Marja McGraw - Bogey Man 02 - Bogey's Ace in the Hole (15 page)

Chapter Twenty-five

I grabbed a couple of doggie treats off my desk on my way out of the door and handed them to Mikey.  My dogs were suckers for a good doggie cookie.

“Sherlock!  Watson!” Mikey called.  “Come get a
cookie
.”

Their ears perked up and two head
s swung toward my son.

“Come on, you big galoots.  Come get your cookies.”  Mikey ha
s such a way with words.

We
calmed the dogs down and apologized to Victor, who graciously said everything was okay.  I doubted that, but decided to take his word for it.  I scolded the dogs and I could see that their feelings were hurt.  After all, they didn’t think they’d done anything wrong.  They were just being friendly, and we’d rewarded them with cookies.  I could almost read their minds.

Mikey showed Victor to the Men’s Room so he could wash up, and told me that he’d escort our guest to the table when he was done.  Sometimes my son seemed so grown up for a child.

I was standing by the table chatting with the ladies when the boy and man arrived, and I had to admit that Victor looked a lot happier than he had ten minutes earlier.

“Well, if it isn’t God’s Safety Squad,” Victor said, looking from face to face.  “Flo told me you’re all churchgoers
, and I know you’re all trying to keep me alive.  But where’s the other lady?  I understood there were four of you watching out for me.”

“She’s not feeling well,” Jasmine replied.  “She’s staying at my house until this is all cleared up.  Gosh, you should have brought Florence with you tonight.”

“Florence doesn’t like to go out after dark.  Besides, since she doesn’t know about my problems, I’d like to keep it that way.  I know your friend saw Jackson, but if she’s still at your house, does that mean she saw his partner, too?”

“Yes, indeedy,” May said.  “She’ll be able to help the police with her description of the man.  I’m sure the
detective will talk to her soon.  We’re all getting older, and we all have problems, but the good Lord blessed Addie with amazing vision.”  May put on reading glasses and began to peruse the menu.  Apparently she hadn’t received the same blessing.

“Well, thank heaven for
that
!” Victor said.  “It’s about time someone came along who can get me out of this mess.”

Leaving the table, I walked back to the Reservation Desk
to see Chris.  The restaurant was beginning to fill up and I felt guilty about not helping.  I saw Susan approach the table where our friends were sitting and she dropped off drinks, and I also saw the ladies examining Susan’s forties outfit.  If body language meant anything, the ladies were asking her where she got her blouse and slacks.  I chuckled to myself.  Susan made all her own clothing.

After dinner had been served and everyone was through eating,
I moved the ladies and Victor to a table in the lounge, seating them as far away from the band as I could so they could hear each other.

Mikey approached the Reservation Desk.  “Mom, can
I go home soon?”

“Is something wrong?” I asked.
  He usually enjoyed hanging out at
Bogey Nights
.

“No.  Well, yes. 
For starters, I can’t go in the lounge because I’m not old enough. And those women keep asking me about school and do I have a girlfriend, and stuff like that.  It’s embarrassing, Mom.  I’m ready to leave.”

“I see.  Well, let me talk to Constance.  By the way, Janet will be here in a few minutes.  Wouldn’t you like to wait and see her before you leave?”

Mikey’s face brightened up considerably.  “Janet’s going to be here?  Yeah, I’ll wait a few more minutes.”

My son not only liked Janet, but he liked to brag at school that he had a friend who was a real live homicide detective. 
During the previous school year he’d had a teacher who made his life miserable because he talked about a murder that Chris and I were involved in, among other things.  This year he had a teacher who got a kick out of Mikey’s forties slang and the fact that he was so open about everything.

The front door opened and Janet walked in.  Mikey ran over to greet her, and he took her hand to lead her back to the lounge.  I heard him say, “I can’t take you in there, but I can point out where they’re sitting.”

Janet glanced over her shoulder at me and winked.  “Thank you, Mikey.  You’re a very good host.”

