The short ride over to the Sandscript was as quiet as the deserted Padre Boulevard. “Everyone’s gone to eat,” I said. “You should see the restaurants at night here where the customers are as red as the lobsters they eat. You have to use common sense when it comes to fun in the sun.”
I got out of the van to try the brass keys in the locked garage behind the bookstore. The first one didn’t work. The second turned the lock as if it was greased.
“That answers that,” I yelled back at Janie. No sense in being discreet in the vacant street. “The key fits.”
“That’s just the garage. What about the bookstore? And how will we get into his apartment?” she called out.
“Oh, it’s the same key. I remember that. To the door inside the garage.” I lifted the garage door that was already wet with the night sea spray and then drove the van inside. “Wait here,” I told Janie. “I’ll close the garage, and then no one will ever know we’re here.”
FOURTEEN
Bailey ran through the door like a chicken with its head cut off. He bounded up the stairs to the living area, and before Janie and I could make it to the top, he had already scouted each of the rooms upstairs. He passed us on a gallop on his way down to the bookstore.
“Bless his heart,” Janie said. “He’s looking for Harry.”
I yelled after the dog, “Bailey, he’s not down there, either,” but finally I had to go open the bookstore so the Lab could make his own decision. It was several minutes before we could drop our soft-sided luggage on Harry’s living room floor. I fell rather than sat in a living room chair, and Bailey came up and put his big golden head on my knee.
“I know. I know. I’m sorry he’s not here, too, but we’ll find him, I promise.”
“He probably needs some water,” I told Janie. “Use one of Harry’s serving bowls until I can get his dog bowls out of the van.”
Janie went into the open kitchen area to get Bailey a drink and said, “Honey, there’s his dog bowl here on the floor. I’ll just rinse it out and give him a drink. Here, Bailey.”
I looked into the kitchen. “That’s his food bowl. Just use a serving bowl for the water.”
We were both concerned about the morose Lab until he drank some fresh water and sighed and settled down in his place by the couch.
“I think we can quit futzing with him now. He seems to accept that Harry is not here.” I proceeded to defrost two steaks I found in the freezer. It only took a few minutes in the microwave, and while I rummaged in the pantry for something to accompany the meat, Janie took a quick shower to wash off the sand and salt from our impromptu water outing.
“Do you mind watching the steaks? I decided it would be quicker to cook them on the stove. I’m starved, too. And we can use those tomatoes we bought at the market in Harlingen for a salad. Oh, and I found a can of Ranch Style Beans. There’s no bread though.”
Still drying her hair with a towel, Janie said, “I saw some Bisquick in the refrigerator. I’m sure it’s still good. I’ll make up some quick biscuits.”
“Hmmm . . . sounds delicious. I’ll only be a minute.” And I went off to Harry’s bathroom to take my own hasty shower. I had been grateful for the perpetually air-conditioned apartment when we had arrived from the beach, but I shivered in the cold air as I stepped from the shower. I wrapped myself in Harry’s big terry bathrobe hanging on the bathroom door. So far, I had seen no signs that his departure had been unusual or hurried.
Our stomachs got in the way of the reason we were guests in Harry’s house, but as we mopped up the last of the bean sauce with the biscuits, I reminded Janie, “Now we’ve got to concentrate on what it is that Harry expected us to find here.”
“I think that was the best meal I’ve ever had,” she said. “And can that wait until the morning? I’ve never been so tired in my life. I don’t even think I can wash up the dishes.” Telltale dark circles under her eyes told me that Janie was succumbing to beach life in a hurry.
“Eat, play, sleep, and eat.” I laughed. “Welcome to the coast.”
Janie tried to stay awake, turning on the television, but giving up in frustration as the programs came across in Spanish. “Do you have to know Spanish to watch TV down here?”
“It’s something on the remote control. I can fix it, I think. I’ve watched Harry do it.”
