Wrong Side of Forty

by Jana DeLeon

  Dottie stared at Halcyon for several seconds, then burst out laughing. “You, my dear, are rather a breath of fresh air.”

  Halcyon shrugged. “I just say what everyone else is thinking.”

  “It’s an admirable trait,” Dottie said.

  “I find that rather surprising coming from you,” Halcyon said.

  Dottie nodded. “My mother had specific ideas about how a lady was to behave. Then with my husband being mayor, it seemed prudent to continue along the lines of my mother’s teachings. But rest assured, I’m as well versed on reality as you are.”

  Dottie turned to look at Marina. “Speaking of reality, how is Avery?”

  “She’s okay,” Marina said. “Went back to school this morning. I don’t see her coming back anytime soon.”

  “At my age, you’re not surprised by much anymore,” Dottie said. “But the extent to which this has been taken, and without Harold lifting a finger or even opening his mouth, is beyond the pale. I hope you’re able to work this out before it causes permanent problems for Avery.”

  “Me too,” Marina said.

  “Holy crap!” Halcyon said. “Sorry to interrupt, but these cookies are the best thing I’ve ever put into my mouth. Will you marry me, Dottie?”

  Dottie smiled and Marina could tell she was pleased by the compliment. “I think both of us have put marriage in our rearview mirror but I might be convinced to bake a batch for you from time to time.”

  “I’m holding you to that,” Halcyon said and stuffed half a cookie in her mouth.

  Marina picked one up and took a bite. “Wow. I’m coming over when you cook for Halcyon.”

  “It’s been a long time since someone enjoyed my cookies,” Dottie said. “They were William’s favorite and I don’t make them often. But I was feeling nostalgic today, so I’m glad you ladies came by. But I’m assuming you’re not here to eat cookies and talk about my garden, so what can I do for you?”

  “Since everything is a mess, we’re on a distraction mission,” Halcyon said.

  “That sounds like an excellent plan,” Dottie said. “How can I help?”

  “A friend of mine has an elderly aunt who was given a ruby ring a million years ago by some lost love,” Halcyon said. “It was stolen by one of their less scrupulous family members about twenty years ago. Rumor has it, for drugs.”

  Dottie shook her head. “That’s a shame.”

  Marina held in a smile. When Halcyon turned on the talent, no one sold fiction better than she did.

  “It’s really been a tough time for the family,” Halcyon said. “Anyway, the aunt is getting to that point where things from the past are more present in her mind than things in the now, if you know what I mean. So she keeps looking for the ring but can’t find it, of course. My friend was thinking maybe she could find something similar and put her aunt’s mind at ease. So she’s been looking for a replacement and Marina and I thought we’d go on a scavenger hunt and see if we could find anything.”

  “That’s a very kind thing your friend wants to do,” Dottie said. “So I assume you’re asking me if I have any heirloom jewelry I might be willing to part with?”

  “I know it’s kind of a nosy question,” Marina said. “But no one else in Last Chance has your taste and culture. We figured if anyone had quality pieces, it would be you.”

  “That’s such a nice thing to say,” Dottie said. “And I do have several pieces, inherited, but no rubies. The women in my family favored sapphires and emeralds.”

  “Oh well,” Marina said, shoving her disappointment aside. “It was a long shot, but at least we got to drink tea and partake of excellent cookies while gazing at this extraordinary yard. There are far worse ways to spend time. I ought to know. I’ve done a lot of them lately.”

  “There is someone else in town who might have something like what you’re looking for,” Dottie said. “In fact, for all I know, they might have the exact ring.”

  “Seriously?” Halcyon said. “Who?”

  Dottie frowned. “Preston LeDoux or Patricia Martin. Their mother was a bit of a jewelry hoarder and she acquired a lot of her pieces through dubious channels.”

  “She bought stolen jewelry?” Marina asked.

