A Minute on the Lips Page 10

  Andi handed the list to Mona. “These are the names Jackie gave me of people who might have something against him.” The paper crinkled as she laid it flat on the counter. As Mona put on her glasses, Andi asked, “If you had to narrow it down, which ones would you question first?”

  Mona was as thorough as she had been when she drilled teenagers on their memory verses each Sunday. Andi lost count of the snorts and tsks Mona issued as she read, but her hopes were building, as Mona went on, that she’d help weed out the frivolous names and get to the real suspects. While Mona was distracted, Andi drank her tea. Yes, all of it.

  “Honestly, Sheriff, I don’t think there’s a person on this list who’d break in to steal what little money Jackie kept here.” She slid it back to Andi and picked up her towel again. “It’s got to be a prank of some sort. Maybe the principal over at the high school could give you some names of kids who might be interested in something like that.”

  Andi wondered how that conversation might go. Mr. Brown, could you narrow down the high school population to two or three kids who might have nothing better to do on a school night than rob a local business? The principal would probably think she’d lost her mind. And at this point, the last thing she needed was more possible thieves. Scratch that. The last thing she needed was another wild-goose chase. She was in desperate need of a legitimate suspect.

  Andi was refolding the list to stash it in her pocket when Jackie hustled in. “Hey, Jackie, I’m glad you’re here.”

  He slipped behind the counter and lurched to a stop. He quickly assessed the empty diner and then did a survey of his wife’s face. Mona smiled at him, but he didn’t look relieved. “Got some results?”

  “Not yet. I’m still looking for a solid lead.”

  “Well, Sheriff, I already made you a list. You want me to do the rest of your job, too?” His face was turning red, but he hadn’t reached full steam yet. He wrapped an arm around Mona’s shoulders and squeezed her close.

  “I was hoping to have the chance to speak with both of you privately.” When neither of them said anything, Andi added, “About what was stolen from the safe.”

  Jackie pointed at Andi. Aggressively. “I told you, it’s important stuff.”

  Andi nodded. “What I’m wondering is whether that might have been the real target. Can’t you tell me more?”

  Mona started to answer, but Jackie shushed her. She frowned but didn’t interrupt.

  “Papers. All my recipes. Things that mean a lot, Sheriff.” Jackie shook his head. “I couldn’t sleep last night, thinking about my recipes out in the world, particularly this close to the cook-off.”

  Andi believed he couldn’t sleep. She just didn’t buy that it had to do with recipes. He had everything committed to memory. That’s who he was.

  She fiddled with her tea glass while she tried to figure out how to ask the question. “So, Jackie, the part about this that puzzles me is the trophies. No random thief would steal them. Other than bragging rights, they don’t have any value. That seems to indicate someone with a real personal motive, maybe even revenge.”

  Jackie propped his hands on his hips. “Yeah, Sheriff. Exactly. And now he’s got my...recipes and stuff.”

  Andi glanced at Mona to see her staring intently at the floor.

  “Here’s the thing. Remember when I asked about Wanda and you didn’t want to talk about her?” He nodded. “Well, I get the feeling that wasn’t the only secret I’m working around. You know more about who broke in or what they were after, but you don’t want to tell me.”

  Jackie pursed his lips and pulled Mona closer.

  “And I can see you want everything back. I get that. I want to find out who did this, too, but I think I need to know...”

  Mona sighed. “Honestly, Jackie, if we can’t trust the sheriff, who can we trust? Besides, it’s not like we can keep it a secret now that...well, the cat’s out of the safe.”

  Jackie frowned ferociously, but he didn’t disagree.

  Andi rolled her shoulders and did her best to look honest, trustworthy and quiet.

  “No one knows this, Sheriff. Before Jackie and I moved to Tall Pines...I had a son. He died in an accident when he was ten. That safe held all his photos, his birth certificate, the newspaper clippings...his death certificate. Important stuff.”

  Andi reached across to squeeze Mona’s hand. Mona looked miserable, and she could feel the sympathetic tears rising to the surface. Crying into her tea glass would probably not be reassuring. “I’m really sorry to hear that, Mona. I always wondered if you and Jackie... Well, you must have been a great mother.”

