Page 43

CHAPTER 43

S o Lian’s building blew up, but she was safe and gone, and I’d interfered in Poppy’s life, which had been the right thing to do, probably, but I still had other things I needed to do.

For instance, I hadn’t done enough to get Jackie to stay and we needed a doctor. So I asked her to meet me at Ecstasy at eight, after her breakfast with Luke (YAY!), and I gathered up all the information Barry had given me two weeks before about Nice Funerals after I’d inherited it, and I went over determined to get her enthused about a clinic, which would get Rocky Start a doctor. I was going to accomplish something, damn it.

Luke got up when I came in, holding his chair out for me to take his place, and then went to sit at the side counter. Where he could keep an eye on us, or at least her. He seemed to like looking at her. That made me positively cheerful.

“I have a business proposition for you,” I told Jackie when we had tea in front of us. “I know Luke’s been showing you around Nice Funerals, so here’s all the information on the building, including a professional inspection. The building would make a great storefront clinic. The fire chief said it wasn’t damaged in last night’s next-door explosion, so that’s good. I’m pretty sure it’s worth more than the pharmacy—it’s larger for one thing—but I’m willing to trade the buildings even up. Poppy wants to expand Oddities eventually, so even though the pharmacy is smaller than the Nice building, it’s a better location for us.”

“Last night’s explosion,” Jackie said, focusing on the key factor as usual. “Yes, I had noticed that.” She frowned at me. “I think I’m getting used to this town. I just looked out the window this morning, saw the fire was out, and went back to bed.”

“Oh, that’s great,” I said, relieved that she wasn’t going to get hung up on overnight bombs. “We’re just a normal little town. Our kind of normal, but still, normal. You know, Nice Funerals would be much more suitable for a clinic than the pharmacy.” I thought about all the dark wood and wrought iron some ancient Nice had decided would be good for mourning. “With a little paint, of course. Brighten the place up, but still homey.”

I waited for Jackie to say “Yeah, everybody wants a homey clinic to die in,” but she evidently wasn’t in the mood to snark. So I shoved the folder over to her and watched her look through the papers while I drank my tea with my fingers crossed, not easy to do.

“So what do you think?” I said when she closed the folder.

Jackie frowned. “It’s the oddest thing.”

I blinked. “Odd? Not really. The pharmacy is kind of creepy.” I did not add “Of course, a serial killer lived in Nice Funerals.” She knew that. He was gone. Not relevant.

“I just got an absurdly good offer on the pharmacy,” Jackie said.

Okay, that was odd. “From who?”

“I don’t know, some company. When I got the initial notice from Mr. Mason that I had inherited the pharmacy, he informed me he had a potential buyer. I didn’t think anything of it until I got a text last night from Mr. Mason. The new offer is for twice what the building is worth.”

I kept a grip on my temper because I wanted to save my rage for Barry. If he was making an offer, he was up to no good, not to mention screwing with my future.

“What did you say?” I asked. “If you don’t mind me asking.”

“I haven’t,” Jackie said. “I’m kind of torn. It’s a great offer, but my daughter is really liking it here.”

I noticed she couldn’t help but glance over at Luke, and I knew her daughter wasn’t the only one liking it here. She looked back at the papers I’d given her on Nice Funerals. “But I might be interested in this since Hester is adamant about staying. She’s thinking seriously about being a professional baker. I know it’s fast, but she’s never shown enthusiasm for anything like she is working with Coral, and she’s very clear that she doesn’t want to move around anymore. Luke showed me the building, and the apartment upstairs is very nice, much better than the one over the pharmacy, bigger, three bedrooms?—”

She went on talking, but I was thinking about Barry.

Duplicitous, loose-lipped, criminal Barry.

“The thing about Barry,” I said carefully, “is that he is extremely bent.”

Jackie nodded. “Yes, I had gathered that. I was wondering if this wasn’t something he was doing with Ms. Witch.”

