CHAPTER TEN

GEORGE’S CAR WAS PARKED on the street in front of our house when I got home from work on Thursday. As I climbed the steps, the kids’ squeals came through the door.

“Uncle George! Where’s your mask?” Leah shrieked.

“I stole it!” Lance yelled.

A mask? Our COVID mask days were behind us. Had there been an outbreak I hadn’t heard about? I walked in.

As I walked in, Scoobie had his phone out to take a picture of George on the floor with the twins sitting on him. Leah wore the tiara that went with her costume for Anna from Frozen, and Lance’s Spiderman mask lay on the floor next to them. God only knew what Lance had done with George’s mask. Whatever it was.

From the kitchen, Terry called, “Mom’s home!”

Leah sprang off George, who let out an “oomph!”

Lance stayed for another couple of seconds, then appeared to decide it was his job to hug me.

I stooped to embrace them both. “Were you trying to flatten Uncle George?”

Leah finished her kiss first and pulled back. “I didn’t think of that. He has a little bit of a tummy.”

This was the expression I used about myself, but I managed to keep a straight face. Terry whooped from the kitchen and Scoobie doubled over laughing.

“Jeez.” George sat up. “I do not.”

Lance, perhaps sensing an opportunity to do the opposite of his sister, said, “George is skinny.”

Terry called from the kitchen. “Lance, I need you to taste this chicken and rice stuff I’m making.”

“I need to taste, too,” Leah called. Both twins charged for the kitchen.

From his spot on the floor, George looked at Scoobie and craned his neck to see me. “How do you guys do this?”

Scoobie wiped tears from his eyes. “For one thing, we’re smart enough not to lie on the floor and let them jump on us.” He extended a hand and pulled George up.

I took off my jacket and sat on the couch. “If you’re rambunctious with them after dinner, you might get your clothes decorated with more than Halloween costumes.”

He sat in the rocker, then glanced toward the kitchen. “I found out some interesting stuff.”

Scoobie looked from me to George. “I’ll keep the twins busy while you two talk.” He headed for the kitchen.

“You first,” I said to George.

“Aaron Taylor wasn’t a bad guy, but he knew a lot more about buying and selling properties than managing them. A few tenants have complained to the Landlord Tenant Commission about slow repairs.”

“Huh. Safety violations?”

George shook his head. “Doesn’t look like it, but more complaints than small landlords usually get.”

“Doesn’t sound like the basis to stalk and kill him.”

“No, but he does have a bunch of ex-girlfriends.”

That got my interest. I lowered my voice. “Scoobie said he heard that Natalie and Aaron used to date.”

“Yeah, he’s the one who put me onto that line of thinking. But the women I found don’t want to trash-talk him.”

“Right after he died. Imagine that.”

“Yeah, and if it was an ex-lover, the daycare center would be an odd place to kill him.” He grinned. “If it was me, I’d go for spiking a drink or something.”

“Did you look up anything on Butterfield?”

“Next on my list.”

I told him about the Fortuna on the Sea Hotel. “Did Aaron strike you as the kind of person to invest in a gamble-with-a-date private club?”

Before he could respond, Scoobie called from the kitchen. “The two hard-working cooks almost have dinner ready. One of the slouches needs to set the table.”

“I’ll get it,” George said.

“Nope. You get the dishes.”

 

AFTER DINNER, I SLIPPED into our bedroom and called Ramona. “Just reporting in. I’m afraid George doesn’t seem as miserable as he should.”

“I do miss him. But he hates the smell of nail polish, and I just painted my toes.”

“We haven’t had coffee in more than a week. You busy all day tomorrow?”

“Friday is the day I don’t have any help in the gallery. Why don’t you pick up a salad for us and stop by for lunch?”

“Sounds like a plan, but I may have the kids.”

“They usually behave pretty well. I’ll put a couple pieces of pottery out of reach.”

“Good idea. Right now, I have to go referee before the kids get so riled up they won’t go to sleep.”

I took the kids’ pajamas from their bedroom and headed for the living room where Scoobie was reading to them from “A Child’s Garden of Verses.” The taped-together version of Robert Louis Stevenson’s children’s poetry was the only book he had from his childhood. Others hadn’t survived his mother’s temper tantrums. The kids loved the ornate color pictures.

Leah looked up and yawned. “We aren’t sleepy.”

Scoobie grinned at me. “Yeah, Mom.”

“Careful, or I’ll go for a walk and let you put them to bed.”

“I want to go for a walk,” Lance said.

From the kitchen I heard something hit the floor, but it sounded like a wooden salad bowl.

