A Thymely Death, page 3
"Do you want me to go with you to the bakery this morning?" Michael asked.
"That would be good," she sighed. "Plus I might have an idea why Raleigh is so upset. Did you hear the old man's name?"
"I heard Robert something or other."
"The old guy's last name was Ulrich, the same as Raleigh's."
Michael put down his coffee mug. "Now that strikes me as more than coincidence."
"It would explain why Raleigh seems so upset," Olivia explained.
Michael leaned over to take her empty coffee mug. He stood, making his way to the sink. Olivia thought about her conversation with Cookie. A twinge of sadness came over her. Maybe the old guy in the garden was related to Raleigh.
Michael finished rinsing the dishes. He called out, "Going to get dressed. See you in a few minutes." She walked to the sink, placing her hands on the porcelain to look out the window toward the garden.
Michael's small cabin was visible in the distance. Since he rarely spent time there, leaves had piled up on the front porch. Olivia looked at the vegetable garden, noting the weeds that had grown since the last snowfall.
Since receiving the unexpected inheritance of the home from Marla, Olivia had spent hours staring out the kitchen window. The woods, especially the squirrels running up and down the tree trunks, brought a smile to her face. Inhaling the scent of pine through the open window cleared her thoughts.
But this morning something felt different.
A lot has happened to me in the past couple of years. Every time I look out this window, I think about finding Marla's body in the garden. And then I think about Mom, the weeks we spent before she died.
She remembered one of the last conversations she’d had with her mother.
"You're not to worry when I go," Mona said, lying back against the pillows, a scarf covering her bald head. She looked worn and very thin.
"But I'll miss you," Olivia cried, tears rolling down her cheeks. "What will I do when you're not here to listen? When you go, I'll be lost."
Mona gripped the sheet. When the pain passed she took Olivia's hand. "Then let me leave you with this method I have for making everything okay. It's a practice that I've used over the years. Say thank you whenever you can."
"You mean for gifts and presents, that kind of thank you?"
"The thank you should come from your heart, but not necessarily for presents. Say thank you for small things, like for the sun rising every day. Say thank you for a clean sink and a mug of black coffee just the right temperature to take a sip." Mona's voice grew weak, but she continued. "Say thank you for the dog next door and for the wind at your back. All of those things and more require your attention. Attention is love, Olivia. Begin by saying thank you."
Thinking of her mother, Olivia's eyes welled with tears. Then her heart quickened as Michael walked back into the kitchen. He stood behind her at the sink. Wrapping his arms around her middle, his chin touched the top of her head. "You thinking about Marla?" he asked.
She turned to face him, still in his arms. "How did you know?"
"You get that look on your face whenever you're standing at the sink," he explained.
"It's not just Marla, I've been thinking about my mom lately. Whenever I come across death, even when it's a stranger like yesterday, I think about my mom and how much I miss her. Does that happen to you?"
Michael sighed deeply. "I think about my son every day. It seems unfair that he was taken so young, but then I realize I got him for a few short years. I'm lucky."
Olivia buried herself in his chest. "Thank you for that. It helps." In a few minutes, wrapped in his arms, the sadness lifted. She pulled away from his embrace, determined to change the subject. "Since Cookie wants me to talk to Raleigh, we'd better get going."
Michael reached behind her to grab a dish towel. He dabbed at her eyes, then tossed it back to the counter. He placed his hands on each of her shoulders to lean in for a quick kiss. When he drew away, he smiled. "You're getting to be quite the Lily Rock helper these days, and not just with music."
"Is that a bad thing?"
"You aren't the same woman I met coming up the hill that day. The beautiful edgy one who had no interest in getting close to anyone."
Olivia wrapped her arms around his middle. "I'm close to you and I know where I belong. Thanks for your patience."
CHAPTER FOUR
Michael pulled his truck into a parking space in front of Thyme Out. He turned off the ignition and jumped from the driver's seat. Olivia knew the ritual of opening her door was important to him.
