by B R Snow
“I think I went overboard with this blouse,” she said, climbing out of the car. “Is it too much?”
“Only for the men with bad hearts,” I said, locking the car. “C’mon, I know exactly what I’m having.”
She stood by the car and took several deep breaths. I frowned impatiently but gave her all the time she needed. She and Summerman had fallen madly in love last summer, but after he had told her that he could only see her three months out of the year, things had quickly fallen apart. At the time, neither one of us could understand why he couldn’t be around for at least some of the other nine months of the year, and he’d been very evasive about the reason why. Now that I knew the answer, it made perfect sense, or as much sense as anything else about his situation did, and I was extremely interested in seeing how she would respond when she heard the news.
We headed inside C’s through the kitchen door and waved at Chef Claire who was dealing with a long line of order slips. She gave us a quick wave, then refocused on the task at hand, and barked at a couple of her servers. Normally the sweetest person in the world, she turned into a growling four-star general whenever she was working her magic in the kitchen. We made our way through the kitchen and into the bar that was jam-packed.
I heard a familiar melody and glanced over at the piano sitting in the far corner. The piece of music had changed dramatically since I’d first heard it this morning, and Summerman, oblivious to everyone else in the room, had his head down as his fingers effortlessly ran up and down the keyboard. Murray was draped across his feet underneath the piano.
We elbowed our way into a small space at the bar, and I waved to Rocco, our head bartender. He nodded at me and went back to work filling a large drink order for Wendy, a college student who was working for us this summer as a waitress. She gave us a smile and a wave and listened to Summerman while she waited for her drinks.
“Where the heck did all these people come from?” I said to her.
“It’s pretty amazing,” Wendy said. “A half-hour ago, there might have been ten people in the bar. Then he walked in and just started playing. Somebody must have sent out a text or something because it started filling up five minutes later. Who is that guy?”
“That’s Summerman Lawless,” I said.
“No way,” Wendy said. “That’s him? I heard he had a place around here. But I thought he was a rocker. That sounds a lot like jazz.”
“He can play anything,” Josie said, staring at the piano player.
“Here you go, Wendy,” Rocco said, sliding the tray of drinks closer to her.
“Thanks, Rocco,” she said, carefully lifting the tray and heading back into the dining room.
“How are you guys doing tonight?” Rocco said, turning to us.
“We’re good,” I said, nodding. “Busy, huh?”
“Yeah, you should hire that guy for the summer,” he said, laughing. “His rate can’t be more than fifty, sixty thousand a night, right? What can I get you?”
“I’ll have a glass of that nice Sauvignon from New Zealand,” I said, then glanced at Josie who nodded. “Two of those, please.”
Summerman continued to put on a dazzling display, then he slowed down, and I heard the exact melody line I’d listened to this morning. I closed my eyes, let the gentle phrase wash over me, and I was transported back to earlier in the day. I felt my stomach begin to toss and turn and was grateful when Summerman finished to wild applause. He thanked the crowd then looked around and spotted us at the bar. He headed straight for us, trailed by Murray. The dog only got a few steps before he stopped to enjoy the attention he was getting from several people. But Summerman made his way to the bar undeterred. He stopped directly in front of Josie, and they stared into each other’s eyes for a long time.
I waited it out, killing time by gulping down half of my wine and munching on peanuts.
“How are you?” Summerman said to Josie.
“I’m good. It’s nice to see you.”
“Hi, Suzy,” Summerman said. “Long time, no see.”
“Hey, Summerman. Glad you could make it.”
“I wouldn’t have missed it,” he said, turning to Josie. “Can we talk? There’s something I need to explain to you.”
“Sure, go ahead,” she said.
He cleared his throat, glanced around the crowd, then nodded at the door.
“We should probably do it outside. It’s pretty loud in here. Can we go for a walk?”
“I guess that would be okay,” she said, setting her wine glass down on the bar.
“Should I order you guys some dinner?” I said.
“No, you better wait until we get back,” Summerman said. “This could take some time.”
“Got it,” I said. “But I need to eat.”
“Go ahead,” Josie said.
“Try not to freak out,” I said, smiling at her.
“What’s the matter with you?” she said.
“Nothing’s the matter. Why do you ask?” I said, frowning.
“I was just expecting a few snarky comments. Like the one about how you hope I’d be able to keep my clothes on until we get out of the restaurant. Or something along those lines.”
“Maybe later,” I whispered with a shrug. “Let’s see how this plays out first.”
“You’re kind of freaking me out today, Suzy,” she said, taking Summerman’s hand.
“Yeah, I’m the problem,” I whispered into my wine glass.
“What?”
“Nothing. You two have fun.”
She studied my face, tried to make some sense of what I was saying, then gave up, and followed Summerman. I watched them wiggle their way through the throng until they went out the front door. I glanced around the crowded bar looking for potential dinner companions. While I didn’t mind eating alone, I was in the mood for company tonight. I eventually spotted my mother with Chief Abrams and Freddie, our local medical examiner, sitting on a couch near the fireplace and I made my way over to them.
