Chapter 9
SARA LEE
Sara Lee woke Monday morning with her mind already racing. She'd barely slept, her dreams filled with Raymond's dead eyes and the growing list of suspects June had written in her neat handwriting. The morning sun felt too bright and too cheerful for what lay ahead.
She dressed quickly in jeans and a soft sweater and brushed her hair before heading downstairs. Nana June was already at the kitchen table, reading the Meadowlark Creek Gazette over coffee. The headline screamed, LOCAL MAN FOUND DEAD AFTER FESTIVAL.
"They're calling it possible suspicious circumstances,” June said without looking up. "Dr. Ward must have been specific enough that Sheriff Gordon won’t be able to ignore it."
Sara Lee poured herself coffee, her hands still slightly unsteady. "So it's official now? A real investigation?"
"As official as it gets in Meadowlark Creek until the rest of the labwork comes in." June folded the paper. "Which means people will be talking. Speculating. We need to listen carefully to what they say… and what they don't say."
Sara Lee thought about her plan to visit Barb at the coffee shop. The idea of having a conversation with an ulterior motive made her stomach clench with guilt.
"This feels strange," she admitted quietly. "Asking Barb questions. Suspecting people I've known my whole life."
June reached across the table and squeezed her hand.
"I know, sweetheart. But if we're going to find the truth, we can't let sentiment cloud our judgment.
Besides, you're not accusing Barb’s family of anything.
You're just talking to your best friend about something that happened. That's perfectly natural."
Sara Lee nodded, though the guilt didn't ease much. She grabbed her canvas bag, kissed her grandmother’s cheek, and headed out into the warm June morning. The walk to Barb's coffee shop took only ten minutes, but it felt longer, her mind rehearsing and discarding opening lines.
“Hey Barb, did your family have anything to do with Raymond Melton?”
No, too intrusive.
“So, Barb, did you happen to poison anyone at the festival?”
No. Definitely not that!
By the time she pushed open the door to A Whole Latte Coffee, Sara Lee still hadn't settled on an approach. The bell chimed cheerfully, and the familiar scent of roasted beans and cinnamon wrapping around her only made her anxiety rise.
Barb looked up from behind the counter, her curly hair pulled back in a bandana, flour dusting her apron. Her face lit up when she saw Sara Lee, then immediately shifted to concern.
"Hey, you. How are you holding up?" Barb came around the counter and pulled Sara Lee into a tight hug. "I can't stop thinking about you finding Raymond like that. It must have been awful."
The genuine warmth in her friend's voice made Sara Lee's guilt intensify. This was Barb. Her best friend since kindergarten. The person who'd held her hand at her parents' funeral, who'd celebrated every small victory in her life, who knew all her secrets and loved her anyway.
"It was pretty terrible," Sara Lee admitted, accepting the hug gratefully. "I keep seeing his face."
"Come on, sit down. I'll make you something sweet. Sugar helps with shock, right?" Barb guided her to one of the mismatched comfortable chairs near the window. She then chuckled nervously. “And if it doesn’t help with shock, it’ll just be a tasty treat.”
Sara Lee sank into the chair, feeling like the worst friend in the world. Barb disappeared behind the counter, and Sara Lee heard the familiar sounds of the espresso machine, the clink of ceramic, the cheerful efficiency of someone who loved their work.
The coffee shop was quiet for a Monday morning, being just after the pre-work rush of people getting their caffeine fix for the day.
Just Mrs. Tuddle in the corner with a romance novel, and old Mr. Hendricks reading the newspaper, shaking his head at the headline.
It seemed the gossiping crowd hadn’t arrived yet.
Barb returned with two lattes topped with perfect foam hearts and a plate with two large cinnamon buns. "Fresh from this morning. I couldn't sleep, so I baked."
"You couldn't sleep either?" Sara Lee accepted the latte gratefully.
"How could I?" Barb settled into the chair across from her, curling her legs underneath her. "A man died, Sara Lee. Right here in Meadowlark Creek. Right after our festival. It feels so unreal."
