Pecan Pies and Homicides (10 page)

Suzy nodded. “I showed her the book. She thinks she might know where they are.”

Hope bloomed in Ella Mae's heart, burning in the center of her chest like a sun. She had to fight against her desire to grab Loralyn by her fur-trimmed collar and shake her until she promised to deliver the pages. However, she mastered her desperation and returned Loralyn's cool look with measured calm.

“I don't think you or your mother are involved in Eira's death,” she said and turned to Suzy. “Opal wouldn't have done anything to upset Robert Morgan. She and he are finalizing some major real estate deal in which she's sure to make an enormous profit. She'll want to keep Morgan happy until the ink is dry.” Ella Mae focused on Loralyn again. “I will do everything I can to find Eira's killer. If I succeed in removing all suspicion from the Gaynors, then you must let me borrow those pages.”

“Agreed,” Loralyn said, looking a little too smug for Ella Mae's comfort. Were the pages useless? Were they damaged? Completely unreadable?

She's just trying to mess with you. Don't fall for it
. Ella Mae held out her hand. “Then we have a pact.”

Loralyn hesitated. A pact between members of their kind was taken seriously. An oath breaker could be punished by being denied the right to use their gifts for a set amount of time, and Ella Mae knew how much Loralyn enjoyed manipulating men with her enchanted voice. But she finally took Ella Mae's hand and said, “We have a pact.” She then rose and smoothed her leopard-print skirt. “I'll leave you to it. If you need assistance from our end, you should ask my mother. I have important things to see to, like planning the winter carnival fashion show.”

When Loralyn was gone, Suzy gave Ella Mae a triumphant look. “See? That wasn't so bad. You two can get along when you try.”

“I would have gone after Eira's killer without the promise of the missing pages,” Ella Mae said and then jerked a little as her cell phone rang. Pulling it out of her jeans pocket, she saw that it was Jenny calling. “I am so glad to hear from you. Are you in Havenwood?”

“Just passed the town limits sign,” Jenny said.

“I need a huge favor. Let me tell you how to get to the Cubbyhole bookstore. I'll be waiting for you here.”

Suzy raised her brows in a silent question but couldn't wait for Ella Mae's answer as the mother carrying the toddler was waiting to purchase several items. By the time Suzy had bagged two books on snowmen, one book on Jack Frost, and a cookbook for fussy eaters, Ella Mae had her eyes closed and was minutes away from sleep. She heard Jenny's Camaro pull up to the curb before she saw a burst of yellow through the display window. And then Jenny was squatting down next to her, peering at her with concern.

“This is going to take more than a little zap,” she said and put both hands on Ella Mae's shoulders. “Here comes the skip in your step.”

A wave of heat flooded Ella Mae's body. She felt as if her blood had turned to molten gold. It wasn't an unpleasant sensation and was utterly unlike the burn of Hugh's kiss. This was like an injection of sunshine—a jolt of pure energy.

“Wow,” Ella Mae said, holding on to Jenny's arms for a moment. “That was amazing.”

Jenny stepped back, smiling. “You overdid it, didn't you? I've seen that look before. Your muscles went all doughy and your eyes glazed over.”

“I feel much better now.”

“That's because I gave you the equivalent of ten shots of espresso,” Jenny said and then glanced at her watch. “I hope you don't mind, but I haven't come alone today. I was leading a mini caravan of folks from Oak Knoll, including my brother. They're headed to your place as we speak.”

Ella Mae handed her a set of keys hanging from a brass partridge key ring. “By all means, let them in.”

Jenny left along with another of Suzy's customers. “Did she say she had a brother?” Suzy asked, watching the yellow Camaro turn south onto Soldier Street.

“She did. His name's Aiden.”

“In that case, I'm closing early.” She flipped the open sign over and turned off the lights. “If Aiden looks anything like his sister, then I want to be the first one to welcome him to Havenwood.”

