He nodded, and Fern left the room with Troy trailing behind her.
Tears pushed themselves to the surface, and I blinked them away.
“I’m sorry, Charlee,” Cole said from beside me.
I kept my gaze on Fern’s bohemian patterned rug, unwilling to let him see that I was on the verge of crying. “This isn’t right.”
His hand wrapped around mine, urging my gaze back to his. “It’ll be okay, Charlee.”
“She didn’t do it,” I blinked, sending a tear rolling down my cheek. I quickly wiped it away.
He leaned in close, his mouth near my ear. My breath hitched. “I promise nothing is going to happen to Fern. But I need you to promise me that you won’t interfere.”
I turned my face to meet his. There was no way I was agreeing to that.
“Okay, let’s go,” Troy said from across the room.
Cole quickly moved away from me.
“Charlee.” Fern’s voice diverted my attention from Cole. “Would you please text my knitting group and cancel for me? I left my phone on the counter, since I can’t have it anyway.”
“Yeah,” I nodded. “And I’ll call Preston. We’ll get you out soon,” I said with more confidence than I felt.
“I know, hon,” Fern smiled, and was then led outside by Troy. I followed them out, stopping at the doorway. Cole turned as he stepped outside, and gave me a serious smile, which I took to mean, be good, Charlee.
Well, as long as Fern was in custody, all bets were off. I had a killer to catch. But first I needed to call Preston, and I felt like there was something else I was forgetting.
Oh no, my bread rising in the oven!
By the time I made it to the police station, it was a little after two in the afternoon. I had to finish baking the bread and cancel Fern’s knitting group. That should have taken all of a minute, but I wasn’t sure who was even in her knitting group, and it took several phone calls to get it ironed out.
It probably would have been faster to just post a note on the bulletin board down at Lulu’s Steamin’ Beans. Everyone would have known within minutes. But I also didn’t want to field questions about why the gathering was canceled. I certainly wasn’t going to start the gossip chain that Fern had been arrested.
With my large purse swung over one shoulder and a lunch cooler in my other hand, I entered the station foyer to find my dad pacing the worn-out floor tiles and Preston sitting on a bench with his briefcase beside him.
“Charlee.” My dad stopped pacing when he saw me. “Are you doing okay?” Worry lines were etched on his face.
I’d like to give him the benefit of the doubt that he was here for Fern, but I suspected he was here to do damage control. With Fern being his sister, I’m sure he and my mom thought this scandal was of biblical proportions, when in reality I don’t think anyone cared.
“I’m fine. What’s the plan?” I asked.
Preston rose from the bench and came to join us. “Fern is being processed, or should have been by now, and we’re waiting to hear about her arraignment,” he explained.
That wasn’t helpful. “I need to see Fern.” I held up the lunch cooler. “I doubt they fed her, and she’s got to be starving.”
“I’ve already asked to see her.” Preston glanced at his watch. “Hopefully, we’ll hear something soon.”
I admired Preston’s calm demeanor through all this. Granted, Fern wasn’t his relative and he did this all the time, but still. He must have sensed my nervousness as he smiled. “It’s all going to be fine, Charlee.”
I nodded and took a deep breath. “Dad, what can you tell me about the Mitchells?”
His mouth twisted into a frown. “They’re outsiders from back east, Virginia, I think. They bought Maritime Manufacturing about eight years ago. Their daughter will be the new DA come January.”
“You do know she’s the reason Fern got arrested?” I asked brusquely.
“What?” asked my dad, clearly surprised.
I repeated to him and Preston what Cole had told me about Harper. If I’d sensed that my dad didn’t like the Mitchells before, well, now there was fire in his eyes. “They think they can throw their money around to get whatever they want!” he raged.
What I didn’t understand was why Harper would have anything against Fern. Everyone liked my aunt. Well, my mom wasn’t a big fan of hers, but that was beside the point.
It felt as if there was this rivalry between the Kings and Mitchells, except in my opinion there was nothing to fight over. On a basic level, I think it boiled down to pride. Male pride more specifically.
My dad liked being in charge, and the influence (at least locally) that went with being a King made him feel significant. The Mitchells, despite not being local, had money. Lots of it. And I would guarantee that my dad felt threatened by them. That he would be replaced as the primary leader of this community.
It was possible that Harper’s pushing for Fern’s arrest had nothing to do with the fact that Fern was a King, but rather that she was trying to make a name for herself and show that she had what it took to get the job done. But at what cost?
“Ben,” Preston interjected in his calm, yet authoritative, lawyer voice. “I know this is upsetting, but we can’t prove any of this. And honestly, with Fern being your sister, it doesn’t look good if you try and go after Harper.” My father nodded, but remained tense.
While I agreed with Preston, I still didn’t like it. It was apparent that Harper was calling the shots, but ultimately, the current DA, Mr. Hines, had ordered the arrest, so on paper everything looked above
