Chapter 20
CHAPTER 20
“ Y ou’re still annoyed,” I said the next morning, seeing the irritation in the way the spot between Ian’s eyes wrinkled.
“Aye, Ah cannae stop thinking about it,” he said, pouring himself another cup of tea and refilling my mug.
With his brogue thick, it confirmed how annoyed he was.
“I told you about Stone’s visit because I didn’t want to keep it from you, not to upset you.”
“Aye, I know, and I am glad you did, but tell me how you would feel if a woman showed interest in me the way Stone does in you?”
I chuckled. “That’s not a fair comparison since women show interest in you all the time, which means I would be forever annoyed. But I am confident that your heart and everything else belongs to me.”
Ian shook his head as he laughed. “Point taken and you’re right about my heart and,” —he winked at me— “everything else belonging to you.” His playfulness vanished. “I don’t like the idea that Stone might be putting down roots here from what he told you. He’d be a constant thorn in my side.”
“I don’t believe he plans on staying here. I think he sent his crew away so they wouldn’t draw attention to him, leaving him less visible, which is why he probably switched to driving a truck instead of riding his motorcycle.”
“Leaving him to stalk you.”
“He evidently thinks I know more than he does, though hinting to a secret he won’t share had me wondering if it might be the opposite.”
“Or he’s like a spider weaving his web and waiting to catch you in it, and that, leannan , is not going to happen.”
Why did sweetheart sound more seductive in Gaelic?
Ian’s cell rang and he gave it a glance. “Beau,” he said and answered.
I hadn’t spoken to Amy since last night and with Beau calling Ian, I worried that something might be wrong with her. Ian must have seen my worry since he gave me a thumbs up.
“Beau is staying with Amy today. She’s doing good but he’s worried she won’t rest like the doctor ordered,” Ian said as soon as he got off the phone.
“He’s probably right.” Amy wasn’t one to sit around due to what she probably considered nothing more than a bump on the head.
“I need to get going and reschedule some things being Beau won’t be there today,” Ian said.
I almost gasped when he yanked me off the stool to take me into his arms and deliver a kiss that was anything but tender and left my lips tingling.
“I love you, Pep. Don’t ever forget that,” he said and out the door he went.
I stared at the closed door and smiled. How could I forget it when he was my true-life hero?
I made a quick call to Amy to check on her. She had a slight headache but otherwise she was doing well, and she was glad Beau was spending the day with her, or she wouldn’t rest as ordered. I didn’t tell her about Stone’s visit since it would evolve into a lengthy conversation, and she needed her rest. I’d tell her about it tomorrow.
The power tools sounded outside just as I finished cleaning up from breakfast. I had a couple of virtual assistant interviews set up for this morning and then I needed to get some writing done.
I got busy with the interviews that went better than I expected. Sherman Howard impressed me, and I was seriously considering hiring him since we hit it off as soon as we started talking. But I needed to do a background check on him and get in touch with his references before making a final decision.
I was about to start writing when I got the urge to look over all the research again that Amy had sent me on Ignatius and Claire Willow. Not to be distracted by the work surrounding my desk, I took my laptop to the library and joined Roxie who was curled up in her favorite chair. Mo, who has been known to suffer occasionally from FOMO—fear of missing out—hurried to join us and settled down to nap.
Ignatius and Claire Willow sailed from Liverpool, England, to New York, after which there was no sign of them until they landed in what would become Willow Lake. Amy’s research pointed out that immigrants arriving in New York often dispersed to Philly, Baltimore, New Orleans, or Boston. Could the couple have gone to one of those places before settling in Pennsylvania? The immigration records showed place of birth and nationality for both Ignatius and Claire as Limerick, Ireland. They both were Irish. Amy had found an Ignatius Willow from Limerick and because Claire was his wife she wasn’t required to give her maiden name. If only immigration was collecting maiden names in 1870, but that didn’t come into play until 1906. It would have made things so much easier. With no way of checking the information the immigrants provided, some of it could be false. Many a family learned through DNA genealogy that somewhere along the line an ancestor had been telling a tall tale or keeping a necessary secret. Could that be the case with Claire and Ignatius?
Amy found traces of Willows settling in America but had found no matches that connected any of them to Ignatius. That didn’t mean that there was no connection, just that there was a missing piece.
A lightbulb went off in my head… Stone.
If he gave a DNA sample, it could very well connect him to Ignatius and at least we would know for sure that Ignatius Willow was the man who had sailed to America with his wife and established the town of Willow Lake.
My brow puckered as I thought about that. DNA was an easy way of establishing ancestry so why hadn’t Stone provided DNA evidence that could possibly link him to Ignatius Willow? Though I suppose a biker wouldn’t want his DNA on file, or his claim was nothing more than a scam to try and get the supposed jewels.
It just didn’t make sense to me. Bikers were known for illegal activities. Treasure hunting wasn’t one of them. This mystery wasn’t an easy one to solve and mixing it with an old mystery made it even more difficult to solve.
My cell rang. “Hi, Mom.”
Mo’s head sprang up, ready to listen to the conversation and find out if he would get to spend the day with Grandma.
“Could I have Mo for the day?”
I was surprised to hear the tension in my mom’s voice. “Of course, you can take Mo for the day.”
