Chapter 20
Amy handed me an envelope. I opened it and pulled out a copy of Matty’s business application.
Amy summarized the report as I read the details.
“She’s moved around a lot. And when she leaves a place, it’s always, in her words, a bad neighborhood.
I hoped that she’d reconsider moving to South Cove, because I knew as soon as she left, she’d be badmouthing everyone.
One of her references even told me good luck when I asked if he’d recommend her to join our community.
He said she was disruptive and just not very nice. ”
“I can’t believe she got approved to open her shop.” Beth stood near Amy’s desk. “When you leave one troubled environment for another, the one thing you take with you is you.”
“It was a close vote, but I guess she’s friends with Tina, the mayor’s wife, so she was approved.
Besides, we look more at your ability to finance and upkeep your business.
And whether you’re going to be too much competition for the other stores.
No one sold fine jewelry here before she moved into town.
” Amy filled us in on the way the council made their decisions.
“She was a pain in her last community and she’s a pain now.
” I wasn’t going to betray Mandy’s revelation to me but Amy’s information made me like Matty even less.
Nothing I’d heard this morning was evidence that she’d killed Chip but I wasn’t about to trust her with anything important in the next business council meeting.
“Thanks for this. It helps for me to know a little more about our business council members.”
As we walked out, I knew I couldn’t just kick her out of the business council, but the next time she snarked off, I was going to give her a warning.
Then I was going to write a formal complaint to the city council.
Bill Sullivan, who ran South Cove Bed and Breakfast with his wife, Mary, was my liaison and he’d keep the reports confidential.
Once I had issued enough of the warnings and filed the paperwork, I could disinvite her to meetings.
She’d get the minutes but wouldn’t be allowed to come in person and bring down the group.
It was a painful process, at least for me, but I thought it was about time to deal with this Negative Nancy.
I’d never even thought of disinviting Josh from the council because, with all his complaining, he wanted to make South Cove better. Matty just wanted to stir up trouble.
“Do you want to grab lunch in town or wherever we’re going?” Beth asked, breaking into my mental planning.
“Your choice. Where do you want to go?” We window-shopped for a few minutes as we planned our day. “There are some places that won’t be open tomorrow.”
“What about the Christmas craft fair in Bakerstown? I’ll see if I can find anything for my family. It can’t be too big since I’m shipping everything.”
“I just need to make a stop at the jewelry store. I’m a little worried that Matty hasn’t reopened.” I was mostly curious and hopeful that she was thinking about moving again. Especially after Mandy had stopped whatever Matty had going on with Josh.
“Honestly, I am too. I talked to someone at the bookstore who was looking for a piece of jewelry for a Christmas gift and I immediately thought of Matty’s shop.
I can’t believe she’s missing all these impulse shopping days right after Thanksgiving.
Everyone’s freaking out, thinking they waited too long to get the perfect gift. ”
I was half listening to Beth as we approached Matty’s shop. I looked in the window. The lights were off and mail had been piling up under the mail slot in the door. I tried the door, locked. Then I knocked. “Matty? Are you in there? Are you okay?”
I thought I’d heard something, but when I called out again, nothing. I called the dispatch line and got Esmeralda. “Hey, real quick, did Matty Leaven put in a vacation notice?”
“Hold on a second, Jill, I was just looking that up. It’s been crazy here.
” Esmeralda put me on hold for about a minute.
When she came back, I could tell the news wasn’t good from her tone.
“I went back to last month’s book, just in case someone had written it in wrong, but no, there’s no vacation notice. Do I need to send Toby out?”
“Beth and I are going to look around. I’ll let you know.”
“Call me when you leave the property even if you don’t find anything. I’ve got a bad feeling.” Esmeralda cut off the call and I tucked my phone into my pocket.
Beth met my gaze. “Everything okay?”
“Not really. She’s not on vacation. Or at least she didn’t report it. She could have not known to call in. Let’s walk around and find out if we can see into any of these windows.” I went left and Beth went right. We both kept calling out Matty’s name.
