Second Time Sweeter

  “We don’t know.”

  Bernadine threw up her hands. “You don’t know!”

  Kyle said, “I don’t and I’m sorry. We’ll do our best to monitor the situation. I promise.”

  She wanted to yell that that wasn’t good enough, but in the end, Kyle was simply doing his job, she told herself. His superiors were calling the shots, but the admission left her very unsettled. “What happens to Stockton?”

  “She’ll be tried for attempted felony murder and, if convicted, sentenced to a maximum-security prison. Apparently, there are international warrants out for her, too. This was not her first rodeo, but it is her first apprehension as far as we know. And she’s a real pro. She was wearing a mask, a wig, and what’s called a fat suit to alter the look of her body.”

  “A mask? That scarred face wasn’t really her?”

  “No.”

  “It certainly looked real.”

  “I know. Had it not been ripped during the struggle, and she’d somehow managed to escape, we’d never know what she really looked like.”

  “Incredible,” Will voiced.

  Barrett said, “I’m surprised she took such a chance.”

  “Apparently, she thought she had a clear path. The movie was loud, and if our agents had been seated farther away, she might have pulled it off and gotten away.”

  Trent appeared confused. “But I had her credentials vetted by the county and she checked out. How did she accomplish that?”

  “Not surprised. It’s easy to give a phone number to a phishing service that lets you think you’re talking to a real source, or place a false profile on a website, the government’s included. Crime syndicates are very high tech these days. Very.”

  Bernadine asked, “Did you know she was here before tonight? Is that why you had the agents pretending to be employees at the shop?”

  “Let’s just say we knew someone was en route here.”

  “And you still didn’t think we had the right to be informed.”

  He didn’t respond to that, offering instead, “All I can say is I wish things had been done differently.” He stood. “The agents interviewing everyone over at the auditorium should be done soon. We have others on the way to the woman’s motel room. We’ll need access to the school to look for additional evidence. May take us a couple of days to get out of your hair.”

  Trent responded: “Let me know when you’re ready to see the school. I’ll walk you over and open it up.”

  Kyle asked, “Why wasn’t she at work tonight?”

  “Her evening off.”

  “Any community college classes there tomorrow?”

  “Yes.”

  “They’ll need to be canceled.”

  Trent didn’t hide his displeasure. “I’ll call the dean.”

  Bernadine asked, “People are going to have questions about tonight; do I tell them?”

  “We prefer that you don’t.”

  Bernadine looked Will’s way and she wondered if this was going to cause a rift in the sheriff’s still-grieving household. His tight jaw showed his mood and he relayed that by saying, “This is crap on so many levels.”

  And she agreed.

  Trent said, “As mayor, I’m going on record as disagreeing with the Bureau. We’ll be having an emergency town meeting at the Dog in the morning to answer all questions. Leaving people in the dark is not how we operate here.”

  Bernadine wanted to cheer.

  Trent turned to his wife. “Can you let the town know?”

  “Will do.”

  Everyone looked pleased with the decision, except Kyle.

  Will said, “I’ll be here, too. I’m going home. Night, everybody. Night, son.”

  “Bye, Dad.”

  Will exited.

  Trent said, “Let’s go, Kyle.”

  Bernadine and the others spent a few more minutes formulating a plan for the meeting, and once that was settled, they all left for home, too.

  Chapter 8

  The next morning, while Trent and Will met in the Dog’s office, Bernadine and Lily sat at the head table marveling at the sea of people filling the Dog’s dining room. It was already standing room only and people were still filing in. Most of the town regulars were seated and waiting, including Tamar, Reverend Paula, the older kids, and their parents. Riley Curry was there too, trying to look important, and talking up residents from Franklin and other nearby towns who didn’t appear interested in what he was saying. Bernadine guessed everybody in the county had heard about last night’s drama from those who’d been there, which accounted for the sheer size of the crowd. Rocky and her crew were buzzing around like bees, serving breakfast and keeping the coffee carafes filled for those who wanted their morning jolt. Fragrant scents from the kitchen mingled with the noise of all the conversations. The dedication of the firehouse would be delayed until the meeting was over.

