Iris Avenue (11 page)

“Hi Anne Marie,” Maggie said. “When did you get back?”

Anne Marie was built like a tall, thin fashion model, and usually dressed like one. Today, however, she wasn’t decked out in designer rags but was casual in jeans, turtleneck, and ski parka. Maggie had never seen her dressed down this much, sans perfect hair and makeup, and gawked a little. Anne Marie’s hair was still streaked blonde, but instead of being arranged in an artfully tousled and shellacked helmet, it was pulled back in a simple pony tail. She wore none of her chunky jewelry or oversized, insignia-encrusted handbags, only a gold crucifix on a chain and a cloth tote bag.

“I know Knox told everyone I was on a cruise, but since I found the Lord I don’t lie anymore,” Anne Marie said. “I was actually in a rehabilitation facility for my sex, drug, and alcohol addictions, and it was the best thing that ever happened to me.”

Maggie heard an inner warning bell go off at the mention of “the Lord,” but she was trapped between Anne Marie and the refrigerated dairy case so she couldn’t escape. She’d heard rumors about Anne Marie going to rehab a few times before, but the transformation she seemed to have undergone this time was striking. Her eyes were sparkling, the color was high in her cheeks, and she was beaming a little too intensely. She was also standing too close and the effect of all her bright energy was somewhat overwhelming.

“I’m so glad you feel better,” Maggie said. “We were all worried about you after your accident.”

“You know, I don’t remember a thing about it,” Anne Marie said. “And it’s just as well. I’m a new person now. Like the song says, ‘I was lost and now I’m found.’ The old Anne Marie died and was born again, praise the Lord.”

“Well, you certainly look different,” Maggie said. “Really well, I mean to say. Healthy.”

“I won’t lie to you, Maggie,” she responded, grabbing Maggie’s hand and clutching it. “I was headed for Hell, as low as I could go; there was nothing I wouldn’t do. Since I found our Lord Jesus Christ, I only need His love and His word to be fulfilled. I’d love to sit and talk with you about it. I want to share my story, and bring as many other people to the Lord as I can.”

“Maybe some other time,” Maggie said. “I need to get back to work. We ran out of milk, you see…”

“You have to take the time, Maggie. It’s more important than anything else you could be doing. You being Catholic, well, you need to know the truth about how dangerously close you are to being banished to the eternal fire pits of Hell for following pagan papist teachings. You have to come to the true Jesus in the right way before it’s too late.”

Over Anne Marie’s shoulder, Maggie could see Fran, the checkout clerk, making the cuckoo sign.

“Okay, Anne Marie, that’s all I can take today,” Maggie said. “We’re going to have to respect the right to choose our own religion and practice it without judging each other.”

“I can’t respect your false idol worship, Maggie. The judgment of your sins will come by fire and all the believers in heathen religions will feel the flames of God’s wrath. Truly this shall come to pass unless they give their lives to Jesus Christ Almighty and serve only Him. It is only by being born again into Jesus’s one true faith that you can be saved and not perish in the eternal flames of damnation.”

“I’m going to go now, Anne Marie. You take care.”

Maggie hurriedly paid Fran for her milk and left the store, worried Anne Marie was going to follow. But Anne Marie had already accosted someone else and was busy trying to save that person’s soul.

Maggie thought she’d seen the last of Anne Marie that day but she was wrong. Less then an hour later Maggie was sitting in her office, up to her neck in invoices that needed to be paid, when Jeanette tapped on the office window. She gestured urgently for Maggie to come out into the store.

When Maggie came out of her office she saw Anne Marie playing tug of war with a scowling ten-year-old boy. They were pulling so hard on a book that the binding was coming apart. Several other books were splayed out on the floor of the children’s section.

“It’s for my book report,” the boy said. “My teacher assigned it.”

“It’s blasphemy!” Anne Marie said. “It’s the work of the devil!”

Maggie saw red.

“Stop it!” she yelled at Anne Marie, who dropped her end of the book. The child fell over and Jeanette helped him up.

“Maggie, we have to start with the children,” Anne Marie said as she came toward her, hands out in a pleading way.

Her pupils were dilated and Maggie could have sworn she was high. A group of people had gathered to watch and Maggie motioned for Anne Marie to follow her back to her office.

