NOT What I Was Expecting (13 page)

Now Luke was
smiling.  How poised do you have to be to smile at a time like this?  Why
was
he smiling at a time like this, anyway?  What was up with that?

“You keep saying
you know I didn’t kill anyone.  How can you know?” Luke asked through the grin
on his face.

It was a warm
grin, not a scary, “silence of the lambs” grin, so my conviction where his
innocence was concerned remained.

“Don’t take that
the wrong way,” Luke added quickly.  “You aren’t wrong to believe I had nothing
to do with Barney’s or Eliza’s deaths.  But after what the deputy told you, how
can you be so sure?”

“Because I’m an
excellent judge of character,” I answered hurriedly.  “Now, do you want to talk
about how clever and perceptive I am, or do you want to clue me in on what
you’re going to do next?”

“Well, I’m going
to finish lunch,” explained a calm and collected Luke.  “Then I’ll go back to
the cabin and take a few days to figure out what I should do next?”

Since Luke put
this to me in the form of a question, I responded, “No, no, no.  I don’t think
that’s the best idea, Luke.  I mean, you are going to be out here for a few
days all alone, and what if somebody else in Oakman gets murdered?  Then you
won’t be just answering questions, you’ll be taking DNA, gun residue, and
polygraph tests.  Even if you haven’t done anything, they’ll have you walking
the perp walk if they find another victim.”

I was being
completely serious, but I didn’t get the impression Luke was all that receptive
to my concerns, since he was shaking his head and smiling.  “Let me guess,” he
spit out between chuckles.  “You never miss an episode of C.S.I.?”

“I have the DVD
Boxed Set, but I don’t think that means you shouldn’t be taking this matter
seriously,” I lectured.  “I understand if you need some time to think, but
please, don’t do it at the fishing cabin alone.  Hey, maybe Fry should take a
break and come out here with you?”

“I’m sure Fry
would make a great babysitter, but I’m not sure how convincing he’d be as an
alibi.  There’s nobody else out here, so if anyone believed Fry would lie for a
friend, I don’t know that we’d be accomplishing anything.  Plus, that deputy
last night saw me with Fry.  Seems likely he’d check out Fry’s real estate if
Fry and I are absent from town at the same time, and if they’re really anxious
to speak with me,” Luke pointed out with the same kind of reasoning I could
have used if he didn’t smell so good.  “Generally, I think you’re probably
right, though,” Luke conceded.  “While I’d like to spend some time examining
your reasons for concern over my safety and well-being, I have to figure out
where I’m going to stay for the next few days.  Preferably some place I’ll be
seen, but not necessarily spoken to, at least not by anyone in uniform.”  He
contemplated his still full beer for a moment and then suggested, “I could find
some out of the way hotel in New Orleans and lay low while I figure out what to
do.”

“New Orleans!  Of
course!  Why didn’t I think of that?  Fry has a nice little place down in the
French Quarter.  That’s where he stays when he’s overindulged while partying
with friends, or when there’s something going on in the Quarter that he wants
to do.  You could stay there, but I really think alone is a bad idea.  Will you
please consider relaxing with Fry in the French Quarter for a few days to
figure things out?” I asked, still convinced it was a better solution under the
circumstances.

“Wouldn’t
investigators be just as likely to locate me at Fry’s place in New Orleans as
they would if I stayed at Fry’s fishing cabin?” Luke wondered out loud.

“Ah, but that’s
what makes this apartment perfect.  It doesn’t belong to Fry.  It belongs to
his cousin’s ex-husband, Serge, who travels about ten months out of the year. 
Fry has a key and permission to use it whenever he wants, because they’re still
close friends.  I’m pretty sure Fry mentioned Serge was heading to Switzerland
a few weeks ago, which would mean he won’t be back in the states for at least
another month.”  I pulled out my cell phone to call Fry and verify my memory,
but no reception was available at Pup Heaven, either.  “No bars,” I grumbled
looking around.  “I see the pay phone next to the restrooms is out of order. 
You can call him to ask directions as you head into New Orleans.  He can also
tell you what time he’ll meet you there with the key.  I guess we should get
back to the cabin to pack up your stuff.”

“Nothing to pack,”
Luke informed me.  “I didn’t even take my things out of my car yet.  I was
looking around the fishing pier and cabin when you showed up.”