  Bernadine nodded to Luis Acosta and his family as they entered. Because he was a trained EMT, he’d aided Reg and the doctor on the helicopter that flew Sam Miller to Hays.

  Still scanning the room, she spied Mal seated in a side booth with Clay and Bing. His eyes held hers and time seemed to stop. Everything they once shared rose to the surface, making Bernadine remember things she’d been fighting hard to forget, like the day he taught her how to fly a kite, the fun they’d had on their picnics, how new and special her attraction to him had been. Realizing she was sliding down the rabbit hole, she hastily broke the contact and turned away to find Lily staring her in the face. “Cutting those ties is going to be hard,” Lily said sagely.

  Bernadine didn’t feign ignorance or reply.

  Moments later, Trent and Will walked in. Trent came to the table. Will, dressed in civilian clothes, took up a spot nearby and the meeting began.

  “As you may know,” Trent said, “there was an incident here last night, and a man was shot. We were briefed afterward by federal authorities that it stemmed from their Witness Protection Program.”

  A buzz filled the room.

  “Without informing us, Mr. and Mrs. Miller were relocated here because the authorities thought they’d be safe. They weren’t. The shooter was apprehended. Mr. Miller and his wife will be moved elsewhere.”

  “How were they found?” Tamar asked.

  “A glitch in the feds’ system.”

  Bernadine approved of Trent’s discreet response. Revealing the real reason served no purpose here, but she knew he’d tell Tamar the full story when he had the chance.

  Bing asked, “Is Sam okay?”

  Trent shrugged. “We don’t know, and the feds won’t be sharing that information going forward.”

  Luis Acosta spoke up. “He was alive when Doc Reg and I turned him over to the doctors.”

  But only barely, according to the phone call Bernadine received from Reg later.

  Trent glanced around. “More questions?”

  Riley had one. “How in the world did a hit man, or a woman in this case, wind up being hired as a custodian at our school? Who hired her, and will that person lose their job?”

  Bernadine heard murmurs of support, and from the way Riley began preening, he’d heard them, too.

  “I hired her,” Trent said. “I had the background checks done. They were faked.”

  “You couldn’t tell fake from real?”

  “The references she listed turned out to be a phishing enterprise.”

  “Fishing? Why would you call a fishing place?”

  “Phishing with a ph, Riley. Apparently, you don’t know the difference between fake and real, either.” Snickers followed.

  Looking as if he had no idea what he’d missed, Riley declared, “Let me assure you that there will be no hit man hired on my watch as mayor.”

  Tamar countered, “Weren’t you the one who told us fake news and tried to sell the town?”

  Riley froze, looked chagrined, and retook his seat.

  Trent asked, “Any other questions?”

  Bing raised his hand. “Will wh
oever hired Stockton think the Millers are still here and send someone else?”

  That same worry kept Bernadine awake last night.

  Trent replied honestly, “We don’t know, and neither do the feds.”

  Rumbles of concern rose. Bing said, “Then they need to come up with a plan. Or we do.”

  Trent said, “Your suggestion?”

  “No new people in town until we’re sure this has blown over.”

  Many people voiced support.

  Trent replied, “But how will that help? We need a new janitor at the school. Do we not fill the position? We’ve been talking to people wanting to move into the new houses we’ll be building in the spring. Do we tell them the homes are no longer available? We have a state-of-the-art coffee shop that opened yesterday, and there’s no one to run the place. Should we let it sit empty?”

  Security Chief Barrett Payne added his thoughts. “Bing, your concerns are valid, but the town can’t spend the rest of its life hiding under the bed. Nothing will get done.”

  Voices both for and against filled the room.

  Trent used his gavel to restore order. Bernadine agreed with Barrett. Even though one side of her wanted to put Henry Adams in a bulletproof bubble surrounded by multiple force fields to keep all of its citizens safe, that wasn’t an option. To pass down all they’d achieved to the next generation, new people had to be allowed in the gates.

