Alvin put on his sunglasses. “Don’t care. It’s better than being inside with that loathsome woman and her entourage. Let’s get to this place you have.”
As the two of them drove away, Lori glanced at Alvin. Though his face was hidden behind his glasses, he looked relieved to leave the Misty Hills Inn. However, she’d exaggerated more than a bit about where she was taking him, and that worried her now. The garden cottage she’d painted such a vivid picture of as a means of settling the skirmish between Alvin and Brenda was, in fact, a small cottage behind the home of their neighbor, Mrs. Barkley. It was comfortable and clean but hardly compared to a suite at the Misty Hills Inn. Nor was there a swimming pool in sight. She crossed her fingers that relatives weren’t visiting Mrs. Barkley, in which case the cottage would be occupied. Even more so, she hoped that Alvin would happy with it and not demand something else, in which case she’d be in deep trouble. The last thing she needed was for him throw a tantrum the way his prima donna colleague had done back there.
Lori parked the car and ran up the stairs to the house. “Mrs. Barkley, I urgently need your help,” she said the moment the old lady opened the door. She hurriedly explained the situation, pointing to Alvin, who remained motionless in the car. Fortunately Mrs. Barkley, thrilled to be hosting a celebrity, happily obliged. Minutes later, Lori pushed open the cottage’s door and stood aside for Alvin to enter.
She relaxed somewhat when Alvin spontaneously fell onto the large, soft bed and closed his eyes.
She’d expected him to inspect the room, at least. But he didn’t seem to be concerned with what the room looked like, nor did he ask about the nonexistent pool. She sat down on the edge of the only chair in the room, unsure about what to do next.
“So, what’s it like to be a crossword celebrity?” Lori asked carefully, aware that high flyers like Alvin probably valued their privacy more than ordinary folks. At the same time she was intrigued and curious to find out what made him tick.
“It’s fun, most of the time. It was especially fantastic in the beginning.” Alvin opened his eyes and sat up. “After I won my first major competition and made some real money, it became a fantasy ride of first-class hotels, lots of girls, being treated like royalty. I gave my old car to a friend and bought myself a brand-new red Corvette. Now I have three of them, in matching colors. Even now, I won’t lie, I enjoy the lifestyle. Last year I bought a villa in the south of France, right on the beachfront. It’s a really gorgeous fancy place, but I’ve never had time to go there since I bought it.” He chuckled. “Brenda would love the view over the Mediterranean from the front deck, seeing that she’s so keen on having a panorama to look at from her room. Myself, I’ve done all the bucket list traveling I’ve ever dreamed of, slept in all the rooms with a view I’d ever want to.”
Lori listened in silence as Alvin carried on talking about his years of living the high life, which included all the excess typical of the celebrity jet set. It struck her after a while that it sounded like he was confessing. Years of working in the Wholesome, helping people in need of healing, had taught her that most of them weren’t after a pill to drink or any sort of medication. They simply needed a sympathetic, nonjudgmental ear.
“That’s why I didn’t care about giving up the room at the inn to Brenda back there. I’ve done it all. But the wealth and fame came at a price.” He patted his paunch. “The stress of going all out to win, time after time, is taking its toll.” He dug into his pants pocket, took out a plastic bottle of pills and put it on the bedside table. “Lately I need these to put me to sleep at night.”
“You can walk away from it all. I’m sure you’ve got more than enough money to do that,” Lori suggested.
Alvin sighed. “If only it were that simple. Crosswording gets into your blood. Ever since I was a kid, I’ve been obsessed with words and puzzles. I’d read through the complete Webster's by the time I was ten. I’ve dedicated my heart and soul to the crossword.” He paused and sized Lori up for a moment. “I think you’re the kind of person who’ll understand. Look at this. Only one other person has ever seen it.”
Lori winced as Alvin pulled his T-shirt over his head and turned his back toward her. A huge crossword puzzle was tattooed in black ink across the full length and width of his back.
