Between a Book and a Hard Place (21 page)

I yawned and stretched, then said, “My mind is fried. I can't see a pattern.”

“We'd better call it a night.” Noah stood, pressed his palm against his back. “I'm on call at the clinic from eight until noon, but we can get together tomorrow night after you close the store and try to figure this code out.”

“We're so close.” I got to my feet. “I know this has something to do with Jett and why he was in Shadow Bend.”

“Maybe Jett was writing a novel instead of a history book.” Noah moved closer. His silky voice filled my ear.

“More likely, if whatever is hidden is still valuable, he was after that.” Why was I having trouble breathing? I was too tired to be turned on. “I'm convinced there was something shady about my stepfather.”

“We'll just have to decipher the code and find out.” Noah took my hand, his thumb caressing my palm, and I felt goose bumps form on my arms. “At least it looks as if our ancestors worked together on this. Maybe that's why my mother is so anti-Sinclair. She thinks the captain was a bad influence on Colonel Underwood.”

“Uh?” I croaked, losing my train of thought as
Noah moved his fingers upward, stroking my inner arms. “Oh. Right. No. Nadine had a thing for my father, and he dumped her. That's why she hates us.”

Oops.
I hadn't meant to blurt that out. I really needed to leave before I said something even more foolish than that last bit.

Noah was silent, looking at me strangely, so I quickly added, “But Dad assures me they didn't have an affair, so we aren't related.”

“Good to know.” Noah grinned, then frowned. “When did you find that out?”

“Gran told me a few months ago.” I had decided not to tell Noah about this, but it had slipped out. “When my father was about to be released from prison, Gran was afraid your mom might do something to mess up his parole. I asked why Nadine would care enough to interfere, and she told me about my dad dating your mom back before he met Yvette.”

“Interesting. And for sure not something my mother would have ever mentioned to me.” Noah shrugged, then asked, “So tomorrow night? Do you want to come back here?”

“No. I mean yes, I want to meet you, but I can be here in the afternoon at twelve thirty instead of waiting until later,” I explained. “The store doesn't have any craft groups scheduled, so I can ask Dad to adjust his hours, and he can handle the place without me.”

“That's great. I'm glad you've got him to take some of the load off your shoulders.” Noah followed
me out of the kitchen. “That will give us more time to figure everything out.”

When I got to the front door, I said, “I'll bring lunch, and would you mind if I asked Boone, Poppy, and Jake if they are available to join us? It sounds as if Boone has a stake in this, too. And Poppy is really good at puzzles.”

“And Del Vecchio?” Noah's jaw was clenched. “What's he good at?”

Ignoring Noah's displeasure, I answered calmly, “I'd like to have Jake with us because he's getting the info on my stepfather's finances.”

“Can't he just hand them over and leave?” Noah muttered.

Apparently, at that point my lack of sleep overcame my good sense, because I kissed Noah lightly on the lips, then said, “And FYI, Jake is good at everything.”

F
riday morning as I waited on customers, my mind replayed last night. Why in the hell had I told Noah that Jake was good at everything? Up until that moronic moment when I'd opened my big mouth and taunted Noah about Jake's awesomeness, I'd been doing everything I could to discourage any rivalry between the two men. After all, Noah was equally amazing, so what had gotten into me?

I chalked it up to the stress of worrying that Dad might end up returning to prison and vowed never to say anything like that again to either guy. The thought of my father back behind bars, but this time with my mother and me in the next cell, sent a shiver down my spine. I needed to figure out who killed Jett before the cops discovered that we had tampered with evidence. I did not want to be on the wrong side of Eldridge Kincaid.

When Dad showed up at the store at eleven forty-five, I brought him up to speed on the deliveries I was expecting that afternoon, then told him to call me if he had any problems. After combing my hair and putting on some lip gloss, I headed to Little's Tea Room to collect the box lunches I had ordered earlier.

I was in luck and nabbed a coveted parking spot in front of the restaurant. Before going inside, I checked my cell. I had texted Poppy, Boone, and Jake as soon as I woke up that morning, asking them if they could meet me at Noah's house at twelve thirty to help decipher the encrypted passages of Colonel Underwood's journal.

