Panting, Flush brought the stick back and shoved it into my hand. Avery could throw it farther, but the dog wasn’t choosy. With a big windup, I threw it overhand. “So?”
“Riley ne’er did anything extra he didn’t have to. Liked to conserve his energy. So he would’ve caught his live bait in a spot right near the fishing hole, like he always did.”
“Maybe he decided to fish the crabbing spot for a change,” I said, playing devil’s advocate.
Pop shook his head. “Can’t catch any good eating fish there. Besides, I don’t recall Riley ever fishing alone.”
“So you think his death is suspicious, too! Did you tell the chief?”
“He thinks I’m upset because I’ve lost a card partner.”
“Gertrude said he hasn’t refilled his blood pressure medication in two months,” Avery added. “He was supposed to be taking a pill every day.”
I brought up the subject of Lester, and, heading toward the Chat ‘N Chew, we discussed him and his possible evil motives for the umpteenth time in the past few days. The fact stubbornly remained that Lester had nothing to gain from Riley’s death, and neither did anyone else. Nothing we could see, anyway. Riley had already publicly said that he wouldn’t be running for a second term as mayor. Everyone liked him well enough, and he didn’t own much, other than his house and small plot of overgrown farmland, which he optioned to Lester. His son would inherit the house, plus any money received from the land sale. Riley didn’t even have life insurance.
Changing humans, Bandit gracefully leaped from Pop’s shoulder to mine and stuck a perfect landing.
“Can’t the son demand an autopsy?” I asked.
“Sure. But he probably won’t.”
We got to Chat ‘N Chew and it was empty except for Gertrude and Mad Millie, who ate pie at the counter. Blinking her lashes at Pop, Millie explained that Bull had run home for a few minutes. That was okay with us, Pop told her. Other than the animals, which were perpetually hungry, nobody wanted anything to eat anyhow. The raccoon still on my shoulder, I rummaged behind the counter to find three glasses and brought everyone an iced tea. Returning the serving tray to the counter, I couldn’t help but overhear Gertrude.
“Maybe she takes the pill to regulate her cycle,” she said way too loud for a conversation with someone seated on the next barstool. “I read in a pharmaceutical journal that women do that now, for convenience.”
“I haven’t had a cycle in so long, I forget what it’s like.” Millie clacked her teeth. “But we didn’t have no pill to regulate nothing. It just came round when it came. And if it was late, you prayed like there was no tomorrow and swore to God Almighty you’d never bump bellies with anybody again until you was married.”
Gertrude shrugged. “Probably she takes it so as she don’t get pregnant.”
“Hey,” I said from behind the counter. “Has anyone ever heard of the medical privacy act? Can we please quit discussing my sex life?”
They looked at me, surprised.
“So then you do have a sex life.” Gertrude said. “What’s it like?”
Rolling my eyes, I gave them coffee refills.
The door opened and a puff of pungent cigar smoke drifted in, along with a chuckle from my boss. “Moonlighting as a waitress, Jaxie?”
“Aaron!” Coffeepot in hand, hair piled sloppily on top of my head, and a raccoon perched on my shoulder, I was entirely out of character for a Shine Advertising and PR professional. I wasn’t even wearing good shoes. I’d given them up on my second day in Rumton, after unknowingly pushing a strappy Cole Haan slide into a pile of horse dung. In Atlanta, you could get away with wearing the most casual clothes, as long as you carried a designer handbag and wore great shoes. Here, though, nobody cared what you put on your feet or carried your lipstick in. “No, I’m not working a second job. Just filling in for Bull.”
My boss made the rounds to give his aunt a big hug and say hello to Gertrude. He pumped Pop’s hand a few times before giving him a quick man-hug, and spent a few one-on-one minutes with Flush before turning to me with a grin. “Since Bull is missing in action, would you mind bringing me coffee?”
“Of course not.” I detached Bandit from my shoulder, brought an ashtray for the cigar along with his coffee, and joined everyone at the table. Even dressed casually, Aaron exuded an executive’s aura. I immediately shifted into professional mode. I’d been emailing regular updates, but our sudden face-to-face meeting caught me off guard and I didn’t want to come across as anything less than the successful senior account executive he paid me to be.
