Where Is Henderson? (Sam Darling mystery #5) (3 page)

I turned, with him still holding me, and said, “I love you.” I kissed him. “Even though this wasn’t a life or death situation, it was scary for me, and you were there as usual.” I kissed him again, and repeated, “I love you.”

“You are quite the distraction,” he said, and kissed me again. “But I’m on duty and need to get moving.” He started walking, but held his hand backward so I could grab it. “We probably need to set some ground rules for those rare occasions when we work together.”

“You’re right. Let’s do it later though. I love holding hands while we walk.”

It wasn’t long before I had to let go of his hand and lean over to gulp some air. “I will… I will… start running… again. I will. And Clancy will appreciate it.”

I’d been neglectful of my physical health since we got back from Missouri. No surprise. My days were always filled. I worked hard as a part-time therapist at Quincy Community Clinic. On my off time, I was busy with my huge extended family, and planning our wedding. Not to mention my forays into detecting, when George and others allowed it. Today was just a lucky break for me. George had been in a good mood, as usual, but this time didn’t complain about me wanting to tag along. Well, it was a lucky break for me, but not for the poor dead guy.

As we walked I said, “I wonder how long he’s been dead.”

“There didn’t seem to be any decay, but that’s probably because it’s freezing. Conrad will let us know his conclusions as soon as he gets done with the post-mortem. He’ll be able to tell if the body was frozen a long time or a short while, and if he was frozen before or after death. I took a pic of the dude’s face and will send it around to police departments to see if it matches any missing persons they have.”

We made it back to George’s car without me passing out. “I’ll drop you off at my place,” he said. “You have a wedding shower to get ready for.”

“So do you,” I said. “Remember, it’s a couple’s shower, so you have to be there. You have to.”

“I will. I will,” he said, patting my knee. George started the car and added, “Unless of course police business prevents it.”

“Nice try,” I said. “I need you there.”

He just smiled.

We rode in companionable silence to his house, where I’d left Clancy and my car. My last words to George before he drove away were, “Two o’clock at the Dairy. Don’t be late.”

He smiled that smile again. The one that crinkled his eyes. The one that made me melt. I was resolute however, and repeated my words, “Two o’clock at the Dairy. Don’t be late.” This time I smiled too. I couldn’t help it.

There were a lot of reasons for the smile—George, my family, the shower, the wedding, and the Dairy itself. It was a traditional gathering place when our family went out for breakfast, and they had a room large enough for us to rent for the shower.

Clancy greeted me with her leash in her mouth. “Yep, we’re going, girl. And stop complaining. I wasn’t gone that long.”

I grabbed a few personal belongings from George’s house and stuffed them in a bag. Picking up Clancy’s leash, I opened the back door and walked her toward the garage. My little blue Beetle was parked next to the garage on a stone slab. While Clancy watered a few plants I put my gear in the back seat of the car. The front passenger seat was reserved for her.

I buckled the doggy seatbelt and filled her in on what had happened. “Yeah, a graffiti drawing—some kind of vase or urn. I wonder what that means. Any ideas?”

After watching her think for a minute, I said, “I never thought of that. Maybe it’s a gang sign for country folks, or maybe it’s a sign from where the body was murdered.” I listened for a moment, then said, “Yeah, I know we’re not certain it’s murder, but it probably is, or I wouldn’t be so worked up about it. Wonder how I can find out more about those urns.”

She didn’t have any ideas, but I knew that sometimes she liked to think before she “talked.” A lot of folks didn’t understand my connection with Clancy, but most people in my family understood. And George. George knew and believed me when I told him about my psychic connection with Clancy. He believed me… or at least, he chose to pretend he did. Either way, he was a smart man.

My home was only a half-mile from George’s, but miles away away financially. His blue-collar neighborhood was the one I had grown up in; in fact, we’d been neighbors all through school. Where I lived now was about two tax brackets above where I’d lived as a kid. I took 18th Street and drove from Spring to Maine. Not far at all—four blocks—but my carriage house stood in the midst of a lot of wealth and power. I certainly didn’t fit in wealth-wise, and it was only because my friends owned the mansion associated with the carriage house that I benefitted from it.

