Gelato with a Side of Murder Read online

He looked deep into my eyes. “You’re going to stay here anyway, aren’t you?”

  I nodded.

  “Why?” he asked. “I mean, I’m here because it’s my job. But you could be at home right now.”

  “You’re right. I could be sitting on my couch right now eating ice cream straight out of the carton, but I need to know if Jake is going to be all right. And I’m not going to be able to rest easy until I get an answer.”

  “Okay. I’m just saying that we might be here awhile.”

  “I know. And I’m prepared for that.”

  ***

  When another half hour went by without any update on Jake’s condition, it was hard to keep a lid on my emotions. Or my frustration, for that matter. The longer the wait, the more I feared the worst. My patience was already shot. From there, it was only a matter of time before my hope totally dwindled.

  So when a tall, balding, gawky, fifty-eight-year-old doctor named Keith Goodman finally approached Deputy Carter in the waiting room a few minutes later, I was completely chomping at the bit.

  “Do you have an update?” Deputy Carter asked.

  Goodman nodded. “Thankfully, I have some very good news to report.”

  “Does that mean he is going to make it?” Carter asked.

  “He certainly will,” Goodman replied.

  I breathed a sigh of relief.

  The doctor continued. “We’ve stopped the bleeding, stitched his wound up, and stabilized his vitals.”

  “So there was no serious organ damage?” Deputy Carter asked.

  “Amazingly enough, no,” Dr. Goodman replied. “It’s going to take a while for his wound to heal, but my prognosis is that he will make a full recovery.”

  Deputy Carter’s eyes were as wide as saucers. “That’s incredible.”

  Goodman nodded. “In more ways than one. Mr. Williamson was very lucky that the knife didn’t hit any major organs. Otherwise, I would be giving you much different news.”

  “Can I go in and see him now? I need to take an official statement about his attack,” Deputy Carter said.

  Doctor Goodman held his hand out. “Actually, he has requested to speak with Ms. Daley first.”

  Deputy Carter’s forehead wrinkled. “What?”

  Doctor Goodman shrugged. “I’m just relaying what I was told.”

  Deputy Carter stared at me.

  I turned to Doctor Goodman and tried to diffuse the tension. “You know what? Tell Jake that when he’s done giving the deputy his statement, I’ll be happy to speak with him. But not until then.”

  Deputy Carter gave me a look of gratitude then headed into Jake’s hospital room.

  Chapter Four

  When the deputy was done getting an official statement from Jake, he came back out to the waiting room. Finally, it was my turn to speak with Jake. Although, I had no idea what he was about to say to me.

  I walked into Jake’s hospital room feeling equal parts curious and cautious. When I spotted him sitting in bed with his abdomen all bandaged up, I nearly gasped.

  This was a different Jake Williamson than I had ever seen before. He no longer had an air of invincibility around him. As a matter of fact, he was completely absent of swagger. The sharkish expression that I had grown so accustomed to seeing in his eyes was also gone.

  Life hadn’t just humbled him. He looked totally vulnerable. Not to mention, unsure about how to come to terms with his new reality.

  Typically, I tried to avoid staring at people. In this circumstance, it was hard not to look at his bandaged abdomen. Especially since Jake was doing that very thing himself. He was actually so busy looking down that he didn’t even notice me entering the doorway to his room.

  I stood quietly for a few moments, waiting for him to spot me. I didn’t want to be the one to say the first word. After all, he had been the one to call me in here.

  When I grew impatient of watching Jake remain helplessly wrapped up in his own thoughts, I loudly cleared my throat.

  Thankfully, that was enough to get his attention.

  He looked up at me. “Sabrina.”

  “You wanted to see me?” I asked.

  He nodded. “Please come in.”

  “I have been trying to reach Daphne, but I haven’t had any luck. I’ll keep calling her, though,” I said.

  “Don’t bother,” he replied.

  My eyes widened. “Why not? I mean, after what happened to you, she should be by your side.”

  He grimaced. “I guess she didn’t tell you, then.”

  I scrunched my nose. “Tell me what?”

  “She broke up with me.”

  My muscles tensed. “Oh. I’m really sorry. I didn’t know—”

  He winced. “Trust me. No one is sorrier than I am. It turns out that it has been a terrible week for me.”

  “It sure has. What an awful turn of events.”

  He groaned. “I have a different word for it.”

  The fire that I had seen in his eyes so many times before suddenly returned.

  I backed away, worried that he wouldn’t be able to control his emotions. “Maybe I should give you some time to yourself.”

  He shook his head. “No.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Sabrina, I asked you to come in here for a reason.”

  I bit my lip. “Okay. What did you want to tell me, then?”

  He stared at me but didn’t say a word.

  An awkward silence filled the room.

  I kept waiting for him to respond, but he appeared to be having an epic wrestling match with his thoughts.

  I scrunched my nose. “Are you sure you wouldn’t rather do this some other time?”

  “No. I need to do this now,” he replied.

  I shrugged. “All right. So, what’s on your mind?”

  “Well…”

  He had trouble getting the words out.

  It became excruciating watching him try to untie his tongue.

