by Nicole Ellis
He shut the door again. “Give us a call when you’re ready to be picked up.”
“I will.” I swiveled the stroller around and headed into the general store.
Outside the automatic sliding glass doors of the store, hanging baskets filled with colorful blue, purple, and orange flowers swung in the light breeze, filling the air with an intoxicating scent. Other customers ambled across the parking lot and into the store, sending a blast of air-conditioning in our direction. I followed them in, surprised to see that it was bigger than it had looked from the outside.
I approached the customer service desk and was greeted warmly by the clerk.
“Can I help you with anything, miss?” the elderly man asked while smiling at Ella.
“Jed from the Thunder Lake Resort had ordered some ribbons. Do you know if they’ve been picked up yet?”
“Ah yes. I know what you’re talking about. They came in a few days ago, but no one showed up to pick them up.” He held up a finger. “Wait one moment and I’ll go get those for you.”
I leaned against the counter, taking in all the things behind the counter, which ranged from guns to tobacco products to lottery tickets.
“Here we are,” he said upon return. He handed me a large package. “They should all be there.”
I quickly checked the contents. There were ribbons with first, second, and third place on them, as well as participant awards. For the boat race, Jed had ordered a gold medal for the winner. All were imprinted with the name of the resort and the year.
“Looks good.”
“Say, I was sorry to hear about Jed. Please give my condolences to Del and Leah.”
“I will. Did you know Jed well?”
“No, he came in here a couple of times, but I saw him down at Rex’s Place quite often when I’d go in for a beer after work. As far as I know, that’s really the only place he ever went in town when not on work business. He wasn’t real friendly with folks in town.”
Hmm … Rex’s Place. I was pretty sure that was the bar Del had mentioned too. I smiled at the clerk and stuck the package in the bottom of Ella’s stroller. “Thank you for this. I’d better go and feed the little one, but I hope you have a nice day!”
He waved and said, “You too.”
I wheeled her out of the store and then paused in the shade from the roof overhang. What were we going to do next? I’d told Tomàs he didn’t need to pick me up for a while, and I was starting to get hungry. First though, I wanted to see if the velvet bag I’d found in Jed’s closet had come from the jewelry store.
I stopped outside of Junell Jewelry, but the hand-printed sign on the door announced that they wouldn’t be open for a few more days due to remodeling. I tried to peer in the window but didn’t see much construction going on in the retail area of the store. Was it closed due to the robbery earlier in the week?
I turned to Ella. “What next, baby girl?”
She smiled at me and babbled something incoherent.
“Food? Yes, I think you’re right.”
She looked at me like I was crazy, which could be an accurate perception as I was talking to a nine-month-old baby like she could understand me. There weren’t many food options in town but the local café had a sign on their window stating that they sold picnic lunches. Perfect.
I selected a picnic lunch package from them, and we took our lunch over to the park to eat. I’d forgotten to bring the sunscreen with us. I didn’t want to risk looking like a lobster for the rest of the week, so I hoped I’d be able to score a spot in the shade. Luckily, I found somewhere to place the blanket under the shade from a tall tree.
My mouth watered as I unwrapped the Havarti and turkey on focaccia bread sandwich that the café had prepared for me. Ella eyed me with disdain, opening and closing her mouth in a sucking motion. I laughed and peeled the lid off of the container of tapioca pudding they’d included, spooning some into her mouth. She greedily ate it then sucked down the bottle I’d brought for her in a small freezer bag.
We watched as two squirrels chased each other across the grass then climbed the tree across from us in a zig-zag pattern. Ella giggled and pointed. While I ate the sandwich, she leaned forward to pluck pieces of grass from the ground, watching in wonder as they drifted through her fingers as they fell to the ground. When were finished, I sat back against the tree and contemplated what was next for our visit to town. I needed to make a quick stop in the barbecue place to check on the arrangements for the Labor Day celebration, but I also hoped to find out a little more about Jed. There had to be some reason he’d been killed, and I refused to believe that there was a murderer on the loose, randomly killing innocent people. That seemed a little too far-fetched.
