“John just needs to be open with Ethan, so he has all the details. I don’t know if he’s withholding information, but it seems like he might be.”
She nodded. “Fair enough. But I know that John had nothing to do with Olivia’s death. I didn’t want anyone to jump to conclusions and point a finger at him.”
“Ethan would never jump to conclusions. You know he takes his job seriously, and he is going to do a thorough investigation,” I said, trying to keep my tone light. I could have taken offense to the fact that she had jumped to the conclusion that Ethan wouldn’t be thorough and fair, but I decided to let it go.
“I know,” she relented. “I guess I was just worried is all.”
I studied her a moment. Her cheeks had turned pink, and it almost looked like she was ready to cry. “Why were you worried? Why does it matter? After what he did to you?” I asked.
She shook her head, not looking at me. “It shouldn’t matter to me. But for some crazy reason, it does. Isn’t that silly? Isn’t that stupid of me?” Her voice cracked when she said it.
I sighed. “I guess it isn’t silly or stupid. You loved him. You married him because you thought it would be forever. No one can tell you how to feel about him.”
She looked at me, her eyes wet from unshed tears. “I hate that I still feel that way. I really do. I shouldn’t be angry at you. I’m sorry.”
“Don’t apologize,” I said softly. “I understand.” And I did, now. I could suddenly see why she did what she had done. If I were in the same position, I might have done the same.
“Can I ask you a question?”
She nodded, blinking back the tears. “Sure, I guess so.”
“Did John get fired from Storage Inc.?”
Her eyes widened. “No, he was laid off. Sales were down and he and Curtis Smith were laid off. Why?”
I shrugged. “Carla Steele said he was fired for making Olivia uncomfortable.”
She rolled her eyes. “He always said Carla was the worst person he worked with there. He was pretty ticked off when they kept her and let him go. Of course, they did demote her and stick her at that desk up front so she could handle the reception duties and work as a backup to the sales department. That was the only reason she still has a job. John didn’t want the reduction in pay, and he said there was no way he was going to be a receptionist, so he didn’t take that position.”
“She told me she wasn’t the receptionist when I went in there,” I said.
“Of course she did. She doesn’t want anyone to know she was demoted.”
I nodded. That made sense. I gave her a quick hug. “If everything’s okay between us, let’s go make some candy.”
“Of course everything is okay between us. I’m going to make some maple nut fudge and eat the whole pan myself. It’s stress relief, you know.”
“You need to share,” I told her. “I could use some stress relief, too.”
We headed back inside as Carrie and Linda were heading out. “Is it four o’clock already?” I asked.
“It is,” Linda said. “Time to go home and rest my poor aching feet. See you girls tomorrow.”
“See you,” Christy said, then turned to me. “I’m going to clean up behind the counter so it’s not a mess when we get ready to close up.”
“I’ll help you.”
I looked up when the bell over the door rang. It was Frankie Malone from the flower shop.
“Hi, girls!” she said to Christy and me. “I need some candy. Okay, need is a strong word, but I sure do want some candy. I’ve been meaning to make it over here and see what you had since the beginning of the Halloween season, but it seems like something always gets in the way.”
“It’s been really busy here, too,” I told her. “How have the candle sales been?”
“Sometimes I think I sell more candles than I do flowers,” she said with a chuckle. “I told my husband I was going to expand the gift items we carry, but I don’t know how Polly Givens at the gift shop will feel about that.”
I laughed. “Uh oh, we don’t want to have gift sales war on our hands.”
“I know, I told my husband the same thing. I might just stick with the candles and the few gift items we have now.” She looked into the display case. “How about a quarter pound of the candy corn fudge and three of those big bonbons? I’ll eat one on the way home and tell my husband I only got one for each of us.”
“That sounds like a plan,” I said and opened up the back of the display case.
“Oh, Mia, I almost forgot to tell you, I talked to Betty, and she said she did remember who bought that flower arrangement that was delivered to Storage Inc. It was Carla Steele.”
I stopped what I was doing and looked at her. “Carla Steele? Is she sure?”
She nodded. “Yes, she paid in cash. Betty said she completely forgot who had bought it, but then when Carla came in this morning and bought another one, she remembered. She said Carla said the first one was to congratulate Olivia for her promotion, and now she was buying one for herself.”
“Olivia got a promotion?”
“That’s what she said. Anyway, Betty said to tell you she was sorry that she forgot who it was that bought it.”
“That’s no problem,” I said and set the tray of fudge on the counter to cut
