Gone with the Wool

by Betty Hechtman

  “Can you tell me what happened?” he asked. When I described the fuss Rosalie made about Chloe being in the Princess Court and that Rosalie had basically banished her, he groaned and shook his head with dismay.

  “I told her it wasn’t a good idea, but she wouldn’t listen.” He leaned against the counter. I tried to reassure him that she hadn’t gone to the Blessing of the Butterflies service. But as I said it, I knew that it didn’t mean anything.

  Dane looked into my eyes. “My sister is a lot of things, but she’s not a killer. My hands are tied, but yours aren’t. You’ve proved Borgnine wrong before. Do you think you could find out who killed Rosalie?”

  My knowledge of Rosalie was minimal at best. The only time I’d spoken to her was when I’d dropped off the muffins at the chili dinner. I got the message loud and clear. She viewed me as an outsider intruding on her territory.

  “Wow. This is the first time someone’s asked me to be a detective, and it’s coming from a cop, no less,” I said. I could see the life come back into his face, and the tilt of his head and the way he was looking at me out of the corner of his eye signaled he was back to his usual teasing manner. I was all set for a smart reply, but before he could say it, there was another rap at the door.

  Dane looked stricken. It was useless to consider ignoring it—it seemed everyone in Cadbury knew I was there at night to bake.

  “I’ll get rid of them,” I said. I walked to the door, expecting to see the bulldog-like lieutenant, and was already preparing my speech when I saw I was wrong.

  “Sammy?” I said, opening the door. Sammy was Dr. Sammy Glickner, my ex who had relocated to Monterey. He insisted it had nothing to do with my living in the area and everything to do with his desire to further his magic career. He was also known as the Amazing Dr. Sammy. But no matter what he said, it was obvious he still had hopes for us. I think the phrase is “wears his heart on his sleeve.” He was a tall teddy bear of a man, goofy and warm, and I cared for him, just not in that way.

  “You have to help me, Case,” he said frantically. He was the only one who’d ever given me that nickname, which I thought was funny since it was just dropping one letter.

  Dane must have been listening from the kitchen and realized it was not Borgnine. He stepped out of the kitchen, obviously curious as to what was going on.

  “It’s my parents,” Sammy said, pointing behind him. “I can’t tell you everything now, but they’re staying at the Butterfly Inn and they think we’re together—living together.” He had a pleading look in his eyes as I heard footsteps on the wooden porch.

  “Why did you rush ahead so quickly?” Estelle Glickner said, coming into the restaurant. She seemed faintly out of breath and was followed by Dr. Bernard Glickner. He looked like an older version of Sammy, but without the fun. Both men had coarse black hair that only worked in a very short style. Sammy had let it get longer once, and it had reminded me of one of those magnet toys where you put the hair made out of iron filings on the guy’s head and it stuck out. Bernard’s was tinged with gray. I could see a Hawaiian shirt with white orchids on a black background under his fleece jacket, which bore the North Face logo. Estelle was a tiny woman with short fluffy graying hair who had no problem making her presence felt—kind of like a Chihuahua. She was wearing a matching women’s Hawaiian shirt and similar fleece jacket. I guessed it was their vacation wear.

  “See, here’s Casey,” Sammy said, putting on a bright smile and throwing his arm around me. “My folks want to see our place,” he said. Meanwhile, they’d noticed Dane.

  I must have had a deer in the headlights look. Who wouldn’t under the circumstances?

  “Case, I forgot my key,” Sammy said, watching as his mother gave Dane the once-over.

  Dane stepped forward and introduced himself. “I live down the street from—” He faltered for a second before adding “them.” He lightened the moment by smiling and saying he’d stopped by to see if I had any muffins ready. “You know us cops, always on the prowl for something sweet.”

  There was an awkward moment, and then Dane went to the door. “Have to keep the streets of Cadbury safe!” He caught my eye and held it for a moment before he left.

  “Your mother said to say hello,” Estelle said, and I wanted to groan. Now I understood my mother’s comment. I’d only been half listening to her by then, and she’d said something about giving her greetings to someone. Of course, she knew Sammy’s parents were coming. And I bet my mother knew what they thought was going on with Sammy and me.

  I fished out the key from my purse and handed it to Sammy. He mouthed a thank-you out of his parents’ sight, then made a big fuss of telling me not to work too late and that he’d be waiting up for me. He also took the opportunity to give me a warm hug and a good-bye kiss.

  I heard his mother grumbling about my working so late as the three of them went to the door. “Good night, dear,” she said, turning back to me. “I’m sure we’ll be seeing lots of you while we’re here. Sammy’s dad and I want to talk to you two about something.”

  Sammy threw me a hopeless glance as he escorted them out the door.

  I would lay down money that his parents wanted to talk wedding plans. Great, just what I needed—another complication.

  Hours later, a row of carrot cakes sat iced and ready for the next day’s patrons. The muffins were packed up and ready to be dropped off at the various coffee spots in town. The only life on the street was around the drugstore, and even that was quiet, with just one car parked in front of it. My footsteps echoed on the sidewalk as I made my rounds.