My two BFFs had immediately replied that they'd be there, but Jake hadn't answered until now. He said that he'd been doing chores and hadn't seen my message. Unfortunately, he couldn't make it to Noah's, as he was getting together with his contact regarding Jett's finances. The forensic accountant didn't trust the Internet and would only give him the documents in person. Once Jake was free, he would come over and share the information.

After picking up the food, I checked my watch. I still had a few minutes, so I sat in my car and phoned Janice St. Onge. She answered on the first ring, and we chatted about Shadow Bend's upcoming Apple Festival. Janice was the chairwoman, and I had agreed to host some of the events in my store's newly renovated second floor.

When Janice ran out of festival news, I said, “Nadine Underwood mentioned that you were one of the first people around here to see the suspicious lights hovering above the town.”

“Actually, I was the very first one. I saw them in early July, during the Cupcake Weekend.” Janice's voice rose in excitement. “I've always been extremely interested in the idea of UFOs. I've watched the night skies religiously for years.”

“Really?” I knew Boone's mother was more than a little eccentric, but I'd had no idea about her hobby. Did her son know? “Nadine also shared that you
believe aliens are taking over the bodies of the town's teenagers.”

“I was at the city council meeting when she spoke. It would have probably been better to approach that another way.” Janice sighed. “I didn't realize how upset Nadine would get when I informed her about the children being turned into pod people, or I wouldn't have told her. Or, at least, not when she was drinking.”

“What makes you think the kids are being possessed?” I asked.

“Initially, it never occurred to me,” Janice answered. “But after my first sighting, I began posting on the Friends of Space bulletin board. I described the formation of seven blinking lights that hovered for hours in the sky over the old drive-in theater to the east of town, and a couple of weeks later, Professor Hinkley contacted me. We e-mailed back and forth for a while, and then he asked me to arrange for him to speak to the city council. He warned me that the particular species of extraterrestrial observing Shadow Bend was known to use human adolescents as hosts for their parasites.”

“You might want to tell Nadine you were mistaken,” I suggested. “Just to calm her down a bit until the professor actually verifies his theory. Noah would consider it a real favor.”

“Well . . .” Janice hesitated. “I think all will be revealed tomorrow when Khrelan Naze appears in the town square and tells us his plan.”

“Right.” I had forgotten the professor's claim that the alien leader was bringing mankind a gift. “But if Khrelan Naze is a good guy, why would he be taking over Shadow Bend's children?”

“He isn't,” Janice protested. “It's the other aliens. He's going to help us fight them.”

“Ooo-kaay.” I drew out the word. Why did this whole scenario sound familiar? Mentally shrugging, I said, “Good talking to you, Janice. Bye.”

I quickly disconnected and headed toward Noah's. He'd be relieved to know that his mother wasn't the only nut in the town's fruitcake batter.

Boone and I pulled into Noah's driveway at the same time, and Noah met us at the front door. Fifteen minutes later, Poppy arrived, and I distributed the box lunches, putting the extra one for Jake in the fridge. He could eat it when he showed up. Noah poured soda for everyone, and as we ate, he and I explained what we'd found out so far.

Using the Xerox machine at his clinic, Noah had made several copies of the coded passages he and I had reproduced from the journal. Once the four of us were finished with our meal, Noah passed out those pages, and we all studied the encryption. There were dozens of reoccurring symbols, but we concentrated on the ones in the first encrypted segment. There was a silhouette, a new moon, a winding river, two crosses—one lying on its left side and the other on its right—and what looked like a handsaw that tapered to a gradual point.

Noah and I believed this paragraph indicated the hiding place of whatever our ancestors had concealed. After a couple of hours with little success, Boone's groan interrupted the silence.

“What?” I asked, scrubbing my face with my fists. “Giving up already?”

“Never.” Boone bent back over the pages he'd been studying.

We were all getting tired, and I was afraid
everyone had about had it. It was time for my secret weapon. I got up from the table, ran out to my car, and came back with the world-famous pink-and-brown box. Flipping open the lid, I presented each of them with the Kizzy Cutler signature cupcake—vanilla rosewater with honey-lavender icing.

Because I had saved her life, Kizzy had given my dime store exclusive distribution rights for the Kansas City area. This flavor was my favorite because a portion of the profits from the sales was donated to an anti-bullying foundation.