"I'm feeling like a pastry or a muffin," he said, waiting for her to jump down from the truck before closing the door and locking it.
"That does sound good," Olivia agreed. "Maybe we can talk to Raleigh and find out what's going on without making too big of a deal about it."
Once inside the bakery, Michael nodded toward an empty table with two chairs. "We could sit outside if you prefer," he remarked, "or over there."
"Let's go outside," Olivia said.
As they headed to the back door, she glanced to the right. Cookie stood behind the counter smiling. "Hey, you two. Pick out something from the baked goods, on the house."
Walking to the counter, Michael leaned to look inside the glass case. "Everything have thyme in it?" he asked.
"Not everything. Just my signature bakes. I have to have cookies and muffins with thyme, otherwise why name the bakery Thyme Out?"
"Anything with spices, like cinnamon?" Michael wanted to know.
"Yep, here's my cinnamon swirl coffee cake. Sound good?"
Olivia jumped in. "Make that two slices. I love cinnamon."
"I hope other people like thyme." Cookie frowned. He gingerly lifted the freshly baked coffee cake from the display case. Cookie cut two slices as he continued to talk over his shoulder. "I considered renaming the place something entirely different after you found that sprig and a cookie in the dead man's hand. That was creepy. Anyway, do you want tea or coffee with that?" He set the plates on the counter within reach.
"I've had enough coffee this morning," Olivia said.
Michael looked around and then asked, "How about water?"
Cookie smiled and shoved two tumblers across the counter. "You can fill them up over there." He pointed to a bottle in the corner. "I'll be out in a minute to chat with you guys. Let me look for Raleigh to take over the front."
By the time Olivia and Michael situated themselves at a small table at the back of the garden, Cookie walked from the kitchen, still wearing his apron tied around his waist.
"Raleigh's good with customers," he said, pulling over a chair, "just not a fan of talking at the moment."
"That's what you told me on the phone. I may have some insight about their odd behavior."
Cookie's brow wrinkled. "Do tell."
But before she could tell him about the name, Michael cleared his throat. With a lifted fork, he took a bite of coffee cake. He rolled his eyes with an exaggerated appreciation. "You use some fine vanilla and cinnamon, my friend. Great piece of cake."
Cookie smiled and then chuckled. "I knew we had something in common: treasuring the best ingredients."
"It's good to see eye to eye on a baked good," commented Michael, taking another bite.
"I like the cake too," Olivia added hastily, "especially the swirly part."
By the time Michael finished his last bite, Cookie started talking. "You might want to know how Raleigh came to work at my bakery. I hired Raleigh as soon as I left the music academy, after the arrest. They seemed like a nice kid."
"But Raleigh was still a student," Olivia commented. “Did they finish high school?”
“Raleigh didn’t finish at the academy. At the time I was unemployed. I was busy figuring out how I could stay in Lily Rock myself. Then a week ago they showed up early in the morning. I saw them looking in the window. Once we got talking, I learned Raleigh loved to bake. I couldn’t offer a lot of money, but I could teach them about baking. So I hired them on the spot."
"Does Raleigh live in town?" asked Olivia.
"They rent a room and bike to work," said Cookie.
Olivia's eyes settled on Cookie's face. He looks genuinely worried about the kid. "As I mentioned to Michael earlier, Raleigh and the man who died at Mother Earth have the same last name. I'll go back inside the bakery. I'll see if I can get Raleigh to talk to me and then report back."
With her water glass in hand, Olivia sauntered toward the back door. She stepped inside and caught sight of Raleigh pouring coffee into the mug of a customer sitting close to the door.
Olivia waited by the counter. As soon as Raleigh turned around and saw Olivia, they nodded a greeting.
"Hi, Raleigh." Olivia smiled. "Sorry we didn't talk more yesterday."
Nearly colliding with Olivia, Raleigh didn't look up until rounding the corner to stand behind the bakery counter.
"Want anything?" they asked, looking slightly to Olivia's left to avoid eye contact.