“Good,” I said,
hoping he didn’t notice I was a little disappointed that he didn’t need me to
help him get his stuff together.  “That means you can get on the road even
sooner.”

The waitress came
over to see if we needed anything, so I requested a diet soda to go.  Luke, who
was sipping his ice water, having abandoned his beer without drinking any, said
he didn’t need anything and just the check would be fine.

I insisted on
paying, but Luke insisted more.  Since he’s bigger than me, I let him. 

When we arrived
back at the cabin, I asked, “My drink is a little lacking in the ice
department, so do you mind if I get some from the freezer?”  

“I can save you a
trip up the stairs.  I stopped on my way and bought a bag of ice for my
cooler.  It’s right over here.  Here, let me get you some,” he said, reaching
for my cup.

“Thanks.  That
will make my trip back home better,” I said thinking of the diet soda on ice,
my favorite tunes and most comfortable shades that combine to make any trip
sweet.  Now I didn’t even have to worry about the Luke situation anymore
either.  I’d just give Fry a call once I was in cell tower range and ask him to
stick with Luke whether Luke liked it or not – and for that matter, whether he
was aware of it or not.  Fry didn’t mind a little stalking now and then if it
was for a good cause.  Luke had been through enough.  Fry was the best man to
keep an eye on him for a few days.  CeCe and I would do our part by covering
the shop without our number one employee.  Although it was always easier with
Fry, CeCe and I had been known to battle back a few hormone meltdowns
ourselves.  It was definitely for a good cause, so we would do whatever needed
to be done.  I guess that . . . .

“Shit!” Luke
yelled, bringing me out of my thoughts.

My reflex reaction
was to think Swear Bear!  Fortunately, it took only a split second for me to
realize where I was, realize I needed to get out more and register something
was wrong.

 “What’s wrong?” I
yelled, heading toward where he was crouched over the ice chest.

“Nothing,” he
assured me.  “I’m fine.”  As I reached him, I saw that he was not so much fine
as in pain.  “I was chipping some ice off of this big piece, and an ice chip
hit me in the eye.  It’ll be fine in a minute.  I just need to blink a few
times until I can focus with this eye again.  See?”

Although Luke was
blinking his left eye, when he pulled his hand away, the right eye was shut
tightly and gave no indication it planned on opening anytime soon.

“Um, Luke.  You’re
right eye isn’t blinking.  It isn’t even opening,” I pointed out helpfully. 
“Can you open it?”

When he managed to
open it a slit, his wince told me it was painful.

“I’m so sorry,” I
apologized.  “Me and my stupid ice.”

“Maggie, it isn’t
your fault.  Ice was not a dangerous or unreasonable request,” he said,
simultaneously smiling and wincing in pain.  “Oh, and here’s your drink.”

As Luke handed me
the cup nearly filled with ice, I looked inside.  My guilt made it difficult to
face those ice chips sitting on top, shining back at me, oblivious to the pain
they had just inflicted.

“Well, I’d better
hit the road,” Luke announced, looking at me with only one functioning eye.

“Absolutely not,”
I replied, a bit of the Bossy Bi-atch taking up residence within me.  This was
due to the scene that flashed into my mind at that moment.  Luke was driving
down the road with one eye, three lanes of New Orleans interstate traffic
flying by.  A car from the right side cut him off, but he didn’t see it in time
since he could see out of only his left eye.  He went off the road, plowed into
a light pole at 70mph, and died.  Luke was dead and it was all my fault,
because I just HAD to have ice!

“What I meant to
say,” I corrected myself, “was I don’t think you should drive.  At least not until
your eye has been checked out by a doctor.”

“No way,” Luke
countered.  “I don’t need a doctor I just need a few days to . . . .”

Luke stopped in mid-sentence
and a slight smile formed on his face.  “I’m not going to a doctor,” he began. 
“But if you’re worried, you can drive me to New Orleans and leave me at Fry’s
cousin’s ex-husband’s place, or wherever I find to stay.”

“Yeah, okay, I’ll
drive you.  But I’m not leaving you alone in a strange place, blind in one
eye,” I stated in what I hoped was a tone that left no room for negotiation. 
“I’ll stay with you until Fry gets there.  Then he and I will trade places.”

