Phantom of Execution Rocks

by MJ Miller

“Wonderful idea. We’ll get things tidied up and meet you back here in a little while.” Molly nodded toward a gate on the side of the home. “It’s just over there, and it really is adorable.”

  “Come on,” Andy stood, and pulled Luce up out of her chair. “Your castle awaits.”

  “I bet you said that to all the girls,” Luce couldn’t help but grin. She felt so at home, so welcome. It had been a long time since she’d felt this way.

  She followed Andy around to the gate and watched as he unlatched it and slid the door open, like a barn door. Stepping through, she gasped in astonishment.

  There in front of her was a full-blown cottage. She hadn’t even seen a glimpse of it driving up, it was so carefully and discreetly hidden from view by a line of trees.

  “Clubhouse? This is not a clubhouse. This is a cottage. This is a guesthouse. This is not a little boy’s clubhouse.” Luce gave Andy as stern a look as she could. “Now stop grinning and explain.” Andy was having trouble keeping a straight face seeing Luce’s expression.

  “I wasn’t exactly a little boy. I was fourteen, and my dad helped. He’s an architect. Now come on, come inside. You’ll love it.”

  The first thing Luce noticed was how clean it was. Not an old clubhouse left neglected, as she imagined. And it oozed charm. Nothing frilly or feminine, but simple, quaint and tasteful décor. It wasn’t large, per se, but roomy enough to have a cozy sitting area, a mini kitchen, a bathroom and even a daybed. In the center was a large round game table, the type that could be converted to a half dozen or more games. From checkers and chess to poker. Plantation shutters, and a few area rugs strewn about gave it a homey feel. But it was the window seat over in the sitting area that drew Luce’s attention.

  Walking over to it, she paused and looked back over at Andy. “May I?” she asked softly, nodding towards the cushioned bench.

  “Of course,” he said, smiling. “Have at it.”

  She lifted the bench seat, letting it rest up against the window ledge. Peering inside she whistled softly. Straightening up, she turned and looked at Andy, this time her gaze curious. “You never said a word. This is how you knew?” Luce asked softly. “In the ballroom, you knew just where to find things.”

  Andy nodded. “It’s the first place I would have looked, yes. Want to see it?”

  Luce nodded back. “Do chickens squawk?”

  Andy strode over and reached in with both hands, carefully retrieving the hidden treasure and setting it over on the table.

  “It’s our ship,” Luce whispered, gazing at the perfect model of the ghost ship. It was exactly as she remembered. “You built this?”

  “I did.” Andy replied with a shrug. Though he wouldn’t admit it, he was basking in Luce’s reverence toward his handiwork.

  “How did you do this? I mean there wasn’t a kit called “ghost ship” was there?” Luce was truly astonished.

  “No, but dad helped. I was into that stuff as a kid. Building things. Recreating things.”

  “You’re full of surprises, aren’t you, Detective?” Luce shook her head and smiled. “I sense there is way more to you than meets the eye.”

  “And I could say the same about you.” Andy murmured softly. His gaze locking on hers. She was quick to look away though, disappointing him.

  “This must have been a fabulous hideaway,” Luce sighed. “Exactly how many girls did you bring home to your teenage love nest?”

  “A gentleman never tells, Luce.” Andy replied, “But you’re the first grown woman if that counts.” He nudged her, hoping to get a reaction, but Luce was a step ahead spinning quickly and stepping back outside. He knew she was simply prolonging the inevitable. He just had to make her realize it. And suddenly, it struck him. He knew exactly what needed to be done.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  “Ready?” Luce looked over at Kat and grinned.

  “Ready as I’ll ever be!” Kat replied. It had been a week of chaos; Luce having thrown Kat into the fire feet first. They had a presentation to put on, one that would either have Luce producing her first reality show or slinking off, tail between her legs. With Kat’s help, she was confident though that they’d succeed in the former.

  With a quick nod at Kat, Luce pushed open the conference room doors and entered with as much of an air of authority as she could muster. Holding the door so Kat could wheel in, Luce made a mental note to find out why it was taking so long to put the automatic doors in she’d requested. The annoyance only served to fuel the fire in her to make this project happen.

