Claws of Action

by Linda Reilly

  Nina rested her elbow on the picnic table and leaned her chin on her hand. “I’m beginning to wonder if my folks were right about him. They never liked him, you know. They told me I had stars in my eyes. That under those rugged good looks he was just another sleazy contractor who couldn’t make a living any other way.”

  “Nina,” Lara said quietly, “you know that’s not true. Aunt Fran and I are totally thrilled with the work Charlie did on the reading room. It’s exactly what we’d hoped for, and more.”

  “Yeah, well, tell that to Henry and Izzie Brookdale.”

  “Your mom and dad?”

  Nina nodded. “This might surprise you, but right before I met Charlie, I was kinda sorta engaged to one of the doctors at my dad’s dermatology practice. We’d done everything but make it official. My folks couldn’t have been happier.”

  After a long silence, Lara asked, “What happened?”

  “What happened? I met Charlie, that’s what happened. It was country music night at a popular tavern in Ossipee. Not the type of place I’d normally go, but one of my gal pals dragged me there. She’d met the bartender at a concert and had a mad crush on him. Anyway, we’re sitting at the bar nursing our drinks when this guy comes up behind me and taps me on the shoulder.”

  “Charlie?” Lara smiled.

  “Yup. He said our next round of drinks was on him. Round? I’m thinking. I just wanted to finish my watered-down martini and get the heck out of there. My friend wasn’t having any luck with the bartender, and I wasn’t feeling comfortable at all. It’s just…it wasn’t the kind of place I was used to.” She paused and rubbed her eyes.

  “So, what happened next?” Lara coaxed.

  “So I thanked him but told him no, that we were leaving soon anyway. All of a sudden, some jazzy country number starts playing. Charlie reaches for my hand and pulls me onto this ridiculously small dance floor. I tried to refuse, but one look into those gorgeous brown eyes and everything inside me melted. Charlie—I didn’t even know his name then—pulled me close to his chest. Lara, I don’t know what came over me. My hormones started bouncing all over the place, if you know what I mean.”

  Lara knew. She’d felt the same with Gideon.

  “That’s how it started,” Nina said, her voice shaky. “Fast and furious, as the saying goes. Long story short, I broke my engagement. My folks were crushed.”

  “Oh, Nina. I’m so sorry. That must have been so hard, on both you and Charlie.”

  She sniffled. “It was. My dad even had Charlie investigated. He figured if he could dig up enough dirt on him, I’d see the light and change my mind. He got fooled, though.”

  “He couldn’t find anything bad, right?”

  Nina’s laugh was achingly sad. “Only that Charlie didn’t come from the types of people my folks were used to. His mom married three times, the first two times to total losers. Luckily, the third time was the charm. Charlie finally got a dad who cared about him and who straightened him out, in more ways than one. But that didn’t matter to my folks.”

  “What do you mean, straightened him out?” Lara asked.

  “Oh, nothing, just that Charlie’d never been much of a student. He had a mouthful of horribly crooked teeth, and he struggled with schoolwork. That last stepdad was a supergood guy, though. Charlie took his surname, even though there was never an official adoption. The stepdad got Charlie’s teeth fixed, got him a tutor. Encouraged him to get into sports instead of trouble.” She laughed slightly. “Once Charlie got his grades up, he was able to get on the football team. By that time, they’d moved to Vermont, where his stepdad had family. After his stepdad died, Charlie and his mom came back to New Hampshire. They never really liked Vermont.”

  “Wow,” Lara said. “I never knew any of that.”

  “As far as any criminal record, he had a few speeding tickets, but that was about it. I think my dad was hoping he’d pulled off an armored car robbery, or something equally awful. For all of Dad’s efforts, he turned up a lot of nothing.” She began stuffing the remains of her meal into the crinkled brown bag.

  “I’m guessing that didn’t sway your folks,” Lara said.

  “You guessed correctly. Charlie has tried so hard to bond with them, Lara. He really has. They just won’t warm up to him. They tolerate him, but that’s about it.”

