Murder at the Fortune Teller's Table

by Janet Finsilver

  Throbbing told me there’d be bruises on my shins. At least they’d match my ankle. Besides, blue and purple were pretty colors. I smiled wryly to myself. Humor was the best path to take now to leave the drama and darkness behind.

  I walked slowly toward the entrance.

  “Kelly, wait up,” Scott called out.

  I did a quick survey of my clothes. Amazing. Nothing torn, no blood, just a little dirt below my knees.

  “How did it go?” he asked.

  “Fine. I learned about activities in the area, tasted some great food, and met some wonderful people. How about yourself?”

  “The people are so excited. I wish Michael could’ve been here to hear their comments. It’s exactly what he’d hoped would happen.” He peered at me a little more closely. “Are you okay?”

  “Yes, just tired.”

  I’d tell him what happened eventually, but not now.

  “I have the meeting at your place in an hour.”

  “I know. Helen has it on the calendar for the conference room.”

  We reached the patio.

  “See you in a bit,” Scott said.

  “Right.”

  I saw Edie searching the groups of people filing out.

  She spied me and came over. “Kelly, have you seen John? I can’t find him anywhere. I know he was going to meet you in the Vista Room.”

  “I did see him, and he gave me your message.”

  And a lot more. A large container of water sat on one of the wooden tables. I filled two paper cups and handed one to Edie.

  “Let’s talk.”

  I sat on the bench. She looked puzzled but followed my lead, putting her painting supplies on the ground. She was about to have her world turned upside down forever. I told her what had happened.

  Edie kept shaking her head and saying, “No,” interspersed with, “It can’t be.”

  I ended with, “I don’t know where the police took him.”

  Edie didn’t move. She just stared at the paper cup. Eventually she raised her head and gazed into the distance.

  “He gave me the keys to the shop this morning. An early anniversary present, he said.”

  I wondered if she needed a ride back to the inn. “Are Ken and Sue Ellen still here?”

  “No, they left a while ago.” Edie stood. “I need to go to him.”

  “Are you okay to drive?”

  “Yes.” She picked up her painting equipment. “It’s one of many things I’ll be doing on my own now.”

  Would she be able to take her car, or had the police impounded it? “I don’t know if the police have your car or not.”

  “It’s not a problem. I arranged with Anthony earlier to borrow his because of the class. He said he could hitch a ride with his friend Tank. I didn’t want John to feel he needed to stay here. He’s been covering for a sick manager.” Her shoulders sagged. “He won’t be doing that anymore.”

  I remained seated as I watched her leave. I felt someone sit next to me, and a soft, warm hand rested on my forearm.

  “You look beat, honey,” Mary said.

  Little did she know how much that was the truth.

  The rest of the Silver Sentinels settled on the bench seats.

  “John killed Summer and Auntie,” I said and put my arm around Mary and hugged her. “And he’s the one who attacked you.” I told the story again.

  A short while later I said good-bye to the Silver Sentinels. I rolled my cart to the Jeep, opened the back, and lifted it in. I opened one of the containers and helped myself to a brownie. There was still work ahead of me, and a little chocolate fuel would help. The ride home was short. I put the leftover sweets on the counter and put the cart and the manila envelope with the brochures in the study to deal with later.

  I went to my rooms and freshened up. The wall clock said it was close to time for Scott’s meeting. I left to be sure everything was ready.

  The conference room was designed with an open area at one end so a presenter could put up display tables and work from a podium if they wanted to. We had a stand stored in the closet. Three men stood there—Anthony, Tank, and a young man I recognized from the hot tub. His large dark eyes still darted from side to side. His hands were in constant movement as he twisted the leather strap of the helmet he held in his hands. I recognized it by the color and the flames on the side of it as the one Tank had loaned Daisy.

  Just as I thought her name, Daisy bounced in, wearing pink hiking boots tied with shoelaces covered with happy faces. Where on earth had she been able to find those? Our gazes met. She had used less mascara, and I saw she had exceptionally beautiful eyes, green with hazel flecks.

