Easy, I thought, picking myself up. Easy does it.
I regained my hold on the wheel, took a deep breath, and this time gave it the slightest of turns to the right. The boat stabilized and went smoothly in that direction. Then I gave the wheel another slight leftward nudge. And again went pretty much where I’d intended to go without almost capsizing.
Better. Much better. I’d learned how to start a boat. Now I thought I had a clue about how to maneuver.
But I was still lost at sea. Or on the bay, as it were.
And then I heard the commotion carrying over the water from what I at least thought was behind me. I nudged the butterfly wheel around very slowly and gingerly, hoping the boat would go where I intended.
It did. An instant later, I saw the tres amigos from hell starting to pile over the gunwales of the second boat, felt a surge of panic . . . and then exhaled as that awful fear turned to pure, utter relief.
They’d been surrounded by a group of men in blue uniforms and were standing on the dock with their hands raised in the air.
I was speeding along, holding the wheel steady as I could, when I heard my cell phone Coldplay me.
I reached into my coat pocket for it.
“Sky?”
“Alex?
“We’ve got them,” he said. “Gail and Natalie’s killers.”
“Alex, where are you . . . ?”
“Look behind you, Sky. At the shore.”
I turned, looked, and saw him waving at me from the wooden dock.
Briefly pulling the cell phone from my ear, I waved back at him with the hand that held it, then lowered it again so I could hear him talk to me.
“Everything’s okay,” Vega said. “Those men are in custody and nobody’s been hurt. You can turn around now.”
I started to tell him I’d do just that, caught myself. “I’d love to, Alex,” I said. “Only problem’s it might take me a while to figure exactly how to get this thing back to shore.”
That was no great disaster, though. I didn’t have to hurry.
I knew Chief Alex would wait for me, however long it took.
Chapter 21
“A GPS tracker, dudette,” Bry was saying. “Be kinda cool if it wasn’t so uncool.”
I nodded, sneezed, blew my nose. The scary thing was that I knew what he meant.
We were in my Airstream about two hours after he’d given me a lift over from the police station, where Chief Vega and his men had locked up the dogfighting crew and taken my statement. My Versa, meanwhile, was somewhere in an Essex County impound lot, where the forensic people who’d picked it over had found the global positioning unit under the dash.
“The tres creepos must have stuck the transmitter under my dash while were at Gail’s,” I said. “I’m guessing that’s what you heard out front.”
“That car door opening and shutting.”
I nodded again. And ah-chooed.
“They used a tissue to clean up the smudges they left putting it in . . . Guess they used some kind of adhesive.”
“And you kept the tissue.”
“Tossed it in that litter bag I keep in the Versa,” I said.
Bry looked down at the Rottweiler on his lap. The pup taken from Natalie Oswald’s studio, it had been found in a tied laundry bag in the Cherokee that the tres creepos had been driving.
“So,” I said. “You think of a name for our new guard dog yet?”
“I dunno.” Bry shrugged. “How about Mars?”
I looked at him. “Mars?”
“Yeah. Like the planet.” He scratched under her neck and she stared placidly up at him. “She seems kinda out there, y’dig?”
That one I wasn’t so sure about. But since the rotty was technically his dog, I figured I would take his word.
“So anyways,” Bry said, “what I want to know is why those Lowell guys didn’t catch up to you at the Bayside toot sweet. I mean, if they had that GPS thing . . .”
“It got damaged when I was run into that tree near Ruth Ginken’s farmhouse,” I said.
“By Skip and the La Dee Das.”
I nodded, thinking that sounded like the name of a second-rate sixties pop group. “Vega figures the transmitter kept turning itself off and on after the accident. Good thing too. Since that made those guys late getting there . . .”
“You mean Skull Jacket and his boys.”
“Right,” I said, thinking that sounded like a fifth-rate eighties punk-rock group. Being how we were suddenly on a naming kick. “And while it delayed them, it gave Vega and his boys time to catch up.”
“Cavalry arrives,” Bry said.
Which wasn’t a good name for anything in my opinion, but you couldn’t always expect to strike gold.
I dropped my used tissue in the wastebasket, reached for another, and sneezed into it.
“Want a ride home?” Bry said. “Looks to me you could use a stretch in the tub.”
I nodded. We’d just stopped by to get the rotty there so it could get acclimated. “I’ll get my coat and—”
My cell phone played its music and I picked it up from where I’d set it on the desk.
“Sky?”
I frowned, wishing caller ID blocking could be outlawed.
“Bill?”
“Billy to you,” Drecksel said. “I was wonderin ’—”
“No,” I said.
“No?”
“No,” I said. “I’m staying put. Right here. In my trailer.”
He grunted. “You positive?”
“A hundred percent,” I said, glancing at Mars. “Even have a little something to guard against bear attacks.”
“What’s that?”
“You’ll see,” I said. “Later.”
Bill sighed.
“Well, you ever change your mind, let me know,” he said. “If there’s gotta be a tin can in my backyard, I suppose I oughtta be glad it’s a neat one.”
