12
Ally groaned when her alarm went off, and she
rolled over to silence it. Her whole body was aching, and the
thought of getting up and going to work made her want to cry. But
she had to do it. She had Lauren’s keys, and if the boss lady
couldn’t get in, no one would get in, and Ally’s job would be
history.
“Oh God!”
Ally sat up and clasped the sheets to
her breasts. But she didn’t have the keys, did she? She’d left them
with Rob. That was enough to get her out of bed and into the
shower. She hurried into the kitchen to grab a glass of milk and
some fruit to eat. Had Rob come in later and dropped the keys off
for her? She couldn’t see them anywhere.
With a last frantic glance at the
clock, she left the house. Her only option was to call Rob as she
walked to the diner and ask him to meet her there with the keys. If
she got there early enough, perhaps Lauren would never know. She
called Rob and was surprised he sounded far more awake than she
did.
“Hey, do you have the keys to the
diner?”
Ally heard him curse.
“I do. Are you on your
way?”
“I’ll meet you there.”
She practically ran the last block and
arrived to see Rob’s patrol car parked at the rear of the diner and
no sign of Lauren.
“Thanks, Rob.”
“You’re welcome.” He handed her the
keys and turned back to his car. “I meant to drop them by last
night, but I forgot and went straight home.”
“It’s not a problem.” Ally glanced
behind her and saw Lauren’s white car approaching. “I’d better look
busy. The boss is coming.”
Rob’s car pulled away just as Lauren
got out of her vehicle. Her faint smile soured when she saw Ally
standing there. “Why didn’t you go in?”
“I was waiting to give you your keys
back.”
Lauren took the keys and walked around
to the front of the diner while Ally waited patiently at the back
door. A second later, Lauren reappeared and grabbed Ally by the
arm.
“What the hell happened here?” She set
off back around the corner, forcing Ally to go with
her.
“Oh my goodness.” Ally covered her
mouth as she stared at the smashed window. The inside blind had
taken most of the impact, but Ally could clearly see the wicked
shards of glass glinting on the diner tables.
Lauren took out her cell phone. “I’m
calling Rob and having you arrested for vandalism. I know you
didn’t want to stay late, but this is no way to repay
me.”
Ally blinked. “Hang on, Lauren, I
didn’t do this.”
“Who else would? And after all I’ve
done for you, agreeing to give you a job, feeding you, paying you .
. .” She spoke into her cell. “Rob, this is all your fault. Get
over here right now.”
Ally took a deep breath. “You are
completely wrong, you know.” She looked around. The other staff
members had arrived and were clustered around the diner, whispering
and pointing at the damage and avidly listening to the altercation
between the two women.
“I didn’t do this. I did my work, and I
went home,” Ally repeated, her voice rising despite
herself.
“You did your work, all right,” Lauren
hissed.
Ally held her temper as Rob’s patrol
car pulled up, and he strolled toward them, eyeing the damage.
“What happened, Lauren?”
Lauren pointed her finger at Ally. “She
trashed my diner.”
Rob held out his hands, palms up. “Hold
up. How do you know that?” He took the keys out of Lauren’s hands.
“Let’s take this inside and inspect the damage, okay?”
Lauren unlocked the front door and
followed Rob inside. What looked like a large rock sat on one of
the tables surrounded by shards of broken glass.
“I left Ally in charge of locking up,”
Lauren stated. “She obviously didn’t do her job
properly.”
“Lauren, I wasn’t here when this
happened, so how can you blame me?”
Lauren’s expression took on an
obstinate look. “Because you obviously
forgot to set the alarm. If that had gone off, the police
department would’ve been alerted, and maybe someone would have gotten caught.” She turned to glare
meaningfully at Rob.
Ally shoved her hands into her pockets.
What the hell was she supposed to say now?
Rob touched her shoulder. “I locked up,
Lauren. If it was anyone’s fault, it was mine.”
“What?”
Rob moved past Ally and concentrated
his attention on Lauren. “You told me to check up on the place last
night, so I did. I let Ally out and stayed to lock up. I must’ve
forgotten to switch on the alarm.”
Lauren crossed her arms over her chest.
“Why did you do that?”
“What?”
“Let her leave?”
Rob sighed. “Because she was exhausted,
and I wanted to make sure the place got locked up
properly.”
“I bet she forgot to give you the code
for the alarm and you’re covering for her.”
“Lauren, she gave me the code. I put it
in my pocket, and I forgot to set the alarm. I’m sorry and I’ll pay
for all the damage, okay?”
Lauren started to say something, but
Rob held up his hand. “Just save it, okay?”
