Lorna Barrett: Chapter & Hearse

They crossed the street once more, moving to stand before Haven’t Got a Clue. With light bars blazing, another Sheriff’s Department cruiser pulled up to the curb. By now most of Main Street was blocked—not that there was much traffic along the village’s main thoroughfare once all the shops had closed for the day.

Captain Grant Baker got out of the cruiser, noted Tricia standing in front of her store, and nodded to her before crossing the street to converse with the fire chief.

Angelica nudged her sister. “Go on. Go see if Captain Baker shakes some information out of those paramedics and can tell you how Bob’s doing.”

“He only just got here,” Tricia protested. “Besides, why would he go out of his way to give us any peace of mind?”

“Bitter—bitter,” Angelica cautioned.

“I’m not bitter.” Ha! Of course she was bitter. She and Grant Baker had just started dating—were having fun getting to know each other—when his ex-wife popped out of the woodwork with a serious disease. Not that they’d reconciled. But Mandy Baker needed a “friend” to help her through the worst of her illness. Captain Baker had promised to call Tricia once he felt Mandy was stabilized. That was more than six months ago. A long, lonely six months. Not that Russ Smith, owner of the Stoneham Weekly News and Tricia’s ex, hadn’t tried to worm his way back into her affections. So far, she had resisted his overtures. She remembered too many evenings spent in the company of Russ and his beloved police scanner—being alone was actually preferable. And besides, it had given her a chance to catch up on some of her reading.

Angelica clutched her sister’s arm. “Trish, please—please go over and ask Captain Baker to get us some information on Bob.”

“Okay.” Tricia took a breath to steel herself before she stepped off the sidewalk. That’s when she caught sight of Russ—his camera slung around his neck—hurrying down the sidewalk. She ignored him and headed toward the captain.

Baker was in deep conversation with the fire chief. Tricia crept forward, relieved that no one had tried to make her move back to the opposite side of the street.

At last the chief nodded and stepped away. Tricia reached out and touched Baker’s arm. “Grant? Can you get us some news on Bob Kelly? My sister is—”

He faced her, and she fell under the spell of his mesmerizing green eyes. She had a thing for green eyes. Her ex-husband had had them, too.

“I’ll let you know as soon as I get any information. Why don’t you wait by your store?” Not exactly a brush-off, but not all that welcoming, either.

“Thank you.”

Baker nodded, and Tricia went back to where Angelica stood twisting her hands with worry as she spoke to Russ—or, rather, was being grilled by him. They both went silent at Tricia’s return.

“Captain Baker will be over in a few minutes,” Tricia said.

“Angelica tells me you witnessed the explosion,” Russ said.

“Yes—I guess.”

“Well?” he demanded.

“I heard a phoomph and was blown off my feet. That’s all I know.”

Russ capped his pen and scowled.

Mr. Everett and Ginny joined the growing crowd on the sidewalk, and quickly moved to stand beside the sisters. “Is anybody hurt?” Ginny asked.

“Bob,” Angelica said, her voice cracking. She turned to Tricia. “I never even thought to ask—what happened to Jim?”

Tricia realized the firemen hadn’t brought anyone else out of the shattered building. “I haven’t seen him. Do you suppose he . . . might not have made it?”

Ginny’s hand flew to cover her mouth. “Oh, no.”

Russ uncapped his pen and scribbled on his ever-present steno pad.

“What was it? An explosion?” Mr. Everett asked.

“I think so. One of the firemen said there might still be gas leaking.”

“Do you think it was from the new gas lamps? Shouldn’t they evacuate the whole block?” Ginny asked.

“I don’t know,” Tricia said, answering both questions.

Frannie closed and locked the Cookery’s door, then hurried over to join the group outside Haven’t Got a Clue. “What happened?” she cried, staring at the police and fire equipment blocking the view of the buildings across the street.

“History Repeats Itself blew up—with Jim Roth and Bob Kelly inside,” Ginny said.

“Jim!” Frannie cried. She nearly jumped off the sidewalk, but Tricia grabbed her arm to stop her.

“You can’t do anything to help. Angelica and I have already been warned off.”

“Are they okay? How badly are they hurt?”

“They’re taking care of Bob in the ambulance,” Angelica said, her voice filled with worry. “We haven’t seen Jim yet. Tricia thinks he might’ve—” She didn’t finish the sentence.

Frannie’s mouth dropped open, and then her face crumpled into a mask of grief. “No!” she wailed, wrapped her arms around herself, stumbled backward, and dropped down to sit on the curb. Tears streamed down her face as she began to rock back and forth.

Not knowing what to do, Tricia stared at the others, then reached down to put a hand on Frannie’s shoulder. “Frannie, were you and Jim . . . friends?”

Frannie nodded frantically. “I met him . . . when he became . . . a member of the . . . Chamber,” she managed between gulping breaths. Frannie had been the Chamber of Commerce’s receptionist for ten years before taking the manager’s job at the Cookery.

Tricia exchanged a glance with Angelica. For this kind of reaction, Frannie and Jim had to have been more than just friends, but now was not the time to pry.

One of the paramedics closed the door to the ambulance, ran to the front, and jumped in the passenger side, and the vehicle slowly pulled away from the curb. Captain Baker nodded to the fire chief and made his way to Haven’t Got a Clue.

Russ waved his pen in the air. “Captain Baker—can you give me a statement?”

Frannie’s wails had subsided into gulping sobs. Baker nodded toward her. “Is she okay?” he asked Tricia.

“She was a friend of Jim Roth’s. Is he—?” Tricia was afraid to voice the word.

“They found no other bodies. But Mr. Kelly told us Mr. Roth had gone out back for a cigarette. It appears his cigarette lighter ignited the fumes. There’ll be a full investigation, and they’ll do tests to identify any—” He paused, and Tricia finished the sentence for him

“Human remains?”

Baker cleared his throat. “Whatever they can scrape up,” he said quietly, sending Frannie into another fit of howling.

“How’s Bob?” Angelica asked anxiously.

“Looks like some second-degree burns. He asked me to tell you not to worry. And not to bother to come to the hospital.”

“Like I’m going to hang around my store and twiddle my thumbs,” Angelica said sarcastically. “Of course I’m going to the hospital.” Her tone changed as she looked at Tricia. “Will you come with me?”

“Of course.”

Angelica turned back to the captain. “How could such a terrible accident have happened?”

“Accident?” he repeated. “We don’t know yet if this was an accident.”

“What do you mean? It must have been the new gas lamps,” Tricia said.

Baker frowned, and jerked a thumb over his shoulder, indicating the still-lit lamps across the way. “This explosion had nothing to do with the gas lamps.”

“Then what happened?”

“I’ll need to speak to Mr. Kelly to find that out.” He glanced back at the building and shook his head. “The damage is pretty severe. They’ll probably have to knock the whole thing down in the next day or so.”

“What about the books?” Tricia asked.

Baker frowned. “What about them?”