The sheriff left them shortly after that and the women went back into the office. After unlocking the front door, they settled down to get some work accomplished before the staff started returning for the day from their various jobs. They didn’t expect to see Paul and Lucy back until the end of the day; Paul was still insisting that they stay with Megan so they knew he would be back by the time everyone was ready to leave for the day.
Megan completed the project she had been working on before lunch and then made the difficult phone call to the grieving councilman and his wife. After she gave her condolences, Megan agreed to meet them at their home the following afternoon. Hanging up the phone, she then started on the next task. With Sheriff Green giving them the go-ahead to enter the Bloomquest property, Megan wanted to get Debbie and her crew over there and get the inside of the house cleaned up and ready for Carol’s return. Megan gave a little shudder as she remembered those wet towels that had been left in the guest bathroom. She also called the security team on duty at the site to make sure they would patrol during the hours her employees would be there.
As the afternoon progressed, Megan was grateful she had Janice as her office manager. It was amazing how much paperwork and coordinating was involved in running her company. It was much different than when she had started, much different than even a year ago. Janice was perfect for the job: she loved paperwork and was extremely organized. Not Megan. She would much rather be out in the field than behind the desk. Too many days of this could become torturous for her.
Gradually, the quiet of the office was replaced by the voices of the staff as they returned for the day. Barney happily greeted each one as they arrived, while Fred just gave a happy wag of his tail. Megan and Debbie went over what needed to be done at the Bloomquest’s the next day and listened to the progress that had been made on weather-proofing the homes on their list of clients who had left for the summer season. Paul had his crew well trained and they just saw to their own work responsibilities, leaving notes with Eric of anything that would need his attention before the start of the next day.
By the time Lucy and Paul returned, most of the staff from both companies had left. Eric had stayed to go over things with Paul and to make sure Megan was not at the office alone. After the two men went over their plans for the next day, Eric also left. Turning to Megan, Paul asked how her day had gone. Hearing about her phone call with Kim Heart, he just groaned.
“Next time let the machine answer when she calls. Too bad we can’t block her calls. If you don’t mind, Lucy and I would like to go with you to the Travels tomorrow. I would like to offer our condolences too.”
Lucy nodded her head in agreement with Paul. She then told the two of them she was going to head over to the house and take the dogs with her. Knowing that Eric had secured the property and that there was an officer scheduled to patrol at this time, they all felt safe with her going on her own. After all, there had been no problems and things seemed to be settling down. After she left, Paul watched her walk over to Megan’s from the window and then turned back to Megan to continue their conversation.
“I got a call from Carol Bloomquest about an hour ago. She has a friend flying in tomorrow morning. He is friends of the Travels as well and is coming into town for them. I told her I would let you know about it since she was on her way out to her new foal. She would like you to set him up in the guest house on her property and let him have the keys to the pickup to use while he is here. I can meet the plane when it arrives and drive him out to the house if you need me to.”
“No, that’s okay, I can handle it. I’m glad he’s going to stay at the guest house; we still have to freshen up the main house from Carol’s visit. Lucy and I can take him out there, then you can meet us, and we will go to the Travels together from Carol’s. It sounds as if Eric needs you to get out to that new job in the morning, so don’t worry about it.”
Feeling comfortable with her suggestions, Paul nodded his head in agreement. The Bloomquest pilot had made the landing on to their property so many times that he needed no help or guidance in bringing the plane in for a safe landing. Paul immediately texted the foreman for the job, telling him that he would be going out with him in the morning. Finishing the last of the daily paperwork that needed his attention, Paul stood up from his desk and looked over at his cousin.
“How about we call it quits for the day? I’m thinking that the pool sounds like a great place to be right now. What do you think, Megan?”
“I’m right there with you. Barney has a new pool trick to show you too. Let me set the alarm, and we will head over.”