  “Oh, she never would have admitted that any of it was stolen,” Dottie said. “But when you meet someone in a parking lot and pay ten times less for an item than what it’s worth, we all know the score. She had the bad judgment to force her maid into doing the exchanges, which is how that bit of information got around.”

  Halcyon shook her head. “Unbelievable. That family is a rash on the butt of this town.”

  “And a lingering one at that,” Dottie agreed. “Anyway, I’m sure you don’t want to cross that line—assuming they’d even let you in the door—but I thought I’d throw it out there. With the way they spend, Preston and Patricia will need the money at some point and those pieces will probably be some of the first things to go.”

  Marina rose. “Thank you so much for entertaining our craziness. Maybe we’ll just take a girls’ trip to NOLA and look at some shops there.”

  Dottie gave her an approving nod. “I think that sounds like a wonderful idea. But I’m so glad you stopped by. Please do it again when you have time to relax. I’ve been known to make a decent coffee cake.”

  “My favorite,” Marina said. “And we’d love to visit again. I really appreciate all your support with everything lately.”

  “Oh, I haven’t done anything,” Dottie said.

  “Yes, you have. Just knowing that you think I’m doing the right things makes a difference,” Marina said. “I’ve always had a lot of respect for you, so your opinion matters.”

  “Thank you,” Dottie said, and Marina could tell she was flattered. “I wish I could do more. If you come up with anything, please let me know.”

  “I will,” Marina said.

  They headed out and climbed into Marina’s car.

  “That woman should have ‘Class Act’ inscribed on her tombstone,” Halcyon said.

  “Definitely. What do you want on yours?”

  Halcyon shrugged. “‘Later, bitches’?”

  Marina laughed.

  “What about you?” Halcyon asked.

  “‘Finally taking a day off’?”

  Halcyon grinned. “We could always take that trip to NOLA.”

  “I can’t. I don’t have anyone to keep Snooze.”

  “Ask Adelaide to do it. She’s made it clear she wants to help and it’s not like he could damage anything in her yard by digging. She kills everything.”

  “And she also has five thousand cats.”

  “Oh yeah. I forgot about that.”

  “Besides, I don’t think the ring will be in New Orleans,” Marina said. “If Alexios is right, it will be in Last Chance.”

  “Yeah, but apparently, our most viable option is the LeDoux. The only way that works is if we go back to that whole breaking-and-entering thing.”

  “I know. And it was a sketchy enough idea before, but after this crap with Avery…”

  “We might as well check ourselves into the nearest jail cell if we’re caught.” Halcyon held up her finger. “There is one way that wouldn’t require black masks and the potential wearing of handcuffs.”

  “How?”

  “That annual environmental charity auction thing. It’s held at the LeDoux estate. The whole family lives in that fake Tara, so you’d be close to everything Patricia and Preston inherited.”

  “Even if I was invited—which I’m not—what am I supposed to do? Walk around the house digging in drawers for jewelry? That would get me arrested just as quickly as crawling through a window.”

  “No one’s asking you to dig in their undies drawer. I just figured if you got close enough, you might feel something. If you don’t feel anything, then we know it’s not worth the risk of breaking in. Everyone wanders around a bit when it’s a house party. The ole ‘I was looking for the bathroom’ thing but really, it’s just people bein
g nosy.”

  Marina shook her head. “We’re still stumped at the ‘I’m not invited’ part. And no way could I wrangle an invitation. Especially now.”

  “I bet Dottie was invited. Maybe you could be her plus-one.”

  “Dottie doesn’t go. Patricia always bitches about her not showing up but never turns down the big check she writes.”

  “Of course she doesn’t,” Halcyon said. “But Dottie said she wants to help. Maybe you could convince her to go this year.”

  “How? It’s not like I can tell her the truth.”

  Halcyon frowned. “Yeah, I don’t imagine too many people would go for the magical ring story.”

  “They’d all think I’m going down the path of my mother.”

  “Maybe we could pose as the gas company or the cable guy.”

