by Jane Tesh
Now he was rattling. I hauled him up. “Come on. We’ll find a snake-free zone.”
He dug in his heels. “What if they’re sitting in your car, or curled up in the trunk, or coiled in the glove compartment—?”
“They’re way too big for that. Come on.” I managed to drag him toward the car.
“They’ll see your license number. They’ll attach themselves to the muffler and ride home. Do you know how many places they could find to hide in my house, not to mention the trees, or the hedge?”
I didn’t want to think about that. “Take it easy.”
We were almost to the Fury before he stopped short, now shaking with anger. “‘See you later’? What the hell do they mean, ‘See you later’? I don’t want to see them later! I don’t want to see any snakes. Why am I hearing snakes?”
That was a very good question, one I feared was connected to his new power surge, but I had to keep him focused. “You hear the cats sometimes, don’t you? And there was that little fox in the backyard with her baby.”
“I like cats. I like foxes. I want to hear friendly warm-blooded animals that have legs.”
“Just get in the car.”
I had to check the Fury before he’d get in. When Graber came up, draped with both snakes, Camden took a dive for the floorboard.
“Sorry about that,” Graber said to me. I don’t think he noticed Camden, at all. “Did you need any more information?”
I turned so he’d follow me away from the car. “I think I got everything. Could I come by tomorrow and take a few pictures?”
“Yes, of course. I’ll see you then.”
Both snakes kept their heads up. I could swear the big one winked at me. Graber took them back inside the studio. I returned to the Fury where Camden had almost managed to get under the seat.
“All clear,” I said.
He slowly unwedged himself. “How can he stand to wear them like that?”
“All part of his charm.”
I got behind the wheel. Camden turned around, sat down, and wiped his forehead with the back of his hand. “That’s my limit for undercover work today.” He fished the pill bottle out of his pocket. “Damn. First the dragonfly and now snakes. What next?”
I wasn’t so sure he should be taking pills, even aspirin. He had a low tolerance for any sort of medication. “Are those pills helping?”
“I think I need a whole handful right now.”
“Seriously.”
“No, of course not. But they do take the edge off.”
Hmm. The edge off what? “You going to take them dry?”
“Not if you take me by the Quik-Fry.”
Chapter Eight
“As a Ray of Sun”
I took Camden by the Quik-Fry to get a milkshake and when he assured me he’d calmed down, dropped him off at Tamara’s Boutique to talk to Tamara about adding more hours to help pay for the plumbing repairs. Then I went to the museum.
On the phone, Ms. Piper sounded pretty snotty, so I expected horn rims and an attitude. I was right about the glasses, but they were modern and bright red to match her short spiky hair. She wore a suit that looked like it was made out of yellow leather with five huge buttons, each one a different color. It was a wild looking outfit, but on her it looked great. I found it hard not to stare at the purple button situated happily above the cleavage, or the green button sitting above her trim knees. I was also right about the attitude.
One perfect red eyebrow went up. “Mr. Randall?”
“David.” I wondered what my telephone voice had suggested to her. Doubtless I looked as tall, dark, and handsome as I really was. “Pleased to meet you, Ms. Piper.”
“Please come in.”
I followed her down a cool dim hallway of the art gallery to her office. In here, the lighting was bright, walls decorated with framed posters advertising art exhibits: huge water lilies, some kind of fancy bridge, a lady with a parasol, all soft watercolors, a sharp contrast to the very modern Ms. Piper. Her desk was a smooth clean slab of polished mahogany with a few flower-shaped paperweights and a lamp with a glass shade made of leaves and grapes. She sat down in a padded swivel chair and motioned me to an odd metal chair opposite the desk. It was as uncomfortable as it looked. Obviously, visitors were not encouraged to stay.
Ms. Piper put her fingertips together. “Now, then, Mr. Randall, what exactly can I do for you? I was very sorry to hear about the theft of Mr. Pierson’s artwork.”
“Were you invited to lunch at his house a week ago?”
