Devon’s smile drooped, and he shrugged. “Can’t blame a guy for trying.” A moment later, his cheerful attitude was back. “So, late night? What happened?”
Just what he suspected. Devon’s visit did have something to do with the midnight callout to Deputy Cunningham. Without a doubt, Devon had discovered what happened and was fishing for juicy news. “I’ve been trying to get that estimate for a week. I’d rather stay focused on the B&B. My head is killing me.”
“Oh.” Devon glanced away for a moment and grimaced. “I’m sorry if I seemed pushy.”
Now he’d offended his handyman. This was not starting off to be a good day. Rick shook his head and lowered his voice, determined to repair any damage he might have done. “As much as I’d like to, I can’t really discuss last night. You know how it is, ongoing investigation. That sort of thing.”
It took a few seconds, but Devon’s eyes soon lit up. “Oh, you’re working with the law. That’s different. Well, let’s stick to business in that case. The estimate is somewhere between five hundred and twenty-five hundred.” He shrugged and continued. “Sorry I can’t be more specific. The reason for such a wide range is this is either a really straightforward job or a very tricky one. And we won’t know until I get into it. Here, look at this.”
Rick set down his coffee and did his best to focus as Devon held out his phone and scrolled through a few photos.
“This is the pulley system.” Devon flicked his index finger to the left. “This is the elevator shaft. See that construction? It’s antiquated. Captain Jack ignored it. I can’t count the number of times I told him it needed maintenance, but he would never put out the money. It looks like you’re the guy who’s stuck with the repairs.”
“Wait. We were talking about the back stairs. How does the dumbwaiter fit into this?”
“That’s what I was showing you.” Devon scrolled back one photo. “The stairs are on the other side of this wall. The minute I cut into it, this cross member could be compromised. The bottom line is, doing anything on those stairs will mean we could be messing with the shaft and its supports. It’s all original materials, so the wood is dry and brittle.”
Rick sighed as the weight of the morning crushed his spirit. “This is that touch one thing and something else breaks problem, isn’t it?”
“It’s hundred-year-old construction. You’re lucky this place isn’t on the historic register. It would cost ten times as much to change a lightbulb. Don’t be surprised if we surface a host of other problems. There’s no telling what will happen when I open everything up.”
Just like Gordon’s murder. One thing led to another. Rick stared at the screen on Devon’s phone, unable to avert his eyes from the sight of the ancient equipment. Could he ever catch a break? Would Captain Jack’s “grand remodel” ever stop haunting him?
“This is plain ugly, Devon.”
“That’s nothing. There’s the kids to consider.”
“Kids? What—oh, God no. Don’t tell me there was an accident.”
“Nope.” Devon grinned from ear-to-ear, then averted his gaze. When he looked back at Rick, he sighed and continued. “First off, nobody ever got trapped, but me and every kid who was raised in Seaside Cove took at least one ride in it.”
“Why would anybody in their right mind want to…” His voice trailed off as an image of Alex and Robbie popped into his head. Oh, no, they were alone. “My daughter and a friend are upstairs. I should check on them.”
“You might be better off keeping this quiet for now.”
“Is it really that much of a thrill ride?”
Devon snickered. “There aren’t a lot of exciting things to do in Seaside Cove.”
“I can’t believe this.”
No, he could. His daughter was fearless. And Robbie would do anything she asked him to. She loved climbing the old oak in the side yard. And if she learned about this—who’s to say she hadn’t—she’d be first in line for a ride.
“Okay, it’s a safety hazard,” he said. “We need to do something to seal it up.”
Devon cleared his throat. “Right. It’s not safe at all these days. I remember Captain Jack chewing my rear end on a bunch of—uh, when I took my ride.”
“I think you left off the plural.”
“Right. Rides. He was pretty doggone upset at the time. The shaft and equipment were safe in those days. Back then the place was in tiptop condition.” Devon winked. “I always thought Captain Jack just liked being ornery.”
Didn’t that sound exactly like Captain Jack? “Let’s keep this on the QT. Okay?”
“No worries, Rick. She’s not going to hear about it from me.”