Boone glanced into the carton and said, “I thought you'd have health food for us.”

“Cupcakes are health food,” I retorted. “Mental health.”

Poppy immediately peeled off the paper liner and licked the frosting off her fingers. Moaning, she devoured the pastry, then glanced down at the pages in front of her. Suddenly, she squealed, jumped up from her chair, and pumped her fist in the air.

“I think I figured it out!” Poppy danced around the kitchen. “Or at least part of it.” She darted to the fridge and grabbed a can of Coke.

“Are you going to share with the rest of the class?” Boone asked.

“I suppose I should.” Poppy pointed to each symbol in turn and said, “A silhouette is also a shadow, and the winding river is a bend.”

“Great.” Boone rolled his eyes. “We now know
the cache is hidden in Shadow Bend. That really narrows it down a whole heck of a lot.”

“I wasn't finished.” Poppy thrust her lower lip out. “The only place in town that I can think of with a crescent moon on it is the library's windows.”

“How about the crosses?” Noah asked. “Are there crosses anywhere inside the building?” He looked at the three of us, and we all shrugged.

“Any clue as to what the saw thingy might mean?” Poppy asked.

“Maybe.” Noah tilted his head and squinted. “You all know the library was originally Colonel Underwood's medical offices, right?”

“How could we forget?” Boone drawled. “His name is above the door.”

“In which case”—Noah continued as if Boone hadn't spoken—“I think that symbol might be a bone saw. I vaguely recall that that the colonel used the basement as his surgery.”

“We need to get into that building,” I said as I paced the length of the kitchen. “But when I picked up lunch at Little's Tea Room, I noticed that the crime scene tape was still across the alley.”

“So we'll duck under it.” Poppy twitched her shoulders. “We'll just have to wait until it gets dark and make sure we aren't spotted.”

I
n Missouri, it didn't get completely dark in early September until almost nine p.m., so Noah, Poppy, Boone, and I decided to go our separate ways and reunite for a late dinner at seven. Once our plans were in place, I checked my phone, and seeing nothing from Jake, I texted him to meet us at the Spur and Feather, a steakhouse twenty miles south of Shadow Bend.

Poppy and Boone had suggested the Golden Dragon, but Noah and I figured our group would be less likely to cause gossip at an out-of-town restaurant than if we went someplace local. At the Spur and Feather, we'd have more privacy to go over Jett's financial records and plot our search for the colonel's treasure. Because both Noah and Boone had keys to the library, we weren't technically breaking and entering. The only sticky part of the maneuver would be the crime scene tape.

After my BFFs left, I told Noah what Janice St. Onge had shared about the aliens. He was relieved that all the nonsense would be over by the next day and his mother could return to her regularly scheduled craziness and leave ET to phone home without her assistance.

Giving Noah a quick kiss good-bye, I took a ride
by the dime store. It was past five o'clock, so the after-school crowd would be gone. And since there was no smoke or sirens, I assumed Dad was doing fine.

Poppy had offered to drive since her Hummer was the only vehicle that held four people comfortably, and I had an hour before she was picking me up. I hadn't spent much time with Gran lately, so I wanted to get home and see how she was doing. Birdie had been so much better since Dad's release from prison, I sometimes forgot how poorly she'd been when I'd first quit my job and bought the dime store to be around for her more.

I also needed to change into a black shirt and jeans. Boone had insisted we all wear dark clothes for the raid on the library. I just hoped no one at the restaurant mistook us for the Johnny Cash fan club or a Goth heavy metal band.

•   •   •

Poppy pulled into the restaurant's parking lot and eased her Hummer into a spot next to a Shadow Bend police car. What was a Shadow Bend cop doing here? Maybe the officer was assisting a neighborhood jurisdiction and was on his or her supper break. Whatever. As long it didn't have anything to do with Jett's murder, I didn't really care.

The Spur and Feather was your typical old-fashioned steakhouse. There was a lot of wood and nothing fancy. As the four of us pushed through the weathered oak door, the hostess, who was dressed in jeans and cowboy boots, smiled and asked, “How many, please?”

“Five,” Jake answered, stepping forward from the
wall he'd been leaning against. He moved to my side and added, “We'd like a quiet booth.”

