“Oh, well, if that’s all, then I’ll let you get to it.” She stood in one swift motion. “Say hi to the girls for me.”
“Mother, I—”
“You’re busy.” She cut me off. “I get it. No one needs me in the way these days. Like I said, I have a million things of my own to do anyway. We’ll talk later, darling.” She turned and left before I could say anything more and headed across the street to the library, probably to the legal section to brush up on cases similar to her own.
I picked up my fringed knapsack and left the café, deciding to find a way to make it up to her later. Right now I was late. Starting my bug, I had just pulled away from the curb when a flash of white caught my eye. I glanced at the door and did a double take as an unlikely trio entered the café together.
What on earth was the IRS man still doing in town and why wasn’t Brice Benedict in jail and who was the bald guy with them?
***
“Where have you been?” Jo asked the second I stepped out of my car in front of Smokey Jo’s.
She was dressed head to toe in a black warm-up suit meant for comfort and efficiency that had clearly seen better days. Jo had always had curves, yet she always looked fabulous. Today, not so much. The stress was obviously affecting her more than I realized.
I shrugged and answered her question. “Appeasing my mother, though I think I just made things worse.”
“Story of your life.” Jo snorted.
“No kidding.” I scoffed.
“I’m sure you two will work it out,” Zoe said, as she walked out the door and joined us. She was also dressed head to toe in black, but she still maintained a sense of style with her snug leggings, knee high boots, and heavy sweater.
Something was up.
“Why on earth are you two dressed all in black? We aren’t cat burglars,” I said. “We have permission to be there, you know.”
“That’s what I told her,” Zoe pointed out, “but you know Jo. She’s hard-headed even when she’s not hormonal.”
“Jo is standing right here,” Joanne said. “And I’m not that hormonal, I’m just adventurous.”
We both stared hard at her with doubtful expressions and raised eyebrows.
She laughed a little hysterical like, then said, “Okay, fine, it’s the only thing I have that still fits.” Her voice hitched. “All I know is it’s either we all look like burnt marshmallows or I dissolve into a puddle of tears again. Take your pick.”
Suddenly everything made sense.
“One burnt marshmallow coming up,” I blurted quickly before she gave truth to her words. I couldn’t get over how fast she was growing. Then again, we didn’t call Cole Sasquatch for nothing. Opening my trunk, I reached in and pulled out Mitch’s oversized sweatshirt. Thank goodness I hadn’t cleaned out my bug in ages. Swapping my sweater coat for the puffy sweatshirt, I looked like a little kid playing dress up as it fell almost to my knees. “Will this work?”
Jo threw her arms around me in a bear hug, swallowing her tears as an answer.
“Okay, then, we’d better get going before Mrs. Theodore changes her mind.” Zoe gave me a look that said, Move it now before the floodgates open again.
“Let’s go,” I agreed and we drove in Jo’s SUV once more.
“She won’t change her mind.” Jo sounded more like her old self as she got us there in record time, thank goodness. “First, she’d be afraid we’d say something about her lover boy. And second, she’s a believer in Sunny’s abilities now. I’m betting she won’t take a chance of missing out on any money Peirce might come into.”
“I wonder what the something from his past is?” Zoe mused excitedly as we all climbed out of the vehicle. “Maybe a lottery ticket a long lost relative forgot about or some priceless antique that’s been right under his nose all along.”
“Anything is possible, I suppose. Only one way to find out.” I headed toward the back yard of the inn.
“Where are we going?” Jo asked, hurrying to catch up with me.
“By the lake.”
“Why? I thought the secret lay within the walls of the inn?” Zoe asked, sounding confused and a little breathless.
I stopped walking and faced them. “Remember when I went into a trance during the reading for Peirce, and I had a vision?”
They both nodded.
“I was in the body of a man. I remember feeling older with more aches and pains than the average person, and I felt as though I had been on a boat for a long time. Then suddenly I was standing right here.” I walked over to the edge of the water. “There’s a river that runs into this lake, and boats travel through here all the time. I’m sure they did years ago, too.” I turned around and faced the inn. “This is the exact spot I was standing in my vision.”
