“Anything, Callie.”
“Does Mr. Maxwell have a deal to donate to the church as well as the childcare center, or the childcare center only?”
“His donations are actually to the church. We designated them to the childcare center because that’s where they do the most good. So he makes his biggest donation of the year during the annual bake-off. Though this year he didn’t donate as much. The childcare center was already struggling, and his donation wasn’t going to cover as much. We actually considered closing the doors for a few days a week to make sure we could cover all the costs. It would be the first time we weren’t open every day of the week since we started.”
“Wow. That’s an impressive record. Do you know why his donation wasn’t as big?”
The pastor sighed. “Usually, I wouldn’t say this, but it’s going to come out soon anyway. His business is failing. He made some bad investments. His donations over the last few months have started to dwindle. It took me a while to get him to admit what was going on, but once he told me, I told him it was OK.” He sighed. “Callie, things like this happen. Businesses fail. If you think he’s the one who started the fire, I’m not sure he’s the one.”
“How did you know?”
He smiled. “You’re fishing for information on the biggest donor to the church. You and Penny are close. I assume you’re doing all you can to help her. I don’t mind giving you information because I feel that it clears him.”
“Are you sure it doesn’t only give him motive? If he burns it down, he doesn’t have to make the donation?”
“But he is set to give the church the donation instead.”
“Can’t he not make the donation?”
“That’s always a possibility.”
But Callie could tell there was something more to this. “You seem so sure that he’ll pay it. More than because he’s a good guy.”
The pastor shook his head. “He makes donations, Callie. That’s all I’m going to tell you.”
She sighed and nodded, then left. Someone needed to know more. Megan might, but since she knew about the miscarriage, the idea of the pitying looks was too much for her.
Who was the biggest gossip in the church? She tried to think. Colin Jinkinson. He had always known what was up when Callie was a teen, and she was pretty sure he was still in town.
Was he here today? She walked through the church looking for him. She asked a few people, and they had seen him, so she hoped he was still there. She finally figured out where he was. Working near the old entry to the nursery. She didn’t want to go anywhere near there. She planted herself at a table in eyesight of it and waited. It was about half an hour before he moved far enough away for her comfort, and she hurried over to him.
“Hey, Colin.”
“Callie! Didn’t realize you were back in town.”
“Yea. For a little while now.” She didn’t mention the engagement; who knew if that was still on. “I was wondering if you knew something.” If there was one thing about Colin, he loved sharing what he knew.
He smiled in glee. “Of course.”
“Do you know why Mr. Maxwell is on the hook for donating to the church?”
Colin looked around, then whispered, “Well, rumor has it that a few years ago he made some bad investments and he was in a tight spot. The banks wouldn’t give him a loan. He was close to losing his business, which would mean a lot of people losing jobs, so Pastor Martin gave him a loan on condition that the money be paid back in installments to the church. Pastor Martin is always doing stuff like that. When Penny started talking about quitting the daycare center, he offered her a stake in the childcare center. She gets a portion of the money every month that’s donated. Or so I hear. No one’s supposed to know. Everyone thinks she only volunteers and does it out of the goodness of her heart.” He scoffed. “But imagine working someplace for free for twenty years. People are so gullible if they believe she worked there for free. But she has financial problems, you know.”
Callie was surprised to hear this. Both that Penny wanted to stop working at the childcare center and about the financial problems. Though it made sense; how else was she making a living? But back to Maxwell. “Pastor had that kind of money? Where did he get it?” Callie knew the church hadn’t had it.
“Apparently, he comes from money. Who knew, right? But it’s all what I heard.” Callie wondered why Pastor hadn’t used some of that money for Penny. Did Penny know that Pastor had given his own money to Maxwell and not her?
“Do you remember who you heard it from?” Maybe this other person had more information.
“Can’t say, it’s been a while. Might have been that lady Masters, Martie... Martan maybe. All I know is she was involved in her own scandal not long ago. You would think because of that she wouldn’t gossip about other people.” Colin waved his hand in the air. “They’ve had the deal for a few years. I heard about it when it happened. They kept it hush-hush. Only a few people know if it’s true.”
