Love in a Nutshell

  Kate’s mom looped a lock of her silver-blond hair behind one ear. “Sorry to be a bother, but I still don’t have the candles on the dining table lit. And they set the mood for love, after all.”

  Kate managed not to wince. “Let me go look in the kitchen.” She was totally okay with the senior set having an active love life. It was just growing to be TMI as it pertained to her parents.

  “Now that I think of it, that might not be necessary.” Kate’s mom gave her husband a teasing smile. “Larry, you must have a lighter with that box of cigars you think you’re hiding from me.”

  Her father laughed. “It could be. Let me go check.”

  He rose and stopped long enough to kiss her mom’s cheek. Kate smiled. Her parents made love and intimacy look easy. She could learn a thing or two from them.

  * * *

  SUNRISE WAS approaching. Still, Kate couldn’t sleep. Even her furry Stella comforter, who snored from the next pillow over, hadn’t been enough. Kate reached for the nightstand lamp and switched it on. Her parents’ talk of lighters and love had dug its way into her mind. Until she figured out why, she was back in insomnia land.

  “Lighters and love,” she said aloud, not that Stella woke to listen.

  Kate opened the nightstand drawer. Maybe if she wrote down everything she’d been dwelling on, she could sleep. Before she could even reach for paper, though, an image of Laila lighting jack-o’-lanterns outside Depot Brewing popped into her head.

  But why?

  Kate flopped back against her pillow and focused on the details of that moment. It had been cold and windy, and Kate had been crushing on Matt. Nothing new there.…

  Laila had used the same kind of lighter Harley carried. That would be no biggie, except it had been fancy, complete with crystals. Like a gift from a sweetheart. Maybe one who had a lighter collection, like Harley Bagger. Kate considered the concept of a Harley-Laila hookup. Both were single, so why not? The idea was kind of cute.

  Or maybe not so cute, after all.

  She’d finally made the connection. Between the two of them, they had every event of vandalism covered.

  Kate bolted from bed and went to her dresser. She pulled out the stuff she’d found on the floor at Depot Brewing before she’d taken her beer Slip ’n Slide ride.

  The white cocktail napkin meant nothing. It could be found in a hundred bars within a hundred miles of Keene’s Harbor. But the string, that was another story. She twisted it, noting the slender red thread laced through it. This was no ordinary utility twine, and now she was pretty sure she knew what it was.

  Taking care not to disturb her parents, Kate padded downstairs to the computer set up in the corner of the living room. She fed a couple of words into the images section of her favorite search engine.

  “Bingo!” she said as she looked at the pictures on the screen.

  The string in question was a replacement wick for a vintage windproof lighter. Laila had been laid up and couldn’t have turned on the taps. But her lover could have. Kate had pegged at least one saboteur. His name was Harley Bagger.

  * * *

  TUESDAY MORNING was still fresh with frost, and already Matt was running out of reasons to stay in Traverse City. A two-day trip had made sense when it had seemed easier to be far away from Kate than close enough to rush things and do something stupid. Now that they were talking, he was all for soon and stupid.

  He’d met with his attorney over coffee at seven, and a suit would be filed to collect from Chet unless the brewer was willing to settle out of court. For both their sakes, he hoped Chet would.

  A quick stop out to see Travis last night had been positive and productive. The guy had come up with a business plan and some ideas for a citrus summer beer to celebrate the opening of the Tropicana. All was well with the world.

  Almost.

  At just past nine, Matt walked out of his office and into Ginger’s reception area. She looked up from the crossword puzzle she was doing.

  “What’s a four-letter word for idiot?” she asked.

  “Matt.”

  “Really. Throw me a word.”

  “Dolt.”

  She frowned down at the puzzle, then smiled up at him. “That fits.”

  And it fit him, too. Since when had he not grabbed for what he wanted?

  “Can you call and reschedule tomorrow’s meetings until next week?” he asked.

  “Sure. What’s the matter?”

  “Unfinished business back home.”

