On the Lamb

by Tina Kashian

  When Anthony needed someone to run the bicycle shop, Michael had stepped up to help with the family business. It was one of the things Lucy had in common with Michael, other than coming from ethnic families who could be overbearing at times. As business neighbors, they’d formed a unique friendship.

  An extra helmet with a skull and crossbones painted on its sides hung by its strap on the Harley’s handlebars. Michael helped Lucy secure the helmet’s strap beneath her chin. “Pumpkin and Craig will be here any minute.”

  Michael sat on the motorcycle, and Lucy climbed on the back of his bike just as two motorcycles pulled into the driveway and stopped beside them.

  “Hey, Lucy! Good to see you again.” Pumpkin’s long hair stuck out from the back of his helmet. He wore a T-shirt, and an eagle tattoo was visible on his large biceps.

  Craig sat tall on his motorcycle. “Ready to ride?”

  In response, Michael’s bike roared to life. Lucy’s pulse leaped with excitement as the three Harleys drove out of the parking lot and down Ocean Avenue.

  Soon the loud roar of dozens of motorcycles pierced the crisp morning air as they joined a long line of riders of men and women. The ride was a tradition of the Bikers on the Beach Festival. A woman with a bullhorn stood behind a table with a banner that read, “Donations for Veterans.” Dotting the street were food trucks and vendors selling a range of items, T-shirts, sweatshirts, leather vests and jackets, and other apparel, as well as banners and handheld American flags. The food trucks offered egg, bacon, and cheese sandwiches; croissants, bagels, and pastries to satisfy the morning riders and spectators.

  The bullhorn crackled. “We’re only a thousand short of our ten-thousand-dollar target. Don’t wait to donate!”

  “My father said he’d donate a grand,” Michael said.

  “Wow! That’s generous,” Lucy said.

  Michael’s leather jacket creaked as he shrugged his shoulders. “He served in Vietnam.”

  “I didn’t know.” Lucy had never suspected that Mr. Citteroni had served in the military. He’d never mentioned it.

  “He doesn’t talk about it, but I know it weighs heavily on him. He lost good friends.” The helmet blocked her view and she couldn’t see Michael’s expression clearly, but the tone of his voice was telling. It was the only time he’d spoken of his father in a sympathetic voice.

  She’d never look at Mr. Citteroni the same way again.

  “My parents donated, too.” Lucy didn’t know why she felt compelled to offer this, but she felt grateful for all those who served in the military, past and present. She’d known the motorcycle riders collected donations for veterans, but she’d always thought they just wanted a reason to ride their loud motorcycles at the shore.

  Now, she was looking at them through different eyes.

  The woman with the bullhorn walked to stand at the front of the pack. She raised an American flag, engines revved, then she waved the flag, and the riders took off. Lucy held on to the sides of Michael’s leather jacket as he rode down Ocean Avenue. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted Pumpkin and Craig beside them.

  A crisp flurry of air ruffled her shirt, and she breathed in the fresh ocean air. The first time she’d ridden with Michael, she’d been anxious and tense. She’d only agreed because he’d had information she needed to solve a crime. But something magical had happened during her first ride—her fear had flown away along with the wind. Then they’d ridden at night, and she’d been entranced by the stars that had glittered like diamonds in a black, velvet sky. They’d passed the boardwalk, and the bright lights of the Ferris wheel had blurred into a colorful array of jewels.

  But today, they were riding in daylight, and a brilliant goldenrod sun shone in the sky. As they turned onto the Garden State Parkway toward Cape May, the large group of riders separated. Pumpkin and Craig rode in front of Michael, and the three stayed together. Lucy’s grip relaxed and she enjoyed the ride.

  Once again, she was riding with Michael to gather information from his friends about a murder. Her motives were the same, but her hesitation to climb on the back of his bike was long gone.

  They picked up speed as they drove off the ramp and onto the highway. She felt like one of the seagulls that circled above, flying and free. She could see the drivers’ faces as they rode, and knew they weren’t going faster than the speed limit. Too soon, they came upon the sign for the Cape May exit, and Michael veered off toward the ramp. Pumpkin and Craig followed.

