Page 34 of Shattered Sanctuary (The Erin Delaney Mysteries #1)
THIRTY-THREE
Erin and Kaely hurried back to town and headed toward the small grocery store. There wasn’t much they needed, but Erin wanted her favorite breakfast cereal, and Kaely had forgotten to pack her razors. They also needed to stock up on toilet paper. Erin hoped the store hadn’t sold out. Toilet paper seemed to be one of the items people thought about when the weather got bad.
“We’ve also got to have popcorn to eat during the snowstorm,” Kaely insisted. “You can’t have snow without popcorn. And we need chocolate syrup for hot chocolate. Steve has some instant hot chocolate packets in the pantry, but I want to have the real stuff.”
Erin laughed at her. “You have very specific needs when it snows.”
“Blame it on Noah,” Kaely said, grinning. “He’s spoiled me.”
They decided to buy another gallon of milk and some bread, but by the time they got to Grady’s General Store, there wasn’t much left. They settled for a loaf of whole wheat bread and a half gallon of milk that was close to its sell-by date. They also found chocolate syrup and popcorn. Kaely snatched up one of the last remaining packages of toilet paper. Erin noticed some rather angry looks from people who were headed toward the aisles that held some of the items in their cart, but she didn’t care. When it came to bad weather, it was every man—or woman—for themselves.
A large man standing behind the only register in the small store gave them a wide smile as they took their place in the line waiting to check out.
“Grady Howard,” he said loudly. The people in front of them turned and stared. “You’re the author and the FBI agent, right? The whole town’s talking about you.”
“I guess that’s us,” Kaely said. “Is this your store?”
His smile widened even more. “Yes, ma’am. Looks like you got some of the last bread and milk before the storm hits. Usually, it’s bread, milk, and toilet paper that sell out when the weather gets dicey. I see you were able to grab one of our last packages of toilet paper. I keep extra, but we weren’t planning on this storm.”
Although announcing to the public about her toilet paper needs wasn’t something Erin usually did, she grinned and nodded like some kind of weird bobblehead. She wasn’t used to being around this many people, and although she’d been doing just fine, at this point, all she wanted to do was to get back to the cabin and wait for the snow to protect her from the outside world. She’d had enough of people for one day. If she had to come up with one more response to some inane question, she was fairly certain the top of her head would blow off.
“I wish we had some of your books in the store,” Grady said, “but I don’t have room for much else besides the basics. Maybe the next time you visit, we can set up a book signing. I know people here would love that.”
First of all, she wasn’t interested in book signings. And secondly, a book signing in a grocery store? She wasn’t a snob, but she felt like asking Grady where the signing would take place. Next to the day-old bread or the frozen chicken livers?
As soon as the thought entered her head, she dismissed it. She wasn’t too good to sign books in any venue. The man was attempting to be nice.
“Maybe so, Mr. Howard,” she said.
“You just call me Grady,” he said. “Wait till I tell my wife I met you. She loved your book.”
Was there anyone in this town who hadn’t read Dark Matters? “I hope she enjoyed it.”
Mercifully, the line moved up several spots, and someone behind them engaged Mr. Howard with a story about how many inches of snow they were expecting tonight. Twenty or thirty would be nice. Maybe I could get stuck inside until it’s time to go home.
The woman in front of them turned around. “Don’t let Grady get on your nerves,” she said in a low voice. “He’s a nice enough guy, but he’s also a busybody. He’s into everybody’s business. If he hadn’t been interrupted, right now he’d be asking all kinds of questions about how long you’re going to stay here, why you’re here, and how you two know each other. He tells himself it’s just polite conversation, but he and his wife, Lola, like to keep tabs on everything and everyone in Sanctuary. If you need to know anything about anyone, just ask them.”
Erin wondered what Grady and Lola thought about the murders. The one thing she’d learned as a police officer was to find the neighborhood’s or apartment complex’s busybody if you needed information. They could usually provide something helpful. Surely Adrian had already thought of that.