  Mona sniffed and smiled at Jackie. “We would have been great parents.”

  “Why not tell me this in the very beginning?” Andi had no idea why anyone would take such personal stuff, but now she was even more determined to find out who had stolen it.

  Mona shrugged. “Well, I’m guessing Jackie didn’t tell you... He wasn’t the father. I got pregnant and had the baby all on my own before Jackie came along.”

  And now Andi understood the secret. She did her best not to gape in shock. An illegitimate son, even so many years before the town knew them, would cause talk thanks to Mona’s previous spotlessness. Having to relive the loss all over again for curious friends and neighbors could be devastating. Andi was uneasy as she considered who might have access to Mona’s secrets.

  “It’s okay that the secret’s out, but I want those photos, Sheriff. I need them.” She blinked away tears. Jackie wrapped his arms around her and rested his forehead against hers. Andi felt a pang in the general area of her heart while she watched Jackie melt under his wife’s tears. She had to bite her lip.

  He’d been doing his best to protect Mona’s secret. Andi had to admire him for that.

  “We’re going to find them, Mona. I promise. Before I go, I have to ask...did anyone else know what you were keeping in that safe?”

  Jackie thought for a second. “Can’t see how they would, Sheriff. But I’m guessing they know what they’ve got by now.”

  He was a guy who collected feuds like baseball cards. The answer had to be on his list.

  Since most of the town’s population was on there, the possibilities were mind-boggling. Andi shook her head as she folded the wad of paper and put it back in her pocket. To steel her nerves, Andi picked up her tea glass and emptied it. As she thumped it back down on the counter, she slid off the stool. “I’ll let you know as soon as I find something, Jackie.”

  Andi met Tammy on the sidewalk in front of the diner. And following on the heels of her best friend were the two people she least wanted to see: Mayor Jones and Ray Evans.

  “Hey, Sheriff, I was hoping you might still be here. I ran into these two and wanted to see if I could get everybody together for a quick minute to talk about a debate.” Tammy was wearing her best perky smile. Andi could feel the gray cloud forming over her head.

  When she’d agreed to the debate, Andi had thought Tammy would have a hard time pinning down one or the other of these men. The fact that she’d managed to do so—and Andi along with them—in less than three hours shouldn’t have surprised anyone, least of all Andi. She dropped down on the bench outside of Jackie’s Country Kitchen. A huge, gusty sigh rattled around in her brain for long seconds but did not come out of her mouth.

  Andi was pretty sure it showed on her face.

  Mayor Jones might not patrol the sidewalks, picking up litter, measuring all grass and flower heights, and making sure the benches were placed precisely at equidistant intervals, but he seemed the type. He was a real politician who loved his job and knew that it depended on tourism. Tourists want tidy towns. And convenient benches. He was a ruthless enforcer of both.

  The mayor always seemed to be wound a bit too tight, and today was no different. It had to be the bow tie. Not the winding,
but the appearance. Although the two could be related.

  Under a brilliant white cowboy hat, Ray Evans had a satisfied smirk on his face as he gestured for Tammy to take the other half of the bench. He propped his hands on his leather belt and rocked back and forth on his cowboy boots. Ray Evans looked exactly like a sheriff should look, especially if there were ever a showdown at high noon in the middle of Main Street. In the face of his picture-perfect cowboy persona, Andi was aware of her own inadequate tough-guyness. She straightened up her sprawl to make room for Tammy, and Tammy perched delicately beside her on the bench.

  Tammy lobbed the first volley. “Well, gentlemen, I wanted to talk to you about setting up a debate before the election.”

  The mayor was already shaking his head. “We aren’t going to take away any time from the music on the square right in the thick of the season. You ought to know better than that, Sheriff.”

