No Hiding Behind the Potted Palms! A Dance with Danger Mystery #7

by Barton, Sara M.

  “What’s this?” Mary asked, bending down to greet the little fur ball.

  “This is my Joy,” I announced with a grin.

  “A dog at last! What fun!”

  Mr. Whiskers was less than impressed. He tried hard to ignore her, especially when she wanted to play, but they came to an understanding. Sometimes I would find them curled up together on the floor, napping.

  It was all going along well until the day Mary announced her son had taken a job in Savannah and he was coming for a visit.

  “Does this mean you’re getting ready to leave me?” I asked her. I felt a pang of panic at the thought that Mary was about to disappear from my life.

  Chapter Ten —

  “I hadn’t planned on it,” Mary replied. To tell you the God’s honest truth, I like it here. I like the town and I like the people. And I love this shop. You know, Lucie, you really should consider expanding the the business.”

  “That’s what Garrett says.”

  “He’s a wily, old fox,” Mary replied with a disapproving sniff. She was less than dazzled by his courtly southern manners when he came for a working visit a few weeks earlier. “If you ask me, he’s looking to get into your bloomers.”

  “And would that be a bad thing?” Garrett was a tall drink of water, a high school history teacher who opened Oglethorpe’s Lyceum as something to fill his summer hours. In addition to local artwork, his shop also featured unusual Southern antiques and local ephemera, including buttons and posters of political events. Garrett was a died-in-the-wool history buff. He had a retired railroad engineer and a former Miss Georgia beauty queen filling in for him during the school week. He brought Joy’s mother, his little Maltese, with him to work. Miss Marigold was left behind by an ex-lady friend, who decamped in the middle of a heat-wave with the guy who came to fix the air conditioner. At least that was the story he liked to tell.

  “I think you could do better,” was all Mary replied before dropping the subject.

  But that was before her son announced he would be arriving in a week. Ever since then, Mary seemed extremely nervous that I would accept her son.

  “What’s he like?” I pumped her full of questions one afternoon in the shop, while we were catching up on our paperwork.

  “Oh, hard-working, conscientious, a consummate professional.” She was marking items with her label maker.

  “I mean as a person. Is he a quiet man, always keeping his head in a book, or is he boisterous, the life of the party?”

  “You tell me when you meet Robbie. I don’t want to give you the wrong impression. You know how mothers can be about their sons. To me, he’s close to perfect.”

  “Except that he has bad taste in women,” I reminded her. She rolled her eyes and gave her head a shake.

  “Just once I wish he would listen to me and find the right girl.”

  “Headstrong,” I said with a laugh. “He doesn’t want to be told what to do or how to do it.”

  “Well, he does have a lot of people working for him,” she explained. “He’s used to being in charge.”

  “Ah,” I teased, “he’s bossy.”

  “He’s a leader. It’s his job to tell people what to do.”

  “What does he do for fun?”

  “Robbie’s a golfer. He was on his varsity team in college. And he likes to tinker with cars and boats. He can fix his own lawn mower, too.”

  “Wow, that’s quite a list of skills, Mom. Sure to impress any girl.”

  “I’m just saying that he’s got a good mind that can solve issues.” Mary seemed a little touchy about the subject. “He’s a fixer and a doer. That’s a good thing in a man.”

  “Of course it is,” I responded, trying to smooth those ruffled feathers. “Maybe we can ask him to take a look at that drip in the shop sink while he’s here.”

  “Maybe.”

  “Am I forgiven?”

  “For what?” she asked, surprised.

  “For teasing you about your son.”

  “Oh, Lucie, don’t worry about me. I’m just a proud mama who’s happy her son has finally moved close enough to keep in touch. Pay me no mind.”

  “If I pay you no mind, I won’t have the benefit of your wise counsel.”

  “I’m sorry, dear. I promised him I wouldn’t play matchmaker and he promised me I could meet the girl of his dreams before he proposed. I’m not supposed to interfere, but sometimes it’s very difficult for a mother not to want the best for her son.” Mary scooped up a sleepy Mr. Whiskers, giving the surprised cat a chin rub.

