Strong Tea

by Sheila Horgan

“I don’t know.”

  “You need to talk to a lawyer or somebody. You have the whole team with Adeline’s people. They are supposed to be the best. Why don’t you ask them?”

  “At about a million dollars an hour, they’d better be the best, but I need to really think about this before I do anything. I’m gonna talk to Jessie. Maybe his sister. Then I’ll decide what I’m going to do.”

  “It’s your decision. I’m behind you no matter what.”

  “Yeah, standing right behind me so when it all blows up you don’t get any yuck on you.”

  “Precisely. I’m paranoid enough about sitting on the chairs at camp au naturel. Why didn’t you tell me?”

  “You think I knew?”

  “You’ve known the Fishers forever. You didn’t know that they were basically nudists?”

  “No. That’s another thing that bothered me. I never knew that. What else don’t I know?”

  “There is a big difference between someone choosing to run around starkers and someone that cheats the government. Running around in the buff isn’t against the law.”

  “I know. I know. I’m just a little weirded out. I wish I could talk to Mom. She’d know what to do.”

  “Teagan, you can talk to Mom. You just have to listen a little harder for the answers.”

  She stared at me for a minute, took a breath, then grabbed the check and went to the cash register. I followed. All of a sudden, I was really tired.

  When I got home, A.J. was dancing in the living room with Evelyn.

  “Hi,” I greeted him.

  “You’re home. I didn’t expect you for a while yet. I thought when you texted you said you guys were stopping for dinner.”

  “We did. Just a quickie. Is Suzi upstairs?”

  “Suze is out on a date.”

  “Really? With whom?”

  “A guy named Tony.”

  “Tony? I’ve never heard of a Tony.”

  “Remember the guy that didn’t show up for dinner the other night?”

  “Yeah.”

  “That’s Tony.”

  “What do we know about him?”

  “We know he is a good guy. We know that he and Suze are taking it slow. I guess they’ve met for lunch a couple of times. They have done a quick drink after work, but before Suze has to pick up this brilliant one here.” A.J. dipped Evelyn, and she squealed with glee.

  “How did they meet?”

  “You’re worse than I am.”

  “I know. How did they meet?” At least I smiled.

  “Morgan introduced them.”

  “Oh, I feel better already.”

  “She’s not going to make the same mistake twice, Cara.”

  He was reading my mind again. I love that he knows me well enough to read my mind. I just hate it when he does it.

  “I know. Have you eaten?”

  “A little.”

  “You want anything? I could fix you a snack or some dessert.”

  “I’m good. We’re gonna go rock for a few minutes. Then I’m going to put her down.”

  “I’m going to take a shower. I’ve just spent some time around a bunch of naked people, and, well, it’s a long story. I’ll tell you when you have Evelyn asleep.”

  “Naked people?” His eyebrows went up. He looked more amused than concerned.

  “I didn’t actually see any nudity. I just worried a lot about their pathogens.”

  “I’m not sure I want to know.”

  “I need your thoughts about the whole Teagan thing. I’m gonna take a shower, fix a cup of tea, and then tell you all about it.”

  A.J. listened to everything I had to say. “You guys are missing something.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “When you have a bunch of pieces, and none of them fit together properly, chances are good you’re just missing some pieces. Once Teagan finds all the pieces, she will be able to put the puzzle together.”

  I didn’t miss the part where he was pointing out that this was Teagan’s problem, not mine.

  Subtle.

  Not really.

  “You think there is more information on the computers or that some got erased?”

  “I don’t know. I’ve only met the Fishers once. Once was enough. I just think there is more to the story, and until she figures out what that is, she can twist it and turn it and put pieces together in lots of different ways, but she won’t have the truth.”

  “You’re right.”

  “The good news is that Gord or whatever his name is, the one with violent tendencies, isn’t involved. That whole thing has gone away, right?”

  “Yep. Something about cage fighters or something. I guess he got beat up under his own volition.”

  “I hope that’s over, but I still worry.”

  “About?”

  “What’s number three?”

  Funny how A.J. keeps track of that more than I do.

  What happened to me?

  Suzi got home as A.J. and I were finishing a cup of tea. Well, I had tea. He had hot chocolate. He swears that tea keeps him awake at night. Works the opposite way on me. I like a good strong cup of tea to settle me in for the night.

  “How’d she do?”

  “She was perfect. We got a little work done. She took her bath like a champ. Went to sleep no problems.”

  “I’ll go check on her.”

  “Here’s the monitor. I checked on her about five minutes ago. She’s fine.”

  “I’ll be right back.”

  Suze came downstairs about five minutes later. “It amazes me that I can change her diaper, and she doesn’t even wake up.”

  “My mother would say it is the sleep of the innocent. We used to mess with Sinead pretty good when she was sleeping. We’d pretty much pose her. We almost never woke her up. That’s back in the day when you were supposed to put babies to sleep on their stomachs. I think other families had already switched, but Mom didn’t get the memo.”

  A.J. shook his head. “It’s kind of scary to think about all the things we used to do. I don’t think I ever wore a helmet when I rode my bike. Or skated or whatever.”