He turned his head to look at her and I could see him smiling.

“Chris,” I said, “why don’t we ask George to cover the front desk for a few minutes and go listen in?  I’d like to hear what Janet and the ladies have to say.”

“It’s too busy right now.  Why don’t you go listen and you can fill me in later.”

“I feel guilty.  It seems like you’re doing all the work tonight.”

“That’s okay.  I’d rather be up here than with your Church Lady friends anyway.”  He quickly turned and studied the reservation list, knowing he’d said too much.

“They pray for us all the time, Bogey Man.”

“That’s nice.”

I sighed before turning and walking toward the lounge.  Constance and Mikey were headed in my direction and Constance had her purse slung over her shoulder.  I returned to the Reservation Desk with them.  “Pamela, we’re going home now.  Thank you so much for the dinner.  You can leave Mikey with me another night if you’d like to.  I’ve kind of gotten used to having him around.”

“Thanks, Constance, but I’m ready to have him come home.  We’ll pick him up when we’re done here.
  Do I need to repeat how much I appreciate your help?”

“
No, I know you do.”  She grinned, and she and Mikey left.

I looked up into my husband’s face. 
“You know, Chris, I’ll stay here with you.  I’ve already heard everything the ladies have to say, so it would be silly to sit in on the meeting.”

Chris smiled, pleased with my decision.  “You’re a heck of a dame, you know that?”

“I try.”

Chris and I welcomed guests, seated people,
and chatted with customers.  I kept an eye turned toward the lounge, wondering what was being said.  I couldn’t help myself.

Nate made an appearance, saying he wanted to see how we ran things
from a customer’s point of view.  I was pleased that he cared enough about the restaurant to take an interest.  He hadn’t made a reservation, but I found a nice table for him.

About forty-five minutes later I heard Lila’s sweet voice emanating from the lounge.  She was singing again.  Was this going to become a habit?  Maybe I needed to offer her a wage.  This time she was singing
Rockin’ Chair
which had originally been sung by jazz singer Mildred Bailey in the 1930’s.  It was the song of an old woman sitting in a rocking chair singing her blues.  Lila had a very different voice from Bailey’s, but she did the song justice.  I was amazed that Monday Moonshine, our band, knew this song.  I walked over to the doorway and saw that this time Lila had brought music with her.  She apparently liked singing in the lounge.

As before, I saw customers walk to the doorway of the lounge to listen.  I grinned when I saw Nate
standing at the door smiling, enjoying the music.

I made a mental note to talk to Chris about removing the wall between the lounge and the restaurant, like I’d seen in forties movies.
  I liked the idea of the openness between the band and the diners.  That would enlarge the dance floor, too.

Lila finished her song and the applause was awesome to hear.  She was quite a hit, and I saw that this time she didn’t look quite as embarrassed.  Our little Lila was coming out of her shell – in our restaurant.  I was pleased, not that my opinion mattered.

Shortly after that the Church Ladies headed for the front door with their purses, ready to call it a night.  Janet and Victor followed them.

“Thank you so much for singing again,” Chris said, taking Lila’s hand.  “You’ve turned out to b
e quite a surprise, sugar.”

Lila blushed.  “I love to sing.  I just never knew
other
people would like to hear my voice.  You’re not the only one who’s surprised.  I used to sing around the house, but then my husband said…  Well, never mind.”

Chris kissed Lila’s hand, and I
teared up.  It was so touching.  My husband had no idea how much this probably meant to Lila.  I’d never seen him be so gentle with anyone before.

Taking a deep breath, I also thanked Lila for her performance.  “Please feel free to
sing with the band anytime you want to.  Last time you sang they were almost effusive with their comments about you.  You’re a welcome visitor.”

Jasmine and May each gave Lila a hug.

“You see?” Jasmine said.  “You’re a wonder.  We never knew you could sing.”

“Never knew a thing about it,” May said, agreeing with Jasmine.

“I was impressed,” Victor said.  “Say, why don’t I follow you ladies home to make sure everything is okay?”

