Belly Up in the Koi Pond

by Cheryl Zelenka

  Sadie gave Timothy a quick smile and finished by asking, “Tell me, wouldn’t you do it all over again? I doubt our steak dinner will ever be a misty-colored or faded memory. We had too much fun.”

  Timothy laughed. “True, it was fun… even though I didn’t beat the challenge.”

  “But, if we have the chance to do it all again, would you? I’m sure we could succeed without befriending a bucket. There’s always room for another try,” winked Sadie.

  Rolling her eyes, Dora whispered in her friend’s ear, “Suficiente! Enough!” She led Sadie to the door and they gave a final wave before stepping out into the blustery day. Once inside the car, Dora asked, “So which one are you gonna pick? Mark or Timothy?”

  “Who says I have to pick?” Sadie challenged. “I’m having way too much fun with both flirtations. They’re both great guys and besides, Pop’s only met Mark. To be fair, I want him to meet Timothy too.”

  “Don’t forget Bosco and Willow. Neither man has a chance if they can’t win your darlings over.”

  “You know me so well, Chica.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT: Home Again, Home Again, Jiggity-Jig!

  Dora and Sadie spent the rest of the afternoon with Lilly and Zachary. The nurses were doing an excellent job managing his pain. The few times he was awake and lucid, he thanked the women for their care and support. Around 4pm, Lilly assured her friends it was okay to head home.

  “I’ve got this ladies. Zachary’s going to be fine. I’ll call every day and update you on his progress. Fred’s driving up tomorrow to stay with me until we can bring him back to our house. I’ll simply take a taxi to the hotel tonight. The School District has hired a long-term sub in my absence. With all my sick leave and personal days, I’ll have more than enough time to get Zachary settled into our guest cottage before returning to Fort Follyfield.”

  Lilly was thrilled to have someone besides Fred and their three girls to dote on. Her twins were always busy with High School activities and her eldest was living in a dorm at the University of Oregon. Sadie was sure Fred would enjoy the male company and Lilly simply cherished opportunities to nurture and serve others in need.

  Sadie was looking forward to sleeping in her own bed that night. She missed Bosco Bill and Willow Cake. Dora’s arm didn’t need any twisting to head for home. With a final farewell, they left Zachary in the loving hands of Lilly Pierce, quickly packed their bags, and drove back to Rogue Valley.

  Pulling into Sadie’s driveway, Dora noticed Mark’s place was dark but Sadie’s home was filled with light. “By gum, I think there’s a welcome party awaiting your arrival, Girlfriend. I’ll help you lift that gargantuan suitcase out of my jeep but your knight in shining armor, or one of them anyway, will have to lug it inside for you.”

  Together they managed to lift Sadie’s suitcase out of the Jeep. Dora then drove across the street and parked inside her garage while Sadie knocked on her own front door. Immediately, Bosco’s loud bark and Willow’s own deep voice sounded an alarm. It didn’t take long for Mark to answer the front door. The fur-kids rushed outside to attack their mama with tail wags and kisses.

  “Oh, there’s no place like home, there’s no place like home!” Sadie stepped inside and gave Mark a hug of thanks while Bosco and Willow eyed their embrace with interest.

  “Do you think our mama has a crush, Bosco Bill?”

  “Well, Willow Cake, I’m not sure…but she sure looks smooshed. It’s too early to know if she has a crush. However, I believe she’s getting crushed and needs our assistance. We better separate those two.” Barking their heads off, the two dogs jumped on Sadie until Mark released her from his grip. Successful in freeing their mama from likely crushed and broken bones, Bosco and Willow led Sadie into the kitchen where she lovingly bestowed each of them with a cookie for her rescue.

  While sipping freshly brewed coffee, Sadie shared her four-day adventure with Mark. He was mesmerized by her sleuthing skills, filled with admiration when she told him about the 72-ounce steak challenge, but suspicious of her competitor, Detective O’Cleary. Just as she finished sharing the details of Zachary’s brain tumor and murder confession, her phone rang. Excusing herself, Sadie stepped into the living room. Mark was able to hear every word from his seat in the kitchen.