  Ginger snorted. “Right. Business. Blond unfinished business, maybe?”

  “Yeah, another four-letter word, and it means happiness,” Matt said.

  He’d let Ginger guess on her own, because he wanted to get home and grab love.

  * * *

  KATE GLARED at her cell phone as she parked in front of Matt’s place. It wasn’t quite ten, and already she’d struck out on three separate calls.

  First, she’d called Matt, but the call went straight to voice mail. Then she’d called the police station and come up empty. She’d sort of expected that, since she’d noticed the office was unattended a lot this time of year. Clete’s voice on the answering machine had instructed her to hang up and call 911 if this was an emergency. Having a suspicion of who’d been sabotaging Matt didn’t seem to fit the bill, so she’d left Clete a message, asking him to call her as soon as possible.

  Because she was trying to be thorough, she’d done the same on Lizzie’s voice mail, even though she knew Matt’s sister was probably on her way downstate. She’d try all three again, once Chuck had been fed and loved.

  Kate exited her Jeep. The air was crisp enough so that it felt sharp in her lungs. By the time evening fell, it was going to be nose-numbingly cold out here in the country. She’d be back at The Nutshell by then, and Chip and Bunny and their respective crews would be, too. All the more reason to cherish the quiet out here.

  But as Kate walked toward the front door, a “Buh-woof” sounded from the back of the house.

  She halted. Only one dog she’d ever met had a voice that could carry with such conviction.

  “Chuck?”

  “Buh-woof.”

  Kate rounded the side of the house, her shoes sweeping through the blanket of leaves underfoot. Chuck stood on the back deck, tail wagging.

  “Dude, when did you become an escape artist?”

  “Buh-woof.”

  He butted the back door with one broad shoulder, begging to get in. She supposed that Lizzie might have accidentally left him out when she’d departed last night. Kate pulled out her keys, opened the back door, and ushered Chuck in. He gazed up at her with worried hound eyes and let roll another round of “Buh-woof.”

  “I don’t speak dog as fluently as your owner, so we’re going to have to play a game of twenty questions. I know you don’t need to go out, so what’s the deal?”

  “Buh-woof.”

  “Water? Do you need water?”

  He wagged his tail. “Buh-woof.”

  Kate checked out Chuck’s water bowl. Over half remained, but, hey, she appreciated the concept of not drinking one’s own slobber. If he wanted fresh, fresh he’d get. She bent over to pick up the bowl and caught a faint whiff of something. Thought number one was that Chuck had passed gas, but the scent was more wood smoke than unpleasant.

  “You’re off the hook, buddy.”

  “Buh-woof.”

  “You’re welcome.” She rinsed his bowl at the kitchen sink, and the same scent grew strong enough to make her eyes burn. Just like fire.

  Chuck’s metal bowl clattered against the bottom of the aluminum sink as the thought sunk in. Kate turned off the water and followed the scent to the main living area. Flames flickered through a haze of suffocatingly thick smoke.

  Okay, so buh-woof meant The place is burning, you idiot human!

  Kate turned back to the kitchen, grabbed Chuck by his collar, and hauled him toward the back door. She needed him safe before she did anything else. He dug in his heels
once they’d reached the back deck.

  “Come on, buddy.”

  It seemed unsporting to shove a three-legged dog along, but it was for his own safety. Once they were on solid ground, Kate pulled her cell phone from her jeans pocket, dialed 911, and waited. When the operator came on the line, Kate said “fire” and gave Matt’s address. Then she caught a glimpse of Chuck going back inside.

  “Are you out of the house?” the operator asked. “Can you tell me what’s going on, ma’am?”

  “Chuck, no!”

  But Chuck didn’t seem to speak human any better than she spoke dog, because he kept going. It was her fault for leaving the door open, and she’d never be able to live with herself if she didn’t make an effort to snag the hound. And she never, ever wanted to have to tell Matt how she’d screwed up.

  “Just please get the trucks here,” she said to the operator, then hung up and jammed the phone back into her pocket.

