“Bye, Josie. Don’t get yourself arrested!” the woman called out cheerfully.
“Hard to keep a secret on this island,” Basil said knowingly.
“So it seems,” Josie answered, thinking about how, in this case, many secrets were being kept quite successfully-so far. She said good-bye to Basil and hurried out to her truck. Now that she had two visitors to worry about, it seemed even more urgent that she get to work. The drive took less than five minutes and she had not decided who she wanted to see less-the police or Naomi Van Ripper-when she turned onto the street by the bay. And realized she had been wasting time and mental effort. On the front lawn of her work site the chief of police stood talking to the librarian.
Josie parked the truck, took a deep breath, and got out with what she hoped was a welcoming smile on her face.
As she approached, toolbox in hand, the two people stopped talking and turned to look at her. Their expressions did not match her own.
“Is this the woman you knew as Josephine Pigeon?” the chief of police asked without preliminaries.
“I’d know that hair anywhere,” Naomi Van Ripper said. “Josephine, you never returned The Best Guide to Northeastern Colleges to the library!”
“Uh… wouldn’t it be a little out of date by now?”
“How many years has that book been out?” Mike Rodney Senior had a huge grin on his face.
“Since I last saw Josephine. It must have been the early 1980s. Let me think for a second. It was 1983! That book has been overdue for seventeen years, Josephine!”
“Everyone calls me Josie now,” she told her. “And I think you’d better just make out a bill for that book.”
“Saving it for Tyler to use in a few years, Josie?”
Naomi Van Ripper picked up on the name right away. “Tyler? Who’s Tyler?”
“Why, Josie’s son. Smartest kid on the island, I’ll admit that. Guess the apple fell pretty far from the tree that time.”
“You’re married, Josephine?” Dr. Van Ripper sounded as though she didn’t believe it could possibly be true.
Which, of course, it wasn’t. “No. I’m not.”
“Divorced?” She made it sound as though such a thing were unheard of.
“No.” The two of them could tie her up and torture her, but she wasn’t going to say more.
“How unfortunate. I guess the rumors I heard about you were true.”
“Our Miss Pigeon is what you call a thoroughly modern young woman.” Chief Rodney sneered. “An unwed mother.”
The questions stopped while the librarian caught her breath. “Did you say an unwed mother? Josie… how… who… when…”
“I have a wonderful son. He’s sixteen years old.” And that was all she was going to say.
Apparently, it was enough. “I did hear that you had been involved with various men while you were in college. I hoped, of course, that you wouldn’t be so foolish. And I gather you’ve been busy since you disappeared.”
“Disappeared?”
“You left college and vanished. According to your mother, no one had any idea where you had ended up. There were even rumors that you had been killed or hurt in some way, but then your family got that message from you…”
So they had received her announcement of Tyler’s birth!
“… from some sort of hippie commune in California. At least that was what everyone in town was saying.”
Josie opened her mouth, closed it, and opened it again. She had no idea what to say. She had imagined a lot of scenarios, but none of them had included gossip and lies being told about her. She realized Chief Rodney was enjoying her discomfort. “I guess we have a lot of catching up to do. But I should get to work.”
“Yes, your crew seems anxious to see you.” Chief Rodney was looking over her shoulder.
“You’re a carpenter?”
“I own Island Contracting,” Josie answered proudly. “And we’d better get down to work. When Courtney decides to show up, we want to be ready for her.” She managed a slight smile, grabbed her toolbox, and headed into the house.
Her crew really did appear anxious to know what was going on. Jill was perched on a tall ladder. Dottie and Annette stood at the bottom. All three had concerned expressions on their faces. “Nothing to worry about,” Josie assured them. “She’s an old acquaintance. Someone I knew when I was a kid. She’s here to see Courtney Castle.”
“Then she has a problem,” Dottie announced. “Courtney Castle is dead.”
