Chapter 5
“And I like large parties. They’re so intimate. At small parties there isn’t any privacy.”
—Jordan Baker in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby
I dashed to her. “Do you need CPR? The Heimlich?”
“Relax.” Finette guffawed. “I was being melodramatic. I can breathe. Has it ever been a day!” She fanned her face with a pink envelope, her bangles clacking. “‘Always make an entrance,’ my father used to say. ‘People will remember you that way.’”
I glanced at Tegan, who was pulling a face.
Finette swept her long locks over her shoulders. I noticed she’d added attractive highlights, and I wondered when I might need to do the same. At my age, I didn’t have a speck of gray, but my mother said she turned prematurely gray at thirty. Something to look forward to?
“Allie …” Finette frowned. Without asking, she flicked my hair. “You had a lock out of place.”
Peeved by her audacity, I said, “What’s new?” My curly hair had a mind of its own.
“Ahem. What do you think mirrors are for? One must always present one’s best face. You don’t want to look a mess.”
I knew I didn’t look unsightly, but I let her dig slide.
“Anyway, back to me,” Finette continued.
“It really has been a whirlwind today, which explains why I’m finding it hard to breathe.
A meeting here, a phone call there, talking to loan officers, chatting up citizens.
Have you ever been faced with too many challenges all at once?
” She didn’t wait for a response. Instead, she made a beeline for the sales counter.
I followed. So did Tegan.
“I’d like a copy of The Great Gatsby,” Finette stated.
“These are all spoken for.” Tegan waved a hand to the stacks of books. “But I’ve placed a new order, which should come tomorrow.”
“Hold a copy for me. May I take a peek at one of these?”
“Feel free.”
“I’m so excited to take part in the festivities.
” Finette lifted a book and flipped through the pages.
“I’ve read this book many times, as a teen and again in college.
I always wanted to own a copy but never got around to it.
I love the hardcover version.” She made a swooning sound.
“Do I need to sign an agreement for the preorder?”
Tegan smiled. “I trust you.”
“Perfect.” She regarded me again. “Allie, I’m so glad you’re here. I’ve been meaning to ask …” She paused.
“Yes?”
“Would you share the recipe for the mini quiche you served at the neighborhood watch gathering? They were so yummy.”
I squinted. Was that really her question?
“Sure,” I replied. I wasn’t proprietary about recipes anyone could find online.
Lots of sites provided instructions on how to make broccoli and cheddar quiche.
Mine included finely chopped broccoli, cream of chicken soup, and tons of cheese. “I’ll email it to you.”
“Thanks. Also …” She fluttered her eyelashes. “I’ve been meaning to ask why Zach Armstrong didn’t come to the party. Don’t Bramblewood police try to attend all the neighborhood watch parties? Are you two no longer an item?”
Aha. The truth will out. She was interested in him, despite the difference in their ages.
“We’re not dating, if you’re curious. We’re friends.
” I was still concerned about the way he’d left last night without saying what was weighing on his mind, but I pushed the niggling feeling aside.
“Yes, Zach does come to some of the gatherings. So does his partner. But not all. If they’re too busy solving crime—”
“Does Bramblewood really have that much?”
For heaven’s sake. She ran the town council. How could she not know the statistics? “We have more than we’d like, for sure.”
The door opened, and two more women—regulars in their fifties—entered the shop. They hustled to the reading nook, unloaded their carryalls, and headed to the sci-fi and paranormal aisle.
Vanna rushed into the store behind them. “I almost forgot my iPad. Can you believe it?” She hurried to the sales counter. “I can’t live without it.”
Before the door swung shut, Jason Gardner stepped in. I debated whether we needed to invest in a revolving door.
“Hello, ladies.” He was clad in an outfit right out of The Great Gatsby—a three-piece cream-colored suit with a double-breasted vest, a pocket scarf, a black tie, and a handsome onyx jacket chain lapel pin. “What do you think?” He dragged an open palm down his togs.
“Wow, Jason!” Tegan exclaimed. “You look great! The costume is perfect.”
“Very dapper, Jason,” I chimed.
Vanna swiveled. An ooh escaped her mouth.
He chuckled. “Precisely the reaction I was hoping for. Lillian said it was a traffic stopper.”
“She’s right.” Finette crossed the store, studying him with admiration.
“Hello, ducky, old sport,” he said to her in a British accent.
She laughed and swatted his arm. “Stop!” Over her shoulder, she said, “It’s an inside joke. When he and I first met, he mistakenly thought my last name was Duckworthy.”
“I knew a guy in college with the surname,” Jason explained.
“Did I ever set him straight,” Finette said. “I’m a Fineworthy of the Fineworthys.”
