Justice for Sara (5 page)
Authors: Erica Spindler
Tags: #Contemporary Women, #General, #Romance, #Suspense, #Thrillers, #Fiction
Tuesday, June 4
9:15
A.M.
Kat had arranged to meet Jeremy’s Realtor at the first property. She’d left early enough to stop at the Sunny Side Up first. Although their three-egg scramblers and Applewood smoked bacon were two of the most delicious things on the planet, she wasn’t looking to have a late breakfast.
She wanted to have a word with her old friend Dab.
Kat parked her Fusion hybrid, angling it in between a Suburban and an F-150 pickup. It was amazing how many people still drove gas-guzzling trucks and SUVs down here. In Portland, compact, efficient and hybrid were the norm. Of course, if you Googled “southern transportation,” it’d pull up a picture of a big ol’ truck.
Riverview Street was the most picturesque in Liberty. Only three blocks long, it fronted the Tchefuncte River. The riverside was dotted with magnificent live oaks, the other side with cafes, shops and other businesses.
Good Earth Bread Company would be a perfect addition to the other businesses. Her other choice of location was the town square.
Kat reached the cafe. Sunny Side, as the locals called it, had been a Liberty tradition for as long as Kat could remember. When her mother had been a teenager, the Sunny Side’s soda fountain had been their after-school hangout. By the time Kat made high school, coffee drinks had replaced ice cream creations and she and her friends had stopped in for lattes and granitas.
As Kat entered the cafe, the bell over the door jingled. A friendly welcoming sound. Folks glanced her way, their smiles fading as they recognized her. One by one, they fell silent and stared.
Not so friendly now, she thought. Not welcoming.
Could one of these people be her “fan”? Was he staring at her now, thinking of the bat and imaging her reaction? Getting off on the idea of her terror.
She wouldn’t give him, any of them, the satisfaction. Kat let the door swing shut behind her. “Hi, y’all,” she said brightly. “Yup, it’s true. I’m back.”
She saw that there was room at the counter and headed that way. It was a weird feeling, all those gazes on her back. She was tempted to look over her shoulder and catch them staring, but figured it’d only serve to give them more to talk about.
She took a stool. The waitress approached. Kat recognized her. She’d manned this counter ten years ago as well. She’d been a classmate of Sara’s, had married young and lost her husband in an oil rig accident. “Hi, Mary Lee,” she said. “Coffee would be great.”
Mary Lee silently filled her cup.
“Is Dab around?”
The waitress looked surprised. “She is, but—”
“Could you let her know her old friend Kat’s here to see here?”
Mary Lee hesitated, then shrugged. “Sure. I guess so.”
A moment later Dab stepped out from the kitchen. She was flushed from the heat. And very pregnant.
Kat tried not to stare. She tried not reveal how upended she was, how startled. Had she expected time to stand still for Dab, the way it had for her?
“Hello, Katherine,” she said. “I’d heard you were back.”
“Bad news travels fast in Liberty.”
“I don’t want any trouble,” she said softly. “I’m due any day now, I shouldn’t even be working but Mom had a heart attack. If you start something, I might just drop this baby right here behind this counter.”
Dab had always been the honest one. Kat had liked her for it. “I don’t want any trouble. Why would I?”
Dab lowered her voice even more. “The trial? My testimony against you?”
“You told the truth, didn’t you?”
Dab held her gaze a moment, then looked over her shoulder. “Lyle, honey? You think you can manage a few minutes without me?”
He said he could and she motioned to the door at the back of the restaurant. “Everybody’s way too interested in what we might say to each other. Besides, I’ve got to get off my feet. C’mon around.”
Moments later, they reached Dab’s cramped office. With a sigh of relief, Dab lowered herself to her chair. An engineering feat, Kat thought.
“Is this your first?” she asked.
“It is.” She beamed. “We’re so excited. It’s a boy. Lyle couldn’t wait to find out the sex.”
It took Kat a moment to find her voice. “Lyle’s your husband, then?”
“Been married four years.” She held out her left hand, wiggled her fingers. “How about you, Kat? You married? Have any kids?”
Questions any old school chums would ask after ten years, not much more significant than
How’s the weather been?
Not for Kat. For her, they dug deep. Her life, the direction it had taken, so much of it hadn’t been her choice.
“Nope,” she said lightly, “still single.”
They fell elephant-in-the-room silent. Dab broke it first. “I only told the truth, Kat.”
“I know.” She paused. “I looked pretty guilty.”
“I never said you did it, only that you talked about it. About wishing she was dead, I mean.”