  “Take your time. There’s no hurry,” I said.

  “What you did back there…I mean…if you hadn’t been there and spotted Todd…well, I don’t even want to think about that.” He took a deep breath. “Look, I owe you…so what I’m trying to say is…thank you.”

  “You’re welcome.”

  The conversation went quiet once again. So many of our discussions in the past had been filled with arguing that it felt so unnatural to be doing anything else.

  As I stared at Jake, I could tell there was more on his mind. I just needed to figure out how to get the words out of him.

  “I know that was really hard for you to say,” I replied.

  “You could tell, huh?” he joked.

  I chuckled. “Yeah. Just a little.”

  “Look. If you had asked me yesterday if I would ever be thanking you for something, I would have said no. But clearly, life can change in a hurry.”

  I nodded. “It certainly can. And in this town, it does—a little too often.”

  “Don’t remind me.” He took a deep breath. “You know, the doctor says that I owe you my life. I mean, if you hadn’t spotted Todd behind me—”

  “Todd would be charged with murder right now instead of attempted murder.”

  “Yeah. That’s why I can’t thank you enough.”

  “I didn’t have as much to do with it as you think. Timing and luck played a much bigger part.”

  “I know being humble is your thing, but take the credit. You definitely deserve it.”

  “I just happened to be there at the right time. Anyone else would have done the same thing that I did,” I said.

  He shook his head. “Not in this town. I mean, look at Todd. The man tried to kill me. And he’s not alone. I think there are more people in Treasure Cove that want me dead than alive.”

  I grimaced and remained silent.

  “See. You know I’m right,” Jake replied.

  “Don’t get me wrong. Anyone who would stab someone in a parking lot is clearly off their rocker. That said, ther
e are a lot of desperate people in this town.”

  “I know.” He lowered his head. “Trust me, I’m aware of just how desperate people are.” He exhaled. “And I haven’t helped the situation any.”

  I almost did a double take. Had I heard that right?

  Apparently, Jake wasn’t done. “All this time you have been trying to warn me. You’ve been telling me that people are at the end of their ropes. That you can only push people so far. But I didn’t listen. And now look at me.”

  “To be fair, I didn’t expect someone to try and kill you.”

  “No. Of course not. But now that someone has tried to do just that, who is to say that someone else won’t come by and attempt to finish the job?”

  “That’s an awful thought.”

  “Yeah. But it’s also one that I haven’t been able to get out of my mind. I mean, what am I going to do? Spend the rest of my life walking around with a bodyguard?”

  “You could do that, and it would give you a layer of protection. But it’s not going to stop people from hating you.”

  “Let’s be honest. At this point, I don’t think there is any way to stop people from hating me.”

  “I wouldn’t be so sure about that,” I said. “But I do know a great way to keep yourself from making new enemies.”

  “You mean, by not buying up any more businesses and putting additional people out of work?” Jake said.

  “Exactly.”

  “Trust me. The days of me going on a buying frenzy are over.”

  “That’s a good start. At the same time, there’s a lot more you can do than just that.”

  He folded his arms. “I’m not going to like what you have to say, am I?”

  “Do you want people to stop hating you or not?”

  “Of course I do.”

  “Then you have to give people a reason to like you.”

  “That’s easier said than done.”

  “Really? Didn’t you see the reception that Xavier Watterson got when he donated that big parcel of land to the city to be converted into a park? People were gushing about him,” I said. “I think you’re complicating things. Why don’t you pour a bunch of money into improving this town instead of just your bottom line? I have a feeling you’ll be pleasantly surprised by the results.”

  Jake bit his lip. “Maybe you’re right.”

  “No. I’m definitely right. You should give philanthropy a try.”

  Jake stared out the window, deep in thought.

  Chapter Five

  I got a call from David a short time later notifying me that he had finally finished up at the police station. From there, he drove by the hospital to pick me up. By that time, we were both famished. Unfortunately, not a whole lot of restaurants were still open at that hour. Antonio’s sure wasn’t.

  Although, after all that had happened, I wasn’t in the mood for a three-course dinner anyway. But I also didn’t want some greasy fast-food burger. Grabbing some pizza ended up being the happy middle ground.

  Our taste buds certainly didn’t complain. The onion and garlic pizza tasted like magic. On nights like that, I wanted to shake the hand of the person who invented pizza. Melted cheese. Dough that was cooked to perfection. I couldn’t get enough of the stuff.

  David and I were so busy scarfing it down that we were halfway through eating the pie before we began talking about anything other than our stomachs.

  “I know it’s been an insane evening, but we really do need to discuss what happened,” I said.

  David took a deep breath. “I agree. I’m just still trying to process everything.”

  “I know what you mean. It has been a nightmare of a night.”

  “Besides, honestly, I’m not even sure where to start. I mean, what happened…was just jaw-dropping.”

  “It’s more than that. I just keep wondering, how does something crazy like that even occur?”

  “Hey, you’re the one who is always talking about how desperate times lead to desperate measures.”

  “True. That said, this is more than just desperation. We both know that it takes an unstable person to try to commit murder. But to carry out an attack in the middle of a parking lot, in plain view of bystanders—that is the behavior of someone who is completely unhinged.”