“Yes, several people were there from the art community.”
“Could you tell me who they were and what you know about them?”
She took off her red glasses and gave me a full view of her dark eyes. She was wearing purple eye shadow and lots of mascara. On her, it worked. “Let me see. Richard Mason was there. He runs the Little Gallery. Lawrence Stein, a member of the museum board. Patricia Ashworthy, another board member was invited, but she’s eighty-seven and doesn’t drive very far, so she didn’t come. Samuel Gallant.” She gave a delicate shudder. “Isn’t that the strangest thing about him being found dead in his museum’s storage closet? Do the police know what happened?”
“They’re treating this as a murder investigation. How well did you know him?”
“Not well. I met him only a few times. He seemed quiet to me, but I understand he could be quite quarrelsome.”
“His gallery is closed, did you know that?”
She shrugged this off. “Dwindling funds is something all art museums have to deal with, especially the smaller galleries. The Princeton has been teetering on the brink of ruin for months.”
“Did any of the people who came to Pierson’s house have an interest in Art Nouveau?”
“Gallant turned up his nose at Pierson’s collection, and I know Richard doesn’t care for it.”
But they would if they knew about the twenty-five million.
Ms. Piper continued. “I’ve heard Lawrence Stein prefers African art. As for Patricia Ashworthy, you’d have to ask her.” She sat back in her chair and folded her arms. The purple button rose dramatically. “Mr. Randall, I don’t believe any of these people capable of such a crime.”
But they could hire someone else to do the job for them. Someone easily led and always in need of money. Someone like Samuel Gallant. “Ms. Piper, have you ever heard of a feud or a mystery surrounding these particular Art Nouveau items, a mystery involving a large sum of money?”
There was a flicker of interest in her eyes I couldn’t quite interpret. “No. What sort of feud? What mystery?”
“The feud is between Pierson’s family and the Duvall family. The money is twenty-five million dollars.”
She made a production of removing her glasses and polishing them with a tissue from her desk drawer. “A feud’s quite an antiquated notion these days, isn’t it? And twenty-five million? For those pieces? I don’t know a lot about Art Nouveau, but that’s excessive.”
“It involves solving a puzzle, using marks and letters found on the pieces.”
Ms. Piper leaned forward and settled her glasses back on her nose “Well, someone would have to know a lot about that, wouldn’t they? I’m sorry to say I don’t.”
“Thank you very much for your time.” I indicated a poster of a little girl holding a watering can. The little girl’s dress was dark blue with lots of white lace trim; the soft flowers around her were all colors. “That’s very nice.”
“It’s by Renoir. My favorite painter.”
“Mine, too.” Actually, I’d been drawn to it because the little girl’s long brown hair and sweet expression reminded me of Lindsey.
Ms. Piper gave me a look over the top of her glasses. “Oh, really?”
“Really.” I held out my hand. “I hope I can call on you if I have any more artistic questio
ns?”
She gave me a long measuring stare. “If you have questions of any kind, Mr. Randall.”
Uh, oh. I’d seen that look before.
I know I’d cooked supper the night before, but I was in the mood for a cheeseburger, and it wasn’t any more trouble to toss another half dozen onto the backyard grill. There was a nice breeze this evening, and the smell of charred meat brought Cindy, Oreo, and a few of their feline friends out of the honeysuckle hedge to wind around my bare feet.
Camden was still at Tamara’s store and Vermillion was still in the park. The wailing sound of an electric guitar from the second floor told me Kit was practicing before his gig, so that left Kary, me, and the cats. Perfect. Kary brought some paper plates and napkins out to the tray table where I’d put the buns, mustard, ketchup, and slaw. Then she sat down in one of the blue-and-white plastic lounge chairs under the trees. She had on white shorts and an oversized tee-shirt with a faded fish design. She sat up on the lounge and put her arms around her knees.
I turned the top row of burgers. “What have you been up to today?”
