At noon on Monday, hunger forced Paige to stand in line at the coffee shop. She could not afford this, had no business spending six dollars on lunch, but she hadn’t made it to the grocery store over the weekend. She went up to the counter and ordered a sandwich and a bottled water, vowing to skip a meal to make up for the expense.
“My treat.” Before Paige could get her wallet out of her purse, Lee Richardson was handing the girl at the counter a twenty-dollar bill.
“You don’t have to do that.”
“Of course I don’t have to. I want to. You’re doing me a great service by working here with my granddaughter.”
Paige smiled at him. “You keep saying that, but you did the service for me by getting me this job. This place is beautiful.” She looked at him. “I didn’t realize you were here today.”
“Just got here. About to go check in upstairs. Mind if I come down and talk to you for a few minutes while you’re eating?”
“Not at all. There’s a bench out front that’s in a nice sunny spot. I was planning to sit out there.”
“Good, I’ll come find you.”
As he walked away, Paige noticed an extra heaviness in his gait today. Something else felt different too, but she couldn’t pinpoint exactly what. His eyes maybe. Yeah, that was it, they looked so dull.
When he came outside a few minutes later, she decided to come right out with the question. “Lee, are you all right?”
“All right?”
“I don’t know, you just seem sad. The sparkle’s missing from your eyes today.”
He looked at her for a minute then shrugged. “It’s a long story.”
“I’m sorry. I wasn’t trying to pry.”
“No, you weren’t prying. You see—” he took a sip of water “—today is my fiftieth wedding anniversary.”
Paige put a gentle hand on his shoulder and squeezed. “I’m sorry. You must really miss your wife today.”
“Yeah. I had promised to take her on a cruise through the Greek Islands for our fiftieth. She loved archaeology, traveling, sightseeing. I hated all of those things and did as much as I could to put off doing them. I kept promising her that for our fiftieth anniversary, I would go wherever she wanted, she could call all the shots. She had brochures for Greek cruises in our house for the last five years, had figured out every last detail, down to which cabin she wanted on which ship.”
“When did she pass away?”
“Three years ago. It’s been the hardest three years of my life.”
Before Paige could offer her regrets, a shadow fell across their table.
“Hey, boss. Hope I’m not interrupting anything.” Cory walked up to Lee. “You did invite me to join you, right?”
Lee looked at Paige. “Hope you don’t mind. Thought I’d catch up on the news at both places at once.”
“Not at all.” She scooted over. “Have a seat, Cory.”
Cory sat beside Paige, a little too close. She inched further down the bench. “Did your mother get her medicine okay?”
“Yep. She said you did a superior job of refilling and to tell you thanks.”
Lee smiled, but when Paige looked directly at him he coughed—as if he could cover it up that easily. He held up his empty water bottle. “I’m going to throw this away, be right back.” He walked toward the trash can so slowly, it was obvious he’d left the two of them alone on purpose.
Cory shifted so that his arm rested against hers. “Nice day, hmm?” He grinned and took a bite of his sandwich.
Paige knew that her discomfort would only encourage Cory to be more bold. Time to put him off balance with a new topic of discussion, one that Cory couldn’t manipulate into something that it wasn’t. “What happened to Lee’s wife?”
“She died a few years back.”
“I know that. I mean, how did she die?”
He stretched his arms up, then locked his hands behind his head. “Malpractice.” The word sounded so matter-of-fact. So . . . clinical. “I’m surprised you didn’t know that. Once he gets started talking about the carelessness in the medical profession these days, he can go on for hours. The man’s intense, but you’ve probably already noticed that.”
Paige tried to swallow a gulp of her water, but it could not get past the lump in her throat. She began to cough.
Cory reached over to thump her on the back. “You okay?”
Lee returned just then, his chuckle even louder than Paige’s gasps for air. “What do you think, Cory, do you need to try the Heimlich?”