“Right, Bill.” I grinned. “Notoriously neat.”
That struck me as a pretty decent phrase, and I instantly slipped it into the mental file drawer where I save all my better ones.
As a professional writer and cleanup person, I had a hunch I’d find a perfect use for it someday.
SKΥ TAΥLOR’S GRIME SOLVERS BLOG
Environmentally Conscious, Energy-Saving,
Quick Steps
I’m stuffy and sniffling worse than ever tonight thanks to a cold weather motorboat ride I really don’t want to talk about right now, so I’ll be word-efficient and then climb into the sack for a good night’s sleep. Of course, efficiency’s this blog entry’s whole point. Call it unwanted and unnecessary symmetry.
—Sky
1. Cut down on your hot water usage. Use cold or warm water for household cleaning and washing. Only white clothes need hot water washing.
2. Keep vents, heating units and light bulbs well dusted for max output. If you have pets, keeping fur from clogging up air conditioner and furnace filters is a must.
3. When you’re clearing the lunch or dinner dishes, take the partially full glasses of water and pour into your house plants.
4. Save electricity and clothes-dryer time with those plastic balls you see everywhere. We don’t use them exclusively, but for they’re ideal for heavy loads like towels. As they bounce around, they create air pockets that speed up the drying process. Fabric softener tends to reduce the absorbency of towels and washcloths, and leaves an artificial perfumey scent that allergy sufferers can live without.
5. Usually take out the trash in the evening? Hang a battery operated light on the door of your shed or under the porch where you keep the trash cans. You’ll lose an excuse to skip cleaning out those wastebaskets at the end of the day, but you’ll be glad to have one less chore before heading to work in the morning.
SKΥ TAΥLOR’S GRIME SOLVERS BLOG
Mother Nature’s Helpers:
Outdoor Cleaning Tips
It’s morning and I’m feeling lots better than yesterday. Nothin
g tackles a cold better than a hot bath and burrowing in under my toastiest blankets for the night. Plus the local forecast says temps in the Cove should actually scratch seventy today. Spring at last! Zowie!
With warm weather around the corner, and barbecues and patio parties coming to mind, here are some tips for the cleaning we have to do outdoors.
Barbecue Grills
Having to clean your gas grill just as you’re about to plop on the patties can be a real hassle. It’s also a gross-out when you open it to discover some freakish bug family’s turned it into a country cabin. So get your cleaning done before the creepy crawlies move in.
While the grill’s cool, poke away grease and goop from the burner holes with all-purpose bamboo skewers (as my Constant Reader, you always have them handy, right?), then whisk clean with a toothbrush. We only wire-brush once, at the end of the year. Also, if you use lava rocks, flip them over from time to time so grease drippings can burn off.
Extra, extra:
If your flame is an orangey red color, it’s a sign the grill has clogged burners and needs some TLC (tender loving cleaning).
Decks
Wood decks will last longer if you simply sweep away the leaves, sticks, pods, and common windblown foliage that find resting places between the boards. Think of it as mulch, in the sense that it holds moisture. That’s great for garden plants, but not your deck, since it can cause stains and mildew.
At least once a year, wash the deck with a bucket of warm water and a long squirt of dish detergent. And every couple of years, call in the guys to do the power wash.
Wrought Iron
Iron fencing, gates, patio furniture, lanterns, and so forth are generally low maintenance. But they do need occasional cleaning. Scrub away rust with a wire brush, steel wool, or medium-grade sandpaper. If the birds have “dropped by,” a damp cloth and soft brush will do the trick.
Patio Umbrellas
Before putting that cheerfully colored sign of summer away for the season . . . please clean it! Dirt that has accumulated on the umbrella can make for a dull, faded opening next year. In this case the fastest and easiest method for umbrella cleaning does belong to Mother Nature: a soaker of a rainstorm can’t be beat. But from time to time, give her an assist. Just use a mild dish soap, wash, rinse, and dry.
Wicker Furniture
First, vacuum with your brush attachment. Next, using as little water as possible to avoid wood swell or rot, brush clean, sun dry, or use an electric fan to dry it off. Remember that wicker can be fickle—it needs humidity so it won’t crack, but too much moisture creates mildew. And while it’s fine in the sun, too much sunlight can dry it out and cause breakage. Keeping this in mind when placing your outdoor furniture will make it last a lot longer.
Windows
Everyone loves that old crumpled newspaper method . . . except me! For one thing, newspaper isn’t absorbent. For another, the newsprint gets all over your hands. Do yourself a huge favor and get a squeegee for window-cleaning. It’s really the drying process that creates streaks on glass, and nothing beats the rubber side of a squeegee for eliminating them.
That’s it for now . . . I’m heading out to soak up some sunshine!
About the Author
Suzanne Price is the pseudonym for a national bestselling author. While Suzanne has never solved a murder, she’s as quick with cleaning hints as her heroine is.
Notoriously Neat Page 16
