumont behind the hospital near the ambulance bay, where he slipped him spare keys to the ambulance.

At lunchtime, he went to the bakery and sat with Myrna. They exchanged notes and watched as Artie Lavoie came in, tossed a note on their table, and went to the counter to place an order with Donnie. They read the note, and Tom crumpled it and put it in his pocket.

Myrna smiled. “The papers have been signed. The house and bakery are now in my name. You just need to add yours later on.”

Tom’s eyebrows rose and he asked, “So, when do you and I move in?” He didn’t say “all of us” but Myrna knew why. She was certain the place was still bugged.

“The day after tomorrow.”

“So, by tomorrow night
it
should be settled, and we can start packing whenever we want?”

“Yes, by tomorrow night, all will be set right, and I’ll probably start packing right away.”

Tom stood and rounded the table. He thanked her for lunch and kissed her good-bye with the promise that he would see her that night at home. She sat there and smiled as she watched him walk out of the bakery.

Artie Lavoie took over Tom’s seat, and his bulging eyes blinked behind his thick lenses as he asked her nonchalantly, “Should I ask the Borges woman out on a date?”

Myrna burst out in hearty laughter and playfully punched his right arm. “Hell, yes. I think she already has an inkling you’ve been helping her family out financially. What’s the worst thing that could happen?”

He crinkled his nose. “She could say no.”

Myrna shook her head. “I don’t think she will.” Myrna knew Amanda Borges well and knew she had a kind heart. Myrna suspected she had known about Artie’s attention for quite some time and was just waiting for him to get over his shyness and ask her out. She also found it odd that he was thinking of this when there was so much for him to do the following day. Myrna shrugged and thought that love could make a man do some damn ridiculous things at times.

At the end of the day, Myrna locked up the front of the bakery and went out the back door. She piled empty deli crates in the back of her pickup truck so she could begin packing that night. Liam would love it and have fun doing it. It was then that she saw Sophia’s Jeep parked there. No one had touched it. She went to the driver’s-side door and opened it to find the keys were still in the ignition. There was a note on the seat for Myrna.