“Sure.” Her father smirked.
“Officer Thomas Decker, are you romantically seeing Tabitha?” Kayla skipped to the table and sat down to enjoy her cookie.
“You never offered me a cookie, sis.” Thomas had his hand out.
Kayla clutched a second cookie in her other hand, and as she handed it over, she asked again, “Are you two dating?”
He swiped the cookie from her and acknowledged how delightful the treats were. “So good, they are.”
“I have two mysteries to solve here.” After rolling her eyes up to glance at the clock, she finished her meal and galloped back to her room to finish getting ready. After dressing and unplugging her cell phone, she saw a message from Callie.
I’m so sorry you decided to move out. Without you to help pay the rent, I needed another person to step in. Stan will stay with me for a while, but I will need to the last of the lease for the next few months. Whenever you can do that, it would be great.
Kayla went to sit in a chair before her old white desk where school work was done numerous times in the past. I will come back, give me a few days.
“Are you ready?” Thomas came into her room along with Muddles who leaped onto her bed and yowled.
“Yeah, dad, I’m ready.” Kayla set her phone inside her purse and pulled out her suitcase. After tossing in a few items she would need for her trip in it, she heard her phone chirp. It was her father telling her to hurry up. “I’m finishing up packing, Mouse!”
“Okay. You don’t want to be late for your first mystery, Kayla.” Muddles heard him pull out a drawer from Kayla’s room and raced to see what he had to offer her. The next thing Kayla heard was, “Muddles, get out of my sock drawer!”
She giggled. “Her love of socks overrides any personal drawer.” Kayla zipped the suitcase closed after adding more essentials. “We can go now, dad.” She leaned down to lift the cat who had two socks clutched between her teeth. “I will miss you so much. Take care of dad for me, please.” She set Muddles down and went to lift her suitcase, but her father already grabbed it first.
“Out we go.” He jogged to the front door and opened it. “We are only going to be an hour and a half early. I would rather have a two-hour window because of unseen issues.
“We will be fine, dad.” Kayla hurried to the front door and down the steps to her father’s cruiser sitting in the drive. After climbing inside, Thomas put the suitcase in the trunk and shut it.
When they were both in the car with the heater on, Kayla sat with confidence that she was doing the right thing. They passed by numerous houses on their way to the I-80 freeway that would take them to Sacramento International Airport. It was a bustled frenzy, but her father knew how to handle heavy traffic, and his in-depth knowledge of side streets came in handy too. They arrived exactly when they should have.
“You be careful, Kayla, and keep your eyes open to any possibilities. I have a few people keeping their eyes on you too.” Thomas popped the trunk, jumped out and had a handle on her baggage. After handing it to her, they hugged, and Kayla was on her way inside after telling her dad good-bye.
She made her way to the gate, checked in, and went to sit in one of the chairs nearby. Kayla pushed her hand into her jacket pocket and pulled out the picture she discovered with that antique table at the shop. Her eyes roamed over it, and after careful thought, she replaced it to her pocket. With her cell phone, she continued to search for Harris and his fiancé, but nothing was coming up.
Over the loudspeaker, a woman announced, “There is a slight delay with flight 223. Please be patient and get a cup of coffee if you’d like.” Kayla was on her feet and tracing through the airport to the nearest café a mere one hundred and fifty feet from where she was. She left her bag near the seat and went inside the restaurant and get hot tea.
After ordering a green tea with honey, she casually made her way back to the gate. When her eyes caught sight of a blue overcoat, she stopped dead in her tracks. A man walking by was wearing one, but his hair was white as a sheet, and the person in her dream had only speckled white on it. Kayla sipped from her cup and went to take her seat facing the window where the plane would eventually sit.
“How are you doing, young lady?” A woman with a baseball cap on her head asked Kayla from across the aisle.
“I’m good.” Kayla grinned with eyes still plastered out the glass panes. A few traffic controllers were waving flags, but no plane yet.
“Staring at it won’t bring it here any faster.” The woman snickered.
