My stomach growled. My finger was scanning the pages, but my mind was on the BBQ. I checked my phone and noticed it was already lunchtime and I should’ve known since the parking lot was full.
There wasn’t a Grady or Ava Cox in the phone book. When I’d googled them on my phone, I couldn’t find them. By the looks of the Internet search I’d done at the library, Lexington was bigger than Normal, and it might be harder to find them.
It dawned on me that while I was here, I might as well go on into the diner, eat lunch, and ask around if anyone knew Ava or Grady.
It was a perfect plan.
I slid the phone booth door back open and headed inside the glass door of the restaurant. There were a few tables in the middle of the floor with four chairs that were all filled, but there was one stool that was up against the counter. It was like it was meant for me.
The typical diner noises of chatter, clinking dishes, and the ding of the cash register was somewhat comforting to me. That small town America that I’d heard so much about was real.
I sat down on the stool and looked around for a menu.
“Good afternoon.” A young man with a baseball cap walked over with a small plastic glass with water and a few floating ice chips. He sat it in front of me. The BBQ Joint’s logo of a smiling pig face was embroidered on the bill of the hat. “What can I get you to drink while you look over the menu?” He pulled a menu from behind the counter and laid it in front of me. “Here’s the lunch specials.” He flipped the menu over from the breakfast side. His blue eyes were magnified behind his glasses.
“I’ll have a Diet Coke.” I was happy to see they had Coke products. My eyes looked down the menu. It really all looked good and made my stomach rumble.
“One Diet Coke coming up.” He wrote on his ordering pad.
When he walked off, I noticed he swiped a coffee pot and refilled all the customers cups on the counter as he made his way down to the soda fountain. There was hardly a second for me to look back down until he was back with the drink and a straw.
“Decide yet?” He asked and pushed up the bill of his hat, swiping the sweat with the sleeve of his shirt. His brown hair was matted to his forehead.
“I. . .” I hesitated.
“First timer?” He offered a smile.
“Yes. In fact, I was driving by because I’m coming to town to look for a dear friend that I’ve not seen since my wedding.” I wondered if he knew Grady Cox Jr. “What’s good here?”
“BBQ.” His brows drew together. “Who are you looking for?”
“Ava and Grady Cox,” I said and took a quick glance at the menu. “I’ll have the BBQ chicken sandwich and fries.”
“Are you some reporter or something?” He asked and didn’t write down my order.
“No.” I shook my head. “Nothing like that. Truly, Ava and I are friends.”
“I don’t think so.” He leaned in. “Listen, lady, if you think you can come here and try to pretend to be my mom’s friend to get a scoop, you can just walk right on out of here. Or I can toss you out.”
“Grady Jr.?” I just couldn’t believe my luck. Maybe things were changing for me. “I’m Mae West. You came to my wedding a couple of years ago.”
“Don’t you think you’ve done enough damage to my family?” His jaw tensed.
“Is everything okay here, Grady?” An older waitress walked over and put her arm on his.
“It’s fine, but I can’t take her order.” He continued to glare at me. “You can, but I won’t.”
I watched him stormed off and walked around a corner, disappearing.
“I’m not sure what that was about, but what can I get you to eat?” she asked.
“I’ll have the BBQ chicken sandwich platter.” I drew my eyes back to her and wondered if I should even stay here at all.
It was my chance. The chance I needed to see what Ava knew.
My stomach won out and my desire to see if Grady Jr. would talk to me. He had to come out of hiding if he was working. It wasn’t long until my food was sitting in front of me. I wasn’t able to give a great comparison if it was the best BBQ in the state because I’d not tried any other BBQ in my short stay, but it was really good and something I’d go back for.
“Jr! Can you fix the cash register?” The yell made me look up from the last bite I had.
Another waitress was standing in front of the register poking all sorts of the buttons before Grady Jr. had popped his head from around the corner he’d disappeared in to. He looked at me, grumbled something under his breath and walked around to help her.
I watched him check some cords and cables before the beeps of the old register were back to life. My waitress had stuck my paper bill under the water glass. I pulled the cash and the tip from my purse, sticking it too under the glass.
“You’re the best.” She patted him with a big smile on her face.
“Grady,” I called over loud enough for him to hear me, but quiet enough not to draw attention.
He gave me one last stare before he disappeared again. If I was going to find Ava, it was going to be on my own with no help from Grady. I gave the inside of the diner another good once over to see if he was anywhere near, but there wasn’t any sign of him. The best I could figure was that he’d had one of the many waitress who took a few lookies my way giving him the 4-1-1 on my still being there.
I didn’t want to make his life any more complicated than Paul had made it, so I decided to count talking to him as a loss and get out of there. I could tell Detective Hank what I was up to and maybe he’d be able to get some information from the kid, if he’d not already been there.
I checked the time and noticed there was still plenty of time to go into town and ask around or even find a library with some deeds or something, anything to find out where they lived.
The sun was well past high noon, but the warmth of the rays felt good. I stopped next to the Ford and leaned against it, closing my eyes and lifting my chin to the sun. Hopefully, I could get to see Ava before I left town and had plenty of time to drive back to Happy Trails to get some things done around the lake. I was one step closer to me basking in the sun for some much needed R&R.
“Exactly what do you want to accomplish by talking to my mama?” Grady Jr.’s voice came from the side of the building. He was leaning against the wall with one foot holding him up and the other one flat against wall.
“Not that it should be a big secret, but I know that your dad and my ex had been friends a long time. If you’ve even kept up with the papers or the news, you know that I had no idea Paul was doing this to me, your parents or anyone else.” I took a couple of steps closer to him. “I’m trying to move on with my life and now that he’s dead, I’m trying to make good on some of those he broke.”
“Let the FBI do that. From what they told my mama, she might not get all the money back, but she might get some after all the assets have been taken.” There was some hope in his voice that I hated to squash.
“All the assets have been taken and divided up.” By the look on his face, my words didn’t make matters better. “And I also understand that your dad has been missing since Paul turned up dead.”
“Are you saying my dad killed Paul, because if he did, he’d be the hero in this whole situation.” Grady seemed to be taking up for his dad, which was expected.
“I’m not saying that. I am saying that a few people who I’ve gotten to know pretty well the past couple of days and who were also victims of Paul’s Ponzi scheme are suspects in his murder. I know they didn’t do it and I’d like to talk to your mom about the days leading up to your dad’s disappearance.” I decided that just being truthful might get me some brownie points. “I’m just being honest to why I’m here. Nothing more.”
He looked the opposite way and was quiet for what seemed like minutes, though in reality probably just seconds. He shoved off the wall with his foot and stood straight up.
“Fine. I’m off now, no thanks to you.” He spit on the ground. “You can follow me. I’ll take you to our house.”