Spirit Lake

by Vickie McKeehan

  She opened her eyes and stared into Leia’s. “Is that good enough for you?”

  Leia jumped up and down and threw herself into Gemma’s arms. “I gotta go. You’re sure about this, right? Of course you are. Mom, we have to go. Zeb, come by the restaurant later. Right now, we have to spice up the brisket. What’s this guy’s name?”

  “Lane Moffett.”

  Lydia looked amused and when Leia pulled her toward the door, she looked back and said, “I guess we’ll see you later. It seems we’re adjusting our beef to accommodate a stranded motorist. From…?”

  “Portland.”

  Lianne snickered with laughter. “Portland’s Lane Moffett is coming here to Coyote Wells?”

  “That’s what I said.”

  “But he’s not exactly the easiest guy to please. When I waited tables back in Portland, Mr. Moffett could rip apart a restaurant within his first paragraph.”

  “Lydia and Leia will handle him. You’ll see,” Gemma assured her. Everyone knows Captain Jack’s serves the best brisket around. Mr. Moffett won’t know what hit him.”

  Zeb began to clap. “You’re getting the hang of this psychic stuff. I love it. Now, if we could just figure a way to catch Sam at his own online game.”

  “Why don’t you and Lando pose as teenage girls?” Gemma suggested. “He seems to favor that age group.”

  Lando started picking up the trash and boxes. “Right now, we either get back to work, or go over the playlist for tonight.”

  “All I know is, people come to hear us play to forget their troubles,” Radley said, helping with clean-up. “So I think it’s imperative we keep the program upbeat and moving.”

  Lando managed a nod. “For the most part, all the songs we’ve rehearsed pretty much keep people on their feet and dancing.”

  They discussed a few songs, a few new approaches before heading off to start painting. Getting food in their bellies reignited their energy level.

  Downstairs, they went over the floors twice with a mop before spreading tarps down to keep from getting drops of paint on the hardwood. Next, they taped over the windows and got to work.

  A light mocha color had been used throughout the downstairs, but now they sprayed on a lovely shade of sea mist to lighten things up. Two hours later the walls gleamed with fresh coats of glossy satin.

  Hands on hips, Gemma stood back to admire the job they’d done. “Your mother has good taste all around. This sea mist might end up in our bedroom.”

  “I wish we were there now. I’m bone-tired. And we have to recharge for our show tonight.”

  She rested her head on his chest. “A shower, a nap, and some food. Let’s take the dogs and go home.”

  20

  Because they’d taken a nap that lasted longer than they intended, Lando and Gemma got to the Duck & Rum to find the lot filled and nowhere to park.

  Gemma had driven her Volvo and almost didn’t see Suzanne Swinton standing in the middle of the flow of traffic, trying to wave them down.

  While Gemma let the car idle in the middle of the aisle, Lando cracked the window on his side so he could talk to Suzanne.

  “Hey, Chief. It’s packed inside,” Suzanne began. “Biggest crowd of the summer. Want me to move my car so you can at least get close enough to the building to unload your stuff?”

  Lando tilted his head to stare at his newest employee. “That won’t be necessary. We’ll park on the street.”

  “Are you sure? I don’t mind.”

  “I’m sure. Were you out here waiting for us?”

  Suzanne blushed. “Am I that obvious? Sorry, Gemma, but I need to do this before you guys go on tonight. Anyway, I wanted to talk to you about Buddy.”

  “What’s wrong now?”

  “He fell off the wagon. It happened while I was in Crescent City at training. I get back home and find him drunk as a skunk, empty sixpacks all over the place, empty liquor bottles everywhere. I was wondering if you’d talk to him.”

  “Where is he?”

  “Inside. He’s already three sheets to the wind, been drinkin’ since four this afternoon. You know how he gets when he’s plastered.”

  Lando blew out a breath. “I can’t drag him to an AA meeting, Suzanne. That’s up to him.”

  “I know but I thought we’d gotten past his drinking. Now I get back to town and find he’s as bad as ever.”

