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“It’s…hard to explain. Come in.” She stepped aside to let them through the door. Granger noticed a sign that read, “Closed until after the wedding.” No need to specify whose wedding, apparently. Small town life.
Inside, Granger found himself in a spacious dark-walled restaurant with a stage dominating the back half. A giant wood carving of a blue duck stood in one corner of the stage. The club had a twenties vibe to it—some red velvet, some gilt touches. It was a great combination of classic and deadpan Minnesota quirkiness, he thought.
The last time he’d been here, his mother had never taken him inside, so he had no idea if it had changed since then, or if this was still Steven Gault’s vision. With Carly Gault now in charge, and Alvin part-owner of the restaurant, chances were that some things had been updated.
Kendra led them past tables with chairs resting upside down on top of them. In the spacious kitchen, a double-doored stainless steel refrigerator sat at a slant from the wall, as if someone had tried to move it. It must have been Alvin Carter, because he was stuck behind it, only a sliver of his brown corduroy trousers visible.
“They’re here, Pop,” said Kendra, sounding a little exasperated. “He tried to move the fridge all on his own,” she explained. “I tried to get him out but he’s really trapped back there. He wouldn’t let me call the fire department for help because he was too embarrassed.” She raised her voice a little. “He should be, too. A seventy-year-old man has got no business trying to move heavy-ass appliances all on his own.”
A grumbling sound came from behind the fridge.
“Hi Alvin,” Bliss called to him. “It’s Bliss. I was planning to come say ‘hi’ anyway, but sorry it happened like this.”
“I’ll give you a hug soon as I can,” called Alvin. “You got more help with you? It’s going to take more than a magic smile to move this thing off me.”
“We got you, Pop,” said Kendra. She tilted her head at Granger. “I remembered how big Mr. FBI is. Plus, he’s a stranger in town, gone after the wedding, so he won’t be telling anyone.” She addressed Bliss and Granger. “Pop made me swear on my grandma’s life not to. That goes for you too, if you don’t mind.”
“So you called me for my muscles, not my Quantico-trained FBI skills,” Granger said dryly.
“You’re too good to move a refrigerator?” Kendra’s smile took the sting from her dig. Maybe she actually was his secret half-sister; they already shared a kind of irritable sibling dynamic.
“Nope. Move aside, ladies.” He flexed his hands dramatically.
“You don’t have to be acting all caveman,” Kendra grumbled. “Muscles aren’t everything.”
“Girl who begged me for help says what?” He grinned at her expression, then stepped closer to Alvin to address the man—or at least his rear end. “How are you doing back there, sir?”
“About how it looks.” His voice was muffled by his position. “Uncomfortable.”
“Are you stuck on any part of the refrigerator? The piping, the steel?”
“Hell if I know. I got it moved partway, then I saw something back here. Tried to pick it up and got wedged in. I’m afraid to move in case I break open the refrigerant. It’s toxic.”
“Yousawsomething?” Kendra squawked. “Like an old rotted fruit that rolled back there? It’s not worth getting stuck over, whatever it is.”
“Don’t sass me—”
Granger interrupted him before he could get too riled up. “None of that matters now. Everyone stay calm. Bickering isn’t going to get him out.” He directed a stern look at Kendra, who ducked her head, looking ashamed.
Bliss moved next to her and took her hand. “It’ll be okay, Kendra. He’ll be okay.”
To Granger’s surprise, Kendra’s eyes filled with tears. Oh—she’d been using bravado to mask her worry.
Bliss would do a better job handling Kendra than he would. He turned his focus to the dilemma of the refrigerator. The thing was an industrial-size stainless steel behemoth with two full-size doors. It wasn’t on wheels, which would have made things much easier. He was shocked that Alvin had managed to move it at all; he must be quite strong.
Just experimenting, he wrapped his arms around one end of it and tried to shift it. The fridge didn’t move so much as an millimeter. “It must be blocked somehow,” he told Bliss and Kendra. “Can you see anything on the other side?”
The two of them walked around the fridge and leaned over the commercial stove that sat next to it. “It’s hard to see,” Bliss called to him. “The stove’s in the way.”
“And we can’t move that because the fridge is now blocking it. Besides, it’s plumbed into the gas line. I should just call the fire department.” Kendra pulled out her phone.
A muffled squawk of protest sounded from behind the refrigerator.
“There’s no need for that,” Granger said. “Do you have a flashlight, Kendra?”
Kendra rummaged through a utility drawer and brought him a DeWalt flashlight with a powerful beam. He raised it overhead and played it over the space just past Alvin. It was a good thing he was so tall, or he wouldn’t have been able to get the right angle.
“There is something,” he murmured. “It’s jammed under the far side of the fridge. It must have fallen and gotten wedged under while he was moving it. We’re going to have to lift it.”
