^searching

 

^{Lewes, Delaware, is the first town north of Rehoboth and it is located on the Delaware Bay, not the Atlantic Ocean. It's a seaport around and behind Cape Henlopen, and protected from the ocean waves. Lewes was founded by the Swedes in the 1600s and is the oldest town in the state of Delaware. It has an active waterfront with a small harbor.}

^{Large ferry boats run between Lewes and Cape May, New Jersey, and cars and people can travel back and forth for fun and business between the two states. I've done it a few times myself. Lewes has a different feel to it compared to Rehoboth. This is a town with docks, boats, and fishermen.}

^{It was about 5:30 p.m. when we left the cottage. On the outskirts of Lewes, Cyndie directed me to Beach Property Management. The office was on the main road into Lewes off Highway 1, right next to Cape Henlopen High School.}

^{We parked in a freshly paved lot. The place was deserted. I got out and walked to the front door. The office closed at 5 p.m. and would reopen at 9 a.m. tomorrow, Thursday.}

^{Cyndie and I zoomed out of Lewes and aimed the Miata back to Highway 1. We called Edie and told her to take the SUV and meet us at a casual seafood restaurant for dinner.}

^{To my surprise, during dinner, Cyndie casually brought up the cottage’s sleeping arrangements. She said we could each have our own room. I saw Edie smile. My instincts told me she was very happy Cyndie and I weren’t sharing a bed.}

^{Edie said, “Cyndie, you should have the master bedroom.”}

^{I agreed with Edie’s suggestion. “Edie and I will use the smaller bedrooms.”}

^{My reply sounded like a Freudian slip, of sorts. But, Cyndie didn’t respond with a sharp retort. I guess she was happy with the result. It seemed curious how it worked out. We slept alone the entire time at the cottage.}

^{After dinner, we were off to shop at the outlets. Three hours later we headed back to the Cottage with two cars full of stuff; four folding chairs, three comforters, sheets, pillows, a small TV with a DVD player, a boom box, 15 CDs, food, glasses, plates, utensils, wine, mixers, Jack Daniels and vodka. We walked in at 9 p.m.}

^{Cyndie ran the sheets and pillow cases through the washer and dryer, Edie put away the groceries, while I unfolded the chairs in the dining room, and connected the TV to the cable. Cyndie directed and Edie and I rearranged the few pieces of furniture downstairs to make it cozy.}

^{I helped Cyndie make the three beds. Cyndie would sleep in the master bedroom and Edie and I would each use one of the two small bedrooms. While the women changed, I went downstairs and made drinks for each of us; chilled Chardonnay for Edie, Jack on the rocks for Cyn, and a tall, cold vodka tonic for me.}

^{Cyn and Edie came downstairs after and joined me in the living room. Edie started a Radiohead CD, OK Computer, on the boom box, but turned the volume down so we could talk. Cyn sat in the side chair and nursed her Jack Daniels in a wide-mouth tumbler. Ms. Myst wore a nightshirt under an above-the-knee crimson terry robe. Edie looked lovely in a long-sleeved white nightgown that reached to her ankles. She sipped her drink with a straw and lounged on the sofa. I slowly rocked in the oak rocker, enjoying the pleasant feminine company and began talking after two healthy sips.}

^{We discussed our plans for Thursday. We agreed that Cyn and I would go to Andi's property management company after breakfast to find out what we could about the robbery. While we were there, Edie would make a beach lunch, then head into town to get suntan lotion. Edie and I would go to the beach while Cyn did some photography work. Then, we'd all go to dinner tomorrow night and I'd make the reservations.}

^{We finished our drinks and Cyn headed upstairs. Edie helped clean up. When we finished, I gave Edie a kiss goodnight. She gives a very sweet kiss. While I walked around the cottage and turned out lights Edie silently went upstairs.}

^{I slowly walked upstairs, Cyndie’s room was dark. Light shined out from under Edie’s bedroom door. I thought about the earlier times in Los Angeles and Tucson when I’ve shared lodging, but not a bed, with Edie.}

^{My heart wanted Edie, now. My mind told me to be patient. Our time was coming quick. I finally put my mystery novel down after reading and re-reading the same paragraph three times.}

 

^***

 

^{I woke on Thursday morning. It was 8:30. A cold front had passed through the night before leaving behind a sparkling clear blue sky, low humidity and a nice sea breeze; a perfect weather day was in front of us.}

^{The sun streamed in on my face through a gap between the drapes in the side, eastern-facing window. The gentle sea breeze blew in through the one-inch opening at the bottom of this window, fluttering the curtains.}

