“Sometimes things are just what they are,” I said. “The whole volcano churning inside him is probably just your imagination.” I dropped some yarn in a bag and added it to the small pile. “I really think he’s only after information. He saw me there. It’s a weird case, and he figured out that I’d probably hear stuff the cops wouldn’t. I wonder if Miami told the cops about her dealings with the neighbors.” I had stopped working on the kits. “The contents of the stink bomb could be a clue. It would seem that with all that seafood garbage came from a restaurant or a seafood market.”
“Or a grocery store,” Dinah said. “And then there’s the neighbor Miami talked to. It sounds like the neighbor was being friendly and Miami was being hostile. Finding out that Miami was turning the place into a short-term rental might have been too much.”
“Could be,” I said. “And I found out that woman from the bookstore, the one I call Ms. Mayonnaise, lives in one of the houses on the cul-de-sac. She made a point of telling me that she stepped in when she didn’t think things were right.” I stopped for a minute. “But I can’t see her with a drone.”
“You never know,” Dinah said with a shrug.
Both Dinah and I realized we had other things to take care of and decided to put the kit making on hold. She began putting the unused skeins of yarn back in the bin.
“I don’t really know much about how this short-term rental business works,” I said, pulling out my smartphone and doing a search. I read over some material and glanced up to report my findings to Dinah. “The neighbors would have to have been notified of Miami’s plan, but there isn’t anything they could do to legally stop her.”
“So, someone must have decided to do something illegal,” Dinah said. We packed up the rest of the stuff in the bin and put a lid on it.
* * *
I was glad to see that the driveway was empty when I came home. Finally, I had my house to myself, at least as far as humans were concerned. The dogs and cats formed a greeting committee by the kitchen door as I came across the backyard. It was nice to have someone so glad to see me.
It was still light, so I let the cats in the yard for some outdoor time. Cat Woman went right for the bushes and went into hunting mode. Mr. Kitty found a spot to lounge where the stone patio still held the warmth of the sun. Cosmo and Felix chased each other around the yard. One of them found a ball and dropped it at my feet. I threw it, and they went off, racing each other to get to it. Before they had a chance to come back with it, I went through the house and encouraged Blondie to join everyone outside. Princess was still sticking with her, but once she got outside, she wanted me to pick her up.
“So you’re a cuddler,” I said, putting her in my lap as I sat in one of the chairs around the umbrella-covered table. I was considering what to have for dinner when my cell rang.
“Sunshine,” Mason said in a cheery voice, “if I can’t see you, it’s nice to at least hear your voice.” He asked about my day, and I mentioned going to the Miami’s to pick up the yarn.
“There weren’t any cops there this time, were there?” he asked.
“No, everything was gone. The tent, Sloan, and even the smell.” I said.
“I’m sure the cops will hunt down whoever sent that drone, and that will be that. There’s no reason for you to get involved, right?”
I wondered if he had some sixth sense that Barry had approached me, but I brushed it off. It was just my guilty feeling that I was keeping something from him. I didn’t really want to talk about it, so after telling him that I had the luxury of the house to myself for a little while, I asked about his day.
It was as if I had pushed a “Go” button. He went on in an enthused voice about the progress they were making on the case. Then he stopped for a moment. “Any more thoughts about my proposal?”
“I’m thinking about it,” I said. “I just don’t know.”
“Why don’t you tell me your objections?”
“So you can overcome them?” I said in a light tone.
“Maybe. But seriously, talk to me. Tell me what’s on your mind.” He sounded open and caring.
I thought about what to say and simply went with the truth. “It’s a lot to deal with. Getting married and working with you. It means upending my life. What about my job, my friends, the Hookers?”
“Let’s take it apart,” he said. “You’re right about your job at the bookstore. Though maybe you could work part time. You could still see Dinah and spend time with the Hookers, just not as much.” He stopped for a moment. “You know how I feel about you, and I just want us to be a team, companions. You’d be giving up some things, but you’d be getting something in exchange. Maybe it would be easier if you saw what you’d be working on.” Princess snuggled closer and scratched at my hand until I began to pet her.
“I have an idea,” Mason said. “You must have some time off coming from the bookstore. Why not take a week and come with me. Try before you buy.”
I laughed. “I know what you’re doing,” I said. “You’re betting that once I dip my toe in and see what it’s like, I’ll be hooked.”
“Am I that transparent?” he said. “But you’re right. I know you and how good you are at investigating. Working on these cases has given so much meaning to my life, and I want to share it with you.”
I figured he meant some vague time in the future for this trip, but then he said, “I’m going to have to come back next week. The same clients again. The DA has nothing, and I think this is his last-ditch effort, but they want me there anyway. I was thinking that when I come back here, you could come with me. There’s a good chance you’d be there for the hearing. I’m pretty sure what the outcome is going to be. When you see my client’s face as the judge tells him he’s free to go, and then see his family’s joy, you’ll understand. There’d be no strings, but there’d always be the option we could seal the deal with a stop in Vegas on the way back and have a silly wedding with an Elvis impersonator.”
“You’re certainly persistent,” I said with a laugh.
