by Jenny Kales
Fatigue overtaking her, Callie sat back down on the living room sofa with her feet up. That was all the encouragement Koukla needed. Overjoyed, she jumped on her owner’s lap and curled her body into a ball. Absently patting the dog’s head, Callie drifted off again as she envisioned ways of trying to snoop around Bodies by the Bay without alerting Jane.
The nap refreshed both Yorkie and her mistress. Callie awoke to a rumbling stomach and a barking dog that needed to be let out. After releasing Koukla into the back yard, Callie found that George had left a foil-wrapped pan of spanakopita on the stove. She grabbed a piece and ate it out of hand greedily, thankful to have a father who was an expert cook.
Callie shared a few pita chips with Koukla and realized that she was feeling much better. She’d call her daughter later, but then what? She couldn’t bear to sit still. She imagined her picture on the wall at the Crystal Bay police department, the circumstantial evidence piling up around her.
Koukla gave a little yip. The dog needed to be walked, that was for sure. However, Callie didn’t feel like running into her neighbors who may or may not have heard about her attack. The idea of reliving her ordeal for the neighborhood was not appealing.
What about heading into another neighborhood? Callie wolfed down another piece of spanakopita while she considered her options. Suddenly, Sands’s derisive warning about “not playing Nancy Drew” rang in her ears.
That was it. The call to Olivia would have to wait. Callie was going to play Nancy Drew – and Koukla was going to help her.
* * *
The sun was beginning to set by the time Callie had finished crafting her plan. Carefully stretching her limbs and rotating her neck, Callie evaluated her physical strength. She wouldn’t be able to perform a 20-minute Greek folk dance, a staple at every Greek wedding she’d attended (including her own), but she could probably handle walking and snooping. The brilliant orange rays were beginning to sink below the horizon and Callie realized that she’d better hurry.
Quickly, she changed into a long-sleeved navy T-shirt and dark blue jeans. The night was cool, so she threw a black cardigan over the outfit. Black and blue – fitting, considering her injuries, but more importantly, her attire would blend into the dark. Stowing her cell phone and a small flashlight into her pocket, Callie clipped Koukla’s leash to her harness.
She was just grabbing Koukla’s kennel when the doorbell rang, making her jump. Cautiously she peered out of the peephole and groaned when she saw who it was. Viv was standing on the stoop, shifting from foot to foot in her comfortable walking shoes, with a concerned look on her face. Callie opened the door.
“Darling, how are you?” Viv crooned, patting Callie on the shoulder as she moved smoothly into the entryway. “I thought I’d better stop by and see with my own eyes that you are on the mend. George called me and asked me to check on you. Turns out, he got stuck at the diner and he’s frantic about you! But wait a minute,” she said, taking in Callie’s clothing and purse that was slung over her shoulder. “Are you going somewhere? In your condition?”
Viv narrowed her bright blue eyes into slits. Callie offered the first excuse that came to her.
“I’ve got a couple of errands to run,” she began and Viv started waving her arms around. She held up a palm to her granddaughter.
“Not so fast. Anyhow, my dear, you’re dressed a bit oddly for errands,” she said, taking in Callie’s monochromatic outfit. “Besides, it’s getting dark. Can your errand wait?”
Callie shook her head vehemently.
Viv’s cheeks colored a bit. “Oh I see. Perhaps it’s a feminine product you need to buy? No need to be embarrassed in front of your grandma. Let me go instead. I’ll just be a minute and you can get right back to the sofa for a rest….”
Callie held up her hands to stem the tide of words. “No,” she said, with a small laugh. “It’s an errand only I can do. I might as well tell you, but you can’t tell anyone. I mean no one. Promise?”
Viv folded her arms across her chest and pinned her granddaughter with blue eyes that looked like laser beams. “I promise. What is it? ”
“I want to revisit the scene of the crime and see if it helps shed any light for me. But first I’d like to visit Mrs. DeWitt’s property. She and Drew were such close neighbors. I just want to take a look around.”
Grandma Viv’s mouth fell open as if to scold her and now it was Callie’s turn to silence her grandmother. She raised her arm like a traffic cop.