Olivia glanced into the glass case. "How about a dozen of the dinner rolls," she said. "I can use them for dinner and freeze the extra ones for later."
Raleigh reached for a paper bag. With tongs they reached for the rolls. Folding the top of the sack, they handed it to her. "I think there's a friends and family discount. Better check with Cookie. Be right back."
At least they're talking. She waited until Raleigh returned from the back patio.
"Six dollars even."
Olivia reached into her wallet. "Did you ever find another a cappella group?" she asked when they took the money from her hand.
"Nope," they said shortly.
"Did you go to another high school to finish out the year?" Cookie had already given her that information, but Olivia wanted to hear Raleigh's version. I get to ask nosy questions because I was a Tone Ranger music coach. That gives me license.
Raleigh's shoulders slumped. "I didn't finish at the Lily Rock academy. I took the rest of my senior year classes online and got my GED. My parents didn't care."
"Good for you," said Olivia. "You live here now, in Lily Rock?"
"I live in a cabin right on the other side of town…kind of a last-minute decision."
Olivia put her wallet back in her purse. "So what do you think of your new neighbor, the owner at Mother Earth?"
"She comes in a lot." Raleigh looked toward the door.
"I just met her yesterday," explained Olivia. Before she could say more, Raleigh's face clouded over.
"I know," they said, abruptly turning away.
Is Raleigh crying?
She could hear them sniffing.
"Are you okay? You can tell me if you're not."
They rubbed a sleeve across their eyes. "It's just that my granddad died yesterday." Tears fell down their cheek. "The old man that everyone's talking about? That old man was my granddad."
"The man in the garden, the one who passed away. He was your granddad?" Olivia felt her stomach drop. Just as I suspected, they were family.
Raleigh's lower lip trembled. "My granddad lived at Hello Age. That's why I rented a room up here, to be near him. He gave me money until I could find a job. And now he's gone."
Olivia reached into her purse to pull out an unopened tissue packet. "Here you go." She shoved it across the counter, tucking it underneath one of Raleigh's hands.
Raleigh blew into a tissue and then reached for another.
"I can't imagine how awful yesterday must have been for you," Olivia said. "You must have been so shocked when it turned out to be your granddad next door."
"I tried to call him on his cell phone. We talked most mornings."
Olivia felt a prickle up her neck. "I'm surprised to hear your granddad had a cell phone. It’s nice that you spoke so often."
"Sometimes we talked several times a day," Raleigh offered. "We were like pals. Granddad was a musician when he was a kid. He sang and played percussion in a band. Just like Paul in your band, Sweet Four O'Clock. He bought me my first drum kit."
The ice is broken, just keep him talking, Olivia.
"I didn't know you played drums," she said with a smile. "I thought you were just an amazing tenor. This is good information."
Raleigh returned a slight smile. "I don't have my drums with me, but I'd like to. Don't think the neighbors would approve though, too noisy. But Granddad? He never complained when I practiced as a kid. He would stand outside the door and if I got frustrated, he'd come inside and encourage me just so I wouldn't give up."
Olivia cleared her throat. "I was told your granddad had Parkinson's disease. I assumed it had advanced to the degree he couldn't speak. The cell phone calls surprise me a little."
Raleigh's smile disappeared. He glared at Olivia for a moment and then their expression changed. "I guess you think you know everything about Parkinson's?"
Olivia felt her face freeze. Oh, now I've offended them. And things were going so well…
Before she could respond, Raleigh looked at the door. He walked past the counter toward two new customers. Olivia felt dismissed. I'll go back and sit with Cookie and Michael. At least I can tell them why Raleigh is upset.
She took her dinner rolls and made her way to the back of the bakery. Olivia found Michael and Cookie right where she'd left them. The men were deep in conversation. She sat down but didn't interrupt.
"So I'm blending flavored coffee for the seasons," Michael explained.
Cookie leaned toward him, his eyes bright. "You just started doing this recently?"
