“Yes, he certainly did.”
Her brow lowered. “What disaster struck while he was there?”
I’ll admit that it was my turn to be surprised. And I was about to lie to her so as not to cause even more alarm, but then I thought that lying to her would only make her distrust me, and I couldn’t have that.
“We had a tiny fire on the third floor of my office building. But it was truly nothing. Just a toaster that overheated.”
“Uh huh,” Julia said, with a knowing nod. “I figured. Anything else?”
I bit my lip. “There may have been a very minor incident involving a hot air balloon at the beach.”
Julia barked out a laugh—a big sound coming from such a tiny woman. “You coaxed him to the beach?” she asked, almost as if she’d caught on to that tidbit after the fact.
“We did. Unfortunately, it wasn’t for long. He’d practically just arrived when a hot air balloon ripped and came hurtling down toward us.”
“Anyone hurt?”
“A few bumps and bruises but nothing serious.”
Julia exhaled in relief. “And now you’re here to talk him into going out again, I suppose?”
“We are,” I said, almost feeling guilty about it.
“Good,” she said. “Good.” And then she patted Nancy’s hand, which was still on the handle of the wheelchair, and said, “Nancy, if you would please fetch my grandson. Tell him I need to see him in the foyer.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Nancy said, not looking especially pleased that she was being asked to play fetch.
Once she’d walked off, Julia leaned forward and said, “Now, tell me everything!”
I laughed lightly. Julia was delightful, but there was no way I was breaching my client’s trust. Even if it was her grandson.
“Mrs. Entwistle, I can only tell you that Willem has come to me seeking guidance on helping him get out into the world—something I know you encouraged him to do.”
Julia frowned. “What was your name again?”
“Catherine. Catherine Cooper.”
She brightened. “I know you! You were that woman they accused of murdering Heather Holland.”
I could feel my cheeks redden, and my smile tightened. “I was completely exonerated.”
Julia laughed. “Well, of course you were. I saw the aftermath of the coffee shop. Dreadful conclusion to the whole mess, wasn’t it?”
“It was an especially difficult day,” I admitted.
“Yes, yes. Well, it shows you have pluck. And, if you’re going to help my grandson, you’ll need a fair share of that.”
It was my turn to frown. “Honestly, I find Willem to be a lovely young man.”
“Isn’t he though?” she said, and that’s when I understood that she hadn’t been talking about Willem’s personality.
“So, you also believe in this curse? That it’s real, I mean?” I asked.
“Certainly I do!” she said. “But then, I’ve known Willem his entire life. Do you know that when he first came to live here a sinkhole swallowed up my entire tennis court and the Olympic-sized swimming pool? And that was just that morning. In the afternoon a fierce windstorm blew in and knocked down a two-hundred-year-old oak tree right onto the west end of the house, causing major structural damage.”
“Oh, my,” I said.
Gilley audibly gulped. “Yikes,” he whispered.
“Yikes is quite right. It was an absolutely dreadful day. But I loved my grandson more than I feared the curse attached to him, and I refused to send him back to that awful mother of his. So I stuck it out, and we were able to fill in the sinkhole and rebuild the tennis court and pool, and fix all the damage from the tree, and nothing else happened after that day, so I figured the curse had its limits. But for Willem, it’s been a torturous life. Everywhere he goes something dreadful always seems to happen, so for the past fifteen years he’s barely left the house.
“And none of this is his fault, mind you. His mother was the culprit, and if her son has to pay the price, then so be it as far as she’s concerned. Another reason for me to rue the day she was born.”
Wow, I thought. There was obviously no love lost between Julia and the other Mrs. Entwistle.
“The point is that I know from Willem the curse can be broken; you simply need to keep bringing it to new locations and let it exhaust itself.”
“That’s been our strategy,” I admitted. “The hard part has been getting your grandson to cooperate.”
Footsteps approached from the corridor where Nancy had ventured. Julia looked quickly over her shoulder, then back at me. “Not to worry. If we both gang up on him, I think we can get Willem to agree to another outing.”
