Chapter Twenty-Five

Cookie and Jamie stood outside Jamie’s Tahoe, observing the chaos that was double-points bingo day. The entrance to the Senior Center & Snowbird Funhouse, a name bestowed upon Erin’s business by Jamie, bustled with winter Texans descending from all over the island.

“Ever since she started offering free margaritas with every entry, Erin has been just raking in the green,” Cookie said to Jamie, who was still trying to gather her things from her car. Cookie spotted two women, both using walkers, moving more slowly than the rest of the group, so he took the opportunity to walk over to the front door and open it for them.

“Thank you, honey,” a gray-haired woman said. She was sporting blue polyester from head to toe, her shoes resembling the white numbers nurses often wore for long shifts. “Not many good-looking men with manners around here these days.”

“No problem at all. You go in there and make some money,” he said, offering the high-wattage smile he usually reserved for hot waitresses. Cookie then returned down the steps and back to Jamie.

“What the hell are you doing in there?” he asked, leaning over to peer at her through the driver’s side window.

“I couldn’t find my phone,” Jamie said. “It slipped down between the seats, and you weren’t here to call it because you were flirting with the seniors.” She peeked into her shoulder bag, double-checking that she had both journals in her possession. She had checked them at least ten times—they weren’t small or easy to lose—but she still felt the need to physically see both of them in her possession. She stepped out of the car, bag over her shoulder, and slammed the door shut then locked it with a double-tap of her key fob.

She and Cookie walked in the front lobby and were greeted by a packed house. Clusters of seniors were gathered, most holding frozen green drinks in small clear cups. More women than men filled the space, all chatting about topics ranging from the latest politics to gossip about Mrs. Sandoval and her much younger boyfriend. It was like a meeting group for people who had aged out of all the conventional online dating sites.

The woman decked out in blue spotted Cookie and hustled her walker over to stand by his side. Barely five feet tall but with solid posture, she looked up at Cookie’s smiling face. “You going to stay here for a while and play? Free drinks and everything.”

“Afraid I can’t today.” He pointed to Jamie. “My boss is making me work overtime. Got a lot to do.”

The woman went from smiling at Cookie to grimacing at Jamie. “You really shouldn’t be such a hard-ass, young lady. Take it from me. Don’t work your whole life away. Not worth it. My husband, Bernie, rest his soul, worked nonstop until he turned sixty-seven—no days off, didn’t take vacations, so dedicated. You know what happened?”

Jamie took the bait. “No, what happened?”

“Finally got him to agree to take a vacation. Hawaii. First-class tickets, the whole thing. Payment for my waiting patiently all those years. He dropped dead, just like that. Heart attack, no warning. Just on the ground, gone. Couldn’t even get the money back from the airline.”

Jamie listened to the woman’s cautionary tale, both amused and enamored with her plain-speaking presence. “I’m so sorry that happened. I will definitely work harder at”—she searched for the right words—“work harder at working less.” She glanced at Cookie. “I promise to give you time off so you can come back here for the next double-points bingo event.”

The woman smiled so large, one would have thought she had won the lottery. “I’ll be looking for you next time, okay?” she said with a twinkle in her eye for the large man sporting Hawaiian floral.

“I’ll see you here,” he said before gesturing to Jamie to get a move on.

Jamie stifled her laughter, almost choking on it. “You might have finally found someone who’s too much woman for you.”

“Thanks for that.”

Jamie carefully navigated through the sea of silver to the hallway that led to Erin’s office. Becky was standing outside the doorway as though she were Erin’s personal bouncer… which she was.

“How you doing, Becky?” Jamie asked as she walked by her into Erin’s office.

“Good.” She offered a fist bump to Cookie as he passed her.

Erin sat at her desk, typing something that had her focused attention. Her straight blond hair was tucked behind her ear, revealing a large, dangling lapis earring. During moments such as this, Jamie wondered what it would feel like to be so polished, so well put together.

It seemed like a lot of work.

Jamie tapped on the desk. “Hey, Erin.”

Her friend hurried through whatever she was typing on her computer then exited the screen with a tap of her finger. “Nice to see you,” she said, “although the seriousness in your voice worries me a bit.” She signaled to Cookie. “C’mere, you.”

Cookie walked around the desk and gave her a hug.

Her hair fell in his face as she leaned in to give him a squeeze. “How’s my hot boyfriend doing?”

“Quit calling him that, Erin. You’re going to give him a big head.”

“Too late,” he joked.

“So, tell me what this is all about.”

Jamie reached into her bag and pulled out the journal and the travel book. “I need you to put these in your super-secret vault, the one that you use for your most important papers… and stuff.” She touched them. “These belonged to Kristen, and both the Deltones and the Acunas want them.”

Erin stared at the journals. “Kristen’s death was about what’s in those two books?” She shook her head. “I’m so sorry, Jamie.”

“It’s okay,” she replied. “I mean, it’s not okay, but at least we can do something about it.”

“You want them here long-term, or will you need them again soon?”

Jamie shook her head. “No, no, I just need you to hold them for a few days. I’m looking into a few things still, and there’s no way these would be safe at Hemingway’s or at Cookie’s place. I don’t have time to get a bank deposit box, so can you just take them for now? I want to take some time to go through the journals but not until I set up something more secure long-term. They need to be safe for now until I decide how to move forward.”

Erin smiled at her friend and reached over for the books. “Of course. This is the perfect place. After all, who’s going to think something so important would be hidden in a seniors’ hangout?” She gestured toward her office door. “Why don’t you two follow me to the room, and we’ll get these locked up so you can see they’re safe and sound.”

Becky remained standing outside the door, her eyes on her charge. “You need me to follow you somewhere?” she asked Erin.

Erin shook her head. “No, I’ve got these two. I’m fine. Just stay here, maybe check on the crowd outside to make sure none of the patrons get too rowdy. Those free drinks sometimes backfire. Always get a wild one or two in the middle, wanting to do something stupid like start a mosh pit or stay awake past ten o’clock.”

Becky grinned at the comment, and Erin led Jamie and Cookie to what she’d simply called “the room.” The room looked like a basic office supply storage area. Reams of paper were stacked high next to other office supplies, cleaning supplies, and the like. Erin signaled to Cookie. “Can you move that table with all the paper on it?” When Cookie shot her a look, she said, “I know, I know. It’s not that heavy.”

He leaned forward and lifted the table, complete with all its contents. One ream of paper slid off, then two, then a third, each hitting the floor with a thud, which dented the corners of the paper packages. “Sorry about that.”

Erin shrugged it off. “No worries.” She then walked over to a beige area rug with a pattern of palm trees across its length. She leaned down, resting on her knees, then lifted the rug, revealing a safe built into the floor. The surface was stainless steel with a digital screen at the top and a second small screen toward the bottom. Erin typed in a code, letters and numbers. The safe clicked twice, then after a third click, the door opened slightly.

Erin opened the safe and placed the journals in quickly, not leaving time for eyes to fall on any other contents inside. Jamie knew it wasn’t because Erin didn’t trust her and Cookie, but rather because she wanted to get the safe secured quickly. Erin then closed and locked the safe, returning the rug to its proper place. She looked at Cookie to move the table to its original position.

“Really? That’s all I am to you? A pretty face and some manual labor?”

“Pretty much,” she quipped.

With Cookie’s help, the room was returned to its original layout, just another storage room holding copy paper, printer ink, cleaning supplies, and the one thing that could guarantee the downfall of the Deltone crime family.