A Room with a Brew

by Joyce Tremel

  While the zip file downloaded and opened, I made a cup of coffee with my new machine. I only made coffee at home a few days a week, so when my old four-cup coffeemaker bit the dust, I opted for a single-serve one. I was still getting used to it, but so far I liked getting an almost instantaneous cup of java. I added my usual milk and sugar and sat down at the kitchen counter.

  There were fifty photos in all. I flipped through them quickly then went back to the beginning to study them closely. A dozen of them featured Victoria—smiling, posing beside the painting, hanging on Philip’s arm, and a few with local celebrities. She definitely loved the limelight. I studied the background in her photos, but they were so focused on her that everything else was completely blurred.

  I did find Felix in a few more photos. He was in the midst of a crowd in all but one. In that one, he was bent over with his face only a few inches from the painting. Other than that, nothing stood out to me. If I hadn’t known so much about him from Candy, I wouldn’t think anything of seeing him there, other than he was an art lover. And maybe that’s all it was. Just because he’d been a spy didn’t mean he couldn’t be a patron of the arts. He was a musician, after all. Art and music kind of went together.

  By the time I’d finished going through the photos, it was almost seven thirty—too late to make the eight o’clock Mass at the local church. But I could make the nine at Most Holy Name. I’d not only make my weekly obligation, I’d make my brother Sean very happy.

  • • •

  As it turned out, a visiting priest had the nine o’clock Mass so I wouldn’t get to see my oldest brother until that afternoon. On the way back home, I grabbed a breakfast sandwich from a drive-thru. I made another cup of coffee, and while I ate, I looked up Paisley’s number. I gave the last bit of my sandwich to Hops, then made the call.

  She answered on the third ring. I identified myself and asked her if she had a minute.

  “Of course I do,” she said. “I’m glad you called. I wanted to thank you for being so helpful last night. And so friendly. I don’t have many friends.”

  “I find that hard to believe.”

  “Well, it’s true.”

  I launched into my request. “I was wondering if you had some free time today or tomorrow.” I expected her to ask me why but she didn’t.

  “I do,” she said. “I would love to get together with you. How about tomorrow morning? We could do breakfast.”

  “Perfect.” I suggested the same Eat’n Park where Jake and I had gone. It wouldn’t be far for either of us.

  “Wonderful!”

  “Do you mind if my friend Candy comes, too?”

  “Not at all. This will be so much fun!”

  I felt a little guilty that she had gotten the wrong impression but it was too late to fix it now. We made arrangements to meet at nine and said good-bye. Hopefully Candy could make that work.

  Candy was my next call. I told her about Paisley and asked if she’d be able to make it for breakfast.

  “I should be able to get away,” she said. “The morning rush should be just about over, and Mary Louise can handle it.”

  I told her about the pictures Mom had forwarded.

  “Are you sure it was him?” she asked.

  “Yes. It was definitely Felix. I’ll bring my laptop this afternoon and you can see for yourself.”

  “Now that I think about it,” Candy said, “it wasn’t one of his official duties, but Josef was very interested in antiquities and art. He may have mentioned once that his field of study had been in that area.”

  “That explains his interest in the Vermeer.”

  “I remember him yelling at a man because a painting was hanging upside down. I didn’t blame the guy. It was one of those modern things, and to me it looked the same no matter which way you turned it.”

  After that, I talked briefly with Jake and he said he’d meet me at my parents’ house later. I had some time yet, so I straightened up the apartment a bit and threw a load of wash in. One of the best things about this place was that there was no communal laundry room. I had my very own stacked washer and dryer hidden away in a closet beside the bathroom. Now all I had to do was remember to put the wash in the dryer when I got home later.

  I packed up Hops and her belongings, grabbed my laptop, and headed out. We made a quick stop at the brew house to fill a few growlers and grab Fran’s photo, then it was on to Mom and Dad’s.

  • • •

  I was the first family member to arrive, which meant I would get to spend some quality time with my mom. At least that’s what I thought until I saw the backyard. It was a veritable cop convention. Dad was on the patio with his old partner Rich Bailey, who had retired a few months ago, Mitch Raines, and the biggest surprise of all—Vincent Falk. “What’s up with that?” I asked Mom as I set the growlers on the kitchen counter on my second trip into the house. I’d brought Hops and my laptop in first, then went out to my car to retrieve three growlers.

  “I’m not quite sure. Rich was in town and stopped by, and before I knew it, the other two were here. I suppose either your dad or Rich let them know.”

  “I hope I brought enough beer.”

  Mom smiled. “It will have to be enough. Why don’t you take it out and put it in the cooler.”

  I carried the growlers out to the patio. “I guess you guys were waiting for these.”

  Rich stood and opened the cooler. “You raised this girl right, Sean.”

  The others laughed—even Vince. That was something that would be hard to get used to. I gave Dad a hug, and greeted Mitch and Vince. I handed Rich a brown ale and a lager to put in the cooler, then opened the hefeweizen. Dad had glasses ready, so I poured and he passed them around.

  Mitch tasted the beer. “You made this, Max? It’s really good.”