  “So there’s the nuts and bolts. Are there any questions?” Luce looked about the conference table, where the programming board all seemed relaxed and tuned in. She knew this was a good sign. She’d stuck to the basic pitch. Authorities in the area of history and local lore explore a historical property in search of answers. She’d noted how timely the topic was, the local interest and the fact they had a weekend prime slot empty in the fall.

  “Just one.” Stuart Manning held up a finger and smiled. His signal for everyone to pay attention. She bit back her own smile. He was a teddy bear in a lion’s suit most of the time. As the station’s general manager, he had the final say in almost everything. And she had a hunch he was on board.

  “Who’s our host?” he asked. Knowing this was the big question.

  “Ah, yes. The kicker. We’re hoping our lovely morning anchor will agree to it,” Luce replied and looked over at Alicia with a grin. They were friends as well as colleagues, and she had the perfect personality for this gig.

  Luce frowned slightly when she saw Alicia’s face. She didn’t look happy at all. She looked distraught.

  “I’m so sorry Luce. I would have loved to jump on this.” Alicia paused and looked around the table then sighed. “I suppose the cat will now be out of the bag, but I’m afraid the stork has other plans.”

  Stunned silence was immediately followed by whoops and whistles and congratulations. Luce quickly ran to her friend and grabbed her in a hug. She didn’t want to put a damper on such wonderful news. Alicia and her wife had been going through IVF, and this was huge for them. Though Luce did feel that quick sting, first Annie, now Alicia. Was anyone not pregnant? Oh wait, that would be Luce.

  “Well, I guess it’s plan B then?” Luce tried to play down the sudden obstacle.

  “You mentioned Rodney Court, the local historian you’ll be using as well as author Christopher Gregory who will also be on site.” Stuart went on as if nothing had happened. “How about an investigative authority? Some who can be the debunker should strange things occur. Perhaps our host should be a detective? Some of them have awesome screen appeal.” Stuart smirked then. His wife was a retired officer.

  “I believe we have just the right one on our list, Ms. Porter,” Kat jumped in. “We can certainly screen test him and have that ready by tomorrow afternoon.”

  Luce squelched her reaction. She knew from Kat’s face who she was talking about but Luce hadn’t had any discussion at all with him.

  “Well then, how about we meet again tomorrow afternoon to confirm a new host.” She tried to remain calm and unruffled.

  “Perfect, Ms. Porter, and if all goes well, we’ll expect a rough cut of the pilot in 2 weeks please. There’s no time to waste!” Stuart stood then, indicating the meeting was adjourned. Luce waited for everyone to exit and turned to Kat.

  “Please tell me you’re not thinking what I think you’re thinking?”

  “Luce, face it. Stuart wants a hot detective. Now I may not see him that way, but no red-blooded woman would ever turn the channel on him and you know it.” Kat smiled and raised her brows. “Admit it!”

  “OK, but I will not be the one to ask. And furthermore, maybe he can’t get the time off of work. Maybe he wants more than we can afford?”

  “Not likely, Luce. Money is not an issue. And he doesn’t work weekends anymore.”

  Luce sighed. She was in a bind now. But this was a monumental knife in her plans. A twisted knife.
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br />   “Fine. Just take care of it.” Luce knew she sounded a bit snippy, but it was more nerves than annoyance. Two weeks. They were asking the impossible. Sure, it was a rough edit, meaning almost anything with a few good shots to entice would do, but still. She picked up her things and stuffed them back in her tote, and headed out, holding the door for Kat once more.

  “Lock up Kat, I’m headed home,” Luce called out as she turned down the hall towards the elevator. She needed a time-out.

  She’d barely been home a half-hour, just enough time to change, relax on the sofa with her favorite facial mask and a glass of wine. Her phone buzzed. She shook her head as Satan’s Spawn appeared on her screen.

  Are you sitting down?

  Luce fired back automatically.

  Why?