  “Yes, Timothy, we just got home about 30 minutes ago. Me too. I’m looking forward to some pizza, I love the Hog Wild at Wild River. You know, I can’t say I’m happy about your offer to help Dora with her Koi pond, but I am glad you’re coming here for a visit.” There was a moment of silence and then Sadie spoke again. “Yes, I absolutely hate fish. I don’t know, for as long as I can remember. I know. I know! Ha! Okay, well, let’s plan on it then. Goodnight, Detective. Yes, me too. Sweet dreams.”

  Walking back into the kitchen, Sadie noticed Mark’s mood had changed. He looked up and said, “So, you really did fall in love while you were in Portland. Boy that was fast. You were only gone four days. You do know I was just joking when I said you met someone to love.”

  “Oh, Mark, don’t be silly! I’m not one to fall in love at first sight. I’m much too practical for that kind of romance. Dora introduced me to her friend Detective O’Cleary while we were in Portland. He was assigned to Ashley Sweetwater’s murder case. Right now, he’s just a friend of a friend.”

  Mark’s spirits perked up after that, but he knew he was in for a fight. Sadie was just too special to remain unattached forever. But, a friend of a friend doesn’t call to make sure the friend of a friend made it home safely, he silently reasoned. He was determined to be Sadie’s Mr. Knightly and looked forward to wooing her over several romantic dinners, including one at Le Pigeon. He’d take her on long walks beside the coast and invite her to his beach house. Catching Sadie in a yawn, he decided it was time to make his exit.

  Sadie walked her attractive neighbor to the front door and asked; “We’re on for church this Sunday and the Powerhorn café, right? I’m really looking forward to a mega cinnamon roll.”

  Mark smiled his most charming smile and bowed to his lovely neighbor. “My chariot will be in your driveway at 8:45 am.” Gently taking Sadie’s hand, Mark kissed it. “Welcome back, Ms. Sunshine. I’m glad you’re home.”

  As if in a fairy tale, her tall prince departed into the moonlit night. The butterflies dancing in Sadie’s stomach made it very difficult to fall asleep.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE: An Official Charge and Wild River

  True to her word, Lilly provided Sadie with an update on Zachary every day. He remained in ICU for just two days and was then moved to a different hospital wing. Once settled in his new room, a line of specialists lined his doorway. They performed assessments on his mental state, memory retention, reasoning ability, motor skills, and speech capabilities. They all gave Lilly a hopeful prognosis, stating he would eventually recover with few, if any, recognizable deficiencies or debilitating disabilities. Lilly and Fred moved Zachary into their guest cottage just six days after his brain surgery.

  Two weeks later, Timothy and Mary drove down to Rogue Valley and interviewed Zachary. With Lilly and Sadie by his side, he recounted the horrible night Ashley visited the Koi Pond exhibit. Once again, he stated it was never his intention to harm Ashley and that her death was all an unfortunate accident.

  “I invited her to the Convention Center to show off my accomplishment. I helped make that Koi exhibit a thing of beauty!” The detectives nodded their heads in agreement. “I wanted her to see I had skill and talent, and wasn’t just a freak who wet the bed. Her Facebook posts were so embarrassing and I wanted them to stop, but I never intended to hurt her! It just, sort of happened. I’m so very, very sorry for what I did to Ashley.” Zachary sank back into his pillow notably overcome with sadness and regret.

  O’Cleary formally charged Zachary with manslaughter, but assured him that the trial wouldn’t start for at least five months. “We want you to concentrate on getting better. You need to get past this hurdle and move on with your life.”

 
Lilly thanked the detectives and walked them out the door. “He will have the best legal counsel. My husband and Sadie’s friend, Nancy Topper, are already working on his defense. They think he’ll get a reduced sentence due to the side effects his brain tumor caused.”

  Since O’Cleary and Mary didn’t have to rush back to Portland, they met Dora at Wild River and enjoyed a Hog Creek pizza with extra pineapple. Sadie had a great time catching up with the Portland detectives and O’Cleary made sure to sit next to her in the booth. Reaching his arm around the top of the booth, Timothy eventually let it slip onto Sadie’s shoulder. Smiling when she didn’t protest or shrug it away, he caught her and Dora up on Justin Coin, Professor Drainer, and the Wiley’s.

