Sandra sat forward and waved a hand slowly in front of Detective Parker’s face. “Earth to Parker. Where are you?”
“I’m trying to visualize where he might have been in order to be attacked. He was wearing a complete wet suit.”
She tilted her head. “It would be uncomfortable in this heat, but it offers excellent protection. A friend of mine is a frequent cave diver in the natural springs up around Ocala, Florida. She says she wouldn’t even think about not having a full suit.”
“So you’re thinking that he considered this dive to be dangerous?”
She paused. “It was.”
Chapter 7
Tuesday Morning
Savannah turned her car’s radio dial to the local news station on her way to Webb’s Glass Shop. She listened to the news only during the short commute from her Craftsman bungalow to work. Her goal was to keep up with the major news in the Tampa Bay area, and the time spent listening in the car was usually just enough to give the appearance to her customers and students that she was somewhat tuned in to the real world. It was certainly enough news to make her question the viability of the human race.
She turned down the alley behind the shop before she remembered that Amanda would open up Webb’s today, since she was teaching in the morning, while Savannah would go and open up the studio. But who was she kidding? Since his pub was right next door, Savannah really hoped to see Edward again. His breakfast omelet with cheese and onions had been amazing, but he had returned to his condo at the crack of dawn to feed his kitten.
I won’t admit it to him, though. I’ll claim I wanted to support Amanda on her second day of instruction in the new class.
She was pulling into the parking spot in the back of Webb’s when the radio announcer said, “The police department is asking for any information about a missing diver. The general description is a young man of medium height, with olive skin and light brown hair. Citizens are asked to call the tip line with any information that would help the authorities identify the body that washed ashore early this morning.”
Today will be a horribly bad day for some poor family.
She unlocked the back door, keyed in the alarm code, and turned on the lights throughout. Since she had taken over the shop after her dad’s death, this had become a comfortable routine. It surprised her with its feeling of belonging.
Dropping her backpack on the antique oak swivel chair in her office, she did a quick cleaning in the bathroom and followed with a quick sweep of the floors to pick up any major glass shards. The cleaning service came twice a week, but she was more comfortable with a daily roundup. Glass splinters were sharp, and you could never be too careful.
Where’s Amanda? She should be here by now. It’s not like her to be late. I hope her mother is all right.
The next stop was the kiln in the supply room, but as she reached for the large bar across the front of it to lift the heavy lid and see the results of the overnight run, she stopped.
Nope. This is Amanda’s job now, not mine. I won’t spoil the pleasure of being the first one to look into a kiln she has personally prepared for firing. That’s the best part of the job.
The next task in opening the shop was to fire up the cash register in the display room. She crossed her fingers and pressed the ON button. She heard the ancient computer groan with reluctance, while the protesting fan wailed a high-pitched whine for a moment, until it dropped to a humming drone. At last, the screen flashed bright with the main page of Webb’s Glass Shop.
As a custom product, the register worked, but it was time to upgrade to a modern application that would handle both the shop and the studio. She sighed at the thought of what her accountant would say to yet another expense to replace a working system. Savannah thought her own arguments were good, but Burkart always had another viewpoint, one that usually required financial restraint on Savannah’s part. Anyway, the upgrade would support better inventory control and therefore would result in more turnover and profit. But money had been a bit tight since the purchase of the warehouse for the studio.
The last bit of routine was to unlock the front door and turn the sign from CLOSED to OPEN. She glanced at her watch. It was already nine o’clock.
Where is Amanda? She said everything had settled down with her mother.
She pulled out her cell and dialed Amanda. It went straight to voice mail.
“Hey, Amanda. Is everything okay with your mother? Let me know what’s going on.”
Savannah ended the call. Amanda was probably on her way. Unfortunately, if her mother was in the hospital, there was no way to reach her. Cell phones weren’t allowed in the intensive care unit.
After picking up a notepad, she walked into the supply room and started a list of glass sheets to order. She could hear Burkart’s voice again reminding her of the strained budget.
