11. Astrid #3
“We have a whole team of people who pretend to be victims of a mass casualty. A hurricane, a major power outage, a plane crash.” She emphasizes the last two words in a way that almost makes me laugh.
She almost seems excited about the idea of a plane crashing in Rebel.
“And then the community practices how we would respond. And not just the emergency personnel, though they’re involved, of course.
But everyone. It’s great practice for people to go through so that if something happens, everybody knows what they should do. ”
I nod slowly, an idea forming. “What about a murder mystery?”
Sutton’s and Nora’s eyes widen. “We did one of those a couple of years ago,” Nora said. “One of those dinners where someone ends up dead and then everyone has to figure out who did it.”
I nod. “But this one would involve the whole town. And no one knows that it’s fake except us. And, I suppose, the cop. Maybe that would freak Declan out.”
Sutton just stares at me. Then she looks at Nora.
Then they both burst out laughing.
“What?” I ask.
“We could never pull off a fake murder,” Nora says.
“Or a real one,” Sutton adds.
“The one we tried was a huge flop,” Nora says. “Everyone knows each other too well. And knows each other’s business too well. You literally can’t get away with murder in this town.”
“Or really, any crime,” Sutton adds.
“It’s true. Barry Wiser tried to embezzle from the insurance company when he worked there. They caught him within a week. And not because of the books, but because of how he was acting,” Nora says. “People knew him too well.”
“And remember when Sandra Ruskin stole her dead mother-in-law’s jewelry? Everyone in church noticed the very first time she wore it and told her sister-in-law at lunch that same day,” Sutton says.
They both look at me. “You can’t commit crimes here in Rebel,” Nora says with a shrug. “We figure it out.”
“And we make you more miserable than prison ever could, too,” Sutton adds. “So people really think twice about doing shady shit.”
I sigh. “Well…dammit.”
Another text comes into my phone, and I look down, expecting a message from Wilson.
Instead, this time, it’s from Declan. I do not appreciate the way my heart flips over at the sight of his name on my phone screen.
Declan: Can I take you to dinner instead of lunch? We’re going to keep going here.
I re-read the message, then shake my head.
Not only is he not annoyed and giving out double the amounts people are asking for, now they’re going to go long?
I sigh and text back. Yep, that’s fine.
Declan: Want me to cook something here?
My heart flips again, and I immediately text, No. I’ll meet you at Perks and Rec.
I can’t be alone in that house with him any longer than is strictly necessary.
In fact, I’m going to have to be sure Perks and Rec is especially busy tonight. I need to fill it up with people who will want to talk to Declan. People who won’t give a second thought to interrupting us.
And I know just the people.
But before I can fire off a text, another one comes into my phone at the same time.
Nora’s phone dings.
We both read our texts at the same time.
And we both mutter, “Crap,” at the same time.
Teddy: Hey, so Bash and I need to head out of town. We’re needed up north. Might be several days. Sorry.
Teddy Rochester and Bash, Sebastian, Wexler are players for our hockey teams, but first and foremost, they are linemen. All of our players have other jobs. “Real jobs” as they call them. And obviously those come first. Especially a job like a lineman.
“There were some major storms up north,” Nora says. “I saw that they were having power issues.”
I nod. “I saw that too.”
I type quickly back to Teddy. Of course. Be safe. Let us know if you need anything.
Without waiting for any further response, I send him a few hundred dollars. I have a way to pay all of the players electronically and love to give them bonuses, surprises, and pick up dinners or drinks from time to time. I’m sure some extra money can help him and Bash while they’re out of town.
Teddy: You’re the best, Boss Lady.
I smile. Just get back safe.
Teddy: Sorry to leave you down two players for Friday.
Everyone will understand. We’ve got firefighters on the team, dads who sometimes have kids with activities or who get sick, and other guys who have obligations that have to come before hockey.
We’ve got a few extra players, of course, and we are nothing if not flexible.
We can come up with some way to make it fun.
We’ll either just play short and make it part of the game.
Or we’ll get a guest player like our Mayor, Nora’s grandfather, or one of the firefighters who isn’t on the team, or…
I suddenly gasp and look at Nora.
“What?” she asks.
I grin as my idea quickly firms up. “Everything is going to be great.”
“O-k-a-y.” She looks at Sutton with trepidation.
I laugh. “I know exactly who should fill in for Teddy on Friday.”
“Oh, wh…” Then her eyes widen. “Seriously?”
I nod. “He played in high school and college.”
“That was a long time ago.”
I grin. “It was.”
“And it wasn’t this kind of hockey.”
“It was not.”
“He hates this kind of hockey.”
“Exactly.”
Sutton catches on immediately. She sighs. “That’s a really big squirt bottle.”
Yes, yes it is.