  She looked at the men—more specifically, Tank. “Hi! I’ll be in the parlor when you’re ready to go.”

  Before Tank could say anything, Ken stormed in, followed by Sue Ellen.

  He shook his fist in Tank’s face. “You stay away from my daughter. Do you understand?”

  “Dad, stop,” Daisy shouted.

  Tank looked shocked.

  “Are you some kind of gym junky trying to look buffed so you can attract girls like her?”

  Tank opened his mouth. “I—”

  Ken cut him off. “And how is it you carry extra motorcycle gear? Another pickup tactic?”

  “I—”

  Ken wouldn’t let Tank talk. “And your tattoos, what are they of? I see something sharp like a claw coming out from under your sleeve. Do you have some kind of demon inked on your arm?”

  “I—”

  “Dad, stop saying things like that! You don’t even know him.” Daisy screamed at him. She grabbed her father’s arm and started to cry.

  Ken jerked his arm away and pushed on. “Tank. What kind of name is that? Do you barrel your way through and over people? Just who are you anyway?”

  “I can answer that,” a deep voice said.

  While Ken had been ranting, Scott and another man had entered the room. The new person was in an army uniform, ribbons on his chest and a Special Forces tab on his sleeve.

  Tank snapped to attention and saluted. “Sir.”

  The officer returned the salute. “At ease,” he said, then looked at Ken. “He’s Captain Tank Reynolds. Used to go by Hank, short for Harold, until his men began calling him Tank. That’s what he drove during active duty. He and his men were ambushed. He got every one of them out safely, going back time after time. Earned a silver star for bravery. And that’s not the only commendation he received.”

  His voice rumbled with power and strength. “I’m Lieutenant Colonel Madison.” His steel-gray eyes bored into Ken. “And who are you?”

  The bravado of Ken the Car King was gone. “Ken Nelsen, a car salesman.” His hardness, his characteristic pushiness, had disappeared, leaving an uncertain look in his eyes.

  Daisy tugged on Tank’s arm. “Show him your tattoos.”

  “Daisy, let’s just leave it,” Tank said.

  “Please,” she said.

  Those gorgeous eyes did their job. Tank rolled up the sleeve on his right arm. The claw I’d seen was part of a fierce, proud bald eagle resting on a branch, and the slogan above it said “God Bless America.” The artist had done a skillful job of making a deep scar on his arm into a branch for the bird to perch on.

  “The other one too,” Daisy said.

  Tank obediently uncovered his left shoulder. An American flag rippled across the muscles of his upper arm. The words “In God We Trust” accompanied this tattoo.

  Ken looked like a B-52 had flown over and dropped an emotional bomb.

  “Sir, I didn’t mean to upset you by seeing Daisy. I didn’t know there was a problem,” Tank said.

  The young man beside him spoke up. “I’m Cole, Tank’s brother.” He continued to twist the leather strap. “The motorcycle clothes he loaned Daisy were mine.”

  Ken’s face crumpled. “Sorry, Son. It seems I’m not only Ken the car salesman but a jerk and idiot as well.” He extended his hand. “I made some assumptions, s
ome wrong ones. I owe you an apology.”

  The two shook hands and began to talk.

  Anthony came over and stood next to me.

  “I remember seeing Cole at the hot tub,” I said.

  He nodded. “He was in the area where some robberies had occurred. You probably know about them. The ones done by someone called the Lunch Thief.”

  Yes, I did know. Cole had nothing to worry about on that score anymore.

  “The police questioned him,” Anthony continued. “Cole got scared he’d be blamed and ran away. Tank and I were taking him his medication that day.”

  I was right about drugs, wrong about the intent.

  “He had some bad experiences in the war and has some healing to do.”

  The dog trainer I had met at Corrigan’s place and the Bernese mountain dog he’d been training appeared in the doorway. Tank moved away from Cole and gestured to Ken to follow him. Peter walked over to Tank’s brother.