The clerk in the general store had mentioned Rex’s Place. Somebody there might know more about Jed. I packed up our belongings and put Ella back in the stroller. How was I going to find the bar though? I didn’t remember seeing it on the main drag through town. I’d forgotten to charge my cell phone since I couldn’t use it back at the resort anyway, so I didn’t want use up all of the battery staring at a map.
A man walked in front of us, carrying a paper sack that smelled like hamburgers.
“Excuse me,” I said, flagging him down.
“Oh, hi.” The man smiled at me and Ella. “Sorry, didn’t see you there.”
“I was wondering if you could tell me where Rex’s was.”
He cocked his head to the side, as if wondering why I’d want to go there. Then he pointed to the end of the block.
“It’s down there, about a block off Main Street.”
“Thank you.” I turned in the opposite direction to walk toward the bar. I hoped that it was more of a pub than a bar that didn’t serve food. In Washington State, minors weren’t allowed in bars and I didn’t think I’d be able to convince anyone that Ella was over twenty-one.
When I reached Rex’s, my hopes were dashed. The brick building had a big sign on the door proclaiming NO MINORS ALLOWED. Although I’d hoped we’d be allowed in, I couldn’t help but grin at the sign, remembering a story my mother told me about how when she was young, she’d seen a similar sign and wondered what they’d had against miners.
I had turned to leave, when a man walked out, carrying a bucket of water and a sponge. He set it down in front of the glass windows and swiped at some smudges in the glass.
“Hey, do you work here?” I asked.
“No, I just really like to go around wiping down all the windows in town.” He smiled at me to let me know he was joking. “I’m the general manager here. Can I help you with something?”
“I’m friends with Del and Leah over at the Thunder Lake Resort. I was hoping you might know something about Del’s cousin Jed, who died recently.” I hoped he wouldn’t ask why I wanted to know.
“Well, you won’t find out much here. I don’t think many people knew Jed well, although he was in here often. He didn’t have many friends as he owed several people money. I’d venture a guess that one of them killed him when they found out he planned to skip town.” He dipped the sponge in the water and then squeezed out the excess water.
So, Jed owed people money. That confirmed my impression from Leah that he wasn’t always an upstanding citizen.
“Wait, he was planning to leave town?”
The man shrugged. “He was bragging to everyone that he’d come into some money, and he and Del were going to open a business somewhere—I’m not sure where.”
“Did he say where the money came from?” Was this the answer to my question? Had Jed stolen the diamonds? Was that why he was killed? The more I thought about it, the crazier the idea seemed.
He tilted his head to the side. “As far as I know, he never said. Why do you want to know anyway?”
“Any information is good to have.” I smiled brightly at him. “I’d better get my baby out of the heat though. Thank you so much for your help.”
He narrowed his eyes at me but just nodded.
It was al
most two o’clock and I was ready to head back to the resort. I stopped in at the barbecue restaurant and checked on the catering order for the Labor Day celebration. Everything was good to go with them, so Ella and I walked back to the park, stopping in the shade. I plucked my phone out of my purse to call Tomàs to pick us up but decided to try Danielle again to see if she had gotten my message about preschool registration.
The phone rang and rang, then went to voice mail. I’d have to try again another day. Every day that passed made me more nervous that I’d be out of luck getting Mikey registered. But there was nothing more I could do about it. While I had cell service, I should probably call Beth to check on everything at home, but I didn’t want to bother her at work during the day. With me and Desi gone, she had enough to do without me bugging her.
I rang Tomàs, and he and Desi came to pick us up. After I snapped Ella’s carrier into the base, I hopped into the back of their minivan.
“Did you find anything out from the local police?” I held my breath, waiting for his response.