Paige looked up at him and tried to breathe. “No. I’m okay.”
Nothing could have been further from the truth.
Clarissa looked toward the door for the tenth time. “I’m starving. Where is Paige?”
Dawn shrugged. “She should be back in about five minutes.
You want to go ahead and get a head start?”
“Yeah, maybe I’ll just do that. Leave everything out for her to check when she comes in, okay?” So what if it bothered Paige. It was time she learned the realities of small retail.
Clarissa was picking up her purse when her cell phone vibrated in her lab coat pocket. “Hello.”
“Have you heard about Kelsey?” Alexa’s shrill voice came through the phone. It only added to the annoyance of the whole situation.
Clarissa sighed. “Yes, I’ve heard. What’s she thinking? She hardly knows the guy.”
“Oh, I think it’s romantic. A love that would not suffer separation.” She said the last part in her best movie announcer voice, then she sighed. “Yep, it’s the kind of thing they write about in novels, my friend. Aren’t you excited for her?”
Clarissa turned her back on the store and leaned against the counter. “Yeah, right.”
Dawn poked a bottle and prescription under Clarissa’s nose for checking. Clarissa nodded and waved her away.
“She’s running off to marry some guy she hardly knows. I don’t know that excited is the right word.”
“But she’s happier than I’ve ever seen her.”
Dawn was back, this time holding a rectangle of paper in front of Clarissa’s face. The words were written in blue ink. “Look over your shoulder. The man in the suit is acting kind of weird.”
Annoyed, Clarissa turned around and immediately saw the man in question. His brown hair was arranged in a bad comb-over, his suit looked rumpled and cheap. He snapped his gaze away and started browsing through the cough and cold section.
“Hey, Alexa, I’ve got to go. I’ll talk to you later.” Clarissa hung up and whispered to Dawn. “What’s he doing?”
“He’s been in here for a while now. Every time I look over at him, he’s watching the pharmacy. As soon as he sees me looking, he starts acting like he’s browsing through the aisles, but I’m telling you, he’s watching us.”
Clarissa thought about the narcotics locked in a safe just a few feet away. Small pharmacies made prime targets for addicts, and there was nothing more dangerous than a druggie with a weapon. She looked around the store. There were three customers in various places. Was he waiting until the store was empty? She turned to Dawn. “I’m going out to talk to him. Keep your hand on the phone. Dial 9-1-1 if he so much as twitches a finger.”
Dawn put her hand on the phone. “Got it.”
Clarissa drew up her shoulders in an effort to appear taller than her five feet five inches. She walked directly up to the man, who was pretending he didn’t see her coming. “Hello there. I’ve noticed you’ve been looking for a while. Something I can help you find?”
“As a matter of fact, yes.” His words were not slurred as she’d expected, and when he looked up, his eyes seemed clear. No hint of desperation in his voice.
Whew. Her shoulders relaxed a bit, easing the straining muscles in her back.
He reached into his back pocket and drew out a fake lizard-skin wallet. He flipped it open and pulled out a business card. “My name is Gary Powell. State board inspector.”
Clarissa felt the smile droop off her face. A board inspector?
Although she’d heard stories of how they sometimes stood out front like just another customer and observed store operations anonymously, she’d never expected it to happen in this little place. She quickly offered the most sincere smile she could muster and took care to use her sweetest southern accent. “Oh my, an inspection. To what do I owe this great honor?”
Gary Powell didn’t smile. “Routine.”
When she thought of how close she’d come to leaving Dawn alone while he was watching, she almost cried. Wouldn’t Paige have a fit if she knew.
She took a quick mental inventory of everything that had transpired in the last half hour. She’d been on the phone a good bit of the time, but there was no law against that. Dawn had brought everything over to check, even while Clarissa had her back turned. He would have seen that. Okay, so far, so good.
“I’m Clarissa Richardson.” Her hand shook as she extended it to him.