  I dropped off the last batch of muffins at the cafe at Vista Del Mar. The Lodge stayed open all the time, and a sleepy clerk was leaning on the massive wooden registration counter. The cops seemed to have given up for the night. The chapel was cordoned off, and I imagined a tired officer was making sure no one disturbed it.

  I was about to get in my car and drive across the street, and then I thought about Dane and felt bad that he’d been cut off when he was telling me about his sister and asking for my help.

  I walked up the Vista Del Mar driveway and looked down the street. His lights were still on. I could see lights on at my place as well. I would deal with whatever was going on there later. Here on the edge of town, there were no streetlights, and I needed my flashlight to see my way.

  Once I got outside the Vista Del Mar grounds, there was cell reception, so I called ahead to tell Dane I was coming. He had the door open before I reached the few steps up to his small porch.

  He was wearing a pair of sweats and a T-shirt. “So, this is what it takes to get you to come over,” he said, back to his teasing ways. We had been circling each other for a while. There was no doubt I felt attracted to him and he to me. In any case, once we’d changed our status from just friends to—well, I’m not sure what to call it—I’d avoided going to his house. It wasn’t so much him I was worried about. It was me. Dane was hot on all fronts, and I was afraid I’d forget all my reasons why I thought dating was a bad idea and get in over my head.

  But tonight was different. This wasn’t really a social call, though I was glad to see he was back to himself.

  “I’m sorry about the way things went at the Blue Door,” I said. “Sammy totally blindsided me. I had no idea his parents were in town and no idea that he’d told them we were living together.”

  “Sammy wove a real web of deceit,” Dane joked. Even though Dane could have considered Sammy competition, he actually liked him. Everybody liked him. The idea of Sammy being deceitful or spinning a web of intrigue seemed funny.

  “You know I would be glad to help with Chloe,” I said, getting to why I’d come over. We were standing in his living room, and the couch looked very inviting after the hours of standing while I baked.

  “Maybe she’ll talk to you,” he said. Chloe came out of the back. She was wearing the same outfit from earl
ier and had a defiant expression.

  “Chloe, this isn’t a joke,” Dane said. “That woman is dead, and Lieutenant Borgnine has his sights set on you.”

  “That’s crazy. How could anybody think I killed that old bag?” she said. She nodded a greeting at me. With all of us there, it felt okay to sit down on the couch. There was no concern there’d be any kind of cuddling.

  “Go on, Casey, ask her whatever,” Dane said, clearly frustrated.

  “The obvious question is, where were you when Rosalie got stabbed?” I asked, hoping she had a great alibi.

  “I was too bummed to go anywhere,” Chloe said. “I went for a walk on the beach to cool off.”

  “You never went anywhere near the chapel?” I asked, and her eyes flashed.

  “No, I just told you. I wasn’t there when she was stabbed.”

  “That might have come out wrong,” I said. “I wasn’t implying that you weren’t telling me the truth. I just wondered if you might have seen something or someone.”

  Chloe chewed on the inside of her mouth. “Okay, maybe I did watch the whole thing from a distance for a while. I was supposed to be in there, playing a tree with the rest of the princesses.”

  I saw Dane do a double take. The idea of his sister doing something as hokey as playing a tree surprised him.

  Chloe flopped in a chair and put her feet up on the coffee table, and I could see Dane wasn’t happy with it. Since he’d brought her up, he felt responsible for any lapse in her manners. I thought she just liked to bug him, like kids do to their parents.

  “I was thinking of going to the service anyway,” Chloe said. “I was going to tell that Rosalie woman she had no right to throw me out. The rule is that as long as you have a sponsor you can be a princess.” She wore a defiant expression. “But I changed my mind. I just watched until the princesses took their seats. I could see the empty one that was supposed to be mine through the open door in the front.” Chloe’s face brightened, and she sat forward. “No more fussing from that old queen. Now that she’s out of the way, I’m back in the game.” She pulled a tiara out of her bag and put it on her head. “I bought my own. No butterflies on it, but it will do the trick until I get back my real one.”

  She adjusted her feet, giving her brother a look that said she knew that what she was doing bugged him. “I should have figured that all those other goody-goody types couldn’t wait to tell the cops about the argument I had with that woman.”

  “So then you’re sure that you didn’t stab her?” I said.

  Chloe let out a snorty kind of laugh. “Of course not. Why would I do that?”

  When I heard Dane let out his breath in relief, I realized he hadn’t asked her if she’d done it. I think he was afraid of the answer. Dane stepped in. “Chloe, I told you if you insisted on going through with the princess nonsense, there was going to be trouble. If you wanted to do it, you should have changed your appearance.”

  “I did,” Chloe said with a smile, jutting her shoulder out so we could see her monarch tattoo.

  Dane shook his head in frustration. “This is serious. Do you understand that at any moment the cops can come in here and arrest you? There is nothing I can do to help you. I’ve been ordered to stay away from the case.”

  “Maybe I should head for Brazil,” she said. Dane’s eyes flared with anger, and she quickly added that she was just joking. “You said Casey is kind of a detective. She’ll figure out a way to get me off the hook. Won’t you?” She looked at me, and I nodded and said I’d do my best. “Well, there you go,” she said, as if my saying it was a done deal.

