“Happy to help,” Margie said. She flew down the hallway with just one backward glance. Her expression was thoughtful, but beyond that, I couldn’t guess what was going through her mind.
“Geoff, could I talk with you for a moment?” I said.
“Sure thing, Miss Marley!” Geoff said cheerfully.
“Let’s go into one of the private mud bath rooms,” I suggested. I knew that there were guests in the communal bath area; I could hear the low hum of conversation, punctuated by an occasional laugh.
Once we were inside the quiet, stone-walled space, I eyed Geoff. He took a seat on a wooden bench along the side of the room, crossed his “legs,” and folded his “hands.” “What’s going on, Miss Marley?” he asked.
He sounded so innocent. In a way, he reminded me of a big, goofy dog. He seemed to always be in the moment, rather than in his head. He didn’t overthink things, and that was one of the things I liked most about him. But what if the spontaneous, simple nature that I admired in him actually led him to do something really stupid, and push Robert off of the center’s roof? Maybe he’d been so in-the-moment that he’d failed to consider the consequences of the push.
Then there was the fact that, like a loyal dog that wants to please his owner, Geoff was intent on pleasing me. I was the first person he’d seen when he came to life, born from the mud, so he figured I was his “creator.” He always did what he could to make me happy. Of course, I gave him housing, food, and a salary for working at the center, but I knew he’d do the job happily, even without pay.
In my heart, I knew that Geoff wasn’t evil. But I wasn’t sure how much forethought or self-restraint he had, or how far he’d go to procure my happiness.
I felt sad as I watched him wait for me to go on. I really didn’t want to find out that this innocent creature had made an awful mistake.
“Geoff, do you remember yesterday evening when that scientist guy was killed?”
“Of course!” he said. “What a shame! I feel terrible about that.”
“And you feel terrible because...?” I prompted him. I gulped. Was this it? Was he about to confess?
“Because it’s a sad thing, that poor guy pushed from the roof like that,” he said. “Wonder who pushed him?”
“I don’t know,” I said. “But I’m trying to find out. To do that, I need to know where everyone was at that time. It was at about 5:15.”
“5:15, hunh?” He lifted a muddy hand up and scratched the back of his head. “Hm. Now, let me think back... uh...” He trailed off. “Friday night. Boy, was it a rainy night, wasn’t it?
He sounded like he was stalling. Why? I waited.
He went on. “Rain just comin’ down in buckets. Boy oh boy.”
“Yeah, it was raining,” I said. “Thunder and lightning, too. Do you remember the rain so well because you were outside?” Or maybe even on the roof? I thought.
“Uh, was I outside on Friday night? That’s a great question, Miss Marley. You ask great questions. Let me see...”
“Shouldn’t be that hard to remember,” I said. “It was just last night.”
I was starting to lose patience.
“Right. Last night,” he said.
“Margie was in the greenhouse, and she said that—” I was about to prompt Geoff’s memory by recounting how Margie had commented on Geoff’s absence. But before I could, Geoff cut in.
“Oh yeah!” he said. “That’s right. I was going to help Margie in the greenhouse, but then... uh... something came up that I had to... uh... fix. Yep. Fixin’ stuff.”
“What were you fixing?” I asked. I couldn’t keep the skepticism from my tone. I remembered that Margie had recounted actually asking Geoff if something had broken, and he’d denied it. Now it seemed he was changing his tune.
He didn’t seem to pick up on my skepticism as he continued. “Fixin’ the communal mud bath. The mixture was all wrong. Too much clay, not enough minerals. I was in there all night, working on it. Had to drain the whole bath, then fill it back up again. Took a long, long time.”
“That does sound like a very involved project,” I said.
I sensed he was lying. After all, I’d checked all the mud bath rooms on Friday evening, shortly after investigating the roof. The communal bath had looked normal—filled to the brim with hot, steamy mud, and Geoff had been nowhere in sight. “So how long did it take?” I asked him.