Within half an hour, the three of them were enjoying the pool, laughing at the puppy and his antics. Balancing himself on a boogie board, he was barking happily as Megan gently pulled him through the water. Finally tired of standing, he simply laid down on the board and putting his head on his crossed front paws looked at his human friends for approval.
Chapter Eight
Tuesday
Their evening had passed pleasantly and quickly. The morning was another perfect summer day, with the sun rising warmly and bright. The offices of both companies were busy with the staff getting an early start to their day. It was all hands on deck for them; the morning weather report had shown no change in the direction of the tropical storm. If it continued to progress, it would become a named storm by afternoon. This meant that Paul had to start securing any and all loose construction materials at the job sites, and Megan had to step up her schedule of putting up storm shutters and hurricane panels on her clients’ homes that were out of town. They would concentrate on these homes first; making sure everything that could be done to prepare for high winds was done for the hurricane season, not just one possible storm. The decision on what to do at the homes of clients that were in residence would be decided as the storm got closer or more defined.
Knowing from past experience that when a storm approached, the phone calls from clients would start coming in at a fast pace, Janice and Eric retreated to their desks to handle them. Megan and Paul coordinated with their team leaders and job foreman the order of jobs to be done and then Paul headed out with his crew. Megan called over to Lucy at the house and arranged for the two of them to walk over to Megan’s private office to spend the morning waiting for the arrival of the Bloomquest plane.
Megan left by the back door and took a small meandering pathway over to her office. It never failed to give her pleasure to wander the pathways that she had created connecting the offices together. She met Lucy and the dogs at the bridge over the spring-fed creek that connected the pathway from her home to her private office. Lucy had a huge tote bag with her that she had brought from her home, filled with her materials needed to complete the jewelry order she was currently working on. Deciding to go inside so Lucy could spread out her work on the conference room table, the two women entered the building.
It was obviously a retreat for Megan as well as a work space. Made up of two large rooms, the office was decorated in a more traditional Florida style. The room you walked into was furnished with rattan furniture and comfortable cushions of blues and whites. The tile floors had been warmed up with area rugs and paintings of river ways? and hammocks painted by the Florida Highwaymen hung on the walls. Instead of a desk, Megan had taken a large piece of driftwood, had it fitted with legs and placed a glass top on it. Wicker drawers were fitted underneath the top, and the whole unit had been placed under the large front window.
The back room had been made into a conference room with a large table and chairs. The side wall had a huge bay window where Megan had installed a cushioned bench perfect for sitting. Instead of the more common top-lifting storage under the bench, she had put in pull out drawers. On the other side of the room was a small kitchen. The same colors and paintings had continued into this room, as well.
After turning on some music, the two women got right to work. Lucy worked on her jewelry order and Megan on a garden design she was working on for a new client
who wanted to redo their existing overgrown landscape beds. The dogs settled down on one of the rugs where they could watch both women.
They worked steadily, sharing ideas with each other and carrying on conversations as only longtime friends can. The morning flew by with patches of silence alternating with patches of fun laughter. Before they knew it, Eric phoned over to Megan to let her know that the flight from St. Louis was approaching for its landing. The women stored their projects away and, leaving the dogs behind, left out the back door, taking the golf cart over to the place on the landing strip that they knew the plane would taxi to.
Their timing was perfect, and they arrived just as the pilot was shutting down his engines. Waving a greeting to him, Megan and Lucy waited for the doors to open and his passenger to exit.
“Hi, Sam, glad to see you again.” As both men exited the plane, Megan gave the pilot a warm hug.
“Welcome to Citrus Beach. I’m Megan Cassidy, and this is Lucy Cassidy,” Megan greeted the other with a warm smile of greeting on her lips.
“Thank you, Megan. I’m Aidan Tory. Carol has told me much about you, I feel as if I know you already.”
“Oh, that always makes me a little nervous when someone says that, I hope Carol only told you my best traits and left off my many faults. Carol told us that you are a friend of the Travels. I’m really sorry that you had to make the trip under such sad circumstances.”
