William Jarvis - Sky Valley 01 - Coffee, Cupcakes & Murder Read online

  “I would never hurt my wife.”

  “Yeah?” Emmy said, “but you tried to hurt Audrina. Right, Audrina?” Emmy looked at Audrina.

  “Oh, uhm.”

  “You’re going to listen to this liar?” Matthew said, “Do you know that Audrina’s such a flirt?”

  “Shut up, Matt,” Audrina said.

  “No, I’m not going to shut up,” Matthew said. “Does Emmy know about you and her father? Does she know that you’re not just working for him but that you’re also going to bed with him?”

  “What?” Emmy asked, surprised.

  “Oh wow,” Matthew said, “See how stupid Audrina is?” he said, “She’s staying here and she didn’t even tell you that she’s getting it on with your old man.”

  “Christ, Matthew,” Audrina said, “What is your problem?”

  “I just want Emmy to know the truth,” Matthew said, “Oh, and remember how you wanted to be with Daniel before? What if this is all just a plot for you to get every single thing that you want?”

  “You have a twisted way of thinking,” Audrina said, “Fine, I liked Daniel." she said.

  “See?”

  Audrina went on, “but it’s a harmless crush,” she said, “and that doesn’t have anything to do with Annabeth’s case." she said.

  “Yeah?” Matthew said, “And you’re still not going to come clean about Troy?”

  “That’s really none of your business."

  “Is it true, though, Audrina?” Emmy asked, “I mean, seriously?” She then looked at Audrina who seemed to have lost the ability to talk. “Oh my god,” Emmy said, “it’s true isn’t it? It’s the reason why you know that he’s going to the other restaurants today, right? You spent the night with him?”

  “And she probably has the wounds to prove it,” Matthew said, “That’s Audrina. Every single time she feels like she made a mistake in sleeping with a man, she hurts herself.”

  “Jesus Christ, will you just stop?” Audrina told Matthew. She then took a deep breath and faced Emmy, “Emmy, I’m sorry,” she said, “it’s not…it’s not what you think…we’re not even…we’re not officially together—and, Em, I’m of legal age. I’m 25…I’m…”

  “So what? You’re just going to bed with each other whenever you want to?”

  “It’s yeah, kind of like that,” Audrina said, “You’re father’s a good man, Em,” she said, “It’s just…it happens sometimes,” she said, “He’s one of the very few people who’ve ever been good to me, ever, and…it started two or three years back. It only happens once in a while, but Emmy, please, there’s no way for you to think that your dad’s not a good person, because he is. And this seriously has nothing to do with Annabeth’s death, so please.”

  “Fine, I think I’ve heard enough, thank you.”

  “So, you’re not even going to thank me, Em?” Matthew asked, “You’re not even going to think that Audrina has enough reason to kill Annabeth? I mean, what if she wanted Annabeth gone because maybe, Annabeth knew about her connection to your dad?”

  “Did you tell her?” Audrina asked Matthew.

  “Yeah, why?”

  “You’re insane,”

  “So, see?” Matthew said, “You do have a lot of reasons to kill her. You don’t even trust her.”

  “Matthew, you’re not thinking clearly,” Emmy said, “Go home.”

  Matthew sighed, “I just…I just want to find out who did this,” he said, “I don’t know if there are other suspects. People love her--”

  “Pretend to love her, maybe," Audrina quipped.

  “Audrina, please,” Emmy said, “Matt, go home. We’ll talk tomorrow. Or when you’re sober. Dan, maybe, you could bring him home--”

  “I’m not going to be brought home by anyone,” Matthew said, “I’m going home by myself. But you haven’t seen the last of me. I’m telling you."

  “Whatever, Matty,” Emmy said, “Go home.”

  Matthew then threw his hands up in the air and made his way out of the house, banging the front door shut in the process.

  Emmy sighed as she drank some coffee.

  “Em, I’m sorry,” Audrina said, “Really…I—“

  “It’s okay,” Emmy said, “I mean, yeah, fine, it’s not the most normal situation but…that’s really none of my business…anyway,” she said. “What was this about you and Matt? You know, that time when you said that he almost hurt you?”