  “You really shouldn’t try to get back in the Princess Court,” Dane said.

  She stood up and put her hand on her hip and looked down at her brother. “No way. I’m in it to the end.” She didn’t wait to see his reaction and left the room.

  Dane sat shaking his head for a few moments. “She doesn’t get it. It’s like she’s poking the town in the eye with her attitude and those clothes.” He put his head in his hands. “Where did I go wrong?”

  I knew he’d done the best he could and imagined how tough it must have been on both of them when he’d had to deal with all her girl stuff. I knew from both of them that he’d done embarrassing things for her. Having an alcoholic mother and an absent father can’t have been easy.

  I was going to try to say something reassuring, but Dane’s composure changed suddenly. He sat upright and seemed to notice for the first time that we were sitting next to each other on the couch.

  His lips curved into a mischievous grin. “Is this what it took to get you to finally come over and sit next to me?”

  I gave him a playful punch on the arm, my way of saying I thought it was a ridiculous comment. But even so, I moved farther toward the side of the couch.

  This time he laughed. “What kind of maniac do you think I am? One touch on the arm and I jump all over you?”

  I didn’t say anything, and his eyes lit up with a new possibility. “Maybe I’m not the problem,” he said teasingly. “Maybe you’re afraid that one brush against my arm and you’ll be all over me.”

  “Nobody is going to be all over anybody,” I said, getting up. “I have to go home.”

  “About that,” Dane said. “What’s going on with Sammy and his parents? Are they all there waiting for you?”

  “You heard as much as I did. Who knows what surprises are waiting for me at home.”

  “Maybe you need a police escort,” he joked.

  I passed on his offer and headed for home, not sure what to expect.

  7

  I drove my car from the Vista Del Mar parking lot across the street and up my driveway, where I pulled next to Sammy’s BMW. I took a deep breath and headed to the back door. Julius was sitting outside waiting for me. I know it was probably my imagination, but it seemed like his yellow eyes were asking me what was going on.

  I took the spare key out from under the rock near the back door. As I walked into the kitchen, Sammy came in from the other part of the house.

  I looked around him, trying to size up the situation.

  “It’s okay, they’re not here,” he said. “I’m sorry, Case. They completely surprised me. They were at some medical meeting in San Francisco and decided it would be ‘fun’ to show up unannounced.”

  I took off my beige fleece jacket and then pulled out a chair. “I think you have some ’splaining to do.” It was a pretty lame impression of Ricky Ricardo talking to Lucy in the old I Love Lucy shows, but Sammy got it and laughed.

  There was a puppy dog look about his eyes when he looked at me, and I figured something big was coming.

  “You know what my parents, particularly my father, think of me doing magic,” he began. “I couldn’t tell them I was staying in Cadbury because I was finally getting to do my act.”

  “It’s not like you gave up your urology career,” I said, and he winced.

  “The practice I had in Chicago was much more prestigious than what I’m doing here. I’m just filling in for a guy who took a year off. They knew there had to be more to it than I just wanted a change, so I told them I was here with you. That we were together—living together, you know, in one house.”

  “I get it,” I said. “And of course they shared the news with my parents.”

  “Just recently. I told them it was a secret, but they blabbed anyway.”

  I shrugged it off. “Fine. I won’t say anything while they’re here. How long can they be staying?”

  “There’s another problem,” he said. “When they called me, they were already checked into the Butterfly Inn. It was too weird. They were in the parlor having a glass of wine, and I answered my cell in my room just a short distance away.”

  Even though Sammy had been staying in Cadbury for a while, he was still living at the Butterfly Inn. The B and B had given him a large room on the
main floor, which must have been a library or study in the days when the imposing Victorian was a personal residence.

  “I had to arrange to meet them somewhere just so I could sneak out of the place and tell the owners not to tell them that I was living there.” Sammy put his head down in worry. “You see the problem. I can’t go home while they’re here.”

  This was all getting a little intense, and I’d had a long night. I offered to make us some cocoa. I used the instant packet kind but added milk instead of water.

  “Thanks,” he said when I handed him a steaming mug. “By the way, my folks really liked your place.”

  “They did not,” I said. I knew them better than he thought. “How much did you let them look around?” I thought of my bedroom and the unmade bed. Then I considered the absurdity of being upset if his mother thought I was a bad housekeeper.

  “Okay, maybe what they said was it would be nice as a getaway place for a weekend. And don’t worry, I kept them away from the bedroom.”

  There was an and coming, and I knew what it was. “Let’s just cut to the chase. You want to know if you can stay here while your parents are in town, right?”

  His whole demeanor brightened, and he reached over and hugged me. “Case, like I always say, you’re the only one who gets me. See, you know what I want before I even ask.”

  “But it will have to be in the guest house,” I said.

  “Fine, great, no problem,” he said, seeming seriously relieved. “They won’t stay long. Probably just a day or so. They can’t stay the whole week.” He seemed suddenly worried again.