“I hope that’s the case.” Seth turned his chair. “Get yourself a cup of coffee there on the table if you like and have a seat.”
“Don’t mind if I do. The snow’s melting, but it’s still cold out there.” Richard got his coffee and took the chair beside Seth’s desk. “I did get one good lead today. Had to come check it out so I thought I’d drop by and ask you a couple of questions.”
“Can you share the lead with me?”
“Don’t see why not. Jude Winslow called me this morning and said the clerk at Bed, Breakfast and More called him concerned because two of their guests have disappeared.”
“She came to talk to Alex at the Winslow’s anniversary party the other night. Are those the women you’re talking about?”
“Yeah. Seems the two women checked in the night of the snow storm, but were seen only a couple of times. Their belongings are still at the inn.”
“Who were they?”
“Names are Doreen Weaver and Virgie Fox. Both fifties and the clerk distinctly remembered one had salt and pepper hair. The other one bleached her hair, but the clerk said the roots were salt and pepper, too. She also told Winslow it was hard to forget one of the women because she was so rude and snappy. She also told him she saw more of her than she did the other woman.”
“Why was that if they were traveling together?”
Richard shrugged. “She only knew that one of them left in the car and abandoned the unpleasant one at the inn for a while. When she came back the next day, she had her friend come to the car to get something, but instead, they both got back in the car and drove off. The clerk hasn’t seen them since.”
“The snow was pretty bad. Maybe they got lost or wrecked or something.”
“That’s what we thought. Though it’s a long shot, I decided to run their identities anyway.”
“And?”
“Nothing so far.”
“So, they abandoned their possessions. That doesn’t sound like responsible older women.”
“You’re right about that.” He drank his coffee. “Jude said the clerk has a problem answering questions without confusing people and suggested it would be better if I talked to her in person instead of the phone. I knew that eventually I’d have to see her and check out what the women left and decided to do it today. I was on the way to the inn when I got the wild idea that you might want to come along.”
“Of course, I do. I want you to get to the bottom of this as quickly as you can.”
After putting the checks and the checkbook in the safe, Seth left the office and closed the door. He informed Theo where he was headed and followed the chief to his patrol car.
It took only a few minutes to reach Bed, Breakfast and More. The inn served dinner on Thursday, Friday and Saturday and lunches those days, plus Sunday. Since it was Thursday, the kitchen was working on tonight’s menu and delicious smells greeted them as they entered the front door.
Carolyn looked up from her place behind the check- in desk. She looked a little confused, but smiled. “Good evening gentlemen. Could I help you?”
“Are you Miss Foley?” Richard asked.
“Yes, sir, I am. My name is Carolyn Foley, but you can call me Carolyn because nobody calls me Miss Foley and Mr. Winslow doesn’t mind if I use my Christian name and neither does Mrs. Winslow.”
She paused for a breath and Richard said, “Thank you, Carolyn. I’m Chief of Police Richard Staples, and this is Seth Armstrong.”
“I recognize Mr. Armstrong because I went to school with his daughter, Jessica, and he’s a friend of Mr. Winslow and he’s a friend of Mr. Hargrove who used to own Bed, Breakfast and More before Mr. Winslow bought it last year and Mr. Hargrove and Mr. Winslow are friends, too, but I don’t know if you’re their friend or not, so I don’t know what to call you and what do you want me to call you anyway?”
Richard couldn’t suppress the smile. Jude had been right. The woman had to speak a thought as it went through her head. He knew she probably gave honest answers, but tended to ramble. He was thankful Jude had explained the woman’s mental capacity. “Why not call me ‘Chief’?”
“Okay, I will call you Chief and I’ll call Mr. Armstrong, Mr. Armstrong and now you can ask me what you want to ask me since you came here to ask me something.”
Seth smiled at her. “Carolyn, Jude Winslow called the chief and told him about the two women who left without taking their things with them. He wanted him to come and talk with you about it.”
