CHAPTER FIVE

I pulled into the drive at the Bed and Breakfast just as twilight was falling.  It was already getting dark so early it was depressing.  I hoped Margot had kept something warm for dinner for me.  Getting out of my car I pulled out my tote and kicked the door shut with my foot.  One of the barn cats ran over to me for rubs and scratches, a nightly ritual. 

          “Sorry, sweetie, I’m overloaded.  I’ll come out and bring you a treat after dinner.”  I told the lithe little black cat.  She chirped an answer and skittered away.  Well, I guess she put me in my place.

I went through the front door, just in case there were any guests congregating in the kitchen as they sometimes do.  I slipped past the front parlor and into my room which was the first door on the right.  Brownie-Blue-Eyes was curled on my pillow, his great blue eyes watching me accusatorily. 

          “Yeah, I know, I’m late.  I left some kibble in your bowl so stop looking at me like that.”

He rose and stretched, then strutted across the bed to me.  He then plopped himself down and started grooming himself, making a conscious effort to ignore me.

          “Fine, be that way.  You know, if I knew you were out all day trying to make enough money to keep me in catnip and kibble I’d be a little more understanding; but hey, that’s just me.”  I told him as I playfully covered him with my sweatshirt.  He just sat with it on his head, stoically waiting for me to pull it off of him.

Ignoring him I went into the bathroom and set down my tote.  I ran the shower and undressed as I waited for the water to get warm.  I heard a disgruntled, “meowrph” from the other room and a thump as Brownie jumped down from the  bed to come and throw guilty glances at me in the bathroom.  I got a fresh towel from the shelf and slung it over the top of the shower door, then I tentatively stuck a foot into the water.  It was perfect, so I slid in and shut the door behind me.  I could see Brownie sitting right outside of the shower waiting for me.

The hot water felt wonderful after the chill I got from sitting in the churchyard, and I let the heat soak out all of the tensions of the day.  I also began to formulate a plan for tomorrow’s trip to Rosario Resort.  I didn’t think it wise to tell Margot; she would just advise against it and then want to tag along.  And since I wasn’t one hundred percent sure if I’d even find Jamie’s boat I thought I’d wait to call Officer Mathews from the marina if the boat was indeed there.

That reminded me that I needed to call him with the phone number of Jamie’s buddy.  I reluctantly rinsed the soap out of my hair and slathered in some crème rinse, untangling my hair as I rinsed that out as well.

Once I was soap-free, I turned the water off and grabbed my towel.  I stayed in the shower stall to keep warm as I began to dry off.  Wrapping the towel around me I opened the door and peeked out.  Brownie had jumped onto the counter by the sink; he was not going to be ignored.

I got out and turned on the overhead heat lamp, then went to the counter and pulled my comb and blow dryer out of the top drawer.  Brownie continued to watch me patiently.  I scratched behind both his ears and under his chin. He began to purr.  I bent down and nuzzled my nose in the fur or his head and I felt him push his head up toward me.  He really was a great cat and I didn’t know what I’d do without him.

I gently placed him onto the floor, since I knew he hated the blow dryer.  Satisfied, he sauntered out towards the bed.  I turned on the dryer and began working through my long snarled hair.

Having showered and dressed I padded sock-footed to the kitchen where I could hear Margot talking with someone.  I pushed open the door and the wonderful aroma of the spinach quiche that I’d missed at lunch wafted through the air, seductively calling my name.

          “I see you’ve found your way home.  Good.  We thought of calling out the boy scouts to go find you, but were afraid they’d find you in some compromising position that wouldn’t be appropriate viewing for young impressionable minds.”  Margot said as she moved to take something out of the oven.  I realized it was indeed my left over quiche.

          “Margot I am so sorry, but I had an idea that I really needed to follow up on.”  I realized too late that she’d been talking with Terry Mathews; he sat at her cozy kitchen table with a dirty pie plate and a cup of coffee.  “Oh, Officer Mathews, I didn’t see you, I have that phone number for Jamie’s friend.  I’ll just zip back to my room and get it.”  I turned on my heel and made it almost to the door when his voice stopped me.