  He fired right back.

  Did you hear from Kat?

  She frowned as she quickly replied.

  No. Is everything OK? Is Kat OK?

  Of course she’s fine. Looks like I have a new career path. See you bright and early.

  Reading his response, she narrowed her eyes.

  Oh no. No no no. Too soon. She wasn’t ready for this. Besides, tomorrow was Tuesday. Andy works on Tuesday. Wait. Something’s not right.

  You work on Tuesday. Won’t they be ticked off if you’re late?

  She waited for his explanation, tapping her fingers nervously.

  What time do you head to the office?

  She knew he was up to something.

  Very early.

  More specific please

  Luce sighed. Whatever she said, she knew he’d show up to meet her.

  I’ll be out of here by 6:30am.

  See you then.

  Crap, she thought. She should have said 5:30.

  Luce debated calling Kat but decided it could all wait. She needed downtime. Time to clear her head. Closing her eyes and leaning her head back on the armrest, she swung her legs up on the sofa and tried for a short catnap. But the images in her head were anything but relaxing. Because they were all about Andy. And so were her dreams.

  Nothing could prepare her for what awaited her in the morning. She cursed herself up and down for telling him she left for the office at 6:30 in the morning. She should have just ignored him. Because the minute she hit the sidewalk, there he was, leaning against his car, thankfully the Subaru, with a shit-eating grin. If it weren’t for the fact that he was holding two cups of coffee, she might have had a few choice words. But there was no need to rattle him quite yet. Coffee first.

  Smiling, she took the one he held out, took a small sip and sighed.

  “Light and sweet, right?” Andy seemed to know which buttons to push. Perfect coffee being one.

  “Yes, thanks. Why are you here? I thought we’d meet at the office?”

  “Well, silly for us not to ride together, especially if we’re going to work together,” he grinned as he let her settle in the passenger seat before closing the door.

  Slipping in the driver’s side, he put his own coffee in the holder and checked for traffic before pulling out.

  “You know you were illegally parked, right?” Luce looked pointedly at him.

  “Was I?” he laughed.

  “And you know I haven’t actually made a decision on you yet, for the show. What if you suck?”

  “What if I do? Come on, this whole thing is perfect for us. You know it. You can’t say no to me anyway.”

  “I can’t?”

  “Nope.” Andy smiled broadly and reached to turn on the radio. Which was fine with Luce, because she had too many thoughts to sort through and not enough time to make sense of all of it.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  “No.”

  “Luce, come on be reasonable. If I’m not available to devote myself full time we’ll never solve anything.”

  “Full time? You mean every time I turn around, there you’ll be?”

  “Well, not every time…” Andy grinned. “Come on, I’m fun to have around.”

  They were in her office, having just come from the conference room, where it took only two minutes for them to hire Detective Andrew Holman as the host for the upcoming series, Phantom of Execution Rocks And only two minutes more for her to discover Mrs. Bowers had already arranged everything with the station. The crew would be staying out there full time, beginning that weekend.

  “My schedule, one I’ve carefully arranged, has you being available on set twice a week. That’s all we’ll need. You can do everything else remotely.”

  “Yeah, but maybe I’d rather stay there too. Maybe I’ll spend some time with the fam. Maybe I just want to watch you work.”

  “You’re really enjoying this, aren’t you?” Luce shook her head and bit back a grin. Truthfully, the screen test was amazing. The camera loved this man. He oozed intelligence and charm and something else, a mystique, that just didn’t let the viewer go. And all he did was say a few lines about his memories of the ship. Luce knew it was good. In fact, she played it back fifteen times to be sure. And saved a copy in the cloud to watch later.

  “Well, I guess what’s done is done.” Luce sighed dramatically but smiled across the desk at him. His boyish enthusiasm for this was infectious. “How did you get all this time off anyway?”

  “Accrued PTO. I haven’t taken time off in years. Figure now’s as good a time as any.”

  “Somehow I know I’m going to regret this whole thing.”