Aidan nodded his head silently as he looked the two women over. They were so obviously different that he found himself asking, “Sisters?”
Lucy and Megan laughed, and Lucy answered him still grinning, “No, cousins by marriage, but sisters at heart.”
Smiling at their amusement, he turned to help Sam put his two cases in the back of the golf cart, as Megan indicated they should. This done, Sam told them that he wanted to stretch his legs and say hi to Janice before he began his flight back. The women looked at each other, sure that Sam had a soft spot for Janice and that his hello would turn into a meal and a walk together around the property. It usually did.
As Aidan thanked Sam for the trip down, Megan discreetly looked him over. He wasn’t what she expected. Somehow she had created a mental picture of a man who would be more of a carbon copy of the councilman. Aidan Tory was anything but that.
No, Aidan Tory looked more like a ranch hand than a business man. He was a large man, but not overweight. Strong muscles had shown through when he had lifted his bag into the golf cart, and his hands were calloused with a strong grip when he shook Megan’s hand in his greeting. His brown hair was sun-streaked, with the beginnings of gray at his temples. His posture was of a confident man and his smile friendly, yet closed off, as if he was waiting for something.
He wasn’t dressed like a businessman either. Actually he looked as if he would be very uncomfortable in a suit and tie. Instead, Aidan had on a well-worn pair of jeans, striped button-down shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows and of all things, a pair of athletic shoes. Megan decided instantly that she liked the man before her more than the man she had envisioned.
Megan turned her glance away from the man, so she wouldn’t be caught looking him over, and looked right at Lucy. Lucy was grinning and catching Megan’s eye, winked and gave a thumb’s up sign. Shaking her head at her, Megan climbed back into the golf cart and waited for Lucy and Aidan to join her. Once they were all in and Sam was on his way to the main office, Megan explained to Aidan what they had planned to for the afternoon. Aidan agreed with their agenda as they parked the cart next to Megan’s car. After transferring his cases to the trunk, the women grabbed their purses, and the three of them headed off to the island residence.
They had just reached the causeway bridge when Megan got a call from Janice. Not bothering with her hands free option, she answered the phone.
“Hi, Megan. Listen, Debbie and her crew got to Carol’s house about fifteen minutes ago. She said everything was fine, but wanted you to see her as soon as you got there. She sounded a little edgy to me, and that is just not like Debbie.”
“No, you’re right. I’ll see her before anything else. What else is up? You sound a little edgy too, not what I would expect when you’re in Sam’s company.”
“Oh, it’s nothing. Kim Heart called again demanding to talk to you. She made it sound like there was an ‘or else’ if she didn’t get a hold of you today. I just did like you said and told her no comment. I guess she just gets under my skin too. No worries back here, everything is fine. I’m just passing along your messages.”
Reassured that Janice was okay, Megan thanked her and hung up. Putting her phone back into the car console, she glanced over at Lucy. But it was Aidan who asked the question Lucy wanted to.
“Is everything all right? Carol told me about the shooting at her house, so I know what is going on. Has something new happened?”
“I don’t think so, but we’ll find out when we get there. Kim Heart is at it again. Lucy, why don’t you let Aidan know all about her so that he won’t get caught unaware? Talking about her just starts my blood boiling.”
While Megan finished the drive to Carol’s, Lucy filled Aidan in on all that had happened since the shooting including the tenacious calls from the journalist. He was a good listener, letting Lucy finish her story before making any comments.
“Yeah, I’ve run across a few like her in my time. They are like a flea: irritating and persistent.”
Pulling her car between the guesthouse and the main house, Megan asked Lucy to take Roger over to where he would be spending his time while she ran over to see Debbie. Before Lucy had a chance to agree, Aidan interrupted.