I had no sooner closed my car door than I heard, “Oh, Sam. Sam. Yoo-hoo.” I knew who it was without even looking. Georgianne Granville, one-half of my landlord couple.

“Hey, Georgianne. What’s up?” Yeah, I was friendly to her. In fact I really did count her as a friend. In the recent past, however, her “yoo-hoo” would have driven me to hide. She had been on my “dislike” list, but in the past year I’d come to appreciate her nearly as much as I loved her husband.

“Just wanted to tell you that Gus and I are looking forward to your shower. Do you want to ride with us?”

“No, thanks,” I answered. “My sister Jen is picking me up.” I tugged on Clancy, who pulled hard in the opposite direction, trying to charge up the verandah stairs to get a belly rub from Georgianne. “We’ve got to get inside. Lots to do.”

“All right, Samantha. We’ll see you soon. ‘Bye, Clancy dear.” With that she vanished as quickly as she’d appeared, though visions of her flowered housecoat remained.

“Maybe I’ll get her a new one for Christmas.” Clancy knew what I meant.

I unhooked Clancy’s leash and gave her fresh water, all the while apologizing for leaving her. “I’m sorry. It’s at a restaurant, so you can’t go.” Silence. “I didn’t make the public health laws. It’s not my fault.”

Leaving a trail of clothes, I meandered to the bathroom and quickly showered and washed my hair. Talking over the sound of the water, I said, “I promise I’ll go over all the presents with you and will tell you who brought what. If there are any decent leftovers, I’ll bring them home.” I could almost hear Clancy chuckle.
Leftovers at a Darling function?
Absurd
.

I laughed too, and dragged my towel with me as I went to the “climb-in closet.”

“Yeah, I know I need to clean it out. And I will some day. Now quit nagging me and help me find something to wear.” A year ago when I’d begun working at the Quincy Community Clinic I had owned one suit and a few pairs of pants. Not much to choose from. I’d thrown everything out that I’d worn when I worked for DCFS in Chicago. It had been symbolic rather than smart. And in the past year I’ve slowly built up my wardrobe again.

“What do you think about this?” I held up a pale purple wool skirt and an argyle sweater with various shades of pink, purple, and green. Clancy shook her head. “Not girly enough? Hmmm.” I looked further, but didn’t find anything that felt right. “Sorry, girl. I win. I’m wearing this. And the colors are feminine anyway, even if you don’t like the style.”

I dried my hair and put on minimal makeup. I smacked my lips, making sure the mauve lipstick was evenly distributed. As I twisted from side to side while looking in the mirror, I figured that I didn’t look too bad. Sure my hips were bigger than I’d like, but those hips allowed for a wide pelvis that had let me give birth easily. “Yeah. There’s that,” I said out loud, laughing at myself.

Clancy had finally stopped following me around and was on the bed sound asleep. That would help cut down on the guilt I felt about leaving her alone.

The beep of a car horn cut my reverie short, and I said, “Bye, Clance,” as I grabbed a deep blue, fiberfill, full-length coat from the closet. I looked around to make sure I didn’t forget anything while I zipped up my coat. The coat itself reminded me of the lady in the full-length down coat.
Was there more we should have asked her?

The thought was fleeting. I opened the door to a chill blast of air that made me grateful for my coat, and grateful that my sister’s car was already warm.

“Hurry. Close the door,” Jen commanded as I tried to get in her white SUV as quickly as I could. Before she took off, she added, “Did you lock the house?”

I know what I said sounded like, “Grumble, grumble,” but that was better than what I was thinking. I got back out of the car, locked the door to the carriage house, and returned as petulant as a fourth-grader. My mood changed abruptly, though, as soon as I remembered what we were about to do. “I’m so excited, Jen. Thanks for giving me a ride.”

“No problem,” she said. “What was George doing?”

“Well, there’s a body…”

“No more,” she held up her hand. “No more. I don’t want to think about you with your nose in another murder.” She moved her hand from the steering wheel so she was patting my arm. “I worry about you.”

“I know,” I said, keeping my voice totally un-whiney. “I promise I’ll be careful. George made me promise too.”

“Okay. Let’s have fun then.”

It only took a minute to get from my house to the Dairy. Located between our family home and our elementary school, the Dairy was a casual restaurant and our childhood hangout. It conjured happy memories every time we entered. We had the back room reserved, and Jen and I walked in to find it full of people, mostly relatives. I looked around. No George. I was confident he’d arrive when he could.