  “No way Luce, we’re going to go on a great adventure. Maybe solve a great mystery. What do you say we celebrate? Dinner? You must be done for the day, right?”

  “Done? I’m just getting started! Filming starts this weekend. Kat and I will be going 24/7 until then getting things ready.” Luce shook her head in disbelief. “You realize this is work, right?”

  “Say no more. I’ll get out of your hair. For now.” He stood and turned to go, then stopped suddenly turning back toward her. “You haven’t told me yet what I should plan on bringing, you know, to wear? Or do I get a wardrobe?” He wiggled his eyebrows and winked.

  Luce closed her eyes briefly. “Sorry, forgot. OK, look. You’ll need a bit of prep. I get that. Clearly you have no clue how low-budget TV works.” She sighed. “Might as well sit back down. It’s going to be a long night.”

  Luce barely slept all week, there was too much to get done. The production schedule. Getting the team settled into a routine. Determining strategy. Deciding who would lead the actual investigation. After all, it was a reality show and there really was a mystery to solve. So many details. Plus she had to make time to help Annie firm up the wedding details. She was maid-of-honor after all. Thankfully Kat was as creative as she was brilliant. Luce couldn’t pull this off without her. She’d almost decided, in just a few short weeks, that once Kat graduated, Luce would hire her full-time.

  The plan was to have everyone meet up Saturday morning at the Bowers place. Settle in and have an initial production meeting, scout the grounds, then film the intro. When the doorbell rang Friday afternoon, interrupting her last minute, albeit careful, packing, it startled her. Luce, puzzled, headed to the door. She tapped the buzzer, and spoke cautiously. “Yes?”

  Nothing.

  “Hello?” she spoke again, exasperated. Still nothing. They must have called the wrong apartment, she shrugged, annoyed, then headed back to her bedroom to finish double checking her don’t leave home without it list. And nearly jumped when the door buzzed again.

  “Damnit!” She swore loudly.

  Smashing her palm against the intercom button, she wasn’t so calm anymore. “What the hell do you want?” Luce practically snarled, then immediately felt bad. What if it were her elderly neighbor, locked out again, or the hearing impaired teenager from upstairs. Crap.

  “Someone having a bad day?” The deep baritone boomed with familiarity.

  “Andy?”

  “Candygram.”

  “Oh for forks sake, come on up,” she laughed as she buzzed him in.

  She opened
her door and waited, poking her head out into the hallway until he appeared. Then sucked in a breath when she saw him. He had this uncanny way of simply looking at her and with one glance, she melted. GQ cover models had nothing on this guy.

  As he approached, she noticed the package in his hands. “What’s that?”

  “No clue, but it was sitting outside with your name on it.”

  “Huh. Not expecting anything.” She wrinkled her nose as she looked at it. When she looked back up at him, his face bore a curious expression.

  “Did I interrupt something?” He looked around, almost as if he expected to see someone.

  “No, just packing, why?”

  “You were a little jumpy when I buzzed.” He looked at her expectantly.

  “Someone buzzed a few times, nobody there. Maybe that’s who left the package. I guess.” Luce shrugged. “Sit, I have to finish packing. Why are you here anyway?”

  Andy laid the small cardboard package on the coffee table and followed Luce as she headed into her room, then took a seat on her bed.

  “You don’t really follow instructions very well, Detective.”

  “You said sit. I’m sitting.” He grinned and leaned back on his elbows as he watched her carefully mark off items on her list. Double checking first one suitcase and then a duffel. Each one containing a series of color-coded packing cubes.

  “So again, I ask, why are you here?” Luce paused, tapping the tip of her pencil on her bottom lip as she nervously considered the guy with the danger sign flashing above him comfortably seated on her bed.

  “Dinner. And a sleepover.”

  “Not happening.” Luce laughed and shook her head. “Early start tomorrow. And even if I had nothing planned, it wouldn’t happen.”

  “Oh, that’s where you’re wrong, but irrelevant at the moment. We’re going out tonight and having dinner at your sister’s and staying there so we can get that early start you so desperately want. Clearly you’re about done packing, right?”