Jessica Beck.

A BAD EGG.

To my mother, Ruby.

a real jewel!.

Chapter 1.

When Gordon Murphy originally left town, everyone said good riddance, especially Ellen Hightower, our morning waitress at The Charming Moose, a quaint little diner my family and I run in Jasper Fork, North Carolina. My grandfather, our diner's namesake Moose, had always called Gordon a bad egg, and no one but Ellen had ever had much cause to disagree with him. Like many girls who were not quite women yet, Ellen had gone out with Gordon initially because he was a bad boy, not in spite of it. She'd believed in her heart that she could change him, if only she had the chance, but five years into a hasty marriage, and two kids later, Gordon hadn't changed one bit, and, to no one's surprise, he left them in the middle of a snowy night in December. As far as anyone knew, Gordon never gave another thought to his ex-wife and his children after he filed for divorce a year later, but that all changed the day he came back to town five years after he'd first left. Just as summer follows spring, I suppose that it was inevitable that mayhem would ensue, and as things always seemed to go, they centered around me and my extended family at The Charming Moose.

"Gordon, I told you last night. You can't have my children." The second I heard Ellen's voice, I knew that there was trouble.

I hadn't been up front when Gordon Murphy slipped into the diner, or I would have told him that he wasn't welcome at The Charming Moose. I'd been in back chatting with my mother, who ran the grill from six to eleven in the morning.

"They're my kids, too," Gordon answered calmly as I walked out front.

"You gave them up the day you walked out on us," Ellen said. She was physically shaking, and her voice quivered a bit, but she wasn't about to back down. Normally, Ellen was a woman who was content with her life, and I knew that our customers appreciated her soft smile and the kind words she dished out along with the food she served.

This woman was someone different altogether, a mother bear fighting for her cubs, and if I were Gordon, I'd watch my next words very carefully. There were a handful of folks eating at the diner, but no one was about to make a sound for fear of upsetting the scene.

"That's not how the law sees it," Gordon said almost cordially. "I've consulted with my attorneys, and they believe that I have a solid case for joint custody."

"You're bluffing. You couldn't afford to hire anyone."

Gordon shrugged. "I've changed, Ellen. I'm doing fine now on my own, and with Jessie's support, the kids will have a better life once we're married than they've ever had with you."

"You told me last night how rich she was, but that doesn't mean a thing." Her voice faltered a little as she said it.

"Ellen, let's be reasonable," Gordon said.

I planned to stay out of it, since Ellen was doing just fine on her own, but when I saw her reach down to the counter to grab the sharp serrated knife that Malcolm Mason had recently used for his steak and eggs, it was time to move in.

I grabbed the knife before she could, and for one split second, Ellen looked at me with a feral expression. It was gone nearly as fast as it had appeared, but it scared me nonetheless.

It was time to put a stop to this. "Gordon, you need to leave the diner, and I mean right now."

"I don't see why I should. I have as much right to be here as anyone else," he said.

"Funny, that sign says that you don't," I answered as I pointed to the printed sign under the register. I could kiss my grandfather for installing it when he'd first opened the diner. It allowed us the right to refuse service to anyone we pleased, and I'd used it myself on more than one occasion in the past.

"I'm not asking for service. I just want to talk to my wife."

"Ex-wife," Ellen said, spitting out the words. "And as far as I'm concerned, there's nothing left to talk about."

"That's where you're mistaken," Gordon said, and I knew that he'd pushed her too far with his last comment.

"Know one thing, Gordon," she said icily. "I'll see you dead before you get my children."

Gordon looked pleased by the threat as he looked around the dining room. "You all heard her just threaten me, didn't you?"

I smiled brightly at him. "I'm sorry. Did you say something? I was lost in my thoughts. I missed all of your conversation."

A frown appeared on Gordon's face as he looked around the room and realized that no one was looking at him now. "So that's the way you're going to act? Mark my words. You'll all pay for this."

I was about to say something when Ellen's dad, Robert Hightower, came storming into the diner. He was the very definition of an overprotective father, and when it came to his grandchildren, there was nothing that could keep him from defending them.

"Get out, you worthless piece of garbage," Robert said. He normally had a bit of a stammer when he spoke, but there wasn't a hint of hesitation in his voice right now.

"I'm warning you, old man. If you try something with me, I'll beat you just like I beat your little girl's boyfriend last night."

That was news to me. What had gone on the night before at Ellen's place? She had come into work that morning a little quieter and more subdued than normal, but she hadn't said anything about an earlier confrontation with her ex-husband. And who was this boyfriend? Was Ellen keeping secrets from me?

"You sucker-punched Wayne, and you know it," Ellen said, and at least that part became clear. She and the mechanic had been flirting for months, but I hadn't realized that it had progressed beyond that. "He'd kill you in a fair fight."

"Let him know that I'm ready any time," Gordon said.

"There won't be enough left of you after I'm through," Robert said as he started toward Gordon. The younger man had thirty years on his former father-in-law, but I wouldn't have placed any bets on a confrontation between them at the moment. Robert was vigorous and swarthy, and I didn't doubt that he could do some real damage to his opponent, given the level of his motivation.

"Hang on here, folks," Sheriff Croft said as he walked into the diner. "Everybody just take a deep breath."

"Sheriff, I asked Gordon to leave, and he refused. I'd appreciate it if you'd escort him out," I said.

"Is that true?" the sheriff asked as he looked at Gordon.

"Listen, I know that none of you like me, but that doesn't mean I don't have rights."

"You do for a fact," the sheriff said, "but the lady asked you politely to leave her diner, which is well within her rights, and if you continue to refuse, I'm going to show you the inside of my jail, not that you haven't already seen it more than once in the past."

