Fudge-Laced Felonies (13 page)

I stood and stared him down. “Well, I haven’t done anything in days. I haven’t pounded the pavement. I haven’t interviewed witnesses. I haven’t been on a stakeout. I haven’t—”

“A stakeout?” Ethan ran a hand through his hair.

“Are you serious? Joe, are you listening to this?”

“I’m listening.” Joe placed a restraining hand on Ethan’s shoulder. “Ethan, Summer is going to do what Summer wants to do. Haven’t you figured that out yet? I’m keeping an eye on her. She hasn’t been putting herself in harm’s way. If she does, I’ll throw her in jail.”

“No, but harm seems to be finding her.” Ethan rubbed his face with both hands. “I’m tired. I can’t think straight.” He raised his head and pierced me with his gaze. “Is the coffee finished, Aunt Eunice?”

“It sure is.” She plopped mugs on the table in front of us and started pouring the dark, steaming liquid. “Sugar and cream are on the table. Do you want a pad of paper and something to write with?”

Joe lowered the mug he’d lifted to his lips. “For what?”

“Brainstorming.” Aunt Eunice set the pot on the ceramic trivet in the center of the table. “We’re all here, so we might as well help you crack this thing.”

“Eunice.” Joe looked worried, the poor dear. I snorted behind my mug. He turned to glare at me. “I can’t have you all involved in a police investigation.”

“We’re already involved,” I pointed out. “My dog was tied up, my room was trashed, and—”

“I know, Summer. You got a note. This is all the more reason why you need to stay out of the way and let me do my job.” He rubbed a hand across his face. “You’re my cousin. I care more than I should about this case. And you’re frustrating me to no end!”

Aunt Eunice plopped a yellow legal pad in front of Joe, who rolled his eyes and slumped in his chair. “I’ve got my own.” He pulled a small tablet from his pocket.

“But this pad is bigger. You can take more notes.”

“I give up.” Joe rested his chin in his hand.

“Okay. We know this much.” I held up my fingers one at a time to separate my points. “One, there’s more money hidden somewhere on this property, or at least someone thinks there is. Two, the suspect seems to have help or is very confused.” I glanced at the empty pad in the other officer’s hand. “Why aren’t you taking notes?

“Three, they’ll be contacting me again, and four, I have no idea where to look.

“And we found millions of dollars’ worth of diamonds, cash hidden in a rusty can—that one still boggles my mind—and a bloody gardening glove.” I put my right hand to my head. “Oh, wait—make that one pair of coveralls, two gardening gloves, and a dead body.” I folded my hands on the table in front of me. “What can you add to this investigation, Joe? Have you tried matching the blood on the glove to the murdered stranger?”

“Summer, I’m warning you. I know how to do my job, and it doesn’t include discussing every aspect of this case with you. Besides, I’m asking to be released from this case. It’s a huge conflict of interest.”

“That’s great,” I said. “You can help me solve it without all the legal mumbo jumbo.”

Loud voices drifted on the nighttime breeze, carrying shrieks and curses. Joe’s hand flew to the weapon on his hip, and followed closely by Ethan, he burst out the back door toward the woods. I didn’t know what Ethan could do, considering he was unarmed, but admiration washed over me for him going with my cousin into what could possibly be a dangerous situation.

Uncle Roy rose from the table. “I’ll get my gun.” Truly shot out behind them, barking with such intensity that her body shook. Not wanting her to leave us behind, Aunt Eunice and I followed, armed with knives from the butcher block on the counter.

We looked like rednecked clichés.

Ten

Uncle Roy arrived, panting. The rest of us stood in a circle, our backs to each other, staring into the dark woods around us. Poor Cousin Joe seemed on the verge of tears—probably at the sight of us armed with kitchen utensils and stomping around his prospective crime scene.

I clamped a hand over my mouth to stifle a giggle. Joe glared and threw his hands in the air. “I give up. If there was somebody here, they’re gone now. Along with any evidence they may have left behind.”

“There was somebody here, Joe.” I lowered my knife, only to have it snatched by my cousin. He moved to disarm Aunt Eunice.

“Yeah, but y’all made so much noise following me, you’ve scared them off.” He held out his hand for Uncle Roy’s gun. “The only person I invited was Ethan, and he’s the only one not running off half-cocked.”

Ethan stood with his legs spread shoulder width apart. He moved out of our circle and shrugged.

