Secrets, p.9
Secrets, page 9
“Especially the puberty part!” Ellie joshed.
“You bet. That’s the worst of it!” Everyone broke out into cackles and guffaws.
“What’s all the hilarity?” Cullen came bounding in.
“Teenage talk.” Gaines dragged another chair over to the small table. Normally, they were arranged to accommodate two or three people, but that morning five were huddled in the corner.
“Christopher was telling us about his son and his many activities,” Chi-Chi replied.
“A teenager? I can only imagine!” Cullen pulled the chair so he could be closer to Chi-Chi.
“You have some very strange customs,” Chi-Chi said matter-of-factly.
“But you’ve been here for years!” Luna exclaimed.
“That does not mean I understand any of it.” Chi-Chi smiled. “We had a very strict upbringing. There was a lot of love, but also a lot of discipline.”
“Sometimes I wonder who is in charge nowadays,” Ellie mused. “I see some of the kids who come in here and I want to smack the parents! They let them run wild.”
“You should direct them outside,” Cullen chimed in.
“I wish I could, but it’s starting to become a problem. Some of the mothers think this is a babysitting service while they guzzle wine and eat their gourmet salads.”
“I noticed that, too,” Luna added. “They buy a bottle of wine at the Wine Cellar and salads at the Blonde Shallot, sit at a table on the patio, and set their screaming kids loose.”
Ellie had a bit of a troubled look on her face.
“Maybe you should hire a security guard for the atrium,” Gaines suggested.
“But we have excellent security surveillance.”
“There is nothing like a man with a badge to terrify rambunctious children.” Gaines winked at Ellie. “He doesn’t have to carry a gun. Just a shiny badge and a uniform. He simply needs to look intimidating.”
“That is a brilliant idea.” Ellie perked up. “I know just the person for the job. He used to help manage the farm. He’s retired but still spry. He wanted to retire while he still had some good years in his bones, is what he said. He also said if I ever needed any help to call him.”
“That’s great, Ellie. How old a man is he?” Luna asked.
“Around sixty. He was in very good shape when I last saw him. Just under a year ago. At the grand opening. So, unless he’s gone all flabby in the past twelve months, he might fit the bill.” Ellie leaned back in her chair.
“I think the meeting of the round table has been productive.” Cullen took the last sip of his coffee. “I need to get to work.”
“And you, sir,” Luna pointed to Gaines, “have to review our puzzle before you leave.”
Cullen got up and brushed against Chi-Chi accidentally. He was mortified. “I am so terribly sorry.” Cullen spewed an apology.
Chi-Chi was happy her honey-toned skin didn’t reveal the blush in her cheeks. “It is not a problem.”
Luna piled the dishes, cups, and the basket onto the tray and placed it on the counter. Ellie said her goodbyes and thanked Gaines for his superb suggestion.
“If it doesn’t work out, let me know. I might have a few contacts of retired law enforcement in the area.”
“Thanks again.” Ellie gave him a hug.
“I must get to my shop,” Chi-Chi said to the group. “Enjoy the rest of the morning. Have a safe trip home.” She waved to Gaines as she turned to leave.
Luna could barely contain her excitement. She, Cullen, and Gaines were on another “assignment” together. She put the sign on her door that said:
PLEASE GO NEXT DOOR FOR SERVICE
Even though the sensor would trigger a bell in Cullen’s workshop, a sign was helpful.
“Let’s do this,” Luna said playfully, as she bounced toward the rear of Cullen’s showroom and into the workshop. She was as excited as a child would be going to an amusement park.
Gaines paused for a moment to enjoy her boundless enthusiasm. She was part nymph and part woman. Luna stopped in her tracks and turned to him. “Everything all right?” She cocked her head.
Gaines’s smile was from ear to ear. “Everything is just fine.”
“What’s so funny?” she asked.
“Your excitement to solve a puzzle,” Gaines replied.
“Well, isn’t that what you do at your job? Solve puzzles? You just call them cases.” She smirked at him.
