Apple of My Eye (Tiger's Eye Mystery #7) - Alyssa Day Page 0,53

want to leave me alone.

I stomped inside the shop, sat down on the stool behind the counter, and put my head in my hands.

Andy followed me in, looking angry and miserable all at the same time. "I'm sorry, Tess. We have no leads on this guy. Ann Feeney just seems to have disappeared into thin air. Nobody has a clue where she might have gone or with who. The mystery boyfriend is still that. And we got no trace evidence of any kind off the packages that were left for you."

I raised my head. "I have a clue. We need to investigate Pastor Nash."

"Tess," Jack said, walking into the shop. "We don't know—"

I pointed at Jack. "Do you have a better idea?"

"Well, the Fox brothers are still checking into Hammermill's finances, but as of now, no."

"Exactly."

Andy tilted his head. "Tess. What about Pastor Nash?"

"He likes peppermints."

This proclamation did not have the "Eureka" effect I'd been going for.

"And?"

"Isn't that enough? I caught Henrietta buying three bags of them at Target."

"Caught?" Andy sighed. "Tess, lots of people like peppermints. I have a bag in the glove box of my car right now. That's not enough to make me think Caleb Nash is a viable suspect."

I threw my hands in the air. "Well, it's more of a clue than you seem to have. Can't you just investigate or something?"

Andy looked at me for a long moment, and then he nodded, pulled out his phone, and punched in a number.

"Mrs. Nash? Sorry to bother you, but I think I saw the pastor's car out by the pawnshop earlier today and he has a busted tail light. You're gonna want to get that fixed."

He listened in silence for a moment, and then he looked at me while he talked.

"Hasn't left his bed since Sunday after church, you say? Yeah, that cold that's going around is nasty. Are you sure? Okay. Okay. I sure hope he and the kids get better soon. You need me to run to the store for anything? Okay. See you at the festival, I hope. Thanks, Mrs. Nash."

He hung up and shook his head. "He hasn't left the house all week, Tess."

"She could be covering for him." It sounded ridiculous even as I was saying it, though, and I knew it.

I blew out a sigh. "Okay. Thanks for taking me seriously, though, Andy. I'm just so frustrated."

"Always," he said. "And we're frustrated, too. I'll take some pictures of the damage, Jack, and file a report so you can turn it in to your insurance."

Jack frowned. "I guess I should get insurance."

Never having owned a building or a business before, Jack had some basic business principles to catch up on.

Andy just shook his head, took the box, and took off.

"I'm closing the shop for the day," I told Jack after Andy left. "I need a break. We'll get your place cleaned up, and then I need to go check on Eleanor."

But when Dave got there, he told me his mom was volunteering at the elementary school all day. He and Jack started talking about windows and paint while I helped Jack clean up the paper scattered all over his office. When Dave went back out to his truck for supplies, Jack pulled me aside.

"Tess. Why don't you go home? Relax, hang out with Lou, and catch your breath? Or, better yet, go to Mike and Ruby's house. We'll be here working on this for a while, but then I'll come get you and we'll get out of town and do something fun this evening. Something that has nothing to do with swamp cabbage or stalkers or any other unpleasant thing."

He touched my hair, and I leaned my forehead on his chest for a moment. "I love that idea. Are you sure you don't need me to help clean up?"

"We've got this. And there are the boys, driving up as we speak."

I turned to see Dallas and Lucky climbing out of Lucky's truck.

Dallas whistled. "Somebody doesn’t like you."

"There's an understatement," Jack said.

Dallas and Austin Fox were twin brothers, former Army Rangers, and computer geniuses. They had beautiful chocolate-brown eyes and dark brown skin, and they were absolutely gorgeous. Also, I thought Dallas was interested in or even dating Mellie.

"Have you heard from Mellie?" I asked him. "Is she feeling better?"

He frowned. "No, she hasn't answered my texts. But Austin is sick, too, and he feels miserable, so I get it."

"She must be really sick," I told him. "I don't think Mellie has ever