Zimmerman Academy: The New Normal Read online

  I’d forgotten that Sarena lived two doors down from Maddie; anyone who came and went from Maddie’s place would have to pass by her front window. “A new guy?”

  Sarena shrugged. “I don’t know his name, but it seemed like he’d become a frequent visitor.”

  “Can you tell me what he looked like?”

  “Big guy, husky, long dark hair. He didn’t seem like her type, but he’d been coming around pretty often so I just made the leap and assumed they were together.”

  “Do you remember when you saw him last?”

  Sarena thought about it. “I guess it was Wednesday. Late. After midnight. I had an early morning the next day and I couldn’t sleep, so I got up to heat up some milk.”

  “The night Maddie died.”

  “Maddie’s dead?” Sarena gasped.

  “I figured you must have heard.”

  “We went away early on Thursday to attend the funeral of my husband’s aunt. We just got back today. No one has mentioned it to me, but then, I really haven’t talked to anyone. I can’t believe she’s dead. What happened?”

  “Someone put sleeping pills in her wine. At least that’s what the sheriff thinks happened. I suppose technically he can’t rule out the possibility that she put the drug in her own drink, but it makes no sense that she’d grind them up. Salinger is going to need to find out who this guy was. Can you think of anything specific about him?”

  Sarena thought about it. “He had a tattoo on his neck.”

  Suddenly I knew exactly who’d killed Maddie. I excused myself from Sarena so I could call Salinger. Zoe would have confronted the guy on her own, but I’m not the supersleuth type. I’ve always been the much less brave and more cautious sidekick. As far as I was concerned, I’d done my job; it was time to turn things over to the pro.

  “You really are a wonderful cook,” I said to Brady later that evening.

  “You sound surprised.”

  “I guess I am. I’m sorry for doubting you when you told me that you were. I shouldn’t be so surprised. Zak is an excellent cook and it seems like the two of you are a lot alike.”

  “I’ll take that as a compliment.”

  “You should. Zak is a great guy. What did you put in the sauce? It has such a unique flavor.”

  “It’s my secret, but if you want to come to dinner again later in the week I might be willing to share my recipes with you.”

  “Deal. This is delicious. Really. The best pasta I’ve ever had.”

  “Trish didn’t really like to cook, so I helped out whenever I could. The more time I spent in the kitchen the more I found that cooking was relaxing after so much mental activity. It gave me a sense of comfort to go through familiar motions at the end of the day. I began experimenting and creating my own recipes and fell in love with the craft. Don’t get me wrong—I love math and I enjoy teaching—but if I had to choose a second career, I’d most definitely want to be a chef. For me cooking is both primal and sensual. It fills a part of my soul that can’t be touched in any other way.”

  I felt my heart pounding as Brady talked about his love of the activity we both enjoyed. “I know exactly what you mean. When I’m creating a new recipe it’s like I’m totally lost in a different world. It’s just me, the food, and the kitchen.”

  “I know you owned your own sandwich shop, but did you ever consider going to culinary school?”

  “I suppose it went through my mind from time to time, but school is expensive, and I knew my mom couldn’t really manage it. I worked at her restaurant from the time I was a teen. It was easy to just continue to do it when I graduated high school.”

  “There was never a doubt in my mind I would go to college. It was expected in our family. In fact, I remember one time—”

  My phone rang, interrupting Brady. I looked at the caller ID. “I’m sorry, I need to take this. I’ll just be a minute.” I walked into the living room, where I could have some privacy.

  “So, was I right?” I asked Salinger when I answered his call.

  “I have the feeling you might be. The guy isn’t admitting to anything at the moment, but I did manage to find out that he moved to Ashton Falls recently.”

  “Yeah, he mentioned he’d only been here for a few months.”

  “Interestingly enough, he moved to the area from the same small town Maddie lived in before she arrived in town eighteen months ago. So far I haven’t been able to prove they knew each other, but it seems likely. I’m working on it. In the meantime, I’d like to speak to your friend: the one who told you that she’d seen a guy pass by her window. I’ll need an eyewitness to continue to hold the guy while I get this sorted out.”

  I gave Salinger Sarena’s phone number before hanging up and returning to the kitchen.

  “Everything okay?” Brady asked.

  “Yeah. It was Sheriff Salinger. He picked up the bartender at Lucky’s. It looks like my hunch about Maddie Kramer’s murderer is going to pay off.”

  “I’m glad things worked out. I have to admit that one of the reasons I decided to take the job at Zimmerman Academy was because of Ashton Falls’ low crime rate. What are the odds there would be a murder investigation going on my first week here?”

  I wondered if I should tell him that we had more murders per capita than pretty much any other small town in the country, but why scare the guy away? I just smiled and hoped the murder trend we’d been having would end as abruptly as it had begun.

  “You know, I was really dreading today, but I’ve had one of the best days I’ve had in a long time,” Brady commented. “It’s hard to be alone and missing the person you love any day of the year, but it’s especially bad on special days like holidays and birthdays.”

  “Did you have a Valentine’s Day tradition with your wife?”

  “We did. Every year since we were married we spent Valentine’s Day at this little bed-and-breakfast we discovered shortly after we started dating.”

  “That sounds nice.”

  “It was.” A look of sadness came over Brady’s face. “How about you? Any Valentine’s traditions?”

  “No. I’m afraid I’ve never been with any one person long enough to establish a tradition. I really love the idea of having one, though. Something you can look forward to year after year.”

  “It’ll happen. You’ll find that special guy.”

  “I hope so.”

  Brady hung the dish rag over the edge of the sink. He turned around and leaned against the counter. He crossed his arms over his chest before he began to speak. “As I was boarding the plane to come to Ashton Falls, I had a moment of doubt that I was doing the right thing. I thought I wanted to move on and start fresh somewhere else, which was why I applied for the job at the Academy, but in that final moment I began to wonder if leaving everything behind that was predictable and normal was really the right thing to do. In the past few days, after getting to know you and meeting some of the people in town, I feel certain I made the right decision. I find that I’m actually excited getting up in the morning and finding out what my new life is going to look like. The fact of the matter is, Ellie Davis, you’ve been good for me.”

  I smiled.

  “I hope we can continue to spend time together once the weekend is over and the normal routine of your week resumes,” he added.

  “I’d like that. You’ve been good for me too. The day I picked you up at the airport was shaping up to be one of the worst ones of my life, but then we talked about finding a new normal when the old normal has ceased to exist, and I realized I needed to let go of what I’d lost and start building something new. Our talk helped me more than you’ll ever know.”

  Brady filled two bottles with milk. “Do you want to help me get the boys tucked in?”

  “I’d love to.”

  He handed one of the bottles to me. He held it up and clicked it against mine, as if in a toast. “To us and our friendship, and to finding a wonderful and fulfilling new normal in the year ahead.”

  Kathi D
aley lives with her husband, kids, grandkids, and Bernese mountain dogs in beautiful Lake Tahoe. When she isn’t writing, she likes to read (preferably at the beach or by the fire), cook (preferably something with chocolate or cheese), and garden (planting and planning, not weeding). She also enjoys spending time on the water when she’s not hiking, biking, or snowshoeing the miles of desolate trails surrounding her home.

  Kathi uses the mountain setting in which she lives, along with the animals (wild and domestic) that share her home, as inspiration for her cozy mysteries.

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