Marja McGraw - Bogey Man 02 - Bogey's Ace in the Hole (16 page)

Chapter Twenty-seven

“Victor?” I said.  “Is everything okay?”

“You took me by surprise.  Was Florence expecting you women today?”

“No,” May said, “we thought we’d surprise her.”

“I guess we surprised someone,” Lila said
, under her breath.

Jasmine didn’t say anything, and that surprised
me
.

“Is Florence here?” I asked, waiting for him to move out of the doorway and let us in.

“Yes.  Just a minute.”  Victor closed the door on us.

Jasmine, not one to stand on formality, turned the handle and opened the door.  “
Come on, ladies.”

We found Florence sitting at the dining table, and Victor was hurriedly picking up some papers and stuffing them in an envelope.
  I saw the top of the cover page before he could slide it inside.  He’d been helping her fill out a Living Will so that if she couldn’t speak for herself, the doctors would know what she wanted.  I wondered if she was giving Victor Power of Attorney for her health issues.

“Oh, my,” Florence said, standing up
and grinning.  “What a pleasant surprise.  Come in, come in.  Victor was helping me with some paperwork.  My eyesight isn’t what it used to be, you know.”

“Is there anything we can do to help?” May asked.

“No,” Victor said.  “We’re done here.”

Florence smiled up at him.

“I’ll put these papers away for you, Flo, and you can visit with your lady friends.”  Victor had an odd look on his face.

I couldn’t help but feel like there was more going on than met the eye.

“This is a personal matter I’m helping Flo with,” he said, by way of explanation.  He carried the envelope to a desk in the corner and slid it in a drawer.

I couldn’t help but wish I could see what else might be in the envelope.

“I’ve got to go now, so you can all jibber jabber, or whatever it is you do, and I’ll see you later.”  Victor headed for the front door.

I followed him.  “Did you find out anything else about the break
-in at your house?” I asked, quietly.  One thing I had learned was that he tried to protect Florence from his problems.

“Nothing.  There was a twenty dollar bill missing from the top of my dresse
r, but that’s all.  The police didn’t seem too interested.”

“Well, they should be.  I’ll call Janet and let her know.  It seems too coincidental that someone broke into your house the day after that hood was killed.”

“Don’t bother,” he said.  “I’ve talked to my retired cop friend.  At least
he
believes the things I tell him, which is more than I can say for your homicide detective.  I called him this morning and he said he’d come stay with me for a couple of days.  I’ll be safe now.”

I could see he’d set his mind on not liking or trusting Janet, so I let it go.  I’d probably tell her anyway, but he didn’t have to know.

Victor left and I turned to see that the ladies were in the kitchen, heating water for tea and preparing the angel food cake.

When everything was ready we sat down and enjoyed a delightful dessert, along with our tea.
  I noticed Lila glancing at her watch, and vowed to make sure she was home in time for her appointment.

Florence seemed very
chipper, and it turned out that she was.  “I’m so glad you all came over to see me,” she said.  “What a happy surprise.  Gosh, between you women and Victor, I feel so special.  What a lovely day this is turning out to be.”

“I’m glad to hear that,” May said.  “We all need lovely days from time to time.”

“Yes, we do,” Lila agreed.  “When I get up in the morning, I thank the Lord for whatever the day brings, good or bad.  It helps to say my thank you before I know what’s headed my way.”  She glanced at her watch again.

“That’s so
you
,” May said.  “I may have to follow your example though.  That’s a great idea, thanking the good Lord ahead of time, no matter what happens.”

“So Victor helps you with your paperwork?”
I asked.

Three head
s turned and looked at me, surprise etched on their faces.  I knew I was being abrupt, but I needed information from wherever I could get it.  I shrugged at the ladies.

“Oh, yes he does,” Florence said.  “He helps me with so many things.”

I waited, hoping she’d tell me what they’d been working on, but she took a sip of her tea and another bite of cake, letting the subject drop.

This time I shrugged inwardly, knowing in my heart that the subject had just died
a quick death.

We spent about an hour and a half with Florence before I said we’d have to be leaving. 
She’d grown up on a farm and shared some of her stories with us, including the time a bull chased her into the barn, and the time her brother had built a small homemade roller coaster.  It hadn’t been too safe and her father made her brother tear it down.  It had certainly been a different life than I’d experienced.