It was heartwarming to be greeted effusively and with so much love. Since it was a couple’s shower there were a bunch of guys there, including my three brothers. Ed, Pete, and Rob sat at the same table with my sister Jill, her husband Ben, and Ed’s wife Angie. Gus and Georgianne were sitting at a nearby table and I hugged both of them as well.

I turned to Jen. “I forgot to ask you, is Manny coming?”

“Nope. He sends regrets. He got called in on an emergency.”

“He was probably happy to be spared,” I said, smiling. Jen’s husband Manny was a pediatrician and we adored having him in the family.

I looked around again as Jen led me to the head table. “It’s strange having a family function without the kids.”

“Yeah. We decided to make it adults only so we could fit here at the Dairy. Can you imagine trying to get our kids in here too?” She lifted her arms expansively as if to include the whole world.

The head table was decorated with crepe paper and balloons and held some irreverent signs that hinted at a great amount of sex, which brought another smile to my face. The only problem was that the head table was set up for only two people, and it emphasized the fact that my beloved wasn’t here. I sat, but then jumped back up and went to the table with my sibs. “Can I sit here until George comes?” I asked.

“Sure thing,” Pete said, grabbing a chair for me from another table. “Do you think he’s going to stand you up like he did on prom night?”

“Listen. Priests are supposed to be nice. Why don’t you try it sometime?” I couldn’t be mad at him. Out of everyone he was the one who totally believed in my semi-psychic abilities.

Pete grinned and indicated the chair. “Here. Sit.”

Rob, the youngest of our crew and a police officer at QPD, said, “Is there something going on that I should know about? Is there a situation happening?” He leaned forward in his seat as he spoke.

“No and yes.” I said tauntingly. “No, you don’t need to know. And yes, there is a situation.”

He moved his seat closer to me as he said, “Tell me about it.”

“Did you take off work today for the shower?” At his nod, I added, “Then you don’t need to worry about what’s going on.”

“But cops are technically always on duty.” My baby brother was a good cop and had inherited the curiosity gene, like me.

“They probably don’t need help, Robbie, or they would have called you. I promise that after the party I’ll have George fill you in. He’ll probably know more by the time he gets here.”

As if just mentioning his name was enough to conjure him up, George strolled in. Without looking around he walked up to me and gave his usual greeting, “Hi ya, Sam.” Was it only a year ago that this greeting set my teeth on edge? These days, it gave me Goosebumps. Right after saying the words, George leaned over and kissed me full on the mouth.

I gasped aloud. Not because I was shocked but because George was an expert kisser. His lips were full and soft—probably from many years of Chapstick. But no matter why they were soft, they felt wonderful when pressed against my own.

I heard another gasp. I turned in its direction and saw my maiden Aunt Beatrice clutching her chest in a movement that either indicated shock or excitement. Perhaps both. My smile went from her back to my sweetheart.

“Hi, George,” I said. “You’re here.”

“Of course I’m here. Is there a chair for me?”

“We’re up at the head table,” I said, just as Rob said, “George, tell me what’s going on.”

“Robbie, I said he might tell you after the party. After. Not before. And not during.” My words sounded eerily close to the words George had warned me with earlier today.

George looked confused and Rob looked miffed. Taking my sweetie’s hand, I said, “I promised him you’d tell him about the body later.”

At that point Aunt Beatrice gasped again, and I heard her tell her brother, Uncle James, “Did she say ‘body’?”

I thought it was kind of fun shocking Aunt Bea, and also thought I’d probably try it again sometime.

George escorted me to the head table, and we sat. He leaned over to me and whispered, “What are we supposed to be doing?”

“I don’t know. I had nothing to do with this.”

Just then, Jen stood up. As the next eldest in the sibling group of six, it made sense that she assumed the leadership role in my absence.

“Hey, everybody. Welcome to Sam and George’s wedding shower. So happy you were all able to make it. Especially you, George,” she said with a laugh. “We’re going to begin with the luncheon, and then play a few games before we have the cake and presents.”

Pete chimed in. “You planned it that way so the guys would have to stay and play games if they wanted cake.”