Gary Powell offered a courteous shake. “Nice place you’ve got here. I was just admiring the workmanship.”
Clarissa tried to relax. “Thanks. My grandfather’s company did it. Richardson Construction.”
He nodded, first at her and then at the dispensing area. “Mind if I see your files?”
Like she could refuse. “Oh, please, come on back.”
As she led the way, she could see Dawn watching her, on the alert. Clarissa opened her eyes as wide as possible, trying to communicate an all-out alarm. Hopefully, she’d get the message. When she reached the counter, she beckoned with a smile. “Dawn, please come meet Inspector Powell. He’s with the state board, he’s going to look over our files.”
Dawn walked over and shook his hand. “Nice to meet you.”
He nodded. “You too, young lady.” He looked at Clarissa. “Where can I sit so I won’t be in your way?”
Clarissa led him to the desk along the back wall. “Right here. Make yourself comfortable. Anything in particular you want to see?”
He paused for a second and scratched his chin. “Why don’t I start with what you’ve done today.”
“Sure.” She lifted the stack of papers from the black plastic tray. “Here are today’s offerings. We’ve not been terribly busy, as I’m sure you saw, but there’s enough here to give you a good idea of how we do things.”
He started flipping through the prescriptions. “Thanks.”
Clarissa nodded toward the front. “I’m going to work on some refills. Call me if you need anything.” She walked up to the counter beside Dawn and motioned her behind a shelf. She leaned over to whisper, “Listen, you’ve never been left to work alone, got it?”
“Duh. I’m not stupid.”
At that moment, Paige rushed into the store, pulling on her lab coat and finger brushing her hair at the same time. “Sorry I’m late. I lost track of time.”
Clarissa froze, wishing she could send Paige away again right now. “Paige. Glad you’re here. I want to introduce you to somebody.”
Paige looked puzzled and then caught a glimpse of the man sifting through their records. Clarissa thought she saw almost a hint of panic in Paige’s eyes for a second.
“This is Gary Powell. He is a state board inspector, here just on a routine visit.” Clarissa strolled toward the back desk, in no hurry at all to reach the destination.
He looked up from the stack of paper, saw them approaching, and stood to introduce himself.
Paige shook his hand, and this time the color truly drained from her face. “Nice to meet you.”
“You as well. So, have you worked here from the beginning?”
“No. I just started a few weeks ago.”
“Where did you work before?”
“In Nashville. At the Nashville Free Clinic.”
“I was sorry to hear they shut that place down. It did some good work.” His whole face relaxed into an expression of downright affection. He had met Paige barely a minute ago, and she’d already won him over. How did she do it?
“I was sorry about it, too. But then again”—she gestured around the pharmacy—“it brought me here.”
“Clarissa, Dr. Janke’s office on the phone for you,” said Dawn from the counter.
“Take a message.”
Gary Powell smiled affably. “No, please. Take it. I don’t want my presence here to interrupt your work.”
Clarissa walked to the counter, her ears trained toward anything that might be said behind her. Just before she picked up the receiver, she heard Gary Powell ask, “So, Paige, how do you like it here?”
Paige looked toward the counter and waited until she was certain that Clarissa had answered the phone. “I like it just fine.”
He shifted in his seat and spoke in a lower tone. “The problem we have in a lot of these small-town pharmacies is that they tend to bend the rules a little. I guess the theory is that it won’t matter much, because no one will notice. Is there anything here that you’ve seen that the board should know about?” He looked directly at her—not a threatening look, but an expression that wanted answers.
“I . . . uh . . .” Paige wondered if he knew something or if he was just throwing out questions, hoping to snag something he might have missed. The bitter taste from the unfairness in Atlanta might have faded, but it was far from gone. She didn’t want to ever get another dose. So, she took a deep breath and tried her best to smile. “No, I think Clarissa is very conscious of doing things the right way.”
He nodded and jotted something in the notebook on the desk. “That’s what I like to hear.”