^{Then, I smelled something wonderful. The aroma of buttery pancakes and rich coffee floated in the bedroom. Some one had been busy.}

 

^***

 

^{Edie had made breakfast, a delicious breakfast! What an unexpected treat! Afterwards, I volunteered to do cleanup while the women got dressed.}

^{Cyndie choose another head-turning outfit; halter, short shorts and sandals; all in her Goth black. I went with slacks and a light blue polo shirt. I didn’t see Edie before she we left the cottage. She was continuing her search for a swimsuit.}

^{We slid into my baby blue car and sped off to Beach Property Management. Fifteen minutes later we were in Lewes. I pulled into the parking lot and parked next to four identical white American sedans, each with the company green beach umbrella logo on the side. As we entered the white Cape Cod-styled office building, I noted that the exterior windows had green awnings and the signs were also in forest green. In the green carpeted lobby, we were greeted by Helen Meyers. Ms. Meyers was a forty-something woman with pre-maturely white hair and a nifty green business suit.}

^{Ms. Meyers inspected Cyndie's barely clad body, as Cyn asked, “May we speak to one of the building managers, please?”}

^{Ms. Meyers responded, “Do you have an appointment?”}

^{“No, but I have an emergency.”}

^{“What is your name?”}

^{Cyndie provided it, along with our local address.}

^{“Please have a seat and I'm sure one of our managers will be right with you.”}

^{Ms. Meyers turned to me and said, “Are you with her?” The way she said it I wasn't sure if Cyndie or I should be offended, but it felt like a put down of one of us.}

^{I replied, “Yes, I am.” I put my arm around Cyn's waist and led her to the white leather couch in front of the receptionist's station.}

^{While we waited ten minutes, Cyndie started another outlet shopping list for the things we discovered we still needed. I thought about the robbery and how the perpetrators did it without raising attention.}

^{Cyndie had her list finished and I was paging through a Delaware Today magazine when we heard a smooth, deep voice say, “May I help you?”}

^{We looked up and stood up and greeted Sam Greer. Mr. Greer was in his fifties and looked like an undertaker. He had grey hair and grey skin from a life-long addiction to cigarettes that matched his grey slacks and grey tie. Sam had doffed his Beach Property-issued green sports jacket and greeted us with a wide smile revealing yellow teeth.}

^{Sam was friendly enough and apparently comfortable enough with his life that he was one of the few men I've ever met that didn't do a trip with his eyes up and down Cyndie's body. He acted like a perfect gentleman, which was more than I can say about myself when I'm around Cyndie. He led us to his office which was a bedroom-sized room in the lower left corner of this house-like office building.}

^{Cyndie and I sat in the matching chairs in front of his desk. Sam asked how he could help us and we, Cyndie mostly, explained that we inherited a Rehoboth Beach cottage after the recent death of our friend. We also described the robbery of most of our possessions in the same cottage. Sam Greer took notes and asked a question or two for clarification, but mostly listened.}

^{When Cyndie was finished, he asked, “When did your friend set up the property management contract, Ms. Myst?”}

^{“During her last trip down here in October; I was with Andi that day.”}

^{“I see. Who in our office assisted her with the contract?”}

^{Cyn thought and then answered, “A younger woman with blonde hair. I don't recall her name, but would probably recognize it if you said it.”}

^{Greer also thought for a moment and then answered, “That sounds like Judy Morse.”}

^{“Yes, that was her name.”}

^{“Very good. Unfortunately, Judy left our company during the winter. She moved to New Jersey.”}

^{Cyn then asked Mr. Greer, “Do you know who checked our home since last October?”}

^{“Let me look at our custodial schedule.”}

^{Greer turned to the computer on his desk and proceeded to look through a series of screens for minute and then said, “Your house is on Oak Avenue, that's the north side of Rehoboth, correct?”}

^{I answered, “Yes, one block east of Lake Gerrar.”}

^{Greer peered at the screen through reading glasses. “That's Mike Quinn's territory. He's on duty today, and should be over in Rehoboth. Do you want me to call him?”}

^{Cyndie replied, “Sure, could you?”}

^{Greer jotted his cell phone number down and said, “I'll try now.”}

^{A man answered on the third ring, “Mike Quinn.”}

^{“Mike, this is Sam Greer. I have you on speaker here in my office as we have a client with a problem.”}