  “Well, to begin with, Mrs. Wiley packed her bags after our interview and took their baby to visit her mom in California. She called the police station to let us know where she was staying and added she needed time to assess her marriage. It ends up Joseph was telling the truth about investing the $20,000 for Ashley. He brought in the proper paperwork showing the stocks and the dates he had invested the cash. Even if he knew about Ashley’s blackmail scheme, we’d have a hard time proving he was involved. He’s off the hook as far as any charges or prison time.”

  Sadie reasoned, “I guess Joseph’s punishment, for cheating on his wife, is the death of his mistress and the probable death of his marriage.”

  While O’Cleary enjoyed a slice of pizza , Mary gave the update on Justin Coin. “Justin ended up making bail, but was charged with Paul Sproutman’s hit-and-run. His trial date is set for next month.”

  Letting out a small chuckle she added, “We also took Justin down to his place of employment and sat in on his chat with the Treasurer, Mr. Banks. After his boss heard about his Swing Trading with the membership account, he gave the redhead the boot. Mr. Banks wasn’t at all happy, and worried there’d be bad press and a stain on ONA’s name. He decided to avoid any chance of scandal by refusing to press criminal charges for embezzlement. Of course there was an emergency Board meeting to approve his decision. It was passed with a unanimous vote. So, as of now, Mr. Coin is looking for a new job and awaiting trial on felony charges for the hit and run.”

  “He’ll probably just get a hefty fine thrown his way,” muttered Dora.

  “That won’t be much comfort to Mrs. Wiley and Stephen Sproutman,” acquiesced Sadie.

  O’Cleary finished his last slice of pizza and started to lick the tomato sauce from his fingers. Mary caught his eye, signaling he should search for his napkin. Sadie smiled, having caught the whole interaction between the Portland detectives, but decided to pass on the opportunity to tease the Irishman. Instead, she accused, “You forgot to tell us about Professor Drainer!”

  “No, we didn’t, Lass,” Timothy belted out. “You’re rushing things! We still have our beers to finish, as well as our story.” Sadie loved that Timothy had slipped into his Irish brogue.

  Catching himself, O’Cleary ditched his family accent and resumed the update.

  “It turns out Professor Drainer has a sealed criminal record. The first summer his family took up residence in the McCall B & B, several historic homes were set ablaze. Two of the homes were completely destroyed. A neighborhood girl came forward stating she had seen him load up a box of firecrackers and set them off under the front porch of one of the houses. I guess the owner of the house had been a former teacher and threatened to hold our Professor back a year.” Timothy shifted and removed his arm from Sadie’s shoulder. She was surprised by her disappointment and didn’t like how cold she felt now that they weren’t sharing the same body heat.

  Mary picked up the tale while Timothy went off to pay the bill. “Professor Drainer was charged with arson and is on paid leave. OSU is considering his dismissal but waiting for his trial to finish. Arson is a felony and depending on the Judge, he could get prison time, a fine, or both.”

  “And as for Zachary,” Sadie began, “do you think he’ll have to spend time in prison? What does the law say about manslaughter?”

  Returning to the table, O’Cleary slipped in next to Sadie, making sure their shoulders touched. “I’m optimistic, Ms. Sunshine. I think any judge and jury will understand that Zachary’s reasoning was affected by his brain tumor. He will most likely get a prison sentence, but with good behavior, he could be out within six months.”

  “Ashley Sweetwater, as mean as she was, does deserve justice. I know Zachary understands that,” reasoned Dora. Sadie nodded in agreement then added, “Well, he was an overcomer as a child so, with a little help from us, he’s capable of riding out this storm as well.” O’Cleary found Sadie’s optimism very attractive.

  The group spent 10 minutes discussing Dora’s plans for the Koi pond project and they all agreed Mary and Timothy would come down for the Memorial Day weekend.

  “That will give me the necessary time to read a few articles and purchase the supplies and equipment needed to make my front yard even prettier than Sadie’s,” Dora boasted.

  “Never! Nothing’s better than my lavender and rose compilation out front.”

  “We’ll see, Amiga, we’ll see!” Dora rubbed her hands together and Timothy winked at his detective friend. They would work on Sadie together, edging out this neighbor, Mark, and winning Bosco, Willow, and her Pop’s favor.”

  Whispering in Dora’s ear he confessed, “It’s always helpful to have an inside man.”