FIFTEEN
"WHO? WHERE? HOW? Josie realized she was asking the same questions Naomi Van Ripper had asked just a few minutes ago.
“She’s-”
“Shh! They’re coming in. Don’t say anything!” Dottie hissed the order.
“Chief Rodney-” Josie began as he and Dr. Van Ripper appeared in the open doorway. She didn’t get a chance to finish. Jill Pike jumped down off the ladder-and onto Josie’s right foot. “Ouch!”
“She’s hidden. Don’t say anything!” Jill whispered in Josie’s ear, pretending to be checking on any damage she had done. “Sorry,” she said more loudly. “Guess it’s lucky you were wearing work boots.”
“I just wish you hadn’t been, too,” Josie said, looking around. Where had they put the body? she wondered. There was a pile of furniture covered with a large blue tarp against the wall opposite the door. She realized she was staring at it. “No harm done. And we have to get started working.”
“We’re just passing through. College kid out front said that Bobby Valentine is on the dock. Thought he might know when Courtney Castle is going to be back,” Mike Rodney said.
“She invited me for lunch. She will be here. Courtney is very well brought up. When she accepts a social commitment, she lives up to it. And SHE always returned her books on time. That says a lot about a person in my experience.” Naomi Van Ripper glanced at Josie to see if her barb had met its mark.
Josie didn’t respond. She had more important things to worry about. Forced to be content with a parting harrumph, Dr. Van Ripper followed Chief Rodney from the house. The back door swung closed behind them, but it was a minute or two before anyone moved or spoke. Then Josie dashed across the room and ripped the blue tarp from the pile. Sawdust and dirt flew in all directions.
“What the hell?” Jill was stunned.
“Why did you do that? Do you think we should cover her?” Annette asked the question.
But Dottie understood why Josie had done what she had done. “She’s not there. Up there,” Dottie explained briefly, and pointed at the ceiling.
For one wild moment Josie considered the possibility that someone as bitchy as Courtney Castle had made it into heaven. Then she looked up and realized what Dottie was saying. “She’s in the canoe?”
“Yup.”
“She is!” Annette added, her eyes wide with shock. “We all saw her.”
“I found her,” Jill said. “I was so surprised, I almost fell off the ladder.”
Josie took a deep breath and then walked toward the ladder. “I guess I’d better see for myself.”
“Be careful. It’s a little weird,” Jill cautioned her.
“More than a little. It’s horrible,” Annette added.
“Go up. You’ll see what we’re talking about,” Dottie said, holding the ladder still as Josie climbed.
She went up slowly, dreading what was awaiting her. Blood, gore, rot… She had imagined that and more when she reached the canoe. Taking a deep breath, she peered over the edge of the boat. “My God.”
“Strange, isn’t it?” Jill asked.
“Yeah.” Strange was one word for it. Courtney Castle looked almost as good dead as she had alive. She was lying on her back, eyes closed, hair combed, hands crossed on her chest, no expression on her face. She even seemed to be wearing makeup. A heavy wool Hudson Bay blanket covered her from the waist down. She might have been napping. Except that she smelled-just a little.
Josie wrinkled her nose.
“Y
eah, it’s hot up there and that blanket isn’t helping things either. We’re going to have to get her down before the entire place stinks.”
Josie looked down at Dottie. “We-”
“You ladies need some help or can you handle that thing yourself? Them wooden ones can be damn heavy. Give me a nice aluminum or fiberglass model any day.” Chief Rodney was back.
“I-”
“We can handle it ourselves,” Dottie told him. “Do we look weak?” She flexed an ample biceps as she spoke.
“Yeah, I guess you can manage. Gotta get going. Can’t spend the day escorting people around. See you.” He actually tipped his hat at Dottie Evans before leaving.
Annette giggled. “I think he’s got the hots for you.”
“Oh, yeah, me and a cop. That’ll be the day.” But, Josie was surprised to note, Dottie seemed to be blushing.