  “I’ll talk to him, but I can’t make any promises. Go on back inside. I’ll be there in a minute.”

  Gemma watched her dash off and turned to Lando. “I could let you out here with your guitar while I go park the car. Then you could hunt down Buddy to have the talk.”

  “I don’t know what to say to Buddy.”

  She scowled at that answer. “He’ll listen to you, and Suzanne needs somebody on her side.”

  “So, I guess I’ll come up with something.”

  “That’s my guy.”

  He got out, grabbed his guitar case and disappeared through the double doors of the bar.

  Gemma gunned the engine, making a left turn down a narrow path through the cars. When she reached the street, the parking space she’d spotted earlier was now taken so she decided to shoot a U and check out the alleyway.

  From out of nowhere, a shadow crossed in front of the headlights. She had to stomp on the brake to keep from hitting the person, who she now realized was a man. Suddenly face to face with a guy leering at her over the hood of the car, their eyes locked.

  Like a bolt of lightning, it hit her. She was looking at evil. In that single moment between them, she made the link in her mind and saw death. Others. Women. Girls. A series of bodies dumped in dark, out-of-the-way places. He’d been at his game for years, racking up victims, getting them to trust him, luring them out into the open while he hid in plain sight like Mr. Normal.

  After telling her all she needed to know, he was gone in an instant. When she looked up and blinked into the glare of the headlights, the only thing she could make out was the rear door of the Duck & Rum.

  Lando emerged from the doorway and into the glow. He tapped on the driver’s side window to get her to roll it down. “Are you okay? You’ve been out here driving around for thirty minutes.”

  “Not that long. I…I…I’m fine. I saw something.”

  “What?”

  “I’ll tell you later. It’s not important now. I’m still trying to find a parking place.”

  “You go on in. I’ll find one. Are you sure you’re okay?”

  Instead of answering, she unbuckled her seat belt and grabbed her purse. On the walk to the back door, her legs felt like jelly. Wobbly and reeling from the encounter or whatever it had been, she continued walking down the hallway where the restrooms were located. She slipped into the ladies’ room to pull herself together.

  She couldn’t get the vision out of her head, even if it hadn’t been the image of Sam Wells. But she knew she wasn’t wrong, not this time. Maybe it meant there was a second man involved, an accomplice who helped Sam out during his reign of terror. Or maybe it was simpler than that. Maybe it meant that Sam had two sides, two personas, he used to charm his victims.

  Feeling confused, with her thoughts jumbled, she did her best to calm down. She was just about to open the door when Leia popped her head in.

  “There you are. I’ve been looking everywhere. I wanted to tell you what happened with Lane Moffett. We pushed the brisket on him and he loved it. He promised us a great review in the Portland paper to reflect his travels through California. Mom was riding on a high until closing.”

  “Looks like you’re still riding that high.”

  “Oh, I am. It’s the first time in my career I ever cooked for a food critic. I felt like I was a contestant on Chopped.”

  Gemma couldn’t understand that kind of excitement over a plate of brisket, but then she wasn’t a chef. “I’m glad it worked out for you and Lydia.”

  Noting the lack of enthusiasm in that statement, Leia eyed her friend. “What happened? You loo
k positively wiped.”

  “I’m just tired from the all-day cleaning party. I better get out there before the band starts without me.”

  Radley was waiting in the hallway for her to come out. “You were right about the contract,” he began. “I read the entire ten pages after I got back home. At year’s end, this year’s end, I owe twice what I borrowed. And if I don’t come up with the money, the bank takes my house, the house where I grew up.”

  “Join the rest of the people he talked into the same kind of deal,” Gemma said over her shoulder as she looked around for Lando. “Call Dr. Song on Monday and she’ll tell you she almost lost her clinic.”

  Radley looked devastated and worried. “That isn’t right to swindle hard-working people out of their homes.”

  “No, it isn’t.”

