No Good Deed: A Small-Town Romantic Suspense Novel

18. Too Good To Be True

Afew days later, Piper set up her laptop in the saloon. The building was old and needed renovation, but they’d cleaned the bathrooms and the main room. It was a good size for her to present her ideas to the whole town and get their input.

She loved the old-time look of the building. The top of the bar was crafted from a single piece of wood. An old-fashioned brass rail ran along the bottom, where she imagined pioneers once rested their boots. Behind the bar, glass shelves covered a mirrored wall that was only cracked along one edge. The main room held at least a dozen tables. Stairs to the right led up to a small balcony overlooking the space with doors leading to rooms off the back.

She could easily imagine an old western movie being filmed in the space. She could also see it working as a modern-day restaurant. The details like the scrollwork on the window frames gave it character. She hoped Troy’s plans for it included using the bar and kitchen. A restaurant would be a huge benefit to Phail.

Piper’s stomach bounced with nerves. Presentations made her anxious. She hoped this one would be easier once she got started. She knew almost all of these people and liked them. A lot.

She was in love with one of them.

Piper hadn’t eaten any breakfast in case the nerves got the better of her. Troy had promised her it would be fine, and that he would be right there with her. He’d been so concerned when she wouldn’t eat he wanted to cancel the event or do it himself. She’d convinced him this was normal, and that she would be fine once she got going. The beginning was the most difficult. Once she became caught up in the excitement of the developing plan, it would be fine. At least, it always had been before.

They’d set up a portable screen near the bar and arranged chairs in the rest of the space so everyone could see it. Ginny had set up a small table to the side with coffee and tea selections, along with her incredible cinnamon buns. At least no one would waste the treats by throwing them at her.

Not that she actually thought anyone would throw anything. Her nerves were simply getting the best of her. This presentation mattered a lot. She set up the slideshow on the laptop and made sure her clicker worked. Then Troy stopped beside her chair and leaned down to kiss her hair. “Everything working okay? You ready?”

She smiled up at him. “Yes. Maybe.”

He laughed and tugged her to stand, then pulled her in for a hug. “These people like you. They’re excited to see what ideas you have. I’ll be right here with you. It’s going to be like a giant brainstorming session. We’ve got this.”

He took her hand, and they moved to the front of the room. He’d set up a couple of the bar stools to the side of the screen and he helped her sit on the first, then took the second.

Everyone understood the cue, and moved to fill the seats. When Piper blew out a nervous breath and nodded, Troy grinned, and turned to the crowd. “Thanks for coming, everyone. As you know, I invited Piper to Phail to see if she could help us figure out cheap ways to build the town. She’s come up with some great ideas for us, and I’m hoping we can count on you for some brainstorming to help refine it all.”

He turned to her and she smiled at the group. “Thanks for coming. I have to say, when I first saw the town’s name was Phail, I thought it was a joke.”

Everyone chuckled, and a few of the Midnight Lake crew called out. “Me too.”

The laughter had her starting to relax. “As we all know, it’s not a joke, but the town does an amazing job seeing the humor in the name and playing off that. That’s something that should definitely continue. Unless, of course, you’d agree to change the name.”

More laughter, and Troy nudged her with his shoulder. “No way, Piper. That’s off the table.”

“So, seeing as we’re stuck with it, we play it up.” She clicked her remote so that her laptop shared its screen with the big screen. The town website she’d designed popped up. The blue and green tartan with the crest dominated the screen.

She’d tweaked the Welcome to Phail banner to read Welcome to Phail, where we succeed.

Several people murmured in the crowd. The positive noises and smiles helped her relax further. “A town website is a pretty cheap venture, and it’s a good place to showcase all the great things about the town.”

She clicked on the tab showcasing the food options, highlighting the diner, Phail Phoods, and the BB. Then, the housing option which currently held the BB.

Jim laughed. “We’re the best choice in town, Carl. Our girl’s made us look good.”

Piper grinned. “You didn’t need any help for that. Your BB is perfect.”