“Why, because you can’t bear to hear me
say bad stuff about your precious little Ally?”
Rob lowered his voice. “Because you’re
making yourself look stupid, sis. Now, please get over yourself.
File a report and claim it off your insurance company, or collect
from me.”
He nodded at Ally and stepped back.
“I’ll go get the paperwork started and call the guys to fix the
window. I suggest you get this cleaned up in here.”
Without daring to look at Lauren, Ally
went into the kitchen, found a pair of thick gloves, and returned
with a brush and pan to start sweeping the glass off the tables.
Lauren still stood there, her high color fading, her furious gaze
fixed on the hole in the glass. Fig and Ben appeared, too, and
started cleaning up alongside Ally.
When they were certain that there was
no glass left, Fig cordoned off the last two booths in the diner
with tape and asked Lauren if she wanted to open up
anyway.
Lauren seemed to startle to life. “No,
let’s wait and see if they can fix the window first. I don’t want
to risk any more damage. They might have better glass-clearing
equipment too.”
As she was speaking, the
twenty-four-hour glass-repair guys pulled into the parking lot, and
Lauren went out to meet them. Ally surveyed the damaged booth. It
was the one that she and Rob and Jackson had been sitting in the
previous night. She could only be thankful they hadn’t been there
when the missile had been thrown. Unless it had been meant for her.
Even though the blinds had been drawn, they were old and it was not
entirely out of the question that someone had peered in and seen
what she was doing. . . .
On that unsettling thought, she
returned to the kitchen and shook the last pan of broken glass into
the recycle bin. But who would want to do that to her? Lauren hated
her more than anyone else in the town, and she was hardly likely to
destroy her own diner in the process. She’d be more likely to march
up to Ally and confront her publicly.
While the window was being fixed, Ally
went to find Lauren. She was sitting in her office, elbows on the
desk, hands cradling her head.
“I’m sorry about what happened,
Lauren.”
“Why are you sorry?”
“Because I know how hard you have
worked to build up this business, and this must have been a
blow.”
Lauren swiveled around to look at Ally.
“You know what is a blow? The way my brother still comes crawling
around to protect you. I thought better of him.”
Ally leaned against the door frame. “I
know he took responsibility for what happened, but you’re right. I
was at fault. You told me to lock up, not your brother, and I
should’ve stayed to see that it was done properly.”
“Oh, for goodness’ sake, Ally, stop
being such a martyr.”
Ally straightened up, came into the
office, and shut the door firmly behind her. “What exactly do you
want me to do, Lauren? Laugh at you and say I’m glad? Admit I threw
the rock? I didn’t throw it, and you just can’t handle that, can
you?”
Lauren stared at her for a long moment.
“Go to hell, Ally.”
“I told you before, I’ve been there and
I didn’t like it, so I kept going.”
“And came back to seduce my brother all
over again.”
“That’s really what this is all about,
isn’t it? And you couldn’t be more wrong. Rob is one of the
strongest men I’ve ever met. I didn’t need to seduce him—he was
ready and waiting to get back into my pants. He wants me and that’s
the way it is. Either get over it or lose him as a brother, because
treating him like he’s a weak fool is one perfect way to drive him
away.” Ally stopped talking and drew a shaky breath. “And now I
suppose you’re going to fire me, aren’t you?”
“And have Rob on my back again and you
suing me for unfair dismissal? Not happening.” Lauren turned back
to her computer. “Get out, Ally, and be here at five-thirty
tomorrow.”
Ally walked out past Fig and into the
bright sunshine. She realized her knees were shaking, and she
turned her steps toward the coffee shop. She’d never been great at
confrontations, but she’d had enough of trying to be nice to
Lauren. The woman would never like her again, and she would just
have to accept that and get over herself.
Nadia saw her come in and brought over
a mug of coffee. She patted Ally on the shoulder.
“You looked as if you needed that. I
heard what happened at the diner. Who would do such a
thing?”
“I don’t know.” Ally groaned. “And I
just shouted at my employer. I think my days as a busboy are
numbered.”
Nadia chuckled. “Hold on another couple
of weeks and I might be able to make you an offer you can’t refuse.
One of my staff is leaving, and I’ll have an opening.”
“That’s good to know, but I’d probably
still need to work two jobs.” Ally sipped at her coffee. “The
quicker I can get out of here the better.”
“I don’t think the sheriff would like
that.”
“The sheriff would be delighted. I’ve
caused him nothing but trouble my whole life.”
Nadia squeezed her hand. “Which is why
he likes you. All the other women in this town are far too quick to
lie down and offer themselves to him. He’s an intelligent man who
likes a challenge.”