By the time she had finished the entire inventory, it was five minutes to ten and she had left two more voice messages on Amanda’s cell phone.
The bell on the front door jangled, and SueAnn walked in, with Yvonne right behind. Each was carrying an armful of glass plates and bowls for today’s workshop.
“Good mawnin’, Savannah.” SueAnn headed straight for the classroom.
“Hi, Savannah!” Yvonne smiled and shrugged her shoulders at SueAnn’s abruptness. “I guess she’s excited to see what comes out of our efforts today.” She followed SueAnn, who was removing a spiral notebook from her bag, along with a pen.
The Rosenberg twins arrived next, with Patty between them. Rachel and Faith wore another one of their head-to-toe ensembles, this time in a vivid lilac. Patty had inadvertently played into their color scheme with a pale yellow T-shirt over green slacks. The colors assaulted Savannah’s eyes, having an impact that reminded her of a birthday confetti explosion.
“I thought you told us yesterday that you were letting Amanda run Webb’s.” Rachel rolled her eyes at Savannah. “You do know how to delegate, don’t you? Your father was miserable at it.”
Savannah took a deep, calming breath. “I know how to delegate. Make that ‘I’m learning how to delegate. ’ As soon as Amanda arrives, I’ll scoot over to the studio. She texted that she’s had a family emergency, but that it should be resolved by now. You know her mother’s health is a constant source of concern. She’s become very frail.”
“Oh my. Such a trial for Amanda,” said Faith. “We went to see her mother last week.”
“But our visit was short, since she didn’t know who we were.”
Faith glared at Rachel. “Of course she didn’t remember us. It was the first time we ever met her.”
With a measured stare, Rachel eyed the stack of glass dishes Faith was holding. “Do you have more dishes than I do?”
“No, of course not. You’re not counting properly.” Faith scurried into the classroom, followed by Rachel.
Savannah walked through the classroom and stepped out the back door to see if Amanda was driving up. Nope.
Looks like I’m teaching today.
She returned to the classroom. Walking calmly up to the podium, Savannah opened the lesson plan notebook and flipped to the page marked “Day Two.”
“So until Amanda arrives, I’ll get us started for today.” She looked over the classroom and noticed the seat next to SueAnn was still empty. “Wait. Martin’s missing.”
Could Martin be the unidentified diver?
“Teacher’s pet,” said the Rosenberg twins in perfect unison. Samantha’s scowl forced them into a temporary silence.
“He’s the scruffy one with the strange bottles,” said Faith.
“Of course. I wanted to tell him what I found out. They could be very valuable,” Savannah revealed. She looked at her watch again.
He might actually know the diver. Maybe that’s why he’s running late. He’s probably texted Amanda to tell her that he will be delayed. Stop worrying.
“Let’s not wait any longer. Today is a fun day. We’re making glass flowers for your garden us
ing plates, bowls, cups, and whatever small pieces you want to recycle. I hope you brought plenty.” She ducked down to look into the storage shelves in the podium, then straightened.
Thank goodness Amanda prepared for this yesterday afternoon, she thought.
“I have a few examples for you down here.” She bent down to the shelves in the podium and brought up a glass flower all in green, made from a plate, a bowl, and a tea light candle holder, then held it up.
“This is an example of drilling holes through the pieces first. Then you slip a bolt through each piece and a piece of copper tubing. Not only does this method hold them together, but the copper tubing acts as the pole to put in the ground, as well. This is an easy method, and the flower can be finished quickly. The drawback is that the length of the bolt limits how many pieces you can use. Also, some artists don’t like the look of the bolt. The best trick is to cover the bolt by gluing a cover over it, like a button, an earring, or a toy china cup.”
“Do you use glue?” SueAnn poised her pen over her open notebook.
Savannah handed the green flower to SueAnn and gestured for her to pass it around to the students. “Yes, I use E6000 glue for outdoor use. Another option is to use GE Silicone II clear caulk. You can use either glue or caulk, instead of drilling the pieces.”