“Thanks, Colin. This has been incredibly helpful.” So Mr. Maxwell had a loan from the Pastor he had to pay back, so even if the childcare center burned down, he still had to pay. That eliminated him as a suspect.
Callie went back to her eavesdropping, but now she was also mulling over Penny and Mr. Maxwell’s financial situations.
Mrs. Henderson found Callie and realized she wasn’t actually participating, so soon Callie was sorting clothes in the common room. The same room Megan was in. Callie placed herself on the opposite side of the room, hoping Megan would get the hint she didn’t feel like talking.
But it didn’t work. Megan was soon walking over. Callie looked at the door, but Megan was soon in front of her.
“I won’t bring it up except to ask, are you OK?”
“There’s an arsonist to be found. It’s a lot of work. You won’t believe the things I’m finding out.”
Megan sat down and began to sort clothes. “Like what?”
“I’m not sure I should tell anyone till I know what’s going on for sure. The less people who know what’s going on, the better. I don’t want to alert anyone too soon.”
“Do you think you’re in danger?”
“A person burnt down the childcare center. They have to be a little dangerous.”
“Maybe this isn’t the best project for you.”
“I don’t think that’s for you to decide. Now I have clothes to sort. It’s really a one-person job.” It wasn’t.
Megan nodded and left.
Callie allowed her mind to wander and think about all she’d learned. Pastor Martin had money. Maybe family money, and no one seemed to know this but one person, who knew he’d lent money to Mr. Maxwell, who was on the hook for paying back the money to the church in the form of a donation. Penny, who was in financial straits and also wanted to leave the childcare center, had been given a stake in the childcare center, so she was paid every month, which also meant she got a piece of the insurance money if it burnt down. Everyone knew there wasn’t enough money to rebuild, so they assumed she would walk off with the money and they wouldn’t rebuild, also allowing her to get out of her deal of working at the childcare center. It was a bit of a stretch, but it was a motive for Penny.
Mr. Maxwell was off the hook. Burning down the childcare center did nothing for him. He still had to pay.
Who else besides Penny could it be? Callie didn’t realize looking into it would make her friend look more guilty, not less.
It had been a long day. Callie had sorted clothes for hours. It was nice she could let her mind wander as she mulled over the things that she’d learned and tried to figure out who else could be responsible for everything that had happened. She also wanted to talk to Penny, but by the time she’d finished the overwhelming task Mrs. Henderson had given her, Penny was nowhere to be found.
Callie walked home alone. As she opened the door she was greeted by two tabbies. “Hey, kitties.” She greeted them back. It was nice to be wanted by someone.
She grabbed a couple treats and tossed them out. Mando grabbed his in the air but batted it under a shelf, so Callie grabbed another and made sure it ended up on the floor in front of him.
It was time for dinner, but she was too tired to cook. She made a bowl of cereal and flopped onto the couch and started scrolling through her phone. It wasn’t often she doom-scrolled, but tonight she wanted a distraction. She spent the next hour watching a variety of videos, her favorite a video of dogs choosing their owners. It might be AI, but it was still enough to make her cry.
She stared at her bowl on the coffee table trying to summon the energy to rinse it and put it in the dishwasher, but decided that task was best for morning. She lay down on the couch and fell asleep pretty quickly.
She startled awake early in the morning. Not sure what woke her, she sat for a moment. There was a noise. Someone was in the condo. “Matt?” she called. There was no answer. “Matt?” she called again a bit louder.
When no answer was forthcoming, she grabbed the baseball bat by the front door and headed towards the sound. As an afterthought she grabbed her cell phone and set her finger on the emergency button.
She made it to her bedroom and slid the door open. Inside she saw someone dressed all in black. They were going through things in her drawer.
“Hey!”
The person looked at her dead in the eyes for a long moment. Then grabbed something from the drawer and ran straight towards her. Callie tried to move, but still got caught in the shoulder and pushed into the wall behind her with enough force to knock the wind out of her.