“Besides signing up for a few classes and applying for grants to help pay for them, I’ve been honing my pageant skills, choosing what song to play, what gown to wear, that kind of thing. I can’t afford a new one, but fortunately, I have gowns left over from other pageants that, with Angie’s help, can be recycled. Tried out some new makeup. Deep stuff.” Cindy stopped begging long enough to jump up beside Kary. Kary took the cat in her lap and scratched her behind the ears. “What’s the latest on your case?”
I draped a slice of cheese over each burger. “The police believe Gallant stole Pierson’s artwork but have no real leads in his death. Of the wealthy art collectors in Parkland, Toad suggested I talk with Lawrence Stein, but he’s out of town until Monday. Ms. Piper, Gallant, and Mason had lunch at Pierson’s a few days before Gallant disappeared. I spoke with Ms. Piper this afternoon. Also, there’s been a very interesting development, courtesy of Chance Baseford.”
She wrinkled her nose. “I can’t believe he was helpful.”
“It came disguised as a lecture and a slam against Pierson, who didn’t know these details.” I cleaned off the platter for the burgers. “Seems there’s an ancient feud between the Piersons and the Duvalls over the very pieces that were stolen. If you put them all together, they spell ‘Treasure,’ or at least a clue to a big pile of money. Oh, and Pierson stopped by here to tell us his missing dragonfly hood ornament is cursed.”
“Oh, that sounds tantalizing. Is he sure?”
“Judging by Camden’s reaction when he shook Pierson’s hand, I’d say yes.”
“Uh, oh. Is he okay?”
“He got worse when he had a close encounter with Matt Graber’s pythons.”
Kary swung both legs around and sat up straighter. “All right. Start at the beginning.”
“Ellin’s flipping out because Graber took one of the PSN sponsors. She asked Camden and me to spy on Cosmic Healing, so we went over there this afternoon.”
“He heals people with snakes?”
“He uses them to illustrate the power of cosmic healing. Unfortunately, they got out of their cage and decided to go say hello to the one person who did not want to talk to them.”
Kary shuddered. “I’m not really comfortable with snakes, either. Did you take him to Ellin?”
“He’s at Tamara’s hoping for some more hours at the store.”
“It’s about the leaky pipes, isn’t it? Can we afford to get them fixed?”
“I told him we could all pitch in. I also mentioned that Ellin could probably cover the cost. I don’t think he’s discussed it with her yet.” The cheese had melted nicely over the fat juicy burgers. “Burgers are done. How many would you like?”
“A little one, please. No bun.” She got up and stepped over two cats. I chose one of the smaller burgers and scooped it onto her paper plate. She gazed at me intently, and for a moment, I wondered if there would be a little action in that lounge chair. I don’t care how many cats were watching. Yes, she was definitely giving me a look.
“David, you’ve got mustard on your chin.”
“Oh. Thanks.” I wiped my chin with the back of my hand. The cats yowled at my feet. I busied myself cutting up another burger for them and then sat down in the other lounge chair.
Kary wiped her fingers on her napkin. “Rufus and Angie will be home tomorrow, won’t they?”
“I believe so.”
“Don’t worry about me. If they left Mary Rose with Angie’s sister, that’s probably the best place for her.”
“You know, if we were married, we might have a better chance of adopting. You could start by moving in with me.”
She gave me a skeptical glance. “Is your room big enough to accommodate all my things?”
“Keep your old bedroom and use it as a closet.”
She laughed. “Now there’s an idea.”
“So what do you say? Camden might cut us a deal.”
She paused to consider this and became serious. “I’d like to leave things as they are for now.”
It was going to take longer than I thought to convince her, but one of the many things I loved about Kary was her strong independent streak. “I hope that includes your nightly visits.”
“Of course.” She ate for a few moments. “Now tell me what I can do to help you on this case. How many days do you have?”
“Two down, eight to go. Do you feel like infiltrating the Love-In at the park tomorrow? Samuel Gallant’s niece, Rainbow, might be there, and you can find out more about her uncle.”