Gaines nodded as he continued to smile. “I guess you are absolutely correct. I never thought of it that way.”
“Stick with me, Marshal. I’ll have you thinking things you never thought before.” She raised her eyebrows with a devilish smile.
If she only knew, he thought.
If he only knew, she thought, as they caught each other’s eye. She felt her face get a bit flushed.
“Is it getting hot in here?” Cullen opened the rear door. He wasn’t being facetious, but he was right on the money.
Gaines tried to keep his cool. No pun intended. Luna started fanning her face with her hand and began her speaking with a Southern drawl again. “Ah do declare, I have the vapors!”
Cullen turned back in their direction when the double entendre occurred to him. Well, good. It’s about time these two got down to business. Cullen was well aware of the fondness between his sister and the good marshal. He also knew Gaines was sweet on Luna. The night before, after the fly-fishing show-and-tell, the two shared a beer before they turned in. Gaines tried to be subtle, but the more questions he asked Cullen about Luna’s social life, the more Cullen realized Gaines had real feelings for his sister. During their conversation, Gaines asked Cullen about his social life as well. Girlfriend? Clubs? Activities?
Cullen explained he had been through a few relationships and made a conscious choice to focus on himself and his work, and when the right person came along, he would be happy to pursue it. He explained he thought there was too much pressure to be “paired up with someone.” He wasn’t far from wrong. Dinner invitations at people’s homes seemed limited to couples. He also made a point to tell Gaines that Luna was usually his plus one, including the fact she didn’t have a boyfriend. He was subtle about it, but he knew that Gaines wanted that particular piece of information and was happy to oblige. When Gaines and Luna spoke on the phone, neither one ever brought up the subject of dating anyone so neither of them knew about the other’s social life.
Cullen gestured toward the trunk. “And there it is.”
The three of them gathered around the smoky wood. “There was no return address?” Gaines said rhetorically. He already knew the answer. “Let’s have a look at the letter.”
The three walked to the large worktable where the contents were laid out. Cullen handed Gaines the letter.
“Curiouser and curiouser,” Luna chirped. “Check this out.” She pulled on a plastic glove and gently lifted the diary from the table. “Cullen is going to pick the lock.” Luna handed it to Gaines, folded her arms, and started tapping her foot.
“OK. OK. I’ll do it this afternoon. I know it looks simple, but I don’t want to break it or ruin the flap. This is sensitive work, my dear.”
“You’d think he was performing surgery,” Luna joked.
“It’s my kind of surgery.” Cullen made a face.
“What-ev.” Luna rolled her eyes. “Here, take a look at this.” She opened the wooden box. “It has some flyers, ticket stubs, and coins that look like they came from a carnival or something.”
Gaines peered into the box and moved a few of the memorabilia around with his pen. “I don’t suppose you used gloves when you opened the letter?”
Cullen’s face dropped. “It hadn’t occurred to me because I didn’t know it was going to be anonymous.”
“Good point,” Gaines replied.
“Do you think you can lift some prints off any of this?” Luna pointed to the contents.
“I could,” Gaines said. “But why? Do you want me to run them through AIFIS?” He was half joking, referring to the fingerprint data system.
“Could you?” Luna’s eyes widened.
“Not unless we believe a crime has been committed,” Gaines informed her.
“But what if there was but we don’t know it yet?” Luna asked, hoping he would oblige.
“I’ll tell you what. You put the pieces of this puzzle together, and we’ll review it.”
“Are you pulling my leg?” Luna asked.
“I wouldn’t dream of it. I’m serious. I know how your mind works and the rest of that woo-woo stuff.” He made a circular gesture in front of her.
“Deal?” Luna put out her hand for him to shake.
“Deal.” Gaines shook her hand. “Maybe you’ll have some info when you come out to Charlotte.”
Luna thought carefully. “We’ll have a lot of ground to cover between this and your renovation. Besides, I don’t know how much info I’ll have by then.”
