I Wish You Missed Me

by Bonnie Hearn Hill

  ‘He gave you the coffee?’ John Paul asked.

  She shook her head against her pillows. ‘It was outside the door. Stupid me. I thought it was room service. I should’ve known after yesterday.’

  ‘What did he do?’ John Paul tensed.

  ‘Chatted Kit up. Brought her a coffee. I thought he was just interested in her – you know. Can’t believe I didn’t see through him.’ She turned her head away. ‘I’m too soft now. That’s all.’

  ‘You’re fine.’ Kit took her hand. ‘It’s a good thing you didn’t drink much of it.’

  ‘Guy sucks at his job.’ Virgie squeezed her hand and turned back with a grin. ‘If you’re going to drug someone you’d better do a taste test first.’

  There was a knock on the door and John Paul got up to open it. The gray-haired woman in the apron stepped inside.

  ‘I’m so sorry about this,’ she said. ‘We’ve never had the slightest disturbance in our little inn.’

  ‘Understood, ma’am.’ John Paul stepped aside so that she could approach Virgie.

  ‘Someone tried to kill me,’ Virgie told her. ‘I’d sure like to know where he is.’

  ‘I wish I could tell you.’ The woman shook her head. ‘We’ve gone through the guest logs and everyone who checked in is accounted for.’

  ‘What about the motorcycle?’ Kit asked.

  The woman shook her head again. ‘No motorcycle. It would be noted.’

  ‘Are you sure you don’t remember him?’ Kit asked. ‘Long dark hair? Bright blue eyes, probably contacts?’

  ‘No.’ She turned toward the door. ‘Do you mind if I leave now? I have guests waiting.’

  ‘We can’t keep you here.’ John Paul stood at the door, as official and unyielding as when he had let her in. ‘The officers investigating this will need to talk to you, though.’

  ‘Officers investigating?’ She paused. ‘Was the man you’re describing a doctor?’

  ‘He said he was,’ Kit said. ‘Why?’

  ‘Because a doctor from Mendocino stopped by today and asked about what it would take to set up a party here. He said he had just graduated from medical school and wanted to surprise his parents with a weekend away from home.’

  ‘That’s the man.’ Kit’s stomach knotted. ‘Do you remember his name?’ she asked.

  ‘Now that you mentioned a motorcycle, I think his name might be like that.’ She shoved her teased hair behind her ears. ‘Harley? Yes, I think that might be it. Harley Black. I didn’t write it down. We get a lot of inquiries.’

  ‘Farley Black,’ Kit said.

  ‘Right.’ She started to back out of the room.

  ‘Wait.’ Kit followed her. ‘What color was his hair?’

  ‘Black.’ She turned to John Paul. ‘I’ll cooperate in any way, of course. I just hope the investigators will be discreet.’

  ‘Of course.’

  ‘And now I really do need to get back to my guests.’

  ‘We’ll be in touch with you soon.’ John Paul moved toward the door. ‘Just be watchful.’

  ‘So,’ Virgie said once the woman had left, ‘we need to find this guy.’

  ‘No we,’ Kit told her. ‘As soon as you’re able, you’re going home.’

  John Paul nodded. ‘You both probably ought to head back.’

  ‘No,’ Virgie said. ‘We’ve seen more than you have. We can find out what’s going on and who’s doing it.’

  ‘Except …’ John Paul stood, ‘… one of you has been drugged and the other one could have been. Tell me everything you know. It won’t be the same, but at least it will get you away from this guy.’

  ‘This guy who probably harmed Farley or knows what happened,’ Kit said. ‘That’s why he used his name. He’s playing some kind of crazy game. I’m not going, John Paul.’

  ‘Neither am I,’ Virgie said. ‘I’m not leaving Kit.’

  ‘And I’m not leaving Farley.’

  He turned his back to them and strode to the window overlooking the pond. When he turned to face them, he stared into Kit’s eyes and said, ‘OK. I have no jurisdiction here and I can’t make you leave.’

  ‘I think we’re close,’ she said. ‘Jonas asked me to wait and then he’s going to tell us where Farley is.’

  ‘He knows?’ John Paul sat on the edge of the bookcase.

  Virgie cleared her throat and looked at Kit.

  ‘Are you with us?’ she asked him.

