Chapter 23
The shop opening was a huge success, with Nana selling out of most of her lotions, all of her teas, and even some hand-made cards. She closed about an hour before the parade started and then promised to reopen afterward. There were still candles to sell, after all.
I happily loafed around after helping her, glad to have some time off.
The air smelled of roasted nuts, fried dough, and the faint sweetness of kettle corn.
Music drifted from a nearby speaker, something lively with a drumbeat that made a few kids start dancing near the curb.
The day had that festival hum to it, the low thrum of laughter and chatter that carried through the cool air.
I wandered between colorful booths with a latte in my hand, sipping contentedly. Steam curled up against my face as I walked. After a wonderful morning with Aiden, I had come over the pass feeling light and ready to have fun with my family before Nana put me to work.
The parade would start in less than an hour.
Vendors called out greetings, trying to sell everything from handmade soaps to green bead necklaces.
I bought a small bag of homemade fudge from a cheerful woman who looked like she’d been awake since dawn, then a delicate pair of Irish earrings with tiny green stones that sparkled when they caught the sun.
They looked like luck, and at that point, I figured I could use a little.
The air smelled of rain and fryer oil, and a man at the corner shouted about corned beef sandwiches. I passed a group of teenagers wearing paper hats shaped like leprechauns and tried not to laugh.
Silverville never half-assed a holiday.
By the time I reached Gloria Walton’s booth, I had relaxed enough that I could admire the decorations. Her setup was neat and polished, like something out of a glossy health magazine. Vitamins, supplements, and powders stood in perfect rows. Each label gleamed under the sunlight.
I reached for a pack of multivitamins and flipped it over. “Do these have extra iron?”
Both Brooke and Gloria looked up from behind the table.
They wore matching green aprons, and both looked a bit harried.
Apparently they’d been busy so far. Gloria stepped closer, her hair perfect and curly.
It looked like she’d added dark blond strands throughout the gray.
“Yeah, but this one’s better.” She switched the bottle out for another, a rounder one. “Not as expensive either.”
I took it, giving her a small nod. “Thanks, Gloria.”
Brooke ran my card through the reader, the little machine chirping with approval. She leaned toward me. “Um, have you talked to Clark?”
“Not much lately. We’ve both been busy,” I said. We probably needed to have a firm meeting soon, just to get up to speed on each other’s cases.
She handed me the card and leaned toward me. “Would you talk to him for me? I’m just not ready to settle down, but I don’t want to lose him.”
I knew better. “I think you should talk to him yourself. He wouldn’t like me in the middle of you two.”
She rolled her eyes. “Whatever.”
Gloria crossed her arms and gave me a look that wasn’t quite unfriendly, but was definitely curious. “That was quite the spectacle last night.”
I groaned. “I know, but I think we got a lot of things cleared up.”
Brooke snorted. “The news article was hilarious. The picture of you should be framed.” She turned and moved to the other side of the booth to start stacking protein supplements, just as Henry Johnston walked up, handing her a bouquet.
She giggled and took them. Apparently he’d been able to track her down. That woman definitely wasn’t ready to settle down, and she didn’t have a type at all. Clark was sweet and brilliant, Henry was clumsy and kind of slimy, and Brad Backleboff was an ass.
Henry waved at me. “Hey. You looking to hire me yet?” He wore a white sweater with bright green pants that were a mite too short.
“Sorry, but we’re happy with the folks we have in place.”
He leaned over to whisper to Brooke.
I decided to ignore them and took another drink of my latte, enjoying the warm taste of hazelnut.
The spirit of community and fun surrounded us, and hopefully had sunk into Gloria’s stubborn bones.
At least I could try to get her to see reason.
“Since we’re already clearing the air, maybe you could drop the civil case against my Nana? ”
Gloria straightened, her chin lifting. “Anna Albertini, you know you can’t talk to me without my lawyer present.”
“Last I saw your lawyer, he sat in a jail cell next to mine,” I said, keeping my tone dry. “I’m pretty sure we’re past the point of legal formality.”
Her mouth twitched into a half-smile fighting its way out. “Maybe so. But I still think your grandmother was the one who put the lotion in my pie. Nobody else could’ve done it.”