          “It can wait a few minutes, Callie.  Margot said you did a bit of a disappearing act today.”  His mild brown eyes gazed evenly at me.  I gave Margot the best glare I could give without being detected; she ignored it.

          “Oh, at lunch, yeah I had forgotten an errand I needed to run.”  I moved to the cabinets and got a plate and glass out for myself.  I could feel Terry watching me; he seemed to be waiting.  I helped myself to the quiche Margot had heated for me and poured a glass of tea before I went to sit at the table next to Drew.  I busied myself with digging into my quiche and making appropriate “yummy” noises.  I realized that the kitchen had gone quiet and everyone was watching me eat. I gulped down a big bite and looked up the faces around the table, “What?”  I asked nonchalantly as possible.

          “I didn’t know you had any errands to do, did you Drew?”  Margot stated.

          “No, I didn’t either.  Must have been something important that just popped up I guess.”  He said, eyeing me closely.  Officer Mathews was still just watching me.

          “Oh, okay.  I had a last minute coffee date.  I didn’t want to mention it because I know what those two are like.”  I motioned to Margot and Drew with my fork.

          “Do you mind if I ask who with?”  Terry asked.

          “Um, well . . . with Nick Scarpetti.  You know him, the EMT who was at the Carlyle’s the other night.”  I kept my eyes on Terry, not wanting to catch Margot’s gaze.  It did no good.

          “Ooh, you mean Mr. Biceps?  When did that happen?”  Her eyes gleamed with the possibility of gossip.

          “We met at the police station this morning, he just asked if I’d have coffee and I accepted before I remembered I was having lunch with you guys.  I’m sorry.”  I looked as contrite as possible.

Terry smiled and nodded.  “Nick’s a nice man, I’ve known his family for a long time.”

I smiled back and purposely ignored Margot’s questions.  I set my fork down and took a long drink of tea.  “I’ll just go and get those numbers you wanted, Terry.”  Before anyone could stop me I was out of my chair and through the door.  I wasn’t sure why I didn’t want to tell Terry about what I’d really been doing.  Partly it was because I felt silly since there was no boat to be found; and partly it was because I felt helpless enough not being able to help in solving Jamie’s death and I wanted to do something really tangible.  If he knew about the marina then he’d certainly get the same idea I did about Rosario, and I wanted to go there myself.

I reached my room and ducked quickly inside and grabbed my Carlyle file.  Brownie sat on my pillow and eyed me suspiciously.  “Who asked for your opinion?”  I asked him testily.  To his merit, Brownie didn’t so much as blink in response.  I went back down the hall to the kitchen.  I found Officer Terry standing with his coat already on.

          “Here you are.  You can keep it as long as you need it, I’ve made copies of the dogs’ information in case Rachel needs it.”  I handed him the file.  “Oh, and I remembered that in my e-mail archive I have several old messages from both Diane and Jamie, some with phone numbers.  I’ll make copies and send them to you, or would a hard copy be better?”

          “I think both would be good, but instead of sending the information you might want to just copy it onto a disk for me.”

          “Sure, I can do that tonight and drop it by your office tomorrow.”  I answered.

          “That would be just fine, Callie.  Thank you.  Oh, and say ‘hello’ to Mr. Scarpetti for me.”  He smiled an impish smile, making his eyes twinkle.  He gave Margot a quick hug and waved goodbye to Drew and myself, then let himself out.  I let out a sigh of relief and sat back down to finish my quiche.

It wasn’t long before I realized I was being stared at once again.  I set my fork down and took a deep breath.

          “What?”

Margot and Drew just sat and stared at me.  Finally, Drew got up to take his dishes to the sink.  “Coffee, huh?”

          “Yeah, it’s that black stuff that some of us crave.”  I watched him suspiciously.