“Couple hours,” he said. “I was in there probably from about four to, whew, I dunno, maybe 9:00 or thereabouts. Missed dinner and everything. Lotta work, those baths.”
“They sure are,” I said.
Now I was certain—Geoff was lying to me. He was most certainly not in the mud bath room from 4:00 to 9:00. Did that mean he was the killer?
I took a deep breath. I knew that I had to confront him about his lie, and that made me sad. I really just wanted to back out of the room and let someone else handle the whole thing. But Robert had asked me to find his killer. Plus, Geoff cared about me. He wouldn’t hurt me. If anyone was going to accuse him of murder, it was best if it was me.
“Geoff...” I said. I emitted a heavy sigh. I really didn’t want to be in this situation. Yet I was, and there was nothing I could do about it.
I eyed him with pity. “Sometimes people—and beings of all types, actually, including Golem monsters like yourself—we make mistakes. We do things we shouldn’t. And the best thing to do after that happens is to be honest about it. The more you try to hide it and cover it up, the more it starts to fester... inside. So it’s really best just to come clean. Do you understand?”
He nodded. “I do,” he said. His eye holes drooped. His mouth hole pulled down at the corners. “You’re right. It’s time I just come clean. It was an awful thing that happened.”
I tensed.
He’s about to say it, I thought. He’s about to say that he pushed Robert. What will I do once his confession is out? Will I have to bind him with ropes? Will they hold? Will he try to run?
My brain was busy playing through the scenario while Geoff continued. “I was the one who broke the mirror in room 304,” he said. “I moved it so I could clean behind it, and it just slipped out of my grip while I was putting it back. Margie said you had enough on your mind, and that we shouldn’t tell you ‘til after the weekend was over. We cleaned it up real good.”
It took a few seconds for me to catch up with him. When his statement finally registered, I shook my head just slightly. “Wait—what?” I said. “A broken mirror in 304... ? That’s not what I’m—”
“Whew!” he interjected. “You sure are right about how it can feel good to come clean and just fess up to your mistakes. Feels real good to get that off my chest, Miss Marley. Now, if there’s nothing else, I’d better be back to my duties. Got a lot of stuff to take care of around here.”
“Wait,” I said. “Geoff—did you kill Robert? Did you push him off of the roof? I feel like you’re not telling the whole truth about what you were up to on Friday night. That’s what I want you to come clean about.”
“I didn’t kill that poor man Robert,” Geoff said. “Oh hey, what’s that sound? Sounds like a pipe rattling.” He put his “hand” up to the side of his head. There was no ear there, which sort of baffled me. How did he hear? What was going on inside of him?
I listened, but didn’t hear any pipes rattling.
“Don’t worry, Miss Marley. You just hold tight. I’ll go check it out. Must be one of the water pipes.” He hopped off of the bench and hurtled toward the room's exit.
He was gone before I could react. I have to admit, I didn’t try that hard to stop him. I was too baffled. He lied to me about his whereabouts on Friday night, but I wasn’t sure that meant he was a killer.
I had to think about my next move. I also had to get to the lobby. I’d been holed up in the spa all afternoon; I was eager to find out what had been going on while I’d been tied up with my massage work.
It was about 5:45 when I entered the lobby. Ski
li was perched in one of the branches of the tall tree in the center of the room, waiting for me. I also saw Penny and Azure chatting by the waterfall. Cora and Annie weren’t going to attend the evening’s events, which was too bad since both of them loved to dance. Cora couldn’t find a babysitter. Annie was tied up with family matters, and promised she’d be available to help in the morning, even though it was her day off from the café.
I was happy to see Penny and Azure. It was already Saturday night. If I was going to track down Robert’s killer by the end of the weekend, I needed all the help I could get.
On my way across the lobby to see my friends, I paused under the tree.
Skili glided down and landed on my shoulder. She gave a sharp hoot.
“I’m sorry,” I transmitted to her. “I know I cut our conversation short earlier, but Skili, I had work to do.”
“Don’t give excuses,” she said. “I can feel your truth.”