  “Or woman,” added Detective Flores with a grin.

  Dora and Sadie waved as the Portland detectives headed out of the restaurant parking lot and in the direction of I-5 northbound. A sudden gloom fell upon Sadie and she wrapped her arm around her best friend’s waist.

  “I’m suddenly aware that my heartstrings have been singing loudly as of late, and I have two separate but equally beautiful tunes within my heart.”

  “Si, for two equally attractive, kind, and unique gentlemen.”

  “Oi Dora, I’m really having a lot of fun getting to know Timothy and Mark but I have a sneaky feeling things could get a bit sticky over the Memorial Day Weekend.”

  “Like the leaves on your Sticky-Monkey flower plant?”

  “Exactly!”

  Please enjoy this excerpt from ‘Cavemen in the Park’, Book 3 of the Sadie Sunshine Cozy Mystery Series

  Chapter One: Memorial Day at Riverside Park

  “It’s about time we had a Caveman as the Grand Marshall of our Memorial Day parade! The Oregon Cavemen are a big part of Rogue Valley history,” Sadie Sunshine announced to her friends Detective Dora Flores, Mandy Golden, and Lilly Pierce. Both Lilly and Mandy were elementary teachers at Fort Follyfield, and Sadie, now retired from teaching, was the first person they’d call when they needed a substitute teacher.

  “I agree,” sputtered Lilly as they walked from the parking lot to their vendor booth. She was balancing four tins of herbal tea in one hand and several small lavender plants in the other. “Coming up with a Neanderthal mascot to promote the Oregon Caves and stir up tourism in Rogue Valley was, um, original.”

  “Don’t you mean, genius?” Dora interjected. “It was 1922 when they got the idea and advertising was a pretty new concept back then. Mayor Phibb’s brother has been a Caveman for nearly a decade.”

  “True,” Lilly agreed. “And even though rumors suggest Larry doesn’t get along with his brother Robert, our dear Mayor Phibbs, he is still an important member of our Rogue Valley community,”

  The women left the parking lot and started up the grassy slope to the Carnival area of Riverside Park. All four ladies were gardening enthusiasts. So, when Mandy mentioned Fort Follyfield’s art program was in dire need of funds, the friends put their heads together and came up with a plan to help the school.

  The annual Rogue Valley Boatnik Carnival always drew large crowds. Tourists from all over Oregon flocked to their small city to share in the old time fun. With the Memorial Day parade, fireworks, carnival rides, vendor booths, pie eating contests, and hydroplane jet boat races on th
e Rogue River, visitors were able to experience a huge slice of Americana in just a few days. The ladies were certain they’d raise enough money, selling holistic plants, seeds, and homemade tea mixes, to save Fort Follyfield’s art program.

  “You know,” Sadie continued with the conversation, “Larry Phibbs is a former principal and active school board member, a lead actor in the Barnstormers Theatre group, and a committee member of our local Grower’s Market.”

  “Indeed,” Mandy interjected, “Teddy worked with Larry Phibbs before he transferred to Fort Follyfield. I’m afraid my husband wasn’t fond of his leadership skills as a principal, but that’s just between you and me. You know how Teddy won’t speak ill of anyone.” The ladies all nodded their heads and smiled.

  Dora then declared, “Don’t forget Larry’s restaurant, “Bite Me.” It’s a real hit! Our quaint city benefits from his culinary success. Tourism is really up, thanks to his eatery. When I stopped by the Chamber of Commerce last week, Bill told me local hotels were reporting a rise in business. Tourists are actually renting rooms in Rogue Valley, instead of driving down to Ashland to sample their restaurants and B & B’s. I guess when they made Larry this year’s Grand Marshall of the Memorial Day parade it was well deserved.”

  Having reached the vendor booth, the ladies took a minute to admire their handiwork. The Red, White, and Blue fabric draped around the booth’s façade was attractive and eye catching. Sadie had hung one of her antique quilts on the back of the booth, which helped to showcase the menu of items available for purchase.

  “Our 5th graders did an sensational job on the merchandise banner,” beamed Lilly.

  “They certainly did,” Mandy agreed.

  “We better get our products organized and stocked before the carnival officially starts. I just know we’re gonna make a lot of money for Fort Follyfield.” Sadie bragged.