Lori stared at the square on Alvin’s back in amazement. Imagine tattooing your passion on your back, she thought. That took some dedication, and an extraordinary belief in what you were doing.
“So, I’ve come here to win one more time, and then I’m finished,” Alvin said as he pulled down his T-shirt. “I want a peaceful life away from the spotlight. I have so much bad history with the people back at the inn that I need to escape from.” He stood up and looked out the window. “Fennelmoore seems like a sweet little town. We may even settle down here.” He looked at Lori. “Do you enjoy living here?” Lori nodded, wondering who “we” were.
“I love Fennelmoore, yes. You should take a walk across the fields to Emerald Forest when you have a moment,” Lori suggested. “That’ll give you an idea of how peaceful and good for the soul Fennelmoore can be. There’s a footpath on Cumin Lane that goes there. You can’t miss it.”
“That’s a good idea,” Alvin said. “I need some space to think a few things through. Might be difficult to find the time, but I’ll try.”
Lori smiled. “Either way, I hope you’re happy here in the cottage. Let me know if there’s anything you need. I can come and get you if you want to go the Misty Hills Inn, or see the sights.”
Alvin shook his head. “No need, Lori. I’ll find my way around. I’ll see you tomorrow at the inn.”
Lori decided to walk back to the inn, seeing that Alvin didn’t need a lift, and parked the van at home next door. She liked Alvin, though she found it hard to reconcile the disillusioned, vulnerable man she had seen inside with the swaggering showman of earlier on.
As she walked past the front gate of Mrs. Barkley’s house, she recognized Brenda’s black Bentley parked across the street. She squinted against the bright sunlight, trying to see who was sitting in the backseat, but couldn’t recognize anyone. Puzzled, she walked across the street as the ignition suddenly started and the car sped away, disappearing around the corner at the of the block. Clearly whoever it was inside didn’t want to speak to her. Was someone spying on Alvin?
***
The first person she met once she arrived back at the inn was a very huffy Kermit.
“What the hell did you do with Alvin?” Kermit barked, his eyes dark with anger. “Who gave you permission to just cart him off without my permission?”
“Relax, Kermit,” Lori soothed him. “You weren’t around to straighten things out, so we had to make some instant decisions. Don’t worry, Alvin’s happy with his digs.”
“You clearly you don’t understand. That’s not the point,” Kermit said, toning down his voice so as not to attract attention. “Everyone has to stay right here at the inn. Imagine if something happened to Alvin. Do you know what the consequences would be? The media would have a field day.” He gestured around the room. “Each one of these people is worth millions. I’ve insured each one of them for plenty. They have to stay here as part of their contracts so we can take proper care of them.”
Lori thought about what Kermit said for a moment. She doubted it was true. He probably just wanted all the contestants together, under his thumb. But he was, in effect, her client, so she had to give Kermit the benefit of the doubt.
“Sorry, I was simply trying to resolve a very tricky situation, Kermit,” Lori said. “You should have seen the drama we had this morning. I thought Alvin and Brenda were going to kill each other, and it was the only solution I could think of at that moment. Right now, dragging Kermit back to the inn would only make things worse. Please, let him just stay there for tonight, just until the dust settles. I promise, I’ll make sure he’s back here in the morning.”
Kermit rubbed his face. “That’s less than ideal,” he muttered as Lori
felt a tug on her sleeve. She looked around to see the jolly face of Mayor Riley standing behind her. Before Kermit could carry on, she introduced him to the mayor, who without missing a beat started gushing accolades that were enough to stroke Kermit’s ego and allow Lori to make an escape.
Jasmine walked over to Lori with a copy of the tournament program in her hand. She still looked a little pale, and her hand shook when she handed the program to Lori.
“Phew, that was a rough start to the day, wasn’t it? How are you holding up?” Lori asked, a little worried about her young cousin.
“You should have seen Kermit explode when he got here after you left. We thought he was going to do something to Brenda. In the end, she stormed off with that secretary and driver of hers,” Jasmine said.