• • •

The next day, after staying up too late helping Jenny, Aiden, and a middle-aged couple named Shirley and Joe settle into their rooms in Partridge Hill, Ella Mae unlocked the back door of The Charmed Pie Shoppe and looked around at her untidy kitchen.

“This won't do,” she said, tied on an apron, and got to work.

Reba showed up early, as did Jenny and Aiden. Jenny took one look at the shop's coffee machines and shook her head. “You need to upgrade these. I can't make espressos. I can't even steam milk.”

“Just you wait. The money will start rollin' in.” Reba handed Jenny an apron. “And Ella Mae means to use it to help your people. So our customers will have to make do with regular cups of joe until you're all standin' on your own two feet.”

Jenny blushed. “I didn't mean—”

“You can always speak your mind around Ella Mae and me. The three of us are gonna be spendin' lots of time together. We've got to be free to be ourselves.” Reba turned to Aiden, who towered over her. In fact, Jenny's brother was one of the biggest men Ella Mae had ever seen. He was well over six feet tall and was as brawny as a bull. His arms were tree-trunk thick, and despite the cold temperatures, he wore nothing but an orange Sunkist soda T-shirt. “As for you, my strappin' young buck, Ella Mae wants to put you in charge of deliveries this week. I know it's not the kind of work you're used to, but reckon you'll get some big tips walkin' around in that tight shirt. I bet the ladies at the hair salon will call here every hour.”

Aiden smiled. “I hope they don't mind waiting. I have no idea where anything is in this town. Good thing my phone has GPS.” He patted his pocket. “The way I see it, this job will give folks a chance to get to know me. That should help me find, uh, different work.”

“A more manly job?” Jenny flicked her brother with the tail end of a dishtowel. Aiden snatched the towel from her, crumpled it between his massive hands, and threw it at her as if it were a snowball.

Reba drew out a licorice stick and thwacked him on the forearm.

“Ow!” The big man examined the red mark on his skin and gave Reba a wounded look. “What was that for?”

She grinned saucily. “I know all sorts of ways to get a man's attention. Want me to show you some more?”

Ella Mae knew it was time to restore order. “Listen up! We need to get ready for a packed house. Reba, you show Jenny the ropes and I'll see how Aiden fares as a sous chef.”

“Oh, no.” Aiden paled and gestured at the kitchen doors. “I know all about furnaces and fuse boxes, heat pumps and AC units, but, Ms. LeFaye, I can't cook. Unless you want me to start a fire, I don't think you want me back there.”

His remark about starting fires gave Ella Mae pause. She and Reba exchanged wary glances before Ella Mae took Aiden by the elbow. “We'll start with knife training. Learning how to chop, slice, cube, and mince can come in handy.”

“Especially with a murderer on the loose,” Jenny said, her eyes flashing with anger. Fortunately, her dark mood didn't linger. By the time the tables were set with fresh flowers in the bud vases and the coffeepots had finished brewing, Reba came into the kitchen to tell Ella Mae that the pie shop's new employee was humming and polishing flatware with the edge of her clean apron.

“And there's a line outside. Folks are chompin' at the bit to get in.”

Dusting cinnamon sugar from her fingers, Ella Mae grinned. “Good. And the Upton siblings?”

“Aiden's on the porch with his fists tucked under his biceps. He looks like a bouncer at some seedy bar, but his smile is electric. He's tellin' folks about our new delivery service, and Jenny's pimpin' the specials. That girl's a natural.” Reba gave her apron a tug. “I'm ready. You?”

Ella Mae nodded. “Yep. Every piece of pie, slice of tart, and wedge of quiche has been baked with a little something extra. We should expect lines for lunch too. I think the word will spread quickly.”

“What's the special ingredient?”

“Glee.” Ella Mae tossed a pinch of sugar into the air. The tiny grains caught the morning light, winked like diamonds for half a heartbeat, and dropped back to the worktable. “Pure, childlike, unapologetic glee.”

“Sounds good enough to eat.” Reba pointed at the clock mounted over the sink. “Fire up the ovens, darlin'. I'm going invite our first wave of customers inside.”