  ‘I’ve always been with you.’ He glanced out the window again. ‘Right now, we’ve got to stay together, though. That guy got too close today.’

  ‘Do you know about the guitars in Jonas’s barn?’ she asked.

  ‘Only about the fire.’ He met her gaze. ‘I still have contacts.’

  ‘Do you know who set it?’

  ‘I don’t have any idea. I don’t even know why he was making them. All Farley said was that Jonas had a gift for woodworking and was teaching him.’

  ‘He never mentioned the guitars?’

  ‘Never specifically. He just talked about how smart the guy is and how his only weakness is …’ He paused. ‘Women.’

  ‘Farley told me the same.’ She got up, walked toward the window and slid the glass open so that fresh air could fill the room. Then she glanced at Virgie, who nodded and pushed herself up in bed as alert as always, or at least pretending to be. ‘The guitars were for kids Jonas tutored in an off-the-grid community.’

  ‘Commune?’

  ‘Permaculturists – people who have had it with technology. The woman at the fruit stand is part of it. Jonas is part of it.’

  ‘And Farley?’

  ‘I think he knows about it and always has,’ she said. ‘Now it’s your turn.’

  ‘I did find a lead, but first tell me who set fire to the guitars.’

  ‘Maybe Megan. That’s just a wild guess, and it doesn’t feel right even though she’s impulsive enough. Maybe it was this guy who tried to drug Virgie and me.’

  ‘But why?’ He paced the room. ‘There’s always a reason.’

  ‘True.’ For the first time in a long time, Kit remembered how it felt to work with John Paul and not against him.

  ‘Now,’ she leaned against the cushion of the chair, ‘what do you know that Virgie and I don’t?’

  ‘Mind handing me Farley’s phone?’

  Virgie glanced at her but Kit knew John Paul wouldn’t try anything weird at this point. They needed each other as they never had before.

  ‘Virgie?’ Kit said.

  She pursed her lips at John Paul. ‘It’s in my bag. Charged last time I saw it.’

  He started for it and then smiled at Kit. ‘We’re working together now,’ he said. ‘You do the honors.’

  Huddled with him on the window seat over the phone, Kit pulled up the photo of Farley and Mickey and handed it to John Paul.

  ‘Farther back. Farley took other selfies.’

  ‘Virgie and I already went through them,’ she said. ‘Just bar shots of Mickey and him.’

  ‘And this guy.’ He tapped on a photo of a man who seemed to be leaving the bar.

  An average-looking, dark-haired man, somewhere between thirty and forty with a winery logo on one side of his blue shirt, waved at the camera as he passed.

  ‘Who is he?’ Kit asked.

  ‘You told me about the camp so I’ll tell you about Rudy.’ His eyes lit up but his unsmiling expression remained the same. ‘First thing I did was ID everyone in the photo. The bartender, Mickey. He knew this guy.’

  ‘How’d you get a copy of the photo?’ she asked.

  ‘Off your phone. Sorry.’

  ‘I should have known.’

  ‘Mickey told me that this guy had some kind of relationship with the girl from the fruit stand. Megan.’

  ‘What kind of relationship?’

  ‘He didn’t tell Mickey anything except that the guy who died is a friend of his, and Rudy isn’t certain that his friend’s death was an accident.’

  ‘Then let’s go visit Ru
dy,’ Kit said.

  He glanced at Virgie and shook his head. ‘First thing this morning.’

  ‘That would be now.’ Virgie flipped off the pale blue quilt covering her bed. ‘Let’s go find Rudy.’

  THIRTY-SEVEN

  John Paul made some calls and Kit sat on the bed next to Virgie, feeling grateful that they were finally working together. It wouldn’t be easy for the two of them. John Paul would never understand her friendship with Farley. They would have to deal with their personal relationship later.

  Only one problem with that. Kit watched as he sat beside her on the bed and lifted a water glass to Virgie’s lips. She watched his face as he talked about how much they needed to find Farley.

  After he went downstairs to check out, Kit and Virgie sat overlooking the pond outside.

  ‘You look much better now,’ Kit said.

  ‘You too.’ She paused. ‘He’s not a bad guy. John Paul.’

  ‘If he leads us to Rudy, he’ll be stellar.’

  ‘You know what I’m saying, Kit. Don’t act like you don’t.’

  ‘We’ll talk about it later.’ She pulled their bags to the door. ‘At least we travel light.’