Oh, I expected
resistance from Mr. Big and Strong who didn’t need a doctor.  I was prepared to
list pros and cons, paint horrible scenarios to the alternatives, whatever it
took to convince him that this was safer.

Luke stood quietly
for a few seconds considering how best to argue his side, I suspected.

“Sounds good.  Let’s
go,” was his response.

CHAPTER 9

“Here,” I said
handing him my cell phone after we’d been driving for a while.  “Check to see
if I have any bars yet.”  About five minute later I did. 

“Just be sure they
understand I’m not kidnapping you or anything,” Luke said handing the phone
back to me.

CeCe and Fry were
at the shop when I called.  I talked to Fry first who was relaying parts of the
conversation to CeCe.  He was immediately on board and sprang into action.  I
could hear him dialing his cell phone as he handed CeCe’s phone back to her and
said, “Take it easy, CeCe.”

“Bye, Fry,” CeCe
laughed at their favorite exit lines.  Then she was back talking to me.  “Now
tell me what you’re doing, because Fry was talking and moving so fast I didn’t
catch that.”

“Fry’s meeting
Luke and me at the Hard Rock Café.  Then he and Luke are going to stay in the
French Quarter at Serge’s place, and I’m going to come home.  I know this
leaves you in the shop by yourself for a few hours, but I’ll make it up to
you.  We’re going to be without Fry for a few days, so I’ll do some time
working the shop by myself, and you can have some goof off time.  Just let me
know when you want to go,” I offered.

“It’s fine
Maggie,” CeCe graciously allowed.  “Tell me what I can do to help.”

“Well,” I tried to
decide if I was pushing my luck to ask another favor so soon.  Since CeCe
offered, I decided to go for it, “I was wondering if you had heard anything
else from Ben?”

“Deputy Ben,” CeCe
automatically corrected me, “and no, he hasn’t been back.  Why?”

“Um, here’s the
thing,” I tried to think of a way to put my request tactfully but decided that
would take time, and CeCe wouldn’t expect that from me, anyway.  “I wondered if
you would keep an eye on him.  I could do it, but I think it comes more
naturally for you.”

“How am I supposed
to keep an eye on Deputy Ben?  It’s not like I can just – wait.  I know.  I’ll
set up the neighborhood watch meeting for tomorrow night,” CeCe suggested. 

“Good thinking,” I
said.  “I can help keep an eye on him at the meeting, and then you can keep him
busy afterward.  Maybe when it’s over you can invite him out for coffee or
something.  You know, pick his brain.  See what he knows,” I offered. 

“You know you’re
right.  I could play it real cool.  Finesse some info out of him.  Maybe blow
this case wide open,” CeCe said excitedly. 

“Uh, yeah, or you
could at least keep him busy and get to have coffee with him,” I said. 

“Oh, whoopee,” she
deadpanned.  “No, this is strictly business.  Simply to help Luke.  Maybe I’ll
try to follow him after work.  You know, tail him.  See where he goes.  Maybe
it’ll give us a lead.”

She was really
getting into this now.  I wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing. 
You never know with CeCe, but I wasn’t going to worry about that right now.  We
could have an in depth discussion about how wise or unwise that might be when I
got home.

“Well,” I said
cautiously, “just be careful.”  CeCe and I disconnected after telling each
other to behave and stay out of trouble, which was our usual sign off.

“Oh, I’m sorry,” I
apologized to Luke.  “I forgot to ask you if you wanted to talk to Fry when I
had him on the phone.”  He was still staring out the window.  I didn’t think he
heard me.  “Luke?”

I began to worry
that the ice chip had somehow traveled and scratched his brain, too. 

“Huh?”  He snapped
out of it.  “I’m sorry.  What did you say?” 

“I was apologizing
for not checking to see if you wanted to speak to Fry,” I explained, studying
him as much as possible with my peripheral vision while driving. 

“No, no.  I’m sure
you covered everything.”  He smiled at me, but his mind was obviously somewhere
else. 

“Is everything all
right?” I asked.

He gave me a long
look like he couldn’t decide whether to tell me what was on his mind.  He took
in a deep breath and blew it out hard.  He was about to spill it.

 “I was just
thinking that I need to figure out the connection between Eliza’s and Barney’s
deaths to be able to figure out who did this, right?” he asked, sort of half
talking to me and half thinking out loud.

