Chapter 5
Madi
After a long night of helping Meg with Natalie, I treated myself to an extra shot of espresso in my coffee.
“Long night?” Beth Wyatt, my mother’s best friend and manager at Grannie’s, asked.
I’d already joined the Navy when Beth started working for my mom, so I hadn’t gotten to know her in person until recently.
But Mom talked about her and her son, Chase, a lot, so it felt like we’d known each other forever.
Chase was their godson, and until Natalie was born, their surrogate grandchild. In other words, they spoiled him.
“Yeah, Nat was gassy.” I covered my yawn and hoped the tears didn’t smudge my mascara.
“I remember those nights,” she said, chuckling. “Want a pastry?”
“Nah, Jack made us breakfast.” My brother was the husband and dad most women dreamed of having.
“Here you go.” The large to-go cup felt like a warm hug for my hands as I lifted it and inhaled the rich aroma.
My brothers and I practically grew up in Grannie’s. When we were young, we’d sit in booths and color after school. Mom taught us the value of a strong work ethic by ‘letting’ us do little things to help, like fill the napkin dispensers. When we were kids, it was fun.
The fun stopped when Mom added us to the payroll.
We learned how to make all the drinks, handle inventory, and operate the register when we turned sixteen.
All four of us worked part time throughout high school.
It’s fair to say that even though Mom wouldn’t allow us to drink coffee until we turned eighteen, we were all addicts before then.
It wasn’t her fault; we snuck coffee drinks. There were worse things we could’ve been sneaking.
So many fond memories of working here. Not to mention some milestones in our lives.
Jamie’s first date with Isabella, his late first wife, was at Grannie’s.
Jack met Meg at Grannie’s.
Doug asked Beth out for the first time at Grannie’s.
And while I didn’t know the complete story, apparently Nathan and Ashley reconnected here.
The kitschy saloon decor, the scent of coffee, and the sounds of milk steaming felt like home.
Grannie’s had been in the family since my great-grandmother opened the doors. Mom hoped to pass ownership to a Sheppard or Winchester, her side of the family, when she retired, but so far, no one has been interested.
“I’ve missed this place.” I didn’t realize I’d said it aloud until Beth answered.
“It’s missed you.”
“Thanks.” I lifted my mug in appreciation. “Will you be at Craft and Booze tonight?”
The first sip of coffee tasted like heaven and warmed my tired soul.
“I will. Doug’s dropping me off then taking Chase for a guy’s night out.”
“Pizza and ...” Usually guys night meant pizza and beer and maybe video games, but Chase hadn’t turned eight yet.
“Video games.” Beth laughed. “Chase got a new racing game that he’s dying to play.”
Beth had a second chance at her happily ever after when she fell in love with Doug Sharpe, one of my dad’s employees. He was nine years younger, but from what my brothers said, Doug was an old soul and a perfect fit for Beth.
And a great dad to Chase, who’d never met his real father. Not because of nefarious reasons; Chase’s father was a Parker County cop, and he’d died in the line of duty before Chase was born.
“Fun. See you tonight.”
I rolled down the windows in my Jeep and sang along to the country song on the radio as I drove to the clinic. When Dr. Carol Greenfield asked me to take over Saturday hours, I was thrilled. It was the only day she didn’t see patients, and it showed she trusted me.
I parked in my usual spot, next to Alice’s reserved space.
The clinic was in an old, renovated house, and Carol had converted the one-car garage to storage.
The first floor had been gutted and remodeled to function as a doctor’s office, with a reception area, a public bathroom, and three exam rooms. Two of the upstairs bedrooms served as offices, and we used the third, the master with ensuite, as our breakroom.
I locked the front door behind me. We didn’t open for another forty-five minutes, and I didn’t want anyone coming in early.
The pale blue and green reception room looked clean and inviting, so I didn’t need to do anything there.
After taking my purse to the office and my lunch to the breakroom, I started the computer.
“Morning, Madi.”
“Morning, Alice.”
“I brought coffee.”
I laughed and lifted our cups so she could see them. “So did I.”
“Great minds think alike,” she said with a welcoming smile. Alice was the dream assistant. Her toothy smile was always genuine, and she had a way with temperamental patients that made our job easier. “You doing my job again?”
“Just starting the computer.” It was old and desperately needed an upgrade.
I should ask Carol if she’d mind if I asked Doug to help us replace it.
If she’s willing to spend the money on a new computer.
My first three appointments flew by. The fourth didn’t.
A little girl cried non-stop and didn’t want to let me exam her.
Not that I blamed her. She’d had a fever for two days and couldn’t eat.
Poor thing. After giving her exhausted mother some much-needed support, I sent them home with instructions for an over-the-counter medicine schedule and strict orders for both of them to rest.
I decided to sit on the front porch during lunch to get some fresh air. Thank God I had because as soon as I opened the door, the smell of smoke filled my nose.
A small fire burned on the lawn, near our porch.
I grabbed my phone out of my pocket and dialed 9-1-1. I scanned the area for someone who might be watching.
No one.
The fire was small, so I ignored my racing heart and risked moving a little closer. It looked like someone had tossed a burning grocery bag onto our lawn.