“Back off!” a voice hissed as they pushed past.
The culprit then ran for the front door and was gone before Callie could hit the emergency button and call the police.
“I need to report a burglary.”
The cops showed up in a quick time. One of the perks of a small “quiet” town.
“Hey, Callie.” Sheriff Green said.
“Hey, Mr. Green.” She greeted Megan’s dad.
“What happened?”
“I woke up and heard a noise. I called out thinking it was Matt, but when there wasn’t a response, I grabbed the baseball bat and came to the bedroom. Someone dressed all in black was in my bedroom going through my nightstand.”
Callie thought for a moment. “I’m pretty sure it was a woman. She looked right at me, then when they passed, they said, they said, ‘Back off.’ It was a woman’s voice. I can’t place it, but I think it was someone I’ve heard before.” She paused to think, but still couldn’t place it. “Anyway, she rushed out of the room and knocked me into the wall and went out the door.”
“Are you OK? Did you get checked out?”
“I will,” she said.
He nodded. “Why do you need to back off?”
Callie didn’t want to tell him, but knew it was best. “I asked a few questions over the last couple days about the fire.”
“You think this is the person who set the fire?” he asked sharply.
“I think it’s possible.”
“Callie, you need to keep out of things. We can handle it.”
“I want to help Penny.”
He ran a hand over his face. “I know she’s your friend, but we need to do our diligence and eliminate all suspects.”
“You can eliminate Penny. If this was the fire starter, I know it’s not Penny. She wouldn’t break into my house in the middle of the night and take things.”
“They took something? Do you know what?” He pushed past her comments about Penny’s innocence.
“Not sure. Something small. She had it closed in her fist.”
“What do you keep in that drawer?” He pointed beside the bed where the thief had been.
“Hair ties, a brush, deodorant. Just personal care items. Nothing they’d really want.”
He nodded. “Now I want you to get checked out and promise me you won’t continue pursuing your own investigation. I want you safe.”
She stubbornly kept her mouth shut.
“Callie.”
She squirmed slightly. The man had been like a father to her growing up. It was hard to disappoint him. “Fine. I’ll do my best to be safer. That’s the best I can promise.”
He shook his head. “It’s not on my head then. You can explain it to your mom if you get hurt. Remember she needs you.”
With that he went to take a look at the crime scene. Callie wanted to look at the scene too, but she knew he wouldn’t let her do that. She’d have to wait till later.
She did wonder what her mother would do if something happened to her, but this was important.
Walking up to the EMTs, she said, “I need to be checked out.”
They nodded and proceeded with a thorough check for any injuries. Simply bruised and sore, she rejected Mr. Green’s offer to stay at his house for the rest of the night just to be on the safe side.
“I’m a big girl. I’ll be fine.”
“You call if they come back. Don’t handle it yourself. And leave the crime scene alone.”
Callie nodded, but she had no intention of doing so, and she could tell he knew that.
She barely waited for him to be gone before she breached the yellow tape. They’d taken most everything, but she could remember many of the things she’d had in the end table drawer. She went over them again: hair ties, brush, deodorant... and medication bottles.
Was the thief after medication? If so, why hers? All she had was some almost expired pain meds she should have disposed of by now. They were left over from when she’d broken her ankle the year before.
Had the culprit been hurt in the fire and not able to go to the hospital? Callie grabbed her notebook and sat down, then she began to update her notes. She now added the theft and the injury with a question mark next to it.
Callie was avoiding Megan again. Today she was helping make baked goods in the kitchen. “Of course, Mrs. Henderson. You know I love to cook.” It had been one of the biggest lies, maybe the only lie she’d ever told in church, but she knew Megan would avoid the kitchen. Now she was mixing up brownies. Fortunately, there was a recipe to follow. It did help take her mind off things, but didn’t give her time to look into what was going on. She was surprised no one was talking about the break-in. It did, after all, have to do with the fire. Or so she thought.
