Read One Cuppa Brew: Book 1 in The Thyme for Tea Series Online
Authors: J. Louise Powell
Tags: #Fiction
One Cuppa Brew: Book 1 in The Thyme for Tea Series (7 page)
She brought the trio their order and asked if anyone was planning to go to the movies that weekend. Joe asked if she wanted to join them, but she shrugged it off, saying she wasn’t sure how long her son was staying. Pastor could tell Alice was trying to catch her gaze again, but she kept her head down and visibly relaxed when the Hallelujahs began, signaling another customer. She excused herself and got up to meet the new arrivals.
Her anxiety returned as she saw who had entered. These were not the type of people to order coffee and browse magazines. No, these were clearly more the type she anticipated working security at a club in downtown Pensacola or Mobile, maybe even New Orleans. They looked rough.
Heaven help me
, she thought, and
God, I really mean it
, she added.
The shopkeeper took their order, surprised that they made one, and busied herself making the hot drinks, wondering why they were really there. One was a coffee, the other ordered a cup of her favorite tea. While it was her favorite, it was a rare choice for a customer. She remembered when Andy brought it back from San Francisco, telling her it was a tea to make everything better. She sighed. She could use some of that now, so she decided to brew a full pot. She glanced at the tea tins where the cards were stored, now wishing she had sent them with Jason to the police station. She watched sadly, as Joe and Pam got up to leave. Alice insisted on staying, telling her friends she wanted to look at a book. Pastor couldn’t think. To say something to Joe and Pam might give away more than Andy was ready to have others know. Then again, maybe she was imagining the hostility in the room, it was just Alice, and a couple of thugs. As she glanced at her order sheet, she had a quick idea. She scribbled out a note to Joe, and took it to him as he was getting ready to leave. Alice looked like she was going to take it until Pastor said it was William’s bill and she hoped Joe would give it to him, since she wasn’t sure she wanted a potential murderer seen in her store. Joe nodded, putting the folded slip in his pocket and mumbled something about not believing in friends. She tried to make eye contact with him, but the moment was gone. He took Pam’s arm and they walked out together.
Alice rose, slowly, watching as Pastor walked back around behind the counter. “You don’t need to go back there, Iris. The boys will just come get you.”
The shopkeeper grimaced; she had forgotten Alice always called her Iris. She should have known there was something off about her. As she was about to turn, a thought came to mind. “But I haven’t served them their drinks yet.”
Alice shook her head, “They don’t need their drinks. You, freakishly tall one, go lock the door. Shorty, bring her over here.”
The shorter one surprised both Iris and Alice, “I could really use a cup of that tea, ma’am. No sense in wasting fine tea.”
Pastor blinked. It was a familiar line. She then glanced at Alice for permission. Alice nodded, “Whatever, just hurry up and get over here. We need to get on with this.”
Pastor made her way behind the counter and decided to make a tray. Her plan of dousing both the goons with hot drinks was now put on hold by the young man’s request. Besides, she had a feeling Alice was the killer here, and these two were just bodyguards of some type. All she would have done was made them angry and hastened Alice’s interrogation.
Just before the tall man made it to the door it burst open and Julie rushed in, “Pastor, they took the bait, but the timetable is off! They will be here early!” She stopped suddenly, as she realized they weren’t alone.
“Get out! Get Andy!” Pastor yelled, but it was too late. The taller man had quickly assessed what was happening and grabbed Julie with one arm, locking the door with the other.
To everyone’s surprise Julie then spun and ducked, kicking the man in the groin as she broke free. She brought a gun out of her purse and said calmly “No one move”.
Alice began chuckling, “So our sweet little Iris has a rescuer. It’s really too bad that we will just have to kill you too.” She gestured towards the shorter man, “Go take her gun so we can get on with this.”
The young woman waved the gun at him, “Get on with what exactly? What have you done? What do you want?”
Still seated comfortably on the couch, the tennis playing killer chuckled, “I’m here for the baseball cards that must have been left with Iris. The two I wanted weren’t on Cindy when I killed her, so she must have gotten rid of them first. I already browsed the books, but I had no luck. Based on Iris’s loves, I was guessing they would be hidden in the religious section somewhere. But then I saw the way she looked at her tea when my acquaintances joined me, so maybe I was wrong.”