^{Quinn answered, “What's the problem?”}

^{Greer continued, “I'm with Cyndie Myst and her boyfriend, Stevie Garrett. They recently inherited the house at 23 Oak Avenue. It was previously owned by Andi Grayson. I have learned that Ms. Grayson died tragically a few days ago. Upon their arrival in Rehoboth yesterday Ms. Myst and Mr. Garrett discovered that their house has been robbed of most of its possessions.”}

^{Quinn asked, “When did that happen?”}

^{Greer answered, “We're not sure.”}

^{Quinn then asked, “23 Oak Avenue, sure, Mrs. Grayson was in the small white two-story with the semi-circle drive. Correct?”}

^{Cyn answered, “Yes, that's it.”}

^{Quinn replied, “I'm sorry we're meeting under these circumstances. Your friend was always nice to me. I saw her several times this winter in the house on Oak Avenue. She was there with her boyfriend.”}

^{Cyndie replied, “That wasn't Andi. It had to be someone else. Andi didn't visit the beach since last October.”}

^{Quinn whistled, “What's going on here?”}

^{Cyn answered, “That's what we'd like to know!”}

^{I asked Quinn, “Mike, what did the woman look like?”}

^{He answered, “She was kind of tall, maybe 5 foot 6 or 7, and thin. She had shoulder-length, dark brown hair.”}

^{Cyndie and I looked at each other and shrugged. We had no idea who that could be.}

^{Cyndie said, “That wasn't Andi. She was a blonde.”}

^{I spoke up and asked Quinn, “What did the boyfriend in the cottage look like?”}

^{“He was fairly tall, maybe 6 foot, with long blonde hair, goatee, dressed pretty sharp, usually in black.”}

^{Cyndie and I answered together, “Fred!”}

^{Sam Greer asked, “Who is Fred?”}

^{Cyn answered, “Fred Conarto is Andi's ex-boyfriend. He left Philadelphia abruptly last November and no one has seen him since. He came down here one time last summer with Andi. We've guessed that he knew Andi arranged for the property contract and that she wasn't coming back to Rehoboth until late spring. I think we know where Fred went once he was on the lam.”}

^{Quinn answered, “This is pretty incredible.”}

^{I asked Quinn, “When was the last time you saw them?”}

^{“Oh, within the last month. Right now, I'm about two houses away from checking on your place.”}

^{Cyn asked, “Did you notice any furniture or other stuff missing from our cottage?”}

^{“Not really, no. Mostly I remember they were there. Most times we talked outside or on the porch. I didn't get to go in or tour inside. I always call our clients a day or two before my visits and let them know I'm coming because most people don't like me walking in if they're in Rehoboth.”}

^{Cyn sighed, “I understand. Thanks for the help.”}

^{Quinn asked, “Do you want us to still check your place?”}

^{Cyn answered, “Yes, Stevie and I are here for a few days, maybe longer. We'll work with Sam to transfer the management contract to our names.”}

^{After another half hour, the paperwork was completed. We said our goodbyes and headed out. Greer followed us as far as the front porch and lit a cigarette. Much to my surprise, an unpleasant surprise at that, Cyn bummed one of Greer's cigarettes and lit up too. Cyn has smoked, off and on, too long, as far as I'm concerned. It looked like the stress of the past few days had just turned on her bad habit.}

^{While Cyn finished her cigarette with Greer, I walked to the parking lot, pulled out Sergeant Jester's business card and called him with my cellphone. I left a message with him about our visit to Beach Property Management.}

^{Cyn hopped into the car and said, “I'm not starting again and don't say one word about it.”}

^{I smirked at her and put the Miata into reverse.}

 

^***

 

^{Cyn and I walked into the cottage around noon. Cyndie immediately began getting her photographic equipment out. She gave it her complete attention.}

^{Edie and I were left to our own plans. We busied ourselves in the kitchen, making our picnic lunch. A few minutes later we climbed the steps to change.}

^{I changed into my suit and headed to the bathroom but stopped short when I saw Edie, in profile, standing in front of the mirror applying makeup. I almost lost my self-control. She didn't notice me but, I certainly scanned her body, for ten long seconds. She was naked except for the bottom of her bikini swimsuit. I wasn’t sure why she was topless, but in that short time I was flooded with impressions and emotions; Edie still looked young, vulnerable, thin, pretty, very appealing and more feminine than I expected. Her B cup breasts are beautifully firm and her nipples aim up and slightly outward. I was mesmerized and, somehow, broke my stare and retreated to my bedroom and closed the door before she noticed my act of voyeurism.}