“I know,” Kat said again. “But I didn’t do it.”
Dab shifted her gaze slightly.
She didn’t believe her.
It took Kat’s breath away. “I didn’t,” she said again. “And I’m going to prove it.”
“I’ve got to get back in the kitchen, Kat. It’s been real nice seeing you.”
When all else fails, fall back on good, old-fashioned southern manners. As disingenuous as they can be.
“Wait.” Kat pulled a Good Earth flyer from her purse. “I’m thinking of opening up one of my bread stores down the street.” She handed her the flyer. “A big part of my business is supplying restaurants with healthy, whole-grain alternatives. I hope you’ll be open to me calling on you.”
Dab skimmed the information. “Sure. Of course. I get requests for this sort of thing.”
“Any of the old gang around?” Kat asked as they stood.
“Some. I don’t see ’em much anymore. I’m pretty busy.”
“What about Ryan?”
“Ryan?”
“Benton.”
“Oh yeah, him.” She laughed self-consciously. “It’s been ten years, hard to remember everyone from back then.”
Unless back then was when your life came screeching to a halt.
“He owns an automotive repair place up on 59 in Mandeville,” Dab said. “R and B Imports.”
Tuesday, June 4
10:00
A.M.
Kat and the Realtor simultaneously arrived at the storefront. Tish Alexander was not what Kat had expected. Since Jeremy had recommended her, she’d pictured classic professional, like Lilith. Instead, Tish was tall with a big voice, big chest and long blond hair.
“Katherine McCall,” she greeted Kat with a distinctive Texas twang, “Tish Alexander.” She stuck out her hand. “Pleased as punch you called me.”
Kat smiled and took her hand, immediately liking the other woman. “Thank Jeremy, he couldn’t say enough good things about you.”
“That man is as sweet as my mama’s peach pie. I was able to fix him up with office space, then the perfect location for his campaign headquarters.”
“I can’t believe he’s running for state senate.”
“I can.” She nodded as if for emphasis. “And he’s gonna win, too. You just wait and see. C’mon, let’s take a look at this place.”
Tish kept up a running commentary while she got out the key and opened the door. “Most recently, it was a restaurant. So it has a kitchen already, though I’m sure you’d have to build it out to your own specifications. Why don’t we start there.”
Kat stood in the center of the kitchen and did a slow three-sixty. She
would
need to build it out, Kat thought. But the layout was good and the size was right. The ovens were her most expensive pieces of equipment. The better the oven, the better the bread.
As Kat inspected the kitchen, she started forming a list: sinks could stay, so could the counters. New fans, ovens and coolers. The commercial dishwasher, surprisingly, was adequate.
She looked at Tish. “Why didn’t they liquidate the fixtures and appliances?”
“They own the property. Figured it might help rent it out.”
“But they’re willing to sell?”
Tish hesitated, then nodded. “Yes, absolutely.”
Kat frowned at her tone. “Is there a problem?”
“No, not at all. It’s just when Jeremy contacted me, he thought you were looking to rent. He thought—”
“That it would be wiser, considering my history? That sounds just like Jeremy.”
“I’m sorry, you’re my client, not Jeremy.”
“It’s all right. I suppose it does seem a little crazy. What with people wanting to tar and feather me.”
“Tar and feather might be an overstatement.”
“More likely an understatement.” Tish didn’t ask what that meant and Kat didn’t offer.
As they walked through the other rooms, Kat imagined her bread company here. What had been the dining room was big enough to serve as a storefront that included a small cafe area. She planned to serve sandwiches at lunch. And although most folks grabbed a pastry to go, in a setting like this, some would want to stay and enjoy the day, sitting outside and watching the river.
She stood on the covered front porch, the breeze stirring her hair. She smiled. “I like it. A lot.”
“Good.”
“I’d want to add a deck area, for additional outdoor seating. Over there.” She indicated a spot on the left side of the porch. “I wonder about the setbacks.”
“I’ll find out. The owner is motivated.”
“When you inquire, don’t use my name. Just the corporation’s. If I decide this is the one, I don’t want who I am to become a factor in the negotiation.”
“I think that’s wise. You still want to look at the other two properties?”
She nodded, and less than an hour later, they stepped out of the second one. Both would do, Kat thought. Being located on the square would offer walk-in traffic, by her estimation, and these two properties would require less of a build-out investment. But she didn’t like either as much as the waterfront option.
Although this one sat directly next to the Liberty P.D., which could come in handy, considering how many people in this town hated her guts.