She nodded enthusiastically. “If Mr. Winslow wants me to talk I will because Mr. Winslow is my boss now since he bought the place from Mr. Hargrove last year and I do what he tells me to do so what do you want me to tell you, Chief?”
“Carolyn,” Richard began his questioning. “Jude, Mr. Winslow, told me the names of the women, but said you haven’t seen either of them since the next day after they checked in. Were either of them mad or upset when you last saw them?”
Carolyn took a deep breath and thought a minute. “That Ms. Fox seemed to be mad and upset from the time she checked in until she went out to help Ms. Weaver get something out of the car, which she didn’t do because they argued when she went out and then the other woman made her get into the car and they drove off and they’ve been gone ever since.”
“Do you know what upset Ms. Fox?”
“I think everything upset her because she didn’t seem to like what we had for breakfast and she didn’t want her sheets changed and she wanted towels and she wanted to see Ms. Weaver’s room and I let her and she gave me the key back when I went to tell her that Ms. Weaver wanted her to come to the car and help her get something, but she didn’t get anything because they argued then she got in the car and they drove off and she never once said please or thank you to me or anyone else on staff here.”
Richard realized Carolyn Foley was a literal person and she told things the way she saw them. He also realized she was honest enough to tell him everything she knew, which unfortunately, wasn’t much. He decided to try something else.
“Carolyn, do you mind taking us to see the rooms the women were in?”
“Did Mr. Winslow say it was all right with him? I don’t want to do nothing to upset Mr. Winslow because he’s my boss since he bought Bed, Breakfast and More form Mr. Hargrove last year and I like my job and want to keep working here.” She gave the police chief a wary look.
Seth said, “I’m sure it will be fine with Mr. Winslow, Carolyn. He wants to find these women, so you won’t have to worry with them anymore.”
“If you say so, Mr. Armstrong, because I know you are a friend of Mr. Winslow and you know what he’d want me to do so I guess I’ll give you the key and let you go look in the rooms, but please bring them back to me because Mr. Winslow trusts me to keep the keys and I do a good job for him and I don’t want to let him down because I want to keep working here.” She looked for the keys in the box on a shelf under the counter.
Richard started to ask her another question, but he noticed Seth shake his head slightly.
Carolyn handed the keys to Seth. “Thank you, Carolyn. We’ll bring these back when we finish.”
“You’re welcome.”
When they went into Doreen Weaver’s room, Seth said, “I didn’t mean to interfere out there, but Carolyn can only concentrate on one task at a time and she can’t talk while she’d doing a task. It would be almost impossible for her to answer a question while she was getting the keys out of the box.”
“I saw she was slow and wondered why Jude hired her in the first place.”
“Actually, Alex hired her when he owned the place. She’s Ethan Foley’s daughter and I think Alex did it as a favor to him, at first.”
“So, she’s the one who was hurt in that wreck where one girl was killed and one of the guys is in a wheelchair for life?”
“Yes. After she came to work here, Alex said she turned into a valuable employee. She’s devoted to her work, and was to him, and she switched that devotion to Jude as soon a
s he was the owner. Of course, she isn’t on the front desk alone when the inn is full as it often is except during the winter. When the weather is like this, she does a super job alone. She lives on the premises so it’s easy for her to get to work in bad weather when others can’t make it. She comes in and does her work whether there is a guest or not.”
“So, Jude lets her have a room here?”
“Actually, it’s a little apartment off the back. It gives her a place to live and she can be independent even with her disability.”
“I see. That’s good of the guys. I know Foley has had problems in his marriage since the accident. I sure hope he can work things out, but a tragedy will sometimes cause even a long marriage to end. I’ve seen that happen before.” Seth didn’t answer, and Richard moved to the closet and opened the door. He looked at the knit dress and the slacks and blouse hanging there. He glanced at the neck of the dress. “She wore a size eighteen. Think our victim was that size?”
“I didn’t look at her closely, but she looked a little plump. I’m not sure if she was that size or not.”