  She spied the Cape May lighthouse in the distance. Michael had taken her there months ago and they’d climbed the spiral staircase, all one hundred and ninety-nine steps, to the top for a spectacular ocean view. They weren’t headed there today.

  They rode down wide streets lined with hundred-year-old sycamore trees and passed lovely Victorian homes that looked like exquisite gingerbread houses. The historic homes with their wraparound porches with rocking chairs and exquisite woodwork made Cape May a tourist attraction. They passed a dozen of the houses, many with brightly painted spindles of burnt sienna, violet, indigo, and bright pink.

  Most of the riders would enjoy a day in Cape May before returning to Ocean Crest. Some would visit the lighthouse and the beach, others would eat at the dozens of well-known restaurants, while others would simply stroll the streets and enjoy the Victorian homes.

  Michael pulled into the lot of an old-fashioned ice cream parlor. Pumpkin and Craig stopped beside them.

  “Ice cream and a motorcycle ride all in one afternoon? You’re spoiling me,” Lucy said.

  Michael lowered the kickstand. She stepped off the bike first, then he followed. He helped her remove her helmet and hung it on one of the Harley’s wide handlebars, his own on the other. “I know you want to talk. What better place than here?”

  The Freezy Cone was crammed with tourists and locals on the pleasant afternoon. The scent of freshly baked waffle cones drifting on a puff of air made Lucy’s mouth water. She’d been here before as a college student, and the place was known for its dozens of homemade flavors. By the time they made it to the front of the line, she was drooling. She ordered a double scoop of mocha chocolate delight topped with chocolate syrup and rainbow sprinkles in a waffle cone.

  At her first taste, her eyes closed in pure delight. “Oh my gosh, this is so good.”

  Michael, who had ordered chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream topped with extra whipped cream, nodded. No need for words.

  She hadn’t eaten at the restaurant and she had a monster appetite, but this ice cream needed to be eaten slowly and appreciated. A family of four left a picnic table, and Lucy and Michael quickly occupied it. She was careful to avoid the sticky caramel sauce that had been left behind on the end of the bench. They waited for Pumpkin and Craig to order and join them.

  “We hadn’t planned on ice cream, but who’s complaining?” Pumpkin said as he dipped his spoon into his banana split.

  Craig’s ice cream sundae wasn’t as big but looked just as tempting.

  Michael eyed Lucy above his own cone, and a corner of his lips turned into a grin. She knew that look. He watched her, his blue eyes a combination of amusement and intrigue. He was anticipating her questions.

  Lucy swallowed a spoonful of sweet mocha chocolate. “Pumpkin, I noticed the landscaping at Kebab Kitchen. The daffodils and tulips are very pretty. Do you do it on the side?”

  Pumpkin lowered his spoon. “No, it’s my full-time business. Pumpkin’s Landscaping. Haven’t you seen my trucks around town?”

  She hadn’t, but she nodded.

  “Yeah, well, I do a lot of business outside of town, but my client base is growing in Ocean Crest. Your mom hired me for Kebab Kitchen’s flower beds.”

  “You must be good. My mom is very picky.”

  “Not as picky as others in Bayville.”

  She stuck her spoon in her ice cream and eyed him. “Wait. You said Bayville? Any connection to the Seagull Condos Gilbert partly owned?”

  Pumpkin snorted. “No
pe. I did work for Gilbert, but it was for the two side-by-side townhomes he owned in Bayville.”

  Gilbert had owned yet another piece of property? Lucy’s thoughts turned back to the night of the bonfire. Gilbert had showed up and started harassing Melanie, but both Pumpkin and Craig had come to her defense. She’d learned Craig had been equal partners with Gilbert with the Seagull Condos. But she’d never suspected Pumpkin had known Gilbert as well.

  “Were you business partners with Gilbert, too?”

  Pumpkin snorted. “Not on your life.”

  Craig spoke up. “Pumpkin was spared the pleasure. I was the one who had to deal with Gilbert Lubinski as a partner.”

  Lucy couldn’t envision the pair working together. Craig seemed levelheaded and kind. Maybe he’d had it with Gilbert strong-arming his tenants and that was why Craig wanted to buy out his share. Or maybe there was a different side to Craig, a more violent one. According to Katie, Craig and Gilbert had fought badly enough for the Bayville Police to show up and write up a report.