“Please,” she pleaded. “I can’t stand sitting here. My life could be falling apart as we speak. I’ve got to see if I can find any detail that can help me figure this whole thing out – before I’m attacked again, or lose what’s left of my business or even – go to jail! I promise to be careful but I have to do this.” Callie found herself gasping after she delivered this speech.
Viv shook her head slowly. “Callie, what will George say if I allow you to run off in the dark to a murder scene and something happens to you?”
Callie was ashamed to feel tears start and she blinked them back.
“I’m running out of time. The day I found Drew, I was too upset to think straight. If I go back, I might see something that the police have missed. Or maybe something will occur to me now, something new that’s triggered by being back there. I waited until evening because I don’t want anyone to see me. And I’m bringing Koukla, so it looks like I’m just out walking my dog.”
“All right, darling,” Viv said with resignation. “You can go and bring Koukla. But you get an old lady in the bargain. I’m coming too.”
After making Viv promise that she would stay in the car so as not to arouse even more suspicion, and leaving a note for George so that he wouldn’t call out the Marines when he found her not at home, she bundled her grandmother and Koukla into the VW. Callie turned just past the library, passing the police station – the thought of her time there made her heart beat faster – until finally she made the turn onto Lakeshore Drive.
The lake sparkled in the early evening sunset, the water glittering like the crystal of its namesake. Actually, that wasn’t exactly true – the town had not been named for crystal but for ice. In in the old days prior to electric refrigeration, the winter ice on the water was a sought-after commodity, sold to the neighboring cities each year. Fleetingly, Callie wondered what the past residents of the nearby towns had done in the summer, when they really needed the ice.
“Almost there,” Callie reassured both her disapproving grandmother and her wiggling Yorkie. She passed Mrs. DeWitt’s long winding driveway and parked on the side of the road under a thick coverage of trees that still held much of their colorful foliage. She appeared far enough away from Mrs. DeWitt’s home that no one there would spot her trespassing.
“Grandma, I won’t be long. Just sit tight.”
“Humph.” Viv answered, clearly miffed at not being part of the team. “I’ll be here if you need me,” she finally relented.
As she made her cautious way to Mrs. DeWitt’s pier, autumn leaves crunched under Callie’s feet, a cheerful sound that reminded her of favorite Wisconsin pastimes for fall: bonfires and fall picnics. Other than the leaves and Koukla’s jingling dog tags, not a sound could be heard. Coupled with the darkening sky, the silence seemed eerie.
The night was so still and so reminiscent of the evening she found Drew’s body, that for a minute she panicked and became short of breath. She kept walking, watching the prancing trot of her little dog who was thrilled at the change in scenery. It helped. Her breathing slowed and she stolidly continued to her destination.
Mrs. DeWitt’s house was dark, except for a bright light over the door and flood lights that illuminated the tall, stately trees and abundant autumn flowers Callie had admired on her previous visit with Grandma Viv. Could she really be so fortunate? Maybe nobody was at home. Callie felt herself relax a little more.
Koukla pranced about, finding spots to stop and sniff, a telltale sign of things to come. Callie reach
ed in her pocket for a baggie. Even while on a snooping mission, she wasn’t one to leave dog waste on other people’s lawns.
The pier, lit by a single light at the end of the dock, beckoned. Gently pulling on Koukla’s leash in one hand and holding the waste bag in the other, Callie made her stealthy way toward the pier. Glancing behind her, she nervously took in Mrs. DeWitt’s stunning floor-to-ceiling windows.
The curtains were drawn, but one of the windows was open to the warm night and Callie noticed a gentle breeze lift the curtains up, and back down, like a gentle sigh. She stopped, looked around again. When she was certain she wasn’t being observed, Callie stepped more boldly onto the lawn and looked out at what she had come to view.
On her previous visit, Callie had noticed that Drew’s home was visible from Mrs. DeWitt’s gorgeous, window-walled sitting room. While he did have a pier of his own, no boat bobbed in the calm waters tonight. Drew had often spoke about buying a boat and what a good time they would have together, taking trips on the Bay. Clearing her throat, she narrowed her eyes and focused on the task at hand.