“Well, we’ll just save your project until after you’re done with mine. How’s that?” Gaines asked.
“Sounds like a very good plan.” Luna was elated. They now had two projects to work on together. Any excuse to spend time with him. And Gaines felt the same way about her.
Gaines looked at his watch. “I’ve got to hit the road.” He turned to Cullen. “Thanks again, man, for putting me up at your place last night.”
“Any time,” Cullen replied, but Luna had her own ideas about future sleepovers. She was going to have one at Gaines’s house in a couple of weeks. She got all goofy thinking about it.
Chapter Eight
The next day
Tori got up before her husband and made him two of his favorite sandwiches, being mindful to go easy on the mayo. Heaven forbid he make a mess in front of his coworkers, or even worse, in the squad car. She put on a pot of coffee, took a quick shower, and got ready for work.
He came ambling out of the bedroom looking like his hair had gotten caught in an eggbeater. She smiled. It reminded her of when they were younger, would make love in the morning, and she would ruffle his hair. She missed those days of feeling free and having a future ahead. It hadn’t turned out exactly as she had hoped. Not even close. Once Brendon had been born, everything changed. She was more or less tied to the house except when she was working, and her husband kept to his routine and his social life. She didn’t think it was reasonable that he could hang out with his friends and she was stuck at home. Not that she had many friends, but there didn’t seem to be a fair division of child-rearing, diaper changing, laundry, shopping, cooking, and cleaning. It was as if she was stuck in the 1950s. But even June Cleaver had the garden club.
She thought about being pregnant and having a baby at thirty-eight. It wouldn’t be easy. By the time the kid was twelve, she would be fifty, and most likely, she would be the oldest member of the PTA. She reminded herself that many women were having children later in life, so maybe, just maybe, she wouldn’t feel like an old lady. But that was years ahead.
Her thoughts ran back to when she was younger and imagining things were “years ahead.” But years fly by, and before you know it, you’re stretching your arms in order to read the instructions on a bottle of aspirin. She wasn’t quite there yet, but she had a few acquaintances slightly older than she was who were carrying around “cheaters.” She did a little research and discovered it usually starts to happen around age forty. She sighed. Great. I’ll be squinting to read the labels on the jars of baby food. If only she had family to help out. Someone to talk to. The law firm was a comfortable environment, but as of now, she wasn’t sure if she could discuss her deepest personal matters. She also knew that her pregnancy would become obvious. Her reverie was interrupted by her husband scraping the chair along the floor. “You’re up early.”
“I made you lunch.” She handed him the brown bag that contained two sandwiches, a bottle of water, an apple, and two oatmeal cookies.
He peeked inside. “Wow. Thanks for lunch, Mommy.”
She caught her breath. How could he know? She quickly regrouped and chuckled. “I’m sure your mommy never made lunch for you.”
“You got that right. I think she made me a cheese sandwich once. Probably something left over from the roadhouse where she worked.”
“Well, you enjoy your lunch, sonny,” she teased him.
“You’re in a good mood this morning. You were in a good mood last night, too. What gives?” he asked casually.
“Maybe it’s a residual reaction to that bath.” She poured coffee for both of them, pulled out a chair, and sat at the table. “What’s your shift this week?”
“Probably the usual, but I may swap with Dexter on Wednesday. He wants to take his kid to a ball game.”
“What time does he work?”
“Four to midnight.”
“That’s not too bad if you can get enough sleep when you get home.”
“I might take off Thursday to go fishing with Jack.”
Tori’s mind raced. She wanted to plan a day to get to the art center where that psychic woman was supposed to work. This was throwing a monkey wrench into it.
She held her breath for a moment, hoping her next sentence wouldn’t start an argument. “I was thinking about taking Wednesday off.”
“What for?” He slurped his coffee.
“I heard there is an interesting art center near Asheville.”
“Since when are you interested in art?” He looked up from his mug.
“It’s not just art. There are other people who do pottery, glassblowing. Stuff like that.” She sighed. “I’m thinking about getting a hobby now that Brendon is gone.”
