Jeanne Glidewell - Lexie Starr 04 - With This Ring (25 page)

* * *

I paid the older lady behind the bakery counter for the cakes after making sure they were designed in the fashion I had ordered. I motioned for Sheila to pick up the vanilla sheet cake. Holding the chocolate cake with my right hand, and balancing the other end of it on top of the cast on my left wrist, we headed back to the front of the store where the exit doors were located. Just as we reached the end of the condiment aisle, I spotted Edward, the store manager, coming our way. He was the last person I wanted to see inside the store after the spaghetti sauce fiasco.

I quickly held out my right arm, as best I could, to stop Sheila in her tracks. She looked at me in puzzlement as I glanced away from Edward who was approaching us rapidly.

“Can I help you, ladies?” I heard Edward ask.

“No, thanks,” I muttered, turning to shield my face from his view. As I did so, I felt the cake shift slightly and I made a sudden lurch to right its balance. As I shifted my weight, I felt my cast tap the edge of a towering display at the end of the aisle, and gasped as I saw numerous rows of peanut butter jars, separated by cardboard, begin to tilt and tumble.

“You again!” Edward spat out, above the clatter of thirty or forty plastic jars bouncing across the floor. I watched his face crumble into a look of pure disgust, as he tried in vain to stop the rest of the display from crashing to the floor. I noticed that the expression on Sheila’s face never wavered. She’d known me long enough now that nothing could faze her.

“Oh, Edward! I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to knock your display down. Let me set this cake down and reassemble it for you. I can’t believe this has happened again. I guess I was concentrating too hard on balancing this cake in my arms. It’s this darned cast, you see,” I rambled on. “I still haven’t gotten quite accustomed to it, and, well, uh, you know, shit happens!”

“It certainly does when you’re in my store!” Edward retorted. “Step aside, lady. I don’t want you causing any further destruction by trying to clean up this latest mess you’ve made. I’ll have the stock boys come out from the back room—again—and fix the display. Let me carry this cake to your car for you in order to prevent another incident.”

“Look on the bright side,” I said, handing him the cake. “At least with these plastic jars, there’s no breakage or sloppy liquid to mop up this time.”

“Thank you for your consideration,” Edward said, with more than a little sarcasm in his voice. “Do you think you could stay out of my store until you get ‘accustomed’ to that cast on your wrist? Would that be too much to ask?”

“Actually I need to return in about an hour to pick up a few more supplies for a wedding tomorrow.”

“Oh, swell,” the manager replied. “I’ll keep my stock boys on standby.”

“I’m getting married tomorrow afternoon. That’s what these two cakes are for,” I said, trying to veer the conversation away from my unfortunate mishaps at the store.

“My condolences to your fiancé.”

* * *

We’d just gotten the cakes situated in the miniscule back seat when my cell phone rang. I answered it and was surprised to hear Teddy’s voice on the other end. I hadn’t truly believed his sister would give him my number, or that he’d call if she did. I enabled the speakerphone feature on my new mobile so Sheila could listen in on the conversation.

“What’s up, Teddy? Is everything okay?”

“Not entirely,” Teddy said. “I’ve rounded up all but two-fifty of the ten grand I need to pay off Harley. I borrowed most of it from Paula, and pawned everything I had with me that was worth anything, and am still running a little short. I remembered you telling Rocky and Spike that you had two hundred dollars, and I wondered if I could borrow it, and maybe fifty more, until I get my next paycheck, which will be Friday, a week from today. I don’t have anything left to put up as collateral, but I’m sure my sister will vouch for me and co-sign for me on a written I.O.U.”

“Yeah, I guess I could do that, but I’ll trust you to repay me without a written I.O.U. if you’ll promise me you’ll get some help for your gambling addiction. This current situation with Harley’s henchmen should convince you to give it up,” I said. “Maybe the death of your father is a sign you should clean up your act in honor of his memory and attempt to turn your life around. It’s never too late to make a fresh start.”

“I will, I promise. I think I’ve finally seen the light. I’ve never been this scared before in my life. Thank you so much, ma’am! I don’t know how to tell you how much this means to me. Today was the deadline to pay back the bookie, as you might remember from the day you came to counsel me. I’m not sure what they’d do to me if I didn’t show up with the entire ten grand, but I doubt it’d be pretty.”

“I doubt it too, Teddy. Where are you at right now?”

“I’m just leaving the pawn shop, but I’m to meet Rocky and Spike at that abandoned warehouse on Locust Street, right across from the Dairy Queen. Can you meet me there at twelve? Do you know where the building’s at?”

“Yes I have an addiction myself, to chocolate ice cream. I’ve been to Dairy Queen several times, and I vaguely recall a run-down vacant building across the street. My friend and I will meet you there at noon,” I said.

“That would be terrific! And thank you so much for helping me out. You’ve got to be the very best grief counselor in the county,” Teddy said, with a very relieved tone to his voice. Sheila just rolled her eyes at me and climbed into the passenger seat.

* * *

Stone and Randy were still out on their fishing trip with Wyatt when we returned to the inn. I really didn’t expect them to come back from the lake until early afternoon. I hoped they were all having a good time together and catching a lot of fish. I was really pleased with how well Stone and Randy had clicked. They were both about the same height, just a couple of inches taller than Sheila, and they had similar interests. Randy was a retired police officer, and Stone enjoyed listening to the stories he told about his days on the force. Stone, having served as a reserve officer in Myrtle Beach, could relate to these tales and responded accordingly.

Randy and Sheila were an adventuresome couple and enjoyed snow skiing and scuba diving, among other outdoor activities. Randy also played golf occasionally and promised to give a few lessons to Stone, who still wanted to take up the game but hadn’t quite gotten around to playing. He knew he needed to acquire a hobby or two to keep busier when he wasn’t working around the inn.