  “Oh, that,” Audrina said, “That was…you know, when I learned that he was getting married to Annabeth, I teased him about it because, seriously, he could have been serious with many other girls, and Annabeth? Like, come on. Well, I told him that maybe she’s pregnant, and is he even sure that he’s the father? I basically was just teasing him and I don’t know, he got all flared up and all that, so, he pushed me towards the wall, like he did a while back, and told me to shut up.

  “Then, he started crying. He said that he wasn’t ready and that he didn’t really know what to do about the situation. Of course, he’s going to marry her, but he really doesn’t know if he’s doing the right thing.

  “Like I said, Em, I don’t think he’d ever hurt anyone deliberately, but…maybe that was just one time. I’ve no idea what his life with Annabeth is like, so I really couldn’t judge him for that…”

  “I see,” Emmy nodded her head, “Okay, then,” she said, “I think I need some air,” she went on, “Dan, could we go see Nana?”

  CHAPTER 9

  ANOTHER LIFE LOST

  Daniel and Emmy bought Nana Tish the rest of those Walnut-Zucchini cupcakes while Audrina stayed home. Emmy also helped Nana Tish cook the rest of her Potato and Leek soup.

  “You kids have to relax,” Nana Tish said, “Annabeth’s dead is really unfortunate but you shouldn’t go blaming one another,” she took another bite of the cupcake, “this is really good, Em."

  “Thanks, nana,” Emmy said, “I’m just so stressed out. And to think, Annabeth shouldn’t even have died,” she said, “it could have been me,”

  “Well, maybe that gives you more reason to actually make sure that the real killer gets caught,”

  “Yeah, I guess you’re right,” she said. Just then, her phone rang, “Excuse me for a second,” She answered the call and was surprised to find out that Officer McMahon was on the other line.

  “What?” Emmy said, “No, no, wait, are you sure? Yeah, we did see him this morning…oh my god…okay…yeah we’ll…we’ll be there…”

  “Who was that?” Daniel asked, “What happened?”

  “It’s officer McMahon,” Emmy said, “It’s about Matthew."

  “What happened?”

  “Matthew’s dead.”

  CHAPTER 10

  MORE QUESTIONS

  “He was driving way past the speed limit,” Officer McMahon said, while Daniel, Emmy, and Audrina were sitting down in her office, “he was obviously drunk, and I’ve heard from some neighbors that he actually went to your place shortly before he drove away. Is that true, Miss Byrne?”

  “Yes,” Emmy said.

  “What was he doing in your house?”

  “Well…he came by and just basically started to accuse us for killing Annabeth. He went on and on and said that we had issues about Annabeth, but obviously, he didn’t make sense. He was drunk.”

  “What do you mean he didn’t make sense?”

  “As I’ve said, he was drunk. He even pushed Audrina towards the wall, actually."

  “He did?” Officer McMahon asked, “Tell me about this, Audrina,” she eyed Audrina. “What happened? Why did Mr. Mills do that?”

  “Obviously, he was upset that his wife was dead,” Audrina said, “I mean, she wasn’t a perfect person but given the fact that she was his wife, of course, he would be disappointed. I think he hasn’t slept since last night…so, you know, when he came by this morning, he thought that he could get answers out of us even though, obviously, we didn’t know anything.”

  “What were you doing this morning?”

>   “Eating cupcakes,” Audrina said, “Emmy baked something that was really good.”

  “Eating cupcakes, I see,” Officer McMahon said, “Weren’t you scared that there’d be poison right there?”

  “Of course not.” Emmy said.

  “Did Matthew eat anything?”

  “No,” Emmy said, “Like I said, he just came to try to get something out of us all, but he really wasn’t in the right state of mind. He was drunk.”

  Officer McMahon smirked, “Wait a second,” she said, “Miss Naimero, what were you doing at Miss Byrne’s house? Don’t you have a house of your own?”

  “Oh God,” Audrina rolled her eyes, “Is it wrong for me to stay there?”