  “Gee,” I laughed. “For a second there, I almost thought you were suggesting I might be a candidate.”

  “Well, promise me you’ll give him twenty-four hours before you completely cross him off your dance card.”

  “With a mother like you and a father like Bernie, how bad can he be?” We had talked a lot over the last several months about her late husband.

  “My son can be an acquired taste,” she admitted. “He’s always focused on his job, and sometimes his people skills lag behind. I’m hoping his new job gives him more time to spend with family and friends.”

  “Will it make you feel better if I promise to take that into consideration and give him time to unwind to a more southern way of life? Don’t worry, Mama. We’ll have your boy swinging a golf club and casting a fishing line in no time, at least while he’s here with us. By the way, where is he staying?”

  “He says he’s bringing his own camp cot and a sleeping bag. We’re not to fuss. He’ll sleep in the living room.” She shook her head at the thought.

  “Well, he’s easygoing as a guest,” I suggested. “He’s low-maintenance.”

  “He’ll take over the kitchen,” Mary warned me. “There’s nothing he loves to do more on weekends than cook up a storm. I hope you like pancakes and sausages.”

  “I’m looking forward to this guy,” I confessed with a laugh. “He must be something if he’s got you proud and exasperated at the same time!”

  “You don’t know the half of it. For his entire career, he’s been moved around the country every few years, and he was always flying here or there on assignment. We never knew if we were going to see him for the holidays. This is the first time Robbie’s lived anywhere near me since he was eighteen. I just hope he likes it down here. I really want him to like Habersham.”

  “It sounds like you want him to get a place in town,” I commented.

  “Would that be such a bad thing?” Mary put down the cat and looked at me. “He’s still young enough to find a nice girl and have a long, happy marriage.”

  “And he’s more likely to do just that if we stay off the subject of marriage,” I pointed out. “This does not sound like a man who wants to be told what to do. Why don’t we just show him around town and let him make up his own mind about living here?”

  “You’re right, you’re right, you’re right,” she repeated, as if it were a mantra she needed to imprint on her brain. “I will not interfere in your relationships and I will not interfere in his. I will be a good mother to the pair of you and keep my opinions to myself.”

  “Unless you’re asked, in which case we want to know what you really think. Say, we should make a list of fun things to do while he’s here. There’s a concert coming up. Maybe we can dazzle him with that.”

  “We should take him down to the boat club,” said Mary, “and let him see that he can have his Sea Ray down here.”

  “We can take him to hit a bucket of balls at the driving range,” I offered. “And then we can grab a bite in the pub.”

  “And there’s the deep sea fishing tournament next month. Maybe he’ll come back for that.”

  “See, Mom? Nothing to worry about. There’s plenty of fun stuff in Habersham. There’s no way your boy can say no.”

  We spent the next few days finishing up projects in the shop, in anticipation of taking some time off. I promised Mary that I would cover for her while she went off to sightsee with her son.


  “No, you have to come with us!” she insisted. “It won’t hurt us to close the shop for a bit. Or we could ask Misty to cover for a few hours here and there.” Misty was soon off to University of Georgia, but at the moment, she was working in the Rag Doll on a part-time basis.

  “Good idea. I’ll talk to Misty right now.” With Joy under my arm, I headed down Market Street, to the clothing store, to see if she was available for hire.

  “Oh, Lucie,” said the leggy redhead, “that would be great. I’m trying to get as many hours as I can before I head off to school.”

  “Well, in that case, consider yourself hired. How many hours would you like to work for us? Ten? Fifteen? Twenty?”

  Misty promised to stop by when she got out of work, to go over the employment form with Mary. I stopped at the post office to mail some letters before heading back to La Vie en Rose.

  There were a few customers in the shop when I got there. Mary was busy at the desk, ringing up some merchandise. One of the customers was gazing at one of my paintings, hanging on the way. It was a scene of cobia fishing in Port Royal Sound. From what I could see of his back, he seemed engrossed.