“Sit!” Maggie commanded, once she had her inside with the door shut.

“Those books teach witchcraft and black magic,” Anne Marie insisted as she sat down. “Our children are open conduits for Satan. You must be strict in their teaching to save them from becoming tools of the devil.”

Maggie wanted to say ‘those books encourage children to read and use their imaginations,’ but she knew it was useless to argue with someone who was mentally ill. Instead she held up one finger to indicate Anne Marie should wait, and with the other hand she called the bank and asked for Knox.

Anne Marie slouched back in her chair and pouted when she heard Maggie ask to speak to her husband.

“Knox is an unrepentant sinner, a fornicating liar, and he cannot stop me from doing the Lord’s work,” Anne Marie said, but stayed seated.

“Knox,” Maggie said, when she got him on the line. “Your wife is in my store disrupting my business, and you have exactly two minutes to come get her before I call Scott.”

“I’ll be right there,” he said, and hung up.

“Anne Marie,” Maggie said. “What kind of rehab did you go to that you learned all this religious information?”

“It wasn’t the rehab. Those sinners were as godless as their watered-down talk of a ‘higher power.’ The Lord led me to meet Reverend Cowbell there. He’s a righteous man of God who was forced into treatment. Some evil, soulless children made false accusations against him and practiced their witchcraft on the congregation of his church.”

“Was he accused of abusing the children?”

“He was persecuted by their heinous lies. Satan spoke through them when he saw how powerful and righteous Reverend Cowbell had become. Children are more susceptible than we realize. You have to be strict with them, and beat the devil out of them, if necessary. Reverend Cowbell was trying to save the children, not harm them.”

Maggie thought Reverend Cowbell was lucky the judge chose rehab over prison.

“How did you get involved with the reverend?”

“I had a spiritual experience when I was in my coma. I saw Jesus and He spoke to me. No one in our group at rehab would accept that Jesus spoke to me. Not the counselors, not the other sinners; no one but Reverend Cowbell. He realized he’d been sent there to guide me, to help me accomplish what Jesus wants me to do.”

“What did Jesus tell you to do?”

“He said it wasn’t my time to go, that I had to come back and help people.”

“Couldn’t that be interpreted in a lot of ways? Couldn’t you volunteer at the food bank or raise money for cancer research?”

“I don’t expect you to understand. Reverend Cowbell was sent by Jesus to guide me. He saw the Jesus light that shines in me. Jesus sent me back to save the world and Reverend Cowbell is going to help me do it.”

“What does the reverend think you should do?”

“I’m going to help him start a new church. He wants me to be his conduit to the Lord’s almighty power. Many may rise up against us, it has been prophesied, but we will persevere. When we die, we will ascend to heaven to be with the Lord!”

Maggie was beginning to see how someone like the rich and mentally vulnerable Anne Marie might appeal to someone like Reverend Cowbell, with her ability to help him realize his spiritual ambitions while transcending a particularly difficult legal situation.

“Well, you are special, Anne Marie, there’s no doubt about that. I’m glad you’re off the drugs and feeling good. However, if you come in here again and cause a ruckus, I’m going to have to ban you, and if you cause any problems after that, I’ll have you arrested.”

Knox appeared at Maggie’s office door, breathless, his face covered in beads of perspiration.

“I’ll pray for you,” Anne Marie said to Maggie as Knox opened the door. “You’re on the wrong road, asleep at the wheel, and I only hope you’ll awaken before it’s too late.”

“I’m so sorry,” said Knox, his face flushed as much from embarrassment as physical exertion. Maggie was impressed. Knox Rodefeffer was unaccustomed to both aerobic exercise and making apologies.

“Come along,” he told his wife.

Anne Marie grabbed Maggie’s hand in an iron grip and squeezed her eyes shut. Maggie tugged but could not get free. Anne Marie moaned some words Maggie could not understand. Knox tried to pry Anne Marie’s hands off Maggie’s but failed. Maggie felt the heat from Anne Marie’s grip increase until it felt unbearably hot. Anne Marie opened her eyes, but Maggie could tell she wasn’t seeing anything in the room.

“Your sin is pride,” Anne Marie said in a low voice. “You must forgive those who have sinned against you. Beware the serpent that appears as an angel.”

