It would have almost been comical if it weren’t so heartbreaking. Faith knew he was only acting that way because he wanted everything to be perfect for Robbie’s memory. He looked up to Robert Senior like a father figure, too, and that was making him put additional pressure on himself.
“I’ll drive,” Faith said firmly when they reached the van. She knew Nathan was in no fit state to drive, and had visions of him running red lights and getting snapped by ten speed cameras on the short drive to Paradise Point.
Nathan couldn’t keep still as they drove, his legs bouncing up and down, and his attention everywhere.
“Babe,” Faith said, placing her hand on his knee. “I know this isn’t easy.”
“It’s fine, it’s fine,” he said quickly.
“Nathan, you’re doing too much. You’re fixing things that don’t need to be fixed. You’re fixating on this all being perfect, when it’s already good enough. More than good enough.”
“Robbie has to be remembered properly.”
“Yes. And he is. But what do you think he’d say if he were here right now, seeing you like this?”
That flipped a switch. Nathan’s legs stopped bouncing, and he actually laughed. “He’d say I was acting crazy.”
Faith laughed along. “Right?”
“He’d tell me I needed a chill pill, pronto.”
“Exactly. Now I hate to say this, but that thing about the kitchen equipment was completely untrue. I just said that to get you out of there.”
Nathan laughed. “I thought it didn’t sound like you.”
“I’m taking you for a walk on the beach, and that’s that.” There was a lovely long stretch of beach at the edge of Paradise Point, and they’d often had romantic walks there.
“You make me sound like a dog.” Nathan grinned.
“You’re acting like an excitable little dog, chasing its tail and acting hyper.”
Nathan shrugged and slumped down in his seat, with a self conscious smile. “Well, what can I say? Woof.”
*****
By the time they returned, the parking lot had a great many more vehicles. But the one that worried both Nathan and Faith was the news van, a white vehicle with ‘Florida Local’ emblazoned on the side. Camera crew were setting up their equipment.
“What the…” Faith said, as they drove in.
“Please say nothing else has happened, please say nothing else has happened,” Nathan chanted over and over. He jumped out of the van before Faith had even pulled it up, and ran over to the crew.
“What’s going on?” Faith heard him ask. She hurried to park the van, then rushed after him.
“We’re here to cover the political visit,” the camerawoman said carelessly.
“Huh?” Nathan’s brow creased, and he and Faith frowned at each other. “Camera crew? Political visit?”
“I thought it was just a personal visit,” said Faith, as they crunched their way over the gravel toward the entrance. Then it clicked into place. “Oh, no. I bet Andrew Martinez is making this into some kind of photo op. That’s disgusting. That really is.”
“A photo op?” Nathan’s face was turning red. “For political mileage for his campaign? He’d better not be.” He got the look of a bull, ready to go on a path of destruction.
They hurried inside the entrance to find Robert Lewis Senior and Andrew Martinez standing together, deep in conversation.
Both Faith and Nathan’s anger cooled a little.
“Nathan, Faith,” Robert Lewis Senior said, with a warm smile.
“You’ll have to excuse the cameras,” Andrew Martinez said. He made a sheepish smile. “I didn’t even tell Rob about them. But I thought the tribute to Robert Jr. deserved to be televised across the state. Not live, you understand. But they’ll film the tour, then put it together in a piece for later broadcast.”
Faith was feeling unusually fiery. “You might understand how that could look bad? Given that the elections are coming up, people might not think much of your intentions. They might think you’re trying to use a death as mileage for good publicity for your campaign.”
Andrew Martinez stood for a moment, saying nothing. It was the first time Faith saw that slick, polished demeanor of his drop. She couldn’t tell what he was feeling as his face dropped for a split second. Was that guilt? Anger at being caught out? She wasn’t sure.
“The people of Florida know that Robert Lewis Senior is my good friend, and I’m sure they would not be as cynical and suspicious as people who are unfamiliar with the political landscape in the state,” he said, an obvious pointed remark, but in a smooth, diplomatic voice.
