The Missing Dough(48)

“Eleanor, let’s just have cereal tomorrow, okay? Nothing fancy, if it’s okay with you.”

“What’s the matter? Don’t you like my pancakes anymore?” I asked her with a grin.

“They’re perfect, and you know it, but I’d like to get started early. There’s a lot of digging we can do before we have to open the Slice for business tomorrow.”

“You’re okay with us still staying open, aren’t you?”

“You bet,” she said. “It makes too much sense not to close, but that doesn’t mean that I don’t want to dig into this more, too.”

“Is there anything in particular you have in mind?” I asked as I paused at her bedroom door.

“No, but maybe if we both sleep on it, we’ll come up with something.”

“Good night, then,” I said.

I was afraid that I might have trouble sleeping after all we’d done, and with all the information swirling around in my head, but I dropped off before I even realized it.

Apparently, Maddy wasn’t the only one who was exhausted from all that had happened.



“Eleanor, there’s someone on your porch,” Maddy said the next morning, after I finished washing out our cereal bowls. “Are you expecting anybody to visit this early?”

“No,” I said as I shut off the water. “Can you see who it is?”

“Truthfully, I just saw a shadow pass by,” she admitted. “But I don’t like it.”

“I’m sure it’s nothing,” I said as I walked to the front door. Before I opened it, though, I reached into the hall closet and got out the baseball bat I kept there. I knew that it wouldn’t do any good against a gun, but it still made me feel better holding it.

I took a deep breath and then pulled the door open as quickly as I could manage.

Samantha Stout looked startled as I did so, and she was even more surprised by the baseball bat I was holding in my hands. “I’m sorry. I didn’t want to disturb you, so when I saw that your sister was here with you, I was planning on just leaving you a note.”

“Well, you’re here now, and we’re finished eating, so why don’t you come on in? Would you like a cup of coffee?”

She glanced back at the bat. “That depends. Are you two going to play a game this morning?”

“No, it’s just for protection. A girl can’t be too careful these days.”

“Don’t I know it,” she said. “If you don’t mind, some coffee would be great.”

I led her in, stowing the bat back where it belonged along the way. That didn’t mean that I trusted the singer any farther than I could throw her, but I sincerely doubted that she was there to physically attack either one of us. If I was wrong, though, I was fairly certain that Maddy had the armaments in her purse to defend us both.

“Hello, Samantha,” Maddy said as she handed her a cup of coffee. “I heard you and Eleanor talking, so I got a cup ready for you.”

“Why don’t we go into the living room, where it’s a little more comfortable?” I suggested.

After we were all seated, Samantha said, “First off, I want to apologize for my behavior yesterday at the pizzeria. I reacted badly to your reasonable request, and I’m sorry.”

“I have to admit that it was kind of strange of you to refuse a simple request, especially given the fact that you came looking to us for help, I said.

“I know. I guess I was so distraught that anyone could think that I might have killed Grant that it set me off. My ex-husband’s reaction was even worse. I can’t believe that he just stormed off like that.”

“Did you ever catch up with Kenny after you two left the Slice?” I asked.

“Actually, the second I got outside, I decided that it would probably be better if I left him alone, so I took off on my own,” Samantha said. “Truth be told, I’ve been ducking him ever since he stormed out of the Slice like that. The man’s got a volatile temper, and honestly, I was more than a little afraid to be around him.”

“Has he ever hit you?” Maddy asked gently.

“No, but he’s come close more than once. His temper usually only flairs up when he’s jealous of another man. I probably shouldn’t be telling you this, but he put a guy in the hospital once who was just helping me write a song.” Samantha took a sip of coffee, and then she added, “I’m beginning to wonder if he might have had something to do with what happened to Grant after all.”

“But you two broke up,” I said. “Why would Kenny still be jealous of him?”

“After we split up, Grant was seeing a woman named Vivian Wright in Cow Spots, but he told me that he broke up with her not long after they got together so he could be with me again. I told him that he was insane, and that I’d never date a man who stole money from me, but he wouldn’t take no for an answer. The night Grant died, Kenny overheard part of our conversation, and it was all I could do to keep them apart.”