Sexy Girls

by Gary S. Griffin

  We were sweet when Edie got back. During breakfast, our delicious breakfast, I explained what would be our Friday morning field trip.

  ***

  Howard's Resale Shop was in an old, almost forgotten, strip mall on Highway 1. It had seen better days. Those days were before the outlet stores were built and before Highway 1 was made into an eight to ten lane highway.

  To get to this shop we needed to turn right off Highway 1 and do a 180-degree turn on to an access road that was once the north bound lanes of Highway 1. Then, we drove a quarter mile south and turned into the Beach Mall parking lot. Howard's Resale Shop was one of five tenants in an eight tenant strip mall; the other three being vacant stores. The four other occupied shops included a dollar store (where everything cost a buck), a TV and vacuum repair store that looked like it had been transported from Mayberry, a jewelry store, and a used paperback book store.

  We parked and entered to find a crowded store with shelf upon shelf of household items of all shapes, sizes and ages. An old man walked to us and greeted us kindly. We introduced ourselves and he said he was Tom Howard.

  Mr. Howard was eighty if he was a day, bald as an egg, but still sharp and stood erect. He walked kind of slow and showed us to three unmatched chairs in the front of the store. Edie told our story and he listened carefully, especially to the descriptions I gave of Fred Conarto. I showed him his business card and our list of stolen property from Andi's home. Within a minute, he put the list down, walked behind the counter to the long aisles of shelves and returned with two items. One was a small gold mirror and the other was a framed watercolor of fish in many bold colors.

  I recognized them. They were Andi's.

  He nodded and paused for a very long time, then began his own story.

  “Mr. Garrett and Miss Edie, I've owned this shop for over forty years. In all that time, that fellow, Fred, is the meanest and slyest cuss I've met. The lady with him was calmer. She called herself Karen.”

  Howard looked at Edie and continued, “She's taller than you, but not as cute. She wore those damn ring things in her nose and ears and everywhere that make ladies look like gypsies or Indians.”

  Edie asked, “Mr. Howard, did those two give you their full names?”

  “Yes, uhm, well, let me see.” Howard walked to his filing cabinet and pulled out a manila folder. Inside he withdrew a stiff, letter-sized piece of paper, and scanned it with his eyes. “Yes, they wrote Fred Conarto and Karen Laidlaw.”

  Edie and I looked at each other. We didn't know a Karen Laidlaw.

  I asked, “What is that card used for?”

  Howard answered, “I write down the things they brought in.” He showed us the card, with each line filled in on the front and back.

  “Mr. Garrett, I have two more in the file, since they brought in so much.”

  “When did it start?”

  “In November and it continued through the winter.”

  Edie asked, “What did they exchange?”

  “All kinds of household items.”

  “I don't mean to interrupt your story, but did you pay them in cash for my stuff?”

  Howard answered, “Sure did. That's how I do business.”

  I asked Mr. Howard, “When was the last time you saw either one of them?”

  “I haven't seen the fellow in a month or two, but the lady was in here twice afterwards. She looked like she was in a bad way, but they never talked much to me when they were in here. She moved upstate somewhere, she wouldn't say where.”

  I wondered, “How did they bring things in here?”

  “He had a small blue pickup, an old Ford Ranger, I think. They had the stuff in the back.”

  Edie asked, “Can we take a look at the lists?”

  Howard smiled, and said, “I don't normally allow that, but for a beautiful woman like you, why not?”

  We spent the next twenty minutes going through the sheets. Howard told us he had his customers write out the list of items on the inventory sheets with their estimated values. Fred Conarto and Karen Laidlaw had visited nine times. Seven of the sheets were signed by Fred and the last two were signed by Karen. On the top of the last card in blue ink was a ten-digit phone number - with a 302 area code - the area code for Delaware, along with a name, Karen. I wrote the number down.