That was the longest conversation Ella Mae had with Reba until after the tea service. Between the lunch and tea services, Ella Mae was finally able to catch up with Jenny and Aiden as they grabbed something to eat. Both siblings seemed happy with their work and were surprised by the friendliness of Havenwood's citizens.

“They're good tippers too,” Aiden said after swallowing a large bite of chicken tortilla pie.

“I'll say.” Jenny gave her apron pocket a satisfied pat.

“We have one more service to go,” Ella Mae said while she loaded the dishwasher for the fifth time. “You guys are doing great. Reba? Everything okay?”

“Couldn't be better.” Reba tore into a package of Twizzlers. “I've heard lots of giggling and Mrs. Declan skipped down the path on her way to the car. Don't know if that was because Jenny touched her hand or because she had a double helpin' of dessert, but it's probably been twenty years and a hundred pounds since that woman has been that light on her feet. It was a treat to watch her, I tell you. It's had me grinnin' for the past hour.”

At that moment, Ella Mae happened to peer out the window over the sink. “Jenny, you and I may have given these ladies an overdose of youthful energy. Come and look.”

Reba, Jenny, and Aiden joined Ella Mae at the sink. Their eyes went wide when they saw three elderly women playing hopscotch in the parking lot.

“Check out Ms. Harvey.” Ella Mae smiled in delight. “She jumped the whole thing on one leg. Isn't she almost ninety?”

“I think they stole the chalk from our menu board,” Reba said with a mixture of wonder and admiration. “Sly devils.”

The employees of The Charmed Pie Shoppe witnessed similar scenes for the rest of the day. There was a great deal of giggling, silliness, and skipping. In the middle of teatime, Mr. Patel, the stern-faced bank manager, broke into the bubbles he'd bought for his young nephew and began blowing them across the room. The rest of the customers darted about, popping them with their forks while the bank tellers stuck spoons to their faces. According to Jenny, even the Methodist minister had a dozen spoons hanging from his cheeks, chin, and forehead by the end of the tea service.

“You have talented customers,” she teased Ella Mae.

An hour later, Reba pushed through the swing doors wearing an expression of relief. “Sweet Lord, if I have to listen to Mrs. O'Shea tell another knock-knock joke I am gonna lose my mind! I'll give you a little taste. Knock, knock.”

“Who's there?” Ella Mae asked.

“Pecan.”

“Pecan who?”

“Pecan somebody your own size.”

Ella Mae laughed while Reba rolled her eyes in annoyance.

Finally, the last customer left and Reba locked the front door and sagged against it. Ella Mae brewed a pot of tea and invited her three employees to sit down. She filled their teacups and served them slices of apricot crumble tart.

“Here's to the first of many successful days together,” she said and toasted Jenny, Aiden, and Reba. “And I haven't forgotten about Eira,” Ella Mae said to Jenny when their plates were empty. “Have you been able to find out whether she or Robert were taking sleeping pills? I know I only asked you about that last night and you were in the middle of moving into Partridge Hill, but what are your thoughts?”

“There's no way Eira would have voluntarily swallowed any kind prescription drug,” Jenny said firmly. “She was so paranoid about her pregnancy that she wouldn't eat peanut butter, fish, or anything that might contain a trace of caffeine.”

“But there was alcohol in her system when she died.” Ella Mae argued gently. “Maybe she was desperate. Maybe she was looking for an escape. A permanent one. She did seem unhappy, though you'd know better than the rest of us if she was even capable of such an act.”

“No!” Jenny shot to her feet so quickly that her chair fell over. “No. I refuse to believe that.”

Someone knocked on the front door. Without bothering to turn her head, Reba shouted, “We're closed! Come back tomorrow, ya hear?”

The knocking continued.

“I'm already up. I'll see who it is,” Jenny said.