Tomàs regarded me in the rearview mirror. “They said that Jed had some mishaps in his past and it wasn’t likely we were in any danger. After reviewing the facts, I’m inclined to agree.”
“So, we can stay?” I’d hoped, but I hadn’t really expected Tomàs to be ok with letting us stay.
Desi turned around in the passenger seat and grinned at me. “Yup.”
I exhaled. Thank goodness. I hadn’t wanted to go against what the rest of my family chose to do, but I didn’t want to let Leah down either. Now though, I was curious. What were the facts about Jed’s murder that Tomàs had reviewed? I considered asking him, but didn’t want to do anything that would make him suspicious that I was sleuthing again.
With a wide smile on my face, I said, “Let’s try to forget this happened, ok? I want us to have fun for the rest of our trip. Agreed?”
To satisfy my own curiosity, I still intended to try to figure out why Jed had the velvet bag in his closet, but I wasn’t going to launch a full-on investigation into his death. The police could handle that, and finding a murderer wasn’t why we were at the lake.
“Agreed,” Desi and Tomàs said.
He hit a button on the dashboard and classical music filled the car. In the front seat they chatted between themselves and I leaned back against my seat, watching the trees blur together as we whizzed by. Between the monotonous scenery and the whir of the air-conditioning, I almost fell asleep. By the time we returned to the resort, my brain had relaxed and I felt full and content, ready to start our fun family vacation.
10
After we’d cleared away the dinner dishes, Adam and Mikey sat down on the floor to play a game of Hungry Hungry Hippos that we’d checked out from the office. I sat down next to them.
“I need to give your mom a call to find out how things are going back at our house and at the Boathouse. Are you good here?” I asked.
Adam glanced at Ella, who was rolling around on a blanket on the thick rag rug.
“We’re good.” He threw a couple of marbles in the center of the hippo pit. “Hey, can you make sure that they’ve watered my rose garden?”
I rolled my eyes. Ever since he’d left his corporate job, he’d become obsessed with our yard. I half expected to find him out there someday, measuring the length of the grass with a ruler. Oh well, at least he was home with us more now.
I smiled. “I’ll ask. Anything else?”
“Nope.” He turned back to their game. “Hey Mikey, you’re cheating! You only get to play one hippo.”
Mikey giggled and smashed his hands down on two of the four hippos. “I’m going to beat you, Daddy!”
The game was heating up so I left before a stray marble could hit me on the head and walked over to the pay phone, which was located outside, behind the office. Leah and Del had placed a bench next to the phone booth in case there was a line, but right now it was empty. In the morning, this was most likely in full sun, but at this time of day, the roof of the office shaded the whole area.
I inserted my credit card. This was one of the first pay phones I’d seen in a long time, but it made sense out here where there wasn’t cell service. I had Beth’s number programmed into my phone, but I didn’t know her number offhand, so I had to search for it in my phone’s address book. Thank goodness for technology. Even without cell reception, I kept my phone with me at all times—unlike the address book I used to have that never left my house. I scrolled through the names and punched her digits into the pay phone.
“Hello?” she asked, sounding puzzled.
“Hey,” I said. “It’s me, Jill.”
“Jill? Where are you calling from?”
“A pay phone at the resort. I wanted to check in with you about how everything is going with our house and at work.”
She laughed. “Honey, you’re supposed to be enjoying your vacation, not worrying about everything back here. Everything’s fine—well, except for that lady with the Halloween party we scheduled last spring. She is driving me nuts.”
I grimaced. “Angela is almost worse than a nervous bride.”
“Almost?” Beth chuckled again. “She makes brides look like angels.”
“What does she want now?” I’d called Angela to check in with her before we left for Eastern Washington, but she hadn’t called back.
“Oh, everything. She wants to confirm all the details—the fog machine, the lighting, parking—just everything.”