  We continued reading the sheets. So many of Andi's possessions were listed; I counted over one hundred items. There were six dining room chairs, three mirrors, china, and crystal glasses, a stereo with speakers, gold necklaces, two gold rings, one gold and emerald stone ring, a microwave, silverware, a brass coat stand, and three vases. Many other smaller items too were listed. All told, they received $2,890 for items that must have been worth five times that much. Not a whole lot of money, but enough to get them through the winter if they used it conservatively.

  I asked Howard about the phone number on the last card.

  “Yes, Mr. Garrett. That's Miss Laidlaw's new home phone number, or so she said. I'm to call her if I sell some items and it totals more than $250. They brought in so much stuff and a lot had low value that I wouldn't pay her anything for it until it sold.”

  “Is this number connected?”

  “I don't know. I haven't tried.”

  Tom Howard was a nice man. He showed Edie Andi's remaining items on his shelves and told her to take any five she wanted for free. Edie hugged Howard. She selected a vase, a small side table, two small brass mirrors, and the framed print of fishes. I put them in the Miata's trunk.

  We thanked Mr. Howard for his time and generosity and gave him our cellphone numbers and asked him to call us if he remembered anything else. He promised he would contact us if something more came to mind.

  During the ride back into town we called Sergeant Jester. Jester was in his office and I said we had some news. He invited us to stop in to see him. I put my hand over the phone, briefed Edie, she nodded and I said okay to the Sergeant.

  The Rehoboth Police Station is on the north side of Rehoboth Avenue about four blocks west of the boardwalk. Visitor parking was out front and we were escorted to Jester's office.

  Sergeant Jester greeted us warmly and we were soon seated in front of his metal desk in a back corner of the building. Edie's clothing today was a summer-weight green dress with a print-pattern made in India. Its thin, semi-transparent texture showed Edie's legs as she walked in the daylight. It definitely attracted many eyes as we meandered our way back to Jester's office.

  We then shared our news about Karen Laidlaw and what we learned at Howard's Resale Shop. We showed Jester the business card we found and asked if he could track Laidlaw to the Delaware area code phone number we discovered at the resale shop.

  Jester wrote the number down. He then said, “That's an upstate phone number from the Newark area. Let me try to match that number to an address. Give me a few hours and then I'll call you. Okay?”

  I said sure. “Please call us, we're going to spend the afternoon on the beach, but we'll have our cellphones with us.”

  Jester answered, “Sounds good, Garrett.”

  Edie reached in her purse and pulled out the inventory listing that we completed and said, “Here, I almost forgot this.”

  She handed Jester the listing.

  He thanked her and said, “Let me make a photocopy for you.”

  Edie told him that she updated the list to include some things that were on the resale shop records. Edie also told Jester that all things that were sold to Tom Howard had an X by them on her list.

  Jester smiled and said, “I'll be right back.”

  When he returned with the inventory copies, we stood and Jester walked us to the entrance. As we left, he said, “You're making good progress with this.”

  We thanked him and headed back to the white cottage.

  ***

  Cyndie took many nature photographs. We were on the wild sand dunes in Cape Henlopen State Park. Long strands of beach grass, crooked-trunk pines and a leafy tree, here and there, added to the s
tark, beautiful landscape. It felt remarkably remote and isolated, even though we were only a mile or two north from thousands of beach goers.

  Edie and I took several long walks as Cyn worked. We hiked on tree-lined paths and through the dunes, explored around the lighthouse, and ate lunch as we watched ocean-going ships come out of the Delaware River and disappear over the Atlantic Ocean's far horizon. We waded in the back-bay tidal pools at low tide behind the Cape.

  Around 4:30, my cellphone rang. It was Sergeant Jester. His first words were, “Garrett, I got an address for Karen Laidlaw. It's on Main Street in Newark right by the University. The phone number is still working and was activated about two months ago.”

  “Thanks, Sergeant. What's the street address?”

  “539A Main Street. It's a second floor apartment in a two story building, with a shop downstairs. Newark Police found out that Laidlaw works in the shop; it's a beauty parlor.”

  I replied, “Sounds like she's staying for a while.”