“You have no idea,” Ally murmured as
she drank her coffee and slowly stopped shaking. What a morning,
and it wasn’t even eight yet. Seeing as she had an unexpected day
off, she’d go home and sleep for a while before continuing the
cleaning. Hard work might help her put what had happened into
perspective or at least tire her out until she stopped thinking
about it.
She finished her coffee, waved good-bye
to Nadia, and set off back home. How weird was it that Lauren had
told Rob to check up on her? She’d imagined he’d come to find her
by himself, but he’d been acting on Lauren’s orders. If he hadn’t
had a good reason for being there, would he have stood up for Ally?
He hadn’t hesitated to defend her, but then he hadn’t had any
reason not to.
Ally was only glad she hadn’t blurted
out exactly what she’d been getting up to in the diner before Rob
had arrived to set things straight. Would he have been so quick to
back her up if she’d told his sister that they were already lovers
again? Ally wasn’t sure.
Something else occurred to her as she
unlocked her front door. Lauren had told Rob it was all his fault
before Rob had even admitted to being there. What was that
about?
Ally wiped the sweat from her brow and
focused her attention on the boxes on the dining table. Whatever
was in them weighed a ton. Had Ruth started hoarding cat food or
something? It seemed unlikely and didn’t jibe with the neatness of
her bank accounts either.
Thinking of the bank accounts made Ally
go back to the desk. Beneath all the copies of the bank statements,
Ally had discovered five black books that were filled with her
mother’s handwriting. She forced herself to open the first book and
realized Ruth had kept some kind of a journal. The dates on the
books were recent, but Ally remembered Ruth scribbling away all her
life.
She opened one of the desk drawers and
saw it was full of similar black books. Had her mother kept all her
journals? Ally’s stomach churned at the thought of what she might
find out. She closed the drawer with a bang. Did she want to find
out about her mother or not?
Eager to do something other than dwell
on the idea of reading her mother’s personal stuff, Ally turned
back to the pile of boxes on the table. She used the bread knife
from the kitchen to open the first sealed box and frowned. It
appeared to be full of magazines. Mystified, she pulled out the
first one, which was a hefty edition of Vogue, and checked the date. It was about five years
old. There was a bright sticker on the edge of one of the pages,
and Ally turned to it.
Her breath caught as she saw a
photograph of herself modeling some up-and-coming European
designer. Ally surveyed her own printed image. God, she looked so
thin and so spaced out. How could anyone have found her attractive
enough to book her for anything? But six years ago she’d been at
the height of her fame, thin, and wasted on drugs and alcohol and
absolutely what some designers wanted to hang their clothes on—a
lanky pile of bones.
Ally took out the next magazine and
then the next, turning to every marked page to discover yet another
appalling image of herself. She sank to the floor, the last
magazine clutched to her chest. Tears burned behind her eyes as she
thought about all those wasted years when she’d tried to convince
herself that she was happy and had only succeeded in almost
destroying herself. Had her mother kept every mag she’d ever
appeared in? And if so, why?
The front doorbell rang and Ally
jumped. She wasn’t expecting anyone. Part of her wanted to continue
sitting on the floor and contemplate her mother’s actions. Only
good manners made her go and see who it was.
Ally opened the door and found Jane
with a covered dish in her hands. “Hey, Ally. I meant to bring this
over for you last week, but I had unexpected company for dinner.”
Jane blushed and looked sideways at Ally. “You know how much Rob
can eat, and he loves my cooking. He demolished the whole chicken
pie. I had to make you a new one.”
Jane kept talking and walked right past
Ally toward the back of the house. She was wearing yellow shorts
and a T-shirt with daisies, and her brown hair was drawn back from
her face in a ponytail. Ally followed and watched as Jane deposited
the casserole dish on the countertop. “Just take the lid off and
put it in the oven to reheat for about half an hour and it will be
fine.”
“That’s very kind of you, Jane,” Ally
said. “Would you like something to drink? I have lemonade or
water.”
Jane was looking around the kitchen as
if she was a prospective buyer come to view the house. “Oh, water
will be fine, thanks, Ally. How’s the house coming along? I have a
friend who’s a Realtor who’d be really happy to help you sell the
place. But Rob said you still had a lot to do.”
“It is a lot of work.” Ally handed Jane
a glass and sipped at her own. “My mom kept the strangest
things.”
“Like what?”
Ally shrugged. “Like hundreds of
magazines. I’m going to have a truckload of paper to take to the
recycling place by the end of the week.”
“Maybe she was into recycling and just
hadn’t gotten around to taking them herself.”
“I suppose that could be it,” Ally said
carefully. “Whatever her reasons, I’m going to have to get rid of
the stuff if I’m going to sell the house.”