“I know. I can hope, right?” Kayla held her tea against her chest and felt its warmth soak in.
“Did you get that from the little café over there?” This lady asked.
“Yes, and by the way, it’s delicious.” Kayla boasted.
“Great, can you keep an eye on my luggage while I go and get one?” She waited until Kayla nodded. She got up and left Kayla to watch two green suitcases that stared her in the face.
A plane not far from them came in and slowed as it winded its way to another gate nearby. When it was locked in, passengers were exiting happily. Children came out first, and when they greeted their adult connections, Kayla smiled at their faces of joy.
“Thanks, that place sure is busy right now. They are all out of green tea.” This woman sat across from Kayla holding her cup of tea.
“No problem. I was watching the other plan unload.” She observed a little girl dressed in a pink dress attempt to lift it up and twirl in many tight circles. Consequently, she fell to the ground laughing.
“She’s adorable.” The woman commented.
“She really is. That was me many years ago before my mother…” Kayla stopped herself and turned from the child.
“I’m sorry to hear that. I lost my mother too. She was a delight of the household. Her nimble fingers would play Bach for us every night, to my father’s chagrin.” She beamed.
“Moms can be great. I really miss mine.” Kayla wondered why she was confessing to this stranger. She supposed it was because many strangers did the same with her on occasion.
“Her chocolate chip cookies were the best though. I will never forget how chewy and warm they were. Those sweet treats actually melted in my mouth.” She closed her eyes and reminisced over cookies.
“I know what you mean. Cookies made by mom are definitely the best ever.” Kayla sipped her tea.
“Where are you going anyway?” Her face showed wonderment and the desire to know if they were heading in the same direction.
Kayla didn’t hesitate to say, “I’m going to New Orleans. It’s a trip I’ve wanted to take for quite some time now. It will be great to see the sights, hear the sounds, and get to know the lay of the land. I’ve never been.”
She grinned. “I have family there. It’s always a pleasure to go back from time to time. Maybe we’ll bump into one another in the cityscape. I know all the best spots.”
“Cool. I’m doing this alone, and I pray my inner compass doesn’t get me lost for a change.” Kayla looked up at the board, and still, no plane was landing.
“It could take another hour or so. I have a project that needs to be finished.” She pulled out a tablet and began working on it in silence.
A lady behind the counter noticed Kayla still had her bag. “Miss, Miss, can you bring that to me?”
Kayla looked up at her and leaped to her feet. “Yeah, they told me I could carry this on.”
The woman’s dark eyes took in the size of it, and with a head shake, she added, “They were wrong. I will tag it and take it where it belongs.”
“Okay, thanks. I won’t have to worry about where to stuff it in one of those overhead bins.” Kayla handed it over and turned back to the seat she was in. The woman across from her was gone. “Weird.”
“What’s weird?” The woman holding her bag queried.
“Oh, nothing. I was speaking with a lady, and now she’s gone.” Kayla nodded and went to sit back down staring out the window. Inside, all s
he wanted was for that plane to land so she could be on her way.
Her phone chirped, and when she looked down at it, Callie was contacting her.
I will be here waiting for you to come back, Kayla.
I’m heading out of town for a few days, Callie. We will talk when I’m back home in a few days. Kayla sat clicking her tongue lightly against the roof of her mouth. When she noticed another passenger glaring at her, she stopped.
I can deal with that, Kayla. I really wanted you and Stan to get along. He is such a great gift giver.
I know, Callie. He will always be a great gift giver. Kayla wanted to gag when she typed that sentence.
Really? You really think so? I feel so too.
Yep. Kayla had to set her phone down and inhale different air than what was before her. After shaking her head, she continued typing. I want the best for you and Stan, Callie. Be happy and content.
I will be happy with him. He praised me for my job yesterday. I love it when he does that. His opinion is so important to me. Every day he says the sweetest things.
Kayla wanted to barf, but she refrained in public. Great. Was what she typed.