Paige exhaled slowly and returned to the dispensing counter. Clarissa emerged from the back shelves, and Paige realized at once that she had been eavesdropping on the whole conversation.
She mouthed the words good job, then went back to the work at the counter as if nothing significant had happened at all.
Not ten minutes later, Gary Powell returned the stack of prescriptions to the front counter. “Everything looks to be in order. Nice job, young ladies.”
Clarissa smiled up at him, and Paige had the distinct impression she was considering batting her eyes. “That wasn’t painful at all. Honestly, inspectors get a bad rap.”
They watched him walk out the front door, then Clarissa went to the stool and collapsed. “Whew. That was more stress than I needed for one day. I’m glad that’s over.”
“So am I.” But the turmoil that had kicked up in Paige’s mind was far from over. She had just lied. To a board inspector.
“I think I’ll take my lunch now.” Clarissa needed to get out of the pharmacy for a few minutes and de-stress. She stepped out into the bright sunshine and felt the unseasonable warmth of an early spring day. What a nice day, a good day for a walk around the square. She started to hum, until she turned the first corner and saw her grandfather’s truck parked along the side street.
How long had he been in Shoal Creek? And why hadn’t he come to see her yet?
She went back into the building and started up the stairs, almost running headlong into Cory, who was on his way down. “Is my grandfather upstairs?”
“Yep.”
“Did he just arrive? I missed him somehow.”
“He ate lunch with me and Paige. Far as I know, he’d just gotten here then.”
“Ate lunch? With Paige?”
“Yeah, and me. The two of them sure do seem to get along well.”
“You have no idea.” She ran the rest of the way up the stairs, still not believing what was happening. How could Paige possibly have wormed her way into the respect she seemed to get from Granddad? And Tony for that matter. When she reached the top of the stairs, she saw her grandfather in the middle of the room, a set of plans rolled out on a small table before him.
She walked over to him. “Granddad, you didn’t tell me you were coming today.”
He looked up and smiled. “Didn’t want to spoil the surprise.”
“Well, you surprised me all right.” More than you know. “I’m on lunch break, you want to come grab a bite with me?” She kept her eyes locked on his face, waiting for the tiniest of reactions. Would she see a twitch of guilt in his cheek? A flicker of regret in his eyes?
She saw nothing.
“No thanks, I’ve already eaten. I’ll be down to check on progress in a couple of hours, okay?”
There was no escaping the fact that she’d been dismissed. She squared her shoulders and smiled brightly. “Well, all right. I guess I’ll talk to you later.”
When her grandfather came in that evening, he went straight to the weekly reports. “Hmm, looks like last week was your best yet.” His eyes gleamed as he looked up. “See, I told you having Paige here would help, but even I didn’t expect it to work this quickly.”
“Granddad, last week was a good week because half of Shoal Creek got flattened by the flu. It had nothing to do with Paige.” Even though she was whispering, Clarissa turned to confirm that Paige was not nearby. Satisfied that they were not being overheard, she continued, “In fact, I find her work, if you call it work, is both slow and even a little careless. She’s going to hold me back from getting that franchise next spring, and I really need to get it before the lease is up on the Lancaster Building.”
He looked at her, anger in his eyes. “You’re taking a lot for granted. I haven’t promised you that spot in the Lancaster Building.”
“Tell me you’re not going to give it to Becky.”
“I’ll give it to the person who is most deserving. The other yoga studio that Becky opened has been very profitable. She’s shown she can do it.” He nodded toward Paige, who was down at the counter talking to a patient. “Look at her. She makes sure no one leaves feeling like they haven’t had complete service. That’s what I like to see.”
What was it going to take to prove to everyone that Paige was all an illusion? Did no one see the truth for what it was? Clarissa was the hardworking brains behind the operation, but Paige somehow managed to stumble into the right place to be caught in a good light. Time to make certain that everyone got a good look at the dark side.