  “You like it?” I came up beside him. There was something familiar about his profile.

  “I do. I’d like to buy it.”

  “Bob! What are you doing here?” I hadn’t seen him since the day I disembarked from the Beauty of the Seas.

  “I was in the area on business and I thought I would check and see how you’re doing. You look well,” he said approvingly. “And the shop is wonderful.”

  “Thanks,” I smiled.

  “I do want to buy this,” he pointed.

  “Consider it my gift.”

  “I can’t do that, Lucie. It’s too valuable.”

  “Bob.” I took his arm in mine and pointed to the painting. “Without you, none of this would have been possible. You hooked me up with Mary, who’s great, by the way. My life is more than I expected it to be. I want you to have this. Really.”

  “Well, thank you. I’ll think of you every time I look at it.”

  “Can you stay for dinner, Bob? It’s so wonderful to see you again.”

  “I’ll take a rain check on that. I have a flight to catch.”

  “Sure,” I nodded. Disappointment threw a wet cloud over the sunshine that crept into the shop with Bob. Even now, there was still that tug towards him, even though he didn’t seem available. Mary joined us.

  “Did you have a chance to say hi to Mary?”

  “I did,” he said, putting an arm around her and giving her a kiss on the cheek. “And I thanked her for taking such good care of you.”

  “I’ve given Bob ‘Cobia Fishing in Port Royal Sound’,” I told Mary. Turning back to him, I asked if I could pack it for him.

  “You know what, Lucie? I’ll be back soon. Can you hold onto it until then?”

  “Would you prefer that I ship it to you? Just give me your address,” I told him, turning towards the desk. I intended to get a piece of paper to write down the information.

  “Bad idea,” he replied, stopping me with a hand on my arm, “security-wise.”

  “Right.” As I looked in his eyes, I had my doubts that he would ever come back for the painting. Maybe he was just trying to make me feel good about my art. Or maybe he was just being kind.

  “Well, I should get going. Take care of yourself.” Bob leaned in and pressed his lips to my cheek.

  “You, too.” I smiled wistfully as he headed out the door.

  “Promise me something,” said Mary as she came up to me. “Don’t run off with him, at least not before Saturday.”

  “Oh, I don’t think you have to worry about that. He doesn’t seem all that interested in me that way.” I had a lump in my throat as I made that admission.

  “A lot you know,” was all she said.

  By Saturday morning, we were ready for Robbie’s visit. Mary had made cookies and a peach pie, the refrigerator was stocked with all of his favorite things, and we had a reservation at Colonel Abbott’s Verandah for dinner. A little before nine, Mary headed downstairs to open the shop. I decided it was a good time to take Joy around the block. Slipping on her tiny harness, I carried her downstairs and set her down on the patio at the rear of the unit. She tumbled across the brick pavers, eager to explore. Sniffing around the rose bushes, she pulled on the leash while I was locking the back door.

  “Look who’s here!” said a familiar male voice. I whirled around to find Bob Ryan kneeling down to greet the little Maltese puppy. Joy licked Bob’s hand like he was her oldest and dearest friend.

  Epilogue —

  “She’s adorable.”

  “What brings you here today?” I asked. “Did you come for the painting?”

  “Something like that,” was his answer. “Am I interrupting anything?”

  “I was going to walk Joy around the block. Care to join me?”

  We did a loop through Market Square. I pointed out some of my favorite stores and the cafe where I liked to pick up lunch when things were busy at the shop.

  “What’s on your schedule today?” Bob looked at me with those brown eyes and my first thought was the promise I made to Mary. I couldn’t deny that I was more than ready to throw all good sense out the window and go off with him the moment he asked me. We stood in front of La Vie en Rose, reluctant to enter. Were we afraid our time together would end the second we opened the door and went in?

  “Mary’s son, Robbie, is visiting. I promised her that I would meet him.”

