A Roux of Revenge (23 page)

“We’ve been over all this before, Ernie. You know how Jack feels.”

“I do. I do. But Jack’s old hat. You’re young. You can understand how businesses have to market themselves these days. I’m sure you could overrule him if you made up your mind.”

Lucky was losing
patience with the man. She did her best to bite her tongue. “Thanks, Ernie. But no thanks. We have all we can handle here as it is. You can surely see that.”

Ernie nodded and watched her carefully. “I saw you talking to Nate the other day.”

Lucky had the feeling Ernie was broaching the subject he intended all along. “Yes.” She wasn’t sure where this was leading. She only wished they’d
place their orders and be done with the politicking. She was suffering from a low level of anxiety about Janie and wanted a chance to call Miriam back. Lucky was hoping against hope that Janie might have returned home.

She turned to Ernie’s companion. “We have a really great pumpkin rice soup with a half sandwich of turkey and dried cranberries on rosemary bread, if you’d like to try that.”

“Sure,” the man called Rory replied. “That sounds good.”

“Same for me,” Ernie chimed in.

Lucky placed the order slip on the hatch. One by one most of their customers were leaving. There wasn’t much to do at the moment except whisk away a few dishes. There was no way to escape Ernie’s clutches.

Ernie picked up where he had left off. “I told Nate in no uncertain terms I didn’t want
him coming around whenever he felt like it and disrupting all my operations out there. Throws everything off schedule. And telling that dork of a deputy to chase down the kid certainly doesn’t help my business. I had to hire another guy to work the pony rides. I gave Nate a piece of my mind. I told him he better have a damn good reason to be sniffing around the festival. There’s no funny business
there. Everything’s aboveboard.”

Lucky recalled the travelers’ concern of the night before. If Ernie had stopped by the police station to rescue Daniel from Nate’s clutches, where was the young man? She was on the verge of asking if Daniel had returned to the festival when she spotted Nate outside the front door. She breathed a sigh of relief. Now she might have a chance to talk to Nate privately
about Janie.

Nate came through the door and approached the counter. Ernie had built up a swell of anger. He was on a roll and was not to be silenced.

“And if I see Nate Edgerton again, I’m gonna tell him straight out . . .”

“What’s that Ernie?” Nate laid a hand on the man’s shoulder. “What are you gonna tell me?”

Ernie jumped. His face darkened. “Uh . . .” He gestured to Lucky.
“I was just tellin’ this young lady here that I run a real clean operation. Everybody’s happy who’s workin’ at the festival.”

“Good to hear.” Nate took a stool next to him. “I’ll have a cup of coffee, Lucky, and a bowl of chili if you’ve got that today.”

“Sure, Nate.” Lucky was relieved she wouldn’t be held hostage to Ernie’s ramblings any longer. She poured Nate a cup of coffee and placed
his order. “I’ll bring you one of those pumpkin rolls too.”

She returned with Ernie’s and Rory’s orders. Ernie had fallen silent, as had his sidekick. They were doing their best to ignore Nate’s presence.

Three more people came through the door. Lucky glanced over at Meg. She was doing an excellent job but was beginning to look a little harried.

Where could Janie have gone? This was
so unlike her. Even upset as she had been all week, she hadn’t missed a day of work. Janie had always been conscientious. Lucky hoped Ernie and his sidekick would leave soon so she could have Nate’s full attention. Or maybe he was here because Miriam had already called him about Janie?

The new arrivals found tables, and Lucky noticed that Joe Conrad had come in behind them. Her heart sank.
She wouldn’t have a minute to talk to Nate now unless she dragged him into the office. Joe looked around the restaurant and finally spotted Nate at the counter. He headed straight for the stool next to Nate, greeting Jack at the cash register.

“Hello, Lucky . . . Nate.” Joe sat down.

Nate acknowledged Joe’s presence with a nod. “Oh, by the way, Isaac said to say hello.”

Joe’s face
brightened. “He did?” He smiled widely. “How’s he doing?”

“Fine, I guess. Said he hoped to hear from you.”

Joe laughed. “Well, he’s being polite. He probably breathed a sigh of relief when he didn’t have me looking over his shoulder. I’ll give him a call though—it’ll be nice to catch up.”

Ernie and Rory shot a look at Joe and, after a discreet look passed between them, rose without
a word and walked over to Jack to pay their bill.