“Y’all stay still. Let me take a look around.” Joe pulled a small pen-sized flashlight from his pocket. A twinge of envy crept in. I wanted one. It would go great in my investigative pack. Much better than the bulky kind Aunt Eunice kept in the kitchen cabinet. I wondered whether Joe could get me one.

He shone his light around the small clearing. “Here we go.”

Despite his orders, I stepped next to him. Two distinct sets of footprints were visible in the soft ground. One set larger than the other. “There were two people here. My guess, a man and a woman. Could be a domestic disturbance.”

Joe glanced at me as if I were capable of writing a Dolt book of my own. “I can see that, Sherlock.”

“Miss Marple.”

“Excuse me?”

“You called me Sherlock. I prefer Miss Marple. No comparison in age, though. I also answer to Nancy Drew.”

“Summer—”

“Sorry.” I stepped away from him. Maybe he could teach me something after all.

“The prints lead off into the bushes.” Joe followed them, talking to himself. “And disappear right here.” He turned back to us. “There’s too much ground to cover in these woods. The prints are gone.”

I wished Truly was a hound dog. One with a great sniffer.

Joe faced us. “Might as well head back to the house.”

The trees were thick overhead and backlit by a full moon to where they resembled bushy arms reaching toward the heavens. What could someone be looking for out here? We rarely ventured this far into the woods. Not since childhood anyway. I skipped to catch up with the others.

Once inside, Aunt Eunice poured more coffee. I couldn’t help but glance at my watch. 1:00! Horror. I had to open the store in six hours.

“Someplace you need to be, Summer?” Joe returned the knives to their block, handed Uncle Roy his rifle, then slipped his pistol in the shoulder holster he wore over his polo shirt.

“Not yet.” I pulled up a chair and slouched on the hard wood.

“Summer, Roy, Eunice.” Joe crossed his arms. “I want the three of you to find somewhere else to stay for a while.”

Uncle Roy slammed a fist on the table. I jerked. “I won’t be run out of my own home!”

“It isn’t safe here, Uncle Roy.”

“Don’t use your patronizing tone with me, boy.” Uncle Roy’s face became the color of a ripe turnip. A sure sign of an escalating temper.

“Why don’t you take me seriously?” Joe’s face showed the beginning signs of redness. “If not for the fact that I’m an officer of the law, then because I’m family.”

“It ain’t that.” Uncle Roy took a deep breath. “I’m not going to run scared from my house, and that’s final.”

“I could order it.”

“No, you can’t, and don’t threaten me, boy. I can still take you down.”

At his comment, a giggle escaped me. The vision of roly-poly Uncle Roy taking down muscular, burly Joe did me in. The two men turned to glare at me.

“I’m requesting a transfer.” Joe folded his arms. “I can’t work in the same town my family lives in.”

He’d been making that threat for years. I held up a hand to ward off his words. “Sorry. Just tired.” I snorted.

“I’ll stay, Joe.” Ethan crossed his arms. “There’s room for me on the sofa. If anything happens, you’ll be the first I call.”

Joe nodded.

“That’s settled then.” Aunt Eunice walked around the table collecting the full coffee mugs. “We’re all tired. We’re getting testy. Let’s go to bed.”

Sleep sounded good. But once everyone left and I crawled between the sheets spread over the pile of quilts covering my ripped mattress, my mind raced like a thoroughbred. My hideaway. The old tree house. I threw off the covers and slung my legs over the side. No time like the present.

I pulled on a pair of jean shorts under my T-shirt and headed to the kitchen to hunt up a flashlight. Once I’d found one, I eased open the back door. Ethan sat on the top step.

“Figured you’d be out soon.” He held up a flashlight. “I wondered what took you so long to think of it.”

“You did, huh? Must think you know me pretty well.”

“I do.” He held out his hand, and I took it. Did

Ethan wonder how his tender gestures affected me?

The simple touch thrilled me. Tingles ran up my arm. My heart raced. If only he loved me as much as I loved him. “The tree house?”

“Yep.” He pulled me along after him. “Why didn’t you call Joe?”

Ethan shrugged. “I honestly don’t know. I thought you might be up for an adventure. A quick peek at our favorite childhood hangout. It’s our special place. If we find anything, we’ll let Joe know.”

We walked the rest of the way in silence. I couldn’t help but compare the way my hand felt engulfed in Ethan’s. While Nate’s hands were as smooth as mine,

Ethan’s woodworking job gave him calluses. His hands were larger than Nate’s, too. I felt safe. I gave his hand a squeeze and smiled when he returned it.

