Chapter 22

 

The morning was foggy as we drove along the coast. Route one snaked along the coast and in high areas away from the sea it was sunny. The tourist traffic was absent, but we hit pockets of heavy traffic from people going to work. We had plenty of time. Rhonda and Jackson weren’t due on the Doris Dean until afternoon.

Rhonda was riding shotgun with Argus in her lap. Jackson was in the backseat on the driver’s side so Rhonda was able to talk to both of us. I was able to tune her out on the pretext that I was concentrating on driving. Jackson wasn’t so lucky.

“And you just wait and see,” she said out of the blue. “We’ll be the oldest one’s on the cruise.” Today she was dressed in only what I could describe as a Miss Marple outfit. There’s one old bitty that I wouldn’t want to be on a cruise with. The Marple woman turned up more dead bodies than a graveyard after an earthquake!

“Not likely,” I said. “And even if you are, so what? This isn’t your first cruise, you went on the Doris Dean two years ago.

“Yes, and last time it was all retired school teachers, and you know what they are like!”

“Two-thirds of this car is populated with retired teachers,” I reminded her.

“Yes, but after we retired, we got a life.”

Shortly after that remark I pulled the car into the parking lot of Moody’s Diner in Waldoboro. It seemed as though there were about fifty other cars there, but we were able to find a small booth to squeeze in.

“I don’t know when their slow time is, but I’ve never been here when it wasn’t crowded.” The place had been in continual operation from the 1930’s, and as far as I could tell, it hadn’t changed much. But I guess that was the charm.

The waitress brought us coffee and we ordered an early lunch.

“Thanks for house sitting,” said Jackson. “I worry about leaving the house vacant, considering that your house got broken into.”

“I could sell you a state-of-the-art alarm system.”

“Actually that’s not a bad idea. We’ll talk about it when we return. Insurance companies offer a discount for homes that have a fire alarm component.”

“I thought it was overkill, but I’m a believer now,” I replied.

“Where’s Argus?” asked Rhonda. “You didn’t leave him in the car did you?”

“Of course not. He’s in the tote bag under your feet.” Rhonda looked down and opened the tote bag. Then she noticed the large screened openings on the bag that appeared to be decorations. Argus was curled up in a ball, but awake and listening to us talk.”

“How did you get him to do that?” she asked.

“He’s pretty smart. He knows that if he’s quiet, he gets to go places.”

We quickly changed the subject when the waitress returned. “Here are you breakfasts. Anything else you need?”

“No thanks,” I said. “I think we’re all set.”

She reached into her apron pocket and pulled out a dog biscuit. “This is for the dog.”

“Busted!” said Jackson.

“How did you know?” I asked.

“I’ve got the same bag for my dog. Don’t forget to tip!” she said with a smile and walked off.

 

……………………..

 

I dropped off Jackson and Rhonda with their bags at the head of Camden Harbor and drove off to find a parking spot, which wasn’t that easy since it was tourist season and parking was limited. Fortunately I knew the area quite well and was able to secure a spot on a side street near the harbor. I caught up with the two of them by the waterfront near the Doris Dean where they were sitting on a bench. The crew members were loading up the ship with food and provisions for the ten day trip.

“You’re going to be part of the tall ships flotilla off the coast of Nova Scotia, that should be fun,” I said. Seeing the ship there made me somewhat envious.

“Yes, we were lucky to snag the last cabin on the trip,” replied Jackson. “I think it helped that we were repeat passengers.”

“Not to mention,” added Rhonda, “that one of our best friends used to do the nasty with the captain.”

“You’re a malicious old woman,” I replied.

Just then the provisions were stowed away and Parker Reed caught sight of us and waved us aboard.

“Welcome aboard!” said Parker as he reached out his hand to help us climb over the wooden steps. I passed Argus up to him and Parker set him down on the deck. The dog began exploring the ship. “The rest of the passengers will be coming aboard soon. You two are in cabin B in the aft, if you want to go and unpack.”

“I think I’ll go check out the galley and meet you back here in a few” I said and headed toward the bow of the ship and down the steps to the galley.

A young woman in jeans and a tee shirt was in the galley checking out the provisions from a written list.

“Hi, I’m Jesse Ashworth, a friend of Parker’s, and I used to be a cook here for a couple of summers.”

“Pleased to meet you. I’m Cindy Bishop. This is my first summer cooking for the ship. I love it!” she said. “I’ve seen your name on several of the recipes.” Each cook kept a log with a list of menus and recipes. It was helpful and a great resource that each of us passed along to the next cook.

“I learned more about cooking here than I ever did anywhere else in my whole life.”

“Me too! I was really intimidated by the wood stove at first, but I love cooking on it.”

“I know,” I agreed, “if you can cook on a wood stove, you can cook anywhere.

“There you are,” said Parker as he appeared in the doorway, “bothering my cook, no doubt.”

“We’re having a secret Tupperware party,” answered Cindy.

