Pumpkin Roll (18 page)

Sadie felt her frustration fade in the wake of his vulnerability. He must have read it in her face because he seemed to relax too.

Pete continued. “I just want to keep things as normal as possible for the boys, okay? I don’t want them to get upset. That’s all I really care about right now. We’ll buy an eyebolt for both doors and maybe have another slumber party. I just want to know the boys are safe, okay? That’s all I can really focus on right now.”

Sadie nodded her understanding, realizing that part of what Pete meant, but didn’t say, was that he felt he could protect them from whatever was happening. That’s what he did—he kept people safe—and yet his foundation must feel unstable under his feet right now. He wore a zippered jacket over his T-shirt, and Sadie wondered if the jacket was concealing his shoulder harness and gun. She held his eyes for a couple of seconds, reading the fear, anguish, and discomfort there. It was the pleading in his expression that helped her make the decision to follow his lead. These were his grandchildren, it was his son’s house, and she was here to support him.

She still didn’t understand why he didn’t want to call the police—so what if they thought it was silly; they might be able to help—but it was obviously something Pete didn’t want to do. Maybe his being a cop made it complicated somehow, or maybe there was something else holding him back. She amended the thought as soon as it entered her head. There was nothing suspicious in Pete’s behavior. He understood law enforcement better than she ever could, which meant that not calling the Boston PD must be the right decision. She would support him in dealing with the situation this way, even if she didn’t understand why he was so determined. At least for now.

“I bet the boys would like the Franklin Park Zoo,” Sadie suggested, willing to change the subject now. “I know Kalan would be disappointed not to go, but maybe we can make it up to him. Breanna told me the zoo has a new baby gorilla.”

Pete put his hands in his front pockets, his expression unreadable. She sensed that he was embarrassed by his monologue; it wasn’t like him to share his insecurities so easily. She moved toward him and hugged him, rubbing his back in order to comfort him while at the same time verifying the strap of his shoulder harness. She wondered if the zoo allowed concealed handguns and could only assume he’d gotten the proper clearance to carry a concealed weapon in a state other than the one his license was issued in. She reminded herself again,
He’s a police detective. He knows how to handle these things.

“I like gorillas,” Pete said dryly when she pulled back.

Sadie laughed and kissed him quickly on the lips. “Let’s feed these boys a quick lunch and get out of here, okay?”

Whitty Baked Beans

½ pound diced crispy bacon

½ pound ground beef, browned and drained

1 medium onion, chopped

1 (15-ounce) can butter beans, drained*

1 (16-ounce) can kidney beans, drained

1 (16-ounce) can pork and beans, undrained

⅔ cup packed brown sugar

½ cup ketchup

1 tablespoon prepared mustard

2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

2 tablespoons molasses

½ to 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

Fry bacon, remove from pan, and drain. Add ground beef to the same pan and brown with onion. (You can also use extra bacon or kielbasa in place of hamburger.)

Combine all ingredients in a slow cooker. Mix well and cook 1 hour on high or 3 to 4 hours on low. Turn cooker to low or “keep warm” until ready to eat. Refrigerate leftovers.

Serves 10 as a side dish, or 6 as a meal.

*Butter beans are large, flat, yellow beans that give this recipe a nice variety. Feel free to substitute another type of bean if you don’t like the texture of butter beans. Great Northern beans or black beans make a good substitution. For a less saucy dish, add an additional can of drained beans of your choice.

Chapter 15

The zoo was cold but fun—or at least it was as fun as possible for two people feeling as burdened as Sadie and Pete were. Like the rest of the city, the zoo was decked out in Halloween paraphernalia—spiderwebs stretched across buildings and hundreds of pumpkins, cornstalks, and creepy characters peeked through windows. Sadie updated Shawn on the latest news while Pete took the boys through the reptile house. She and Shawn were just getting to the brainstorming phase of the discussion when Shawn realized he was late for class.

The boys ran from one exhibit to another for almost two hours before the cold, the wind, and sheer exhaustion took their toll. Sadie took several pictures of the baby gorilla for Breanna, and Pete bought both boys a four-inch plastic replica from the gift shop. He purchased a larger one for Kalan, who would not be happy to have missed the field trip.

On the way home, they stopped for hot chocolate at a little mom-and-pop diner, and then Sadie and the boys waited in the parking lot of a hardware store while Pete bought two eyebolts, one for each door, and five pumpkins for a carving contest when Kalan got home from school. Taking steps toward the boys’ safety seemed to lift Pete’s spirits—and Sadie’s. They would be safe tonight, Sadie was sure of it, and the pumpkins would be a good distraction, even if pumpkin guts were one of Sadie’s least favorite things to handle.

Both Chance and Fig fell asleep on the ride home from the hardware store. Sadie looked out the passenger window and watched Boston come and go between the trees that were bending under in the wind, wishing she felt more settled than she did. Loose ends drove her crazy, and there were so many loose ends snapping in the breeze that she found it hard to concentrate on anything else. They pulled into the garage and Sadie reached down to undo her seat belt. Pete’s warm hand on hers made her pause.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered.

“For?”