Penny soon walked in looking ragged.
“Hi, Callie.”
“Hey, Penny. Just making brownies,” she answered before her friend could ask. “Where are you off to in a hurry?”
“I have to do another statement to the police. I feel like I’m being harassed.”
Callie nodded in sympathy. “I hope it all goes well and is over soon.”
“Are you still looking into things?” she asked hopefully.
“I am.” She put the bowl down. “I wanted to talk to you about that.” She looked around. There were at least ten other people crammed into the medium-sized marble-counter kitchen. “Maybe elsewhere?”
“What about your brownies?”
“They can wait.” She turned and led Penny from the room. The two walked about looking for a quiet place when Penny suggested they head outside. Once outside the two began to walk away from the church.
“People say you had money problems.”
“A lot of people around here do. The economy in our town isn’t booming.”
“But Pastor gave you a stake in the nursery.” She watched Penny’s face closely for clues.
“How do you know about that?”
“So it’s true. Is it also true you want to leave and stop work at the childcare center?”
Penny sighed. “Can’t keep anything a secret in this town. Yea, it’s true. It doesn’t make me a criminal, Callie. I’ve been there 20 years.”
“But you can see why it makes someone think you’re suspicious?”
“Yea. Doesn’t mean I did it.”
“I certainly intend to prove you didn’t, but right now, everything points to you. If you have any ideas of who else it could be or why, I would happily look into them.”
“I’ll think about it.”
“I will too.”
The two friends parted then. Penny shuffled away hunched over. Callie couldn’t blame her. She had a lot on her shoulders.
Callie decided it was time to get more direct. She headed back to the kitchen. “Hey, Jessie,” she said to the woman working at the middle counter kneading dough.
“Hey, Callie.” Jessie’s blonde hair was up in a hair net, but a stray strand fell down on her sweaty brow. She wiped her forearm across her face, adding a smidge of flour to the other spots she had.
Callie smiled at the sight. “I was wondering if you saw or knew anything about the day of the bake-off. Anything that seemed off.”
“Hmm.” Jessie thought. “Can’t say I saw anything. I know Bobby Fisher got hurt, but I think everyone knows that. I was mostly in charge of the bake sale. There was so much going on. The sale was hectic.”
Callie knew that was true. She also knew it was a controlled hectic. Mrs. Henderson would have it no other way. “What was so hectic about it?”
“You know, so many desserts, so little time. Mrs. Henderson is a stickler for things. I swear I can do nothing right. Why do you think she has me kneading bread? It’s hardly a difficult job. I did see Sarah. Maybe you could ask her. She was here early. Before Mrs. Henderson even. I didn’t think anyone would beat her here.”
“Sarah Martan was here? Did she donate something?” Callie remembered she mentioned something about donating, but couldn’t remember if it was that she did or didn’t.
“You’d have to ask Mrs. Henderson that. You know she keeps all the records. So she knows who donates for the next event.”
“Thanks, Jessie. I’ll let you get back to your kneading.”
Jessie nodded.
Callie headed off to find Mrs. Henderson and hoped the woman would talk to her without assigning her a job.
She found her in the foyer sitting at a long white table flipping through some books with a pen in her right hand.
“Hey, Mrs. Henderson, I have a question for you.” She wanted to be direct.
“Sure, Callie. What’s on your mind?”
“Sarah Martan, did she donate something to the bake-off?”
“What an odd question. Why do you want to know?” Mrs. Henderson could be a bit nosy.
“Just something I’m looking into.”
“Humph.” She huffed at not being told. She turned some pages in her book and scrolled down a list with her pen. “No. She did not. I’ll have to ask her next time. We really could use all the donors we can get, even if she doesn’t technically live in town.”
So, she was here early in the morning and didn’t contribute to the bake-off. Why was she here then? Callie had a new suspect. “Thanks.” Callie turned and hurried off before getting an assignment.
“We could use help in the dining room,” Mrs. Henderson called after her. But Callie pretended not to hear.
Final Chapter 10: August 28th
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