After peering out through the glass, Jenny's body stiffened. She flung open the door but didn't give the man on the stoop a chance to enter. Ella Mae couldn't see him clearly, but something about the lines and angles of his face seemed familiar. She was just about to invite him in when Jenny's right fist shot forward. It connected with the man's nose with a sickening crunch.

“It's about time you showed up!” Jenny hissed, rubbing her knuckles. “Well, don't just stand there bleeding on the welcome mat. You have some major explaining to do.”

At the sight of blood, Reba grabbed a napkin and moved behind Jenny. Jenny didn't hear her approach and stepped backward, right onto Reba's foot.

“Sweet mercy, girl! Are you hell-bent on inflictin' as many injuries as possible?” Scowling at Jenny, she beckoned for the bleeding man to enter. “It's all right. She won't haul off and cold cock you again.”

“Says who?” Anger rolled off Jenny's body like waves of summer heat. “I should throttle him until he tells us where he's been. Or where he was when Eira was freezing to death!”

Ella Mae got up and touched Jenny's arm. “Have a seat. You need to calm down so we can all listen to what he has to say.”

When Jenny hesitated, Ella Mae gave her a little push. “Go on.” She then coaxed the stranger forward. “You're Barric Young,” she said. “I saw you dancing with Eira at the Gaynors' party. Please. Come in and join us.”

Glancing warily at Jenny, Barric took the chair next to Reba. She tapped gently on the napkin covering his nose. “May I? I'd like to see if your beak is broken.”

Barric nodded and turned to face her.

“If it's not broken, I can try again,” Jenny muttered.

“Doesn't look crooked,” Reba said when she was done. She put a hand on Barric's shoulder. “But I'm afraid it'll turn a pretty shade of purple. Kind of like blueberry pie filling.” She offered him a clean napkin. “Keep applyin' pressure, hon.”

Ella Mae gestured at the teapot. “Could I pour you a cup?” When he shook his head, she explained who she was. “I've been trying to find out what happened to Eira. I . . . My aunts were the ones who found her on the mountain. I'm so sorry, Barric. I could tell she was really special to you.” She waited for a moment and then asked, “When did you last see Eira?”

“A little after ten o'clock,” Barric said. Due to his pinched nostrils, his voice sounded high-pitched and juvenile. There was nothing humorous about the agony etched on his face, however. When Ella Mae had seen him at the Gaynors' party, he'd been an attractive young man twirling a beautiful woman across the dance floor. He'd shone nearly as brightly as Eira, but now his golden hair was a dirty blond shade and his skin was wan. His proud bearing was also absent. He sagged in his chair, shoulders hunched, staring blankly at the teapot. “I don't mean to be rude, but I'd rather not talk to you about her,” he said to Ella Mae. “I don't know you.”

Ella Mae's heart hurt for the young man across the table. Every inch of him was weighed down by grief.

“You can trust her,” Aiden said to Barric. “She and her friends and family have given a bunch of Oak Knoll folks a place to stay. And she's helping us find work. She's their Lady's daughter.”

Barric lowered the napkin and twisted it between his fingers. “It's so hard to say this, but the last thing Eira and I did together was . . . well, we had a fight. God, I wish I could change that. I wish I could take back everything I said, but I can't. I was out of my mind at that moment. She had me so upset. I didn't think—”

“Yeah, you've had issues with forgetting how to think before,” Jenny snapped.

“And I paid the price, didn't I?” Barric shot back, anger surfacing in his eyes. “But I don't go around burning things when I'm pissed off. Like our grove, for example.” He pointed at Aiden. “I've seen you messing around with fire. You can make a fire burn even from a distance, can't you? Were you involved in some scheme with Morgan? Did he pay you to torch our grove? Did he have something on you? Because he sure as hell had something on Eira.”

Aiden's neck and cheeks flushed a deep red, and he slammed his fists against the table. “Watch it, boy. You're not the first to accuse me of that crime. Do you want to find out what I did to the other people who dared say that to my face?”