Drew just stood at the sink with his back to me, washing up his dishes.  Margot sat gazing steadily at me.

          “WHAT?” I snapped at her, putting down the glass I was about to drink from.

          “Are you going to elaborate, or are you going make me force it out of you.”  She asked menacingly.

I snorted.   “As if.  Look, it was coffee and that’s all it was.”

She continued to look at me, her mouth set in a determined fashion.  She said one word, “Inquisition.”

I sputtered out some of the tea I’d gulped and grabbed at the tea towel laying on the table to try and dab at it before it stained my clothes and Margot’s linen tablecloth.  “No, not that.”  I told her.

          “No one expects the Inquisition,” Margot smiled wickedly at me.

          “Thanks, Monty.  I told you, it was no big deal.”

Margot sat looking at me, contemplating something.  She cocked her head to one side.  “Okay, where did you go?”

          “What do you mean?  I told you, we went for coffee.”

          “Yes, I got that part.  You didn’t say where you’d gone for this coffee.”

          “I don’t see what it matters . . .” I began.

Drew spun around from the sink.  “Aha!  You didn’t go for coffee!  If you’d gone you’d tell us exactly where and what type you had!”

I gaped at him, trying not to let my mouth hang open.  Damn.  Sometimes I think my friends way too much about me.  Margot stood with her arms folded in front of her, studying my face. 

          “Sit down, Callie.  Drew, the chocolate, it’s in the top cupboard.”  Margot came forward and took me by the shoulders, steering me back to the table.

          “Oh no, no you don’t.  I will not be bought off by chocolate, not this time.”  I tried to stand but she just pushed me back down into the chair.

I knew better than to try and struggle with her.  Margot dragged a chair over next to mine, draping one arm over my shoulders.  “Now then, let’s talk about this little coffee date of yours.”

Drew showed up at the table just then, bringing a beautifully wrapped untouched bar of Swiss milk chocolate.  He set it carefully in front of me, being sure to waft it near my nose before he set it down.  He drew up a chair on the other side of me.  I was done for and I knew it.

          “Okay, we all know how this works.  We ask you a question, and if you answer truthfully you get some chocolate.”

          “You guys need hobbies, you know that?  I mean it.  Seriously.  What kind of people are you to stoop to the level of torture.  It’s unbecoming.”  I could smell the chocolate as Margot began to unwrap it.

          “Be that as it may,” she said, “I’m going to ask a simple question.  Where did you go today when you left the restaurant?”

          “I went for coffee.”  I recited.

          “I don’t think so, do you Drew?”  Drew shook his head and bit off the tiniest bit of chocolate.  Swine.

          “Okay, I went to the cemetery.”  I figured I could tell some of the truth and that would work.

          “Now we’re getting somewhere.”  Margot broke off a small bit of chocolate and gave it to me.  “Why the cemetery?”

The chocolate was perfect, melted completely on my tongue.  “Because, after the events of yesterday I needed time to center and ground myself.”  Another truth, hurray for me!  Margot did indeed give me yet another small piece.

          Okay, I’m going to ask you another question.  Did you go directly to the cemetery?”

Aha, another truth I could tell!  “Nope.   I had a sit with George the Dane.”  Instead of giving me another piece she broke one off and gave it to Drew.  “Hey, hey, hey wait a minute!  I’m telling you the truth!”  I cried.

          “Yes, you are; however, you’re only telling me part of the story.  So, until you’re willing to open up to your nearest and dearest friends in the world I’m afraid there will be no more chocolate.”  She moved a hand as if to snatch the bar away.  My own hand shot out to stop hers.  I’m such a weakling.

          “You know there is very little difference between friend and fiend here.” I said.  They both shrugged at me.  “Fine.  I went down to the marina, to the docks.”  I said reluctantly.

They looked at each other and then back at me.  Margot slid the bar over to me.  I seized it before she could change her mind.  Drew and Margot waited as I tore open the foil wrapper and took a big bite, closing my eyes as it melted in my mouth.  When I opened my eyes they were both still watching me.