“Stop it!” Knox hissed at Anne Marie, who looked at him with venomous hatred.

“Your sins are legion,” she told her husband. “Your corruption makes the angels weep. Your harlot stinks of your rutting lust. I can smell it every time I’m near her.”

“That’s enough,” Knox said, as he took her by the arm. Miraculously, Anne Marie went with him, docile as a lamb.

Jeanette had cleaned up the mess in the children’s section and stuck her head in Maggie’s office.

“What was that all about?” Jeanette asked.

“Poor Anne Marie,” Maggie said. “She’s gone off the deep end.”

Maggie couldn’t even muster up enough schadenfreude to call and laugh with Hannah about what happened; it was just too sad. She started to call Scott but remembered she was still mad at him. She sighed instead, and went back to her invoices. Anne Marie’s words reverberated in her ears, however, and she found it hard to concentrate. When she thought about people she needed to forgive, she immediately pictured Gabe and Scott. When she thought about charming snakes, funnily enough, it was Agent Jamie Brown who came to mind.

Ed Harrison heard about the body being pulled out of the river and rushed to the scene with his camera. By the time he arrived the county morgue van was there, and they were zipping up the body bag. Scott allowed him to look at the corpse, but not to take photographs of it.

“I know him,” Ed said. “His name’s Ray. He’s a bartender at the Roadhouse.”

Sarah was there, and she shoved everyone aside to get to Ed.

“When did you last see him?” she asked, and clicked on her handheld tape recorder.

Ed was taken aback, but after a glance at Scott, who nodded his head, he answered.

“Last summer. He plays on their softball team. He’s their right fielder.”

“Last name?”

“I don’t remember. I have it on the team roster at the office.”

Sarah nodded at Scott.

“Take him back to his office, get that name, and call me.”

Scott nodded, gritted his teeth, and turned to Ed.

“Will you give me a ride?”

“Sure thing,” Ed said, looking amused at his friend being bossed around so thoroughly, and hating every moment of it.

Malcolm Behr stayed behind, waiting for Sarah to say if they would be allowed to break up the beaver dam. It may have been a murder site, but it was also a serious flood threat. According to the National Weather Service there was a warm front on the way, and it was bringing foul weather. If the snow base in the mountains melted rapidly, and if something wasn’t done about the beaver dam, the ensuing deluge would endanger Rose Hill.

As soon as they were bumping up the muddy track that led from the river to the main road, Ed cleared his throat.

“I didn’t tell Sarah everything,” he said.

“Why not?”

“I wanted to talk to you first.”

“I thought maybe it was because she accused you of killing Theo Eldridge,” Scott said.

“That’s the kind of thing that’s hard to forget.”

Ed had been the one to find Theo’s body, and subsequently Sarah made him her number one suspect.

“So spill it,” Scott said.

“A few weeks ago I went to see Phyllis out at the Roadhouse to find out to whom she’d rented her trailer. I got this notion that Brian was hiding out there, and it turned out he was. Ray overheard me talking about Brian and he followed me outside afterward. He said there was a price on Brian’s head for stealing half a million dollars of some drug kingpin’s money. He said the reward was fifty grand, and he hinted that he would like to collect it.”

“Did you know Brian escaped from prison?”

“I heard the scanner granny gossip but there’s been nothing on the news and no law enforcement agency will confirm it.”

Scott told him as much as he knew from talking to Sarah.

“They have dogs and every uniform from the county to the National Guard out looking for him, but he seems to have disappeared.”

“He’s good at that.”

“I’m thinking maybe Brian tangled with Ray and killed him,” Scott said.

“Wait a minute, here’s another thing Ray said to me,” Ed said. “When I asked who the kingpin was he said it was someone who ate guys like Theo Eldridge for breakfast, and that he would tell me who, but he didn’t want me to end up floating down the Little Bear with my throat cut.”

“Way, way off the record I can tell you that ‘kingpin’ is actually a woman named Mrs. Wells. She probably sent someone to kill Ray.”

“For helping Brian?”

“Or over some other drug-related business.”

“Should I have told Sarah all this?”

