“So the bottom line is you can’t deliver any of the furniture until late tomorrow afternoon,” Sophie said, doodling on her notepad.
She’d been put on hold fifteen minutes and two seconds ago when she’d been informed that her clients wouldn’t be getting the sofa and two loveseats like they’d been promised. She sat down at the kitchen table. She’d been recommended to the Roberts by another designer, and she didn’t want to let anyone down. They lived in the Queen Anne neighborhood of Seattle, and Sophie knew one good recommendation about her design services could mean big things and lots of referrals for her business.
The man on the other end of the phone was rattling on about why they couldn’t get the furniture out today, but Sophie didn’t really care about his logistic problems. Her clients were all that mattered.
She heard a beep and hoped it wasn’t Jane or Bob Roberts asking for an update. Not that it was her fault, but nevertheless she didn’t want to disappoint them.
“Could you hold on one minute because I have another call coming in?” she said, hoping it wasn’t more bad news about the other items that were supposed to be delivered by 5 p.m. that evening.
Sophie rang her finger over the screen on her phone.
“Hello, Sophie Richardson speaking.”
“Sophie, it’s good to hear your voice again.”
Sophie took the phone from her ear, looked at it and squinted. Maybe she was dreaming. Yes, that was it. She was having a dream about the furniture not arriving on time. It was completely understandable because she’d been pent up about this particular job for days, and she hadn’t slept well the night before. It wasn’t too surprising because a lot was resting on her pulling off the perfect redesign job for the Roberts. For some strange reason, and after all these years, she was imaging that Wade Linley was calling her. Guess she really was stressed out.
That was his voice I just heard, right?
“Sophie, are you there?”
She hadn’t been concentrating so hadn’t seen her carpet sample book and design notes teetering on the edge of the table. They suddenly fell and hit her on the left foot.
“Ouch,” she said, hopping around the room. Do you usually feel pain in your dreams?
“Sophie, are you okay?”
“Yes, Wade, I’m here, and, yes, I’m okay. It’s just I was expecting a call from one of my suppliers. You caught me off guard.”
“I know it’s been a long time since we’ve spoken,” Wade said.
Eight years, three months, four days. Sophie stopped herself. “Grans tells me you came back from Cheyenne.”
Sophie sat on the floor trying to get her notes back into order, but it was impossible with Wade on the other end of the line. While she tried to scoop them up she cradled the phone between her ear and shoulder, intrigued by this out of the blue call. Unless of course…
“It’s Grans, isn’t it? I know something’s wrong with her. She’s had a heart attack or something, hasn’t she?”
“Sophie, no, just calm down. There’s nothing wrong with her health.”
Sophie drew in her breath and then let it out. Even if her grandmother was okay, it reminded her that she needed to visit Glacier Valley and soon. Grans wasn’t getting any younger. However, now that Wade was back things might be difficult and not to mention awkward, too, should they run into one another. In a town as small as Glacier Valley that was more than likely.
“Sophie?”
“Yes.”
She’d been daydreaming again.
“This call is about your grandmother.”
Her heart picked up its pace again. She knew something wasn’t right at home.
“I don’t know how to tell you this. Well, I’m not sure if you’ll believe me. I didn’t at first, but let me just say I’m not playing a joke on you.”
“You’ve got me all worked up. What’s going on?”
“She’s been arrested.”
“Arrested for what?”
“Are you sitting down?”
“Yes.”
Just what was he about to tell her that might send her into shock? Maybe Grans had been arrested for prostitution or lewd behavior! Now she was being downright silly.
“She’s been arrested for first degree murder.”
Sophie swallowed twice, and then the phone, without her realizing it, slipped from her hand and fell onto the carpet.
“Sophie, you there? Are you okay?”
Her mouth was still wide open as she heard Wade calling to her. She grabbed the phone.
“Grans wouldn’t hurt anyone. There has to be some mistake,” she said.
“I know that, but the murder victim is a guy from out of town, and he was found at a local motel with a knife in his back. It came from your grandmother’s kitchen and had her prints all over it.”
“Of course it would. It’s her knife.”
“There’s more. A dining room full of people heard her arguing with him a while back, and she threatened to kill him.”
Sophie gripped the phone, turning her knuckles white. “Is she in jail?”
“Afraid so. I left her about an hour ago. In fact, I’m calling from Mountainview. I came here to get your number. She wanted me to call and ask if you’d come home and run things while this mess gets sorted out.”
Sophie had her business, her clients, but that didn’t matter now. Grans was her first priority.
“Sure, yes, I’ll be home as soon as I can get a flight to Missoula. I’ll hire a car at the airport.”
“No, you won’t. I’ll come pick you up.”
She almost dropped the phone again.
“That would be great. I’ll call the airlines right now and then call you back with my flight number and arrival time.”
“I’ll be waiting here at the B and B. And, Sophie, don’t worry about Emily because you know I wouldn’t let anything bad happen to her.”
“I know, Wade, and thank you for letting me know. I’ll call you right back about my flight, okay.”
Sophie pressed the end call button and held the phone to her chest.
Wade picking me up at the airport.
She wondered what he looked like now. If she’d recognize him. What she’d feel like when she set her eyes upon him.
What’s he going to feel like when he sees me?
She squeezed her eyes shut and once again suddenly felt horrible about what she had done to him eight years ago. She only hoped he’d forgiven her because he really had been her one and only love.