“Oh well, hosting the Ericksville Haunted House this year could be good for business. It’s a fall booking and it will be a good promo for the Boathouse.” I fanned the air in front of me. Even though the phone booth was in the shade, the semi-enclosed space was heating up.
“I guess. Maybe I’m getting too old for this. I can’t deal with the crazies as well as I used to.” She sighed into the phone.
“You’re not too old,” I said automatically. However, Beth had gone through heart surgery about a month earlier, and although everything seemed fine with her, I didn’t want to be stressing her too much. “Are you ok with everything there?”
“Of course I am,” she said in a cheerier voice. “Lincoln and I can run this place with our hands tied behind our backs.”
“I feel bad about leaving you.” I wrapped the coiled phone line around my fingers, watching the metal twist into a circle. I missed doing that with cell phones.
“Don’t even worry about it. I know you and Desi have been looking forward to this vacation for a long time. How’s it going out there anyway? I haven’t heard anything from her.”
“Uh …” I wasn’t sure how much to tell her. “Things here have been fine. I’m actually going to be helping my friend Leah out with their Labor Day celebration. It sounds like it will be a lot of fun.” I toed the dirt next to the concrete pad and took a deep breath. I might as well tell her now as she was bound to find out from someone. “We had some excitement the first morning though. I kind of found another body.”
She was quiet for a moment. “Another one? It was a natural death though, right?”
“Uh …”
“Jill! What’s going on there?” Her voice held a note of panic. “Are you all ok?”
“The man who died was the cousin of my friend Leah’s husband. Apparently he had made some enemies in the past.”
“Are you safe there? What does Tomàs think?”
“He talked to the local law enforcement and they said not to worry.” I chose not to tell her about the vandalism at the resort.
“Ok then.” She sounded doubtful. “How is everything else? Have Mikey and Anthony gone fishing? They were both so excited about it. They even got Lincoln to show them how to put a worm on a hook.”
“Eww. I think they’re using some other kind of bait.” Adam had said something about marshmallows. “I think Tomàs and Adam plan to take them out later in the week.”
“Good. And the girls?”
“Eh, Ella seems to like it. It will be mo
re fun going places with her next year when she’s walking.” I tried to turn the subject away from the resort. “How’s Fluffy?” We’d left our cat at home, but Beth and Lincoln were feeding her every day.
“Oh yeah. A funny story. She may be a little pudgier than when you left.”
“What happened?”
“Lincoln didn’t get the top of the food container latched and she knocked it over. I think she had a heyday with the unlimited food before we found it tipped over last night.”
I sighed. Fluffy loved her food and could easily eat four times the amount that was advisable.
“Just keep an eye on her in case she gets sick.”
“We will. But, surprisingly, she came running to us when we opened the door this morning and wanted more food.”
I laughed. “She can never get enough. Thank you again for taking care of everything while we’re gone. Oh, and Adam wants to make sure you’ve been watering his roses.”
She laughed. “Of course. Tell him not to worry about the garden. The roses are blooming and gorgeous. In fact, I cut one to display in a vase on my kitchen table. It’s making my house smell heavenly.” Her tone sobered. “I’m glad you were able to go as a family, although it does concern me that there was a murder at the campground.”
I wound the cord tighter around my fingers. “Tomàs isn’t worried, so I’m sure everything is fine.”
“If you say so.” She coughed. “I’d better go, I’ve developed a summer cold and it’s making me a little hoarse. I probably shouldn’t be talking this much if I want to have any voice left by tomorrow.”
I hated that she was taking so much on while she was sick. “Are you sure you don’t want us to come back?”
“No. It’s just a little cough. Nothing to worry about. I’m sure I’ll be fine by tomorrow.”
“Ok.” I stared at the pay phone. I hoped she was telling me the truth. “But let us know if you need us to come back early.”
“I will,” she said. “Now, go have fun. Enjoy the sun.”
“Bye, Beth.”
“Goodbye. Tell the others that I love them, and I hope they’re having fun.”
