Chapter 19

 

With everyone gone, I did my usual little cleanup, gathering some scraps of yarn from the table and picking up a couple of paper cups. So much for it being an easy-peasy weekend. I was never going to say that to myself again. It seemed to be the kiss of death, literally. There had been some kind of trouble at every retreat I’d put on.

I regretted that I’d said anything to Crystal about what I thought had happened to Tim. But then who knew she would blab it to the group. Now they were expecting some kind of inside dope from me. Now that I realized so many of them had a connection with the Silicon Valley bunch, I really didn’t want to discuss it. I mean, what if one of them was involved?

I straightened the last chair and flipped off the lights before I went outside. The door to the other meeting room was open and I heard the scrape of chairs as they got up. Sky was the first one out of the door. He looked over at me and gave me a friendly smile. “Be sure to tell your retreaters not to miss the Roast and Toast tonight. We’re doing it mindful style.”

His voice warbled a little when he said it and I picked up that he wasn’t all that confident about it. It was another effort by Kevin St. John to take a regular Vista Del Mar activity and make it seem part of their retreat. Sky didn’t have to ask me twice. There was no way I was going to miss seeing how he could make roasting marshmallows and toasting with cups of hot chocolate a mindful event.

The rest of the group came out through their door and headed up the path. Elex was in the rear. I noticed he had a softcover book under his arm. He picked up on me looking at it and rolled his eyes. “Mindful coloring,” he said with distaste. He started to follow the others on the path and then he stopped.

“As long as we’re stuck here, we really need another knitting lesson. I tried to work on mine this afternoon and, well, it’s a mess.”

“You were planning to leave?” I said.

“It’s kind of hard to be mindful after what happened to Tim. But that cop in the rumpled jacket killed that plan.” He looked at me intently. “What’s with him? Some small-town cop who takes his job too seriously? It was a horrible accident pure and simple, so why keep hassling me with questions. And telling me the group has to stay here for now.”

Hearing that Lieutenant Borgnine had put a hold on them and was asking a lot of questions made me believe that what Dane said was true. He was pacifying Kevin St. John by not making a point that it might be something other than an accident, but he was investigating it as though it might be.

“That’s too bad. You’d think he’d have some empathy after what happened,” I said. When I’d worked for Frank my main job had been making phone calls and getting information people didn’t want to give. I figured out that the best way to get it was to be friendly and sympathetic. It was always good if they wanted to complain and were grateful for a willing ear, too.

Elex seemed surprised by my comment, but I noticed his expression relax. “That’s what I thought. My business partner and good friend just died and he was grilling me about how Tim ended up walking on the rocks alone.” Elex was looking off in the direction of the water. The days were so short at this time of year and the afternoon was fading into darkness. Without a visible sun to set, it was always very subtle. It always made me think of a dimmer switch going off in the sky.

Elex seemed lost in thought and I wondered how I could prod him to continue. I was curious about that walk too. “I never quite understood what the plan for the walk was,” I said finally.

“Oh,” he said, flinching, and I wondered if he’d forgotten that I was there. “The idea was that we’d walk somewhere on our own and focus on the moment, paying attention to the feeling of the ground, how the wind felt, stuff like that. We all went off in different directions. I had no idea where Tim was going to walk or I would have told him not to.”

“And where did you walk?” I asked.

“I followed the roadway that winds through the grounds. And if you want to know what I noticed,” he said, sounding like he’d been asked the question before. He offered a very detailed description of the cluster of newer buildings up the slope and a view of the ocean through an opening in the dunes.

“Sounds pretty,” I said. “I suppose Lieutenant Borgnine asked you about your relationship with Tim,” I said.

His eyes flared when he looked at me this time. “I just said he was my partner and good friend.” He eyed me warily. “What’s any of this to you?” Then he nodded his head in a knowing manner. “I get it. Didn’t your partner in yarn say you played around with being a detective?” He seemed annoyed. “The only thing we need from you is another of those workshops. You said you’d let me know. Well, how about it?”

I was considering suggesting something else he might want to do with his needles when his face softened. “I’m sorry,” he said. “This isn’t the weekend I imagined for my group. I don’t mean to take it out on you. But we really do need another workshop. I tried doing some on my own.” He shook his head and smiled, thinking about it. “I somehow joined the two ends together and now it’s a tube.”