“Darling,” my mother said. “What a nice surprise. I thought you were going to spend the evening home.”
“Slight change of plans,” I said, leaning over to buss her cheek.
“Can I ask you what you were doing out on the River in the middle of the night?” she said.
“Word travels fast. I was fishing.”
“I see. Can I ask you why?”
“Well, I can’t really catch anything sitting in my living room,” I snapped.
“Okay, darling, let’s not do this here,” she said, scowling.
“And it wasn’t the middle of the night,” I said, surprised by my own petulance. “Chief, Freddie, how are you guys doing?”
“Well, nobody died today, so I’m good,” Freddie said, shrugging. “And it’s been so quiet lately, I’m starting to feel bad taking your money, Mrs. C.”
My mother, the mayor of Clay Bay, considered his comment as she took a sip of wine. “You can always give it back, Freddie. And for the record, it’s not my money. If it were, you’d be looking at a major pay cut.”
“Touché,” Chief Abrams said, laughing. “We were just heading in for dinner. Would you like to join us?”
“You read my mind, Chief.”
“Oh, for his sake, let’s hope not,” my mother said, laughing. “That’s a place where even angels fear to tread.”
Chief Abrams and Freddie roared with laughter, and I glared at her.
“You’re really not funny, Mom.”
“Oh, I disagree, darling.”
Chapter 7
I studied the menu. I had no idea why since I’d had my order ready since early this morning. I ordered a ribeye with a side of mushrooms, but instead of my usual baked potato, I went with one of Chef Claire’s latest creations. She had been experimenting with some recipes for our new restaurant in the Caymans when she hit on the idea of slicing potatoes lengthwise into paper-thin slices and then stuffing them with a variety of fillings and rolling them tight. Then she fried them in pean
ut oil until golden brown, but they remained incredibly soft in the middle. They were like gourmet stuffed French fries and were already a major hit. I couldn’t decide which filling to go with, so I went with a sampling of all four varieties. I listened to Chief Abrams order the exact same thing and glanced over at him.
“Copycat,” I said, clinking glasses with him.
“You’ve never steered me wrong before,” he said. “How was your day?”
“Memorable is a word that comes to mind,” I said, taking a big gulp of Sauvignon.
“You gonna share?”
“For now, just a little of it,” I said, glancing around the crowded dining room. “Have you seen anybody walking around wearing a baseball hat with a funny looking logo?”
“Dozens of them. All the time.”
“Yeah, I imagine a bit more specificity might help, huh? This one has a cartoon face of an ear of corn with eyes. The name of the team is the Normal CornBelters. They’re a minor league team in Illinois.”
“No, it doesn’t ring a bell,” he said, pausing with his wine glass near his mouth to give it some thought. “Cool name though. What’s the deal with the guy in the hat?”
“I heard a rumor that the guy might be in danger,” I whispered.
“A rumor? I see,” he said, studying my face. “Can I ask where you heard it?”
“Oh, I really wish you wouldn’t,” I said, giving him a small smile.
“Okay,” he said, nodding slowly. “I guess that can wait for now. What sort of danger is he supposed to be in?”
“Somebody plans on killing him, or maybe already has,” I whispered as I reached for the bread basket.
“And that’s all you know? It’s not much to go on, Suzy,” Chief Abrams said, waving the bread basket away.
I launched into my summary of all the various bits of information I’d learned today, with the notable exception of everything related to Summerman. When I finished, I sat back in my chair and waited for him to respond.
“And Sammy might be related to the guy in the hat?”
“Yeah. I’m almost positive he is,” I said, sitting back in my chair to give our waiter room to refill our wine glasses.
“And it’s the same dog breed?” he said, puzzled.
“Yes. So, what do you think?”
“I’m going to have to agree with you. That’s a whole lot of coincidences.”
“What are you going to do?” I said.
“What do you mean?” he said, frowning.
“Well, we need to track him down, don’t we? You know, before something bad happens to him.”
“Suzy, I can pass the word around to some of my colleagues in the area, but it’s not like I can just put out an APB on a guy just because he’s wearing a corn hat.”
“Why not?”
“Well, for one, because I don’t want to look like an idiot. And all I have is some vague rumor about how he might be in danger. But if you want to go into some of the specifics about the source of the rumor, my answer might be different,” he said, grinning at me with a raised eyebrow.
“Nice try, Chief.”
“Okay, your call. Suzy, even if we do find him, all I can do is warn him, and ask him if he’s aware he might be in danger. There wouldn’t be anything to hold him on.”
“Unless he asked for protection, right?”
“Yeah, if he asked for it, we might be able to do something. But if he’s concerned about his wellbeing and does want some help from the police, don’t you think we would have already heard from him by now?”
“Geez, Chief,” I said, laughing. “If you’re going to use logic, what chance do I have to convince you?”
“Yeah, those dang pesky facts will get you every time. They’re always getting in the way and messing things up. But I will get the word out and keep my eyes open. If we do find the dog, I’ll bring him by the Inn.”