“Megan, I’d like to find out what has your employee upset as well, why don’t we start at the main house and then I can settle myself in the guest house. Just a precaution, but it would ease my mind to know that you are not walking into a dangerous situation.”
“What could possibly be dangerous about cleaning up a teenager’s dirty towels? I’m sure—“
“Megan, it could be a trap to lure you or anyone else into the house alone. Debbie could have been forced to make that phone call.” He interrupted her with a firm voice.
Megan and Lucy both looked at Aidan in shock. They would have never thought of that possibility. It just didn’t happen in their life. But then again neither did witnessing a murder or being hounded by a reporter. Just who was this Aidan Tory?
Getting out of the car, Aidan started towards the entrance, leaving the two to follow him. Racing to catch up, Megan was on his heels when he opened the door. Debbie was right there waiting for them. Seeing her surprised look at Aidan, Megan hastened to introduce them.
As he was being introduced to Debbie, Aidan also looked thoroughly around them, as if looking for a trap or another person to be there threatening Debbie. Seeing nothing that caused him any alarm, he relaxed slightly and smiled at Debbie.
“Is everything okay, Debbie? Lois said you sounded nervous about something here?” Megan asked her.
“It seems silly. I mean everything inside is just as I expected it to be. My girls are upstairs cleaning the bedrooms and baths right now. I thought that, with everything going on out here, I would take a look around the ground floor. I didn’t go outside, but I did go from window to window and looked out.”
“I’m glad you stayed inside Debbie. We don’t want anyone to take any risks.”
“Yea, well I’m a big scaredy-cat, so you don’t have to worry about that. Anyways, it’s what I found off the back family room that is making me nervous. I might be wrong, but it looks as if some of the outdoor furniture has been moved up closer to the windows. I figured if you saw it you would know right away if things were the way you left them the other night. Or maybe I’m way off base and the police themselves moved the chair.”
Reassuring her that she had done the right thing, Megan led the others to the window in question. What she saw looking out the window made the hair on the back of her neck stand up. Debbie was right; the furnit
ure had been moved around. It almost looked as if the chair had been moved so that someone could stand on it to see directly into the house. With the extra height, someone standing on the chair could see clearly into the family room and down the hallways in two directions.
Clearly shaken, Megan grabbed her phone and hit the re-dial button. It only took two rings for Janice to pick up.
“Janice, its Megan. Listen, Debbie has discovered signs of someone on this property that probably should not have been. I want you to get the security agent that was on duty last night out here and also call in Sheriff Green. We will stay here until they get here.”
After convincing Janice that they were safe, Megan hung up and turned to talk to the others, only to discover that Aidan had left the room. Lucy shrugged her shoulders at Megan’s questioning look, but Debbie pointed back towards the kitchen. Wondering what the man was up to, the three women followed in the direction he had gone. But when they entered the kitchen, it was empty, with no sign of Aidan.
“Now what?” Lucy asked out loud.
“We wait for someone to show up. We need to determine when those chairs were moved around. I’m sure the sheriff and his officers didn’t move them, but he will want to see what is going on out here. And I want to know how someone got onto the property if we had a security service out here.”
Within ten minutes, the sheriff pulled onto the property, followed by one of Paul’s crew trucks. Paul jumped out of the truck and waved at the driver, who pulled back out onto the main road and left. Not knowing that anything was up, Paul walked over to the sheriff, who filled him in on his call from Janis as they walked up to the entry, where Debbie let them in.
“How are you doing, Debbie? This is Sheriff Green—“
“Oh, I know the sheriff; I’ve babysat for his two girls when they were younger. How is your family Sheriff?”
Debbie cut off Paul and greeted the sheriff with fondness as well as a sense of relief that he was there. Certainly with the head of the town’s law force right before her, everything would be put to right and there would be an end to the nervousness she felt for the first time being in one of these big empty homes.
Murder For Neptune's Trident...A Citrus Beach Mystery (Citrus Beach Mysteries Book 1) Page 8