“Well, you go do that artsy thing on your own. Count me out.” He guzzled the rest of his coffee, pushed his chair back, and headed toward the bathroom.
Tori was relieved that it was an easy conversation. It hadn’t occurred to her that he wouldn’t be interested in the artsy part of it. Of course, she purposely left out the psychic part. The more she thought about it, it was a good idea to find a hobby. Wednesday was shaping up nicely. With him having a later shift, she wouldn’t have to worry about getting home in time to make dinner. She’d make him a snack before she left for Stillwell. Now she just needed to clear it with Mr. Layton.
Tori put the cups in the dishwasher and tossed out the coffee grounds. She usually had toast for breakfast, but she was feeling a little queasy that morning. Nerves? Baby? Both probably. She decided to grab a roll and butter on her way into the office. Too bad she had stuffed her face with all that rugelach the night before. She should have saved one piece for the morning. She called out, “I’m heading out. See you tonight.” He grumbled something in return. She grabbed her purse, jacket, and keys and moved swiftly out the door. She wasn’t sure if she was going to be sick, and she didn’t want to answer any questions if she barfed in front of him.
As soon as she got in her car her stomach calmed down. She pulled down the visor and took a peek at herself in the mirror. At least she didn’t look pale, or on the verge of turning green.
Tori drove the fifteen minutes it took to get to the local coffee shop. She’d get a donut for Mr. Layton while she was there. While she was waiting for her order to come, she saw a woman behind the counter give her a strange look. Tori thought she looked familiar but couldn’t place her. She’d paid for her bag of carbohydrates and started toward the door when she heard her name being called. She stopped and turned. It was the same woman who had been looking at her a few minutes earlier. “Yes? Do I know you?”
“I know you.” The gray-haired woman gestured for Tori to come closer to the counter.
“What can I do for you?” Tori was puzzled.
The woman leaned closer. “It’s more like what I can do for you,” she said with an odd expression.
“I don’t understand.”
“Yeah, but you will. Stop by Ringo’s on Thursday night.”
“What is this about?” Tori was baffled.
“Honey, I seen you come in here a lot. You’re married to that cop, right?”
“Well, yes, but . . .”
“Ringo’s. Thursday. Around nine.”
“But . . .” Tori stammered, but the woman turned away and moved toward the back, into the kitchen.
Tori got into her car. She was mystified. Why on earth would a stranger approach her and tell her to be at Ringo’s on Thursday? Sure, that was her husband’s usual night out with the guys. It was a bar and pool hall. She had been there less than a half dozen times. It wasn’t the kind of place you’d take the family for dinner, nor was it a place for any respectable woman to be hanging around.
She shrugged and drove the last five minutes of her commute to the office. When she arrived, she noticed that Mr. Layton was already at his desk. She stuck her head inside his door. “Good morning!” She jiggled the bag.
“Oh dear, you didn’t.” He groaned.
“Oh, but I did.” Tori smiled. “Got a minute?”
“Of course. Especially after you brought me a donut.” Mr. Layton motioned for her to take a seat. “You know my doctor would give you an ear thrashing if he knew.”
“And give you a bigger one knowing you ate it!” Tori joked. It struck her that she felt more comfortable in her work environment than she did in her own home. Maybe because it no longer felt like a home without her son around. It was just a house with furniture that she shared with someone.
“Mr. Layton, would you mind if I took the day off on Wednesday? I have some important errands I have to run.”
“That’s fine. It’s my week to frustrate myself on the golf course.” He bit into the sugary dough.
“Thank you. I appreciate it.” Tori smiled.
“Everything OK?” he asked.
“Yep. Everything is fine.” She was about to get up from her chair when she decided to share her situation with her boss. She knew it was rather soon, but it was going to happen eventually. The idea she hadn’t shared it with her husband yet was odd, but in order for her to make a sound plan for herself, it was imperative for her to inform her boss. “Mr. Layton. There is something I need to tell you.”