Scoobie put the book on the couch next to them. “Come on, you two. Mommy and Daddy will help you put your PJs on.”

Baths are too complicated when we have company, so after thorough face and hand washing and minimal bribery, we got them settled by eight o’clock. The second time Lance wanted water I told him he’d have to wear a diaper for the night, and he was too big for diapers. That was the last request.

While Terry did homework in his room upstairs, Scoobie, George and I had hot tea and talked about the murder.

Scoobie listened to us discuss former girlfriends and whether Natalie seemed capable of murder, even if unplanned. Finally, he said, “You guys never talk about whether it could have been a break-in. Someone did get in through a window the other night, right?”

“You’re right. I forgot about that. I mean, I did ask Morehouse about it yesterday, but he blew me off.”

“Break-in? What about a break-in?” George asked.

I described the broken window. “But nothing seemed to have been taken. And Morehouse told me there were no fingerprints.”

“Jeez, Jolie. How come you didn’t mention that? It’s a whole other angle.”

“Same reason Scoobie didn’t,” I said, irritated.

Scoobie grinned. “We aren’t thinking in terms of news stories. And don’t you have any of your own work to do?”

George grabbed a sheet of paper from the message pad near our phone. “Couple boring things. The insurance company I do some work for has me keeping tabs on a guy who claims he has permanent injuries from an accident with their policyholder. They think a lot of his neck and back pain is bogus.”

“How do you tell?” I asked.

“Follow him around. He’s not working right now, which means I park near where he lives a lot.”

“Who is it?” Scoobie asked.

“Sorry, can’t say. Anyway, gives me time to do research on my phone and make calls. I’m going to check out this Butterfield guy more.”

“Did the editor tell you he wanted you to do a follow-up article?” I asked.

“Yeah. Tiffany’s got her hands full with articles and photographs of all the high school sports. The editor doesn’t give a damn about that, but it sells papers. He says he wants something he can sink his teeth into.” He shrugged. “It’ll pay for an inspection if we make an offer on a house.”

“If your girlfriend doesn’t stay mad at you,” I teased.

My phone chirped and I glanced at it. “Morehouse. It’s after nine o’clock.” I answered and put him on speaker.

As usual, he didn’t offer pleasantries. “Jolie. You and Scoobie know where Natalie Fremont is?”

Scoobie shrugged at me. “Neither of us do. Is she missing?”

“Probably not, but we told her to keep her phone on. She isn’t home, and we aren’t letting anyone back into Sand and Sea yet.”

George made a rotating gesture with his index finger.

“When can the kids go back?” I asked.

George rolled his eyes. “Not important,” he whispered.

“Could you focus?” Morehouse asked.

“We don’t really socialize with her. Until today, I didn’t even know she used to date Aaron.”

“Where the hell did you hear that?” he asked.

Scoobie frowned. “From me. Gossip at the hospital.”

“How the hell come I don’t know that?” He hung up.

“Charming as ever,” George said.

I punched in Natalie’s number. “I’ll check on her.” No answer. I left a brief message saying we were thinking about her.

“She must just be taking a hot bath or something,” I said.

“Why do women do that when they’re stressed?” George asked.

“If you don’t figure it out,” Scoobie said, “you’ll be sleeping over here a lot.”

 

GEORGE LEFT BEFORE WE got up Friday morning, which was good. It would keep the kids from getting too excited. I figured he went over to Ramona’s to make her breakfast or something.

When Ramona and I got together later, she’d let me know if he’d be a houseguest for a second night. I really wanted to see her. Besides being my closest girlfriend, she’s also a source for what goes on in town.

She earned her gossip renown when she worked at The Purple Cow, Ocean Alley’s office supply store. Its owner, Roland, used to gently remind her he paid her to mind the store, not pay attention to everything else around town.

Ramona didn’t mind the kids coming to the store. My big concern was that the center open so I could get to work. I’d taken information on a house to appraise today, and hadn’t heard back from Harry about whether he could reschedule it.

Gone were the days when Aunt Madge had much time to babysit. Harry, a grandfather several times over, didn’t mind, but I figured he’d have to be at the office since I wouldn’t be there all day.

I let the kids sleep after Scoobie left for work, and texted Harry about that day’s appraisal. He said he’d been trying to get it postponed so I could be the one to do it. That’s good for our income. I get sixty percent of every appraisal I do, and our budget counts on several per week.