  Kate climbed the deck’s steps. “Chuck, come on out!” She could risk this. The fire had been limited to the front room, and while Chuck was crafty, speed wasn’t part of his repertoire.

  Kate stepped inside, and the smell of smoke assailed her. It now drifted in a thick haze at ceiling height.

  Stupid dog.

  “Chuck, treat! Side of beef! Whole turkey!”

  Kate started coughing. She should have asked Matt what magic words brought his dog running. But all she could do now was go inside. Of all the fire advice she’d ever learned, she discarded get out and focused on stay low.

  Three more steps in and she heard a familiar voice behind her saying, “You never learn.”

  Kate turned and opened her mouth to ask what was going on. A sharp pain shot through her head. Then Kate could say nothing at all.

  TWENTY

  Kate awakened slowly. She was lying on a freezing cold, rotted plywood floor that was gritty with dirt. She touched her fingertips to the side of her head and they came away sticky with blood. Kate fought a wave of nausea.

  Harley Bagger stood over her. “You’re heavier than you look,” he said.

  She scoped out her surroundings. “And you’re meaner than you look.”

  The shack smelled decayed, and its narrow doorway and window slits didn’t let in much air. She’d bet she was in an old deer blind that had fallen to the ground. Not a helpful clue, since deer blinds dotted the woods for miles around.

  “You made me do this,” Harley said.

  “Made you? How do you figure that?”

  “You shouldn’t have come back for the stupid dog. I coulda gotten away, except for you. I could have been in and out that window I jimmied.” He glared at her. “You messed up my work.”

  Kate’s heart turned over at the thought of poor, sweet Chuck. The dog had gone back in to fetch Harley and had probably paid with his life. But she couldn’t think about that now, or she’d break down. She braced her hands against the floor and sat up.

  Harley pointed a gun at her. “You stay right there.”

  “What are you doing, Harley? Do you really think that’s going to help matters?”

  He wiped the sweat off his forehead. “Not for you, maybe.”

  “What have I ever done to you?” She inched her hand toward her front right pocket and her cell phone.

  “Don’t bother. I threw the phone into the pond in back of his house. Do you think I’m stupid?”

  Honesty wasn’t always the best policy. Kate kept her mouth closed.

  “It’s Culhane. All Culhane. He’s ruining me,” Harley said.

  She closed her eyes for a second, trying to push back the pain. “How?”

  “He’s got all the business in town.”

  “When you fired me, you’d let that keg of his beer go flat, hadn’t you?”

  Harley paced back and forth. “It wasn’t about you. It was about messing with his reputation a little.”

  “And after that you started messing with Matt, too.”

  “Prove it,” he said.

  “Not that it matters at this point, but I can. The morning you left all the taps open at Matt’s place, I found a replacement wick to one of your lighters on the floor. And I even know who gave you the keys to get in … Laila.”

  “Wh—what do you mean, Laila?”

  “I know you two are an item. She was using one of your vintage lighters before Shay VanAntwerp’s party. From what I’ve learned cruising around on my computer, that crystal number is far too valuable to toss to a buddy.”

  “Well, it’s none of your business. But just so you know, she had nothing to do with this. I copied her keys without her knowing.”

  “Do you love her?” If she softened him up, maybe he’d let her go.

  Harley nodded. “We’ve been keepin’ it quiet-like, since she’s still collecting a pension from her last husband that’ll go away if we get married. All we want are winters in Florida and good food, but I spent my savings when business dropped.”

  “That’s not Matt’s fault.”

  The gun shook in his hand. “The hell it’s not. I’m the victim here, not him! All I wanted was Depot Brewing down for a while so people would come back to my place. But that boy is like that battery rabbit on television. No matter what I do, he just keeps on going and going and going. And then he’s got the nerve to ask me if I need a loan. I made him—not the other way around!”

  Kate kept calm, figuring it was all she had left. “I’m sorry all of this has happened. But maybe it should all just stop now. Maybe we should just walk out of here.”