  Lando waved to her from the backstage area. But before she could get there, Bosco cut her off with his own news. “My dad had a cardiac event this afternoon while clearing brush today with his neighbor. How did you know he’d been taken to the hospital?”

  Instead of answering, Gemma patted Bosco’s arm. “Is he okay?”

  “He’ll be fine. A change to his diet, a change in medication, and he should get back to his regular routine in no time. But how did you know? Because it could’ve been a lot more serious than it was if he’d been by himself. He really lucked out that his buddy was standing right there next to him and called for help.”

  “I saw it happen,” Gemma said absently, still trying to see who Lando was talking to on the other side of the stage.

  “Wow. I’ve heard of these things, but nothing like this ever touched me the way this has. You were exactly right about getting to my dad. After I left the cabin, I phoned him, the neighbor picked up and told me what happened. Thank you for making me go.”

  “No problem. You should always spend more time with your father, though.”

  “I will. From now on, I’m making a point of it. I’ve heard rumors that you’re faking this psychic thing. But now I know different. You really do have a gift.”

  “Or a curse,” Gemma muttered, a faint smile on her lips. “It’s almost showtime. Why don’t we finish this discussion later?”

  “Sure thing. But I’ll always be grateful.”

  With guitar in hand, Lando met her halfway in between. “Buddy is especially obnoxious tonight. Can you and the others handle the opening segment while Dale and I get him out of here?”

  “Sure. Where will you take him?”

  “To the hospital for starters, then to lockup if he doesn’t settle down. He’s threatening to bash anyone’s face in if they get within five feet of him. If I ignore it and let it go on, which I won’t, we’re talking about him eventually picking a fight with someone or him eventually going after Suzanne. Either way, I need to contain him.”

  “Go. The rest of us will start the show. Get back as soon as you can.”

  Buddy came staggering up to Gemma, the smell of whiskey so strong it emanated off his body. “I hear there’s a new psychic in town. Madame Renaud is setting up shop across the street from you.”

  “It’s a free country,” Gemma retorted. She’d already done her homework on the woman in question and determined that Madame Renaud was a scammer, who’d been arrested and run out of several towns back in Texas before heading west to California. “Even swindlers have to figure out a way to keep their cons paying off so they can keep eating.”

  Buddy hitched up his pants and tried to get closer to Gemma. “Madame Renaud is smart. She told me I should put my foot down and keep Suzanne from taking that stinking dispatcher job. I think she’s right. Suzanne should stay home and keep the house running like she’s always done. I wear the pants in this family. And I say, she don’t need no outside job working for the cops.”

  Lando grabbed Buddy’s arm. “Come on, let’s go get you sobered up.”

  “Naw, I’m not leavin’ here.”

  Dale latched on to Buddy’s other arm. “You’re making a public nuisance of yourself. People are complaining.”

  “It’s Saturday night. I’m entitled to some fun, especially when this one sent my wife over to Crescent City without me.”

  “It didn’t give you a reason to get drunk in public,” Lando snapped, dragging him toward the front door.

  “You got a thing for my woman, that’s what I think,” Buddy accused, his eyes rolling back in his head.

  Suzanne’s face flushed with embarrassment. “See, he’s talking crazy. Doesn’t have a lick of sense when he’s like this.”

  “Just get the music started,” Lando told Jimmy as he hauled Buddy out into the parking lot.

  “You coming?” Dale asked Suzanne.

  “I should just leave him and get it over with. But no, I’ll go with him to the hospital and make sure he’s okay. Maybe someone there can talk him into treatment.”

  Jimmy saw them off and turned on his heel to head back to the band and the staging area where Gemma was going over their song list. “I don’t care what you sing, we just need to start playing something. The crowd’s starting to get restless.”

  She glanced at Bosco. “Let’s see if a little soul will calm them down.”

  Bosco gave her a thumbs-up and they took the stage, leading off with a string of Aretha Franklin’s number one hits. Diana Ross was up next, followed by a round of songs from Bonnie Raitt.

