The Locked Room

by Marti Talbott

  Artie chuckled, “A pickup that only held three people, so all four of us couldn’t go anywhere in it together.”

  “True,” said Emma Rose. “He never did anything without a hidden agenda. My darling Ronnie came into the restaurant after I threw him out of the house, wanting me to give him a free meal. He wanted me back too, but I was all grown up by then. I was embarrassed that he dared show up and furious too, but Dave told me to feed him. While Ronnie ate, Dave left and when he came back, he handed Ronnie a one-way bus ticket to Denver.”

  “To get him out of town?”

  “Yep. Ronnie got on the bus when it made its usual stop across the street too. I figured my bum of a husband would cash it in and stay, but he left town and never came back. I could have kissed your father for that, in fact, I think I did. That very day I changed my phone number to make sure he couldn’t call.”

  “So that’s why I can’t ever call you,” said Artie.

  Emma Rose looked at Colette, “Don’t listen to him. He has my number. He just doesn’t call it. He’s in love with you and always has been.”

  “That’s true,” said Artie. “I forgot about that.”

  “I want two castles, not just one,” Colette said before he could profess his undying love for her one more time. She laughed when he let his jaw drop.

  “Hey buddy,” said Ben, “You think they’ll take the pizzas to your house?”

  Artie’s eyes widened. “Oh man, I forgot to tell them where I am. Come on, we’ll head them off at the pass.” Artie followed Ben out and as usual, let the screen door slam.

  After the guys were gone, Colette asked. “Was being married to Ronnie really that bad?”

  “Maybe not, but he developed a loathing for working for a living. He had a good job as a mechanic when I married him, but soon after we got married he decided he wanted to be a househusband. He got hooked on video games and rarely came up for air.”

  “A househusband?”

  “Yeah, and one that refused to clean the house or cook a meal. It was not pretty. I realized I was going to be habitually upset, and I didn’t want to spend the rest of my life that way.”

  “I don’t blame you. Couldn’t he get his old job back?”

  “Nope, he didn’t give them any notice. He just didn’t show up one morning. Naturally, when they called I had to tell them he wasn’t coming back. Thanks, Ronnie, thanks a whole bunch!”

  “I am amazed. I didn’t think he was like that at all. He is older than we are, and I guess I just never knew him that well.”

  “How about you, did you date anyone while you were away?” Emma Rose asked.

  “There was one guy I liked a lot. I was still jailbait and as soon as I told him my age, he split.”

  “Guess you know what he wanted.”

  “Guess so.” Colette sat up a little straighter and then crossed her legs. “The sheriff says Dad didn’t suffer, but I keep imagining what it must have been like falling off that cliff.”

  “Yeah, me too. I can’t count the number of times we were told not to drive up that hill unless absolutely necessary. Not that we always obeyed.”

  Colette smiled. “Not that we ever obeyed. We just didn’t get caught.”

  “Well, what could we do? The only way to find out who was at the forbidden store on top of the mountain was to see for ourselves. It’s what everyone else our age did.”

  “True. I wonder if Dad knew anyway. It’s not like we couldn’t be spotted heading up the hill.”

  “No way,” said Emma Rose. “Your Dad was far more overprotective and strict than any other dad in this town.”

  Colette was about to ask if Emma Rose still had a thing for Ben, when the guys came back with the food and drinks. She hurried to the kitchen, got plates and napkins and brought them back to the table while Emma Rose got four glasses.

  “You weren’t kidding when you said you were broke,” said Emma Rose when she brought the glasses from the kitchen. “There’s nothing in your refrigerator, not even ice.” One look at the despair on Colette’s face said it all. “Oops, I wasn’t supposed to tell, was I.”

  Ben already knew, but Artie didn’t and immediately went to inspect the kitchen. When he came back, he said, “Wanna hear a good joke or a bad one?”

  “You know good jokes?” Emma Rose teased.

  “Very funny. Here’s one for you. Someone stole all of Dave’s food.”

