Chapter 15

 

The magic of the humpback whales was over and I was stuck in the tight seat in the third row of the SUV again, trying to tell myself I didn’t feel cramped in. At least it was a shorter ride since the plan was that we’d stop for lunch at the Blue Door on the way back. I hoped I’d get a chance to talk to Lucinda about the information that Iola had dumped in my lap. It was a lot to process. It had never occurred to me that there was a connection between my retreaters and the Silicon Valley group and now I knew there was not only a connection but bad feeling toward the Reborn people from two of my people. I had to bring her up to speed on my nighttime adventure with Lieutenant Borgnine and how my opinion of what’d happened had changed.

I wasn’t sure if Lieutenant Borgnine was sold on the idea that someone had hit Tim with the rock I’d found with blood residue, but I was. The jagged orb was too random when the whole area was made up of giant smooth slabs. The small rocks were piled in the area near the street where someone could have easily helped themselves.

Just then I remembered that I was going to let the whole Tim thing go. Oh, well, good plan while it lasted.

There was a lot more action on Grand Street than there had been when I’d gone to bake at the Blue Door the night before. The main drag of Cadbury was busy with tourists and townspeople. All the foot traffic gave the main street a lively air. I was concerned about giving Deani directions since my visual options were pretty limited in that third row, but she drove directly to the Blue Door with no help and parked right in front of the place. It knocked out my thought that she might have taken a sleeping pill the night before. My understanding was that people had no memory of what they’d done or where they’d gone. So I had to wonder all over again why she’d said nothing about her visit or that the Reborn crew were her customers.

The group waited until I squeezed out and then I led the way up onto the porch to the front door. Unlike when I’d arrived the night before, tables were set out on the far end of the porch. Though since it was past lunchtime only one of the outdoor tables in the corner was taken.

I held the door and ushered my group in. Lucinda was waiting by the door and gestured for them to follow her. Dressed in a bright yellow dress, it was as if Lucinda had brought the sun inside. I knew it was designed by some guy with a French-sounding name. All of her clothes were designer and she always looked completely put-together. She was wearing her hair short in what she called a carefree style. It was a warm brown now with golden highlights that seemed to act like a spotlight on her face.

I hung back as they went in. Iola held up the rear and I grabbed her as she was about to go inside.

“You told me about Madison and Deani, but what about you? Do you have any connection with the Reborn people?”

“If you’re concerned that I’m angry you put on a workshop for them—I’m not upset. Madison and Deani are involved with servicing them.” She shook her head. “I’m not.” She looked ahead as her knit-together friends reached the other side of the main dining area. “I see the Reborn people in the hall and lounge. Frankly, I’ve never cared that they didn’t acknowledge my existence here or in the office even though it goes against the ‘friendly atmosphere’ of the work space environment.” She gave me a brief rundown of the business she and her husband had. They sold stuff online and made up little videos. No surprise, she did the voice-over. I bet they did well. With her husky voice I figured she could make straw sound exciting.

I’d held her up long enough and urged her to join the others. I stayed by the front, watching as Lucinda waited while they took their seats at the table on the sunporch and then handed them menus. She hung by the table and reacted with smiles and bows of her head as they read the back of the menu with the fairy-tale story of how Lucinda and Tag had been high school sweethearts and reconnected later in life. I noticed them looking around and I guessed it was for Tag. I couldn’t hear Lucinda’s explanation, but I knew she often shooed him out of the place toward the end of lunch so they could have some time off from each other before it was time to start serving dinner.

She took their orders and dropped them off in the kitchen before coming back to the front where I was. “Aren’t you going to sit with them?” she asked.

“They’re all friends and I’m like an outsider,” I said and she nodded with understanding. She got me a stool and wanted to feed me, but all I would take was an iced tea.

The server took over dealing with my group and Lucinda stayed by the front in case there were any late arrivals for lunch.

“I feel so out of the loop,” Lucinda said, leaning on the counter. “I’m used to being in the middle of things. This is the first retreat you’ve put on that I didn’t attend. But I understand this isn’t like your usual retreats. It’s a private party.”

“Exactly,” I said. “And that’s the same reason I’m not sitting with them.” I leaned closer to my friend and boss. “But do I have some things to tell you.”

“I’m all ears,” she said. It was always hard to know where to start. I decided not to go chronologically and started with my adventure with Lieutenant Borgnine. She was laughing so hard by the end she had tears rolling down her cheeks.

“If only you had taken a video of the whole thing.”

“Dealing with him was pretty funny, but finding the blood on the rock was serious and it explained why Tim had blood all over his face,” I said. She wanted to know how the cop had taken it and all I could do was tell her the truth, that he’d seemed to go along with my assessment that someone had hit Tim with the rock, but that he might have just been humoring me.

“But there’s more,” I said. I told her about Madison being upset that I’d put on the workshop for the other group. “And Kevin St. John’s group asked me to arrange another workshop. I have to do it,” I said. “That group talked so much they barely had time to start their project. If I left things the way they are, I’m sure Elex would complain about it to Kevin St. John, forgetting that they’d come to me to put the workshop together.”

“So, if it wasn’t an accident and somebody killed Tim—do you think it was one of his people?”

“That would seem the most likely scenario, but now that I know some of my group knows some of that group, it adds to the possible suspects.”

Lucinda and I sensed someone coming near and we both looked up as Deani approached. I hoped she hadn’t overheard what we’d been talking about. “Have you seen Aileen?” she said, sounding worried.

It seemed she’d left the table right after the orders were taken and the food had arrived and she wasn’t back. “I thought she’d gone to the restroom, but it’s empty.” She pointed at the open door in the back of the alcove between the dining room and sunporch.

“Didn’t she say something about liking some time alone,” I said, remembering her comments on the drive to Monterey. “Maybe she went out to check out downtown Cadbury.”

The server who’d been waiting on them came by just then. “If you’re looking for your friend, I saw her go out on the porch.”

Lucinda, Deani and I went outside. Aileen was sitting at the far table alone. There was a dish with a crumpled napkin across from her and she was finishing her iced tea.

Aileen offered no explanation as she joined us and followed us inside.