Joe had taken notice of them, and curious, he spun around on the stool, watching as they paid and left the restaurant.

Nate pulled two plastic bags out of his pocket and, reaching over, slipped the cups that Ernie and Rory had used into the evidence bags. He pulled a pen from his pocket and made a mark on each of the bags. “You don’t mind
if I borrow a couple of the Spoonful’s cups, do you, Lucky?”

Lucky stared at him. “Not at all. They’re yours. You can keep them. What’s going on, Nate?”

Nate shook his head imperceptibly to indicate this was something he wasn’t willing to discuss. He turned to Joe. “Something wrong?”

Joe shrugged his shoulders. “No. It’s just . . . that guy who just left. You know him?” Joe looked
from Lucky to Nate.

“The one in the suit? That’s Ernie White. He lives over in Lincoln Falls. He’s the man who organized the festival. Why do you ask?”

Joe shook his head. “Sorry. Just something about him . . . looked familiar. Like I know him from somewhere but can’t place him.”

“You’ve probably seen him around town or out at the Harvest Festival.”

“Yeah,” Joe replied. “That must
be it.” He glanced at the plastic bags on the counter and quickly looked at Nate. “Any news about your stolen body or the van?”

“Nah,” Nate said, taking a sip of coffee. “I’m heading over to Lincoln Falls in a little bit. We got a report of an abandoned car on someone’s property outside of town. It’s been towed, and I’m gonna have it gone over and checked for fingerprints. I could be wrong,
but it’s the right color and it may be the car that sent the van off the road. The techs can have the paint analyzed, and we’ll see if it matches. We don’t have a gun, but if it’s the right car, I guess we have a murder weapon.”

Meg carried a tray of dishes back to the counter. Lucky rinsed them off and loaded them into the bin. “Lucky, I’m gonna take a break as soon as that bunch leaves,”
Meg said, indicating a large round table in the center of the room. “Is that okay?”

“Sure. That’s fine. I can manage the rest.” Lucky glanced over Meg’s shoulder. Miriam stood on the threshold. Her face showed the strain of the last few days. She looked carefully all around the room, undoubtedly hoping to see Janie at work.

Lucky and Meg exchanged a look. “You haven’t heard from her, have
you?” Lucky whispered.

Meg’s face fell. “No. And that’s really odd.”

Miriam spotted Nate at the counter and walked directly to him. Nate, sensing that something was wrong, turned to follow Lucky’s gaze.

“Bradley told me I’d find you here,” Miriam said to Nate. “Can I talk to you?”

“Why, sure, Miriam. What can I do for you?”

Miriam glanced at Joe Conrad. Nate could sense her
discomfort.

Lucky moved closer to Nate. “Why don’t you use my office?”

Nate shot a look at Lucky. From her expression he could tell she was already aware of Miriam’s concern. Something important was brewing. “Let’s go.” He stood, picking up the two evidence bags, and ushered Miriam through the doorway to the corridor.

Jack telegraphed a silent question as Meg disappeared into the kitchen
for her break. Jack had realized something was wrong when Janie didn’t turn up.

Lucky turned back to Joe. “What would you like?” Nate’s chili was cooling on the hatch, and Nate might be closeted with Miriam for a while. “We have some great chili,” she said hopefully.

“Fine. Chili would hit the spot right now.”

“You got it.” Literally, she thought, placing the bowl on the placemat.

“Are you a mind reader?” Joe laughed.

“It is one of my talents,” she replied.

“You know, I have a date with a lovely woman this evening,” Joe offered.

Lucky’s eyebrows rose. “You do? Why, that’s wonderful. Who is the lucky lady, if I may ask?”

Joe smiled. “I’ll give you a hint. She runs a ladies’ clothing shop right here in Snowflake.”

“Oh!” Lucky grinned widely. “Hmmm.
Let me guess. Could her name begin with a
C
and end with a
Y
?”

“Sure does. I’ve made a reservation at that fancy restaurant up at the Resort. Do you think she’d like that?” he asked with a trace of nervousness.

“Yes, I do. I’m sure she’d be very pleased. You’ll both have a wonderful time. The food is excellent.”

“You know, Lucky, I’ve been a widower for a long time. This is the first
time . . . well, this is all new to me.” He grinned sheepishly. “I’m out of practice.”