“I have the perfect spot for you.” The hostess fluttered her lashes at him and said, “Right this way.”

When she paused to gather menus and silverware wrapped in paper napkins, I commented, “So you made it on time after all.”

Jake had texted that his contact lived in Kansas City and they'd met downtown, so he might be late for dinner.

“I was motivated.” He shot a look at Noah and slipped an arm around my waist.

“Good thing you didn't get a ticket.” Noah immediately took my free hand and added, “It would have been a real shame if you were delayed.”

Oops!
Maybe getting Noah and Jake together hadn't been one of my more brilliant ideas. I wiggled free of both of them and followed the hostess.

She led us to a corner three-quarters circle booth, where I made the mistake of sliding in first. Instantly, Noah slipped in next to me and Jake did the same on my other side, bracketing me like scowling bookends. Boone and Poppy giggled and took the remaining aisle seats. Poppy by Noah and Boone by Jake.

Once we were settled and the hostess left, in a rush to distract Jake and Noah from glowering across me at each other, I said to Jake, “Did your contact come through with Jett's financials?”

“Yep.” Jake slapped a folder on the table. “I've got them right here.”

“We've been busy, too.” Noah took a copy of the encrypted diary passages and smacked it down.

“So Devereaux has informed me.” Jake's
expression darkened. “Breaching a cordoned-off crime scene is not a good idea.” He arched a brow at me and muttered, “Bad enough omitting the presence of a witness.”

“I explained about that,” I protested. “I had to protect my father.”

“Dev had no other choice.” Noah's jaw tightened. “Wouldn't you do the same for your parents?”

“Not in a million years.” Jake crossed his arms, then whispered in my ear, “But maybe for Uncle Tony.”

Poppy interrupted the men's bickering. “Good news about the crime scene thing. I reached out to my source at the PD, and he tells me that the tape is coming down tomorrow morning. There's one more area the techs wanted to check, but by noon the library will be released.”

“So we wait and do our search tomorrow at twelve fifteen?” Boone asked.

“But if we go during the day, people will see us,” I pointed out.

“We can approach it from the other end of the alley,” Boone explained. “The entrance off of Denison Street, rather than on the square.”

“Okay,” I agreed, knowing it was better to wait rather than cross the tape, but I was still impatient. I was sure whatever we found hidden would lead us to Jett's killer, and I was anxious to get Chief Kincaid's attention away from my family before he found out what we'd done. “Are you scheduled at the clinic, Noah?”

“Only until noon,” Noah answered. “Elexus has the rest of the day.”

“Poppy? Boone?” I asked, deliberately excluding
Jake, as I wasn't sure how he'd feel about participating in a questionably legal act.

Once Boone and Poppy assured me they were free, Poppy picked up one of the menus from the pile and said, “Now that we've settled that, we should figure out what we're ordering.”

A few seconds later, a waitress appeared to ask us what we wanted to drink. We asked for a pitcher of beer, and she hurried away.

Not wanting the server to overhear our conversation, we agreed to wait until we had placed our dinner orders before studying Jett's financial information, and the conversation stumbled to a halt. Poppy glanced at the two silent men on either side of me, shot me a “got your back” smile, and immediately began to describe to Jake how she'd cracked Colonel Underwood's code.

When Poppy finished, Jake grinned at her and said, “You're a pistol.”

She retorted, “Only when I'm loaded.”

As my friends bantered back and forth, I was surprised to spot my mother at a cozy table for two near the back wall. Suddenly, I realized the real reason for the Shadow Bend squad car in the parking lot. The cop was keeping an eye on Yvette.

Excusing myself, I told Poppy what I wanted to eat, asked her to order for me, and then waited for her and Noah to let me out of the booth. Once I was free, I strolled over to the engrossed couple.

As I got nearer, Yvette glanced up and trilled, “Dev, darling, what are you doing so far away from Shadow Bend?”

My mother and her attractive escort looked out of place at the homespun restaurant. Both were dressed
more for an evening at a fine-dining establishment in the city than a meal at a small-town steakhouse.

“The better question is what are you doing here with a man?” I gritted my teeth. “Didn't we discuss how bad it would look if you, a widow of three days, were to be seen dating? You do know that a police officer is here watching, right?”

