I steadied my breathing as I picked up my pace and headed into town. Today was a long run, and it was too early for any real traffic so I had the road to myself as I headed for the town square and sidewalks.
As I approached our little business district, I saw Drake's truck stopped around behind the long row of buildings that held the coffee shop and the bar, Bertie's. I slowed a little bit, didn't want to get caught slacking, and watched.
Harold got out of the truck and went to the bed of the pick-up, reached in and took out a small backpack. Then he walked around to the driver's side where Drake sat with the window down. I saw him reach out and put some money in Harold's hand, then he slid the truck into gear and drove away.
I picked up the pace again just a bit and got lucky with all three traffic lights being green for my tour through town. The town barn was located near one of the smaller kettle ponds in town and as I jogged past, the ducks waddled toward me looking for a hand out.
"Not today guys," I said as I loped past them, but it seemed as though someone had already been here. It looked like there were pieces of bread scattered along the shore. Lots of bread. Who would feed that much to the ducks, it's not good for them I thought as I stepped closer for a better look.
As I approached I realized the bread was thin and flyaway, and wasn't bread at all. It was paper. Shredded paper. Lots of shredded paper. Lots and lots of shredded paper with bits and pieces of the bank logo on it, and numbers, lots of numbers. There was paper everywhere.
Immediately I thought of the bank records and I pulled out my phone to call Drake. Suddenly it occurred to me, whoever did this could still be close by. What if they had stopped only because I came along? I felt like a million eyes were on me, but as I slowly turned in a circle, all I saw were ducks blinking in the daylight.
Drake answered and I explained what was up.
"Hold up," he said. "Do not walk, run, to the town offices. I just got off the phone with Diane, I know she's there. Wait for me inside," he said, then clicked off the line.
I did just as he said. The town barn wasn't a barn at all, it was a big steel modular building, with a huge garage out back, that held offices for the town government. I was at a full run when I got there, and I only slowed long enough to heave the heavy door open and fling myself inside.
Diane was standing at the counter dressed in a plaid skirt and businessy white blouse, looking nonplussed. She appeared for all the world like this sort of thing happened every day.
"Tea?" she asked.
By the time Drake arrived she and I were sitting across from each other in the lounge, which conveniently looked out on the parking lot and lake. The ducks were still there, the paper had blown around some but it was still there too, and no one seemed to be adding to it, or concerned about whether anyone was going to take a look.
Drake strode into the building and stood in the doorway.
"Not one day," he said, "not one day goes by that you don't get yourself smack in the middle of things."
"What can I say? It's a gift."
"Hi Diane, thanks for looking after Ivy for a bit, I'll take her off your hands now."
"Sure, thing, brightened my day having her join me for tea," she turned to me, "stop by again, anytime!"
Drake took me by the elbow and marched me out the door. Once in the parking lot I shook his hand loose. "Are you mad at me? What are you doing? I didn't have to tell you, you know!"
"I know, I know, it's just, how do you do this?"
"I'm observant?"
"I guess you are. I'm sorry," he sighed and scrubbed his hands over his hair. He looked down into my eyes as he talked, "I don't want anything to happen to you, and you seem to be smack dab in the middle of this, this..."
"Mess?" I finished for him.
"Yes, mess. Would you please get in the truck while I go look at what you found?"
"Yes, sir," I said, giving him a mock salute.
Drake went over to the pond and gathered some of the paper up and returned to the truck,
"It's just what you said, shredded paper that looks just like the papers we were collating the other night. What on earth...whoever it was might have found what they were looking for. Why the lake though, why not burn it?" he said turning to me. "Does that make any sense to you?"
"Well, maybe as a second choice? If for some reason the fire didn't work out? Or maybe on the way to burn it, it ended up here? Fell out of a truck or something?" I said thinking out loud.
Drake sat back in his truck and looked out of the windshield. Suddenly he sat up, "you wait here, I'll be right back," he said, locking the truck as he left me inside. That was unnecessary, but kind of sweet. It would have been sweeter if he had left his case file in there with me.
Drake came out of the offices, and hopped in the driver's seat, a changed man. He was smiling. That was new. "I'm going to take you home and then I have a few things to do."
"You're not going to tell me why you're so cheerful all of a sudden? I don't like being left out."
"I'll tell you what, let me...no. No, I'm not. Let me just get some things in order, and I'll call you later."
"Well, see if I answer!"
"You know you will," he smiled and rolled away.
Dammit, he was right, I would answer! But maybe in the meantime I could get a little scoop of my own to share when he did call.
Chapter 15
After my shower I called Jenn.
"Hi, are you playing groupie today?"
"Actually, Aunt Ivy, I'm supposed to be working for you."
"Well, then! You can have the day off, if you take me to the set with you."
Jenn laughed, "You're up to something, but sure. You're on, meet you there?"
"Yep, I just have to make a couple of calls and get someone to cover for you."
"Try Chrissy, she needs the hours."
"Great, thanks, see you soon."
Chrissy did indeed need the hours. I waited until she was in then left to go find Jenn at the site where the show was filming.