“Cecily’s a delightful person. It won’t be an awkward date at all.” Lucky hoped Marjorie wouldn’t interfere with Cecily’s high hopes. Marjorie, so reserved and conservative, certainly disapproved of Cecily’s going out for the evening with a man who was a stranger in town. Cecily, on the other hand, had such
an open heart. She’d be thrilled to be the object of a little male attention.

Meg returned from the kitchen. “I’m back, Lucky.”

“Great. Can you cover here for just a minute? And then I’ll help you clear the tables?” Lucky asked.

Meg stepped behind the counter. Joe looked at her. “You seem short-staffed today. Where’s your other waitress, the tall one?” he asked.

Lucky hesitated,
waiting for Meg’s reply.

“Oh, she’s just taking a few days off,” Meg responded.

Lucky breathed a sigh of relief. Meg had covered for Janie. Lucky left the counter and hurried down the corridor. She tapped lightly on the door to announce her presence and pushed it open. Miriam sat across from Nate. She was crying and nervously digging tissues out of her purse.

“Miriam.” Lucky placed
a hand on her shoulder. “I’m so sorry this is happening. I just didn’t think for a minute . . .”

“That’s exactly right.” Miriam turned to her angrily. “You didn’t think! If you had been thinking, you never would have just assumed that Janie was asleep. You should have checked on her. I trusted you. This never should have happened—”

“Easy, Miriam,” Nate interrupted her tirade. “It’s not
fair to go blaming Lucky. Even if she had realized . . .”

“If she had been more responsible, we would have known Janie was missing twelve hours ago.”

Lucky pulled her hand away. She felt her face burning.

“Miriam,” Nate replied patiently. “We don’t know she’s missing. Whatever caused her to run away from home, well, something could have upset her. She could be hiding out at a friend’s
house—she could be anywhere.”

“I want you to find her, Nate. You have to find her. This isn’t like her.”

“I will, Miriam. I’ll do everything I can. First order of business is to find her car, and we’ll go from there. But I have to be honest with you. Given the argument with you and the fact that she doesn’t want to go home, I’m not inclined to jump to the worst possible scenario. But I’ll
check for accident reports and all the usual stuff. In the meantime, let’s go to the station and do what we need to do officially. Then, you should go home and start making calls. Call everybody you can think of, and let me know if you come up with anything.”

Miriam stood. “Fine. I’ll do that. But, Nate, just find her. Quickly.” Without a backward glance at Lucky, she pushed past and headed
down the corridor.

Nate sighed and rose to his feet. “Sorry, Lucky. I know it’s not your fault. You didn’t sign on for babysitting duties.”

“I know I didn’t, Nate, but all the same, Miriam’s right. I wasn’t thinking like the mother of a teenager, I just . . .” Lucky paused. “I’m kicking myself now.”

“Well, don’t take Miriam’s words too harshly. She’s on her last nerve right now. I’m
sure she’ll realize she shouldn’t be blaming you.”

“I hope so.”

Nate turned to go back to the front room. “Look, you might as well cancel that order.”

“No problem. Sorry you can’t stay for lunch.” She followed Nate back to the restaurant. As he passed by the counter, he glanced at Joe’s bowl and frowned. “Is that
my
chili?”

Joe looked up. “I don’t know. Is it?”

“Sure looked
good,” Nate replied. “I’ll see you folks later. I have some business to take care of.” He waved and left the restaurant. Miriam stood on the sidewalk outside waiting for Nate.

Lucky couldn’t imagine what Nate could do about Janie’s disappearance. Janie was already considered a runaway and in an unstable state. It was more likely she would head for a friend’s home. What was unlikely was that
she hadn’t communicated with her closest girlfriends—Rosemary and Meg—and hadn’t left any messages with her job. That was the one fact that made Lucky very nervous. She was sure Miriam was worried sick Janie might have had an accident. But Nate would be able to check accident reports and hospital admissions better than anyone.

“Something going on, Lucky?” Joe asked.

Lucky shook her head.
“I have no idea,” she replied blandly.

“Is that your waitress’s mother, that lady who left with Nate?”

“Uh, why, yes. That’s right. How did you know?”

“Hmm. Just figured she was.”

Lucky smiled noncommittally and busied herself clearing the counter.

Chapter 33