The butler door swung open and Marquetta burst in carrying a tray with the empty water pitcher and a few dirty glasses. She asked, “Hear about what?”
“The dumbwaiter,” Devon said.
“Oh my God,” Marquetta laughed. “That was the most fun I’ve ever had in my life! I can’t count how many times Captain Jack let me ride that when I was little.”
Rick stared at her. So did Devon.
“What?” Marquetta shrugged, then walked across the room to the sink. She set down the tray, turned to face the two men and said, “What a couple of old grumps.”
Chapter 20
ALEX
“I thought we were gonna get busted, but Marquetta’s got everything under control. Let’s go.” I wave for Robbie to follow me.
“Awesome!” We fist bump as we climb the stairs, then he whispers to me. “I never spied before.”
Me neither. We pass a couple more guests on the way up. It’s the two men we heard when we were downstairs. “Good morning, Mr. Luhan. Good morning, Mr. Joshua.”
They both kinda grunt and ignore us.
At the top landing, Robbie tugs on my T-shirt sleeve. “They’re really nasty, aren’t they?”
“Awful.” One last peek down the stairs. It’s quiet. And Marquetta’s keeping the guests under control. She’s so strong. It makes me sad cause I’m doing something she won’t like. But I gotta do this to help Daddy.
Now, Robbie’s looking kinda queasy, too. Like he’s chickening out. I grab his hand again. “Come on. I wanna check out Miss Kelley’s room first.”
“Wait. Are you sure about this, Alex? Isn’t it against the law to go busting into people’s rooms? Could we go to jail if we get caught?”
His blue eyes make me go all mushy inside. I haven’t told Robbie yet, but we’re gonna get married when we grow up.
“Nah, my dad owns the B&B.” I totally stretch the truth to calm Robbie down. “We can go into anybody’s room whenever we want. We just gotta tell them we’re coming in. That’s why we keep the master key downstairs. In case we need it. The key gives us permission to go into any room.”
“Whoa…any of them?”
“Well, not my dad’s office cause he’s got a special key. But any of the guest rooms are cool. C’mon, let’s get into Miss Kelley’s. Maybe we can prove who killed Mr. Gordon.”
I stuff the key into my jeans and grab Robbie’s hand. He tags along behind me. When we get to the Quarter Deck room, Robbie steps forward.
“Lemme do it.” He holds his hand out.
“We gotta knock first.”
He glances at where we were a minute ago. “Isn’t she the lady who passed us on her way downstairs?”
“It’s the rule, Robbie.”
He scrunches up his face and shrugs. “Okay.” Then, he knocks.
Miss Kelley doesn’t answer.
Robbie stares at me. “Now what?”
I hold out the key for him to take, but I’m the one who stole it, and I don’t want him getting blamed for this. All of a sudden, I think I might chicken out. My stomach’s queasy. If we don’t do something fast, we’re gonna get caught cause Daddy and Marquetta are coming. I can hear them talking. They must be near the top of the stairs and just around the corner. If they see us—I shove the key in the lock and twist.
Holy cow. It worked.
“Alex,” Robbie hisses. “Your dad’s coming.”
I know. I know! My heart is racing. We’re gonna be in so much trouble for this. But I gotta help Daddy. The voices are almost at the corner.
I shove the door open. Pull Robbie in. Shut the door.
We stand there, staring at each other. Is Robbie’s heart racing like mine? His face is all splotchy.
“That was awesome,” he whispers.
He’s breathless. Me, too. I can barely speak. “We made it.”
“That was close.” Robbie’s mouth is hanging open. Then he starts to smile. “We totally did it.” He looks around the room and his jaw drops again. “Alex, she’s, like, a total neat freak. How are we gonna find anything in here?”
“She must be hiding it.”
“What?”
He’s right. I got no idea what we’re looking for, and she put all her stuff away. None of the stuff I expected. “This sucks.” The only thing I see is an envelope on the nightstand. It’s not sealed. My heart is pounding a million miles a minute. This is a major rush.
“Should we read it?” Robbie asks.
“Yeah, we should read it.”
“Yeah.” Robbie doesn’t sound too sure either.