She pulled out another glass flower, created using pale pink Depression-ware dishes. It included a salad plate, a saucer, and a small dessert dish. “This is a flower I stuck together using silicone as the glue. If some of the plates are thin, that’s your best bet, because drilling might shatter them.” Savannah handed the glass flower over to SueAnn for passing.
Faith held up a timid hand and cleared her throat. “How do you give the flowers stems?”
Savannah pulled out a completed glass flower from the bottom of the podium. “Here’s a finished flower mounted on a copper pipe. You can use aluminum pipe, rebar rods, wooden dowels, copper pipe, branches, curtain rods, or recycled railing. Basically, anything that strikes your creative fancy.”
Rachel stood up in the back row. “Do you want these back?”
“Yes. Bring them up here. You can come up and look them over while you’re assembling your own.”
SueAnn gave Savannah a queenly wave. “Darlin’, what about our glass bottles from yesterday’s workshop? Are we going to get to see how they wound up?”
“Absolutely. I’ll—”
The hanging bell on the front door shrieked and jangled. It was followed by a huffing and red-faced Amanda running into the classroom. “Sorry, sorry, sorry. I overslept. I didn’t hear the alarm go off. I’m so embarrassed.”
Although it might be difficult for a stranger to discern, Savannah noticed that Amanda wore a hodgepodge of an outfit. Her makeup was a bit streaky, and her lime earrings didn’t coordinate with the peach top and pale yellow slacks. Even worse, she was wearing one brown shoe and one black shoe, which looked more like Amanda’s mother’s style of comfortable footwear. Amanda had an unusual style, yes, but this was extreme even for her.
“It’s fine, Amanda. It eventually happens to everyone,” Savannah said, using her best comforting voice. “Because everything was so well organized, I was able to cover the glass flower lecture easily.” Savannah’s voice dropped down to a whisper. “Next time, call or text when something unexpected comes up. It looks like we don’t know what we’re doing, and it’s not good for our reputation.”
Amanda wiped the stray wisps of hair off her forehead. “Of course. I don’t know why I didn’t. That’s exactly what I should have done. I’m so sorry.” Amanda’s voice mimicked that of a small child. “Do you want to take over the teaching?”
“No. Of course not. I was about to take the class into the supply room to open the kiln. I’m so glad you’re here. I didn’t want you to miss opening it for your very first class. It’s such great fun.”
“Thanks.” Amanda looked around the classroom and noticed the empty seat in the front row. “Where’s Martin?”
Chapter 8
Tuesday Morning
“Martin hasn’t shown up.” Savannah heard the sharp tone in her voice and immediately softened it. “Didn’t he let you know he wouldn’t be here?”
Amanda stood quietly. Her pale skin turned ashen at the neck, and this color slowly began to rise into her face. “Sure. He said last night that he might be a little late.... A little late for him might be an hour.” Her voice rose to a high tremor. “Even so, he should be here pretty soon.”
“Excuse us for a moment,” Savannah said to the class and then took Amanda by the arm and led her through the door to her office. “Why don’t you get a cup of coffee and calm yourself. I’ll take everyone over to the kiln.” She took Amanda and sat her down in the oak desk chair. After pouring a cup of coffee, she asked, “What’s wrong? Is your mother ill?”
Amanda shook her head yes but didn’t speak. She sat there, looking down at the floor, the tears in her eyes ready to spill down her cheeks.
“I’ll get everyone started on cleaning up their pieces, and I’ll be back in a jiffy. Are you sure you’re going to be okay?”
Amanda looked up. “I’ll be fine in a few minutes. I’m feeling a bit disoriented. I didn’t get much sleep.”
“Your mom?”
“Um, yes. It’s getting bad.” Amanda took a drink of the coffee.
“Okay. I’ll be right back.”
Savannah walked back into the classroom. “Amanda’s a little tired. She was up most of the night, watching over her sick mother, and she’s a little distracted. She’ll be fine after a hit of coffee. Meanwhile, let’s go open the kiln and see what happened to our bottles last night.”