I was about to reply when Willem and Nancy appeared from the corridor. Willem paused slightly when he saw me, and his curious expression turned down in a frown.
I completely understood, of course, and I felt for him, but I was also there to help him, and he was a mission I wasn’t about to give up on. “Hello, Willem,” I said once he’d reached his grandmother’s side.
“Ms. Cooper,” he said with little to no warmth. “Gran, I see you’ve met my life coach.”
Julia reached for and took her grandson’s hand. “I have, my sweet boy, and I’m so proud of you!”
Willem seemed surprised. “Proud?”
“Yes, yes!” she said. “You took my advice but clearly felt the task was quite daunting, and turned to a professional to get the job done. You’ve made me immensely proud, and I sit in awe of your courage!”
I had to press my lips together to avoid the huge smile tugging at my lips. Julia wasn’t going to strong-arm Willem into giving me and my method another go; she was going to charm him.
And to my relief, the technique seemed to be working. Willem blushed and dipped his chin. “Thank you,” he said softly. “But you should know it’s not going well.”
“On the contrary!” she remarked. “I hear that you went to the beach again The beach, Willem! How many summers have we sat together at the pool and dreamed of you actually swimming in the ocean? Oh, I knew we should’ve stayed after that one dreadful attempt to go there. But your grandfather was the one driving and he wasn’t having any of it that day. . . .”
Julia shook her head at the memory, but she wore a grin, as if it somehow delighted her.
Willem, however, was looking chagrined. “Did you hear about the balloon?”
Julia waved her hand dismissively. “No one was seriously injured now, were they?”
Willem looked to me, and I shook my head. “Just a few minor bumps and bruises, and a thrilling story to share with friends and family.”
“But it could’ve been much worse,” Willem insisted. “Gran, I’m a menace to society.”
Julia patted his hand. “Nonsense! You’re a lovely boy who’s been afflicted by a curse I’m positive we can beat, Willem. We simply need to continue to stress it, tire it out, and allow it to release you.”
“But what if it never grows tired?” Willem asked.
“If it never grows tired, you’ve still expanded your world by venturing out into it and surviving whatever this nasty bit of magic can throw at you. After all, we survived your arrival and within a day the curse had calmed down and allowed you to live here peacefully all these years. I believe that it’s already thrown the worst it can offer at you, and you’re probably safe to venture back to the beach.”
“And to my office,” I added.
Beside me Gilley squeaked and subtly shook his head. I ignored both him and the urge to slap him.
Julia squeezed her grandson’s hand. “I’m going to ask you to be brave again, my darling. I’m going to ask you to go on another adventure with Catherine and her associate, Mr. . . . ?”
“Gilley,” Gil said with a smile. “No Mr. Just Gilley.”
“Gilley,” Julia repeated with a nod and a smile to Gil before turning back to her grandson. “They’ll look out for you, and afterward, you’ll have one more place that will e
xpand your world.”
Willem turned almost hopeful eyes to me, and I nodded encouragingly.
“Please, Willem?” I said. “It would mean a great deal to me if you’d trust us and allow us to help you.”
Willem seemed to consider that for a moment, and I thought it was interesting that he never once looked to Nancy for her opinion or encouragement, and given the skeptical scowl on the woman’s face, it was easy to see where she came down on the idea.
“Where would we go?” Willem asked softly.
I looked at Gilley, hoping he’d done his homework and could suggest a safe spot. He didn’t let me down. “How about a farm?” he said.
Willem brightened. “A farm?”
“Yeah,” Gil said. “There’s a small family farm in Amagansett that raises alpacas, sells seasonal fruits and vegetables, and has a lovely country store of alpaca wool products. I’ve seen all the photos and the farm is big, open, and no hot air balloons in sight.” Gilley added a smile to that last part.
