Part 15 (1/2)
Pleased with myself for my ingenuity, I led Max across the street and clipped him to a piece of fencing that surrounded a yard filled with old metal farm implements. When I let myself in through the front door, the musty smell of old buildings greeted me-unusual for our area of the world. Buildings, no matter how old, don't pick up that moldy smell when there's no humidity to cause it.
A large bureau stood flush with the door, and two tall windows flanked a Victorian secretary made of what looked like mahogany. A narrow opening between the bureau and the cash register revealed a long room filled with pieces, the sheer size and volume of which made me feel claustrophobic.
”See anything you like?” A woman's voice sounded close to my ear and caught me off guard.
I pivoted to face her and found myself eye to eye with a woman a few years younger than me. Her copper-red hair was so bright, I knew the color couldn't be natural, and her eyes were slightly puffy, as if she'd been crying recently or suffering from hay fever.
To my surprise, I recognized her. I just couldn't figure out why Marshall hadn't mentioned that his half sister had returned to Paradise. ”Ginger?”
Her smile drooped a little, and she moved into the light so I could see a sprinkling of freckles trying to make themselves visible beneath layers of foundation and powder. ”Yes. Do I know you?”
Paranoia returned full-force, and suddenly Marshall's visits, that kiss, and his presence at the murder scene seemed almost sinister.
But that was ridiculous. Marshall? No way he could have been involved in Hobbs's murder . . . could he? Shaking off my suspicions, I smiled at the woman standing in front of me.
”You did once. Abby Shaw. I went to school with Marshall.”
”Oh my-” Her smile regained all of its brilliance, but it seemed almost unnaturally bright. ”Well, of course it's you. I would have figured that out sooner or later. How are you?”
”I'm doing well, thanks.”
”Last I heard, you'd fled the coop, too. Don't tell me we both came crawling back.”
”I didn't exactly come crawling,” I protested, even though I had. ”I came back almost two years ago after my Aunt Grace died. I own her candy shop now.”
”Really?” Ginger reached somewhere above my head and pulled down the largest cat I've ever seen. She held it close to her chest and scratched under its chin, and the thing let out a contented rumble. ”I've just been back a couple of months, but I love this store. Do you like it?”
I nodded and glanced into the room behind me. ”I've heard some wonderful things about it. In fact, I decided to stop in because several friends have mentioned your place, and my friends at the B & B across the street couldn't stop raving. The coffee set they bought from you is exquisite.”
Ginger beamed. ”Isn't it? I was really proud of that find.” She s.h.i.+fted the cat and cast a pleased glance around her. ”Are you looking for anything in particular? I'd be happy to point you in the right direction.”
”Actually, I'm just here to take a look around. I'm killing time until another appointment.”
”Well, feel free to look around all you want, and give me a shout if I can help you find anything.” She deposited the cat on the top of the bureau, disturbing a layer of dust, and wiped the hair from her hands onto her pant legs.
I battled a sneeze and felt a strong urge to escape the cramped store and grab a lung full of fresh air. But I'd told Ginger I was there to browse, so I felt obligated to at least give it a quick look. I wandered idly through one room after another, slipping past mounds of crockery, headboards, dressers, silver teapots, and an occasional vanity, sidling past stacks of mismatched dinnerware, coat trees, mirrors, and picture frames.
On sheer volume alone, her inventory was impressive but a bit baffling. The freight charges for hauling all of this furniture up the mountain would have been astronomical, but I doubted there were this many antiques in the whole basin. It was hard to believe that she'd acc.u.mulated this much by going on a ma.s.sive antique hunting binge once she got here.
I wondered how Richie and Dylan had found anything of value in all this clutter, and whether any of the pieces I was dismissing with barely a glance were actually valuable. Just when I was about to give up the whole visit as a waste of time, I came across a nearly hidden selection of teacups and saucers that caught my interest. I didn't think they were worth much, and the price tags stuck to the bottom of the saucers confirmed my suspicions, but they struck a chord with me, and I imagined the cup with the lavender roses filled with purple hard candies and bound up with cellophane and a bow made from antique-looking ribbon.