  “I’m Peter Wilson, and this is Jake. I hear you’ve been hoping to get a dog.”

  Cole nodded, a confused look in his eyes.

  He handed the leash to the young man. “He’s yours if you want him.”

  “Mine?” he whispered.

  He sank down on his knees next to the big black dog and buried his face in his side. Jake pushed into him. I remembered how soothing it had felt to have the dog close to me. Tears began to stream down Cole’s face. Jake licked them away and put his head next to the dark-haired man.

  Peter smiled. “There’s some paperwork to do, but there’s no reason he can’t be with you from now on. He’s PTSD-trained. Tank helped me know what we needed to teach him to be your companion.”

  Cole looked at him and nodded. The tears kept coming.

  I guessed he couldn’t speak right now. I was on the verge of crying along with him, and I would’ve had trouble talking right then.

  “Your cabin at Michael Corrigan’s place is all ready,” Peter said. “I’ll work with the two of you for a few days so you can learn his commands and how he responds in different situations. We can fine-tune his skills to fit your needs.”

  Cole nodded again and stood up, clenching the leash. The twisting hands and darting eyes were gone.

  Jake didn’t take his eyes off him.

  They were a match, the rescuer and the rescued. It didn’t matter who rescued whom.

  Chapter 30

  Scott spoke up. “Cole and Tank are going to help develop the area to be occupied by veterans. They’ll both live on-site.”

  Tank put his arm around Cole’s shoulders. “Jake has a K-nine phone he’s been trained to use if you have one of your seizures, or you can command him to call if you need something. It has my number, and I’ll be in the cabin next to you.”

  “Anthony will be nearby as well,” Scott said. “A number of the homeless men in the area are veterans. He’ll be working with them and seeing if we can bring some of them into the center.”

  Anthony nodded. “I’ll be in the cabin area for a while. Then the plan is for me to move to the main house.”

  “Anthony is skilled at communication,” Scott said. “He’ll be doing general community outreach as well.”

  “I bet the Silver Sentinels can help him with the names of people who would be good for him to contact,” I said.

  “I know they can. We talked about it when we toured the place.” Scott turned to the lieutenant colonel. “I know your time is limited. I appreciate your coming today to meet and talk about our plans.”

  I took that as my cue to leave. I started toward Ken and Sue Ellen to nudge them out of the room. As it turned out, I didn’t need to do that. Deputy Sheriff Stanton arrived. I knew what he had to tell them.

  “I’m looking for Mr. and Mrs. Nelsen,” he said.

  “Here,” Ken said, looking puzzled.

  “I need to talk to you.”

  Ken frowned. “Sure. We have a sitting area in our rooms we can use.”

  They departed. They too were about to find their lives in upheaval. I wondered how much damage John had done to their business.

  The men began to seat themselves at the table. Cole and Jake appeared to be glued to each other. The looks that passed between them showed mutual adoration. Tank’s brother’s demeanor had changed just in the short time he was with his new companion. I excused myself.

  I went to the work area, sat at the counter, and suddenly felt like I couldn’t move. I was so tired. Helen was busy with the cheese and wine time for the guests, taking out plates and bringing in dirty dishes.

  “You look beat,” she said as she put a platter in the sink.

  It was the second time someone had said that. It must really show.

  “It’s been a long day but a gratifying one.”

  I told her about Cole and his PTSD dog. I didn’t get into any details regarding John.

  “It’s wonderful to hear the young man has a new chapter in his life ahead of him.”

  “I agree. Michael is doing so much to help people. Maybe I’ll call him and let him know what a profound effect he’s already having.”

  I went to my rooms, passing the conference area on the way. The door was closed, and I heard talking. The group was making plans for more people to have a fresh start in life. I poured a glass of Pellegrino and dialed my boss.

  “Kelly, good to hear your voice. How are you settling in?”

  “I love it, Michael. I wanted to tell you about something I saw this afternoon that you are responsible for. You changed someone’s life.”

  I told him in detail about what had taken place. He was a dog lover, and the fact that Jake was a rescue made everything that much more special.