  It made Lucy look at Craig in a different light. He had been at the bonfire and could have slipped away when the group had been making s’mores. Everyone had been drinking, and no one would have noticed if someone had left for a short period of time. Craig may not be as muscular as Pumpkin, but he was certainly strong enough to lift a piece of driftwood and strike Gilbert on the back of the head, then suffocate him.

  Pumpkin cleared his throat and Lucy’s attention returned to him. “Gilbert hired me to handle the landscaping for the townhomes. In the beginning, I thought it would be good, steady work. There was always something to do year-round, flowers and mulch in the spring and summer, weeds and leaves in the fall, and snow removal in the winter. But he turned out to be a big pain in the butt.”

  “What do you mean?” Lucy asked.

  “He didn’t pay on time.”

  She couldn’t fathom this. Gilbert had a steady stream of income from his tenants. Or had he been strapped for cash? Was that why he’d raised Melanie Haven’s rent?

  “What’d you do when he didn’t pay?” Lucy asked.

  Pumpkin’s face broke into a wide grin and revealed a gap between his two front teeth. “I dug up his flowers. Had fun doing it, too.”

  “You didn’t just stop doing the work?”

  Pumpkin scoffed. “He owed me over a grand. I did stop, but damned if I was going to drive by the place and see my hard labor, knowing I didn’t get a dime for it.”

  In a convoluted way, his argument made sense. “How did Gilbert respond? Did he pay your bill?”

  “Nope. He showed up at my greenhouse raving mad and threatened to set it on fire. I laughed in his face. If there was one thing about Gilbert, he was all hot air and couldn’t pack a solid punch.”

  She didn’t know many men who were physically bigger than Pumpkin O’Connor. Still, Gilbert couldn’t have been all hot air. Not if he’d gotten into fisticuffs with Craig. And not if some Ocean Crest residents had owed him money and were fearful of him.

  Lucy took another bite of ice cream as she studied the two men before her. “Did either of you two borrow money from Gilbert?”

  Craig looked at her in surprise. “No. Where’d you hear that?”

  Lucy shrugged. “Gossip travels like wildfire in town.”

  “I’d never borrowed a dime from him,” Pumpkin said.

  “Me either,” Craig said.

  Michael spoke up for the first time. “It looks like it’s going to rain. We’d better head back.”

  Lucy glanced at the sky. A few dark clouds hovered overhead and blocked much of the sun. She’d been so engrossed in questioning the two men before her, she hadn’t noticed.

  The rest of her ice cream had melted into soup. It was for the best. She’d lost her appetite after listening to both men. Her mind was racing instead. Craig had been partners with Gilbert with the Seagull Condos. Pumpkin had provided landscaping services for Gilbert’s townhomes and was unpaid for his work. Both men had reason to dislike Gilbert.

  But was that motive enough for murder?

  Were a few unpaid bills for daffodils and tulips enough to kill someone in cold blood?

  Craig had the stronger motive. As business partners, he’d been mad that Gilbert rejected his offer and gone behind his back to sell his share to another. But could she envision him as a killer?

  She wasn’t certain, and if there was one thing she’d learned, it was not to jump to conclusions without all the evidence.

  Pumpkin and Craig headed back to their motorcycles. Michael touched Lucy’s arm. “Did you learn what you needed?”

  She may have gotten answers today, but she was left with even more questions.

  Chapter Fifteen

  The Ocean Crest Town Hall was a redbrick building located in the center of town across from the library. It was also connected to the municipal court and police station, but had its own separate entrance. Katie often joked she could visit Bill at work if she could just walk through the wall that separated them. As town clerk, Katie handled everything from taxes to zoning to renewing dog and cat licenses.

  Lucy found Katie refilling a mug of coffee in the break room. “Can you take a lunch break?”

  “Sure. Why?” Katie set down her mug on a laminated counter crowded with sugar packets, powdered creamer, and tea bags. An open box of muffins from Cutie’s Cupcakes rested by the coffee machine. One lonely muffin was left inside.

  “I spoke with Pumpkin and Craig during our motorcycle ride to Cape May. There’s a lot going on in Bayville. We should check it out.”

  “I’ll fetch my purse and keys.”

