by Lynn Bohart
“See? I was very careful, Julia,” she said. “Besides, that fella looked like he was about to kill you.”
My hand reached for my throat. “I know,” I said, flinching at the tenderness. “I’ll be black and blue tomorrow. I owe you my gratitude. You just scared the hell out of me. You do have a license to carry that thing, don’t you?”
She puffed up her chest indignantly. “Don’t need one.”
The front door flew open and April rushed in, limping. “Julia! Are you okay?”
“Yes, yes, I’m fine, but what happened to you?”
“I twisted my ankle getting over here. I was in a hurry. I heard a gunshot.”
“Yes, someone broke in and took Ahab.”
“Ahab’s gone?” Her eyes darted toward the cage and then the open patio door behind us.
“Yes,” I said, wrapping my arms around me to ward off the cold.
April turned to me. “It’s what I saw. Remember? My dream?” She glanced around her feet. “But where are the dogs?”
My head came up. “I don’t know. They followed the guy out the front door.” I turned and ran into the entryway and opened the front door again. “Mickey! Minnie!” I yelled.
Nothing.
A moment later, red and blue lights flashed across the pine trees as the police swung into the Inn’s circular drive, their sirens dying. After Martha’s death, having police at my front door had become a common occurrence, and I suspected my neighbors weren’t amused.
April had followed me onto the front veranda and said, “The dogs just came back to the patio door. I put them in the kitchen.”
“Okay, I’ll take this.”
April limped back to the kitchen, while I crossed my arms over my chest and shivered from the cold. Two young patrol officers emerged from the squad car with their hands ready to draw their weapons. I assured them all was well and led them into the breakfast room where Goldie had planted herself at a table, the bazooka lying in front of her. The taller, dark-haired officer introduced himself as Officer Graver. He introduced his blond counterpart as Officer Capshaw.
“What happened here?” Officer Graver asked.
“Someone broke in and stole my parrot.”
“We had a report of a gunshot,” he said, as if he hadn’t heard me about the theft.
I turned toward Goldie. He followed my gaze and stepped forward. “Did you discharge the weapon?”
“Sure did,” she said.
“And your name?” the officer asked.
“Goldie Singleton,” she said with pride. “I live next door.”
I saw his eyes momentarily flare, as if he’d heard that name before.
“Why did you fire the gun?” he asked.
“Because someone was stealing our parrot,” I said again.
He turned to me with his lips parted, and I had the feeling he was about to say, “You’re kidding?” He must have thought better of it, because he merely cleared his throat. Just then, April came in from the kitchen.
“Was the bird valuable?” Officer Capshaw asked. He had a notepad out, ready to write.
“Not to anyone but us,” I replied. “He was just a parrot.”
“What about the alarm system?” Officer Graver asked. “We saw a sign out front that you have one.”
I groaned. “It malfunctioned over the weekend. We had the repair guy out yesterday, but he had to order a new keypad.”
“Pretty convenient,” he said. “What’s the name of the company?”
“Island Security. It’s owned by Roger Romero.”
“Okay, we’ll talk to him. You’re the owner here, I take it?” Officer Capshaw asked.
“Yes. This is my business partner,” I said, nodding toward April.
“I live in the guest house,” April offered.
“The guy attacked Julia,” Goldie said. “She left that part out. He had her in a choke hold when I got here.”
“I don’t understand. Did you see him break in?” Officer Graver asked her.
“No, of course not. Like I said, I live next door.” She pointed in the direction of her house. “I saw someone through the trees. I was just going to bed. Our bedroom is in the back, on the second floor.”
“You saw someone in the dark, through some trees?” Officer Graver said skeptically.
“No, first I saw someone cut across the beach, heading towards Julia’s. We’ve had a bunch of burglaries in this neighborhood, so I got out my binoculars and watched him. After all, it could have been one of Julia’s guests, too. Anyway, he stopped in the trees in between our houses and waited. I saw the flare of a light through the trees. I figured it was someone lighting up a cigarette. I got curious because he was there so long. So I sat down and waited. I could just barely see the shadow of him standing there,” Goldie continued. “It looked like he was facing the Inn while he smoked. He lit up at least twice. I thought it was weird.”