“I guess I am. So what do you say, are you up for the adventure?” he asked.
“I hate to say this again,” I said, “but I’ll have to see. I’d have to get the time off, and it’s kind of last minute. I have the event at the bookstore. And the animals. And …” I couldn’t very well say and what I’m working on with Barry, so I just left it hanging.
“I get it,” he said. “But if you decide you want to do it, I can help with the arrangements with pets and so forth. The whole point is that we’d be in it together.”
He was good. How could I turn down his trial offer? More importantly, I didn’t want to.
The animals were all hungry, so they came in quickly when I called them. Even Cat Woman gave up her hunt, for some canned cat food.
It was so nice not to have Peter and Gabby in the kitchen that I went through a repertoire of things to make for dinner. In the end, I made some marinara sauce from scratch and put on a pot of water for the spaghetti.
The kitchen smelled wonderful, and as I poured the sauce over the noodles, my stomach gurgled with anticipation. I was considering where to eat when my cell rang again.
I assumed it was Mason, wanting to add something to his pitch, but it was Barry.
“Just checking. Do you have anything?” he asked.
“Maybe a little,” I said. I was about to continue when he cut me off.
“Only in person,” he cautioned. Dinah thought this was his way of getting to see me, but I figured it was because he absolutely wanted to keep it off the record. “Can we do it tonight?”
I looked at the spaghetti and thought about my ravenous hunger. Then there was the potential of Peter and Gabby returning at any time. The last thing I wanted was for Peter to see me with Barry. I couldn’t explain what I was doing. So, it would have to look as if it was a social visit. Peter didn’t like Barry, and he’d been pushing for Mason all along. I could hear the lecture from my son now, telling me I was going to b
low it with Mason.
“When were you thinking?” I said.
“Now. I’m in front of your house.”
I went to the front window and saw his Tahoe parked out front. “Could you move your SUV down the street?” I asked, thinking Peter might recognize it. It was silly—after all, I was an adult in my own house. Still, it was better to just avoid trouble. I was at the front door when Barry walked up, and I let him in before he rang the bell, avoiding a rush of Cosmo and Felix to the door.
Barry was dressed in his work clothes, but his tie was pulled loose, and there was a shadow of a beard on his chin. He tried to hide it, but I noticed him sniffing the air, though he was working hard to keep up his business demeanor.
“We can’t talk in here,” I said. “I don’t know when my housemates will return.”
Barry nodded with recognition. “Right. It wouldn’t be good if Peter saw me here.”
He sniffed the air again.
“Have you eaten?” I asked.
“Don’t worry about it. This isn’t a social call,” he said.
“But I owe you for the Chinese food,” I said.
He seemed to consider it for a moment and then relented. “I guess if it was okay to eat that time …” He blew his breath out and acknowledged his hunger pangs.
“Go on into my room,” I said. “I’m sure you know the way.” I meant it as a joke, but he nodded without the hint of a smile. He was going full force with the official business attitude. He nodded when I asked him to grab two individual folding tables.
I came in a few minutes later with a covered dish of the spaghetti and a couple of plastic plates. I had the cheese grater in the pocket of my shirt. A parade of two dogs and two cats followed me. Blondie and Princess were already in the chair.
He had set up the small tables. I put the food down and we resumed our seating arrangement from the last time.
Felix and Cosmo huddled at Barry’s feet. “I forgot to give them a treat,” he said. “I missed last time too.” He dropped the cop demeanor long enough to bend down and give each of their heads a rub.
“I came prepared,” I said, taking some dog treats out of the pocket of my khakis. Cosmo was technically Barry’s dog. He and his son had adopted the mop-like black dog when we were a couple. It quickly became apparent that the dog was better off living at my place since I had a big yard and other animals, and was used to caring for them. When we broke up, Cosmo stayed. Barry’s teenage son Jeffrey had come to visit the dog, and Barry had stopped by to drop off food for him. But then the visits had gotten farther apart until they were mostly nonexistent. Cosmo had continued to play the part, though. Whenever he saw Barry or Jeffrey, he acted like he belonged to them. Until they left. Then he was all mine.
I heard a car pull in. Two of the windows in my room looked out onto the driveway, and I rushed to close the shutters.
“Role reversal,” he said with a chuckle. “Now you have to hide who’s in your bedroom.”
Barry’s expression had relaxed finally.
“It’s so much easier with Samuel,” I said, referring to my younger son. “He just plays ignorant. Peter would give me a lecture.”
“Peter’s still pushing for Mason, huh?” Barry said.
I nodded and thought about my earlier phone call. I wondered if I should say something to Barry, but decided not to for now. It was really of no concern to him except that if I left, I might not be able to finish the case with him.
“Bon appetit,” I said, grinding some fresh parmesan on the mound of spaghetti I’d put before him.
Barry always seemed to go from zero to sixty in no time at all. He’d show no signs of hunger and then practically inhale food.
“This is so good,” he said as he twirled more pasta on his fork.
“There’s plenty,” I said. “So eat hardy.”
I had to agree with Barry. It was delicious. It always amazed me how something so simple could be so satisfying.
Once the edge was off his hunger, Barry asked for the goods. “So, tell me what you found out,” he said.