  Lucy held up her own keys. “No worries. I’ll drive.”

  Fifteen minutes later, Lucy spotted the sign for WELCOME TO BAYVILLE. Katie sat in the passenger seat of Lucy’s Toyota, directing her from her cell phone GPS. “Turn right here.”

  The light turned yellow and Lucy stopped.

  “You should have let me drive,” Katie said. “We would have been there by now.”

  Katie tended to drive like a NASCAR driver and push the lights. “We’re not in Ocean Crest. You’d get a ticket.”

  “You think I’d use Bill as an excuse to get out of a speeding ticket?”

  “It can’t hurt to be married to a cop in town.”

  Katie rolled her eyes. “I always drive the same, in or out of town.”

  “That’s why I wanted to drive.” The light turned green and Lucy made the turn. A tall building came into view, along with a sign that read “SEAGULL CONDOMINIUMS.” “Besides, we’re here.”

  Lucy turned into a spot for visitors and put her car in Park. “We’re in luck. Tenants are out and about.” An older, white-haired couple walked hand in hand. A young mother in yoga pants and a sweatshirt pushed a stroller. A man in a business suit rushed to his car.

  Katie unfastened her seat belt and reached for the door handle. “Let’s see what they have to say about their deceased landlord.” She walked toward the mother, then made a show of glancing into the stroller. “What a cute baby! How old is she?”

  The young mother pushed a stray lock of dark hair from her forehead and beamed. “Nine months today.”

  “She looks like an angel sleeping.” Katie’s gaze traveled from the sleeping baby to the mother. “Have you lived here long? My friend and I are thinking of renting,” she said, motioning to Lucy, who stood behind her.

  “We’ve been here a year. It’s convenient to my husband’s work. He’s a plumber. It’s also a close drive to the beach. I’d live in Ocean Crest if I could afford it.”

  Lucy took a step forward. “Maybe someday you will.”

  “What about your landlord? Do you like him?” Katie asked.

  “He’s okay. Or I should say was okay.” The mother lowered her voice. “He was murdered.”

  “Wow!” Katie feigned a horrified expression. Lucy followed suit and placed a hand on her chest.

  The baby woke from its sleep and began to fuss. The woman
began rocking the stroller back and forth. “The former landlord’s business partner seems much better.”

  “What was wrong with the one who died?” Lucy asked.

  “Grumpy. You could never be a day late. He harassed my neighbor, Janet, over it. He couldn’t just evict her. There are landlord/tenant laws he had to obey. But Janet had a toy poodle, and he said he was changing the rules and not allowing pets. She was quite upset.”

  “What happened?”

  “The weirdest thing was, her dog died a week later. He was only two years old and didn’t have any health problems. To this day, Janet swears Mr. Lubinski had something to do with it. She claimed he poisoned her dog somehow in retaliation.”

  “That’s awful!” Lucy’s reaction was real this time. If anyone harmed Gadoo, she’d be devastated.

  Devasted and furious.

  Pets were a part of the family. Killing one was akin to murdering a relative. Was that motive for murder?

  “What happened to your neighbor?” Lucy asked.

  “Janet was pretty heartbroken. She’d never married and that dog was like her child. She moved to California about six months ago. But you don’t have to worry. The new landlord, Craig Smith, is much nicer.”

  If Janet had moved cross-country a half year ago, then she couldn’t have killed Gilbert. As for the remaining landlord, Craig had to be an improvement over Gilbert. Lucy found him pleasant and could envision him as a professional landlord—not someone who’d threaten eviction over a few days’ late rent, and definitely not someone who would harm a pet.

  “Thanks for sharing,” Lucy said.

  The woman waved, then pushed the stroller toward the entrance to the condominiums. A man who was departing held the door open for her to pass through.

  Lucy looked at Katie. “Gah! A dog murderer. What’s worse?”

  Katie tapped a foot. “There’s no proof Gilbert poisoned her dog.”

  “No. But he wasn’t well-liked even here, was he?” Lucy hadn’t met a single person who’d liked Gilbert. Eloisa Lubinski didn’t speak ill of him, but she did say he’d provoked a lot of people. Which led to another thought. “The funeral is tomorrow. Can you go?”