Barric made to rise when Ella Mae thrust her arms outward, looking like a traffic cop during rush hour. “This is my shop,” she barked. “You will both be civil or I'll throw you out.” Her steely expression made it clear that she was completely serious.

Both men were quick to apologize and Ella Mae lowered her arms. She turned to Barric and gestured for him to continue. “I know this is difficult, but we can't help you if we don't know the whole story. No one will interrupt you again, I promise. Please. Go on.”

After a long pause, Barric resumed his narrative. “I didn't know Eira was pregnant. She led me into some guy's office to tell me the news. I was furious. I said some really terrible things to her.” His forehead glistened with perspiration and he pulled at the collar of his shirt. “I didn't want a baby. Not ever. You can all understand why. When a magical couple has a child together, horrible things usually happen. Because of that stupid curse placed on our kind all those years ago by Myrddin, one of the parents pays a price for daring to defy the odds. I can't tell how many times I've heard of a parent being injured or killed. It always looks like a freak accident to the outside world, but we know the truth, don't we?”

Everyone at the table nodded. Ella Mae's own father had been crushed in a cave-in shortly after her birth. The risk was too great for most magical couples, and she understood why Barric didn't want to take a chance.

“I couldn't imagine losing Eira. Not in exchange for a child. She wanted children more than anything in this world, but I didn't. I never did and she knew that.” Shifting uncomfortably in his seat, Barric wiped his brow with a napkin. His hands were shaking. “I guess she was going to have a baby no matter what. But to get pregnant when she was still married to Morgan? That was pure insanity. I knew he'd punish her for making him look like a fool. Everyone knows he can't father a child.”

Ella Mae touched Barric lightly on the hand. “I promised not to interrupt, but I have to ask why Eira married Robert Morgan in the first place. Why would a lovely and talented dancer marry such a creep? You mentioned that he had some hold over her.”

“She wouldn't tell me what it was,” Barric said. “I guess she married him—”

“Because Barric couldn't keep it in his pants,” Jenny said, crossing her arms over her chest.

“Jenny.” Ella Mae held up a warning finger and her new employee fell silent, but Barric lowered his eyes in shame.

“Eira and I grew up together,” he said. “We were in the same kindergarten class. We spent our free time running through the woods or sailing paper boats in the stream behind her house.” The timbre of Barric's voice changed. Ella Mae could hear the smile creeping into it. Watching him, she knew that he had returned to his boyhood. A boyhood filled with images of his best friend—a thin, graceful little girl named Eira.

Reba leaned over and whispered in Ella Mae's ear. “Sounds like a good country upbringin'. No wonder he misses that girl. She was his past. Should've been his future too. He doesn't know who he is without her. She was a part of him.”

“We even broke a bone at the same time,” Barric continued wistfully, unaware that Reba had spoken. “I fell out of the tree house I was building for her and fractured my left arm. Later that day, after she wrote all over my new cast, Eira tried to jump from one of the big rocks in the forest to another. She would have made it if it hadn't been for that patch of moss.” He winced at the memory. “She missed and broke her foot. I had to carry her home. Trust me, I didn't mind a bit. We were freshmen in high school and were so in love. We'd been in love forever by then. We were everything to each other.” He seemed to hit a wall at this point in their history. Looking up, he met Jenny's eyes. Ella Mae was surprised to see her give him an encouraging nod.

Maybe she's realizing that he's been punished enough,
Ella Mae thought.
Whatever he did, he couldn't deserve this anguish
.

“We didn't go to the same college,” he went on. “I wanted to be a farmer—my name actually means ‘grain farmer.' Eira had always had her heart set on being a dancer. But we picked schools within a decent driving distance so we could still see each other.” He rubbed his temples, as if he could erase the memories he was forcing to the forefront of his mind. “One night, during our senior year, we had our first blowout. It was about whether we'd get married and start a family after graduation. I was fine with the marriage part.”

“But not the kid part,” Reba said helpfully.