* * *
Nick joined them, looking embarrassed. “So sorry about what happened this morning, Lori. You guys did nothing wrong. Those two were just trying to upstage each other and play to the crowd. Now you’ve seen what we’re going to be dealing with.” He rolled his eyes.
“No worries, I think we handled it just fine,” Lori said to put Nick at ease. She felt sorry for him. He had to deal with Kermit the whole time he was to be in Fennelmoore.
She glanced through the program Jasmine had handed her. “I see there’s an exhibition match between the top three crossworders tomorrow morning. It should be exciting to see the top talent in action. Let’s hope the contestants are a little more amicable to each other than we’ve seen so far.”
Drained of all energy and tired from the excitement of the previous day, Lori overslept the next morning. Glancing at her bedside clock and realizing she was late, she was out of bed in one jump and rushed to get ready for the exhibition match, due to start at nine.
Still pulling on her sweater, she ran down the stairs and out the front gate. As she passed Mrs. Barkley’s house, she looked left, toward the cottage. It seemed deserted. The curtains were drawn and all the windows closed. It could be that Alvin had moved back to the inn on Kermit’s instructions. That would be a shame, because she was looking forward to having more conversations with Alvin, and perhaps inviting him over to Whitewood Manor. He seemed to be at a crossroads in his life. She admired people who had the courage to walk away from a comfortable life to pursue a life dream. For a moment, she hesitated and considered knocking on the cottage’s door, just in case Alvin was still there. Perhaps they could walk to the Misty Hills Inn together. But then she changed her mind and increased her pace. Alvin would undoubtedly already be at the inn, busy preparing for the competition, and she was already late anyway.
When she reached the inn, Lori went straight to the hall where the competition was due to start with only a few minutes to spare. It was filled to capacity, and she had to scan the cavernous hall several times before she spotted an empty seat at the end of a row. Relieved, she quickly made her way to it, sinking down into the chair.
She craned her neck to look at the spectators around her. Judging by the caps, T-shirts and merchandise, there was no doubt they were all hardcore tournament fans. The vibrant, humming atmosphere reminded her of street festivals and college football games she’d loved as a student. A few fans waved placards around with the names of the contestants on them. She didn’t recognize most of the names but saw quite a few with “Alvin the King” in big, bold letters. One guy wore a T-shirt with Alvin’s face on the front and a crossword on the back with the name A-L-V-I-N filled into one of the blank spaces.
Lori smiled in wonderment. No wonder Kermit had gotten filthy rich off the tournament. The money from television deals, merchandising, sponsorships and entrance fees must amount to a tidy sum. He might be obnoxious and rude, but he sure knew how to put on crowd-pulling entertainment.
Just as the emcee came out of the wings, the guy she recognized as Brenda’s driver walked by her, carrying a chair in one hand and his chauffeur cap in the other.
“Mind if I put my chair down next to yours?” he asked politely.
“Not at all, please do,” Lori said and shifted up a bit to make space for his chair. She looked at his charming, freckled face and mop of golden hair. She’d have to keep Jasmine and Rosie away from him. He looked like a real heartbreaker.
“I’m Clay,” the chauffeur introduced himself. “Sophie mentioned she met you out in the field yesterday. You’re Lori, right?”
Lori nodded, and Clay sat down next to her, surprised that he recognized her. Either way, she was glad to have someone with knowledge about the competition and the contestants sitting next to her.
The audience fell silent as the emcee started speaking. He introduced the mayor and invited him on stage to open the competition. Lori didn’t hear much of what Mayor Riley said as her attention was drawn to a commotion outside the door. She could hear Brenda arguing loudly with a male voice trying to calm her down. Lori suppressed the urge to run outside and assist, instead watching as the mayor cut a huge bright yellow ribbon strung across the stage, and the audience gave him a lukewarm round of applause.
Next, the emcee began announcing the three competitors.
“And now, ladies and gentlemen, here are the three contestants who’ll be waging a war of words on the stage here today. Please welcome the first contestant, Miss Camelia Ashbury!”