I had things to do before
heading for the restaurant.  One thing about the business we’d embarked on was that you generally didn’t have a lot of time to yourself.  We were fortunate because our employees were so capable and helped us more than their job descriptions called for, and I appreciated every one of them.

When the ladies were settled in the car, and all seatbelts were fastened, I pulled away from the curb.  We’d gone about
two and a half blocks when I glanced in my rearview mirror and saw Victor following us.  I pulled over, thinking he wanted to talk to us, but he drove on by and waved.  He must have been running errands.  However, seeing him was a good reminder that I should keep my eyes open.  Jackson’s partner was still out there, and there was no guarantee that he wouldn’t be looking for Addie.

After dropping the ladies off, I arrived home to find
Chris sitting at the kitchen table with a leash in each hand.  He looked upset.

“What’s wrong?” I asked, having a momentary feeling of panic because he held the leashes but I didn’t see any dogs.

“Nothing.”

“Where are the dogs?”

“In the backyard.”

“Come on,” I pushed, “what’s wrong?”

“Everything.  Nothing.”  He sighed.  “I took the dogs for their walk.”  He stopped talking, and I felt a glimmer of a chuckle coming on.  I had a feeling this was going to be a funny story.  I tried to keep the mirth out of my voice.

“And?”

“Watson wanted to stop and sniff a boulder out in front of Mr. Parks’ yard.  Sherlock decided he wanted to sniff the mail box post on the other side of the driveway.  For a minute I thought they were going to tear me into two pieces.”

“Oh, I’m sorry,
sweetie,” I said.  I knew how strong the dogs were.

“That’s not the end of it.”

“It’s not?”

“No.  Then they decided to trade places, and I got tangled up in their leashes.  I fell down before I could stop them.”  He held out his hand, which was scratched and bleeding.
  “Then Mr. Parks came out to see if he could help me.”

“Uh oh.”

“Uh oh is right.  He’s got to be at least ninety years old, and the last thing I needed was for the dogs to knock him down.  Can you imagine if he broke his hip?”

“So what did you do?” I asked.

“I waved him off, and I think I might have made him mad.  He said some things under his breath about not being too old to help out a neighbor.  I tried to explain, but he kept walking and waved his hand at me behind his back.”

A bubble of laughter was working its way up, but I fought it.

“Well, next time we’ll both walk the dogs.”

“
There’s more,” Chris said.  “When we got home the phone was ringing.  Sherlock tried to race me for it, but he still had his leash on and this time we both slid into the wall.”

I turned and looked at the wall,
making sure there weren’t any holes in it.

“Miss All was calling.  You know, Mikey’s teacher.”

“What did she want?”  The bubble was closer to bursting, but at the same time I had a sinking feeling.

“It seems that she overheard Mikey telling the other kids that you and I are after a hit man.  Of course, the other kids wanted to know what a hit man is.  He explained – in graphic detail.”

I sat down in the chair opposite Chris.

“She wants us to have a talk with him.  She gets a kick out of the forties slang he uses, and says the other kids have started using it, too.  And she enjoys the stories he tells about our lives and our cases, but this was too much for her.”

One of the dogs scratched at the back door, and my bubble finally burst.  I began laughing, and the uncharitable look Chris gave me made me laugh even harder.

“It’s not funny, Pamela.”  He sounded indignant.

“No,” I said, through tears of laughter.  “It really isn’t.  But your story was just what I needed to unwind.”

Chris gave me a minute to pull myself together.

“We’ve got to talk to Ace, but we’ll have to wait until tomorrow morning, during breakfast.  He needs to learn what he can talk about and when to keep him mouth shut,” Chris said.

“A good lesson for all of us.  By the way, Chris, when we arrived at Florence’s house, Victor was there.  I think he’s involved in her personal affairs, like with a Living Will.  He seemed uncomfortable when we walked in and he shoved it in a drawer.”

“That’s something I hadn’t thought about,” Chris said.  “Does she have any family?”

“She mentioned that she ha
s nieces and nephews, but she says they don’t come around.  Why?  What are you thinking?”

“I wonder if there’s any reason her family might want to get rid of Victor.  Maybe those are the toes he’s stepping on.”