She moved to the next tab, which showcased the local artisans. Nimii and her paintings, Josie Ellis’s sculptures and paintings, and Aisling Gallagher’s hand-crafted furniture. An idea had been niggling at her, and she hadn’t even voiced it with Troy, but she found it blurting out of her mouth. “I was wondering about opening a small shop in one of the empty storefronts. Showcasing the incredible artisan work. There could be information packages about the town and local businesses. A true Visitor’s Center. It wouldn’t be open all the time, but if we can create a tourist atmosphere here, it would be a great asset.”

“And what’s going to bring in the tourists? Why would they come here?”

Piper didn’t know the man who spoke up, but his tone was curious and not hostile. “Good question. I have a few ideas, some more expensive than others. Let’s start with the cheaper ones first.”

She clicked on the Phail Fun tab on the website. “I hear you already have a county fair in the summer. An easy tweak is to change the name to Phail Fair. I’d also ask the artisans who come to open booths at the fair if they’d like to be on the website and showcase their work in the local storefront.”

After the group had talked for a few minutes about building up the fair, she suggested they add at least one more fair or festival. “Why not a Christmas festival with Phail flair? It’s only a few weeks before Christmas this year, but we could start small and brainstorm ideas for a bigger event next year.”

Troy spoke. “Piper suggested we could use the saloon here for movie nights leading up to Christmas. Show different classic Christmas movies over a few nights. Get some ideas for our own festival from them and have a town event, which we don’t do often enough. This year, the focus would be on us and ideas for the future.”

Excited chatter filled the saloon as people threw ideas back and forth and came up with a good start for town-wide events. The enthusiasm so far helped her completely relax. Her nerves were gone, and Piper felt like friends she’d known for far longer than a week surrounded her.

It wasn’t long before she had lists of ideas for both a Christmas festival and one in the autumn when the scenery was magnificent.

She clicked on another screen, this one showing small towns around the country and the way they tied their small communities together. “I haven’t seen Phail in the summer yet, but there are easy ways to visually remind tourists that Phail is a fun place to be. Matching flower pots, window displays around common themes, banners on the light posts. There could be fun quizzes and visual scavenger hunts posted on the website. If a person finds all the items, they might get a prize like a free hot chocolate or candy cane. Maybe a frozen treat in the summer.”

The crowd broke out into conversations again. Piper soon had more ideas and names of people who appeared to be good choices for a decorating committee.

Troy whistled to bring everyone’s attention back to them. “I know it’s already a lot to digest, but Piper has other ideas to give us a couple of places for the town to gather. They involve some demo, some elbow grease, and more money than we’ve already talked about. I’ve called dibs on one of the ideas, but I’ll let her tell you about the second.”

Piper flipped to a new screen, showing a sketch of the town from above. “Most towns and cities have gathering places. Outdoor and indoor. I want to talk about the outdoors today. If we demolished these three buildings, there would be enough space to build a park with several different areas.”

She flipped to the next screen to show the park. “A gazebo here for music and events. Over here, a splash pad and a kids’ play area. A walking and jogging path that would start and end in the park but would wander through the woods in the back. There are lots of creeks and ponds back there. At each, we could have benches, viewing areas, art pieces, scavenger hunt ideas, or even fitness challenges. Maybe even stock some of the ponds with fish and have some fishing contests.”

There was dead silence, but she couldn’t tell if that was good or bad. Her nerves roared back. “The park would be a place to host festivals, art shows, fun competitions. Some of you could host fitness or yoga classes outdoors. There could be races or games. There’s room for a multipurpose sports field at the back for soccer or baseball. We might be able to attract a food truck business or another restaurant for evening fare.”

A woman raised her hand from her seat near the back. The woman’s dog, Potato, was a large golden retriever who liked to lick Oreo’s head when they met during their walks. “I’m Janine Jeffrey, and I’ve lived here my whole life. Those empty buildings have been here for years. Decades. And no one has ever thought to tear them down. It’s a brilliant idea.”