“Okay, but now what?” Jo asked, joining me to see what I saw.
“I’m not sure,” I replied while crossing my arms and studying the grounds. “I guess we start by putting ourselves in this man’s shoes, literally. What was he looking at? What did he see? Where did he go?”
“That’s right, I remember now,” Zoe said. “One minute you were here, and the next you were someplace else. Someplace cold and dark and musty with something yucky above your head.”
“Yeah, and you heard a thumping or fluttering or something, right?” Jo said, getting into it.
“That’s exactly right. So now we just have to figure out how he got from here to there, and who the heck he is, and how any of this leads to Peirce’s fortune.”
“I just remembered something else.” Zoe’s face paled. “When you were under, you mentioned feeling afraid and angry.”
“You also said someone was after you,” Jo chimed in. “That you had to hide and get away. Who do you think could have been after him and why?”
“I have no idea.” I blew out a breath and suddenly got the feeling we were being watched. The same uneasy feeling I’d had the day of the wedding came back to me. My body tensed and grew alert as my eyes darted everywhere. “We may have bitten off more than we can chew with this one, ladies. Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea.” I glanced around but didn’t see anything, yet undeniable chills raced up and down my spine.
“What’s wrong?” Zoe grabbed my shoulders. “You look odd, like you’ve seen a ghost or something.”
“Gotta say I’m getting a little creeped out, too.” Jo’s gaze followed mine, and I could feel the waves of tension roll off of her.
“Why? You two are scaring me.” Zoe turned in a circle, looking everywhere.
“I don’t know for sure. Just a feeling, I guess.” I shook off the weird sensation. “It’s probably nothing.”
“Well, I don’t see anything except the back of the inn, the deck, the beautiful grounds, some tables and chairs. Nothing out of the ordinary.” Zoe waved to the maintenance man, Frank Lalone, as he came out of a shed on the far corner of the property.
He paused and gave us a funny look, then smiled and waved back.
She giggled. “Did you see the look on his face? He must think we’ve gone a little crazy with what we’re wearing.”
I couldn’t help the bubble of laughter that slipped out of my throat to join hers. We needed this before we all freaked out. Jo nailed us both with a warning look, but then burst into laughter as she joined us. Just like that the tension was broken.
“Come on you nutcases, let’s go before he calls the fashion police.” Jo hooked both of our arms, and we all started walking.
“Don’t worry, hon,” Zoe said. “We’ll go shopping tomorrow.”
“I’ll even join you,” I added reluctantly, my mother’s words of not being a very good friend haunting me. “And you know how much I hate shopping. Deal?”
“Deal.” Jo squeezed us both. “I love you guys.”
“Awww, me too.” Zoe smiled.
“Ditto,” I said, “but remember when I said the creepy feeling we just had was probably nothing?” I pulled them both to a stop and looked them each in the eye. “Th
at is definitely something.” I pointed to the tall bush by the back deck of the inn. Something or someone was clearly behind it, and suddenly the tension was back.
Jo picked up a stick from the ground and Zoe grabbed a rock while I formed my hands into fists and tried to remember the self-defense Mitch had taught me as I led the way slowly toward the bush. It stilled right as we drew close, and I held up my hand for the girls to halt. I mouthed, On the count of three, then raised my fingers up in a one, two, three motion and jumped behind the bush on three.
“Hiyah!” I yelled with my hands held in a karate position.
Jack Shepard the groundskeeper jumped a foot, the rake falling from his fingers. He was a large man with a ponytail and beard, looking more like a frightened little boy at the moment. He flushed red and then frowned, once more looking like the big tough guy he was, even though he’d clearly just proven he was a teddy bear and not some monster.
Whoops. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you,” I said.