My fingers are shaking so bad when I pick up the envelope that I almost drop it. “It smells like a lady’s perfume.”
Robbie sniffs and wrinkles his nose. “It stinks.”
“It’s perfume, Robbie.” Boys. “Holy cow, it’s a love letter.”
My darling,
I am so sorry for the way I’ve been acting. I was jealous of your relationship with Reese and how close you two have become. My trust in you is unequivocal.
Yours always,
Monica
“What’s that mean, Alex?”
“Un-equiv…I don’t know.”
“It’s just mushy stuff. Let’s go.”
I get the note in the envelope and put it back where we found it. Robbie’s already at the door. He looks scared.
“What if there’s somebody in the hall?”
Oh, man, I never thought about the getaway. “We’ll have to go for it.”
I open the door real slow and Robbie sticks his head out. When he turns around, he says, “We’re in the clear.”
“Awesome. We got time for one more.”
Robbie’s eyes are so big they might pop out of his head. “I dunno, Alex. I’m kinda worried.”
“We can’t chicken out now, Robbie. We gotta help my dad. Let’s check Mr. Santiago’s room. He’s not very nice, either.”
Entering the room is easier this time and when we’re in we go straight to the desk on the far wall. “Score!” We do another high five.
Mr. Santiago’s not a neat person at all. He leaves his stuff laying around. “Look at that, Robbie! It’s a notebook.”
“Whoa…awesome. What do you think it’s for?”
“It’s probably his journal. Marquetta says journals are for your innermost thoughts.”
“Inner what? You mean he might confess in here?”
I didn’t think of that. Me and Robbie start looking through the pages. “This is weird. It’s not like mi—a regular journal.” Robbie doesn’t know I keep one. I’m not sure I want to tell him. “He doesn’t write in here. These are just news clippings and pictures.”
“Totally weird,” Robbie says. “It’s kinda like the album my mom used to keep.”
He sounds really sad when he says that. So sad I’m not sure if I can ask what he means. Instead, I finger the journal. “Let’s see how far back it goes.”
We start flipping pages and it doesn’t take long to get to the beginning. Look, it’s a news story and a photo. “This is from, like, three years ago.” I point at the men in the picture. “That’s Mr. Santiago. And he’s with Mr. Gordon.”
“The dead guy? Alex, why’s the dead guy got an X through his face?”
“I dunno. This says Mr. Gordon found some treasure with Mr. Santiago’s help.” A couple more pages and we see another one. “He really had a thing about Mr. Gordon.”
“There’s one more.”
“Wow. He must have, like, at least ten of these. We could…” I stop talking and grip Robbie’s arm.
The muffled voice outside calls me again. “Alex? Where are you?”
Robbie starts to answer, but I cover his mouth with my hand. “Shhh.”
“It’s Marquetta!” I whisper. “She’s looking for us.” Oh, man, this is so not good.
Her voice gets louder. “Alex? Robbie? Are you up here?”
Poor Robbie looks like he’s gonna pee his pants. Me, too. I’m gonna be grounded for life if Marquetta finds out what we’re up to.
“She’ll go downstairs if we don’t answer. We’ll meet her in the lobby. It’s cool.”
A few seconds later, Marquetta’s gone and I can’t hear any sounds in the hallway. Robbie checks. The hallway’s empty. We get the door closed and run to the stairs. Marquetta’s at the bottom. She must hear us cause she turns around.
“Alex?” She gets that scrunchy look on her face. “Where have you been? I’ve been looking all over for you.”
“We were playing hide-and-seek.” I feel awful lying to her, but she’ll be super mad if she finds out what we did.
She’s looking at me like she doesn’t believe me. Her eyes dart over at Robbie, then back to me. It’s like she can see right through me. I’m totally gonna lose it if she keeps staring at me.
“Well, it’s time for breakfast and a little baking. In the kitchen, you two.”
Me and Robbie glance at each other. We do a quick high five behind Marquetta’s back. She stops, turns, and looks at us again. Then, she turns away and pushes through the butler door.
Holy cow. That was close.