          “What?  I told you where I went.”

Margot smiled her most complacent smile.  “Yes, but you have included the reason why you decided to dash down to the marina right in the middle of lunch.”

          “Oh.  I suppose you wouldn’t accept that I was having coffee at the marina?” I asked hopefully.  Drew just gave me a haughty gaze.  “No, I didn’t think you’d go for that.”  I sighed.  “Alright.  I had the idea that maybe Jamie had moored his boat at the marina.”

          “Clever girl.”  Margot said as she reached over and snuck a bit of chocolate from the bar.

          “Not so clever,” I told her.  “It wasn’t there.”

I could see Margot mulling this information over.  She smiled at me and looked askance at Drew, who was busy picking Brownie hair off of his shirt.  I knew she wouldn’t push it any further until we were alone.  We both adored Drew, but he wasn’t the soul of discretion.  Before she could question me further we heard the back door slam and then heard stomping in the mudroom.  This wasn’t as startling as it might seem since only a few people use that door, and even fewer bother to stomp the mud off their feet.  I took the opportunity to get away from my tormentors and went to the sink to wash my hands.  I heard Rachel’s voice call ‘hello’ before she even came into the kitchen.  I turned around, towel in hands, and smiled at her.  Rachel was one of my very favorite people.  She was down to earth, forthright, and she had a soft heart.

          “Hey, there you are.”  She said as she took her jacket off and draped it across one of Margot’s oak kitchen chairs.

          “Oh, here we go again.”  I said in mock disgust.  I smiled at her when she cocked an eyebrow questioningly at Margot and Drew.  “Yes, we’ve already been through the Inquisition.”

          “Not the Inquisition!”  She laughed.

          “I’m afraid so.”  I sighed.  “Torquemada and her accomplice already made me confess.  It was the dreaded Swiss Chocolate test.”

Rachel nodded knowingly, saying solemnly, “No one can pass the Swiss Chocolate Test. Damn them.”  We both laughed and she shook her head.  Looking at Drew and Margot she made a ‘tsking’ sound, “When will you two learn to play nice?”  She took the chair I’d been sitting in; setting her palms down on the table she lowered her head to them and emitted a long sigh.

          “Long day, huh?” I asked.

          “Long month.” Came the muffled response.

          “Would you like some coffee and a bit of something sweet?” I asked as I looked to Margot for suggestions as to what to offer Rachel.

          “I’ve tried a new recipe for blackberry cobbler, you’d be doing me a favor if you’d at least sample some and give me your opinion.”  Margot was already opening the cupboards for plates.

Rachel didn’t even need to answer, we’d been Margot’s guinea pigs before when it came to untried recipes and there hadn’t yet been a failure.  She sat down at the table with us.

          “Callie was just telling us where she wasn’t during today’s lunch.”  Drew announced as he took a plate from Margot.

          “Ah, you mean besides the restaurant.”  Rachel answered as she received her own plate.  She snuck a peek at me and winked.  I looked at Drew and rolled my eyes.

          “Yes, I have no secrets in my life.  I went to the marina to check and see if Jamie’s boat was there.  It was not.  So I spent the rest of the afternoon chasing after a great dane and then spent some time at the cemetery.”

          “The one off Cattlepoint?” Rachel asked as she took a bite of cobbler, making sounds of approval to Margot.

          “Yep.”  I shook my head as Margot gestured toward the cobbler.  I was already stuffed with chocolate. 

Finally, Margot sat down with us.  We all sat in companionable silence.  I held my coffee cup and looked out the window into the dark, I wondered idly whether Nick might be working tonight.  I did a quick mental shake to rid that thought from my head!  I suddenly felt a stab of pain in my right shin as Margot kicked me under the table.  I mumbled an ‘ow’ and looked fiercely at her as clearly she’d lost her mind.  She just held my gaze for a moment  and then sipped her coffee.  While running her lithe finger around the rim she slowly turned her attention to Rachel.