  “At least, temporarily unhinged,” David said.

  I scrunched my nose. “What do you mean, temporarily?”

  “When I dragged Todd Gordon into the interrogation room, I fully expected him to be certifiably nuts. Instead, he just sat quietly in his chair, looking like he was just as shocked by his actions as I was.”

  I shook my head in disbelief. “That’s how you know you’ve really lost it, when you manage to surprise yourself with your own violent instability.” I took a deep breath. “Were you able to get a motive out of him?”

  “That was actually pretty easy when he told me that he was a longtime employee of Wilkerson Electronics.”

  “Which was just bought up by Jake and subsequently shut down to make way for a big-box chain electronics store,” I said.

  David nodded. “Exactly. Apparently, Todd had worked for Wilkerson Electronics for twenty-one years. Then, just like that, he was suddenly out of a job.”

  My eyes widened. “No wonder he was so angry.”

  “Yeah.”

  “And now a single moment of blind rage is going to cost him the rest of his life in jail.”

  “It’s a real shame,” David said. “Not to mention, a complete waste.”

  “It sure is.”

  “I have a feeling that Todd will spend the rest of his life regretting what he did.”

  “Maybe you’re right. Unfortunately, that doesn’t change anything.”

  “So true. After all, the damage has already been done.”

  “I’ll say. And Jake is going to have a scar on his abdomen for the rest of his life to prove it,” I replied.

  “But like the doctor told you, it could have been much worse,” David said.

  I nodded. “It could have been deadly.”

  “It’s still amazing to think that Jake will eventually make a full recovery.”

  “It never ceases to amaze me how thin the line is between life and death sometimes.”

  “Or how quickly things can change.”

  “Too quickly, I’d say.”

  I took a deep breath and stared out the window. “You know, in the past, every time I have spoken with Jake, he has been drenched in cockiness. But tonight, he looked like a scared little kid.”

  “That’s what happens when you find yourself staring down your own mortality.”

  “I wonder how long it will be before Jake is back to his old arrogant self.”

  “Maybe he won’t.”

  “Perhaps you’re right,” I said. “I don’t have an answer for that one. But I can say that no one in Treasure Cove knows how to make enemies quite like Jake.”

  “What an unfortunate talent to have.”

  “I know, right? Some people are good at sports. Others are great at cooking. Jake’s calling is to be able to turn an entire town against him.”

  “And he did a really good job of it. He has made some serious enemies. So many that I am surprised that something like this didn’t happen sooner.”

  “You’re not alone.”

  “Of course, I’m not. You’re the one who has been going on about the Jake Williamson effect for nearly a year. I mean, how many times did you warn him about the consequences of pushing people to the brink?” David asked.

  “Why does one of my grimmest predictions have to be the one that came true?” I shook my head. “Why couldn’t I have been right about picking winning lottery numbers?”

  David shrugged. “I don’t know. I guess your instincts are just more in tune with the struggling heartbeat of this town.”

  “Speaking of unfortunate talents,” I deadpanned.

  David put his hand on my shoulder. “You say it’s unfortunate, but I have a feeling that Jake believes otherwis
e. I mean, if it weren’t for you, he’d be dead right now. I sure hope he thanked you.”

  “He actually did that and more,” I replied.

  “Is that so?”

  I nodded. “He told me that this brush with mortality was going to make him reexamine his life.”

  David’s eyes widened. “Really?”

  “Not just that, but he also said that I should expect to see a whole new Jake in the future.”

  David squinted. “Do you believe him?”

  I became pensive for a moment before replying. “Actually, yeah.”

  David leaned back in his chair. “I’m going to reserve my judgment.”

  “That’s because you didn’t see the look in his eyes. He didn’t have the same killer instinct that I was used to seeing from him. He was no longer a shark in a suit. Instead, he was a man who realized how lucky he was to be alive. That doesn’t mean he will change. But it at least gives me hope,” I said.

  “That’s a start.”

  “I guess we’ll just have to see what happens.”

  David stared out the window. “After everything that has gone on, I’m kind of afraid to find out what might happen next.”

  A panicked look came to my face. “It’s not like you to be scared.”

  “Aren’t you?”

  I took a deep breath. “Well, I don’t exactly feel cozy and comfortable.”

  “Exactly. I mean, all I wanted to do was take you out to dinner…”

  I held up a slice of pizza. “You have.”

  “A nice dinner,” David said. “And look what happened.”

  “Hey, Antonio’s isn’t going anywhere. Besides, on a night like this, I can’t help but be reminded of how lucky I am to have you in my life.”

  He took my hand and gazed into my eyes. “I love you too.”

  Chapter Six

  I woke up the next morning hoping that no new surprises would be waiting for me. Instead, life had different ideas. Thankfully, the latest surprise was a good one. I was halfway through my work shift at Daley Buzz when Daphne Lipton entered the coffee shop, alive and in one piece.

  I breathed a huge sigh of relief.

  How could I not? I had been trying so hard to reach her the night before. So when she didn’t answer any of my calls or text messages, my mind feared the worst.