I was glad I hadn’t made my comment about the knitting needles. Of course it made sense that he’d be stressed and upset after what happened and I knew more about it than he thought I did. I told him about the plan of having it at the yarn shop and he agreed. We agreed on a time for Saturday. “Don’t worry, we’ll undo the tube and show you what you did wrong so you won’t do it again.”

The dinner bell began to ring and he thanked me and went on up the path ahead of me.

 

• • •

 

I made a pit stop in the Lodge to use the phone to call Cadbury Yarn. Now that Elex had agreed, I wanted to make sure the time worked for them.

“Cadbury Yarn, we’re closed,” Gwen said when she answered. It was a real person and not a recording. I announced myself and she laughed. “For you we’re still open. What’s up? Please tell me it’s not some problem with the Delacorte sisters.” She stopped and continued in a fierce voice, “I didn’t realize how difficult they are. They can’t seem to understand that I don’t want any of their fortune. I just want Cory to be connected to Vista Del Mar because he has such an instinctive love of the place.”

I agreed they could be difficult but urged her to give it some time. “Just let it mellow for a while,” I said. “At least through the weekend.”

“You’re right,” she said. I heard her say good night to a customer. “Crystal already mentioned doing a workshop for that group. She said something about being mindful. We’ll set up some space for them and the two of you can do whatever you want. Tomorrow afternoon is fine.” She suggested setting up a yarn tasting, as she called having the opportunity to play with different yarns, but I told her they weren’t ready for that. However, I thought they might be interested in any kits she had for basic projects.

It was completely dark when I walked out of the Lodge. It didn’t matter because the smell of hot food was like a magnet and led me right to the Sea Foam dining hall. The dinner bell had stopped ringing and I could see there was already a crowd inside.

Kevin St. John had done a good job of keeping it quiet about Tim’s death. There was a din of lively conversation and everything seemed like a typical Friday night.

The food smelled delicious and I remembered I’d only eaten a few cookies all day. It would have been nice to sit down to a plate of comfort food, but I had a feeling that wasn’t going to happen.

Deani, Madison, Aileen and PJ were at the same table they’d sat at before. I scanned the room and saw that Iola was sitting with the bird group again. She seemed quite animated and took a fork of her food and offered it to a man in a khaki vest. He smiled as he accepted it and then she went back to talking to the people around her. Talk about not judging a book by its cover—she was so plain as if to be almost colorless, but she was full of surprises. First the sultry voice and now she seemed to be playing up to some man. It was not my problem and I turned back to my group. I was hoping they’d forgotten that I promised to tell them what I knew about the investigation, but when I saw all four of them look at me with eager faces, I figured it was still on their minds.

I greeted them and saw that they’d already gotten their food. The meat loaf, mashed potatoes and peas looked delicious. My stomach rumbled, reminding me of how hungry I was.

“I’ll just get a plate of food and join you,” I said, leaving my jacket on one of the empty chairs. A reprieve for a few minutes so I could think over what to say.

I went through the entrance at the back of the room to the cafeteria line. Audrey Moffat was just ahead of me. She was looking over the food with the concern of someone who was used to having everything customized for her. I suspected she was super diligent about her diet and probably cringed at the butter pooling in the crater on top of the mashed potatoes.

“It’s all delicious,” I said from behind her. She turned and smiled when she saw it was me.

“I never eat food like this. Fish or chicken and steamed vegetables with a dab of rice is my usual dinner. Every restaurant we went to would prepare what I wanted just the way I wanted it.” She looked over the counter into the kitchen with the steam tables of food. “They don’t work that way here, do they?”

She looked a little too thin and maybe a little peaked, too. But far be it from me to tell other people what to do. I saw that Cloris was working in the kitchen and I called her over. She remembered Audrey from the café and knew the situation. I explained Audrey’s desire and Cloris shrugged.

“Don’t say anything to the boss, but I can put something together for you.” She nodded to Audrey, who turned to me.

“You have a lot of clout around here.” Her shoulders dropped and her expression seemed tired. While we waited for Cloris to do her magic, I asked Audrey where she was going to sit. I couldn’t really invite her to join the birthday girls, but I hated to see her sit alone. “I’ll sit with the Reborn crew.”