          “Oh, you know, Rach, I’ve been meaning ask if you’d found a good OB/GYN to go to, I’ve been having the worst cramps lately!”  She looked at me as if to tell me that it was my turn to say something.  Rachel just sat with her fork suspended in midair.

          “Oh yeah,”  I chimed in, “Me too, really horrible and the cost of all those tampon boxes, you know it’s a crime against women.”

Rachel, bright woman that she is, caught on to Margot’s game.  She looked at Drew as she said, “I always hoped my cycles would get better not worse with age.”

Drew shifted uneasily in his chair.  He finished his last bite and carefully placed his fork on the plate.  “Okay, I can take a hint, I don’t need to sit here and listen to idle menstrual chitchat.  You guys never want to dish about men, honestly I don’t know what to do with you all!”  He rose from his chair, took his dishes to the sink and without really slowing down he went right out the kitchen door.  Waiting a few seconds to be sure he wasn’t coming back, we delayed our laughter until we couldn’t hold it anymore.  This was a common trick we used when we wanted to discuss something without Drew, any talk of feminine reproduction or hygiene and he was just gone!

          “Now, you want to tell me what was so important that you decided I needed a knot the size of a baseball on my shin?”  I asked Margot.

          “Stop being such a baby, I’m sure it isn’t any bigger than a golf ball.  The reason I wanted to send Drew on his merry way is that the fewer people who know what’s going on, the better.”

Rachel and I looked at each other, both of us shrugging.  “I’m kind of lost now,” I said.  “What is going on that’s the big secret?”

Margot ignored me and turned to Rachel.  “Officer Mathews was here earlier and Callie decided it would be just a peachy idea to lie to him about her whereabouts today.”

Rachel looked from Margot to me, back to Margot and then returned her gaze to me.  “For such a smart woman sometimes you do the stupidest things.”  She said.

          “Gee, thanks, I had no idea you were such a big fan of mine.”

She reached across and smacked my hand, actually smacked my hand like a wayward child!  “Callie, Officer Mathews is neither stupid nor is he without resources.  What was in your head!”

I repeated to her why I didn’t think it important enough to drag everyone into it, and triumphantly related that since the Zephyr was not at the marina I had actually done the police a favor by saving them the bother of going to look.  Rachel still looked unconvinced.  So, I chose to ignore her and turned my attention instead to Margot.  “Drew already knows all about this, thanks to your demented chocolate attack on me.  So what’s so bloody important that Drew needed to be chased from the room?”

          “Drew is incredibly intelligent, but he doesn’t know you quite as well as I do.”  Margot announced.  “He wouldn’t guess where you’d be headed next.”  Her eyes never left mine and I had to fight the urge to fidget.

          “Still not getting it.”  I told her; although, I was pretty sure I knew exactly where this was going.

Margot sighed the long suffering sigh of a saint.  “He wouldn’t guess that you’d be headed next to Rosario.”  She answered in an ‘aha’ manner that I found annoying.  I chose to ignore her, so I arose and took my dishes to the sink, rinsing them and putting them into the dishwasher.  Margot had turned to Rachel, “You see, I know I’m right because she can’t even come up with a good argument as to why I’m wrong.  Why?  Because I am not wrong.”  She crowed and looked very well-pleased with herself.

          “No, you are not right.  I hadn’t even thought about Rosario,” I lied.  “You know, though, that’s not a bad idea.”

          “You’re such a bad liar.”  Margot told me. 

          “Ladies, please.  A little decorum if you will?”  Rachel cut in.  “Whether Callie is lying,” she glanced at Margot, “Or not.”  She looked at me, “Is really besides the point.  What we need to know now is whether you, Callie, have it in your mind to go looking for the Zephyr at Rosario?”

I stared at her blankly for a few seconds, my mind racing around like a gerbil in a habitrail trying to come up with a viable answer.  I couldn’t.  They both stood silently watching me, Margot with a particularly irritating smirk on her face.

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