  “This is Last Chance, not New York City. Everyone knows what we look like. And you’re great with stage makeup and costumes but there’s no way you’re getting us past people we’ve known our whole lives.”

  Halcyon sighed. “This whole sneaky thing is a lot harder than I thought it would be.”

  “Which is why most criminals get caught.”

  “So what now?”

  Marina blew out a breath. “I don’t know. But it’s getting late. You have the drummer tonight, right? Or the engineer?”

  “Engineer.”

  “Then let’s call it a day. I’m going to contact Alexios and see if I can drag anything else out of him. I refuse to believe that he’s been walking the earth for centuries and doesn’t know more than this.”

  “You think he’s keeping things from you?”

  “Not necessarily. But that last time we talked, he seemed off.”

  “How do you know he wasn’t off the times you saw him before and this last time was normal?”

  “I guess I don’t.”

  “But what would he gain from keeping information from you?”

  “Nothing that I can think of, but what do we really know about him or his world?”

  “Not much, I guess. And only what he’s told us.” Halcyon shook her head. “I guess I hadn’t thought about it that way before, which is odd because I’m usually suspicious of everyone.”

  Marina nodded. “I know. And he’s probably exactly who he says he is, but if he can make money appear in my bank account, then how do we know he can’t manipulate our feelings? What does your gut tell you? You were always a better judge of people than me.”

  “Unless I was dating them,” Halcyon agreed. “I suppose I took him at face value. I never got the impression he was lying, even though all of this is beyond outlandish. And I know he claims his great talent is walking through locked doors but someone who can’t be hurt by a gun has a big advantage in this world. If you decide to talk to him again, be careful.”

  “I will,” Marina said.

  She didn’t really think Alexios was dangerous. Not that way. But then, she’d been married to Harold for twenty-eight years and clearly, she hadn’t known him at all. She’d only known Alexios for days.

  Her sister’s caution was warranted.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Marina could hear Snooze barking when she pulled up to the cabin. Crap. Her good weapons were all inside. She dug around in her purse and came up with cuticle scissors. They would have to do. She could always aim for the eyes.

  She hurried to the front door, trying to cross the porch as quietly as possible. She slipped the key in the lock and slowly turned it, then inched the door open and peered inside. Snooze stood staring at the back door, still barking like a maniac. She hurried inside, locking the door behind her, then grabbed the pistol from the kitchen drawer and ran to look out the back window.

  Nothing.

  At least nothing she could see, but something was clearly bothering Snooze now as it had this morning. She went back to the kitchen and snagged her cell phone from her bag, then yelled at Snooze to stop barking. She’d never gotten a chance to call Luke, and it looked as though it was past time now. He didn’t answer, but she left a voice mail, gave him a brief description of her concern, and slipped the phone in her jeans pocket. Hopefully, he’d check messages soon and call her back.

  Snooze looked over at her and whined, then scratched the door.

  “Do you need to go potty?” Marina asked.

  Two barks.

  “Is something out there?”

  One bark.

  Crap!

  “Is it an animal?”

  Please let it be a bear. Or an alligator. Or a rabid raccoon.

  Two barks.

  Marina drew in a breath.

  “Is it a human?”

  One bark.

  “Do you know who it is?”

  Please let it be Alexios or Luke or even Harold.

  Two barks.

  Marina’s heartbeat ticked up a notch.

  “Was it the same person this morning?”

  One bark.

  This so wasn’t good. Someone was lurking around her cabin and they were persistent, despite the fact that she had a loud dog and they’d probably seen her on the porch with a gun. What kind of fool went up against those odds? And why? For some worn-out furniture or her collection of yoga pants? It wasn’t worth being shot just to get some food, and if that was what he was after, wouldn’t he have waited until she left and broken in then?

  None of this made sense.

  A knock sounded on her front door and she choked back a scream. Snooze turned to look at the door, then her, clearly waiting to see if he needed to spring into action or take a nap. The door was a solid slab of wood with no peephole and there wasn’t a window that she could look out and see the area in front of the door, so she decided to go old school and ask who was there—standing behind the refrigerator.