  “Don’t sound so surprised,” I said with a smile.

  “I didn’t mean it that way,” he said. “I tried homebrewing a couple times and the results were . . . well . . . less than satisfactory. It’s hard work.”

  “Nice save,” Vince said.

  I couldn’t resist. I had to say it. “Have you switched bodies with someone with a personality?”

  Mitch snorted and Rich said, “Guess she told you.” Dad just raised an eyebrow.

  Vince laughed. He actually laughed. “Touché, Miss O’Hara.”

  “You know you can call me Max.”

  “I’ll try to remember that.”

  I went inside to see if Mom needed help, and she sent me back out with chips and pretzels. I noticed Mitch was on the other side of the yard checking out Dad’s grill. I put the snacks down on the glass-topped table and headed that way. “Mind if I ask you a few questions?”

  “Ask away,” he said. “I’ll answer them if I can.”

  No sense beating around the bush. “How is the investigation going?”

  He grinned. “What investigation might that be? I’m working on several.”

  “Very funny. You know which one.”

  “There’s nothing new,” he said. “We haven’t ruled anything out, but there haven’t been any new leads. Nothing has panned out yet. We’ve interviewed friends, family, you name it. We’re starting to lean toward a break-in that went wrong.”

  “Seriously?” I was disappointed and I guess it showed on my face.

  “I’m sorry I don’t have better news,” Mitch said.

  I was about to tell him that I didn’t believe for one minute that Doodle had been killed because he’d been at the wrong place at the wrong time, when Mike came outside carrying a football. Jake and Sean were right behind him. Our conversation was over. The Sunday game was about to begin.

  • • •

  I didn’t get to talk to Mitch again. He left right after the football game. Dad and Rich didn’t play, choosing to sit and catch up before Rich went back
to North Carolina. Candy and Tommy arrived just as the game ended.

  “Don’t tell me I missed it,” Candy said. “I even brought my Terrible Towel.” She swirled the gold towel like any hardcore Steelers fan would.

  Jake reached for it. “I’m a little sweaty. Can I borrow that?”

  Candy whipped it behind her back. “Don’t even think about it.”

  I noticed Vince stayed far away from my friend. He’d been subject to one of her bear hugs in the past, and I think he was still afraid of her. I caught his eye and smiled. I introduced Tommy to everyone, and he soon seemed right at home.

  It wasn’t until after dinner that I had a chance to show the photos to Candy. My sister-in-law Kate was helping Mom clean up. They assured me they didn’t need my help so Candy and I went to the living room, where my nieces were watching a Disney movie with Hops. Technically, Hops was sleeping, but Fiona, who had just turned three years old, insisted the cat loved the movie.

  Candy and I sat on the couch, and I opened the laptop and switched it on. Fiona’s older sister, Maire, who would be five in December, alternated her gaze between the TV and Candy. After a minute or so, she got up off the floor, came over to the couch, and stared at Candy.

  “Do you need something, Maire?” I asked.

  Instead of answering me, she said to Candy, “Are you here to see if we’re being good?”

  I couldn’t help smiling. I knew where this was going.

  “Why would you ask that?” Candy said.

  “When we were at Aunt Max’s restaurant for that big party, Daddy said we had to be good so you could tell Santa.”

  Candy glanced over at me and raised both eyebrows.

  She took both of Maire’s hands in hers. “Well, if your daddy said that, it must be true. It seems to me you are both very good girls. I’ll be sure to let Santa know. And I’ll be sure to tell your daddy, too.”

  I stifled a laugh. Mike was in big trouble.

  Candy’s remarks seemed to put Maire at ease, and she went back to her seat on the floor.

  “Your brother needs a good talking to,” Candy said.

  I shrugged. “You know Mike.”

  “I have a mind to tell those girls Santa will bring them lots and lots and lots of toys. And maybe a couple of those expensive American Girl dolls.”

  “You wouldn’t!”

  “Try me.”

  “Why don’t we look at these instead?” I opened the photo file and moved my laptop to where we both could see it. The first one was a picture of Jake and me.

  She leaned closer. “I like that! You should get that enlarged. And that one of you and your parents.” She scrolled through more. “It looks like it was quite an event.” She paused briefly on a couple of Victoria’s photos but didn’t comment. When she reached the one with Felix standing by the door at the back of the crowd, I pointed it out. She asked if I could make it bigger.

  I clicked the enlarge button twice. “How’s that?”

  “Much better. That does look like Josef.” She went to the next photo, which was the one where he was peering at the painting. “That’s definitely him.” She drummed her fingernails on her leg—a sure sign she was thinking. “Was this event open to the public, or by invitation only?”

  “I think it was open, but I’m sure certain people like the politicians received invitations. Why?”

  “If it was by invitation only, it would be easy to find out exactly why Josef was there.”

  “I can ask Philip.”

  Sean entered the living room just then. “There you are,” he said. “I was wondering where you got to.”

  “I was showing Candy the photos from the gallery opening last night.”

  He sat down on the other side of me. “Can I see them? Mom said it was a great evening.”

  “Sure,” I said. “But I have something else to show you first.”