Sheila and I discussed their budding friendship as we refrigerated the two cakes in the walk-in pantry, and made ourselves a couple of turkey sandwiches for lunch. I added a handful of potato chips to each plate and placed them on the kitchen table. Sheila set down two cups of freshly brewed coffee. She extracted a bottle of hazelnut-flavored creamer from the door of the fridge for her own coffee and pulled up a chair at the table.

“The day has been eventful already, and it’s only eleven-fifteen,” Sheila said. “What do you have in mind to do after we drop off the money with Teddy and pick up the rest of the groceries at Pete’s Pantry?”

“I thought we’d play it by ear.”

“I was afraid you’d say that, because in most cases nothing good has followed that statement,” Sheila said. “Would it be okay if I just stayed behind and rearranged the can goods in your pantry into alphabetical order?”

I’d always teased Sheila about being organized and systematic to an almost obsessive-compulsive degree, but I knew she was kidding, because she’d always been game for anything I suggested, no matter how dangerous or idiotic the suggestion had been.

After consuming several cups of coffee, we placed our cups in the dishwasher and tossed our paper plates into the trashcan. I knew the first of the guests checking in that afternoon wouldn’t be arriving until around four, so I didn’t feel pressed for time. I’d enjoyed catching up with my dear friend and assumed the rest of the day would be relaxing and just as pleasant. Once again, I assumed wrong.

Chapter 15

As I pulled my car into the alley that ran behind the abandoned warehouse on Locust Street, Sheila asked, “This is it?”

“Yeah, I believe so.”

“It’s kind of spooky and ominous looking,” Sheila said. “What did it used to be?”

“I’m really not sure. I think it’s just been a falling down vacant warehouse for many years. The front of the building has a faded out sign that says Midwest Manufacturing, which could be just about anything.”

“Where in this warehouse are we supposed to meet Teddy?”

“I don’t know that either. I didn’t think to ask him.”

“It’s a three-story building that takes up half the block. Perhaps you should’ve asked. Do you think we should just wait for him in this alley?” Sheila asked.

“What if he parks on the other side, off Cherry Street? I have no idea what kind of car he drives,” I said. “It’s still only ten until noon. Maybe we should wait here for a few minutes, and if he doesn’t show up by five or six after, go in that back door and look around.”

“Okay. But I hope he shows up soon. I have a bad feeling about going inside this building for some reason.”

“Don’t be silly,” I said. I had a bad feeling too, but didn’t want to frighten Sheila. Anyhow, I knew it was too late to back out of the deal I’d made with Teddy.

After waiting about twenty minutes in the alley, we reluctantly walked through the warehouse’s back door, which hung open on broken hinges. With most of the windows boarded up, it was dark and eerily quiet inside the building. It was obvious the warehouse had been looted and that teenagers were now using it as a meeting place. There were cigarette butts and beer cans littered all over the floor. I almost tripped over an empty bottle of Jose Cuervo. Perhaps Perry Coleman was right. We did need more youth programs established in this town to keep kids off the streets.

Sheila flipped up a light switch she saw on the wall beside us, but nothing happened. The electricity had probably been turned off many moons ago. She then shivered violently as she swatted spastically at the cobweb she’d just become entangled in. I knew she’d never been particularly fond of bugs and other creepy crawlers, and I couldn’t say I didn’t feel the same way. I reached up to flail wildly at imaginary cobwebs in my own hair.

“I don’t think he’s in here,” Sheila said in a whisper.

“We’ve only stepped ten feet into the building. We need to make our way to the front to see if he’s up there. He very likely came through the front door.”

“Oh, all right.”

“Teddy!” I hollered out. My voice echoed across the vast empty room. Only a few dilapidated crates and broken down pallets could be seen from where we stood. Very little light was filtering into the room from outside. “Where are you? Teddy! Can you hear me?”

There was complete silence as I paused to listen for a response. After hollering several more times, I led Sheila to the front of the building. We wandered around in vain for ten minutes or more. “I can’t imagine he would have gone upstairs, can you?”

“I shouldn’t think so. And I’m not anxious to go upstairs to find out,” Sheila answered. “I think he’s just running late. Maybe we should go back out and wait in the car. Or maybe you can wait in the car and I’ll stand in front of the building and watch for him.”

I could tell Sheila was uncomfortable and wasn’t much more excited about waiting in the alley than she was about wandering around in this dark and dank building. I was about to suggest I give Teddy a call to verify his whereabouts when I had the crap scared right out of me.

“Hey!” I yelled out in terror, as a hand reached out of the darkness behind me and grasped my shoulder. I saw Sheila’s eyes widen, her pupils as large as elephant-egg marbles, and I nearly fainted and fell to the concrete floor beneath me.

“Fat chance, sister! You’ll wait here with us, and so will your friend.” I recognized Rocky’s voice immediately. “If Teddy wants to see his girlfriend alive again, he’ll show up with the ten thousand bucks he owes our boss! He promised he’d be here at noon. What time is it, Spike?”

I turned to see the glow of an indigo light on a cheap plastic watch. I could barely make out Spike’s lips move on his face in the dimly lit room. “Twelve twenty-three.”

“I’m sure he’ll be here at any minute. Maybe he’s looking for a parking spot,” I said.

“This is a vacant warehouse, lady. There’s enough parking in back for the hundred or so employees who used to work here. I don’t need to hear any more excuses out of you, covering for your boyfriend. We’ll give Teddy seven more minutes,” Rocky said. “If he ain’t here by then, he can say hasta la vista to his woman. And who’s to say we might not opt to have a little fun with her and her girlfriend in the meantime?”