“Hermione?” I shook my head. “She has no money, so there’s nothing in it for Barry. He has to be working for an outsider with deep pockets . . . Oh, hell .” There was only one person that could be. I stood up. “You look over these documents,” I told her, smiling brightly. “Maybe talk to Luke about it. I’ll be right back.”

I headed for the door, stopping only to tell Luke that Barry was up to no good with Jackie’s inheritance. Luke has a strong need to save people and, I was pretty sure, a strong need for Jackie, so he could do some good work while I headed for Barry Mason’s office, conveniently located above the Wok Inn.

So I could throw him out of an upstairs window if he gave me any crap about who was buying the pharmacy.

* * *

“Rose!” Barry said from behind his desk when I barged into his office. He eyed me nervously, looking hungover. “So nice to see you.” I glared at him, and he added, “Uh, what can I do for you?”

“Who made the offer on Quill’s Pharmacy?”

“That’s privileged information,” Barry said.

I shook my head. “Barry, who do you think is going to miss you?”

“Miss me?”

“When you get killed for being a moron.”

“What?”

“My friends are being attacked, my daughter was almost shot, somebody is trying to kill me, and now I find out you’re trying to sell a building to an Outsider ? ” I shook my head. “You know how people here in Rocky Start feel about Outsiders. When people find out?—”

“There’s nothing to find out!” Barry tried to regroup, but panic had definitely set in. “Dr. Quill was very pleased with the offer and?—”

“No, she wasn’t, I just talked to her, stop lying, you’re annoying me.” I walked around his desk and sat on the corner of it. Barry froze in his chair as I leaned forward and patted him on the chest. “Barry, it’s a new day. I’m not a nice person anymore. And I am really unhappy with you.” I’d lifted his cellphone out of his breast pocket while he’d been trying to think fast, not in his skill set. I tried to put it in my apron pocket and realized I wasn’t wearing my apron.

That was new.

Barry said, “Now, Rose,” and I decided the apron wasn’t important at the moment.

“You know, Barry,” I said. “You should really start doing more thinking. Like how you’re going to survive in this town if everybody hates you.”

“Hates me?” Barry looked horrified. “Why would they?—”

“You’re working for an Outsider, Barry,” I said.

“Look, Rose,” he said, “I’m sure we can work something out. The same company is interested in Oddities, too. And in Coral’s place. We could all make a lot of money out of this.”

I got up and went to the opposite side of the desk and sat down with his phone in my hand and watched the realization that he had screwed up cross Barry’s face. “Someone we know then. Who is it?”

“People are allowed to make offers on property,” Barry protested.

“Not here .”

“I’m not—” Barry began but stopped abruptly as I held up his cellphone. I turned the camera toward him, getting face recognition to unlock it; an astonished face still worked. Then I turned it back to me and checked his calls.

“What’s this number you received a call from last night? Just before you texted the new offer to Jackie?”

“Fuck you,” Barry said.

I reached for the screen. “Guess I’ll just have to call it and see who?—”

“You can’t,” Barry said quickly.

“I can,” I said. But I had a better idea. I started punching in a number.

“Who are you calling?” Barry demanded, half-rising out of his chair.

“Sit down,” I snapped and, surprisingly, he did. I put the phone on speaker.

Max’s voice echoed out of it. “What do you want, Barry?”

“It’s me,” I said. “Barry just offered Jackie twice what the pharmacy is worth. Barry is not coming across with explanations. I am very unhappy with Barry.”

“I’d hate to be Barry,” Max said.

I stood up and walked around the desk, looming over Barry.

“This isn’t like you, Rose,” Barry said. “I really can’t talk to you about this.”

I shoved him back in his office chair, yanked open his desk drawer, found a lovely sharp pair of scissors on top—I’d been hoping for a letter opener—grabbed them with one hand and his tie with the other, and cut off the bottom of it.

This was so much better than Cheery Boost.

“ Rose! ” Barry started to rise, and I put my hand on his chest and shoved, so his desk chair went crashing into the wall behind him and his fake diploma from Harvard fell to the floor, glass shattering.