“If you don’t mind, Mr. Rogers, I’d like you to stay for a few minutes,” Janet said.  “I have a
couple more questions for you.  I think the ladies can make it home safely without an escort.”

“Oh, certainly.  These ladies are friends with my neighbor.  I just thought I was being helpful.”

“Oh, you are,” Janet replied, “but right now I need your help more than they do.”

I raised an eyebrow at Janet.  She didn’t sound very friendly toward Victor, and I couldn’t figure that out.  After all, he was the intended victim.  I was surprised that she
didn’t sound more diplomatic.

“Do you want to go back to the lounge?” I asked.  “I can make sure there’s still a table for you.”

“No,” Janet replied.  “We can sit right here in the entry and talk.”  She indicated two chairs that were sitting side by side and waited for Victor to seat himself.

Glancing at Chris, I saw that he appeared confused, too.

We hung around the Reservation Desk, hoping we might pick up a word or two while Janet and Victor talked.  Their voices were low and we couldn’t hear anything.  So we watched for body language or any other sign of what was going on.

Victor didn’t look happy.  In fact, he seemed agitated and frustrated.  After about ten minutes he rose from the chair and approached Chris and me.

“Now you know why I didn’t want to call the police in the first place,” he said.

“Oh?  And why is that?” I asked.

He tipped his head in Janet’s direction.  She was busily writing notes on a small pad of paper.  “She doesn’t believe that I don’t know who’s after me.”

“Well, it is unusual for someone who’s being threatened not to have a clue about it,” I said.

“Maybe so, but I don’t have any ideas.  I wish we’d kept this just between the three of us.”

“With Jackson being bumped off, we couldn’t do that,” Chris said.  “The coppers had to involve themselves.
”

“Yeah, I guess you’re right,” Victor said, grudgingly agreeing with Chris.  “Well, I’m outta here.  I want to get home and make myself safe behind locked doors.”

He left and Janet came over to talk to Chris and me.

“You know, there’s something that doesn’t feel right about that guy.  I can’t put my finger on it, but there’s something odd about this situation.  It’ll come to me after I study the facts for a while.”

Chris rolled his upper lip under, but this time he didn’t pull on his earlobe or rock back on his heels.  “Well, don’t keep us in the dark when you figure it out.”

Chapter Twenty-six

We picked Mikey up around eleven-thirty on Wednesday night.  He was asleep on Constance’s couch, and he didn’t wake up when Chris carried him out to the car.  Constance said he’d conked out as soon as they arrived home.  I had to practically hog tie the dogs to keep them from waking him up.  I sat in the back with them while Mikey slept in the front seat.

On Thursday morning he would have overslept if the dogs hadn’t been so excited to see him.
  I could hear him upstairs, laughing, and it was a good guess that the dogs were climbing all over him and licking his face.  Considering their weight, I wouldn’t have found it too funny if I was the one they were climbing on.

Chris and Mikey came downstairs together, ready for a homemade breakfast.  In celebration of my son’s return, I’d prepared his favorite, pancakes with sausage.

“It sure feels good to be home, Mom,” he said, forking a piece of sausage.  “I feel like I’ve been gone
forever
.”

“I’m glad to have you home, and maybe now things can go back to normal – whatever that is.”  I walked around the table and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

“Those Church Ladies are kind of nosey, aren’t they?  I mean, they wanted to know if I have a
girlfriend!
I’m only seven, for crying out loud.  Danny and me have plenty to keep us busy without girls.”

“I’m sure you do,” I replied.  “But someday you’re going to be a heartbreaker, just like your dad.”

Mikey turned to Chris and made a face that said,
eewww
.

Chris laughed.  “One of these days you’re going to wake up and think that girls aren’t so bad
– Ace Michael Cross, lady killer.”

Mikey turned back to his breakfast and studied his plate.  He didn’t say anything, but I could see the corners of his lips turn up.