Mo jumped to his feet and ran to get his vest.
“Something wrong, Mom?”
“Mayor Barrett is speaking at the senior center today and I think he has something up his sleeve. Of course, I can’t miss hearing what he has to say, and a visit from Mo is always a highlight for the seniors.”
“How about I go with you?” I offered, lending my support though feeling guilty since I did have an ulterior motive. It would give me a chance to talk with Charlie Gibbons again.
“That would be wonderful, Pepper.”
My guilt grew heavy, hearing how excited she was that I would join her.
“You can talk with Charlie Gibbons some more while you’re there. Meet you at the senior center in an hour. Toodles.”
There was never hiding anything from my mom. She always knew what me or my brothers were up to. It was like she had a radar that could track our thoughts. My brothers and I would come home from being someplace other than where we had told my mom we would be, and she would ask us if we enjoyed the exact place we had been. Then she would ground us. When I was young, I thought she had X-ray vision and could read minds, then I realized she was extremely observant and knew her children even better than we knew themselves. And she still did.
The senior center wasn’t as crowded as I expected when I arrived with Mo. He trotted off making stops by people he knew and got rubs, hugs, and kisses.
“The size of the audience ought to tell Mayor Barrett something.”
I turned, unable to hide my surprise at seeing Lara, from Star Diner. So, much for applying what I learned at Professor Swatcher’s lecture.
“Zelda sent me here to hear what the mayor has to say. I’d say with the poor turnout of seniors sends him a clear message.” Lara grinned. “The seniors are voting for your mom. And with how all of them adore Mo, I’d say he has a better chance of winning than Barrett.”
I chuckled since Lara was right.
Lara went to talk with a friend, and I looked around for Charlie and spotted him by the door as if ready to leave. I signaled him to wait, and he stopped. I went to my mom, parked in the first row—nothing like being inconspicuous—and signaled Mo over to me.
“I’m going outside to speak with Charlie,” I informed her, though I don’t think she minded. She was too busy watching as Mayor Barrett approached the podium with a man and a woman who took positions on either side of the covered easel.
“Fine, Pepper. Mo and I will be right here,” she said, her eyes glued to the mayor.
I turned to leave when the microphone screeched as Mayor Barrett announced, “No dogs allowed, Pepper.”
I went to take Mo, who avoided looking my way thinking it would make a difference, when the room exploded with boos, and some people stood to leave.
Mayor Barrett capitulated quickly, seeing he was losing what little of an audience he had. “All right. All right. Mo can stay.”
Mo let out a bark and looked at me, sticking his chest out in victory, as the room broke out in a loud cheer.
I left my mom and Mo to it and joined Charlie to step outside. We went and sat at one of the many benches around the complex.
“That old saying, I wouldn’t trust him as far as I could throw him, fits Barrett perfectly. I don’t know why people vote for him.”
“He hasn’t had a worthy opponent.”
“Until your mom. She is going to make a great mayor.”
“I was thinking we need to set a date to visit Willow Mansion.”
“The town grapevine says you got those shiners going after a squatter on the property.”
“I did, but it was a rake that got me—twice,” I said with a laugh, glad my shiners weren’t shiny anymore.
“Heard that too and glad you’re okay,” he said. “But the grounds must be in bad shape if you didn’t see the rake. Has it been neglected that much?”
“I’m afraid it has been, though there are some flowers and herbs that refuse to be smothered and have pushed through the weeds.”
Charlie smiled. “My family took good care of the gardens there. I’m not surprised some of the plants have survived.”
“I’d love to see it restored but money is the issue.”
“My granddad told me that Ignatius Willow was a tenacious Irishman who always got what he wanted, and he wanted Willow Lake to grow and survive so that his family could always rest in peace there.”
“His wife Claire must have been just as tenacious being Irish herself,” I said.
Charlie shook his head. “How that misinformation survived for so long I’ll never know. Claire Willow wasn’t Irish. She was from England.”
Shouts from the senior center grabbed Charlie’s and my attention.
“Go, I’ll wait here,” Charlie said. “I’m too old to be involved with any ruckus.”
I hurried inside the center to pure pandemonium. The seniors had circled Mayor Barrett like a band of Indians brandishing their canes like weapons and screeching like they were on the warpath.
The mayor was attempting to defend himself. With arms raised, he tried to ward off menacing canes and shouted to be heard over the yelling to sling back words like sharp arrows. My mom and Mo were right in the middle of it all and I knew what would happen if anyone should lunge in any way toward my mom. Mo would spring into action.
I ran to join the melee and put myself between Mo and Mayor Barrett before things turned worse. I was too late. I watched as in slow motion Mayor Barrett raised his hand to shake his finger at my mom as he lunged toward her, his face glowing red with anger. Mo jumped up, snarling ready to protect his grandma. Mayor Barrett froze in fear. At least I thought it was fear as I yelled for Mo to halt.
Mo dropped to his butt in front of my mom and Mayor Barrett clutched his chest and dropped to the ground. All yelling stopped as everyone stared in shocked silence at Mayor Barrett lay prone on the floor not moving.
I rushed forward, my mom fumbling with her phone before placing it by her ear and as I dropped down beside the mayor, I heard her say, “Good, Lord, Warren, I think I just killed Mayor Barrett.”