Chapter 21
RICK
Marquetta sliced a loaf of zucchini bread onto a serving platter, then pulled a pitcher of orange juice from the refrigerator. She placed both on a tray and headed for the butler door. She backed through the door with the tray balanced in her hands. “This won’t take long.”
“I can’t believe Captain Jack let her ride the dumbwaiter,” Devon grumbled.
“There was a very unusual relationship between her and my grandfather.”
Devon gazed off to one side for a few moments. How was this even possible? His handyman had nothing to say? He always had something. “Come on, you know you want to tell me.”
There was a heavy sigh, and Devon’s normally cheery smile dissolved. He said, “There’s a story there, but it’s not mine to tell. Let’s talk about your repairs.”
“They come at a really bad time.”
“I know.” The handyman nodded and gazed around the room. “Captain Jack’s big remodel was mostly cosmetic. He ignored the bones. It’s been many a year since the B&B was in tip-top condition. The bottom line is he let the infrastructure maintenance slide to help finance the facelift. The old girl needs some TLC.”
“Can we secure the dumbwaiter for now? Maybe seal it off? What would that cost?”
“Depends on how bad you want the walls to look. If we start talking about finish work, you might as well put the money into repairs.”
Raucous laughter came from the dining room, bringing with it a sense of insecurity. What if someone burst in? Rick didn’t want any interruptions. He glanced at Devon. “For once, they’re not fighting. Let’s step outside.”
“Great idea.”
Devon grinned at Rick like a little boy caught with his hand in a cookie jar as he refilled his mug. They went out to the patio and Devon headed straight for one of the Adirondack chairs. Rick had no intention of spending the morning sitting around exchanging idle gossip, but something Devon said had him intrigued. He considered how to proceed.
“Before you get too comfortable, I only have a few minutes. This is our busiest time of the day and I can’t put all the work on Marquetta. And something tells me you didn’t come here just to deliver the quote. I can’
t really talk much, so…”
Devon raised a bear-paw like hand. “You’re right on all counts, but this is something you need to know. Rumor has it Marquetta’s leaving.”
“What?” Rick’s jaw dropped. “Where did that come from? When?”
“So it’s not true?”
Rick’s heart pounded. Was that why she’d been so upset this morning? Should he ask her? What if it was just another rumor? “Tell me where you heard that. It’s not true. Not at all.”
“Okay, sounds like the rumor mill got the old wires crossed. Glad to know.” He grinned and made a clicking sound. “I like to clear these kinds of things up to quell the fires. You understand, right?”
What he understood was Devon mainlined gossip. In fact, it appeared Seaside Cove was loaded with juicy-news junkies. The bigger problem was how would he ever find a handyman who wasn’t a gossip? Firing Devon and bringing in someone from San Ladron, which was a much larger city and nearly an hour’s drive, would be tantamount to cutting himself off from the local business community. Nope. Not even a remote option. “No worries, Devon,” Rick lied. “I get it.”
“Can I ask you one more question?”
Why not? Rick still had some of his own. Especially now that he’d found out the rumor about Marquetta leaving. “Sure.”
“I understand you called Adam out in the middle of the night to arrest Mr. Richardson.”
“That just happened a few hours ago.” Rick narrowed his eyes and stared at Devon until he looked away. He suppressed the desire to express his suspicions about the real reason for this visit, but stopped himself. Instead, he feigned surprise. “It’s hard to believe you heard about it already.”
Devon laughed nervously. “We have an efficient system here in Seaside Cove.” He glanced up with a sheepish smile. “So what really happened?”
Now Rick really was trapped. Not telling the whole story would only make things worse. The gossip junkies would start passing around the news and he would become part of the problem. If he refused to answer altogether, Devon might stonewall him when it was time for Rick to ask his own questions.
“I’m really limited by what I can discuss. I’m sure you understand. But, there was no arrest. There was never any intention of having him arrested. Mr. Richardson told us he was retrieving his monopod after he took some sunset photos. Because it was near the spot where Mr. Gordon died, I thought it best if Adam took it in as evidence.”
A Treasure to Die For (A Seaside Cove Bed & Breakfast Mystery Book 1) Page 7