“Speaking of lady killers,” Chris said, “I forgot to tell you.  Last night Nate and I had a conversation about Lila.”

“Lila?”

“Yeah, he was impressed with her singing.  He also wanted to know if she’s married.”

“What’d you tell him?” I asked, smiling.

“I said I thought she was a widow.  I also told him she’s mostly tied up with her church friends.”

“What did he say to that?”

“He didn’t care.  He said he was just curious.  I got the feeling he might be more than curious.”

“Well, what a surprise.”  Nate was interested in Lila.  I smiled, wondering if Lila might like Nate if she met him.

“I can see the wheels turning,” Chris said.  “Let it go.  Let nature take its course.”

“Sure,” I said, thoughtfully.

We finished breakfast and Chris helped me clear the table while Mikey ran upstairs to retrieve his backpack.

“Come on, Ace,” Chris said.  “You’re going to be late to school if we don’t hurry up.”

The phone rang and Chris answered it.  “Yeah.”

I glanced at Mikey.  “When you answer the phone, try to say more than
yeah
, okay?  Don’t follow all of your father’s examples.”

“Okay.”  He stood and tapped his foot impatiently.  Chris had told him he was going to be late, and yet now his father was on the phone.

“Huh,” Chris said to someone at the other end of the line.  “Was anything missing?” 

He listened to the reply. 

“Let us know if you find out anything.  I’m going to be gone for a while, but Pamela will be here.”

He hung up and before I could ask, he said, “That was Victor. 
Someone broke into his house while he was at the restaurant last night.  It doesn’t look like they took anything, but he’s still checking.  The police told him it was a clean break in.  No prints or anything.”

“How did they get in?”

“They broke a window.”

“That’s odd.  If it was the killer, you’d think he would have waited for him and done the deed.”

“You’d think,” Mikey said.

Oops.  Why did I always forget that my son listened to everything I said
? I gave him a hug and told him to have a good day at school.  He nodded and the two men in my life left.

I walked outside and spent a little time with Sherlock and Watson, thinking while I threw a ball for them.  Janet was right.  Something just didn’t feel right when I thought about Victor.  It seemed like he wasn’t really doing anything to help find his potential killer. 
That’s
what was wrong.  Was he really that dense or was there something else behind it?  Was he protecting someone?  He had to believe that the threat was real after finding out that John Jackson had been murdered.  Maybe he was a fatalist – maybe he believed that whatever was going to happen was meant to be.

Victor wasn’t a bad guy.  He went out of his way to be kind and helpful to his elderly neighbor, Florence.  She was such a nice old gal.  I was glad she had him to help her out.

I suddenly realized I was standing with the ball in my hand and I’d stopped throwing it.  The realization came when Sherlock barked at me and Watson nudged my behind.

“Quit that,” I said, “or I won’t throw it at all.” 

Labs can be very pushy when they want to be, and Watson nudged me again.

I heard the phone ringing in the kitchen and threw the ball one last time before leaving the dogs to their own devices.
  Apparently I hadn’t closed the door tightly, because before I could reach the phone Sherlock raced past me and slid into the wall.

“Idiot,” I said, answering the phone.
  He’d never raced me for the phone before.

“What?” Jasmine asked.

“Sorry, I was talking to the dog.  What’s up?”

I shooed the dogs back out the door and made sure it was latched.

“The ladies and I are going to drive over to see Florence this morning and we thought you might like to go with us.”

“Thanks for thinking of me, but – ”

“She feels so lonely sometimes, so we thought we’d stop and buy an angel food cake to take over to her.  We’ll only stay for an hour or so.”  She was wheedling, trying to make me feel guilty.  How unchristian of her.

I smiled to myself.  She was actually being every bit the Christian woman, wanting to help someone in need, even if she was only in need of company.

“When are you leaving?” I asked.  Another thought struck me.  It would give me a chance to go over and talk to Victor to find out if he knew anymore than when he’d called Chris.

“In about an hour.  Is that okay with you?”  I had a feeling that if it wasn’t okay with me, it wouldn’t matter.