There was a quick burst of chatter as everyone made their way to the supply room. Savannah stood beside the largest kiln, which was about the size and shape of a small bathtub, and raised the lid with the rigged pulley-and-cable system. She used a mountain climber’s clip to secure the lid in the open position.
“I’ll lift the pieces out and hand them to each of you. Once you have your piece, you need to take it over to the sink and wash the kiln paper residue off it. Also, wash the plaster mold, if you used one.”
She reached into the depths of the kiln and picked out a Belvedere Vodka bottle that had been slumped in a cracker tray mold. “Which one of you is the owner of this one?” She looked at Rachel, then at Faith.
“That’s mine!” Rachel pushed to the front. “I’ll take it.”
Savannah found another Belvedere Vodka bottle, which had been fused flat. “So this must be yours, then, Faith.”
Faith smiled and took the ash-covered bottle over to the sink to wash it.
“Who has the light green bottle?” Savannah lifted a flattened bottle.
“That’s mine, darlin’. I’ll take it.” SueAnn stepped in front of the Akron girls and took the dusty cheese tray from Savannah with pinched fingers. “I should have brought an apron. I didn’t realize we’d get dirty.” SueAnn held the flattened bottle away from her clothes, her fingers touching it as little as possible.
“This is not a particularly dirty craft. But you might get fairly dusty. The kiln work can be a bit messy with all the flying ash.”
She’ll never be comfortable with the ash.
Savannah looked at the young cousins and then gazed into the kiln. “There are only three left. Which ones are yours?”
“The clear wine bottle is mine,” Patty said, pointing, “and the dark yellow one is Yvonne’s.”
Handing over their bottles, Savannah assumed that the remaining bottle must belong to Martin. It wasn’t one of the unique cobalt blue bottles he had brought in. She picked up the flattened Van Gogh Raspberry Vodka bottle. She recognized it as one from Amanda’s collection.
Savannah lifted her voice over the chattering and splashing at the sink. “When you have your pieces completely clean and dry, we’ll have a little critique session, and then we’ll start today’s project back in the classroom.”
“Miss V
anna,” said SueAnn, “I allow, as we are a group of art students, that I should expect to work on various types of material. But I, I mean we, shouldn’t expect to get filthy in the process. I can’t abide this dust.”
“But it’s a natural part of the firing process, SueAnn.”
“I’m positively sure it will bring on an asthma attack.” She looked down at the ash-coated bottle in her hands. “I regret to inform you I have to leave.”
“Oh no, SueAnn.” Savannah quickly calculated the cost of a refund. “Don’t worry. We’ll wash the kiln pieces for you. I wouldn’t want you to get sick.”
SueAnn’s eyes softened, and she tilted her head. “Bless your heart, Vanna.” SueAnn handed the wine bottle over to Savannah, then held her hands away from her body, as if she had contracted the black death. “Doesn’t that young fella, Martin, got sumthin’ in there?”
“Sure he does. He used one of Amanda’s backup vodka bottles. She was smart to bring them in.”
Walking with her hands out to her sides like a zombie, SueAnn hurried through the classroom and into the office bathroom.
Savannah shook her head. You meet all kinds.
When Savannah walked back into the classroom, Amanda was standing behind the podium, with her teaching notebook open. After SueAnn returned from the bathroom, she proceeded to use three sanitizing sheets on the surface of her worktable. She bent down to examine the results and then followed this with three more. The class looked on, as if this was an avant-garde performance.
Clearing her throat and breaking the spell, Savannah touched Amanda lightly on the arm. “You look so much better. Are you okay to continue?”
“I’m good. The coffee helped like a magic tonic. I’ve got this.”
The front door bell jangled.
“I’ll get it. Carry on,” Savannah said.
Savannah went to the front of the shop and found Detective Parker standing by the counter in the display room. He had placed a small brown paper bag with the flap folded on top of the counter. It was labeled EVIDENCE. Next to it was a printed list that documented the particulars of the evidence bag and also the chain of custody. Savannah knew this from her experience with her father’s investigation.
Cracked to Death Page 6