“I doubt if you’ll be able to catch him,” I said, building a small plate from the antipasto that had been placed in the center of the table. “Beezers can run like a deer and are great jumpers. This morning, the dog sailed right over my shoulder without breaking a sweat.”
“I’m not familiar with the breed,” Chief Abrams said, also helping himself to the antipasto.
“They’re great dogs. Really smart, and terrific with people once they’re socialized. But they can be very sensitive, especially when their routine gets disrupted or if they get stressed.”
“And the way the dog ran away from you this morning makes you think something might have already happened to his owner? This mysterious guy in the corn hat.”
“Now that I hear you say it out loud, it does sound like I might be overreaching on this one,” I said, frowning.
“Maybe,” he said, shrugging as he nibbled on a piece of cheese. “But you’ve had weirder ideas before that turned out to be right.”
“But why would the dog show up on our dock?” I said, frowning.
“Why are you asking me?” Chief Abrams said. “You’re the dog guru.”
“Darling, if I didn’t know better, I’d swear you were ignoring me. What on earth are you two talking about?”
“Sorry, Mom. I’m just trying to make sense of a few things that happened today.”
“Try to not force it,” she said, glancing around the table. “You’re always in such a hurry to get all the answers. Give it some time. I’ve always found that I always feel better when I relax and let things reveal themselves.”
“Revelation sure didn’t make me feel any better this morning,” I whispered.
Chief Abrams heard my comment and gave me an odd look. I glanced over at him, then noticed that my mom and Freddie were also studying me closely.
“Yeah, that’s probably good advice,” I said.
I was about to reach for another piece of bread when I noticed Josie slowly making her way to the table. She was walking unsteadily, and her face was drawn tight and drained of color. She placed a hand on the back of my chair in an attempt to steady herself and remained standing.
“Hello, dear,” my mother said. “Where’s Summerman?”
“Uh, he had to leave,” she said to my mother without making eye contact.
“Are you okay, Josie?” my mother said. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”
Josie managed a soft chuckle, then she exhaled audibly.
“Have a seat,” Freddie said, sliding the chair next to him back a bit.
“No, I don’t think I can stay for dinner,” she said.
“Why not?” Freddie said.
“Please, join us, dear,” my mother said, gesturing at the empty chair.
“No, thanks. I’m not hungry.”
Freddie and Chief Abrams both laughed, but my mother stared at Josie with a look of genuine concern.
“Are you okay?”
“No, I’m really not feeling well,” Josie said, then touched my shoulder. “Would you mind taking me home?”
“Sure, no problem,” I said, getting up from my chair. “Let’s go. I’m sorry to cut out early, Mom.”
“Don’t worry about it,” she said, continuing to watch Josie closely. “I hope you feel better, dear.”
“Could you just have my dinner boxed up and sent home with Chef Claire?” I said to my mother. I looked up at Josie and patted her hand to get her attention. “You sure you don’t want to order something for later?”
“No, I’m fine,” Josie said, giving the table a small wave as she headed for the door.
I followed her outside, helped her into the car, then we drove home in silence. We both changed into comfortable clothes, then I made a pot of coffee, and we settled down in the living room surrounded by the dogs who were delighted to see us. Josie rubbed Captain’s head and continued to stare out the picture window in a state of shock. I had a pretty good feel for what she was going through, so I stayed quiet as long as I could. Even though I was still at a loss for words to describe what we’d both learned today, I eventually I broke the sile
nce.
“Weird, huh?” I said.
“Yeah, that’s a word for it,” she said, then gave me a small smile. “That’s the best you got? Weird?”
“Well, I suppose I could string a bunch of adjectives to it, but they’d probably all be of the four-letter variety.”
“How is this possible?”
“I have no idea,” I said, shaking my head. “You believe him, right?”
“How could I not? He told me things that nobody else knows.”
“Yeah, he did the same thing with me. He started talking about my dad.”
“He told me how bad he felt when he watched me bawl my eyes out for two weeks last year after he left,” Josie said.
“I didn’t know you did that,” I said, genuinely surprised by the news. “I had no idea.”
“Nobody knows,” she said. “And that’s what convinced me he was telling the truth.”
“You know, once I got past the shock, I started thinking about how cool it would be to go back and forth like that,” I said.
“He thinks he might keep doing it forever,” she said.
“Eternal? Even better, right?” I said, shrugging. “Did he talk about what it’s like on the other side?”
“A little. Then I started crying and asked him to go home.”
“It’s a lot to deal with. I’ve been walking around in a daze all day,” I said.
“I noticed. And now I understand why,” she said, grudgingly relinquishing a portion of the couch as Captain stretched out. “We really need to get you on a diet.”
“How could you say something that cruel?”
“I was talking to the dog,” she said, laughing.
“Oh,” I said, relaxing. “So, what are you going to do?”
“About Summerman? I have no idea. But I’ll probably start by keeping my distance from him for a while.”
“That’s going to be hard to do.”
“It certainly is,” she said.
“I think this is definitely the strangest day I’ve ever experienced. And I could use a distraction. You feel like watching a movie?” I said, reaching for the remote.
“Sure. Anything to take my mind off this subject.”