“I guess we should start with Miami,” I said. “Why don’t you tell me what you know?”
Barry shook his head with a knowing smile. “Remember I asked you to tell me what you found out.”
“I just thought it would save time if you told me what you already knew,” I said defensively.
“I’m not in a hurry,” he said. He leaned back in the loveseat to prove his point.
“Okay, then, here goes,” I said with a shrug. “Do you know what her real name is?”
Barry rolled his eyes at me. “I thought you were just going to give me the information.”
“I thought this way would make it more interesting. More like a conversation than an interrogation.”
“And more difficult. If you’re so worried about time, why don’t you just get to the point?”
“Have it your way, but I hope it doesn’t put you to sleep after that plate of pasta.”
“I’ll take my chances.” He gestured with his hand for me to get going.
“Her real name is Bertha,” I began. “And she’s something of an actor, but she wants to be a personality.” I stopped and thought about it for a moment. “I don’t think it’s a very good plan. Sloan gave her some idea about becoming a contestant on game shows so she could demonstrate her winning ways.”
I heard Barry blow out his breath in frustration. “Just the facts, please. I’m not concerned about Miami’s future career aspirations.”
“Sloan, or maybe she’s better known as ‘the victim’ to you, told her how she could make the house pay its own mortgage and then some by setting up most of the bedrooms and the guesthouse as short-term rentals.” I looked at Barry while I was talking, trying to read his reaction. but the best way to describe his expression was noncommittal.
I stopped and eyed his face again. “Dinah thinks you have this whole undercurrent of emotions that you keep zipped up.”
He seemed startled by my comment, which made sense since it had come in the middle of talking about Miami. But he barely missed a beat before he answered.
“Tell Dinah that she’s wrong. Yes, I am able to push off hunger and tiredness. It’s a necessity of the job. And, well, when I have to tell someone that one of their loved ones has died, I try not to think too much about what I’m saying.”
“Were you the one who had to break the news about Sloan?” I thought about her sister Donna.
He nodded. “It never gets any easier.” His brows suddenly furrowed. “Did you tell Dinah about this?” he said, gesturing back and forth between them with his finger.
I suddenly regretted what I’d said. “I’m sorry. I didn’t think you meant her, and besides she would have figured it out.”
He nodded his head and rolled his eyes. “Since when does ‘don’t tell anyone’ mean there are exceptions?” He looked at me with his best serious detective expression. “We got off topic. We should go back to where we were.”
“And that was?” I asked. It wasn’t me answering him with a question. I really had lost my train of thought. Had I really brought up what Dinah had said? Obviously I knew firsthand there was another side to him, but even then he’d always been reserved, like he was holding something back.
“You were telling me what you found out.”
“Right,” I said. “It’s pretty clear from posters on the street signs and the vandalism on the Holiday House sign that the neighbors aren’t pleased with Miami’s plan.” I had a hard time not laughing when I thought of the abbreviated name on the sign, but I managed to keep a straight face. “She had sort of a run-in with one of the neighbors when she first moved into the house. “It seems like they were friendly to her, but she wasn’t very nice back, and that was before she had the plan to turn the place into a revolving-door rooming house.”
Barry sat forward. “Which neighbor?”
“I don’t know. Just that it was a woman. Miami didn’t mention the name, a
nd I couldn’t exactly start grilling her.”
“It would be helpful to know who it was,” he said. “It sounds like this woman had an extra motive.” He looked at me intently. “Anything else?” he asked.
“Just that Miami thinks the neighbors will stop the attacks. Whoever sent the drone won’t want to do anything that might get them caught, since what was meant to be a nuisance caused a death. And no one else will want to do anything because if they got caught they would be implicated in the drone attack.”
All Barry said was “Hmm.”
“Well?” I said.
“Thank you,” he said.
“That’s all you’re going to say? Was it helpful?”
“Here we go again.” He put his napkin on his plate. “Remember, I said from the start I just wanted to hear what you picked up. There was never supposed to be a give-and-take of information. It’s not up to you to find out who sent the drone in.”
“That’s not fair. Just for my own curiosity you should tell me what you know.”
“I know what you’re up to. This is all so you and Dinah can play your Sherlock Holmes game and get into trouble.”
My mouth fell open in surprise.
“Yes, I know about the little deducing game you two play.”
“Who told?” I asked, my eyes flashing.
“Commander Blaine,” Barry said with a smile. “When I’ve had to ship something from his Mail It Quick place, we always talk. Turns out he’s not so happy with Dinah’s detective adventures either.”
Now I was angry. I’d been successful a number of times at nabbing bad guys with Dinah’s help. I didn’t like the idea that Barry was making it out to be a game. And then I slipped.
“So you think what I do is a game?” I said. I didn’t mean to, but I had my hand on my hip and my lips were probably pursed. “I’ll have you know that Mason wants me to go with him as soon as I can get the time off, to help him on the case he’s working on.” I pushed a stray strand of spaghetti across my plate. “He’s doing pro bono work for the Second Chance Project now. The plan is that I’d work with him on cases in the future.”
One for the Hooks Page 10