“I should get going,” I said. “It was nice to meet you, Cindy. And Parker, it’s always interesting seeing you.” I picked up Argus, who was ready to go home.

I said good-bye to Rhonda and Jackson, assured them that I would be watching their house, got in my car and headed home.

 

…………………………………………….

 

The sun was already up even though it was only six in the morning. I like to think of myself as a morning person, but all that really means is that I wake up early. After my first cup of coffee I can become civil, and after my second cup I become almost human.

I was sitting on the sofa with Argus and sipping my second cup of coffee. Tim and Jessica were busy packing Tim’s SUV with camping equipment. Each year the two of them headed off to the wilds of Maine on a camping trip. I was always invited and I always declined. Give up a soft mattress for the hard ground? I don’t think so! I knew this year was different, since Jessica would be married soon and probably camping trips with her old man wouldn’t be at the top of her To-Do list. At any rate they were both chattering away on what fun it would be sleeping out in a tent under the stars. I suppressed an urge to gag.

“Are you going to be okay by yourself?” asked Jessica.

“I’ll be fine,” I replied. “I won’t be the one shivering in my sleeping bag. Besides I won’t be alone, I’ve got Argus with me.” Argus became alert at the sound of his name.

“Use the alarm system,” instructed Tim, “so that we don’t have to worry about you.”

“Are you two going or are you just sticking around to annoy me?” The coffee wasn’t working very well. This was going to be a three cup day.

Finally they drove away and I was on my own for a few days. I dressed for the office and tried on my new shoulder holster for my gun. I had my second lesson planned for this morning before I went to the office. Blue shirt, red tie, and I added my dark frame glasses. In the mirror I looked like a professional hit man.

“Your dad is one cool dude,” I said to Argus. I harnessed up the dog, punched in the alarm code and headed in to work.

 

The office was nice and cool when I walked in. Monica was sitting at the desk, taking the place of the vacationing Jessica.

“Good morning cuz,” she greeted me. “The coffee is on in the break room. Did you get the Mallorys off safely?”

“As safe as anyone could be, camping out there on the cold ground.”

“Jason and I were thinking of going camping sometime.”

“I went camping once,” I boasted.

“You stayed in a one star motel once!” she replied.

“Exactly my point! That was as close to camping as I ever want to get!” She left the room and returned with two cups of coffee. “Remember when you used to bake muffins in the morning?”

“Yes, back when I was retired. Now I seem to be busy and disorganized. Would you mind looking after Argus while I go for my shooting practice?”

“Not at all. There doesn’t seem to be much to do here this morning.”

“I know, and we haven’t even completed those cases we have. Luckily the alarm installation business is doing okay.”

“Have you ever thought of taking over the monitoring of the alarms? Right now the agency installs the alarms for the local people and then you hand over the daily monitoring to an outside company. Why not keep the income for yourselves?”

“Actually,” I said, “that’s probably not a bad idea! I’ll discuss it with Tim, if he makes it back from the jungle.”

“Baxter State Park is hardly the jungle.”

“Ever been there?”

“Nope.”

“Me neither.”

………………………………….

 

The smell of gun powder was in the air and the florescent light in the ceiling was flickering. So far I had managed to hit the target several times and only missed once.

“For a beginner,” said my instructor, “you have a natural eye.”

“I don’t expect to ever actually have to use the gun.”

“Hopefully not,” she replied. “But it’s nice to know that you can shoot if you need to. Most people buy a gun and never take lessons. That’s a very dangerous thing to do.”

I shot at a few more targets, but then my arm was getting tired and my eyesight was getting blurry, and I called it a day.

I got in the car and drove away. There was nothing waiting for me at the office, so I drove by Jackson and Rhonda’s house to check it out. I stepped onto the porch to check the mailbox. There wasn’t any mail, so I figured they had the post office hold the mail. I took the key and unlocked the door. It had only been a few days, but the house had that shut up smell that houses seem to get when no one is living in them.

I checked the plants in the living room, but the soil was damp and they didn’t need any water. I was walking toward the dining room when I thought I heard a noise in the kitchen. I stopped in my tracks. My heart was pounding and I drew my gun out of the holster and waited. I heard the sound again. There was no doubt that there was someone in the kitchen. I crept up to the kitchen door, kicked it open and yelled, “Freeze scumbag!”

There was a high pitched scream and there in the middle of the kitchen was Viola Vickner sorting through the mail.

“Don’t shoot, Jesse!”

“Viola, what are you doing here?” I lowered my gun and put it back in the holster.

“Rhonda asked me to drop off any mail from the shop that was important. What are you doing here?

“Rhonda asked me to check on the house and the plants. I guess she didn’t bother to let us know that we would both be checking.”

“I guess not. I think she’ll have to be punished for that oversight.”

“Got a plan?” I asked.

“Oh, yes. Are you in?”

“I’m in!”

As we were leaving the house she told me of her plan.

“Perfect!” I said when she had finished.