“Probably. Don’t worry about it. You can always say you remembered later. There’s an FBI agent in town I’d like you to talk to. That’s also off the record, by the way. Not for print.”

“You’re making it very difficult for me to practice my profession.”

“If I didn’t trust you I’d just say, ‘no comment.’”

“Like everyone else I call for confirmation,” Ed said. “If I could print uncorroborated gossip, I wouldn’t have any problem filling my columns.”

“Remember your journalistic integrity,” Scott said.

“Oh, I do,” Ed said. “It’s what’s keeping me from paying the light bill.”

Ed found Ray’s last name in the softball roster from the previous summer. Scott called Sarah and gave her the information, but didn’t add all that Ed had told him. He wanted to talk to the federal agent first. Scott left Ed at the newspaper office and walked up Pine Mountain Road to Ava’s bed and breakfast. Maggie’s Aunt Delia was working the front desk, and Scott noticed she was looking tired.

“Hey, Delia,” Scott said as he approached the front desk, “are you feeling okay?”

I don’t think I can do this much longer,” she said. “I’m helping out at the bakery and the pub, and my own house is a filthy mess.”

“Doesn’t Ava have anyone else to help her? What about those girls she hired?”

“With all that’s going on she doesn’t want to put the girls at risk,” she said, with a pointed look.

He didn’t know how much Delia knew but it seemed as if she knew quite a bit.

“Ah, I see,” Scott said. “Maybe Ava should close for awhile.”

“Oh no,” Delia said. “Everything has to look normal; as if I can remember what normal looks like. Since Theo Eldridge died this whole town seems to be coming apart at the seams.”

Scott was taken aback by Delia’s pessimistic tone. She was usually the one who bucked up everyone else.

“Don’t let this make you sick,” Scott said. “I’ll have a word with Ava.”

“Don’t bother,” Delia said. “She’s got her hands full with that FBI agent.”

“Agent Brown is here to protect Ava and the kids,” Scott said.

“He’s definitely keeping her under close surveillance,” Delia said.

“As long as Brian is out there somewhere we all have to be on our guard, but Ava may be in real danger.”

“I understand you’re staying here nights.”

“Only until they catch Brian,” he said. “I’m sleeping on the couch.”

“Mmm hmm,” Delia said. “You be careful, Scott. I love Ava, but she has a way of taking advantage. Be careful you don’t end up in the same boat as Patrick.”

Scott was further surprised by this comment. Not many people knew about that affair.

“It’s just for her safety, nothing more,” Scott protested. “Ava didn’t ask me to do it, I offered.”

“Of course not,” Delia said. “She never has to.”

Before Scott could interpret this comment they were interrupted by a guest entering through the front door. Delia waved Scott back toward the hallway to the kitchen, saying “They’re back there.”

When Scott entered the kitchen he found Ava and Jamie seated close to one another at the kitchen island, drinking coffee and talking in low voices. Ava jumped up when Scott entered the room. Jamie’s face was inscrutable but Ava looked embarrassed. This expression was immediately replaced with a warm smile, and Ava greeted him with a brief but tender hug and kiss on the cheek.

“Scott, I’m so glad you’re here.”

Scott decided he shouldn’t take to heart anything Delia said when she was so tired. Ava was a naturally warm and friendly woman, and no one should read anything more into it than that. He did feel a little buzz whenever he was in Ava’s presence, but he assumed every man did.

“Delia seems a little frazzled,” Scott said. “Isn’t there anyone else who can cover the desk so she can go home?”

“Oh no,” Ava said. “I feel so awful. I’ll go up and take over. You two can talk.”

Ava lifted Little Fitz out of his high chair, where he had been carefully picking up rings of oat cereal and trying to put them in his mouth. The baby waved a pudgy hand and garbled some sounds as Ava carried him out of the room.

Scott told Jamie about Ray’s body being found and what Ed had said. Jamie didn’t respond with either words or a change in facial expression. Instead he excused himself, grabbed his coat, and left through the back door.

Scott helped himself to the coffee left in the pot, and had just taken a long sip when Delia came back to the kitchen, putting on her coat. She patted Scott on the arm and said, “I’m sorry I was so grouchy. I know you’re only helping out.”

“You’re tired,” Scott said. “Go home and put your feet up.”