  “And after that?” He scooped up Joy in his hands, holding her close to his chest.

  “I don’t want to disappoint her. She’s been lobbying hard on his behalf.”

  “Has she? What do you think of him so far?” Bob’s eyes bore right through me with an intensity that made me blush. There was little doubt about his purpose in coming back. I had not imagined the sparks between us.

  “Mary’s a wise, kind lady. I assume her son has her good genes.”

  “That’s a pretty big assumption, Lucie. The guy could be a complete loser.”

  “And maybe he’s not,” I replied defensively.

  “So you’re tempted?”

  “I didn’t say that, Bob.”

  “Meaning I have a chance?”

  “I promised Mary I would not make a decision until I met her son. I owe her that much,” I insisted.

  “Looks like I can’t talk you out of that.”

  “No, you can’t.” I looked up as Mary opened the shop door and stuck her head out.

  “When you two are done dancing around out there, I could really use your help moving some heavy packages.” I noticed there was a satisfied smile on her face. We followed her into the shop, and Bob handed Joy to me as he bent to lift a rather large box.

  “Where do you want this, Mom?” he inquired. She pointed to the back door.

  “Over there, Robbie.”

  “Mom? Robbie?” I exclaimed. “You’re Mary’s son?”

  “Guilty as charged.

  “Why didn’t you tell me? Why was it such a secret?”

  “I wanted you to like me for me,” Bob grinned. “And my mother has a tendency to try to fix me up. She decided she wanted you as a daughter-in-law on the Beauty of the Seas, but we both agreed you needed time to heal.”

  “And I challenged him to come back in a year and see if he was still crazy about you, Lucie.”

  “Which I am,” Bob admitted. “That’s why I took a job as a forensic financial analyst for Hardy, Wecal, and Dubois. I’m heading up their Savannah office. I’m just a regular guy now.”

  “You’ll never be just a regular guy,” I laughed. “I can see I’ll need to stay on my toes to keep up with you.”

  “In that case, care to dance?” With a grand flourish, Bob bowed before taking me and tiny Joy in his arms. As he twirled us around the shop, he called over his shoulder to Mary. “By the way, Mom, I’ll be getting married again, and this time, I think you’ll really
like the girl!”

  Square Dance with a Scandalous Skunk

  It’s true that skunks can be real stinkers, but the truth is the skunk only sprays when he feels he’s in danger. Men, on the other hand, don’t always give warning before they strike out. Suzanne isn’t exactly a great judge of male character — she often leads with her heart and not her head when it comes to romance. She’s an “either or” kind of girl — she trusts too much or not enough. She’s about to learn the hard way that she needs to smarten up when it comes to men….

  Chapter One –

  It’s never a normal day when you find a dead body in the yard. To be honest, it’s a first for me. I carefully inspected the place before we bought it and there was nothing to indicate anything unsavory ever occurred in that sweet little bungalow. All I saw the first time I set eyes on the place was a darling of a doll’s house I thought could be a real winner for a real estate flip.

  You might think that the home inspector should have turned up the skeletal remains as he went over the place with a fine-toothed comb, but they were so well hidden, there was no way Sid Lowame could have uncovered them. He did question the water bill, though, and suggested there was a leak somewhere outside the house. That’s what started the ball rolling.

  We stumbled on the bones while digging up the yard with a back hoe, trying to find it. The killer’s shovel put a hole in that water pipe while he was depositing his victim into her almost-final resting place.

  I admit I might have ignored some of the warning signs because I was so bent on buying the bungalow. Any time you have a missing person, you probably should wonder if something sinister happened on the property. I’ll remember that the next time this crops up, but I hope it doesn’t. This experience will last me a couple of lifetimes.

  “It’s worth the investment,” I declared as I led my boss up the old, broken cement sidewalk on that first day. “This is a treasure for the taking. It just needs some TLC.”

  “Why, pray tell, would I want to do that?” Ned glanced at me as he began the usual effort to poke holes in my plans. “How does that benefit me?”