Have a great time and please be careful.
I will. Stay happy, Callie.
I will, Kayla.
She set her phone down, and when she looked up, the woman was there on her tablet. It wasn’t her imagination or anything. She was now two seats down from her previous position.
“Your back.” Kayla’s eyes roved over her with a severe question posing to strike in the back of her head.
“I never left, Kayla.” When she said her name, she grinned.
“How did you know my name?” Kayla was confused now. No one said anything different around them. “Oh.”
“That woman said your name when she read it off your luggage tag.”
“Oh, that’s right. I forgot.” Kayla wanted to leap up and move to a new row. Something morbid kept her there wanting to know what else this woman would conjure.
“Are you okay? You look upset. I hope that wasn’t me.” She was apologizing for doing nothing.
“No, no, it’s my friend, Callie. She’s such a mess. I wish she would wake up and see what her boyfriend is doing to her.”
“You see it, and she is blind to it. I get it.” She set her tablet down. “I once had a friend like that, and after a year or so, she married the guy and had a kid. I always knew he was a rascal, and I was right. He up and left her with the kid to get together with one of the bridesmaids at their wedding. They wound up married and divorced too.”
“How awful. I’m sorry to hear that. I bet that woman was devastated.” Kayla frowned. “Some people don’t have what it takes to communicate properly about what they truly want out of life. Stan is one of those people.”
“Is he your friend’s boyfriend?”
Kayla nodded. “That’s his name.”
“If he is anything like Leopold, they deserve the same ending.” She shook her head. “The gall of some people. At least my friend found the love of her life and is now happily married to him and has been for over thirty years. Their son, by the way, is now an Astrophysicist at a local elite university in California.” She pointed at Kayla.
“Does he know his real father?” Kayla wanted to know.
“He was adopted by my friend’s now husband, and he doesn’t care to know the man who donated him to his mother.” She widened her smile.
“That’s good. I think the same thing will happen to Callie. It’s like she’s the walking dead right now. Everything about him is happy, happy, happy until he breaks up with her at least once a week. That is not love, to me.”
“No, it isn’t real love whatsoever. Once Callie finds the real deal, your friend, will never look back at Stan again. Guaranteed!”
“I certainly hope so.” Kayla looked outside and saw a plane land when the loudspeaker came on.
“Attention passengers. Your plane has finally arrived forty-five minutes late, but it is here.” Clapping ensued throughout the area.
The woman across the way was on her feet clapping too. “That’s great news.”
Chapter Five
Kayla sat in a seat on the plane and shoved her small purse trip under her seat. After leaving Muddles and her father behind, Kayla was on her way to a place she had never been in her life. What should she expect? Kayla should not have any expectations whatsoever. Things could go south fast when she watched the woman from the airport pass her by with a wink, Kayla waved when she headed to the rear of the plane to find her seat.
Once the plane was in the air, Kayla watched the lady next to her crochet booties for her granddaughter due next month. It was a pleasant trip to hear stories of her children, her now deceased war hero husband, and her excitement over a first grandchild. Through her, Kayla enjoyed listening to what she had to say. When our old die, so will be their incredible stories of the past.
The plane landed, Kayla told this lady to have a great stay with her daughter as she headed off to fetch her luggage first, then she needed to hail a cab, and head to the Hotel Monteleone on Royal Street. Kayla had rented a room in that hotel not far from the Mississippi River. She hurried down the escalator of the airport and thinking about why she was racing through the crowd. Kayla’s on vacation, and this was her time to enjoy it for a change, so she slowed to a stroll and made her way outside and into the chilly air that surrounded her on all sides. Her hand waved down a taxi, and when she was about to climb inside, a woman asked if Kayla were going to the Hotel Monteleone. She nodded and together, they shared the taxi expense.
The woman was the same one she talked with at Sacramento airport. “Fancy meeting you here, Kayla.”