“Thank you,” Kaely said. “I’m Kaely Hunter, and this is Erin Delaney.”
“Nice to meet you,” the woman said. “I’m Bobbi Burke. I run Burke Real Estate right up the street.” She smiled. “I’m getting ready for the storm just like everyone else.” She pointed to her shopping cart. I should have done my shopping at least a few days ago, but I’ve been really busy. A lot of people moving into the area.”
“Then I’m guessing you know Steve Tremont,” Kaely said. “We’re staying in his cabin.”
“Sure,” she said. “I sold it to him a couple of years ago. He bought at a good time. Since then, property values have skyrocketed. And with the improvements he’s made, he’s got a choice rental property on his hands.”
“The area is getting more popular?” Kaely asked.
Bobbi nodded. “A lot of people buying here. Used to be more rentals, but more and more couples have decided to retire in and around our little town. This area is lovely. I’m afraid the larger cities are having crime problems and homelessness. Getting away from urban sprawl has become a goal for a lot of people. I predict that a lot of rentals, like the cabin you’re staying in, will be snatched up by former city dwellers in the next couple of years.”
“Bobbi, what do you think about this so-called Woman in Watcher Woods?” Erin asked. “Have you ever seen her?”
Bobbi’s face turned pink. “No, but I know people who have. It’s best to stay out of those woods at night. Things... happen.”
She turned to check out the person in front of her, who’d moved up a few feet, before saying, “Well hopefully, we’ll be out of here and on the way home soon.”
Bobbi pushed her cart up and began talking to an elderly man who didn’t seem very interested in the chatty real estate agent.
Erin frowned at Kaely. “That was odd,” she said in a low voice. “She really didn’t want to talk about the ghost in the woods.”
“Seems that way.”
“No one likes to talk about that,” someone said from behind them.
Erin turned to see the woman who’d spoken to them. She was older and wore a heavy coat and a scarf.
“I would expect everyone would be interested in a ghost roaming the woods,” Erin said.
The woman looked around her before saying, “People get really riled up about it. Some say they’ve seen it, and some say it doesn’t exist. But everyone worries about property values declining.”
“There are lots of people who enjoy a good ghost story,” Kaely said. “I’d think it could help tourism.”
“Well, that’s what I say, but this is a small town, and without tourists, it could die. People are afraid to take any chances.” She smiled and held her hand out to Erin, and then to Kaely. They shook it.
“I’m Brenda Parks. I work at the resort. Night clerk. Merle—he’s my boss—he’s terrified that this ghost is going to ruin his business.” She shrugged. “I think he’s nuts, but he won’t listen to anyone.”
Had she heard about Hailey? Erin had no intention of telling her—or anyone. That was up to Adrian.
“Will you be working tonight when this storm comes in?” Kaely asked.
“Not sure. I’m loading up on groceries in case the roads are too bad for me to get to the resort. If I do make it, Merle will make sure I have food and a room if it comes to that. I live alone—well, except for Percival. My cat. I’ll leave lots of food and water for him just in case.”
The line moved, and they were finally up to the register where Grady waited. Sure enough, he began asking them all kinds of questions. Frankly, Erin was tired of talking to people about the storm—or anything else. She was ready to get out of the town and back to the cabin. She let Kaely engage in conversation with Grady. He seemed extremely interested in why they were here and how things were going at the cabin.
Grady was probably thirty to thirty-five, blond, with muscles that showed through his shirt, and a wide smile that seemed disingenuous. Erin noticed that a lot of the ladies in line were watching him and throwing him smiles. Grady didn’t seem to notice, but Erin was certain he knew. Even though some of the women appeared to want to visit, the long line behind them kept their time with Grady short.
As they started to leave the store, Grady called out to them. “You ladies be careful out there all alone. Don’t answer the door to anyone, you hear me? You never know what might be lurking in those woods.”