  “Yes, it does.”

  I asked, “Can we get in the apartment and look for any of Andi's stolen possessions?”

  Jester answered, “Yes, I'm one step ahead of you. Newark Police are getting a search warrant to inspect the apartment.”

  I replied, “Super; we can stop in Newark on our way home.”

  Jester asked, “When do you plan to leave Rehoboth?”

  “Sunday morning, about ten.”

  “Okay, I'll call the detective back and try to arrange it. I'll call you before then, expect my call.”

  I thanked him and we packed up and head back to the cottage.

  The next two hours flew by. We planned our dinner. I could get use to this lifestyle with drinks, bed time, showers and dressing together. We decided to eat at the cottage and I made a barbeque chicken and grilled veggies dinner on Andi's small charcoal grill, overlooked by the robbers, as it was tucked under the back of the house all winter.

  While we ate, Cyndie suggested that we make this our boardwalk night as the next night, Saturday, would be very crowded.

  We all agreed and planned our Friday night.

  After dinner we strolled south, down the boardwalk and ended up in front of Funland. We challenged each other to get ourselves spun silly on the scariest rides. I liked the Sea Dragon ride, which is a Viking-shaped boat that swings back and forth until the boat is nearly vertical at the top of each arc.

  The Gravitron was next. It looks like a Martian space ship and spins round and round. We held hands as the centrifugal force stuck us to the walls while we listened to the mighty Led Zeppelin's rock music.

  I almost lost my dinner in Chaos, the scariest ride in Funland. This is a wild ride! Cyndie chickened out and watched us from the safety of a park bench. The cars for two face outward. Edie and I were strapped in with a big padded bar that curved over your heads. Our car turned upside down vertically several times, while the whole ride spun through its cycle. Man, was I glad to get off that one. Even though we were lightweights compared to others on this ride, it still pushed us to our limits.

  We ended our stay at the bumper cars. We each had our car and I got Edie about five times, but she had the best hit when I wasn't looking and she got a speeding start. After that forty-five minute blitz in Funland, I was a pleasure to return to the safety of the boardwalk.

  On the way out, Edie asked me to win her a stuffed white teddy bear at the coke bottles. This game's challenge is to get three rings on Coke bottles that are five feet away from the front of the booth. It looks easy, but the distance and the small width of the red rings made it hard. I never won anything at these arcades before. I considered myself very lucky that I got two of the three rings on bottles with my $1. I earned a mid-sized bear about two feet long. I didn't want to press my luck so Edie settled for that one rather than going for the five foot bear.

  On the way home, we stopped for a small box of fudge and saltwater taffy's at Candy Kitchen.

  By the time we were home, we were contented, tired and ready for bed. I kissed Edie and Cyndie goodnight and went to bed alone.

  ***

  Sergeant Jim Jester's phone call on Saturday morning woke us up. He had arranged for the search warrant of Karen Laidlaw's apartment the next day, Sunday. He told us to meet Lieutenant Allan Moss at the Newark Police Department building on Main Street at 12:30 Sunday afternoon. Moss would escort us up the street and through Laidlaw's apartment.

  ***

  Edie and I convinced Cyndie to join us on the beach Saturday afternoon. Knowing her reluctance to be on display we selected an even more remote spot, one beach area further north from the usual site.

  Cyndie wore Edie’s wide-brimmed hat and a long-sleeved white cotton dress a large part of the day while huddled in the shade under the umbrella.

  I got Cyn on her feet to join us in the big event of the day. We walked south down the beach and entered the Rehoboth Sandcastle Contest. We were psyched and spent time and good effort to build our sand dolphin. Edie had a knack for shaping the head and body to change our pile of sand into a dolphin-like figure. Flipper had a big smile, little holes for eyes and a funny-looking fluke, but Edie loved the result. We received an honorable mention award and three free t-shirts for our efforts.