  Candy got up. “I’m going to see what trouble Tommy has gotten into.” On her way out of the room, she patted my nieces on their heads and whispered something to them that left them beaming. Mike was definitely in for it.

  I reached into my bag on the floor and pulled out the framed photo Fran had given me. “You might like this.” I passed it to Sean.

  He smiled. “This is great! I know they used to bless the barrels, but I didn’t realize they did any at my church. Where did you get this?”

  He knew about the beer museum and he’d met Fran before. I told him she’d given it to me. “I’m going to hang it in the pub somewhere.”

  “And I’ll be sure to send all my parishioners in to see it,” Sean said.

  “Good idea.” I moved the laptop over so Sean could see and went back to the first photo.

  “Wow,” he said. “You clean up pretty well, Maxie.”

  “Thanks. I think.” We went through the pictures, and when we got to the one with Felix looking at the painting, he stopped me.

  “Hey, I know that guy.” Sean pointed to the photo.

  “Him? Are you sure?” I asked.

  “I’m positive. That’s Felix Holt.”

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  “You know Felix?” I asked. I couldn’t imagine how that was possible.

  “Not well, but I’ve talked with him several times,” Sean said. “He comes into the chapel a lot.” He meant Saint Anthony’s Chapel, which was part of Holy Name parish. “He’s fascinated by the relics and he’s particularly fond of the Stations.” The chapel not only had the most relics of saints anywhere outside the Vatican, it contained life-size, hand-carved Stations of the Cross.

  “I can’t believe it. I can’t believe you’ve actually talked to him.”

  Sean laughed. “Why not? I do get to talk to people on occasion.”

  “I know that.”

  “How do you know Felix Holt?” Sean asked.

  “It’s a long story.” I put my laptop down and grabbed his hand. “Come with me. Candy needs to hear this.” I practically dragged him out of the room.

  “Do you want to tell me what’s going on?” Sean asked as we headed down the hall and through the kitchen. “I’m really confused.”

  “I’ll tell you in a minute.” We’d reached the door to the patio by this time. Candy and Tommy were standing near Jake. She had her purse over her arm and it looked like she and Tommy were getting ready to leave. All three saw me and I motioned for them to come into the kitchen.

  “What’s going on?” Jake asked. “Is something wrong?”

  “Everything’s fine, but you’re not going to believe this.” I told them what Sean had just revealed.

  Tommy said to Sean, “And he told you his name was Felix Holt?”

  Sean nodded. “Why is everyone so interested in this guy?”

  Candy looked at me. “You didn’t tell him?”

  “I figured it wasn’t up to me. It’s your story.”

  She patted Sean on the back. “Well then, you’d better have a seat. This could take a while.”

  • • •

  The next morning at the brewery, I did my usual check of the gauges on the tanks, then sterilized barrels to keg the Oktoberfest beer. I thought about the Felix Holt situation while I worked. I still couldn’t get over the fact that Sean knew him. It had taken Candy a good half hour to tell Sean about how she and Tommy knew Felix. If my brother had been shocked, he hadn’t shown it, but I imagine in his line of work, he’d heard just about everything. He told Candy he’d pray for a good resolution for all concerned. I think she appreciated that.

  At eight thirty, Candy and I got in my car and headed to Eat’n Park to meet Paisley Dowdy. I hoped she’d be able to shed a little light on some things. We were a few minutes early so we waited inside near the bakery case for Paisley. I tried not to drool at the Oreo Cream Pie staring me right in my face. I turned my back so I wouldn’t be tempted to order a whol
e pie for breakfast.

  Paisley arrived right on time. She smiled widely when she saw us. “I am so happy we could do this,” she said. “I don’t get out to breakfast very often. This will be so much fun!” She clapped her hands together.

  Candy glanced at me and raised an eyebrow. She’d only met Paisley briefly at Hartwood Acres so this was the first time my friend had gotten the full effect. When the hostess led us to our seats, Paisley was ahead of us. Candy whispered to me, “If she starts skipping and singing to forest animals, I’m out of here.”

  I grinned. “What if she has a fairy godmother? Everyone could use one of those.”

  We sat across from Paisley, who chattered the whole time she was reading the menu. Candy nudged me with her knee at least a half-dozen times. Paisley finally decided to order the Waffle Smile, which was exactly what it sounded like—a waffle with a smiley face on one side of the waffle. I was more conservative and ordered a ham and cheese omelet with toast and home fries, and Candy opted for the breakfast burritos.

  Before I even had a chance to figure out where to begin with the questions I had for Paisley, she said, “My brother loved burritos. Actually he loved any kind of spicy food. If he ordered eggs like you did Max, he’d put hot sauce all over them. Rhonda likes Italian food, but her husband—he’s dead now—he liked sweets like I do.” She paused to sip her tea.

  That answered one of my unasked questions—who was Roy Williams and what happened to him? “I didn’t realize your sister had been married,” I said.

  “Oh yes. Roy. I liked him a lot. Rhonda thought he was boring.”

  “Why was that?”

  She shrugged. “I’m not really sure. It had something to do with Walter. They had a big fight about him and then Roy moved out.”