Chapter 31
After we went through all the receipts, Bampa picked up Nana, and I locked the quaint store.
I headed down the street, hands shoved deep in my jacket pockets.
The wind still held the rain back but a storm built pressure above the mountains.
I needed the walk, needed the motion to burn off the frustration still riding my nerves.
Turning toward the courthouse, I paused outside Gloria’s shop, and the front window glared with the same bold sign I’d noticed earlier.
Maybe she’d listen to reason. I opened the door and stepped inside, moving left into her space instead of straight ahead into the optometrist’s office.
The scent of roasted coffee clung to the air.
Gloria stood behind the counter in a green floral dress, curls brushing her shoulders. She looked up and smiled. “You need more vitamins already?”
“No.” I gestured toward the front window. “Could you take that sign down?”
She laughed. “Are you kidding? I’ve had more traffic today than I’ve had in weeks. People want to come in and gossip if nothing else.” Her gaze shifted to the shelf stacked with protein powder. “Then they buy something. It’s great. I wish your Nana would get arrested every week.”
“That seems to be the path we’re on.” My voice came out sharper than I meant. “Do you know anything about the spiked tea we sold?”
Gloria shrugged. “How would I know anything about the tea? I don’t sell tea.
Tea’s stupid.” Her eyes scanned me from head to toe.
“Forget magical teas. You could use more muscle tone. My women’s supplement tastes great in coffee.
In fact—” She reached under the counter and lifted a bag with a coffee cup printed on the front.
“This one works as protein powder for smoothies that tastes like a frothing latte.”
My stomach growled, loud enough to draw her grin.
“It’s very good for you,” she said. “All natural, with vitamins B and D.”
I reached for the bag. “I could use more D.”
“Excellent. I’ll give you a discount.”
My eyebrow rose on its own. “Why?”
“I like you, Anna.”
I shook my head. “No, you don’t.”
She snorted. “Not really. But only because the O’Sheas and the Albertinis think they’re such big deals in this town.”
“They helped settle it,” I reminded her, my voice flat.
Gloria’s smile stayed, smooth and polished. “Whatever you say.”
Maybe if I bought the powder she’d work with me. “I’ll take it.”
She rang me up with a flick of her wrist.
The register dinged, and I handed her my card. “Did you know that Brooke has been distributing healing teas?”
Her head tilted. “My niece?”
“Yeah. She’s been helping with supply. She might’ve gotten caught in the middle of something ugly.”
Gloria stiffened. “You’re lying.”
“No, I’m not.” Yeah, I was tossing Brooke under the bus, but I had a grandmother to keep out of prison, and I needed answers. “She set Nana up with the tea distributor.”
I wasn’t sure I believed that, but I kept my expression even.
Gloria handed back my card, the bag already tucked into tissue paper. “But the tea is illegal.”
“Yeah. Brooke says somebody switched out the tea.”
Gloria’s forehead furrowed. “How?”
“If I knew, I’d tell you.”
“That brat. How dare she help the competition.” Gloria flattened a gnarled hand on the counter.
I sighed. “You and Nana aren’t competing.”
“You have to open your eyes. Your grandmother is into that moonlight and herbal stuff and being one with the earth, and I guess mushrooms come from the earth. My bet is that she meant to sell the funny tea.” Gloria’s tone remained soft.
I shook my head. “I promise, she didn’t. Will you please take the sign out of the window?”
Gloria wiped dust off the counter with her sleeve. “No way. It’s giving me tons of business.” Her gaze met mine. “Besides, even if I believed her about the mushrooms, I still think she put lotion in my pie.”
My shoulders slumped. “Come on, Gloria.”
She patted my hand. “I know she’s your grandmother, and you don’t believe she’d do such a thing, but she does like to get into mischief once in a while.”
I had to admit that part was true. Nana had a talent for chaos. “I don’t think she’d try to hurt somebody like that.”
“I know, and that’s good. You’re a good granddaughter.” Gloria leaned on the counter, her voice softening for half a second. “But every once in a while, even us old folks like to stir things up.”
The bell over the door jingled, and two more people stepped inside. Gloria turned toward them with a bright smile. “Hey there, I have protein powder on sale.”
I took that as my cue to leave. “I’ll talk to you later, Gloria.”
“That sounds good. Oh, and you’re getting to an age where you should get your eyes checked.”
I blinked. “I am?”
“Yes. You want to handle any issues before they get bad. Stop in with Julie and make an appointment with my husband.” Gloria moved toward the newcomers.
Wow. She really was a good salesperson.