He straightened his ponytail and smoothed his beard as he picked up the rake. “No worries, I wasn’t scared at all.” After clearing his throat, he continued, “Um, can I help you with something, ladies?”
“We saw the bushes rustling and thought you were the one who needed help, bro.” Jo winked.
“Thanks, but I’m fine. Just pulling some weeds. I lost a good ten years,” he admitted and offered us a small smile, “but it’s all good. I don’t need any help.”
“But obviously you three do,” said a familiar voice from behind us that was scarier than any monster could ever be. “What in the world do you have on?”
We all whorled around to face the music.
“Mother, what are you doing here?” I stared at her in shock.
“I could ask you the same thing.” Her smile was stiff and tight. “Planning a baby shower? I think not. How about you tell me what you’re really doing, and then I’ll decide what I’m going to do about it.”
Chapter 11
“I am in so much trouble when Mitch finds out.” I walked every inch of the inn, searching for anything that might trigger a vision as to what happened in the past that could possibly help Divine Inspiration in the present.
“Well, he’s certainly not going to find out from me,” my mother said, adding dryly, “unless you try to shut me out again.”
“Awww, we weren’t shutting you out, Vivian.” Jo placed her arm around my mother and gave her a squeeze. “You know I would never plan a baby shower without you. Sunny was just trying to protect you.”
My mother patted Jo’s hand and shot me a smug look. “I’m a lawyer. I think I know how to protect myself. You all have permission to be here and this quest doesn’t have anything to do with the case. It has to do with the mystery of Peirce’s reading, so there’s no reason why I can’t be involved. Not that I think we’re going to find anything, mind you.” She scoffed, never willing to admit she believed in my abilities in the slightest way.
“We don’t know for sure it has nothing to do with the murder.” She didn’t know that Linda had an affair and that maybe her husband had found out. “Not to mention you’re a suspect in Mr. Theodore’s murder. I highly doubt his widow is going to want your help with anything,” I pointed out.
“From what I saw, she didn’t seem too shaken up over his death. Besides, she won’t even know I’m here since she’s making herself scarce these days.” My mother threw up her hands. “Look, I simply need something to do before I go out of my mind and give the authorities just cause to lock me up for real.”
“Whatever,” I said, “but don’t say I didn’t tell you it was a bad idea when something goes horribly wrong, which it undoubtedly will.”
She ignored my warning as her gaze traveled over the three of us. “What is with the black attire? Are you supposed to be Ladies in Black, or something?”
“Or something,” Zoe said. “Don’t ask. Just be ready tomorrow morning, and we’ll pick you up. We’re going shopping.”
“Oh, yay.” My mother clapped her hands.
Oh, great. I groaned.
“You okay?” Jo asked.
“Just peachy,” I replied in an overly cheery voice while avoiding my mother’s gaze. “Okay, we’re not getting anywhere by walking around aimlessly.” I changed the subject. “I’ve touched a bunch of objects, but I’m not picking anything up from the past.”
“That’s probably because this house has been refurbished over the years. Anything ancient is long gone,” Sally Clark the housekeeper said, eying me sharply. She wiped a smudge off a vase I had just set down. It was clear she didn’t like me. I wasn’t sure if it was because she was protective over her boss, Linda Theodore, or if there was something more to it.
“Hey, what about floor plans?” Jo snapped her fingers. “I’m sure Mr. Theodore kept good records. He must have the original plans somewhere, right?”
Ms. Clark shrugged. “I wouldn’t know anything about that. You would need to talk to the maintenance man, Frank Lalone. Now if you’ll excuse me, some of us have real work to do.” She eyed several more objects I had smudged and added, “or should I say redo.” Sending me one last hard look, she stalked away at a brisk pace, tension in her every step.
“What on earth did you do to that woman, darling?” My mother eyed me curiously. She had the most uncanny way of saying darling and making it sound like she was on my side, yet making me feel guilty as sin. A person could be innocent, yet she would make them believe they were guilty by the end. It’s what made her such a great lawyer.