  “Well, it’s just that you and Emmy haven’t really been close before, have you?” She asked, “Miss Byrne says that she just came back two weeks ago, and now, you’re staying at their house? It’s like you are all trying to hide something.”

  “What would we hide?” Emmy said, “She’s staying at home because I…well, we thought it would be better.”

  “Better for what? And for whom?”

  “Better because we won’t be so scared,” Emmy said, “I mean, come on, you’re already judging us that way. And we just thought, it would be good if…”

  “You all get huddled together before someone gets arrested or something?”

  “That’s not fair."

  “I’m sorry,” Officer McMahon said.

  “And anyway,” Emmy said, “I also wanted Audrina around because we’re planning to put up an online store, you know, so we could have something to do while the investigation is ongoing.”

  “An online store?”

  “Yeah, cupcakes and all that,” she said, “to erase the stigma, maybe?” she went on, “because I’ve heard that you actually went as far as investigating all our other coffee shops and restaurants, too?”

  “Precautionary measures, Miss Byrne.”

  “I see." Emmy said sarcastically.

  Officer McMahon then noticed the wounds on Audrina’s arms, “What are those, Miss Naimero?”

  “Wounds,” Audrina said, “They’re really none of your business.”

  “Are they self-inflicted?”

  “As I’ve said, they’re none of your business,” she said. “Why would you even connect this to anything?”

  “I was just asking,” Officer McMahon said, “It’s sad though. Two young married people died tragically. Life could have so much more in store for them.” She went on, “Okay, I’ll guess I’ll see you all soon, then. Hopefully, no one gets hurt anymore.”

  CHAPTER 11

  STRANGER IN HER OWN HOUSE

  Later that evening, Emmy said that she wanted to have dinner alone, after setting up social media accounts on what would be their new cupcake business: Cupcakes to Your Door. Audrina was in the office, checking for what they could add to the sites.

  Emmy’s head was aching and her heart was heavy after all the events of the day. She felt like a stranger in her own house, in her own town. But really, she’s been gone for too long that she felt like she really couldn’t blame anyone for not telling her anything.

  Her father then went inside the dining room and found Emmy there. He just came home from visiting their other restaurants all over Sky Valley. “Em,” he said, “Why are you eating alone?” he went on, “I’m sorry about Matthew, I heard the news…”

  “Why didn’t you tell me about you and Audrina?”

  “What?”

  “Don’t deny it, daddy,” she said, “I already know."

  Troy took a deep breath, and opened the refrigerator to look for a bottle of water. He took one out and drank. “Emmy,” he said, “I know it’s strange but…there’s a special place in my heart for Audrina."

  “And in your bed?”

  “Watch your tongue, young lady."

  “Sorry,” Emmy said, “Maybe you should eat with me. There are some banana muffins and I heated up that frozen lasagna."

  “Sure,” he said, took a plate, and filled it up. He sat across Emmy.

  “So…” Emmy said, “How long has it been going on?”

  “Two or three years or so,” he said.

  “Audrina said it’s not really formal or something…” Emmy said.

  “Yeah,” Troy said, “That sounds stupid coming from me, doesn’t it?”

  Emmy laughed, “I don’t know, dad,” she said, “I don’t even know what’s stupid or not anymore…Audrina’s nice, though…”

  “She is,” he said, “but I still want her to see the world, see what life has in store for her and all that…”

  “But last night?”

  “Was a result of stress,” he said, “We’ve never encountered anything like this before and to be honest, Em, it really freaked me out. I’m sorry."

  “Well, it’s really none of my business,” she said, “I mean, it’s been a while since you know, you’ve dated someone…”

  “I was scared of how you’d react."

  “And I’m making it all the scarier, huh?”

  They both laughed.

  “Sorry, dad,” she said, “Sorry I had to leave all those years ago…” she went on, “I just…I didn’t know how to deal with mom being gone, and I wasn’t exactly close to you…”

  “Because it seemed like business was the only thing on my mind?”

  “I couldn’t blame you for that,” she said, “I still miss her, though."