“Thanks,” I said. I probably should get my eyes checked, but not today. I didn’t have time for self-care, not with Nana under suspicion and half the town buzzing.
Outside, the clouds had thickened to steel gray. The street smelled of damp asphalt and coffee drifting from the café down the block. I meandered a couple of blocks and climbed the marble steps of the courthouse.
Inside, the air cooled even more. My boots echoed down the long hall toward the prosecutor’s office. A young woman sat behind the counter, maybe mid-twenties, with sleek black hair and a pretty teal eyeliner.
“Hi,” I said, flashing a polite smile. “I’m Anna Albertini. I’d like to meet with Brad Backleboff.”
She gave me a quick once-over. “What about?”
I bristled but kept my voice even. “I’m an attorney from Timber City. We have a couple of cases opposite each other.”
“Oh. All right.” She picked up the phone. “Mr. Backleboff, there’s an Anna Berretini here to see you.”
I didn’t correct her.
“Okie-doke,” she said, hanging up. “He said go on back. Third door on the left.”
“Thank you.” I walked past the counter and moved down a stately, quiet hallway until I reached an open doorway.
“Anna, come on in,” Brad called from behind a wide oak desk.
The furnishings inside looked original to the courthouse with heavy wood, old polish, and good craftsmanship that should last a few lifetimes. Bookshelves lined one wall, and the scent of coffee hung in the air.
He sat surrounded by files and two empty cups. “Have a seat.”
I took the chair opposite him, crossing my legs and placing my purse and the protein powder beside me.
He shuffled through a pile of documents. “I haven’t gone through enough of the evidence to offer your grandmother a plea on the drug charges, but my offer on the misdemeanors and the lotion-in-the-pie situation stands.”
“That’s ridiculous,” I said quietly.
He ruffled his blond hair, leaving it sticking up in soft spikes.
“I think the feds might take over the mushroom case, just so you know. But fair warning, there’ll be plenty of civil lawsuits coming her way.
I don’t handle those, of course, but I have a cousin, Tyson, licensed in Idaho.
He’s considering setting up a temporary office here in town. ”
I blinked once. Then again. “Your cousin’s coming to town to sue my grandma?”
He smiled like it amused him. “Yes. He’s contacting everyone who purchased the bad batch of tea.”
My shoulders went back. “I see. You received that list from Sheriff Franco as part of your criminal investigation, didn’t you?”
“I did,” he said, his tone smooth.
“Then you so kindly shared it with your cousin,” I snapped.
His eyes twinkled. “I surely did.”
I stared at him. The guy probably would get a kickback. “I do find it interesting that you bought so much of this magical tea.”
He chortled. “I didn’t know it was poison. I have three sisters and seven female cousins, and they all like tea. I figured to send it home to California. Believe me, I’m going to be a plaintiff in that suit against your grandmother. I, ah, drank some and went on a trip.”
What a liar. I’d bet anything he didn’t try that tea. “It might interest you that your girlfriend, Brooke, is the one who sold the tea to my Nana.”
Brad leaned back in his chair, a hint of disbelief flickering across his face. “That’s not true.”
“Yes, it is. She knows the distributor of the wellness tea and hooked my Nana up. I’m pretty sure she received a commission for doing it.” I didn’t know that for certain, but it made sense. I could confirm it later.
“There’s no way sweet Brooke has anything to do with mushroom tea.”
“That’s where my grandma bought hers.” I fudged the truth a little. Brooke claimed she didn’t know anything about the mushrooms, and I wasn’t sure I believed her.
He folded his arms. “Then I’ll speak with Brooke. If she did anything illegal, I’ll charge her. Simple as that.”
“So you’re not all that close,” I said.
“My personal life is none of your business. I never let it interfere with my professional life, which is something you should probably learn.”
That hit me square in the chest. I had started dating Aiden when everyone thought he was a criminal, and nobody close to me knew he’d been undercover with the ATF.
Brad tilted his head. “Speaking of your boyfriend, I’m investigating where an ATF agent gets fifty thousand dollars in cash to post bail for someone. Agents don’t make that kind of money, and it wasn’t government funds. It came from him. I find that highly suspicious.”
I leaned back in the chair, keeping my tone level. “Do you, now?”
“Yes. I have to ask. Has Agent Devlin been skimming during these operations? I imagine those opportunities come often.”
My jaw tightened. Aiden could handle this jackass. “I’ve never lost at trial. You?”
His jaw looked like it could take a punch. “Neither have I, and I have a lot more experience than you do. I worked in California for a decade before I came here.”