Chapter 16

 

We walked outside to a blue sky and sunshine. It was so surprising that everyone on the street seemed a little dazed and was staring at the sky. It took awhile to get everyone back in the SUV. I was grateful that it was a short ride as I squeezed into the seat in the third row again. Of course, the rest of them spent the ride staring at their phone screens before they went back to unplugged land.

The blue sky and sun didn’t last and by the time we pulled back onto the Vista Del Mar grounds the weather had changed completely and a thick fog was blowing in. When I finally left the tight seat and got out of the SUV, it seemed like I’d walked into a cloud. There was so much moisture in the air it almost felt like a light drizzle. They all scattered and literally disappeared in the thick whiteness to do whatever during the free time before it was time for the afternoon workshop. I went into the Lodge and right into trouble.

I’d barely opened the door and taken a step inside when Madeleine Delacorte came toward me. Just as she snagged my arm I caught sight of Kevin St. John, Lieutenant Borgnine and a woman I’d never seen before huddled in front of the registration counter. Madeleine pulled me with her as she went outside. She seemed a little surprised at the fog, but it only lasted for a moment.

“Oh, dear,” she said. “More trouble. Cora couldn’t come, so I had to come alone. Kevin said that he’d handle everything, he was just notifying me what was going on.” She shook her head with dismay. I knew she was upset because she didn’t even mention the new jeans she was wearing. Thankfully, she’d gotten past wearing the pairs she’d gotten that came with tears and holes. She’d admitted to me that she kept getting her feet caught in the openings when she was putting them on, so it was really a safety factor that had led her to stop wearing them. Today’s look was a more sedate dark-washed pair so dark they seemed almost black, which she’d paired with a black turtleneck. I wondered how the Silicon Valley group would view her. Would they think she was stealing their look?

She checked the area to make sure no one was nearby then muttered that with the fog it was hard to be sure. “I’ll just talk softly,” she whispered. “Cora is against it, but personally it might be nice to have some help dealing with Kevin. I’m tired of his condescending manner. Imagine telling me not to worry my pretty little head about whatever the latest problem is. If we had . . .” She looked around again to make sure no one was in earshot and dropped her voice even more. “. . . You-know-who on our side, I bet she’d come up with a sharp retort.”

I brightened, thinking maybe there was hope after all that the Delacorte sisters would accept their newfound family. I really believed they would all benefit, but I’d meddled enough and now just had to let things take their course.

I played stupid and asked what was up. “You saw them, didn’t you?” She pointed toward the door. “I suppose you know about the accident. It was just terrible that the man died. It wasn’t actually on Vista Del Mar property, but he was a guest and I understand he was taking part in an activity that Kevin had arranged. The woman is his wife. I told her how sorry we were.”

“So that’s his wife,” I said, wishing I’d gotten more than a glance. All I’d noticed was a woman with long dark hair wearing a khaki trench coat.

“You’re sure they said it was an accident?” I asked.

“The policeman in that awful-looking jacket said it wasn’t official yet, but unofficially it was an accident.” Madeleine let out a sigh. “She’s going to stay until things get sorted out. I’m not sure what the sorting out is. When they got to that part Kevin dismissed me with that pretty little head comment.” Madeleine’s voice was back to a normal volume and she sounded annoyed. “Kevin doesn’t seem to get that I’ve changed. Now that I’ve started this whole new chapter in my life, I’m ready to be in the middle of everything.” She stopped to take a breath and let it out on a sigh. “I spent too many years being sheltered. I have a lot of catching up to do—even with dealing with events that aren’t happy.” She turned to me. “I hope the accident hasn’t ruined your retreat. Such a fun idea having a yarn-filled birthday celebration.”

I was still adjusting to all her talking. Madeleine was the older sister, but Cora had always been the one to take charge. Madeleine had been so quiet that for a while I wondered if she was able to talk. There was no doubt about that anymore.