  Lara sighed. This was a tough story to listen to. To judge someone by his perceived social status—Lara naïvely thought that was a thing of the past. She couldn’t imagine why Nina’s parents were being so stubbornly snobbish.

  She pulled her hands into her lap and linked her fingers together. “How long have you and Charlie been married?”

  “It’ll be two years next April, if we make it that far.” Nina sighed. “I gave up everything for him, Lara. I was the medical manager for six doctors at my dad’s dermatology practice. Made good money, got engaged to a great guy making even better money. Now I’m running a one-man contracting business that we’re barely holding together.”

  “But you fell in love with Charlie,” Lara said softly.

  Nina nodded. She blinked back tears.

  “Did your parents go to your wedding?” Lara thought of Tim and Jenny Fray, how Tim mentioned that his mom had refused to attend their wedding.

  “Oh, they went, only it wasn’t held at Dad’s country club. We rented space at the American Legion hall. Only about fifty were invited. As opposed to the two hundred fifty it would have been if I’d married my dermatologist.”

  Lara shook her head. What a sad state of affairs for the two. She wished she could offer Nina some sound advice, but everything that popped into her head sounded cliché or trite.

  Fresh tears pooled on Nina’s pale lashes. “But all of that, all of that, I could deal with, if it weren’t for”—Nina pulled in a shaky breath—“if it weren’t for the way Charlie’s been acting lately.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “He’s been strange. Secretive. When I ask if something’s wrong, he insists everything’s fine. He gets mad if I press him too much.”

  Lara was stunned. They’d always seemed like the perfect couple. “How long has he been like this?”

  Nina pressed her lips together. “Since right after he started working on your shelter.”

  This was all a shock. Lara never would’ve guessed that the two were having marital problems. Evidently, they’d been putting on quite a good act.

  But, as Lara always reminded herself, she’d been fooled before.

  Was Charlie seeing someone else? Cheating on Nina? Is that why he couldn’t tell her where he was?

  “One day he wouldn’t answer my calls,” Nina said in a shaky voice. “I couldn’t stand it anymore. I went out and drove around to look for him. I found his truck parked in the far corner of the lot at the place where he buys his building supplies. At first, I felt sheer relief, until I realized no one was in the truck. It was locked up tight, nothing on the front seat. Two more times that day I went back to see if it was there, which it was. No sign of Charlie, though. He got home around six thirty, acting like nothing was wrong.”

  “Did you press him about where he was?”

  “You bet I did. He gave me some convoluted excuse about doing a quick side job with one of the subs he used, an electrician. He said the electrician met him there and they went in his truck instead. It sounded like so much bull, but I couldn’t prove that he was lying.”

  “Why didn’t he return your calls?” Lara said.

  “He claimed he left his phone in his glove box. Charlie’s kind of…technologically challenged. He’s hopeless with a smartphone. He still uses an old flip phone, and he gets mad if anyone teases him about it.”

  “Nina, think back. Did something happen right around the time you noticed the changes in Charlie? I mean, did he have a doctor appointment or something? Maybe he got some bad news he was afraid t
o share with you?”

  “I thought of that,” Nina said. “But no, nothing, except…well, you know that tavern where I told you I first met him?”

  Lara nodded.

  “One day I was doing laundry, and I found a crumpled napkin from there in his pocket. Which doesn’t really mean anything. I know he goes there with his buds once in a while to have a few beers. But when I teased him about the napkin, he nearly bit my head off. I think that was the beginning…”

  Lara’s gaze drifted to the wooded area beyond the picnic tables. The forest looked so deceivingly peaceful. She couldn’t help wondering if the woodland animals had their own little dramas. Fighting over a mate, trying to find enough food, sheltering for the upcoming winter.

  She shifted on the picnic bench and turned toward Nina, and for a moment they sat in silence.

  “I’m so embarrassed about our troubles,” Nina finally said miserably. “I’ve tried to hide it from my family, but they know something’s wrong. I’ve begged Charlie to tell me what’s bothering him, but all he does is tell me to chill. He says I blow everything out of proportion.”