“I can’t imagine why he’d be on a family hit list.  She’s just a little old lady taking life day by day.  It’s not like she’s wealthy or anything.  No, I don’t think that’s it, but I do think something is going on.”

“Now if we can just figure out what that something
is.”

Chris finally let go of the dogs’ leashes, and they fell to the floor.

Chapter Twenty-eight

Things were relatively quiet at the restaurant on Thursday night.  We had a decent crowd, and thankfully there were no dramas.  No birthday parties that ended in tragedy and no bad guys peeking through the doorway.  We’d left the dogs at home this time, so I didn’t have to worry about them.  Mikey was safe in his own bed, with Constance staying at our house for the evening.  All was right with the world.

Nate came in again and had dinner. 
Once more he said he wanted to get a feel for the place.  He said he did his best cooking when he felt comfortable in a restaurant.  At one point I heard him telling people at the next table that we’d be opening for lunch before long.  They were delighted, and I also heard him tell them that they were going to truly enjoy the new chef’s offerings, which made me chuckle to myself.  I made a mental note to start advertising the new hours as soon as possible.

Around eight o’clock something happened that surprised me. 
A small woman approached the Reservation Desk and stood, staring at me.  Glancing up, I smiled.  I blinked and took a closer look.

“Lila?”  I
didn’t recognized her.

She clamped her lips tightly together and turned in a circle so
I could view the whole package, waiting to see if I approved or not.  Her hair had been dyed a medium blonde and was styled into a soft, curly look.  She was wearing just a small amount of makeup.  Her dress was a lighter blue silky number with a full skirt.  It wasn’t a forties style, but it suited her.  And her usual tennis shoes had been replaced by sandals in a contrasting shade of blue.

“You look wonderful,” I said.  “Absolutely beautiful!”  I was as close to speechless as I could come without clamming up completely.  “So your appointment was at the beauty shop.”

She finally nodded and smiled.  “What do you think about the new me?”

Chris walked up behind her and was listening to our conversation.  He placed his hands on her shoulders and turned her around.  “Who’s the glamour puss?  Lila?  You’
re one heck of a dish this evening.  What’s the occasion?”

She pointed toward the lounge.  “I have things to do tonight.  I decided to take Jasmine and May’s advice and
create a new me.  After all, if I’m going to be singing here once in a while, I don’t want to look dowdy.”  She touched her cheeks.  “I even went to a department store and had a makeup makeover.”

I walked out from behind the desk and gave her as much of a hug as I could without crushing her.  She hugged me back and with a small wave of her hand, headed for the lounge.

I left Chris at the Reservation Desk and followed her.  She headed straight for the stage, and after checking to make sure who she was, one of the band members took her hand and helped her up.  I could see that he was probably telling her how great she looked, and she tipped her head and smiled shyly.

Someone tapped my shoulder and said, “Excuse me.”  I turned around to find Nate waiting for me to move so he co
uld walk through to the lounge.

I turned and hurried back to Chris.

“It looks like Lila is going to sing again,” I said.

“Looks like it.”

“And as soon as Nate saw her, he hightailed it into the lounge.”

“Good for him.”

“Is that all you have to say?  Looks like it and good for him?”

“What do you want me to say? 
Calling all cars, calling all cars, there’s a little old man in the lounge who appears to have a crush on a little old lady who’s turned out to be a senior babe.”

Pursing my lips, I decided I’d just ignore my husband for the moment.  I started making the rounds amongst the customers, asking if they were enjoying their meals and
inquiring if they needed anything.  Many of our patrons returned at least once a week, and a few stopped me to chat.

I enjoyed my job and I enjoyed our customers.  What a way to make a living – doing something
I liked.

Lila began singing and I stopped to listen.  She sang three forties songs, and seemed so happy.  The look on her face was priceless.  It app
eared that when she was singing she completely forgot about her shyness and lack of self-confidence.  I was sure her new look didn’t hurt any.  After the third song, she took a break.

“Lila, you’re really something,” I said
, approaching the stage.  “I had no idea you’d be back so soon.  And the customers absolutely love you.”

She beamed.  Her cheeks were rosy and healthy looking
.  I didn’t think it was due to the makeup she wore. “One of the band members called me this morning and asked if I could come in.  The lady that usually sings with them is sick, and they said they’d pay me.  How could I refuse?  The Lord is supplying my needs.  I need a new water heater and the timing for this gig is perfect.”

