Barbecue and Bad News by Nancy Naigle Page A

Jelly had once been a businessman with a family. Somewhere along the way his marriage failed and he blamed his job. He ended up leaving it all behind to just be alone. It was the kind of story you heard about but never really believed happened. But once Scott got to know him, it was clear the guy was happy with his life the way it was and was harmless. They’d come to a pretty quick agreement on letting things continue as they were with just a few ground rules. It had all worked out peacefully, until this mural thing came up. It seemed like Goto was determined to haunt this town—dead or alive.
    Scott hiked through the trees and back onto the jogging path. It was a good day to be outside. Not too hot for mid-June. Perfect weather for the parade and the concert, which he needed to get to now. His staff would already be there and in place, but with crowds this big it was all hands on deck.
    He stopped in front of the yoga studio. A class was just finishing up, and people were peeling off in both directions to their cars. No one else even knew that the murals at Happy Balance had been painted by Frank Goto. Scott was relieved that Jenn, the owner, had agreed it was best kept under wraps.
    Besides, the murals Goto had painted in the studio were peaceful and serene, nothing like the wicked scenes he’d painted on the house where he’d abducted the girl. No one would ever make the connection unless they’d been told. Or unless they saw the subtle imagery that seemed to taunt from beneath the peaceful image . . . but no one else seemed to notice that.
    He wondered how long that would remain the case.

    Savannah had worked her way through the crowds to the front of the stage. Cody Tuggle was giving an arena-worthy performance to this small town. He looked relaxed, like he was having fun, and every single person in Adams Grove must have come out to enjoy the free concert.
    The crowd clapped in time to the music, and when Cody started playing just the first few chords of “A Mother’s Love,” everyone went wild. She was glad she’d thrown her good camera in her handbag for the wedding trip. She took a few pictures, then headed off to one of the concessions to get a sweet tea.
    When she finally got to the front of the line at the refreshment stand, none other than Bobby from the garage was waiting on her.
    “Hi,” she said. “Remember me?”
    “Flat tire. Bad brakes.”
    She laughed. “That’s me. I’m staying the week. I might pop back in so you can take care of those brakes for me.”
    “Good plan. What can I get you?”
    “Sweet tea, please.”
    Bobby slid a clear plastic cup of iced tea in her direction. “On the house.”
    She swept the cup up and nodded. “Thank you.” This town was proving to be kind of good for her morale. A group of people had cleared out a section just to the right of the stage and were dancing. It had been forever since she’d been dancing. There was a time when people would stop and stare at her dancing with Tripp. There wasn’t much two-stepping going on back in DC, though. She and Tripp had found a couple of fun country-music-night spots that they’d frequented, but work got busy and then he was gone, so it was short-lived.
    Standing at the edge of the crowd, she sang along with the band and watched as the couples danced. A brown-haired man who couldn’t have been more than twenty-three or so stepped in front of her, causing her to abandon the song she was singing off-key.
    “Want to dance?”
    “No, thank you.” She shook her head. “I haven’t danced in a long time.”
    “Awww, come on. It’ll be fun.”
    “I’ll step on your feet.”
    He grabbed her by the wrist. “I can take it.” He tugged her hand in the air and spun her beneath it, then pulled her close and started moving around the dance floor.
    The beat carried her back, and her two-steppin’ feet were picking up right where they’d left off all those years ago. She couldn’t contain herself. It was fun, and