I left a voicemail for Natalie to tell her the kids would enjoy their day at home and to let me know if she needed help before reopening. Of course, I didn’t really have time, but surely the place would need some tidying or perhaps a few new decorations to welcome back the kids. A grief-stricken Natalie could probably use some assistance. And I wanted to know if Morehouse found her.

At seven-forty-five, our house phone rang and I was surprised to see Monique’s name. “Good morning. Are you enjoying having Alexander home?”

“Oh…you know how it is. Walmart said I could take the day off, because they heard about the center. But I planned to grocery shop today. Can Alexander play with Lance and Leah for a couple hours?”

“Sure. I might be gone near lunchtime, but any other time is okay.”

We agreed on ten. I fixed myself a second cup of coffee and picked up newspapers and kid-related debris from the living and dining rooms. When the kids began to stir I made for the bedroom.

 

WHILE THE THREE KIDS played together, I cooked some chicken and used it in a huge salad I would take to the art gallery. My plan was to get the twins Happy Meals and let them play while Ramona and I chatted. Ramona agreed, provided I brought a plastic tablecloth to spread on the floor.

When Monique came for Alexander at noon, she was in no hurry to leave. “Have you heard anything? The TV station in Lakewood said the police don’t have a lot of leads. They didn’t have much of a security system.”

I invited Monique to sit down, but didn’t offer coffee. “I know. I think the only cameras are in the playroom and side porch.”

She absently fiddled with the clasp of her expensive-looking purse. “I can’t decide what to do. Do you think it’s safe for the kids to go back?”

“I guess it would only be a problem if a staff member were involved in Aaron’s death.” I smiled. “And Natalie would surely fire them, so no worries.”

The twins and Alexander were engrossed in coloring books. Jazz sat on the dining room table watching them. “Jazz.”

She gazed at me, nonplussed.

“Do not play with the crayons.”

Monique looked at me as if I were crazy.

“Jazz sees them lined up on the floor and likes to scatter them.”

“Oh. So…you don’t think Natalie…” She let her voice trail off. “I heard they dated.”

“I heard it was a while ago. They seemed friendly enough afterwards. I saw him at the center once.” I deliberately didn’t say it was the morning of the break-in.

Monique studied a manicured fingernail. “I talked to her this week. My ex is in town, and I don’t like Alexander to be around him.”

“Doesn’t he have parental rights or something?”

“Yes, but he doesn’t give a tinker’s damn. He only tries to see him because it ticks me off.”

I really wasn’t up for a long conversation about her former marriage or ex-husband. “Did you already take your groceries home?”

She stood quickly. “Thanks for the reminder. It’s cool, but the frozen stuff won’t stay that way long.”

Alexander left under protest and with the promise of watching whatever he wanted on the Disney channel that afternoon.

I loaded the kids, the salad, and paper plates into the van. My preference had been the McDonald’s drive-thru, but Lance and Leah wanted to play on the indoor slide for a few minutes. “Okay, but it means you have to be extra good when we visit Ramona.”

I put them in the glass-enclosed playroom and walked toward the nearby order counter. I hadn’t reached it when I noticed Marie Hall and Dolly Adams sitting at a table on the side of the dining area.

Dolly’s red-rimmed eyes reminded me that she’d looked the same way when I’d dropped the kids at First Prez yesterday. Marie, always more subdued than her counterpart, had one hand over Dolly’s which were clasped in front of her on the table.

Marie noticed me, and used the other hand to motion me over. “I saw you come in. I’m glad the kids didn’t see us, though.”

Dolly sniffed. “I’m a mess. I can’t get over that someone was killed at the center. I don’t know how I’ll go back there.”

“Gosh. I hadn’t thought of how hard it would be for you two. For all the staff.”

“And kids,” Marie said.

“To be honest, we told the kids a friend of Miss Natalie’s had died, but we didn’t go into details.”

“They’ll hear it from the other kids,” Marie said.

“You’re right. Before the center reopens we need to tell them more.” I eyed Dolly, but addressed a question to both of them. “Have you heard if the center can be open Monday?”

Marie shook her head. “We’re supposed to hear later…”

Dolly stood abruptly. “All you care about is whether you have a babysitter for your kids. I’m going home.”

“I, uh…”

She slid out of the booth and stomped out. An older couple at a nearby booth appeared startled, but quickly focused on their food.

I realized my mouth was open and closed it. I looked back at Marie. “I’m truly sorry.”

She shook her head. “She’s been so upset. It is really awful, but I don’t understand her. It’s not like they were friends or something.”

Or maybe they were. Who had Aaron Taylor dated after Natalie? And if it was Dolly, how angry would she have been if his and Butterfield’s plans meant her job could go away?