“Barry still alive?” Max asked, not sounding very concerned.

“I’ve just cut his tie and am thinking seriously about moving to earlobes next, but I am really not a violent person. If you’re not busy, could you come beat the hell out of him?”

“Sounds like you’re doing a good job on your own,” Max said. “Luke’s probably closer if you just need someone to beat him bloody.”

“ Wait, ” Barry said.

I gave him my new Death Glare which I think used fewer facial muscles than the Cheery Boost. “Last chance. Barry. Who made the offer on the pharmacy?”

I brandished the scissors at him and he said, “Herc. Herc wants to buy the pharmacy.”

“What the fuck?” Max said from the phone.

“Why would Herc want a pharmacy in Rocky Start, Barry?” I said, my voice cheerful and soft again. I was going to save Death Glare for the Big Stuff.

“I have no idea,” he said virtuously.

“Max,” I said into the phone. “Barry made an offer to Jackie for the pharmacy when he told her she inherited. Then he texted her last night to tell her the offer was doubled. But he didn’t tell her who wanted it. Nor did he tell any of us about the original offer. Because it was from Herc.”

Max’s voice echoed out of the speaker. “Herc must really want Sid’s place. Why, Barry?”

“I have no idea,” Barry said.

“I’m looking at Barry,” I said, “and I think he’s lying. I still have the scissors and he still has his earlobes, but that can change at any minute.”

“Oh, wait now,” Barry said.

“You can just kill him,” Max said, I’m sure more to intimidate Barry than seriously. Then again, it was Max. “No one will miss him. Even better, just use Barry’s phone to call Herc. I’m sure he’ll be thrilled to know that Barry is talking about his business. And I’m sure Herc already knows that Barry called me just now on his phone. I’ve got no doubt Herc gets an alert anytime Barry calls someone. Hell, he might even be listening in.”

Barry went white. “Hold on. Just hold on.”

I stared at Barry. “What does Herc want with the pharmacy?”

“He’s retiring here,” Barry said.

I was so stunned I didn’t know what to say for a moment, and even Max went quiet at that.

“ Why , Barry?” I said. “Why would?—”

Barry spoke fast. “The guy’s over eighty. The business is getting trickier. I don’t think things are going well for him. He just wants a soft place to land. That’s all.” Barry straightened what was left of his tie, looking a bit more confident. “I mean, I think that was his plan all along. From the very beginning of Rocky Start. You know Herc,” he added, the words tumbling out. “Always planning ahead. He never does anything that doesn’t have an angle.”

I spoke to the phone. “Did you get all that?”

“Herc retiring?” Max said. “In Rocky Start?”

“Yes. Does it make sense?”

There was a pause, then Max said. “Sort of. Did Jackie take the offer?”

“No,” I said.

“Good,” Max said.

“Barry,” I said, “do you have any idea how the people in Rocky Start are going to react to you putting Herc permanently in their midst?”

“I don’t think that’s high on the list of Herc’s concerns,” Barry said.

I leaned toward him. “Where is it on your list, Barry?”

“No, no, it will be okay, Rose. I’m sure he’ll buy Oddities from you.” Barry nodded at me, all nervous positivity now. “He really wants that whole side of the street. And he’ll pay top dollar, too. More than top dollar. He?—”

“He wants Ecstasy and Oddities, too,” I said to Max, keeping my voice mild, trying to process that. “Funniest thing is that somebody tried to kill Coral, the owner of Ecstasy, and then came for me, the owner of Oddities, after bumping off Sid, the owner of the pharmacy. I’d say that’s a pattern, wouldn’t you?”

“When did someone try to kill you?” Barry said, confused.

“Junior came after me and he couldn’t tell Poppy and me apart because he’s an idiot. So he almost killed her. He also put a poisonous snake in my kitchen. I’m wondering if Herc was behind Junior.”

“That couldn’t have been Herc,” Barry said. “A snake? Not his style.” He looked at his cellphone. “Right, Max?”