Gig?  Lila ha
d called her performance a gig.  And she had a new look.  Would life ever be the same again?

Looking up, I saw Nate approaching us. 
He appeared to be on a mission.

“Pamela, would you introduce me to your friend?”

After introducing Nate and Lila, I suggested they sit together while she was on her break.  He took her arm and guided her to a table in the corner where they could hear each other talk.

With the biggest
I-told-you-so
grin I could muster, I walked out and met Chris by the front door.  “Give you one guess what two senior citizens are sitting together in the lounge.”

Chris looked at me out of the corner of his eye.
  “You’re in your glory, aren’t you?”

“Yes.”

“Well, peaches, I hope it works out.  For their sake, not for yours.”

“Chris, you’re sounding a little cranky.  Care to share
anything?”

“The economy.”  He glanced around the restaurant.  “We’re doing well right now, but the economy is getting worse all the time.  I can’t help but wonder how long we can keep our heads above water. 
I’m really hoping that opening for lunch will help.”

“It doesn’t seem like business is down,” I said.  “We’re doing okay.”

“Yeah, but for how long?  I see businesses going under all over town.  And opening for lunch means we’ll be hiring more staff.  We’ll need two more waitresses, another sous chef, and then there’s Nate.”

“We provide something unique, and
that’s going to help. 
Bogey Nights
is somewhere people can come to in order to forget their everyday worries.  Think in terms of reciprocity.  I send goods to the food bank as often as possible.  You get back what you give.  And, if need be, we’ll cut a few corners and lower our prices.”

“You’re quite the little optimist.”

“We’ll make it.  If we don’t, then we’ll move on with fond memories of what was.”

“I love you, Pamela.”

Before he could say anything else a young couple approached the desk.  “We wanted to stop and tell you what a nice time we’ve had this evening.  This is our third date, and this place helped make it especially fun.”  The woman appeared to be around twenty-five or so.

I glanced at Chris. 
He’d moved into his Bogey persona.  “Well, kids, I don’t wanna give you the bum’s rush, but if this is your third date you’d better get moving.  There’s a whole dance floor waiting for you in the lounge.  Go cut a rug.  The first round is on us.”  He curled his lip under, rocked back on his heels and pulled on his earlobe.  He was giving the couple the full treatment.

“Oh, neither of us drinks,” the young woman said
, looking at him as though he’d lost his marbles.  Apparently she didn’t know who Humphrey Bogart was.

“Iced tea it is,” I replied
, quickly.  “Now go and enjoy the music.”

They glanced at each other, the woman nodded, and off they went, holding hands and looking into each other’s eyes.

“Ah, young love,” I said.

Chris snorted and turned back to the reservation book.

I heard Lila start singing again and headed for the lounge to tell Daniel, the bartender, about free drinks for the young couple.  With that done, I walked out to the kitchen to see how Luis was doing.  He’d already started cleaning up the things he figured he wouldn’t need for the rest of the shift.

After a little time went by, I peeked around the doorway
of the lounge.  The young couple sat, still hand in hand, talking like they’d known each other forever.  I wondered if they’d get around to dancing.

Lila was watching Nate while she sang, delight
lighting up her face.

What a night this
was turning out to be.  And I thought it was going to be quiet.  Shows how much I know.  I made the rounds of the restaurant again.

The ba
nd stopped playing.  Checking my watch, I saw it was nine-thirty.  They always stopped playing half an hour before closing time, and we closed at ten o’clock on weeknights.  On weekends we stayed open until eleven-thirty.  I was tired and ready to go home.  Chris had the look of someone wanting to sleep, too.

“Not much longer,” I said.

Chris nodded.  While he covered the Reservation Desk, I began collecting receipts to see how we’d done.  Not bad, from what I could see.  I took them back and deposited them on my desk.  Thinking I heard a noise outside the back door, I opened it and took a look around.  I saw a latecomer pull into the parking lot, but it was really too late for dinner.  Chris would tactfully turn them away.

Closing the door and locking it, I walked through the kitchen and headed toward Chris.

That’s when the lights went out.

I heard someone curse, and a woman screamed.  I froze, waiting for my eyes to adjust to the dark.