He shook his head. “Why couldn’t I fall for a nice, boring accountant?”
“Because you’d never be happy with a nice, boring accountant. That’s something you need to accept about yourself. I’m also exhausted and aggravated, so I’m going to bed too. Lock up when you leave.”
I started up the stairs and Carter put his hand on my arm to stop me. “I’m going to need to see that SUV.”
I nodded. “When I wake up, I’ll call you.”
I headed upstairs for the long-awaited shower and pulled out my cell phone to send Little Hebert a text. I didn’t want anyone surprised when I showed up at the storage unit with the police.
I hid the key in the secret room in Marge’s master bedroom closet that contained her personal armory, then headed for the shower. I felt a tiny twinge of guilt for not telling Carter about the key, but the twinge quickly disappeared. I’d promised Big and Little I wouldn’t get them involved with the police, and I was already breaking that promise. Not that I had any choice, and I’m sure they would understand, but it didn’t mean I was going to spill out everything else.
Carter had exposed his hand by keeping the missing SUVs a secret from Ida Belle and me. If he had the key, I was positive the withholding of information would continue in earnest. So I’d hold on to the key and move forward as planned. I’d do my own investigation, and when I figured out what the key opened, I’d call Big and Little for backup.
I just hoped I was doing the right thing.
Chapter Ten
My internal clock betrayed me and tried to force me awake at 6:00 a.m. I gave it the mental finger, rolled over, and went back to sleep. Finally, my overactive mind won and I rolled out of bed after a series of confusing dreams featuring alligators, exploding handbags, and cars that used odd-shaped keys to start them. Once I was upright and mostly awake, the dreams weren’t as confusing as I’d originally thought. At least the elements made sense.
I checked the clock and saw it was 8:00 a.m. I’d officially slept late. It wasn’t something I managed often, but then when you didn’t fall asleep until after four, things like this were bound to happen. I pulled on yoga pants and a T-shirt and headed out of the bedroom. The smell of coffee hit me as soon as I stepped into the hallway, so I didn’t bother to check the guest room on my way down.
Ida Belle was sitting at the kitchen table with a full mug of coffee. A quick glance at the coffeepot let me know it was either her first cup or she was on her second pot. Based on her lackluster greeting and her unusual slouch, I was going with option one. I poured a cup, sat down across from her, and took a big sip. Just a hundred or so more of those and I’d be good to go.
“I’m sorry I put you in this position,” Ida Belle said.
I stared at her, somewhat surprised. “You didn’t.”
“It’s my vehicle.”
“So how does that make it your fault? Trust me, I put myself in this position by virtue of being who I am. I didn’t know who that was for most of my life, but now that I’m starting to get a good idea, I have no intention of pretending something else. And if Carter decides he can’t handle that, then it’s unfortunate, but I’ll get over it.”
Ida Belle gave me a rueful smile. “I know exactly who you are. Probably could have saved you some time and filled in the blanks while you were working up your character bio, but I think it’s something everyone needs to come to terms with themselves.”
“I’ll bite. Who am I?”
“You’re me. The person I was many decades ago, anyway. I think that’s one of the reasons that I took to you instantly. I look at you and I see myself at a time when I was younger, faster, stronger, and my whole life stretched in front of me like an endless sunset.”
I frowned. “You say that like you have regrets.”
“If you live to a certain age, you’ll always have regrets. Most of them will be selfish.”
I studied her for several seconds. I’d always known Ida Belle ran deep, unlike Gertie, who mostly showed you who she was up front. But Ida Belle rarely talked about personal things this seriously. In fact, I could probably count the times on one hand if you weren’t including talking about the cases we’d gotten mixed up in.
“Is that ‘certain age’ not quite thirty?” I asked. “Because I already have plenty of regrets.”
Ida Belle shook her head. “You shouldn’t feel that way. You’re a young woman who made decisions about your direction in life using what information you had. You’re intelligent and very successful at what you do. Of all things, don’t ever regret that. It helped make you the person you are today. And that person still has plenty of time to do all the things a young woman ever dreams of.”
“Right now, I’m dreaming of a blueberry muffin.”
Ida Belle sighed. “So much like me. I used to deflect just like that. Then I got tired and settled in my ways and just started saying exactly what I thought all the time. Neither is a good long-term plan, although they both have their usefulness.”
I frowned. “I’m not sure what you want me to say.”
“I don’t want you to say anything. Maybe I’m just an old woman who didn’t get enough sleep and now I’m rambling, but I think what I’m trying to say is I see you doing the same things I did. And I want to be certain you’re thinking about all the ramifications.”
Ah. The coffee was kicking in and it was starting to make more sense.
“You’re talking about you and Walter.”
The General Store owner had outright admitted to being in love with Ida Belle since the crib and still was. He’d never been married, preferring instead to carry a torch for the woman who wouldn’t say yes to a relationship. I still didn’t quite understand why, but every time I’d asked her about it, she gave me a piece of an answer, but never anything complete.
“You and Carter have something good started,” Ida Belle said. “I just want you to consider all your options when you’re making choices.”
“Okay. You’ve danced around this since day one, but if you want to give me relationship advice, then you’re going to have to explain to me why you never said yes to Walter. I mean, I’d totally get it if you don’t have those kind of feelings for him, but I don’t think that’s it.”
Ida Belle stared into her coffee cup, frowning, then finally looked back up at me. “I had a lot of reasons…good reasons, or so I thought. They made my choice easier. But I think the real reason is because I never trusted him enough.”
“I don’t understand. Walter would lie down and die for you.”