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  “There are some cold bottles in the refrigerator in the break room.”

  “I’ll grab one on my way up. If I’m not out of there by closing time, you have a good weekend now.” Cora bustled around the corner and down the back hallway to the break room.

  Once Amanda was alone in the office, she finished her sandwich and looked out in the lobby to see if it was busy. She was anxious to test the products she purchased, but she liked to let them dry for at least an hour. Cora’s planning commission meeting would last much of the afternoon and she just couldn’t wait until she got home that evening.

  She used her lunch plate to protect her desk and got a piece of white paper out of the copy machine. After drawing three circles on the paper labeled with the names of the oil, she placed a drop in each circle and left the paper to dry. She glanced at the clock and made a mental note to check them in an hour. She wanted to be certain to give them adequate time before judging them.

  She wasn’t certain what Chief Harris or Cora would do with the information and that made her hesitant to tell them. At first, she told Cora just to dissuade her from buying more if they were inferior, but Cora had clearly wanted to do more than just alter her buying habits. She had wanted to right a wrong and now had gotten Chief Harris involved.

  Pushing her hands through her hair, she massaged the tension away in her temples. She didn’t want to be responsible for someone getting into trouble with the law. It was always possible that Denise didn’t know, but she used them all the time. She should have noticed the difference.

  At the end of the day, Cora had not returned yet and Amanda prepared to close up the office. Cora had a key to let herself back in but the girls in the lobby were closing the front doors and busy talking about their weekend plans. Walking to the copy machine, she picked up her test paper carefully and looked at the results. She was not surprised to find that the large bottle of lavender that held a label like the one on the Chief’s cypress had tested pure, while the others with the purple labels had not. She placed her hand across her stomach as she felt her muscles clinch with anxiety.

  The mayor would have to be told Monday.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Amanda drove home deep in thought. She didn’t know what to do with this new knowledge. She didn’t have to share it with anyone. No one knew that she’d gone shopping or snooping at Ivy’s today. She wondered what impact all of this could have on Bryan if he was doing business with her.

  She would usually discuss this type of thing with Cora. She’d long ago given up talking to her mother. Louise couldn’t stop herself from sharing everything she knew even if it hurt the ones she loved. She never understood how devastating her gossip had been to Amanda when she ruined her senior year in high school by sharing her thoughts with the whole beauty shop and destroying her senior prom.

  At this point in her life, her relationship with her mother was pleasant, although distant, because she didn’t share anything personal at all. Even though she saw now that her life hadn’t been wrecked forever by high school gossip, the hurt was deep and her memory still very clear. The betrayal would always cloud their inter-personal connection for her.

  “Hi, honey,” her mom called out from the kitchen when Amanda came in the front door and took off her coat. “Dinner will be at least a half hour or so. I’m just getting started and your dad’s not home yet.”

  “Okay, mom,” Amanda called out as she walked up the stairs. She changed into her comfortable yoga pants and sweatshirt first before rolling out her yoga mat in her bedroom floor. She needed the peace and quiet to decide if holding back her information was really the best thing to do. She didn’t know Bryan well enough to be certain he wasn’t personally involved with Denise. Sharing something with Bryan with the innocent intention of protecting him could mean that she would betray Cora and the Chief if Bryan shared it with Denise.

  She felt some uncertainty about talking to Bryan at all. He hadn’t called or stopped in to see her and she’d made a terrible impression on their date. She did want to rectify that some way. Even if he wasn’t interested in seeing her again, she hated to leave things the way they were between them.

  In the middle of her cool down pose, she decided she would drive out to his place in the morning. If he was there, she’d give him a chance to actually talk this time and then she could tell whether he was involved with Denise. She could always ask about his plants in Ivy’s Oils & Organics and see if he would tell her about his plans for the spring. His reaction to her visit would tell her a lot about where their relationship stood, and she hoped they could at least be friends.