  “Me too,” he said, “Remember when she’d cook those rhubarb pies on Sundays?”

  “Yes,” she grinned, “and before she knew it, I’d have eaten like, half of the fruits."

  “Yeah,” he shot back, “then you’d refuse to wear anything else but your Pink floral Sunday dress…”

  She laughed, “Oh my God, yeah,” she said, “I also remember watching mom make all those cupcakes…She’s really amazing. I bet she’d have learned more recipes if she were still alive.”

  “I think so, too…” He smiled, “Sorry things took a wrong turn, and now you’re back and things aren’t exactly easy."

  “That’s life,” she said.

  “How was Paris?” He asked.

  “Paris was amazing,” she said, “It was really beautiful over there,”

  “Didn’t leave a guy behind?”

  She laughed, “No…”

  “You seem to be spending a lot of time with Daniel lately, though,” he said, “It’s good, I mean, he’s a nice man. He grew up well,” he went on, “I always thought you’d stay together though…”

  “Ah, well, I had to leave,” she said, “Didn’t really want to be unfair to him."

  “But he seemed to wait for you,” he said, “Sorry, I mean, I knew he also had a girlfriend while you were away but I don’t know, maybe, part of me hoped that you’d get back together because he’s really nice."

  “He is."

  “And he helped me out a lot when you were gone,” he said, “He would help out in the shop whenever he can. He would often ask about you, too, but I really didn’t know what to tell him because--”

  “Because I never really wrote,” she said, “I’m sorry."

  “It’s okay. We all have our ways of dealing with pain,” he said, “Maybe that was yours.”

  She nodded her head, “Hey,” she said, “Tripp’s not bothering you?”

  “No,” he said, “although someone told me that he was driving around the coffee shop a while back."

  “He’s out to get you,” she said, “I don’t know but there’s something off about him,” she went on, “To be honest, I always thought that he wasn’t out do to anything good…I don’t know, but I really have this bad feeling about him."

  “He lost his daughter,” he said, “it’s understandable…”

  “Yeah, but…”

  “But?”

  Emmy debated with herself whether she should tell her dad about the fact that she switched coffees with Annabeth, but she opted not to say anything anymore because she knew that
her dad would be worried; she had to investigate about this all on her own.

  “Nothing,” she said, “I’m just glad to be back.”

  “Really?”

  “Yes,” she said, “Really.”

  CHAPTER 12

  DOUBTS

  After having that conversation with her dad, Emmy made her way back to her office. Emmy was still wired; she felt like she would not be able to sleep so it would be better if she worked.

  But before she could open the door to her office, she thought that she heard Audrina speaking. She knew that Audrina was inside but who could she be talking to? She tiptoed to the door so she could listen.

  “Why weren’t you picking up earlier?” Audrina said, talking to someone on the phone, “I know you’re up to something. You wouldn’t visit me like that if…if you didn’t—no, no, don’t even deny it…Really? You really just wanted to see me? Wow…but why weren’t you picking up? You have to tell me what you know, everyone thinks that I did this, but I didn’t. You know that, right? Or do you think the same way? Jimmy, come on."

  Who’s Jimmy? Emmy didn’t know. And why did Audrina seem so worried? Did she think that this Jimmy has something to do with what happened to Annabeth?

  “No, no…I’m not accusing you of anything but I need you to tell me what you know. And…tell me the truth, Jim, did you ever sleep with her? You did, didn’t you? What? What do you mean ‘calm down’? Jim!

  Oh God!” Emmy heard Audrina yell and heard the sound of a phone crashing down on the floor. Emmy then opened the door.

  “Emmy!” Audrina said, surprised. She was picking up the pieces of her phone on the floor. The phone was still intact, aside from the fact that Audrina had to look for the battery and the back cover.

  “Let me help you,” Emmy said, kneeling down on the floor, “Are you okay?” She asked as she found the battery near the foot of a desk. She handed it over to Audrina.

  “Thanks,” she said, “Oh and, yeah, I’m okay…Have you been outside all along?”