Michael laughed. "Kind of a defense on my part. Olivia here," he reached over to take her hand, "loves plain black coffee. Me? Not so much. I did learn that flavored coffee goes down a little easier, especially certain flavors like pecan and peppermint."
"He actually has a signature winter solstice blend," added Olivia with a smile.
"Your coffee and my thyme baked goods might make a good combination," Cookie said. "We can talk about this later. Right now I want to know if Olivia had any luck with the reluctant young adult in my kitchen."
Olivia nodded. "I kind of did and I kind of didn't. Raleigh talked all right, but then I asked the wrong question and they clammed up again."
She explained to Cookie and Michael about Raleigh’s granddad and how they got angry with her about Parkinson's disease. "I wasn't trying to be a know-it-all," she said glumly. "But whatever I said certainly made Raleigh angry."
"The kid is really moody," Cookie said. "But at least now I know the cause. So the dead guy was their granddad. You also got information out of them about living arrangements, and then who knew the kid played drums?" Cookie smiled at Olivia. "Man, you do get people to confess to you, just like they say."
Olivia shrugged. It's because I ask questions and then listen. Nothing special.
Michael smiled. "She wasn't even singing. You should see what people do after they've heard her voice. They just spill their guts. One time a woman did a dance and lifted—"
"That's enough, Michael." Olivia's face turned bright red. "You don't need to tell Cookie about that time."
How was I to know she'd pull up her shirt on stage because of my song? Good thing Cookie didn't live in Lily Rock then.
The baker shook his head, disappointment showing on his face. "I wish I could have been there."
Olivia glanced away from the men, hoping to hide her self-conscious blush. She took a minute to look more closely at the back patio. Bistro tables with chairs all painted the same bright blue sat on stamped concrete. Each table stood apart from the rest, with evergreen bushes delineating the space.
At the far end of the concrete patio, a trellis hung over a wooden gate. Rose vines showed young green leaves with scattered buds not ready to open.
"Where does that go?" Olivia asked, pointing.
"To the woods. There's a path that wanders behind all of the shops on our street, each with a separate back entrance," explained Cookie.
"Does that mean you can walk from Thyme Out to Mother Earth?"
"You could if you wanted to." Cookie's lips tightened.
"That's convenient if you like your neighbor. Do you know Echo?"
Cookie shrugged, his hands falling to his lap. "Sort of, I guess you could say we know each other. She calls me her was-band."
"What was that?" Michael asked. "What's a was-band exactly?"
"I am her was-band, you know, her ex-husband."
"You and Echo were married?" Olivia barely contained her surprise.
"Yep," admitted Cookie. "Some twenty years ago. She found out about my new bakery and just moved herself next door without me knowing. You can imagine my surprise."
"Do you two get along?" asked Michael.
Cookie shrugged. "Let's put it this way. She did everything she could to take everything I had, even though the marriage didn't last five years. She even wanted my Porsche, my baby."
"Did she get the car?"
"Hell no. I still pay her spousal support after all of these years. I know the courts would let me off the hook, but I decided not to go back to court to get it changed. I'd probably win, but then I'd have to deal with her. Until a month ago I thought I'd seen the last of that woman."
"Then you were surprised that she opened a business next door?"
"Shocked. I thought I'd avoided her successfully, after we settled the divorce. But an old friend of ours told her my plan for a startup bakery and wouldn't you know it? She's back."
I wonder why he's acting so embarrassed. Maybe because he married Echo and it was a bad decision? "I have an even more interesting story of an unusual divorce," she offered. "Michael and his ex get along great. They go camping every year." Olivia did not add that they took the week away to talk about their son who had died. Michael can tell Cookie himself.
Cookie turned toward Michael. "Does she call you a was-band?"
"Nope." Michael smiled. "As of our last camping trip she calls me Bellemare."
Both men stared at each other.
Male bonding right before my very eyes.
CHAPTER FIVE
"Why don't you two share old wives' tales while I go out back for a stroll to Mother Earth?" Olivia gave a little wave. When they didn't look over, she smiled. Good. Michael needs another friend besides me.