Once we stood under the tree house, Ethan shone the flashlight beam up the trunk of the massive oak. “I’ll go first in case the ladder isn’t steady. This wood has gotten too old.”

“Okay.” The “ladder” consisted of wooden planks nailed into the tree trunk. I was more than happy to let him go first.

He climbed as quick as a monkey and stood on the platform to wave me up. I grasped a plank above my head and began my ascent.

Halfway, the plank under my feet gave way. I reached for Ethan at the same instant he grabbed my wrist.

My gaze locked with his.

I tore mine away, trembling as I looked down. The ground seemed hundreds of feet away.

“Look at me, Summer. Keep your eyes on me. I’ll pull you up.”

“I can’t.” I forgot to breathe. My head was light. The ground spun below me.

“Yes, you can. Look at me.”

My legs flailed as I searched for another anchor. Lord, help me. I don’t want to fall.

“Remember, Tinkerbell can fly.” Ethan’s soft words drifted to me.

“I’m not Tinkerbell.” My heart beat in my ears, threatening to drown out all other sound.

“You’re my Tinkerbell.”

I came to my senses and allowed him to pull me up. I lay on the rough wood to catch my breath, focusing on Ethan’s face. He smiled. “You all right?”

I nodded and pushed to a sitting position.

“Great.” He shone his light around the dilapidated structure, pointing out nooks and crannies my uncle had built to supply me with hiding places for my treasures.

There. In the eaves. A box I’d never placed there when I was a child. “Up there, Ethan.” I pointed. A pine box, glowing white in the moonlight with its newness.

He reached up and stopped. After yanking his T-shirt over his head, Ethan wrapped it around the box, pulled it from its perch, and lifted the lid. He whistled. “Bingo.” Ethan handed the wrapped box to me.

Inside, rolled in neat little bundles, were many crisp bills.

“That’s a lot of money. A lot more than what we found in that rusty can.”

“About that can.” Ethan lowered the lid on the pine box. “The can was your aunt and uncle’s cruise money.”

“What? Then, how—” I wrapped my arms around my knees.

Ethan lowered himself to the floor beside me.

“I buried the can on your uncle’s say-so. He claimed it back from Joe the same day. He said if he didn’t hide it, Eunice would spend it. When I buried the can, there weren’t any diamonds in the hole. Summer, your aunt’s been talking about her cruise money all over town. My guess is that somebody heard her, saw the freshly dug hole, and decided to take advantage of it. They most likely planned on retrieving it quickly, but then you three returned from vacation.”

“I really stink at this investigating stuff.” Sadness slumped my shoulders. I really thought I had what it took to solve this case. Instead, the web of intrigue became more complicated. Why would someone send me a note requesting something I had if they hid it up here? Could there be more than one person after this cash?

“Don’t take it too hard.” He laid a hand on my shoulder. “No one in Mountain Shadows can figure out your aunt and uncle. God broke the mold when He made that pair.”

“Thank goodness.” I rested my chin on my knees, striving to keep my gaze averted from his well-muscled chest. Here we were, alone in the dark. Was Ethan dense, or didn’t he care? God help me. Thankful for the night to hide the tears welling in my eyes, I forced my voice to remain steady. “But why didn’t the crook hide the diamonds and the cash together?”

“Not enough room. It seems to me there are at least two people working against each other. Whoever hid them didn’t want the other to know where both the diamonds and the cash were.”

“Now what?”

“We turn the money over to Joe.” Ethan stood and offered me a hand up.

“What do I do when they come for it?”

“We’ll cross that bridge when we get there.”

“I don’t want to end up like that dead boy.” I stood and stared through the trapdoor at something much scarier. “I can’t get back down.”

“Sure you can. I’ll go first. Right in front of you. Just follow me.”

The idea sounded good, but reinjuring my ankle and limping for three days didn’t appeal to me. “I’ll stay here. You get the ladder.”

“Summer, I’m not lugging the ladder all the way out here.”

“Then tell Uncle Roy to do it.” I refused to climb down the tree.

“You are the most exasperating woman.” I could tell from his smile he liked the verbal sparring.

“And you are the most stubborn man.” I returned the smile.

Ethan laughed. “Okay, we both take the prize. Trust me, Tink. I won’t let you fall. You can ride piggy back if you want.”