"Fine, I'll go for now, but this isn't over," Gordon said as he stared at Ellen.

"I meant what I said," she answered.

The sheriff started to walk behind Gordon as he headed for the door, and Robert Hightower followed close behind.

"Where do you think you're going?" the sheriff turned and asked him.

"I thought I'd stretch my legs a little," Robert said as he looked intently at Gordon.

"Why don't you let me buy you a cup of coffee in a second, and we can talk," the sheriff said, and then he turned to me. "Victoria, set him up, would you?"

"Thanks, but no thanks," Robert said.

The sheriff shook his head, and then he took a step closer to Ellen's father. "It wasn't exactly a request, Bob." I'd never heard anyone but Robert Hightower's closest friends call him Bob. It seemed to do the trick.

"You're not worth it, anyway," he said to Gordon with a sigh.

Ellen's ex just smiled, and I thought Robert might come after him because of the grin alone, but he calmed down, and I said, "Let's get you that coffee."

He nodded, and Ellen took her father's arm and guided him to a seat at the bar.

A few minutes later, the sheriff came back in, and I was relieved to see that he was alone.

"Is everything okay?" I asked him as he walked past my station at the door.

"No, I've got a hunch that it's not okay at all, but there's not much that I can do about it. Would you mind bringing me a cup of coffee, too?"

"I'd be delighted. Thanks for handling that."

The sheriff just shook his head. "All I did was postpone the inevitable. Have you seen Wayne over at the garage? He's got a black eye that must be killing him, but he wouldn't tell me where he got it."

"I know," I said.

"Yeah, so do I, now."

I got the sheriff his coffee, but it was clear that he wanted some time alone with Robert, so I walked over to Ellen and joined her as she bussed one of the tables. "Are you okay?"

"No, I'm furious," she said. Her hands were still shaking, and I could see that she had a white-knuckle grip on a poor fork that hadn't done anything to her. "He's got some nerve coming in here and demanding my children."

"Don't worry. He won't win."

"You heard him, Victoria. He's got a bank of lawyers now that he's with a rich woman. I'm going to lose my kids if I don't do something drastic. I just know it."

"Slow down. That's not going to happen. We'll enlist Rebecca to make sure of it." Rebecca Davis was my best friend, and a superb attorney at law. While she didn't take an active part in my unofficial investigations, she was wonderful company, and someone I cherished.

"You can't promise that, and you know it." There was an air of defeat in her words, and I knew that this must have been killing her. Ellen had gone all that time without running into her ex-husband, but now he was back, and with a vengeance.

"You're right. That was out of line. But I can promise you that Rebecca will fight to the death to make sure you don't lose your kids. You're a great mom, Ellen. No judge is going to take your children away from you."

"It happens every day, and you know it. I've got to do something."

"Just promise me that you won't do anything crazy," I said.

Ellen shook her head, and I decided that it was time to change the subject. Maybe it would help lighten her mood a little. "So, what's going on with Wayne? I didn't even know that you two were officially seeing each other, and now I hear that he's defending your honor."

"He's a real sweetheart," she said as her stern expression softened. "I didn't want to say anything about it before. I'm sorry, but I didn't want to jinx it. You know my track record with men. I don't have a very good history of choosing the right ones."

"You've got a winner there, though," I said. "Wayne's a good guy."

"Believe me, I know," she said. "He's embarra.s.sed that Gordon got the best of him last night, and he swore that the next time they ran into each other, the outcome would be different. Victoria, what am I going to do about this mess?"

"I'm not sure there's anything that you can do at the moment," I said. "Things might just have to run their course."

"If that happens, then, I've already lost."

I hated the air of defeat in her voice, but there was nothing else that I could say.

"Ellen, would you like to go home early today? I can manage here on my own until Jenny comes in at four."

"Thanks, but the kids don't get out of school for hours yet. If you don't mind, I'd rather just stay here and work. Who knows? Maybe it will help take my mind off of things."

"It couldn't hurt, right? If you need anything, you know that all you have to do is ask."

"I know, and I'm sorry I kept this all from you."

"Hey," I said with a grin. "You don't owe me anything but your undying loyalty and friendship. That's not asking too much, is it?"

"Not if you're willing to return it," Ellen said with the first smile I'd seen that day.

"You know it," I said, and we tried to go about our business, despite what had just happened.

Five minutes later, Robert Hightower whispered something to his daughter, and then he walked out of the diner a much calmer man.

As the sheriff paid their bill, I asked, "What did you say to him?"

"I basically told him not to do anything stupid that he'd regret for the rest of his life."

"And what did he say to that?"

The sheriff frowned for a moment before he answered. "That's what I'm worried about. He said if he did something, there wasn't a chance on earth that he'd ever regret it. I don't like it, Victoria. As far as I'm concerned, the sooner Gordon Murphy leaves town, the better."

"As long as he doesn't try to take Ellen's kids with him when he goes, I couldn't agree with you more," I replied.

After the sheriff was gone, I wondered just what Gordon's game was. He'd shown no interest in his children before now, so why the sudden change of heart? Was it his motivation to get them back, or was it his fiancee's? Either way, I had a hunch that things were going to get bad before they got better.

I just hoped that n.o.body I cared about got hurt in the meantime.

Chapter 2.

"What's this I hear about that loser Gordon Murphy showing his face around here this morning?" my grandfather demanded to know as he stormed into the diner an hour later. "Where is he?"

"Take it easy. He's been gone over an hour, Moose," I said. "We managed to throw him out just fine on our own," I added with a smile.

Moose snorted, and then he said, "Fair enough. You know that you can call me if you ever need me, Victoria. We don't have to be investigating a murder for me to lend you a hand."