That broke the silence, and everyone chipped in with approval and excitement. She heard a ton of variations of Why didn’t we think about that before?

Troy reached over, and squeezed her hand. “Congratulations, Piper. You’ve done it. Not only did you come up with tons of great ideas, but you’ve got the whole town excited about making those changes. Thank you.”

Piper grinned. “We did it.”

He rose and hugged her before they were pulled in different directions as people approached to talk to them both.

Piper was amazed at the reaction to the presentation. People hugged her, shook her hand, and thanked her for helping their town. She met even more people and learned more names.

For another twenty minutes, she spoke to people and added ideas to her lists, and started a new list of people willing to help. That list was incredibly long.

Her feet ached, but she was thrilled with the reaction. When the crowed started to disperse, she needed a moment to breathe, so she headed back to the kitchen where they’d blocked off a small area for Oreo. He lay on his bed with his favorite stuffed toy. The elephant was almost as big as her bulldog.

Hers.

Oreo must have sensed her presence because he opened his eyes and bounced to his feet. He yipped at her and wiggled his butt with excitement.

Laughing, she picked him up and brought him to eye level. “We did it, Oreo. Everyone loved the presentation and they have even more ideas to help us improve Phail.”

Oreo licked her nose. She lowered her voice. “I feel so good, right now. Not only was the presentation a success, but it helped me crystallize what I want. I want to stay here in Phail with Troy. I don’t know what job I’ll get, but I’ll figure out something.”

She lowered her voice further. “I’m in love Oreo. With Troy, with this town, and with you. My mom was right. Pipe dreams are the best dreams and I’m going to make mine come true.”

* * *

Troy enjoyed the reactions of the people in the saloon. They were thrilled with Piper’s presentation, and with Piper herself. She fit here, and it was now his job to get her to realize it.

Mrs. Gupta marched up to him and lifted her hand to pat him on the cheek. “You’re a good boy, Troy.”

He laughed and patted her hand. “Haven’t been a boy for a while now, but thanks, Mrs. Gupta.”

She smiled and patted him again. “And she’s a good girl.”

He nodded. “She really is.”

Mrs. Gupta nodded firmly and buttoned up her coat. “I’m glad we agree. You’re going to convince her to stay here. With us. With you.”

The twinkle in her eyes belied the fact that she remembered when televisions had been invented. The woman was all about romance.

“I’m going to do my best.”

“See that you do.” Then she turned and looped her arm through her husband’s and headed out the door. The crowd was thinning but the happy conversations continued. This was exactly what he’d hoped for when he’d thought about hiring an urban planner to help out Phail.

He’d had no idea that the reality would far outstrip any dreams he’d had.

Sam Young, the founder of Midnight Lake Security, let out a whistle. “The silver Accord just drove by.”

Troy was beside Sam in a flash, but they both stopped anyone from running into the street. “If we fly out of here, he’s going to be long gone. We want to catch him, not scare him off. Act naturally. If you spot it, don’t stare at the car. Text to let us know if you spot the Accord.”

Troy and Sam grabbed their jackets and headed onto the sidewalk in front of the saloon. Troy pulled up the security feed from his house and watched for a few minutes, but no silver car drove by.

Mitch walked up to them, looking at his own phone. “He drove by the firehall but didn’t stop. Wearing a ball cap again.”

Joe approached next. “Looks like I’ve got a partial plate. I’m going with Marcus to search for it. I’ll also call Shanice Williams and see if I can get her to run a search through her database as well.” Shanice ran the closest FBI office over in New Hampshire. The former FBI agents running Midnight Security had worked with her several times. She was an excellent agent and asset.

They were finally making progress.

Joe and Marcus headed to the deputy’s office. Mitch and Bella headed to the firehall to keep an eye out from there.

As they left the saloon, many people stopped and asked for details. Every single one of them promised to look out for Piper. She’d made a hell of an impression in the past week.