  Bullets couldn’t go through the refrigerator, right?

  “It’s Luke.”

  A breath of air she hadn’t even realized she was holding rushed out of her and she hurried over to let him in. He took one look at her and his face was filled with concern.

  “Sorry,” he said. “I didn’t mean to startle you. I was finishing patrol in this area and figured I’d just stop by and check in. What’s wrong? Did you see something? Did someone try to break in?”

  “No. But someone was here. This morning and again just a few minutes ago. Snooze alerted me both times—the same bark he was using the other night.”

  “And you’re sure he’s not catching scent of a bear or alligator?”

  No way could Marina tell Luke that she could talk to her dog. He’d block her number and relegate her to crazy woman status. And with her family history, she couldn’t really make a case to the contrary.

  “Snooze doesn’t indicate with a bark when it’s an animal,” she said. “He usually brays. And I went out back this morning and looked. I saw someone run off in the woods. Too tall to be a bear and way too fast to be a bear on his hind legs.”

  Luke frowned and headed for her back door to look outside.

  “Did you see anyone this time?”

  “No. But I didn’t go outside. After this morning and then with Snooze going off again, I got spooked.”

  “Of course.” He unlocked the back door and headed onto the porch. Marina stepped outside behind him and closed the door so that Snooze couldn’t get out.

  She scanned the woods along with Luke, but this time there was nothing running through the trees. At least, not that she could see. But then, he might have left when he saw Luke drive up.

  “Where did you see the guy running this morning?” Luke asked.

  Marina almost sighed with relief. No “you thought you saw” or “that you might have seen.” He believed her.

  “That way,” she said, pointing to the left. “Just to the right of the cypress tree. I didn’t get a good look, though. He was just a shadow.”

  Luke headed down the porch in the direction she’d pointed, leaning over the railing as he went, staring at the ground. When he got to the end of
the porch, he frowned.

  “There’s footprints here,” he said. “Too big to be yours.”

  She hurried over and leaned over the railing. Sure enough, two large boot prints were visible in the soft dirt of a bare patch.

  “Oh my God,” she said, feeling slightly dizzy. “He was right at my house.”

  Luke nodded. “He probably heard Snooze barking this morning and ran into the woods. Then you came out armed and he figured it wasn’t the time to try anything.”

  “Maybe so, but what about this afternoon? If he just wanted to steal something, wouldn’t it be easier to watch the cabin until I left? If he was that scared of Snooze, he wouldn’t have come back at all.”

  Luke frowned and looked out in the woods. He didn’t say anything, but Marina could tell he didn’t like the way the events had lined up either.

  “Let’s head back inside,” he said.

  “Would you like something to drink?” Marina asked and headed for the kitchen. “I have soda and wine and bottled water. I’m afraid I don’t lean toward beer or whiskey. Or coffee, maybe? I was just thinking about making a pot.”

  “Coffee in the evening? You must be one of those people that caffeine doesn’t affect. Water would be great.”

  She nodded and grabbed two bottles of water from the refrigerator. Coffee absolutely kept her up, but she didn’t want to say that staying awake sounded like a good idea given the circumstances. She didn’t want him to think she was that kind of woman. The kind that needed the man on a white horse to save her. Hell, she didn’t want to be that kind of woman, either.

  But the situation had unnerved her.

  “What do you think is going on?” she asked as Luke sat on a stool at the counter.

  “I’m not sure.”

  “Could it be your poacher?”

  He shook his head. “I caught him this morning. And all the evidence points to only one guy.”

  Okay. She moved straight past unnerved to scared.

  “This cabin has sat empty for years,” she said. “And no one has ever bothered it. Clearly, whoever this is knows that someone is living here now. If he wanted to steal a television or food or whatever, he’s had all the time in the world during the day when I’ve been gone.”