I gulped. As she said this, I felt it, too. I was nervous to hear what she’d learned about Justin’s odd behavior. I’d been avoiding Skili rather than opening up to listen to the information she wanted to share.
“You’d better know,” she said.
“Fine,” I told her. “I’m listening now.”
I glanced over at my friends. Penny lifted a wine glass from a tray as it floated by. I longed to be with her, sipping wine rather than listening to my cranky bird tell me something I was pretty sure I didn’t want to hear. Nevertheless, as Skili began transmitting her message, I continued to keep my mind open so that I could receive it.
“He was conversing with Sarin.”
“Sarin, the owner of the Lazy S Inn?” I said. A knot formed in my stomach.
“Mmm hmm... Not only that, but he was talking to her as if he knew her,” Skili informed me. “It wasn’t the first time they’d talked, I’m sure of that.”
“Why would Justin know Sarin?” I asked.
“That’s what we need to find out,” Skili told me.
“Ugh” I said. The thought of another question to answer made my stomach turn.
Skili went on. “Maybe Sarin reached out to him.”
“About what?” I asked.
“About you,” Skili offered. “You know how much Sarin wants you to stay at her inn.”
“But what does that have to do with Justin?” I asked. “And why is he trying to hide it from me?”
“Maybe you should ask him,” Skili said. She indicated with her wing to the right, and I looked over to see Justin approaching.
“Hey babe, hey Skili,” he said with a relaxed smile as he walked up to us. He had his phone in his hands. “So I’m trying to get a playlist ready for the dance tonight, like you asked me to,” he said. “I was thinking I could play some Groover songs. Maybe start with a lineup of his hits, like this one.” He tapped his phone and music started pouring from it. The song was upbeat and melodic, and I recognized it as one of The Groover’s hits from a few years back: “Shine On ‘Cuz You’re a Star.”
“Remember when this was on the radio constantly?” I asked.
“Oh yeah,” Justin said. “Five years ago—but it feels like yesterday.” Justin bobbed his head along to it, and spoke over the music. “I asked him if he’d play live tonight at the dance, but he said no.”
“I really like this one,” I said. I started to dance a little bit, too. I felt Skili adjust her weight on my shoulder.
I knew she wanted me to ask Justin about his conversation with Sarin, but I wasn’t ready.
I hated confrontation, and I knew that there was likely a reason Justin was hiding his phone conversations with Sarin from me. I wasn’t ready to learn the truth from him.
Skili fidgeted around some more, and I felt in my mind that she was trying to transmit a message to me.
Instead of tuning in to her, I spoke to Justin. “Did The Groover give you your prize money yet?”
“Not yet,” Justin said. “He’s been pretty busy, I guess.”
“Yeah, busy being a jerk,” I said, thinking about Groover's attitude at the morning workshop. “He’s kind of an irritable dude, isn’t he?”
“Maybe it’s the altitude up here in the mountains,” Justin said. “You know how it can mess with people’s heads. Or it could be the time difference—he probably has some jet lag.”
It seemed to me that Justin was just making excuses, but I kept my lips zipped about it. Justin tapped his phone again, and the song changed. “Oh, man, this one is so good—listen to the opening lines.”
I heard The Groover’s voice floating from the little phone speakers. “There were no clouds, but the day was dark...” he crooned.
“Don't you just love that?” Justin said. “There were no clouds, but the day was dark... it’s so poetic!”
“It is,” I said.
“He came out with this one four years ago. It was his next big hit after ‘Shine On ‘Cuz You’re a Star.’ He writes all of his songs, you know. His lyrics are brilliant.”
“They really are,” I said.
Skili emitted a sharp hoot. I knew it was her attempt to prompt me again: “ask him about Sarin!”
“Justin...” I said. “There’s something I want to talk to you about.”
He looked down at his phone. Was he avoiding me, or just suddenly very, very interested in his playlist?
“Wait, just listen to one more,” he said. “This one is his next hit... From three years back. You know how The Groover hits one out of the park once a year? Well this one, in my opinion, is one of his best on because of the—”
“Babe,” I interrupted him. “Listen to me for a minute.”