“And how long did he stand there?” Officer Capshaw asked.
She shrugged again. “A good thirty minutes or more. I finally got my boots on.”
“And you never thought to call us?”
“No. Why would I? I have old Betsy here. She takes care of things.”
He sighed with annoyance. “Could you tell what this man looked like?”
“It was too dark. All I saw was his silhouette. Look, Julia’s had some trouble here before. That plus the burglaries made me suspicious. So when he finally moved out, I grabbed my gun and snuck over here after him. When I got here, that door was open,” she said, pointing to the patio door. “And he had Julia by the neck. As I got to the door, one of her dogs attacked him. Got him right in the face,” she said with a smile. “Anyway, I came up behind him and shot into the ceiling to scare him off.”
She sat back with satisfaction, her gray eyes glistening. I had the feeling she’d been waiting her entire life for this moment.
The two officers glanced at each other. “In the future, Mrs. Singleton, we’d prefer it if you’d call us first,” Officer Graver said.
Goldie’s eyes flared this time. “Look,” she said, standing up. “I…”
She knocked the table off balance as she stood, and Old Betsy slid off the edge. The gun butt hit the floor and it discharged. Everyone ducked for cover as a spray of buckshot slammed into my breakfast room wall, shattering the framed picture of a garden scene and sending shards of glass across the room. The dogs went ballistic again in the kitchen, as the room filled with smoke.
I thought Officer Graver was going to throttle Goldie. He stood up from his crouched position, glared at her and then yanked the gun up off the floor. “I’ll take that, if you don’t mind.”
“Wait a minute,” Goldie said, stepping around the end of the table. “I do mind. That was an accident. That gun belongs to me. I have a right to carry it.”
“Yes ma’am, but not to shoot it indoors. So I’ll be taking it down to the Mercer Island PD to have it checked out for a faulty trigger mechanism. You have a problem with that?” he said, challenging her.
This guy wasn’t kidding. His dark eyes were boring holes into Goldie’s. She matched his stare for a moment and then relented. “Okay, maybe we should have it checked out.”
Officer Graver handed the shotgun off to his partner. I looked up and realized the entryway had filled with guests again. I hurried over and waved them all back upstairs.
“Everything’s okay. The gun just went off accidentally this time. The police are here. They have things under control.” But I could tell Mrs. Fenster wasn’t buying it.
“Well, this is really too much,” she spat. “The threat of ghosts is one thing. But guns going off and people breaking in are quite another. I’ll be checking out first thing in the morning.”
With that, she spun around and marched up the stairs. The rest of the guests just stood awkwardly glancing back and forth between her retreating figure and me.
“I’ll understand if anyone else feels the same way,” I said.
&nbs
p; There was a pause, and then Mr. Brewster smiled. “Are you kidding? We haven’t had this much excitement in twenty-five years,” he said with a grin. “Now if we could only see a ghost, we’d have our grandkids attention for months.”
I smiled. “Well, let’s keep our fingers crossed that when Jason Spears, the paranormal investigator, is here this weekend, you’ll get your wish.”
Everyone returned to their rooms, while I went back into the breakfast room. April had come out from the kitchen and was pulling out a broom and dustpan from a long cupboard in the corner. Officer Graver was inspecting the patio door jam, while Officer Capshaw was looking at Ahab’s cage.
I sidled up to April. “That time it was an accident,” I said.
She turned concerned eyes my way. “Are you kidding, Julia? She could’ve killed someone.”
“I know. But the police are taking the gun this time,” I said.
The officers asked me a few more questions, but I wasn’t much help. I hadn’t heard a car, seen anyone other than the man who attacked me, and couldn’t give them a description. The door’s lock had been jimmied, but it appeared that nothing else had been taken other than Ahab. Dusting for fingerprints seemed useless since so many different people stayed at the Inn, and we have so many special events.
