Chapter 19
When I got home—well, while I ate, I’m not a savage—I did some computer research on Matty Leaven.
I texted Amy and asked if she would pull her business file for me on Monday.
As head of the business council, I had access to everyone’s business applications.
Mostly to give me the information to look for marketing opportunities among different businesses in town.
Whatever the reason, it also gave me information on our new residents. Like Matty.
I’d have to wait until Monday to see what evils the woman had hidden in her file, but I’d find them. And maybe accidentally leave a copy of my notes on Mandy’s notebook. Or in her hand. I didn’t want Josh to throw the paper away. Playing cupid for a married couple was hard.
Besides, Beth would be gone on Monday and I’d need a new hobby.
There wasn’t much on the internet about our newest business owner.
She’d moved to South Cove from Los Angeles, where her shop had been robbed too many times.
She had talked to the local paper, okay, Darla, and said she was tired of big city life.
So she’d moved to South Cove after the last insurance check cleared and opened a new shop.
I called Darla. When she answered, the noise in the background told me she was at the winery. Probably bartending. “Sorry, I forgot you were at work.”
“Not all of us can be done with work by noon,” Darla said. “What can I do for you? Do you need takeout?”
I glanced guiltily at the almost empty basket of fish-and-chips on my coffee table. I should order from the winery more often. “Not tonight. Do you remember your interview with Matty Leaven when she moved here? Was there anything weird about it?”
I heard the interest in her voice as soon as she asked, “Why? Is she a suspect?”
Darla had gotten the wrong idea. “No, not with the murder. Sorry, I was working on something else.”
Laughter erupted from the other end of the line. “I wish you could tie her to the murder. Of all of our fellow business owners, that woman is the grumpiest. I swear, she’s worse than Josh. Although together, they are a pair.”
So others had seen the connection too. “Anyway, I’ll let you go back to work. I’m working my normal shift tomorrow if you think of anything by then.”
“Sure, like I’m going to be up and coherent at six in the morning.” Darla hung up.
I put away the computer and turned on the television. I finished my meal and then cleaned up the mess. Tiny had sent Greg a quart of his famous Irish stew and a dog bone for Emma. I gave her the bone and put Greg’s stew in the fridge.
And suddenly, it hit me—what made me the maddest about Matty’s interference with Josh and Mandy.
In South Cove, we were a family. We looked out for one another.
We didn’t talk bad about someone behind their back.
And if we did, it was because we cared. Not to make fun of them.
Matty had broken the South Cove family code.
And she was ticking me off.
Beth came home at nine and she’d brought home two of Sadie’s Christmas tree cookies. “Any Christmas movies on?”
“I could find one.” I opened the menu on the television and narrowed it down to movies. “What are you looking for? Touching or funny?”
“Funny, I think. I’m going to cry enough on Monday when I fly away from you and your magical kingdom.” She nodded toward the kitchen. “Do you still have cocoa?”
“And marshmallows. I’ll find the movie. You make the drinks.
” I found Elf and cued it up to play as soon as she came back into the living room.
Emma was sniffing the cookies, so I moved Beth’s purse.
A note fell out with Dom’s name and a number.
He’d written on the page, Call me anytime. I didn’t move the note.
When she came back from the kitchen, she put the cups on the coasters I’d laid out and tucked the note back in her purse. “It’s not what you think.”
“It doesn’t matter what I think, but if Jim finds that note, I know what he’s going to think.” I leaned back and changed the subject. Not my circus, I repeated in my head. “How was work? Did you get time with Andrew at all?”
“He was gone by the time I got there. Deek is amazing. I can see why Evie likes him so much.”
“Likes, likes? Or just likes?” I held the remote.
“I’m not getting involved in that one. Evie can tell you herself if she decides to.
” Beth laughed and shook her head. “Changing the subject, did you know that the jewelry store where we found the patch is still closed? That robbery must have freaked out the owner. Or is it just open on the weekends?”
“Really?” I wondered if Mandy had talked to the owner about personal boundaries with her husband. “I hadn’t noticed. I thought I saw her at the diner earlier tonight.”