  “It was like that when I got home,” said Colette. “Not only that, he left two packed suitcases in the laundry room. I think he was planning to go on vacation and must have forgotten them, although that wasn’t like Dad at all.”

  Artie didn’t ask before he went to the living room, grabbed her purse and looked in her billfold. “Eight dollars? Is that all you’ve got?”

  “I’m fine,” Colette said. She waited until he came back to the table and then just like old times, the four of them dove into the pizzas.

  “I know,” said Artie between bites, “let’s go break into the castle tonight.”

  “You don’t have a listing for it?” Ben asked.

  “If I did, I’d have to go clean it up before I could show it. That kind of hard work makes me very, very upset. It’s harder than sweeping the jail and we all know how much I hate that.”

  Emma Rose frowned. “Not me, I’m not going to that spooky old castle at night. I had nightmares for a week after the last time we broke in.”

  “Okay, then we’ll go in the daytime. Anything to please the woman of my dreams.”

  When Artie grinned at her, Emma Rose held her forefinger straight up and then pointed at Colette. “Oh, that’s right, I forgot,” he said.

  “Won’t someone see us if we go in the daytime?” Ben asked.

  Artie swallowed his bite of pizza before he answered, “Not if we are very sneaky.”

  Colette laid the crust of her piece of pizza on her plate and then wiped her hands and mouth on her napkin. “The tow truck company left a note on my door. What do you suppose he’ll charge for hauling Dad’s car out of the canyon?”

  “Plenty,” Artie answered. “You want me to talk to him?”

  “Would you?” Colette asked. “That would be a great relief. I’m half afraid to answer the phone for fear he will call. Tell him I’ll pay him someday, but I can’t right now.”

  “Consider it done.” Artie reached for another slice of pizza.

  Each of them continued to eat until Emma Rose said to Colette, “Tell them.”

  “Tell them what?” Colette asked. She studied the expression on her friend’s face. “Oh, you mean about Mr. Phillips.” She turned her attention to Artie. “He offered to buy the house and the restaurant.”

  Artie let the slice of pizza in his hand fall to his plate. “What for?”

  “I don’t know,” Colette answered.

  “He only offered her a hundred fifty thousand for both,” Emma Rose added with distain.

  Artie wrinkled his brow. “That’s robbery, but that’s not the really big question. I know for a fact Phillips doesn’t have that kind of money, at least not on hand. He just bought two empty lots downtown to develop, and the restaurant is nowhere near either of them. I wonder what he’s up to?”

  “Sharon might know,” said Emma Rose, “but she probably won’t tell us. Wives usually don’t rat on their husbands.”

  “I always suspected Phillips, Phillips and Phillips own the castle,” said Ben.

  “Nah,” said Artie. “If Phillips owned it, he’d be living in it just for show.”

  “How long did it take you to get your real estate license?” Colette asked.

  “Two months to finish one hundred and sixty-eight class hours. It wouldn’t have taken that long if I hadn’t had to sweep...”

  “The jail,” the other three finished for him at the same time and then laughed.

  “You sell any houses yet?” Ben asked.

  “Three,” Emma Rose answered.

  “You’ve been counting?” a surprised Artie aske
d.

  “I’ve got nothing better to do,” she answered.

  “How many do I have to sell to impress you?” Artie wanted to know.

  Once more, she held her finger straight up and then pointed at Colette.

  This time, Artie didn’t take his eyes off of Emma Rose. “I’m dying here, you know. I always loved you more than her, but there was that Ben dude in the way.”

  “Hey, you can’t talk about me in front of my face,” said Ben.

  Emma Rose expertly changed the subject and asked Ben, “When do you have to go back to the Navy?”

  “Eleven days and...” he paused to look at his watch, “ten hours.” He noticed it when Colette lowered her eyes. “Want to go with me?” he asked her.

  “Live on a ship full of guys?” Colette asked as she started to shake her head. “On the other hand, that might be fun.”

  “The ship, no,” said Ben, “but you could stand on the shore and wave to me as we push out to sea.”