Forty-five minutes after they’d arrived, the police were gone, telling me that these kinds of thefts were rarely solved. I was left with bruises on my neck, matching buckshot in my breakfast room ceiling and wall, and an empty bird cage. I turned to Goldie.
“Well, I don’t know about you, but I’m exhausted,” I said, hoping she’d leave.
She took the cue and began to move towards the patio door. “Glad I could help, Julia. Maybe I’ll get one of those Hero of Mercer Island awards.”
I smiled, despite the fear that Mayor Frum might actually bestow one on her. “Could happen,” I said. “Thanks again, Goldie. Can I get the dogs and walk you home?”
She chortled. “No.” She pulled out her cellphone. “I called Ben and he’s waiting for me.”
After I locked the patio door behind her, I went into the kitchen, where the dogs greeted me, tongues hanging out of the mouths.
“Are the police gone?” April asked. She was dumping the dustpan filled with glass into a trash can.
“Yes. And I just said goodbye to Goldie.”
“Thank God! I was afraid we were going to lose the windows and maybe a guest or two.”
We both chuckled. “She means well,” I said. “But I’m kind of hoping they don’t ever give her that gun back.” I slumped into a chair. “How are you doing?”
“Okay,” she said, sitting down. “I just twisted my ankle. It’s not bad, but I’ll have to ice it. How are you?”
Tears sprouted, and I grabbed a paper napkin. “Not so good. Why would someone steal Ahab? He’s just a stupid bird.”
“I don’t know,” she replied. “But it seems a little coincidental, don’t you think?”
I looked over at her. Her dark eyes were glowing.
“You think it has something to do with Trudy’s murder? Or, Dana’s attempted murder, I should say?”
“All I know is that someone is working pretty hard to put you right in the middle of this whole thing.”
“I need a cup of tea,” I said, wiping my eyes and pulling myself out of the chair.
I made tea for both of us and grabbed the cookies, while April grabbed an ice pack from the freezer and held it to her ankle.
“Fill me in,” she said.
“Here, wait,” I said. I grabbed a short stool and brought it over. She carefully lifted her foot and placed it sideways on the stool and then draped the ice pack over her ankle. “There, how’s that?”
“Better,” she replied. “Now, what happened?”
I told her first about my mother’s phone call. “I think she connects with me mostly when something is wrong,” I said, after relating my mother’s message. “Anyway, she couldn’t tell me any more than you did, but I couldn’t go back to sleep. So I came out to have a cookie. I heard someone in the other room and went to check.”
I rubbed my throat, which was still sore. April watched me and then said, “And you tried to stop him?” I nodded. She shook her head. “You live a charmed life, Julia. You could have been seriously hurt.”
“I know, but I couldn’t just let him take Ahab. Unfortunately, he got him anyway.”
A wave of despair washed over me. I glanced down at the two little wiener dogs at my feet. They were focused on me like lasers. Not because they were worried about me. They thought I had food.
“But you’re good dogs, aren’t you?” I said, reaching down to give them each a pet.
Both dogs immediately climbed up on my leg. “That reminds me. Minnie may have taken a chunk out of the guy’s face,” I said.
“Really?” April said. “You should let the police know.”
“Yeah, I will. I think you two deserve a treat for your valiant efforts,” I said to the dogs.
I went to the cupboard and grabbed a bag of dog biscuits. Mickey immediately began turning circles again, and Minnie sprang up and down like a broken Jack in the Box. I couldn’t help but smile as I tossed them each a cookie. As I joined April at the table again, I glanced out the window. A light breeze rustled the leaves on the cherry tree, making the lights strung along the dock flicker.
“I don’t like thinking that people are lurking out there,” I said with a slight shiver.
April followed my gaze. “No. I agree. Will the police come back tomorrow to look for clues?”
“No. They made that quite clear. They said these types of crimes are usually random and are rarely solved. I suppose they don’t have the budget to worry about finding a parrot.”
April frowned. “That’s too bad. But we should check it out tomorrow, anyway. See if we can find anything in the trees. Maybe Jose´ can help.”