Faith thought he looked guilty. Guilty, guilty, guilty. She wasn’t about to let this one go.
“Some would say you have every reason to despise Robert Lewis Senior. He beat you in the elections, and his popularity ratings are much higher than yours.”
“Please, Faith,” Robert Lewis Senior said, closing his eyes. “This is supposed to be a day about my son. The cameras are here now. It’s fine. Let’s just start. Please.”
The pain in his voice caught Faith off guard, and all of a sudden she was the one who felt terribly guilty. “Oh gosh,” she said. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to—”
“It’s all right,” Robert Lewis Senior said. “Let’s just start.”
Nathan nodded. “Okay.”
“I’ll just alert the camera crew,” Andrew Martinez said.
Soon the camera crew arrived, and Faith felt so ashamed she tagged along behind them, out of the frame. As did Andrew Martinez, surprisingly. She couldn’t even look at him. She trudged along, feeling horrible being herself. How could she have been so insensitive? The thought that Andrew Martinez was staying out of the shot made her feel worse – either he’d planned that all along, and wasn’t trying to gain political mileage, or her words had made him feel he couldn’t be a part of it. She couldn’t even muster another suspicious thought toward him. All she could feel was shame.
“Faith!” a breathless voice said behind her.
Faith turned to see Krystle, the last person in the world she’d expected to see. Krystle had been the head of the Paradise Gazette, when Faith used to have a baking column. A tall woman with platinum hair shaved on one side, curly on the other, a penchant for floaty, feminine clothes, and a can-do-it attitude that saw nothing as impossible, she was an anomaly of a woman.
“Krystle!” Faith said, then surprised herself by bursting into tears.
“Hey, hey, hey,” said Krystle, pulling Faith into a mother’s hug. “What’s up? This whole thing is very upsetting, isn’t it? I couldn’t believe the news.”
Faith couldn’t find the words to explain her shame and guilt, so she nodded along. “It’s hard.”
“But as soon as I heard you all were using Robbie’s legacy to create something that brought people hope, I knew I had to come and cover the story. I’m the editor at the county newspaper now. Normally I don’t cover stories myself, but this one pulled at my heart. Plus, I wanted to see you.” She gave Faith another hug. “Now, let’s see if we can put the tears to the side for a while and find a really inspirational story in here somewhere. I hear a group of disadvantaged kids are helping out, too?”
“Yes,” Faith said, feeling even weaker when she thought of the teens. Why couldn’t she be assertive and capable and firm but kind with them, like everyone else seemed able to be?
Krystle cupped one of Faith’s tear-stained cheeks. “Oh, chicken. I’m so sorry this is happening.”
“Me too,” Faith said. “Robbie was such a good guy.”
Krystle blew out a long stream of air. “I want to make an amazing feature in the paper for him. A real tribute.”
That made Faith feel stronger, and she managed to find a smile. “That would be the best. I’ll show you all the parts of the garden he loved, and tell you some stories about him, if you like?”
Krystle smiled. “That would be amazing, Faith.”
“And I’ll introdu
ce you to Capability. He’s the one who’s made the garden where Robbie worked real amazing. He said he wanted it to look like a crazy party. And it really does! I think you’ll love it, Krystle.”
Krystle patted her camera around her neck and grinned. “Ready to capture the craziness.”
*****
Chapter 10
“Where’s Andrew?” Robert Lewis Senior asked.
They had arrived at the door to Robbie’s Springs of Hope. Faith and Krystle had followed at some distance behind, chatting about Robbie, but Nathan and Robert Lewis Senior and the camera crew had stopped in front of the door.
“I didn’t even realize he was gone,” Nathan said.
Faith hadn’t realized either.
“Oh, he split off from the group a good 15 minutes ago,” Krystle said. Her journalistic attention to detail had obviously kept her alert.
“Perhaps he’s gone to search for the kids,” Robert Lewis Senior said. “He was very interested in that part – the disadvantaged kids.”