Josie was still standing on top of the ladder. “We should have said something. I… I should have told him that Courtney was up here. That she was dead.”
“Are you nuts?”
Josie looked down at Dottie. “What do you mean? We can’t just leave her here.”
“Yeah, I know. In this heat and up there near the roof, she’ll start smelling in no time at all. But I agree with Dottie, that doesn’t mean we should tell the police about her,” Jill said.
“Do you have anything to say about this?” Josie asked Annette.
“I… I don’t think we should say anything either. I mean, I know you should. You know, that you’re supposed to tell the police about stuff like this, but, well, considering what people are saying…” She stopped speaking and suddenly seemed to discover something of interest on the toe of her boot.
“About what?”
“Huh?”
“People are saying what about what?” Josie asked, becoming impatient.
“About you and Courtney Castle. You know, about your past.” Annette seemed to find it impossible to look at her boss. “Your past together.”
Josie climbed slowly down the ladder, not speaking until she was on the floor. “How do you know what people are saying?”
“I… You’re mad at me!”
“Annette, I’m sorry. I’m not. It’s just…”
“It’s just that there’s a dead body hanging over her head, you dummy,” Dottie broke in.
“I… Yes. Let’s all sit down and have some coffee. That way if anyone comes in it will just look like we’re on a break,” Josie suggested, suddenly realizing how likely that was.
“Good idea.” Jill nodded.
“I could use some coffee,” Annette admitted.
“I could use a shot of bourbon, but ya gotta make do with what ya got,” Dottie said, kicking her tool chest open and pulling out a thermos.
“Maybe it wouldn’t be a bad idea if we sort of kept a lookout-you know, just to know when someone is coming,” Josie suggested. They were, after all, sitting in a large, cleared space with an open door on either side.
“Yeah, smart.” Dottie obviously approved. “If I sit up here”-she lifted her hefty hips onto the blue tarp-“I can see straight out the back-door way, right down to the dock.”
“And I can just plop myself down here.” Jill leaned her shapely body against the covered work of art. “And I’ll be able to tell you if anyone is coming from the front.”
Josie, still at the base of the ladder, looked around. Her crew was spread out, but, unless anyone came in looking for something strange, no one would notice. Annette was still standing nervously by one of the windows. “Why don’t you sit down and relax and you can tell me all about what you heard and how you heard it,” she added.
“It’s Chad.”
“Who?”
“The college kid who works with the television people.” Dottie identified him. “That kid is always snooping around.”
“He’s not a kid and he’s not a snoop,” Annette insisted. “He’s just doing his job. And his job is to do whatever he is told to do. He’s what they call a gofer.”
“He’s what we used to call a rat.”
“He’s not!”
“What do you call someone who creeps around listening and then reporting what’s said…” Seeming to realize she’d gone too far, Dottie suddenly became quiet.
“Look, we’ve got a problem and we’re all better off if we don’t waste time and energy fighting with one another,” Josie said loudly.
“She’s right,” Jill said.
“Yeah, I guess.”
“Do you still want me to tell you what Chad heard?” Annette asked quietly.
“I sure do. And when he told you about it.”
“Well, we sort of had a date last night. I mean, he took me to dinner and then we went for a walk on the beach.”
“Sounds like a date to me,” Dottie said.
“Yeah, well, he’s really nice, like I said, and he told me about himself and school and how he got this job. You know, he thinks he might be interested in going into television as a career and his parents thought this would be a good experience, so they’re paying for him to live here and everything.”
“Lucky kid.”
“Go on,” Josie urged.
“Well, he does whatever anyone tells him to do. You know, he goes out and picks up coffee, unloads equipment from the trucks, helps set up stuff, goes to Kinko’s to Xerox things, and lots, lots more. So he’s all over and he hears things and… well, this is going to sound a little odd.”
“What?”
“His mother solves murders.”
Dottie stood up. “She’s a police detective or something?” “No. She’s a mother… you know, a housewife. She just does it in her spare time-or something.”