“Of course.” Yvette's lips curled up in a smug smile. “I informed him that my attorney and I were going to dinner and where we'd be.” She wrinkled her nose and simpered, “I wouldn't want him to get fired for losing sight of me.”

“Your lawyer?” I studied the man with her. Why did he look so familiar?

“Well, actually, he was Jett's attorney, but now he's mine, too.” Yvette gestured to me and said, “Sebastian, this is my daughter, Devereaux Sinclair. Dev, this is Sebastian Hinds.”

“Nice to meet you.” As I shook his hand, I continued to examine the lawyer. I definitely knew him from somewhere. “Are you from around these parts?”

“I'm from Texas, ma'am.” He fiddled with the stem of his wineglass. “I hurried up from Dallas when Yvette informed me of Jett's death. With a large estate such as his, there are a lot of details to settle.”

“I see.” I knew he wouldn't tell me what was in Jett's will, so I didn't waste my breath. Instead, I turned to my mother and asked, “Has Chief Kincaid contacted you again?”

“Eldridge stopped by the condo yesterday afternoon.” Yvette shrugged. “He asked the same questions as the previous times, and I gave him the same
answers.” She shook her head. “He clearly doesn't have a clue.”

“Maybe.” I sincerely doubted the chief was clueless. More likely, he was just holding his cards close to his vest, waiting to pounce. “Well, I'd better let you two get back to your supper.”

When I returned to the booth, our beer had arrived and Jake had my stepfather's financial records spread across the table. As the money expert, I dove in, and by the time our food arrived, I had figured out Jett's fiscal picture. It wasn't a pretty one.

“He was broke,” I announced after the waitress left. “Jett was in debt up to his eyeballs. Using one credit card to pay off another. His house has a second mortgage, and his car payments are way overdue.”

“So how in the heck could he fund the library?” Boone demanded, slicing into his New York strip and popping a piece into his mouth.

“He never intended to give the town any money,” I said, cutting open my baked potato to add butter and sour cream. “Now that we know about Colonel Underwood's treasure and that Jett's not the rich guy he pretended to be, his plan is pretty obvious. He promised the cash so he could get into the archives, find what he needed to figure out where the treasure was hidden, and get out of town before we realized that no dough was ever going to materialize.”

“What an asshole,” Poppy sneered. “Getting everyone's hopes up like that.”

“But how did Benedict even know about the hidden treasure?” Noah asked. “Hell, I had no idea about it, and my ancestor was involved.”

We were silent for a few seconds, and then I hit
my forehead with my palm. “Yvette. Remember when I told you that my grandpa Sinclair used to put me to sleep with bedtime stories about the Treasure of Shadow Bend? My mother probably overheard those tales and repeated them to Jett. I don't recall the details of Grandpa's story, but I bet Yvette did.” I turned to Jake. “Didn't my mom say that Jett encouraged her to talk about the town and its people?”

“She did.” Jake forked a piece of dry-aged rib eye into his mouth.

“Then that's it.” I took a long drink of beer, swallowed, and said, “Mom told Jett about the legend. He was broke, so he did some research and somehow decided that the library archives was his best bet for finding the answer as to where the treasure was hidden. But the library was closed. In order to gain access, he made up the whole endowment scheme.”

“Benedict had to have been getting close to discovering whatever the colonel hid,” Noah said. “I'm pretty sure he drugged my mother and made copies of the colonel's journals. He must have figured out the code, too. He might not have known the basement was used as a surgery, but the fact that the library building was originally the colonel's medical offices would have been easy to figure out.”

“And that knowledge got him killed,” Jake countered. “We should turn this all over to the police.”

“We will.” I refused to meet Jake's stare. “As soon as we know the murderer's identity.”

“I can't talk you out of searching the library
tomorrow?” Jake asked. When we all shook our heads, he sighed and said, “I wish I could go with you, but I have to take Tony to the doctor tomorrow at eleven thirty. He's been having chest pains, and we need to find out if it's his heart. If I don't go with him, he won't tell me the truth about what the cardiologist has to say.”

“I understand.” I patted his arm. “Between the four of us, we should be able to figure out the hiding place.”

“It's not finding the treasure that I'm worried about.” Jake pressed his lips together. “What concerns me is making sure you all aren't the killer's next victims.”