“Herc wouldn’t send an idiot to do a job,” Max said. “And if he’s making offers?—”

Barry jumped in. “He’s paying. Top dollar.”

“Barry,” Max’s voice echoed out of the phone. “Herc really said he’s retiring here?”

“Well, not in so many words,” Barry said.

“What were his exact words?” Max demanded.

“I don’t really remember,” Barry said, his eyes shifting. “I just got that impression.”

I tapped a finger on his phone to make my point. “You know how news travels in this town, Barry? You think people are going to be happy about a rumor that you’re helping Herc to move here? And that’s why people like Max and Coral and Betty and me are being attacked? I’d expect a visit shortly from a few people. They’re not as nice as me.” I realized I was still holding the ends of his tie and threw them on his desk.

“There’s no connection with Herc for that,” he protested. “He’s not sloppy. ”

“As far as you know,” I said. “And what you don’t know is volumes.” I held up his phone and quickly went to system settings. “I’m removing the requirement for identification to sign in. So I can use this whenever I want.”

“Hold on,” Barry protested.

I showed him the screen. “See? So if Herc calls, you won’t be able to answer. But I will. How do you think he’ll feel about that?”

“ Come on , Rose,” Barry pled.

“Barry, you spread the rumor about treasure,” I said. “Now we’ve got two Russians in town. And an extra llama. I think you need to be elsewhere. Somewhere far from us. Somewhere far from where Herc can find you.”

Barry sat there, the color draining from his face. “Yes, uh, I have a business . . . thing, out of town. I should probably take care of that.”

“Yeah,” I said. “That’s a good idea. Leave all your keys with me. After you give me all the communication you had from Herc about this.”

“He’ll kill me,” Barry said, just stating a fact.

Max spoke from the phone. “He’ll have to get in line.”

“There’s nothing written down,” Barry said. “Well, just the offers he had me draw up.”

“For what buildings?” I asked.

He shrugged. “Oddities. Ecstasy. A couple more. I don’t exactly remember.”

“Fuck,” Max muttered.

I glared at Barry. “So, you’re going to go do that business thing out of town now. After you give me the keys to everything. And stop telling people there’s treasure here in Rocky Start. Because no matter how far you run, Max will find you.”

“Right,” Max said.

“Your keys, Barry. All of them.”

“Sure.” He tossed me some keys as he skirted around the desk and then around me to go out the door.

I watched him cross the hall to his apartment door and go inside, and thought about following him in and decided that was too much to ask. God knew what was in that apartment.

“He gone?” Max asked.

“Yes. I suppose he could have a gun in there and come out and shoot me.”

“Knowing his life expectancy if he did that? He’s dumb but not that dumb.”

I got up and closed the door and turned the lock, just in case.

“This isn’t good,” Max said.

“No, it isn’t.”

“If Herc is actually retiring to Rocky Start, he’s clearing it out of anyone who can challenge his rule,” Max said. “Junior might have been working for him.”

“Junior was incompetent,” I pointed out.

“But he almost succeeded,” Max said. “At the very least, he distracted us.”

“True,” I said. “But from what exactly? We need to know what’s going on. I’m going to go through Barry’s office and his phone. Get back to town as soon as you can.”

“Be careful.” There was a burst of static. “We’re going off grid,” Max announced. “I think?—”

Whatever else he was about to say was lost along with the signal.

I looked around the office and sighed and started in on Barry’s files.

About an hour later, I heard Barry’s car roar off from the parking lot at the side of the building.

So far, unfortunately, other than the offers for the properties like Barry had said, there was nothing to implicate Herc in anything other than wanting to buy up a nice chunk of Rocky Start.

I still had Barry’s phone but had no desire to call Herc. I did feel a strong desire to get the hell back to Oddities and go through Barry’s phone. Knowing I had to, I did go into Barry’s apartment—he’d left the door open—but it was empty.

Rose Malone, badass, cleaning up Rocky Start.

I’d have felt better about that if I wasn’t feeling like the wheels were coming off the place I was cleaning up.