  “How thrilling,” Colette sarcastically said. “I think I’ll just say goodbye from here. It doesn’t look like I’m leaving town anytime soon anyway.”

  Ben nodded. “Okay, but the offer still stands if you change your mind.”

  Colette was surprised by the fond look in his eyes just now. That old familiar rush of attraction was back and try as she might, she couldn’t ignore it. Before Emma Rose and Artie noticed, she looked away. “I want to try to find my mother. Any suggestions?”

  “Well,” said Artie, “if she is alive and if she is trying to find you, you might do a DNA test. I hear there’s a place where adopted children search for their birth parents and she may have signed up.”

  “That’s a great idea,” Emma Rose agreed. “Sometimes, Artie is smarter than I thought.”

  “You didn’t think I was smart?” Artie asked. “I’m done in.”

  Emma Rose ignored him and asked Colette, “Have you given any more thought to a yard sale?”

  “It’s the best idea I’ve heard so far,” Colette answered. “The thing is, I can’t take checks, credit cards or even cash a twenty.”

  “Your phone doesn’t take credit cards,” an astonished Artie asked. “What century are you living in?”

  Colette narrowed her eyes, “Can your phone cash a twenty?”

  Artie shifted his eyes to Ben “Man, I hate when she does that.”

  “She’s got a point,” Ben said. “I might be able to come up with some change and then you can pay me back.”

  “Yeah,” said Emma Rose, “don’t let that worry you. We can always get Artie to give us cash. He’s got plenty of it.”

  “Hey Artie,” said Ben, “you still live with your folks?”

  “Funny thing about that – they don’t like me bringing any girls home to spend the night, except Emma Rose and she won’t come. It’s a horrible way to live. A guy can’t have any fun these days.”

  “And there you have it,” Emma Rose said, “girls are just for fun.”

  Artie stuck out his lower lip. “I didn’t mean it that way.”

  Emma Rose shot back, “If you’re going to marry me, you have to change your whole way of thinking.”

  “A castle AND an attitude adjustment?” he asked taking another piece of pizza. “Give a guy a break.”

  Colette wasn’t really listening and hardly noticed when Ben put a second piece of pizza on her plate. “Do wills have to be notarized or something to make them valid?” she asked.

  “I didn’t think you found his will,” said Ben.

  “I didn’t, I was just wondering. Phillips said I need the deed to the house and restaurant before I can sell them. But I’m thinking I need a will giving everything to me first. Know what else I’m thinking?”

  “No, what?” Ben asked.

  “I keep thinking I’m too young to deal with all this.”

  “You are,” Ben agreed. “We can look it up on the internet later if you want.”

  “Okay, thanks. That’s a good idea.” She reached over and touched the back of his hand. “I don’t know what I would have done if you hadn’t come home when you did.” When he turned his hand over and held hers, she realized what she had done and pulled away. Neither Artie nor Emma Rose missed the tender exchange and it made Colette a little embarrassed, which was not something she found familiar. Angry, irritable and bold, yes, but rarely was she embarrassed.

  “You’re welcome,” Ben said.

  Under the table, Artie fed his pizza crust to Sylvester.

  “Dad’s credit card and debit card were not in his billfold. He used to carry a blank check just in case he needed one, but all he had was four dollars. He didn’t even have a picture of me. He paid for my school pictures every year. Isn’t it odd he didn’t carry one with him?”

  “It’s even more odd that his credit card is missing. Maybe I should have a little talk with Walt,” said Artie.

  “Walt wouldn’t take it. Everyone knows Walt wouldn’t do anything that stupid,” Ben said. “Maybe the boys that ran him off the road went back and robbed him.”

  Colette took a deep breath. “I don’t think I want to know if they did.”

  “Okay,” said Artie, “time to change the subject. Cards or monopoly?”

  “Monopoly,” Emma Rose suggested.

  “Gin Rummy,” said Colette.

  Colette got up, went to the office, got the cards, a pencil, and some paper to write on. While she was gone Ben whispered, “She’s a lot more upset than she lets on. Let’s just keep it light, okay?”