“The Fineworthys,” Jason repeated. “The ones who are known for donating time to feeding the homeless, building Habitat houses, and cleaning up hiking trails.” He ticked their attributes off on his fingertips. “What else did the altruistic Fineworthys do?”
“I heard her father saved a schoolhouse from burning down,” I said.
“He rescued one of my favorite restaurants,” Tegan added, “from a near-fatal oil fire.”
“He also salvaged a church and the YMCA, if I’m not mistaken,” Jason said. Having recently arrived in Bramblewood, he sure knew a lot about Finette and her family. Was that her doing, or had he done oppo research so he could sweet-talk his way into a contract with the town?
“What you don’t know is my mother’s pet project was acting as a book fairy,” Finette said. “She’d buy books from the library, and she and I would hide them in places for people to discover.”
“Aw,” Tegan said. “What a nice memory.”
“I still do it, but I miss doing it with her.”
Jason gently chucked her chin and said, “Buck up, old sport.” He sidled past Finette and over to me. “Allie, yesterday I’d only sensed your dissatisfaction with my plan to build a mall, but now I’ve heard for a fact you are not happy with me and my proposal.”
Tegan shook her head, meaning she hadn’t spilled the beans.
Zach certainly wouldn’t have mentioned a thing.
Vanna’s face was stony. Had she contacted him to ask for the catering gig and told him my plans in an effort to turn him against me?
She wouldn’t dare. Not when we were getting along so well.
We’d chatted about it at Dream Cuisine, so a bookshop customer hadn’t overheard.
Possibly Chloe had mentioned it in a public place.
“Why aren’t you happy with the mall, Allie?” Finette asked. “It is going to be wonderful. Jason and I have been working closely for weeks to make this a superior project.”
“You’ve been in town for weeks?” Tegan asked. “And yet yesterday was the first day you came to the bookshop?”
“He’s been so busy.” Finette pulled her cell phone from her tote and swiped the screen.
“Applying for building permits. Getting the designs approved by the town council. He hasn’t had a spare moment.
It’s all calendared.” She flashed her cell phone at us.
It displayed a lengthy to-do list. “This mall is going to be a feather in all our caps. And don’t you worry, Allie.
Jason promises to make it a boon for Bramblewood. Don’t you?”
Jason nodded. “I do.”
“You know how much I love our town, Allie,” Finette went on. “After all, that’s why I ran for town council. To have my finger on the pulse. To steer the ship.”
“The way I hear it, ducky,” Jason said, “you joined the council so you wouldn’t have to be a lowly project manager again, forced to wrangle with all the contractors.”
“Oh, stop teasing.” She thwacked his arm a second time.
Jason turned to me, his smile genuine. “By the expression on your face, Allie, I’m still getting the feeling you’re wary.”
“I’m—”
“Jason, let it go. She’ll get on board. I’ll make sure of it.” Finette gave his arm a tug. “Let’s grab a coffee and catch up.”
“In a sec.” His gaze at me intensified, which sent shivers down my spine.
To my surprise, they were the good kind of shivers. Out of eyesight, I pinched my arm, urging myself to snap out of it. Jason wasn’t the enemy, but he certainly wasn’t dating material, either.
“Allie, how about you and I have dinner?” he went on. “It’s not a date. Purely for business.”
I felt my cheeks warm. Had he read my mind?
“My domestic helper is off for the night,” he said. “I need to eat. We’ll discuss the details of my soiree, and I’ll show you the architectural plans for the mall. Say, seven? The Brewery. I’ve heard it’s great.”
“It is.” I loved the Brewery. Tegan and I often went there to hang out. The selections of beer were great, and the food was homey and substantial.
“I’ve also heard it’s casual.”
“Ultracasual.”
“My kind of place.”
I doubted that, considering his choice of attire.
“I’ll meet you there,” he said.
“Coffee now,” Finette reminded him.
“Sure, sure, but first, I’ve got to go back to Puttin’ on the Glitz to return these fancy duds.”
They left the shop chatting, and Vanna descended on me.
“How dare you, Allie! What were you thinking?” Her voice could cut ice. “I should come to dinner with you.”
“Sis—”
“Don’t ‘Sis’ me, Tegan.” Vanna swatted the air. “Allie and I are a team. Partners.”
“Sometimes partners.”
“Vanna.” I maintained my composure, even though, seeing the way her hands were flailing, she looked like she might claw me. “At the outset, we said we’d work together with the baking end of my business, but if we drummed up individual gigs, we were free to take them.”
“I’m regretting ever saying yes to you.”
“Hello.” It was my turn to slash the air. “You jumped at the chance.” I wasn’t usually so forceful, but I would not let her bully me.