  Gemma spotted her friends dancing and having a good time. It lifted her spirits to see so many others enjoying themselves. Shifting gears, she switched to a ballad that let couples enjoy a slow dance and get their breath back.

  By the time Gemma looked up to see Lando and Dale strolling toward her, she’d just about lost her voice.

  “Glad you’re back,” she whispered. “I’ve warmed them up, now it’s your turn to keep them from wandering off.”

  Dale took his position at the keyboard while Lando looped his guitar around his neck. “I’ll give it my best shot.”

  He led off with Van Morrison’s “Brown Eyed Girl,” singing the words directly to Gemma. He did a few songs from Jackson Browne and a rendition of “Crazy Little Thing Called Love” before tossing it to Dale and Jimmy to finish the set.

  A series of instrumentals followed, legendary songs from Santana, Booker T & the MGs, all dancing music, and ended with a collection of tunes by the Allman Brothers.

  The entire band was exhausted by the time they walked off the stage to raucous cheers.

  Zeb and Leia were the first to greet them, but it was Leia who gushed. “Each week you guys get a little better. You’re all playing as well as I’ve seen you play. Ever.”

  “What happened to Buddy?” Zeb asked.

  “We took him to the hospital. Good thing, too, because he passed out from what they think was alcohol poisoning. He’s not doing too good,” Lando explained.

  “One thing you can say about Greendeer’s place, it’s never a dull moment,” Gemma noted. “I’m suddenly starving,” she proclaimed. “Let’s go get something to eat. Leia, please say you’ll open the restaurant and fix omelets.”

  “Sure. Eggs actually sound good.”

  They piled into separate cars and headed for Captain Jack’s.

  Once inside, Leia flipped on the lights as she took her position behind the grill. She began taking orders as the others drifted in.

  Gemma followed her into the kitchen area, setting out ingredients from the commercial fridge and lining them up on the counter within easy reach.

  “You had a sparkle up there on stage tonight that I haven’t seen in a long time,” Leia blurted out.

  “A sparkle?” She looked down at the soft, shimmery coral outfit she’d worn. “I do like this dress.”

  Leia chuckled. “No, it’s not that. It’s you. That pendant around your neck has given you more confidence.”

  “Does it show? Really?”

  “I think so.”

  Gemma watched Leia handle the skillet, turning out one omelet after another in rapid succession.
“See, this is why you do this, and I don’t. One of these days you’re going to show me how you do that.”

  “It’s all in the wrist.”

  “I’ll take your word for it.”

  After watching Leia plate each creation, Gemma did her part by serving as waitress. One by one, she brought over the eggs to the big corner table where everyone else waited.

  Luke glanced up to see a young woman with copper-colored hair and a bridge of freckles across her nose approach the front door. The teen tapped on the glass even with the Closed sign clearly visible.

  “We’re closed!” Leia shouted from across the room. “This is why I don’t like coming here after closing. People think we’re open.”

  Luke was nearest to the door and moved to open it back a notch. Scanning the dark parking lot for anything sinister, he finally asked the young lady, “Are you okay? Can we help you with something?”

  “I’m looking for Lando Bonner, the police chief. Someone said he eats here a lot since, you know, this is his mother’s restaurant. I need to ask him something important.”

  “Can it wait?”

  She shook her head.

  “Isn’t it a little late for you to be out by yourself?”

  “I’m eighteen and capable of taking care of myself. Is the police chief here or not?”

  Luke let the feisty girl inside. “Come on in then, he’s just finished playing rock star. He loves to hear from his fans.”

  The girl giggled. “I wanted to see the show tonight but I’m not old enough to get into Greendeer’s place. He’s a stickler about that.”

  “Good for Greendeer,” Luke said, walking her over to the table. “In the old days we could sneak into Thackery’s Pub because they served food there. But nowadays, even that’s off limits.”

  Lando eyed the young girl who seemed jumpy and worried. “You’re out late.”

  “I’m not breaking any curfew.”