Plus, she’d probably run into Luke daily. She’d found him popping into her thoughts here and there, enough that she had begun to notice. And to worry about it.
Getting involved with the son of Chief Stephen Tanner, the man who, more than any other, had wanted to see her fry, was an impossible idea.
“Hey, Kat.”
Think of the handsome devil, and up he jumps. She turned. Luke strolled toward her.
“What’re you doing down here?”
“Looking for commercial space. I’m opening up a bread store and bakery.”
“I’d heard that.” He slipped his hands into his pockets. “I’m awfully fond of cookies.”
Charming. Dammit.
She laughed. “I warn you, my cookies would be good for you.”
“But tasty?”
“Very.”
Tish cleared her throat, then stuck out her hand. “Tish Alexander. Front Door Realty.”
She had forgotten the other woman was standing beside her.
Heat stung Kat’s cheeks. “I’m sorry, I assumed you two knew each other.”
“Nope.” He shook her hand. “Sergeant Luke Tanner. Great to meet you.”
“Likewise.” His cell phone sounded and Tish turned back to her. “I’ll get that information you wanted. Call me if you think of anything else.”
“I will, Tish. Thanks.”
Luke was still on his call; he signaled her to wait. Kat studied him while he talked. Dark hair and eyes, wicked smile, he reminded her of Hugh Jackman without the stubble. She remembered being in junior high and seeing him, around six feet tall, with a lean, muscular build, and his jock friends throwing the football on the square, and being awestruck. They’d been like rock stars to her.
Today he wore jeans, a chambray shirt and a rather battered sports coat. A much more casual approach to dress than his father’d had. She’d never seen Stephen Tanner in anything but his uniform.
Luke ended the call and smiled at her. “Sorry about that.”
“No problem. What’s up?”
“If you have a minute, there’re a couple questions I wanted to ask you.”
She said she did and he led her into the station. For a split second, she couldn’t breathe. It all came crashing back, the shock and disbelief, the fear and nightmarish reality of it.
She wanted to turn and run. Leave this place—and Liberty—far behind.
He touched her arm, snapping her back to the moment. “You all right?”
“Am I that obvious?”
“Sorry.”
She forced a laugh and felt better for it. “First time back, that’s all.”
“First is the worst.”
“You’re a poet and don’t know it.”
He laughed and she realized he had chased the ghosts away. A moment later they faced each other across his desk. “I’m surprised your dad lets you get away with dressing like that.”
He looked down at himself. “Pops? Yeah, he’s a bit of a uniform nazi. But there’s not much he can do about it. I’m acting chief, and the city bylaws don’t require the chief to dress out.” He grinned. “It drives him crazy.”
“Why do I suspect that’s part of the reason you do it?”
“Not at all. I’m over the whole rebellion thing. Long time ago.”
The twinkle in his eyes told her otherwise. She laughed. “Right. I see that.”
A framed photo of a young boy holding up a big fish caught her eye. She picked it up. “Is this you? Cute.”
“Nope. My brother. Stevie.”
“Stevie?” She frowned. “I don’t remember you having a sib.”
“He was a year older than me. He drowned. The summer of ’92.”
She set the photo down. “I’m sorry.”
“Stuff happens.” He changed the subject. “So, you think Liberty’s ready for a healthy bakery?”
“You sound like Lilith. And yes, I do.”
He cocked his head. “If I asked you out, would you say yes?”
Her pulse fluttered. “Are you? Asking me out?”
“Thinking about it.”
“Don’t burn any brain cells over it. I’d say no.”
“Have you ever been to Pontchartrain Vineyards?”
“A vineyard? Here? As in wine?”
“Crazy, but there is. Off Old Military Road.” He held her gaze. “They have this Jazz in the Vines thing once a month. I wondered if you wanted to go.”
“With you?”
“Yeah.”
“Didn’t we just cover this?”
“Not to my satisfaction.”
“I don’t date cops. Too much history.”
“Sounds like an unreasonable bias.”
“It is. No argument from me there.”
“Good news, I’m not a cop. I’m acting chief. Big difference.”
“You’re a Tanner. Even worse.”
“Another unreasonable bias. I’m not going to give up.”
Kat decided she liked that. “Whatever. Your brain cells.”
He laughed. “I’ve got a question for you.”
“Another one?” She sat back. “Shoot.”
“Last night, you mentioned sneaking out to meet your boyfriend. Who were you dating?”
He continued to surprise her. She narrowed her eyes. “Why do you want to know?”
“Because I’m reopening your sister’s murder investigation.”