Prank? Accident?
It didn’t seem like it could’ve been an accident given its distance from the sidewalk and Manor Road.
But why?
Why would someone want to throw a burning bag at the clinic?
And who? My mind raced through answers.
Disgruntled patient? Psychopath? Prankster?
Maybe a bunch of teenagers who thought it’d be fun to mess around. The fire hadn’t spread, but I knew it could’ve gotten out of control fast.
After reporting where and what my emergency was, I put my phone on speaker, stuffed it in my pocket, and went inside to tell Alice. I grabbed the fire extinguisher before going back outside.
Fortunately, the clinic was empty during our lunch hour.
My Navy training popped into my head. PASS.
Pull the pin. I pulled the pin and put it in my pocket.
Aim at the base. The fire was so small that it didn’t have a base.
Squeeze the handle.
Sweep the fire.
The fire was out in seconds.
“Alice, can I use your phone?”
I handed her mine so she could stay on with the emergency operator while I dialed Jamie. After tapping the speaker button, I took pictures of the pile from several angles and waited for him to answer.
I would’ve called my dad, but I didn’t want to cause him unnecessary worry so soon after everything he’d been through.
In the last month, he and Mom had survived a horrible car accident and then witnessed Jay face off against an angry gunman at the Dallas airport on Christmas morning.
Not the best start to the day, but he and Cate made it home safely.
I knew Jamie would tell Dad, but coming from Jamie it’d be less nerve-racking.
“Jamie Sheppard.”
“Jamie, it’s Madi.”
“Is everything okay? Why are you calling from an unknown number?”
Sirens blared in the background, and I coughed when the shifting wind blew smoke and chemicals into my face.
“Are you okay?”
“Everyone’s fine, but someone threw burning trash onto the clinic’s lawn.”
A little freaked out, but fine.
“The fire didn’t reach the clinic. It’s just, it seems weird that they’d throw it so far on the lawn.”
“Want me to come down?” Concern laced his voice.
“Only if you’re not busy.” And only because it might be arson. If it was, I wanted my brother kept in the loop.
“I’ve got an hour before my next client. I’ll head over and talk to the police. See what they say.”
“Thanks, baby brother. “
His sigh made me chuckle. “Twenty-two minutes, Madi.”
“Long enough to make me older.” It was a lifelong running joke between us, and I had no intention of ever letting him forget he was my younger brother.
“I’m on my way,” Jamie said with a laugh.
“Thanks.”
A big red fire engine pulled in front of the clinic.
I apologized for making them come out since I’d extinguished the fire, but they told me calling 9-1-1 was the right choice.
Calling out first responders felt like overkill, but I wanted to report the incident. Weatherford FD would decide if they needed to investigate.
Like Dad always says, better safe than sorry.
Which was exactly what I told Officer Campbell, who went by Sammie when she worked at SSI, when I gave her my statement.
The firefighters were making sure the fire was thoroughly out when Jamie arrived.
“Sammie, I’m glad it’s you,” Jamie said as he approached.
“You know I can’t tell you anything about an ongoing investigation,” she said.
“I know.”
Jamie hugged me, squeezing a little tighter than necessary, before saying, “I’ll be right back.” He walked to the small pile of smoking trash and talked to the firefighters. Before coming back to my side, he handed them business cards. No doubt he’d follow up with them.
“Are we thinking arson?” he asked.
“It’s possible, but what’d they hope to gain?” Sammie nodded towards the scorched grass as she answered. “It was probably kids being careless. We’ll see what the fire investigator says, but most likely they put a cigarette butt in the bag and tossed it out the window.”
She had a point. If they’d wanted to set the building on fire, they’d missed by several yards.
“Perhaps.”
Jamie sounded like he considered it an intentional act of violence directed at the clinic.
He turned towards the porch, then scanned the road.
Despite having left the Weatherford police force five years ago, Jamie still looked and acted like a cop.
Probably because being a PI was a lot like being a police detective, minus the uniform, the red tape, the shitty hours, and the political bullshit.
“If they really wanted to hurt you, they would’ve sent it through a window,” Sammie added.
A shiver ran up my spine. Had they intended to hurt us and missed?
Jamie placed a comforting hand on my shoulder. “You should call Dr. Greenfield and let her know what happened.”
Our next patient arrived, looking worried as she glanced between the firemen and me.
“Can we see our patients?” I asked.
“Yes. We’ll collect the trash and look for evidence once the fire chief finishes,” Sammie answered.
Without looking up from his phone as his thumbs flew over the screen, “I’ll send someone over to keep you guys company.”
“We don’t need-”
“It wasn’t a suggestion,” Jamie said.
“Jamie.”
“Madi, you shouldn’t be alone while we determine if this was intentional.”
I wanted to convince him it was an accident, but how could I when I couldn’t convince myself. I couldn’t imagine anyone wanting to hurt Alice, and I hadn’t been back long enough to make enemies.
“Damn it.” Jamie gripped the back of his neck in frustration.
“What?”
“The only person available is Robinson.”
Great. Not only would I have a bodyguard, but it’d be the one man I couldn’t stop fantasizing about.