“That sounds far out, man.”
I gave her a kiss. “Mmm, you taste like cheeseburger. What a woman.”
She kissed me back and after she finished her burger, went into the house to practice. That left me and the cats. I had one more burger, gave Oreo another, and wrapped the rest in aluminum foil. Cindy purred and rubbed against my legs. I patted her head. I’d never cared much for cats, but Cindy was a reasonable animal. “Bet you could find a dragonfly.”
She purred louder and bumped her head against my hand, happy to be with me until one of her cat buddies yowled from the bushes and she went off with him. Maybe the other cat was one of her grown kittens, stopping by to say hello. As active as she was, Cindy was bound to have family in the neighborhood.
“Yo, Randall!” Kit called down from his window. “You got an extra burger?”
“Got plenty.”
In a few minutes he joined me in the backyard. He unwrapped the leftover burgers and piled two with cheese and onions. “Thought I’d grab a bite before heading over to the club.”
He had on his traditional black, but this outfit was a step up from the usual tatters: tight black leather pants, heavy black boots, and a black vest over a white tee-shirt. “What’s the occasion?”
He indicated his outfit. “What, this? Oh, we’re playing The Other Side tonight. Thought I’d dress up.”
During my last case, Camden had infiltrated The Other Side disguised as a teenager. Much to his chagrin, he’d been able to pass with no trouble. “I know the place.”
Kit took big bites of his first cheeseburger and swallowed. “Cam doesn’t like being psychic, but I do. I hope I get telekinetic, too. I wanted you to know I’m on the job, and if it looks like something big’s about to blow, I’ll call.”
There was something I wanted to know. “Do you hear Lindsey or any of the other spirits?”
“Sometimes. Maybe since Delores started telling them to come to you, there’s been more psychic activity around the house than Cam can handle. You add that dragonfly, and you’ve got overload.”
I didn’t like the sound of this. “What can we do about it?”
“Cam’s gonna have to learn to go with the flow.”
“He’d rather not be psych
ic, so he’s resistant to flow.”
He reached for his second burger. “Well, hell, I think it’s great, especially since he taught me how to control it, and I’ve had tons of visions, let me tell you.”
“So this overload isn’t affecting you?”
“Maybe it’s because I’m embracing my destiny.” He said this with a straight face and then guffawed. “Going with the flow, man. Oh, here comes Lily.”
Lily Wilkes, Camden’s next-door neighbor, came through the hole in the hedge that separated their houses. I’m not sure how old Lily is. Her face is very young, but her hair is as white and fluffy as cotton in an aspirin bottle. I’d been curious enough to ask her about it, tactfully, of course, and she told me aliens stole her real hair, replacing it with white fluff. Lily claims to have been abducted thirteen times, experimented on, and impregnated. She always relates this with perfect composure, and I always have difficulty keeping a straight face.
Lily doesn’t come over very often, and when she does, she’s looking for Camden, wanting him to come listen to a bunch of local kooks who think they’ve had close encounters. Since she’s cute and friendly and weird as hell, at one time I thought they’d make a great couple, but Ellin’s the only woman in Camden’s life, and why should Lily settle for one man when she has all those randy ETs?
It must have been Bag Lady Day on Planet Lily. She had on a blue, long-sleeved turtleneck tee-shirt, green-striped slacks, a yellow poncho with uneven fringe, and a pith helmet decorated with sequined hearts. As I said, Lily’s really cute, but she likes to wear these ungodly hats that make her look like some kind of little forest animal peeking out from under a bush.
“My God, Lily, aren’t you burning up?”
She wasn’t even sweating. “My inner temperature has been permanently altered.”
“Oh, sorry. I forgot. Get the aliens to reset it next time you’re up there.”
She peered out from under the helmet. A little wider brim and she’d be able to pick up signals from those distant galaxies. “I don’t think that’s possible. Is Cam home?”