Cloris slid a plate over the counter with slices of chicken breast and a collection of steamed vegetables. There was just the tiniest dab of mashed potatoes, and she explained they didn’t have any rice. “It’s all about amounts. A little taste won’t do you any harm.”

Audrey thanked Cloris and me and took her tray and left. I thanked Cloris again.

“Mr. St. John has a hard time bending any rules. Sometimes you just have to. It’s all about what our guests want.”

“You’re going to have a big career in the hospitality industry,” I said.

“Probably not here,” Cloris said, dropping her voice. “Mr. St. John isn’t happy with the extras I do.”

“Don’t count it out,” I said. “You never know what might happen.”

Cloris made me a plate of food and I headed back to the table. Audrey had joined the Reborn crew, as she called them. I was curious about the dynamic. Elex seemed very cordial. He helped her with her tray and he pulled out the seat next to him. Julie was glaring at her from across the table. Josh and Jackson seemed more interested in their food.

The four occupants of my table watched me as I sat down and then Madison jumped in. “Tell us what you know about what happened to Tim. You implied it might not have been an accident.”

Since Crystal wasn’t there to contradict me, I kept it real simple. “Until the official ruling on the manner of death, everything is on the table,” I said.

She looked disappointed. “Crystal made it sound like you were on the trail of something.”

I saw Sammy walk into the dining hall. He kind of stood out since he had a tall teddy-bear build and he was the only one in a tuxedo. He came directly to our table and held up a bag. It actually said “bag of tricks” on the outside.

“Ready? It’s showtime,” he said to me before turning to the four women. He introduced himself and made a theatrical bow. “I’m afraid I have to steal Case away. I can’t do the show without her.”

I grabbed a bite of meat loaf and offered my apologies before leaving. He’d developed a corny show for the close-up magic he did as he circulated around the room. It was all in good fun and everybody loved it. I played the stooge, who in the middle of a card trick dropped the deck of cards and he’d joke, “And magically the cards are all on the floor.” Of course, while everyone was watching me pick them up, he’d complete the trick he’d started.

“Kevin wanted me to start with his retreat group.” He looked around the room and I subtly pointed them out.

When we got to the table, Sammy introduced himself and me. I saw a few eye rolls from Elex. Audrey appeared attentive. I’m sure she felt it was the least she could do after how much I’d listened to her in the café and the dinner I’m managed to get for her. Julie seemed bored. Jackson looked up from his meal with mild interest. Josh had an unhappy expression.

Sammy started things off by making the monarch butterfly appear from my hair. He’d made flowers and quarters appear from diners’ hair and ears in the past, but Kevin St. John had gotten worried about people being upset about being touched and potential lawsuits. So all the stuff appearing from body parts was done to me.

Sammy did some card tricks. The comedy stuff caught them off guard and Sammy seemed to have won over the table, except for Josh. I don’t think it was Sammy’s act. Josh seemed lost in his own upset. He barely looked at Sammy and when he did, he glared at him.

Sammy did all the standard tricks with magic wands turning into bunches of flowers and a rabbit (a toy one) appeared from a hat. I knew he was going to finish with pulling out the silks. I noticed that Josh was eyeing Sammy’s pocket.

“Aren’t you finished yet?” Josh said in a petulant tone. “Maybe you need some help.” Sammy was lost in his patter and didn’t seem to hear Josh. Then I understood that he was going to pull the silks out of Sammy’s pocket to try to mess up Sammy’s performance. I’m sure everyone knew that Sammy had stuff up his sleeves and in his pockets, but having someone point it out ruined the show.

I was trying to think of a way to stop Josh, but before I could do anything, Sammy turned to him. “There’s something that I’ve never tried before, but I believe I can turn you into a magician.” He waved his wand over Josh’s head. Now reach in my pocket and I bet you can make silks appear,” Sammy said.

“Hey, man, I’m not in the mood,” Josh said. He pushed back his chair and stormed past Kevin St. John, who’d just come in. The manager glanced from Josh to me with an accusatory grimace.

I knew how much doing the magic at Vista Del Mar meant to Sammy. I had to make it right and rushed out after Josh.