“So am I,” Krystle said. “I want to feature their voices in this news piece.”
Robert Lewis Senior sighed. “I was hoping Andrew would be here to see this part of the garden with me.”
Still feeling guilty, Faith offered, “Do you want me to go search for him?”
“No, it’s all right,” Robert Lewis Senior said. “The size of this place? We might be waiting all day. Let’s just go in. Andrew will have to see it later.”
Faith hoped Andrew Martinez wasn’t off crying somewhere because of her comments, then realized that was probably quite a ridiculous fear. He was likely just going to talk to JoJo or Alizee in the tearoom, or Shane and Allen, who were working with Janice. Her remarks had probably been long forgotten already, she thought hopefully.
Nathan opened the door for Robert Lewis Senior, and they stepped into Capability’s chaotic party. “Welcome to Robbie’s Springs of Hope,” Nathan said, his voice soft and reverent and genuine.
It really was spectacular. Faith had buzzed in and out of it with Nathan so many times that week, but it was always while they were putting the finishing touch on this, or fixing up that. She’d never been able to take a breath and just enjoy it for what it was.
“Oh my,” Robert Lewis Senior said. “Oh my.”
All the beauty of the previous landscaping was there – the abundance of trailing flowers overhead, smiling at them from every angle – but the new vibrant colors made it so alive. Faith had never seen a garden with so much energy and life and color. Shane and Allen had helped Capability weave the stems of the plants they’d bought up and around all the trellises and arches, intermingling them with the existing ones.
Faith felt a lump rise in her throat. It was as if Robbie was there in the flowers, somehow. His spirit was intermingled, just like the new bright blooms, with what had already been there, adding to the beauty of the place. It was if it all whispered: I’m still here, guys! Thought you could get rid of me that easily?
“This is just… incredible,” Robert Lewis Senior said. “Truly incredible.”
Krystle reached for Faith’s hand and gave it a squeeze. Her smile was bright, her eyes shining. “Great job, girl,” she whispered.
Faith was about to modestly say she had very little to do with it.
“Do you want to walk through and take a look at the bathing area?” Nathan asked.
“Yes.” Robert Lewis Senior was still looking around, marveling at every blooming corner of the place. “Robbie had been telling me all about them. How they were fed from a natural water spring, and the water felt smooth on your skin like satin. I didn’t bring anything to bathe in, but I will come back and do so another time. Let’s go and see.”
Nathan led the way up the path, and Robert Lewis Senior followed along. The cameraman was turning this way and that, getting shots of the garden from every angle. Krystle was taking pictures herself, too. Faith walked along the path behind them all, feeling a little like she was in a dreamworld.
She wouldn’t have been able to put words to it, but everything felt so intense these days. All the good, all the bad. It seemed the grief and the tragedy and the joy and the healing and the excitement were all swept up in one huge wave that carried them all. There was no chance to stand firm on dry land – everything was constant movement. Riding waves that never let up.
Looking back to the days where the crumbliness of pastry was all she had to worry about, she didn’t know how to feel. On one hand, life back then seemed a little devoid of life and color – like she’d been living a pedestrian black-and-white little life. But she was also quite nostalgic for it. Even though there had been moments of boredom, there had also been relaxation. Things had been ticking along quite nicely. Now tides raged and feelings roared and reality was loud and bright and all too real somehow.
They soon reached the baths, where thankfully there was no graffiti. Everything looked so perfect. The Florida sun shone on the water and the breeze made it ripple. The palms around were tickled by the breeze, too, and rustled in the most comforting way.
“Ahh,” Robert Lewis Senior said. “Robbie would have loved this.”
“He did,” said Nathan, with a smile that looked like it came from the core of him. “He really did.”
“You’ve done a splendid job.” The senator stared at the baths, looking like he was going into a zone.
“We were thinking about adding a quote from Robbie, maybe,” Nathan said. “Painting it on a sign, or something like that. He was always coming out with phrases, we just can’t pick one.”