  “How do we know the next hit person isn’t already here?” Riley asked, standing again.

  Bernadine wanted to punch him in the nose. His conspiracy nonsense wasn’t needed or helpful.

  He continued, “Is the new teacher—whatever his name is—really who he says he is?”

  Kyrie Abbott, standing in the back with Jack, shouted angrily, “What!”

  Trent said to him, “Calm down, man. Riley. Enough.”

  “But how do we know?” Riley repeated, glancing around to see if his theory had any support.

  Bernadine hated the suspicious looks now directed the young man’s way.

  Riley said, “I say we form a committee that investigates all new people to make sure they’re on the up-and-up!”

  Some people actually applauded until Tamar stood up and the place went deathly still. “And I say we already have people leading this town who are smart, intelligent, and trustworthy. We don’t need a man who stole from his wife, eluded the police, committed bigamy, had his hog repossessed, and is no longer homeless, courtesy of this town, calling for anything.”

  Jack’s slow clap sharpened Tamar’s icy retort, and Riley sat his totally embarrassed self down. Noting Kyrie’s smile, Bernadine made a mental note to ask Sheila to plan a welcome dinner for the new teacher as soon as possible.

  Trent asked, “Any other questions or comments?”

  No one responded but Bernadine could tell some people weren’t satisfied.

  Trent said, “Then before we adjourn, Sheriff Will Dalton would like to share a few words.”

  Will stepped into view. “I’m just as mad and disappointed with the feds as anybody. Had we been informed, we may not have been able to prevent last night, but we would’ve been on the lookout for the shooter. However, I promise you, my department will keep a sharp eye on future comings and goings, not only here in Henry Adams but in the neighboring towns as well. Do we know if there are any other people hiding in plain sight? No. But I’ll do my best to find that out and let your town’s officials know. I don’t want us blindsided by something like this again.”

  Applause followed. Trent struck his gavel and the meeting was adjourned.

  People stayed to talk and mingle. Bernadine guessed they were discussing the situation and she wondered about their mood. Were they willing to move forward and get on with living, or did they want to build bunkers instead? Riley looked to be still trying to bring people over to his side—he was running for mayor after all—but she ignored him for the moment. Instead, she casually glanced Mal’s way and found him watching her. She held his eyes for a moment and felt the battle inside rise again. Her heart was pitted against logic. She didn’t want to think about Mal, or what they lost. Like her hopes for Henry Adams, she wanted to move forward and get on with living, but as Lily said earlier, cutting those ties was hard.

  They held the dedication of the new firehouse a few hours later and most of the people stuck around to applaud and cheer when Trent and Fire Chief Acosta cut the ribbon. Granted, Henry Adams might never have a fire large enough to deploy the shiny red truck with its fancy equipment, but the memory of the horror visited on the town by the now incarcerated Odessa Stillwell haunted Bernadine every time she saw Bing use his cane. He’d been permanently injured in the melee that night. Should there be a similar incident, Henry Adams was ready.

  The crowd began to disperse, but the sight of a caravan of black cars accompanied by a big van with the words “FBI” on the side made everyone stop. The vehicles proceeded down to the school. As everyone watched, agents and technicians left the cars and entered the building. There were also three dogs and their handlers. Bernadine wondered how long the search for evidence would continue.

  In an effort to find out, she had Trent and Barrett accompany her to the building. There was yellow tape strung across the entrance and a female agent, the one who’d worked at the coffee shop, stood out front. “Good afternoon,” she said. “Can I help you?”

  Trent replied, “Trying to find out how long the school’s going to be closed.”

  “That I don’t know, but let me run down Kyle for you.”

  She stepped away and spoke into her earbud mic. Returning, she said, “He’ll be here in just a few minutes.”

  When he arrived, she went inside.

  “Hey,” he said. “Gabby said you had some questions.”