 “Right,” I
agreed. 

“So I’ve been
sitting here trying to figure out what I’m missing and why I’m missing it. 
That’s making me think I’m not paying attention to something Uncle Barney
said.  Every day since I’ve been back in town, I asked him what he did that day,
and he asked me.  We both spent a good part of the evening recounting our day –
you know, the little things nobody ever cares about.  That’s what we got in the
habit of telling each other.  It was like a game,” Luke chuckled softly at the
memory.  “We were both determined to prove to each other we had the most
exciting thing and the most boring thing happen that day.”  At that, Luke smiled
again and shook his head a couple of times.  Then he quickly glanced over at
me, as if he just remembered I was there.

I smiled, since I
don’t think anyone could have seen the look on his face when he talked about
how he joked with Barney and not smile.

“You must think
we’re a couple of competitive losers, huh?” Luke said with a big grin on his
face.

“No, but I do
think you were a couple of competitive little boys,” I assured him.

“You got that
right,” Luke agreed with a laugh.  The smile left over from his laugh didn’t
last long and was replaced by worry lines from whatever thought took over.

“Some things he
said made so little sense that I don’t think I really tried to figure out what
he meant.”  Luke had been looking out the window as he spoke, but now he turned
to look at me.  “I’ve been kicking myself for dismissing anything he said,
because it might have been important, and now I might never know what he meant,”
he observed quietly.  “That solves nothing, won’t bring him back, and won’t
catch whoever did this.  I need to go over everything he said to me lately to
try to figure it out.  I mean all of it, including the stuff that I dismissed
because it didn’t make any sense.”

“Um, I don’t want
to interrupt your thought process or anything,” I interrupted anyway.  “It’s
true I saw you with your uncle only briefly, but that doesn’t really sound like
the way you reacted to him when I saw you with him at Ms. Eliza’s funeral.”

“What do you
mean?” Luke asked.

“I just mean
dismissing him like you said?” I tried to clarify.  “It doesn’t seem like you
would really dismiss anything he said.”  We both sat quietly for several
seconds, but it was beginning to seem much longer.  “I don’t know, forget I
said anything, because it’s probably completely different when he was making no
sense or whatever.”

Luke turned his
head to look out the passenger side window, and I thought this was definitely
worse than just being awful at comforting people.  Now I was actually making
them feel worse.  Why didn’t I just keep my big mouth shut?

“You’re right,”
Luke said so softly that I barely heard him.  Then he turned his face away from
the window, back toward me, and said with a little more enthusiasm, “You’re
absolutely right.  I tried to follow what he was saying whenever he told me
something that made no sense, but he usually became frustrated and wanted to
talk about something else.  I’ve been feeling bad about having only small pieces
of his rambling information that didn’t make sense, because I felt maybe I was
cutting him off or ignoring what he said.  Now that you made me really think
about it, he was the one who became frustrated when he wasn’t making sense.  It
was almost like sometimes he realized, after he started telling me, that
whatever he was saying couldn’t have happened that way.  He’d just want to drop
it and talk about something else.  I didn’t want him to feel embarrassed or
uncomfortable, so I was quick to jump to another topic when he made it clear he
wasn’t comfortable with whatever subject we were talking about.”

“Then maybe you
remember more of what Barney said to you than you give yourself credit for,” I
suggested.  “I mean, since you shouldn’t feel guilty, maybe it will be easier
to run through those conversations in your mind now.”

“Thanks, Dr.
Maggie,” Luke joked.  “I’ll certainly try that when I’m laid out on the couch
once I get to wherever I’m staying.  I really hope I can afford your hourly
rate, because you know how expensive mental health professionals can be.”

“Ha-ha-ha, soooo
amusing.  Since you’re a close personal friend of Fry’s, I’m giving you a pass
on my co-pay, because you couldn’t afford it anyway,” I informed him as I
flicked on my turn signal.

I turned into the
parking lot of the Hard Rock Café while I was talking and started looking
around for the best place to park Luke’s Kia.  “How does a cup of coffee sound while
we wait for Fry?” I asked.

“Fine with me,”
Luke agreed.  “There’s a parking spot on the end of this row.”