It was the first time since I took over Divinity that an artistic design had sprung into my mind, fully formed, and my heart beat a little faster in response. I spent the next several minutes looking through every cup and saucer and picking five of my favorites. Five should be enough to test the idea without spending a lot of money.
Carefully, I stacked the saucers together and picked up three of the cups by hooking my fingers through their handles. As I reached to pick up the other two with my free hand, I heard footsteps behind me. I turned to see Marshall come through the door of what I thought must once have been the kitchen.
He smiled when he saw me, and I was struck again by how good-looking he'd become since we were kids. ”Ginger told me you were back here. I didn't know you liked antiques.”
”I don't know much about them,” I admitted, ”but I'd heard good things about the store and thought I'd check it out. Why didn't you tell me Ginger was back in town?”
”I didn't realize you knew her; she's so much younger than we are.”
I made a face at him. ”We're not that old. I was an aide for her Girl Scout troop for a couple of years. I would have come by to see her weeks ago if I'd known she was back.”
Marshall bowed slightly at the waist, a teasing light in his eyes. ”My humble apologies. I won't make the same mistake again.”
I laughed and picked up the last two cups. ”It's no big deal. I was just surprised to see her when I came through the door. She has quite a store here.”
”Doesn't she?” Marshall stepped in front of me and s.h.i.+fted a chair to make it easier for me to get past it. ”And it's quite a success so far. People seem to love it.”
”I'm happy for her,” I said, and I honestly meant it. The place might make me feel as if the walls were closing in, but I still wished her well. ”You're both doing well, aren't you? Gigi seems to be getting more popular all the time.
He laughed softly and s.h.i.+fted another chair out of my way. ”It's amazing, huh? Who would have thought the Ames kids would make good like this?”
I stopped walking and studied his face. ”What do you mean by that?”
”Oh come on, Abby. I know what a geek I was in school, and Ginger wasn't exactly the homecoming queen. We both struggled. I'm just saying, I think it's kind of funny how the world changes.” He started walking again slowly, and I moved with him. ”I mean, look at somebody like Kerry Hendrix for example. He was king of the world while he was in high school. Captain of the football team. President of the senior cla.s.s. Everybody loved him. Girls couldn't keep their hands off him. Now look at him. He's working at the bowling alley and coaching Youth League basketball. How the mighty have fallen.”
”I don't remember Kerry Hendrix in school,” I admitted.
”He was in Ginger's cla.s.s,” Marshall explained. ”She had a killer crush on him, but he didn't really give her the time of day. You know. Typical high school c.r.a.p. You were gone by the time they got to high school, but the whole town made a big deal out of him back in those days.”
Suspicion zapped me again. Everything I'd been hearing about Kerry explained his arrogance, but Marshall seemed oddly emotional about Ginger's childhood. ”Well, I'm sorry for Ginger, but she's obviously survived and thrived, so she doesn't appear to have suffered.”
Marshall laughed, and the moment was gone. ”You're right. Oh, man, listen to me. I haven't even thought about that stuff in years. It must have been talking about him at your place yesterday that brought it all back again.”
”In that case,” I said with a small grin, ”I offer my most humble apologies.” We reached the front of the store, and I put the cups and saucers on the counter. ”So you're not friendly with Kerry these days?”
”If I were, would I have told you to watch out for him?”
I shook my head and laughed. ”No, I guess not,” I said. ”What about Ginger?”
”Are you kidding?”
”Silly question, I guess.” I stretched out my hand to ring the bell that would let Ginger know I was ready.
Marshall put his hand over mine and said, ”Before you do that, I need to ask you a question.”
With Karen's warning ringing in my ears, I drew my hand away slowly. ”What?”
”Have dinner with me.”
”Dinner?”
”Yeah. It's a meal, generally eaten in the evening. I thought it might be nice to eat one together.”
Even with Karen's prediction, Marshall's invitation stunned me. Words jammed up in my throat, and it took me a minute to get any of them out of my mouth. ”That's really nice of you, and I appreciate the invitation, but I can't. I'm . . . seeing someone.”