“I was going to stop in on the way to the bookstore this afternoon to do some shopping but the door was locked and the windows still empty. You would think they’d try to rescue the holiday shopping season, even with the robbery.
You have so many people coming in and buying books or gift cards for stocking stuffers.
Deek’s great at upselling a little treat for the buyer too.
” Beth stirred her hot chocolate with a candy cane she’d added to the cup.
She saw me watching. “I didn’t ask if you liked peppermint.
I drink mine this way from November first until way after the New Year. ”
“It’s fine. I didn’t realize I had any candy canes.”
Beth laughed. “You didn’t but you do now.”
“Thanks. Now, let’s watch the movie. We could have Friday night watch parties from now to Christmas if you want.
We could text each other.” I started the movie but as Buddy made his way to the magical world of New York, I thought about Evie and Deek.
Could they be a match? I always thought of Deek as young and irresponsible.
Evie was divorced and world-weary. Or she had been when I hired her.
Maybe she was ready for a real relationship now.
Circus, monkeys, I reminded myself. Besides, not everyone wanted to be part of a happy couple.
And not all couples were happy. I settled into the movie to start believing in the magic of the Christmas season again.
I wished it was just as easy as singing loud for everyone to hear.
Matty needed a group to gather in front of her house and sing.
Maybe she was South Cove’s very own Scrooge.
Beth’s observation about the store’s closure gave me the perfect excuse to go see Matty. If she was okay, then I’d tell her to leave Josh alone. If she was upset, maybe I’d be a little nicer. Maybe.
* * *
Walking to work the next morning, I slowed down in front of the jewelry store.
It looked the same as it did when Beth and I had noticed it closed.
I pulled out my phone and texted Esmeralda, asking if Matty had put in an out-of-town notice with the police station.
Greg had implemented the process so if someone was gone, the patrol officers could keep a closer eye on the property, just in case.
Now I questioned if it had been Matty at the restaurant. I’d only seen her back and I’d been worried about her being there with Josh.
That done, I hurried into the bookstore and started my day. Around ten, Darla came in, looking like she hadn’t slept much. I hurried to pour her a coffee. She folded herself onto a stool and took the cup. I started to say good morning, but she held up her hand for me to stop talking, so I waited.
After she’d drunk half the cup, she set it down and looked at me. “What exactly did you want to know last night?”
“Was there anything weird you noticed about Matty Leaven during your welcome-to-South-Cove interview with her last year?”
Darla finished her coffee and handed me the cup for a refill. As I set it back down, she took out her notebook and looked at some prior entries.
“You have last year’s interview notes in your current notebook?”
She sipped her coffee. “No, I pulled out the notebook this morning before I came over since you mentioned Matty on the phone.”
“Oh, sorry.” I refilled my cup and came around to sit by her. There were no customers in the shop anyway.
She finished reading her notes and then tapped her pen on the page.
“There was one thing. She’d just gotten robbed for a fifth time in her building.
She said she hoped things would settle down when she moved here.
Her insurance had threatened to cancel her policy unless she moved out of the neighborhood where she had the shop. ”
“Seems reasonable. If the neighborhood is dangerous, why stay?” I didn’t understand what Darla was getting at. She tapped her pen on the page again.
“She was robbed five times before even considering a move. She sells some high-end stuff. Why did she even open a high-end jewelry store in a bad neighborhood? And once she realized it, why did it take four more robberies for her to move? I would have been out of there after the first one. Honestly, I would have done my research and not opened there in the first place.” Darla sipped her coffee at a calmer pace now.
“I dug around and realized I had a friend who lived in an apartment on that same street. She said that the place wasn’t a bad neighborhood.
That no one else besides Matty’s shop was getting robbed.
The police thought it was an inside job. ”
“She faked the robberies?”
Darla shrugged. “Or knew someone she could pay to rob her store. She collected the insurance money, then she probably sold the pieces reported as missing to someone on the black market.”
“Her store here was robbed on Thanksgiving night.” Darla probably already knew that. “She gets robbed, and a few days later, Chip dies from what appeared to be torture. Can it just be a coincidence?”
“Do pigeons like statues because they admire the person behind the work? No, it’s not a coincidence. Have you told Greg about this?” Darla looked at me like I had two heads.