Chapter 2
Chapter Two
ELLA
T he day might have been filled with a wet chill, but I couldn’t help but skip down the trail. Nothing was finalized yet, but I had a good feeling. I wasn’t halfway home when Ava texted to ask if I could pick up some food at the market on my way back. She said she’d settle for anything that wasn’t filled with corn syrup or covered in salt. Isla was the cook and baker of the household, but she’d been so busy building her bakery, she hadn’t had time to shop or cook, so the rest of us had been eating a lot of processed, meaningless fluff (Ava’s words in the text and quite accurate, too).
I readjusted my scarf to keep from getting a red runny nose and headed, hands in pockets, toward Gem’s Groceries. Gemma Van de Meer had moved into town ten years ago. Up until then, the corner market, owned by a grumpy man named Chester, had deteriorated into a small market that carried groceries that were mostly past their use-by dates and a few shelves of sundries, vitamins and aspirin … most also past their use-by dates. Chester finally decided to retire, and he sold the place to Gemma. She revived it into a wonderful little grocery store where chunky wicker baskets overflowed with hunks of gourmet cheeses, seedy whole grain crackers, fresh produce, and shelves and fridges filled with things like pistachio nuts, dried fruit and hummus. For a long time, Whisper Cove locals had to make the trip into Fairview, the neighboring town, for groceries. Now almost everything we needed was just a few blocks away.
Renee Evans and her husband, Rob, were the only other customers today. The weather was keeping everyone at home. Rob was busy browsing the cured meats behind the deli counter while Renee chatted with Gemma. Gemma was wearing her signature blue bandana in her hair. She used it to tame the mass of thick red curls that would otherwise spill out around her face.
She smiled at me as I walked inside. “There’s another brave soul out on this gloomy day.” Her greeting had interrupted whatever Renee had been telling her. Renee glanced back at me.
“Have you heard the news?” Renee asked. Her eyes were round behind her glasses as if she had something very important to discuss. With Renee, it was usually something as pedestrian as a change in the garbage pickup schedule.
“Someone’s moved into Grimstone Manor,” Gemma blurted.
Renee huffed in annoyance because her big reveal had been ruined. She had more to add though, so she wriggled with excitement as she pulled down the hem of her sweater. “It’s a man, and no one has any idea who he is. Hannah Jensen, the realtor, was tight-lipped when I asked her. She said she knew very little about him but that he paid cash for that old place. Can you imagine handing out hard-earned money for that dilapidated eyesore, and a cursed one at that? Why, Rob was just saying the other day that it looked as if one big rainstorm might wash the whole darn place right off the hill and out to sea. Can’t say I’d be sorry to see it go.”
I half-listened to Renee as I browsed the cheeses. Most conversations with Renee were ninety percent opinion (hers) and ten percent information. This time she was adding in a lot more opinion, because, apparently, she had no real information to provide.
“I rather like that place,” Gemma said. “I’ve always been a fan of Arts and Crafts style architecture.”
“Well, Gemma, you probably don’t know about the curse,” Renee said. She turned fully to the counter, seemingly ready to give Gemma the full backstory. I, on the other hand, had a hungry sister at home, and I needed to prepare for my interview.
I picked up a nice block of gouda and some crackers and made my way to the dried fruit and nuts. The cheese and crackers had put the notion of a cozy indoor picnic in my head. We could build a fire in the hearth and sit on the floor in our flannel pajamas and nibble hearty finger foods. I had a craving for some roasted pistachios. I browsed the bags of nuts in front of me and discovered the pistachios were on the top shelf. I was the middle sister in age and height. I really could have used Ava or Aria, the taller sisters, because the nuts were a few inches out of reach. Gemma and Renee had gone quiet behind me. Apparently, they’d exhausted the information they had on the new dweller of Grimstone Manor. I stepped gently on the metal ridge on the bottom of the shelves, hoping it would give me the few inches I needed to reach my pistachio prize. Then something occurred to me.