Robert Lewis Senior laughed. “One comes to mind immediately. Every time I was stressing about some policy decision or something, he’d always come up to me and say, in the most exasperated voice, Can’t we just enjoy life, for goodness’ sake?! It exasperated me, at the time. But he was right.”
Nathan grinned. “Perfect! That’s Robbie all right. I’ll paint that up on a sign. Let me show you where.”
Nathan took a little detour around the baths and led them to a cleared spot a little way from the stone storage house, where there were benches made of coconut trunks. Capability had left his deckchair – he’d always said his behind was far too big for a little coconut trunk to support, which was probably true. His deckchair was just like everything else he owned – flamboyant, colorful, and eye-catching. It was traditional in that it had stripes, but that was where the conventionality ended. The stripes were gold – a glittering, shimmering gold that caught in the sun, and bright teal. Needless to say, Faith adored it.
“Oh, Capability must be around somewhere,” Nathan said. “Anyway, it was just here I wanted to put it.” He gestured at a spot between two of the coconut benches. “I can just see it now. Can’t we just enjoy life, for goodness’ sake?!”
Everyone laughed, and it was a lovely moment.
But Krystle’s journalistic eyes spotted something no one else had seen. “What’s that?” she asked cheerfully, pointing to a flash of color some way back, nestled between palm fronds.
“Huh?” Nathan came over to Krystle, to see her viewpoint. Then he frowned, rocking his head back. “I don’t even know.”
Faith joined, but couldn’t work out what it was, either. All she could see was glimpses of bright red through the bush, but there was too much of a solid surface for it to be flowers.
Then a horrible thought dawned on her. “Oh…” She looked at Nathan in a panic.
He looked back at her in horror – it seemed they’d realized at the same time.
They both sprinted into the bush, pushing palm fronds and vines out of their way on their way to this mysterious red object. And, sure enough, they found what they dreaded. The body of Capability Moses. He had on a magnificent red suit.
Faith gasped. “What the…”
“No,” Nathan said, pushing his hands through his hear and tearing at it. “No, no, no!”
The camera man was following into the bush, but Robert Lewis Senior pushed him away.
“Switch that darn thing off right now!” he barked, then ran over to where Faith and Nathan stood over Capability Moses’ body.
“This is not happening,” Nathan kept saying over and over. “This is not happening.”
Krystle had slipped off her high heels and turned up next to them, barefoot and somber-faced.
“I don’t know what on Earth is going on,” Robert Lewis Senior said. “First my son. Now this man? Is this garden cursed?” He shook his head. “Sorry, Nathan. I didn’t mean that. I’ve been trying to work out who would have ever wanted to kill my boy. I had one or two ideas, but this? This blows them all out of the water. Who would want to kill both my son and this man? Is someone trying to sabotage your business, Nathan? Are there any competitors?”
Nathan just shook his head, unable to speak.
And there it was, Faith thought bitterly, another crashing wave for them to ride.
*****
Chapter 11
“Oh, my goodness,” Capability Moses said.
Everyone jumped back in shock.
Capability rubbed his head, and tried to sit up but flopped back down. “Where am I?”
“You’re alive!” Faith said.
Nathan grinned. “Thank goodness for that. What happened, Capability? Come on, let me help you up.”
Nathan and Robert Lewis Senior both offered him an arm.
“I think I’ll stay down here for a moment, if you don’t mind,” he said. “I’m dizzy and I think if I fell over I’d squash you all like a beached whale washing up on shore.” He laughed at his own joke, then winced, clutching the back of his head. “Ow.”
“Did you knock your head on something and fall?” Faith asked. She then looked up above them to see if a coconut had dropped on him, but there wasn’t a coconut tree around.
“I… I don’t know,” Capability said. “Where are we exactly?”
“In the little part behind the bathing area.” Nathan pointed to the stone house. “Look. And your deckchair’s over there.”
Pecan Flan Murder Plan Page 5