“You’re not staying,
then?”
“I don’t think so.” Ally leaned against
the old refrigerator, glad of the cold metal at her
back.
Jane sipped at her water. “To be
honest, I’m kind of glad about that, Ally.”
“You are?”
“Because when you’re around, Rob
doesn’t seem to notice me anymore.” Jane’s smile was
resigned.
“I’m sure he does.”
“Nope, it’s like you put a spell on
him.”
Ally met Jane’s cool gaze. “I’m not
trying to get in your way, Jane. Rob and I have a lot of stuff to
talk through, but when we’re done, he’ll be all yours
again.”
Jane laughed. “Heck, he isn’t mine at
all. I’m just hoping he might be one day.” She sighed. “He’s a hard
man to catch.”
“He’s a hard man.”
“Rob is?” Jane looked surprised. “I’ve
always found him to be incredibly sweet.”
Ally couldn’t help but smile back at
Jane. “That’s probably why he likes you.”
Jane looked hopeful. “He told you
that?”
“He said he was seeing
you.”
Jane put her glass down on the
tabletop. “It’s all very casual. I’m trying not to push him into
anything.”
“Good for you. Rob’s not the type of
guy you can make do anything he doesn’t want to.” Ally’s smile felt
strained. She felt bad talking about Rob as if he meant nothing to
her. She felt even worse that she was fucking him and that Jane,
who seemed so sweet, obviously had no idea. But it was only
temporary, and she truly meant to leave him soon . . . didn’t
she?
Jane wandered back out into the
hallway, and Ally followed her, pasting on yet another
smile.
“Oh my goodness, I see what you mean
about the boxes.” Jane paused at the open dining room door. “I hope
your mother was more organized about her private
papers.”
“Actually, she was.” Ally’s gaze
settled on her mother’s desk. “She left everything in good
shape.”
“Luckily for you.”
Ally smiled. “Yeah, because otherwise
it could’ve taken me years to sift through all this lot for the
important stuff, and then I’d never leave.”
“There must be hundreds of boxes. If
you need help shifting them, let me know.”
“Well, actually, Rob and Jackson
volunteered to help me, so I should be fine. They both have big
trucks.”
Jane frowned. “I think you should keep
away from Jackson, Ally. Why does he want to be in this
house?”
“To help me?”
“More likely to make sure that you
don’t find anything to tie him in with Susan’s
murder.”
“You think Susan was murdered
too?”
“Of course I do.” Jane paused. “And we
all know by whom.”
Ally felt like she was being sucked in
to an episode of a TV cop show. “You think Jackson killed
her.”
“I do.”
“What would he gain from murdering
Susan?”
Jane raised her eyebrows. “It’s simple.
He’s obsessed with Rob. He found a way to get rid of both of the
women who were in his way—you and Susan.”
“But wasn’t Susan going to dump Jackson
anyway?”
“I’m not so sure about that. She was
crazy about him.”
Ally thought back to the expression on
Jackson’s face on the previous night when he’d touched Rob so
intimately. She’d always known there was something between the two
guys, but she’d never considered it dangerous.
She shook her head. “I think you’re way
off base, Jane. Jackson and Rob are best buddies.”
“Think what you like, Ally. I’m not
going to change my opinion. But watch out. Now that you’re back,
Jackson might get busy trying to run you out of town again.” Jane
started toward the front door and then stopped. “Drat, I left my
sunglasses in your kitchen. I’ll just go and get them.” Her voice
faded as she hurried down the hallway. “You can bring the pie dish
back anytime. You know where I live, right?”
“Yes, I do,” Ally shouted after her. “I
have a casserole dish to deliver back to your neighbor, Mrs.
Orchard. I can bring them both back at the same time.” Ally waited
until Jane reappeared with her sunglasses now propped on her nose.
“Thanks again for the pie.”
“You’re welcome and take care of
yourself, all right?”
“I will. I promise I won’t let Jackson
come anywhere near me with his gun either.”
“I suppose you think I’m delusional
now, but Susan was scared of him, you know? I used to read her
diary sometimes, when she wasn’t looking, and she was very unhappy
at the end.”
Ally opened the door, and Jane stepped
out into the sunshine. “Bye, Jane, and thanks again.”
“Bye, Ally. Take care.”
Ally closed the door and leaned against
it. Either Jane had a very overactive imagination or there was some
truth in what she said. Someone wasn’t keen on Ally being back in
Spring Falls, but she still didn’t believe it was Jackson. She
turned back to the pile of boxes. Everything was so unclear she
might as well continue with another hopeless task and sort out her
mother’s stuff.