My boss made pleasant chatter with everyone, finished his coffee and asked if I’d like to go for a drive. It was his way to talk in private, so we could get down to the business of why he’d come to Rumton.
“I had Lester Smoak checked out and everything looks fine,” he said, when we were in his Mercedes. I noticed a pack of Marlboro Lights in the console, but Aaron didn’t smoke cigarettes. Just cigars. He caught me looking at the Marlboros. “I brought a CPA with me to meet Lester and go over everything. In fact, Marty’s inside with Lester now.”
“Lester checked out? And, who’s Marty? Does he contract for the firm?”
“Lester is who he says he is, Jaxie. Just a businessman. Why he wants to drop money here, I don’t know. But he does, so we’ll take it.” We made a few turns and ended up in the residential area. People in their yards waved as we cruised by. “And Marty’s an old friend. He knows his way around a financial statement better than anybody I’ve ever known.”
We pulled into the driveway of a house I didn’t recognize. A white Lincoln sat in the driveway and I recognized it as Lester’s because the feathered circle hung from the rearview mirror. A “For Sale” sign rested against a trashcan in the open garage.
“Whose place is this?” I said.
“Lester Smoak’s. He just bought it from Joanne Singer, who moved up north to live with her daughter. She’s getting on up there in years and couldn’t take care of a house anymore.”
“Great,” I muttered. “Lester is a resident. Now that Riley is dead, he’ll be mayor soon.”
My boss killed the engine and turned to me. He looked drawn, as though he hadn’t gotten a good night’s sleep. “Jaxie, you’re one of the best we have at Shine, and we’re lucky to have you on board. But I’m afraid you might have gotten too personally involved with this project. Maybe I should have listened to your protests and sent someone else.”
I shook my head, disagreeing. “I didn’t want this assignment when I found out I actually had to come stay here. But things are different now. I see what’s at stake, and know I can do some good. I just need the townspeople to give me more time before they jump aboard with Lester’s vision and sell out.”
He got out of the car and I followed suit. Standing in the driveway, he sighed a deep breath, as though formulating his words. “Jaxie, the decision to give you more time in Rumton is your employer’s. Not the townspeople’s.”
“Right, of course.” My cheeks warmed. Where had this Ashton come from? His tone was intimidating, or off somehow. Or maybe I had become too personally invested. After all, Rumton was just another Shine Advertising client, even though they weren’t paying for our services. “So is the company going to let me finish what we’ve started here?” I asked.
Uncharacteristically, he did the sigh again. Aaron did not usually sigh, even when delivering less than favorable news. “The outcome wasn’t as you expected, but our revitalization plan is a success. It doesn’t matter how it happened. It just matters that we got results. And, an economic push from an eccentric investor qualifies as results.”
“But I—”
“You should be thrilled that the project is over. You can head back to Atlanta.”
“Over? As in concluded?”
“You’ve done a good job and were on the right track. But after Lester joined the picture, there is no need to keep pursuing a different revitalization plan. He’s legit. The townspeo
ple are happy. So yes, your assignment is over.”
“But I believe that the—”
“Shine will stay on in a pro bono capacity as a consultant. However, your work here is done. In fact, I’ve already got a new assignment for you.” He paused to make sure he had my attention and his look told me not to argue. “We landed the Georgia Association of Realtors account. You’re co-leading the team.”
A month ago, I’d have drooled at the opportunity. But right now, it was a hollow consolation prize. “Have you met him? I mean, spent any time with him?”
“Lester? Yes.”
“You don’t find anything odd about the man?” I said, noticing that my boss stared down at his feet. He never did that. He was so self-assured that people often thought him arrogant. “You think he is totally legitimate and has everyone’s best interest in mind?”
Aaron looked up, shrugged. “I don’t have feelings one way or the other about the man. But he did check out, and the folks around here are behind him. That’s all that matters. Let it drop.”
