Murder on Wheels Read online

  As we drove back into town, I thought about my friend. Sadie had been alone for years after her husband died, and the first man she’d let into her heart since then had torn it apart. I was focusing on the ocean when a thought occurred to me. “Darn, I forgot to ask him what they planned to do with the food truck.”

  “You think he would have told you?” Amy turned around to look at me.

  I shrugged. “Probably not, but who knows? He’s the one into New Age honesty and purity. Maybe I could have used his beliefs against him?”

  “Tricked him into telling you the truth?” Greg laughed. “Honey, that hasn’t worked since they stopped making those Scooby-Doo cartoons.”

  I leaned up against him. “Well, Austin definitely would be playing the part of Shaggy.”

  Justin and Amy dropped us at my house when we returned to South Cove. Greg walked me to the porch. “Well, that was fun.”

  “You’re a bad liar.” I poked his chest. “I didn’t think you were going to make it ten more minutes looking for that fake rock. In fact, I believe I saved you from a boring afternoon.”

  “Don’t tell Amy or Justin, okay?” Greg took my key and unlocked the door. “It’s just that I get enough of the search stuff in my day job. When I’m on my own time, I don’t want to look for clues or find hidden treasure. I want to drink beer and eat buckets of clams.”

  “Now, that sounds like a terrific plan. Let’s say we do that tomorrow.” I had three days off this week—Friday, Sunday, and Monday—and I intended to make the most of my last day to relax. As we walked into the living room, Emma leaned against our legs, whining and yipping. I leaned down and gave her a quick hug. “You want to go out, girl?”

  She ran to the back door and barked.

  “I guess that’s your answer.” Greg nodded to the television. “You mind if we watch some of the game? I could go home if you’d rather be alone.”

  “I can read with you here or gone, so I’m fine.” I threw the remote at him. “But I’d rather snuggle on the couch with you while I’m doing it.”

  Greg chuckled and settled on the couch as I let Emma outside. “Do you happen to have a beer?”

  “Beer and chips. And I might just be talked into warming up a frozen pizza if you’re good.” I opened the fridge and grabbed a couple of bottles, then checked the freezer to make sure we had pizza. I poured a bag of potato chips into a large bowl and headed back to the couch.

  Double dating was fun and all, but Greg and I had developed our own routine as a couple. And this was our comfort zone.

  If I believed in fate, I’d worry about feeling this settled. Instead, since I wasn’t superstitious, I believed we’d have many more nights like this to enjoy each other’s company. Change, however, happens when you’re not expecting it.

  CHAPTER 2

  Aunt Jackie put the standing water pitchers away under the counter. “Until the water ban is lifted, we’ll only serve water when requested. Do you know how much water we go through in the afternoons? Those kids drink it because it’s free.”

  “Then we should provide it.” I looked to Toby and Sasha for support. Neither met my gaze. This was our first monthly staff meeting, and my aunt seemed to be changing everything. “Toby? What do you think?”

  Toby didn’t even look up from his texting. “If we have to pour water for every kid who asks, we’ll be swamped and we won’t give great service to the paying customers.”

  Mayor Baylor had put out a save water decree after the third month of the drought. Businesses were supposed to turn in their plans to City Hall by the end of the week. I didn’t mind helping the cause, but this seemed extreme. “Yeah, I’m sure we don’t want to add staff hours just to pour water.”

  Aunt Jackie seemed to consider our objections, then crossed the item off the list. “We’ll try it this way for a while. Next topic is new aprons. Who has an idea for a new slogan?”

  Toby tucked his phone in his shirt pocket. “Look, I don’t want to be rude, but it’s my one day off and Elisa’s upset I’m not helping with the yard work. Is there anything else we need to talk about before I leave?”

  I glanced at my aunt, who narrowed her lips and scanned her list of items. “I guess there’s nothing here that I can’t update you on at the end of your shift tomorrow.” She nodded to me. “Go ahead and give them the envelopes.”

  I handed out the white business-size envelopes. Sasha took hers like it could bite her. “You’re not closing the store are you? I know I haven’t been able to work as many hours this semester, but I’ll cut back on my schedule for summer and be here more.”