  “I can’t. And don’t you see? I had no choice in any of this. I’m getting too far along in years. Laila and I shoulda stayed away from the casinos. All we were looking for was some money for retirement.”

  She’d been nearly boiled and now kidnapped so Bonnie and Clyde could go to dog races and jai alai and eat grouper?

  Hell, no!

  Harley’s hand had stopped shaking. He had made a decision. “I’m not gonna go to jail. No way!”

  Kate didn’t like the calm that had replaced his anger. “Serving even more time for murder doesn’t make much sense. Think you could put that thing away?”

  “At my age, murder and arson are both life sentences. Why should I go to jail for either when if I finish you off, there’s no witness left?”

  She wouldn’t have thought until today that Harley had a murder in him, but then again, she also would have said that arson was out of his range, and he had already tried to drown her in the brewhouse. “Don’t get carried away, Harley,” she said. “Relax and let’s decide what to do next. Why don’t you sit down?”

  “No! Shut up and let me think!”

  Kate realized Harley had crossed the line into crazy land. She was going to have to find a way to run.

  * * *

  MATT HAD ten miles of tight road before he reached Keene’s Harbor. That was ten miles too many with a slow-moving rusty red tractor in front of him. He needed to talk to Kate while he had all this love stuff straight in his head. It had taken him damn long enough to get it that way. He spotted a break, passed the farmer, and put his foot to the floor.

  Another mile down the road, Matt’s cell phone rang.

  “Matt, it’s Ella.”

  He smiled. He liked Ella. Hell, he loved her for being Kate’s first friend in Keene’s Harbor.

  “Hey, how are you doing?”

  “Are you in town?”

  Something about her usually cheerful tone was off, he thought. “No, I’m just outside it, on my way back from T.C. Why?”

  She paused. “I want you to pull to the side of the road, okay?”

  This wasn’t going to be good.

  He put the truck in park and threw on his flashers. “What’s up?”

  “I’ve got some bad news. There was a fire in the main room at your house. Kate called it in, and we got it under control with as little damage as you could expect, all things considered.”

  Which was the least of his worries. “But what abo
ut Kate? Did she and Chuck get out okay?”

  “That’s why I asked Captain Norm if I could be the one to call you. Kate’s car is out front, but there’s no sign of her or your dog in the house.”

  “Did you check the outbuildings?”

  “All we found was Harley Bagger’s car parked behind your pole barn. The police, including your sister, are on the way, but I was kind of hoping you’d heard from Kate?”

  “No.”

  “Okay,” Ella said. “Well, let’s not worry before we have to. It could be that everything’s just fine.”

  Matt’s gut was telling him otherwise.

  Sunday, when he’d dropped in on Harley to offer him a loan, it had been a mess. Harley had been angry and insulted, and Matt had ended up feeling like a jerk. If Harley had come out to Matt’s place just to talk to him, he wouldn’t have parked behind the pole barn. And if he’d come to do something more, Kate might be in danger.

  Again.

  “Ella, I have to hang up now. I need you to find Clete and tell him I said that Harley is his man.”

  “I’ll do that,” she said.

  * * *

  THE WIND was pushing through the woods. And Harley had taken to muttering to himself. Kate was trying to be a big, strong dog who could jump high, but she was scared. Very scared.

  She needed to focus on the positive. Someone had to be looking for her by now. Her car had been right in front of Matt’s house. And she couldn’t be all that far away, either. She would be no easy drag for a man in Harley’s shape. Plus, with all her scrapes and aches, and all the grunge clinging to her, she had to have left a trail.

  Harley sprang to attention, his voice shrill. “Did you hear that?”

  She’d definitely liked it better when he’d been ignoring her. “Hear what?”

  “That!”

  Kate picked up the distant sound of underbrush crackling.

  “It was a deer, maybe,” she said, though she was hoping for something better armed than Bambi. Say, like the police.

  Harley moved to the blind’s doorway. He gripped his gun in two shaking hands and aimed. At what, she wasn’t sure.