“I agree. You’re staying at the hotel too, I suppose.” Kayla listened to the driver who was speaking in a foreign language to someone on his cell phone. She couldn’t understand a word he said, but when they arrived, Kayla was pleasantly surprised when the woman picked up the tab.
“Thanks so much. What’s your name, by the way?” Kayla asked after she thanked her.
“I’m so glad to be here, aren’t you, Kayla? Have a pleasant stay.” She rushed into the hotel before Kayla and entered the elevator before she reached the front door. It was then Kayla stopped to notice the gorgeous exterior which was typical for the French Quarter in New Orleans. Flower boxes adorned beneath every window, and when she detected the hotel was brilliantly lit, Kayla immediately felt at home. The lady at the front desk greeted her with a warm welcome.
Upon entering the front reception, beauty beheld this magnificent hotel with a long history steeped in suspense and mystery. Kayla approached a grandfather clock sitting in the middle of the front entrance, and when she stood at the reception desk, white painted wood with gold lacing curled around each piece captured her full imagination. The Hotel Monteleone definitely lived up to its name.
Kayla informed the front desk reception she would be staying with them for a few days when the woman immediately handed her a card key and a receipt for her stay. “Enjoy your stay here at the hotel.” She grinned.
“Thank you.” Kayla looked down at her receipt and saw that she booked the room for three days, she informed the woman if her business ran longer, Kayla would be there a few more days. She acknowledged Kayla and pointed the way to the elevator.
“Thank you, again.” Kayla went to stand before the elevator for what seemed like ten minutes.
When the doors finally opened, Kayla stepped in to see her cab companion once again. They exchanged glances and smiles. “You again.” Kayla looked down at her bags.
“Yes, I’m on the second floor.” Her smile shined through.
“So am I. We will ride together.” Kayla reached to press the button.
“I’m Lizzie, by the way. I just wanted to acknowledge your question earlier, Kayla. It’s nice to meet you.” She stood straight as an arrow.
“Nice. I hope your visit is pleasant.” She turned to look at the doors when they opened.
“I know everything will work out quite well, and it will be a nice reunion.” She shook her head. “I pray this is a short trip.” She laughed.
“I would not blame you. Family can be difficult. Have a good stay here.” Kayla watched Lizzie step out and head to her room where she inserted the key card and waved back at Kayla. She then disappeared inside the room.
Kayla finally found her room and did the same. When she was allowed entrance, she stepped into an expansive room and was overjoyed by the Signature Suite. “It’s perfect.” Her phone chirped, and Kayla knew it was her father ensuring she arrived safely. Kayla texted back and let him know all was well.
Kayla set her bag on the bed and went to stare out the large window overlooking the view of New Orleans. It was absolutely breathtaking with towering buildings all around her, and the busy street below bustled with people enjoying what New Orleans had to offer. When Kayla opened the window and inhaled, a gust of wind caught hold of her hair and blew it all over her head. That was enough for Kayla, she closed the window.
After she unpacked, Kayla placed everything where it ought to go in the large dresser facing the bed, and she made her way out of the room and out of the Hotel Monteleone. She wanted to see the Mississippi River up close and personal. After walking toward Conti Street and asked which way to the river, a friendly local with his son directed her to it. Once on Conti Street, it was chaos. Too many people were attempting to get around one another.
Kayla kept walking over the sidewalk to Woldenberg Park, Kayla definitely saw this area in her dream. After snapping a few pictures of it with her cell phone, she sent them to her father who responded with a thumbs up. Kayla continued her journey through this noisy, active place with enthusiasm. All Kayla wanted to do was fully experience what New Orleans had to offer, no matter if a body bubbled up.
She stopped near a rocky ledge close to the Mississippi River and searched for the spot she stood during her dream state. Kayla couldn’t seem to find it no matter where she looked. When she spotted the sun dipping down, Kayla had to call it a day and head back to the hotel. After feeling turned around, Kayla had to ask a passerby where the hotel was located. Apparently, she had walked awhile.
Kayla's Chronicles- Will Travel For Murder Page 5