“I’m not sure she was, either. She could have been swollen, too.” He looked at the suitcase, but didn’t pick it up. “Guess I’ll get the guys to see if they can get any prints off that.”
Seth went to the bathroom. “Her cosmetics are set out in here.”
“You’re not touching anything, are you?”
“No. Just looking. There’s a prescription drug here, Richard.”
The chief came into the bathroom. He took a pair of latex gloves from his pocket and slipped them on. Examining the bottle, he said, “I guess she used the right name to check in. Virgie Fox is on the bottle. It’s Metformin. She must have diabetes. That’s what I have to take for mine.” He took a plastic bag from another pocket. “I’m going to take this along. It has the pharmacy’s address and number on it. Looks like she lived in Tampa, Florida.”
“Coming from the warmth of Florida to the Blue Ridge Mountains in the dead of winter doesn’t make a lot of sense, does it?”
“Not to me.”
After a few more minutes in Virgie Fox’s room, they moved next door. “Looks like the women were the same size. Eighteen,” Richard announced after opening the closet.
“Look here, Richard. There are some clothes sticking outside of the suitcase.”
Richard moved to the luggage rack and lifted the half-closed lid with his gloved hand. He couldn’t suppress a chuckle. “This one must be a rounder.” He held up a pair of red bikini panties. He then picked up a granny gown. “Quite a contrast, isn’t it? Maybe she hid her wildness.” He frowned.
“What else is it?”
“It’s confusing. There are some granny panties and bikinis. There are granny gowns and sexy silk gowns. There’s a skimpy black lace bra and one that looks like it’d hide everything.”
“Split personality, maybe?”
“Something like that. Makes me want to go check the other woman’s suitcase.” He paused a minute. “In fact, I think I will. Ms. Fox and Ms. Weaver might not be what they appear to be.”
Both Seth and Richard were surprised when they found Ms. Fox’s suitcase contained only normal items worn by ninety percent of older women. This raised more questions about Doreen Weaver. How could two such different women be friends – if that was what they were?
CHAPTER 10
Though, they had closed the store at six o’clock it was almost ten on Christmas Eve when Julia got home. She was exhausted, but happy, because it was going to end up a good year, sales-wise. Everyone told her that opening the new store last year would be a disaster, but she had proved them wrong. It wouldn’t be the best year they’d ever had, the economy saw to that, but it would end up in the black. And she’d thought breaking even would’ve been good.
She went immediately to the kitchen and opened the refrigerator to get a glass of tea. She laughed out loud. Andrew had taped a note to the pitcher. “Hope you’re not too tired to come to the club tonight. Some of my male friends like older women. Especially my drummer. In case you decline, don’t wait up, but I’ll be sure to be home before Santa comes. Hugs and kisses. A.”
Knowing his remark about his friends and older women was a joke, she shook her head, took the note off the pitcher and poured her tea. She made a quick sandwich and ate standing at the sink. It was Christmas Eve and since she was alone, she couldn’t help remembering that Christmas Eve over twenty- three years ago. Only when she finished her sandwich and went into her room, did she let her mind drift to her Christmas Eve memories.
Seth came in that long-ago evening with his arms full of packages and a long steamed red rose in his hand. “Santa’s here,” he announced as he freed one arm to hand her the rose, hug her and say, “A rose for my forever love.”
“Oh, Seth. You never forget to bring me a rose.”
“Of course not. You know it means I want to be with you forever.” She returned his kiss and he added, “Now, how about helping me get these things under the tree.”
“Yes, my love.” Julia helped him put the gifts under their small tree and then insisted they have a glass of wine before eating the special dinner she’d prepared.
“I have a couple of gifts I want you to open tonight,” he whispered against her ear as he sat down on the rug beside the tree and pulled her down next to him.
She shivered with delight. His slightest touch made her body tingle all over. “But tomorrow is Christmas. Don’t you want to wait until morning? We’ll open Santa gifts together.”
“No. I want you to open the special ones tonight. You’ll see why later.”
“My darling, anything you want is fine with me.” She looked into his blue gray eyes and saw the excitement there.