  “My Mom used to talk about growing up in a different time. No seatbelts. She would laugh about kids sitting in the middle — perched on a box — on the front bench seat of the station wagon or sitting backwards in the very back. She said she would leave at sunrise and come home at sunset and never talk to an adult in between.”

  “Some things are better, some are worse. Just like every generation. I used to have a great quote about that. I don’t seem to remember any of my quotes anymore.”

  Suzi laughed. “I prayed for that. It isn’t your memory. It’s God’s mercy.”

  I stuck my tongue out.

  Very mature.

  Suzi was tight-lipped about her date with Tony, and I decided since she hadn’t volunteered any information, I wouldn’t dig.

  I am reading a book on codependency, and I’m hoping that I can find a way to introduce the concept to her. That she needs to fix what was going on with her before she gets too involved with another guy, or she is just going to end up in another relationship like she had with Barry. Guys seem nice at the beginning, but with her stuff, she could attract another Barry like a magnet.

  I haven’t talked to A.J. about that yet.

  Maybe he can help me help Suzi.

  You know when you get all cuddled up and completely comfortable and every single cell in your body is happy to be exactly where it is? The pillow and blankets are even cooperating. Everything is cool in the right place and warm in the right place, and it is completely perfect.

  That’s exactly where I was when the stupid phone rang. I knew if A.J. reached for it, it would mess me up, so I groaned and grabbed it.

  “We’ve got a problem.”

  “Teagan, not tonight. You gotta start at the beginning.”

  “Gord is dead.”

  “What?” I sat up so fast that A.J. jumped out of bed like he was ready to defend the f
ortress.

  “Cara, someone killed him in the parking lot outside our office.”

  I looked over and mouthed Teagan, gave him my best I’m sorry look, and took the phone out into the kitchen.

  “Start over. When did this happen?”

  “Building security just called. I’m pulling on clothes. I’m going over there.”

  “Are you sure that’s a good idea?”

  “No. Can you come with me?”

  “What about Jessie?”

  “I don’t want to get him in the middle of this. I don’t want some stupid person taking a picture of him with me and then somebody thinking he’s involved. I want to keep him out of it.”

  “I’ll be ready in three minutes. You driving or me?”

  “You.”

  “Be out front, Teagan.”

  “I will.”

  Teagan looked flawless. How does she do that?

  I pulled on some jeans and a t-shirt, put a baseball cap over my hair because it was sticking out in every direction, and I was really proud of myself that I remembered to lick my finger and get rid of any residual mascara from under my eyes.

  Teagan had also pulled on jeans, but hers were a beautiful teal color with a matching t-shirt. But since she gets all her clothes tailored, the t-shirt didn’t have the same boxy appearance as mine. She’d pulled her hair up in a messy bun, but it looked like it was messy on purpose. She’d slapped on her basic makeup, and it was perfect.

  I do that sometimes. When I’m in a hurry and I just slap on my makeup, it’s perfect, but rarely is it when I have somewhere to go.

  “You look nice.”

  “Dingleberry, my luck I’m gonna end up on the front page of the paper. Again.”

  “Again?”

  “Okay, so last time it was the name of the company, but same thing. What the hell? Who would kill Gord, and why at the office? At least he wasn’t in the office office. You know what I mean. He was outside. In the parking lot.”

  “Was he back at work?”

  “No! That’s the scary thing. Remember I told you he took that trip with his wife. They went without so much as checking in. He was going there to get rid of his bruises, and she was preaching at some little church.”

  “I kind of remember. Teagan, I know my memory sucks on a good day, but… ”

  “That’s the last I heard from him. I got so busy with the Mr. Fisher problem that I let the ball drop.”

  “I wouldn’t mention that to the police.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I don’t think my first defense would be ‘No, officer, I didn’t kill the man. I was too busy investigating possible widespread fraud within my company while at a clothing optional resort with my business partner.’ That might make the cops take a second and third look at you.”

  “Funny.”

  “Not meant to be. You always have to be truthful with the cops, but you never, not ever, volunteer anything. You have a brother that’s a cop. You know how this works. They are allowed to lie to you, tell you they have things they don’t have, and by the time they are done playing their games, you sound like you’re guilty of planting the first flag on the moon.”

  “You make cops sound terrible.”

  “No, I actually like cops. They do what they do for a reason. Ever listen to a police radio? Virtually every time they call something in ’cause they get a hunch, they get an answer back that, yes, in fact, the guy they just asked about is a wanted person or something. I’m just saying this is a game we don’t know how to play, and I don’t want to learn by playing the first round with all our cards on the table.”

  “They aren’t even going to want to talk to me, Cara.”

  “Of course they are. They are going to want to know all about Gord, and they’re going to want to know why you got up out of bed and dragged your beautiful and intelligent sister with you to the scene of the crime. Don’t all bad guys go back to the scene of the crime?”

  “I’m not a bad guy.”

  “Right, I mean that we should pay attention to whomever we see in the crowd. See if anyone looks out of place. See if any of your other employees are there. That kind of thing.”