  Walking down the stairs, the spicy aroma of chili powder snaked around her and she heard her father talking on the phone in the living room. The kitchen was warm and bright, but her mother’s forehead was beaded with perspiration as she lined up bowls down the kitchen island. Each bowl held a different garnish, and the counter was sprinkled with remnants of all the chopping her mother had done.

  “What are you cooking?” Amanda regretted her accusatory tone, but this was not normal dinner presentation in the Morgan household. Her parents were very traditional in most respects and dinner usually consisted of a meat dish and a couple of sides arranged on the table.

  “Linda gave me a new recipe and I’m trying it out,” Louise said as her father, Hymie, walked into the kitchen. “It’s chicken tacos! It’s a new year and I’m going to try new things. We always eat the same stuff all the time. Linda said this was really good and her family loved it.”

  “Hmm,” Hymie grunted as he peered over the skillet and sniffed. “Smells spicy.”

  “You love spicy,” Louis countered and handed him three plates to take to the table. “Now you just put a tortilla on your plate and add the chicken first. Then go down the counter and spoon the other stuff on top.”

  “And how do I eat this pile of food once I dump everything on top?”

  “Well, I don’t know,” Louise said flustered with the image it created. “We’ll figure that out once we do it.”

  “You can roll it up, Dad,” Amanda said trying to help, “or you can just cut the tortilla with a knife and pretend it’s a casserole.”

  “Okay, let’s give it a try.” Hymie rubbed his hands together in anticipation.

  Amanda took a plate and started so she could demonstrate. Before she had her meat arranged on the tortilla, her father was back to analyzing.

  “What’s this?” Hymie pointed to the last two bowls on the counter.

  “That’s avocado, and that’s a cilantro mix that you put on top.” Louise pointed with a wooden spoon. “That’s sour cream there, if you’d rather have that but I think you’ll like the cilantro sauce. Here,” she said dipping the spoon into the bowl and thrusting it towards Hymie’s face. “Taste it.”

  Amanda topped the meat in her tortilla with corn and black beans but stood waiting for her parents to accept the challenge and move down the line. Once her father gave into the change, he joined her in line with his plate and slowly sampled each bowl until they were all seated at the table.

  “See, you like it, don’t you?” Louise nodded with a smug grin. “I knew you would when Linda told me about it. You like all these things. You just balk at the idea of mixing it all up. If I’d put all this in a dish and baked it together, you wouldn’t have thought a thing about it.”

  “You’re probably right,” Hymie nodded in defeat. “It’s sure messy, but it tastes good.”

  “I told you,” Louise goaded.

  “But maybe next time you could try that baking it all together thing.” Hymie smiled at Amanda and winked as her mother sputtered.

  “What are you doing tomorrow, Mandy? I’m thinking about going over to Paxton around noon so I can get a few things at that big food mart over there. I just have one morning appointment.”

  “Are we trying a new recipe tomorrow night too?” Hymie winced a little. Louise ignored his comment and looked at Amanda.

  “I’ve got som
e errands to run in the morning and I don’t know if I’ll be back when you’re ready to leave.” Amanda didn’t really want to go, but she knew her mother would like the company. She didn’t really know what tomorrow would hold yet.

  “Errands? Well, what do you need to do? We can go do those on our way,” Louise said with a dismissive wave of her hand.

  “No, that’s okay. I plan to do some things in the morning. I don’t know when I’ll be back.” Amanda tensed anticipating further interrogation.

  “Okay,” Louise sighed and let her shoulders slump. “I’ll text you before I go and you can let me know then.”

  “Okay.” Amanda pushed back her chair to take her plate to the sink.

  “Are you going anywhere tonight?”

  “No.” Amanda clenched her teeth wishing these inquisitions didn’t bother her so much. “Do you want me to do the dishes?”

  “No, honey. I’m just going to load the dishwasher and put up the leftovers. I think there’s enough for you to have for lunch tomorrow.” Louise patted Hymie’s hand and smiled. Hymie just nodded as he chewed, quietly appreciating that his pushy wife always kept him fed.