“You mean-”
“What does that have to do with this?” Josie interrupted Dottie.
“Well, he’s been around murder investigations before. You know? And he’s also in a position to hear things. That’s what I’m trying to explain.”
“Go on. We can’t be on this coffee break forever.”
“Oh, sorry. Well, he said that Bobby Valentine said that you and Courtney Castle knew each other years and years ago. That you were old enemies.”
“He used that word? He said we were enemies?”
“That’s the word Chad used. I don’t really know if it’s exactly the word Bobby Valentine used.”
“Good distinction,” Josie commented. “Go on, you’re doing just fine.”
“He… didn’t explain. You know, he didn’t say what had happened to make you two hate each other or anything like that. Chad thinks it’s all rather odd, in fact. He says why did Courtney choose to do a show with Island Contracting if she didn’t get along with the owner?”
“Good question,” Dottie said.
“I don’t think she knew I was the owner,” Josie began.
“How could she not know that?” Dottie asked. “Your name is on the letterhead, right? And on any contract they signed with you, right?”
“Yeah. Well, not really. It’s on the letterhead, all right, but I’m not sure I ever sent them a letter. Most-maybe all-of our contact was on the phone.” She paused for a minute and thought about it. “In fact, all of it was,” she concluded. She hated writing letters and had pretty much created a form for most of her contacts, so she would remember if she had had to write something special. And now that she thought about it, everything had been done on the phone. The only papers pertaining to Courtney Castle’s Castles was one letter from the owners of the house giving permission for their home to be taped and waiving Island Contracting from responsibility for any damage that might occur during the taping. Josie had thought that perhaps Sam, as a lawyer, should look at it, but she was reluctant to ask him for professional favors, and somehow they had been busy with other things and she had never gotten around to showing it to him. But her problem now had nothing to do with liability. “Anyway, she probably didn’t know I was here. I think Island Contracting was chosen because we’re different, workin
g down here on the island and being made up of women and all.”
“I don’t remember being around,” Jill said. “What did Courtney say when she saw you? ‘Ah, my old enemy from…’ what was it, college?”
“High school actually, and we weren’t enemies, damn it. We were… well, we weren’t friends. You know how kids are at that age. There are cliques. An in group and an out group and dumb stuff like that. That’s how things were with us.”
“I gather Courtney Castle was a member in good standing of the innest of the in groups?”
“Yeah,” Josie admitted ruefully. “That’s not much of a surprise, is it?”
“Nope.”
“Not really,” Annette agreed with Jill.
“I hate people like that,” Dottie growled. “I’ll bet she was a cheerleader.”
“And vice president of the student council, editor of the yearbook, president of the French Club, the star of the spring musical, homecoming queen in the fall, and the girl most likely to succeed according to the yearbook.” Josie realized her crew was looking at her in amazement. She, herself, was surprised at how easily it was all coming back.
“So what did Little Miss Perfect say when she saw who she was going to be taping the show with?” Dottie asked.
“That’s the strange part,” Josie admitted. “I recognized her, but if she recognized me, she didn’t admit it-at least not at first.”
“Strange,” Annette breathed, her eyes wide open.
“It is a little odd,” Jill agreed.
“Why?” Dottie shrugged her well-developed shoulders. “You didn’t say anything to her, did you?”
SIXTEEN
"NOW I EXPLAINED to you all earlier. Courtney, as the celebrity of the show, has lots of obligations and reasons why she can’t hang around the set constantly- Excuse me?”
“Nothing. Just muttering to myself,” Dottie said.
Josie was just thankful that Bobby Valentine hadn’t heard Dottie’s comment concerning Courtney and her tendency to “hang around” this particular set. “Go on,” she urged.
“Well, as I was saying, we frequently have to shoot around Courtney. This isn’t at all an unusual situation. So if you ladies will just go on working in the background, I’d like to ask your boss here a few questions.”
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