“What whole picture?”she asked, ignoring his gesture with folded arms while looking for Laney and Levi or any reason to walk away.
“Maybe a new perspective will help you make a more informed decision.”
“Excuse me?”she shot back focusing on his cold eyes.
“I have no interest in your candy store,” Walter clarified, giving the comment a moment to settle.“Just the building,” he reminded her, knowing he explained this in the past but maybe not as clearly as needed.“You can keep the business open; I can even help you move your little shop somewhere down the street where the cost of real estate is more affordable.”
Noel frowned.While most people in town supported her after the accident, Walter did a poor job of hiding his intentions of taking advantage of her in times of weakness.The two of them graduated from high school around the same time, and Walter moved off for college then worked his way up at an accounting firm in Virginia.His father passed away not long before hers, and Walter subsequently moved back home to take over his family’s accounting business.
Noel knew Walter had conversations with her dad about the building in the short time between each of their parents’ deaths.Although Noel’s father never shared the details, he made it clear he didn’t like doing business with the guy stating several times that he was nothing like the standup gentleman his father had always been.A couple of weeks after Noel’s father passed, Walter came into the candy shop with a bouquet of flowers in one hand and a sales proposal in the other; he went on to explain that the deal would remove a lot of the stress from Noel’s life.Ever since, he continued hounding her with offers and options.
“Remind me why you want my family’s store so bad?”
“Noel, there is no hiding the fact that the building you own is a diamond in the rough.I want it as an investment; that’s what I do, remember?I own twenty percent of the buildings in the downtown area.”
Noel scoffed, recalling when he initially tried to convince her that the building was in disrepair and of little value.The irony was that he owned the building attached to hers, and the two were nearly identical in every way.“I am not in the market to sell, Walter.”
“Numbers are what I do, Noel,” he reminded her.“As your accountant, I know yours quite well.Costs of goods are up, and sales are down.It’s only a matter of time before you go out of business and are forced to sell the property or, heaven forbid, lose it to foreclosure,” he stated matter-of-factly.“I am trying to help you.”
“All you care about is numbers, and that’s another reason I have no interest in selling my family’s building to you,” she relayed harshly all the while realizing some truths in his statement.
“I care about Beaufort and doing what is best for the whole community, including you,” Walter replied.“I can see your mind is made up for now, but I am always available; however, the offer may not be the same the next time we meet,” he concluded, holding out a business card to accompany his signature salesman grin.
“Thanks, but no thanks,” Noel responded.“I have dozens of your cards.”Actually, the kids ran most of them to the trash can as soon as the bell jingled on Walter’s way out each time.
“Happy Thanksgiving, Noel,” Walter offered.“I look forward to enjoying some of your delicious pies and fudge.”
Noel forced a smile.“Happy Thanksgiving,” she uttered and then caught a glimpse of the kids roaming around with a group of police officers communicating on their walkie-talkies.A while back, Officer Rainey, a guy she grew up with who married her good friend Chelsea, found a channel for them to reach the officers.Ever since, Levi and Laney believed they were junior officers.
“The kids are helping us track down a missing turkey,” Officer Rainey relayed seriously to Noel when she neared his position at the far corner of the tent.
“Oh really,” she laughed.
“This is important police business,” he rebutted.
“I bet,” she replied with raised eyebrows.
“Noel, it is Thanksgiving Day; we can’t have missing turkeys wandering around the streets of Beaufort.People need to eat.”
Noel chuckled.“Are you sure the kids are not bothering you all?”she asked seriously.
“Ma’am, you are the one impeding this investigation,” he remarked with a smirk.Noel shook her head and watched him press a button on the radio attached to the shoulder area of his uniform.While studying her from head to toe, he spoke into the receiver.“Detectives Levi and Laney, be on the lookout for a woman about five feet and six inches, wearing a pair of brown pants, a tan turtleneck, and a Santa Claus hat,” he relayed.“She may be involved in the heist.”
Noel swatted him on the opposite shoulder with the back of her hand.“Stop it,” she spewed.“The instigator here is the man in uniform with broad shoulders about six foot four, maybe 250 pounds, and a slick bald head from which all his hair fell onto the rest of his body.”
“Copy that,” Levi interrupted through the radio, and then Laney followed suit.
Rainey pressed the button again.“Word on the street is that this woman assaulted an officer,” Rainey added, trying not to let out the snicker tickling his insides.
“Are you attempting to turn the kids against me?”
“Just doing my job, ma’am.”
“Quit calling me ma’am; we are the same age.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
She held up her fist.“No pie, fudge, or candy for you today,” Noel teased.