Sara Lee sipped her latte, trying to find a natural way to bring the conversation around to what she needed to know. She thought about Nana June and how she would approach it. Thankfully, she didn’t have to try too hard since Barb opened the conversation for her.
"The paper says 'possible suspicious circumstances.' Does that mean...?" Barb's eyes widened and she glanced around before bringing her focus back to Sara Lee. "Do they think someone killed him?"
"I don't know what they think officially," Sara Lee said carefully. "But Nana June has her suspicions."
Barb leaned forward, her voice dropping to a whisper even though no one was close enough to hear. "Ms. June thinks it was murder?"
"She thinks any death of someone so… um… off-putting… is worth investigating." Sara Lee broke off a piece of the bakery treat, the sweet flavor melting on her tongue.
“Off-putting?” Barb snorted. “He was despicable, if you ask me!” She huffed and leaned back in her chair before her countenance sobered.
Then she wrapped both hands around her latte, staring down into the foam.
"He was such a horrible man. I know you're not supposed to speak ill of the dead, but God, Sara Lee, he was just awful.
The way he talked to people. The things he said. "
"I know. I saw some of it."
"He came to my booth, remember? And he was so... creepy. No, not just creepy, but slimy! If Tom hadn't been there..." Barb shuddered. "I'm not saying I'm glad he's dead. But I'm not sorry either. Does that make me a terrible person?"
"It makes you human." Sara Lee reached over and squeezed her friend's hand. "You weren't the only one he was horrible to. He seemed to go out of his way to upset people."
Barb's expression shifted slightly, becoming more thoughtful. "You know, after Raymond insulted me at the booth and then tried to grab my arm, my parents got really… angry."
Sara Lee's attention sharpened, though she tried to keep her expression casual. “You're their daughter.”
"I know. My mom just said something about how Raymond was always trouble, but my dad's face went all red and tight." Barb blew out a breath. "I’m just glad Tom got there first."
“And your brother?”
“Oh, my God, Bill was ready to head out and punch Raymond! My dad stopped him, and I assured them that Tom stepped in. They were glad that he was close by.”
This was the natural opening Sara Lee had been hoping for. She leaned forward slightly, keeping her voice gentle and curious rather than interrogating. "Did they know Raymond well? Maybe back in the past, since they would be close in age and had grown up here?"
"I guess? I mean, Meadowlark Creek is small, right? Everyone knows everyone." Barb picked at her cinnamon bun, but didn’t actually eat it. "But the way they reacted... it felt… personal, somehow."
Sara Lee filed that away, her mind already spinning. Bob's angry confrontation with Raymond at the festival. The mention of old debts and money. And now this reaction from Barb's parents.
"Hey," Sara Lee said, trying to sound casual even as guilt gnawed at her stomach. "I hate asking you to gossip about your family, but... your dad's business. The lumberyard. It's doing well, right?"
Barb's smile was genuine, full of pride.
"Are you kidding? It's doing amazing. Better than ever, actually.
" Then her expression shifted, becoming slightly puzzled.
"Which is funny, because I remember several years ago, right after my divorce, Mom mentioned something about the business having troubles. Money problems, I think."
Sara Lee remembered the college boyfriend that Barb had married, even against her parents’ wishes…
and honestly, Sara Lee’s wishes as well.
He was an immature young man who had dreams of glory without having the good sense to work hard to make them come true.
Finally, after a couple of years, he and Barb divorced, and she moved back to Meadowlark Creek.
Bringing her mind back to the task at hand, she continued. "But your parents worked out the money problems?”
"Must have. Because Dad gave me the money to open this place.
" Barb gestured around the coffee shop with obvious affection.
"He wanted to invest in my dream. It was after my divorce, and I was such a mess.
Dad just showed up with a check. Said the lumber business was doing great and he wanted to help me start over. "
Sara Lee's latte suddenly tasted bitter in her mouth. So at one time, Bob had money troubles. And then a few years ago, he suddenly had enough to invest in Barb's coffee shop. What had happened in between? And how did Raymond factor into any of it?