“Never mind. I’m packing it in. They talk so fast and seem so excited. It wears me out.” Janie turned off the television and headed for the bedroom. She stopped at the door and cocked her head, “I think the wind’s picking up,” she said. “Doesn’t it sound louder to you?”
“It’s always that way down here. You’ll get used to it. And that sorta roar you hear in the background? That’s the waves. Like my mother always said, ‘No matter where you go or where you are, those waves are still coming in.’ ”
“I suppose that’s a comforting thought.” She yawned. “But I’m going out! Like a tide. I promise I’ll do the dishes first thing tomorrow. Night, Honey.”
I snuggled into Harry’s favorite chair and drank the remains of my after-dinner coffee. I missed his presence in his house. Seemed I missed him more when I didn’t have so much else to think about. It wasn’t long before I, too, gave it all up, and Bailey and I crept in next to the gently snoring Janie. Harry’s king-sized water bed rolled gently with our motion, and as usual in this bed, I slept like a top. The Gulf wind could howl and scream, but I felt safe and protected, which only goes to show you what I still need to learn in this world.
We slept late, which wasn’t a surprise. Ocean air does that to people, but I was startled to find that Janie had woken before me. She appeared by my side with a hot cup of coffee. “Just like I promised. Dishes all done and Bailey’s been out. It’s such a gray old day out there. I ’m disappointed, but I guess storms come in here, too. Just seems like it shouldn’t rain when you’re on a vacation.”
I didn’t have the heart to tell her we weren’t actually on a vacation. Instead, I reassured her. “I’m sure it will blow out soon, and if we spend the morning looking for whatever clue we’re supposed to find, maybe we can spend the afternoon at the beach.” As an afterthought, I said, “No one saw you when you took the dog out, did they?”
“There’s not a soul around. Just wind and rain. I stood in the garage doorway while he did his business. Believe me, he wasn’t out there long.”
“Really? Usually he takes forever.” I looked at the dog, who cocked his head and whined at me. “Poor baby. He still thinks Harry will show up.”
Janie patted Bailey on the head. “Would you listen to that wind! I dreamed all night that people were calling out to me — like through megaphones. I don’t know if I could take those waves pounding all the time.” She took a drink from her own coffee cup. “Now, where do we begin?”
Good question.
We started with the bookstore. Janie wanted to see it, anyway, and with the sun-filter shades drawn over the windows, no one could see the light inside. She loved the store and was really into examining Harry’s stock. “Lots of mysteries,” she noted.
“Mostly beach reading. That’s what Harry called it.” I stopped in the middle of the store and tried to think like Harry. “Janie, there is something here that Harry wants us to find. Now, what could it be?”
She looked up from the revolving rack she was perusing and said, “Well, it would have to have something to do with Bailey . . . or dogs. I figure that’s why he sent the key to Bailey.”
“You think? I thought that was just his way of telling me it was from him.” I wandered around the store. “Something to do with Bailey. With dogs. He has a small pet section. Over in that corner. We can check it out first. Lord, what a day. Would you listen to that wind?”
We spent some time checking each of the books about dogs, paying special attention to anything that had to do with Labradors, but found nothing of unusual interest. Then Janie got the idea of checking mystery books that were about veterinarians or had a dog sleuth.
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Nothing.
She went upstairs and brought down some hot coffee and toasted leftover biscuits. We munched on the breakfast and thought what we could explore next. “The storm is getting worse, Honey. And I saw some emergency vehicles going by with red lights flashing. Reckon we ought to listen to the weather report? Maybe it’s a hurricane.”
I laughed. “Janie, the last hurricane that came in this late in the season was Beulah back in 1967. I don’t think we need to worry, but we’ll turn on the TV when we go upstairs. But, first, think. Think of something that would have to do with just Bailey.”
“That’s not very comforting,” she said.
“What?”
“Well, if this Beulah did come in . . . in September, that means another one can, too.”
I was sitting on the floor, leaning on the checkout counter. “I’ve got it,” I shrieked.
