Free Bitter Sweet by Connie Shelton Page B

against the law. And before
you ask the next question I know you’re going to ask, yes, I did check the
courthouse records and they were legally married. The groom listed his address
the same as hers.”
    “Don’t mention this to anyone
yet. I need to decide how to tell Zoë about it.”
    She disconnected the call and
carried the brownies up front for the display case.
    “Everything okay, Sam?” Becky
asked when she came back to the kitchen.
    “I don’t know. It’s complicated.” But even if Beau can’t act upon this officially, I can do a little snooping
around.
    She sat down at her desk and
pulled out the Taos directory. No listing for Ted O’Malley. No listing under
attorneys for Joe Smith. Okay, maybe neither man had lived in town very long—the
directory was, after all, nearly a year old. She pulled her computer keyboard
toward her and searched the names online. Too many Joe Smiths in New Mexico,
and no matches anywhere in the state for an O’Malley with a first name or
initial that could conceivably match up to Ted. What the hell was going on
here?
    “Sam?” Becky’s voice snapped her
back to the present. “Sorry. Just wanted to remind you that one of those bridal
shower cakes is supposed to be delivered early this afternoon.”
    “Thanks. Glad you said
something—I’d forgotten.”
    From the walk-in fridge she
pulled the traditional sheet cake with its “Congratulations, Sandy and Ron” in
ordinary blue script, along with the order form for it. She remembered the
woman who had ordered it—matron of honor for the happy couple—a woman so
completely conventional that she’d probably never had a quirky or creative idea
in her life. No matter what she tried, Sam hadn’t been able to convince the
woman to go with something more fun for the cake. So, anyway. She hoped the
bride-to-be wouldn’t be too disappointed.
    The order form gave a street name
Sam had never heard of, and she had to look it up on the map. It was not far
from Lila Coffey’s place. Suddenly, the cake delivery began to take on some
interest. She checked the rest of the finished orders in the fridge but this
was the only one slated for the north side of town, so she told Becky she would
be back in an hour or so and carried the large box out to the van.
    The affianced young woman who
accepted delivery of the cake was so thrilled with it that Sam had to remind
herself—never try to second-guess the customer. Obviously this girl and her
matron of honor were absolutely on the same wavelength. She left the young
woman to finish dressing for her shower so she could soon show off the cake to
her friends. Sam was eager to get on with the second part of her errand.
    The road near Lila Coffey’s house
looked so different today, without the dozens of cars lining the way, that Sam
nearly cruised on past. She spotted the distinctive chalet roof and braked
quickly, turning into the driveway at the last possible second. The front yard
had lost its neat appearance—the grass looked trampled and some of the
flowering shrubs were certainly the worse for wear as people had ignored the
walkway altogether. She sighed and got out of the van.
    The living room drapes were open
and Sam stepped up to the porch to get a look. Pressing the doorbell and
knocking didn’t raise a response from Ted, as she’d fully expected it wouldn’t,
so she peered inside.
    Nearly all the furnishings were
gone. Built-in shelves along one living room wall held a few books and the
detritus of curios that a world traveler collects for their own pleasure, but
surely no one else’s. A model of the Eiffel Tower lay tipped on its side, next
to a set of carved wooden camels, surrounded by a few personal photos in
ordinary frames that no one had wanted to buy. The tables which had displayed
clothing for sale yesterday held about half the previous inventory, picked-over
colorful heaps of unidentifiable fabric. She moved to the dining room
window—more of the same. Papers