  Lara felt so bad for Nina. “Do you think counseling might help you and Charlie?”

  Nina folded her arms on the table and looked down. “I don’t know. The way things are now, I’d be afraid to ask him. You’re the only person I’ve told this to, Lara. The friends I used to hang with kind of backed away from me after I married Charlie. They couldn’t understand what I saw in him.”

  Some friends, Lara thought.

  “My mom and dad”—she shook her head—“I can’t talk to them at all anymore.”

  Lara wondered what she’d do in Nina’s shoes. Probably give Charlie an ultimatum. Either talk to me, agree to counseling, or say goodbye to the marriage. Maybe that would light a fire under him.

  But it wasn’t her place to offer that kind of advice.

  “Lara, I think he’s seeing someone.” Nina’s voice trembled.

  “Oh, Nina…”

  Nina squashed a tear with her thumb. “If he is, she certainly isn’t making him very happy. He’s grumpy all the time. At home he snaps at everything.”

  “Nina, this is all a surprise to me. I never got those kinds of vibes from you two.”

  “I know. We know how to play the part, don’t we?” A tear rolled down her cheek. She looked over toward the clam shack and gave a start. “They’re coming back. Please don’t say anything to Charlie, okay? He’d die if he thought I shared this with anyone.”

  “Not to worry,” Lara said just as Gideon and Charlie trooped toward them.

  “So, was it a flat?” Lara asked in what she hoped was a chipper voice.

  “It was,” Gideon replied, reclaiming his seat opposite Lara. “But we couldn’t find a nail or anything like that. Charlie had a spare, so we changed it. Then we had to go in the men’s room and wash our hands.” He turned his hands over and examined them.

  “It’s probably just a slow leak,” Charlie said, sounding subdued. “No biggie. I’ll get it checked tomorrow.” Instead of sitting down, he stood facing Nina with an anxious look.

  Was he worried that Nina had confided in Lara? That she’d revealed their deep, dark secrets?

  “You ready to go, hon?” Charlie said, moving closer to his wife. His expression had softened. His tone was suddenly loving and contrite, without the sharp edge he’d displayed earlier. He squeezed Nina’s shoulder gently. She reached up and took his hand.

  “Sure,” Nina said, smiling up at him.

  He loves her, Lara thought. She felt it in her bones.

  After a round of awkward hugs and goodbyes, the two couples made their way toward the parking lot, Nina and Charlie leading the way. They didn’t hold hands, Lara noticed, but they walked close enough together that their shoulders were nearly touching.

  “Trouble in paradise?” Gideon asked Lara quietly.

  “I’m not sure,” Lara said. “I think they have things to work out.”

  It was the second time that week someone had confided in Lara and asked her not to share. Sherry had begged Lara not to tell anyone about the incriminating photo of her mom with Trevor Johnson.

  Now Nina had asked Lara to keep her marital problems a secret.

  She wanted to share all of it with Gideon—badly. He had good instincts. And he always had a way of homing in on the problem and offering a fresh perspective.

  No, she had to keep their secrets to herself. It was the right thing to do, both for Sherry and for Nina. Eventually, their issues would work themselves out, without any interference from Lara.

  Besides, nothing could stay a secret forever.

  Could it?

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  “You’ve been awfully quiet since we left the shack,” Gideon said on the way home.

  Lara looked over and gave him a weak smile. “I know. Lots of stuff on my mind, I guess. This past week has been kind of a horror. And then running into Charlie and Nina—that was just the frosting on the cake. It was so uncomfortable, wasn’t it?”

  “Yup. I’d rather have sat on a bed of nails,” he joked. “Not really, but they did kind of put a dent in our meal. You and I never got a chance to talk. So much has happened this past week, especially with you.”

  “I know, but we’ll catch up.”

  “You…want to spend the night at my place?” Gideon suggested. “I don’t have cats, but I do have ice cream.”