  “All right, then.” Amanda slipped her plate into the stand on the bottom of the dishwasher rack. “I’ll be upstairs.”

  “I think we’re going to watch a movie later, if you want to join us,” Louise said.

  Amanda headed up the steps without responding. She knew her mother didn’t really expect her to come back. She had a TV and a computer in her bedroom and rarely joined them in the evenings.

  Chapter Sixteen

  As Conrad drove to town Saturday morning, he heard a tag called over the police radio and although he wasn’t intentionally listening, the numbers jumped out at him, Papa-Oscar-Yankee-5718. The request for a tag search was coming from a young officer named Darren Hudson and Conrad grabbed his radio. “Possible Code Five. What’s your location?”

  “Fennel Street, 400 block”

  “Stand by.” Conrad inched the gas pedal down just a little more. He was already headed to Fennel Street looking for breakfast. As he approached, he saw Officer Hudson’s car blocking the white truck in a parking place in front of the Fennel Street Bakery but there was no driver inside. Pulling up to face his squad car to Officer Hudson’s car, he answered his ringing phone as he got out of the car.

  “Hey, Georgie.”

  “Roy is in route. He just heard the call in the office.”

  “Okay, thanks.” Conrad walked over to the truck to inspect the license plate and motioned for Officer Hudson to follow. He knew Georgia would have explained the situation to him already, but he needed to see for himself. He ran his fingers over the plates and felt the indentations vary. He knew then that he had been right.

  “Have you seen him?” Conrad looked around the streets to see if he was walking in the area.

  “No, Chief. I just saw the truck.”

  “I bet I know where he is. Stay with the vehicle,” Conrad said and headed over to Ivy’s Oils & Organics. Conrad saw him through the window before he even opened the door.

  “Excuse me,” Conrad said once the overhead doorbell jingle announced him. Denise was behind the counter and Shawn Ellis was facing her. They both looked at the door when they heard the chime.

  “Chief Harris,” Denise said cheerily. “How nice to see you again.”

  Conrad gave Denise a smiling nod and looked directly at Shawn Ellis who was peering uncomfortably at him. “Mr. Ellis, could you please step outside with me a moment?”

  Conrad always tried to use the kind approach in the beginning, especially when innocent bystanders were involved, but he didn’t have much patience for it.

  “Uh, in a minute. I need to finish my business here first.” Shawn had turned away so spoke over his shoulder to Conrad to avoid eye contact and turned back to Denise.

  Conrad waved his hand at Denise Ivy to motion her away from the counter as she gave him a frightened stare. “Mr. Ellis, step outside.” Conrad hadn’t advanced from the doorway yet because Ellis still had his back to him and he wasn’t certain he didn’t have a weapon. He could have something in his waistband or under his coat.

  “Outside—Now,” Roy barked as he pushed past the Chief and placed his hands on Ellis’ shoulders to turn him around. Once Roy spun him around, he checked his coat and waist for weapons and Conrad followed Roy out the door as he pushed him to the sidewalk.

  “Sorry to interrupt.” Conrad nodded a goodbye to Denise as he closed the door to her store and left her standing in shock.

  Roy put cuffs on Ellis and pushed him in the back of his squad car without offering any explanation. Conrad thought it odd that Ellis didn’t even ask why he was being thrown in the back of a police squad car. Perhaps he knew there were several reasons he belonged there.

  “I didn’t see you pull up,” Conrad said once Roy slammed the car door.

  “Just got here, Chief. Hudson told me where you were.”

  “Let’s take him back and let him sit awhile,” Conrad said. “Maybe he’ll start to wonder why we picked him up.” Roy nodded and opened his car door. “Maybe there’s more to him than we know.”

  §

  Amanda waited until she heard her mother’s car pull out of the garage before she ventured downstairs for breakfast. She didn’t want to face questions, and that was all her mother seemed to offer. Her father left really early on Saturdays as he always had a full schedule of appointments as the town’s veterinarian. She had resented it as a child but admired it in him now.