The stiletto girl Lori had seen the day before walked out onto the stage, waving cutely at the audience. She was wearing something akin to a Playboy bunny outfit and walked with the graceful swagger of an experienced fashion model. Her sexy looks and sultry expression elicited more than a few catcalls from the audience.
With all the clapping and cheering going on, Lori missed hearing the girl’s name when it was announced. “What’s her name?” Lori shouted to Clay, trying to make herself heard above the noise.
“That’s Camelia. She’s ranked number three in the tournament. She used to be a supermodel and fashion magazine cover girl before she met Alvin and started dating him,” Clay answered.
Lori frowned. Yesterday, Alvin had completely ignored Camelia at the registration table. Nor had he mentioned her during their conversation at the cottage.
“Are they still dating?” Lori asked.
Clay shook his head. “No. They broke up at a party just before the tournament started. She took it pretty badly, I heard. Sophie saw them breaking up and says Camelia went ballistic.”
The emcee was hitting his stride, bolstered by the boisterous crowd. “Next, please give a warm welcome to contestant number two. Ladies and gentlemen, the number two player in the world, Miss Brenda Paisley!”
More clapping and cheering followed the emcee’s announcement. Wearing a sequined costume and a tall white feather in her hat, Brenda strutted on stage, blowing kisses to the audience. No doubt they’re used to being in the limelight, Lori thought as she joined in the clapping. Brenda looked right at home on stage.
“How long have you been driving Brenda around?” Lori asked when the applause had died down.
“Not that long,” Clay said. “This is my third week on the job. Sophie only joined a few days ago, after Brenda fired her previous assistant. Brenda’s notorious for hiring and firing, but she pays well, so I’m not complaining, for the moment.”
* * *
“What about Sophie? Do the two of you get along well?” I ask.
Clay shrugs. “She’s okay, I guess. She doesn’t open up much to me. She keeps to herself most of the time.” He smiles. “I did make a pass when we first were introduced, but she said she’s still getting over an ex-boyfriend.”
Lori was burning to ask more questions, but Kermit had appeared on stage and was whispering in the emcee’s ear. The emcee shook his head and picked up the microphone.
“Ladies and gentlemen, it seems that Alvin Parkinson is running a little late, so we have a slight delay in the program while we wait for him to take his place on stage.”
“Probably hanging out with some girl,” Clay smirked. “Alvin’s a notorious serial womanizer.”
&nb
sp; Lori felt the blood drain from her face as she thought of what Kermit had said earlier about Alvin living elsewhere, away from his supervision. She dashed out of the hall, leaving Clay looking surprised at her sudden departure. She kicked herself for not checking on him this morning. At least then, if he was with a girl as Clay surmised, she could have chased him out of bed and gotten him here on time.
She’d unwittingly caused a mess, and heaven knew how it was going to end.
Chapter Seven
Hazel looked up in surprise from the cupcakes she was busy decorating for the morning coffee break when Lori burst into the kitchen.
“Quick, I need to borrow the car,” Lori said, holding out her hand for the car keys. “I have to get home as quickly as possible.”
“Anything wrong?” her aunt asked as she handed Lori the keys. She wasn’t used to seeing her normally composed niece looking this agitated.
“Alvin hasn’t shown up for this morning’s competition. I need to go look for him at Mrs. Barkley’s house, and I hope to heaven he’s okay. Otherwise I’m in big, big trouble with Kermit.”
“Good luck,” she called after Lori as she stormed out the door.
In the lobby, Lori ducked when she saw Kermit, but he’d already spotted her. Making a snap decision to ignore him, Lori kept on going out the front door even as Kermit called after her.
As she raced thought the streets to the cottage, she kept an eye out on the sidewalks, hoping to see Alvin. Her mind shifted between the possibilities of where he might be. He might have decided to disappear to a far-off island to take stock of his life and start afresh. Or, more likely, he might simply have overslept. Her heart sank further when she saw no sign of him as she screeched to a halt in front of Mrs. Barkley’s house.
Potions and Puzzles Page 5