He set his wine down and took her in his arms. “I love you, Julia Halsey. How in the world did I get through life before I met you?”
“I just hope you don’t try to go through the rest of it without me.”
“You can count on that, baby.” He kissed her then reached for a small package. He was as excited as a little boy. “Open this one first.”
She tore into the small gift. “It’s perfume.” She removed the top and put it to her nose. “It smells wonderful. I love it.”
“Good. It reminded me of you. I want you to wear a dab of it tonight.”
“Of course I will.” She dabbed a bit behind her ears and leaned close to him. “How does it smell on me?”
“Intoxicating.” He kissed her and turned again to the packages under the tree. “Now, open this one.”
It was heavy, and she looked at him quizzically. He only grinned.
“It’s a set of satin sheets.” She laughed. “I’ve never slept on satin sheets.”
“Neither have I, but I want to sleep on them with you tonight.”
She gave him a coy smile. “I look forward to it.”
“Then we’ll put them on the bed now.”
“Right now?”
“Yes, right now.” He stood and took her hand to pull her up.
They went down the hall to their bedroom and together made their bed with the navy satin sheets.
“Now, it’s all ready.”
“What’s all ready?” She looked up at him.
“You’ll see.” Seth put his arm around her shoulder and guided her back to the living room. “I want to give you the last gift for tonight.”
“Am I going to have anything left for morning?”
“Of course. It wouldn’t be Christmas if you didn’t get a gift from me on Christmas Day.”
She opened the third gift and from the box she pulled the thin red nightgown. “Oh, Seth.” She couldn’t help blushing.
“When I saw it, I knew I had to see you in it. Model it for me,” he whispered.
“Now? Before dinner?”
“Yes. Right now.”
In a minute, she came out of the bathroom wearing the red gown which left nothing to the imagination.
“Beautiful,” he
said as he took her in his arms. His kisses became passionate and he pulled her against his needy body. “I’m not hungry for food, but my body craves something else.”
She felt his need and his rising passion. She couldn’t believe how quickly her body responded to his. “So does mine,” she whispered in his ear.
He swooped her up in his arms and headed to the bedroom. “We’ll eat later.”
She had presence of mind to say, “I should turn off the stove.”
“I did that while you were changing.” He put her gently on the turned back bed and leaned over her. His hands began to touch her in places he knew would turn her into the wild lover that made him so happy.
Afterward, she lay cuddled in his arms.
He pulled her closer and kissed her. “Best Christmas I’ve ever had,” he muttered as dawn began to break. “I’m looking forward to all the Christmas holidays we have before us.”
“So am I, Seth. I know they’ll all be good because ours is a forever love.”
“A forever love. I like the sound of that. A man couldn’t ask for more.”
They made love again.
Tears ran down Julia’s cheeks and pulled her out of her memories. “Oh, Seth, how I wish we could’ve kept that promise to each other. I know I had a good life with Woodrow, but I haven’t forgotten you. I know I’ll never spend another Christmas Eve in your arms, but ours is a forever love, and that’s how long my love for you will last.”
CHAPTER 11
Neil and Mavis Parker’s annual Christmas Eve dinner was a tradition for the Redwoods, a group of boys, now men, who attended Coverton Mills High together. They got their nickname because they were all over six feet tall and had led the school to the state basketball and football championships for two consecutive years.
Neil Parker, Alex Hargrove, and Brock Pendleton were a year ahead of Seth Armstrong, Jude Winslow and Ethan Foley.
Few had missed the Parkers’ Christmas Eve gathering since it began fifteen years earlier. Most of the wives attended with their husbands, though Eve had seldom come with Seth. Until she had to be institutionalized, Darla came with Brock. Meg sometimes came with Ethan and sometimes she didn’t. Since their daughter’s accident, nobody knew what she’d do next. But if they were in town, the men always came, even if they had to come alone. The only one missing tonight was Ethan Foley. He’d sent his regrets, but said he’d be in the area around the first of the year and would get in touch.
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