Murder and Mayhem (10 page)

“Mmm... You smell good,” Nicola said.

“So do you.”

They ate in relative silence caught up in their own
thoughts, occasionally mentioning the weather or asking for something to be
passed. Every time Nicola looked up she noticed Danny watching her. She turned
away as she felt her cheeks burn with the heat of embarrassment and forked a
piece of French toast into her mouth.

“Do I make you feel uncomfortable, Nic?” Danny asked
after a while.

“No. Well, no, not really. I’m just not used to having
a man sitting across my breakfast table.”

Danny nodded. He understood how awkward it must be for
her. Even though he knew very little about her he could tell she was not the
type to have one-night-stands.

“It’s been a long time since I’ve made morning after
conversation,” she added and forked another piece of French toast into her
mouth.

Danny reached across the table and took hold of her
hand. “You don’t need to worry, I would never say or do anything to embarrass
or hurt you, Nicola.”

When Danny finished eating, he rose from the table and
took his mug and plate to the kitchen. “That would have to be the best French
toast I have ever eaten.” He poured a second cup of coffee for himself and then
held up the pot.

Nicola shook her head. “I’ve washed your things and
put them on top of your bag.”

“You didn’t have to do that. I’m a big boy I’m used to
washing my own clothes,” Danny said as he leaned over the kitchen bench and
sipped his coffee.

“That’s okay. I had a few last minute things I needed
to launder so it wasn’t a problem.”

“Thank you.”

“Have you been to the east coast before?” Nicola
asked.

“Oh sure, several times, I’ve been to a lot of
different places in Pennsylvania but not Philadelphia. What about you?”

“A long time ago, when I was nine or ten, but I
haven’t been since then. My mother’s family came from the east but I only
remember going that one time.”

“It’s a lovely part of the country. I think you’ll
enjoy it. Even though I’m meeting some old Harley contacts, we’ll still have
plenty of time for sightseeing.”

Nicola stacked the dishwasher while Danny handed her
the dishes. “I wasn’t sure how you’d feel about tripping all over the country
with a relative stranger. Even though we’d been emailing and talking on the
phone almost every day for nearly a year, it’s not the same as knowing someone,”
he said.

Nicola leaned back against the counter and considered
his words.

“I did feel a little apprehensive at first,” she said,
“but over time I found I was actually looking forward to the trip.”

Danny sensed she was studying him, giving no hint to her
thoughts then she smiled and said, “I’m really glad you’re here, Danny.”

“So am I.”

* * *

Nicola was in the bedroom checking her bag for any
last minute additions when she heard Danny calling from down the hall.

“Nic, do you mind if I leave these here?”

She wandered down to the guestroom where Danny was
leaning over his bag.

“What’s that?” she asked.

He held up a couple of strange shaped objects wrapped
in black plastic.

“These Harley parts–do you mind if I leave them here
instead of carting them all over the countryside?”

“Anywhere you want is fine by me.”

A short time later, Nicola dropped a hastily scribbled
note and a key, sealed in an envelope, into her neighbor’s mailbox.

“Ready?” she asked as she slid behind the wheel of the
BMW and clicked the seatbelt in place.

Danny grinned. “I’m as ready as I’ll ever be.”

Nicola turned the key in the ignition backed
cautiously out of the driveway onto the narrow street, and sped up the hill.

A little further down the road, a man wearing mirrored
wraparound sunglasses was humming to himself as he climbed out of his car and
walked up the hill. As he removed an envelope from a mailbox, a large golden Labrador bounded down the road and leaped up to greet him. The man ruffled the dog’s ears
affectionately, and laughed.

“Hello, boy.”

*****

“Who was that?” Ross asked as he wandered into the
room and dropped his Pillsbury doughboy body onto the end of the bed. The
springs protested under his weight, sighed, and then settled.

I peered at him over the top of
my glasses. “Who?”

“That guy. The one you just mentioned.”

Rosie yawned and rubbed her eyes. “What guy?” she
asked as she hitched herself up against the headboard. I leaned over and
adjusted the pillow behind her back.

“The one at the mailbox with the dog,” Ross said.

“Oh, that’s just the guy up the street.” We both
looked at her, a question mark hanging over our heads.

“Big dog, German Shepherd with three white paws,” she
added.

Ross smiled. “We’re talking
about the guy in Bee’s story.”

“Oh, sorry. I must have dozed off.”

I re-read the last paragraph and
was about to continue when Rosie threw another spanner in the works.

“Is he the same guy that was
driving the blue Taurus?”

“What guy was that? I didn’t hear about him. Will you
read me that bit so I know who you’re talking about,” said Ross.

When I’d re-read the relevant section I looked from
one to the other. “Okay? Now you’re both up to date with the story can I get on
with it?”

“No!” they cried out in unison.”

“You still haven’t told us who the guy is,” Rosie said.

“Is he the one who was driving the blue Taurus?” Ross
asked.

I shrugged and tried to gather
my thoughts. “I don’t know.”

“What do you mean you don’t know? What does he look
like?” Rosie demanded.

“If we had a description of both men we’d know if they
were the same person. Then we’d be able to follow the story without any more
interruptions,” said Ross.

I looked from one to the other and shook my head.

“Are you sure you two aren’t related?”

*****

On the screen in the corner of the boarding lounge at
Gate 70 where passengers sat waiting to board United Airlines Flight 186 to Philadelphia, a newsreader was delivering an up to date news report.

