| |
They all listened to the news for a short time, but with nothing further about the murder or accusations against the Colonel, Cameron turned off the TV and they returned to brainstorming.
Garrett said, “By the way, before I came over, I ordered food from Sing Lum’s over on Washington.” The doorbell sounded with perfect timing. “That must be them now.”
Cameron opened the door and sure enough it was the delivery guy accompanied by two uninvited guests. Apparently, not content to quack their request for bread bits from the courtyard, Maxi and the little crippled duck Mini marched into the living room and stopped right in front of Kate. Maxi quacked furiously and flapped his wings as if to say, “Look, we asked for treats politely. WE WANT TREATS.”
Kate remembered the pair from the last time she visited and it appeared they remembered her, too. Mini rubbed against Kate’s leg as if to make amends for her rude mate, and Kate and the others had all they could do to keep from laughing. The two ducks were so tame, they were like pets. “Okay, okay, I get it. Treats.”
While Garrett paid the delivery boy and Cameron carried the bags of food into the dining room, Kate went out to the front courtyard. The two ducks followed her and hovered at her heels as she opened the container where her friend kept the bread bits. She reached in and pulled out a handful of dried bread, then offered it to them with an open palm. They gently ate from her hand, wagged their tail feathers in a gesture of thank you, and made their way back into the canal.
In the meantime, Cameron set the table with plates, cutlery, napkins and glasses, then emptied the food into serving bowls from the assortment of square cardboard cartons that all Chinese restaurants seem to use. Enticing aromas of ginger, five spice powder and chili powder filled the air around the glass table.
“Okay, everyone. Take a seat and help yourself. We’ll need fuel while we try to figure out what’s actually happening. Danny and Kate have lots of expertise, so let’s try to get a handle on this.” Cameron reached for the closest bowl, as each of the other three spooned food onto their plates. Little packets of soy sauce and Chinese hot mustard along with fortune cookies rested on small plates.
For the next few minutes the four of them were busy piling Buddha’s Delight Vegetables, Shrimp in Oyster Sauce, Pork Fried Rice, Three Ingredients and Sweet and Sour Chicken onto their plates. Playing the part of a good hostess, Cameron got up and made her way around the table filling their glasses from a large pitcher filled with crystal clear water and lemon slices.
This was not simply a gathering of four friends enjoying Chinese takeout and each other’s company. It had grown into far more than that—three people with backgrounds of solving crimes were trying to protect a retired war hero who now appeared to be unfairly suspected of murdering a neighbor for revenge.
After dinner they spread out around Cameron’s living room to deal with the problem at hand. Kate began by addressing her comments to Garrett.
“I know I’m not part of the community, Danny, but when Cami asked me to help, I was more than ready. You probably know we have a history of crime solving that goes back a few years, and I did meet the Colonel on one of my visits. You’re the only one here who really doesn’t know me or what my capabilities are. I think with your FBI background, my history of identifying and exposing frauds and cons, and Cami’s public relations abilities and hunches we have a good team here. Colonel, rest assured we three will do everything in our power to use our talents and connections to get you out of this situation as quickly as possible.”
The old man went over to Kate and gave her a sincere hug. His body language seemed more relaxed although you could still sense the tension and fear. He said, “Thank you, my dear. At my age I don’t have to put up a front. Am I scared? You’re damn right I am, but I have full confidence in the three of you. My hope is that those detectives will realize there is no way I could have done anything to those awful Shadys, and you can apply your talent and knowledge to giving them any assistance those cops will accept for getting at the truth.”
“Okay, let’s go over what we know now, which isn’t that much but it will give us a starting point,” Danny said. “Let’s assume for the moment that by tomorrow you will be out of the spotlight, Mike. By us recapping it now, we can help Kate get a handle on things. In the process, maybe the rest of us will remember a small detail or something we missed. Oh, by the way, Kate, it’s hard for someone like you to keep a low profile, particularly since I understand Cami handles PR for your firm. I know quite a bit about you and your company. I welcome your help and the fact that you might see things that we don’t. First item to discuss, the night the Shadys disappeared.”
They proceeded to go over Barbara’s actions at the HOA meeting. In retrospect, at first Barbara didn’t seem very worried that Al hadn’t shown up. In fact, it had to be suggested that she try to call him on his cell. A truly concerned wife probably wouldn’t have been as cool and calm as she had appeared, but then Barbara was Barbara—a pretty woman but a cold fish when it came to showing emotion or affection. At least that’s how she always appeared to them. Maybe there was nothing to that or maybe there was.
“You know, when she suddenly seemed worried, I actually had the feeling she was acting,” Cameron offered. “I guess what I’m trying to get across is it seemed more like she was looking for an excuse to beat it out of there quickly than concern for Al. Did either of you feel that way?”
Cameron saw Garrett and the Colonel considering the possibility. The Colonel was the first to speak.
“You know, now that you mention it, the whole time she was talking about the financial report she didn’t seem upset at all. Then, suddenly, it was as though someone flipped on a switch and she was this terribly concerned wife.”
Kate asked if they truly knew if she tried to call her husband to find out what was taking him so long. All three agreed they only had her word because she had gone into another room to presumably make the call. For all they knew, it was possible she hadn’t called at all. Maybe she knew something she wasn’t sharing. Was it possible he was being held hostage while she was supposed to show up as though nothing out of the ordinary was going on?
“If that’s so, what did they want and was he killed right here in Venice that night, then thrown in the canal later? That line of thinking raises the question, why did his body only show up now? Notwithstanding the blood, was he possibly kidnapped and kept alive, then murdered?” Kate looked around the group as though expecting answers to her questions, but no one said anything.
She continued. “Going in another direction, what if she knew he was dead before she came to the meeting and for some reason this woman Barbara tried to cover it up? If that was the case,” Kate continued trying to build a possible alternate scenario, “where is she? There are so many loose ends. I guess the detectives will be considering all of this and checking it out.”
Cameron excused herself and headed to the kitchen. “I think we need some food for thought. You know what they say about Chinese food—it doesn’t stay with you. I’ll be back in a few.”
She returned with a platter laden with four dessert plates decorated with caricatures of chefs in tall hats, forks and napkins, big chocolate brownies, some chocolate chip cookies, and blueberry scones that had been slightly warmed in the micro.
She set the platter down and passed a plate, fork and napkin to each of her friends. “Dig in. I always think better with chocolate.”