  The idea of spending the night at Gideon’s was immensely appealing. With both their schedules so crazy, and Lara constantly having shelter duties, they didn’t often get the chance to spend a long evening together to unwind.

  Tonight would be a perfect one to spend at Gideon’s. Once she picked up the kittens from the veterinary clinic and brought them back to the shelter, she’d be spending several nights bunking with them in the isolation room. They were going to need special care, and she wanted to keep a close watch on them.

  “My, you really know how to entice a gal,” Lara said. “But before I say yes, what kind of ice cream? I’ll need to consider all the facts, counselor.”

  “I have peanut butter and fudge ripple. I ate all the vanilla.” He gave her a contrite look.

  “Hmmm. Can you stop at the house first so I can do a few cat things? That way it won’t all get dumped on Aunt Fran. I want to be sure Smuggles is all set for the night.”

  “I can do whatever you want. I’ll even help. Speaking of Fran, how’s she been doing through all this craziness?”

  Lara felt her stomach drop. She still felt bad about the rift between her aunt and Chief Whitley. “She’s hanging in there, but she’s really mad at the chief. Since the day he showed up with the crime scene tech to take fur samples from Pearl and Snowball, she’s been snubbing him, to put it mildly. So far, she’s refused to talk to him.”

  Gideon frowned over the steering wheel. “But she knows he didn’t have a choice, right? He can’t refuse to comply with a warrant.”

  “No, but he could have insisted that one of the state police detectives go in his place. The way he saw it, he figured we’d feel better if he showed up instead of a cop we didn’t know. Unfortunately, in Aunt Fran’s case, he was wrong. To make things worse, he sank his own ship when he didn’t remember Pearl’s name.”

  “Boy, you’ve both had a lousy week.” Gideon blew out a breath. “I feel terrible that I haven’t been there for you enough.”

  “Are you kidding?” Lara reached over and squeezed his arm. “You were there when we needed you most. That’s what counts. Besides, you can’t just abandon your clients because we’re having a crisis.”

  Gideon swung into Lara’s driveway and she unhooked her seat belt. So many things were going on at once. All the loose ends seemed entangled in one another. Instead of forming a cohesive pattern, they muddied the picture—making it one big, unsolvabl
e blob. If only she could separate the threads, pull them out, and examine them, one by one…

  “I don’t know what to think anymore,” she said, lifting her tote onto her shoulder. She glanced over at him, her heart thrumming at the way he looked at her.

  They shared a long kiss, then Gideon shut off the engine.

  When they went into the house, Aunt Fran was in the large parlor sitting in Lara’s favorite chair, a book—a historical saga—and a cat—Dolce—propped in her lap. She looked up and smiled when they walked in.

  “Did you two have a good meal?” she asked. She stuck a bookmark in her book and tucked it beneath her chair.

  Lara plopped onto the sofa. Pearl immediately leaped off the cat tree and made herself at home in her lap. The gray cat reached up with one huge paw to touch Lara’s face. Lara cupped her face and kissed her on the snout.

  “We did, but we ran into Charlie and Nina there. It ended up being kind of a strange evening.” She refrained from telling her what Nina had revealed about her troubles with Charlie.

  Gideon had wandered over to the cat tree and was tickling Orca under the chin. “We sat with them, but they were both acting odd, like they were mad at each other. Charlie ended up having a flat tire, so I helped him change it.”

  “I meant to ask you,” Lara said. “Did Charlie say anything to you about Nina?”

  “No, but he had kind of a mini meltdown when he saw that tire. He slapped his hand against the truck and let out a few choice words. He said there’s no way that could have happened on its own, that he’d have noticed a slow leak.”

  “So, what does he think happened?” Lara asked him.

  Gideon rubbed Orca between the ears. “He thinks someone let the air out.”

  Lara sat up straight. “What?”

  “Why would anyone do that?” Aunt Fran asked. “Is there something going on that we don’t know about?”

  Lara exchanged a look with Gideon. If only she could tell them what she’d learned from Nina about her and Charlie’s strained relationship.