Ever Present Danger by Kathy Herman Page B

“Trust me, I get it.”

7

    THE BLENDED AROMAS of freshly brewed coffee and warm fruit muffins permeated Jewel’s Café at six o’clock on Tuesday morning as Ivy Griffith pinned her name tag to her uniform shirt and prepared to start her shift.

    “Don’t be nervous, doll.” Jewel Sadler put her hands on Ivy’s shoulders and looked her in the eye. “And don’t expect not to make mistakes on your first day, okay?”

    Ivy nodded, aware of the front door opening behind her.

    “There’s your first customer,” Jewel said. “I’m sure you remember Sheriff Carter.”

    Ivy turned and watched Flint Carter walk over and sit at the table closest to the moose head, thinking the age difference between them didn’t seem as huge as it once had. His sideburns were graying and his waist was thicker. But he looked good. And less intimidating.

    She walked over and handed him the menu. “Good morning, Sheriff.”

    “Good morning.”

    “You don’t recognize me, do you?”

    Flint studied her, a blank look on his face. “Can’t say that I do. Have we met?”

    “It’s me, Ivy. Elam’s daughter.”

    His face turned pinker than the grapefruit half pictured on themenu. “Good grief, Ivy, I…uh…ten years is a long time. You’re all grown up.”

    “Don’t feel bad. Nobody recognizes me.”

    “Actually, I knew you were back because my son told me all about meeting Montana at the ice rink yesterday. I guess the boys are going to be in the same class at school.”

    “It was so sweet of Ian to make Montana feel welcome. Moving here from Denver is a huge change.”

    “I’ll bet. So, you ready to take my order?”

    “Sure, what can I get you?”

    “A ham-and-cheese omelet with rye toast, a side of hash browns, a small orange juice, and a black coffee.”

    Ivy jotted as fast as her pencil would move, hoping the cook would be able to read her writing. “Anything else?”

    “No, that’s it.”

    “Okay, I’ll get your coffee right out to you.”

    Ivy walked through the swinging doors to the kitchen and slid the first order of the day onto the peg. “Order!”

    Jewel smiled and winked at her. “Atta girl.”

    Ivy went back out to the dining area and waited on several more customers, aware that Sheriff Carter was on his cell phone. She eased her way over to a nearby table and pretended to be arranging condiments.

    “Are you absolutely sure?” Flint said. “Because I can’t afford to raise false hopes…So you’re saying that the dental impressions on the Joe Doe are a perfect match to Joe Hadley’s dental records?…No chance you could be wrong?…Okay, then. That’s good enough for me. Let’s consider the case officially reopened.”

    Ivy’s heart pounded so hard she was sure her name tag must be moving. What if investigators found Pete’s DNA at the site? Or Reg and Denny’s? What if the boys decided to tell police that she had gone along with concealing the truth about Joe’s disappearance?

    Ivy held the back of a chair and let a wave of nausea pass. She couldn’t go to jail now—not when Lu was dying. Not before Montana was bonded to his grandparents.

    “You doing okay, doll?”

    Ivy looked up into Jewel’s face and forced a smile. “Yeah, I’m fine. I’m starting to get the hang of it. I just need a few more customers.”

    The door opened and two ancient-looking men came in and shuffled over to the first table by the window.

    “Recognize those old coots?” Jewel said.

    “Deke and Roscoe? I can’t believe they’re still alive. They were old when I was a kid.”

    Jewel chuckled. “Shoot, they were old when I was kid. Roscoe’s nearly deaf as a door yet seems to know everything that goes on in this town. Just take their orders and tell them you’ll put it on their tabs. But you can tear up the tickets. I’m not about to collect anything. It’s just a game we play. Their tab’s been running for twenty years.”

    Brandon Jones blew on his coffee and looked out