  ‘Depends on how you define travel.’ Virgie pulled herself up.

  ‘You know you can stay here,’ Kit told her.

  ‘What would you say if I said that to you?’

  ‘Probably what you’re ready to say to me.’

  John Paul returned and Kit put her hand out to Virgie. ‘Come on. Go slowly.’

  ‘I’m fine.’ Virgie started for the door and grabbed Kit’s arm. ‘Whoa,’ she said. ‘I’d better sit for a minute.’

  ‘Why don’t you sit for an hour?’ John Paul told her. ‘You’ve got your phone in case you need us. We’ll talk to Rudy and come back for you. Then we can all go looking for the camp.’

  ‘What if the guy comes back here?’ Kit said.

  ‘He won’t.’ Virgie sat on the edge of the bed. ‘Think about it. He tried to drug you and did the same to me. He’s moving onto whatever he’s doing next, whatever that is.’

  ‘If he’s the one who burned the guitars Jonas probably knows who he is,’ Kit said. ‘He hinted that someone in the camp might be breaking the law. In the meantime, we’ll talk to Rudy and get back as soon as we can.’

  The other guests stood in the patio area speaking in worried tones. Kit climbed in John Paul’s truck and they pulled away from the parking lot.

  ‘Do you think she’s safe?’ she asked John Paul.

  ‘Virgie nailed it. This guy is moving ahead to carry out whatever plan he has. I don’t think he’ll backtrack. Besides, the hotel staff know him.’

  They drove past a small group setting up a classic-car show in a park. A gold-trimmed red train moved north on overhead rails.

  ‘I wish we’d compared notes sooner,’ Kit said. ‘I made the mistake of thinking the group Farley is with was breaking the law in some way.’

  ‘We don’t know they’re not.’

  ‘Jonas said they’re not. He insisted.’

  ‘That doesn’t mean he’s telling the truth.’ He glanced over at her and said, ‘Why are you smiling?’

  ‘Because I’ve missed this. Even when we argue, you make me think.’

  ‘Same here. I’ve missed working together as well.’ He reached for her hand. ‘I’ve missed you.’ They held onto each other like that for a moment. ‘And I’m still going to buy you flowers,’ he said.

  That broke the tension. They both laughed. He let go of her hand and took hold of the steering wheel again.

  ‘You do that.’ She pointed to a field of lavender. Some of the bushes were almost as tall as she was. ‘That’s my absolute favorite.’

  He put down the windows so the smell of it could fill the truck. ‘I wish I could stop right here and pick you a bunch of it, Kit.’

  ‘Soon,’ she said and then realized how callous that must sound. ‘Once Farley is safe and this is behind us.’

  The road signs directed them to sustainably farmed vineyards, redwoods overlooking natural gardens and the green-and-yellow blur of canola fields.

  ‘This is the place.’ John Paul parked in a redwood grove perched above a sweep of vineyards. ‘Cabernet,’ he said. ‘I might as well tell you the rest of it. I’ve been here before and Rudy refused to speak to me.’

  ‘I figured.’

  They got out of the truck and walked toward the wine bar, a simple, rustic arrangement of a counter of wooden planks and a few stools.

  ‘It’s really beautiful,’ Kit said. ‘No wonder people come here to escape from technology and everything else.’

  ‘Could you do that?’ he asked.

  ‘Probably not. Remember, I was practically born in a radio station.’ They walked farther. ‘Could you?’

  ‘I don’t think it’s realistic.’ He looked down at her and for a moment Kit thought he might take her hand again. ‘The bad guys are still out there. They’re still out here. If you go off the grid, give up technology and whatever else these people are doing, you have no control over your destiny. They can walk in and take everything from you. You and I wouldn’t know this much about what happened to Farley without our phones – or his!’

  She wanted to ask more but they neared the wine bar and a dark-haired woman polishing glasses with a spotless white cloth that matched her apron smiled at them.

  ‘We don’t open until later.’

  ‘We need to talk to Rudy.’ His brisk, official tone seemed to work.

  ‘One moment.’ The woman picked up a phone and spoke into it. Then she pointed at a tiny structure surrounded by more rough planks. ‘He’ll meet you in the office.’

  Wearing the same spotless blue shirt as he had in the photo John Paul had showed her, Rudy strode in, taller and better looking in person.