  Bernadine wondered if Gabby was the woman’s true name or just another lie. A petty thought on her part, but she wasn’t feeling particularly charitable.

  “How long will the school be on lockdown?” Barrett asked.

  “The building’s pretty large, so it’s going to take a while. Maybe another three or four days. We’re looking for evidence on the shooter, and we also want to make sure she didn’t leave you all any surprises.”

  “Like what?”

  “Anything dangerous.”

  Barrett said tightly, “He means any weapons she may have stashed inside.”

  Bernadine understood now and said, “Thank you, Barrett.”

  Kyle didn’t appear happy about Barrett’s plain-English explanation.

  A county sheriff’s vehicle pulled up and parked. Will, now wearing his uniform, stepped out. He was accompanied by Deputy Davida Ransom.

  “Afternoon, everybody.”

  Concern on his face, Kyle asked, “Dad, why are you in uniform? You’re supposed to be still on leave.”

  “You do your job, I’ll do mine. Dispatch said the Bureau was in town. What’s going on here?”

  “Evidence and forensics search. We don’t need assistance.”

  “That’s what your boss said, so I talked to his boss.”

  Kyle tensed.

  “The regional director and I go way back. Told him how I felt about not being dealt in on this little card game. I set him and his phone on fire.”

  His son’s face reddened.

  Will continued, “I respect the Bureau. I’m not here to get in your way, but the safety of this town is my responsibility. So let’s start over. What’s going on here?”

  Kyle eyed his father and the tight faces of Bernadine and her people, and replied, “Let’s go inside.”

  “So what are you going to do about the coffee shop?” Tina asked at dinner that evening. Crystal was at the table, too. She’d been working Friday night and missed the shooting.

  Bernadine replied, “I’m hoping you’re asking that because you want to step up and take it over.”

  Tina shook her head. “Sorry. I served my time under my parents. Never again.”

  Crystal asked, “Why not jus
t put it up for sale?”

  “I’ve thought about that, too. Of course, Riley Curry would have people believe anyone new in town might be another hired gun.”

  “Nobody listens to Riley.”

  “Some did today. I think because people are a bit scared.” And had good reason to be after Friday night’s episode.

  Tina said, “I don’t like him very much.” She’d been at the meeting.

  “Join the crowd,” Bernadine cracked. “Every town has their nut and he’s ours.”

  “Did he really do all those things Tamar accused him of doing this morning?”

  “Yes.”

  “Even the repossessed hog?”

  As Crystal chuckled, Bernadine replied, “Especially the repossessed hog. I’ll tell you the whole stupid story sometime. We’ll need wine.”

  Tina grinned. “I can’t wait.”

  “But back to the coffee shop. I was really looking forward to it becoming a favorite place here.”

  Tina said, “Maybe one of our friends wants to buy it or knows of someone who does.”

  “It’s worth asking around.”

  “I’ll make some calls in the morning,” Tina said reassuringly. “We’ll get it open again, but I’m not changing my mind about not being the owner. I’m in town for my B&B. Okay?”

  Bernadine gave her a mock pout. “Okay.”

  Crystal looked between them. “You two are a mess.”

  Bernadine countered, “But you love us.”

  Crystal saluted with her glass. “Yes, I do.”

  The doorbell interrupted the conversation. Bernadine went to the door and found the lady detective Sandy Langster on the other side. “Hi, Sandy.”

  “Hi, Ms. Brown. Sorry to drop by unannounced. Can I talk to you for a quick minute?”

  “Sure.” Bernadine stepped back so she could enter. “What’s up?”

  “I wanted you to know that I’ve been hired to find David Dresden.”

  The name vaguely rang a bell. “And he is?”

  “The condo developer who disappeared with the money from Mr. Dobbs and Mr. July.”

  “Ah.” That’s why the name was familiar.

  The detective continued, “I’m probably breaking client confidentiality, but I thought you should know, seeing as how some of the money belongs to you and the town.”