“You figured out the clue?” Janie forgot all about Beulah and hurricanes.
“I see one of Bailey’s toys under that display. He has them everywhere. We just need to go around and collect them and, well, I bet we find what we’re looking for.”
It didn’t take long to look high and low for Bailey’s babies as Harry called them. He had sent some with the dog when he had flown him to Fort Worth to me, but there was still a zoo of stuffed animals and a few balls lying around. We gathered them up and took them back to the living quarters. Bailey thought it was a fine game, and he gave each new discovery a yelp and a lick.
“Look, Bailey, here’s monkey and chicky,” I told him as I dangled the animals in front of him. He thought it was a game and grabbed them both, tossing them into the air and catching them.
We found another cache upstairs, and soon we were squeezing and examining all the stuffed toys. “Look for any seams that might be loose. Or something unusual.”
Janie held up a stuffed shark and said, “They’re all unusual.” She turned to Bailey, who wanted the shark. “Anyone ever tell you that you are a rotten spoiled dog?” He agreed with her and took the shark out of her hands after a tug.
“Honey, there’s nothing in or on these animals. I give up. And Bailey’s hungry. I’m going to feed him.” She went into the kitchen to get his food. When she came back, she said very quietly, “Have you ever seen the movie Key Largo?”
“I don’t think so,” I replied. “I’ve meant to, but I don’t remember it. Why?”
“Because it was about a hurricane, and I saw it recently. It was all filmed on a set, and I remember thinking how fake the palm trees looked blowing over in the wind. Like someone was pulling them over with wire or something.”
“And?” I prompted her to finish.
“Well, I was wrong. That’s the way the palms outside look right now. They’re almost bending clear to the ground. We forgot to turn on the TV, but I’d bet my bottom dollar we’re in the middle of a hurricane.”
I jumped up and went to the curtained sliding glass door of Harry’s balcony. I pulled aside the dark curtain and gasped. Janie was right. The palms surrounding Harry’s bookstore — and all those for as far as I could see — were bowing low to the ground. Rain came down in slanted sheets, and the wind was like a howling monster. The waves in the Gulf were high and angry. I had never seen them so gray and menacing. Or so near the bookstore.
“Oh, my God,” I said.
Janie was reaching for the TV remote when the lights went out.
In the dark, the wind seemed to take a life of its own, becoming an unwelcome guest who was determined to come in. The glass shook as a wind shift drove the rain against the pane. I ducked as if something had been thrown at me and dropped the curtain.
Out of the black space where Janie stood, I heard, “Oh, and I found Harry’s clue. It was taped to the bottom of Bailey’s food bowl.”
FIFTEEN
I didn’t know what to do.
Surprisingly, Janie was the calmer one. “Don’t panic,” she said. “We’ll just get in the van and go very slowly back over the bridge.”
“Oh, dear,” I said.
“What? What’s with the ‘oh, dear’?”
“I remember something Harry said. The bridge was designed for a car to withstand an eighty-mile-an-hour wind. Hurricane winds begin at about fifty miles an hour, and right now, it sounds more like one hundred miles an hour out there.”
We reversed roles, and Janie became the panicked one. “That means we can’t get across the causeway?”
“Not in the van. It would blow us over in a New York minute. Let me think.”
I didn’t want to look out that glass door again, but I raised the curtain and tried to peer through the rain. It was only marginally lighter outside, but I could see that the water was closer to the bookstore. I didn’t see a light or anything moving as far as I could see.
“It’s getting stuffy in here,” said Janie. “I can’t breathe.”
“That’s because the air-conditioning is out. You’re feeling the humidity. Just stay calm and breathe naturally. I’ll figure something out.”
“Let’s go down to the bookstore so the wind won’t blow us away.”
“Oh, right, and risk drowning. That storm surge is sure to flood the downstairs.”
Janie and Bailey both whined at that one.
“The question is — do we want to drown or be blown away?”
More moans from the two. It was as if even Bailey knew what was going on.