When I got to the back door, it was locked but had a window in the door. I looked into the back room and saw a woman lying on the floor. Blood pooled around her, turning her blond hair red.
I saw Beth coming around the building. “Call 911. Tell Esmeralda to send Toby and an ambulance. I found Matty.”
We heard the sirens almost immediately. Toby showed up in his police car. Beth stayed in the front to wait for the EMTs and the ambulance. Since they were located on the highway rather than in town, they had a few more miles to drive to get here. Toby followed me to the back door. “She’s in there.”
“Matty? Can you hear me?” Toby yelled through the locked door. A groan answered him. We looked at each other, then Toby moved me away from the door. “Close your eyes. I’m breaking this window to get inside.”
I stepped away from the doorway and turned my face toward the backyard. The building used to be a house that Matty converted into her business. She lived upstairs. Had she fallen down some stairs I couldn’t see through the door? Or had someone done that to her?
Questions that I couldn’t answer. I thought of Josh and the phone call. Had she been down here since then? But no, Mandy had said she’d answered it. If Matty had been hurt then, all she had to do was call 911. Or tell Mandy.
“Ma’am, where’s the victim?” A tall, young man in an emergency service uniform was at my side.
“She’s in there, with Officer Killian.” I pointed to the door. “Tell Toby that Beth and I are leaving. We’re going to Bakerstown. I’ll have my cell.”
“Maybe you should hang around and talk to the police officer,” the second guy who was following with a gurney said as I walked by.
“They know how to find me.” I grabbed Beth’s arm and led her away from the backyard and toward our house. A crowd had already gathered around the sidewalk and we had to push our way out of the mess.
After we got through and before the hill dipped to the house, Beth turned around. “Maybe we should go back.”
“Beth, Greg’s the police chief. If he needs us, he’ll call. Right now, we need to let them do their jobs.” There wasn’t anything we could do or say to change what happened to Matty.
Beth resumed walking toward the house. When we reached the front porch, she sank into one of the porch chairs. “Do you think she’s alive? How many times have I walked past her store and maybe she was lying back there, dying?”
I went inside and got a bottle of water and took it out to her.
“One, I heard a groan when Toby called her name. Two, we don’t know when this happened.
It could have been this morning. And three, you don’t have X-ray vision or the power to talk to ghosts, do you?
If she dies, Esmeralda will hear her from the other side. ”
Beth started giggling, then slapped a hand over her mouth. “It’s not funny and yet I can’t stop laughing.”
“You might be in shock. Do you still want to go to Bakerstown?” I glanced at my phone, but so far, no message from Greg telling me to either come down to the station or stay home. Which was a good sign that Matty was still alive.
“Do you think it’s okay? They won’t arrest us for leaving the scene, right?”
“We didn’t do anything but find her.” My phone beeped and I read the message from Greg aloud. “Matty’s at the hospital. She’s heading into surgery. It was a head injury. They don’t know what happened, so we’re free to go shopping. He won’t be home for dinner.”
Beth stood and headed inside. “I need to freshen up and change clothes. I’ll be down in a few minutes.”
I let Emma out, checked my fridge, and added items to the shopping list. Since we were going to be in town, I wanted to stop at the grocery store before we came home.
That way, tomorrow we could just hang out without doing chores.
Beth needed a day with nothing scheduled.
In January, her life was going to be filled with to-do lists.
A thought hit me and I called the bookstore and talked to Evie.
She promised to set what I’d requested aside, ready for me to pick up in the office.
I grabbed my planner and checked one person off my gift-buying list. She’d just get her present early. Most of my presents came from my shop.
People needed books. Even when they didn’t know that they did.
On the way to Bakerstown, Beth turned down the music and turned to me. “Do you feel lonely?”
“Right now?” I joked, but I knew what she was asking. “I’m kidding. I suspect you’re talking about Greg and his missing dinner during investigations.”
Beth nodded but waited for me to answer her question.
I glimpsed the Pacific on my left as I drove. “Honestly? Sometimes, yes. But it fades. When he’s in the middle of an investigation, sometimes it feels like I’m single again. But with chores for two.”