  When Colette came back, the boys had taken the leftover pizza to the kitchen, while Emma Rose washed off the table. “I’m still mad about the last time I lost,” said Colette.

  “Me too,” said Artie, He took a bite out of a fresh piece of pizza and fed the rest to the dog. When he looked, Ben was glaring at him.

  “Dogs don’t eat pizza,” said Ben.

  “Really?” Artie asked. “Looks like they do to me.” Sylvester was licking the last of the pizza sauce off his mouth.

  “You’re hopeless,” said Ben as he intentionally chose to sit across from him at the table, which made the girls sit opposite each other.

  Artie shuffled the cards and then set the deck in front of Colette, “Your deal, Miss still upset over losing the last time.”

  “Thank you,” Colette said. She glanced at the smirk on his face and then dealt the cards.

  JUST AS THE SUN WAS beginning to set, Steven and Oliver headed for Davet’s house in Oliver’s leased car. As he slowly drove past, both of them got a good look inside where Colette and her friends seemed to be enjoying themselves. “The sheriff said he would send his son to keep her occupied. Looks like he did.”

  “Good man, the sheriff,” said Steven.

  Halfway up the block, Oliver spotted an older man just sitting in his car, but he thought nothing of it. Steven, on the other hand, said, “I wonder if that’s the guy Davet hired to watch over Colette?”

  “Or Paige hired him.”

  “Good point,” said Steven. “Let’s go back to that little park across the street and watch him for a while.”

  Oliver went around the block, pulled up in front and parked not far from the gazebo. He was about to get out when Steven grabbed his arm. A woman in a car drove past them and turned up the street toward the house.

  “Is that Paige?” Oliver asked.

  “I don’t know, but let’s see where she goes.”

  The woman seemed unusually interested in Davet’s house, slowed and even stopped to see inside. At length, she continued to the corner, went around the block and then started to drive past again.

  Oliver grabbed his cellphone and called the Sheriff. “Oliver Lawson here. There’s a strange woman driving past Colette’s house for the second time. We think she might be...”

  Sheriff Steele looked out his window and chuckled. “That strange woman happens to be my wife looking for a place to park.”

  Oliver couldn’t help but grin. “Sorry Sherriff.
”

  “Where are you?”

  “In the little park.”

  “You might as well get some rest. Artie will entertain Colette until she is exhausted enough to sleep.”

  “Thanks, we’ll do that.”

  “By the way,” said the sheriff, “We found the stolen car that ran Davet off the road, but not the kids. They wiped it clean, so I doubt we’ll ever catch them.”

  “I understand. Thanks again, Sheriff.”

  Oliver disconnected the call. “She’s the sheriff’s wife.”

  “Great,” said Steven, “I’ve turned paranoid in less than two days.”

  “Me too.” Oliver told Steven what the sheriff said about the car, and then asked, “Where to now?”

  “I don’t know, let’s just drive around for a while.”

  Oliver started the car and then turned toward Main Street. “I’m starting to like this little town.”

  “Really? Why?”

  He pointed at two old men having a conversation on the sidewalk. “People actually talk to each other here. You don’t see much of that in New York City.”

  “Yes, but in a small town everyone knows your business.”

  “Even so, I’d like to try it for a while. I’ve been thinking of starting up some kind of online advertising business – one where I don’t have to travel the world.”

  Steven snickered, “You’re telling me you lost your job.”

  “Probably not. My boss was a little miffed when I told him I wasn’t going to London. In a week or two, he’ll be begging me to come back.”

  “But you won’t go?”

  “Nope, I’m done with traveling. It gets to where I don’t know where I am, let alone where I’ve been, and Mom worries the whole time I’m gone.”

  “You have enough to live on while you start your new business?”

  Oliver nodded and then turned the corner so they could see what was on the next street over. They discovered more stores, a large grocery and the beauty shop Margo mentioned. “I was looking at the hotel menu this evening. Where I live, the price they charge for a steak here would hardly buy a day old cheese sandwich in downtown New York City. I think my savings will go a long way in a place like this.”