I turned, and in the pale light from the sliding glass door, I could see the two huddled together. Janie was on the floor by the couch with her arms around Bailey. He had his big head buried in her shoulder. “Okay, just joking.” I said. “But we have to get a grip. Janie, you look in the kitchen for candles. I know Harry keeps an emergency supply. I’ll hold the curtain open for light. I can’t find the drawstring. Yes, there — in that drawer. Now see if there are some matches in there. Good. Light them all.”
The room took on an eerie glow, but at least we could see our hands in front of our faces again. I ran a mental list of things to do in a hurricane. “Okay, we’ve got plenty of bottled water. Now I know why they call them hurricane lamps. Just put the glass back on that one and bring it over here.” I tried to joke to reassure Janie, but the truth was, I was scared to death. What to do? What to do?
For the minute, we sat on the floor and stared at the candle.
I thought a change of topic would be good while I figured out how to get us rescued. “You said you found the clue? What was it? On Bailey’s dish?”
Despite the increasing humidity and oppressive air, Janie replied through chattering teeth, “Yes. It was a note wrapped in tape. This is, what’s left of it.”
“What do you mean, what’s left of it? Bailey didn’t eat it, did he?
“No, it was this way when I turned it over. A scrap is all I found.”
“Did you get to read it? What did it say? Let me see it.”
“It didn’t make sense. Something about Indians.”
“Indians?”
“Well, wigwams or something. Honey, I’m scared. And I don’t know what I did with the note.”
“I see it on the counter. I’ll get it.”
“Don’t leave me,” she shrieked.
“I’m just going to the kitchen to get the note. There, see I’m back, and we’re still okay. I see what you mean. It’s like the note was ripped off in the middle and the tape held this part. Janie, it doesn’t say wigwam, it says wigmore. ‘Honey, Twenty Wigmore St. is for. . .” And that’s it; the rest is gone.”
“Wigwam. Wigmore. What difference does it make? We’re going to die here.”
“And a number. Twenty. Janie, look at this. Does that look like S-T to you? Like in street? Or like in saint? Well, it has my name on it. This must be what we were looking for.”
“Hush,” she commanded.
“What? Hush? Why?”
“I hear something.”
“I do, too. The wind.”
“No, this is from downstairs. L
isten. There. Did you hear it? Bailey did.”
And sure enough, the dog had cocked his ears toward the downstairs door.
“I don’t hear a thing, but we’ll go check it out,” I said partly to humor her and secretly because I wanted to see if the bookstore had flooded yet.
Janie sprang up and lunged at the door. “I know. They’ve come to rescue us.”
Still trying to lighten the mood, I said as I followed her and the eager dog down the steps, “Maybe it’s our friend Sledge Hamra.” I had to yell to be heard over the wind. “I bet he got caught here, too.”
There was about an inch of water on the bookstore floor. Janie peeled off her sandals at the foot of the stairs and waded into the room. Bailey thought better and stayed where he was on the last step. Water in his home was obviously puzzling to him.
I called out to Janie, “Janie, stop. We don’t know who it is.”
She stopped but said, “Don’t be silly. It’s the Coast Guard. See? He has a gun.”
I blew out the candle I carried.
“Duck down behind that display,” I ordered her.
Janie did as I said but still questioned my motives. “Why? We’re going to be rescued.”
“Rescuers don’t come with guns in their hands,” I said.
“Maybe they do if they think we are looters. Yes, that’s it. They are checking the buildings for looters.” She began to stand up again. “Wonder how they will get us off the island?”
“Stay down, and just let me check it out, okay?”
“Do you think they will let us go get our bags? I really don’t want to leave my purse.” In her mind, we were already safe and sound back on the mainland. But she did stay out of sight while I inched through the water toward the door.
Sure enough, there was a man trying to get in the front door. The closer I got to the door and display windows, the more I could make him out.
“He’s not wearing a uniform,” I whispered to Janie.
The Complete Honey Huckleberry Box Set Page 41