  Andi opened her mouth to defend herself, but Tammy’s sugary sweetness interrupted the oncoming rant. That was probably a good thing. Andi wasn’t feeling very conciliatory to any of them at this point. Tammy knew good and well that the major portion of her unpaid job was to handle this stuff without involving Andi and here she was, right in the middle of it. And Ray, well...the whole darn thing was his fault. Andi could be happily working her shift and driving home at the end of it instead of politicking. He deserved some heavy, heavy blame.

  “Of course we wouldn’t interrupt the most important business the town does, Mayor. Andi and I had already discussed that carefully.” Tammy blinked innocently up at both men.

  The mayor looked thoughtful. Ray Evans could not care less about a debate. Andi knew he was already the favorite.

  Finally, Mayor Jones crossed his tweed-covered arms over his chest and nodded once, sharply. The calendar might read October, but the bank sign still said “86 degrees” this late in the afternoon. Tweed jackets were an overkill of catastrophic proportions. But that was Mayor Jones to a T.

  Finally he said, “All right. We’ll do it. In three weeks. Darla can carve us out some time in the program. What do you think, half an hour?”

  When he looked at Ray Evans for confirmation, Andi had a sinking feeling that she knew exactly how well the debate was going to go.

  Andi opened her mouth to let him have it, but she was interrupted. Again.

  * * *

  MARK COULD SEE the displeasure building on Andi’s face from across the street. He’d been working on a fluff piece about Melba Simmons’s one-hundredth birthday when he’d noticed the unholy gathering in front of the Country Kitchen. All it would take to complete the set would be Jackie.

  He was sorry that Andi had pulled her hair back into her standard ponytail. But there was nothing she could do about the bangs. She fidgeted with them every now and then as if she couldn’t really believe they were there.

  He’d known that Andi didn’t need rescuing and she certainly wouldn’t thank him for it, and then he’d headed out into the heat to do just that.

  He slowed his jog before any of them looked up, and he pasted on a false, friendly smile. “Well, now, this is a very important meeting of the movers and shakers of Tall Pines.”

  Instead of a pleased smile, Andi flashed him a disgruntled frown before she leaned around the mayor to survey the window of the newspaper office. After a quick glance from that window to the diner, she nodded at him. Her lips twitched. Finally, she was getting the picture.

  He shook hands with both men and waved at Tammy before he rested against the wall next to Andi and put his hand on her shoulder. Right there in front of the mayor, her opponent and her best friend. Andi stared at his hand. And then she looked up at him. He watched her face closely, ready to jerk his hand to safety if needed, but she just tilted her head and looked back at the mayor. There might have been a slight pink to her cheeks but he liked it. A lot.

  There was silence before he brightly said, “So what’s the scoop on this nice afternoon? Y’all solved the robbery yet?”

  Mayor Jones shot Andi a distinctly peevish look. “Of course not. Although I’m sure the sheriff is doing the best she can.” Everyone there could hear the unsaid portion: But that’s not very good, and if we had a different sheriff, this might not have happened in the first place.

  “So glad you’re here, Mark,” Tammy said. “I wanted to speak with you about the debate we’re planning. Andi and Ray are going to talk over the issues in front of the town.” When she added, “And we thought you’d make the perfect moderator. Would you be interested?” both Ray and the mayor did double takes. That might have been the brightest spot of the whole day.

  “Really?” Mark squeezed Andi’s shoulder as he spoke. She looked a little miserable at the suggestion, but she wanted to win this election. He wouldn’t mind helping her if he were sure that winning was what she needed, no matter his own vow to stay as far away from politics as possible. Might be another way to make up for any unintentional stress he’d caused with the domestic violence article. “I’d be happy to moderate the debate. I think I can put together some questions that people in town would like answered.”

  Ray Evans crossed his arms over his chest. He might not have been aware he was doing it, but the whole time Mark spoke, he shook his head. “Now, hold on a minute. We didn’t talk about the moderator.” He jabbed a finger in Andi’s direction. “And it doesn’t look like he can be ‘unbiased.’”

  Mark scratched his forehead with his free hand. He didn’t take the right hand off Andi’s shoulder. “You might be right about that, Ray. I have asked Sheriff Jackson out to dinner.” He paused to shoot a look at her. And then with a nice smile that showed all of his teeth but little warmth, he said, “And she finally said yes, so that’s something to think about. I’ll do my best to ask fair questions, though.”