It would do no good to debate my boss. The decision for me to return to Atlanta had already been made. Resigned, I nodded my acceptance, knowing that I probably looked like a pouty child.
He smiled. “Well, then. Let’s go inside. I’d like you to share your Rumton experience with Lester and Marty before you go. They may have a few questions for you about the survey results and such.” He paused in thought, turned. “Before we go, though, why don’t you tell me about the sunken boat?”
My face went from warm to hot and I hoped my cheeks weren’t visibly red. I didn’t know why I’d kept it from the townspeople and my boss. Not that it made a difference because everyone had heard about it anyway. But I should have included it in my daily updates and we both knew it. “I was waiting to see what Avery’s guys found so I had all the facts before I updated you. But they didn’t find anything except the ship’s bell, engraved with her name, The Aldora. Oh, and a big anchor that is half buried in sand. It was too heavy to bring up. But they did get a few artifacts, which they put in Pop’s garage.”
“Nothing of value?”
I shook my head no. “Historical value, maybe. Monetary value, no.”
“Shame.”
“Justin checked to see if there was any information out there on the ship, but that was a dead end. Bottom line is that it’s an old boat of unknown origin. It sank and somehow washed up here.”
We went inside the house, where remarkably, Lester already looked at home. He would use the furnishings that came with the house, he said, until he got a chance to buy new furnishings. I met my boss’s accountant friend, whose occupation I’d have guessed as anything other than a bean counter. A cigarette hung from his mouth, unlit, and despite the gold Rolex watch and chunky diamond pinkie ring, he had rough edges, like someone who’d grown up on the street. His accent placed him from somewhere up north. Short and stocky, he looked like an ex-fighter. Or maybe an ex-con. Aaron told the men I’d be returning to Atlanta, but that Shine Advertising and PR was happy to share the results of our revitalization efforts. Not that there were any results. It was more like a briefing of what had been done so far.
They asked questions and, trying to conceal my irritation, I answered as succinctly as I could without elaborating. The third degree lasted half an hour, until Lester stood up to indicate the meeting was over.
“Well, we’ve got a funeral to get to,” he said. “Are you going, Aaron?”
“Of course. Marty will probably just want to rest up at my aunt’s place, though, since he’s driving us back tomorrow.” He grinned, nodding in his friend’s direction. “Lost the bet on who had to chauffer.”
Marty shot Aaron a dirty look.
“Miss Parker?” Lester said. “You going?”
“Yes, I’m going with Pop,” I replied. “But speaking of chauffeuring, I noticed the unusual artwork hanging from your rearview mirror, Lester. What exactly is it?”
His eyes narrowed in irritation for a split second before he smiled broadly. “Oh, that? It’s called a dream catcher. Just a little artifact my father gave me some time ago. So, see you all at the funeral, then. And Marty, nice to meet you. I’m sure we’ll talk again.”
Marty grinned and I caught a flash of silent communication between him and Lester. I got the distinct feeling that the two men had met before today. But then, I questioned everything Lester said.
Aaron drove Marty to Mad Millie’s and dropped me at Pop’s before heading to the church by himself.
Pop’s face looked worn and sadness had driven the usual sparkle from his green eye. He played with Flush while he waited for me to change clothes. When I returned, Lester sat in the living room with Pop. Seemingly enamored with Bandit, he fed her pieces of a pretzel stick and laughed each time she snatched the food from him.
“Hello, again,” I said, annoyed that Lester was intruding on my time with Pop. It was Friday and I only had one more day in Rumton. Saturday marked the end of my small town adventure and a failed assignment, at least in my mind. Sunday, I’d drive back to Atlanta and Monday, I’d be dressed in my usual attire, back in my usual office. “I thought you were going directly to the funeral, Lester.”
“Miss Parker,” he answered in greeting. “I was passing by on my way to the church and figured I should stop by to offer condolences in person. After all, Pop and the mayor were the best of friends.”
Neither Pop or I had anything to say to that, and taking his cue, Lester left. I hugged Pop and together, we picked up Millie before heading to the church to witness Riley’s casket being lowered into the ground at the small graveyard.