A great mother, not so much.
“I have no idea,” I responded on a heavy sigh.
“Never mind her.” Jo rubbed her hands together in excitement. “Let’s go find Franky Boy and get this party started.”
“Last we saw him he was by that shed out back.” Zoe took charge and led the way outside.
Jack Shepard, the groundskeeper, held up his large hands and took a big step back when he saw us. His expression was one of mock fear, but the twitch of his lips peeking through his beard gave him away.
“Cute and a sense of humor,” Jo said with a snicker. “There just might be hope for you yet, Big Guy.”
My mother looked at him oddly, then at Jo sharply as we walked past the patio. I raised a brow, and Zoe pressed her lips together as she looked everywhere except at Jo.
Jo rolled her eyes at us all, her look saying: You know I love my big guy, but I’m still mad and getting fat and in major need of an ego boost, so don’t judge.
None of us said a word.
“Mr. Lalone,” I hollered when I saw him working on the generator.
The short, stocky man’s head popped up. When he spotted the four of us, he stood fully and wiped his hands with a rag as he lumbered toward us at a surprisingly nimble gait. He came to a stop and smiled wide. “What can I do for you ladies?”
“Ms. Clark said you might have the original floor plans to the inn before it was remodeled,” I said. “Any chance we can take a peek at those?”
His forehead puckered, and he rubbed his whisker-free jaw. “I suppose that would be okay, but what in the world for?”
“A project we’re working on for Mrs. Theodore,” Zoe chimed in.
He frowned.
“Don’t worry, pops. We’re not trying to take over your job.” Jo’s stomach growled and she rubbed it, looking just about out of patience.
He chuckled. “I’m not worried about that. Linda and I go way back and no one knows this place like I do.”
“Then you shouldn’t need the floor plans, now should you,” my mother said pleasantly enough, but the hard-edged lawyer lay just beneath the surface ready to pounce if need be. She really was something to behold when in action, I thought with reluctant pride.
“Well, I’ve never had a use for them, and I’m not sure where Mr. Theodore kept them. I have to finish the project I’m working on right now. Give me a day, and I’m sure I can dig something up for you.”
/> “You do that.” Vivian smiled a steely smile. “We’ll be back tomorrow afternoon after we’re finished shopping. Will that be a suitable amount of time?”
“That’ll be just fine, Mrs. Meadows.” He smiled back at her just as pleasantly, but I detected a level of steel of his own. “Though I have to say after everything’s that’s happened, I’m surprised to see you here.”
“You’re not the only one,” came a deep voice from behind us.
Oh, yeah. I was in so much trouble. We all were.
***
“I really don’t see what the big deal is.” My mother sat perched on the edge of a cold, vinyl sofa in Mitch’s office in the police station that afternoon.
Jo, Zoe, and I sat beside her like four naughty children in a time-out. Mitch had insisted we follow him to the station for questioning, and to make matters worse, he’d called in reinforcements. Donald and Harry had left their fishing posts early, stopping by to pick up Granny and Fiona in the middle of their party planning. Cole had left work during the middle of overseeing a big construction job, and Sean had found someone to cover Smokey Jo’s.
None of them looked happy.
“The big deal, Mrs. Meadows,” Mitch said in full detective mode now, “is that no one, especially you, has any business anywhere near the crime scene of a murder investigation. Are you trying to get yourself convicted?”
“The CSI department is finished, from what I could tell.” I stepped in and tried to help. So not working judging by the look on his face.
Detective Stone—boyfriend Mitch was nowhere to be found—shot me a glare. “I’ll get to you later, Miss Meadows.”
“Mitch, buddy, cut us some slack.” Jo donned her best innocent look. “We were only trying to help Linda by figuring out her dearly departed Peirce’s reading.”
“Since when did you become on a first-name bases with the Theodores?” Cole looked as if he didn’t even recognize her anymore.
Kari Lee Townsend - Sunny Meadows 04 - Perish in the Palm Page 9
