On My Way - Eve Langlais Page 0,20

lips as the little engine that could roared to life.

Guess I was going in to work today after all.

6

My day proved to be less than productive because the moment I arrived at my shop, so did a stream of people. Word of my car troubles had travelled.

Trish arrived first, with Marjorie in tow. They came bearing a tray with coffees along with crustless bacon quiches that Orville had whipped up.

“Oh, my goodness, I heard what happened to your car. Are you all right?” Marjorie embraced me in a perfume-filled hug.

“I’m fine. A little shook, but I’ll get over it.”

“I wouldn’t,” exclaimed Marjorie, pulling away. “I’m still freaked out by the fire that took my place.”

“She made me get rid of all the candles in my house,” Trish stated before taking a sip of her coffee.

“At least yours was an accident. What happened to me wasn’t,” I stated.

“Someone tried to kill you?” Marjorie squeaked.

“Yes.” I’d had the night and this morning to bolster my certainty.

“You have proof?” Trish asked.

“I don’t have proof, but I know someone was there. They caused the accident with the tree, and then when that didn’t succeed, they lit everything on fire.”

Their eyes widened.

“Who?” Marjorie exhaled.

“Orcs.” Trish looked utterly somber as she said it.

“I don’t know who, but I intend to find out.”

Now if only I had a clue where to start looking. Top of my list, Kane. What better alibi than to claim he’d left town?

He had motive. He wanted my grandma’s cottage. But my death would only pass it on to my kids who might also not sell.

Then there was Martin, on the lam and blaming me for everything that went wrong in his life. Problem was, I doubted he could lift an axe, let alone swing one.

Jace? He worked for the same company as Kane. They had the same goals. He happened to be in the right place at the right time. But why attack me and then save me?

To make me trust him.

Could it be he thought he’d win me over and then convince me to sell?

Or was his ploy not to kill but to scare me into unloading the place and skipping town?

After Trish and Marjorie left, it was Mr. Peterson, town mayor and owner of the hardware store, who popped in to check on me. Then Orville himself just before the dinner rush, dropping off a grilled chicken Caesar salad. No words. Just a grunted, “Eat,” as he thrust it at me.

By the afternoon, I’d submitted a statement to the police officer that came to see me. They were calling it a fluke accident and gave me a report for my insurance company so I could file a claim. I kind of didn’t have insurance but was hoping to be able to afford it really soon.

Just when I thought I might have five uninterrupted minutes, there was another knock at the door, but I had a smile for that person. “Darryl.”

“Hey. Heard you had a barbecue without me last night.” He made light of my problem but couldn’t hide the fact he scanned me head to toe.

“Guess when a tree falls in a forest, it likes to go with maximum impact.” The lamest joke ever.

Didn’t matter since he grinned. “Glad to see you’re okay.”

“Me, too.”

“Sorry I didn’t make it this morning. I had to deal with some stuff at the gas station,” he said, apologizing.

“No worries. I was kind of busy, too.”

As I shyly looked at anywhere but him, he eyed the blank sign above my shop. I’d painted over the old letters but had yet to replace them.

“What are you going to call the place?”

I shrugged. “I don’t know. Antique something, I guess.”

“Are you sure about that? You might want something more generic.”

“Why? You predicting it’s going to fail already?”

“If I thought that, do you think I would have brought a load of stuff?” He swept a hand at his truck. Indeed, he’d brought a large load of things, covered in a tarp that humped in the cargo area.

It was only then I wondered, “Other than antiques, what else do you think I should sell?”

“I’ve got an idea for that, but we’ll need to unload for me to show you.”

Intrigue had me pointing. “Bring the truck around back and we’ll carry the stuff straight into the storage area.”

I propped open the rear door and helped him unload the stuff from his basement, cushioned with old blankets and sheets.

While I had the muscle handy, I had Darryl place the two tables