Chapter 26
Chapter Twenty-Six
F rankie was pulling the car into the driveway when Harper’s phone went off. She answered. “Hi, Jack. I have your grapes and Frankie’s got your knitting supplies. The yarn is very pretty. I can’t wait to show it to you in person. We’re just parking the car now.”
“Sounds good, man. Come over as soon as you can. We need to talk.”
She frowned. He sounded serious. “Okay. I’ll be right there.”
Frankie turned the car off. “Everything okay?”
“I have no idea, but Jack made it sound urgent. I’ll help you bring everything in, then I’ll take his stuff to him.”
“If you need to go now…”
Harper opened her door. “A few minutes won’t hurt.”
They each loaded up with bags of groceries and took the elevator up.
Willa was sitting on the couch, scrolling through her phone while watching television.
“Hey,” Frankie said. “Start putting this stuff away, would you?”
“Sure.” She finished whatever she was doing on her phone, then got up. “Did you get any brownie mix?”
Harper shook her head. “Were we supposed to?”
“I texted mom.”
“I didn’t see it,” Frankie said. “Sorry. But hey, if you really want brownies, I bet Joyce would make you some.”
Willa’s frown disappeared. “Oh, good point. I could take Bunny for a walk as a way of paying her back.”
“You could,” Harper said. “But I’m pretty sure walking Bunny isn’t Joyce’s responsibility. There might be something else you could do for her. Couldn’t hurt to ask.”
“You’re right, maybe there’s something else she needs help with.” Willa started pulling groceries out of the bags.
Harper doubted it. Joyce was about as self-sufficient as a person could be. But it would be nice for Willa to make the offer. Joyce would probably be tickled to make the brownies. Or Beryl would. The two of them seemed to really enjoying feeding other people.
Harper and Frankie went back to the car for another load of bags and books. Harper grabbed bags with one hand and her stack of books with the other. “We should have brought a shopping bag.”
Frankie nodded. “I need to just keep one in the car.”
“Definitely.” Arms full, Harper paused. Frankie was struggling with the canvases she’d bought. “Can you get all of that?”
“No, but it’s my art stuff. I don’t mind making another trip.” Frankie leaned the canvases against the side of the car. “You go see what Jack needs. And take him that bag with his knitting stuff.”
“I will.” Harper called the elevator again and kept the doors from closing until Frankie got on. She had several bags of art supplies and the books she’d checked out.
She smiled. “Today was a good day. I like having a stack of unread books.”
Harper laughed. “Me, too. I need to figure out their ebook lending, though. Less to carry that way.”
The elevator doors opened.
“True,” Frankie said. She went out ahead of Harper, carrying the art supplies straight to the office.
Harper set the last of the groceries on the kitchen counter. “Did you take out the bag of seedless red grapes yet?”
“Yes, I just put them in the fridge,” Willa said.
“Get them out for me? They’re for Jack. I’m going to run them over to him with his knitting stuff.”
Willa got the grapes out. “Oh, did Mom get yarn? I want to see it.”
“Right here,” Frankie said as she rejoined them. She pulled out a skein and held it up. “What do you think?”
“Oh, very pretty,” Willa said. “That’s going to make a great blanket.” She stuck her lower lip out. “I can’t believe Jack Marsh is knitting you something.”
Frankie laughed. “It’s not for me, it’s for the guest house.”
“You’re going to be living there, so it’s for you, Mom.” Willa rolled her eyes, smiling. “Come on now.”
Frankie pursed her lips. “Jealous much?”
Harper laughed. “You two.” She looked in the bag of yarn. “Is that all his stuff?”
Frankie nodded. “It is.”
“Okay. I’m off.” Harper grabbed that bag and the grapes and went to the guest house.
The door was open slightly, but all the sheers were closed. Jack’s way of avoiding any more pictures. She knocked, then went in. “Hey.”
“Hey.” Wearing Balinese batik lounge pants and a tank top, he was in the chair, feet up on the coffee table. The frown on his face spoke volumes. “They got a picture of me anyway last night.”
“I know. I saw it. Night-vision lens or something, I guess.”
“Leeches.”
She held up the art supply store bag. “Frankie got yarn.” She held up the grapes. “And here are your grapes.”
He smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes. “Thanks, man. I do appreciate that.” He got up and took both bags back to the chair. “Nice yarn. It’ll look good in here.” He put that bag beside the chair and opened the grapes. “I heard from Angelo.”
Harper took a seat on the couch. “Okay. What’s the news?”
He popped a grape into his mouth. “Monica is a scam artist, man.”
Harper nodded. “That tracks.”
“Angelo is legit. He found out all kinds of stuff about her. She’s got three aliases, and a criminal record that includes fraud, felony theft, and extortion. Not to mention some outstanding warrants.”
Harper blinked. “Holy cow. So what she’s doing to you is nothing new.”
“As old as time, man.” He ate another grape. “These are good.”
“I’m glad. If Angelo found all this out, why don’t you look happier? Seems like she’d be easy enough to make go away.”
“It’s got to be done right, you know?” Jack sat back, feet up on the coffee table again, grapes in his lap. “She still has those pictures of me. In this day and age, an accusation from her will spread like wildfire. No matter what’s she’s done. No matter what the truth is. You know how it is, man.”
She did know. All too well. “What did Angelo say?”
Jack sighed and ran a hand over his scruff. “He said he might be able to take care of things, but that it would be best if I didn’t know too much.”
Harper made a face. “You don’t think he means… No, he was a cop. He can’t mean that .”
Jack snorted. “Well, he didn’t ask for any more money, so I’m guessing no, Harper, he’s not bumping her off.”
That seemed like a good time to change the subject. “Speaking of money, how would you feel about possibly participating in a local library fundraiser?”
His eyes narrowed. “In what way?”
“This is all very loose, and I haven’t talked to Mitch yet, but I was thinking about having you do a reading. A passage from one of Mitch’s books. Like I said, I haven’t talked to him yet, so that would need to happen first to get his permission, but it would be great press. A nice way to counterbalance anything else that might come out.”
Jack shook his head slowly. “I don’t know. I’m trying to lay low, you know. It’s a local library?” He held the bag of grapes out to her.
She lifted her hand to say no thanks. “That’s right. Frankie and I went to it today. It’s nice. Small and probably underfunded, but that’s the point of the event. To bring some money in. I talked to the head librarian and she’s open to bringing in a big name. I didn’t tell her who, just that I had some Hollywood connections and might be able to provide them with someone on short notice.”
“I don’t know. I don’t think I want to draw any attention to myself. The press is bad enough as it is.” He threw a grape into the air and caught it in his mouth. “What about Mitch?”
“I plan on talking to Mitch about it tonight. See what he says. I think he’ll be okay with it, but he’s not much on public appearances. Still, it’s for a good cause. I understand you not wanting to do it, though. I just thought it would be good press. As opposed to what might be coming.”
“It would be, you’re right, but I don’t think I’m up for it.”
“It’s okay,” Harper said. “It was just a thought.”
“It was a good one. I’ll make a donation, though. Happy to do that. I just think it’s better if there’s less of me in the news right now. Especially because I don’t know how long it’s going to take Angelo to do whatever it is he’s doing.”
“Is he going to tell you? When things are taken care of?”
“I guess so.” Jack put his feet on the floor and the bag of grapes on the table. He picked up the knitting supplies and looked inside the bag. “Until then, I’ve got some work to do.”
Harper smiled. “You’re a good guy, Jack. I hope Angelo can help you. I’m glad you’ve given up the alcohol, too.”
“Yeah, it’s not easy. But it feels like the right thing, you know?” He took out the needles and inspected them. “The library thing really was a good idea. Smart. Thanks for looking out for me, even if I can’t do it right now.”
“You did officially hire me.”
“True. I suppose I owe you some money for that.”
“It’s okay. I know you did it for the confidentiality.”
He took out a skein of yarn, found the loose end and ran it through his fingers. “Nice yarn.” He looked at Harper again. “Listen, if Mitch doesn’t want to read then maybe I can reconsider it. I don’t want to let you down.”
“It’s okay. I know you have to do what’s best for you right now.” Harper got to her feet. “I’m sure Mitch will be interested. Nothing for you to worry about. Enjoy your knitting.”
Jack smiled as he pulled out a length of yarn from the skein. “You ought to try it, man. It’s a great way to find your zen, you know what I mean?”
She didn’t. But she nodded anyway.