  The most enjoyable part was looking at all the other sand art work. Some of the other sculptures were nothing short of incredible, especially those in the sandcastle division. The creators were serious, prepared and had techniques and tools to envy. But, they were not designed or created by children. We especially liked The Lord of the Rings sculpture and another of a mermaid.

  After even more coaxing, we finally got Cyndie to agree to a swim in the ocean. She shed her hat and dress, revealing that she wore a black, two-piece boy shorts and tank top swimsuit. It covered some of her tattoos and I think she relaxed.

  Afterwards, Cyndie put on her loose white dress and took a walk south, down the beach towards the boardwalk to get more caramel corn.

  Once she left, Edie lay down on the beach blanket, undid her bikini top and had me apply some sunscreen; I massaged it in to her back and shoulders.

  “Uhm… that feels so good,” she said. “Oh, Stevie, I wish we could have more days like today. It's really wonderful. I love our beach home and Rehoboth!”

  “Me too. I thank the Lord for a day like this.”

  “I'll second that,” Edie replied.

  “Edie, I would like us to go to church before dinner tonight and pray for Andi. A parish of my church is a short walk from the cottage and they have a brief Saturday night service. It's just something I want to do. Will you join me?”

  “Sure, that sounds nice, Stevie. Will Cyndie join us?”

  I answered, “No, she doesn’t do church.”

  “Oh, I didn’t know.”

  “It’s OK.”

  Edie said, “Stevie, can you lay next to me on the blanket?”

  “Okay, but we can't be too long as church starts at 6 o'clock and we still need to take a shower and get dressed.”

  “I understand; just for a few minutes.”

  “OK.”

  I moved on the blanket and Edie turned towards me. My body screened Edie’s uncovered chest from the few beachgoers in our area.

  She said, “Would you please give me hug and a kiss? I need one so much, but don’t want Cyndie to see us.”

  “Sure, beautiful.”

  She smiled. I would fill more of her wishes in the days to come.

  ***

  At 5:45 Edie and I were showered, dressed, holding hands and walking to All Saints Church on Olive Avenue, one block from the boardwalk. We commented on the sparkling clear blue sky, low humidity and a nice sea breeze that continued our perfect weather.

  We met the church rector on the front steps and mentioned the loss of our dear friend. He said, “Wait, I have a message of hope for you.”

  We entered the charming, old chapel-sized church. The rector's sermon provided the comfort we needed. He told a tale of two men
walking along a road.

  “They had lost a loved one; the death seemed to be both unnecessary and unfair. In that moment of deepest and consuming sadness, something mystical happened. God knew they were suffering over the death. He came to them and comforted them.

  “Likewise, he will come to you. Be confident. You will never be alone in time of despair - even at your darkest hour. God has claimed victory over every evil power. Be filled with the sense of warmth and hopefulness. Maybe God is working in the midst of your terrible loss to bring about something miraculous - something new. Perhaps, death won't have the last word.”

  We prayed for Andi and thought of her life and our time with her.

  “Thank you for coming, Edie.”

  “I’m so glad you asked me.”

  Afterwards, we called Cyndie and she met us at the Back Porch Restaurant on Rehoboth Avenue. We had a long, delicious dinner. Afterward, we headed to the boardwalk and I slowly walked the ladies back home, holding Edie's right hand and Cyndie's left.

  ***

  On Sunday morning, Edie drove the Miata directly to my home in Brandywine Hundred. I drove Cyndie in the SUV to Newark. I raced that petite beauty for seventy miles before we exited the freeway and headed toward my college town.

  dead end

  Newark is the home of the University of Delaware. My alma mater has grown a lot since I earned my bachelor's degree there. Many new buildings have popped up around campus. Yet, it still retains the charm and greenery of my memories. I always liked that it was close to my parent's home but still had a far-away feel to it. The surrounding countryside was always fun to enjoy on a bike or a walk or in a car. This town helped me grow up.

  Main Street is lined with small shops and is the main east to west road. The police station was at the east end. We met our contact at the entrance. Allan Moss is a plain clothes detective. He's African-American, my height and had a low key, business-like manner.