The raw lot had been transformed to lumps of soil with sticks and string outlining where the building would go, and its general shape. A bulldozer was humming in the corner of the lot, surrounded by hillocks of sandy soil. There was a backhoe moving dirt around, and there were the designers in the middle of it all. They looked remarkably clean and stylish for such a dusty job site.
Jenn proceeded to point out the people she'd named in her photos the other day, and I tried to keep them all straight without notes.
A few other folks from town were wandering past to watch the happenings, and among them was Luann.
"Hi," she said, pointing to her panel van, "I brought my massage chair to the crew, it's easier than trying to set up appointments. "
"How about this construction site? Crazy right? I hope they can do something nice with this lot."
"I'm sure they have about a thousand ideas. Angel was in for a massage and she feels like they're really going to make a splash here."
"Really?"
"Oh yeah, they have big plans. Of course Bruce has his own ideas. They might have had an easier time of it if Mike had gotten his wish."
"So what was his wish? Going back to LA?"
"No, his wish was to be in charge. He wanted Bruce gone and to take over."
"Gone?"
"Well, nothing violent or anything, he's just the sweetest boy. He just wanted Bruce to move on to another project."
"But that would never happen, right? There's all this invented drama between him and the girls."
"Oh, I don't know how invented it is, seems pretty real to me."
"Do you think so? I wasn't sure exactly what was happening there?" I waited for her to elaborate.
"Well you know he's married to the one, right? And that he used to date the other?"
"Yes, but I thought that was kind of water under the bridge? Or is it over the dam? Anyway, I thought they were over it?"
"Well it seems the other o
ne, Heather, has been toying with Mike's affections, and leading him on. His father is a big muckity muck, owns the show or some such. So, they're kind of at odds, Mike and Heather versus Angel and Bruce."
"So instead of a love triangle, it's a...square?" I said, trying to wrap my head around this. It probably didn't matter much, but it was an odd assortment of characters.
"Yes. But maybe that's done now? I heard them talking that Mike wasn't here today. I think someone said he left town in a company truck? Too bad, he'll never get anywhere if he just runs away like that."
"Runs away? You mean he's gone, gone?"
"Seems so, his bags are gone, his room is empty is what they were saying."
The hair started to prickle on the back of my neck.
"Opportunity, motive, means, do we have them?" I muttered under my breath.
"What?" Luann asked.
"Oh, nothing, I have to make a call," I said and headed for my car.
Drake's voice mail picked up and I hung up in disgust. Of course he was busy, probably doing something useful, but still completely annoying. Mike, Mike, Mike, did you throw us off the trail? Was it you all along? Did you have a motive? You had means, and opportunity...probably. If you were at the bar that night, maybe no one noticed you? Were you there drinking alone? Or with someone else? A co-conspirator? Was it you that dropped the business card? So many questions rocketed around my head, I had to do something. I couldn't just sit there. I slid the old Volvo into gear without even thinking about it and pulled onto the road.
If he were leaving town, there was pretty much one way down the Cape. I mean you could pick your way through the little towns, but route 5A is the way to go if you want to get somewhere in a reasonable amount of time. Of course, it was almost always clogged in the summer, but during the week it wasn’t as bad as a Saturday, by any means.
I cranked the wheel as I left the traffic circle and headed down the highway to see if I could find him.
Chapter 16
If he had taken a company van that would make him easier to find, and as I cruised down the highway I tried to think of where I'd go if I were running away. Probably Boston. Get lost in the city, maybe head to the airport. I wondered if he had done it, killed Luke.
My cell rang and without looking at the phone, I poked the aftermarket cell speaker that sat on my dash. I had inherited this car along with the estate and it was an old but solid Volvo wagon with absolutely no modern technology. I loved it.
"Hello?"
"Ivy?"
"Gigi! Hey, what's up?"
"Don't what's up me, where the heck are you?"
"No need to shout, I'm right here."
"Right here, where?"
"Headed down Cape, looking for a production company van that has their camera man in it."
"That's what I thought, turn around right now!"
"Um, no?"
"What do you mean, no? If he did it, he's a killer, and if he's a killer he probably won't take too kindly to you chasing him down the highway to ask him if he did it."
"Well, I'll admit I hadn't thought too much about what I'd do when I found him."
"How could you fly off half-cocked like that?"
"Well, I couldn't just let him get away, could I?"
"What makes you think it was him?"
Clever girl, changing tactics on me.
"Well I was just going over that in my head. Let's say that Luke took the bank records home because he noticed some discrepancies. That's the only reason to break the rules, right? And maybe he, I don't know, maybe he knew Mike? Maybe they were pals from the bar? Mike wasn't in town with anyone, he probably went there now and then. The records he was focused on were the ones for the show. So, maybe he wanted to really look it over before he finked on Mike?"
"Finked?" she laughed.
"Whatever, you know what I mean."
"Okay, I'm with you, go on."
"So, he, Luke I mean, took the records home, noticed there were issues, maybe he said something? Maybe he didn't, but he acted suspicious? Either way, Mike suspected Luke had it figured out. Now, maybe it's sanctioned, maybe the production company knows, and Mike's trying to protect his dad? Maybe he figures that's how he's going to get a promotion? 'See dad, this is what I did for you'."