  “Thanks for calling, Kelly. It really means a lot to hear it from someone who was there when they met. I hope we can do it for many more people and dogs.”

  “Scott has put together a great group in Tank, his brother, Cole, and Anthony.”

  “I was surprised when Scott took the assignment. With his cosmopolitan background, it didn’t seem like it would be a fit.”

  This stumped me for a moment. What should I say? I wasn’t prepared to talk about anything personal.

  “He said he wanted to try something new,” I replied.

  True. I didn’t have to say anything about him mentioning me.

  “I see,” he said.

  And Corrigan probably did see. I thought I heard a chuckle.

  “How are the Silver Sentinels doing?”

  I brought him up to speed on what had happened.

  “Just how many murders can a small town like that have?” he asked.

  “Hopefully, no more.”

  We ended the call. My cell phone rang before I had time to leave the room. I didn’t recognize the number.

  “Hello,” I answered.

  “Kelly, it’s Diane Purcelli. I wanted to thank you. I met with Mark.”

  “How did it go?”

  “Wonderful. He’s a very sweet man. We look forward to getting to know each other. He has no anger toward me. Summer was his mother as far as he’s concerned, so he doesn’t feel like he missed out on anything in life. Thank you so much for helping to make this happen.”

  “You’re welcome. Have plans been made to help him with his medical condition?”

  “Absolutely. He’s coming to San Francisco to a specialty clinic. It’s named after his grandfather, making it even more fitting he should be treated there. Thank you again.”

  “You’re welcome.”

  Summer would have been very pleased.

  I went to the parlor to check on the guests. Daisy was off in a far corner, thumbs flying over her phone. Sue Ellen and Ken sat on the couch in front of the fireplace. I went over to pick up their empty dishes just as Ken reached out and took his wife’s hand.

  “Sue Ellen, who have I become? What have I become?” He squeezed her hand. “I was so wrong about the young man Daisy is seeing. I’ve been wrong about other things as well.”

  He gazed
at her with a look of sincerity and affection I hadn’t seen before. I grabbed their plates and turned to leave.

  “No, wait,” Ken said. “I treated Sue Ellen poorly in front of you. I’d like you to hear what I have to say.”

  Uh, oh. There was still more involvement with this family ahead of me.

  Ken turned to his wife. “I’ve been a cold, hard, heartless, selfish human being to you and others. I’m sorry. I’ll agree to the divorce you wanted. Your terms. I understand why you want to leave.”

  I shifted uncomfortably from one foot to the other.

  Sue Ellen shook her head. “I don’t want a divorce. I just want us to be together like we used to be.”

  He rested his hand on her knee. “I haven’t always been like this, have I?”

  Oh boy, did I want out of here. I opened my mouth to excuse myself, but Sue Ellen beat me.

  “No, Ken. You fought hard to develop your business.” She patted his hand. “You took care of your family. Maybe you developed some calluses along the way, got some bruises from being knocked around a bit.”

  “I need to learn to be more like my son, Anthony.”

  Sue Ellen put her arm around him. “You are a caring, loving father.”

  “I don’t know what’s ahead of us financially, how much damage John did to our business,” Ken said.

  “We worked long hours before, we can do it again.” Sue Ellen leaned into him. “I have a lot of good memories about those times.”

  Time to leave. “I hope you liked your rooms.”

  Before they could reply, I made my exit and deposited their plates in the sink. I rinsed them and put them in the dishwasher, thinking about the conversation I’d just heard. Their son-in-law was a murderer, and who knew what he had done to their business. They had a long road ahead.

  I heard voices in the hallway indicating the meeting with Scott was over. I followed the sounds into the parlor. Sue Ellen and Ken were gone.

  Daisy was front and center. “I’m ready for our hike,” she said to Tank.

  He laughed and looked at the rest of us. “It’s a walk on the headlands.”

  “Sounds like a hike to me,” she said.

  “It probably does.” He looked at her with affection, seeing something in her I’d missed.