^{Two minutes later I opened the door to find the bathroom empty. I heard Edie in her room and I immediately walked downstairs. Feeling embarrassed I spent my time gathering our beach gear until Edie appeared on the first floor.}

 

^***

 

^{On this Thursday afternoon in June, Edie and I had our choice of prime spots on Andi's mostly private beach. It was a warm 82 degrees with a light wind when we spread the blanket, opened up Andi's light aluminum beach chairs and kicked off our sandals. We brought deli sandwiches, cut fruit, Sun Chips and iced tea for a picnic lunch. As we ate we watched a family of dolphins swim by about one hundred yards out in the deep blue.}

^{Edie wanted to work her tan. She spread out a towel on our blanket and handed me the suntan lotion. She removed the long t-shirt covering, revealing a small white string bikini. Her body already looked tan, compared to my winter-complexion, but then, her skin coloring is naturally darker than mine. In two quick moves, she laid flat on her tummy and untied the two strings. She asked if I had ever learned to massage. I said I did. Soon, I was engaged in a deep back and leg massage of my California friend. It was a sensuous experience for both of us that, at times, crossed the line into foreplay. I’m glad no one saw us, or so I thought. Edie got so relaxed that she napped for over an hour. She would have slept longer but I woke her so she could turn face up. That’s when Edie gave me another treat. She turned her uncovered top towards me, applied the lotion to her front then placed her untied top over her small breasts.}

^{I smiled and kissed her.}

^{Around 3:30, I tied her back into her top and we took a walk south until we reached the boardwalk. Edie waited on the beach while I ran up to one of the candy shops on Rehoboth Avenue and bought her cotton candy. I got myself a small box of caramel corn.}

^{We sat on the edge of the surf to enjoy our afternoon snack. The pink cotton candy was spun around a paper tube and Edie picked pieces off with her fingers and placed them in our mouths. We saved the caramel corn for later and walked back north to our claimed spot of sand.}

^{As we were about to leave the beach for the day, my cellphone rang. It was Sergeant Jester and I gave him the short version of our trip to Beach Property Management. He told me that Fred Conarto must be an alias as he found no record of anyone with that name. He was still running the prints.}

^{I called and requested dinner reservations for 7 p.m. at the Blue Moon Restaurant. Then, Edie and I strolled back to the cottage at five o'clock.}

^{Cyndie was reviewing digital photos for an upcoming magazine spread. We asked and Cyndie told us she completed what she wanted.}

^{Cyn asked, “Did you enjoy the beach?”}

^{Edie answered, “Oh, it was great. I loved it.”}

^{Cyn replied in an odd voice, “I’m glad.”}

^{Edie then said, “Is it OK if I shower first? I feel a little greasy from the suntan lotion.”}

^{I said, “Sure, go ahead.”}

^{As Cyn cleaned up her gear, Edie walked up stairs. I took a few minutes to put away the picnic basket and its contents.}

^{“Cyn, why don’t you take yours after Edie?”}

^{“No, I don’t need to, I took one this morning.”}

^“OK.”

^{My timing was remarkable. As I headed upstairs, Edie walked out of her bedroom to the shower. She was naked and singing and didn’t see me until she turned inside the bathroom door to shut it. She winked at me and whispered, “Soon.”}

 

^***

 

^{I showered, got dressed, made our favorite drinks, delivered them and still waited another half-hour before the beautiful women were ready. I think the extra time made the difference. As I cleaned up in the kitchen, I found the second solid clue to this mystery. I hadn't noticed before the white business card attached with a magnet to the side of the white refrigerator. It said Howard's Resale Shop in bright blue letters. It had a local address and phone number out on Highway 1. The shop was open six days a week, but not on Sundays.}

^{Cyndie came downstairs and looked lovely in white. Her ankle-length dress had spaghetti straps and a big flowing skirt, reminiscent of Stevie Nicks. She added soft leather white boots that reached to her calves, fishnet hose and a white wrap. Her hair flowed around her shoulders. Circling her neck and left wrist were strings of pearls. She knew I loved her look and told me to kiss her. I did so with pleasure.}

^{Next, Edie slowly revealed herself from bottom to top as she descended the staircase. She wore white shoes with three-inch heels and white straps that exposed her feet. Then, it was a long journey up her shapely, bare legs to the cutest baby-doll dress I ever saw. The little pink dress had a red heart-pattern, short-sleeves and ended only inches below her bottom.}