Barric nodded. “Eira was so mad that she kicked me out of her dorm room and wouldn't take my calls for weeks. It was the longest we'd ever gone without talking and I didn't handle it well. I went to a bunch of parties. Drank too much. Started thinking I should date other girls. I was curious about . . . sex.” His cheeks turned pink. “Eira and I weren't going to sleep together until after we got married. Not many people abstain these days, but we decided it would be more special that way.”

Aiden's brows rose. “Seriously? Man that must have been tough.” He coughed in a sudden fit of embarrassment. “I'm not trying to be crude, ladies, but when I was in college, I spent half of my time chasing girls. That's what guys my age did. And it also might account for why I'm an electrician and not a nuclear physicist.”

“What you do is important,” Jenny said firmly. “You can create a Christmas display that can be seen from outer space. And you're a people person. Who would carry the old ladies' groceries if you were holed up in some lab making weapons of mass destruction? Be proud of what you are. I am.”

Aiden grinned. “Thanks, sis.”

Everyone looked at Barric again. The camaraderie between the siblings must have reminded him of his childhood with Eira, but he swallowed the lump in his throat and plodded on. “I was at a frat party and had had way too much to drink when this girl who'd been flirting with me all semester starting hitting on me. To make a long story short, I slept with her. The next day, I was so guilt-ridden that I drove to Eira's school and told her everything. I begged her to forgive me, but she couldn't. She refused to speak to me. No matter what I did, I couldn't earn her forgiveness.” His breath caught on the last word and he fixed his gaze on the tablecloth.

Ella Mae poured Barric a cup of tea. “Drink this.” She then turned to Jenny to complete the narrative. “So Eira became a dancer and later met and married Robert Morgan after he saw her perform. Did she marry him to punish Barric?”

Jenny shrugged. “Maybe. Then again, when they got engaged, Morgan was rich and influential and wanted a big family. She never told me that she loved him, so I figured she just wanted the security he could offer.”

“Eira went through some hard times when she was a girl,” Barric added quietly. “Her mom left when she was in the first grade and her dad wasn't always right in the head. He drank and took pills for depression. The booze and meds didn't mix well, so Eira spent half of her life at my house. She knew she'd have a hot meal and a comfortable place to sleep. Nothing was ever certain at her place. One day, her dad might cook a feast and the next, he'd throw every ounce of food into the woods because he thought it was poisoned.”

Reba made tsk-tsk noises. “Poor girl. Where'd her mama go?”

“She fell for a man at work,” Barric said. “One day, when Eira was at school and her dad was on some job, Eira's mom packed her things, wrote a quick note saying that she was sorry, and vanished. She was never heard from again.” Barric shot Ella Mae a nervous glance, but when she didn't react, he continued. “After her mother left, Eira's world started to unravel. Her dad went downhill fast, and Eira spent her time dreaming of growing up and creating a family that wouldn't be anything like her own.”

Ella Mae felt a knife-twist of grief in her stomach. Her world hadn't been the same without her mother, so she understood how alone and scared Eira must have been.

You'll get her back,
she told herself
. You won't have to live without her. You're not Eira.

Reba reached over and squeezed Ella Mae's hand.

“I'm sorry you two fought,” Jenny said to Barric. “But are you sure that's the last time you spoke to Eira? You didn't see her leave the Gaynors' house?”

He shook his head.

“Was she drinking anything when you were with her?” Ella Mae asked.

Barric seemed startled by the question. “I don't remember. She dropped a pretty big bomb on me. I don't think I would have noticed much at that point.”

Again, his forehead was covered with a sheen of perspiration and Ella Mae couldn't help but wonder if he was being completely forthright. She wished Aunt Verena were here. Not only could she tell if Barric was lying, she could also ask Aiden if he knew more about the fire in Oak Knoll than he let on. But Verena wasn't around and Ella Mae knew it was up to her to discover those answers and more.

Ella Mae tried to process everything she'd heard. “Our next step is clear. I need to find someone who saw Eira after Barric left. I also want to know who else she talked with and what frame of mind she was in by the end of the party.”