"That's a lot of supposing."
"I know, but it's not that far out there. What if there were three of them in the car, but Harold was so out of it he didn't really know what was happening. So, Luke and Mike are at the bar and it's a little rainy that night, so they offer to take Harold home. Luke goes along with it because he wants to talk to Mike about the books, alone, where no one will hear them. Mike, after being confronted, somehow forces Luke to the pond where you found him and kills him there. Harold has no idea what's happening, so Mike drives him home and leaves him and his muddy car there to get blamed for the murder."
"Plausible. Kinda nuts, but plausible. Look, at least pull over for a minute and turn the locater thingy on in your phone. Then I'll know where you are and if you stop. We can't stay on the phone like this all afternoon. Although maybe we should?"
"Okay, I'll do that," I said flipping on my turn signal to take the next exit. I pulled over long enough to turn on the option so she could track my phone, and sent her a message. It just took a few minutes and I was back on the road again, scanning the highway for a white van with the Nailing It! logo on the side.
And the phone rang again. How was I supposed to get anywhere if people kept calling me?
I poked at the speaker thing again and said "Hello?"
"Where are you?" Drake's voice came booming out of the speaker at me.
"In the car heading down Cape, why?"
"Why are you heading down Cape?" he carefully enunciated each word.
I was pretty sure he wouldn't be asking me if he didn't feel like he already knew, so I might as well admit it.
"I'm following, well not following actually but looking for a company van from the TV show because apparently Mike left town."
"You're what? Also are you talking on the phone while you're driving? I can cite you for that."
"You're on speaker, hands free," I demonstrated by waving them in the air, even though he couldn't see them.
"Put your hands back on the wheel."
"How do you know where my hands are."
"I've met you, remember? Speaking of remembering, do you remember what happened when you got clobbered on the head on the beach? Wasn't that enough to talk you into leaving me to do my job? Wasn't that enough to get you to stay out of police business?"
"Well, when you put it that way..."
"What other way is there, Ivy? This could turn dangerous, turn around and go home."
"Do you think he did it?"
Drake paused, "Maybe, I'm not sure, he's certainly near the top of the list. That's why I want you to come home, you could get hurt. Again."
"I'm in my car, I'll be fine. I'm surrounded by old Volvo steel."
"What if you get out of the car."
"I won't."
"Look, I'm heading down there now. I've contacted the State Police, they're looking for him. We don't need you endangering yourself..."
I reached over and turned the old-style radio on, slid the tuner until it was between stations and turned it way up so that the car was filled with the noise of static.
"Hello? Hello? Ivy!...I can't hear you, are you there?"
I disconnected the speaker, pretty sure I'd pay for this later.
Looking at the dash I realized I was going to need gas, and I turned on the blinker and took the next exit.
And there it was. The Nailing It! van sitting at a motel just off the exit. My heart started hammering. I'd caught him, now what?
Chapter 17
No matter what happened next, I'd still need gas, so I pulled up to a pump. I was just at the end of the Cape and headed for the mainland. Once over the bridge there would be more traffic, so this was a good spot to fill up. The back seat of my
car held a wide brimmed hat I kept for impromptu walks on the beach in the sun, and I grabbed it and pulled it down low over my eyes.
I slid my credit card into the pump and watched the numbers tick up, while I edged myself sideways so I could glance at the van once in a while.
He was parked outside a motel room door, the van wasn't running, and that was about all I could tell. Weird. He hadn't gone too far. Maybe he was meeting someone?
The pump clicked off and I got back into the car and started it, slid it into drive and headed across the road to the motel.
I sat in the lot for a minute, trying to come up with a plan. Since none was forthcoming, I decided to go inside and play it by ear.
The woman at the desk was an older woman, older than me anyway, with harshly dyed blonde hair and a name tag that said 'Ruby' in all caps.
"I see you've got a van from that TV remodel show parked outside, are they filming here?"
"Not in the motel, anyway, as far as I know. Of course, it wouldn't be the first time Jake didn't tell me what was what around here. How can I help you?"
"I came in to ask after the van, really. I have a house up the way that I'd love to have on the show, you know? I inherited a big old mess from my stepfather, and I'd love to have some help with the place." Half a lie was better than a whole one, I reasoned, in case I had to remember it later.
"I don't know anything about him, he rolled in here earlier today, but he didn't rent a room. That room there was already rented. Not the first time he's been here the last couple of weeks. He took that room by the month, paid in cash back then. Never been a problem, they don't bother me, I don't bother them. Can I help you with anything else? Need a whale watch, or a coupon for a dinner cruise? We're running a special with a two-night rental. Only got a couple of rooms left until next week."
"No, thanks, but I'll take a brochure, just in case I need a place next time I'm down here," I said. I wasted a few more minutes glancing through all of the local advertising leaflets and tucked a few into my purse. I felt a little bit bad about not renting from her.
Snakes & Snails and Deadly Cattails Page 7
