Free Angora Alibi by Sally Goldenbaum

clothes.”
     Then he spotted the broken dishes littering the alley. “Oh, jeez. Sorry, Janie. I
     shoulda been here to help you. Did you hurt yourself?”
    “Nah, it was me, man,” Justin said, taking a step toward Tommy. “I dropped ’em. But
     no worries. I’ll replace ’em.” He lifted one palm in the air. “Scout’s honor.”
    “Dorsey.” Tommy’s whole body tensed as he stared at him. Finally he took a deep breath
     and unclenched his fist. “Sure. Sure you will, man.”
    Tommy’s voice dripped with disdain, something Nell had never heard there before. She’d
     known the mild-mannered policeman almost since his birth. As a teenager he’d mowed
     their yard and run errands for them and their neighbors. And when he graduated from
     the police academy, she and Ben joined the whole town in celebrating his success.
     He was well liked, and when he and Janie started dating a couple of years ago, it
     seemed the stars had lined up perfectly.
The policeman and the nurse
, they’d come to be called, once Tommy convinced Janie to go back to school. It was
     a match made in Sea Harbor heaven.
    Tonight they all saw a new side of Tommy, maybe one reserved for police work—arresting
     thieves, dealing with hardened criminals. Or maybe one reserved for someone he disliked
     intensely.
    Justin sensed it, too, and without another word, took the broom Izzy handed him and
     began cleaning up the littered alleyway, his whole being concentrating on the pieces
     of pottery.
    Tommy looked over at the truck. “Weatherman says rain tonight, so how about we move
     these things inside?”
    As if receiving stage directions, everyone moved, the scooter momentarily forgotten.
     Birdie and Cass began pulling things out of the truck and handing them off to Tommy,
     Janie, Nell, and Izzy. Slowly the hand-to-hand brigade transported things from the
     truck, up the stairs, and into the small, airy apartment above Izzy’s shop.
    “How many people are moving in with you, Janie?” Cass joked, looking at the stacks
     of books, furniture, towels, and clothes.
    “Oh, it’s all just garage sale stuff,” Janie said. “It’s not all for me. You never
     know who might need something. You’d be surprised.”
    Tommy stopped short when Birdie handed him a high chair. “Janie?” He looked back at
     the truck and pointed to a bassinet and two booster seats, crammed in between a car
     seat and a changing table. “Something I should know?”
    Janie laughed away the embarrassed blush that colored her cheeks. “Garage sale finds.
     How can I turn down barely used things that someone else will need? Most of Dr. Lily’s
     free clinic patients can’t begin to afford those kinds of things.”
    “Yeah,” Justin said. “So Janie buys ’em. She’s a real pack rat. Like you should see
     all the stuff she’s given me.” He turned toward Janie and held up one palm. “But no
     more. I promise, now I start paying you back. I’ve finally hit big m . . .”
    Tommy stopped Justin’s words with a single stare. Clearly he wasn’t in the mood for
     Justin’s chatter. It seemed a bit severe, Birdie observed later. Not the usual reaction
     from sweet Tommy Porter. But then, Janie was his girlfriend, and he was clearly protective
     of her. And it was also very clear that he didn’t like Justin Dorsey.
    It was pitch-dark by the time they finished piling things into Janie’s new apartment
     and went back outside. They stood beneath the gaslight in the alley next to Tommy’s
     empty pickup.
    “Great job. You’re all the absolute best,” Janie said, looking at the semicircle of
     weary faces. “I can’t believe I thought I could manage this alone.”
    “When will you move in?” Izzy asked. “Purl can’t wait.” She pointed toward the window
     where the calico cat sat, watching the group with infinite patience.
    “There’s a secret passageway in the shop,” Izzy explained. “An unused return vent—above
     Mae’s checkout counter.