Pecan Pies and Homicides (16 page)

“I think I have.” Ella Mae pointed across the street while star-shaped flakes fell onto her trembling finger. “Barric Young didn't leave town. He's here. And he's angry. Very, very angry.”

Reba didn't hesitate. She took off, racing across the street in a blur of arms and legs, and Ella Mae felt a twinge of fear. She knew Reba was armed to the teeth—there was a shoulder holster concealed beneath her shirt, a throwing star tucked into the waistband of her jeans, and another weapon stashed in her new red cowboy boots, but the miniature arsenal didn't alleviate Ella Mae's concern.

“What if Barric's an elemental?” she asked the falling snow. Someone bumped into her and offered a hasty apology, but Ella Mae didn't even notice. “If she corners him, he might react without thinking. That quick temper could blaze into life. He might start a fire. Reba could get . . .” The thought was too terrible to voice.

Pivoting, Ella Mae searched the crowd for a policeman, but the bed race contestants obscured her view. She edged past a Cookie Monster talking to a Naughty Nurse, two clowns with rubber noses and rainbow wigs laughing it up with a pirate, and two cats from the Barkers Beauties team receiving congratulations from two women dressed as fairy tale characters. Ella Mae thought she saw a cop standing behind Snow White and Little Red Riding Hood, so she maneuvered around them, only to have her path blocked by someone in a wolf costume. She stared at the wolf's yellow eyes and bared teeth until he raised his paw in a hello wave. She smiled an awkward little smile and edged around him.

Rushing up to the policeman, Ella Mae blurted, “Officer, I just saw a suspect in the Eira Morgan murder case. That way!” She pointed in the direction Reba had gone. “It's Barric Young. You guys have been searching for him for days. Can you radio for backup?”

The cop looked at her, his face an unreadable mask. He made no move to use the radio attached to his uniform shirt. “What's your name, ma'am?”

Ella Mae told him and then went on to add that it had been her family members who'd found Eira's body and that she was responsible for informing the police about Barric's suspicious behavior in the first place.

“Is that so? Who took your statement?” the officer asked, his voice betraying his disbelief.

“Officer Hardy. Jon Hardy.” Ella Mae was doing her best to rein in her impatience, but this man's indifference was fueling her anxiety. “Please. Call
someone
before Barric gets away. He could be very dangerous. The man's a
murder
suspect!”

Her emphasis on the word murder seemed to break through the cop's studied cool. He canted his head and spoke into his radio, receiving a string of static-riddled code in reply. “Hardy's in the community center with the mayor,” he said to Ella Mae. “Can you describe what Young was wearing?”

Ella Mae pictured Barric again. She'd seen only his face and those furious, laser-point eyes. “Not really. I caught a glimpse of a dark coat. No scarf or hat. He was standing behind other people, so I didn't have a clear view.”

The officer passed on her inadequate description to his colleagues, and Ella Mae felt the roiling in her stomach subside. The cops were on it. Reba wasn't alone. She had backup.

“Hardy would like to speak to you,” the officer said. “He's at the community center right now, but later, he'll be by the lake.”

Ella Mae raised her brows. “He's doing the Polar Plunge?” She knew Jon Hardy well enough to be surprised by the idea. Even though their acquaintance had begun when Hardy arrested her on suspicion of murder within weeks of her return to Havenwood, Ella Mae had come to like Hardy. He was a decent man and a good cop who loved his wife, his job, and his two headstrong Boxers. Ella Mae had seen him in The Charmed Pie Shoppe on a regular basis too, and judging from the way he could put away a big meal and then linger over coffee and cherry pie, Ella Mae hadn't pegged him as someone who'd deliberately jump into a lake in the middle of one of Havenwood's coldest winters on record.