Willem grinned too. I think it was the first time I’d seen the man smile, and it was glorious. “All right,” he said. “But if anything terrible happens—”
“You’ll come home, spend a day feeling miserable, and then go right back out into that world, Willem,” said his grandmother. “The only way to break this curse is to drive it nuts before it does the same to you.”
And that, it appeared, was that.
Chapter 14
“You’re sure about this alpaca farm?” I asked Gilley as we walked out into the daylight again.
“It seemed the safest place for him besides the beach,” Gil replied.
“Are alpacas dangerous?”
“Are you kidding?” he asked me, then read my expression. “You’re not kidding. Okay, so, alpacas are adorable, Cat. They’re basically big, fluffy Muppets.”
“How big?”
Gil held his hand above his head at almost full extension. “The biggest are about yea high.”
My eyes widened. “That’s tall.”
Gilley lowered his hand to his waist. “You only think that because you’re this tall.”
“Short jokes? Really?” I said. “I’ll remind you, Gilley Gillespie, that on the topic of below average height, you’d be living in a house made almost entirely of glass.”
Gilley chuckled good naturedly. “Speaking of glass houses, we’ll be driving right by Basayev’s house on our way to the farm today.”
“We will?”
“Yep. The alpaca farm and the murder house are basically neighbors.”
“Huh,” I said. “I don’t remember any barnyard smells when we were there.”
“You were too distracted by the dead guy on the floor.”
“Indeed,” I agreed. And then I glanced at my watch. “Chanel should be released at any moment.”
“I still can’t believe Shepherd arrested her.”
“I can,” I said, and the thought infuriated me. But it also frustrated me too. Shepherd could be an impulsive horse’s ass. But there was a side of him, hidden behind the shield of defensiveness he put out to the rest of the world, that was good, and decent, and earnest, and surprisingly charming. The mix was dichotomous, both annoying and alluring. Sometimes, I didn’t know if I was angry with Shepherd or angry with myself for being so invested and interested in him.
With a sigh I said, “I wonder how long Willem will be.”
“He said he needed to change,” Gil reminded me. “From what I’ve seen of him, Willem’s a dapper dresser. It’ll take him a bit.”
I looked down at myself. I was hardly dressed to visit an alpaca farm, but at least I was wearing boots and black pants that were easily sent to the dry cleaners should any dirt, hay, fur, or dust settle into the fabric.
Gilley was better dressed in jeans and a gorgeous butter-soft black leather jacket, with a gray and burgundy plaid scarf. I touched his sleeve. “You look rather dapper yourself, my friend.”
Gilley beamed “Thanks for noticing.”
Finally, Willem appeared. He wore jeans as well, with a thick army-green sweater, and black boots. He was such a handsome man overall, with a striking face and a sincere expression. His size was definitely the first thing you noticed about him, however, it was also the first thing you forgot once you got to know him. And I genuinely liked him. He simply gave off a lovely, inquisitive, easily accessible vibe. I wanted very much to help break him out of this self-imposed prison, because he was the kind of man who should have lots of friends and be having lots of adventures.
Stopping in front of our car, he said, “Would you mind if we took my car? I tend to get motion sick if I’m not driving.”
“Of course,” I said immediately, but Gilley cocked an eyebrow, and I refused to acknowledge the somewhat shameful concern I knew we both had about how Willem would manage not just reaching the pedals, but seeing above the steering wheel.
Willem smiled, and a little of the worry I’d seen in his eyes when he first appeared relaxed. “Thank you. My car is over here.”
We followed behind him around the corner of the house to a six-bay garage. Willem pulled out a small remote and one of the bay doors lifted, revealing a silver-blue Range Rover that sparkled with shine.
“Nice,” Gilley said, nodding in approval.
Willem grinned. “It’s supercharged. I had it delivered yesterday, so this is a good excuse to break it in.”
Now I understood why Willem had somewhat easily given in to our suggestion for another excursion. He was itching to drive his new toy.
“You’re into cars?” Gilley asked.