It was a dignified affair that, by the looks of it, every single person in Rumton attended. Luckily the preacher had a loud voice, which carried through a still afternoon to reach the ears of a few hundred people. When it was over, most everyone stayed to talk about Riley and share stories. A steady line of folks spoke with Riley’s son and wife, who looked uncomfortably stiff and out of place, as though they couldn’t wait to get on a plane back to Pennsylvania. When the townspeople finished with the son, they all said a few words to Pop while Millie stood possessively by his side. It was a beautiful outpouring of support and made me almost like Riley. I would miss him, too, a little. And when I left the following day, I’d miss Pop a lot. A hollow feeling unsettled my stomach.
Chapter 16
The beggar sat quietly, wrapped in a jacket even though it was the first week of September and a hot day in downtown Atlanta. At his feet, a small cardboard box held some coins and a few crinkled dollar bills. As we walked by, I dropped in a five.
“What are you doing?” Sheila said. “We never give money to homeless people. You know it just goes to buy meth or booze!”
It was lunchtime and we were on our way to eat at Max Lager’s on Peachtree Street. “Maybe not,” I said. “Maybe he’s hungry and needs the money to buy a meal.”
“Jax, what’s got into you? I practically had to drag you to the salon yesterday. And then you didn’t want to hit Nordstrom’s fall shoe sale!”
“I’m not in the mood to shop. And anyway, I’ve got all the shoes I need. I have shoes I don’t even wear.”
“You can never have too many shoes!” she said, eyeing me. “You’re acting weird around Justin, you won’t shop, and now, you’re giving money to a street person. I just hope you snap out of it before your welcome back party tonight.”
“I’m not really up for a party. Maybe we should call it off.”
Sheila stopped walking, blocking the foot traffic behind us. “Oh. My. God. Jaxie Parker would never say she’s not up for a party. Aliens abducted my best friend and invaded her body!”
Hands on my hips, I frowned at her.
She grabbed my shoulders, shook me, and shouted up to the tall buildings. “What have you done with Jaxie? Where is my friend? You give her back right now, or I’ll…; I’ll tell the Enquirer. The government will quarantine her body and they’ll dissect her, piece by pi
ece, and your cover will be blown!”
Most people walked by us, ignoring the show, but a few stopped to watch. Undeterred, Sheila continued to shout at imaginary aliens until I burst out laughing. “Okay, you’re right. The party will be fun, even though it’s a day late.”
We continued on to the restaurant. “Hey, you just got back yesterday and besides, nobody knew you were done in Rumson until you showed up at the office yesterday morning.”
“Rumton,” I corrected. “And, why didn’t you guys know I was coming back? Aaron drove in to tell me the assignment was over.”
She shrugged. “Why would he drive seven hours to tell you that? He could have just called you.”
I had wondered the same thing. “He wanted to bring his CPA friend to meet with the investor guy. And he has an aunt there. Mad Millie. So I’m sure he wanted to visit her, too.”
“Whatever.” Sheila shrugged again. Back to more important things. What are you wearing to the party? And speaking of tonight, Justin said he might stop by. Acted all nonchalant and shit. What’s up with that? Did something happen in Rumsley?”
“Rumton. Not really.”
We arrived at Max Lager’s and slid into an open booth. Sheila couldn’t stop grinning, knowing I had something juicy to share. We ordered diet sodas and decided to split a wood-fired veggie pizza. Her grin grew bigger. “Well? Spill it!”
“There’s not much to tell.”
She stared at me, eyelids closed to near slits, not buying it.
“I hung out with him a little, and it was really weird seeing him away from the office. In shorts. He’s actually got pretty nice legs.”
Our drinks arrived and Sheila sipped hers through a straw. “Uh huh…;”
“And I had fun with him. Go figure.”
“I am figuring! Give me the rest, girlfriend.”
“And then we went out to a little club with Pop and Avery, and I drank too much rum, and then we came back and went for a walk. And I kissed him, or maybe he kissed me. I’m not sure.”
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