“You know Nana wouldn’t have done such a thing.” I took another sip of coffee. The warm paper cup felt good against my palms.
“There’s nobody else who’d want to sabotage me like that.”
I shook my head. “Come on. None of that makes sense. You know she wouldn’t hold a grudge from childhood.”
Gloria’s smirk deepened. “I didn’t mean to steal Zippy from either of your grandmothers, you know.
They were friends. They just both lied to each other about dating him because that’s who he was.
Zippy could talk anyone into a bad idea.
He was dating all three of us at the same time, and when I found out, I made him choose. ”
“And he chose you.”
She smiled wider. “He did.”
I nodded slowly. “That was a million years ago, Gloria.”
“Maybe. But some things stick with you.”
I studied her for a long moment. Gloria Walton looked every inch the woman who won her battles and didn’t apologize for it.
My grandmothers had more grace in one wrinkled pinky than Gloria could summon on her best day.
Instead of saying so, I smiled politely.
“All right, you won that one. Can you let this go now?”
Gloria glanced toward the parade banners fluttering overhead, then back to me. “We’ll see. I have to say, I don’t like your grandmother setting up shop right next to mine.”
“You aren’t selling the same things.” Not even close.
Gloria shrugged. “What if she decides to sell supplements? Even so, we both sell luxury and fun stuff. People don’t have a lot of money in town, so if they buy her lotions or teas, they can’t buy my vitamins or protein powders. It’s pretty simple.”
That was just silly. I searched for another avenue with her. If I could get Gloria to withdraw the civil complaint, maybe I could convince the prosecuting attorney to drop the criminal one too. That would be two problems handled before lunch, and I’d call that a win.
So, I decided to try a little flattery. Sometimes that worked better than logic. “From what I could tell last night,” I said casually, setting my coffee down on the edge of her booth, “Zippy still seems pretty enamored with you.”
Her eyebrows lifted just slightly, and the corner of her mouth twitched. “Enamored,” she repeated, tasting the word like it was dessert.
“Yeah,” I said. “It’s an old-fashioned word, but it fits.”
Gloria let out a soft, self-conscious laugh. “Yes, I know,” she said finally, her voice airy.
I laughed too, because that seemed safer than gagging.
“Well, it’s got to feel somewhat good, right?
The guy never forgot you. I mean, sure, you’ve got Dr. Walton, and he’s a great guy, a fantastic eye doctor, but still.
After all these years, someone carries a torch for you. That has to feel kind of nice.”
She looked down, pretending to straighten the row of bottles in front of her. A faint color touched her cheeks. “Zippy was always a little dorky, if you want the truth.”
“I can see that,” I said. “How did you two even get back in touch?”
“Oh, we’ve always stayed in touch,” she said, brushing imaginary dust from her sleeve.
“Our families exchange Christmas cards every year. He mentioned in one card that he might move back up here. So when he did, we met for coffee while he was house-hunting—maybe a couple weeks ago. I called him again when I decided to sue your Nana. He’s licensed here, so why not? As an old friend, he didn’t charge me.”
My eyelids lowered halfway. “I see.”
Her smile sharpened. “That’s not against the law.”
“I know,” I muttered. “It’s just… convenient.” It wasn’t like I’d make Nana pay me, either.
Gloria began packing the bottles into neat rows again, her movements tidy and deliberate.
The light caught on her rings, flashes of gold glinting against her pale skin.
“I’ll tell you what,” she said finally, handing me a small bag with my vitamins.
“If you can figure out who sabotaged my pie using your Nana’s lotion, I’ll drop the case.
But until then, it has to have been her. I think it was her.”
I accepted the bag.
She looked me square in the eyes, her expression steady. “Anna, you might want to give it a thought. I know you adore her, but sometimes you have to face facts. Maybe she did it. She does like to stir things up.”
I paused, latte halfway to my mouth. Nana did like to stir things up once in a while. But poison a pie? “She’s too proud of her baking,” I said slowly. “She wouldn’t want to win by default.”
“Maybe,” Gloria said with a shrug. “But there’s nobody else.”
I exhaled through my nose, letting the moment sit between us. “All right. I’ll find out who actually did it.”
She smiled and shook her head like I was missing something. She really did believe Nana did it.