  ‘Hey, man.’ He nodded at John Paul. ‘I got to get to work, so make it fast.’

  ‘Understand,’ John Paul said. ‘We need to find that woman you were with and we need to do it today.’

  ‘No can do.’

  ‘My friend Farley is probably with her.’ Kit stepped closer to him. He glanced away from her gaze. ‘You know Farley. You heard him play at the pub, didn’t you?’

  ‘Yeah.’ He shifted. ‘I heard him and I don’t want no trouble, OK?’

  ‘What about Chuck?’ she asked.

  ‘I’m not even going there with you.’

  ‘The man was your friend and you aren’t talking about him?’

  ‘Hey, how do you know that?’ He jerked around and poked a finger at John Paul. ‘If Mickey turned snitch, I need to know that.’

  ‘Kit asked you a question.’ John Paul moved closer to her so that Rudy was forced to look at both of them. ‘What about Chuck?’

  ‘I don’t know, man.’ He turned up empty palms. ‘One minute we were buddies and the next, he was dead, drowned, with his head bashed in. I didn’t do it, if that’s what you’re thinking.’

  ‘We know that.’ Kit lowered her voice so as to offset John Paul’s commanding tone. ‘But Rudy, you were at the pub the night Chuck died.’

  ‘You can’t prove that,’ he shot back.

  ‘Actually, I can show you a photo of you there,’ she said, ‘but I’d rather you just tell me the truth.’

  ‘I got nothing to say.’ He turned away from them and paced the room. ‘I told you he was my friend. We worked together. Had a drink sometimes.’

  ‘What about Megan?’ Kit asked.

  He sucked down another sip from his water bottle. ‘I don’t know who you mean.’

  ‘Sure you do. You spent time with her.’

  ‘Mickey will pay for this.’ His voice shook. ‘He’s the only one who knew.’

  ‘How well did you know her?’ she asked.

  ‘I would’ve seen her again,’ he said. ‘Hell, I would have dated her. Will, though. He was just too much trouble.’

  ‘Will?’ Kit asked, and remembered the guy at the grocery store.

  �
�He set me up with her.’

  She remembered the photograph on Farley’s phone. A selfie with Mickey and him. Yet behind them, Megan stood with a man holding onto her, a man she denied knowing when Kit confronted her at the fruit stand. It was a photograph that was now on Virgie’s phone, her phone and clearly John Paul’s phone as well.

  She reached for hers and pulled the photo onto the screen. Her hand trembled as she looked at it. Although the man’s features were blurred and his hair was pulled back here, he was the same one in the photograph – the same one they had seen in the store. Will.

  ‘Do you know what this man does for a living?’ she asked.

  ‘No ma’am.’ He glanced over at John Paul. ‘I’d like to go to work now.’

  ‘We appreciate your honesty,’ John Paul said. ‘We know you had nothing to do with what happened with your friend. Did you see anything else after you left that night?’

  ‘Tell you the truth, I didn’t want to see anything.’ He clenched his hands together. ‘I liked the lady and thought she might like me. When Will asked if I had any friends who might, you know, be interested, I told him Chuck.’

  ‘Why?’ Kit said.

  ‘I don’t know. Maybe because Chuck was the most decent guy I knew. Maybe because I thought he would be nice to her and then she might be nice to me.’

  ‘I understand, man.’ John Paul clapped him on the shoulder.

  ‘I’m ashamed. I never did anything like that before. Never will again.’

  ‘Do you know where she lives?’ Kit asked.

  ‘No, and I don’t even want to think about it. Probably with him.’ He sighed. ‘Now, I’ve got to get to work.’

  ‘Will’s the guy,’ Kit told John Paul as they left. ‘I talked to him in the store. He’s the one who drugged Virgie and tried to drug me.’

  THIRTY-EIGHT

  Later that day, Farley seemed to stir.

  ‘Where?’ he mumbled. ‘Where.’

  ‘He’s coming out of it,’ Jonas said and hugged Megan, even though Michael and Priscilla stood in the room near the piano.

  ‘You know why, don’t you?’ Megan slid her arm around his waist. ‘Whatever Will was giving him wasn’t helping him at all.’

  ‘That’s not your fault.’ Priscilla hugged her.

  ‘I know he saved Callie,’ she said.