“Hey, good eye,” I
said as I whipped his SUV into the excellent spot before I realized what I
said.  “Oops, sorry.  I wasn’t making fun of the fact that you have only one
functioning eye at the moment,” I explained as we climbed out and closed the
doors.  “Which reminds me, let’s see how the eye looks now.”

We met behind his
Kia, since the parking lot was fairly quiet at that moment.  I asked him to try
blinking both eyes, and this time his pitiful right eyelid actually opened to
about half mast.  Though it was only open slightly, it was a vast improvement
over the way it was clamped shut back at the fishing cabin.

“Better,” I said
with a nod and led the way to the coffee.

“Wow, I guess you
were right,” Luke said with a laugh.  “I probably couldn’t afford your co-pay,
since it turns out you’re a mental health professional and an ophthalmologist.”

“What can I say,”
I agreed and tried to look all serious.  “I’m a woman of many talents.”

“I’m noticing,”
Luke said very quietly.  Much louder he announced, “You know, I’ve been told
I’m a man of many talents.”

 “Please tell me
ventriloquism isn’t one of them, because those little puppet people creep me
out,” I said. 

“No, but I’ll keep
that in mind,” Luke assured me.

Once we entered
the Hard Rock Café, we were seated at one of those half-booths along the wall. 
Now that we were actually in the Quarter, Luke started making noises about not
needing Fry to stay with him as a babysitter.  He started explaining how the
quiet would probably help him think and thinking time was what he needed most. 
Then he went into an entertaining illustration of how much fun Fry can be and
how that might work as a distraction he didn’t need right now.  He concluded
with a moving tribute to today’s technology and the great strides we’ve made in
communication that would allow him to reach out to Fry, CeCe, or me at a moment’s
notice, should he find himself lacking in human contact.

Our coffee arrived
while Luke was still coming up with reasons why he would be fine on his own in
the French Quarter.  After I doctored my coffee with creamer and sugar
substitute I was ready to respond to Luke’s plea.

After I scored him
a nine for originality, an eight for content, and a perfect ten for delivery
and dismount, I gave him the breakdown of how it was going to be.  “First of
all,” I began, “you haven’t covered yourself in the event that another person
is murdered in Oakman.  A week ago, I would have agreed that statement is
absurd and doesn’t even deserve a response.  Now, with two people already dead,
we can’t say with any degree of certainty that it won’t happen again.  If you
are not able to give an account of where you were and have a witness to at
least the majority of the time frame, that’s just one more thing that will make
you look bad, and frankly Luke, you don’t need anything else to do that right
now.  Secondly, I completely understand that you might need some down time and
definitely some time alone, but I don’t think you’re giving Fry enough credit. 
He’s very aware of what people need when they are going through emotionally
charged issues, and he can help you.  If you need a sounding board, he’s
there.  If you need time alone to think, you’ll probably discover you don’t
even have to ask him.  That’s likely going to be the time he goes for a walk or
goes to the market.”

“I wasn’t
questioning or commenting on Fry’s character.  Fry’s the best, which I’m sure I
don’t have to tell you.  I hate that he has to change his plans for the next
few days to play sitter for me.  That’s my point,” Luke explained confirming what
I suspected all along was the real reason he preferred to stay alone.

I laughed hoping
to lighten the mood a little and because what he said was really funny.  “If it
makes you feel any better, I don’t think Fry does a lot of
planning
. 
He’s not so much a
planner
as he is a
follow the shiny object to see
where it takes you
kind of guy.  That might not work for everyone, but it
works for Fry.  That’s why he can pop in on the Senior and Single meeting and
blend when he’s not even 30 year’s old yet.  If he’s in the library during
Children’s Story Time, he sits in the circle with all the other kids.  The
librarians love him, because if any of the kids act out while the librarian is
reading, Fry whispers, ‘Little Dude, you gotta stop that. We’re trying to hear
the story,’ and the little dudes listen.  I guess it’s like a bigger kid told
them that or something.”  I paused while Luke and I laughed thinking about how
awesome Fry is, and I forgot what my point was going to be in the first place.

“You were telling
me how Fry had no plans I was interrupting,” Luke smiled and said all superior,
because I was so transparent that he realized I forgot what I was going to say.

I gave him a smile
that I hoped said
I knew that
, even though I didn’t.  I was then saved
by a text message alert that double dinged on my phone.