He finally looked up at me. I felt my cheeks get hot, and my chest felt tight. I’d rather talk about music with Justin than confront him about anything, but Skili was right—I had to know why he was talking to Sarin.
“I’ve noticed that you’ve been on your phone a lot lately,” I said carefully. “And it really seems to me like you keep leaving my presence whenever you take these calls. Is there something you want to talk to me about? Is there some reason why you keep running off to talk on the phone?”
His eyes darted away from mine. It wasn’t a good sign. I sensed that he didn’t want to talk to me about his conversations with Sarin.
“Do we have to talk about this, like, right now?” he asked.
“Yeah,” I said. “I think we do.”
His reaction made me uncomfortable. What was he hiding from me? Maybe the situation was worse than I thought.
He gulped. His Adam's apple shifted up and down. Then he looked around the lobby. More guests were arriving by the minute, and the noise volume was ratcheting up. The merwoman who had been across from me at the morning’s painting workshop was seated at the piano, playing a tune. The notes clashed with the noise emanating from Justin’s phone; the two beautiful songs became one cacophonous soundtrack.
“Now’s really not the right time, Mar,” Justin said softly. I could barely hear him above the din. He wouldn't meet my eye.
“Then there really is something you need to talk to me about?” I asked. “Something you haven’t been telling me?” I crossed my arms over my chest.
“See?” Skili transmitted. She lifted off of my shoulder and began circling around Justin’s head.
Justin looked up nervously. “Skili, will you stop that?” he asked her.
She answered with words only I could sense. “Tell him I’ll stop once he comes clean to us,” Skili said.
Justin swatted at the air above his head. “You’re making me nervous!” he called up to Skili.
Skili didn’t stop.
Justin backed up. “Mar, I gotta go,” he said. He jammed his phone into his back pocket and gave me a pained look. “I’m sorry,” he said. Then he turned on his heel and jogged away from me, toward the lobby exit.
I didn’t know what to think. What was he even apologizing for? I was so confused. Most of all, I felt hurt. He’d left so suddenly. What did it mean?
“What was that all about?” Penny asked. She was voicing the exact question that I was asking myself. She held out a glass of red wine and I accepted it, but didn’t take a sip.
I watched Justin disappear through the lobby’s front doors.
Penny turned to watch, too. “He seems to have some kind of beetles in his bonnet,” she said
“Bees,” I whispered. “I think the expression is ‘bees in his bonnet.’”
Penny ignored this. “Did you guys just have a fight or something?” she asked.
“I don’t really know,” I said. My voice was still soft and weak. I cleared my throat and then looked down at the wine glass in my hands. For some reason, my eyes felt like they were about to flush with tears. I had a knot in my throat. “I think Justin’s keeping something from me,” I said, while still looking at the red wine. “And I don’t understand why.”
Penny tipped her wine glass up and polished off the last few drops. “That’s it,” she said, once she lowered the glass. “I’m going to follow him.”
She handed the empty glass out to me. “Hold this,” she said. “I can’t run while I’m holding a wine glass. You know how it can be, trying to do two things at once.” She turned, and then looked down. “Shoot. Can’t run with an untied shoe, either.” She bent down and started tying up one of her hightop sneakers.
“Penny, what are you doing?” I asked her.
She looked back at me. “I’m going to go chase Justin down and demand answers,” she said.“He upset you. No one can upset my friend and then just run away. No one.” She pulled her laces into a sloppy knot, stood, and then took off at a sprint for the door.
I watched her, and shook my head. “Oh boy,” I whispered under my breath.
Being in a little rift with Justin was one thing, but having my best friend tackle him to the ground was quite another. I knew Penny was capable of some pretty irrational behavior. I started for the door at a quick clip, and called out to her as I moved. “Penny, wait! It’s fine... I’ll talk to him when I’m ready. Just let him...”
It was too late. She was already out the door.
The Artist's Alchemy Page 10