“I’m sorry you aren’t joining us this time,” I said. It was really just a polite gesture. It would have been very awkward if she had joined the retreat as she usually did. “I think they’re enjoying it, but I’m more or less an outsider on this one.”

Something beeped on Madeleine’s wrist. She looked at it in a sudden tizzy. “I have to go. I signed up for a golf lesson,” she said. “Finally, my transportation seems appropriate,” she added as she walked to her parked golf cart. I hoped she’d be all right driving in the fog.

This time I went all the way into the Lodge. As soon as Kevin saw me, his eyes tensed and he seemed to be turning Tim Moffat’s wife to face away from me.

Lieutenant Borgnine was giving me the stink eye too. I took the cue and walked past them into the Cora and Madeleine Delacorte Café. Even with the stop at the Blue Door, I’d been too busy talking to Lucinda and worrying about my group to even drink the iced tea she’d given me. I needed a shot of something strong. Cloris was behind the counter wearing the gold jacket that was the café workers’ uniform.

“You’re everywhere,” I said with a smile.

“I like getting as much experience as possible. The classes at the community college are fine, but nothing takes the place of learning how it all works by doing.” She had a mixture of maturity and exuberance that made her a natural for a hospitality career. She picked up a stray sugar packet from the counter and put it back in the dispenser. “What can I get for you? How about one of the fancy drinks? Maybe a cappuccino. I’m working on making designs in the milk froth.”

“You sold me. Make it a cappuccino with an extra shot.”

“Tough morning?” Cloris asked as she started to fill the metal cup with finely ground coffee.

“How about not enough sleep and then taking my group whale watching and finding out that someone in my group was upset that I’d done the workshop for the Silicon Valley bunch.”

“That’s ridiculous. They don’t own you.” She sighed. “That group probably really needed the workshop, too. It must be tough on the Silicon Valley bunch to have one of their associates die.” The strong coffee had begun to drip into a cup, filling the air with its strong scent. She steamed the milk and then poured it and the espresso into a cup. The final touch was a swirl on the top before she handed it to me. “I did it, a perfect heart shape,” she said with pride. Then she waited while I took my first sip.

“Delicious,” I said. I looked back toward the door. “About the Silicon Valley group—they seemed more confused than broken up. I saw Kevin St. John and Lieutenant Borgnine out there. I assume they’ve been talking about what happened. You seem to be in the middle of everything. Did you hear anything? You know, whether it was an accident or something else.”

Cloris came around from the back and leaned on the counter next to me. “There was a lot of back-and-forth between Mr. St. John and the cop. I didn’t mean to overhear, but they were talking in front of me like I was invisible. I got that it could be an accident or it could be murder.” Her voice dropped to a whisper on the last word. “It seems like it’s a matter of opinion about whether the man fell on the rock and it bashed his head or the rock bashed his head with some help. Mr. St. John was pushing for it to be called an accident and kept pointing out that the man used poor judgment to walk on the rocks when there was a Danger sign and he was wearing leather-soled shoes.”

“I don’t believe it. Kevin St. John is trying to put the blame on the dead guy,” I said, shaking my head. “What about the cop? What did he say?”

Cloris shrugged. “He agreed to call it an accident for now.” It was great having someone on the inside like Cloris and I thought about something else. “Did Lieutenant Borgnine say anything about investigating the source of the nine-one-one call?”

“I forgot, they did talk about it. I think the cop checked the log of emergency calls and it came from one of the pay phones here.” She automatically waved her arm in the direction of the Lodge’s great room. “But there’s no way of knowing who made it.”

I was going to say something more, but I heard footsteps and when I turned I saw that Tim’s wife had come into the café. I turned to Cloris and put my finger to my lips, signaling for her not to say anything more.

Cloris gave me a wink to show she understood and went back to her post behind the counter.

“Welcome, welcome. We feature espresso drinks of all kinds. Let me know what you fancy and I’ll whip it right up for you.”