Which reminded him how often she’d used we and our and us throughout her presentation. She might not realize it yet, but she was imagining herself here in Phail in the future, hopefully with him.

Brody stopped to say he’d take his snowplow around town, hoping the plow wouldn’t appear suspicious. Mrs. Stewart would keep her eye open for that asshat harassing our smart cookie. Rachel Owens and her son offered their help. His cousin Fiona stopped and hugged him. She whispered in his ear. “I really like your girl, Troy. Find a way to keep her around.” Then she patted his arm and moved off.

Sam grinned at him. “Piper was a hit today. I never imagined there were so many ways to build up a town, and I never once thought of tearing down buildings.”

Troy nodded. “She’s got a ton of ideas, and most of them won’t cost much. But the park is going to be the center of it all.”

“Like a town square. It’s a classic for a reason.”

Troy agreed. He wanted to fast-forward to the spring when they could start the demolition. Unless they could begin on the inside of the buildings first. That would help keep the momentum going so people didn’t forget the excitement of today.

But he could barely focus on any of that at the moment. The asshole who’d attacked Piper was in town. Someone had to spot that car soon. Unless Westerlake was simply driving through. Phail wasn’t exactly on the road to everywhere. North, the road led to Midnight Lake and out to the rest of Vermont. South, the road led to lower Vermont and nearby states.

If someone ended up in Phail, it was almost always on purpose. They weren’t on a major highway, which led to the lack of Oh, let’s stop there tourists.

Tansy walked out of the building, and Sam tucked her under his arm. She leaned in and then asked, “Any word on the car? Has anyone spotted him?”

Troy shook his head and checked his phone again even though he would have heard any notifications. He wanted to get Piper home and behind the security system, but walking home would be when she would be most vulnerable. Would they be better off staying in the saloon? Or to go through the connecting door into Doc’s and out the back way?

Troy’s phone rang with Joe’s number. “Did you find them?”

“Not yet, but I have a better view from the security feed. It shows two men in the car this time. Both wearing hats to obscure their faces.”

Damn it. “Let me know when you have more.” He moved into the saloon as he updated Sam and Tansy. The main room was empty now. “Piper?”

Tansy pointed to the hallway past the bar. “She was heading to get Oreo and then to the restroom to splash water on her face. The presentation took a lot out of her.”

They moved to the back and Troy called her name again. A chill ran up his spine when she didn’t respond. “Piper!”

The door to the bathroom was open, with no Piper in sight. He moved to the kitchen, calling for her and Oreo.

Someone had smashed the window in the kitchen’s back door. Glass littered the floor. Oreo’s barking drew him outside. He raced through the broken glass and out the door to find the little dog in the middle of the parking lot, barking for help.

But no Piper. He yelled her name, but there was no response. Heart hammering in his chest, he scooped up the dog and called Joe again. “Piper’s gone. Oreo’s outside. Check the camera feed for the back door of Doc’s.”

Joe swore. Tansy and Sam reached him as well, heading down to the side street along the back of the buildings. It was a quiet street, mostly used to access the parking lot for Doc’s, but Lia hadn’t been working today so there were no cars.

Where was Piper?

Did Westerlake have her?

Troy’s knees wobbled. On the phone, Joe swore again. “I can see the front end of a silver car parking. Then someone sprayed something over the camera. It’s blank. I’m sorry, Troy.”

With fear climbing up his throat, Troy didn’t have the ability to reply. Even that horrible day in the Army where they’d lost Shaggy and Marcus had lost his foot hadn’t scared him like this.

He let Sam and Tansy make the calls as he moved down the road, looking for clues. Oreo snuggled into him, whining. “I know, buddy. But we’re going to find her. We’re going to get her back.”

And then there’d be hell to pay.

“What if she was the second person in the car? What if he forced her into it? What if he knocked her out and stuck the hat on her to hide her identity?”

Sam grabbed him by the shoulders. “Slow down, Epic. Breathe. Marcus will have an APB out on the car by now. Every trooper in the state will be looking for her. We’re going to find her.”

They had to.