Alberta Alibi by Dayle Gaetz

Sheila demanded.
    The woman’s arms jerked, her foot hit the floor and she swung around. “I was wondering the same thing!” she said. She stood up then and smiled. Her teeth were very straight and very white. Sheila thought they gleamed like a toothpaste commercial. She had a round face and round blue eyes. In fact, she was round all over, no taller than Sheila and way shorter than Sheila’s mom. “You must be Sheila,” the woman said, still showing her teeth. “I recognize you from your pictures. Your dad sure misses you.”
    â€œOh,” Sheila said. Nothing else came to mind so she simply stood there studying this woman and wondering why she kept smiling as if her face was permanently stuck that way. Probably to show off her dimples. Sheila detested dimples.
    â€œI’m Adele James. Have you met my son, Huntley?”
    Sheila shrugged. Seemed fairly obvious.
    â€œHi,” Katie said, “I’m Katie, Sheila’s best friend.”
    â€œYes, Chris told me you were here. You and your brother, Russell?”
    â€œRusty. He’s my cousin.”
    â€œSo do you girls know where Huntley is? I just got here a half hour ago and haven’t seen a soul.”
    â€œI think Huntley and Rusty went swimming,” Katie said. “He didn’t know you were coming back today.”
    Adele looked confused. “Now that’s odd. I asked Chris to tell him. When I phoned yesterday, Huntley was out riding with you kids.”
    She turned to Sheila. “Your dad said he’d be here when I got back. Any idea where he is?”
    Sheila shook her head. “He was here when we left. He’s probably out riding.” She didn’t mention her dad liked to take off on long rides when he had something on his mind, and she was pretty sure he had tons on his mind right now.
    â€œI checked. Pita is in the barn.”
    Sheila glanced out the window. Wherever Dad went, it was his own business and not this Adele person’s.
    â€œI’m sure he’ll be back soon.” Adele smiled again.
    â€œWould you girls like toasted cheese sandwiches?”
    Sheila glanced toward the stove. A greasy frying pan with a pancake flipper sticking from it sat on an element. Bread tumbled from a plastic bag, scattering crumbs across the countertop. A block of cheddar cheese on a cutting board had a dirty knife beside it. She thought of Ben’s super-neat kitchen and decided this Adele person must be as messy as Dad.
    â€œI’m not hungry,” she said coldly.
    â€œI can make some,” Katie said. “I’m starving!”
    Sheila glared at her. She did a lot of glaring these days.
    When Katie handed her a golden brown, toasted sandwich with melted cheese oozing onto the plate, Sheila couldn’t help it. She took a bite. It tasted amazing. She took another bite and stared outside at the garden, trying to ignore Katie, who was chatting with Adele as if they were old buddies.
    Couldn’t Katie figure out she wanted nothing to do with this Adele? Wasn’t it bad enough this awful woman was sitting in her dad’s kitchen, helping herself to food as if she owned the place? Sheila glared daggers at Katie, but her friend chattered on like an idiot. Didn’t even glance Sheila’s way. As much as she tried not to listen, Sheila heard Katie tell about the police visit this morning, the rifle in the truck and the fire at the development.
    Adele wasn’t smiling anymore. “But that’s terrible!” she said. “Who would do such a thing?”
    â€œSomeone who has motive,” Sheila grumbled.
    Adele turned to her in surprise, her round pink mouth slid into a grim line. “No one has more motive than I do.”
    â€œWhat motive?” Katie asked.
    â€œGlenmar Developers took advantage of my parents when Mom was so ill. My mother has Alzheimer’s disease, which means she’s lost most of her memory—she doesn’t