“I think I saw the new guy, the one who got suckered into buying Grimstone Manor.” I kept talking as I stretched up as far as my fingers could go. I was just short of the darn pistachios. “He was kinda strange, actually, a little dark and grim.” I was still an inch short of the pistachios and pushed to my tiptoes. I waited for Gemma to scold me for climbing on her shelf, but it seemed I had stunned them both into silence with my revelation. I grunted in frustration. “Geez, Gemma, do you think you put these pistachios up—” My words were cut off by the shocked breath I sucked in when a large hand reached over me and took hold of the pistachios. The sleeve of his coat had slipped back on his wrist revealing a thick mosaic of scars that stretched from the base of his thumb to beneath the edge of his sleeve.
My boot slipped off the edge of the shelf as I clumsily hopped down. He caught me before I landed on my bottom. I turned around. His dark gaze stole my breath away. His eyes never left my face as he handed me the nuts. I flicked a glance toward the two women at the checkout counter. They looked as mortified as I felt. Me and my big mouth.
I managed to croak out the word, “Thanks.”
He nodded, turned around and headed to the baskets of bread. I scuttled over to the produce corner for some apples and to hide. I stared at the array of red and green apples while trying to recall what I’d said in my ridiculous quest for pistachios. Maybe it wasn’t so bad, I tried to tell myself at first, but the words suckered , strange and grim trotted through my head in horrific neon lights. I’d broken one of Nonna’s rules—if you have nothing nice to say, then zip the lips. She was always right, and now I’d embarrassed myself and probably hurt the man’s feelings. He paid for a loaf of bread and a block of cheddar cheese, then walked out without a word.
I hurried to the counter. “You two could have said something—a little warning would have been nice.” I was scolding them, but I had no one to blame but myself.
Gemma glanced out the window. “That’ll teach you not to climb on my shelves. I’ve never seen him before. He certainly does have that brooding, dark mysterious aura about him. Do you think he’s the one—the one who bought Grimstone Manor?”
“It’s got to be him,” Renee said. “Not very friendly, was he?”
“No, but he made up for it in appearance.” Gemma waved her hand in front of her face. “Hot, hot, hot. Always liked that type.”
Renee gave me a fake, sympathetic frown. “I guess Ella’s already made an enemy of the man.” There was a little too much glee in her tone. Typical Renee. “I sure would like to know more about him. I mean—what if he’s dangerous? What if he’s hiding here because he killed someone? Did you see those scars on his arm?”
“Roast beef and ham,” Rob said suddenly. He’d finally stepped away from the deli counter, and he was pleased, satisfied that he’d made his decision. We all stared at him.
“What’s wrong?” He reached up to straighten his fedora. “Something on my face?” He patted his forehead and cheek.
Renee rolled her eyes. “You seriously didn’t see the tall, dark stranger just now? He could have been an axe murderer and taken all of us out with a few good blows while you contemplated whether to buy pastrami or roast beef.”
“How do you know he was an axe murderer?” Rob asked. “Did he have an axe?”
Renee huffed and waved her hand at him. “Roast beef and ham, please, Gemma. A half pound each.” She squashed Rob’s attempt to protest with an admonishing look. “The doctor said you eat too much fat, so a half pound of each is plenty.” Renee glanced at the basket in my hand. “You can check Ella out first. I’ve got a few other things I need.”
I stepped up to the counter. Gemma was holding back a grin. “Go ahead and say it,” I said.
She laughed. “You should have seen your face when you turned around and saw him behind you. And I did clear my throat to get your attention, but you were too focused on the nuts.” She held up the bag of pistachios.
“Those might be the last pistachios I ever eat. Not worth the climb … or the humiliation. Do you think he heard everything I said?”
“Unless he’s hard of hearing. But don’t worry about it. Something tells me Whisper Cove’s newest citizen won’t hang around town too much. There was something about him?—”
“Something strange, right?” I asked.
Gemma shook her head in thought. “No. Sad. He seemed sad.” She shrugged. “Maybe strange, too. Let’s face it—he bought Grimstone Manor. I heard the boys at the barbershop have a betting pool predicting when that old house is finally going to collapse and slip down the hillside.”
“Maybe he’ll fix it up. There’s a cool old house under all the loose shingles, broken windows and decaying wood.” I paid for my groceries. “I hope I don’t ever run into him again, though, so I don’t have to relive the embarrassment. So long, Gemma.”
“I’m sure he’ll forget all about it,” Gemma said with a laugh as I walked out.