  Ray looked at him for a second. Mark could see the yeah, right, but he never said it out loud. He should get points for that. He finally motioned at Mayor Jones. “I think Tim oughta do it. As mayor, he’s an impartial party.”

  Yeah, right. He was in no way impartial, but he tried to keep everyone working toward the same goal. Mark admired that commitment to the good of the town even if he privately thought the mayor tried to run Tall Pines like his own little island. Term limits were unheard-of, and after pulling all the strings for more than a decade, the mayor had taken a proprietary view of the town and the people in it. Since most everybody seemed happy, Mark absolutely did not feel the need to challenge to status quo. No, he didn’t. He was a small-town newspaper man now and if his inner journalist, the one who thrived on investigating politics and power, ever sniffed the air like he might be after a story, Mark did his best to ignore it. He’d nearly killed himself following that urge. And moving to Tall Pines was supposed to be the cure.

  Tammy smiled sweetly. “What a fabulous idea, Ray! I agree. Let’s go with both of them, and we’ll be sure everything is covered.” She patted Andi’s leg as she stood. “I think this is going to be good for Tall Pines and the sheriff’s race, don’t y’all?” As she headed down the sidewalk, she called over her shoulder, “Mayor, I’ll check in Monday to make sure everything is scheduled.”

  When Tammy was safely away and the ex-sheriff and mayor looked confused about what had happened, Andi stood and smoothed the legs of her uniform. She held out her hand. “Ray, I’ll be happy to debate the issues with you.”

  Mark wasn’t sure he was going to accept the gesture, but Ray eventually wrapped his hand around hers and gave it one firm shake. “I guess Tammy will let me know the time and everything.”

  “You bet. She’ll give you a call and let Mark know so he can get the details out in the paper this week and next.” Andi looked at him with a question in her eyes. He nodded. “And so we’re set!”

  Andi’s own attempt at perky optimism met mixed results. Ray and Tim seemed to think the heat might be getting
to her. Mark thought it was cute. And when she did the awkward dance where she tried to figure out what to do with her hands, he wanted to hug her close.

  “Fine,” Mayor Jones said. “I’ll get with Tammy, and we’ll let everybody know what we set up.”

  When he and Ray wandered on into the Country Kitchen and slid into a booth in front of the window, Mark had a feeling he knew exactly what the hot topic in the diner would be.

  Andi glanced in the window and then turned to face him. “I agreed to a working date.”

  “Yeah, I’m surprised you didn’t spell out your terms right there in the Hair Port. I guess our plan to work the case undercover was more important, huh?” She had that small wrinkle on her brow. He wanted to smooth it away. Really, he had the strangest urge to kiss her forehead. Mark would never have guessed someone as prickly as the sheriff would bring out his protective instincts or his softer side. Unable to help himself, he took both of her hands in his and squeezed. “The debate wasn’t your idea, right?”

  Andi rolled her eyes. “Well, no. Tammy makes all the strategy suggestions, but when we talked about it over lunch, I decided it might be a good idea to go ahead and get all the mud flung at one time instead of having little bits and pieces tossed at me when I least expect it.”

  He nodded. “Good plan. Did it work out like you hoped?”

  “We had decided we might need both of you to moderate if that’s what you mean. I wish there was more time to prepare, but the Fall Festival can’t be stopped. I guess the timing’s still good.”

  His thumbs traced circles on the backs of her hands, and he asked, “Well, you know you’ve given yourself a deadline, right?”

  Andi was watching his hands. Mark managed to contain a wild grin. She was distracted. By his hands on hers. He wasn’t sure she even heard his question.

  He pulled one hand away and waved it in front of her face. “For solving Jackie’s case? You’ll have to find the thief by then or Ray’s got a pretty powerful way to discredit you in front of the town.” He shrugged. “Not that anybody has a lot of love for Jackie, but they will want to know who broke into his place.”