The woman gazed at the menu with a blank look. No surprise that she was a little distracted.

By the way they’d acted, it was obvious that Kevin St. John and Lieutenant Borgnine didn’t want me to talk to Mrs. Moffat. I assumed that was her name, but who knew—these days, so many women continued on with their maiden names. If I ever got married I was pretty sure I’d want to go by Feldstein. But the whole name thing was extraneous at the moment.

I checked the area to make sure her gatekeepers weren’t going to swoop in and block me before I took a step toward her. “I saw you talking to Lieutenant Borgnine and Kevin St. John. You must be Tim Moffat’s wife.” I held out my hand. “Casey Feldstein.”

Her expression came into focus and she looked at me. “Audrey Evans,” she said, taking my hand. “Do you work here?”

“Not exactly, I arrange yarn retreats and hold them here.” I was ready in case she asked what yarn retreats were since that was a common question when I told people what I did, but she let it go. “Did you arrange the retreat Timmy was here for?” I shook my head. “But you know what happened, right?” This time I nodded.

She turned to Cloris and said she’d have a coffee with lots of cream and sugar. “I usually drink it black, but I need a little boost. Please add it for me.” I offered her the stool next to me at the counter, but she opted for one of the tables. “I don’t have it in me to climb up on one of those.” I thought that was going to be the end of it, but she invited me to join her.

Cloris did the honors with the cream and sugar and I carried the cup to the table. Audrey had already sunk into one of the chairs. The table was by the window, but there was literally no view. All that was visible was white from the thick fog. I didn’t think it mattered as she didn’t even seem aware there was a window.

Thanks to Lucinda and her taste in clothes, I knew all about designer duds. As soon as Audrey put her trench over the back of the chair, I knew it was a Burberry and probably cost almost as much as my entire wardrobe. Underneath she had on a black sweater over a pair of charcoal-colored jeans perfectly accessorized with a silk scarf that might have been a Hermès. She wore simple gold hoops in her ears and if the scarf was a Hermes, they were probably solid.

“I’m so sorry for your loss,” I said in a somber tone. I was surprised when she rolled her eyes.

“This is very awkward,” she said. “They called me because I’m Tim’s wife, but we’re getting a divorce. I guess even though it’s almost final, since we’re still technically married, I’m his next of kin.” She took a generous sip of the coffee that was almost beige. She swallowed and closed her eyes momentarily with satisfaction before turning toward Cloris. “This is perfect. Thank you.”

She took a few more sips and it seemed to revive her. “I’d hoped to be able to take care of things right away. Tim always said he wanted to be cremated. They won’t even let me pack up his stuff until everything is settled.”

I was trying to think of something to say that would sound understanding, but it was certainly an odd situation. Finally I went with something simple and vague and just said, “I’m sorry.”

She leaned back in the chair. “Thank you. It’s good to have a little sympathy. The two I just talked to need some lessons in compassion. All the manager seemed to care about was putting the blame for what happened on Tim. And all the cop said was that I couldn’t do anything until the medical examiner signed off on the manner of death.” I looked back to Cloris, who was taking it all in, and we both shook our heads at how the two men had behaved.

Audrey started talking and it came out like a stream of consciousness. It didn’t even seem like she was talking to me except that she occasionally looked in my direction. “It’s not a contentious divorce. Our lives are just going in different directions. It was my idea. Not that he balked.” She was still referring to him in the present and I could tell that everything hadn’t sunk in. I doubt it had gotten through to her that there was now no need for a divorce and she wasn’t a wife anymore, she was a widow. I was certainly not going to say any of it, though.

I did however ask her what they told her had happened. “I don’t know. Something about him going for a walk on some wet rocks and falling. He hit his head. A stupid accident.” She drank some more of the rich coffee. “Though the concept of Tim doing something like that on his own seems out of character. He wasn’t interested in nature. I suppose it had something to do with the retreat.”