  “Just open the envelope.” I watched as they each pulled out a check. “It’s not much, but Aunt Jackie and I wanted to share the amazing holiday season we had. And a lot of it is due to the two of you.”

  “We just want you to know you’re appreciated.” Aunt Jackie put her agenda in the manila folder she’d set up for staff meeting notes. Then she went back behind the counter. “I’ll see everyone on Wednesday. Josh and I are going into the city for a play tonight.”

  Toby sank back into his chair as Aunt Jackie left the shop. “Don’t I feel like a real heel right about now?”

  “You didn’t know.” Sasha patted his arm, then grinned. “This will take care of Olivia’s day care for a few months. I don’t know what to say.”

  “There’s nothing to say. But when you see my aunt, please thank her for insisting on the bonus program. She thought the entire thing up. In fact, there’s a whole performance-based section for next quarter’s bonus. The more traffic we get, the bigger your bonuses will be.” I focused on Toby. “Everything okay with you and Elisa? You seem a little tense.”

  “Nothing I can’t handle.” His phone buzzed again with a new text message. He rubbed his face with both hands. “I guess I’d better get out of here before she blows another gasket.”

  Sasha and I sat in silence as we watched Toby leave the shop. “That was interesting,” I muttered as I finished the rest of my coffee. “Do you want to take home some cheesecake for dessert? I need to clean out the display case anyway.”

  She flushed and shook her head. “I’m trying to diet. Of course, being here with all the treats, it hasn’t been the easiest food plan in the world to follow.”

  I frowned. “You don’t need to diet. You’re perfect.” Two days in a row now, women who looked amazing had been complaining about their weight. I pulled my sweatshirt closed. Emma and I hadn’t been running in over a week. Maybe the universe was hinting at me and my expanding waistline. I glanced at the single slice of double chocolate cheesecake sitting lonely in the display case. Or maybe not.

  “Whatever.” Sasha looked toward the door where Toby had exited. “I’m not trying anything crazy, just eating better and working out every day. I want to set a good example for Olivia.”

  As we said our good-byes, I wondered about Sasha and her attention toward Toby. Did he realize the young mother had a crush on him? Or did he have one too many women with kids in his life as it was? This thing with Elisa was Toby’s longest relationship. At least, since I’d known him. I’d have to pry some gossip out of Greg when he took me to dinner tonight.

  Walking home, I slowed as I passed by Austin’s Bike Shop. Right in front of the shop, parked on the street, was my food truck. Okay, so I had only rented it once for the Mission Walk, but I’d hoped to be able to purchase it for Coffee, Books, and More’s first annex. A large pink sign hung on the side proclaiming GOOD FOR YOU DESSERTS—COMING SOON.

  Amy hadn’t said anything about a new business starting up in South Cove. But here sat the proof. The truck had recently been painted a bright green with flowers bordering the edges. It looked like a hippie mobile from the seventies. As I stepped closer, I could see the tagline for the business written in script under the window. I read the words out loud, “Yes, we are totally gluten-free.”

  “I’m just in love with the way the truck turned out, aren’t you?” A slightly familiar woman’s voice
spoke to me from behind. I spun around to see Kacey Austin. This time she wore a floral dress with sandals, looking like she’d just auditioned for the role of fairy queen in the next hobbit movie. She moved closer to me, studying my face. I could tell when she recognized me with the smile she gave me. “Hey, I know you. You and your friends were at the park yesterday.”

  I nodded. “Jill Gardner. I own the bookstore/coffee shop up the street.” I looked at her truck. “We sell the not-so-good-for-you-but-delicious desserts.”

  Kacey giggled. “Don’t I know it. Austin took me there last week for an after-dinner treat. I adore your romance section over in the bookstore. I picked up several new releases from my favorite authors.”

  Okay, now I had a dilemma. I was supposed to hate this woman for ruining Sadie’s life and now stealing away my food truck. But she was also a customer who loved my shop. I sighed. Worse, I kind of liked her. “Thanks. I try to stock what my customers want to read. And it doesn’t hurt that I love reading the same books.”