“…Authorities hold grave fears for Amelia Hill whose
blood-splattered car was found abandoned early this morning in the Manzanita
parking lot off Highway One-Oh-One at the Mill Valley exit.

“Ms. Hill, described as aged thirty eight,
five-foot-seven-inches tall, weighing approximately one hundred and forty
pounds with long chestnut hair and green eyes was last seen at the Denny’s
Restaurant in Corte Madera around midnight in the company of a man estimated to
be in his early forties. Eyewitnesses describe the man as around six-foot-two,
weighing approximately one hundred and ninety-five pounds, wearing black jeans
and T-shirt and a black baseball cap with a logo on the front.

“Police have requested the unidentified man to come
forward to help with their enquiries. They have also asked anyone who may have
information as to Ms. Hill’s whereabouts to contact them at the number shown on
the bottom of the screen.

“We’ll keep you informed as further updates come in…”

ELEVEN

Even though my sister had had a
bad night she still managed to put a smile on her face when she pushed the door
open and walked into the waiting room.

“Hello everybody, how’s everyone
doing today?”

“Good morning,” I said as w
e passed
a couple of unfamiliar faces. They looked up and
acknowledged my greeting.

Our dear friend, Mr. Takamura jumped to his feet and
bowed when he saw me heading in his direction. By now my aptitude for languages
was starting to kick in so I was able to decipher his words without too much
trouble, when he said, “Channel Five – CBS?” So I beamed him a smile and
nodded.

When he climbed up onto the chair and reached for the controls,
I felt a speck of dust in my eye. Then, when he asked, “Volume good,” I noticed
a loose thread on my sister’s sweater that demanded my immediate attention

“Volume perfect,” I said and
gave him the thumbs up without looking up. I flicked at the place where I
thought I had seen the wayward thread. “There you go, Hon, all fixed.”

At the back of the room Linda’s face colored a whiter
shade of pale when she saw us coming towards her. Her eyes cast around the room
while she searched for an empty chair. But aside from the two empty seats
beside her, every chair in the room was occupied.

Bad luck, Linda.

“How are you today, Linda?” Rosie asked. She was about
to sit down when I grabbed hold of her arm. “Why don’t you sit in the chair on
the other side, Hon, then Linda can sit between us?”

Rosie grinned. “Rose between two thorns, eh,
girlfriend.”

When she shuffled sideways Linda realized she was
indeed a rose caught between two very prickly thorns.

I thought she was looking a little peeked so I said,
“How are you doing today, Linda?”

When she said, “O... o... ok... k... kay, I g… g…
guess...” I noticed that on top of everything else the poor woman had developed
a stutter.

My sister knew only too well how she must have felt
and decided she needed some cheering up. “Have you had any luck finding a
suitable place to bury a body yet, Linda?” She waited a moment but when nothing
was forthcoming she continued and said, “It’s just there’s been an unexpected
development over the weekend and now we’re getting kind of desperate.”

“Ah... Well, no… Well… not really..,” Linda said and
was about to retreat behind the pages of a magazine when I stopped her.

“Is that a definite, no? Or is it a… not really,
Linda?”

While I’ve always been one to barge in with both
barrels blazing, my sister, makes allowances for other people’s failings.

Rosie’s glance slid sideways to me. “Don’t confuse
her, Bubbie.” Then she turned to Linda, and asked, “was that a yes, or a no,
Linda?”

“Well…, um, no... Sorry,” Linda said grimly and chewed
on her bottom lip.

I knew there was no other way than to come right out
and say it. So I did.

“The thing is, Linda – she’s already dead.”

Linda gasped, horror etched in
every line and wrinkle on her pasty-pale face. She
had the startled look of a rabbit who stared down the
barrel of a .12 gauge shotgun, and knew it was about to become lunch.

“You’ve k… k… killed her?” she
stammered.

Rosie nodded. “I’m afraid so, Linda. Bubbie killed her
sometime over the weekend. I can understand how you must feel. I was shocked
when she told me. But now that it’s done there’s no turning back. We have to
move forward and deal with this the best way we can.”

A hushed silence had fallen over the room as though
everyone was holding their breath.

I looked down at my sandals, and wriggled my toes
around for a bit. While I contemplated a fresh coat of polish on my nails I
hummed the tune of an old childhood nursery rhyme.
The farmer in the dell,
the, farmer in the dell, heigh-ho the derry-o….

“But… w… what did you do with the b… body?” Linda
stammered.

“Well, here’s the thing, Linda. The body is in the
woods lying under some trees while we try to find somewhere to bury it,” I
explained as best as I could.

Rosie nodded. “I’m sure you can understand the need
for action, Linda. We’re going to have to get it into the ground before it
starts decomposing.”

“What with this unseasonably warm weather we’ve been
having lately. The body is decomposing, as we speak.”

Linda jumped up so fast I felt the seat for heat. Her
thighs quivered like Jell-O as she hurried down the room. I sighed and picked
up the magazine she’d dropped on the floor and started to read.

“Oh look! It says here Donald Trump is getting married
again!”

*****

The lights of Philadelphia looked like a shower of
stars as the plane circled above the city. By the time they collected their
bags and picked up the SUV from the rental car company, it was almost midnight
when Danny pulled into the parking lot of the Comfort Inn on Christopher
Columbus Boulevard, and cut the engine…