“How about if I pick you ladies up?  I’ll drive.”  I wasn’t sure I trusted Jasmine’s driving.  It wasn’t because of her age, but she and her friends talk so much that I was worried maybe she wouldn’t pay enough attention to her driving.

“That works,” she said.  “Thank you, and God bless you.  I know I can come on a bit strong sometimes, Pamela, but Florence is a special little lady.  There’s something so trusting and childlike about her that she makes me feel protective.”

“And what do you need to protect her from?” I asked.

“Right now, loneliness.  She seems to enjoy our visits so much.  I promised her I’d bring her to church with us next Sunday.  She was excited, and she’s already planning on what to wear
, bless her little heart.”

We hung up and I called Chris on his cell phone.  “What do you want?”  His voice came from behind me and I jumped.

“Oh, Chris.  You scared ten years off me.  I didn’t hear you come home.  I didn’t hear the cell phone ring either.”

“I had it on
vibrate
.”

“Ah.  Well, I was calling to tell you that I’m going over to Florence’s with the Church Ladies.  Jasmine was telling me how lonely Florence
is, and we’re going to try to cheer her up.”

Chris put his hands on my cheeks.  “You’re a good woman,
angel.”

I looked into his eyes.  “I wish I could take the credit, but it’s Jasmine.  She’s the good woman.”

“So are you.  Trust me, babe.”

Although I hadn’t heard Chris arrive home, the dogs had.  They were scratching at the back door, wanting to come in.  Chris walked back through the service porch and opened the door for them.  “Come on, you two.  Let’s go for a walk.”

You’d have thought he’d offered them a million dollars each.  The squirming and whining were almost unnerving.  Their vocabulary was fairly large for dogs, and
walk
was right at the top of their Happy List.

“You’re going to take them both?  Alone?  Don’t you want to wait for me to come home?” I asked.

“No, I can handle them.  I’ll keep them on a short leash.”

“Good luck with that,” I said, shaking my head.
  “I’ll be gone by the time you come home, but I’ll be back in time for us to ride to the restaurant together.”

Chris left and I picked up my purse, ready to leave.  I smiled to myself, remembering that Nate was interested in Lila.  How cute!  I decided to pick Lila up first and tell her about Nate without the other ladies listening.  Having second thoughts, I decided I’d only tell her about our new lunch chef.  I could invite her for lunch and they could meet, and then nature could take its course, as Chris
had suggested.  I just wanted to give Mother Nature a little nudge.

I picked up the ladies and we headed for Florence’s house, stopping on the way to pick up
an angel food cake.  Lila mentioned she’d have to be home by one o’clock because she had an appointment that she didn’t want to miss.

May bought frozen strawberries and readymade whipped cream.

“What are you going to do with that?” Lila asked.

“By the time we get to Florence’s house the strawberries will be defrosted.  I’ll mix them with the whipped cream and cut the angel food cake in half.  Then I’ll put the mixture between the layers and on top.  It’ll be yummy, believe me.”

“It sounds decadent,” Jasmine said.  “But then, I guess sometimes it’
s okay to go a little overboard with the sweets.”

“Sounds good to me,” Lila said.  “I can’t wait.”

“Me, either,” I added.

We pulled up in front of Florence’s house and I parked.

“I hope she’s up,” Jasmine said.

“Didn’t she know we were coming?” I asked.

“No, we thought we’d surprise her.”

“Oh, great.  Let’s surprise an eighty-something
-year-old woman into a heart attack.  You should have called her first.”

“Pamela, you’re being silly.  She’ll be delighted to see us, bless her little heart.”

“I hope you’re right,” I replied.

With grocery bag in hand, we trooped up to the front door and rang the bell.  I could hear noises inside, so at least I knew that Florence wasn’t a late sleeper.

The front door opened and Jasmine said, “Surpri… ”  Her voice trailed off into nothingness.

Victor was standing there and not looking pleased to see us.