  “Well, you’ve got a new supporter in me. I have a list of cookbooks I was going to go into Bakerstown today to look for, but could you order them for me? That would save me a trip.” She dug in the side pocket of her dress and thumbed through some paper scraps. “Here you go.”

  I glanced through the list. “I can’t promise these are all in print, but I’ll get them ordered. You should have the majority of them by Friday.”

  She clapped her hands. “Perfect. I told Austin that today was going to be ultra-special. And it has been. I met a new neighbor and got one chore off my list in less than ten minutes.”

  Her grin was infectious. “When are you opening?” I pointed to the food truck. Surely her healthy treats weren’t going to cut into my business. Who would trade a dry cookie for a slice of cheesecake?

  “I’m thinking two weeks. I still have to get permits from the city and the health inspector. There’s a lot of paperwork involved in opening something like this. I hadn’t really considered the delays. I got the truck and painted it, then I thought I’d open the next day.” She giggled again. “Austin says I’m hopeless when it comes to business planning. He’s taken on all the details.”

  Dustin Austin was the more driven of the two? That couldn’t be a good thing. The man was so laid-back I think he closed the bike rental place anytime he thought the waves were good down the coast. The way these two were going, I wouldn’t have to worry about the competition for customers for months, maybe even years. “Well, good luck.” I reached into my tote for one of my council liaison cards. “We have a monthly meeting of all the businesses, maybe you could come to the next one.”

  She took the card and tucked it into a pocket. “I’ll try. I’m not very good with meetings. I tend to get bored easily. I think that’s why I keep getting elected as president of the geo club. I keep the meetings short and then we go have some fun.”

  Maybe Kacey had some lessons to teach me, as well. “I’m sure it’s more than that. Anyway, I hope you at least try one. We talk a lot about things we can do as a community to bring in more business. We’ll be planning a spring sidewalk sale for April. All the stores are invited to participate.”

  Kacey didn’t look convinced. “I’m really always on the sidewalk. Or at least my customers will be.”

  I couldn’t fault her logic. “We do several other activities during the year.” I don’t know why I was trying to talk her into coming. If Sadie saw her at a Business-to-Business meeting, she’d probably rip Kacey’s eyes out.

  Or, in actual reality, Sadie would probably break down into tears and go running out the door. She was still really upset about Austin.

  “I’ll try.” Kacey’s response sounded weak. I knew she’d never even try to attend, but maybe that was for the better, at least until Sadie’s heart healed just a bit.

  “Well, that’s my cue. I’d better get home. I’ve got a ton of things to do before I go back to work tomorrow.”

  “Call me when the books come in. I’ll come by and let you sample my newest creation, Summertime Smooth. It’s a lemon cheesecake, completely gluten-free.” She waved and disappeared into the food truck.

  I stared after her. Kacey could have gotten the lemon cheesecake recipe from her grandmother or even the Internet, but I doubted it. It wasn’t a coincidence that Austin had asked Sadie for that exact recipe right after he’d broken the I-have-a-wife news. Shaking off my friend’s relationship troubles, I started power-walking toward home, hoping for a quick run on the beach with Emma before Greg was due to arrive.

  Opening the front door, I got a full-body-slam welcome from Emma. She covered my entire face with one wet slurp and then sat down and whined quietly. I put my tote on the table next to the door and knelt to hug her. “You miss me, girl?” Emma was a full-blooded golden retriever and Greg’s gift to me last year. He thought I needed protection since I had just moved into the house I’d inherited when my friend Miss Emily died. Turned out Greg was right, as Miss Emily’s distant relatives were none too happy to give up the place.

  Now Emma was my running companion and my best non-human friend. I patted her back and stood. “You want to go outside?”

  This got me a short bark before she ran to the back door. I let her out and glanced at my home answering machine. Yep, I’m old school. I have a landline and a real answering machine with cassette tapes inside. I’ve thought about looking for a replacement for when this one bites the dust, but I’m sure the guys at the big box store wouldn’t understand what I was talking about. The light was blinking, indicating a message.