  “Why would anybody from work be there?”

  “Exactly.”

  “Do you really think this has something to do with work?”

  “Why else would he be in the parking lot?”

  Teagan groaned, so I tried to be a little more positive. “It might not have to do with your people. Maybe a bad guy followed him there. Maybe he was going to break into your office to get access to something we don’t even know about, which would mean that Gord was a bad guy too.”

  “Maybe.”

  I had to be realistic. “But no matter how it turns out, it has something to do with your office, because that’s where he died.”

  “Shit.”

  “Yeah. Sorry, Teagan.”

  When we got to the office, we couldn’t get anywhere near the parking lot. We got stopped by a really cute cop most of a block away. “Can’t pass.”

  “My building security called. My name is Teagan O’Flynn. I work in that building, and Gordon Gryzbowski worked for me.”

  “Did they ask you to come down?”

  “No. I… ” Before Teagan could even come up with a convincing story, all hell broke lose.

  All hell in the form of Pastor Lola Gryzbowski.

  She’d come at the building from another direction and had been stopped just like us, but unlike us, she decided she was going to break the police line and find out what was going on for herself.

  Teagan muttered, “Why wouldn’t someone help her? She is the widow, for God’s sake.”

  The cute cop heard her. “Her?” He pointed toward Lola.

  “Yes, her name is Lola Gryzbowski. She is a pastor and married to the guy they told me was dead in the parking lot of my building.”

  The cop instantly made a phone call.

  What happened to the good old days when they talked over radios and it was easy to eavesdrop?

  He slapped the hood of my car and said, “Don’t go anywhere.” Then he turned and jogged toward Lola.

  Teagan watched. “Did you see that?”

  “What?”

  “Lola.”

  “What about her?”

  “I don’t know. When the cop was talking to us, she was just kind of watching, but as soon as he hit the car — he better not have left a dent — she turned it on. She went from curious to mourning in the time it took him to turn around.”

  “Maybe it was coincidence, or maybe you’re seeing things the way you want to see them.”

  “I don’t think so. I would give a lot to be able to hear what they’re saying.”

  I shook my head. “His back is to me, and she keeps putting her head down and covering her mouth, so even if I could read lips really well, I wouldn’t be able to help you.”

  “I remember when you used to do that as a kid. Reading lips. You got so many of us in such big trouble.”

  “The nuns at school didn’t appreciate my abilities. Always knew what they were going to do before they did it.”

  “That sounds like Mom.”

  “True.”

  “Cara, that’s it!”

  “What?”

  “Remember, she and Bernie used to talk about the gypsies. How they used to drive the people back home nuts. They would always have one thing going on, on the surface, but something completely different going on behind the scenes.”

  “Okay, you totally screwed that up, but I know what you’re talking about.”

  “Lola is a pastor. She’s married to a guy that does cage fighting. She isn’t good with her quotes from the Bible. She disappears for a week after her husband gets caught in all kinds of lies. Her husband is hanging out with an overly aggressive pumped up cop and a Hooters girl. There just seems to be a whole lot of stuff around these two.”

  “If you boiled down anyone’s life, it would look like that.”

>   “I don’t think so.”

  “What do you want to do?”

  “I’m not sure. But we have to do something. I didn’t have a single problem with the business until Gord came around. Now I’ve got computer problems and tax problems and a guy dead in my parking lot. It has got to have something to do with these people.”

  “I don’t think the cops are going to see it that way.”

  “Then we are going to have to help them.”

  “And how do you propose we do that?”

  “I’m not sure. But I’m really glad you said we.”

  “I swear to God, Teagan, if I have to get married in jail, I’m gonna be all kinds of vexed.”

  “Vexed?”

  “I couldn’t think of a word that Mom would approve of, and since you brought her up, she’s probably listening.”

  “Dear God, I hope so.”

  We sat in the car for almost half an hour before the cop came back. He said that a detective would like to talk to us. Down at the station.

  “This sounds serious. Maybe we should get a lawyer for you.”

  “I have nothing to hide.”

  “Famous last words. You need a lawyer.”

  “I’ll call Jessie’s sister.”

  Very long story short — they should have offered us breakfast — we got to the police station. Jessie’s sister showed up. They went into a room, and I waited in very uncomfortable chairs in a room that needed a good cleaning.

  When they finally came out, Teagan looked no worse for the wear, and Jessie’s sister shook my hand and left.

  “So?”

  “It was a waste of time. They don’t know anything. I don’t know anything. We’ll see what happens.”

  “You didn’t find out anything new at all?”

  “Cops are not always give-and-take in these situations, Cara. They were in take mode. They wanted to take my information and give nothing in return. That’s their job.”

  “I know, but you can usually read between lines and get any male to tell you what you want to know.”

  “That’s why I said they don’t know anything. I tried. All they know is they don’t know anything. The camera in that part of the parking lot isn’t working.”

  “Weird. That’s exactly what happened in Old Town. The one camera that wasn’t working is where he disappeared from sight.”

  “I thought you said Morgan said that was bull.”