“For being distant. It’s a problem I have when a simple solution isn’t simple. I just have to keep things . . . logical.”

Sadie stared at him. “I can understand that,” she said, relieved. He gave her hand a squeeze and pushed the button to release her seat belt just as her cell phone rang.

Pete let himself out of the van while she dug through her purse and pulled out her phone. She didn’t recognize the phone number but the area code was local, which piqued her curiosity. “Hello,” she said, opening the passenger door just as Pete rolled back the side door of the minivan.

“Hello? Is this Mrs. Hoffman?” a woman asked.

Why did everyone mess up her last name? It wasn’t hard. “This is Sadie
Hoffmiller,
” she said with emphasis.

“Oh, sorry, Mrs. Hoffmiller. This is Gabrielle Marrow.”

Sadie sat upright, one foot out of the car and one still in. She couldn’t think of anything to say before Gabrielle continued. “I’m sorry I missed you at the hotel last night, and I’ve been—”

“Missed me?” Sadie said automatically, putting both feet back into the car so that she could properly focus on the phone call.

“I looked for you in the lounge for a few minutes before returning to my dinner.” Her tone was accusatory, as though determined to see Sadie as having complicated her evening. This woman had some serious issues, and Sadie thought again of the definition of a psychopath: someone who was willing to do anything for what they wanted. What did Gabrielle want? How was Sadie in the way? Why was she calling?

“Really,” Sadie said carefully, trying to figure out the game this woman was playing. Maybe she didn’t know the security guard told Sadie
why
she was being kicked out. Or maybe she had too much wine at her banquet and was making something up to fill in the blank spaces. Or maybe she was just plain crazy.

“Look, I know we got off to a rough start,” Gabrielle said before Sadie could think of a response that didn’t involve screaming. Gabrielle’s voice sounded professional but tired, as though she
had
to make this call but wished she didn’t and wanted it to just go away. “I’ve got an artist reception at the gallery tomorrow night,” she continued, “and I’m not at the top of my game right now. Actually, I haven’t been at the top of my game for several weeks and—”

“I know you had me kicked out of the hotel.” Sadie was running out of patience and tired of trying to come up with a politically correct way to have this conversation. “And I don’t appreciate you pretending it was otherwise.”

“Kicked out?”

“Yes,” Sadie said emphatically. She looked over her shoulder as Pete released Fig from his car seat. Chance was walking on his own, but Fig was not so easily roused. Pete caught Sadie’s eye, and she held up one finger to signal she’d be there in a minute. Pete adjusted a limp Fig to one shoulder and nodded.

“Uh, I don’t know what you’re talking about Mrs. Hoffman.” The edgy tone Sadie remembered from yesterday was back.

“
Hoffmiller,
” Sadie corrected her again. “I took the T all the way to the hotel last night to try to get you to listen to me. Why would I leave?”

Gabrielle was silent for a few beats before saying, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” She sounded annoyed. “I went to meet you in the Connexion Lounge, just as I said I would, but you weren’t there. I’ve worked very hard to find the time to call you today and clear the air between us.”

Sadie was tempted to keep arguing, knowing she had an arsenal of weapons at her disposal. This woman had lied to her when they first met, and then followed up with a cold and pompous attitude. But that would not get her answers. She thought back to Pete’s question about Gabrielle’s motive, assuming she was the one behind all the strange things happening. Sadie had surmised she was hiding something, or trying to keep them away from Mrs. Wapple. So why was she calling now?

Pete closed the door of the minivan and headed out of the garage with Fig over one shoulder and leading Chance with his other hand.

Sadie took a breath and kept her voice calm when she spoke, changing her tactics completely. “I would like to have things resolved between us as well.”

Gabrielle paused, perhaps surprised by Sadie backing down. “Um, good,” she said. “I guess we should start at the beginning, when I met you in front of Dee’s house.”

Dee? A nickname? Sadie hadn’t expected that type of endearment. “Right, and you said you were her.”

“I’m sorry about that,” Gabrielle said, sounding contrite. “Dee’s only been there a couple of months, but there have already been a few problems with the neighbors, which is why I sealed the front door. I hoped that would keep her in the backyard, away from people, at least until she settled in. When you asked if I was her, it just seemed simpler to play along.”

The front door was sealed? Was that even legal? “Was she living with your dad before moving here, then?”

Gabrielle paused. “How do you know that?”

“I don’t
know,
” Sadie said. “But I found your dad’s obituary in the newspaper and assumed your father was taking care of her until he . . . died.” She grimaced. Her own father’s death was still a painful memory; she missed him so much.

“You read my dad’s obituary? Who are you?”

“Just someone trying to help your sister. I’m sure it’s been hard to suddenly become your sister’s caretaker.”

“I’m not her caretaker,” Gabrielle said, defensive. “She can take care of herself.”

“No, she can’t,” Sadie said. “Maybe because of losing your dad, or maybe because of the new location—I don’t know—but she’s not settling in, and she’s not well.”

Gabrielle didn’t respond for a moment. “I’m doing the best I can.”

“I’ve been here only a few days, but I can already tell something is very wrong with your sister. She needs help.”