  Only two people called my landline. Greg, when he couldn’t reach me any other way, and Frank Gleason, my contact with the California Historical Commission. I had the original South Cove Mission, or what was left of it, in my backyard. I’d been working on getting it certified for as long as I’d lived in the house. The one thing I could say about the process? They were certainly thorough. I got my new filtered-water pitcher out of the fridge and filled a travel bottle after I pressed the Play button.

  “Miss Gardner? This is Sally Walters. I’m Frank’s administrative assistant. This is just a courtesy call to let you know that the South Cove Mission Wall certification request is still with the state commission. They are running a little behind due to mandatory staff reduction days so it’s taking a little longer than we expected. I’ll call you in three months if the project is still pending on their docket.” The machine clicked off.

  I stared out the window toward the part of the backyard where the wall stood. “I guess you hid back there for years, so a few more months isn’t going to hurt anything.” Greg wanted to put up a hammock and build an outdoor brick oven where the wall sat, if the commission found it wasn’t a historic mission. I figured he’d be disappointed when the decision finally came through. I knew it was the mission.

  Emma barked at me from the open screen door. If I understood dog language at all, her bark said, Hurry up and get changed so we can run on the beach. I smell dead fish.

  Or, more likely, Open the door so I can chew up those couch cushions.

  I decided to believe the former and hurried upstairs to change into my running clothes. Ten minutes later, we were on the beach. The sun had broken through the morning clouds and the waves were light and playful. No one but Emma and I were there, so I unhooked her leash and let her run. I focused on the sound of my feet against the sand and the smell of the salt air.

  We rounded a bend and out of the corner of my eye, I saw a couple walking hand in hand toward me. And Emma running full bore to greet them, seawater flying off her body as she flew. “Emma, come here,” I called, hoping for once my dog would listen to my plea. She didn’t.

  When she reached the couple, the woman leaned down to greet her, and Emma sat, enjoying the attention. I sped up my pace to return her to the leash, hoping it wasn’t Mayor Baylor and Tina. I’d get a lecture for sure about loose animals on the beach and the city laws. As I approached, I realized it was Austin an
d Kacey. I clicked Emma’s leash onto her collar and stood. “Sorry about that, I thought we were alone.”

  “Dogs aren’t supposed to be off their leashes on the beach,” Austin muttered.

  Kacey slapped his arm. “Stop being a rule book. Who died and left you king?” She turned toward me. “I know we live in a small town, but how crazy is it to run into you again today. Jane, isn’t it?”

  “Jill. And this is Emma.” I reached down to rub the top of Emma’s head, and she scooted over to lean against my leg as we stood there. “I just love this stretch of beachfront. We run a few times a week, especially when the weather’s good like today.”

  “I know.” Kacey spun around in a circle. “Isn’t it grand today? When Austin mentioned we should take a break and go for a walk, I was all over that idea.”

  I turned my attention to Dustin Austin. I noticed his wife called him by his last name along with everyone I’d ever met. The guy hated the name Dustin, but when I’d first met him, I had felt weird calling him Austin. That thought was pushed aside by another memory crowding into my brain. The last time I’d seen him, before his wife showed up in town, he’d been in my storeroom, kissing Sadie. I could tell by the look on his face, the memory had occurred to him, too. “So, Austin, it’s been a while. I hear you and Kacey are opening a dessert food truck.”

  He frowned, then turned back to Kacey, grabbing her. “We’ve got to go.”

  “Ouch, you’re hurting me!” She pulled her arm out of his grasp. “Sometimes he doesn’t think. Like the time he kissed me after eating a cookie and I had to be rushed to the hospital.”

  I stared at her. “How would a cookie send you to the hospital?”

  “I’ve got a mad wheat allergy. I love to bake, but I have to be really careful with the ingredients I use. That’s one of the reasons we decided to open the food truck, Austin got tired of eating all my experiments. Besides, people are going crazy on this gluten-free thing, so I thought it was time to let them eat cake, too.” Kacey shrugged. “So to speak.”