In answer, Willem pulled out his remote again and tapped it a few more times. All of the bay doors began to open, revealing a dazzling range of vehicles, two per bay. Several of them were vintage. All of them sparkled as if they’d just come off the showroom floor.
And, I’m no car expert, but I would’ve appraised the value of Willem’s car collection to be somewhere in the low millions.
“Impressive,” I said.
Willem beamed again. But then his expression turned sad. “I can’t really drive them anywhere. Mostly just around the grounds, but they’re still my passion.”
I looked at him sincerely and said, “Willem, I’m going to make it my mission to help you crack this curse so that you can take any one of these cars out anytime you want.”
Willem pressed his lips together, in a doubtful grimace that belied his reply. “That would be really nice, Catherine.”
“Shall we?” I asked.
We approached the car and I immediately got into the backseat, motioning to Gilley to sit up front. “You know the way,” I said to him. “Help navigate, would you?”
“Of course,” Gilley said eagerly. Whenever there was more than just the two of us, Gil always seemed to relegate himself to the backseat, so this was a nice treat for him.
We set off and what I noticed immediately was that Willem had obviously had the Range Rover fit with a custom seat and pedals adjusted for his specific height. And I will admit to breathing a tiny sigh of relief.
While Gilley and Willem chatted amiably, I enjoyed the passing scenery. Even though the day was overcast, and a hint of rain was in the air, it was still a nice, mild day, and signs of spring were everywhere.
As we neared the ocean, the wind picked up. Gilley looked over his shoulder at me and said, “Did you hear about the big storm coming to our shores?”
“No,” I said, feeling a touch of foreboding. “How big and when?”
“Big. Like, nor’easter big. And it’ll be here the day after tomorrow.”
I winced. The boys were set to head off on their spring break vacation with their father the next morning, and I hoped they didn’t encounter any weather issues. They’d all be flying out of LaGuardia. I’d have to start paying attention to the weather.
While I was worrying over impending storms, Willem said, “Did you hear that a man was murdered up there?”
I looked up and realized
he was pointing to the road leading up to Basayev’s home. There was still a Bennett and Bennett for sale sign out front too.
“Would you believe we were the ones who found the body?” Gilley said to Willem.
Willem stared at Gilley in shock. “No!”
“Yes,” Gilley replied. And then he proceeded to tell Willem all about the harrowing ordeal—leaving out the components about Basayev being a mafia kingpin, and us posing as buyers to try and get information out of Lenny Shepherd’s old partner that could’ve helped us nail Basayev for the murder.
“Whoa,” Willem said, when Gilley had finished (rather smugly, I might add). “That’s insane!”
“Yeah, but would you also believe that it wasn’t even worthy of making it onto my honorable mentions for some of the craziest stuff that I’ve seen?”
Willem’s eyes widened again. “What else have you seen?”
For the next ten minutes, Gilley gave Willem a short list of the crazy, weird, disturbing, deadly, but above all, terrifying things he’d encountered when he was a ghostbuster touring the world with M.J. and Heath for their cable ghostbusting TV show.
Of course, I’d heard all the stories before, but every time Gilley told someone about his “honorable mentions” I could feel the hair rise along my neck and arms.
Willem was so impressed that by the end of Gilley’s list of horrors, all he could do was stare at Gilley with mouth agape. “Good God, man,” Willem whispered. “I had no idea you’ve lived such an amazing life!”
Gilley puffed himself up in his seat, so pleased I thought he might float out the window. “It’s been interesting,” he said. I smirked, but was pleasantly pleased that Willem and Gilley were getting on so well. A little bromance would be good for the two of them—especially since Michel had been away so much of late, and I worried that Gilley was lonelier than he was letting on.
We arrived at the alpaca farm just a short time later. Willem parked and we got out and approached a little booth set up at the front gate. The booth had a call button, which I depressed, and within a few seconds a woman’s voice came through the speaker. “Yes?”
“Hello. We’re here to walk the grounds and pet the alpacas,” Gilley said.
To Coach a Killer Page 22