Pastor felt a twinge of guilt. It hadn’t even occurred to her to hide the cards in the religion books. Funny that Alice, who refused to call her by her nickname, would think of that. But then again, those books were probably the last places Pastor would hide something. Maybe in the mystery section… She shook her head. Now was not the time. She, and now Julie, were in a tough situation, though Julie seemed to be taking it in stride. And she was speaking again.
“Baseball cards, Alice? You mean the ones you killed Lois Bell to get?” Julie asked.
“That wasn’t Lois Bell and you know it! Aren’t you her daughter? Clever, using your mother’s name like that when you took the cards to be appraised. Besides, I would have killed Cindy anyhow; she was trying to get the cards before I could for Sam. He loves paraphernalia like that. It was supposed to be our six-month anniversary gift. That floozy was his ex, and she knew he would love it as well. She was just trying to win him back. But he is all MINE.”
The rough-looking young man that had requested the tea tilted his head and said something under his breath. To Pastor it sounded suspiciously like he said, “Was that enough?” He nodded at Julie and came forward to take the gun from her. “You can open the front and let Jason and the others in now,” he said as he trained the gun on Alice. “Mom, you can put down the tray, no need to waste the tea.” Lastly, making eye contact with Alice, he said “And you are about to be arrested for the murder of Cindy Smith and the attempted murders of Lois Bell and Bill West in New Jersey. If you ever use hired help, maybe you should consider spending enough for the professionals. Luckily for us, this guy wasn’t very good at his job.”
Pastor set the tea down gently, still in shock, “Andy?” she asked, her eyes going wide. “What, how did you? Things were supposed to happen tomorrow. What about our plan, the decoys...” she was muttering as she took a seat on the sectional.
A group of officers, led by Jason, filed into the room and took away the tall man and Alice. Andy rushed to his mother to help her sit down. “William called again a couple of hours later. While William was driving to Atlantic City, Sean called to tell him a pawn shop in Trenton had been ransacked, and asked if he knew anything about it. So William decided to stop in and check on Bill West, the man who owns the pawn shop. He wanted to know if he was awake and could tell him more about what happened. When he got to the hospital, the same creep who had attacked him was actually in his room, trying to inject him with sodium Pentothal, but William stopped him and accidentally dosed the bad guy instead. The attacker sang after that, telling us all about Alice. She knew he was unemployed and had aspirations of being a fighter in Atlantic City from the time his mother had come to visit someone in Oyster Creek. She promised him a chance to fight at Sam’s casino if he got her the baseball cards. She told him he should kill Lois and Bill, once she found out they were injured, but luckily his conscience didn’t allow him to do so. Lois is already awake; they found out he was slipping something in her IV solution to keep her under. No harm done, except an extended rest. Bill is expected to make a full recovery as well.”
Pastor looked at her son, “But you, I didn’t even recognize you. I almost doused you with a scalding pot of tea! If it hadn’t been for that nonsense about not wasting tea...”
He looked at her sheepishly, “I thought you might realize it was me when I said that, or when I asked for that flavor.”
“How could I? You look like some type of muscle-bound goon! Not my son! I just thought the young man had good manners and it wouldn’t make sense to hurt him unless I had to do so. Plus, it wouldn’t have helped with Alice.”
“That was a quick assessment, Mom. I’m proud of how you were on your toes. Julie was pretty terrific too, wasn’t she?” he said, gesturing towards the woman across the room.
“Yes, she was. Where ever did you learn to kick like that?” Pastor asked, standing up to grasp Julie in a tight hug. “You scared me when you came in here! I had just gotten rid of Pam and Joe, and then you were in the middle of the danger!”
“Karate as a kid. Lois hated sports, but Dad wanted us to be able to fight if we needed to. I haven’t used it in years, but I have stayed in some shape, in yoga and Pilates classes since then.”
Pastor looked around, “What about Sam Waters? How does he play into this?”