^{Edie added chandelier earrings, an anklet and a bracelet, in matching silver. Her makeup was bold, especially around her eyes and her hair tumbled freely down her back. Her perfume was flowery, intoxicating and it filled the room.}

^{Dinner at the Blue Moon Restaurant was terrific. The assorted group of patrons matched the eclectic restaurant's décor and atmosphere. I could tell that Cyndie and Edie felt very comfortable and loved the stares of the other diners.}

^{I had beef tenderloin, Cyndie ordered the tuna steak and Edie nibbled on the chef's special, vegetable panache. The food was very good and the champagne was better.}

^{Edie said, “Stevie, let’s enter the sand castle contest. It’ll be fun.”}

^{Cyn answered, “When is it?”}

^{Edie replied, “Saturday.”}

^{“OK, how about you, Cyn?”}

^{Cyn didn't commit. She asked, “What are you making?”}

^{“I’d like to make a dolphin, like the ones we saw today, Stevie.”}

^{Edie looked at me as she spoke.}

^{Afterwards, we walked on the boardwalk and we're refreshed by a nice sea breeze. The women sat on a bench while I spent too much time in a book store in search of a good beach read. After twenty minutes, I found an oldie but goody mystery, The Galton Case by Ross MacDonald. We stopped at a coffee shop and talked over our plans for the next day.}

^{When we got back to the beach cottage, Edie and Cyn changed into their nightgowns. Once Cyn and Edie came back downstairs, I served iced tea and we sat and talked for a while.}

^{I told the ladies, “I think I know where our furniture went.”}

^{Edie gasped, “Where?”}

^{I pulled the resale shop's business card from the back pocket of my khakis and passed it to Edie, who looked at it, and, then, handed it to Cyndie.}

^{After looking at the front and back of the card, Cyn asked, “Where did you find this?”}

^{I described when and where I made my discovery.}

^{Edie interjected, “Someone was really desperate for money.”}

^{Cyn added, “Or, they wanted to screw Andi.”}

^{I concluded, “May be they did both.”}

^{Edie asked, “Who? Did that guy Fred need money?”}

^{I answered, “Likely, if he was on the lam and hiding out.”}

^{Edie spoke. “This is so unbelievable, isn't it, Stevie?”}

^{“It sure is.” I turned and looked at Cyndie. “Let's go visit the resale shop tomorrow morning.”}

^{Cyn spoke up, “You and Edie go. Take the Miata. I'll stay here and get the SUV packed for my photo shoot at the Dunes.”}

^{Edie and I told Cyndie our plans for the Florida trip and my desire to speak to Red Sable. Cyn said it was a great idea; maybe we'd find out why Red moved as Cyn hadn't heard from Red since she left.}

 

^***

 

^{While Edie took our tea glasses to the kitchen, I told Cyndie about my recent lunch-time sightings of political celebrities in that election year.}

^{“I can't believe you went to see him speak. He's so full of it.”}

^{I answered, “Cyn, it was an event. I timed it perfect. I was very busy at work and didn't go to lunch, but ate in my office. Then, I heard the bands and music and the roar of the crowd. So, I just went at the last moment. It was supposed to be a noon time rally, but I didn't leave my office until 1:10. I walked out of my building, turned left, walked three blocks north and joined the mob. The streets of the last block, 16th and JFK, were blocked by two police cars, like all the other streets around the area. What a big group of people! There were literally hundreds of cops everywhere, including sharpshooters with rifles on top of some of the buildings. The rally was at Love Park; where the Parkway ends in center city. I made it just as Clinton began to talk. I left about a half hour later as Kerry droned on and on.... I beat the crowd that way. Still, it was neat to be a part of such a large crowd. I'd say it was at least 80,000 people, with lots of folks from the offices and from the suburbs. I was pretty far away; about a long city block from the stage. But, they had very large TV screens on flat bed tractor-trailers and I was about 50 yards from one of them. The video was very good and the audio was perfect. You could hear them very well. It was really interesting. The contrast between Clinton and Kerry was stark. The true-believer Democrats love Clinton, big time and completely. Kerry they liked, but the palpable connection between Clinton and his Democratic lovers is an amazing thing to watch.”}

^{Edie walked into the living room in the middle of my story. When I finished, she said, “Stevie, I didn't know you were so right-wing.”}

^{“I'm not that conservative, Edie, I voted for the philanderer-in-chief twice.”}

 

^***

 

^{Cyndie went upstairs first. Edie gave me a kiss and hug before she climbed the stairs. We all went to bed in our separate rooms. I fell asleep exhausted.}