“Good idea. Listen,” I began, stirring my tea. “I have a confession to make.”
She turned her dark eyes in my direction. “Yes?”
“After you left this morning, Dana arrived and demanded that I help her find out who’s trying to kill her.”
“Really? And you said no, right?” I concentrated on adding sweetener to my tea. April watched me and then exhaled loudly. “Julia, you didn’t!”
I took a sip and then put my tea down. “It’s not all bad. I got something worthwhile in return. She agreed to drop out of the race.”
April’s whole face lit up. “So, you’ll be mayor?”
I shifted uncomfortably. “Well, no. I agreed to drop out, too. I never wanted to run a campaign, April. You know that. That was Graham’s thing, not mine. Besides, I’m going to talk Tony Morales into filing.”
April shrugged. “Well, I’m sorry you won’t be the belle of the ball, but I like that idea,” she said with relish. “Think he’ll do it?”
“God, I hope so. I kind of made it sound like it was no big deal. But the truth is, he’s very self-conscious, and I bet the idea of campaigning will turn him inside out.”
“Hey,” April grunted. “He’s a war vet. He’s had to do a lot worse. Have a little faith. By the way, where were you so late tonight? I heard the van come in well after midnight.”
We shared a moment of silence, and then I said, “Uh…picking up some stuff.”
She furrowed her brows. “Stuff? As in antiques?”
“Well…what we picked up is old,” I said, sipping more tea.
“What is it? Something we can sell?”
I swallowed. “Um…probably not,” I replied. “But what’s that saying? One man’s trash is another man’s treasure?” She looked at me curiously. “Let’s just say I hope you don’t have to use the van tomorrow.”
CHAPTER ELEVEN
The next morning I woke up to black and blue marks around my neck. I contemplated masking the bruises with makeup, but decided to wear a turtleneck instead. I was more concerned with a bruise on my right elbow that I
’d obtained when I hit the curb the night before. It hurt like the dickens.
April had gotten in ahead of me and had finished cleaning up the breakfast room, so I pulled down the destroyed garden picture and put it outside by the kitchen door. Then I wandered over to Ahab’s cage and glanced out the window, hoping against hope that I’d see him sitting on a branch only a few feet away. No such luck.
I helped April whip up some eggs for breakfast burritos for the guests. She said her ankle didn’t really hurt, but she had it wrapped with an Ace bandage. After breakfast, I called Roger Romero, who owned the alarm company.
“Oh, Julia, I’m so sorry,” he said. “An officer already stopped by to talk to me. Ahab was quite a character. I’m sure he’ll be missed.”
I felt a lump in my throat. “Yes, he will. I can’t believe our bad luck, though. The one day the alarm system was down.”
“Well, the keypad is in,” Roger said. “I’ll have it installed first thing this morning. And again, I’m so sorry. But at least no one was hurt.” He took a big sigh. “You know, Julia, I went into this business to prevent stuff like this.”
“That’s right. Your wife,” I said, remembering that his wife had been attacked when they’d lived in Portland.
“Yes,” he said, lowering his voice. “She still has nightmares. So, I swore – never again.” He paused again as if to compose himself. “Julia, I’m going to finish the repairs myself. I’ll be there within the half hour. And I’m going to make this up to you somehow.”
“Well, I have a hole in my ceiling you could fix,” I said.
“What?”
“Never mind. Let’s just get the alarm system fixed.”
“That’s the least I can do. I’ll see you soon.”
He hung up, and I tapped my finger on the desk, thinking. Who might have known the alarm system was down? I racked my brain, thinking back to the day Roger’s son, Peter, had come over to evaluate the problem. Crystal wasn’t there. She had weekends off. Jose´ was also off, but I’d mentioned it to both of them Monday morning. April had been gone most of the day, shopping. The weekend manager, Evian, and the weekend cleaning woman were there, however. The Brewsters and Mrs. Fenster had checked in that day, while two singles had checked out. In fact, when Peter came out to tell me a short in the keypad had fused it, and he’d have to order a new one, there had been a small army of people hovering around the front desk.