Andy shrugged, “As far as we can tell, completely innocent. He was brought in by some agents in New Jersey and interviewed. He did recognize the Craigslist ad and say something to Alice about it, but unless she contradicts him, the idea to go for it was all hers. Since his ex also went after the cards, it seems he might just be the kind of man that women do stupid things for to impress him.”
“Speaking of his ex, how did she know to impersonate my stepmother?” Julie asked.
He shook his head, “That’s one thing we are hoping to learn from Alice. The best we can conclude is that she found out about the cards and was going to try to get them before Alice did. But it doesn’t connect all the dots. Unless she realized you, or someone who knew Lois, would come here, and she was planning to wait for you, so that she could steal the cards from you. But how she knew what happened to Lois, we don’t know. Nor do we know why exactly she happened to be outside William’s door. Our best guess is she realized he suspected something. Maybe she thought he had the cards.”
Just then they heard the Kinks, and Pastor wondered with a sigh why she hadn’t locked the door and turned the sign when the police left. Joe came in, carrying a pistol, aiming it at Andy. “Get away from the women!”
“Joe!” Pastor called out, stepping away from her son as she approached him. “What are you doing?”
He looked at her, bewildered. “I got your note. Jason wasn’t available, so I’m saving you, aren’t I?”
Pastor started to laugh as she took the gun from his hands. It was a deep hearty laugh, one she hadn’t been able to let loose for days. “Yes, Joe, you are. But this is my son Andy. I admit he looks a bit rough right now, but he already helped catch the criminals.”
Her son stood and shook hands with Joe. “Pleased to meet you, sir. Thanks for saving my mom, although I think she is fine now.”
Joe looked puzzled, but sat down anyhow. “You’re okay as well, young lady?” he asked Julie.
“Yes, everything is lovely right now. Thank you!” she said lightly. “Are you the Joe that plays tennis with my Uncle William?”
“Why yes I am, and where is that old rascal? I didn’t know he had any pretty young nieces,” he replied. He grabbed his stomach as Pastor pretended to hit him.
Pastor got up and locked the door, and turned the sign to read closed. “I think I am ready for a little peace in here. I hate to waste a pot of tea; anyone want some?”
CHAPTER TWELVE
The next morning was a Saturday but Pastor had decided to stay closed for the weekend, giving herself an extra day of recovery. She and Julie went for a long walk on the beach after saying farewell to Andy, who was returning his rental to New Orleans and then flying home. He had given Julie his number, telling her to call if she was ever in the DC area. When they got back to her condo, Pastor made a pot of tea and took it out to the balcony.
“So what have you decided to do with the cards?” she asked.
“Well, Andy kept the ones we just purchased and didn’t need to give to your grandchildren. But I don’t think you meant those,” she answered with a smile. “I guess I’m glad Jamie had the other box of cards and photos, so Cindy Smith couldn’t steal it after attacking my mom. I can’t believe she forgot she took them when I called and asked her about them. She’s so flakey! The rarest ones Jamie and I have decided to loan to the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown. We’ll still own them, but the museum will have to worry about the security. The others we have in a safety deposit box in Princeton. We can go see them when we go home and visit Lois. It is amazing the lengths people will go to for love and objects, isn’t it? ” Julie said.
“Some of humankind’s greatest moments are because of love, but also some of our worst. Passion is an interesting emotion. But to take it away would leave us empty. Then we may as well be machines.”
“That’s very true. This has certainly opened my eyes to the way I was living, almost in a sleep. Though I can thank my father for all those years of karate lessons. He was adamant his daughters should be able to defend themselves.”
Pastor laughed, “Please don’t underestimate your elders, dear. We’ve learned there are quite a few things worth being passionate about.”
The doorbell rang and the older woman excused herself. She returned with William and another cup for tea. Julie rushed over and hugged him “Oh, Uncle William, thank you!” she said with a cry.
The former spy held her out at arm’s length, “Thank you, my dear girl! Next time you have a question about something related to baseball, do me a favor and come to me first!”
“Next time I have a question about anything outside my normal realm of life, I will call you. How’s that, Uncle William?”
“That, my dear, sounds like a great plan!”
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