  She had thought all night about her approach today and decided she would cautiously talk with Bryan first. She would have to see how he responded before she shared anything related to Ivy’s Oils. She knew it would be awkward showing up at his house, especially when the farm wasn’t open yet, but she couldn’t get the closure she needed if she didn’t. This visit wasn’t just to share a warning. It was also an opportunity she needed to correct all the missteps she’d taken with him.

  A little after 9:00 she decided it was safe to go. She was going to stop at the Fennel Street Bakery and buy some lemon puffs to take with her. She remembered him saying when they had dinner on New Year’s Eve that those had been a favorite of his and she thought they would make an appropriate offering to ease her unexpected visit.

  When she turned onto Fennel Street, she saw the lights of the police cars blocking traffic in front on Ivy’s Oils & Organics as well as the bakery. She was two blocks away but she could tell there were three separate cars there and two had lights on. She saw uniformed men walking out of Ivy’s store with someone but the other cars parked against the curb were blocking her view. She couldn’t tell who it was, but it looked like someone was getting arrested.

  She turned at the intersection and headed north to the Stotlar Tree Farm. She put all of her coy plans aside and just hoped it wasn’t too late to save Bryan. He needed to know that Ivy’s was not a good place to look for business connections or any other kind of connection. She wasn’t even worried about the mayor or the police chief now.

  §

  Cora was glued to the window in the Caraway Café across the street with a cinnamon roll growing soggy in her left hand while she warmed her right hand around her cup of tea. She was only mildly entertained by the initial stop, but seeing Conrad pull up and get involved had paused her breakfast. He didn’t involve himself in commonplace skirmishes unless they had some hidden significance. When he entered Ivy’s Oils & Organics, she couldn’t take another bite.

  She remembered their lunch when Conrad had watched Denise’s shop the whole time because he was concerned with someone who went in there. She wondered if that man had returned. Maybe she needed to go check on poor Denise.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Amanda’s mind was overtaken with images of Bryan being handcuffed. What if he had been there? She hadn’t seen who they arrested. Denise was new to town. No one knew her. Maybe she was a criminal. Even worse, maybe the Chief had found out someth
ing more than her retail items being counterfeit and this had all spun out of control. She was so caught up in all the possibilities that she drove right by Bryan’s farm and had to turn around on a country lane.

  Driving back more slowly, she looked at the house but didn’t see his truck. The alarm gripped her again. What if he was up at Ivy’s? What if it was him, they put in that squad car?

  No, why would anyone arrest Bryan? That couldn’t have happened. But what was going on? If anyone knew, it was probably her mother. She knew everything that went on in Spicetown.

  Amanda pulled off the road into a gravel area near the greenhouse and then she saw Bryan’s truck pulled around on the side. She was just going to relay her information and apologize at the same time. All the other pretend conversations she had fabricated in her mind last night were pushed aside. Now, where was he?

  He didn’t answer the door when she rang the bell so she walked around the greenhouse to see if he was around the back. Just as she walked around the corner of the building, the greenhouse door opened and she jumped.

  “Oh. You scared me.”

  “Sorry. I heard a car, but I had my hands in dirt so I couldn’t get to the door. Come in. It’s warmer in here.”

  “I’m sorry I’m just showing up like this unannounced… uninvited. I don’t mean to intrude. I just came from town and…”

  “You’re always welcome. Don’t be silly.” Bryan dried off his hands. “Here. Have a seat. I’m just repotting some plants I propagated. I’m glad you came.”

  “Well, I was curious. I did want to see your plants. I saw the little ones in Ivy’s Oils & Organics. They’re adorable.”

  “Thank you. They seem to sell pretty well in her store.”

  “That’s the other reason I’m here,” Amanda said hesitating. She was calmer now and needed to choose her words carefully. “Have you talked to her lately?”