“No, Hardy isn't going in.” The cop grinned. “Half of the force has signed up to freeze their rumps off, but not Hardy. He'll be there to maintain order and assist the paramedics if necessary. I'm sure he'll have his hands full. Someone always stays in the water too long or cuts a foot on a stone. If it didn't bring in so much money for the Wounded Officer Fund, I'd say cancel the whole crazy thing. But dozens of families have made it through rough times because of the donations.” He sighed. “I was even dumb enough to volunteer this year. I've never done it before and I'm not looking forward to it.”

Ella Mae had been listening with only half an ear. She was already making plans to check in at the pie shop booth before tracking down Hardy. However, her Southern upbringing forced her to smile and wish the young man luck with his inaugural plunge. She then hustled back to the community center.

Inside, a troupe of girls had taken the stage. Dressed in black leotards hung with sequined fringe, they performed a tap dance routine that included complicated moves involving top hats and canes. The space reverberated with the clacks and clicks of their shoes striking the floor and a tinny recording of “All That Jazz,” which Ella Mae found preferable to the disjointed techno music of Loralyn's fashion show.

At The Charmed Pie Shoppe booth, Jenny and Aiden were busy serving coffee and dessert. From what Ella Mae could see, all was running smoothly.

“What an amazing finish to the bed race!” Jenny exclaimed when Ella Mae joined her behind the makeshift counter. “Your aunt must be so happy.”

“I think she is, but I didn't get a chance to talk to her,” Ella Mae said. “I was going to go over, when I spotted Barric Young on the other side of the street. I had to find a cop before Barric could get away again.”

Jenny and Aiden exchanged a look of surprise.

“What is that guy thinking?” Aiden asked. “He must know that he's a wanted man. Why would he risk his neck to come back to Havenwood? And why today? He could have been halfway to Canada by now.”

“Is that where you'd go if you had to flee from the law?” Ella Mae asked, wondering if the question would fluster Aiden, but he was completely unperturbed.

“Nah. Too cold. I don't even want to leave the building. I am not a fan of the cold and I hate snow.”

Jenny was staring at Ella Mae. “I don't know what Barric wants, but I don't like this. Should we help the cops look for him? We know his face on sight and we're almost out of food anyway. There are half a dozen pies left and about the same number of cookies. And the cash box is so full that we can barely close it.”

Ella Mae took in the stacks of empty aluminum trays. She would have loved to celebrate their success, but she was too preoccupied by the idea that Barric could be hatching some malicious plot. “Aiden, I think we can extinguish the fuel cans now. If you'd prefer to stay indoors, you can sell the rest of our food, pack our things, and then maybe give Suzy a hand.”

Though Aiden's eyes lit up at the mention of Suzy's name, he shook his head. “No way am I going to let the two of you chase after Barric without me. He could get violent.”

“You'd like that, wouldn't you?” Jenny said. “You've wanted to knock Barric Young's lights out for weeks now.”

“Ever since Jenny told me that he cheated on Eira, I haven't liked the guy. They had one fight and he jumped into bed with another girl. That's not cool.” Aiden shrugged and began to blow out the tiny flames in the fuel cans.

Ella Mae was on the verge of asking him if he'd ever hurt someone he loved when Opal Gaynor appeared.

Assuming she was a customer in need of service, Jenny gave her a bright smile. “Can I help you?”

“No, thank you, I'd like to express my displeasure to the owner personally.”

Jenny stiffened, but Ella Mae put a hand on her shoulder and told her everything was okay. Opal walked several feet away from the booth and beckoned for Ella Mae to join her. While she complied, Ella Mae glanced around for any sign of Officer Hardy. Unfortunately, several spotlights were trained on the tap dancers, making it hard to see beyond the circles of light onstage.

Cleary irritated by Ella Mae's lack of attention, Opal waved a manicured hand in front of her. “Hello? Remember me? I'm the woman who's spent most of the carnival dodging questions and refuting insinuations. You pledged to help our family, to prevent our reputation from being tarnished, and you've done nothing to help. May I remind you that I held up
my
end of the bargain?” She gestured at The Charmed Pie Shoppe booth. “It was because of me that the committee asked you to be a vendor at this very lucrative event.”