The vantage point from Mrs. DeWitt’s back lawn presented a decent spot to watch the comings and goings of Drew and his guests. Drew had a side door that he often used. Like all of the other homes on the Bay, no fence obscured either his view of the water or his neighbor’s view of his home. Sheltering trees on the side of his home and in the front provided color and shade, but his back yard leading to the pier was open for all to see. To maximize the view, Drew’s kitchen and most of his bedroom faced the water.
In other words, Mrs. DeWitt could have seen many of Drew’s activities and those of his guests, if she were so inclined. What this meant, Callie wasn’t sure. But it seemed likely that Mrs. DeWitt would have seen something or someone that night.
Numbed and horrified as she had been the night of Drew’s murder, her own safety hadn’t been more of a passing thought. But now she realized that if she’d been in the way, she may well have faced the same fate as Drew.
“Come on, Koukla,” she whispered. “Let’s go.”
Koukla ignored her and pulled more firmly against the leash. She had something in her teeth and was shaking it in a playful manner. Callie fervently hoped that it wasn’t a field mouse, as she had a minor but pesky rodent phobia. She peered down to see what was in the dog’s tiny but strong jaws. No rodent, thankfully. Koukla had found what looked like a thick piece of rope. In fact, it looked very similar to the rope toys the dog had at home by the boxful.
“Drop it!” Callie said more firmly and more loudly than she intended. Obediently, the dog released the rope into Callie’s palm and sat at her feet waiting for more play time.
“Just a minute, Koukla,” she said, inspecting the rope to make sure it was long enough that the dog wouldn’t choke on it. The things she did for her pampered pet.
The rope was a little stretchy, shiny and relatively thick. In fact, it seemed more like a bungee cord than a rope. That was odd. Then again, maybe it had something to do with docking boats, though usually a different kind of rope was called for in that case. She decided that Koukla could have the strange object. Maybe it would pacify her as they continued to their next destination. She was just bending down to give the rope to her dog when a voice made her jump.
“Hello? Who’s there?” The voice came closer. “Callie Costas? What are you doing here?"
Twenty One
Ava, Mrs. DeWitt’s housekeeper, walked toward her, holding garden shears and a basket of freshly cut flowers. Callie realized how silly she looked and slowly rose from her protective crouch. She looked more closely at the blooms and saw that they were beautiful roses, in shades of red and pink.
“Hello?” Callie realized it came out more like a question. She eyed the garden shears and Ava followed her gaze, giving a tiny trill of laughter.
“I know it’s late to be gardening, but I heard a frost report and I simply had to bring the roses in. Gertrude loves her roses and she’d be so disappointed if they didn’t make it through the night.” Ava chuckled again. “But, why are you out here? Did you ring the bell and I didn’t hear you?”
Just as Callie had planned, Koukla provided the perfect excuse. “I was taking a walk with my dog. We’ve been cooped up at home all day.” Callie shrugged and smiled in what she hoped was a natural way. “I also wanted to stop by and thank Mrs. DeWitt for helping me the other day.”
Callie felt someone walking up next to her and froze. Turning, she saw that her worst suspicions were confirmed.
“Ava!” Viv trilled in a tone that suggested they were all gathering for a garden party.
“Viv? Why, what are you doing here?” Ava looked from one to the other, confused. Callie could relate and desperately tried to cover her dismay. Any minute now, Ava was going to transform from confused to angry at the fact that two non-neighbors were ambushing her on Mrs. DeWitt’s lawn.
“Oh, I’m just accompanying my granddaughter on a few errands. You know she’s been hurt, so I’ve been keeping an eye on her.” Callie cast Viv a grateful glance.
Ava’s little bow mouth pouted in sympathy. “I heard all about it.” She turned to Callie. “You must have suffered a terrible ordeal. Should you be out walking around in the dark?”
She looked at Viv. “No offense, but if you faint, your grandmother isn’t the best person to assist you. How would she carry you to the car? You must take care of yourself, you know.” Ava took Callie firmly by the shoulder and began leading her up the hill towards the house. Viv followed, complimenting Ava on her beautiful roses all the way. Callie decided it was best to appear weak and submissive, so she posed no resistance as the petite Ava guided her forward in a surprisingly firm grip.