"That was really generous of him," Sara Lee said carefully.
"It was. I mean, I've tried to talk business with Dad and Bill over the years, you know?
Ask about expansion plans, profit margins, that kind of thing.
I took business classes when I was planning the shop.
But they always change the subject." Barb's smile was slightly sad.
"I know they’re proud of me, but I think they don't want to mix family businesses.
Like, the coffee shop is mine, but the lumber business is theirs. "
Barb said it lightly, but Sara Lee detected a hint of hurt underneath.
“Mom stops by the shop all the time, but Dad and Bill? I think they’re afraid of a foufou coffee being unmanly,” she laughed, shaking her head. "But they certainly love my pastries. Anyway, yeah, the lumber business must be doing great. Best in the area, probably. Maybe even the best in the state."
The pride in Barb's voice when she said it made Sara Lee's chest ache.
Her best friend was eager to believe the best about her family, no longer having money issues.
And that, perhaps, tied into the exclusion of business talk.
There might be things about the Cordell lumber business that Bob and Bill didn't want anyone to know. Especially not Barb.
"I should let you get back to work," Sara Lee said, even though she wanted to stay and protect her friend from whatever ugly truth might be hiding in her family's business dealings.
"You just got here!"
"I know, but I promised Nana June that I’d help at the library. And honestly, talking to you helped take my mind off the mur… um… death of Raymond." That was stretching the truth, but it was the only thing she could think to say. "Thanks for the coffee and the treat. And just for being you."
Barb stood and hugged her again. "Anytime. Seriously. If you need to talk about the shock of yesterday’s find in the park, or anything else, I'm here."
Sara Lee left the coffee shop feeling more confused than when she'd arrived.
She'd hoped that Barb would have a perfectly ordinary explanation about her family’s lumber business.
Instead, she learned something potentially important…
the Cordells had had money troubles that mysteriously resolved themselves a few years ago.
But she also confirmed in her mind that Barb was innocent.
Her best friend was too open, too genuine, too completely unaware of whatever secrets her father and brother might be keeping.
She walked slowly back toward home, her mind churning through what she'd learned. The conversation started naturally enough. She hadn't really interrogated Barb. They just talked, the way best friends do.
But the guilt sat heavily in her stomach anyway.
When she reached the Victorian house, she found Nana June in the living room, already dressed in a lavender cardigan and her favorite walking shoes. Pippi sat at her feet, tail wagging hopefully.
"How did it go?" June asked.
Sara Lee sank into the sofa, suddenly exhausted even though it wasn't even noon yet. "Barb doesn't know anything. But her family might."
She relayed the conversation from Barb's innocent pride in her father's business, the money that appeared several years ago to open her business, and the way Bob and Bill kept Barb at arm's length from their lumber business operations.
June listened carefully, nodding occasionally, her expression thoughtful. She murmured, "That's interesting timing."
"Why?"
"Because that's around the time when the town gossip spread that Raymond lost his job at a loan company for shady business dealings. But I’ll see if I can find out more." June pulled out her notebook and made a notation. "I wonder if those two things are connected."
"You think Raymond loaned Bob money?"
"Perhaps. Or they were involved in something together that went wrong.
" June tapped her pen against the notebook.
"Bob is a good man, but good men can make bad choices when they're desperate.
If Raymond had leverage over him… knew something about how Bob saved his business, that would explain the argument we saw at the festival. "
"Barb can never know," Sara Lee said fiercely. "She's so proud of that coffee shop. So grateful to her dad. If we find out he got that money through something shady, or if Raymond was involved..." She couldn't finish the thought.
June's expression was gentle but firm. "We'll protect Barb as much as we can. But we also have to follow the truth, sweetheart."
Sara Lee nodded, knowing her grandmother was right but hating it anyway.
"I'm going to visit Ted," June said, standing and collecting her purse. "He was the Melton family attorney for years. If anyone knows the history between Raymond and Horace, it's Ted."
"Will he tell you?"
June's smile had a mischievous edge. "I think I can be just sweet enough to get him to let down his guard."