I couldn’t stay out of it anymore. “It was part of the retreat. They were supposed to go on an independent mindful walk.” I hesitated and then continued. “I might as well tell you that Elex and Tim approached me about adding some activities to their schedule.” I reminded her that I put on yarn retreats and explained that knitting fit in with the mindfulness concept.

“Tim wanted to knit?” she said with surprise.

“Well, no. Actually, it was really Elex’s idea. And as it turned out, the workshop came after his accident.”

“I thought so. Tim wasn’t into the whole mindful retreat thing. The only reason he came was that he thought it would be a good place to break some news to Elex.” I was just thinking that she seemed to know an awful lot about someone she was divorcing when she must have read my thoughts. “He came by to drop off some papers and he told me about the weekend. We were still civil to each other.”

She’d gotten my interest. I’d wondered what the whole dynamic was with the Silicon Valley group. “Were they partners?” I asked.

“I think that was how Tim looked at it. Tim was an angel investor. In the past he just invested in start-ups and stayed out of any real involvement. But I think he wanted to feel like he was doing something. He got involved in the day-to-day running of things with Reborn, but they have totally different styles. Tim was thoughtful and measured while Elex is passionate and impulsive. He’d tried to make suggestion to Elex about how to handle things, but Elex tuned him out. I think Tim was frustrated that Elex wouldn’t take any advice and Tim was concerned that the concept Elex had come up with wouldn’t work on a big scale. Tim wanted to do something that was a home run. He told me he’d already started working on something else totally on his own.”

“So he wanted to tell Elex something like he was leaving their company?”

She nodded. “And that the second round of financing wasn’t going to come through.” She went for the coffee mug and I caught a glimpse of her hand. She was still wearing her wedding ring, which seemed strange since she’d made it sound like the marriage was over.

“Do you know if they had the conversation?” I asked.

“Knowing Tim, I’m sure he would have gotten it out of the way as soon as possible.”

I was sure that the manager and the cop hadn’t told her that I’d found Tim, but it seemed like something she should know. “I might have been the last person to see Tim alive,” I said in a soft voice. She turned to me in surprise.

“Please tell me all the details. Was he awake? Did he say anything,” she asked, losing her cool façade for a moment and seeming almost frantic.

“No, he didn’t say anything and he seemed unconscious to me. I really only had a short time with him and then the paramedics took him away. I’m sure they did everything possible to save him.” I was reliving the moment as I told her about it. And then a vague image popped into my mind I’d forgotten about. Something that had happened when I first got to the sand. The thought only lingered a moment and then all my attention was back on Audrey.

She let out her breath, seeming uneasy. “I’m not sure what I’m supposed to do. I contacted my lawyer, but he’s in Paris this weekend. He’ll come here as soon as he gets back, and I can let him figure all of this out.” She looked at the window and did a double take. “Is that fog?”

“It’s pretty thick right now,” I said.

“The manager offered me a room. Maybe I’ll take him up on it instead of driving home to Palo Alto.”

I thought back to the odd comments the Silicon Valley group had made when they were talking about Audrey. “Did the other Reborn people know about the divorce?” I asked.

“Only if there’d been a reason to tell them,” she said. She drained the coffee cup. She had her back to the doorway and didn’t notice Elex come in. He certainly noticed her and his reaction was to go a little pale. I looked away before he realized I’d seen him and he slipped back out the door.

“I just want you to know that I don’t usually talk this much about personal stuff and particularly not to someone I don’t know. It’s just, well . . .” She let out a sigh. “A really strange time.” She stopped for a moment and stared at the table as if she was thinking about something. She rocked her head and pursed her lips before muttering, “But Elex will get his money after all.”

I couldn’t let that pass without a comment. “What do you mean?”

“They had key man insurance policies for Elex and Tim for a million dollars each.”

Wow, that put a whole new spin on things.