“What an adorable little dog,” Ava commented as they completed the climb. “What’s her name?”
“Thanks,” Callie smiled at the Yorkie, who was always useful as an icebreaker. “Her name is Koukla. That means “little doll” in Greek.”
“She’s so cute!” Ava enthused, bending down to pet the dog. Callie nearly jumped a mile when Koukla began a low growl. The diminutive housekeeper retracted her hand.
“Koukla!” Callie admonished. “Stop that.” She looked at Ava apologetically. “Sometimes she smells her “prey” on people who’ve been working in the garden. You know, chipmunks, etc. Yorkshire Terriers were bred to hunt rodents, so sometimes her instinct kicks in. She’s really very gentle.” Koukla barked once, loudly, and Callie winced.
“Yes,” Viv chimed in. “She’s very protective of her owner.” She gave a significant glance to Ava, who merely gave a bemused smile in return. Koukla might be a terror with small rodents but she was no match for a human being.
“Oh, I’m not offended,” she said. “Anyway, it’s getting dark,” Ava continued. “Many animals are afraid of the dark, just like people. But I suppose we humans are a species of animal, aren’t we?”
“Uh, yes.” Callie clenched her fist more tightly around the “doggie bag.” Unfortunately, Ava noticed.
“Why don’t you hand me that bag?” Ava asked. “I’ll just toss it in the trash.”
“Oh, no.” Callie was a bit mortified at being caught clutching a bag of dog leavings in addition to trespassing. “I don’t want to put you to any trouble.”
“No trouble at all,” Ava said, taking the bag. Too late, Callie realized she’d handed over the bungee-looking rope along with the bag.
“What’s this?” asked Ava, looking straight at Callie. Her eyes were really quite a piercing blue, with a sharp intelligence behind her jolly exterior. With her petite figure and bright blue eyes, she looked much younger than her years.
“I don’t know,” Callie answered. “Just something Koukla found on the grass.”
Ava examined the rope briefly. “I’ll toss that out, too.”
“Thanks,” Callie repeated. She decided to keep her ruse going. “Please give my regards and thanks to Mrs. DeWitt for the other day.”
“Yes, p
lease tell Gertrude I’ll call her soon,” Viv gushed.
“I will,” Ava answered. In the quickly diminishing light, she was gazing at Callie with an odd look on her face. “I’m sure she would have loved to see you in person, but she’s at a meeting tonight with the Chamber of Commerce, regarding the small business contest and what they’ll do about a new winner.”
“Oh,” Callie was taken aback. “Is she meeting with Jane Willoughby, do you know?”
“I don’t really know. She just said she was going out to a Chamber meeting. I assume the usual people will be there. And now, if you’ll forgive me I need to get back to the roses. And you should get some rest.” Ava looked impatient for her impromptu and uninvited guests to leave.
“Of course. Sorry to keep you,” Callie answered, tugging once more on Koukla’s leash. “And sorry about my dog,” she called to Ava, who was rapidly walking toward the house. “I don’t know what got into her tonight.”
“No trouble at all. Good night you two! Get home safely!” Reaching the front step of Mrs. DeWitt’s expansive home, Ava abruptly stopped, turned and faced Callie and her grandmother, her basket of roses clutched firmly in her arm. The garden shears gleamed in the fading light.
“Good night!” Callie and Viv sang together. They began a rapid walk back to the car, not speaking and not even looking at each other. Callie might be mistaken, but she thought she’d identified the expression on Ava’s unlined face. It was fear.
Once the canine-human trio was safely inside the car, Callie whirled to face Viv. “Why did you come out there? Now Ava is bound to be suspicious. She’s probably going to tell Mrs. DeWitt we were out snooping around. And she’s going to tell Detective Sands, which means he’ll want to speak to me again in an ‘official capacity’. Just what I need!” she huffed.
Viv was defiant. “You don’t think I’m going to sit idly by and not protect you when I see a woman with huge garden shears conversing with you on a dark lawn? I saw her basket of flowers and the points of the shears sticking out – the moon is especially luminous tonight, thank goodness!”