“And I appreciate that. Truly. I'm doing everything I can to investigate on my own and to assist the police with the case as well.” Ella Mae lowered her voice. “In fact, one of the suspects is at large, somewhere in town, this very minute. The police are searching for him and I was just about to join them.”

“Well, that does sound promising.” Opal was slightly mollified. “As you can imagine, Mr. Morgan is also interested in having his wife's killer brought to justice. Seeing as how his company will boost our local economy, we should do all we can to prove that we're on his side.”

Ella Mae frowned. “You might feel compelled to fawn over him, but as far as I'm concerned, Robert Morgan isn't in the clear when it comes to his wife's murder. You saw them together. They were hardly a loving couple.”

Opal threw her head back and laughed. “How nice it must be to live in fantasyland, Ella Mae. Allow me to explain, as someone who inhabits the real world, that very few successful marriages endure due to some vague storybook notion known as true love.”

“What about you and Jarvis? It wasn't love that brought you together?” Ella Mae looked around again, and while she noted that Robert Morgan was parked close to the stage, his gaze fixed on a little blond girl dancing a solo, she didn't see Jarvis anywhere.

“Marriages between important families are based on more substantial things, my dear. Bloodlines, breeding, and a proclivity toward rare and powerful talents. But I don't want to delay you discussing things you wouldn't understand, so run along. I believe you have a villain to find.”

Ella Mae didn't care for Opal's tone. “Yes, I do. But I want you to know that I made a promise to myself, to the people of Havenwood, and to Eira. I vowed that I wouldn't let her death go unpunished. Unlike you, I don't care how much money a person has or if they can trace their lineage to a famous monarch. I only care about the fact that an innocent young woman was given an overdose of sleeping pills and then left alone on a mountain to die. I'll hunt for Barric, but your Robert Morgan had a strong motive to kill his wife. Perhaps you'd better take a moment to consider whose reputation is more important—Morgan's, or yours?”

And with that, Ella Mae pivoted on her boot heel and marched away. She was annoyed, but more at herself than at Opal. The conversation had served to remind Ella Mae of how little progress she'd made with any of her goals. Eira, Hugh, her mother. Nothing was resolved. Things were not much clearer than they'd been the night she found Eira's frost-covered body.

Fists clenched, Ella Mae strode outside, hoping she'd run right smack into Barric. Recalling how Jenny had punched him at the pie shop, she fantasized about having the opportunity to do the same. But throttling him would serve no real purpose. Barric had to be forced to talk. He needed to sit in a holding cell until he told the whole truth about his relationship with Eira.

“I'll tell Officer Hardy about the look in Barric's eyes. I have to make him see that finding Barric is more important than escorting the mayor or babysitting the Polar Plunge participants.” Ella Mae's words came out of her mouth in terse, rhythmic puffs. She looked like a steam engine as she made her way to the lake.

Signs calling attention to the Polar Plunge marked the narrow tree-lined road leading to the water. Over the years, it had become a tradition for family and friends to wish the swimmers good luck by posting signs along the path. Other signs, which beseeched spectators to donate to the Wounded Officer Fund, featured color photographs of policemen and women from across the state and taglines like, “Give to Those Who Protect and Serve.”

Ella Mae paused a moment in front of a sign reading, “They Stand Between Us and Fear.” If only there'd been someone to stand between Eira and fear that fateful night on the mountain. Or to shield Oak Knoll's Lady of the Ash. Two women taken unawares. Two women with no champions. Ella Mae silently renewed her vow that no one else would come to harm.

Sliding her hand into her purse, she touched the cold barrel of her Colt. “I'll be ready,” she told the falling snow.

The Polar Plunge was the carnival's final event. Because its kickoff was less than an hour away, Ella Mae expected to find a few people hanging around the lake's edge. However, when she left the copse of pine trees behind and stepped out into the open, she found herself totally alone.