She waved as she went out.

Scott foraged around in the kitchen and found some leftover blueberry muffins. He sat at the kitchen island to eat his snack. Ava came back with the baby and smiled at him.

“I’m glad to see you’re making yourself at home,” she said. “It’s so good to have you here.”

Scott felt an inner glow at Ava’s kind words and lovely face. It was nice to be appreciated for a change.

Maggie left the bookstore by the back door and was momentarily stunned to find that her vintage VW Beetle wasn’t parked where she always left it. It took her a moment to process its absence and return to the bookstore.

“Mitchell,” she addressed her second best barista, a charming college student with dreadlocks and multiple piercings.

“Yes, ma’am,” Mitchell responded, having been raised by a mother who prized good manners over conservative haircuts and undecorated facial features.

“Did Patrick borrow my car?”

“Not as far as I know,” Mitchell said.

Maggie went to her office and called the Rose and Thorn. Patrick said he hadn’t borrowed it. Maggie couldn’t think of anyone else who would take it without asking. She called Curtis, and he confirmed her fear. Her extra key wasn’t hanging on the peg board in the service station office. There were some other things missing as well, including the petty cash and his cell phone.

She dialed the police station and was informed Scott was out. She left the bookstore and walked quickly to her sister-in-law’s bed and breakfast, intending to ask her what she thought of the possibility that her husband-on-the-lam could have burgled the service station and stolen Maggie’s car. She rushed in the front door and down the hallway only to be stopped short by the little scene currently being played out in the kitchen. Scott was sitting at the kitchen table with Little Fitz in his arms, feeding him a bottle of milk. He had a cloth diaper hanging across his shoulder to use as a burping pad. He was talking baby talk.

“What are you doing?” Maggie said, a little louder than she meant to.

Scott looked up at Maggie and smiled.

“Feeding my little man,” he said.

“Where’s Ava?”

“Frank took her to pick up the kids from school,” Scott said. “I offered to baby-sit.”

Maggie had been avoiding Scott as much as possible, and when she couldn’t avoid him she’d tried to make their interactions as brief as possible. She knew he was staying nights at Ava’s while Brian was on the loose, but she wasn’t prepared to find him so domestically entrenched in her sister-in-law’s home. So comfortable looking. So at home.

“My car’s been stolen,” Maggie said, crossing her arms in an attempt to control her temper.

“Patrick probably borrowed it,” Scott said in the same soft tone he’d been using to coo at the baby. He said it to the baby, as if he was talking to Little Fitz and not Maggie.

“I called him. I also called Uncle Curtis. The extra key to the bug is gone plus Curtis is missing some money and a cell phone. He thinks Brian was there.”

Scott jerked his head up and looked at her. Finally she felt like she had his full attention.

“You’re sure no one else could have your car? Drew maybe, or Hannah?”

Drew was the local veterinarian who Maggie had briefly dated.

“Drew has never borrowed my car, and Hannah would ask me first.”

“Okay, call Skip and report it stolen. Tell Curtis to do the same. Skip will let the state and county know about it.”

“Aren’t you going to do something?”

“Skip can handle it, Maggie.”

Maggie was used to Scott jumping up and helping her whenever she had a problem. She didn’t like this new behavior. She didn’t like Scott sitting in Ava’s kitchen looking like he belonged there. He was looking at her with a frank, “like it or lump it” look she’d never seen before. It made her feel cold inside. It made her feel alone.

“Fine,” she said, and left the way she came in.

“Your Aunt Maggie doesn’t like the taste of her own medicine,” Scott told Little Fitz, as he lifted the baby up to his shoulder and patted his back. “She doesn’t like it one bit.”

Little Fitz responded by spitting up everything he’d just eaten.

After Ava came back, Scott waited until the kids were settled in the family room before he told her about Maggie’s visit. Scott thought Ava would be preoccupied with the idea that Brian might have been in town, but instead she asked him, “Are you still in love with Maggie?”

“I do love Maggie,” Scott said. “But she’s still tangled up in her feelings for Gabe.”

“You know if it weren’t for the fact that you’ve been so good to me, I’d never butt in,” Ava said. “But it seems to me you shouldn’t have to convince someone to love you. She’d be lucky to have you.”